Emotional Listening #43

The EP LP - Best Practices (Tiny Engines, 2012)
I'm not sure if Best Practices are even a band anymore. I first heard of them on punk year-end lists at the end of 2012, and liked their 2013 EP Sore Subjects. Their previous release, The EP LP, has an album's worth of songs (nine), but the length of an EP (around twelve minutes), thus the clever, confusing title. It may be mainly because of the vocals, but, these songs remind me of a less technical, boozier, sloppier (in a cool way) Bear vs. Shark: Plenty of atonal yelling, upbeat tempos, and loud guitars that touch on emo and pop punk. It's nothing to get obsessed over, but, this is some good, fun stuff.
Top jams: "DeerHunter," "Welcome to Erf," "Triple Kittens," "All the Bull," "Future Cougar"




Camoufleur - Gastr Del Sol (Drag City, 1998)
Gastr Del Sol were a 90s Chicago group on Drag City Records made up of Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs (whom I don't really know anything about). The Sea and Cake/Tortoise drummer John McEntire was involved at some point, too. I've been interested in these guys for several years now, due to the O'Rourke connection, and spotted Camoufleur, their final album, used on vinyl at Electric Fetus on my first weekend visiting my girlfriend Sara in Minneapolis back in March. My initial thought is that this is really cool to listen to for reference point of where O'Rourke went on his solo albums Eureka and Insignificance. I mean, they are all three very different albums, but, the overlapping is quite apparent. I'm not sure it is an appropriate descriptor, but, I guess you could call the music here post-rock. It's got that drawn out, aimless, dynamic thing going for it. There are no rock out moments though, which, actually is kind of nice. Camoufleur is most definitely sleepy time music. "The Seasons Reverse" is a terrific, jarring, yet, chill opener. If McEntire is anywhere on this album (and, I'm honestly not sure that he is), it would be on this jam. "Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder," "Each Dream is an Example" and "Mouth Canyon" are gorgeous, orchestrated, experimental chamber pop-esque ballads, the latter two coming close to Pet Sounds territory. "Black Hourse" and album closer, "Bauchredner," are weird acoustic ditties (with sort of rock band instrumentation in places) that sound the most O'Rourke-ian (though, after getting familiar with Eureka, I guess "Each Dream is an Example" kind of does, too). All the layered acoustic guitar tracks make for a truly beautiful soundtrack. I was expecting to like this record, but, am pleasantly surprised by exactly how hard it has hit me.
Top jams: "The Seasons Reverse," "Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder," "Black Horse," "Each Dream is an Example," "Mouth Canyon," "Bauchredner"




George Best - The Wedding Present (Reception, 1987)
My listening relationship with The Wedding Present began a couple years ago with 1994's Watusi. I have finally made it back to their 1987 debut, George Best, and I am loving it. Watusi still showcased the band's brand of guitar-centric jangle pop, but, perhaps in a more produced, angular, beefed up manner. If you can believe it, George Best is even more jangly. Like, some of the guitar strumming on this record is the fastest I've ever heard. Production-wise, it sounds very 80s, particularly in the huge, flat drum sound. Admittedly, some of my favorite Wedding Present songs, at least to my knowledge at this point, are on Watusi, but, as a whole, I may regard George Best in higher esteem, thanks to its consistency. David Gedge's vocal melodies are smart, complex and wonderfully catchy. And, I am in love with the unique, memorable bass parts, as well as that gnarly bass tone. There are a lot of great tracks here, but, "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft," "All This and More" and "My Favourite Dress" take the cake, with "Anyone Can Make a Mistake" being best of all.
Top jams: "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft," "Don't be So Hard," "All This and More," "My Favourite Dress," "Shatner," "Something and Nothing," "Anyone Can Make a Mistake," "You Can't Moan, Can You?," "All About Eve"