AMG'd.
The guide's review references Guided by Voices, and along with relative newcomers The Microphones, that's a good starting point for their sound. There's a bit of tape hiss, sure, but mostly its the combination of numerous, casually thrown-off melodic gems (ala GBV) and a strangely timeless, epic, everybedroom-and-nighttime-backyard-at-once pulse (ala The Microphones). It's music both tiny and huge, with hints of indie pop and punk doing battle at all times, shouty crunchy guitar dueling with too-sweet vocals and one-take acoustic trumble twang.
The whole thing is curiously compelling in its pacing, with lots of catchy, reverb-laden short songs wandering around your headphones. Building, receding, building, then *poof*, never overstaying the idea. At times the thin mix wears thin, and at times some of the boy-girl vocals are kinda dissonant, but its an interesting one, good for long nights with sunshine in mind, that I'll totally listen to again one of these days 4/5
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
#326 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Deja Vu
AMG said so. I'm actually almost out of albums from that book that I haven't heard - most of my marked entries are soul / R&B albums that I haven't quite been in the mood for yet.
I was never so big on CSN w / w/o Y, but never actively disliked them either. Here, the whole thing is kind of smooth, in a good way at times, in a bad way at others. It reminds me a bit of Steely Dan actually, sounding so perfect that it's clearly a studio product and not a performance in any real sense. It robs the album of some of its soul when I listen closely (especially with the too-clean vocal harmonies), but it also does make the whole thing weirdly timeless and soothing when I let it get in my bones. Helpless mostly succeeds as a smooth soother, Almost Cut My Hair brings some much-needed ragged edge, and the title track has a bit of each. On the other end of the spectrum, Teach Your Children sounds like a parody. Actually end-of-line rhyming "why", "cry" and "sigh"? Sigh.
And so it goes. To my first-timer, 40-years-later ear, some of these sound timeless, but most of them sound a bit dated, and at least a little overblown. It's a perfectly enjoyable listen that I don't quite buy into the soul of. Worth having around as largely mellow, good time music, nothing that blows my mind 3/5
I was never so big on CSN w / w/o Y, but never actively disliked them either. Here, the whole thing is kind of smooth, in a good way at times, in a bad way at others. It reminds me a bit of Steely Dan actually, sounding so perfect that it's clearly a studio product and not a performance in any real sense. It robs the album of some of its soul when I listen closely (especially with the too-clean vocal harmonies), but it also does make the whole thing weirdly timeless and soothing when I let it get in my bones. Helpless mostly succeeds as a smooth soother, Almost Cut My Hair brings some much-needed ragged edge, and the title track has a bit of each. On the other end of the spectrum, Teach Your Children sounds like a parody. Actually end-of-line rhyming "why", "cry" and "sigh"? Sigh.
And so it goes. To my first-timer, 40-years-later ear, some of these sound timeless, but most of them sound a bit dated, and at least a little overblown. It's a perfectly enjoyable listen that I don't quite buy into the soul of. Worth having around as largely mellow, good time music, nothing that blows my mind 3/5
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
#325 Robert Fripp - Exposure
Mentioned in the AMG, and hey, I've always liked King Crimson, and had good luck with Steve Hacket (of Genesis)'s solo album, so lets see.
This was supposed to be this more mainstream album, but I sure don't hear it. I mean, I guess its more mainstream than King Crimson, but this is no late-era-Genesis. This isn't even Peter Gabriel accessible. Which I mean in a good way. This album is kind of awesome.
There's the the lurching instrumentals, surging through odd time signatures and keys, some punk-ish numbers, and some wild Giddy Motorsey combinations of the two. Even the slower instrumentals ballads work pretty well, dripping with atmospheric Enoistic, Frippertronic production details. The tragically brief Water Music I in particular sounds like Ratatat meets The Books, which, is good. The bizarre vocal snippets, array of guess vocalists, drastic changes in pace and tone, and general adventurousness keep this from being anything resembling mainstream to my ear. What it is is downright listenable, much more so than King Crimson, whose albums I have to confess are comparatively hard to get through.
The low point is I May Not Have Had Enough of Me But I've Had Enough of You, which is as ridiculous as its title, sounding like a limp version of Faith No More's Epic sung over a limp version of Rock You Like a Hurricane. Not awesome. But the rest? Totally worth hearing if you like the adventurousness of prog, but wish it was (a lot) more briskly paced and a little less indulgent. Maybe I'm on a generous swing, take this, and all my ratings with a grain of salt, but my gut says 4.5/5
This was supposed to be this more mainstream album, but I sure don't hear it. I mean, I guess its more mainstream than King Crimson, but this is no late-era-Genesis. This isn't even Peter Gabriel accessible. Which I mean in a good way. This album is kind of awesome.
There's the the lurching instrumentals, surging through odd time signatures and keys, some punk-ish numbers, and some wild Giddy Motorsey combinations of the two. Even the slower instrumentals ballads work pretty well, dripping with atmospheric Enoistic, Frippertronic production details. The tragically brief Water Music I in particular sounds like Ratatat meets The Books, which, is good. The bizarre vocal snippets, array of guess vocalists, drastic changes in pace and tone, and general adventurousness keep this from being anything resembling mainstream to my ear. What it is is downright listenable, much more so than King Crimson, whose albums I have to confess are comparatively hard to get through.
The low point is I May Not Have Had Enough of Me But I've Had Enough of You, which is as ridiculous as its title, sounding like a limp version of Faith No More's Epic sung over a limp version of Rock You Like a Hurricane. Not awesome. But the rest? Totally worth hearing if you like the adventurousness of prog, but wish it was (a lot) more briskly paced and a little less indulgent. Maybe I'm on a generous swing, take this, and all my ratings with a grain of salt, but my gut says 4.5/5
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
#324 Starfucker - Reptilians
Really liked their last one, heard this one was coming and go go go.
Here's an album with everything I like. Great, buzzy synthys, beautiful melodies, unexpected turns, texture, texture, texture, but on top of clean lines. I know its a crutch, but if you want to get a sense of this album, think: MGMT, Cut Copy, Ratatat (Quality Time), M83 (Bury Us Alive, Quality Time), late Beck (Death as a Fetish, Astoria), a smidge of Adore-era Smashing Pumpkins (The White of Noon), and a touch of The Unicorns' squared-off buzz and general death fetishism. There's even totally Lamb Lies Down on Broadway synth on Julius. And I mean this all in a good way.
The whole thing is highly listenable, infectiously joyous, and well-paced*, mixing straightforward pop gestures and atmospheric soul-crushers in appropriate measures, sometimes pulling both tricks at once. Every time you've gotten tuned into what it's doing, it swerves, but pulls you along in a neon arc, momentum preserved and turned swooping. Slow, fast, dense, clean, twee, batshit, all in luxury car shifting with only the barest tug to mark the change. And then whatever that incredible clipped-static beat over double acoustic guitar move on Reptilians is.
The only thing keeping it from even loftier points (beyond my general stinginess on the matter) is the fact that it does remind me an awful lot of a lot of bands. Also, some of those Alan Watts samples get old pretty fast. But man, it is pretty. What a great uplifter/soulcrusher of an album 4.5/5
* skip the two bonus tracks, which overextend it past a perfect finish
Edit 3/16: I'm a fool, this way should have been a 5. Album of the year so far, easy.
Here's an album with everything I like. Great, buzzy synthys, beautiful melodies, unexpected turns, texture, texture, texture, but on top of clean lines. I know its a crutch, but if you want to get a sense of this album, think: MGMT, Cut Copy, Ratatat (Quality Time), M83 (Bury Us Alive, Quality Time), late Beck (Death as a Fetish, Astoria), a smidge of Adore-era Smashing Pumpkins (The White of Noon), and a touch of The Unicorns' squared-off buzz and general death fetishism. There's even totally Lamb Lies Down on Broadway synth on Julius. And I mean this all in a good way.
The whole thing is highly listenable, infectiously joyous, and well-paced*, mixing straightforward pop gestures and atmospheric soul-crushers in appropriate measures, sometimes pulling both tricks at once. Every time you've gotten tuned into what it's doing, it swerves, but pulls you along in a neon arc, momentum preserved and turned swooping. Slow, fast, dense, clean, twee, batshit, all in luxury car shifting with only the barest tug to mark the change. And then whatever that incredible clipped-static beat over double acoustic guitar move on Reptilians is.
The only thing keeping it from even loftier points (beyond my general stinginess on the matter) is the fact that it does remind me an awful lot of a lot of bands. Also, some of those Alan Watts samples get old pretty fast. But man, it is pretty. What a great uplifter/soulcrusher of an album 4.5/5
* skip the two bonus tracks, which overextend it past a perfect finish
Edit 3/16: I'm a fool, this way should have been a 5. Album of the year so far, easy.
#323 Peaking Lights - 936
Dust'd.
I don't tend to like dub so much, but said site's gushing review on this one convinced me to give it a try. It's a lot more adventurous, a lot prettier, a lot better differentiated in the mix, a lot synthier and otherwise otherworldly than the dub label would lead you to believe. It's totally a headphone album, just something to let whorl brainwise.
As with all these mushy, double-tripled sound albums that are in these days, it kind of gives me a head fog, but for whatever reason, this time around, I didn't mind it quite so much. That said, as I've ranted, I prefer a little more scaffolding and a little less horsing around under blankets 3/5
I don't tend to like dub so much, but said site's gushing review on this one convinced me to give it a try. It's a lot more adventurous, a lot prettier, a lot better differentiated in the mix, a lot synthier and otherwise otherworldly than the dub label would lead you to believe. It's totally a headphone album, just something to let whorl brainwise.
As with all these mushy, double-tripled sound albums that are in these days, it kind of gives me a head fog, but for whatever reason, this time around, I didn't mind it quite so much. That said, as I've ranted, I prefer a little more scaffolding and a little less horsing around under blankets 3/5
#322 Mr. Dream - Trash Hit
Dust'd.
Sometimes I read a review of an album before I'm done listening to it. I try not to let it influence me unduly, and sometimes it provides a nice piece of context. In this case, the dusted review called attention to the fact that this was possibly parody, calling it, in the snarkiest review of the year, the funniest album of the year. This served two purposes: 1) it helped point out the degree to which these guys are sounding like the 90's on purpose 2) it caused me, via violent disagreement with the idea that this is a "funny" album, to gain a lot of respect for it.
So, sure enough, it sounds a LOT like 90's rock. Not in the vague burgeoning indie/alternative style, but it sounds, at times, exactly like Pavement, The Jesus Lizard, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Ween, etc. etc. sometimes sounding really precisely like one of them at a time. It's so spot on, in the songwriting, in the production, in every detail, that is makes me smile. It makes me want to laugh. But it's not because it's funny, its because they've nailed it so hard that I am filled with glee. It's just a delightfully nailed deconstruction/recreation/homage/riffing on a style.
The actual music is, as I've hinted at, pretty good. If you like the bands I mentioned, I see no reason you wouldn't like this. But as an art object, as a perfect crystalization of a style into a single platonic 90's rock album. I keep smiling, almost laughing as I listen to it, so maybe the joke's on me after all. I'll take a smile any day though, fuck the reason. Always stay out of the intention-hole 4/5
Sometimes I read a review of an album before I'm done listening to it. I try not to let it influence me unduly, and sometimes it provides a nice piece of context. In this case, the dusted review called attention to the fact that this was possibly parody, calling it, in the snarkiest review of the year, the funniest album of the year. This served two purposes: 1) it helped point out the degree to which these guys are sounding like the 90's on purpose 2) it caused me, via violent disagreement with the idea that this is a "funny" album, to gain a lot of respect for it.
So, sure enough, it sounds a LOT like 90's rock. Not in the vague burgeoning indie/alternative style, but it sounds, at times, exactly like Pavement, The Jesus Lizard, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Ween, etc. etc. sometimes sounding really precisely like one of them at a time. It's so spot on, in the songwriting, in the production, in every detail, that is makes me smile. It makes me want to laugh. But it's not because it's funny, its because they've nailed it so hard that I am filled with glee. It's just a delightfully nailed deconstruction/recreation/homage/riffing on a style.
The actual music is, as I've hinted at, pretty good. If you like the bands I mentioned, I see no reason you wouldn't like this. But as an art object, as a perfect crystalization of a style into a single platonic 90's rock album. I keep smiling, almost laughing as I listen to it, so maybe the joke's on me after all. I'll take a smile any day though, fuck the reason. Always stay out of the intention-hole 4/5
#321 Parts and Labor - Constant Future
One of a few songs off a recent run through Dusted's faves.
This one starts off really promisingly, with erratic drums and super buzzy, warbly synth lines. The pace on the first couple songs surges and ebbs and flows and crashes, its right up my alley. But then it really mellows out a lot, sounding very Interpol, trading the start-stop-swerve for new york post punk thrubthrubthrubthrubthrubthrubthrubthrub, and trading all those gorgeous, messy synths for more traditional thump and strum. Instead of songs that have you peaking around the next corner, most of the later songs are straight shots.
This isn't such a bad thing necessarily. Some of the repeated bits transcend on up to anthemic, carrying some of Pepper's (Butthole Surfers) eerie lurch. And at times (Echo Chamber) the production is punchy in a satisfying way, and Hurricane at least reaches for the places the first song promised might follow.
It reminds me of a lot of bands I listened to in the 90's who frontloaded their album with something really promising, but just didn't have the nerve or the genius to live up to that early excitement*. I'd listen to their next album, they've got promise, but this doesn't quite move me 2.5/5.
* Soul Asylum and Lunatic Calm, of all people, come to mind. I have weirdly specific memories of the CD Listening bar on Culver and Alton in the sweet, sweet heart of Irvine, CA.
This one starts off really promisingly, with erratic drums and super buzzy, warbly synth lines. The pace on the first couple songs surges and ebbs and flows and crashes, its right up my alley. But then it really mellows out a lot, sounding very Interpol, trading the start-stop-swerve for new york post punk thrubthrubthrubthrubthrubthrubthrubthrub, and trading all those gorgeous, messy synths for more traditional thump and strum. Instead of songs that have you peaking around the next corner, most of the later songs are straight shots.
This isn't such a bad thing necessarily. Some of the repeated bits transcend on up to anthemic, carrying some of Pepper's (Butthole Surfers) eerie lurch. And at times (Echo Chamber) the production is punchy in a satisfying way, and Hurricane at least reaches for the places the first song promised might follow.
It reminds me of a lot of bands I listened to in the 90's who frontloaded their album with something really promising, but just didn't have the nerve or the genius to live up to that early excitement*. I'd listen to their next album, they've got promise, but this doesn't quite move me 2.5/5.
* Soul Asylum and Lunatic Calm, of all people, come to mind. I have weirdly specific memories of the CD Listening bar on Culver and Alton in the sweet, sweet heart of Irvine, CA.
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