Cumulus - I Never Meant It To Be Like This
Label.........................: Trans-
Genre.........................: Indie
StoreDate.....................: Oct-01-2013
Source........................: CDDA
Grabber.......................: Exact Audio Copy (Secure Mode)
Encoding Scheme...............: Lame 3.98.4 V0 VBR Joint-Stereo
Size..........................: 69.60 MB
Total Playing Time............: 41:20
Release Notes:
Cumulus began as a confessional art project of
singer/guitarist/songwriter Alexandra Niedzialkowski (nee-jul-KOFF-ski).
With the addition of childhood friend Lance Umble on guitar and Leah
Julius on bass, Cumulus became a proper rock and roll band.
And ôproperö is the word. AlexÆs songs are a study in juxtapositions:
delicate but powerful, specific but universal, na∩ve but knowing, and
above all personal despite being steeped in the classic pop themesùlove,
loss, youth, wonder, disappointment, joy. In Umble, she has a
counterpart expanding her songsÆ unguarded feeling and simplified solo
arrangements into a complex sonic universe teeming with harmonic
possibility and throbbing with noise. Sometimes gentle, sometimes
utterly the opposite, the waves of sound coming from UmbleÆs dexterous,
muscular guitars form a protective layer to surround NiedzialkowskiÆs
hushed voiceùnot to drown it out, but to let it be heard all the more
clearly. Seattle musician Leah Julius, who they met at a Bruce
Springsteen tribute show, of all places, offered to play bass for
Cumulus despite never having played the instrument in her life. They
happily accepted, which meant Julius had to learn the songs and the
instrument all at once. This crash course became the glue between the
disparate elements at the bandÆs core.
Trans- will release CumulusÆ debut full-length, I Never Meant It To Be
Like This, this autumn. The album, produced by the band at Phil
ElverumÆs studio The Unknown in Anacortes, WA, is what Spin has called
ôàan elegant, understated work of deftly flickering guitar pop,ö and ôa
comforting rainy-day blanket.ö We prefer to think of the record as a
masterpiece in miniatureùten songs of expansive, explosive indie pop at
whose epicenter are the indelible melodies and haunting twilight voice
of singer/guitarist/songwriter Alexandra Niedzialkowski.
For reference: I Never Meant It To Be Like This places Cumulus squarely
alongside contemporary acts like Best Coast, The Dum Dum Girls, and
Tennis, while reaching back to a not-so-distant golden age of indie pop
when good bands had hits, and the knack for wide-readership hooks
(Elastica, Veruca Salt, Juliana Hatfield) and loud guitars (Yo La Tengo,
My Bloody ValentineÆs first album) didnÆt preclude a heroic dose of
delicacy (Heavenly, the Delgados, Velocity Girl, Tiger Trap). All of
which is to say you could almost mistake Cumulusù who appear, letÆs face
it, pretty adorableùfor twee if they didnÆt rock so commandingly.
Tracklisting
01. Do You Remember 3:05
02. Hey Love 3:37
03. Middle 5:15
04. Ocean Song 3:34
05. Wanderlust 4:56
06. End Of The World 3:25
07. Little Ghost 3:08
08. Morning Coffee 4:57
09. Fiction 5:46
10. Night Swimming 3:37
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