|
Pulse of the Twin Cities Login |
|
If you do not have an account yet
Create One.
|
|
|
Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
|
|
|
|
Coming Soon to a CD Store Near You....
Wednesday 10 March @ 13:29:02 |
 by Rob van Alstyne
Super XX Man
My Usual Way
[Lelp Recordings]
With so many bedroom troubadours out there today (and surprisingly slick and affordable home recording technology becoming the norm) it’s getting increasingly hard to keep track of the best of the stay-at-home pop set. Scott Garred (aka Super XX Man) has been at it longer than most, however.
Super XX Man
My Usual Way
[Lelp Recordings]
This is after all his seventh album of home recorded material since 1995. Having abandoned his big rock dreams once and for all (his Austin, TX, rock group Silver Scooter—the best New Order emulating band ever—disbanded in 2001 and Garred moved to Portland, OR) Garred seems comfortable as a mid-tempo folk-rocker.
Garred’s gentle pleasing lilt rarely rises above speaking volume, but fits his modestly beautiful tunes snugly. Perhaps a bit too loose and hazy for its own good (the tracks do tend to blend into one another unless close attention is paid), the overall effect of My Usual Way is still mesmerizing, far more than the sum of its breezy light parts. Quaint keyboards, lightly brushed drums and the occassional brass or sexy pedal steel fill are the sole accessories to Garreds acoustic fingerpicking and soft electric trills. A delightful listen for sonambulant nights.
Simon Joyner
Lost With the Lights On
[Jagjaguwar]
Release Date: March 16th, 2004
A cult legend in dark indie-folk circles, Joyner is every bit as much the downcast poet laureate as his better known contemporaries like Will Oldham (Palace) and Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia). The childhood idol of Bright Eye’s Conor Oberst, Joyner was based in Omaha a good decade before anybody bothered to notice Nebraska on the musical map.
Lost With the Lights On, Joyner LP No. 8, continues the shambling and epic feel of its 2001 predecessor, Hotel Lives. Once again abetted by some of the best in Chicago’s folk music avant-garde (Michael Krassner, Fred Lonberg-Holm and ex-Son Volt pedal steel player Eric Heywood are among the notables), Joyner’s weary keening voice remains enthralling. The sort of lyricist known to spin dense, jawdropping lines on a routine basis (“I will not speak of love with words that sting or fertilise flowers / I do not wish to flatter or to sling uneasy arrows at flesh harbours”), Joyner doesn’t let up any on his latest release. Certainly not for everyone, but for those wishing they had the ideal accompaniment for their blue days and black nights it would be hard to find a more sympathetic and fitting companion than Mr. Joyner.
Ill Lit
I Need You
[Bad Man Recording Co.]
Release Date: April 6th, 2004
L.A. group Ill Lit’s debut album WACMusic was one of the best things to happen in indie-music in 2002 (despite its relatively low profile). Marrying boombox beats and foundsound audio snippets to backporch twang and acoustic lamentation Vocalist/guitarists Daniel Ahearn and Melanie Moser harmonized like a Gram and Emmylou for the OK Computer-era and made an uforgettable genre-defying debut in the process.
Ill Lit Mach 2 (Moser has departed the group leaving Ahearn to work with a dozen different collaborators) doesn’t fare quite as well with I Need You. Moser’s soaring voice is dearly missed and exposes the fact that Ahearn is merely an ordinary (albeit extremely Clem Snide-sounding) singer. The arrangements are likewise less dazzling.
The straightforward pristine folk rock of cuts like “Broken Open Fence” left me longing for the band’s more innovative past. There are some killer tracks here though (the bouyant and hook laden “Preston Rules” is an immediate standout with a pulsing bass line and vibrant keyboard runs), and I Need You is still well worth tracking down for those already enamored with the group. For the rest of you, track down their debut—you won’t be disappointed.
|
|
 |
|
|
Comments -
Post Comment |
|
The comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for its content.
NO comments yet! Be the first!
|
|
|
