Fluxblog Weekly #253: Stephen Malkmus | Ratboys | U.S. Girls | Winter | Little Dragon
March 4th, 2020
If You Really Wanna Bum Out I Got Spreadsheets On That Stuff
Stephen Malkmus “The Greatest Own in Legal History”
I wrote about Stephen Malkmus’ new record Traditional Techniques for NPR Music. Here’s an excerpt from that piece about my favorite song on the album:
The album’s finest track, the country ballad “The Greatest Own in Legal History,” is one of Malkmus’ prettiest compositions ever — and also the moment where this record’s folky aesthetics make a sharp intersection with his Pavement mode. Writing from the perspective of a depressed, sleep-deprived small-time lawyer, attempting to land a young client with the promise that he can’t possibly lose the case, he sings in a plaintive lilt: “I’ll be there to vet the jury / Make sure there’s a couple softies on our side / They’ll see their own kids in you / Their empathy will go a thousand miles wide.” The character tries to seem noble, but there’s an overwhelming pathos to him that makes his boldest declarations ring hollow, like he’s hoping you’ll buy his shtick even if his heart’s not fully in it. Malkmus is writing with a fair amount of irony here, but not enough to undermine the ache at the center of this song. If you were ever going to sit at home and cry to a solo Malkmus tune, this is the one.
Buy it from Amazon.
March 2nd, 2020
Life In A Vivid Dream
Ratboys “My Hands Grow”
“I can’t tell you how hard I tried to love what I can’t describe,” Julia Steiner sings, as though she’s surprised by her own level of open-hearted optimism in this song. The lyrics of “My Hands Grow” mostly come across like reporting the details or a dream that, despite a lack of linear logic, resulted in a deeper and more joyful understanding of the world. The music is sunny but laid back, and feels a bit like the song might have been a little more bright and overbearing at first but the band opted to make it more gentle and chill. Steiner sounds so earnest, especially in the moments where it seems like she’s just trying to will a good vibe into reality. The closing line strikes me as particularly poignant: “I know that it’s hard to feel my love, just trust that all we’ve learned tonight is real.”
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 3rd, 2020
Just Like Some Melting Snow
U.S. Girls “Denise, Don’t Wait”
Meg Remy’s craft hasn’t changed much since her creative and commercial breakthrough on 2018’s In A Poem Unlimited, but her style has shifted towards a refined aesthetic that removes all distractions from her evocative and economical lyrics, her elegant melodies, and the expressive soulfulness of her voice. “Denise, Don’t Wait” aims for a Phil Spector/Brian Wilson sort of aesthetic but with a dry tone and uncluttered arrangement, which connects the song to a history of teen ballads but without any implied nostalgia or sentimentality. Remy’s lyrics suggest a troubled young woman – a teen mom, I think? – who feels abandoned and alienated by everyone in her life, most especially her own mother who’s too embarrassed by her to show her any sign of empathy. The chorus is beautiful but haunting as she sings about how “in another 24 hours from now I’ll be gone” with deliberate ambiguity, leaving you to wonder what the definition of “gone” might be in this story.
Buy it from Amazon.
March 5th, 2020
Stare Into The Hologram
Winter “Say”
Samira Winter’s aesthetic falls somewhere on the psychedelia scale between Broadcast and Tame Impala – keyboards that seem to glow like neon tubing and crisp fill-heavy percussion, but contrasted with a cold vocal tone that signals a shy intelligence. “Say” is thick with appealing atmosphere but the real draw is in the bass groove, which is lightly funky in a very early ‘90s sophisticated European pop mode. The song is adjacent to shoegaze with its emphasis on abstracted sensuality, but there’s no soft-focus haziness to this. Winter’s arrangement is remarkably clear and vibrant, and every little detail pops rather than blurs together.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 6th, 2020
For The Sun And Air
Little Dragon featuring Kali Uchis “Are You Feeling Sad?”
“Are You Feeling Sad?” is a very noble sort of song, the kind that exists on every level to console the depressed and stimulate joy. It’s basically a very mid-90s type of house/R&B hybrid, but with a relatively relaxed tempo that sounds uplifting rather than overbearing. The keyboards have a bright tone, but they use it somewhat sparingly so every chord change feels like a little jolt of serotonin. Yukimi Nagano and Kali Uchis keep their lyrics simple and direct, offering words of encouragement and kindness to someone who seems to be mourning a loss. Uchis is at her best here when she grounds her words in her own experiences – “my sorrows have a million layers and I’ve been told I wear them well” – and finding peace in simple pleasures, like feeling the sun on your skin, and the smell in the air after rain.
Buy it from Amazon.