Fluxblog #274: Taylor Swift • Hum • Kate NV • Lianne La Havas
July 27th, 2020
Just So Pretty To Think
Taylor Swift “Invisible String”
“Invisible String” is a song in which Taylor Swift ponders the notion of fate, of whether there was something guiding her to the stable, happy relationship she’s in now. The lyrics lay out two unrelated trajectories coming together, like she’s looking for some logic in how her life has played out. A lot of the charm of this song is in that she’s not fully convinced this is some divinely preordained thing, though she thinks it would be “just so pretty” to think it was. The traces of skepticism give the song its depth – it’s about looking at this relationship as a miracle that she’s grateful for, not some fait accompli. The tone of the music, which sounds a bit like she was trying to remember how to play Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” but arrived at this instead, feels bittersweet and hesitant rather than jubilant, as the lyrics might indicate. It sounds like she’s being careful not break a fragile and delicate thing, as though she’s afraid that if she expressed more joy about this relationship the invisible string could snap.
Buy it from Taylor Swift’s official site.
July 28th, 2020
Unwinged And Flightless And Difficult To See
Hum “Waves”
The sound of “Waves” is simple enough to explain with two ’90s reference points – it’s basically the sensuous romantic noise of My Bloody Valentine but performed with the precise brutality of Helmet – but the effect of the music goes beyond that aesthetic arithmetic. It sounds simultaneously violent and serene, and truly vast in scale. The chord changes feel like they could represent geographic epochs, like the song is some kind of time lapse representation of chaos and catastrophe settling into equilibrium. Matt Talbott’s voice is low in the mix; his monotone vocals make him come across like a cold and dispassionate witness of this enormous noise. His lyrics are like jotted down observations – not particularly emotional in tone, but emotional in impact as he describes the humbling effect of perceiving things at this scale and remove.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
July 29th, 2020
Surely You Noticed This
Kate NV “Plans”
Kate NV presents her titles in English but sings in Russian, which I suppose makes a certain amount of sense: In terms of reaching the English-speaking world, i.e. a substantial chunk of the potential market for her sort of groove-centric art rock, having the titles be understood and pronounceable is a matter of utility. The actual content of the music is so effective in terms of melody, groove, and texture that English lyrics are superfluous. (After all, plenty of indie records are sung in English but are barely comprehensible because the singing is muffled or mumbled.) “Plans” sounds like Kate Bush with the rhythmic edge of Interpol – jagged and thrusting, but also soft and hazy. About two minutes in the song takes a very welcome left turn into a sax solo apparently assembled entirely from samples. It’s a great bit of unexpected atmosphere that nudges the sort deeper into a Bush-esque hyper-romantic surrealism.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
July 30th, 2020
Hit The Bottom And Escape
Lianne La Havas “Weird Fishes”
Lianne La Havas co-wrote all but one of the songs on her new album so I feel a little bad about focusing in on the one she didn’t write, which is a Radiohead song. I mean no disrespect to her as a songwriter, but her work in arranging and performing “Weird Fishes” is remarkable, up to the point of rivaling the original Radiohead version in quality. La Havas’ version of the song isn’t far off from Radiohead’s arrangement, but she loosens up some of its stiffness and foregrounds R&B elements that they had left under the surface. There are other songs from In Rainbows that are more obviously Radiohead approximations of R&B – “Nude,” “House of Cards,” “All I Need” – but “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” tilts more towards their art rock comfort zone with its interlocking guitar melodies and Steve Shelley-ish beat. La Havas’ interpretation is inspired in hearing the soul in this one, for slowing it down to a more liesurely Erykah Badu-ish pace and giving space for the vocal to convey a sensuousness that Thom Yorke stops short of fully exploring. It’s not hard to imagine members of Radiohead listening to this recording and hearing the song they were trying to make but were not able to create due to their limitations as performers. These limitations are what give their own performances and recordings character, but an interpretation of their work on this level this reveals their full range as songwriters.
Buy it from Amazon.