Archive for November, 2011

Grimes "Oblivion"

There's a girlishness to the sound of Claire Boucher's voice on this track that makes the music seem a bit twee, but there's something a bit deeper and darker going on in the arrangement. The tune seems to tangle itself around a synth part that wouldn't sound out of place on a Knife or Little Dragon record, the vocal melody sounding a bit like someone trying to sing "I Think We're Alone Now" but not quite getting it right. The swirling piano-like sound and wordless vocals on the breakdown are another curveball – simple and innocent, but very sophisticated in its construction. The piece subtly mutates a couple more times after that without losing its shape. Tuneful, emotionally ambiguous stuff. Visit Arbutus Records' Grimes page.

Atlas Sound "Mona Lisa"

When I interviewed Bradford Cox last week he told me that of the songs on his new album Parallax, "Mona Lisa" didn't mean all that much to him and that it mainly served a musical purpose in the overall composition of the record. This took me by surprise because since I got a copy of the album a month or so ago, it was the track I zeroed in on and listened to repeatedly, at the expense of the other songs. But thinking on it now, I can see why he'd feel that way: Whereas other songs on the album express specific anxieties and desires, "Mona Lisa" is very vague. It's all melody and feeling. And that's why I'm responding to - the way it sounds like a vague echo of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord;" the understated beauty in the piano part and vocal harmonies. I've projected a lot on to this tune, but if pressed, I don't think I could really explain what I've projected upon it. It's one of those songs I know I'll hear a few years ago and identify with this particular period of time. Buy it from Amazon.

Pusha T "Raid"

I love the crispness of Pusha T's voice – even aside from the careful construction of his rhymes, there's something about his verses that brings to mind freshly laundered and neatly folded clothing. There are more nimble and graceful emcees, but I like the way he hits his marks – even, careful, obviously proud of his meticulous craftsmanship. He shines in tracks like this one, where the beat and accompaniment is just as clean as his vocals, and nothing crowds out the sound of his voice. Buy it from Amazon.

Slow Club @ Rock Shop 11/4/2011 Where I'm Waking / Our Most Brilliant Friends / Never Look Back / Horses Jumping / Beginners / If We're Still Alive / Only If You're Certain / The Dog / Two Cousins // Giving Up On Love There are a lot of cute, energetic indie-pop bands out there, and I worry that Slow Club gets lost in the shuffle somewhat, and that people just think of them as another twee Matt & Kim thing. But while Slow Club may have some superficial similarity to other contemporary acts, their skill level as songwriters and musicians is a cut above. As I wrote in my review of their new album Paradise on Pitchfork, Rebecca Taylor has blossomed into an outstanding vocalist – confident and bold, but with a degree of subtlety and restraint. Though the band is a bit more wild in concert, this nuance carries over to the live performance.

Slow Club "Beginners"

"Beginners" is the band – and Taylor – at their best. The arrangement has some force and intensity, but the rumble of the percussion doesn't over shadow the vocal melody. It'd be such a shame if it did - so much of what makes this song totally heart breaking lies in the way Taylor's voice inflects on lines like "of all the things to lose / it's you I choose" and "I know I haven't got all the answers / if I did I would be screaming them out!" This is clearly a song about complex feelings, and just enough gets spelled out that you can infer a lot more just from the feeling. Buy it from Amazon.

St. Vincent @ Webster Hall 11/3/2011 Surgeon / Cheerleader / Save Me From What I Want / Actor Out of Work / Chloe in the Afternoon / Dilettante / Cruel / Just the Same But Brand New / Champagne Year / Neutered Fruit / Strange Mercy / She Is Beyond Good and Evil / Northern Lights / Year of the Tiger / Marrow // The Party / Your Lips Are Red I wrote a review of this show for Rolling Stone. Go read it.

St. Vincent "Chloe in the Afternoon"

There are a few pronouns scattered through "Chloe in the Afternoon," but it's hard to get a read on the perspective. Maybe that's the point, though: The BDSM prostitution scenario described by the lyrics is a fantasy played out as a strictly professional transaction, and so both parties are at some distance from the experience. The woozy atmosphere and sterile electronics contrast nicely with violent, highly gestural guitar parts and perhaps the most overtly sexy vocal performance of Annie Clark's career to date. It's exactly the right tone for a song that evokes equal parts kink and disassociation. Buy it from Amazon.

SBTRKT "Right Thing To Do"

I was concerned that SBTRKT's show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg would be little more than some guy putting on a mask and treating the audience to a glorified album listening party, but thankfully he and his partner Sampha put in the effort to do an actual live show. Granted, a lot of the show involved hitting buttons on a wide array of equipment laid out on stage, but Sampha's live vocals and SBTRKT's live percussion went a long way towards providing a physicality beyond that of the audience, who responded to the throbbing bass and busy beats with great enthusiasm. (I was in a balcony, so I had a good few of the people up front losing it, and a patch of people in the middle who kept inexplicably moshing.) Interestingly enough, though the vocal-centric material is what connects best on record, the instrumental digressions were often the most compelling bits in this set. Buy it from Amazon.

Lady Gaga "Fashion of His Love"

You don't get a lot of songs like this anymore. As much as people have mined the Eighties for dance pop inspiration, I find that musicians tend to shy away from "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" levels of jubilation, much less mix it up with programming that sounds like something Vince Clarke would come up with on an especially perky day. This may be Gaga's most gleeful song, and the words match the tone – she's basically singing about how much she loves a guy, and framing it all in the context of fashion and clothes because, well, she's very passionate about that too. Boil this down to it essence, and it's really a song about being excited and inspired. Buy it from Amazon.