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.

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.

My Most Played Albums Of March '13

 

via Last.fm

Songs Of The Week #34: TCDroogsma

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

Josh Ritter, Caitlin Rose, Pickwick, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, & Pert Near Sandstone...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #34!

For the uninitiated, here's what you're looking at right now:  Each week we ask two of our contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast.  Once they spend a couple of days with the songs we have them right up a quick review of the tracks 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 and it's fun for the whole family!  Plus, it'll give you a leg up in voting in our weekly poll to determine everybody's favorite song of the week.  Just have a glance over the right side of the page.

Sadly, our search for second contributor to review these songs has yet to bear fruit.  This means that, for better or worse, we're all stuck with the perpetually available TCDroogsma and his opinions.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Josh Ritter - Joy To You Baby (from the album The Beast In Its Tracks)

TCDroogsma:

     Remember back in the late 90's when VH1 would only play new music that was poppy, harmless, and performed by a singer/songwriter (Five For Fighting, John Mayer, etc...)?  Well, that's exactly the sweet spot that Josh Ritter hits with "Joy To You Baby."

     I don't want to just outright say that "Joy To You Baby" is a bad song, because it's not.  It's just an incredibly low risk song.  It's got a nice, if forgettable, lead guitar hook, some bells & whistles to spruce it up, and lyrics that could be taken as passive-aggressive if Ritter didn't sound so damned honest.  Again, in the late 90's this would be a low-risk/high-reward proposition.  The video would have been on VH1 six times a day, the song would have become a bedrock of Cities 97, and he'd be playing the Basilica Block Party.  In 2013's landscape, where every listener is free to follow their tastes down any wormhole they see fit, Ritter's wide net won't catch many fish.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Caitlin Rose - Waitin' (from the album The Stand-In)

 

TCDroogsma:

     The country-twang of "Waitin'" gives the immediate impression that Caitlin' Rose is no stranger to the collected work of Neko Case.  While she may have the voice to pull that off, "Waitin'" presents none of the left turns and lyrical challenges that make Neko Case unique.

     "Waitin'" comes on like a jilted-lover anthem, but doesn't really go anywhere.  "Did you see the end from the very start? I saw it too..." leaves Rose sounding like she's in the midst of a very amicable breakup.  And really, who wants to listen to a song about amicable breakups?  The rest of the song is equally non-threatening (right down to the guitar solo that sounds like it was cribbed from Fastball's "The Way").

     Rose and her band do deserve credit for selling the song.  The build up to the chorus quite well and Rose certainly has the voice to carry the hook.  Even though I'm not particularly fond of the song, it's delivered well enough that it sticks in my head when it's over, which is no small feat.

Final Score: 2.5/5

03. Pickwick - Hacienda Motel (from the EP Myths Vol. 1)

 

TCDroogsma:


     Admittedly, with my mild obsession with Manchester, I had high hopes for a song with the word 'Hacienda' in the title.  Sadly, Pickwick doesn't seem at all concerned with defunct Mancunian discos.  This is something we disagree on.

     What Pickwick does have going for it in this song is the ability to work up a nice groove.  They sound like Dr. Dog without the stupid ventures into Americana.  Instead of twanging out like Dr. Dog they stick to their groove and come out sounding like a warmer version of Cold War Kids.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Let The Day Begin (from the album The Spectre At The Feast)

 

TCDroogsma:

     Disclaimer: I was a staunch defender of BRMC for years.  In fact, I've always thought that their career mirrored The Strokes in a way.  They came onto the scene with a self-titled album and the strength of the still-great single "Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll?"  Their second album Take Them On, On Your Own was their Room On Fire, less commercially successful, but featuring just enough tweaks to the formula to feel both old and new.  Howl, their venture into the underbelly of the Bible Belt, was underrated and, unfortunately, the album where the indie world pretty much checked out of the BRMC experience.  That's a shame, because their fourth album, Baby 81, contains their two best songs (at least in my opinion) "Berlin" and "Weapon Of Choice."

     This, however, is pretty much when I checked out.  Even though I like the band there was no way I was going to dig too deep into their instrumental album and, while I did enjoy the title track of Beat The Devil's Tattoo, it wasn't enough to convince me to pursue the album.

     Which brings us to "Let The Day Begin."  Most people's main criticism of BRMC over the years was that their wasn't much artistic growth (not a sentiment I necessarily agree with, but I can see where it comes from).  Every album was guaranteed to be drowned in reverb, feedback, cigarette smoke, and black leather.  As the hooks fell off so did the fanbase.  The problem with "Let The Day Begin" is that, instead of redoubling their efforts and embracing their niche, they aim for one last shot of glory.

     Not to bang that late-90's/early-80's drum again, but the mainstream they're aiming for with "Let The Day Begin" no longer exists.  It's a niche-world and they should probably be comfortable in theirs.  Instead they clean up their sound to an alarmingly crisp level.  The reverb is gone and, with it, the last call/last cigarette energy that made the band special.  It's not polished like, say, Elbow is polished, but it's just too clean.  "Let The Day Begin" has BRMC coming off like the reformed rocker at a job interview in a polo shirt & a new haircut.  It seems more presentable, but it's clearly a put-on.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Pert Near Sandstone - Ship Of Fools (from the 7" Ship Of Fools)

 

TCDroogsma:

     All of my familiarity with Pert Near Sandstone has been via the Song Of The Day podcast.  I've gotten a couple of tracks over the years and, while I didn't enjoy them much, that's not Pert Near Sandstone's fault.  This sort of quick-strum, banjo-and-fidle, Dust Bowl sound is just not my cup of tea.

     That said, "Ship Of Fools" is probably my favorite song that I've heard from the band.  The high harmonies have been ditched for a world-weary, ragged vocal performance from Kevin Kniebel, which I think suits the band nicely.

Almost all bluegrass bands aim to make the listener believe that they come from a hard livin', hard lovin, hard drinkin' time.  "Ship Of Fools" may not convince you, but it's good enough that you can play along for a few minutes.

Final Score: 2.5/5

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 is in any way affiliated with the artists reviewed, 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" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.