This album came out in February, so I am just now catching up with it. It's an odd blend of 90s styles that in some ways reminds me of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, as electronic beats are set against more organic melodies. The vocals have a great deal of emotion to their croon, and the atmosphere draped around the song is thick. I like all the sounds that are in play here. This album feels dark, but not in a goth sense, it is possessed by the loneliness of a solitary road trip. If Luscious Jackson had been a depressed men who wandered the open highways of upstate New York a similar feeling would have been invoked.
They are down with the 90s beats for sure. But they are not just obsessed as they are capturing seedy places in the moonlight. 'Billy's Dream" feels a little more like Nick Cave covering "Army of Me". The more emotive croon to the vocals of "Law * Order" provides a counterpoint to the more organic blues-based instrumentation. The more head register-focused vocals of "Collector" create a more Radiohead-like vibe. Sometimes, they make me think of a darker take on Shudder to Think. Once again this version of darkness creeping in is more depressive and has none of the goth spookiness. The guitars are steamy on "HWL" to give things a more trip-hop feel.
"Baby" has a more electronic pulse which causes it to bump more like Love & Rockets. This is pushed further in the Daniel Ash direction with the hushed baritone vocal giving a breathy plea over things. Though the vocals take on a more dramatic croon for "Dirty", things go even further in the early 90s electro-rock direction. It's the kind of sexy music you might expect in a vigilante movie where they go give a drug dealer an ultimatum in the club. Speaking of drug dealers "Cocaine" is in an even more trip-hop direction. It feels more like the morning after a cocaine binge when you are still awake and everyone else has passed, and it's the loneliest sunrise ever. If you can relate to that feeling this album is for you.
"American Flag" finds the vocals taking on more fragile desperation as the guitars brood in pentatonics. The slithering groove of this bleeds with the kind of pain that leaves you feeling hollow inside. Perhaps the most gloom is save for the last song which feels like you are floating out into dark waters, looking up at the night sky before deciding to just let yourself drown. This is a beautiful album with the kind of desperate yearning I want from music it takes me back to the 90s and with all the angst y introspective those days held, I will give it a 10.
`
No comments:
Post a Comment