What's a Listening Log? Well, the idea is quite simple. It's a weekly segment that consolidates all the mini-reviews Dozens Of Donuts has given on RateYourMusic over the past week, split between the Past and Present. A straightforward grading scale has been put in place, ranging from A+ to F-, with C acting as the baseline average. There is no set amount of reviews per week, just however many I get around to reviewing. And don't expect week-of reviews. I wait one month - with at least three listens under my belt - before I rate and review an album. Enjoy!
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2008 | Singer/ Songwriter | Listen
AN ACOUSTIC SET PLAYED TO AN EMPTY ROOM
The only thing preventing me from calling it quits on Mount Eerie's discography is the hope of something new with Wind's Poem, partially promised with the related sub-genres it clings to. Thus far, Phil Elverum's transformation to desolate, dry Singer/Songwriter has not faired well, especially given the context of The Microphones and all they were able to accomplishment with Elverum at the helm. Dawn: Winter Journal is an excruciating slog of glacial obstinacy and one-note recitation. Here, music is a total afterthought as Elverum merely uses his acoustic guitar to placate the sensitive stories he reports. Any emotion unveiled is ostentatiously hollow and singular, with infallible vocal range that amounts to little more than a ponderous, bromidic soapbox.
Dawn is essentially everything I dislike about Singer/Songwriter compiled into one, 19-track album. The utter lack of variety is appalling given Elverum's previous capability of exploring the human enigma and its fundamental, complexity. At every turn it's devoid of art, passion, and relevance, choosing instead to relish in the corner unseen and unperturbed. Suffice to say I won't be returning to Dawn, even if 'Goodbye Hope' and its sublime and sly chorus end the suffering on a particularly strong note.
D-
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1993 | Noise Rock | Listen
LIVING IN THE SEWERS, BOMBARDED BY INCOHERENT NOISE
After their innocuous self-titled EP, one that lamented early 90's Rock trends with summertime bedlam, expectations were high for Polvo and their acclaimed discography. Regrettably, Today's Active Lifestyles pulled all the same stops of the uninspired, stale, and disfigured Cor-Crane Secret. Camouflaged Rock that blends seamlessly into the era, like a fly on the wall unable to garner interest. Like Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., or Built To Spill, who all themselves borrowed and adjusted Noise Rock to the repugnant Grunge era from Sonic Youth, Polvo does nothing creatively singular on Today's Active Lifestyles. It's all well-trod territory. Garage bands providing a visceral edge without the flair of, let's say, Punk.
And to think, following Polvo, that they were close to incorporating uncertainty in sound along the lines of Yo La Tengo or Modest Mouse. Today's Active Lifestyles takes grisly Post-Hardcore, filling it with predictably-erratic claustrophobia and poorly-played instrumentation. Only Ash Bowie's wistful, detached vocals help rekindle some of the wanderlust otherwise lost in these tracks, like 'Lazy Comet' or 'Time Isn't On My Side.' Bowie's fragile fight against the disarray is easily my favorite aspect of Today's Active Lifestyles, and one that's simultaneously underused and underdeveloped as the classic guitar, drum combo takes precedent.
C-
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2001 | Indietronica | Listen
QUIXOTICAL PEACE OF MIND ON A TRAIN WITH NO END
On first listen, múm's Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is Ok (great title by the way) left me in a state of elongated disinterest. múm's blend of Glitch and light-hearted Indietronica - preempting in a way the wide-eyed, inoffensiveness of bands like The Go! Team and Islands who took that youthful charm to greater heights - is filled with sweet, intricate Noise plucks and synth melodies that result in a soft, pleasing sound despite the Microsound filling on tracks like 'Smell Memory' and 'Sunday Night Just Keeps On Rolling.' My disappointment originally came following 'I'm 9 Today,' which acts as a magnificent opener, using a simple piano melody, tip-toeing Glitch, daydreaming samples, and a fantastically-implemented accordion.
Nothing competes with 'I'm 9 Today's' sheer relaxation, in quality or style. However, I learned to appreciate what else Yesterday Was Dramatic has on offer, be it the frantic outbreaks on 'Smell Memory,' the Post-Rock-like crescendos of 'Sunday Night Just Keeps On Rolling,' or the sedative drip of 'Slow Bicycle.' There's variety despite the overall tone and aesthetic remaining committed, as múm constantly tweak their formula based on intent, whether it's the nine-minute slow-burners or more immediate theme-fillers. The latter tends to be the weaker tracks, like 'Random Summer' and 'The Ballad Of The Broken String,' in their ugly Glitch that abides by a sort of Modern Classical flair. 'The Ballad Of The Broken Birdie Records' deserves mention as well, for obvious reasons that fall on the Scandinavian vocals bearing similarity to Sigur Rós in their indecipherably.
B-
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