Sorry this is so late guys, my friends want to hang out like alllll the time, so annoying. My pick for this week is another from the "Nora Essentials List". I toyed around with a lot of ideas for this week but kept coming back to this so this is what you're getting. The Weakerthans, a band from Canada (s/o Mat, he knows what's up), put out 4 solid LPs from 1999 to 2007 before officially breaking up in July this year about a week before the 10th anniversary of their best album, Left and Leaving, sadly departing before I had the chance to see them live. Their split prompted a flood of musicians I admire (including Jeff Rosenstock, who called them his "favorite band") to tweet about how much their music meant to them, which was really nice for me since I've never talked to anyone (other than Mat) who cared about them at all. Singer John K. Samson, whose lyrics are really what make the Weakerthans an exceptional band, has released some solo stuff and is still active as a musician, but Left and Leaving was the pinnacle of his career.
There's not that much more to say about the album in particular other than listen to the lyrics, they speak for themselves and are the focal point of the music. This album has been a favorite since I started listening to music seriously and I still return to it pretty often so I hope you guys can spend some time with it and enjoy.
Definitely include favorite lyrics in the comments if any stand out. :)
on the clock
Maz
current selection
Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly (1972)
past selections
- Elbow - Asleep in the Back (2001)
- Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (2005)
- Asobi Seksu - Citrus (2006)
- Brittle Brian - Verisune (2015)
- The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002)
- Solange - A Seat at the Table (2016)
- Younghusband - Dissolver (2015)
- Downtown Boys - Full Communism (2015)
- Cornelius - Point (2001)
- Katie Dey- Flood Network (2016)
- Mother Falcon - You Knew (2013)
- Poliça - Shulamith (2013)
- Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda (1971)
- Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman (1996)
- Self - Breakfast With Girls (1999)
- This Town Needs Guns - Animals (2008)
who's on deck
- Erik
- Nora
- Parker
- Tyler
- Sam
- Maz
what we do, and how we do it
1. Rotate through members of the club - current member picks an album and completes a write up on the album.
2. Other members listen as many times as they can throughout the course of 7 days. When ready, other members write comments on the original post detailing how they feel about the album.
3. Repeat.
I gotta say, I liked this album, and would probably listen to it more in the future, if I were in the mood. I don't have a lot of experience with the whole punk scene, but this album gave me a glimpse inside the lifestyle. There are a lot of sad moods and some happy moods here, which I always appreciate in an album of any genre. My favorite song was probably The Pamphleteer, followed by Watermark, Aside, Everything Must Go, My Favorite Chords and the album's title track. I liked the beginning album so much that I actually listened to the album in backwards order on my third listen so I'd have songs to look forward to. The lyrics are nice and simple most of the time, and are definitely the focal point, as you said. The lead singer's voice is pleasant and not too whiny.
ReplyDeleteMy complaints would be that I feel that this album drags on a bit too long. There's a point at which songs detract from an album instead of add to it, and this album just slightly surpassed that threshold. That could just be more of a personal complaint, since I have a shorter than average attention span.
All in all, I think I would probably have a different opinion on this band had I listened to other similar artists beforehand, but for me it just felt like a perfect little sample of punk rock. I would recommend this album to someone trying to get into the genre, as it seems pretty accessible.
I couldn't get in to this album - I didn't finish it, though I tried several times. Why? I liked some of the more instrumental songs, but the ones that are more straightforward, where he's singing in classic "pop punk emo revival blah blah blah" style just don't sit well with me. There's not much interesting about them, as someone who does not particularly care for lyrics (I know, I know).
ReplyDeleteI had some notes on which songs I didn't mind, but I appear to have lost them. I would unfortunately label this one as "forgettable."
It was difficult for me to get through this whole album. I liked some of the instrumentals and the feel of the songs, but I don't really like the singer's voice so I couldn't really get into the lyrics either. Admittedly this isn't a genre of music I've every really liked, but I tried to stay open minded, but unfortunately this didn't appeal to me much.
ReplyDeleteAs you figured I would, I did enjoy this album. It's a pretty classic example of the early 2000's emo vibe and it does it well. While the singer's voice may not be perfect, or pleasant to everyone's ear, it's pretty much quintessential of the genre.
ReplyDeleteThe instrumentation is straight forward and doesn't do much more than drive along the lyrical work.
I do feel similar to Parker in that it seems to be a bit too bloated for its own good and that I enjoyed the songs on the first half more. "This is a Fire Door Never Leave Open" was my favorite on the album, but also marks the beginning of the the downturn I feel the LP has.
For a fan of the genre, this is a solid and enjoyable album. It is pretty much a prime example of what this time period was like for the style and is a nice starting point for someone looking to explore it.