Though I consider myself a fan of indie folk in general, I find a lot of bands in this genre to be underwhelming. The music often isn’t that unique or moving. Fortunately, Bon Iver is all of these things and more.
This album was recorded by Justin Vernon while holed up in his dad’s winter hunting cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin, which perfectly reflects the isolation and longing on display in the music. Though many of the songs are richly layered with instrumentation and vocals, at its heart you can still hear the loneliness of a man alone and disconnected from the world.
Vernon’s falsetto, which is his main method of singing, never overshadows the music or sounds forced, as it does in many other indie bands. Instead, it just lends another layer of vulnerability and delicacy to the gentle music. The vocals on “Flume” and “re: Stacks” are deeply affecting and beautiful.
This album may not be for everybody, but if you like folk with raw nerves on display, such as Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” you should give “For Emma, Forever Ago” a listen.
Back in 2005, you couldn’t throw a rock in the music world without hitting a new poppy, guitar-driven indie act like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kaiser Chiefs, or a host of other straightforward, uncomplicated bands. Somehow in all of the hoopla, one deserving band got overlooked: Shout Out Louds. Honestly, I don’t know how this could be, since they’re from Sweden and everybody knows that if it’s from Sweden it has to be good (and beloved by hipsters!) I think this must have all started with Abba way back when. But somehow this rule didn’t hold true for Shout Out Louds, as they got almost no press or attention compared to the bands I named earlier. It should have, as they actually live up to the “great Swedish band” hype.
“Howl Howl Gaff Gaff,” I’ve recently found out, is a collection of the band’s previous singles, which explains how they’re able to maintain such a high level of “catchiness” throughout the album. “The Comeback” is undoubtedly the highlight of the album, but there are at least half a dozen songs on the album that are clearly single-worthy. The songs don’t exactly lead into each other or form a coherent story, but every song is infused with optimism and energy. Even on less overtly positive songs, there’s an underlying sense of hope that everything will get better and better. Maybe it’s the only way the Swedes can get through the long winters. For a band whose native language isn’t English, I found the lyrics to be very poetic and meaningful.
The music isn’t anything ground-breaking, but it does a great job of adding to the atmosphere of joy and energy on the album. Jangly guitars, tambourines, clapping and frenetic drumming on songs like “100 Degrees” and “Hurry Up Let’s Go” keep the tempo on the album from ever flagging or getting bogged down, even late in the album. I’m sure Shout Out Louds have been compared to The Strokes in the past, but their songs sound like what The Strokes or Vampire Weekend would be if they were there just to have fun and didn’t care about looking cool or maintaining an aloof, indifferent image. It’s really refreshing to find an indie band that can let loose and just have fun with the music without seeming like they’re trying too hard. If you’re looking for something to raise your spirits or have fun listening to, give Shout Out Louds a try.
This album was an interesting experience for me- it was highly recommended by a pretty reliable source, but the first few times I listened to it, I didn’t like it. I thought it was too simplistic and repetitive, and found the singer’s voice extremely annoying. To my surprise, it slowly grew on me. For weeks after first listening to it, whenever the time would come to put on music, I would think about what to listen to and would end up putting on the Windmill album again. And again. And again.
After about the 10th listen, I realized that I actually really did like it, and ever since then it’s been in heavy rotation in my stereo. While I still think the songs can be overly repetitive, I’ve come to appreciate all of the other things I disliked at first about this album. There’s something endearing about the simplicity of the songs, and the Matthew Dillon’s childlike voice lends a sense of vulnerability to the music, which contrasts well with the powerful drums that play a central role in many of the songs. It feels almost as if Dillon is trying to mask the anxieties and heartbreaks he sings about by hiding behind the bravado of the bass drum.
The music on Puddle City Racing Lights consists mostly of piano and drums, with accompaniment by strings on most of the songs. The formula for many of the songs entails starting out quietly and crescendoing on the chorus, which could have gotten old after several songs but manages to feel powerful and moving even by the end of the album. “Tokyo Moon”, “Newsflash” and “Fluorescent Lights” use this formula to great success, and still feel as exciting and emotional to me after dozens of listens as they did the first few times I heard them. The front-and-center presence of the kick drum blends beautifully with light strings and Dillon’s high-pitched voice during the chorus of these songs. You can feel the anguish and heartbreak in Dillon’s voice on tracks like “Newsflash.”
Unfortunately “Puddle City Racing Lights” isn’t available here in the US yet, but you can purchase the individual tracks from Windmill’s Myspace page, or the album will be released in the US on July 22. Whether you can wait until then or not, I highly recommend that you get this addictive album and give it several listens to really grab hold of you, like it did to me. This is an album that stays with you for days and weeks after listening to it.
Pete Yorn’s “Nightcrawler” was released almost two years ago, but it was one of those albums that slipped under the radar without getting the attention it deserved. Since that happens pretty regularly, I’m starting a new category of reviews called “Overlooked Albums”, where I’ll highlight great albums from the past that people may have missed the first time around. If you have any suggestions for other overlooked albums you think I should review, please send me an email or leave a comment. Now, on to the review.
Pete Yorn is one of those artists who deserves to be a lot more famous than he is. I’ve wondered why this is, since his songs are pretty straightforward rock songs that should theoretically appeal to a huge market. His songs are catchy, singable, and lyrically interesting. However, he’s far less known than less-talented hacks like John Mayer and (God help us) Jack Johnson. I realize that Yorn’s music is very different than Jack Johnson, but the fact that Jack Johnson is more popular than any other musician in the world still makes me nauseous.
The only explanation I can think of for this phenomenon (besides the whole “no accounting for taste” thing) is that he exists in some strange middle ground between pop rock and indie rock. His music is too accessible for true indie rock snobs, as his lyrics aren’t overly obtuse and the music is simple and fun. As we all know, this kind of thing is strictly forbidden in the indie rock world. However, I can’t think of a good reason why Yorn isn’t a household name in the pop rock world, as his music is very radio-friendly.
“Nightcrawler” is a perfect example of this. The album starts out on a strange note with Vampyre, which is a great song in its own right, but takes a little too long to get going for a first track. It would have been a great last track to finish off the album, but its inclusion at the beginning might lose some people who can’t wait the 2 minutes for it to pick up the pace. To be honest, I listened to this album a couple of times when it originally came out and couldn’t really get into it, mostly because it started off so slowly. It wasn’t until I picked it up nearly a year later and listened to it all again that I really appreciated it.
The next four songs are all single-worthy. “For Us” was the only track besides “Alive” that got officially released as a single, although my local radio station has recently started playing “The Man” in regular rotation. That’s a little surprising since it’s been out for so long, but is definitely very welcome. “For Us” is just a classic, straightforward rocker with a great chugging bass line. “Undercover” sounds like several of Yorn’s great songs from older albums like “For Nancy” or “Come Back Home”. The powerful chorus and vocals make it instantly memorable. I haven’t had the chance to see him perform it live yet, but it has the feeling of a great live tune.
“Policies” is a fun song- the lyrics aren’t nearly as personal or meaningful as most of his songs, but the driving kick drum keeps the song moving along nicely and it’s a good driving tune. “The Man” is easily my favorite song on the album and among my favorite Pete Yorn songs. The highlight of the song for me is the combination of Pete’s and Natalie Maines’ voices. The two voices blend together beautifully and make the song much more moving than if there was just one voice or the other. Despite lush instrumentation, the music always seems simple, beautiful, and never cluttered.
The rest of the album is a solid collection of songs. The second half of the album occasionally drags in spots, but all in all it’s a great introduction to Pete Yorn if you’re not already familiar with him. In my opinion, it’s a better album overall than “Day I Forgot”, and right on par with “musicforthemorningafter.” If you’re not familiar with Pete Yorn, or if you missed “Nightcrawler” when it was released, it’s definitely worth going back and checking out now. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed, unless you’re a real jerk.
Agree? Disagree and want to display your jerkiness to the whole interweb? Leave a comment.
Let me start off this review (and summarize it) by saying, “We waited 10 years for this?!
This album has to be one of the biggest disappointments of my music-listening life. All three of Portishead’s earlier albums (I’m counting Roseland in there) are among my favorite albums of all time. Unlike many albums I listened to back in the late 90’s while in college, I still listen to those albums on a regular basis and can connect to them almost as much as I could back then. The music and lyrics are timeless and can always evoke an emotional response in me, no matter how I’m feeling when listening to them.
“Third”, on the other hand, lacks just about everything that really made Portishead’s early albums so engaging. The songs sound like they were written in a matter of days, rather than over the course of 10 years. If this album had been released a year after “Portishead,” I could have forgiven it as just being a band that was burnt out and needed some time off to come up with more memorable songs. After a 10 year hiatus, though, it’s sad that this is the best material the band could come up with for their return.
That’s probably my biggest complaint with this album- there is just nothing remotely memorable on it. On Portishead’s earlier albums, almost every song has a memorable vocal line, sample, or instrumental riff. Beth Gibbons, in particular, had such a huge presence on those albums that it didn’t matter what she was singing (although the lyrics weren’t bad at all). On “Third,” however, her voice is subdued or overpowered by excess instrumentation to the point where after several listens to the album, I still can’t remember a single lyric. Considering I can remember lyrics from pretty much any of their earlier songs, that’s a bad sign. Only on the last two songs, “Magic Doors” and “Threads,” does she show any of the dynamic range and power for which she’s known. Not coincidentally, I found the last two songs to be the best on the album.
A common problem on the album is that Geoff Barrow and Co. seem to have tried so hard to sound different from their previous albums that they’ve lost the sound that made them special. There were a lot of trip-hop bands back in Portishead’s heyday, but no one sounded like them. While I think it’s important for bands to grow and evolve, I’m also firmly in the “If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix it” camp. The effective use of silence and space on their previous albums, which allowed Gibbons’ voice to really shine, is totally lost on “Third.” Any space there could have been during songs is filled with excess drums or random instruments that don’t add to the mood or beauty of the song.
I’ve heard other reviewers talking about how “Third” sounds more “raw” or “stripped-down,” but part of what made Portishead unique was their precision and tightness. “Third” just sounds like a new band trying to imitate Portishead, with very mediocre results. So many of the songs either never get going, or start off promisingly but get boring after the first two minutes. Most are a combination of both. If this album was made by any band other than Portishead, I might be able to forgive it somewhat. But knowing what they’re capable of, there’s just no way I could recommend this album, especially to someone new to Portishead. Get all of their other albums before this one (and this one ONLY if you’re desperate for more, like I was- just don’t say I didn’t warn you).
Don’t get me wrong- I still love Portishead and will continue to listen to their older albums, and would be thrilled to see them play live. I just can’t picture myself ever wanting to listen to “Third” again after listening to it several times through. There’s just nothing compelling enough about it to put it on in place of their older albums- no emotional resonance, no cool, effective samples, and worst of all, hardly any beautiful and powerful Beth Gibbons vocals to marvel at. I sincerely hope that Portishead keeps making music and putting out albums; I just hope that their next effort: a) Doesn’t take 10 years to create and b) Recaptures the uniqueness of the Portishead sound.
Welcome to Tired of it All, an indie rock review site without the normal pretentious bullshit of indie rock review sites. I created this site because I find that most reviews of independent music falls into one of two categories. I find that reviews by sites like Pitchfork tend to sound like they were written by a grad student trying to impress their professors by using as many vague, verbose terms as possible without really saying anything. On the other hand, reviews in publications like Spin Magazine (which I realize isn’t that “indie”) spend the first 2/3 of the review talking about the cultural significance of the band and how popular and cool they are, and spend about one paragraph actually reviewing the music before assigning an arbitrary grade.
I plan to do things a little differently. If I hear a new band and hate their music, I will say so even if they seem like the coolest, hippest fucking guys on earth. Likewise, if I like a band’s music I will say so even if I think they are a bunch of asshats. My favorite bands will not be spared my wrath (when needed), no matter how much I love them. I also promise to actually listen to what I’m reviewing. Oh, and just to make it clear from the outset- I’m not going to only review music from independent labels or bands that nobody’s ever heard of. I’m going to review some big bands on major labels. That’s all there is to it, so get ready.
I hope you’ll join me on this fantastical journey of editorial sass and panache! All I can promise is that I’ll give it my best and try to keep my snobbery to a tolerable minimum. Unless I get feedback that people enjoy mean-hearted snobbery, in which case I will immediately turn my elitism up to 11. Tally ho!
Though I consider myself a fan of indie folk in general, I find a lot of bands in this genre to be underwhelming. The music often isn’t that unique or moving. Fortunately, Bon Iver is all of these things and more.![[del.icio.us]](http://www.tiredofitall.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
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