Photograph by Jason Nocito
I was certain I wanted to be a firefighter while growing up. The conviction never materialized, yet the gleam of red fire engines, the whirr of sirens, and Dalmatians delighted me to no end. Despite an acute fear of fire alarms, misinterpretation of complex escape routes, and general dislike for flames– the dream lived on. Daily tasks became romanticized adventures, watering the flowers became extinguishing a dangerous blaze, tree houses were burning high-rises, and each kitten I encountered was in dire need of rescue. Lack of expertise and knowledge was supplemented by a passionate fervour. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally render this lush reminiscence and embrace childhood dreaminess on their latest record. On January 26, the duo also known as Beach House released their third LP titled Teen Dream on Sub Pop.
Following Devotion, the pair has developed stylistically shaking off prior inhibitions and settling on a comfortable withdrawal. The record is their most accessible effort, yet demands an appreciation that is fostered over several spins juxtaposed with Victoria’s haunting words. Beach House flourishes on the opening track ‘Zebra’ with the infectious chant, “Any way you run, you run before us, black and white horse arching among us.” The album approaches simplicity in reverse, synthesizers and snares melt together as each successive play reworks preceding complexity. The effect sounds effortless and hypnotic. Less than three tracks into Teen Dream the familiar swelling hymns of ‘Norway’ leave listeners afloat in youthful idealism. Awash in delicate melodies, the Baltimore duo makes it easy to dream, so much so that reverie is not forfeited on practical circumstances but rather blossoms within castles in the sky.
Teen Dream inspires an adolescent yearning on tracks like ‘Lover of Mine’ falling fittingly into the backseat of your car hidden amongst make-out mixtapes. The record spellbinds in the way you looked at the volleyball team donning knee-high socks and neon gym shorts, it teases like the notes passed between lectures, concealing a subtle sentiment in graceless growth. It beckons the gentle beauty of revisiting rather than heedlessly exploring. Beach House’s brand of dream pop is a sympathetic progression in sound, the fondness of their previous records held dearly at heart tangled with a new patience and understanding. The record has a dynamic flow of droning whispers and playfully plucked chords as it sweeps away static lulls. Beach House may take you to unexpected places, but the trip is far more enjoyable with eyes closed – it leaves more to the imagination.
Beach House – Zebra
Beach House – Norway
Beach House – Lover of Mine
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Photograph by Bevis Martin and Charlie Youle
Hot Chip are back, and they’re much the same as they’ve always been. The past year has found them covering both Vampire Weekend and Joy Division, so the time is ripe for some original material. One Life Stand was billed as a slightly more downtempo album after the exuberance of Made in the Dark, and while there are moments where the band experiments with some new styles, the title track finds them remaining within the confines of their familiar bouncy electro-dance rock. While I fully expected to fall instantly in love with this album as I have with their previous efforts, my reaction is far more conflicting than I expected.
There are several songs I absolutely love, first and foremost ‘Alley Cats’. Hot Chip first hooked me with their slower numbers, like ‘Boy from School’ and ‘Crap Kraft Dinner’, and ‘Alley Cats’ is just as moody, wistful, and wonderful as its predecessors. The New Order-esque ‘I Feel Better’ is another standout. You could argue any electro/rock/pop band today has been influenced by New Order and you’d probably be right, but the use of synthesizer on this track blended with more traditional Hot Chip elements works incredibly well. Joe Goddard takes lead vocals on ‘Take It In,’ where he poses somewhat tedious questions like what to do after watching Wheel of Fortune, contrasting with the soaring harmonies of the chores, making a great closing song.
On the other hand, One Life Stand gets bogged down by two tracks that jump out as being terrible. ‘Slush’ finds Alexis Taylor inexplicably setting a Jackie Gleason quote to music, though I think incorporating the phrase “Bang, zoom, straight to the Moon!” would’ve been a better tribute to the love of Ralph and Alice Kramden. Honeymooners references aside, the song causes the album to lose a ton of momentum, and along with the Euro-dance track ‘We Have Love’, feels rather out of place. Of course, two songs can’t break an album, and by all accounts One Life Stand is still pretty good, but Hot Chip have set the bar so high that it comes off as slightly disappointing.
Hot Chip – Alley Cats
Hot Chip – Take It In
Hot Chip – I Feel Better
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Photograph by Chris Frampton
To reiterate a common cliché; the fear with a sophomore release is always the expectations listeners have built-up from the first album. This is especially problematic for the instantly-adored indie sensations, the Bloc Partys and the MSTRKRFTs of the world. For these bands future releases often fall flat just by virtue of the success of the debut. This however is not the case with the second full-length from Toronto-based, dance-rockers Woodhands.
The duo’s debut Heart Attack was not an album that garnered much immediate attention from myself or that internet echo-chamber of the blogosphere. It was an under the radar release, mostly known by CBC3 devotees and other passionate followers of Canadian indie. However, as understated as the band’s publicity may have been, their music and their live act was anything but.
The pair, comprising of synth and keytarist Dan Werb (a west-coaster and originally the band’s only member) and drummer Paul Banwatt of the Rural Alberta Advantage, began packing small venues in university towns across the country in 2008. The shows were an over the top performance of electro-pop energy. It was as though they knew they had to work twice as hard to relay the same kind of energy as your average four person act. This tactic seemed to pay real dividends however, with the act’s stage presence being accurately described as “super-human.”
Super-human strength worked well to deliver Heart Attack’s material to live audiences. The music was emotionally charged, but the object was to sweat out those emotions in a mass of bodies gyrating to the infectious electro offerings. Remorsecapade has not lost any of that raw energy or emotionality, but it fails to capture and record that energy for the at-home listener. The album comes on too strong and a little too unpolished for a recorded effort.
Woodhands – Dissembler
Woodhands – Coolchazine
Woodhands – I Should Have Gone With My Friends
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2007’s Welcome to the Night Sky was a breakthrough for Wintersleep, a band near and dear to my heart. I never would have imagined that ‘Weighty Ghost’ would be the song to bring them widespread recognition, but it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group. Members of the band have taken part in numerous side projects, including Holy Fuck and Contrived, but lead singer Paul Murphy has largely remained quiet. With its roots in a gift for his mother and helped along with a bottle of scotch, Postdata is performed and written by Paul, while mixed and recorded by his brother Michael.
While Contrived is an extension of the louder aspects of Wintersleep, Postdata is a sombre collection of sparse home recordings, echoing the simple production of Wintersleep’s self-titled album, particularly songs like ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Ambulance’. The focus here is almost entirely on Murphy’s voice and an acoustic guitar. Familiar themes of mental illness and death surface throughout the album. Highlights include the haunting character study of ‘Tobias Grey’ and opening track ‘Lazarus’. Murphy’s lyrics are as strong as ever, shifting from conversational to stream of consciousness, remaining cryptic but with a passion that is all too clear.
Much like Julian Plenti did last year for Interpol, Postdata provides us with some much needed new material as we await the new Wintersleep album, set for release in May. The better side projects produce music that would not be possible in the main band. Wintersleep’s harder edge precludes the possibility of many quiet acoustic songs, but Postdata provides a loving sanctuary for songs that might have otherwise gone unheard.
Postdata – Tobias Grey
Postdata – Lazarus
Postdata – Eclipse
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Photograph by Autumn De Wilde
In the pirate blogosphere culture of our recently ushered in decade, it can be hard to keep an album under wraps. Just ask Spoon. With whispers of leaks plaguing the unveiling of Transference, they moved up the North American release date of their seventh album to January 19, seven days ahead of schedule, even featuring a stream on NPR’s First Listen to satiate the clamouring internet crowds. The hype is not surprising, given the wait between their latest LP and 2007’s critically acclaimed Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Frontman Britt Daniels has a history of pushing the average pop/rock listener slightly out of their comfort zone through Spoon’s edgy vibes. Transference pushes the boundaries in a different way than expected: not an in your face return album, but with Spoon’s flair for paring the music down.
The album starts off with eerie organs, gradually joined by a variable fidelity track of Daniels’ unique yelped singing and sparsely strummed guitar. When the vocal layering comes in mid-track, I wonder if the album would have been more appropriately titled Transcendence. Shiver inducing. Most of the remaining tracks bounce with uncomplicated but well-executed structures (‘Is Love Forever?’, ‘Mystery Zone’), in Spoon’s classic style. To me, the anthemic ‘Got Nuffin’ (previously released as an EP in June 2009) feels the most like a big ticket production number; this album’s answer to ‘The Underdog’. Then comes ‘Who Makes Your Money’, its stripped-down synth and digitized vocals reminiscent of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’s ‘The Ghost of You Lingers’.
A significant detractor is the comparative scarcity of Spoon’s standard quirky lyrical play. Daniels’ normally quick-witted one man banter is seemingly replaced with blatant proclamations and undecorated honesty. Take the aptly titled ‘Nobody Gets Me Like You’ for example: “No one gets what I’m doing/Everyone else seems to look through it/Oh, but maybe I never wanted them to/Couldn’t count on it anyway/Nobody gets me/Nobody cuts me like you.” There’s still something ensnaring about Britt’s boldfaced approach, as if he gets to the point of the songs without clouding them with words.
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