10 Listens » Matt T.

Short Cuts: Toro Y Moi’s Underneath the Pine

Matt T. — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:32:43 +0000

After successfully riding chillwaves on his debut album, Toro y Moi moved out of the bedroom and into the studio with a full band. The most noticeable change is the addition of bass, which vacillates from a funky 70s disco sound to a moody anchoring presence on the ballads. Swelling strings, and the squeak of fingers moving up a fretboard on an acoustic guitar add a new layer of emotional weight to the songs, adding a warmth not available previously.

The new fuller sound is an excellent contrast to the Chaz’s weightess vocals. His lyrics float above the lush soundscape he has created. At first listen the album is beautiful, but the deeper you listen, the more you realize despite the beautiful sounds the record is riddled with anxiety. Underneath the Pine is an expression referring to death and, more specifically, burial. However, Toro y Moi cleverly uses a pine as a secondary meaning. Chaz is pining for ‘Elise’ and voices his anxiety over their relationship. He offers to leave friends behind but then thinks he may be done before he is done. The juxtaposition between the chilled out, funky instrumentation and the anxiety-ridden lyrics is a perfect metaphor for the uneasiness of life.

The Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever

Matt T. — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:38:17 +0000

During the title track to previous effort Stay Positive Craig Finn sings ‘the kids at their shows/ they’ll have kids of their own/ the sing-a-long songs will be our scriptures.’ Heaven is Whenever is the natural follow up to Stay Positive and that line specifically. Finn spends Heaven Is Whenever reminiscing about how The Hold Steady got to where they are today. Instead of being one of the kids, he’s taken on more of an observer role and elder statesman of the ’scene.’

Opening track “The Sweet Part of the City” sets up the rest of the album perfectly. Rather than the anthemic songs that opened the previous albums, this track has an alt-country feel full of nostalgia and reflecting on the good old days. At first listen I was disappointed that it didn’t open with the trademark Hold Steady sound, but as I got deeper into the album it made sense. HIW centers on that time in the city and the lessons our protagonist (Craig?) has learned.

Craig sings on “Soft in the Center” that you can’t get every girl you want, you’ll get the ones that you love best. It sounds as if he is giving advice to someone younger, which on the surface he is, but with the next track it sounds as if our protagonist is reminding himself of that lesson.

“The Weekenders” follows and is one of The Hold Steady’s best songs. It is the sequel to “Chips Ahoy” and is a much darker, sadder story. Craig sings about being involved because he was the only one left, and yet he still wishes he could go back and do another weekender. Is it possible to summarize the complexity of relationships in one song? No, but Finn comes very close in this one.

Individual songs aside, this is an album that rewards multiple listens. On the surface, the references to past THS songs may slip past. I won’t spoil them all for you, but Craig saying that something “almost killed me” during Rock Problems is too good not to share. The rest of the album features all of the marks of THS’s discography, with references to the bible, nightlife, death and love. The album is a love letter to music, and the title of the record comes from the line “Heaven is Whenever/We can get together/Sit down on your floor/And listen to your records.” That’s all that The Hold Steady wants to do, make music that you want to listen to with the ones that you love. And that mission was accomplished. Is it as good as Separation Sunday or Boys and Girls in America? No, but it is still one of the best records of the year.

Short Cuts: Julian Casablancas’ Phrazes for the Young

Matt T. — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:22:24 +0000

It’s been nearly four years since the last Strokes record, and Julian has traded scuzzy garage rock for a poppier synth sound. The first few listens through the album, I loved it. It was great to hear one of the best voices in music again. But the more I listened, the more it’s flaws stood out.

Phrazes for the Young is short time wise, but with only 8 songs, each individual song is long and several feel so long they drag down the album. Having said that, the album starts out with a bang. “Out of the Blue” is a fantastic song, it’s upbeat and peppy even as Julian ’sings a song of faded glory.’ “Out of the Blue” also has the best line on the album “Yes, I know I’m going to hell, in a leather jacket/ at least I’ll be in another world, while you’re pissing on my casket.’ The next two songs keep the theme established in the first song, they are upbeat and full of bright synths while reflecting on his past.

The album starts to lose steam with “4 Chords of the Apocalypse,” which is slower and dark, and grinds to a complete halt with “Ludlow Street,” a dirge-like ode to the good old days on Ludlow Street in New York. Pardon me while I yawn for a minute. I’m sure Julian thought this was a tribute but to the listener it sounds like whining and lame nostalgia. Complaining about yuppies seems inauthentic coming from Julian’s background. The last three tracks rebound to make it a solid disc, especially River of Brakelights.

Despite it’s shortcomings, I like the album, the first three songs are as good as anything he did with The Strokes and bodes well for the future. However, if he does do another solo album, I hope that he reigns in some of the synths and funeral procession songs.

Short Cuts: Avett Brothers’ I and Love and You

Matt T. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:07:19 +0000

There is always a concern when a so called ‘indie’ band signs to a major label, especially one as prolific as the Avett Brothers. But those concerns evaporated as soon as I heard I and Love and You for the first time. Rick Rubin’s production work does a great job supplementing the band’s sound rather than overpowering it. The addition of strings on many of the songs add an additional dimension to the already stellar harmonies.

The only exception is the title track, the production is too slick and doesn’t match the rest of the album. Regardless, it is a good song, and it has the “tug-at-the-heart” lyrics that show up in TV dramas and romantic comedies. And if that’s what it takes for more people to be exposed to the Avett Brothers, I’ll take it.

I and Love and You bounces around from ballads to bluegrass to backporch drinking songs while staying ture to its central theme of love and change. Both “And It Spread” and “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” describe the singer’s love as light coming into his dark life. After the light, the character wonders on “The Perfect Space” if his friends will ‘love him for the man he’s become, not the man that he was.’

It isn’t all sunshine for our narrator though, he sings of loss and missing his love on “Ill With Want” and “Tin Man.” Our story ends with a happy ending, as the speaker realizes (”Incomplete and Insecure”) being stubborn is not as important as living with out love. The subject matter is heavy, but the music keeps the album light. Songs like ‘Kick Drum Heart’ and ‘Slight Figure of Speech’ are quick uptempo bluegrass jams that remind me of drinking around a bonfire singing with your old friends. And like those good times with friends, this album will stick with you through good times and bad.

Built To Spill: There Is No Enemy

Matt T. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:14:03 +0000

It would be easy to assume that a band formed in the early 90s would have difficulty being relevant in 2009. Built to Spill’s There Is No Enemy makes that assumption look silly. Not only is the album relevant, but it is a fun listen, with an excellent mix of uptempo rockers, hazy atmospheric tunes, slower ballads and extended instrumental jams.

The beauty of this album, is that it is a complete album. There are standout tracks, sure, but its an album that is more enjoyable listened front to back. The guitar work on the album is fantastic, especially the way it plays off of the melody on several of the songs. For example, lengthy instrumental jams can have a tendency to distract, but the ones during “Oh Yeah,” “Done” and “Things Fall Apart” were exemplary. The band uses varied tempos and the addition of brass instruments to keep your interest throughout the disc.

There Is No Enemy opens with “Aisle 13″ and the assertion that everyone is weird. It is a theme that appears several times throughout the album including “Pat” where they sing ‘we don’t care that you’re fucked up, everybody’s fucked up.’ That lyric carries more weight coming from a band that’s been around for 17 years, its a reassurance rather than a whine. They also send out a warning to music listeners in “Planting Seeds” saying ‘they play your favorite song just to sell shit to you’. This line rings especially true in the age of iPod commercials.

I listened to the album the first few times on headphones and enjoyed it, but my favorite way to listen was in the car with the sound up and the windows down. After a couple listens it was already reaching sing-along status and would make for a great road trip CD.