I received this in the mail along with UNKLE just prior to leaving on a 5 hour drive to vacation in Lake Powell in southern Utah. While I certainly leant some time to Psyence Fiction during the trip, it was The Glow, Pt. 2 which truly enchanted me. I’m sure that I listened to the album twenty to thirty times over the course of that trip and for good reason. The Glow, Pt. 2 is Phil Elverum at his very best. I mean, I’m pretty sure it is better than Mount Eerie, but I’m stubborn in my love for that album. So many little perfections and expectedly perfect album art.
The first time I listened to Mount Eerie, I didn’t know the ridiculously convoluted concept behind it. Yet, even without this knowledge, I popped the CD into my portable CD player (remember those), put on some oversized headphones and proceeded to hike up a nearby canyon. Alone with nature and this album, it was perhaps the single most poignant experience I’ve had with any album. Regardless of what you think of Phil Elverum’s nature deifying ideologies, you can’t fault the man for constructing perfect aural accompaniments for the beautiful nature of the northwest. I’ve listened to the album plenty of times since then of course, skipping the lengthy drum intro far fewer times than you might expect, and each time I’m astounded by the communal and artistic energy that the album holds. Is it any wonder why he is now known as Mount Eerie?
Mahjongg Kontpab (01.2008, K Records) Verdict = Afro-Caribbean Post Punk?
The question mark is present in the verdict because I really have no idea what I am talking about. Just saw these guys live and I am pretty sure they aren’t “afro” anything but the polyrhythms these suckas lay down are down right primitive. I am talking about chimpanzees and gorillas primitive too, so if they have those in the Caribbean I think I would feel even more comfortable with my off base “verdict” (they aren’t really verdicts very often are they). Well, self conscious criticism aside, Mahjongg are still busting out the hits with an exiting new home at K Records. It has been a bit since their wonderful debut full length Raydoncong (of whose label was apparently bought up by one of the guys in Good Charlotte, ha!), but Mahjongg are back with a vengeance. A little bit leaner, smarter, occasionally sparser, Kontpab is simply a perfect evolution for these crazies and their blissful beat driven punk funk blitz. So really all you need to know to enjoy this album is the following: 1. Get all your friends in a room filled with old, lame thrift store vases and dishes or something. 2. Pass out some electric green, orange and red sunglasses from the eighties and maybe some headbands and wristbands for potential perspiration. 3. Gather every possible speaker that you have in your house into all corners of the room. 4. Proceed to play Kontpab as loud as possible (this stuff has to be played loud for full effect, trust me), invent dance moves that no one has ever done before and break all the thrift store ceramics! I don’t know, sounds fun to me.
Woelv Tout Seul dans la Foret en Plein Jour, Aves-Vous Peur? (12.2007, K Records) Verdict: wonderful
The art book packed alongside Woelv's brilliant new album features pictures of a girl being set on fire, kids knifing each other, a man who has just stepped onto a landmine, a ghost forcing a girl to cut her wrists and other not so pleasant visual treats. These pictures are basically what the music sounds like. Despair seems to be the theme Geneviève has chosen to represent the world we live in as she tells the tales of oppression, war, rape, and other discomforting aspects of life. Geneviève's Bjork-esque layered vocals have a very human and honest quality which gives the otherwise heavy themed album a distinct sense of hope. The music generally consists of simple acoustic guitars, with the occasional bass or piano being backed by Microphones' inspired percussion (She is married to Phil Elverum after all). It's a pretty gloomy album, so those looking for feel good Juno soundtrack indie pop should look elsewhere. But for those that appreciate honest music that's beautiful in its own right, this is for you.
Adrian Orange has put out several releases under the moniker Thanksgiving, all of which have neither disappointed me, or blown me away. His music generally consists of untrained vocals, introspective lyrics, and simple guitar. On his latest release Adrian Orange & Her Band, he maintains the vocals and lyrics that you would come to expect, but bags the acoustic campfire strumming for as K records describes "Rogue West African prison-funk". On this outing Adrian is backed by a never ending ensemble of horn players, beat makers and backing vocalists. The result is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. The album starts out with "Window (mirror) Shadow", the songs carries an almost dance-hall feel which he maintains throughout the album. Highlights of the album are the upbeat anthem "Give to love what's love's" and "Question love answer" which finds Adrian occasionally letting out tuneless yelps over a mellow dub track. I know the combo of Adrian's harsh vocals with afro/dub music sounds about as good as peanut butter and pickles, but it works, and it works well. Adrian Orange & Her Band is one of the best albums to come out of K Records in a long while and is an amazingly solid release for such a young musician (Adrian is 21). How Adrian went from barely managing to lead himself to being able to command a full on afro-beat orchestra is beyond me. But he did it, and I'm glad he did.
The Microphones
