Sound Salvation Army

Is our dear friend Corb Lund looking to sell out?

The packaging of his latest album, Losin’ Lately Gambler, reeks of a mainstream reach-around. From the Kenny Chesney-looking candid photo on the album’s cover to the insert in the digipack hawking ringtones to the blurred-out curse word on the gatefold of the CD, it seems like Lund is looking to get a little more Wal*Mart in his sales statistics.

Oh, but ol’ Corb is too gin-yoo-wine for that, isn’t he? The Hurtin’ Albertan, the even-keeled prairie redneck with a winning sense of humour, he’s still as subversive and dark as he was when he fronted the (legendary) Smalls. Look no further for evidence than lead track, “Horse Doctor, Come Quick,” a track about some poor country folk getting hooked on animal tranquilizers. Yeah, put that on CMT and see how the baby boomers react, marketing department at Lund’s new label.

See, I’m assuming that’s the genesis for the shift in presentation: Lund is now a member of the influential U.S. roots label New West Records, a means to increase his profile south of the border. Understandable, I suppose, even if the physical product that comes out is much more commercially packaged. Ironically, however, Lund has written his most overtly Canadian set of songs yet, his new bosses giving him a blank slate upon which to write.

So its basically more of what those that know and love Corb Lund would be expecting: more country than alt-country, more twang than clang, and clever without being too clever by half. An album with Lund’s tweaked, modern take on country coupled with a half-dozen songs referencing places that most Americans likely don’t even know exist. Enjoy, plainsmen of the United States.

There are a few more tracks on here that lean more towards modern country instrumentation (ie. electric guitars) than rootsy acoustic guitar strumming, but that fits Lund’s M.O. He’s an easy-going country rocker and age is only turning him easier. These songs are overwhelmingly sunny, even the odd track about dark addictions coursing through with a subtle vein of optimism. A majority of the songs are odes to the Canadian prairie and the lifestyle tied to it: rodeo dreams and cold Pilsner wishes. Poker stories, warm chinook winds, tales of the good life in Saskatchewan, saying hello to prairie ex-pats in fancier Canadian cities…it’s aimed squarely at his comrades, compatriots, and countrymen.

There is a distinct lack of the dark, dark edge that has run through some of his previous solo work, most notably his last release, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!. Gone are the impossibly bleak wartime scenarios of “I Wanna Be In The Calvary: Reprise” and “A Leader On Losing Control” and the tweaked-out PTSD veteran in “Student Visas.” Those were powerfully effective, albeit impossibly dour, story songs. Things are significantly lighter this time around.

But I don’t think you can blame Corb for making some of these tunes a little more accessible to “mainstream” baby boomer types. A lot of the success he’s enjoyed since returning to his roots has come from some of his “cuter” tracks getting minor play on country radio and CMT. It seems like this album strikes a very purposeful balance between his iconoclastic nature and his potential mainstream appeal. Why fight it if you’re able to do what you do on a higher level?

In all sincerity, here’s hoping the marketing campaign pans out; I’d really like to see Corb do well. Any Albertan that loves Saskatchewan is a friend of mine.

 

 Corb Lund - Talkin' Veterinarian Blues [3:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Corb Lund - Devil's Best Dress [2:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get six big releases, including Losin’ Lately Gambler, from Lund’s on-line store. Do it now, please. iTunes has his solo material and his “Corb Lund Band” releases available as well.

Pat entries Canadian content, Corb Lund, country, hillbillies, roots, selling out

So since I don’t believe in having channels on my tv, I watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report on-line. I’m forced to do so through CTV’s on-line video player, as Comedy Central blocks non-U.S. residents from watching their streams. Jerks.

Anyway, I was catching up on a few episodes this morning and was deluged by the above video, which played between literally every single segment. It just gives me one more reason to hate U2.

Firstly, I haven’t really cared much for any song they’ve released since…ever, really. They’re probably the most overrated band ever. Secondly, Bono is a do-gooder asshole who consistently fails to put his own money where his mouth is. Thirdly, his messianic ego is really off-putting. Fourthly, listen to the lyrics of the song up there: “Hey kids, you can change the world, but only if Bono gets his party on!” What the what? Fifth, given the barely middling success of the U2-branded iPod and the epic failure of the Bono-spearheaded “RED” campaign how is this band supposed to be the long-sought link to the youth market RIM is hoping for, as Wired’s piece about the partnership suggests? They’ve been around for thirty years; why would the kids give a damn? Go get Brokencyde to sponsor your mobile phone and I’m sure tweens with swoopy hair will be knocking down your door.

 

 Jawbreaker - With Or Without U2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pat entries Blackberry, Brokencyde, Jawbreaker, marketing, Research In Motion, selling out, U2

After spending nigh on ten years as one of my favourite bands of all time, I find myself having to temper my feelings about the Alkaline Trio.

What once was a band fueled by passion and alcohol (seriously; once upon a time every second song was about being loaded) has become a day job. A darkness in the music and lyrics once informed by depression, heartbreak, and (again) alcohol has been replaced by a gimmicky obsession with hell, graveyards, and Count Chocula goth-light-ness. The quality and creativity of the lyrics (”like the sound of sirens to a house on fire, you’re saving me,” “even Christ himself would cringe at the sight of your scars”) have devolved into perhaps one of the most embarrassing lyrics I’ve ever read. It’s kind of sad.

I’m referring to their latest album, Agony & Irony, recently released by Epic/Sony. While it’s easy to take the easy road and say that they’ve sold out and completely written off their past in order to make gimmicky, complacent pop rock simply to move units. I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. My perception is that as the band has become more popular on its own merits it has turned into a major label act; one that knows what the majority of it’s audience is and wants and they write to that.

While that might sound like derision, I’m still perfectly willing to admit that I really like the new record. It’s far and away the “worst” of their career, but it’s still a very solid pop rock album. They’ve embraced handclaps, middling tempos, and teenage goth imagery, but even with a horrendous low point coming in the way of “Live Young, Die Fast,” the lyrics are not a complete write off. There IS some genuine gold to be mined from these songs.

Opener “Calling All Skeletons” is a pop song of the highest order, referencing the seminal Minutemen album and featuring a sing-along chorus. The hooks are many and they come quick in song after song; the first six songs here are nearly impeachable, with the exception of the somewhat heavy-handed ‘war sucks’ hypotheticals of “Over and Out.” Some of the ‘darker’ songs are smattered with production tricks and sounds that could be lifted from a Halloween sound effects CD, but it’s a lot of fun and you get the sense that drummer/arranger Derek Grant is having the time of his life.

The back-to-back combo of “I Found Away” and “Do You Wanna Know?” reflect the best of latter-day Alkaline Trio: the former a twisted pop song with a hint of their former desperation, the latter another example of bassist/singer Dan Andriano’s consistently maturing songwriting voice (and probably the best song he’s written since 1999’s “Maybe I’ll Catch Fire”). In fact, as has been the case for their last three records, Matt Skiba continues to pen toothless bubblegum goth songs while Andriano’s writing has become more and more mature, detailing a truly adult perspective of love, marriage, and life as a person entering their 30’s. In my opinion he’s eclipsed Skiba as a songwriter and I’d love to see his songs pushed to the forefront instead of relegated to their albums back ends and b-sides.

So yes, it’s not a perfect album. It might not even be a great album, but it succeeds in being catchy as hell and not being ashamed of it. They’re not the band they once were, but listeners will still be rewarded if they’re willing to accept their shifting agenda.

 

 Alkaline Trio - I Found Away [4:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Alkaline Trio - Do You Wanna Know? [3:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Interestingly enough, the band’s website makes no effort to sell physical copies of it’s albums. Instead they, and thus we, link you to iTunes, which we all know is the last vestige of music purchasing there is.
Deluxe version of Agony & Irony: Live tracks galore!
Regular version: fewer songs!
Other albums: They’re better!

Pat entries Alkaline Trio, maturation, pop rock, punk rock, selling out