(TV) Songs & Other Things track-by-track review

["Rex Broome" <rexbroome@gmail.com>]

1) A Parade in Littleton:  The meandering drum fill into this song seems to
announce a looser, more-live feel for this record than "The Wonder" right
off the bat, but it settles down into a methodical Prince-like groove pretty
quickly, and indeed by the 2-minute mark we're getting licks that sound
almost exactly like those in the chorus of "Shimmer".  I guess this
instrumental goes on the vocal record instead of the instrumental one
because it has a more conventional structure than most of what's on
"Around", but it's not as engaging as that album... not the strongest
opener, and overlong at that.

2) Heavenly Charm: Here's where we should've started.  More a fragment than
a fully realized song, this still locates us in the territory of a Verlaine
vocal record, this really does signal a more dynamic approach-- a whisper to
a yelp in the vocal, and the sudden thunder of one of the more thickly
overdriven (to say nothing of flanged) guitar parts Tom has ever mixed up
front.

3) Orbit:  the drum figure is reminiscent of that Yeah Yeahs Yeahs hit
"Maps" from a few years back... the overall feel here is a little rootsier
than what I'm used to from Tom... a lot of tension in this song, which only
starts to get released (somewhat uncharacteristically the bridge is more
subdued than the parts surrounding it).  I do look forward to being able to
follow along on a lyric sheet for this song and several others.

4) Blue Light:  Nice and jangly and textural.  I can't tell if some of these
chord changes are novel for Tom or if it's just been so long since I heard a
new song from him that I can't imagine much other than the existing songs.
But I do like the arrangement, with the drums dropping out, and the dynamic
peels and builds... by this point on the first listen I feel certain we're
getting a more varied and less automatic sounding record than "The Wonder".
Which makes it just about time for a song with a straight across beat, such
as:

5)  From Her Fingers:  From the get-go this reminds me of nothing so much
as "Sixteen Tulips" on several levels.  Sounds fun and playful and if it
doesn't add much to the template, I'm still pretty okay with that since
"Sixteen Tulips" never made it onto a proper album.  Plus it's never bad to
hear Tom's take on a compact pop song with a hook or two... is it "new
lyrical girl for me"?  That's actually funny.  The solo never really catches
fire although the odd tone on the latter half of it adds some interest.

6) Nice Actress:  Sinster dark rumble... more shifting dynamics... and again
rootsier than normal for Tom in maybe a Link Wray kind of way.  I like
hearing Tom's exploration and tweaking of these kinds of retro sounds
because they're not straight genre pieces the way stuff like "psychobilly"
and Jon Spencer are... not that form doesn't get tweaked in that kind of
music, but if this were by someone other than Tom it'd probably have hot-rod
or sci-fi monster movie lyrics.

7) A Stroll:  The casual spoken intro doesn't bug me that much.  Again the
feel here is retro but different... slightly jazzy drum figure, some swing
to it.  This feels more like a crossover track from "Around" than the
opening instrumental does.  As such the vocal seems a little superfluous,
but maybe I'm missing some good lyrics.  The guitar textures are very
evocative, which is of course not a surprise, but never unwelcome.

8)  The Earth Is In The Sky:  It's true, the comparisons to the "ballads" on
"Flash Light" and "The Wonder" are unavoidable.   But nobody does these
kinds of things quite like Tom-- I guess they trace back to "Guiding Light"
in a way-- and 8 tracks deep there's been enough variation that a "typical"
tune is fine.  I find it a lot more open and organic than, say, "Pillow"...
the solo ranks among my favorites n the album... don't mind the spoken word
bit, it seems to fit.

9) Lovebird Asylum Seeker:  Still swingin', again a little retro-oriented...
nice 12-strings... more funny bits-- "oh those rascals"... sort of a similar
vibe to "No Glamour for Willi"?

10)  Documentary:  I see that this is picking up some fans on the list, but
to me it tries too hard... both in terms of structure (dropped measures,
shifting tempos) and sounds (some of those guitars and keys sound
interesting but a little forced).  It seems like maybe a few good ideas that
ended up welded together because they didn't fit anywhere else.  Based on
the other glowing reviews I'll give it time to grow on me.

11)  Shingaling:  Again I like the uncharacteristic drum part-- nothing
metronomic about the drums on this album!-- but at the start of this song I
think it's going to be one of Tom's "slight" compositions, this disc's
"Yonki Time".  The repeating guitar figure is interesting because it seems
so simple for a Verlaine idea.  Then about halfway through the guitars get
all latered and jangly, the drums kick in, and Tom lands on a vocal hook ("I
remember when time was king" -- although "time" sometimes sound amusingly
like "Tom") that really flies, the riff finds its place in the mix, and I
start to think this song is really great.  And yet the next time I spin the
whole album and this track comes on, I kinda think, "oh, this again".
Funny.  To me this track in itself is a buildup to the home stretch of the
record.

12)  All Weirded Out: Already covered this... some listeners find it lazy; I
find it a welcome return to some of Tom's strengths that don't get trotted
out that much.  That may make me sound like one of the reviewers who just
wants more 1976 CBGB garage bash from Tom, and if so, well... that certainly
isn't the only thing I want from him, but I do want a bit of that... hell
yeah.  Maybe I'll start disliking this around the time that "Documentary"
starts to sound good to me!

13)  The Day on You:  There's a consensus that this one is really terrific,
right?  It strikes me as a more passionate and expansive take on the basics
of "Caveman - Flashlight", sort of retro-engineered to Marquee Moon specs.
 It's especially impressive how it manages to build without starting out
especially subdued.  The slide stuff which has been stealthily creeping into
this album and the instrumental one really pays off here, and yet it's still
just one ingredient in the stew.   This could go on a lot longer!

14)  Peace Piece.  Nice little wind-down.  Not especially necessary but less
out-of-place than the opener.

The album as a whole:  definite grower, but it also hasn't aken as long to
grow on me as I thought it might.  It spends a good amount of time
showcasing some of the stuff that sets Tom apart from his followers, and
then cuts loose with examples of why he remains so influential to begin
with.  Still think it could've been edited down to perfection by losing
three or four songs, but since there ain't no 12"'s coming out to sport 'em
as b-sides, I'm not complaining.

-Rex
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