The late ’80s pop revival continues with Sia. “You’ve Changed” jumps out at me like a car commercial. I have a sudden urge to take advantage of 0% financing and loyalty cash back. If you were lucky enough to have a child at 14, then you’re both the right age to appreciate this album.
A pretty penny was spent on the production of this record, but as a lover of overproduced crap, I am quite happy to reap the benefits. “Bring Night” is peppy and upbeat. “Hurting Me Now” is much more contemporary and surely is performed live at every show. (As polished as this is, I think “concert” may indeed be more accurate. Zounds!)
“Oh Father” does the Colbie Caillat thing. Oh, wait. This is a Madonna cover. No wonder. Thanks for making me feel old, Sia!
There’s nothing wrong with this record, but it doesn’t do anything unprecedented, and the term “soul searching” doesn’t come to mind.
Archive for the ‘KSCU’ Category
Sia “We Are Born”
July 6, 2010Picture Me Broken “Wide Awake”
July 6, 2010It’s a Lita Ford kind of thing, except the backing band looks like they escaped from a Justin Bieber record release party. Throw in equal parts metal-infused Evanescence and Living Colour, and that’s what you get with Picture Me Broken.
The band clearly wants to be taken seriously, and the least I can do is to respect their wishes. The music is as complex as a seven-layer dip — there’s a lot going on, but it doesn’t surprise. I think this is what Damone wants to do, and they’re going to keep reinventing themselves until they do it. Did I say Damone? Did I mean the Donnas? Well, both, really.
“Echoes of an Empire” is a typical track. The vocals are strong, which is notable because you can get downright lazy when you have a metal score underneath. She must have had Pat Benatar records growing up, even if they were her mother’s. The sound is quite established, which is a nice way of saying all the songs sound the same. Fine. We all have to start somewhere. I want to know what happens next.
“Skin & Bones” and “Darwin’s Song” are a little too over the top for me. There’s rocking out with your cock out, and then there’s going crazy for the sake of going crazy. Hopefully they will figure this out. No one is saying to sound like Halou, but there are some i’s to dot and t’s to cross.
“Nerds & Cigarettes” uses the Auto-Tune that the kids love. Sure, why not. The deeper you get into this record, the less sense it makes. Maybe that’s the point.
Pretty Hideous “Balance”
July 6, 2010It’s annoying when you get a record, and it says there are explicit lyrics, yet the lyrics are not included, and because the album is self-promoted, it is missing one of those stickers that tells you which tracks have swearing on it. That’s a compound-complex sentence.
I mean, I am going to listen to the whole fucking thing anyway, but why are you making it hard on me? I can’t even laugh at saying “hard on” because I am so paranoid that I am going to miss something and get the station in trouble.
So this is a decidedly late ’90s-sounding piece, referencing an era that music tends to forget about. I hear hints of Butthole Surfers, Nine Inch Nails and Ruby. I bet people think they sound like Portishead. The sound is too sharp to sound like them, but I am sure that that is what people think. “Mercury” comes to mind, specifically.
I also like “Scattered.” If American Idol contestants would sing songs such as this one (and they could — it is not a fundamentally hard song to perform), I would actually watch. It’s not overly ambitious, but it doesn’t leave you with that mealy mouth feeling that a lot of modern pop songs have. Maybe because this ain’t no modern pop song.
“Serio” has those synthy bells I love so much, although the guitar seems misplaced. Yeah, it sounds like the late 1990s, all right. Bettie Serveert thought about this angle for a bit and then thought better. It is definitely an underserved niche, musically speaking, so I am sure a lot of people would receive this with open arms, if they only knew about it.
Various Artists “PDX Pop Now! 2010”
June 25, 2010I reviewed last year’s incarnation of this, and it’s a privilege to get to do it again. Forty tracks is best described as “many,” but here are some highlights.
AgesandAges sound exactly like what I expect a Portland band to sound like. “No Nostalgia” triggers plenty of it, actually, as I think of all the hand-clapping and power-pop harmonizing I have heard over the years come out of the Rose Garden City, or whatever it is that they call themselves. I beg your pardon, but I promise nothing.
Deelay Ceelay does a synthy instrumental, “Tange Rine,” that has a 1980s vibe to it. It makes me want to wear a shirt with the collar turned up. Menomena are one of the bigger names on this comp, and “Five Little Rooms” is just as good as everything else they do. Some people go to 7-Eleven and buy Coke, so surely there are those who see this compilation and want to hear them, so there you are!
“El Ranchero Tejano” is just what you would like it to be, only better. Thanks go to paper/upper/cuts. ¡Uds. son la mierda! Surely that translates perfectly. I also like “Bodyblood” by the Angry Orts. They remind me of Staci Twigg.
Mean Jeans gives you the pop punk you’ve been waiting for with “Steve Don’t Party No More.” It’s half Ramones, half Hi-Fives.
“Boxcar Children” is Ioa’s contribution. It is part OMC, part Talking Heads. I hope the title isn’t a euphemism, because having 12 children in our modern society is far, far too many. Strength brings us “Marianne,” and although it’s not likely to be about Marianne Pillsbury, it’s still a great song, complete with synths and seductive lyrics.
Let’s say you had a jazz morning show. If you did, you would enjoy the Andrew Oliver Sextet. “Only a Quality Lime for Eric Gruber” is clearly an inside joke, but so what? I can play along. My-G provides the hip-hop with “Don’t Look Down on Me.” Transient does a lot of yelling on “Pythia Misunderstood.” Yeah, I can’t imagine why there would such a misunderstanding.
I love love love Peacock Dreams’ “Peacock Dreams.” Minimalist staccato percussion and Murmurs-style singing are all I need for a good time. A Weather are buried at the end with “Giant Stairs,” but this is one of the best songs on the comp. Stick around for this one.
Grand Lake “Blood Sea Dream”
June 23, 2010They do a lot of long song titles, which can imply pretentiousness if you wish to infer it. Something. This slightly distracted record has a lot going for it. It’s somewhat dreamy and uninhibited and should make a lot of listeners happy.
“It Takes a Horse to Light a House” seems more like forced wordplay than wit, but the song itself is typical of the Bay Area sound. “Louise (I Live in a Fantasy)” reminds me of the White Stripes, although the drummer sounds awfully bored. (Wait, then it’s exactly like the White Stripes.)
They do know how to get to my heart, though. Two tracks are named after local highways, and of course I like them the best. “Oedipus Hex (Hwy. 1 North)” makes me want to get in the car and go to Sodhi’s Cheaper! in Half Moon Bay. The other is “Concrete Blonde on Blonde (880 South).” It’s less memorable but still fun.
This band reminds me of one I would see at the Starry Plough, as I struggle to stay awake at the bar and wonder when the last BART leaves Ashby. I can tell they are talented, but it’s just loud to me. Good for you, perhaps!
Family Cactus “Come Howling”
June 23, 2010This run-of-the-mill power-pop record comes to you all the way from New Zealand, and that just might be enough to make it cool. “Kingmaker” reminds me of John Strohm. “No Magic” musically sounds like The Reputation, but of course here a dude is singing.
“Coal Town” is a little brighter than the rest and works best for those that struggle with the rest of the album. “Barbed Tongue” is a solid rock song that demands to be taken seriously. I’ll take it to the movies.
“Mariachi Stomper” veers off into Talking Heads territory, but I can dig it. This one rivals “Coal Town” in quality. All in all, these songs are too long for no reason, and nothing really jumps out at you. I love me some Kiwis, but this just isn’t doing it for me.
Kacey Johansing “Many Seasons”
June 23, 2010Have no fear, this folk ain’t sleepy! The title track feels like bicycling down a slight decline. No need to panic, but hey, I just keep on movin’. Kacey Johansing is above average at everything, and it provides for a well-balanced composition of musical goodness. This comes in handy because a lot of the songs are about five minutes long, but it’s not as bad as that seems. The trick perhaps has been revealed: Increase the tempo 20%, and you can make anything listenable.
This record is for the late 30s crowd, looking to take baby steps away from their old Cure records in the hopes of finding something else to identify with. You don’t expect to hear something like this without it being brooding, but such is not the case here. It’s remarkable how natural this album sounds.
Is “Angel Island” about Angel Island? It might be! Joanna Newsom comes to mind here, although perhaps Gavin is also pleased. “Oh, Brother” has a late ’70s organ that makes me think of Snoopy ice skating with Peppermint Patty, along with whistling between the verses. Don’t overlook this one.
“Photographs and Letters” sounds like A Girl Called Eddy meets KT Tunstall. It’s like guilt-free ice cream, it is. Is this going to be featured on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy”? “Same Old, Same Old” would be even better with those old ’60s-style instruments that the Cardigans used to use before they decided to make money. It’s the same stuff structurally that you would find on “Life.”
“Sleepwalk” might be the only sleepy song on there, but it still gets along well. Whatever that “it” is that wonderful records have to have to be awesome, this one has it!
The Like “Release Me LP”
June 22, 2010I reviewed the EP, so what the hell. Why not. This record says it features the four songs from the EP, so does that mean the rest are filler? I’ll always take the time to listen to “Wishing He Was Dead” and “He’s Not a Boy” again if I have to. I don’t have to.
You can’t help but like a song called “Walk of Shame.” This one sells an extra 1,000 T-shirts for them, guaranteed. The sound definitely broaches Lily Allen on this one, and we all know she has nothing to be ashamed of. “I Can See It in Your Eyes” also has a peppy rhythm.
The melody in “In the End” is worth the repetition. The last track is called “Don’t Make a Sound” and is really long, but the time zips right on by, sort of like this album review did.
Tender Trap “Dansette Dansette”
June 21, 2010It’s a bit of an honor to review this record because I’ve been a slightly-more-obsessed-than-casual fan of Amelia Fletcher’s efforts over the years since I first stumbled onto a Heavenly record in 2001. Fletcher is joined by four others, notably Rob Pursey, who was with her in Talulah Gosh, a member of the Theme Song Club.
The melody of “Fireworks” is the same as “Ticket to Ride” by the Beatles. That song always needed tambourine. Now we have it! “Do You Want a Boyfriend?” has the classic Fletcher sound. If someone says, “What do Tender Trap sound like?” you play them this song.
“Suddenly” has a more modern feel but is still true to the founders’ C86 roots. You could sneak this into your kids’ iTouch without them noticing. You’re the mom. It’s your job. Better than brussels sprouts, anyway.
“2 to the N” is the best because it’s a math reference. I hope they make shirts with this song title and sell them when they tour. Oh my God, the tour! I can’t wait for that shit. Maybe Tiger Trap can open for them. How cool would that be?
“Counting the Hours” is also good, but really it suffers from being in the shadow of “2 to the N.” That could be the song of the year for me. “Capital L” is last and is as lovely as the rest. The whole album is absolutely wonderful in every way.
Tender Forever “No Snare”
June 21, 2010Another solid K Records act. You just can’t go wrong with these guys. Today it’s Tender Forever. There’s a bit of Rasputina here and there, but it does rock a little harder than that. “Like the Snare That’s Gone” does that.
“Nothing at All” has a Nintendo influence somehow, and I don’t mean the 8-bit fad that has come and gone. Some of the finer music on their more advanced systems comes to mind when I hear this one. I feel like I am watching a cut scene when I hear this track.
“But the Shape Is Wide” has the vocals mixed a little higher, and it works pretty well. This would make for a good single. The last track, “When I’m in the Dark and You Take the Light” is more than an exercise in accurate typing: It’s the sum of lots of high-quality harmony and melodic expression.
It’s a fun record to listen to, although nothing really grabs you by the testicles or female equivalent. It doesn’t need to, really.
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