Tag: 90’s

ALBUM REVIEW: Palehound “Dry Food”

dry

Palehound is Ellen Kempner, a former Sarah Lawrence student. Former meaning she dropped out, presumably because even if the school did have a 90s-inspired indie rock class, there wouldn’t have been much left for her to learn; the 21-year-old played everything but the drums on her new album, Dry Food. 

Dry Food is the Massachusetts-based artist’s second release after her 2013 EP, Bent Nail. It gets off to an aggressive start with “Molly,” a track that shows off Kempner’s instrumental skills with two guitar lines: one is wiry and playful, and the other brash, a machine-gun explosion of aggression. This duality continues throughout the album: you’ll hear gentle strumming and fingerpicking, twisting guitar licks, heavy distortion, feedback and nose dives down the fretboard – sometimes all in the same song.

The contrast in her music also applies to her singing. Her lyrics get personal, and are deeply aware, but there’s not so much vulnerability in her voice as a deadpan, matter-of-factness that masks most of the emotion. This works well with her songs – though Kempner isn’t afraid to get loud with her guitar; this isn’t dramatic or overly emotive music. Perhaps this is why she’s developed such a serious knack for imagery when it comes to describing feelings. So, the unwanted makeout session on “Easy” becomes “I’m pushing back your tongue/ With my clenched-teeth home security system,” and the tip-toeing of snobby “healthier folk” is revealed through Kempner asking, “Why don’t they hold me? They just cradle me like a homesick child.”

Possibly her best line comes from the title track: “You made beauty a monster to me/So I’m kissing all the ugly things I see.” Another key track is “Cinnamon,” a song that scatters guitar parts wildly over a smooth, shuffling beat. Kempner’s voice is cloaked in a heavy layer of reverb. By the end of the song she’s practically drowning in it, perhaps a result of a few too many rounds of “mixing water with gin and chasing it with cinnamon.”

If you take Dry Food as it is, it’s a short, but solid album. If you consider that it’s Kempner’s first actual album, and she’s still in her (very) early 20’s, the 28 minutes of casual heartbreak become even more impressive.

Dry Food will be available via Exploding In Sound on August 14th. In the meantime, check out “Healthier Folk” below.

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Aradia “Citizen of Earth”

Aradia

Aradia embodies a style similar to 90’s electronic freestyle without being dreadfully cheesy. Perhaps it’s because she is a multi-instrumentalist, a unique song-writer, and a woman of many sounds. She may be originally from New York City, but she is now based out of Seattle, where she released Citizen of Earth. Her new album is completely harmonious, electronic-driven, with dashes of striking guitar to create a capsule of mystical art.
While the 11-track album may sound playful, inspired with electro-beats and percussion, her lyrics deliver meaningful positivity. “To trust your instincts they’re always right. And now you know that you walk in the light. Don’t hold your breath ‘cuz another day is coming. It’s different now, you don’t have to keep running.” “The Light” was charged by Aradia—showing her fans that her new-wave electronic music isn’t only about dancing, but dancing in luminosity. She seems very in-tune with her natural surroundings, frequently citing examples from fire, starlight, and the how she is one with the sky and sea. “Isolation is a tragedy. The idea that we’re separate is just illusory,” she also remains poetic in “Trouble.” And being that she is in search of another “M-Class” planet, is she also revealing her dark side—a loss of hope?
Her complexity in the album can also be reflected by her unreal style, where she is known for out of this world (literally) fashion designs and style. When she’s not busy writing new songs or putting together a space-travel-star-princess costume, you can catch her performing in an upcoming West coast tour. In the meantime, check out one of my favorite tracks off Citizen of Earth below, “Trouble.”