De-a lungul timpului aceasta arta a cauzat adevarate revolutii in mentalitatea si stilurile umane, dezvoltand culturi si subculturi specifice. Desi astazi nu mai putem vorbi despre genuri muzicale sau culturi si subculturi pure, exista inca oamenii care se pastreaza oarecum impreuna prin muzica pe care o asculta si stilul pe care il adopta. Fascinata de cautarea unor locuri in care contrariile pot coexista sau se pot unifica si trecand de la Nietzsche la Blaga, am ajuns si intr-un timp si spatiu contemporan si printre oamenii care probabil cauta inca acelasi lucru...am ajuns in apropierea muzicii si subculturii goth.

Istoria mişcării goth începe undeva pe la sfârşitul anilor ’70 în Marea Britanie. Iniţial, noţiunea de „goth” definea specificul unor formaţii post-punk şi de-abia prin anii 80 goth-ul a început să fie considerat o mişcare aparte. Înfăţişarea scenică propusă de membrii unor formaţii precum Joy Division şi Siouxsie and the Banshees ( o imagine oarecum androgină, machiajul accentuat al ochilor şi buzelor) precum şi tonalitatea sumbră a versurilor şi sunetul sinistru al chitărilor a reprezentat punctul de plecare în naşterea unei mişcări separate de mişcarea post-punk. Single-ul de debut al unei formaţii numite Bauhaus, Bela Lugosi's Dead, lansat în 1979 , este considerat a fi începutul propriu-zis al rockului gothic.

Spre deosebire de punk, muzica goth aborda o tematică mai „întunecată” inspirată din unele curente precum romantismul, simbolismul, existenţialismul.

Clubul Batcave , deschis în Londra în 1982 , a fost probabil cel mai important factor în crearea subculturii gotice, aşa cum există ea în zilele de azi. A oferit oamenilor cu idealuri şi feluri de a fi comune un loc de întalnire. Nu numai ca a fost un punct major pentru scena londoneză, dar a atras foarte multă atenţie din partea mediei, care a raspândit ideea noii subculturi în întreaga lume.

Ulterior, în interiorul goth-ului au început să se dezvolte alte subgenuri muzicale , lucru care a condus la o diversificare a subculturii în sine. Astăzi, genurile asociate în general cu acestă mişcare sunt goth rock, deathrock, darkwave, post-punk, batcave, industrial, E.B.M. Există şi un stil muzical denumit gothic-metal în jurul căruia părerile sunt foarte împărţite. Mulţi consideră că acest stil muzical nu ar avea nici o legătură cu goth-ul înafară de nume, dar există şi persoane care îl includ în limitele muzicale ale goth-ului.

La momentul actual,vestimentaţia este factorul care face ca această subcultură să intre cel mai puternic în contrast cu peisajul cotidian.Putem spune că înfăţişarea se bazează pe două substiluri mari: stilul victorian (corsete, crinoline, dantele etc) si stilul post-punk. Culorile cele mai des întâlnite sunt: negrul (preponderent), albul şi roşul.Aceste culori sunt strâns legate de semnificaţia pe care o poartă şi care nu întodeauna este aceeaşi. Faptul că se îmbracă în special în negru poate căpăta valenţe diferite pentru fiecare în parte, dar majoritatea converg spre fascinaţia exercitată de întuneric, de mister, de sumbru. Albul este tot un simbol al doliului, dar poate simboliza şi lumina care se naşte din întuneric, bucuria în durere etc. Roşul este de obicei asociat cu vampirismul.

Mentalitatea goth se referă la o gândire deschisă, lipsită de prejudecăţi, dispusă să valorifice şi elementele respinse de restul societăţii. Goth-ul implică si o stare de spirit înclinată spre melancolie şi depresie, dar în acelaşi timp şi o atitudine pozitivă, capabilă de a descoperii frumuseţea în lucrurile “întunecate”.

Disütopya öykü, apocaliptik dünya, retro futuristic üslup, post-punk görsellik! Karşımızdaki parodi ile kara mizah arasında gidip gelen bir çizgide geçmişin geleceğe dair umut ve korkularına eleştirel bir bakış. İronik tarzıyla hafızalardan silinmesi mümkün olmayan bir oyun deneyimi yaratmıştı.

Fallout'u hala açıp oynayabilmemde belki de içerik ve biçim arasındaki bütünlüğün de etkisi vardır. Okuduğum metin, çeteye kattığım NPC, elimdeki silahım, bunlar MMORPG'lerdeki kılıç-kalkan borsasının içinde değişim değeri olan metalar gibi değil, öykü açısından değer kazanıyorlar sanki. Ortada tam anlamıyla çizgisel bir öykü olmamasına rağmen bir şekilde her yandan kuşatan oyun detayları bir şeyler fısıldıyor. Fallout bir sanatçının elinden çıkmış dersek, onun derdini, duygusunu sonuna kadar hissettiğimiz söylenebilir.  Oyun öyküye indirgenemez belki ama meselesini bir şekilde anlatıyor, oyuncuya kendi öyküsünü kurdururken. Auteur'den ve oyunlardan bahsederken hep Fallout geliyor aklıma. İç anlam, belirgin bir üslup, dünya görüşü, teknik yetkinlik... Bu oyunda bunlar var ama arkasındaki büyük yaratıcı fikir kime ait? Brian Fargo? Fallout'u bir Hitchcock filmi, mesela Vertigo gibi görmekten alamıyorum kendimi.

Fallout'u oynarken bilim-kurgu ve fantezi edebiyatı okumak ve filmlerini izlemek disütopya deneyimini genişletmişti. Şimdi Fallout 3 çıktığında eski Fallout oyunlarını oynamış olanlar ne düşünecek merak ediyorum? Oynayınca ne hissedecekler? Muhtemelen hayal kırıklığı. Başka bir oyun olacak Fallout 3, orası kesin. Başka ve iyi mi olacak bilemiyorum. Daha önce Fallout oynamamış, ilk defa oynayan gençler için bu karşılaşma bizim Fallout'la yıllar önceki karşılaşmamızla aynı duyguyu mu verecek?

a lentidão muscular
brota noturna entre as
raízes dos teus dentes.

myspace

キンギョ

o1. uyea sound
o2. cloudberry
o3. off to sleep
o4. the three sisters

pass: ufologia

{link.ge}

This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

Manic Street Preachers

Zuerst geplant als reine Lobhudelei auf eines meiner absoluten Lieblingsalben...stieß ich sofort auf die erste Schwierigkeit...die - betrachtet man die Beiträge dieses Blog der vergangenen Tage - gleich wieder die Frage auf wirft : Dies ist meine Wahrheit...erzähl mir Deine!

Dank der vollkommen überzogenen GEMA Gebühren für das Streamen von Liedern auf Blogs, haben wir uns bisher immer damit beholfen entsprechende Youtube Videos einzubetten.

Nur: Geht hier nicht. SonyBmg  läßt bei allen Manic Street Preacher Musikvideos diese Funktion nicht zu.

Sehr schade - da gerade bei If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next das Video äußerst sehenswert ist. Wer die Mühe eines weiteren Mauklicks nicht scheut, folge folgendem Link:

Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Für sinnvoll halte ich diese Entscheidung von SonyBmg nun wirklich nicht. Sind Musikvideos doch immer noch das Mittel schechthin um Musik zu promoten...und die vielen Beiträge von Fans und Bloggern hier und da im Internet die beste kostenlose Werbung - die sich ein Label doch nur wünschen sollte.

Während den Filesharern hilflos zu gesehen wird...machen Gema und Majorlabel es denjenigen, die noch Respekt vor Musikalischen Werken haben dafür umso schwerer. Die Musikindustrie ist wirklich gut darin, sich ihr eigenes Grab zu schaufeln.

Schon überzeugte Fans der Manics werden sich natürlich die Videos direkt auf der Youtube Seite anschauen...nur den ein oder anderen Fan dazu zu gewinnen dürfte hier auch nicht schaden. In Indiekenner-Kreisen gehören die Manic Street Preacher natürlich zum Establishment ...irgenwie waren sie auch schon mal MTV tauglich...fraglich ob in dem Klingeltonwerbung - Rahmenprogramm heute noch wirklich Platz für die Manics ist...und überhaupt...wer tut sich MTV noch freiwillig an?

Zurück zum Album:

Manche CDs werden Teil von mir... Es gibt bestimmte Momente, Erinnerungen, Gefühle in meinem Leben die mit This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours verbunden sind...und immer verbunden bleiben werden.

Nur wenige Bands schaffen es, musikalisch auf so hohem Niveau - emotional zu berühren - in jedem Lied eine eigene Geschichte zu erzählen, die der Musik eine weitere Dimension hinzufügt.

Da ich Musik, die ich liebe, nicht gerne zerrede - hier meine Top 3 des Albums...mehr über die Hintergründe erfährt man auf der Englischen Wikipedia:

1. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Wikipedia

2. Ready for Drowning

3. The Everlasting

Wikipedia

In voller Länge anhören kann man sich das Album hier: Last.Fm

Homepage: Manic Street Preachers

DifferentStars

PS: Auch für diese Band hält der Tonspion einen kostenlosen Mp3 Download parat - Underdogs - vom aktuellen Album Send Away The Tigers : Tonspion

Album: Nouvelle Vague

Artist: Nouvelle Vague

Genre: jazz (bossa nova)

Release date: 2004

Copies last seen at: Music One (Quezon Avenue) and Fully Booked (Rockwell).

Track listing:

                   1.   Love Will Tear Us Apart

                   2.   I Just Can’t Get Enough

                   3.   In A Manner Of Speaking

                   4.  Guns Of Brixton

                   5.  This Is Not A Love Song

                   6.  Too Drunk To Fuck

                   7.  Marian

                   8.   Making Plans For Nigel

                   9.   A Forest

                 10.  I Melt With You

                 11. Teenage Kicks

                 12.  Psyche

                 13.  Friday Night Saturday Morning

What could be more rebellious than rendering guttural punk in sensuous bossa nova? This is the inversion of inversions, the counterpoint of counterpoints.

My brother, along with a cousin, both of them playing in punk bands, and both of them utterly stubborn and close-minded when it comes to punk song revivals, could not believe how this group, Nouvelle Vague, made a jazz song out of The Clash’s The Guns Of Brixton. Me neither. But Nouvelle Vague did just that. And decently.

No, more than decently, respectably.

This record is but a proof of how foolish are those who say that punk composers are dumb for limiting themselves in the usual three-chord harmony structure of a punk song. But a great punk song either pumps the blood up with its beat, or gives you a good case of last-song-syndrome with its infectious melody. Or both. Great beat, great melody. Punk requires it. Nouvelle Vague would have had nothing to work on if not for that.

Of the thirteen tracks, I have heard only four in their original form, Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, I Melt With You by Modern English, I Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode, and Guns Of Brixton by The Clash.

Does one need to hear each track in original form to trust this record? No. I have not previously heard in its original form the song which prompted me to search for this record, In A Manner Of Speaking, yet I bought it. And at this point, with the song’s grip on me, I actually feel no urgency in hearing the original. But then again, that’s just me.

The point is, this record stands great in itself for being a well-rounded jazz output. The fact that it is a cover album of punk and post-punk songs turned into jazz, bossa nova, is simply its profound bonus for the apprehensive, or cynical, or unwitting listener.

The question still hangs, though, how was Nouvelle Vague able to do justice to the songs? From what I can only deduce, simple – by understanding each song, and re-interpreting it based on the song’s spirit. As hope and inspiration is what I Melt With You basically exudes through Modern English’s energetically and danceably upbeat conception, Nouvelle Vague achieved the same end by going the laid-back way, with whimsical xylophones and an echoing bass. Meanwhile, the fear and desperation in Joy Division’s own danceably upbeat Love Will Tear Us Apart was brought out by Nouvelle Vague not through the vocalist Eloisa’s internalization of the said emotions – on the contrary, her lazy, carefree interpretation would be what might cast the fear on the song’s supposed addressee. The Guns Of Brixton is sheer daring and attitude as originally sung with a nagging yet controlled angst by Paul Simonon. Nouvelle Vague, through Camille on vocals, went the teasing way to arrive at the same daring attitude. One could imagine Camille smirking as she half-drawls and half-whispers “no need for the Black Maria, goodbye to the Brixton sun”.

As for my obviously-overrated-by-this-time personal favorite In A Manner Of Speaking, apart from the painfully yearning take of Camille which accurately brought out the song’s lyrical irony, especially whenever she arrives at the chorus, and then with seeming surrender as she goes la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta… at the close, there is that line of brass (or was that strings?) that enters the song upon the second chorus, sustaining itself until the chorus’ next repetitions, underscoring the said yearning suggested by the vocals. I guess hearing the original is not required for one to see the depth of respect Nouvelle Vague has for the Martin Gore penned song. Only a respectful musician could work out such subtleties from its source material.

It’s as if Nouvelle Vague just made sure that they would always simply get to the song’s core, no matter what. And they did.

Just as Camille’s vocals would go in Too Drunk To Fuck. In the song, the persona needn’t - well… she already sounds as if she’s come.

Again, no matter how, seemingly. Same destination. Good music.

Didn’t I tell you you’re mine? You are mine. Now we go home.

* * *

Bossa nova to me used to be solely and strictly Antonio Carlos Jobim. I would want to include Astrud Gilberto but the only exposure I have to Gilberto is A Certain Sadness, oh, and Waters Of March which almost every jazz singer or instrumentalist has a version of. And I did not even get to listen to Jobim out of a curiosity for bossa nova. I got to him through Frank Sinatra. Just around that time when Sinatra just passed away, RPN 9 had a re-run of his 60s TV show, and in one of the episodes I saw, I was fortunate enough to catch that one where Ella Fitzgerald and Jobim guested. Jobim played acoustic guitar to a smoking Sinatra’s medley of Jobim’s compositions, namely Girl From Ipanema, I Concentrate On You, Change Partners, and Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars. It was so sexy. I never perceived of Sinatra as sexy until I heard him sing those songs. I got hooked instantly. When I learned that the two actually collaborated on an album, I sought the said record (Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim), and found it eventually.

The last two years actually saw a rise in the number of bossa nova acts and the release of their recordings locally. Former mainstream artists, say, Agot Isidro, even came up with bossa nova albums. And the record shelves are always stacked these days with bossa-fied versions of Bacharach and what-have-you.

Quite a what-have-you is what I got upon scoring a copy of Nouvelle Vague’s self-titled album. If before my perception of bossa nova is simply Brazilian jazz or 60s jazz or beach jazz, Nouvelle Vague turned it to what it should be – rebellion. And Nouvelle Vague is, as bossa nova is, rebellion.

Bossa nova came around during the late fifties as a new, hip form of jazz. It literally means ‘new wave’ or ‘new beat’ in Portuguese. Nouvelle Vague, as I would later learn, plays only punk and new wave/post-punk songs in bossa nova arrangements. A typically close-minded punk or new wave listener would probably raise eyebrows at the thought. I did not. Actually, having heard them now, I can’t wait for them to make covers of, say, I’m Not Down, or Brainstew/Jaded, or hey, Hey.

* * *

In the film A Mighty Heart by Michael Winterbottom, just right after the character of Mariane Pearl played by Angelina Jolie gave birth to her son Adam, just as she cradles the baby in her arms, the strains of a classical guitar can be heard. This plays on in the next scene, supposedly a few years having passed, where the mother is shown walking hand-in-hand with her boy in a European city street. The song blooms at this point, and the words, which speak of yearning, fittingly brings the film to its close –

            “ … In a manner of speaking, I just want to say

                  That I could never forget the way

                  You told me everything by saying nothing…

              … So in a manner of speaking, I just want to say

                  That just like you, I should find a way

                  To tell you everything by saying nothing.

                  Oh, give me the words, give me the words

                  That tell me nothing.

                  Give me the words, give me the words

                  That tell me everything …”

The song is In A Manner Of Speaking. It was written by Depeche Mode’s Martin L. Gore. Yes, the same guy who wrote the Depeche Mode classic Enjoy The Silence. Apparently, he seems to have quite a fix on silences.

In A Manner Of Speaking as played on the film was not performed by Tuxedomoon, though, the group which originally recorded it. The version in the film was by Nouvelle Vague.

* * *

The song was so haunting and heartbreaking I was immediately sorry that I could not wait for the film to be shown in the theatres – I had to be listening to it through my supposedly-stereo-sounding TV, as played off my Quiapo copy of the film. But if it had that effect on me despite the circumstances, what more had I been listening to it in a dark, cold, sonics-friendly theatre? I would be welling up tears, I bet. I had to wait for the song credits to be shown, then zoomed in the title of the song to see the performer: Nouvelle Vague. Consoling myself, I just made a commitment that from hereon, every time I go into a record store, I would always check the jazz section for a Nouvelle Vague record.

And then one night, after seeing a fashion show for the first time, and after I had to leave the venue quick because they were through playing Bjork and I couldn’t find the cocktails and I felt timid asking about it and I just basically suddenly felt out of place, I decided to go to the nearby mall, Rockwell, and check out the Fully Booked there. Freezing in my halter dress, sore in those killer heels, and carrying my Saturday book load, I climbed up to the mezzanine floor of the bookstore which housed the record section. The new releases shelf was right up front, and I quickly cussed as I saw a copy of Radiohead’s The Best Of, because I knew I couldn’t buy it, along with some other poetry books I saw downstairs. I looked further on, hoping not to see another goodie.

But there she was, the fair woman on the cover with her chin up, staring right at me, the words Nouvelle Vague right below her neck, so readable despite the purple and close-knit layout. She, along with a twin, was stacked right beside Massive Attack. I grabbed her immediately, held her close to my heart like a loony, and turned her over to see if indeed this was the Nouvelle Vague that sang In A Manner Of Speaking. It was! And along the titles in it were I Melt With You, and Love Will Tear Us Apart. Interesting, I thought. An even more interesting was that it cost only 350, a hundred lesser than Radiohead, but still I couldn’t afford it. All I really had was taxi money, and if I insisted on buying the disc, I would have to risk waiting for ages in Rockwell for a jeep. That could take me the whole night, all the way to dawn. If only I brought slippers, if only I didn’t eat in that coffee shop before the show…

So I laid her back down in her place. But not without saying you are mine you are mine you are mine…

It always works, you see.

The next time I saw her was August 18, 2008. I was in really good spirits, having finished an important personal project. I wanted to reward myself. It felt to be the right time to look for Nouvelle Vague. And because I couldn’t afford taxi fare all the way to Fully Booked Rockwell, I had to decide to go to the nearest good record store which was merely one jeepney ride away, Music One at Quezon Avenue.

And there she was, erroneously classified under electronica when she should be in jazz (I first looked at the jazz section but did not find her, so good thing I remembered the disc as laid next to Massive Attack way back in Rockwell, I actually thought of looking for Nouvelle Vague’s right there at Music One in electronica, just in case).

So I approached her, took her again for good this time, and in my head said, as I cradled her, didn’t I tell you...

I had to be cut off quickly though, for as I embraced the disc while lining behind a few other people towards the counter, I saw the concerts section. And there was another lady there who I had to approach. Suzanne Vega Live In Montreux.

For 395. More than a week’s lunch. Caramel was in the listing.

paredes descascadas pela
idade da alma umidecem
o criado-mudo.

myspace

キンギョ

PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS
“We Ride to Fight! The First Four Years”- No Idea- CD

Planes Mistaken for Stars called it quits earlier in 2008, but they left quite a legacy behind.
We Ride to Fight! is a collection everything recorded by the band in their first four years of existence, sans the Fuck the Fire album. That comes to 24 tracks, pieced together from the entire Self Titled album, Knife in the Marathon, Spearheading the Sin Movement EP, Fucking Fight EP, four Black Flag covers along with all the assorted comp songs and other miscellanea.
This album catalogs the first, most powerful efforts of Planes as they dove headfirst into the realm of post-punk to become of the most beloved bands that always seemed to stay just below radar.
This album is at the same time a good example of what true emo, emotional punk, used to be, while also showing the band’s hardcore side. The Black Flag covers definitely help in the latter part.
Planes is a band that has had a definite influence of current music trends, and this collection is a good way to get a feel for that. It’s a must-have for fans and a you-should-probably-check-this-out for everybody else. (Ryan Brosmer)
(No Idea Records P.O. Bo 14636 Gainesville, Fl 32604)

Note : 3/5

Pero mejor os pongo un ejemplo, para que pilléis antes lo que os quiero contar.

Pues que sepáis que esta cancioncita tan moña y viejuna que casi parece A.O.R. se llama "The Perfect Boy" este es el último anticipo del próximo álbum de los telarañas, anticipo que ya es el cuarto. Por ahora ya han anunciado que se llamará Dream 4.13 y que estará a la venta el 13 de septiembre... Aunque ya de ellos cualquier cosa, que con el filón de ir sacando disco al mes, mejor editar todo el disco en singles, que los borregos de los fans se acabarán compando el LP al final de todas formas.

Y la canción en sí, pues de siniestra ya tiene poco, de experimental aun menos y me parece que ya ni alternativa. Eso si, las pintas dan mucho miedo, pero creo que asustarían más recien levantados y sin maquillaje. Y es que Robert Smith está yayo, yayo, yayo... Y el Tolthurst del feo ha pasado a ser el más pinta -desbancando a Gallup que es el único que parece mantenerse fresco y estupendo... (creo conocer el secreto) Así que simplemente lo único que puedo alabar en esta canción es su video-clip, más que nada por su honestidad. Están decrépitos y no lo ocultan. Con un par.

Y no sólo han envejecido ellos sino su música. Con canciones como esta demuestran que The Cure se acerca a ese punto de difícil retorno al que han llegado otros grupos que ya no saben que hacer de si mismos (R.E.M., U2) de la misma generación, con el mismo asfixiante prestigio y en la misma forrada decadencia. The Cure hace mucho que perdieron frescura, incluso cuando han hecho discos para los fans del lado oscuro que los mantienen y de los que hace décadas renegó Robert Smith, pero a los que tiene que seguir guiñando ojos para ganarse las perras.

Recuerda que has de morir, pequeñín ;)

The Laughing Mothers - Tunnel/Cats Cradle 7" (1985)

1. Tunnel
2. Cats Cradle

pass: ufologia

{link.ge}

Brandon Flowers, vocalista do bom grupo alternativo The Killers, anunciou o título do próximo disco da banda, que será "Day and Age", programado para ser lançado em novembro.
Pra quem não conhece, a banda fez alarde em 2004 com o sucesso inesperado do disco de estréia "Hot Fuss" com algumas baladas chicletinhas como "Somebody Told Me" e "Mr. Brightside". Já em 2006, o segundo disco da banda gerou estranheza nos fãs e críticos. A banda mostrou uma musicalidade muito mais apurada e diferente da apresentada no disco anterior. As faixas bem mais soturnas e complexas não ganharam o topo das paradas como no disco anterior.

Depois disso vieram algumas canções extremamente oitentistas, que incluia uma parceria com o ex-vocalista da banda Velvet Underground e um cover de Joy Division.

Ano passado fizeram apresentações no TIM Festival, encerrando o mesmo.

Agora é esperar para ver como será esse novo álbum! Até lá, curtimos "Shadowplay", último single lançado pela banda, que compõe a trilha sonora do ótimo filme Control.

Unlike Sleater-Kinney, whose members remain unfortunately silent, when the Blood Brothers broke up late last year, they almost immediately split into two new bands, Jaguar Love (Johnny Whitney, Cody Votolato of the Blood Brothers and J Clark of Pretty Girls Make Graves) and Past Lives (Jordan Blilie, Mark Gajadhar, Morgan Henderson, and Devin Welch).

Jaguar Love and Past Lives aren’t really easy bands to compare, since the shift in sound and personality for each band draws on influences that are worlds apart.  Jaguar Love takes a more straightforward indie-pop approach, while Past Lives draws heavily on the sound of Gang of Four through the use of spiky, contrapuntal guitar parts and repetitive, driving phrases.  But neither yet sounds as fully formed as the Blood Brothers circa Burn, Piano Island, Burn (2003), and singers Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney both sound like they have to get used to being the only man up front.

With both Jaguar Love and Past Lives releasing EPs this summer, the question will be who will find success after their breakup.  Initially, the short answer would seem to be Jaguar Love, who signed to indie biggie Matador almost immediately after forming.  But the focus should be on the long term—who can find the most growth out of this experience, and which band will be able to stand on its own in the end.

Jaguar Love Jaguar Love EP

Johnny Whitney sounds like a girl.  Actually, two girls: Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, of the aforementioned Sleater-Kinney. “Highways of Gold,” the opening song on the EP, and the lead single from the newly released Take Me to the Sea, opens with a verse that sounds remarkably similar to the chorus of Sleater-Kinney’s “One More Hour” in melodic contour and rhythm.  Oh, and words: both repeat “know(-oh-oh-oh-oh).”

Is sounding like a girl necessarily a bad thing?  Not really, at least not for me—I don’t give a rat’s patootie if you’re singing like your “correct” gender.  But I am bothered by how much this song draws on Sleater-Kinney’s handbag of tricks: Whitney layers his voice so that one track is overlapping with another, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard Brownstein, at one point or another, enunciate the same “Awah!” and Tucker do the “Ah-ah-ah.”  The linear guitar parts—another Sleater-Kinney favorite—and the loud, strong drumming with rapid-fire fills only add to the effect.

The other two songs on the EP, “My Organ Sounds Like…” and “Videotape Seascape” move away from the Sleater-Kinney mold and bouncy, repetitive pop toward a more layered sound and give Whitney—and his voice, take it or leave it, is most certainly the focus of this entire EP—a chance to show a more expressive range.  “My Organ Sounds Like…” allows Whitney to establish that yes, he can sing a melody, and he’s not so bad at it.  Every once in a while, too, he dips into his non-falsetto range, giving a hint of future growth (Note to Johnny Whitney:  If you can sing in a falsetto, you can embrace your lower range; falsetto is best used sparingly).

“Videotape Seascape,” the final song on the EP, best indicates the musical direction the band could take, if Johnny Whitney begins to sing in something other than his upper-upper-upper-range falsetto.  It’s not as though he’s any more understandable than on the other songs, but that he’s using his voice more like an instrument—one with a wider range of emotion, texture, and depth than earlier indicated—that fits in nicely with the repetitive guitar line beneath it.

Past Lives Strange Symmetry EP

Past Lives got the “favorite” singer for many fans, Jordan Blilie, but here the spotlight often belongs to the onetime Blood Brothers and Shoplifting guitarist, Devin Welch.  Welch’s guitar parts, whether layered or interlocking, spiky or connected, always add interest to a song; he’s basically could be the Johnny Marr of the Pacific Northwest, if Johnny Marr hadn’t gone and joined Modest Mouse.

The opening song, “Beyond Gone,” builds from the a simple, slow-tempo marimba underneath an arpeggiated guitar line.  The drums click against the rim of the snare, delicately indicating the tempo.  And then, Blilie actually sings!   The initial sparse and quiet arrangement builds through a wall of Welch’s feedback, and then, just as dramatically, goes quiet again, the song ending with just the marimba and an extended drum roll, leading straight into…

“Strange Symmetry,” the title track, where the band’s Gang of Four influences are on display in an unrelenting art-punk charge against the melodic pop world, until the last thirty seconds or so, which, quite frankly, I want to hear as an engagement with that pop world that the rest of the song eschews.

“Skull Lender” starts out much the same as “Strange Symmetry,” except that it’s maybe even more in the Gang of Four mold; ditto for “Reverse the Curse.”  Also, unlike the first two songs, where it was first absent and then subtle and catchy, the technique of adding both reverb and double-tracking to Jordan Blilie’s voice begins to be a little grating, like when you first realized that the Strokes’ lead singer Julian Casablancas sounded like he was singing through a megaphone for every single song on Is This It?

Thankfully, the final song, “Chrome Life,” ends the EP on a musical high point.  Beginning with some terrific, clicky drumming and textural, sustained guitar, it is driving without being repetitive, just melodic enough and still edgy enough in turn to be a wholly satisfying song.  It waxes and wanes as a song, leaving just enough in your memory to want to listen to it again.

So, the verdict:  I think it depends on a lot of "ifs."  If Johnny Whitney can broaden his range, both in tessitura and expression, then Jaguar Love has a bright future.  (And I didn't even mention in this review how much I really like J Clark's drumming--is there any instrument that guy can't play?)  If Past Lives can stop listening to the Gang of Four's Entertainment on repeat, then so do they.

პიტერ მერფის (ბაუჰაუს) და მიკ კარნის (ჯაპან) ერთჯერადი კოლაბორაცია.. ანუ გამოუშვეს ერთი სინგლა ერთი ალბომა, ორჯერადი გამოდის მარა მაინც იყოს.. ალბომს ერქვა Walking Hour და სინგლა აი ქვემოთაა.. მოღვაწეობდნენ შუა 80ანებში..

Dali's Car - The Judgement is The Mirror 12" EP

pass: ufologia

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