After The Pipettes' fabulous encore, I hopped into my waiting car service (or probably someone else's) and rushed through downtown Brooklyn to sneak into Union Hall's sightline-challenged basement. Loney, Dear had just started their set. What you need to know about this Swede is that he is quite relentless. Already four albums into his short one-man-band career, his latest, "Loney, Noir" is pop almost to a fault.
Laden with hooks and cheery brassy Sufjan-strumentation, the album is precise and hopeful even in the face of mild tragedy, a state of mind that can be a bit much for those who like their sentiments sloppy and slushy. On closer inspection, the songs always undercut their own pop-bravado. "I Am John," the free mp3 offered by Sub Pop is undeniably the album's tour-de-force in peppy relentlessness (sparkly xylophone included), but Emil Svanängen's lyrics hint at a tragic romantic realism when he follows the chorus' "Never gonna let you down" with, "but i will always let you down."
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Pipettes' Brooklyn charm offensive
After the ridiculous cool-concert drought of February 2007, I was more than enthusiastically snapping up tickets to the many SXSW-related shows happening all over NYC in March. Belatedly realizing, after clicking the 'Confirm Payment' button, that I had bought tickets for two shows happening on the same night. Moreover, the first was happening in Williamsburg, the other in Park Slope, a true Brooklyn logistics horror.
My double-booked evening did not start well, I stood in the lush Luna Lounge anxiously hoping The Pipettes would start in time for me to make it to the nerdy Union Hall in time for the uniquely Swedish indie-pop of Loney, Dear (but more on the Swedes in my next post). The Pipettes were late, and nervous; their tech-guys checking up on the same keyboard five times. The suspense was killing me, I hardly even noticed my teen-idol, the ever-present ex-Pumpkin James Iha, lounging around behind me. Still, when girl-group-goddesses Gwenno, Becki, and Rose stepped on the stage, dressed in three different, but equally polka-dotted dresses, all was forgiven. The group performed choreographed literal dancemoves, alternated on vocals, awkwardly said 'cheers' between songs, and played all my favorite tracks off "We are The Pipettes".
My double-booked evening did not start well, I stood in the lush Luna Lounge anxiously hoping The Pipettes would start in time for me to make it to the nerdy Union Hall in time for the uniquely Swedish indie-pop of Loney, Dear (but more on the Swedes in my next post). The Pipettes were late, and nervous; their tech-guys checking up on the same keyboard five times. The suspense was killing me, I hardly even noticed my teen-idol, the ever-present ex-Pumpkin James Iha, lounging around behind me. Still, when girl-group-goddesses Gwenno, Becki, and Rose stepped on the stage, dressed in three different, but equally polka-dotted dresses, all was forgiven. The group performed choreographed literal dancemoves, alternated on vocals, awkwardly said 'cheers' between songs, and played all my favorite tracks off "We are The Pipettes".
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