Recent Bedroom – Atlas Sound – The last band Rhonda Shore recommended to me was “X”, back when she was handling media for them via Jem. I hated Los Angeles and it took me awhile to change my mind and I never did fully love X. Still, Rhonda was more right than I was about em. So I had never heard of Atlas Sound but I have learnt my lesson -more or less, and when Rhonda recommended the band I gave em a serious going over.
And I did know em or, at least, I know Bradford Cox of Deerhunter. Deerhunter are the arty buzzy five piece who opened for Spoon at Radio City Music Hall earlier this year. I liked em fine, more than Spoon which isn’t saying much. When they are jamming right, Deerhunter have a provocative aberration going on. And so does Cox solo project Atlas Sound. “Recent Bedroom”, the best of the three tracks Rhonda sent me, buries a contagious melody in layers of buzzed out guitar, noise, echoed out vocals and harmonies, over layed and over layed and overlayed. More fragmentary then Deerhunter, and a one man band no doubt, but nothing he needed a solo project for.
American Slang – The Gaslight Anthem – No, I’m not giving em another chance, this was free on Itunes. Much better than “She Loves You” -great title as well. The keyboards pump a catchy little riff, and it moves along inoffensively enough to a a 4 on the floor drug pattern. Not bad, not good, not.
Dancing On My Own – Robyn – Song two off the newbie and I am blown away for the second time in a row. A bubbly synth starts you off, and though I wish it had gone up not down at the bridge, it just keeps accumulating sounds, like the scene in “Three Men In A Boat” where they get stuck in a maze. I could tell you more but this is, in fact, a record review. Robyn is so unmachiney -for all the electronic doo-wickeys, her gift is her humanity and her melody (in my book the same thing).
The Fall – Teenage Fanclub – I have to be careful with these guys! I don’t much like this but this is the third time I’ve said that about a TFC song in a row and each time they have gotten to me in the end. Hey, how about a Lefsetz impression? I have still not reached a verdict but when I drop the needle… Reminds me of what Belle and Sebastian would sound like if Belle and Sebastian were a classic rock band.
More Keith Richard – Quitzow – This song is pretty schitzoid, heavy synthed and heavy drum machined but somewhere in the middle of the chorus it is taken over by strings. It’s all kinda sci-fy, like a passionate android and the lyric!!! “More Keith richard less Betty Crocker, last nights gates more dangerous stalkers” I’m screwing up the lyric but it is more momentum and phrasing and I love the way she sings dangerous Second song off the album to blow me away.