First up, The Givers. I saw them live a couple weeks ago at Nitetown in Lafayette, LA; and they rocked my socks off. Their EP is not as good as hearing them live which is something everyone should do before they die in 2012. see them live. They give so much.
I really did enjoy this little preview of music though. This is a real feel-good band that is able to change my mood quickly. They literally use colorful looking instruments, and their percussion section comprised of Tiffany Lamson (random stuff) and Kirby Campbell (drums) is special. Special because of their ability to work together compiling extremely complex beats that I enjoy very much. They even use electric drum beats sometimes which is pretty cool. The vocals and guitar riffs are pretty basic, and their lyrics are exciting (listen to "meantime"). Another thing that sets this band apart from others is their keyboardist Will Henderson; he creates crazy sounds. His sounds fall in line with distortion patterns from Radiohead, and I happen to be in the mood for that kind of sound.
Next up is Bon Iver, with his EP Blood Bank. I think that Bon Iver literally plays music that contrasts very well with The Givers' style of play. He was a one-man show when he released For Emma, Forever Ago and now he has a little bit of help filling in "Engineering and a little guitar" from Mark Paulson.
Bon Iver is actually a pseudonym for Justin Vernon, and for this EP he has expanded to another instrument: piano. It does not add much to the overall sound of Bon Iver, but I feel that it does not take away from the band at all. I really like that he is moving into using other instruments and adding other members, but I am a little skeptical of the output. It is moving into a more instrumental zone, and I feel that Bon Iver is known for its lyrical qualities. Granted, For Emma, Forever Ago was written in a time of major transition for Justin, I believe he should not lose sight of what makes his music so awesome: lyricism and vocal quality. Blood Bank stylistically does not express the same kind of emotion that Forever Ago was able to portray, and sadly these two samples of music have to be placed side-by-side since they were both made by the same musician.
Tracks for Blood Bank are "Blood Bank," "Beach Baby," "Babys," & "Woods."
I have to say that I disagree with you a bit about Blood Bank. While I love Emma, Forever Ago, I personally think Blood Bank is a masterpiece. The title track still hits home lyrically for me, especially the chorus. Vernon's got pausing and musical tension down.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit that the rest of the EP is much more instrumental than the full-length, but I find it to be refreshing. You can really see his growth as a musician and a recording artist. Bon Iver is a very subtle project; there are a lot of background sounds (see the noise guitar in the fadeout of Blood Bank; it's on FEFA, as well) and a lot of intricacies with tone. Both releases just sing; they're recorded really well.
But Blood Bank works as an EP. It's four songs, and it shows the direction Vernon is heading in. The instrumentation is more diverse and more experimental, and I think that on a smaller release this is easier to do. There's no way he could play Woods live (well, it'd be insane), but I think it's the most interesting use of autotune I've ever heard.
It's not an LP; it's something between releases. I mean, who knows what he'll do next, but it's great to see that he's progressing musically. All good artists change over time.
Thanks Nick,
ReplyDeleteI was honestly split between two opinions about Blood Bank. I thoroughly respect Bon Iver for moving into a more instrumental direction, in fact I would encourage that on many more levels. However, Bon Iver's Forever Ago was an album that swiftly captured me for reasons beyond instrumentation.
I felt like Blood Bank was not able to deliver that same kind of awe which its predecessor could do, and I'm scared of the idea that a future LP won't either. You're right though, Blood Bank is just an EP, and this is a progressive process.
-Cory Vogel