4ad-l Mail for 11-17-1995

Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 05:44:19 -0700

From: einexile the meek ([email protected])

Subject: and to make up for that last note

Nothing gets me truckin like a little guilt. :)


Mojave - Ask Me Tomorrow
------------------------
 1. Love Songs on the Radio
 2. Sarah
 3. Tomorrow's Taken
 4. Candle Song 3
 5. You're Beautiful
 6. Where Is the Love
 7. After All
 8. Pictures
 9. Mercy

It may be true that nothing can beat Pygmalion--in fact I'll give it away
and confirm that fact: nothing can beat Pygmalion. But this is one hell
of a country and western album. We start with the infamous track everyone
wanted the new comp for, even though you all pretended you cared about
Scheer and Tarnation. Love Songs on the Radio's intoxicating quality does
not suffer with age from diminishing returns. It remains the closest
thing to sex in a bottle this side of the 5ep, those strums carrying you
along, Rachel more prominent than ever before, the bendy guitar like
nothing you have ever heard before. It is bore beautiful than any Simon
Bonney, Nick Cave, Red House Painters, or The Moon Seven Times (well,
there are some DAMNED good M7x songs on 7=49) that come to mind. The
songs lingers and lingers and then ends, and we start slowly into Sarah.
Now we have piano, generous and full but not stealing the show. The
percussion on this album is largely brushed snare, very nice with classy
cymbals all over, the beats commanding some but not all of your
attention. jOHN unfortunately will HATE this album since I am about to
compare it to the brilliant DARKLANDS. Not really, but it has some of
those same nice qualities. Sarah is soft and sweet and innocent and
short, a sad little Neil lament, before begins Tomorrow's Taken, a
fucking work of art. It is SO goddam great. Rachel again, her voice
deeper, full and sexy. Rhythmic piano and more of those gorgeous bendy
guitars. The harmonies come in and the song is just heaven. We are
moving fast now, faster than you might expect. The singing becomes
sadder, more pensive, and the song cuts off, slowing to a long epilogue
with a stunning, subdued cello melody. Here as in other places on the
album, we hear Neil singing near the back of the room as if was not meant
to show up on the recording, or even is a ghost. The epilogue goes
further and then winds down. I think this may be the best song on the
album.

No, this is. Candle Song 3. Gentler than the previous tracks, and a
genuine duet between Neil and Rachel. Ivo Lorelei's disinterest in the
harmonies on this album are, I'm sorry, DEAD WRONG. The vocal harmonies
on this album blow the M7x and their rubber duck out of the bathtub. This
is the best duet I can remember. We are moving slowly through this
genuinely heartbreaking song with a sweet guitar melody plucking back and
forth. Then the harmonies pick up, the percussion becomes more
interesting, and the song goes full rhapsody. Still slow, but so rich and
with such power. There is nothing like this album anywhere. Neil and
Rachel are out in full force, hiding nothing. We begin You're Beautiful,
just Neil with delicate, complex picking. This record has an amazing flow
to it. The cello comes in. Rachel comes in. The song retains its modest
tone, dipping into interludes and back out, then ends peacefully. Where
Is the Love starts in another full duet, piano and strum. The songs on
this album are so basic and simple, so frequently returning to the tonic,
but so original and pretty and pure, traveling between sections with
such confidence. The chemistry between Neil and Rachel is different here;
more anguished, they resonate strangely. The effect throws you off; the
song seems almost carelessly put together, but it is at the same time
lively and healthy.

After All has Neil almost alone again with his guitar, the piano winding
behind secretively, then full instrumentation comes in, including the
cello. Neil is becoming more emotional as we near the end of the album.
Guitar picking drops through like a subtler Sundays moment. Rachel again
accompanies him, though Neil continues to dominate the song. I feel for
him on this track. He is very convincing, all the more so because he
seems not only to be speaking for himself, but for us all. When he has
said his piece the song vanishes. Pictures begins with another very
pretty picked melodies. Some of you may be shocked but I saw it coming:
Neil Halstead has turned into James Taylor! He really kind of sounds like
him here. The harmonies are gorgeous on this track, the pickings tricking
us to stumble into unexpected chords. This song is also unique in that he
is harmonizing with himself--something he does quite beautifully and
should probably do more often. The song draws to a slow close, as classy
as ever, then bangs in Mercy, slow and quiet at first, but this is the
make no mistake about it end of the album song, as it should be. Already
it vibrates with some kind of power. It is the harder edge to the snare,
perhaps. And to the strum. it is more raw. Neil sings alone and is joined
by Rachel. Blammo, anthem time. Tonic, tonic, tonic. We even have some
distorted guitar here. It's goddam great. It's so simple and so perfect
and it just sweeps you away with it...but wait, chill, we have some
business to take care of. Nice slow bits here and there. This is one heck
of a little story they're hinting at. Always hinting. The power of the
song is unleashed, all class and restraint but such power and passion. As
perfect an ending as was the beginning.

I apologize for the plodding song-by-song rundown of the album but
thought as much specific information as possible might interest a lot of
people as this record seems to be the source of a lot of anxiousness, as
it should be. :) Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed, and if you are,
then you are HOPELESS! The album comes out October 17.

Sorry if the track listings annoy anyone but I like it when people post
that stuff. :)


Tarnation - Gentle Creatures
----------------------------
 1. Game of Broken Hearts
 2. Halfway to Madness
 3. The Well
 4. Big O Motel
 5. Tell Me It's Not So
 6. Two Wrongs Don't Make Things Right
 7. Lonely Lights
 8. Gentle Creatures
 9. Listen to the Wind
10. The Hand
11. Do You Fancy Me
12. Yellow Birds
13. Burn Again
14. Stranger in the Mirror
15. It's Not Easy

I was wrong about this band, largely. Remember when your parents or
someone made you listen to their shitty country records and you thought,
"Why is this so damned happy sounding? Why are the lyrics so fucking
shallow??" You wanted the song to be genuinely pretty and sad, but it was
cheezy and uncompelling. THIS, my friends, is the album you always wanted
your lame parents to make you listen to INSTEAD. I reject the David Lynch
comments as David Lynch draws his material from established camp staples
and never tried to create something genuinely moving or beautiful in his
life. His work is poisoned by self-parody and hatred for good art and
culture. Tarnation is not a joke. There are many influences here, but I
think they are serious. They are used for serious purposes. Tarnation are
a band that knows what works and has decided that certain classic
elements should not be written off simply because they are old or
overused. The steel guitar and country style are here, the Patsy Cline
(no i cannot spell her name) vocals, but at the same time you have some
thoroughly modern guitar picking and cool strum, HONESTLY cool, not
stupid and campy! You people do not get it! Just as you mistake kitsch for
good camp, you mistake brilliant art for silliness. HERE, is BRILLIANT
ART. Well, not really but it is a dark and mostly beautiful and moving
album with definite purpose, based in realism--not surrealism--and
achieving that purpose very effectively if you can meet it at the level
on which it actually operates. The song off the sampler no longer
irritates me in the context of this album. The album DOES have a context
and it works, and there are some breathtaking songs on here: Game of
Broken Hearts and Lonely Lights especially. Two Wrongs Won't Make Things
Right is also very effective, with a classy guitar solo. OTOH, this album
has its problem, mainly the vocals of one Michelle Cernuto and one
Lincoln Allen. Get these people the hell away from the mic! For God's
sake, what are you doing!? The entire album is beautiful and magical and
deep and serious, and then they let these two fucking JOKERS, IDIOTS, to
the front of the stage and COMPLETELY RUIN IT! Thank GOD for programmable
CD players. UGH. The rest of the album is sung by one Paula Frazer who
has one hell of a gorgeous voice and knows exactly what the hell to do
with it. Lonely Lights is just her and a guitar in Warren Defever's
basement and let me tell you THAT is where the future of this band ought
to be. Lincoln and Michelle may well contribute to the great songwriting
here and there...but well, I have made my point. I am happy--nay,
enchanted--damned enchanted!--with this album, but these little earsores
really, really fuck it up for me. They ruin the album. Somebody better
get with the program cut out those two wankers' vocal cords! Let me
reiterate that this album is worth buying for the artwork alone, or at
least worth telling other people to buy for the artwork alone if you
think the album is great anyway. :) It's not as pretty as King maybe, but
i *really* like the King artwork.


Air Miami - me. me. me.
-----------------------
 1. I Hate Milk
 2. World Cup Fever
 3. Seabird
 4. Special Angel
 5. Afternoon Train
 6. Dolphin Expressway
 7. Sweet as a Candybar
 8. You Sweet Little Heartbreaker
 9. Neely
10. Bubble Shield
11. Event Horizon
12. Definitely Beachy
13. Reprise

Yes! Yes! Yes! Air Miami kick ass! Who would have known that members of
Unrest were capable of writing real songs? You Unrest people...bleagh. I
know you all think Air Miami suck: I think they ROCK. All the cool shit
you got with Unrest, plus real songs, cool songs, pretty songs, attitude,
fun songs, new wave songs, party songs, more attitude, and no stupid test
tones or the same chord strumming over and over for 40 minutes. Thirteen
songs, a generous helping, but a little too short considering what a
fun, cool ride it is. Better yet, they really have put work into this.
You can tell that even in its less serious moments care has been taken
with the mix and writing and vocal nuances.

Okay, a quick run through of the songs: I Hate Milk, an evil little pop
song that rocks. World Cup Fever, the mysterious lost Dead or Alive song!
names anymore.) Lots of pretty sevenths. Borderline brilliant. Did I
mention this album has a cool cover? :) Special Angel, a pretty duet,
sad, psychedelic and cute. (Why did I completely ignore it the first four
times I listened to this?) Unrest fans, beware! Here comes more great
songwriting! Actually, in this very song: bonus great songwriting, but
just wait for the next song. :) Have you ever seen so many smileys in one
review?? :) Are you not convinced to avoid this album at all costs?? :)

Afternoon Train, more of the girl, more pretty sevenths, tacky drum
machine which you i LOVE. :) Dolphin Expressway, which I already said I
loved, great stuff. Sweet as a Candybar, sounds like a bad Bauhaus demo
with Stereolab Chyck singing over it, confused by bad acid--stupid but
short and worth the trouble. You Sweet Little Heartbreaker, a rock song,
bang bang bang, punky and fun, silly. Neely, very Unresty but with real
music, hehehe, surf music with cursing. Even when Air Miami are stupid
and lame, they are much cooler than Unrest. :)

Bubble Shield, a classic, best song on the album, extremely pretty,
beautiful in fact. The Event Horizon, also very pretty but corny and
creepy in a seventies way, or a Lush way? I can't tell. Definitely
Beachy, kind of like a good Unrest song but with structure and high and
low points, nice mellow atmosphere to it. Reprise, just a cute, nice
instrumental, very effectively sad. I never was going to give this band a
chance but all you Unrest fans hated them so much I thought I would give
them a try and now aren't you sorry! Air Miami have a champion and
apologist and YOU have created him! Muahahahaha.


Facing the Wrong Way
--------------------

Nothing much to say about this since it is a piece of SHIT and almost
exactly the same as the piece of SHIT us lousy Americans got. The artwork
is a little prettier, but prettier than what? Actually I am being hard on
it because I thought it contained a new Throwing Muses song and it does
not. Here is what it does contain: good news, and bad news. The Scheer
song is good, relatively speaking. Not great, but a fitting replacement
for Belly at this point. I'm serious about that. It's about mid-level
King material, and if the whole album is this good I will buy it and
enjoy it (or get a free copy and enjoy it, hehehe). The singer is kind of
cute. I kind of dig on her voice. I can't place the quality but she
reminds me of someone. More good news, or at least interesting: Love
Songs on the Radio was written by Neil Halstead. I was kind of wondering
who was writing the new stuff and I guess it's Neil so that's cool, but
kind of weird. Heidi Berry song is crap, but who cares. :) The law of
Heidi Berry: for two minutes she's the cat's meow, then she's barf on a
stick. Yuck. That leaves the Kim Deal song, The Amps or whatever, which
is AWFUL. It sounds like Jefferson Airplane listened to too much Nine
Inch Nails and then had a bad trip and came onstage after Jimi Hendrix
and felt they needed to one up on him. I have heard my share of demos,
and this one is right up there with those Metallica demos they included
on b-sides from the singles for the last album. I mean I have not have
friends whose demos were this poor. It is a careless, worthless piece of
shit and she should be hanged for it, and I mean that. After listening to
this once I was genuinely offended. On second listen, I now am on the
verge of seriously hating Kim Deal. What the hell happened? Basement 4
track version my ass. This couldn't have been recorded on a medium
quality walkman. I hate to end on a sad note, but there it is: the fall
of Kim Deal, unless you know something I don't know. But I probably don't
care either. :( In closing, so that it is a happy closing, I want to say
that I have finally almost fully acquainted myself with the second
Autechre album and think that is it a true masterpiece of the genre up
there with Selected Ambient Works Volume II, Bytes, Orbital 2, Virtual
State, and 5ep...and I don't even like it as much as I am going to yet.
So Mr. Norman, if you are out there, you were right, and I do stand
corrected. :)

Wow, this is quite a long message. Sorry! Haha. Actually they are only
going to get longer and longer so hold on to your hats boys and girls. Oh
yes--and don't see Waterworld, it sucks! I finally found that out. hehehe


 einexile, truly an enemy of the people