The Fairy Godmother of Dream Pop: Revisiting Julee Cruise's "Floating Into the Night"

Julee Cruise

As the story goes, in 1985, eccentric film auteur David Lynch was trying to obtain a song for a key scene in his movie "Blue Velvet".  That song was a remake of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" by This Mortal Coil, performed by Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins.  But the licensing of that particular song turned out to be cost prohibitive.  (What gives, Ivo?)  So Lynch instructed the film composer, Angelo Badalamenti, to score a song that would be along the same vein, something equally ethereal and haunting, with a vocalist who had the same powerful yet otherwordly quality as Liz Fraser.  Badalamenti suggested a certain singer that he had known while involved with musical theater while in New York City, and Julee Cruise was brought on board.  Together they scored a heavenly masterpiece called "Mysteries of Love" that featured synthesizers and orchestra expanding into a celestial glow with the soft vocals of Cruise flitting like butterflies, like angels weeping from the clouds.

The song appears during the final scene of "Blue Velvet", and it solidified a relationship between Cruise, Badalamenti, and Lynch that would remain strong for the rest of the decade, not only providing soundtracks for movies, television, and theater, but helping solidify and developing an entire genre.  Music critics cite Cruise's debut album, "Floating Into the Night", as defining dream pop, which included such obscure acts as This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, A.R. Kane, and others, transforming from an inchoate movement into a real presence in music.  A genre that exists to this day, and happens to be my favorite.  It is nearly impossible to imagine any of this happening without the music on "Floating Into the Night", some of which was Grammy nominated.

Angelo Badalamenti

"Floating Into the Night" represents the bulk of the work resulting from this collaboration - Badalamenti composing the music, Lynch penning the lyrics, and Cruise providing the vocals.  There are some electronic synthesizers, some jazz influence and a lot of '50s doo-wop.  The result is smoky and sultry, like some cabaret on the edge of a feverish nightmare, languid, dreamy, and tumescent.  In addition to "Mysteries of Love" from "Blue Velvet", there are several tracks included from surreal prime time soap opera, "Twin Peaks", most notably featuring the lazy "Falling",  the wistful theme of "Twin Peaks", complete with droopy bass and Cruise's breathy voice.  The rest are from "Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted", an avant garde musical play by Lynch, complete with enormous metal sets, cameos from Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern, reprising their roles from Lynch's "Wild At Heart", and Cruise singing her songs suspended by a crane far above the stage.

I guess I shouldn't continue without pointing out what all of this stuff meant to me back then.  I was an arsty, idealistic teenager.  Practically everything I was into was a form of dream pop.  Cocteau Twins was my favorite band.  I loved This Mortal Coil, Clan of Xymox, and every other ethereal band I could find my hand on.  And David Lynch - I worshipped everything Lynch did - "Eraserhead", "Elephant Man", "Dune".  It doesn't matter if I now think some of the stuff - like "Industrial Symphony" - is bloated and pretentious.  Back then, it was art, and that's all that mattered to me.  When "Twin Peaks" hit the airwaves, it was like a vindication of everything I valued that was understood by nobody.  And "Floating Into the Night" just happened to fit along with everything I listened to and liked anyway.  This was a very important album to me at age nineteen.

David Lynch

The album starts with "Floating", establishing the swaying tone to the record, complete with under-saturated saxaphones, like a night unlacing in an empty bar with alcoholic splendor.  "I Remember" starts with the same hushed tempo, but then dissolves into a Stravinski-like, random, discordant episode with Cruise describing a nightmarish, nonsensical scene but then returns to reality again, finishing out with a melodic doo-wop chorus.  "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart", with its swirling guitars, could come right out of a '50s jukebox.

"Now it's dark," Cruise whispers at the start of the mournful "Into the Night", one of the selections from "Twin Peaks", wafting breezily along until, for the briefest of moments, at the bridge, it explodes into an a cacaphony of horns, only to resume its ginger tempo.  "I Float Alone" is one of the songs from "Industrial Symphony" and continues the sultry disentanglement from reality, Cruise's voice as soft as satin sheets.  "The Nightingale", also from "Twin Peaks", has always been my favorite, another docile doo-wop, Cruise's cascading voice blending with the whirlpool of soft guitars.  "The Swan" is in the same vein, and "The World Spins", a variation of "Falling", always brings back memories of when we found out how Laura Palmer died.

This record not only solidified dream pop as a codified genre in the pantheon of music, but it defined a period in my life where I was barely beginning to understand art and music, coming into tastes of my own.  I will always be grateful for this collection.  It takes me back to times, dreams, memories, and people that I would not remember otherwise.  Now, there have been confirmed rumors of another "Twin Peaks" series to start in 2017.  There is also rumors of another collaboration between David Lynch, Angelo Badalamenti, and Julee Cruise for the series.  I tell you, I simply cannot wait to be caught up into those effulgent sounds again.

TV On the Radio Remain Strong on "Seeds"

TV On the Radio

Brooklyn art rock band, TV On the Radio are so great, because it is soon what hard to put a finger kind of music they are.  A little bit jazz, a smattering of soul and R&B, a dash of dream pop, a healthy heap of electronic beats and loops, sprinkled with Tunde Adebimpe's raw voice.  These unique sound made them adequate alumni of the prestigious 4AD label.  Their fans love them, and critics adore them.

"Seeds" is their fifth studio album, and their first since the tragic loss of bassist, Gerard Smith to cancer.  There is a tentative sense of loss to this release, but TVOTR quickly show that they are back on form.  This record may not be as seminal as "Return to Cookie Mountain" or as swelling as "Dear Science", but this collection is a demonstration of their cohesiveness as a band in the face of difficult times and that they remain noteworthy as songwriters.

The album begins with crystalline beats and discordant vocals soon wired together with a pulsing bass and Adebimpe's stark lyrics on the song "Quartz", and moved into a steady synth beat and French vocals on "Careful You" which soon layers on some swirling Robin Guthrie-style guitars, adding another dimension.  "Could You" has an upbeat, '60s-ish tempo with a horn section.  It kind of reminds me of The Refreshments and the theme to "Friends".  "Happy Idiot" remains my favorite song on the record, as well as a favorite of my kids.  It starts with an unrelenting drum beat and a heavy bass guitar which create a quirky dance vibe, complete with a cheerleader chant.  The video is awesome - influenced by the old "Speed Racer" cartoons and starring Paul Reubens of Pee Wee Herman fame and Karen Gillan of Dr. Who with all the members standing in a desert landscape dressed in white.  It just doesn't get any cooler than that.  "Test Pilot" brings the tempo down with eerie synthesizers and inspirational lyrics, and "Love Stained" also continues the trend of contemplative and almost somber sounds by the band.  "Ride", with its piano echoed by chiming loops, reminds of a lot of something by This Mortal Coil, but then builds up to a brisk shudder.  "Right Now" has a dancey beat synced to pensive lyrics like:

"Letting go of the things they taught

Has me thinking about the nature of want

And imaginary need for the silly little things

Past the right now, right now, the right now, love"

"Winter" takes us right to headbanging mode with a rock anthem that would do AC/DC proud whereas "Lazerray" takes us right to Ramones punk rock.  "Trouble" fills us with optimism, and "Seeds" has a wonderfully simple combination of off-kilter percussion, synth beats and rich vocal harmonies.

For more than a decade, TV On the Radio have shown us that they are one of the most creative and innovative bands out there.  With "Seeds" they have demonstrated that this is still true.  I expect that they will be around for a long time, getting their groove on.

Gay & Mormon: The Music of Hive Riot

Hive Riot

So my friend Nikki referred me to the band Hive Riot.  I had never heard of them before, but I downloaded it.  On the first listen, I wasn't that impressed.  It seemed generic.  Definitely synth pop taking a page from '80s artists like Erasure, Yaz, or Vince Clarke-era Depeche Mode.  But that's not unusual in this day and age.  Many artists nowadays are paying homage to the golden age of the synthesizer, many bands I have reviewed on this site.  Like Chvrches.  In fact, this band really reminds me of Chvrches.

But my second listen, I was hooked, lined, and sinkered.  There is no describing how much I love this album.  It speaks to me on so many levels and has worth on its own merits.  But as I did research on this band, I discovered a bit of their history that was startling.

They are Mormon, just like me,  Okay, well, not just like me.  I'm a fundamentalist, and they're not.  But we all hail from the mainstream LDS Church.

I was listening to the song "Pourquoi?" which is a short piece set to an accordion with Dusty Gledhill having a conversation in French.  Since I speak French fairly well, my ears perked up.  He is answering a question asked to him of why he likes men.  He doesn't know and has wondered that for a while.  He sought help, but it didn't work.  He was engaged to a pretty woman who he wrote to while he was on his mission in Quebec, but he broke it off because he was afraid of having to leave her for another man.  He states, "Alors, pourquoi j'aime les hommes?  J'ai aucune idee.  Et vous?  Pourquoi vous aimez les femmes?"  Or:  "So, why do I like men?  I have no idea.  And you?  Why do you like women?"

Hive Riot is a duo consisting of Dusty Gledhill, a classically-trained pianist, and his sister-in-law, Mindy Gledhill, a Mormon inspirational singer-songwriter.  Mindy, based out of Utah, studied music at BYU and has put out a few albums, her music fairly well-known in Mormon culture, and she has also performed a few singles with house music artist, Kaskade (who is also Mormon).

Dusty spent his youth as a closeted, gay Mormon.  He dated girls, but struggled with his feelings.  Even while serving a mission in Quebec, he would try to fight back these feelings through guilt and prayer, and, upon returning to Utah, he underwent conversion therapy, all while attending the music program at BYU.  This conflict caused him to become suicidal, and, when someone threatened to turn him in to the school authorities, he left BYU, he left Utah.  Away from the land of Zion, he found the courage to come out, and he left the LDS Church.  He settled in New York where he is still a doctoral candidate at Juilliard.

You can listen to the whole story of Dusty and Mindy at John Dehlin's controversial Mormon Stories.

The thing that resonated with me was that both of them had said that Dusty's issue was something that the family never discussed.  It was ignored, even when Mindy tried to confront Dusty.  Family members wouldn't talk about it, and, even when he came out, he was shunned rather than faced.

This speaks volumes of Mormon society.  We are a repressed people.  Studies have been shown that demonstrate that we are a passive-aggressive people.  We beat around the bush, sweep things under the rug, and generally avoid confronting problems.  This is why gay marriage - as well as polygamy - are topics that most Mormons would rather not talk about and make them very uncomfortable.  I think that open dialogue is the best way to get through these things.

I was raised in the LDS Church, and so it is safe to say that I was raised fairly anti-gay.  Although all through my teens, I had many close gay friends.  It's kind of hard to be punk/ mod/ gothic without coming across a few gay people.  Most of the dance clubs I went to were largely attended by gay people.  So, on one hand, I was taught doctrinally that homosexuality was wrong, and on the other hand I was friends with many of them.  Truthfully, this is a weird dichotomy that I still face.  I am not sure how to reconcile everything quite yet, and I have more questions than I do answers.  I have passed life in a sort of cognitive dissonance.

A couple of things changed the way I viewed things.  First, I lived as a polygamist for thirteen years.  Like many gay people, I faced disapproval, funny stares from people who think they know you, false rumors about how many wives I had, relatives shunning you, discrimination directed at my kids at school, etc.  I know what it is like to be hated for your lifestyle.  In addition, the topics of gay marriage and polygamy became strange bedfellows (although platonic bedfellows).  The fate of legalized polygamy has been inextricably connected to that of gay marriage.  The Marriage Equality Act was a blessing to, not just the LGBTQ crowd, but to polygamists as well; it set us on the road to decriminalization.

Second, I unexpectedly had a younger brother come out of the closet.  What was I supposed to do?  Not love him anymore?  Stop speaking to him?  I couldn't do that.  He's my brother, and I love him.  It got me to thinking.  My brother was born gay.  I know that.  I've known him my whole life, and, in retrospect, I could see it.  What does God want of people who are born gay?  Does he expect them to spend their existence alone?  I have known many gay men who have struggled in the LDS Church, trying to suppress their feelings.  Are they doomed to live celibate?

I don't know all of the answer to these questions.  I mean, I am not going to seal anyone in a gay marriage.  But would I stand by a friend participating in a gay marriage?  Hell yes.  I had a friend once ask me how I could support gay marriage, seeing that I am religious.  I answered, "Because, in my mind, I can separate religious dogma from civil liberties."  I am a true libertarian.  I don't care if people are gay or get married.  It doesn't hurt me.  That doesn't mean that I am gay.  But as a polygamist, it would be disingenuous of me to clamor for my personal rights while putting down the rights of someone else.  At the very least, we can be civil, loving, and kind, and trust that, if there is a problem, that God will sort it out.  Not us.

This openness towards gay people has not made me friends in the world of polygamy.  My tolerant view has run counter to what many Mormon fundamentalists believe.

And these are the thoughts that come to mind when I listen to Hive Riot.  Many of these themes are found in their songs, like "Undercover", a song about having to hide and coming out.  Both of the Gledhills share vocal duties on this.  The song starts out subdued and gradually picks up pace.  But it is the emotion, their ability to express feeling that makes this song so exquisite, my favorite selection on the album.  The slow-tempo of "Fish Out of Water" also reflects this theme.  "Catch That Train" has a lilting Chvrches feel to it.  "Kiss My Lips You Fool" is an OMD-like anthem about a first kiss.  "Sherlock" will have your feet tapping to the French rap, and "So I Dance" has lovely celestial chimes that scintillate brightly to the backdrop of Mindy's angelic voice.  The album finishes out with "Her Elegy", a beautiful piano ballad.

This album is a beautiful start for Hive Riot, and now, knowing their history, I can say, this is our music.  We Mormons have a lot of kinks to work out.  We have a lot of dark history behind us, but Hive Riot have been beautifully vocal and unapologetic about some of these issues.  We need to sing it out, get it out of our systems, talk about it.  And this is proof that, in spite of everything, we can still produce something beautiful.  Well done, guys!

Thru' the Flowers: Revisiting The Primitives' "Lovely"

The Primitives

It was 1988, and I was a summer exchange student in Belgium.  Before I returned to the United States, I made a mix tape of music that was popular while I was there.  There were a few Belgian New Beat tracks, all the rave the, on there, as well as French artists like Stephan Eicher, France Gall, and Etienne Daho.  Then there was the single "Crash", a vibrant jangle by the British noise pop group, The Primitives.

When I got back to the States, I decided to buy their entire debut cassette, "Lovely".  I loved that tape, wore it out, still have it.  But I saw The Primitives for what they were.

A couple of years earlier, I - along with everyone else - fell in love with "Psychocandy" by The Jesus & Mary Chain, with its '60s-tinged wall-of-sound style and subdued vocals.  This was the birth of noise pop and the precursor to shoegaze, a scene still strong today.  It was influenced by Joy Division, as well as '60s acts like The Shangri-Las and Phil Spector acts like The Ronettes.  It was evident that The Primitives, also taking a page from the mid '60s, were taking a page from The Jesus & Mary Chain.  They were the music industries answer to that swirling music, trying to capitalize on a "sure thing".  Following the release of "Psychocandy", The Primitives were not the only band to catch this proverbial wave.  There was Transvision Vamp, The Darling Buds, Voice of the Beehive, and even The Stone Roses.

But that is not entirely fair to The Primitives, because they produced a really good album, a really sparkling pop jewel with buzzsaw guitars and Tracy Tracy singing sweet lyrics that were reminiscent of another decade.  But whereas The Jesus & Mary Chain were kind of dark and mopey, The Primitives are almost the polar opposites.  They are light and sweet, almost saccharine.  There is nothing heavy about this record.  It is not serious and very fun.

"Crash" is followed by "Spacehead" with a driving drum beat and furious Ramones guitar riffs offset by Tracy's giddy chorus of "Sha la la la."  "Carry Me Home" is the next song, a light-hearted song with Paul Court taking lead vocals.  I have always found his voice too nasally, and I definitely prefer Tracy's pipes.  "Shadow" with its Indian beat is a psychedelic song that takes a page from The Beatles, and it really seems out of place on this record.  "Thru' the Flowers" has always been my favorite song, and perhaps the song that resembles The Jesus & Mary Chain, possibly "The Hardest Walk" with its highly distorted guitars balanced by Tracy's angelic voice.  "I'll Stick With You" and "Out of Reach" are perhaps among the most '60s sounding of the songs, "Stop Killing Me" cranks the fuzz back up to 11, along with another doo wop chorus.  "Out of Reach" and "Run Baby Run" will never be considered overly contemplative, but they are sharply written pop songs.  "Ocean Blue" is their attempt at a ballad.  "Don't Want Anything to Change" is so '60s you need a beehive hairdo to listen to it.  The album ends with "Buzz Buzz Buzz", going off format with a rockabilly song, with Tracy and Court sharing vocal duties, and yet it turns out to be one of the best songs on this collection.

The digital copy of this album includes the single "Way Behind Me".  I'm glad it's here, because it is the only song off of their second album, "Pure", that I would really care to own.  It saved me a download.  But The Primitives are on form with a jangle pop tune that even starts out with snapping.

This whole album is catchy and fun.  It was an important record to me in my teen years.  It is interesting to own this record now as an adult to see where it fits in the chain of music I loved from yesteryear until today, influencing the music I love today.  If you have not heard of The Primitives, it would be well-worth it to check this record out.

P.S. I Love You: Reviewing "The Bride" By Bat For Lashes

Natasha Khan, aka Bat For Lashes

The first thing you need to understand about Bat For Lashes' fourth studio album, "The Bride", is that it tells a story, a sad, sad story.  Once you understand that, then the experience of sitting down and listening to this album becomes much more pleasant, because it moves quite slowly at times.

Natasha Khan, also known by the name Bat For Lashes, a Pakistani-British singer-songwriter has already established herself, in her home country, as a creative and quirky artist, having drawn several comparisons to Kate Bush.  What Khan does here is lace a filigree of dreamy sounds, trip-hoppy synth beats, orchestral and synthesized overtures similar to Vangelis, and Khan's smoky voice spinning a tragic tale, the result taking us through the incandescent emotions of a woman known as the Bride.

The story starts with a happy overture called "I Do", a happy harp filling the air, and the Bride anticipating her wedding the next day, sure that this day will bring her happiness.  In "Joe's Dream", the tone becomes a little more frantic with an ambient wash of percussion as Joe, the groom, wakes from a dream, a premonition of a tragedy to come.  "In God's House" brings the sound to a sort of delirium as the Bride, waiting at the altar, learns that Joe has died in a car crash on the way to the wedding.  Stunned, in "Honeymoon Alone", the Bride departs for her honeymoon alone, dragging the cans behind her, an empty seat by her side, trying to figure out what has just happened.  My favorite song is "Sunday Love", with its driving rhythm, Khan's voice mounting to a keen as the Bride heads into life with an angry grief pushing her forward.  "Never Forgive the Angels" slows the story down to a boil as the Bride continues to contemplate the death of her love, infuriated against the angels who brought Joe the premonition of his death.  In "Close Encounters", the beats give way to strings as the Bride contemplates how near her love is to her, even though he is in death.  "Widow's Peak" is a haunting, ethereal song that gives way to spoken word in lieu of singing.  The gentle guitar of "Land's End" recounts how winter to come, and the Bride has driven to the coast, still contemplating her lost groom.  Set to a piano, the Bride starts to find reconciliation by understanding that, even if she knew what would happen, she would still go through it all in "If I Knew".  A steady bass guitar with a soft wash of synths enfold the Bride's words as she realized that one day she might recover enough to fall in love again in "I Will Love Again."  "In Your Bed" shimmers dulcidly as the Bride dreams of her love's arms as she lays in his bed.  In "Clouds", the Bride continues to ponder her lost groom, watching the storm clouds gather, comparing them to him, but realizing that the rain will also cleanse her soul.

To be honest, on its own merit, this album would be mediocre at best.  The music is tepid, and Khan's voice is not that great.  What makes this album genius is the story.  When you understand the story, then the record seems to spin and come together.  Khan's voice and the absorbing ambient music takes us through the rollercoaster ride of grief.  This is a great concept album, and you will mourn with the Bride.

The Raw & the Cooked: The Airborne Toxic Event Releases Two Very Different Albums

The Airborne Toxic Event

Anyone who knows me and my musical tastes knows that The Airborne Toxic Event is one of my upper-echelon, favorite bands.  I have followed their career since their first album, and it has been three years since I reviewed their third album.  For this review, I get to review two albums - "Dope Machines" and "Songs of God and Whiskey" - both released in 2015, within days of each other.

From their first album, this band has appealed to me - part folk rock, part rockabilly, part Springsteen, part The Smiths, part Neil Diamond.  Over the years, many people have accused this band of stealing other people's sounds, but I don't care.  Nobody makes music with as much passion, no one has as poignant and poetic lyrics as these guys. And I have always liked how they had companion videos for all of their songs on YouTube called "Bombastic Videos", alternate versions of their songs complete with acoustic guitars, stand-up bass, and chamber orchestras.  In many ways, I preferred these versions to the glossy studio takes of these songs.

Last year, I got very excited - along with my other friends and family who are fans - when the marketing for "Dope Machines" started to hit the interwebs.  When the first single, "Wrong", came out, I admit, I was taken a little aback.  It is essentially a synthpop song.  The raw lyrics and powerful voice of Mikel Jollet were there, but set to an electronic beat.  I played it for my former wife, Temple, and she immediately liked it.  I mean, it's not a bad song, but is this the direction that the band was taking?

A few weeks later, the entire album came out, and, sure enough, the band had shifted directions to make a electronic pop album.  Yes, I was disappointed.  I wanted stand-up basses, not synthesizers.  Nevertheless, I gave it a listen.  There is no denying - The Airborne Toxic Event are great musicians, great songwriters.  Even though it was not what I expected from them, it is a really good record, and, taken for what it is, a change of pace, I really like it.

After starting with the first single, the album continues with "One Time Thing" that starts simply - a dance beat, a guitar on heavy reverb plucking out an infectious rhythm with saucy lyrics like:

"Sounds like your breath is full of moonshine

And cheap ass wine

My best friend told me I should just stop 

Looking for a sign"

Then it the song starts building up layers, gathering intensity.  After listening to this song, I had hope that this record would be as good as their others, and I was right.  The title track, "Dope Machines" starts with the same groovy beat, adding shrill keyboards, but unraveling in a killer hook that makes the song vibrate.  "California" is a sweet pop song that shimmers with Jollet's wistful words tremulously cementing an emotional resonance to it.  "Time To Be a Man" is an explosive anthem that showcases violinist Anna Bulbrook's vocal abilities as she takes over the mic for a while.  "Hell and Back", with its "Na na na" chorus" is one of the few songs on this record that is acoustic.  "My Childish Bride" is a soft lament that kind of has an OMD feel.  The next two songs - "The Thing About Dreams" and "Something You Lost" - are unique in that they share musical themes, the first a piano tune and Jollet singing falsetto, and the, second with ethereal keyboards, blend together beautifully.  The record climaxes with "Chains", probably my favorite tune on the record, which starts out subdued and gradually builds to a frenzy, much in the way "Sometime Around Midnight" did.

I would have been happy with "Dope Machines".  But imagine my surprise when the band released, the very next day, a collection called "Songs of God and Whiskey".  This would be their "bombastic" album!  Departing from the synthpop of its companion release, this record was a collection of acoustic songs that the band has accumulated over their ten-year history, and I can tell you - it's drunken and divine!  Like the title suggests, many of the themes are biblical and revolve around the bar settings that seems prevalent with this band.  The record is just as danceable as "Dope Machines', but instead of being carried by electronic beats, this one is harnessed by snares, acoustic guitars, stand-up bass, trumpets,and violins.

"Poor Isaac" starts out this collection with righteous fury, talking about Abraham sacrificing Issac as God commanded him in the Bible with biting lyrics like:

"And I'm so pissed tonight

I feel just like

The last remaining Canaannite

And I don't think I'll be returning

And if you want to see the irony

And the savage price of piety

There's a lot of us who're going to be burning

How does it feel?

"Cocaine and Abel" starts out with an acoustic hum and sprouts up into a rockabilly canter that will have you howling along with Jollet, along with a horn section.  "A Certain Type of Girl" demonstrates what is great about American music, starting out a washboard acting as rhythm section and goes right into bluegrass with a tickling piano and fiddle.  "Change and Change and Change" is reminiscent of I.R.S. bands from the '80s like The dB's or R.E.M.  There are a few straight-up folk songs like "April Is the Cruelest Month", "Why Why Why", and "The Fall of Rome".  "The Line of Cars" mixes an upbeat acoustic gallop with a soaring fiddle.  There is an acoustic version of "California" on here, and "Strangers" adds sheet upon sheet of sounds that it will curl your toes.

When most people think of acoustic music, they think of languid, sleepy music in coffee houses.  This acoustic record is fast-paced and full-bodied like a frothy mug of ale.  It's folk music you can dance to.  "Dope Machines" is a really good album.  "Songs of God and Whiskey" is a really great album, and that's the difference.  It has cemented The Airborne Toxic Event in their place as one of my all-time favorite bands.

God Is Dancing in the Rain: Remembering October Project's First Album

October Project circa 1993

Over the years, I have had the privilege of people introducing people to music.  But occasionally, I am able to get people into music myself.  October Project was one such band.

In 1993, I was a newlywed, living with my wife and two other married couples (and a single brother) in a house we shared in Kearns, Utah.  We earned our keep by assisting on the remodeling of this older, red-brick home.  My wife and I had a room with no door in the basement.  We slept on a mattress and watched TV on a 7" black-and-white screen.  For the previous Christmas, my wife bought me my first CD boombox - I had never owned a CD player before.  I was enjoying getting new music on CD format - 10,000 Manics, The Cranberries, etc.

One day, I picked up a copy of the Salt Lake Tribune and read a music review for the eponymous first release of a new band called October Project.  The review was glowing, full of flowery, poetic descriptions.  After reading the description of this haunting music, I had to have it, so I popped in to the regular record shop and bought the CD (which I still have).  I was working downstairs in the basement with the other people I lived with, mudding and taping a bedroom.  I threw the CD on and was instantly taken aback.  I don't know what I was expecting - Dead Can Dance, maybe?  Something more like the bands on the 4AD label?  Something gothic?  What I was hearing was something akin to easy-listening music, something that would later be called adult alternative.  To me, it sounded like Fleetwood Mac, and I didn't like Fleetwood Mac at the time (although I love them now).  Mary Fahl's deep, rich, throaty voice even reminded me of Christine McVie, and that made it even worse for me.  Plus, they seemed so pretentious - I mean, what band would have a full-time lyricist (Julie Flanders), someone who played no instruments, but whose job was to write the lyrics and still posed in band photos?  Come on!  No one else liked the CD, either, so I turned it off.

Mary Fahl now

A few days later, lamenting that I had paid money for a CD that I didn't like, I decided to listen to it again.  I put it in the CD and started painting in the basement.  As I worked, I listened to the music - not for what I thought it should be, and for what it was.  This album was actually pretty good.

It started out with "Bury My Lovely", with Mary's smoky voice singing these poetic lyrics with such intense emotion, set to a piano and gentle chamber orchestra.  The next song, "Ariel", tells a heart-wrenching tale of a woman leaving a love affair, with Marina Belica's sweet voice echoing the chorus.  "Where You Are" and "Return To Me" continues with this musical webmaking of soft music contrasted by Fahl's voice crashing resplendently against the lyrical backdrop.  She truly has a powerful voice.  "A Lonely Voice" has always been my favorite song, a wistful song whose words have poignant, personal meaning to me.  "Eyes of Mercy" picks up the pace a bit with a bit of island rhythm combine with the dulcid interlacing of Fahl and Belica's voices.  "Walls of Silence" has a Joni Mitchell vibe.  The bridge on "Take Me As I Am" still gives me chills.  "Now I Lay Me Down" is an excellent cover of Paul Revere & the Raiders.  "Always" starts out with a low thrum and builds in exquisite intensity.  "Paths of Desire" is a pleasant acoustic ditty.  The album climaxes with the rousing and rocking "Be My Hero".

Perhaps the only complaint that I have about this album is that it is somewhat homogeneous.  All of the songs kind of sound the same.  The light plucking of guitars matched with strings and the explosive voice of Mary Fahl.  But if the songs all kind of sound the same, it is the same, beautiful song.

So I resumed working and put the CD on repeat.  While I slaved away in the basement, I would listen to October Project over and over again.  Finally, my brother raised eyebrows at me and remarked, "I thought you didn't like this album."

My face flushed.  "I guess it grew on me."

But I kept listening to it and listening to it.  Pretty soon, siblings, in-laws, nephews, and friends were listening to it, too.  It was to the point that several of us wound up getting copies of their sophomore release, "Falling Further In", which has "Sunday Morning, Yellow Sky", my favorite October Project song, complete with Lewis Carroll references.  My network of family and friends has kept up with Mary Fahl's solo projects, and "The Other Side of Time" has become a family favorite, spawning karaoke attempts and wedding selections.  (A family member stole my copy of this album.)

I was surprised to find that October Project is still together, without Mary Fahl.  There has been the promise of a new album for quite some time, one that has not been forthcoming.  But at least we will always have this, their masterpiece of a first album.

Black Mountain Takes You On a Trip

Black Mountain

I first came across psychedelic rock band, Black Mountain, on a sampler of music from Canadian label, Jagjaguwar, back about eight years ago, a sampler that included label mates Bon Iver and Ladyhawk.  It was a sprawling, eight-minute opus, a true hippie-fest.

So when I saw that they were releasing their fourth full-length album - entitled "IV" - I decided to check it out.  And what a trip it is!  They blend new wave electronica with Jimi Hendrix riffs, linked together with ponderous Pink Floyd explorations of sound.  It really works!  I'm glad I found this album.

The album starts out with "Mothers of the Sun" roaring off the ground with a Black Sabbath-style guitar intro, but then immediately simmers down to a low boil, a orchestral whisper complete with an oboe and Amber Webber doing her best impersonation of Lisa Gerrard (except with actual words).  It really does remind me of Dead Can Dance, until the cadence picks up to a up-tempo blues smolder with Stephen McBean sharing vocal duties over a jamming '70s lead guitar.  "Florian Saucer Attack" takes its space theme and new wave pace blending it with  Jefferson Airplane vibe, Webber even sounding like Grace Slick.  On "Deflector", Webber and McBean again share vocal duties on a grinding melody with a short guitar bridge that hooks you right in.  "You Can Dream" is a great example of this band meshing electronica with classic rock guitars, as in "Constellations" with its steady rock beat accompanied by shrill keyboards.  "Line Them All Up" takes it down a notch with an acoustic piece, yet has several tempo changes that takes us on some wild mood swings.  "Cemetery Breeding" is probably my favorite song, a nostalgic piece about mourning a lost love and having sex in a graveyard.  The album ends with three psychedelic pieces, including "Space to Bakersfield", long, contemplative expeditions like the end of an acid trip, languid, tired, and slowly burning out like the candle flame dousing in the tallow.

So if you like '70s psychedlic, you're definitely going to like this.  Break out your bong and enjoy.  This one is a roller coaster ride into other dimensions.

Gaslight Anthem: The New Bosses of New Jersey

Gaslight Anthem

Gaslight Anthem was a band referred to me by gator wrestler and good friend, Jason McDonald.  He said that I would like them, and I do.  But that was back in 2014 when they released their fifth album, "Get Hurt", and I am just barely getting around to it.  He messaged me yesterday to say, "It's about time!"

He's right.  It is about time.  Luckily, this album is timeless.

Gaslight Anthem is a punk band that has transcended the hardcore designation to create something different, refusing to fit in the proverbial pigeon-hole to create something unique,  Like other bands before them - X, Social Distortion, and Against Me! - they blend classic rock, folk, and even country with punk elements to create a sound that is distinctly American.  This is Americana at its best.  On my first listen, I remarked for much their music sounds much like Bruce Springsteen.  Then lo and behold, I find out they hail from New Jersey, just like The Boss and have been known to play Springsteen covers.  The Boss has even played onstage with them a few times.  In fact, the band used to receive so any requests for Springsteen songs during their live shows that singer/ songwriter, Brian Fallon, finally announced, "I'm not Bruce!"

I find this blend of punk aggression with Bruce Springsteen's homespun All-American sound to be compelling.  I mean, you couldn't find a combination more incongruous.  It's rumored that punk aficianado, Anthony Bourdain, hates Springsteen so much that he will fire anyone who blasts it in his kitchen.  One critic said that it was like Springsteen let The Ramones produce "Hungry Heart".  And yet it works!  In a very pleasing way!

Get Hurt

"Get Hurt" was inspired by the breakup of Fallon's ten-year marriage, and the result is raw and powerful album that barrels through the emotions, from roaring anger to wistfulness to tenderness.  "Stay Vicious" starts out this collection with indignant guitars with Fallon sneering about how much his life has changed, and then it unlaces to a bittersweet chorus of scintillating guitars.  These changes from vexed to hopeful are what make this album great.  "1,000 Years"  continues Fallon's lament to the beat of the brutal guitars.  "Get Hurt" changes direction to a somber ballad with Fallon daring, "Might as well do your worst to me."  "Stray Paper" is a lovely pop-punk tune that reminds me a lot of Against Me!  "Helter Skeleton" is one of my favorite songs with its buzzsaw guitars and shredding vocals offset with a gentle but effervescent chorus.  "Underneath the Ground" starts with the Springsteen-sounding songs, but takes us straight back to hardcore with the thrashing "Rollin' And Tumblin'".  "Red Violins" is just a well-crafted song with smart guitar interplay and brilliant lyrics, with a country feel.  "Selected Poems" could be a song by The Killers, another band to take a page from Springsteen.  In fact, his vocals in this tune even sounds like Brandon Flowers.

Really, this is a great album.  I am totally into the Americana thing.  I have been since 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M.   This sound reflects what is great about our country - great songs by great people.  I would recommend this album to anyone.