Liner Notes- 02.Jun.2022
Door County, Depeche Mode, and Ohio post-punk.
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Door County, Wisconsin comes alive in the summer. The flowers are in full bloom, the water of Green Bay or Lake Michigan (depending on what side of the peninsula you’re on) shimmers. and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.
After a long winter, and messy spring, it feels like relief.
There is restaurant we love to eat breakfast at when we’re up there. We go early because we have 2 teenagers who are perpetually hungry, but not too early …because…teenagers.
Maybe it’s just me, but when you eat outside in the summer surrounded by flowers, birds, and the before the humidity kicks in, everything just seems better. I’m sure they’re making the coffee in the same Bunn machine we have at work, but in that environment it tastes better.
It “hits different” as the kids might say.
##
As a card carrying GenX’er, I’m loathe to describe a record using “vibes,” but the scene I laid out above- leisurely breakfast, shimmering water, bright yellows- fits The Loyal Seas’ “Strange Mornings In the Garden” to a T.
The Loyal Seas is a collaboration between Tanya Donelly (of Throwing Muses, The Breeders, and Belly fame), and Brian Sullivan who has performed under the name Dylan in the Movies since the mid-2000’s.
The long time friends and occasional collaborators met at Boston’s Apache studios. Having done a few songs together over the years (perhaps most famously 2009’s cover of The Cure’s “The Lovecats”), they decided to make a full-length record, but it was coming together in bits and pieces.
With the pandemic clearing humanity's schedule, they found themselves with the time needed to finally make it all happen.
Being a fan boy is also something I’m not wont to do; but this record had me locked in almost immediately. I bought it before I’d made it through the first half.
The music here is straddles a lot of lines; pop, rock, and even hints of folk. Donelly and Sullivan have very different voices, but they compliment one another nicely, each knowing when join in, and when to stay out of the other’s way.
The opening track “(So Far From) Silverlake” kicks things off with a dreamy opening and a story about the lengths we sometimes go to for others.
Mid-way down 8
I started wishing I stayed
No love lost, lost boy
'Cuz you and I look so great the further I drive away
No love lost, lost boy
You and I shine so bright as soon as we're out of sight
ooooh
The title track sounds like something that would be very much at home on a Belly record. (Indeed, fans of the band will feel most at home here.). The music is magical and lies the groundwork for what is, to me, an amazing love song.
Most of the stories here speak to the push/pull of relationships. Of wanting to be with someone while also needing to be apart. That duality comes alive on tracks like “Come Around again” with lines like:
When you come around again
Bring the better you
I'll bring the better me
We'll ride this out until in the end
”Milkweed” is a slower & (relatively) heavier track. But even here the two can’t escape the poppier disposition of the album. That’s a good thing.
Together, Sullivan and Donelly have created a record that’s bright, shimmering, and complex; not unlike the waters of Green Bay on a summer morning.
Other reviews:
Crime Of Passing- Crime Of Passing
I don’t know what’s going on in Cincinnati, but I did not have “thriving post-punk scene” on my bingo card.
Crime of Passing is the latest Queen City band to fit the bill; think Joy Division meets Missing Persons with a dash of Bikini Kill to taste. After a couple of demos and an EP, they’ve dropped a fantastic full-length LP.
There is a tendency for bands like this to go off on tangents and risk becoming tedious. That doesn’t happen here. Lead singer Andie Luman’s vocals alternate between anthemic and commanding and the music never stops running.
Favorite tracks: Over the Shoulder, Midnight Underground
John Hiatt-Bring The Family
Not a new (to me) record, but I revisited John Hiatt’s Bring the Family on it’s 35th anniversary.
Favorite tracks: Memphis in the Meantime, Thing Called Love
What Was On:
Here’s what was on this week, not including playlists, listening in the car, etc. As always, there’s no rhyme or reason to it.
I still don’t know if I’ll make this a regular thing, but at this point it’s at least a streak, and a fun one to keep going.
What do you think?
Those marked with an asterisk are ones that I heard all the way through for the first time.
Genesis-Genesis
Linda Ronstadt- Greatest Hits*
Pavement-Slanted and Enchanted
Christopher Cross- Christopher Cross*
The Cars- Heartbeat City
Lou Rawls-Sit Down and Talk to Me
R.E.M. -Document
Men At Work- Business As Usual
Robert Pollard-Waved Out*
ZZ Top- Tres Hombres
Depeche Mode-101
Alan Parsons Project-Eye in the Sky*
That Dog-Old LP
Consolidated- Myth of Rock
Pablo Cruise- Worlds Away*
Yo La Tengo- I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
John Hiatt-Bring the Family
Belly-King
Crime in Passing- Crime in Passing
Urge Overkill-The Supersonic Storybook
The Loyal Seas- Strange Mornings in the Garden*
The Radio Dept.-Clinging to a Scheme*
B-Sides:
I would be remiss if I didn’t note the passing of Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher last week. I don’t listen to DM much these days, but I sure did growing up. Last year, I wrote about their live 101 record, and putting it on again was like seeing an old friend after years. Getting old sucks.
We also lost Ronnie Hawkins over the weekend. Backing up Hawkins (as “The Hawks”) is where The Band got their start. If you haven’t seen the concert/documentary the Last Waltz, you definitely should.
In the meantime, take a look at Hawkins and the band playing “Who Do You Love” together. It’s electric. His energy here could power a small city!
We should all be so lucky.Because I’m a
glutton for punishmentlove fun music challenges, I’m writing about my favorite record from every year I’ve been alive.
A good tweet:
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
resident gen z music writer here to affirm your use of the term "vibes." very accurate description, very good word.
Wow! It is lovely. The piano had me tapping my feet right away. Their voices are definitely like instruments in this song.