![]() (Then again, you could count those oxymoronic individuals on two hands.)” “It probably goes without saying that Bulat’s flush-with-feeling lyrics aren’t going to appeal to the more cynical consumers of singer-songwriter fare. I’ll let you go out to recess soon, Amy, but first I want to highlight how you might have trimmed your 600-word review down a few dress sizes without losing any substance. Yeesh, duh! I suppose a band incorporating a centuries-old sound because they like it is out of the question. “And despite all the ace moments in “Gold Rush”, a choir’s “ah ah ah ahs” that sneak in on the song’s bridge sound stolen from Arcade Fire’s Funeral sessions”Īnd since Arcade Fire invented the choir-sung chorus in 2005, they own the exclusive rights. Oh, I see you have one more compelling reason to dock points: So…what? She should have added more volume workouts and power training to build endurance before entering the studio? I guess Bulat writing and recording her own album of music isn’t worth much if she can’t win the 800-meter Granzin in this year’s Pitchfork Games. “Bulat seems out of breath competing with the brute-forced keyboards of “Walk You Down” So, Bulat got the ass-end of your stick because she didn’t release her album within the two-month lapse of your aversion to a type of bell? Seems pretty weak. I think I speak for everyone when I say so soon after the holidays: I don’t want to hear another goddamned jingle bell for at least 10 months.” “Possibly more distracting are the precious sleigh bells roped around “Run”‘s neck and mixed too high. “Unfortunately, Heart‘s production work, again by Bilerman, isn’t always successful.”Īnd by “successful,” you mean it didn’t quite measure up to your weird standards? I’m not even sure what those standards are, but maybe we can get a few steps closer to understanding by examining some of the staggering faults you found: You even stuck a signpost in the gripe stanza for easy reference: ![]() I always enjoy when Pitchfork writers neatly confine all their superficial gripes about someone else’s work to the penultimate paragraph. While the momentum holds, let’s continue with the theme of nonsensical, minute objections. Didn’t you JUST write that whoever produced Basia Bulat’s first album “nudged the taste needle” with “flowery strings?” How is there enough of a difference between flowery strings and gushing strings to nudge the taste needle in a more positive direction, as you’re implying here? How is one wise and the other not so wise? Could it be that there’s no answer other than it’s a load of BS? “Gold Rush”, wisely released as the LP’s first single, interprets “rush” literally, with stomped beats, gushing strings, and Bulat’s fevered vocal performance.” ![]() Charming handmade rustle/clatter and enthusiastic handclapping will earn you more props than flowery strings. “though he at times nudged the taste needle with torrid pianos and flowery strings, Darling successfully balanced slick studio intervention with a charming handmade rustle and clatter (not to mention a lot of enthusiastic handclapping).” You know, Amy, sometimes I can’t tell whether some music critics really do have EXTREMELY anal ears, or if they just inflate minuscule artistic decisions as legitimate defects to avoid giving an album an uncomfortably high rating. I hear her voice also bakes savory homemade spanikopita and strikes up lighthearted entertainment with an impromptu game of Taboo! If you comment on how perfectly the giant IKEA print of Audrey Hepburn complements the couch throw, maybe her incandescent voice will glow even brighter! “Graceful and incandescent, confident but approachable, her alto’s the aural equivalent of the perfect party host who makes every guest not only welcome, but certain they’re the most important person in the room.” “Bulat favors the humble autoharp, clutching it to her chest like a Victorian nursemaid with an infant” “a fresh find in the notoriously musty folk-pop bin” “lilting waltz-time folk as jazz-cadenced pop as licensable indie catnip” Here are a just few of the ripest grapes: And that’s fun for me.īut don’t take my word for it. But third and most importantly, you’re the queen of purple prose. Second, I didn’t really feel like enduring Scott Plaegenhoef’s moist novella about Hot Chip’s new release. I can only wonder why that is, but statistically it gives me more readers. First, I discovered that your name is plugged into keyword searches more frequently than many other reviewers. WTF: “Not only does such embellishment gild the lily in an already crowded hothouse”Īmy, I decided to feature you again on RipFork for a few reasons. ![]() Writing Disorders: Purple Hemorrhage, Detachment Syndrome ![]()
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