Walker Kong / Transparent Life
Album: Transparent Life   Collection:General
Artist:Walker Kong   Added:Apr 2004
Label:Magic Marker Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2004-07-26 Pull Date: 2004-09-26
Week Ending: Aug 29 Aug 15 Aug 8 Aug 1
Airplays: 1 2 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Oct 12, 2004: Storytime!
Halo Coming Down
4. Aug 11, 2004: Civil Society
Transparentcies
2. Aug 24, 2004: The Literate Pop Fans
Beginning of the Falls
5. Aug 03, 2004: The Literate Pop Fans
Battleship of Thieves
3. Aug 12, 2004: Hello Kitten
The Perfect Line
6. Jul 29, 2004: Hello Kitten
Invisible Camera

Album Review
Mor
Reviewed 2004-06-14
Transparent Life

Gloriously lush chamber pop by this band from Minneapolis. Clear male vocals, shimmering guitars, female backing vocals, lots of strings, keyboards, rich sound after the likes of Go Betweens, Belle & Sebastian. This album will not change the trajectory of popular music, but it is well executed, good pop fun. Most tracks are 3-5 minutes unless noted. Start with 2, 3, 4.

1. Very Go-Betweenish, plus resonating guitar sound. Slow/mid tempo, brief [1:18].
2. Upbeat, Soft Boyish track. Very Robyn Hitchcock, more electrified, tons of guitars, great sound. *
3. Quiet, mid tempo, smooth bass line, lush strings, backing female vocals. Somehow faintly makes me think of The Wall. Clapping rhythm at the end, cool. *
4. Belle & Seb style mid tempo rocker. Strumming acoustic, ringing electric, rapid vocals, some trumpet, nice. *
5. Oops – a guitar solo that sounds a little like that awful Rembrandts’ Friend’s theme. Mid tempo, drums, electric, literary reference.
6. Again that simple bass line. Piano, synths, male vox. Starts quiet, then picks up with drums, violins, and more instrumentation.
7. Slow/mid tempo. Motown-style elements in the chorus.
8. Longer (6:42). Mid tempo, guitars, repetitive-key keyboards.
9. Mid tempo, slows down mid way for a bridge and verse. Piano keyboard, guitars.
10. Slow/mid tempo Go-Betweens strumming and picking + strings.
11. [7:37 with hidden track] Starts with strange picking, strings and noise [1:20].
12. Hidden track starts at –5:27. Alternating mid/slow, electric guitar, steel guitar, keyboards, strings, you know.

Track Listing
1. Beginning of the Falls   6. Transparentcies
2. The Leisure Class   7. The Neutral Kids
3. Halo Coming Down   8. Margot Andilieu
4. Battleship of Thieves   9. Invisible Camera
5. Blood of Robert Frost   10. The Perfect Line
  11. The Salt Lick