Dear internets. Does it matter if the music you listen to started to sound a lot like the things you've heard before? Here's my defense. I think music-making business is like an incestuous family. I figured, in due time they will start to sound like each other anyway. And I can deal with that.
I suppose I am going to get dispelled from the Sufjan camp for saying this. So, I like Woodpigeon. Like, a lot. Who cares if Woodpigeon is a quirky Sufjan-wannabe.
Example:
A Hymn For 2 Walks In Different Cities
They are too good to be discounted of their talents. The trick to enjoy Woodpigeon is to go easy on the "originality"-snobbery. Seriously. Woodpigeon is not as bad as you think. Their music is pretty (proof: Songbook). They write cleverly cute lyrics that make you giggle and go, "he did not just say that!!"
Example:
Death By Ninja (A Love Song)
"I went to ninja school
to learn how to murder you
with just one little punch."
Sure, you will hear some splashes of Sufjan, Grizzly Bear, Andrew Bird, Elliot Smith, and [insert name of your favorite lo-fi, folksy, pretty music, whatever; anything but that five-letter word that begins with the letter-"i" here]. But I believe Woodpigeon, like every experimental music, is looking for an identity what the band ought to sound like. And I get the hint that Woodpigeon, in secret corners of their heart, is pursuing a spinoff of Sufjan's 50-states project (13-provinces*, anyone?). Or maybe they just love the geography and cultural significances of Canada in their sticker book.
Either way, they are wonderful. And what is there not to like about a band that comes up with an album art that looks like this:
Treasury Library Canada C/W Houndstooth Europa
Released: February 3, 2009
It is cute. Regardless what they call it, Treasury Library Canada C/W Houndstooth Europa, TL;DR/TL;DL, is a super LP. OK, so I am kidding about the TL;DL part... but not about the super LP. A word of warning: this release is long. Long as in, Longcat. Fortunately for Woodpigeon, that is as far as I can complain about. The experience of going through this release for the first time was exhaustingly worth it. It takes you to places, cities, weathers, villages, cultures, and experiences that lighten and poke the wanderlust in you. Like how Sufjan took us to witness Michigan and Illinois from his shoes, Woodpigeon is to Canada. Like how My Little Pony took us to the depths of Norwegian romance blues, Woodpigeon gives us a Canadian one. There is a good story in every song. The songs come in a mixbag of- I will quote what the band describes it, "group whistling, tambourine, handclapping, fey longing, winged eyeliner, and corduroy blazers conspire to create music as glittery and piquantly morose as fresh snow on sidewalks under a full moon." No contest.
Here's a sneak of the album. Knock knock yourself out.
Knock Knock
...A Given
*Yes, I am ignorant, and therefore am teh FAIL at geography. I still think Canada is cool, though. (read: don't hate).
1 comment:
haha good review :)
Post a Comment