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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The brothers of Tonstartssbandht, Andy Boay and Eola, have made their namesake in the alternative scene with distinct, experimental, psychedelic music that draws an affinity towards the fringe of society. Nothing in their music would be defined as normal, with irrational lyrics treating surrealism as a fourth grade elective, as a disjointed slathering of Folk, Rock, and Gospel converge misshapenly, resulting in unnatural nostalgia that - like Boards Of Canada for the Electronic genre - doesn't seem all too real. No album achieved this style better than An When, Tonstartssbandht's frantic opus. But here, on SO SO SO WE SEE / TRENCHES IN THE SUN, we see the origin. This was Boay's first project, officially released to the public in 2011 but recorded through the majority of 2005 and 2006. Rife with creativity and unabashed synthesis, SO SO SO is a home-recorded gem uncovering the virtuosity of an amateur.
There's a lot to digest on the 75-minute double album, especially given Boay's tendency to scurry from idea to idea, be it one as trivial as the acoustic tale of 'Kansas Paradox' or as daunting as its successor, the nine-minute Drone of 'Fake Beat Monster.' There's no denying the involvement of drugs to make SO SO SO, few albums can attest to having such mind-altering soundscapes as this. Sojourning epics typically associated with long-form Neo-Psychedelia, like Free Improvisation and Jam Band (as seen on Tonstartssbandht's phenomenal Sorcerer), rarely offers enough diversity to satiate an ever-undulating mind. SO SO SO does, shifting between mood and matter vicariously. There's upfront Jungle rhythms, as seen on 'Honest, Dude' and 'Passing Trains,' spiraling vocal layering on 'Oilslick' and 'Living Breathing Eastern,' oppressive Noise Rock akin to Les Rallizes Dénudés on 'Migration' and 'Laos,' and cerebral yet wholly credulous Sound Collage on 'Evo Psych' and 'Monolith Plain.'
Needless to say there's a lot to digest on SO SO SO. The vibrant creativity and unrestrained lens of Boay helps assert one's appreciation of such careless candor. Comparisons to other artists are minimal, sans one unmistakable influencer: Animal Collective. Recall the years in which SO SO SO was crafted - 2005 and 2006 - and note Animal Collective's rise in atmospheric Freak Folk with Sung Tongs and Feels in 2004 and 2005 respectively. A palpable maven for Boay, AnCo's early Neo-Psychedelic spate emerges in the agrestal expanse of 'Oilslick,' 'Migration,' and 'Subway Light Is Bright,' amongst others. Thankfully, Boay's reinterpretation allows for some of SO SO SO's best material. 'Oilslick's' copycat babble, like children hollering for no particular reason out on the playground, recalls 'We Tigers'' campfire romp while 'Migration' - SO SO SO's definitive centerpiece - takes on 'The Purple Bottle's' ambitious Progressive Folk with daring swagger. The janky piano cascading and collapsing onto itself is particularly remarkable. All this, and more, herald Boay's concealed debut a marvel of inquisitive spirit.
B
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2002 | Chamber Pop | Listen
REJOICING THE VERY THE EXISTENCE OF LIFE
The Polyphonic Spree has garnered objectionable attention on account of their free-spiritedness and brazen euphoria that censures the world's woes with oppressive optimism. The massive collective spanning dozens of members, headed by Tim DeLaughter, also doesn't shy away from their cult-like appearance, draping themselves in stark, white robes one would wear to a natural baptism. What's interesting is the backstory of The Polyphonic Spree's creation, spawned by the sudden drug overdose of DeLaughter's former band member Wes Berggren of Tripping Daisy. Berggren's death had a visceral reaction on DeLaughter, as seen in Polyphonic Spree's almost comedic aversion to grief.
While that's primarily what they're known for, as you hear on tracks like 'It's The Sun,' 'Hanging Around The Day, Pt. 2,' and 'Light & Day / Reach For The Sun,' The Beginning Stages Of uses lulls in the fete to provide a curious sense of skepticism towards their own status in life. On the surface, the Chamber Pop of 'Have A Day' and 'Days Like This Keep Me Warm' indicate a problem-free world, but the demeanor in the slow-moving, pastoral instrumental passages indicate a level of reflection towards universal melancholy. The fully-instrumental pairing of 'Middle Of The Day' and 'Hanging Around The Day, Pt. 1' really drive home this sentiment, while the dismal, 35-minute dirge of 'Long Day' beats matters into the earth's sediment. It is a brutally unnecessary Drone that has no right being on a record of this levity, though the contrast is deafening enough to warrant provocation.
Unfortunately much of these lulls, despite featuring lavish serenity one would find in a cult that prides itself on peace, rarely amounts to anything substantial. This is a hits record with an underlying concept, albeit a weak one, to boot. 'Light & Day' is the obvious standout, a glorious amalgamation of Pop tendencies siphoned through The Polyphonic Spree's Choral flavor that highlight the importance of communion. 'Soldier Girl' is a great Symphonic Rock coup de grâce, though the repetitive lyrics leave a lot to be desired. Still intoxicating and, like much of this record, draws similarities to Mercury Rev.
C-
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2007 | Chamber Pop | Listen
SKIPPING, SMOOCHES, AND HELD HANDS AT THE TOWN FAIR
You wanna talk about a grower. Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala failed to leave a mark on me with one listen. A surprise given the radiating warmth and zealous, universal romance. But just like any form of true love, Night Falls festered and effervesced internally. Butterflies bursted from the rib cage and a holler of "I'm in love" a la Ron Burgundy from Anchorman could be heard from miles away. Lekman's form of infatuation transforms these fanciful, absurdist depictions of romance into concrete sentiments anyone can appreciate with the right heart and the right lover. Night Falls is rife with this boundless yearning, and Lekman's beaming candor and alacrity is a large reason as to why.
The predominant, tangible influence here is Belle & Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch's treasure trove of adolescent verve can be seen in the writing style of Lekman, who's prepossessed by inert human emotions such as smiling, crying, and melancholy. But other, ranged influences help enliven Night Falls' already illuminated palate. Camera Obscura's brand of romance that depicts the fracturing, ever so innocuously, of conservative ideals can be felt in the peppy Disco ball of 'The Opposite Of Hallelujah' and 'Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo,' while The Go! Team's rhapsodic embrace of superfluous naïveté pierces such tracks as 'Into Eternity' and 'Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig.' Perhaps the most interesting comparison is The Avalanches, seen best on the infectious Alternative Dance of 'Sipping On The Sweet Nectar,' but felt vicariously throughout as Night Falls bears the same sense of longing as Since I Left You.
However, all these points of influence shouldn't discredit Lekman's work as a songwriter and gently provocateur. The best tracks here, 'A Postcard To Nina' and 'Your Arms Around Me,' are undoubtedly his own. The expressive, unpredictability of the former does better at painting love's fickle convulsion than almost anything I've heard, bouncing freely between The Clientele's Indie Pop, Arthur Russell's Art Pop, and John Cale's Baroque Pop. 'Your Arms Around Me' is just as lavish, but more singular, feeling like a warm blanket as fireworks salvo overhead. To endearing folks who've filled their heart with tenderness and felicity, Night Falls Over Kortedala will cause that penchant to overflow. To those lacking in such a department, Lekman's outlook on life could win you over. Naturally, or by fervid force.
B
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