Angel Olsen, the Wedding Present, James Vincent McMorrow and Zomby Music Reviews
Plus, get the latest from the Wedding Present, James Vincent McMorrow and more.
— -- intro: Perhaps due to the Labor Day holiday, this wasn’t that strong a release week. The coming weeks will see a massive onslaught of new releases as we get closer to Fall.Still this week singer-songwriter Angel Olsen makes a powerful impression on her latest, British alt-rock legends The Wedding Present make an expansive and quite welcome return, Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow continues to go further away from the folk-driven territory that originally got him noticed and electronic artist Zomby releases a new set. There are only four reviews this week but these records are still worthy of your attention.
quicklist: 1title: Angel Olsen’s “My Woman” ****text: Angel Olsen’s fourth album, “My Woman” finds the singer-songwriter delivering a powerful set that will no doubt, give her profile a significant boost. Olsen effectively merges her old-school, alt-country tendencies with some indie-rock fuzz. Single “Shut Up Kiss Me” is no doubt going to become a signature stand-out song in her discography and the semi-psychedelic groove of “Give It Up” will probably have the same effect.
At its core, this is a collection that isn’t afraid to celebrate love and lust with equal measure. This is often with a very real sense of longing. “Never Be Mine,” for instance is a meditation on fleeting possibilities at arms-length. The sometimes thunderous guitar-work (particularly on the album’s first half) gives these songs even more underpinning power. Even on the quieter cuts like “Sister,” which sounds like a cross between a classic country ballad and the band Belly, this remains a very grounded set.
The second-half of the record becomes softer, jazzier, woozier, and more expansive as it progresses. “Those Were The Days,” for instance works a smooth-groove that wouldn’t sound out of place on a neo-soul record. If side one is meant to mirror the revving build-up of a relationship, side two is the breakup.
After buzzing around with much acclaim in indie-rock circles, “My Woman,” is likely to give Angel Olsen the mainstream boost she deserves. This is an undeniably sharp record full of an eclectic mix of sounds. Olsen shows her versatility quite well. If you are unfamiliar with her work, this collection continues to show her as a star on the rise.
Focus Tracks:
“Shut Up Kiss Me” This is a career-making track if I’ve ever heard one. Olsen demands attention with this song’s hook. Later she assures her lover, “I could make it all disappear. / You could feed me all of your fears. / We can end all this pain right here. / We can rewind all of those tears.” These lines perfectly encapsulate the kind of love and trust one often ideally should achieve in a functional relationship. With love often comes redemption. Simultaneously this appears to be a song about a fighting couple with Olsen urging the fighting to stop and asking for reconciliation.
“Give It Up” This is the most sensual of all the songs on the set as Olsen sings, “Take my tongue with you, my love. / You’re the one I’m thinking of.” This is about a love and a chemistry so powerful that you have this dreaded feeling that it’s someday going to come to an end.
“Those Were The Days” This couldn’t be a smoother jam if it tried. It’s a quiet track and Olsen’s vocal delivery is at a whisper, but there is a great deal of power in every buttery note.
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quicklist: 2title: The Wedding Present’s “Going, Going…” ****text: The Wedding Present give us quite a lot on their ninth album. The British art-rock veterans are still brimming with surprises and new ideas. This is 20-track, 77-minute, sprawling set. Most interestingly, it takes until track five, “Two Bridges,” to get a song with a proper vocal line. The opening four songs here are moody pieces that sometimes bridge the gap between arty-dream-pop and a touch of prog-rock. Sure, “Marblehead” has a vocal line, but it is of the minimalist and wordless variety, while still anchoring the song with a melodic backbone and “Greenland” finds its true center with a cryptic spoken-word performance that seems to be some sort of nautical wind forecast coming through a distant radio. This beginning section of the record is quite daring, bringing to mind art-rock classics of the past.
When the band booms into more traditional action for the final fifteen tracks, this shift of wind is more powerful because of the experimentation that came before. Most of the rest of the record is sludgy, punk-influenced rock with strong pop-hooks. Leader David Gedge commands the room, but he knows when to take the energy down. At the end of “Broken Bow” when he allows things to slow down for a call-and-response section with bassist Katharine Wallinger, it provides one of the set’s most infectious moments.
At a time when some many bands are trying to cut their albums down in length, this set is a really strong argument for the return of longer albums. It is a one that stands on its own as a breath of fresh air. Like any great long-player, “Going, Going…”takes you on a journey from beginning to end, feeding you an assortment of flavors along the way.
Focus Tracks:
“Santa Monica” This ten-minute closer is the album’s clearest highlight, showcasing the band’s gifts in the most gripping way. It is anchored by a soft, wistful, building groove progresses along, ramping up and exploding from time to time. This is kind of composition generations of teenagers have spent hours devouring on headphones in times of strife. This is a lulling and wondrous track.
“Little Silver” Like “Santa Monica,” this track creates a nice balance between the band’s quieter side and their loud, destructive side. When the guitars tear into the track, it is a revelation. I’ve probably said it before. I’ll probably say it again. No modern musical device works as consistently and as effectively as the “loud/quiet/loud” dichotomy. It wins every time.
“Fifty-Six” This begins as a sludgy track about a make-out session while people look on disapprovingly but it gives way to a beautiful chorus. This is quite a track.
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quicklist: 3title: James Vincent McMorrow’s “We Move” ***1/2text: Initially labeled as a folkie, Ireland’s James Vincent McMorrow is now more pop and electronically minded than the “indie-rock” tag might lead you to believe. His third album, “We Move,” obviously is in similar veins to the work of performers like James Blake and the weirder, more experimental side of Bon Iver. There are even hints of possible Jamie Lidell-influence here. “Rising Water” is a slice of eighties-influenced R&B-flavored pop, while “A Thousand Times” is lush and sultry in a very retro-kind of way as if McMorrow is trying to be Ireland’s biggest and best soul crooner.
When he brings in some falsetto-led bluesy touches on “Get Low,” he sings about hearing about an ex getting married with some palpable sadness comes through quite strongly. This is the case even when the slight-electronic effects on his voice become a bit of a distraction.
Over the course of these ten songs, McMorrow delivers an undeniably smooth set of songs. The dated, sometimes wonky quality to the synth-tones heard on this record sometimes bring the set down. At the same time, they also add an oddly quirky element to the mix.
If you don’t like R&B sung in a strong falsetto tone, this won’t be your record. James Vincent McMorrow offers a few surprises with a highly eclectic group of influences. When he debuted in 2010, he began as a folkie-troubadour. With “We Move,” he continues to widen his sonic scope.
Focus Tracks:“Rising Water” You’ll know if you’ll like this record from your reaction to this opening track. A smooth-R&B synth-line leads to a very new-wave-driven chorus. “One Thousand Times” This sounds like a lost R&B hit from the eighties with the exception of the pitch-shifted vocal snippets which are undoubtedly modern additions to the formula.“Seek Another” This is more organic-sounding than much of the rest of the set. McMorrow definitely has soul.media: 41901178
quicklist: 4title: Zomby’s “Ultra” ***text: Mysterious electronic-artist, Zomby’s version of “dub-step” isn’t full of bass-drops and other such populist touches. His music is edgier and closer to the IDM (“Intelligent Dance Music”) model found on records by the likes of Four Tet and Aphex Twin. But like his peer Burial, he is considered to be on the artier end of the subgenre.
“Ultra” is a compelling but often strange collection. Five of the fourteen tracks are collaborations with others, like Banshee, Rezzett, Darkstar, HKE and the before-mentioned Burial. Zomby’s work with others here often provides the record with standout moments, whereas tracks like “I” and “E.S.P.” are interesting but merely pleasing mood-setters. The gunshot-and-digitized-voice-fueled “Reflection” opens the album on a heavy-handed note, while the upbeat “Glass” creates some positive sonic friction.
This is going to be a record some people are going to and some people are going to dislike intensely. When the Burial-assisted “Sweetz” begins with a seemingly groundless vocal-loop, repeating the words “Get me f------ up” over and over again, it will no doubt test some listeners’ patience. This is especially true as the loop seems to come and go and get layered with no sense of rhyme or reason. In contrast, the Darkstar-assisted “Quandary” has a delicate quality, even if it seemingly also flies with its own unique sense of gravity.
For people more adjusted to more conventional dance music, this could be a hard sell. Think about it this way. This music is to standard dance-pop what “free-jazz” is to “big-band.” It has its awkward bits, but if you are looking for something with considerable edge, this is worth a spin. “Ultra” finds Zomby trying to expand the confines of electronic music, often with some degree of success.
Focus Tracks:
“S.D.Y.F.” (Featuring Rezzett) This sounds like a lush, lo-fi drum’n’bass experiment, full of reverb, as if recorded live in a giant room.
“Glass” This is a punchy, highly animated cut. It is also quite possibly the most accessible cut on the record.
“Fly 2” (Featuring Banshee) This is a focused meditation on a repeated, manipulated vocal snippet. In spite of its limitations, this is an entrancing groove, especially mid-way, through when it slows down.
Next Week: New music from M.I.A., KT Tunstall, Doe and more.
Missed last week's? Get the latest from Britney Spears, De La Soul, Carly Rae Jepsen and more.
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