Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #80!
For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story: TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. They're also both opinionated and have access to computers. Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column. Over a year later later and here we are.
As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free and it's fun for the whole family!
To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page. The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.
As per tradition TCDroogsma and MinneSarah have not read each other's reviews prior to posting
So... Droogsy, Sarah... thoughts?
01. Doug Paisley - Song My Love Can Sing (from the album Strong Feelings)
TCDroogsma:
Before I get started here, I'd just like to take a moment to congratulate Doug Paisley. In addition to being devastatingly handsome, "Song My Love Can Sing" is the new record holder for "Most dramatic swing of opinion over the course of one week." Not an easy award to win, but a true testament to just how great this song is.
The first time I listened to this one I thought, "Good god. I'm going to have to spend the next seven days starting my morning with some whining, boring country." Then, over the course of the week, the myriad little rewards in the song began to reveal themselves. The lyrics and down, but also grounded & realistic. Paisley has perspective on his situation, which is a hell of a virtue. Musically, the entirety of the song wobbles charmingly left-of-center (or centre), with the verses seeming starting a half a beat late and the hooks coming half a beat early. With a swirling organ and a piano filling in the blanks (at least until a second Paisley voice shows up in the chorus), "Song My Love Can Sing" is one of the richest, most well-realized singles I've heard in a while.
MinneSarah:
How can anybody argue with the validity of emotion in a troubled love song sung in a twangy tone with some country keyboards behind it? Especially when it comes off of an album called Strong Feelings. While "Song My Love Can Sing," sounds lighthearted, it is still a song of discontentment and loss. If Canadian alt-country is not your thing, you may still like the liberal use of keyboards - I sure did.
Doug Paisley lets his lyrics do the work of convincing the listener that he feels optimistically conflicted about love. A pleasant sounding song with some real emotion behind it, "Song My Love Can Sing" wasn't written for people like me, but somehow I think Doug Paisley is okay with that.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 4/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
02. Temples - Shelter Song (from the album Sun Structures)
TCDroogsma:
In most circumstances I'm more than willing to ride the wave of England's "Next Hot Young Band." Of course, it doesn't always work out long-term (I'm looking at you, Hard-Fi), but for the most part you'll come out of the whole thing with at least one or two great singles.
Which is why I'm disappointed in "Shelter Song." Temples has been getting great write-ups in both England and the United States, but, based on this single at least, I don't see what the big deal is. "Shelter Song" has almost nothing going for it by way of originality. This jangly-psychedelic sound is half Animals/half Byrds and not much else. Now, being derivative is no sin, but wearing their influences so brightly on their sleeves ultimately leaves "Shelter Song" without its own personality.
MinneSarah:
Leave it to the Brits to take sixties psychedelic pop and make it sound more polished than it ever really was.
I've been listening to Temples a little lately, toying with the idea of catching "as close to Tame Impala as I can in my hometown" this April, and this song is a bit more over the top than the others I've heard. The chorus sounds whimsical and the guitar is quintessentially sixties. Tambourine and echoed vocals complete the sound. "Shelter Song," is a throwback to another time, which when done well doesn't sound contrived - I think Temples pulled it off. While listening to this song, it cemented my desire to sway underneath the twinkle lights of the Turf, pretending I'm at an outdoor festival in Bristol.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2.5/5
MinneSarah: 3.5/5
03. KINS - Mockasin's (from the album KINS)
TCDroogsma:
I was reading up on KINS before writing this review and learned that the singer & guitarist hail from Australia while the rhythm section came together after those two moved to Brighton. This struck me as interesting because, as I spent the week with this song, the rhythm section on "Mockasin's" is by far the best part of the song.
"Mockasin's" stumbles ahead on a twitchy, post-punk bass-and-drum momentum, giving the song its irregular heartbeat. That canvas, however, is smeared with a mix of aimless, jangly guitar work and falsetto vocals, both of which fail to coax anything more out of the song. I've read that KINS really brings it live, so maybe this all makes a little more sense in person (it's easy to imagine "Mockasin's" being an absolute monster live), but here on record it comes off lacking.
MinneSarah:
"Mockasin's" starts out fantastic - a little eighties, heavy on the bass - then takes an unexpected turn. The singer's voice is extraordinarily falsetto, as is so popular with the kids these days. The chorus delivery is less Tiny Tim than the rest, which allows the listener to once again groove out to the slow jam instrumental for a while longer.
This band of Aussies, now living in Brighton is also making an appearance at the Turf this spring. While I did listen to some of KINS other songs for perspective, some of which were amazing, this song did not do it for me. "Mockasin's" is too lulling and the falsetto puts me on high stress out alert! Feeling a little like when I'm on a ferry and the waves are bearable/unbearable and the overall feeling is memorable but not fun. While I'm not giving this one high marks, I would encourage listeners to check out their latest album for a glimpse of just how big this band can sound.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2.5/5
MinneSarah: 2.5/5
04. Hospitality - I Miss Your Bones (from the album Trouble)
TCDroogsma:
"I Miss Your Bones" starts off a charming little love songs. The song is hopelessly romantic, but derives a sense of urgency from its instruments. Hospitality works up the sort of tight, start-stop rhythm work that implies that the band has worn through at least one copy of Room On Fire.
Unfortunately, they only keep up this pace for about 90 seconds. At that point the song goes full Benjamin Button, devolving from a tightly-wound pop song to an ambiguous guitar solo to merely a simple 4/4 beat & bassline with some power chords strummed on top of it. By the time you get to the end of the song you feel as if you're listening to the jam session that eventually yielded "I Miss You Bones." It's an odd trick and I don't totally see the point. By the time you've finished listening to the song that dynamic first 90 seconds seems like a distant memory, leaving the whole presentation feeling frustratingly half-formed.
MinneSarah:
"I Miss Your Bones" is uber poppy! Guitar pop is always a welcome sound on these Song Of The Day offerings, as they can be quite rare. The overall impression of this song is that it is upbeat, guitar driven, and catchy. While the band is from Brooklyn, it sounds as though the singer is feigning an accent. There is also a fair amount of guitar noodling - the song has a transition which results in the last two and a half minutes of the four minute song being nothing but guitars.
Really, this song is two songs, a hyper-poppy, somewhat affected minute and a half long song, and then almost twice as long distorted guitar and mellow bass. While I can't say which part I like better, the end result is disjointed. Probably for the best - four minutes of the intensity of pop, and I may have called it too saccharine.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
05. Erik Koskinen - Six Pack Of Beer And A Pack Of Cigarettes (from the album American Theatre)
TCDroogsma:
When you see a song titled "Six Pack Of Beer And A Pack Of Cigarettes" it can mean one of three things:
1. A punky rave-up
2. A blues dirge
3. An old-timey country song
Sadly, Erik Koskinen traffics in a mixture of options two and three. Putting aside my hopes for a the punky rave-up, "Six Pack Of Beer..." doesn't offer much beyond the usual cliche of taking this job and shoving it (which Koskinen straight quotes in the song). The execution is flawless, I suppose, but so rote that it borders on parody. I mean, if you were trying to write a song mocking old country songs, you'd probably come up with something like "Six Pack Of Beer..." It's easy to see something like this holding the attention of the regulars at Lee's, but 4:00 on an iPod is an awful lot to ask.
MinneSarah:
I've heard country music in the background of my whole life. Between my mom's affinity for sixties country vinyl and taking her young daughter barhopping through Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and visiting my dad for summers in Texas, let's not say I haven't been exposed. However, every country song I hear these days, my first thought is, "why?!" "Six Pack of Beer and a Pack of Cigarettes" is part of the Country Blues genre, so make sure you shed some tears in that six pack, because nobody understands you, not even Country music.
Now onto the good stuff - Erik Koskinen has offered this little ditty with a tongue in cheek attitude that lets the listener in on it. Also, his vocals sound as though David Byrne picked up the craft, which will delight hipsters across these cities. My advice is if you feel the need to go barhopping in Southern Minnesota - bring Erik! He'd surely be able to explain to you the history of the genre and put his own spin on it.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 1.5/5
MinneSarah: 2.5/5
Well there you have it, MP3 junkies! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!
As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.
For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio
For more MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah). In addition to filing reports out of St. Paul for our Big Day Out column she occasionally joins TCDroogsma as co-host of the Flatbasset Radio podcast.
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