 The
XVIII Century Greats
"Pardon Our Appearance" CD
Proforma
Records
Genres: indie rock, indie pop
band website
Sep 16 - 22 2002 |
My
friend once expressed to me that he despises the current style of
"talk-rock". You know, it's the music where the singer
sounds as if he's half-singing and half-talking at the same time.
While I never found it that annoying, my friend seemed to really
dislike the stuff, as if it wasn't real music just because the
vocalist doesn't sound as if he or she is singing. That said, he would
absolutely hate this album. The XVIII Century Greats (that's
eighteen for those who don't want to figure it out) are like the kings
of talk-rock.
Nonetheless, Pardon Our Appearance is a very enjoyable
album. The music itself is pretty catchy, but what really makes this
album are the lyrics, which are both insightful and humourous. For
example, "L.A.V" (or "Last American Virgin", an
obscure film reference) tells the story of a celibate girl who feels
lonely and isolated, as if she's the last American virgin ("You
said you were saving yourself for marriage/You said you were saving
yourself for Jesus/And then the tears came down like a broken water
main/Until a better day I'll probably remain the last American
virgin"). Meanwhile, "The Artifact" is an off-beat love
song that deals with a man who is overly obsessed with his
ex-girlfriend; he finds "artifacts" of hers and keeps them
as keepsakes (he keeps her hairs from her brush in ziplock bags, for
example). It remains funny, even though you feel sympathetic to the
poor guy.
Judging by this album, The XVIII Century Greats are three
very intelligent people. They sing/talk about life's little
subtleties, except in a blatant and confronting way. They've got a
great sense of humour, and their music is a bit like a less punk-y Atom
and his Package. I would love to just sit one of them down and
engage in a long conversation - but then again, who wouldn't
want to talk to the creators of such an intellectual and thoughtful
album?
86%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
37 min 52 sec; 12 tracks; distributed by the
band;
released 2001] |
