January 25, 2012
#13: Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies Algernon Cadwallader’s first album, Some Kind Of Cadwallader, blew me away when it was released back in 2008. I loved most of the songs on it unreservedly, and couldn’t stop playing it. But that album was a bit controversial in the underground emocore scene at the time, and how a person felt about it had everything to do with whether or not they thought it was OK for Algernon Cadwallader to sound like Cap’n Jazz. That long-departed Chicago quintet, who’d been broken up for 15 years, were still revered and heavily influential in that scene. It was true that vocalist/bassist Peter Helmis’s voice sounded very similar to Tim Kinsella’s hoarse, off-key sing-scream, and that guitarist Joe Reinhart was a master of the same sort of complex yet oddly melodic arpeggios that Victor Villareal had built Cap’n Jazz’s sound around. But to me, none of that mattered. Algernon Cadwallader sounded like what might have happened if Cap’n Jazz stayed together, instead of splitting into The Promise Ring and Joan Of Arc back in 1995, and had made a second album that reflected the divergent paths that both splinter bands had taken. So it wasn’t like they were stealing riffs, or even that you could go back and listen to a 15 year old album that sounded exactly like them. It was more like they were writing the songs that Cap’n Jazz didn’t stick around to write. And those songs were really fucking good. So I never had a problem with Algernon Cadwallader. Some Kind Of Cadwallader wasn’t a perfect album—too much of its rather brief running time was devoted to the aimless noise fuckery that comprised the last eight minutes of the album—but I loved it, and I played it a lot. I enjoyed their 6-song follow-up EP, Fun, as well. But Parrot Flies is on another level entirely. Just as Some Kind Of Cadwallader gave the impression of a version of Cap’n Jazz who’d matured beyond the point they’d occupied when they broke up, Parrot Flies gives us a more mature version of Algernon Cadwallader. The production on this album is fuller and more layered than their previous work, resulting in a thick, rockin’ guitar sound that moves Algernon away from the previous Cap’n Jazz comparisons and makes clear that they’re coming into their own. Sure, Peter Helmis still sounds like Tim Kinsella when he sings, but aside from that common sonic thread (and what’s the man supposed to do, surgically modify his voice?), Algernon Cadwallader have left many of the Cap’n Jazz influences behind here. Joe Reinhart’s still the only guitarist, but he lays down multiple guitar tracks, augmenting his layered electric arpeggios with acoustic guitar jangle and even the occasional crunching bar chords, which give his riffs a bite they haven’t had before. Drummer Tank Bergman is still the thundering heart of the band’s sound, but with Joe’s thicker guitar sound to work with, he sends the more upbeat tunes here into overdrive. Songs like “Pitfall” and “Cruisin” aren’t necessarily gifted with catchier choruses than previous Algernon Cadwallader songs had, but the band plays them harder, and this makes them more satisfying than even the best moments on Some Kind Of Cadwallader and Fun. Parrot Flies is the sound of Algernon Cadwallader no longer merely recreating their influences. Those recreations were certainly successful, and worth the repeated plays I gave them in past years. But on Parrot Flies, they’ve transcended those influences. At this point, the band they sound most like is Algernon Cadwallader. And guess what? Algernon Cadwallader is a fucking great band.

#13: Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies

Algernon Cadwallader’s first album, Some Kind Of Cadwallader, blew me away when it was released back in 2008. I loved most of the songs on it unreservedly, and couldn’t stop playing it. But that album was a bit controversial in the underground emocore scene at the time, and how a person felt about it had everything to do with whether or not they thought it was OK for Algernon Cadwallader to sound like Cap’n Jazz. That long-departed Chicago quintet, who’d been broken up for 15 years, were still revered and heavily influential in that scene.

It was true that vocalist/bassist Peter Helmis’s voice sounded very similar to Tim Kinsella’s hoarse, off-key sing-scream, and that guitarist Joe Reinhart was a master of the same sort of complex yet oddly melodic arpeggios that Victor Villareal had built Cap’n Jazz’s sound around. But to me, none of that mattered. Algernon Cadwallader sounded like what might have happened if Cap’n Jazz stayed together, instead of splitting into The Promise Ring and Joan Of Arc back in 1995, and had made a second album that reflected the divergent paths that both splinter bands had taken. So it wasn’t like they were stealing riffs, or even that you could go back and listen to a 15 year old album that sounded exactly like them. It was more like they were writing the songs that Cap’n Jazz didn’t stick around to write. And those songs were really fucking good.

So I never had a problem with Algernon Cadwallader. Some Kind Of Cadwallader wasn’t a perfect album—too much of its rather brief running time was devoted to the aimless noise fuckery that comprised the last eight minutes of the album—but I loved it, and I played it a lot. I enjoyed their 6-song follow-up EP, Fun, as well. But Parrot Flies is on another level entirely. Just as Some Kind Of Cadwallader gave the impression of a version of Cap’n Jazz who’d matured beyond the point they’d occupied when they broke up, Parrot Flies gives us a more mature version of Algernon Cadwallader. The production on this album is fuller and more layered than their previous work, resulting in a thick, rockin’ guitar sound that moves Algernon away from the previous Cap’n Jazz comparisons and makes clear that they’re coming into their own.

Sure, Peter Helmis still sounds like Tim Kinsella when he sings, but aside from that common sonic thread (and what’s the man supposed to do, surgically modify his voice?), Algernon Cadwallader have left many of the Cap’n Jazz influences behind here. Joe Reinhart’s still the only guitarist, but he lays down multiple guitar tracks, augmenting his layered electric arpeggios with acoustic guitar jangle and even the occasional crunching bar chords, which give his riffs a bite they haven’t had before. Drummer Tank Bergman is still the thundering heart of the band’s sound, but with Joe’s thicker guitar sound to work with, he sends the more upbeat tunes here into overdrive. Songs like “Pitfall” and “Cruisin” aren’t necessarily gifted with catchier choruses than previous Algernon Cadwallader songs had, but the band plays them harder, and this makes them more satisfying than even the best moments on Some Kind Of Cadwallader and Fun.

Parrot Flies is the sound of Algernon Cadwallader no longer merely recreating their influences. Those recreations were certainly successful, and worth the repeated plays I gave them in past years. But on Parrot Flies, they’ve transcended those influences. At this point, the band they sound most like is Algernon Cadwallader. And guess what? Algernon Cadwallader is a fucking great band.

7:58pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/Z-FUayFN680w
Filed under: Top 20 of 2011