CLPPNG, the first full record from clipping., was a record with the band still kind of piecing together what they had. It would be on the next album (Splendor & Misery) that everything would come together perfectly, but there are still times on this album where things still seemed a little awkward. The individual pieces, especially Daveed Diggs, were often spectacular, but the best was yet to come.
[Read More]Imagine having the confidence to open an album this way. A distant, chilly vibe, acutal ocean noises, a complete change a minute in in both mood and sound, no vocals until the last five seconds. Just bonkers. It was a true declaration of intent, though, as the whole album basically fulfilled the promise of this opening track.
One of the fun things about The Ugly Organ, if “fun” is the right word, is that they made great use of the cello in order to really fill out the sounds on the record. Tim Kasher’s songs are very good, as always, and the album is one of my favorites of theirs.
[Read More]It’s a new thing / check out this I bring
One of my real weaknesses is horns, as faithful listener/readers of Five Songs know. Prominent horns in a hip-hop track? That is, in fact, my jam.
A danger in having written 470-whatever of these things is that it has legitimately reached the point where I have trouble remembering what I’ve said before. And, honestly, I have managed to bork my indexing system, so it’s not easy for me to look things up. So until I unbork my indexing system, you’re at risk of repeat stories. This is relevant, because I have basically two things to say about the Postal Service, and I cannot shake the feeling that I’ve said one or both of them before. So, instead, I’ll just drop this FASCINATING meta-note here. Nothin’ but fuckin’ professionalism on this here blog, my friends!
[Read More]I really enjoy tom-heavy drum beats like this. Yeah, I wouldn’t want it for every song, but for the occasional tune, bring it on. Also, this song gets in and out in two minutes. Nice work!
I gotta say, you can count your fingers differently and really change the intent of this title by quite a bit! This isn’t the best song from Martha Reeves, when it comes down to it. It’s pretty predictable and a little too syrupy. Not unpleasant, but not great.
[Read More]One of the great things that punk is able to do when it’s on is produce a short song that nevertheless is complete and satisfying. This thing clocks in at 1:40 and you’d hardly notice that it’s not the usual three minute pop song. Lance Hahn was able to pull this off time after time, in way that should shame so many people out there writing rock songs.
[Read More]Yeah! Old Primus! Soul! Kid music?
The other day, we had Kranky labelmates Jessamine, but here’s the band I associate most with that label, Labradford. Post-rock-y, drone-y, sometimes very experimental, Labradford had a very interesting run of a half dozen albums on Kranky which were all very interesting. Most of the time, they were working with instrumental stuff, and I find it to be really pleasant stuff to put on when I’m working. That sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not intended to be.
[Read More]Quite a mixed bag today, with a smattering of electronics, a weird-ass rock band, and one of the foundations of funk. Sounds pretty good, right?
A Seattle band that got going in the early 90s, but not playing what you think. In particular, one of the founders played the bass clarinet, which is not an especially grunge instrument, let’s be honest. As you can hear on this song, they also added electronics to their sound as time went on.
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