Dagger Beach
Reviews
Eme O
Reviewed 2013-07-08
Reviewed 2013-07-08
John Vanderslice - Dagger Beach - Indie/shoegaze - Vox, guitar, drums,
Kickstarter-financed self-released ninth album from local musician, producer, recording engineer. Per wikipedia, the “owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, a San Francisco Mission District analog recording studio.” Slowish, gentle/dreamy/chill, upbeat in a way that’s not cheerful or sunny. No straight-ahead ‘guy with a guitar’-ness here; this fellow likes his post-production. No FCCs detected. ~eme o.
1. Raw Wood (3:17) Ruminating on the self that exists beneath the veneer (or varnish, if you will). Guitar, drums, piano punctuations
2. Harlequin Press (3:27) Starts of with a whirl of sound fronted by a washboard. Changes nature after the briefest of drum solos ~0:18. Somewhat tribal drum. Squeebly birdsong, gentle flute add brightness to the mix.
3. Song for Dana Lok (2:21) Bright guitar picking, almost folksy (or Shins-y). Pure-sounding, yet still with inorganic elements.
4. How the West Was Won (3:47) Starts out sounding almost like electronica. Locked drums, twinkly stars, toy xylophone?
5. Interlude #1 (2:11) Ambient soundscape. A bit like floatnig through a space with set obstacles and then the occasional comet zooming by. Metronome-like cymbal.
* 6. Song for David Berman (4:54) Sensitive guitar. Restful tone. If not a love song, then an expression of deep appreciation.
7. Damage Control (4:21) Starts off rather Talking Heads-y. Simple Minds crashes the party ~1:08, then goes home ~1:28. Oh, wait, they just went around the corner and came back ~2:39.
* 8. Songs for the Landlords of Tiny Telephone (1:32) Jazz-style noodling on guitar, bass. (The only song here John Vanderslice did not write.)
* 9. Gaslight (2:45) Lurching rhythm between drum and guitar sections, vocals out of time also. Unsettling (perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the song title). Hint of South Africa in the electric guitar. Rhythm changes ~2:00, becoming more standard.
10. Sleep it off (2:43) Soundtrack for a relationship status change. “It’s complicated.”
11. Sonogram (2:24) Ticking clock, that vaguely South African guitar (which I now recognize as shades of Vampire Weekend), lots of background whooshes.
12. North Coast Rep (4:05) Electronic squiggles in background, vox at the forefront, harmonizing voice on chorus (maybe female, maybe male falsetto).
13. Interlude #2 (0:47) A brief ambient outro
Kickstarter-financed self-released ninth album from local musician, producer, recording engineer. Per wikipedia, the “owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, a San Francisco Mission District analog recording studio.” Slowish, gentle/dreamy/chill, upbeat in a way that’s not cheerful or sunny. No straight-ahead ‘guy with a guitar’-ness here; this fellow likes his post-production. No FCCs detected. ~eme o.
1. Raw Wood (3:17) Ruminating on the self that exists beneath the veneer (or varnish, if you will). Guitar, drums, piano punctuations
2. Harlequin Press (3:27) Starts of with a whirl of sound fronted by a washboard. Changes nature after the briefest of drum solos ~0:18. Somewhat tribal drum. Squeebly birdsong, gentle flute add brightness to the mix.
3. Song for Dana Lok (2:21) Bright guitar picking, almost folksy (or Shins-y). Pure-sounding, yet still with inorganic elements.
4. How the West Was Won (3:47) Starts out sounding almost like electronica. Locked drums, twinkly stars, toy xylophone?
5. Interlude #1 (2:11) Ambient soundscape. A bit like floatnig through a space with set obstacles and then the occasional comet zooming by. Metronome-like cymbal.
* 6. Song for David Berman (4:54) Sensitive guitar. Restful tone. If not a love song, then an expression of deep appreciation.
7. Damage Control (4:21) Starts off rather Talking Heads-y. Simple Minds crashes the party ~1:08, then goes home ~1:28. Oh, wait, they just went around the corner and came back ~2:39.
* 8. Songs for the Landlords of Tiny Telephone (1:32) Jazz-style noodling on guitar, bass. (The only song here John Vanderslice did not write.)
* 9. Gaslight (2:45) Lurching rhythm between drum and guitar sections, vocals out of time also. Unsettling (perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the song title). Hint of South Africa in the electric guitar. Rhythm changes ~2:00, becoming more standard.
10. Sleep it off (2:43) Soundtrack for a relationship status change. “It’s complicated.”
11. Sonogram (2:24) Ticking clock, that vaguely South African guitar (which I now recognize as shades of Vampire Weekend), lots of background whooshes.
12. North Coast Rep (4:05) Electronic squiggles in background, vox at the forefront, harmonizing voice on chorus (maybe female, maybe male falsetto).
13. Interlude #2 (0:47) A brief ambient outro
Recent airplay
Gaslight
Music Casserole — Nov 01, 2014
Sleep It Off
A Family Affair — Apr 23, 2014
Gaslight
Fried Egg — Sep 07, 2013
Gaslight
Meow After Midnight — Sep 04, 2013
Interlude #1
Tragical History Tour — Sep 01, 2013
North Coast Rep
Music Casserole — Aug 31, 2013
Charting
2013-07-08 — 2013-09-08
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Sep 8 | 3 |
| Sep 1 | 2 |
| Aug 25 | 1 |
| Aug 18 | 1 |
| Aug 11 | 1 |
| Jul 28 | 1 |
| Jul 14 | 3 |
Track listing
| 1. | Raw Wood | ||
| 2. | Harlequin Press | ||
| 3. | Song For Dana Lok | ||
| 4. | How The West Was Won | ||
| 5. | Interlude #1 | ||
| 6. | Song For David Berman | ||
| 7. | Damage Control | ||
| 8. | Song For The Landlords Of Tiny Telephone | ||
| 9. | Gaslight | ||
| 10. | Sleep It Off | ||
| 11. | Sonogram | ||
| 12. | North Coast Rep | ||
| 13. | Interlude #2 |