Bon Iver - Bon Iver

When we last heard from Justin Vernon he was rolling blunts and kickin it with Rick Ross in Hawaii. And before that he was tenderly pouring out his soul onto a knotty wooden floor in a Wisconsin cabin. No matter what situation he finds himself in, Vernon seems to fit seamlessly into the canvass. That is certainly clear on his latest self-titled project as Bon Iver.

The album opens with a track as lush as the cover art and it is clear early that since 2007’s For Emma…, Bon Iver’s music has emerged from the cold winter and is now flourishing. Perth begins with an unassuming electric guitar riff that slowly builds then disappears into a rich, wet background of synth, horns, saxophone, and drums only to resurface stronger and more robust. This will be the hallmark of the record, melodies that surge in and out of a living environment, a jungle of music that grows and evolves as the minutes pass. This is perhaps most evident in Minnesota, WI. Vernon begins by crooning in an uncharacteristic baritone against a shadowy drumbeat which gives way to a backbone of banjo picking that carries the rest of the song. Slipping back into his customary naked falsetto, the vocals then finally melt away over a slide guitar.

Despite the rush of so many new elements, Vernon can still take it back to bare, haunting emotion as he does on Holocene. In a moment of unbearable honesty he states and at once I knew… I was not magnificent followed by the freeing truth that then I could see for miles and miles and miles over a swirling drum and sax. This record is cautiously vibrant and delicately diverse from the roadtrip jam feel of Towers to the dreamy electro of Hinnom, TX. However, like always, Vernon makes everything fit. Nothing seems out of place, and even when you finally make it to Beth/Rest, it makes sense. The closer on Bon Iver has been the subject of much discussion on the blogosphere, as the Hornsby-infused track has proven to be very polarizing. Taken as a single, it seemed it was either an ironically humorous nod to '70s adult contemporary "Yacht Rock," or a too-real-to-be-a-parody head scratcher that was difficult to appreciate. However digested with the rest of the album, it is a welcome finale that flows nicely in the direction Vernon had been headed all along. The seeds sown in Perth are present here, fully grown and verdant.

Bon Iver has undoubtedly matured since the simple beauty of For Emma…. The latest offering shows an artist becoming comfortable in his own skin even as it stretches and changes with time. It is an adventurous record to be sure, but it is a welcome journey and one each listener will have to appreciate on their own terms. There is so much to enjoy on this dense album, so let it unfold and express itself naturally.

Active Child – Curtis Lane EP

Pat Grossi, better known as Active Child, was raised in church, singing to the heavens in the choir. Now that he’s all grown up, there are no more robes or hymnals but his soaring, airy vocals remain. They penetrate his music and travel upwards, snaking their way to even the highest steeple. Underneath that, Curtis Lane oozes with candied synth melodies sprinkled with claps, smacks, and swooshes. From floating beats and golden harps on She Was a Vision to the stale, lonely chill of Wilderness, there is much diversity to be had on this 6 song EP.

The anchor of this collection is certainly When Your Love Is Safe, a viscous track that drips with sweet electro-pop. The song begins by shimmying down into your ears as Grossi laces his aforementioned falsetto into the beat. Like one would stir in syrup to a milkshake, the vocals finally fold over one another as the track ends, creating a remix of itself. The following track, Take Shelter, also stands out as the music takes a turn down a dark alley. Grossi reassures, however, that if you’re ever on the wrong side of this town / there’s a place that I know of that will hold you down. The descending keyboard melody accentuates the uneasiness until finally we can exhale as a valiant roll of soundwaves sweep through the bleakness.

In only half the volume of a full length, Active Child explores warm vs. numb, vibrance vs. isolation, and hope vs. fear. During all that flux, Grossi somehow creates a very material demention on this EP as the music almost becomes textile in nature. Do not be surprised if Curtis Lane evokes the desire to physically take the music and turn into it like a comforter on a cold winter’s night.

How To Dress Well – Decisions (feat. Yuksel Arslan)

How To Dress Well (aka Tom Krell) has been busy making legions of free music and casting them off into the blogosphere. Much of HTDW’s catalogue to-date is spectral, barely hovering around your eardrums before evaporating into a sensual mist. Weightless, echoing vocals bob along gaseous beats complemented by ethereal coos, fractions of words often elongated and looped to create their own instrument. The result is mystifying and pleasant, but often hard to grasp, leaving the listener wanting more.

Refreshingly, Decisions is one of the more tangible tracks HTDW has produced. For one, you can actually make out distinct vocals, which bring to mind the gentlest, most vulnerable moments of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. At times Decisions evokes the soul of Annie Lennox (via No More I Love You’s) and dances with the rhythm of early Brian McKnight. His lyrics are stretched out like silly putty then glazed over a gravitational drumbeat that is just enough to keep you from floating away. The gorgeous finished product haunts long after the two and a half minutes end.

Internet buzz has created a red carpet for the release of HTDW’s first full-length record, Love Remains, out September 21. According to his blog, Decisions made the cut along with another 13 remastered selections from self-released material. While delicate, abstract droning has its place, let’s hope Krell continues to harness his sound and bring it a little closer to the physical realm, where its more available for our digestion.

Best of Summer Music 2k10

In my humble opinion... here goes nothing:

1. Sleigh Bells - Treats
Imagine if Underoath and Lil’ Jon had a love child then put it up for adoption. That child was raised by Karen O and Salt N’ Pepa was its babysitter…now you have an idea as to what Sleigh Bells sounds like. It doesn’t really matter what genre it can be filed under, what matters is that Treats is pure Red Bull, boiled down and concentrated. Alexis Krauss’ soft vocals often bubble up over slashing crunchy guitars and slam-your-foot-down beats. She even busts out some slick rhymes on "Kids" that weave in and out of crunk noise like an eel navigating a coral reef. Don’t get me wrong though, Krauss is not the headliner here, its Derek Miller and his musical accompaniment. From wailing guitar riffs on “Riot Rhythm” to a relaxing strum/bell/fingersnap combo on “Rill Rill” the music drives this album. And it will drive it right through your windshield if the volume is high enough (which it should be).



2. Wavves – King of the Beach
King of the Beach sounds like the title of a ‘60s surfer movie, and in some ways that’s what Williams has created here in music form, as there are clear vintage Beach Boys-like melodies and a carefree attitude. But this album is a product of the current era with a gritty lo-fi edge and yea, he sings about playing Nintendo. With less noise and more structure, this album is more accessible than his first offering but Wavves does not lose its loose, party feel. “King of the Beach,” opens up and jumps right in where Williams left off previously with a chunky garage rock sound. It invites the sun to burn our backs as we escape into a sweaty teenage summer jaunt on the coast. The album takes a few slower turns though, and “Baseball Cards” is a synthy, soft number right when you feel like you might need a break from Wavves’ rough edges. “Convertible Balloon” is worth the price of admission here, and might be the song of summer 2k10. It’s poppy jingle is perfect for a windows down drive with your friends to the boardwalk. In “Post Acid,” Williams bellows Im just havin’ fun with you/with you/with you… yea, well we all are Nathan.



3. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
This album has been in my rotation since before the sweet heat of summer, but it nonetheless deserves its place on this list. If the previous two albums provide sun-baked energy, this one is a respite in the shade. Slinky riffs and gentle drum beats that can bring to mind tribal bongos characterize this album. The band seems to almost be playing in your dreams and will neatly tuck itself into your subconscious. Make no mistake, this is not a light album, but it is smooth. Smooth like a well mixed orange freeze. Each song brings something new to the table from the genuine longing in “Airplanes” where Taylor Rice mourns the death of his grandfather saying I love it all so much/I call/I want you back to the Yeasayer infused funk of “Sun Hands.” An almost sexy guitar riff sneaks into “Cards and Quarters” and the song makes you feel like you really should be lounging with cigar in hand, playing poker at a pool party. The track of the album, however, is “Who Knows Who Cares” which bounces along from the start with a silky rhythm but by the middle when the drums roll in and the guitar drives us home, its almost euphoric.

1, 2, 3, VILLAINS!

Ive been going through a bit of a dry spell creatively. I haven’t been feeling like I had anything important to say, nothing new or fresh or helpful for anyone. So I decided not to write at all. I was going to post about all that, or maybe some kind of depressing “why don’t I feel useful” entry… then maybe in a great Christian twist I would present the gospel to myself and pep up towards the end because I should only find my worth in Christ who has already revealed I am of great worth… but instead Im going to write about church league softball.

The Trinity Black team (self dubbed: The Villains) has not been the juggernaut I had hoped we would be when I agreed to coach the team in May. With a record of 2-7 headed into the last few weeks of the season, we are far from any kind of playoff push. This season, although “for fun,” has tested my competitive drive and as the coach/manager I wonder what I could have done differently to help us play better early on. I wonder if I should have instituted “mandatory” practices with threats of not playing if you didn’t attend or commanded that everyone put in 3 hours of batting cage time a week, with a signed reciept from Grand Slam Sports. Perhaps that would have made our record better. Perhaps people would have thought I was a good coach. Perhaps my pride could have been fueled.

But even if we had won more games I don’t know if I would have gotten the excitement that I get when a teammate posts “its softball day!” on their gchat status. Yes, perhaps that sounds ridiculous to you… but for me it is the most gratifying feeling. I cant explain it, but I feel like trying.

As a coach, the best feeling is seeing excitement in your players’ eyes when they arrive at the ballpark. To see them want to play. I get more satisfaction showing up at Nickajack and seeing at least 10 members of our team there an hour early to get in extra practice than I do hitting a home run. Viewing the season as more a manager and less a player has made me appreciate team unity and camaraderie more than ever before. Of course, I would absolutely relish in destroying Dark Green tonight, I mean really crush their spirits, but I am so excited to just gather with friends, high five my team and enjoy some summer heat.

I love this Villains squad because even at the bottom of the standings we’re excited to go out and spoil someone’s season by puling an upset every week.

I love that we all still get a Villains cheer before and after every game, and if low morale calls for it, in-between innings.

I love that Elliot has THE BEST chatter ability of anyone in the Trinity league, I’m convinced of this.

I love that Pei-Jean practices her swing during lunch breaks at work.

I love that Beka suggested we all eat together after the first game when we didn’t know each other and we kept that up most every Monday.

I love that I finally can see that winning isn’t everything, and for the first time in my life I can say that with honesty.

Scarcity and Overgrowth...

This year I will be observing lent.

I have done so before: giving up chocolate, soda, facebook and the like. However my focus has always been on the self-denial aspect of this season. Certainly this is a part of it. When Christ was in the desert, wandering for 40 days he had nothing. His whole life was an act of self-denial, not the least of which was denial of his seat at the Right Hand. But it cannot only be about self sacrifice, for what good is that? There must be a reason behind such sacrifice.

I think that two great things come out of this period of abstinence.

First, preparation. Christ was preparing himself in the wilderness for his ministry. During Lent I think we prepare our hearts to long for the fullness that we will receive at Easter. Of course, we already have the redemption offered by Christ but observing the season and looking forward to celebrating renews our minds and hearts to remember the joy of salvation. Going without meat or coffee or facebook, denying certain pleasures that have undoubtedly been given through us by grace through the Father, make us long for fullness again. We will long for the abundant life that is promised in restoration. I believe that completeness will only be achieved in our Heavenly bodies, but like all observances here in this world, we also may enjoy a shadow of what is to come.

That desire to FB poke that cute girl in Physics class, that taste for a sugar cookie, or that tiredness you may feel by not having your morning coffee: those are all longings for true community, true bread and true awakening. Everything God has blessed us with in this realm is a shadow of something beautiful he is preparing for us in a robust way for us to enjoy for all eternity. Lent is not about giving up things just for the sake of giving up things, or even giving up things so you can find time to pray more. I believe it is to set our minds in a mode to long for Truth. To long for Real things, things that we satisfy on a daily basis with counterfeit coins. Let us set our minds to worship and develop a taste for the treasures promised in Christ and look forward to a celebration.

As I mentioned before, I believe there are two things that come out of this self-denying period. The second of which is celebration. I believe in this time of Lent we can look forward to the feast that will be enjoyed by all at the Great Banquet at the end of this Time here on Earth. A time when all the shadows will be dusted away. And the grass will hurt our feet because it is so real and rainbows will hurt our eyes because they are so bright and one bite of a pomegranite will saturate us because it is so sweet. Oh, what a celebration that will be!

Also, in less grand fashion we may celebrate here in this physical body with our friends and family coming out of Lent. It all pours into itself: shaking off the burden of self-denial, enjoying the pleasures we have been without, celebrating Christ being rasied from the dead, and in turn celebrating what that means for us. It means all these things we have been longing for throughout Lent are gladly given back in abundance. It means that Christ has already given up enough so that we may reap the rewards.

As I grow older in my faith I have come to see so much I have been taught in religion is that there are things God wants to strip from us. Basically I viewed Lent as let us give up our pleasure, pray a lot, and then we will be holy. But I do not think Lent is that. God opertaes in fullness and in exuberant richness. We will give up our pleasures to wait for them. We will wait and prepare. Then when the time is right, we will feast and celebrate and what a wonderful time it will be! The Father wants us to enjoy this life, and he has belssed us with good chocolate, laughter, video games, and diet cokes. These are things that we may enjoy.

A deep, dark beer and tobacco pipe savoured among friends will be all the more lovely since we've missed it for 40 days.

Let us focus our eyes on True pleasures during this season of Lent and look forward to the celebration that is to come.

LESPWA

Short and Sweet:

Lespwa is my friends' nonprofit with the orphanage. Click to know what they are about and/or to donate.

As of now they need tremendous amounts of acute monetary support. Messailler (where the orphanage is) is currently a place of shelter for the people fleeing Port Au Prince. Lespwa is in a unique position to support Messailler and be a place of calm refuge in a time of chaos. The compound has already served as a makeshift medical clinic and boarding house since the earthquake. They will need continued prayers and support in the days to come.

LESPWA