So seeing as I feel so guilty about the gap between posts, I figured I'd return to a subject I can write about quickly. I've not done much music writing on this blog, but let me reveal here and now, exclusively, I used to dream of being a music journalist/musician. Basically being music's answer to François Truffaut would have been an aim for 15-20 year old Ben. Unfortunately, I'm naturally hesitant to being creative in groups so I was only in a couple of bands, plus I was incredibly snobby which didn't help either (that's snobby about music, not people).
One thing I was impressed by was the writings I did for the Warwick Boar (the Warwick Uni student paper). I was very fortunate to work with some talented people there, especially Will Metcalfe, who is now an actual real life journalist. I was lucky enough to listen to music for free, write about it and sometimes mean musicians and talk to them about being musicians.
I can't remember exactly when it happened, but my love affair with music waned. The passion was gone. Unlike the aftermath of my real relationships, there was never any animosity and we can still hang out now. I just couldn't keep up, I guess. There were always new bands, new songs to digest, to form opinions and to share. I was exhausted, burnt out, we need to take a break. Music carried on seeing other people, but I can't blame it. How can you turn down so many expectant ears?
Truthfully though, I think I was running out of ideas for music reviews. Reviewing albums is a very odd concept. I think that music is far more subjective an experience than any other art. Unlike films, it's hard to get a solid opinion from one or two listens of an album. It's because of this aspect that music reviews are an odd bunch. They can either follow a standard track by track account or they take a more high-concept approach. This can either take the form of a early Pitchfork-esque pretence-fest or a breakdown of the themes and ideas contain within the album, viewing it as a body of work instead of 12 random sketches. It's very rare that I listen to music and feel compelled to write about it, and yet, I have three albums that I wish to share and discuss right now!
Jenny Owen Youngs - An Unwavering Band of Light
I was so excited by this album that I pre-ordered it. From that sentence, you could conclude that I am a fan of her music, and that would be the right conclusion. This is her third album and it's been really interesting to she how she has developed her craft. The ukulele has disappeared and been replaced by tom-tom pounding rock drums, well, at least on half of the tracks. The other half is slower tempo, more piano than the synth/organic electronic vibe that her previous album Transmitter Failure had. AUBOL has less of a cohesive feel (though I think that Transmitter Failure's success in this regard is part artificial due to the First Person/Last Person combo), but the songwriting is to such a high standard that this is moot.
Standout tracks: Pirates ("we could be pirates" is now my favourite chat up line), Your Apartment, Born to Lose
Listener - Return to Struggleville
I was very lucky to catch the Listener when his Tour of Homes hit UK shores many years ago (2004, maybe the year after?). He had just finished an album called Ozark Empire, which occupied an odd position of being a concept rap album. I enjoyed it, but goodness, it was a bit pretentious and the concert gave me the impression that he had an inflated opinion of his own creativity and intelligence. The remarkably frank stage banter at times turned self-self-congratulatory, even going as far as to comment on how clever some of his song titles were. I hate to sound so negative because the album is very good and the concert was a wonderful experience. So intimate and friendly! And with great charisma! So, after the show finished, I bought a copy of that album, listened to it, and enjoyed it. It was my go-to, little know rap album throughout Uni. Strangely though, I didn't keep up with what the Listener was up to. One day, inspiration struck me and I took to Google for information. I discovered not one, but two new albums on his Bandcamp page. Bandcamp - what a wonderful website. What struck me quickly though was that the material had shifted. The Listener persona had changed from intelligent rapper to loud and angry street poet, the sample led backing tracks were replaced by a live, noisy and almost roots band atmosphere. All the changes were completely for the best. What struck me after these realisations was that one of the albums was a re-imagining of Ozark Empire. This new record, Return to Struggleville, took the majority of the songs and developed their Death of a Salesman-esque themes into a passionate symphony detailing the destructive aspects of working in dog-eat-dog consumer focused society. I flat out love it. Nearly all the Ozark-tracks songs are improved (Officer, You Have the Wrong Man... being the sole exception), finding an extra gear that the solid yet sterile production the first time round missed, but it's the new compositions that turn the loose themes into a nightmare landscape of redundant office workers, knife salesmen and snake oil dreams.
Standout tracks: "What would you do if I'm not what I'm supposed to be, because I'm not", "It's time for drastic measures they're not taking you seriously", "The music that the angels do"
Asleep in the Sea - Avenue
This is definitely a high scorer on the "fewer fans, better band" scale. I discovered Asleep in the Sea a few years ago when they only had two EPs. There were prepping their debut album for release. It was an exciting time. Then they broke up and the album was only released in a limited capacity. They had offered it as a free download, but by the time I realised, Megaupload/Rapidshare/takeyourpick had taken it down. I had missed out. Sad face. So I emailed the drummer and he really kindly sent me it just for the price of shipping. Sweet. I think the whole album is up on YouTube now, so it's well worth checking it out. They're a very sweet, melodic indie band. Quirky vocals are very much the dish of the day, but with great emotional range. The record plays out like a smaller scale Sufjan Stevens, which is definitely no bad thing. It's definitely quite rough, but there's enough in the way of potential and promise that really makes me sad to think that this unit don't make music together any more.
Standout tracks: Maiden Fair, Caner & Bones, Doom
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Other musings
Lucky for you guys, it's fairly easy to listen to these records. For Jenny Owen Youngs and the Listener, I strongly advise buying their records - support your global local artists!
http://listener.bandcamp.com/album/return-to-struggleville-2
http://jennyowenyoungs.bandcamp.com/
This youtube chap has the majority of Avenue uploaded http://www.youtube.com/user/Chuggsy666 , but I'll also embed one for ease.
So what's new? Work's getting a bit quieter which is nice. I would fill up the extra time with study and cinema trips, but I have my family visiting this weekend, so instead, the time will be spent walking around and eating in restaurants, plus a nice bit of shopping. It's nearly the official start of birthday season, in which me, my mum and my brother all have our birthdays in a 2 week period (well, usually, but leap year has added an extra day onto it). 27th Feb, 5th March, 13th March. Half term weekend is traditionally when we meet up and hand over all presents so they can sit pretty in a cupboard until the party starts.
I should *fingers crossed* be going to the New Empress film quiz on Sunday night! How exciting. Next time I get my pay check, I may even subscribe to said publication. More info here http://newempressmagazine.com/
Freak out!
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