2003
CAD 2215 - The Mountain Goats / Tallahassee
Released January 27 2003
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On Tallahassee, the Mountain Goats' 4AD debut, John Darnielle strips his music of the tape hiss that surrounded his previous work like a security blanket made of static, opting for a clean sound that emphasizes the album's sometimes stinging, sometimes sublimely beautiful words and melodies -- call it spite and polish. Though the lo-fi soulfulness that gave his songs an extra, homemade charm before is missed, it wouldn't have fit the ambitious tale he sets out to tell here: the album revolves around a troubled husband and wife who move to Tallahassee to run away from themselves and, ultimately, drink themselves to death. Darnielle has written about this couple before, but Tallahassee takes their relationship -- and his songwriting -- to a new level of vulnerability and intensity. Even among albums chronicling difficult and dying relationships, such as Blood on the Tracks, Shoot Out the Lights, and, more recently, Sea Change, Tallahassee takes a unique approach. Far from being morose or wallowing in sorrow, the album celebrates both the peaks and the valleys of a turbulent relationship; it's less like an autopsy of a love affair than an affectionate, occasionally drunken and rowdy, wake for it. Being such a conceptual album, the lyrics carry much of Tallahassee's weight. Darnielle is up to the challenge, crafting lines that range from the title track's eloquently simple "What did I come down here for? You" to "No Children"'s wickedly funny "I hope that our few remaining friends give up on trying to save us/I hope we come up with a fail-safe plot to piss off the dumb few who forgave us." Lyrics like "We're throwing off sparks/What will I do when I don't have you/To hold onto in the dark?" from "Oceanographer's Choice" convey deeper and more ambivalent emotions altogether; the richness of detail in Darnielle's lyrics makes you wish you could read Tallahassee as well as listen to it -- it's like the Great American Novel condensed into an album (and the prologue that comes with the album gives a tantalizing glimpse of what this story could be in book form). The album is literary as well as literate; songs like the aforementioned "No Children," which appropriately enough sounds like a cross between a sea shanty and a drinking song, conjure up visions of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald crashing a party hosted by Tennessee Williams. Though Darnielle's lyrics are what make Tallahassee so compelling, the album is also musically impressive, ranging from prickly, dysfunctional love songs like "Southwood Plantation Road" and "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" -- a deceptively pretty song that likens the couple's love to global conflicts and covert arms dealing -- to gentle lulls like "Peacocks" to the cathartic "See America Right." Each of the album's songs, in their own way, convey a rare and honest blend of love and frustration that isn't heard nearly enough in any kind of music. "Idylls of the King," which sounds a bit like an indie rock response to "Aguas del Marco," celebrates the wife's eyes as "Twin volcanos/Bad ideas dancing around in there," while the oddly sprightly finale "Alpha Rat's Nest" raises more questions than it answers: what relationship is truly "bad" if both parties go in with their eyes open? Throughout it all, Darnielle's folky twang gives an added authenticity and urgency to his tales of war, peace, love, and hate all living underneath the same roof. Ultimately, Tallahassee is about the staying power, for better or worse, of his couple's love; likewise, the album itself has plenty of staying power, only getting better and growing richer with each listen. - Heather Phares, All Music Guide
CAD 2304 - Lisa Gerrard / Whale Rider OSTReleased July 07 2003
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Lisa Gerrard, the former voice of Dead Can Dance, returns with a soundtrack following on her acclaimed scores to Gladiator (with Hans Zimmer) and The Insider (with Pieter Bourke). Those hoping for another glimpse into ecstasy through Gerrard's magnificent voice will be disappointed. This score to the New Zealand-set film relies more on texture and mood, with Gerrard's voice planted in a slowly undulating drift of synthesizers and sustained guitar lines. It's not until "Biking Home" that you might even recognize Gerrard's voice in this quietly joyful mood piece. She only gives herself full, if understated, voice on the symphonic closing track, "Go Forward" which echoes Gladiator's "Now We Are Free," but with Maori chanting. Though there is some compelling music on Whale Rider, much of it sounds bereft without the accompanying images. --John Dilibert, Amazon.com
CAD 2309 - Mojave 3 / Spoon and Rafter
Released September 22 2003
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Who expected a big stylistic turnabout? Probably nobody. Is there a big stylistic turnabout? Of course not. Album number four, Spoon and Rafter, is merely another worthy addition to the discography of Mojave 3, whose Neil Halstead is steadily building a swelling stockpile of charming, bittersweet, easygoing songs that warrant almost all of the comparisons -- to icons of '60s British folk and American country-rock alike -- that have been drawn throughout the years. Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but bassist Rachel Goswell plays her most reduced role to date, chiming in, as always, with invaluable background vocals, yet she contributes no lead turns this time -- not even one. This one irritating issue does contradict the fact that the album feels more like a natural and collaborative effort than the others. Perhaps that feel has something to do with the fact that it was recorded in their new studio, allowing them to work at their own pace. The songs remain simple, yet the interplay between the instruments is more intricate and lively than before, with minor touches -- twin,kles of glockenspiel, splashes of Moog, quivers of theremin -- falling with ease into the snug mix. As consistent as the group has been with its sound since its second album, the feather-light debut is beginning to seem more and more like Slowdive's swan song. In fact, there are such minor differences between the records that have followed since that debut that most will only feel the need to hold on to one of them. Still, Spoon and Rafter has no trouble making Ryan Adams seem like more of a farce than he already is, and it's deserving of at least half of the attention given to anything released by Wilco. - Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
BAD 2308 - Cass McCombs / Not The Way
Released December 03 2003
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New York singer-songwriter Cass McCombs seems quite timid on his debut EP, Not the Way. The combination of lo-fi instrumentation and vocal reverb often makes it seem as if McCombs is trying to hide or shy away. It’s unfortunate, because his songs have a raw and simple quality that often sound as if they would be best suited to a clean, crisp and honest recording. Indeed, while the amateurish and imprecise quality of the recording can be endearing, it also wears thin or unnecessarily detracts from otherwise pristine melodies.
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