Polaris Round Up:: Chad VanGaalen Soft Airplane

I had already started writing my recap of Chad VanGaalen’s incredible ’08 release, Soft Airplane, when I happened across another blogger’s well written take on the effort. Ironically, all the reasons he said he can’t form an emotional attachment to the songs CVG put together for this release are exactly why I found the record so powerful.

It’s akin to standing in a museum looking at what you’ve been told is a great and important piece of art. You’ve paid your admission, picked up the bulky head set to listen to the audio commentary, and wandered the galleries pondering the sights before you. You know its history, you know its pedigree, and you’ve spent an hour or more staring at the brushstrokes. So has the person standing next to you. You turn to them, and casually ask, “So what do you think of it?” Their reply: “Well, I think the frame is nice.”

For me, when it comes to art the brilliance of the brushstrokes and the creativity is important. I mean, I have to like what is presented - I don't get that whole, "I don't like it but can appreciate it" mindset - but seeing people scatter paint on a canvas or draw an exact replica of a turtle they saw in an ad in a comic book has little to no appeal to me and the same holds true for music. I want to see or hear something beyond the limits of my own ability. There are elements of Chad’s music that are instantly accessible – the lo-fi recording techniques, the familiar Neil Young inspired vocal delivery – but it’s the unique sounds he creates and the warped perspective that are exciting. I know about boy meets girl (I even know about Boy Meets World) and getting run over by love, but when it comes to murder ballads, Viking funeral rituals and obsessing about death I’m admittedly pretty green.

Obviously, Chad’s deepest thoughts aren’t the same as mine, nor are his social fears – I don’t think I’d ever think a noise coming from next door would be my neighbour beating her dog in the basement or ever think about documenting rage like, “I’ll find you and I’ll kill you” – but for thirty or forty minutes it’s equally exciting as it is chilling to venture into his world knowing he’s spent hours thinking about such gruesome things.

I actually took a break from this record after playing it to death in ’08, but when I threw it on again last week it was like hearing it again for the first time. I heard new layers and loops – some of which I was more finally tuned to hear thanks to the Black Mold experiment – and found the melodies stronger. The amazing layering of his sonic collages hit harder and sounded cleaner and the beauty that surrounds the dark thoughts that plagues CVG make it one of the most compelling records on this ballot.

The funniest thing about this whole process is that people are left calling a record about death, murder and loneliness filled with blips, beeps, insane instrumentation and warbled vocals the SAFE choice. I have no problem letting people know that it’s either CVG or Joel leading the race for my vote right now and if this choice is predictable, well the Polaris Prize is doing something right.

MP3:: Chad VanGaalen - City of Electric Light
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/chadvangaalen

Labels: Canada, Chad Vangaalen, polaris