SOUNDTRACK: AMERICAN FOOTBALL-Tiny Desk Concert #865 (July 8, 2019).
It’s common, at least for me, to dislike a band because of their name. Sometimes I get over it and sometimes I have no reason to get over it.
I thought the name American Football was really dumb, so I never listened to the band (because I don’t like football). I also didn’t know they’d broken up or that they’d reunited.
But here they are with a Tiny Desk Concert.
Twenty years after a self-titled debut that featured one heartbroken mixtape-worthy song after another, American Football is writing some of the best music of its career right now. Once an emo trio from Central Illinois, American Football brought its expanded band to the Tiny Desk, including a vibraphonist, backing singer and, yes, six children from a D.C. choir.
They play three songs from LP3, as it’s colloquially known, (they have put out 2 self-titled records in the last three years). For an indie rock band, they get a really long Tiny Desk, as well. None of this under ten minute stuff for American Football, this set stretches to 18 minutes because each song runs about 6 minutes.
The first third of which is taken up with the first song “Every Wave To Ever Rise.” It’s a slow, expansive song with singer Matt Kinsella singing gently. But to me the most exciting thing about the song is Cory Bracken on vibraphone. He makes some awesome echoing vibes sounds that sound otherworldly. And at three minutes, he takes out a violin bow and bows ones of the keys. So cool.
I really enjoy the music of the songs. The guitar melody that Kinsella plays around two minutes is fantastic, but I find the song a little dull. There’s a really nice guitar solo at the end while Steve Holmes plays a pretty picked melody.
Maybe I’d just prefer this song as an instrumental.
The blurb says that “these spacious songs act as revelatory meditations on what it means to grow older in love and relationships, with lovers and family.” I wonder if that means they sound different on record–faster maybe?
“Uncomfortably Numb” references Pink Floyd not only in the title, but also in the way the chorus also includes an “ahhhhh” before the line “I have become uncomfortably numb.” Although the song sounds nothing like the Pink Floyd song.
Indeed, it opens with drummer Steve Lamos playing a slow trumpet piece–for two minutes. After a short pause the song starts with harmonics from guitarist Steve Holmes. Pure Bathing Culture’s Sarah Versprille takes a verse on the song (and sing backing vocals on the other songs).
I enjoy the wordplay in this song for sure.
I blamed my father in my youth
Now as a father, I blame the booze
I used to struggle in my youth
Now I’m used to struggling for two
Versprille’s backing vocals add a lot to the song and it’s interesting to have her sing a verse–it changes the dynamic of the song. (And those vibes are excellent of course).
It’s the final track, “Heir Apparent” that features the children.
For “Heir Apparent,” we reached out to members of the Children’s Chorus of Washington to sing the coda’s quiet mantra. When the 12-to-14-year olds asked frontman Mike Kinsella what the song meant, in order to capture the right emotion, he told them, in so many words, that it was a sad song, but that he’d like them to wear paper crowns while singing it. Just a touch of Kinsella irony, as he grinned ear-to-ear and they sang, “Heir apparent to the throne / The king of all alone.”
The Chorus inlcudes: Mallory Valmon, Amelia Lashway, Jenna Loescher-Clark, Marika Clark, Taylor Bowen-Longino and William Ekrem.
The song opens with some echoing guitars as Kinsella sings. There’s some gorgeous vibraphone playing and Mike Garzon plays a melodica. I really like the high bass line from Nate Kinsella. in the middle of the song. In fact, once again, the music in the song is really terrific.
With about two minutes left, the kids walk out, dressed in red with crowns on. The sound beautiful and it’s a very nice ending to the song.
The songs remind me a bit of Weakerthans, which means I should like them more than I do. Maybe I just need to spend more time with them and I can learn to like them despite their name.
[READ: July 2, 2019] “Uncle Jim Called”
A week ago Thursday, Glenn’s Uncle Jim called him. He sounded familiar but Glenn didn’t recognize him immediately. When Uncle Jim said who he was, Glenn was confused because “I thought Uncle Jim was dead.”
This whole story is trippy and weird but amazingly, despite its length, it manages to makes this fairly simple premise work.
Uncle Jim was with his brother Hank (also dead). They were calling Glenn to ask for Glenn’s mother (their sister) Margie. Margie was also dead, he thought.
Glenn is uncertain about nearly everything. He shouts “She’d dead! You’re all dead!”
Their reply: “So?” (more…)
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SOUNDTRACK: hiatus.
GlobalFEST is an annual event, held in New York City, in which bands from all over the world have an opportunity to showcase their music to an American audience. I’ve never been, and it sounds a little exhausting, but it also sounds really fun.
SOUNDTRACK: ELISAPIE-Tiny Desk Concert #948 (February 20, 2020).
Elisapie (I have no idea how to pronounce that) is a First Nations singer from Salluit, on the Northern tip of Quebec.
