These songs are all really short. It’s like someone made a CliffsNotes (that’s how they spell it now — look it up) version of a Cocteau Twins record. This is like those 100-calorie packs of Oreos you can buy that cost more than a whole box of Oreos but apparently help you when you can’t make your own decisions about what you want to eat.
“Beating Heart” is the first track and a pretty good way to understand what La Sera can bear. “You’re Going to Cry” is a nice track, but the bridge is mixed a little louder than one would expect.
Fans of the Softies and twee in general will melt into the floor when they hear “I Promise You.” It’s a good thing a pen isn’t nearby, because I’d sign my life away right now. “Hold” is also similar in style. Good stuff. Jen Sbragia would be proud.
“Devils Hearts Grow Gold” has a rhythm similar to a lot of Everclear songs, although of course the lyrics are completely different. But the bassline is the same as “I Will Write You a New Song,” er, I mean, “I Will Buy You a New Life.”
This record is a lot of fun, and I hope they come to the South Bay soon, headlining a Grand Fanali Presents bill at Nickel City.
Archive for the ‘KSCU’ Category
La Sera “La Sera”
July 17, 2011Rad Cloud “Super Kung Fu”
July 17, 2011This is not Kung Fu USA, another San Francisco band. They’re fairly similar, though, with the key difference in garage rock sound being that there is a bit of surf rock thrown in here. “She Writes Her Letters” sounds like Run for Cover Lovers if the organ were synths instead. This one is pretty amazing, especially the chorus.
“The Spooky Movie” is a bit of a pop culture reach, but it’s fun the same way an episode of Family Guy is. “California Totally Rad” also sounds like a Run for Cover Lovers number. This one is my favorite.
This record is a rad excuse to play local music. They are probably fun live and sell witty T-shirts as well.
Lykke Li “Wounded Rhymes”
July 17, 2011Like a steal in the NFL Draft, this record fell to me, and unfortunately I’m just now retrieving it from the black hole known as “the stack of stuff to review.” Sorry, KSCU. You shouldn’t have let it come to this.
Lykke Li? Great stuff? Record of the year? Yes, yes, and yes. It’s the same story on her second album, Wounded Rhymes, as it was on Youth Novels. The similarly named “Youth Knows No Pain” leads off and is freakin’ awesome.
That everything old is new again is super action cool. “Love Out of Lust” has hints of Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Book of Love throughout. It’s like drinking a rose wine. “Get Some” makes me want to. I bet this one is a single. It’s fine, but there’s too much going on. It sounds like if Gigi dropped the ’60s facade.
“Sadness Is a Blessing” slows it down and better have been played at proms everywhere. “Jerome” is another winner of a track. It makes me think of East Jerome in the Sims Online, even though I never lived there. This one is like a less-melodic version of Tilly and the Wall, replete with what sounds a bit like tap-dancing percussion.
Abbe May “Mammalian Location”
July 17, 2011You know, “Abbe” is usually the name that doesn’t have an “e” at the end of it, while “May” can. Maybe her real name is “Abby Mae.” That seems as if it can be Catholic, or maybe even Jesuit, which works really well for SCU, goddammit.
Uh, it’s a single with a remix and a B-side. The first track is the single. The second is the remix. Both are standard rock ‘n’ roll tracks, although the remix has a little bit of synth — but not necessarily dance-based percussion.
The B-side is “Disney on Acid.” And yeah, it has that psychedelic guitar thing going on.
Pixsid “Atoms Apart”
July 10, 2011It’s music to trip to — 15 years ago it would have been called “trip-hop.” I don’t know what the kids call it today. What’s odd is how short the tracks are, but maybe that’s how it works now.
“Paper Hearts (So Horny Mix)” is an instrumental until the final five seconds, but it’s good for talking over. “Lullaby” sounds like a Portishead track, although the voice is just a bit too shrill. The Adrian Carter Mix is better although still a bit jarring.
“Wish I” is more along the lines of what I would expect from this act. It sounds like some spacier Everything But the Girl stuff, and the vocals are mixed in a more flattering matter.
There’s not enough of this out there, so it’s a welcome addition, but I hope the next record has more polish.
The Luyas “Too Beautiful to Work”
July 10, 2011That’s what I’m talking about: female vocals and synth-dominated accompaniment. Not like La Roux but more like Stereolab. It’s so good I can’t write in complete sentences.
The title track leads off and is absolute bliss. If anything the singing could use a little more confidence, but this is picking nits. “Tiny Head” isn’t about flat beer, but it certainly could be. This one is slightly psychedelic.
Fans of Hope Sandoval (lead singer of Mazzy Star) will tweet their love of “Canary.” This song is, er, Topps and a true one-of-one. This one is good with headphones.
Is “Cold Canada” about beer? I mean, one of these songs has to be about beer, right? The accompaniment is more frenetic than on other tracks, so if you wanted the trippy sound of “Tiny Head” with a little more noise, go north, baby.
“Seeing Things” is the last track and is slower and more subdued. All in all it’s a great way to end a fun record. I’m a fan of The Luyas — mark it down.
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion “Bright Examples”
July 10, 2011This one gets me right here. (Imagine where I’m pointing.) Ms. Guthrie knows what her voice can do, and she applies it to the music well. The result is perfectly balanced composition. They go for that She-and-Him-Matt-&-Kim vibe that we all know and love, but that’s fine. They do it the right way.
“Ahead of Myself” sets the tone right off the bat. The music reminds me of Wallflowers, of all things.
If you want something in the Neko Case vein, give “Seven Sisters” a try. These acts always veer into the both-types-of-music vein (that would be country and western) from time to time, but that’s OK. It’s quite believable here.
“Hurry Up and Wait” makes me want to go to the Opera House Casino and get a one-pound chicken fried steak dinner for $5.99. But the difference is that this song isn’t good for a limited time only.
Some songs are made for movie soundtracks, and “Butterflies” is one of them. When Kristen Wiig or one of her ilk is driving around trying to figure out why she always fucks things up, this is the song that plays on the car stereo. If the director is really smart, he tells the sound editor to adjust the sound when the camera shot comes from outside the car.
“Cry Quieter” and the title track are also recommended, although they’re not as good as the tracks mentioned above. There’s a lot to like on this one.
Agnes Obel “Philharmonics”
June 26, 2011It’s a folky female singer/songwriter. “Riverside,” like many tracks on the record, is good but not great. It has the same piano as “Man in Mind” by Ida. I certainly enjoyed listening to this album, but nothing really popped. Same with “Just So” and “Avenue.” They do sound better than the others, but they doesn’t make me say “wow,” either. Just “yeah — that’s fine.” This is the musical interpretation of “Yes, dear.”
The singer sounds like Poe and Susan Ottaviano (Book of Love), the latter especially on “Close Watch.” This one is my favorite. It seems that when she tries to do less that everything turns out a lot better.
The last track is “On Powdered Ground,” but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with skiing. Bits of PJ Harvey and Rasputina can be overheard here, but it’s subtle. This record isn’t bad, but it’s uninspired.
Emilie Mover “Seems so Long”
June 26, 2011Acoustic singer/songwriter stuff, and she has quite the calming voice. Her melodies use this perfectly, too. “Born in the Wrong Time” has strings that complement the track well.
“Break Up Melody (Pain & Regret)” is so beautiful that I don’t even want to get into a hyphenation debate. She can do whatever she wants when she sounds like this, and that includes the use of ampersands. Sweet holy moly.
Deceptive song titles abound, although it really has more to do with my senseless expectations. There’s no reason a song called “Dance All Night” can’t be about slow dancing. I mean, really, it belongs in an eHarmony commercial. And it’s not even necessarily about slow dancing, but when you see that title, you expect something with a purple sticker or at least a BPM over 100. That’s OK. What matters is that it has pretty harmony during the bridge.
“Mean Man” is the last track and a little slower than the rest, if that’s even possible. Maybe you listen to this one in the morning after binging the night before with a bucket of chicken. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.
This could be one of my favorites of 2011.
Esben and the Witch “Violet Cries”
June 26, 2011They do the British Siouxsie and the Banshees thing, maybe with a little more guitar yet also a little more ethereal, Cocteau Twins style. The opening track, “Argyria,” might be about a country whose major exports are ugly socks and sweaters, but it’s hard to say because there aren’t any discernible lyrics until nearly four minutes have passed.
“Light Streams” is slightly cheerier and exposes their roots. This same song done by Americans would be downright depressing. The percussion is mixed a little higher, and it stands out among the slow tempo. This one sounds more like Cocteau Twins as well.
Fans of reverb and occasional haunting male backing vox will like “Chorea.” The sound is tinnier, but this seems to be intentional. It’s definitely music that belongs in a warehouse because of how it would it would echo. The song possesses me with an urge to buy vinyl.
The other song that accurately represents this record is “Eumenides.” You get a good mix of singing and accompaniment here. No Groupon necessary.
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