View Full Version : The Mysterious Sounds of Sloshy
Davey.
12-26-2003, 10:50 AM
I'm not sure how many lucky people here received this little Christmas goodie (or unlucky people, depending on your disposition toward goofy and "adventurous" pop music :-)) but I love it. When I sent out the British Sea Power mystery disc it wasn't much of a mystery to Sloshy because I had already mentioned it in a couple posts, and conversely I knew beforehand for the same reasons with this one from him. But that doesn't decrease my enjoyment of it. It's got quite a bit of Strokes sound (meaning Kinks sound) running throughout, but it has kind of a cartoony feel too. More so than say a band like Broken Social Scene, even though there are similarities. Also it sounds a little like the Microphones at their more "normal" times. The music does sometimes sound kind of "amateurish" and should thus be avoided for anyone that would cringe at the sound of a cheap casio, but I guess that is also part of its charm. I've actually only listened about three or maybe four times so its still pretty new to me, but some of it is so catchy and fun that I loved it right away. Other parts need some exploring, especially the quirky and fragmented lyrics. Toward the end of the album, maybe track 11, the production qualities improve and it's almost like a different band. The sound is more polished and shows what they are really capable of. That's really my only complaint about it, that sometimes it is just a little too far into the lo-fi category, especially when juxtaposed against the Death Cab For Cutie tracks that follow on my disc. But even so I still really enjoy the CD. Thanks Sloshy for including me in the Mysterioso game even after I tried to give away the mysterioso part. Note that I didn't mention who I think it might be, not even once, unless you count my latest post at that "other" RR :)
Slosh
12-27-2003, 06:51 AM
I agree with everything you said only adding their vocals, more than any other element, give them their signature. They're one of these bands that remind you of other while not suffering from me-too-ness. They're probably a bit too out there for most people, hence I only sent copies to people who I thought might be able to listen past their oddness (Jar, Snowbunny, Rae, Stone). Nobody, maf, chrisnz, and tentoze may find something here too but I wouldn't recommend them buying without sampling a few songs first. Kinda hard to keep it a mystery when they have a song that tells you who they are ;)
I think the use of $39 Casios and the goofy lyrics do add to their appeal but underneath it all is catchy-as-hell song writing that allows them to get away with such antics. Take a song like "Child Star" where they purposely vary the pitch of the synth track...normally I can't stand that sorta studio gimmickry but I was able to get past that here 'cause the song writing is so damn good.
I like this album very much although I'm not sure if it'd alter my top ten list (time will tell) and I agree they have the potential to become even better with future releases (fingers crossed :) )
Since it wasn't really a mystery at all...
The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?
Davey.
12-27-2003, 10:26 AM
I like this album very much although I'm not sure if it'd alter my top ten list
Yes, I tend to agree. I think the Pitchfork rating was a bit high, but I also think the AMG rating was a bit low. Somewhere in the middle would be reasonable to me. Tons of potential, but not quite fully realized on this one. I guess in that regard, it is kind of like the Head of Femur album that I like so much, but I feel that one is a better album at this time. Maybe the HoF resides just a little closer to my ideal core of influences. And some of the Unicorns CD reminds me so much of the Microphones that I have to dock it a bit for that. But still lots of fun.
Might be a loveless weekend for me. Just me and my bloody valentine. Slid it in this morning and it probably won't be coming out anytime soon. Can you really play guitars underwater? How else could they get some of those effects? :)
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