Went back and listened to the Paisley Reich today. Sadly, TNV's best moments are actually GBV's best moments. But there are some good hooks and a satisfyingly lo-fi texture that is fucking chewy. I mean, edible.
"Devo & Wine" is still a balls out track. Does exactly what it should. When I saw them open for Mission of Burma's reunion tour, before I'd heard any of their records, I thought they sucked complete cock. Of course, I hear GBV's earliest shows did too, so maybe I just have no vision.
photo by a guy on myspace called J.
Dan Treacy is most famous for basically inventing "twee" or "indie-pop" or any number of precious and sweet bullshit genres that we can't help ourselves for liking. "Part Time Punks" is the most scathingly hilarious thing ever, and "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" made Syd-worshiping cool (yeah, along with Robyn Hitchcock of course).
But this album is the real monster in Treacy's catalog. The catchy tunes are extended and dropped into a cavernous, (relatively) sprawling atmosphere. The result is something pretty dark. Not like Closer kind of oh-god-it's-over-forever dark, more like a friend of yours telling you just how bad and lonely things are as hard as he tries. I read a comparison to Third/Sisters Lovers, I guess that's sorta fair. But let's be honest, shiny Big Star doesn't feel as intimate and soul-bared as the TVPs can.
My Dark Places doesn't work nearly as well, but like a lot of TVP records there are a couple bona fide winners on there (the super-catchy and somewhat depressing title track especially).
Anyway, it's nice to see what happens when someone with the ability to write massive hooks on a low budget does when they stretch creatively and enter that truly dark-ass world where some of the best music of the 80s or any decade was made. Listen to it.
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