NIREMy Father's Record Player ( Ought Implies Can Records ) 2006 Sparse is hard to come by nowadays. The low cost of super-multi track recording coupled with the contemporary taste for endless layers of blips, beeps, zings and "found" sounds makes the crafting of mini sonic epics dangerously tempting and accessible. Sure, you could leave the song just voice, guitar, and, say, keyboard but what about that cool old oscillator in the corner? Or the shoe box full of phaser pedals? Hey, is that a melodica? Indie pop is too often crowded and baroque, which make the output of a band like Portland's NIRE so nice to hear. No percussion, no bass, no layers of horn parts played on an old Crumar Performer (just like Pink Floyd!), just pretty, super simple bedroom pop. On their second release, the limited edition My Father's Record Player, NIRE keep it small and emerge with a tiny victory. The songs are sad, short and completely effective. The interplay between male and female vocals on "Slow This Down" works like a charm while the synth on "Appointed Roles" is perfectly dreamy. Closer "Static Glow" is the song you put at the end of the first side of a mixtape made for someone just a touch out of your league. A lesser suitor would have chosen "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" or some obvious Nick Drake song. Nire allows you to avoid the charge of lesser suitor.
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by : Rooney
| today was September 26th, 2006. |
NIRE's
only sonic indulgence is the soft double-tracking of Josh Hinton's hushed
voice, which speaks to a wholly appropriate allegiance to Elliott Smith's
scrappy emotionalism. The handmade, crudely silk-screened packaging
(blurred black ink on imperfectly folded pink paper) reinforces the
sense of sharp sensibilities and soft hearts. Someone you think very
highly of would love 
