Unyielding Commissioning Understands

Coming up only to show you wrong. San Diego blogger Rosemary took in a Band of Horses show the other night and lead singer Ben Bridwell ended up giving her the finger during their hit song, Funeral. You can see the video here:

In her posting about the incident, Rosemary is upset. No one wants to get the finger, especially from a band you adore and have been looking forward to seeing for over a year. Bridwell later apologized to the audience, but upon receiving said finger, Rosemary bolted from the club, perhaps justifiably furious. In her post, she shares the fact that she did not watch the opening acts (a pet peeve of mine - it seems no one wants to give openers any respect nor learn about new acts these days). She also makes it clear that she pushed her way to the front, in part so she could film the performance.

This creates a quandary regarding just who Rosemary is. Either she's a fan or she's a journalist (i.e. blogger). If you're a fan, then why would you want to spend one of your favorite songs looking through a viewfinder and trying your best to keep your camera steady? If Bridwell looked down to see one of his fans was paying more attention to their shot than his performance, particularly someone who has pushed their way front and center, perhaps he has the right to be offended. But if she is a fan, and this is how she chooses to experience the show, then why should Bridwell be put off by that? She has the right to be offended as well.

However, if she is filming from the perspective of a blogger/journalist who wants to put this up on Youtube and be part of the online indie-rock community, then fleeing after receiving the finger is unacceptable. Journalists stick their necks out all the time and deal with the consequences involved with getting the footage/interview/experience they need to tell a good story.

In her post, I feel like she's trying to straddle both sides of that line. It reads as though she had her "blogger hat" on - at least during Funeral, in which case she had no right to take offense. I still sympathize. No one wants one of their favorite bands to come down on them. But when you chose to film the performance, you are no longer just a fan. I recently started bringing a camera to concerts so that there would be some visuals to go along with my reviews. I often feel terribly guilty about pulling out the camera and blocking everyone's view. If the quality of my pictures appears less than ideal, it's because I always take a few and then put the camera away for the rest of the set.

Bridwell addressed the incident in greater detail in an interview with Pitchfork. I totally understand where he's coming from, and he seems justified in his irritation with this trend. Feel free to judge for yourself. I haven't taken video at concerts for the very reasons he states. I'd rather watch the show with my eyes than my camera. (Hat tip: Brooklyn Vegan)

Son of Mustang Ford on the road again. Adam Franklin is on a solo tour supporting his new album, Bolts of Melody. It's his first release since a 2003 album that Toshack Highway split with Sianspheric. If you're unaware of Franklin, he was the frontman for hard-luck shoegazer band Swervedriver. I don't think he's been in town since a 2002 show at Schubas where he played an acoustic set at which my brother and I asked him to play "Last Train to Satansville." He immediately did. After the show my friend Dave (who is borderline in love with Franklin) and I spoke to him for about fifteen minutes. He seemed somewhat exhausted by the music business and neither of us were surprised that he took some time off. Bolts of Melody is somewhere between his two previous outfits. The first song, "Seize the Day" previously appeared on a Toshack Highway EP, but has more of that Swervedriver fuzz included this time around. He'll be at the Empty Bottle on 10/18. I recommend going.

Thursday Youtube

First the Rawk:



Then the Roll:



And finally, the Schlock. Actually, let me explain. What you're about to see is my favorite German hip-hop video. Actually, it's the only German hip-hop video I've ever seen. I was in France with my brother back in 2000 and this video kept coming on the European MTV. They must have played it twice an hour. We were captivated. Tell me this isn't amazing. It isn't good, but it is fantastic. Seriously, if you don't find this hilarious, I pity you. NOTE - probably not-safe-for-work. Unless you work at the Sybaris.

OWR: Fever Pitch

42: Whiffy

Pitchfork Music Festival 2007 - Sunday

After overdoing things a bit on Saturday, I was determined to have enough gas to make it through Sunday with energy at the finish. Once again, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, though there was less of a breeze today so keeping cool was crucial to maintaining a full tank.

Things began about ten minutes late as Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox took the stage looking like he stepped out of a Madonna video. Adorned with a silky dress, and a cross around his neck, he also wore a glove that suspended a mobile. The glove was quickly discarded and the group set about pumping out thick sounds for their half-hour set. While most of the bands seemed to build up the quality as their sets went along, Deerhunter started out hot. Their goal is as much about noise as it is sound. The consistent flow of noise from the stage enveloped the crowd, and people were clearly drawn in. I expected something more like Stereolab where the band would just get up there and play, so they impressed me.

We hustled over to the front of the stage for The Ponys’ set. Once again, major sound problems arose throughout their first three songs. Melissa Elias’ bass was not coming through the main speakers, and the vocals kept cutting in and out. We were close enough that we could hear everything because the monitors were still working. Unfortunately, the band didn’t realize they weren’t being amplified so they just kept playing. Finally, they got the bass going again and Elias played a few notes, as musicians often do when they get their amps back. Frontman Jared Gummere quickly said, “OK, stop playing so we can play!” Once the technical issues were behind them, they managed to rock out. And I must give Gummere a big thumbs up for wearing Nigel Tufnel’s t-shirt, even if it was the wrong color.
The multi-tasking musicians of Menomena had a large audience awaiting their set. As soon as they took the stage, they received a nice welcome from the crowd. Or maybe everyone was just excited to see a baritone sax at the ready. On their record, their layered vocals serve as the featured instrument, but live they came off as shy. Or perhaps they were simply too quiet. All three members sing, and all of them seemed a little shaky today. In general, their set was a bit loose. But their songs are great and they have a ton of potential. I’d love to see them at their own show. They probably need to go for vocal training if they want to put on a more compelling show.
We took a respite near the Balance stage and sat in the shade leaning against a fence. However, we were in a good position to take in NOMO, an Ann Arbor funk/jazz/rock/whateveryouwannacallthem outfit. We couldn’t see the stage, but from where we sat, the group was clearly and played some really good stuff. I could see them coming to Martyr’s one day. This set was the end of their tour, so we may have to wait awhile. From where I sat, I definitely dug them.

Jamie Lidell came across as a passionate and unique performer. I was interested to see just how he pulls off his one-man band act. He basically has two types of songs. On some, he beatboxes and does all kinds of electronic mixing and theremin playing behind a table. On others, he gets out in front and sings Motown-fashioned whiteboy soul with a backing track. Wearing a bathrobe (perhaps a kimono?) and bits of silver and gold-colored foil on his head, he could easily be performing the exact same routine in his bedroom. His music is not actually anything in particular, but it’s a whole lot of not anything. Despite being soul music, I can’t fathom there’s much meaning or importance to any of his songs. I liked his soul tracks a lot better than the busy electro-mixing routine. He definitely gives it all in his performance. I imagine a non-festival setting would work better for him.
What to say about Stephen Malkmus? I’ve never been a fan of him or Pavement. In fact, I always figured that Pavement was a band that critics adored, but had very few actual fans. Those in attendance on Sunday proved me wrong as many were quite enthused about Malkmus’ set. I sat on a blanket with friends far away from the action. He was fine I guess.

Reputed to have an extravagant live stageshow, Of Montreal did not disappoint. Here’s a list of all the random theatrics presented onstage: a guitarist with gigantic pink wings, much banner waving, a man dressed in a tight, black jumpsuit (who reminded me of the Domino’s Pizza Noid) who ran around the stage doing all kinds of random tasks, a golden Darth Vader and another man dressed in black hoisting up the Noid guy (who was now wearing an Eyes Wide Shut mask) on their shoulders so he could let his gigantic lobster-claw arm survey the audience… I’ll stop there, even though it’s only about halfway through the list. I think you get the idea. It was an impressive array of what I would call a whole lot of nonsense. I’m not steeped in Of Montreal’s music, so perhaps each of the acts on stage related to the song being played. I have to give them credit to put that much together. I wonder if they pull out all the stops when they play their own shows. Either way, this will get you asked back to a lot of festivals. It was really fun. The band played pretty well, but all the theatrics distracted from anything they were playing. That’s the drawback I suppose. It was definitely an enjoyable and memorable performance. Of Montreal Setlist:
Suffer for Fashion
Bunny Ain’t No Kind of Rider
We Can Do It Softcore If You Want
She’s a Rejecter
The Past is a Grotesque Animal
Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
Chrissy Kiss the Corpse
“New Song”
The Party’s Crashing Us
All Day and All Of the Night (Kinks cover)

The New Pornographers are nothing if not bright and cheery. When their set began I was immediately impressed by how tight they play, and how crisp their sound is. Heck, even their fans in the audience sing along in tune. How many bands can say that? They know what they’re doing onstage. When they played a new, unreleased track, they got the audience to clap along to ensure they wouldn’t lose interest. However, I have trouble getting too into this band because I wish they rocked harder. I’m not an indie-pop guy, and I feel like if this band would throw a little more edge into their music, the result would be more than what they have now. My original plan was to check out Klaxons at the Balance stage, but after last night’s sound and crowd problems, I instead chose to set myself up for De La Soul.
I was able to place myself about twenty yards from the stage, right in the middle. As soon as the set began I realized I had made a grave error. I was positioned directly behind my nemesis, Stringbean. For those who don’t know, Stringbean is the guy who’s really tall (minimum 6’3”) and doesn’t headbang, dance, or even twitch during a show. I don’t mind someone being tall, but you’ve gotta get moving during a concert so I can at least find a rhythm where we all get to see. Well, even though De La Soul immediately got everyone up and grooving, Stringbean stood pat. I couldn’t believe my mistake. Halfway through the set, a crowd-surfer came by and I was able to slip in front of my nemesis and all was right in the world. Oh, was it ever right. I really was completely out of gas after two days standing in the sun. But as soon as the music started, I found my second wind.

These guys are professionals. They know how to work an audience and got everyone going crazy. By the end of the set, even Stringbean was waving his hand over his head. He had his thumb tucked behind his index knuckle like a politician giving a speech, but he was doing his best. De La played a perfect mix of old and new, making sure they incorporated all the hits. The highlight had to be when Prince Paul came out and DJed for a couple songs and then just hung out on stage. But the peak as far as crowd energy and vibe was how they got the whole crowd to participate in the “Ahh, Ahh! Ahh, Ahh! Ahh AHHH!” at the start of Ego Trippin (Pt 2). It was an undeniable experience. Anyone who left early missed the most fun set of the entire festival.

Final thoughts. There really was no way for this year’s festival to top last year’s. There were too many stellar bands who gave top-notch performances. But I don’t think anyone came away disappointed. 35 bucks for two days? That’s unbeatable. Tim Tuten did a super job introducing the acts, so here’s his picture: There was so much second-hand smoke, I thought I was at the Empty Bottle. I wish they could set up a smoking pen, but I realize that would be impossible to enforce. Actually, there was even more second-hand ganja. It didn’t matter who was performing – weed was all around us. However, there was a surprising dearth of hippies. I didn’t even see one hippie dance the entire weekend. I did see one young man wielding a hacky sack, but apparently there was no one willing to join him. The weather was fantastic, food varied and plentiful, and water and beer reasonably priced. People complained about the bathroom lines, but the one time I went, I waited for all of ten seconds. The option to sit in between the stages on a blanket or lawn chairs is great. I saw some people complaining about it, but at long as it’s not near the front I say enjoy yourself. I did see one person camped out ten feet from a mainstage – that’s ridiculous. In sum, Pitchfork 2007 was a ton of fun. Maybe even too much fun. I know this guy had too much fun:

See you next year!

OWR: Marathon Man

66: Muddy

Pitchfork Music Festival 2007 – Saturday

On a gorgeous Saturday, the Pitchfork Music festival emitted more than just sound from Chicago’s Union Park. There were good vibes, good food, and smells that ranged from the horrible to the sublime. But truly, everyone was there for the bands. The 2006 festival set an extremely high mark, despite the fact that the temperature cleared 100 degrees. Superior weather, more space for the side stage, and a complete sellout filled the weekend with promise.

Doors were supposed to open at noon, but no one was allowed admittance until after 12:45. While this may have caused bigger problems at some festivals, the Ashland Ave. throng was patient and well behaved. The delay was caused by the people who were supposed to wet down the baseball infields to avoid dust flying around. Glasgow’s The Twilight Sad opened the day on a mellow tone, starting with a song that generated little reaction from the crowd. That frontman James Graham rarely acknowledged or even faced the audience didn’t help matters. He spent nearly the entire set facing sideways with his eyes shut. The only one on stage visibly exuding enthusiasm was drummer Mark Devine. But as the set moved along, the energy picked up and the crowd responded. Everything built to their single, "And She Would Darken the Memory of Youth". Certainly able to write a catchy melody, this is a band with a lot of potential. The set showed promise, even if it felt like the entire band was somewhere else. Califone was up next, and I hung in there for two songs, but they weren’t doing anything to compel me to watch. So I took that time to peruse the rest of the festival. The most unique thing about the Pitchfork festival is the poster art fair. We spoke to a few of the artists who were all friendly and looking to discuss their work. There was some amazing stuff for sale and if I had a place worth decorating, I would have been in the market. Check out Vahalla Studios for an example of what was available.

Voxtrot of Austin, TX is probably a little too peppy for me – or rather there’re a little not rawkin’ enough. They kept their energy up throughout their jangly, strummy set and people watching seemed very pleased. I think they would benefit from some heavier riffing and drumming, but that’s not to say they didn’t play well.

Grizzly Bear was one of the bands I was most eager to see, but I was unsure how their delicate music would play at a festival show. Sure enough, at our initial position, two guys behind us were chatting throughout each song. They were talking about Grizzly Bear, each trying to top the other in what he knew, but if they were so into the band, shouldn’t they have been listening? This annoyed the hell out of me, but when a couple in front of us left, we took their vacated spot and all was right in the world. Grizzly Bear live is an experience. They are definitely not suited for a festival show, but all four members sing, creating dreamy harmonies that ebb and flow like a breeze. Instruments are swapped in and out frequently; we saw an autoharp, a recorder, a mini Yamaha keyboard, and a clarinet fed through something that lowered its output by about six octaves. The band is constantly busy, particularly drummer Christopher Bear. There were some technical complications with the clarinet-to-lefthandonapipeorgan thing, but they were quickly remedied and the show continued. Anyone unfamiliar with their music beforehand was probably not drawn to the performance, but I thought they were brilliant. I would love to see them perform at their own show. They said that this is the end of their tour, but I thought they were opening for Feist on all their recent shows. I’m crossing my fingers for a Metro or at least Vic show sometime soon. I’m fairly certain that I completely messed this up, so consider it 100% guessing – feel free to leave a note with any corrections! But here’s my best guess at Grizzly Bear’s setlist:
Fix It
Lullabye
Knife
“Final Round” (new song?)
Deep Blue Sea
A song I didn’t recognize (another new one?)
On a Neck, On a Spit

Prog rock supergoroup, Battles fought off their own technical problems (this will be a running theme) and left everyone talking. I set up near the sound booth and spent the entire set lamenting that I hadn't made my way closer. Battles is the kind of band you wish you could watch perform in a small closet – (see their video for an example). The first thing you notice is that John Stanier has the highest crash cymbal in the history of rock and roll (beating out Silversun Pickups’ Chris Guanlao by about a foot and a half). It’s so high that he has to look up to find it for each attack. Stanier is the centerpiece of the band, and he’s also the engine that makes things go. He’s the de facto frontman. Based on the chatter around the festival after their set, most attendees came away very impressed. While I enjoyed their performance, it was less than I was hoping for. Perhaps their album is mixed so well that they can’t recreate the details, but to me they felt a little “jammy”. The songs tended towards a steady rhythm and volume, and I was hoping for a buildup in intensity. Perhaps my expectations were too lofty – or maybe it was all the technical problems that derailed the set halfway through. They stood out as being a superb band, but I wanted to go crazy and they didn’t present that opportunity.
I took a relaxing break during Iron and Wine which meets with what they’re doing on stage. They sounded really good, but I was kicking back and talking with friends for a bit. Samuel Beam, sporting a woolly mane and beard, did come out and do an encore cover of Radiohead’s "No Surprises" which was in itself a surprise.

Oxford Collapse had the unfortunate position of playing on the Balance stage (where there was never enough volume) at the same time that Mastodon was rattling thoraxes on the Connector. That made it difficult to hear them at all. There was not enough sound coming out of the system they had in place, and on the first song, we couldn’t hear any vocals or guitar. In the middle of the set, the vocals completely dropped away and I saw at least seven people look to the sound booth to see if anyone was even there. Once they saw that there was indeed someone working the booth, their look changed to a glare that said, “what are you doing?” Eventually things ironed themselves out, but it didn’t help the performance at all. The band played fine, and incorporated a sax and some additional percussion. But they need to add another guitar player. They can’t get enough sound to fit their songs out of the three instruments they have on stage.
As soon as Oxford Collapse finished, a huge press of people pushed forward in anticipation of Dan Deacon. It was a very tight squeeze, particularly since my friends were all at Cat Power. As he often does, Deacon set up in the audience for his electronic dance party which for some reason motivated people to press forward that much more. Getting closer was not going to result in seeing anything. Here’s the picture I took from my vantage point about twenty yards away: It was packed. Deacon urged dancing from the entire audience saying, “you don’t dance with your eyes, you dance with your feet.” This did not deter the throng from pushing closer. People tried to dance, but it was nearly impossible with no room to move. On roughly the fourth song, a few dance circles opened up which was great fun. And suddenly the set was over. The police had arrived and promoters were justifiably concerned about safety. I’m not sure if it was the crowd surfing over concrete or possibility of people spilling onto Ogden Avenue that had them worried, but they announced a “twenty or thirty minute break” which meant Deacon was done. The festival handed out water to anyone who wanted it between sets which was smart. I can’t imagine bigger festivals having the wherewithal to do such a thing.

But things were no more comfortable for Girl Talk. My biggest problem was that I could not evade a man who possessed the worst B.O. I’ve encountered in my life. He kept his arms up most of the set as well. But there was nowhere to go. The stage was almost as packed as the audience. People in various states of undress were dancing and throwing confetti to the audience. The highlight of the set was when Grizzly Bear came out and sang “Knife” with Greg Gillis providing his Girl Talk treatment of hip-hop beats and electronic buzzes behind their vocals. Gillis' performance is impressive. As my friend Chris said, "He can DJ my party anytime." But after forty minutes or so, I had to escape. It would have been much better if I had some of my friends with me, but they couldn’t reach where I was. So I was dancing while pressed against strangers, one of whom reeked. Getting out of there was no easy task. The mass of people went back about a hundred yards before it began to thin. I can't imagine the people at the back could even hear anything.
Finally, Yoko Ono took the stage with most people seemingly sticking around out of curiosity. The thing most people don’t realize is that Yoko is 74 years old. Just to be out there and putting on a show at that age deserves some credit. Her set featured a lot of wailing and guttural vocal output. Most of the people passing by were giggling as they departed. After the “mashup” at the Balance stage and nine hours of rawking out in the sun, I was out of gas and headed home.

It was a superb day. For my money, Grizzly Bear was the most impressive act on Saturday, though most of the audience seemed really taken with Battles. As others have said, there needed to be more room and more volume for Dan Deacon and Girl Talk. Perhaps the organizers did too good a job getting talent on the Balance stage. Something to think about for next year. There are clearly way more people here this year. Even though last year’s lineup was phenomenal, I assume it was not sold out. Or if it was, they increased capacity this year. All were well-behaved and relatively cordial to one another. After one day, I feel like I’d already received my 35 bucks worth, and I look forward to Sunday’s festivities.

OWR: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

75: Unabridged

Thursday Youtube

Check it:

First Blush: Interpol - Our Love to Admire

I picked up Interpol’s first record, Turn on the Bright Lights at some point when it was still pretty new. I enjoyed it enough, but it took me a long time to become a real fan of theirs. I didn’t pick up their second album, Antics for quite some time – largely because it was always 18 dollars. But a friend’s Best Of 2005 comp featured the song “Evil”, a tune which I have had on high rotation ever since. The new single sounds like more of the same from these shoegazers, but because I like what they’ve done before, I am not at all discouraged by that. Let’s check it out!

Track 1 – Pioneer to the Falls
0:22 – Spooky guitar and a little piano open things up.
0:47 – “Show me the dirtpile and I will pray that the soul can take three stowaways.” This is really dark.
1:10 – Drums enter, but we’re still in creepy territory.
2:41 – “Girl I know you try. You fly straight into my heart.” The sound is really clean. Like every instrument is isolated intentionally. This is a good first track.
3:49 – Had a big crescendo, but then dropped back to the minimal beginning section.
4:13 – A capella here.
4:52 – They’re going for “haunting” on the opener and I think they nailed it.

Track 2- No I in Threesome
0:02 – Bass intro like much of their previous songs.
0:19 – And piano over the top with the drums coming in.
0:50 – Almost kind of poppy. I don’t really mean that. I don’t know what I mean. But this track has a different feel than any Interpol song I’ve heard before. But it’s still distinctly them.
2:29 – “Babe it’s time we gave something new a try.” So maybe this is a very literal track – trying to talk his woman into going for the ménage a trois. If so, that’s kind of dispassionate. Or at least I don’t know why the rest of us should care about it.

Track 3- The Scale
0:03 – Guitar led into one extremely loud pound on the drums. I dug it.
1:02 – “Well, I made you. And now I take you back. It’s too late, but today I can define the lack.” What always confuses me about this band is that many of the lyrics are plaintive, yet the vocals are never delivered with any sense of begging or humility. Paul Banks always sounds like he doesn’t really care that much.
3:13 – Echoey guitar solo leads to the end of the song. I was hoping for a bigger payoff.

Track 4 – The Heinrich Maneuver
0:02 – “How are things on the west coast?” By now we’ve all heard this one, and I have to say it’s loaded with hooky goodness. I get it in my head and it stays there all day.
0:49 – Folks over at popular Chicago Bulls blog Blog-A-Bull had previously mentioned the Hinrich Maneuver. It occurs when Kirk Hinrich dribbles all the way through the lane and then keeps curling to the other side. I highly doubt that Interpol had that in mind when they wrote this song. They’re probably Knicks fans and they spelled Hinrich wrong.
2:13 – “’Cause today, my heart swings.” I like the line. I s’pose it’s as good an “I’m not over you, but I’m over you” statement one could write.

Track 5 – Mammoth
0:10 – Vocals are almost completely covered by drums and guitar which are pounding ahead.
0:58 – Now the vocals are louder, but so is everything else and I can’t make anything out except an accentuated “fucking”.
1:40 – Lots of changes going on in this tune, but the whole thing is really “up”.
2:12 – “Spare me the suspense!”
2:51 – Damn, that was a loud thump. I’m not sure the overall track is all that great, but it has a ton of quality elements in it.
3:48 – Building and building and…
3:55 – Sailing out with about fifteen seconds of steady, pulsing beats.

Track 6 – Pace is the Trick
0:42 – Not much to say yet. Long intro on this one (with vocals).
1:16 – A lot of the fire is gone on this track. It’s nothing bad, but it’s just low-key. I can’t imagine this one will be any good live.
2:27 – “And to allll the destruction in man. And to all the corruption in my hand.”
2:50 – OK, things are picking up.
3:08 – It’s still more of a “pop” song, and I don’t think it shows their best qualities, but there’s more potential here than I gave the song credit for in the early going.

Track 7 – All Fired Up
0:17 – Was that some horns? Couldn’t tell.
0:39 – Drums just pounding while ___ sings, “I’ll take you on!” Another punchy track here.
2:00 – This is somehow lighter and heavier than a usual Interpol track at the same time. Like it’s dense and agile at the same time. Does that make any sense?
2:38 – “I’ve got this soul. It’s all fired up!” See what I mean? Heavy and light?

Track 8 – Rest my Chemistry
0:45 – Nothing new to report. A slower song with a rather long intro.
1:23 – “I’ven’t slept for two days. I’ve bathed in nothing but sweat. And I’ve made hallways, seeds for things to regret.” Not sure if I heard that right, but it’s clearly about worry. Or maybe about drugs.
1:47 – “Tonight I’m gonna rest, my chemistry.” OK, it’s drugs.
2:37 – Things drop off a bit here as ___ says “You’re so young,” as if he’s talking to a little brother or perhaps a young lover. Like he’s trying to help despite his own foibles.

Track 9 – Who Do You Think
0:23 – After twenty seconds of silence, the sound comes charging up and keeps kicking.
0:50 – “I only call them when I know I don’t see them.” Why would you need to call someone if you could see him? I’m just askin’.
1:16 – Fastest song on the album thus far. It’s a bit more straightforward than the other ones here.
2:41 – A good way to get us to the last two tracks of the album. I’m not complaining. Nine tracks in, I’m overly pleased.

Track 10 – Wrecking Ball
0:04 – Not a Crooked Fingers cover. Although that would have been shocking I suppose.
0:25 – The album art and particularly the info is very minimalist. There are photos of Wild Kingdom dioramas, but the disc, back cover, and any pages in the booklet with words are pretty much all black. Nigel Tufnel’s going to sue.
2:08 – Least interesting song so far. The vocals are featured, but not much is going on.
2:43 – Everything just dropped out.
4:23 – And stayed out.

Track 11 – The Lighthouse
0:46 – No drums or bass – just jangly guitar and vocals all with a lot of echo.
2:01 – Piano and bass join us. But only a little.
2:13 – “What do the waves have to say now?”
3:53 – Very dreamy song. I’m ready for bedtime.
4:26 – And the drums come in. The guitar sounds like it was lifted from a spaghetti western. Or maybe that’s because of the chimes. It’s plodding, but powerful.

The hooks are hidden, like they always are on an Interpol record. The first listen was alternately enjoyable and intriguing. Basically, I don’t know what the hell’s going on here yet, but I know I like it. I have no idea what the reviews look like – I’m guessing a lot of complaints that they haven’t changed their style enough. But I would disagree with that notion. This is definitely unique. They’re doing what I wish the Pumpkins would have done yesterday – mixing things up a bit. There are real ebbs and flows, not just over the entire album, but within the songs themselves. I anticipate spinning this disc liberally between now and Lollapalooza. I’m sure they’re going to be a bit stoic onstage, but if they play well, I won’t care.

OWR: Blood Diamond

70: Schemey