i can see through everything.
Time is an actual element to music. Not the real time it takes to simply listen, but the elapsed time (months, or more appropriately: years) it takes for albums and artists to gel, and on rare occasions, cement. It's the reason Pitchfork changing their rating and review of Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea to a 10 is logical and the Arctic Monkeys album being named the fifth best British album of all time before within the month of it's release is absurd.
Time is also a personal element to music. The reason you feel you grow out of (or away from) some albums is obvious, but the reasons some come back are the reasons music is such a complex and living aspect to our lives.
French Kicks (pardon the euphemism, but) had me at 'hello.' From the start of their debut One Time Bells I was thrilled. I listened to it quite a bit and it was around the most crucial stage of my music-listening life. Why The Trial of the Century didn't stick is, at this point, beyond me. Upon hearing a new track from July's Two Thousand (their third full-length on StarTime, which kickstarted The Walkmen among others), I felt both elated to enjoy a song from a band I had unfortunately nearly forgotten about, and incredibly guilty for not making better use of the last two years I should have been spending with Trial. Well no more, French Kicks. I promise you. I'm here now and not going anywhere.
French Kicks have definitely gelled. The Brooklyn-based quintet modified their original stylish and sensible garage post-punk with lush synths and less powerful drums with Trial, but I'm under the impression that Two Thousand will build on those changes and bring the band to it's true (and quite excellent) sound.
Time has made all the difference for French Kicks, and it's my belief that it will continue to benefit the band.
French Kicks' "Wrong Side"
from One Time Bells
French Kicks' "One More Time"
from The Trial of the Century
There are currently four more songs from this album on MySpace
French Kicks' "Also Ran"
from Two Thousand
Time is also a personal element to music. The reason you feel you grow out of (or away from) some albums is obvious, but the reasons some come back are the reasons music is such a complex and living aspect to our lives.
French Kicks (pardon the euphemism, but) had me at 'hello.' From the start of their debut One Time Bells I was thrilled. I listened to it quite a bit and it was around the most crucial stage of my music-listening life. Why The Trial of the Century didn't stick is, at this point, beyond me. Upon hearing a new track from July's Two Thousand (their third full-length on StarTime, which kickstarted The Walkmen among others), I felt both elated to enjoy a song from a band I had unfortunately nearly forgotten about, and incredibly guilty for not making better use of the last two years I should have been spending with Trial. Well no more, French Kicks. I promise you. I'm here now and not going anywhere.
French Kicks have definitely gelled. The Brooklyn-based quintet modified their original stylish and sensible garage post-punk with lush synths and less powerful drums with Trial, but I'm under the impression that Two Thousand will build on those changes and bring the band to it's true (and quite excellent) sound.
Time has made all the difference for French Kicks, and it's my belief that it will continue to benefit the band.
French Kicks' "Wrong Side"
from One Time Bells
French Kicks' "One More Time"
from The Trial of the Century
There are currently four more songs from this album on MySpace
French Kicks' "Also Ran"
from Two Thousand
Listen Well posted this around 9:52 PM
2 Comments:
The French Kicks/Walkmen show at the Grog Shop a few years back was one of the best I remember. You got the set list from the opening band, the lead guitarist/singer of which bled all over it, and I got the Walkmen set list (which I still have)that was Sharpied onto a small brown paper CD bag (the bag was small and paper and brown, not the CD). I couldn't hear properly the next day because you had made us stand literally right next to the speakers. The Walkmen frontman kept jumping on the speaker and actually knocked it over once and stumbled on the stage, knocking over and breaking a bar glass sitting on the stage. The French Kicks frontman kept dancing and we both admired how easy-going he was about his music.
But the French Kicks drummer didn't show. They waited a really long time for him, but had The Walkmen drummer play for them, and at that had to play an abbreviated set list. And I still have the bloody set list from Coffinberry.
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