Snark and Reverb

I understand the need for ebb and flow in music.  I understand the need for variation, changes of scenery, mood and emotional releases.  But for all of that, I still don’t understand this album.  What happened to the Killers?

Hot Fuss was a fantastic pop rock album with the perfect amount of 80s nostalgia, without becoming a throwback.  Solid tracks with a great sense of melody, crunchy guitar hooks with the occasional synth peppered throughout.  Fun, bombastic bass without sounding like a fraternity house.

Then came Sam’s Town.  They kept those elements more or less, but they just failed to meld together the same way.  The songs were just not of the same caliber either.  The album just didn’t garner repeat listens in any way.  Not worthy.

Enter Day and Age.  Again, the songs simply are not of the same caliber.  Only this time they ditch the nice guitar tones and go straight to ….how do I put this…a sound of a band playing music written for keyboards.  There is just no life in these songs.  There is no sense of urgency or any real apparent passion of any sort.  By the time you reach “This Is Your Life”, with the cheesy backing vocals that seem to try to channel Peter Gabriel, this becomes quite apparent.

The Killers need to figure out what works for them and just get back to the basics.  It worked pretty well for AC/DC.

I don’t know who started this whole idea that bands worth their salt reinvent themselves, but I do know that it’s a ridiculous, unrealistic expectation.  And I know The Killers are no better off because of it.  Whoever did start that idea can enjoy The Killers with arbitrary saxophone backings.  I’ll refrain, myself.

There is no good reason The Killers can’t keep dishing out solid albums like Hot Fuss.  None.  Bring back the great guitar tones, the passion and songwriting. Ditch the stupid, lifeless arbitrary saxophone backings.

I’m beginning to wonder if “Bling (Confession Of A King)” from Sam’s Town was their subconscious way of foreshadowing this upset:

Left a trail of excuses,
Like a stone on the water,
The elements decide my fate,
Watch it go…

I guess this is ‘The World That We Live In’.

Songs:

1. Losing Touch
2. Human
3. Spaceman
4. Joy Ride
5. A Dustland Fairytale
6. This Is Your Life
7. I Can’t Stay
8. Neon Tiger
9. The World We Live In
10. Goodnight, Travel Well

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I really enjoyed the self titled debut album by Seattle’s Fleet Foxes.  Basically a giant B12 shot for pop music, it came in like a breath of fresh air.  At a time when the majority of introspective pop artists feature a whining quality, it was nice to hear pure, unadulterated singing.  Vocal harmonies, panning, counterpoint and substance; the whole bit.  This prequel has the band doing more of the same, thankfully, still with an abundance of clean guitar and instrument tracks, frequently juxtaposed against interesting miscellaneous acoustic instruments, which has garnered the group classification as “Baroque Pop“, further exasperating the freshness of this band, ironically.  Comparisons can and are drawn to such acts as CSNY, Neil Young, and others from years past.

The title track starts the album off with an a capella intro that has an almost chant quality to it, except put to actual words.  A soft mandolin plays as the track fades away rather quickly.

“Drops in the River” offers up the full band, and offers a more straightforward sound, but still with mandolin, and a few other surprises.  There are some nice jangly electric guitar sounds, which share the stage with the softer acoustic parts as well.  One of the strengths of the band is exhibited nicely here; their ability to start songs off with one or two instruments and slowly build intensity by adding other parts in gradually.  This makes for some really nice atmospheric moments, including the little sitar part on this song.  Far too many pop bands these days seem to overlook this type of dynamic, which is almost like missing a food group, really.

“English House” starts off in a similar fashion, but is a little quicker to the point, which keeps the band from exploiting this talent.  However, there is still a very mature sense of restraint, most notably from the drummer.  Great care is taken to avoid excessive use of cymbals.  In fact there are barely any at all.  I suspect it is to allow the softer ‘baroque’ instruments to shine through.  The drums really don’t overpower the band at all, and it probably goes a long way to giving Fleet Foxes their ethereal, airy quality I enjoy so much.  The thick reverb is here in full force, which seems to be a trademark of the band.  I’d prefer a bit less, personally.  It would sound just a bit more natural that way.  But it does give the vocals an impression of being chanted in a church-like setting, which can be interesting at times.  I think this effect would be stronger if used sparingly, such as during periods of silence from the band, interludes, etc.  So dynamics do suffer a bit, but its certainly not a deal-breaker.  The guitars that fade the track away have a great jangly quality.

“Mykonos” is perhaps the best track on Sun Giant.  The main melody line is rather catchy and conducive to bouts of humming from the listener, perhaps unconsciously.  The vocal panning and harmonies give this song a real epic, classical quality that recalls the best moments in Queen’s vocal styling in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the intro to “Fat Bottom Girls”, et all. Juxtaposed against an abrupt tempo change, the voices really lift off into space, guiding the band along on a riveting pace, but the band remembers not to fill the space completely, giving proper focus to the vocals.  This is pop music after all.  Its all about the vocals.

Sun Giant closes out with “Innocent Son”, a humorous play on the word.  It’s a minimalist, straight-forward track, with only a strummed acoustic guitar anchoring the singing, which is also kept to just one singer who sounds weary, tired and lays the album down to sleep.

Sun Giant offers up a solid collection of melodically rich, well-crafted pop songs that take a page from CSNY and Neil Young, while offering up originality and individualism as well.  The material here would be at home on their full length album; it would be a mistake to label it weaker based on its E.P. setting.

Songs:
1. Sun Giant
2. Drops in the River
3. English House
4. Mykonos
5. Innocent Son

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Sometimes an album becomes a time in the listener’s life.  Its notes, its tone, and its lyrics become indistinguishable from that time’s hopes, fears, and epiphanies.  The National’s Boxer and the Fall of 2007 are such an album and time for me.  So as the temperature begins to drop and cool scented breezes begin to stir in the sweet sunny South, I thought it appropriate to revisit with a (somewhat) critical eye this album that inhabits the memories of a wonderful time in my life.

In short, I see Boxer as a late night album concerning the early evening.  The songs, cosmetically identifiable as mellow or calm, immediately lend themselves to quiet late night listening, but they also hold an urgency and subtle excitement , embodied in various forms from a nervous piano riff to post punky guitar crunching.  The characters in the lyrics are often in the midst of preparation to leave for some unknown but happy event, portrayed for example in “Apartment Story” in which a partner is implored, “can you hold my drink I’ve got everything else / I can tie my tie all by myself.”  Not all the songs have early evening settings, however.  In one of my favorite tracks on the album, “Slow Show”, the main character actually seems to be trying to extricate himself from a social outing of some sort, so he can rush home to his partner and enjoy the kind of relaxing intimacy the couples in the early evening songs enjoy (I want to hurry home to you / put on a slow, dumb show for you / and crack you up).

Stylistically instrument-wise, The National has a post-Nick Cave sleepy alt-country thing going on.  Sufjan Stevens sits in on the piano, bringing an incredible levity, and the bass and drums do their part to keep the low end full and the listener’s emotions a flutter.  Earlier I described the guitars as post-punky, and of course that means you are going to find some reviewer somewhere who says at least one of their songs “sounds like Joy Division!” In this case the song is “Mistaken for Strangers”, and the review came from my beloved allmusic.com.  Well “Mistaken For Strangers” doesn’t sound anything like Joy Division.  And neither does Interpol! In fact Interpol sounds more like awful. We can’t talk about The National without mentioning singer Matt Berninger’s vocals.  They impart a rich, smokey grace, like your cousin’s laughing cigar smoke coming from the other side of the porch on a chilly Thanksgiving evening.  His baritone becomes all the more attention grabbing when it does decide to hit a slightly higher register, like in “Apartment Story” when he sings a line that has firmly cemented itself amongst my favorites: “Tired and wired we ruin to easy.”

That lyric, which so absolutely perfectly and simply embodies the human condition, brings me to what I feel is an overriding theme in Boxer, whether it be the artist’s intent or my own head’s creation: each song imparts a serious longing for a time in the past that maybe in reality wasn’t as sweet as we remember it, yet we long anyway. And this longing is strongly mated with an uncharacteristic ferocity of passionate desire for action in the here and now.  Unfortunately, this desire for action often leads to disappointment, like when we are trying to recreate this happy time in our lives, beating our heads against the walls to again feel a (perhaps) never felt feeling that has been distorted by the passage of time. Which makes it all the more funny that I cherish this album for the happy place it has in my memory.

Purchase The Boxer from Amazon, and support Snark and Reverb

Ms. Adele Adkins, an english born 20 (19 at the release of the album) year old singer-singwriter, made quite a stir with her quick rise to fame. Being hailed as the ‘next Amy Winehouse’, (along with Duffy) Adele dropped her album 19 in January of this year to critical acclaim. It didn’t make it way to the US until late June. However, Adele enjoyed mild success in New York City, where she was featured in TV spots, bilboard ads, and a headlining show at Webster Hall. (Incidentally, Webster Hall is a TERRIBLE venue. I had the displeasure of seeing Tiesto there, where not only was the building terrible for such a big show, but the staff was down right incompetent.)

I don’t really remember how I stumbled upon her album. I know I was browsing Amazon, likely on Duffy’s Rockferry, or one of Katie Melua’s albums . I frequently take a look at the section “Customers who bought this item also bought…” and I visit the pages of other highly rated albums. After clicking my way to the page for 19, I’m sure I observed the high rating she was receiving. Like all my new musical interests, she made her way into my special private wish list, “CD’s to try”. Seeing that I have about 150 discs in there, she was forgotten about until about two weeks later. I was in NYC, visiting my girlfriend, when on a lazy sunday morning we made our way to the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. I walked inside and not three or four racks away, was a whole mess of Adele’s debut. After a bit of smoke and grinding away, I remembered where I had seen that cover before. I immediately grabbed it, and put it into my basket (along with $130 worth of other various discs…) A couple days later, after I had time to rip the CD and load it onto my iPod touch, I gave the album a listen.

I was blown away.

The album opens with gentile plucks of guitar strings on the song “Daydreamer”. This song really gives a great summary of how the rest of the album will flow. Some parts are a bit on the slower side, others make the hair on your back stand up, and still others are just demonstrations of this girl’s voice. Just a hint of her accent shines through, which I love to hear. I am a big fan of songs featuring just the woman’s voice, and her guitar. Slow. Sensual. Exciting. I should say, that Adele has mentioned Ella Fitzgerald as one of her idols, and a song like “Daydreamer” really demonstrates this. Her voice really is quite soulful, but this is best demonstrated on the second song: “Best for Last”. She starts with the guitar, but brings in some drums and backing singers for the chorus. Just a great production, all around. It’s easy for these singers to get on my nerves when they focus on showing off their scales, and think we should all buy their stuff because of their raw talent. Sorry, it takes a good all around game, which Adele demonstrates and implements.

#3, the first released single, “Chasing Pavements” starts slowly, building to a wonderfully catchy chorus. This is an obvious stand out on the album.

The album takes a break for a while, with a few songs that aren’t major standouts: “Cold Shoulder”, an acoustic “Crazy for You”, and the up-tempo “Melt My Heart to Stone”.

“First Love”, featuring ringing bells, is a nice dreamy pick-up, and a lead into a fantastic up-tempo jazz ballad: “Right as Rain”. The last four songs on the album are all good listeners. There’s a Bob Dylan cover: “Make You Feel My Love”, followed by “My Same”, which is a fun lead into the second half stand out: “Tired”. Using a synth to add some air, “Tired” includes a piano for a mid song buildup which is an exciting listen. The album finishes off with a piano clad slowdown: “Howmetown Glory”. While the first three tracks an the album are striking winners, the second half is more well-rounded, and keeps the listener’s interest.

All in all, the album doesn’t have any ‘bad’ songs. The weak parts are definitely located in tracks 4,5, and 6, but this could also be attributed more to the placement right after “Chasing Pavement”, than the weakness of the actual songs. The second half is strong, and even keeps this ADD listener happily tapping my feet.

Adele is compared to Amy Winehouse too often by the critics. She needs to be judged on her own merit, not on the following Winehouse created. I never ‘got’ Amy, but I thoroughly enjoy Adele, and look forward to what she has to offer in the future.

Buy 19 and Support Snark and Reverb