It’s
fitting that I have spent this entire Sunday so far listening to music. I just learned that Lou Reed has passed away.
Without the music he and John
Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen
Tucker created as the Velvet
Underground, pretty much none of the music I so enjoy today would be the
same. They are the predominant influence
for the styles that I generally gravitate – music that can be harsh and
pristine at the same time; music that can be simply constructed but filled with
complex stories and emotions. Reed’s
influence is so massive that the entire feed of my Facebook page right now is filled with tributes from nearly every artist
or band that I “like,” all of them proclaiming a love of his music.
This sad news
came to my attention just as I logged in to my computer to write a new music
synopsis. It is one meant to be an
experiment. Since I’ve started whatever
this Blogger page is, I have begun
each year with a listing of my favorite records of the prior year. As each year ends, I wait too long before
writing the 40 or so pieces for each artist in the “countdown,” and I always
feel stressed and burned out by the end of it.
My goal, at this point (I am not good at promises or proclamations), is
to begin 2014 by writing about new music, as it comes into my life, as the year
progresses, instead of saving it all up till the end. My hope is that this will sharpen my writing
and listening skills, keep me more connected with the music that inspires me,
and lessen the load at year’s end. I’m
certain that I will question my motives for writing about music at all during
the several expected points of discouragement that will overtake me along the
journey. Yet, I know that no matter
what, it is my love of music and passion for trying to share that love that
will keep me returning no matter what – whether I want to or not. This experiment will change the way I listen
to and absorb music and maybe this will reignite my spark.
So, here it
goes: The home recording husband and wife duo, Drakes Hotel, currently residing in Iowa, was nice enough to send
me an advance copy of their new CD EP and it moved me to try to write a piece
about it. It will be released on
November 12th.
Drakes Hotel
Love’s Not Lazy EP
(DH Music)
Drakes
Hotel is on a hot streak! This five
tracker, their first EP, comes a little over a year after their last full
length, Logic Adopts Senses (my #17
pick of 2012, seen here), which is
ahead of their release every 2-3 years track record. They must be feeling inspired, because this
EP includes some of their best work yet and word has it that they will be
releasing a series of EPs in the near future, as well as doing some touring in
the new year.
The EP
starts off with the extended melancholic “The Night Train Home,” where Amy Drake’s unique, strong and stellar
vocals are placed fully out in front of the mysterious and haunting soundscape underneath. This song would make a perfect soundtrack for
a night time train ride - lost in thought, because it absolutely evokes that feeling
of reflection and decompression.
The upbeat
“Young Taste” is up next and finds DH getting right to the point with a fairly
straightforward rock song that screams single!
The lyrics are thought provoking.
It seems to be spelling out some relationship troubles within each
verse, while the chorus (which includes near power chords!) stretches the theme
to a potentially more universal problem with relationships in general in a
world of social media and over sharing.
The
centerpiece, “Leave It Dark,” includes everything there has ever been to love
about this duo. The sing-a-long chorus
is not only full of wisdom, but is catchy as hell, while the simple repeated
piano refrain creates a solid tuneful base for Chris Y’s stellar guitar work that reaches for the stratosphere
throughout – reminding of the graceful striving cascades that the House of Love created with “Love in a
Car’ oh, so many years ago.
It’s
amazing how much variety Drakes Hotel achieves with their modest recording
tools, but “Sense Non Sense” is a huge sounding song that is full of open space
and an atmospheric keyboard line that instills a sense of intrigue that is so
attractive about their music. Maybe this
song would be better served as the hit single with its huge musical climax and
its tale of a dying relationship, which is succinctly and memorably told (“We
had a lack of progress / on a bed of promise / all we used to be got all fucked
up”).
Finally,
the EP closes with the dramatic and hopeful sounding “Sick Apart,” which again
addresses relationship issues and miscommunication or lack of within, but seems
to find that there can still be a strong enough core to survive and even
thrive. When Amy sings near the end
“Keep holding me…I’ve wanted you for so long,” it feels as though everything
will be alright.
Please do
yourself a favor and track down this music (their last three albums can be
found at CDBaby.com). It is a journey
well worth the price of admission.
