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 an upcoming or recent-ish release and conversations about new-to-you music. We’ll get things started with a write-up about a newer, likely underheard album, and invite you to share your music musings in the comments.
Who would win in a fight: Moneyed technocrats armed with every advantage capital and the levers of power can provide or a Canadian art-rocker with a goofy pseudonym and a 24-track tape machine?
Before you lock in your answer, you should know that the art-rocker has backup in the form of jazz-aficionado music teachers.
OK. Maybe that wasn’t essential information. In our reality, the fight isn’t particularly close – even if only one side has adventurous chord progressions and screeching saxophone. But in the world of Scheele’s Green, the latest from Art d’Ecco, it sounds like quite the competitive brawl.1
The LP, recorded by d’Ecco and a killer quintet of musician friends across two months in Vancouver.2 The resulting album is more bombastic and abrasive than d’Ecco’s past glam rock-indebted work. Scheele’s Green is a pissed-off art-punk freakout with jazz and prog rock shading. It’s also an album that takes a “subtext is for cowards” stance and doubles as a full-throated declaration of class warfare.
Scheele’s Green takes its name from a human-made color that was a status symbol in the 18th century and was determined to be toxic thanks to the arsenic used in its production.3 For listeners unfamiliar with the LP’s pre-release press materials or d’Ecco’s bio, the LP wastes no time broadcasting its sensibilities via “Death of Indie.”
The album-opening track is a 7-minute manifesto set to music that rails against artificial intelligence with caterwauling intensity that would make a young Black Francis proud.4 It’s both dynamic and sprawling, pushed forward by chugging guitar with pauses for atonal jazz squonks and extensive use of harpsichord. Despite ornate instrumentation and a king-sized runtime, the song avoids feeling gratuitous or bloated thanks to d’Ecco and company’s musicianship. Everyone involved — especially Hayden Cohen on synth — plays with a righteous fury that is contagious through sound waves.
It’s a helluva way to kick off an album, and a surprisingly telling first impression. Not every song on Scheele’s Green has the same frothing intensity as “Death of Indie,” but several sit in the same high-octane ballpark—particularly “How Real is Real?” “Disappear Here” and “Beware of Dog.” The timely concerns and stylistic variety shown on the side one track one are present throughout the album. Expect detours into folk, polyrhythms, thoughts on an array of humanitarian crises and allusion to Greek mythology en route to “Endings for Beginnings,” a mostly instrumental lamentation of the challenge inherent to being a musician of Art d’Ecco’s stature that brings the LP to a close.
An album with this many heat checks and Big Ideas is bound to rack up a few misses, but Scheele’s Green is never less than a fascinating listen. Even when d’Ecco indulges soupier, sleepier impulses, metaphors get a bit tortured or a song sounds a bit too much like “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” the album is the musical equivalent of a page-turner. It is obviously building to something and its unpredictability instills a strong desire to see what’s going to happen next.
Thankfully, d’Ecco sticks the landing with the aptly titled “Endings for Beginnings.” It starts with bitter ruminations about music’s shrinking margins, and it quickly picks up intensity and complexity. Wailing organ, crashing percussion, ferocious guitar, blasts of spacy noise,and scribbles of sax all get moments in the spotlight, and the song closes with a hard-rocking outro yoinked out of a Van Zant brother’s fever dream. It all makes for a satisfyingly epic capstone that the LP deserves, and a memorable parting shot at the ghouls who have eroded the viability of living as a working artist.
Despite their grandeur, both the song and the album it graces are unlikely to strike incapacitating blows against the subjects of d’Ecco’s ire. However, the force of their impact should be more than enough to leave a mark on listeners.
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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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.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Department of
Conversation
What did we watch?
Superstore, Season Two, Episode Nine, “Seasonal Help”
“Are you done?”
“Thank you, thank you, I’m just trying to get away from that guy’s boner.”
“We now have a black Todd! No? You’ll just be Todd.”
“He means Amy, not me, I’m not gay.”
“They’re not people, they’re temps.”
“Your buddy, Rashface? He found a used condom in the store and just walked out.”
Jonah having a gambling addiction is a funny trait for the character.
“Well stop buying pans I can’t get wet!”
“I didn‘t even know we bought dry erase boards this big!”
“Bought it at another store.”
“Well you were absolutely no help there!”
“Okay, I guess it’s Amy time now.”
“She does that.”
“The reason they all want to get away is because they all agree with Glenn.”
“Elves make the presents! By Christmas, their job’s done.”
“Okay, let’s talk about the Jewish kids.”
“I didn’t realise they were last chances.”
“I did. I thought that’s why we were betting on them.”
It’s amazing how Amy trying to look laidback is somehow ten times more intense than normal Amy.
“It’s me. How much crystal can I buy for two hundred dollars? Okay, thanks Uncle Kevin.”
Alien: Earth
My first and probably only Noah Hawley; I watched this when it occurred to me that, as I’m writing a sci-fi novel, if I watch a good sci-fi show then I’ll be entertained and if I watch a bad one then I’ll have material to fix. This turned out very lumpy; I think Hawley is a gifted filmmaker whose highest goal is to be a pretentious fraud. This is a pageant of human behavior where the end goal is to get you to wag your finger at Elon Musk; a fine goal for a tweet but not really interesting for a seven hour TV show.
On the other hand, when this is just trying to be a horror story, it works really well – Hawley has a clear (if heavy handed) sense of what makes the xenomorph cool, and every horror sequence feels like the show really coming together. Perhaps the best way to word it is that Hawley has a very strong sense of what’s cool, and he lets that get away with him when he’s writing dialogue.
I think the problem with writing pageants is that it makes the drive of cause-and-effect irrelevant and the action impossible to take seriously. Hawley is trying to convey a few different philosophical ideas here – the acting is top-notch across the board because every actor is gleefully trying to convey the psychology he’s written, I just don’t care about any of it because the characterisation strikes me as forced, with the action of characters suborned to the need to Make A Point. My favourite character was the cyborg guy because he was the only character making rational decisions on the basis of a pragmatic goal, with a close second coming with most of the child-synths because their decisions, while driven by emotion, also made sense, and the best part of the show is in the last episode when one of them has been coerced into getting an innocent – even sympathetic – scientist facehuggered. The horror, the extraordinary acting, and the references to old Alien movies all come together for this little plot where things get wildly out of control.
(Of course, it has a 94% approval rating, so what do I know?)
Also: every episode ends with a needledrop, and that became incredibly obnoxious to me when I realised it was every single episode.
I went through the highlights and lowlights of my local film festival yesterday, here’s the rest:
Grind – an anthology based around the horrors of 21st century employment. Three main stories woven together quite neatly by a framing story, rather than just a bunch of themed shorts jammed together, which I appreciated. I felt like each of the segments could have been trimmed a little but they all had some good stuff, and an enjoyably odd sense of humour. Plus Barbara Crampton turns up, which is always welcome!
No Way Down (aka Kraken) – this was the late screening on the first day after I’d been at work all day and I pretty much failed to stay awake through it. But I didn’t feel like I’d missed anything too great really – it’s a French thriller about a bunch of local hoods who are tasked with clearing out a tower block so it can be demolished. From what I saw, it couldn’t quite decide whether to be gritty and realistic or lean into the genre elements, which left it awkwardly balanced. But maybe it went down smoother i, y’know, you watched the whole thing.
You Are The Film – feature directorial debut from the guy who wrote Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and River, both of which I love. This is similarly high concept (and low budget) but it didn’t quite come together for me, not sure if the guy needs more experience as a director or if the writing just wasn’t as strong, but this was a little disappointing if still fairly charming.
Imposters – a kinda parallel-universe / doppelganger thriller thing, starring Jessica Rothe from Happy Death Day and Charlie Barnett from Russian Doll (I guess the director REALLY likes time loops?). I thought this was thoroughly enjoyable but it kinda feels like it’s been assembled from offcuts from other similar films (e.g. Coherence, Primer, a little bit of Backrooms) – a fun watch with two strong performances and some wince-inducing FX, but lacking a little distinct personality I guess.
Gaua (aka The Night) – witchy Spanish folk-horror. This started slow with some slightly annoying portentous voiceover and a first story that felt a little dry (it’s kinda a semi-anthology I guess). But it keeps getting weirder and more compelling (and considerably hornier) and by the end I had a pretty big smile on my face.
Never After Dark – a Japanese ghost story made by an American director, which I guess is slightly unusual? I loved the general vibe of this one, it’s about a woman who travels to a rural hotel to investigate a haunting and she’s enjoyably eccentric and unflappable. It has some fresh ideas but sadly I thought those ideas ran out a little and led to a final act that was more generic and familiar. But still quite enjoyable, and the soundtrack was excellent.
Crawlers – closing film of the festival was a no-brain, sub-90-minute creature feature about deadly spiders taking over an apartment block. Absolutely perfect for that point of the festival when most of the crowd were running on fumes – I suspect I’d see plenty of flaws if I watched it in any other context but it was a great way to finish on a trashy high.
And there were also two blocks of short films – I thought these were a little disappointing this year. Quite a lot of 15-20 minute entries that felt unnecessarily padded out. The first block started with a good one called “Bait” about a father-son hunting trip, good monster, excellent punchline. And the second block ended strong with some mad body-horror and a very funny one about two strangers confessing their past sins to each other while stuck in traffic. But not enough good stuff here to justify two slots on the programme IMO – I would take it back to one two-hour block and prioritise the short punchy ones.
Dangerous Animals – Praising the lack of CGI for the sharks and Jai Courtenay visibly enjoying not having to be the boring lead; there’s a real danger to the moments when his serial killer’s Australian bro veneer disappears and his eyes go cold and hard. I think the romantic storyline is a mild dud though, taking some of the bite (get it? get it?) out of the material.
First two episodes of CBS’ Eternally Yours, AKA the heterosexual What We Do In The Shadows. Some decent gags, especially the teen vampire who only responds in melancholy Anne Riceisms. The digital lighting is just shit – this is Tubi grade work – and I haven’t been given much of a reason to care about the lead couple besides one of them being cute. (The male lead is non-union Zachary Levi so I refuse to call him cute or attractive.) Maybe this improves? I do need an easy sitcom watch.
What did we listen to?
Death Magnetic, Metallica
This was an attempt to win back the crowd after the abysmal reaction to St Anger, and it makes sense to me – it reminds me most of The Black Album, with clean production* and clear-eyed, punchy songs. The band has found its groove again and seem like they’re having fun just playing songs again.
*I have no idea if this is the version that shipped on release, which infamously had compression issues, but I suspect this was the remaster because it sounded fine to me.
Everybody’s Rockin’, Neil Young
A fun time with rock’n’roll. I’m extremely amused by the strong negative reaction this got – I know the cover is cheesy, but apparently I just enjoy rock’n’roll that much that I enjoy the halfassed expression of it.
Mud, Remi Wolf
Pretty good. I don’t usually identify with this heavily synthesized pop music, but there’s some really strong song writing here – there’s a very strong feeling of a lazy Sunday drive over this. The lyrics can also get pretty
I still think “All Nightmare Long” is one of Metallica’s best tracks. Entertaining from the very first riff and it never lets up. It’s basically all good stuff.
1001 Albums, etc.
Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle: Snoop has some dark shit in his past and also in his lyrics, but unlike some of his peers I never really seem to hold it against him. His style and persona are just consistently engaging and the g-funk production is fantastic.
Sebadoh – Bubble & Scrape: one of those culty indie-rock bands I’ve never gone deep on. Interesting that they chose this early album rather than the better-known / liked couple that followed. I mostly had a good time though and it’s fun hearing something this raw and lo-fi next to the sheen of S. D. Dogg.
The Boo Radleys – Giant Steps: probably the most important album to my development as a music fan – I heard this in about 1995-6 and it exploded my mind. I still think it’s fucking great, if maybe a little overstuffed: an ambitious attempt to create their own White Album, with a mix of psychedelic, punk, dub, folk influences that pays off about 90% of the time. And it wouldn’t be a successful White Album homage if there weren’t a couple of failed experiments, right?
William Orbit – Strange Cargo III: pleasantly bland electronica, I’ve enjoyed William Orbit’s production on some great pop songs but his own music is just a little bit “musical wallpaper” for me.
Method Man – Tical: solid but a little too-much-of-one-thing for me, a familiar hip-hop complaint. The gritty production is compelling but just a little too samey.
—
Blank Check, Last Temptation of Christ – fun episode. This is by far my favourite of Scorsese’s three “religion movies”, I’m curious whether they’ll be able to find an interesting angle on the other two but this one is really interesting to think / talk about.
Screen Drafts, Movies about Horror Movies – really interesting topic and they’ve put some fascinating-sounding stuff onto my radar. And also made me really keen to rewatch One Cut of the Dead!
Blank Check on Goodfellas, I of course ate up two plus hours of men discussing the nuances of “Go get your fucking shinebox.” (The pause before he says it is everything.)
Arrival by ABBA, never sat down with a full ABBA album and whaddayaknow, it’s a pretty perfect pop record full of bangers back to front, from “Dancing Queen” to “Tiger” to “Fernando.” (The last one always my favorite song of theirs.) They might have been the best band most clearly influenced by the Beatles’ sound – not their approach to experimentation, but in style – that isn’t Big Star.
Year of the Month updates:
Here’s all the movies, albums, books from 1998 you can sign up for this month.
Oct. 18th: Tristan J. Nankervis: Who Moved My Cheese?
Oct. 30th: Gillian Nelson: Halloweentown
And coming in November, get ready to write about anything from 1968! Here’s some lists of movies, albums, books, and TV to get you started.
Nov. 8th: Tristan Nankervis: Night of the Living Dead
Nov. 22nd: Tristan Nankervis: Slouching Towards Bethlehem