EDITOR'S NOTE: This first installment of WE DESERVE BETTER, a series about recent releases that haven't knocked our socks off, is courtesy of guest blogger Emily Popek. Thanks, E!
I’m going to be totally honest here - I kind of like No Doubt. I was in denial about it for a long time, pretending like I actually hated them. Their breakout single, “Just a Girl,” was pretty damned annoying, and don’t even get me started on “Spiderwebs.”
But somewhere along the line, they wormed their way into my consciousness. I grudgingly enjoyed Gwen Stifani’s vocals on the Dr. Dre-produced Eve single “Let Me Blow Your Mind.” And when 2001’s Rock Steady came out, I just plain liked it. With its playful, dancehall-inspired beats, it was fun, catchy and just different enough from the rest of the pop landscape that it actually seemed creative.
For 2012’s Push and Shove, the one-time ska band is sticking with the formulas that have brought it such success up until now: dancehall- and ska-tinged pop tunes; harder-driving “rock” songs tinged with electro; and the occasional ballad that allows Stefani to swan around in a music video looking like a starlet.
But there’s a problem...
...and its name is Santigold. In the intervening 10 years between Rock Steady and Push and Shove, she moved in and started doing what No Doubt does, only better and fresher and newer.
Push and Shove opens with the track “Settle Down,” which is so Santigold-like at the outset that the casual listener could be forgiven for thinking it is her - right up until Gwen Stefani says she’s “hella positive” about something or other, and breaks into a whiny chorus reminding us that, as Madonna and Paula Abdul proved, you don’t need range to be a pop star.
“Looking Hot” is like a repackage of Rock Steady’s “Hella Good,” without the catchy hook. And it’s downhill from there.
In a way, it’s not really fair. No Doubt were technically there first, signing to Interscope when Santigold was still 10 years away from starting her music career. But when her eponymous album came out in 2008, Santi managed to make blending ska, 80s pop and dance music sound totally original, as though No Doubt had never existed.
If there is a standout track here, it’s “Settle Down,” and that’s only because it sounds so different from the rest of the bland pop offerings dished up on Push and Shove. Overall, this is an album without a reason to exist - and one that fails to stand up, not only to the competition, but to the band’s own back catalogue.
Hi everybody, it's time to clear out the ol' inbox again? HAhAHAHAHA, just kidding, the inbox will never get clear. That's just the nature of the beast. But what isn't beastly is that I do get to listen to a lot of awesome new music, and make fun of a lot of really bad music. It's all in the spirit of the thing, so put on your anti-douche belt and come along with me.
Now, one of the best ways to get featured on this blog is to ask nicely, and not make some really uninspired joke about how your music is Crappy enough. We've heard that one, seriously. We really have. So it is fortunate that SoCal singer-songwriter Nicole Lexi Davis is polite. Or, at least her PR people are. On Davis's website, her bio suggests that she is a "throwback" to good ol' 70s female balladeering. I like the intellectual honesty of describing yourself as a throwback. Much like the way Peter Gabriel unashamedly describes his own sampling as "stealing". As far as music goes, Davis does indeed show much of the wide-open lush sounds that I personally have come to associate with "Blue"/"Hissing"-era Joni, and also with being 5, reading "Just So Stories" on a cold morning with some hot Cream o' Rice. A strong showing- only lacking in tracks like "Popsicle" that sound- honestly- like someone trying to nail down their tempo with a drum machine for the first time. But so it goes. Keep up the good work Nicole!
Hi, Britches! I didn't realize CopShootCop had gotten back together! As much I was initially pleased to hear a resurrection of that sound, somehow it just didn't gel for me. I don't think it's so much that I'm old, as I will still cheerfully crank up "Ask Questions Later", but to hear this from a new release just doesn't seem to fit into the weltanschaung, if you'll pardon my french. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Britches' music, and I'm sure there is an indie circus troupe out there just waiting for their soundtrack, but for the moment I just don't see it rotating on my personal playlist any time soon. Note: their upcoming album project is entitled "The Reptal Centiguiner", and I'm not sure how much more awesome that could be, so keep an eye on Britches.
BORONOXYKITTEN- "The Streets Were Paved With Circuit Boards"
Well, the Field Hymns label has been sending me some stuff about their artist Boron for a while now, and there has been such a self-indulgent air of cleverness about the whole thing that I have really been struggling to give half a rusty tinker's fuck. Portland doesn't need any bad musical mystery figures- we have a good one. The world doesn't need a musique concrete versions of Jandek- the real thing is poking around somewhere ruining someone's day. The funny thing is, when I went to the Field Hymns site (I had to, there were no music samples, and I definitely don't give a shit about his guest players or the release date of his on-again-off-again titled-not-titled new album) I suddenly found myself interested in their releases, because that, children, is the power of description.
Normally I cringe when artists or artists' reps go from beige to purple in their descriptive mode, but who can resist the description of Oxykitten's new album: the sound of John Carpenter making hip-hop instrumentals for long, sweaty nights - a sound from the era when a man had a better chance of getting knifed in Times Square than finding Gelato....drum machines and old synths barrel down alleys thick with grime and groove, where police and disco lights beat in tandem and the dirty beats sluggishly refuse to die..
I know, right? Holy shit. Who wouldn't want to listen to that? Well, after going to Oxykitten's site, I found that their music (as played on an emulated old school tape peripheral) didn't have much going for it: vintage computer game samples, meandering uninspired synths, and a lot of garagey noise. And speaking of cassettes- Field Hymns mostly puts out their new releases on cassettes. Why? Fucking why? And another thing- if your website is going to have a mock TRS-80 as the primary interface, then the motherfucking BREAK button had better do something. Like stop the music
You see, zeerust is only effective as a prominent part of the image until a hipster shits on it. We've seen lounge come and go, letting people listen to it now unironically. Which is for the best. I'd really like to see the late-70s/early-80s big glasses and too-short-shirt thing go away now. You motherfuckers had best step back from my Venture Bros. And stop tempting me with your websites that promise creative, spacey goodness, and supply only half-hearted pastiche! That's all I want. My birthday is coming up. Surprise me.
Oh, thank goodness. After that last one, if it had to be intense, I wouldn't have made it. The I.D didn't have much to say about their music, and that was just fine. "Age Anti Age" reminds me of a certain band back when they were good and when their singer could keep the damn sunglasses off his face. Here is a retro sound that is completely without pretense, and I can get behind that. There's also a pleasant thickness to the sound, a rolling off of the top end that fits quite well. Good job, kids!
Um. So, I should have seen the writing on the wall with this one. Or, rather, the writing in the email. Look- maybe it sounds harsh, but we don't really have many specific requirements on the submissions we get. It shouldn't have to be spelled out that if you're going to communicate to someone in a professional capacity, you should actually, I don't know... communicate. Crappy Indie Music may not be Rolling Stone, but we're also not your stoned texting buddy. So if you want to know anything about Ra Far, here is what he/it has to say:
bio- Ra Far is a revolutionary artist he makes all his own artwork and music. Ra Far grew up in Woodstock, GA with a lot of music influences from acoustic rock to hip hop, through the years he has found a new type sound that has been said to be like a combination of Christofer Drew and Tyler, the Creator. A weird combination, but its refreshing. His mixtape (FFN) is coming out on 11/11/11 for free at OtherOr.org
genre- Experimental
Once again, you might feel that I'm being too harsh, so perhaps I'll let the music- the watered down, flat, boring rap- speak for itself. Seriously, I thought I had problems with flow.
Well, I always like to end things with a digestif. What better way to clear out the taste of objectionable rap with some brilliant postpunk? UK-based Strange Mangers may not reinvent the wheel, following very closely on the heels of their own cited influences like Tortoise, Don Caballero, etc., but going with that, they shine. It's always nice to see bands just going with it, and doing well.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go rock. Good night everyone!
Resident Scout is the solo project of 17-year-old Hobey Kuhn from Nashville, TN. He recorded and mixed his entire album, My Greatest Sympathies, in a studio built by himself and his brother, playing all the instruments himself.
The music has a fairly straight-up instrumentation; drums, guitar, bass, and Kuhn's deep voice. The music is catchy, indie rock with a touch of grunge and 90's alternative influences. My favorite track was "The Ballad of the Girl and The Well" a catchy, twisted song with a happy tune and clapping supporting a tale of death and destruction.
England seems to be a haven for great pop right now, and Bordeauxxx are an excellent example of this.
Their songs are catchy and clever, interspersing sparse bass, drums and vocals with sparkling, thick instrumental chorsues and layered vocal harmonies. They're skilled musicians, and it shows; they also know how to balance complication and simplicity to make a really great pop song. I have two complaints about the band - they haven't put out a full album (though their recent EP, Mother's Ruin, is available for free download, or you can buy the CD for 2 pounds) and they claim they don't have enough money to come to the States and hang out with me.
Recently, I've been driving the I-5 corridor a lot from Portland to Seattle. And not surprisingly, that drive has included a lot of listening to music, and rediscovering some new and old favorites.
One of these perennial favorites that keeps popping up is a compilation of 1960's girl group music. And though a lot of it is cheesy, sexist or just plain creepy, I love it. I love the vocal harmonies, the production, the pure poppiness.. and I love the frequently ridiculous spoken interludes most of all.
I'm sure most of you have heard "Leader of The Pack" by the Shangri-La's.. but there are many other songs which use the same technique. Here's one of my favorites - "Nightmare" by the Whyte Boots (who are pictured looking appropriately dangerous to my right) Though I don't miss a pop-culture sterotype of women who only want to go to the beach (or the bad side of town, or the hop) in order to find the boyfriend who will love her forever (or until he breaks her heart, or gets killed in a motorcycle crash), there's something about this kind of music that I just can't get enough of. And I ask you, dear readers, is there anyone out there now doing something that can be classified as an direct descendant of this stuff? (because I don't know.) And also, what bygone music styles are you nostalgic for? Or what music do you love even though its message sometimes makes you want to gag? and finally, a girl group song dissing a guy, rather than moping over him : "I'd Much Rather Be With The Girls" Donna Lynn.
I was pretty excited to receive a CD from Tribella. A three-piece, all woman band from Austin, trained in classical piano and jazz? Sounds pretty sweet. Unfortunately, the result is relatively unremarkable. They're talented, they have good instrumental skills, good voices, and good production. A little too good, a little too mainstream. I expect them to be singing "Soak up the sun". The title track, "My Guest List," and #4 "Saucer Eyes" are notable for their girl-power, I don't need some man to treat me wrong, I'm in a rock band attitude, but stylistically, I'd still rather have Bratmobile tell me that. Don't want to take my word for it? The whole EP is available for free to listen on their website.
Turnpike Glow is composed of two Italians and two British guys now all living in the UK. The band was started by Giuseppe and Sandro in Italy, and after starting to play a few shows in the UK, they decided that London was the place for them, and Ben and Anthony joined the band to complete the rhythm section. Unfortunately, I only have three of their songs to listen to, Monday Suitcase, Warranty, and Poppy's Portrait. Through these songs, I have a good picture of the band. It's immediately obvious why the founders decided to emigrate - their sound is very brit-pop, though the electronics on Monday Suitcase and to a lesser extent Poppy's Portrait remind me of the Super Furry Animals from a neighbouring isle. Monday Suitcase starts out slow with sustained guitar chords and piano, shortly bringing in a strong beat and some electronic sounds, with vocals following. The vocal arrangements are one of the strongest points of the band - catchy tunes with well-placed harmonies. (And as a sometimes backup singer, I know it's not as easy as it sounds.) Warranty opens with some aahs and oohs and develops into a tight, guitar driven pop song. Poppy's Portrait is more slow, quiet and simple. I do have one serious complaint about these guys.. they just haven't produced enough material. I would like to hear more, and now! Groovy brit-pop with an electronic touch, showing that Italians do, in fact, do it better. Their Myspace suggests that new music is forthcoming soon.. I can't wait!
