By Matt Jarrard

Formerly of Athens GA, Great Lakes now reside in Brooklyn and have given us a taste of their October 12th release. Great Lakes is Ben Crum (Ladybug Transistor) and lyricist Dan Donahue, with multi-instrumentalist Jamey Huggins (Of Montreal), the sound of the this first single gives an indication of a departure from the brighter, janglier sound of their earlier releases. 

The additional players on Ways of Escape are ridiculously steeped: Kevin Shea (Talibam!) on drums, David Lerner (ex-Ted Leo & the Pharmacists) on bass, Jay Israelson (Mice Parade) on piano, Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs) on electric piano and organ, Jon Natchez (Beruit, Bishop Allen) on bass clarinet and saxophones, Heather McIntosh (Circulatory System, The Instruments, Gnarls Barkley) on cello, Linda Rosenbury on violin, Philip Sterk on pedal steel, and Suzanne Nienaber (The Ladybug Transistor) singing backing vocals.

Here’s the incredible single:

Great Lakes – Summer Fruit

By Rube Ambler

There was a time in my youth when my two favorite bands were The Replacements and The Smithereens (and that was just last week). Go figure. I loved both of them for reasons that were at the same time both similar and different. They were the only bands whose limited edition 12″ singles I still bought during that period in my life when I didn’t even have a functioning record player.

When I first heard Fountains of Wayne, I was delighted to have a replacement of sorts for my beloved Smithereens. Yes, they were not as somber or heartfelt but they were equally hooky and seemed to pay homage to the same influences. I also need to admit that think the Open Season soundtrack was Paul Westerberg’s best work since 14 Songs, and yes it is poppy as all get out. Finally, if all of those references are too old for you to recognize, than think of Bishop Allen. I love these bands because they all have a common attachment to a retro pop sensibility that is hard to deny as either a casual or serious listener.

And that brings us to the subject of this review – Luna Versus You. Richard Parsons, the man behind Luna Versus You, might tell you that the music he has written, performed, recorded and produced is retro-pop, and it is. However, it is not the orchestral, psychedelic, “I’ve listened to Pet Sounds 1,000 times,” retro 60s pop so popular among indie rock bands right now. No, Luna Versus You is the kind 60s pop music that was actually popular back then. (Despite being the Beach Boy‘s eleventh studio album, Pet Sounds didn’t even earn a gold record in its original release).

Instead Luna Versus You evokes the best of the 60s pop that was popularized by the British Invasion – The Kinks, Donovan, Herman’s Hermits – and imitated by all those bands mentioned above. Records teeming over with big hooks and memorable verses set against fuzzy guitars and massive Rhodes keys. In fact, Luna Versus You does it so well, I will tell you that it would have been a million seller in a different era (and it still should be).

Does that mean it’s dated though? Oh no. The good Mr. Parsons takes on modern topics like sustainability and technological alienation in the midst of songs about two people just trying to get some time together. The upbeat tempos often belie the longing and grown-up angst embedded in the lyrics. Like some of the best pop music you will ever hear, it is only after you’ve sang along to the lyrics more than once that you fully realize what you’ve been singing.

The record opens with the infectious beats of “Only You” which immediately discount our current economic woes in favor of a time “when money couldn’t buy you love” and proclaims “baby, I’m ready to spend.” The big keys and head nodding drums continue through the first three songs. The tempo breaks only slightly for the hopeful/hopeless sentiment of “When You Come Around” and by the time you return to the sixth track – the single “Lights Out Lovers” – you’re ready to grab your best girl and pretend you’re in that classic Weezer video for “Buddy Holly”. If there’s a complaint to be had, it’s that this record is only eight songs long.

Very well produced even if only published for the “sake of getting it off my desktop,” Luna Versus You will provide fine accompaniment for you on those long drives to the lake or beach this summer. It’s fun, accessible and thoughtful enough that it can withstand any hipster who thinks pop means not smart. I plan on keeping my copy in the CD sleeve of the car visor all year long and suggest you do the same.

Copies of Luna Versus You will be available locally at Decatur CD on March 30 (the full moon). The CD release party will be April 2 at The Marlay House in Downtown Decatur – meet Richard and get copies of the CD there.

Finally, if you haven’t seen the fantastic animated video for “Lights Out Lovers” by Brad McGinty then check it out here.

Listen: Luna Versus You – Lights Out Lovers

Listen:

Okay we’re going to throw two concepts at you at the same time here.  We know you can handle it.  The first is Rube Ambler’s answer to Mr. Brenner’s short review column, Short & Skinny.  What follows is the first edition of Abbreviated Attention (Span) where your erstwhile blog administrator (?!) tries to regain his role as an actual contributor of substance to this little interweb adventure of ours.

The second is the simple fact that things like families and day jobs keep us from writing about all our mostest, favoritest records just as soon as they come out.  It is no exaggeration that they end up Under the Pile, only to be re-discovered later with the lament that we haven’t told the whole world about them.  No more regrets.  We’re flipping those piles upside down and working our way to the top.  We really don’t care if the record is (gasp) six months old (oops, there goes the hipster cred again…), we’re gonna write about it.  And when we’re feeling really surly, we intend to borrow a page from Yankee Rose and pull one that’s really old Off the Shelf (see, that was sort a pun).

So if you’ve been keeping notes, you now know that new stuff is just a Record Review or Book Review, sorta recent stuff comes from Under the Pile and we pull older stuff Off the Shelf.  We’re so clever, aren’t we?  (sigh.)

Anyway, the inaugural presentation of Abbreviated Attention (Span) will be an Under the Pile edition.  Here goes.

This record is about as “grrr” as a hummingbird.   When we first listened to this record this spring, it reminded us of Donovan. We still hold to that. It has all the jangle you should expect from the finest late 60s pop (and Donovan was squarely there).  The single greatest distiction between the two, is the precision of the production on this record (something I imagine Donovan only could have dreamed of). When the primary accompaniment to the tune is the tamborine (“The Lion and the Teacup”) that’s exactly what you hear.  It seems that Bishop Allen is in search of the perfect pop melody, a pursuit we still have strong affection for, and they come pretty darn close here.  And if you don’t believe the Donovan thing by the time you get to “True or False,” then maybe you need to go back to some of his records again.  Fans Gomez and more recent Josh Ritter should enjoy this record.

Discovery LP

We realize that hipsters need to dance too. But it can be sooo tough.

Lady Gaga is almost unquestionably off-limits and it doesn’t matter how infectious the hook behind Will I. Am’s “Boom Boom Pow,” you can only listen in safety when you can blame the musical selection on the toddler in the car seat behind you (of course, the question of how the kid downloaded it remains…).  Sure there’s dance rock à la Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs or maybe The Sounds, but sometimes you just want dance music – true and through.

Discovery is the answer.  Two fully credentialed hipsters, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot, are here to take you on a light hearted romp through clubland.  Don’t take it too seriously and you will enjoy it as much as we did.

Released earlier this summer, we wore it out before we ever got around to writing about it.  We don’t doubt that we will go back to it though – we are a wee bit hipster after all.  Highlights include their cover of Michael Jackson’s “I Want You Back” and the self-referential “Can You Discover” – which is essentially a cover of Ra Ra Riot’s “Can you Tell.” Recommended if you need to work off an ill-advised after-midnight latte.

Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca

I’ll be honest with you.  I read Pitchfork.  Almost every day.  Not because I believe most of it (or even much of it).  I read it to keep myself in check.  Yep.  If I really lose track of myself enough that I start agreeing with all that, then I need to step beck from this deal for a little while.  Fortunately, I usually don’t agree with them.  Twitter followers will remember my blasts when they “regraded” their Grizzly Bear review to a 9.0 days after initially giving it a 10.0 and then starting that second review with some throwaway line about the record not being perfect.  Hmmm, is that kosher?

This is the kind of elaborate, carefully constructed, highly orchestrated music that can make hipsters swoon.  (Man, we’re on a big hipster kick tonight, huh?)  But we don’t care.  There are moments when this record simply rocks. About 55 seconds into “The Bride” multi-layered harmonies break into a riff that is pure Led Zeppelin and that riff comes back more than once.  The drums and synths that open the single, “Stillness is the Move,” don’t really seem to match and the vocal is even further off but when it is all thrown together, it is not only good – it’s pretty darn catchy.  Maybe growing up on Queen let’s me take all the pomp and orchestration in stride, maybe it’s what makes me like it?  I really don’t know.  But this record has been in my heavy rotation all summer and I have no intention of taking it out of the rack.  If you’re ready for a sonic adventure, then give it a spin.

Dirty Projectors will be at the Masquerade on October 24.