Menahan Street Band, Body Language,
No, Ben Sollee, & BNLX...
Hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome
to Songs Of The Week #15!
For those of you who are still
somehow unfamiliar with the SOTW posts, each week we ask a couple of
our contributors to give us their thoughts on the previous week's
songs given away by MPR's The Current. To download the Song Of The
Day podcast for yourself (which we highly recommend), click here.
Playing along at home is fun for the whole family! Especially if
your family likes pretty average indie music!
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This week we asked MinneSarah &
TCDroogsma to have a go at the songs.
Kids, what'd you think?
01.
Menahan Street Band – The Crossing (from the album The
Crossing)
MinneSarah:
So this band is an instrumental soul
group complete with horns and an organ. The absence of vocals
is actually refreshing - as it's hard for a lot of these soul funk
revival bands to pull off all the elements - adding a singer is just
another thing to have to worry about fitting in to the mix. This
song features some prominent string plucking over the top of
signature horns and downtempo funk, which makes the song seem a
little more modern than revivalist. Also, this group has been
sampled by Kid Cudi and 50 Cent, so there is a slim chance Kanye is
sampling this song as you read this review.
TCDroogsma:
Honestly, when I saw "Menahan Steet Band" in the downloads this week I set my expectations pretty low. Even though I've really been into instrumental music lately, that tends to be more in the hip-hop instrumental vein and not, y'know, a "supergroup" form Brooklyn consisting of Antibalas and The Dap-Kings.
And yet, I loved "The Crossing." Instead of using the "MSB" moniker to indulge in musical masturbation this song is actually tight. None of the instruments go off on their own and the whole thing is held together by a pseudo-hip hop rhythm. The horns are bright but reserved. The guitar is somehow both celebratory and mournful. This is a perfect soundtrack for strolling around downtown MPLS on a brisk November night.
Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma - 4.5/5
02.
Body Language – I'm A Mess (from the EP Grammar)
MinneSarah:
This song is an example of the
funk/soul revival that is not really working. The cadence of
this song reminds me of that Mayer Hawthorne hit a few years back, so
if you liked that song, you won't be disappointed by an even more
hipster version. The singer's voice is not faux soul, and thus
stands out by not trying to be something it's not - however, the
lyrics are cloying and hackneyed. If you like to hear
pining lyrics served over electronic soul revival lite, this song is
a ten. I'd like to make a joke about how this song was written
without you and is a mess unto itself, but that's just not true.
It's pretty tight yet overly pedestrian.
TCDroogsma:
I know I spend a lot of time here making fun of synth-pop bands, but know that those jokes have more to do with how many are in MPLS and not the genre in general. So, that being said, I really did enjoy this one.
"I'm A Mess" is an ode to co-dependency soundtracked by Paul McCartney's keyboards from "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time." I mean that as a compliment. Although, if you're a co-dependent guy who spends his time listening to old Paul McCartney records I would imagine the only body language you're used to is crossed arms and rolled eyes.
Final Score: MinneSarah -2/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
03.
No – What's Your Name? (from the 7” What's Your Name?)
MinneSarah:
Is this The National? This band
has gotten that question so many times, they just named themselves
No. They then named their single - What's Your Name, as that is the
question they got after they responded that they weren't The
National. Okay, maybe that didn't happen, but then again maybe
it did.
While I feel like this is a National song when I listen
to it, it does evoke a little more optimistic moodiness. The
song is broken up a little with bouts of whistling, and punches of
percussion. The lyrics talk about what people are wearing,
which is pretty much what caught my attention. Although I feel
like the singer sounds a bit generically indie, the song
is interesting enough to get catchier the more often you
listen to it.
TCDroogsma:
This song is like indie rock Madlibs. Kind of a piano song, kind of a guitar song. None of the lyrics add up to any kind of coherent whole, but rather they all sound like the first line from a different band's song. "See the sun turn round and run away..." is Lou Reed. "Turn around now, I can't stay" - Julian Casablancas. "Shut the gates if I don't show, I'll send dogs to let you know..." Paging Paul Banks. Paul Banks, please pick up the red phone. What's your name, indeed.
Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
04.
Ben Sollee – Unfinished (from the album Half-Made Man)
MinneSarah:
So remember last week when I said that
I was born in Kentucky? Guess who else was born and raised in
my birth town? Why Ben Sollee, of course. This music isn't bad,
but once again, it's not really my style. The song is
alt-country nouveau, with the inclusion of the cello - which does add
quite a depth. Ben's vocals sound almost Bruce
Springsteen-like. Overall, hometown be damned, I am extremely
conflicted whether or not I can recommend a song by a
singer/songwriter who has done a bike tour of Kentucky. Seriously.
That could be the most awesome and inspiring or soul-crushingly
hipster thing I've ever heard. Can't decide. Luckily, as
the song indicates, this isn't the last we've heard from Ben Sollee.
TCDroogsma:
I guess I wouldn't think you could build a whole career around recreating the Billy Bragg tracks from Mermaid Avenue. I learn something new every day.
Final Score: MinneSarah -2.5/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5
05.
BNLX – Vibrant (from the album BNLX)
MinneSarah:
Upbeat guitars, hyper-enunciated
vocals, slight electronic backdrop. I like how clean the song
sounds amidst punctuated rouge (or not) guitar. There is a lot
of order in this song, almost formulaic but in a way that works!
Basically I love anything upbeat and eighties sounding and will
justify that any way I see fit. Although this isn't the most
exciting song I've heard this week, there is something comforting in
its design.
TCDroogsma:
I went on an extended rant about BNLX earlier this week when I reviewed their track "1929." (cough... Singles Mixer #3... cough... scroll down... cough...)
Oddly, I don't necessarily like this song as much as that one. My point in that review was that getting a slightly political angle out of Ed Ackerson made for an interesting listen. It gave me a fuller picture of who he is regarding his Polara/BNLX bands. "Vibrant" is a pretty great track, don't get me wrong, but this one sounds more like Polara with a drum machine. Still, you all know I'm a sucker for boy/girl hooks and really, who's arguing with a song that sounds like the love child of New Order & Dinosaur Jr?
Final Score: MinneSarah -3.5/5
TCDroogsma - 3.5/5
Blaow! There
you have it, everybody! Another week of songs listened to, reviewed,
and filed away.
As always we'd
like to mention that neither this blog nor its contributors is in
anyway affiliated with MPR, The Current, or any of the artists
reviewed. We're just people with iTunes & free time.
For more of the always charming MinneSarah give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah). For even more MinneSarah be sure to mention nail polish & vegan donuts.
For more TCDroogsma he can also be followed on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He seems like he should probably eat more vegan donuts too.
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