Islands - A Sleep & A Forgetting - (Anti-; 2012)

Islands - A Sleep & A Forgetting - (Anti-; 2012)

By Charlie Woodley; March 7th, 2012

Rating:  8.1

With considerably less fanfare than Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire, a band named The Unicorns emerged from the growing Candian indie music scene in the early part of this century.  Led by Nick Thorburn (then Nick Diamonds), The Unicorns released an odd, quirky pop album entitled Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?   An album of wholly original compositions which broke the traditional verse-chorus-verse mold, and succeeded in ratcheting the tensions in the music to a point where it seemed impossible for the band to avoid breaking into fisticuffs, no less make it through a song unscathed. It was inevitable that The Unicorns would each go their separate ways, pairs of them resurfacing here or there in various new bands and side projects.

With The Unicorns now behind them, Nick Thorburn and Jaime Thompson formed Islands, bringing along their knack for twisting the conventions of pop song writing and breathing new life into the genre with a view of bold innocence. Their 2006 debut, Return to the Sea, surpassed the promise of Who Will Cut Our Hair... with its maturity, its production values and its ability to capture the best aspects of their former selves. Although Thompson has come and gone with every other Islands record, Thorburn is the catalyst here, the songwriter, the vocalist, the poet.  A Sleep & A Forgetting finds Thompson vacating his position while Thorburn once again changes the Islands lineup, the results this time being a record unlike any of their previous. 

A Sleep & A Forgetting opens unassumingly and quietly enough with Thorburn asking us to "Open up your door for me", while a light shuffling beat propels the organ and understated guitar. Sounding almost timid, afraid of waking up his listeners, Thorburn allows us to enter his dream state.  Where Islands had previously introduced a variety of styles into their music, A Sleep & A Forgetting finds them exploring their pop music roots.  A regression and a step back to a simpler sound, which more aptly fits the personal nature of these 11 songs.  Whether or not this is a full-fledged "break-up album", it's personal enough for Thorburn to refer to himself in the third person on the brilliantly penned 'This Is Not A Song'. The slighty too long 'Never Go Solo' wanders briefly into the experimental nature of some of Islands previous work, but is anchored by a consistent and driving piano progression. 

'No Crying' is part Roy Orbison, part Smokey Robinson led by an all too familiar guitar line that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1963.  All the time, Nick is winking at us "The chorus wept, the bridge caved in / The verses stung your perfect skin / But I don't feel like it's touched my soul."  On 'Can't Feel My Face', a distorted Hammond organ introduces what could be mistaken for a long lost nugget by The Animals, complete with Burdon-like declarations from the cuff, "I miss my wife / I miss my best friend every night / I miss my home / I miss my own bed, my old life."   

'Lonely Love' weaves its way with stop-start verses, the band dropping out as Thorburn purposefully accentuates the phrasing of his verses, building into a final chorus borrowed directly from Paul Simon's 'Crazy Love, Part II'.  The lonesome and haunting acoustic beginnings of 'Oh Maria' are reminiscent of some of Bright Eyes' better work as it falsely begins to build, but quickly settles back into its familiar ground. Stark confessional 'Don't I Love You' seemingly twists its difficult question inwards at the end, perhaps a song of self-contemplation rather than a plea about unrequited love.  

A Sleep & A Forgetting is bedroom-pop for an indie generation that could easily find a more mature audience. The songs rarely extend past their welcome, the entire proceeding clocking in at under 38 minutes. Islands have always managed to change direction, from the failed near prog-rock leanings of 2008's Arm's Way to the multitude of influences on their 2006 debut, sometimes showing all of them in the course of one nine minute song. Refusing to stand still, they change direction here once again, albeit towards one that is more traditional. The results are mostly refreshing and rousingly successful.  This is perhaps the band's most cohesive and deliberate set of songs to date, and certainly Thorburn's most personal.  His days with The Unicorns now nearly a decade behind him, he approaches the songwriting here in a way that is miles apart from Who Will Cut Our Hair.... The tension and nervousness now replaced by a maturity and confidence required to wear a project of personal reflection and the loss of innocence on one's sleeve. 

Bruce Springteen - Wrecking Ball - (Columbia; 2012)

Bruce Springteen - Wrecking Ball - (Columbia; 2012)

By Charlie Woodley; March 4th, 2012

Rating: 8.3

Bruce Springsteen and I have had something of a like/tolerate relationship over the past three-plus decades. Two major exceptions to the rule have been the thoroughly enjoyable We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions (2006) and his haunting acoustic four-track recorder masterpiece Nebraska (1982). Sure, I really like Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, but as someone who really wasn't a fan at the time, I didn't connect with those albums upon their initial release. The oversaturation of Born in the USA certainly drove me away from Springsteen for the rest of the 80s and much of the 90s. It wasn't until the late-90s that I truly went back, found some great yard sale pick-ups, and delved into Bruce's catalog.

Since the near Michael Jackson-like success of Born in the USA, writing songs from the point of view of the everyman is a slippery slope to navigate when you've been blessed with the financial success Bruce has seen. But this is Bruce's passion, it's a part of who he is and he doesn't back away from it. As any great songwriter will tell you, you write what you know. With the world, particularly the United States, teetering on the brink of financial collapse, Bruce being Bruce had almost no choice about his subject matter. This was the album that was expected of him. He HAD to write Wrecking Ball.

In much the same way that 'Tattoo' presented us with an eyebrow-raising glimpse into the forthcoming Van Halen record earlier this year, Springsteen gave us 'We Take Care of Our Own' as his advance single to the same raised eyebrows. The song is Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' for a new era, but feels slightly outdated namechecking the Superdome in a none too subtle reference to the destruction brought forth by Hurricane Katrina. But just as the Reagan administration mistakenly adopted 'Born in the USA' as a flag-waving, chest-pounding anthem for the '84 re-election campaign, 'We Take Care of Our Own' takes the same cynical view of a nation that has lost its way, surely to be adopted and misunderstood by political candidates this coming election year. It's a powerful arena-ready anthem without the overblown bluster of the studio version of 'Born in the USA'. 'Easy Money' immediately recalls the hillbilly folk-rock vibe of the Seeger Sessions . A song not quite condoning crime as a desperate alternative to these economic times, but seemingly suggesting it as a viable option. ("I got a Smith & Wesson 38 / I got a hellfire burning and I got me a date / Got me a date on the far shore / Where it's bright and sunny / I'm goin' on the town tonight, lookin' for easy money.") 'Shackled and Drawn' continues the folk singalong and Springsteen sells it all with conviction, shedding the added weight of the 'E' Street Band. Bruce picks up the 'Occupy Wall Street' theme here imploring ("Gambling man rolls the dice / Workingman pays the bill / It's still fat and easy up on Banker's Hill.")

'Jack of All Trades' is part hymnal, part New Orleans funeral march which nicely precedes this album's bonechilling reimagining of 1984's 'My Hometown' on 'Death to My Hometown'. This is as "Pogues" as Bruce will probably ever get, a call to arms with a bagpipe-like melody line cutting the verses in which he describes the destruction of a town, not through traditional warfare, but through financial warfare. ("No powder flash blinded the eye / No deathly thunder sounded / But just as sure as the hand of God / They brought death to my hometown.") On 'This Depression' -- what would be a typical Bruce ballad is given a chilling sonic palette by guest Tom Morello. Morello's guitar noise and hum adding a dramatic flair, helping to create a song worthy of pause and self-reflection.

The title track harkens back to more familiar territory with call and response choruses and Jersey references throughout in Bruce's take on the destruction of Giants Stadium. 'You've Got It' takes a slight misstep as it recalls a slowed down version of the melody line from 'Glory Days'. 'Rocky Ground' (featuring Michelle Moore on vocals and Bruce's first foray into the world of Hip-Hop) finds an area between Gospel and lite R&B and manages to pull it off. Although Bruce is outside of his comfort zone here, it doesn't show as he manages to strengthen Ms. Moore's performance as he takes 2nd mic for much of the song. Moore again is the guest vocalist on 'Land of Hope and Dreams' which opens in a virtual mish-mash of styles and musical genres -- a true musical melting pot of Twenty-tens America. We're treated here one last time to what is perhaps the final performance and unmistakable sound of the late Clarence Clemons, his saxophone coaxing the most out of Bruce one more time. If the hair on your arm doesn't stand on end, then you're not breathing. The album closes with Bruce leading the way with his acoustic guitar on 'We Are Alive' and settles into a country-tinged affair, complete with a handclapping hoedown just before the final chorus.

When an artist is leaving a label for another, often times there are obligation filling albums that must be completed before that transition can take place. This is as close to an obligation album that long-time Columbia artist Springsteen has ever had. Only it wasn't an obligation to Columbia, it was an obligation to the American public. This isn't Bruce the multi-millionaire catering to the occupying 99%, this is simply Bruce writing what he knows. In these times of great financial uncertainty, with Americans questioning their leaders and their complicit actions with Big Business like never before, revolutionaries must step forward. Bruce never wanted to be the one leading the charge, but he certainly wanted to be the one to pen the soundtrack.

A Keyboard, A Blog and One Surly Guy...

Welcome readers -- now pay attention.

I'm not here to bullshit you about the latest EP by a Finnish electro-accordion, nu-dance solo artist who has never played a real show, but gathers small groups of friends in his living room at 2:00am for what he calls "time shifting experiences". If you're looking for that -- go to Pitchfork.

If you think I'm going to be reviewing the new Journey CD that's available only at your neighborhood Walmart -- then you're definitely not in the right place.

But in between these two extremes -- there's still a lot of great music being written, recorded and performed.

I'll be publishing new album reviews, talk about upcoming releases of interest, maybe some talk about live shows. We'll look back at some of the classics, I may even drop some Jazz on you from time to time. And to break up the monotony, maybe I'll bring in some guest contributors.

You're going to find that many times we won't agree -- and I will listen to your critique and match it up against mine --- but I'll be right most of the time. j/k

My original concept in 2008 was to begin this blog with a special feature to give you an idea of this site's musical direction. And since everyone loves lists -- our first feature was going to be a compilation list of 50 Records to Buy Since OK Computer. However, what began as an exercise of passion, quickly degraded into an exercise in futility -- and way more work than one man with a regular job could tackle in a timely manner.

Now, in 2012, I've finally decided to kick off this blog and give myself a little corner of Al Gore's Interwebs to review some new records, some old records, some films, maybe a TV show or a comic book or whatever else I feel like doing. It's my blog, I'll most likely be the only one to read it -- so what do you care? Just mind your own damn business and make your own stupid blog. Really, a blog? I'm going to start a blog? What is this, 2002?

Anyway, I still like that idea for using OK Computer as a jumping off point, and I may even revisit the idea of that feature one day. By the way, if you've never heard of OK Computer -- thanks for reading, now go to the mall.