Anna
Borg
Reviews:
February,
2002

Scroll down for reviews of the latest from Charming and Mates of State

Champale
Simple Days

(pitch-a-tent)

www.champalebungalow.com

I’ve been once again foiled by my own hubris. Recently, I attended a show in Philadelphia and four bands were set to play. The first band to go on was Champale, and I mistakenly assumed that since they went on first of four, they must be the least known. Maybe they were new and struggling along and this was a big gig for them. Of course they start playing and it was obvious my maternal feelings were misplaced. Champale are in fact a gleaming, shining example of the talent-rich Brooklyn, NY music scene, and they definitely don’t need any help from me. In fact, they are so well established, REM and David Lowery are counted as huge fans. David Lowery is such a big fan, he put their cd out on his own pitch-a-tent label. Now I feel like a dork. But a lucky dork for “discovering” Champale for myself.

Before they took to the stage, I was wondering what to expect since I noticed horns and vibes along with the regular rock set up. The name Champale conjures images of boozy broads with bouffant hairdos, smoothing the crinolines in the powder room before they meet up with their Brylcreemed dates. This scenario applied to Champale the band would only be accurate at some downtown loft-located hipster costume party, dripping with irony. The songs are very modern with their mix of new century weariness coupled with a ‘70s soft rock undercurrent that stands out particularly on tracks like “’68 Comeback,” and “Motel California.” (That title alone is a shiny red clue.)
Mark Rozzo’s vocals are reminiscent of Joe Pernice’s in their aching tenderness. He sings gently on “See You Around,” which starts off like a lullaby. The track “Like I Do” veers into loud rock territory, with a throbbing bass-line and Rozzo’s vocals sounding more like someone yelling for attention. The vibes and horn section aren’t used for novelty, they actually frame each song with musical elements sorely lacking in most “modern rock” these days. This attention to aural details makes each track a complex listening experience if you want it to be. If you’d rather just put on a cd while you mix cocktails for your trendy friends, it is equally satisfying.

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Charming
Champagne and Magazines

(Shelflife/Twee Kitten)

www.charmingpop.com

The modern lounge culture has a bitter grip on the youth of today and shows no signs of letting go. A million lounge-style records are still sitting in Salvation Army bins, waiting to be discovered by the next wave of forward thinking, backward dressing twenty-somethings. What they do with this precious loot can become a nostalgia trip, a depressing mis-interpretation, or an innovative update. Charming avoid the mis-interpreting part fine, but they stop short of offering any kind of update on a sound better left as background music at a slumber party.

It’s nearly impossible to dislike bands that come from the mold Charming comes from. They have an adorable female lead singer, sharp suits for stage and photo, and perfect haircuts that can only come from years of studying vintage magazines. Although they are obviously proud of their “indie” leanings as voiced on their website, (and Twee Kitten, I mean…please,) the music is anything but “twee” or indie. The first band I come up with as a touchstone would be Swing Out Sister, the somewhat watered-down, blue-eyed-soul that sounds great coming from the dressing rooms of a thousand Express clothing stores. It’s brilliantly catchy, delightfully bouncy, sometimes groovalicious, and always perky, even in more low-key songs like “Where Have I Been.”

Vocalist Nicole St. Clair Stoops could probably break glass with her crystal clear girly voice. Sometimes this actually detracts from the meaning of a lyric, since it’s hard to convey emotions when your singing is technically proficient. Perhaps another comparison could be Saint Etienne, although Sarah Cracknell has a smokier, world-weary take on even the sweetest of love stories. Background vocals are provided by the male band members and offer a more relaxed, fun side of each song. Champagne and Magazines offers a party-time take on sweet girl-pop, and there are sparkling melodies to spare.
With some forays into disco and acid jazz, the cd holds up as an attempt to expand the parameters of the indie-pop scene, and I can’t help thinking it would sell thousands of copies in Japan, a descriptive proclamation in itself.

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Mates of State
Our Constant Concern

(Polyvinyl)

www.matesofstate.com

There’s a feeling you get when you are singing along to a song at the top of your lungs, and you realize you might actually be hitting the right note for once and the voices from the speakers mix with your own voice and collide in your head, vibrating in harmony. Mates of State give me that feeling even when I’m not singing along. Although I have to assume that in the history of music what they are doing isn’t entirely unique, I know I’ve never heard anything like it and I’m completely captivated by it.
Never-leaving-the-cd-player captivated. Follow-the-band-on-tour captivated.

Mates of State are a husband and wife duo, which should be mentioned first. Their personal relationship comes into play during intense lyrical arguments and overbearingly severe harmonies. Jason Hammel plays drums, while Kori Gardner plays a mammoth, old Yamaha organ, and both sing, often different lyrics at the same time. That’s about all there is to it. The singing is what always gets me. They both sing so loud, and so high, it’s like they’ve been kept in silence for decades and finally they can make as much noise as they want. The vocals are so joyful, it can stop you in your tracks if you haven’t heard them before. Although not similar in musical style, I hear flashes of Bow Wow Wow vocalist Annabella Lwin. An undeniable feeling that despite her young age and small stature, she was going to shout until she was heard. This is how Mates of State play out their fights in public. Shouting over eachother, and then alongside eachother, as each song is resolved in easy, comfortable harmony.

Mysteries abound when listening to Our Constant Concern. The lyrics barely make sense unless you have patience with deep metaphor and symbolism (I don’t.) “Where’s my arm? In this coat of arms it is a black arm.” from the opening track “Hoarding it for Home” is just a small example. The Yamaha organ used for the melodies is a wonder to hear, sounding both vintage and incredibly modern from the low rumble sounding like an idling muscle car, to lullaby chimes, dulcet piano tones, and a sound similar to hitting glass bottles with a little metal stick.
Have I done anything to really describe what Mates of State even sound like? Barely.

Because I’m emotionally tied to this cd, it’s difficult to get cold and hard and describe the music in terms of the usual buzzwords. I can throw a few out there, since you asked nicely. Thanks to propulsive drumming by Jason each track on Our Constant Concern is rhythmically advanced. It ain’t easy dance to, that’s for sure but it’s definitely the type of music you would bob your head to while driving to, say…Wilmington, Delaware, as I did one recent evening.

The songs are deeply melodic and stick in your head on endless loop, even if singing along is difficult without a lyric sheet handy. Some songs come off like a ride on a merry-go-round, others dance an intense waltz around topics like finding “the one” and challenging the fears of marriage. The harmonies are spine-tingling in some spots, difficult to wrap your ears around in others. Our Constant Concern is an important album for me at this time in my life. If we go with the theory that the listener completes the creative process, then this is one of the most creative things I’ve ever been a part of and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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