New songs of April from roomrunner on 8tracks Radio.
5/4/13
5/2/13
album of the week: 5.1
Desperate Ground
(2013)
why you'll love it: high energy punk rock anthems done right
why you'll hate it: Terrible production, too short, little variation in tone
And now for something on the opposite side of the spectrum. The Knife's latest release was a complicated piece of work. So as a palette cleanser, we have a traditionally simple band doing their most straightforward album yet. What The Thermals seemingly lack in is what also gives them their charm. Unashamed and honest pop-punk. Only their noisy debut, More Parts Per Million (2003), was a hard to swallow. Each release since then has become cleaner, catchier, and (in my opinion) more clever. Their last three albums have been concept albums, and well written ones at that.
With Desperate Ground, they may have over-simplified even their own standards. Off the bat, the most striking trait is dingy production. If the lo-fi tone of their first two albums was what they were going for, they fucked up, because the whole album has an awfully muddy mix. Kathy Foster usually provides some very memorable bass lines to a Thermals release, but is completely buried in the mix here. Hutch sounds like he's singing underwater, and the drums sound paper thin. The production isn't a deal breaker for me, as I see The Thermals as a DIY "We'll play anywhere on any PA" simple garage band; but it is excuse enough to just drop this album entirely. It really does sound that poor.
As for the content itself; this is the most energized I've heard the Thermals since they were on Sub Pop Records in the early 2000s. A lot of power surges through this cheap recording equipment. The cassette tape like production masks a lot of professionalism, but not their talent to write a fun, fast, and catchy song. The first three tracks are a good running start to this album. Unfortunately, their simplistic nature and paper thin concept leaves them running out of gas, even with the whole affair lasting 26 minutes.
The title track itself says everything the album has to say. "Born To Kill". Desperate Ground is a look into the mind of a mentally unhinged solider. Programmed from childhood, indoctrinated by his country, or in a maddening state of PTSD? I'm not sure, but the concept is so simple and nebulous, that the following nine tracks only serve to describe the same exact character. They only concoct more synonyms, rather than build on the character or tell a story with him. Then again, the ambiguity, and absence of a hammy political message somehow makes the atmosphere feel natural and pure.
It's cool that The Thermals are so committed to concept albums, but this one feels unfinished, on just about every factor. It's a shame, because some of these songs do kick ass. This is a Bad Boys 2 sized action movie on the budget of The Toxic Avenger. All of it's bright points are quickly undercut by poor production, and a concept that overstays its welcome. I'm still really excited to see them live later this month, including these songs. It's just, as an album, this is poorly produced, light on ideas, and fairly unremarkable.
album of the week: 4.4
Shaking The Habitual
(2013)
why you'll love it: progressive and stimulating art from a truly weird place
why you'll hate it: Lots of "not music" tracks.
This is the hardest album of the year for me to review for a few reasons.
A) it's an insanely hyped overdue release. I didn't start listening to The Knife until after the bloom of their last album (the "AOTY OMG Saviors of music!" 2006 release, Silent Shout) had subsided. Since 2007, I've ingested all of the sweet and tangy synths of The Knife. All of Karin Dreijer's alluring strange accent, and all the studio magic her and her brother provide to create a musical experience that exists out of time and space. The kind of music just too weird to be boxed in as from a certain era or culture. The Knife is awesome, and 7 years builds up a lot of expectation. During that time, I had also taken in Karin's solo effort, Fever Ray; and the siblings' previous band, Honey is Cool. I am ready for the next Knife release, and ready for it to take over the world. That kind of thinking can only set you up for disappointment…
B) The Knife has slowly developed a political agenda over the years, which is just fine, until it gets to the point that it seems more like "radicalism as a fashion" more than a fair and logical solution to society's problems. I've seen a lot of bands fall off my radar, because after a while, it felt like politics were just becoming a hook, or gimmick. That, or it turns out they were a bunch of knucleheads clinging to a pointless sensational fantasy of revolution. I don't want The Knife to become that kind of a band, so I won't be digging into lyrics all that much here. Also I'm not privy to many of the modern hot button issues in Sweden.
C) Art. Even more than Silent Shout, Shaking The Habitual feels like an art exhibit rather than a collection of songs. Again, I'm cool with this to a point. Part of what draws me to this band are just how weird the songs can get. And the first half of this double LP is tasty-weird. "Full of Fire" drills into your brain, and continues to twist until the very end, right when its about to get flat-out scary. Amazing vocal effects on "Without You My Life Would Be Boring" makes that probably my favorite song on the album.
Being a double-LP gives them a lot of room; and my standard remains "30 mins of good music is all I ask from an album." Shaking The Habitual gives you your 30 minutes, but does what it wants for the other 60, and what it does for those 60 may straight up aggravate many listeners. We're talking about multiple 10 -20 minutes tracks that are NOTHING but synthesized echoes and whooshes. Again, no big deal to me, I got what I paid for already; but ambient tracks this seemingly devoid of anything interesting or thought provoking could make The Knife into the next Mars Volta, if they happen to catch the wrong kind of attention.
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So, forgiving all of that, what is left? A few really good songs, and a lot of fluff. Even with the ambient tracks thrown out, some of that style goops itself onto songs like "A Cherry on Top" and "Raging Lung" and really drags them down. Sad to say, this isn't the insanity revolution i was expecting from The Knife, but they certainly meet their own personal goals. It's an original and challenging sound. Even the songiest of songs will freak out a casual listener. They manage to set themselves apart from who they previously were yet again. While Shaking The Habitual seems like the next logical step for the duo, it is not simply Silent Shout: part 2. The electronics are sharper, more grating, and searing than they've ever been. The percussion is amazing. The drums and other outside percussion & woodwind sounds give the album a natural "from the earth" feel, at times; which is quite a feat for a production that is (for all I know) completely synthesized.
Listen to this album. Maybe it's what you've always been looking for. Maybe you'll enjoy getting lost in it, like I did with WIXIW. Maybe you'll just pick apart the 6-8 songs on it you like, and toss the rest. Maybe you'll scream "pretentious!" and hate it. No matter what, The Knife doesn't make your every day kind of music, and you gotta hear it for yourself to get a real grasp of it.
4/21/13
album of the week: 4.3
Other
(2013)
why you'll love it - cool glitchy music, enchanting vocals
why you'll hate it - a cold and shallow genere
Here is a cool recent album I didn't know anything about before fate led me to it a couple weeks ago. The individual parts of Data Romance are nothing new. There is a kinship with modern indie craze - The XX, just a dash of Bjork, and thick coating of Portishead. Something all three of those bands share in common is how they hardly ever seem to meet my personal expectations. The XX's intimate and minimalist approach seems cool in concept, but usually is too synthetic to hold my attention. Portishead has a well deserved reputation in the trip-hop genre, but to call myself a big fan of theirs would be an overstatement. And well… I love Bjork, but her art takes precedence over her talent far too often.
Data Romance hits that sweet spot between all of these artists. They've got an impressive knack for electronics, and seldom offer up a surprisingly heavy beat. I don't want to spoil which songs do it, because the surprise was very fun. "Oh really, were going there, Data? Alright." Nothing to break out dancing too, but definitely tripper than most of these kind of emotional pop songs get. I'm already spinning this more than any Portishead album.
Amy Kirkpatrick's voice is quite impressive. They are not afraid to tone down the synths, and make her the centerpiece of a song. Her ability to carry a song caked in glistening and glitching synthetics makes me think of Bjork. Obviously much tamer, but still impressive. She can sing with strength and authority in a songs like "They" and "Others", but it's her delicate and fragile delivery on "Cargo" that really struck me. Especially how interesting the juxtaposition is with the lyrics "Let me hold, some of the weight for you."
I sure hope Other catches fire like The XX had. I feel they appeal to a very similar crowd, but Data Romance seems to have a whole lot more tools to keep creating fresh music. I'm not totally nuts about this album, but like it a lot more than I thought I would; and yet I still feel there is a lot more to explore on this LP and let it grow on me. Amiss everything I'm hyped for between March and May, a surprise like this is like a cherry on top.
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