A Cute Voice, A Deep Voice, An Animal
I've always been ambivalent towards the Solex releases. I enjoy the dry, self depreciating humour but the music sometimes sounded forced and inorganic. Maybe that was the point but, for me, it grated. Luckily, the latest CD - "The Laughing Stock Of Indie Rock" (great title) - is almost flawless in it's combination of samples and lo-fi rock. For whatever reason there's less of the cut and paste aesthetic about it and there's none of the really clunky edits that flawed some of her other pieces. Instead there's a constancy about the sonic elements that leads me through the album as a whole.
On a few of the songs Ms Esselink's wry, cutey-pie vocals are augmented with the deep basso profundo of one Stuart Brown to great effect...
mp3: Honkey Donkey
And they sing about an animal! At least I think they do because I've not had the time to work out all the jokes in the lyrics.
This song immediately reminded me of one of my touchstone tracks from the mid 80s. When I travelled overseas in 1985/85 I took a cassette tape entitled "Miscellaneous Old Gruesomes" which contained things which I loved but which I'd thrown away in a fit of change...
mp3: Funnybird Song
Yes, that old favourite Carla Bley rears her well sculpted head once again with a track sung by her young daughter in her twee little girl voice and, I think, Howard Johnson doing a silly deep voice. And they're talking about animals.
posted by Phil at
8:14 pm
5 Comments:
Hey, nice to see a Dutch artist getting some attention Down Under. My feelings about Solex have been the same as yours; I always found the music/songs too constructed/forced to really get into. Maybe I'll give her another try with this release. In recent interviews she herself is also claiming to be more interested in a 'band-approach' to her music these days. Not that that in itself is a guarantee for better albums/music, of course...
I've read quite a lot of praise for Bley on different occasions, can you recommend a good 'point of entry'?
(like your blog, i just recently found it, though i have been reading nonightsweats now and then)
By
willem, at 11:30 pm
willem:
Hey, nice to see a Dutch artist getting some attention Down Under.
well, if there's any more really good ones then let me know - it's often hard to get an understanding of modern music cultures from the other side of the world.
In recent interviews she herself is also claiming to be more interested in a 'band-approach' to her musicfrom her web site, it certainly seems like the live approach is still samples + occassional real instruments. this release certainly sounds more like a guitar band.
I've read quite a lot of praise for Bley on different occasions, can you recommend a good 'point of entry'?as in intro, "tropic appetities" may be the best place to start. full on modern big band jazz with silly flourishes. "music mechanique" refines this style but is a bit dry. "escalator over the hill" is the meister-work but only if you like the others. also greaves/blegvad/hermann's "kew.rhone." is basically the mantler / bley bands playing different music for other people.
(like your blog, i just recently found it, though i have been reading nonightsweats now and then)thanks - where's your's?
By
Phil, at 8:06 am
Haven't got one, Phil. Just made an account to post insightful & meaningful responses on a few blogs made by friends. ;-)
I will get back to you about interesting dutch artists, okay? (I'll drop you an e-mail, if you're interested).
By
willem, at 7:21 am
I should've read your reply better: you are interested. :-)
And many thanks for the Bley pointers, will definately try her music out.
By
willem, at 7:25 am
yep - an email would be lovely.
By
Phil, at 7:48 am
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