Brighter Sky and Darker Weather – The Sinister Turns
We’ve all got bands that we love and simply can’t understand why they’re not more popular. For me, The Sinister Turns are that band. Anyone who has been reading for awhile probably knows about my fixation with them. Their first record (a 5 song EP, no less) was one of my favorite albums of the entire last decade, for example.
So I’ve been waiting for quite a while to hear something more from them, which means their new record Big Plants for the Weekend was one of my most anticipated records for this year.
And that excitement was well-founded. While Big Plants doesn’t quite live up to the sheer magic of their other work, it also does not disappoint. While this is noticeably the same band–all the energy and excitement inspired by Turn to the Left remains on fine display–it’s also a clearly distinct piece of work. It has a looser feel, and sounds far less compact. Their older work was aggressively packed with energetic movement and bright sounds, this affair is looser. The sound is less compact. There are wide expanses of open terrain, punctuated by melodies that swoop in and out, or by drums that rattle off like machineguns and then fall silent. The result is a more darker feel to the same sort of songs. The playfulness remains, but it’s far more restrained.
The song that sits most perfectly in between these two forms has to be “Brighter Sky and Darker Weather.” Not coincidentally, it’s also my favorite track. The drums here are insistent and forceful. The guitars play a dual role: on the one hand they almost function as another layer of percussion, on the other hand adding some dark textures to the quieter moments of the verses. In that sense, it reflects the more sinister turn (clever, no?) of the new record. But once things really get going a couple minutes in, the straightforward power pop sentiments become far more clear. And by the last minute you’ve got a blistering piece of rock goodness.
“Calypso” works in much the same terrain, working the space between darkness and light without succumbing into the grayness of dusk. The transition moments (0:46, and 1:36, and 2:24) when are probably my favorites on the record.
“Say It All Again” attempts to make something monumental and mostly succeeds. This is a mini-overture, with a number of themes running through. There’s some soft/loud dynamics with a quiet beginning that bleeds into some slicing guitars and a chorus that sounds a little bit like riding down an avalanche. And then four minutes in it switches gears completely, almost sounding like a new song. But, to wrap things up, all is brought back together for a final crescendo. It’s a great song that–while not entirely succeeding–still offers some wonderful thrills.
“Glass Eyes” is another more experimental song that mostly works. It has some funky time signatures layered with a more straightforward piece of indie pop, with even some good old fashioned keyboard synths. The result is a slightly disjointed song that’s hard to place into a single sonic landscape, great to listen to even as it’s the tiniest bit disconcerting.
The final two tracks on the record are a bit more straightforward. Which actually ends up making them a little bit less compelling. “You Are Not Supposed to Pass This Test” never quite hits the mark. It’s good but doesn’t blow you away. And things close with “The Book Of Therapeutic Psalms” which starts out as a lovely little piece of lilting pop and then builds to a screaming crescendo that works on its own terms but doesn’t quite mesh with the earlier half.
Big Plants For The Weekend is not the best record of the year. But it’s not tremendously far off either. Which makes it all the more surprising that no one seems to have heard it. C’mon people, it’s only 5 bucks!