NO-FI "MAGAZINE"
presents
MUSIC TO RAISE YR. SPIRITS!
Dammit, I spilled coffee on this. Well, it still plays and in this case, that's a good thing. Poor Robert must have had his heart broken pretty badly since most of the songs on this CD make you want to give him a nice hug or an understanding pat on the back. The 2nd track "Blue" sounds like it comes right out of a James Bond love-scene. Sadly Madonna is doing the theme for the newest 007 so Robert'll have to write a song about how sad he is for the world that they will have to hear Madonna sing if they want to see Bond in action again. "Eclipse" and "A Formal Apology" hint at his own part in his special somebody leaving him. The next two songs are seemingly unrelated, but who knows. Get this CD for a special night out on the town at 3am all by yourself when you are having trouble sleeping due to the empty space next to you in your bed.
I think I like this CD. The first song, 'Kandece Brown Put Me Down' immediately got my attention. It starts with some country guitar which is pretty consistant throughout. Then an interesting voice comes in. Pat Gorman is not a great singer. His voice warbles and changes pitch, but I love that. The stories he tells are really interesting. I particularly like 'Margaret'. This CD is somewhere between Whiskeytown and the Old 97s but the back of the CD explains it the best: "The songs on this record are about prison beatings, 19th century ditch diggers, public transportation in minor american cities, sleep deprivation, the drunk tank, gambling debts, shipwrecks, cigarettes, and the universal truth of rejection." WOOOHHHWWEEEE!!! Kinda sounds like an american version of The Pogues, huh? C: So Quin and I are reviewing this album together because at the same time I am teaching Quin how to write basic HTML and Quin has just learned his first big lesson in doing this kind of thing. Q: Yes. It sure is easy. I think I almost got it. C: Anyway, this is the new single from NEW BETHEL that they sent me a couple months ago and I'm finally reviewing it (although we did play both tracks on our "radio show"). The first track makes me feel like I am at a barn dance at 4 in the morning. Q: THAT'S WEIRD!!! It makes me feel like the girl in the corner that no one will dance with. C: I like it, but it wasn't anything I would have picked up on my own, but now that I have it I really like it. Q: I was not aware that this was just a single, so when I heard the same two songs 87 times in a row, I started to get suspicious. C: No Quin, that was the theme for the last issue! Q: Oh yeah. I like the song. It's good. C: The next song ("Reel In No One") sounds like carnival music for people waiting in line in front of a studio. I guess it's cuz they keep singing "they're casting all the time." Q: I don't understand you. The song is good. You are bad. C: That's what "K" said. Now I am sad. Q: Don't be sad, just keep listening to New Bethel.
I was really excited about getting this CD because it was the first CD along with Barrichello that was sent directly to me for review and airplay. I opened it quickly to find a cover with a photo of two people sharing a warm embrace. It looked like a photo that you would get inside of a frame from Target or something. My excitement turned to disgust. I had already decided, I wasn't going to like this. Nevertheless, I popped it on the stereo and pushed play rather forcefully. The sounds which then eminated were absolutely enchanting. The first song, "Glorious Technicolor" is great and the second, "Rocking in A Shy Way" is greater. I seriously couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had to play it on the radio show that I was recording that afternoon and I believe my exact words about it were, "Some of the prettiest songs I've heard in a long time." The vocals are beautiful in a very unusual accent and there are great horns and piano that get into your head and stay there. This CD takes me back to Belle and Sebastian's "If You're Feeling Sinister"...I know that's not an origional comparison, but it's a good one. I also have to say that the titles to each of the songs are as good as any song by Built To Spill. You should certainly obtain this CD...if you know what is good for you.
