Pete & the Pirates - Little Death

General Ratings:

Rating: 8
Breadth of Appeal: 7
Consistency of Quality: 8

RIYL: The Futureheads, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers

Further Listening: Tap Tap, Ra Ra Riot, Foreign Born

Place of Origin: Reading, England

Sound/Instrument List: Electric Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Backup Vocals, Handclaps, Tambourine

Mood Tones: Inspiring of loyalty to a country or creed that isn’t yours.

Song Highlights: Knots, Moving, Bears

Favorite Lyrics:

“Hey now, what’s the big idea? /
Don’t bring those good looks ‘round here.” (from “Eyes Like Tar”)

“You and me trying hard to remember /
how we ever started out with our sights so high.” (from “Mr. Understanding”)

“We take every chance, /
and I’ll take you to France.” (from “Moving”)

Further Thoughts:

I once stood in a field with several thousand people as we chanted “We hope that you choke” over and over at the top of our lungs. That’s perhaps one of the stranger anthemic lyrics to be found, and probably few bands but Radiohead could pull it off. Truly hooking hooks are usually forged of fairly plain lyrics, and perhaps necessarily so. Thus the charge of cliché and bad or throwaway lyricism often seemed misplaced when leveled against a certain kind of band. Some of my favorite lyrics, ever:

“And all of the time you thought I was sad, /
I was trying to remember your name.” (from Stars’ “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”)

“The Yukon keeps me up all night.” (from Broken Social Scene’s “Almost Crimes”)

“You’re the one who’s riding around on a leopard. /
You’re the one who’s throwing dead birds in the air.” (from Sunset Rubdown’s “Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days”)

“I’ve read the right book /
to interpret your look. /
You were knocking me down /
with the palm of your eye.” (from Joanna Newsom’s “Peach, Plum, Pear”)

These aren’t the sorts of lines that casually pack in a stadium-sized crowd or are ever going to flood the airwaves, and there’s nothing at all contingent about that, it seems to me. Once you rehearse the tired arguments about people’s lack of taste, you have to admit how strange such lyrics are and that they're probably working, if they work for you, on a rather strange part of your sensibility. “I can’t get no ... satisfaction,” “It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled,” even “Hey, roll over DJ / You’re spinning away / all my time”: for better or worse, this is necessarily the stuff of most hooks.

Thomas Sanders of Pete & the Pirates seems to spend about a third or so of his life singing about getting into and out of bed:

“I’m too tired to go to bed. /
We can stay awake all night. /
And when people get up to go to work, /
we’ll be holding each other tight.

Turn off all the lights. /
Come hibernate with me. /
Oh, mommy bear and daddy bear, /
as angry as can be.” (from “Bears”)

“Time for bed. /
Find a girl and go to bed. /
Close your eyes. /
Stars are falling from the sky.” (from “Dry Wings”)

“Get out of bed--it’s the wrong one. /
Made out of lead, get dressed instead. /
Hit your head and get your shoes on. /
Get out of bed and get your socks on.” (from “Knots”)

“It’s so cold this morning /
my breath comes out like steam. /
I got up in such a hurry /
I’m still stuck inside my dream.” (from “She Doesn’t Belong to Me”)

It’d be easy enough to put this down on the page as bad poetry and make fun of it. That would completely miss the point that they’re hugely affecting, sung the way the are. It’s not just that the melodies are good--that’s true of Broken Social Scene, Sunset Rubdown, et. al. as well. This is full-throated pop, whatever the style of the guitar work underneath. In a hipster Jerry McGuire, Tom Cruise (now Joseph Gordon-Levitt?) would scan right past Broken Social Scene and the rest and settle on “Dry Wings” in place of “Free Fallin’” and scream along in the car.

Hence my hesitancy to rate lyrics apart from their music. Lyrics are lyrics, not poetry, and they’re encountered always and only over music. Saunders’ lyrics would probably be terrible over Iron & Wine’s or Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s music, but they’re exactly right found where they are. Of course no one much hesitates to criticize a singer’s voice, or the guitar work on an album, or its production, and those things are always and only encountered where they are as well. The lyrics/music split seems rather different to me as it’s the obvious split of popular music, and speaking of each in isolation isn’t as obviously artificial or momentary as criticizing someone’s tenor. Thus it reinforces the mistaken idea that pop music just is music plus poetry.

There’s something of the revivalists in Pete & the Pirates, but they’re finally too fun, too, well, joyous for that. Remember “Take Me Out,” Franz Ferdinand’s first big single, which came out during The Strokes’ brief period of world domination? The first minute or so of that song sounds exactly like The Strokes and their careful posturing. Then, right at the 55 second mark there’s a hit and the song switches to a 2/2 disco beat, saying (approximately): “Fuck this, let’s give them something to dance to.” This is the mold Pete & the Pirates are working in. I imagine they know their Gang of Four just as forwards and backwards as straight-up revivalists such as Young Knives, but they’re willing to drop their cool and admit that angular downstabs, even at their best, finally get a bit boring (isn’t this the problem with Gang of Four: finally they’re too cool?). Further, they don’t clearly sit as part of the specifically post-punk revival. There’s a bit of punk, new wave, and garage to be had as well. And so the mix is finally much more intriguing than The Hives or The Strokes or The Rapture ever were (I suppose all these bands still exist, but no one cares, right?).

Electric Guitar, Bass, Drums: that’s it. Pete & the Pirates make use of only the rock band starter kit and Little Death puts forward a full range of songs. Its anthems--“Bears,” “Dry Wings,” “Ill Love,” “Knots,” "Come On Feet" and more--are its defining feature, but there are fully-developed, slower brooders as well--“Moving” being the standout--and harder punk numbers (“Bright Lights,” “Lost in the Woods”). “Mr. Understanding” features a great Cardigans-esque lead guitar line. The backup vocals fill out the sound and there are handclaps and nonverbal lyrics galore.

The couple songs they’ve put out post-Little Death--the single “Jennifer” and b-sides “Blood Gets Thin” and “Knife” have all been excellent as well, so one has high hopes for Pete & the Pirates. Sanders’ other band, Tap Tap, is very much worth checking out as well (though one wishes their album, Lanzafame, didn’t have quite such a demo feel to it).

[Update: So I was listening to this album completely out of order (simply in alphabetical order by title). I wholeheartedly approve of the way it actually opens: "I'm not scared of you, darling! / I'm in love with you, darling!" ("Ill Love").]

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

[The idea was that David and I would both review this without having discussed the band too extensively to see how similar our reviews came out.]

General Ratings:

Rating: 9
Breadth of Appeal: 8
Consistency of Quality: 9

RIYL: the Arcade Fire, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Beirut

Further Listening: Corto Maltese, Speedmarket Avenue, Mazarin

Place of Origin: London, England

Mood Tones: An unexpectedly temperate winter day in which the sky is compared to a dome.

Song Highlights: I’m a Pilot, Drowning Men, Harold T. Wilkins or How to Wait for a Very Long Time

Favorite Lyrics:

“If I stay in this room, /
they’ll remember me for my youth.” (from I’m a Pilot)

“We can still afford to not make sense at all.” (from Drowning Men)

“For atoms have gone /
as far as atoms will go. /
Your books write themselves, /
they line up row after row.” (from The Walls Are Coming Down)

Further Thoughts:

I’ve been listening to it regularly for a month now, and I’m increasingly convinced that “Reservoir” is the equal of the Arcade Fire’s “Funeral,” the album it’s most obviously indebted to. There are no heights the height of “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” or “Rebellion (Lies)” here, but there also aren’t the lows of “In the Backseat” or stretches of “Neighborhood #4 (Kettles)” or some of the other slower songs. My choice of song highlights is close to arbitrary, so consistent is the quality of the album. There’s nothing here resembling a bad song, and I would go so far as to venture that there aren’t even any bad moments. I credit no small measure of this to Peter Katis’s production--the man behind the boards on “Boxer,” “Turn on the Bright Lights,” and “Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters,” three of the best-sounding records in recent memory. Those are all rather paranoid, claustrophobic records, though, whereas "Reservoir" is open, generous, and anthemic. This is my favorite record since The National’s “Boxer,” and that’s probably one of my five favorite records of all time.

Fanfarlo played SXSW this weekend, and one hopes that at the very least they’ll come away with some well-placed reviews (In the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and Tapes ‘n Tapes mold, it’s pretty easy to imagine Pitchfork exploding this band, though, sadly, I can also imagine some asshole reviewer giving it a cursory listen, accusing them of ripping off the RIYL touchstones and moving on). Unless they’re purposely CYHSY-ing it (“Reservoir” is self-released, available on their website and (recently) now Itunes) it’s not hard to imagine those shows and the sheer strength of the album spawning a record or distribution deal, either.

The Downside:

This band has only two flaws so far as I’m concerned. First, their mediocre name, which seems at first goofy, but turns out to be pretentious (it’s a Baudelaire reference). More importantly, Balthazar’s voice is a bit too unflappable. Unlike CYHSY’s Alec Ounsworth (who he most resembles, without the extremes of whining), Win Butler, and Zach Condon, Balthazar doesn’t seem to have a second level to take his voice to, and so he can’t quite sell his choruses the way he should given Fanfarlo’s anthemic sound.

It’s probably worth mentioning too that guitarist Mark West left the band after the album was recorded (none of his other projects seem interesting on brief perusal). Most of Fanfarlo’s songs are built up in many layers on a foundation of simple chord changes, so it’s hard to imagine this having a huge effect on their sound.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

General Ratings:

Music: 8
Lyrics: 7
Scope: 7
Consistency: 8

RIYL: The Arcade Fire, Black-Sheep-Boy-era Okkervil River, Beirut

Further Listening: Mixed Cases, Ra Ra Riot, Ohbijou

Place of Origin: London, UK

Instrument/Sounds List: Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboard/Synthesizer, Piano, Trumpet, Strings, Accordion, Glockenspiel, Mandolin, Alternative Percussion (hand claps, foot stomps, junk bag, shaker), Multi-Tracked Vocals, Singing Saw, Clarinet, Banjo, Melodica, Whistling, Tape/Pedal Manipulation.

Mood Tones:

Season: Fall
Weather: Windy
Time of Day: Dusk

Song Highlights: The Walls Are Coming Down, I'm a Pilot, Luna

Favorite Lyrics:

"You had the driver sign your arm/
My hospitals will welcome you home/
Like a truth, with Godmothers aching/
To look at your grace and believe what you say/
But kid, I'm a pilot: it's all I believe in/
It's all I believe in, you can ride on my back." (from "I'm a Pilot")

"Cry murder, cry what you like,/
Just like the comet, lead the way/
We'll tear it down, we'll hold the truth/
By the neck, by the neck/
Kick in the doors and burn the books/
Try to forget, try to forget." (from "Comets")

"Atoms have gone as/
Far as atoms will go/
Your books write themselves, they/
Line up in row after row." (from "The Walls Are Coming Down")

Other Thoughts:

Fanfarlo may just be the best new band you've never heard of. Now a quintet, following the departure of their guitar player, they're a London-based band formed around Simon Balthazar, who originally hails from Gothenburg, Sweden. They've quietly released a smattering of singles, mostly on local indie labels (including the upcoming "Drowning Men," out soon on Moshi Moshi, which itself is proving to be a label to watch out for), but make their great leap forward with Reservoir, one of the best albums I've heard in a good long while. True, it may only be March, but if another record comes along this year that's both as instantly enjoyable and sustainable as this, 2009 will be a gifted year indeed. I can't stress strongly enough how much you really need to hear this record.

Why? The first thing you notice, probably the first thing you notice about any good record, is the strength of the leads, most of which are almost immediately remarkable. Mr. Balthazar is graced not only with a keen ear for melodies, but also a strong tenor with which to annunciate them, his voice falling somewhere between Zach Condon and David Byrne (at his more subdued moments). Next you hear how thoroughly orchestrated the album is, how tightly violins and trumpets and synthesizers (along with a host of other instruments, see the list for more details) fit together over the basic trinity of guitar, bass and drums. Speaking of the bass and drums, it wasn't until the fourth or fifth listen that I realized how solid the rhythm section is: the word anthemic gets tossed around a lot these days, but is apt for a majority of the cuts here, and is a testament mostly to driving beats and acrobatic basslines that Amos Memon and Justin Finch concoct, which serve as the backbone that supports all of the band's loftier impulses. Delving deeper into Reservoir, it reveals a level of nuance that is truly rare from a self-financed, freshman effort. Note the way the backing vocals are layered on top of each other on "Ghosts" (a song about a town whose living population has mostly fled the meteorological impingements of their ethereal counterparts); they sound, well, ghostlike. Note the whistling coda on "Fire Escape" that puts the final spin on the nocturnal swirl begun by the keyboards. All of the choices feel considered and add synergistically in a full and vibrant rendering.

Am I gushing? On more recent listens, I've been struck by how consistent the material is. It's perhaps no surprise that this is one of the most balanced records I've reviewed (a fact reflected in the ratings). What is a surprise is that there aren't any tracks that I skip, something I can't even say for some of my favorite records. I mean not to imply that some tracks aren't better than others, but rather that there are no place holders, no filler; every song has some line or part that jumps out and grabs your attention, even the instrumental closer. Also, as I've mentioned before, I think it's truly difficult for a record to have both a strong consistency of tone and good breadth of appeal. Here is that album.

Also, what kind of ridiculous hot streak is Peter Katis on? Better known to the music world as the knob-twirler behind Tarquin studios (the Bridgeport, CT recording hole that gave us Interpol's Turn On the Bright Lights, The National's Alligator and Boxer, Frightened Rabbit's Midnight Organ Fight and The Twilight Sad's 14 Autumns & 15 Winters), Katis makes good on the idea that, when done properly, production can add as much to a song as a lead instrument. To fully appreciate his contribution to this album, track down some of the band's early singles and compare them to the cuts on Reservoir. Certainly it's the same band, same breathy vocals, same kitchen sink instrumentation, same vivaciousness, but even the best of them are missing the polish and grace that each of the tracks on Reservoir is wrapped in. When you first hear "The Walls Are Coming Down" you're tempted to think they're talking about the Wall of Sound, the big tsunami of beautiful music that's spilling out of your speakers. But put on your headphones, pay a little more attention and don't be surprised to hear all of the pieces slip apart independently from each other; lead vocal - backing vocals - acoustic guitar - mandolin (or possibly ukulele?) - bass - drums - trumpet - violin - glockenspiel, sometimes up to nine or ten distinct parts at once. Try this same thing with the earlier songs and you'll drive yourself mad; the leads are distinct, but the rest of the parts pack together in polymorphic analogue.

As of this review, Reservoir is only available through the band's website, as for some crazy reason, no label has picked this up yet (or perhaps because, as Ben is likely to suggest, they're pulling a Clap-Your-Hands-Say-Yeah maneuver). Either way, take my word that tracking it down is well worth whatever time and money it takes.

The Downside:

The only real beef I have with this record is that occasionally its influences border on source material. The best example of this is "Drowning Men," whose piano/bass combo is instantly reminiscent of the Arcade Fire song "Rebellion (Lies)." But even this is forgivable, given the fact that this is their first album. Here's to hoping there are many more where this came from.

ARMS - Kids Aflame

General Ratings:

Music: 8
Lyrics: 7
Scope: 7
Consistency: 6

RIYL: Mirah, Badly Drawn Boy, The National, The Walkmen

Further Listening: The Sea & The Gulls, The Harlem Shakes, The Low Lows

Place of Origin: Brooklyn, NY

Instrument/Sounds List: Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Drums, Alternative Percussion (tambourine, jingle bells, shaker, hand claps/foot stomps/snaps), Synthesizers, Double-tracked Vocals, Ukulele, Harmonium or Organ of some kind, Saxophone, Mandolin, Whistling.

Mood Tones:

Season: Fall
Weather: Overcast
Time of Day: Evening

Song Highlights: Shitty Little Disco, Whirring, Pocket

Favorite Lyrics:

"Days alone are the days you dread the most/ Counting down the hours in caffeine and morning shows" (from Sad, Sad, Sad)

"Found you huddled in the corner, still/ We talked in the dust about who we killed." (from Kids Aflame)

"When I remember my dreams, they're always with you/ I crack those orbs at the seams and suck out the juice." (from Eyeball)

Other Thoughts:

God bless Protools, or whatever software TG is using to throw all of this together, for its liberation of the modern musician. It's a bit paradoxical, but you hardly ever come across an album recorded in a professional studio that is as studied and peculiar as those being made in the bedrooms of kids with enough money to afford nice equipment and enough freetime to make use of it. And for shut-in recordings made by a guy whose day job is playing guitar for the Harlem Shakes, it's a little surprising how much thought is put into the percussion here. There's that reliable 8 or 9 piece drum set on almost every song, for sure, but it almost always comes augmented by some relic of 3rd grade music class (I didn't add it to the instruments list because I couldn't say for absolute certain that it was there, but in a couple songs I could swear that he's using a triangle). The double-tracking of the lead vocal parts is another touch that mostly keeps to itself, gliding to the foreground of a song every once in a while to keep the chorus sounding fresh. And let me not imply that the guitars aren't easily accounted for - they are - but even some of the neater tricks he pulls with intermingling electrics and acoustics are easily glossed over in early listens by strong, well-produced melodies. This is almost the definition of a headphones album, brimming with bits of filligree to be found by the more attentive listener. Even so, there's plenty to like in the broader brush strokes, with crisp central melodies and driving rhythms easily audible no matter what format you're listening in. There's nothing quite as nice as a record that rewards whatever amount of attention you have to pay it.

As such, it's the nuance that got me on repeated listens. There's no part of this record that isn't considered. It kills me that I can only pick 3 songs as favorites, because while the ones I chose are probably the "best," they're also the most traditional sounding, and part of what sets this record apart is that the less-conventional material works almost equally as well as the cut-and-dried pop songs. "Jon the Escalator" nearly made both the song highlights and favorite lyrics categories ("Took every test/ Passed them all/ Passed them to your left"). "Eyeball" is equally easy to miss coming right before "Pocket"s big chords and brass, but keeps bubbling up from my sub-conscious, slipping out in repeated lines sung under my breath to no one in particular.

What are the drawbacks? There are some songs that I'd call difficult, along the lines of Sunset Rubdown or Andrew Bird, in that they are unconventionally structured and fragmented, though never atonal. In extremis, this can make a song seem unfinished, more like a sketch (c.f. the Frozen Lake). The lyrics, while never bad, at times seem a bit abstract, which is pleasant in small doses but can start to feel insubstantial when we're talking about the entire record. Also, most of the material here has been released in some other format (e.g. the Shitty Little Disco EP or the Whirring single). While I can't say that I blame him for wanting them all together in one album, as they definitely sound of a piece, I'm also wary of the Morrissey syndrome of constantly repackaging the same material. One also wonders why the song "Neighbors" from the Shitty Little Disco EP was left off the album, as it stands alongside ARMS' best work, and would fit nicely in the middle of the album to anchor some of the more experimental impulses.

Quibbles aside, this is one of the best albums I heard in 2008.