|
Pulse of the Twin Cities Login |
|
If you do not have an account yet
Create One.
|
|
|
Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
|
|
|
|
Under the Radar: Music You May Have Missed in 2003
Thursday 22 January @ 13:53:02 |
 by Rob van Alstyne
As a semi-pro music scribe it can be all too easy to forget about the inherent power of great rock/pop music to move your ass and/or shape your mind. Amidst the nonstop deluge of press releases that come across my desk in any given week there’s a nearly endless stream of crap (equally likely to arrive in the form of an incredibly slick major-label press pack as a hastily scribbled on home-recorded CDR)—balanced out by those precious few records whose songwriting fortitude or sonic inventiveness make the whole thing worthwhile in the first place.
Here are some of the records in 2003 that kept my head abuzz while I readied myself to dive into the mailbag one more time. (Note: This list is in no way meant to represent a comprehensive “best” of what went down in the world of music in 2003; that would be impossible to do—and even more ridiculous to claim.
Undoubtedly over the course of 2004 I’ll stumble across at least a half dozen records I’ll have wished I had written about for this piece instead. This list is meant merely to represent some of the records within the ever-changing and rather nebulous ‘independent’ rock/pop genre that I feel merit further notice. We all know that Outkast’s new record is great—I don’t think anyone needs the heads up on that one.)
National Music:
Sufjan Stevens – Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State (Sounds Familyre)
The Brooklyn-living-Michigan-bred Stevens, 28, may have left the barren Upper Peninsula for the bright lights/big city combo of the East Coast, but the boy’s roots are far from forgotten. Over the course of Steven’s blindingly ambitious 15 track, 70+ minute homage to his home state he morphs from a polyphonic studio maestro (“All Good Naysayers” cavalcade of background vocal harmonies is at first listen awkward and extraneous—subsequently enthralling and essential) to a backporch folkie (the spare banjo driven “For the Widows in Paradise”), to a piano wielding modern hymnist (“Oh God Where Are You Now?”).
Sufjan Stevens
Even more remarkably, none of the musical guises feel forced and they all blend together seamlessly. Stevens low-impact detached singing voice (think Sam Prekop at his drowsiest Sea and Cake moments) keeps the focus squarely on his stunning arrangements and what could have been an exercise in disjointed concept album gimmickry is instead a powerful meditation on the people and places that shaped Stevens as a boy.
Constantly alternating between winding jittery pop epics and more understated shorter running folktunes (with nearly all of the widely varying instrumentation provided by Stevens himself) the blend of banjos, horns, oboes, xylophones and glockenspiels is frequently dizzying. Perhaps too busy at times for its own good, one still has to admire an album in which every possible out-of-left-field instrumental texture or quirky rhythm feels fully explored.
Though not for those in need of instant gratification melodies or with a shortage of time on their hands, those able to spend some considerable headphone-alone hours with Michigan will find they don’t need to purchase any new music for weeks as they continue to become fully engrossed in Sufjan’s formative years musical diary—re-encountering greatly changed former childhood loves (“Romulus”) or experiencing a queasy mixture of paranoia and pride on a trip into the big city (“Detroit Lift Up Your Weary Head!”).
The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site (Epitaph)
After three years in the making, Winnipeg’s Weakerthans released a pop-punk treatise on existential angst that married bookish lyrical inclinations with spiky electric guitars better than anyone since Elvis Costello dropped his angry young man persona some quarter of a century ago. Beneath the ratty T-shirt and just above the faded blue jeans, Weakerthans singer/guitarist/songwriter John K. Samson may have one of the biggest hearts in music—and he’s prepared to place it prominently on his sleeve throughout Reconstruction Site (how refreshingly un-punk!).
Granted the musical proceedings on Reconstruction Site are far from the straight-ahead punk of Samson’s former group (the militantly political Propaghandi), or even the Weakerthan’s first album (1998’s crunch-heavy Fallow). A good third of the album occupies far more placid terrain (prominently incorporating guitarist Stephen Carroll’s lap steel skills)—but that’s far from a knock against the album as the slower tempos and open spaces enable Samson’s reedy voice and ponder-worthy words to grab the attention they deserve with innumerable stunning couplets. (Sample: “When the bus shelter windows and napkin dispensers surprise/With distorted reflections it’s never the someone you’re hoping to recognize”).
The Weakerthans
Constantly pushing his writing boundaries, album No. 3 from Samson finds him writing primarily from the perspective of other characters (among them a self-help promoting housecat and female Antarcic explorer) while using the unconventional situational set-ups to examine his usual themes (inability to connect, the numbing effect of modern day life’s technologically abetted fast pace) from new angles. All of this may sound stiff and boring on paper—but when partnered with Samson’s crack band and bristling twin guitar attack the effect is anything but. Far too intelligent for the “emo” tag (Samson isn’t crying about girls not wanting to make out with him—he’s lamenting for everybody who’s ever felt lost) the Weakerthans should be mandatory listening for the remedial pout-and-whine rock pack to learn from.
Chris Lee – Cool Rock (Misra)
30-year-old Brooklyn by way of North Carolina soul singer Chris Lee occupies his own musical world, at least a few constellations removed from any of his contemporaries. Crafting a hybrid sound equal parts Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Television’s Marquee Moon, Lee’s been perfecting his craft over the course of the last four odd years and managed to come up with his tastiest soul/pop/rock confection yet on album no. 3 the aptly titled Cool Rock.
Chris Lee
Awash in warm vibes, shiny guitars, and instantly hummable vocal melodies (with the occasional up-tempo brass arrangement thrown in for good measure), Cool Rock is a shamelessly fun record. Comprised primarily of big-hearted/wide-eyed odes to the joys of love, the recently betrothed Lee sings like a man who’s discovered his good lovin’ woman and is holding on to her for dear life with every syllable sung.
Lee’s semi-saccharine sentiments would wear all too quickly if they weren’t delivered with such conviction and buoyed by a crack band that includes Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and contributions from NYC’s prestigious Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. Hip-swaying jams like “Sail On,” “Cossacks of Love” and “Bronx Science” form the core of the record, leaving no head bopping tactic left untried (layered vocal harmonies, percussive handclaps, swirling synth lines and whatever else can aid the groove are expertly employed).
Like all auditory lovemakers, however, Lee is at his best when slowing things down and dimming the lights to reveal the scars of his once wounded heart. The solo acoustic closing shot of “Say it Ain’t Soul” blended into a cover of John S. Hurt’s “Nobody Cares for Me” is the showstopper, proving that all Lee needs to enrapture the listener is his angelic voice (far more than a Jeff Buckley clone, although the comparisons are understandable) and deft finger-picking skills. Riveting music for would-be lovers of all kinds.
Honorable Mention: Sun Kil Moon, Ghosts of the Great American Highway; M. Ward, Transfiguration of Vincent; Kathleen Edwards, Failer; Postal Service, Give Up; Okkervil River, Down the River of Golden Dreams; My Morning Jacket, It Still Moves
Local Releases:
Jeff Hanson – Son (Kill Rock Stars)
The fact that angelically voiced Jeff Hanson doesn’t have a bigger following in his own back yard is pretty much a crime. Emerging from the rubble of his emo band M.I.J. with a stack full of Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens and Beatles records under his arm (and a seemingly feminine set of voice pipes), Hanson managed to craft a fully realized creative gem with his solo debut, Son.
Jeff Hanson
Helmed with the aid of Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis, Hanson opts against the wide lens orch-pop of Mr. Oberst preferring a stripped down clean folk sound. Once I was able to get past the initial shock factor of Hanson’s voice (is my stereo working? maybe the recording is sped up on this one? he can’t be a he … can he?) I was able to finally focus on Hanson’s solid set of tunes and forget about the physical anomaly of what register he sings in. I’m glad I managed the feat, because I was rewarded with the one of the strongest straight-ahead singer/songwriter albums of recent memory. Hanson’s deft finger picked acoustic tunes (with perfectly complementary backing vocals and slick lead fills) recall the pre-XO bedroom wanderings of Elliott Smith (it’s only fitting they’re starting off on the same record label), but are presented with a fidelity those albums never had.
Elsewhere Hanson’s one man band plugs in and tries its at hand at Beatles-esque pop (“The End of Everything Known”) with great success—proving he’s capable of far more than the sad-eyed troubadour routine.
Already a nationally touring vet, a follow-up to Son is slated for the fall of 2004. Hopefully the Twin Cities music scene will wake up by then and realize Hanson is one of our greatest songwriting talents and start attending his shows accordingly. (Jeff Hanson plays Sun., Jan. 25, at the Bryant Lake Bowl with the Ashtray Hearts).
Haley Bonar - …The Size of Planets (Chairkickers Music)
Haley Bonar makes me feel like a failure … for which I will be eternally grateful. Still two months away from being able to drink a beer without impunity, Duluth-based Bonar dropped her sophomore album nationwide last spring on her 20th birthday. At that point in time my list of life accomplishments included playing a lot of Xbox and excessively downloading MP3’s while desperately looking for full time work … needless to say I didn’t need any outside forces making me feel more like a failure. Time heals all wounds though, and in the subsequent months I’ve found some self- esteem … and a truck load of love for ...The Size of Planets.
Duluth's Haley Bonar
Synthesizing all of the best parts from well-known female singer/songwriters (Tori Amos, Lucinda Williams, Joni Mitchell)—Bonar may just top them all by the time her career is through. Whether playing the role of reckless cowgirl alt. Country siren in “Drinking Again” or disturbing nightmare weaver in “Car Wreck,” Bonar’s obvious skills belie her youth. Wisely splitting up her album between organ/piano-driven numbers and acoustic guitar-based tracks, ...The Size of Planets manages to feel like a highly varied album despite a paucity of instruments at play. With a voice guaranteed to turn heads and a live show that proves the guy/girl drums/guitar duo is infinitely more interesting than the White Stripes make it out to be, —Haley Bonar looks poised to be the first national breakout act of the current Twin Cities young songwriter scene. Rumors of major labels coming to the table continue to surface and one can only hope Bonar doesn’t move East or West as her star continues to rise.
Paul Westerberg – Come Feel Me Tremble (Vagrant)
I’m not going to pretend that Come Feel Me Tremble is even half as good as the double-shot Stereo/Mono career defining effort Westerberg unleashed after coming out of hibernation in 2002—but it doesn’t have to be to still rank among one of his finest records (and therefore one of the best the Twin Cities has to offer).
Masquerading as the soundtrack to Westerberg’s documentary DVD, CFT is in reality an entirely new home studio effort, as Paul explained to me, “I kind of used the whole move thing as an excuse to put out another record without having to get off my ass and tour again.”
Paul Westerberg
Fair enough Paul, no tours will be required if you continue to drop platters like this once a year or so. I’m still confounded by people who claim Westerberg’s best days are behind him and can’t let go of the Replacements legacy. Outside of the seminal Let it Be and Tim, Westerberg’s last three album have been the best he’s ever made—devoid of the ill-fated slick production that marred so much of his late 80s/early 90s production.
The home basement recorded sketches that comprise Come Feel Me Tremble follow in the same first-take-fly-by-the-seat-of-his-cigar-stenched-pants recording aesthetic as Stereo. Westerberg’s disheveled train wreck voice is perfect for the material from the early stompin’ numbers (“Dirty Diesel,” “Making Me Go”) to the later folk-ballad material (“Crackle & Drag,” “Meet Me Down the Alley”).
It’s rather obvious that the lyrics weren’t exactly picked over with a fine toothed comb on the rockin’ numbers (they rarely have any meaning and tend to be repetitive)—but it hardly matters when the songs are this much fun (“My Daydream” may represent Westerberg’s first stab at approximating the Monkees by way of the Clash—and one of the best rockers of his career). Although Paul may not be breaking out all of the big guns for this effort (allegedly saving those for his follow-up this spring, Folker, which Paul describes as “a whole album made up of the songs that people usually like by me”) at least one all time classic snuck its way into the mix—“What a Day for a Night.”
Comprised of all the elements that typically make up a Westerberg winner—a great play on words, a nice bridge and awkward lead guitar heroics—the acoustic 12-string jangle of “What a Day For a Night” will undoubtedly wind up on whatever “best of” sums up Westerberg’s career when Grandpa Boy finally gives up the music making ghost. Forget garage rock—Paul proves the basement is where the magic really happens.
Honorable Mention: Big Ditch Road, Ring; The Hang Ups, The Hang Ups; Fog, Ether Teeth; The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music; First Prize Killers The Powdery Parade; Halloween Alaska, Halloween Alaska
|
|
 |
|
|
Comments -
Post Comment |
|
The comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for its content.
NO comments yet! Be the first!
|
|
|
