Fluxblog Weekly #135: Squeeze, Ibeyi, Fascinations Grand Chorus, The Weather Station
November 20th, 2017
Directing Attention Away From The Trick
Squeeze “Rough Ride”
“Rough Ride” is one of Squeeze’s most ambitious songs, a sleek disco number that tosses in some sax, a choir, and an opera singer for a bit of extra flavor. The music evokes both opulence and community, which mirrors the sentiment of Chris Difford’s lyrics, which lament the steady removal of the working class from the hyper-gentrified contemporary London. Glenn Tilbrook, whose voice typically sounds affable and charming, takes on a sour tone in plainly uttering the subtext of every interaction in the city: “There’s nothing for you here / why don’t you move away?” And then a bit later at the end of the chorus, his voice shifts to a subtle blend of guilt, empathy, and weariness: “They can’t imagine the life that I’ve had / either you’re rich or it’s tough.”
Buy it from Amazon.
November 21st, 2017
Whatever Happens Whatever Happened
Ibeyi featuring Kamasi Washington “Deathless”
One of the weird things about 2017 is that the overwhelming majority of the music that’s been coming out was actually made in the year before, and so we’re only starting to hear songs written in the wake of last year’s election. Ibeyi’s new record is one of the records made in the immediate aftermath of that, and “Deathless” is a song they made with the intention of giving people strength. It’s not entirely about that – the verses reflect on an encounter with a racist cop in France – but that story just gives personal weight and resonance to the defiance of the chorus. The music is tense but groovy, with Kasami Washington’s emotive sax responding to the intense feeling of the vocal and allowing a bit of free movement in a track otherwise dominated by a heavy, rigid rhythm.
Buy it from Amazon.
November 22nd, 2017
Honest And True
Fascinations Grand Chorus “When You’re Mine”
Fascinations Grand Chorus are proudly retro, and write and record as though music history – and the technology associated with it – cut off around the early 1970s. “When You’re Mine” is expertly crafted early ’60s girl group pastiche, and unlike a lot of music that aims for this aesthetic there’s no irony or wink to it. It’s remarkably earnest, and the primary thing separating this from actual period music is that the production veers a bit too garage rock, though in a very good way. The most interesting thing in the track is the particular tone of the synthesizer, especially when it starts to flutter a bit near the end of the track.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
November 24th, 2017
My Day Is Dark As Your Night
The Weather Station “Thirty”
“Thirty” is written is the past tense, with Tarama Linderman reflecting on the state of her life at that age, but the urgency of the music and the vivid details of her lyrics make it feel as though she’s singing from those moments. This is particularly true in the lines in which she’s noticing her reaction to small but pivotal moments of physical affection – surprised, delighted, relieved, safe. The details clutter up as the tempo increases: stuff going on in other people’s lives, mundane pleasures, old issues, new places, liminal non-events. She sounds serene singing it, but also a bit weary, like she’s just glad to have lived the good bits and happy to have her life and not someone else’s.
Buy it from Amazon.