Guess I shall stick up a few tracks and let the music do the talking for the time being, hopefully I'll get an opportunity later to add some better input!
Women is a modern post-punk group from Canada which released two albums, Women (2008) and Public Strain (2010). Unfortunately, they likely won’t be recording a third album because of infighting within the group during the Public Strain tour and their guitarist (Christopher Reimer) died about a year ago. If you’re going to make a decision in this match based on one album, listen to Public Strain. Many of these post-punk groups in the tournament, though they have a good discography, were nominated with one album in mind, and Public Strain is my one album for Women. This same concept applies to The Feelies’ Crazy Rhythms, though their entire ‘80s discography is excellent. Women was brought to my attention by the BEA user theharrisonfords, who had impeccable taste. Below are my thoughts on Women’s two albums.
Women (2008) is a largely pedestrian affair. It reminds me of other underproduced alternative albums, particularly from the ‘90s, like At the Drive-In’s Acrobatic Tenement and Spoon’s A Series of Sneaks. It’s got some moments of genius, and produced their only successful single, “Black Rice.” Perhaps the most interesting thing about this album is the way in which it was recorded, which included using cassette recorders while the group played in culverts, among other methods. This album also foreshadows the noise, dissonance, and detachment that would come to characterize their sound.
Public Strain (2010) is one of my top ten favorite albums of the current decade thus far. To draw an analogy, Public Strain is a modern Psychocandy. Like the Jesus and Mary Chain, Women takes ‘60s pop tropes and molests them with noise and dissonance, but rather than relying on a wall of white hiss, Women more often rely on dissonance, detachment, and softer textures. For example, “Eyesore” has drums that reference Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” and The Ronette’s “Be My Baby” and a guitar transition that echoes The Beatles’ cover of “Twist and Shout,” but the song remains distant and confused and awkward and eerie. And like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Women uses detachment from the listener as confrontation, and this is achieved through the vocal delivery, robotic rhythms, recording techniques. The cover of the album itself announces it’s detachment and noise, with distant figures treading their way through a heavy white blizzard like watching Planet of the Apes on a bad television reception. Other parts of the album draw obvious influences from Sonic Youth and Lou Reed’s solo work. Taken as stand-alone songs, the album is weak outside of “China Steps” and “Eyesore,” but the album as a whole delivers impeccable concept, flow, and pacing. I truly hope you enjoy it.
I can't post videos but their performances of "Eyesore" and "China Steps" at Cafe de la Danse are worth watching.
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