|
|
|
Yo La Tengo's James McNew's first Dump full-length in five years + gorgeous cover artwork by copacetic rock-star crush Archer Prewitt = one happy Janice!!!
So, yes, the mighty McNew is back with another fabulous Dump release. I. Love. Dump. I do, I do, I do! I love how amazing it is that James can go and record this perfectly polished and professional CD with his Yo La Crew, and then turn around and record the most endearingly-flawed bedroom pop there is.
"Sisters" features a cheesy Casio drumbeat, and breaks your heart when he breaks it down towards the end, even quoting The Simpsons with "Everything looks bad/ When you remember it". And "I Wish/You Wish" is a perfect slice of acoustic pop, harkening back to early Dump. "Basic Cable" is awesome 90's indie rawk, and sounds like something my teenage self might've caught on 120 Minutes back in the day. And then not one second later, he gives us a cowboy-esque lament with "Peggy's Blues" complete with horsey clip-clop percussion! The versatility here astounds!!!
Alongside the awesome new Dump originals, there are actually three covers here: James gives his take on The Isley Brothers' "Mr. Too Damn Good", and I was actually disappointed to learn it wasn't an original of his, 'cause it's pretty awesome. And James, once again, evokes the best male singer of all time* (see below), Daryl Hall! He also does Thin Lizzy's "Cowboy Song", and a duet with Sue Garner on Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells' "Once Upon a Time" which is utterly dreamy!
(* sorry! inside joke between me and my friends, based on an interview Mr. Hall did with Rolling Stone magazine back in the 80's. Wanna guess what he said? ;)) (janice.05.03)
rating
that skinny motherf*cker with the high voice? • shrimper • 2001
Dump is the darling James McNew, of Yo La Tengo, going at it alone. Okay, everyone in the world probably knows I'm in love with Yo La Tengo, but trust me when I say, this is really really really good! It's an album entirely of Prince covers. And I don't even like Prince. (Sorry, but it's true!)
So being a non-Prince fan, I couldn't really compare these tracks fairly to their originals. Well, except for the "hit" single "Raspberry Beret", and James' take is pretty dead-on with that one. But from what I do recall about Prince, most of his songs were kinda...well, funky. Doesn't he even have a song where he sings, "My name is Prince. And I am funky?" So there you have it! Could lo-fi teddy bear James McNew really get, uh, "funky"?
Well, for the most part, this is void of "funky", which is fine with me. I like it best when James adds his own personality to the songs. Like the totally drone-y YLT-ish version of "1999" featuring Stereolab's Margane Lhote on keyboards. It sounds like YLT's "Saturday", but then those familiar lyrics start up, and your mind is seriously blown.
My favorite track on the CD is his fuzzy indie-pop take on "When U Were Mine", which incidentally we recently saw Crooked Fingers offer their take on when they opened for Pinback. And although I've never heard it, I seriously doubt Prince's version of "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" sounds this cute, like an old fashioned cabaret number.
But then there are the surprises, like his unbelievably high falsetto voice on "The Beautiful Ones". Who knew he could sing that high? And, yes, it happens: James finally gets funky on the last track, "Another Lonely Christmas" where, I swear to God, he sounds like Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates. I kid you not. This must be heard to be believed, so get yourself a copy today. (janice.05.02)
rating
related links
