- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
Artist: A Paper Cup Band
Album: Detroit Vs. Farming
Label: Anti-Civ
Playtime: 32:51 min
Genre: Indie
URL: http://www.myspace.com/apapercupband
Rip date: 2009-06-06
Street date: 2009-01-09
Size: 38.33 MB
Type: Normal
Quality: 151 kbps / 4410kHz / Joint Stereo
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
A Paper Cup Band, a five piece group based out of Minneapolis on the Anti-Civ
label, just released their sophomore album Detroit Vs Farming. Their sound is
wildly eclectic and finds it way across many genres, but just like Blitzen
Trapper, A Paper Cup Band seem most at ease and write their best songs when
they go back to a tried and true Americana/Alt-Country sound. Their album,
clocking in at a lean 32 minutes, offers few easy answers and shows a band
that is unafraid to wrestle with their sound and challenge their listener.
Like the great Ames band Poison Control Center (or Pavement before them),
they seem to work best when their fractured pop songs are teetering on the
edge of completely falling apart, only to find that right component that
pulls the song together and leaves the listener slack jawed and begging for
more.
The album, while being wildly schizophrenic, has moments of bliss and allows
the bands to really stretch out and show their diverse range of influences.
There are many reference points that popped in my head during my first few
spins of Detroit Vs Farming. The slacker ôUntuck Your Shirt, Manö sounded
like Pavement with a horn solo, only to be followed by ôThe Passion/Bitters,ö
which sounded like Digital Ash-era Bright Eyes. ôFuture Passages,ö sounds
like it is a lost B-side from the early eighties Violent Femmes glory days.
ôSkip To My Ladyö has fuzzed out instruments, which combined with what sounds
like Calvin Johnson singing the background vocals, reminded me of both his
seminal Beat Happening work and his great Halo Benders work. On their Myspace
page they say two of their influences are Wilco and Califone, influences
evident on a few of the alt-country-with-a-twist tracks that pepper the
album. A few of the best are the straight forward ôDrinks and Poets,ö ôBold
as a Riverö and the thundering bass drum and pretty guitars of ôAwake with
Light.ö The album is as bold and dynamic as it is loose and quirky. The lack
of cohesiveness may be a deterrent to some people, but I found the variety to
be endearing and has proved to give me a different reason to like the album
each time I put it in. While they do wear their influences pretty
predominantly on their sleeves, at least they picked some great bands to
sound like, right?
While it may be uneven at times, Detroit vs Farming is an album that embraces
the chaos and uses it to make a rousing and engaging record. With their
sophomore album, A Paper Cup Band succeeded on multiple levels and provide a
strong starting point for what should be another great year for local music.
The band, who will be celebrating the release of the CD this Friday at the
Hexagon with a really great lineup, seem to have a bright future in front of
them.
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
01. Untuck Your Shirt, Man ( 2:32)
02. The Passion/Bitters ( 4:12)
03. Future Pastures ( 1:42)
04. No Drag ( 3:02)
05. Bodies Got Bones ( 3:07)
06. Drunks and Poets ( 2:50)
07. Skip To The Lady ( 2:06)
08. Dead Woman Country ( 2:07)
09. Detroit Vs. Farming ( 1:39)
10. Bold As A River ( 2:13)
11. Awake With Light ( 3:11)
12. (ahh ooh) ( 1:35)
13. Grumpy With The Bedroom Eyes ( 2:35)
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