Another Form of Relief

I’ve lost track of exactly how many versions of Where Is My Mind I have at this point. It seems to be one of those staple cover songs that everyone has to have a go at sometime. With that in mind, here is Emmy the Great’s version, recorded live for a BBC Radio 1 session. I think. Maybe it was for somewhere else. My feelings on Emmy’s music itself varies from week to week, and I seem to like about half of her songs but can’t stand the other half. I’m not sure exactly where this one falls. It’s all acoustic with layered vocals, something Nada Surf attempted with their version if I recall correctly. It’s not bad by a long shot, but it’s not blowing me away either. Still, it’s always enjoyable to hear alternative versions of songs.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Her Space Holiday’s bedroom electronica. I discovered it a few years ago when looking for more things that sounded like The Postal Service. It didn’t fit the bill entirely, but it was still good in it’s own way. So exactly what am I supposed to make of this? A Single Hand doesn’t sound like Her Space Holiday. It’s not electronic. Instead, just a gentle acoustic guitar in the background. It isn’t personal. Instead, it tells a more abstract story. A story that is told entirely in spoken word. I like spoken word when done right, so that in itself isn’t a problem. This is just nothing like what I would expect. Hell, look at the picture and tell me that the song matches it. It doesn’t. At least until you take in the words. Suddenly, this doesn’t seem so much like a creative misstep. Instead, it feels like an evolution.

I admit that I’m still struggling somewhat with Heretic Pride, the newest release from The Mountain Goats. There’s nothing wrong with it all, but I’m drawn more toward them when they are focusing on the personal (as the last albums did) rather than the abstract. While they may not have grabbed me in the way that they have previously, some of the songs on it are still pretty damn good. One of them is Sax Rohmer #1. Essentially a pulp novel in song form, we flash through tales of street urchins, sailors and Chinese spies. The second guitar is performed by St. Vincent too, a fact I learnt all of thirty seconds ago.

You can read John Darnielle and Jeffery Lewis’ three page comic book that explains the background of each song on Heretic Pride here.

Talk Taxis are a tough band to nail down as there isn’t anything astounding original about them. They don’t sound a million miles away from any other British indie band of the past few years. Thankfully they seem to have the best parts of those bands down so well that they can churn out some alarmingly catchy songs. The hooks and melodies are simple, yet engaging enough to get stuck in your head, and singer Tom’s rough vocals add a slightly more world weary view to the proceedings than we’re used to. Not everything has to re-define a genre. Some things can just sound good.

What would you do if you were the last person left in the world? You’d probably have quite a few things you’d be able to do that you never had the chance to previously. Ben Parker, aka Superman Revenge Squad, is quite the opposite. He’d rather tell you what he wouldn’t do. He wouldn’t reading books because there will be no girls to see him reading them and give him “knowing looks”. Instead, he’ll just feel sorry for himself.

This kind of lyrical honesty echoes through When Everyone’s Dead. Tracking our lead through the early years of his life through the grunge explosion and the sudden horror of discovering he’s turning into a goth. He’s unapologetically literate, to the point where the song almost stops just so he can rant about that “sexist, talentless twat” Jack Kerouac.

You can download the other two songs from Superman Revenge Squad’s single absolutely free from those lovely people at God Is In The TV.