Of Birds and Chess Pieces

Until the last year I had no idea who Shearwater was.  Since I started listening to WTMD before and then Sirius XM’s XMU station, I’ve realized I really don’t know much of anything about indie rock.  Sure, I have heard and even owned some albums from bands that were considered “indie rock”, but the sheer vastness of indie rock music out there surprised me a while back.  Now that I’m engrossed in this project, I am learning more and more not only about current indie bands but also about the generations of indie rock that have come and gone.

Anyway, back to Shearwater, the band was created as a side project for two members from the band Okkervil River—Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff.  Unlike Okkervil River’s music, Shearwater’s music tends to be quiet and peaceful.  The word “shearwater” means “a tribe of seabirds related to petrels and albatrosses” and was coined as the band name by Meiburg, who also happens to be an ornithologist (look it up).  Sheff has since returned to Okkervil River and left Shearwater while Meiburg carries on with Shearwater (having himself left Okkervil River).  Shearwater has toured with numerous bands, including Blonde Redhead and Coldplay.  Their record Rook is the subject of my next entry.

#153 – Shearwater, Rook (Metascore = 85)

To briefly speak on the album title, “rook” defined is “a black, European crow”, “a swindler”, and “one of two pieces of the same color that may be moved any number of unobstructed squares horizontally or vertically (in chess)”.  While chess has nothing to do with this album, the crow certainly does.  Meiburg frequently alludes to birds in album titles and songs.

“On the Death of the Waters” begins very quietly with piano and vocals until a minute in the music explodes from the speakers.  “Rooks” is a rollicking song about the eventual takeover of the world by birds of the skies and the paralysis of man.  As I’ve mentioned, there are many references to birds and nature in the lyrics, and Meiburg’s vocals give an airy quality to the lyrics.  Meiburg at times sounds like Roger Waters at his weakest on The Wall, but more often I am reminded of Bon Iver.

Musically this album is very beautiful.  The band tastefully mixes in strings and other instruments into their acoustic guitars, drums, and upright bass.  “Home Life” provides the best mix of all of those things, a song that is mostly quiet but has moments of elegance in its mix of the strings with the rest.  “Century Eyes”, unlike many of the other songs, rocks along with electric guitars, horns, and a steady drumbeat; this is the heaviest song on the record if you ask me.

I don’t remember how many times I have heard this over the last year—perhaps three times.  Each listen I get a better appreciation for the music here.  No, it’s not the best thing I have heard on this journey, but it’s not a bad record.  What gives this record strength is its music and its steady references.  I think the Metascore is appropriate here.

More from the Modern Bard

A Bob Dylan record appears three times on my list of albums to hear.  Two of them I have covered before: “Love and Theft” and Modern Times.  Both records were impressive to hear and allowed me to connect to a side of Dylan I had not really known.  Anyone that has heard Dylan knows his older stuff:  “Like a Rolling Stone”, “Blowin’ in the Wind”, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, etc.  They know of the songs he’s written for others or the songs of his that have been covered.  They know of his work with The Band.  They know the raspy voice with the acoustic guitar and harmonica.

The current Dylan is a modern day troubadour.  He continues to record and tour, continues to have something to say.  He still has the ability to tell stories of love, stories of loss, stories of death, and stories of joy.  His voice seems a little clearer now than it did when he was too busy evoking Woody Guthrie.  The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs is a compilation of unreleased studio and live tracks from his modern period (1989-2006) and is the next record on my review list.

#147 – Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs (Metascore = 86)

The first disc opens with an unreleased version of “Mississippi”.  This sounds like a demo version of the song, and it has that raw emotion of dealing with a failed relationship. A piano demo of “Dignity” reflects how close Dylan already was to the final recording and how powerful the song already was.  There is an alternate version of “Someday Baby” here which is not as good as the album version but for some reason makes me think it would be great if Robert Plant and Alison Krauss covered this.  It has that T-Bone Burnett sound to it that would feel appealing to their vocals.  Also this disc is “Born in Time”, a song that was left off of Oh Mercy but later covered by Eric Clapton on his Pilgrim (appropriate given the state that Clapton was in at the time he recorded that album).  Disc one overall is very strong, with some great versions of previously released songs and some interesting unreleased material.

Disc two opens with another version of “Mississippi”; this one isn’t as strong as the one on the first disc.  “32-20 Blues” follows up, a solo blues romp originally written by blues legend Robert Johnson.  “Series of Dreams” is a fascinating piece that was left off of the Oh Mercy record.  From online sources I found out that producer Daniel Lanois wanted to make a couple of changes to the song (specifically starting with the bridge of the song, but Dylan wasn’t willing to make the change).  The “Dignity” on this disc goes through a boogie romp.  This take of “Ain’t Talkin’” off of Modern Times is not markedly different from its official release but is still an excellent song.

In listening to these discs the listener gets to peak into the evolving world of Dylan and his music.  Songs that are known by their official release are quite often different on this set, which further shows the impressiveness of Dylan.  Much of the album has that country honky-tonk vibe; this seems to be the direction Dylan has chosen to take his music.  This is a direction that seems to suit his vocal and playing style well.  For the diehard Dylan fan, this set is ideal.  For the not-so-well-versed, I would recommend one of his official albums first before listening to this.

A (Better) Successor

Prior to listening to today’s blog selection, I’m checking out TV on the Radio’s Nine Types of Light record, and so far it is impressive.  If “Second Song” is an indication of the direction of the record, this one will be more like Dear Science than Return to Cookie Mountain.  What I am learning about TV on the Radio records is that if I play them a couple of times through, I really appreciate them more.  This record was released prior to the death of their long-time bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer.

The listener cannot directly classify TV on the Radio in a specific genre.  Their music is funk.  Their music is rock.  Their music is experimental.  Their music is a lot of stuff, which makes them an interesting band.  Dear Science exemplifies this diversity of sound they employ.  It is the subject of this entry.

#49 – TV on the Radio, Dear Science (Metascore = 88)

“Halfway Home” opens this turn in the sonic direction of TV on the Radio.  Unlike on Return to Cookie Mountain, which felt more indie rock and experimental than anything else.  Dear Science evolves into something more soulful and funkier than its predecessor.  Perhaps “Halfway Home” is an homage to that old sound, since stylistically it is very experimental sounding with music coming from all corners, though the instruments are limited to drums, synths, bass, and fuzz guitar.  “Halfway Home” could be interpreted as the description of a person whose mental state has faded to insanity, or it could be interpreted as a relationship that has devolved into a state of mental collapse.  This is up to you.

“Crying” is decidedly different from “Halfway Home”.  “Crying” is a soulful romp that sounds like it would be right at home in any R&B artist’s catalog.  “Stork & Owl” is a poetic ode to the stars and a reference to the ebb of life.  “Stork & Owl” features a few stringed instruments backed by beats; it sort of reminded me of a Cure song.  “Golden Age” is the best song on the set to me (and to critics all around).  David Sitek and Kyp Malone wrote this dance song that reads like a paean to love and music.

“Family Tree” is a beautiful song by Tunde Adebimpe about the fate of a couple’s hardships in dealing with their families, specifically hers.  I was riveted by this song.  “Red Dress” is very different from “Family Tree”; this is a funky, political, anti-war song with an INXS drive to it.  I misspoke about the best song on the record.  “Love Dog” is my favorite.  I think I like it for sincerity within it and Adebimpe’s vocals in this.  This is a relatively quiet song with some beautiful backup to it.

My conundrum is whether I like this record better than Return to Cookie Mountain, which I didn’t like at first but have grown to like quite a bit.  I find this record to be more accessible and interesting.  The theme seems to evaluate love through its good times and struggles.  Musically I find this record more entertaining, too.  If you haven’t heard TV on the Radio, try this record first.

The Return

Portishead used to be at the forefront of the trip hop movement.  Unlike most bands in the mid-1990s, the band (Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons, and Adrian Utley are the core members) mixed elements of hip hop and rock and roll with the club and techno music that was popular in the underground.  They were able to effectively mesh the genres together to create a sound that was fresh and unique, carving the way for other bands that would follow, including Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps, and Cibo Matto.  Portishead’s first two records, Dummy (1994) and Portishead (1997) provided them with modest commercial success but most of all grabbed the attention of the listening public.

After doing a successful show at the Roseland Ballroom in the New York City with the New York Philharmonic in 1997 and a tour that lasted into the first part of 1999, the band took a break to focus on solo projects and other things.  The movement they helped start stayed basically underground after they left, which is a shame since some of the music was really interesting.  In 2006 Gibbons, Barrow and Utley reconvened and started writing music again.  The resulting project created Third (2008), the album I’ll be discussing here.

#158 – Portishead, Third (Metascore = 85)

The driving force behind any Portishead album has been Beth Gibbons’ vocals.  Third shows this is no different.  Her vocals are still as haunting today as they were eleven years before.  The difference now is with age comes new experiences and the changes that inevitably occur.  Her lyrics are still spooky; not “spooky” in the sense of ghouls and goblins, but “spooky” in a depressing way.  There is hope, but that hope is being strangled by the failures of relationships and governments and other forces in this world.

Musically they have evolved yet retained that uniqueness that made them popular in the ‘90s.  Barrow still employs samples heavily, but the sound is fresher; obviously music (particularly underground) has evolved since their last record, so he was careful to use samples that would not make Portishead feel like dinosaurs in a robot world.  Guitar sounds haven’t evolved a whole lot since their last record, but Utley is still able to evoke that apocalyptic atmosphere prevalent in many of their songs.  Songs like “We Carry On” and “Hunter” reveal how they could still take their original sound and evolve it to the current music world.  They’re no longer in carbon freeze!

The last few tracks of the record hopefully represent the direction that Portishead goes towards in the future.  “Machine Gun”, “Small” and “Threads” are exceptional songs that make this album worth the price of listening.  This record you have to listen to at least twice before you start to understand it.  This being my third, I definitely like it more now than I did before.  I think the Metascore is fully justified, though I don’t think I would give it higher.  It’s a good record, but it’s not a perfect record.

Clipse

Rap music is not my area of expertise (I have expressed as much before); however, I know what I like.  As much as I like the “gangsta” leanings of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg back in the day and some of the poppier stuff of the UMCs and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince back in the day, I have always been more drawn by those rap artists/groups that spoke “at a higher level”, meaning they spoke not only of drugs, violence, women, and goofing off but also had a social message or something greater.  I love A Tribe Called Quest and the message they had in their rhymes, and they enjoyed some success in the mid-1990s before creative differences fractured the band.  Gang Starr was a fantastic group that didn’t get nearly the love it deserved, and now poor Guru has passed and the group is done.  Finding artists and groups that possess these traits of social consciousness and “rising above” those things which bring them down seem hard to find for me, probably because I basically unplugged several years ago.

Enter Clipse.  Clipse is an interesting rap duo out of Norfolk, Virginia, which is an area that is typically a hotbed for professional sports talent as well as musical talents.  Clipse received their break from friend Pharrell Williams, who has been involved not only in rapping with the Neptunes but also in producing records.  Clipse has never really gained commercial success as they were never really promoted by their labels when their albums were released.  However, they have received a fair bit of critical success for their lyrics and ability to bend words and themes at will.  Hell Hath No Fury, their second official album, was released in 2006 and was well received critically.  It is the subject of this entry.

#42 – Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury (Metascore = 89)

Clipse released Hell Hath No Fury in response to their troubled relationship with their record label, Jive Records.  They were originally on Arista Records and had written a number of songs that matched the positive energy of their first release.  However, in the middle of working on the album Arista dissolved and was bought out by Jive, and the group (brothers Gene “Malice” and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton) could not withdraw from Jive due to contractual issues even though their friends and roster mates with Jive were sent over to Interscope Records.  Jive delayed the album in favor of pop-oriented acts.

In no place is this more apparent than in “We Got It for Cheap”, where Pusha T raps “no serum can cure all the pain I’ve endured/from crack to rap to back to sellin’ it pure/for every record I potentially sell in the store/it’s like Mecca to the dealer that’s sellin’ it raw/so many deceive ya”.  While on the surface he speaks of escaping the dark life he had been living, veiled underneath are the stabs at the label that would never work with them.  The beats in “We Got It for Cheap” are also fantastic, feeding Pusha T and Malice to lyrical heights.  In “Mr. Me Too” Pharrell, Pusha T, and Malice slap the artists that are copycats, copying rap styles, copying fashion styles, whatever.

While the message element for me isn’t always there, what I do like is the mix of incredible beats (“Ride Around Shining” has a killer beat) with quick-wit lyrics without being over-the-top fast or ludicrously slow.  Pusha T and Malice cover a lot of ground here, from bashing their record label to criticizing “phony rappers” (to reference Tribe) to flinging their bling, and they do it with excellent skill.  I understand every word they say, and their references provide an excellent visual to what they are talking about.

So, compared to Kanye or the Streets, what do I think of Clipse?  I actually like this record better than College Dropout or A Grand Don’t Come for Free.  I find the raps to be even more accessible than either of those albums and the beats to be better.  Perhaps from a pop perspective (meaning an instant hit right there) it’s not as good as College Dropout, but there are some good songs here…far more in my opinion than College Dropout.  I actually think the Metascore doesn’t do Hell Hath No Fury justice.  This is a very good album.

Better Elevator Music

Neon Indian is Alan Palomo of Mexico expressing his inner ‘80s alter ego into popular music.  Palomo had been involved in two other projects prior to forming Neon Indian, but with the success he has had with Neon Indian he has not revisited those projects.  Palomo’s interest in popular music stems from his father who was a minor pop star in Mexico in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.  He has primarily set up shop in Denton, Texas now, but with the popularity of Psychic Chasms, he travels a lot more.

Psychic Chasms kind of came out of nowhere in 2009.  Sure, there have been other artists that had released material in a similar vein, but Palomo was able to harness the music and accompany it with lyrics that were simple yet thoughtful.  Psychic Chasms is the subject of this entry.

#179 – Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms (Metascore = 85)

Psychic Chasms sounds like someone took a DeLorean back to October 25, 1982, stole a couple of records off the shelves in the new wave section (or whatever it was called then), and came back to sample them.  Perhaps that’s exactly what Palomo did, because a lot of the music has this mid-80s teen movie vibe to it.  Most of his work uses samples from other records, but he also incorporates synthesizers and other instruments into the mix.  There are a lot of random noises and sounds throughout the record.

Lyrically it is simple yet thoughtful, even appropriate given the nature of the music.  Like Sleigh Bells, reading the lyrics puts you in a teenage dream.  These songs are about love and experiences and fun, stuff that would fit in well with a Pretty in Pink or Sixteen Candles movie, just updated with modern technology.  What I like about the songs is that they are very hypnotic.  The album is short, too; you blink and it’s over.  And I don’t find that to be a bad thing either; Palomo doesn’t dwell on the novelty for too long.

While there are some positive qualities here, the album is not one of the best records I have heard.  I think it is a fascinating retelling of that timeless era of pop, but eventually the novelty wears off.  While Palomo does try to transcend this, I don’t think there’s enough there to warrant an 85 Metascore.  I think a low 80s score would have been more appropriate.

You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel like a Millionaire

The first time I had heard of Queens of the Stone Age, much less heard of them, was their hit “No One Knows”.  The only reason I probably knew about them in the first place is that I love love love Dave Grohl as a drummer, and up to this point he was mostly playing guitars and singing for the Foo Fighters, having “retired” from playing drums after Nirvana dissolved.  I had read that he was playing with this band Queens of the Stone Age on their new record, so I wanted to check it out.  I heard “No One Knows” on rock radio and loved it.  I loved the video.

Then I went to a close friend’s house for dinner, and he played the album, Songs for the Deaf.  To be honest, I hated it the first time I heard it.  I don’t remember which song he started it on…perhaps the title of this blog entry, but for reasons I don’t know I just didn’t get the screaming.  So other than listening to “No One Knows” and later “Go with the Flow”, I didn’t really pay attention to them.  A couple of years later I heard their first single off the new album Lullabies to Paralyze entitled “Little Sister”.  Immediately I loved the song and feel to this day it was one of the best singles from the 2000s.  So I gave them another chance and grabbed Lullabies to Paralyze.  I loved that album and thought it was time to rehear Songs for the Deaf.

Needless to say I got it the second time around.  I went from hating it to liking it in a millisecond.  I think I listened to the album several times through back to back before I picked up something else.  There are still some albums that I need to hear, particularly their first two, the self-titled debut and Rated R, but I have liked their other albums.  Songs for the Deaf has been their best reviewed record and is the obvious subject of this blog.

#39 – Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf (Metascore = 89)

I must first talk about the primary personnel playing on this record, because not every player performs with the band on a regular basis, some members have been fired, and a few are guests.  I have already mentioned Dave Grohl.  Josh Homme is the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter for the group.  People rag on him for not being a great soloist, but I think he has a great penchant for writing riffs, and to be able to sing and play those riffs at the same time goes a long way in my book.  Nick Oliveri was the bassist, singer and other songwriter for the group.  He and Homme had a falling out in 2004, and Oliveri was fired.  This was a pretty big deal considering the two had been in bands together since Kyuss days, and Oliveri was a strong contributor to the songwriting.  Mark Lanegan, originally of Screaming Trees (an underappreciated grunge group back in the days of Pearl Jam and Nirvana in my opinion), provides vocals on a few of the songs and is an irregular contributor to their records.  Dean Ween provides guitars on “Six Shooter”, “Gonna Leave You”, and “Mosquito Song”.

The album opens with a sarcastic take on modern radio through the use of a radio DJ introducing the album with a bunch of talk about lame radio music before the drum beat kicks in (I should note that on “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar…” former drummer Gene Trautmann plays the drums, not Dave Grohl) and the song launches into the airwaves.  “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar…” is a tour de force of a song, Nick Oliveri screaming as everything else is turned up to eleven.  This segues right into “No One Knows”, the best song on this album.  The riff to this song is just awesome.  There are no other words to really describe it.  The drumming is also over the top, with Homme singing of Big Brother, Brave New World times in this desert apocalypse (ok, that’s just my take).

The fun only continues with “First It Giveth” through “The Sky is Falling”, where everything that the band does slams into you like wave after heavy wave.  Mark Lanegan sings “A Song for the Dead”, a song with a spaghetti western feel to it.  “Six Shooter” is so-so; it’s not a song I put my playlist to listen to.  “Hangin’ Tree” (Lanegan’s) is also ok but not a song I put regularly on my playlist.  “Go With the Flow”, another single off the record, is a relationship on the brink, with Homme suggesting he can “go with the flow, but don’t say it doesn’t matter anymore”.

Obviously I really enjoy this album.  I could go over some of the other songs on this record, but repeating myself about “Do It Again” having a killer riff or “A Song for the Deaf” being a fantastic song seems rote.  However, I do believe the Metascore is justified here.  As awesome as most of this record is, there are some songs that do drag it down and make it less accessible.  That said, I believe that there are a lot of people that would enjoy this album if they gave it a chance.

The Continuing Study of a Band

The second album from the Hold Steady that I’ll be evaluating is Boys and Girls in America (2006).  This is third full-length album from the band out of Brooklyn.  Here is a reminder of the players in this band.  Craig Finn is the chief singer/songwriter and rhythm guitarist (a very bright songwriter at that).  Tad Kubler is lead guitarist, Galen Polivka is the bassist, Bobby Drake is the drummer, and Franz Nicolay is the multi-instrumentalist (primarily keyboards and also a very talented guy).

Boys and Girls in America builds off of the success the band had with Separation Sunday (of which I have not written).  Once again, Finn tells tales of youthful exuberance while weaving in deeper meanings within this album.  The album was critically praised and was the first to chart in the U.S. on Billboard.

#197 – The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America (Metascore = 85)

As I have mentioned before in my entry on Stay Positive, the Hold Steady have one of the best rock ‘n roll sounds for a modern rock band.  When you hear their record, this doesn’t sound like a typical lo-fi indie band.  Their sound is rich with distorted guitars, chiming pianos, and a steady backbeat.  If you wanted to contrast this, consider the sound of the Strokes on Is This It; on that album the Strokes seemed to deliberately hang onto their indie roots, whereas the Hold Steady’s sound makes it as if they are an arena band trapped in an indie body.

What is also great about the Hold Steady is Finn’s lyrics.  I have found in Hold Steady records versus anyone else’s is his ability to tell and carry a story throughout an album.  This is a trick I believe is gold in the eyes of critics; I think critics are always kinder to songwriters that carry a theme throughout the record.  Granted, the theme needs to be good, but Finn doesn’t seem to have a problem here.

Finn’s stories tend towards youthful exuberance while deeper down the lyrics reveal his Catholic upbringing as well as social issues that just about anyone could learn.  “Stuck Between Stations” sets the table, a reference to On the Road by Jack Kerouac setting up wild partying and crazy nights.  Throughout the album there’s dancing and drinking and “living on the edge”, but there’s also the internal battles of the characters’ actions. “It’s hard to feel holy when you can’t get clean” from “Same Kooks” says this succinctly.  And as I mentioned earlier, Finn carries a theme through the record (the band chants “Boys and Girls in America” in “First Night”), which I find keeps the listener tuned into the story being told.

Stay Positive and Boys and Girls in America received the same score.  Which was better?  Stay Positive, though Boys and Girls is still a great record.  The drag for me is “Chillout Tent”, which I just don’t like, even though Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum guests here.  A couple of other tracks are weaker, too (“First Night”, “Party Pit”).  Overall, though, I really enjoyed this record, and it reaffirms my belief that they way they play is the way rock music should be made.

What if a Greek Hero Suddenly Started a Disco Band

The name itself is unusual, but this is typical of any band really.  Hercules & Love Affair are a disco/house/dance-punk band started by NYC-based DJ Andy Butler.  The cast of musicians around him rotates based on what he is working on.  The band moniker is a bit unusual given the nature of the character Hercules and the music in question, though I guess an argument could be made that the band delivers the music in a herculean way.

Butler started the band in 2004 while attending Sarah Lawrence College in New York City.  The band’s first live performance was in 2007.  Their self-titled first record received strong critical reviews and is the subject of this entry.

# 113 – Hercules & Love Affair, Hercules & Love Affair (Metascore = 113)

“Time Will”, the opening track, features Antony Hegarty on vocals.  Hegarty, for those who don’t recall from a previous post, is the “Antony” of Antony and the Johnsons, and he writes several of the songs on this set.  “Time Will” has an ‘80’s dance vibe to it, with its electronic squeals and keyboards featured prominently throughout the track.  “Hercules Theme”, on the other hand, sounds like a throwback to ‘70’s disco, with its funk beat and use of horns, keyboards, and twisting harmonizing singing.  The song sounds like it could’ve come straight from K.C. & the Sunshine Band’s back catalog.

“You Belong” is the probably the most modern track; in fact, it sounds like it would be right at home on an LCD Soundsystem record.  (Does James Murphy approve?)  Ignoring “Time Will”, this album is a catchy record.  The songs are put together well and the beats are easy to latch onto.  “Blind” is quite possibly the best song on this record and was the album’s first single.  Hegarty performs well here, and the supporting music has that hint of retro that permeates from the record.

Some of the tracks do fall off to me, though.  After “Blind”, “Iris” and “Easy” leave me wishing that the party from the previous four tracks had continued.  Fortunately, “This Is My Love” and “Raise Me Up” bring the funk back to the mix, though neither brings back the attitude that existed in the earlier four songs mentioned.

I will say that this record had moments where it was very catchy and a nice throwback to older dance music.  However, there are some tracks that just felt flat and lacked the energy of something like “Blind” or “Athene”.  I personally the Metascore should have been lower because while the overall quality was good, the songs I did not like should have dragged it below an 85.