01. Such Fun
02. Can't You See
03. Oh
04. Dead Wrong
05. Girl
06. Not Me
07. Kill Me Again
08. Same As What
09. Back Of Your Knees
10. Sad Song
11. Someone You Thought You'd Forgot
There are different ways to approach the band purgatory of "indefinite hiatus." You could maintain a dignified silence, either letting the memory of your band live relatively untarnished in the hearts of fans, or maybe building up feverish anticipation for a lucrative reunion tour. You could start a blog, an acting career, or some other non-music project. There's also always the possibility of starting a new project to satiate your musical urges. Like many artists, Martin Cohen, bassist of UK lad-rockers Nine Black Alps, has chosen Door No. 3, recording songs under the name Milk Maid primarily from his Manchester apartment.
From the blast of distortion on opener "Such Fun" on, Yucca clearly basks in the influence of a few 1990s lo-fi indie greats. Guided by Voices have been the chief comparison so far, but Cohen isn't as strong a singer or as gifted a melodicist as Robert Pollard and where 11 songs make up Yucca's 33 1/2-minute running time, GBV could easily cram at least two dozen songs in that window. Milk Maid is more similar to a group like Sebadoh in musical and lyrical content, combining mostly sunny, pop-friendly melodies with macabre imagery and the occasional spate of abject self-loathing-- at least in the handful of lyrics that you can make out.
Cohen injects a little irony into "Such Fun", delivering the bouncy, jaunty tune-- and its chorus of "'Round, 'round, 'round, and over again"-- with an affect so distant, that it sounds like he's lamenting a tedious exercise, regardless of the slightly more energetic backing vocals that punctuate the hook. "Dead Wrong" puts an emphasis on the former word of its title, with the song's first few lines splattered with blood from dismembered limbs and stab wounds in the stomach. The first verse of the 49-second "Kill Me Again" simulates the back-and-forth of a lovers' spat, with Cohen singing, "Kill me again... And then I'll kill you." Most of Yucca's violent images are delivered as a metaphor for a deteriorating relationship, relating to the death of a romance as death in the most literal terms.
Reportedly inspired by the recording approach of Sic Alps, but mostly lacking the bloodthirsty snarl the San Francisco basement dwellers capturing on tape, Yucca is almost split evenly between propulsive, driving, pop-influenced garage-rock tunes and downtempo almost-ballads covered in a thick topcoat of fuzz. The catchiest of these-- "Can't You See", with its acoustic guitar drowned-out by heavily distorted electric guitar, late-album climax "Back of Your Knees', the buoyant power-pop of "Not Me"-- are torn wide open by ear-splitting guitar solos, ably and excitingly straddling the line between noise and pop. While its lyrics-- especially the hook of "She was American / She was an American girl"-- aren't especially gripping, "Girl" provides a refreshing cool down in the midst of the blown, overheated amps exploding across most of the collection.
A melancholy sway marks "Someone You Thought You'd Forgot", finding Cohen using his voice to deliver a kind of sadness that perfectly matches the song's chords. The song itself makes for an appropriate closing track-- it feels like the soundtrack for saying goodbye to someone, all long faces, downturned eyes, and slow, monotone speech. It's softer feel also illustrates the dynamic range Cohen has as a songwriter on his first solo outing, one that isn't especially revelatory or inventive, but does offer a solid starting point for the second chapter of his career...www.pitchfork.com
From the blast of distortion on opener "Such Fun" on, Yucca clearly basks in the influence of a few 1990s lo-fi indie greats. Guided by Voices have been the chief comparison so far, but Cohen isn't as strong a singer or as gifted a melodicist as Robert Pollard and where 11 songs make up Yucca's 33 1/2-minute running time, GBV could easily cram at least two dozen songs in that window. Milk Maid is more similar to a group like Sebadoh in musical and lyrical content, combining mostly sunny, pop-friendly melodies with macabre imagery and the occasional spate of abject self-loathing-- at least in the handful of lyrics that you can make out.
Cohen injects a little irony into "Such Fun", delivering the bouncy, jaunty tune-- and its chorus of "'Round, 'round, 'round, and over again"-- with an affect so distant, that it sounds like he's lamenting a tedious exercise, regardless of the slightly more energetic backing vocals that punctuate the hook. "Dead Wrong" puts an emphasis on the former word of its title, with the song's first few lines splattered with blood from dismembered limbs and stab wounds in the stomach. The first verse of the 49-second "Kill Me Again" simulates the back-and-forth of a lovers' spat, with Cohen singing, "Kill me again... And then I'll kill you." Most of Yucca's violent images are delivered as a metaphor for a deteriorating relationship, relating to the death of a romance as death in the most literal terms.
Reportedly inspired by the recording approach of Sic Alps, but mostly lacking the bloodthirsty snarl the San Francisco basement dwellers capturing on tape, Yucca is almost split evenly between propulsive, driving, pop-influenced garage-rock tunes and downtempo almost-ballads covered in a thick topcoat of fuzz. The catchiest of these-- "Can't You See", with its acoustic guitar drowned-out by heavily distorted electric guitar, late-album climax "Back of Your Knees', the buoyant power-pop of "Not Me"-- are torn wide open by ear-splitting guitar solos, ably and excitingly straddling the line between noise and pop. While its lyrics-- especially the hook of "She was American / She was an American girl"-- aren't especially gripping, "Girl" provides a refreshing cool down in the midst of the blown, overheated amps exploding across most of the collection.
A melancholy sway marks "Someone You Thought You'd Forgot", finding Cohen using his voice to deliver a kind of sadness that perfectly matches the song's chords. The song itself makes for an appropriate closing track-- it feels like the soundtrack for saying goodbye to someone, all long faces, downturned eyes, and slow, monotone speech. It's softer feel also illustrates the dynamic range Cohen has as a songwriter on his first solo outing, one that isn't especially revelatory or inventive, but does offer a solid starting point for the second chapter of his career...www.pitchfork.com
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