SOUNDTRACK: WOLF ALICE-My Love is Cool (2015).
I liked this album when it came out, but it didn’t blow me away. I enjoyed the band blend of shoegaze and grunge. But when I listened to it more, I realized there was a lot more going on–some folk roots, some interesting electronic sounds and a surprising pop sensibility.
When I saw them live at a small club in Asbury Park, the band blew me away with their cathartic sound and really tight rhythms. They were also quite a bit heavier loud–really rocking out some of these songs and speeding up the tempo, too.
As such, the album feels a little slow, but if you get past that (and you should) it works really well to all of the band’s strengths.
“Turn to Dust” opens with gentle guitars and trippy electronic sounds (that one descending note is great). Ellie Roswell sings softly with a gentle echo (I like that you can hear her accent in some of the words too). It’s a fantastic opening. “Bros.” speeds things up a bit but it doesn’t get any heavier, yet. “You’re Love’s Whore” has a cool bass line and low backing vocals. Like the other two songs, it’s also very catchy.
“You’re a Germ” adds some loud guitars to the music. There’s a lot going on in this song and it kind of forces its way into your brain: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / you ain’t going to heaven / cause I’m dragging you down to hell.” It’s the first time Roswell screams and she’s got quite the shriek. “Lisbon” slows things down until the wildly chaotic chorus (featuring some insane drumming). “Silk” is a slower, moodier song with interesting whispered vocals. The chorus once again proves to be very catchy the way the music falls out but the vocals get bigger.
“Freazy” has a cool drumbeat and a shuffling rhythm. “Giant Peach” has an unexpected bass line midway through the song. But the biggest surprise comes with “Swallowtail.” It’s a folkie acoustic song and it’s sing by drummer Joel Amey. It is really quite a surprise to hear a different voice, but it works really well. It’s got a really interesting chorus with Amey hitting a nice falsetto midway through. I fond it to be a real earworm.
“Soapy Water” is a more pop-oriented song with heavy synths, but it’s go their unmistakable thump. “Fluffy” rocks the album to an end. Its got screaming guitars and a wonderful buildup to the screaming chorus of “Sixteen, so sweet.” (This song really rocks, live).
The final song is a quiet song with thumping tom toms. The vocal melody is a gentle rising and falling melody with quiet guitars. Tacked on the end is a bonus song, called “My Love is Cool.” It’s a minute and a half of quiet guitar and Roswell’s almost whispered singing.
The band covers a lot of territory on this album, but they own it all pretty well. It’s worth a listen.
[READ: January 30, 2018] “Bronze”
I’d be very surprised if this was not an excerpt. It just feels too big for it to be a short story (although it wraps up in a rather tidy manner).
There are two major threads running through it. There’s one set in 1978 when a college freshman, Eugene, is returning to school on the train. He was high and he was dressed flamboyantly–a white fur coat, pink sunglasses, a scarf at his neck. He wanted to be beautiful or at least noticeable. He was seeking a seat, but the train was packed.
Eugene was late to the train because he was hanging out at his friend Stigwood’s house in New York City. Stigwood had a boyfriend from Venezuela visiting. Eugene and Raphael were hanging out when Stigwood came home and stuck his hand down Raphael’s pants–which made Raphael shout “I am not your slut!” Eugene watched, fascinated, before realizing he was late for the train and he ran all the way to the station.
Eugene wanted to be a poet so when he got to the space between trains he recited out loud Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro.” It calmed him.
In the next car a man offered him a seat. Eugene thought, “Not again, everywhere I go.” (more…)
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