Fluxblog Weekly #72: Wilco, Magic Potion, Motion Graphics, Relaén + Sleigh Bells & Miya Folick
Last night I went to see Sleigh Bells and Miya Folick at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan, and it was a truly outstanding show. I strongly encourage you to jump on any opportunity you get to see Folick – she is the real deal and an incredibly committed and charismatic performer, and will probably end up becoming a big festival draw before too long. Sleigh Bells have been a fun live act for a long time but have hit a new level of confidence that lines up perfectly with them having built up a deep catalog of bangers and a passionate audience who go wild for them through the entire set. I've added recent posts about both of them at the end of this email as a special bonus.
September 5th, 2016
All Of My Spirit Leaked Like A Cut
Wilco “Normal American Kids”
“Normal American Kids” is not the fun sort of nostalgia where you make a version of the past that flatters you and is edited carefully so you only get the fun bits. This is Jeff Tweedy, a man on the edge of 50, remembering what it was like to be a teen in the early ‘80s and…well, I don’t think he’s embarrassed, per se, but it’s not exactly flattering to realize how much of your formative experiences were driven by fear and anxiety. The young Jeff of “Normal American Kids” is a sullen stoner who needs to distance himself from the “normal” kids, and spins feelings of alienation and confusion into an elitist pose. This is a beautiful song, one of the loveliest of Tweedy’s impressive career, but it really gets under my skin because I was that sort of kid too. Not a stoner, but definitely someone who built an identity around opting out things. You get older and realize that being “normal” isn’t the worst thing you could be, but it’s hard to shake reflexive cultural elitism and feeling like you don’t belong anywhere once it’s burned deep enough into your mind. I think that’s where Tweedy is coming from here – he’s tracing a line from his youth to the present, and finding a peace with how things have been and how he’s turned out.
Buy it from Amazon.
September 6th, 2016
Slow Motion Tremble To The Holy Beat
Magic Potion “Cheddar Lane”
About two thirds of the way through this song the tempo suddenly decreases, and this fairly perky riff rock tune becomes very, very drowsy. It sounds like the song is just strolling along and then gets hit by a tranquilizer dart to the neck from some sniper in the distance. It’s a weird move, but I like it, and how it connects to these stoner-ish lyrics about movement and sleep. The solo in the sleepy section has a nice melody, but the performance feels vaguely staggered and unsure, as if the guitarist is literally nodding off and just trying to stay awake long enough to get to the next note. This could come off like a mess, but the band makes it all feel like a pleasant daze.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
September 7th, 2016
Writing Cursive In The Sky
Motion Graphics “Lense”
Maybe you remember White Williams? They put out one record nearly a decade ago, it was sorta like if The Strokes were also Neu!, or if Devo were also Kraftwerk. Really great vibe, but they basically disappeared and were largely forgotten. Motion Graphics is essentially the second coming of White Williams – same main dude, but with a totally new aesthetic. After a few years of working as a sideman in Co La and Lifted, Joe Williams has evolved into a rather elegant vaporwave composer. The punk elements of White Williams have been phased out, but that nervous physicality is still there in his music in less obvious ways. In “Lense,” it’s present in the bright keyboard chords that seem to splash out dramatically in an otherwise still and tranquil composition. It’s not a violent sound, but it does seem somewhat haphazard and graceless, and counter to his careful, lovely vocal tone through the piece. It doesn’t totally undermine the elegance of the overall song – if anything, that obvious humanity makes it seem more alluring.
Buy it from Amazon.
September 9th, 2016
Seekers Who Don’t Even Find
Relaén “Twines”
“Twines” is so mellow that it doesn’t totally register at first. At least this was the case for me – the first few times I heard it I picked up on the “warm bath” vibe and enjoyed that, and then the melodies sunk in deeper and deeper with repeated listening. The vocal performance on “Twines” is lovely, but it’s secondary to the gentle glow of the chords and the assertive but laid back snap of the beat. I’m more fond of the solo section of this song, in which a synthesizer and a saxophone get at some feelings that words wouldn’t do justice. I read that this band was aspiring to evoke “the sound of love,” and I think they nailed it. Or more specifically, this is the sound of romance – I just imagine two very graceful people in an elegant place with beautiful lighting. It’s aspirational, you know?
Buy it from Bandcamp.
June 22nd, 2016
Ripping Down Stars
Sleigh Bells “Rule Number One”
Casey Kasem used to end his Top 40 broadcasts by telling listeners to “keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars.” In other words, be ambitious, but also pragmatic. Alexis Krauss offers a more impatient and aggressive version of that thought in “Rule Number One,” belting out “RIPPING DOWN STARS WHILE I STAND ON MY TOES!!!” over a Derek Miller riff so severely processed that it sounds more like it’s being played on grinding gears instead of guitar strings. I can’t understate how much this moment of the song thrills me – I rewind the bit and play it back all the time, just trying to tap directly into this extraordinary willpower and self-belief.
No contemporary rock band has devoted as much of their energy towards making their music sound AS HYPE AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, but “Rule Number One” is a new peak for this duo. Krauss used to rely mostly on head voice, but here she’s as brassy and bold as En Vogue circa “Free Your Mind.” Miller’s riffs and beats have the raw energy they’ve always had, but they’re refined and reinforced. They’re both pushing themselves to their limits, and seem defiant in a way they haven’t seen before Treats came out. And that makes sense, right? They’re the underdogs again, and this is a song about breaking yourself, reinventing yourself, and willing yourself into greatness. It’s inspirational as fuck and I can’t get enough of it.
Buy it from iTunes.
August 17th, 2016
Just A Feeling In The Room
Miya Folick “Pet Body”
Miya Folick sings with a passion and flair that sometimes reminds me specifically of Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker. Not so much the aspects of Corin’s voice that could blow a hole through a mountain with their volume and intensity, but certainly the times when her phrasing becomes more playful and deliberately camp. Folick leans into this approach when she’s conveying sarcasm and irony, which is to say, a lot of “Pet Body.” She’s singing about feeling alienated from her own body in humorous terms – “I’m just a brain with a pet body,” “I’m just a sack of flesh, don’t take me so seriously” – but it’s a dark joke at her own expense. This is extreme self-deprecation to the point of self-negation, and her emphasis on the fragility of this body that’s just incidentally tethered to her mind makes every part of her life seem arbitrary and precarious. Folick nails a very tricky balance of comedy and terror here, in large part because she commits so fully to her performance.
Buy it from Amazon.