Acid House Kings
Mondays Are Like Tuesdays And Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays CD
Hidden Agenda. AHA! 038.
by Keith Mclachlan.
April 28, 2002.
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Imagine if Le Pen wins, would this mean that Alec
Baldwin would have to alter his plans of flight from
the oppressive Bush regime to France and instead hop
on the next plane to Stockholm instead? How
frighteneing for his fellow passengers as likely for
the duration of the 11 hour flight from LA Alec would
bleat endlessly about how it was the 2000 election
that was the most tragic event in recent history maybe
in the history of the world ever not some silly event
where 3000 people died because of a madman who marries
his buddies granddaughter. No the real threat to
Amerikkka is the possibility that funds for head start
might be cut or that we won't have clean needle
exchanges in every junior high school by the time of
the next election. Once in Sweden though Alec would
get off the plane and after having a Kim Basinger
flashback upon seeing all the blonde babes in Sweden
and finishing a brief period of 'do you know who i am
and will you sleep with me' would immediately settle
in and attempt to discover the underground resistance
in Sweden hoping to establish his own political
credibility in hopes of running someday for a seat in
the Riksdag. He might find himself then at an Acid
House Kings (subversives at heart surely) show and
suitably impressed by their performance proceed to
follow them around for the rest of his life. He might
be in sessions for their next album as executive
producer, he would say things like 'hey you know how
on your last album you had that number that sounded a
bit like the Kings of Convenience? yeah I loved it
too, but what if this time instead of writing about
some bimbo like you normally do what if instead you
decried the supreme court's conservative majority,
maybe adding a line about how Antonin Scalia has hair
on his back' or 'Hey that song that sounded a bit
Lightning Seeds was fab, I love the Seeds, but what if
its successor was about Neil Bush's failed Savings and
Loan instead? and the girl who sings in your band is
she really necessary? I think we need someone with a
bit more anger sure she sounds all lovely and pristine
and effete, but we need some balls, no offence babe,
we need someone who would be willing to stand up for
Mumia and spit in the face of the jack booted thugs
from the ATF come to silence us here in Sweden. Have
you ever spit in a thugs face sweetie? Didn't think
so.' At this point one of the handsome AHKs would ask
Alec to leave and they would record another album just
like this one with perfect harmonies, with some
moments that remind of the Sundays and others that
remind of other perfect pop groups and then they would
release it and Alec Baldwin would claim it was a
government strongarm position the Bush administration
shutting down the rebel AHKs before they could
speak/sing the truth. Criminal!
Orwell
Des Lendemains CD
Quince.
by Keith Mclachlan.
April 28, 2002.
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I believe that this is a rather old record and I
wonder if I should even be reviewing it as it somewhat
upsets my standards as being cutting edge and forward
thinking, pardon my ha but i think perhaps this record
was released as far back as 2000??? I dunno, I only
know I only just picked it up and so I feel easily
compelled to blather on for a few (or one extended)
paragraphs about it. It is tres sophisticated (or
seemingly so since it is somewhat baroque but what
then makes strings more prestigious than synthesizers
other than snobbery?) French pop that comes out very
similar to Fugu minus the harpsichords and the high
notes. But then the French, how can I review a French
record without commenting on the French, know snobbery
often lecturing us on our barbarism (this the country
who used the guillotine until 1977) and this the
country with all this hysteria this week over Le Pen.
There have been daily protests over a free election of
an alleged fascist which in itself seems all the more
fascist to me. Perhaps it is just continuing guilt
that the reflections frenchmen often see in the mirror
are those of the totalitarian bent ranging from Petain
to Thorez (a stalinist who approved of the execution of
Imre Nagy and surely would have butchered thousands if
he had been able to improve on his regular 25%!?!
showings in French general elections) and now to Le
Pen who, looking at his proposals, seems the most mild
of the lot his only crime being from the right.
Anyhow, I suppose Orwell probably voted for Jospin or
more laughably for Olivier Pescanot (the Troskyite
postman) but that matters little because this is a
lovely little record that deserves more attention. At
the moment I believe it only appears on the Japanese
imprint Quince but with it's delicate fusion of
acoustic flavoured pop ideals and some rudimentary
stabs at electronic gadgetry it makes for a remarkably
delightful listen with only the strange cover of
Prodigy's 'Breathe' providing a somewhat awkward
moment, Liam Howlett is no poet and even the most
dramatic French pretense fails to liven the dreadful
'poetry' once spat upon by Keith Prodigy. Then that
aside left begging this is the dossier; loads of
strings, whispered vocals, Bacharachian arrangements
and a casual insoucciant attitude that will very
nearly allow one to escape the memories that recount
the horror of listening to the Ego album. Orwell are
very fine indeed.
Milky Wimpshake
Lovers, Not Fighters CD
Troubleman Unlimited.
by Keith Mclachlan.
April 14, 2002.
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Why is it that there are never any bands that record
pop polemics which proceed from the right side of the
political spectrum? Holiday were famous for their
libertarianism but seemed content enough to sing about
insubstantial fluff and I don't think Bruce Willis'
escapades in pop music count as political discourse.
I've no answers but we all know there is no shortage
of idiotic diatribes from the left (see International
Noise Conspiracy). Granted as left leaning
troubadours Milky Wimpshake really has only had one
drole moment in their sloganeering/posturing and that
was when they memorialized Naom Chomsky in song, now
that guy has never found a dictator whose murderous
policies he couldn't justify or excuse as right-wing
propaganda, the fact that the Ramones (with an alleged
republican on lead guitar) had to be dragged into the
Choamsky mud by way of sharing a song narrative is
somewhat unfortunate. On then to the 2nd record of
Wimpshaking tunes and yes there is still a political
bent well tilted towards the left but that doesn't
really bother me, even if it might be nice to see Pete
write a song about the idiocy of the Kyoto accord
though. The tunes aren't political first and pop
second, nope, Mr. Pete W has an arsenal of hooks that
likely even outnumbers the number of katyusha rockets
that hezbollah has poised to lob into northern Israel
and so the fact that your butt is grooving to some
simplistic jive about class struggle is no worries no
cares because the next song is just as likely to be
about scrabble or stalking someone on the phone. The
songs this time around aren't all out sprints to the
finish line either, I can't imagine they improved
because of a world tour honing their musical chops but
the band is more dynamic (horrid review cliche!), the
songs are fuller and the inspiration is more diverse (a
few dreadful attempts at Pete Seeger meets the Muppets
folk-pop are easily overlooked) and the lyrics are of
course extraordinary making the political personal and
the personal seem universal. Apparently this was
recorded as much as three years ago, who knows why it
took so long to come out. The only band on Troubleman
Unlimited that I would touch with a 37 foot pole have
gone and made another fantastic record, maybe that
mythical world tour is in the offing too to that we
here in Denver can get a close up glance of Pete's
dreamy psycho-killer eyes.
the Clientele
Lost Weekend EP CD-EP
Acuarela. nois 020.
by Keith Mclachlan.
April 14, 2002.
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I can, rather easily actually, imagine the gnashing of
the choppers in the mouth of Alasdair of the Customers
when he records a new song and realizes it is
incredibly tuneful and, well, pop. I bet he thinks he
is somewhere along the line between eccentrics and
wackos with his dreams of surrealism and umbrellas and
dissection tables but sadly he has ths strange
capacity for writing instantly catchy numbers which
seem to sacrifice any hope for credibility among those
devoted to admiring the tuneless. Even with the avant
garde dressing down these songs receive by way of
dissonant piano tones and field recordings interwoven
there is an unmistakable amount of popular genius on
view. They probably sound exactly like some obscure
60s band but I don't know which, they are treading a
light fleet path towards a sound all their own really.
The Mrs. says it is more Galaxie 500 than any of the previous The Customers releases and I might agree especially with the featured presence of the falsetto and the insistence on placing references to rain in nearly every song but then comes the marching/waltz number 'Kelvin Parade' which greatly improves on previous versions of this style in their pop armament and I can't place a reference further back than the Customers own past. I also find it interesting that they likely use more effects on the vocals than on the guitars cause there is no way any human naturally has a voice like this, or if he does he probably doesn't look like the Customers' lead singer because he looks a bit too much like a Blockbuster clerk to have such a fascinatingly interesting dark personna. Maybe they should only release EPs and singles cause they are on such a winning streak that pausing to record a full-length might not be in the Customers' best interest.
the Starlets
Surely Tomorrow You'll Feel Blue CD
Stereotone. stereo1.
by Keith Mclachlan.
March 28, 2002.
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Ever notice how there are no Esther's anymore, no
Mildreds or Eulas or Blanches either? These are old
fart names they have fallen from favour with the
terminally unaging baby-boomers and their successors
in my generation who all appear to be having kids with
more ease than I would ever imagine possible what with
me concerned about future mates deciding my income
level is up to snuff or my reading list having been
ideally compiled to prepare for a life of eternal
bliss. But maybe I don't need marriage, I have the
Starlets and their songs will likely warm my heart far
longer than any creature not walking on four legs.
They have a Biff in their ranks, not sure what this is
short for except as part of the ideal tandem of Biff
and Buffy to describe those odious sorts who listen to
Dave Matthews and wear Abercrombie and Fitch catalog
advertised apparel although funny enough you need to
be over 18 to get their catalog because a clothes
company decided the best way to sell its clothes was
not by having models model clothes but rather have
models be naked, brilliant. Anyhow, Biff is short for
nothing actually and according to a name report
website means the possessor has a highly charged and
dynamic state of being or something like that. Biff
Smith must be an aberration then, he is slow, pensive,
sensitive and flowery. There are nine songs here six
are gorgeous slowies, with trumpets and string
sections slowly picked guitars and words like these
'some things are so beautiful you have to turn away'
which sums up most of what is on display here. It is
not at all reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian even
though they are from Glasgow and fey, it has more than
a little to do with Paddy Mcaloon and the Go-Betweens
but without the Go-Betweens penchant for stinking to
high heavens. It's a brilliant debut album and
another peg to hang on the map showing the greatest
concentration of charming, emotive and literate pop
bands (see Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ, Ballboy,
Pearlfishers, Camera Obscura, etc...) to be fully
enveloped by the borders of my fair ancestral homeland
of Scotland.
the Lucksmiths
Where Were We? CD
Matinee. matcd019.
by Keith Mclachlan.
March 12, 2002.
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A compilation of the moments not collected on the last
album and not collected on, ern, the last compilation.
Funny thing that like Stereolab the Lucksmiths best
albums tend, albeit by the slightest of margins, to be
the compilations of the odds and bobs. Most of the
songs here are slowies, I had heard roughly half
before getting this cd including the marvelous
'Cassingle Revival' which has one of my favourite
metaphors for the pining over lost love ever and that
leaves half a cd's worth of surprises. There is the
collaboration with the Ladybug Transistor recorded for
East Timorese poor which is rather sprightly and
spontaneity-led and also included is the last
"tour-only" single which seems to be readily available
nearly everywhere I look, oh, dear me, there is
another. And yet I can't find the Starlets album
anywhere! And a few other things appear from
obscurity like a nice demo for 'The Great Dividing
Range' which shows that the string section that makes
the album version gorgeous is mostly just icing on the
cupcake that the heart of the song is in Marty
Donald's emotional outreach and a couple of unreleased
numbers including one with some spacey moments that
seem very un-Lucksmiths like and are the more
compelling for it. Actually, recently and lately I
have been digging into the Lucksmiths past, they have
a strange history, from my listening excursions they
seem to have started out as an endearing, clever,
frenetic Housemartinsy pop band who then started to
take themselves too seriously, perhaps, and wrote a
bunch of middling mid-tempo nonsense about western
states and architecture then they righted the boat
when they discovered much love from abroad and have
turned into a romantic, croonerish sort of laser beam
with the perfect pun for ever pop moment. They don't
use the 'shoobie-doobie-doos' like they used to,
though and the tears I cry at their absence are very
real, and they don't let Marty sing even though he
sounds like he just escaped from The Man From Delmonte
and shines quite smashingly in his previous vocal
adventures but, again, as these songs are mostly
slowies (undoubtedly the Lucksmiths strength) and the
execrable Pam Berry is hardly noticeable in her
contribution all is well and this is indeed, then, a
grand collection.