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The Turning Point: Double Shots On Me!
To celebrate The Turning Point in this heretofore crappy week, I'm posting a gentle mix of recently acquired tunes, all of which are available on eMusic (see their introductory offer on the right column, if you've never tried this service). Consider this a round of double shots on me! I hope you dig it. I hope some of these tracks make you feel as good and optimistic as I do today. Enjoy!
I knew Neil Finn had a son who's been playing with him, but I didn't know he released his own album, I'll Be Lightning. This stuff's pretty good and not unlike Dad's work. Don't let comparisons to Elliott Smith scare you off!
Liam Finn, "Better to Be"
Liam Finn, "Lead Balloon"
When the siblings of The Fiery Furnaces take their meds and can concentrate on producing concise, quirky, New Wave- and Bowie-style tuneage, I'm usually interested. Here are two tracks from their new, relatively concise album, Widow City. Fans of their equally focused EP from a few years ago take note!
The Fiery Furnaces, "Duplexes of the Dead"
The Fiery Furnaces, "Ex-Guru"
Since I first saw them on a late-night show when their first album hit our shores, I've been thinking I'll dig Gomez. Any time since then, when I've tried out a song or heard one on the radio, I wonder what I was thinking. I stumbled across this solo album by Gomez member Ian Ball last month and thought I'd check it out. I liked the album cover, what can I say? I also dig a number of the tunes. Maybe it's time to check out Gomez again. Any suggestions of where to start?
Ian Ball, "When We Were Cool"
Ian Ball, "I Knew You Were Trouble"
5 comments
I think their biggest problem is that whatsisname is not a very good vocal melody writer. His occasional good melodies, say "Sing to Me" can be wonderful, but a lot of times the vocals chatter rather than sing. I do like the ambition, though.
Overall, I’m up and down on them, too. Like EP a lot and “Inca Rag/Name Game” on Gallowsbird’s Bark was probably my entry point for them. I really got into Blueberry Boat when it came out, though it’s probably a little too long, I guess. I think “Mason City” on that album is the one that drove home the Pound Is Sinking association in my mind.
I didn’t immediately take to Bitter Tea when I bought it, but this is a good excuse to break it out again this weekend to see if I’s grown on me. “Police Sweater Blood Vow” was the one that stood out, one of those odd songs they do best. I haven’t picked up Widow City, but I do like “Ex-Guru” and I think “The Philadelphia Grand Jury” was the other one I’ve heard and enjoyed on it.
Of course he is good, look what his daddy and uncle can do. No doubt we'll be hearing from Neil's son Elroy in a few years. (Coincidentally, I'm listening to the first Finn brothers album now, and it totally fits with the mood of this grey day).
By the way, Elliott Smith has two T's at the end. As you know, they stand for "totally terrific". Make a note.
I am so up and down about the Fiery Furnaces. I love the EP, the first thing I got. Like the first record just fine. Never warmed up to Blueberry Boat. Got Widow City a few days ago and have been listening lots but not actually diggin' it much. I liked hearing the two songs plucked out of the whole, but right now I'd say that fans of EP should listen to Bitter Tea. That one sweeps from song to song like EP but has a more hallucinatory edge. I swear at one point there's a repeat of a song with the vocals turned backwards. A couple months back I couldn't stop listening to it.
I think their biggest problem is that whatsisname is not a very good vocal melody writer. His occasional good melodies, say "Sing to Me" can be wonderful, but a lot of times the vocals chatter rather than sing. I do like the ambition, though.
I'm a big fan of Gallowsbird's Bark (or at least I was at the time of its release; I haven't listened to it in years) and I loved Blueberry Boat when it came out, though I haven't listened to that one in a while, either. EP has some great stuff on it, but was a bit anti-climactic for me as I already had most of the tracks on CD singles.
Plus, I much prefer the album version of "Tropical Ice-Land" to the faster single version. Rehearsing My Choir was a real head-scratcher the first time I heard it and is generally a record I've only gotten through once or twice, but I've appreciated it in the right circumstances. It's definitely destined for a future issue of Mojo's "100 Wackiest/Trippiest Records Ever" or something like that. What brought me back into the fold was hearing Bitter Tea. I listened to it lots a few years ago when it came out and it may be my favorite releases of theirs since their 1st album.
Later that year, Matthew Friedberger (to answer questions about the guy's name) released 2 solo albums and neither made that much of an impression on me.
As for Widow City, I like it but strangely it just didn't move me all that much. I'm not sure why, though.
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