October 19th, 2004 2:37pm
They’re Swallowing Me Whole
The Silures “21 Ghosts (Part One)” – I’ve found that the best way to enjoy this song is to think of the lyrics about demonic possession as being a submissive fantasy – being taken over by a corrupting influence, having your will stripped away, losing control entirely. It can’t be any mistake that this song sounds as sexy and menacing as it does, with its harsh textures and intensifying beats dominating the listener as the ghosts sieze control of the narrator. By the time the beats start pounding at the 2:50 mark, you just have to give in. (Click here to buy it from NuLoop.)
Nimbus Coleman “Who Is The Governess?” – I’m not certain if I’ve ever heard a record quite like Nimbus Coleman’s. In terms of structure, it recalls Guided By Voices’ Alien Lanes – many short songs which mostly sound incomplete on their own, but flow together cohesively as an album. That’s where the GBV similarities end, though. Coleman favors very crisp production and clean sounds, and much of the album has a lazy, easy going island sound tweaked by strange song structures and unexpected stylistic tangents. Imagine the world’s strangest island cruise bossanova band, and you’re halfway there. “Who Is The Governess?” opens the album with an opening twenty seconds which comes as close to sounding like Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine as anything I’ve ever heard, but then settles into a soothing bass-and-bongos groove with pleasantly oooooh-ing vocals. (Click here to buy it from Nimbus Coleman.)