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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2001 | Post-Rock | Listen
LIVING OFF THE GRID DUE TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER
If one were to distinguish a proper follow-up to Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Post-Rock masterpiece Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven!, it would be this. Considering the member crossover between GY!BE and Set Fire To Flames, and Sings Reign Rebuilder's recording window (set before, after, and thru Lift Yr. Skinny Fists'), that assertion is a safe one to make. The musical accompaniment helps as well, as Sings is sonically the closest thing to the multi-dimensional string-weaving featured on Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, what with its emphasis on derelict soundscapes interwoven with passages of verbal caution.
Of course, the resulting work isn't as musically breathtaking, but it is nearly as compelling due to the overbearing weight of desperation placed on the shoulders of the burdened. Political overtones are felt across the 73 minutes and, used in conjunction with the literal decomposition of a withered, century-old house that dominates the background of Sings, creates quite the tense atmosphere and anticipation of revolution looming. Or the realization that it has come to pass with wreckage left in its wake; The Montreal Post-Rock collective were always great with abstract symbolization.
If GY!BE's ensuing record, 2002's Yanqui U.X.O., dramatized Lift Yr. Skinny Fists' moments of euphoric, world-decimating crescendo, Sings Reign Rebuilder enunciates the nuance that led to such carnage, only allowing for two classic Post-Rock crescendos to emerge in 'Steal Compass / Drive North / Disappear' and 'Shit-Heap-Gloria Of The New Town Planning.' These are two obvious standouts, but beauty looms in the quiet corners, like on 'Omaha' or the phenomenal, string-oriented closer 'Fading Lights Are Fading / Reign Rebuilder.' Personal favorite 'There Is No Dance In Frequency & Balance' merges both sides, sideswiping a melodious, Jam Band-type first half with the album's only ravenous Industrial outburst. The litany of interspersed Field Recording tracks help drive home the ominous atmosphere, even if they themselves don't stand out all too much..
B-
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For starters, thanks iTunes for replacing '6" Gold Blade' with a copy of 'Several Sins' without changing the title. Was nice to realize that on my third listen.
Now onto Junkyard, The Birthday Party's last LP (following the decent Prayers On Fire and the not-so decent Birthday Party) before a sequence of EP's and name change to the more infamous Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Overall, it's their least enjoyable ensemble, seeping further into a slow-moving drudge that places a greater emphasis on their secondary influences; Blues and No Wave. But what it lacks in attractive music it gains in brutal atmosphere that amounts to one of the most hellish experiences I've endured. Seriously, Junkyard feels ripped from the lava pits bubbling alongside the chain-chattering mining of Hell's eternal slaves. The production is grotesque, sloppy, and arduous, as if even The Birthday Party are forced by Satan to provide entertainment to his servants.
This is best reflected in the slower, more portentous tracks like 'She's Hit,' '6" Gold Blade,' and 'Junkyard.' Cave's gravely, exhaustive vocals match the crippled instrumentation in a way that's provocative and stimulating, despite its struggles to overcome the blatant lack of enjoyability on offer. Junkyard is just too ugly, and while some of the uptempo tracks attempt melody ('Hamlet (Pow, Pow, Pow),' 'Kewpie Doll'), others are a purposely rushed slapdash of illformed ideas and pulverized aesthetic ('Dead Joe,' 'Big-Jesus-Trash-Can,' 'Kiss Me Black').
D
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It may not sound all that groundbreaking now, but considering the release year (1991), Polvo's debut EP was quite the thrill for Indie Rock. There's a few names where their inspiration arises, like Sonic Youth or the Pixies, but there's far more who would come later: Pavement, Modest Mouse, Build To Spill just to name a few. Polvo still maintains that niche appeal though, as songs like standouts 'Can I Ride' and 'Teen Dream,' despite having harsher edges like The Jesus & Mary Chain, take a more melodic approach to incorporating Noise. There's even a couple tracks, 'Lull' and 'Snake Fist Fighter,' which dip their toes in mid-90's Post-Rock. But only briefly. At the end of the day, an innocuous EP that's packed with fun.
C+
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2008 | Singer/Songwriter | Listen
TWO TRAPPED SOULS MOMENTS BEFORE A NUMBING DEATH
This was the direction I feared from Phil Elverum. Few things disappoint me more in music than an artist whose shown they're capable of greatness, only to resort to trifling concepts. Lost Wisdom is the absolute bare minimum of Singer/Songwriter, heightened marginally by the paired duet of Julie Doiron to conjure a cold, stark atmosphere of two conflicted lovers. Problem being, I don't get anything out of it because there's nothing there. Lost Wisdom, both musically and lyrically, defines emptiness, seclusion, and a need for closure, which doesn't make for particularly engaging art. There's only one song - 'You Swan, Go On' - that features percussion. Everything else is anemic guitars and frail vocals.
It also seems as if, excluding 'You Swan, Go On,' every song following the acceptable 'Lost Wisdom' merely intends to ride that intro's coattails. Nothing has an identity of its own, which is what defined Elverum's past music as The Microphones. Songs exploded, others crawled. Point being, each extreme benefited the other. With no antithesis on Lost Wisdom, it feels hopeless and insignificant. There's no weight, merit, or background to how Elverum and Doiron got here.
That being said, I would recommend this for Singer/Songwriter fans as Lost Wisdom is essentially that in its purest form. Just so happens I'm not a fan of regressive simplicity in art. But for introspective pondering, there's virtue in this work.
D
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1992 | Noise Rock | Listen
A RESTORED TENEMENT LITTERED WITH MAKESHIFT ART STUDIOS
Th' Faith Healers' debut Lido comes bitterly close to greatness, but strays too far due to a lack of identity. Which is something Tom Cullinan and Roxanne Stephen would go on to correct with their superior group Quickspace. For now though, Lido finds a band reestablishing Krautrock for the new era, incorporating elements of Noise Rock and Pop much akin to Stereolab, albeit with a greater emphasis on Shoegaze's wall of sound. Repetition plays a key role here, seen best in the songwriting of 'This Time' and the mind-numbing structuring of 'Spin ∏.' Both of these, the intro and outro, are Lido's best being of the playful spirit they embellish. 'Spin ∏' in particular is a fascinating drudge that never grows stale, due to some nifty vocal samples strewn about its background.
There's nothing inherently wrong on Lido, as tends to be the case with 90's Noise Pop. It's just on every song not named 'It's Easy Being You,' Noise is the prominent means of attraction. On a singular basis something like 'A Word Of Advice' and 'Don't Jones Me' would stand out from the crowd with their sharp corners that bend like foam when pressed against. But here they blend too harmlessly into the background, unable to properly standout due to each track's attempts at doing so. 'This Time' and 'Spin ∏' likely have it easier thanks to their positioning in the tracklist.
C
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1997 | Twee Pop | Listen
ART SCHOOL SCHOLARS REVELING IN THEIR OWN TALENTS
Considering my adoration of Belle & Sebastian, especially their uncompromisable 90's trilogy, it came as quite a shock to learn of numerous treasured EP's that passed my glance; Dog On Wheels being the first. It finds the quintessential Twee Pop band in their prime, so of course it's good. But there are some concerns to be made over the fact that a stripped-down, retooled 'State I Am In' stands tall as Dog On Wheels' best, despite not beating out Tigermilk's more complete version.
That being said, 'Dog On Wheels,' 'String Bean Jean,' and the eponymous 'Belle & Sebastian' are all lovable ballads that, collectively, surmise the extent of Belle & Sebastian's charming whimsy. The latter in particular is my favorite of the three, with its chugging bass that draws parallels to Stereolab's merry Krautrock. At the end of the day these are outtakes and, despite the quality, that attribute can be felt.
B-
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