Travis Morrison Hellfighters - "Just Didn't Turn Me On" (mp3)
This week I learned from Dan Weiss's blog that Travis Morrison's 2nd solo record, All Y'All is out in less than two weeks, and is already streaming on his official site. That release date really snuck up on me, considering how aware I tend to be of when even records I don't give a shit about are coming out. Part of it's that I was really anticipating the album two and a half years ago, when I first heard most of the songs, and after a while I kinda forgot to be excited about it.
In the process of talking to Dan about the record, which he kindly hooked me up with a magical and not at all illegal copy of, I thought back to the times I'd seen Travis play solo post-Dismemberment Plan, and realized I'd seen him a staggering five times. Now, I went to a lot of Plan shows, but I think I only ended up seeing Travis that many times because he seems to play Baltimore a lot more than they used to, maybe because it's the closest thing to an out-of-town show that a D.C. act can play without actually travelling far. The first couple times were with his extremely awkward all-percussion-and-keyboards ensemble playing Travistan material, but the last three were after he formed the Hellfighters and started playing the songs that make up this record. The first time I heard those songs I was seriously bowled over and couldn't wait for the record, and the next couple times not so much, although it might've just been that the thrill of the new was gone.
As for All Y'All, I like it, although not nearly as much as Dan. Travistan, for all its flaws, and it had many, was weirdly charming, and I appreciated the fact that he made a really bugged-out, eccentric acoustic record instead of, say, the sleepy Death Cab For Cutie-style acoustic indie record he could've made, considering who he worked on it with. And I thought the conflicted, humorous way songs like "Che Guevera Poster" addressed politics was really great and unique, and maybe a good direction for him to head into. So in that sense, I'm a little disappointed that All Y'All sounds like a return to the course he was on after Change, the record he logically would've written after that one with or without the Plan, full of electric guitar and synth bleeps and lyrics more personal and earnest than arch and political. Even the first song, "I'm Not Supposed To Like You (But)" starts in a way really similiar to "Sentimental Man." And of course, those kind of comparisons only highlight the fact that the Hellfighters are, at least right now, not half the band the Plan was, although they are perfectly good. It was easier to take his solo work, for better or worse, on its own merits when the comparison isn't so unavoidable.
That's not to say there aren't some really good songs on here. "East Side of the River" looks to one area of Springsteen nostalgia that hasn't been stripmined in the past couple years, the melancholy synth balladry of "Secret Garden" and "I'm On Fire," and I love those songs so I'm just fine with that. "Just Didn't Turn Me On" and "Churchgoer" are personal favorites. But there are some things that drive me nuts, like the vaguely Go-Go-ish backing vox (or at least, that's what I imagine they're aiming for) on "Catch Up," which start out just kind of awkward, and then become unbearable after the tempo change when they try to keep up with the faster beat. And Travis still loves his "woah woah yeah" vamping and placeholder syllables. These things might continue to bug me and turn me off the album, or maybe I'll get more comfortable with it as a whole over time. Either way, I'm glad he finally got the album done.
This week I learned from Dan Weiss's blog that Travis Morrison's 2nd solo record, All Y'All is out in less than two weeks, and is already streaming on his official site. That release date really snuck up on me, considering how aware I tend to be of when even records I don't give a shit about are coming out. Part of it's that I was really anticipating the album two and a half years ago, when I first heard most of the songs, and after a while I kinda forgot to be excited about it.
In the process of talking to Dan about the record, which he kindly hooked me up with a magical and not at all illegal copy of, I thought back to the times I'd seen Travis play solo post-Dismemberment Plan, and realized I'd seen him a staggering five times. Now, I went to a lot of Plan shows, but I think I only ended up seeing Travis that many times because he seems to play Baltimore a lot more than they used to, maybe because it's the closest thing to an out-of-town show that a D.C. act can play without actually travelling far. The first couple times were with his extremely awkward all-percussion-and-keyboards ensemble playing Travistan material, but the last three were after he formed the Hellfighters and started playing the songs that make up this record. The first time I heard those songs I was seriously bowled over and couldn't wait for the record, and the next couple times not so much, although it might've just been that the thrill of the new was gone.
As for All Y'All, I like it, although not nearly as much as Dan. Travistan, for all its flaws, and it had many, was weirdly charming, and I appreciated the fact that he made a really bugged-out, eccentric acoustic record instead of, say, the sleepy Death Cab For Cutie-style acoustic indie record he could've made, considering who he worked on it with. And I thought the conflicted, humorous way songs like "Che Guevera Poster" addressed politics was really great and unique, and maybe a good direction for him to head into. So in that sense, I'm a little disappointed that All Y'All sounds like a return to the course he was on after Change, the record he logically would've written after that one with or without the Plan, full of electric guitar and synth bleeps and lyrics more personal and earnest than arch and political. Even the first song, "I'm Not Supposed To Like You (But)" starts in a way really similiar to "Sentimental Man." And of course, those kind of comparisons only highlight the fact that the Hellfighters are, at least right now, not half the band the Plan was, although they are perfectly good. It was easier to take his solo work, for better or worse, on its own merits when the comparison isn't so unavoidable.
That's not to say there aren't some really good songs on here. "East Side of the River" looks to one area of Springsteen nostalgia that hasn't been stripmined in the past couple years, the melancholy synth balladry of "Secret Garden" and "I'm On Fire," and I love those songs so I'm just fine with that. "Just Didn't Turn Me On" and "Churchgoer" are personal favorites. But there are some things that drive me nuts, like the vaguely Go-Go-ish backing vox (or at least, that's what I imagine they're aiming for) on "Catch Up," which start out just kind of awkward, and then become unbearable after the tempo change when they try to keep up with the faster beat. And Travis still loves his "woah woah yeah" vamping and placeholder syllables. These things might continue to bug me and turn me off the album, or maybe I'll get more comfortable with it as a whole over time. Either way, I'm glad he finally got the album done.
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on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 8:38 AM.
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Zac : 6:37 PM