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really enjoying this whole 'reassessing' thing. a great excuse to listen back to albums i've treated increasingly as wallpaper these past few years. One album that definitely falls into that category for me is A Thousand Leaves, which I can't recal the last time I listened to with any real level of concentration. So, as before...here goes.
1. Contre le Sexisme. Not the most 'arena-friendly' of openers. The spoken-word/effects beginning develop into a sort of Ghost Bitch-like percussion thingy. A bit of a false start, all in all.
2. Sunday. Of course, according to convention, this probably should've been the opener. Nice simple groove in a kind of Bull in the Heather vein. Even Thurston's singing works OK here. Killer guitars in the middle section. This is SY doing what they do so well.
3. Female Mechanic on Duty. Good vox by Kim here too, she's ditching the whole 'little girl lost' thing! Musically it's a bit pedestrian until the middle, with those great repeated chiming guitars - reminds me slightly of Ghost Bitch again. The second half is probably great if you're a fan of all-things-Kim. I'm not, but the gradual build up of guitars towards the end is a very nice touch.
4. Wild Flower Soul. The twin guitar interplay here is nicely organic in a Television kind of a way. A real builder, albeit one that could've done with a few less tempo shifts. Is this SY's answer to Bohemian Rhapsody?
5. Hoarfrost. Lee doing his poetry thing over some nice simple-but-engaging guitars. All maybe a little too tasteful but, in all, pretty good.
6. French Tickler. Musically this is OK once the guitars kick in but too much of it is just a backdrop for saw pretty yawn inducing Kimisms.
7. Hits of Sunshine. This has some great musical interplay, where the whole band comes together in this uber-organic, almost Can-like, way. Musically this is one of the best things they've done. If only they could've got Damo Suzuki to replace Thurston at the mic.
8. Karen Koltrane. Some amazing moments of guitar/percussion interplay that again brings Can to mind. Along with Hits of Sunshine, this really does suggest the beginnings of a new musical phase for the band.
9. The Ineffable Me. Kim Gordon's overall contribution to the band during this period just annoys me, sorry. Shame, because some of music here is pretty good.
10. Snare, Girl. Too conventionally 'song'-based to really have the space to hit the heights of Hits of Sunshine or Karen Koltrane, but still showing signs of great things.
11. Heather Angel. Has a sense of the 'hidden track' syndrome about it. A bit of a sketch, apart from the last rock-out section that, were it develped into a full track would surely be something of a pit favourite.
I see this as an album that shows real signs of a 'new' SY emerging. The vox still suck, and I do believe that KG was a nightmare during this period. In all though, it's a REAL improvement on EJSTNS and, especially, Washing Machine. It also, in Hits of Sunshine and Karen Koltrane, contains two of their greatest ever moments.
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