Fermata over Whole Rest

Avi Buffalo is a young, new band that emerged on the independent scene not too long ago. They were, what I heard to be huge users of ambiguous lyrics and clean electric and acoustic instrumentation. I ended up buying a copy of their debut album “Avi Buffalo” at my local record store as a bit of an impulse buy with a mix of hearing good things from them and, boy was that a disappointment. This is, frankly, one of the worst albums I have heard this year.

Usually, stuff like this is bearable to me. However, as soon as the lead guy’s voice (as well as one of the female members of the band) hits on “Truth Sets In” I am immediately frustrated and annoyed. It’s not like their instrumentation is horrible, in fact I quite enjoy that aspect (until stuff starts to sound similar), but the voices and lyrics surrounding it are unbearable.

The basis of pretty much all the songs on “Avi Buffalo” involve silly teenage infatuation, immaturity, and straight-up blatant sexual allusions. Besides the fact that there are songs on here titled “Five Little Sluts”, “Summer Cum”, and “Where’s Your Dirty Mind?”, the lyrics match the theme of being infuriatingly horny with parts like “I walked in on a plan to dissolve all of your wishes But I couldn’t help your mouth which I missed by two inches”. These innuendo filled lines get to the point where they stop being clever, especially when he just describes kissing flaccid points.

There really isn’t a whole lot more I can say about the album that makes me hate it so much, since the issues I have with it are carried across from start to finish. However, “Five Little Sluts” is such a huge mess of vocals that makes me cringe and turn it off and “Remember the Last Time”, the seven and a half minute track that feels like a lifetime, most definitely, is no fun to hear. Songs including the female vocalist are the biggest break from the shit I have to hear from Avi Zahner-Isenberg’s voice. And I’m not a frequent hater on awful voices.

WINNER: Andrew

WHY: Avi Buffalo is constantly aggravating with their persistently sexual themes and it shows how immature this band is. Hopefully, they can get to a point when Avi can stop sounding like a jerk when he sings as well.

It has been a good long time since Sufjan Stevens has released anything along the lines of his “regular” material, putting out mainly compilation music since 2006, and as a pretty huge surprise, he has come out with “All Delighted People EP”: nearly sixty minutes of brand new stuff. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “How can new Surf Jan be called an EP if its runtime is sixty minutes?” My response to this is “Whatever. I think that’s a joke because he hasn’t made anything worth listening to since ‘Illinois’.” That, and “He’s also got a new album dropping in October that’s completely different than his past shit.” Analyzing the marketing behind this EP/album/monster is pointless at the end of the day because what you’re receiving is a collection of some really well-written music.

The bar of energy on this EP is set extremely high going into its intro track “All Delighted People”. Out of the two epics on here, it is by far the best, and probably its most powerful piece in general. The song is very derivative of the balad structure, filled with a choir and a crafty lyrical hooks of “all delighted people raise their hands” and “and the people bowed and prayed, and what difference does it make for you and me”.

The EP then continues into “Enchanting Ghost” and “Heirloom”, a couple calming spectacles in the vein of Sufjan’s outstanding albums “Michigan” and “Illinois” containing great usage of his artist staple: the banjo. He could have just made these three songs his EP, but he decided to go above what was asked for him.

“From the Mouth of Gabriel” is probably the most intriguing song on here. It functions as your typical Sufjan song from years past but he manages to incorporate some electronic elements that he is using in his next album “The Age of Adz”.

“All Delighted People (Classic Version)” is throw away and slightly unnecessary, but it’s sort of neat to see how that song can be turned inside out into one of his standard tracks for the purists. Now, “Djohariah” is probably the hardest track to listen to on here since its runtime goes for over 17 minutes. A bunch of it could get cut out but Sufjan still manages to keep the flow going because he’s in his element on this thing.

Altogether, this enormous EP is a great return for Sufjan Stevens and makes me wish he was still doing his crazy folk banjo thing instead of his song that’s reminiscent of Owl City. (see: “I Walked”)

WINNER: “All Delighted People EP” by Sufjan Stevens

WHY: Sufjan Stevens’ voice is wonderful as well as his musical composition. It’s been a good four years since a proper release and he makes one so with a sixty minute EP.

In a year filled with buzzbands playing nineties-inspired beach rock, Twin Shadow makes a pretty ballsy attempt at breaking through the crowd with some truly interesting and fresh material. If you haven’t heard about this artist, I would not be the least bit surprised. What I have managed to dig up on the guy is that his name is George Lewis Jr. and he plays music. That’s about it. However, my interest in him hasn’t really been about his story since I’ve started listening to his music.

His situation is reminiscent of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti to me. Ariel Pink’s 2010 album “Before Today” makes it very apparent that Ariel doesn’t belong in this day and age, but the throwback feel is not overly pretentious and forced. This is how I would describe “Forget” by Twin Shadow. The style of this LP is so rooted in mid to late 80s New Wave that it becomes a powerful outlook on that time of music itself. It makes me question a lot of it, but at the same time answers a lot of my questions about the progression of post-punk and whatnot. Twin Shadow gets it.

Album starter “Tyrant Destroyed” is one of the slower, eerier tracks on “Forget”. The lyrics “When you were fifteen, I know what you said. ‘I’ll never let another black boy break my heart'” are particularly hitting to me. As the song ascends into its chorus, signs of an anthem start showing up.

Going into “When We’re Dancing”, the mood is a little more upbeat, however the underlying feel of the song is unusual. This situation extends across the entire album and is the culprit to why this album makes me look at 80s pop music in such a “did I miss something?” kind of way.

“Shooting Holes” is one of the dancier songs in this collection, adding funk-inspired guitar riffs, bass lines, and strings. It demonstrates Lewis’ talent at writing pop music, but with a serious flare in his mature lyrics and voice. In fact, he talks in a video interview about how he really wishes his voice would sound different. Every artist has something that they could change about their sound, but seriously, his voice fits everything so well that it’s one of the last things I would want to be different.

“Tether Beat” has a crazy awesome drum beat and… ugh… there was so much thought put into this track and everything on the album that it becomes monotonous when I say how well-made everything is. Because it really is as simple as that. Songs like “Slow” and “Castles In The Snow” are superbly composed pieces. Not only are they awesomely written and created by George Lewis Jr., producer extraordinaire Chris Taylor (also of Grizzly Bear) got on the Twin Shadow train and produced this album. Thumps up to him because everything from Grizzly Bear is produced to a highly professional degree and his talents migrate here as well.

“Forget” is one of the most refreshing albums of the year, right next to 4AD label buddy, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. I can’t wait to see and hear more from Twin Shadow in the future.

WINNER: “Forget” by Twin Shadow

WHY: All the songs from “Forget” are so well-crafted, making Twin Shadow stick out from the more popular artists of 2010. Totally fresh, totally throwback.

Before I get totally up in Candy Claws’ business, I should probably lay out on the table that this is an odd, odd album. According to the band, “Hidden Lands” is a musical accompaniment for the book “The Secret Life of the Forest” by Richard M. Ketchum, but it isn’t really necessary to have read it to get the full effect. There are lyrics pulled directly from the book, but the lyrics are pretty much incomprehensible to human ears across the board.

There are no pop hooks on “Hidden Lands” and to sum it up in one broad stroke, it’s mysterious art music that likes to feel similar to classic travel advertisement shit for places like Yosemite and the Redwood Forests. However, that mood is half-destroyed when it’s constantly using its strange synthy elements, making the album sound more celestial than something that would fit in a forest.

“Hidden Lands” starts out with a fittingly slow intro “In The Deep Time”, perhaps one of the most interesting pieces on the album. I can’t really describe the structure of this song, let alone anything else on the LP, so I am going to describe what I felt when listening to these songs. “In The Deep Time” represents a sunrise to me, but it appears the animals are still sleeping. Its intense calmness is something unseen on the rest of the album.

When I hear “On The Bridge” it seems like there should be some voiceover by a dramatic reader from the 50s on top of the track, describing to me what the deer are doing in this fictional world without humans.

As you can tell from my current tone, the songs don’t work so well as singles. This album is a piece of ambient, experimental music that goes for a pretty good attempt at broadening itself past being an album and focuses on its theme more than making actual awesome music.

I can tell you, though, my favorite song from “Hidden Lands” is “Silent Time Of Earth”, utilizing some cool beats on bongo-like drums as well as having an interesting guitar riff throughout areas of the song. The flow is the most consistant on this song than just about anything else on here. So, yeah, big ups to “Silent Time Of Earth”.

This album had potential to be so much more, but it’s fine enough to be accepted by experimental music lovers. In my opinion, they really could have lightened up on the vocal effects because I would really like to hear what they have to say. Also, less noise would be a plus, and more record scratchiness, and, yes, audio advertisements for national parks from the past. You could have been something special, “Hidden Lands”. Instead, you’re just a good album that’s worth a try.

WINNER: TIE

WHY: The theme is there, the consistency in good songs is not as there. I do suggest a listen, everyone.