I don’t usually write posts like this, but today (perhaps due in part to my annoyance with the weather) I wanted to. I’m sorry in advance. And I’ll put yesterday’s playlist up soon.
I will admit I’m guilty of it too: downloading mp3s which seem interesting, listening to them once, perhaps twice, and then abandoning them to the dark folds of my iTunes library.
But every once in a while, on a day like today, I go through said library and find things that I can’t remember but vaguely, and play them again, and am intrigued (probably again) -- and then I even go online to further investigate the band.
Today’s case in point: The Echoing Green, who are actually from New Mexico, which is probably partially accountable for my negligence of their music. I found a song of theirs called Seaside, in the iTunes comment box of which I’d written “sounds so familiar.” (I do things like this when something reminds me of something else but I can’t remember what.) With a repeat listen, I got a total M83 vibe -- and from not just the instruments but also the vocals. A beautiful blend of shoegazeyness (I’m sure that’s not a word) and pop and Cure-esque depression.
I was beating myself up for missing out on this, and then I went and found their myspace (don't do it), since their real website hasn’t been updated since 2004. While the myspace selection of songs is perhaps not representative of their whole catalog, it’s also generally true that bands put their best songs up on there, isn’t it? Here’s what I think of those six:
1) Sanctuary – Awful. And as soon as the girl starts singing, it sounds like Evanescence, which is even worse than… anything.
2) Blind – Sounds like a bad Nine Inch Nails song. Usually I (surprisingly enough) like Nine Inch Nails. But this is really bad.
3) Seaside – See the previous, laudatory, description. This sounds completely different than their other songs. If you told me it was secretly another band, I would believe you.
4) Here is the House – Not bad. Sounds a lot like Depeche Mode. A bit overlong -- getting overdone toward the end.
5) Flame – Most of it does not stand out. However, while I’m not saying she has a bad voice, it would sound a lot better if the girl did not sing. The further this song progresses, the more it sounds like something from the eighties, perhaps one of the ballads performed by a hair band. (Oh, but now it’s got a 90s-era Madonna beat.) And it ends poorly. Despite all this, Flame is my favorite of the previously unheard songs.
6) The Story of Our Lives – You know how some bands use really obvious drum machines and it sounds cool? This doesn’t. It sounds like Depeche Mode again, and while I don’t particularly like Depeche Mode, their heyday was nearly 20 years ago. You get what I mean? Move on.
Overall, it’s not horrible (except Sanctuary) and I know at least one person who would probably really like this. But to me, it sounds like a cross between early (by which I mean 80s) electro/mope rock and this dancey, female-dominated genre of the early 90s that I never listened to enough to be able to properly describe. Maybe it’s rave music. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that that’s probably what it is. If I listened to it for a long time, I would probably get to like -- or at least tolerate -- it more. But I don’t want to do that. Frankly, I'm embarrassed that if my neighbors walk by in the hallway, they might hear what I'm listening to and think I like it.
So -- great -- now Seaside is spoiled for me, and, if I’m particularly unfortunate, M83 will be for a while, too.
On the other hand, one less band to be upset about nobody having leaked their new album onto the internet yet. Only six days until Hello Saferide!
--DL--
Seaside (The Echoing Green)
No comments:
Post a Comment