Parentheses run amok... MOF; Miike Snow; Delphic; Alberta Cross

Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk kkkk

Back in the day when country was still a dirty word on the American indie-rock scene (at least at the teenage level) these guys were raging away under the thin guise of grungy guitars and amp’d feedback.  They’ve always had that sound though – that achey-breaky (I won’t say the rest) vibe that should be bad but feels so good.   We’re talking the masters of late 90’s emo-core (as I always understood it to be – what the heck is that crap they call emo these days?) – Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James (or Yim Yames depending upon your orientation) of My Morning Jacket and M. Ward of himself, now known collectively as Monsters of Folk.

They’ve been playing as a unit since 2004 but until now were pretty much singly a gigging outfit.  This oft-proclaimed supergroup has finally punted their first official indoor outing.  The self-titled album is a goodie but in a grower-not-a-shower sort of way.  By their own admission or at least according to their publicist, this album could have easily ended up sounding like three mini-EPs as these boys all sound so distinct.  But on most of the tracks, they really used their differences to come up with the goods, a series of smooth, blending harmonies with all the twangy guitars you’d expect. 

I’ve heard some reviewers say that it’s Jim James who steals the show or at least is scoopier (http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14665/reviews/4137925) but I have to disagree, though this may simply be a matter of vocal preference.  I confess that I’ve never totally jived with My Morning Jacket which is arguably James run riot.  For me the standouts come from M. Ward; he’s just too damned throaty to blend easily, though I think his husky sound is a sweet relief from some of the higher James-led vocals – Baby Boomer makes the most of him without a doubt.  Other highlights include Lotta Losin’ (Ward again), and Map of the World (great ache from Oberst).

I agree with others who have said that Mogis has done one hell of a job gluing the whole show together and I like the fact that while Oberst is omnipresent on this album, it’s in a highly effective and un-showy sort of way; he hits the high harmonies that simultaneously lessen the saccharine quality of his own and James’ vocals while enhancing the overall feel of the melodies.   Basically I think it’s one hell of an album and the more I listen to it, the more I like it.  And as a result, the Times and the Guardian agreed on something.  I conclude the same – four stars.

Recommendations from Lindsay and Gills – Miike Snow and Delphic

The thing I’ve decided about recommendations is that there’s not as much of an expiry date on reviewing them.  Admittedly these will be things I’ve missed that you lovely people have been kind enough to help me rectify so while I’ll endeavour to review albums in the week they were released, the recommendations section can be anything from 2009 and beyond.  So says I.  And thank you for all the recommendations last week; I had a ball getting down to some of the suggestions and intend to make this a weekly feature.  Can I ask that you pass this link/group around so that I can get more and more feed?

Ok so this week I checked out Miike Snow at Lindsay’s suggestion.  The single “Animal” has gotten quite a lot of play on BBC 6Music and for this reason, I recognise that I came to the album with a bit of a preconceived notion of what it would/should be.  I found it only slightly disappointing.  By all rights, I should love it – it’s like Prince meets Gnarls Barkley and as I love both of those, what’s the problem?  I couldn’t put my finger on it until I heard the mashup featuring him and Vampire Weekend’s “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance.”  I felt that on his own he didn’t deliver that extra oomph but with the power of VW, unstoppable.  His remix of Passion Pit’s “The Reeling” was wicked as well.  And both are free as downloads http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Miike_Snow/track/Passion_Pit_-_The_Reeling_Miike_Snow_Remixor via Miike Snow’s MySpace page.

As for Delphic’s most recent EP, This Momentary (mainly remixes of their recent single), this also has had a lot of 6Music play but had a more positive effect on me both when I heard it there and the album in its entirety.  The last time I went to the Limelight in NYC it wasn’t the Limelight anymore.  It was called something lame like Industry or ComeGiveUsMoney or something and it was lousy with scantily clad models and overweight 50-something men in pinstripe suits.  The funny thing was that I went to see Longwave play that night (this was like six years ago) and once they started playing, it was such a fantastic surprise, such a wonderful throwback to Limelight’s musical heyday, that I immediately felt transported.  Listening to Delphic is like that.  You see the album cover and you think, this looks like a Beloved album cover and if you’re me, you think, “promising.” Then you step inside and doubt creeps in.  But as soon as you get involved in the music, it’s awesome.  I mean this is music to get ready to on that rare Friday night when you’re actually released from your cage for a few hours. This Momentary was released on August 31^st 2009 and is a thing to behold.  I’ll finish by saying this: Seriously.  Fun.  Good.  Stuff. 

The iTunes free download of the week:  “Old Man Chicago” by Alberta Cross

Who doesn’t like free stuff?  Well I certainly do and this was a lovely discovery for me.  I think the thing about music is that you need to have at least an hour in your day to do some exploring – read some reviews, listen to some MySpace pages etc and if you’re working constantly or cleaning noses/dishes/clothes/raking leaves or whatever, you can lose not only the will to live but also the desire to explore.  So given this superb opportunity (thank you my lovely husband), I have uncovered a few things, one being the weekly free single from iTunes.  Last week was Dominos by Big Pink which I was less enthralled with.  It’s definitely one of those songs I’d leave the room to avoid.  But this week’s Alberta Cross single is great and not a band I’d listened to before.  “Old Man Chicago” is lovely stompy music.  Think Ryan Adams and Jayhawks.  Give it a download and listen.  What have you got to lose?

Monsters of Folk

Hey guys - new album by the Oberst-flavoured supergroup, Monsters of Folk - out September 21 UK/Yoyo, September 22 US and elsewhere. Very likey if you likey folky. More to follow next week...

Enough about us, let's talk about me - Varshons, The Lemonheads

On Saturday night, my husband, our friend and I went to the Lemonheads gig at the Forum in Kentish Town.  It was my first gig since Little Dude was born and it seemed that, on the dawn of a musical new day, it was a fitting end to the previous phase.  

The show was all it promised to be; Evan Dando, stringy-limbed and stringy-haired as ever, full of the old chestnuts that one expects to hear from a band who has now been around for nigh on two decades, banging away on his guitar with effortless (if slightly apathetic) abandon.  There were moments bordering on pure beauty (Big Gay Heart and The Outdoor Type spring to mind) but mainly pure fun.  Imagine a sea of middle-aged mostly ex-boy-geeks-cum-man-geeks, wearing the same T-shirts they were wearing in 1992 but looking as if someone had just squashed them down a bit making them shorter and rounder (and balder), bopping violently to Bit Part and Great Big No.  And though we're pretty sure that save maybe three songs, the playlist was exactly the same as it was when we saw them two years ago (I say them but I mean Dando as the lineup is always changing), it was exactly what we paid for.

I confess that my favourite Lemonheads tracks have often been their covers (Frank Mills, Different Drum, yes, also the one that they don't talk about anymore) and therefore their June '09 release, Varshons, a mainly alt-country covers album produced by Gibby Haynes (of the Butthole Surfers) is the right recipe in my book.  I read somewhere that the track picks were based largely on the mix tapes Haynes used to make for Dando which totally makes sense given the higgledy-piggledy nature of the track list. Ranging from an iffy Liv Tyler-assisted cover of Leonard Cohen's Hey, There's No Way to Say Goodbye to a thoroughly excellent Laying with Linda (a take on G.G. Allin which rocked live), it offers up a good mix overall.  Though I have to say I don't really get the pairing with Tyler and even less the one with Mossy on Dirty Robot, I can't blame the boys for wanting to hang out with two of the hottest women north of 30.  

On the whole Varshons is just okay, but in terms of seeing what Dando and Haynes do with such a diverse pool, it's worth it just to experience their double act which I think is ultimately pretty successful.  I certainly hope Haynes is in on the promised next album.  I will also say that this album seems to convey more fun than their last self-titled effort, fun sorely needed based on the soul-destroying ennui Dando sometimes/often displayed live this past Saturday.  And although I still derive real joy from hearing Rudderless, I really can't say I blame him.  As my husband pointed out, imagine writing a riff one afternoon when you're 18 and it's still the main thing anyone wants to hear you play when you're 42?

As for me and my first official foray into modern music, I think this was less than successful - an aging band playing even older songs.  Next week I promise to find something a little more this century.