JonHealey
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One of my eMusic downloads this month was Bella's No One Will Know. The band's a trio, 2/3 Canadian (which, as those who know me will aver, is a good thing). The sound is synthy guitar pop, not unlike mid-period New Order, except they can sing. The arrangements are a little crunchier and less angular than N.O., too. I'm utterly charmed by this record. It's catchy, well played, well sung. Can't say the lyrics have made much of an impression on me, but that may be simply because I'm hooked on the pop.
I've been listening to Springsteen's new album repeatedly the last couple of days, and I like it a lot. Not terribly surprising; I've liked just about all of his stuff. The most interesting thing about this one is the degree to which it doesn't sound like a Springsteen record. There's one throwback to the sound from the '70s and '80s (ironically enough, titled "Livin' in the Future") but it sounds out of place here. While the lyrics are unmistakably Springsteen, the melody lines, the harmonies, the chord progressions and the arrangements are all subtly different. Others have already pointed out the sonic similarities between the single, "Radio Nowhere," and the Drive-By Truckers' "Never Gonna Change." My ears also picked out hints of The Magnetic Fields (in "Girls in their Summer Clothes" and "Your Own Worst Enemy, two great tracks) and Teenage Fanclub (the opening of "You'll Be Comin' Down" reminded me a lot of "Start Again"). It's funny, 'cause the instrumentation is pretty much the same -- heck, the players are the same, too. But there's something fresh here. "Gypsy Biker" starts out with the familiar Springsteen wailing harmonica, then gets so lush that even the familiar Springsteen stinging Telecaster guitar lines sound ... different. Kudos to the band and producer Brendan O'Brien, who surely deserves a lot of the credit for letting Springsteen be Springsteen without plowing the same musical ground yet again.
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I think Girls In Their Summer Clothes is my favorite song of the year. I just love it -- makes me happy. A lot of people have talked about the Phil Spector/Brian Wilson sound, and it's there -- whenever you play a glockenspiel or whatever, you invite those comparisons -- but it's something more, too. I hate it when Springsteen adopts the voice of the three-steps-down-from-blue-collar guy. I think it's silly. But has he ever sounded like this before? Not that I recall....
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Very curious. Also like to see TMBG represented in your collection, and the Magnetic Fields... two faves from back in the day...
Ahh many good things going on up in Canada!
least we speak ill of Bernard Sumner or Ian Curtis for that matter!!!