i liked the last one but this feels like a big step up
― ufo, Friday, 25 June 2021 09:05 (three years ago) link
absolutely an album of the year contender
― ufo, Friday, 25 June 2021 14:13 (three years ago) link
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1010767078/spelllings-new-record-the-turning-wheel
she funded all the orchestration on the album with kickstarter & there's snippets of demos of "turning wheel" and "magic act" here
― ufo, Friday, 25 June 2021 14:22 (three years ago) link
whole lot of clips of the recording sessions if you dig through the updates too
― ufo, Friday, 25 June 2021 14:27 (three years ago) link
wow @ this album
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Saturday, 26 June 2021 01:25 (three years ago) link
this album is good but the songwriting feels a little played-straight for it to be a classic imo
― imago, Saturday, 26 June 2021 11:29 (three years ago) link
idk if played straight is the right term, but she's clearly someone with a deep understanding of song structure.
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, 28 June 2021 21:02 (three years ago) link
it would not surprise me if she eventually composed and sang a broadway-style musical. i mean, there's no indication that she's interested in doing that, but you know, if she were interested.
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, 28 June 2021 21:04 (three years ago) link
Maybe not specifically that but to quote from my piece:
“The ‘Above’ songs, I’m thinking also about writing songs for other people, building a portfolio for writing and maybe writing for a film and scoring,” SPELLLING explains.
So keep it in mind! In a part I wasn't able to use due to space etc she talked about her work in theatrical events and the like as part of her MFA and creative life in general, so she has experience in the general area.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 28 June 2021 22:14 (three years ago) link
it definitely shines through, some of it with a kate bush-y art rock type lens. but i could definitely see her making movie music
(sorry for not reading your review ned)
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, 28 June 2021 22:21 (three years ago) link
there's a real classic soul/retro psych-pop style to a lot of these songs but she pulls it off so well
― ufo, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 02:19 (three years ago) link
Many touchstones here--late-90s/early 2000s His Name Is Alive, Todd Rundgren, Stevie Wonder a la 'Secret Life of Plants,' 'One Kiss Can Lead To Anoyhet,' classic pre-auteur era Motown/Wrecking Crew, 'Pet Sounds,' Kate Bush, Patrice Rushen maybe, a little bit of 'Labyrinth', a good dose of theatricality (if not quite Musicals), others I'm not thinking of at the moment... But somehow it feels very personal and reflective of Spellling's unique perspective and interests, not a pastiche of influences.
If I had a complaint, I guess it would be thst it fully committed to the large-ensemble orchestral mode of the first half the whole way through. But I wonder if Covid/budgets made that infeasible? I love her classic electronics-driven mode from her first album, but it is exciting to hear her stretching out so much here.
― Soundslike, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 04:47 (three years ago) link
Ah, here's her on her influences for the record:
https://pitchfork.com/features/moodboard/spellling-the-turning-wheel-interview/
― Soundslike, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 04:50 (three years ago) link
yeah it's certainly not just mere pastiche or anything
she said it was a deliberate stylistic choice to have the first side be the "above" side with the orchestral pop songs & then the second side being the darker & weirder "below" side
― ufo, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 04:55 (three years ago) link
"Always" kind of reminds me of "Don't Get Me Wrong" by the Pretenders.
― Chris L, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 12:50 (three years ago) link
This has got under my skin. Great record. I get a lot of Joanna Newsom from this but I wonder if I just mean Van Dyke Parks.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 29 June 2021 13:04 (three years ago) link
But I wonder if Covid/budgets made that infeasible?
It very much was a factor.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 14:16 (three years ago) link
Ah! Thanks, Ned. A shame if Covid undercut her ambitions--but it's still a hell of a record.
Hopefully she'll continue to include the wide sound pallette on future records--her sensibilty and songwriting really deserves it.
― Soundslike, Tuesday, 29 June 2021 17:38 (three years ago) link
I like this album. She is very Bay Area in all the best ways — not retro, but steeped in that era of psych.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 2 July 2021 02:52 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ZdHuhQqsQ
stripped down live session
― ufo, Saturday, 3 July 2021 05:49 (three years ago) link
just realized this album's kinda Erasure-y (especially, uh, "Always")
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Wednesday, 7 July 2021 19:01 (three years ago) link