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New weekly column: HOT OFF THE PRESS (#1)
Our blog contributors are awesome. And here's more proof:
Behold...the the first installment of a 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. And we shall call it HOT OFF THE PRESS...
Beck – Modern Guilt
Released July 8, 2008.
Looks like Beck. Sounds like Beck. Must be Beck. And so it is, with our favorite midnight vulture’s latest release – it seems like he’s coming out with them a bit too fast for his own good, doesn’t it? I have to admit it seems a bit soon after his last album, the somewhat under-inspired The Information (you hardly remembered that happened, right?), and the thought of a new collection caused more than a few eye-rolls. But, in the end, Beck has been a brilliant bastard more often than not, and this album – produced by the ever-present Danger Mouse – is his calmer self, harkening back to the Sea Change days with its cool nostalgia and reverence of 60s sounds. Despite the skepticism – fueled by his diminishing live performance as he nears forty – sure enough, like most all Beck releases, Modern Guilt gets its claws into you, and after a tepid first few listens, it starts to hold together quite well as a collection. Guest turns from the likes of Cat Power’s Chan Marshall certainly help the cause.
The Fiery Furnaces – Remember
To be released August 16, 2008.
One of the world’s most idiosyncratic, unique, and easily hate-able bands drops a little more gross excess on us with Remember, a two disc live album featuring the medley-style of performance they employed to appall their audiences for the majority of their shows up until this last year. Pretty much all the songs you know from their career make an appearance here – though many of them arrive in chopped up, two-minute forms – as each of these two discs jumps around with seemingly no rationale whatsoever. Put very simply: if you’re not already a fan of Fiery Furnaces, this release will just solidify your disgust for them. But if you’re already a fan of Fiery Furnaces, which I am, you’ll probably just wish they would’ve found some not-so-shitty recording equipment for this ambitious project.
Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual
Released June 17, 2008.
Honestly, it took me a while to know what to make of this one. I appreciated lead singer Molly Siegel’s yelping and scowling and general nonsense (I kept finding myself wanting to compare her to Sigur Rós because of the use of gibberish lyrics, although the brand of gibberish is very different – really, not all gibberishes are alike), but chances are that the screechy craziness will wear on most. It was trying to get through the album on the first couple of tries, but eventually the tightness of the music – a punky, rapid-fire sort of happy viciousness – drew me in, and Siegel’s vocal theatrics started to match the drums and guitar as another instrument rather than a human voice. Still, despite the occasionally awesome interplay between these “instruments,” this is an album that’s going to be hard-pressed to survive multiple spins in a row without becoming a burden on sensitive ears.
Check out HOT OFF THE PRESS next Wednesday for more snapshot reviews, including White Denim’s Workout Holiday.
By blog contributor Nick Courtright.