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Monday, February 12, 2007

Album Commentary: She's Spanish, I'm American 

Car Crash
Jon Jon
The Ocean Always Wins
Answers
Josh Rouse & Paz Suay
She's Spanish, I'm American EP
El día que conocí a Josh Rouse en el Café Lisboa en septiembre traía consigo un disco o dos con unas sesiones de ProTools que había grabado en casa que iba a mandar por FedeEx a un amigo suyo en Nashville para "agregarle algunos instrumentos". (¿Cómo imaginarme en ese momento que tan solo dos meses después haría un viaje de trabajo a Nashville y conocería a Daniel Tashian?) En octubre, antes del concierto de Springsteen en Valencia, fui al piso que comparte con Paz y mientras me mostraba cómo tenía montado su estudio casero, me puso la versión final de "Car Crash". Luego en Noviembre, durante la gira de Josh por España, estuve en el (2o) debut de Paz en Valencia, donde cantaron un par de canciones del EP "She's Spanish, I'm American" que estaba aún por salir, "Car Crash" entre ellas. Digo todo esto sólo para expresar que me es difícil hacer una reseña de este EP de manera completamente objetiva, pues de algún modo siento que he estado familiarizado con el disco desde mucho antes de que saliera a finales de enero.
 
  The day I met Josh Rouse at Café Lisboa in September he was carrying a disc or two with some ProTools sessions he had recorded at home that he was going to FedEx to a pal of his back in Nashville to "add some instruments to". (Little did I know that only two months later I would travel to Nashville for business and actually get to meet Daniel Tashian!) In October, before the Springsteen concert in Valencia, I went to his and Paz's place for the first time and as he was showing me the set-up of his home studio, he played the finished version of "Car Crash". Then in November, during Josh's tour in Spain, I was at Paz's (2nd) debut in Valencia, where they played a couple of songs off the upcoming "She's Spanish, I'm American" EP, "Car Crash" among them. I state all of this just to express that it's difficult for me to approach this EP completely objectively, as I somehow feel I've been acquainted with it long before its late-January release.
 
Desde que me casi obsesioné con "Nashville" y "1972" (los últimos dos discos de Josh grabados en EEUU) y considerarlos como obras maestras contemporáneas, debo admitir que he puesto a "Subtítulo" (su primer disco grabado tras su mudanza a España) y a este nuevo EP bajo una dura evaluación. Mientras que ambos siguen siendo mucho mejor que la mayor parte de lo que ocupa nuestras frecuencias de radio, no me han gustado tanto como sus predecesores. Si su mudanza a España es una influencia directa sobre esto--como muchos son prontos a señalar--no lo puedo afirmar, pero una cosa que es difícil negar es que ambos se sienten mucho más relajados y juguetones.
 
  Since having become almost obsessed with "Nashville" and "1972" (Josh's last two albums recorded in the US) and regarding them as contemporary masterpieces, I must admit I've placed both "Subtítulo" (his first album recorded after he moved to Spain) and this new EP under harsh scrutiny. While both are still a lot better than most of what fills our airwaves, I haven't come to like them as much as their predecessors. If his move to Spain is a direct influece on this--as many are quick to point out--I cannot say, but one thing that is difficult to deny is that they both feel more relaxed and playful.
 
"Car Crash" abre el EP y marca la pauta, pero sólo musicalmente, porque si esta canción es una toma divertida sobre lo que pasa por tu mente mientras temes por tu vida en el asiento trasero de un taxi de Nueva York con un loco al volante, los temas del resto de las canciones son más contemplativos: un amigo con una historia problemática tratando de ordenar su vida en "Jon Jon", el temor y deseo simultáneo de acoger un nuevo amor en "The Ocean Always Wins", el lento pasaje del tiempo en "These Long Summer Days", y en "Answers", entregarse al orden de las cosas a tu alrededor para permitir a las respuestas importantes llegar a ti en lugar de perder tiempo y energía buscándolas. Las canciones en sí son lo que hemos venido a esperar de Josh: letras espabiladas con buenos arreglos vocales--su voz y la de Paz se oyen bien juntas--y meoldías pegajosas sustentadas en guitarras. Ahora, si tan solo (conmigo, pareciera que siempre hay un "si tan solo...") la producción estuviera más pulida... sé que su discográfica se llama "Bedroom Classics", pero ha demostrado en el pasado que sus EPs no tienen que sonar como si se hubieran grabado en una recámara. Las percusiones parecen enlatadas, los arreglos de teclados y cuerdas se escuchan sintéticos, e incluso la mayoría de las guitarras se escuchan demasiado limpias, delatando una conexión directa entre el procesador de efectos y la computadora. Me quedo con la sensación de que con tan sólo tres canciones más tan buenas como estas y una producción que se escuchara más natural--y un nombre quizás un poco más ingenioso--esta pareja habría tenido un exitazo en sus manos.
 
  "Car Crash" opens the EP and sets the tone, but only musically, because if this song is a fun take on what goes through your mind while fearing for your life in the back seat of a NYC cab with a crazy driver at the wheel, the themes of the rest of the songs are somewhat more contemplative: a friend with a history of getting into trouble and trying to clean up his act in "Jon Jon", the simultaneous fear and desire of embracing an new love in "The Ocean Always Wins", the slow passing of time in "These Long Summer Days", and going with the flow of things around you to allow the important "Answers" come to you instead of wasting time and energy attempting to find them. The songs in themsleves are what we've come to expect from Josh: clever lyrics with great vocal arrangements--his and Paz's voice work nicely together--and catchy guitar-based melodies. Now, if only (with me, there always seems to have to be an "if only...") the production were a little more polished... I know his label is called "Bedroom Classics", but he has proved in the past that his EPs don't have to sound like if they were recorded in a bedroom. The beats seem canned, the keyboard and string arrangements sound synthy, and even most of the guitars sound too clean, exposing direct lines from the effects processor into the computer. I'm left with the feeling that with only three more songs as good as these and a more natural-sounding production--and maybe a wittier name--these guys would have hit one out of the park.
 
(¿De acuerdo? ¿En desacuerdo? ¿Sientes que me faltó mencionar algo? ¡Deja un comentario!)
 
  (Agree? Disagree? Feel I forgot to mention something? Leave a comment!)
 

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Comments:
Nice review, Jesse, and quite objective for a review that begins with an "I can't be totally objective" clause. For what it's worth, I think I read that the beats on the EP are Garageband loops -- I could be wrong, but if so that explains the canned sound.

For me, on a gut level, I find this EP so fresh and energizing and exciting that I have a hard time listening to it with a critical ear. My main complaint is that it's only 5 songs. Why did they make an EP and not a full album? I have to admit, I haven't paid much attention to production quality, but after reading your review I have to ask myslef if, indeed, knowing this was recorded on a Mac in Josh's bedroom makes me let him off the hook a bit.
 
Então interessante este site parece muito organizado.........bom trabalho :)
Gostei muito faz mais posts assim !!
 
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