From: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org (navy-soup-digest) To: navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Subject: navy-soup-digest V5 #86 Reply-To: navy-soup@smoe.org Sender: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk navy-soup-digest Tuesday, April 30 2002 Volume 05 : Number 086 In This Digest: ----------------- Review of Saturday's show... ["Tab Siddiqui" ] Re: Review of Saturday's show... ["James McGarry" ] Another review... ["Tab Siddiqui" ] Re: Review of Saturday's show... ["James McGarry" ] =?ISO-8859-1?Q?OAC:=20M=DAM=20review=20(we=20hear=20so=20much,= 20?==?ISO-8859-1?Q?we=20know=20so=20little).=20NEW=20MUSIC=20REVIEW!!? = [] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 17:01:29 +0000 From: "Tab Siddiqui" Subject: Review of Saturday's show... A *beautiful* review of Sarah's T.O. show (or "coming out party", as this fellow puts it :)): http://www.globeandmail.com/generated/hubs/20020429/theartsMusic.html Spinning across the radio dial By ALAN NIESTER Special to The Globe and Mail Monday, April 29, 2002  Page R5 The concept of a female pop singer-songwriter performing with just a piano as accompaniment has a long and storied history that includes such luminaries as Carole King and Laura Nyro. These days, though, anyone attempting to deliver their art from behind the keyboard is more likely to face comparisons with Tori Amos, the current standard by which others are measured. This is the albatross that hangs around the neck of the 25-year-old Toronto-based singer Sarah Slean. But as she proved to a near sell-out crowd Saturday night, if those comparisons were once valid, they no longer really are. Her musical visions have grown far beyond that. This was hardly Slean's Toronto debut, but it did mark a sort of coming-out party in that she showcased songs from her current major-label debut Night Bugs, and as such was able to perform before a full band that included a pair of string performers (cello and violin) and a brass player. Thus, she was able to deliver full-blown as opposed to stripped-down versions of the songs from her disc. Slean is a complex and difficult performer, but all the more interesting for that. While most of her material is original, she draws heavily on genres from past eras. At some points, she seems to channel Marlene Dietrich 1930s-style German cabaret; at others, Billie Holiday-style Cotton Club blues. But it is typical of Slean's style that she never fully immerses herself in these genres, but tiptoes through them, giving songs such as Eliot a cabaret foundation, then building it to a sturdier pop-rock structure. Later, on the album cut Duncan, she led with a piano intro that might well have been lifted intact from Supertramp's Fool's Overture (though we'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she'd never heard the thing) before regressing into something that might have been popular in a 1940s Buenos Aires dance hall. And so it went, Slean brushing with delicate musical strokes that conjured up images of a Gilbert and Sullivan musicalon the one hand (the horn-infused Bank Accounts) or a Vera Lynn standing on the white cliffs of Dover Second World War number on the other (the atmospheric Book Smart, Street Stupid). Which is not to imply that Slean does not have at least one foot planted in the modern day: Me, I'm A Thief had a Kate Bush tinge to it, Sweet Ones sounded like the kind of ultracommercial pop song that Kim Stockwood writes, and the haunting Weight was capable of resurrecting those pesky Tori Amos comparisons. But ultimately, Slean's music comes across as a spin across history's radio dial. And while that makes for a challenging and interesting listening experience, it is also not exactly the sort of thing that would move an artist much past cult status. Slean's task will be to discover a way to make her expansive vision palatable to a wider audience without compromising her own artistic vision. It will be a difficult task, but an interesting one to watch unfold. _________________________________________________________________ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 13:33:34 -0400 From: "James McGarry" Subject: Re: Review of Saturday's show... Sure Tab... don't mention The Star's coverage ;-P... Vit lover her too... though I which the Star would use a copyeditor for their headlines: http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/A rticle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1020031631485&call_page=TS_Entertainment&call_pag eid=968867495754&call_pagepath=Entertainment/News&col=969483191630 Young songstress Sarah Sleam plays like seasoned pro Vit Wagner Pop Music Critic Sarah Slean offers a contradictory study in timidity and fearlessness. The boundlessly talented, young Toronto singer/songwriter spent much of her Saturday night concert at Trinity St. Paul's Centre hiding under a mushrooming cloud of hair as she sang and thundered away on the piano. On those occasions when she addressed the audience between tunes, she often did so with a hand shading her face. "What a lot of people," she said, looking up at a nearly full house of infatuated fans, most of them under the age of 30. "I can't look at you. I'm flustered." Real or affected, Slean's shrinking violet routine was a marked contrast to the boldness and ambition of her artistry. Blessed with a resonant, versatile voice and favouring a dramatic, colourful approach to songcraft, Slean is something of a cross between Kate Bush and Tom Waits, with a bit of Kurt Weill mixed in. "The Score," a new song introduced part way through the set, sounded like an out-take from The Threepenny Opera. Fronting a versatile septet that featured guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, violin, and cello, Slean followed that up with "Book Smart, Street Stupid," a similarly cabaret infused number from her recent major label debut, Night Bugs. The album provided the backdrop for much of the program, highlighted by forceful renditions of the hit "Sweet Ones," as well as "Eliot," "Duncan" and "Bank Accounts." Slean's more introspective side found its voice in a down-tempo "St. Francis," an arrangement of "My Invitation" that used only piano and horn, a lovely, solo piano read of "Me, I'm A Thief" and an unlikely cover of Lenny Kravitz' "The Difference Is Why." Slean might have acted like a fresh-faced newcomer astonished to find herself onstage in front of a large audience for the first time, but she played with the assurance and skill of an old pro. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 17:36:35 +0000 From: "Tab Siddiqui" Subject: Another review... Here's another one! (Omigod, kids, it's the big time! :)) From the Star: Young songstress Sarah Slean plays like seasoned pro Vit Wagner Pop Music Critic Sarah Slean offers a contradictory study in timidity and fearlessness. The boundlessly talented, young Toronto singer/songwriter spent much of her Saturday night concert at Trinity St. Paul's Centre hiding under a mushrooming cloud of hair as she sang and thundered away on the piano. On those occasions when she addressed the audience between tunes, she often did so with a hand shading her face. "What a lot of people," she said, looking up at a nearly full house of infatuated fans, most of them under the age of 30. "I can't look at you. I'm flustered." Real or affected, Slean's shrinking violet routine was a marked contrast to the boldness and ambition of her artistry. Blessed with a resonant, versatile voice and favouring a dramatic, colourful approach to songcraft, Slean is something of a cross between Kate Bush and Tom Waits, with a bit of Kurt Weill mixed in. "The Score," a new song introduced part way through the set, sounded like an out-take from The Threepenny Opera. Fronting a versatile septet that featured guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, violin, and cello, Slean followed that up with "Book Smart, Street Stupid," a similarly cabaret infused number from her recent major label debut, Night Bugs. The album provided the backdrop for much of the program, highlighted by forceful renditions of the hit "Sweet Ones," as well as "Eliot," "Duncan" and "Bank Accounts." Slean's more introspective side found its voice in a down-tempo "St. Francis," an arrangement of "My Invitation" that used only piano and horn, a lovely, solo piano read of "Me, I'm A Thief" and an unlikely cover of Lenny Kravitz' "The Difference Is Why." Slean might have acted like a fresh-faced newcomer astonished to find herself onstage in front of a large audience for the first time, but she played with the assurance and skill of an old pro. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 13:36:19 -0400 From: "James McGarry" Subject: Re: Review of Saturday's show... - ----- Original Message ----- From: "James McGarry" To: Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 1:33 PM Subject: Re: Review of Saturday's show... >Sure Tab... don't mention The Star's coverage ;-P... Vit loved her too... > though I which the Star would use a copyeditor for their headlines: Me too... I need a copy editor ;-P James. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:53:30 EDT From: JewelEDA21@aol.com Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?OAC:=20M=DAM=20review=20(we=20hear=20so=20much,= 20?==?ISO-8859-1?Q?we=20know=20so=20little).=20NEW=20MUSIC=20REVIEW!!? = Hey all -- since I and some other people keep talking about mzm (from iceland), and it seems not many people know who mzm are, I thought i'd post some reviews of their first album. It takes about 10 minutes to read, but its really worth it. Gives very good insights into the first album, Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is Ok. They prompted me to buy the album, and while I disagree with some things the reivewers say, most is RIGHT on key -- the album is Great! its amazing -- I reccomend it HIGHLY.. "for anyone who appreciates music" I believe one says... Anyways, here they are: - ----------- Eirikur Leifrsson, SPIN mzm: yesterday was dramatic, today is ok released in 2001, the debut album from this icelandic quartet (2 beautiful twins, gyda and krmstin, and 2 guys, orvar and gunnar) covers alot. Besides being lushly produced with airy sounds layered over soft beats and live fingered bass, this album takes off with a slow build throughout the beggning, then quicker and quicker, untill literally zooming and soaring through a bright blue sky, twisting and turning your heart, climaxing, then coming down ever so soft, letting you down on a fluffly cloud of ambrosia and rose petals. The album uses live instruments, backed by a plethora of sounds (tape players, handclaps, beeps, blips, clicks, bumps, etc...) and many other different types of instruments (glockenspiels, accordians, guitars, pianos, basses, drums, triangles, flutes, trumpets, clarinets, cellos, violas....MANY strings). They make you 'mzm's bitch.' The most amazing thing about this album is its continued uniquenss of developing the songs as 'separate songs', yet at the same time developing the album as a whole, each song adding on to the previous. There are so many twists and turns to this record, that something new is discovered upon each listen. the album is airy, light, lush, soft, fluffy and, at the same time, beaty, heavy, drummy, lifty, guitary, melodic.... the elements of pounding live guitar backed by some old video game sounds (read: old school mario brothers for instance, listen for more throughout...), with the light icelandic vocalings of the sisters, mixed with sadness, happiness, bright sunny days and cold snowy nights, make for a VERY unique sound. A sound that is amazing-- fucking insanley unbeatably heartwhirringly amazing. There is nothing like mzm that is comparable. Since SPIN, MTV, and ROLLING STONE, make me compare shit, If i had to, i'd probably say (after attempting to weasel my way out of the question....and this is by no means anywhere NEAR a definition of mzm, but) : elements of Aphex Twin (knob twisting and production), 5-ziq (produced sounds), Radiohead (melodic sounds), Sigurrss (dreamy feelings), Bjvrk(ish), Magnitophone (insane fusion of IDM with Shoegaze/Spacerock), Infected mushroom (high-level production), Cocteau Twins (airy guitars and vocal stylings- sometimes), Squarepusher (classical stlyings), Plaid (layering), Ride (apacey sound), Low (that heart-aching folk beat), Beth Gibbons (for being able to turn me on just through that voice) Seefeel (insane way of making 8 minutes pass like 30 seconds), Autechre/Boards Of Canada (for that sound....), Mazzy Star (slow, soft music that still kicks ass and floats you away), Trent Reznor (the unbelievable way of making fucking insane music), Lou Reed (for making Heroin seem not-so-bad), My Bloddy Valentine (dark indie experimental), Maynard James Keenan (hard rock guitars over layered soft trippy beats).... The songs flow in and out of each other seamlessly, and one thing about this album is its abilility to be heard as one full album, or as separate songs. You can actually feel your self, under a sunny, blue icelandic sky, laying on the shores of a certain fjvrd, breathing in sunshine and warmth-- alone, quiet, calm, relaxed.... and within seconds, you're transported thousands of miles away to the throbbing, loud, dark city streets of downtown Bangkok, the heat and the dirt dripping off of your skin, in a a sweaty, dreamy haze..... all the while, being gently kissed and massaged and manipulated by mzm. Prepare for a journey through space, time, love, rock, folk, melody, stars, moons, planets, countries, feelings, hatred, clouds, forests, rivers, countries, cultures, languages, sadness, happiness, insanity, childhood, adulthood, death, birth, iceland............. all in the span of just about 72 minutes. This album (and band) makes you sit back in a stupified awe, grinning like a moron, and say "they fucking MADE this??!!!!." This album is for anyone who loves, appreciates, and cherishes the way the music takes us away, this album is for those of us who listen... try: http://www.noisedfisk.com/mumweb/ - ----------------- from junkbmedia.org Phew. I haven't been this taken with a new record in a long time.Mzm excels at combining acoustic and electronic sound into a vague middle space. Above the ever-present micro-beats and crystal-soft synths are snatches of melodica, trumpet, clarinet, gentle rhythm guitar, electric bass and singing. I am still left scratching my head as to how some of these melodies came to be; well, it sounds a whole lot like a trumpet, but there's something going on underneath that definitely isn't a trumpet, and in any case now there are two of them. "There Is A Number Of Small Things" plays a softly strummed electric bass against beautiful melodies on xylophones and synthesizers. After some washed-out xylophone detours, things devolve into a lonely duet between synthesizer chords and what sounds like a particularly tonal sump pump. If it sounds weird, well, it's not. The full instrumentation returns, this time with clarinet and a group of "la la la's." The Icelandic fairy tale is complete. The album is uniformly quiet and suitable for various forms of whispering and cooing. Although it would seem an ideal forum for more conventional singing (it's not hard to compare Yesterday Was Dramatic with Bjvrk's new release), the one song with straightforward vocals ("The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records") manages to stand out too much, sounding underdeveloped and misshapen. As a whole, the music is intricately detailed yet roughly textured, like a favorite, tattered wool hat. "Slow Bicycle" spends eight languorous minutes exploring a single, repeating melodic line that rubs idly against a white noise that threatens to steal the melody away but never quite manages to. The song has a peculiar quality that sounds like a Western adaptation of a classical Indian raga. Songs make no attempt to tie loose ends together. The album flows with a sense of constant discovery and quiet exuberance, as grooves taper off and reform into new sections. All of a sudden, at six minutes, a guitar enters. Things like this. "Smell Memory" pedals on for over nine minutes into a wonderful, alien world I wish I could inhabit. A harpsichord is run through the fabulous effect on their Mac that promises to "make it sound like winter." Beats sparkle, lather and fade in some strange approximation of flitting human thought. Not to get too psychedelic here, but it sounds a whole lot like neurons firing away up there in your head - ------------ from tugboatrecords.com: Both melodies, and sounds, as well as ambient hall effects give this record its character but, like with every record, there are endless viewpoints to see this record from and endless ways to describe it, but here are three versions: The band's version: "This record has ten songs that we made using nice sounding instruments to make beats and melodies. We really tried to do our best. We named the record "Yesterday was dramatic -today is ok." An old man's version: "The album is about four kids on summer vacation in a seaside village. They spend their days in a library, they go swimming and on bicycle and train rides. It sounds like I'm describing a book and not a record. Well you never really can tell these days." - ------------------ from grudnuk.com: There's always a wierd kink waiting around the corner to bop you on the head, often courtesy of the neat mix of IDM-du-jour glitches, wrongheaded breakbeats and artificially sweetened melodies playing off the acoustic instrumentation of guitars, clarinets and trumpet. It's neither IDM or postrock, there's elements of both, but also good hints of folkloric and demoscene music elements as well.The Boards of Canada reference isn't such a bad one, actually, they're similar in way their music somehow manages to recall childhood memories - the sort you try to forget and almost do until you happen across an old stomping ground, or see an old show on TV, and it comes right back to you - much like a memory of a smell, actually. But Mzm are much more upfront about it, practically spelling it out in the liner notes, the cute melodies, and the occasional background vocal. "The Ballad of the Broken Birdie records" is absolutely twee, f'rinstance, and manages to get away with it, perhaps the siren is a fairy, not the sort that's nice and playful, but the sort that would kidnap your children and cook them over a spit at a barbeque for all the delightful woodland creatures. In other places, it's not so childish: The two-track suite "Asleep on a Train/Awake on a Train" fits the titles perfectly, the scuttering lo-fi breakbeat with harmonium(?) putting you in that state of mind that one associates with train travel, when there's nothing to do but read the paper or a novel, listed to your walkman, ignore the other passengers, and watch the scenery go buy. You nod off for a second, then suddenly "Awake" starts, and another dinky melody with a locomotive accompaniment, gradually slowing down with the mood corresponding. It gets better, fading away into glitchdust, before the best bit of the whole album kicks in, a acoustic section rather reminiscent of Tortoise's less wanky moments, with guitar and clarinet, accompanied by glitches and clicks rather than a real guitar. ------------------------------ End of navy-soup-digest V5 #86 ******************************