His insistence on a raw, unpracticed quality is also palpable here and sort of punk in a Raincoats-like way(?); + the map-diagram included inside the record — how to shape these sessions — is striking, weird gesamtkunstwerk-y shit
Anyway, where Cy & Lee felt soapy and bland to me, I like this.
― Freeze Instr., Tuesday, 5 April 2022 17:30 (two years ago) link
xpI haven't worked out my own reference points, but yr last sentence (Freeze's) is def what I was trying to get at with "new musical directions"—this is a fuller album, which might be what sean was objecting to to some degree, but I think there's a lot of value in the additions to the palette.
The "wallpaper" and "pleasant" verdicts on C&L are genuinely odd to me (i.e., not "ur wrong" more just "idgi"), but I don't feel like debating it. I agree with Jordan that following that album up would be a challenge regardless, and making a double album almost inherently screams "trying to have it all."
― rob, Tuesday, 5 April 2022 17:35 (two years ago) link
Do I have this wrong: I thought Cy & Lee was a compilation, that International Anthem selected instrumental tracks from a set of existing recordings. So it's not exactly a coherent statement as such except by the label who saw a lane for a vocal-free DePlume LP.
― Freeze Instr., Tuesday, 5 April 2022 17:36 (two years ago) link
No, I think that is correct, but it was received as an album which I think is what Jordan had in mind(?). I almost said the "problem" with Gold isn't his voice, it's that he needs an editor, but I'm not sure I actually think that.
― rob, Tuesday, 5 April 2022 17:42 (two years ago) link
One of those new colors on the palette I really love is the steel/slide guitar
― rob, Tuesday, 5 April 2022 17:44 (two years ago) link
BTW by describing Cy & Lee as wallpaper I'm not trying to diminish anyone else's liking of it, more trying to reason out my own responses to it. I haven't gone back to it, I might hear it differently post-Gold.
― Freeze Instr., Tuesday, 5 April 2022 17:59 (two years ago) link
just listened to this album and liked it a whole lot more than I was expecting after the first few tracks, where the vocals felt way too dominant - and I didn’t even listen to the lyrics. (as for comparisons, I was veering between Leonard Cohen and Richard Fairbrass: not good)but I kept listening, because the music was wonderful a lot of the time. by the time I got to “Who Is A Fool” I even loved a track *because* of its vocal. the closing track is a beauty - an instrumental one.
― I'm too sophisti for the pun generator, so sophisti it hurts (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 6 April 2022 19:25 (two years ago) link
ilm feels kinda dead right now
― I'm too sophisti for the pun generator, so sophisti it hurts (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 6 April 2022 19:28 (two years ago) link
xxp yeah, wallpaper isn't always a bad thing---think that was a take on Vivaldi even at his (lifetime) peak, and I liked the sunset-climbing-the-wallpaper interludes on Live-Evil, softening me up for return of the onslaughts. Cy & Lee had me thinking of primo John Martyn textures x grooves, so twee vocals would not be unexpected, and can always listen around them probably (although I haven't tried w DePlume yet); that worked OK w Donovan, and his acknowledged (also obvious) influence, Bert Jansch.
― dow, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 19:57 (two years ago) link
It's not an exact match but the combination of his lyrics and singing reminds me of NoHo Hank from "Barry."
― Chris L, Tuesday, 3 May 2022 19:19 (two years ago) link
lol
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 3 May 2022 19:24 (two years ago) link
For years I was put off Robert Wyatt's work by his voice and the whimsy, both of which I now love; I'm hoping it's the same with AdP, bcs I think there's some great stuff here.
― fetter, Tuesday, 3 May 2022 20:15 (two years ago) link
I can't stand this stuff
― Bongo Jongus, Tuesday, 3 May 2022 20:44 (two years ago) link
I think maybe it's not an accident that the "album" that put him into broader awareness was a compilation of instrumental work. I really dig the instrumental stuff--his breathy, fragile playing style and melodic sensibility really work for me.
But I can't get into the vocal pieces, just immediately turned off. It's a shame as it seems that's what he considers his main work, and it must chafe that people loved his non-vocal work so much...
― Soundslike, Wednesday, 4 May 2022 13:58 (two years ago) link
^ Where I'm at, too
― Indexed, Wednesday, 4 May 2022 20:55 (two years ago) link
new track is rather nice and Momoko Gill is the only singer on it: https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/come-with-fierce-grace
― rob, Tuesday, 27 June 2023 14:09 (eleven months ago) link
New album sounds great so far. In parts it reminds me most of John Lurie's music, especially the new Lounge Lizards stuff for the HBO show.
― 50 Favorite Jordans (Jordan), Friday, 8 September 2023 16:44 (eight months ago) link
Was not familiar with Momoko Gill before but damn she's multi-talented
― 50 Favorite Jordans (Jordan), Friday, 8 September 2023 17:05 (eight months ago) link
he's playing out in my neck of the woods next week ... should I go????
― tylerw, Friday, 8 September 2023 17:13 (eight months ago) link
thanks for mentioning that, I hadn't noticed he's coming to Montreal real soon (i.e., yeah I'd go!)
I agree with Jordan, this new one is very good. I'm halfway through and there's only been one brief bit of AdP singing, and yet it's not much like Cy & Lee. Despite my posts upthread I didn't stick with GOLD at all; this is immediately much more compelling.
― rob, Saturday, 9 September 2023 13:10 (eight months ago) link
i went! it was awesome ... kind of indescribable. his band (bassist + drummer, both on backup vocals) was amazing.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 12 September 2023 15:29 (eight months ago) link
way more jazz-metal than i expected!
still not quite sure i'm picking up what this guy's putting down... this was more amanda palmer-meets-devendra banhart than i would have liked. kinda the elfin mirror-image of a band like Caroline? but the band was tight as hell - Ruth Goller and Donna Thompson just dazzling and heavy
― sean gramophone, Tuesday, 19 September 2023 03:59 (eight months ago) link
It is kinda funny that he has this coffeehouse poet side that he was doing before he had a hit with his instrumental side, and he keeps trying to work it in to everybody's confusion.
― 50 Favorite Jordans (Jordan), Tuesday, 19 September 2023 15:04 (eight months ago) link
xpyeah this was unexpected and imo unique. as you both said the band were fantastic. I can hear jazz-metal, but I was thinking more about no wave, various uk post-punks, even distantly Morphine in terms of how much power they got out of that set-up. Though tbh I can't really think of anything else I've seen that had the same breadth of style from just 3 people.
For me, the banhart vibe (I've never actually listened to AP) that was ultimately fatally off-putting on GOLD was laced with so much more self-aware humour and irony live, while still being deeply sincere, that I think I should revisit that album with this more sweary & playful AdP in mind. I mean, yeah sometimes his vocal stuff was a little precious-hippie (but never genteel), but other times he seemed closer to idk Mark Stewart or Johnny Rotten or something. And as spiritual-love-and-kindness as some of his messages are, he also obviously has more of a concrete/activist-y politics, which I don't recall ever seeing in DB.
Also endearing to see how much people loved it/him. My friend got too hot and had to duck out during the last song (an a capella "I Was Gonna Fight Fascism"; they also did "Buy It" from that EP, which I thought was interesting, maybe due to the similarity of the trio set-up & the post-punk-ish sound in general?) and he said everyone walking out was talking about how it wasn't what they were expecting.
Go see him if you get the chance imo
― rob, Tuesday, 19 September 2023 15:18 (eight months ago) link
ha, yeah, in a live setting, I thought his vocal stuff was like if johnny rotten tried to turn into jonathan richman. it worked for me!
― tylerw, Tuesday, 19 September 2023 15:27 (eight months ago) link
Interesting, yeah I'd love it if he leaned into the post-punk/Soccer96 EP sound for the vocal tracks rather than integrating it into the more tranquil music.
― 50 Favorite Jordans (Jordan), Tuesday, 19 September 2023 16:00 (eight months ago) link
Was playing this at the weekend - sure it features Deplume - and had one of those "This sounds so good - it's the most I've ever enjoyed it and can't believe I will ever enjoy it this much again" moments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id1K8TUSIhM
― djh, Monday, 25 September 2023 07:02 (eight months ago) link
he played a pretty sweet set sunday in the rain. serious daevid allen solo album vibes
― reggie (qualmsley), Tuesday, 26 September 2023 19:11 (eight months ago) link