Blue Cadet-3: A Music Blog by Josh R.

  June Of 44 - Four Great Points (1998) My copy: 2013 reissue by Quarterstick Records. June Of 44 were a supergroup of sorts, featuring members of notable post-hardcore bands like Rodan, Hoover and Lungfish; it only makes sense then that June Of 44 would continue pushing the boundaries beyond what most of their prior bands had released. Four Great Points had been June Of 44’s third full length outing, and features a wide array of instrumentation and odd percussion.  Emo comparisons are drawn in the dreary lo-fi vignette “Of Information & Belief” which features a regal violin performance but reassures legacy fans that the band can still get heavy when the breakdown appears near the end of the track. Echoes of Drive Like Jehu’s iconic Yank Crime can be heard on the particularly whiny guitar licks although June Of 44 are clearly crafting something more cerebral than openly emotional.  “The Dexterity Of Luck” is pure genius: a simple expression of dissonant repetiti...

  Meat Puppets - Up On The Sun (1985) My copy: 2011 reissue by MVD Audio. By 1985, the Meat Puppets were already long tired of using their skills to produce hardcore music. Prior to Up On The Sun the band had already toyed with elements of bluegrass and country, mashing genres together at blistering tempos to create a confounding new style. Up On The Sun continues the multi-faceted journey that began with 1984’s Meat Puppets II.  The title track kicks off the record with twinkled psychedelic scales and palm-muted guitar accents. The bass pops and clicks in between clever grooves. The vocals are dry but well harmonized and the song has a sense of patience in spite of how layered it is. “Up On The Sun” still has slight punk influences in its choruses which are jagged albeit with clean guitars. “Maiden’s Milk” is the less interesting of the instrumental tracks, with childish whistling that plays into the goofy mask worn by the Meat Puppets.  “Away” takes choppy guitar ...

  Mount Eerie - Now Only (2018) My copy: 2018 press by P.W. Elverum & Sun. Now Only follows 2017’s A Crow Looked At Me in which Phil Elverum chronicles in excruciating detail the agony of losing his wife Genevieve Castree to cancer. Now Only is essentially a direct sequel to the previous album, albeit with slightly more instrumentation and wider musical ideas. This album is also conceptually a continuation as the more elaborate compositions walk hand-in-hand with the lyrical themes of slowly and painfully moving on from tragedy.  “Tintin In Tibet” is just as painful lyrically as some tracks on A Crow Looked At Me but this time Elverum recounts positive memories and fondly reminisces about the onset of his relationship with his late wife through stream on consciousness style spoken word passages. There are now slight percussive elements and other instruments such as keys, that help fill the album into more than just recorded poetry.  Despite only containing six tra...

  David Bowie - Blackstar (2016) My copy: 2016 180g reissue by ISO and Columbia Records. David Bowie was a trailblazer. Regardless of how you may feel about his music, there is no denying that Bowie’s brand of dramatic pop had a dominant grip on music culture and still has a deep influence to this day. Blackstar is Bowie’s final album, and comes with many lyrical references to the state of his health and to his eventual passing. Blackstar is also probably Bowie’s most experimental record, even though this is not really saying much given his mostly safe and radio-friendly catalog.  This record begins with the title track, a nearly ten minute blend of ominous crooning and joyous glam pop. “Blackstar” features lush arrangements of tense strings complimented by foreboding chants. The drums feel cheap here, but they do the job as the song switches from open flowing instrumentals to a tight beat. The vague dance elements in the first movement don’t really wow, and although rare,...

  Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron & Fred Squire - Lost Wisdom (2008) My copy: 45 RPM reissue on white vinyl by P.W. Elverum & Sun. Lost Wisdom is an interlude of sorts in the Mount Eerie canon that was quickly recorded with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire while the two were passing through Phil Elverum’s home town on tour. Completed in a barren room with “mostly one microphone” and two guitars, Lost Wisdom relies heavily on the harmonic interplay between Doiron and Elverum’s voices to fill out the relatively sparse instrumentals.    The titular “Lost Wisdom” begins with hooky acoustic chord changes that are complemented by Squire’s gentle but bright electric leads. Doiron and Elverum have fantastic vocal chemistry, and the lyrics are the focus with Elverum’s writing being just as thoughtful and conceptual as ever. “Voice In Headphones” builds a spectral wall of hanging choral voices (some of this is from a Bjork sample) while Squire’s sharp guitar pokes its way thr...

  Animal Collective - Ballet Slippers (2019) My copy: 2019 3LP set with etching on side F. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of their most commercially popular album, Animal Collective released this live compilation that chronicles the Merriweather Post Pavilion tour from 2009. Ballet Slippers is an expansive work weighing in at just over an hour and a half of material spanning two and a half vinyl discs. Tackling a live album that draws from a variety of different shows can be a daunting task for mixing, and Ballet Slippers does take some hits in the production department, but it is mostly well put together.  Some tracks are played near exactly how they appear on their studio renditions (“In The Flowers,” “Summertime Clothes,” “My Girls,” etc.) and often are worse off for it. Animal Collective takes good measure to ensure the tones and atmospheres provided by the lush instrumentation on their albums are painstakingly recreated for their live performances, but the ban...

  Animal Collective - The Painters (2017) My copy: first pressing at 45 RPM by Domino Records. The Painters is a largely unnecessary EP that collects three additional songs from the Painting With era and one cover. “Kinda Bonkers” is a highlight with its trance-like mantras and samples of eclectic instrumentation but suffers from a low bass mix, some painful lyrics and performances and a failure to live up to the layered textures of prior Animal Collective outings. “Peacemaker” isn’t as offensive as its Painting With counterparts but fails to do anything memorable and the vocal hocketing trick feels like just that: a gimmick that has only become annoying since Painting With is filled to the brim with it. “Goalkeeper” and its manic synth pop flailing is probably the worst track on this EP. There are good ideas here and there, with sputtering electronics and clever samples but most of it held back by an ultra-confined mix that focuses solely on the largely annoying vocals and giv...

  Black Wing - …Is Doomed (2015) My copy: 2015 first pressing by Flenser Records and Enemies List Home Recordings Dan Barrett is the front man of three core projects with the most famous being the depressive shoegaze band Have A Nice Life. While Barrett’s other two projects aren’t quite as well known as Have A Nice Life, they both have unique sounds to offer fans of Barrett’s style. Giles Corey is Barrett’s second project while Black Wing is his third and most recent. Releasing in 2015, …Is Doomed sought to focus primarily on striking a balance between electronic synthesizers and heavy, sampled drums. Mix in Barrett’s vocal skills and lots of reverb and you have an unconventional album that touches on moods that you’d never hear out of Have A Nice Life or Giles Corey. “Luther” sets out immediately to prove that this record is different from the largely dark tones and instrumentals that are present in Barrett’s other works. Bright synth arpeggiations chirp and blink over heavy r...

  Spacemen 3 - For All The Fucked-Up Children Of This World We Give You Spacemen 3 (1995) My copy: 2018 reissue by Superior Viaduct. Spacemen 3’s journey began when they recorded these five songs back in 1984. Very much the sound of a band desperately trying to find its way, For All The Fucked-Up Children Of This World We Give You Spacemen 3 is a choppy collection of brittle guitar, howling vocals and basic drums.  “Things’ll Never Be The Same” starts the blues-rock connection throughout the record with a sharp and jagged riff that is repeated behind a simple drum beat and two other layers of guitar. The band featured no bass at the time and so these recordings are bright and at times quite prickly. The blues worship continues into “2:35” with a walking riff and provocative vocal performance. This very early version of “Walkin’ With Jesus” shows signs of promise and signals to the dense layering the band would go on to be known for in later releases. Slide guitar harmoni...

  Stereolab - Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements (1993) My copy: 2012 reissue by 1972 Stereolab are one of the most influential rock bands of all time with their intriguing tonal experiments that are often tied to jazz, funk and psychedelic rock. Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements is their 1993 sophomore full-length that attempted (and succeeded) to reshape typical pop-rock landscapes. “Tone Burst” gallops into focus with jangled guitars and persistent bass. The landscapes of keys and doo-wop vocals paint a beautifully cohesive picture of early pop walking hand-in-hand with the synth music of the 80s.  Laetitia Sadier’s vocals have all the mysterious allure of a jazz lounge singer. “Tone Burst” is a proof of concept for the whole record: the song builds and crackles with thunderous guitar, and regal chord progressions are threatened by the building storm of choppy instrumentals. The formula on this album is a ton of fun, but can become tiresome in...