After a nine day hiatus, a second review in just two
days! How do we do it? Volume!
Disc 1178 is… Music for Listening to Music to
Artist: La Sera
Year of Release: 2016
What’s up with the Cover? A band portrait. Also a less
than clever attempt at modern art where a diagonal line separates the album
title into a section that is in all capitals, and a section that is all lower
case. They should have left it with the band portrait.
How I Came To Know It: I read a review of this album and
decided to check it out.
How It Stacks Up: I have two of La Sera’s four studio albums (I
don’t want the other two). “Music for Listening to Music to” comes in second.
Ratings: 3 stars
“Music for Listening
to Music To” is a very short 30 minutes, and between preparing my Frank Turner
album review and seeing him in concert I had the opportunity to hear it a lot
of times. I don’t know how many, but at least six.
The sign of a good record is that it can hold up to
a lot of repeat listens, and “Music” held up very well. At the same time I
never felt it grab me at a deeper level, or reveal some new facet of itself
over that time.
Instead it was solid and enjoyable indie dream pop.
This is not a genre I usually go for, but the songs are well structured and frontwoman
Katy Goodman has a high, ethereal voice that favourably evokes the sixties while
still managing to stay current.
That said, individual tracks didn’t draw my
attention. Each song flowed into the next with seamless grace. This should be a
good thing, and it you wanted a pleasant soundtrack to walk through life “Music”
would do a fine job.
In fact, over the past few days it has done exactly
this for me. I felt young and whimsical in a way we always imagine our twenties
were; all the youthful dreaming without the poverty and uncertainty. Walking
around to this album made me feel like I was the star of some low budget art
film about coming of age or going to college. Or maybe it was an unconventional
love story where I met a manic pixie girl, fell in love but in the end realized
this was just one love, not the only love I would ever know. Then we amicably
would go our separate ways, a little sad but a whole lot wiser.
I guess I digressed a little there, but you get the
idea. This music is mood-evoking and that mood is overall thoughtful and
pleasant, even when singing about sad topics. And despite the gentle fun I am
poking, it doesn’t feel forced or fake. The way Le Sera work in light reverb on
the guitars and fuzz out the production doesn’t wreck it in the slightest. If
anything, it just helps you slip into a reverie that much easier.
Knowing I was going to be called on to review the
record, I constantly reminded myself to check the track listings on the songs.
I found a few I liked more than others, although if I didn’t have the pressure of
this little blog project I’d have been just as happy to let it play through,
start it over and do it again.
So it is lots of fun, written thoughtfully and performed
well. It may therefore surprise you that I’ve decided to part with it.
I do this because in the end “Music for Listening to
Music To” is mistitled. This is not music for the active music listener – which
is what I am. This is music to be the soundtrack of your life: the background
to a dinner party, or a walk in the park or a drive down a country road. It is
Music For Letting Your Mind Wander.
Many people love music for this, but I’m a person
who can’t rest unless I know what song is playing in the background of my local
diner. I can’t tune it out. I like a dinner party, a walk in the park or a
country drive as much as the next person but in any of those situations I don’t
see myself going through all my albums to select this one over the others. I
want the musical part of those experiences to be more…active.
In the end, I really loved “Music for Listening to
Music To”. It is a good record, and the aesthete in me wants to keep it just
because of that. But if I am being honest it will just languish untouched on my
shelves, and a pretty little record like this one deserves more. So I’m going
to let it go and find the home it deserves.
Best
tracks: High
Notes, I Need an Angel, Shadow of Your Love
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