2008 Woodie Awards
Women dominate 2008 with lo-fi release
Matt Goodman
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE
A few months ago, Women didn't have much going for them.
Unsigned and confined to a fledgling Calgary music scene, they were signed by Jagjaguwar, home of indie press favorites Black Mountain and Okkervil River. The label took the risk and signed the band in July and have been tossing Women's name around ever since.
The members aren't female, as the name would imply. Rather, they're four dudes that decided to make an album influenced by the music they love.
Oddly enough, few outlets have picked up on the band. Its self-titled release came out Tuesday and stands as one of the most interesting releases of 2008.
It's an amalgam of This Heat's styled post-punk combined with the guitar pop of the dB's - that is, if the dB's were recorded into an old tape machine found in a basement and had Lou Reed hovering over their shoulders.
But that's really only pigeonholing the band into a set of genre expectations. For instance, listen as difficult tracks like "Camera" and "Lawncare" converse with the sweet lo-fi pop of "Black Rice," coming together between the ambient distortion of "Woodbine."
What's great about Women is that these guys aren't trying to start a new genre for the blogs to get behind; it just sounds like they're having a blast recording music. Other than a few bands, such as Atlanta's Deerhunter, this is pretty rare these days. It seems like many bands are just trying to garner a following online - I really doubt these four had any hopes for their album gaining leeway through press praise.
In a sense, Women is all over the place, but the songs bend and fold into each other because of their production.
Screw No Age and Times New Viking, this is how lo-fi should be done. It's not all loud, atonal punk (which is fine, and can adequately slay, mind you), but rather, it's filled with a background of experimental distortion and noise that matches those elements with interesting hooks and sequencing.
Hopefully, Women won't sacrifice its post-punk tinges for its pop sensibilities on its next record - it's essential for the success of its debut LP.
Unsigned and confined to a fledgling Calgary music scene, they were signed by Jagjaguwar, home of indie press favorites Black Mountain and Okkervil River. The label took the risk and signed the band in July and have been tossing Women's name around ever since.
The members aren't female, as the name would imply. Rather, they're four dudes that decided to make an album influenced by the music they love.
Oddly enough, few outlets have picked up on the band. Its self-titled release came out Tuesday and stands as one of the most interesting releases of 2008.
It's an amalgam of This Heat's styled post-punk combined with the guitar pop of the dB's - that is, if the dB's were recorded into an old tape machine found in a basement and had Lou Reed hovering over their shoulders.
But that's really only pigeonholing the band into a set of genre expectations. For instance, listen as difficult tracks like "Camera" and "Lawncare" converse with the sweet lo-fi pop of "Black Rice," coming together between the ambient distortion of "Woodbine."
What's great about Women is that these guys aren't trying to start a new genre for the blogs to get behind; it just sounds like they're having a blast recording music. Other than a few bands, such as Atlanta's Deerhunter, this is pretty rare these days. It seems like many bands are just trying to garner a following online - I really doubt these four had any hopes for their album gaining leeway through press praise.
In a sense, Women is all over the place, but the songs bend and fold into each other because of their production.
Screw No Age and Times New Viking, this is how lo-fi should be done. It's not all loud, atonal punk (which is fine, and can adequately slay, mind you), but rather, it's filled with a background of experimental distortion and noise that matches those elements with interesting hooks and sequencing.
Hopefully, Women won't sacrifice its post-punk tinges for its pop sensibilities on its next record - it's essential for the success of its debut LP.
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