JSpice dropped the hammer in our super-secret Cerberus message group the other day. “NO MORE 2012 reviews,” says he, King Editor. Good thing this album came out in 2003, HA! No, but seriously, tape reissues? I’m incredibly into it, especially since a band like The Movies feels so integral to tape culture with the way things are going these days. This is a real indie rock band type of deal here; we have a guitar, a bass, some drums, keyboards, and a vocalist. A band, guys… is it me, or are there just not that many of them these days? Is that a cliché thing to say? At least it’s a nice respite from the typically weird ambient, drone, or noise stuff I have been covering. So I’m very intrigued and elated to be hearing a real quartet on a cassette, especially since they’re so on point, musically speaking. Riffs are locked in, rhythm is deep in the pocket, dynamic, a wide range of tempos… just a talented and versatile group. Many of the tunes on In One Era, Out the Other have a very smooth driving groove to them, definitely reminding me of a lot of my favorite stuff by the Sea & Cake (circa Nassau, say). The vocals are really what sets things apart. This guy Timothy James, who seems super collected at times and at others totally unhinged like the way Sam Herrington can get, barking and gnashing his syllables in the peppier numbers while dead-pan-crooning his way through some deeply emotional lyrics for the ballads. Of course, it’s dangerous to compare The Movies to Future Islands seeing as how this album happened a good three years prior to the formation of said mentioned comparators. But if it gives you some kind of a listening reference point, then so be it. Either way, anyone who digs tunefulness, tight playing, playful arrangements, energy, and additionally, if anyone would like to see some boobs and male nipples inside the tape’s booklet, they might want to seek this one out for themselves.
More about: The Movies
