(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
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