Feel good hits of the 5th September
1. 'Faded Glory' - Sparrow And The Workshop
2. 'Sycamore Tree' - Crystal Stilts
3. 'Confetti' - Cold Cave
4. 'My Mistakes' - Eleanor Friedberger
5. 'Weird Feelings' - Male Bonding
6. 'Destructive Paths To Live Happily' - Kindest Lines
7. 'Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror' - Jeffrey Lewis
8. 'Floating Vibes' - Surfer Blood
9. 'White Rune' - Iceage
10. 'Eyes Be Closed' - Washed Out
Notes:
1. From relatively humble beginnings a seriously bombastic conclusion.
2. A riff you just can't shake - or help shaking to.
3. LCD Soundsystem meets classic Depeche Mode. How odd that it should be written by the former frontman of various hardcore bands and involve a guru of the power electronics scene who's performed with some of the most notoriously confrontational noise artists around.
4. An offering from one half of the Fiery Furnaces that can be legitimately described as sweetly uncomplicated? Clearly Eleanor's brother Matthew is the musically obtuse one in the relationship.
5. Sadly it looks as though I'll miss them on their forthcoming jaunt around the UK, but at least there's a new album (Endless Now) by way of consolation.
6. Another new discovery not totally dissimilar to Cold Cave - and another one courtesy of the weekly recommendation from Insound.
7. Lyrically brilliant, natch. Lightly whimsical until near the end, when it all goes a bit Deliverance. Wonder what Will Oldham himself makes of it?
8. I thought I'd best try again with the highlights of Astro Coast, given that they'll be at ATP again in December, and this is decent. Can't get past 'Take It Easy' being a lame rip-off of Vampire Weekend, though, and 'Swim' still seems a bit indie rock by numbers, lovely though the verse vocal effects are.
9. An old Insound recommendation, but one that keeps cropping up. Best add New Brigade to the shopping list.
10. Like Surfer Blood, an act who'll be appearing at ATP in December, though at the invitation of Caribou rather than Les Savy Fav. Nice enough, but weren't Air doing something very similar back in the 90s? Chillwave: the Emperor's new clothes, perhaps?
Monday, September 05, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Chillwave. Not sure of it as a genre term personally, and I'm sure the bands lumped under the umbrella may well feel the same way.
I like Washed Out's LP myself ('Echoes' is my track of choice) and whilst they breathe the same, err, air as Air, one might also have said in the 90's: Air? Surely Kraftwerk did all this on the 'Man Machine' and 'Computer World' records.
I suppose you could throw in Eno, The KLF's 'Chill Out' album and The Beloved into that world as well.
Fine Lewis choice too. I remember distinctly hearing that tune for the first time, when played live at the Royal Park Cellars in Leeds, and being genuinly startled by the way the 'horror' gets tossed in late doors so matter-of-factly.
Ain't that always the way with new genres, though? Bands get lumped under the same umbrella to the point that the umbrella doesn't really make much sense. Bands inevitably hate being pigeon-holed, but as a music writer and fan the fact is that labels can be useful just to get a handle on something.
As for Washed Out, 'Eyes Be Closed' was the first track I listened to through Youtube that struck a chord. Didn't think much at all of 'Feel It All Around' - but in truth none of it really grabbed me much (but I suppose that might be the point - it's not exactly 'grabbing' music, by its very nature). Will be interesting to see what they're like live.
As for Jeffrey Lewis, I'm ashamed to admit being pretty much a complete newcomer. You're right that the horror is very matter-of-fact and actually pretty horrible. The video suits the storytelling style perfectly. Annoyed I missed him in Oxford last month - maybe next time...
I've seen Washed Out live at Rough Trade and wasn't that taken with them as a live turn. I much prefer the LP so I guess you should expect to be disappointed.
May have been one of their first gigs as a five-piece band though, and 30 minute instores are probably not the real deal really, so I should possibly reserve judgement for a future occasion.
Lewis is a fine live performer, especially when he does his 'comic book stories'. You can find them online, and when he plays bigger venues it has to be done by projection, but when he's in the smaller rooms, literally flicking through his well-worn sketchpads whilst singing about the History of Rough Trade Records, Communism (parts I - V) or, my favourite, The Fall, these are very special moments indeed.
Years ago, his track ‘Back When I Was 4’ was on pretty much every compilation I made. 2002/3 and I was still making tapes. One has to eventually give in to the march of time and technology though!
"but as a music writer and fan the fact is that labels can be useful just to get a handle on something."
I certainly agree with that.
I just don't like the word 'chillwave', possibly because it reminds me of my least favourite portmanteau 'chillax'.
I'd suspected as much about Washed Out - we'll see, though.
Thanks for making me feel even worse about missing Jeffrey Lewis... ;)
"Chillax" *shudder*
Post a Comment