Listening Post: The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely

The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely - 2006

Get Lonely will always have a very special place in my heart. If you scroll down this blog you'll see the video for "Woke Up New", a song that perfectly describes my feelings of loss after my daughter Lizzie died.
The album gets points for having that song. If a song can make me cry every single time I hear it, it deserves a special place in my world.
The entire album is of no surprise; Darnielle tells you what to expect in the title. Unlike the last three Mountain Goats albums this one's title is descriptive. The Mountain Goats get lonely. The songs are about being alone. Left. Abandoned. Isolated. Interestingly, they are all more accessible than most of the ones that we've been listening to. It's as though the catchiness of "You or Your Memory" took hold and, in the case of, say, "Half Dead", could be recorded by Jimmy Buffett. Save the isolation, desperation, sadness, etc.
There are moments on Get Lonely that I highly suggest not be listened to if you are a) recently dumped by a girlfriend b) very very high and paranoid or c) very drunk on single malt anything. The title track and the next song "Maybe Sprout Wings" are enough to elicit a complete sense of hopelessness. A life bereft of reason. Darnielle was married at the time he wrote and produced this album which suggests not that it's autobiographical, but that he is a brilliant writer of fiction. Able to craft characters so real and inhabit them & paint them so vividly that its impossible not to think they are all confessional.
That singular focus of Get Lonely can get a bit weary. It's a lot to ask of an audience to sit through a dozen songs about being sad that you are alone. The good news is that John Darnielle is also a good songwriter but, if you've been with the Goats so far, you can pass on this one. Get "Woke Up New", though. That's a keeper.

Grade: B
ASide: Woke Up New
BlindSide: New Monster Avenue, Maybe Sprout Wings, If You See Light


Review number 468

Listening Post: The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree - 2005

The soft piano, the brushes on the drums, something's a little different on The Sunset Tree. Now, albeit I have refused to go deeper into the past of The Mountain Goats. I'm not interested in all that lo-fi stuff recorded on boom boxes in the back of department stores and stuff. I have limited time, you know? So, maybe this isn't all that uncommon, I mean, there was some piano on Tallahassee, right?
This is different though. The Sunset Tree is a lush, delicate investigation into John Darnielle's youth, which was dominated by an abusive step-father, who gets credited with a thank you on this record.
Each track paints another vivid image of this suburban hell. Whether it be the crappy motel room in Los Angeles in "You and Your Memory" or the white shag carpet thick with pet hair on "Broom People" or the escape and return on "This Year", (the first time I would actually say The Mountain Goats can swing hard, Jack.) a song as vivid in its portrayal of that terror as it is clean in it's delivery.
I'm not sure why Darnielle has my number. Maybe it's because we are close in age. When he talks about Watergate being on the tv in "Dance Party" I remember my childhood. I think I'm a couple years older but not by much. His suburbia is NOT Spielberg's of Poltergeist and E.T. Darnielle's is realer. My parents were together and there was no abuse in ours (unless you call Jewish guilt and boomer refusal to admit culpability abuse...) but Darnielle manages to capture adolescence of that time perfectly. It might be universal, I don't know. I know that it hits home for me.
Sure, The Sunset Tree gets tired toward the end and, after a bit of reflection resolution. On "Pale Green Things", the monster is finally dead. Even though John is released I can't help but weep. Maybe its because I've been a stepdad. Maybe its because, as an adult when I didn't need it, I had a stepdad that I didn't like. I don't know.

The Sunset Tree is like a musical memoir. It's pure, it's wrenching, it's terrifying and it's brilliant.

Grade: A+
ASide: You and Your Memory, This Year, Lion's Teeth, Pale Green Things
BlindSide: Broom People, Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod?

Listening Post: The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed

The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed - 2004

John Darnielle is a fantastic storyteller. At once confessional and then, hard right turn to observational. Comfortable in 1st person, 3rd person, 2nd person, he's what you should think of when you hear the term "Rock Poet Laureate". He takes what Craig Finn did with Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady and, instead of exploding it, made it more reductive. I'm not qualified to determine whether or not he's the "New Dylan", as I'm no expert in the old Dylan.
We Shall All Be Healed is not a collected work like the preceding "Tallahassee" or the forthcoming "The Sunset Tree". It's a collection of songs, each one acerbic, biting, tense, the people who populate the vignettes are vivid and each track is a minor epic. WSABH is a little more accessible than Tallahassee and for that reason it's just not as good. It's more polished, less haunting. The knife doesn't wield as sharply as it did on that one, and the record does veer into the uber-lo-fi of Darnielle's earlier work ("Home Again Garden Grove", "Quito") but these are but quibbles as one after another the songs invite the listener into the realm of Darnielle's story craft.

Grade: B
ASide: Slow West Vultures, Mole
BlindSide: Letter from Belgium, Your Belgian Things
DownSide: The Young Thousands, Home Again Garden Grove

Listening Post: The Strokes - Angles

The Strokes - Angles - 2011

5 years is a long time in rock and roll. In five years the Beatles went from lovable mop tops to Sgt. Pepper. Within 5 years Punk had exploded and imploded and disappeared from the scene. In 5 years cultural tastes change more times than I change my wardrobe (seriously, I own a shirt that I've had for a decade. That's gotta be illegal in some corners of New York.)
It's well known that The Strokes did not record this album together. That's some feat as the record has some moments that are really enjoyable.
The story goes that Casablancas would email ideas and vocals to the band as they recorded. This was his attempt to force them into a more take charge position. I call bullshit. I think he's just not that into the band.

"Under Cover of Darkness" has the poppy edge of some of the finer, more fun moments of Is This It. And where they could fall off the cliff into Futureheads territory they avail themselves well.
Angles is a short fucker of a record. Almost half the length of First Impression and that's a good thing. The Strokes know that we have just that much tolerance for them and their brand of fuzz-pop. On the other hand, Ric Ocasek might want to sue for sound infringement for "Two Kinds of Happiness", a song more inspired by The Cars than just about any in the band's oeuvre but about halfway through it finds its own footing and becomes something great, but just as quickly its over and we're in germanic electro-pop territory with "You're So Right". And later the Chicago-inspired white soul of "Gratisfaction" is a left field kind of track that makes me scratch my head and just think, "okaayyyy...." And "Metabolism" sounds like they've ALL been listening to too much Muse.

A disjointed affair Angles is. There's no cohesion at all. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's a bit uninspired. Room on Fire was like a sequel to Is This It, and Angles is like the album I would have expected after that, the one that sounds like they do but also like they might have a great one in them right after. Instead, this is the 10 year anniversary comeback album.
It's fine. It's like The Strokes. It's what they should sound like. It's who they are.

Grade: B-
ASide; Under Cover of Darkness
BlindSide: You're So Right, Taken for a Fool
DownSide: Call Me Back

Listening Post: The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee

The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee - 2002

There are a few great pieces of art that make you realize that you will never be able to achieve...that. For some it's Van Gogh. For others it's Gatsby.
For me it's, among many other things, John Darnielle's Mountain Goats album Tallahassee.
See, I'm a sucker for artists who create a character and keep them going, examining their lives for the duration. Dave Sim's 30+ year odyssey that was Cerebus is a great example. Trudeau's Doonesbury another. And the "alpha" couple in Darnielle's work. That he keeps going back to that well to examine these people is startling and amazing.
And, after years of that he devoted an entire album to them. Tallahassee is about the alpha couple moving to that town, buying a house sight unseen and drinking themselves to their end.
Mountain Goats albums sound like Mountain Goats albums. Darnielle's guitar loves a certain 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2 rhythm (among others) and his voice is almost repellently nasal. But the songs...the songs...Alpha Couple are those people you are afraid that you might turn into with a turn of bad luck or an illness, like the mother/daughter in Grey Gardens. I don't know if I know any Alpha Couples because I imagine they disappear into their own oblivion.

A song like "No Children" begs the question "How did they get here?" and, better, "What were they like when they met? Was it ever good?" Because it's a harrowingly depressing song. Take the opening verse:
I hope that our few remaining friends
Give up on trying to save us
I hope we come up with a failsafe plot
To piss off the dumb few that forgave us
I hope the fences we mended
Fall down beneath their own weight
And I hope we hang on past the last exit
I hope it's already too late
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here
Someday burns down
And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away
And I never come back to this town
Again in my life
I hope I lie
And tell everyone you were a good wife
And I hope you die
I hope we both die

If that doesn't make you want to slit your wrists....I just don't know. You can't just put Tallahassee on in the background and do something else. The record demands that you pay attention. You couldn't surf the web or do your taxes while reading a book and that's what this is: a book. A novel.

There's no way to pick just one song on Talahassee, because they aren't really meant to be heard as singles. The entire cycle works like Drive By Truckers' Southern Rock Opera; all part of one great book. I don't know what happens to our heroes. I assume from the website for the album, based on the notes in the attic, that they drank themselves to death or that they used the poisons in the garden and committed suicide. "Old College Try" sort of gives me that suicide pact feeling as well.

Grade: A
ASide: Tallahassee, No Children, See America Right, Alpha Rats Nest
BlindSide: Idylls of the King, Peacocks, Oceanographer's Choice

Listening Post: The Strokes - Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young - 2009

Before I even start this I have to wonder: Why? Isn't Casablancas the leader of The Strokes? Isn't he the visionary that started that group and, without him, aren't they just a bunch of guys who would've been haunting bowery clubs?
Okay, no matter. Sure, so Julian wants a solo record. Fine.

1. Out of the Blue - This is what the Strokes should sound like by now. They didn't on First Impression of Earth. But this is what we were hoping they would sound like.
2. Left and Right in the Dark - Strokes meets Disco meets Flock of Seagulls With a killer chorus.
3. 11th Dimension - Disco Strokes. Take the vocals out of it and it's generic roller rink stuff.
4. Chords of the Apocalypse - Brandon Flowers has been doing this stuff already for years. Ripping off The Killers is a sure sign that JC has run out of ideas.
5. Ludlow St. - Odd, dischordant, overt synthiness, this is Brian Eno meets Gary Numan meets Neutral Milk Hotel
6. River of Brakelights - Take the worst of The Strokes, the laziest of "singing" and "melody" and marry that to what sounds like a found loop of "music" and you end up with this Kraftwerk inspired mess.
7. Glass - The closest the album gets to a melodic ballad. Which, if you loved ballads by The Cars, you will enjoy.
8. Tourist - A song so bored with itself that it just decides to end.

I would have given this album a higher grade if it was a Strokes record. But the sheer arrogance of Casablancas and the thumbing of his nose to the other guys knocks it down a half grade.

Grade: C-
ASide: 11th Dimension
BlindSide: Left and Right in the Dark
DownSide: Ludlow St., Tourist

Listening Post: The Strokes - Albert Hammond Jr. - Como Te Llamo?

Albert Hammond Jr. - Como Te Llamo - 2008

Hammond's first non-Strokes record was a whimsical little foray into the lighter side of the sound of his day job band. And that made it fun to listen to. I was kind of hoping his next record would show a little growth, expand on the sounds he can make, broaden the picture.
Instead he seems to be saying on the second track, "In My Room", "Hey, you aren't gonna make another Strokes record? I will!".
Maybe that's what's up with the 4 missing people on the cover of the record...

The one thing that separated the first one from other Casablancas led records was the vocals. Sure, the sound was softer and more playful, but not now. Now Hammond has fuzzed up his voice, lazied up the nasal and channeled his band leader.
So, instead of sounding like a fresh take on sounds by a familiar artist, he just sounds like a Strokes wannabe band.
This works some of the time. "Lisa" is a nice and dark Indie-fuzz rock track. And "The Boss Americana" is fun in it's own, derivative way. The only singularly interesting moment comes deep into the record with the 7 minute delicate instrumental "Spooky Couch". But if the best you can say about the record is to sing the praise of the instrumental track, then you have a bigger problem. There's no new ideas on Como Te Llamo and the old ones are played out.

Como Te Llama reminds me of Thunder Express, the spin off band by the guitarist for the now defunct The Hellacopters. A diluted, second rate version of the first, which was a band that ran out of ideas and just stopped being.

Grade: C-
ASide: Bargain of a Century
BlindSide: Spooky Couch
DownSide: G Up

The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New

In about a month it will be 5 years since Liz died. This song always reminds me of her.
"An astronaut could have seen the hunger in my eyes from space..."




Damn I miss yiu, Liz.

Listening Post: The Strokes - Fabrizio Moretti - Little Joy

Little Joy - Little Joy - 2006

Little Joy is the side project from The Strokes's DRUMMER. Got that? This isn't the guitarist or the singer's dalliances. This is the drummer.
Now, I happen to enjoy the occasional drummer's foray. Roger Taylor? Sure. Phil Collins? Why not? Dave Grohl? Yep.
Ringo Starr? Umm...well, judging from the early tracks on Little Joy, whose first track sounds like it was taken from the original acetate, yeah.
Actually, there's a lot to like on Little Joy. It's cute. It's a trifle. You can't hate the 50's hawaiian surf happy of "Brand New Start". Or the wilting loveliness of "Play the Part". "Unattainable" with Binki Shaprio's Zooey Deschanel-esque vox is impossible not to like. And "How to Hang a Warhol" shows more humor than Casablancas has ever let on to anyone. Hey, Julian, hang out with Fabrizio, man.

There are traces of just about every power pop band here. Echoes of The Raspberries, Beach Boys, Serge Gainsbourg, The Beatles. Even The Strokes ("Keep Me In Mind") I'm not sure Moretti wants to leave his main group (though lord only knows what The Strokes are thinking these days) but this harmless offering makes for a nice spin on a rainy day. I really like this record more and more with each listen. The players wear their influences on their sleeve but they aren't afraid to dive in to the material. It's such a complete departure from what I know of Moretti's other band. I totally dig it.

Grade: A
ASide: No One's Better Sake, Unattainable, Don't Watch Me Dancing
BlindSide: Brand New Start, Shoulder to Shoulder, How to Hang a Warhol

Listening Post: The Strokes - Albert Hammond Jr. - Yours To Keep

Albert Hammond, Jr. - Yours To Keep - 2006

The Strokes all took some time off after First Impression of Earth, most likely to deal with the realization that they had nothing really to say or add after Is This It.
First out of the gate? Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.
His solo album opens with "Cartoon Music for Super Heroes" which sounds more like The Beach Boys run through Neutral Milk Hotel's taffy machine. And that's a blessing. Because immediately following, "In Transit" could have fallen off any Strokes record, albeit more reedy than Casablancas, Hammond doesn't stray too far from the proven formula. The addition of keys just give it a softer, more twee Indie feel, but the template is there. Terse 16th notes, bassline follow suit on the chorus, ambiguous melody. yeah, this is a Room on Fire cut. "Everyone Gets a Star" keeps things bright, sure, but there's no mistaking this record for anything but a sweeter version of a Strokes record. Actually, Hammond's upbeat texturing shows us that, in fact, The Strokes were really just Cake as influenced by The Velvet Underground.
There are moments, however, that show what Hammond could really be all about. That first cut and the middle track, "Blue Skies", an acoustic piece of Lennonilia and "Call an Ambulance" is a jaunty little bit. While "Back to the 101" sure sounds like it COULD be a Strokes song, the flourishes on the arrangement give it a lot of air and place to breath, making it one of the better tracks on the record. "Scared" is screaming to be part of the main band's coterie, but at this point they might have all been wondering if there would ever be another track. Either way, it's a sublime piece of new New Wave psychedelic Indie Rock.

I was hoping for more from this record, considering that a) Hammond comes from such strong songwriting lineage and b) why redo what's already been done so well on that groundbreaking first Strokes record? There are no surprises and really nothing egregious. The entire affair is pleasant enough. It's a bright and sweet record. it won't change your life and you won't find yourself reaching for it much, but it is easier on the ears than some of the Strokes stuff.

Grade: B+
ASide: Cartoon Music for Super Heroes, Scared
BlindSide: Blue Skies, Back to the 101