Fluxblog #374: Fontaines D.C. • Liam Gallagher • The Range • Tchotchke
Plus a look back on the summer of 2016
This week’s playlist continues on with my series looking back on the music of the summer of various years. THIS WAS SUMMER 2016 was inspired by realizing how many people who are currently in their teens and 20s see 2016 as a halcyon era of immaculate vibes before the world got a lot darker. There definitely were a lot of great records out at the time so at least in terms of music, I buy it. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
The Feeling’s Coming For The Millionth Time
Fontaines D.C. “How Cold Love Is”
Grian Chatten sings the phrase “how cold love is” over a dozen times through this song and every time it feels a little bit brutal, like he’s this exhausted and weary guy telling you a truth you’re not ready to hear and he simply doesn’t have the pity or patience to sugar coat it for you. But it’s clearly more his truth than anyone else’s, as he sounds like someone reciting a mantra to snuff out any lingering fire in his heart. The music feels as stark and unforgiving as Chatten’s vocal, with sorta unremarkable chords played at a slightly odd cadence so it sounds sorta like they’re hammering icicles into the ground. It comes together to sound like something from the late Britpop era pushed to strange angles, making Oasis moves sound more like Joy Division moves.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
The Empty Seat Across The Table Is Staring Back
Liam Gallagher “Moscow Rules”
I first heard “Moscow Rules” totally aware that the song’s primary author is Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend but even if I went in unaware I find it hard to imagine I wouldn’t have suspected that by the first chorus. Koenig’s melodic style is unmistakable to me even when he’s clearly aiming to emulate Paul McCartney, as he definitely is on this song. And like, if you’re asked to write for Liam Gallagher why wouldn’t you do that? “Moscow Rules” has a generous melody well suited to Liam’s matured voice, but also gives him something to work with that’s notably different from what Noel ever wrote for him even if they’re both inspired by the same muse. Noel certainly never pulled this sort of pathos from Liam’s voice, but it could be that he’s simply grown into being the sort of singer who can believably convey the alienation, paranoia, and abject loneliness of a Cold War era spy. I prefer to hear this as more of a metaphor though, where it’s not literally a spy but rather someone who’s found themselves embracing and internalizing rules like “everyone is potentially under opposition control” and “lull them into a state of complacency.”
Buy it from Amazon.
Why Are You So Cruel
The Range “Ricercar”
“Ricercar” is in essence an elaborate rework of Tamar Braxton’s “My Man” that zeroes in one particularly raw chunk of the song as sung by a fan on Instagram. The Range’s arrangement takes a totally different shape, particularly once he starts layering in breakbeats, but it’s all framing this heartbroken and embittered sentiment. What he does here is a little like when there’s one bit of a song that really gets under your skin and so you rewind to that part over and over. This is like building a shrine to a moment like that, and meshing it thoroughly with your own sound and point and view. It’s a totally new piece of music, but also a work of rather intense fandom.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Take Your Pictures Off The Wall
Tchotchke “Don’t Hang Up On Me”
The melodies and structure of “Don’t Hang Up On Me” feel so particular to the 1970s that it can be a bit hard to believe it was actually written and recorded in the recent past. And while that statement can be true of a lot of songs that come out, Tchotchke’s music feels all the more unlikely because the melodic style they’re drawing on feels much more extinct than other strains of ‘70s music that are still prevalent like disco, funk, punk, and hard rock. This comes more from a squeeky-clean but kinda glam 70s power-pop aesthetic where the ultimate aim of any song is to pack as many hooks into two to three minutes as possible. (A good example of what I’m talking about is this wonderful but very obscure mid 70s song “Champagne and the Starline,” which I posted here ages ago.) Even the vocals feel out of time, high pitched and hyper-femme in an arch sort of way, signaling a wink to the listener even as the lyrics confront genuine romantic angst.
Buy it from Amazon.
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Chris Wade and Will Menaker of Chapo Trap House interviewed Gerard Casale of Devo for about his life in music and his philosophy of “devolution” that has guided the band since the 70s.
• Suzy Exposito has a terrific feature interview with Tori Amos up on the Los Angeles Times.