(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
La Luz, Shearwater, Songs: Ohia, Cate Le Bon, & Frankie Teardrop...
Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #68!
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. La Luz - Pink Slime (from the album It's Alive)
TCDroogsma:
La Luz is an all-female surf rock outfit out of Seattle. Living in Minneapolis, it's hard not to notice the garage/psychedelic/surf sound has really gained some traction.
While this sort of music makes for very compelling shows, it just doesn't do it for me on record. "Pink Slime" comes on with an uptempo beat & some girl group-esque cooing, but ultimately doesn't go much further. La Luz adds some reverb to the vocals and plays it with an innocent-yet-knowing angle, singing romantically "every time I feel your hand in mine all I can think of is pink slime..." I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what I meant, but I'm telling the truth when I say that, even after spending a week with this song, I had to sit down and listen closely to the lyrics for this review because, ultimately, this song is very forgettable.
MinneSarah:
This California garage rock trend is driving me insane. Not a week goes by that the Songs Of The Day doesn't include something from this genre. Girl groups that add doo-wop are a new twist on this trend, and the 60's feel of this song makes it a fun and a halfway unique listen.
"Pink Slime" would do well as a movie theme in which the lady bandits are winning a chase after a heartwarming day of mischief. While I'm not as jazzed about this song as I would have been if it had been at the beginning of this 60's West Coast garage rock trend, it still stands up to the toe tap test.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2/5
MinneSarah: 3.5/5
02. Shearwater - A Wake For The Minotaur (from the album Fellow Travelers)
TCDroogsma:
Reading Pitchfork's review of Fellow Travelers, the new covers album from Shearwater, it was mentioned that Shearwater have a very distinct sound that typically leads to either devoted fandom or complete indifference. Listening to "A Wake For The Minotaur," I'm pretty sure I fall into the latter category.
"A Wake For The Minotaur" is not a cover, but rather a collaboration with Sharon Van Etten. The song moves along at a glacial pace, making the mistake of relying on Van Etten & lead singer Jonathan Meiburg's errr.... "unique" voice to carry the song. Frankly, it doesn't work. Meiburg's wraps his "Antony-lite" falsetto around lyrics like "A glorious light, a ladder along the clouds, a spy in the sun, a shout in the street below..." What does that mean? Fuck if I know. It's probably just the type of shit you say at a wake for a mythical beast. Van Etten fares little better, her voice too similar to Meiburg's to be distinct and her lyrics ("paper in dusk, a river below the lake, I ride the flood") somehow manage to make even less sense.
Now, maybe if you've already bough into the whole Shearwater experience this is a unique and compelling collaboration. For those of us who haven't, "A Wake For The Minotaur" comes off as little more than artists indulging an idea that may have been compelling in theory. Of course, in theory, communism worked. In theory.
MinneSarah:
Let me start with a closer - there is nothing redeeming about this song. While I realize that there are people on this earth who would be all about this song, I am not one of them. The only people who have Minotaurs in their immediate consciousness are Greek mythology professors and D&D enthusiasts. While I can't place where Shearwater fit in on this spectrum, their interest comes off a little creepy.
On first listen to this song, I wanted to turn it off at ten second intervals as soon as I zoned out from the "must try to listen to this" mindset, my hand went immediately to the skip button. Upon a few more forced listens, I couldn't find any redeeming factors. The music is acoustic, fairytale-like, and the male/female vocals are as falsetto and grating as could ever be imagined. If I were a minotaur, I'd much rather have Rage Against the Machine play "Bulls on Parade," at my wake, and that ain't saying much.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 1.5/5
MinneSarah: 0/5
03. Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission (Demo) (from the album Magnolia Electric Co. (Ten Year Anniversary Edition))
TCDroogsma:
It's almost unfair to be asked to review this demo version of "Farewell Transmission" after Jason Molina's death. Make no mistake, I'm almost entirely unfamiliar with Molina's work, which means that I have no context for "Farewell Transmission" other than "this guy died too young."
As you might well expect from a song called "Farewell Transmission" from a recently deceased musician, it's nearly impossible to escape the specter of his death. Considering Molina died from an illness related to alcohol abuse, how could this song come off as anything but I cry for help? Molina sing-speaks over his dissonant guitar, spitting out lines like "If you don't want us to be a secret out of the past, I will resurrect it" and "The real truth about it is no one gets it right" sounding like they weren't meant to be heard until he had passed.
Molina ends the song by singing, "The big star is falling, through the static and distance, a farewell transmission..." before imploring us, repeatedly, to "listen." I mean, that's clairvoyant to the point of suspicion. Kurt Cobain didn't sound this depressed on Nirvana's Unplugged album. All those outside factors aside, "Farewell Transmission" is a song who's fate has been drastically altered by its singer's death, heart-wrenching and haunting.
MinneSarah:
Demo versions are for true fans. If you are a true fan of Songs: Ohia, you are in for a seven minute, not quite as good as you remember, treat. However, if you've never heard Songs: Ohia before, then you may tire after about three minutes.
What really stands out is the singer's voice and a sense of urgency that doesn't quite go anywhere, but as far as I can tell shows promise for the completed version. This folky tune has some of the deliberately lo-fi elements of music circa ten years ago, which sounds comforting. As often happens when a musician dies, the full catalog of their works is released - even the demos that would never have seen the light of day. We all know that I'm not a fan of folk and may never become one, this song stood on its own.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
MinneSarah: 2/5
04. Cate Le Bon - Are You With Me Now? (from the album Mug Museum)
TCDroogsma:
A quick Google search of Cate Le Bon reveals that she's a Welsh woman now living in Los Angeles. Nothing has ever made more sense than that.
"Are You With Me Now" strums along nicely with some hummable, catchy guitar work indicative of the laid back West Coast lifestyle. Lyrically, however, it contains the sort of passive-desperation that has made Welsh (and English and Scottish and Irish) music compelling since The Beatles. When Le Bon asks, "are you with me now?" it's delivered with a California cool that belies its serious, life-altering potential. She's not asking if this significant other has settled on her (presumably after having several options), she's asking because she sincerely wants the answer to be yes.
MinneSarah:
"Are You With Me Now?" wins the award for the catchiest song this week. It's got a 70's sound to it, a little groove to the guitar and bass, and melodic, flowing vocals. While it's nothing that I'd seek out to listen to on my own, the, "Are you with me..." haunts the memory and is always welcomed warmly when it plays. Cate's vocals are calm and stoic, but still have an acrobatic range. Overall, a nice little catchy tune.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3/5
MinneSarah: 3.5/5
05. Frankie Teardrop - Chicago (from the EP Tough Guy)
TCDroogsma:
I have two things I have to mention before I dig into "Chicago." First, I've been known to be swayed (both positively and negatively) on SOTD tracks based on where they fit with the rest of the SOTD tracks of the week. This week I listened to the Tough Guy EP as my Album Of The Week, meaning I'm familiar with the song in the context of that EP, not this week's SOTD playlist.
Second, I hate Chicago.
As such, when Frankie sings that he's, "lookin' out for art kids" and "sleeping on the El Train" it sounds like the worst night of my life. Now, to be sure, Frankie (with the help of some absolutely shimmering guitars) sells the experience, but all the jangle-pop in the world ain't swaying my opinion New York's younger, more violent, fatter, dumber brother. Still, solid guitar pop.
MinneSarah:
Chicago is a hell of a town - and this song encapsulates the love of Chicago from an outsider's perspective. When you go to the big city to visit, there is a sense of awe that is not yet washed away by the monotony of actually living in the city. This song features a long background speaking part, but with the high pitched guitar, it makes it sound like an amped up memory. This song puts me at the Damen street El stop, without even having heard it there - if that isn't a sign of a good song, then I don't quite know what is.
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
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.
