Thirsty Thursday

Earlier this year, I missed out on scoring an interview with Jeffrey Lewis to another writer for Ghettoblaster Magazine. Instead of sulking, I decided to do one anyways for KVSC, the radio station I used to be music director for. Luckily, the man doesn’t seem to mind chatting, not one bit.

Over the course of a half hour or so, we delved into his role as an artist and creator of “Fuff”, his self-published comic, painting overseas, playing in the anti-folk center of the universe (NY) and much, much more. Click down below to hear some excellent songs along with his insightful words.

A chat with Jeffrey Lewis, musician and artist.

The Real Tuesday Weld
“The End of the World”
4 out of 4 stars

The sixth album for The Real Tuesday Weld is hauntingly beautiful and overflowing with a cabaret sound from the olden days.

Created and fronted by Stephen Coates, the group began putting out EP’s back in ’99 with the offbeat “The Meteorology of Love”. In the nine years since then, Coates’ project has been blooming into the gorgeous lounge styling in “The End of the World”, an effort to recreate the music he spent his childhood listening to.

Structured to sound like you’re hearing a live show in a concert-hall of yesteryear, “The End of the World” offers up a smattering of songs your great-grandparents would approve of, while dragging the casual listener back to the days of the prohibition era, pinstripe suits, witty dames and Tommy guns.

“I’ll See You In My Dreams” shares some lyrical content with the Louis Armstrong version of “Dream a Little Dream”, and the entire tone of the song. The two of them would be perfectly at home in the same sappy Christmas flick or diamond commercial. “I’ll See You In My Dreams” is so smooth and romantic, with Coates coming off as a very young Sinatra, or, even better, as the creepy, pale “Ben” character from “Blue Velvet”.

The waltz-y “Epitaph For a Dream” remains wordless for two-thirds of its length, building up like a dramatic scene out of “The Godfather,” and then the sudden arrival of Coates’ voice at the almost two-minute mark beckons like a quiet jazz record in some remote forest.

“Over the Hillsides” is another light, romantic crooner of a song with some light yodeling (no, not in a bad way) and a light round of applause from the imaginary audience as Coates whispers sweet nothings with his silky voice.

Gone from the album is the electronica influence that peppered the other Real Tuesday Weld releases, allowing you to fully submerge yourself into the long-gone era Coates is channeling. And submerge you will, deep into the 40’s and the days of big bands and one-piece swimsuits. “The End of the World” is an amazing addition to a remarkable discography and one of the better albums of the year.

Jason Schueppert

Okkervil River
“The Stand Ins”
3.5 out of 4 stars

If you’re looking for something a little bit country, but don’t feel like getting a boot up the keister, or if you’re looking for something indie, but don’t feel like dancing, Okkervil River’s new album “The Stand Ins” is your surefire ticket to bliss.

Will Sheff and co. are on quite the streak since they caught critical fire with ‘05’s “Black Sheep Boy,” an album based around an old track by late folk songwriter Tim Hardin. Since then, they’ve consistently dropped knock-out albums full of vignettes ranging from tales of exhausted rock stars, to empty people yearning to feel again and the pain of losing your home to the road.

“The Stand Ins,” initially conceived as the second part of a double album that would have included their last release, “The Stage Names”, has more of what has made them popular. Jumping from the energetic “Lost Coastlines” (featuring former member and current front man of Shearwater, Jonathan Meiburg), to the remembrance of losing someone who may have been the one with “Calling and Not Calling My Ex”, the new disc, the groups 5th, does everything right.

Will Sheff’s voice always manages to convey the angst of his lyrics, like he’s always a few drinks into a sad situation and is howling his problems into a phone where the person on the other line isn’t listening. Like Conor Oberst, or David Dondero, similar artists tackling similar material, you never doubt for a minute the misery that explodes out of him, and authenticity is key to buying into any album that tries to tap into your emotions.

That magical voice is out in full force on the absolute standout track “On Tour With Zykos”, a sad song about not being able to get close to the one you love, in this case, a musician who won’t open up. The amazing snapshot can melt your heart, and it’s all condensed simply in the lyrics, “well I want to love me, or I want you long gone”.

“The Stand Ins” is great, and in addition to the killer album, Okkervil River have been utilizing their youtube channel to the max by bringing in musicians they’ve met on the road and having them each cover one track off of the album (minus the ‘the stand-ins 1-3, which are just nice instrumental pieces that work as intros and transitions quite nicely). Different takes are offered up by lesser-known, but very talented folks from Bon Iver to Crooked Fingers, giving you a chance to find out what makes Sheff’s lyrics so potent before committing to purchasing the album. You can find them over at youtube.com/user/okkervilriver.

Jason Schueppert

Bloc Party
“Intimacy”
1.5 out of 4 stars

Bloc Party’s third album, “Intimacy” is the sloppiest, tamest mess that a decent band has put out in a good, long while.

After their instant success with “Silent Alarm” back in ’05, the group, led by lead-singer Kele Okereke’s yelping, frantic vocals swelled in popularity in the U.S. and even more so across the pond where they’re from. Their aggressive guitars and occasionally swooning lyrics pulled people right in and made them a smash. They were so cool, they managed to make a remix album, “Silent Alarm: Remixed” that was as awesome as the actual album it tweaked, an extremely rare occurrence unless you’re really, really into eight-minute dance versions of three-minute songs.

They followed that up in ’07 with a mostly panned second album, “A Weekend in the City”, which ditched the aggression for quiet, romantic odes. It wasn’t the same Bloc Party, in fact, you could almost pawn it off as a solo album by Okereke, but it was solid and, at times, beautiful.

So, that leaves us with the third album, “Intimacy”, with which the band just couldn’t fall much farther than it has. It’s full of obnoxious sounds, annoying vocals, and it’s just plain boring. Okereke’s vocal effects are just ridiculous. It’s full of ProTools tweaks and monster simulations. It’s blatantly dumb.

“Mercury,” the first single, has some moments, but it’s cluttered with a sloppy beginning and the previously mentioned vocal effects that will likely drive the listener bonkers as they try to figure out what happened to that little dance-rock band that could.

“Halo” is at least in nice form, a little look back at the first album, with the churning guitars and Okereke’s voice free of bullcrap. It’s just another sex song, but that’s a good thing.

As it stands, the title track, “Intimacy” is the only other real breadwinner on the disc, and perhaps it’s allowed to be what it is, a love song. Everything else on the album feels false and the little sci-fi pops and bleeps come off as gimmicks instead of artists trying to expose us to their greatness.

“Intimacy” just seems like the band tried to cram themselves into a new genre they don’t care about, and the result is awful, just awful.

Jason Schueppert