SOUNDTRACK: DEERHUNTER-Microcastle/Weird Era Continued (2008).
Somehow, I can never remmeber what this disc is going to sound like when I pop it in. Once it gets going the songs are all familiar and very good, its just that initial listen, where I forget that the band is rather delicate and poppy. I tend to forget this because well, the bands name doesn’t sound delicate, and the album artwork has skulls all over it. So, to put it on and hear pleasant keyboard songs is alwaya bit of a surprise.
The guitarsd are jangly and have an almost 60s folk rock sound and yet the drums are very electronic (I presume its a drum machine) and the vocals stick out as rather unlike the 60s style. There is also a wonderfully low budget/hazy quality that pervades the disc. It sort of envelopes the disc in a layer of cotton keeping the sound consistent and sometimes narcoleptic.
And yet despite that sort of sleepy feel, the catchciness of the songs shines through.
The last few songs of Microcastle especially provide a really strong set of songs. And they lead into Weird Era very nicely. For although it is clearly the same band, Weird Era is a very different disc.
It is a far more rocking/noisy affair. And although there area number of very short instrumental pieces, for the most part, the songs are catchier and a bit more fun. Ideally, mixing the two discs together would provide an overall more well rounded listening experience.
[READ: September 15, 2009] Glister 1-3
This is a strange little series from Andi Watson.
I’ve enjoyed just about everything he’s written/drawn, mostly for his artistic style, but really because of his off-kilter and wholly fascinating sensibilities. So what makes this series so odd is the rather almost-sloppy style he uses for the backgrounds and other characters. Maybe it’s not sloppy so much as “fuzzy” which lend an air of spectralness to this supernatural tale.
The other thing that is odd about the series is that everything suggests that this will be a long running story. The story has a convoluted set up and a weird plot (and Issue #1 even includes an unrelated sub-story). The inside back cover also has all manner of things that suggest we’re in for the long haul: a letter-writing address, a contest to design a teapot, etc. But no, the series ends after three issues. Weird.
Anyhow, the story is set in Chilblain Hall. Glister and her dad (her mom has disappeared) live in this fantastical hall where rooms appear and disappear at will. In keeping with this idea, Glister receives a package which contains a magic teapot. The teapot houses the spirit of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, known for inspiring The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (for the worst opening line of a story).
Obviously Bulwer-Lytton isn’t happy about this infamy and he wants to set the record straight by writing his final novel…and having Glister type it (all of it!). Glister tries to get rid of the dreaded thing which finds its way back to her. But when the ghost author reveals her true identity, things greatly change.
The second book acknowledges the first, but is really its own adventure: when Chilblain Hall, offended at being told it is quite ugly, decides to go on a holiday. Where will Glister and family stay? Will the house come back? And what will happen with the Bonny Village Competition?
In the third volume, Glister’s mother returns…in Glister’s mirror! Her mom combs her hair and comforts her as best she can. We learn bits and pieces about her mother and why she left, but all in all it feels like the story ends unresolved. Which is why it’s especially weird that it’s only three books.
The main characters of the story are lovingly drawn in a fun style (atypical for Watson in many ways, and yet it’s obviously him overall) which contradicts the “fuzzy” backgrounds I mentioned earlier. I’d have liked to see the story run longer. But hey, sometimes you make due with what you get.
Watson has done supernatural stories before, but usually, his stories are more everyday life. It’s fun to have him back in the supernatural realm for this series.
And holy COW are the English covers better than the American ones!
US covers UK covers
I Just Read About That... 
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