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MIMOSAS ~
Sundays starting
at 12:30 a
c a Rs can be Blue
CARS CAN BE BLUE
Doubly Unbeatable
Happy Happy Birthday to Me
Listening to Cars Can Be Blue
reminds me ot being in high school
listening to Millencollin, NOFX and
that Blink-182 CD with the cat on the
cover while pondering deeply whether
or not my girlfriend was actually cheat
ing on me. If I were a bit older and
more popular, it would probably remind
me ot boozing it up with Gonz and
Peters, then knocking over people's
trash cans and mailboxes with an auto
mobile while pumpin' some Bad Brains
or Minutemen. I'm not saying that
skateboarding is a gateway to criminal
activity—I'm just saying CCBB fit
into the angsty, punk-influenced rock
motif that skateboarding culture helped
spread throughout the land.
Doubly Unbeatable tracks tend
toward the upbeat and concise and are
wrought with rebellion—as a good
punk-rock act should produce; the
instruments are played competently,
impressively and inventively. The 17
tracks clock in under 31 minutes, and
the well mixed disc features some
notable art, so the whole package is
quite professional in appearance and
function. And yet still punk!
At the album's ‘turn’ (track nine),
the specters of other influences appear:
I’m thinking Tom Waits 3 la Real Gone
and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. But by the
next track, we're back to the advice-for-
girls-and-boys, driving pop-punk that
is the essence of this release.
Perhaps the most characteristic
thing about this album (and maybe
the most “punk’ thing about it, too)
is its directness: for a band who nas
been called tongue-in-cheek, there's
really not much figurative speech here,
and much of the ornamentation in the
songs is functional, as opposed to
decorative. All in all. it's a brief trip,
but for a cathartic exercise, listening to
this is worth the half hour. There's a lot
of release here—especially if you're a
misanthrope.
Tony Floyd
as imitation. It's a throwback to a rock
and roll sound that was maturing past
its teen sensation years and was rebel
lious without being angry The album
brings to mind rock's foiK-inspired
vinyl glory years, owing much to The
Beatles. Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Simon and Garlunkel and Bob Dylan
Inspired by the best of their parents'
generation, the musicians in Blitzen
Trapper play enjoyable music at a
comfortable place. Their objective is
straightforward, as lead singer Eric
Earley states on ‘Saturday Night,' a
two-minute jaunt through a 1970s-style
party: "This love is gonna move you
like a wind chime.’ Earley talks about
love as if it's the breeze passing through
his days. He earns our endearment by
being conversational and specific. "I
love her; she's got brothers down in
Natchez,' he sings in ‘Stolen Shoes
and a Rille.’ Sure, it's a throwaway fact,
but it makes for a memorable lyric and
adds to the music’s friendly demeanor.
The album begins with Earley reas
suring his companion, ’Your eyelids
are made of lead/ You can! keep them
up 'cause it's sleepy time/ and that’s no
crime.’ He's welcoming us to let our
guard down and not worry about the
consequences. Whether it's an after
noon nap (“Sleepytime in the Western
World’), turning into a werewolf
(“Furr’), murder (“Black River Killer’),
or contemplating his inner demons
(’God and Suicide'), it's a fun listen.
Furrls a great record for this time
of year. It's the perfect backdrop to slow
down, appreciate the foliage and crisp
weather, drink an American beer, and
tell stories with friends. V/e don’t say,
“fall this year sucks' because we did
the same thing last year. In the same
spirit, this album doesn't take you any
where you haven't been before, but you
enjoyed it, so, why not go back? Earley
has successfully followed the advice he
gives on the title track. "Don't be afraid
of what you’ve learned.' It’s nice to be
reminded how much fun we can have
with tradition.
Michael Gerber
ZOLA JESUS
could be better if they were more song-
oriented, then maybe Zola Jesus is
some sort of mixed-up thought-caster.
And I hope that I didn't just make that
comparison because they're all ladies
and/or psychics.
Garrett Martin
SONIC CHICKEN 4
“Midnight Girl" b/w
“Toe Man" 7-inch
Rob’s House
What global economic meltdown?
Rob's House seems to put out a new
single every week. Among the Atlanta
label's most recent discharges comes
this single from the French band Sonic
Chicken 4, whose faithful take on '60's
garage rock fits in well with the ram
pant Nuggets-aping that’s dominated
Atlanta these last several years. Yes,
Sonic Chicken 4 sounds authentic
enough to be on a Wes Anderson
soundtrack. The A-side “Midnight Girl’
shuttles about amiably, like the Velvet
Underground at their most traditional,
with everything recorded just a little
hot and a singer who cani quite find
the melody. About a minute or so in, a
double-speed breakdown bumps the
clock up a bit to the late 70s before the
band settles back into the song's origi
nal groove. The band maybe could’ve
used some restraint there. “Toe Man’
is more of the same on side two. but
shorter, more straight-forward and
thus, probably more successful. This
ain’t a classic, but it's a fine four min
utes of neoclassicist tomfoolery.
Garrett Martin
Cars Can Be Blue play Caledonia
Lounge on Dec. 18.
ft i ii* i. H «•'
mmf
\SJ1-IV
Tf/
BLITZEN TRAPPER
Furr
Sub Pop
Blitzen Trapper’s Furr arrives at the
listener's ear with such familiarity and
gentleness that it risks being dismissed
“Soeur Sewer" b/w
“Odessa” 7-inch
Sacred Bones
In August I wrote about Zola Jesus'
first single, and although I was hoping
to avoid repetition, I kinda cani help
it. She's pretty darned great, y'see. Her
second single doesnl quite match up
to that debut, but it’s still supremely
spooky and fantastic. It's great music
for the New England winter, when the
sun seems to set around lunchtime
(um. hi. Athens; I live in Boston now).
‘Soeur Sewer' is prime Jesus, with a
descending piano melody and soulful
ghost singing hovering over a distorted
industrial beat-box. Why, I would call
this bewitching! The instrumental
’Odessa’ is a fine capper to a year
of great music-making, but more
self-assured noodling than notable
songwriting in and of itself. If you've
been thinking that US Girls or Inca Ore
FRIDA HYVONEN
Silence Is Wild
Secretly Canadian
I've probably listened to this
album five or six times since I picked
it up from the music office a week
ago. There’s a lot about it that's really
refreshing. I don! know if it’s that I just
really needed a change from the idio
syncratic and heavily computer-based
music I’ve heard a lot of over the past
year or so, but HyvOnen's piano rock
has taken over my life as of late.
I have a good deal of respect
for the Secretly Canadian label, and
Silence Is Wild is another triumph
for them, I believe. The disc is pretty
strong all the way through, with only a
track or so that seems uncharacteristi
cally bland. For the most part. Hyvbnen
and Co. turn out the 1980s American
music/culture-influenced jams with
the confidence of an excellent lover—
boldly, but with light-hearted generos
ity. Take for example, the opening track.
’Dirty Dancing,' which tells the story of
reuniting with a childhood flame: mem
ories and passion inevitably resurface,
but a new dimension of self-restraint
learned through “growing up" is now
in place. Nothing unusual there, but
Frida gives this position the treatment
it deserves—not solemn resignation
to separation, but raw celebration of
shared tension.
HyvOnen uses her sense of humor
to defy her isolation throughout the
disc, and is particularly enjoyable
on the tracks ’London,' “Pony’ and
’Enemy Within," which provide excel
lent showcases for her strong, clear
voice, clever wordplay and interesting,
if not wholly ’unique," compositions.
Imagine Billy Joel crossed with prog
rock, but concise; expect “oohs" and
‘aahs,’ and have a party with yourself
or friends, and before too long you’ll be
singing these songs aloud.
Tony Floyd
JONNY RODGERS
The Aviary
Sett-Released
It seems entirely inappropriate
to label Jonny Rodgers' solo work as
‘good’ or "bad." The Aviary is a tech
nical masterpiece, making it even more
difficult to use such pedestrian quali
fiers. Sure, his music is an acquired
taste, but the longer it ruminates, the
more rewarding the listen. Not unlike
Joanna Newsom, or a less theatrical
Rufus Wainwrigbt, Rodgers' chamber-
pop is an uncompromising blend of
delicate string arrangements, Brazilian
jazz and tangled melodies—and even
as lofty as that sounds. Rodgers aims
directly for the heart without abandon
ing his pop sensibilities.
Around this same time last year,
I distinctly remember Rodgers admit
ting to going on a pop-tree music
diet, choosing instead to devote his
time to the study of 19th-century
Romantic pieces ranging from Chopin
to Brahms. It came as little surprise
then that Rodgers’ opus would include
an arrangement of Benjamin Britten's
“Balulalow,' immediately recalling
Jeff Buckley's Vienna-boy rendition of
"Corpus Christi Carol.* Yet, given with
out the soulful wailing and excessive
vibrato, Rogers' delivery is somehow
more haunting, conjuring Buckley's
ghostly essence rather than imitating
him outright.
‘Of all the reasons that bind us
together/ the least of these is love."
Rodgers is forced to resign on ’Donl
Make Me Choose.’ Unfolding in a
recursive state ot harmonic tension,
it’s as though Rodgers were unsure
of how to reconcile his divided family
loyalties. The result is tear-jerking in
the 'Bohemian Rhapsody’ sense of
the word, revealing a profound ability
to amplify the most fragile moments
of existence while exposing their
neglected life-lessons.
Ryan Monahan
24 FlAGPOLE.COM • DECEMBER 17,2008