Blame Confusion
18 February 2014
Fat Possum
3.5 stars out of 5
Montréal’s Solids is comprised of guitarist Xavier
Germain-Poitras and drummer Louis Guillemette. Their music evoques comparisons
to Dinosaur Jr. (minus the wah pedal) and the more relaxed moments of pop in
Sonic Youth’s career, though …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead also
comes to mind. These francophones sing in English, which is a strategic play in
this city where I live. English lyrics means the possibility for global attention,
though such an economic move can have political ramifications in a bilingual
scene like this one, where there are always unspoken tensions.
The term “shoegaze revival” seems to be applied to any band
these days that employs pretty chords and layers of distortion and effects.
Well, in that case, the album’s second track, “Off White,” is a pretty little
shoegaze revivalist ditty, though in mood it’s more Source Tags & Codes than Lush or Slowdive. “Haze Away” is a
near perfect Dinosaur Jr. mid-tempo fuzzfest. “Blame Confusion” is an upbeat
tune that slowly dissipates into layers of sun-drenched delay. “Cold Hands” is
all urgency and speed, but leaves caverns of space for Germain-Poitras’s guitar
to build some beautiful arcs and bridges around and between Guillemette’s
towering peaks of drums. The closing, almost mellow “Terminal” is where the duo
relaxes on the couch after the fast and probably exhausting workout of the rest
of the album, basking in the glow of this glorious noise they have created.
Like other guitar-and-drums two-piece outfits (Japandroids,
Blood Red Shoes, etc), Solids tend to be fucking
loud; however, on Blame Confusion
the melody is always the core of the music. This is head-nodding sing-along
loudness rather than the head-banging mosh-along kind. It’s a good record that
doesn’t make it into great territory,
but never drifts toward the mediocre either.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
No comments:
Post a Comment