Tag: Damon Albarn

Best Record of 2001: Day 61

by KevinLeave a Comment on Best Record of 2001: Day 61

Lovage vs. Unwound

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Unwound and Lovage.

Mike Patton contains multitudes. For every weird or abrasive track he’s been on (i.e. anything by Mr. Bungle), there’s been an equal number of straight up rockers, ballads, or smoothed out tracks.

He’s also no stranger to concept albums (see again: Mr. Bungle). Nor is Nathaniel Merriweather aka Dan the Automator, aka one half of Handsome Boy Modeling School. The two of them team up with singer Jennifer Charles and Kid Koala to record the one and only Lovage release, Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By.

The record’s as low key as you might assume, with a lovesexy vibe, some sensuous beats, and Cinemax-level lyrics. It’s also a record that attempts to straddle the line between sincerity and comedic irony. You can’t go more than a verse or two without tripping over a double entendre. it’s louche all the way down, including the cover art inspired by none other that Serge Gainsbourg’s Nᵒ 2 LP.

Sometimes it works, sometimes the punchline fails to land. Did we really need yet another fucking record with skits in it? Long time readers may recall that this is a pet peeve of mine, and in the land rush to CDs taking place in the early aughts, somebody somewhere thought this would be a great way to fill out the newly available space on LPs (Spoiler: It’s not). “Love that Lovage, Baby” at least has Damon Albarn on it, so there’s that, I ’spose. And it borrows heavily from Donna Summer’s Love to Love You, which is great. Nevertheless…

(exhale)

Going the other way, the chemistry between Patton and Charles gets harder to ignore with each track. Is this a bit they’re both really committed to? Maybe it started out that way and blossomed into something real? Beats me, but it’s smoldering like lava the whole way through the record. Even at the end on “Archie and Veronica,” which is about (*checks notes)… banging a corpse?! Okay then.

All that aside, the record’s real superpower are the beats. When it comes to taking samples and building a soundscape, Dan the Automator is one of the best to ever do it.

Shame that Lovage was a one-and-done project. The premise only has so much runway, but these three (and friends along for the ride) are clearly in their element and having a good time. And with a title like this how could they not be? You were expecting a dirge?

You know that internet trend where someone’ll post “Don’t ask me to explain it, but…”?

Yeah. I don’t know how to explain it, but Leaves Turn Inside You couldn’t have come from anywhere but where it did. It’s extremely Olympia-coded and feels like the latest model to roll off the K-Records factory floor. That’s neither derogatory nor regressive.

I happen to like that sound and Unwound’s got it for days.

There is a certain melancholic detachment that comes with existing in a place where it rains a lot. I don’t mean the overt, back of hand on forehead type stuff. It’s just how a lot of PNW’ers are (I say this as a native). Whether it’s the minutes-long drone on “We Invent You” that kicks things off, or the icy synths (synths! from Olympia!) on “Treachery” that reframes things, that mood is all over the record and well, it fits.

For all the jangle (again: Olympia) and subtle vocals, there’s an undercurrent of tension that the listener can never quite shake—this is not something to play when you’re out on the water with the boys! But it is something you’ll want to have close by when you’re in the mood for something brooding and engaging in equal measure. It’s heavy without feeling oppressive.

In ’01 I was in a dead era as far as going to shows, but I could swear I’d seen them before. there was an time where I basically lived at the X-Ray Cafe and they had a ton of shows there in ’91-’92. Surely I’d been there for one of ’em? I wish I could remember! Time seems to have faded my memory (along with my hearing). No matter. Unwound is a great PNW band and Leaves Turn Inside You is an easy record to fall in love with. Just don’t ask me to explain it.

Bottom Line:  After a few days of records not quite landing, we’ve arrived at what’ll be a tough call for me. Lovage strikes me as the sort of band we’d listen to on the way to see Unwound. On my bracket I cheaped out and went for the latter as they’re the higher seed. My vote today? I honestly don’t know. It’s gonna be a game time decision…

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my take? Sound off in the comments!

Gorillaz, Clearlake, and the Blur of Reality

by KevinLeave a Comment on Gorillaz, Clearlake, and the Blur of Reality

Best Record of 2001: Day 41

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Gorillaz’ self-titled debut as it faces off against Clearlake’s Lido.

Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.

The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.

KA—

In an era where AI blurs the line between what’s real and what isn’t, a band of cartoon avatars feels almost quaint. But in 2001, this was all wild-frontier kind of stuff, even if we knew the voices behind the characters. Damon Albarn had seen massive success in Blur, while Del Tha Funky Homosapien had given the world one of the most lethal earworms in the form of “Dobalina.” As part of Cibo Matto, Miho Hatori was also a bit of a cult figure. So yeah, plenty of firepower and street cred in equal measure.

Things kick off with the steady groove of “Re-Hash,” and quickly establish that this is not a Blur record, or a Del or Cibo Matto record, for that matter, but it is a collective effort. And of course, we have to talk about “Clint Eastwood,” the track that put them on the map. The blending of Albarn’s vocals with Del’s and the beat, which, if memory serves, came from the demo mode of a Casio keyboard, made for a fantastic on-ramp for most of us.

“19-2000” is also an all-timer, but for my money, the real star here is “Rock the House” (another Del feature). It’s a dance-floor filler. There’s also plenty of dub and other spacey vibes in every corner of the record, which leads to its biggest fault: for all the highs, there’s an equal amount of not-so-high stuff. This is a 15-track record that could have very easily been a 9- or 10-track masterpiece. With that much talent in one space, it was bound to happen.

Still, the good far outweighs the bad. We know the heights the band will reach later with tracks like “On Melancholy Hill” and “Dare.” But none of that happens without the noodling and adventuring taking place here. It’s a little rough around the edges, but ultimately this is a solid debut from a collective finding its footing.

With Lido, Clearlake seems to have found theirs, which ironically sounds not a little like Blur and later-era Beatles. And with Sunday Evening, maybe a little like Portishead? Maybe that’s just me. Maybe I’m overthinking it. No matter. This was supposed to represent the next wave of Britpop, but people want Parklife or the snotty fury of Oasis. They come close with “Something to Look Forward to” (this writer’s favorite on the record), but mostly this is atmospheric, woozy music with Jason Pegg’s vocals over the top. It’s an aesthetic that only comes from living somewhere that sees a lot of rain. It’s appealing enough, but not something I can see myself returning to.

Bottom Line: Gorillaz are seeded 7th here, and going up against #122 seems unfair. Part of me wants to vote for Clearlake just to see what happens, but as maudlin as the record can get, I’m not sure they’d appreciate a pity vote. Bracket pick and vote are both going to 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my take? Sound off in the comments!