Fluxblog Weekly #228: Of Monsters & Men, In Flagranti, La Neve, Octo Octa, Belle & Sebastian
September 8th, 2019
The Starlit Sky Grew Before My Eyes
Of Monsters and Men “Alligator”
“Alligator” is an outlier for Of Monsters and Men – a very mid-00s sort of hard-charging dance rock anthem coming from a band more at home in an 2010s indie-folk mode. This fact is a bit maddening in that this song exhibits such a mastery of up tempo rock dynamics that it’s hard to comprehend why they’d only do this once, and why the rest of the album this song comes from sounds nothing like it. Like, not just that the other songs don’t rock in the same way, but that they sound like a completely different band in an aggravating band-and-switch sort of way.
“Alligator” is a song with a relentless, focused drive and a restless energy. The arrangement is constantly shifting – the structure is straightforward verse/chorus/verse, but the music never lets your ear settle into anything for more than 10 seconds or so before dropping something out or layering something else in. Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir’s voice is a revelation here, showing off a sort of grit and sassiness that wasn’t quite there on previous material, and a earthy intensity that keeps the soaring chorus from getting too corny. There’s a general feeling of empowerment to the song, but it’s all grounded in something dark and elemental that’s suggested but not fully explicated by the lyrics – there’s stars and light and soil and water, and rituals of life, death, and rebirth. The hook is “wake me up, I’m fever dreaming,” but it’s never quite clear what part of this is the dream.
Buy it from Amazon.
September 10th, 2019
When The World Is So Busy
In Flagranti “Rather Sexy”
In Flagranti, true to their name, specialize in a sort of dance music that evokes an extremely horny atmosphere – seedy, humid, sticky, and louche. It’s ambient perversity. But there’s always a wink to it, a campiness that doesn’t cancel out the lust but instead amplifies it by amping up the perv factor and making you think “oh is this how the sleazes of the past did it?” “Rather Sexy” has a freaky churn to it that reminds me of a lot of Matthew Dear’s best work, but the dark claustrophobic tone is contrasted with a smooth vocal that’s urging us to chill out a bit. He seems like he ought to be wearing a silk robe and offering us “relaxants.” It really completes the vibe.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
September 11th, 2019
Thorn And Stem
La Neve “A Pretty Red”
Imagine someone trying to do early 80s post-punk, The Rapture, “Groove is in the Heart,” and Primal Scream circa their Screamedelica Madchester phase all at once. That’s more or less what’s happening in this song, though it still feels like selling it a bit short. La Neve is throwing together a lot of different but familiar musical ideas and the result is surprising cohesive, thanks largely to a feverish vocal performance that serves as a focal point for the composition. Picture it in cinematic terms – it’s like the camera follows her around as the music is scenery shifting behind her. It wouldn’t work with a less charismatic presence, and you end up hanging on every word without it all needing to make sense. The message of the song is clear enough on the repeated line that stands out the most: “Here I am – a precious gem!”
Buy it from Bandcamp.
September 12th, 2019
To The Sound
Octo Octa “Move Your Body”
“Move Your Body” works very well as a utilitarian dance song – the beat is powerful, the synth riff jabs with the joyful vigor of a ‘90s Jock Jam, and a voice tells you over and over and over to move your body in order to get you to acquiesce and move your body. The fun trick of this song is the way the repetition of body can push you into your head and get self-conscious: Body. Body. I have a body. I have to move my body. My body must respond. My body is here. My body is here for movement. My body is here for pleasure. My body is my body. But rather than freeze you up, Octo Octa nudges you towards a positive conclusion: I love my body, and I should have fun.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
September 13th, 2019
My Main Concern
Belle & Sebastian “This Letter”
Belle & Sebastian have erred on the side of maximalism for a long time now, partly a result of being a band with so many members. But “This Letter,” a song from their new soundtrack Days of the Bagnold Summer, is almost startlingly minimal: Mostly just Stuart Murdoch’s voice and a gently plucked acoustic guitar, but with an understated muted trumpet solo and a subtle organ part. Murdoch’s melody is gorgeous enough that he doesn’t need to work in choruses or refrains – it’s a classic folk structure, a series of verses broken up by brief musical interludes.
The lyrics are written as a letter to someone very important to Murdoch that he hasn’t talked to in some time, and going on some clues in the first verse, it’s most likely an ex-girlfriend. But the contents aren’t sad, dramatic, or romantic. It’s mostly just admitting that while they’re apart for good reason, she’s still on his mind from time to time. It’s basically a song dealing with a problem I think most any adult can relate to: When you’ve connected with someone and can have a sort of conversation with them you can’t have with anyone else, what do you do with the part of you who needs that particular thing when the relationship has changed and you can’t get it anymore? You can write a letter like this, but I’m inclined to say you probably shouldn’t actually send it.
Buy it from Amazon.