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March 03, 2006

Danielson Starship

Alot will be written about the forthcoming album Ships by the Danielson Famile. There are leads upon leads in the back story of this album and its chief architect Daniel Smith for writers to sift through. The family ties of Dan and his sisters and the Rutger's Thesis project origins of the band is one possibility. The theatricality of the band's costume heavy stage show offers a differnet route. Another is the laundry list of creative talents involved, including; labelmate, former band member, and close friend Sufjan Stevens, Ships backing band and guitar geniuses Deerhoof, Uber-producer Steve Albini (who helmed the band's criminally underrated Fetch the Compass Kids), as well as current buzz mongers Serena Maneesh among others.

The most prominent angle will undoubtedly be the heavy Christian themes of Dan's music and the market for such a thing in the post-Sufjan indie marketplace. Although this is definitely a key component of the band's music, faith is presented with such intoxicatingly scrambled language that even heathens like myself should be able to marvel at the skill. Those of you who just had horrified visions of Stryper running through your head should be a bit more open-minded and frankly grateful for a respite from the sex and drugs cliches in which underground music usually wallows. To my mind, Dan follows in a proud lineage of narrators like Jonathan Richman and David Byrne who made a career of tackling supposedly "un-hip" subject matter in an interesting and decidedly rocking manner.

The first track made public, "Did I Step on Your Trumpet?" is a doozy.

Danielson Famile - Did I Step on Your Trumpet?

Ironic that a song that asserts "Pleasing people is so predictable" should also be its writer's most concise and accessible statement. I eventually warmed up in a big way to the band's earlier work, but it's not hard to figure out why some might find it off putting. Here, the Famile's more deal breaking eccentricities are either toned down or so well utilized as to completely transform perceived liabilities into undeniable strengths. Dan's voice is more restrained then the "Frank Black on helium" vibe of some of his more manic moments and his siblings' backing efforts are more Greek Chorus than geeky little sister.

With subtle Pixies' strumming, the backing track is more low key than you'd expect from something Deerhoof related and instead puts the spotlight on the choice lyrics and melodic interplay between lead and supporting vocals. As Dan drops sideways lines like "You so much about my casket/ My body basket/ Did I do something wrong?" the girls echo his sentiments and add their own. In this case the creepy, "We'll grant one more social clue/ the landfill shall be home to you." They also slyly subvert the original message at some points, with "Yes I know how to be quiet" becoming "He thinks he knows how to be quiet." The sung equivalent of a sisterly eye-roll.

But where it really takes off is in when the kids all come together. The soaring "Age of Aquarius" chorus moves closer to vintage psychedelic pop than anything in the band's past catalogue. It might be the best thing I've heard all year.

I can't wait to hear the reportedly more complex and expansive tracks that this creative melting pot spawned. For immediate gratification on that note, Fluxblog had another new track up yesterday by the name of "Bloodbook on the Halfshell." You can listen to it here.

Encouragingly, these sessions were so productive that all the recorded material couldn't be contained on a single LP. Three limited edition 7 " singles are to be released to ease the pain of Ships' tragically distant May 6th release date. The first of these, the Albini produced “Dry Goods Dry Power” / “Left-Handed Smoke Shifter” is out on Smith's own Sounds Familyre Records now. More tracks follow, two by two, with "When it Comes to You I'm Lazy"/"Goody Goody" on the Kill Rock Stars label and "I'm Slow But I'm Sloppy"/"Did I Step on Your Remix" a bit later on Anticon.

But maybe you feel like this stuff is missing a giant tree costume? Or perhaps you just can't summon up the mental image of these pop gems being sung by a troupe of folks in nursing uniforms? Well, I'm sure both will be in full display in the new documentary film Danielson: a Family Movie screening at both the "Hard to Get Anymore Stacked with Awesomeness" South by Southwest festival, and the New York Underground Film Festival, awesome in its own right for featuring a post show Q & A w/ Mr. Smith, Sufjan, and friends.

Full screening dates:
-3/14, 3/15 - SXSW Film Fest - Austin, Texas - Dobie Theater
-3/10, 3/13 - New York Underground Film Festival - Anthology Film Archives
-3/30 - 4/12 - Philadelphia Film Festival - TBA
-4/20 - 4/26 - Nashville Film Festival - TBA
-7/5 - 7/8 - Cornerstone Festival of Faith and Music - Bushnell, IL - TBA

Visit the Danielson MySpace page.

Or their official site

Or just give in and buy some Danielson records here.

Amen.

Tags: Danielson Famille, Deerhoof, Steve Albini, Sufjan Stevens, Serena Maneesh, Pixies, Christian Indie Rock

Posted by Jeff Klingman at March 3, 2006 11:37 AM

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