MELOMANIA returns for you.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
ABSENCE EXPLAINED (ATTEMPTED)
Life is writing. Writing is life. Life is a lot like an accordion. You strap it on and lean it to it hard to play and constantly try not to think about all the weight you are holding. Then, you figure out how to control the buttons, the keys, its mass, and out comes melody. The melody flows and creates ripples that resonate in other frequencies. The feeling of wondering “Just where did that come from!” washes over your smiling face. However, you fail to realize that you have extended it so far - that you have run out of air. So you must take one looooooooong gasp of air to get it back. But you have more melody. You hear those frequencies of nature making chords with you. Suddenly, there is not enough air to make anything but notes. The notes fall flat like bricks from a high wall. Smashed to the ground they become colored dust and dirt like everything else at your feet. Your strength to hold this monstrosity diminishes under its weight and the sobering notion surfaces - you may have lost control.
Apologies. Thank you for supporting us. Well, me.
SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG - Crying Laughing Waving Smiling [LP/CD](Lame-O)
What a title. It kind of sums it all up. Four gerunds that summarize the work that Jacob Ewald and the band put into encapsulating the experience, and the responses they elicit from you while listening. While it does veer into that meditative Indie Rock territory familiar to fans of The War on Drugs, its most recent and direct antecedent would have to be the autumnal classic “Days” by Real Estate. Self-produced and gracefully guided along, the tracks use all necessary space for layering harmonies, chiming guitars, all while keeping those drums right up front. The Band-like organ solo on the spritely “Float Away” is a true surprise. Like the recent Hiss Golden Messenger album “Jump For Joy” and even Ratboys’ stellar “The Window,” Slaughter Beach, Dog is interested in speaking in the past language of Americana/Rock N’Roll. While this is nothing new, it matters because these songs are no longer deriving their chordal images from the familiar (take the last ten years with that Fleetwood Mac lovelorn strum.) “Bobcat Club” needs to meander and its noisy centre makes it even more hypnotic, but it is the high vocal harmonies that serve as the divining rod carrying you through. However, no cut compares to the magical nearly nine-minute “Engine.” Ewald’s journey through day-to-day life, touring life, and recording life, is the Indie Rock equivalent of Don DeLillo. If this is modern stream-of-consciousness writing and playing, we can lie down by this body of water for days on end.
How about some Christgau-sized morsels?
BLEACH LAB - Lost In A Rush of Emptiness [LP/CD](Nettwerk)
The South London group is excellent at concocting that hazy, shoegaze, Goth-tinged drama. “Nothing Left To Lose” sounds like College Radio circa 1989 (before the revolution.) The band purrs along behind singer Jenna Kyle in all tempos. However, “Lost” is truly her show. Her lyrics and delivery on “All Night” are heartbreaking - and that is their opener. “Lost” is Bleach Lab’s introduction and they take a real chance with exploration.
JENNY OWEN YOUNGS - Avalanche [LP/CD](Yep Roc/Redeye)
The longtime Indie singer/songwriter takes a few very bold steps in her writing. At times her lyrics are so novel (“But every book I’ve ever held re-writes itself” from the title cut) and striking (“Got a memory to amputate/Digging for the novocaine” on the gallows-humor “It’s Later Than You Think.”) “Avalanche” is about pain and confronting it, yet Owen Youngs is so crestfallen and insulated at times the central narratives can feel gauzy. However, the standout “Salt” is where it all comes into focus and crystallizes around this lyrical brilliance: “If I could make enough money/I’d move out to the country/Where no one would bother me/I think it just hit me/I don’t want you to come with me.”
FINAL GASP - Mourning Moon [LP/CD](Relapse/The Orchard)
Just in time for Halloween, Boston’s Final Gasp release their initial blast of Goth/Metal. “Homebound” shares a few towering moments at the end with the dark majesty of Type O Negative. “Botched Ritual” gallops along with its sinister chorus-ed guitars like Fields of The Nephilim. On the other hand, “Frozen Glare” could really separate itself from Metal altogether and fit nicely on The Cult’s “Love.” As Goth as “Mourning Moon” wants to be, all credit to Final Gasp for giving the organization of the album the whole Grand Guignol linkage. The entire image of the bludgeoning “Blood and Sulfur” and the vicious “Temptation” still keep Metalheads pounding along.
We hope you enjoyed this music. We always leave hoping that there is something on the list or the page for everyone. Support these artists. They are working on music that they love and firmly believe could be loved by others too. Glad to be your musical sifter/selector. Thank you. More on: New Music Report
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