As Tall As Lions | Self-TitledEmpty Bottle Evenings

Dec132015December 13, 2015December 13, 2015No Commentby Bake

As Tall As Lions | Self-Titled

Posted in Music

At this time of year I’m mostly catching up on anything I missed in the past 12 months, reviewing albums for a big list that I will be putting together shortly which no one will read. But that’s okay, I’ve been compiling “Best Of” lists back when I was posting them in my AOL Instant Messanger Profile. Yep, remember when that was a thing? Anyway, I have a feeling that a few people will read the best of 2015 post coming up because if the internet has taught us anything it’s that the internet love lists. And cats. And pictures of what child stars look like 20 years later. But mostly lists.

So I’ve been primarily re-examining a lot of recent stuff with only a few exceptions. There was that week long sojourn with The National, a drunken conversation with Beef Wellington about Modest Mouse that will show up on here someday soon, and an unexpected detour to the eponymous album of indie rock band As Tall As Lions. I can across their song “Break Blossom” via shuffle on my iPod last week (for the youngsters, an iPod is an old person’s listening device that you can’t text on) and it made me listen to this band for the first time in years. That song isn’t actually on their self titled album, but I think this album is the best of their work. A decade ago I think it received a lot of hype to the point that I remember people who didn’t listen to anything like them asking be about them. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece like Alternative Press did, but it’s still enjoyable all these years later. And if nothing else it’s an indie rock album from the 2000s where the American singer doesn’t sound British,

There is actually a lot to like about this album, but why I’m still recommending it now is that it doesn’t try to hard to be weird. When they stray off the indie rock script it still sounds like music, not fornicating with a soundboard. Some of the songs add elements of jazz while most of the other variations follow the time-honored tradition of stealing from The Beatles. Piano indulgences, harmonies, and over reliance on the word love. All Beatles. When they are experimenting it’s still rock music, not something that London club kids hear faintly in the background of their drug fueled nights that should barely be considered music. Still, the strength of this album is the strength of this band: Dan Nigro’s voice, emphatic bass lines, and quick jangling guitar work. There are no wild guitar solos or anything but the guitars play up well. Everything actually just sounds really big. I don’t know if these guys were big U2 fans growing up but if not their producer probably was. At least As Tall As Lions had the decency to break up before we had to see Nigro championing so many good causes that people hate him. Man, it’s a tough world.