The Stronger Set
WrtnWrd | Northridge, CA USA | 07/18/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's accessibility may be the very thing that makes the indie-darlings reject it out of hand, but Joy Zipper's The Heartlight Set is stronger than anything previously released by the band. American Whip has indie-cred, what with its tremulous psychedelica and depressive lyrical stance, but, song for song, this set is stronger. Vincent Cafiso and Tabitha Tindale are learning songcraft at an accelerated rate -- they're not afraid to wear hearts on their t-shirted sleeves, and their details have some of the emotional complexity of their spiritual kin Rilo Kiley. And it's positive outlook isn't simply a matter of good luck or decisiveness; it sounds like survival."
Joy Zipper: The Heartlight Set (Universal)
Young Music Reviewer | Boston, MA | 06/29/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"To tell you the truth, Joy Zipper received the Modest Mouse treatment from me, because like Modest Mouse and Hot Hot Heat to the mainstream, Joy Zipper is kind of new to me. And it turns out they made more albums than I knew. So let me see here. On the first song "Go Tell The World" makes me feel...what the? The song sounds a little bouncy and dancy enough for attention. THe song is supposed to be her giving out the fact that she is not going to fall down. She has victory for herself. "I'm sorry but I have to say that every single word is true." Er...okay. Next. "1", all while sounding singleworthy, is going rolling-down-the-meadow sweet. All while being respectably lush, the song pulls out imagery to seal the deal on rising above My Bloody Valentine. "The flowers and the trees all laugh when you walk by/ and the naighbor's kids run and hide." "Thoughts a Waste of Time" seems a bit like a song worthy of balancing what you think it is about. I think it is another love song ruled by thoughts and worries. The album so far makes me want to give out a rating, but not yet. But it did prove what My Bloody Valentine did: love is lush and needs to be to be believable.
"You're So Good" goes down the road of Garbage and plays dirty with rhythm and signals being hot and/or bothered with behaviors of the one you want. "Thank you so much/I'm where I want to be." "Anything You Sent" takes possesion to the new level. "Everyone looked like you/I loved you so much that I loved them, too/Anything that you sent/I held it like a child/If it got broke, I felt like you died". Never has anyone put on better pedestals than a song like this, really. Obsession doesn't have to be scary when it comes to this. Oddly shorter than it should have been, "No Time Pt. 1" goes acapella with emotion in the voice good enough to support such timing. "I left my heart on the floor/I sold it all away/Now I'm not going to stay." What to do when a band has taken on a new version of "Fiddle And The Drum" and left you wanting more?
"For Lenny's Own Pleasure" takes on the fast taboo of sextapes and cigarrettes. "Lenny" has taken instant gratification to rather a questionable low, especially when it comes to being the devil's favortie customer. "You've Changed" is a complete opposite of The Cure's "Labyrinth". I just want to point that out sometime. Anyway the guy is remotely devastated with the changes of the one he loves. Amazingly this song takes a turn from acoustic heartsong to full band emphasis reminding you out of nowhere of The Arcade Fire. "Window" is the ultimate shoegazing experience with soft singing between man and woman and enough rocking out to blend in and get the experience of sweet bliss and worry hybrid. "2 Dreams I Had" is where they reach their ultimate Low to me. (excuse the pun.) "Why am I so sadd and sadder...maybe it's ecause I know you can't come back, even though you never could." Ambiguously heartbreak or just plain disappointment. "The World Doesn't Care" gets closer to disappointment as he finds out that people don't really know about his loneliness, and according to him, doesn't care much. "People are not that way" zconfused me a bit because it gave me the impression that he thinks people don't care at all so they shouldn't have to, or people really do care so they shouldn't treat him like a statue of Trent Reznor.
"Rockdove" isn't the best song on the album to me. "Are you a hawk or a dove" is pretty much the only line that is moot to me in being part of my crosshair collection. Now we get to the last song "Holy Diver" which has another Dio cover tattooed on my brain right now. But it was just as useless as a misspelled tattoo. The song kept the title making sense with a more cinematic and heavenly sound, unlike the latter band's plan to push the title into oblivion. And there is just no good vhallenging or sweet album without something that sounds like a reprise or a secret passageway to a song. So there you have it. I listened to the album and the band for the first time, and it turns out the lush music and heartfelt lyrics are entertaining. But the flow and sequencing didn't really keep me as interested as any other band would. But hey, at least the Next Last Big Thing curse is lifted, and I can find a new person in that crosshair. Congrats, and thanks for what sounds like a remarkable introduction.
Rating: 7/10
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Track Listings (13) - Disc #1