DON'T YOU LOVE A SINGER
That's advice given in a song called "Honest" from the new Long Winters album, Putting the Days to Bed. It's too late for me, though, cause I love John Roderick. I love him for his literate pop songs and I'm not ashamed to admit it. My feelings started growing with 2003's When I Pretend to Fall and last fall's EP, Ultimatum. The new record is my latest obsession. Come for the great pop/rock tunes and stay for the incredible words...
"Unkind girlish walk/Like a deed to the world without the talk/As you wade through the crows/I sit next to you, the seat's still warm" - "Pushover"
"If you're my anchor/then I'm throwing you over the side" - "Hindsight"
"Crave translates into slave" - "Ultimatum"
"Your magic beans mean at least you'll have one giant friend!" - "Clouds"
I could go on, of course, and most of the songs have a couple lines like that. Then there's the danceable groove and guitar of "Fire Island, AK" and the flat out rock of "(It's A) Departure" and the pop beauty of "Honest."
What I'm really saying is that you need this record. This record should be blasting out of every car as summer mellows into fall. It's top ten of the year all the way, probably top five. Go get it and enjoy.
P.S. You can also download a podcast from KEXP featuring almost an hour of songs and chat with the band. Go through iTunes and look up KEXP's live podcasts or just go to their website. It's free!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I knew this would be a good album. I still have not gotten it yet. Though I've got "Fire Island" and "Pushover" and "Honest"--just whetting my appetite.
I'll have to settle for the KEXP set for now. He did an interview with Garrison Reid too that I haven't gotten around to. You can catch that here.
You're spot on re Roderick's lyrics. Really distinct voice, too.
Well, you have a pretty good set already with those three songs. Still, get the album. :)
You know, I've never heard any of the Indie Interviews stuff. He's a solid interviewer?
He's not the greatest, but he's getting better. Some artists he's more comfortable just talking to, some he runs through a list of questions like a checklist rather than responding to something mind-blowing an artist has just said.
He lands some big fish, though. From the Wrens to the Decemberists to Kyp Malone of TVotR, Tapes^2, Mates of State. He talked to John Vanderslice last spring. One interview with the Grates made me like the band a whole lot more. Worth subscribing to the feed.
I have a pretty low tolerance when it comes to podcasts. Bad sound or an annoying voice and I'm outta there...
Post a Comment