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“Here
is a CD you’ll like I think” Seb Wood said to me a few days ago. He always
says that when handing me a CD he is always sure I do not know. As usual, I said
“ok, thanks” and put the record in my bag pack after reading the name.
Pretty
Girls Make Graves.
It sounds good, a kind of passive aggressive ambiguous concept involving beauty
and death, but let’s get not carried away with a stylistic bullshit analysis.
I like the name.
Matador
Records. Well, it
deserves not be commented for hours, it’s supposedly a label of quality in the
indie world, isn’t it?
The
artwork. The cover
is weird, a close up on the upper part of a dog’s face (BH: actually, i think
it's a horse, maybe a cute little poney), with its eye wide open. It does not
work, aesthetically I mean, it does not appeal to me. The booklet is sober,
lyrics and photos of the band. The singer makes me think of Christina Aguilera
(when she is a brunette), but god rested on the seventh day so I must not be
normal.
First
impressions. It
sounds ok at first, they are not entrapped into one recipe. Anyway I had to skip
some tracks and it’s not a good sign, generally speaking. Some songs start
like electro pop and I don’t really like that, anyway it’s not a long album
so I’ll go back at length to it after lunch.
My
opinion: I was
wrong skipping tracks. Following the change of tones in the music, the
she-singer’s voice is alternatively sad and beautiful or dynamic (Something
Bigger Something Brighter, Blue Lights), close to the singers of Sleater Kinney
that is to say on the edge of being unendurable (for some people) but I like SK
a lot. Sleater Kinney seems to be an reference to point out but Pretty Girls
Make Graves urges towards more emo stuff at times (All Medicated Geniuses, The
Teeth Collector). Among this rare collection of really good material there are
songs that I would call “hype band in the” songs, that is to say easy on the
ear pop rock stuff (The Grandmother Wolf, This is our Emergency). It only
depends on the listener’s reception to them but they are nonetheless
enjoyable. It’s a pity the record ends on a weak song (A certain Cemetery), I
mean weaker than the rest. It’s a different atmosphere, maybe pretentiously
darker, I don’t know.
Question.
What’s the name for this music? Indie pop, I suppose.
Lyrics:
No comment. Judge not lest be judged. A line I like and can relate to: Hello
I’m neurotic, creating problems that don’t exist, don’t believe me when I
say it’s alright.
Problems:
Unnecessary short electro instrumental interludes (Mr Club, 7). One song
does not fit with the rest (The New Romance), and I have to say that because of
the electro pop dimension it conveys that fortunately does not stain the rest of
the songs.
Conclusion:
Thank you Seb, I like this one, you were right. It’s a pain in the arse to
give it back to you so I guess I will wait impatiently for my pay check.
/feb 15th 2004/