Review: Paula Frazer, Indoor Universe
When Paula Frazer ditched her backing band and the Tarnation name after leaving 4AD/Reprise four years ago, it seemed like a bad move careerwise. Tarnation, like any other band that had signed to 4AD, was guaranteed a certain amount of attention simply via their relationship to the label, regardless of their future.

As it turns out, losing the Tarnation name signified more than just the band's departure (after all, a completely different band had recorded the first two Tarnation albums). Most of the songs on Indoor Universe inhabit a very different sonic space than the songs on the Tarnation albums. For the most part, Indoor Universe is a more polished and suave pop experiment. While the opening track, "That You Know," with a samba-tinged rhythm, arpeggiated guitar, and sweeping cello swells, closely recalls the southwestern gothic-country that was Tarnation's hallmark, tracks such as "Like a Song", and the ragtime-piano-laced "Not So Bad, Not So Good" are forays into a 60's pop territory. The pub-rock influenced "Everywhere" should please people who miss Squeeze. "Mean Things", a snazzy, organ-driven R&B number, is the album's stand-out piece and one of the few places where Paula exerts her vocal chops the way she used to.

The album isn't all sunshine: "Deep was the Night" seems written for a black and white noir chase sequence. "Gone" could be a lost Roy Orbison number, and "Stay as You Are" is the kind of dusty ballad Frazer can write in her sleep. "We Met by the Love Lies Bleeding" is a dark tale of love and cremation, more effective than anything on the latest Nick Cave album.

Indoor Universe lacks some of the characteristics that made Tarnation an unique listen; the instrumentation here doesn't stray far from organ, bass, guitar, with touches of strings and the occasional horn; there isn't a track here that matches "The Well" in intensity, and now that the alt-country genre that Tarnation helped foster has reached critical mass, it seems strange that Frazer would abandon the sound she helped make famous, along with that yodel of hers that Neko Case seems to have inherited. But obviously that's the point; in leaving the Tarnation name behind and releasing Indoor Universe under her own handle, Frazer has taken a step toward defining a unique persona, free of the No Depression baggage.

Labels: paula frazer, reviews, tarnation

A whole bunch of shit:

Top Shelf Comix was saved from financial peril within 12 hours of putting out a call for help.

Managed to squeeze in a whole bunch of shows over the past month. First up, Hood/Clouddead at the GAMH was likely the best show of the year, but weirdly, despite Cold House being the best album of last year and Hood having never toured the US, there was hardly anyone there. At best, the floor was half full, and the upstairs was completely closed down. Those who didn't go missed out on Hood's exquisite melding of electronics with more traditional instrumentation and a kick ass closer of "The Field is Cut". Dose 1 and Why? added in their surrealistic raps and even threw in some synchronized hand dancing on "Branches Bare". Wonderful and not likely to happen again anytime soon.

Equally underattended was the big Temporary Residence blowout with Fridge, Tarentel, and Explosions in the Sky. On paper, a night of instrumental postrock might sound like a off-putting and cold experience but Explosions blew that fear out of the water with the loudest and most energetic set I've seen a band perform in a long time. Guitars were flung into the air and hearing was damaged. Tarentel returned from a long absence pared back down to a four piece and performed a half hour set of new music that explored a more sonic-texture territory than some of their previous work (ie: think more laptop noise, less melody). Fridge were surprisingly animated and engaging, devoting much of the set to material earlier than the somewhat sedate Happiness.

Saw Nick Cave the night after the infamous excrement accident. Got there a little late and consequently missed the beginning of the set which kept the whole experience from being completely engaging, which is always a problem at Warfield shows anyway. It was good, but somehow we felt unsatisfied at the end.

And, finally, missed Paul Westerberg's SF in-store and the resulting hoo-haw though I was able to witness this pontailed fool only an hour later at Eitzel's in-store across town, where said fool threw devil's horns repeatedly, made annoying comments, whooped a lot at inappropriate times, accosted Tim Easton (Easton gave him the brush off), and finally, thankfully, was confronted by someone who was so enraged by the guy's behaviour during the Westerberg set that he followed him across town to take the ponytail guy to task. So those who were put off by him can rest assured that he was eventually upbraided (hahahahaha). Why do some idiots feel the need to participate when someone else is performing? Thankfully he didn't ruin Eitzel's set as Mark was in an unusually good mood, and did a stunning version of "Jenny" and debuted at least one great song, "Theme Song for a Proposed Series on the Discovery Channel" (better than the title lets on).

David Sylvian in a few weeks. I managed to miss the Road to Graceland tour to my lasting regret and, though Sylvian strikes me a bit mannered and stiff these days, I'm still not expecting disappointment if he follows the setlists he did in Europe and Japan last year.

Eitzel, Tarentel, Costello reviews on their way.

Oh, and working again. Here's a story on my former place of employment. Who are those former project managers?