Songs Of The Week #35: TCDroogsma

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

Wall., William Tyler, Villagers, Hey Marseilles, & Weird Visions...

Well hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #35!

For those of you who don't quite know what you're looking at, here's the scoop: Each week we ask two of our regular contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Once they've spent a few days with the songs we ask them to write a review and give the songs a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly suggest that you click here to subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free, occasionally good music! To that end, we also have a poll to the right side of the page. Please vote for whichever of this week's song was your favorite. The winner receives the validation that comes with winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the greatest achievement a musician can receive.

Sadly, we've still yet to find a second contributor to review the songs. Thankfully, we have the always dependable (and always available) TCDroogsma.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Wall. - Left To Wonder (from the EP Shoestring )

TCDroogsma:

      Whether it's due to an expanding pallet or through the massive exposure provided by stations like The Current, I've actually grown quite fond of synth-y, electro-pop over the last couple of years. Wall., however, sounds not quite like any of the other songs I've heard.

      Most electro-pop songs come on one of two ways: Either they start big and hope you get lost in a see of hooks & keyboard lines or they stay cold & distant, hoping you'll appreciate the fragility of the song. Remarkably, “Left To Wonder” takes neither of these approaches.  Rather, Wall. comes on like a space heater, slowly enveloping the listener.

      The first minute finds just keyboard & bass guitar backing some airy vocals. As the song hits the first chorus, though, the vocals become more forceful, the keyboard lines more varied, and the slow-burn potential realized.

      As “Left To Wonder” presses on more vocals are added to the mix, the sparseness of the songs initial lines (like the loneliness of that first morning after a breakup) eventually gives way to strangely parallel vocals & echoes (which calls to mind the various thoughts that come with the breakup: regret, longing, nostalgia, & resolve). All things considered, “Let To Wonder” is the rare electro-pop song that grows better (and more relatable) with every play.

Final Score: 3.5/5

02. William Tyler – Cadillac Desert (from the album Impossible Truth)

TCDroogsma:

      Remember a couple of weeks ago when I reviewed an instrumental track called “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance” by Ulrich Schnauss? Well, if not, I tried to make a point about the title of instrumental tracks carrying more weight than they would on a track with vocals. Inevitably, since there's no voice telling you otherwise, you can't help but let the title color the song. In the case of Schnauss, this was a bad thing, as it gave the song a condescending air that it probably wouldn't have carried if it was called something like “Bullet Train” or “I'm German, This Is Music I Play.”

      So, with that in mind, “Cadillac Desert” sounds like, well, a song you would play as you were driving a Cadillac through the desert. I have no idea if that's what William Tyler had in mind when he wrote the song or when he gave it a title, but the title defines it.

     The song comes on bluntly, with the opening strings & circular guitar sounding like a revving engine. That quickly gives way to some more nifty guitar work, with the strings coming & going intermittently, as if Tyler were driving that car through the last couple stop lights in town and out toward that desert.

     Two minutes in, and the strings have been relegated to the rear view mirror. We have four and a half minutes left to go and each one passes like a car doing 80 across the desert, trying desperately to leave whatever's in the city behind. The guitars weave in and out like a mind reeling with consequences real or imagined. The cruise control remains set until the last 25 seconds of the song, when everything settles down. That city and it's ghosts no longer visible, the panic in the guitar gives way to peace and the open road.

Final Score: 3/5

03. Villagers – Nothing Arrived (from the album Awayland)

TCDroogsma:

      It's somewhat telling that, despite not uttering one word, William Tyler was able to paint an entire picture in that previous song whereas Villagers gives us three verses and doesn't really say anything.

     “Nothing Arrived” is the perfect title for this song, as singer Conor O'Brien says almost nothing of consequence. The lyrics traffic in the type of vague, grey area that let's the song be applied by anybody to any situation they'd like. “I waited for something and something died, so I waited for nothing and nothing arrived...” is the lead to the chorus. What was that something? Dunno. It's implied that O'Brien has just gotten out of some sort of relationship (could be romantic, could be platonic) and that's vowing not to fall into that trap again.

      A third verse brings almost no clarity, “I guess it's over, I guess it's begun, it's a loser's table but we've already won, it's a funny battle, it's a constant game, I guess I was busy when nothing came...”

      Now, don't get me wrong, many an artist has taken to generalization in hopes of casting the widest net possible. The memorable ones (The Smiths, Bright Eyes, The Mountain Goats, etc...) add just enough specifics to give the song personality. Sadly, “Nothing Arrived” never finds those moments.

Final Score: 2.5/5

04. Hey Marseilles – Bright Stars Burning (from the album Lines We Trace)

TCDroogsma:

      Conversely, we have Hey Marseilles, who does a fine job of using just a few specifics to fill in the blanks of the clichés that make up most of a song. Lines like, “When I go so far you leave me in the dark I just want to be your light...” and “Summer skies don't shine the same, winter cold won't numb the pain...” are definitely cringe inducing. However, lines like the opener, “Don't rely on things you read on highway signs or magazines,” find that moment between cliché and specific, giving the song life and making the listener feel like they can relate to the sentiment of the song if not the specific story. And really, that's the trick.

      “Bright Stars Burning” is a very agreeable song, but Hey Marseilles definitely sound like they graduated with honors from the Ben Gibbard Academy Of Cardigans & Jaded Optimism. The references to seasons, nature, stars, and light make this song sound like it was somehow mistakenly left off of Plans (to say nothing of the extreme polish of the production). Of course, Plans is my favorite Death Cab For Cutie record, so consider that a compliment.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Weird Visions – Make To It (w/Holly Newsom) (from the 7” Weird Visions)

 
TCDroogsma:

      I hate to say it, but “Make To It” will probably go down as the moment that the MPLS-spawned “Gayngs” sound was finally played out.

      Look, I actually kind of dig “Make To It.” I think Holly Newsom of Zoo Animal has been building to this sort of thing for quite a while. Her voice is oppressively sexy when fronting her own band and it remains so on “Make To It.” I'm also a fan of Grant Cutler (though that's been a relationship of diminishing returns since the first Lookbook record.)  The dilemma is that, where Ryan Olson was able us auto-tune to give Channy Leaneagh's voice a warm, sensual appeal with Polica, Cutler uses the same technology to make Newsom sound less sensual & more like a sexbot.

      If “Make To It” existed in an alternate universe (or maybe just a different city) where Ryan Olson hadn't already blazed this trail then Weird Visions could probably go down as something fresh & new at best or at least an intriguing curiosity at worst. Unfortunately for Weird Visions (though fortunately for us), the Gayngs & Polica record exist, relegating Weird Visions to also-ran status.

Final Score: 2.5/5

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 our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just 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 all the work being done by 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 #27: TCDroogsma

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

Night Beds, Adam Green & Binki Shapiro, Thao With The Get Down, Stay Down, Eels, & Aby Wolf...

 

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #27!

For those of you who remain unfamiliar with the column, here's how it works. Each week we ask two of our regular contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. They spend a few days with the songs and then give us their takes. Each song is then given a score from 0-5.

As always, we strongly recommend that you click here and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free music and playing along at home is fun for the whole family!

To that end, we've posted a poll to the right side of the page. Please vote for whichever was your favorite song. At the end of the week we tally up the votes and the winner is rewarded with the sense of validation that can only come from anonymous internet polls, which his the highest civilian honor America can give out.

As has been the case for the last few weeks (and remains the case this week), TCDroogsma will be tackling these songs solo dolo. Unfortunately we still haven't been able to find a cohort. If only their were more judgmental music fans who like seeing their name on the internet out there...

So, now that that's out of the way, let's get into it. Droogsy, thoughts?

01. Night Beds – Ramona (from the album Country Sleep)

TCDroogsma:

     Remember that Ryan Adams album Gold?  Night Beds sure do!

    
     "Ramona" isn't a bad song, but there is absolutely nothing new going on here.  If you enjoy alt-country, you will like this song.  If you don't, "Ramona" is background music.  As someone who likes Ryan Adams and is on speaking terms with alt-country, I can't say this song does anything for me.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Adam Green & Binki Shapiro – Just To Make Me Feel Good (from the album Adam Green & Binki Shapiro)

TCDroogsma:

     While I'm not (and never was) a Moldy Peaches fan, it was pretty clear with that group that their appeal was rooted in Kimya Dawson's charm and their ramshackle performance/recording style.  I don't say that to diminish Adam Green's contributions to the group.  For all know he was the brains behind the whole operation.  Frankly, I never cared enough to dig deeper.

     With "Just To Make Me Feel Good," we find Adam Green returning to the boy/girl format of The Moldy Peaches, but without either of those two calling cards.  Green does a pretty fine job of channeling his inner Stephen Merritt, remaining mostly deadpan while Binki Shapiro gives the song color.  Still, much like Night Beds up above, the song lacks any trait that stands out.

     "Just To Make Me Feel Good" does redeem itself with its lyrics.  Green's come a long way from the nursey-rhymed ridiculousness of the Peaches albums, asking Shapiro (or the significant other she represents) to, "Ask me things with no warning."  The song lives in the the little moments of relationships that make them worthwhile, not an easy terrain to navigate.  They do it admirably here.

Final Score: 3/5

03. Thao With The Get Down, Stay Down – We The Common (For Valerie Bolden (from the album We The Common)

TCDroogsma:

     Two questions:

     Have you ever been sitting at the bar chatting with an oppressively foxy woman and feeling good about your chances, but, as the night presses on, she keeps saying more and more ridiculous and/or insane things that eventually you just say, "Fuck it, she's hot, but I can't do this any longer?"

      

     Remember back in December when I reviewed Thao's "Holy Roller?"  I tried to explain that I couldn't accurately judge any Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down song because I was blindingly smitten with Thao herself?  It's not that I only liked the songs because Thao is so damn sexy, it's that I couldn't separate the songs from the sexy.

     (In case you forgot why I feel that way, watch this video. That song is classic.)

     I think you can see where I'm going here.  "We The Common" if finally the last call vodka tonic that pushes Thao from the, "OK, she's a little loopy, but she's still sexy" to, "That's enough, I can't do this."  It wouldn't matter if the Get Down, Stay Down consisted of Lucy Liu, Natalie Portman, & Ryan Gosling backing Thao, "We The Common" is bad enough that it overwhelms all the charm exuded by the frontwoman.  

     If I had never heard a song with that stupid guitar style, pointless strings, boot-stomping percussion, and a brutally quirky wordless-hook then maybe this would be tolerable, but The Current's been shoving shit like this down our throat for years.  I'm drawing the line right here. 

Final Score: 0.5/5

04. Eels – New Alphabet (from the album Wonderful, Glorious)

TCDroogsma:

     "New Alphabet" is not necessarily new ground for Eels.  It lives in the same, "I don't feel so good, what the fuck's going on?" world that has made Eels famous.  Most of those songs, however, are either living in the moment of not feeling good or looking back on that moment from a time well into the future.

    
     It may just be me, but I really like "New Alphabet" because it lives in that moment between those two points.  "I'm in a good mood today, I'm so glad that it's not yesterday" implies that E is still coping with whatever happened and "New Alphabet" finds him squarely in the "Lashing out" phase of coping.  As someone who's been know to lash a bit, this song really speaks to me.

     What E's done here, is give us his take on the pop music narrative of "I did it my way."  Obviously, that's coming from Sinatra, but the line runs through all strains of music.  The first time I listened to this song, the fist song that came to mind was P.O.S. "Purexed" (one of the the great songs of my lifetime).  There's very little difference, "Yeah, we do our own damn thing, we don't blink at what tomorrow might bring at all," and "When the world stops making sense, I make a new alphabet."

Final Score: 4/5

05. Aby Wolf – Brave Boy (from the album Wolf Lords)

TCDroogsma:

     I'll be honest, I'm kind of losing the plot with Aby Wolf.  The first time I saw her she was playing at the 331 Club and had a coffeehouse hippy vibe going.  Next I heard from her was the still-brilliant single "What U Waitin' 4?" which was in the hip-hop world, but sported a earworm hook that sound like it was flown over from the world of indie rock.  Her contribution to BK-One's Radio Do Canibal album was a low-key highlight, wrapping her pretty voice around some sampled Brazilian guitar work.  Outside of her work with Dessa, the last thing I heard was a SOTD track from the A Wolf & Her Claws project, "All This Time," which was a fine song, but found Wolf venturing further from the hooks and leaning on her voice/glitchy noise to prop the song up.

    
     Which brings me to "Brave Boy," a collaboration with Grant Cutler, the man who provided the music for Lookbook.  "Brave Boy" features the same warped-instrumentation of A Wolf And Her Claws and Lookbook with one exception: it doesn't go anywhere.  Where those projects had the ability get hips shaking, the music of "Brave Boy" doesn't make me want to do anything.  That would be OK if Wolf were able to find a hook to propel the song forward.  Unfortunately, the progression I detailed above has reached it's obvious end: Wolf relying solely on her voice to carry the song.  Frankly, it just doesn't work.

Final Score: 1.5/5

There you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, pondered upon, 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 just music fans with word processors and little 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 weekly podcast, Flatbasset Radio, or ranting like a lunatic on his personal blog Flatbasset.

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