BeatRoute Magazine AB print e-edition - March 2017

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ments and solo material before blossoming into full bands, and with their latest albums, both have mastered the art of blending heady atmospheres with pop song structures. Those surface level comparisons are where the similarities end. Where Tame Impala use pop-leaning psychedelia to focus inward on the neurosis of Kevin Parker, Webb and his two bandmates expand outwards on their sophomore, 4AD album Everything is Forgotten. Where Parker gains his inspiration from The Beatles, Webb probably learnt more from the Cocteau Twins and MGMT. Everything is Forgotten is hooky dream pop that channels the explosive energy of Cocteau Twins into tightly wound funk-indebted indie pop. Tracks like the opener “Drink Wine,” sound like early-10s’ peak-Robyn mixed with Purple Rain-era Prince, all strutting basslines and strobing synthesizers. Lead single “Ubu,” is a catchy piece of indie pop, occupying a space in between the bedroom funk of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and the doomed post punk of Preoccupations. Still, even if it’s easy to heap praise on Everything is Forgotten, it doesn’t come without its detractions like “No .28,” a song that sounds like a flabby Hot Hot Heat B-side, or the orchestral, piano pop leanings of “Femme Maison/One Man House” that feel like Ben Kweller did a collab with Fall Out Boy circa-“Sugar We’re Going Down.” Songs like “Act of Contrition” and “Groundswell” pick the album back up, reaching some of the best pop moments of the year so far. Even with its missteps, Everything is Forgotten is a confident sophomore effort, solidifying the sound of a band that has a bright future. • Jamie McNamara Minus the Bear VOIDS Suicide Squeeze Playing VOIDS, the first album from Minus the Bear in five years, is immediately quite the shock. Different sounds from different eras fire off instantly, including DL-4 reversed guitar, and that perfectly-danceable-yet-still-mellow tempo they always seem to find. These sounds, however, are all brought together in a disparate and jarring way. The absence of original drummer Erin Tate means the incredibly awesome/weird rhythms are toned down and the drums themselves match and serve the song a bit more. This gives the album a way more pop sound than we had heretofore experienced. It almost sounds more Coldplay than math rock. Reminiscence sets in as I remember how - wait a sec - every Minus the Bear album brings in new elements and is confusing for the first few moments. From Menoso El Oso’s more subdued, reverb-y sound, to Planet of Ice’s longer songs with synth elements, every album from the Portland math rockers carves out a unique sound. Ultimately, for this reviewer, what ties it all together are the unabashedly upfront lyrics about sleep, regret, memory, drug use, sex, and being human sung with that signature “aloofness” by Jake Snider. By the fourth song, “Invisible,” the elements have coalesced and the band’s vision for VOIDS comes home as a sick, tapping riff enters for the bridge. Minus the Bear succeed with another unique, amazing album, but may lose some fans enticed by their earlier sounds. Still, this reviewer is happy to follow them into the future. • Noah Michael Mother Mother No Culture Universal Music Canada “No culture, I got no culture.” If you’re able to take time to peruse the lyrics on Mother Mother’s new album No Culture, you’ll find few things ring as true as this statement. More importantly, the words must be read in silence to avoid that weird mind-pollution thing that happens when stylized vocals muddle the pure essence or validity of what’s intended. Artists can be fickle that way - only they know what they want their audience to be captivated by most. With this project, it’s probably not the musical compositions. Which isn’t to say the music is lacking, perse, just that lyrically, it gives us not-so-slight clues (or suggestions, perhaps even realizations, depending how far you take their poetic regression) that peace, love, respect, soulfulness and neutrality aren’t just some burnt-out, dipsy-doodle words that have been overused over the decades. No, the tidings are in recognition that on Earth, as people, a society, a progressive thinktank of resolve, we will be destined to hear such phrases (continually and repetitively) until the lesson is learned. That’s what Mother Mother is: a sage consciousness that pushes us to accept what’s good in ourselves and our space in this world. Exceptionally bright, isn’t it? That’s how you do Canadian indie pop/rock mystically. • Lisa Marklinger Mozart’s Sister Field of Love Arbutus Records At just eight songs and 33 minutes in length, Field of Love by Mozart’s Sister feels like a sugar high at the moment just before the crash. Her brand of electronic pop is at times nestled between the rawness of early Grimes and dizzingly saccharine qualities of the best PC Music releases. Many of the record’s best moments showcase hyperactive melody and energy. “Eternally Girl” kicks things off with a few coos before belting into chipmunk synth and Caila Thompson-Hannant belting “I could be the one that you love.” In the middle there’s “Moment to Moment,” a thematically appropriate tune for a work when earworms collide, overlap and sometimes fade before you can grasp onto them fully. It might’ve all become a bit too much to take in if it weren’t for moments like “Angel,” where the pace cools down and Thompson-Hannant’s voice is the central focus. Her range stretches from pained falsetto to Celine-esque diva bursts. Fittingly, Field of Love peppers earnest love songs with just enough camp to be both emotionally compelling while yielding a few bemused grins from the listener. • Colin Gallant Said the Whale As Long as Your Eyes are Wide Hidden Pony Records Said the Whale are absolutely one of the most earnest and hardworking Canadian bands. The Vancouver now-trio has long been making music that is 50 | MARCH 2017 • BEATROUTE
as exuberantly friendly as it is fun loving. Even in their quiet and somber moments, STW has always been able to find ways to make us smile. As Long as Your Eyes are Wide looks from the outset to be a more “mature” outing, with nakedly explicit explorations of grief and loss, coloured by a coat of new-fangled production. The record runs abundant with huge shimmering synth and guitar melodies, and the few remaining acoustic instruments serve more rhythmic purpose than texture, making for an unabashedly pop experience, albeit one with little to no compromise of the style and wit of their past releases. Co-songwriters Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft trade off songwriting duties to great effect as usual, but it’s Worcester specifically whose work sparkles the brightest, stretching himself to a greater degree thematically, but also vocally, even if his tracks are less raw-ly emotional than Bancroft’s. ASAYEAW feels intensely laboured, both in production and in songwriting. It takes a lot of emotional and intellectual investment to make a record like this, and STW does not make it look easy. Every song is an investment and their collective hearts are so far down their sleeves they might as well be wearing them as cufflinks. • Liam Prost Surfer Blood Snowdonia Joyful Noise Recordings When sifting through Snowdonia, the ironically-titled latest from Floridian indie-rockers Surfer Blood, it’s hard to imagine how a group so mired in both controversy and tragedy have managed to release a record basking in a sun-drenched glow that, really, has no business being there. Their first LP since the death of guitarist Thomas Fekete from cancer last year, Snowdonia finds the four-piece breezing through its eight harmonious, surfer-twang tracks, which at its highs are reminiscent of pre-Pet Sounds Beach Boys in regards to their consideration for coherent composition and dedication to theme. “Six Flags in F or G,” the undeniable standout of Snowdonia, finds the group confronting the death of Feleke, beginning with an almost campy, carnival-like guitar jaunt before dropping off into anthemic resolve as vocalist John Paul Pitts’ nasally croons “One of these days/ Right back at the start/ One of these days/ We’ll never ever be apart.” At it’s core, the real strength of Snowdonia lies in the execution of its instrumentation, which shifts between kitschy surfer-rock and airy, emotionally-laden codas with only the occasional misstep, and, ultimately, it’s a fitting homage to an existence that’s not always a day at the beach. • Alec Warkentin Talaboman The Night Lands R&S Individually, John Talabot and Axel Boman are two of the most consistently tasteful producers in electronic music today. Talabot is a Spaniard that has a knack for discreetly-funky dance music that borders on Four Tet, but often verges into the territory of a more laidback Lindstrom. Boman is a Swede that is a Pampa records regular and one of the founding members of the label Studio Barnhus. The Night Lands is the duo’s debut album as Talaboman and it manages to function as a brilliant showcase for the best aspects of both producers. It’s a rare collaborative album that sounds as if it was created by one person. The duo themselves described making the album as “talking blip blop until we felt that we had something worth saying” and it’s evident in the patient production choices on the album. The last time the duo collaborated as Talaboman was with the one-off track “Sideral” for John Talabot’s classic DJ-Kicks back in 2013. The Night Lands never quite lives up to the energy set by the duo on that restless, club-ready track, but instead their aim is set on a more cerebral version of house and techno, one that often adopts African percussion and whirring synthesizers. Opening tracks “Midnattssol” and “Safe Changes” unfurl over 12 minutes of blissful, ambient haze. It’s not until the album-standout third track that the duo really lift the curtain on their floor-filling prowess. “Samsa,” a 10-minute house journey that blends the cosmic burbling of wandering synthesizers with a heads-up drumbeat, is a warehouse-ready adventure. The rest of the almost hour-long eight-track album plays out with the same success. It’s paced perfectly and on-par with the quality the two producers are known for. • Jamie McNamara Tedeschi-Trucks Band Live From The Fox Oakland Fantasy A lot of bands lay claim to a “secret weapon:” one particular performer in the group who is some kind of savant on their particular instrument, or has some undeniable charisma that magnetizes the audience. The Tedeschi-Trucks Band is one of those fortunate groups that can claim at least two, in band leaders Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, with taste and charisma enough through the rest of the group to ensure that despite their leaders’ considerable skills, the band is always the bedrock their sound grows from. Trucks’ slide guitar playing has been held in high regard since he was a teenager, and he’s had a definitive impact of the style; many slide players have elements of Trucks’ right-hand attack in their toolkit, but to really appreciate it, you have to hear it from the hands of Trucks himself. Whether it’s the tasteful backdrop padding of chord tones, or the Indian-influenced acoustic playing on “These Walls,” or the move from down-home clean Delta Blues into higher-power atmosphere dancing on “Leavin’ Trunk,” Trucks is simply a master of tone, taste, and flat-out bottleneck fireworks. Tedeschi is no slouch on the guitar herself, laying down groovy, Cropper/Nolen Tele-rhythms on the soulful funk of “Don’t Drift Away” and some flash wah licks on the opening cut, “Don’t Know What It Means.” Tedeschi’s impassioned and smoky vocals speak to not only her ability, but her improvisation in between lines shows she’s fully absorbed the Southern style, and it feels fully natural. The band itself is a collection of top-shelf killers, evidenced by some melodic asides in their extended jams suggesting Coltrane and Davis, with some serious brass-melting saxophone expeditions, while the presence of extra percussion fills the space in all the right places. The Tedeschi-Trucks Band breathes musical fire. • Mike Dunn BEATROUTE • MARCH 2017 | 51
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