C
Codreanu
Guest
Well into June, my selection remains Parker and Lily's "The Low Lows" released near the begining of the year.
http://www.parkerandlily.com/000musicTLL.html
My current infatuation is Picastro's "Metal Cares". Indeed, Liz Hysen might just be my new imaginary girlfriend, my chanteuse of despond, after Maria Taylor's disappointing release and Lisa Germano stopped returning my phone calls (j/k).
A review:
Picastro
Metal Cares
Polyvinyl Record Co.
posted June 6, 2005
Picastro's Liz Hysen is into dark sounds. Her debut album, Red Your Blues, was a raw, lo-fi recording that was hautningly beautiful, with Hysen's voice shining through a murky, sparse accompaniment. Her second album, Metal Cares finds her focusing even further on atmospheres rather than conventional songwriting. It's a mood record for bleak times, depressing days and sad thoughts, and it's not an upbeat listen in any sense of the word. Its grey, austere artwork accentuates the music within, instantly creating an aural rainy day whenever it's played. It's an ugly, dark record that might not spend a lot of time on your stereo, because its bleakness is simply overwhelming.
Comparisons might be made to Cat Power, but Picastro makes Chan Marshall look like Julie Andrews. Hysen has a deep, throaty singing voice, and it fits quite beautifully with Picastro's lush, moody arrangements. From the throaty, out-of-sync (and terribly distorted) vocals and piano combination on "Common Cold" to the naked, acoustic guitar folk of "Drama Man" and "Blonde Fires," Metal Cares is a startling record that's disturbing, due in part to her downright unintelligable singing. Vocals and instruments blend together; sometimes, Hysen's lyrics aren't very coherent, and when they are, they're just...disturbing.
With that in mind, it's also not unfair to say that it's this ugliness that makes Metal Cares oddly appealing. Whether it's the flighty, haunting violins and ethereal singing of "Raddy Daddy" or the utterly bizarre "Ah Nyeh Nyeh," where Hysen vocally intones sounds (though it's said that she's singing Russian lyrics) accompanied by a piano and violin, there's an appeal to Metal Cares that causes you to hit repeat, even after swearing that you just hated what you've heard. Is it a curiosity about having just heard something that's utterly bizarre? Is it that the music's ugly/beautiful? It's hard to say, because it seems both reasons are valid.
Metal Cares isn't an easy listen, nor is it something that you're likely to return to, but it's a record you won't soon forget, because it...is...WEIRD.
--Joseph Kyle
A couple of mp3s for the brave:
No Contest (7.03MB)
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1UO8AZKS7ASEK2RBEA5LU4N68Y
Common Cold (1.89MB)
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0EBDU1FNP56763VUSUJM6K39PP
Other albums that have given me great pleasure:
Marissa Nadler - "The Saga of Mayflower May"
Remora - "Enamored"
Carissa's Wierd - "I Before E"
The Remote Viewer - "Let your Heart Draw a Line"
Hood - "Outside Closer"
The London Apartments - "Romanticism Aside"
Xiu Xiu - "La Foret"
Great Lake Swimmers - "Bodies and Minds"
Albums that have been tasted and found sweet:
Aarktica - "Bleeding Light"
Malcolm Middleton - "Into the Woods"
Damien Jurado - "On my Way to Absence"
Maria Taylor - "11:11"
Smog - "A River is too Much to Love"
Savoy Grand - "People and What they Want"
Montag - "Alone Not Alone"
The Books - "Lost and Safe"
L'altra - "Different Days"
Albums I have found repugnant:
Low - "The Great Destroyer"
Cerrato - "Me and You"
Albums relegated to critical limbo pending coming to terms:
Radar Bros. - "The Fallen Leaf Pages"
Skating Club - "The Unfound Sound"
Stuart Staples - "Luck Dog Recordings"
The Zephyrs - "Bright Yellow Flowers on a Dark Double Bed
http://www.parkerandlily.com/000musicTLL.html
My current infatuation is Picastro's "Metal Cares". Indeed, Liz Hysen might just be my new imaginary girlfriend, my chanteuse of despond, after Maria Taylor's disappointing release and Lisa Germano stopped returning my phone calls (j/k).
A review:
Picastro
Metal Cares
Polyvinyl Record Co.
posted June 6, 2005
Picastro's Liz Hysen is into dark sounds. Her debut album, Red Your Blues, was a raw, lo-fi recording that was hautningly beautiful, with Hysen's voice shining through a murky, sparse accompaniment. Her second album, Metal Cares finds her focusing even further on atmospheres rather than conventional songwriting. It's a mood record for bleak times, depressing days and sad thoughts, and it's not an upbeat listen in any sense of the word. Its grey, austere artwork accentuates the music within, instantly creating an aural rainy day whenever it's played. It's an ugly, dark record that might not spend a lot of time on your stereo, because its bleakness is simply overwhelming.
Comparisons might be made to Cat Power, but Picastro makes Chan Marshall look like Julie Andrews. Hysen has a deep, throaty singing voice, and it fits quite beautifully with Picastro's lush, moody arrangements. From the throaty, out-of-sync (and terribly distorted) vocals and piano combination on "Common Cold" to the naked, acoustic guitar folk of "Drama Man" and "Blonde Fires," Metal Cares is a startling record that's disturbing, due in part to her downright unintelligable singing. Vocals and instruments blend together; sometimes, Hysen's lyrics aren't very coherent, and when they are, they're just...disturbing.
With that in mind, it's also not unfair to say that it's this ugliness that makes Metal Cares oddly appealing. Whether it's the flighty, haunting violins and ethereal singing of "Raddy Daddy" or the utterly bizarre "Ah Nyeh Nyeh," where Hysen vocally intones sounds (though it's said that she's singing Russian lyrics) accompanied by a piano and violin, there's an appeal to Metal Cares that causes you to hit repeat, even after swearing that you just hated what you've heard. Is it a curiosity about having just heard something that's utterly bizarre? Is it that the music's ugly/beautiful? It's hard to say, because it seems both reasons are valid.
Metal Cares isn't an easy listen, nor is it something that you're likely to return to, but it's a record you won't soon forget, because it...is...WEIRD.
--Joseph Kyle
A couple of mp3s for the brave:
No Contest (7.03MB)
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1UO8AZKS7ASEK2RBEA5LU4N68Y
Common Cold (1.89MB)
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0EBDU1FNP56763VUSUJM6K39PP
Other albums that have given me great pleasure:
Marissa Nadler - "The Saga of Mayflower May"
Remora - "Enamored"
Carissa's Wierd - "I Before E"
The Remote Viewer - "Let your Heart Draw a Line"
Hood - "Outside Closer"
The London Apartments - "Romanticism Aside"
Xiu Xiu - "La Foret"
Great Lake Swimmers - "Bodies and Minds"
Albums that have been tasted and found sweet:
Aarktica - "Bleeding Light"
Malcolm Middleton - "Into the Woods"
Damien Jurado - "On my Way to Absence"
Maria Taylor - "11:11"
Smog - "A River is too Much to Love"
Savoy Grand - "People and What they Want"
Montag - "Alone Not Alone"
The Books - "Lost and Safe"
L'altra - "Different Days"
Albums I have found repugnant:
Low - "The Great Destroyer"
Cerrato - "Me and You"
Albums relegated to critical limbo pending coming to terms:
Radar Bros. - "The Fallen Leaf Pages"
Skating Club - "The Unfound Sound"
Stuart Staples - "Luck Dog Recordings"
The Zephyrs - "Bright Yellow Flowers on a Dark Double Bed