FOLK IMPLOSION – DARE
TO BE SURPRISED (COMMUNION)
The Folk Implosion was
a much underrated side project. In some
ways it can be seen as Lou Barlow’s Style Council, which would make Sebadoh his
version of The Jam while God only knows what Weller’s version of Dinosaur Jr
is. And I don’t think that is too
radical an opinion to hold being that both spin off bands still hold great
songs akin to those of the main going concern, its just they now come laced and
greased with a nice range of extras.
This is the second
Folk Implosion album. Released in 1997
it came post the notoriety that came with their contribution to the Kids
soundtrack and just as the world was catching up with haunting scream of
Slint, Folk Implosion seemed to suddenly drop that element in an effort to keep
to their own agenda. That said
“Insinuation” maintains that type of measure in authoritative fashion still
scaling former heights.
Dare To Be Surprised
is perhaps one of the last great pop albums from the post-grunge era of US
indie rock. Balancing both the sonics
and songwriting it’s a big achievement.
There is a cute
urgency from the off as Barlow chisels a speedy vocal onto “Pole Position”
before a tasty series of guitar noodles over a basic drum beat immediately adds
an exciting pace to proceedings couple with a killer hook and chorus.
From here the record
takes things at it’s own pace bubbling and percolating along in an angular
motion. And Barlow’s voice is perfect
for such atmospherics as the wonderful drifts off in fantastic directions.
Dare To Be Surprised
offers a satisfying amount of variety.
With “Checking In” the act is downright trip hop and mellow seriously
channelling Barlow’s tender side while delivering a bassline that feels like
being in the desert. Nice rhyming scheme
too, smooth.
Unsurprisingly a
number of tracks do sound like Sebadoh including “That’s The Trick” which
arrives with guitars that sound like moving furniture followed by a big of a
shout to emphasise the chorus. Then
“Ball & Chain” serves up much the same offering in a grand, slow tempo pop
song with a killer hook that would not have been out of place on Harmacy.
“Burning Paper”
arrives as another sweet and tender expression of yearning similar to “Checking
In” and then in typical lo-fi fashion the band promptly includes “(Blank
Paper)” which sounds like an early instrumental demo working of the track. Now that’s pretty slack.
Something that is
noticeable is the manner in which the vocals/lyrics are delivered. On tracks such as “Cold Night”, “Fall Into
November” and “Barricade” they are almost nursery rhyme, even occasionally
cheesy. There is real sprite to this
apparent found freedom.
The record closes with
“River Devotion” which really does sound like the type of song you might hear
during the closing credits or montage of an upbeat movie. Ordinarily I might suggest that be a bad
things but not this time.
This is a genuinely
understated masterpiece worthy of rediscovery the next time you need some soul.
Thesaurus moment:
score.
No comments:
Post a Comment