-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Ambient * Ethereal *
Artist..: My Sad Captains
Album...: Best Of Times
GENRE....: Alternative
STYLE....: Indie, Pop, Folk
LABEL....: Bella Union SCENE.....: 2015-01-26
BITRATE..: 233 kbps avg STORE.....: 2014-03-17
ENCODER..: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 TRACKS....: 9
SIZE.....: 78.13MB SOURCE....: CD
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sad_Captains
- TRACKLIST
1 Goodbye 4:36
2 Wide Open 4:51
3 In Time 7:04
4 All Times Into One 5:35
5 Extra Curricular 5:28
6 All in Your Mind 3:04
7 Hardly There 6:07
8 Keeping On, Keeping On 3:43
9 Familiar Ghosts 5:40
Total Playtime: 46:08
Best of Times is the third studio album released by the English band My Sad
Captains on March 17, 2014 through Bella Union Records. The album was
recorded in London and mixed by Larry Crane in Portland (OR). A single,
'Goodbye' was released on January 29 with a video directed by Dan Davis
featuring Vincent Meehan (aka Lavinia Co-op).
*
I recently read a book that changed my life. Now, IÆm well aware that reads
as hoary overstatement, and a glance at your record shelf will no doubt show
aberrations in the collection that are testament to some hackÆs baseless
hyperbole. But the book in question, Quiet by Susan Cain, is powerful for its
considered reliance on understatement. ItÆs a treatise on the power of the
introvert in a world that often thinks volume is a panacea to all ills, to a
society that can perversely elevate talk above action. It made me realise
that, like a lot of people, my wiring is fundamentally fine - IÆm just, say,
more Radio 4 than Radio 1. Suddenly a slew of preoccupations, like why I shun
company for books or records, or why I find small talk so excruciating I want
to rip my own skin off, were swept away. I found a new calmness and
confidence, and IÆve since recommended it to so many people I should be on
commission (Susan, if youÆre reading...).
In case Ed Wallis of My Sad Captains hasnÆt read it, he should know that Best
of Times is in many ways its aural equivalent. On æWide OpenÆ, he has a
single, simple insight, singing the songÆs only line ôI wonder why you feel
the need to talk so loud like there isnÆt anybody else aroundö over looped,
pirouetting guitar, flares of tasteful feedback and a steady krautrock beat.
A lyric less than a tweet in length turned into a stunning mantra, itÆs the
definition of less being more. And thereÆs no judgement, no scabrous sneer,
just encouraging acceptance in its repeated delivery. ItÆs one of many
highlights on an LP that speaks volumes for understatement and the beauty of
quiet, wounded optimism.
This is the defining work from a band that have done their hard yards. But,
yes, like the clichΘ of the quiet person at the party, itÆs also more
complicated than it appears, with nine songs - the majority of which
comfortably break the five minute mark - featuring a graceful mix of musical
textures. Some may be put off as itÆs unapologetically reflective, a lamp lit
thinkerÆs headphones record that needs some attention. But that said, its
bravery is that itÆs really not made for those who always crave company and
superficial stimuli. Not that thereÆs anything wrong with that, of course.
It starts with surrender and ending, a break from the bandÆs soft-focus,
guitar-leaning indie from previous record Fight Less Win More, after which
they were added to the reliably wonderful Bella Union roster. The new balance
between electronic and acoustic is perfect, like an introvert trading off
traits with themselves; socializing and forcing the small talk, before
retreating home to a book and a blanket. æGoodbyeÆ - an adieu to their old
selves, perhaps - embodies the change, with keening pulses of synth and
sputtering waves of digital noise paired with judicious acoustic and slippery
electric guitars and propulsive motorik beats.
ItÆs an aesthetic that has its full potential gently teased out over the
record, often to stunning effect. Wallis talks of the approach being to give
the songs 'space and stillness to developà taking side roads and detours
whilst still maintaining purpose.' This is clearest on æIn TimeÆ, a flash of
synth diverting into a traditional strummed lament on love and loss, before
the self-same picture is painted in a different style: an acoustic song
slowly morphing into an electronic one as layers of gorgeous synth and drone
replace traditional instruments. An electronic beat replaces an acoustic
drum, like a pacemaker, before the technology finally collapses, the logical
unable to process the emotion of the songÆs loss.
What sets Best of Times apart is that everything about the record has been
subject to unusual care and attention, making it compelling as itÆs a
confident listen that, nonetheless, deals with love, loss and time.
Self-produced, itÆs perfectly judged - songs bloom at just the right times,
bearing the fruits of the labour and thought invested. æExtra CurricularÆ
uses a Motown bass groove and a swimming synth sample as primer for the
parping brass and swirling brushes of organ, reminiscent of Yo La TengoÆs
effortless incorporation of, well, anything they fancy into indie rock.
æHardly ThereÆ, a song about avoiding reminders of an ex after a breakup,
goes one better in its neat catharsis as layers of noise settle like first
snows on an acoustic slowcore opening, building to a tactile, tearing
crescendo. It has the same tension between the sweetly disciplined and the
errantly sour that YLT have perfected, and could easily sit on And Then
Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out.
The comparison is apt, as MSC are really now an art rock project, just
without the pretense and packaging. They have a wider scope and assimilate
influences seamlessly, the record striking a perfect balance between free
roaming ideas and execution in an unassuming alchemy, all elements in perfect
balance. ItÆs a statement as bold as it is gentle, is stronger for it, and
will repay time invested in it tenfold. ItÆs the unmistakable sound of a band
comfortable with having discovered that quiet is just in their character, and
that those with the quietest voices can still cut through the squall.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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