Following last year's success of Mercury Rev's Deserters' Songs
it looks like their fellow American psychedelic brothers
the Flaming Lips are about to get some long overdue respect.
Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs
Rating: *****
The latest entry in Sonic Youth's SYR series is Goodbye Twentieth Century, which has the band covering some of the most influential experimental composers of the 20th Century such as John Cage and Pauline Oliveros.
Now, I'm as avant-garde as the next chick, but really, who cares? When people look back on the music of the 20th Century they'll think of jazz, country, folk, reggae, rock and roll, electronica and a whole other slew of genres. Nobody outside of the halls of academia seriously gives a shit about passing off 4 minutes of silence as music.
So when Stephin Merritt sings of killing linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in "The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure" from Volume 3 of 69 Love Songs it's a victory for pop everywhere. Replying to de Saussure's claim that how can we really know anything about love Merritt shoots him crying, "It's all well and kosher/to say you don't understand/But this is for Holland-Dozier-Holland!".
Not to say that Merritt is anti-intellectual, of course. Who else would include a 76 page booklet with the box-set of 69 Love Songs where Merritt discusses the development behind every song? But then again, this is the man whose all-time favourite band is Abba.
It's this precise blend of brains and camp that makes 69 Love Songs such a triumph. It stands as a legitimate statement on 20th Century pop music but it's still full of songs your parents and grandparents will love.
Originally conceived by Merritt as a 100 song musical revue it was chopped down to the more manageable (and suggestive) 69 when he realized how long it would take to perform. The end result is over 3 hours of music that will be considered one of the greatest achievements of the 90s and perhaps the century.
Listening to the 3 CD set is like channel surfing through the history of pop music. There's gospel, country, reggae, baroque, jazz, cheerleader chants...there's even one called...*gasp*... "Experimental Love Song"!
But just because it's a celebration of the love song in bulk doesn't make it any less sincere. If songs like "The Book of Love", "Busby Berkeley Dreams", and "Strange Eyes" don't tug your heartstrings you might seriously consider looking into getting a heart transplant.
So, in summary: Stephin Merritt is the postmodern Irving Berlin/Cole Porter. PhD thesis to follow...
DESOLATION BLUES
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Spanish Dance Troupe
Rating: ****
Things weren't looking good for Gorky's Zygotic Mynci this time last year. A lot of people were disappointed with their last album, Gorky 5, and the band had been dropped by their record label. Despite getting signed by Beggar's Banquet it was announced that the band's new album would be the last to feature Gorky co-founder/guitarist John Lawrence who was moving on to other projects.
Considering the circumstances I guess we should happy that we're getting another album at all. Fortunately, Spanish Dance Troupe is more than a consolation prize.
Although I wasn't keen on first listen the album has grown on me considerably. If 1997's Barafundle was the wily rabbit you had to chase down Spanish Dance Troupe is the shy turtle who needs a little encouragement to come out of its shell.
Taking its cue from the title track Spanish Dance Troupe has the band dipping into American and Spanish country/folk sounds for inspiration. It's a remarkably somber album for a band known for its sense of fun like Gorky's. Main songwriter Euros Childs still sings of the sea, sky, and sun but while earlier songs were full of childlike wonder at the world the majority of songs on SDT are sad, soft odes to lost loves and the changin' of the seasons. Lines like, "Though I started young as a lover/Now I'm just burning out" from "Over and Out"make me wonder if the tumultuous events of the past year haven't gotten to the band after all.
But for all their problems Gorky's seem intent to weather the storm. Their music has always seemed to exist in a universe of its own and it would be a shame to see them be destroyed by the pressures of the outside world. A remarkable band, and a remarkable album.
MORE KING MONKEY BUSINESS
Ian Brown
Golden Greats
Rating: ***
Ian Brown broke our hearts (in the good way) with the first Stone Roses album and the "Fools Gold" and "One Love" singles. But ever since he's been breaking hearts (in the bad way) for his underachieving recordings and increasingly bizarre behaviour.
His first solo project, 1997's Unfinished Monkey Business was an apt title. Brown produced the record himself, and it showed. But for all its patchiness the old Brownie still shone through on a few tracks. "Corpses In Their Mouths" was one of the most brilliant tracks of the past few years, let alone of the album.
Now, after a brief stop-over in Strangeways prison, Brown is back with Golden Greats. It's a much more cohesive and well-organized record than Monkey Business. But that same calculated quality of the album is also its Achilles heel.
Lead-off tracks "Getting High" and "Love Like a Fountain" are great tunes with solid grooves. But after that it all starts to blend together. The songs are tailored for Brown's notoriously limited range and that starts to take its toll after the sixth or so song. Brown's attempts to settle some scores regarding those who put him in jail don't help matters much either. Overall, a decent album, but best taken in small doses.
Nov. 5/99
YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!
Sloan - Between the Bridges
Raing: ***1/2
Whither Sloan? When I was in Toronto recently there was a gigantic billboard for Between the Bridges with the band looking like one of those new Gap ads. Just as well, since the Gap store was a few feet away. Everybody in...Sloan!!
Rewind to Halifax circa 1991. A dreamy, fuzzy pop epic called "Underwhelmed" has everyone in a tizzy and people who should know better are calling Halifax the "Seattle of the North" (it was a compliment back then...). Kids like me were excited because here was a hometown band who were actually good. As in not April Wine. As in not Sarah "I live in Vancouver now!" MacLachlan.
And then they moved to Toronto. And then came the double live album. And now they sound more like April Wine and AC/DC than Nirvana or My Bloody Valentine. Oh my.
While last year's Navy Blues was a gleeful romp in the rock god personas, Between the Bridges is exceedingly self-conscious. It's as if the band set out to make a big "fuck you" towards their critics but started to doubt themselves along the way.
Songs like "Friendship" and "All By Ourselves" are filled with biting remarks towards naysayers. But it comes across as cliched bombast. Even "All By Ourselves", which is not even four minutes long, seems to drag and overstay its welcome. And at over six minutes, the amateur Zeppelin heroics of "Sensory Deprivation" is near intolerable.
The album's saving grace is Chris Murphy's ballad, "The Marquee and the Moon". Although most people will see this as a pun on the Television album, The Marquee Moon, it's much more. The Misty Moon was a scuzzy 1980s Halifax club that had cheesy cover bands. The Marquee is Halifax's current live venue where most of the indie bands play.
Murphy realizes that by playing the retro-rock card he's in danger of becoming the kind of band he mocked in his younger days. "Could we have stopped it?/We all get co-opted/ to some kind of system it seems," he sings. "Am I any different than either the Moon or Marquee?"
So is he? It's a question we'll all have to face when we get older, whether we play in a rock band or not. But I think it's high time Sloan stopped hiding behind a facade of Beatles-esque tomfoolery and got back to basics. Just because you're pop doesn't mean you don't have to have any soul, although as Murphy notes in "The Marquee and the Moon", "hell ain't a bad place to be.".
Just as long as you're sure then...
July 1/99
the Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Rating: ****
Following last year's success of Mercury Rev's Deserters' Songs
it looks like their fellow American psychedelic brothers
the Flaming Lips are about to get some long overdue respect.
The Soft Bulletin is destined to become one of the most critically overhyped albums of the year but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That's because it's actually quite a good album.
The best bit about the Soft Bulletin is that for once the Lips have decided to write some decent tunes. Frontman Wayne Coyne still can't sing but at least the majority of the Soft Bulletin's songs have capable melodies.
Initially the songs seem to be nothing more than freakish odes to scientists and bugs. But repeated listenings reveal the Soft Bulletin to be a powerful examination into the fragile and fleeting nature of human existence.
Take "What is the Light" for instance. According to the liner notes the song is based on "an untested hypothesis suggesting that the chemical [in our brains] by which we are able to experience the sensation of being in love is the same chemical that caused the 'Big Bang' that was the birth of the accelerating universe". With any other band it would come across as depressing pseudo-intellectual prog rock (hello Radiohead!) but with the Flaming Lips it's simply beautiful.
The Soft Bulletin may not spark the "nu-psych" revolution the British music press might want - it's far too personal and subtle for that - but it's a wonderful album that will tug at your heart and leave you better off for listening.
Fountains of Wayne - Utopia Parkway
Rating: ***1/2
Utopia Parkway is the soundtrack for Le Chateau girls and Tommy boys everywhere - they just don't know it.
Namedropping such hideous staples of teen culture like Puff Daddy, Korn, Metallica, and the dreaded high school prom Fountains of Wayne perfectly capture the tone of suburban life without any hint of irony or condescension.
Songs like "It Must Be Summer", "Red Dragon Tattoo" and the killer new-wave power pop of "Denise" are custom-made for blasting from car stereos in the summer. The Big Star-esque "Laser Show" sounds like it should be featured in an upcoming episode of TV's That 70s Show.
Unfortunately the album tends to meander in parts and the band end up sounding as shallow as their subject matter. The overproduction leaves many of the songs sounding too slick and lacking in spontaneity.
So while Utopia Parkway may be forgotten by the time that
September rolls around it's still a lot of fun right now. In the
end Fountains of Wayne are a lot like your average Brendan Fraser
movie - big, dumb, and fun. Don't think too much about it and
you'll have a great time.
June 5/99
Super Furry Animals - Guerrilla
Rating: ****1/2
Perhaps they should change their name to Super Tantric Animals. Just when you think they've reached the peak in un adulterated pop lunacy the Super Furries go and show you they're not done just yet...
Guerrilla has something to please everyone. Crunchy rockers like "Night Vision" and "Do or Die". Tripped-out techno-rap with "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)". Introspective brooders like "Something Comes From Nothing" and the early front-runner for best song, "Turning Tide". There's even SFA's first straight-forward love song, "Fire In My Heart".
The songs are less overtly goofy from their earlier work and there's a definite emphasis on electronic sounds. It's as much keyboardist/technohead Cian Ciaran's album as it is lead singer Gruff Rhys'.
This album would be a disaster if made by any other band. But the way the Super Furry Animals effortlessly emit excitement and joy in their music it's impossible not to be caught up in their "pre-millennial optimism".
Of course in an age where bands can make a career out of writing the same song over and over again many people will be unready to deal with an album like Guerrilla. They'll try to call it "inconsistent" or "insincere". Their loss.
Guerrilla is "a statement of war against mainstream music". It's designed to separate the men from the boys. The believers from the heathens. The super from the ordinary.
Do or die.
April 11/99
Blur - 13
Rating: ***
If Blur's last album was the band putting the nails in the coffin of Britpop then 13 is the band curled up in the fetal position soaked in their own urine and vomit. The analogy doesn't follow, and that's the whole point. Most of 13 is a messy, unfocused ramble that sprawls every which way without ever really saying much. "Bugman", "Swamp Song", and "B.L.U.R.E.M.I" are fun but pointless. Why retread the same "fast song" formula that's been done a million times before (and better) on songs like "Bank Holiday", "Globe Alone" and the infamous "Song 2"?
Thankfully, the second half of the album is better than the first. "Mellow Song", "Trailerpark" and "Trimm Trabb" are all admirable efforts but they're so relaxed they fail to engage the listener in anything besides lukewarm acceptance. Only "Coffee and TV" and "Tender" serve as reminders that Blur can still be relevant outside the parameters of Parklife.
I was hoping that on 13 Blur would have learned from the growing pains of Blur but it hasn't turned out that way. No distance left to run, indeed.
The Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage
Rating: ***1/2
If the members of the Olivia Tremor Control ever wrote a straightforward 40-minute rock 'n' roll album then God help us all. It would surely be the late Twentieth (or even early Twenty-First) Century equivalent of Sgt. Pepper's, The White Album, and Pet Sounds all wrapped up into one.
Instead, the band prefers to write elaborate concept albums like Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One. As the liner notes state, "the idea as black foliage began was to take a section of the guitar line from black foliage (now called itself) and make a set of animated departures stemming from that bass guitar melody, twisting it to many variations". Although the album is undeniably arty the band haven't forgotten how to write a good tune. The moments of clarity that occasionally emerge from Black Foliage's sonic mayhem such as "A Place We Have Been To" and "New Day" are simply splendid.
But while it makes for an interesting experiment Black Foliage is not that much different from OTC's debut album, Dusk At Cubist Castle: Music for an Unrealized Film Script. Black Foliage is just more cohesive and flows better. So while the arty "Green Typewriter Suite" was merely tossed into the middle of Cubist Castle the "Animation" pieces in Black Foliage are spread out over the length of the album. It's either distracting or engaging depending on how much you like aimless hallucinatory instrumentals. Still, Black Foliage is a must-have for any fan of pop music at its most playful.
Super Furry Animals - "Northern Lites"
Watching the new Offspring video for "Get a Job" the other week I was struck by the fact that there should be more creative use of steel drums in pop music. (The Offspring do not count of course since they are crap).
But lo, my dreams were fulfilled after hearing the new Super Furry Animals single, "Northern Lites"! In it, our Welsh friends re-invent themselves as a calypso band asking Jesus to hurry up and destroy the world so we can all just get it over with. Says main Furry Gruff Rhys, "I'd have called it 'Aurora Borealis', but Latin song titles are out of the question.". Deliriously warped. As usual.
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