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Loose Fur
Born Again in the U.S.A.
What a triumph.
The new LP from Loose Fur is everything that music dorks hoped for when the trio’s slightly disappointing original self-titled EP was released in 2003.
Comprised of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche and Jim O’Rourke (producer extraordinaire, former bassist for Sonic Youth), Loose Fur has now become the side-project that should be an official band.
Born Again in the U.S.A. sees the trio upping the ante, offering up 10 diverse and altogether excellent tracks. Where the initial EP had its moments, “Chinese Apple” for one, the new LP sounds like a small masterpiece of melody, polyrhythmic percussion, tight grooves and intelligent lyrics.
“The Ruling Class” is pure genius, with the band taking a quick, sonic, half-ironic, half-full-of-intent step back into the 1970s. Think Jim Croce or early Billy Joel. Tweedy delivers a dead-on tale of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the modern world. Sans sandals and speeches, Christ is now (jokingly) seen by Tweedy as part ex-hippie-junkie, part suit-and-tie Enron-like business executive.
On top of smooth, warm drums, fluid bass and the catchiest whistle part since Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience,” Tweedy delivers lyrics like, “He’s having dinner with the upper management of the new regime,” in a softer-than-soft voice that will have you humming and smiling at the same time.
And when Tweedy’s not throwing knives, O’Rourke is. Singing in his usual softer-than-Tweedy voice, O’Rourke (as always) coats his words in irony and fake drama. Yet where O’Rourke’s delivery soon became tired on his LP, here, thanks to the musical background, O’Rourke is able to sound more like a vintage Leonard Cohen than a burned-out Lee Hazlewood.
Kudos to Loose Fur for their ability to rock out on a few tracks here. It’s good to hear Tweedy and Kotche kicking the tempo up a notch – the only thing that’s been missing from Wilco lately. And when combined with the gorgeous bliss of softer landscapes like “Thou Shalt Wilt,” with a truly on-fire Tweedy, you have a side-project LP that is 50 times more interesting than the albums that most “real” bands put out.
-Brian Smith
You Are There
The genre of instrumental post-rock is exploding right now. Bands like Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Japan’s own Mono are all exploring the genre and producing work that all follows similar patterns. The usual formula involves quiet muted parts building to walls of sound. Words like layered, textured and cinematic abound because they do describe the genre so well. Mono haven’t really brought anything new to the table with their latest album, You Are There, but they still manage to create beautiful melancholic instrumental music.
You Are There is a great album. It pulls and pushes with its extended arrangements, and Mono demonstrate that they are adept at sculpting their melodic sound. While no song immediately stands out as “the best,” the entire album flows perfectly, playing well as an extended composition. You Are There is a strong album because it doesn’t get lost in the quiet moments. Often when listening to one of the many instrumental post-rock albums that abound these days, that is the primary sticking point – the songs lose themselves during the lulls. Mono, however, use the quiet portion of their songs to their advantage, creating tension that builds until the denser sections of layered guitar-work take over.
A typical Mono song starts out quiet, using soft, delayed ambience. This softness builds into a slowly moving guitar melody. And that’s really what Mono is all about – guitar melodies. The first track, “The Flames Beyond the Cold Mountain,” is an excellent example of the type of dynamics that Mono employs. It builds into a powerful crescendo of textured guitar fuzz. The music of Mono would work well as a soundtrack to a somber film.
Let’s talk about who shouldn’t listen to Mono. People with short attention spans or attention deficit disorder need not apply. While Mono isn’t boring, parts of their songs move very slowly, but that is part of their sound. The songs ebb and flow. This isn’t pop music and not everyone will like it. There are no easy hooks or danceable parts, but the music is emotional and powerful. Mono create music for the quiet, contemplative moments in life and You Are There is the best album they’ve ever produced.
-Ed Johnson
NPON (Nothing Positive, Only Negative)
When presented with a band called Facedowninshit you pretty much know exactly what you’re getting yourself into – extremely angry music. On their Relapse Records debut Nothing Positive, Only Negative, Facedowninshit output maximum attitude in 40 minutes of hate-filled sludge metal. Their songs, with unassuming names like “Fucked” and “Plasma Center Blues,” are the classic sludge mixture of down-tuned guitars and southern-fried blues riffs. The vocals are screamed with fury and deeply felt hatred for the world. The lyrics are, well, to put it lightly, pissed off and nihilistic, which is not surprising considering it’s sludge metal. The track “Plasma Center Blues” extols the virtues of selling plasma for just enough money to get drunk. Nothing Positive, Only Negative ain’t easy-listening music, but if you are in a really bad mood, or just like to listen to good angry music, give it a shot.
-Ed Johnson
