Tag Archive: Rifle Recoil

Catching Up

IMG 3 Catching UpMy penchant for music accumulation (obviously) didn’t end while we were working through our Best of 2009 lists.  By the mere nature of making lists, some music is simply acquired too late to be considered; other tracks don’t fit into any specific ordering.  But over the past month I’ve heard a few tracks that I wish I had heard sooner in 2009; if I had, I believe these would have ended up being mentioned somewhere.

Rifle Recoil – Prototype 2.0 (Outkast cover) (mp3)

We talked about Rifle Recoil here back in November when we heard his spacey, slightly creepy “Bad Girl.”  But with his acoustic strum and drum beat, his take on Outkast’s “Prototype” is just fantastic.

Generationals – When They Fight, They Fight (mp3) from Con Law Catching Up

Generationals hearken back to an innocence that hasn’t been found in music since the 1950’s.  It’s harmonies, hand-claps and a saccharine sweetness that is marvelously jumpy and retro.

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band – Albatross, Albatross, Albatross (mp3) from Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Catching Up

Frenetic and excitable, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band’s self-titled debut went under my personal radar this past year, although it was on Dave’s individual list for Best of 2009.  This particular track is representative with its noisy, intense landscape.  It’s an intriguing release from a talented quintet.

Rifle Recoil – Bad Girl

Rifle Recoil Rifle Recoil   Bad GirlRifle Recoil subscribes to the adage that simplicity is best. In total, throughout his five-minute track “Bad Girl,” he uses 8 words, and repeats them more times than I’m interested in counting. But despite the phone sex creepiness of “You’ve been a bad girl. You know it.” being sung on repeat, it works. The real draw isn’t really the words, anyway; it’s the spaced out music that accompanies them.

The track starts with a church-like organ processional, which is then almost immediately contrasted with the lyrics. And then, after about a minute of that disparity, everything else starts to fall into place. It’s relaxed and easygoing, and allowed to develop at its own pace. In the end, it’s not hard to like. You know it.

Rifle Recoil – Bad Girl (mp3) from Verizon Shine