DaVinci-The MOEna Lisa
The tape ends with a remarkably strong 1-2-3 punch. The run
starts with “Nothing Finna Stop Me,” where DaVinci’s insistent flow is in
full-force, but there is also plenty of room for more relaxed swagger. “In My
City” is a prototypical DaVinci song: journalistic but imbued with personality
and Fillmore spirit. The first verse of “On My Own” is maybe the best of the
whole tape. He takes some risks with lyrics and delivery, and they pay off. I
only wish the electric guitar wasn’t kept to just the intro. But still, the
song is a great one to end on: it has serious staying power and leaves you
wanting more.
The tape is available for free at:
http://swtbrds.bandcamp.com/album/the-moena-lisa
November 24, 2012
The Irrepressibles-Arrow
My policy on overblown, majestic songs is simple: go big or
go home. Far too many songs in this style cling to some level of
self-consciousness or ironic detachment that ruins the beauty and just comes
across as obnoxious. But The Irrepressibles’ “Arrow” nicely avoids this pitfall
by refusing to pull a single punch.
Plenty of bands get the tag “orchestral” for merely throwing in a few strings, but The Irrepressibles are a literal orchestra. Importantly for a song like this, the mixing of the song is near flawless. This allows the vocals to thrive on the sonic excess, whether they are delivering an ode to St. Sebastian or becoming another instrument in the orchestra.
Plenty of bands get the tag “orchestral” for merely throwing in a few strings, but The Irrepressibles are a literal orchestra. Importantly for a song like this, the mixing of the song is near flawless. This allows the vocals to thrive on the sonic excess, whether they are delivering an ode to St. Sebastian or becoming another instrument in the orchestra.
Matching the album title and artwork, the hypnotic video features two
nude young men wrestling. Like everything
else about the song, it is pristine and completely uncompromising.
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