One of Hush Records’ strongest releases of late is Laura Gibson’s If You Come To Greet Me, her debut full-length.This is a fine collection of voice-and-nylon-stringed-guitar-based songs, but it’s Gibson’s delivery that consistently bowls over.Gibson pulls every last sweetness from her simple, unpretentious song constructions and melodies.Her sense of vocal cadence and dynamics far outreaches those of her Indy-folk peers–its delicateness and sensitivity, if not style, recalls more a skilled Jazz vocalist.Lyrics are at once reflective, tactile, poignant, melancholic, and often nostalgic (don’t worry, the nostalgia comes off as honest, not overly premeditated).A snippet from “This Is Not The End”: “I had forgotten how light reflects on water.In your hand, flowers held, thin red ribbon tied around.Forget about the end.”The overall effect of music and lyrics combined tends toward a sort of heartbreaking sweetness.
The most important thing in recording/producing someone like Gibson has to be to avoid treading too heavily, to apprehend fully what’s already there.But this is no easy task, and Adam Selzer of Type Foundry Studios pulls it off commendably.Gibson’s voice is kept in its own element, a sort of performed-for-three-good-friends-in-your-living-room-late-at-night-after-all-the-mere-acquaintances-have-left element.Her nylon string finger-picking is allowed to be its slightly clumsy self, and to charming effect.
I find myself mildly irked by some of the banjo and bowed saw accompaniments–as much as I’m all about this sort of thing in principle.That said, the arrangements and performances of Peter Broderick and company are consistently strong, and in keeping with Gibson’s gifted touch.The piano and string accompaniments heard on track one, “This Is Not The End,” and the final track, “The Longest Day,” are masterful.There’s plenty more of this good stuff on the tracks between.
Matt McCormick is the go to guy in town if you need to shoot a film or music video. Reading through his bio I find out that he’s worked with The Shins and Sleater Kinney, has exhibited video all around the world, and has a slew of documentary type short films. Not to mention he works with photography as well. So with all this artistic talent of course the next step is music. Marriage Records sent over an album called “Very Stereo” which is a compilation of music created by McCormick for his various films.
The album at its root is very minimalist. I think of a fusion of Philip Glass and early electronic composers when I listen to it, sans acoustic piano and ear piercing 50s synthesizers.
In his artist statement he says that the music was “only intended to be abstract sound tracks,” to accompany his films. While I am sure the music fits the film very well, by itself the music is pretty hard to listen to. I’ve listened to the record quite a few times now and have been trying to think of a situation where someone would want to listen to it. Honestly, the only scenario I can think of is the background to a film.
It is quite amazing the amount of music and range McCormick can get out of a Casio keyboard. Some songs are just a soundscape of distortion and others like “it was a crushing defeat” has some real pull to it and lets you imagine what the music originally accompanied.
I am really confused by the record because I can’t tell if I like it or not. I really like the music of Glass and Riley, I like atmospheric music that lets you use your imagination. I like music with emotional quality and distorted music that let’s you get some frustration out. “Very Stereo” has each of those qualities in one form or another but it’s hard to listen to and probably makes a lot more sense on film. But this is one very talented person.
The Rainy States sent me a three song CD as a sampler of some of their stuff and although it’s not really enough to gauge a definite opinion on the band overall, its good stuff. It’s really good stuff.
Upon a first listen through there wasn’t too much that would separate The Rainy States from many of the other indie influenced bands in town but the second time around I started noticing characteristics that make them unique. Probably the one that stands out the most is the guitar playing of Kevin Morgan. The guitar has an incredible tone clean and a very rich distorted tone. I really like the way he accompanies everything else in the first track “with fever” and the weaving melodies he creates (which to me sounds like the guitars from Minus the Bear) on “suddenly electric.”
That’s not to say the rest of the band can’t hang because they really do. Their own voices are apparent throughout the songs and all of them together create some really interesting music. I like the vocal harmonies on the first track “with fever”, although throughout the sampler singer Betsy Johnson’s vocals seem a little too laid back and lacking in range. It fits the music but hearing a more energetic vocal style would add a whole new dynamic to the music.
So in conclusion, good band, good songs, I’m interested in hearing more because I’m sure it’s going to be good.
P.S. Extra points for the Rainy States for the typewritten bios.
The Rainy States – Suddenly Electric (track 2) Mp3 -
