SSLYBY's debut, Broom, was a real charmer. Though they might have laid on the Elliott Smith and Pavement pastiche a little too thickly, what indie record doesn't?
Here, only later tracks "Oceanographer" and "Heers" match the musical drama of the first record. The songs are rendered overly whispy, losing any of the stop-start rhythms or vocal acrobatics of Broom. Philip Dickey's vocals are especially weak, with all of the gravitas taken out of them, again with the exception of "Heers".
What Pershing is left with are generic pop-punk guitars, lame rhythms, and crowded production. Rather than letting any one track shine through, everything is coated in reverb and buried in a very busy mix. While the vocals or any especially interesting guitar melody on Broom took centre stage, the seemingly hooky vocal on "Think I Wanna Die" in tainted with excessive reverb and hidden under surf guitar, acoustic chords, and picked acoustic.
A parade of indie stereotypes come rolling by: jangly gutars, bright horns, hand claps, swooning strings, introspective lyrics. It's as if they were trying to record a Minus the Bear and Modest Mouse record simultaneously, without Jake Snider or Isaac Brock.
So much promise wasted.
5.4/10.0
-RJR
2 comments:
I guess it's cute that you know what reverb is (although i doubt you could handle a serious conversation differentiating it from echo, delay, and phase) but you completely miss the point of this album. Broom was great, yes, and it was lo-fi, but just as much out of necessity as out of intent.
I think Pershing is a great step forward for a DIY band (which is what indie is) and the perfect April record. Will it be my favorite in October? We'll see. But this album, like this band, has a great spirit and a great feel of promise to it. If you didn't adore 'You could write a book' or check the liner notes for the lyrics to 'Some Constellation' then I owe you a beer. If you can't enjoy this what kind of music do you like/does your second side project band play every other saturday in your stepdad's garage?
What is this 'parade of stereotypes' bs? Name me great albums without these things, it's like you're faulting the guys for using microphones. I don't care if you don't like the band or the album, but at least write a review that justifies your distaste. 5.4 out of 10? Really, 5.4? My favorite is the .4, hope that helps you build the resume you're sending to pitchfork.
I posted the first comment without realizing I could sign in with google, sorry for hiding there. I was very surprised to see the list of bands on your last.fm playlist, which I checked so I could show how poorly done this review was.
For purposes of illustration, the highlights from your page include...
sufjan
the decemberists
nickel creek
spoon
the pixies
Where would any of these bands be without their jangly gutars, bright horns, hand claps, swooning strings, and introspective lyrics? I mean come on, it looks like you lifted these from the Amazon description of Illinoise, and Sufjan is your #2 most played artist!
I would love to hear how you think this album could be better produced; to me and many others it is the perfect next step for this band. There are distinct homages to Broom with plenty of new sounds (like the entire high end of the spectrum above 8k) to give them a bit more polish, which they keep in check with a economic blend of well placed, fun noise.
Did you really not understand the crickets? They represent a great use of their new production and their sense of humor; 'hey, listen to how much better sounding this album is' while keeping it tasteful and fun. Go see these guys live, read a bit more about them, and try again.
Thanks,
Jake
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