Occasionally with song titles
I'm stuck in a loop wondering which came first, the title or the song itself? I
know usually the title will come last, the Beatles' "Yesterday"
was famously demoed as "Scrambled
Eggs," but in some cases the music seems tailored to the title. I'm
convinced Built to Spill's Doug Martsch figured out how to get the bands
guitars to echo into infinity after scrawling the title "Randy Described
Eternity" on a piece of paper. The most likely reason for "Anarchy
in the U.K."'s sound is that the mangy Sex Pistols wanted to match the
calamity suggested in the rebellious title.
Brooklyn electronic pop outfit
Lemonade's new song "Come Down Softly" belongs in this category.
"Come Down Softly" suggests a slow, feathery fall onto a mattress and
that's the mood Callan Clendenin and company fashion here. Clendenin's voice
hardly rises above a whisper. Alex Pasternak's drums alternate between thump
and unobtrusive ticking. The group's tropical flavored synthesizers wash
over everything like waves from a lagoon. At a critical juncture Clendenin soulfully murmurs "a place that I know, this time I'm not alone, the hair bangs on your shoulder breaks my fall." There's no gigantic drop-off, just a gentle ride into the sunset.
Lemonade's third LP Minus Tide is out on Cascine September 9.
I'm not sure if I've ever had to
turn down the volume on a song that could be pegged as "seductive
R&B" because the bass was too loud. Ideally, the bass should be softly
exhaling. Synthesizers need to ebb and flow without overflowing. Drums
(programmed or otherwise) that faintly tick are best. Any guitars in the mix
fit when they have a brittle feeling. The seduction element hinges on silence.
On "Share It All,"
Jessie Ware's second offering from her upcoming sophomore release Tough Love, the
U.K. electronic R&B artist checks off the last three while leaving the
first conspicuously blank. "Share It All"'s synth moves at a glacial
pace under Ware's breathy request "could you it all with me, and I'll
share it all with you?" When she's navigating in a dark room with a
destination in mind, drums are quietly chattering under piles of ripped off bed
sheets. The song's fragile reverberated guitars conjure the xx and sure enough
the London trio's guitarist Romy Madley Croft co-wrote the effort with Ware.
Though previous
collaborator Julio Bashmore produced "Share It All," it’s the
xx's work that informs the track. The idea of cavernous bass in an alluring
number wouldn't be possible without the xx's "Intro"
as a template. In "Share It All," each boom isn't meant to shake you,
but echo the jittery beat of a heart.
It's more than the music though
that makes the xx one of Ware's closest analogues; it's her uncertain romantic
insistence. "Share it all with me," she calmly demands before backing
down to "if you want to." Ware's asking someone else "tell me
what you want me to do;" following instead of leading. Not unlike Croft in
"Angels,"
she knows exactly what love is, but doesn't quite know how to pursue it.
Jessie Ware's Twitter page teases August 3 as a release date for Tough Love's title track. No news yet when the album will appear on Island/Cherrytree.
Mazzy Star's breakthrough 1994
single "Fade Into You" has all the hallmarks of a song that shouldn't
be covered. It's instantly recognizable for sure. The sort of tune that leaves
little to no doubt in the mind of indie music fans who wrote it. But it's also
an intensely personal number. One that has vocalist Hope Sandoval whispering
her intent to give herself over to someone else entirely; to disappear without
a trace. Set to David Robuck's leisurely sliding guitar, "Fade Into
You" becomes a ghost story of commitment so cryptic that future retellings
become nearly impossible.
I'm careful to say
"nearly" because Brooklyn synthpop trio Au Revoir Simone has done a
laudable job in narrating their own version of the 20 year old dream-pop
standard. The group's been covering Mazzy Star's signature tune live for years
now, so the move comes as no surprise to longtime fans of the group. To the
casual listener though, it's something of a marvel. Aided by Strokes bassist
Nikolai Fraiture, Simone's take simultaneously captures the haunted spirit of
Mazzy Star's time while chugging along further into the past. Their luxuriating
synthesizers call to mind 80s fare like "Take On
Me" without the inherent cheesiness. Not unlike prime-era New Order, Heather
D'Angelo's drum programming is unnerving in its metronomic quality. And then
there are the vocals, which feel intentionally distanced. When they sing
"you go in shadows" with a tinge of reverb, you can feel the darkness
sinking in. Au Revoir Simone's well aware "Fade Into You" is an
apparition and with their cover, they've conjured it all over again.
(You can listen to the band's studio version here and check out a live radio version of "Fade Into You" below.)
Seeing a song title like
"Psychic Pharmacy" you can hazard a guess at what type of music
you're likely to hear. Odds are "hypnotic" will be a chief
descriptor. Words and phrases like "spacey" or
"sonic-manipulation" may come to mind. When I read the title, I
expect wave upon wave of tie-dyed water to crest over me.
With all of those expectations,
Dinowalrus' dense "Psychic Pharmacy" is still a marvelous surprise.
While there is sonically manipulated guitar coiling through the song, it feels
incredibly wounded. It's not a warm, sunny presence but a pained one. The type
of downcast person at a party that you'd like to see leave as soon as possible.
The same can be said of the clanking percussion. Every dry rattle is
unquestionably alluring; though the closer your ears get the more you begin to
realize they're bones clattering in unison. Dinowalrus' half-sung/half-shouted
chorus is rallying while masking the panic of "nowhere knows, where it
goes." Figuring out where to go in life is difficult enough when you have
a clear path; it's infinitely harder when the road is obscured by bleating
synthesizers and wailing saxophone. In the hands of Clarence Clemons the sax
that dances off into the night would be triumphal instead of defeatist. Like
every contributor to "Psychic Pharmacy" it doesn't quite burn out or
fade away, it simply ceases to be.
You can listen to "Psychic
Pharmacy" here and look for their album Complexion to drop June
4 via Personal Projects.
