Spotlight On: The Brunettes

Jonathan Bree's and Heather Mansfield's latest work, "Structure & Cosmetics", is one of the most shamefully unheralded twee gems of the past couple of years. For those who enjoy twee in the tradition of I'm From Barcelona or Belle and Sebastian - with perhaps a little more sass, a little more class, and a little less of the grating cutesy-gimmicky-typically-twee aspect to their sound - The Brunettes are sure to please. With "Structure & Cosmetics", they seem to finally have realised the potential of twee as a respectable, sophisticated subgenre rather than a musical playground.


-PTC

OR covers record - free!

Head to okkervilriver.com to download an album of covers recorded by the band during their current tour, with cuts penned by Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and John Cale. It's even got album art! Most of the internet seems to be trying to download it right this minute, so you may have quite a wait time.

Record Review: Shocking Pinks - "Shocking Pinks"

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

The question I could not escape while listening to Shocking Pinks' self-titled effort was "Why, God?" Why, God, had nobody thought to write these songs before? Why, God, is every song on this record not wildly popular? Why, God, am I asking silly rhetorical questions instead of listening to this fantastic record?

Strictly speaking, Shocking Pinks have not broken any new ground. Rather, they have just offered a new take on convention. They blend genres liberally (drawing chiefly from electronic-dance, pop, and shoegaze) and deftly. Their arrangements are clean as a whistle, and their lyrics - while not particularly sophisticated - are razor sharp, like on the phenomenal "How Am I Not Myself?": "I love you when you're happy / I love you when you're sad / I'd rather be your retard, babe / than be your motherfucking dad."

Probably the best thing about this record though, when all is said and done, is the restraint. The songs are never longer than they need to be; most clock in at or under three minutes. While these songs may at first seem like little more than aphorisms, flashes, hints at ideas, they always focused and clear, and they are never cumbersome. Moreover, every song is infectious, wildly listenable, and brimming with charm and wit. "Victims" is another standout that exemplifies how Harte et. al. have total command over their songcraft. The song has a beautiful arc to it - acoustic breakdown and all - despite being less than two and a half minutes long.

Nick Harte and Shocking Pinks have delivered 17 tracks of pure, simple, fun, concise, blink-and-you'll-miss-it dance-infused dream pop bliss on this record. You'd be extremely wise to pick it up and listen to it as soon as possible.


-PTC

Record Review: The Thrills - "Teenager"

Rating: 7.7 / 10.0

Anyone who has listened to The Thrills knows that they can be depended upon to keep The Byrds and The Beach Boys' memories alive and more or less well. Their first album, "So Much For The City", was the quintessential summer record - chock full of catchy, put-the-top-down tunes, with Conor Deasy delivering the infectious melodies in his soothing, airy half-whisper. Say what you will about it, it was enough to get them noticed, and to earn them a nomination for the Mercury Prize.

They followed that album with "Let's Bottle Bohemia", a record that was indescribably forgettable, and infinitely worse than their first. I think the reason that album aggravated me so much was that it employed the same formula as "SMftC", just not as well (with the notable exception of the excellent "Not For All the Love in the World"). Their inane eulogy to the career of Corey Haim had a twinge of (unintended) irony: I (pop culture Nostradamus that I am) said that if they put out another record like "Let's Bottle Bohemia", they could look forward to the same obscurity as Mr. Haim.

That brings us to "Teenager", their third album. Coming off a sophomore slump of epic proportions, the Dubliners were faced with that immortal, critical choice: tread familiar ground and risk committing all the same sins as before, or take a dramatic step forward into uncharted ground and risk falling flat? On "Teenager", they opt for the former, and the result is an attempt to refine and sophisticate the sound that had so much potential on "So Much", which they pretty royally botched on "Let's Bottle Bohemia". Efforts like this are tricky. Old habits are hard to eradicate; bands generally have a tough time not making all the same mistakes all over again. But The Thrills have shown an impressive ability to put themselves under the microscope. "Teenager" is, in every way, far more sophisticated and far more consistent than either of its predecessors.

Lyrically, the band is writing less for a teenage audience, and more about a teenage audience. The songs capture all the insecurity, misplaced swagger, rebelliousness, and (again) insecurity of teenage years. I won't ask how these twentysomethings have nailed it so well, but they have. It's a retrospective that is refreshingly genuine and striking for its simplicity. The characters inspire sympathy; they appeal to that part of us that regrets how we spent our teenage years, that little nagging piece of us that simultaneously wishes we could go back but rejoices that we're past the hellish hormonal minefield that was our teenage years.

Musically, it's still The Thrills: harmonies plucked straight from the Beach Boys, enough "doo doo doo"s and "la la la"s to make Burt Bachrach proud. But the whole affair is more tightly wound, more controlled than "So Much for the City". Piano and guitar constitute the melodic foundation of "Teenager", with a healthy dose of banjo and strings (like on "Should've Known Better"), and it seems The Thrills have finally got a grip on how to make those two instruments interact well. Unlike on prior efforts, the piano and guitar stay out of each other's way. Other than that, the accents are more tasteful, the harmonies brighten the mix instead of thickening it, and the rhythm section is about as good as it's ever been.

I never thought I'd say so, but I think "Teenager" is The Thrills' best effort yet - tighter, more meaningful, and deeper, but still approachable and catchy. So go ahead: put the top down, get on the nearest beachside highway, and turn up the volume.


-PTC

Album of the year rumblings

From outside the secure gates of Never Learned to Swim, other publications are readying their year-end coverage. Pitchfork launched full force with features with the year's great photos:
(http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47277-staff-list-the-year-in-photos)
as well as beginning a news round-up today:
(http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47433-the-year-in-news-part-1)

Album and song lists should pop up on said site within a few short days. One imagines that the classically Radiohead-fawning guys and gals over there will pick In Rainbows, but they seem to have a penchant for picking relative long shots for AOTY (The Knife - Silent Shout and The Rapture - Echoes in years previous).

Metacritic should begin their round-up of critics' lists for album of the year, as well as running their own aggregate stats, currently running:
1. Burial - Untrue
2. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
3. Radiohead - In Rainbows
4. Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
5. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33
6. Robert Plant and Alison Krause - Raising Sand
7. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
8. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
9. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
10. MIA - Kala

(http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2007.shtml)

PASTE are claiming that Boxer is the best album this year, without qualification. In fact, they've ranked In Rainbows a good measure farther down.

1. The National - Boxer
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
4. White Stripes - Icky Thump
5. Feist - The Reminder
6. MIA - Kala
7. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
8. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
9. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
10. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog

Here's their complete list, courtesy of Stereogum:
(http://www.stereogum.com/archives/paste-picks-boxer-as-years-1.html)
One wonders what kind of crack they're smoking to have put Ryan Adams, Amy Winehouse, and Wilco in the top 25.

Now-defunct Stylus offered the first list this year already (thanks, Stereogum):
(http://www.stereogum.com/archives/stylus-says-goodbye-but-not-before-giving-us-the-f.html)

1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
2. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex Girlfriend
3. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
4. Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
5. The National - Boxer
6. Kanye West - Graduation
7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. MIA - Kala
9. The Field - From Here We Go to Sublime
10. Radiohead - In Rainbows

We're big fans of Weezy F here at NLtS, kudos to Stylus for an imaginative list. And you already know our thoughts on this year's releases:

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
2. The National - Boxer
4. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
6. Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
7. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
8. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
9. White Stripes - Icky Thump
10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

(http://neverlearned.blogspot.com/2007/11/top-albums-of-2007-5-1.html)

We'll let the reader decide. As they say, the truth will out. Stay tuned for our continuing coverage at year's end along with our standard content.