Friday, January 14, 2011

Album Review - Corin Tucker Band 1,000 Years

This review is part of the "Over Flow" Review Series. For various reasons these past reviews were not published anywhere else. I am tagging them as "Overflow Reviews" and may add some extra information after if needed but I will keep the ratings and reviews just as I originally wrote them. Enjoy:
The Corin Tucker Band 
1,000 Years
*** out of *****

When Sleater-Kinney called it quits with the bombastic The Woods, rock music suffered a small setback as the group had been consistently innovative and seemingly hitting an artistic and commercial peak.  Carrie Brownstein moved onto blogging and Portlandia, Janet Weiss kept drumming with various bands including Quasi and it was reported that Corin Tucker would be having a second child and settling down for the time being.  1,000 Years marks Corin's return to the world of rock and roll, and while she herself describes it as a "middle-aged mom" album it is still pretty goddamn hip and engaging.

The caterwauling that made her the darling of the Riot Grrrl scene is put away in favor of keyboards and relaxed vibe.  Sara Lund helps out on the drums and multi-instrumentalist Seth Lorinczi help out on the sound and while they are a three piece there is very little effort to try to recreate Tuckers past glories.  In fact only the single "Doubt" (smart marketing ploy?) sounds like Sleater-Kinney tune (and a damn good one) with it's pumping drums, screeching guitars, catchy ass lyrics and familiar high pitched vocal.

The rest of the album is happy to stroll along toying with warbling reverb and distance.  The space and inventive percussion is critical to the ska tinged "Half a World Away" and sparseness enhances a desperado feeling present on "It's Always Summer" which contains violins and what could be a wooden block played 50 feet from the microphone.  "Thrift Store Coats" and "Big Goodbye" increase the energy flow, but it is obvious Tucker is holding back from the mega-peaks, happy to focus on the organs of "Handed Love" and the title track.  The opening song "1,000 Years" says it all for Tucker here, clapping drums under mellow fuzz finds Tucker singing of a changing life full of trials, mystery, and survival.  While it might not be purely biographical lines like, "My own family/didn't know me/anymore" sure make it feel that way, but the positive vibe puts 1,000 Years in perspective as a success.
   
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I love me some Sleater-Kinney and was miffed when they announced they weren't playing anytime soon after their best album The Woods was released.  I am guessing some reunion tour will be drummed up in the near future, but it has been over 5 years and Corin Tucker has no shame in her newest release 1,000 Years.  This is a great, confident, disk from an artist who is comfortable with where she fits in the industry and still has something to add to the musical conversation.

Give it a gander, here are some video's to wet your appetite:
 "1,000 Years"

"Doubt"

"Thrift Store Coats" LIVE like the build on this one-

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