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I have memories from my childhood of being conscripted into lawn care for my mother. Watering plants, picking up dog poop, and especially pulling weeds, all the things that lead to back problems in middle age. “Don’t pull out all of my flowers!” she’d say (flowers being crucial to the Neighborhood-wide “Lawn of The Month” award). An hour later she’d come back to inspect the work, “What are all these sunflowers doing here?” she’d ask. “They’re flowers,” I’d come back in their defense. It just seemed odd to me, to rip such a delicate little yellow flower right out of the ground. But where I saw flowers, she saw squatters, and she paid the allowance. So if you guessed that this is an allegorical story about The Weird Weeds and traditional popular music, then you guessed right. One man’s weed is another man’s flower, and one man’s nonsensical noise music is another man’s record collection.
I Miss This is the third LP from the local trio, following Weird Feelings which came out back in late 2006. To describe the band’s sound is something of a slippery slope, anything that can be said about them ultimately leads to misconceptions. Call them experimental: they did play the No Idea Festival just recently, but they have a rock n’ roll quality too. Call them ambient: they do a fantastic job of creating musical textures, but they know how to open up as well. Call them weird and … well okay, that one’s totally true. With a band as original as this one though, it’s natural to try to “tie them down” with contrived description, but The Weird Weeds are, at least amongst their Austin peers, about as original as you can get.
“Nonsensical noise music” is hardly an apt description, I must admit. There are many “noises” on the album, though. “Green Thread” is one of the finer examples of the way the band weaves those noises into very straightforward and basic guitar parts. An odd feedback/string noise hovers in the background while Nick Hennies drums and Aaron Russell’s guitar drive the song. Claps and a box-load of auxiliary percussion work their way into the mix as well. There are no vocals here, but it’s appropriate; the song is all about texture. Sure, I can pick out a few instruments and talk about them individually, but the way they act together is the real focus of this and most songs. Normally, adding vocals would make an otherwise perfect tapestry of sound into mere backdrop. Normally.
The Weird Weeds understand both the complexities and the various applications of vocals as well as any of their other instruments. Generally, the vocals serve two distinct purposes: in some songs they add to the texture, in others they seem to unite the fluidity of the music into a more focused and energetic force. Sandy Ewen’s vocals in “Dream Songs,” which compliment the chirp-like noises and acoustic guitar to create a full yet delicate sound, are an example of the former. “Sorry Rain,” more an adventure than a song, sees the band weaving vocals into the instrumental texture again. The song is one of the most exquisite on the album, even featuring a static and guitar duet (I’d like to say that more often).
On the other hand, songs like “Lies” have a certain epic quality to them. The vocals and overdriven guitars climb above the noisy chaos, building into a sound similar to Built to Spill’s Perfect From Now On. This kind of versatility, especially with the vocals, are one of the finer qualities about the band, showing it doesn’t take a million dollars worth of gear to craft an original, diverse record.
The real trick is the transition between these two styles. For the most part the Weird Weeds jump between the ambient noise and focused energy flawlessly. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to having such a variety of songs on one album; the big disadvantage being that consistency is sometimes sacrificed. But generally the album flows from song to song, ending ideas when needed or carrying instruments/sounds over into the next song. Where some “experimental” albums sound more like a portfolio than an album, I Miss This, especially when taken as a whole, takes its listener on a well planned tour of the unique theme and variations on the Weird Weeds.
So in conclusion, let’s just end on a bad joke: I Miss This isn’t a weed you want to pick, unless it’s off a record store shelf.
- John Michael Cassetta
Mp3s from I Miss This:
Red
A Goose
Websites:
www.weirdweeds.com
