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April 27, 2006
Parenthetical Girls show us the dark, dirty and beautiful spaces in between
by Michael Byrne of the Willamette Week
[PRETTY, UNCOMFORTABLE] (((GRRRLS))) has been lurking in vinyl form for two years now, having about the same effect on the Northwest music scene as any other private breakup. In that time, it seems, Zac Pennington, Parenthetical Girls' sole permanent member and a former Portland Mercury music, took his album's final line, "Some things are best left unsaid," to heart and left these songs in comfortable obscurity. What a goddamn shame. But, as Pennington might say (with a nudge), "Better late than never." We now have it in digital rerelease.
Self-conscious cliches aside, (((GRRRLS))) is a pretty yet uncomfortable 20-minute album, ripe with honesty that is as often ugly as it is shimmering. The music consists of bare xylophone and piano melodies suspended above a heavy bass undertow, exposing the influence of the album's partial mixer and Xiu Xiu lead man Jamie Stewart. The sound works to push this point home: The thing said and its shadow are inseparable. The track "C-86 Is Killing My Life" begins with a summery "sha-la-la-la" chorus that is pummeled seconds later by a massive bass drop and Pennington's intensely human (read: untrained, imperfect) vocals singing, "So please fight the tears/ For they never looked so insincere." On opener "Of Collateral Damage," a musically delicate and sweet song, he begins by singing, "I only meant half the things I said," and ends with the regretful refrain "you'll be alright," repeated over and over. Musically and lyrically, the album takes place in a confusing area where a tense field of pain mingles with its own beauty.
It's a horrific thought that if we didn't treat each other like shit, we'd never have that strange space. But we should be grateful for that, even if the only result is this line that's been stuck in my brain since (((GRRRLS))) first made its way to my headphones: "So take my lip between your teeth/ And taste me/ By devouring." It's uncomfortable and it reminds me that some things are best left unsaid, but you really don't know that until you hear them. And by then, you're hooked.
Posted by kmikeym at 9:48 AM | Comments (1)
April 24, 2006
E*Rock & Paper Rad
Rhizome.org links to the "Pure RGB color, Flash based video for Becks Gameboy covers of 'Guero' by Wild File, the collaboration of E*Rock and Paper Rad."
Posted by kmikeym at 1:29 PM
April 10, 2006
'Fresh' art, as in unripened
An exhibit of 15 up-and-coming artists reflecting local and national trends shows talent, but also unrealized potential (by D.K. Row of The Oregonian).
Excerpt: Daniel Peterson's photo collage "our city weighs a ton" is impressive for the dozens of photographs he's assembled in a grid, though looking at the numerous men and women he's photographed out on the town and in private moments, you might think young people today are a dissipated bunch: They just hang out in bed, drink booze, eat at cafes and go out to shows.
D.K. Row also mentions, "Trends come and go with the speed of Wi-Fi."
Posted by kmikeym at 2:25 PM | Comments (2)
April 7, 2006
News & Views
UrbanHonking.com is listed on the Multnomah County Library's webpage as a reference for Oregon under the News and Views section.
Posted by kmikeym at 2:46 PM