Three Imaginary Girls - Caves

Get on With It

Imaginary Mimi — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:47:03 +0000

7.5

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010V563O/?tag=wwwthreeimagi-20

Q: What do you get when you put The Police, Franz Ferdinand, and Corey Hart in a blender and hit pulse?

A: You get Portland's self described "funk-art" band Caves' album Get on With It.

I was SO ready to dislike this album. On their website, Caves cite the Police, the Clash, Television, and several others very promising influence. The name check of the Police gave me pause at first blush. I am not a huge Police fan, and think a lot of their pseudo-reggae-dub sound gets a little monotonous and repetitve (I think I blame at least 50% of my dislike of them on the latter-day sins of Sting, which is totally unfair, I know, but that's a tiger of a whole other stripe...Brand New Day makes me wanna chew through my desk...).

The opening track "Curiosity" most definitely had the Policey trademark "braap, braap, braap" guitar and dub-riffic bass, and even the requisite yelp of "Oi!" My eyes immediately rolled to the back of my head and I tried to think of a way to either give the album to another reviewer or find a nice way to say I hated it.

Don't worry, there's a Green Eggs-n-Ham end to this story...

I listened to the entire album once. Then I listened to it again. By the third time I listened to it, I had fallen in like with it. After listening to the better tracks several more times, I developed a soft spot for them in a serious way. Lead singer and guitarist Jacob Carey's vocal delivery ranges from soft and husky like Corey Hart to the more pop-n-roll bravado of someone like the Killers' Brandon Flowers, something that instantly gave me a warm fuzzy and made me want to go rollerskate or braid a Barbie head. The more synth-heavy tracks are high-energy and a blast to dance to, and definitely pay homage to their pop and punk forefathers while breathing a bit of their own life into them.

Despite not being a Police fan, I am a huge 80's fan. Being a child of the 80's I was brought up on Crowded House, The Jam, Cutting Crew, and the like and loved them all deeply and intensely. The title track "Get On With It" could have very well been recorded in 1983 by any one of them with its power chords, deep dub bass, and innate ability to get your fists pumping and belting out every word. Anthemic is the first word that comes to mind. It is loveable in the way that something like "Love is a Battlefield" is.

The best track, far and away is "Rock You to Sleep," ironically, the most Police-y of them all. The lyrics are simple and sweet: "If it's me you choose to keep, I promise I'll rock you to sleep. Darling, let me make this clear, I am nothing but sincere..." They are well-matched with the dreamy sway of the instrumentation of the guitar and synthesizer. It is a total hairbrush song.

The album is, admittedly, a bit top heavy. The best tracks are the first four, and as Get On With It progresses, there isn't a marked change in sound or style. The instrumentation and vocals are relatievly indistinguishable from one track to the next after "Rock You To Sleep." Despite this, it is still high-quality, but a bit disappointing after the halfway mark. "Optimist / Pessimist" sounds like a Killers or Bloc Party B-side, which is to say it knows its audience, as does "Metaphysical [Let's Get]", but felt stale and left something to be desired overall. A similar thing occured with the lyrics.

From time to time, they went from simple and sweet like those of "Rock You To Sleep," to trite: "You're so metaphysical, you're so intangible, I know it's hard to believe..." Lyrics are something that can easily make or break a song for me, even if I don't particularily love its sound. There were a couple tracks (see also "Closure") that were definitely a challenge to listen to because of the lyrics. As this was my first exposure to Caves I had hoped to hear more of the shoegaze sound they are so commonly cited and loved for, but it would have probably been inappropriate on such a pop-heavy album. Their effort is definitely cohesive in sound and theme and I can imagine they are an excellent band to see live.

All in all, I do like the Caves. I like them, I like them, Three Imaginary Girls! I would listen to them in on my jukebox, I would listen to them instead of Samantha Fox, I would listen to them here or there, I would listen to them anywhere!

Check them out on their MySpace page. Follow their instructions: "Load It, Learn It, Love It."

Q: What do you get when you put The Police, Franz Ferdinand, and Corey Hart in a blender and hit pulse?

Portland's Caves' unleash a new video

Chris Estey — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:36:14 +0000

Here's a new video from the Portland band, as we wait their return on the road and the no doubt crackling new album they'll cook up in 2009.

Cancer Rising rose above

Chris Estey — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:59:21 +0000

30 May 2008

cancerrising08jun.jpg

Friday night's The Physics / Caves / Cancer Rising / Emeralds show was the first landmark show of my summer. The weather was perfect for a show last night, wasn't it (tell me more, tell me more)? A little on the cool side but it made Capitol Hill (where King Cobra is located) very peaceful. And speaking of King Cobra, man, Jason and Joel are booking some mighty cool shows at what I think is the sweetest new joint in town.

Caves are truly stylish, intricate, openly ambitious in their arrangements, and update some retro-indie sounds of the last few years with the energy and vivacity of the Blakes. Not a huge amount of originality but it hangs together beautifully. The Physics are very good, if not great, rhymers who drop a lot of 206 references (and unabashedly display their influences on their sleeve). Emeralds didn't work for me at all, but I am not a lover of neo-dinosaur rock.

So why was it all such a great show? Cancer Rising came out and got the booties moving of what seemed a mostly female crowd (!!!) with a ferocious energy and fan-love that must have been the reason they were reported to be on fire at Sasquatch. They have gotten so busy, so unifying, so captivating as a four-piece (fronted by Larry and Josh; DJ work by Tyler; hey what's the other rhymer's name? He was totally amped and super-fun to watch) that even after getting in at 5 AM I had to write this review up to share about the show by 10 AM the next day. The time has come for Cancer Rising: If you need a new (under)dog with the same deep joy for jamming and connecting, and the somewhat polemical dryness (on record, at least) and very-slick music of Blue Scholars doesn't pull you in, then go see Larry and his brothers for some gutbucket fist-pumping hip-hop,.

They have gotten so busy, so unifying, so captivating as a four-piece...

Cancer Rising's victorious return show (now with Caves added to the bill)

Chris Estey — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:22:54 +0000

What a weird line-up, but you can't want for variety...