Scraping the bottom with Aim Low Kid
Aim Low Kid's new EP leaves sticky residue of ennui.
Aim Low Kid
Music Ruined My Life EP
Released on Jul 21, 2009
Formed in San Francisco by lead singer Daniel Phiefer and his roommate, we haven't heard
from Aim Low Kid in some time. Joined by Quinn Miller on bass and vocals,
Kevin McCracken on drums and Ygal Kaufman on Violin they last graced
us in 2007 with their debut Soundtrack For The New Depression.
Comprised of a few gentlemen who are keeping their day jobs, their latest
release Music Ruined My Life shows the band making music to (what
sounds like) vent a great deal of frustration.
First off, I'd like to make it clear that I have given this album multiple listens, in transit and at home, working and idle, and I found it very difficult to enjoy Music Ruined My Life anywhere. While the opener "Turn To Zero" offers a poppy enjoyable beat it is instantly ruined by the vocalist. This whimper-like caterwauling is ineffectual, immediately turning me off from whatever enjoyable piece of music was there. Very few singers can pull off the "disaffected" style and still make you want to rock. This is not one of those bands. The guitar stays fairly regular and high-pitched, offering little variation in the way of the melody. Moving into "Tango" it becomes obvious that Aim Low Kid is heavily influenced by brit-pop and goes a long way to emulate it. Advice to the band: Please don't. It hurts the anglophile in me when you moan like the guys from Oasis. "Tango Reprise" offers up an eerie opener with a full string section accompanied by brass, but it is stopped short and the same beat from the first track is slowed down offering another disappointment.
This makes me think, if you
can arrange a fairly entertaining quasi-orchestral piece why try and
spice it up with folksy rock? Stick with what works best. If you have
seen Aim Low Kid live you know they are capable of an excellent and
unique sound. As a stage group they come together and deftly display
what they are capable of as instrumentalists. Even the vocals, which
were the deal-breaker for me, are better on stage. After seeing footage
of them performing and listening to this album I noticed a huge disparity
and wondered if they rushed this album. I really wanted this to get better
and develop a more polished, well put together sound. Towards the end
on "Year of the Dog" Aim Low Kid really comes alive and shows
us that glimmering pearl of songwriting they've been hiding. This song
is interesting and dances around the folk and country spectrum during
the break-down and would have made the record for me if it had not been
so surprisingly short. Finally they close off the record with a track
that smacks of Blur's "Beetlebum" and any Oasis track post
2000. Aim Low Kid's Music Ruined My Life left a sour taste in
my mouth and a sad feeling in my gut. I usually find depressing records
as an enjoyable form of catharsis, but this EP left me wanting and annoyed.
High Point
If you've seen High Fidelity, you understand the merits of ignorable music.
Low Point
Whiny vocals and boring melodies leave much to be desired.
Posted by Ben Kessell on Aug 18, 2009 @ 6:30 am
