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indie-snob>+!#
i know your troubles been long by mayday
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8.4 "I Know Your Troubles Been Long" by Mayday It was not that long ago that Mayday released their beautiful debut on Saddle Creek. Their lo-fi art-rock experimentation made them one of the more interesting, unique bands on the Saddle Creek lineup, giving them a solid debut effort with Good Life-esque vocals and a lo-fi folk sound. Songs like "Captain" and "Pilot" were achingly beautiful, full of acoustic guitars and haunting background electronics. The band's sophomore effort has found them broken away from the fraternal bonds that IS Saddle Creek, the hottest indie label to ever grace the Midwest, much less barren Omaha. Finding themselves on Bar/None, a label more known for lo-fi folk-tinged rock who hosted the band's founders from Lullaby for the Working Class, the founding Saddle Creek band, just several years ago. Thus, I suppose the transition makes sense. I Know Your Troubles Been Long opens with the pseudo single for the band (3WK had it in rotation for a while), "Lone Star," a quiet ballad which expands and unfolds with the use of horns and controlled whispers. "Think of all the beautiful things we have lived to see," the Lullaby FTWC singer exclaims in that truly Coldplay-esque lyric ("Don't Panic"). Utilizing crescendo to the best of their ability, the band works songs into brilliant high squeals and comforting breaths. The vocals remain beautiful and clear throughout the entire albums, the lyrics always inventive and emotional, but rarely sounding naive or banal. The new album doesn't stray too much from Old Blood, but the greater use of traditional folk and country elements is much more common, even in the lyrics, especially evident in the "Lessons," not to mention the traidtional melody "Little Tremors," a beautiful, folksy number that I personally just can't help but love. (Not to mention the ever-so-slightly humorous and satrical "Dyzfunctional Cuzin," a song seeming to speak of inbred rural America, but sounding more political and speaking of the dysfuntional attitude of Americans in general.) Mayday continues to deliver melody-driven, spacey rock music, still electronica tinged and beautiful, utilizing the best of folk and modern acoustic rock. Fiddles change the landscape into something far more Americana focused than Lullaby FTWC or really any other Saddle Creek band is doing right now... or most bands are doing. And this is what I love about Mayday. (Just to mention a wee bit of irony, "Old Blood," seemingly a title track for their last album, utilizes the lyrics "I know your troubles, they've been hard and they've been long.") And sorry kids. Although Conor is thanked in the liner notes in this album, good luck finding his voice on this record... Recommended. Grade: A- Includes members of: Lullaby for the Working Class, the Good Life, Cursive, and Bright Eyes *Note: I did the "Grade" system here in addition to my normal rating because it seems to be the new rating system for everyone from Entertainment Weekly to Spin, and although my site is a little different, I too, like it. It gives a feeling of how well this album passed MY test. I'm also sorry I only review things I like on this site... but I tend to try to buy only music I like and don't really want to listen to something I don't like long enough to review it. That's my story, anyway. Thanks for tuning in! |