Julian Plenti - "Games for Days"

We received the lead single for Julian Plenti's "Is...Skyscraper" today. Julian Plenti is the alias of Interpol front man, post-punk revivalist, and all-around moper Paul Banks. In 2002, they were hipster darlings; Turn on the Bright Lights received universally positive reviews (especially from Pitchfork), their videos were in rotation on MTV2 (yes, at one point it wasn't all just "Rob and Big" and "Viva La Bam" reruns, for a couple years they played videos regularly), and their songs were all over TV shows like Friends and The OC. I was an early supporter, and was one of the few people I knew who wasn't completely disappointed in their 2004 lukewarm follow up Antics. My main complaint was that the reverb and echo drenched atmosphere of the debut was refined somewhat, and put in the background. The angular, almost British late 1970s/early 1980s guitar-sound dominates the album and, of course, the band's backbone, Carlos Dengler's bass playing is still very much in the forefront. This isn't to say the ominous but familiar tone of TotBL was completely lost, it just didn't seem as important. Again, I stress that I wasn't completely disappointed. At the end of today, like with any record, it's the songs that count. The band got bigger, and moved onto to greener pastures, leaving indie stalwart Matador for Capitol records. Their first release on Capitol, 2007's Our Love to Admire didn't feature their usual mopery and was a little, well, brighter. It sold well, really well actually, but didn't achieve the same level of praise as their first two records, but was still relatively well received (I wasn't a big fan of that record. They just sounded too complacent).

So, since 2007, drummer Sam Fogarino started a side project (Magnet Morning) with the dude from Swervedriver, bassist Carlos Dengler continues to DJ on the side as well as provide remixes for other band's stuff, and guitarist Dan Kessler is apparently just kind of laying low. That leaves Banks. Earlier this year, his solo album (to be released under the name Julian Plenti, an alias he apparently used to perform under pre-Interpol) was announced. Very few details were given, aside from a cover and a track listing.

Well not anymore.

"Games for Days" didn't do a whole lot for me. It doesn't sound too distant from Interpol's work to warrant a release under a different name. The radio edit clocks in at 3:49, so to be fair, I might be missing a bitching guitar solo or some profound lyrics from an excised bridge. The song isn't bad just kind of boring. It features that sort of post-punk guitar sound Interpol's been at for years, although grainier and lacking in reverb. The occasional punchy, muted, almost chugging from the guitars isn't really my thing either. Seems out of place. The fluid, throbbing bass provided by Dengler on the Interpol albums is also absent. It may be the stereo I'm using, but that was the first thing I noticed. The lack of a thumping bassline. The basslines were usually my favorite part of Interpol songs. The song has almost a dance pop drum beat with the drums themselves sounding a little less than organic. Major emphasis on the bass drum too. It feels too much like a retread of Interpol's material, without the sunglasses, black suits, and cigarette smoke that made their first album such a highlight. This is only one song though, and from the information I've been able to find on the album (which is limited, I could only find a couple early reviews) the album is split between this sort of rock stuff and a more thoughtful, solo acoustic performance. Time will tell.

Julian Plenti - "Games for Days" 2.5/5

Julain Plenti is...Skyscraper will be available August 4th from Matador Records

Sacred Trickster

So I heard the new Sonic Youth single, "Sacred Trickster".

In late November 2008, Matador Records announced that seminal indie rock/noise/experimental/alternative/no wave band Sonic Youth had signed to their label, with a new album in the works for 2009. After Geffen/DGC/Universal/whatever name you want to use had, according to a Thurston Moore, failed to properly support and promote their last few albums the band opted not to renew their contract and began shopping around the indie labels. The mainstream acclaim the band gathered with the release of Rather Ripped and its more straight-forward rock structure and more "mature" sound, made it seem as if they were ready to settle into a new niche as underground rock's first family. While the move from Geffen was not entirely a surprise, the timing seemed off. They had just released their most conventional rock album since 1994's Experimental, Jet Set, Trash and No Star, and had made one of their best debuts on the Billboard charts.

Fast forward to 2009. Matador issues a promotional copy of "Sacred Trickster". "Trickster" has Kim Gordon covering vocal duties, and is reminiscent of the material from Rather Ripped; it's short (clocking in at a scant 2:10), melodic, and features more err... conventional guitar parts (and by that, I mean it doesn't sound like any drums sticks were used on this song, except by Steve Shelley). To be honest I'm a little disappointed. I first got into Sonic Youth in 2001 or 2002, eventually working my way through a majority of their back catalog right before the release of Murray Street. I have distinct memories of not being able to get into their Summer Stage show in Central Park, listening to "Karen Revisited" in the dead heat of summer, associating the murky chord progression of Thurston Moore with humidity and the shift from abrasive noise to ambient feedback that ends the song with summer sunsets, and trying to figure out why my other people my age weren't into this kind of stuff. I've always been more of a fan of their longer songs. Their first few albums on Geffen didn't do much for me, and neither did Rather Ripped. I may be in the minority on that one though.

Anyway, I'm definitely ready to give the album a shot, again, this is only the single but I have to say I am a little let down. It's not bad by any stretch. Just a little predictable, kind of boring. Maybe that just comes with age? I guess we'll see in June when The Eternal drops.

I'd give the song a 3 out of 5.