[fingertipsmusic] This Week's Finds: September 14 (Panoramic & True, Erin Costelo, The Ampersands)

From: Jeremy Schlosberg <fingertipsmusic@xxxxxxxxx>
To: fingertipsmusic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:36:41 -0400
*THIS WEEK'S FINDS <http://www.fingertipsmusic.com>*
*September 14*



[image: Panoramic &
True]<http://www.fingertipsmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/panoramic.jpg>
 “A WEEK OF GOOD HEALTH” – PANORAMIC &
TRUE<http://www.magnetmagazine.com/audio/AWeekOfGoodHealth.mp3>

Thick and thumpy with instrumental diversity, “A Good of Good Health” yet
retains its simple drive and almost poignant melodic and lyrical synergy.
Not that I’m at all sure what front man John Lennox is singing about here
(and he doesn’t even start until 0:45). We hear attractive phrases, at once
comfy and mysterious; they unfold with the music with an almost magical
pleasure, flaunting an elusive rhyme scheme, and defying any
straightforward comprehension. Lennox sings with a casual sort of
intensity, high-pitched, and he lets the ends of his words fade, as if he’s
turning his face repeatedly from the microphone.

And even in a song without narrative structure, this chorus still buzzes
with delightful incongruity (1:36):

*A week of good health
Pin your hair back
Get some new clothes for yourself
Get ‘em black and black*

Don’t miss Lennox’s phrasing here, particularly in the third line, which he
voices in a talking rather than a singing rhythm, and it’s more wonderful
than I can describe. So let’s get back to the music itself, which I have
not meant to neglect. Panoramic & True are an eight-piece band, from
Chicago, and they recorded this new album, *Wonderlust*, on eight-track
analog tape, live. Listen and I’ll think you’ll sense the
three-dimensionality of the sound, the honest layering and physical
interaction of instruments, in the chuggy ambiance. I’m particularly
tickled by how the strings work so resolutely in the background; we hear
them emerge, shyly, only a few times, and each time receding quickly back
into the well-ordered commotion. Fun stuff, and chewy too.

*Wonderlust* is the second Panoramic & True album, released in July on
Raymond Roussel Records.



[image: Erin 
Costelo]<http://www.fingertipsmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/costelo.jpg>
 “OH ME OH MY” – ERIN COSTELO <http://pigeonrow.com/ErinCosteloOhMeOhMy.mp3>

At once short and expansive, “Oh Me Oh My” flaunts the open spaces offered
up by both its downtempo flair and its minimalist arrangement. A firm, slow
beat is established with neither fuss nor volume. Then see how the classic,
early-’60s melody is partially deconstructed by the sparse setting—note,
for instance, the unexpected harmony the first wordless backing vocals
provide at 0:20. And then note how stingily this fetching backing vocal is
used in the whole song.

At the center of this satisfying, reimagined retro-soul nugget is Costelo’s
voice, a forceful instrument with both a booming timbre and a delicate
vibrato. She struts through the slow, economically presented verse, expands
with the double-time melody in the chorus, and never over-sings. In her
upper range, her voice acquires a silvery power that smartly recalls bygone
soul singers in some inscrutable—or, at least, indescribable—way. Music is
difficult enough to turn into concrete description, but describing voices
is pretty much impossible. I keep thinking, next time, next time I’ll nail
it. But the point, ultimately, is to say: listen, listen to this voice,
you’ll hear something potent in it. Your soul will be stirred.

“Oh Me Oh My” is the lead track on Costelo’s third album, *We Can Get Over*,
which is set to arrive in early October. The album represents a stylistic
culmination for the Halifax-based singer/songwriter. On *The Trouble and
the Truth*, her 2008 debut, she presented herself as a relatively
straightforward jazz singer. For her second album, 2009′s *Fire and Fuss*,
Costelo moved more towards pop, while retaining some of her jazz-oriented
inclinations. This time around, from the sound of it, she’s left overt jazz
behind while exploring the elusive place at which ’60s soul and girl-group
music commingles. Seems like a good idea to me.



[image: The 
Ampersands]<http://www.fingertipsmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/ampersands.jpg>
 “TRY THIS” – THE
AMPERSANDS<http://www.riotactmedia.com/mp3/02%20Try%20This.mp3>

Our week of incisive songs (all under 3:35) wraps up with this buzzy,
stompy bit of off-kilter indie pop. The sing-songy, Nintendo-y keyboard
riff that opens things up is no mistake—it is based, says the group, on a
mis-memory of an old video game musical theme (Munchlax’s Berry Bonanza, if
you must know, which is a mini-game within the Pokemon universe). And the
song indeed seems at one level to be about playing video games. The
processed vocals add a Game Boy-like ambiance to be sure. But there is a
larger point as well, having to do not only with the repeated chorus (“Why
don’t you try this or you’ll never know”) but with the key lyrical
line—which the band uses as their album title—”This is your adventure too.”
We must stay open-minded, and present, and perhaps, somehow, even video
games can help us get there. Or, also, not.

Meanwhile, the music has a smartly-built air about it, not to mention a
sneaky undercurrent of Fountains of Wayne-like power pop. (Listen to the
transition from the first to the second line—from “…observing the maze” to
“Keep a close eye…”; that’s a lovely, FOW-like progression.) Funny thing
about the Fountains—they’re still out there making good records, but
they’ve also been around long enough to be a foundational band for a new
generation of indie rockers. I don’t know if that’s the case here but I’ve
been hearing their influence in a few places recently so I’m floating it as
a theory.

The Ampersands (clever name for a twosome, no?) are multi-instrumentalist
Aaron McQuade and guitarist Jim Pace. Both sing and write the songs. They
have employed some “satellite members” both in the studio and in live
performance, including vocalist Evie Nagy, whom you hear here in the
chorus, but the band is officially just the two of them. Aaron is based in
NYC, Jim in Providence, where they originally started. *This Is Your
Adventure Too* is the band’s second album, and is slated for release at the
end of October. Do yourself a favor and check out the album’s web
site<http://www.thisisyouradventuretoo.com/>,
where you can not only hear the whole thing, but get a lot of engaging,
liner-note-like information and graphics.





*

* * * * * * *



**
   "
**
   Everyday I lose what I had in mind
*
*
   And I never shout out loud
*
*
   I'm always on that river...."
*
*




* * * * * * *


Become a fan of
Fingertips<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fingertips/38130844046> on
Facebook
Follow Fingertips on Twitter <https://twitter.com/#%21/fingertipsmusic>


 Donate to Fingertips via
PayPal<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5733482>



* * * * * * *

To unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time, simply send an email
with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line to
fingertipsmusic-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx You may then have to reply to the
automated confirmation you receive to complete the process.

*
[fingertipsmusic] This Week's Finds: September 14 (Panoramic & True, Erin Costelo, The Ampersands)

Other related posts:
