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Portishead
Magic Doors 6819 KB
Third (2008)

[review 2008: half-measures and quiet victories]

The last time most of the world had seen Portishead, it was with the backing of a full orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City back in 1997. That performance, immortalized on CD and DVD, was excellent, but also seemed to signal a sort of apex for the traditional Portishead sound. Trip-hop, as a term, was well on its way to becoming a punchline. And though bands like Portishead and Massive Attack have successfully outlived the term, there was still a sense that the next albums would require a more overt evolution towards a different sound.

Fast forward a decade, and the memory of Portishead had loomed larger than the band itself for years. Whispers of new material and a reunion would occasionally surface, only to disappear without a trace or be revealed as a hoax. There was at least one fake album release rumour; Alien, the supposed 2003 return of Portishead, turned out to be the product of another band entirely. When finally Portishead resurfaced last year at All Tomorrow’s Parties—and with new songs, no less—it seemed almost like a hallucination. That’s not actually Beth Gibbons belting out a song I’ve never heard before, is it?

But the performance that will mark Third for me, the way Roseland marks Portishead for so many others, is a live internet performance called Portishead in Portishead. Recorded in Geoff Barrow’s old school, the performance evokes claustrophobia and cool sterility, a marked change from the Roseland performance. So it is with Third, an album that manages the amazing feat of reviving a long-missing band, forever associated with a dated genre they never quite embraced, and makes them sound fresh and current.

The big change is a renewed embrace of dissonance and noise. First single “Machine Gun,” arguably the least successful track on the album, takes this new element to an extreme, stripping everything down to a few harsh percussion samples, a vague electronic tone, and Beth Gibbons’ voice as the only human anchor in a sea of jagged edges and sharp points. Of course, my dislike of “Machine Gun” is personal; you might find it one of the best songs they’ve ever done, admiring its direct approach and clarity of purpose. It’s a purpose-built song intended to evoke a very specific feeling of dread and tension; considering the band’s past forays into cinematic grandeur, “Machine Gun” may actually be one of the tracks that comes closest to Portishead’s old modus operandi, even if the attack comes from a completely different vector than before.

Elsewhere, though, the additional grit works wonders. Most of Third maintains a creeping, sinister tension. “Deep Water” and perhaps “The Rip” are the notable exceptions, two well-placed ballads that offer time to breathe before returning to the relentless claustrophobia of the other tracks. If you’re game for it, Third is one of the best albums of the year. Myself, I find it easier to admire than to love; it requires a certain mood and setting for best results, but when you’re there it’s hard not to marvel at Portishead’s magnificent renaissance.

December 15, 2008
filed under Electronic, Review 2008
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Long Blondes
Century 9576 KB
Couples (2008)

[review 2008: half-measures and quiet victories]

Sophomore albums are always tough, but even more so when they turn out to be your last. That’s what happened to the Long Blondes, who were in the middle of touring Couples in early June (not long after the Toronto gig in May I went to) when lead guitarist and songwriter Dorian Cox suffered a stroke. Several months later, it became clear that while Cox was reasonably functional, he wasn’t as sure about his ability to play the guitar in the future. The band parted ways, unwilling or unable to continue without him.

Couples, then, has the unfortunate responsibility of serving as the Long Blondes’ curtain call, when it seems so clearly to show a band still in the process of figuring out its next move. Anyone hoping for a retread or revamp of 2006’s Someone to Drive You Home was sorely disappointed; Couples is less straightforward, less danceworthy, and more varied. Aspects clearly pointed to more ambitious goals; “Century” is one of those songs that doesn’t quite incite a dance riot, but is full of potential. You can almost hear the song it should’ve been in your head, as a sort of commentary track to the original. It’s these moments that show the promise the Long Blondes had, and these moments that most obviously mark Couples as a transition album—but to what, we’ll never know.

The album was actually poorer for the tracks that most resembled its predecessor; “Guilt” and “Here Come the Serious Bit” are good tracks, but in the shadow of “Giddy Stratospheres” or “Separated By Motorways” or any of a half-dozen other choices, they come off as somewhat less enthused cover versions. It’s when the band steps away from their original material, like the shimmering almost-disco-pop of “Century” or the noir-thriller aesthetic of “Round the Hairpin,” that the Blondes come closest to forging a viable future sound for themselves. Some of these experiments aren’t entirely successful, but at least the band gave it the old college try. More than that, they make a convincing case that the easy pleasures of their old dancefloor-friendly guitar pop weren’t worth hanging onto for a whole second album.

With word that Cox is undergoing physiotherapy in the hopes of picking up the guitar again, the more romantic amongst us may hope that the Long Blondes reform sometime in the near future. But honestly, I’m left to wonder if perhaps that time has passed. Couples documents the process of the band attempting to evolve beyond their origins—here seems like a good time to trot out the ol’ presser factoid about the two couples in the band having broken up just before the recording sessions—but with their development halted in such a sudden and complete manner, it just doesn’t seem worth having the Blondes reform under the same aegis. We don’t need a reunion tour for a band that put out two albums—and I wonder if Kate Jackson, Dorian Cox and company would want that either. So good night, Long Blondes. You will be missed.

December 13, 2008
filed under Hard, Review 2008
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Forest City Lovers
Country Road 5659 KB
Haunting Moon Sinking (2008)

[review 2008 - half-measures and quiet victories]

When I was first introduced to Forest City Lovers a year and a half ago, it was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in early spring—the kind that re-introduces you to the concept of wanting to be outside without a jacket. They played a fantastic set that perfectly captured that sense of reawakening, and it was all anchored by an as-yet-unreleased song, “Don’t Go, Please.” Around the same time, the Toronto band recorded a version of the song for the Friends in Bellwoods compilation. Kat Burns had started Forest City Lovers as a solo project, and first album The Sun and the Wind was recorded with a few friends backing her up. But that early version of “Don’t Go, Please” was supposedly the first time Forest City Lovers had recorded not as a solo project, but as a full band—Burns had found a permanent group of musicians to play with around town, and planned to record a full album for release sometime in the following year.

As befits a band in the process of transforming itself into something new, many of the songs they’d played in gigs around town were reworked in the months following the spring gig I attended. “Don’t Go, Please” became simply “Don’t Go,” the lead track off Haunting Moon Sinking. Gone is the gentle yet insistent electric guitar that anchored the early recording, replaced largely with the violin of Mika Posen. Gone, too, is that quiet springtime atmosphere I associated with the song. And though the new version sounds alright, it’s just not the Forest City Lovers I’d been hoping for.

This is probably far more my problem than Kat Burns and company, for Haunting Moon Sinking is a perfectly good album. It’s a more ambitious album, with a wider palette of instruments and variation in emotional impact. There’s also a couple of great songs, including the obvious single-if-there-was-one “Country Road” and “Pirates (Can’t All Sail the Indian Ocean).” But with that variety comes a corresponding loss of intimacy. On The Sun and the Wind, Kat Burns’ guitar and voice served as the foundation; that’s no longer the case here, and sometimes it just feels like that much more distance between you and the heart of the music.

But such is probably what happens when you associate a band so closely with a specific time and place. I can’t blame Forest City Lovers for not being able to repackage that lovely Saturday afternoon into their new album; I just hope they don’t blame me for not embracing it the way I did the last one.

December 11, 2008
filed under Review 2008, Soft
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Goldfrapp
Little Bird 8192 KB
Seventh Tree (2008)

[review 2008: half-measures and quiet victories]

The saving grace of Seventh Tree is that it’s not another Supernature. That album felt like a second disc of Black Cherry in many ways—it sounded similar, but with less conviction and effort. When it did break from its predecessor, Supernature tended to suffer as a result; throwing away Black Cherry’s sinister cool in favour of a more cabaret-inspired sound was not a good idea, even if that sinister cool had since become cannon fodder for television commercials and CSI scenes involving furry orgies. (I can never hear “Slippage” in quite the same way again.) A third go-around probably would’ve been doomed to repeat the same mistakes more severely.

Seventh Tree starts out strong by running in the opposite direction. “Clowns” and “Little Bird” evoke celestial orbits rather than the seductive underworld of previous releases. They’re also completely free of dancefloor beats, which I think has to take some credit for why the opening salvo is so successful. “Happiness” is a sort of return to the old formula, but it maintains the same general atmosphere nonetheless: the glossy synths and cabaret beat march sprightly to an altogether more upbeat harmony than we’re used to hearing.

It’s when Seventh Tree tries to take a middle road between the electoclash dance pop of Supernature and the new direction from the first few tracks that the results are less convincing. “A & E” and “Caravan Girl” should be the most successful songs on the album, but the beats create inoffensive, middle-of-the-road rhythms that commit the same cardinal sin as Supernature did: they sound like the product of artists who aren’t really trying. “A & E” awakens only during the bridge, but then peters out after a final chorus. Meanwhile, “Caravan Girl” attempts to dazzle with sparkly keyboard effects and a driving beat, but there’s absolutely nothing about the track that inspires any strong feelings. It basically sounds pretty, and not much more.

Goldfrapp’s fourth album is not a failure, exactly, but it feels like one that missed the target. Had Alison and Will stuck to their guns and taken the sound of “Little Bird” and “Clowns” a few steps further, we’d be looking at a great headphones album to sink into. Instead, I’m just waiting to see what Goldfrapp’s next step will be.

December 9, 2008
filed under Electronic, Review 2008
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Review 2008: the protracted edition, part one

So obviously, anyone who still follows this blog knows it’s been a while since I’ve been doing regular updates. It’s unlikely I’ll pick them back up after this year, short of a major change in the amount of freelance and full-time work I do combined with a sudden spark of interest in today’s music scene. I’ve felt for years that I’ve been slowly losing touch with what seems to land on both critic lists and indie radio charts, to say nothing of what’s actually popular (not that I ever seemed to care very much about the latter). I’ve not heard the Fleet Foxes album, though everyone and their uncle seems to love it, because I don’t really care about the current obsession with countri-folk-timey indie pop. Meanwhile, my own tastes seem to have narrowed; my favourite albums this year followed roughly similar musical agendas. That’s fine if I want to keep enjoying music, as there’s still stuff for me to listen to. In terms of actually telling people about it? Maybe not so much.

And then there’s the list of albums that I’ve not really given much of a shot, just because of disinterest or lack of time or both. Some of them seem deserving of recognition even if I couldn’t be arsed to listen to them as much as I should have, so here’s a short list before we get into the yearly review proper:

“Fall in Awe” by Willow Willow, from Willow Willow
An gentle duo of almost-sisters singing sweetly enchanting folk that seems to come from a different tradition than the countrified folk-pop I can’t get into so much. Maybe not far enough away, as I never really latched onto this album either, but several songs stick in their own quiet ways.

“You’re Not All That” by the Herbaliser, from Same As It Never Was
The Herbaliser returned in 2008 with a singer and a new groove, busting out a set of more straightforward funk tracks and scaling back on the cinematic hip-hop that used to be the band’s calling card. Jessica Darling is a great addition and the tracks she sings on sound great—it’s just not as memorable or interesting as some of their older stuff, mainly because it’s less distinctively Herbaliser. Still, not a disappointment, and there’s still plenty of the old Herbaliser sound kicking around.

“The Conversation” by the Lodger, off Life is Sweet
If Aussie indie-pop legends the Lucksmiths took some uppers and stuck to electric guitars, I imagine they’d sound something like the Lodger, whose debut album is chock full of bright, winning numbers suitable for anyone who likes their indiepop just barely this side of twee. The problem, then, is not the music, but the sense I get when listening to the album that I’m just reliving a fondness for old sounds rather than discovering new ones. But don’t hold that against the Lodger.

“Starlight” by YMCK, off Family Genesis
A superb set of Japanese chiptunes that aspires to be something more than just retro Nintendo-soundtrack homage, and usually succeeds. You just have to be really into chiptunes to fully appreciate the album, I think.

“Spoiler Alert” by Laura Barrett, off Victory Garden
The Exclaim! review of Victory Garden put it best: where Barrett’s debut EP was charming but seemed to already stretch the limits of her sound, Victory Garden builds upon that foundation by unchaining her from the kalimba and indulging in a wider variety of arrangements. I only got this album recently and as with Earth Sciences, you have to be in a particular mood to put on Laura Barrett, so I haven’t very often. But I look forward to digging into the album a bit more over the coming months.

“Calliope” by White Hinterland, off Phylactery Factory
I really wanted to like this album, I did. Though honestly only based on two songs, my impression of Casey Dienel was that she had a knack for putting together off-kilter piano pop that should be soundtracking an off-off-Broadway play. “Dreaming of the Plum Trees” best epitomizes the carefree Charlie Brown aspects I loved about her music. The reason I haven’t posted that song again, though, is because it’s not really representative of the album as a whole. Most of Phylactery Factory is spent in a more introspective mood, and combined with some odd production choices (”A Beast Washed Ashore” just seems awfully quiet, to be honest), it just feels like Dienel’s best qualities aren’t really on display here.

“You’re Only Lonely” by Republic of Safety, from Succession
This is the last hurrah from Republic of Safety, a Toronto band whose reputation always seemed larger than its actual recorded output—Succession brings the number of released tracks to twelve, just enough for one pretty darn good album. From the various articles written about the band’s life between Vacation and the end, it didn’t sound like the band ever had much hope of sticking together long enough to make a real go of things, but they certainly knew how to write a good song.

December 7, 2008
filed under Review 2008, Songs
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