kevin-zecchel
Pretty snoozy late 60s pop music.
1
Pretty snoozy late 60s pop music.
Fuck the Carpenters (minus Karen’s drumming). 0
The opening track is one I've never really been a fan of, but many of these are just catchy as fuck. Reason to Believe has a great opening Rhodes riff and the rolling country feel after that is hard not to bop along to...until the violins at least. Their cover of Help makes me like this Beatles tune even less than I already did. I like the zaniness (jazz flute!) on the final track Another Song. All in all not too bad; not really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed much of the album.
I know that there has been recent rehabilitation for the Carpenters, and I want to give them their fair shake. I distinctly remember one quote Todd in the Shadows shared in his Trainwreckord video of their alien album. It came from an interview with the band right after their decline in popularity, and Karen basically said “okay, you don’t want our old stuff anymore, but you also don’t want our new stuff. What do you want?” That stuck with me, and made me feel bad about them. But no, I’m sorry, I can’t get into their music. Light, tempoless rock tends to be useless to me unless you’re kings of harmony, which imo they’re not. Karen is a nice singer and drummer, and there are solid hooks and production here, but I could live without it. D
Very sweet sounding soft rock. Some good harmonies and songwriting but also doesn't really resonate much with me emotionally. It's fine. The "Help" cover is pretty great though and really transforms the song into their own.
Huh. So I assumed I was not going to like this, because the bits of individual Carpenters songs I've heard have done nothing for me. However... I find myself liking this over the full listen. I guess hearing them in the context of the album is a different and better thing. Beginning of We've Only Just Begun - reminds me of Carole King, but then the chorus goes in a brighter direction, which is sorta cheesy, but I don't hate. I prefer the non-chorus portions of the song, but overall I like it. Love is Surrender - just ok, but not bad. I like the organ and background more than the singing in this one. Sorta a Charlie Brown vibe. Maybe It's You - nice melancholy song. Sorta reminds me of Beach Boys - Pet Sounds. I like when the woman sings on her own, more than the vocal harmonies, I think. She has a nice lilt. Reason to Believe - reminds me of a chill country song. It again has a Carole King quality that's sorta nice, but overall this song is just ok. Help - this song is a banger and a surprise. I like it. (They Long to Be) Close To You - everyone's heard this song. It's basically a meme at this point. I did find myself enjoying it more than I expected. The twinkly keys in the background reminded me of something from like Willy Wonka. It's a chill song. It also has lots of just the woman singing (I should find out her name. Karen). Baby It's You - Just ok one. Not much to say. I don't like "sha la la la la oooh" portions in songs though. I'll Never Fall in Love Again - More Carole King vibes. Like, quite a bit. I like this song for that reason. More of just Karen singing, except a few overdubs. Crescent Noon - more of a jazzy number. I like it. Not in the instruments so much, but in the singing. Again, sort of a melancholy, moody song, which is my style. Mr Guder - weird song, which makes me like it. It has the "ba da da da" stuff, but in a weird way and I dig it. I Kept On Loving You - Ken(?)-led song. That's my least favorite part about it, but the rest has that Belle and Sebastian quality I noticed. The instrumentation is quite nice. Another Song - more Carole King feel. I am realizing these guys preceded Carole King in general, so probably I should be saying it the other way around. I like Karen's singing a lot by this point. The instrumentation is really nice on this song too. I like the harpsichord and the drumming, especially. Weird song to end on, and apparently it's the least-listened song on the album, according to Spotify numbers. Overall: I'm realizing that a lot of the background sounds that I'm liking are similarly represented in Belle and Sebastian's happier music. I think without that touchpoint, I might find this more cheesy than I did. Didn't expect to like this, but I did. 4/5