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March 19, 2007
the best county next to the best county
Chris Archibald sings this song like he's introducing himself at a party, like he's just arrived and everyone stops their conversations to check out the person who just walked in. There's confidence (the drums), but there's also the slightest air of insecurity (the background vocals long for attention). 'Screendoor' is a 2 minute molecule of a song, made of buoyant acoustic guitar, sweet voices and fuzzy, sunken bass, and it's quick, light, and wonderful. This is the kind of song you want on the tip of your tongue when your life suddenly and inexplicably turns into a musical.
Most of the members of this band come from the county in Pennsylvania right next the one in which I grew up. Bucks County (where Illinois are from) is best known to me as a place full of farms, forests, excellent soccer teams (!), and areas of rough, unexpected beauty (especially the more northwestern parts). Illinois have produced an EP, "What the Hell Do I Know", that's wild, overflowing, and engaging- the seven songs on the EP are all packed with different ideas, and a wide variety of sounds, super-catchy melodies, sweet banjo licks, etc. In a way, Illinois remind me of another (partially) Pennsylvania-based band: Akron/Family. Both bands are extremely versatile, and from song to song, you never quite know what you're going to get (both Illinois and Akron/Family make musical hairpin turns from atmospheric soundscapes to hook-rich mindblowing jams in the space of a few seconds). The band has apparently written hundreds of songs already (Archibald must be, like, prolific to a Pollardesque degree), which makes me pretty excited to hear the full-length; I think this is a band that's talented enough to do pretty much whatever it wants to, and they have the potential to produce some fantastic, compelling music.
This one's a handclap weekend jeremiad, piano with submerged vocals. The drummer builds a small structure out of clicks, cymbal hits, and crafty stick-work. A nice expression of selective quasi-fatalism: "They say everything happens for a reason/not all of it is needed", and references (maybe) to Love and love.
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Posted by Kevin at March 19, 2007 07:30 AM