Music Banter - View Single Post - The Album Club: "Stands for Decibels" by The dB's

innerspaceboy · 09-06-2017, 06:26 PM

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Quirky jangle pop. But the quirkiness has yet to grab me in a positive way.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
It's a departure from my daily cup of tea so I'm keen to keep listening.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Disliked it. A bit whiney and it doesn’t stand out as uniquely meritorious. Just off-beat and odd.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
The eccentric vocals don’t appear to accomplish anything other than being overtly bizarre and it seems contrived.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Nothing particularly remarkable here. Some of the instrumentation and vocal effects are a tip of the hat to superior psychedelic predecessors but nothing has grabbed me yet. Still I appreciate hearing something different from my day to day listening so I’ll keep at it to see what the rest of the record has to offer.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
It’s consistently unremarkable. It’s not trying to be anything exceptional, but it seems to fall short of the mark even within its range.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I don’t believe stellar lyricism was a focus for this group. They seem to be more focused on it being the 80s all over this sh*t.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
I didn’t mind some of the frenzied amelodic burps bleeps and grunts. While not particularly original their inclusion at least added some character to the tracks.

9. What did you think of the production?
Tinny is the word of the day. Not that jangle/power pop albums are known for hi-fidelity, but the production really sounds flat here.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
New to me, so it was an interesting listen. I’m definitely open to listening to 80s oddities but this isn’t standing out as something I’d revisit.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
I don’t listen to a lot of music with lyrics, but avant-pop is an area of interest and this flirts with that territory a few times over the course of the record.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
The first run through was sufficient for me.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
I’ll agree with "Moving in Your Sleep" as being more my speed. Definitely the most “jangle” of the album’s selections.

14. And the one you liked least?
Most of the rest of the album blended together as uniformly unremarkable.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
It’s not a bad record, just nothing particularly interesting. The instrumentation isn’t particularly memorable and the lead vocalist doesn’t do much for me either.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Not particularly. If I am in the mood for zany 80s pop I’ll stick to my favorites.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
I try not to have any expectations going in to The Album Club selections. I was curious, and again I was glad to hear something different from my standard fare. I didn’t rush to turn it off at any point, but it isn’t something I’m going to order on wax.

18. Did the album end well?
Quite well. I only wish there were more tracks like the closer throughout the record.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Refocus the quirkiness in the vocals and instrumentation to more of a Fela Kuti-inspired vein of densely layered, ethnofunkadelic polyrhythms and retitle the album, Remain in Light.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
It was consistent and uniform. Not a bad debut, just less than memorable.

4/10