Hum - Downward Is Heavenward

Thanksgiving is coming up! I'm really looking forward to a weekend at home. I'm going to eat till I puke, play some guitar, hang out with family & friends, and probably drink till I puke a second time. What more could a guy ask for?

I have work I should be doing, so I'm going to make this really quick.

Today's album: Hum - Downward is Heavenward

Genre: Alternative Rock, Grunge
Released: 1997
Running time: 10 tracks, 52:04
In a nutshell: Grunge astronauts rock the fuck out!!

The 90's is definitely my favorite decade for rock (the 70's being a close second), probably because of all the left turns the genre took. The departure from blues-based, guitar-hero antics really allowed artists to explore the rock format to its fullest extremes. Bands like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine pioneered new soundscapes of guitar noise, while other talents such as Billy Corgan developed them into chart-topping pop. Meanwhile, self-proclaimed pariahs criticized society on behalf of a new, directionless generation; Kurt Cobain did so rather abrasively, Billy Joe used a mix of humor and lust, and Brad Nowell...well, his death illustrated a sort of wise complacency that cast his songwriting in a similar light.

So that was what 90's rock looked like, and while Hum doesn't look any different, they definitely found a unique niche for themselves. Mixing the distortion and drive of grunge with shoegaze drones, and even some metal technicality, at times they seem like the best of all worlds. Hum departs from stereotypical 90's rock with lyrical content and vocal style. For the most part, these songs are introspective in a way that comes off as either peaceful or melancholy, but never angry or frustrated. This is strange because singer Matt Talbott shows he can muster a fairly powerful Cobain-growl when he feels like it, which isn't often. Usually, he sings plainly, almost dispassionately, while his band pounds and roars behind him. The overall effect is quite unique, even if the components aren't.

O.W.L. - Of Wondrous Legends

It's been a little over a month since I last posted. I know, I'm such a slacker. Actually, I've been busy trying to convince myself to so schoolwork, and subsequently doing said schoolwork. It's a very time-consuming process. I have an hour or so to kill, so here we are.

Today's album: O.W.L. - Of Wondrous Legends

Genre: Psychadelic, Folk
Released: March 2008, recorded 1971
Running time: 12 tracks, 50:21
In a nutshell: Knights, kings, and carnivals

Apparently this album was originally recorded by Stephen Titra back in 1971, but it was never released to the public. Some hipster record-freak dug up some test pressings and decided to share it with the world last spring.

Did the world really need to listen to this record? Well, maybe we didn't need to, but I think it was an hour well spent. The album is an ornate mix of old, Western European folk and psychadelic rock. This was by no means a new combination; a lot of British rock bands have done this, such as Small Faces, and even Led Zeppelin to a lesser extent. O.W.L. shoots for the same general aesthetic, but with less emphasis on blues, rock, and eclectic psychadelia.

Instrumentally, the band sounds incredible, creating an intricate flow of acoustic folk instruments, flute and wind, xylophone, melodic bass and percussion. The melodies are often sound very medieval-classical, but there are also elements of blues, jazz, and even bossa nova here. My personal favorite is the third track, Be Alive, which adorns a bouncy acoustic guitar with jazzy electric piano, and a catchy bass melody. The musicians are usually virtuosic without being overwhelmingly "progressive".

Lyrically, Titra often tries to transport the listener to a somewhat fantastical version of medieval Europe through musical narrative. A Tale of a Crimson Knight is exactly that; a tale of a knight's encounter with an enchanting maiden. The longest track on the record, Midnight Carnival, matches lyrical description of the setting with alternating currents of groovy psych-rock and woozy atmospherics. The effect is often a bit cheezey, but I think I'd fall for it if I was high enough. This is definitely a stoner/geek album; it takes either drugs or an overactive imagination to really become absorbed in the environment that Titra creates.

This is not to say that this is a concept album, telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Titra uses his medieval medium for introspection (in Be Alive), and even political righteousness (Everyman and the Philosopher King). So I think that, on the rare occasion where I feel like smoking a bowl and listening to something this nerdy, I'd rather go all out and listen to something like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.