OK, so I am back. And while I return from an extended break from writing about music, I have certainly continued to listen to way too much of it, so let's get right real, right now - lame movie device real. In the romantic comedy we just can't seem to live, the surest of surefire way to rekindle flickering love is to reenact the first meeting. So Full Kicks will now reintroduce itself the very way we did the first dance two years ago - with a year end post!
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| At least you know they love their label. |
Some of my favourite artists added to stellar catalogues in 2013.
Superchunk declared
I Hate Music, which proved to be, while a slight tug on the reigns from 2010's perfectly named
Majesty Shredding, an affecting, personal batch of songs that called for repeat visits. Album
heart n' souler "Me & You & Jackie Mittoo" lets us in on why a band formed almost 25 years ago (and whose founding members include the cool parents of American indie rock) would claim to hate music. The song reminisces about a lost friend and lost youth in a brief (and fittingly rocking) way, while asking the same desperate, impossible question of music that we always ask of love:
hey you - omnipotent and magical force that brought us together - if you cannot save us then what is the use? Music plays the role of a cruel angel, inextricably linked to people who we will never see again and people we will never
be again. It's painful to face. The rest of the album scatters leaves of memories on a bedrock of trademark snarling guitars and balls out drumming from Jon Wurster. The music/love theme plays out for good on the best song in the set - the sad hook heavy "
Low F" where singer Mac McCaughan asks for a little help picking himself up over a meandering guitar lead that gradually gets him to his feet. He finally musters the nerve to ask if "love" is "what will keep us upright?"
I Hate Music sees a veteran band who have a history of
seeking catharsis in its songs, bucking up and asking the right questions. Here on their 10th album,
Superchunk is far past the point of dealing with the drama of youngish adulthood challenges like unrequited love and failed relationships in their music and rather now boldly face the death of someone very close with signature honesty and yeah, some great fucking songs! I'll drink to that, every damn time.
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| A true Scientist has glasses at the ready |
It can be a challenge even for diehards (and bandmates) to keep up with
Robert Pollard and
Guided By Voices in a given twelve month period. Yes, there was a 2013 release from GBV
and for the record,
English Little League was a solid album and featured some great songs like "
Flunky Minnows" and "
Xeno Pariah" and the finest Tobin Sprout song in over a decade and a half called "
Islands (She Talks In Rainbows)" - but what really stood out above the crowd and above expectations were Pollard's solo releases: July's
Honey Locust Honky Tonk and December's
Blazing Gentlemen.
Of the two,
Honey Locust Honky Tonk is the more consistent from a song writing perspective, but that is no slight on Blazing Gentlemen, as
HLHT is Pollard's strongest start-to-finish set in years. The songs are fully realized which seems fully ridiculous as the man averages three or four albums a year. The standouts include the poppy "
Who Buries The Undertaker?", the brilliant, sweeping drama of
"Her Eyes Play Tricks On The Camera" and Pollard as roots-rock crooner "I Killed A Man Who Looks Like You".
Blazing Gentlemen is, by contrast, a rocker. Again with long-time collaborator/bench coach/multi-instrumented Todd Tobias at his side, Pollard eschews the mature, layered sound that worked so well just
months before and cranks out some louder, hotter fare. And it fares so well! Especially sweet in the heat are the banging, classic rock steady "
Return Of The Drums", the effervescent and micro-chorused "
Tonight's The Rodeo" and my favourite one minute and 5 second experience of the year - "
This Place Has Everything".
Diarrhea Planet I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
DP's expertly crafted sophomore LP is bookended with epic finales. Kickoff formation on “
Lite Dream” is a series of heaves and slams that would cream the spandex of any legitimate arena metal encore crowd. The outro proves a fitting intro to a terrific rock n’ roll experience. By the time the smoking outro of
“
Emmett’s Vision” lifts, your ears will be grateful for the ringing. To be clear, this six-man tag team from
Nashville with the sorta stupid name doesn’t just repeatedly hit you with finishing moves - there’s gold in them hills of shred. These guys are well-strung (
four guitars!) and yes, their music often reaches gloriously for anthemic Andrew WK-style moments, but there is adept songwriting here as well.
In between the cacophonous finales, DP’s musicianship shines throughout
I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams: from the mini-juggernaut “
Separations”, which somehow packs a chugging verse and bursting-at-the-seams chorus along with a tasteful dash of space-case noodlery all into 2 minutes and 17 seconds; to the glorious 'Bringin’ On The Heartbreak'-flavoured twin guitar soar-os of “
Kids” ; to the expertly swirling, melodic Polvo-style interplay of “
The Sound Of My Ceiling Fan” , these guys make a frequently beautiful racket that demands repeat listens. Full Kicks all around!
Other stuff I
loved this year:
Fullerton, California’s stellar garage brats had a difficult
task in delivering a follow-up LP that could hang with their superb 2012
release,
Mellow Gold. However, any doubts
they could rise to the challenge are quickly erased 20 seconds into “Couldn’t
Hold A Candle”,
Butter Knife’s crack
opener, as the snare drum rolls into a chugging verse and we are off to the
races. And the fun never stops - the kids bring the insistent melodies and good natured snarl that marked its earlier material to burners like “
Hole In The Sky” but also manage to competently expand their arsenal, throwing a pair of sweet change-ups to close. “Dancing
Under Soft Light” is maybe their most confident song to date. It’s reminiscent of those
buzzy glow, mid-tempo Replacements’ songs from the late 80s that could have
been huge if they played ball. Album closer “Autumn” is an early Flaming Lips-flavoured
piano warbler that finishes with a tasteful power pop outro. It provides a nudge
toward what this fine band can grow to become and a nice surprise from a band
that didn’t owe one. Full Kicks indeed - streak intact!
Finally, a local band
that lovingly marries the sound of the Sex Pistols and The Rubinoos! The debut LP
from Pink Wine features 12 sick-catchy, snot rockets that punch in and out in less than 30 minutes. Singer Joel French shifts
easily between playful – “I like pink wine/there’s just no denying/I like the
taste/the way it always numbs my face”- and cutting “how could you be
blue?/when being on your back is so fun for you?” And while French’s concerns swing
between drinking in the park and dealing with rancid relationships, the band is
killing it - the double-barbed hooks here are relentless and good fun.
Happy New Year,
STQ
Pink Wine PinkWine 
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