Official UTS Review Thread

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by xhector

IMO this is the surface of the album (whispery vocals, loud electronic fx, fewer elements than before..). Once you don’t have a problem with that you’ll be able to let the music say things to you –eer get it under the skin . A lot more things actually than if this album was “correctly sung”, “correctly produced”, and talked about usual nonsenses, like the 95% (98%? ) of the rest of today’s music. Lindsey has done it personal, and just said what he felt the need to say today, with not much ties to how one is supposed to do things.

But this is part of what “rock & roll” is: the first Velvet Underground album and its hypnotic two chord songs, Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds talking about intimate weaknesses for the first time and exploring new sonorities, or Kraftwerk’s refusal to use traditional (non electronic) instruments and having to invent new technologies from scratch: not doing the things as you’re supposed to.

In this album, Lindsey talks about his life and most of all about his family, puts family photos in the booklet and family videos in the web as if they were “his band”, sings with the heart in a nude and crude way without caring if it sounds “normal” or polite, plays the guitar with virtuosism but lets get in an error or two without problems, and plays with his favourite effect machines as if they were just another instrument. He invents, takes risks, is still a transgressor, but is not talking about drugs or sex or politics, only about his family and new life, and his own career. Why not? These are the things that matter to him today.

I mean, who liked and fully understood Tusk musically at first listen? Certainly not me, it was a slow process to let the most riskier songs grow to understand it was something valuable. Today I can appreciate Lindsey’s new work in less time, because after all this years I think I can connect better with his methods (and learn from them all the time, music and production being also part of my life) and changes of direction. Although it’s been a progressive process, with the leaking demos.. and culminating in listening the actual cd in its full quality (mp3 can’t make justice to this work, you loose lots of nuances).

In a way, I think I love Lindsey’s work for very different reasons I love Stevie’s. I totally understand, of course, that someone can like her, or the band, and not Lindsey, or the other way round. It’s fascinating overall: part of Lindsey’s “failure” as a solo artist is that his potential audience is different of FM’s. And every audience type has its prejudices, so it's difficult to fit anywhere.

After all the bla, bla, bla.. I think there’s only one way: you put the CD, and it says and makes you feel things to you, or not. If you respected the artist before, you can give it more time with more listens (to break its surface) before making a judgement. If it still doesn’t, yes, maybe you can try in another time in your life. Personally, as I said before, this album is a treasure (and will defend it to death if necessary )

I can't really add anything to this. When I first heard the disc.. hell, when I first heard Shut Us Down.. I knew it'd be hard for a lot of people to digest. But I'm like.. Lindsey to the core.. and it only took me a minute, thankfully.