Operators, the / Light and the Dark, the
Album: Light and the Dark, the   Collection:General
Artist:Operators, the   Added:Jan 2005
Label:Unstoppable Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2005-04-17 Pull Date: 2005-06-19
Week Ending: Jun 19 May 29 May 15 May 1 Apr 24
Airplays: 1 1 1 2 4

Recent Airplay
1. Jun 16, 2005: Multiple Personality Disorder
Punch You Out
4. Apr 27, 2005: Strange Attractor
Mild As Milk
2. May 24, 2005: Multiple Personality Disorder
Punch You Out
5. Apr 26, 2005: Multiple Personality Disorder
Punch You Out
3. May 13, 2005: Distraction-Limited
Across the Ocean
6. Apr 23, 2005: subbing for baseball
The Look

Album Review
Margot Seeto
Reviewed 2005-04-07
Indie pop/indie rock with female and male vocals. Sometimes surf-y, occasionally slowcore. Female vox are lower and stronger - like more recent Rainer Maria. Usual band instruments, including mellotrons, short wave radios, and plastic bags. Influences include The Raincoats and Gang of Four. Overall, fun stuff.
1) “Scorpio Rising” (3:25). Slow, quiet intro: guitar, bass, drums. Female vox 0:32. 0:45 tempo picks up, as well as her vox. Alternates between the quiet and loud.
2)*“Punch You Out” (2:25). Slightly surfy feel - fun, considering song subject. 0:35 female vox, consistently louder in song. She is her own backup vox.
3)*“The Look” (3:07). M/F vox together. 1:58 handclaps followed by “1-2-3-4!” 2:50 handclaps back with all vox.
4) “Fire Away” (2:47). Lighter on instruments, still catchy. Gentle maracas accompany quiet guitar in intro. Female vox, m/f backing vox. Definitive “da da da’s.” End 2:44.
5)*“Mild As Milk” (2:34). Immediate vox with guitar, bass, drums. A few dissonant guitar chords. Some gentler vocal stylings, mixed with strong staccato vox. 1:17 tempo change to faster. Piano. Plastic bag. Drums. 2:00 soft “ooo’s” in background.
6) “Iron Heart” (2:06). Strumming guitar. F vox has more attitude. M/F harmonizing backup vox. Acoustic guitar, mellotron, pianet. End at 2:03.
7) “Across the Ocean” (4:18). Strumming minor and sharp guitar and bass chords - darker, mid-tempo song. M/F together, but M much stronger in this song. Pianet. 3:58-end - distorted sounds.
8)*“Black Hole” (2:53). Some sad dissonance, clear f vox, a bit nostalgic. Trumpet! After 2:00, brass chorus.
9) “The Wrong Way” (3:19). Toe-tapping beat, yet guitar and bass not too loud. 0:30 f vox. Faint m backup vox. End 3:16.
10) “What The Mailman Doesn’t Bring” (2:54). Surfy guitar and bass, with surfier guitar addition at 0:05. M vox this time. M/F harmonizing backup vox, holding notes. Some electric guitar sliding near end.
11)*“The Light” (4:41). Mid-tempo guitars and drums, bass 0:15. Higher f vox 0:37, with higher f vox backups. 1:16 f vox switch to lower register, with one guitar imitating her vocal melody. 1:55 back to higher vox. Rest of song alternates with this pattern. 4:20 drums drop out. End 4:35.
12) “Firelight” (4:24). Quieter and slower. 0:22 male vox abruptly. Sincere, kind of enderaing. After 2:00 female round comes in. End at 4:06, unless you want some very faint static sounds.
13) Bonus Track (4:33). Seamless transition with static sounds from previous song. 1:54 gentle guitars over the static. 2:15 falsetto gentle male vox alternate with female vox. Slowcore-ish.
-margot

Track Listing
1. Scorpio Rising   7. Across the Ocean
2. Punch You Out   8. Black Hole
3. The Look   9. The Wrong Way
4. Fire Away   10. What the Mailman
5. Mild As Milk   11. The Light
6. Iron Heart   12. Firelight