The Lucksmiths – Spring a Leak

I’m sure the Lucksmiths have a very strong and devout following, both within and outside of their native Australia. But I’ve always wondered why this brilliant pop band never achieved the same level of recognition as Death Cab for Cutie or even Belle & Sebastian. The Lucksmiths have been toiling at least as long as those bands and released insanely catchy and wonderfully crisp and pure pop songs that just beg to be heard everywhere, perhaps the most well-known being “T-shirt Weather.”

It may be because the Lucksmiths have a penchant for melancholy songs instead of simply catchy pop. Even these songs, however, are bright and crisp, buoyed by Tali White’s amazing vocals and the light guitar underpinning. And sometimes the band gets creative with harmonica and other instrumentation, on occasion adding guest female vocals. I suppose the band’s following has been big enough to keep this three-piece together for a slew of brilliant full-lengths, singles, EPs, and compilation appearances.

Those hodge-podge songs are brought together on Spring a Leak, a marvelous two-disc set of assorted tracks that span more than a decade. It’s not a best-of by any means, and some of the older songs or rough cuts find a band much less crisp and precise than I have been led to expect. But there’s not really a clunker here, except for, maybe, the noisy and experimental “I Prefer the Twentieth Century” or the countrified “Are You Having a Good Time??” and guitar-band-sounding “Camera-Shy.”

The Lucksmiths have covered a host of pop bands, especially those from Australia. The album opens with the absolutely brilliant Siddeleys cover “Falling Off My Feet Again,” one of my new favorite Lucksmiths songs. The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” sounds perfect in the Lucksmiths’ melancholy pop style. The band covers The Magnetic Fields on “Deep Sea Diving Suit,” The Ladybug Transistor on “Rushes of Pure Spring,” and The Modern Lovers with “Dignified and Old.” The Bedridden’s “Boat” sounds wonderful in melancholy Lucksmiths style, as does The Sugargliders’ “Dolly.” Other bands get in on things too, as Pipas offers a fun and jangly remix of “How to Tie a Tie.”

The band’s own songs are typically brilliant, from the beautifully crisp acoustic “Point Being” to the live version of the wonderful track “Synchronized Sinking,” featuring Kellie Sutherland of Architecture in Helsinki and Darren Hanlon. “T-shirt Weather” fans will enjoy “The Year of Driving Languorously,” and the pure buoyant pop of the unreleased “Even Stevens” will have you dancing in your seat. By contrast, “The Winter Proper,” a single release, is lushly dark in tone, and the melancholy (live) “A Hiccup in Your Happiness” would make the Smiths proud. The sad “I Started a Joke” single makes me sniff every time, as does the starkly personal, storytelling “Shine on Me” from 1995.

The band proves it can rock with a 60s sensibility on “Anyone’s Guess,” the live “Punchlines,” and the bouncy “Once Again.” “From Macaulay Station” shows a somber mood, with some deep double bass to compliment the acoustic guitar, while “Rue Something” is surprisingly bright and crisp, really demonstrating White’s vocal range. “Yunta Hair” is a nice, bouncy song that shows a more full-band feel, and “Danielle Steel” is a nice little love song. There’s even a timely Christmas song, “The Thought That Counts,” from a 2002 Christmas compilation.

It’s impossible to go through all 45 songs here, and the band admits that the bar was lowered a bit in terms of quality to fit in some long-overlooked 7” singles and alternate versions. This compilation may be more for longtime fans than new ones, but it helps fans overlook the band’s two-year absence. And even casual indie-pop fans will find some wonderful gems here. Spring a Leak is a testament to The Lucksmiths’ long and fame-worthy career.

Modest Mouse – El Paso – Abraham Chavez Theatre, Texas – 2007-12-12

I was studying up for this concert a few weeks in advance — I already had their discography but I certainly needed to revisit their music. Modest Mouse is certainly a band with a wide variety of songs and each of their albums has a special feel to them. So with a career that has lasted well over ten years, I was a little more than excited to see what they sounded like live.

Singer-songwriter Matt Costa opened the show with his brand of folk-influenced rock. Nothing was too impressive but Costa and his backing band provided some decent music while we awaited Modest Mouse.

Modest Mouse featured all six members with their most recent inclusion, Johnny Marr. They had two drummers; one played the auxiliary instruments while the other played the set. Sometimes each would get on a drum set providing a much louder, carrying sound; they even used timpani mallets as opposed to snare drum sticks on a few songs. Both of them were near the back in the middle of the stage and in front of them were two multi-instrumentalists. These two musicians played everything from an upright bass to an organ-like keyboard to rhythm guitar to what seemed to be a pocket trumpet. I assumed that it might have been a piccolo trumpet but its range appeared to be the same as the former but still, I am simply inferring this.

The band started things off with songs from their newest album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. They played “Fire it Up,” “We’ve Got Everything” and the first single, “Dashboard.” The songs were complimented with an intense energy that lasted throughout their entire set. In between the two newer songs, Modest Mouse rewarded us with a great version of “Paper Thin Walls” off a masterpiece that is now seven years old, The Moon & Antarctica.

The set up was pretty ingenious and like I mentioned in my review of their 2007 album, Marr and Isaac Brock go so well together. Marr was at the left of the stage and Brock was at the right. Their unique personalities seem so dissimilar but still, they seem to really “get” each other. Brock would be wailing away in a much looser technique and Marr played in his composed and stable self while frequently veering his head to the left to follow Brock’s lead. Sometimes Brock would speak to the crowd and other times, Marr would offer the commentary.

In one of the songs, Marr broke a string and though he tried to play through it, a crew member rushed over to switch out the instruments. Several of these issues arose but the band never seemed to get upset about it. The music flowed in and out and I was elated to hear a steady mix of old and new material.

Some of the more remarkable moments were “Wild Packs of Family Dogs” as well as “Bury Me With It” and “Satin in a Coffin,” It was great to hear Brock sing, “Are dead or are you sleeping? God, I sure hope you are dead.” It was a highpoint to hear those cryptic lyrics while the crowd carelessly danced away.

Naturally and more obligatory than anything else, the band performed “Float On.” Sure, it’s a great song but it definitely seemed like the band wanted to get through it to get it out of the way. The best moment for me was at the very end. The band came out for an encore and they ended the night with a roaring rendition of the best song off of We Were…, “Spitting Venom.” On the album the song is eight and a half minutes long but they let it go on for what seemed like at least twelve minutes. They ripped through the instrumental sections and had at least four sections where they simply jammed out: they banged the drums, slammed the guitars, the lights flashed and it was just something special — then again, the whole concert was memorable.

The Set of Red Things – Who Touches Pitch Defiles Herself

Don’t bother with Who Touches Pitch Defiles Herself by The Set of Red Things. It’s crap.

This female-fronted five piece brays out one abrasive, blundering song after another in the name of experimental noise rock. Immature, bratty and self-indulgent – nothing here compels.

Music writers often struggle to critique experimental music because conventional standards get tossed out the window. But the fact here is that The Set of Red Things is a crappy band claiming to be experimental to dodge criticism. Doesn’t work. This band sucks.

The Most Serene Republic – Population

The 7-member, Canadian indie-rock collective known as The Most Serene Republic have released a multi-headed monster of an album for anyone who cares to notice. And if you play this album only once, you will certainly take notice. Not because it is familiar, bright and immediately fetching, but because it is unlike anything you have heard before. It’s as if they took Death Cab for Cutie’s guitar stylings, added Mahogany’s celestial vocals and combined them with melodic, piano-based orchestrations and the bombastic indie-rock influence of Broken Social Scene, then executed it all with the technical precision of Yes to form a densely layered indie/art/prog – rock hybrid that can overwhelm if you’re not ready to give it your full attention

But it’s not as though the sonically dense layers of Population have been haphazardly thrown together. In fact the opposite is true. The multi-faceted musical layers have been meticulously thought out and melodically put together with an artistic flair that can be mesmerizing and tantalizing. With each successive spin, the melodic components permeate through the turbid sonic layers revealing tunes that are exciting and fresh with vibrant instrumental flourishes amid a familiar rock foundation. The vocals add an extra dimension and some distinction to the overall sound, often oscillating between swirling, multi-layered female voices that sound like the Cocteau Twins on speed and syncopated, interweaving counter-melodies similar to the sound that Stereolab pioneered.

But while all of these influences are evident, this is in no way a ripoff of any one sound. Instead, these similitudes appear fleetingly throughout as The Most Serene Republic use a vast array of instruments and voices, and an eccentric brew of styles, to create their own sound that is sometimes claustrophobic sometimes serene but always interesting and decidedly unique.

The songs themselves shift styles and influences and, in addition to the more characteristic indie aspects, include some playful horns, jazzy passages, and even some wide open sections with strings that border on blissful art-rock. But whatever the mixture employed on each individual track, they never get bogged down in any one direction and allow for different parts, instruments and styles to be explored, shaped, deconstructed and re-formed, all wrapped up in artistic fashion.

It’s true there is quite a bit going on at all times and it is a lot for the listener to decipher, and clocking in at 54 minutes, it will probably take a few spins before all of Population is digested. But each song has something to offer and if taken in small portions, it will eventually become a full meal and after indulging repeatedly, the listener’s appetite for intellectually stimulating indie-rock will be satiated.

Prints – Prints

Prints is the result of prolific multi-instrumentalist Kenseth Thibideau (Tarantel, Sleeping People, Pinback) inviting Zac Nelson (Who’s Your Favorite God Son) to work with him on a new project. The album Prints was produced by the duo at home and features a myriad of electronic sounds in addition to typical instrumentation that creates a unique, textured sound perfectly paired with heavily layered vocals.

Prints is one of those albums that has the hooks to grab the listener immediately and the depth to keep the listener coming back for more. You’ll love it the first time you hear it, but because of the complexity, repeat listens cause the album to truly reveal itself. Thibideau and Nelson take a lot of cues from Pinback with their complexly layered compositions that are mathy and cerebral, yet easy to grasp. “Blue Jay” is an excellent tune that encapsulates what Prints is all about with its easy flowing groove, relentless hooks, playful melodies, and a ton of harmonized vocal layering.

Lyrically the band can be quite silly, though a majority of what is laid down here was improvised live in the studio in one or two takes. For example, the song “Pretty Tick” features the line, “there’s a pretty tick/sucking your blood and shit.” While that sort of thing usually becomes bothersome, the light lyrical themes are sort of refreshing and frankly these songs don’t really need heady lyrics to deliver a little brain stimulation.

I guess my only complaint is that the eight tracks herein only play out to a little over 30 minutes; sort of straddling the line between long EP and short full length. Other than a short running time, Prints is an exceptionally good pop record that works equally well for mindless sing-a-longs as it does more observant listening.

The Ginger Envelope – Edible Orchids

The Athens, GA music scene sure does seem to be getting bigger and bigger. More and more artists and bands are finding their way to success from this region of the U.S. A new band to emerge from there is The Ginger Envelope and their album, Edible Orchids, is a solid enough set of songs to win some new fans.

The first song, “Caretaker” is a catchy introduction to the album featuring lead singer Patrick Carey’s wispy, tired-sounding voice. It bubbles with some innocent pop music and carefree, lovely lyrics. The second song follows more of a country style with a twangy guitar playing underneath the mix.

For the album beginning, it seems like this is mostly an attempt to showcase Carey’s songwriting and singing. His singing is definitely interesting, to say the least, it isn’t bad but you just have to wonder why he sounds so tired on each song. By the the time whatever verse he is on ends, he always drops off at the end of it, barely enunciating the words. This is just something minor to note on and to, well, critique on.

The only major problem with the album is that there is little to no depth here. The songs seem to be suffocated with their minimalist approach and don’t have any space to breath. The melodies and catchiness are there but they never seem to be fully realized. “Encapsulate” is an example where the potential is set with a nice verse/strong guitar combo but it never goes anywhere. The small bridge section doesn’t really do much to bring the two together. The next song, “Lady Barber” has the same issues as the aforementioned. It starts off with an easy-going beat and progression; an awesome style shift happens three times in the song but it also never goes anywhere. I guess, for a difference in sound it works fine but from there, nothing.

During these moments, you expect to hear some nice harmonies, maybe Carey belt out the lyrics or maybe even a guitar solo but they never come. These songs don’t have genuine choruses and this is something that the album lacks. Some albums don’t need to have true choruses, unfortunately this one does.

A strong highlight is the closer, “Night Sweeping,” complete with its chugging drums and finally, Carey’s voice sounds stronger and articulated on this song. The fact that there isn’t a true chorus doesn’t bother you as much because the music is strong and the singing feels complete. The ritardando ending is fitting and the album closes well.

At ten songs and thirty-five minutes long it’s a harmless album that delivers some standard rock/pop tunes with small shifts sprinkled around the album. It’s nothing to go and yell about across the streets about but there is still plenty to enjoy here—especially for fans of the genre.

Seawolf – Philadelphia – North Star Bar, PA – 2007-11-03

California’s Seawolf has been gaining a considerable amount of industry traction lately. The ridiculously catchy single, ”You’re a Wolf”, as well as an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, has succeeded in creating a generous buzz around this indie folk outfit. While touring in support of the Leaves in the River LP, released earlier this year by Dangerbird Records, Seawolf swung through Philly’s North Star and lured a sizeable crowd out to come watch.

Seawolf, however, is not really a band in the general sense. The name Seawolf is really just a literary reference adopted as a pseudonym by Los Angels-based singer/songwriter Alex Brown Church. As the chief songwriter and the only constant and permanent member of the group, Church is Seawolf. But since he can’t do it all by himself on stage, a little outsourcing is called for in order for his music to translate live.

Opening for Seawolf were Hong Kong Stingray and Mark Malcahy. Both performances were luke warm at best and neither generated much enthusiasm from the jaded seeming hipsters that made up the majority of the crowd. All in attendance were clearly there for Seawolf and had little patience for anything else.

It was after ten o’clock by the time a flannel clad Church and company took the stage. The band was definitely polished and played well. Although the performance, as a whole, was a bit unspirited. Seawolf just seemed to be going through the motions with an air of stilted repetition. Not to say it wasn’t good.

The set featured some really good songs, including the exceptionally good, maybe even great, “Middle Distance Runner”, which is broodingly wistful, instantly likable, and extremely Donavan-esque. Most songs feature a cello, which generates a nice organic groan and lends a rustic backbone to the music.

Seawolf ended the show with”You’re a Wolf”, but the up-tempo pace in which it was performed completely eroded the subdued easy feel that makes the album version so damn good. It was not the most captivating live show, but Church definitely has talent as a songwriter and his popularity will surely increase.

Sole And The Skyrider Band – Sole And The Skyrider Band

The Anticon collective rivals only the Chicago-Louisville family tree for number of branches, growing ever longer with each addition to the roster. Founding member Sole has added a leaf to his particular branch by employing the Skyrider band, a 3 piece from Orlando on his latest album aptly titled Sole And The Skyrider Band. Using live instrumentation on top of spaced out samples he has created a claustrophobic nightmare of paranoia that’s big on thought but short on what to say.

Sole’s spitfire style doesn’t use traditional rhyme schemes but instead a constant flow of metaphors, allegories, and other literary tricks that only covers up the fact there’s not much he’s really saying. Entire verses go by like bad Beat poetry only when he’s not paraphrasing other literary giants, such as on “The Bones Of My Pets.“ When he stumbles onto a poignant lyric it’s repeated ad infinitum and beaten to death, defeating the purpose of a biting line. His style is close to that of other pop culture aware rappers like El-P but with out leaving a lasting sting. There are only so many times one can hear the phrase “get rich or die trying” without rolling our eyes. The free association borders on tedious as well, referencing everything from vegetarianism to the Christian Science Monitor to Death Cab For Cutie.

The Skyrider Band makes little impact as well. Throughout the album it’s difficult to discern between live playing, samples, or if the band is being used at all. The music and beats drown Sole out, making it all the more difficult to understand, let alone comprehend what he’s saying. Unfortunately there’s no middle ground between the two making for one long album with nothing to grab onto; there isn’t a single track that stands out, leaving the listener bored and frustrated.

By now we all know of global warming, corrupt politicians, the world growing smaller, egos growing larger, and a lack of real human interaction. These themes are reiterated once again, spit out in almost the exact ways we’ve been hearing for years from everyone from Chuck D to Atmosphere to Aesop Rock. At this stage in the game underground hip hop owes it to the listener to suggest improvements and not spout the same rhetoric.

Simpl – S/T

Simpl is a suitable name for this Portland band, whose indie-pop/art-pop stylings do feel rather simple. Led by Cameron Jones, who played with bands like Pinback, Thingy, and Physics, this band plays decent pop songs. The problem lies in the mixing and production, which causes the album to feel too lo-fi.

Something about the way that Jones’ vocals are mixed way in the foreground, dominating the instrumentation, bothers me. Jones’ voice is nice enough, but it almost lacks the edge or that pretty Death Cab-like sheen that would make such mixing suitable. Instead, I hear vocals, and I think simple pop. It takes multiple listens to get beyond that mixing and hear the talented band underneath.

Bonus points to the band for using the word “obfuscated” in “Obfuscated Gene,” a pretty catchy little song. The more I listen to this song – and primarily the music – the more I like it and hear bands like Minus the Bear or Pinback. I hear some nice edgy guitar behind the up-tempo “Six Foot Sloth,” if I listen hard enough, and “Foreign” has some nice Death Cab-esque pop chops. “From the Inside” is a pleasant enough acoustic song, quiet and thoughtful, although the vocals still feel too prominent. By contrast to these songs, “Excess Kill” is more than five minutes of boring pop moments and hints of creative edgy rock that don’t work together. And “Land of Opportunity” is nice enough, if a tad dull, until the edgy guitar kicks in for a few seconds. Again, hints of something special that are too little and too late.

Simpl is, perhaps, too simple. Maybe this mixing was intentional, but part of me things this band could be so much better if the focus wasn’t placed so squarely and emphatically on Jones’ vocals. The band is talented, and the songs are creative enough. It just takes too many listens to appreciate that, and there’s not enough to hold me for that many listens.

Lek – Giant World Knowledge Bliss Control

When I receive a shipment of new albums, it’s an exciting day. Instead of paying attention in class or at work, I get to pore over the press packs and booklets and become mesmerized the cover art. While I am attending to my other duties (listening to my professor lecture, for instance), I am honestly not really there; I am contemplating the order in which I will listen to and review the albums. It is an extremely exciting, and consuming, process. Although it is all very interesting, I am always most amazed by the descriptions of the band and the album on the press releases. I can not help but wonder who writes them; whoever does write them does a fantastic job at convincing you that the band is groundbreaking, or at least fresh. The band description is usually full of references to obscure bands which are a snare for us reviewers. I get antsy when I see a press release stating that “band x is the bastard child of Liquid Liquid and James Chance, finally a legit successor to the no wave sound” or some such nonsense. Occasionally I get thrown a curve ball though.

The press kit for Lek’s new album, Giant World Knowledge Bliss Control (terrible album name, I know)compares him to Jimi Hendrix, the Velv, Bob Dylan, and Yo La Tengo. This really caught my eye because those are some of the most obvious – and odd – comparisons I have ever seen on one of these sheets. When I read that I was immediately suspect, but I was intrigued as well. Those are not only lofty claims, but they also span quite a few genres. I don’t know why, but it made me suspect it of being some feedback drenched, noodley, stoner rock with some jazz departures and maybe some spoken word. Ridiculous, scary to think about, but it could be pulled off. Needless to say, when I listened to the album in its entirety I was pretty disappointed.

It starts out pretty raw, almost live, sounding. Alright, I can dig that. The guitars sound a little acid drenched, so my stoner rock assumption was not too far off in the beginning. But, as the album progressed it became increasingly… emotional. But not in a good way; the track “Olivia,” for example, is a love drenched ballad that lacks any subdued emotion. The largest lyrical separator between music that I can not stand and music that I love is subject matter and how it is presented. A song like The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette” that is, in a way, a dark, distorted look at love through the lens of death is much more appealing to me than a straight-forward love ballad, hence my distaste for Lek‘s track “Olivia”. The lyrics on Giant World Knowledge… switch off between intriguing and whimsical back to cheesy and sometimes pseudo-intellectual (mostly the spoken word sections- like on the beginning track, “Quixotic”). The alternating acoustic picking and heavy, yet airy, electric guitar make for an interesting listen. Sometimes the percussions become kinda jazzy, the jamming comes out, and Lek’s album becomes hugely enjoyable.

Giant World Knowledge Bliss Control by Lek is very hit or miss. If you do not mind lyrics that seem forced and love psych-like jams, this album is right up your alley. If you can look past the lyrical flaws and pay a lot of attention to the jams, this album is for you. If inane lyrics (or spoken word) are going to bother you, you do not like jam sessions, or a couple bad apples (“Olivia,” and the 9 minute closer “Post Travellin’ Blues,” which I still have not been able to make it through without becoming disgusted) will ruin an album for you, then don’t bother.

In summation, Lek needs to stick to the jams and steer clear of the sentiment – removing lyrics completely would probably be his best bet.

Tracks to check out:
1. Quixotic
9. Grandma’s Chickens
11. Saint Jam

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