Soundtrack
So I haven't done a music post for a while. This seems to mostly be the singer-songwriter edition.
Tom McRae - All Maps Welcome Tom McRae's first two albums were the soundtrack to empty nighttime streets. If his third album varies the formula at all, it's perhaps only in that he seems to be writing about sticky summer nights, rather than bitter winter ones. Opener 'For The Restless' sets the tone, recalling Just Like Blood's 'A Day Like Today' but with a smoother sound; 'Hummingbird Song' is a soundtrack for a sunset. As with the earlier albums, the lyrics are unashamedly vivid--'you raised me like a bruise/I'm bleeding still' is not atypical--though there are perhaps a few hints of self-mockery, notably on the brooding 'Vampire Heart'. Sadly, and unlike the earlier albums, All Maps Welcome never quite comes together; there is an uneasy split between the early, largely good if unusually accessible tracks (stand up 'The Girl Who Falls Down Stairs') and the later, lacklustre efforts. For the good stuff, though, it's still worth the purchase. Try this: 'Vampire Heart'
Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) - Cold Roses On a scale of one to country, this sits somewhere between the most country bits of Gold and the Whiskeytown albums. In other words, it's fairly high up the scale, so in a sense it's Adams returning to his roots. But if I wasn't already a fan of his work, I doubt this album would make much of an impression; as with Rock N Roll there's a sense that Adams is more just playing around with the style than anything else. Don't get me wrong, it's better than Rock N Roll was--especially in disc 2--but it's all a bit on the empty side. As an album, it's also massively overlong. There simply aren't two CDs worth of good songs on here; there's one album, if you're generous, and sometimes even the good songs unaccountably sabotage themselves. I like 'Meadowlake Street', for instance, right up to the bizarre synth noises in the dying seconds. For completists only. Try this: 'Cold Roses'
Tom Vek - We Have Sound This is an odd but interesting album. When it doesn't work, the clattering rhythms and haphazard instrumentation descends into incoherence; when it does, the mess of noise and drawled vocals can turn into something forceful and strangely hypnotic. Either way, it never does what you expect, from the metallic chug of 'I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes' through the none-more-Talking-Heads 'Nothing But Green Lights' to the Nirvana-guitar-line-with-electronic-bleeps of 'That Can Be Arranged'. It's not a record I've fallen in love with, but it's one I'm glad to have heard. Try this: 'Nothing but Green Lights'
Hot Hot Heat - Elevator I only recently discovered that that tune they used to play all the time at Panic--oh, you know the one--was 'Bandages' by Hot Hot Heat, which is terribly embarrassing. Now that I know, I can say that there's nothing on Elevator quite that fantastic, but that on the brassyn to azureskies scale of Elevator-appreciation I still come in at the azureskies end. In fact, I don't think I've heard an indie-pop-rock album I've liked this much since Ash's Free All Angels. Hot Hot Heat seem to have a similar gift for finding the killer hook, and writing songs where it doesn't outstay its welcome. There isn't a single bad track, and there are four--'Goodnight Goodnight', 'Jingle Jangle', 'Dirty Mouth' and 'Elevatora'--that have become instant favourites. Try this: 'Jingle Jangle'
Turin Brakes - Jackinabox I'm not entirely sure why I like Turin Brakes. I think it's because both their previous albums have had two or three really good tracks, even if the bulk of the rest doesn't stand up to replaying. Jackinabox does sound like a step up, however. It's more polished, and more tuneful. Sometimes it backfires--I think the folk-funk of 'Asleep With The Fireflies' is probably a mistake, and god only knows what's going on with the last track--and sometimes they retread old ground--most notably on 'Road To Nowhere'. But more often than not it works, in a laid-back way; 'They Can't Buy The Sunshine' and 'Fishing For A Dream' are charming, 'Last Clown' is perfect for summer evenings, 'Buildings Wrap Around Me' and the title track are jangly toe-tapping fun, and 'Red Moon', for all that it's lyrically a bit on the dull side, has wormed itself into my subconscious and will not let go. All in all, worth a look. Try this: 'Red Moon'
Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman On one level, all you really need to know about this is that if you're not already a convert to Folds' piano-led pop, this outing isn't going to change things; and if you are, it's better than the first solo album but not as good as any of the Ben Folds Five records. Arrangement-wise it's the simplest he's been for a while, and bar a couple of inexplicable choices (I'm thinking of the cascading chimes at the end of 'Time', and most criminally of the popped-up version of 'Give Judy My Notice' that isn't even close to being as good as the version from last year's Speed Graphic EP) that's a good thing. The standout tracks include the single, 'Landed', the faintly gospel 'Jesusland', and--my favourite--'Late', Folds' tribute to Elliott Smith. It's a welcome moment of personal reflection on an album that otherwise takes the easy route once too often; the simple honesty of the chorus ('the songs you wrote/got me through a lot/just wanted to tell you that') gets me every time. And, sometimes, I think I'd like to say the same thing to Folds. Try this: 'Late'
Tom McRae - All Maps Welcome Tom McRae's first two albums were the soundtrack to empty nighttime streets. If his third album varies the formula at all, it's perhaps only in that he seems to be writing about sticky summer nights, rather than bitter winter ones. Opener 'For The Restless' sets the tone, recalling Just Like Blood's 'A Day Like Today' but with a smoother sound; 'Hummingbird Song' is a soundtrack for a sunset. As with the earlier albums, the lyrics are unashamedly vivid--'you raised me like a bruise/I'm bleeding still' is not atypical--though there are perhaps a few hints of self-mockery, notably on the brooding 'Vampire Heart'. Sadly, and unlike the earlier albums, All Maps Welcome never quite comes together; there is an uneasy split between the early, largely good if unusually accessible tracks (stand up 'The Girl Who Falls Down Stairs') and the later, lacklustre efforts. For the good stuff, though, it's still worth the purchase. Try this: 'Vampire Heart'
Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) - Cold Roses On a scale of one to country, this sits somewhere between the most country bits of Gold and the Whiskeytown albums. In other words, it's fairly high up the scale, so in a sense it's Adams returning to his roots. But if I wasn't already a fan of his work, I doubt this album would make much of an impression; as with Rock N Roll there's a sense that Adams is more just playing around with the style than anything else. Don't get me wrong, it's better than Rock N Roll was--especially in disc 2--but it's all a bit on the empty side. As an album, it's also massively overlong. There simply aren't two CDs worth of good songs on here; there's one album, if you're generous, and sometimes even the good songs unaccountably sabotage themselves. I like 'Meadowlake Street', for instance, right up to the bizarre synth noises in the dying seconds. For completists only. Try this: 'Cold Roses'
Tom Vek - We Have Sound This is an odd but interesting album. When it doesn't work, the clattering rhythms and haphazard instrumentation descends into incoherence; when it does, the mess of noise and drawled vocals can turn into something forceful and strangely hypnotic. Either way, it never does what you expect, from the metallic chug of 'I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes' through the none-more-Talking-Heads 'Nothing But Green Lights' to the Nirvana-guitar-line-with-electronic-bleeps of 'That Can Be Arranged'. It's not a record I've fallen in love with, but it's one I'm glad to have heard. Try this: 'Nothing but Green Lights'
Hot Hot Heat - Elevator I only recently discovered that that tune they used to play all the time at Panic--oh, you know the one--was 'Bandages' by Hot Hot Heat, which is terribly embarrassing. Now that I know, I can say that there's nothing on Elevator quite that fantastic, but that on the brassyn to azureskies scale of Elevator-appreciation I still come in at the azureskies end. In fact, I don't think I've heard an indie-pop-rock album I've liked this much since Ash's Free All Angels. Hot Hot Heat seem to have a similar gift for finding the killer hook, and writing songs where it doesn't outstay its welcome. There isn't a single bad track, and there are four--'Goodnight Goodnight', 'Jingle Jangle', 'Dirty Mouth' and 'Elevatora'--that have become instant favourites. Try this: 'Jingle Jangle'
Turin Brakes - Jackinabox I'm not entirely sure why I like Turin Brakes. I think it's because both their previous albums have had two or three really good tracks, even if the bulk of the rest doesn't stand up to replaying. Jackinabox does sound like a step up, however. It's more polished, and more tuneful. Sometimes it backfires--I think the folk-funk of 'Asleep With The Fireflies' is probably a mistake, and god only knows what's going on with the last track--and sometimes they retread old ground--most notably on 'Road To Nowhere'. But more often than not it works, in a laid-back way; 'They Can't Buy The Sunshine' and 'Fishing For A Dream' are charming, 'Last Clown' is perfect for summer evenings, 'Buildings Wrap Around Me' and the title track are jangly toe-tapping fun, and 'Red Moon', for all that it's lyrically a bit on the dull side, has wormed itself into my subconscious and will not let go. All in all, worth a look. Try this: 'Red Moon'
Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman On one level, all you really need to know about this is that if you're not already a convert to Folds' piano-led pop, this outing isn't going to change things; and if you are, it's better than the first solo album but not as good as any of the Ben Folds Five records. Arrangement-wise it's the simplest he's been for a while, and bar a couple of inexplicable choices (I'm thinking of the cascading chimes at the end of 'Time', and most criminally of the popped-up version of 'Give Judy My Notice' that isn't even close to being as good as the version from last year's Speed Graphic EP) that's a good thing. The standout tracks include the single, 'Landed', the faintly gospel 'Jesusland', and--my favourite--'Late', Folds' tribute to Elliott Smith. It's a welcome moment of personal reflection on an album that otherwise takes the easy route once too often; the simple honesty of the chorus ('the songs you wrote/got me through a lot/just wanted to tell you that') gets me every time. And, sometimes, I think I'd like to say the same thing to Folds. Try this: 'Late'