Give It Time: A Thread for The Mynabirds

[Norris]

Don't worry, he says the same thing about Binaural.

[epilogue]

Yeah, I'm not gonna call you nuts or anything, Stip. But we obviously hear totally different records. So be it. But this one feel far more vital to me than Generals. More immediate and kinetic and deeper than Lover's Know. And it's hooky. I can dance like a maniac to this record. It's has so much energy and heart. To me, at least.

It's not her strongest album, lyrically. Perhaps that's part of the issue for you? Especially when coupled with this "80's top 40" vibe that you seem to have little taste for.

[stip]

It's the lack of kineticism and immediacy that is the problem for me. Clearly we're hearing different records. I certainly don't see how these songs feel more immediately impactful than songs like Generals or Disarm. I hope they age well for you

Stronger lyrics would certainly help, only insofar as it would give me something to fixate on. But on the other hand she has songs I'm barely cognizant of the lyrics of (like Body of Work) only because the overall performance is so interesting I haven't gotten that far yet.

her records have always been a bit streaky insfoar as there are a couple of songs I could take or leave on each record (except maybe What We Lose, although that album has fewer high spots than Lovers Know or Generals). So that I'm used to. But this is both a shorter album and only has one unconditional high spot (Golden Age)

[Norris]

This album is dripping with immediacy.

[epilogue]

Yeah, we're just hearing different things. Or, at least, interpreting them or reacting to them differently. But that's what is so great about music. Maybe BHN will grow on you, Stip. Maybe it'll open up over time. Or maybe it won't. Either way I'm just glad to have more consistently good music from a musician whom I adore and respect.

And as much as I love Generals and Disarm, those are far from the album standouts to me. Generals certainly had and immediate impact on me, for sure. Disarm took me a bit longer to engage with. New Moon took a few listens to click for me. Otherwise though all of BHN was a gut punch. Each track landed on first listen for me. So much so that I keep rotating my rankings. I can't pin down which songs I like more than others. I'm all over the map.

The highs on Generals (Wolf Mother, Buffalo Flower, Disaster, Mightier Than the Sword) are undeniable. Those songs are monsters and easily rival the best of BHN, I think. But, again, as a cohesive album experience, BHN bests Generals, for me.

[stip]

i think you just listed my bottom five generals tracks as your favorites! the

[stip]

My top 10 in rough order

Disarm
Wildfire
Generals
Right Place
Karma Debt
What We Gain in the Fire
Shake Your Head Yes
Golden Age
Say Something


Body of Work just misses the cut

I reserve the right to change this when I realize what I left out

[stip]

wildfire might be my favorite. It's got my favorite passage of hers, at any rate

[epilogue]

i think you just listed my bottom five generals tracks as your favorites! the

Then I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we vary so much on this.

[epilogue]

My top 10 in rough order

Disarm
Wildfire
Generals
Right Place
Karma Debt
What We Gain in the Fire
Shake Your Head Yes
Golden Age
Say Something


Body of Work just misses the cut

I reserve the right to change this when I realize what I left out

Yeah, mine is completely different:

Wolf Mother
Velveteen
Give it Time
Right Place
Witch Wolf
Buffalo Flower
Hanged Man
Believer
What We Gained in the Fire
Good Heart

New Moon would be #11.

[epilogue]

I just used album tracks, too. I didn't even bother including b-sides and the two songs she released under her name last year. Good Medicine is absolutely in my top 10 if it counts.

[Kevin Davis]

I think "Be Here Now" is outstanding -- I don't know if I think it's track-for-track their best album (I'm with Stip in being partial to "Generals"), but it is certainly a concise, near-perfect distillation of what they do, with minor elememts of musical curiosity sprinkled judiciously throughout, and a natural homecoming for many of the themes that have driven Laura's writing in the past. The album it keeps reminding me of is Neil Young's "Living With War," another by-the-times-for-the-times impulse work with lyrics that veer periodically into the kind of ultra-literalism that would risk seeming artless if the music didn't mean such business. This is a much, much stronger record than "War," in part because Laura Burhenn is operating in 2017 at a considerably higher standard of musical consistency than Neil Young was in 2006, and in part because she's had enough practice with these subjects to be able to approach them with elements of breadth and nuance that eluded "Living With War," which was sandwiched on either side by a rock opera about a dysfunctional family and their crazy grandpa and a concept album about electric cars. That in mind, I don't think it's surprising, following the Mynabirds' writing to this point, and then looking at the social climate in America in 2017, to learn that this record essentially wrote itself. Lines like "There's so much we can see in the dark/At least now we know who we are" seem kind of linguistically boring but have that kind of stark sense of "real talk" to them that dissipates as writers begin to choose their words more carefully. For an album like this, that approach works.

As a raw composition, I think "Cocoon" is probably my favorite song on the album -- I just love the little curves and contours of the melody (especially on the lines "nothing's fireproof" and "I'll keep hanging on"); it meanders and resolves like a perfect pop song. Otherwise I really like the steady dissonant piano in "Be Here Now" (which rescues the flowery lyrics from "A Mighty Wind" territory), the unchecked venom of "Witch Wolf," and the shiny '80's pop of "Ashes in the Rain. I don't really register the "80's top 40" thing beyond a few songs, and am a lot more interested in how she composes within the format in any case. The only real weakness to me is that it seems to lose some steam at the end -- "Hold On" and "Wild Hearts" are probably my two least favorite songs on the record, and they struggle to bring the album to a satisfying close after the pop-perfect wallop of the first seven tracks.

I feel like this band would have been huge in the 80's or 90's.

[Jorge]

The chorus to "Coccoon" sounds like the chorus to "It's Gonna Be Me" by Nsync

[Kevin Davis]

I actually thought it sounded kind of like "This House Is Empty Now."

[epilogue]

I get such a rush of joy and satisfaction when Kevin Davis posts.

[stip]

cocoon is pretty solid. i dont like the vesuvious (sp) which feels slightly gimmicky and overly clever, but the melody is nice

[stip]

I get such a rush of joy and satisfaction when Kevin Davis posts.

now i need to rethink my reaction

[Norris]

The chorus to "Coccoon" sounds like the chorus to "It's Gonna Be Me" by Nsync

[Norris]

Hold On and Wild Hearts were underwhelming to me at first but have grown on me quite a bit over the last couple of weeks.

[epilogue]

I get such a rush of joy and satisfaction when Kevin Davis posts.

now i need to rethink my reaction

Yeah, KD will to that to the best of us.

Last edited by epilogue on Wed September 13, 2017 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.