the voice is an instrument like any other. Sometimes to the forefront sometimes in the background. Calling it an 'accompaniment' almost suggests its off to the side when in fact mostly it's a fundamental part.Nicely put. Not specifically relating to this album, but that's exactly how I feel about music. This should be number #2 or #3 in my "Ten Commandments of Music" ...... and yet some voices are so irritating that they put you off the music (probably rule #4).
I've said before that if I take the songs I love from Copper Blue and those I love from FUEL and mash them together, it's a top 10 lifetime record for me. The left-them-off ones are still pretty good, but the best ones are straight up top-of-the-heap in terms of melding punk and pop effectively perfectly. And the lyrics are nasty, ironic, open-hearted and clever.
Bob Mould is a fucking genius. I picked "If I Can't Change Your Mind" on that "perfect song" thread we had a while back. When he sings "If I can't change your mind / Then no one will" . . . is he just sad? Or is that a threat to kill the lover that jilted him? Such a great tune.
In fact there do seem to be a few.’ve really gone down the rabbit hole here but I suspect there are very few in this thread that could possibly appreciate let alone enjoy Sugar.
the voice is an instrument like any other. Sometimes to the forefront sometimes in the background. Calling it an 'accompaniment' almost suggests its off to the side when in fact mostly it's a fundamental part.
Yes accompanied by John Anderson just ain't right ;-)
I'd go further and say it's a unique instrument in that it that it can articulate itself in more ways than any other instrument. Like all other instruments it has the tools of melody, rhythm, timbre etc but it also has the tool of language. It's by far the most complex and sophisticated instrument (even more than the synth, sorry Bimb!!!). For this reason I couldn't disagree with Rob and Fog more.
Exactly. The voice also delivers the lyrics, a fundamental part of each song and a critical engagement with the listener.I'd go further and say it's a unique instrument in that it that it can articulate itself in more ways than any other instrument. Like all other instruments it has the tools of melody, rhythm, timbre etc but it also has the tool of language. It's by far the most complex and sophisticated instrument (even more than the synth, sorry Bimb!!!). For this reason I couldn't disagree with Rob and Fog more.
The problem with leaving it so late, pretty much everything has already been said. I always liked Portishead, and this album amongst that. This revisiting has made me realise, I maybe liked it, for predominantly the wrong reasons.
And that is, because it was something different, quirky and original. It did what others since did, but more naturally and effortlessly. It was Bjork, without the grimmacing, Garbage without the style, even wu-tang and Limp bizkit to some odd extent, and Gorillaz later on. I'm assuming thise are spelt with Zs, can't be botehred checking. And that still stands, the album still has good production, tries something unique and it feels like it really suits them.
What this revisit has revealed beyond that, is an emotional layer that I never quite reached. That was nice to connect with this time in a lot of it.
The biggeat problem with it though is, it is just very skippable. Halfway or two thirds of the way through a song, I feel I have heard it all, there is nowhere left for it to go. And the mood is not strong enough to indulge in imo, so it moves from all of the above, into 'background music' territory. I felt that before, and I annoyingly felt it again, and now it is 100 times easier to skip, and we as a culture have kind of been contitioned into it. Shave a minute off each track and it is maybe a masterpiece, but that unfortunate exta bit of length to each song is letting it down, to my own experience of it. It is better than a 6, that's for sure, but it is a somewhat reluctant 7 from me. If only you could rate write-ups!
Now it’s been mentioned I get the Bjork analogy. On more than one occasion I also got some Skin (Skunk Anansie) vibes. As mentioned above the voice is indeed an amazing multi faceted instrumentAs someone who is always last to review I have the same dilemma and I've been waiting all week to see if anyone else would mention Bjork.. and here it is! surprised more reviews haven't mentioned the comparison.
Yes but the point, for me, is that it doesn't have to be spectacular - just not annoying.I'd go further and say it's a unique instrument in that it that it can articulate itself in more ways than any other instrument. Like all other instruments it has the tools of melody, rhythm, timbre etc but it also has the tool of language. It's by far the most complex and sophisticated instrument (even more than the synth, sorry Bimb!!!). For this reason I couldn't disagree with Rob and Fog more.
The voice does deliver the lyrics but I tend to separate the two. As long as the singer has an average voice, it's good enough for me.Exactly. The voice also delivers the lyrics, a fundamental part of each song and a critical engagement with the listener.
The voice does deliver the lyrics but I tend to separate the two. As long as the singer has an average voice, it's good enough for me.
It's a record that flatters to deceive.
''Mysterons' is a smooth starter, followed up by 'Sour Times', the only song I remember listening to before. Two songs in and I'm sort of liking it. 'Strangers' continues the slightly upbeat but smooth theme. It's not bad but I'm getting serious deja vu. Every song so far seems to have the same qualities. I felt like my life was on a loop.
'It Could Be Sweet' is just as mellow but different. More voice. Less mucking about with samples and weird musical inserts. It's very lounge music. Very smooth. But a bit dull. Am I missing the weird infills?
The rest of the album, 'It's a Fire' excluded, feels and sounds very samey. Nothing really happens apart from the by now annoying weird samples/ infills. I suppose that's their thing, it was ok for a bit but it's beginning to grind.
There are some elements that I like, her voice has some lovely unusual qualities when she strays away from the odd Kate Bush and Bjork impersonations. It works best on 'It's a Fire'. Fragile. But very easy on the ear.
For all of it's lovely production values and the occasional song that really suits her voice I put down my headphones feeling a little disconnected from the whole album. Nothing really happens and there's a lot of annoying things musically.
It's very "dinner party" music. Background. Where it doesn't matter what goes on as no one is really paying attention. Think Sade with added bits. As such it was never going to score highly as this sort of music doesn't really resonate with me.
Pity, as the review was one of my favourites.
4/10
Now it’s been mentioned I get the Bjork analogy. On more than one occasion I also got some Skin (Skunk Anansie) vibes. As mentioned above the voice is indeed an amazing multi faceted instrument
Not really. Why decompose music in that way? It’s meant to be enjoyed as a whole.This is pretty simple — I care more about instrumentation than vocals and lyrics.
A great singer accompanied by an indifferent set of sounds is a turn-off.
Does that clear things up?
Not really. Why decompose music in that way? It’s meant to be enjoyed as a whole.
Listen to track 2 and paste Guy Garvies voice over it. Track 4 ‘it could be sweet’ is very Sade despite the minor chords.You were getting a like until the 'dinner party' bit, but now you can do one! You're not the first person to mention Sade and I have to be honest and say I find the comparison absolutely baffling.
More seriously, it's interesting to hear how many people have found it a bit samey. I think I can understand that, despite not feeling it myself. I do think it's one of those albums you have to be in the mood for and be prepared to 'settle into' it. In that sense it's not a particularly universal pick I guess. But then I quite like minimalist music too, which is far from everyone's cup of tea. At one point I was actually toying with Max Richter's Recomposed Vivaldi for this rounds pick but decided against it as I thought it might do a few people's heads in.
Thanks for the translation.What fog and rob are telling us, is that they love indie as a genre.