11/9/15

"I saw this woman with tears in her eyes
Driving beside me yesterday.
She turned her head then I turned mine
And I watched her drive away.

I thought 'If I could tell her something I would tell her this
There's only two mistakes that I have made.
It's running from the people who could love me best
And trying to fix a world that I can't change.'
 
All our lives
I watch you search beneath the falling skies
This was no path to glory
You always walk before me
But you came back to warn me
All our lives."

~All Our Lives,

Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness, Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness

I'm more than a little late on the album from former Something Corporate/Jack's Mannequin frontman Andrew McMahon, a record where he proves he is so much more than those bands and names that he has built his reputation on. For the sake of nostalgia, I don't think I'll love his newer work as much as I did his past records, but this is its own little shiny gem. It proves McMahon is the rare musician (in this age, anyway) who pursues his art regardless of expected structure, and worked his way onto the pop airwaves from the indie label on up.

I listened to it after hearing the "Cecelia and the Satellite " single enough times on the radio. Almost every song has just as satisfying of a chorus, tons of piano and bells and little catchy melodies, and some very open-hearted lyrics, true to his form.It's very clear-eyed and bright, even when in the midst of soul-searching in a less than perfect world. It's not too happy, as introspection and mortality lurk around the edges, but sonically its sunny as hell without betraying his emo roots. I like how effortlessly it blends dance-pop, fist-bump beats with silky, soaring piano parts, like on "Black and White Movies," there's something both current and elegant about it.

I hope there's critics who are smarter and savvier than me to parce through McMahon's latest releases, his earliest recordings and channel what has happened in his not-easy life in parallel with what he has produced.  No doubt his illness, his relationships made him grow and change, thus thrusting his work in a new direction. But while many artists find the trials of life pull them away from their art and damage their potential reach and success (cause life is hard, even when it's easy), McMahon did this wonderful thing where he *found* greater success through the journey. What an incredible story to tell, or to hear. 

"Are you home tonight?
Are you laying in bed watching black and white movies?
All alone tonight
Do you ever rewind to the summer you knew me?"
~Black and White Movies,  
Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness, Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness

11/6/15

"So now you show up when you're alone again
But we haven't changed, but now you're interested
And maybe you're here because you wanna come home
But what if you're just afraid to be alone

I guess I don't know how
You'd want it back now
I thought you got yourself a way out
How do I prove it to myself you're ready now
God I want to

Now you want me
But what if your heart's a liar
Cause if you change your mind again
I'll burn like a wildfire
Like a wildfire."
~Wildfire
Marianas Trench, Astoria 

Goddammit, Marianas Trench did it again. These guys are insane!!!

Once again they created a symphonic pop epic, one that is in sync with their than their past releases. When I first heard it I wasn't sure what to think it felt a little too busy, a little too overambitious, but then I find myself unable to listen to anything else. I am helpless, but to succumb to their beautiful, unique brand of emo-colored power pop.

I can't get these songs out of my head. So, I guess they win.

Initially, I didn't like the 6-minute title track opener (not as much as much as I adore "Ever After," anyway, which might be one of my top 10 favorite songs of the decade). This one felt a little more all over the place, and it gets dark and stark and incrementally deeper as it tries for hook after hook within each perfectly measured verse. But when I returned to the album for the second time I felt more attached and invested to this sprawling sound. I realized this is their scene setter - and all that busyness and highs and lows and climatic moments are a precursor of what's to come.

The entire record is smoothed over and tied together with the incredible performance of Josh Ramsay. His high notes in "Wildfire" during the chorus are the pinnacle of this, as his the piano performance on "Forget Me Not." The instrumental outro on that, dubbed "And Straight on til Morning" in what I hope is a beautiful reference to Peter Pan, is as perfect a cinematic display as you could hope to find. "One Love" deserves to be played on all the radio stations. The whole thing shines with beautiful pop production that seems to sample from all decades and genres. Remember, Ramsay is the guy who helped write "Call Me Maybe," as he not-so-subtley references in the single I wished was on this album.

This band is consistently fun to listen to, and I think that's why I love them so much. You instantly know an M.Trench song, and then you relish the toe-tapping that comes after. Pretty much everyone I have suggested them to winds up hooked on their sing-a-along choruses, tongue-in-cheek humor and goth-pop attire. They're sort of an anti-hero, in some ways -- not quite radio friendly, not quite DIY or stripped down enough for the pop punk scene, but they're definitely rock and roll, even under the handclaps and woodblocks and harmonized bridges.

Lyrically, "Astoria" is blunt and brash and hopeful.  The wordplay on this album is so interesting and invented ("From fable to fumble, from stable to stumble, nevermore/I'll say goodbye to my demons and all my break-evens, ever yours") and I find myself wondering what the hell he's talking about while still knowing exactly where he's coming from. Marianas Trench has this really cliche, awkward feel to them sometimes (See the impossible-to-ignore hook of "Burning Up" and the strange, self-deprecating Michael Jackson reference of "Shut Up and Kiss Me") but that's part of the charm. They embrace it, own it, this kind of dirty-under-the-surface style. Even when the word choices feel sampled or clumsy, they at least fit the rhyme scheme perfectly, creating this off-kilter, less-than-perfect pop anthem, and it becomes a real strength. What they lack in trendiness they make up for in edge. As with "Ever After," this record strives for concept album territory, but it's a little fuzzy around the edges. I'm still not clear what "Astoria" is or what it stands for - a town? An enclave? A spaceship full of synthesizers and Pro Tools? Whatever it is, it sounds very romantic. There's a lot of romance on this album, come to think of it, a lot of relived regrets and aspiring in the face of the defeated unknown, and hope for the future.

Listening to this album would feel like a guilty pleasure if 1) I didn't believe in such a thing, 2) It wasn't so damn good to listen to in the first place.



"I'll see whatever doesn't make me stronger kills me
But it's going to be a long year till the hospital might find hope in me

Let the melody save me, Astoria
The quid pro quos that we'll compose from esoteric to common prose....
Astoria." 
~Astoria
Marianas Trench, Astoria 

11/3/15

"Lover you may cause me tears
Drag me through the best of years
But I love you so.

Any of the songs I wrote
Older than a year or two
But I love you so."

Must absolutely get this out there: I love The Staves so so much. If there was ever an incentive to clear your throat to sing, it's their perfectly close  harmonies layered over gently plucked strings. I came across them a couple years ago, but rediscovered their work this year via a documentary about touring in VW vans called "austin to boston" and remembered how beautiful they are, and also that they are British. 

The past few days, they're all I want to listen to, paying close attention to how they divide their parts and soar effortlessly between ranges. For all the talented singer-songwriters out there, for all the talented trios, I think it's rare to find a sound this instantly mature and realized. Haunting refrains in "Make it Holy" on their 2013 release "If I Was" have me captivated, like play-it-on-the-hour kind of listening, but their debut LP "Dead & Born & Grown" suits this time of year so well, the kind of americana folk blend that feels pure and timeless and heartfelt and warm. Songs are equal parts romantic and independent, walking that line between emotional release and reverent realistic self-awareness, which is also good for fall. There's some solid auxiliary and accompaniment, but the harmonies steal the spotlight every time. The acoustics are uncluttered and crisp, I love how it is recorded. But even more worth a listen is their live recordings, with harmonies floating through the air. Just beautiful, and not just for its own sake.         

Carry me home on your shoulders
Lower me onto my bed
Show me the night that I dreamed about before."
~Mexico

The Staves, Dead and Born and Grown

10/28/15

Someone once told me time will seem to move faster as you get older and I'm starting to think that's true. Has it really been one whole year since "1989" came out? Hard to believe - but not so much a surprise that we're still all enthralled by Taylor Swift's best record and pop masterpiece.

Just stumbled across the performed she did of "Out of the Woods" on solo piano, and it's incredibly gorgeous. I'm really impressed with her vocal on the bridge, it's strong and soaring but intimate.

How many ways will we will hear this album re-imagined? I'm a little worried about fatigue, but it hasn't hit yet, as I find myself still wanting to hear these songs. Time to g home and play all these songs over again, and count down the days til the Ryan Adams' vinyl drops.



"Remember when you hit the brakes too soon
Twenty stitches in a hospital room
When you started crying
Baby, I did too
But when the sun came up
I was looking at you.
Remember when we couldn't take the heat
I walked out, I said, I'm setting you free
But the monsters turned out to be just trees
When the sun came up
You were looking at me."
~Out of the Woods
Taylor Swift, 1989 

10/26/15

"Years ago, my heart was set to live, oh
But I've been trying hard against unbelievable odds
It gets so hard in times like now to hold on
My guns they're waiting to be stuck by
At my side is God

And there ain't no one goin' turn me 'round
Ain't no one goin' turn me 'round."

~Ballad of El Goodo, #1 Record.
Big Star

Over the past week or so I've learned I cannot get enough of Big Star, the best band of the latter 20th century whose mass-market destiny was shot down by forces beyond their own control but whose talent never faded.

They were on my radar, in the background, back in the day for their authorship of "Thirteen" and its subsequent gorgeous covers, but learning about the band via Netflix doc has me floored, unable to grasp the fact that there was music this good being created that most listeners, as far as the masses were concerned, never heard.

Their story is an exceptionally tragic pairing of ego and industry, both in states of implosion. This sound is so perfectly encapsulating what would've been a hit ... "Radio City" is as close to a perfect album as I have heard in some time. "Back of the Car"is the greatest teenage love song I never heard before,  the harmonica counterpoint in "Life is White" is blues rock at its best, and the outro harmonies on "What's Going Ahn" are ghostly, and haunting. This record has no dull moments.

But, their debut, "#1 Record" is so good, too, so rich and pure, full of contrasting melodies, sing-a-long hooks cloaked in a cynicism. I believe someone in the Netflix described it as close to a perfect record, and I am inclined to agree. Alex Chilton and Chris Bell follow in the footsteps of Lennon-McCartney, with the added benefit of free-wheeling rock 'n' roll of the 1970s informing their efforts. These songs have a softer edge than "Radio City," which brings an edgier tone and a little more structure. Then we get to "Third/Sister Lovers," and there we find this band exploring boundaries it only previously toed, as far as dynamics and range and scope. Each record of theirs is progressively wild, pressing boundaries, but still so centered on what it means to write rock songs of weight and consequence.

Discovering this band has re-centered me musically, in the way that I was shifted as a teenager when I discovered Zeppelin. Just because something was released decades ago doesn't mean it can't be appreciated in today's environment - in fact, it deserves more of a spotlight if only to better compare against those who are trying to make moves and be the greats today.  I think what gets me the most is that no matter how many listeners did or did not get to absorb and adore Big Star in their heyday, is how absolutely breathtaking their sound is decades later. True style, true talent, it does not fade with the trends of the times.

"I like love but I don't know
All these girls, they come and go
Always nothing left to say

And I resigned everyone
Ever since I was young
I'm starting to understand
What's going on and how it's planned."
~What's Going Ahn, Radio City
Big Star