Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.rock
Titolo: Court and Spark - Bless You

Court and Spark
Bless You
[Absolutely Kosher; 2001]
Rating: 9.0
Lament the demise of the rock juggernaut. In the 70s, there was Led
Zeppelin's offering of a whole lotta love, a stairway to heaven, and a
facile Kashmir eclecticism. In the 80s, there was cock rock, hair bands and
countless groupies. One must hand it to University of Chicago's Allan Bloom,
who in 1987 put forth an accurate, yet jaded, generalization on the role of
popular music: "A pubescent child whose body throbs with orgasmic rhythms;
whose feelings are made articulate in hymns to the joys of onanism or the
killing of parents whose ambition is to win fame and wealth in imitating the
drag-queen who makes the music. In short, life is made into a nonstop,
commercially prepackaged masturbational fantasy."
While his statement is gargantuan in presumption, it could be said that the
mainstream music of the time often bequeathed an overbalanced
self-assuredness in the listener. But as my fourth grade teacher aptly
stated: change is inevitable. When Kurt Cobain was thrown the reigns in
1991, the new hero wasn't sexual, clean, or a monster of rock. This demigod
had feelings ranging from angst to alienation (okay, not that great a
divide, admittedly) and rarely came across as completely sure of himself.
And with the death of Cobain came the eulogy of genuine rock bombast.
Above ground lie a vast assortment of commercial-quality pop and trite
modern rock radio, all sans ingenuity or sincere emotion. Underground, there
are the emo kids, the shoegazers, the art dilettantes, anti-everything
punks, and dozens of elitist music cliques. Where is one to belong? Perhaps
the question is not where to belong but whether to belong at all.
Thus we have the nature of no depression, and its many bands who are
routinely pigeonholed as country. And on initial exposure, such a
classification is justified. But at the end of the day, no depression is not
your uncle's John Michael Montgomery. Consider the description of San
Francisco's the Court and Spark as found in the biography on their website:
"The Court and Spark is a slow-fade, a slow-klang, a climb to the top of
Portola Road to watch San Francisco on the longest day of the year." I may
have never been to San Francisco, but this statement can not be denied.
In fact, the Court and Spark's sophomore collection, Bless You, introduces
itself in a slow-klang. A simple bass snare pattern in two slowly ambles its
way to the listener, accompanied by unorthodox percussion and a sound
resembling the plucking and strumming of piano strings before the full band
enters. The track, "To See the Fires," presents a comprehensive view of the
Court and Spark's terrain: slide guitar (only sometimes lap-steel), the
addition of Wendy Allen to sing harmony full-time, organ, piano, and
southern tinged vocals. But don't be fooled. You are not listening to
country.
Bless You's musical affect is akin to the feeling evoked by the ruddy sunset
depicted on the back cover of the record: approaching peace and grasping
utter beauty. The eight gorgeous minutes of the penultimate "Fade Out to
Little Arrow" are augmented by very light horns that ring more like distant
church bells on a Sunday evening. The upbeat tambourine shuffle of "Rooster
Mountain" complements the most infectious yet bittersweet track. Such a feat
is achieved by a very slamming snare sound, resembling a large crowd of
impeccably synchronized handclaps, and droning horn leading the bridge back
to the verse. What makes Bless You so intriguing is the effectiveness of
such subtle ornaments.
Wendy Allen proves yet again, with her backing vocals on "National Lights,"
that sometimes the most subtle of performances can be the best. Here, she
echoes the vocals of frontman M.C. Taylor and occasionally adds a light
falsetto. The song is seemingly standard fare on the surface, but the Court
and Spark have almost mastered their art. The burbling organs of "A.M.
Radio" lie underneath the entire track, while it climbs between male and
female vocals to cymbal crashes and a driving guitar line. "I have seen the
driving rain," reflect Allen and Scott Hirsch. But they don't need to tell
us; we can hear it ourselves.
The Court and Spark don't consider themselves country, so neither should we.
Perhaps no depression is the best description: the melodies and performances
are mostly plaintive while never being altogether downcast. Their last
album, 2000's tUMULt-released Ventura Whites, documented a band gathering
their bearings; Bless You presents a band that's almost settled into their
identity. They have their tools and have realized the power of subtlety,
something the gods of rock from yestercentury tended to completely
disregard.
by 
pitchforkmedia.com
--
Non sono sicuro di nulla, se non della santità dei sentimenti del Cuore e
della verità dell'Immaginazione.
Keats

 (cut)
Un bel dischetto, sě. Anche se io, in sede di voto, mi limito ad un ben piů
prosaico 7.
Disco assai "mojave3iano", paradossalmente molto piů dell'ultimo Neil Halstead
che invece svaria spesso tra un approccio Belle&Sebastiano ed uno beatlesiano (e
che perciň consiglio ad entrambi i profs di Filosofia che frequentano questo
ng...).
PS: X., ma la smetti di creare fake ad ogni pié sospinto? ;-)
--
Morris Lord of the Wolves
"Wild child in a world of trouble,
wild child in a world of pain"

> PS: X., ma la smetti di creare fake ad ogni pié sospinto? ;-)
Ascoltato Wolf?

 Ascoltato Wolf?
No. Aspetto ancora la tua risposta su che genere fa / fanno...


> No. Aspetto ancora la tua risposta su che genere fa / fanno...
Vado a vedere "la pianista" di Haneke e poi te lo dico va... ;-))

Trovi qualcosa qui...
http://www.flow.fsworld.co.uk/