Farfisa

I'm downloading "Nassau" as we speak. "A Man Who Never Sees A Pretty Girl That He Doesn’t Love Her A Little Bit" has some damn good drumming.

Engine

So I was reading this piece of..thread and one thing got my attention.

It was when mr dave said:
This is something I do in my album reviews and I will defend the practice by saying: my system isn't meant to be arbitrary, it's meant to represent 1 - 10 which I assume everybody understands. Of course, my idea of any number can be considered arbitrary - but then so can the entire review - because I wrote it. So the whole shebang is arbitrary and why shouldn't it be? A review that is not written arbitrarily is more like a Wikipedia entry (which mr dave also righteously derided).

On the other hand.
mr dave's comment made me think..

What is the point of rating an album 1 - 10? Specifically, in my Squirrel Bait thread, why should I do it? The answer is that I am trying to convey how I like the albums in relation to each other. But is that necessary? I'm starting to think not. I obviously like all of the music so why bother explaining that I like one album more than another to the 10th degree? I think I'll stop the numbers after my final review of The Sea and Cake.

Upcoming reviews (not nec. in order):

June of 44 - Engine Takes to the Water (1995)
Codeine - The White Birch (1994)
Directions in Music (1996)

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

Engine

Tracks:
1. Sporting Life
2. The Argument
3. The Fawn
4. The Ravine
5. Rossignol
6. There You Are
7. Civilise
8. Bird and Flag
9. Black Tree in the Bee Yard
10. Do Now Fairly Well

Band:
Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt, Eric Claridge, John McEntire

Recorded by John McEntire 1996

Released by Thrill Jockey 1997

The Fawn is the album on which The Sea and Cake goes electronic. Not really, but they do add layers of drum programming and other instrumental sequencing on top of their usual act. Also, the production is crisper than ever before. Often the addition of those elements is bad news for a band but it fits The Sea and Cake nicely. While their songs have always been smooth, here they are completely glazed. Your mind may slip on them because the band has added all kinds of percussion sounds to McEntire’s already complex, driven drumming. The result is psychedelic or, rather, hallucinogenic. It’s not that they have made wanking psychedelic rock music here. It’s that some of the sounds seem like they could have only come from your own mind – possibly after ingesting a psychedelic drug. The slick production helps slide all these sounds down your ear hole before you even realize where they came from.

The first two songs do their best to set the new stage for the band. ‘Sporting Life’ is virtually full of synthesized instruments yet it is far from synth-pop. It’s just The Sea and Cake with a lot of extra sounds. The core band is as present as ever and it is a testament to their strength that they do not sound changed by all this additional stuff – simply enhanced. Also, while Prekop has always sung clearly, softly, and on key – it sounds like he sobered up before entering the studio. Like everything else on this album, his voice has never sounded smoother. ‘The Argument’ is the best example of how this album can make you wonder if you have forgotten that you just dropped LSD two hours ago. No, it just sounds that way. The song is a barrage of percussion; sometimes sliding into the territory of jungle beats. About halfway into the song, the vocals start and you relax into the usual comfortable lounge seat that the band always provides. This is a common technique on The Fawn. The instrumentation is often given a long while to spread out and develop but, just when you are convinced that you are hearing an instrumental track, the voice, like Voltron’s head, tops it off and make The Sea and Cake complete.

After the first few tracks, the songs begin to sound more like traditional Sea and Cake – just more buttery. They continue to use plenty of effects and extra sounds but the result is the lulling pop that you’d expect from the band. The Fawn is a mixture of lullabies and mildly forceful indie-pop. It usually depends on whether McEntire and his drum kit want you to dose off or to dance around in your seat. He seems to always control the pace and he turns your emotional dial up and down as easily as he adjusts his synthesizers. ‘Bird and Flag’ is a standout track as it conjures disco with a jangly guitar riff straight out of the late 70s. The rest of the band also doesn’t do much to resist sounding like the Bee Gees. Two quiet, meandering tracks close out the album on a distinctly different note from which it began. It seems like McEntire brought a little bit of Tortoise with him on these because they whisper like mellow post rock without any of the dazzle of the first few songs.

As the years go by I only listen to The Sea and Cake occasionally but when I do, The Fawn is what I automatically reach for first. I find it their most interesting, if not best, release. To me it is where they hit the sweet spot where freedom and innovation converge to make heroic, forthright pop music.

9.1/10

The Argument


Bird and Flag

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

Engine

Along with John McEntire, the Squirrel Bait family also has Doug Scharin in its ancestry. The man is a drum genius. Choose your favorite drummer and Scharin is as good or better. What makes Doug special, though, is how he applies his talent. He is a rare artist who plays what he feels when he feels it. The proof is that hardly anybody gives a fuck about his music even though he has been a consistent innovator for decades. This is not to say that the man is an indie musician who can't play his instrument but makes entertaining sounds like some kind of Machiavellian schemer. I mean that Doug Scharin is a highly skilled drummer. He is up there with Buddy Rich and Dave Lombardo. He played and continues to play music that speaks to the soul of humankind. He is a goddamn good drummer.

The next 3 albums that I will review all feature Doug on the drums. Without intentions to detract from the other musicians in the bands who made the albums, I will say that I am not sure that I would be reviewing any of them here and now if Doug Scharin did not play drums on them 10-15 years ago.

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

Gavin B.

I appreciate your numerous items on the artists associated with the venerable Chicago based indie label Thrill Jockey. It takes a visit to the Thrill Jockey homepage to fully appreciate the remarkable diversity of their stable of musicians. Thrill Jockey is the kind of music that one should always pay for, even if it's abundantly available for free at pirate file sharing websites.

BTown

This is great, I wish i had come across this earlier. I went through a Squirrel Bait phase (right when I was really into Slint) a while back and did't really dig all that deep into bands linked to them although I have been meaning too.

__________________

Engine

Thanks, BTown. Eventually I will get to reviewing Slint who are, of course, especially important to many (for good reason). Based on what I know about your taste, I suggest checking out Bastro especially.

I'll have my review of Pullman up soon. I've been listening to a lot of acoustic guitar stuff lately (Dylan, Jose Gonzales, Drake) and I've also listened to the Pullman album a bunch of times in anticipation of reviewing it. Strangely, I haven't been struck with much to say about it besides that it's Post Rock + Americana. I know there's a lot more to say but it hasn't hit me yet. I expect to get it all down soon, though.

After that, I plan to get back on track with bands that are more closely related to Squirrel Bait and Slint. I'm thinking The For Carnation or King Kong should be next.

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

Engine

Tracks:
1. To Hold Down a Shadow
2. Barefott
3. In a Box, Under the Bed
4. Sagamore Bridge
5. Gravenhurst
6. Lyasnya
7. Two Parts Water
8. Beacon & Kent
9. Deer Hill
10. So Breaks Yesterday
11. Fullerton
12. Sunday Morning Traffic
13. Tall Grass
14. With Hands

Band:
Chris Brokaw
Bundy K. Brown
Curtis Harvey
Doug McCombs
*David Pajo

This kind of album doesn't get made today. Not by a band of hipsters anyway. This is acoustic post rock and while it's not totally original it's more of an invention than the standard throwback. Instead of many bands from back then and today who won't stop ripping off golden classics like Rolling Stones, The Byrds, Joy Division, U2, etc, etc, these guys were into John Fahey and Leo Kottke.

The entire album was recorded live and intimately and the only sounds come from acoustic stringed instruments. No vocals or other silly things that tend to ruin albums that conjure up 'old times' - this is just beautifully intricate strumming and picking. Lots of different instruments played by musicians from many of the contemporary top notch Chicago indie bands.

Oddly I'm at a loss of things to say about this album even though it is one that I have loved for many years and listened to extensively. Like the album, I'll just let the music speak for itself:

To Hold Down a Shadow


Lyasnya

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

James

Every band i've checked out from this thread has been great, thanks for introducing me to such great stuff.

Stephen

Hint at a possible Slint reformation next year: Slint to Reform in 2013?