(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY. PLEASE GO VISIT NEWEST INDUSTRY.)
Jason Lytle, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Pinback, Solid Gold, & Robust Worlds...
Hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome
to the 12th Edition of Songs Of The Week!
For those of you unfamiliar with
SOTW, it's a weekly column in which we ask two of our regular
contributors to give us their thoughts on the five songs given away
via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Be sure to follow this
link to download the podcasts yourself so you can play along at home.
Be sure to vote for your favorite of
the songs in the poll to the right of the page.
This week we asked MinneSarah &
TCDroogsma to review new songs from Jason Lytle, Black Moth Super
Rainbow, Pinback, Solid Gold, & Robust Worlds. They have not
read what the other has written about each track prior to posting.
Kids, what'd you think?
01.
Jason Lytle – Get Up And Go (from the album Dept.
Of Disappearance)
MinneSarah:
A lot of songs seem to be recorded on the steps at the Science Museum. Either that, or I've been making music by walking since I was 7. This song is not complex - it sounds like a loop from a Semisonic outtake with inspirational lyrics over the top. This song sounds like a Stuart Smalley affirmation, BUT, I dare you to not feel better after listening to this song. Two minutes of saying "you can do it," and "everything is going to be all right" (and yes, that is the extent of the lyrics) has got to leave you feeling a little bit better.
TCDroogsma:
Admittedly, I was a pretty casual fan of Grandaddy, but I really dug
what I knew of them. I even saw them at First Ave. once and came
away pretty impressed. I don't know what the general consensus is
regarding Jason Lytle's solo work, but I know that the single, “Yours
Truly, The Commuter” from his first album was a gem. A perfect mix
of resilience, Casio keyboards, and hooks.
“Get Up And Go” seems to lack much of the subtlety that made his
earlier stuff so interesting. Honestly, it kind of sounds like the
soundtrack to a Samsung Mobile commercial. Evidently the sentiment,
“Get up and go, you can do it, everything's gonna be alright...”
doesn't apply to writing verses. It's catchy and beautifully
produced, but Christ, there's just not much here to work with.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma – 2.5/5
02. Black Moth
Super Rainbow – Gangs In The Garden (from the album Cobra
Juicy)
MinneSarah:
Yes, Daft Punk followers are now old enough to make their own, um, fill in the blank...art? Everyone knows that black is already a super rainbow, so add a moth, and this is what you get. I like anything electronic and this is catchy. It's got some interesting elements, some distorted strings, very distorted vocals (don't try and be a Bob Dylan), panting, and it's not too long. Score.
TCDroogsma:
What the fuck is this monster of a song? Never has a band's sound so
mirrored their name, as this sounds like what a Black Moth Super
Rainbow would be. All the distorted vocals give it a slight sense of
dread, but at least the backbeat indicates a hip-shaking type of
impending doom. I mean, if we're all going to be killed by some sort
of color-vortex insect we may as well go dancing.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
03. Pinback –
Proceed To Memory (from the album Information Retrieved)
MinneSarah:
Pinback is my favorite 90's band that started in the 2000's, I think. The vocals are always present and meaningful. This song is no different, but it lacks some of the urgency of their other songs. This song is a good example of what is good about Pinback, in a quiet way. It's a very sweet song, but it isn't something I'd put on repeat. Pinback is great though, seriously.
TCDroogsma:
If Duncan Sheik had sex with Motion City Soundtrack while members of
Constantines yelled at them from the next room to shut up it would be
this. Just process that for a second.
I actually really liked this song. Of all this week's songs it was
the one that I found kicking around in my head the most. Of course,
timing is everything in life and listening to a song that includes
lines like, “And then the seasons get you down...” and “Out the
window looks like all the colors, all of them melting down...”
during the last week of October may have given the song a bit of
extra weight.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma – 3.5/5
04. Solid Gold –
The Pendulum (from the album Eat Your Young)
MinneSarah:
Solid Gold is the chameleon of the Twin Cities music scene. I wouldn't go as far as to call them a Mitt Romney... but I did just type that. They seem to be talented enough to jive into whatever is popular at the time. However, I haven't forgiven them for that "More to explore in Minnesota" travesty. Ugghgh. This song is very 80's - I always mean that in the best possible way. I like the sweeping nature of the vocals and the background synths. However, I would never be able to hear a Solid Gold song on the radio and pick them out. This is a good and a bad thing. In this case, this song is good. Next time? Who knows. Work on your Liam impression, dude.
TCDroogsma:
Land of 10,000 Lakes? More like Land of 10,000 Synth-Pop bands, am I
right? Wait, I already made that joke on this blog? Hmmm....
It's been a little while since we've had any new Solid Gold material.
Musically, the keyboards will kick around in your head for a while,
but even after half a dozen listens the lyrics haven't stuck at all.
Clearly they didn't spend the off time reinventing the wheel
(though they were great in that “Exploret Minnesota” commercial).
Here's the deal, Solid Gold, I'm giving this one a 3, but if you can
introduce me to that Asian woman doing the Mary Tyler Moore
impersonation I'll bump it up another point and a half.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma – 3/5
05. Robust
Worlds – Best Wishes (from the album Emotional Planet)
MinneSarah:
There is nothing bad about this song, however, it is not good either. It rides the beachy, acousticy guitars that everyone has a hard on for these days and adds some whispery vocals over the top. It is boring. This is hipster waiting room music. Pass.
TCDroogsma:
I've never been much of a fan of echo-y, psychedelic pop and that was
pretty much what came to my mind each time this song started this
week. “Oh yeah, that echo-y one.” The hooks aren't sharp and the
vocals have a bit of a stoner haze to them, but the whole thing does
have a pleasant vibe to it.
I had to do a little bit of Google work to find out that Robust
Worlds is the new band from Chris Rose of Vampire Hands. Seeing as
how most of that band's output was definitely of the “grower”
variety I'm willing to give “Best Wishes” the benefit of the
doubt. Admittedly it did seem to get better as the week went on. If
I smoked pot I'll bet I would love this song.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -2/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
Boom! There
you have it everybody. Another week's worth of tracks downloaded,
reviewed, and filed away.
As always we'd
like to note that Newest Industry and its contributors are in no way
affiliated with the artists, The Current or MPR. We're just music
fans with keyboards.
For more of
MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram
(@MinneSarah). Hopefully she's not still mourning the cancellation
of the Morrissey concert.
For more
TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram
(@TCDroogsma). He can also be found ranting like a lunatic on his
own blog Flatbasset. He's clearly not over the cancellation of the
Morrissey concert.
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