Thursday, October 15, 2009
Quick Hitters:: Call Centre The Crustallion & Loch Lomond
Another Thursday mailbag for you all. I have been loving the new solo project from ex-Sycamores member David Chisholm, but the new Loch Lomond EP has equally blown me away. So, I figure, in true after Thanksgiving pie style, I'll give you a slice of pumpkin and blueberry.
I wish I knew where to start when it comes to the debut record from Call Centre. The title- The Crustallion – sounds more like a sexual predator than a vessel for a lo-fi pop vision and the number of styles and sounds crammed into the eleven tracks is equally tough to wrap your head around. You could talk about the bizarre, but awesome cover art or the head scratching moments, like the 12 Golden Country Greats, Ween style take on the Billy Ray Cyrus classic, aky breaky hort, but for the most part David Chisholm is happiest building lo-fi pop nuggets full of chaos, surprises, noise, programmed beats and a shocking amount of tenderness.
A lot of Crustallion comes off as fragmented thoughts and ideas, which makes sense because apparently it was years worth of demos that friends finally helped David finish but even as the sounds constantly stretch the seams, the stitching holds. The steel that bends around the catchy Slippin sets the tone for a booming crescendo that leads perfectly into the 90’s inspired indie rock anthem, Rraded 4. Fetish for Ethics starts like an Elliott Smith song, but Chisholm adds energy, fuzz and smiles to surge you forward. Even the way he balances the crunch of Butterfingers and How We Do with some sparkle and vocoded/computer vocals works well and grabs a hold of your ear.
I could go on and on about each track, pointing out subtleties, perfect moments of melody and dissonance, but I think if you want to get a clear idea of Chisholm’s style, you should just listen to billy bob & ephridine. In only four and a half minutes, Chisholm runs you through the ringer, offering up folky acoustic, nimble fingered guitar wankery, punchy guitar chords, tempo changes – even a oh so brief hint of AM radio sad sack sound around the 4 minute mark – and inspiration but always keeps the song moving forward.
Chisholm’s been playing music for years, in tons of solid bands so it’s no surprise that the creativity on this LP is through the roof. What surprises me most is how well he mixes his love of noise with a gentle touch. Don’t let the bizarre cover art or oddly named record dissuade you... The Crustallion is a welcome pet in any music lovers home.
Has anyone seem my Loch Lomond? I have an EP here with their name on it, but the chamber orchestration and fragile beauty the band is known takes a back seat to hooks and vigor. On Night Bats, the Portland outfit offers up 5 songs that still swirl around the space - just listen to the last two minutes of the title track - but the band flexes their muscles on almost every track.
Hand claps, energy and electric riffs play an important role on every track, and the band seems to be having more fun as well. I really dig the way they manage to infuse the Bee Gees jam Holiday with some backbone without losing the sweeping chimes and purity of the original and it really sets the tone for the closing number, Wax and Wire, a song that really encapsulates LL new style. It builds and builds to to an inspired crescendo, but the band retracts nicely and still delivers the lush textures we've come to expect.
Night Bats hits the shelves on Nov 10th, and I suggest you do yourself a favor and snatch a copy.
A lot of Crustallion comes off as fragmented thoughts and ideas, which makes sense because apparently it was years worth of demos that friends finally helped David finish but even as the sounds constantly stretch the seams, the stitching holds. The steel that bends around the catchy Slippin sets the tone for a booming crescendo that leads perfectly into the 90’s inspired indie rock anthem, Rraded 4. Fetish for Ethics starts like an Elliott Smith song, but Chisholm adds energy, fuzz and smiles to surge you forward. Even the way he balances the crunch of Butterfingers and How We Do with some sparkle and vocoded/computer vocals works well and grabs a hold of your ear.
I could go on and on about each track, pointing out subtleties, perfect moments of melody and dissonance, but I think if you want to get a clear idea of Chisholm’s style, you should just listen to billy bob & ephridine. In only four and a half minutes, Chisholm runs you through the ringer, offering up folky acoustic, nimble fingered guitar wankery, punchy guitar chords, tempo changes – even a oh so brief hint of AM radio sad sack sound around the 4 minute mark – and inspiration but always keeps the song moving forward.
Chisholm’s been playing music for years, in tons of solid bands so it’s no surprise that the creativity on this LP is through the roof. What surprises me most is how well he mixes his love of noise with a gentle touch. Don’t let the bizarre cover art or oddly named record dissuade you... The Crustallion is a welcome pet in any music lovers home.
MP3:: Call Centre - Billy Bob & Ephridine
MP3:: Call Centre - How We Do
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/crustallion
BUY:: BUY from Zunior
Hand claps, energy and electric riffs play an important role on every track, and the band seems to be having more fun as well. I really dig the way they manage to infuse the Bee Gees jam Holiday with some backbone without losing the sweeping chimes and purity of the original and it really sets the tone for the closing number, Wax and Wire, a song that really encapsulates LL new style. It builds and builds to to an inspired crescendo, but the band retracts nicely and still delivers the lush textures we've come to expect.
Night Bats hits the shelves on Nov 10th, and I suggest you do yourself a favor and snatch a copy.
MP3:: Loch Lomond - Wax and Wire
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/lochlomondmusic
Labels: Call Centre, Loch Lomond, Music, Quick Hitters, the Crustallion
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