Sound Salvation Army

Re-discovering an old favourite is usually a wonderful experience. Cueing up a record you haven’t listened to in years, remembering how moving it was, re-living that experience…there’s nothing better. Usually.

When the National’s Boxer first hit me I was hurtling through the rocky mountains in what can quite literally only be described as the dead of night. Evocative, suppressing blackness marked both the night sky and the sound of the album, the risk of danger and death literally lying around every corner enhancing the experience of hearing the songs. In the two years since I’ve listened to the record only sparingly, but recently it has wormed its way back into a regular rotation on my various music players. But I’m finding the dark and ominous tone is acting like a mirror, parabolically reflecting a whole new set of emotions this time around.

The sense of isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, they were always there. But hearing it now the detachment and ennui in Matt Berninger’s voice rings so much truer. The entire album feels so much more visceral when your own wounds are wide open.

After four years my common-law wife decided a few weeks ago to end our relationship. The details are not for your consumption. While I understand and respect her decision and the numerous factors that went into it it still sucks ass. I’ve spent the better part of September drinking (way) too much and distracting myself by working extra shifts and going out with friends and family, trying to reconcile my new-found freedom with the simultaneous severing of the adoration I’ve felt for so long. On Saturday I slept for more than six hours, the first time this month I’ve managed to do that. Yesterday I cleaned my apartment until my hands bled.

People always like to say that time heals all wounds. While that’s cold comfort in the immediate aftermath, I can still appreciate how time also distorts things. Boxer is evidence of that. While I love it just as much as I ever did the album reads completely different to me now. Its a little bittersweet to feel love and joy at a time like this.

One more thing to feel good about: listening to so much new music means you always have plenty of miserable music to listen to when you’re mired in the dumps. Below is a quick mix, sampling some of the songs that carried me through one particularly dark evening that consisted of seven hours, dozens of the saddest songs I could think of, and a shitload of vodka and rum. I would say, “Enjoy,” but that really isn’t the point, is it?

 

 the National - Ada [4:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sarah Harmer - You Were Here: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Frightened Rabbit - Keep Yourself Warm [5:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Mountain Goats - No Children: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Drag the River - Hang Dog [2:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Bicycles - Can I Keep Calling You Baby [2:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Mike Hale - Lives Like Mine [3:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Lowest of the Low - Black Monday [5:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Wheat Pool - Right Arm: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Mountain Goats - Woke Up New: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pat entries break-downs, break-ups, emo, it's personal, mixes, relationships

We all know that the pantheon of music is cluttered with irascible, miserable bastards. The list of mopey, depressive rock stars that have achieved international fame and unanimous acclaim is never-ending: Morrisey, Kurt Cobain, Thom Yorke, Jim Morrison, Jeff/Tim Buckley, Ian Curtis, Trent Reznor, Elliott Smith…all just the tip of the iceberg.

Part of what I like about independent music and young bands is that their music is usually a touch more on the bright side of things, at least for a few albums. That’s before the music industry and the nearly-impossible task of trying to make a living making music grinds them down completely. But every once in a while, the transition between the two extremes can be completely mesmerizing. 

Earlier this week, pop-punk band Face to Face announced they’ll be playing a “reuinion show” at Bamboozle Left. Now, for most of their career, I think Face to Face was pretty unremarkable. They gained some level of fame for their energetic, melodic punk rock, at one time even going through the major label grinder. Their fans are typically either pre- or post-adolescent skate rats or jock types that go through a punk phase. Which is cool — it happens to most of us.

In 1999, however, they released what I maintain is by far their most accomplished and unique recording, the album Ignorance Is Bliss. It’s a blatant, reactionary set of songs responding to their unceremonious dumping from the A&M Records roster, a collection of numbers that expose the raw nerve of self-doubt and overwhelming sense of failure felt by frontman/songwriter Trever Keith.  ”In Harm’s Way” is an excellent summation of the album’s content, lamenting how quickly a label’s support can dissipate when a young band fails to move enough units to satisfy the suits.

The obvious lack of confidence and sense of bewilderment in the lyrics belies the unexpectedly self-assured shift in the bands musical aesthetic. While there are still some decidedly up-tempo songs here, a lot of the material takes on a slower, more atmospheric, meditative sound. It’s a surprisingly mature overhaul of the band’s sound.

Of course, when your fan base is mostly made up of kids who think four chords is one more than you really need, such a stylistic shift doesn’t come without consequences. The band attempted to tour in support of Ignorance Is Bliss, but that venture was quickly aborted due to a tepid response from CD buyers and show-goers alike. The band almost-immediately abandoned the record altogether, moving on to one of the most abhorrent marketing gimmicks I’ve ever witnessed: not only were the songs written and recorded for their next album a complete backslide to their previous, more generic sound, but the band also decided to post every track they recorded during the album sessions on mp3.com and told fans they could decide which ones would be on the record by voting for their favourites. They essentially admitted defeat; if you don’t like the music we put on our records, then just tell us what you’d be willing to pay for and that’s what we’ll give you. No point in growing artistically when the financial implications are unfavourable, right?

While they would go on to release a couple more albums and regain much of their previous popularity, in my mind they never really recovered. Band members left, the band reverted even more into their old writing style, and went through the motions before breaking up about five years ago.

Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that Ignorance Is Bliss now reads like a blueprint for the glut of “emo” bands choking independent label rosters these days, much like Weezer’s Pinkerton was a few years earlier. Perhaps if the band had held it in their back pocket for five or six years it would’ve launched them to the next level. Who knows.

So why does this matter? Well, in addition to announcing their temporary reformation, Keith also stated that he would be releasing a solo album called, Melancholics Anonymous in the next few weeks that he says, “picks up where Ignorance Is Bliss left off.” I think that’s good news.

Depressing rock stars. So much better (musically) when they just embrace their demons and write the hell out of some songs. 

 

 Face to Face - In Harm's Way [4:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Face to Face - Heart of Hearts [4:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Face to Face - Maybe Next Time [3:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Face to Face music can be found through:
iTunes: Pretty extensive, actually
InSound: It’s hard to find all of their stuff in one place. This is probably as close as you’ll get, with reasonable shiping.

Pat entries depressing rock, emo, Face to Face, Trever Keith