Adult Contemporary Essentials 10.01.10

Freelance Whales

Weathervanes

Freelance Whales

So, the question would be “do you need more Sufjan Stevens music?” If the answer is ‘yes’ (and why would it not be?), then there is a place for you go that is more reliable than a new Sufjan Stevens’ album.

Probably, the Sufjan that you started to love on Illinois made the kind of nimble, beautiful folk that this five-piece from Queens, NY, do. The band, who have crafted their music on the subways of New York, trade elegant instrumentation, biblical references and a gorgeous voice to transport you to a nicer place. Fortunately, there seems not to be a contrivance or a false moment anywhere, and the nice blend of indie folk steers it nicely the right side of twee. A song like Broken Horse is simply lovely, while Hannah is laden down with hooks and funk, unusual instrumentation and harmony. While you’re waiting on the new Beach House, Freelance Whales is a good place to shelter.

ACE rating 8/10

Mt St Helens Vietnam Band

Mt St Helens Vietnam Band

Dead Oceans

These guys could be too clever for their own good (what with their 15 year old drummer, and their viral video promos that launched their career). Fortunately, they have the indie rock chops to back up their innovation. Unfortunately, those chops aren’t their own. The band plagiarise heavily (they could call it inspiration, or paying tribute) and there are undoubtedly some good spirits among the fun to be had. Unlike so many British tribute bands, this Seattle band draw from bands like Modest Mouse, The Hold Steady and The Shins. Which shows some originality, but less than, you know, actually being original. Come at the album without that knowledge and you could have a pretty good time, but you would have to leave your cool indie cred to one side in doing so. Mt St Helens Vietnam Band clearly can do it, but to prove they have sustainability, they’ll need more than a teenage drummer.

ACE rating 6/10

Andrew Bird

Noble Beast

Bella Union

Andrew Bird has a wonderful four albums to his name - the multi-instrumentalist (a classically-trained violinist) reached his zenith with The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, a gorgeous, clever, sophisticated delight of an album. Were you to imagine a muso Jeff Buckley, you'd not be far wrong, with Bird's wonderfully warm, soaring voice accompanying his pizzicato violin, and (often simultaneously) multi-tracked instruments. Noble Beast is a bit of a departure, and not always an entirely welcome one. Whereas he's been pretty self-reliant in past, this album sees him rope in some members of Wilco to indie up the sound. The result, with Mark Nevers (producer of Lambchop and Calexico) at the desks, is a little one-dimensional - nice enough, but lacking the kind of flights of fancy that entertained so much, and that can easily be misclassified as experimental. It is an album that has a stronger crust to break through, and once in it is a little flat. Bird seems to have taken himself pretty seriously here - the whimsy of his music lost. Instead, Noble Beast sounds like later-era Paul Simon, but played and sung beautifully.

ACE rating 8/10