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HOT OFF THE PRESS (#13) – Juana Molina & Final Fantasy
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#13) – Juana Molina & Final Fantasy
by Nick Courtright
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, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Peter Bjorn & John, Vivian Girls, White Denim, The Walkmen, Fight Bite, and Grizzly Bear.
Juana Molina – Un Día
to be released October 7 on Domino
Report Card: A-
It’s been well over a year since Panda Bear released Person Pitch, an astounding and groundbreaking album that was practically impossible to dislike, not to mention qualified enough to land near the top of the best of 2007 lists for almost every major (intellectual) music publication. With its relentless looping of vocals, instrumentation, and sonic textures, as well as its propensity for the long song, Person Pitch reshaped what was expected of an avant-pop album in the twenty-first century, and intimated that a sea of imitators would eventually rise in its wake. That said, while it would be ridiculous to cite Juana Molina’s oft-excellent Un Día as a sad-sack imitation or mere trifle, the influence of Panda Bear (and those other looping aficionados, El Guincho and Andrew Bird) is pretty apparent, and acts as a testament to the continued viability of the technique as a way to make engaging and addictive “thinking person’s” music.