Archive for August, 2007

Interpol “No I In Threesome” – I wish the intro of this song was a bit longer, maybe another 30-40 seconds. The opening moments sets up a rather interesting and deliberately cinematic theme that could carry an entire track, but it gets immediately sidelined by the main body of the piece. That’s not an entirely bad thing — aside from the too-brief intro segment, “No I In Threesome” is perhaps the most fully realized and sophisticated composition in Interpol’s discography, or at least on par with previous highlights such as “Evil,” “Not Even Jail,” and “NYC.” The thing that’s difficult to understand is why the rest of the tracks on Our Love To Admire seem so tossed-off and forgettable in comparison. Did the group put all of its effort into this one cut? It could be. Whereas the other tracks on the album come off muddy and indistinct, “Threesome” is graceful and dynamic, gently drawing the listener through sections that balance a nervous tension with a sort of creepy, self-absorbed sexuality that is borne out in Paul Banks’ lyrics.

Though previous Interpol songs have hinted at the follies of its dim hipster protagonists, this one is most successfully in drawing out a specific scenario rather than imply a character with a loose, cryptic lyrical sketch. Banks’ character here is most certainly an opportunistic creep, but the implication is that he’s lacking in self-awareness. He proposes a threesome as a way of breathing new life into a dying relationship, but he’s really just trying to get his way, and introducing a scenario that might finally kill off a situation he’s too cowardly to abandon straight away. His logic is nonsensical, but you just know the manipulative bastard will get his way. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Superthriller “I Love You” – Superthriller’s inarticulate, disingenuous declaration of love is a very thin joke, but it holds up well in a thumping, threadbare track that nods and winks in the general direction of soft pop and white boy R&B that works despite its self-conscious irony. If you’re sympathetic to its Lite FM signifiers, the song is a bit like eating an ice cream sundae in an air conditioned space on a hot, humid afternoon. Also, the “like Tom Cruise, but better” line is very funny, mainly because it’s hard to imagine who would still want to be that guy at this point in history. (Click here for the Superthriller MySpace page.)

Onuma Singsiri “Mae Kha Som Tum (Papaya Salad Merchant)” – The title translation of this track from Sublime Frequencies’ new Thai Pop Spectacular compilation may be one of the less amusing/interesting — how could it not when compared to the likes of “You Should Die By Bullets,” “Look Whose Underwear Is Showing,” “We Both Think We’re The Best!,” and “Drinking Whiskey Til I’m Blurred”? — but the song itself is probably the best, and most certainly the selection that exemplifies the sort of dark, dank, humid grooves that dominate the record. “Mae Kha Som Tum” feels a bit eerie and detached, but entirely present in the moment, at least in a physical sense. The mind…well, that seems distracted, hypnotized, staring off into the middle distance. (Click here to buy it from Sublime Frequencies.)

Tiny Vipers “Shipwreck” – Jesy Fortino’s voice occasionally recalls the pained quaver of Sunny Day Real Estate’s Jeremy Enigk, but she’s not nearly as unhinged or bombastic. Like much of her debut album as Tiny Vipers, the music of “Shipwreck” is so sparse and subtle that it does not fully register on the first listen, but close attention reveals a brittle, heartbreaking tune that struggles to make sense of random tragedy, and to rationalize the desire to carry on and survive. (Click here to buy it from Sub Pop.)

Elsewhere: Nate Patrin rewrote the entirety of the Clash’s London Calling as a series of limericks!