Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
Riddles
Carpark
2018
Rating: 7.5 mall phone kiosks out of 10
It’s kinda weird to hear such a “mature” record from Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, a band that seems to proudly wear their weirdo primitivism on their sleeves. I mean, the drums are more than floor toms (sometimes)! There are other instruments than just drum and bass (also sometimes)! Dan Deacon did stuff and things! I suspect the real heavy lifting is done in the recording/post-production/whatever the fuck you call it – so many layers, so dense…both in the music and vocals – I think this is where Deacon really made his presence felt. It’s entirely possible I’ve made the comparison of Devo-meets-Cabaret Voltaire to Ed Schrader’s Music Beat before, but now you can add some early Animal Collective into the blender before you puree this musical smoothie. Shit, the title track “Riddles” could damn-near be confused for a radio-friendly pop single, not something I thought I’d ever say about the band that brought us “Gas Station Attendant” and “Rats.” It’s still close enough to their original, raw sound that I think most fans will be fine with this – I’m certainly down.
Speedy Ortiz
Major Arcana
Carpark
2013
Rating: 7 bubble lights out of 10
I scanned another review of this Speedy Ortiz album and it said something about this being a throwback to the nineties, and then a friend mentioned one of my all-time favorite bands Polvo in comparison, so I had to check out this record ASAP. The verdict? It sounds pretty much just like Helium, so both comparisons were on point. For those who don't remember, Helium was another band that Ash, the guitarist of Polvo, was a member of. Sadie Dupuis' voice might be a little higher on the scale than Helium's Mary Timony, but outside of that I'm not seeing a ton of differences. Don't read that as an insult though - Helium was a rad band, their music is coming up on twenty years old, and I'm guessing most young folks have no idea who they were..so now the kids get their own new version of Helium. Now lets wait and see if a new modern Sleater Kinney or Liz Phair pops up...
Cloud Nothings
Cloud Nothings
Carpark
2011
Rating: 5.5 nasally voices out of 10
I was reading a few reviews of this Cloud Nothings record and I saw a few comparisons/references to power pop. For god's sake people, this isn't anything close to power pop...have you even heard 20/20 or The Nerves or Shoes? I mean, it's definitely poppy, but this is more lo-fi jangly punk pop than anything else. It reminds me a lot of Husker Du actually...a really really sloppy Husker Du. The songs are downright fuckin' frantic, like he was in a hurry to get the record recorded before his mom got home and discovered him fucking around with her four-track. It feels so hurried it actually makes me feel a little anxious...I'm not sure listening to this while driving in a car is advised.
This is not a great record, and not awful either...not sure I'll be listening to it very much, but you can hear some building blocks of potential great pop songs here, and I'll definitely check out the next offering to see how they've grown.
