As always, these are just songs I’ve been listening to lately, or recently heard for the first time, and may not actually be new songs.
Unusual to see a pop band combining synths, heavy bass, and actual string instruments, and the approach is a little hit or miss, but works well on “Boy,” which combines an unconventional structure, an active bass line, and a vocal that sounds like Morrissey trying to go up an octave for a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. Their second single, “Too Dramatic,” veers a little too far into Erasure territory for me, but “Boy” has just enough muscle from that bass line to avoid that fate. (Speaking of Erasure, Yeasayer’s “O.N.E.
“Standing Next To Me
There’s a pretty strong ’60s vibe to this song, from the chamber-pop arrangement in the background to the paired male vocals. I guess I really like Alex Turner’s work; I heard the song without realizing that it was the side project of the Arctic Monkeys’ lead singer. It’s impressive to hear something so clean and melodic from Turner, better known for the more aggressive (but still hook-laden) music from the Monkeys’ first two albums.
“Blue Blood Blues
Speaking of side projects, here’s Jack White’s heavy, grungy blues-rock act Dead Weather, now on their second album. It’s reminiscent of early Zeppelin, or some of the album tracks from later in their career, the kind of music I think Jimmy Page always wanted to play but that was subjugated to more commercial considerations. (I mean, “Fool in the Rain” is an all-time classic, but doesn’t sound much like Led Zeppelin.) Anyway, “Blue Blood Blues” has the sort of huge guitar riffs I expect from White’s heavier work, except that I’m pretty sure he plays drums on the track. Go figure.
I feel like side projects and similar collaborations have finally come back in vogue after twenty-plus years where they were absent from the music scene, presumably for legal reasons. (If something sucks in the entertainment world, blame the lawyers. It’s probably their fault.) I’m hearing more groups like these last two and more covers of contemporary songs, both things that were fairly common in the late ’60s and early ’70s and led to a fairly fertile period in American and British rock music. I hope it doesn’t fall out of fashion again, and that the barristers don’t catch on to what’s happening.
So I got this album right after the xx won the Mercury Prize, and even if I can get past the extremely muted production, I just don’t see this music as worthy of such a high honor. It’s minimalist, but that’s been done before, and done better. It’s despairing and even lonely, but that’s been done before, and done better. It’s not bad music, certainly better than 90% of what’s out there, but I don’t hear anything wildly new or inventive here. “Islands” is the standout track to me, the one I’d choose to listen to again, with more texture than most of the songs on the album, and it has one of the most inventive videos I’ve seen in ages.
“The Mighty Sparrow
Grabs you right from the opening line – “When the cafe doors exploded” – and … well, it does sort of let go in the middle, but the song is short and punchy with a driving drum-and-bass line that keeps the energy level up. You can hear some influence from early punk stalwarts Fugazi and Minor Threat. It wouldn’t hurt ol’ Teddy to try some new clothing stores, though.
“Barricade
A real disappointment; I liked a lot of Interpol’s earlier singles, especially “Slow Hands,” which drove them as deep into Joy Division territory as any band has gone, but “Barricade” feels choppy and discordant where their best singles have all been surprisingly melodic under the histrionic vocal style.
“Chelsea Dagger
Released in 2006, the year that was something of a black hole for my music awareness, this is the sort of snotty uptempo British rock song of which I can’t seem to get enough, and reminds me strongly of Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta.” Apparently “Chelsea Dagger” has become a popular song at football (i.e., soccer) matches across Europe, which makes sense since it has the feel of a modern drinking song. I’m not sure why the lead singer is trying to look like Jack White in the video, though.
“Where I’m Going” – Cut Copy
This is straight-up early Britpop, done over by a popular Australian group who must have been raised on Blur, James, and Belle & Sebastian. I didn’t stand a chance against this one. You can get the track for free if you click on the link in the song title, or just click here.
“A More Perfect Union
The video edit runs just 3:35, but at seven minutes the album version eventually devolves into a bloated mess. The beginning has some brilliant lyrics combining references to baseball, New England geography, and popular music, mentioning the Fung Wah bus and including lines like “And when I stand tonight, ‘neath the lights of the Fenway/Will I not yell like hell for the glory of the Newark Bears?” and “And I never let the Merritt Parkway magnetize me no more.” The song leads off their newest album, The Monitor, which I found absolutely wearing for its unrelenting cynicism. Yes, I said that.
“Old Fangs
I joked on Twitter that this song reminded me of when I was at Woodstock, and at least two followers asked me if I was indeed there. (The answer is no, for what I presume is an obvious reason.) It’s psychedelic rock but in the context of heavy stoner rock; any song with a Hammond organ is going to bring late ’60s/early ’70s psychedlia to mind. It also pulls the trick of sounding much longer than it is, perhaps the result of my mind being trained to think of songs in this vein lasting a good 12 to 15 minutes.