Yeah! Bet you all thought I'd forgotten about this, huh? What? This journal. The one I haven't updated in ... the one where I predict ... look, just pretend you remember it, ok? I'm not paying you those big cheques for nothing you know! Speaking of which, the latest one might be a little late. Money's been tight recently and ... you know, let's talk about that later ok?
I haven't updated this journal in about a year, but that's not surprising, given all the other stuff I have going on. Nevertheless, I didn't want to let it die, as it is a good and original, if somewhat twisted idea. So who have I chosen to embarrass myself with this time out? How about these lads...
Clutching stems --- The Ladybug Transistor --- 2011 (Merge Records)
Apparently part of Elephant Six Collective (what?), The Ladybug Transistor have been around since 1995 and this is their seventh album. They're based out of Brooklyn, and the fact that I have never heard of them before will be, I'm sure, a surprise to nobody. So what's on the album? Or more to the point, what do I think it sounds like?
Note: if you're confused by the idea of this journal check the OP. I know it's been a while but I'm not going to keep explaining the premise every time. It should be fairly obvious anyway....
“Clutching stems”: We open on the title track, which I feel has a jangly, uptempo guitar sound to it, possibly some bouncy piano. Might be about hope, a variant of clutching at straws? Hard to say, but I reckon it's a relatively fast and upbeat song.
“Light on the narrow gauge”: From what I recall, narrow gauge refers to railways, so I'm going to say acoustic guitar, kind of slowish, folky sound, and I wouldn't be surprised if they threw in either the sounds of a train whistle or an engine puffing. The song is about the decline of the steam engine and the railways in the US. A somewhat obvious guess yes, but I'll probably be way off. Throw in some harmonica maybe.
“Fallen and falling”: Slow ballad on piano only. Typical song of unrequited or lost love.
“Ignore the bell”: Happy, uptempo on guitar and keys, maybe some brass. Song concerns not worrying about tomorrow and just enjoying yourself.
“Oh Christina”: Gonna take a chance and not go for the obvious here; this is not a ballad but an uptempo song on piano and guitar, throw in some sax, perhaps a solo, maybe a tambourine? Just a love song, perhaps speaking to the object of love the singer cannot attain? “Oh Christina, why do you treat me like this?” or similar in the lyric.
“Caught don't walk”: Again I'm taking a chance and going for this being an instrumental. It's based around synth and keys, guitar solo in the middle or somewhere anyway, brass and maybe even violin.
“Breaking up the beat”: Fast uptempo song on guitar mostly, with keys backing and harmonica. No idea what it's about.
“Into the straight”: Could be an instrumental but I'll go against that possibility and say a slow piano-driven song with guitar flourishes, though what it's about is anyone's guess.
“Hey Jack I'm on fire”: I just hear fast, rockabilly style guitar and a kind of jumping beat. Just a basic dance song, maybe "I'm on fire with love for you" or similar?
“Life less true”: A ballad on acoustic guitar and piano, with a sort of Country flavour to it. Maybe add some pedal steel. Song is about facing your responsibilities and not putting on airs. Maybe.
So those are my very uneducated guesses as to what this album will sound like. Tomorrow we'll see the truth of the matter, and find out how wrong I was.