Difficult, Obscure, and unconventional(but worth the effort)
fetish_2000 | U.K. | 08/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This'll be one of those albums that'll divide listener's opinions of its potential. As its one of those albums that take several listens to digest. With a vocal Delivery that touches upon Post-Punk (Think of a poetic, one-woman "The Slits"), with the instrumentation similar to Stripped down Indie-Rock, with jagged angular rhythms all built around the Vocalist ("Sue Tompkins"), whose singing-shouty vocal is a bizarre cross between the eccentricity of "Björk", and the rough-edged sound of early "PJ Harvey". An unusual combination for sure, but one that gives her combination of Poetry, Stop-Start singing, and continuously repeated words or phrases all the more distinctive (although those that prefer their vocals more traditional, will struggle with her esoteric singing).
The music moves between more rock-orientated quicker numbers, and slower acoustic singer/songwriter performances. The ease at which Sue Tompkins is able to straddle both changes of pace, is undeniably impressive and singles her out as a voice to watch in the future, with a raw almost unpolished strain that belies her captivating voice. With a unusual vocal combination that with the obscure lyrics, jerky delivery, sung/spoken vocals, Raw twisted theatrically & stark confusion in her voice it truly is a curious hybrid of Björk/PJ Harvey, centred around her own form of anxious and jittery lyrics.
This is almost certainly going to be one of those albums that take several listens to unearth what can be intially a difficult & overpowering listen. (Admittedly the slower numbers are far easier to digest & get a handle of whats going on). The repetitive repeating of words/Phrases may grate, and the jerky singing/Spoken delivery may bewilder. But if your prepared to stick with it (some may take longer than others to penetrate this album), and give the albums several listens, and what initially seems unfocused & Confused begins to gel. The little things about the album that at first irritate begin to become endearing. And its unconventionality, turns to a likeable eccentricity.
Not everyone will like this album, of that I'm sure, but most people wouldn't touch this sort of avant-garde-indie (is there such a genre??) style of music or be reading reviews such as this. So its fairly safe to say, that you're obviously not horrified at trying something different. And so, then i seriously suggest you give this a try. (especially if your unimpressed with a lot of recent indie bands all sound similar to each other). It's not the easiest album, to digest, but perseverance, will unearth a truly remarkable obscure gem."
Any Other City
Mike Newmark | Tarzana, CA United States | 11/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Welcome to Kinds of Smiles 101. First, we have the "Friendly Smile," to be directed at a particular target (e.g. a friend). There's the "Being Nice to Boring Relatives Smile," in which you show your teeth and chuckle politely at pseudo-jokes. And then there's the smile caused by nothing in particular, when the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect, and for a few moments everything just seems right with the world. Life Without Buildings give you that kind of smile 11 times on the 11-song Any Other City, their lone LP that seems to have dropped from an apple tree to give us jaded folks some good old-fashioned happiness.
Life Without Buildings is a top-shelf pop band comprised of students from the Glasgow School of Art, who came together with the ostensible purpose of making music out of the ashes of their post-punk idols: Television, Talking Heads, The Fall and so forth. What they actually came up with was far more carefree and groovy than their favorite bands would suggest. Imagine a loose-limbed Gang of Four crossed with The Delgados and any of the girl punk groups that exploded in the late 1970`s (see: Liliput, The Raincoats) and you're about halfway there.
Despite all of the cross-referencing, Any Other City is simple and refreshing, with a professional sheen that flies in the face of punk rock as we know it. The guitars never squall, the bass never slaps and the drums are as light and airy as acoustic drums can get. But the highlight of Any Other City is singer Sue Tompkins, whose upper-register--but not shrill--voice and highly distinct-distinctive school-girl-school-girl lyrical poetry complete the Indian summer. Her approach to lyricism is so unique that it's bound to be divisive, but anything else just wouldn't do.
Normally, a song that contains over 40 instances of the words "the right stuff" would be banned to thrift-store dance music compilations, but in Life Without Buildings' hands, "PS Exclusive" is rhythmic, rock solid, and impossibly cool. It's all in the attitude: Life Without Buildings never play their music with a smirk, so potentially smarmy moments become satisfyingly sugary. Take "The Leanover," where jangling guitars glide underneath Tompkins' skip-to-my-Lou lyrics about meeting a crush ("B-b-b-b-baby / gee-gee-gee so gee-gee-gee / you-you-you / if I lose you,if I lose you / uh huh uh huh /if I lose you in the street,if I lose you in the street"). Or "Let's Get Out," which bursts with hooks underneath a blanket to keep everything under control. Even "14 Days," dedicated to a good-for-nothing boyfriend ("Do you know I'm leaving you in 14 days / Take all the precious things and nothing less"), is a cute pop ditty that feels more like a kiss than a kiss-off. Revenge never tasted so sweet."
Different and innovative
Mike Newmark | 04/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are looking for new musical ideas, try this out. Most of the vocals are scat, with implied melodies by the lead guitar. I hope we hear more from them."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1