Really Really Happy
The Muffs
Sympathy for the Record Industry SFTRI 749
2004
I was listening to "She Rocks" on KXLU a few weeks ago when I heard them play a bunch of Muffs songs to open the show. At first I was delighted, but then I realized this could not be good unless Kim Shattuck was there with them in the studio. Alas that was not the case, she had died of ALS and they were playing a tribute to her. I was shocked. I had just seen her and the Muffs at a show a few years ago where Shattuck performed with her usual exuberance and vitality. ALS seems a particularly cruel disease for someone who was such a dynamic and energetic person. Even as she was dying she had the will and determination to complete the final Muffs album which I find touching and inspiring. This was the Muffs' fifth album. My favorite record of theirs is "Blond and Blonder" but I don't have it on vinyl. I love this one almost as much though, so I think it is a worthy record for a tribute to her. It is more subdued than the first four albums, more power pop than pop punk with a cheerful feel to it as reflected in its apt title. Long time fans might miss the force of the earlier albums, Shattuck rarely even cuts loose with any of her trademark screams. I find it charming myself and appreciate her attempt to change her style without sacrificing her integrity. She delivers 17 delightful pop songs that make me feel really really happy just as advertised. There are several songs in the familiar Shattuck style - noisy, fast-paced, riff driven songs like "Freak Out," the ebullient "Really Really Happy," "The Whole World," the frenetic "By My Side" and the scream-laden "Oh Poor You." There is a more pronounced pop feeling and melodic sound to "A Little Luxury," "How I Pass the Time," "I'm Here I'm Not" and one of my favorite cuts, "My Lucky Day" with its exhilarating "wooo's" driving it home. Numerous songs have a traditional, retro pop sound like "Something Inside," "Everybody Loves You," the doo-wop flavored "Fancy Girl," and the girl group sounding "Slow." I really like the bouncy "Don't Pick On Me" which sounds like a Monkees or Raiders cover. "And I Go Pow" has a similar garage band sound to it. "My Awful Dream" is the most unique song on the record and one of the more unusual songs in the Shattuck catalog. It is an acoustic performance that showcases the expressiveness of Shattuck's voice as she croons the angst laden lyrics. It even features a harmonica solo. I love it. The album closes with the introspective "The Story of Me" in which Shattuck examines the contradictions within her but seems to be happy with who she is which sums up this album rather nicely. As much as I love the earlier Muffs albums, I have to admit that this one appeals to me more in many ways. I was quite taken by the ferocious energy and youthful humor of the debut album and "Blond and Blonder" back in the 1990s, but now that I'm older I'm appreciative of the maturity and sensitivity of Shattuck's music on this album. No one is ever going to mistake her for Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen, but there is a grace and purpose to her lyrics on this album that I find engaging. Although pop appeal has always been apart of her style, I greatly enjoy the more pronounced melodicism on this album. The growth displayed on this record makes her premature demise even sadder for me. I would have loved to hear what directions her music would have taken as she grew older. She was such a special artist, so bold and creative, I'm really going to miss her. Recommended to fans of Cub.
Summer in Abaddon
Pinback
Touch and Go Records TG237
2004
I have an acquaintance at work who is really into indie rock, he knows a lot more about it than I do, so I tend to respect his opinions about new bands. Several years ago he told me that his favorite band was Pinback which kind of shocked me. I had heard them a few times on the radio and wasn't all that impressed. His passion for the band prompted me to buy a couple of their CDs and I have to say they didn't knock me out. I decided to give them one more try on vinyl which is how I ended up with this record. At first I was irked by it. The cover is thin and flimsy and for notes the record company just stuck the CD booklet in the sleeve, I hate that. Despite that bad start, when I actually played it, I liked the record itself, it remains my favorite of their albums. I finally understood my co-worker's enthusiasm for them. The recording version of Pinback is Rob Crow and Armistead Burwell Smith IV who play all of the instruments and write the songs, they even record in their own homes, truly a DIY band but their records sound quite polished and professional. This album opens with "Non Photo-Blue" which is driven by a chunky riff with almost a reggae-like feeling as it examines a romantic break up using computer metaphors. Like nearly all of their songs, it has a dual contrapuntal vocal that I find very compelling. Neither Crow nor Smith is a particularly distinguished singer but their voices blend together extremely well. A moody slice of jangle pop with a powerful bass line, "Sender" is an impressive song even if I'm not sure what it is really about. The language of the song is stunning as it describes alienation and desperation. It is one of my favorite songs on the record. Most of Pinback's lyrics are tough for me to understand, but they are always interesting even when I'm baffled by them. "Syracuse" is one such song, I just have no idea what it means. It is probably the first pop song in history to make reference to a monotube. It has a simple repetitious riff, but builds in strength as it picks up speed and it uses its contrapuntal vocal structure to great effect. "Blood's on Fire" is a little easier song to figure out. It seems to be addressed to an anxiety-ridden old friend who has disappeared or died perhaps. It has the extraordinary line "pacing a faceless maw somewhere vague" that just knocks me out. Despite the anguish and tension in the lyrics, the music is slow and pleasant sounding, even poppy in places. "Fortress" ends the side with jangle pop and more unhappiness as it depicts a difficult if not tortured relationship. For a couple of guys from sunny and laid-back San Diego, Smith and Crow have a remarkably dark and anxious vision. "This Red Book" is an enigmatic litany of angst with another great contrapuntal vocal structure and a surprisingly poppy sound, at times it reminds me of Paul McCartney. "Soaked" uses a slinky groove to describe what sounds like a really bad evening. "3x0" delivers its surreal lyrics with a soaring melody that is almost uplifting. I'm not sure what the meaning is of a line like "your sentry men fall behind, into the sunspots we vanish away" but I find it really striking, just like the rest of the song. "The Yellow Ones" features ominous apocalyptic imagery over a hypnotic tune driven by some lovely piano riffs. "AFK" is the most extraordinary song on the album, the lyrics are stunning and the music is exciting and full of tension with many shifts in melody and texture. First rate alternative rock. It gives the album its title which judging from the grim imagery of the song seems to refer to a summer in hell (not in the literal sense.) The song is loaded with travel metaphors of a trip gone bad and concludes with what I believe is a reference to the Slint song "Good Morning, Captain" which appropriately enough uses a shipwreck to convey similar impressions to those generated by "AFK." It is a doom laden, yet propulsive ending to the album. Pinback is never going to be one of my favorite groups, they are too obscure and insular to reach me on a deep level, but I've come to respect and admire them a lot more than when I first heard them. By rock standards this is difficult music that requires a lot from the listener, but ultimately the reward justifies the effort. Recommended to fans of early R.E.M..
Cherry Tree
The National
Brassland Hwy 008
2004
I saw the National play the Hollywood Bowl as part of the "High Violet" tour and they blew me away. I was really surprised by how exciting their performance was, I love their albums but they generally seem so somber and melancholy. Their live show was electrifying, Matt Berninger is such a dynamic performer, he actually crowd surfed, no easy feat at the Bowl where the pit is full of rich guys sitting at tables sipping wine and munching on chicken. Near the end of the set Berninger picked up the onstage clock that tells the performers how much time they have left before the Bowl curfew and tossed it off the stage. I think he would have played all night if they would have let him. This was their third album, more of a mini-album really since it clocks in at just under 30 minutes. It contains six new songs plus a live version of "Murder Me Rachael" from their second album. It begins with "Wasp's Nest" which describes a woman the narrator desires. I don't know how many women would be flattered to be called a wasp's nest, but the song is pretty romantic. The woman sounds like trouble but apparently she is worth the risk. I love the verse "you're all humming live wires under your killing clothes," such an evocative line. The song features a seductive vocal from Berninger that utilizes his deep voice to great effect and it is full of lovely chiming guitar sounds and curiously the steady ringing of bells suggestive of a sleigh ride. The pace picks up with "All The Wine" which is so good that the group stuck it on their next album, "Alligator" as well. It is a wine-fueled statement of omnipotence and exuberance driven by riffing guitars and a rocking beat. "All Dolled-Up In Straps" couldn't be more different. It is a creepy statement of jealousy and paranoia with a moody melody featuring the melancholy drone of strings and stately piano chords. "Cherry Tree" is in a similar vein as the strings and piano again take charge of the musical color and Berninger evokes another tormented narrator, although in this case the subject of the song is desperately trying to avoid hearing the truth about his deteriorating relationship. It is a stunning song, it creates the tension and power that the National are so good at provoking with their best songs. "About Today" could be a sequel to "Cherry Tree." In this song the narrator has realized that his relationship is ending and is conveying his sense of helplessness about being powerless to stop it. It is a sad, quiet song with Berninger murmuring the words accompanied by a gorgeous string arrangement. Aside from maybe Belle and Sebastian I can't think of another rock group that utilizes strings as well as the National do. The record changes direction again with a ferocious live version of "Murder Me Rachael" from a French broadcast. If I had bought this record prior to seeing the National at the Bowl I would have had some idea of the maniac within Berninger that is unleashed in concerts. This is the hardest rocking song on the album but thematically this expression of jealous rage and insecurity is totally consistent with the other dysfunctional relationships described on the record. The album ends with "Reasonable Man (I Don't Mind) which was written by Padma Newsome who often plays with the band on tours and who does their string arrangements and orchestrations. Newsome and Berninger duet on the song which is a quiet acoustic number with a pair of delicate string solos. It is the flipside of all these songs about the irrationality of love, in this case the narrator is too cautious and rational to acquire and retain the object of his affection. Compared to the greatness of "Alligator," "Boxer" and "High Violet" this record is kind of minor in the National's oeuvre, but I find that I play it quite a bit. All the songs are worthwhile and a couple of them rank among the band's best songs so if you are a fan you definitely should have this and it sounds great on vinyl. Recommended to high-strung Leonard Cohen fans.
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
Domino E92441
2004
When I became obsessed with Belle and Sebastian back in the late 1990s I started following the Scottish pop scene. I discovered a lot of really good bands that way. That was how I first heard of Franz Ferdinand. They didn't sound all that interesting to me, but I filed them away in my brain as a topic for future investigation. Then before I knew it, they broke big in the United States rapidly becoming the biggest Scottish band over here much to my surprise. "Take Me Out" was all over the airwaves and I saw videos of these sharp-dressed pretty boys playing their dance pop and dismissed them as the Duran Duran of the 2000s. I had some female friends who were really into them and they would come back from shows raving about them but I wasn't convinced. Then I came across a sealed vinyl copy of their debut album in a thrift store and decided to pick it up for a spin and realized that they were better than I thought. This album may be a bit lightweight and derivative, but it is never dull and it gets me hopping. A lot of it is insanely catchy dance pop, like the two hits "Take Me Out" and "This Fire" as well as "The Dark of the Matinee" which has an enticing theatrical feeling to it and some of the most sophisticated lyrics on the record. "Auf Achse," "Darts of Pleasure," "Michael" and "Come on Home" are also designed for the dance floor and really deliver the goods. There is a 1980s flavor to these songs but they are mostly guitar driven rather than synth driven much to my approval. You can also hear art rock-ish elements suggestive of Roxy Music or David Bowie particularly in Alex Kapranos' mannered vocals. The big hooky bass lines and spiky rhythm guitar recall the New Wave funk of Talking Heads or Gang of Four. Some songs deviate from the formula. My favorite song is "Jacqueline" which starts slow like a cabaret song and then the pounding bass kicks in soon joined by a killer guitar riff and an exciting nouveau-garage style song ensues that sounds like the Strokes only better. The riff-happy "Cheating on You" is another first rate rocker that really gets me going. "Tell Her Tonight" sounds like 80s punk-funk in the verses but goes 1960s in the chorus, I find the shifting textures and driving beat very compelling. Almost all the songs deal with romance aside from "40'" which is about a diver contemplating the water below him and features some of my favorite guitar work on the record. As far as intelligent dance pop goes, this album is a real winner. It is relentless in its drive and compulsive beat, I can't sit still when it is playing, but it also has clever lyrics and musical variety. I find a lot of dance pop to be either inane or monotonous, okay for a club or party, but not for listening. In contrast Franz Ferdinand appreciate traditional pop values and write well-crafted songs. I give them extra points as well for their use of Russian Constructivism in their design graphics. Recommended for smart kids who like to dance.
