KRLX Library

Review by Jon

Brooklyn noise-rock group Black Dice have come a long way since being a simple hardcore outfit in the late 90s. Now they are releasing records on Paw Tracks (Animal Collective’s label) and enjoying the increasing popularity of experimental music. Miles of Smiles, a 2004 EP, I found chilling in the “B” section of rock in our very own KRLX Record Library. Having heard and enjoyed their newest release, Repo (also in the libe), I took Miles of Smiles on a visit to my home north of The Cities and gave it a few 150-degree listens in my sauna, an ideal portal into distant sound-worlds.

Miles of Smiles takes its influence from a healthy mixture of Musique Concrète, 70s Krautrock, and modern noise artists like Merzbow. As such, it features much fun with tapes, knobs, insects, and reverb, all of which create a satisfyingly mysterious/awesome/terrifying (depending on your taste) atmosphere. While Black Dice do little in the way of breaking new ground or innovating a genre with this release, it is definitely a unique and intriguing listen. My experience is as follows:

There are two tracks on the EP. The first, “Miles of Smiles,” runs about 13 minutes. It begins with the sound of chirping insects; we are somewhere deep in the woods. Gradually, repeated electronic blips creep into the mix as a UFO comes down from above. Disturbed by this intruder, the local tribespeople take to their drums and begin a rhythmic response that echoes throughout the land. The sound of sampled horns surfaces sporadically as the drumming reaches a climax. But just as this happens, we leave the Earth in the alien transport, and as the sound of the tribe dies we hear only the looping electronics of the ship. In a split second the scene is transported back to the ground, where the only sound is a rattling shaker. Soon it becomes clear that the aliens have left something behind. Artificial blips and murmurs emit from some unidentifiable structure. The people of the woods begin to investigate, and clanking and popping sounds result. Suddenly, someone hits the wrong button (or maybe the right one), and the machine erupts with a chaotic marching band loop that repeats and eventually dissolves as the machine automatically shuts itself off, leaving silence.

The second track, “Trip Dude Delay,” is about 15 minutes long. It picks up some time later with a high-pitched ringing sound. As vocals and repeated notes step in, we see that the tribes-people have learned how to use the mysterious device. They create an atmosphere of relaxing vocal calls and light bleeps and tremolo triads. Content with this, they persist. The sounds of nature, which have been lurking in the background, emerge in a massive tidal wave of noise, flooding all the land. As the great hurricane makes its way through, its cause is soon known as the tectonic plates shift with a rumbling bass down below. But the people are safe, protected in by alien structure, and they respond to natures call with light, ambient sounds of their own. Nature, after finishing its task of destroying and recreating the land, recedes to allow the tribal drums to resume. After the destruction a new landscape, and with it a new soundscape, there are echoing electronic blips, pounding drums, and one of intermittent reverb-vocals, It is a good place, and it remains for a time, fading only when the alien machine returns to its home, having fulfilled its purpose.

Of course, aspects like pedal combinations and production techniques can accurately describe these sounds, but I think this narrative of Miles of Smiles, while specific to me, gives a more accurate impression of its overall feel. Black Dice have had consistently excellent releases, and this EP is definitely a highlight. It creates a mood and sound that is sure to bring you to some other place than the one in between your right and left ears. So if your iTunes consists largely of wimpy indie pop mush like: (your favorite band here), think about giving this half-hour long EP a listen to broaden your horizons a bit. If you are more into: (obscure French avant-garde classical artist here), then listen to Miles of Smiles as a modern, popular take on your favorite old noise. It is pretty cool sounding.

Review by Phil

The Streets are easily one of the most polarizing artists out there. I personally believe that Mike Skinner, who produces music under the name The Streets, is brilliant. There are, however, many who would tell you that his music is horrendous; a hodge-podge of obnoxious cockney talking, singing, and rapping all on top of bizarre sound effects, grating samples, and dissonant synth lines. But of course there’s no way to know what side of this debate you’ll be on until you listen to The Streets yourself. Luckily we’ve got two of his albums in the record library, ready and waiting for you to experience them.

First is The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, The Streets’ third album. Skinner’s emotions run the gamut from sadness, joy, anger, and compassion, all told with his sharp wit and knack for words (and British slang). As on the first two albums, we are treated to stories about life as a twenty-something in lower-middle class London, but THWTMAEL adds to this Mike’s struggles with his newfound celebrity. Some of The Streets’ funniest and most personal material can be found on this album with “Can’t Con an Honest John”, when Skinner explains how to con someone who is conning you and “All Goes Out the Window” in which Skinner contends with lying and trust in relationships.

Second is The Streets’ most recent album Everything is Borrowed. This album sees a change in The Streets’ sound, as Skinner perfects his pop songwriting form. Because of this it would be easy to say that The Streets have finally sold out and diluted their music, but it’s just as lyrically dense anything before it only in a more accessible guise. I view the album as a resolution and a maturing of Skinner as a songwriter and a person after three albums of drug abuse and selfish immaturity. The title track of the album gives an excellent picture of where Skinner has gone with the album, containing a catchy melody and more romanticized and introspective lyrics.

If these albums haven’t impressed you, then I suggest two things: give them some time and a few listens, Skinner’s music is so idiosyncratic that it can take some time to really appreciate it; and check out his debut Original Pirate Material and his story concept album A Grand Don’t Come for Free, both of which feature the artist at the peak of his abilities. Having done this I hope you’ve found The Streets to be as fun, challenging, and inspiring as I have.

Tracks for your enjoyment:
The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed
The Streets - All Goes Out The Window
The Streets - Can't Con An Honest John...

Review by Karl S.

I discovered Sainthood at the very end of last term, and now it is one of my favorite albums. It was, if you will, love at first listen.

I have always thought of this Canadian sister-duo as "pretty good indie pop", but this album changed my mind for the better. Their semi-desperate but confident vocal styles work together nicely, and there is no song on the album I ever want to skip. The way the songs are crafted is always satisfying: every song has some really nice keyboard parts and creative rhythms; every song has a catchy chorus and a thought-provoking bridge. One thing that sets Tegan and Sara apart from other indie pop duos is that their lyrics are so "excessively accessible". There are no mysterious metaphors; almost all of the words are conversational and refreshingly honest sentiments about love, relationships and the complex kinds of situations they create (e.g. "I know you feel it too / These words get overused"), and are sometimes linguistically clever (e.g. "Unnerved / The nerve! / You're nervous, nervous that I'm right" and "now you know you know it now"). Despite the nature of their lyrics, Tegan and Sara manage to avoid sounding whiney or trite because they have so much fun with the instrumentation.

The album starts with "Arrow", which has a contagious and quirky beat, setting the tone for the album. "On Directing Me" is one of catchiest songs on the whole album. The bridge of "The Cure" gives me chills, and the song in general expresses mixed feelings about being in love really well. "Northshore" is a self-indulgent rock-out anthem, almost as cathartic for the listener as it must be for the Quin sisters to perform; directly following it is "Night Watch", which is a cool-down song with some really interesting electronic bloops that escape from the usual straight-forward rhythm for a moment here and there. The lyrics in "The Ocean" are sad but, like I said before, refreshingly honest, and this makes it one of most musically satisfying songs on the album. "Sentimental Song" has some nice "ooohs" and "soooo's" in the background, and it leads into "Someday", a great ending track that talks about the future and self-confidence (or lack thereof).

So whether you want to vent about relationships, get your head-bob on, or hear a really well-crafted album, this is a really heavenly candidate.

In "Someday," one of the Quin sisters says "Mark my words, I might be something someday". But Sainthood makes it clear that she already is.

Tegan and Sara - The Ocean

Tegan and Sara - Northshore

Tegan and Sara - On Directing

For your convenience, the KRLX record library is open six days per week:

Welcome to the new website of the KRLX record library. This website is the first visible step in KRLX's year-long reinvestment in its record library. We have integrated our album data with Last.fm's to help you explore the music we have in our library, and revamped our database to do a better job of keeping track of what we have in the library.

Later this term, you will be able to listen to the albums in the library through this website. But for now, we hope you find the new interface to be an improvement.

With any website launch as major as this one, there are bound to be some bumps on the road. If you run into any problems, please let us know by emailing newlibrary@krlx.org, even if you think the issue you've found has probably already been reported.