Tag Archive for '001Collective'

Secret Owl Society and Colloquial Mage: The Story of the Sand (2008)


January 24, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Album Review Collective Family

Colloquial Mage reminds me of Link from Legend of Zelda only Colloquial Mage is more eager to share his adventures. His collaboration with the ever–so-brilliant Secret Owl Society was a perfect match for Mage to share with us this two song tale Story of the Sand. Sort of an allegory of his fears, anxieties, hopes and dreams about his mission to Taiwan, Story of The Sand is a dreamy surreal tale about a boy falling in and out of a dream. Secret Owl Society’s music perfectly underscores the sense of uncertainty, but reinforces Colloquial Mage’s optimistic outlook.

Divided into two parts, “Sand Creature Part I” and “Sand Creature Part II,” Part I feels like the beginning of those sorts of adventures where the plucky young kid falls into a hole or a cave and emerges in another world. However, the distinctions between reality and dreaming blur almost immediately as he leaves his friend behind to look outward on sand dunes stretching for miles. He finds comfort in the sand, “It would never betray me,” and transforms himself preparing for the adventures ahead. Part II turns into a Mad Max like chase through the dunes as Mage tries to deal with similar, but foreign feeling individuals. Every line can be taken several ways and when I listen I get flashes of a childlike whimsy; that this whole story is part of the type of imagination games we all used to play when we were younger. Again Secret Owl’s dreamy score adds a level of ambiguity to the words coming out of Mage’s mouth, reinforcing this blurring lines between reality and dreams.

I am typing this in an airport in Fiji as I await my new unknown adventures in New Zealand. Like Colloquial Mage who is now well underway on his mission, I know what impending change can do to a person’s mind and his pairing with Secret Owl Society hits on the mark all the feelings I have at the moment perfectly. Yet, anyone who’s dreamed of adventures can see that they aren’t just dreams, they are coming true all the time.

Mp3:
Secret Owl Society and Colloquial Mage-”Sand Creature Part I (Adapt)”

Links:
Story of the Sand on CLLCT
Secret Owl Society on myspace
Colloquial Mage on myspace

The Lonesome Architects: The Ocean at Night (2007)


January 24, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Album Review

Hey everyone, I’m in Auckland, New Zealand right now and I have a bit of free time. Sorry if I’m posting out of turn, but I know ya’ll understand.

orginal post date: Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Lonesome Architects are a band (Josh and Martin) originating from LA who play dare I say, “Folktronica”? Is it possibly the greatest antithesis to rap/rock? Genre-bending aside, their latest EP The Ocean at Night is a surprising album given their more acoustic background. However there were inklings of the sound on their last record 15 songs of loss, love and longing. This mixing of folk and electronic music is simply stunning and each form compliments each other greatly. The warm intimacy of acoustic guitars entwined with the cold discipline of electronic beats really recreates the surreal landscape we all live in. So what is this EP all about? Well relationships are one big answer and our relationships to those relationships too. It’s very post-modern; the very best kind. I think I really like The Lonesome Architects because of the pervading sense of individualism that comes from these two guys. It isn’t a selfish or self-absorbed type of individualism, it is us the individual who looks and feels and perceives. I could go on and on about this type of stuff (I’m taking culture and film theory at the moment), but I think what will really win you over is their craft at coming up with very memorable melodies and interesting song structures. “Julie Vignon” is an instant classic. It has a very biting edge to it; a synthesized beat intermixed with some screeching guitar, handclaps and a killer hook, “And now I’m living alone/ just like Julie Vignon/you can catch me by/ the swimming pool anytime.” I’d be afraid to be this girl. Josh and Martin mentioned at the Muddy Waters show yesterday (Read my review here) that while making this record they decided to make it a dance record, or an attempt at one. Now I wouldn’t necessarily call this a dance record, but if some DJ were to remix it I’m sure it would be tearing up the clubs. The song, “Was It You?” Is the most obvious of their intentions. It is the kind of dance song all young un-dance oriented guys would make who wished they had moves (like me): earnest, serious, and a bit cute (in a good way!). The poetry is something else when Josh sings, “And in to this field of schemes/ that once was filled with dreams/ but dreams do rot/ and fruit gets soft/it’s true or is it not?” Attempt to get The Ocean at Night any way you can right now. It is necessary for anyone who’s ever thought about our place in this world and with everyone else.

Mp3:
The Lonesome Architects-“Was It You?”

Their Myspace with “Julie Vignon”!
On Virb!

Tinyfolk: Bill (2007)


January 17, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Album Review Collective Family

This is a “classic” review of mine. =D

One of my favorite records of 2007.

Original Post Date: Saturday, September 22, 2007

Tinyfolk’s new album Bill is the most epic lo-fi album I’ve ever heard. For the uninitiated Tinyfolk comes from the mind of Russ Woods (and sometimes Meghan Lamb) and is from Indiana. On occasion Russ’s voice reminds me of Daniel Johnston, but his standard instrument of choice is a baritone ukulele. As Tinyfolk he writes quirky, cute songs with a dash of longing behind all of them. I’ve had the pleasure of playing a show with him a few months back and he was so nice and just as adorable in person. But I should get back to Bill. If you were expecting another “Love Is A Thing” you are gravely mistaken. Right out of the gate “Antlers” begins as a fantasy-like spoken word exchange before melting into a baroque world of animals and beasts and then it gallops into a desperate rhythm questioning a girl’s motivation. And this is only in the first song. My favorite song on the album “Dear Apollo” comes next and showcases Russ’s unique voice killing that Daniel Johnston comparison I made earlier. The way he sings the chorus “And they cry out to me” is simply sublime (you can only sing it loudly when sung aloud). On the entire album Tinyfolk greatly increases his repertoire with expansive and interesting arrangements not limited to: samples of bird calls, banjos, piano, and synthesizers. The exponential increase does not take away any of Tinyfolk’s charm and in fact his voice is the center for all of the songs on Bill. The nostalgic sounding, but forward thinking “Really Blue: A Tale of Unrequited (Perhaps) Romance and Lizardry” really grinds itself deep into our own feelings towards the past and longing. Russ sings, “The skies looking bluer than I ever remembered it being during high school/it’s like you and me we’ve got a sea way up above our heads/it’s really, really, blue/And I know you could never love a lizard boy like me/but on a big wet sunny day like this I like to just pretend/so don’t take me seriously” His voice belts earnestly while a beautiful synth line weaves its way along the poetry. “You Can Call Me Al” a cover of a Paul Simon song from his album Graceland is a fantastic cover because it is sung like it isn’t one. It follows the arrangement pretty closely (using the same horn arrangement but on synths humorously this time) but I would never know that it was a cover if I hadn’t heard the original! I know some might say the point of that previous statement is obvious, but some covers reveal their original artists quite easily (Any Beatles cover pretty much). The other cover on Bill is also a highlight. “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me (written as “Always Something There” on this album)” is a Burt Bacharach song, but I will always remember the 1980s version from the band Naked Eyes (Those “Best of the 80s” compilation ads played every five minutes when I was a kid!). This song is the last song on the album and returns to some familiar territory from his previous album “Platapeasawallaland”: A Rainy-Day Owlbum. It’s simple, cute, and Meghan sings on it! It is very effective at making this infectious tune even more infectious. Bill is a sprawling epic of an album, but maintains a high level of intimacy and a bit of humor that makes listening fun and more enjoyable each time. I put it on more and more each day.

Tinyfolk-”Dear Apollo”

Links:
tinyfolk.com
Tinyfolk on myspace
Get Bill and many more great music from Pop Monster Collective

Tinyfolk: Little Mice And Other Things That Go Skitter Skitter (2007)


January 2, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Album Review Collective Family

Released in early 2007, Tinyfolk’s Little Mice And Other Things That Go Skitter Skitter is an album caught in transition. Containing qualities of his earlier twee pop glee with the grander production and themes of his more recent releases, Little Mice And Other Things That Go Skitter Skitter has a striking intimacy brought to fore so beautifully due to it’s presentation.

Let me just tell you now, the first four songs are flawless. Starting off things familiar and joyful, “Love Is A Thing,” lulls you in with its adorable chorus and delicate verses (When its played live they are usually improvised!).

A cover of The Field Mice’s “Emma’s House” really shatters me and if you had only heard early-Tinyfolk up to this point, this song will change everything. Its melancholy (the accordion extenuates this mood well) and when I listen to it I remember everything I’ve ever lost in my life.

“To Answer Your Question, Yes,” is probably Russ’s most personal song ever written (or at least self-aware/self-referential). I think everyone at 001Collective can relate to this song if not every artist out there.

“Trees” is amazing in every way conceivable. About a man named Harold, “Who’s lonely and he doesn’t know why,” This song is the precursor for many Tinyfolk songs about melancholy characters trying to escape from their socially constructed surroundings. And In some ways I feel like this song is the prequel to Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al (Which Tinyfolk covered funnily enough).” The song is broken up into several parts including a haunting whistle-sounding breakdown and then a slow shower of piano keys with the baritone ukulele remaining as a constant. Its more than just sad, but we so desperately want things to get better for Harold that we would do anything for him (in some ways we all are Harold).

Little Mice And Other Things That Go Skitter Skitter is a rewarding album in many ways and although the second half lacks some cohesion, not many artists could pull of the “transition stage album” as gracefully as Tinyfolk does.

Tinyfolk-”Trees”

Links:
tinyfolk.com
Tinyfolk on myspace
Pop Monster Collective
Little Mice And Other Things That Go Skitter Skitter on 001Collective
My Pizza Under The Sea EP review
My Bill review