David Lynch - Austin Town Hall

The Fresh & Onlys – Secret Walls EP

April 25, 2011 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

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If you’ve been following the Fresh & Onlys over the last year or so, you probably saw that the Secret Walls EP lurked just around the corner. Tim Cohen has been changing his own approach, and with that, so too goes the band’s sound. This isn’t a bad thing by any means, unless of course you’re against change and progression.

“Secret Walls” feels like the culmination of the last few things Cohen and his friends have released. Those hazy guitars have dispersed, though you’ll still find a cascading bit of angular guitar soloing coursing through the song. What’s unique is that Tim sounds like some forlorn crooner, and he does it perfectly. Such steps are slowly redefining the group’s sound, surely bringing along more fans as they go.

If you listen carefully to “Keep Telling Everybody Lies” then you’ll probably see a bit of a resemblance to a lost recording of some David Lynch movie opener, but Cohen’s vocals here revert to that warmth, something he’s now got great control over. There’s hints of spaghetti western guitar, and a steady percussive pace keep the whole number afloat. Then the Fresh & Onlys go back to what they do best, progressing their sound, while maintaining their effortless cool. “Do You Believe in Destiny” definitely rings aloud like a love track, and the Western sway of guitars gives it a bit of that California cool. While in the past the band have managed to have this darkness coating their albums, this track portrays the sunnier undertones that live throughout the Secret Walls EP.

“Wash Over Us’ provides more of the same, cleaning the guitar sounds, as the group has done over the past several releases, and light piano tinkering continues to show a move towards a more pop-oriented spin for this short collection. Don’t fret, “Poison Wine” brings back the element of shadowy haunts that the band has always pulled off so well. Cohen’s vocals seem to be hiding, almost creeping behind the rest of the band. It’s not the most musical of tracks, which is perhaps its drawback, as this appears more as a construction of mood. If that’s what they’re going for on this number, then they pull it off with great success.

Secret Walls seems like a brief foray into the group’s material, a stop-over while they continue to develop their sound. It’s a great collection, and one that fans will fall in love with, but what’s more important is that it demonstrates a band that has such diversity in their writing that they can pretty much go anywhere they want to; when they go, I’m sure we’ll all adore it.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/The-Fresh-Onlys-Do-You-Believe-in-Destiny.mp3]

Download: The Fresh & Onlys – Do You Believe in Destiny [MP3]

Reviews

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan – Sunday at Devil Dirt

November 23, 2008 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

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Despite it’s abilities to work, this still remains one of the strangest duos that has come to light. You could see Jagger and Bowie, but Lanegan and Campbell? Still, two albums in, they are perfecting their devilish-folk musings on Sunday at Devil Dirt.

As per usual, Mark Lanegan, former Screaming Trees singer, takes the lead vocals on this entire album, coating every single song in his whiskey-drenched Southern drawl, coming off like a less-carnivalesque Tom Waits. His voice is fitting for David Lynch screenplays, and yet he matches it with the sweetness of Isobel Campbell.

Most of the musical arrangements on the album come from Campbell, who continues to contrast her traditional role as queen of twee by creating brooding folks songs; each song is carefully constructed with equal part haunting orchestration and guitar picking. It’s this match of sounds that provides for a demonically sultry soundscape throughout.

Most of the time, Isobel doesn’t really make an appearance on the album, at least not as the focal point, which is disappointing, as her voice was one of the most memorable of the late 90s. Still, she does have some stand out moments, which make the tracks stand out from the rest. Her vocal bombast during the chorus of “The Raven” provides the perfect counter-balance to Lanegan. Similarly, the duo trade vocals on “Who Built the Road,” which demonstrates the unique harmony shared between these two juxtaposed musical characters.

One of the more endearing tracks, meaning one of the most upbeat–spiritually speaking, is “Keep Me in Mind Sweethear.” It’s a short number, but even Lanegan makes the longing sound natural, and not nearly as dark has his typical outing on this album. Oddly, at this point in the album, you can feel the lighter side of things shining through, which is ironic since it all comes at the end of the album, but it encourages you to look forward, and move on.

Overall, this is just another example of the dynamic shared between two great voices in independent music. It comes just in time for the cold weather to encourage whiskey drinking and story telling among friends; may your holidays come off something like this album.

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