Monday, May 4, 2009

Album of the Week: Micachu - Jewellery




This is Micachu's Jewellery released sometime last month. It's a little bit different, but ultimately quite approachable.

I saw her and her band The Shapes live and didn't think too much of it, I thought it was too klangy on stage, but after checking the album out on spotify I was seduced and went ahead and bought it.

I could sum up the few thoughts I had about it on first listen like this:
1. What's all this cacophonous rattling?
2. Hold on, there's a tune behind all that.
3. A pretty good one actually.

Now maybe this is an album that does not need to be listened to all in one go. Rosie Swash from GU put it nicely when she said that the title of the album is fitting because you can open this jewelry box and pick little gems out. It's a bit pop, a bit punk, a bit noise, often quite beautiful and several other things, maybe you'll hear something else in it too. The tracks rarely go over 2min30s, so it's not too demanding in that sense, but it's not that straightforward to listen to either. My favourites are Vulture, Curly Teeth, Golden Phone, Just In Case, and Wrong.

So here it is, check it out, and let's have your thoughts.


19 comments:

goneforeign said...

So when you say 'here it is', where is it?

ejaydee said...

It's in the dropbox, in the Album Of The Week folder.

saneshane said...

Hey ya ejd..

This has rattled around my head today in a very interesting way.. you are right, it does grip hold of some interesting tunes around the clattering.

'Just in Case' has a similarity to Architecture In Helsinkis' 'Heart it Races' and that can't be a bad thing at all.
I really like the experimental side of it, but less affected than say CocoRosie (even tho I love them too - I can just hear them trying too hard to be off the wall)
'Turn me Well' is getting under my skin also. Think it's a cherry pick.. as a whole album it tended to irritate, but I will go back to various tracks. the jewelry box analogy is a good one.

good choice and something I hadn't heard.

ejaydee said...

Thanks Shane, I've been turned off by Cocorosie for the reasons you mention. Turn Me Well popped up on shuffle earlier, and I realised it's a beautiful ballad. I'd be interested to hear someone cover her. I'll check out Heart it Races.

Blimpy said...

i dipped in last night, and need to go back for more jewels!

steenbeck said...

I haven't had a lot of time lately, but I listened to 4 or 5 tracks, and they're very intriguing. I want to hear the rest of the album and then listen to the whole thing several more times. I like music that feels like it takes a bit of work to appreciate, and I feel like this might be one of those things. My automatic response to hearing new music is always, regrettably, "Who does this sound like?" and I must admit I'm stumped.

Blimpy said...

@steen -

the slits
the ramones
the yeah yeah yeahs
wavves
nirvana
animal collective
folk implosion

i'm a fan of the vocals and the brevity, and the clever inventive lo-fi minimalism.

ejaydee said...

Interesting comments, people, and I agree with most of them. Surely someone listened and didn't like it though?

tincanman said...

Haven't had time yet eJay, sorry.
I'm the old guy in the group and probably won't like it just based on the youthful look of the band. You kids and your music these days! Why back in my day .....

Luke-sensei said...

Just listening through now - interesting and inspired choice Ejay. I had been following the band for a while and downloaded the Mixtape that they had free on their Myspace (which is totally different to this by the way).
Agree pretty much with Blimpy's list of lookalikeys, and i'm afraid to report that I really like it too! A good mix of a few different styles to come up with something that sounds unique and completely up to date.

DarceysDad said...

I've copied it over, ejay, but haven't had time to listen yet. Just on the comments so far, I fear I may be your first dissenter!

;o)

Edwarchu said...

Thanks guys, I thoutght this was an album worth discussing, in the spirit of AotW. I like it, but it's not my baby like other albums, so feel free to hate it, I'm just interested in y'alls thoughts.

DarceysDad said...

Bloody Hell, Ed, how annoying is this record?!?!

I'm going to play it for Jess, to see if she picks up on it as a rebel-against-your-parents thing, but other than that I'll be happy never to hear it again ...

.
.
.
.
.

... with the possible exception of Calculator, which is in serious danger of turning into an earworm.

Shoey said...

Quite liked it, but like JP's pick the other week, wouldn't go out of my way to avoid or obtain more. Am also very distressed that the band look like they are 12 and it's making me feel old.

saneshane said...

some versions of
Heart It Racesfor you EJD... if this works.. fingers crossed:


12345

saneshane said...

that should have been five different tracks of it..
back later to try and sort it, sorry.

saneshane said...

oh it does work, if you click each number separately a different version will play.. (I hope! it does for me)

SatanKidneyPie said...

Sorry I've been a bit late adding my comments to this post. I enjoyed this album too, Ejay. I think my thoughts mirrored yours, it's quite a different sound, but it really seems to work. So another thumbs up from me.

ejaydee said...

If anyone is still reading this, thanks for checking it out.