Single Take: This Song Is Awful/Awesome And You Are Stupid for Liking/Not Liking It
Single Take is a Reviler feature where multiple people give a passing glance at some new music and causally rank it somewhere between 1 (Justin Beiber) and 10 (really amazing). Fun, right? Check out the latest installment below and feel free to tell us who stupid and out of touch we are based on our opinions. Arguing on the internet: the greatest of American traditions.
Wendy Rae Fowler – Run
Jon (7/10)
Pretty decent dramatic rock tune – I dig the eerie, psychedelic dirge vibe. Felt like it could have been a little more feral though.
Josh (6/10)
A cool, brooding pop song with a nice little groove. There is an atmosphere that floats above the track that I think just falls short of really knocking my socks off. Seems like I would like it more than I do, but still solid.
John Maus – The Combine (Show this Thursday (4/5) at the Cedar Cultural Center)
Jon (9/10)
This is one of my favorite tunes off of Maus’s latest record. Love the dynamic between the sort of lo wave goth synth feel and the bigness of the overall pop (almost anthemic) structure. And its about farming?! Cool.
Josh (7/10)
I like it more than I liked the last song we did of his in this series. A video commiserate to the song, somehow feels both broken and beautiful.
Sloppy Jane – Potassium
Jon (7/10)
I like how unabashedly strange this is – and it’s not a bad lo fi little tune even as it goes to lengths to be anti pop. And though it gains some steam near the end, I am not sure the piano coda is really needed (but whatever).
Josh (1/10)
I don’t know where to start with this, but I’ll begin with hoping that it is a joke. The problem is even if it is a joke, it isn’t funny or clever. If it isn’t a joke, then…
Elucid – Bad Credit is Better than No Credit
Jon (8/10)
Really dig the old school vibe to this – it sort of reminds me of Deltron 3030 if it were produced by GZA. Really want to hear more.
Josh (8/10)
Cool minimalist indie-rap song. I dig the low-key tension that simmers throughout the song, which also runs a taut 1:23. It left me wanting more, which is what you want with a song, right?
Confidence Man – Don’t You Know I’m In A Band
Jon (6/10)
This is pretty stupid but I kind of like it. It’s basically a goofier LCD Soundsystem.
Josh (2/10)
If Electric Six got drunk on Zima and decided to cover “Low Rider.”
Hop Along – How Simple (June 13 Show at the Turf Club)
Jon (5/10)
This reminds me a lot of all of the radio-friendly grunge-pop that came out in the nineties. Lead vocalist (Frances Quinlan) actually reminds me a little of Eddie Vedder but PJ wouldn’t be my first comparison as a band. I feel like this stuff is going to be real popular amongst the hip dad demographic of a certain age. Would listen to more but not finding this one super impressive.
Josh (5/10)
If you like earnest indie pop, you’ll dig this song. It just feels a bit too sweet and gooey for me. I’m old and cynical, so this feels like a foreign language to me. I imagine I would have felt this way about Rilo Kiley if I was mid-30s when they came out. So don’t mind me, kids, and enjoy.
