(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
Thumpers, Elizabeth & The Catapult, Angel Olsen, & Lizzo...
Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #81!
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. Thumpers - Sound Of Screams (from the album Galore)
TCDroogsma:
Before I get into the reviews this week I'd like to take a moment to point out that we were only given four songs to review this week. Why? Because Monday was President's Day. That's right, MPR takes President's Day off! What are you, the fucking Post Office? Rough gig.
Anyway, on to the songs. Thumpers. They're a duo, they're British, and they like everything at once. "Sound Of Screams" takes massive drums, skewed keyboard blips, fuzzed out bass guitar, shouted vocals, oohs & aahs, and some handclaps and just plays them all at the same time. Believe it or not, this leaves "Sound Of Screams" a little murky. I know that there's a hook in there somewhere, but I'll be damned if the boys of Thumpers don't do everything in their power to hide it.
MinneSarah:
"Sound of Screams" skews more summer than I'm really able to handle this time of year. The lyrics are nostalgic, so much so that the thought passed my mind more than once that this could be the end of summer "Camp song" for hipster summer camp. In addition to drums, they sample handclaps and footstomps and run them on a loop. While the title, "Sound of Screams" could be macabre, it appears here to be the reaction the band had to the Postal Service reunion. I guarantee you I'd be feeling this song more, were it not -13 F as I write this review, but as far as circumstance goes, this one is coming off my iPod.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3/5
MinneSarah: 2.5/5
02. Elizabeth & The Catapult - Shoelaces (from the album Like It Never Happened)
TCDroogsma:
The "Elizabeth" of Elizabeth & The Catapult is Elizabeth Ziman, a classically-trained musician from Greenwich Village. Somehow knowing that little bit of information helped me make sense of "Shoelaces."
"Shoelaces" is a lament about a woman who resists falling in love because she can't get her own shit together (an admirable sentiment, but really, you're a music major from Greenwich Village, nobody expects you to have your shit together). The song is meticulously executed, riding a bouncing bass line and a twin acoustic/electric guitar attack through the verses and into a chorus that's half-lyrics, half-"do dum do." If Neko Case tried to write a Fountains Of Wayne song it would turn out like "Shoelaces."
MinneSarah:
The singer, who I can only imagine is the marqueeing Elizabeth, has a powerful voice. It skews a little Country, with planned breaks and extended enunciation, but the song itself is surprisingly poppy. The lyrics are about how she can't invest in a relationship because of a litany of metaphors relating to housekeeping, songwriting, and gardening. While it's my personal opinion that relationships aren't worth getting into unless you go head first - it must be nice to have that foresight to take it slow. While all the examples make me wonder who would want to date anyone racked with such self-doubt, the song turns it around and makes perfect sense. It has elements of happy-go-lucky pop and moody intervals of singer/songwriter reflection, making it more listenable than just one of those genres.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
03. Angel Olsen - High And Wild (from the album Burn Your Fire For No Witness)
TCDroogsma:
Angel Olsen has been kind of blowing up the indie music blog world over the last week, so when I saw that we'd be reviewing "High And Wild" this week I was looking forward to finding out what all the hype was about.
Turns out, not much. "High And Wild" shows up in a haze of fuzzy guitars, old-timey piano and spoke-sung lyrics and proceeds to just sit their nearly four minutes. Angel Olsen comes off like Courtney Barnett minus the Dylan infatuation, which, I realize, seems like a compliment, but Barnett was such a blank slate that copping Dylan's style was the only thing noteworthy about her song. Lyrically Olsen comes off like the id to Elizabeth Ziman's ego. She's struggling to find love too, but it's definitely somebody else's fault. When she delivers lines as cringe-inducing as, "I'm neither innocent or wise when you look me in the eyes, you might as well be blind, 'cause you don't see me anymore!" it leaves me wondering why anybody would want to see her anymore. "High And Wild" comes off like a Tumblr post that should probably should have been taken down once the hangover wore off.
MinneSarah:
"High and Wild" is a roller coaster of a song with a sixties feel to it. While I'm not interested at all of the talking-toned singing at the beginning, listener take note - Angel Olson has an emotion-filled voice when she wants to use it! At those moments, this song takes on another level of feeling that is more than the you may have thought you've gotten into from the beginning. The lyrics are relate-able - relationship problems and emotionally charged miscommunications are always familiar fodder. The way the song picks up towards the end, is extended a little longer than it needs be, as the last 40 second sounds like a 60's drug-fueled jam band session.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 1/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
04. Lizzo - Paris (New Single)
TCDroogsma:
My distaste for Lizzo was pretty well-established over the last year. Between The Chalice, GRRRL Party, and the singles off LizzoBangers, I was sure I'd seen every side of Lizzo and even more sure that I didn't like any of them.
That said, "Paris" is not bad enough to push my distaste for Lizzo any further, and that's the nicest thing I have to say about it. This time out we find Lizzo putting style over substance yet again, rapping about how Prince & Jay-Z are fans (dubious), how she can't by liquor on a Sunday (confusing, evidently), and how she's "like a muslim and you a piece of ham, I will never touch you, rather you will never touch me..." (about as poorly crafted a boast as I think I've ever heard in a hip-hop song). Like most Lizzo songs, it's about absolutely nothing whatsoever. Even the well-crafted chorus that asks if, "you've ever been to Paris at night?" loses its luster when she claims that, if you say yes, she probably won't believe you (the implication being that nobody is higher up the food chain than Lizzo, so if she hasn't been there, clearly, you haven't either). If I got paid to try to promote songs this bad I'd need to take President's Day off too.
MinneSarah:
Last month, I saw Lizzo perform this song at First Avenue. While I love her energy, I often don't identify with lyrical content, which can seem base and non-sensical. While listening to this song in person, it was one of the few unifying moments of the evening - I can relate with the chorus - I, too, have never been to Paris...at night (or otherwise). However, the rest of the song is slower and doesn't showcase what fans really go crazy over - her lightning fast rapping ability. Part of the song actually sounds like it is modeled after Dave Chapelle's Tupac song - she references a cousin who you'll probably never meet. While I'm not averse to any possible insight in Lizzo's lyrics, I'm not seeing them in this song - "You a piece of ham," really?
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 0/5
MinneSarah: 2.5/5
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.
For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio
For more MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah). In addition to filing reports out of St. Paul for our Big Day Out column she occasionally joins TCDroogsma as co-host of the Flatbasset Radio podcast.
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