I had a good day at the record store
yesterday, scoring six new (to me) albums. New records joining the collection are:
James McMurtry’s “Complicated Game” (2014), Echo & the Bunnymen’s “Ocean
Rain” (1984), Marissa Nadler’s “The Sister” (2012), Anna St. Louis’ “If Only
There Was a River” (2018), and two Hurray for the Riff Raff records – “Small
Town Heroes (2014) and “The Navigator” (2017).
I am particularly excited about Anna St. Louis
who made my top ten albums of 2018 list even though I didn’t own it yet (I had
listened on line).
I’ll talk about all those albums when I
randomly roll them. Until then you’ll just have to wait or risk exploring them
on your own. Do it! Go discover some new music!
Disc 1238 is… Modern Rituals
Artist:
Chief
Year of Release: 2010
What’s up with the
Cover?
Art, by way of math. I like this cover’s simplicity. It is also one of those
cardboard sleeves that go over top of the jewel case, which I don't like. Underneath is the same
graphic, but with a partly cloudy sky as the background.
How I Came To Know
It: This
album was recommended to me by a server in the Churchill Pub after we struck up
a conversation over another artist - Frank Turner. She gave me about a
half-dozen of bands to check out and I did the same for her. Two of her
recommendations stuck; The Acorn and Chief. I found the Acorn album pretty
quickly but “Modern Rituals” was devilishly hard to locate and took me a couple
of years. When I saw a copy appear on Amazon with a “only 1 remaining” byline,
I snapped it up.
How It Stacks Up: Chief only released one full length album in
their short career and this is it. That means barring a reunion, there won’t be
any stacking up now or ever.
Ratings: 3 stars
“Modern Rituals” was a bit like an ocean swim. When I first started
listening it felt cold, unemotional and not worth all the effort. However, once
I acclimated, I found plenty of hidden treasure beneath the surface. The music
still needs to be more emotionally engaged (a common problem in modern music) but
there is enough solid songwriting and talent here to pull it through.
Chief was a California indie folk-rock band with a lot of qualities that
bug me in that style of music. First of all, there is a lot of dense
arrangements. Guitars echo, drums thump and ambient oohs and aahs fill in all
the gaps. They keep good time though, which is critical if you’re going to
layer so many sounds on top of each other.
I also don’t like the way the songs tend to come up with a clever riff
and then just repeat it over and over in a “once more, with feeling!” kind of
way. Note to indie musicians: take the time to write more verses! You can do
it!
Mostly I found the vocals inconsistent. When he’s on, lead singer Evan Koga
has a nice head voice that reminded me of old seventies folk-rockers like Crosby,
Stills and Nash. It isn’t powerful but it feels sufficiently expansive to blend
effectively with all the lush arrangements I complained about earlier.
When he sings lower, Koga’s style has an almost spoken-word feel, with a
slight vibrato that was strongly reminiscent of other modern folk-rockers like
Nigel Chapman (Nap Eyes) or Brooks Nielsen (The Growlers). I like those bands,
but I found Koga sometimes sounds flat and emotionally disconnected by
comparison.
Lead guitar Danny Fujikawa is the band’s star. Songs like “Breaking Walls” are best at the
beginning when the production is still sparse, and Fujikawa’s precise yet
organic runs can be fully appreciated. “Breaking
Walls” exemplifies a lot of my conflict about Chief. Early on Koga’s singing
is a bit off, but Fujikawa’s guitar is sublime. Later, Koga gets into his head
voice and soars, but the production has now watered down Fujikawa’s impact.
While lyrically the album didn’t grab me, the songs do have a restful
quality to them that lets your mind relax and wander. There is a hippy-dippy
vibe to the music that feels like it is from an earlier time. It’s the kind of
music you could find shirtless dudes dancing to out in the desert. At its best
it made me want to take off my shirt and dance as well. It being winter, I did
not do so.
My favourite song on the record is “Summer’s
Day” which manages to blend Koga’s chest and head voice admirably, has that
laid-back dreamy quality that is a big part of the band’s sound but leaves
enough room in the production for the song to breathe. It even features a cool Fujikawa
guitar solo.
“Modern Rituals” atmospheric qualities make it much better for headphones
than for sitting around the house or driving. It isn’t perfect by any means,
but it is something I can see myself pulling down to listen to on occasion, and
so – for the first time in three reviews – I’m keeping this one.
Best tracks: This Land, Breaking Walls, In the Valley, Summer’s
Day, Irish Song
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