summerteeth (wilco)
This is my favorite Wilco album that I've heard. It has a much stronger energy than the other albums I've heard… less musty, creaky, experimental than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, not nearly as tentative or slow as Sky Blue Sky. Just a series of strongly driven, well played, fun songs- the most noticeable difference coming in the hardness, the loudness of the electric guitars. Easily the most relistenable Wilco record I've heard.
The opening track, "Can't Stand It," instantly won me over with that dramatic riff at the top… just instantly establishing a tone of drama and authority. "ELT" is my favorite (for now- they're all pretty good in their own way, and I feel like my preferences will evolve) of the other upbeat, guitar-and-driven harmony tracks. "When You Wake Up Feeling Old" is my favorite of the slower songs… sweet jangle of the guitar, an endearing twinkle of the piano, and a sense of uplift. And "Summer Teeth" is a pretty masterful track- that upbeat pop, the intriguing lyrics, the guitar sound with some flashes of that experimental energy. A good track, worth relistening and reexamining.
I had almost given up on this band, or at least gotten bored with going to their albums for review material, but this one really won me over, right off the bat. Good one guys!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
album #89
still night, still light (au revoir simone)
This is a thoroughly mild, cool album. More than most of what I've listened to this year, this makes me think of dancing at a house party where I feel a little out of place, a little out-cooled. Sexy, indie Brooklyn hipsterdom, that's what this record sounds like. One of the songs is even about breaking up with a guy and (very sincerely, empathetically) asking him to move on… the sort of song that, of course, an impossibly cool, attractive girl (such as the girls of ARS) would write. I don't mean to sound defensive or cliquish… it's just what the music makes me think of.
This is a nice record, they have a pretty sound… the soft vocals, the twinkling synths. But I never really loved it. In fact, this record is probably one of the most mild I've heard all year- I like everything, I dislike pretty much nothing, I strongly like pretty much nothing. It flies hard and narrow into the 'okay' zone. "Another Likely Story" is nice, and I like "Anywhere You Looked"- this sounds like the song I'd dance to if I saw these guys in person, didn't love it, but tried to convince myself I did, and was thus dancing/jamming when they played this. It kinda reminds me of being a sophomore and knowing only that I wanted to be cooler, without being sure what would get me there.
The one Au Revoir Simone track I really loved was "Through the Backyards of our Neighbors"- just a beautiful track. But that's not on this record. I'll have to find the album with that song and see if I like it better than this one.
This is a thoroughly mild, cool album. More than most of what I've listened to this year, this makes me think of dancing at a house party where I feel a little out of place, a little out-cooled. Sexy, indie Brooklyn hipsterdom, that's what this record sounds like. One of the songs is even about breaking up with a guy and (very sincerely, empathetically) asking him to move on… the sort of song that, of course, an impossibly cool, attractive girl (such as the girls of ARS) would write. I don't mean to sound defensive or cliquish… it's just what the music makes me think of.
This is a nice record, they have a pretty sound… the soft vocals, the twinkling synths. But I never really loved it. In fact, this record is probably one of the most mild I've heard all year- I like everything, I dislike pretty much nothing, I strongly like pretty much nothing. It flies hard and narrow into the 'okay' zone. "Another Likely Story" is nice, and I like "Anywhere You Looked"- this sounds like the song I'd dance to if I saw these guys in person, didn't love it, but tried to convince myself I did, and was thus dancing/jamming when they played this. It kinda reminds me of being a sophomore and knowing only that I wanted to be cooler, without being sure what would get me there.
The one Au Revoir Simone track I really loved was "Through the Backyards of our Neighbors"- just a beautiful track. But that's not on this record. I'll have to find the album with that song and see if I like it better than this one.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
album #88
all hour cymbals (yeasayer)
I don't love it, but I like it. I almost wonder if I listened to this album too much- if the experimental boldness wore off on me and I realized that I just wasn't super in-love with a lot of the melodies. Much of the second half of the album is a little slow for my tastes, although the first half starts pretty strong. There are highlights, there's some cool stuff, from a creative perspective I definitely appreciate this record, but I think I've listened a little too much to love it.
The clearest influences here are Bowie, Eno and TV on the Radio- that interest in sound, rhythm, vocals that swing from low serenades to stirring tribal choruses. Even when the tracks are a little boring, there's a thick field of sound to each song- buzzing, lush, busy sound. Some standout tracks: "Wait for the Summer," my favorite- an almost cinematic sense of drama, a lovely eastern influence, and a truly beautiful wave of choral "la's" near the end. "2080" sounds a lot like TVOTR or (at the beginning) the Smiths- an tense guitar, a beautiful swell of vocals. I instantly liked "Forgiveness"- very weird, heavily synthesized sounds, strange, shitfting pace, great rhythyms with a somewhat tribal, choral feeling in the vocals. And "Red Cave" ends the album on a high note, a spiritual almost.
In fact, looking back on it, that seems to be the common thread of the album- something spiritual to it, each track is like an invocation, a holy tribal chant, rich with interesting, strange patterns of sound. The element that separates my favorites is the richness or interestingness of the melody.
I don't love it, but I like it. I almost wonder if I listened to this album too much- if the experimental boldness wore off on me and I realized that I just wasn't super in-love with a lot of the melodies. Much of the second half of the album is a little slow for my tastes, although the first half starts pretty strong. There are highlights, there's some cool stuff, from a creative perspective I definitely appreciate this record, but I think I've listened a little too much to love it.
The clearest influences here are Bowie, Eno and TV on the Radio- that interest in sound, rhythm, vocals that swing from low serenades to stirring tribal choruses. Even when the tracks are a little boring, there's a thick field of sound to each song- buzzing, lush, busy sound. Some standout tracks: "Wait for the Summer," my favorite- an almost cinematic sense of drama, a lovely eastern influence, and a truly beautiful wave of choral "la's" near the end. "2080" sounds a lot like TVOTR or (at the beginning) the Smiths- an tense guitar, a beautiful swell of vocals. I instantly liked "Forgiveness"- very weird, heavily synthesized sounds, strange, shitfting pace, great rhythyms with a somewhat tribal, choral feeling in the vocals. And "Red Cave" ends the album on a high note, a spiritual almost.
In fact, looking back on it, that seems to be the common thread of the album- something spiritual to it, each track is like an invocation, a holy tribal chant, rich with interesting, strange patterns of sound. The element that separates my favorites is the richness or interestingness of the melody.
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