Mark Eitzel - The Invisible Man (2001)
The Walkmen - The Walkmen (2001)
Preston School of Industry - Goodbye To The Edge City (2001)
Mark Eitzel - The Invisible Man
1 - the boy with the hammer
so i listened to this album in the background the other day, and even as background music it totally blew me away. this guy has a deeper voice than i'd have imaged. we've got some nice electronic beats, and synthed string chords, and chiming piano chord.s. a disco beat kind of came in at 1.5. this song keeps subtlely switching up and it's great. eitzel also keeps switching up the way he sings, that's also great.
2 - can you see?
it's the strawberry fields forever instrument. and there's a bass clarinet, like ari used to play. i'm so confused when lyrics sheets aren't what he's saying. like even if it's just "don't" instead of "won't." why publish them wrong? this song has tons of words that just don't line up. it's one giant run on sentence. "...so you scatter your riches like a mirro rbal lthat's covered in dust with the vain understanding that some of the light would stick and fill your feelers with wisdom from another world but instead all you get is a tick around your compound eyes that are filled with a fond history of ecstasy and alibis."
3 - christian science reading room
heh, about a guy who gets high and becomes a christian scientist. "every questino that i asked was suddenly profound." oooh, nice line with "the holy martyrs of gravity / the absolute measure of being free." that's really smart. kind of sparse instruments, slow song, lots of eitzel harmonizing with himself. now he converted his cat.
4 - sleep
"now i love all the 7 deadly sins." this song sounds so perfectly familiar. mark's voice rules. "some saviors weep and weep and they think their tears are gonna sew the world together." he kind of laughed on the seconde "weep," and that was neat. this guy is quite wry.
5 - to the sea
"with your hand over your heart and your boy scout face you win a new merit badge for a weakness for faith." so much bitterness on this album, and he pulls it off so fucking well. nice beats in this, really nice beats, and piano. and the lyrics just don't stop, it's a huge runon like can you see. there's so much great stuff in here too. there's been a heavy theme about people being shallow and phony. great great song.
6 - shine
getting a twilight singers feel on this track. ah, he dropped the title bomb. this is a whole extended metaphor of a costume party. oooh, the chorus line is nice.
7 - steve i always knew
these songs have shared the mood of twilight singers. late late night music, that isn't really sleepy, just nighty. this is either written from the perspective of a woman, or a gay man. "you said those who haven't seen the death of love don't know what to believe in"
8 - bitterness
"bitterness poisons the soul." is he singing about himself? haha wow "you're a student of archeology and you take comfort in cities that fall and when you smash your life up you think you're making history" i really need to check out some american music club stuff. this guy is so awesome.
9 - anything
lots of piano and ambient strings on this album. that and crazy electric drums. "why do you only see yourself when you're looking back through the eyes of a stranger." on looking at mirrors. "my mother always worried that i'd be a sad old maid." another from the perspective of a girl.
10 - without you
his voice is deeper here. it sounds different. acoustic guitar is driving this song, which is unusual. but don't worry, there's still the strings, and xylophone and now a trumpet. pretty. also, some really effective harmonies. "my sentence is a heart for sale and no takers." that sentences part was neat. yeah, these harmonies are like really powerful.
11 - the global sweep of human history
"if they dismiss me with a smile i'll break all their teeth and all their fun." see, in the lyrics, all the "theys" are "yous" and in the previous song, a whole line was printed that was switched around and carried a whole different meaning. this is another driven by a picked nylon guitar.
12 - seeing eye dog
this is a lot poppier than anything up till now. oooh another almost disco beat around 1.30-1.45.
13 - proclaim your joy
the last one was poppy, this one is downright joyous. in the liners he writes: "i wrote this in 5 seconds as a kind of a joke bet then i thought: ha ha" big sing along drunken choruses. lyrical content seems out of place on this album, but maybe he wanted to end on a high note. a really high note.
what a damn fine album. amazing.
The Walkmen - The Walkmen
1 - wake up
so 4 track ep i bought because it's supposed to rule. this is decent. down and dirty slow drum beat. garaged out guitars, with reverb i can't help but like. the keyboard shit is really cool too. god knows what these lyrics are. i like the vocal styling too. whenever the reverb guitars come back i'm hooked. some piano dinkling now in a bridge or something. edit: on listen 2 i'm liking this even more.
2 - we've been had
opens with a piano loop. haha. it's the showtuneness of rufus wainwright, except with a raspy voice and garage production. i like it. kind of this bossanova thing happening. this piano loop is catchy. oooh, nice drum switch up at 2:35. hello dirty dirty guitar. an unecessary amount of silence on the end of the track.
3 - the crimps
production is too muddled on this one. it worked for the last two, but it's not happening here. ooh, actually i'm liking this build thing at around 1:20, got some keyboardy thing in the background.
4 - summer stage
plodding along. no vocals till a minute. this guy's voice is doing it for me. it's very broadway in style, but so not in the way it sounds. and that makes for funny. this dirge bassline is hurting the song. i do love it when he gets into the passionate broadway sections though. a love hate relationship with the song?
this is good enough to convince me to pick up the full length when it comes out. in the meantime, i'll let it grow on me. already on two listens i've found more to like on tracks 3 and 4. and 1 and 2 are instant winners.
Preston School of Industry - Goodbye To The Edge City
1 - something happens always
oh yeah. little moogy keyboard rentals thing. and then HORNS. yeah man, this is fun. way to go former pavement dude who isn't malkmus. "my wife's left bologna / sandwiches are phony" ha. i think a rule of every project involving a once member of pavement has to have these ridiculous lines. you know, it's true. oooh, is that a background choir of schoolchildren? i think it is. or if not a choir, at least a couple of kids. killer opener.
2 - how to impress the goddess pt. 2
more laid back than 1. we've got a cello happening. i think this song is either about murder or suicide. oooh, pretty chorus. doing a little bit of the rocking out at 2.5. hectic ending. another quality song.
3 - the spaces in between
picking us right back up. happy weird guitar riffs. yay catchy. the only words are "the spaces in between us" over and over. but damn is it fun. wow. just got a HUGE robert schneider (b52, i think that's his name) vibe at 1:50.
4 - where you gonna go
not quite poppy, but a nice laid back head bopper. not too much in the way of lyrics here, just the title line mostly over and over. but it's still working hard. intensity picked up a bit at 2.5 and it's cool. woo another big ass build at 3 minutes. woohoo preston school of industry.
5 - goodbye to the edge city we once called home
straight up instrumental. much less polished sound than the other stuff. but the sound fits them well. this ep was just fantastic. Can't wait for the full-length at month's end.
| peterik@bc.edu guestbook |