Artist: The Kingsbury Manx
Album: Bronze Age
Bitrate: 243kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Odessa Records
Genre: Indie
Size: 82.76 megs
PlayTime: 0h 45min 02sec total
Rip Date: 2013-03-09
Store Date: 2013-03-08
Track List:
--------
01. Weird Beard & Black Wolf 4:11
02. Future Hunter 3:02
03. Handsprings 4:19
04. In The Catacombs 3:57
05. How Are Things Done 6:24
06. Glass Eye 4:31
07. Lyon 3:13
08. Solely Bavaria 3:31
09. Concubine 2:34
10. Custer's Last 5:24
11. Ashes To Lashes (Tailspins) 3:56
Release Notes:
--------
On the surface, the Kingsbury Manx is a band built for todayÆs music world.
TheyÆre part of a thriving local music sceneùin the Triangle of North
Carolinaùand they shifted four years ago from releasing albums on local indie
label Yep Roc to putting out albums on Odessa, a label run chiefly by band
member Paul Finn. ItÆs a common, heartening story we hear of the resilience of
local music and smaller markets in the face of ongoing major-label and
distribution chaos.
On the other hand, though, the Kingsbury Manx are a throwback to pre-digital
days, days of street-level promotion and, mostly, of putting out a record when
youÆre good and ready. This is a band that takes its time, which explains the
four years since 2009Æs excellent Ascenseur Ouvert!. That kind of time is an
eternity in the digital age, as our immediate consumption of music has pushed us
to demand the kind of output even Waylon Jennings and the link couldnÆt crank
out in their heyday. But Bronze Age, the Kingsbury ManxÆs latest (and best)
record finds no four-year hangover, no signs of stagnation, no signs of being
overworked. It falls into none of the traps of an album long worked on and
pushes their broad palate of sounds into new and fresh directions at every turn.
Some of the beauties of this record wonÆt be a surprise, but that doesnÆt make
them any less striking. The vocal melodies and harmonies are as impeccable as
ever on the pastoral glide of ôGlass Eyeö or the sunburst shuffle of
ôHandspringsö. And there are the subtle accents youÆd expect, link a cascading
piano lead or warm horns filling out tracks. But the album also moves into more
hard-charging territory, stuff you might not expect from the hazy sway of this
bandÆs past work.
TheyÆve delved into more rock ænÆ roll territory beforeùsee the guitar breakdown
of ôPelz Kometö from Aztec Disciplineùbut the turn here is different. If the
album is titled after an ancient time, it seems eager to charge into tomorrow,
with spacey power-pop numbers that inject the album with an impressive
propulsion and volatile energy. Despite the mention of ôeasy-does-it campfire
tunesö on opener ôWeird Beard & Black Wolfö, the album avoids such quaint
pleasantries on ôFuture Hunterö a beefed-up song swelling with swirls of Moog
and Wurlitzer. Later ôIn the Wurlitzerö takes similar tones into murkier,
swampier territory, while ôSolely Bavariaö spreads it out into a gauzy expanse
of sound that mimics the wandering and exploration in the lyrics. These are all
new tangents for the band, and theyÆve of a piece with one another, a new muscle
to the bandÆs still sweet sound, but none of them tread the same ground.
In fact, itÆs that idea of what ground to tread that drives the album. ItÆs easy
when a band enters its 14th year to start talking about how their music
addresses aging. But thatÆs not Bronze Age. Instead, itÆs a smaller look at how
we move forward day-to-day, how we recover from this mistake, or how we get
through this day, or how we take in this experience. ThereÆs certainly error and
regret floating around, the catharsis found, on ôWeird Beard & Black Wolfö, in
when the narrator ôrearrange[s] his faceö is a short-lived one. ôHandspringsö,
meanwhile, doesnÆt deal in the same drama. It admits to small mistakes (ôIÆll
screw up and misspell all the names I knew so wellö) without giving into them,
while still readying to ômake some plans for ringing in another yearö. ThereÆs
some travel as therapy hereùsee ôSolely Bavariaö or ôCusterÆs Lastöùbut itÆs
also in service of finding perspective. These songs take stock of the past,
honors its pleasures and account for its darker moments.
If thereÆs no conclusion, the music itself seems to offer a sort of closure.
That closure, though, comes in remaining wide open. Bronze Age looks over its
shoulder, but for the last time, readying not to settle but instead for the next
future to hunt. No wonder, then, that when these songs donÆt crunch with
newfound rock heft, they churn with murky texture. ôHandspringsö unwinds into a
slow, boggy breakdown, while mid-album standout ôHow Things Are Doneö stirs up
an overcast, bittersweet atmosphere of organ and guitar layers that stretch to
some sonic border way in the distance.
These are the new parameters of the Kingsbury Manx. TheyÆve honed their sound,
twisting it in fresh ways over the years, but Bronze Age is their most
adventurous turn yet, and results in their finest set of tunes to date. ItÆs as
meticulous and beautiful as past records, but thereÆs an abandon to this sound
that serves them well, that hints at the possibility the songs aim for, that
reminds us of the hungry sounds of bands pock-marking the city with flyers
before you could send emails, that show us the sound of a band doing things in
their own terms, terms we, as listeners, canÆt help but agree to considering
what they yield.