A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head - kkkk
For Long Island teenagers in 1994 there were few stories more oft repeated, at least in the circle in which I ran, than the tale of the demise of My Bloody Valentine. And when I say “circle in which I ran” I actually mean the circle in which I walked very slowly, smoking Parliaments on my way to some sort of diner. In between talking about what Ira and Georgia, the married and infinitely cool pair of Yo La Tengo might be doing at any moment and speculating how cool we would have to become to match them, we told and retold the story of My Bloody Valentine.
In terms of urban legend, we felt this one had it all; spectacular Kevin Shields, enigmatic (to us) and somewhat reclusive, making one hot and heavy album and destroying himself physically and financially in the process. At least, that’s the way we told it and whether or not that is actually what happened is something that never mattered to us. And the moral of the story was the album itself, broody and poignant with tons of feedback and unintelligible vocals – perfect adolescent fodder.
It all came flooding back this week as I listened to the first instalment of my Rough Trade album club which finally arrived despite the postal strike. A Place to Bury Strangers’ (APTBS) Exploding Head could have come out in 1994 and could have been produced by Kevin Shields and could have fit in nicely with our inane natter of that time. Things that I love about this band: frontman Oliver Ackermann also founded Death by Audio, the special effects pedal company that supplies, well yes actually, My Bloody Valentine among others, a Brooklyn based company whose space also functions as a venue for the likes of Thurston Moore. Unsurprisingly then, the band hails from that same neck of Brooklyn. They’ve supported NIN, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club all of whom seem to have rubbed off on them. And they’ve been making waves since 2006 but I’ll forgive myself for not knowing them sooner as they didn’t really splash out in the UK until they supported MGMT on tour last year. Exploding Head is their second studio effort and hey now most importantly, it’s super.
This is relentless wall of sound at its best, exploding (yes it’s true) from the second dot through to completion.If I have any criticism of this album, it’s merely that the songs don’t tend to stand out as individuals. Rather they form a sort of impression of a Williamsburg loft party (deeply bourgeois and unfashionable that statement may be, but it’s still very true), all noise and crunchiness, guitars and drums and droney vocals. But that is the very reason I like this album. It’s complete and listen-straight-through. As a result, I recognise that it will likely slot into the same space that MBV fits into in my music head – that is, I will listen to this album for years, discussing how much I like it and about the band that made it without ever really being aware of it. It will soundtrack my parties, my breakfasts, my workouts, my rare nights out and yet it will never make a firm impression on me beyond the fact that I like it.
I will say that the title track has such 1980’s Cure guitar (think “Killing and Arab”) that I did stop momentarily to take notice. And though the rest of the songs are really cut from the same 1990’s black hoodie, that works for this kind of music. The album is well-produced and a pleasure to listen to. And I don’t think it broke Oliver Ackermann in the process. He seems to be doing very well actually and making pedals for U2 apparently. kkkk
ITunes free download of the week – “Burst its Banks” by Kill It Kid
Can you say John Spencer Blues Explosion? I sure can and apparently, so can Kill It Kid. I say this without apology for making yet another 1990s reference to better understand the music of 2009 because the influence is really obvious. There are also tones of the Mid-West and Patrick Wolf as well as a taste of Antony and the Johnsons. The result is what would happen if John Spencer had actually understood the art of dynamics – loud and soft, darling. As the song actually says, “High, low. Fast, slow.” kkkk
Recommendations from Greg and John – William Grant Conspriacy and We Were Promised Jetpacks
One of my hubby’s partners suggested I go back to my roots as I had somehow missed out on William Grant Conspiracy back in the day. Now having gone back to listen, I know why; I basically ignored the Tom Waitts, Leonard Cohen, Tindersticks genre until boyfriends various and sundry made me listen to them in college.Though I hear some songs from these bands and have real fondness for them (Tindersticks “Travelling Light” springs to mind), I would be unlikely to go to their gigs, save Cohen as I have come to really love him over the years. I think William Grant Conspiracy is likely to be something I will trot out at a dinner party as it sounds nice. But I don’t think I’ll ever put it on while I’m having a quiet bath with a glass of wine. It’s too morose and it didn’t grab me at the time in my life when that was the only emotion I could tap into. I now prefer more joyful distractions. kkk
We Were Promised Jetpacks are, in my opinion, a more joyful distraction. Soulful shouting passes for vocals (even shouted harmonies!) and the frenetic guitars even do the Jawbreaker thing of going all chukka chukka at prime moments (they do this in “Quiet Little Voices”). I like these guys very much and need to listen more before I can pass judgement but once again I think I’m going to try to get to them live as they seem great. The best bit is that they sound all SoCal until you get to the pared back vocals without much accompaniment (like in “Ships With Holes Will Sink”) when their broad Glaswegian accents burst through the drum beats. And, free stuff alert: you can stream their music for free on their myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/wewerepromisedjetpacks). I’m doing so right now. kkkk
No comments:
Post a Comment