It's the Supersound

by DENISE LU

Earlier last week I randomly rediscovered Ty Segall’s Twins, the third in his parade of full-lengths from last year. Coincidentally, MCII, the sophomore LP of Segall’s buddy bandmate Mikal Cronin, was also released around that time. I’m sure Cronin has gotten has gotten tired of continuously being labeled as Segall’s bandmate, but the connection really bleeds through and makes sense. Both are raw in their composition, honest with their words and generous with their enveloping layers.

The trick here is that Cronin does an immense amount with so little. MCII is a solid followup to his self-titled debut as both are extremely simple but have a captivating delivery. The tracks on MCII all have pretty predictable chord progressions, and a good half of them have the flat six chord, a tugging dissonance that Cronin stretches out before resolving back to the tonic. It means Cronin is relying on relatively safe songwriting, sure, but it also means Cronin can dish out as many of the same chords as he wants and still get us every goddamn time.

What’s refreshing about MCII is the wide range of styles that Cronin is capable of on each track, which are all glued together with a single lyrical narrative. The first half of album opener “Weight” isn’t the most attention-grabbing hook you’ve heard in your life. Yet, Cronin immediately thickens what seems like a piano pop tune into a garage revival number. The same thing happens on the following “Shout It Out.” The two make a solid block to warm up to Cronin’s poppy tunes made over garage rock and self-doubting lyrics.

“See It My Way” is when things get interesting. Addictive snare pickups kick off the track, which indulges in blues rock-tinged riffs that complement Cronin’s wails of “dying to get along with you / trying to show you through.” It’s times like these where you can clearly hear his work with Segall bleeding through with raucous chords that are still carefully crafted.

Even on softer, acoustic numbers, Cronin packs a punch or two with his delivery. “Don’t Let Me Go,” which sounds like it was recorded in one go in a live session, is bare and stripped-down, beautifully placed smack dab in the middle of a sandwich of two hard-hitting numbers. Furthermore, “Turn Away” has an engaging orchestral structure that contrasts its heavy garage pop delivery, a combination that Cronin seems to have mastered by the end of the MCII.

The album closer, “Piano Mantra,” is an amalgamation of the entire album, transforming a piano ballad into a swelling opus. The semi-existential questions still circle as Cronin repeats, “Can you hear me or is it in my mind?” But just as the entire album is formulated on a series of tugging dissonance, “Piano Mantra” ends on a hopeful resolution: “The open arms are giving me hope.” Not only do Cronin’s final words create a sense of completion, but the marriage of the orchestral lines and the full band also creates a sense of balance.

MCII, ironically, is inventive in its constant recreation of a single trope: the use of simple progressions with several different dressings. As an album set out to reappropriate pop rock, MCII succeeds. [B+]

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by DENISE LU

There’s something about the hike in temperature and sunshine of spring that conjures an imagery of running barefoot across a large expanse of grassy hills. If there was a montage of that scene captured from an aerial view, Akron/Family’s Sub Verses would be the soundtrack. On their followup to 2011′s Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, the group takes on some demanding riffs and harmonies with a record comprised of what sounds like giant opus after giant opus.

And this makes sense. Seth Olinsky had “visions of large monumental sounds” and “American works on a grand scale.” Tracks like “Way Up” and “Sand Talk” bottle the grandiose feeling of freedom of the album with fuzzy tribal pulses and echoing choruses. However, while Sub Verses does come close to capturing this mantra of large gestures and macro sounds, there is yet another component to the album.

Olinsky brings up the idea of “future humanism” and a “sci-fi aesthetic narrative,” and this rings true in curveballs like “Sometimes I,” which follows directly after the uplifting “Sand Talk.” A drone piece with chilling, dissonant strings, “Sometimes I” is a creepy cut that wouldn’t sound too out of place in something like a Sunn O))) record (Stephen O’Malley created the album artwork for Sub Verses). Similarly, “Holy Boredom” opens with an unintelligible mumble that flows into verses of processed vocals and semi-apocalyptic notes that signal this other side of the album.

While this two-sided complexity is interesting, the two only mildly mingle and aren’t fully incorporated throughout the entire album. Sub Verses is heavily front-packed with tracks that resemble the soundtrack of a freeing montage, but what’s left towards the end and dispersed through the middle are the tracks that trace the strangeness of the album. As a whole, the transitions are a bit choppy and sudden, digging away at the coherence of the album.

However, perhaps as a last clever move, Sub Verses ends with the slow ballads “When I Was Young” and “Samurai.” The former confesses the faults of youthful mistakes while the latter explores themes of loneliness. Thus, albeit a rather rocky development to get from A to B, the beginning of the album portrays a youthful recklessness and naivety while the end carries a more stoic voice with insightful hindsight. Sub Verses is a road worth traveling, but just beware of the potholes along the way. [B-]

Find it at:

analog.am | amazon | emusic

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by DENISE LU

SPOTLIGHT: Maston – Shadows [Trouble in Mind]

On Shadows, LA-based Frank Maston offers up dreamy pop drenched in thick psychedelia. Shimmery guitar strums, echoing vocals and accents of harmonious oohs and aahs are all topped off with what sounds like the production of the ’60s. Warm tones, muted horns and bright bells all point to an aesthetic of yesterday glory. Instrumental cuts are cinematic and sound like parts of a dream sequence, while tracks with vocals sculpt detailed landscapes of revival pop with modern day complexities in composition.

Noteworthy

Cyclopean – Cyclopean EP [Mute]
Following up to Can’s The Lost Tapes released last year, Cyclopean reunites two of the pioneer Krautrock band’s founding members, Jaki Liebezeit and Irmin Schmidt. Tribal percussion and dark, creeping harmonies make for a trance-like collection with an ominous air.

Jacco Gardner – Cabinet of Curiosities [Trouble in Mind]
Dutch multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner evokes scenes of 1960s United Kingdom on his debut full-length. Sprinkled with sunshiny baroque pop, Gardner paints magical scenes that are fairylike, but not overtly sweet.

K-X-P – II [Manima]
Finnish four-piece K-X-P delivers a Krautrock-influenced album, dressed in a completely different fashion with hints that range from glam rock, techno and pop to abstract minimalism, offering a diversity that keeps the album interesting and fluid.

The Lewis Connection – The Lewis Connection [Reissue] [Numero Group]
The first of a series of releases from reissue label Numero Group of the ’70s Twin Cities soul and funk scene, the self-released title of The Lewis Connection, the project of a brother duo, was originally released in 1978. Unconfirmed rumors have it that Prince himself played on this album.

Pissed Jeans – Honeys [Sub Pop]
Hardcore punk outfit Pissed Jeans’ fourth full-length Honeys still pumps through the same hair-raising terror rock as their past albums. On par with labelmates METZ, Pissed Jeans deliver a few dozen punches on this record that is prone to set things on fire.

Extended Listening
Blackfeet Braves – Blackfeet Braves [Lolipop]
Darwin Deez – Songs For Imaginative People [Lucky Number]
Fear of Men – Early Fragments [Kanine]
Foals – Holy Fire [Warner Bros.]

Lisa Germano – No Elephants [Badman]
Millionyoung – Variable [Old Flame]
Nataly Dawn – How I Knew Her [Nonesuch]
PVT – Homosapien [Felte]
Salva – Odd Furniture EP [Friends of Friends]
The Flaming Lips – Songs For Love (self-released)
The Little Ones – The Dawn Sang Along [Branches Recording Collective]
Veronica Falls – Waiting For Something To Happen [Slumberland]

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words by DENISE LU

Grouper – The Man Who Died in His Boat [Kranky]
Since 2005, Liz Harris has been consistently pushing out record after record. The Man Who Died in His Boat is another solid release full of rich harmonies and seas of sweeping ambient soundscapes. Harris’ signature layered vocals are still as ethereal and hypnotizing, an enticing invitation to get lost within her world of a strange atmospheric folk with a touch of ominous dissonance. Recorded around the same time as her 2008 Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill, The Man… is a solid companion that is comparable in harmony but distinct in composition and instrumentation.

Noteworthy

Darkstar – News From Nowhere [Warp]
The British trio’s sophomore album and debut on Warp Records, News From Nowhere is an inventive collection of sing-a-long, hand-clapping choruses tied together with sparkling, upbeat melodies, reminiscent of Animal Collective before they took a nosedive.

Jim James – Regions of Light and Sound of God [ATO]
The debut solo album of My Morning Jacket’s frontman, Regions of Light and Sound of God features James dishing it out in a diverse range of tracks. As cohesive as any of MMJ’s releases, the album focuses on some heavy questions, reflective of its title.

Rhosyn – Elbow of Capture [Blessing Force]
Take the versatility and looping of Merrill Garbus’ vocals, soften them up, add some cinematic falsetto and dips and underline it all with a rich layer of strings and you’ll have the compositions of Rose Dagul, a.k.a. Rhosyn.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II [Jagjaguwar]
The second full-length from UMO, II spotlights themes of isolation and loneliness accompanied by soft acoustics and a more prominent melody on the guitar. Still honest in composition, UMO concocts another slew of tracks that find comfort in the abnormal.

Extended Listening
Amateur Best – No Thrills [Double Denim]
Dog Bite – Velvet Changes [Carpark]
Eels – Wonderful, Glorious [E Works/Vagrant]
Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse [Atlantic/Canvasback]

Guards – In Guards We Trust [Black Bell]
Hayden – Us Alone [Arts & Crafts]
Ladyfinger (ne) – Errant Forms [Saddle Creek]
Little Wings – LAST [Rad]
Matt Pond – The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand [BMG]
Night Beds – Country Sleep [Dead Oceans]
Ron Sexsmith – Forever Endeavor [Cooking Vinyl]
Spinto Band – Cool Cocoon [Spintonic]
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down – We the Common [Ribbon]

The Shilohs – So Wild [Light Organ]
UUVVWWZ – the trusted language [Saddle Creek]

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by DENISE LU

SPOTLIGHT: Broadcast – Berberian Sound Studio [Warp]

British experimental pop outfit Broadcast suffered a great loss when founding member Trish Keenan died two years ago, sending ripple effects throughout the music community. Before she passed away, Keenan already finished some recordings for this soundtrack for independent film Berberian Sound Studio, an homage to 1970′s Italian horror. After her passing, bandmate James Cargill finished the soundtrack, an extremely vivid story that can stand very well on its own. In a way, the tracks are reminiscent of Broadcast’s tranquil yet aberrant hits from earlier in their career, but Berberian Sound Studio pushes boundaries on either end with pops of blood-curdling screams amidst ballads of creepy quiet ambient compositions, all sewn together with ominous whispers.

Noteworthy

Pere Ubu – Lady From Shanghai [Fire]

Prolific experimental group Pere Ubu return to add another studio album to their extensive discography. Lady from Shanghai marks the 35th anniversary of the group’s debut, and things are still as off-kilter as ever. Nothing can really beat the stuff of their golden days, but Pere Ubu are nevertheless still constantly turning heads.

Wooden Wand – Blood Oaths of the New Blues [Fire]

Singer-songwriter James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand concocts a collection of moody and reflective songs with a mildly foreboding undertone. Toth evokes images of vast landscapes and explores personal themes with bare-bone compositions. According to Fire Records, he wanted to “make an album like the kind he would listen to on headphones when he was 14 and discovering hallucinogens.”

Extended Listening:
Death Cab for Cutie – The Barsuk Years [Artist in Residence]
J Dilla – Donuts [7" box set reissue] [Stones Throw]
VA – Girls – Volume 1: Music from the HBO Original Series [HBO/Fueled by Ramen]

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