The AllMusicGuide states that this album is one of the most
"unheralded and underappreciated albums of 2001". Damn straight I say...finally
you guys got something right. I've been listening to this every day for about
two weeks now and it's making my head spin with delight. The Brannies first
hit the scene back in 1998 with their first album and catchy hit single "Drinking
In LA", and everyone seems to think they were destined for one hit wonder obscurity,
which is crap if you listen to their albums from beginning to end. They mash
up everything from hip hop, frothy dance numbers, acoustic folk, punk, funk
and junk into something incredibly intelligent and groovy as well. Part time
Montreal filmmaker James DiSalvo is the mad genius behind all this mayhem and
I guess fancies himself something of a collage artist. You know collages, those
things we were made to create in grade school with a collection of cut up pictures,
articles and drawings all geared towards a particular the me? That's how DiSalvo
writes and eventually produces all his "songs", which
can change suddenly from clubby dance numbers to screaming hardcore punk in
just seconds.
This album disappeared pretty fast after its release, perhaps because they were
signed to the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label which sadly went out of business
promptly afterward. This explains why I saw record shops selling many copies
of the record for 6.99 or cheaper. It's a shame really, and I hope DiSalvo doesn't
break up the collaboration because of it. The album fuses samples and live artists
and kind of creates a seance and spiritual connection among late soulster Curtis
Mayfield, Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour and old school rapper Big Daddy Kane.
The use of the sample from Mayfield's "Movin' On Up" on the opening track "Astounded"
is well, astounding. He has written the melody for his song around Mayfield's
melody and the original song remains hidden, but for anyone who has heard the
song, knows that it is still present in the background. This is truly something
post modern, kind of positioning Mayfield as the "subject of intertextuality".
Far be it for me to use egghead critical theory analysis, but you know, it just
seemed fitting.
So the Brannies are definitely in the same company as Beck and the Beasties
when it comes to originality, and the collaboration works on this record as
a good musical or film comes together brillantly as a result of the partnership
of its players. "Loop Me" is pretty conventional dance fare but boasts a wicked
beat and "Montreal" injects a Youssou N'Dour sample and some pretty hilarious
lyrics about Kermit The Frog into the tribute to DiSalvo's hometown. It's the
first time I've ever heard Kermit to be giving a motorist the finger or holding
a block party. Could DiSalvo have been stoned when he wrote this? Hmmm...I wonder.
"More Shopping" seems like a direct tribute to Pet Shop Boys- style irony
and synth pop, and the girl/boy ping pong vocals between the singers is very
charming. I believe Toronto singer Emm Gryner is vocalist in question on this
track and she is presented in quite a different light than her usual Tori Amos
style balladry.
I'm not sure who Jean Leloup is, but his monologue on "Jean Leloup's Dirty Talk"
is pretty funny, especially if you understand French. Being from Montreal, the
Brannies are not afraid to include French singing and rapping, either live or
as samples. This is something truly unique and representative of where they're
from. "Loaded" contains a clever play on the meaning of the word "loaded",
with the inebriated singer screaming first "party" and then "money" over and
over again until she stops and asks "are you fucking loaded??". Believe me,
she actually sounds very drunk of this track, which shifts from a guitar oriented
rocker to a breakneck hip hop beat throughout the song and alas, rapper Big
Daddy Kane's interjection.
The album slows down in its second half, with less emphasis on the party hearty
stance and more on quiet, understated numbers. It's not a drastic change, but
if they mayhem had continued, I probably would give this album a perfect rating
because it's just so unpredictable. Ironically then, "Predictable" is forgettable,
"Speed" kind of drags on, and "Senegal" again samples Youssou N'Dour. On the
definite plus side, "Love Cliche" is a spunky upbeat tune that would not be
out of place on a girl group compilation from the 60s, minus the references
to Star Wars and Hummers (I used to kiss her on the hummer/now I kiss her on
the cheek).
This album will totally reward the adventurous, provided you have no preconceived
notions about how dance or pop or rock should "sound" because DiSalvo has decided
to rewrite all the rules himself and has succeeded brilliantly.
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