Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Names - golem/He Downright Up and Left Us

7/2/2013

1 Comment

 
Names

Golem/He Downright Up and Left Us
self-released

3.5 out of 5 - Golem

4.1 out of 5  - He Downright Up and Left Us

By Sean Dennison
The problem with artists releasing musical things together in quick succession is that they run the risk of delivering homogenous products. Not so for Names, the creative vehicle driven by Boston-based Brian Barth. Barth saw some action in the folk scene then switched to penning his own songs in later 2012. The folk elements are omnipresent in both albums (more in He Downright Up and Left Us than Golem) but so are the experimental endeavors once Barth went solo.

Golem is primarily Barth exploring the possibility of electronic equipment to make music, though collaborator Callie Peters offers up cello talent on the tracks "North" and "Best." The electronics are produced by a MicroKorg and sample triggering by Renoise. Four tracks and less than 20 minutes long, Golem is a sad, sometimes dissonant creation. The barrenness of "North" is particularly striking with its dejected cello scraps finding their way through nebulous electronic hums. Barth's voice is plaintive, kind, but unsuited for the emotional catharsis "North" achieves. The next track, "House," doesn't fare well, with samples of some guy with an accent describing nature over a inch of crunching and crinkling artificial sounds. It feels formless and pointless.

Luckily Barth picks himself up with the next track, "Beast," and engaging sci-fi soundtrack in miniature, warped loops, ray gun sound effects and some close encounters of the third kind in music. It's far more dynamic then the previous two tracks, more substance, but still feels like a bummer despite the energy. This is reinforced with "Best," appropriately named. Here is where sadness revolves into more bearable melancholy. Structured more like a hip-hop song, the cello is key here and Barth finally figures out how to apply his voice to music. Good stuff, joyful without being histrionic, heavy beats and there's some nice twinkling stuff here. I think it was partially inspired by Fun, which makes sense, but is also sort of depressing because I really hate that band. If they modeled their music in the style of "Best" I'd be much more inclined to enjoy them.

Now, Golem doesn't leave the strongest impression on a listener, which may explain the power of He Downright Up and Left Us. Superior to his former release in every way, Barth trades in experimental tendencies for a loner-folk sound and it totally works.

Production is out there and every sound feels like it's taking up more space than it should. This doesn't create congestion but rather a distortion of acoustics. The guitar and piano don't mesh and by nature of their friction they totally fit. Barth's voice finds some good fits on songs like "Screen" and "Moonshiner" when he lets his voice skitter across halting chord structures and not too much else. There's the occasional studio effect of voice overlap, sound delays and some backwoods droning. In fact there are some fairly intense moments that remind me of Henry Flynt.

Lyrically, it's whatever. The imagery fits with the rustic guitar strums, but if you take the music away it just sounds like some dude wrote a few poems about farming and living off the country. "The Moat," however, is an excellent example of what Barth is able to achieve. The best song on the album, its tone is decidedly more oppressive, with cymbals crashing along a metronomic guitar line while Barth piles foggy voices atop one another. And then there're the lyrics: "We let the cheap-seats sell, turn the moat to a well/And let the blood go, what's bleeding?/And if our ship starts tacking, star-crossed we are lacking/A feeling not fleeting." Clever word play, striking metaphors; I would've liked to hear more of that.

Anyway, He Downright Up and Left Us is a fantastic experience. Frank and forthright, eerie in its complicity, gentle in nature, it does a far better job of cultivating an atmosphere of loneliness than Golem does, even without a cello. My vote is for Barth to stick with this sound for a while before experimenting again but what do I know.
official website
twitter
1 Comment
H+
7/2/2013 02:24:45 am

Im digging both albums

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band

© Divide and Conquer 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact