Yeti Menace

Finishing up with Mogwai’s new one The Hawk is Howling. Moody instrumentals that rarely rise about the cacophany of past masterpieces (think Young Team–how obvious, huh?). Perhaps in a live setting these pieces will blast through. Yet I keep seeing filmic images as the music plays and will file this away for later…regretfully much later. Oh well, can’t wait to see Fuck Buttons live though…

Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping: torrent came in Saturday. Boy was I excited. Then I listened to it. Boy was I confused. Then I listened to it again. Boy was I annoyed and frustrated. Then I listened to it again with no distractions. Boy oh boy.

I had to dig up some interviews with Kevin Barnes to see if I was hearing this correctly or just hearing a rough (really rough) demo that wasn’t mixed yet. Alas…the songs hit the listener with such driving force then then the corner and become something entirely different in tone/texture/speed/context/vocal intonations. Yikes. One listen had me yanking off the earplugs and proclaiming this music to be an aural equivalent of schizophrenia. Songs end abruptly, mix fluctuates radically, there appears to be no thematic flow…and then I read the interview (go to Wikipedia for the link if you’re curious). Yep, this is exactly what Mr. Barnes wants to achieve with this new sound. Will be interesting to see if the audience is there for this. I will be seeing them when they play live in LA (no venue yet but HEALTH is opening act) to see how this will be pulled off.

Saw Bon Iver play last night at the Troubadour for the first of two sold out dates. Haven’t been at the Troubadour since last May when I saw Destroyer play.

Anyone who has listened to Bon Iver’s release For Emma Forever Ago must agree that the beauty of listening to the quiet elegance of this music lies in the moments of hesitant pauses and rising falsetto that dissipates into thin, fractured air. Well, toss that onto the scrap heap when the songs are performed live. I understand that translating ones music onto a large venue requires changes and allows the performer to crack open structures and explore avenues of expression. Just why did it get turned into a pummeling from the drums? This happened with Destroyer’s show and last night it happened again…oh, wait a minute, could it be the person running the sound board? Perhaps. Yet if I were on stage and noticed this, I would seek to correct it. Oh well, there’s always the Fleet Foxes show to look forward to.