(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
Josh Ritter, Caitlin Rose, Pickwick, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, & Pert Near Sandstone...
Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #34!
For the uninitiated, here's what you're looking at right now: Each week we ask two of our contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Once they spend a couple of days with the songs we have them right up a quick review of the tracks and give them a score of 1-5.
As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free music and it's fun for the whole family! Plus, it'll give you a leg up in voting in our weekly poll to determine everybody's favorite song of the week. Just have a glance over the right side of the page.
Sadly, our search for second contributor to review these songs has yet to bear fruit. This means that, for better or worse, we're all stuck with the perpetually available TCDroogsma and his opinions.
So, Droogsy... thoughts?
01. Josh Ritter - Joy To You Baby (from the album The Beast In Its Tracks)
TCDroogsma:
Remember back in the late 90's when VH1 would only play new music that was poppy, harmless, and performed by a singer/songwriter (Five For Fighting, John Mayer, etc...)? Well, that's exactly the sweet spot that Josh Ritter hits with "Joy To You Baby."
I don't want to just outright say that "Joy To You Baby" is a bad song, because it's not. It's just an incredibly low risk song. It's got a nice, if forgettable, lead guitar hook, some bells & whistles to spruce it up, and lyrics that could be taken as passive-aggressive if Ritter didn't sound so damned honest. Again, in the late 90's this would be a low-risk/high-reward proposition. The video would have been on VH1 six times a day, the song would have become a bedrock of Cities 97, and he'd be playing the Basilica Block Party. In 2013's landscape, where every listener is free to follow their tastes down any wormhole they see fit, Ritter's wide net won't catch many fish.
Final Score: 2/5
02. Caitlin Rose - Waitin' (from the album The Stand-In)
TCDroogsma:
The country-twang of "Waitin'" gives the immediate impression that Caitlin' Rose is no stranger to the collected work of Neko Case. While she may have the voice to pull that off, "Waitin'" presents none of the left turns and lyrical challenges that make Neko Case unique.
"Waitin'" comes on like a jilted-lover anthem, but doesn't really go anywhere. "Did you see the end from the very start? I saw it too..." leaves Rose sounding like she's in the midst of a very amicable breakup. And really, who wants to listen to a song about amicable breakups? The rest of the song is equally non-threatening (right down to the guitar solo that sounds like it was cribbed from Fastball's "The Way").
Rose and her band do deserve credit for selling the song. The build up to the chorus quite well and Rose certainly has the voice to carry the hook. Even though I'm not particularly fond of the song, it's delivered well enough that it sticks in my head when it's over, which is no small feat.
Final Score: 2.5/5
03. Pickwick - Hacienda Motel (from the EP Myths Vol. 1)
TCDroogsma:
Admittedly, with my mild obsession with Manchester, I had high hopes for a song with the word 'Hacienda' in the title. Sadly, Pickwick doesn't seem at all concerned with defunct Mancunian discos. This is something we disagree on.
What Pickwick does have going for it in this song is the ability to work up a nice groove. They sound like Dr. Dog without the stupid ventures into Americana. Instead of twanging out like Dr. Dog they stick to their groove and come out sounding like a warmer version of Cold War Kids.
Final Score: 3/5
04. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Let The Day Begin (from the album The Spectre At The Feast)
TCDroogsma:
Disclaimer: I was a staunch defender of BRMC for years. In fact, I've always thought that their career mirrored The Strokes in a way. They came onto the scene with a self-titled album and the strength of the still-great single "Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll?" Their second album Take Them On, On Your Own was their Room On Fire, less commercially successful, but featuring just enough tweaks to the formula to feel both old and new. Howl, their venture into the underbelly of the Bible Belt, was underrated and, unfortunately, the album where the indie world pretty much checked out of the BRMC experience. That's a shame, because their fourth album, Baby 81, contains their two best songs (at least in my opinion) "Berlin" and "Weapon Of Choice."
This, however, is pretty much when I checked out. Even though I like the band there was no way I was going to dig too deep into their instrumental album and, while I did enjoy the title track of Beat The Devil's Tattoo, it wasn't enough to convince me to pursue the album.
Which brings us to "Let The Day Begin." Most people's main criticism of BRMC over the years was that their wasn't much artistic growth (not a sentiment I necessarily agree with, but I can see where it comes from). Every album was guaranteed to be drowned in reverb, feedback, cigarette smoke, and black leather. As the hooks fell off so did the fanbase. The problem with "Let The Day Begin" is that, instead of redoubling their efforts and embracing their niche, they aim for one last shot of glory.
Not to bang that late-90's/early-80's drum again, but the mainstream they're aiming for with "Let The Day Begin" no longer exists. It's a niche-world and they should probably be comfortable in theirs. Instead they clean up their sound to an alarmingly crisp level. The reverb is gone and, with it, the last call/last cigarette energy that made the band special. It's not polished like, say, Elbow is polished, but it's just too clean. "Let The Day Begin" has BRMC coming off like the reformed rocker at a job interview in a polo shirt & a new haircut. It seems more presentable, but it's clearly a put-on.
Final Score: 3/5
05. Pert Near Sandstone - Ship Of Fools (from the 7" Ship Of Fools)
TCDroogsma:
All of my familiarity with Pert Near Sandstone has been via the Song Of The Day podcast. I've gotten a couple of tracks over the years and, while I didn't enjoy them much, that's not Pert Near Sandstone's fault. This sort of quick-strum, banjo-and-fidle, Dust Bowl sound is just not my cup of tea.
That said, "Ship Of Fools" is probably my favorite song that I've heard from the band. The high harmonies have been ditched for a world-weary, ragged vocal performance from Kevin Kniebel, which I think suits the band nicely.
Almost all bluegrass bands aim to make the listener believe that they come from a hard livin', hard lovin, hard drinkin' time. "Ship Of Fools" may not convince you, but it's good enough that you can play along for a few minutes.
Final Score: 2.5/5
Well there you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!
As always, please remember that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists reviewed, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio. We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.
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