This album makes me giddy, what with its overflowing powerpop Moog, guitars and occasional falsettos. Portland’s Blue Skies for Black Hearts sound exactly as you’d expect them to. Backing harmonies from this four-piece of dudes are like a Snickers bar at 3 p.m.
“Siouxsie Please Come Home” gets the album off to a great start with a musical style that reminds me of The Mamas and the Papas. “Ambition” has saxamophone, and it definitely fills in the cracks to make the song a whole unit. The lyrics seem to be mixed a wee bit lower on this one, but I always have trouble with lyrics, so it could just be that.
“Jenny & Steve” is horny and tells a good story. I want to hear this band cover the theme song to “Are You Being Served?” Not only does it have trumpet but it has tuba too, which my dad would appreciate. A key point here is that the brass complements the song. Sometimes when an act throws an unconventional instrument into the mix, it’s for novelty purposes and it destroys the integrity of the track. Not here.
“I Still Wish That You Were Around” reminds me of the Posies. The mid-’90s feel is unmistakable. The song’s construction is a bit simpler than the other tracks are, but this stripped-down atmosphere really works here. It’s something I would have listened to while on the bus to Arby’s for my closing shift.
Archive for the ‘KSCU’ Category
Blue Skies for Black Hearts “Serenades and Hand Grenades”
February 2, 2010Eels “End Times”
January 29, 2010Is this Eels’ last album? It would make a lot of sense. If this record were a physical act, it would be breakup sex.
Sometimes you get glimmers of better times for Mr. Eels himself. (That’s Mark Oliver Everett to you, buddy.) “Mansions of Los Feliz” showcases his great storytelling ability. There was something special in his coffee that morning, and it wasn’t Novocaine.
“A Line in the Dirt” is a tired number — not tired meaning “overdone” but tired meaning “exasperated.” If you can handle something so depressing, it’s a great track. Plus there’s a line about pissing in the yard. There was no greater highlight in college for me than the first time I did that.
“Apple Trees” is an interlude spoken word. I love it when artists do this, because it’s a window into their world — their soul if you’re lucky. And one day when someone decides to do a mashup with it and The Orb’s “Little Fluffy Clouds,” you’ll get both references.
Unhinged is one of the more upbeat tracks. I really like this one a lot. The Doors-like organ really fills in the cracks, leaving the tambourine to simply be some other metaphor.
“I Need a Mother” is soul-baring. Some people broadcast their entire lives on Facebook. Everett is old school and does it through song.
The Watson Twins “Talking to You Talking to Me”
January 28, 2010The long-awaited record is finally out. I don’t know whether their album title is some subtle twin joke, or maybe I’m looking for something where there’s nothing, like when George Stephanopoulos inferred that everyone wore purple at the State of the Union address in a show of bipartisanship.
There’s no reason to mess with success, and leadoff track “Modern Man” is more of what you’ve come to expect from the duo. “Harpeth River” will make Portishead fans think of “All Mine.” It’s almost a ripoff of the song. It sounds more like a sequel, like Super Mario Bros. 2.
“Midnight” doesn’t just pay triple in the field. It sounds like Dot Allison is the guest vocalist. (We should be so luckily.) The backing vocals make this good song even better.
“Snow Canyons” slows it down and should be the final track. It’s the kind of song I hear right when the rain stops, so I might as well get my boots and take a walk to Jack in the Box.
“Tell Me Why” is a more mature sound for them, and I can picture this being placed on coffeehouse compilations from coast to coast. The drums are mixed a little high, but I think that’s intentional. The benefit of the doubt? That’s what I give the Watson Twins every day.
Seneca “Sweeter Than Bourbon”
January 26, 2010A full-length that should have been an EP, this is a bit of a mess. You can sense passion in the songs, but you’re not sure why it’s there sometimes.
“Playing Fair” is a fair song. The chorus sounds like Sweetheart mixed with Guided by Voices. Or Mike Rutherford. It’s a great song to make out to.
“Clarity” is very unclear. We need these falsettos why? It’s flat right out of the gate. “Smile” is the same song. (It’s not, really, but it sounds the same.) The music is straight out of an overproduced U2 album.
Maybe they’ll do better next time.
Dead Man’s Bones “Dead Man’s Bones”
January 25, 2010When your band is named “Dead Man’s Bones,” going with the self-titled album isn’t remotely cheating. Why try to be clever twice?
Fans of Siouxsie and the Banshees might enjoy this early-1990s chanting effort. Some tracks are heavier on synths, Depeche Mode style (“Pa Pa Power”). Others are just scary and have women crying (“Dead Man’s Bones”). Still others sound like old Velvet Underground (“Werewolf Heart”).
“Flowers Grow Out of My Grave” reminds me of a somber Tilly and the Wall song, although the particular track escapes me. I think it is because it uniquely sounds like a party song while being depressing at the same time. That’s one hell of a party.
“In the Room Where You Sleep” is another organ-heavy number deserving of being played a band named “Dead Man’s Bones.” It feels inspired by the final level of the original Legend of Zelda, yet it does not tread on the overdone 8-bit music revival one iota. Good for them.
“My Body’s a Zombie for You” could be a B-side for Bobby Boris Pickett’s “Monster Mash.” It has a backing choir that just might be the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir, based on the cover art. I can get into this one.
If this were a wine and cheese pairing guide, I would pair this with some Potshot or other Japanese punk. I’ll let them duke it out as to which one gets to be the cheese. Maybe they can write a song about it.
The Million Stars “To Love”
December 27, 2009Here we have some standard female-fronted folky pop, like Suran Song in Stag or Flashing Red Airplane. The singing is not as distinctive as Bettie Serveert’s Carol van Dyk, but it’s off in that direction. “A Quiet Life” provides a good example of this. The piano is quite distinctive during the chorus.
“Moth” is a rainy-day-style song. It’s not specifically dreary, but it’s littered with somber moments, similar to what Lisa Germano is famous for.
“Flowers Strung on a Tree” is as good as any other track. (They do kind of all sound the same.) Not the best album for driving in traffic, but it’s good for studying or while watching football with the TV on mute.
Bands such as Rasputina get away with this because they’re a little weird. The Million Stars come across as straight-shooters, and it makes the music less distinctive. Again, it’s good, but there is nothing compelling about it. I welcome it to my library, but it will not receive special treatment.
Radagun “Life Lessons”
December 27, 2009Holy shit. The first track, “Not the One”? Has the same melody and beat as “Three Small Words” by Josie and the Pussycats. This cannot be an accident. It’s too similar. Holy crap I can’t believe it. Of course I like the song. If it were Noelle LeBlanc from Damone singing instead of Kay Hanley it would be the same thing.
This album confuses the hell out of me. “Check Me Out” is the splitting image of a “From the Attic”-era Damone track with the musical accompaniment of a Kelly Clarkson song. You know who’d like this? Dakin. You know who else would? Me.
But the reason this album confuses the hell out of me is because it is completely overproduced (hence the Kay Hanley and Damone references), yet I had to manually enter the track information in iTunes. Why would you spend so much on production when you’re self-releasing an album? It boggles the mind.
This could have been on my top 10 of the year (no link intentional), but it released in mid-December. To quote Gary Radnich when he quotes that other guy, who does that? But seriously, this entire album is great. It is the direction emo was going in until all the guys in that scene remembered that they were insecure and got 50 piercings and tattoos and started screaming. But for five minutes, this was where emo was headed, and I was damn excited.
Another great keyword for this: This album reminds me of Rocking Horse Winner, whose album “Horizon” just might be my album of the decade (no link intentional again). But this review is about Radagun, and they are awesome… dare I say, no. I don’t dare say it.
“Lie to Me” slows it down a bit and again sounds a lot like Damone. “Dear Self” adds the disco beat that a lot of today’s new music has. They’re playing with a stacked deck here. It sounds better than, say, Metro Station because they’re better than Metro Station. It seems that they made this track because they were told to, though. Well, it is what the kids like, I guess. “Party Girl” does this too. Same music style as bis but with less-frenetic vocals.
And it goes on. This entire album is fucking amazing. It’s why I don’t give up and just listen to the music I have all the time.
Kristina Morland “Pidgin Music”
December 27, 2009Kristina Morland has me whipped into a fine frenzy on “Pidgin Music.” This album actually has a real Pinoisepop feel to it, although I think Morland wala paki alam about that. But the vocals and musical style remind me of an acoustic Sixes and Sevens or Moonpools and Caterpillars. Grey Anne, too, especially on “Day Dream.” This music is very beautiful.
“Echo Charting” is another winner, using all kinds of instruments that someone more cultured than myself would recognize. Oh, the liner notes. Violin and clarinet. Sure. That could be this! It has a very accessible sound; that’s the point.
“Silence” is the last track and is a subdued version of the rest of the album, but is still a fundamentally sound track, and it reminds me of what Ruby’s Leslie Rankin would do when she didn’t feel like being crazy. It really happened, once or twice.
You can’t go wrong with any of these tracks. High-quality vocals and musical accompaniment make for a quality listening experience.
Stout City Rockers “Stout City Rockers”
December 6, 2009It sounds like a power pop band to me. “What Do I Know” sets a solid pace and gets the album off on the right foot. This one has the guy singing, but sometimes a woman sings. I rarely say this, but a lot of the guy tracks are better. But if nothing else the band fits together well. They probably have great banter when they play live.
“Fire” has great keyboards and harmonizing, although the lead singing seems out of place. It’s otherwise a beautiful song, but here the lead singer sounds as if he is singing a different song from everyone else. But those keyboards. It’s still a great song.
Everything is put together better in “Mine.” It has the best guitar ever, and the vocals belong with the song. Everyone is on the same page here, and we have a great quality song that would make the Gin Blossoms jealous.
“With the Dregs” is a good story. The songwriting is at its best here, and the guitar pops up right where it’s needed. Definitely some good production values here.
“Jen’ocide” has female vocals and subdued keyboard. It feels like an obligatory track to let the woman lead one. It’s a little too condescending for me.
There’s some potential here, but it remains to be seen whether Stout City Rockers generates any better scouting reports than this.
Hannah Georgas “Chit Chat EP”
December 6, 2009It’s an EP. The title track is fun. Hannah Georgas is from Vancouver, which means she spells things wrong but has a Portland accent. I think if you listen to it too much it will burn, though. Hearing “chit chat chit chat chit chat” over and over again is like hearing “Pow! Right in the kisser!” over and over again. Hey, you should just be happy that Jackie Gleason boinked your mom.
“The Deep End” is second, and it is more balanced. “Chit Chat” focused on the singing, which is fine because Georgas’ voice is as welcome a site as Tim Horton’s after a three-hour drive. (Did you see what I did there?) But this is a well-developed track for kids of all ages. It reminds me of Rose Melberg or Jenny Toomey.
“Thick Skin” kind of sneaks up on you, and it is a fine track, too. It’s no “The Deep End,” though.
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