Crooked Saints v. Feist

Ok peoples, sorry for the delay. I could use a bunch of lame excuses about my gangrenous guts, and moving into a new apartment, and no internet at home and stuff but I won't. OK, here is what you've all been waiting for:

Crooked Saints "Beatrice"
vs.
Feist "The Reminder"



Crooked Saints are an up and coming band from the Grand Rapids area that to currently be on a hiatus. Their one full length album so far is called "Beatrice" and it is a very cohesive album that has a nice flow from beginning to end. The record begins on a nice and spooky tone with the quiet droning of strings leading into a meditative bluesy track "I am the Lion's Lamb." The energy grows over the next two tracks highlighted by the wicked guitar work on "Dark Charade" which builds to the brief and excellent Velvet Undergroundish freak-out at the end.
The following tracks are a good mix of quiet and loud, tension and release, and plenty of what might be the combo's strongest suit: the group vocals. Whether it is the calm and understated "I Am: Yer Life," or the big choruses like "Finding Station" the gang vocals act as a great unifying element throughout the album (the lead guitar kills on that song as well).
Another of this band's strong suit is the frequent use of the "vocal riff," a wordless yodeling type of singing that the band uses in places where others would normally employ instruments. Given the the relatively low recording budget that the band was working with, it is a great sounding record, including a very nice drum sound (played by Chris N. best known for his work in the 90's underground sensation Baxter).

A tough competitor for this record is found in Feist's "the Reminder" I thought to myself.......or is it? I own this record(....or at least I have it on our Ipod, I can't be sure how it got there...) and I have listened to it often...so I must like it. The Remainder seems to in the music collection of just about every music loving friend that I have, all the way to Jeff "up the punx"Bolt. It seems that it must be a pretty phenomenal album for its appeal to be so far flung. But as I gave it another spin I wasn't sure what there was to be excited about. The album has a pretty mellow vibe as a whole with a few exceptions. While I like a lot of "mellow" music, I normally enjoy stuff that has an underlying intensity just below the surface, like a Low or Cat Power or something. But much of this record seems simply "laid-back" and not too interesting to me.

In my book, her strong suit is upbeat songs as exemplefied in "I Feel it All" and "1234" (ok I know she like a total sellout for using it in an Apple ad, but that song rules). She should make a whole album of these kind of tunes.

Entonces.....the big winner is: Crooked Saints.

Now if they could write a tune to sell iPods they'd really take off.

No offense to the Baird Brothers. I love you guys and you rule in all ways musically and otherwise.

TV on the Radio vs. Frightened Rabbit

After much listening, I've yet to be convinced of the worthiness of either of these albums. I pick TV on the Radio, Dear Science, begrudgingly...

TV on the Radio just stress me out. Too many things are happening, and I don't really care. I guess I just don't get the awesomeness.

Frightened Rabbit have a song called Keep Yourself Warm that totally sucks. Sample lyrics below:

"my hole, I'll get my hole, I'll get my hole
Get my hole, get my hole and I'll find out more
It's a choo-choo train, a rocket launch
If we have a hormone race
I'm bound to finish first."

"it takes more than fucking someone you don't know, to keep warm"

This kind of over-sharing is unforgivable. Does he want her to "peg" him? Who cares.

TV on the Radio win because they don't sing overtly about fucking.

The Walkman "Lisbon" VS. Deerhunter "Halcyon Digest"

I have liked a fair amount of what I have heard from the Walkmen. They have a distinctive sound that is their own. It’s got a Leonard Cohen(Canadian alert) trying out his Jeff Buckley voice while jamming with Interpol and

occasionally the Memphis horns on the upper east side (How’s was that Steve?). They play well constructed songs long on subtleties but a lot of their stuff doesn’t compel me too much. There were a few songs on older album that I liked quite a bit….but I’m just sounding like an old fart again.

This is the first listen that I have given to this the newest Deerhunter album. I must admit that I am a fan of this band so I may be a bit pre-disposed to like this album from the outset, but let us see. This album seems to continue Deerhunter’s trajectory of mellowing out from their earlier noisier days, and while not necessarily an improvement it is an admirable progression of their sound. In many ways it is more similar to Atlas Sound records (the other project of lead singer Brandon Cox) than previous records.

Deerhunter is a somewhat frustrating listen for me because frankly I change my mind on them a lot. Sometimes I’ll love it and at other times I think that some songs comes off as what Andy W. might describe as “mediocre indie-rock.” Sometimes the song writing seems just a bit too lazy. Brandon Cox records a huge amount of material and sometimes a lot of the Atlas Sound songs he posts for free on his website are better than some stuff on Deerhunter records, in my humble opinion (http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/, check it out nerds, especially “Requiem for all the Lonely Teenagers With Passed Out Moms”).

For the time being, however, this album is growing on me big time and the real star is Lockett Pundt who steps up to the mic to deliver two stellar tracks. May he continue to do so and turn into the Lee Ranaldo/George Harrison of this band.

Hold it!!!…what...what was that??….all of a sudden on the second to last song there’s a saxophone solo. I’m sorry but 99% of the time saxophone solos in rock songs make me think “….and featuring G.E. Smith and the Saturday Live Band…..” and I can’t deal with the cheesiness. (Clarence is ok because he preceded it.) But perhaps that’s another reference to 80’s nostalgia that they were going for. That knocks it down a couple points but still…….

Deerhunter wins!!

Man, that cover creeps me out.

New Pornographers vs. Girls

Man, I've gone back and forth on this one several times now. Seeing as both bands are working in the general category of guitar pop, it is one the more similar match ups in this first round. I had a pretty strong attraction to the New Pornographers at one point. I remember the album Mass Romantic was on pretty heavy rotation on my cassette boombox in the middle roofing years. I burned out on it pretty quickly though and haven't checked them out too much since.
"Challengers" is a very strong album with loads of hooks, and a good variety of songs owing to the number of singers and writers in the band. Everything is so clean, tidy, tight, and impeccably produced.
Girls approach to the classic 60's inspired pop song takes on a bit messier and looser form. I first gave this album a listen from the library in this past year, and was less than impressed. Perhaps I was mostly turned off by the lead off track "lust for life" and a couple others where the singer takes on a puposely annoying Adam Sandleresque voice. (I also sometimes like to take pride in disliking something that is so championed by all the wise music critics). But after giving the Girls "Album" several more spins its charms began to quickly reveal themselves. Second track "laura" is a clear stand out with its infectious chorus line. Also great is "Hellhole Ratrace," a very long and repetitive track that somehow works well by repeating the singer's simple aspirations over and over again.
In the end I choose Girls shambolic pop songs over the New Pornographers air-tight productions. I just hope the voice Girls singer keeps the goofy voice to a minimum the next time.
Girls win!