Monday, April 05, 2004
you gotta stay sober at work
I received a big package in the mail last week from DOA; here are a few quick thoughts on this latest batch of promos.
Animal Collective – Sung Tongs: I’m sure these guys would probably annoy a lot of folks, since their songs rarely resemble, you know, songs, and they can occasionally get a bit too precious. But it doesn’t bother me when, in the song where they sing about cats, they all start meowing. I don’t know how they relate to what some people call “weird folk”, but Animal Collective seems to be working towards something similar, and I’ve found them to a bit better than some of the artists associated with that “scene”.
Les Savy Fav – Inches: Their singles compilation is better than any of their albums. And I like their albums.
Loscil – First Narrows: Haven’t given this a thorough listen yet, but it seems to be just about exactly what you’d expect from a Kranky release. Whoa, these drones are ambient. Some droning ambience here, babe. It’s like taking a bath, or something – a bath in the cosmos. And who takes baths anymore? Other than little kids and relaxing housewives. But from the ten minutes or so I’ve listened to it, Loscil seems alright. Definite Equinox material.
Jason Kahn and Jon Mueller – Papercuts: A couple of dudes try to pull a Matmos, making a record using nothing but sounds derived from paper. Unlike Matmos, they seem to make no attempt at melody or song structure or anything. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. I put this disc on at work the other day, and after about three minutes I had to get up and leave my work station. I left the record running. Ten minutes later I returned, and it sounded exactly like it did when I left. No discernible change or differentiation whatsoever.
Cheval De Frise – Fresques Sur Les Parois Secretes Du Crane: Free-jazz / rock fusion with drums and acoustic guitar, from France. I’ve listened to this a couple of times thus far, and it’s really quite great. Maybe the best record from a band I’d never heard of that I’ve yet to receive from DOA.
Eventually I’ll be writing full reviews for these things over at DOA. Also eventually I’ll really make a difference. Somehow.
I received a big package in the mail last week from DOA; here are a few quick thoughts on this latest batch of promos.
Animal Collective – Sung Tongs: I’m sure these guys would probably annoy a lot of folks, since their songs rarely resemble, you know, songs, and they can occasionally get a bit too precious. But it doesn’t bother me when, in the song where they sing about cats, they all start meowing. I don’t know how they relate to what some people call “weird folk”, but Animal Collective seems to be working towards something similar, and I’ve found them to a bit better than some of the artists associated with that “scene”.
Les Savy Fav – Inches: Their singles compilation is better than any of their albums. And I like their albums.
Loscil – First Narrows: Haven’t given this a thorough listen yet, but it seems to be just about exactly what you’d expect from a Kranky release. Whoa, these drones are ambient. Some droning ambience here, babe. It’s like taking a bath, or something – a bath in the cosmos. And who takes baths anymore? Other than little kids and relaxing housewives. But from the ten minutes or so I’ve listened to it, Loscil seems alright. Definite Equinox material.
Jason Kahn and Jon Mueller – Papercuts: A couple of dudes try to pull a Matmos, making a record using nothing but sounds derived from paper. Unlike Matmos, they seem to make no attempt at melody or song structure or anything. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. I put this disc on at work the other day, and after about three minutes I had to get up and leave my work station. I left the record running. Ten minutes later I returned, and it sounded exactly like it did when I left. No discernible change or differentiation whatsoever.
Cheval De Frise – Fresques Sur Les Parois Secretes Du Crane: Free-jazz / rock fusion with drums and acoustic guitar, from France. I’ve listened to this a couple of times thus far, and it’s really quite great. Maybe the best record from a band I’d never heard of that I’ve yet to receive from DOA.
Eventually I’ll be writing full reviews for these things over at DOA. Also eventually I’ll really make a difference. Somehow.
