Since the start of the awful war in Ukraine Big Stir Records, who are the label that The Armoires two main members Christine Bulbenko and Rex Broome run, have been donating 50% of all sales from https://www.bigstirrecords.com/united-help-ukraine-benefit-store part of the labels website. Now I somehow managed to choose to review one of the albums not covered by this deal, yeah typical of me I guess, but I want to support this effort and suggest that not only do you buy this very cool album Incognito but also get Zibaldone the earlier Armoires album that has some songs about Christine's Ukrainian heritage.
So why did I pick this album to review rather than Zibaldone, well mainly because it opens with a cover of John Cale's Paris 1919. This was part of a secret project that saw the band release 8 singles in under a year all using pseudonyms and recorded during lockdown, this collects them together and makes for a very cool album that has some very Andy Warhol inspired artwork.
The album opens with that cover of John Cale's classic Paris 1919, that now seems prescient to be talking about post war settlements as this song does, this version is really cool with some very intricate strings and Christina Bulbenko's vocals really getting to the heart of the message within this song and the violin solo lifts it nicely, this is rockier than Cale's original as we all hope that the settlement to come at the end of the current Ukrainian war will have far better long term effects than the ones that came at the end of World War 1.
(Just Can't See) The Attraction is a countryish power pop song of bafflement as to why two people have got together as a couple, despite both of them being good friends, we all know people like the couple they talk about, as they hope they don't end up bitter and twisted and instead they live lives as mellifluous as the intertwining vocals of Christine Bulbenko and Rex Broome.
I Say We Take Off And Nuke The Site From Orbit these days is far scarier than it was meant to be when this was released a year ago, as the braggadocio of dictators waving the threat of Nuclear war has become all to real once more, even if this is more about online spats going nuclear that insane territorial urges to replay the wars of the 15th-20th century once more. As always just say no to war and especially say no to Nuclear war.
Yellow River takes me back to being a kid when Christie had a huge hit with this song, this is less saccharine than the original thankfully and is played at a far faster pace as I still hope this is about The Yangtse or another yellow river and not the other kind of Yellow River.
Bagfoot Run is a country hoedown that would work on the soundtrack to a modernized Beverley Hillbillies, with some good wry lyrics this is a lot of fun with some great finger picking banjo going on.
Homebound is the sound of the end of term or the end of the holiday season as everyone is homebound once more, this is Grand Ole Opry dry your eye's countrypolitan song of regret and memories of what's gone in days gone by as everyone was Homebound into lockdown in the midst of the pandemic.
The Night I Heard A Scream is a song of disaster as the accident that caused the scream is looked into as they try to work out who did what and make sure some sort of justice is served for the victim of the hit and run accident over some searing indie pop with some cool violin that puts it into Clem Snide territory.
The next cover on the album is a brilliant version of XTC's senses Working Overtime that features special guest drumming from Karen Bassett from The Pandoras that has some really cool vocal harmonies and a wondrous violin part as the bass drum seems to be doing all sorts of elastic sounds this really should have got loads of airplay.
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Words And Music sounds like a mid-70's female singer songwriter, almost Laurel Canyon sounding song with cool backing vocals and a violin sound that just draws the listener in.
Jackrabbit Protector is all about freeing the poor rabbits from being used to testing and other horrific experiments, the backing sounds like it's in hock to Big Pink, this has a bucolic sense of the dread of what might go on deep in the countryside but shouldn't.
Walking Distance is a rather prescient song about Nice Guys finishing last and awful pigs coming out on top, which is certainly not how any of us want the current war in Ukraine to end.
Ohma, Bring Your Light Into This Place is a light upbeat tune of hope to bring more light into the world, which in times as dark as our current ones is no bad thing.
Magenta Moon is full of longing and regret for a partner who is no longer around, full of fond memories and acknowledgment that you'll never be back together again all driven along by the piano and some cymbal heavy drumming.
Great Distances is a road song, for a band that has been told they can't be out on the road like normal, they are hoping to be back hitting that tarmac as soon as possible, seeing old friends and meeting new people as they travel Great Distances once more.
Awkward City Limits is the most bass led tune on the album, as it slowly unfolds the story of the awkwardness at the songs heart as the unsayable has been said and the pieces need to be picked up and put back together again.
The Armoires Are The Amine Beta Ring Sunshine Harmony Company, takes longer to type the title than to hear the tune, that is a good sideways poke at Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music The Amine B Ring without having to listen to over an hour of feedback.
Shame And Bourbon is a last drink of the night sobbing onto your bourbon country ballad for selling your soul to the man, in the hopes of making a big stir and instead ending up at the end of the bar, sipping bourbon and feeling full of shame for what you've done along the way as you try to survive your demons.
The album closes with Ghost of Fall Singer In Urban Griefscape that sees them going all Fall like and is sung from the viewpoint of Mark E Smiths reanimated corpse that does all sorts of weird stereo effects, Ah what would have happened if he was still with us to comment on our current Griefscape, the almost girl group backing vocals jar nicely against the spoken and spat out lead vocals.
Find out more at https://www.bigstirrecords.com/the-armoires#!
https://www.facebook.com/thearmoires
https://bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com/album/incognito-2
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