This is my love letter to all the queer musicians out there, making art and kicking ass. If there's an artist you think I should know about, please let me know, I love new music! (I also reblog/post on general queer and trans stuff, radical news, and instances when the world is fucked, and when it isn't!)
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
FY!QM Reviews-The Cliks’ Black Tie Elevator
It’s been a hot minute since the last Cliks album, 2009’s Dirty King. In that time, the line-up dissolved, was assembled anew, dissolved again, and has turned into more of a rotating cast situation. Frontman Lucas Silveira made the decision to start hormones, settled into his voice, released a solo album, Mockingbird, and played bass for Hill & The Sky Heroes (who are definitely worth a listen in their own right). Needless to say, dude hasn’t been lounging away the days.
The result of all that keeping busy is Black Tie Elevator, a pretty stark departure from The Cliks previous two full lengths, which were dirty, garage rock affairs. Black Tie Elevator is old school, equal parts Motown and blues-rock with a dash of soul thrown in for good measure, and it’s a great turn. I was not a huge fan of The Clik’s first two albums. They could be fairly generic, and a lot of the songs just ended up sounding the same, but this album is a pretty far cry from that. “Stop Drinking My Wine” is comprable to Bruno Mars at his best (which is pretty fucking good. Conversely, when he is bad, he is really bad, but that is another post for another day), a mid tempo Motown later stage Motown number with a reggae bend. I would never have expected this from the old Cliks.
In recent interviews, Silveira has said his voice really helped lead him away from his old sound and into this new style that he had always wanted to make. And it works. His new singing voice is gritty and soulful, sexy in a way it wasn’t before. Perhaps it is due to confidence, or just the experience that comes with a decade plus music career, or maybe it’s a bit of both. Whatever it is, I hope it stays.
Other standout tracks include “4 Letter Words” and “No Good Do’er.” “4 Letter Words,” a duet with Skye Chevolleau, is a vulnerable number, and Chevolleau’s voice plays off Silveira’s perfectly. They both sound like old souls singing a tired song to one another. The inclusion of subtle electronic elements to back up the single guitar warms the song just enough so that it break your heart. “No Good Do’er” is almost the exact opposite, it’s playful, word I never thought I would use to describe The Cliks. Off beat, upstroke, clean guitars and female backing vocals, and Silveira wailing just made me want to dance, and it serves as a nice palate cleanser for the slower tracks, which, while still quite good, can drag a bit when they come one after another.
Like I said before, I’ve never been a huge fan of The Cliks and Lucas Silveira. But Black Tie Elevator has changed my mind. It’s not a perfect album (opener “Savanna” is almost a direct copy of “Valerie”), but it’s solid, and a great departure from their previous efforts. At the very least, it’s worth a free listen on Bandcamp.
You can listen Black Tie Elevator on Bandcamp, and get it on iTunes or through The Cliks webstore.
FY!QM Reviews-Le1f’s Fly Zone Mixtape
Once again I am late to the party. Le1f released a new mixtape a couple months back and it flew (please excuse the unintentional pun) right over my head.
But no matter, because regardless of my lateness, Fly Zone is pretty stellar. Chances are you’ve already heard of Le1f. His Dark York mixtape received a bunch of critical acclaim last year, and his video for “Wut” featured Le1f miming a Kamehameha from Dragon Ball Z and a shirtless man in a Pikachu mask. He was also featured in a widely circulated Pitchfork article about gay NYC area rappers and MCs.
While Dark York was hyperactive and abrasive, all sharp, staccato beats and ear splitting synths/programming in that way that has really caught on with some rappers over the past few years (a sound I like to call The Internet), Fly Zone is toned down to the best effect.
The programming is practically mellow by comparison to his earlier work and that of his contemporaries. Tracks like “Autopilot” and “PsyLock” are reminiscent of Frank Ocean, very chill and sexy (especially on “Psylock,” although it is about cyber sex, so mission accomplished on that one). Tempos are slowed, there’s a lot of reverb all over the place, and the number of pieces to each song are much fewer, which allows Le1f’s voice to provide a lot of the depth and harshness to the album. Le1f is undoubtedly the star of the show, front and center, whereas on previous efforts, he could at times be overshadowed by his beats. There are a few fast, club ready tracks like “Airbending” and “Spa Day.” The former is pretty much just a minimalist beat and Le1f, with a few synth flourishes, but Le1f and producer LOLGurlz show how talented they are by creating an amazing sense of urgency and danceability.
Like I said above, Le1f is front and center. This is his mixtape. His voice provides an excellent contrast to the thin, trebely synths are sharp beats without a whole lot of bass. Le1f is the low end through much of the album with a deep voice and a cutting delivery, taking on everyone and doing it with style.
Le1f is awesome, and is getting some well deserved recognition. Fly Zone is his best material to date, and I can only seem him getting better.
Fly Zone can be found at Le1f’s soundcloud.
FY!QM Reviews-RVIVR’s The Beauty Between
I’m going to get right down to it: RVIVR is the shit. And their new album, The Beauty Between, is their best material yet. The year is still young, but this record is likely going to be one of the best of 2013.
These guys are pretty divisive in the punk scene, and by that I mean the cis-het white dudes that tend to dominate these communities don’t really like it when RVIVR tells people to calm the fuck down at shows or to let short people up front so they can see, or for dudes to keep their shirts on. They’re unapologetic about their politics, and while they are not perfect, they’re a breath of fresh air in the realm of bands that get talked about on Punknews and Property of Zack. There are lots of awesome queer punk bands out there, but few have the fan base of RVIVR, which makes them, and this album, a pretty important thing for the modern punk scene.
The Beauty Between is not a revelation by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just 42 minutes of solid, fun, catchy punk with dual vocals, hooky solos, and a ton of drum rolls, so the songs always feel like they’re building towards something, whether it be a chorus, some gang vocals, or a solo. Or saxaphone (yes, saxaphone). The only real weak spot is the bass, which doesn’t punch through on most of the songs, and when it does, it’s mostly boring and the lack of any warmth in the tone just makes it sound like they direct lined it into Pro-Tools and never did anything with it. But that tends to be a problem with the genre as a whole, and it doesn’t detract from the fun of the album.
Three of the tracks are full band versions of songs found of vocalist/guitarist Erica Freas’s solo album that came out last year, Belly (which is available on her bandcamp as pay-what-you-want). It’s worth a listen to both versions of each, as they each have great things about them. However, “Spider Song” and “Rainspell” work better as full band songs. “Rainspell” in particular benefits from a tempo increase and vocals from Mattie Canino. “Paper Thin” is much more of an emotional gut punch as an acoustic track, but the RVIVR version has an phenomenal chorus that really showcases Freas’s awesome, interesting, and powerful voice.
Freas’s vocals are probably the best part of the whole album. Not that Canino is bad, he has a perfectly fine voice and a great yell when he needs it, but as a friend told me recently, “I’m sick of dude voices,” especially in punk. They’re everywhere and a lot of them tend to sound the same, so the tracks where Freas takes the lead are real stand outs.
Lyrically, RVIVR tends to stick with their usual themes of finding your place in the world, finding community, and trying to defend that against people that are trying to tear your shit down. And a lot of it is vague enough that it can be applied to a number of different situations, while still remaining powerful. They are relatable and can resonate on a personal level for a huge number of people without being horribly cheesy (they can be a bit cheesy, but in a way that just endears them to you even more).
tl;dr The Beauty Between is a great album, so get on that. It’s available as pay-what-you-want on Rumbletowne Records (along with all previous RVIVR material), and while there is no physical release yet, vinyl is planned for the spring/early summer, so be on the lookout.
FY!QM Reviews-Tegan and Sara’s Heartthrob
Buckle up y’all, cause it’s time to ride the Tegan and Sara feelings rollercoaster.
Their latest album, Heartthrob, was released this past Tuesday, and I have listened to it over and over again, trying to figure out how I feel about it, because I couldn’t within the first couple times through, and normally I can make a decision right off the bat when it comes to music. It drove me nuts, but having spent all week listening to it, I think I’ve figured it out:
I really, really want to like Heartthrob. But I just can’t.
Not to say there aren’t things I don’t like about it, because there definitely are. I like what this album symbolizes, both for T&S’s career, and for the pop music landscape. It took guts for them to make this album. They’ve been existing in a pretty comfortable place in the indie scene since at least So Jealous, maybe even If It Was You, depending on your perspective. It’s also worth mentioning that they’ve been signed to a major label for just about their entire career, and have put out albums they want to put out without, what seems like, an awful lot of meddling. They have a loyal, rabid fan base, and pretty much everything they put out gets universal praise. In short: they’re doing pretty alright. But, and they’ve made this very, very clear in about all the press they’ve done in the lead up to Heartthrob’s release, they want to be more popular. They want more fans. They want to sell more albums so they can make more money and tour less. That’s pretty ballsy to say for an indie darling type of act. And they backed it all up with a poppy, 80’s and early 90’s influenced sound that could easily fit in with top 40, a huge departure from what they have released in the past. And I commend them for being honest about what they want and saying how that influenced their music.
I also love that this is a top 40 esque album released by two unabashedly queer women who have, as far as I know, done and said relatively few problematic things in comparison to many other major pop artists (Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, etc…). Many songs specifically reference female love interests, girlfriends, whatever, and it’s not A Thing, because it has never been A Thing with T&S. With the potential to reach a larger listener base, this is kind of awesome and important.
Symbolic stuff aside, there are things musically about Heartthrob I truly enjoy. It is drenched in 80’s an early 90’s pop and dance music. Fantasia synth pad abounds. The two have often mentioned their love for Cyndi Lauper and Madonna and it shows in a beautiful way. “How Come You Don’t Want Me” could easily be a long lost Lauper b-side. “Goodbye Goodbye” is reminiscent of Erasure, another great 90’s queer dance act.
The problems comes when I try to delve a little deeper into these songs. I can’t. There is no depth here. In myreview for The Con, I said that it was the album that made me really listen to music. It’s so layered, and there’s so many little things in the music that all work together to make some truly incredible songs. Sainthood, while a more stripped back album overall, still had some of these moments, and made up for it with great lyrics (like are you kidding with me, “Nightwatch” and “Sheets” and “Northshore”). Sadly, Heartthrob has no depth musically or lyrically.
There are only two songs on this album (okay, three, “Shock To Your System” is a weird one): a fast one and a slow one (with a slight variation of power ballad), dance track and not dance track. There are no real dynamics, and no subtlety to speak of. Now, this being a pop album, I know I shouldn’t expect that. But this is Tegan and Sara, even if they are making a pop album. I still expect a bit of what made their last two albums so phenomenal. “I Couldn’t Be Your Friend” could easily have been a Katy Perry slow jam hit, and that is not a compliment. The same could be said for many of the songs. They’re cloying and broad, hitting the right formulaic notes that the genre is supposed to. “Now I’m All Messed Up” has a pretty great sound, and no doubt the vocals are powerful, but the lyrics are god awful. “Love They Say” may be the worst song they’ve made since “Superstar,” and that’s saying something, especially because the acoustic guitar immediately reminds me of Ace of Base’s “Lucky Love,” one of my favorite songs of theirs.
It’s a shame, because this could have been a great, bold album from Tegan and Sara, but instead flat music and even less dimensional lyrics ruin it. There are a few bright spots, like I mentioned earlier. And “Shock To Your System,” is an interesting, dark, pounding track, and objectively the best on the album. I also enjoy “Drove Me Wild,” against my more rational, better judgement. It’s not a good song, but the synth hook is just too infectious.
Heartthrob could have been great. I want to like it so badly, and I want it to be a good album so badly. But I can’t, and it just isn’t. I hope that Tegan and Sara do gain new fans and sell more albums, there’s nothing wrong with them wanting that, but I also hope the next material they release has the depth I know they are more than capable of.
FY!QM Reviews: Tegan and Sara’s The Con
That’s right. I’m reviewing The Con. Why, you might ask? The album is over five years old, you say? Well, it’s my blog, and I’ve never really had a platform to share my feelings about it. So there. Nyah. (Also, their new album, Heartthrob, is being released at the end of the month, so this is mildly relevant. I will be reviewing that as well once I get my hands on it).
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Tegan recently categorized the band’s fans into two camps: the casual fan, who likes a few songs, maybe bought their last record or two, and has seen them once or twice. And The Internet fan. She did not use that phrase, but that’s what she meant. Folks who go to every T&S show in their town, have very album, B-side, remix, what-have-you, watch banter videos on YouTube, and who generally really like their early material, especially stuff from This Business of Art, their second fully length. I fall somewhere between the two. I used to be an The Internet fan, and still have pretty much everything they’ve ever released on my iTunes, but I have never, ever, liked their early material. The vast majority of it is atrocious up through about half the tracks on So Jealous. Yep. I said it.
I say it because it frames how I look at The Con. It is hands down, far and away, their best album, and it contains many of the greatest songs they have produced over their career. Tegan has admitted in interviews it is her favorite album of their’s. And to me, it is the stroke of much luck (and, don’t get me wrong, a shit ton of hard work) that they got far enough along in their career to make this album. It’s one of the best indie-pop albums, if not one of the best albums, of the last decade. Suck it Radiohead.
The Con is dense and dark. It’s heavy and layered and is an emotional punch in the gut. It’s about pining and longing, breaking up, and hearing a relationship dissolve over 14 tracks (well, more like 7, as those songs are mainly Sara’s). It’s a testament to T&S’s writing skills and Chris Walla’s producing ability, that this album is as easy to listen to as it is. Because it has no right to be. But it breezes by at just over a half hour, almost none of the tracks drag or feel like filler, there’s a couple poppier bright spots (musically, not lyrically by any stretch of the imagination), and most importantly, it is just an interesting album to listen to. Each play through for me has always turned up something I didn’t notice before, and so each listen can end up being like a fresh time with the album. Parts of it can always sound new, and that keeps it from being the emotional bag of bricks it could have easily been.
I could probably write a whole essay about the beats and live drum work in “Are You Ten Years Ago.” And it encapsulates why this album is so great. The way the live drums are used to fill in over the programmed beat bit by bit until the climax of the song is genius, and again, on top of that, it’s interesting to listen to, and helps make the song one of T&S’s best in their entire catalogue. It plays with patterns and reinforces the lyric the song is built around, “I’m taken, I am yours, I’m up and doing circles,” which loops through most of the song acting like the obsessive behavior the track is about. Even the more musically straightforward tracks like “Nineteen” and “Back In Your Head” have exceptional depth. BIYH, in particular, makes you focus on the simple piano line, but throughout the verses there is subtle, wavering synth, elevating the song to something beyond what could have been a So Jealous b-side. “Call It Off,” an acoustic guitar driven track, features drummer Jason McGerr (of Death Cab for Cutie) tearing down his kit, which is ridiculously low in the mix, but it’s another element that elevates the subtle brush drum that the rhythm is driven by.
Probably the only bad song on the album is “Burn Your Life Down.” It sounds too much like a step backward into So Jealous and If It Was You Territory. Interesting percussion elements keep it from being a total bore, but even at 2:22, it overstays its welcome. It also just kind of messes with the flow of the album and takes you out of the mood the rest of the tracks set, but honestly, 13/14 is better than almost every band will ever do ever.
The Con took Tegan and Sara to another level as artists. It proved they were more than acoustic guitars and shit like “Walking With A Ghost.” It proved they were interesting and worthy of a lot more attention they were getting prior to its release. For me, I could easily write a lot more about this album, but that would probably be dreadfully boring. To be succinct about it: The Con was the first album I actually listened to, like really listened to. I wanted to listen to it on repeat just to find everything that was on it, every guitar part and synth line and unorthodox percussion instrument (like a stapler). It was one of the first albums I had heard that felt like it deserved to be listened to like that. And it has since completely ruined me because I can’t listen to music and focus on another task anymore, but it gave me a greater appreciation for everything I listen to now, and for that I am immensely grateful.
FY!QM Reviews: THEM: The Mixtape Vol. 1
THEM is a collaboration between previously featured TCHNCLR and Figaro the Kid. They released their first set of tracks this past July, and, in a word, it is harsh.
The Mixtape Vol. 1 is pounding an incessant, bold and brash, and on top of that, queer as fuck. The beats are heavily influenced and sampled from electronica acts, and in this mixtape they are manipulated and mixed together to create tracks that are at times so skull pounding, Skrillex would be jealous. And this is not a bad thing.
“Niños” and “Dope” both sound like a hammer being hit against your head at times, but that makes them perfect for a club or party. “Dope” in particular features a great use of chiptune, and it meshes well not only with the other samples, but with rapping as well, which is sometimes not an easy thing to do with that genre. However, “Money 2.0” has the best beat on the album. Reminiscent of the killer double time section of Tyga’s “Make It Nasty” (although the specific beat I’m referring to might come from a remix. Research is inconclusive), the track practically begs you to dance. And that’s kind of what the whole album seems to be about. Getting people up and together and dancing. You don’t listen to THEM alone in your room on some cheap earbuds while you write your term paper (although, more power to you if you can manage that). This is stuff you blast in the car with your friends, or at a massive house party while everyone’s dancing and trying to shout the verses as quick as TCHNCLR and Figaro do.
Samples are everywhere on The Mixtape Vol. 1 and used to great affect. There are those that are less surprising, but still utilized amazingly: M.I.A, Diplo, Major Lazer, etc…but there’s also a surprise or two. A synth track from Tegan and Sara’s “Relief Next To Me” is used in “Batty Cat,” and while it is just a short loop that provides a base for most of the song, it’s pretty inspired and awesome to see the use of an artist not really worked into a lot of mash-ups or used as a sample. Azealia Banks, of recent (and not so recent) Twitter controversy (see a post I reblogged recently for more extensive thoughts from others on that situation), is used extensively on “Fuck Up The Fun (Dandy vs. Azealia Banks BFF edit)” providing multiple verses. She’s worked into the song quite intelligently, as the samples play as a hangout between Azaelia and Figaro (if it’s TCHNCLR, I apologize). It’s pretty funny, and a great track on top of that.
Lyrically most of the verses, much like the music, are harsh. They’re confrontational and in your face, throwing shade and not taking any shit, just dishing it out. A lot of them are spit incredibly quick, and without lyrics it was hard to catch them all, but most are brash and clever. They roll their eyes at Sleigh Bells and call bullshit on homophobic rappers.
The Mixtape Vol. 1 is a great collection of danceable, smart, party songs. Figaro and TCHNCLR have collaborated, and it was good. The mixtape is currently available on their Bandcamp for free, along with a collection of remixes.
Reblogging my own post. Because this is a good album and more of you should probably take a listen.
FY!QM Reviews: THEM: The Mixtape Vol. 1
THEM is a collaboration between previously featured TCHNCLR and Figaro the Kid. They released their first set of tracks this past July, and, in a word, it is harsh.
The Mixtape Vol. 1 is pounding an incessant, bold and brash, and on top of that, queer as fuck. The beats are heavily influenced and sampled from electronica acts, and in this mixtape they are manipulated and mixed together to create tracks that are at times so skull pounding, Skrillex would be jealous. And this is not a bad thing.
“Niños” and “Dope” both sound like a hammer being hit against your head at times, but that makes them perfect for a club or party. “Dope” in particular features a great use of chiptune, and it meshes well not only with the other samples, but with rapping as well, which is sometimes not an easy thing to do with that genre. However, “Money 2.0” has the best beat on the album. Reminiscent of the killer double time section of Tyga’s “Make It Nasty” (although the specific beat I’m referring to might come from a remix. Research is inconclusive), the track practically begs you to dance. And that’s kind of what the whole album seems to be about. Getting people up and together and dancing. You don’t listen to THEM alone in your room on some cheap earbuds while you write your term paper (although, more power to you if you can manage that). This is stuff you blast in the car with your friends, or at a massive house party while everyone’s dancing and trying to shout the verses as quick as TCHNCLR and Figaro do.
Samples are everywhere on The Mixtape Vol. 1 and used to great affect. There are those that are less surprising, but still utilized amazingly: M.I.A, Diplo, Major Lazer, etc…but there’s also a surprise or two. A synth track from Tegan and Sara’s “Relief Next To Me” is used in “Batty Cat,” and while it is just a short loop that provides a base for most of the song, it’s pretty inspired and awesome to see the use of an artist not really worked into a lot of mash-ups or used as a sample. Azealia Banks, of recent (and not so recent) Twitter controversy (see a post I reblogged recently for more extensive thoughts from others on that situation), is used extensively on “Fuck Up The Fun (Dandy vs. Azealia Banks BFF edit)” providing multiple verses. She’s worked into the song quite intelligently, as the samples play as a hangout between Azaelia and Figaro (if it’s TCHNCLR, I apologize). It’s pretty funny, and a great track on top of that.
Lyrically most of the verses, much like the music, are harsh. They’re confrontational and in your face, throwing shade and not taking any shit, just dishing it out. A lot of them are spit incredibly quick, and without lyrics it was hard to catch them all, but most are brash and clever. They roll their eyes at Sleigh Bells and call bullshit on homophobic rappers.
The Mixtape Vol. 1 is a great collection of danceable, smart, party songs. Figaro and TCHNCLR have collaborated, and it was good. The mixtape is currently available on their Bandcamp for free, along with a collection of remixes.
FY!QM Reviews-BOOBSBOOZEGUN from Saddle of Centaur
Before anything else, can we acknowledge that this may be the best cover art ever? ‘Cause I think this may be the best cover art ever.
Cover aside, BOOBSBOOZEGUN is the first album from Baltimore two-piece Saddle of Centaur. On their Facebook, they list their influences as “The Amps, York County in the 1990’s, L7, biker chicks, metal heads, overalls,” and BOOBSBOOZEGUN kind of reflects all that.
It’s undoubtedly a 90s album. SoC’s sound is very rooted in grunge and the alt-rock of that era. Despite being a two-piece, they have a very full sound, mostly thanks to that fuzzy guitar tone so associated with 90s grunge. Many of the guitar licks sound like they could have been a Nirvana or L7 song, but SoC comes off as having a lot more fun than Eddie Vedder or Chris Cornell ever have. Ever. The drums are straightforward and driving, providing an excellent base for the guitar to play off of. Both members, Kathy and Andrea, contribute vocals, harmonizing and at times reminding me of Bush (but that might just be me. Also because Bush is one of the few grunge-era bands I can legitimately enjoy).
As far as highlights, “Sensitive” is probably the best track on the record. It’s got great dynamic shifts, and the chorus is reminiscent of mid-90s emo, which those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know, is pretty much the easiest way to my heart. If there is a weak spot on the album, it’s “Mermaid Repellant,” which, despite having an excellent name, drags, in terms of its length and its music, at times feeling like it’s a beat or two behind itself.
Overall, BOOBSBOOZEGUN is a fun, nostalgia inducing album, It’s obvious that Saddle of Centaur are having fun, and it helps revitalize a genre known for taking itself too seriously.
Check out Saddle of Centaur here, and you can buy BOOBSBOOZEGUN here.
FY!QM review-Ani DiFranco’s ¿Which Side Are You On?
I think it’s safe to say at this point that the Ani many of us grew up on and love dearly (the self-titled/Out of Range/Dilate Ani) is dead and buried. We probably should have figured this out by Reprieve, her 2006 album, but with her latest, ¿Which Side Are You On?, set to be released January 17, that notion is firmly cemented.
It’s been three years since her last album, 2008’s Red Letter Year, which I enjoyed, but many Ani fans weren’t too big on, I think mostly because she just seemed so happy and content, and it shone through on almost all of the tracks, regardless of their individual mood and lyrical content. ¿Which Side Are You On? also feels like that. Many of the tracks, like “Splinter” and “Unworry” meander merrily along seemingly without point and with no build to any sort of real emotion. They’re like the song equivalent of a content sigh, it’s a feeling yes, but not much of one.
Most of the songs sound like they could have come from her last two albums, Red Letter Year and Reprieve, and this probably has to do with the fact that most of the backing musicians came from those two records. Todd Sickafoose in particular has a very distinct bass style that really helped create the incredible haunting atmosphere of Reprieve, but here sounds a bit aimless. It’s still very good work, but it somehow feels disconnected from the rest of the songs that he’s utilized on, especially when he’s playing stand up bass. “Albacore” is this close to getting to that almost disturbed place that was on Reprieve, but the parts just don’t mesh well in the end, and it sounds like two or three different songs trying to be played at once.
That’s not to say there isn’t brilliant stuff to be found on this album, especially on its second half, which is exponentially better than the first. “J” and “If Yr Not” actually make good on the promise of a build up. “If Yr Not” in particular seems pretty simple on first listen, but about halfway through these killer horns come in like a punch in the gut, along with almost booming drums. And it works just so well that it ends up emphasizing the weakness of a lot of the other tracks. “Hearse” and “Mariachi” sound like vintage Ani, and in the end are the best songs on the album, not because they sound like they could be on one of her earlier records (although the guitar work on “Mariachi” alone makes me want to cry tears of joy), but because they create a specific mood actually set a real, concrete feeling in your chest, which is ultimately, what most of the songs really fail to do.
On that note, I need to address the title track, and the centerpiece of the album (although it’s the third track), “¿Which Side Are You On?” It is Ani’s take on the Florence Reece song made popular by Pete Seeger (who, by the way, plays the opening banjo line, and THAT’S AMAZING) and the Almanac Singers. The original was about supporting unions and banding against employers to fight for rights and wages. Ani’s version is very much a modern take, and very in tune with Occupy Wall Street and the popular 99% sentiment. It’s boldly political and in your face, but not overly harsh. It feels like she is trying to take a page from Seeger’s book and bring people together through music and art for populist causes that benefit the ordinary person. And it’s mostly successful. Obviously, Pete Seeger, she is not, and the song is over six minutes long, jumping through a lot of topics with no real focus other than “these are issues you probably care about, which side are you on?” A little editing would have done wonders and really brought the song into focus with a very clear message. I admire Ani for the effort, but overall it’s reflective of this album as a whole: very close to getting it right, but a little too long, and a little too hazy to be truly effective and excellent.
When it comes down to it, I think I want to like ¿Which Side Are You On? a lot more than I actually do. Make no mistake, there are some truly outstanding songs (“Mariachi” may be one of my favorite songs of her’s ever), but it also contains at least one of her worst (the dated and overly long “Amendment.” “Lost Woman Song” is much more poignant and made the same point twenty years ago, through a more focused lens). Honestly, I just expected more after three years. If you’ve enjoyed Ani’s albums over the past ten years or so, then this is definitely worth the buy; there are at least a few songs that you will really really like that make up for the less stellar tracks. But I think it’s safe to say a lot of the young fire is gone, and we have to learn to live with a happy, mature Ani DiFranco.
Make sure if you purchase the record it’s through Righteous Babe, or at an Ani show. Purchasing an album through the artist is still the best and easiest way to make sure the most of your money goes right back to them.
Reblogging because it’s release day! Yay!
FY!QM review-Ani DiFranco’s ¿Which Side Are You On?
I think it’s safe to say at this point that the Ani many of us grew up on and love dearly (the self-titled/Out of Range/Dilate Ani) is dead and buried. We probably should have figured this out by Reprieve, her 2006 album, but with her latest, ¿Which Side Are You On?, set to be released January 17, that notion is firmly cemented.
It’s been three years since her last album, 2008’s Red Letter Year, which I enjoyed, but many Ani fans weren’t too big on, I think mostly because she just seemed so happy and content, and it shone through on almost all of the tracks, regardless of their individual mood and lyrical content. ¿Which Side Are You On? also feels like that. Many of the tracks, like “Splinter” and “Unworry” meander merrily along seemingly without point and with no build to any sort of real emotion. They’re like the song equivalent of a content sigh, it’s a feeling yes, but not much of one.
Most of the songs sound like they could have come from her last two albums, Red Letter Year and Reprieve, and this probably has to do with the fact that most of the backing musicians came from those two records. Todd Sickafoose in particular has a very distinct bass style that really helped create the incredible haunting atmosphere of Reprieve, but here sounds a bit aimless. It’s still very good work, but it somehow feels disconnected from the rest of the songs that he’s utilized on, especially when he’s playing stand up bass. “Albacore” is this close to getting to that almost disturbed place that was on Reprieve, but the parts just don’t mesh well in the end, and it sounds like two or three different songs trying to be played at once.
That’s not to say there isn’t brilliant stuff to be found on this album, especially on its second half, which is exponentially better than the first. “J” and “If Yr Not” actually make good on the promise of a build up. “If Yr Not” in particular seems pretty simple on first listen, but about halfway through these killer horns come in like a punch in the gut, along with almost booming drums. And it works just so well that it ends up emphasizing the weakness of a lot of the other tracks. “Hearse” and “Mariachi” sound like vintage Ani, and in the end are the best songs on the album, not because they sound like they could be on one of her earlier records (although the guitar work on “Mariachi” alone makes me want to cry tears of joy), but because they create a specific mood actually set a real, concrete feeling in your chest, which is ultimately, what most of the songs really fail to do.
On that note, I need to address the title track, and the centerpiece of the album (although it’s the third track), “¿Which Side Are You On?” It is Ani’s take on the Florence Reece song made popular by Pete Seeger (who, by the way, plays the opening banjo line, and THAT’S AMAZING) and the Almanac Singers. The original was about supporting unions and banding against employers to fight for rights and wages. Ani’s version is very much a modern take, and very in tune with Occupy Wall Street and the popular 99% sentiment. It’s boldly political and in your face, but not overly harsh. It feels like she is trying to take a page from Seeger’s book and bring people together through music and art for populist causes that benefit the ordinary person. And it’s mostly successful. Obviously, Pete Seeger, she is not, and the song is over six minutes long, jumping through a lot of topics with no real focus other than “these are issues you probably care about, which side are you on?” A little editing would have done wonders and really brought the song into focus with a very clear message. I admire Ani for the effort, but overall it’s reflective of this album as a whole: very close to getting it right, but a little too long, and a little too hazy to be truly effective and excellent.
When it comes down to it, I think I want to like ¿Which Side Are You On? a lot more than I actually do. Make no mistake, there are some truly outstanding songs (“Mariachi” may be one of my favorite songs of her’s ever), but it also contains at least one of her worst (the dated and overly long “Amendment.” “Lost Woman Song” is much more poignant and made the same point twenty years ago, through a more focused lens). Honestly, I just expected more after three years. If you’ve enjoyed Ani’s albums over the past ten years or so, then this is definitely worth the buy; there are at least a few songs that you will really really like that make up for the less stellar tracks. But I think it’s safe to say a lot of the young fire is gone, and we have to learn to live with a happy, mature Ani DiFranco.
Make sure if you purchase the record it’s through Righteous Babe, or at an Ani show. Purchasing an album through the artist is still the best and easiest way to make sure the most of your money goes right back to them.
