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The band’s snappy drumwork and wild synths were complemented perfectly by their visuals, which included an impressive light array and three tireless dancers who roboted, wriggled, and rocked their way through much of the show in full space suits.
The worlds of folk and Americana music are, at best, in constant struggle between the future and the past. While some folk bands cling to what is familiar, the finest artists see the past as a springboard into fresh new sounds. This was the case with Bob Dylan’s iconic Newport Folk Festival controversy, as it was the case with Fleet Foxes’s breathtaking 2017 album, Crack-Up. Goes West by William Tyler joins this pantheon by continuing not only to push the envelope, but also to open it and slide a letter of his own inside.
Earlier this year, Ghost released Prequelle, a near-perfect arena rock record dripping with the band’s classic satanic doom-metal aesthetic and dashes of really fun pop glimmer. Every song on the album fits ingeniously and further establishes the band’s repertoire of new rock classics. Even the two instrumental pieces continue the energy of the other songs seamlessly, creating a beautifully cohesive album. Some tracks have lush orchestral intros and outros which act as gorgeous reprises or previews of other melodies on the album and enhance the overall flow. Somehow, amidst our current music climate of the widespread reappropriation of the sounds and textures of the 1980s, the clear 80s influence on Prequelle still feels fresh and exciting, balanced perfectly against 70s hard rock and 21st century dance sensibilities. Thematically, the album perfectly intertwines deliciously cheesy imagery of the Black Death with entertaining and incisive disses on some of the former members of the band who levied a lawsuit against the frontman. At a fairly concise 41 minutes long, Prequelle doesn’t squander a second; every moment on the album feels important. It’s a strong top 5 contender for my AOTY, and so I had very high hopes for the tour.
During the guitar duet/trombone interlude in “sponsor me tape”, about five minutes into Mom Jeans’s set, two thoughts occurred to me: Wow, these guys sound even better live than they…
The number of artists who started writing music in the 1950s and are still selling out arenas in 2018 is very small. While each of the giants in this musical…
Alex strolls into his apartment building, walking stick carried nonchalantly over his shoulder whistling along with a piece of classical music. Sprawled across the vibrant early-70s décor are the words “SUCK IT AND SEE.” This is a point in Alex’s life when he will begin to impose more of his synthesizer-loving, retro-vibe-oozing will on his followers, and shake things up in the process.
Recently, I’ve been trying to open my eyes to the way we interact with, and are influenced by, the man-made environment. Whether it’s a public park, a door handle, or an album cover, I believe every detail of objects and spaces can act as an important tool for shaping our perception, whether or not it was the intention of the creator of that object to do so.
When one considers the implications of art as an interaction, we can see the power of this tool. The real beauty of art, in my opinion, is that the artist only has so much control over how the work is perceived, while the viewer/user/audience must do much of the heavy lifting. I believe modern art provides many great examples of this interaction.