words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for gigwise.com
The previous decade left us with music in a state of evolution, spiralling out of control. A hype machine; playing God with bands plummeting themselves either voluntarily or through a dedicated PR team, into an increasingly influential (when powers combine) blogosphere. It left us with many a popular act, usually American (although The xx managed to take the US before they even played a show there thanks to technology), getting rave reviews across the globe following a flurried spell of being the “next big thing” or producing the “album of the year”. Animal Collective, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear – they all managed it. Question is, are they, and Yeasayer, immune to criticism to some extent because there is such a powerful buzz around them, the senses shattered and objectivity undermined?
It seems about the right time to make every effort to view an album like ‘Odd Blood‘ in its separate context; to ignore the surroundings, to take it and to play it like it’s a spontaneous purchase from a record store. Pretend ‘All Hour Cymbals’, the stunning but flawed starting point from the band, released in 2007, doesn’t exist. Everyone expects Yeasayer to step up, turning promise into something really substantial, but forget that. ‘Odd Blood’, on its own, would be an exceptional start to a band’s career. Context included, and it’s an outstanding follow-up.
Divided into two halves, Yeasayer seem intent on proving many points with their second album; the first being to remove a mass-produced tag of being “world hippies”, the second to demonstrate togetherness and even progression despite a minor line-up change, the third to prove themselves to be amongst some of the finest American exports. They come out of ‘Odd Blood‘ as experts at carefully crafting pop (‘O.N.E, ‘Ambling Alp‘), as well as pervious experimenters of the same genre (‘Love Me Girl’, ‘Rome‘). From the instant to the challenging, ‘Odd Blood‘ swings its position dramatically from streamlined and concise to restless and unpredictable.
The main talking point has to be ‘Ambling Alp’, the leading single, an anthemic tug at your heartstrings. The motto of “stick up for yourself, son!” and the sense of defiance and triumph that comes with it, sets a precedent for memorable one-liners with huge meanings: From the sex-fuelled “Everybody’s talking ’bout me and my baby, makin’ love till the mornin’ light” in ‘Mondegreen’ to the frank “You’re stuck in my mind, all the time” in ‘I Remember’. Every meaning and notion sees more poignant, more directly applied. And that’s very much replicated in the first five tracks of ‘Odd Blood’. Onwards from snarling, low-tempo opener ‘The Children’, the album evolves into a gung-ho giver of hits, ‘O.N.E‘ stands out; frantic drums merging with a stunning bass-line and the cry of “Hold me like the phone, hold me like you used to, control me like you used to“.
Balladry is where the band particularly shine. The latter half of the record shows a retreating to roots of old in ‘Strange Reunions’ but more noticeable is ‘Madder Red’; a song that explores the kind of melody every musician’s had in their head all their life, only they’ve forgotten to apply it. A Bollywood-vibe sets a background for which Chris Keating’ covers his melancholic vocals with. Keating is the show-man on ‘Odd Blood’; even though he doesn’t write or perform on every song, his switch from love-struck to love-less, from confident to thin-skinned, is strikingly evident.
But no matter where ‘Odd Blood’ seems intent on going, regardless of whether it plays quick-fix pop or something more indirect, consistence arrives in the band’s knack for making frighteningly complex music, deep; ideas roaming around in corners and the shadows. This is pop music immune to criticism, not because of its context, but because of its innate ability to cover all bases – to write pop at its purest form.
9.3
mp3: Yeasayer – Ambling Alp [alt]
It wasn’t long ago that we last wrote about Phantogram. That write-up came mere minutes after hearing the gloriously catchy ‘When I’m Small’ for the first time. Since then I’ve become accustomed to the debut ‘Eyelid Movies’ which, because of its re-release next February, looks set to class Phantogram in many “new bands” list which will no doubt arrive very soon. Said album has its limits and there are boundaries that it refuses to cross. But that only adds to the sheer catchiness and instant likability of the record.
Opener ‘Mouthful Of Diamonds’ sets the tone. Synthetics pulse behind well synchronised guitar rhythms and hip-hop beats that a fast becoming signature elements of the band’s sound. The chorus opts for a breakdown, beats settling and Sarah Barthel’s voice harmonised into something far more delicate. Quite the ride – gripping from start to finish. (JM)
mp3//
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Adventures In The Beetroot Field, despite being an entirely new record label, already had prestige and pride associated with its work thanks to the success of the last few year’s Field Day festivals. Von Haze, their first signing, might be feeling a slight weight on their shoulders being the label’s very first signing. But their sound is anything but phased; smooth, ghostly psychedelia is put through its paces against synthesised backdrops and hard-hitting basslines.
It recalls the garage vibe of many other Brooklyn acts – Crystal Stilts, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart as examples. Of course, Von Haze sound absolutely nothing like the former or the latter, but their creations muster up a similarly damaged yet modernised scope of sound. Their most melodic, touching work is the most insightful – ‘Outside the Night’ pits Xx-esque male and female vocals tugging at eachother with subdued, spacious organs and almost unnoticeable drum rhythms. Their paramount achievement to date is the seven-minutes-long ‘Sooner Or Later’, a drawn-out stalking terror, staring right at you for as long as you take it, but never giving in, never unleashing anything other than HEALTH-esque bitty synths and the occasional storm of white noise. Teasing but very capable of surprising. (JM)
mp3// Von Haze – Sooner Or Later
TRACK REVIEW: Crystal Stilts – Love Is A Wave / Sugarbaby
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for thisisfakediy
Garage-punk Brooklyn heroes Crystal Stilts are showing early indications of a complete u-turn in their sound. What you hear from ‘Love Is A Wave’ is the complete polar opposite of the material on ‘Alight of Night’ – a sun-kissed, upbeat tribute of love. Any doom and gloom is thrown out of the window, providing even more evidence for the fact that this lot are anything but some Shoegaze fanboys with little to give.
Although the rapid pace, the barely tuneful vocals and the rusty guitar lines (all equating to a unique charm) are maintained, this sonic shift is exciting, more akin to local friends Vivian Girls than any other contemporary act. ‘Sugarbaby’ again adopts an optimistic approach, this time led by a jaunty keyboard organ and again Crystal Stilts, not exactly the likely lads, are putting a smile on your face. Someone pinch me.
mp3: Crystal Stilts – Love Is A Wave [alt]
ALBUM REVIEW: Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
words: Jamie Milton
2009 has created a curse. 2009 has stumbled. The moment one sorry soul muttered the words “album of the year??” on the 1st day of January after hearing Animal Collective’s latest album, then arose a standard, a competition for all others to aspire to. Every ‘big release’ album has been to some extent viewed in regard to how it compares to ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’, but no album quite as much as ‘Veckatimest’. Perhaps this should come as no surprise: ‘Yellow House’ was a beautifully layered, sleep-tight, warm album, a very special one indeed. But ‘Veckatimest’, an album so separate from many musical spheres that it shouldn’t be compared so directly, has already seen itself judged instantly on merit of how likely you think it is to get the album of the year crown.
Let’s make things clear: album of the year judgements are something that most music fans look on towards from an early stage but for some reason, they’re slowly edging into a collective opinion, a sense that there should be a definitive best record, be it for historical purposes or self satisfaction at your own music taste. That shouldn’t be the case. In a flash, it puts most listeners of ‘Veckatimest’ on two sides of the fence. If you didn’t think it was the best thing you’d heard all year, you’d begin to almost despise it when that compliment was thrown from side to side towards the Brooklyn four-piece’s latest creation.
In reality, ‘Veckatimest’, like any other album created by human beings, has its strong points and its weak points. Vocal melodies, the ultimate strong point of Rossen and co., are enhanced to a stage in which they begin to guide each song, acting instrumentally instead of lyrically on ‘Fine For Now’, varying in rhythm, mood, pitch – creating something beautiful. Contrasting to that is this new-found edge, a passionate combination of crashing cymbals and blown-up guitars, climaxing ‘I Live With You’ and initially drawing you in on opener ‘Southern Point’, a sporadic, joyous affair enhanced by a stunning orchestral closing.
At times however, the melodies and such border on becoming inaccessible. ‘Hold Still’ almost seems to interrupt a gathering pace built on the moving, upbeat ‘Ready, Able’ and the percussion-dominated charmer ‘About Face’. Obtuse guitar work seems too immersed in its own enjoyment, shunning out the listener. But maybe Grizzly Bear deserve this kind of indulgence in a prequel to the album highlight, ‘While You Wait For The Others’. In regards to the bulk of the record, it remains a simplistic band affair that fashions a summery vibe, culminating in the kind of chorus all songwriters aspire to – a cry of joy if ever there was one. ‘Two Weeks’ perhaps a similar function. Being the most up-tempo song on the record, it immediately gains attention. Ed Droste’s soothing vocals stand out at the start when there’s nothing to hear but his voice and the gorgeous, cheery keyboard-line, but it gradually becomes a small part of the song, shadowed in behind beautifully layered guitar parts and Christopher Bear’s ubiquitous drum style. ‘Southern Point’ hones in more are carefully-crafted guitar work, its centrepiece being the sudden change of structure that’s met by the cast of a dozen violnis. ‘Ready, Able’’s explosion of a stirring bout of passion is matching in character.
The slightly less-pacey core of the record shouldn’t be seen as a weak spot. Msot should be able to marvel at the breathtaking vocal performance of Rossen in ‘Dory’, the rich and colourful summit of “Cheerleader’, etc. etc. Indeed at times you might feel like you’re trudging through the think swampy bulk of the record but take time out of what you’re doing and you’ll find a whole host of characteristics and little turns in structure, pace, ideas as a whole.
Taking the whole competitive context out of the album puts it in a much better light. Perhaps once the dust settles, ‘Veckatimest’ can appear just as, if not more affecting and spirited than ‘Yellow House’. For now however, music has to wait six months or so before it can fully judge the record in comparison to others. ‘Veckatimest’ should only be judged as to whether it compares with ‘Yellow House’, whether it’s the most forward-thinking move of their career to date – and it probably is.
8.2 8.5
mp3: Grizzly Bear – Ready, Able [alt]
Interview: Crystal Stilts
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for gigwise
Re-kindling old flames doesn’t always go to plan. The post-punk dominance of the 80’s, the Joy Division-era, has been replicated by a whole range of modern day bands, only very badly. And whilst the Horrors are enjoying the tag of being the very first band for some time to play host to these influences with successful results, someone must have turned a blind eye to Crystal Stilts.
It’s clear that the reason why ‘Alight of Night’, the New York five-piece’s debut album, was overlooked in some places and dismissed as some coy attempt to lure in fans from a small set of famous, dissolved bands, is because many people failed to pick out the huge variety of influences swimming about in there. Kyle, keyboards, tells Gigwise: “A guy in Holland told me we sound like surf music, which is probably more true than saying we sound like Joy Division!” ‘Alight Of Night’ isn’t just a good 40 minutes of rip-roaring, lo-fi post-punk. The record exposes sensitive sides, ballads of sorts, in between the fire-starting, foot-tapping numbers such as ‘SinKing’ or ‘Departure’. And so whilst a few critics and a few thousand fans have caught on to the true appeal of the band, they remain wholly misunderstood. “I mean, we like those bands, so in that way it’s nice to be compared to them. But sometimes it’s like people writing about you are just repeating the same comparison they read somewhere else instead of listening for themselves.”
But the aforementioned fans are besotted with the band. Having just completed a UK jaunt, soon to return, Kyle reminisces of UK shows consisting of “so many serious music fans…already familiar with the record, singing along…it was nice.” And the band’s response to the huge collection of positive reviews? “It’s very flattering.” In his responses, you get the sense from Kyle that his band are only just beginning, familiarising themselves with territories, strategizing their next move. Progression was at the core of their debut album. The self-titled EP that lured so many in was anything but indicative of the diversity in the debut album. There was a kind of a swagger, a sense of experimentation that hardly anyone expected: “the album developed over a few years in the sense that some songs are older than others”. Formed in 2003, it took five years before they could hold a physical copy of their debut album. Money troubles and mixing issues led to its delay.
But there was this sense that ‘Alight of Night’ couldn’t have come at a better time. Arriving at the same point as female contemporaries Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and their companions made a run for it in 20
08. All emerging from a fire-pit of talent, Brooklyn, talked of endlessly by the blogosphere as the significant, consistently impressive output for new bands, Kyle makes sure to play this talk down: ” I think the focus on a “Brooklyn scene” kinda misses the point. It’s just a part of a really big city where a lot of people live.” This is true. Brooklyn is essentially just a location, which happens to play habitat to a wide range of hype-making acts today. But Crystal Stilts have to count themselves slightly lucky for having Brookyln’s resources, contacts, support from other bands, right on their doorstep.
Latest single ‘Love Is A Wave’, the first material since the debut album, indicates a more up-beat attitude, formed through a similar production style to the record. When talking about a potential change in sound, Kyle stays rooted to the spot, mysterious: “maybe there is (a change in sound), and I just wanna keep it secret…” Either way, Crystal Stilts have emerged from a hectic period of album plugging, regular live shows, with fresh-faces. They’re in a healthy position to experiment once more and produce a sophomore album even more startling than their first creation…
mp3: Crystal Stilts – Sugarbaby (Love Is A Wave B-side) [alt]
S O F I N E
B E M I N E
ALBUM: Telepathe – Dance Mother
words: Jamie Milton
How does one go with bridging the gap between too cool and too clever? Few do so with such style as the kings of the alternative scene. We’re talking Dave Sitek, the figure behind TV On The Radio, ever-growing in success and the recognition they’ve always deserved. And despite not being the voice behind it all, his production duties have been sought after by many acts attempting to replicate the grand sound he conjures when in the studio. Before ‘Dance Mother’, Telepathe sounded relatively bare, with the spark but nothing to meet it. And then they hired Dave Sitek to work with them on their debut album. And their music’s suddenly become ambitious, sparse in ideas and buzzing with a heavy atmosphere that sounds absolutely huge.
And you hear it most so in ‘Devil’s Trident’, the flame in the candle, the centre of an album so lush in warmth. ‘Dance Mother’ is at its warmest when this track builds into a beautiful beast, consistently defying your expectations. You don’t expect it to progress any more than it already has, but it does. And when you untangle it all, the only comparison you can draw structurally is that of TV On The Radio. Let’s not claim Dave Sitek to be the only brain behind the brilliance but when this record peaks in the way that it does, you can’t help but think he had a massive say in it all.
That’s not to say Telepathe never had the potential to make stunning music. ‘Chrome’s On It’ was always a clever thing. Infectious, challenging but with direction, it carries the momentum the Brooklyn music scene’s developed and transforms it into a succinct, four-minute pop gem. Openly sunny but with a dark twist, the rest of ‘Dance Mother’ continues a trend of muddling twists and turns, swinging between Earthly seasons but constantly forming itself through a completely un-human vibe. The production’s fantastic; ‘In Your Line’’s tribal drums and minimal keyboard lines sound measly in comparison to the rest of the record initially but again, it builds and builds…
The ambitious, 80’s-inspired opener ‘So Fine’ combines misty synth-led melodies with pounding drums, in similar fashion to the perhaps more electronically-inclined ‘Michael’ which all the less, is another highlight.
Ok, the album has its dips; ‘Lights Go Down’ lacks spirit, ‘Trigoly:’ has its moments but acts too big for its own boots. But the rest? For the majority of the time, Telepathe do very well to bridge that gap between clever and cool. They might appear far too arty for you in promo shots and interviews but in their debut arrives an atmosphere that’s just thrown itself into the limelight and they suddenly sound genuine in their psycho-cool sonics. Between the stop-start rhythms, behind the mysterious image comes a sound that really means something. So much can develop from here onwards.
7.4
mp3: Telepathe – Devils Trident
mp3: Telepathe – In Your Line
[BUY 'Dance Mother']
MFM @ HYPEM
