Look, I hate Pitchfork as much as the next guy and more than most, but sometimes they nail it down. Grayson Currin's review of Spider Bag's Shake My Head is one of my fave pieces of music writing this year.
Don't believe me? Here is me writing about "Shawn Cripps Boogie": "the band is actually really tight, even when going off in separate directions"
Now here is Grayson on the same song: "a xylophone-dotted instrumental played by a half-dozen guitarists, but its almost post-rock surge and otherwise playful countenance make it feel less like a departure or deviation than a great if wordless Spider Bags tune"
The bastard, he's dead to me!
Seriously though, he is that good all the way through the review, check this out: "The jangling if jilted "Simona La Ramona" pairs fuzz bass from Memphis legend Jack Oblivian with the distant Theremin peal of Chapel Hill songwriter Billy Sugarfix, while opening blast "Keys to the City" hinges not only on multiple charging guitars but also backing vocals from, as the liner notes put it, "The City of Memphis." That isn't the pseudo music writing so draggy all over Pitchfork, that's the real deal… I don't even know what Grayson means by "distant theremin peal…", it doesn't seem to mean anything, but I could care less. When it comes to writing about anything, give up lucidity for poetry whenever possible. My only problem with Grayson's review is, he seems to miss how similar the folks McGee writes about is to McGee himself.
I took a look at Grayson's FB page and the man resembles a cross between Jim James and Lester Bangs, plus he has a puppy dog he seems to love, so, unlike most Pitchfork writers he is apparently NOT the devil incarnate. Indeed, he looks a bit working class hero himself.
Here is the link: http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16910-shake-my-head/
Grade: A-
Comments are closed.