5 posts tagged “slowcore”
Sweet show at a
perfect venue for The Album Leaf. Maxwells is a very small, historic,
iconic venue for the grassroots indie bands as well as the powerhouses,
such as Sonic Youth and Bright Eyes who still book shows at the
pseudo-arcane joint in Hoboken. Alas, you would correctly assume that
the sound quality is solid. The Album Leafs' sound can only be
described -by me- as Sigur Ros meets Enno Morricone meets Kid A-era Radiohead. Yeah
that's right suckas, Enno Morricone. While they often favor back beats that would
remind one of Hood or Kid A, the overall sound is much more atmospheric like
Sigur Ros, but unlike these bands, the melodies are virtually classical
in nature. Which isn't surprising since the mastermind behind the
outfit, Jimmy Lavalle(1st picture below), is a classically trained
multi-instrumentalist. The guy knows how to evoke emotion and he was definitely on form tonight. In his spare time he runs around with other
indie greats: The Locust, Tristeza, and The Black Heart Procession, as
well as guest star stints with Sigur Ros. Vague, sweeping images
-along with more symmetrical styles- were projected in the background
and captured the essence of the songs, thus making the concert
experience even more effective. This is the third time I've been able
to see these guys and every time the tracks from their records
translate brilliantly live.
Live pictures of the boys:
Additional track from RHP. This version of "Shock Me" can only be found on the single edition.
Explosions in the Sky
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temp. Residence Ltd.)
If Explosions in the Sky were an illness, they would probably fit best with Bipolar Disorder. Explosions exemplify duality. Their sound, while haunting and macabre, also brings feelings of hope and comfort. The music itself has always been defined by crescendos, spending half the time in the quiet zone and the other soaring in stormy skies. Their latest offering, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, doesn't betray its predecessors. It begins with the stellar track- also showing their duality with it's title- "The Birth and Death of the Day," which starts things off with a lift, tears that lift apart, and then explodes- highlighted by the riff at the climax.
One difference with this album from their others is the pace at which they navigate their crescendos. These songs show a stronger diagnosis of this bipolarism than their last record, which can be heard on the tracks, "It's Natural to be Afraid" and "What do You go Home to?," the former the most obvious as it lingers and spurts for a while before picking it up toward the middle where it starts to use emphatic crescendos to make it one of the better tracks on the album. This album is also more optimistic than their last 2 albums. They use the piano at times to exude this on "What do You go Home to?" and most notably, on the finale, "So Long Lonesome," which is much different that anything Explosions has done(it's heavily-driven by the piano and, gasp- clocks-in under 4 minutes) but still has their signature sound there to claim it. The overall finest track on the record is probably "Welcome, Ghosts" as it highlights Explosions strengths and has the strongest melody.
hear: The Birth and Death of the Day, Welcome, Ghosts, It's Natural to be Afraid
www.explosionsinthesky.com
www.temporaryresidence.com
Drums and Guns (Sub Pop)
After an album like The Great Destroyer, you
would expect that given Low's recent history, they would have followed it up with a
record having the same dynamic, filtering their signature "slowcore"
sound within. Well, at least I would have. In fact, Drums and Guns isn't such a radical departure from their pre-Destroyer days, with it's haunting, echoing vocals layered over a minimalist type sound. The difference is the surprise: not only is Drums and Guns nothing like Destroyer,
it's even more minimal than anything they've released. But the
minimalism doesn't drown out and leave you unfulfilled. It's
accompanied by electronic back beats and loops which give the record a more experimental feel.
Alan Sparhawk has called [this element] hip-hop. And while it's far
from the standard hip-hop style, the experimentation is similar to how
hip-hop records are made, especially with- surprise- the drums. That's
why it's experimentation: Low aren't rappers.
The
result is one of restraint. You get the feeling Low could have busted
loose and really created some memorable songs for the kids if
they had wanted. But Low is satisfied with not letting loose and
comfortable with their pace. They know the songs are fine as
stripped-down as they are and don't force the issue. As with any Low
record, the lyrics are dark- but this time around- without much
gentleness. Alan Sparhawk has said that as far as he can tell, the
album is about killing. Really? "It looks like you could use a murderer" Sparhawk addresses his maker in the appropriately titled and stand-out track, "Murderer." Other titles like "Your Poison" and "Violent Past" state the case as well. Given the lyrical content, the title, Drums and Guns, seems less like a mantra to arms and rather an introspection of personal struggle.
The
irony is that Sparhawk and co. are self-proclaimed optimists and after
spending time with yours truly, I can attest to that. They're simply
masters of a craft. Like Flannery O'conner, who was able to access
and produce dark yet inspiring rhetoric, Low is able to tap into a
similar albeit musical vein, which slightly echoes a sense of
spirituality just as O'conner did. Low's previous album, while
definitely not music for Stuart Smiley, unveiled Low's rock-pop side and had
a sense of that optimism. But for all it's differences to The Great Destroyer, Drums and Guns
is a solid record that returns to Low's roots. It's nice to have the
old Low back, where instead of just telling us about darkness, they
calmly whisper the haunting into our ears.
www.chairkickers.com
www.subpop.com
