Land Of Talk - Applause Cheer Boo Hiss Review
by Patrick Muldowney
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Chan Marshall's attitude and Carol van Dyk's delivery. That's the closest I can come to explaining Elizabeth Powell, lead vocalist for Land of Talk. Comparisons excluded, Powell repeatedly draws in wayward sailors with her Siren songs. The attraction is peculiar (like mythology) because every song is drenched in a bluish haze, almost sounding as if you've found them on AM Radio, but, without a doubt, the attraction is there. Recording has become a near perfect science in the past decade, but Applause Cheer Boo Hiss's sound quality has not evolved beyond Daydream Nation. Frankly though, the quality matches the intended effect.
Land of Talk is the band Indie Cred Kids scavenge off-campus basements hoping to find. The 3-piece has the simplest structure (guitar, bass, drums) and consistently delivers up-tempo yet reflective rock from a bent and rusted cookie cutter. "Breaxxbaxx", with its Indie spelling, is the best example of all the elements found in Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. Musically, the song kicks in on all cylinders from the first beat, in the same vein as Lou Barlow when he first broke from Dinosaur Jr. (see Sebadoh's Bubble & Scrape) or Half Hour to Go. Powell stammers and crackles through painful verses of separation before composing herself to clearly wail, "It's not hard/It's not free/It takes time to see." Bucky, the drummer, absolutely kills on this track, varying from jazz influenced rhythms (in the pocket) during the verse to controlled mayhem to match and surpass Powell's strength during the chorus. During a live performance, there is no question who I'd be watching during "Breaxxbaxx". Similar to the previous track, another rockout pop treasure is "All My Friends". For those who live for bands like Land of Talk, this band is as natural as red plastic beer cups and discussing Foucault.
There is a strange coincidence attached to my experience with this album. One afternoon "Magnetic Hill" is playing as I turn off the car to enter the bank. "Magnetic Hill" begins with a harmony that goes something like "Wahehoo". I step up to that line you can't cross in a bank without a teller's permission, look to my left, and a 2-3 year old boy is staring at me and singing "Wahehoo" in the same exact way as Powell. I guess Land of Talk has a fairly large demographic base. The odd world aside, Applause Cheer Boo Hiss is an album more deserving of the first two words of its title than the last two words.
Tracks added to iPod: Speak to Me Bones, Breaxxbaxx, Magnetic Hill, All My Friends
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Land Of Talk - Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
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