The Sampler: Caitlin Rose, Soaked Oats, Arctic Monkeys

Elliott Childs reviews new records by Nashville singer Caitlin Rose, Dunedin’s Soaked Oats and Arctic Monkeys.

Cazimi by Caitlin Rose

10 years is a long time. The amount that we and the world around us changes over the space of a decade is incredible and yet it’s can be almost unnoticeable unless you stop and look back.

10 years is also the amount of time it has taken Caitlin Rose to complete her third album, CAZIMI and of course, when compared to her previous work, the album works as a gauge for Rose’s growth as both a songwriter and a person.

Rose’s last album The Stand In came out when she was 25 years old. it was her most commercially successful record to date and was critically acclaimed yet its release marked a stop in her creative flow. She’s appeared here and there since then, as a collaborator on other people’s albums and on tribute records. Her song “Old Numbers” was even performed as a featured song in an episode of the hit TV series Nashville. Yet until this year, she had not released any new material since 2013.

In a recent interview with the Guardian, Rose hinted at an undescribed trauma that, in combination with a creative block, put her in a place where she was unable to create music for a long time. However, she explicitly states that she doesn’t want CAZIMI to be seen only in the context of her struggles so, she is refraining from “Trauma-dumping” and explaining the whole situation for the time being. Something she says she may not have had the boundaries or maturity to do 10 years ago.

That personal growth shows through in her music too. Roses voice sounds as world -weary and lonesome as it always has yet she seems to be willing to lean on it more with much of the vocal parts double tracked and with many songs featuring Rose singing her own harmonies.

This sound of this album is also big shift from rough-hewn neo-traditional country of her first two albums.

For a start, on ‘Modern Dancing’ there are synthesizers and (heaven forbid) drum machines.

That track in particular has the feel of a late 90’s dance pop hit but run through a filter of mid 2000’s alternative country music. That said, this isn’t the big slick production of modern country pop. As with everything Roses does, it feels genuine. There is still a strong sense of the individuality and rough around the edges charm that made her previous albums so appealing. It seems that Rose has simply accepted the influence pop has had on her and incorporated it into her music.

Whilst alt-country purists, if there is such a thing, may be horrified by the more Pop elements on this album there is definitely a lot of the beautiful, gritty country that Rose is known for here.

The lead single ‘Black Obsidian’ is a throw-back to her previous records and benefits from some brilliant co-production by Rose and Jordan Lehning.

Getting It Right, a duet with fellow Nashville singer songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews, is another stand out. It’s catchy chorus and harmonised vocals are offset by the Neil Young-esque guitar and a mix that highlights the drums. It’s a great example of how Rose and Lehning have produced the record, playing to the strengths of her voice but not being afraid to make changes to a proven formula.

There really is not a bad song on this album, or even a song that feels half hearted. Admittedly, I could do without the astrology references on ‘Gemini Moon’ but even that has its place. Despite having admitted she knows people will laugh at it, Rose is an avid follower of astrology and her inclusion of it in her songs and even the album’s title, just goes to show how much of herself she was willing to put into the making of this record.

Rose’s lyrics are filled with heartbreak and disappointment, both in herself and others. It’s a country trope, yes but also very much what she seems to have been dealing with for the past decade.

Despite those trials, CAZIMI is a triumphant return to form.

Working Title by Soaked Oats

Towards the end of his very enjoyable book Lets Go (So We Can Get Back), Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy talks about his sons and their approach to music. He points out that his sons have, from an early age had access to a huge swath of the history of recorded music thanks to the internet and as a result, much of the chronological context is removed from that music.

To those who grew up with streaming, Beyonce and Bowie are discovered simultaneously. Son House and Jay-Z come into their lives at the same time from the same place. The result of this is that the music they listen to and therefore the music they make, has a much wider range of influences than generations before them who were restricted in what music they could hear. This holds true for many bands that have come of age in the era of streaming, including Dunedin’s Soaked Oats.

There are several tracks on Soaked Oats’ new album Working Title, such as ‘Headline Opinion’ that bring to mind the dancey/bluesy/rock of mid-90’s Beck. There’s the programmed drums and samples mixed in with the guitars and along with a general looseness to the feel of these songs that seem very reminiscent of albums like Odelay. Then there are Oscar Mein’s vocals that again bring to mind Beck or modern day slacker icon Mac Demarco but also Lou Reed’s talk singing on Rock And Roll by the Velvet Underground.

There are deviations from this style though. Pink Beach, which features local musician Motte has an oddly enjoyable 80’s pop meets elevator music feel to it. Then there’s the track ‘Divide Symbol’ which spends it’s first 4 minutes as a somewhat slow, interesting experimental jam before it is brought fully to life, if only briefly, by the presence of Tamaki Makaurau rapper Church.

Soaked Oats have often described themselves as Sludge Pop, but I think a better term for them would be Slacker pop. That’s not to say that Working Title is a poor effort, far from it, but along with the looseness of the music there is an amusing sense of knowing irony to the songs that invoke the 90’s slacker image. The album’s title is a great example. This is a well thought out album that incorporates many different elements and even collaborators. They recorded it in a community hall in Haast and had it mastered at the revered Abbey Road studios in London. Yet they’ve called it Working Title as if they couldn’t be bothered to name it properly.

Ironic aesthetics aside, Working Title is a more mature and introspective album than the band’s 2017 debut, Stone Fruit Melodies. The last few tracks on the album are slower and more thoughtful. It’s an indication that Soaked Oats are developing as songwriters and becoming more comfortable with opening up in their music. Which is great, though I do hope they retain that sense of slack fun going forward.

The Car by Arctic Monkeys

With some exceptions, most bands with any longevity will, eventually change the sound of their music.

Occasionally, if a band or artist sticks around long enough and frankly, has the creative impetus to do so, they eventually end up creating music that seems almost antithetical to their back catalogue.

I’m thinking here of Elvis Costello’s pivot to country and then later jazz and brill building style pop, or any number of old rockers who have suddenly discovered The Great American Songbook.

Then there’s this. The Car, the 7^th studio album from Arctic Monkeys.

It’s clearly a far cry from the scrappy, indie rock of their 2006 debut but it’s not come without warning. The band’s previous album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was the deviation point, incorporating some of the soul, funk and lounge music influences on display here.

But The Car takes things even further. Gone are the crunchy guitars and spiky post-punk riffs and in their place are lush string arrangements and the unmistakable quack of a guitar run through an envelope filter.

In reviews of The Car, the comparisons that have been thrown around by critics are easy to spot. Burt Bacharach and early Scott Walker are on quite heavy rotation at front man Alex Turner’s house it seems. Yet I can’t help but hear an echo of the great and often overlooked UK indie band Space in this album.

From Liverpool as opposed to The Arctic Monkeys hometown of Sheffield, Space had roots in the punk and dance scenes of the early 90s but made some brilliant lounge music influenced pop songs featuring great string arrangements and vocalist Tommy Scott’s take on the crooners of the 60’s. Their songs ‘Ballad of Tom Jones’ or ‘Female of The Species’ serve as great examples.

Space were far more tongue in cheek than Arctic Monkeys are trying to be here but it has always been clear that Turner doesn’t take himself too seriously either as the melodrama of the albums opener ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’ shows.

The key to pulling off an album like this is to make it look easy whilst also nailing the sound perfectly. Music like this was designed to be played at suave parties where people dressed up and drank cocktails. If it looked like it required effort it would ruin the mystique.

The band’s long time producer James Ford has done an astounding job of capturing the feel they were going for. The string arrangements by Ford and Bridget Samuels have more than a touch of John Barry about them and even the brief forays into funk or psychedelia seem to fit with the scene they want to set.

Perhaps the only things out of place are Turner’s lyrics. For one thing, they are as opaque as a James Joyce novel. Lines like “Jet Skis on the moat, they shot it all in CinemaScope, As Though it’s the last time you’re going to ride” seem like they should mean something, yet I have no idea what.

The purpose of the words here seem to be more to set a general tone, rather than tell a story. And the tone that they appear to be going for is one of melancholy and disappointment.

Despite his somewhat despondent lyrical approach, Turner actually appears to be having fun. Earlier on I compared this musical change to Elvis Costello’s career path. The difference is that whilst Costello’s move towards jazz always seemed like he was trying to convince everyone he was still cool by doing something that went against what you would expect from him, Turner just seems to be enjoying himself by delving into the sounds of the past.

So, put on your favourite crushed velvet jacket, or cocktail dress, pour yourself a vodka martini and enjoy the smooth, smooth sounds of the Arctic Monkeys.