Friday, November 2, 2012

Songs Of The Week #12: MinneSarah & TCDroogsma

Jason Lytle, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Pinback, Solid Gold, & Robust Worlds...


Hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome to the 12th Edition of Songs Of The Week!

For those of you unfamiliar with SOTW, it's a weekly column in which we ask two of our regular contributors to give us their thoughts on the five songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Be sure to follow this link to download the podcasts yourself so you can play along at home.

Be sure to vote for your favorite of the songs in the poll to the right of the page.

This week we asked MinneSarah & TCDroogsma to review new songs from Jason Lytle, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Pinback, Solid Gold, & Robust Worlds. They have not read what the other has written about each track prior to posting.

Kids, what'd you think?

01. Jason Lytle – Get Up And Go (from the album Dept. Of Disappearance)


MinneSarah:

     A lot of songs seem to be recorded on the steps at the Science Museum.  Either that, or I've been making music by walking since I was 7.  This song is not complex - it sounds like a loop from a Semisonic outtake with inspirational lyrics over the top.  This song sounds like a Stuart Smalley affirmation, BUT, I dare you to not feel better after listening to this song.  Two minutes of saying "you can do it," and "everything is going to be all right" (and yes, that is the extent of the lyrics) has got to leave you feeling a little bit better. 

TCDroogsma:

     Admittedly, I was a pretty casual fan of Grandaddy, but I really dug what I knew of them. I even saw them at First Ave. once and came away pretty impressed. I don't know what the general consensus is regarding Jason Lytle's solo work, but I know that the single, “Yours Truly, The Commuter” from his first album was a gem. A perfect mix of resilience, Casio keyboards, and hooks.

     “Get Up And Go” seems to lack much of the subtlety that made his earlier stuff so interesting. Honestly, it kind of sounds like the soundtrack to a Samsung Mobile commercial. Evidently the sentiment, “Get up and go, you can do it, everything's gonna be alright...” doesn't apply to writing verses. It's catchy and beautifully produced, but Christ, there's just not much here to work with.

Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
                  TCDroogsma – 2.5/5

02. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Gangs In The Garden (from the album Cobra Juicy)


MinneSarah:

     Yes, Daft Punk followers are now old enough to make their own, um, fill in the blank...art?  Everyone knows that black is already a super rainbow, so add a moth, and this is what you get.  I like anything electronic and this is catchy.  It's got some interesting elements, some distorted strings, very distorted vocals (don't try and be a Bob Dylan), panting, and it's not too long.  Score.


TCDroogsma:

     What the fuck is this monster of a song? Never has a band's sound so mirrored their name, as this sounds like what a Black Moth Super Rainbow would be. All the distorted vocals give it a slight sense of dread, but at least the backbeat indicates a hip-shaking type of impending doom. I mean, if we're all going to be killed by some sort of color-vortex insect we may as well go dancing.

Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
                  TCDroogsma - 3/5

03. Pinback – Proceed To Memory (from the album Information Retrieved)


MinneSarah:

     Pinback is my favorite 90's band that started in the 2000's, I think.  The vocals are always present and meaningful.  This song is no different, but it lacks some of the urgency of their other songs.  This song is a good example of what is good about Pinback, in a quiet way.  It's a very sweet song, but it isn't something I'd put on repeat.  Pinback is great though, seriously.


TCDroogsma:

     If Duncan Sheik had sex with Motion City Soundtrack while members of Constantines yelled at them from the next room to shut up it would be this. Just process that for a second.

     I actually really liked this song. Of all this week's songs it was the one that I found kicking around in my head the most. Of course, timing is everything in life and listening to a song that includes lines like, “And then the seasons get you down...” and “Out the window looks like all the colors, all of them melting down...” during the last week of October may have given the song a bit of extra weight.

Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
                  TCDroogsma – 3.5/5

04. Solid Gold – The Pendulum (from the album Eat Your Young)


MinneSarah:

     Solid Gold is the chameleon of the Twin Cities music scene.  I wouldn't go as far as to call them a Mitt Romney... but I did just type that.  They seem to be talented enough to jive into whatever is popular at the time. However, I haven't forgiven them for that "More to explore in Minnesota" travesty.  Ugghgh.  This song is very 80's - I always mean that in the best possible way.  I like the sweeping nature of the vocals and the background synths. However, I would never be able to hear a Solid Gold song on the radio and pick them out.  This is a good and a bad thing.  In this case, this song is good.  Next time?  Who knows.  Work on your Liam impression, dude.


TCDroogsma:

     Land of 10,000 Lakes? More like Land of 10,000 Synth-Pop bands, am I right? Wait, I already made that joke on this blog? Hmmm....

     It's been a little while since we've had any new Solid Gold material. Musically, the keyboards will kick around in your head for a while, but even after half a dozen listens the lyrics haven't stuck at all. Clearly they didn't spend the off time reinventing the wheel (though they were great in that “Exploret Minnesota” commercial). Here's the deal, Solid Gold, I'm giving this one a 3, but if you can introduce me to that Asian woman doing the Mary Tyler Moore impersonation I'll bump it up another point and a half.

Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
                  TCDroogsma – 3/5

05. Robust Worlds – Best Wishes (from the album Emotional Planet)


Best Wishes

MinneSarah:

     There is nothing bad about this song, however, it is not good either.  It rides the beachy, acousticy guitars that everyone has a hard on for these days and adds some whispery vocals over the top.  It is boring.  This is hipster waiting room music.  Pass.


TCDroogsma:

     I've never been much of a fan of echo-y, psychedelic pop and that was pretty much what came to my mind each time this song started this week. “Oh yeah, that echo-y one.” The hooks aren't sharp and the vocals have a bit of a stoner haze to them, but the whole thing does have a pleasant vibe to it.

     I had to do a little bit of Google work to find out that Robust Worlds is the new band from Chris Rose of Vampire Hands. Seeing as how most of that band's output was definitely of the “grower” variety I'm willing to give “Best Wishes” the benefit of the doubt. Admittedly it did seem to get better as the week went on. If I smoked pot I'll bet I would love this song.

Final Score: MinneSarah -2/5
                  TCDroogsma - 3/5

Boom! There you have it everybody. Another week's worth of tracks downloaded, reviewed, and filed away.

As always we'd like to note that Newest Industry and its contributors are in no way affiliated with the artists, The Current or MPR. We're just music fans with keyboards.

For more of MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram (@MinneSarah). Hopefully she's not still mourning the cancellation of the Morrissey concert.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found ranting like a lunatic on his own blog Flatbasset. He's clearly not over the cancellation of the Morrissey concert.

This blog also maintains a Twitter account (@NewestIndustry1) which you should follow to stay up to date on all the work being done by our contributors for this blog and their own sites. More importantly Newest Industry also has a Facebook page here. Please stop by and give us a “like” sometimes. Take the easy way and give in...

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