 |
| Track list: 1. Sugar 2. Get Out 3. People Like You 4. Pontiac to Home Girl 5. Not So Clever Now 6. Instead of the Saints 7. Militia Sister 8. Throwing In 9. Bad Idea 10. Into the Blue Running time: 45 minutes Released: 1998 |
I am sure I have written before about how Thea Gilmore is a favourite artist of mine. Probably more true to say "was", since I enjoy her earlier material more, and this is the earliest of the lot. I found her lyrics more pointed and relevant (to me) and that bite is what largely endeared me to Gilmore's work.
It is revealed right from the off in Sugar; Gilmore was a feisty young woman - and despite this being nearly 2 decades old now, she is still not yet 40. I love the opening acoustic riff, it heralds the attitude that comes with the lyrics. It's not stunning composition or brilliant performance, but it is very on the nose and in sync with the song that follows. In truth, the body of the song is musically rather dull, but I love the vocal for what is said and how. I have not listened to this for a while, and I am getting a fuzzy sense of nostalgia. This listen is well overdue. I should have managed it yesterday, or during the week, but... ugh. Too many things to sort out, so as usual in such cases I end up procrastinating, escaping into something I shouldn't be doing and wondering how the rest of the world copes with the boring bits of property ownership. Roof, damp, boundaries... all need work.
The attitude continues into Get Out, and again we have what is a fairly catchy riff at first grow less interesting over the course of the song, and another fairly astute set of lyrics. This number is higher tempo, a little more lush too, but it doesn't quite hit the mark as well as Sugar. It's a brave move to completely stop the music for a lyrical bridge (a thin backing does come in during it) on a debut from a then teenager but, well: I am slightly biased here but Gilmore had a way with words from the off and that carries it. We strip back for the next tune, which ends up being rather thin - a couple of guitars picking out tunes behind a voice that almost speaks rather than sings in places. Not the best of hers.
My procrastination has seen far too many hours lost to a) listening to England fall to Pakistan in the first Test, and getting frustrated with my poor play in Overwatch, which is the current big thing in games, or something. Enough about that though. There are two star turns on this record if memory serves and Pontiac to Home Girl is one of them, a dark and moody piece, slow and churning chords, wailing notes and a regret-laden voice. I have always been a sucker for long lonely tones, and a lot of other things that conjure images of loneliness come to thing of it. It speaks to a common theme of my time. The music does repeat rather, patterns set early replay often, but when they are effectively atmospheric, I have no problem with that at all. I find the tunes ticking by quickly, I don't remember them being so short and snappy, but there's nothing much beyond 4 minutes on the disc.
Not So Clever Now is peppier, more lively, spiked, staccato, then a bit more expansive in the chorus. Again it is all about the words. I think I picked this up when I was about 22, a few years after it was made, but the anger and purpose of youth sat well with me. In some ways I never grew up, which is possibly why I still find the songs very appealing. The second pillar of this album is Instead of the Saints. Gorgeous sound on this, understated outrage. I can't find the right words to describe it. Musically its a fairly staid piece - sounds like a thousand other guitar pieces really - but in concert with Gilmore's words and vocal (and doubtless my nostalgia) it lifts into something powerful enough to make the hairs on my arms stand up.
I think it's fair to say that I am seeing the flaws with these pieces more on this listen. When I was younger I brushed off the critical opinion that Gilmore's compositions were letting her down, undermining the strength of the songwriting. However it is really hard to avoid that fact on re-examination. Too many simple hooks, too much reliance on these same. I forgive her though; whilst I am not loving the songs in the way I recall doing so in the past, I am enjoying revisiting them. I remember really loving Throwing In, a sadness hanging over the song that made it something I might turn to when feeling down (I'm one of those misery loves company types that likes downbeat music when feeling blue). Oh god, that chorus... Gilmore's voice nails the little kernel of hope, whilst conveying sadness. The guitar part is pretty dull (see a theme yet?) but the emotion carried on her vocal is class... fragile but fine, down but not out.
Bad Idea has a nice roll; I remember this one having a little bit of bite, but as the nice becomes the boring the chorus breaks it up and I find that I don't much like the singing here - it is a little too shrill, affected, tight. It doesn't fit with the music so well this time either. Whilst I don't think Gilmore has the best voice ever, I think she generally uses what she has pretty darn well; here it all falls a little flat for me. I don't quite know why. Then, just like that we're into the home stretch.
The attitude continues into Get Out, and again we have what is a fairly catchy riff at first grow less interesting over the course of the song, and another fairly astute set of lyrics. This number is higher tempo, a little more lush too, but it doesn't quite hit the mark as well as Sugar. It's a brave move to completely stop the music for a lyrical bridge (a thin backing does come in during it) on a debut from a then teenager but, well: I am slightly biased here but Gilmore had a way with words from the off and that carries it. We strip back for the next tune, which ends up being rather thin - a couple of guitars picking out tunes behind a voice that almost speaks rather than sings in places. Not the best of hers.
My procrastination has seen far too many hours lost to a) listening to England fall to Pakistan in the first Test, and getting frustrated with my poor play in Overwatch, which is the current big thing in games, or something. Enough about that though. There are two star turns on this record if memory serves and Pontiac to Home Girl is one of them, a dark and moody piece, slow and churning chords, wailing notes and a regret-laden voice. I have always been a sucker for long lonely tones, and a lot of other things that conjure images of loneliness come to thing of it. It speaks to a common theme of my time. The music does repeat rather, patterns set early replay often, but when they are effectively atmospheric, I have no problem with that at all. I find the tunes ticking by quickly, I don't remember them being so short and snappy, but there's nothing much beyond 4 minutes on the disc.
Not So Clever Now is peppier, more lively, spiked, staccato, then a bit more expansive in the chorus. Again it is all about the words. I think I picked this up when I was about 22, a few years after it was made, but the anger and purpose of youth sat well with me. In some ways I never grew up, which is possibly why I still find the songs very appealing. The second pillar of this album is Instead of the Saints. Gorgeous sound on this, understated outrage. I can't find the right words to describe it. Musically its a fairly staid piece - sounds like a thousand other guitar pieces really - but in concert with Gilmore's words and vocal (and doubtless my nostalgia) it lifts into something powerful enough to make the hairs on my arms stand up.
I think it's fair to say that I am seeing the flaws with these pieces more on this listen. When I was younger I brushed off the critical opinion that Gilmore's compositions were letting her down, undermining the strength of the songwriting. However it is really hard to avoid that fact on re-examination. Too many simple hooks, too much reliance on these same. I forgive her though; whilst I am not loving the songs in the way I recall doing so in the past, I am enjoying revisiting them. I remember really loving Throwing In, a sadness hanging over the song that made it something I might turn to when feeling down (I'm one of those misery loves company types that likes downbeat music when feeling blue). Oh god, that chorus... Gilmore's voice nails the little kernel of hope, whilst conveying sadness. The guitar part is pretty dull (see a theme yet?) but the emotion carried on her vocal is class... fragile but fine, down but not out.
Bad Idea has a nice roll; I remember this one having a little bit of bite, but as the nice becomes the boring the chorus breaks it up and I find that I don't much like the singing here - it is a little too shrill, affected, tight. It doesn't fit with the music so well this time either. Whilst I don't think Gilmore has the best voice ever, I think she generally uses what she has pretty darn well; here it all falls a little flat for me. I don't quite know why. Then, just like that we're into the home stretch.
I need to do some surgery on Into the Blue to cut out the silence of Hidden Track Bullshit and release the track (apparently called One Last Fight), but thankfully Wikipedia has given me clues to where the buried song begins, so there's less trial and error to slice through the silence. The listed song starts with those lonely notes that I fall for, and a distant-sounding vocal. It's a wistful tune, one that resonates rather. A regretful tune, "My God I'm sorry" forms the bones of the chorus. That emotion runs strong through the piece, and I find that endears it to me. Again, the song and composition could be any number of other artists or bands, could be utterly forgettable, but there is a synergy between those long notes and the sheer emotion in her voice - a strong presence without being overdone - that makes the track work for me. It's over very quickly though so I find myself skipping through the silence. The hidden track is a jangling, folk-rocky number where I think the carefree sound rather masks a pithy undercurrent and touchy lyric. I like the tune a lot actually; just wish it hadn't been buried after 5 minutes of dead air.
This album hints at what was to follow. It's far from perfect and lacks the polish that began to appear on later records. I remain rather fond of it, warts and all, because that rawness is best reflected in the attitude and the lyrics, which are the stronger points of the work.
This album hints at what was to follow. It's far from perfect and lacks the polish that began to appear on later records. I remain rather fond of it, warts and all, because that rawness is best reflected in the attitude and the lyrics, which are the stronger points of the work.
No comments:
Post a Comment