So harsh but yes amusing.
Full thing is here for anyone who wants it
that sounds good, except Ineffible Me is great
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I enjoyed it this time around.
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I think I went through a phase of claiming this as one of their best albums. Not sure about that on the latest listen but it is great; the Ranaldo tracks are awesome and I feel like his sensibility informs a lot of the album, it’s very laconic and (hate to use the word) psychedelic.
It’s a pretty unique-sounding album in their catalogue and scratches a certain itch, I like what @midnightpunk said above about slowly venturing around an opium den. Used to think Hits of Sunshine went on forever but now find it a really pleasant listen. Snare Girl is hypnotic and I love Thurston’s vocal on it.
At this phase of their career I feel like they have (at least) one transcendent jam per album and Wildflower Soul is the one this time. Most bands might do one or two transcendent jams in their career and be happy with that. SY knock them out for fun. Of course at this phase of their career it’s also a running trope to have a couple of stinkers, and that feels like part of the fun. I don’t mind Contre Le Sexisme though, it works as a scene-setter.
Just a proper not-perfect but fascinating album from a badass band who are doing what the hell they want at this point in their career.
Also fun fact, The Wire’s #1 album of 1998, beating out Tortoise, Pole and Gastr del Sol
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favourite track on A Thousand Leaves
- Contre le Sexism
- Sunday
- Female Mechanic Now on Duty
- Wildflower Soul
- Hoarfrost
- French Tickler
- Hits of Sunshine (For Alan Ginsberg)
- Karen Koltrane
- The Ineffable Me
- Snare, Girl
- Heather Angel
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it’s bank holiday again, which can mean only one thing: Silver Session (for Jason Knuth)!
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I guess actually @andyvine’s misdating the release chronology was about making sure SYR3 seems as good as possible (it’s a good one actually IMO)
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Ooooft this is worse than master-dik
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It’s very slight. The textures they get from the feedback are nice enough, but not really enough to make for, say, a hypnotic drone album, and the bits that are more interesting (“the occasional drum machine” bits) kind of just fizzle out before they can really go anywhere. In fairness, I think they’re open enough about it not really being a proper release and that. I remember I used to see this in the racks at the big HMV in Birmingham (the old one, before they opened the really REALLY big one that is mostly empty space and a cardboard cutout of Wonder Woman) - kind of glad I didn’t spend 12 quid on the CD in my formative years
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Andy whens the next real album 
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also it’s in the fascinating canon of albums that have a reflective cover and therefore look kind of weird on digital shopfronts and streaming services
look there’s a fuckin window
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Memories of MP3ing the CD of Happy Songs for Happy People
Edit, because back then you had to hope an image was online or scan it and that shiny bugger did not scan! I think in the end it was black where the silver was so I guess ut was dome kind of scan.
Really thought I’d posted about the recent stuff, but I hadn’t, whoops!
I liked SY2 more than A Thousand Leaves to be honest. There’s an improv-y/jammy quality that resonated with me more. I don’t love it, but it’s OK.
ATL - this album has always grated on me. Sunday aside I don’t think any track is particularly good. I find it all quite plodding and dirgey. Whereas Washing Machine is laid back and chill, this just frustrates me. Don’t care for the way the guitars sound - I think they’re a bit thin and the atmosphere gets really repetitive fast. As for the songs themselves, Sunday aside, I don’t think there’s any good hooks, and I struggle to remember anything about them as soon as its over.
As for Silver Session - I really like it. Of the instrumental SY stuff I’ve heard, it’s always stood out as some of the better stuff. The textures are really nice (it feels a little bit like a continuation of Providence imo). And the train-track style drum machine way off in the background, along with the subdued noise and feedback, gives everything an eerie edge that I’m very into. There’s emotion here I find lacking in their other instrumental stuff. It is a bit too fragmented - I would much prefer if the tracks flowed into each other, maybe even as one half hour long continuous piece. But I think it’s the best soundtrack-type thing they’ve done, and I can also see it working well as part of an art installation. There’s a meditative quality to it which makes it good for working to. For me, it soundtracked doing the dishes this morning and it did a good job of that.
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Good luck with this one
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sorry bbz
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Silver Session - haven’t heard this before. It’s some feedback, it’s fine. Sounds like an improvised piece for an art installation or something but which doesn’t mean anything out of context.
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