Album Review: Subtle - exitingArm

If you haven’t heard of San Francisco’s Subtle, that’s okay—Doseone is fully aware. In a recent interview with Pitchfork Media, the sextet’s frontman noted the low sales of the band’s last single (“The Mercury Craze”) and its relation to the fortuity of pop success in general: “It’s just a window you throw shit at…whether we get through or not doesn’t fucking matter.”

Don’t let Doseone’s cavalier attitude fool you though—he wants you to know who Subtle is. He’d like you to pick up their new record, exitingARM, which was out May 13th. Subtle, unlike most contemporary hip-hop projects, has a knack for focusing on content as meticulously as their music, often blurring the boundaries of the genre in the process (think: hip-hop, synth-pop, indie rock, and baroque).

And we all know how esotericism loves company: “When we play a 600 person venue, there's 300 people” says Doseone (aka Adam Drucker). “When we play a 300-person venue, there's 210. So, it’s getting missed.”

“It” is a trilogy of sorts, starting with the band’s 2004 debut, A New White, and ending with their upcoming release exitingArm. Throughout the series, Doseone spins the story of “Hour Hero Yes,” a fictional protagonist/rapper who subsists in a dark, surrealistic reality. The concept is ambitious, though not necessarily unique—other groups, such as Coheed & Cambria, have attempted similar projects.

Still, Doseone has gone above and beyond the call of artistic investment. As of April 5th,, the 30 year-old poet has posted a 20,000 word “almanac” on exitingARM.com that serves as an outline for the epic.

“Why would people want to hear this awesome pop record and then go read the 20,000 words, in this day and age? I don't know,” he remarks. “It’s supposed to be a time capsule sort of thing…I'm anticipating people enjoying things through their teeth for the next 10 years.”
For the short term, at least, it seems that Subtle has adopted a more palatable sound—perhaps to gain wider exposure. Compared to A New White and for hero:: for fool (2006), the first half of exitingArm is far tamer aurally, substituting the stark textures of former work for more simplistic melodies. Unfortunately, the results are a bit bland, even forgettable. The title track especially signposts what’s to come in the next few songs: a wash of synths and beats that don’t really amount to much.

Only the second half of the album invokes the same level of experimentalism that overflows in the first two installments. “Gonebones” and “Providence” stand as the high points of the disc, with stronger hooks and instrumentation. “Wanted Found” also cleverly appropriates the string melody from “Middleclass Kill” (from for hero :: for fool), providing a sense of cohesiveness to the three albums.

exitingArm as whole, though, represents a gamble on Subtle’s part. The group has seemingly restrained their sound to rope in more listeners, leaving the substantive content in other arenas (www.exitingArm.com). Not that I can blame Doseone—the outfit’s first two efforts have gone largely unnoticed—but I get the sense that ultimately no one’s happy here: the songs aren’t poppy enough for mass appeal and will likely disappoint former enthusiasts as well.
But don’t rely on me. Ask your kids in about 20 years. That seems to be who Doseone’s gunning for anyway.

Album Review: Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

Since the release of 2005’s Apologies to the Queen Mary, Montreal five-piece Wolf Parade has kept a surprisingly modest itinerary. Though their already-classic debut received heaps of critical acclaim (including a nomination for a Polaris Music Prize in 2006 and high rankings on a number of year-end critic’s lists), there seemed little motivation on the group’s part to post a timely follow-up.

Certainly, a three-year gap between releases is a perfectly acceptable interim for a new band, especially in an age when the Internet can make or break your album sales (worked for Arcade Fire, not so much for Tapes ‘n Tapes). Still, it’s somewhat ridiculous that Spencer Krug (pianist, organist, vocalist) managed to put out three other albums in the meantime (Shut Up I Am Dreaming; Beast Moans; Random Spirit Lover) while guitarist Dan Boeckner released Handsome Furs debut Plague Park with his wife. Not your typical artistic output ratio, to say the least.

If my grasp of multiple-choice serves me correctly, Wolf Parade have either been (a) wary of releasing something too soon, (b) juggling schedule conflicts (synthesizer extraordinaire Hadji Bakara has been pursuing a Masters in English), (c) lazy, (d) a combination of the above, or (e) none of the above.

Wherever Wolf Parade has been in the past three years, though, perhaps At Mount Zoomer is answer enough. The group’s sophomore release, now available in a store near you, delivers in full (and then some) with a set of longer, stockier songs that rival, if not best, their debut.

Part of the appeal of Apologies to the Queen Mary was the depth of songwriting – some songs lent instant appeal while others were slow-growers (“I’ll Believe in Anything” coupled with “Modern World,” for example). Meanwhile, At Mount Zoomer unabashedly leans toward the latter aesthetic.

On the surface, that may seem like a mistake. Apologies had such a palpable pop-center that reverting to a series of more ambling, challenging songs feels foolish (see: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Some Loud Thunder). And still, the gamble works—a testament to Krug’s and Boeckner’s prowess as songsmiths.

“Soldier’s Grin” – perhaps the only Apologies-era song on here – ousts “This Heart’s on Fire” as the catchiest Wolf Parade to date, thanks largely to Boeckner’s hook and Bakara’s synth fills. Follower “Call it a Ritual” succeeds in the same way “Modern World” did, letting Spencer Krug’s piano work take over. The track also provides one of the smarter choruses of the album as the group chants “I am amazed at how they go” in round-like fashion.

“California Dreamer” punctuates the second half of the disc with an anthemic romp akin to “I’ll Believe In Anything.” Though the chorus (“And I thought I might have heard you on the radio…”) may not be as shout-worthy as “Give me your eyes/I need the sunshine,” the song certainly holds it own against the Apologies highlight with a fantastic bridge and the award for the most epic crescendo of the album.

Closer “Kissing the Beehive”, the high point of At Mount Zoomer, clocks in at 10:47 but feels half as long. It’s the only song on the album on which Krug and Boeckner share vocal duties, emphasizing its collaborative nature (or the fact that neither want to rein the 10 minute behemoth alone). Given that the structure allows the band to jam it out in the last few minutes (culminating in a wash of synthesizers, guitar reverb, and “oh-ohs”), it’s a feat that the song doesn’t collapse under it’s own ambition. While b-track “Fine Young Cannibals” feels stale 3 minutes in, “Kissing the Beehive” carries its weight with grace, letting each section take its own sweet time. It’s the heftiest track in the Wolf Parade catalog and yields fantastic returns.

Still, some of Krug’s and Boeckner’s artistic baggage leads to a few eye-rolls mid-album. Much like Krug’s palimpsestic lyrics in Swan Lake’s “All Fires” (in which he cops a line from Shut Up I Am Dreaming), some of these songs feel like they could be included on the next release of the artists’ side projects: Boeckner is still singing about captains and cities (“Kissing the Beehive,” “Language City”); Krug still has a taste for fantastical drama (“Bang Your Drum,” “An Animal in Your Care”). Even the chorus in “Call It a Ritual” (which I praised earlier) bites a bit from Krug’s “The Courtesan Has Sung” from Sunset Rubdown’s Random Spirit Lover. Such criticism is a bit overbearing perhaps (how can you demand that an artist find a new muse every album?) but nonetheless demonstrate the downside of having an inane amount of side projects. (To be fair, songs like “Language City” and “Animal in Your Care” do come into their own despite aural similarities to other projects.)

On the whole, At Mount Zoomer is a near-perfect follow-up to a very “tough-act-to-follow” debut. Even with some structural similarities, the album takes distinct steps away from Apologies to the Queen Mary with a far bulkier tone and stellar instrumentation. Plus, who doesn't want to stare at that cover all day long?

Manifesto

Never wrestle a pig.
All good things must come to an end.
Better late than never.
Crime does not pay.
Old habits die hard.
You win some, you lose some.
There's no fool like an old fool.
You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Listen to music some of the time.

-ddjc