Albums: Sixteen Horsepower, Folklore
Sparklehorse, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Chosen By: Mick
Hosted By: Mick and Lisa
Present: Jim, Jo, Lisa, Mick, Richard, Robbie
I was absent in Vienna for this one, so am not sure how it went. Here's a message I sent through for the attendees:
Greetings from Vienna
Rumours of my imminent demise have proved to be no more than wishful thinking. I am in fact alive and well, and ready to tell everybody what’s right and wrong in the world of popular music.
First of all, let me say that I’m very pleased that the Album Club has finally got around to holding a second meeting. I see there are two albums up for discussion; I’m not sure if that is permissible under the Club’s constitution, but given my absence (and the absence of said constitution) I suppose there’s not much that I can do about it.
I’m not at all familiar with Folklore by Sixteen Horsepower, and given that I only found out about this meeting last Monday and am not in possession of that album, I don’t have time to find out about it. Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must shut the fuck up! I hope you all enjoy it and have something interesting to say about it.
I do know Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, however. I first came across Sparklehorse in about 2002 when I was researching an Irish band called Rubyhorse who had moved to the US
I like the simplicity of the arrangements, and I like the relatively straightforward structures of the songs. There’s a ‘live’ feel to many of the tracks which is a relief after so much studio-honed drivel. The voice can be a bit cloying at times; in fact, the vocals are pretty one-dimensional throughout; there’s not much variation or dynamics. Harmonies - a standby of country-inspired rock ever since the Byrds – are signally absent. This is interesting in the light of the criticism that Elvis Costello's voice attracted at the previous meeting.
The country / psychedelic elements (for example feedback, detuned guitar, filtered voice) obviously hark back to the 1960s. There’s a kind of retro feel informing the album as a whole, I think, and as always in such contexts the question arises as to whether this wasn’t all done a bit better the first time around (Grams Parsons, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young).
‘Someday I Will Treat You Good’ and ‘Hammering the Cramps’ are okay, but still a bit lacking in energy or direction for me. Tracks like ‘Homecoming Queen’, ‘Saturday’, 'Heart of Darkness' and ‘Sad and Beautiful World’ are just downers. (All the angst of tour-buddies Radiohead, but without the musical ambition or inventiveness?) I don’t think I ever needed reminding how shit the world is or how fundamentally unworthy the human species is; I certainly don’t know need it now with Ireland just about to fall over the edge of the map.
Favourite tracks would probably have to be ‘Rainmaker’, probably because it reminds me of something the Beatles might have produced around the time of Revolver (1966); and ‘Cow’ which is a bit lighter and a bit less of a throwaway than the other stuff.
Linkous was obviously a talented and thoughtful musician; the internal world into which he invites you is not a particularly hopeful or salubrious place, however. Musically and temperamentally, he reminds me of Gram Parsons – another self-destructive ‘genius’. I’m very wary of the stereotype of the ‘tortured’ genius; I feel sorry for the individuals, but I resent the capital made out of such unfortunates both by the industry and by ‘fans’ who seem to admire the pain underpinning the music.
Anyway, that was the vote of the Austrian jury. I hope you have a fantastic evening, and I look forward to seeing everybody around Xmas.
Lots of love.
Gerry
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