Songs Of The Week #62: TCDroogsma & MinneSarah

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Holy Ghost!, Johnny Flynn, Tristen, Califone, & Strange Names...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #62!

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. Holy Ghost - Okay (from the album Dynamics)

 
TCDroogsma:

     It's kind of funny that just a few months ago Depeche Mode released Delta Machine, a peculiar album that found Martin Gore & Dave Gahan exploring blues sounds.  Of course nobody really wanted this album, but Gore & Gahan know that they'll be crucified if they just keep returning to the same old synth-doom-pop well over and over again.  And yet when someone like Holy Ghost! comes along and basically writes a Depeche Mode song everybody loses their shit.  Hardly seems fair, eh?

     Fair or not, it's obvious why people love this one.  "Okay" starts off like an update of another classic NYC song, The Walkmen's "The Rat."  "Surely, you're joking, calling me this late..." greets us with the sort of polite anger that requires a wall of synth-perfection to seem realistic.  Sadly, instead of the decisive rage of Hamilton Leithauser we're treated to a sob story of Brooklynites at their most insufferable, getting drunk & trying to figure out if their broken up or not.  The synth-hooks of "Okay" will remind you of "Enjoy The Silence," the lyrics will make you long for it.

MinneSarah:

     Holy Ghost! basically ruled summer of 2011 - in my mind, they are the Smash Mouth of indie electronic. It takes a little getting used to for me to fully embrace their music in the fall, but "Okay" does the job of subduing the poppiness but losing none of the charm.

     The song opens with electronic noises reminiscent of early Depeche Mode, but the rest of the song is more downbeat than Martin Gore's idealistic start.   Holy Ghost! adds their own hipster cynicism to the tried and true equation.  The lyrics reflect disappointed capitulation - Holy Ghost! isn't happy, but they're not going to sweat it too hard, there's always tomorrow.  As far as indie electronic, Holy Ghost! does not disappoint and this song could easily help usher in the fall.  

Final Score: TCDroogsma - 3/5
                              MinneSarah - 4/5

02. Johnny Flynn - The Lady Is Risen (from the album Country Mile)

 
TCDroogsma:

     Googling Johnny Flynn provided me with the following information:  He's typically backed by a band called "The Sussex Wit."  He's an actor, poet, & songwriter.  And he cites Yeats & Shakespeare as an influence.

     "The Lady Is Risen" is pretty much just what you'd expect based on those facts and the picture above.  It's a folky, strummy number that opens with the couplet, "She loves full & true, as a fighting bequest/she was given her earth by a sea come to rest..."  If that's what having Yeats on your side is like then god bless Morrissey.

     The song fleshes out nicely (specifically the keyboard line that sounds like it was beamed in from an old AM radio broadcast).  Flynn barbles along in this overly poetic style for most of the song, but redeems himself by cutting through his own pomposity with one knowing line: "Y'know, life isn't always like the end of your novels.  Oh, things might wind up, but they always unravel"  Ain't that the truth.

MinneSarah:

     Leave it to the Brits to add horns to folk music?  I'm not a fan of folk, but at least as an American, I can call it like I see it.

     This young lad may have been influenced by American folk and apparently mariachi horns, but that's a tall order to combine into a single song.  The horns actually help the song move forward, and Johnny's voice is more robust than first anticipated.  However, there is some background "ooh-ing" as similar and yet out of place as Donna and Maddie's love circle backing vocals in season two of Twin Peaks.  The lyrics may be "too personal" to make sense to a lay-listener, but pressed to explain I'd say there is a love story in there somewhere. As far as Folk Nouveau goes, this song is putting an interesting new twist on a trend that our generation should never have embraced. 

Final Score: TCDroogsma - 3/5
                              MinneSarah - 2/5

03. Tristen - No One's Gonna Know (from the album Caves)

 
TCDroogsma:

     I don't really know what's going on over at The Current with regards to this Southern Woman Renaissance.  This month it's Tristen, last month it was Amanda Shires, a month before that it was Cheyenne Mize... It's not that their bad songs (though, as the reviews have shown, I wouldn't describe them as "good songs" either), I guess I just didn't realize that this was going to be the next big sound.

     Compared to those artists I found that I liked Tristen a little more.  "No One's Gonna Know" skews less country and more indie, though it does lose some personality in the process.  Oddly it combines the attempted poetry of Johnny Flynn ("You were always with care, a run up to the shoe...") with the ADD hooks of Holy Ghost!  Tristen splits the difference between those two in a way that would likely leave both Holy Ghost & Johnny Flynn offended by the comparison.

MinneSarah:

     This song starts out with a bass-y electronic, almost tropical beat. "No One's Gonna Know" is segmented to the extreme.  If you get bored easily, this song drifts between luau to spooky luau to Olivia Newton-John to hymn-like seriousness during the course of the song.  There is nothing to bridge the incoherent parts together.  Tristen's voice is strong and clear, albeit pouty.  However, I became annoyed by the lack of focus and cavalier transitions. 

Final Score: TCDroogsma - 2/5
                              MinneSarah - 1/5

04. Califone - Frosted Tips (from the album Stitches)

 
TCDroogsma:

     Based on "Frosted Tips" I'm left with the conclusion that Califone is the second-best dad rock band to call Chicago home.

     As a 31 year old I find "Frosted Tips" enjoyably cynical.  The refrain of, "watching the new world die" is delivered with a smirk instead of malice.  Hell, even the title "frosted tips" seems like a reference to the kind of thing nobody's mocked since the late 90's.  The song suffers a bit from the non-descript vocals, but more than makes up for it with feedback & tape loops that sound like the first generation of Mission Of Burma disciples.

MinneSarah:

     Hooray!  A song with horns and strings that is well done and not gimmicky.  This low-fi, alt-rock gem reminds me of everything that was good about the world in 1997.  "Frosted Tips" is layered with horns, strings and electronic noises, but at its base is a good rock song with guitars, bass and drums.  It sounds down to earth, but still catchy and modern.  While the lyrics are repetitive, they still manage to sound sincere.  This song could easily be the main song for Wes Anderson's next film!

Final Score: TCDroogsma - 3/5
                              MinneSarah - 4/5

05. Strange Names - Potential Wife (Information Society Remix)

 
TCDroogsma:

     I remember back in the 90's when remixes really started being a legit thing.  I'd hear that some song that I liked (invariably something British) had a remix, seek it out in the semi-old fashioned manner of ordering a CD single of CDNow.com, and, 12-15 days later, be disappointed when it was essentially the exact same track with all the guitars removed and a drum machine pulsing a double-time beat where the drums used to be.

    All of this is to say that this remix of "Potential Wife" leaves me disappointed.  The struggle for the Information Society may be that the original was a stone cold jam, with all the hooks anybody could want.  Hell, the original was even plenty danceable at its pace.  Adding some pulsing synths, bells, and vocal effects just isn't doing much for me.  It's difficult to improve on "Awesome!"

MinneSarah:

     As fall gets drearier, the importance of upbeat music cannot be understated.  The original version of "Potential Wife" stands on its own and brings out all the best in indie music right now.  "Ooohs" and "ahhhhs," to be sure, but also upbeat guitar and prominently guiding bass.  The lead singer's voice perfectly carries the song, mixed with aloofness and enthusiasm.

     As if that isn't enough, Strange Names had the rare privilege of getting mixed by Twin Cities finest electronic group, Information Society, for this version!  As Information Society work their magic, the tempo is increased, the drum machine is cued up, and the vocals are massaged with well placed electronic effects.  The partnership adds energy to the song and strives to improve an already excellent song.

Final Score: TCDroogsma - 2/5
                              MinneSarah - 4.5/5

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).  She can also be found right here on Newest Industry filing reports out of St. Paul for our Big Day Out column

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog. 

Songs Of The Week #45

 (THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Laura Marling, Radiation City, Jason Isbell, Future Bible Heroes, Sun Gods To Gamma Rays...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #45!

For those of you who are still unfamiliar with the Songs Of The Week column, here's the scoop. TCDroogsma is kind of addicted to The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. He's been a subscriber since January of 2007 when they first started giving away songs and has been hopelessly devoted ever since. Seeing an opportunity to help him deal with his addiction/put him to work, we set him to review these songs each week. 45 weeks later and here we are.

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!

To that end, once you've given the songs a good spin or two, please take a second to vote for your favorite Song Of The Day track in the poll to the right side of the page. The winning artist receives the validation that comes with winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest goal to which a modern musician can aspire.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Laura Marling – Where Can I Go? (from the album Once I Was An Eagle)

TCDroogsma:

     While my love of British music is no secret, I've never really been able to connect with the British folk rock scene.  For reasons I can't completely explain, the Brits have never been able to nail folk music as well as Americans (and keep in mind, I'm none too fond of America folk music).

    
     With "Where Can I Go?," Laura Marling comes on like a British Lucinda Williams.  However, where Williams is able to sell a song through force of personality alone, Marling comes off like a passenger in her own song.  Maybe it's just another example of American brashness vs. British subtlety, but that's a discussion for a different day.  "Where Can I Go?" drifts by on some pretty guitar strumming and keyboards, but seems to disappear as quickly as it arrives, leaving nothing behind.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Radiation City – Foreign Bodies (from the album Animals In The Median)

 
TCDroogsma:

     "Foreign Bodies" is yet another example of why I spend a week listening to each one of these SOTD tracks first thing in the morning.  The first few times I listened to "Foreign Bodies" it didn't really stick.  It bounces a bit, and the chorus seemed nice enough, but meh...

    
     Quick aside: The first few times I heard this I thought, "Man... this sounds like a Portland thing."  Sure enough, after digging into Radiation City a bit it turns out to be from Portland.  Congrats, Rose City!  You have a distinctive sound! In that same vein, it's probably best that I didn't see that picture of the band before I wrote this review.  Portland has a distinctive look too.  Unlike their "sound," that's not a compliment.

     Anyway, the fourth or fifth time through the song really started to hit.  That chorus that "seemed nice" earlier in the week finally started to stick (a sign of a great hook is when it doesn't hit immediately).  The additional vocals give the hook a bit of a modern-day-girl-group sound.  In fact, if you trim away the fuzz, "Foreign Bodies" sounds like lost Supremes song.  Definitely a solid left-of-center summer jam.

Final Score: 3.5/5

03. Jason Isbell – Stockholm (from the album Southeastern)

 
TCDroogsma:

     It's been several years and several songs now since Jason Isbell first turned up in the SOTD songs and I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the guy.  The tracks I've hear with his rock outfit The 400 Unit have a great Replacements-In-Memphis vibe to them.  His solo track "Dress Blues" is an absolutely soul-crushing track about burying a young soldier that, admittedly, carried some extra weight with me as I have a friend in the Navy.

    
     Still, it's nearly impossible not to think of Jason Isbell as the guy who used to be in Drive-By Truckers.  I'm sure he hates being classified that way (and rightfully so as DBT is one of the most boring bands I've ever come across), but he made his name with that band and now he's stuck with it.  Tough break, bud, but it's a two-way street.

     "Stockholm" is exactly the song you'd expect to hear if you were told you were about to listen to a song by an ex-Drive-By-Trucker.  It's got a solid alt-country sound, swinging like a pendulum back and forth, as Isbell laments a relationship rougher than "love songs that make a Georgia man cry" and is more difficult than reading "The Good Book."  The one curveball "Stockholm" throws comes in the form of strings that sound like they're being played on a phonograph in the next room.  Save for those strings, "Stockholm" is the living definition of "rote." 

Final Score: 2.5/5

04. Future Bible Heroes – Living, Loving, Partygoing (from the album Partygoing)

 
TCDroogsma:

     I'm not going to waste too many words getting to my point: "Living, Loving, Partygoing" is the worst song The Current has given away this year.  Frankly, it's not even close.  When you consider the number of Ben Gibbard songs I've reviewed, that's really saying something.

    
     I don't know if Stephen Merritt and company are aiming for some sort of cultural snapshot by chronicling the oppressively mundane experiences of the hipster parties (The Guy Fawkes Day Bash?  Go fuck yourselves), but if that's the case they've come too close to their subject.  "Living, Loving, Partygoing" is like an audio version of a sophomore in college's Instagram account.  Just picture after picture with hashtags like #Realest and #Badass.  All the while trying to dance with the girl from English Lit that he's had a crush on all semester.  Perhaps if Future Bible Heroes had taken the time to illustrate the sadness that undoubtedly crosses the minds of these kids at parties then the song would carry a little more weight.  Or maybe the fact that they don't show that side is the point, reminding us that college kids are self-indulgent jackasses with terrible taste in pretty much everything.  If that's the case, I certainly didn't need three verses to be sufficiently reminded.

     Add that ridiculous lyrical content to the type of keyboard plinks that lack all of the baroque-pop character of Merritt's Magnetic Fields work and "Living, Loving, Partygoing" quickly becomes an exercise in how quickly I can remove his iPod his pocket and find the "Next" button.

Final Score: 0/5

05. Sun Gods To Gamma Rays – Burn Me Through (from their forthcoming album)

  
 
TCDroogsma:

     "Burn Me Through" is a fantastic example of how talented musicians and producers can take a good song and turn it into a great one.

    
     For the duration of the verses singer Brianna Kocka sings through a lyrical-haze of midwestern passivity and a audio-haze of buried vocals and drifting instrumentation.  She works through metaphors, telling a (potential?) significant other that he's "the sun, the moon" and "the burning fire..."

     Then, almost as if she's exhausted from trying to elicit a response via romantic metaphor, the haze breaks, the instruments become clear, and Kocka's voice comes brilliantly to life as she puts it as bluntly as possible: "I want, I really, really want you, I need, I really, really need you..."  The lines end with a guitar ticking back and forth between two notes like a clock counting off the moments spent waiting for a response, aware that there's no more pretending to misunderstand the metaphors anymore.  Again, a lovely job by the whole band to find the extra depth in "Burn Me Through."

Final Score: 3.5/5

There you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, we ask that you please remember 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 little 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 Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #38

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Bleached, Keaton Henson, The Lonely Wild, Andy Burrows, & Har Mar Superstar...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #38!

For those of you who are new to the column, here's the story: TCDroogsma likes to dork out about MP3's. We think he may have a problem. Each week we ask TCDroogsma to download the songs given away over the week by The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending a few days with the songs we ask him to review the songs 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, people!

Alright, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Bleached – Dead In Your Head (from the album Ride Your Heart)

TCDroogsma:

     I didn't know anything about Bleached going into this week's songs.  Turns out Bleached is the work of sisters Jennifer & Jessie Clavin.  The name "Bleached" seems appropriate as the band is based out of L.A. and definitely sounds like a band from the 90's with some of the Seattle grunge burned away, leaving us with a hook-heavy, hearbroken pop song.

    
     As has been pretty well documented in these columns, I'm a fan of anything that leans 90's and anything that leans shoegaze.  "Dead In Your Head" has both in spades.  While the prospect of MPR giving away yet another "we broke up, I'm feeling things" song is about as exciting as another week of winter, Bleached manages just enough tricks to keep it interesting.

     Coming off like 808's era Kanye, the Clavin sisters start off lashing, claiming, "It's time to think about what you lost, because you know, baby, it's gonna hit you..."  Sadly, instead of an entire track of kiss-offs, the chorus is hinges the phrase, "I never wanted to lose the boy I love the most..."  Honestly, this back-and-forth between anger and regret has been beat to death in this "Song Of The Day" format.  In a different venue I probably would have likes this song more, but after spending a week with "Dead In Your Head," I'm left with the desire to sit down with the Clavin sisters and tell them each to get their shit together.  Nobody wants to hear somebody complain about something they had and lost when they're not even sure they wanted it in the first place.

Final Score: 2.5/5

02. Keaton Henson – You (from the album Birthdays)

 
TCDroogsma:

     According to, wel... the internet, Keaton Henson is the "bedroom troubadour" archetype personified.  Evidently, Mr. Henson has been so racked with anxiety since he was a child that he rarely ventures out to play live, instead staying in crafting fragile pop songs.  Frankly, I blame his parents.  Who names their kid Keaton?

     Well, "You" definitely sounds like the work of somebody who spends all day in a bedroom.  It's lushly produced, with strings that are beautifully executed and percussion that builds & drops the way anxiety would well up if you were stuck in your own head all day.  From an instrumental standpoint, this is clearly the work of somebody who hasn't left the house (and I mean that as a compliment).

    Lyrically, however, it also sounds like the work of somebody who hasn't left the house (and I don't mean that as a compliment).  "You" is filled with cliche & platitudes of a third-party telling somebody how to cope with life.  The fact that it's somebody who struggles to actually leave the house and live a life is readily apparent.  The lyric's revolve around "If... then..." statements.  "If you must leave," "If you must mourn," "If you must weep..."  The answer to all these questions a rote.  Honestly, the song sounds like an address from Henson to his own anxiety, questions answered with a mix of continued hibernation or calls to action, which leaves no right or wrong option.  Everything action or inaction justified.

    The song was definitely going to be a 2, but I'm bumping it up to a 3 for the line, "If you must die, sweetheart, die knowing your life was my life's best part..."  That is my early 2013 nomination for "Soul-Crushing Line Of The Year."

Final Score: 3/5

03. The Lonely Wild – Everything You Need (from the album The Sun As It Comes)

TCDroogsma:

     The Lonely Wild introduces "Everything You Need" with some upbeat-indie guitar and, unexpectedly, mariachi horns.  If the bastard child of The Helio Sequence & Calexico seems interesting, you should probably give The Lonely Wild a listen.

    
     Is this interesting to me?  Not especially.  "Everything You Need" is certainly well-executed and delivered with passion.  Sadly, The Lonely Wild seems to be counting on this indie-mash up sound to be their most compelling fact, rather than the actual content of the song.  Everything is so well-done and between the lines that even the moment of abandon (when the horns & rhythm vaguely abandon the songs structure around the 2:30 mark) seems a little too well coordinated.  "Everything You Need" is a welcome addition to the iPod Shuffle library, but I can't imagine listening to 50 minutes of this.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Andy Burrows – Keep On Moving On (from the album Company)

TCDroogsma:

     Andy Burrows is the former drummer for the band Razorlight.  Unless you're English (or an NME junkie), this may not mean much to you, but Razorlight was arena-show huge in England.  I'll explain why this is relevant in a bit.

     I'm sure he hates the fact that pretty much every article or review about him starts this way.  Honestly, until I googled his name I didn't know this fact.  The reason I googled his name, however, is because "Keep On Moving On" starts off like a hundred other indie rock songs.  The harmonies and hooks are big, but the song takes a real turn around the 1:00 mark when a big time guitar solo turns up.  Form that point on the song takes on an REO Speedwagon kind of vibe.  I mean that as a compliment.  So many of these Current songs are so far up their own ass that they can't see the light of day.

    What Burrows does with "Keep On Moving On" is incredibly refreshing.  He aims big with the second half of the song, something too many indie-bands undertake only with the knowing wink of, "here we go, right?!?"  Clearly, Burrows learned a lesson or two playing the big stages with Razorlight.  That lesson: Just fucking go for it once in a while.  If the songs above suffer for their venue (This "Song Of The Day" format), the Burrows benefits from it.  This song doesn't belong on MPR, it belongs on KQRS.

Final Score: 3.5/5

05. Har Mar Superstar – Lady, You Shot Me (from the album Bye Bye 17)

TCDroogsma:

     I've already written pretty extensively on "Lady, You Shot Me" right here on Newest Industry for their Singles Mixer column (click here to give it a read).  I'm not going to re-hash everything I said there, so in summation: this is a pretty great single.

Final Score: 4/5

Well there you have it, folks. Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please bear in mind that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and a little 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 playing some songs & bantering on our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #37

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Young Man, The Thermals, Mudhoney, Cayucas, & Web Of Sunsets...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #37!

For those of you who aren't quite sure what you're looking at, here's the story: Each week we ask our resident music dork TCDroogsma to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending a few days with the tracks we ask him to give us his thoughts on the songs and to give them a score of 1-5.

As always, we highly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free & it's fun for the whole family!

We'd also love for you to share your opinions of the songs by voting for your favorite in the poll to the right of the page. The winning artist receives the validation of winning an anonymous internet poll on a blog, arguably the highest achievement a musician can attain.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Young Man – In A Sense (from the album Beyond Is All Around Me)

TCDroogsma:

     When I first saw that I was downloading a song called "In A Sense" I was nearly certain that it was a play on the word "innocence."  While Colin Caulfield never overtly says that, the song does take on one of those last moments of innocence: a truly rough breakup that requires one to choose between forgiveness and bitterness.

     As a man who's prone to bitterness, it's admirable that Caulfield would approach his situation by, "waiting on another wasted afternoon, spent up long in thought, forgiving you..." Mentioning the end result of this thoughts softens the blow of the chorus in which he rattles off more than enough reasons to wallow into bitterness.  In a way, by forgiving this person he's preserving his own innocence.

     As if the lyrics aren't enough, the song carries a peaceful melody, as if he's merely recapping the thought process rather than considering options.  "In A Sense" is, um... in a sense, an end to that small chapter in the book of Caulfield's youth.  He remains charmingly innocent for now.

Final Score: 3/5

02. The Thermals – The Sunset (from the album Desperate Ground)

TCDroogsma:

     The Thermals is another in a surprisingly long list of band that I know only through the Song Of The Day podcast.  I don't know enough of their stuff to say, "Oh, I'm a fan of The Thermals," but, with "The Sunset" I've also heard at least one song off of each of their last three albums.  It's actually kind of a fun way to follow a band, receiving these songs like postcards from old friends that can only say so much in the small space allotted for notes.

     So what's their to take away from "The Sunset?"  Well, The Thermals don't sound like they've calmed down too much.  The guitars are nowhere near as wiry or bouncy as they used to be, implying either a level of growing up or growing bored.  Without hearing the rest of Desperate Ground it's impossible to know which.

     One thing remains, though, Hutch Harris knows how to sell a song.  My favorite song by The Thermals, "Now We Can See" was a nice, punky rave-up held together by Harris' belief in both his lyrics and his vocal chords.  "The Sunset" deals vaguely with a sense of paranoia.  Harris opens the song by claiming, "I am never alone, my shadows are close where I need them to be, I keep them with me."  Like an army of one, those shadows are Harris proof that he's not alone.  Whether they're haunting or helping remains to be seen.  Again, it's possible that I'm reading too much into this since I only deal with The Thermals one song at a time, but "The Sunset" seems like the middle of story started years ago when emotions ran more wildly.  Where The Thermals go next is bound to re-frame "The Sunset."  Until then, enjoy it for what it is.

Final Score: 3.5/5

04. Mudhoney – I Like It Small (from the album Vanishing Point)

TCDroogsma:

     For anybody who grew up in the 90's, Mudhoney was always the litmus test to differentiate between the kids who liked Nirvana & Soundgarden songs on the radio and the kids who really "got it."  The riffs were always a little gnarlier, the lyrics more caustic, more straightforward, and more funny.

     To hear Mudhoney in 2013 is, for those of us who grew up in the 90's, a real treat.  I feel like anybody younger than 30 won't quite get it.  The fact that Mark Arm (who's quickly turning into the American Mark E. Smith) spends, "I Like It Small" mocking/glorifying a concept of "selling out" that is foreign to those under 30 (and quaint to those of us over 30) leaves this song with a relatively small demographic of people who would "get it."  Though, of course, maybe that was the point all along.  It's really hard to tell.

     Mudhoney works up the kind of pop-grunge groove they've been making for 20-odd years.  Arm, as I mentioned above, doesn't so much sing as he does rattle off a list of things that could be taken as sincere ("minimum production, low yield, intimate settings, limited appeal"), but, given Mudhoney's career trajectory, have a bit of a curmudgeonly "You can't fire me, I quit!" vibe.  At least, Arm retains his sense of humor when he claims that, "when I orgy, I cap it at 12, any more than that and I get overwhelmed."

Final Score: 3.5/5

04. Cayucas – High School Lover (from the album Bigfoot)

TCDroogsma:

     With it's sorta-indie, sorta-african sound, "High School Lover" comes on like a track from Now! That's What I Call Indie Rock 2008!  Is that a band thing?  Not really.  It's catchy enough and definitely makes a fine warm weather jam.

    
     Still, the sentiment of the songs protagonist (who sounds like he's just returning home from his first year of college), is hard to fathom.  He claims that he hasn't read the letters she sent him while he was away (because evidently he's going to college in a world without e-mail, Facebook, GChat, or Twitter) and that, after accidentally seeing her undress, he couldn't help but claiming they should have been together in high school.  Call me crazy, but who comes home from college pining for the girls in high school?  Dude probably just spent a whole season wowing freshman gals into bed with his charming little indie songs.  I'm not buying it.

Final Score: 2.5/5

05. Web Of Sunsets – Fool's Melodies (from the 7” Fool's Melodies)

TCDroogsma:

      Just in time for spring, we get Web Of Sunsets "Fool's Melodies."  It's easy guitar strumming and air-y vocals make the song sound like it's being performed while sitting around a bonfire on the beach.  The lyrics carry the echo of pain and disappointment that comes to thousands of couples around the Twin Cities who stayed together through the winter only to split up once the temps went up.  Not a sad song so much as one tinged with instant nostalgia.

Final Score: 3.5/5

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 are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio. We're just music fans with laptops and a little 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 Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems stopping by and giving us a “Like” if a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #36: TCDroogsma

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Kurt Vile, K.S. Rhoads, The Black Angels, Telekinesis!, & Chalet...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #36!

For those of you who aren't quite sure what you're looking at, here's the story: Each week we ask two of our contributors to download the tracks given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending a few days with the songs (or, in this week's case, over a week), we ask them to give us their thoughts on the tracks and to give them a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly suggest that you click here and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free & it's fun for the whole family!

Sadly, as has been the case for months now, we've still been unable to find a second contributor to review the songs. Fortunately, TCDroogsma is a big fan of the podcast and perpetually available.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Kurt Vile – Never Run Away (from the album Walkin' On A Pretty Daze)

TCDroogsma:

     There has been a lot of discussion on the old internet over the last couple of weeks about whether Kurt Vile's new album is brilliant or terrible.  Being pretty much unfamiliar with Vile's work (and a little too familiar with the world of online music criticism), I was pretty excited to see that I'd finally get to hear something off of Walkin' On A Pretty Daze.

     After spending a week with the song I'm left with a resounding, "Meh."  " Never Run Away" seems at times to be a love song, a fight, and an internal monologue.  Is this the product of songwriting that's over my head? Is Kurt Vile too stoned to bother differentiating between the three?  Is that the point?  I don't know.

     Lyrics aside, "Never Run Away" is a pleasant enough tune.  Vile tosses out lovely slacker-hooks throughout the song, which keeps it fresh from beginning to end.  Still, after a couple weeks of debate I was left thinking this song sounds a lot like something off of a Ben Kweller album.  This is what we're fighting about now, internet? 

Final Score: 3/5

02. K.S. Rhoads – Harvest (from the album Wilderness)

TCDroogsma:

      I'll admit, I'm skeptical of any song called "Harvest."  Maybe it's because Neil Young pretty much has the first & last say on the word or maybe it's just because I hate the outdoors.  To say I came into K.S. Rhoads skeptical is an understatement.  And then there was whistling...

     I've made no secret over the years of my disdain for whistling in music.  I actually told a girl once that I owned a gun and two bullets: one had the words "Andrew Bird" written on it, the other "Edward Sharpe."  In my defense, my blood alcohol content was about 0.28 at the time. I was laughing out loud the first time I heard K.S. Rhoads drop the line, "You got a bullet and that bullet's got a name," right before the whistling comes in for the first time.

     That said, you can imagine my surprise when, over the course of the week, the whistling in this song grew on me.  It took a few spins to really catch the mood of the song, but once it hits it's tough to shake.  As near as I can discern, "Harvest" is an anthem, but one that casts an awfully wide net.  It seems to take on the Bush/Cheney administration for the Iraq War ("They steal from the old woman to put the young man into war").  Or maybe it's an anthem for those who occupied Wall Street ("Right now they have a seat at the table but the table will be overturned").  Maybe it's just an anthem for Obama's vague promises of "Hope" and Change."  Really, it's tough to tell.

     I can tell you this, though: Rhoads puts together one hell of a backdrop.  The bass & drums curl up nicely against the low-end, with strings creating the air that something big is about to happen.  What is that thing?  I have no idea, and if I was a betting man, I'd bet Rhoads doesn't either.  The one things that brings all these parts together: That damned whistling.  On it's own it's pleasant, but against this crumbling-empire backdrop it's downright haunting. 

Final Score: 3/5

03. The Black Angels – Don't Play With Guns (from the album Indigo Meadow)

TCDroogsma:

     The Black Angels are an allegedly psychedelic band out of Austin, Texas.  If "Don't Play With Guns" is any indication, "psychedelic" doesn't mean what it used to mean.

     
     "Don't Play With Guns" comes on like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club if Black Rebel Motorcycle Club had been raised on The Kinks.  The Black Angels have just enough guitar-swirls & Nick Cave-vocals to call themselves "psychedelic" if they'd like, but at the heart "Don't Play With Guns" is a pop-song dressed up in leather jackets and sunglasses.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Telekinesis! - Ghosts And Creatures (from the album Dormarion)

TCDroogsma:

     Telekinesis! is the product of Michael Benjamin Lerner, a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist based out of Seattle with ties to Death Cab For Cutie.  Because god forbid I ever write one of these SOTW columns without being forced to mention Death Cab For Cutie.

    There are a lot of things going on in "Ghosts And Creatures."  Unfortunately, none of them are particularly memorable.  There's a bouncy piano bit, some fuzzy vocals, some percussion that sounds like an old laptop, and some strings that kind of dominate the song once you notice them.  All of these pillars would be fine if they were holding up something, "Ghosts And Creatures" leaves you dying for a hook that just never comes.

Final Score: 2.5/5

05. Chalet – All Our Friends (from the album Tuscon)

TCDroogsma:

     Another in a long, glorious line of indie-power-pop bands that are making up the new Minneapolis sound.  Chalet is the work of Joey Cantor, who's spent plenty of time in bands around town and it rests comfortably with artists like Gloss, BNLX, Jeremy Messersmith, & Cantor's other band Rogue Valley.

    
     "All Our Friends" is a meticulously crafted song.  Every guitar, piano, and drum bit sounds like it's been fussed over out of love rather than out of perfectionism.  Cantor clearly is no stranger to structuring a song for maximum effect either.  He manages to build up the verses brilliantly and then uses the open space of the bridge to give the chorus a little extra something.  A thoroughly enjoyable song and another argument for Minneapolis' redefined sound.

Final Score: 4/5

Well there you have it everybody! 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 above, The Current, or MPR. We're merely music fans with laptops and little 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 Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.