Track of the Moment: Hey Mami by Sylvan Esso

What do you get when you mix Purity Ring with Fiona Apple? That’s a question most don’t ask, but Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn did. And boy was it a question worth answering.

Amelia Meath is the frontwoman of Mountain Man (it’s ironic and they’re folk, so you know they got mad hipster cred), while Nick Sanborn is the bassist for Megafun, a psychedelic folk band. 

This is almost a surprising combination – who would think that folk vocals would think that folk vocals and electronic music would work so well together? But Sanborn’s beats are slow, pulsing, match perfectly with Meath’s soaring and almost mournful vocals that harmonize at just the right moments. The electronic crescendos are impressive; they both grab your attention and fade into the background into a deep, pleasant hum. They fade away almost completely at times, allowing Meath’s voice shine through, before coming in and lifting the entire song up far past anything each element could do on its own.

“Hey Mami” is a great example of this. The first half of the song sounds like a recording of a street performer, the din of the city faintly heard in the background as Meath casually sings. The lyrics are about a sexy girl who is the object of desire of all the guys in a most likely Hispanic district of New York, referencing an ass that draws the attention of all the boys she passes (not actual lyrics, but damn if that’s not a decent line). Her voice is strong and powerful, heartily belting out lines about bodegas and cat calls. Sanborn slowly begins adding claps, then bells, before finally coming with distorted electronics. While Purity Ring tends to aim for the glitchy, fast paced instrumentals, Sylvan Esso takes their time with more static notes, letting them linger, letting you absorb the sonic landscape as it gently floats by. They only exist to make the song bigger and bolder, a selfless act that has created an amazing piece of art.

So far, they only have a 2 song EP out, if you can even call it an EP. The vinyl has both the songs, along with the instrumentals and the accapella, so that’s cool, if you’re into remixing. You can also get the songs on iTunes and Amazon, if you’re a filthy casual who may or may not be into remixing

I’m usually very verbose, as any of my reviews can tell you, but Sylvan Esso has left me speechless. They don’t have much out right now, but I can see good things in their future, and I’m awaiting their next release. In the mean time, I'll just have to like this.

Goff's Pick of the Week- The Idler Wheel... by Fiona Apple

Now I know I have written about the Idler Wheel’s first track Every Single Night a week or two ago, but there is something about that album that draws the listener back in for a second, third, and tenth listen. The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will Serve You More than Ropes will Ever Do is a different type of album, and you can tell that right off from the name. Having not released an album in over five years, many had feared that Apple would never return, that she would never rise again to the prominence that she previously had. Any doubts that they could possibly have had now have been dashed thoroughly by The Idler Wheel, which features some of the best songwriting I have heard this year, and those vocals are some of the best and most interesting vocals around.

In comparison to some other strong female singers on the scene these days Apple comes across as one of the more honest and up front. Unlike acts like Tune-Yards and St. Vincent who sport strong female singers tackling various women’s issues in a convicted rarely wavering voice, Fiona Apple is a little bit less certain.  And while Apple may not be so certain of herself, she seems to speak to a more vulnerable audience, one that can relate to her struggles and triumphs. Her voice seems to well up from a deep and personal space that few other artists ever get to visit, that few other artists even know about. The album tries to let you in to peel back the layers of her psyche, letting the listener right into the place where the lyrics come from, and for the most part it succeeds.  

Lyrically, Apple is at her best. While many of the tracks focus on poor relationships and focus deeply on Apple’s self-deemed social inadequacies, they never feel stale, pushed forth by Apple’s driving vocals and undeniable wit. Tracks like Werewolf, Valentine, Periphery, and the aforementioned Every Single Night makeup the backbone of the album and serve as could be singles. The rest of the tracks too are solid, with strong vocals picking up where songwriting levels out, and with vocals rarely being anything less than spectacular. And it’s those vocals that really breathe existence into all of the songs. Apple’s vocals are probably the most unconventional out their right now. She never just relies on the pretty qualities of her voice, which really says something about her, because her voice is rather beautiful. Instead Apple uses all kinds of creative tricks and tactics that you won’t be able to hear anywhere else.

Track of the Moment- Every Single Night by Fiona Apple

I think its been about two weeks since ive last posted, its amazing how things can just catch up with you. Between studying for finals, taking finals, and my week long summer break, there has barely been enough time for sleep, let alone and time to sit down and write about music. Regardless, here is my comeback, and what better for a comeback post than a comeback song. If you have been following music in these past months (or if you read the title of this article you dirty cheater) than you probably know what I am going to write about, the fantastic Fiona Apple and her return to prominence. Apple’s newest and first endeavor since the very controversial battle between herself and her record label over her third album Extraordinary Machine,  her new album has a few classics on it an extremely long title to boot. The whole thing is The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will Serve You More than Ropes will Ever Do. While as I said there are a few real standouts on the album, Fiona’s strength and struggle are no more present than on the albums opener Every Single Night.