2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
A horror movie drive-in experience
…for your ears; a review of the band Midnight Movies' latest album "Lion the Girl"
Zachary Huff
Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: Life & Leisure
- Page 1 of 1
A good majority of today's music can be pigeonholed into specific genres. Midnight Movies is different; there's a lot going on with this band, and it proves to be quite an interesting listening experience. The best way to describe everything they throw into their music is "70s drive-in B-horror psychedelic pop."
Yes, the band is interesting enough to get its own genre.
"Lion the Girl" is Midnight Movies' second full length album. The band, comprised of Gena Oliver on vocals, Larry Schemel on guitar, Ryan Wood on bass and Sandra Vu handling the drums, offers up a different approach to pop music. Rather than trying to be light and radio-friendly, they chose to go for a darker, almost frightening sound that will most likely raise the little hairs on your arms and send shivers down your spine.
The album starts off with "souviners," highlighting a menacing guitar riff that suddenly drops. After a few seconds of silence, a crazy driving pop hook with synths and drums pops up. Unexpected doesn't even begin to describe it; it's so wrong that it works.
It is hard to describe all of the off-the-wall intricacies that fill the album, but they are memorable. "Patient eye," the first single from the album, builds to a chorus of complex vocal layering at the end of the song that feels as smooth as silk.
Oliver's vocals have a strange, almost surreal quality to them. They sound like a darker, more depressed Debbie Harry (of Blondie fame). Throughout the album, they are crisp and clean, but soft to the point that they are unnerving.
Unfortunately, much of the album suffers from the lyrics. I believe that the overall vocal style plays a large part in this, but most of the words chosen are not memorable. Lines like "as I tie these ribbons on my shoes/ I've decided to take to keep in mind your words/ that nothing else matters" from their track "ribbons" feel as if they've tried to hard to make lyrics that make the listener feel introspective, to apply the lessons they preach to their own lives.
The album does sound rather interesting. "Lion Song" starts with withering and pulsing sounds that develop into an almost marching guitar hook dotted with tambourine hits. "Coral Den" is a controlled frenzy amplified by background organ sounds.
The organ sounds, in fact, linger in just about every track, adding to the mysterious feel of the tracks. The organs are allowed to step up to the foreground on "Parallel Paramour," which brings a strange, danceable melancholy to the track; it will make you want to cry AND sway with the beat.
All in all, "Lion the Girl" is a curious album with a dark side, a refreshing alternative to the bubblegum pop played on the radio. While it may not live up to any lyrical expectations you may have, the overall feel of the album warrants a listen. And honestly, who doesn't like to be freaked out every now and then?
Yes, the band is interesting enough to get its own genre.
"Lion the Girl" is Midnight Movies' second full length album. The band, comprised of Gena Oliver on vocals, Larry Schemel on guitar, Ryan Wood on bass and Sandra Vu handling the drums, offers up a different approach to pop music. Rather than trying to be light and radio-friendly, they chose to go for a darker, almost frightening sound that will most likely raise the little hairs on your arms and send shivers down your spine.
The album starts off with "souviners," highlighting a menacing guitar riff that suddenly drops. After a few seconds of silence, a crazy driving pop hook with synths and drums pops up. Unexpected doesn't even begin to describe it; it's so wrong that it works.
It is hard to describe all of the off-the-wall intricacies that fill the album, but they are memorable. "Patient eye," the first single from the album, builds to a chorus of complex vocal layering at the end of the song that feels as smooth as silk.
Oliver's vocals have a strange, almost surreal quality to them. They sound like a darker, more depressed Debbie Harry (of Blondie fame). Throughout the album, they are crisp and clean, but soft to the point that they are unnerving.
Unfortunately, much of the album suffers from the lyrics. I believe that the overall vocal style plays a large part in this, but most of the words chosen are not memorable. Lines like "as I tie these ribbons on my shoes/ I've decided to take to keep in mind your words/ that nothing else matters" from their track "ribbons" feel as if they've tried to hard to make lyrics that make the listener feel introspective, to apply the lessons they preach to their own lives.
The album does sound rather interesting. "Lion Song" starts with withering and pulsing sounds that develop into an almost marching guitar hook dotted with tambourine hits. "Coral Den" is a controlled frenzy amplified by background organ sounds.
The organ sounds, in fact, linger in just about every track, adding to the mysterious feel of the tracks. The organs are allowed to step up to the foreground on "Parallel Paramour," which brings a strange, danceable melancholy to the track; it will make you want to cry AND sway with the beat.
All in all, "Lion the Girl" is a curious album with a dark side, a refreshing alternative to the bubblegum pop played on the radio. While it may not live up to any lyrical expectations you may have, the overall feel of the album warrants a listen. And honestly, who doesn't like to be freaked out every now and then?
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