Akron/Family – Love is Simple
First things first: what the fucking arse is that bloody stupid slash all about then? Do you pronounce it? Do you make some sort of corresponding sound effect, as in those idiots who named their band Chk Chk Chk and spelled it !!!? Actually that question mark is part of the sentence, the band is just called !!!, (without the comma, either) which is just one of the many, many reasons why this habit is bloody irritating.
So, Akron SLASH! Family, then. Well I heard about this through Tim at The Daily Growl and I have to confess to sharing his confusion for how to describe it. Folky, a little bit glam, a bit Worldy, and occasionally a little bit hippy, it’s just a gigantic mash of styles that barrels along with results as mixed as its roots.
I am going to leave you a couple of songs to sample here, but believe me, this is not a collection of songs, it is a whole album. In this way, tracks that would be genuinely rubbish on their own actually do make sense, although the whole thing is still rather a lot to take in all at once. The swirling maelstrom of medieval pagan folk prog pop indie craziness stumbles its way along, from epic eight-minuters to short sharp interludes.
There are times when you stick your head up from whatever else you might be doing and wonder ‘what the fuck have I put on here?’ and then there are times, when the whole thing seems to just about gather enough momentum to break into a brilliant indie folk song with more energy and momentum than many I’ve heard this year. It’s baffling, but if you’re a music fan rather than just a passive consumer I really wouldn’t pass this one by.
Akron/Family – Ed is a Portal
Akron/Family – Phenomena
Glad you like them! They’re amazing live if you ever get the chance to see them…
I’ve been plugging away at “Love
Is Simple” for several months now, and I agree with you that the results are uneven. The highest points, like the last 4 minutes or so of “There’s So Many Colors” (y’know, the “sunrise, sunset” bit) are very high, but tucked away in the middle of what is otherwise a relatively unengrossing tune. The 1:30 minute intro of people chanting “There’s so many colors, yadda yadda yadda” is dangerously close to a staring contest, in which the listener is dared to blink rather than encouraged to enjoy. Crazy record, but really very very good in places. I’ll be interested to see their future direction.
Fucking hilarious. Yes, you are dared to call bullshit at times. I’m reminded of Alan Partridge: ‘Now, was that good art, or barmy old cack?’ When it’s good it’s terrific though, and the sheer fascination of it all is enough to make me glad I bought it.
it/ is/ lovely/ ramshackley/ sprawling/ messy/ annoying/ in/ equal/ measure/.
I just happened to buy this yesterday having not read this post yet. I’d heard Ed is a Portal and absolutely loved it and it was on Piccadilly Record’s top albums of 2007 when I went in yesterday so I bought it. And it’s great. Thank god for bands like this.
Oh yeah, and I just ignore the slash and pretend it’s not there. Works fine for me!
Haha! Excellent – that is exactly what I have ended up doing. And in my less-mellow moments that just begs the question WHY THE FUCK IS IT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE???