Reflections #3
Horse Jumper of Love, Still / Plucknett, Haress, Class
It feels like we live in a different world since the last Horse Jumper of Love album, So Divine, came out in 2019. Maybe because of this transformation, Natural Part is more diverse than their previous outputs. We get our first HJOL pop-song in “I Poured Sugar in Your Shoes,” and “Sitting on the Porch at Night'' touches on the talk vocal craze (see: Alex G’s “Blessing”, Wet Leg’s “Chaise Lounge”) while remaining true to themselves. Don’t worry, though, this album is still slow. “Under the House (Skunks)” begins with a classic Duster-esque fuzz riff. The spaces in “Velcro” perfectly portray the witching-hour feeling of staying up all night, stepping out of your brightly lit room and into the haunting hum of a refrigerator. Guitarist/vocalist Dimitri Giannopoulos turns introspection upwards toward God and gets hung up in the liminal mental spaces along the way. Angels break through the ceiling, an archer falls from heaven, the devil sits in the window. Heaven and hell slip in and out of HJOL’s twilight reality, and between the passing cars and warm beaches, Giannopoulos finds moments to count his blessings: “Sitting on the porch at night / I think of all the things I got / think of all the food I threw away.”
Meaning “Soundtracks” in English, Bandas Sonoras is an album of experimental music that uses post-rock as a jumping off point. Still / Plucknett is the digital duo of Elizabeth Still and Dominic Plucknett. The two artists sent files back and forth between May and October 2020. You wouldn’t tell at first listen, but once you understand the high concept, the sometimes blurred, overdubbed music comes into focus. The cover art was created with film double exposed by both artists in their respective homes in Bishops Castle and Brighton. The double exposure motif carries through into the music. Ideas are overlaid into a soft distilled musical image. “Árido” demonstrates this with the familiar field recording sounds of rain and distant voices, melodica, and a slow guitar, over which Still and Plucknett’s voices come together. “Piloto de Prova” sounds like a Slint outtake with the bowing of metal. “Amanhã” might be the most double exposed track, with Still reading an excerpt by Roald Dahl under Plucknett’s singing and it might be my favorite song on the album. “Sonhar em Fazer” is perhaps the antithesis to the layering theme, as the two “images” feel more side-by-side than overlapped. As I said, this album is experimental for sure, but familiar post-rock sounds are here. It’s sort of Come On Die Young and kind of F#A#∞, yet it’s entirely fresh. To the fans of chill experimentation, may I introduce you to Bandas Sonoras?
Let it be known that Elizabeth Still is the first artist to be listed twice in one Western Launch post. I’ve been inspired by Still’s work the last week and I’m enjoying listening to her back catalog. Still and her husband David Hand are Haress’s core members. Ghosts invites contributions from friends who frequently visit their English country home–those friends being David Smyth on drums, Chris Summerlin on guitar, Thomas House on vocals, and Nathan Bell contributing trumpet on “I Think, I Think.” Drone, folk, and slowcore/post-rock are woven into a canvas for introspection and meditation. Ghosts feels similar to the at-home, cozy, free-spirited experimentation of Bandas Sonora but the songs are a bit more focused. The progressions of these songs are more straightforward, with dynamics steadily rising. I don’t mean that they are restricted, however. There’s a freedom to take your time and enjoy the sights when you know the route so thoroughly. The slightly overdriven guitar amps are responsive to the musicians’ expressive touch. Soft percussion calms your heart. Droning organs fill in the cracks. “Getting your head together in the country” is the epigraph before the album’s bandcamp blurb. Ghosts settles urban anxiety by extending an invitation into Still/Hand’s musical family.
Jangle all the way! I found this record through Still in Rock, a dedicated punk rock amplifier. Class is a short burst of summer cheer and liquid fun. Class’s self-titled debut recalls classic punk and glam rock. From the first huge chords of “Steady Hands,” we’re engrossed in streetgrime retro-rock further dirtied up by modern irreverence. “Into the Night” has that je ne sais quoi required of a “remember that one summer?” hit. “Wrong Side of Town” sounds like Sweet squashed onto a 4-track. “Oh! The Nerve” is a pub rock sing-along. “Pills on a Dish” is a bit darker and sounds more of this century; it’s sure to loosen the corporate-approved necktie of any egg-punker and will certainly get the pit pogo dancing. If the 13 minute runtime feels too short, you’re not alone, simply play the EP a few times until you get your fill. But fair warning, you won’t.