Transient Songs - Plantation to Your Youth

July 29th, 2008 at 10:39 pm (Music In My Ears)

Transient Songs
Plantation to Your Youth EP
Indian Casino; 2008

I wanted to erect this elaborate metaphor to describe the frustrating stylistic dichotomy that I hear in the music of Transient Songs. I had also hoped to dissect the adjective “transient,” discussing how the fluid use of genres on the Plantation to Your Youth EP was an apt descriptor for the varied sounds used in the noun “songs.” Because, in a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to resort to making easy allusions and cheap comparisons in an attempt to talk about this Seattle-based two-piece, but we don’t reside in anything resembling a utopia, so you must bear with me here. Across each of the five ditties on this little release, the Southern-rock-tinged vocals alternately complemented and conflicted with the fuzzed-out guitar psychedelics, sounding at times like both a passable reinvention of the Allman Brothers (minus the big ‘70s guitar leads) or Jim James fronting a Jesus and Mary Chain cover band (not the most pleasant thought in the world). “Southern City Saturdays” coalesces all of those influences, and then balances them out nicely to create easily the best track on the project, while the title cut and “Locust Shells” has the overdriven, not-quite-droning guitar work unnecessarily drowning out the vocals far too often. I want to like these songs and this band, but there’s little in the way of sonic coherency and consistency to keep my attention for very long. Transient indeed…

4 Comments »

  1. Steve said,

    August 15, 2008 at 6:39 pm

    Hmmm…Jesus and Mary Chain fronted by Jim James?? Sounds interesting

  2. dryvetyme said,

    August 15, 2008 at 7:28 pm

    Thanks for stopping by my site and leaving the comment Steve. I encourage you to check out the band. I just hope that their future releases can be more coherent, because they do have some promise.

  3. michelle said,

    August 18, 2008 at 10:55 pm

    where can we listen to the album? i think i would enjoy this album

  4. dryvetyme said,

    August 18, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Michelle, if you click on the link provided for the band’s website, you can go read more about them & listen to a stream of the album. Courtesy of the label’s website, here’s a way you can download the title track.

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