Another rare music review for Flying Houses---the first since Deerhunter's Microcastle in October 2008? Really?
But yes, the last Fall album Imperial Wax Solvent was reviewed here in May or June of 2008, as I recall. All new releases from my favorite bands should be reviewed. With that logic, Sisterworld should be reviewed too (it's a masterpiece, by the way), and the new !!! album when it arrives. Not to mention the new LCD Soundsystem (3 weeks!)
It's hard to say that the Fall were my favorite band back when Imperial Wax Solvent came out--they were probably my favorite band between Fall Heads Roll and Reformation Post TLC--but they hold a very special place in my heart. I have been listening to them for seven or eight years now. There are many albums by them that I still do not have, but I think I am more than an amateur fan. Should the legend be told once more? I think not. M-E-S is in his early fifties and pretty much the most prolific musicial artist of all time besides Robert Pollard. The Fall have been around since the early days of punk in England and have incorporated elements of various genres of popular music over the last thirty years, while staying true to a basic formula that borrows heavily from Can--an insistent beat with inscrutable vocals.
I'm not sure if this album is better than Imperial Wax Solvent. I've lost that album, and I miss listening to "Wolf Kidult Man" and "50 Year Old Man" and "Exploding Chimney" and a couple others ("I've Been Duped!"). It blew Reformation Post TLC and its amateurish production out of the water, and probably bested Fall Heads Roll for most. That said, I think Your Future Our Clutter will be the most critically-acclaimed Fall album in years.
I think this is a very druggy album (as is Sisterworld). There are 9 tracks and they average close to six minutes each. And for the most part, that average holds up. The result is a bizarre listening experience. For what it's worth, the first seven tracks are incredible, and I'm not such a big fan of the last two, though many might call me crazy for making this claim. But why is it druggy? The Fall formula is taken to heavy extremes. The guitars are loud, and it almost seems as if the same crunchy riff persists throughout the entire album. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Let's talk about the title first, and the two songs that reference it. It seems confusing--Your Future Our Clutter is the title, but I think it has also gone by Our Future Your Clutter. I have no idea what this phrase means--but for me it means all the clutter my family will accumulate over the years that one day in the future I will have to sift through and throw away, sell, save, burn, or use. Or even more to the point--will Fall albums become clutter, as their profuse number renders each less significant? But the songs. The first track is the most energetic opening Fall track in years. Hard to say since when, but I'm going to say "Lay of the Land" from 1984's Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall, an album that this is often compared to as it is the shortest (in terms of track number) since. That's a tall order, but the album opens brilliantly.
"Bury Parts 1 + 2" is indicative of the "druggy" atmosphere of the album, with the opening part "buried" in lo-fi production, opening up to another stomper of a track. This is arguably better than the first track.
"Mexico Wax Solvent" is another entry in the "inscrutable song title" file. What is wax solvent, and why is this song on this album? I have no clue, but this is another strong track, the best parts being about Aqua Rosa, which is apparently a beauty academy, and 12-year-old doctors giving M-E-S advice so he "can't stand up anymore."
"Cowboy George" is my least favorite of the first 7 tracks, but still more interesting than the last two, I think. There is apparently a Daft Punk sample in this song but I don't know enough about them to recognize it. Note that all first four tracks are quite long--all about six minutes.
"Hot Cake," then is a brief respite from the intense, druggy, relentless hammering--or actually it's not, but it's the shortest song up to this point. It's still over three minutes.
Then you get to the two best tracks. "O.F.Y.C./Slippy Floor" is the most immediate thing on the album. The first time you hear it you take notice. I do find it a bit repetitive and boring now, but the first five or ten times I heard it, I nearly didn't believe it. To me the closest reference point is "C'N'C'/Hassle Schmuck" which was a live song performed about twenty-eight years ago, an alternative reading of "C'N'C' Smitherin" off of Grotesque--but while that song features an iconic vocal melody in the second part, "Slippy Floor" does sound a bit like the Arctic Monkeys, as one other reviewer has already pointed out. It's very fast, and very loud, and M-E-S does some of his best ranting in years on this track. This is also the longest song on the album.
"Chino" comes next and is probably the best song on the album. I don't think anybody would say "Chino" is not the best song on the album. It seems like it's about possibly disbanding the Fall. "When do I quit?/When do I quit?" It's unsettling, a bit menacing, and totally badass. I think a lot of people want to point to this song and declare this the last Fall album.
I really don't think this will be the last one, but it does seem like a perfect penultimate one.
"Funnel of Love" (a cover of a song by Wanda Jackson) and "Weather Report #2" end the album. Neither appeals to me all that much. The first time I heard this leaked copy of the album, the last track was first, and I thought the wrong files had been copied--the opening of the song sounds nothing like the Fall. "Weather Report #2" ends in a kind of scary way with M-E-S saying "you don't deserve rock n roll" as the album peters out. More swan song indications.
The Fall haven't toured America since 2006. I hope they will come here to tour this album. I sort of highly doubt that it will happen but they are unpredictable. This is a high-quality album from a band that has had its share of misses, and one that will only build their legend further. Since it is on Domino Records, let's hope the Fall have a better chance of entering the public consciousness and let's hope they acquire the respect they deserve.
Showing posts with label Deerhunter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deerhunter. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Coachella Line-Up Review
So for the second year in a row, the Coachella festival falls on my birthday, and today the line-up was announced. Last year I happened to be going to Disneyworld over the same weekend. This year, April 15th is my deadline for submitting a deposit to hold a seat in the class of 2013 at "xxxxxxxx law school." So maybe I will do that and then take a vacation that I think I deserve. I had said that if Pavement were announced, I would make an effort to be there for it. Pavement may play Pitchfork in July as well, but I would happily see them twice. (I would happily follow them around, a la Deadheads, Phish-heads, String Cheese-heads, Widespread Panic-heads, et. al.).
The purpose of this post is to see if the number of bands I would like to see eclipses that of last year's--sadly, I do not think it does. Day 2 sort of sucks. But the line-up on day 3 is killer.
Bands I would like to see if I go to Coachella:
Fri, April 16: Jay-Z (headliner), LCD Soundsystem (an inspired selection given that they have been quiet for a while now), Them Crooked Vultures (only because Foo Fighters are not playing), Vampire Weekend (if nothing better was going on at the time), Public Image Ltd. (who knows if they'll suck or not, but a very inspired selection!), Passion Pit (seem like a fun band), Echo and the Bunnymen (yes!), She & Him (Zooey...can we be friends?), The Dillinger Escape Plan (because nothing else here even approaches violence).
Sat, April 17 (my b-day): Faith No More (pseudo-headliner, and I am more interested in them than Muse, but not by that much), The Dead Weather (see Them Crooked Vultures and substitute White Stripes for Foo Fighters), Hot Chip (know next to nothing by them, but see Passion Pit), Devo (just because), the Gossip (to see what all the fuss is about), The xx (because I spent $15 on their album), John Waters (???), Mew (if nothing better were going on...), Camera Obscura (one of 2 can't miss bands this day), Girls (the other one), Beach House (if I wanted to fall asleep)
Sun, April 18 (potentially the best single concert day of the year): Pavement (reminiscent of the last time I went to Coachella in 2004--with Pixies and Radiohead back-to-back), Thom Yorke ???? (not sure if that means Radiohead or what, but I'd see him anyways), Phoenix (see the Gossip), Spoon (new album out today, though they don't have the best live reputation), Julian Casablancas (see Them Crooked Vultures and Dead Weather and substitute for the Strokes, who should be playing anyways), Sunny Day Real Estate (the secret reason this day is so awesome), Yo La Tengo (never fail to intrigue), Deerhunter (didn't even see their name until now), King Khan & the Shrines (seem like one of the most fun bands to see currently playing)---and I am leaving out a few massive ones that I am messed up for not caring that much about.
So, the final count this year is 29. This includes a few I really don't care that much about. Compare to 26 last year http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2009/01/bands-i-would-see-if-i-were-going-to.html and then take into account that those 26 are, by and large, way cooler. However, the price is the same, so give them credit for not being extortionist.
The purpose of this post is to see if the number of bands I would like to see eclipses that of last year's--sadly, I do not think it does. Day 2 sort of sucks. But the line-up on day 3 is killer.
Bands I would like to see if I go to Coachella:
Fri, April 16: Jay-Z (headliner), LCD Soundsystem (an inspired selection given that they have been quiet for a while now), Them Crooked Vultures (only because Foo Fighters are not playing), Vampire Weekend (if nothing better was going on at the time), Public Image Ltd. (who knows if they'll suck or not, but a very inspired selection!), Passion Pit (seem like a fun band), Echo and the Bunnymen (yes!), She & Him (Zooey...can we be friends?), The Dillinger Escape Plan (because nothing else here even approaches violence).
Sat, April 17 (my b-day): Faith No More (pseudo-headliner, and I am more interested in them than Muse, but not by that much), The Dead Weather (see Them Crooked Vultures and substitute White Stripes for Foo Fighters), Hot Chip (know next to nothing by them, but see Passion Pit), Devo (just because), the Gossip (to see what all the fuss is about), The xx (because I spent $15 on their album), John Waters (???), Mew (if nothing better were going on...), Camera Obscura (one of 2 can't miss bands this day), Girls (the other one), Beach House (if I wanted to fall asleep)
Sun, April 18 (potentially the best single concert day of the year): Pavement (reminiscent of the last time I went to Coachella in 2004--with Pixies and Radiohead back-to-back), Thom Yorke ???? (not sure if that means Radiohead or what, but I'd see him anyways), Phoenix (see the Gossip), Spoon (new album out today, though they don't have the best live reputation), Julian Casablancas (see Them Crooked Vultures and Dead Weather and substitute for the Strokes, who should be playing anyways), Sunny Day Real Estate (the secret reason this day is so awesome), Yo La Tengo (never fail to intrigue), Deerhunter (didn't even see their name until now), King Khan & the Shrines (seem like one of the most fun bands to see currently playing)---and I am leaving out a few massive ones that I am messed up for not caring that much about.
So, the final count this year is 29. This includes a few I really don't care that much about. Compare to 26 last year http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2009/01/bands-i-would-see-if-i-were-going-to.html and then take into account that those 26 are, by and large, way cooler. However, the price is the same, so give them credit for not being extortionist.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Atlas Sound, Icy Demons, The Shapers - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, January 15, 2010
If I had to make a list of the most disappointing concerts I have ever attended, this one would rank near the top. I did not take any pictures, as was the case for the only previous concert review on Flying Houses (Fiery Furnaces at Spaceland in L.A. in May of 2008...) because my digital camera is pretty much shot.
Seriously though--what has been more disappointing than this? OK, I went to go see The Allman Brothers and Ratdog once, and I am not a fan of either, and I was bored out of my mind, but it was at Red Rocks, which is a nice venue, and the energy of the crowd, annoying as some of their habits might have been, was infectious, and at the end of the night I did not feel like I had wasted my time and would have had more fun doing pretty much anything else.
Go back further--years and years of concert-going, since 2000, ten years, and it's really tough for me to think of anything.
Let's start with the positives: Lincoln Hall is about a year old, and a very nice venue. You can almost tell it is owned by the same people as Schuba's because their beer is not overpriced and the space is clean. It does bear more than a passing resemblance to the Metro, but it is not as hectic. The only negative, I would say, were the doormen, who, at the end of the night, requested tips from everyone, which made me feel guilty for not giving anything. How fucking annoying. Now, if they had said, donate tips for the relief effort in Haiti, then I would have given 10 or something. (That I am reading The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club, which details the bouncers demanding money at Christmastime to donate to charities, may have led me to believe that these times are just truly terrible.)
We watched some of the Bulls game, and they beat the Wizards in double overtime. It was a great game, and the beginning of what I hoped would be a fantastic evening. The Shapers played first, and they were sort of psychedelic, and unremarkable. I liked about two of their songs.
Icy Demons came next, and this was my first time seeing them. I did not realize they were from Chicago until their singer informed everyone. They had a much higher percentage of songs I liked. This was the highlight of the evening for me, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to see them.
Finally, around midnight, Bradford Cox took the stage--alone. He looked pensive, depressed. I was immediately upset that there was no drummer. No other musician onstage. My friend said, "Don't worry, it will be alright." No, it wouldn't be alright. 90 minutes later I would be traumatized, exhausted, nearly ill.
Someone shouted, "Who is your cardiologist?" at him. He said, "Okay, I guess it's going to be a short concert." If only it were, Bradford! Chicago is full of stupid assholes, even at indie rock shows. I recall Ian Mackaye being razzed by the crowd during an Evens set a couple years back, and he was like, "Dude, WTF?" and then someone was like, "Welcome to Chicago."
Bradford was like, "How is everyone?" And everyone was like, "Good." And someone shouted, "How are you doing?" And he said, "Oh, I'm not doing so well."
Before he played his first song, he said, "This is for Jay."
This was the elephant in the room. I was shocked to hear of Jay Reatard's death several days ago. I never got into him. I tried listening to him a few times. I bet he would have been fun to see open for the Pixies on their Doolittle tour in Chicago, just a month prior, if only because Bad Lieutenant couldn't play their slot, but that is just because of my obsession with New Order and Bernard Sumner (more on that to come, just wait a couple days). Bradford and Jay were friends--two of the most confrontational artists in the indie rock limelight--true originals, living up to the definition of "punk" par excellence. Reatard's death is not quite as monolithic as say, Kurt Cobain's, but along with Elliott Smith's, it is a tragic, unbelievable event that will continue to be felt for years and years.
So, imagine one of your closest musical compatriots trying to play a show just two days after such a thing. I did not recognize the first song, and maybe Bradford had written it in the day previous, as a true homage to Jay--if anyone is capable of that kind of output, it's Cox--and the song was wonderful. Sad, beautiful, moving, what one expects out of Atlas Sound.
NOW, what should have happened at this point, is that a backing band should have come out of the shadows, and accompanied him in a show that would have been energetic and fun, a celebration of life, something to inspire the crowd. Not a chance. That unbelievably happy-sounding song, "Walkabout" was played second--and it sounded about one hundred times more depressing than it does on record.
From there, things just got worse. At least on "Walkabout" there were flashes of a brilliant re-interpretation. There was one more inspired moment--Cox played "Flourescent Grey," a Deerhunter song that Jay Reatard once covered. At this point, when he sung about decaying bodies and flesh turning gray, and about someone else being his god in high school, the concert was transformed into an Artaud-esque exercise in cruelty. Everyone who knows and loves Deerhunter or Atlas Sound (this was my 4th time seeing Cox perform) knows that he is not the most emotionally-balanced individual, and deals with loads and loads of psychological, emotional, and physical pain on a daily basis--but this was the only time that I truly felt an artist wanted his audience to feel the way he felt--that is, horribly uncomfortable, pained, and heartbroken.
There was no "Sheila" or "Quick Canal" (the latter may have been played, in a haze of three or four long songs that I could not differentiate). "Criminals" was played, after a brief moment of Cox putting on some kind of persona--Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan--with a harmonica, and a pronounced southern drawl, and pretending to be so happy and "crowd-friendly" that it functioned as hyperbole. It seemed funny for about a second, and then just turned sad.
He told a weird story about Climax, GA, and Cumming, GA, and the Cumming Eye Clinic. Perhaps this was the only comforting part about the entire show--juvenile humor. Eventually he played an extremely long version of "Attic Lights," and I swore he said, "this song is about my death," as he started it.
The show went on until about 1:20 AM and when it ended, Bradford did genuinely thank everyone for coming out, but I think it was a great relief for all of us that we could leave. I tried playing my friend Logos in the car afterwards, and Rainwater Cassette Exchange in order to show how it should have sounded, how he was much better than this, but by then I was just annoyed.
He may have his reasons for playing onstage alone, but when I saw Atlas Sound at the Echo in L.A. in March of 2008, I had a great time! He was wearing a Wipers t-shirt, talking about how he had just bought it that day, he played an awesome version of "Ativan," and he was just so happy the entire time. Now, everyone knows that you can't really be happy 100% of the time ("I should know, I'm a doctor..."), BUT if you are a successful artist, charging $15 a pop for 500 people, with Lincoln Hall taking in $7,500 in ticket sales along, not counting convenience charges--maybe you are earning close to $1,000 for playing for 90 minutes. OK, I can see why you don't want backing musicians, but I really don't think Bradford is a greedy guy. He has his reasons, but at least one huge fan of his doesn't understand them. This was the most depressing musical experience of my life.
I still intend to see Deerhunter on April Fool's Day in Chicago. Obviously I forgive Bradford because he must be going through a really difficult time right now, but I really hope that show will come closer to meeting my expectations.
Seriously though--what has been more disappointing than this? OK, I went to go see The Allman Brothers and Ratdog once, and I am not a fan of either, and I was bored out of my mind, but it was at Red Rocks, which is a nice venue, and the energy of the crowd, annoying as some of their habits might have been, was infectious, and at the end of the night I did not feel like I had wasted my time and would have had more fun doing pretty much anything else.
Go back further--years and years of concert-going, since 2000, ten years, and it's really tough for me to think of anything.
Let's start with the positives: Lincoln Hall is about a year old, and a very nice venue. You can almost tell it is owned by the same people as Schuba's because their beer is not overpriced and the space is clean. It does bear more than a passing resemblance to the Metro, but it is not as hectic. The only negative, I would say, were the doormen, who, at the end of the night, requested tips from everyone, which made me feel guilty for not giving anything. How fucking annoying. Now, if they had said, donate tips for the relief effort in Haiti, then I would have given 10 or something. (That I am reading The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club, which details the bouncers demanding money at Christmastime to donate to charities, may have led me to believe that these times are just truly terrible.)
We watched some of the Bulls game, and they beat the Wizards in double overtime. It was a great game, and the beginning of what I hoped would be a fantastic evening. The Shapers played first, and they were sort of psychedelic, and unremarkable. I liked about two of their songs.
Icy Demons came next, and this was my first time seeing them. I did not realize they were from Chicago until their singer informed everyone. They had a much higher percentage of songs I liked. This was the highlight of the evening for me, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to see them.
Finally, around midnight, Bradford Cox took the stage--alone. He looked pensive, depressed. I was immediately upset that there was no drummer. No other musician onstage. My friend said, "Don't worry, it will be alright." No, it wouldn't be alright. 90 minutes later I would be traumatized, exhausted, nearly ill.
Someone shouted, "Who is your cardiologist?" at him. He said, "Okay, I guess it's going to be a short concert." If only it were, Bradford! Chicago is full of stupid assholes, even at indie rock shows. I recall Ian Mackaye being razzed by the crowd during an Evens set a couple years back, and he was like, "Dude, WTF?" and then someone was like, "Welcome to Chicago."
Bradford was like, "How is everyone?" And everyone was like, "Good." And someone shouted, "How are you doing?" And he said, "Oh, I'm not doing so well."
Before he played his first song, he said, "This is for Jay."
This was the elephant in the room. I was shocked to hear of Jay Reatard's death several days ago. I never got into him. I tried listening to him a few times. I bet he would have been fun to see open for the Pixies on their Doolittle tour in Chicago, just a month prior, if only because Bad Lieutenant couldn't play their slot, but that is just because of my obsession with New Order and Bernard Sumner (more on that to come, just wait a couple days). Bradford and Jay were friends--two of the most confrontational artists in the indie rock limelight--true originals, living up to the definition of "punk" par excellence. Reatard's death is not quite as monolithic as say, Kurt Cobain's, but along with Elliott Smith's, it is a tragic, unbelievable event that will continue to be felt for years and years.
So, imagine one of your closest musical compatriots trying to play a show just two days after such a thing. I did not recognize the first song, and maybe Bradford had written it in the day previous, as a true homage to Jay--if anyone is capable of that kind of output, it's Cox--and the song was wonderful. Sad, beautiful, moving, what one expects out of Atlas Sound.
NOW, what should have happened at this point, is that a backing band should have come out of the shadows, and accompanied him in a show that would have been energetic and fun, a celebration of life, something to inspire the crowd. Not a chance. That unbelievably happy-sounding song, "Walkabout" was played second--and it sounded about one hundred times more depressing than it does on record.
From there, things just got worse. At least on "Walkabout" there were flashes of a brilliant re-interpretation. There was one more inspired moment--Cox played "Flourescent Grey," a Deerhunter song that Jay Reatard once covered. At this point, when he sung about decaying bodies and flesh turning gray, and about someone else being his god in high school, the concert was transformed into an Artaud-esque exercise in cruelty. Everyone who knows and loves Deerhunter or Atlas Sound (this was my 4th time seeing Cox perform) knows that he is not the most emotionally-balanced individual, and deals with loads and loads of psychological, emotional, and physical pain on a daily basis--but this was the only time that I truly felt an artist wanted his audience to feel the way he felt--that is, horribly uncomfortable, pained, and heartbroken.
There was no "Sheila" or "Quick Canal" (the latter may have been played, in a haze of three or four long songs that I could not differentiate). "Criminals" was played, after a brief moment of Cox putting on some kind of persona--Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan--with a harmonica, and a pronounced southern drawl, and pretending to be so happy and "crowd-friendly" that it functioned as hyperbole. It seemed funny for about a second, and then just turned sad.
He told a weird story about Climax, GA, and Cumming, GA, and the Cumming Eye Clinic. Perhaps this was the only comforting part about the entire show--juvenile humor. Eventually he played an extremely long version of "Attic Lights," and I swore he said, "this song is about my death," as he started it.
The show went on until about 1:20 AM and when it ended, Bradford did genuinely thank everyone for coming out, but I think it was a great relief for all of us that we could leave. I tried playing my friend Logos in the car afterwards, and Rainwater Cassette Exchange in order to show how it should have sounded, how he was much better than this, but by then I was just annoyed.
He may have his reasons for playing onstage alone, but when I saw Atlas Sound at the Echo in L.A. in March of 2008, I had a great time! He was wearing a Wipers t-shirt, talking about how he had just bought it that day, he played an awesome version of "Ativan," and he was just so happy the entire time. Now, everyone knows that you can't really be happy 100% of the time ("I should know, I'm a doctor..."), BUT if you are a successful artist, charging $15 a pop for 500 people, with Lincoln Hall taking in $7,500 in ticket sales along, not counting convenience charges--maybe you are earning close to $1,000 for playing for 90 minutes. OK, I can see why you don't want backing musicians, but I really don't think Bradford is a greedy guy. He has his reasons, but at least one huge fan of his doesn't understand them. This was the most depressing musical experience of my life.
I still intend to see Deerhunter on April Fool's Day in Chicago. Obviously I forgive Bradford because he must be going through a really difficult time right now, but I really hope that show will come closer to meeting my expectations.
Monday, May 19, 2008
No Age - Nouns
No Age is an L.A. band that is apparently made up of two militant vegans obssessed with truth and not setting restrictions on the age limits at their shows. They're a serious indie rock band that seems to have worked their way through the system before their big buzz arrived with this album, and it is complementary for them that the lady who sold me my copy said she had sold three in the last hour. Rip it Off is not going to win TNV any new fans; Nouns is one of the best albums of the year, and I feel comfortable saying that in May. They're not going to get talked about like Vampire Weekend or be as big a band as Arcade Fire, but they're going to be big enough that they can sit comfortably alongside Lightning Bolt or Battles. That is not to say they are instrumental heavy--they are positively pop-song oriented on at least two tracks ("Teen Creeps" and "Sleeper Hold," best song on the album). They sound like what TNV would sound like if they had better production. Or, if their recording was more bass heavy than treble heavy. The "muddled" production on Nouns works to excellent effect, burying the vocals beneath the sound, but always so that they and the music are mutually complementary.
A track-by-track analysis of the album is too hard for me now. The album runs along like one huge song, with the more individual one sticking out from the rest (the previously mentioned two). I'm not saying there's only two good songs on the album and it's a masterpiece. It's complicated. It's not far off the mark to compare them to TNV; it's just far off to NOT ADMIT that they know how to make good music and TNV knows how to make it seem like they know how to make good music.
One final note: Nouns is great, but it's not a masterpiece. There will probably be 10 better albums than it this year, but it is damn good, and if their next album is a more fully-fleshed out pop album, then they will be hard to top. For now, there is too much formlessness, too much noise, it all blends together. It blends together nicely, and those two songs are really sweet, so yeah, they're a really good new band.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel
"A Ghost Story" is easily the creepiest song on the album, very powerful aesthetically, gets you into the mood of the album. If anyone thinks this song is cute or making too big of a deal about itself, I urge you to listen to it in the dark, with no lights on at night, and see if you don't start feeling like freaking out because a ghost is going to emerge from your closet.
"Recent Bedroom" opens up the "proper" album, as the first track acts as more of a "found object" sound collage. Immediately, you notice that Cox is going to sing very differently on Atlas Sound than on Deerhunter. Gone is the rapid, throaty, yelping and here is the grandiose, impossibly slow, highest-pitched, most angelic, comforting style to match any other current performer including Thom Yorke. The lyrics are very simple, I could practically write all the lyrics for the album in a paragraph (except for "River Card"): I walked outside/I could not cry/I don't know why. It's apparently about seeing a dying relative and not knowing how it makes you feel that it's not making you cry. Maybe it's a more complex sentiment than that but I like the ambiguity of emotion.
"River Card" is apparently based on a short story about falling in love with one's own reflection in a river. Cox intones how badly in love he is with this person that is actually only a reflected image, but he realizes that if he tried to throw himself into said cherished object he would only be drowned. It's a powerful statement.
"Quarantined" is apparently about how Cox spent weeks/months in a hospital having various surgeries performed on him and how alone he felt being away from everyone he knew. This is the first really weird song on the album, and you will know what I mean when you hear Cox sing, "Quarantined" for the first time: "Quar-an-tined/and kept/so far away/from my friends" but as weird as the pronunciation is, by its end the song has stretched into the kind of lilting sound aesthetic that Cox has carried throughout the entire album. He talked about how obsessed he was with the My Bloody Valentine album Loveless and how he would listen to it over and over, trying to understand how that band had pulled such ethereal sounds from their instruments and effects gadgets. Now, that album very famously was very expensive to make (most expensive indie rock album of all time, maybe?) topping out over a million dollars. It appears that Cox has made most of these recordings under rather bare circumstances, making his accomplishment all the more impressive.
The sound that enters in "Quarantined," a sort of melodic humming in the highest registers of pitch with an atmospheric glow, reappears in "On Guard," which is a song you can listen to and not even realize you are listening to it, like a bunch of songs on Cryptograms that are instrumental. Actually, it is easier to listen to "Winter Vacation" and think you are still listening to "On Guard," so similar as they sound to each other and so seamlessly do they blend together into one. However, "Cold as Ice" asserts itself in the mix next. This song is apparently (and this whole album, in a way is) about unrequited love, how you can be so close to one person and so in love with everything they do and how they can act as if everything's totally normal and you're just their friend and not someone who wants to be their lover...However such songs never reveal their meaning so clearly. The lyrics are left minimal and vague, which only serves to elevate them in the mind of the listener.
"Scraping Past" is the second weirdly-pronounced song after "Quarantined" and its ending does not enter into the soaring heights of that other black sheep of a song. Instead, it offers the most catharsis of any song on the album, Cox weirdly pronouncing "Scraping past" over and over, paying particular attention to the sound of every letter as it pertains to each word. "Small Horror" introduces the re-surfacing of the sound echo that carries the album, and is a rather minimalistic song, but serves as an appropriate taking off point for the final stunning 1/3 of the album.
"Ready, Set, Glow," an instrumental, minimalist, serves its purpose well. "Bite Marks" opens up with a sound that comes straight out of Loveless, I swear, and may be the closest thing to a misstep on the album It is not a bad song, but the meaning is difficult to decipher, and its bassline makes it sound as if it almost wants to be a pop song, but then it sounds so sad. I don't skip it anyways because I'm very concerned about upsetting the flow of the album. "After Class" is another instrumental that is probably slightly more interesting than "Ready, Set, Glow" but serves an even greater purpose.
"Ativan" is the last "song" on the album (the title track, another instrumental, closes it out) and, as I told a friend at the show we saw after they played it, the best song on the album. It is perhaps worth noting that the first time I listened to this album, I laid down to go to bed around "Small Horror" and I could not help but think about how amazing the album was as I tried to sleep, how remarkably good the songs were, how I could already tell it was a classic, timeless statement of a record, and how the ending was one of the best endings I had heard of an album in a long, long time. Now, after listening to "Ativan" dozens of times, it is not as special to me as it once was. But the first time I heard it I could not believe it was so good.
Apparently it is a song about anti-depressant drugs that Cox had been taking recently which have an addictive quality (I believe). The song is about sleeping until you throw up, or feel drunk, sleeping while the intended target of the song goes out to have "lunch with a girl who has hair as soft as baby's breath...lunch with a girl that takes time to listen to every word you utter," quite probably the most achingly sung lines on the album, and potentially the most heartbreaking. Regardless, LTBLTWCSBCF ends with the title-track instrumental, content with whimpering out the remainder of its energy on some far away sounding distorted guitar sounds.
I may have been exagerrating when I said that Random Spirit Lover might have been better than OK Computer, and people thought I was crazy when I said that, so I will not say that Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel is better than Loveless, but I will say that it tries damn hard to be. Unless some truly amazing work is released this year, Atlas Sound's debut deserves to be near the top of the year end best of 2008 lists. Unfortunately, I would imagine that most will not remember it by then. Indeed, it seems most don't even remember it now, even though it only came out a couple of months ago.
I went nuts when it came out and listened to it many times in a row and I went to see their show at the Echo in L.A. and they played most of the songs from the album and the only one that was different was "Ativan," which had been turned into a loud shoegaze song. If I hadn't been so afraid of coming off the wrong way, I could have interviewed Bradford Cox that night (I saw him outside, but he was already talking voluminously to someone so I didn't interrupt) and pulled together much more personal insight into this album review. But I believe I have done a good enough job.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Top Ten Albums of 2007
Sometime in January or February, I was asked to provide a list of my top 5 favorite albums of 2007 for the website I used to write for, http://www.downtownmoneywaster.com/ , on which you can read reviews of the newest Sunset Rubdown and Fiery Furnaces records, as well as a review of the Les Savy Fav/Blonde Redhead/LCD Soundsystem/Arcade Fire mega-concert at Randall's Island in October of 2007....As you can see we have some catching up to do.
Later I will cut and paste the Top 5 albums I prepared for that feature, which was disincluded due to management oversights. Also not ever included was a review I wrote of the film "Control" which will be added shortly thereafter to this blog.
#10
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Did this come out in 2007? It did right? Early in the year maybe, March or April at the latest. While not as tight and focused as 2006's Separation Sunday, BAGIA has an abundance of great songs which played live as well as the rest of their oeuvre. It is a slightly more ambitious offering than they've attempted in the past, and highly successful. Still not their best in my opinion, but evidence that they are certainly one of the best (and most prolific) bands currently at work.
#9
Fiery Furnaces - Widow City
Aforementioned in the DMW.com preface, Widow City holds up better than the Furnaces previous offering, Bitter Tea. Whether Blueberry Boat is better, I cannot say (but it probably is). Still, Widow City is almost like if their "EP" (arguably their single strongest release) were stretched out to a whole-album's length. "Ex-Guru" and "My Egyptian Grammar" and "Duplexes of the Dead"/"Automatic Husband" all point in a pop direction, while album opener "The Philadelphia Grand Jury" riffs on the typical FF songwriting approach (read: descriptions of weird jobs, Eleanor Friedberger making inane threats, paperwork and requirements at the municipal, state and federal level). "Uncle Charlie" might have been something on "EP" if they had written it earlier, a crazy drum-solo-opening scorcher which might be the best single song on the album (it is at least definitely the shortest). "Wicker Whatnots" contains my favorite single line on the album, which if you read my full review, will be referenced.
#8
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
I gave this album 5 stars and said it might be better than OK Computer when I reviewed it. Okay, I may have been exaggerating a little bit, but it's epic and beautiful from beginning to end in the same way. Barely a wasted track, barely a wasted minute, still very long, very dense, not worth explaining any further, just listen to the first track and if you like it, buy the album. Likewise for the previous review, additional comments will be found at the full album review on the previously mentioned website.
#7
Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
While it is not exactly "You're Living All Over Me" or what I used to regard as the best Dinosaur album "Where You Been," "Beyond" is an exercise in setting up a new template for an old band with an original lineup that may have never fully realized its potential. "Beyond" delivers on some of that-notably containing what must be Lou Barlow's best songs in the Dinosaur catalog. "Back to Your Heart" could pass for a Sebadoh song, but "Lightning Bulb" is the undisputed standout from this album, a vicious sarcastic vocal performance carrying the track into the catharsis zone. J Mascis's tracks are standard quality, "Almost Ready," "Been There All the Time," "Pick Me Up" are all very good, but it is not like listening to "The Lung" or "Out There" or "Freak Scene." You understand, but vs. Mission of Burma's The Obliterati (which could have nearly cracked the top 10), this new album from an old band wins out.
#6 (tie)
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; Interpol - Our Love to Admire
These albums are tied as they came out on the same day, are the most commercial releases from two indie rock powerhouses yet, I bought them at the same record store visit, and they are both very high quality albums (if you want to berate me for including Interpol, just be happy I didn't include the third crazy album to be released that same day in July last year, Smashing Pumpkins's "Zeitgeist," which may have been better than Machina, and I may have called it the best thing since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but which has proved a bit boring after just a few months). Spoon's album received praise for being their best yet, and in a way Spoon are just a very consistent quality band that doesn't put out bad albums. Oeuvre rule: I don't have "Kill the Moonlight" (except for the song "The Way We Get By" which is probably the best song for me to have off it), but "Girls Can Tell," "Gimme Fiction," and "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" solidify Spoon as an act deserving of the mainstream, but one which is clearly uninterested, as evidenced by their partnership with Merge.
Interpol, on the other hand, are no longer on Matador, but Capitol, and "Our Love to Admire" is the major-label debut. When Sonic Youth put out their first album (Goo) on a major label they wanted to call it "Blowjob," and in the same way Interpol put out their most lyrically subversive album. The upfront subject matter of "No I in Threesome" is kinky sex and "Rest My Chemistry" is about doing cocaine and groupies that are "so young." However, unlike Spoon, Interpol is not going to shy away from ambitions to reach the masses. Seeing them live at Lollapalooza last year proved the point, with thousands singing along to every line of every song played. Pitchfork may have slammed the album with a mediocre review, but they also said "Turn on the Bright Lights" was the best album of 2002 (which it wasn't). Their review of "Antics" was spot on, and in my opinion, like Spoon, Interpol is an extremely consistent high-quality band. This album does drag in a couple of spots, and to be honest "Antics" is probably a better album from top to bottom (and it is also probably better than TOTBL though people will castigate me for this belief), but it is just as fresh and original as Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Maybe it is heavier and sadder and more bloated, but that just makes it a big, messy, overstated clunker of an album that is better than it actually seems. It's just too bad that "The Heinrich Manuever" wasn't secretly a song about Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich.
#5
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
A very personal album, filled with fragility and bitterness, strained down into a mad pop album. It comes complete with one of the hallmark singles of 2007, "Heimdesgate Like a Promethean Curse," and the furious epic "The Past is a Grotesque Animal." This is a very over the top album, but successful for being completely unique in its own regard. The companion piece EP, "Icons, Abstract Thee" is equally as good as the album.
#4
Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Certainly one of the most interestings bands to come out in recent years, Deerhunter played some of the most crushing flat-out noise rock, some of the druggiest ambient instrumentals, and some of the saddest, sweetest pop songs of 2007. The stomp of "Cryptograms" and "Lake Somerset" sits alongside the ebb and the flow "Providence" and the "White Ink" and "Red Ink" pieces, while "Strange Lights" and "Hazel St" take the album to its highest peaks. The companion EP "Flourescent Grey" is equally as good as the album, and it contains what is probably their best song, "Wash Off."
#3
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Well any Radiohead album is bound to be good, right? But in truth I found "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" to be a bit boring, and while I thought "Hail to the Thief" was a step in the right direction, there were still a lot of songs I'd skip on it. I don't want to do that as much with "In Rainbows." Every song is nearly perfect in its own way. "Bodysnatchers" reclaims that nervous crazy loud rock that Radiohead used to play on occasion and is probably my favorite song by them since "Paranoid Android." "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" and "Videotape" put Thom Yorke at his clearest and most fragile, and surprise surprise, he pulls it off perfectly. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" sort of sums up the best parts of the album--it's not dumbed down, it just rocks more, and its more fun to listen to.
#2
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Panda Bear has eclipsed all the work Animal Collective with "Person Pitch" easily the year's most beautiful album. It is difficult to say much about the album without representing it incorrectly. Many people say it is very Beach Boys, but it is completely its own thing to me, and if there is one word that could sum up the album it would be: warmth.
#1
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
The consensus choice for 2007 album of the year, and it totally deserves it. I'm not going to say something different just to be different. This album deserves to be recognized as the best thing that came out this year. "All My Friends" is arguably one of the greatest songs of all time, and many people seemed to say "Someone Great" is great (but I find it annoying that the exact same song, minus the words, is part of "45:33"), no matter, "Get Innocuous" is an amazing album opener, and "North American Scum" is still a very popular single (I heard it on the radio yesterday morning 103.1 in L.A., at 6:50 AM) a year after its release. The lyrics are excellent, the beats are flawless, the musicianship is superb, and in general the only thing that sucks about this album is that you can listen to it a lot and then want to listen to it more and then decide that you're listening to it too much, and finally you're sick of it, and you only care about it again when mentioning that it was your favorite album in 2007.
Later I will cut and paste the Top 5 albums I prepared for that feature, which was disincluded due to management oversights. Also not ever included was a review I wrote of the film "Control" which will be added shortly thereafter to this blog.
#10
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Did this come out in 2007? It did right? Early in the year maybe, March or April at the latest. While not as tight and focused as 2006's Separation Sunday, BAGIA has an abundance of great songs which played live as well as the rest of their oeuvre. It is a slightly more ambitious offering than they've attempted in the past, and highly successful. Still not their best in my opinion, but evidence that they are certainly one of the best (and most prolific) bands currently at work.
#9
Fiery Furnaces - Widow City
Aforementioned in the DMW.com preface, Widow City holds up better than the Furnaces previous offering, Bitter Tea. Whether Blueberry Boat is better, I cannot say (but it probably is). Still, Widow City is almost like if their "EP" (arguably their single strongest release) were stretched out to a whole-album's length. "Ex-Guru" and "My Egyptian Grammar" and "Duplexes of the Dead"/"Automatic Husband" all point in a pop direction, while album opener "The Philadelphia Grand Jury" riffs on the typical FF songwriting approach (read: descriptions of weird jobs, Eleanor Friedberger making inane threats, paperwork and requirements at the municipal, state and federal level). "Uncle Charlie" might have been something on "EP" if they had written it earlier, a crazy drum-solo-opening scorcher which might be the best single song on the album (it is at least definitely the shortest). "Wicker Whatnots" contains my favorite single line on the album, which if you read my full review, will be referenced.
#8
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
I gave this album 5 stars and said it might be better than OK Computer when I reviewed it. Okay, I may have been exaggerating a little bit, but it's epic and beautiful from beginning to end in the same way. Barely a wasted track, barely a wasted minute, still very long, very dense, not worth explaining any further, just listen to the first track and if you like it, buy the album. Likewise for the previous review, additional comments will be found at the full album review on the previously mentioned website.
#7
Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
While it is not exactly "You're Living All Over Me" or what I used to regard as the best Dinosaur album "Where You Been," "Beyond" is an exercise in setting up a new template for an old band with an original lineup that may have never fully realized its potential. "Beyond" delivers on some of that-notably containing what must be Lou Barlow's best songs in the Dinosaur catalog. "Back to Your Heart" could pass for a Sebadoh song, but "Lightning Bulb" is the undisputed standout from this album, a vicious sarcastic vocal performance carrying the track into the catharsis zone. J Mascis's tracks are standard quality, "Almost Ready," "Been There All the Time," "Pick Me Up" are all very good, but it is not like listening to "The Lung" or "Out There" or "Freak Scene." You understand, but vs. Mission of Burma's The Obliterati (which could have nearly cracked the top 10), this new album from an old band wins out.
#6 (tie)
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; Interpol - Our Love to Admire
These albums are tied as they came out on the same day, are the most commercial releases from two indie rock powerhouses yet, I bought them at the same record store visit, and they are both very high quality albums (if you want to berate me for including Interpol, just be happy I didn't include the third crazy album to be released that same day in July last year, Smashing Pumpkins's "Zeitgeist," which may have been better than Machina, and I may have called it the best thing since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but which has proved a bit boring after just a few months). Spoon's album received praise for being their best yet, and in a way Spoon are just a very consistent quality band that doesn't put out bad albums. Oeuvre rule: I don't have "Kill the Moonlight" (except for the song "The Way We Get By" which is probably the best song for me to have off it), but "Girls Can Tell," "Gimme Fiction," and "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" solidify Spoon as an act deserving of the mainstream, but one which is clearly uninterested, as evidenced by their partnership with Merge.
Interpol, on the other hand, are no longer on Matador, but Capitol, and "Our Love to Admire" is the major-label debut. When Sonic Youth put out their first album (Goo) on a major label they wanted to call it "Blowjob," and in the same way Interpol put out their most lyrically subversive album. The upfront subject matter of "No I in Threesome" is kinky sex and "Rest My Chemistry" is about doing cocaine and groupies that are "so young." However, unlike Spoon, Interpol is not going to shy away from ambitions to reach the masses. Seeing them live at Lollapalooza last year proved the point, with thousands singing along to every line of every song played. Pitchfork may have slammed the album with a mediocre review, but they also said "Turn on the Bright Lights" was the best album of 2002 (which it wasn't). Their review of "Antics" was spot on, and in my opinion, like Spoon, Interpol is an extremely consistent high-quality band. This album does drag in a couple of spots, and to be honest "Antics" is probably a better album from top to bottom (and it is also probably better than TOTBL though people will castigate me for this belief), but it is just as fresh and original as Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Maybe it is heavier and sadder and more bloated, but that just makes it a big, messy, overstated clunker of an album that is better than it actually seems. It's just too bad that "The Heinrich Manuever" wasn't secretly a song about Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich.
#5
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
A very personal album, filled with fragility and bitterness, strained down into a mad pop album. It comes complete with one of the hallmark singles of 2007, "Heimdesgate Like a Promethean Curse," and the furious epic "The Past is a Grotesque Animal." This is a very over the top album, but successful for being completely unique in its own regard. The companion piece EP, "Icons, Abstract Thee" is equally as good as the album.
#4
Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Certainly one of the most interestings bands to come out in recent years, Deerhunter played some of the most crushing flat-out noise rock, some of the druggiest ambient instrumentals, and some of the saddest, sweetest pop songs of 2007. The stomp of "Cryptograms" and "Lake Somerset" sits alongside the ebb and the flow "Providence" and the "White Ink" and "Red Ink" pieces, while "Strange Lights" and "Hazel St" take the album to its highest peaks. The companion EP "Flourescent Grey" is equally as good as the album, and it contains what is probably their best song, "Wash Off."
#3
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Well any Radiohead album is bound to be good, right? But in truth I found "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" to be a bit boring, and while I thought "Hail to the Thief" was a step in the right direction, there were still a lot of songs I'd skip on it. I don't want to do that as much with "In Rainbows." Every song is nearly perfect in its own way. "Bodysnatchers" reclaims that nervous crazy loud rock that Radiohead used to play on occasion and is probably my favorite song by them since "Paranoid Android." "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" and "Videotape" put Thom Yorke at his clearest and most fragile, and surprise surprise, he pulls it off perfectly. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" sort of sums up the best parts of the album--it's not dumbed down, it just rocks more, and its more fun to listen to.
#2
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Panda Bear has eclipsed all the work Animal Collective with "Person Pitch" easily the year's most beautiful album. It is difficult to say much about the album without representing it incorrectly. Many people say it is very Beach Boys, but it is completely its own thing to me, and if there is one word that could sum up the album it would be: warmth.
#1
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
The consensus choice for 2007 album of the year, and it totally deserves it. I'm not going to say something different just to be different. This album deserves to be recognized as the best thing that came out this year. "All My Friends" is arguably one of the greatest songs of all time, and many people seemed to say "Someone Great" is great (but I find it annoying that the exact same song, minus the words, is part of "45:33"), no matter, "Get Innocuous" is an amazing album opener, and "North American Scum" is still a very popular single (I heard it on the radio yesterday morning 103.1 in L.A., at 6:50 AM) a year after its release. The lyrics are excellent, the beats are flawless, the musicianship is superb, and in general the only thing that sucks about this album is that you can listen to it a lot and then want to listen to it more and then decide that you're listening to it too much, and finally you're sick of it, and you only care about it again when mentioning that it was your favorite album in 2007.
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