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ENTERTAINMENT
Gender
aDistant Sounds/Stickfigure
Gender, the tirst lull-length album
from Athens band Entertainment,
is a dark, dance-y amalgamation
ol all things 80s The band melds
post-punk, new wave, goth-rock and
pop into something that sounds as it
Bauhaus. Joy Division, (very early) U2
and Chrome were having an orgy.
The listener is launched into a
trenzied world ol haunting rhythms
and psychedelic harmonies as echo-.
ing vocals intone sinister promises.
Though the melodies on the album
are sparse and the instrumentation
minimal, the macabre arrangements
and powertul percussion make Gender
quite an eltective album. “Romance in
a Rain' is probably the least upbeat
number on the record, but it's the
most engaging as it utilizes thudding
drum and bass combos with dissonant
synths and percussion that rise and
fall throughout the song. “A Seduction
Walks' is another gem that's a little
more upbeat and sounds the most like
a lost Virgin Prunes song.
Overall, the album certainly con
veys the sense of what it was to be
making post-punk music in that era.
Since releasing a string of 7" and 12"
singles, the band has been bewitch
ing audiences with their amazing live
shows and this latest album is an aura!
treat for those who have yet to experi
ence Entertainment.
Charley Lee
Entertainment plays Gordon's b-day
party at the Caledonia on May 10.
TROUBU IN DRUMS
DESTROYER
Trouble in Dreams
Merge Records
The last record I listened to by Dan
Bejar’s band Destroyer was Streethawk:
The Seduction, which came out about
eight years ago. The public's awareness
of Destroyer has increased steadily
since then, due not just to a series of
acclaimed albums, but also because
of Bejar's participation in the Canadian
indie-rock supergroup The New
Pornographers.
Somehow. I completely missed
every single one of those Destroyer
records, and every New Pornographers
song that isn’t in a video game or a
TV commercial for an Arizona-based
online university. Everything i read
about Destroyer over the years led me
to believe that it had changed signifi
cantly since Streethawk I was pretty
shocked, then, when I heard the new
record and realized Destroyer sounds
almost exactly like it did in 2001 That
is. it still kind of sounds like a guy
from The Frogs singing Bowie covers
Bejar has a high, somewhat reedy voice
that tends to dramatically lilt upward at
the end of a phrase before quickly fad
ing out on a final, low-key note. Toss
in a distinctive, not-stereotypically-
Canadian accent and pretentious
singer-songwriter inflections, and
you've almost got a vocal dead-ringer
for one of the Flemion brothers
Bejar's obviously a hell of a lot
more serious than The Frogs, but his
songs are still pretty damn hilarious
Some of that hilarity is intentional,
but a lot of it might not be. His liter
ary lyrics are often overwrought, full
of strained or simply nonsensical
metaphors Bejar plays it so straight,
though, and the music is so well-writ
ten and accomplished that I’m pretty
sure Trouble in Dreams isn't supposed
to be comedy, at least not entirely. Still,
it makes me laugh, and I don't think it's
condescending or belittling laughter.
It's like Ween in that regard, but less
scatological. It's also catchier than a
Ween record, and it's that knack for
melody and memorable pop hooks that
makes Bejar worth listening to. whether
he's being sincere or not.
Garrett Martin
THEE OH SEES
The Master's Bedroom is
Worth Spending a Night In
Tomlab
That particular corner in rock
and roll, where primitive and pulpy
intersect, is where you’ll find San
Francisco band Thee Oh Sees doing
its dealing. Formed from the trashy
detritus of American rock music, its
bag is a deliciously seedy brew of surf,
psych, garage, pop and rockabilly. It's a
playfully dark aesthetic that falls some
where between a flirty Gun Club and a
sassed-up Cramps.
Sonically, the album is shawled
in the warm, heady vibration of thick
reverb and propelled by rocky, stomp
ing beats Underneath the echoing
layers and slightly crazed execution are
some decidedly precious gestures like
boy/girl vocals and '60s melodic ten
dencies. Though kitsch and nostalgia
also swim around in this soup, things
stop short of becoming too twee.
The sound is caked with enough
murky, atmospheric washes to give it
an ominous elusiveness in spite of its
openly inviting gait. “Block of Ice" is
a hiccupping noir-pop gem, “Ghost in
the Trees' is simmering surf-rock with
maniacal attitude, and the title track
is what a good pop song sounds like
when it's being drowned in the bath
water of psych and garage. The heart
of the album's schema is the tension
between romping fun and cartoon-
ish danger. The results? One snappy
garage flower.
Bao Le-Huu
-i j ; - jar. i
GLOWWORM
The Coachlight Woods
Post Dog Productions
Following up Pacific UV's still
awesome self-titled debut was hard
enough for Pacific UV. and this
years Longplay2 had enough shiv
ery moments to come close. Mow
Glowworm, a duo affiliated with the
former Athenians (we miss you), drops
The Coachlight Woods.
While it has no chance of hitting
Pacific UVs sweet spots, the more
intimate post-rock employed here
has its share of highlights. As a duo
Glowworm has difficulty reaching the
sheer majesty that Pacific UV tosses
off so effortlessly, but thankfully Kevin
Davis and Jesse Robert W aim lower
“Lux" rides a Mum glitch vibe along
side the usual mournfully effective
cello. “Cracks in the Desert Sea of St
George" comes closest to matching the
cinematic grandeur of Pacific UV with
swirls of keyboards within cascades
of epic rising guitar like a more wind
swept Explosions in the Sky. “Lith,“
the record's only misstep, breaks the
flow with a little too*manic a pace, with
more of a math-rock feel before the
strings attempt to rescue the song The
last two and a half minutes of closer
“Glow Scraped from the Earth" elevate
the album to badassness. drifting off
and out with calmly, perfectly distorted
guitar and some gorgeous grit.
For those who aren't yet tired
of post-rock in general, and tans of
Pacific UV in particular, Coachlight
should already be on your wish list.
Michael Wehunt
THE KOOKS
Konk
Astralwerks
A couple of years ago. this preco
cious British outfit arrived and instantly
turned heads with a debut that burst
with uncanny pop aptitude and crisp
indie rock. On this follow-up. not
much has changed in their Kinks- and
Beatles-informed musical vocabulary.
Admittedly, as one of the many young
bands openly mining the British
Invasion, they do little to further the
dialogue of rock. Moreover, some of
their tendencies—like the occasional
dip into jammy reggae-rock (“Gap')—
could even be called questionable.
But hell if a good melody don t
save the day every time, and likeable
hooks are what they pack in spades
Actually, with greater consistency than
its predecessor. Konk is more infec
tious than the herp. There is something
impressively immediate about The
Kooks roseate songwriting It sparkles
with verve and is sometimes even
capable of pop perfection The musics
bearing may be easy-breezy, but the
melodycraft at work here is tight and
razor-sharp Though the album sort
of drags in the middle like an overfed
dachshund the opening tnfecta—the
lovely sways of "See the Sun." the
precise pep of "Always Where I Need
to Be" and the galloping innocence of
"Mr. Maker"—is sterling evidence of
their undeniable pop faculty
The record sometimes overdoes
the cute, but it's just so unbelievably
catchy and juiced with spirit that it's
pretty difficult to dislike
Bao Le-Huu
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Water Curses
Domino Records
Even though Animal Collective
peaked four or five years ago, its
successfully cultivated a lengthy
and impressive streak of really good
records and EPs since then It's a shock
and a shame, then, that the Water
Curses EP is so underwhelming.
Animal Collective has never
been the type to release scraps, but
Water Curses feels like the uninspired
leftovers from the Strawberry Jam
session. The title track comes off as a
trial run of Strawberry Jam's excellent
single “Peacebone." It's kinetic and
kaleidoscopic (a word I hate to use.
but that genuinely makes sense with
Animal Collective), but in ways we've
already heard multiple times oyer by
now. It's an unengaging slice of paint-
by-numbers Animal Collective, and
definitely not a strong enough song to
build an EP around. “Cobwebs' and
"Seal Eyeing." meanwhile, both float
listlessly by. not unpleasantly, but also
not remotely memorably.
Most distressing, though, is the
second song. "Street Flash,' which
comes really close to being great.
It's unusually restrained for the first
few minutes, relying primarily on a
pulsating guitar riff and Panda Bear s
vocal approximation of the ghost of
B^ian Wilson. He eventually nands the
microphone over to Avey Tare, who
sounds a lot like David Baker from
those early Mercuy Rev records, but
with little concept of pitch or tonality.
Gradually he quits singing and resorts
to that high-pitched goblin screeching
he does on about 200 other songs, and
all the subtlety and nascent beauty of
the song is shattered.
It reinforces the notion that Animal
Collective, once so unique and excit
ing, has started to stagnate, and in its
own way. is becoming as predictable
as AC/DC. That's not a problem when
the songs are as good as they were on
Feels and Strawberry Jam. but with
Water Curses, that material isn t strong
enough to make up for the stylistic
monotony.
Garrett Martin
32 FLAGPOLE.COM • MAY 7,2008
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