BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - July 2016

Marley Daemon - Shadow Friend
Mitski - Puberty 2
MSTRKRFT - Operator
Owen - The King of Whys
released album Shadow Friend employs the
structure, dynamics and emotional themes that
make pop-music so widely appealing, but the
songs are refreshingly not about co-dependent
love and it’s inevitable and dramatic heart
break. Daemon’s crafty songs require careful
listening to determine that the love and longing
she expresses are for the old and simple
ways, for a connection to nature, and for a
larger sense of self. Songs like “2012” and
“Mad Brain” befriend the shadow of the times
we live in and its associated grief. “Vessels”
and “Red Leaf, Black Stone” are about letting
go and finding freedom. Daemon’s musical
talent, honed for years in the folk group Dirty
Grace, carries her weightier messages with
levity. The compositions are adventurous; the
rhythm is steady, pulsing and danceable and
the vocals, harmonies and beat-boxing move
from Daemon’s heart, straight to the listener’s.
Shadow Friend shines a light. It’s pop music
reclaimed.
• Trina McDonald
Mitski
Puberty 2
Dead Oceans
Mitski Miyawaki is far too young to be writing
songs this emotionally devastating.
The 25 year-old, who performs under her
first name, was known for her lo-fi ruminations
that often sound like St. Vincent put
through the ringer. Her 2014 album Bury Me at
Makeout Creek found success on Bandcamp
with this formula, but with her fourth full
length Puberty 2, Mitski has made the official
jump to the big leagues.
Mitski and co-producer Patrick Hyland made
Puberty 2 as a duo, but Mitski has proven she
doesn’t need more than that to make an impact.
The defining moment on the album - and
honestly it’s one of the best musical moments
of the year - comes a minute and change
into the lead single “Your Best American
Girl,” when Mitski fully unhinges. Her guitar
unleashes a fury of feedback reminiscent of
Pinkerton-era Weezer, but the song is made
all the more powerful because it isn’t coming
from another group of mopey, sad white dudes.
In fact, in a post on her Facebook page, Mitski
admits that the wonderbread-white world of
‘90s indie rock was sonic and lyrical inspiration
to the song.
Sonic touchstones like that anchor Puberty
2, but it’s when Mitski embraces her unique
position in indie rock that the album truly
shines.
• Jamie McNamara
MSTRKRFT
Operator
Last Gang Records
A brisk, automated marching band snare
groove kicks off “Wrong Glass Sir,” the first
track on MSTRKFT’s new record Operator. This
is the third LP from the Toronto duo, coming
seven years after 2009’s Fist of God.
“Wrong Glass Sir,” following the drum-core
intro, develops into a warehouse-raving acid
house groove. Track two, “Runaway” brings to
mind the crunchy, electro-funk sound, perhaps
most associated with MSTRKFT’s overall sonic
aesthetic; akin to the tone of the title track of
their last album. As with their past work, Daft
Punk and Justice come to mind -- a polished,
robotic symphony, bearing a vocal line reminiscent
of early Bloc Party.
The album has moments of high intensity,
synths and aggressive lyrics lash out at the
listener in tracks like “Priceless,” or the closer
of the album, “Go on Without Me.”
The concept behind Operator, as Jesse F.
Keeler previously explained refers to a concept
he came across while browsing military
websites. Basically, ‘operator culture’
is the idea of the worker detaching from his
tool; it’s easier to handle thinking of being
an operator of a tank or a sniper rifle rather
than associating with the end result of their
usage. Keeler said that they experienced a
similar feeling in their studio, discovering
detachment from their old drum machines
and modular synths, becoming operators
as opposed to musicians. This mentality
is likely what spawned the chaotic, disconcerting
mood that much of this album
conjures.
Not conforming to popular “EDM” trends that
dominate frequencies in recent years, MSTRK-
FT stay true to their original MO with Operator.
A hard-hitting behemoth of an album, interjected
with robo-funk grooves and mind-bending
modular onslaughts that will pique the ears of
both electronic and rock music fans.
• Paul Rodgers
Owen
The King of Whys
Polyvinyl
Mike Kinsella seems at ease. Now a family man
following years of being a stalwart, endlessly-productive
presence in Chicago’s emo, indie,
and math rock scenes, he sounds relaxed
yet unrestrained—exploratory even—on The
King of Whys, his first LP of original material
under his long-running Owen solo moniker
since 2013’s L’Ami du Peuple.
The album is lush, warmly-produced, and
decidedly expansive for an Owen release.
Since commencing his solo pursuits with
2001’s Owen, Kinsella has—over the course of
nine LPs—treaded ever deeper waters in the
ocean of math-rock influenced emo/indie, with
each record letting itself be swept out just a bit
further, only to stagger back to shore carrying
smoother production, increasingly refined
songwriting, and a greater sense of humility.
Whys is Owen’s first album recorded outside
of Chicago, having sequestered himself in
Justin Vernon’s secretive April Base Studios
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with Bon Iver member
S.Carey handling production duties. The
secondary influence (and the full band brought
in by Carey) supports heftier, more florid arrangements,
giving Kinsella a renowned vigor
to wax poetic on relationships, fatherhood,
regrets, and living with oneself.
The droning opening track “Empty Bottle”
crashes like a 10-tonne metronome, while later
on, “Saltwater” would not sound out of place
on the much sparser 2006 Owen release At
Home With Owen.
If you long for the relatable honesty of
bands like Braid and Sunny Day Real Estate,
but are now too old for the yelling, or if you’ve
overplayed the grooves on American Football’s
sole full-length, give Whys a chance. Let
Kinsella break your heart again.
• Willem Thomas
July 2016 REVIEWS
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