Danielson
Best Of Gloucester County
Sounds Familyre
2011
Rating: 7 nurse uniforms out of 10
There are two camps - those who love Danielson and those who can't stand him (and this usually stems from his vocals). Well, I guess there is a third camp, the largest one - those who have no idea who this is, but those are not the sorts of people I choose to concern myself with.
So, a new Danielson record...it's pretty much like every Danielson record. He has a sound, ya know, and this album sticks pretty closely to that formula. Nothing wrong with that, it's true of many artists, it's just that his sound is a lot more quirky than most - and it's a quirky sound that I love, haters be damned. Five years might have passed since his last record "Ships", but musically this might have well come out the next day. It's still very Pixies-meets-orchestral pop, with horns and strings and contributions from a bunch of other artists including Sufjan Stevens, Jens Lekman, Cryptacize, and god knows who else.
Actually, maybe god does now, after all this is music to sing his praises. And if it makes you feel weird listening to christian music, just know the lyrics are often so weird and obtuse that you'd never know. I've never been one to pay a lot of attention to lyrics anyways, so as long as he ain't singing "praise jesus" over and over and keeps the catchy, weird music coming, then I'm going to keep on listening.
Danielson Trying Hartz Secretly Canadian
2008
Rating: 8.5 nurses uniforms out of 10 Danielson aka Danielson Famile aka Brother Danielson aka Daniel Smith – he seems to be a musician you either love or you hate. Me? I'm heavy on the pro-side...you present me a band or artist that sounds like the Pixies playing crazy religious freak-folk music after sucking on a helium balloon, and I'm one happy camper. This double disc release is a compilation of some of their prize tracks from 1996 to 2004 (which is roughly around the time he retired the “Danielson Famile” moniker and began changing his performing name with each album ala Will Oldham). They managed to get pretty much all of my favorite Danielson songs on this compilation, and the rest of the tracks are pretty swell too. Along with normal studio recordings, you'll also find live tracks and alternate versions to soothe the super-fan palate. There may not be a lot new here for fans that already own all of their releases, but having all these great songs in one spot is a nice option. And for the newbies out there who haven't been witness to this brilliant brand of music, this is a great place to start. A lot of people won't like it, but the handful that do will have a new favorite band.
Danielson
Brother is to Son
Secretly Canadian
2004
Rating: 7 tree costumes out of 10
Danielson, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile…a number of different incarnations of essentially the same thing; and if Daniel Smith is the one doing the singing, his signature voice is a sure sign that it’s more of the same. Not that that’s a bad thing – I love all things Danielson, and their version of folky-Pixies songs sung through a helium balloon, but they are most certainly not for everyone. They pretty much send my girlfriend into convulsions every time she hears one note of theirs. I suppose the main thing that sets this apart from other Danielson releases is that instead of collaboration with fellow family members, he wrote the entire thing himself and then had them help out in the recording only. This album also features the talents of many already-familiar folks who often pop up on the Danielson releases – Sufjan Stevens, John Ringhofer, and more. If you know what you’re getting into, I highly recommend this album, it’s as good as any of the Danielson’s other work.
