Cody
Stillpoint Primer CD
Shinkansen. 29CD.
by Keith McLachlan.
November 14, 2000.
See more about this title.
Out of Stock.
I might still be able to recall the moment when I
first heard Bark Psychosis, without knowing to what
degree of jerkness Graham Sutton would inevitably be
transmogrified into in my mind when he went and
decided tunelessness'n'drum'n'bass was the future, and
I would sit listening to 'Hex' and think gosh how had
I had perfection placed in my lap and how was it all I
could muster was a gape. When is the last anyone
heard of Boymerang anyhow? Maybe I have forgotten
after all?
Cody are the new Bark Psychosis then without the gape of course. I know a lot of people have been pulling in the Radiohead/Bark Psychosis comparison but tHom has merely misplaced his 'nothing anthem handbook' I suspect while the Cody boys seem to have grasped the power of silence the same as Graham S. There are no lofty ambitions of being jazz musicians or sonic explorers, but much of the record lies in the realistic ambience between interest and quaternary ambivalence. A lot of it sounds as if it was recorded by Ian Catt, and that is probably reason number one for the likeabilty factor being increased over say anything recorded in a certain windy midwestern city by certain 'important' musicians on a label with the same name as a brand of underwear. The English do pretentious with much more aplomb than the yanks and being as Cody are English this music is more often than not deftly gorgeous and melodic to the end.
It is definitely a record that does not sound like it would have had anything to do with Sarah records even though the controls are set for the heart of melancholy and the singer is sufficently fey and undoubtedly pale and emaciated. However, the music is somewhat modern really and the attitude cosmopolitan and these may be indications of a step in a new direction for Shinkansen.
Con Dolore
This Sad Movie CD
Clairecords. Fern 024.
by Keith Mclachlan.
December 9, 2001.
See more about this title.
Out of Stock.
Do you know what would be truly the saddest movie ever
made? It would be the movie made by some enterprising
young filmmaker who decided merely to set-up an
unmanned camera at the self-serve checkout lane at the
grocery store. The horror on the audience's faces
when they discovered what absolute imbeciles 99% of
their fellow homo sapiens are would cause extreme
depression and panic and surely a run on kleenex and
visine. Have you had the pleasure of sitting behind
someone who can't quite figure out an ATM in your
lifetime? Well imagine the situation made
exponentially more frustrating as those same social
science majors attempt to figure out how to key in
their 3 pounds of braeburn apples without shutting
down the federal reserve because they have managed to
cause the grocery computer system to overload by their
technological incompetence. That movie would be much
more tragic than the stills from the 'alleged' film
documented by this record, photos that are collated in
some sort of storyboard on the cover. It looks like a
scene from Timecode which looked like a dreadful movie
that I have no desire to ever see. The music is
shoegaze-y, but also electronic-y, I have never heard
their previous band Polar so I am not sure if this is
a new direction for the band. I did once, in fact,
review a Polar record for TK but it was one of the
guys from Moose and they have since changed their name
probably because of the american Polar but then the
American Polar no longer exists and I notice there is
now a DJ in the UK using the moniker Polar. Good
times to be a litigator I suppose. Anyhow some of the
Con Dolore material reminds me a bit of Curve and the
girl, unlike the Isobella lady, has a beautiful voice
and why they insist on letting anyone other than her
sing is a bit of a puzzle. Must be the whole 'Look
they are my words and only I can breathe life into
them' whine going on but the guy can't sing a lick and
should be shut down immediately. His tunes are more
mechanical and sound like something a cutting-edge
canadian band might do. It is waaaaay too long,
clocks in at 9734 minutes but there are multiple
moments of beauty in at least sixty-seven percent of
those minutes and it is intriguing enough to require
multiple listens to take it all in. Yippee for Clair
then because they really are swell folks and maybe
this record will make them billionaires.
Robert Cooper
"Fireworks At Noon" 7" vinyl
Library. shhh 4.
by Keith McLachlan.
March 21, 1999.
See more about this title.
Price: $3.22. Add To Shopping Cart
In Stock. Usually ships the same day or the next working day .
So the economy is booming, everyone and their uncle is making a
boatload of money cause they own four shares of Amazon.com, the
chinese have nuclear missiles pointed at us but as long as they keep
sending us those furbies most of us don't even care about that. But
hey there is something missing isn't there? You bet there is and that
something is those classic Chris Deburgh records you treasured in the
late 80s. Well I guess then if you bought this record your life is
just about perfect now because although this is not a Chris Deburgh
record it would not be impossible for you to mistake it as one.
Totally schmaltzy, fey and faux romantic, perfect for the slow numbers
at the roller rink. It is on Library Records and he has links to
supposedly important bands in the past but I bet he was not really all
that integral in their success as this 7" is pretty limp and
uninspiring, like the sort of stuff that would be played along side
Brandy and Monica. Oh well.
the Crabs
Sand And Sea CD
K. KLP95.
by Keith McLachlan.
October 20, 1999.
See more about this title.
Out of Stock.
The Crabs played one of the best sets at the Seo Hui popfest
that took place earlier this year in San Francisco. Who can
forget the famous fourth Crab rocking out on the tambourine,
sure everyone there thought it was a truly ennervating
spontaneous gesture but maybe not? Is it possible that this
guy was a plant who travels with the Crabs to each and every
show and knows when to exclaim his overwhelming desire to be
a rock star when the Guitar Guy, I forget his name asks for
a volunteer. This guy is probably a professional tambourine
player for all we know, who could master such an intricate
rhythm at the spur of the moment? Not many, so either this
dude was some kind of savant or a spy! How violated
everyone at the Seo Hui popfest would feel if the latter
turned out to be true.
Anyhow, that is not all that important. Let's talk about the music and start by saying that this record sounds an awful lot like Tramway when the guitar guy sings and an awful lot like a bad Harriet band when he does not. It is filled with pop'n'roll nuggets that last barely over two minutes when they are hitting their mark and over six minutes when they are looking for filler to keep the album from clocking in at less than 14 minutes. I like it quite a bit all the same but true ecstasy would be in reach were they to ditch the gal lead vocals and let the guitar guy sing all of the songs and 86 the dull instrumentals too. Simple.
Sarah Cracknell
Lipslide CD
Gut. gutCD2.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 28, 1997.
See more about this title.
Out of Stock.
You can call her disco diva from
now on as this record is unabashedly polyester in all that it is. From
ballads filled with synthesized strings to the prevalence of cheesy beats
on the more upbeat numbers like 'Desert Baby.' It is obvious from this
record that a good amount of Sarah's charm requires coaxing from Wiggs and
Stanley as a lot of this is pretty formulaic and designed as a bubblegum
documentary of the moment rather than any lasting exposition on the times
in London as so often is the case on Saint Etienne lps.
But that said it is easily the best disco lp I have heard this year and Sarah's voice is certainly underrated, so easily made aware on the less manic numbers like 'Goldie' and 'Coastal Town'. Made to order as the soundtrack to Friday evenings spent getting ready for the latest of the many biggest nights of your life so far.
Crayola Summer
Kirans Dollar e.p. 7" vinyl
Inner Psyche. psy01seven.
by Scott Zimmerman.
May 26, 1997.
See more about this title.
Out of Stock.
In the grooves of this vinyl we've got a cool raw edge of pop energy
revealing itself in songs of three distinct, yet similar moods.
"Caffeine" leans towards drone, "7th age" towards snappy, and the
third, "This is Mad," falls down sobbingly in the land of the
introspective. With the hip male vocals, combined with basic, yet yummy
guitars, the final sound at times reminds me of the Beat Happening, which
is a very good thing indeed.