27.09.11

Wilco - "The Whole Honey" (dBpm/Anti-) (7 out of 10)

The reason it's constricting to pin Wilco down with definitions is that the group is at its best when it pulls the rug out from under itself (and, by extension, us). Opener "Art of Almost" is as jarring as "Misunderstood" or "I Am Maddening to Break Your Heart," but it sounds like no Wilco ditty you've ever heard. It's a clean break, a move to establish a wholly new view for this record, and it works. If "The Whole Love" marks a change in point of view, it's in this. Jeff Tweedy acknowledges the lonesome feeling that's followed him around his unconditional musical career, but here he often debunks it. The excellent "Born Alone," for specimen, may rest on the line "I was born to die alone," but the triumphant roll of guitars that follows it belies that position. This is the sound of unification, not isolation.

So if his lyrics feel on nonsensical, Tweedy is still very much making representational art here. The feelings the words conjure up are backed perfectly by these dark arrangements. "I Might" seems charged with glorious energy, but a brittle acoustic and the distorted rumble of bass subdue against the sunburst organs, so it's no wonder Tweedy warns with a grin, "You won't set the kids on fire, but I might." "Sunloathe" starts with mild, dreamy guitar chords, but the rhythm section drags it down into a immaculate exhaustion as Tweedy admits, "I don't want to lose this keep, I don't want to end this fight, goodbye." It's a subtle moment of unambiguousness for Tweedy, highlighting that moment where we fight just to keep the monomachy going, because it's a passionate (if destructive) connection, but the way the song cuts off reminds us of the fatuity in that play.

Source: Bellingham Herald

25.09.11

Following their 1997 album, Zaireeka, which was a comparative confusion of experimental noise spread across four separate discs, Soft Notice marked a new approach for the Flaming Lips. The vocals of Wayne Coyne remained distinctively critical, "papery" even, and almost childish.

These adjectives might practical negative, but in this case it is the opposite. The fragile vocals are always best when soaring. Layering them over moist guitar, synthesizer, and percussion adds urgency: on an instinctual flat one almost worries about the vocals being pulled under by the weight of the music.

Hunt down eight, "Waitin’ for a Superman," is a carry out example. It is one of the most accessible and straightforward tracks on the album. It has a orderly, repeating chorus, unlike the episodic songs "The Sparkle that Bled" and “Suddenly Everything has Changed."

Source: TG Daily

by Jim Christopher

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