LOOSE FUR is the self titled debut of the musical collaboration between Jim O'Rourke, Glenn Kotche and Jeff Tweedy, released 2003. But, is it good?
Yep, I'm doing a Jeff Tweedy side project on the blog. Can you tell I've spent most of the week getting drunk? Anyway, the members of Loose Fur are of course Tweedy, Glenn Kotche (the drummer from Wilco) and Jim O'Rourke, who aside from producing for Wilco has an extremely extensive back catalog of solo recordings and collaborations. so, as you may imagine, this is them branching off from Wilco to do their own thing- even if material from this record would be then performed by Wilco and Tweedy in future.
So the album opens with LAMINATED CAT which I was familiar with as "not for the season" from Sam Jones' Wilco film. But this is certainly as far leap from that- it opens with this weird electronic feedback sounds and jerky section. Tweedy's vocals are trademarkedly unenthused for the most part, as he delivers his (for this period of his work anyway) trademark abstract lyrics. The strange distorted electronic sounds only get more twisted after the vocals stop which then give way to this even more twisted and ugly guitar motif, as well as the rhythm section developing and becoming more off kilter. And it repeats quite alot- the guitar melody does evolve into this Velvet Underground esque "solo" after the 5 minute mark, and honestly even most hardcore Tweedy fans would have likely turned off by this point. There's a great live performance of this on youtube too, and the crowd are fucking hating it. Is the song good? you definitely have to be patient. It's not something I could just chuck on while playing call of duty or cooking (if I put this on in the kitchen I think my flatmates might throw my speaker out the window), but man if you can stomach it it just just fantastic.
ELEGANT TRANSACTION is immediately more stomachable with pleasent soft rock drumming and guitar arpeggios, and Tweedy and O'Rourke have this really cool call and responce vocal. It's got a good banjo part too, which is always nice to hear. After the 2m30 mark the band introduce a really cool descending piano (?) riff which is quite reminiscent of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot- but given this record was recorded before it may have likely been a testing round. The second half of the track is this incredibly vibrant almost jam session, everything is in harmony rather than the cold dissonance of the opener, and it's just pure ear candy. It almost has a childlike sense of joy about it, before it abruptly ends. Some of the lyrics are a bit naff but the track overall is solid.
SO LONG sits at an intimidating 9 minutes and makes it's intentions known immediately, with this indifferent guitar part against this other twisted and ugly guitar, and some really out there percussion. The lyrics are similarly forlorn, with (who i presume to be) O'Rourke singing "don't bother asking where i have been
i sent someone in my place". The song is more with it in the chorus with this dozing swagger in this chorus. One of my favourite lyrics on the record is found in "if i said i love you; I was talking to myself". The second chorus is so moody and depressive, but as soon as it's done the noisey verse sounds come back so you can't even sit and savour it, which I imagine is the point. Around the 6 minute mark there's this beatles esque "da, da da da da da, da da da" harmony that floats around as the track wills itself into more harmonious territory, even the choked electric guitar from earlier finds somewhere comfortable to sit. It just wraps itself up before it gets dull, but not without a bit more ugliness first.
YOU WERE WRONG is mercifully shorter at 3:30. It has this fairly cut and dry drum beat, but the electric guitar that sounds like a ringing headache (in a good way) against some textural acoustic guitar. There's some good piano keeping rhythm later in the track too. The chorus has this conviction to it that gives it a real distinct and memorable quality too. It kinds of ends in an unsatisfying way, by this point in the album I'm expecting a 5 minute instrumental wanking around section but I guess they just didn't fancy it this time? Whatever
LIQUIDATION TOTALE opens and is immediately reminiscent of SPIDERS from Wilco's 2004 A GHOST IS BORN. but it does move through different instrumental avenues- the entire song, in fact, is instrumental. and kind of floats thru these dreamy backseat section and them quite rhythmic and front and present parts- perhaps the title is a reference to them covering as much ground as possible in the track? There's some more banjo too which commentates the rest of the track really nicely. The track moves into this overdriven rock guitar section at 3:30 whilst retaining the rest of the instrumentation, and again sounds like SPIDERS. It also just utterly collapses at the end too.
The album closes on CHINESE APPLE. Tweedy's vocals are sleepy but war, and quite intimate sounding, like he's singing right in your ear. The track also "borrows" lyrics from YHF's HEAVY METAL DRUMMER which is an odd touch, and something that Tweedy still does (see Some Birds vs. I know what it's like) the track ends on a 4 minute outro jam, with twangy guitars above this haunted sounding drum section that grows in menace and stature as the track progresses. but it does fade out to let Jeff do some more singing. The track really feels like it's coming to end when this unnerving piano motif comes in to lead the track to it's end, which is does adequately so.
So is the album good? Well there certainly wasn't a track on it I disliked- like I said , it's an album that has a time and a place, but man when you're there it just hits off so swell. I feel like it's also an album I could never sit and listen to with someone who's never heard it, it's so tension creating and dissonant and noisey that forcing someone to listen to it would just be mean. But as a headphones album ,or a speakers in your room album, it's a really great listen. A must for Tweedy fans, or experimental music fans. Good record!
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