I want to talk about my email for a sec [kb (at) thedecibeltolls.com]. Chuck Klosterman once said that music critique is basically being paid to read your mail. That’s pretty accurate, and in many ways, that was the largest chunk of my job as a talent buyer at the music venue. I miss doing such work, despite the funky hours, so I enjoy getting mail from publicists and label reps. These letters provide two outcomes, depending on if the publicist is good at his/her job: 1) point you in the direction of artists that will pique your interest, or 2) provide some serious lol time, such as “Rilo Kiley fans – take delight.” Have you read this blog? I rag on that shit daily. I understand this, of course, as music promotion is often throwing spaghetti against a wall – just launch your name everywhere, and see what sticks. However, sometimes these corrospondences point me in the direction of some bands I dig, and if you’re reading the blog, you’ll dig as well. Case in point…
Today, I’m happy to present The Great Northwest. And following the storied tradition of Boston, Chicago, and Kansas, they are indeed from the great northwest (Portland, specifically). The Great Northwest in a few words: absolutely gorgeous, expansive space rock. I plan on reviewing their recently released debut The Widespread Reign of… soon. This is good.
Now, about that “gorgeous expansive space rock”… Mercury Rev has similarly described, but I’ve never been into them. I guess I’m missing something. Their thick, orchestrated textures are engaging, but the melodies and vocals border too close on adult contemporary for me to really groove to them (this includes Deserter’s Songs). For my taste, The Great Northwest extracts what’s good about Mercury Rev without slipping into predictability or complacency. Exhibit A: “Chief John”
Hopefully, the song’s title doesn’t relate to this Chief John. Strict constructionism is not what’s up:
The Great Northwest really struck me when I fired up “Chief John,” a slow-burner but oh so fierce, because they don’t run down the check list of what you’re supposed to do to be a psychedelic, dream pop, or shoegaze artist. They exist in a strange nether-region between lush pop and psychedelia without subscribing to either respective genre’s tenets.
The Great Northwest is, tangentially, part of the BJM/BRMC contingent, as the group is on Kora Records with Matt Hollywood’s The Out Crowd, and band leader Brian Coates produced the aforementioned group’s debut Then I Saw… (and also seems to know everyone in said scene). In many ways, it seems obvious that the Great Northwest is in this circle. “Chief John” has the same slow tempo acoustic downstrumming found on a lot of Dead Meadow’s Feathers and older Peter Hayes ballads, but whereas those groups tend to take on a more expressive Tyrannosaurus Rex freak folk approach to rock vocals, Matt Coates melts his vocal swells into the mix and adopts a more whispy sound reminiscent of Roger McGuinn or Bob Markley of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Actually, Coates voice is one of the most pleasant instruments I’ve heard in quite some time. I can’t talk about it enough – angelic and stoned, really one of a kind.
Fans of classic 4AD stuff like Cocteau Twins and Lush, two bands who juxtaposed adventurous sounds with traditionally beautiful and seraphic vocals, will really love this cut. “Chief John” seems that it would fit in seemlessly with one of my favorite debuts of all time – the eponymous record by Engineers. Engineers, who remind me of Spiritualized on Quaaludes or Porcupine Tree minus the prog element, also emphasize celestial and crystalline vocals over beds of tripped-down painkiller pop. Their self-titled debut was my summer ‘05 jam. It destroyed me daily. Though it’s a couple of years old, I’m going to post an MP3 and hope to make the group a few new fans – the album didn’t receive as much attention as it deserved.
Like Engineers, The Great Northwest is able to balance solid, well-crafted pop hooks with enough fluttering weirdness and signal-to-noise confusion to keep them a few kilometers off the ground at all times. “Chief John” features slick production without sounding phony, too – a tricky act to pull off, and something I really appreciate as a recording hobbyist. So I’ll stop yapping – click that play button below and drop out. Go visit their website here while you’re dropping out.
MP3 :::
The Great Northwest – Chief John
Engineers – Forgiveness
