By David Thomas
[MAY 25: After all the distressing e-mails from Morrissey fans regarding last
week's Perfect Pitch column, Dave is too depressed to write. Never fear, he'll
recover, most likely by next week.]
May 18, 2004
Pick of the Week
MATT POND PA, Emblems (Altitude Records)
MATT POND PA was always one of those groups that sounded fine on record but
left absolutely zero lasting impression. Finally after a few albums under
their belt, they release Emblems. Now the group seems in control of
their songwriting, "Lily Two," and the production is crips and clear
bringing namesake singer Matthew Pond to the fore.
Along with TED LEO-like tracks there are plenty of Saddle Creek-esque tunes,
"Bring On The Ending." More direct songs like album opener "KC" feature a
simple acoustic guitar riff driving the song as Pond flexes an unusually
strong voice considering the wispy efforts of the past. "Closest (Look Out)"
follows with another decidedly upbeat air.
MATT POND PA has made that turn in its career to respectable band that won't get lost in the mire of indie music. Attribute it to incorporating a bit
more rock and roll spirit or just hard work. Either way, the rapid production
schedule of MATT POND PA's past will keep us anxiously waiting for another
album that hopefully will surprise as much as Emblems .
Indie Pick Of The Week
27, Let The Light In (Hydra Head)
In these days of a flooded indie-music market there's not much weight left
in a label's name. The days when the name Dischord or Epitaph meant
listeners would get something of quality in the vein of music they liked no
longer exists. It's just as likely the latest from either one will be
disappointing.
Hydra-Head is one of the few labels I honestly look forward to getting
advances from. CAVE-IN, ISIS, PELICAN & HARKONEN have been break-out artists
that I still regularly listen to. So when a package marked "Hydra-Head" came
with two discs I was eager. One was obviously going to be good. A split with
HARKONEN and THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES called Like A Virgin went
immediately into the CD player. But dear readers you will have to wait a
week or two until its street date to read a full review.
The other disc of course was this EP from Boston band 27. Singer Maria
Christopher's former group, the DIRT MERCHANTS, already went through the
major label experience and with 27 she has landed among good company. Unlike
the rest of the roster on Hydra-Head there is very little guitar fuzz,
distortion or male growling found on these six tracks.
Indeed Christopher's retro vocals might be considered an American version of
IVY's Dominique Durand. The music too maintains a jazzy quality that
probably woke up the boys at Hydra Head HQ from their sludgy playlist. It
will be hard to figure out where the band fares in today's world of music
but like the album title suggests the engaging, smoky and feminine music
sheds light on a record label that has exclusively (and quite successfully)
played in the dark recesses of music.
Album to Avoid
MORRISSEY, You Are The Quarry/Irish Blood, English Heart - Single
(Attack Records)
A few months back an artist I've covered for a few years sent out a 4-song
sampler in advance of his upcoming album. I inquired when I would get a
full-length copy from the publicist and was informed there wouldn't be one.
Of course this is due to the overwhelming Internet piracy going around but
there was no way I would write an "album" review without hearing the entire
album as was suggested to me.
So a week ago a similar 4-song single from MORRISSEY's much-anticipated
return album You Are The Quarry arrives. This time I can say I donn't
even want to hear the full-length effort if it's en route. Sure enough the
first track, "Irish Blood, English Heart," seemed to offer a glimmer of
hope. MORRISSEY's trademark vocals might not be as strong as in the past but
they're as velvety as ever on this song. The lyrics are a bit political for
me but hey, it sounds like MORRISSEY is back.
The following three songs, which are hopefully B-sides, are just horrid. A
few seconds into "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small," the noose comes
out and you're looking for the nearest beam. Here MORRISSEY sounds abysmal.
His voice is clearly shot. And on the next two songs things don't even get
close to better. Moral of the story for publicists is: Send the entire
record because 3 out of 4 songs can be a terrible first impression
especially if they're B-sides, while a dozen album tracks might offer a few
gems.
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