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HOT OFF THE PRESS (#17) – Alexis Taylor & Max Richter
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Alexis Taylor – Rubbed Out
released on October 21 on Treader
Report Card: B-
Ohmygodhotchiphotchiphotchip. If that’s your immediate reaction upon hearing that Hot Chip frontman and oft-dynamo Alexis Taylor is releasing an under-the-radar solo album, then you’re going to have to prepare yourself for a somewhat muted response to Rubbed Out. Because while this little disc sure enough features the familiar vocals of one of music’s best pairs of nerd-glasses, there’s also a reason it’s not a widely publicized side project a la Department of Eagles or Megapuss, and the fact it’s barely making a dent in the musical landscape of Hot Chip’s widespread and adoring international fanbase is not without rationale. And that rationale is as follows: of Rubbed Out’s fifteen tracks, maybe five or six are fully realized enough to draw in a listener, while the rest feel like the unfinished recordings of a regularly-brilliant musician far too busy with his other projects to give sufficient time to this one.
The album has a number of tracks that jump out, and that jumping out is, unfortunately, probably as indicative of the album’s sometimes-slackness as anything. Despite that, the stand-outs here certainly do stand out, and pulled together would have made for an utterly excellent EP rather than as support beams for an unabashedly-flaccid long-player. “Coming Up” is nothing less than a great Paul McCartney cover, taking one of McCartney’s early-80s cheeserock numbers and turning it on its head by minimizing its reliance on endless corniness and amping up the song’s softer side—by the time Taylor’s done with the track it’s almost a tearjerker, rather than a reminder of McCartney’s wayward pop-ism. “Baby” is probably the album’s most replayable track, with enough percussion and a bouncy beat that sounds as much like a Hot Chip song as anything in this collection—even it, though, for all its excellence, sounds thin and weightless compared to the full band’s delightfully complicated production.
In the end, this is a fascinating little collection of leftovers and thought-pieces by one of the brains behind one of music’s most dynamic forces, but it’s just that: a collection of leftovers and thought-pieces. Because if you grab this album thinking you’re getting a fully fleshed out work of well-wrought genius, you’ll be disappointed. But if you grab it expecting a deeper look into the origins of Hot Chip songs, or at the more romantic side of a stripped-down dance-music guru, then there’s plenty here about which to rejoice.
Download “Coming Up” by Alexis Taylor here
Max Richter – 24 Postcards in Full Colour
released on September 23 on Fatcat Records
Report Card: B+
Probably seems off to be covering a composer in this space, given the dominance of what most would call indie acts. But it’s not every composer who’s willingly bridged the gap between the innovative and the comparative stodginess of traditional classical composition. While a name such as Philip Glass is pretty common in the minds of most music lovers, the names of the new era of experimental post-postmodernist (in other words: listenable, and not just the irritating rattling of trashcan lids or track after track of silence, dissonance, or other forms of aural suffering) aren’t so familiar. For example, Hauschka’s latest release, Ferndorf, registered hardly higher than zilch on the public cred meter, despite its lushness and enjoyment factor. And now, Max Richter’s 24 Postcards in Full Colour is in danger of doing the same.
Richter’s best known for his 2004 album The Blue Notebooks, a languid and somewhat nightmarish collection of surprisingly unsettling orchestral arrangements, and that album made Richter a composer to follow, especially because of its ability to cross-over to a crowd that doesn’t regularly attend wine-and-cheese events. But when the follow-up, Songs from Before, failed to stir up the same passion and widespread appeal, Richter returned to the afterthought status of so many contemporary composers. And this makes it all the more remarkable that 24 Postcards in Full Colour would forgo traditional song length and song structure altogether in favor of only the briefest glimpses into song development, acting rather to make an ironic nod to ringtones and other ultra-brief sonic experiences—indeed, not a single one of this album’s tracks is longer than three minutes.
But while this snapshot approach to composition offers its fascinating moments—there is no shortage whatsoever of breathtaking arrangements—the collection as a whole is ceaselessly frustrating. The reason why is that those breathtaking moments where Richter really seems to arrive at a great “riff” are always abruptly cut short, as, after all, you can’t have a concept album about two-dimensional postcards with songs long enough to make the leap into three dimensions. And because of this, the best ideas are cut short, given equal time with other, less than fantastic ideas, thus leaving the listener feeling a bit ripped off. But still, despite this obvious complaint, Max Richter has demonstrated almost effortlessly his ability to uncover a slew of great string pieces in an instrumental medium that is as well-worn as any—maybe next time he’ll build on these ideas (and further incorporate the electronic flourishes he clearly likes but seems reluctant to embrace fully), giving listeners a little more idea-completion rather than just idea-generation. Until then, we’ll have to be satisfied with the welcome fact that genius doesn’t have to bend to the wills of anyone.
Listen to songs by Max Richter here