{Background photo credit to Naveen Konduri}
You know those songs that are just so completely perfect?
Sunday Morning, courtesy of the Velvet Underground.
- Plastic Flowers’ 7” Single
- Anne, Dream Punx
- The Books, The Way Out
Opinions are yet to be formed. Can you tell I took Brooklyn Vegan’s teachings to heart?
I normally am not the biggest fan of The Antlers. Whether the source of this longstanding aversion is his falsetto, or some other weird stigma floating around in my head, I tend to press skip when they play on my ipod/computer/whatever. This song though, as simple as it is, has begged me to reconsider. Beautiful.
We lost our chance to run.
Anyhow…
Crystal Stilts, Radiant Door EP
Brooklyn based 5-piece Crystal Stilts is often linked to iconic acts such as Joy Division and the Velvet Underground without ever being accused of imitation in their first two impeccable albums, Alight of Night and In Love With Oblivion. But in their new EP Radiant Door (their second release this year), the refreshingly dark band can indeed be convicted for the act of replication- of themselves.
The five song EP sticks to showcasing the band’s strengths, again capitalizing on the enchanting gloom of Brad Hargett’s monotone vocals, which exchange weight with the instrumentals characterized by the tambourine and keyboardist Kyle Forrester’s organ to provide the sound unique to Crystal Stilts. The EP’s leadoff single “Dark Eyes” lets the instrumental elements do the work with subtle claps, a simplistic repetition of a guitar strum, and the presiding organ washing over Hargett’s reverberating vocals to produce a pleasing conglomerate of sound. Title track ‘Radiant Door’ goes in a slightly different direction, cleaning up a bit and involving a more upbeat pace that stays true to the vein of Crystal Stilt’s previous instrumental ventures into the realm of positivity. A highlight of the brief EP exists in the final track ‘Frost Inside the Asylum’, a slow, but captivating song that invokes all of the elements that make the band something more than an imitation of the past. The drums and tambourine provide the pulse of a cold heartbeat, while the synthesis of organ and guitar create a riff that claims the gloom, completed by Hargett’s distinct voice that speaks to the very hearts the rhythm echo. Though the song is one of my favorites from the band, it doesn’t take a step in any direction forward, a characteristic that resonates throughout the entire EP.
It’s important to keep in mind that two of the five songs on the record are thoughtfully chosen covers, which prove to fit effortlessly with the dark pop aesthetic the band employs in their music. With both the Sanford Clark song ‘Still As the Night’ and ‘Low Profile’, originally by the post-punk outfit Blue Orchids, Crystal Stilts doesn’t meddle too much in changing the original flow of the songs. The covers sound very much like they fit in the band’s discography and are great listens, but come across as material they’ve simply toyed with and have appreciation for rather than songs they have exerted creative effort on.
Radiant Door’s original lyrics, dipped in the arresting bass of Hargett’s vocals, also don’t veer from the band’s formula and continue to paint the bewitching images that are consistent with their previous work. Throughout the EP, Hargett seems to be focusing his lyrical efforts on casting hexes that evoke scenes of moonlit graveyards and the loves that once existed there. In both ‘Radiant Door’ and ‘Dark Eyes’ he sings of women whose eyes hypnotized him, perhaps later facing the darker side of love in ‘Asylum’, when he sings that, “frost inside the asylum surrounded me like a tomb”. Though lyrics are largely unintelligible due to the heavy echo cloaking the vocals, part of enjoying the band is realizing that what Hargett is singing about simply is a complement to the musicality of their work. The band’s aura consistently conjures a dark and lonely world, with the seamless fusion of vocals and instrumentals being what makes that world beautiful and worth the listen.
Radiant Door is by no means a fall from grace for Crystal Stilts. It seems to be a plateau rather, an effort that could indicate that the band is facing difficulty breaking away from imitating themselves. More likely though is the possibility that this EP isn’t meant to be looked at as a harbinger of their next album or a step up for the band, but rather as a vessel to tide over devoted fans until their third, hopefully progressive LP is released.
I’d like to state the obvious and say that… CMJ is upon us! I’m extremely stoked as I’ve never been before and don’t quite know what to expect. Actually, that’s a lie… it’s going to be rad.
If you’ve been on any music dedicated website within the past, i don’t know, 5 months, you know how big this thing is. If you live in NYC and aren’t planning on going to at least 1 or 2 shows, you really should take a moment to consider what you are doing with your life. Badge or not, make a point of going- shows are cheap!
Thankfully for me and those of you who will actually take the time to read my coverage of CMJ, I am one of the blessed who have a press badge. For a look at who I’m planning on seeing (tentatively) I’ll list ‘em off below. But since I’m not omnipresent, don’t have teleportation capabilities, clones, etc, I can’t make it to every show. Because of that, I’m also including the best resources for all that is CMJ so that if you’re a New Yorker you have no excuse to miss out. Even if you don’t have the chance to hit up CMJ, look up some of the bands who are playing; lots of them are pretty new- new as in not even having released a true EP yet. So make yourself at home on your laptop, ignore your responsibilities, and get all the wonderful music your little ‘indie’ heart desires.
Shows I’m Covering:
Tuesday 10/18: Parlovr*, Acid Baby Jesus*, CO LA, The Immaculates*, Fort Lean, Mister Melt; 8 PM, Shea Stadium
Wednesday 10/19: Eternal Summers*, Cloud Nothings, Widowspeak; 1:45 PM- 4PM, Cake Shop Arctic Monkeys* (YESYESYES), Smith Westerns; Music Hall of Williamsburg 8PM
Thursday 10/20: Frankie Rose*, Widowspeak; 7 PM, Littlefield
Friday 10/21: Atlas Sound*; 4:30 PM, Ace HotelNeon Indian, Webster Hall or: Jacuzzi Boys*, The Beets, Acid Baby Jesus, Colleen Green, Gem Club, Black Marble; Death By Audio, 7PM
Saturday 10/22: Turbo Fruits*, Bleached*, Pujol; 3:30 PM, Cake ShopUnknown Mortal Orchestra*, Givers, Free Energy; 9 PM, Brooklyn Bowl
*= highly anticipated
~~~Hoping to catch Chelsea Wolfe at some point too.
CMJ Galore:
- Oh My Rockness: http://www.ohmyrockness.com/showlist.cfm?start_date=10/18/2011&end_date=10/22/2011&by=showdates
- CMJ Official: http://schedule.cmj.com/
- Guide to doing CMJ cheap: http://www.brokelyn.com/the-ultimate-badgeless-cmj-guide/
- A guide for those who are ‘auditory learners’: http://www.spinner.com/2011/10/10/spinner-cmj-spotify-playlist/
Oh hooray for Fridays!
#CMJ #press #yippee
Belle + Sebastian’s debut album is relatively new to me. Yes, I’m behind, but it’s hard to be all-knowing musically, especially when the record I’m referring to came out before I could spell its name. In terms of debuts, this is pretty fucking good and I’m sure whoever is reading this has listened to it before, but regardless- listen again. Whether you’re feeling like the girl who’s goin off the deep end like the one in “Losing It”, in a standstill- limiting yourself from “doing something pretty while you can” like in “We Rule the School”, or have always loved wrestling with the meaning of “The State I Am In”, this album is worth revisiting. Try it with your breakfast, things will taste a little sweeter.
#Belleandsebastian #tigermilk #music
