SOHN - "Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley Cover)"

 The venerable 4AD label recently released a 40th-anniversary collection of cover songs from their inimitable back catalog, performed by current 4AD signees. British electronic producer/singer SOHN tackles folk singer Tim Buckley's majesterial classic "Song to the Siren" which, probably even more famously, was covered by This Mortal Coil, sung by Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser. With these versions casting a large show over him, SOHN is more than up for the task. His forlorn vocals bring gravitas and emotion over a stirringly atmospheric instrumental backing.

Album Review - Chromatics: Kill For Love

Chromatics
Kill For Love
Rating: Grrrr

Portland, Oregon's Chromatics, made up of singer Ruth Radelet, guitarist Adam Miller, drummer Nat Walker, and producer/multi-instrumentalist Johnny Jewel, occupy some netherworld between Italo-disco and M83's polished analog/shoegaze pop. Indeed, there are many correlations between Kill For Love and M83's opus Hurry Up, We're Dreaming; both are double albums, both utilize older, analog equipment, and both have an epic quality to them. The sound is slightly different, however, instead of reaching for the stadium-ready grandeur of M83, Chromatics are far more interested in a more delicate, personal quality. It's as if these songs are meant to be heard on lonely drives at night, or under the covers with a thick pair of headphones on. Another bizarre comparison I experienced while listening to Kill For Love is with This Mortal Coil's Filigree & Shadow, which seems similarly structured with key songs surrounded by odd/entrancing instrumentals, and a penchant for intriguing cover songs, and an overall goth-pop vibe. Kill For Love starts off with a skeletal cover of Neil Young's My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)," here re-titled "Into the Black." Radelet's almost emotionless delivery brings heft and weight to the song's missive that it is "better to burn out than it is to rust." The cover sets the tone for the record, revealing that it will be a flawlessly produced album of well crafted tracks. Immediately launching into title track and first single, "Kill For Love" is the "Midnight City" of the record, an effortlessly shimmering pop gem that begs to be on trajectory for the top of the charts, the keyboards and guitars joining forces in a gorgeous swoon.



Over 90 minutes, the album will further overtake you with wonderful, perfect pop songs. Their almost too sweet melodies and hooks are tempered by the inclusion of more thoughtful instrumental pieces, that at first appear almost too abstract and difficult, to the point where they feel like they are taking focus away from the record. But once you get in the flow of the album, you understand their purpose and place. They almost serve as palate cleansers between the cotton ear candy at the heart of Kill For Love. This is not to imply that the more traditional songs on the album are in any way fluff or empty calories, just that the there is such a rush of great songwriting it can feel like a sugar high. In fact the first 6 tracks are practically a recipe for how to pace an album correctly. From the echo-dripping guitars and pulse of "Back From The Grave," to the new wave guitars and swagger of "The Page," through the shimmering keyboard washes and disco synthpop of "Lady," culminating in the 8 minute slow build of "The Streets Will Never Look The Same,"



these tracks practically wear you out. It's at this almost breaking point where Chromatics wisely slow things down and let you catch your breath with the haunting, fractured ambient drones of "Broken Mirrors,"



then begin the slow rise again, with the smoldering goth-pop of "Candy."



The back end of the record is more instrumental heavy, with the string synth chorale and watery keyboards of "The Eleventh Hour," the post punk guitars and synths of "Dust to Dust," and the closing ambient epic, the 14 minute "No Escape," that recalls the best work of Eno. These piece allow your brain and ears to rest until the next batch of gorgeous pop songs emerge, like the vocoder vocals of "Running From The Sun," which initially borrows the piano melody from Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," before ending in a 10cc-esque coda; the dark dream pop of "A Matter of Time;"



lush synthpop of "At Your Door;"



or the haunting melodrama of closing ballad "The River."



Kill For Love is not an album that immediately captures you. Its 17 tracks are leisurely and towards the end of the record the surfeit of lengthy instrumentals can be wearying, however, patience in the end will make these shortcomings worth it. Kill For Love is another album that is jockeying for best of 2012 honors; and it is among some stellar company.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Frankie Rose: Interstellar - Album Review

Frankie Rose
Interstellar
Rating: Grrrr

Frankie Rose, a Brooklyn singer/songwriter, is formerly associated with acclaimed acts Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and the Vivian Girls, and has released one solo record under the name Frankie Rose and the Outs (unheard by me) and is now performing solely under her own name, Frankie Rose. Her first album titled Interstellar lives up to its title quite well, featuring ten tracks of lush, gorgeous, and catchy synth/dream pop which supports Rose's charmingly drifting vocals. The production on Interstellar has a dense, open quality of such records like The Cure's Disintegration, with lots of cavernous synths and drum programming, but also has a post-punk quality to it as well, with some brittle, ringing guitars and influences of acts like Magazine, Public Image Ltd., Echo and Bunnymen, and practically any artist on the 80s 4AD roster. The album is both expansive and intimate at the same time, filling wide spaces but also providing the listener with plenty of introspective, headphones-like moments.

The switch to using her own name shows that Rose is no longer content to work solely as a background player, or part of some trumped up band. The title and first track, "Interstellar," doesn't pull punches. Twinkling synths rise from a mist, her vocal upfront and direct, erupting into a shoegazey swirl of pounding drums, synths, and guitars.



"Know Me" practically borrows the drum programming from The Cure's "Close To Me," but instead of being of childlike wonder, the track is a spiky, guitar-driven romp about the power of words to hurt but not allowing them to.



The lovely multi-tracked vocals and spongy bass synths of "Gospel/Grace" flit over bouncy drums, spiky guitars, and washes of synths.



A brittle phalanx of guitars, tight bassline, and whiplash percussion drive the beat driven "Night Swim."



While the edgy atmospherics complements the icy guitars and chugging rhythm section of "Moon In My Mind," Rose's voice recalling the gauzy vocals of Lush. While I loved the darker, beat driven moments on the album, there are plenty of quieter moments on Interstellar. "Pair of Wings" is a lovely, almost ambient track, with some lovely lyrics about taking a chance again after being hurt.

"All that I want is
a pair of wings to fly
into the blue of
the wide open sky

Show me your scars
I'll show you mine
perched out of the city
on a pair of power lines"



Final track "The Fall" includes a lovely counterpoint between the guitars and a lovely cello part, and in combination with her densely tracked vocals could stand easily alongside the best tracks on a This Mortal Coil record. While "Apples for the Sun" features a haunting piano and organ drone underneath a heavily reverbed multi-track vocal.

Interstellar is a record to get lost in and to hibernate with. Its charms, while immediate, are many, and each subsequent listen brings you deeper into its bottomless pool. It's a lovely record for a cold winter day, or driving down a lonely highway. The music is so evocative and transportive, it acclimates to any setting. It is a phenomenal step forward, and in a direction I want to see her go further down.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.