St. Vincent - "Actor Out of Work" 7"

St. Vincent – “Actor Out of Work” 7”

4AD, 2009

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2009

Price: $5

“Actor Out of Work” is a perfect little weirdo indie rock track. It is well documented that I am a fan of short songs. If done right, the replay value is enormous. Thus, I ended up listening to “Actor Out of Work” more than just about any other song in 2009. It’s not your simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus track either. There’s a build, new elements come into the fold late in the game. It punches forward like a battle anthem all pierced by Annie Clark’s dynamic vocals. It’s lightning in a bottle, man. Lightning in a goddamn bottle.

The b-side “Bicycle” is a lovely, dreamy non-album track that sounds like it would play over the credits of a French film if the lyrics were only in French. It is also the reason I’ve continued to hold onto this 7” despite owning Actor. That, and I have great hopes that one day my daughter will take interest in my record collection and I want her to be able to find a badass lady amidst my overwhelmingly dude-ly record collection. Since I started liquidating my collection and weeding out unessential items, I’ve tried to at least make sure it’s a diverse ecosystem. That sounds overly precious to me, but it is what is keeping me from straight-up hawking everything but a crateful of vinyl.

B-Side Worship: The Mountain Goats - "New Chevrolet in Flames"

The Mountain Goats – “New Chevrolet in Flames”
"See America Right" Single, 4AD, 2002

Like clockwork, every new Mountain Goats record produces at least 2-6 b-sides, most of which any other band would use as a lead single on their latest album. John Darnielle is no mere mortal. Or wait, yes he is, that is part of his appeal. He’s the everyman who apparently never stops writing. Just a normal guy with a prolific streak that gives Bob Pollard a run for his money. I’ll be covering a lot of Mountain Goats tracks hroughout this feature promoting great B-Sides, but “New Chevrolet in Flames” from the Tallahassee sessions is not only my favorite MTN GTS B-Side, but my favorite B-Side of all time. It helps that Tallahassee is my favorite album and that the Mountain Goats are one of my favorite bands. It also has one of my favorite lyrics: “Oh would that you would kiss me/ With the kisses of your mouth/ Because your mouth is sweeter than wine and has a more complicated history than the American South.” AND THIS TRACK WAS BURIED IN THE “SEE AMERICA RIGHT” SINGLE! This lovely tale of getting drunk on Colorado Bulldogs (effectively a White Russian with Coca-Cola added. After falling hard for this song, I spent a period of three months asking bartenders if they knew how to make one. Most didn’t, except one guy in Austin, who made me one of the most delicious cocktails I’ve ever had) and setting a car on fire is a masterpiece.

Emma Pollock - "Paper and Glue" 7"

Emma Pollock – “Paper and Glue” 7”

4AD, 2007

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2009

Price: $.50

Emma Pollock is best known as one of the founding members of the fantastic Scottish alt-rock group the Delgados. Through the band’s ten year run they released six albums, but my introduction to the band (and really, the only work of theirs I’ve listened to) as through their career-spanning 2006 double-disc Peel Sessions compilation. Both tracks here play like standard pop-based singer-songwriter fare. Aimee Mann is a good touchstone. Though Pollock’s vocals are lovely and her songs also lovely, this seven-inch is more lovely little else. There are worse things than being lovely. Have I mentioned this is just lovely? Lovely lovely lovely.

"Paper and Glue"

Insides/The Glee Club - Split 7"

Insides/ The Glee Club

4AD, 1993

Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2013

Price: $1

 

I don’t think I’d ever heard the real 4AD until I listened to Cocteau Twins for the very first time earlier this year. Strange how certain things elude you. The world of music is a vast, vast, vast place. And the true world of 4AD is a dark, gothy place. And then it cracked itself open to reveal the Breeders, the Pixies, Red House Painters, Unrest, and TV on the Radio. Maybe Dead Can Dance are the only real gothy band, but Insides definitely have some of that forlorn gloom woven into their ambient, trip-hop influenced dream pop. Dream Pop! That’s the word I’m looking for! 4AD were purveyors of dream pop! And now dream pop is a genre tag that gets bandied about every which way and it’s like “No! Go listen to this 4AD stuff that sounds like it exists somewhere between the half awake world and dreams!” The Insides track “Walking in Straight Lines” is pure hypnosis. Kirsty Yates vocals recall Bjork, but that is more about her delivery (Bjork’s aptly titled solo debut Debut was released in 1993 too so maybe that ethereal thing was all the rage in the early nineties. Still, Bjork had been tearing it up with the Sugarcubes since 1986 so I’m gonna say Yates is a little Bjork-y and not the other way around) than her actual voice which is more pedestrian than the Icelandic diva’s (not a bad thing, not meant to be backhanded, it’s just you know, wait, how did this whole entry end up being about Bjork?). “Walking in Straight Lines” is very clearly carbon dated to the early 90s and I’m wondering when young bands are gonna start ripping off this sound. The Glee Club turn out a nice blend of dreamy pop and Breeders-esque indie rock and their contribution to this split—“Bad Child’s Dolly”—is easily my favorite side. The Irish group only made one full album, but based on the strength of this song I’m dying to hear it. Joanne Loughman’s vocals are absolutely towering. The verses are deceptively plain, more akin to Sarah Records twee pop than the wonderfully haughty dreamy ethereal shit 4AD was built on, but then the chorus kicks in and she just knocks you out with this really wonderful, throaty delivery that displays a surprising amount of range. Jenny asked if I was listening to Kate Bush, and that’s about as apt as a comparison as there is. It’s an interesting track. The verses feature a repetitive electric guitar line (and a saxophone later on that become more and more dissonant as the verses continue) but the choruses have this big, effects-addled acoustic guitar that pairs with Loughman’s delivery remarkably well. The track morphs into a cacophonous blend of everything that has been slowly added over the duration and I’m left sitting here very impressed. It snuck up on me. Some random 7”, purchased randomly, packing a song I’ve listened to ten times this morning and found something new to like about it each time.

Insides - "Walking in Straight Lines"


The Glee Club - "Bad Child's Dolly"