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The Lucksmiths, "Warmer Corners"
Seasons, lost loves, catch phrases and catchy melodies always seems to converge pleasantly on any given Lucksmiths' album. Warmer Cornersreliably exhibits all of these things and more, featuring an additional member, thus augmenting the trio to a quartet for the better part of the album.
Matinee
This addition, which could potentially be a significant change inthe band's evolution, never threatens to alter the genetics of theband's admittedly eugenic pop output. The Lucksmiths have always made efficient and economic use of their simple percussion, guitar, and bass trio. The same is true now with the only difference being that now thereare horns, strings, and sometimes dual guitar lines to complement the already-full sound. Despite the cumbersome title, lead single "The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco" is a marvelous variation on the theme which Tony Bennett made famous (like-minded Lucksmiths' pals Ladybug Transistor used the same inspiration in their song "Massachusetts"). Right from the first line the song is brilliant and does much to confuse the hell out of any conscientious northern hemispheredweller: "Is it April yet? I forget sometimes how slowly summer passes."For those who are antipathetic to the wordsmithing of the Lucksmiths', itwould be best to avoid songs like "Great Lengths." The song plays on someclever rhymes (few bands are deft enough to rhyme "guessing" with "acquiescing") and some rhetorical tropes (check out the rarely heard/seenzeugma in the lyrics: "you had your father's charm and thus your mother'sVolvo"). But it would be a shame to skip over "Great Lengths" even for those averse to such devices because the song is simply too catchy and tuneful to ignore, going beyond any wordplay which might scare you off. Furthermore, it's alright to listen to a band whose principal songwriter has a sharper pen than yours. There seems to be an inexplicable infusionof seventies sounds on this album, evidenced on songs like "A Hiccup in Your Happiness," "The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco," and "Young and Dumb." More to the point, one of the B-sides from the lead single was a cover of The Bee Gees "I Started a Joke." The song I keep coming back to is the subtle and understated "The Music Next Door." I passed it by the first few times and it actually took a live performance to relay the delicacy of the song to me. The song's gleeful cadence and dueling guitars are a strange accompaniment to the lovelorn lyrics. But,somehow, it works. The song is also a typical case-study for my experience with the entire album. At first, I denied that it was as goodas 2003's Naturaliste. But subsequent and frequent listens have shaken my once sturdy resolve. My one complaint is that the album trailsoff a little in the second half and the songs are less memorable (at leastat this point). Yet I don't trust myself entirely with this thought sinceI have already changed my mind regarding a number of songs. Just like theseasons they are so fond of elegizing, the Lucksmiths' songs have a certain vicissitude and mutability which makes generalizing an album quitehard. In other words, the seasons change in almost perfect harmony with my appreciation of particular Lucksmiths' songs, making the seasons a function of my appreciation and not the other way around. It's a theory,at least. While it gathers more data , Warmer Corners will reign as the first soundtrack to this summer.
Matinee
This addition, which could potentially be a significant change inthe band's evolution, never threatens to alter the genetics of theband's admittedly eugenic pop output. The Lucksmiths have always made efficient and economic use of their simple percussion, guitar, and bass trio. The same is true now with the only difference being that now thereare horns, strings, and sometimes dual guitar lines to complement the already-full sound. Despite the cumbersome title, lead single "The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco" is a marvelous variation on the theme which Tony Bennett made famous (like-minded Lucksmiths' pals Ladybug Transistor used the same inspiration in their song "Massachusetts"). Right from the first line the song is brilliant and does much to confuse the hell out of any conscientious northern hemispheredweller: "Is it April yet? I forget sometimes how slowly summer passes."For those who are antipathetic to the wordsmithing of the Lucksmiths', itwould be best to avoid songs like "Great Lengths." The song plays on someclever rhymes (few bands are deft enough to rhyme "guessing" with "acquiescing") and some rhetorical tropes (check out the rarely heard/seenzeugma in the lyrics: "you had your father's charm and thus your mother'sVolvo"). But it would be a shame to skip over "Great Lengths" even for those averse to such devices because the song is simply too catchy and tuneful to ignore, going beyond any wordplay which might scare you off. Furthermore, it's alright to listen to a band whose principal songwriter has a sharper pen than yours. There seems to be an inexplicable infusionof seventies sounds on this album, evidenced on songs like "A Hiccup in Your Happiness," "The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco," and "Young and Dumb." More to the point, one of the B-sides from the lead single was a cover of The Bee Gees "I Started a Joke." The song I keep coming back to is the subtle and understated "The Music Next Door." I passed it by the first few times and it actually took a live performance to relay the delicacy of the song to me. The song's gleeful cadence and dueling guitars are a strange accompaniment to the lovelorn lyrics. But,somehow, it works. The song is also a typical case-study for my experience with the entire album. At first, I denied that it was as goodas 2003's Naturaliste. But subsequent and frequent listens have shaken my once sturdy resolve. My one complaint is that the album trailsoff a little in the second half and the songs are less memorable (at leastat this point). Yet I don't trust myself entirely with this thought sinceI have already changed my mind regarding a number of songs. Just like theseasons they are so fond of elegizing, the Lucksmiths' songs have a certain vicissitude and mutability which makes generalizing an album quitehard. In other words, the seasons change in almost perfect harmony with my appreciation of particular Lucksmiths' songs, making the seasons a function of my appreciation and not the other way around. It's a theory,at least. While it gathers more data , Warmer Corners will reign as the first soundtrack to this summer.samples:
