skeletonbreath, Louise (2005, self-released)

Late posting due to a certain laziness this week. Foul weather, family coming over, negative cash flow for music, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, I was first introduced to the music of skeletonbreath by a friend some several years ago as she was babbling about how great their music was. I casually ignored her for awhile, mostly because money was an issue then (not much has changed) and new music was only acquired by gifts or when I had enough saved up from performances to go and pick up something. Had to make sure the music was good before spending hard earned pennies on it.

So, on an impulse one night last year, I ventured to New Paltz to see skeletonbreath play at this sh#tty bar that I rarely go to. After a cavalcade of mediocrity in the form of other bands wasting time until 1am, skeletonbreath got up, rattled the house to its foundations, and converted me on the spot. There's a special feeling that comes from buying a CD directly from an artist, and I was glad to be able to pick up Louise directly from the hands of the people that made it.

For those completely unfamiliar with skeletonbreath, they are a three piece band consisting of Robert Pycior (also of O'Death) on electric violin, Andrew Platt on bass guitar, and currently Tris Palazzolo on drums, although on Louise drums are performed by their previous drummer Crockett Doob. I file skeletonbreath with other bands that are currently unsigned but phenomenally good and probably should be receiving more attention than they are at the moment (other names on that list include the previously-reviewed Sarah Perrotta, Autodrone, and The Funeral Crashers).

Louise is the self-released 2005 debut from this experimental crew. If I had to describe it as anything with easy pigeonhole terminology, it's somewhere between post-rock and demented violin punk. This band always has something up their sleeves, with sudden changes in tempo and sound, dropping from something high-speed and loud to quiet and minimal. Completely wild and untamed, skeletonbreath can bring out the inner madman in just about anyone. I am not known for being a dancer (almost violently opposed to dancing, as my friends will attest), and skeletonbreath can get me moving on the floor. The album cover art, by Eliza Zeitlin, is awesome as well.

If there are any complaints, they lie in a feeling of repetitiveness. It feels like the same tunes are played over and over with but a few variations here and there. There are a purely instrumental band, so there are no vocals to use as a sort of mark to know which song you are on. Even given that, Louise is still a good release and worth picking up. Their music is so unique that even this criticism is reduced to a mere quibble.

More importantly, skeletonbreath is a band you should see live. Nothing compares to the experience of seeing Pycior sawing away madly on his violin and Platt slamming his bass as the crowd bounces and thrashes in ecstatic motion. Check their calendar for dates when they will be in your area, and then mark your calendar. I guarantee you will not be disappointed that you went.



skeletonbreath's myspace

Snarky Opinions, Issue 5: Literacy and The Musician

We once again have a week where there is nothing interesting coming out, and I instead fall back on the chip on my shoulder for ideas.

For my few readers that don't know me personally (if any of you exist), I write poetry and often make the mistake of reading it in public. Sometimes, these readings result in cash from the donation jar, interesting discussion, and a long discussions in diners long into the night (indigestion optional). During one such long discussion, the issue of musicians not coming to poetry readings came up. It's a long-standing gripe with some of the poets, the lack of crossover between the two (to be fair, I don't see many poets at music open mikes either).

Local scene quibbles aside, a topic did come up that is relevant to this blog: the songwriting ability and its association with poetry, writing in general, and how so much music blows chunks these days due to people not reading. I will draw examples from several of my favorites. Nick Cave strikes me as a fantastically literate man. This year's powerhouse from Cave & The Bad Seeds features some amazing songwriting, including practically rewriting The Odyssey and some name dropping and comparison of famous writers, although I disagree that "Bukowski was a jerk." Also from this year, Haale presented a touching and beautiful album strongly influenced by Persian poetry. Haale sets Rumi and other Persian poets to music, and does a fine job of it. She has an MFA in poetry, so I guess you can say she's literate.

I also must mention Tom Waits (you didn't think I'd leave him out, did you?). While literary references don't exactly leap from his music, I do know that he is a reader. I am told that he is a big fan of Edna St. Vincent Millay, but this is rumor as far as I know. But, as far as real evidence is concerned, let's look at 2002's Alice. This album was originally written as music for a play of the same name, based around Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. While the play was based on Lewis Carroll's most famous book, I can't say I really see much influence in the music. However, the unsettling song "Poor Edward" shows that Mr. Waits is familiar with folk tales and oddities. The Edward of this song is based on Edward Mordrake, a young Briton of noble birth who committed suicide at the age of 23 due to a second face that he claimed was driving him mad. Edward Mordrake's tale is often dismissed as being fanciful or at least skewed with retelling, but with the knowledge we have now of conjoined twins and other birth oddities, there is the possibility of a seed of truth to this story. Of course, in order to write a song about such a man, one must know about him, yes? To know, one must research.

Confession: I never liked "Poor Edward." Not because I thought the lyrics or music were bad in any way; it's that the song is so bloody unsettling that I can't stand to listen to it. I now find it twice as unsettling knowing that someone had such a maddening deformity, even if retelling of his short life has altered the facts of the case.

The point that I am getting at is knowledge makes for a better songwriter. How many generic love/hate/depression songs have you heard in your life, coming from musicians that sound the same? Can't begin to count them, can you? How about describing your prior loves as characters from The Odyssey? Impressive, yes? Dragging up old folk tales of mad and deformed nobles? Amazing. I could probably drag up tons of examples (no, you don't need to send me a list of your own examples), but here are but a few musicians that did something downright unusual: they picked up a f#cking book.

So, do yourself a favor and pick up a f#cking book and read it, you AIM-speaking douche.

Wherein The Rum-Soaked Reviewer Declares a Day Off

I know you're all just dying to find out what album I will praise with slurred speech this Thursday, but, unfortunately, the combined factors of a negative cash flow, not much I'm interested in (or interested in tearing apart) being released, and a series of events requiring my utmost attention, Rum-Soaked Review will be taking this Thursday off. Maybe by next week, I will have a paying job, or at least some scratch and time to pick up something new and write about it.

Until then, I entreat you to check out Suck My Beatles, a website devoted to knocking the Fab Four down a couple of notches.

You can check out Suck My Beatles at myspace as well.

See you all next week.

The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride

I have to confess little knowledge of The Mountain Goats. All I know* is that the band is led by a fellow of the name John Darnielle, who also writes all the songs. Heretic Pride, released February 19^th of this year, is their 16^th album.

My brief research tells me that Darnielle is known for his powerful songwriting skills. After listening to Heretic Pride numerous times, I tend to agree. Such tongue-in-cheek tunes as “How To Embrace a Swamp Creature” and “Michael Myers Resplendent,” or touchingly beautiful love songs as “San Bernadino” and “So Desperate,” feature writing that is innovative and talented. The frequent string arrangements on this album are absolutely fantastic and lend great beauty to the whole. I’ve read that Darnielle is also known for being very literate with his lyrics, making references to various writers, stories, and world mythologies. Such examples here include the very title to “Sax Rohmer #1” (Sax Rohmer was an author, his most lasting creation being Fu Manchu) and H.P. Lovecraft’s stay in New York City, as referenced in “Lovecraft in Brooklyn.” His other knowledge extends to lake monsters (“Tianchi Lake”) and 1970s reggae artists such as Prince Far I (the vaguely reggae “Sept 15 1983,” the date Prince Far died).

“Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident” caught my attention just from the title since I have a big stiffy for Mesopotamian mythology. And I was promptly disappointed when I find it has nothing to do with any ancient gods from the Fertile Crescent and more to do with someone wearing a t-shirt for a Swedish black metal band that is named after the Babylonian diety. I’m not quite sure I fully understand what it’s about (alternate theories abound, saying rape, anonymous bathroom sex with overtones of guilt, or maybe a “don’t get involved” sort of situation, etc.), but it’s undeniably one of the most touching and unsettling songs on the album. That is, unless you pay no attention to the words.

The first song I heard from Heretic Pride was “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” after seeing it on music blog The Rich Girls Are Weeping. Unfortunately, it created an expectation for something more rock-oriented than the more folk-styled material I wound up with. I don’t really have a problem with this, since I probably should have done more research on the band before picking this up. However, I do have some issues with Heretic Pride.

First, and this criticism has more to do with the band as a whole, is that John Darnielle has a voice that I find to be really annoying. He has a pitch that makes it difficult to even want to listen to him, which is very detrimental to a band that has a reputation for clever songwriting. All those fine words get lost when the mind wanders away to avoid the voice you’re hearing. Another complaint is the misuse of guest musician Annie Clark (better known to some of you as St. Vincent). She performs guitar and harmony vocals on “Autoclave,” but you wouldn’t notice because her voice is high and buried so far down in the mix that it’s pointless to even mention that she was ever recording with them. She sounds more like her voice was a vocal effect added to Darnielle's microphone than having any distinctions of her own. Annie Clark has a beautiful voice, and should have been boosted a bit more than what wound up on the final product. Her talent was wasted here.

Art direction and photography from the usual 4AD suppliers Vaughan Oliver/v23 and Marc Atkins (respectively), it’s beautiful, blah, blah, blah. There are no printed lyrics, which I find a disappointment considering how many (including myself) think so highly of Darnielle’s songwriting. I feel like having something printed might make it easier to follow since his voice is not conducive to attention retention, but alas, all you get is a digipak with some nice photo work for the front and back. The photography is rather sparse, which is surprising for a 4AD release.

I have mixed feelings on Heretic Pride. It has just about everything I like in music: excellent songwriting, fantastic arrangements, and topics I can get behind. But that annoying singing really kicks it down more than a couple notches. There are vocalists that are bad but ultimately interesting; unfortunately, Darnielle isn’t one of them. As such, I can’t really recommend this unless you can handle the man’s voice. In other words, do what I didn’t do, and get off your butt and research the band and the band’s sound before risking disappointment.



The Mountain Goats official website and a myspace that claims to be official, but there is some doubt given prior events.


*Not entirely true. I also know the idiots at the local Borders filed Heretic Pride in the H section instead of the M section, where there already was a Mountain Goats album. I had been looking for this album at that damn store for weeks, logically looking for it in the Ms.

Rare Friday Update: Interview with John-Mark Lapham of The Late Cord

Alright, would they put out a full-length already? I'm hopping in my seat, demanding new tunes from these guys.

* * *

I just want to relate a moment regarding this band's music. It was Memorial Day; I was at the abode of friends Kevin (Swing the Heartache) and Jacki. The sun was heavy in the late afternoon and fighting through building clouds. Most of the barbecue guests had left by that point.

I was poking at the wood in the fire pit while Kevin pushed Jacki on the swing that hangs from the tree branch. At that moment, I thought it best to slip into the house, put Lights from the Wheelhouse on the CD player, position the speakers so they faced out the windows, and press play. The first song builds slowly, so I knew I had a few moments to get back outside before anyone noticed what I had done.

The moment went from idyllic to magical in a few brief moments. It's Kevin's best memory of The Late Cord, and probably mine too.

-CW

The National, A Skin, A Night and The Virginia EP

It took me a long time to come around to The National. They even admit to being a slow-grower in A Skin, A Night, a film marketed as being documentary about the band and the creation of last year’s sleeper Boxer. While Boxer is a truly amazing piece of music, something that I personally would like to retroactively add to my list of top albums of 2007, this “documentary” doesn’t quite document anything.

When you hear the word “documentary,” you think of a motion picture featuring interviews with the subjects, footage of the subjects in action, interviews with people who know the subjects, and so on. There are no real interviews in A Skin, A Night; there is no discussion with anyone who knows them. A Skin, A Night is less a documentary than it is a series of artsy clips, snapshots into The National’s existence, with little in the way of any substance. There are scenes of the band performing, and these short clips are the only lively parts in the whole hour of this DVD. It’s as though The National kept wandering into the range of director Vincent Moon’s camera while they were talking to themselves, and Moon had a pile of pretty footage or unrelated material. Moon then mated all that stuff together, thus creating his pretentious monstrosity. There’s too much art and not enough insight; I come away from this film with no greater understanding of The National than if I stared at the album cover for an hour. For a film that was supposed to be an insight into the band’s creative process, it doesn’t have much of an informative effect. With little redeeming information, this gets very boring, very fast. It felt like the longest hour of my life, with the constant question echoing in my head, “Will this ever end?

The footage is comprised entirely of grainy, overexposed shots that at times make it hard to distinguish what color is what, or whether this was shot in black and white and the vague semblance of color is an optical illusion. While I love the whole stylishly grainy look, it’s not appropriate for a documentary. To be fair, A Skin, A Night is filled with some beautiful images, but how many times do we have to look out the windows of subway trains? Moon seems obsessed with the view out of windows of moving vehicles; look at the back cover of the case and its view across a plane wing if you don’t believe me.

So, it’s a pretentious art film that was sold as a documentary. False advertising, and vexing with its boredom. On first viewing, I kept waking myself with the sound of my own snoring. If you absolutely have to watch this, I recommend putting on a pot of coffee beforehand. Unless grainy art films are your thing, that is. If so, this will be entirely enjoyable and completely fascinating to you. For those of us looking for some kind of insight into how The National created Boxer, there is nothing but disappointment hiding on this disc.

A Skin, A Night is packaged with The Virginia EP, a CD of b-sides, demos, and some live tracks. Since I’ve only ever heard Boxer, I can’t really say how this compares to the rest of their discography. However, I can say that, given how mind-numbing A Skin, A Night is, The Virginia EP would have been better off being sold separate as a rarities collection rather than being paired with this ghastly thing.

The Virginia EP clocks in at about 48 minutes, which most of us would agree is well over what an EP runs. Wikipedia tells me this is labeled an EP because the it’s made up of mostly previously released material. A consideration I have is that once a release is considered an EP the cost automatically goes down (bands also gets paid less for EPs vs. full albums). Perhaps they called this an EP to help keep the overall price lower than what it would have been had the called it a full-length. At an MSRP of $19.98, I think it’s overpriced anyway, but that has to do with the DVD bundled with the CD.

What can I say about the songs on The Virginia EP? They are made up of the same understated potency we have grown to love about The National. It opens with “You’ve Done It Again, Virginia,” a song so beautiful that I wish it were stretched beyond its pitiful three minutes. “Santa Clara” and “Blank Slate” will sound familiar if you already have the “Mistaken for Strangers” single. “Blank Slate” is a bit more up-tempo than I’m used to hearing from The National, but that’s not a criticism, mind you. The demos are interesting in that they present a much more raw sound, with some growl to a few of them. I like that; it shows a different side to the band, just a shade darker than what we’re used to. Of these, “Rest of Years” is my favorite. Their live cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Mansion on the Hill” is quite good. Hearing the live version of “Fake Empire” makes me want to see The National on tour.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t collect all of their b-sides. Pretty much, this only covers one b-side from the Alligator singles and already released singles from Boxer. I find it curious that they would release a collection with such items so quickly after the originating album, especially considering there are still singles waiting for release (or so it is rumored; supposedly, “Fake Empire” will be a single this year). As I stated previously, The Virginia EP would have been better served as a separate release from the film. Moreover, it would have been even better if it were a true b-sides and rarities collection, gathering all the b-sides from their early releases in addition to what was on the as-released disc.

If there is one thing to truly hate about this release, it’s the package. The two discs are held in place by two black plastic marshmallow-like things glued to a folded piece of cardboard. The whole thing flattens far too easily; beware, as I have seen copies in stores that are squished. I can’t imagine this arrangement would provide much protection to the discs, and find myself handling the whole thing with great care. The only art printed on the package are black and white stills from the film.

If I learned anything informative from Vincent Moon’s take on The National, it’s that Vincent Moon films are to be avoided. However, I am infinitely more interested in The National’s material after watching, so at least there was a mild success to the film, even if I disliked the film itself. The b-sides and rarities in The Virginia EP are a treat, and are what you should really be concerned with as far as this package is concerned, but even then aren’t essential to own. If you are looking to buy this, make sure you are concerned more with the music than the droning film. I want to recommend this to hard-core fans of The National, but I don’t know if even they will like this. If you are that odd niche consumer that drools for artsy grainy films and just happens to like The National, then by all means, this will be the best thing and I can’t recommend it more. But if you’re like me, or even an average fan of this exquisite band, this release will be a mixed bag, and you will not be 100% satisfied with it.



The National's website and myspace

Returning to the Sun: Sarah Perrotta, The Well

This review marks another first. It’s the first time I’ve been approached by a musician to review a work instead of me searching the artist out in whatever way, be it buying the album as an unknown phantom or approaching the band myself. The local artists are the ones making all the firsts here, bless their hearts.

Is it my imagination, or are there a growing number of female piano pop artists? I swear, there’s a new one popping out of the woodwork every time I turn around. Don’t take this the wrong way, though: I’m a big sucker for piano pop and the feminine voice. That’s why I was rather pleased when Sarah Perrotta emailed me to ask if I would review her recently-released full-length album The Well.

Upon first opening the envelope and giving the album the look-over, I was astounded at the quality of the overall package. The photography on the outside and inside of the digipak and on the liner notes is quite nice. Liner notes with lyrics are a definite plus. While I usually rip on albums that lack features like outstanding artwork and printed lyrics, I typically go easy on independent and self-released albums as far as these things are concerned. However, I feel that it’s important to note that this is a self-released album that looks like it came from a big label in terms of overall quality. Better than the big labels, actually, since the bigwigs are ditching niceties like lyrics and decent art and photography. It’s obvious to me that much effort was spent to make The Well visually appealing.

After listening, I find the sound quality matches the look. I’m going to place Ms. Perrotta on the list of artists that make really good music, assemble a fantastic album, and do so completely independently. I still can’t believe that this is a self-release. Gone are the days when “self-release” meant a twice recorded-over cassette tape with a photocopied liner, or a hand-burned CD scribbled on with Sharpie.

What sets The Well apart from others in this style of music is Perrotta’s mature voice. It seems like so much of piano pop is populated by whimsical and high-pitched, barely-out-of-their-teens voices. Music of this genre tends towards being overly sweet and all butterflies and flowers. Sarah truly shines in that she does the whole piano pop thing without being so saccharine as to make you want to go to the dentist afterwards. As such, The Well is an entirely pleasant experience from start to finish. At about 48 minutes long, it doesn’t overstay its welcome; it actually feels much shorter than it is. Her lyrics are strong enough to set her apart as an exquisite lyricist, but they are not straining for profundity at the expense of overall sound. The result is an excellent balance of complexity and accessibility, sweeping away the listener with her touching works.

Some notes on songs that I feel warrant mention include: the lyrics to opening track “Out of Grace”: “your cynical thoughts are holding you back” … get out of my head, woman! I like being cynical! I really enjoy “Rooftops.” The intense “Steel” rocks hardest, but some might level the criticism that she’s trying to be Tori Amos with this one; I don’t subscribe to that view personally. Point in fact (*WARNING: INCOMING DETOUR*), I find that many piano pop/rock musicians these days suffer the comparison to Tori Amos, and in many cases unfairly. Take A Fine Frenzy for example: being a girl, having red hair, and sitting behind a piano got her labeled an Amos clone before anyone actually heard her music. I despise a reviewer that can’t accept the fact there are more pianists in popular music than that loon. There’s not much comparison here other than a piano and a powerful voice, so get over it (*END DETOUR*). Don’t mistake “Country” for a political song; it strikes me as a tongue-in-cheek lament at how no one will take responsibility for what’s happening in this country. “The Storm” also appeals to me; I’ve always loved songs about going away, taking a journey; this one is plain beautiful. “Midnight Lullaby” is another favorite; very soulful. “Carry You Home” touches all the rights spots; the accordion on this track makes it work so well.

The Well features some potent names in the music industry. Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experiment, and the list goes on) plays bass, plus providing Chapman Stick on the one song he’s not playing bass on. Garth Hudson, who has worked with just about everyone under the sun, including Bob Dylan, The Band, Neko Case, Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Wilco… forget it; I’ll be typing this all night if I listed everyone. Garth plays accordion on two tracks. Grammy winning producer Malcolm Burn mixed The Well; he’s best known for working with Emmylou Harris (her album Red Dirt Girl is what he won the Grammy for) and Daniel Lanois. A not-yet famous name to appear on The Well is my friend Erica Quitzow. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know all about her (speaking of Quitzow, her album, and Setting Sun’s album, official release today). Erica provides violin on three tracks. Of course, her band members Chris Lane` and John Watson, as well as other guests Jay Perrotta, Jimmy Goodman, Lisa Donald, and Barry Medenbach, all work to make the music on this record quite amazing.

I haven’t much bad to say about The Well. I feel that Garth Hudson was an excellent addition to the personnel; however, his accordion playing could have been used to color some more of the tracks other than just the two that he appears on (first and last songs “Out of Grace” and “Carry You Home”). Maybe they tried this and it didn’t sound good, maybe it got trimmed during mixing; who knows. I’m not going to ding her too much for that, not when what I'm hearing is so good. While I find this album totally palatable as it stands, it feels like it could use just a little extra kick to really make it really knock the socks off. If anything, its pleasantness is too uniform.

I’m not going to mislead anyone; this is not a blanket statement that everyone will like this album. If female singer-songwriters armed with pianos are your thing, then I heartily recommend this to you. However, if you are not big on either pianos or female vocalists, then this is most likely not going to be the converting album. While she can be intense at moments, Sarah’s mentality strikes me more as “gentle breeze” than “gale-force winds.” If you demand wild, rip-you-out-of-your-seat music, chances are The Well isn’t going to impress you.

However, I’m impressed even though I typically reach for the wild stuff. As it stands, The Well is a beautiful example of determined effort. Every aspect of this album shows a distinct care towards the total package that lands in the hands of the listener. The work put in on all fronts definitely shows, and I am glad to have been given the opportunity to review such a fine artist. My cynical thoughts usually are holding me back, but Ms. Perrotta has done a fine job of holding back my cynical thoughts.



Sarah Perrotta's website, myspace, and CD for sale at CDbaby.com

Lights in the Sky sampler

Sorry for the delay in posting; it has been a hectic day.

Yesterday, I noticed a myspace bulletin from the Nine Inch Nails page, stating that a new EP called Lights in the Sky was released online and free (like the last thing from nin.com, The Slip). The EP is a sampler of bands that are touring or playing with Nine Inch Nails during the North American tour.

I like the idea of the sampler. It gives us an idea of what to expect from the opening acts at the shows on the upcoming tour, as well as exposes some new bands to an audience that might not otherwise hear about new and interesting talents. However, I have to give this a 60% meh rating. While there are two outstanding tracks on this, the other three are nothing that really affects me.

Before I get to the music, some notes about what's in the download. I like the cover image, but the obvious implication of the "black triangle" UFO as depicted by three lights hovering in mid-air gives me the warning lights that also tripped in Year Zero; I fear that Trent Reznor may be heading down the path of X-Files conspiracy theory thinking and that worries me. But it's a pretty cool picture, and makes a nice album cover (as well as a .jpg can be cover, mind you). Also included in the download is a file of wallpapers, avatars, assorted web graphics, and a printable .pdf tour poster.

The first track on Lights in the Sky is A Place to Bury Strangers' "To Fix the Gash in Your Head." While I love A Place to Bury Strangers (as seen in this review I did several months ago), they picked my least favorite track from their catalogue to appear on this release. However, compared to the other appearances on Lights in the Sky, this sounds really good. I also suspend my criticism of this track since I truly believe A Place to Bury Strangers deserves the great amount of recognition that appearing on this EP will hopefully garner them. They're already gaining ground everywhere, so this will merely accelerate a process that would have the same result otherwise.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? chases with "We Are Rockstars," from their 2008 release You Have No Idea What You're Getting Into. I'm not quite sure what to think of this one. It's quite a danceable little beast, but I can't help but feel like it's overdone club lightshow dross. Not great, not bad, somewhere in the range of things I'll only listen to when in the rare mood for it (one Tuesday afternoon every other year). I'm a bit more adamant about how lackluster Crystal Castles' "Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH)" is. Electro dance sort of stuff with enough video game sound effects to make you think you're stuck in an 8-bit equivalent of a gay disco. While I give them credit for the innovation factor of those sound effects, I find the result is cheesy and annoying (edit: I've been informed by Frank that Crystal Castles isn't as innovative as they seem to those of us not sitting on this particular style of music; see comments for more information).

Following the Metroid dance mix thing, Deerhunter jumps in with "Like New," featured on the Fluorescent Grey EP from last year. It's the shortest track on Lights in the Sky, and the one that stands out the most. Deerhunter tends to move more along the lines of an indie rock/shoegaze variety, while most of the music on Lights in the Sky is electronic in nature. This is more spacey, echoing out with a certain strained beauty that is absent from the other songs.

The final song on Lights in the Sky is Nine Inch Nails' own "Echoplex." In case you missed my review of The Slip, I will reiterate that I find this track unimpressive and dragging out unnecessarily. I still rate it as a solid "meh."

While two out of five songs would hardly be worth buying had this been a CD release, being a free download makes it at least worth the 39.2 mb it takes up on your hard drive (that's the whole package of mp3s and pictures). It's an experience that may induce a listener to try something new and see what amazing (or lackluster) things are happening out in the music world beyond that which already is established. In that respect, I have a great respect for Mr. Reznor. Associating himself with these up and coming bands shows us that he has taste and wants to experience new music as much as we do.

Even if you hate everything on Lights in the Sky, you spent nothing on trying, and if you do like something you heard, you did so without risk. I didn't like most of this, and already knew one band fairly well (bought A Place to Bury Strangers' eponymous album from last year twice, once on CD and once on vinyl), but at least I picked up some new names and gave them a spin. It's all about giving new stuff a shot; go for it.



Nine Inch Nails' website
Deerhunter's myspace
A Place to Bury Strangers' website and myspace
You can find the others on your own.

Portishead, Third

The typical reaction when one hears that a band has emerged from a decade-long hiatus with a new album is typically a sensation of doubt and skepticism regarding the artist in question. Well, at least that's the critic's typical response. The raging fanboy is more likely to start jumping up and down and shouting with glee after having something approximating an orgasm.

Portishead has fallen into this category with their latest release, the first in 10 years, aptly titled Third. However, after numerous spins, I find that my skepticism at whether or not this is a washed-out comeback to pay the bills has washed off. Third is a competent album in its own right. The years have altered the band's sound in many ways and much to my liking; Third sounds little like their prior trip-hop efforts Dummy (1994) and Portishead (1997). I'm certainly not the first reviewer to state that, with Third, Portishead has gone a route more along the lines of industrial with a very dark aesthetic. There's actually a rather broad range of stylistic choices to the music.

Opening track "Silence" starts with a quick beat and some ghostly synths, cutting off abruptly. "Hunter" is much slower with an ominous progression. "Nylon Smile" features melancholy lyrics paired with a a creepy, almost claustrophobic music despite its minimal use of instruments. I love the way it ends, with all the music cutting out, leaving Beth Gibbons' voice hanging on the last few words: "I never had the chance to explain exactly what I meant." Progressing to "The Rip," we move to slow progression, quiet guitars, synths faded in about two and a half minutes in, and the return of those melancholy lyrics. Make no mistake, it's a pretty bleak record, not meant for cheering you up. If there's a track that doesn't particularly interest me, it's "Plastic." At least not until 1:40 in. That's when it shifts gears and gets intense, only to go back to its meandering. "We Carry On" is quite danceable. "Deep Water" stands out from the rest by being a quiet little acoustic number that sets us up (or off balance) for the next track, without argue the best song on the album, the biting electronic industrial "Machine Gun."

There's a reason "Machine Gun" was picked as the first single: it's the most intense song on the album and damn good at evoking an emotional response. "Machine Gun" consists mostly of synthetic percussion in a blistering rhythm, paired with Gibbons' haunting voice; it's a powerful combination. If you take nothing else from this album, at least take "Machine Gun." The only flaw in this song is what my friend Frank (Systems of Romance) refers to as a "John Carpenter score" keyboard solo for a closing (he liked that part; I'm not crazy about it). While a tad lame, the rest of the song hits hard enough to make that solo fairly easy to overlook. It's a tough track to follow, but "Small" manages to hold its own. "Small" is actually a bit of an oddity, starting slow and featuring a synthesized violin sound, organ vaguely reminiscent of The Doors and a echoed guitar riff halfway though that calls up Pink Floyd. The test pattern noise at the start of "Magic Doors" is annoying as all hell, but the rest of the song isn't bad. "Threads" is a great late night cruise home track with its creepy high-pitch sound running in the background and the groove the guitar and bass get in; wait for the thunder on this one.

Portishead is very much driven by the mental image created by listening to their music, and Third creates images of dark, barren cities and flickering street lamps at night before a rainfall. I find the emotional ambiance to the music and Beth Gibbons' voice to be quite effective and conjuring this image and setting me adrift in this alternate world.

To be honest, I didn't really like the first two Portishead albums. That variety of trip-hop/electronic music never appealed to me that much. But Third grabs me in a way that I find difficult to describe. I like a band that shows growth and departure from what they've done prior (see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, His Name Is Alive, Tom Waits among others). Even then, I find Third to be something that needs to be warmed to. Initially, I thought it was boring, but it holds up better under repeat listens. Don't dismiss it on the first, second, or even third listen; keep spinning it.

The liner notes are a bit sparse. Open the jewel case, slide out the sheet, and we unfold it to find an awesome three-panel panoramic picture of the image they were no doubt attempting to create in our minds. Power lines and towers, overcast skies, all very dark and in a deep shade of turquoise. We also get a list of songwriting credits and additional personnel, but there's not much else. There isn't much of a cover image to speak of (capital letter P with a number 3 layered over; turquoise background), and no other album art save the stylishly blurry back cover photo of the band performing. They could have done more to dress this up; seriously, they've been gone a decade! Show some spirit and make something damn pretty!

It took me awhile to warm up to this album, and, while I wouldn't call it the top of this year's releases, Third is most certainly a fine album and worth checking out. It's definitely a departure from their prior material, but consider it an embarkation into a new sonic journey. This cynic appreciated Portishead's effort; so why not at least give it a try? The band's blog states that they are excited about writing more new material, and I hope it continues down the road Third started, heading into a cloudy night.



Portishead's official website and myspace

Quitzow, "Art College" music video...

... or, Chris buys time since he doesn't have anything prepared for Tuesday. Damnable post office being slow on their feet. I'll get a real review up this afternoon or evening. Until then, hope you enjoy this.