Trips & Falls – He Was Such a Quiet Boy
Let’s do the criticisms first, shall we, because they are simple and easily tackled. Basically, I think this album is too long. It weighs in at thirteen songs and just under fifty minutes, and I really feel that three songs could have been trimmed from the track listing, to leave what I would honestly descibe as being as good a debut as I’ve heard since I heard Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues for the first time.
Jacob’s voice is simply lovely, and for the most part he delivers simple pop songs, tinged with a little wistfulness and bordering on twee. It’s not that simple though, because half of this album takes that model and subverts it, to the point that some of the songs are downright bizarre. You Should Really Get Yours is superb, and so far from being a pop song it’s silly. It works well within the context of the album though, because the whole record shifts on this spectrum, back and forth from the disturbing to the gentle, and this song sets a marker at the far end of the scale.
Even the sweeter tunes on here often have a certain faux-naivety that is mildly unsettling. Sometimes it’s the flat, impassive vocals, like the smile of a scary child’s toy, sometimes the slightly too crackly rumble of a guitar, sometimes the skittery, off-beat drumming.
Basically, there is a five-song passage in the middle of this record, from In Real Life He Wears Corduroy Pants through to Prelude to a Shark Attack, that is utterly, spell-bindingly brilliant. After that, the variation tails off a little and although there are still some truly excellent songs, I get the impression a couple could happily be trimmed, resulting in a tight, near perfect record from a group I have never heard mention of before or since. It is worth noting, of course, that there could be some very good reasons for how this album has been put together, and I really could just be treading on toes it’s not my place to tread on.
Irrespective of this little whinge, He Was Such a Quiet Boy is a superb album, and I strongly urge you to go and buy one immediately.
Trips & Falls – And in Real Life He Wears Corduroy Pants
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i’m i a fool (don’t answer that) but i find these 2 tracks rather underwhelming….i do like his voice (reminds me of Jonnie DTTS) but other than that….i got nothing from it….maybe i shall look into them a bit more….but the word coming to mind is bland….oh well later
Damaged Goods doesn’t really go anywhere, so not really up my street, but I liked …Corduroy Pants, its really good, good tune.
Of all the bands featured on the latest Toadcast, these folks were my favourite.
Off to investigate further.
Well I don’t really hear much comparison to Jonnie Common, whose voice is a little more idiosyncratic if you ask me. That said, it does remind me of someone quite strongly, and I am not entirely sure who.
Gav, seriously, no-one else on the Hype Machine appears to have written about them, but I really think that this album has the core of a Toad classic about it.
I mentioned in your earlier post that they reminded me a bit of Love, and the singer’s voice definitely makes me think of Arthur Lee. There’s also a resemblance to Benjamin Wetherill, although I’d imagine that’s coincidental.
I like Damaged Goods a lot. It sounds a bit like a transitional “album track,” though, y’know? To me it doesn’t quite stand out on its own like And in Real Life…, but it could be brilliant in its proper context on a longer record.
Think I’ll have to buy this one.
It is one from the tail end of the album, C&B. It’s not the stand out in isolation, perhaps, but that was part of the reason for posting it – also to give an idea of the context for the other songs I’ve posted by them already.
Remember the weirdness of You Should Really Get Yours? Well it and songs like In Real Life sit in amongst songs like Damamged Goods, which is one of the things I like about the album: that combination of the sweet and the unsettling.
I’m not sure about this at all, it’s certainly made me curious. Right now I’m not overly taken by the two songs on here but I do keep listening to them. I think they might be growers, either way, I’ve not given up on it.
PS. I don’t like the artwork font
Nah, I’m not too keen on the artwork as a whole, actually. But when it’s a DIY self-release, I think you sometimes take what you can get.
Oh aye, fair enough. It wasn’t even worth commenting on, I’m just a tad pernicity about artwork.
Well it’s one of those things that everyone (myself included) thinks they can do, but is in fact far harder than it looks. And artwork on albums is important. Best find a willing art school friend or amateur illustrator I reckon. Most people arty enough to make music know someone arty enough to make an album cover.
ah you see dav is a maestro at art work.
im sadly unable to listen to these tracks right now as i dont have speakers connected to the pc but from what i remember of corduroy pants on the toadcast it was definately a stand out track for me.
I had an interrupted listen to these yesterday, and a couple of runs through paying more attention last night.
My opinion, Michael, is that you’re not missing much.
I like the artwork; I reckon it suits the mood of the songs, particularly of ‘Damaged Goods’.
I have no arguments that it couldn’t be better, but I would say if these two tracks are this good (and you are not put off by the artwork) then I reckon we are in for a little treat with the rest of the album.
I’m Excited!!!!
As you should be. I love it when great bands come out of nowhere like this – really puts the excitement into music for me.