Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Big Thief “Rock and Sing”

Big Thief have a lot of excellent songs, but I think a lot of what has made them become a big deal this year comes down to people becoming fascinated by Adrianne Lenker and her baffling charisma. She’s strange and enigmatic without any perceptible calculation, and performs with a vulnerability and intensity that’s almost uncomfortable to behold in person. On stage she seems like she could be either 10 or 1,000,000 years old, and sings with a fragility that is starkly contrasted with the sturdiness of her guitar playing, which often makes me imagine the roots, trunks, and branches of tall trees. The music often evokes images of the natural world, and seems very old somehow, but maybe only because Lenker’s sentimentality and her engagement with the present is in touch with a lot of things that get filtered out of perception these days.

“Rock and Sing” opens Two Hands, the second of the band’s two records released this year. It’s a brief folk song that sounds like a sweet lullaby, but has lyrics that suggest a complicated relationship with one’s body and a desperate need for connection and stability. The melody is absolutely gorgeous but she’s not precious about it, and in a few spots lightly disrupts the meter of her words to get across the emotional weight of a line. Relative to other songs on the record, “Rock and Sing” feels tiny in scale, but the suggestion of extreme intimacy makes it feel like a hyper-concentrated dose of raw feeling.

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Caribou “Home”

“Home” isn’t a huge stylistic shift for Caribou. The basic elements of groove, space, sampling, and Dan Snaith’s distinctive voice are all right there, but the tone is different. The songs on Our Love and Swim have an ambiguous feeling to them, but “Home” is all warmth and joy. The vocal sample, sourced from the Gloria Barnes R&B song of the same name, is more central and communicative rather than texture. It’s closer to the aesthetics of Kanye West, Ghostface Killah, or The Avalanches – soul vocals from the past presented like a portal into a happier past, or a more authentic emotional state. Snaith lets the Barnes loop carry the strongest feelings while his vocal is cooler in tone and more focused on sketching in details as he observes a woman escape a bad situation and get back to something solid and fundamental in her life. Musically and lyrically Snaith is at a distance from the emotion and the action of the song, he’s processing and learning by watching her make choices and move on. From him, presumably? If so, this is the happiest break up song I’ve ever heard.

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Pom Pom Squad “Again”

The main tension of “Again” is in how Mia Berrin moves between states of self-pity and anguish, with each moment of relatively subdued sadness seeming as if it could suddenly swing over to cathartic anger. It’s a break-up song from the perspective of someone in the most awful phase of adjusting to a disappointing new reality. She’s cycling through every flavor of grief, but mostly stuck on mourning what she can’t have anymore. The line that really stands out to me is “I start to envy an old version of me somehow,” which is painful in its nostalgia but also suggests guilt for not appreciating what she had in the moment because she assumed she was at the start of a story rather than somewhere in the middle of it.

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Kim Gordon “Hungry Baby”

You never really know what to expect of the music made by the members of Sonic Youth outside the context of Sonic Youth. In a lot of cases, like with the most recent Thurston Moore release or Kim Gordon’s work as half of Body/Head, you get their most far-out experimental ideas and/or their most indulgent impulses. In the case of Lee Ranaldo’s Between the Times and the Tides and Last Night On Earth or Moore’s Psychic Hearts, you get fully-formed rock songs that convey the undiluted essence of their persona.

Kim Gordon’s first proper solo album, No Home Record, is in the latter category but still has a lot of experimental edginess to it. It’s artsy and abrasive, but that’s Kim’s nature – even her most “pop” songs have been pretty weird. Her new songs are heavy on noise and groove, and serve as compelling backdrops for her distinctive voice and the evocative story-sketches of her lyrics. The closest comparison, particularly on the vaguely rockabilly-ish “Hungry Baby,” is the dynamic of Mark E. Smith in The Fall. It’s an extremely charismatic but not inherently musical voice performing in a very confrontation style over music that’s very harsh and physical. But there’s also a lot of industrial aesthetics here too, and Gordon’s often distressed vocals sound particularly dramatic in the context of all these broken machine clangs and hums.

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Danny Brown “Theme Song”

“Theme Song” feels airy and loose – a sample loop that’s like a cloud of weed smoke, and verses from Danny Brown that sound composed, but still a bit off the cuff. And that’s certainly the vibe Q-Tip was going for, even if it turns out to be pretty far from the truth. According to Brown, Q-Tip is so meticulous and detail-oriented that he made him record his vocal “over 300 times.” That could be an exaggeration somewhat, but it’s basically like the rap version of Stanley Kubrick forcing Tom Cruise to walk through a doorway a hundred times over. I’m not sure what Q-Tip’s goal was here – finding one perfect take? cutting together multiple takes into a seamless composite? – but the resulting track is so smooth that I was genuinely shocked to discover it was made this way, but not necessarily surprised that either man would work like this. Q-Tip is known to be a perfectionist, and Brown…he just seems up for a challenge.

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Niall Horan “Nice to Meet Ya”

“Nice to Meet Ya” is a remarkable facsimile of the slickest end of British rock at the end of the 20th century, a song that was made this year but sounds exactly like it could be track 14 on a CD packaged along with a copy of Q or Select somewhere between 1997 and 2000. The vocal melody sounds extremely Noel Gallagher to me, and there’s traces of Primal Scream, Mansun, Blur, Garbage, Fatboy Slim, and The Chemical Brothers in the arrangement. It doesn’t pull from any particular reference point, it just feels very particular to around 20 years ago. And this makes sense given that Niall Horan was born in Ireland in the early 90s and almost certainly grew up hearing a lot of music like this. He’s very good at channeling this energy. Horan is aiming for “bad boy” here and the calculation is obvious, but the laddish swagger suits his voice well.

This also sets him apart from his former bandmates in One Direction, who’ve all gravitated to different musical aesthetics but all project an overbearing earnestness. It’s especially striking in contrast with Harry Styles, whose relentless focus on being Pop-Rock’s #1 Very Good Boy has kept him from making much in the way of actually compelling rock music. Whereas Styles’ most rocking moments – mostly just “Kiwi” – sound like a Broadway musical’s sanitized approximation of a very generic notion of ’70s rock, “Nice to Meet Ya” sounds like the work of a person with very specific taste who isn’t afraid to come off a bit sleazy, or even just like an actual human rather than an idealized image.

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Sault “Masterpiece”

“Masterpiece” is built around around a bass melody that’s warm and comforting in tone, but conveys a low-key melancholy feeling. The vibe isn’t sad so much as doubtful, as the singer lays out a romantic scenario in which she’s fully invested in someone who keeps her waiting and unfulfilled. The vocals are soulful and bittersweet, full of love but also the gradual realization that this is just not going to work. She’s not ready to give up or give in, but she knows it’s almost time to cut and run. Until then she’s still trying to will a fantasy into existing, and her imaginary life is too enticing to ignore.

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Brittany Howard “Baby”

The arrangement of “Baby” is lovely but halting and tentative, just like the person Brittany Howard is singing about. They’re hot enough to draw you in but unwilling to give much or even show up, and expect that hotness to make you forgive every other shortcoming. Howard sings her lyrics with a resigned exasperation, like she’s rolling her eyes every time she sings the word “baby.” The feeling of the song is like that expression “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed” set to an R&B slow jam. It’s serious enough to convey some heartbreak, but it’s mostly playful in tone, particularly in the final third when the tempo starts to slow like a pendulum gently swaying its way back to stillness. It ends without drama. It’s just time running out.

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Sabrina Claudio “As Long As You’re Asleep”

“As Long As You’re Asleep” is a sensual R&B ballad that’s almost entirely about insecurity and jealousy. Sabrina Claudio sings from the perspective of a woman who is so hopelessly in love that she feels removed from time and space, just moving through life in a daze any time she’s not hooking up with this magic lover. She sounds woozy but dazzled, and right on the edge of acknowledging that she feels awful. The chorus is what really stings, where she’s imagining them in bed with someone else and just hoping they’re asleep rather than having sex. You know a situation is sad when the best case scenario for the paranoid fantasy in the song is that she’s the other woman for a married or coupled person, and not just another girl on the side. But you know, if they’re asleep they’re not doing anything or thinking of someone else. What a depressing thing to cling to, but I totally get this feeling she’s putting out there.

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Fountain “Cataclysmic Fusion”

Fountain call back to a sort of indie rock that’s been out of fashion for quite a while: extroverted, rowdy, weird, and abrasive but heavy on grooves. Think of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, or Royal Trux, or Girls Against Boys, or maybe the more aggressively strange side of Pavement. Their songs are well put together but feel like they’re being improvised on the spot, thanks in large part to the wild energy of drummer Laura Jeffery. “Cataclysmic Fusion” has a geeky strut to it – not quite funky, but it moves with a lot of attitude. It’s the sort of tune that could be very obnoxious if the band weren’t so charming in a bratty sort of way.

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Samia “Ode to Artifice”

A title like “Ode to Artifice” suggests a song that’s overly cold and clever, but Samia’s music and lead vocal exudes a warmth that overwhelms the more arch elements of her lyrics. The melody, which at some points sounds like it could break out into “This Old Heart of Mine,” seems to wind gently around a guitar groove that feels very casual without sounding particularly loose. The lyrics address some anxiety and social confusion, but it’s nothing too heavy – like, how stressed can she be when she’s affectionately addressing someone as “honeybun” in every chorus?

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Magdalena Bay “Only If You Want It”

There is no shortage of young artists aiming for late 90s/early 00s pop aesthetics, but a real dearth of artists who can actually provide this beyond a surface-level glossiness. But here’s Magdalena Bay, a duo who have somehow written a bright, hyper-infatuated bop with the melodic grace and effortless bounce of an actual early Britney Spears hit. “Only If You Want It” sounds great and feels very authentic in large part because the composers understand that writer-producers like Max Martin were aiming to replicate ‘90s R&B, and the bones of the song are rooted in those traditions even if the aesthetics are all neon plastic and overbearing sunshine. They push the cheery hyper-pop vibe to an extreme, and follow through on a conceptual level with lyrics that come across as playfully unhinged as they push the “I’m obsessed with my crush!!!” boilerplate sentiments of teen pop to a deranged conclusion.

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Modern Nature “Footsteps”

It takes a little over a minute for the saxophone to show up in “Footsteps,” and when it does, it entirely shifts the emotional register of the song. Everything else in the song up to the point it enters – and then on through the end of it – feels cool and neutral, but the sax lead is forceful and emotive. It’s somewhat jarring, particularly in contrast with the cool and aloof tone of the vocal. It takes over the song as it moves along, and it’s like this strong and sort of inappropriate emotion cracking through in a situation that calls for polite decorum. The feeling is held somewhat in check, but it’s still a disruption of a chill vibe.

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Belle & Sebastian “This Letter”

Belle & Sebastian have erred on the side of maximalism for a long time now, partly a result of being a band with so many members. But “This Letter,” a song from their new soundtrack Days of the Bagnold Summer, is almost startlingly minimal: Mostly just Stuart Murdoch’s voice and a gently plucked acoustic guitar, but with an understated muted trumpet solo and a subtle organ part. Murdoch’s melody is gorgeous enough that he doesn’t need to work in choruses or refrains – it’s a classic folk structure, a series of verses broken up by brief musical interludes.

The lyrics are written as a letter to someone very important to Murdoch that he hasn’t talked to in some time, and going on some clues in the first verse, it’s most likely an ex-girlfriend. But the contents aren’t sad, dramatic, or romantic. It’s mostly just admitting that while they’re apart for good reason, she’s still on his mind from time to time. It’s basically a song dealing with a problem I think most any adult can relate to: When you’ve connected with someone and can have a sort of conversation with them you can’t have with anyone else, what do you do with the part of you who needs that particular thing when the relationship has changed and you can’t get it anymore? You can write a letter like this, but I’m inclined to say you probably shouldn’t actually send it.

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Octo Octa “Move Your Body”

“Move Your Body” works very well as a utilitarian dance song – the beat is powerful, the synth riff jabs with the joyful vigor of a ‘90s Jock Jam, and a voice tells you over and over and over to move your body in order to get you to acquiesce and move your body. The fun trick of this song is the way the repetition of body can push you into your head and get self-conscious: Body. Body. I have a body. I have to move my body. My body must respond. My body is here. My body is here for movement. My body is here for pleasure. My body is my body. But rather than freeze you up, Octo Octa nudges you towards a positive conclusion: I love my body, and I should have fun.

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La Neve “A Pretty Red”

Imagine someone trying to do early 80s post-punk, The Rapture, “Groove is in the Heart,” and Primal Scream circa their Screamedelica Madchester phase all at once. That’s more or less what’s happening in this song, though it still feels like selling it a bit short. La Neve is throwing together a lot of different but familiar musical ideas and the result is surprising cohesive, thanks largely to a feverish vocal performance that serves as a focal point for the composition. Picture it in cinematic terms – it’s like the camera follows her around as the music is scenery shifting behind her. It wouldn’t work with a less charismatic presence, and you end up hanging on every word without it all needing to make sense. The message of the song is clear enough on the repeated line that stands out the most: “Here I am – a precious gem!”

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In Flagranti “Rather Sexy”

In Flagranti, true to their name, specialize in a sort of dance music that evokes an extremely horny atmosphere – seedy, humid, sticky, and louche. It’s ambient perversity. But there’s always a wink to it, a campiness that doesn’t cancel out the lust but instead amplifies it by amping up the perv factor and making you think “oh is this how the sleazes of the past did it?” “Rather Sexy” has a freaky churn to it that reminds me of a lot of Matthew Dear’s best work, but the dark claustrophobic tone is contrasted with a smooth vocal that’s urging us to chill out a bit. He seems like he ought to be wearing a silk robe and offering us “relaxants.” It really completes the vibe.

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Of Monsters and Men “Alligator”

“Alligator” is an outlier for Of Monsters and Men – a very mid-00s sort of hard-charging dance rock anthem coming from a band more at home in an 2010s indie-folk mode. This fact is a bit maddening in that this song exhibits such a mastery of up tempo rock dynamics that it’s hard to comprehend why they’d only do this once, and why the rest of the album this song comes from sounds nothing like it. Like, not just that the other songs don’t rock in the same way, but that they sound like a completely different band in an aggravating band-and-switch sort of way.

“Alligator” is a song with a relentless, focused drive and a restless energy. The arrangement is constantly shifting – the structure is straightforward verse/chorus/verse, but the music never lets your ear settle into anything for more than 10 seconds or so before dropping something out or layering something else in. Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir’s voice is a revelation here, showing off a sort of grit and sassiness that wasn’t quite there on previous material, and a earthy intensity that keeps the soaring chorus from getting too corny. There’s a general feeling of empowerment to the song, but it’s all grounded in something dark and elemental that’s suggested but not fully explicated by the lyrics – there’s stars and light and soil and water, and rituals of life, death, and rebirth. The hook is “wake me up, I’m fever dreaming,” but it’s never quite clear what part of this is the dream.

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Bat for Lashes “So Good”

Bat for Lashes’ fifth album Lost Girls is a logical culmination of Natasha Khan’s body of work to date – an atmospheric synth pop record about supernatural romance set in a nostalgic ultra-cinematic version of late 20th century Los Angeles. Everything about the record and the visuals she has made to go along with it is extremely on-brand, to the point that while it’s all very good, it’s vaguely disappointing to me in the sense that as a long term fan I think I’d be more excited by a more radical stylistic or thematic shift. But that’s a cheap complaint when so few artists today can conjure this sort of extreme romanticism, even though there are so many who try. Khan’s craft is top shelf, her voice is gorgeous and distinctive, her taste is exquisite, and her reference points are specific.

“So Good” is the song on Lost Girls that strays furthest from Khan’s earlier work while staying firmly in the conceptual boundaries of the project. It’s a different flavor of ‘80s pop than she’s tried before – more bubbly and heavily programmed, and a bit closer to “cheesy” than “sexy.” It’s the song in the cycle in which her character swoons over the sexy vampire man while acknowledging his darkness and cruelty, and realizing that this turns her on. She sings the verses in a lower register but shifts up to her more natural high notes on the chorus, and the whole song brightens in that sequence. But it’s not a light of clarity – it’s more like a disorienting strobe light, and if she can focus at all it’s on small slivers of the moment she’s in.

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Hot Chip “Hungry Child”

Hot Chip have reached a moment of their career where their live show is essentially a DJ set of their greatest hits, and they present this to audiences with a maximum level of pride and zero shame. They are DJs at heart, and despite a lot of strong album tracks, they’ve also always been a classic singles band. Last night at Brooklyn Steel the group opened their show with a parade of some of their most crowd-pleasing songs – “Haurache Lights,” “One Life Stand,” “Night & Day,” “Flutes,” “Over & Over” – in the way a good DJ aims to get people on the floor as quickly as possible. It’s the opposite of how most live bands would sequence a show, with the goal of building towards a climax in the final third of a set. But the DJ logic works, and when they moved from “Over & Over” into the more recent single “Hungry Child,” the audience was primed to greet it as another great banger rather than an untested new tune to be burned off before the real hits.

It seems like part of Hot Chip’s ongoing project is creating a body of work that lends itself to this sort of performance or a killer greatest hits compilation, and writing new songs is a bit like figuring out what sort of songs they need to improve that end result. “Hungry Child” has a particular utility as a more pure sort of house track than they’ve typically made before, and brings in tropes of the genre that haven’t featured on the other hits. I particularly love the gospel-house elements, and the way the neutral but plaintive tones of Alexis Taylor’s voice contrast with an overtly passionate sound.

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