By Jason Hunter
elly "King": Tanya Donelly's band tanked on their follow up to their "buzz bin" LP "Star". I'll never understand why. Everything about "King" is tighter, focused, and more manic than their debut. It's a pop record through and through - but I like to think that the addition of Gail Greenwood on bass upped the "punk-ness" of certain tracks ("Super Connected," "King," "Now They'll Sleep"). At the very least she gave Tanya someone to harmonize with on the slower tracks, adding another layer to their sound. This album was on-repeat in my walkman when I visited Mexico in my teens so it used to remind me about warm, sunny places. Now that I'm a parent it also makes me think about parenthood, although I can't explain why.
Black Eyes "s/t": Two drummers, screaming, and lots of noise. And, yet so danceable! During the early 2000's Discord had a hot streak with new bands picking up the D.C. sound and taking into strange and crazy places. Q and Not U was also one of those bands - but they made me want to throw parties. This LP makes me want to tear things apart. And dance.
King was on repeat for so long in my cd player. Killer album.
ReplyDeleteI only ever had star and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteAlisha,
ReplyDeleteI recommend King if you're looking for more Belly. I do like Star - it's especially charming as a debut LP - and has some of their best songs.
Deformative is a pretty great song.
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