Subject: lush review (from consumable)
Subject: Re: Is Minty...?
Subject: Re: Is Minty...?
Subject: Re: C&S Records/HNIA
Subject: Unrest Soundtrack
Subject: Re: Bands that sound like lush,
Subject: Re: Is Minty...?
Subject: Re: swirlies
Subject: velour
Subject: Re: The Rise and Fall of a Decade
Subject: LA shows
Subject: Japanese Lovelife
Subject: Re: Japanese Lovelife
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 00:20:54 -0600
- Lee Graham Bridges
After several listens to this album, I put it aside and hoped I
really wouldn't have to review it. But I soon realized that I have to tell
people about this album--that I have to tear up the newest release from one
of my most favorite bands, Lush.
What a disappointment I have found _Lovelife_ to be. From all the
pre-release chatter on the Internet, and others' attempts at describing of
Lush's new sound, I tried to avoid expecting much. I wish I could make a
lot of intelligent commentary about what Lush sounds like on this album, but
from a true fan's more emotional viewpoint, it is basically just far more
dry and meaningless than what I expected.
But what makes this album an atrocity is not just one single flaw,
but a combination of failures. One problem is the full degeneration of the
band's ability to create their trademark ambience, at least in the recorded
format. The second is that most of their beautiful musical structure,
nature of chords, song's progression, etc., are also lacking on _Lovelife_,
and hence, so is the warmth and vivacity contained in previous works. The
third is the set of trite, substandard lyrics Miki and Emma wrote for this
album. You may even find yourself wondering, "is this the same band?"
The album revolves almost entirely around emotional turmoil in
relationships. "Ladykillers" is about manipulative men. "Single Girl"
presents the ups and downs of single life. "The Childcatcher" explores the
problematic age gap in a relationship. "Ciao!" relates a very happy
separation and features guest vocals by Jarvis Cocker of Pulp. "Olympia" is
some kind of bittersweet song about life's difficulties.
The press release describes "Papasan" and "Tralala" as "exercises in
heart-wrenching balladry." It's strange this is said when nothing on
_Lovelife_ matches the potency of previous "ballads" like "Never-Never" or
"Desire Lines" from _Split_. Supposedly "'Ladykillers' and 'Single Girl'
positively drip with adrenaline" and "'Last Night' [exudes] an affecting
eerieness." Wrong again. Although "Ladykillers" and "Single Girl" are very
catchy tunes, and the trippy, dark "Last Night" is the only example of
Lush's classic musical ability on _Lovelife_, you still haven't heard
adrenaline or eerieness unless you've heard Lush's _Spooky_.
Current fans may have a very hard time with Lush's sudden
abandonment of that which made them a true stand-out, and so dear to those
fans. By the same token, people enjoying _Lovelife_ with no prior exposure
to Lush may find themselves very disoriented upon listening to past
releases. This is how _Lovelife_ has created an unappealing gap in what is
an otherwise impressive history. Even without referring back to Lush's
exceptional previous work, _Lovelife_ is, at best, nothing special.
No decent music fan expects a band to stay with the same style
throughout their history, or to not jump to some other style. But what Lush
has switched to is not a style so much as a current musical trend...a bad
brew concocted either because the band really does like this sound, to sel
more records, or because they forgot to show off their talent this time.
---
enjoy, enjoy. if this is formatted like shit, too bad, i'm forwarding it
from my unix account and i am a far better eudora user than a pine user. :)
.joanna.
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 12:20:00 +0000
begin 600 file
M#0I$871E.B!3871U
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 12:41:13 +0000
On Wed, 27 Mar 1996 12:20:00 +0000 Nick Hill
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 10:15:22 -0500
> 3. His Name Is Alive - More Majic Party
i think this is a PD-m song (or is it little princess--who can tell?)
-e
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 08:23:46 -0600
All this talk about Unrest reminds me of an upcoming
film presentation in Chicago. On April 27 at 8pm in the Film
Center of the Art Institute, there will be a screening of two
films by director Jon Moritsugu, who will be appearing in
person. One of the films is _Mod Fuck Explosion_, to which I
believe Unrest contributed the track "Hey London!". Checking
out the Internet Movie Database reveals that one of the main
characters is named London--perhaps there's a chance the song
is featured prominently? Anyway, sounds like fun, hope to see
y'all there.
Ditto for the STP tour--Bones, you still out there?
No way I'd miss a Lush show in Chicago, especially with the
added treat of Mojave on the bill! Good luck to all trying
for tickets, which I assume will be going up for grabs this
weekend (no, I haven't heard any confirmation of that, so
don't ask me if I have any info on it). Later all!
Nick
Dominic M. Tolli Home 847.680.1623
1196 Huntington South Drive Work 847.576.1617
Mundelein, IL 60060-4900 USA INTERNET: [email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"you're the book that i have opened, and now i've got to know much more"
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 10:56:34 -0500
waI'm so depressed! - Cool new band
<<<<Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 09:47:53 -0500
On Wed, 27 Mar 1996 12:20:00 +0000 Nick Hill
>begin 600 file
>!"@``
43MKL34534543534_)(#M#$M0345_)MET*(#M_)(%$M#49K0J)#($K)(#$K)(#$
DMFDFJ#$)#(J)(#J#)(RJ#()GJ)#$#QW%)(&#@*)(R#Q_)JFIQ#W(*)RM#_!@#*J#!
)(#@FDJ)#_)FE()*R#_)F)(#!!!!
#@$()*#$)#*$)#$*)#@_#)@$*#$#? ;)
*4G3#,
marvynHortman Director FAQ --> ftp://sharedcast.hccs.cc.tx.us
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 09:41:34 -0800
Joseph Burns writes:
>I saw the swirlies a couple of years ago and was not very impressed.
>Sounded alot like 'isnt anything' era mbv... not that that is a bad
>thing, but its not that interesting regurgitated by bands not as
>talented as mbv.
It's an obvious comparison to make (and Damon certainly does use his
whammy bar for a woozy effect similar to Kevin's) but the overall effect
of the Swirlies' "Blondertongueaudiobaton" is for me quite different than
MBV. The Swirlies have a goofy sense of humor, they throw in bits of
samples and random noise in a very un-MBV way, and their song structures
are more typically American in some way I can't define; think Sonic
Youth, Mission of Burma or Fugazi for example.
These differences might not come across live, but
"Blondertongueaudiobaton" stands very well on its own without any
references to other bands. I'd recommend picking it up if you have any
interest in the Swirlies. (I'd stay away from the earlier compilation,
though; the material is really uneven.)
__________ __________________
Jens Alfke [email protected]
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 14:45:11 -0600
hi all...
while i was home for spring break, i picked up velour's debut
album, "fall sounds." velour features trey many from His name is
alive on instruments and amon krist on vocals and was produced by
warren defever. the first couple of tracks are pretty straighforward
melodic "pop" songs. however, the remainder of the album combines that
melodic sound with floating, fuzzy ambience. on several occasions i was
reminded of flying saucer attack's "distance" album. the songwriting is
superb and amon's voice is gorgeous. it's very cool and mellow. they're
on tooth and nail records, a label out of seattle. you can check out
their web page at Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 21:49:05 +0100
>I've got them both. Noisy But Empty starts with two excellent tracks,
>then the songs are of varying quality throughout the rest of the disc. On
>this album the band is still trying to find its style, but they're
>heading in a good direction generally. You or Sydney is a distinct
>improvement, much more consistent musically, with stronger vocals and
>melodies.
Noisy but Empty is the second lp, You or Sydney the third. The first lp is
self-titled, originaly released by Lively Art (Arty 33) in 1990, recently
re-issued on Hyperium, with a quite different artwork. This lp has a
beautiful song, with both Sandy and Pierre-Fran=E7ois voices, together but
singing two different words, _Lisbeth_. Very nice.
There are also 3 songs on the _Unreleased III_ Sampler (Presage, 1988).
Essentially piano, quite different from the albums.
There is a live album called _Ubu Reine_ (In/Scene / Hyperium), not very
interesting IMHO. I prefer them off stage... an odd cover of Gun of Brixton
on it!
Along with the lps _Noisy but Empty_ (1992) and _You or Sidney_ (1994), ther=
e
is an ep (maybe called _Evening with Bernard_? 1991) with an other version o=
f
the song Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (on s/t debut lp), and a tribute to
Serge Gainsbourg (La ballade de Melody Nelson). All the discography has
been reissued by Hyperium so I recommend this ep, which features a radio
session
(Black Session on France-Inter).
Yes, Sandy's voice is definitly interesting, which makes this band one of th=
e
best 4AD-ish / indies bands of France.
BTW, any infos/review/opinion on UI _Sidelong_,
or Drowsiness Of Ancient Garden _That Summer_ ?, ... I need help before
buying...
___
Laurent Lapierre |-,-|
[email protected] | - | =20
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 16:07:58 U
Not very listy but hell!
Is anyone in the LA area going to any of the following shows (i am looking for
company, i hate being at shows by myself)?
Stereolab, The wedding present, echobelly ????
let me know if you plan to be there, might be fun
_NBZ