The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Every Tuesday, the Sounding Board is a space for a short-ish review of a recent-ish release and conversations about new-to-you music. I’ll get things started with a write-up about a newer, likely under-heard album, and invite you to share your music musings in the comments.
This was almost a column about CupcakKe.
The superhumanly raunchy Chicago emcee released a new album last week, so I was, as terminally online pop culture devotees say, seated. The BakKery1 is an utterly captivating blend of effervescence and filth featuring incredibly catchy hooks, double-time barrages of prurience that would make Lil’ Kim blush and the kind of bright beats that own property in hyperpop’s neighborhood. It’s a transgressive joy, and well worth a listen. Still, over the past week, my mind often returned to an album released earlier this month that might be The BakKery‘s negative forged in black metal — The Spiritual Sound2 by Agriculture.3
Like CupcakKe’s album, the difficult-to-Google California “ecstatic black metal” band’s second LP is a varied barrage of intriguing sounds best enjoyed at high volumes and F-bombs.4 However, Agriculture’s taste for bleak, gnarled, sky-splitting metal is more than a little at odds with CupcakKe’s the rainbow fish-meets-gleeful sex worker at a carnival atmosphere. When Agriculture reaches into the Carlin lexicon, it’s to express sentiments like “Death is the ultimate fucker.” CupcakKe’s music is often an unbridled expression of appetite in every sense of the word, while Agriculture spends a lot of time pontificating on ascetic spiritual tenets and legendary monks. While this throughline is clearly communicated by The Spiritual Sound‘s title, the album’s song titles (“Bodhidharma” and “Hallelujah,” for example) or consulting a lyrics sheet, it’s not always very apparent when listening to the album. That’s also true of the band’s thoughtful approach to queer expression. It’s there, but easy to miss.
That’s because lyrics are often delivered in a piercing, bloody-throated shriek that barely makes sense as a human voice. Bassist and vocalist Leah B. Levinson’s voice sounds like it should be emanating from a dark, ethereal wraith that evidently suffered a great deal before passing into undeath, or maybe a horrifically tortured and vengeful goblin. It’s a high, moist sound that’s able to draw and quarter vowels for sublimely torturous ages. The band’s other vocalist, guitarist Dan Meyer, is perfectly capable of dredging up a gravelly, haunted scream, too. The harsh hollers are often backed by suitably wanton blasts of guitar-driven annihilation from Meyer and Richard Chowenhill, the latter of whom can solo with a rare sort of violent virtuosity. Drummer Kern Haug manages to match that intensity in bursts that would leave the Energizer Bunny lifeless and limp. When Agriculture operates at peak intensity, the force is absolutely elemental.5
What makes The Spiritual Sound great, and kept the album on my mind is that Agriculture’s music isn’t always a frothing stampede thundering toward the edge of oblivion, and it’s just as good when they soften things up a bit.6 The gallop of “Micah (5:15)” is basically extra amped-up hardcore, and “Serenity” sounds like it could have been cut from Ty Segall Band’s Slaughterhouse, a wonderful hard-rock album but not something likely to be categorized as any kind of metal. “Dan’s Love Song” is a pretty exercise in cloudy-headed shoegaze that suggests Meyer could lead a conventional indie rock band if he wanted to. It’s a considerable change of pace, but if one song has to exemplify the album’s variety, it’s “Bodhidharma.” In any just scenario, “Hallelujah” could be cited in tandem since it immediately follows “Bodhidharma,” and the two tracks are directly connected lyrically.
“Bodhidharma” is a nearly six-and-a-half-minute epic that starts with a heavy, searing riffage that falls away just in time for a scream of “You look like you’re dying.” Soft singing and a barely there drum beat keep the song crawling along until the riff makes a brief return. After a screaming breakdown, gentle melodic guitar and clear vocals make a dreamy advance and hold sway for about a minute. The riff returns, this time with fiery tremolo guitar accompaniment that simultaneously inspires tightly balled fists and a wide smile. After one last burst of manic energy, “Bodhidharma” closes out with a chunky, slow-chugging guitar that perfectly sets the table for the rubber band snap of the beginning of “Hallelujah.” For its first two minutes, The Spiritual Sound‘s penultimate song is a somber, drum-free strummer featuring Meyer’s best clean vocal performance. It follows that up with roughly 20 seconds of silence, a sort of feint toward finality and still waters, that’s stopped when ripples of gentle guitar lap the song’s shore. It doesn’t stay gentle; however, and frenzied bursts of guitar bring the song to its conclusion.
Album-closer “The Reply” similarly oscillates between quiet and loud, gentle and harsh. Like the rest of The Spiritual Sound, it’s good, but it’s one trip to the volume fluctuation well too much — especially when Agriculture reached a perfect ending for the album at the conclusion of “Hallelujah.” Still, it’s impossible to wish for less of The Spiritual Sound‘s by-turns caustic and melodic charms.
The Spiritual Sound suffers ever so slightly for its excesses, but it is never boring or bloated, and Agriculture finds ways to be interesting in whatever lane it chooses to occupy. Every quiet moment is spent knowing that any time there isn’t actively an obliviating squall in your ears, you’re resting on a tenuous fault line. A jolt of energy and full-body rumble that will end the peace is never far from mind or from actually happening. When that tectonic release does come, the feeling is ecstatic.
About the writer
Ben Hohenstatt
Ben Hohenstatt is an Alaska-based dog owner who moonlights as a music writer and photographer.
For more information, consult your local library or with parental permission visit his website.
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Year of the Month
A new Iceage album is now treated like a Capital-E Event. That wouldn't be the case without Plowing into the Field of Love.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Department of
Conversation
This review has an incredible density of killer turns of phrase. Not 100% sure I’d jive with this, but the write-up is a classic.
What Did We Watch?
The Mastermind – love it when Kelly Reichardt applies her traditionally slow-paced approach to a traditional thriller plot. This one’s an art heist, but the joy is in watching Josh O’Connor struggle to deal with the aftermath after things inevitably go wrong, and puzzle over why he thought he’d ever get away with it in the first place. Loved the 70s stylings and the excellent cast of character actors, I’d put this up with her best films even if that description will always include “and yeah there was one point where a guy took so long to do one thing that I fell asleep a bit”.
Kelly Reichardt takes Lou Reed’s advice seriously: “First thing you learn is that you always gotta wait”
The Kids In The Hall, Season Four, Episode Eight
“No, no, I meant to say yes!”
“Did you know movie stars get their hair cut every day?”
“You alluded to the death of your mother?”
“Yes. Do you have a message from her?”
“I just can’t drink like I did when I was forty.”
DULL SINCE THE HEART ATTACK
FOUR YEARS TIL THE NEXT HEART ATTACK
11 MINUTES UNTIL THE NEXT HEART ATTACK
“I’m also fat and coincidentally nicknamed ‘Jumbo’. Coincidence?”
JUMBO UNDERWATER
“Pleasure to meet ya, you dead-eyed corporate lackeys.”
So much of this show is driven by frustration or fascination with boring people. This is why I’m skeptical of the so-called ‘loneliness epidemic’ – there have always been people like this.
“The old bastard can read my thoughts!”
“My God, you’re all peasants. […] You humourless sons of whores.”
The Lowdown, “The Devil’s Mama”
The dialogue on this show is top-notch: funny, clever, and unpredictable. (Lee getting twisted by circumstances, pride, and spite into claiming he’s getting private judo lessons from a man in his eighties is a highlight.) One of the interesting dramatic and comedic engines here is the amateur, off-the-books status of Lee and most of his allies; it doesn’t always mean they’re incompetent, but it does usually mean that, Keith David excepted, they’re not professional (and usually not even half as badass as they’re pretending to be). Sometimes, you want a car destroyed, and it ends up in a rap video.
I wish Dale Dickey would offer me a Hot Pocket.
I don’t even like Hot Pockets and I agree.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “The Older Sister” – Well done and all but I am not particularly invested in the Lizzie Borden story so this wasn’t for me.
The Practice, “Target Practice” – A couple whose daughter was killed by gun violence sues the manufacturer for marketing its assault weapons to criminals. Jimmy is at his best here, or maybe it’s Michael Baddaluco who is at his best. He’s really been the most consistent actor this season. (This case, it’s worth noting, could not be brought now as a 2005 federal shield law protects the entire gun industry. Isn’t that great?) Meanwhile, Eugene’s 11 year old son is arrested for marijuana possession. Turns out he was planning to sell it, and felt he could get away with it because he learned all the legal tricks from his dad. The result of this: the kid only gets probation, but Eugene’s ex-wife (who we’re seeing for the first time) wants to end joint custody. A continuation of Eugene’s ongoing crisis of consciousness, carried home effectively.
Frasier, “Dark Side of the Moon” – Daphne, after causing a four car pileup, is sent to court mandated counseling and spells out just what led to the accident. A chain of events that seemed to start with her wedding shower, followed by the arrival of her least favorite brother (Anthony LaPaglia), but she and the therapist realize it’s actually about her feelings for Niles. A fun and well constructed episode that sets up the big season finale, and has Daphne calling Niles by his first name for the first time. S. Epatha Merkerson is very good as the therapist, and I wonder if maybe someone finally realized the best way to have Black characters is to just let them part of the story and not part of a “very special episode.”
The Witch – Showed it to a friend who felt like she couldn’t breathe for the majority of the movie. Still largely a stunner and Eggers uses his understanding of stagecraft and blocking to make the experience even more unsettling and uncomfortably intimate. The average digital indie movie camera still can’t capture the nuances of a grey, overcast New England (or Canadian) day, but the Expressionist lighting of the interior and the woods at night are overwhelming, right down to the last shot.
What Did We Listen To?
”Tonight, I’ll Be Staying Here With You (Live at Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec 0 December 1975)”, Bob Dylan
New project: I’m gonna hit random on my Liked Music playlist, and whatever song comes up, I’ll write about it in depth. I’ve been frustrated by the limits of my music writing for a while now, and I think this is what I want to do to make it really interesting to me. I know already I like the song, and it’ll be fun to get into the nitty-gritty and try and get my head around it.
Style and Form
This is actually pretty average for Dylan – it’s not the cycle of verses he goes for that makes a song feel blocky, but it’s not Beatlesesque complexity either. Verse, verse, bridge, verse, instrumental bridge, verse – extremely normal for a pop song, although it has the final two verses repeat, possibly intentionally implying that he forgot the lyrics and just repeated himself (he also nearly slips on one line in the song).
Melody and Harmony
I admit I’m pushing my understanding a bit (I’m consciously imitating the structure of an Alan W Pollack article) – I couldn’t tell you the heights or lows of the melody. I do notice that this is in the exact same key as the studio version (G Major), except for two things: he has a capo in his guitar to push it to A Major, and the bridge is shifted to B flat Major as opposed to the c minor of the original. It fits with the exploding carnival tone of Rolling Thunder (which gets namechecked in the lyrics).
Dylan is more defiant and desperate, practically begging for release; what I do recognise about the melody is how it slowly travels across the spectrum from low to high and back.
Arrangement
Like I said, this is the exploding carnival of Rolling Thunder. I wonder if this actually has fewer instruments than it sounds like.
Intro
This boldly declares its intentions immediately, with the whole band coming in at once. I enjoy the guitar climbing the chords as they seem to fall.
Verse
This has typical Dylanesque riffing on the blues structure; the third and fourth sections fall a lot more wistfully than the blues generally does, matching with the way the lyrics shift from defiant to vulnerable. Unlike the studio version, Dylan makes sure to end the melody rising rather than falling.
Bridge
There’s a very short section that the guitar uses to drag us up into the new key. This has a slightly different riff on the blues structure, keeping the AABA structure only to reveal itself as AABa – using b minor instead of B Flat Major and then veering off into E Major, then ending with a bunch of different chords. I suppose things are almost familiar, only to find ourselves out in the woods, like a guy with a very poor grasp of music theory in over his head.
Outro
I think this is a repeat of the intro, though by this point it only barely sounds familiar, and the lead guitar is winding down.
Some Final Thoughts
I love this song because it’s exciting to listen to. It amuses me that Dylan chose to have a very technically proficient voice here and in nowhere else in his career (shortly after coming off the only point in his career where he gave up smoking and less his voice sound smoother). This kind of desperate-yet-manful begging is right in my wheelhouse of rock songs. There’s touches of vulnerability that make it interesting too (“I was feeling a little bit scattered / And your love was all that mattered”). Rock is really good at this kind of boastful fronting with a vulnerable side.
This is a very cool breakdown. I don’t know enough about music on a technical level to write about it like this, but it’s fascinating to read.
Neither do I – I’m just writing stuff that sounds right.
I mean there’s really no need to mystify music theory. In any key, the main chords — what is the structure of practically almost every song that you hear — are I, IV, and V (but they need not be in this order). So in the key of A: A, D, and E.
Then you have substitutions; the relative (sounds similar) minor of I is vi. So the relative minor of E is Bm. To put it concisely, Dylan is using the Bm to get to E in the bridge.
I made it a little over complicated: in the key of A major, b minor is the minor second chord and E major is the major fifth chord.
To get to the bridge, Dylan is going from the minor second chord to the major fifth chord: b minor to E major
The relative minor of E major is c sharp minor (not b minor, as I said earlier).
So it’s sort of like he’s delicately changing the subject? Rather than jumping straight from A to E, he’s using b minor to softly move us into E?
That’s a great way of putting it!
Maybe two thirds of the way through the Blank Check on True Grit. Even when the guest is good and the discussion is good, I am finding it harder and harder to get through three hours. But at least they’ve saved me from watching Watson any time soon.
1001 Albums, etc.:
The Teardrop Explodes – Kilimanjaro: pretty good, I had a Teardrop Explodes compilation at one point and have read a couple of Julian Cope’s books but I haven’t really dug into their individual albums (band or solo), this had a couple of the hits and the songwriting and arrangements were generally enjoyable even if the brass / wind stuff feels a little cheaper and more synthetic than some of the bands around these times (e.g. Dexy’s and…)
…The Specials – More Specials: surprisingly diverse sounds here, from my limited knowledge of The Specials I expected them to stick pretty firmly within the ska genre but they’re immediately branching out here and it made for a really fun listen.
Steve Winwood – Arc of a Diver: kudos to the ex-Traffic man for making an album that doesn’t sound like Traffic, this is more in Peter Gabriel prog-pop territory. I liked the arrangements (some really nice synths here) but not so much the songwriting or the vocals. But yeah at least it’s not 70s bluesy rock, small blessings.
Pretenders – Pretenders: I was familiar with a few Pretenders songs that I assumed would be from different eras but weirdly this album starts out as a scrappy punk album and ends up as a mature pop-rock album, most bands would surely do this over the course of a few records? Anyway they have some good songs but I didn’t much care for the production, too much muddy chorused guitar that doesn’t let the songs breathe.
Einstürzende Neubauten – Kollaps: noisy in an appealing way. I expected this to be somewhat abrasive, and it is, but not in a way that grated on me like (for example) Public Image Limited. Kinda playful in its weirdness, I did not expect a Serge Gainsbourg cover!
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Juju: I was disappointed with how much I didn’t like the first Siouxsie album, but this one (their fourth) was one of the best surprises of the list so far. Some really great songs, with some killer guitar work – “Into The Light” in particular is fantastic. Gets a bit TOO gothy in the second half to be a new favourite maybe but definitely a really strong album I’ll return to.
Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement: heard this one before, it’s an odd mix of “we left the Human League to make music that isn’t quite as good as the Human League” and “what if we tried a funkier sound with slap bass?” – both of them deliver SOME results but I’ve never been a big slap bass guy (“We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thing” is a top-tier title though) and the synthpop stuff just makes me want to put Dare on.
Go-Go’s – Beauty and the Beat: always feel like I should like these a little more than I actually do, it’s a fun new-wavey pop-rock album but it’s only really the two big singles (“Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got The Beat”) that ever stick with me.
There was a much better, more eloquent comment here, trust me, but then I accidentally refreshed the page and lost it.
The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem
Most of the playfulness here doesn’t work for me–it either feels too juvenile or provocative without doing much with that provocation–but I was delighted by “Ken Kaniff,” a skit that goes in some unexpected directions, with surprises that can only be done in this format. In general, though, the darker and rawer songs were my favorites, though the whole album is catchy as hell. “Stan”–admittedly not raw at all, but polished and reflective–is a classic, of course, and it’s wild to see how early it falls in the album, wider contextualization before anything needs to be in context. It feels like Eminem’s Jackie Brown, the art that he “should” have made years later, a seeming stylistic evolution that’s actually just a stylistic variation. “Kim,” as bleak as it is, works for me too; as hard as it is to listen to, it’s a ripping-out of emotional ugliness that feels visceral and honest. The humorous songs seem, at least to me, to have some of the same meanness, but there it’s dressed up and I’m supposed to nod along with it. The darker, grimier tracks skip past any pleasantries and get right down to striking bone.
Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins
Fresh sound, lot of feeling.
Talkie Walkie, Air
Beautiful, inviting album. “Venus,” which kicks it all off, is my favorite: the lyrics are simple but appealing, and the sound is warm. Could say the same about “Mike Mills,” minus the lyrics (it’s instrumental). It all feels like love.
Kid A, Radiohead
The distortion and overall song construction of this didn’t entirely gel with my particular premises, so a lot of this case of appreciation over affection, but “Optimistic” (one of the most conventional tracks, probably; I’m a basic bitch) became a genuine favorite, evocative and moving and clever.
Good description of Chutes Too Narrow! Probably one of the first albums I got on CD (I believe the actual first was Nirvana Unplugged). The closing song is really achingly lovely.
Two good early album choices! And yeah, agreed, it closes out in such a beautiful, tenderly bruised fashion.
I was absolutely obsessed with Chutes Too Narrow when it came out (and it holds up well for me now), but nothing the Shins did afterwards really did it for me at all, for some reason.
They were probably my first indie rock band obsession thanks to Garden State (like three years late), Wincing the Night Away definitely is a departure from the first two though.
Yeah, same here on both counts. I think most of the indie-listening public prefers Oh, Inverted World, but I think they are wrong.
I always liked the juvenile provocation on Marshall Mathers (well, I was a lot more juvenile when it came out, so there you go), mostly when it seems like Eminem is having fun with it, like on “Who Knew” and “Criminal.” “Steve Berman” is my favorite skit, although he did not anticipate the rise of homosexuals-and-Vicodin Soundcloud rap.
I have a longstanding conviction that Chutes Too Narrow is largely about a breakup (particularly the first two and last two tracks, and “Pink Bullets”) and a questioning of religion and authority and an attempt to find one’s own path (pretty much everything from “So Says I” to “Fighting in a Sack”). But also just a great power-pop album, enough hooks and pretty guitars while still keeping a sonic diversity worthy of Radio City.
Talkie Walkie was a very warm place for me in an often-cold world, and that’s why the opener is my favorite too.
I can’t remember the last time I listened to Kid A. Probably at the time “Everything in Its Right Place” and “The National Anthem,” and of course, the depressive gloom of “How to Disappear Completely” would have struck a chord with me in those days. “Idioteque” is probably the one I’m most pleased to hear again these days, though. (“In Limbo” is great, too, now that I’m remembering the album.)
The weariness in “Steve Berman” is great.
I can definitely see the breakup angle! The lyrics kind of nose around it, IIRC.
I do like all those Kid A songs too. I can see this being one I chew on for a while and come back to–I was looking up the inspiration behind some of the songs, and there are some interesting stories there that now I want to keep in mind when I revisit it.
I might be wrong on “Mine’s Not a High Horse,” I could go either way.
The breakup lyrics are most evident to me in “Pink Bullets” and “Gone For Good.” And maybe things like “the grey remains of a friendship scarred” in “Kissing the Lipless.”
And speaking of weariness, it’s one brief joke, but “Paul” is pretty funny too. “Em, it’s Paul. Dre gave me a copy of the new record, and…” *sigh* “Fuck it.”
Subscribed to The Important Cinema Club’s Patreon where Ed Wood monograph book writer/co-host Will Sloan narrated a terrific episode devoted to some of Wood’s writing! I was in kitsch/movie nerd/weirdo heaven, especially when Sloan as Wood talks about hanging out with Bela Lugosi.
In addition to the two albums I wrote about this week, I also spent time with:
Swamp Dogg – Cuffed, Collared & Tagged
I revisit this one a lot. The soul-funk-comedy fusion of Swamp Dogg’s ’70s stuff just makes me happy. The first side of this album includes two of my all-time favorite covers with Dogg’s take on “Sam Stone” and “Lady Madonna” being improvements on the rightfully revered originals.
Frankie Cosmos – Different Talking
I meant to only play a couple of tracks off this one to show someone that Frankie Cosmos is 1) still making music, 2) now a full-fledged band and 3) pretty good, and I wound up relistening to the whole thing. It’s gentle, writerly indie rock that at peak energy actually rocks. Somehow Greta Kline builds a hook out of observing her own goosebumps rise and fall.
CMAT- Euro-Country
Finally got around to this one after being aware it was well-feted by reviewers I trust. I thought it probably wouldn’t be for me. Slightly bawdy, totally sincere throwback country seemed like the kind of thing I could admire, but probably not love. I’m not sure why. I did enthuse at length about Margo Price here very recently! I was thoroughly disarmed and charmed by this album and have to concede it’s among the year’s best.
Will give Swamp Dogg a shot today!
Continued my Deftones listen-through ahead of seeing them live on Saturday.
White Pony
I probably didn’t need to reslisten to this one to discuss it, since this is the first of their albums that I know beat for beat. This was their big breakout album and is generally considered their best. I don’t quite agree with the latter assertion (even though I can’t tell for myself what other album that might be – maybe I’ll figure it out in the next few days), but it’s definitely their most important one, and the one that shaped them into the band they are today.
The big obvious factor here is the introduction of keyboardist/DJ Frank Delgado, who brought over a new layer of atmospherics, which in turn pushed the songwriting into new avenues. The guitars in particular recede from the all-out assault of the first two albums into much sharper and strategically-deployed riffs, making space for more dramatic and bolder singing from Chino. It sounds somewhat more streamlined in retrospect compared to future albums, but that’s only because every song here is pretty much a banger. Definitely the album that broadened their sound, and the one that you can put on to anyone and you’ll get what they’re all about.
Song-by-song impressions 1/2:
“Back to School (Mini Maggit)”: A huge hit, and one that famously wasn’t included on the first pressing of the album. Maverick Records pushed the band for a hit single around the time rap metal became big, so they repurposed the album closer into this, while Chino came up with rap verses, allegedly because he wanted to show the label how easy it was, and it was pressed into later issues of the album. I would have skipped it this time but the version I found included it and, to be honest, it rocks. It condenses the original track brilliantly. Chino does a great rap (which he would never try again), and it was the song that got me into them in 2000 in the first place.
“Feticiera”: The album opener proper, it would have made for a great impression of the first two albums, seeing how much sharper the riffing is compared to the previous albums, closer to emo punk. Vocals alternate between tender and blacked the fuck out.
“Digital Bath”: A slow ballad-esque track that grows and grows into a massive riff. The first great showcase for Delgado and drummer Abe Cunningham.
“Elite”: An all-out assault, augmented by electronically-altered vocals that distinguish it from anything else in their discography. A blast of pure force.
“RX Queen”: A proper romantic belter and propulsive, sing-your-heart-out shoegaze. One of my sentimental favorites from this album.
“Street Carp”: Notoriously under-appreciated track for this album. I didn’t rate it as great until hearing it live in 2019, but I do now. Maybe their first to end on a fade out?
“Teenager”: Their first all-electronic track, which both their next albums would also have. I wonder if Chino having his alternate Team Sleep project put an end to that trend. This one is pure 90’s trip hop, with dreamy Chino vocals. Very moving and nostalgic.
“Knife Prty”: Starts gorgeous and dreamy, turns into a long nightmare.
“Korea”: The most anonymous track here, still very solid.
“Passenger”: The one with Maynard James Keenan, one of their few collaborations. He really distinguishes the chorus, and in the process it pushes into one of the band’s best journey-like tracks. And I can attest that Chino can certainly nail Maynard’s vocals live.
“Change (“In the House of Flies”): This is the one. The song that made me a fan for life. One of those “stop everything you’re doing and listen” tracks. The influence of The Cure, shoegaze and post-punk is strong here, and it builds into one of their greatest, most open choruses and an irresistible bridge. Still their best, most beautiful song.
“Pink Maggit”: The opposite of “Back to School”: Long, lugubrious, longing. The guitars hit hard but linger, the vocals crawl before flying out. Maybe still their best album closer, we shall see.
Deftones
Another terrific album, markedly more aggressive and heavier than White Pony, though it couldn’t exist without it. Rather than attack the listener through riffs, it dwells on them, letting them overwhelm and surround you. Reportedly, this was a very troubled production, and Chino sometimes sounds lost, which he can wring considerable emotion from. “Hexagram” is a blast of passionate metal, and a shocking start to the album. “Needles and Pins” is a great fight song with a curious symmetrical construction, building into and out of a brilliant riff on the bridge. “When Girls Telephone Boys” is a fast blitz, and “Bloody Cape” is a great banger in the vein of White Pony.
The more melodic sound is present too, with “Minerva” being one of their best ever tracks, a soaring metal ballad where Chino sings his heart out and pulls the listener in to do the same. “Deathblow” and “Battle-Axe” are the dark and slow counterside of it, less immediate and powerful but emotional anyway. There’s also space for a proper piano ballad, a showcase for Chino’s softer side. It’s a gorgeous song, and it points towards one of their future departures, “Sextape”. “Lucky You” is their second all-electronic track, easily the least successful, though it still leads to a brilliant bridge.
This has always been one of their more contentious albums among fans and the band itself, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a moody album with some extreme swings, lacking the more balanced songwriting of White Pony up until the closer, “Moana”, which blends guitar aggression and soaring anthemics beautifully. That’s more the sound that many fans wanted in 2003, but as it is I find a lot of beauty and a rich emotional core in this album, and I appreciate the band pushing as hard as it did.
Saturday Night Wrist
Their weirdest album, with a backbone of strong rock tunes holding together some of their dreamier departures, one big joke, and Chino’s breathier, most anthemic vocals. Reportedly, Chino struggled with this one (drugs and booze) and pared down many ideas and lyrics to what he could manage. Often to the tracks’ benefit, and the album holds up incredibly well as a result.
“Hole in the Earth” is the perfect example to start the album off, with a crunchy, evolving riff, atmospheric verses and choruses, while Chino tells his own band to fuck off. “Rapture” and “Rats! Rats! Rats!” are incredible metal bangers that play around with structure, with the latter having a rare traditional metal breakdown in the riff that’s as strong as anyone’s. “U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,Select,Start”, their first instrumental, is a moody, lingering piece, that probably wouldn’t have made it to another of their records except as a b-side. “Pink Cellphone” is the final all-electronic track on their albums and it’s their best, a beat that grows nastier and nastier and is given real erotic charge by Annie Hardy’s guest vocals. (Before taking a turn towards pure comedy bullshit in the encore.) “Mein”, with guest vocals from Serj Tankian, is a lot of people’s least favorite Deftones track, but I love it. Lots of bounce and gear shifts on that one.
What really holds the lunacy together is the power ballad tracks. “Beware” starts slow and insinuating, grows into pure force by the end, as does the punk-ish “Kimdracula”. “Rivière” closes things with force and emotion. But the real standout of these is “Cherry Waves”, a pure vibes track with Chino’s most tender chorus ever.
Despite the production struggles, it seemed that the band had found their groove and a reliable sound going forward. And in a way, they did, but tragedy would ensure that the rest of their history would unfold in a completely different way. R.I.P. Che Cheng (1970-2013). Up next: Eros; Diamond Eyes.
Up next:
Eros; Diamond Eyes.Year of the Month update!
This November, you can write about any of these movies, albums, books, et al from 2018!
Nov. 7th: Gillian Nelson: A Wrinkle in Time
Nov. 9th: Cori Domschot: Book Club
Nov. 10th: Bridgett Taylor: Aquaman
Nov. 12th: Ben Hohenstatt: Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Nov. 14th: Gillian Nelson: Christopher Robin/Mary Poppins Returns
Nov. 21st: Gillian Nelson: Ralph Breaks the Internet
Nov. 28th: Gillian Nelson: Legend of the Three Caballeros
And here’s how we’re wrapping up October!
TBD: Patrick Mio Llaguno – The Long Goodbye
Oct. 29th: Lauren James: Don’t Look Now