Affinitia
– These Other Words (Silverplanes)
Affinitia is one Tim Urlacher, a Montana based
singer-songwriter with a Radiohead obsession and a talent for writing songs
that are near impossible to pigeonhole. There’s nothing wrong with that, and
“These Other Words” benefits greatly from Urlacher’s askew wordplay, tunes that
burrow deep, together with the instrumentation he employs. Though, for the most
part, he keeps the arrangements and the music simple and direct (and decidedly
lo-fi), it all comes together to make a satisfying whole and an album you’ll
want to spent time with.
Obviously that last bit isn’t necessarily true, as
taste is subjective and personal, but if you enjoy Mo Tucker solo albums,
Bright Eyes, Admiral Fallow and The Curious Hair, then you’re in for a treat.
The album commences with the shuffling “To Follow a Lie”, its off-kilter vocals
backed by acoustic guitar and makeshift percussion is delightfully oblique, and
prepares the ground for “Don't You Know That I Love You?”, which falls apart
magnificently somewhere around its middle, but returns invigorated and vital
before prematurely expiring. Perhaps the most surprising tracks are the
Lennon-esque “Younger” and the haunting, banjo lament “My Stray Bullet”. The
former is pristine bedroom pop and one can’t help but feel that John Peel would
have been all over it. The latter is even better. Solo strings drowning in echo
provide the backing as Urlacher tells his tale. There’s no happy ending to this
one.
Phil S.
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