(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)
Artist: Phosphorescent Album Title: Muchacho Year released: 2013 Details: Gatefold cover
The skinny: If you’ve not heard the song below, do yourself a big favour and press play on the YouTube clip below. This was my introduction to the world of Matthew Houck and his work under the nom de plume, Phosphorescent. He changed his sound up pretty big for this, his sixth studio album, creating a whole world of sound for us to dive into. It’s now been five long years of waiting but he’s finally coming out with a new album in October and I can’t wait to hear it.
It’s Sunday and I’m on a mini-holiday. So I’m not going to go into an all out rail against Pitchfork, that taste-making, music-reviewing website that sometimes feels like its trying too hard to keep its taste-making credentials intact. But I will say this: if I didn’t listen to all the albums for which they have given rotten reviews, I might be missing out on some of my favourite albums.
Noah and the Whale’s debut, “Peaceful, the world lays me down”, for instance, was given a lowly 2.6 rating out of 10, the reviewer calling it “twee pop you might order in a kit”. For my own part, I guess I must have a soft spot for generic, derivative schlock, because I actually quite enjoyed the album.
Thankfully for me and scores of others, the indie pop band out of Twickenham either has thick skin or never did read the article. I say thankfully because they continued on, releasing three more albums before finally calling it quits seven years later. By 2011, though, Laura Marling and Doug Fink, brother of frontman Charlie Fink, had both left the band and Noah and the Whale’s sound had changed quite a bit. They had dispensed with the ukuleles, banjos, and glockenspiels, and really, the folk pop sound that was so prominent on the debut and then, added synths and crisp production on their third album, “Last night on earth”.
“Life is life” is the opening track and third single released off this third album. The mechanized sounding beats that open the song are definitely no longer twee, nor are the synthesizers. However, the handclaps and crowd vocals still signal that this is Noah and the Whale. A rousing number, it’s a third person observation on the act of scrapping everything to start anew. “Left his house at midnight, resolute and young, in search of something greater than the person he’d become.” Perhaps it’s a little heavy-handed and obvious but it’s got a great beat and energy to spare. And of course, it’s cheerful, like a lot of their work, and sometimes, that’s just what you need.
Almost like a Sunday morning, on a mini-holiday. Cheers.
For the rest of the Best tunes of 2011 list, click here.
Yes, the Kings of Convenience. They of the cool name. This duo were indie folk before it was a thing.
Although Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe formed the group as a duo in 1999 in Bergen, Norway, the two had known each since grade school and had performed in a group together as early an age as 16. I feel like I didn’t come across these guys right away but probably in 2002 or 2003, a year or two after their debut album’s release, and likely became familiar with them given the hype bestowed upon “Versus”, a remix album of their debut.
Speaking of their debut album, the title really says it all: “Quiet is the new loud”. Those older amongst you reading this might listen to their music and immediately identify Simon & Garfunkel as the most obvious influence. And you wouldn’t be wrong but their also drew inspiration from contemporaries Elliott Smith and Belle & Sebastian. “Winning a battle, losing the war”, the first track on the debut, is representative of its entirety. It is mainly gentle finger plucking on the acoustic guitars and lilting vocal harmonies, Any other instrumentation is almost incidental. It is as lovely, quiet, and calm as a Sunday morning at the cottage and listening to their music makes you yearn to be there.
Oh, what I’d give… I think to myself as I board the bus to work. Thankfully, it’s Friday.
For the rest of the Best tunes of 2001 list, click here.
My (life in) music lists 