SOUNDTRACK: SOFA-Grey [CST002] (1997).
It’s not nice to compare bands to other bands, because it seems like they are copying the original. But since I just mentioned Slint the other day, I thought it worthwhile to mention Sofa today. They have similar sensibilities—noisy guitars, spoken/screamed vocals and a decidedly quiet feel.
I love the way this disc opens with the song “On/Off”—it has a simple bass with syncopated drums. And then the buizziest buzz saw guitar thrown in counterpoint notes. And then the singer comes in, sounding like Joy Division never went away. The song builds into a cool noise and then backs off again. But song two, “CH. 2 Chi.” changes everything—a blistering punk song with super fast chaotic drums and fast vocals. The guitars are again punctuating rather than keeping melody. And when it plays the two high chords it adds incredible tension. “Monotone” begins a simple song of two notes (and some great noisy guitars). The vocals are less Joy Divison and more spoken punk. But each verse adds something new to the music, which gets more complex. “Current” has a more conventional post-rock sound—buzzy guitars and quiet vocals. It’s a good calming moment.
“80 000” has a slow menacing vibe. It builds a few times into some really noisy chaotic sections, where the guitars are willfully out of tune—and all the while the spoken word lyrics are quiet enough to make you lean in closer. “Red Lake” is another slow number (they could maybe have used a faster one by this point), but I really like the riff and the way the guitars play off of it. And there’s an actual hummable chorus too.
The fast noise comes back on “Comma” with a frenetic guitar line and pummeling bass. Even the stop/start of the chorus are frenetic. And when the song occasionally slows down, the guitars still punctuate with astonishing noise. “The Fence” opens with a cool bass riff and simple but interesting drums. “Travel” is a slow song that opens with just guitar notes and spoken/sung lyrics. I don’t care for these more atmospheric songs (especially when they push 6 minutes) but the band does it well. “Stress” follows this. This is the shortest song on the disc just under 3 minutes of furious mayhem. “Medicine Hat” ends the disc with another slower song, but this one has a lot of interesting components, like the bass and guitar line that interweaves throughout the song.
This was Constellation Records second release (Ian, who plays guitar, co-founded Constellation). Sofa broke up around the time of this release, which is a shame as it was a good one. I’d like to hear more from them (they have some earlier records with unknown availability).
[READ: April 5, 2014] Polina
This was a simple and enjoyable graphic novel about a young ballerina who grows up in the world of ballet. (I admit I was attracted to the title because I thought it might be about Olympic figure skater Polina Edmunds who I remembered primarily because the name Polina which was unusual to me–it is not about her).
It is a bout a fictional ballet dancer. When we first meet young Polina, she looks so tiny in the back seat of the car as she is driven to class. And her teacher, Mr Bojinsky looks like such a large man next to her–with his full beard and large hands. He is an intimidating figure and all of the girls are afraid of him. And yet, it is an honor to be even considered by him.
So when Polina unexpectedly gets chosen for his class, she is elated and fearful at the same time. At first Bojinsky seems really mean and the way his hand more or less covers her whole chest as he gets her into place portended all kinds of things. But rest assured, and perhaps this is a spoiler, but if is, it is one that I would like to know–nothing bad like that happens to Polina. Phew. She is not molested, or raped or left dying in an alley. It’s not that kind of story. Rather, it is the story of a young girl trying to make it as a dancer. (more…)
I did listen to the whole thing and again was reminded of how great the album is. The bonus material is, well, a little disappointing. You get three more early versions of “Nosferatu Man,” one of which is an instrumental. Two demo versions of “Washer” and “Good Morning, Captain” (one is an instrumental kind of goof). There’s three versions of a song called “Pam” which didn’t make Spiderland, so that’s interesting. Then there’s another outtake called “Glenn” and two post Spiderland songs called “Todd’s Song” and “Brian’s Song.” They’re all good, but are in various stages of construction.
The release of Beck’s latest album is what got me investigating Beck’s back catalog–just to see how Beck arrived at this mellow chillout place.
I Just Read About That... 