Emotional Listening #26

Field Rexx - Blitzen Trapper (Lidkercow Ltd., 2004)
While Blitzen Trapper's discography has been hit-or-miss since 2007's Wild Mountain Nation, it's been fun to discover that the prior album, Field Rexx, mostly hits. They were still doing the whole woodsy folk rock mixed with psychedelic pop thing back in 2004 (with even more lo-fi production than WMN),  and Field Rexx is more consistent in sound and quality than pretty much all of the following releases. While there's no "Futures & Folly" (still one of my favorite songs from 2007) here, "Lux & Royal Shopper" comes close in all of its countrified psych-pop glory. "Summer Twin" and "Country Rain" are total acoustic fall jams and almost everything else in between is pretty much on par. There are some dull and borderline obnoxious moments, but they're easy to ignore on a fast flowing 15 track album.
Top jams: "Lux & Royal Shopper," "Love I Exclaim!," "Summer Twin," "40 Stripes," "Asleep for Days," "Leopard's Will to Die," "Country Rain," "Moving Minors Over County Lines"


I Fought the Law - The Bobby Fuller Four (Mustang, 1966)
Should I be embarrassed to admit that I never knew that The Bobby Fuller Four was the name of the group responsible for the version of The Crickets' "I Fought the Law" that I knew and loved as a child? My recent interest in this group is thanks to Wes Anderson's inclusion of "Let Her Dance" during the closing credits of his adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. I was not surprised that the band's 1966 album, titled, believe it or not, I Fought the Law, is a sunshine pop gem, loaded with bouncy rhythms, reverb, and surfy, jangly, chimey guitars. I don't know what else to say. Every song is good, some more so than others, but, yeah, this is a mighty fine record. "Julie," "You Kiss Me," "I Fought the Law," and closer "Never to be Forgotten" are especially great, but "Let Her Dance" has become one of my favorite songs from that era. Do you like The Byrds? You'd probably dig this.
Top jams: "Let Her Dance," "Julie," "Only When I Dream," "You Kiss Me," "I Fought the Law," "Another Sad and Lonely Night," "Take My Word," "Never to be Forgotten"


Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches - Happy Mondays (Factory, 1990)
I'm so glad this album found me. Bravender put "Kinky Afro" on a mix for me a few months ago, and if you couldn't tell from a recent post, it slaughtered me. I was not expecting to like the remainder of Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches as much as I do. On first listen, I had some difficulty shaking the cheesy, dated production (shocker: this was produced by Paul Oakenfold!) and tuneless vocals of Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder. But don't worry, I get it now. Landing somewhere in between brit-pop in the vein of The Stone Roses and piano-heavy house music, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches is a danceable guitar pop album with many memorable moments. "Kinky Afro," with its catchy lead guitar and gorgeous chords and strings, is without the question this album's best track. But, in spite of its U2-esque riff, "Dennis and Lois" might feature the best chorus, and "Harmony" is the best possible closer here. Anybody out there have any recommendations as to where I should go next with Happy Mondays?
Top jams: "Kinky Afro," "God's Cop," "Loose Fit," "Dennis and Lois," "Bob's Yer Uncle," "Step On," "Harmony"


Left and Leaving - The Weakerthans (Sub City, 2000)
My old high school friend Mike Goss, who played an enormous role in the development of my music taste in the early 2000s, tipped me off to The Weakerthans when I was in 11th grade, I think? He let me borrow their second album, Left and Leaving, and I just did not get it. I think it was too mellow for me at the time? 10+ years later, I totally do get it now. This is a sleepy, lush guitar pop record with the most literary of lyrics and really nice dynamics. The upbeat rockers ("Aside," "Watermark," "Exiles Among You") are sort of reminiscent of The Promise Ring, maybe? The ballads, and this is mostly a ballads album, have some nice twang, subtle as hell drumming, and top notch melodies. Well, excellent melodies run through the whole record. "Pamphleteer" is THE best! I'm curious as to if I should check out Fallow (1997) and Reconstruction Site (2003)? I was pretty into 2007's Reunion Tour. Anyway... Thoughts?
Top jams: "Everything Must Go!," "Aside," "Watermark," "Pamphleteer," "This is a Fire Door Never Leave Open," "Elegy for Elsabet," "Exiles Among You"


Painful - Yo La Tengo (Matador, 1993)
Yo La Tengo's gotta be one of the greatest bands in the entire world, right? I'm well versed in certain YLT records more than others, and Painful is the next one that I decided to schedule some intimate time with. Well worth it. The first five songs are stellar, and per your usual YLT record, this one is drastically different from track to track. They do that so well. They didn't seem to be messing with 60s music too much yet at this point, and it's cool to hear some nods to shoegaze here. The songs on Painful do a wonderful job mixing noise and atmosphere with pop sensibility and melody. "From a Motel 6," and "Double Dare" are excellent noise pop jams, while "Big Day Coming," "Superstar-Watcher," "Nowhere Near" and "A Worrying Thing" are gorgeous exercises in repetition and are all easily my favorite moments on the record. Things trail off a bit after "A Worrying Thing," until "I Heard You Looking," which is classic YLT album closer stuff. Also, Painful sounds exactly like fall, so now's the time to do it.
Top jams: "Big Day Coming," "From a Motel 6," "Double Dare," "Superstar-Watcher," "Nowhere Near," "A Worrying Thing," "I Heard You Looking"