7 Inches Of Double Entendre
Today I’m talking about 3 different 7-inches that have caught my attention this month. I don’t usually come across many 7-inches on a day-to-day basis, let alone 3 this close together, so that’s why we’re here. The important thing to note about singles or 7-inches is that the B-side is rarely meant the more phenomenal of the 2 songs. Its either live, more experimental or an in-between song that wasn’t quite good enough to make it to a full-length. Ironically, all 3 records qualify as one of these. Lets see which is which…
Deerhoof/David Bazan: DeerBazan– The A-side of this record features Bazan‘s vocals and lyrics over Deerhoof‘s No One Asked To Dance and is retitled, No One Asked Bazan To Dance. The B-side showcases Bazan’s live version of Gas and Matches from his electronic project, Headphones. Its difficult to criticize a live recording, so just ignore me when I say that the original is always better. The other song is actually kind of a cool concept. This takes 2 genuinely talented artists and combines them independently without compromising the other and the results are surprising. I thought it would be a lot worse, but it worked out really well and I hope that other bands adopt this concept and make it work as well as they did…8.2/10
REID: Genesis/Forrest– This isn’t necessarily a 7-inch, but the idea is the same. British electro experimentalists are starting to become a common theme around here and REID is another great reason why. Genesis is beat heavy, full of catchy synthesizers and focuses heavily on atmosphere. Forrest is somewhat more focused on experimentation than anything else and is clearly the B-side of the 2. Overall, it does everything a debut should: It shows range, ambition to experiment and showcases his ability to write catchy synths that keep you interested…8.7/10
The Twilight Sad: Sick– When I first heard this, I was confused. I’m not exactly sure why Sick incorporates a drum machine so heavily with the existing drums, but it really ruins the song for me. Its as if it can’t decide what genre it wants to be part of and it makes me nervous as to what the LP is going to sound like. Untitled #67 is an obvious B-side and is basically a forgettable acoustic/vocal track that probably wouldn’t show up anywhere else but on a 7-inch like this. All in all, this isn’t anything to write home about and raises more questions than it answers about their upcoming LP which comes out in February…5.4/10