Best Tracks: “Tempest”, “Full Fathom Five (Thy Father Lies)”, “I’ll Drown My Book”, “A Thousand-Thousand”, “A Contract of True Love”
The splicing of Shakespearean drama with post-rock was bound to happen sooner or later, and I’m just glad it was two-thirds of Rachel’s that made it happen. Furthermore, they probably couldn’t have picked a more appropriate play than The Tempest, a play wrought with mystery, melancholy, and magic of all sorts. Since this was composed for an actual dramatic production of the play, it is not exactly an album in the rock and roll sense. It is more like a soundtrack. Fortunately, the play features a number of “songs” that serve as inspiring aesthetic source material. The best tracks are those that feature vocals (“Full Fathom Five”, “A Contract of True Love”), and there are a handful of other strong instrumentals, especially the title track. Overall, it sounds most like an amalgamation of Rachel’s Selenography and Shipping News’ Save Everything. I suppose it’s doubtful that we’ll see more from this outfit, but given the strength of this little experiment, it would be a pleasure. Come on guys, how about “The Shakespeare’s Canon Project?” One down, thirty-eight to go, sonnets boxset to follow.
Best Tracks: “Southbound to Marion”, “M. Daguerre”, “Full On Night”
When Rodan split in late 1994, they darted like subatomic particles into other musical nuclei. The most obtuse of these initial ventures was probably Rachel’s, Jason Noble’s stab at classical music. While it might seem like a stretch, it’s really not. After all, Rodan opened their only LP with “Bible Silver Corner”, a drum-less instrumental steeped in neo-classical dynamics and ambiance. When you consider that he was joined by two classically trained musicians (Christian Fredericksen and Rachel Grimes) in forming the artistic core of Rachel’s, it’s no surprise that their debut slides easily into the canon of 20th century classical music. That’s not to say that all of Rodan’s angular aesthetic has been stripped from these arrangements. “Full On Night” features a long free-handed guitar solo from Noble, and “M. Daguerre” amounts to an eerily deconstructed take on an old lounge standard. These two long tracks are exceptionally strong, and opener “Southbound to Marion” makes for an outstanding country road soundtrack. Finally, it’s Rachel Grimes that shines on the poignant “Frida Kahlo”, anticipating the major role she would play on the band’s follow-up, Music for Egon Schiele. All in all, not everything here is great, but as a fusion of indie rock and neo-classical music, there’s enough good to keep me coming back for more.
Peel-ology is where I write about some or another Peel session. The Peel session has special importance for me because of the “mystique” that surrounds it. Oftentimes, bands come to the Peel session with a small set of songs that have never seen official release. For fans of arcane indie rock, that’s like the Holy Grail…
Rodan’s 1994 Peel session holds a special place in my heart. On one hand, it was my introduction to the work of John Peel, the first time I had ever heard of a “Peel” session at all. On the other hand, it is the only hint of what one of my all-time favorite bands might have sounded like on their second LP. While all of Rodan’s members went on to have prolific careers in other musical ventures (including the Mueller/Noble vehicle Shipping News), there was a definite magic realized by Jason Noble, Jeff Mueller, Tara Jane O’Neill, and Kevin Coultas on their Bob Weston produced debut Rusty.
“Sangre” leads things off. It’s a slow, brooding, almost meditative track, featuring O’Neill’s distinctively moaning vocals and some excellent high-fret guitar work from Jason Noble. I swear, when this song kicks in, I see thunder. That’s the only way I know how to put it.
“Big Things, Little Things” might be the closest Rodan ever came to “poppy”, figuring brightly between the other two tracks here. I love the bass work here. In my book, TJ is one of the best indie bassists of all time.
For all the greatness of the other tracks, “Before the Train” most successfully captures what made this band great. A 10-minute-plus instrumental (with the exception of the spoken “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe”), the song evolves from elastic, visceral post-punk into quiet, spectral neo-classicism, only to re-emerge in a furious explosion of noisy, angular fury. This track contains, in a nutshell, everything that made Rodan special.
Kevin Coultas’ drumming totally blows me away. Rodan went through 3 drummers in their existence, but it was Coultas’ imperfect-in-all-the-right-ways work that transformed the band from mere post-rock into epic chamber-punk. His drumming helped the band achieve the monstrosity of sound that their name implies.
It’s John Peel who, between tracks, mentions that the band will be returning to the US in just a few weeks in order to complete their follow-up LP. I guess a lot can happen in 2+ months.
So there you have it. In September of 1994, the band played its last show and fractured into several different bands, including June of 44, Rachel’s, Sonora Pine, and Retsin (Shipping News & Tara Jane O’Neil’s solo work would come later). There are a few low-quality bootlegs floating around that feature other, untitled tracks, some of which made it onto the debut records of the above-mentioned bands. But this stunning Peel session is the only studio indication of what might have been.
More wonderful rock and roll forthcoming from the apparently indomitable Jason Noble:
Formed in late 2007 for a production of Shakespeare’s “THE TEMPEST” at Actors Theatre of Louisville, directed by Marc Masterson. The show ran from January to February 2008, then we recorded the majority of the album live with KEVIN RATTERMAN (Wax Fang). Additional editing and recording continued in 2009. Mastering was completed in December 2009. Our release date is now set for September 21st, 2010. The CD will be available at independent record stores { distributed by the fine folks at Carrot Top Records }. The Digital Download version will be available through the kindness of FILE 13 records {http://www.file-13.com/}.
OK, why wouldn’t I be excited about this?
Post-rock from Louisville? Check.
Shakespearean influence? Check.
Guitar work courtesy of Jason Noble of Rachel’s, Rodan, Shipping News, etc? Check.
String-work from Christian Fredericksen of Rachel’s? Check.
Nautically-themed? Check.
It’s as if they asked themselves “What kind of record would that guy at Sweet Georgia Breezes want to hear?” Thanks guys – you are, in fact, super-duper.
I am completely stoked to hear that there is a new Shipping News album on the way via Louisville’s own Noise Pollution Records. Last I’d heard, RMSN’er Jason Noble was undergoing treatment for cancer, so I am completely impressed that he has been able to take time off from battling away the abyss in order to make a new album.
via Touch & Go
Here’s the word on the aesthetic:
“Shipping News has jettisoned the long songs (and glacial tempos) of the past and is concentrating on energetic blasts of noisy rock (with a little gallows humor thrown in). While slipping into a slightly more sympathetic mood once or twice, the new songs ares tripped down and pretty much nasty.”
Well, I never had a problem with the long songs, but okay. There’s a link through to a sample track at the Noise Pollution blog, so go check it out!
There’s still more to come, but here’s a list of the Sweet Georgia Breezes’ Tracks of the Decade so far (in no particular order). What do you think of the list? What are your top 5 or 10 tracks of the decade?
Regardless of Rachel’s indie roots, they’ve always shined brightest when they let loose with their brand of unassuming melodicism. Tracks like “Rhine & Courtesan”, “Lloyd’s Register”, and the fullness of MUSIC FOR EGON SCHIELE demonstrate the age old truth that music is most of all about connection and communication of the otherwise inexpressible. That being said, “Water from the Same Source” stands as one of the decade’s great tracks because it is GORGEOUS. Do we need any other reason? The original Rachel’s novelty, indie-rock as high art, has passed away, and the band excels here by crafting a track that is both song and symphony. Epic in arc and graceful in execution, “Water from the Same Source” strikes the tone of a leisurely walk through the Louevre or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That is to say, it’s a bit of bliss ignorant of the cynicism and irony of modern pop. These days, I’ll take all of that I can get.
“Water from the Same Source”
by Rachel’s
from SYSTEMS/LAYERS
Regardless of Rachel’s indie roots, they’ve always shined brightest when they let loose with their brand of unassuming melodicism. Tracks like “Rhine & Courtesan”, “Lloyd’s Register”, and the fullness of MUSIC FOR EGON SCHIELE demonstrate the age old truth that music is most of all about connection and communication of the otherwise inexpressible. That being said, “Water from the Same Source” stands as one of the decade’s great tracks because it is GORGEOUS. Do we need any other reason? The original Rachel’s novelty, indie-rock as high art, has passed away, and the band excels here by crafting a track that is both song and symphony. Epic in arc and graceful in execution, “Water from the Same Source” strikes the tone of a leisurely walk through the Louvre or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That is to say, it’s a bit of bliss ignorant of the cynicism and irony of modern pop. These days, I’ll take all of that I can get.
BREEZES OF THE WEEK is the wrap-up post wherein I discuss my favorite music related items of the past week. Enjoy!
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Built to Spill’s latest, THERE IS NO ENEMY, is probably their most vital and consistent album since PERFECT FROM NOW ON. I don’t like to cast judgments on records as soon as they are released, or even after a couple of listens, but I am very stoked about the direction BTS takes here. Which is to say that they haven’t changed a thing!
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NEW RADIOHEAD LP IN 2010:
Ed O’Brien told NME that with sessions planned this winter the band would “definitely” be releasing a full album physically next year. “We were misquoted,” claimed O’Brien of Yorke’s comments, loudly adding, “WE WILL BE MAKING AN ALBUM!” (via ateaseweb.com)
This is great news. I really believe Radiohead is at their most vital right now, and let’s face it, the album format is integral to the DNA of pop music. Individual tracks are like short stories and poems, great in one sitting, but the LP is the novel, the grandest statement of all. Radiohead is AOR, no matter how much they’d like to be different.
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TRAVIS GETS THEIR DUE:
I salute the music blog Aquarium Drunkard for naming Travis’ The Man Who as one of their favorite albums of the decade. Travis aren’t exactly the toast of indie-dom, but the lush melodies of their Nigel G.-produced second album had most of us thinking back in 2000 that they would be to this decade what Coldplay ended up being. True, they haven’t really made anything so great since, but for one shining moment they had a whole lot of folks’ heads spinning. THE MAN WHO is an undeniable classic.
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NORAH’S SOUNDING GOOD:
Go here to stream a fresh track from Norah Jones’ upcoming LP THE FALL. Nothing TOO revolutionary, but she’s definitely kicking up the groove factor and trying to incorporate heavier rhythms. All good things, since her last outing, NOT TOO LATE, was kind of a clunker. Looking forward to THE FALL. (heads-up via Stereogum)
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JASON NOBLE’S ILLNESS
When I was about about 15 years old, I heard Rodan’s RUSTY for the first time. All I can really say is that RUSTY shattered my previous conceptions of what music could be. That album was in large part the work of Louisville’s own Jason Noble, who went on to record countless other works (see Shipping News, Rachel’s, Per Mission) that have been a huge part of the last fifteen years of my life. It’s safe to say that Jason is one of my musical heroes, and a real inspiration to me. My prayers are with him as he battles cancer. God grant you peace and serenity in the face of it all sir, and may you continue to inspire us for decades to come.
As a glimpse of his genius, here’s the beautiful “Last Things Last” from the Rachel’s masterpiece SYSTEMS/LAYERS:
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Did I mention Rachel’s? While surfing for that video of “Last Things Last”, I also found this truly amazing guitar-based cover of the glorious “Water from the Same Source.” Wow:
SGB is a music review blog. I keep it short and to the point. I mostly cover rock, usually of the indie, classic, or punk variety. All readers are encouraged to respond to my reviews with approval, dissent, etc. You think I missed something about a record? Speak ya mind!
Initial Reactions (2012) Ratings System
A: Impressive. Among the year's best. B: Decent. May be a grower. C: Blah. Another brick in the wall. D: Offends, grates, and/or bores. F: Monumentally bad. Imagine if Justin Beiber fronted Creed.
Check out this Magnet Magazine interview with indie rock godfather/superhero Jason Noble. Newsworthy bits:
Young Scamels
There’s still more to come, but here’s a list of the Sweet Georgia Breezes’ Tracks of the Decade so far (in no particular order). What do you think of the list? What are your top 5 or 10 tracks of the decade?
“Water from the Same Source”
