Friday, April 29, 2011

Diana Jones — High Atmosphere (2011)

A few years ago, after enjoying albums from Noah & The Whale and Thao Nguyen, I made myself a promise not to ignore any artist based solely on their singing voice. That commitment has continued to pay off, not least because it's allowed me to appreciate one of the great songwriters alive today. Diana Jones is often noted for her unique, throaty delivery, and it's not immediately to everyone's taste. It's not so apparent on her most recent album, which may help her find a wider fanbase. What doubtless can't hurt is something that hasn't changed: her skill for writing and performing gripping, beautiful songs. All but one of the songs on High Atmosphere is written (or co-written) by Jones, and virtually all are real gems. The album starts strong, with the anthemic title track, an excellent example of her ability to create instantly classic material—original songs that you'd swear had been handed down for generations. Not that there is anything retro about this music. This isn't neo-country; it's Country. Pure, and deceptively simple.

You might understandably fear that she couldn't sustain the level of the opening track, but fortunately, you'd be wrong. It is immediately followed by "I Don't Know"—the kind of wistful, longing tune that you might expect from Alison Krauss or even Patsy Cline. From there the album paces along beautifully. It's less melancholy than her previous album, though it certainly has its dark moments. But as is always the case with Diana Jones' music, what keeps these songs afloat is the intense grace of the artist herself. Few songs could be sadder than "My Love Is Gone", for example, but the beauty and strength of Jones' presence keeps it from ever sinking. Then too, the quality of the songwriting itself rarely falters. Not everyone can pull off a song as straightforward as "Poverty", nor one as full of insinuation and irony as "Sister". Jones accomplishes both with apparent effortlessness.

It's not as if the album were completely flawless, of course. Truly, though, it is as close to perfect as any in recent memory. Beyond that, it's worth noting that High Atmosphere is the third in a string of very strong releases from the same artist. You'll forgive me, then, if I don't bother mentioning any faults, easy as they are to overlook. This will be one of the two or three best albums of the year, I'm certain. If I'm wrong about that, it's going to be a very good year.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Iron & Wine — Kiss Each Other Clean (2011)

You have to respect Sam Beam's ability to keep re-creating his sound and yet always keep it his. From the iconic home-made beginnings through numerous albums, experimental EPs, collaborations, covers, and beyond, Iron & Wine sounds like Iron & Wine. Given the spare effectiveness of that debut, and the apparently not-too-distant sojourn of Our Endless Numbered Days, you might certainly have expected his sound to stagnate. But since at least 2005 (and further back, if you really listen), Beam has been systematically expanding his scope. While each new release has covered wholly new ground, though, they have maintained a certain distinctive sound, and have been consistently compelling. Not so this time.

Kiss Each Other Clean does explore new ground, while simultaneously maintaining the Iron & Wine throughline. It is not, however, a compelling listen. The songs are good enough—accessible without being saccharine, complex without getting caught up in their own structure, diverse without falling away from each other. But none are great. What they don't do is last. Beam's music has always been gripping. You couldn't help but get caught up in songs like "Upward Over the Mountain", "Each Coming Night", "Jezebel", and "Resurrection Fern". They absorb you as you listen, and linger long after their sounds have gone. Nor was it ever limited to such slow, simple songs—"Freedom Hangs like Heaven" and "History of Lovers" are equally powerful. There is no equivalent on Kiss Each Other Clean. These are songs worth listening to, but hardly worth remembering. Even the best, "Walking Far from Home", begins to fade from memory before it has even ended. "Boy with a Coin", sadly, this is not. A few of the songs do improve a bit with repeated listens, which is fine. Others, however, do not. And none ever seem to rise far above the mean.

I'm inclined to chalk this all up to indulgence. Beam is playing with a lot of sounds, structures, and effects here, "experimenting" in the way that high-schoolers do with sex & drugs. But like most such partakers, he can get carried away, and it does distract attention from more significant pursuits. I'm hopeful that he'll come through it all right and find his way back to what he does so well. It's not his best album, but I don't think it's the end of anything. Sam Beam has a lot more to give, and I'll be anticipating the next album just as eagerly as if this one hadn't happened.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Notorious (1946)



I was a bit underwhelmed by this movie. I didn't have a lot of expectations going in, other than knowing it was Hitchcock and so would have some real suspense. I also expected some great passion between Grant & Bergman, of course. On the first point, I wasn't disappointed. On the second, I was. I like both Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, but there didn't seem to be much chemistry between them here. Part of it might have been inordinate amount of time & energy that Hitchcock spent flirting with the Code. It may have been shocking or amusing or otherwise interesting in 1946 to see the two leads in a 3-minute embrace with one 3-second kiss after another. But with the Code long gone, and not knowing about that aspect of the scene beforehand, it looks pretty ridiculous. They seem like a couple of high-schoolers too awkward to really lock lips. And in this context, that clumsiness really detracts from the story. Awkward, after all, is the last word that should apply to these two characters.

So for me, the movie really picked up steam once the two protagonists were torn apart. Watching Bergman go toe-to-toe with Claude Rains was a lot of fun. He's another actor I've always enjoyed, and never more so than here. Hitchcock is a master of tension, and he keeps it drawn very taut between them for long periods of time. His visual style is also very potent in the last half. I loved the shot introducing Sebastian's mother—she's terrifying before she ever says a word. I'm also a big fan of the way Hitchcock can make a single image say so much—the Unica key on Sebastian's keyring, for example, or the 1940 wine label.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie. Not the sizzling love affair everyone talks about, which left me quite cold. But the suspense, and the tension among the triangle of Alicia, Sebastian, and his mother, were very good. It hasn't made me a huge Hitchcock fan, but it hasn't hurt either.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Stumbling start

I had really expected to post a lot more than this, but in January my "hard drive" (actually a supposedly redundant RAID array) failed and I lost a lot of stuff. Music, movies, all kinds of stuff. It took me a while to get some of it back, and longer still to get over the feeling of (what I can only call) betrayal that the whole episode caused. I'm pretty well back in the saddle now, listening to a lot of new music, etc. But I'm just now getting back to this. I'm actually going to start with a quick movie review, because I was already doing it for another site. But I'm hoping I'll have the focus to start posting music reviews directly.