Emotional Listening #16

Icky Mettle - Archers of Loaf (Alias, 1993)
Towards the end of 2010 and into 2011, I finally took the plunge with Archers of Loaf. I was instantly won over by the dirty yet melodic guitars as well as the poppier undertones of 1996's All the Nations Airports. However, regarding their 1993 debut LP, Icky Mettle, it took until much more recently to see the light. There's not as much variety in sound here, and some of the songs run together. But, there are definitely plenty of standouts. You couldn't ask for a better opener than "Web in Front," which has to be one of the GREAT indie rock songs of all time. "Fat" is a completely noisy mess, yet, somehow, it is utterly beautiful. "Might" and "Plumb Line" easily match the quality of the best tracks from All the Nation's Airports, and I wouldn't want Icky Mettle to end any other way than with "Slow Worm." I apologize for just listing all the great songs instead of offering up any real description. On Icky Mettle, Archers of Loaf's brand of noisy but perfectly intentional and melodic indie rock (with a slight hint of Midwest emo, if you ask me) is at it's messiest, but it all works awesomely.
Top jams: "Web in Front," "Wrong," "Might," "Hate Paste," "Fat," "Plumb Line," "Sick File," "Slow Worm"


Will You Find Me - Ida (Tiger Style, 2000)
I had quite a few friends in college who were really into Ida, and I always disregarded them as a boring slowcore band. Little did I know how gorgeous their gentle and yes, very slow, folk stylings actually were. Will You Find Me is their fourth, and arguably seminal, album, and while I could do without the last five tracks (they are real snoozers), the first nine are pretty much flawless. I guess the most appealing aspect of Ida is their penchant for strong harmonies, and Will You Find Me showcases some of the best in the game. Some of the songs here are too long, but in the case of "Maybelle," in all of its American Football folk glory, I can overlook it. "Shrug" has a nice groove and towards the end a really interesting chord pattern, and it probably has to be the best song on the record, right? Overall, an album that exclusively featured just these first nine tracks would be at worst a 9/10, IMO. As it stands, however, I would give Will You Find Me in its entirety an 8/10, so the indulgent ending doesn't ruin things too much. Now, a question for you Ida fans out there: Where do you recommend I go with them next?
Top jams: "Down On Your Back," "Maybelle," "This Water," "Shrug," "The Radiator," "Shotgun," "Turn Me On," "Man in Mind," "Past the Past"


Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts - M83 (Gooom/Labels, 2003)
As obnoxiously dramatic as Alex Gonzalez's songs can be, I love just about every synth sound he's ever used. Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts is M83's 2003 breakout album, and I'm not sure why I'm just now getting around to listening to it. If memory serves me correctly, I recall most reviews of the album claiming it to be a shoegaze epic played on synthesizers instead of guitars. I would argue that it's more of a post-rock album, and if all the synth parts and chord progressions here were played with guitars, it would just sound like Explosions in the Sky or some bullshit. Alas, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts is a dark slow burner that overruns with synths, and it is really beautiful. It is relatively formless, and it's easy to get lost in that, but sometimes it's nice to get into an album that doesn't follow your traditional pop format. The overall production, especially how awesomely huge the synths are and how hilariously cheesy the fake drums sound (nice contrast!), helps to detract from the overwhelming drama. I'm truly impressed, and getting into this is making me antsy to revisit all of the more recent M83 records. Two finals things to note: (1) "Run Into Flowers" is INCREDIBLE, and (2) my main complaint about this album is that it doesn't have any stupidly hilarious song titles like "A Guitar and a Heart."
Top jams: "Unrecorded," "Run Into Flowers," "In Church," "America," "Noise," "Be Wild," "Cyborg"


Chronic Town EP - R.E.M. (I.R.S., 1982)
Chronic Town is R.E.M.'s debut EP, and a precurser to one of the greatest records of all time: Murmer. And, guess what? It's perfect. All five tracks here are on par with anything from Murmer, let alone with some of the greatest R.E.M. songs ever. Peter Buck's 12-string jangles and chimes at its best on "Wolves, Lower" and "1,000,000," and it still rules every where else. Mike Mills' bass and Bill Berry's drums bounce all over the place, and Michael Stipe's vocals fit right in with perfect equilibrium. It's equally fascinating, frustrating and inspiring to be listening to a band at the earliest point of their career, and finding that they were writing and recording flawless songs even back then. I mean, this shit is insanely good, and definitely reaffirms the fact that the band's early 80s stuff is some of the greatest music ever put to tape. If your name is Matt Rickle or Julian Wettlin and you're still being stubborn about checking out R.E.M., get your heads out of your asses and start here. It's only five songs, for Christ's sake.
Top jams: "Wolves, Lower," "Gardening at Night," "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)," "1,000,000," "Stumble"