This three for two is all over the place. The first two albums run from alt-Americana indie, Black Prairie, to post-rock inspired indie, The Antlers, to a 70s punk pop throwback album by Television. While listening to the things you love over and over again can be great, there's nothing like finding something awesome outside your musical comfort zone.
Black Prairie - Fortune
I've been a longtime fan of Annalisa Tornfelt, the lead singer of Black Prairie. I saw her when we were both teenagers and she had was in an Alaskan bluegrass band called Bearfoot Bluegrass, which would then become Bearfoot, and would go through two other lead singers after she left the band to pursue other life and artistic options. The two Bearfoot albums which include Tornfelt are delightful. After moving to Portland, Tornfelt joined up with a couple of members of The Decemberists and created an alt-Americana, indie-rock band called Black Prairie. This is the band's third album, and perhaps the most consistent. I've liked a lot of individual songs on their other two albums, in particular a song about the last night of the life of The Band member, Richard Manuel. But this album has solid track after solid track of bouncy Americana songs. There's such balance between fragility and strength in Tornfelt's voice, and she almost always chooses to lengthen a note instead of going vibrato, something I appreciated even more during the era of Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey, but which still is somewhat rare. Tornfelt's also an acomplished fiddle player, something she gets to show off here and there in this band, too. In the first two albums, I don't think the band figured out how to incorporate the accordion into each song and it often felt out of place, but now they've found a great groove. The songs here are mostly upbeat and vibrant, just as you'd expect from a band that mixed a bluegrass player with members of the Decemberists, a fiddle player and an accordion. All that's missing is a banjo, though sometimes less is better.
The Antlers - Familiars
On an initial run through of this new album, I had the feeling that the songs weren't as distinct as they'd been on previous albums; less able to stand on their own outside the album as a whole. But then I remembered that that's how I always feel with albums by The Antlers and the opinion never lasts. Two songs stood out immediately, however, 'Hotel' and 'Parade,' especially the later. I talk a lot about how a great song transports you to a feeling of time and place. Perhaps there's a neuroscientific explanation for that feeling, just like smells can trigger memories. Whatever the reason, The Antlers songs excel at setting an environment. Slow horns, drums that alternate between brushes and sticks, electric guitar played with delay and slight reverb. The voice of Peter Silberman is hypnotic and sensual while never boring. The combination means that the songs have a sense of drama, and the sound can seem expansive, like it could fill a stained glass filled cathedral or a sky at sunset. It's strange that a band that shares some of these things in common, The National, has gotten widespread recognition, but that The Antlers remain an indie darling only. I can only assume that most people believe all the songs sound a wee bit similar and don't try that little bit harder to hear what's under the surface. Or maybe it's that post-rock sound, like the instrumental last song. Whatever the reason for their narrow audience, songs like 'Parade' deserve more attention.
Television - Marquee Moon
Before I discovered this album, I used to emphatically state that I liked British punk better than American punk. This was almost purely based on liking The Clash more than like The Ramones. But then I discovered Television and I decided I was going to stop caring where the punk bands came from. In it's early days punk was oddly more 'pop' than it became in the 90s (or maybe even 80s) with the addition of the sounds of grunge and metal. So with that in mind, this album has a pop sensibility. There's a lot of sounds in here that will be recognizable even if you've never heard the album before, sounds reminiscent of The Talking Heads (the vocals) and The Who and The Grateful Dead (the guitar and huge instrumental sections), for example, check out the song 'Elevation.' The 70s get a bad rap in terms of music, predominately due to the popularity of disco, I think, but the changes in music in the 70s were absolutely crucial in rock music. Every decade leads to the next. Even the 80s. Yes, even the 80s. The 70s, however, was when punk happened, it's when Bowie happened, it's when The Talking Heads happened, the Sex Pistols, and it's when Television happened. These bands took experimention and social commentary from the likes of say, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and the 60s and put a new spin on it carrying on from where Velvet Underground took off. While The Clash is still overall my favorite punk band from the 70s, Television's garage sounds show where the 60s and 70s meet, and is an exceptional album both musically and in terms of music history.
Black Prairie - Fortune
I've been a longtime fan of Annalisa Tornfelt, the lead singer of Black Prairie. I saw her when we were both teenagers and she had was in an Alaskan bluegrass band called Bearfoot Bluegrass, which would then become Bearfoot, and would go through two other lead singers after she left the band to pursue other life and artistic options. The two Bearfoot albums which include Tornfelt are delightful. After moving to Portland, Tornfelt joined up with a couple of members of The Decemberists and created an alt-Americana, indie-rock band called Black Prairie. This is the band's third album, and perhaps the most consistent. I've liked a lot of individual songs on their other two albums, in particular a song about the last night of the life of The Band member, Richard Manuel. But this album has solid track after solid track of bouncy Americana songs. There's such balance between fragility and strength in Tornfelt's voice, and she almost always chooses to lengthen a note instead of going vibrato, something I appreciated even more during the era of Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey, but which still is somewhat rare. Tornfelt's also an acomplished fiddle player, something she gets to show off here and there in this band, too. In the first two albums, I don't think the band figured out how to incorporate the accordion into each song and it often felt out of place, but now they've found a great groove. The songs here are mostly upbeat and vibrant, just as you'd expect from a band that mixed a bluegrass player with members of the Decemberists, a fiddle player and an accordion. All that's missing is a banjo, though sometimes less is better.
The Antlers - Familiars
On an initial run through of this new album, I had the feeling that the songs weren't as distinct as they'd been on previous albums; less able to stand on their own outside the album as a whole. But then I remembered that that's how I always feel with albums by The Antlers and the opinion never lasts. Two songs stood out immediately, however, 'Hotel' and 'Parade,' especially the later. I talk a lot about how a great song transports you to a feeling of time and place. Perhaps there's a neuroscientific explanation for that feeling, just like smells can trigger memories. Whatever the reason, The Antlers songs excel at setting an environment. Slow horns, drums that alternate between brushes and sticks, electric guitar played with delay and slight reverb. The voice of Peter Silberman is hypnotic and sensual while never boring. The combination means that the songs have a sense of drama, and the sound can seem expansive, like it could fill a stained glass filled cathedral or a sky at sunset. It's strange that a band that shares some of these things in common, The National, has gotten widespread recognition, but that The Antlers remain an indie darling only. I can only assume that most people believe all the songs sound a wee bit similar and don't try that little bit harder to hear what's under the surface. Or maybe it's that post-rock sound, like the instrumental last song. Whatever the reason for their narrow audience, songs like 'Parade' deserve more attention.
Television - Marquee Moon
Before I discovered this album, I used to emphatically state that I liked British punk better than American punk. This was almost purely based on liking The Clash more than like The Ramones. But then I discovered Television and I decided I was going to stop caring where the punk bands came from. In it's early days punk was oddly more 'pop' than it became in the 90s (or maybe even 80s) with the addition of the sounds of grunge and metal. So with that in mind, this album has a pop sensibility. There's a lot of sounds in here that will be recognizable even if you've never heard the album before, sounds reminiscent of The Talking Heads (the vocals) and The Who and The Grateful Dead (the guitar and huge instrumental sections), for example, check out the song 'Elevation.' The 70s get a bad rap in terms of music, predominately due to the popularity of disco, I think, but the changes in music in the 70s were absolutely crucial in rock music. Every decade leads to the next. Even the 80s. Yes, even the 80s. The 70s, however, was when punk happened, it's when Bowie happened, it's when The Talking Heads happened, the Sex Pistols, and it's when Television happened. These bands took experimention and social commentary from the likes of say, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and the 60s and put a new spin on it carrying on from where Velvet Underground took off. While The Clash is still overall my favorite punk band from the 70s, Television's garage sounds show where the 60s and 70s meet, and is an exceptional album both musically and in terms of music history.
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