Jeffrey Lewis And The Voltage — Bad Wiring (Nov. 1, 2019)
↵ Jeffrey Lewis, světově oblíbený undergroundový indie~rockový skladatel, je zpět! „Bad Wiring“ nahrál a produkoval v Nashvillu Roger Moutenot, muž zodpovědný za produkci všech klasických alb Yo La Tengo. Moutenot, který také pracoval na 16. sólo~studio~albu „Magic and Loss“ Lou Reeda (Jan. 14, 1992), a 4. album „The Hot Rock“ Sleater~Kinney (Feb. 23, 1999) Roger byl tedy určitě tím pravým mužem, který zachytil těchto dvanáct nových písní Jeffrey Lewise ve studiu. Jak Lewis vysvětluje: „Jako zkušenost z práce s producentem, to byl sen. Zjevně si ctím řadu nahrávek, které Roger v minulosti vytvořil a tak jsem ho cíleně vyhledal. Skutečnost, že je v Nashvillu, byla jen náhodná, museli jsme s ním různě cestovat na různá místa nahrávání. Teď, když lidé slyší, že jsme vytvořili naše album v Nashvillu, jsou vesměs rádi..., oh, myslím, že toto je vaše country album“. ... Díky nekonečně kreativní hudební paletě od bandu Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage a Lewisově psaní — tak ostrého jako vždy, může být „Bad Wiring“ největším albem jeho 18~ti leté kariéry. Score: ★★★★¼
Born: November 20, 1975, New York City, United States
Location: Lower East Side, New York City, NY
Album release: Nov. 1, 2019
Record label: Moshi Moshi Records (UK/Europe)/Don Giovanni Records (USA)
Duration: 41:33
Tracks:
01. Exactly What Nobody Wanted 3:56
02. Except For The Fact That It Isn’t 2:42
03. My Girlfriend Doesn’t Worry 4:56
04. Depression! Despair! 4:15
05. Till Question Marks Are Told 4:03
06. LPs 4:15
07. Knucklehead/Happy Rain 1:29
08. Take It For Granted 2:07
09. In Certain Orders 3:26
10. Where Is The Machine 2:34
11. Dogs Of My Neighborhood 2:15
12. Not Supposed To Be Wise 5:35
•∴• Jako obvykle jsou Lewisova písničková témata průchodem mezi komedií a tragédií. Otevírák alba „Exactly What Nobody Wanted“ je doslova husarským kouskem. Je to takový soucitný vstup na téma velkých umělců, kterým ve světě zmeškala loď. Téma není nikdy zcela konkrétní, kdo nebo co dané umění nebo hudba představuje, a posluchači to ponechává představivost. Jinde neúprosná a hustá lyrická tma písně jako „Depression! Despair!“ je odlehčeno kamarádstvím ve sborovém stylu call~and~response refrénu: „Deprese! Zoufalství! / Uvidíme se tam.“
•∴• Artist Info: After 17 years on England’s venerable Rough Trade Records, the world’s favorite underground indie~rock songwriter, Jeffrey Lewis, is finally putting out a proper album on a stateside label — Bad Wiring, which will land November 1st via American indie~stalwarts Don Giovanni Records!
•∴• Lewis has a new band name, too, if not necessarily a new band. Bassist Mem Pahl and drummer Brent Cole — who have been touring the world with him for the past four years as Los Bolts — are still on board. For Jeffrey, though, it is tradition to apply a new band name to each release. This time around, the group has been re~christened as The Voltage.
•∴• Although mostly recognized for his lyrical skills, the secret weapon in Lewis’s arsenal has been his slow evolution from DIY folkie in the late ‘90s to barn~burning indie~rock live sensation — he started out as Daniel Johnston and spent twenty years turning into Yo La Tengo. Bad Wiring — which was recorded by Roger Moutenot in Nashville, TN — continues along this trajectory.
•∴• “The first thing we did when we got to Roger’s studio in Nashville was to set up the gear and play the entire album through, live, like a live set, no stopping,” Lewis explains. “Roger got good quality recordings of all of that and we pretty much could have called the album finished right then and there, in one day. But we spent the rest of the week using those live performances as a reference point for how to capture the best possible version of each song, the best performances and the best sounds. So we first showed Roger what we were capable of and then Roger showed us what he was capable of! It was an amazing working method! I worship a number of the records Roger had produced in the past, so I specifically sought him out, I didn’t even know if he was still producing records, or where he was living.”
•∴• Native New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis is a comic book writer/artist and a musician. Jeffrey Lewis and his band tour the world, mixing folk with noise and sharing stages with the likes of Stephen Malkmus, The Mountain Goats, and more. Jeffrey has had albums on Rough Trade since 2001, his comic Fuff has been running since 2004, and he’s been featured by NPR, The History Channel, The NY Times and more.
•∴• http://www.sanfordco.com/jeffrey-lewis-bad-wiring/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyLewisBand
Website: http://www.thejeffreylewissite.com/
PRAISE:
•∴• “Hands down my favorite contemporary songwriter.” — Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie)
•∴• “I discovered [Jeffrey’s] music via ‘Sad Screaming Old Man’ which is one of my favorite songs ever written.” — David Berman (Silver Jews)
•∴• “Weird? Very... but also downright inspiring.” (★★★★) — Rolling Stone
•∴• “[Jeffrey Lewis is] The best lyricist working in the US today.” — Jarvis Cocker (Pulp)
•∴• “Ramshackle and beautiful noise… Lou Reed’s natural successor as punk poet of the New York streets.” — Louder Than War
•∴• “Bands as magical and genuinely original as this are as essential as oxygen.” — Culture Delux
•∴• “Bizarre but brilliant.” — Uncut
•∴• “Dazzling.” — Mojo
•∴• “Jeffrey is the only artist I’ve sent fan mail to.” — Jens Lekman
•∴• “Really great and impressive and inspiring and exciting... There’s not a lot of people that can tell a story and use language like that in music.” — Will Oldham
•∴• “Ideas burst from Jeffrey Lewis… ramshackle fuzzbomb jams… inspirational.” (★★★★) — The Guardian