Noble and Mueller's latest project is the Shipping News; possibly the best band to rise from the ashes of Rodan. Their debut Save Everything runs the gamut (whatever that is) from shouts of "focus!" to samples of a passing parade. At one point, mr. Noble sings a nautical love song through a veil of rain and distortion; at another, Rachel Grimes joins the melee for some French spoken word. The entire experience is mercurial, but a few things hold it together: 1. a taste for melody and harmony, 2. rhythmic experiments in 7/4 time (and other numbers), and 3. salt air, oars, lighthouses and anchors. The maritime theme is one of many parallels to E. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News, a wonderful book concerning a man's re-invention of himself. Shipping News, the band, may be a less angular, more humble re-invention of June of '44. Personally, I prefer the news. -- Shipping News has recently released a new album, entitled Very Soon, and in Pleasant Company. It's at least as good as the first one. Visit their southern site |
How best to describe the beauty of this music. First of all, The Sea and the Bells may be my favorite album, ever. The piano and strings lull to you sleep like waves... and every once in a while there is a passage of such beauty (that piano) that it gives you chills. Music for Egon Schiele, on the other hand, is simpler, sunnier, and has a way of stopping time, like a leaf falling in slow motion. There is nothing very "rock" about any Rachel's album - the connection to Rodan is hard to imagine - but Jason Noble plays an important role in the Rachel's band, adding guitar, bass and poems (among other things) to the composition. Along with Christian Fredrickson, Noble and pianist Rachel Grimes write most of the music, and Grimes' piano provides the instrumental core. No, there aren't any lyrics. This band is an important listen for anyone who finds most classical music contrived, or who needs a good band to meditate to. My personal favorite member of Rodan's extended family. Visit their southern site |
Retsin mixes folk and rock with something more interesting, to create a mix that indie-rock girls are bound to enjoy. The vocal interplay between Tara Jane and Cynthia Nelson is a highlight here. I only have a few tracks off Napster, but based on that, this is pretty good stuff. I do have Tara Jane's album Peregrine, and it's total sunday morning music, as the song titles "sunday song" and "another sunday" suggest. The mood is soft and relaxing, and ONeil's voice hums in a way that will make Rodan listeners wonder where the rage went... but as with the Sonora Pine, the musicianship is simple and elegant and sometimes extraordinary. Something about it reminds me of birds and trees, and maybe it's just the title... but it feels very rural, slow-paced and human. Another good listen from a talented musician, a member of Rodan. Go to a retsin site |
Over the course of five years and four LPs, this band has amazed and confused indie-rock audiences all over the world. While their early stuff has the high-powered drama of Rodan (check out "Have a Safe Trip, Dear" or "Lusitania" if you don't believe me), their later stuff becomes more jazzy, more musical, and more experimental. But then again, their stuff was always experimental. Their albums jump from crazy math-rock to mellow post-rock to the omnipresent instrumental, speaking or screaming abstract lyrics along the way. And while their albums sometimes suffer from lack of coherence, their songs are self-contained works of art. At least one of their albums, Tropics and Meridians, is a truly excellent one. June of '44 broke up in the year 2000. While this is bad news, the new Shipping News makes it easier to swallow. Jeff Mueller, the guitarist from Jo44, is back with Jason Noble doing new and better things. The rest of the band plays in bands like Hoover, Rex and Him. The extended family rocks. Visit June of 44's southern site or a good fan site |
Originally headed by Tara Jane ONeil and Jo44 guitarist Sean Meadows, the Sonora Pine's first album had elements of Jo44's fractured grace, with quieter moments that hinted at their sound on album #2. That album had Meadows leaving the band to leave ONeil, Kevin Coultas, and violinist Samara Lubelski. It also found a much purer version of what this band is all about. II is quiet and it's melancholy, but it's also rich and soothing and beautiful. Tracks like "Cloister" almost light the candles by themselves. It shows a different side of Rodan's bassist, and she turns out to have a beautiful voice and a tangible sensitivity. Coultas' drums, on the other hand, are perfectly tasteful and add a lot to the warm atmosphere of the album. All in all II is one of my favorites, a solitary pleasure that adds a lot of beauty to this world. Under-rated by most Quarterstick junkies, the Sonora Pine are not at all bad - in fact, they're pretty darn good. Yet another southern site |
You've probably already heard of Slint. If not, well get yourself a copy of Spiderland, turn down the lights, get some headphones, and listen. It's one of those albums that feels perfect enough to be supernatural, but any perfection is not for prettiness or lack of emotion. Listen and you'll see what I mean. When you're done with that you can check out their first album, Tweez, which is a cathartic/chaotic piece of dissonance that's always underrated next to Spiderland. Slint is one of those bands that become underground legends, and their connection to Rodan is fairly strong - their singer recorded a song on Rusty, they come from the same town, and their music had a large influence on Rodan's. Rusty even sounds like Spiderland in its quieter moments, although it has less darkness and more flame. In any case, Slint made at least one dark and subtle masterpiece before they broke up, much like Rodan did. The depth and the intricacy of their music is something that needs to be experienced, so do that, and don't forget the headphones. The Slint site I've linked to here was part of the inspiration for my Rodan site. It's a good one, load it up. |