Adam from www.shortwaverockin.com posted a comment on #286 that got me curious enough to check out his site. I'm not sure we have the same taste in music, but we both really liked the Screaming Females album, so lets see how I like the other stuff he liked from last year. Always looking for recs people. Always.
My progression on this one went:
- This sounds like some girl band I know, but which one.
- Oh, this sounds like Sleater-Kinney
- You know, I'll be this girl was in Sleater-Kinney
- [Google]
- Yep
I like SK pretty good, favoring One Beat, though I don't think that's generally regarded as their best. This is not wholly different, with the same kind of driving rock and angularisms in place. The oddest thing about this album its restless approach to production. Check out the ways that the mix drops in things in and out of Half a World Away, Riley and Doubt in particular. There's a weird stereo move at 1:18 of Doubt that seems too overt to be an accident, but I can't decide what role its supposed to serve. I can't tell if this is just amateur, or if its an artistic move or what. Its subtly disconcerting, sometimes Tucker is all up in the face of the mix, singing right in your ear over a distant band; sometimes she seems to be across the room, shouting to be heard.
On some songs, the production is a strength. The lurking, noisy, stereo menace in Handed Love is a compelling presence that is built on the way that it moves around your headphones, poking in and retreating during the song's extended buildup.
Ok, ok, what about the actual tunes? The fast songs are good, lots of hooky bits, some deft guitar work, some nice bass moves, but when the songs get open and slow and pianoey, they get a bit too Cat Power for my taste. I think part of the problem is that I don't have the patience for traditional rock any more. I don't listen closely enough to lyrics (especially not over the course of the first-listens that lead to these posts) and I don't get moved by one guitar part over another unless its really doing something overt (Black Fuzz on Wheels, Dye it Blonde, Riposte). This album is fine, perfectly good, without faults (other than being a bit slow and weirdly produced). The side of me that loves Girl Talk demands more maximalist sucker punches and precarious swerves than this has to offer. Its not you Corin Tucker Band, its me 3/5
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