Opening up the first real recorded
exploit by Cloud Lantern, Songs for Eluard, is “Posted Up in Phonebooths”,
which punches in with a brisk, dreamy guitar doodle immediately after a
time-travelling ghost tries to restore control of the space craft. Does that sound preposterous? It ought to.
This drippy, Dadaist audio document rescues you from the burdens of
logical impossibility without sacrificing totally tubular surf riffs. More mammals could learn from their
example.
Like a crime-fighting duo the vocals and guitar leads push the tracks forward together in a perfectly mismatched sense. In this unnecessary metaphor the vocals are like Batman, who is way too serious for a guy dressed up as a bat, and the guitar lead is like the plucky Robin, who is often too naive and joyful given the fact that he’s a martial arts master and a vigilante. These two tones might be ridiculous on their own, but together they balance each other in a very pleasing way. Rather than shoot for the middle anywhere on the album, it seems that Cloud Lantern has instead chosen to expertly balance incongruous parts, crafting a middle path from unconventional pieces.
With the exception of the final track, “Puritans on a Boat”, the album could almost have been one long song. The guitar parts metamorphose while a sweet, Smiths-esque voice and warm bass lovingly embrace the listener. The various parts of these songs are in harmony and move from one to the other with featureless transitions to distinct sections. There is very little on the album that has its own space. It’s really more of a soup than an album.
And there it is. The one thing every mammal should take away from this review: Songs for Eluard is really more of a soup than an album.
You’re welcome.
Cloud Lantern: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cloud-Lantern/123327424371136
Like a crime-fighting duo the vocals and guitar leads push the tracks forward together in a perfectly mismatched sense. In this unnecessary metaphor the vocals are like Batman, who is way too serious for a guy dressed up as a bat, and the guitar lead is like the plucky Robin, who is often too naive and joyful given the fact that he’s a martial arts master and a vigilante. These two tones might be ridiculous on their own, but together they balance each other in a very pleasing way. Rather than shoot for the middle anywhere on the album, it seems that Cloud Lantern has instead chosen to expertly balance incongruous parts, crafting a middle path from unconventional pieces.
With the exception of the final track, “Puritans on a Boat”, the album could almost have been one long song. The guitar parts metamorphose while a sweet, Smiths-esque voice and warm bass lovingly embrace the listener. The various parts of these songs are in harmony and move from one to the other with featureless transitions to distinct sections. There is very little on the album that has its own space. It’s really more of a soup than an album.
And there it is. The one thing every mammal should take away from this review: Songs for Eluard is really more of a soup than an album.
You’re welcome.
Cloud Lantern: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cloud-Lantern/123327424371136
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