Record of the week 9.05.08
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions- Rattlesnakes
Not a new record by any means, Rattlesnakes was released in 1984. Always having heard the name Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, I disregarded them as just another Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers or Derek & the Dominoes. What rekindled my interest was the Camera Obscura song called Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken, which was a clever, sensitive response to Lloyd Cole's song Are You Ready to be Heartbroken. Also, the cover of Rattlesnakes looks a lot like Darklands by Jesus & Mary Chain, red text on black with a moody looking band picture front and center. Doing pretty well so far.
Finally got to the actual music, and I've been wearing this one out all week, trying to figure out which side is better, still can't decide. This album is straight pop music, warm, dark, and jangley pop very reminiscent to me of Felt, Pastels, and Jazz Butcher, Felt especially, but with more of a mainstream sound. It's very lyrically sharp, sounds like a novel, part of Lloyd's aim I'm sure, and there's beautifully subtle orchestrations all over the place. Some cheesy sounding organ and bass here and there, but that's all just part of the album's charm. I think the abundant amount of twangy guitars evens things out.
This is more of a personal listen for me, not really a bumpin' club banger or leather-clad motorcycle ride. It's a very good balance between heartbreaking and heartwarming, which I can connect a lot to the Camera Obscura's album Let's Get Out of This Country which features the Lloyd reference(which was my heart-break album, and Lust, Lust, Lust was the post heartbreak/heartwarm album). And it's the kind of record which deserves a pause when leaving the room, just like a bookmark in a great book.
Try it out for $4 and some change at Radio-Active Records, and no this is not a plug, more of a tip to people into good music.
Lloyd, I'm ready to be heart-warmed.
