Confession time! I read Pitchfork every single day before I go to work. The album reviews usually go up around 9:00, right before I leave in the morning. The first order of business is to check my Gmail (usually the overnight delivery consists of Thrillist, a band blast or six and some Asian spam that evaded the filter.) Next I skim through my Kinja real quick for the night-owl bloggers (Paige Six, for example, seems to only post between 1 and 5am, which is why we love her.) After showering and getting dressed, I go on Pitchfork to check their album reviews. This morning I saw Voxtrot up there. Not the featured review, but above the fold. A good sign. I had been waiting for this for a very long time.
7.8/8.2. It's really tough to beat that. The review is overwhelmingly positive, stating the only flaw is the "tepid" track Wrecking Force on the first EP, which the reviewer even admits that "There's nothing terribly wrong with it; it's
just not as spectacularly right as the other nine songs rounding out
Voxtrot's recorded work." The second EP is better than the first, and the review recognizes that they are improving. That's a good sign. I'm excited and proud for these guys, tho the importance of these reviews seems softened in comparison to the amount of success they've gained otherwise. The two shows at Mercury Lounge were sold out well before this came out. But nonetheless, it's a seal of approval, like it or not. I'm happy to see it.
Talk all the shit you'd like about the fork, but this is a huge hurdle to clear for any indie band. You fall in love with a band, watch them grow and gain attention, and you just expect it to all blow up in your face when something like this comes along. I've seen it happen many times before. Most recently this week, in fact, with the latest Two Gallants record. But Voxtrot is too good. By now, everybody knows this.
(By the way, while I'm sorta on the subject, yesterday I bought tickets and booked a flight to Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago at the end of July. Anyone else going? Pretty amazing lineup so far, and lots of bands to be added still...)
I lot of critics are going hard on the Two Gallants.
PFM's Jason Crock also panned Tunng today. Having read a lot of reviews of the album, it's as if he just regurgitated what everyone has already said. Oh well.
Posted by: jerry | March 29, 2006 at 01:50 PM
It's a shame Pitchfork came down so hard on the new Ms John Soda, Notes and The Like. Despite what the reviewer said, it's an excellent laptop pop/IDM album, with maybe one weak track out of the nine.
Posted by: Steven | March 29, 2006 at 06:34 PM
i agree, pitchfork was unnecessarily hard on the ms. john soda album, but i thought the latest two gallants was pretty awful save the first track.
didn't pitchfork give the battles ep collection a high mark? i was happy about that, assuming it happened and i didn't imagine it.
Posted by: david | March 29, 2006 at 07:06 PM
oh my, paige six? please, why did you introduce me to that sight? she is way too cute.....and way too young, ouch.
Posted by: john mac | March 30, 2006 at 04:11 AM
i love voxtrot as much as anyone but i feel like the pitchfork review said nothing. it's like he really didn't listen to the music at all. anyway, i'm pumped for these guys, april 10th is going to jam like they always do.
Posted by: toober | March 30, 2006 at 10:44 AM
Yeah, David, they gave the Battles EPs high marks (excellent stuff). Maybe one of these popular music bloggers will give that Ms Johns Soda another chance for some recognition.
Posted by: Steven | March 31, 2006 at 10:30 AM
Jesus wouldn't go around forcing nfl clothing people to pay for someone else's healthcare, either. Forced charity is theft, and it is not a Christian concept. So who nhl hockey cares if a couple of talk-show hosts say something "mean" when nfl store the people they're opposed to are committing evil? dfsssfdaaadftt
Posted by: sf | March 24, 2010 at 10:06 PM