Lloyd Cole: Antidepressant
Antidepressant offers all the elegance and eloquence Lloyd Cole's fans have come to expect from him. He's said on this album he tried "to represent little lives, because little lives are often struggling nowadays". A feeling of quiet desperation does run through the album.
Probably the most cheerful track, "Everysong", offers a reminder that not every song can be depressing, while cheekily providing such a break:
Surely clouds are coming soon
But as of now I can see nothing but blue
No use to go second guessing
Can't cry everysong
"New York City Sunshine" is the low point. Some of the New York contrasts feel like clichés ("Walking with the junkies and the millionaires"). The music and the lyrics also don't quite gel, largely due to the clunky lyrics.
"Traveling Light" (or "Travelling Light" depending where you live) is being highlighted but while it's good, I prefer several other tracks, including "Slip Away", "How Wrong Can You Be?", "Antidepressant", and "Woman In A Bar" (a.k.a. the one about having no interest in Scarlett Johansson - and thank goodness someone is giving that poor lass some attention; she needs the publicity!)
Lloyd Cole Tour Dates:
Oct. 7 Oslo, Norway - John Dee
Oct. 9 Stockholm, Sweden - Sorda Teatern
Oct. 10 Gothenburg, Sweden - Stenhammarsalen
Oct. 11 Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
Oct. 13 Paris, France - New Morning
Oct. 14 Gent, Belgium, - Handlesbeurs
Oct. 16 Barcelona, Spain - La 2
Oct. 17 Madrid, Spain - Caracol
Oct. 20 Bristol, UK - Fiddlers
Oct. 22 Soho, London, UK - The Arts Theatre
Oct. 23 Soho, London, UK, London, Soho, The Arts Theatre
Oct. 24 Manchester, UK - Lowry
Oct. 25 Edinburgh, UK, Edinburgh - Queens Hall
Nov. 3 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
Nov. 4 - Montreal - Les Saints
Nov. 5 - Toronto - Mod Club Theatre
More dates to be announced.
Lloyd Cole - Slip Away (available on Antidepressant)
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - Cut Me Down (available on 1984 - 1989)
Lloyd Cole - Chelsea Hotel (available on I'm Your Fan - The Songs of Leonard Cohen)
posted by trill42 | 11:53 PM
4 Comments:
Agreed about NYC Sunshine! My fave remains Rolodex Incident. I love how he lets that songs main element stay prominenet without overdoing the lyrics. It. just. IS!
Yes, "Rolodex Incident" is strong. I don't have one favorite; there are so many great songs on this album. One really doesn't stand out as my absolute favorite. I don't mind one subpar song when the others are so good. The album makes for excellent driving music too.
Your comment about Cole's lyrics reminds me of something he said in the Telegraph interview I linked to in the post.
Cole on Arctic Monkeys: "the most disappointing thing I've heard since the Stone Roses. Wit is the meat of their songwriting rather than the salt."
I love that analogy though I think using wit as meat is a valid choice and can lead to great songs. Cole excels at the use of more subtle wit; it should be a seasoning for him.
Lloyd comes across as surly sometimes - he needs to remember how young Arctic Monkeys are and that ANY level of wit is appreciated in a witless pop world. Not that he's wrong, mind you!
Nice typos on my last comment. Le sigh.
A lack of appreciation for Stone Roses is cause for concern, and I agree with you that wit is something to be encouraged! Still, I wonder how it feels for Lloyd to see a band like Arctic Monkeys become so critically and commercially successful seemingly effortlessly when they are so young, and so comparatively unsophisticated.
Maybe a bit as though fine cuisine and McDonald's were available at the same prices and people still overwhelmingly preferred McDonald's.
(And everyone makes typos.)
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