(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
James Vincent McMorrow, Damien Jurado, Drowners, Wild Cub, & Haley Bonar...
Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #78!
For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story: TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. They're also both opinionated and have access to computers. Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column. Over a year later later and here we are.
As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free and it's fun for the whole family!
To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page. The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.
As per tradition TCDroogsma and MinneSarah have not read each other's reviews prior to posting
So... Droogsy, Sarah... thoughts?
01. James Vincent McMorrow - Gold (from the album Post Tropical)
TCDroogsma:
While I'm loathe to pigeonhole a guy for a mere two traits, as a bearded, falsetto-loving singer/songwriter, James Vincent McMorrow sure seems like Ireland's answer to Justin Vernon.
On "Gold," McMorrow is more Volcano Choir than Bon Iver. He aims big, adding layers of harps, horns, and bonus falsetto upon one another until you find yourself with an IMAX-In-3D version of a very average Justin Vernon song. I'll give McMorrow credit for aiming for highest heights here, but the cliche-ridden lyrics and general lack of hooks leave "Gold" feeling both hollow & heavy.
MinneSarah:
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of a romantic. Give me a carnal DFA 1979 song and I'm satisfied. Give me a falsetto pearlescent ode to love and I'll turn it right off - again and again and again. "Gold" was a very trying song to get through. The lyrics are cloying, the high pitched vocals are grating, and the fairy-like platitude is marred by horns building it into generic indie rock 2013 sound. While this song may be a lot better without certain components - James Vincent McMorrow seems to think bigger is better. If you like resounding love songs and high pitched vocals - give this one a chance! I'll stick to grinding guitars and sensual vocals whenever the need for a love song arises.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2/5
MinneSarah: 1/5
02. Damien Jurado - Silver Timothy (from the album Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Sun)
TCDroogsma:
"Silver Timothy" was by far the biggest surprise of the week. Anytime I read the words "singer/songwriter from Seattle, Washington" my skepticism needle skews all the way to "Uggghhhh....:"
Fortunately, Damien Jurado keeps the Nick Drake-iness to a minimum and instead channels The Kinks circa Village Green Preservation Society.. He strums along, never committing to much of a melody, and spouting some nonsensical, psuedo-existential (or bad acid trip) lyrics, but it hardly matters. He wraps the chorus up around a brilliant, simple hook and then simply launches the song into outer space. The drums pick up, some keyboards flit around, and Jurado's voice just echoes away endlessly. James McMorrow could learn a lot from "Silver Timothy."
MinneSarah:
Wes Craven has a ton of material for his next movie's soundtrack. Damien Jurado has always seemed so exclusively singer-songwriter to me and I'll admit to never having given him a fair shot. "Silver Timothy" sounds like sixties West Coast psychadelica. It's got a grand sound, and makes the perfect backdrop to making mundane tasks seem like you're acting out a movie scene in slow motion - take that laundry!
The lyrics are either cavernously deep or very simple, "you can never go home if you've never been shown." This is not at all what I thought I'd click on for the new Damien Jurado, but now I'm interested.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
MinneSarah: 3.5/5
03. Wild Cub - Thunder Clatter (from the album Youth)
TCDroogsma:
"Thunder Clatter" is pretty typical of the indie sound in 2013. Which would make a lot more sense if we weren't a month into 2014.
At its heart, "Thunder Clatter" is a pretty adorable love song. Life can be a big stupid mess sometimes, and when singer Keegan DeWitt sings, "I hear it call in the center of it all, you're the love of my life," he strikes a very relatable chord. Unfortunately, for the 4:00 surrounding that lovely sentiment Wild Cub illustrates just what "it all" is, namely shapeless percussion, group vocals, tedious guitar leads, and a search for hooks that just won't come. In fact, the more that I think about it, "Thunder Clatter" just might be the most poignant love song ever written.
MinneSarah:
There has been a lot of buzz around Wild Cub lately, likely because they just came to town. This winter has been so rough, we haven't gotten a lot of musicians brave enough to trek into the polar vortex.
Wild Cub is from Nashville and their upbeat guitars seem to bring sunshine to the dead of winter. Another love song, the timing errs too close to Valentine's Day for me to give these amorous lyrics a fair listen, but they seem genuinely happy and not at all ironic. If glitter had a sound, that quality is omnipresent in the background - perhaps that's what thunder clatter sounds like in Nashville?
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2.5/5
MinneSarah: 3.5/5
04. Drowners - Luv, Hold Me Down (from the album Drowners)
TCDroogsma:
Reading about Drowners prior to spending a week with "Luv, Hold Me Down" pretty much killed my expectations for the song. Singer Matt Hitt (a Welshman living in NYC) takes flack for being a model, which seems kind of ridiculous, but gains a little more traction when he sings, "I don't live my life like you do." You couldn't be more right, Matt.
The other subject that came up repeatedly was the band's debt to The Strokes. As much as I enjoyed "Luv, Hold Me Down," I enjoyed watching music critics accuse them of ripping of The Strokes just as much. I mean, THE STROKES! I love that band to death, but they were no bastion of originality. In fact, they were arguably the most derivative and calculating band in a scene that included Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, AND LCD Soundsystem.
However, they also had better tunes than all three of those bands combined (insert preemptive "shut up" to James Murphy fanboys here). Drowners deserve every piece of those Strokes comparisons. They're calculating, the fake kind of New York tough, and a thoroughly enjoyable band. "Luv, Hold Me Down" has more hooks than the rest of this week's songs put together. They may not be the most original hooks, but that doesn't mean they weren't the best.
MinneSarah:
While certainly influenced by The Cure, Drowners bring an American rock quality to this love song. The band obviously holds British music in high esteem, as the song's title would suggest, but this New York band pays homage with their American sensibilities. "But I don't live my life like you do," embodies the spirit of this song, keeping the lyrics from being too cliche. The eighties guitars are familiar and welcomed. Drowners are coming to the Turf in April, possibly supplying the thaw out soundtrack we can all get behind.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 4.5/5
MinneSarah: 4/5
05. Haley Bonar - Last War (from her as-yet-untitled new album)
TCDroogsma:
I couldn't listen to Haley Bonar's "Last War" without thinking of No Bird Sing's "And War." Sure, I probably drew the initial connection based on their titles, but the songs share several similarities.
Much like No Bird Sing, Haley Bonar made her name by making her voice the star of the show. Where Joe Horton & company's arrangements were sparse & cold, Bonar offered warmth, but both put the focus squarely on the vocals. "And War" found Joe Horton's voice wrapped up in layers of drums, synthesizers, and, well, other people's voices. The end result was a bigger, richer sound that relegated Horton to a role player in his own show. "Last War" does the same with Bonar. The drums are propulsive, the guitars pick & echo, and the whole things sounds like it was recorded in an airplane hangar. Yet its big production leaves Bonar lost in the mix, struggling to stand out against a wall of sound.
MinneSarah:
"Last War" is melancholy - more so than I would have expected from Haley for her new album. Filled with energy, despite leaving a sense of longing, Bonar's vocals sound sweet, desperate, and authoritative throughout the song. The listener feels a sense of urgency but also a sense of resignation. While there is nothing as definitive as proclaiming something as the last - it pushes forward and builds as it goes. "Last War" leaves me feeling intrigued about the new album, and glad that at least for now, Haley's back in Minnesota.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2.5/5
MinneSarah: 3.5/5
Well there you have it, MP3 junkies! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!
As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.
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