Serenes Forest Music Geeks Club

[Dijon Mustard]

Panda Bear - Person Pitch

This is a solo album by Panda Bear (best known for his work with Animal Collective) that sounds kinda like a modern version of the Beach Boys built around psychedelic loops and samples. There are stretches driven by vocals, but it's mostly a "vocals as instrument" album. It can be hard to follow along at times on the first listen with all the shifts in dynamics, but it's become one of my favorite albums. Dreamy stuff.

[spoiler=album intro]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT3NVv7IZ8Q

[Life]

Week 2 and a new album to rate!

O'Brother (Disillusion) - Honestly, meh. They sound as if they're trying to be the new Radiohead and it doesn't work for me. There's no real flow to the album and moreover, I'm not impressed by them as I was by Eels. No interest to look for another album by them or even listen to this one again.

[Dijon Mustard]

went off and listened to the next 3 albums, and i have some #thoughts

[spoiler=week 2]
O'Brother - Disillusion

Post-metal brings out the licensed armchair psychologist in me because it can't help but sound like a band searching. Metal is plenty abstract as is, but ditching the world-building riffs the genre is known for leaves a large void of a sub-genre to wander in. And in this void we find O'Brother. If the album artwork for Disillusion is any indication, O'Brother is propelled by the haunting spectre of a memory or burden, or perhaps they're outright fleeing from it. Whatever the case, they're traveling lightly, only taking what they can easily transport: three guitars (tuned to sludge), Mike Patton-esque vocals (the varied approach to "Perilous Love" is so, so Patton), and the ambiance of a smokey pool hall (see "Come Into the Divide," "Radiance," and much of "Absence"). In lieu of conventional song structures or an overarching narrative, this is an album that hits in waves. It's more Panopticon than Oceanic, and less cohesive than either. The band sounds like they're having fun filling these blanks in the studio, if the industrial sounds on "Absence" are any indication. Occasionally they stumble upon a crunchy groove, though the grooves are always in the service of sound rather than structure. And that's the crux of the matter, really. They've torn everything down to the disparate components they like as music listeners, but what should they build with them as music makers? At present, they are young metal kids living from sound to sound, and young metal kids are the self-obsessive, self-indulgent sort. Which is fine! And there are moments here - "Oblivion" and "Disillusion" have legitimate builds and takeoffs, and falsetto is a pleasant thing. Whether or not you hitch your wagon to their white van (I imagine all underground bands in, say, a Ford Econoline) likely hinges on you sharing their visceral appreciation for a select number of sounds or on you falling for their vocalist. The question is where O'Brother goes from there, which was the question going into Disillusion. A young sludge metal band called Mastodon once drew inspiration by reimagining their white van as Moby Dick. It is my licensed-armchair-psychologist opinion that O'Brother would benefit from a white whale of their own. What void couldn't use a little world-building?
Would recommend to: Those who thought Cave In's Antenna was too songs-y
Favorite tracks: "Come Into the Divide," "Radiance"


Life Without Buildings - Any Other City

The temptation is to compare every female punk vocalist to Patti Smith, but Mark E. Smith records had a much more apparent impact on Any Other City. Cross the ranting of Mark E. with the so-called "chirp" of Japanese punk girls and you have Life Without Buildings vocalist Sue Tompkins. She is eager to persuade you that she has the right stuff, and she employs repetition to those ends rather than raising her voice. If you find yourself needing to rationalize her unique delivery ("She's an auctioneer trying to win you over before moving on to the next lyric, or something"), pick some metaphor before continuing with the album rather than brooding over it. If there's anything this album isn't about, it's brooding. Tompkins has the delivery of Mark E. Smith but none of the misanthropy, and she's fittingly accompanied by guitars that are downright sunny. Things really shimmer on "Juno" and "Envoys"; even the drive on "Young Offenders" is more likely to entrance than get your blood pumping. This formula can subsist on its own merits, but the context of post-punk makes it all the more satisfying. It turns out you don't have to be depressing to be a post-punk band (we as a species have more than enough Ian Curtis disciples, if you tally them up). Tompkins isn't a polished performer, but she never puts herself in a situation that would demand such a thing. She's also a deceptively good lyricist. On "Sorrow," the line "Eyes like lotus leaves, no not even like" accomplishes more than most songs can in their entirety, and it's tied together with the dreamy "sorrow, no... don't smoke in bed, with me" refrain. On "New Town," the line "Looking in your eyes" hits hard every time. Any Other City sticks to its formula, but moments like these are legion. Album of the Week.
Would recommend to: Those who like the sound of the band Perfect Pussy but feel awkward saying, "I like the sound of Perfect Pussy."
Favorite tracks: "Sorrow," "PS Exclusive," "Young Offenders," "New Town"


Michael Hedges - Live on the Double Planet

This is a-man-and-his-guitar romanticism taken to its acoustic limits, it would seem. Michael Hedges's output can be described as new-age music for the active listener. What makes Hedges so great is that he generates new-age vibes with his casual virtuosity rather than with gratuitous nature sounds (beluga whale mating calls, anyone??) or instrumental drone. "He's got this," in other words. On Live on the Double Planet, Hedges plays an eclectic set to keep the live crowd on their toes. He has nature soundtracks spiced up with technical ecstasy ("Because It's There," "Silent Anticipations"), crowd-pleasing covers ("All Along the Watchtower," "A Love Bizarre," "Come Together"), and funky avocados ("The Funky Avocado"). On top of the guitar heroics, he employs winning vocals with the sort of suitably effortless delivery you'd expect. His upper register on "A Love Bizarre" is damned impressive, as is the energy on "Come Together." As for the instrumental tracks, "Breakfast in the Field" is as lovely as they come. "The Double Planet" subtly rises and falls, as if to remind the audience that he has them in the palm of his right hand. This is a live set after all, and Hedges brings jokes to spare. His genre-dissecting on "The Funky Avocado" is spot-on (think Demetri Martin, but funnier), the tile "Because It's There" couldn't be better, and everyone loves a good Beatles joke. While it's nice to vibe to a tightly structured work of new age, a live set is the best way to capture the atmosphere Hedges is trying to create; his impassioned guitarwork comes so naturally that you might have to hear this kind of recording before you can be in on it. This is probably the most beyond-atmospherics backdrop you can find. You might even say music is his plaything, but only because he took it seriously enough to reach this level. And what's the point of reaching this level at something if you're not gonna have fun once you get there?
Would recommend to: Bikram Yoga enthusiasts, Satriani defectors, folk kids who demand more than twee strumming
Favorite tracks: "Because It's There," "Breakfast in the Field," "The Funky Avocado"

[Disinnocence]

Damn, Dijon. Always love reading your thoughts man.

As for my thoughts, I'll post them this weekend as I haven't actually listened to the other two albums this week, so I'll get to them tomorrow probably.
Hopefully we can actually have a wavelength session this week though.