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Total Life Forever
Sub Pop
Though these Oxford boys' 2008
debut was auspicious, they've thrown
ihe door of their potential wide open on
this sophomore album because this is
a strikingly mature and resonant work
for a young band. Total Life Forever
is dazzling in its sophistication and
precision Its utterly modern sound
is crafted with miles of complexity
and intellect, but the sense of move
ment throughout is kept facile, funky
and immeddte. It's a ride that's less
jumpy but tar more liquid. Moreover,
the songs progress in dramatically
unfolding arcs, each passage marked*
by grand instrumental gestures . Most
feature upward punches in scale, often
scraping the sky by their conclusion
And, melodicalfy, Foals has never been
more penetrating
The stars of this bright constel
lation are the taut groove of Total
Life Forever,’ the ozone soar of "This
Orient* and the crystalline spindles of
"2 Trees ’Bui the suns are the bloom
ing magnificence of “Blue Blood* and
the rippling immensity o( "Spanish
Sahara.’
Huge but airy, exacting yet effort
less. this record is some d the most
statuesque work in indie rock today
Even more than a poignant snapshot in
time, the most exerting aspect of Total
Lite Forever is its view of a band with a
long, deep future. .
BaoLe-Huu
Boy Outside
Domino
After recording under fhe names
King Biscuit Tune and Black Affair. Beta
Band fans should be somewhat heart
ened to know dial singer Steve Mason
has boomeranged back to that lauded
core sound, or at least closer to it than
he* bow in years. However, fae* a
fundamental change in perspective or.
this album. Mom Pan mature, ft very
adult, as in adim contemporary. The
material here lacks the chunky, techie
bite and real psychedelic strangeness
of The Beta Band. And those d turns
out, constitute a prefly big dfareace in
fa sum totei The a&um* treatment is
so cieaniy proportioned &at ft state.
There’s a fine and crtBoif fine between
stoned and just plain sleepy, and*
one fat separates prime-era Beta Band
ax! Mason's new soft work.
The songs that actually work well
include (he porcelain celestiality of
'The Letter.’ the moody ligbfaaded-
ness of lost and Found* and the
rippling rainbow mist of ’All Come
Down.’ Apart from these, however, ft
an exercise in minimalism without the
requisite dynamism to make it sing, ft
not that Boy Outside is bad, ft just that
ft mannered to the point of anemia,
and that ain't good.
BaoLe-Huu
THE THERMALS
Personal Life
1011 Rock Stars
Some bands do a particular thing
like none other, so well that when they
deviate, it feels iike the cosmos is off-
balance. The Thermals are one such
band There* such a mighty specific
ity in their sound The combustion
between their bursting best untamed
delivery and overdriven lo-fi glory lit
up the vmrid the second they emerged
Recently, they're complicated the for
mula with more nuance and spectrum,
adding only smoke rather than fuel to
their flame. But ft on now. because
Chris Wallah back on production and
the album* focus is back to love Yes.
The Thermals are back in full effect
Supernovas include Tm Gonna
Change Your Life,' a mtd-paced
moooWh vriiere Hutch Harris’ voice
beams with the life-giving desperation
that John Damielle used to conjure at
his best. The eternal youth and ragged
bounce of 1 Don! Believe You’is a
classic dance-your-ass-off jam.
Tuneful, focused aid high-impact.
Personal Life is astoundingly on-point.
Absolutely radioactive with heart The
Thcrmais haven't sounded this essen-
I in years.
BaoLe-Huu
The Thermals are playing at the 40
Wat! Ctub on Tuesday, Oct 19.
MT ST MIENS
Where the Messengers Meet
Dodd Oceans
Scathe-based ML St Hetens
Vietnam Band probably didnt ardently
discuss a business model based
on suckers bent toward fa tone
wtas fay dec** on far dreadful
moniker ThankMfy, fase days fa
music-purchasing pubac is more tfe-
cemcng and gewaBy privy to listening
opportunities, pre-purchase Those
adding Messengers to their cart before
check-out will find a fine collection of
emotionally and sonically dense, lurid
psych-rock songs.
Opening track ’At Night* is as
tense and terrifying (and occasion
ally wighttess) as a lever dream.
The album never reacnes that same
pleasartty acerbic aid primal plateau
again,*only occasionally teasing (see
“The Roof or’Hurrah*) and instead
venturing into more muddied, melodic
meadows (see "Not to Know*), even
reminding me of The Waikmen a lot
(see "Cadence’).
David Eduardo
High Strung String Band
Independent Release
Part of the charm of the High
Strung String Band is how relaxed the
band* music is. Unlike many other
bluegrass acts that focus on speed,
High S*rung is comforfeWe taking its
time during a song, allowing each
instrument its time in the spotlight.
Neither incredibly dramatic nor for
gettable, the six songs found on fa
band* debut EP barely dock in at 20
minutes of music but make a positive
<mpad during their time, with a few key
moments that jump out and demand
attention.
The beautiful slide guitar on ’Just
Around the Bend* is perfectly paired
with soothing vocals and a gentle
rhythm that could be overlooked on
the first pass through fa aflwm but a
second listening massages out odicate
details at the edges. On fa flip side,
“Stay With Me’ is a ratter by-fa
numters country-beat song fat is
pleasant enough on its own without
being adventurous
The High Strung Spring Band only
lives up to fa ’string band* part of to
name. Maybe with a bd more high-
strung energy behind itfase songs
could go from just pleasant fisterwjg to
something a bit more noteworfa
Jordan Stepp
I racked up touring miles
Mirth *niwku1 rfiarvHw 1 mWi oft UbAti
OTi WtIwTO tUfmty BuU! 6IWU
Case, Jenny lewis, Jason fsbedwd
the Felice Brothers, the Rhode Island
breakouts have been blazing fair
way up. But in contrast to far dust-
raising live shows, this record is a
notably reflective turn, its hett coming
almost exclusively from the warmth
and radiance of atmosphere. Besides
the Dixie-blazing coda of "Mange,*
things maintain more or less of a sultry
simmer throughout And rather than
castrate them, the inward perspective
actually separates them further from
the pack.
The obvious highlights are the
sweeping, country-kissed rock of
*When She Comes Home’and the
golden Southern porch-rock of ‘Hand
in My Hand.* But proof fa their roots
are reaching new, fertile depths are the
grandly wistful slow dance of "Choir of
Angels* and the microcosmic majesty
of Twenty Miles.’
Making the evolution all worth
while is the grizzled grace of John
McCauley* voice, now one of indie
folk* most powerful, distinctive and
textured beacons All it takes to prove
the towering power of his raw. hair-
raising emotionality is one spin of
"Christ Jesus ’With that voice al the
helm. Deer Tick will never be ordinary
Andlhis rugged-yet-ncheflortisatKil-
lafing taste of a band with much more
to show
BaoLe-Huu
Deer Tick is playing at the 40 Watt
Club on Thursday. Oct. 7.
*
1. W '
Mines .
Barsuk
An abundance of talent doesn't
ensure creative ease. Even a group
stacked with skills like this Portland
experimental-rock trio had to endure
a long and contentious three-and-a-
hatt-year gestation period tor far
fourth atouR. But from afl fa strife
came a forward-looking work that*
extraordinarily balanced, cohesive and
emotional.
Menomena is comprised of some
of the most pamstakmg sonic archi
tects out fare, and its dense founda
tion of self-made loops (created on a
software program wrtttoQ by member
Brent Knopf as a cottege assignment)
culminates m a btend of organic and
synfahe fat* unconventional in an
uBeriy fluid way. Lite a mow florid,
spaced-out TV on fa Mo, fa band*
high intellect is anchored by a sflghffy
centrist expression with real pop
smarts , something shown marvelously
m fa afry directness of fa lovely
Despite afl fa weftting « fa
womb, this gokten child twemagsd
bearing chancier and mspwftm The
striated fabric of A(mm
can aNy come bam a band fat*
■j...
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