(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
Painted Palms, Cut Copy, The So So Glos, The Moth & The Flame, & The Counterfactuals...
Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #71!
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. Painted Palms - Spinning Signs (from the album Forever)
TCDroogsma:
There's a lot going on in "Spinning Signs." After a couple cursory drum beats we're enveloped in a world of bouncing synths, whooshing synths, and a vocal line fighting for attention. The lyrics are a collage of psychedelic mumbo-jumbo like "lights spill out my mouth, it's in my hands, it's in the sky," but when the chorus poses the question, "Why can't any of the words get past my mouth?" the answer seems obvious: Because there's so many keyboards drowning it out.
Still, at its core, "Spinning Signs" is a pop song. I'm willing to bet the guys in Painted Palms own every Of Montreal album, but I'll bet "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?" is their favorite.
MinneSarah:
Have you ever thought, "The only thing that would have pushed the Beatles over the edge as best band of all time is electronic keyboards?" I guess I've thought so once or twice, but not until I've heard "Spinning Signs" did I debate it earnestly.
This song sounds like a party of Depeche Mode meets Tame Impala. It's got a steady electronic beat, to be sure, but it retains the catchiness of songs you could actually listen to over and over - the use of the keyboards is not overpowering. The vocals are confident and push the song forward with a sense of urgency. Of all the songs on this podcast, this may win the award for most listens in a week.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3/5
MinneSarah: 4.5/5
02. Cut Copy - We Are Explorers (from the album Free Your Mind)
TCDroogsma:
One of my oldest and most beloved traditions here on SOTW is to hate on synth-pop songs. I don't know if it's because I grew up on punk rock or, more likely, it's because most of these songs are half-formed ideas wrapped up in synths and presented as fully-realized ideas, but they rarely speak to me.
However, every now and then a synth-pop band will just nail a song (think M83's "Midnight City" or Yeasayer's "Ambling Alp"). When that happens, not only is it great "for a synth-pop song," it jumps ahead of indie rock, hip-hop, old 90's shit that I love, and becomes just a perfect track. "We Are Explorers" is that moment for Cut Copy. Everything about this track is perfect. The keyboards bounce, the vocal melody is incredibly catchy, and, most importantly, the song pushes into the stratosphere for the chorus. It's good enough that I would slog through an entire Cut Copy show just to see a venue go bananas during "We Are Explorers." Definitely a late entry into the "2013 Best Of The Song Of The Day" contest.
MinneSarah:
Cut Copy were one of my favorite bands when I lived in Canada. While they aren't from Canada (they're Aussies), they have a sound that isn't quite Euro-electronic that I've dubbed "Commonwealth Electro." Honestly the word "trash" can often follow that phrase, but "We Are Explorers" is certainly the former.
This song is unabashedly electronic - it even features mini sirens. Despite the discoteque vibe, the singer's mellow voice is used to temper the heavily electronically enhanced music. This band has always made me feel like I'm on the cutting edge, and true to my "Commonwealth Electro" tag - we are exploring together when you pop this tune on your stereo.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 4.5/5
MinneSarah: 4/5
03. The So So Glos - Lost Weekend (from the album Blowout)
TCDroogsma:
The So So Glos are an indie rock band out of Brooklyn that's fronted by brothers Alex & Ryan Levine. Like all great New York bands from The Velvet Underground to The Strokes, "Lost Weekend" finds the band taking their turn writing the "anthem for the morning after."
"Lost Weekend" rumbles about on a simple-yet-effective bassline while Alex Lavine snarkily lets a compatriot know that it's time to grow up. He cuts the deepest with the lin, "Don't cry, you did it as much as I, and I'm not gonna be the one to bail you out this time..." The energy that fueled this "lost weekend" seems as though it's being channeled into more worthwhile pursuits (like, say, The So So Glos), and he's run out of time to suffer those around him who refuse to read the writing on the wall. Certainly a sentiment that anybody on my side of 30 can relate with.
MinneSarah:
How many of you can honestly say you've planned a lost weekend? I've had plenty of weekends where Monday rolls around and when people ask how my weekend was, I can't remember - knitting, entire series of TV shows, ramen noodle sampler packs? Well, this passionate guitar driven ode to being forgotten puts my former definition of lost weekend to shame. The vocals are excited, and vacillate between "ooooh ooooohs" and gutteral screams. While this song does have a West Coast vibe, it is different from what I would consider the indie rock norm at this point.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 4/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
04. The Moth & The Flame - Sorry (from the EP & EP)
TCDroogsma:
Speaking of sentiments that anybody over 30 can relate with, here we have "Sorry" from Utah's The Moth & The Flame.
The song rides a bass hook that seems to continually push the song upward while Brandon Robbins laments the mistake of staying in a relationship that's run its course out of a desire to protect somebody's feelings. When the song drops out with under a minute left and the spotlight is left on Robbin's howling, "I'm sooorrryyy..." it's the perfect embodiement of what I'm assuming is a universal regret. There's almost nothing as painful as trying to make amends for this type of mistake, and The Moth & The Flame do a great job of making that feeling both palpable & danceable.
MinneSarah:
I know a kid who has a tattoo on his neck, at his collar bones, that reads, "I'm sorry." He says it's just easier that way. It doesn't hurt to own up, and this earnest song puts the listener at ease with an unsolicited mea culpa. I couldn't quite put my finger on the distinctly British sounding vocals, but realized it reminds me of The Doves (though many may say Coldplay). The lyrics are about bad relationships - but rather than point the blame - he is just sorry he didn't realize it sooner. This sentiment sounds genuine and not at all sarcastic. The drumming parts were so catchy I couldn't stop from stomping my feet on the light rail or clapping my hands when my nails were wet.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
MinneSarah: 4.5/5
05. The Counterfactuals - If You Go Then You Go It Alone (from the album Minimally Decent People)
TCDroogsma:
Much like I took a moment last week to acknowledge the beautifully Minnesotan sentiment of Red Mountain's album title
Scowling Lightly, I think it's important to acknowledge The Counterfactuals
Minimally Decent People album title. Not "bad" people. Nobody in Minnesota assumes that someone is "bad." "Minimally Decent" is about the Minnesota Nice-iest way of putting it.
The song "If You Go Then You Go It Alone," as you can probably imagine, is a bit more direct. It opens with the line, "'Go on.' That's the final word from over the phone..." and only gets more resigned from there. The song isn't angry, necessarily, but strikes a very matter-of-fact tone. In a way, it almost seems like the conversation that would end the sort of drawn out goodbye The Moth & The Flame were referencing above. If there's on thing Minnesotans do well, it's hold a grudge, and reminding that no-longer-special someone that if they go then they go it alone is basically a statement of intent to file somebody away into the "Grudge" file.
MinneSarah:
I can't think of a better song name for an Americana-inspired song. "If You Go Then You Go It Alone" is filled with metallic acoustic sounding guitar and full-bodied percussion. It doesn't quite fit the stereotype of Americana - but seems to rely heavily on the influences. I like that the sound is more modern and developed. The vocals are filled with sadness and passion, sometimes you just have to put your foot down even if it's not entirely what you want to do. If this were the trajectory of folk-pop, I wouldn't be worried and I'd embrace it with open arms.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3/5
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.
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
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