Tag Archives: western vinyl
Secret Cities – Pink Graffiti (Music Review)
Secret Cities
Pink Graffiti
Western Vinyl
Rating: 4 out of 5
Link: http://www.myspace.com/secretcitiesmusic
ZapTown’s review of Bright Teeth: http://www.zaptownmag.com/2010/05/secret-cities-bright-teeth-music-review
I once knew someone who wrote page after page of writings about William S. Burroughs. He was a student at the University, but his affairs had nothing to do with school, and his writings were not for a grade. He had an unrequited love for the man, and his writings were merely reflections of that.
Pink Graffiti is Secret Cities homage towards Brian Wilson. Not just Brian Wilson, per se, but the effects of Brian Wilson and his contribution to youth spirit and the endless summer.
These songs are purposefully fractured and in that they become more exposed to us. The band intertwines haunting pop melodies and damaged falsettos with that transitional alt rock from 1990. It’s a musical purgatory that we love but are never sure which direction it is going to take us. It makes us feel like we are standing on the edge of the world. Songs like “Boyfriends” or “Aw Rats” will give you that transcendental feel while the female-fronted “Slacker” and “Color” are just beautiful to listen to.
“Pink Graffiti Part 1,” which comes after “Part 2” is the standout (a song that also appeared on the Bright Teeth EP) as they give that hook you fall for every time. It’s a lush expression of pure pop bliss that is not afraid to push their experimental prowess in the same way Deastro takes his geeked out electronica to the next dimension.
When you walk away from this album, you may not feel completely emulsified in a glowing pop goodness, mostly because we know that Brian Wilson’s personable life was not always about “wild honey,” but like the musical martyr he is, Secret Cities bleeds out a symphony of good taste and a great album.
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Secret Cities – Bright Teeth (Music Review)
Secret Cities
Bright Teeth
Western Vinyl
Rating: 3 out of 5
Links:
Secret Cities: http://www.myspace.com/secretcitiesmusic
Western Vinyl: http://westernvinyl.com/
Previously when the band went by the name White Foliage, they received all kinds of acclaim for their usage of avant pop. The dreamier the better, and it worked to the band’s advantage.
Trading flora for the name Secret Cities, the band returns with a double-sided digital single named after the A Side song.
“Bright Teeth” begins with sporadic beat patterings and not so much the ethereal that White Foliage built but dirty electronic deep space. As the song builds, so does the layering. Give it a few minutes and the song really becomes wide-eyed good. And whether I would strip out the vocals and prefer the instrumental portion of the song, I am still contemplating the answer. The vocals has a place here and the recording distance of the haunting wails work to its advantage. Despite all of its analog goodness, there is a lack of depth to the song.
“Pink Graffiti Pt. 1” fills up the B Side with a more dance-tinged tune, in the context of say early Depeche Mode or Erasure synth pop. What starts out great and filled with wonder ends up being obscured by too much going on in the song. It does not rule out the song, but it keeps it from living up to the brilliance it should be.
Advantages and disadvantages, Bright Teeth is still worth the anticipation for their upcoming release Pink Graffiti.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.3MB)
Slow Six – Tomorrow Becomes You (Music Review)
Slow Six
Tomorrow Becomes You
Western Vinyl
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Link:
Slow Six: http://www.slowsix.com/
Western Vinyl: http://westernvinyl.com/
It’s not until song two, titled “Cloud Cover (Part One)” when you begin to notice that there is something special with this band. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing faulty with “The Night You Left New York.” But this band is more attractive when they loose themselves in obscurity, leaving the post-rock instrumentals to the late ‘90s
The cinematically suspenseful introduction for the first part while letting a single note hover in the air will snatch up your attention quick. It’s a matter of time before this song takes the shape of a crime film. Violins physically layer loop on loop and crescendos into a swirling climax of flowing drums and playful strings going all over the place.
How does Part II compare? It’s like the introverted brother who spent his time in the corner reading Gerard de Nerval. The song spins like a post-apocolyptic calm with sparse, intermittent streamings-turned-spatterings of notes that interludes into something that sounds like you heard on Dirty Three’s Ocean Songs, just without the drums and remixed by The Orb.
I could pluck through each and every song, but what it comes down to — especially as the album progresses — is that this is an album that is really just cool to listen to. The Nova-style electronics and the strings make for an easy listen that can either sit off in the background or be the sole focus of your attention.
Tomorrow Becomes You is a construct we are familiar with but this style of indie instrumental, we do not get to hear much of.
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Ola Podrida – Belly Of The Lion (Music Review)
Ola Podrida
Belly of the Lion
Western Vinyl
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Link: http://olapodrida.com/
Belly of the Lion is a gentle giant, seeping into your ear drums like a sleepy sunrise. Majestic and wistful, David Wingo’s combination of his smooth singing and smoother indie pop make for a wonderful sophomore release.
Although I can do without “Donkey” or “This Old World” and the unnecessary usage of the banjo, “The Closest We Will Ever Be” and “Lakes Of Wine” — containing the best use of the E-Bow I have heard — purely defines Wingo’s niche for incredible indie folk pop.
Whether in the soft-lit folk intimacy or a subtly sonic power pop construct, this man can make notes twinkle. The less he tries to bounce off of antique instruments and sound like Iron & Wine or Blind Pilot, and the more he tries to just be himself, the better. But then again, I’m more of a fan of his dapplings of shoegaze that softly creeps into much of this album.
And what makes Belly Of The Lion more impressive than the debut is that Wingo has stripped himself down to just himself and band mate Matthew Frank, proving that less is more and creating an illusion that the intimate moments become more intimate and the broader-based songs are fuller than what many full piece bands are capable of.
J. Tillman – Year In The Kingdom (Music Review)
J. Tillman
Year In The Kingdom
Western Vinyl
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
It’s hard to believe that this is Tillman’s sixth release. But it is, and Tillman continues to produce creative and expressive work.
Year In The Kingdom is an album that mixes Sunday morning soothe with transcendental Far East meditation. And that’s really as far as this release needs to go.
His acoustic style and comforting voice blends into breathable lyrics about searching, longing, and the essence of life. It’s as if Nick Drake was given a second chance and came back to do it again but this time was filled with a happy soul. Although not as tantric, this album takes the essence of the Bedhead Loved Macha (or visa versa) split and combines both styles together as a whole. Although not consuming the entire album (“Though I Have Wronged You, for example, veers away from what dominates this release) when he sticks to this formula, I’ve not heard notes played so elegantly.
Most importantly, Year In The Kingdom preserves the core elements of folk music the way it should be maintained: gentle, delicate and simply lovely in all that it entails. This is easy listening for the 19th Century.
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