Owen & other CD reviews

Owen: “At Home with Owen” (Polyvinyl Record Company)

When I first saw the new Owen CD that the musical geniuses over at Polyvinyl Records sent me I was excited but simultaneously apprehensive about first listening to it. It may sound kind of odd but I was so blown away (still am) by late 2004’s “I Do Perceive”, the intricate, eclectic hooks and the sardonic, clever and ultra-witty lyrics, that I was hard-pressed to imagine how a follow-up could even come close to equaling that magnum opus but by then end of the first cut, “Bad News”, I could. By the time I got to track 5, “Bird in the Hand” I knew this was another winner; a new high.

A piece of icing was a smooth cover of “Femme Fatale”, done without changing much of it at all, which shows how classic a song that is, in the sense that it is timeless; it could just as well have been a brand-new song, if it weren’t for the fact that it is now 40 years-old, in other words there’s nothing dated about it.

I am truly thrilled about “At Home with Owen”; the most excited I’ve been about a new release in a long time. I really loved it from the first listen, just as I did “I Do Perceive” when I got it almost two years ago now, in January. I don’t want to go overboard with praise here, it might go to his head if it starts getting around, but I am a big fan.

It’s not just the mellow, cool, breezy music but the very wry, laconic lyrics that have really endeared me to Owen, who is really Mike Kinsella, from Chicago, but since he is in so many other musical projects, like Joan of Arc and American Football to name just two, Owen is just a new persona to differentiate himself, I guess; I don’t really know the reason, but, for the record, that is the deal with the name thing.

Listening to the lyrics are candy enough, but when I was reading the transcribed lyrics on the inside sleeve of the CD case they were so stark, so simple-looking that it at once was amazing how that sparsity of wordplay was a mirror to my own sensibilities in many ways and that writing down idioms and ideas like that looked so easy but then when you go back and listen to them you understand it may seem simple when they come up in your mind but it’s only simple if you can write it down quickly before it goes away, so ephemeral they are. (http://www.owenmusic.com or http://www.polyvinylrecords.com) – KM.

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31 KNOTS: “Polemics” EP (Polyvinyl Record Company)

A short, short EP (only 19 minutes and some seconds), “Polemics” is just a tease. One just gets going when it ends, after just five bitchin’ tracks, the first of which is just a minute or so of metal machine music.

The second track winds you up, it jumps in, with both feet and a hair dryer; yow. 31 Knots are a unique act, very original, not derivative or copycat. I like finding brand-new stuff like this, stuff that no one else knows about (at least not the unwashed masses) it is a heartening thing to know that there are actually living, breathing people who are still creating interesting art and music and that it isn’t all just in my head!

“Polemics” is something that shows potential and I hope that in the not-too-distant future I will receive a full-length CD in the mail to review and that it surpasses my wildest expectations. (http://www.polyvinylrecords.com) – KM.

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Cale Parks: “Illuminated Manuscript” (Polyvinyl Record Company)

Mr. Parks, a sometime member of Joan of Arc, Georgie James and Cex, has just recorded this breathtaking atmospheric thing that reminds one of fellow Chicagoans, Tortoise, which also recalls older (1970s) art bands like Can, Faust and Gong.

Mostly instrumental, the tracks on “…Manuscript” morph into one another, with wispy, ambient vocals and vocalizing, but no structured lyrics, as such. If you have “Music for Airports” in your record collection then you’ll no doubt really dig this new CD which is uniquely ambient, that is, Cale Parks has his own styles and sounds but they are ones that aren’t without precedent.

When you hear the opening cut, “Pretty Boring” you know you’re in for something different. That is for sure; whether or not it cliques with you. The breathtaking aural “scenery” is a trip of pure psychic pleasure for you and your friends.

“Illuminated Manuscript” will serve as a perfect backdrop for your meditation hour, to help you unwind to go to sleep, to drive you home after a stressful day or to lose yourself in during a long airplane ride or train trip, etc. (http://www.polyvinylrecords.com) – KM.

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Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: “Broom” (Polyvinyl Record Company)

Another winner from Chicago’s awesome indie label, Polyvinyl Records, SSLYBY is a jingle-jangly, mellow pop outfit; they have nice harmony and rhythm and heavenly pop hooks and dada lyrics that go along well with the music. “Broom” can maybe be described as a neo-psychedelic hipster grooves, one after the other; I didn’t think it was either a rehashing of someone else or too derivative of something in general, but it did evoke memories of lazier, happier, carefreer days when one didn’t have to think too much.

The singer has a breezy, laid back and breathy voice, it sounds like it has arrived to your ears riding the wind, a good complement to the soft sounds: the piano, acoustic guitar, softly strummed, brushes used here and there on the drums, et cetera. A nice chill-out record to play after getting bashed into the wall all night, “Broom” will put you in that perfect mod mood.

The songs I liked the best were: “Oregon Girl” and “House Fire”; but of course the whole CD is really well done; pretty and stylish and poignant and everything one could ask for in a pop CD – except saccharine gut-rot commercial crap. (http://www.polyvinylrecords.com) – KM.

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Headlights: “Kill Them with Kindness” (Polyvinyl Record Company)

…5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – Blastoff. Alpha Centauri’s Headlights are now selling their CDs on Earth: “Kill Them with Kindness” is the first one to make it to our ears. A really super-duper awesome pop record with jams, hooks, riffs and ethereal beauty and great songs too. It will make you lose yourself; “Kill Them with Kindness” is a narcotized disco thriller that is conducive to trances and it could only be on a label as great and forward-looking as Polyvinyl Records.

This is the soundtrack to the best, most surreal dreams that I have and now I can experience that sensation by listening to this CD. If you dig Stereolab, Tortoise, Apples in Stereo you will have an instant rapport with Headlights.

It stuck with me right away; on first listen I was swept away and instantly became a big fan. That is a rare thing for me: to be taken in by something this quickly- songs like “Pity City”; “Songy Darko”; “Lullabies”. A lot of times it takes several listens to get a full appreciation for something new, but not with this one, it just cliqued with me right away. That is the best recommendation I can give to something, musically, that is. (http://www.polyvinylrecords.com) – KM.