All right... before reviewing the actual content of this CD, we have to get a little bit of discussion out of the way. This album is released on Team Love, a sister label to Saddle Creek, and there's a recording credit for Conor Oberst. I don't know about you, but those are red flags. If you've read the "letters to the editor" section on this site, you've seen that our great leader, Joseph Kyle, does not hold a high opinion of Mr. Oberst's work or the Omaha scene in general. (Not necessarily true; I just don’t care for Bright Eyes—ed) I agree wholeheartedly, but maybe for different reasons. Maybe it's just the natural way of things for me, my tendency to never drift away from the cutesy world of twee for long periods of time. Maybe I just can't connect with their oh-so-sensitive singer/songwriter vibes and their lack of a sense of humor. I think twee artists do sensitive just as well, and can be just as emotionally gripping. Maybe it's because the oh-so-sensitive vibes attract all the emo kids, and that makes my snobby anti-emo instincts. Maybe it's pure jealousy. I know I could be just as sensitive and make better music than those trendy-ass pretty boys, but I don't even try because doing sensitive music the wrong way can horribly backfire and make me a laughingstock.
Whatever it is, the only band out of that whole scene that I like is
Azure Ray. And maybe Rilo Kiley, but I only like a few of their songs.
But what of Tilly and the Wall?
They just might be the only twee band (or at least the only indie pop band) in the whole Saddle Creek scene. Listening to them, I almost manage to forget their associations with that impure clique (impure with the exceptions of Azure Ray and Rilo Kiley, of course).
Rather than sounding like a folky Bright Eyes wannabe outfit, Tilly and the Wall sounds like a boy-girl twee pop outfit. Their music is actually a little cute, and you can dance to it. Speaking of dancing, much of their percussion is provided by a tap dancer—and yes, she actually does tap to their songs when they play out. Danceability is just built into their music! It seriously works, and I love how it sounds.
But wait... would the Saddle Creek scene really associate itself with a band known for its fun and cutesiness?
Well, no. The music is one thing, but the lyrics are another. It's funny. Looking at the lyrics in the liner notes, it's amazing how they look a lot like they could be the lyrics to a Bright Eyes album. I'll give you some random lyrics to illustrate my point. For example, in the song, "One Perfect Fit", they sing, "One heart attack and you stumble lost into a light you make so brightly false, and I watch as blood spills down your arm and makes its way to me. So here I stand puddle under me trying to believe you're nothing nothing you seem. I just don't know." This bleak lyric complements a bouncy techno-pop drum machine beat and a blipping synth accompaniment. I could also offer you some lyrics from a track called "Reckless", which go, "Oh reckless, a boy wonder, so quite nose broken. Oh you're standing there, look tired as you're singing. And you're on fire, they're throwing punches. So backwards the landscape you thought you knew, it starts unwinding." The music on this one is acoustic guitar with the textbook Moog-ish synth that many twee bands employ, as well as the cool tap dancing percussion I mentioned before. So, as you see, Tilly and the Wall sounds like a twee pop band, but they're clearly graduates of the Saddle Creek school of lyric writing.
Surprisingly, I'm not repulsed. I don't connect with all the lyrics, but the twee sound and the tap dancing are preventing me fromdismissing Tilly and the Wall as just another contingent of foot soldiers in the unholy axis of evil that is the Saddle Creek scene. And maybe... just maybe... I don't want to admit to myself, but I actually like these lyrics. Maybe I'll end up becoming a closet Bright Eyes fan. Or not. That struggle is for me to resolve later on my own. Let's just say that I like Tilly and the Wall and recommend that you check them out for yourself because they're not just another Saddle Creek band.
--Eric Wolf
Artist Website: http://www.tillyandthewall.com/
Label Website: http://www.team-love.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment