Marriage
II
Independent Release
originally published August 20, 2008
Local band Marriage packaged its 2005 release squeezed between two pieces of rugged plywood fasted by a nut and bolt. Three years later, II comes sewn into a quilted envelope. Side by side, it's easy to think of the two records as complimentary husband and wife incarnations of the same band.
The softer presentation this time around is a fitting representation of Marriage's new direction. Gone are the discordant sludge metal assaults of the previous release. II is decisively more melodic, although Josh Wootton's vocals remain heavy, fierce and coarse. This time his dark almost Tom Waits-like growl is backed by antique piano notes and delicate acoustic guitars. On the track "The Deceitful Heart," he even ventures briefly into falsetto range.
Still, there is something enticingly uneasy about this record. There is a constant tension between Brent Blalock's serene rhythms and Wootton's harsh howl, like a domesticated Viking going through anger management, trying to contain and compress his fury through an unfamiliar medium.
Despite the menacing vocal tones, there is no real rage in Wootton's lyrics; rather, Marriage is fueled by a formidable Christian spirituality. As with the 2005 release, there is a Bible verse inscribed within the liner notes, and the lyrics on the record speak clearly of faith and devotion. The sacred subject matter takes these tunes to yet another level, adding a sense of weight and imposing importance.
Marriage will likely push listeners outside of their usual comfort zone, and that edgy albeit awkward state is delightfully refreshing. After you find a sharp pair of scissors to get into this record (literally), prepare to be challenged and rewarded.
Various Artists
Life Beyond Mars: Bowie Covered
Rapster/!K7
originally published August 20, 2008
At first glance, you’d expect an album full of cover versions of David Bowie to flop unsuccessfully, unable to capture the idiosyncrasies of one of rock’s most standalone performers. What works in the favor of the indie bands undertaking the task, though, is that despite all of Bowie’s glam, flash and pomp both on stage and in the studio, his songs have a strong structural foundation in rock and roll. When an ethereal Brooklyn pop team reworks “Oh! You Pretty Things” into a gently hazy tambourine-and-synths lament, the song comes across winningly.
That band’s electronic tendencies set the stage for the rest of the album, with most groups choosing to go electro in their interpretations and avoiding the glammy Ziggy Stardust era in favor of more obscure tunes, making this a disc suited both for curious listenings as well as hipster dance parties.
“Sound & Vision” gets a dense, layered rendition by Matthew Dear that’s a little too careful, but Kelley Polar’s cheeky Italo-disco twist gives “Magic Dance,” off the Labyrinth soundtrack, unexpected weight while remaining giddily silly. Richard Walters & Faultline’s electro/acoustic version of “Be My Wife,” too, is brave enough to abandon a need to hew close to the original, and its morose presentation is delightful. The most rewarding songs on Life Beyond Mars are those that take chances, which is probably what Bowie would’ve done anyway.
The Last Shadow Puppets
The Age of the Understatement
Domino
originally published August 20, 2008
The Age of the Understatement wastes no time sweeping you off your feet with its grandiose opening number. The galloping surf-rock-inspired rhythm and cinematic string arrangements overwhelm the senses like a mod cavalry. Like the leggy model on the record's cover, everything about this album is '60s chic.
For those uninitiated, The Last Shadow Puppets are Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys fame and vocal doppelgänger Miles Kane. The duo's nearly indistinguishable voices bend and sway, playing off each other like a pair of classic crooners. Turner's always had a bit of lounge-y swagger in his delivery, and you really get that retro feel now that the tunes are a little slower and more elegantly paced than Arctic Monkeys' rapid fire rock.
The best representation of this record's overall sound is the music video for single "Standing Next to Me." The duo are sharply dressed in Beatle suits, moptops neatly coiffed, performing on what could be a '60s variety show stage. The camera then pans over to reveal a set of synchronized go-go dancers shaking along in matching outfits. Now, to be clear, this isn't cheeky, cheesy Austin Powers type "yeah, baby!" flower power at all. This is James Bond cool. In fact, a number of tracks on the record come across like a classic Bond theme song, particularly "My Mistakes Were Made for You." You can almost see the female silhouettes dancing around the gun barrel as the reverb-bent guitars ring out. Like the record title suggests, The Last Shadow Puppets have a keen ear for understated elegance, and they are able to take epic strings and horns and make it all feel so effortless.
The Ettes
Look at Life Again Soon
Take Root
originally published August 20, 2008
As I turn older, grayer and sorer in the mornings, I'm dancing far less than I used to. I'm sitting down more at shows, and I'm still sore the next day. With the current indie trend of making damn near everything as "dancey" as possible, I initially winced at reviewing Look at Life Again Soon by the ever-so-hip group The Ettes.
I like this record. It's quite short (there's only one song over three minutes long), but all the songs are good. It's not so dancey that you want to puke if you don't really like dancing, and it's not so in-your-face that it comes across as annoying or phony. It's also quite cute. I've had a rock-crush on nearly every female musician (even the chicks in L7) since I was a child, and "Coco" Hames and "Poni" Silver are definitely rock-crush worthy for those looking for new love interests.
The Ettes' own website touts comparisons to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes and Blondie, but I don't really hear it. That's not a bad thing; I just feel like they're far too unique to need to compare them to such established names, just to get people to check them out. Slower songs like "Where Your Loyalties Lie" are a pleasant surprise with a melody that resembles Jim O'Rourke's work. The best track on the album is without question "To Arms" with it's absolutely perfect blend of low-fi bass, sweet rock-girl vocals and a beat you could dance to, or just sit in the back with the oldies and take in.
Walé
Mixtape About Nothing
Independent Release
originally published August 20, 2008
The space between Seinfeld and hip-hop isn’t as wide as previously thought. Both are the voice of an arrogant urban single male in an every-man-for-himself, gotta-get-mine world. Both are observations of an absurd life, with extra points for wit.
In Mixtape About Nothing, Walé uses Seinfeld like the Wu-Tang Clan uses Kung Fu mythology. The TV show acts as a springboard to take on associated topics. For example, the song “The Artistic Integrity” includes clips from the episode when Jerry and George pitch their sitcom idea to NBC. Yes, the clips are funny, but it doesn’t cheapen the song. Somehow the two guys who many believe personified the “white experience” in the 1990s enhance the world of this upcoming MC. The most daring example is “The Kramer,” where Michael Richards’ racist outburst leads into Walé’s brilliant take on the n-word.
Walé accurately describes his delivery/content style as in the same vein as Black Thought, Kanye West and Jay-Z, while he concedes that most will compare him to Lupe Fiasco. Even with these lofty resemblances, Nick Catchdubs and Best Kept Secret, the guys who mixed and produced most of it, deserve at least half the credit. When the lead-off track uses a mix of the campy bass and synthesizer-heavy Seinfeld theme song and each bar begins with, “What’s the deal with...” it’s as close to a perfect blend of these two worlds as we’ll ever hear. Mixtape About Nothing won't turn a Seinfeld fan on to hip-hop or vice versa, but if you’re a fan of lyricism and creativity in hip-hop, your next great find is at http://10deep.com/walemixtape.
The Enemy UK
We’ll Live and Die in These Towns
Warner Brothers
originally published August 20, 2008
If The Killers’ reference points were Bowie and Blue instead of Springsteen and New Order, they might end up sounding like The Enemy UK. On the record We’ll Live and Die in These Towns, The Enemy UK displays a rather refined songwriting debut that is just derivative enough, just bombastic enough, and just arrogant enough to make this a passable debut.
Over the course of We’ll Live and Die in These Towns' 11 tracks (and two bonus tracks), the band continuously proves it’s capable of writing songs that are catchy and rhythmic, all while not being varied enough to not fall into the overly repetitive category. Lead singer/guitarist Tom Clarke’s voice has all of the tough tunefulness of Paul Weller in his early Jam days, but there is something missing. Throughout the album, the songs seem to build upon themselves but ultimately fall short of the sense of joyous release that The Killers have going for them. Instead, the songs often play like undistinguishable tracks from some long forgotten band. With that being said, “This Song” might be one of the better tracks released this year; its quiet verse and sort-of-loud chorus make up the kind of simple but effective dreamy anthem that hacks like Coldplay would have turned into a ham-fisted U2 tribute, but here in The Enemy UK’s capable hands it's stripped of pretense and played straight.
A few listens will prove that this album is more or less average, and then the record will be filed away on the shelf, undistinguishable from the others. It’s a shame really, because the guys in The Enemy UK have a lot going for them.
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