North Carolina’s Odessa records has been one of my favorite independent labels of the 20th century, they don’t release a 100 albums a year but everything they do release tends to be worth listening to. In the past we’ve gotten Americans In France, Wesley Wolfe, and the epic Shit Horse. Last year they released the best album of 2012, Spider Bag’s Shake My Head and this year we’ve already heard the terrific new Kingsbury Manx, and this year has brought us the owner of Odessa, Paul Finn’s band Kingsbury Manx’ terrific new album.
But like I said, you can basically start anywhere and go as far as you want to and not find a bad album, and that is sure true of the indie buzzed out Gross Ghosts. Written in the aftermath of singer Matt Dillon’s break up with a girlfriend, the follow up to their debut album Brer Rabbit, the duo of Dillon and bassist Tre Acklin added drummer Chris Riddle and second guitarist Rob Dipatri., and came up with Public Housing, album # 2.
Public Housing would be the best album ever if I could respond to its brilliant insularity; it seems to exist in its own wall of sound world, the songs are rooted in a melancholic melodia; similar to indie pop like the Pains of being Pure Of Heart only with a backbone. It’s like they are moody but don’t mind shouting about it. The albums two best songs, “Tryin” followed by “Howlin’” are T-Rex on anti-depressants that aren’t quite working: they always seems to be falling down and propping up.
It’s the sort of album that would work wonders if you hung out in Chapel Hill would have a reflected glory of major big time but the further you get away the less the magic: walls of fuzzy guitars are fun but not unique and melody is a calling card and if you hang around long enough the songs resolve the contradiction in the bands favor, but if you’re not around and haven’t seen the band live, how do you know that it is worth the wait through a song like “tryin” for one of the great climaxes of the year.
A slower song like “Dissolve” doesn’t do it all the way but the emotions do, it feels really felt, it feels like a dark deep trench into nowhere. It’s a song you need to listen to in a world of skimming; it is a local sound in a national market and “Ones I love” seems to exist behind blue eyes and in front of a whiney but addictive drop down indie rock, both original and generic with a wall of guitars (only two) to melt you with melody but end up taking you in circles.
Faint praise? The fault is ours for not living in Chapel Hill
Grade: B+