Thread to Rate Al***s Using Nick Lees Head as a Quality Index
Posted by: matthewr on 05 June 2003
It has occured that the admirable Nick Lees is the archtypal Music Room poster -- he has excellent taste, a huge record collection and perhaps most importantly bridges the gap between the 60s/70s classics/traditionalists and the sort of utlra-fashionable hipsters like myself who listen to impossibly cool records only available from an obscure record shop in Norway.
Therefore, and in an effort to reinvigorate our Music Room which we still do way better than the varuous other forums I would like to introduce a new standardised and highly objective system for rating albums by positioning a picture of Nick on a special designed rating thermometer. And then optionally adding a suitable summary comment for quoting on one of those annoying stickers that record companies like to put on the front of CD cases.
e.g.
"Destined to be bought by the bass players Mum, people who shop while drunk and Mick Parry"
"these people should be boiled in oil for making this"
"for dedicated fans and completists only"
"... monumental... a staggering achievement"
"... an instant classic and potential Album of the Year"
To this end I present a brief review of one of my favourite discs this year:
Matthew
Therefore, and in an effort to reinvigorate our Music Room which we still do way better than the varuous other forums I would like to introduce a new standardised and highly objective system for rating albums by positioning a picture of Nick on a special designed rating thermometer. And then optionally adding a suitable summary comment for quoting on one of those annoying stickers that record companies like to put on the front of CD cases.
e.g.
"Destined to be bought by the bass players Mum, people who shop while drunk and Mick Parry"
"these people should be boiled in oil for making this"
"for dedicated fans and completists only"
"... monumental... a staggering achievement"
"... an instant classic and potential Album of the Year"
To this end I present a brief review of one of my favourite discs this year:
Matthew
Loretta Lynn - "Van Lear Rose"
Alt.Country is all very well but it often lacks a certain magic that "proper" country has and I think a lot of is due to the understated types who tend to be responsible for much of the genre. Hell "M. Ward" is so lacking in ego he goes with a first initial rather than a proper name. Country country by contrast only has STARS and this is responsible I think for a lot of the swagger and joy.
So what could be better then, than a bona fida Music City Megastar Loretta Lynn (with whom I share a birthday) making a new album with a bunch of young unknown musicians from places like Detroit and produced by man of the moment (well last year) Jack White?
The answer is not much as the results are fantastic -- basically a fine collection of songs that are modern but, at the same time, with Loretta firnly at the controls and to the forefront. Great variety as well from full-on Nashville "big production" numbers, to voice and acoustic guitar, to spoken word auto-biographical confessional and through the full emotional gamut from drinking song to good old fashioned bereavment. There's even a song set in that that old country staple the Womens Prison.
And all well put together in a slightly shambolic loose way and nicely played, in an understated manner despite the rock stylings, by the band. Not totally convinced by the deut with Jack White but who is going to complain about a song that notes that "Sloe Gin Fizz works mighty fine when you drink it by the pitcher and not by the glass"? Otherwise White does do an excellent job though and manages to make a very well produced album without ever forgetting that Loretta is the star.
All in all well worth the effort and easily worth Five Nicks.
"Fashion is tempoary, class is permanent"
Matthew
(Note this post may contain some drink related gushing)
[This message was edited by Matthew Robinson on Sun 09 May 2004 at 21:55.]
Ok maybe it's not for everyone. Although I hate country and love this so assume that its not really country IYSWIM.
Anyway, possibly (or possibly not) more up Nick's street:
Iron & Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days"
Which is very much in the Will Oldham modern folk//pop tradition. So lots of delightful, quiet, and personal songs via fragile, mumbling vocals and acoustic guitar with a barely repressed hint of desparation and madness but enough inventiveness and variety in the production to stop it being like listening to your constantly depressed mate pour his heart out via a mixture of bad poetry and sub-Nick Drake fingerpicking.
"I've been in mental hospital (But I don;t like to talk about it)"
Samples at Amazon
And, in a similar vein:
Surfjan Stevens - "Seven Swans"
Follow up to last years fabulous "Greetings from Michigan" it's both excellent and disappointing in that it's probably a notch below the first album and one might have expected a bit more. So that is to say, it's more fractured, downbeat personal, rambling folk songs (the first line is "If I am alive next year") done in Steven's slightly peculiar but novel style mainly with acoustic guitar.
There's something slightly odd about Steven's music I can't quite put my finger on but that makes it perhaps less immediate than the Iron & Wine album but its very fine nonetheless.
"You'd be depressed if you came from Michigan. It's very cold and there are no jobs."
Matthew
PS In a smiliar vein -- this is beginning to look like a "movement" that we might call Alt.Folk -- we also have the new Devendra Banhart album of which I have high hopes. But my copy has has got stuck in online order hell somewhere so we'll have to wait.
Anyway, possibly (or possibly not) more up Nick's street:
Iron & Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days"
Which is very much in the Will Oldham modern folk//pop tradition. So lots of delightful, quiet, and personal songs via fragile, mumbling vocals and acoustic guitar with a barely repressed hint of desparation and madness but enough inventiveness and variety in the production to stop it being like listening to your constantly depressed mate pour his heart out via a mixture of bad poetry and sub-Nick Drake fingerpicking.
"I've been in mental hospital (But I don;t like to talk about it)"
Samples at Amazon
And, in a similar vein:
Surfjan Stevens - "Seven Swans"
Follow up to last years fabulous "Greetings from Michigan" it's both excellent and disappointing in that it's probably a notch below the first album and one might have expected a bit more. So that is to say, it's more fractured, downbeat personal, rambling folk songs (the first line is "If I am alive next year") done in Steven's slightly peculiar but novel style mainly with acoustic guitar.
There's something slightly odd about Steven's music I can't quite put my finger on but that makes it perhaps less immediate than the Iron & Wine album but its very fine nonetheless.
"You'd be depressed if you came from Michigan. It's very cold and there are no jobs."
Matthew
PS In a smiliar vein -- this is beginning to look like a "movement" that we might call Alt.Folk -- we also have the new Devendra Banhart album of which I have high hopes. But my copy has has got stuck in online order hell somewhere so we'll have to wait.
I love the Franz Ferdinand album as well. I resisted it for ages thinking that any band that is pumped by NME and is cited in in some quarters as something close to Gang of Four reincarnate (Sacrilege!) was bound to be all hype.
On heavy rotation this week though have been the following:
Les Savy Fav - "Inches"
Absolutely esstential for fans of US Punk/Hardcore. I still think LSF finest moments are actually quite poppy -- notably that song about getting kidnapped on "Go Forth" -- and this is frequently much closer to their famously incendiary live shows.
Pitchfork calls it "Art-Punk" whatever that means (it has a mini play about a submarine half way through perhaps that's it?) but to my ears its frimly in the tradition of Bad Brains and Fugazi (or at least their slightly less extremem moments) and, if its your sort of thing, worth 5 Nicks.
Dios - "Dios"
If you are going to come from California and do an indie take on sun-drenched, SoCal psych-pop there is little more blatant thing to do than include a direct quote from "Pet Sounds". Which is what Dios do and (just about) get away with it.
"Fusing squeaky electronics with acoustic guitars and soft, breathy vocals, Dios are dry and spacy, as indebted to Neil Young as they are to Brian Wilson. Constantly shifting focus-- from earnest folk-singing to found-sound experimenting to deliquescent indie psych-pop-- Dios are also stubbornly contemporary, a quirky, whimsical bit of California past, present and future"
... said Pitchfork.
Matthew
On heavy rotation this week though have been the following:
Les Savy Fav - "Inches"
Absolutely esstential for fans of US Punk/Hardcore. I still think LSF finest moments are actually quite poppy -- notably that song about getting kidnapped on "Go Forth" -- and this is frequently much closer to their famously incendiary live shows.
Pitchfork calls it "Art-Punk" whatever that means (it has a mini play about a submarine half way through perhaps that's it?) but to my ears its frimly in the tradition of Bad Brains and Fugazi (or at least their slightly less extremem moments) and, if its your sort of thing, worth 5 Nicks.
Dios - "Dios"
If you are going to come from California and do an indie take on sun-drenched, SoCal psych-pop there is little more blatant thing to do than include a direct quote from "Pet Sounds". Which is what Dios do and (just about) get away with it.
"Fusing squeaky electronics with acoustic guitars and soft, breathy vocals, Dios are dry and spacy, as indebted to Neil Young as they are to Brian Wilson. Constantly shifting focus-- from earnest folk-singing to found-sound experimenting to deliquescent indie psych-pop-- Dios are also stubbornly contemporary, a quirky, whimsical bit of California past, present and future"
... said Pitchfork.
Matthew
The Les Savy Fav and D.J. Signify recommendations are strongly seconded.
Califone: King Heron Blues
I'm a bit surprised no one here has yet reviewed this. It's very good, and also a bit hard to describe; the album rather effortlessly transitions from acoustic folk, to synthy laptop and loop noises, to some pretty stripped-down blues by the end. Everything is done well -- not stellar, but solid. An enjoyable chill-out album that many here are likely to enjoy.
Of Montreal: Satanic Panic in the Attic
This album has received very strong reviews, and while it's fun and quirky, I'm not sure it's up to the hype. The album's packed with psych-pop references, parodies, or rip-offs (depending on how you look at it). It also sounds a lot like the Shins, albeit a bit less polished and a bit more inventive than they. What weakens the album is that 3/4ths of it sounds pretty samey; the same synths, the same vocal arrangments, etc. It's fun but not gripping. The last quarter is, oddly, the album's strongest part, with some surprising and effective chromatic shifts and tempo changes. (It's a testament to the band's musical talent that they pull these off.) Fans of the Shins (or the Beach Boys, for that matter) should give it a hearing.
High side of:
Jason Forrest: The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash
This album is a total blast and wickedly funny. From the perfectly-titled lead track ("Spectacle to Refute All Judgments") to the bizzarre ELO, Who, and Elton John samples of the end, the whole thing is an electronic mish-mash of 70's rock and disco samples, and it's very well done. It's unlikely to make much sense to people under 25, and the fragmented samples may bother those who think nothing musically worth mentioning has happened since '79. The album is also a bit of a one-trick-pony, but it's a great trick.
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation
This has recently been re-released by Rhino on high-quality vinyl, which is all the excuse I need to mention it and rate it.
[This message was edited by ejl on Tue 18 May 2004 at 3:35.]
Califone: King Heron Blues
I'm a bit surprised no one here has yet reviewed this. It's very good, and also a bit hard to describe; the album rather effortlessly transitions from acoustic folk, to synthy laptop and loop noises, to some pretty stripped-down blues by the end. Everything is done well -- not stellar, but solid. An enjoyable chill-out album that many here are likely to enjoy.
Of Montreal: Satanic Panic in the Attic
This album has received very strong reviews, and while it's fun and quirky, I'm not sure it's up to the hype. The album's packed with psych-pop references, parodies, or rip-offs (depending on how you look at it). It also sounds a lot like the Shins, albeit a bit less polished and a bit more inventive than they. What weakens the album is that 3/4ths of it sounds pretty samey; the same synths, the same vocal arrangments, etc. It's fun but not gripping. The last quarter is, oddly, the album's strongest part, with some surprising and effective chromatic shifts and tempo changes. (It's a testament to the band's musical talent that they pull these off.) Fans of the Shins (or the Beach Boys, for that matter) should give it a hearing.
High side of:
Jason Forrest: The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash
This album is a total blast and wickedly funny. From the perfectly-titled lead track ("Spectacle to Refute All Judgments") to the bizzarre ELO, Who, and Elton John samples of the end, the whole thing is an electronic mish-mash of 70's rock and disco samples, and it's very well done. It's unlikely to make much sense to people under 25, and the fragmented samples may bother those who think nothing musically worth mentioning has happened since '79. The album is also a bit of a one-trick-pony, but it's a great trick.
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation
This has recently been re-released by Rhino on high-quality vinyl, which is all the excuse I need to mention it and rate it.
[This message was edited by ejl on Tue 18 May 2004 at 3:35.]
Devendra Barnhart Rejoicing In The Hands (Young God 2004)
Barnhart has a real cool way of throwing his quirky voice around to tell a story, in true folkster tradition. Behind his sincere, emotional storytelling are string arrangements and stripped down acoustic blues, but he's at his best when it's concise acoustic plucking and fingering. He also has a gentle duet or two in there. This album has me completely hooked- I've listened to it 7x since it arrived yesterday. Right up there with last year's M. Ward album, though the middle string of tracks best much of Ward's work (IMO, of course).
Buy it and like it. Sixteen 2-3 minute folky joyrides.
Barnhart has a real cool way of throwing his quirky voice around to tell a story, in true folkster tradition. Behind his sincere, emotional storytelling are string arrangements and stripped down acoustic blues, but he's at his best when it's concise acoustic plucking and fingering. He also has a gentle duet or two in there. This album has me completely hooked- I've listened to it 7x since it arrived yesterday. Right up there with last year's M. Ward album, though the middle string of tracks best much of Ward's work (IMO, of course).
Buy it and like it. Sixteen 2-3 minute folky joyrides.
It appears the William Basinski set of albums are the only ones from Pitchfork's "best of" not covered here. So who's going to spend the $70 so they can do a Nh review? 
Not me!
Not me!Nick, I'm glad you liked that Of Montreal. I've listened to it more too and agree it grows on you. Incidentally, something tells me you might want to check out the new Animal Collective album Sung Tongs.
Mission of Burma: Onoffon
In my out-of-it little world I was completely unaware that MoB re-formed two years ago, only discovering this new one through the Pitchfork review. It's terrific to re-discover these guys; at first listen they sound like the punk band they started as, but you soon notice that everything is richer, more variagated and textured, and a little mellower. Each of the 16 full-length (!) tracks offers something different, while for the most part managing to sound like the same hard-rocking band of Vs. Expect frequent flashbacks to just about every SST-signed band of the mid-'80s: Husker Du, Black Flag, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, and anyone who likes those bands would be foolish to miss this. I don't want to spoil anything by gushing, but for me this is a very welcome release.
Oh yeah, the all-analog-mastered double LP of this has a terrific groove, and is well worth finding.
A.C. Newman: The Slow Wonder
About 10 seconds into this, it will be obvious to any fan of the New Pornographers who is behind whatever makes that band tick. This could almost be a NP release (complete with a Neko Case sound-alike backing vocalist) except for two things: (i) it rocks harder, and (ii) it's better. Here too the vinyl version sounds great, FWIW.
Not in the same league as the Mission of Burma, IMO, but still on the high end of:
Mission of Burma: Onoffon
In my out-of-it little world I was completely unaware that MoB re-formed two years ago, only discovering this new one through the Pitchfork review. It's terrific to re-discover these guys; at first listen they sound like the punk band they started as, but you soon notice that everything is richer, more variagated and textured, and a little mellower. Each of the 16 full-length (!) tracks offers something different, while for the most part managing to sound like the same hard-rocking band of Vs. Expect frequent flashbacks to just about every SST-signed band of the mid-'80s: Husker Du, Black Flag, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, and anyone who likes those bands would be foolish to miss this. I don't want to spoil anything by gushing, but for me this is a very welcome release.
Oh yeah, the all-analog-mastered double LP of this has a terrific groove, and is well worth finding.
A.C. Newman: The Slow Wonder
About 10 seconds into this, it will be obvious to any fan of the New Pornographers who is behind whatever makes that band tick. This could almost be a NP release (complete with a Neko Case sound-alike backing vocalist) except for two things: (i) it rocks harder, and (ii) it's better. Here too the vinyl version sounds great, FWIW.
Not in the same league as the Mission of Burma, IMO, but still on the high end of:
Kings of Convenience -- "Riot on an Empty Street"
Like the first album but with even better songs, stellar production and more variety. Marvellous.
Beautfiully crafted, modern acoustic folk
Another vote for the Devendra Banhart as well. It's ace.
Matthew
The Plastic Constellations - "Mazatlan"
There's something about places like Minneapolis and the mid-west in general that I find rather interesting and oddly, perhaps, rather romantic. I think it's the lack of oh-so knowing coolness one gets from New York, Chicago, San Francisco, etc. And the fact that places like Minneapolis, Cleveland, Duluth and so on seem to throw up a disproportionate number of ace bands that are hype free and largely unknown.
Bands like The Plastic Constellations in fact who, according to the Pitchfork review released a stella EP and debut album as high school kids before disappearing to go to college (how rock and roll) and then reappearing with a knockout follow-up a few years later. Ther e's something rather cool about the whole unpresupposing nature of such bands that I rather like and is a refreshing change to the hyped to the eyeballs nature of the UK indie scene.
Anyway musically they are like The Dismemberment Plan doing poppy post-punk songs in the style of Les Savy Fav with hints of everyone from Sonic Youth, to Pavement to Fugazi, and the album is chock full of sing-a-long-a-indie pop/rock crackers. Really very good and a must for fans of US Indie/College stuff.
You can buy direct from 2024 Records for a very reasonable $12US and you can listen at Pure Volume
I reserve the right to upgrade to 5 NLHs on further listening
[This message was edited by Matthew Robinson on Sat 10 July 2004 at 20:34.]
I *love* "Rejoicing in the Hands". There something truly wonderful about it and the way the slightly mentalist way sings in particular.
Plus since I found out he looks like this:
I heart him even more.
Matthew
Plus since I found out he looks like this:
I heart him even more.
Matthew
Animal Collective Sung Tongs (Fat Cat, 2004)
Earlier I was browsing Other Music and noticed damn near all of their staff had this in their picks. HA! It was time to finally listen after it got lost in the Ludwig cellars without a listen several weeks ago.
Niiiiiiice! The album has a gorgeous poppy/ strummy folk ambient feel to it with moments of aggressiveness. Pitchfork said it perfectly- "Sung Tongs finds the Animal Collective engaging in beautifully bizarre pop and surreal campfire singalongs that recall The Microphones' The Glow, Pt. 2* as often as they do the ideal American folk of the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel."
Immediately in the running with Devendra Banhart for YTD honors. Just lurrrrvly.
(* A damn fine record too)
Earlier I was browsing Other Music and noticed damn near all of their staff had this in their picks. HA! It was time to finally listen after it got lost in the Ludwig cellars without a listen several weeks ago.
Niiiiiiice! The album has a gorgeous poppy/ strummy folk ambient feel to it with moments of aggressiveness. Pitchfork said it perfectly- "Sung Tongs finds the Animal Collective engaging in beautifully bizarre pop and surreal campfire singalongs that recall The Microphones' The Glow, Pt. 2* as often as they do the ideal American folk of the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel."
Immediately in the running with Devendra Banhart for YTD honors. Just lurrrrvly.
(* A damn fine record too)
quote:
Originally posted by Ludwig:
It's hard to imagine a better record (than Devendra Banhart) coming out this year.
