I’m midway through a pretty good
weekend. I’m just back from a rousing game of ulti and fresh from the shower
(although still a bit sticky – damned humidity).
Foolishly, I went to Ditch Records
today and of course ended up buying something. It was Muddy Waters’ 1968 album “Electric
Mud” which I heard when my buddy Ross recently brought it over. Naturally I
blame Ross for the purchase, rather than my own music addiction.
Disc 652 is…. The Both (Self-Titled)
Artist: The Both
Year of Release: 2014
What’s up with the Cover? First the New Pornographers at Disc 648 LINK and now
this. What is it about indie pop and action figures?
This time we have Aimee Mann and
Ted Leo dolls, and it looks like those dolls have been crafting! Which is a
pretty nifty thing for a doll to do, but I still think it might warrant putting
them in a locked toy box at night – particularly if they are responsible for
that troubling tunnel of twigs in addition to the paper banner.
How I Came To Know It: I’m a big Aimee Mann fan, and I read an article a
few months ago that she was doing a collaboration with Ted Leo (of Ted Leo and
the Pharmacists). I marked the date of the release, and bought it the day it
came out, knowing that I’m rarely if ever disappointed with Aimee Mann.
How It Stacks Up: We have seven Aimee Mann albums, and no Ted Leo
albums (I’ve been looking into him, but it is early days and the jury is still
out). I can’t really compare a separate band to Mann’s solo work directly, but
I will say that “The Both” holds its own against the rest of her stuff.
Rating: 4 stars
My
biggest concern with the “Both” was no enjoying Ted Leo’s contribution. I knew
I’d love Aimee Mann – I can’t remember the last time she disappointed me – but who
was this Ted Leo guy? As it turned out, a very talented vocalist and musician
who added a whole new layer to Aimee Mann’s music.
The Both’s
songs sound a lot like Aimee Mann, which is to say they are excellent. Mann
writes beautiful pop melodies that flow along effortlessly with an easy energy.
Leo’s addition creates a slightly more rock edge but for the most part I could
see Mann doing these songs all on her own.
For all
that, I’m glad she didn’t, because Leo’s vocals are excellent; smooth and rangy
with a bit of a husky rock quality that connects beautiful harmonies with Mann’s
pure pop tones. The harmonies are loose, and each voice is distinct. Mann and
Leo’s vocals are so complementary that the space in between is as natural as the
space between old friends when they walk down the street.
It isn’t
all harmonies, however, and many of the songs have Leo and Mann taking the lead
on alternate verses. There’s no tension or discord between the two of them. Their
deliveries and phrasing are remarkably similar, but the tone of their voices is
different, which draws your ear and keeps every line fresh in your mind.
Subject
wise, I had a hard time parsing the lyrics but I liked them regardless. I’m
hoping future listens will help bring everything together. Topics seemed to
range around a fair bit. Some of the songs cover the day-to-day battles in any
relationship, and others take on social or political commentary. Based on Mann’s
solo work, which is more focused on the internal, I have to feel this latter
approach is Leo’s influence. Interestingly, I found those songs the most
interesting.
“Volunteers of America” is a fast-paced
song that exposes the economic troubles of America (I think). That or maybe it
is about the state of the modern music industry, and how hard it is to get
ahead. I admit I’m not sure. Whatever it is, the triumphant tune feels
uplifting until you tune in to the lyrics and realize that triumph is meant to
be ironic. The chorus is damned infectious, with its slow rising vocals, and
sing-along qualities. It may be a sad anthem, but it is an anthem nonetheless.
My
favourite song on the album is “You Can’t
Help Me Now” which starts out with a gorgeous guitar strum and then Mann’s
sweet n’ low voice comes in and unleashes emotional devastation and heartache:
“Any time you establish a world
of your own, you get thrown.
Try and answer a bomb with a calm
undertone, alone.
I wanted you to know that I put
up a fight
But everything goes missing when
they dim the light
The catastrophic sinking of the windless
kite.”
Sometimes
things are so bad that no one can make it better, and the very person you want
to lean on is the person that’s gone. Nearly every time I’ve listened to this
album since I bought it, I played “You
Can’t Help Me Now” twice before moving on. I just couldn’t help myself. My
life is good, but it’s nice that good art can make you enjoy a good wallow
anyway.
“Hummingbird” is also a pretty song with
a gentle acoustic guitar, and a construction that felt a lot like an old
medieval folk song. Kind of like “Greensleeves”
but where the sin is the hybrid crops themselves, not the stains you get from
lying down in them. Lots of great lines, but my favourite is the bridge:
“There’s sage and glove and
distant waters
But there’s no map home for
Memory’s daughters
Do the darting thoughts of gods
have dreams like ours?”
The whole
album delivers an emotional gut-punch, but with a chocolate coating of gorgeous
melody and pretty voices to help the dark themes go down easier. It feels like
Mann and Leo have been doing this together for twenty years, rather than it
being their first stab at it. I’m hoping they do it all again soon.
Best tracks: Milwaukee, Volunteers of America, Pay for It, You
Can’t Help Me Now, Hummingbird, Bedtime Stories
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