Thanks in large part to turntable culture and entrepenuering young record labels (mostly run by DJs themselves) classic soul, deep funk and regional R&B have seen a rebirth as of late. Peanut Butter Wolf’s Stones Throw imprint Now-Again Records may be the most notable, reissuing and beautifully packaging funk and soul gems from groups like Kashmere Stage Band, Detroit Sex Machines and L.A. Carnival. U.K.-based Soul Jazz has down the same with region-centric releases like Miami Sound, Philadelphia Roots and New Orleans Funk.
Similarly capitalizing on import status, Australia’s AIM recently released a trio of records from little-heard funk and soul pioneers. Picking up where the must-own Night Train To Nashville (Lost Highway, 2004) left off, Moody Scott’s Bustin’ Out the Ghetto, Lattimore Brown’s Little Box of Tricks and Bobby Powell’s Louisiana Soul document the bluesy Nashville R&B sound and its gospel-infused New Orleans soul cousin.
As all great reissue discs should, the three records reviewed here come with adequate liner notes, covering the artists’ work from start to finish in concise manner and name-dropping when necessary to create a decent frame of reference. More would be nice but for a tiny import label, what we get seems fine.
Moody Scott
Bustin Out The Ghetto
AIM
2006
Despite roots in New Orleans, Moody Scott found most of his success recording for Nashville-based Sound Stage Seven, run by renowned coast-to-coast disc jockey “John R” Richbourg. Here Scott helped define the Nashville R&B sound. “Bustin Out the Ghetto,” the title track from this collection of all Scott’s Sound Stage Seven recordings, is considered by some to be a “proto-funk” classic. With its shuffling beat, anti-drug message and boisterous horns, “Bustin Out” recalls the great Curtis Mayfield as Scott calls on his people to “stop the Pusherman.”
Contributions from the legendary Muscle Shoals Horns, who recorded with Elton John amongst others whilst building a career as studio musicians, help to define Scott’s sound. More often than not the blaring horns outdo Scott’s hectic vocalizations, both giving the tunes a vibrant, lively vibe, perfect for your next party.
Scott’s roots, and most of his early success, were in Gospel music and his organ playing reflects this. Vocally, Scott mixes things up. From one track to the next, the organist varies from compassionate crooning on “May I Turn You On” to the “dig on this” call and response of the player-hating “I Don’t Dig No Phoney.” A lot of funk and soul pioneers show up in Scott’s music: Sly Stone (“We’ve Gotta Save It”), Bill Withers (“Groovin Out on Line”), and with orgasmic “ughs” and “yeah, yeahs,” James Brown (“I Don’t Dig No Phoney”).
Lattimore Brown
Little Box of Tricks
AIM
2006
Unlike Scott, Lattimore Brown was a Tennessee native, born and bred on Beale Street in Memphis. Brown was not a gospel singer by trade but a blues man, a point reflected in his instrument of choice, the guitar. An early partnership with Nashville-based Excello Records (who also recorded Scott) led to modest success and a roadlife with the chitlin circuit. Little Box of Tricks collects Brown’s recorded works for Sound Stage Seven.
Again, familiar names pop up, in support of Brown. “Don’t Trust No One” and ‘I’m Not Through Loving You” were recorded at Stax studio and feature Booker T & the MGs, unmistakably so. “Cruise on Fanny, Cruise On” plays off the popular “Mustang Sally.” Brown’s sound contains strong elements of “Sally” singer Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and even some Solomon Burke.
“I’m Not Through Lovin” is a superb, plodding blues number; likewise with “It’s a Sad, Sad World.” “So Says My Heart” has the sort of funky drummer breaks that make DJ’s mouths water. While Little Box of Tricks wins in the novelty category, its dissimilarity from more well-known blues artist renders it dismissible.
Bobby Powell
Louisiana Soul
AIM
2006
Bobby Powell, like Scott and many others, cut his teeth in the world of Gospel music, drawing influence from Ray Charles (like Powell, a blind piano player). Louisiana Soul collects Powell’s recordings for Hep Me Records, recorded between the years of 1979 and 1985.
And with an opening track titled “Queen Size Woman” how can you not fall in love with Powell! Like most of Louisiana Soul, “Queen Size Woman” is a gospelized southern soul ballad of earth-shattering proportions. “I got room in my king size bed for all you queen size women,” Powell croons over searing keys and sexually charged rhythms. Like Dr. John or Allen Toussaint, Powell’s music is full of Crescent City grooves and laid-back night moves.
Complete with handclaps and silky keyboards, “Let Me Love You” is a fantastic R&B number, with Powell’s voice literally soaring above his band, exhibiting an immense vocal talent. “Spread You Love,” “A Fool For You,” and “Drifting Blues” are all great numbers, with Powell raising his passionate and sensual voice to higher and higher heights.
Moody Scott still records and disc jockeys, living in Las Vegas he runs Creole Home Records and still performs, opening for Buckwheat Zydeco and the Nevilles from time to time. Lattimore Brown disappeared from music in the ‘80s and is rumored to have passed away. Bobby Powell has revived Hep Me Records and continues to be active performing Gospel music. All three deserve a close listen, for their contribution to Nashville, New Orleans, funk, soul, R&B and blues music.
11.19.2006
Preserve the Sound - "Writ in Water"
A lot of Preserve the Sound’s music is dated. Wait… that term, “dated,” typically carries a negative connotation, I know. Preserve the Sound’s music brings me back to 1999, the year I graduated high school a meathead metal fan and matriculated to University of Texas, where I discovered hipster hangouts and bands like The Promise Ring, The Get-up Kids, Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate. Knapsack, The Casket Lottery, American Football and Death Cab For Cutie – for most males my age, these bands should ring a bell. They sang the Diary of my life, a Photo Album I referred to when the smoke left things hazy and I struggled to find Something To Write Home About feeling the EndSerenading me.
Hailing from Austin TX, Preserve the Sound mark their independent debut with Writ in Water, a record that explicitly makes reference to just about all of the above mentioned bands over the course of twelve comfortable cuts.
A “Prelude” sets the tempo for Writ in Water, quite literally. Slow moving like an October morning, Water is just a few degrees short of freezing, slow enough to numb us from distraction without freezing the blood cold.
“Dark Horse Candidate” and “Maze of Highways” are strong songs introducing Preserve the Sound to the world in unbeatable fashion. Lead singer Kevin Stutz tends to hold out syllables for several beats, akin to the droning and oh-so-emo vocals of Chris Simpson (Mineral, The Gloria Record). Stutz brings a strong voice to the record and tasteful (but bordering on overdone) post-production on those vocals give the record a full, atmospheric feel.
Acoustic interludes help piece the album together. It’s hard to tell whether these are incomplete songs included in haste or if they are purposefully placed mood pieces. “Saved” is the first, an unsettling minute of melodrama with confessions that “I am evil and I must be saved / from temptation / it is surrounding me / and I need direction.” “Richmond Station” follows later, with more thickly layered vocals and plenty of wavey atmospherics. Despite missing the rhythm section of bassist Marcos Lujan and drummer Jayson Cruz, this tune may be the best cut on Writ in Water.
The title track follows, with little in the way of vocals and Cruz’s most aggressive and impressive drumming. As the centerpoint for the record, “Writ in Water” makes a strong transition into the No Knife-like “Where Nothing Comes Between Us.”
“Girls on Bikes” is the bands nod to pop music of afore – Beatles, Beach Boys, the classics, you know – and “Endless Cycle” is another, standout song.
Preserve the Sound rest comfortable between the wintery wear of Mineral and the summer loving sounds of Recover – two Austin bands that represent different eras in the cities indie rock scene. Could PTS be the harbringers of a new era? Time will tell but for now, Writ in Water is a testament to the shape of things to come.
Hailing from Austin TX, Preserve the Sound mark their independent debut with Writ in Water, a record that explicitly makes reference to just about all of the above mentioned bands over the course of twelve comfortable cuts.
A “Prelude” sets the tempo for Writ in Water, quite literally. Slow moving like an October morning, Water is just a few degrees short of freezing, slow enough to numb us from distraction without freezing the blood cold.
“Dark Horse Candidate” and “Maze of Highways” are strong songs introducing Preserve the Sound to the world in unbeatable fashion. Lead singer Kevin Stutz tends to hold out syllables for several beats, akin to the droning and oh-so-emo vocals of Chris Simpson (Mineral, The Gloria Record). Stutz brings a strong voice to the record and tasteful (but bordering on overdone) post-production on those vocals give the record a full, atmospheric feel.
Acoustic interludes help piece the album together. It’s hard to tell whether these are incomplete songs included in haste or if they are purposefully placed mood pieces. “Saved” is the first, an unsettling minute of melodrama with confessions that “I am evil and I must be saved / from temptation / it is surrounding me / and I need direction.” “Richmond Station” follows later, with more thickly layered vocals and plenty of wavey atmospherics. Despite missing the rhythm section of bassist Marcos Lujan and drummer Jayson Cruz, this tune may be the best cut on Writ in Water.
The title track follows, with little in the way of vocals and Cruz’s most aggressive and impressive drumming. As the centerpoint for the record, “Writ in Water” makes a strong transition into the No Knife-like “Where Nothing Comes Between Us.”
“Girls on Bikes” is the bands nod to pop music of afore – Beatles, Beach Boys, the classics, you know – and “Endless Cycle” is another, standout song.
Preserve the Sound rest comfortable between the wintery wear of Mineral and the summer loving sounds of Recover – two Austin bands that represent different eras in the cities indie rock scene. Could PTS be the harbringers of a new era? Time will tell but for now, Writ in Water is a testament to the shape of things to come.
Converge - "No Heroes"
In the years since Caring and Killing hit the scene, Converge has spawned a legion of imitators. Hell, the band themselves hasn’t done much to discourage this behavior either. Guitarist Kurt Ballou has lent his magical touch to records by bands like Great Redneck Hope, Curl Up and Die and Give Up The Ghost while lead vocalist Jacob Bannon’s Deathwish Inc label has released album’s by Breather Resist and Some Girls.
And in every small town hardcore scene, there are angry teens playing as hard, fast and recklessly as possible. They take their names from Converge songs and throw their bodies and instruments to the mercy of the music at house parties, VFW halls and laundromats – wherever they can plug in and let loose.
With this in mind, Converge releases their sixth full-length. No Heroes is the follow-up to 2004’s You Fail Me and their second record with legendary Epitaph Records. While You Fail Me saw Converge at their most experimental (and was thus lauded with criticism and shunned by the scene police), No Heroes finds the band narrowing their sights and taking aim on the imitators and haters everywhere.
I’ll say it now, so read no further if you disagree – No Heroes is the best Converge album to-date. Hands down, bar-none, without a doubt – THE BEST.
“Heartache” introduces us to No Heroes with thick and doomy minor chords that abruptly give way to Converge’s signatures thrashy punk sound. “Hellbound” has an old school Minor Threat/Black Flag brand of hardcore thing going on – wailing guitars and driving bass – while “Vengeance” is :58 of pure, unchecked aggression.
By track five, the blood-and-thundered “Weight of the World,” Converge is ready for a break it seems, slowing things down to the dirge tempo that littered You Fail Me. Not for long though, as the standout title track brings things back to speed.
The mid-album trilogy of “No Heroes,” “Plagues” and “Grim Heart / Black Rose” is the most satisfying section of music No Heroes. Taken as one whole piece of music, this may be the best stuff to come from Converge or any other band in the hardcore, punk, or metal scene in years. “Plagues” and “Grim Heart” see the band returning to the gloomy, jamming style they experimented with so successfully on You Fail Me. For real – this is the sound a post-apocalyptic jam band would produce.
Bannon does his best singing yet on “Grim Heart.” And while hearing the bleeding throated Bannon produce some heartfelt crooning may cause When Forever Comes Crashing- fans to cringe, they should really get over it. “Grim Heart,” like the rest of No Heroes, represents a band coming into it’s own, defining and refining itself and its sound, perfecting something that was first attempted in juvenile fashion on earlier albums. No Heroes is the product of a band with over ten years of experience under their belt – a mature production from a maturing band, perhaps the most influential hardcore band since Minor Threat. Coverge completely redefined this music.
“Lonewolves” is just waiting to be sung back in the face of Bannon by devotees everywhere – so learn the words kids, for you will be tested. “To The Lions” take the best of everything that surely influenced Converge when they were young and brings it up to speed – thrash metal punk extremism that is ready to fuck your face then kiss you goodnight.
And maybe it’s not the best way to judge an album, but in the case of Converge it just may be: No Heroes sees Converge returning to the no-frills world of the minute long song. When short and sweet ditties like these are juxtaposed with the 9:00+ “Grim Heart,” you get an album that just makes sense, an album that can be listened to from start to finish without interruption (such a hard task these days) because Converge took the time to construct an album, complete with highs and lows, push and pull.
Released so late in the year, it’s easy to want to toss out all those “Best of 2006” lists and place No Heroes firmly in the top five. Perhaps it is a top-fiver. Or maybe this grim and grey-skied album just feels right, right now, with the seasons changing and the rain never-ending. Converge’s No Heroes is the soundtrack to your Fall.
And in every small town hardcore scene, there are angry teens playing as hard, fast and recklessly as possible. They take their names from Converge songs and throw their bodies and instruments to the mercy of the music at house parties, VFW halls and laundromats – wherever they can plug in and let loose.
With this in mind, Converge releases their sixth full-length. No Heroes is the follow-up to 2004’s You Fail Me and their second record with legendary Epitaph Records. While You Fail Me saw Converge at their most experimental (and was thus lauded with criticism and shunned by the scene police), No Heroes finds the band narrowing their sights and taking aim on the imitators and haters everywhere.
I’ll say it now, so read no further if you disagree – No Heroes is the best Converge album to-date. Hands down, bar-none, without a doubt – THE BEST.
“Heartache” introduces us to No Heroes with thick and doomy minor chords that abruptly give way to Converge’s signatures thrashy punk sound. “Hellbound” has an old school Minor Threat/Black Flag brand of hardcore thing going on – wailing guitars and driving bass – while “Vengeance” is :58 of pure, unchecked aggression.
By track five, the blood-and-thundered “Weight of the World,” Converge is ready for a break it seems, slowing things down to the dirge tempo that littered You Fail Me. Not for long though, as the standout title track brings things back to speed.
The mid-album trilogy of “No Heroes,” “Plagues” and “Grim Heart / Black Rose” is the most satisfying section of music No Heroes. Taken as one whole piece of music, this may be the best stuff to come from Converge or any other band in the hardcore, punk, or metal scene in years. “Plagues” and “Grim Heart” see the band returning to the gloomy, jamming style they experimented with so successfully on You Fail Me. For real – this is the sound a post-apocalyptic jam band would produce.
Bannon does his best singing yet on “Grim Heart.” And while hearing the bleeding throated Bannon produce some heartfelt crooning may cause When Forever Comes Crashing- fans to cringe, they should really get over it. “Grim Heart,” like the rest of No Heroes, represents a band coming into it’s own, defining and refining itself and its sound, perfecting something that was first attempted in juvenile fashion on earlier albums. No Heroes is the product of a band with over ten years of experience under their belt – a mature production from a maturing band, perhaps the most influential hardcore band since Minor Threat. Coverge completely redefined this music.
“Lonewolves” is just waiting to be sung back in the face of Bannon by devotees everywhere – so learn the words kids, for you will be tested. “To The Lions” take the best of everything that surely influenced Converge when they were young and brings it up to speed – thrash metal punk extremism that is ready to fuck your face then kiss you goodnight.
And maybe it’s not the best way to judge an album, but in the case of Converge it just may be: No Heroes sees Converge returning to the no-frills world of the minute long song. When short and sweet ditties like these are juxtaposed with the 9:00+ “Grim Heart,” you get an album that just makes sense, an album that can be listened to from start to finish without interruption (such a hard task these days) because Converge took the time to construct an album, complete with highs and lows, push and pull.
Released so late in the year, it’s easy to want to toss out all those “Best of 2006” lists and place No Heroes firmly in the top five. Perhaps it is a top-fiver. Or maybe this grim and grey-skied album just feels right, right now, with the seasons changing and the rain never-ending. Converge’s No Heroes is the soundtrack to your Fall.
SeaFlea - "The Vendetta EP"
SeaFlea’s debut release, “The Vendetta EP,” tells the tale of a young man scorned by love. Over the course of just eight tracks we hear his tale of abandonment and loss; compelled to thoughts of violent redemption we ultimately see him find peace in himself, taking solace in six strings, writing anthems for the heartbroken.
“Fuck my last letter,” go the opening lines of “Me Against You.” The tone is set for an angst-filled love note, written but never sent. Vocals dance back and forth between Jeremy Bolin’s feminine cry and Jon Michael Rogers more soulful croon. As the record progresses, it becomes clear that Rogers’ voice is the more mature of the too. But the battling voices fit, echoing the way Bolin and Rogers’ guitars wrap themselves around one another.
“Apology Accepted” features big riffs – think Mettalica gone emo – and bigger drumming from Matt Crawford. “Diety” is the albums emotional climax – a diary-like confessional of wrongs and rights, self-pity and defeatism.
“The Vendetta EP” culminates in the hand-clapping, anthemic chant of “Inside – no better place to hide,” at the closing of “Sunday Spent.” SeaFlea’s best effort by far, “Sunday Spent” features Rogers taking full control of the vocal duties and, fittingly, the band is at it’s best here. Midway through the song, the guitars engage in argument, screaming at one another, as the lovelorn storyteller embraces a less violent eruption.
From a more technical standpoint, two things hurt “Vendetta.” The record seems to be covered in a sort of audio haze, resultant from a poor mastering job, which leaves the songs begging for better production. And in a similar vein, drum loops, samples, overdubs and other elements of studio chicanery litter the record. Fun stuff, no doubt, but not the sorts of things that can be reproduced live in most cases. It’s like the band got in the studio and said, “Oh boy, look at all these neat things we can do when we put our instruments down.” But hey – if that’s your thing.
For a debut, “The Vendetta EP” is a respectable effort that showcases a band quickly coming into its own, maturing as songwriters and working on developing a unique and intriguing sound. Pick this record up at SeaFlea’s next show, July 24th at Plush (7th and Red River), with Whitman and Ithaca, New York’s Speria.
“Fuck my last letter,” go the opening lines of “Me Against You.” The tone is set for an angst-filled love note, written but never sent. Vocals dance back and forth between Jeremy Bolin’s feminine cry and Jon Michael Rogers more soulful croon. As the record progresses, it becomes clear that Rogers’ voice is the more mature of the too. But the battling voices fit, echoing the way Bolin and Rogers’ guitars wrap themselves around one another.
“Apology Accepted” features big riffs – think Mettalica gone emo – and bigger drumming from Matt Crawford. “Diety” is the albums emotional climax – a diary-like confessional of wrongs and rights, self-pity and defeatism.
“The Vendetta EP” culminates in the hand-clapping, anthemic chant of “Inside – no better place to hide,” at the closing of “Sunday Spent.” SeaFlea’s best effort by far, “Sunday Spent” features Rogers taking full control of the vocal duties and, fittingly, the band is at it’s best here. Midway through the song, the guitars engage in argument, screaming at one another, as the lovelorn storyteller embraces a less violent eruption.
From a more technical standpoint, two things hurt “Vendetta.” The record seems to be covered in a sort of audio haze, resultant from a poor mastering job, which leaves the songs begging for better production. And in a similar vein, drum loops, samples, overdubs and other elements of studio chicanery litter the record. Fun stuff, no doubt, but not the sorts of things that can be reproduced live in most cases. It’s like the band got in the studio and said, “Oh boy, look at all these neat things we can do when we put our instruments down.” But hey – if that’s your thing.
For a debut, “The Vendetta EP” is a respectable effort that showcases a band quickly coming into its own, maturing as songwriters and working on developing a unique and intriguing sound. Pick this record up at SeaFlea’s next show, July 24th at Plush (7th and Red River), with Whitman and Ithaca, New York’s Speria.
Jeremy Enigk - "World Waits"
Sunny Day Real Estate changed my life. When I heard How it Feels to be Something On in the Fall of 1999 I was opened up to a whole new world of music. No longer was music about chunky guitars, baggy pants, dirty dreadlocks and shell toes – ADIDAS-rock if you will. How it Feels opened my eyes to a whole new world of music, of melody, sensibility and real emotion, not faux-posturing and braggadocio. Sunny Day vocalist Jeremy Enigk was captivating without saying “Hey, look at me and the mic in my hands.”
That fateful afternoon spend sitting in a friends dorm room fully enthralled by “Pillars” and “Guitar and Video Games” led to the discovery of Diary, The Pink Album and Enigk’s eclectic solo record, Return of the Frog Queen and nothing, and I mean nothing, has been the same since.
Fast forward to 2006 and Enigk is back again, faced with a much different music industry. The indie music scene that Sunny Day Real Estate inspired has bubbled up from the underground to go mainstream and, quietly it seems, since retreated back. For a band to look to the progressive rock era of Yes, Rush, Genesis and the like, is no longer an oddity. The world has waited for World Waits – thankfully Enigk is back, to inspire anew.
Sunny Day’s history need not be recounted here. Neither should we get into the histories of short-lived, The Rising Tide-revisited project that was The Fire Theft, Dan Hoerner and Dashboard Confessional linkages or the Foo Fighters for that matter. All that matters here is Enigk, just Enigk, and his powerful, angelic and enthralling voice. Few vocalists posses the sheer range of Jeremy Enigk and as such, his voice really carries World Waits. Each song seems to have been constructed around a particular vocal line or idea, with textures added to accent whatever feeling the vocalist is attempting to convey.
Pipe organs bring chills to the skin before the band launches into a huge, Brit popping melody on the first cut and first single, “Been Here Before.” But Enigk hasn’t! That’s what makes this album so special. The songwriter here treads new water, churning up new melodies, textures and moods. Breathtaking moods. Inspired melodies.
After listening to “Cannons” I would like to proclaim that every other sensitive, self-denying “emo” singer/songwriter out there should just give up – you will never write a song this good Ben Gibbard.
“Wayward Love” has this very operatic feel – Pink Floyd or The Who – stuff along those lines. Symphonic drums, lightly plucked acoustic guitars pushed up against legato synths and Enigk doing his best Jon Anderson (Yes) impersonation here gives way to Flamenco-like guitars on “Dare A Smile.” “I am drained of all of my hope,” Enigk sings in over enunciated fashion. You need not be, sir. “I need something new to keep me going” he laments. World Waits is just that. “Can I run back to you?”
“City Tonight” seems out of place, simply because it pushes forward at a faster tempo than the rest of World Waits. Bursting and vibrant, “City Tonight” is in sharp contrast to the dreamy tug and turmoil of the albums other nine tracks.
There is a lot of Peter Gabriel on World Waits, definitely some Roger Daltry and a bit of Bono – great artists with even greater egos. There’s a lot of that grandiose sort of songwriting – self-indulgent in the most beautiful sense of the world.
Enigk receives credit for a large amount of the instrumentation of this record. And for the record, there are a host of “guest” artists, helping to guide Enigk’s vision, and some odd ones to boot: Andy Meyers, who designed the layout for both of Fall of Troy’s record, sings some vocals; Josh Meyers, who did orchestration for people like Mandy Moore and Unwed Sailor, does the same here; Joe Skyward, former bassist for The Posies pops up; Sub Pop chauntuese Rosie Thomas also guests. Man… now I feel like Matt Pinfield playing six degrees of seperation.
There is nothing more to say that hasn’t already been said. In closing, this record is simply fantastic.
That fateful afternoon spend sitting in a friends dorm room fully enthralled by “Pillars” and “Guitar and Video Games” led to the discovery of Diary, The Pink Album and Enigk’s eclectic solo record, Return of the Frog Queen and nothing, and I mean nothing, has been the same since.
Fast forward to 2006 and Enigk is back again, faced with a much different music industry. The indie music scene that Sunny Day Real Estate inspired has bubbled up from the underground to go mainstream and, quietly it seems, since retreated back. For a band to look to the progressive rock era of Yes, Rush, Genesis and the like, is no longer an oddity. The world has waited for World Waits – thankfully Enigk is back, to inspire anew.
Sunny Day’s history need not be recounted here. Neither should we get into the histories of short-lived, The Rising Tide-revisited project that was The Fire Theft, Dan Hoerner and Dashboard Confessional linkages or the Foo Fighters for that matter. All that matters here is Enigk, just Enigk, and his powerful, angelic and enthralling voice. Few vocalists posses the sheer range of Jeremy Enigk and as such, his voice really carries World Waits. Each song seems to have been constructed around a particular vocal line or idea, with textures added to accent whatever feeling the vocalist is attempting to convey.
Pipe organs bring chills to the skin before the band launches into a huge, Brit popping melody on the first cut and first single, “Been Here Before.” But Enigk hasn’t! That’s what makes this album so special. The songwriter here treads new water, churning up new melodies, textures and moods. Breathtaking moods. Inspired melodies.
After listening to “Cannons” I would like to proclaim that every other sensitive, self-denying “emo” singer/songwriter out there should just give up – you will never write a song this good Ben Gibbard.
“Wayward Love” has this very operatic feel – Pink Floyd or The Who – stuff along those lines. Symphonic drums, lightly plucked acoustic guitars pushed up against legato synths and Enigk doing his best Jon Anderson (Yes) impersonation here gives way to Flamenco-like guitars on “Dare A Smile.” “I am drained of all of my hope,” Enigk sings in over enunciated fashion. You need not be, sir. “I need something new to keep me going” he laments. World Waits is just that. “Can I run back to you?”
“City Tonight” seems out of place, simply because it pushes forward at a faster tempo than the rest of World Waits. Bursting and vibrant, “City Tonight” is in sharp contrast to the dreamy tug and turmoil of the albums other nine tracks.
There is a lot of Peter Gabriel on World Waits, definitely some Roger Daltry and a bit of Bono – great artists with even greater egos. There’s a lot of that grandiose sort of songwriting – self-indulgent in the most beautiful sense of the world.
Enigk receives credit for a large amount of the instrumentation of this record. And for the record, there are a host of “guest” artists, helping to guide Enigk’s vision, and some odd ones to boot: Andy Meyers, who designed the layout for both of Fall of Troy’s record, sings some vocals; Josh Meyers, who did orchestration for people like Mandy Moore and Unwed Sailor, does the same here; Joe Skyward, former bassist for The Posies pops up; Sub Pop chauntuese Rosie Thomas also guests. Man… now I feel like Matt Pinfield playing six degrees of seperation.
There is nothing more to say that hasn’t already been said. In closing, this record is simply fantastic.
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