Fluxblog 494: geeking out on The Hard Quartet's amazing quirks
Plus new songs by The Smile, BigXthaPlug, and La Femme
There’s no new playlist this week because the ones I’ve been working on aren’t done yet. But if you haven’t already, please check out the previous issue of this newsletter where I shared a chronological list of 40 playlists I’ve made sketching out, loosely, the history of alternative rock music. Forward it to a friend!
Fell For A Singer With A Dead Eye Drawl
The Hard Quartet “Six Deaf Rats”
I’ve been enjoying The Hard Quartet’s debut record, but was having trouble digesting it as anything more than a late-period Stephen Malkmus album that happened to include some other songs by Matt Sweeney and Emmett Kelly. Seeing the band perform at Webster Hall last night made it all click into focus for me, certainly on a formal level.
Malkmus, Sweeney, and Kelly trade instruments constantly, each getting a few turns as bassist, rhythm guitarist, or lead guitarist. As with The Smile, they all seemed delighted to get a chance to be the bass player, and Malkmus in particular was very interesting in that role. I recall some very busy melodic bass lines in the tradition of Paul McCartney or James Jamerson, but with his characteristic relaxed, slack physicality rather than their bold, assertive playing. In terms of guitar, there’s nothing too surprising from Sweeney or Malkmus, but I like the way Kelly’s bright leads and Byrds/R.E.M.-ish jangle contrasts with Malkmus’ approach. I can see what these guys are getting from playing with each other, and how a lot of these songs emerged from this particular set of players.
The key thing is Jim White’s drumming. Malkmus has never worked with a drummer who plays like him, more focused on creating ambience and building drama than holding down a steady 4/4. This band is a little out of White’s comfort zone too, much more of a regular rock group than his more typical avant lane. The most exciting and interesting moments come when either White makes atypical rhythmic choices in fairly straight ahead rock songs, or when Malkmus opens up space in his songs to let White create a little jazzy storm he can play around.
“Six Deaf Rats,” which going on audience response is most everyone’s favorite song on the record, is in the latter category. It’s very much a late period Malkmus sort of song both musically and lyrically, but White’s percussion gives it a completely different feel. I love all of Malkmus’ records, but White’s style makes me realize how tight Wig-Out At Jagbags and Sparkle Hard could get. This isn’t a complaint – part of why I love following Malkmus through the years is hearing him change – but White allows for a type of looseness that connects Malkmus with his looseness without dialing his progress and proficiency all the way back to Pavement era.
Towards the end of “Six Deaf Rats,” Malkmus sings the line “I’ll geek out on your amazing quirks.” This tickles me, because I can’t think of a better way to describe my relationship with his music since I was 13. I just never get sick of this guy’s amazing quirks.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
A Black Hole At The Center Of The Galaxy
The Smile “The Slip”
It's unfortunate that The Smile records have to carry the weight of questions like "wait, is there never going to be another Radiohead album?" and "hold on, so is this basically Radiohead from now on?" But what can you do? Those are big questions for anyone who'd want to listen to this music, and as of The Smile's third album, the answers seem to be "who knows?" and "kinda, yeah." You kinda have to work through a few layers of confusion and disappointment to hear the music on its own terms.
As I’ve written before, it’s clear to me that a lot of the appeal of The Smile for Thom Yorke and especially Jonny Greenwood is in getting to indulge in formal experiments without the weight of Radiohead expectations bearing down on them. At the start, it was a way for Thom and Jonny to explore playing bass guitar without having to sideline or reassign Jonny’s own brother Colin. Now it’s Jonny playing around with the possibilities of playing guitar only with a delay pedal. Like a lot of artists, particularly lifelong artists, they’re enjoying self-imposed limitations.
And then there’s the most obvious difference between The Smile and Radiohead – “small teams move more quickly,” as Jonny recently put it speaking to the NME. They can work fast, and they don’t have to mobilize as many forces to release a record or do a tour. Radiohead is a barge, The Smile is a speedboat. If you’re looking at this from the perspective of now grizzled veteran musicians who don’t necessarily need a lot of money, which setup do you think is more enticing?
But still, the context is the context, and the success of The Smile songs come down to “is this up to the standards of Radiohead song, as opposed to solo record quality?” I’d say the trio’s output is about half and half, and “The Slip” is in the “good enough to be Radiohead” bucket. It’s a pretty groovy one, and though it starts out in Thom Yorke synth-centric solo project mode, it ends up moving towards a more Jonny-centric guitar section that feels like a cousin to “Just.”
A lot of the appeal is just hearing Thom be so Thom and Jonny be so Jonny, and how their instincts overlap or gel. This is kinda how it goes when you follow artists for a long time – even if some of the songs are exceptionally good, I’m not coming to this expecting to have my mind blown. I just want to check in with these guys on their journey.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
A Thousand More Reasons For Living
BigXthaPlug “Lost the Love”
BigXthaPlug is one of those guys blessed with a perfect voice for rapping. This can go a few different ways, but in his case, he’s got that Biggie Smalls/Tupac/Killer Mike type of BOOMING voice that signals grit and authority. There’s a sorrow in his voice too, some wounds you can hear through the bravado. “Lost the Love” is essentially a list of grievances – people who have wronged him, people he’s judging, people who’ve disappointed him, people who aren’t showing him enough love. Sometimes this sort of thing is all a big flex, a way to position your greatness, but BigX sounds bitter and frustrated. Sure, there’s some parts where he sounds grateful or humble, but the last line is a matter-of-fact bottom line for the whole song: “Rapping my pain, this is the shit y’all wanted.”
Buy it from Amazon.
Are You Sure You Want To Know The Secret Of This Life?
La Femme “Clover Paradise”
“Clover Paradise” would fit in very well on the What Was Schaffel? playlist I made earlier this year, which collected electro-glam music from the early 2000s. I’m a sucker for this aesthetic, particularly the way a severe grayish palette and ultra-precise shuffle beat complements a lusty, perverted vibe. It’s like the musical equivalent of someone dressed in latex fetish gear. In the case of this song, the lyrics are enticing the listener to experience some sort of psychedelic awakening, but with the caveat that not everyone can handle this and it must be taken very seriously. I like this twist on a classic theme – scary instead of welcoming, seductive in a dominant sort of way, and actually pretty sensible and responsible in its messaging.
Buy it from Amazon.
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• I liked Kayleigh Donaldson's essay for Pajiba about the tediousness of people announcing they were never fans of artists like Diddy who have been revealed to be terrible people.
• I enjoyed Gabi Belle’s take on Katy Perry’s downfall and “authenticity” in pop music more generally in her new video essay.
• Rob Sheffield wrote a lovely tribute to One Direction member Liam Payne, who died suddenly this week at 31.