There comes a time where you can’t tell anymore where one thing starts and another thing ends — where there was a middle and the middle doesn’t matter anymore. When this time comes, it happens and it’s as though it’s always happened, been happening, will happen unconditionally for a forever that speaks in the tone and colour of everyday things — a wristwatch on the dresser and a sun in the sky. There was an A and a B and a line between them — there was a place to go and a place to come from. There was everything in between. But all at once there’s everything, and “all” and “once” are meaningless. Words fall from your mouth like a dead horse falls in the dirt.
And suddenly, that’s a feeling you’re familiar with.
A few sort of jumbled words for High Violet, the new album by The National.
I think I agree with most of what the guy over at Chromewaves has to say. To suggest it’s “more of the same” or a plateau after Boxer is probably pretty spot on; this album is certain more National songs that sound like National songs, specifically Boxer songs. And I don’t think this should really disappoint anyone. I mean, how many bands knock us out with one amazing, long-lasting album and then come back to disappoint? With The National it’s been sheer consistency — everything in their catalog is excellent or at least above average. And it’s certain despite this album holding firmly to The National’s previous winning formula and not really pushing forward too much, there’s a sense in a couple of places that they’re looking to budge their sound in different directions — the exploration of noise in songs like “Terrible Love”, is one example.
And it’s true that songs like “Bloodbuzz Ohio”, “Conversation 16″ and “England,” are maybe the most National-y National songs yet. Which for me is a really good thing. I can’t stop listening to these; they’re my favourites. I think the best part about The National and these songs in particular is the magic realism element, or the way certain fantastical elements sweep into the fold of the very real-life, late-twenties/early-thirties dread that’s at the forefront of the band’s lyrics (and of High Violet more than anywhere before). It’s what makes The National’s catalog, to quote Ian Mathers, “oddly touching and at times very funny.”** And, I’ll add, what makes them a band worth listening to above the same band that’s set just in stark portrayals of (a depressed) life. The clarity of images like being “carried…in a swarm of bees”, or falling asleep in a lover’s “branches” can be effortlessly decoded into reality but still provide us with the magical perspective of the speaker — it’s as though he’s trying to let his dreams flood into the obviously dreary and colourless existence he inhabits, but maybe those dreams also become dark and sad in the process.
I’ll add as a sidenote that my favourite part about “Conversation 16″ is the way the propulsive verses snap back in from the chorus, which soars and floats above.
**This makes me think most of all of the “I was afraid I’d eat your brains” line from “Conversation 16.”
Nina Nastasia might be my favourite female singer-songwriter eva, which is saying a lot (too much?), but there’s something here that isn’t exactly like anything else. Above all, she’s really great at “characterizing” her songs. They always “sound” like what she’s singing about, and create an elegantly cast world for the song to exist in. And the characters she speaks for, or speaks as, are richer for the subtleties of her delivery — sighs, trailing syllables, dropped melodies. She’s not really that great of a singer, but she makes up for it in the impression she puts on each word she sings or speaks. She understands, above all, that her songs are like stories, and that stories are best told with feeling and immediacy.
The above song is the first track from her new 2010 release, called Outlaster, which has a kind of cover that reminds me of Beetlejuice (the cartoon, I think). The album isn’t out yet; there’s a scene rip floating around but I’m just waiting for the official release to get something with a bit better quality. I have high hopes, though.
The line that gets to me the most here (and there’s always at least one in each of her songs) is the one about the “sixth grade picture.”
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I have two music reviews worth sharing, and both come from Coke Machine Glow, from the same posting date. They’re not really important for the specifics of the album they’re reviewing, but rather for what they’re saying about the broader picture of what it is they’re talking about.
This one concerns Broken Social Scene’s Forgiveness Rock Record. And despite it being classic CMG in its seemingly reactionary/against-the-grain score, it actually offers a lot of food for thought about when a band’s reputation, shtick, cred or “aura” overtakes their actual music, or how that music is interpreted or criticized. This topic is a bit complex, simply because I think we all listen to music which to some degree makes us “seem cool” or “appear x,” and it’s hard/impossible to separate art from artist or art from culture, but BSS is probably the perfect band to target for this purpose.
I’m on board with the total critical dismissal of BSS’s “political pedantry…reductive Liberal platitudes and flat sloganeering”, and I think, to build on what the writer says about “more is better” in the article, that supergroups are a tough deal. Now that these guys are all semi-famous with solo careers or in their own bands on Arts & Crafts, it’s no surprise that an album with so many people is going to sound cluttered and directionless.
The second article is about Lucky Soul’s new album, but it’s more about how “the album” is still such a stalwart in the make-or-break of artists’ careers — an (indie) artist is pretty much forced to release a full-length album at some point and the critical success or failure of that album will affect their career irrevocably. An EP won’t do and singles are out of the question. So the question is, what happened to the single, and why can’t a band be successful as a singles band? Why can’t we have an indie-pop singles band, like the Sarah Records bands of yore, or why can’t singles be accepted as full-on artistic statement? I totally agree, but I think it would be hard for me in particular to break my need for a full-length of worth. The album’s been entrenched for so long, it tends to make us all think twice about “the end of the album,” which the article also discusses at the start.
hey so this sounds like it could be some kind of huge deal. maybe like the second coming of “Hey Ya,” and that said maybe even without the involvement of big boi and andre. it’s a strange track that doesn’t really fit with gaga or beyonce or whatever else one considers current “hot dance track,” but i still get the sense that everyone’s going to bite their teeth into this like an ice cream sandwich and, for better or worse, hold on without worrying if its going to melt around their fingers. it’s got some kind of charm. also, daaancing. also, mirror-face goons. take note.
k carly i made one. i won’t wager that this is what you’re looking for but i did the sort of thing i thought. it’s got some big hits on it. you might like some of the songs and especially song 6 because i just know these things. also get over yourself and get into the high-pitched parts on track 2, and hey, a band with a difficult-to-spell semi-precious-stone in their name can’t be half-bad. the spoon song is good cause it sounds like a spoon song and the broken bells song is included because it sounds like a spoon song, too. especially because of the particular way they do the hand-clapping. something about a ladyfinger? pavement’s seminal, so. book-ended it with covers, seemed like a good idea. i can’t remember who “the orchids” is by, but i know it’s a cover and also the best song from that particular califone album. i made it the last song even though it’s directly in the middle on that album. it’s called Roots & Crowns. it’s all right. i own the cd. it was an impulse buy. jonsi, he’s the guy from sigur ros. i skipped the accent on the french-titled song, but it should be there, i know. those .zip files get angry about the accents, sometimes. “mouthful of diamonds” is maybe my favourite song of the year… maybe? it sounds like “hysteric.” as good. white hinterland, i don’t know. it’s the first song. and john k. because every compilation needs a weight at the end of the happy strings, like a collection of helium balloons. all songs from 2009 or 2010 unless otherwise noted… let’s try to remain as much in the present as we can.
Tracklisting
01. The Tallest Man On Earth – Graceland (cover)
02. Wild Beasts – All The King’s Men
03. Spoon – Mystery Zone
04. Woodpigeon – Enchantee, Janvier
05. John K. Samson – Grace General
06. Joanna Newsom – ‘81**
07. Jonsi – Boy Lilikoi
08. Phantogram – Mouthful Of Diamonds
09. Pavement – Gold Soundz (1994)
10. White Hinterland – Icarus
11. Broken Bells – The Ghost Inside
12. Adam & The Amethysts – Bumble Bee (2008)
13. Califone – The Orchids (cover) (2006)
**may not actually be a joanna newsom song. listening advised, even encouraged.
Nothing much to report on the long haul. A lot of music this year though, don’t you think? A lot. I’m blown away by what’s still to come, namely Sleigh Bells, The Hold Steady, The National. A few words:
The Jonsi album is pretty good… it sounds a lot like the songs that might’ve come after the first couple of tracks from the last Sigur Ros album, which really fills a gap for me. The songs are happy, summery, crowded like a Korean subway car with lovely noise and melody. Uplifting, jam-packed-happy stuff. Like a firecracker. The Jonsi-singing-in-English bit is a little strange for me though. I don’t know if I’ll get used to it or if it might just dissuade me from liking the album more.
This new Titus Andronicus album is really tossing me around as well. I never liked the debut much, but this one really reminds me that rock records can be as creatively forward as Lifted… was. Dude totally sounds like Conor Oberst though, so there’s something there. It takes about as much away (maybe) from the album as Jonsi does (maybe) by singing in English.
We’ll see.
This new Eluvium album is pretty great… and now I’ve never heard much Eluvium before but this one’s important (supposedly) because the guy is singing for once. He sounds all right. The songs are airy and kinda sound exactly like you’d expect songs from an artist named “Eluvium” to sound. Anyways I expect it’s the kind of album you need to hear via headphone for it to gain some ground, so I’m going to do that when I get the chance.
Tunng has a new album out. I think I’m the only Tunng fan I know, so I’ll leave it at that.
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I’m considering putting together a little decade-end bunch-of-narratives about the music I’ve heard to get me where I am today, but we’ll see if that gets off the ground. Anyways. Boring post.
I made you a mix. It’s a little (okay, a lot) rushed, but it’s a present for you because I’m leaving. I tried to keep the themes intact. I don’t think I did, necessarily, but I tried. I wanted to include some kind of new Shearwater track or some snippet of a new Los Campesinos! shouting match or that song called “Downtown Seoul” by The Mountain Goats, but I didn’t have the time or energy. Maybe next time. Anyways, there you have it. It’s only 12 minutes long. And it’s got this awesome Johnny Boy remix in full. And there’s a Mountain Goats easter egg sort of deal, so yea.
For the record I didn’t cut together the sound-clip-people-talking parts (”I get up…”, “the next stage of our lives”, “happy…”), those are Cassetteboy songs. Cassetteboy is pretty awesome, but I’m not sure if it’s music. Check out Cassetteboy. They made this mix possible.
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A lot of new music bouncing around so I’ll try to have some new posts in a week or four.
The Octagon are the “freshest” sound right now for me and I think it’s because they combine everything I like about (pop) punk (and grunge?) with everything I like about hooks with everything I like about lo-fi. Also, their songs are short, which helps. Short songs, you know? Get in, get out. Rock for a while, then stop. What’s not to love there? The shortness is also in part the reason for them getting constantly compared with Guided By Voices, which is accurate enough (and a fine enough artist to be compared to), so if you’re big thing is Bee Thousand, definitely check them out. Or if you liked anything remotely associated with “punk” from 1990-2003.
Every so often I get the sense that I’ve already written about a certain song I’m about to post… this is one of those songs. Hell, maybe I have — I didn’t check. It’s the kind of song you love immediately, thrice — when the first guitar notes ring in and then again when Cave starts his deep-deep singing about surreal descriptions, and lastly at the chorus, which thankfully returns about fifty times over (just try to get sick of it). In general it’s pretty sexy, too. But what did you expect? Goodbye.
I’ve already talked a bit about Doveman in the comments of the previous post, but I’d like to reiterate that his new record, The Conformist, really stands atop the records I’ve heard post 2009-list-making. I haven’t really heard that many*, but I guess what I mean is that if I’d heard this record any time before the list-making happened, it would’ve made said list.
It’s a capital-b-beautiful record, lush and soft and billowy like the biggest clouds, while always threatening to be blown away by a big gust of wind or to be cut in two by a 747. And it’s a wonderful meeting of vocal timbre, instrumentation and content — the always-kind-of-whispering, wobbly vocals and the often sparse (but steadily growing) arrangements help the heartbreak narrative. These songs have a great catch-and-release quality that mirrors the best of Elbow.
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*I’ve just downloaded a lot of the big, much anticipated releases for Jan and Feb 2010, including Heartland, Transference, Contra, and Romance Is Boring, along with a bunch of other suspect releases from the end of 2009 and early 2010. I should have some opinions or thereabouts in a little while. Can’t say much now except that I thought the video for “Cousins” was a clever enough take on the band-just-performing style of videos (no comment on the song itself, though). Also, I feel like this is part of a new trend where you reveal the should-be-hidden mechanics of videos (in this case, the slide-track deal, which is also featured, incidentally, in the Mountain Goats’ video for “Ezekiel 7″).
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If you read music criticism, the best two bits have just happened/are wrapping up right now. They are The Stylus Decade and The Singles Jukebox 2009 Best-Off (it starts way back here), which are both Stylus Magazine related (the former even more so than the latter). The Decade is a review of the Noughties by the former Stylus writers, including articles and Singles/Albums lists, and the Best-Off is a World Cup-like showdown of the Jukebox’s highest rated singles of 2009. Swifty’s most likely going to take it with “You Belong With Me,” but we’ll see.
