Fluxblog Weekly #40: Sunflower Bean, Massive Attack, Flume/Vince Staples, Tricky, Lake Street Dive
February 1st, 2016
The Edge Of My Seat
Sunflower Bean “Come On”
There are certain types of rock songs that are clearly written to be played live, in which all the dynamic shifts are there to specifically jolt an audience. These kind of songs are most typically found on debut records, which are typically written and workshopped extensively in concert before being recorded, and so it’s not a big surprise that a lot of bands lean on that material for the rest of their careers. (Look at the setlist for most any reunion tour – most acts strongly favor playing the songs from their early years, which they also probably have better memories about, and whatever the last record was before the breakup is either ignored or barely touched.) “Come On” is definitely this sort of song, and is basically a bunch of time-tested moves artfully strung together into a piece of music that seems to just glide by you like a speeding car. The best bit is the rather Peter Buck-ish arpeggio played on the chorus, which contrasts with a chunkier guitar riff and the “right now” vocal hook.
Buy it from Amazon.
February 2nd, 2016
For Lonely Days
Massive Attack featuring Tricky “Take It There”
It was sad to read a bunch of aggregated news items about this song that didn’t even mention why it’d be significant that Tricky would be on this track. I suppose that even though so much popular and cool music today owes a massive debt to the work of Bristol acts like Massive Attack, Tricky, and Portishead, it’s all been more or less written out of the story, and what amounts to a Blue Lines/Protection reunion after more than 20 years is somehow not particularly noteworthy. Deeeep siiiiiigh! I don’t think any topic triggers a “get off my lawn” anger in me more than everyone under 30 having virtually no awareness of Tricky.
“Take It There” doesn’t sound like a reunion. There’s so much overlap in Tricky and Massive Attack’s aesthetics that they sound like they’re lurking around in the space they’ve always been. If anything, that space has become darker and more claustrophobic with time, and more like where Tricky was in the late ‘90s. The low piano chords in this track sound oppressively heavy, like a weight bearing down on the rest of the music that forces the beat to drag. Tricky and 3D rap in the odd way they do – a bit hazy on the rhyming, but just enough on beat to qualify. Their rasps are even deeper than ever, as though whatever darkness they had growing in them in the ‘90s has metastasized. There’s an ascending guitar part in the second half of the track that shakes off some of the weight, but it never stops feeling hopeless.
Buy it from Amazon.
February 3rd, 2016
Pushing On Your Physical Existence
Flume featuring Vince Staples and Kučka “Smoke and Retribution”
Flume’s arrangement for “Smoke and Retribution” is jagged and unstable, with the beat and pretty much everything else in it reacting against a harsh keyboard part that sputters and bleeps like a malfunctioning alarm. It may be the freshest, most original rap track that I’ve heard in a few years, and the kind of thing that would only come from a hip-hop outsider like Flume. Vince Staples’ verses ground the song, and his emotional performance adds to the extreme dynamic of the track. The contrast gives the impression of someone trying to stay focused in a chaotic world, and the only relaxed moments come when the song shifts into sung parts by Kučka, which quickly shift from introspective to miserably fatalistic.
Buy it from Amazon.
February 4th, 2016
Some Sexy Dreams
Tricky “Diving Away”
One of the most distinctive qualities of Tricky’s music is his tendency to have his raspy, muttering vocals shadow a melody sung by a conventionally good singer. In the early days of his career this typically highlighted the ever-shifting dynamic between himself and his singer and real-life partner Martina Topley-Bird – the power play between the singer and the svengali; the older man and the younger woman; the dominant and the submissive. In other cases, like this loose adaptation of an old Porno for Pyros song, it’s more like creating a beautiful proxy for himself. This track makes me think of all the times I’ve ever fantasized about being able to shape-shift into a traditionally attractive body, and what I’d do with that privilege even if I had it for just a little while. I think even in a fantasy scenario like that, it’d be hard to not just be myself with all the hangups and fears I’ve built up from a life of not having that form. This track is like that – as lovely as the voice up front is, the seams are showing. It’s a broken mask.
Buy it from Amazon.
February 5th, 2016
I Can Finally Sleep At Night
Lake Street Dive “I Don’t Care About You”
It’s funny how once particular retro sounds become popular enough, they end up belonging to multiple eras. A few years ago a soul-rock tune like this would’ve seemed like an outlier, but with the massive success of an act like Alabama Shakes, it’s now just a good example of what popular rock music sounds like right now. Not complaining, though! This is a very well-made song from top to bottom, and Rachael Price’s vocals are terrific in conveying a feeling of wounded pride as well as putting on a big theatrical show. This is the type of band that trades on people being like “wow, but the pipes on that singer!,” and Price certainly delivers on that.
Buy it from Amazon.