Hospitality, Trouble, 2014

Album Review

Hospitality's self-titled debut was the subject of one of my early reviews here at CoolDad Music back in 2012. I did -- and still do -- love that record. Its Belle and Sebastian-style chamber pop and Amber Papini's vocals worked really well for me, and it was the record I probably played the most that year. The feeling that Hospitality evoked for me over and over again was that feeling of loneliness that accompanies relocating to the Big City, carving out a life for yourself, forming new relationships, maybe breaking off old ones. That feeling of becoming one with New York, having your little routine and personal haunts, but really just wanting to be able to earn a living and to have somebody to watch TV with every night.

On Trouble, a little of that innocent finding one's way is gone, replaced by something a little more jaded and less naive. Hospitality have traded the friendly, non-threatening pop of their debut for a darker sound on Trouble. That's not immediately apparent from opener "Nightingale," Papini singing over some guitar chords that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Hospitality. That's followed, though, by a definite rock and roll guitar riff. The rest of the song moves deliberately forward, Papini's vocals bubbling up from a sea of reverb, only to close out with some prog rock-inspired keyboards.

Single "I Miss Your Bones," a relatively simple song about the anxiety of being apart, would've been a two-minute pop nugget on Hospitality. Here, it's a four-minute post-punk jam. The synth-heavy "Inauguration" sees Papini disconnecting her phone line to avoid being strung along by someone who's been wasting her time. The musical and emotional toughness continue right through second single "Rockets and Jets," Papini singing forebodingly over synths and Brian Betancourt's relentless bassline.

"Last Words" is a six-and-a-half minute dream sequence featuring vocal effects, synths, and an extended guitar jam. It's probably the furthest thing on the record from Hospitality's earlier work, but it does a nice job of fusing electronic music, prog, pop, and Papini's fantastical imagery into one of the album's strongest cuts. That's followed by two, mostly-acoustic tracks -- "Sunship" and "Call Me After" -- that see Papini opening herself up to someone and then wondering if she's done something to ruin everything.

Trouble is a more mature album than Hospitality. It's more mature in that it draws from a wider range of sounds and influences than its predecessor, and it's more mature in the feeling that it conveys. The trio of Papini, Michel (drums), and Betancourt have had a few years to be buffeted by the Big City. Experience has diminished the sense of awe a bit and added some welcome edge to the band's sound.

Trouble is due out on Merge on January 28th.

New Song, Album from Hospitality

Photo: Will Mebane

"I Miss Your Bones"

Let's take a break from the 2013 Listacular for a second to talk about a band that I loved in 2012 and who have announced some new stuff coming in 2014.

Hospitality's self-titled debut may have been the record that I played the most during the first half of last year. Amber Papini's voice and songwriting coupled with the overall Belle and Sebastian-type tweeishness of the band's recorded sound played right into one of my personal sweet spots. The fact that their live sound was a bit beefier only made me enjoy the band more.

Hospitality have released the first single from their upcoming Trouble; and "I Miss Your Bones" makes it sound like things are moving a little bit in the direction of the band's live sound, while retaining much of that Elvis Costello influence that I heard on the first record.

2014 is already looking pretty interesting. Trouble is out on Merge on January 28th.

Mid-Year List Time

My Favorites of the Year So Far

The halfway point of the year:  It provides a nice opportunity for a lazy blog post about my favorite music so far.  If you run a particularly evil and annoying site, it also provides a nice opportunity to post one of those "slide show" list-type articles in which you force readers to click forty or fifty times in order to read the whole list.  I'm restricting my list to five albums, and I'm placing them all on the same page.  For anyone who comes here regularly (Thank you!), this list shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  Apparently, I really like guitars, pop/rock, and New Jersey.

5.  Tramp, Sharon Van Etten
Van Etten's haunting vocals and confessional songwriting leave an impression that's hard to shake.

4.  Ugly, Screaming Females
More than any of the other albums by this New Brunswick, NJ band, Ugly captures some of the scorching energy of the band's -- and guitar hero Marissa Paternoster's -- live performances.

3.  Open Your Heart, The Men
They're a Brooklyn punk band, but this album makes it clear that they know their Stones, Mats, and Velvets.

2.  Hospitality, Hospitality
If I based this on sheer number of listens, Hospitality would have been #1 by a wide margin.  This is an excellent debut album from a band that also puts on a pretty good live show.

1.  Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger, River City Extension
Home-field advantage maybe?  Who knows?  But anyone who knows me understands that comparing any album to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or The Monitor is not something I would do lightly.  This Toms River, NJ eight-piece has made nothing short of a fantastic album.

For something with a bit more diversity, here's the Spotify playlist I've been maintaining of my favorite tracks of the year (that are available on Spotify).

A Night In The Borough Of My Birth

Eleanor Friedberger / Hospitality at the Bell House, Brooklyn, NY, April 18, 2012 

I’d had these tickets since February, I think.  It isn’t always easy, even for coolparents, to get a sitter in the middle of the week; and CoolMom gets up extremely early for her commute in the morning.  So this wasn’t going to be a date night.  Instead, after I finished up my evening’s carpooling duties, I headed into Brooklyn on my own.

The Bell House is a great place to see a show if you don’t mind standing.  CoolMom and I had a great experience seeing The National there a couple of years ago.  The performance space holds only a few hundred people.  The sound is pretty good, and they have a great selection of beers.  As a member of the bridge and tunnel crowd, I also think it’s great that there is ample free, street parking near the venue.  I waited to enter behind a line of people getting their ID’s checked at the door, then the doorman just waved me through without even asking me for mine.  This happened despite my having gone to the trouble of wearing my dark-rimmed glasses, WFMU T-shirt, and Puma Suedes.

I arrived a few minutes before the nine o’clock scheduled show time and had no problem finding a decent spot in front of the stage.  I was standing among a group of about four people with big, digital SLR cameras.  Their conversation consisted of asking each other “Who are you taking pictures for?” and answering with the name of the music blog that had sent them to the show.  You, though, get my grainy iPhone shots and reviews written without any notes.

Hospitality walked onto the stage a little after nine and started right in with “Sleepover,” from their excellent, self-titled debut.  They followed that with almost every song from the album in addition to one or two that I hadn’t heard before.  Lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Amber Papini, looked a bit nervous, but that didn’t hinder her performance.  She conjures images of New York with her lyrics, and her unique voice came across just as well live as it does on recordings.  The rest of the band did a great job providing the atmosphere for those lyrics.  After the set, I was already happy I’d made the trip.

Eleanor Friedberger took the stage with her band at around ten.  It was evident that things would sound quite different from last year’s Last Summer given the composition of her band:  guitars, bass, drums, no keyboards.  “My Mistakes” was easily one of my favorite songs from last year.  The album version goes for kind of a Haircut 100 vibe with keyboards and a closing sax solo.  Last night’s version, like much of the set, was great with its new rock, almost alt-country arrangement.  Friedberger sings in an almost spoken-word fashion, but she has a very good voice.  Her voice and the new arrangements had me thinking a bit about Neko Case, especially on “Scenes from Bensonhurst.”

The New York theme, initiated by Hospitality, continued during Friedberger’s set.  Like Hospitality, Last Summer, with one exception, is all images of New York – Brooklyn, mostly.  Friedberger introduced that exception, “Inn of the Seventh Ray,” as having been written about her least favorite city.

In all, it was a great bill.  Hospitality hewed closely to the sound, achieved on their album, that’s garnered them praise.  Eleanor Friedberger gave the crowd a totally different, fresh take on her songs.

Glad I sucked it up and drove in for the show.  It beat sitting on the couch watching the Yankees lose to the Twins.

Hospitality, Hospitality, 2012

Sunday Run Album Review

Punk, noise-rock.  That's been much of my soundtrack lately.  It's been easy to find new music in that category as -- along with synth-pop like M83 and Grimes -- it seems like that's where mindie's been trending.  I've always been a pop fan at heart, though.  Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins, The New Pornographers, and, more recently, Cults and Tennis.  I especially enjoy it when a dark lyric is riding on a catchy pop tune.

After receiving some buzz from a 2008 EP, some of which is included on this full-length, Hospitality released their eagerly-anticipated Hospitality early this year.  I endangered the well-being of my iPhone and bluetooth headset by taking the band out on a drizzly run with me today.

Their name gives you a good indication of what you're in for with Hospitality.  Rooted in British pop like early Elvis Costello or Belle and Sebastian, the Brooklyn band jangles their way through ten gems on their self-titled debut.  Fronted by songwriter/vocalist, Amber Papini, Hospitality is definitely a New York band, their songs brimming with images of the city.  Papini's distinctive vocals are one of the main attractions for me here.  Her delivery fits right in with the overall British pop, tweeishness of the band's sound.

And not everything is sweetness and light in Hospitality's songs.  There are plenty of upbeat melodies, intricate arrangements, la-di-das, and ooh-ooh-oohs.  The lyrics, though, cover post-college disappointment, boredom with work, losing someone to their old flame.

If aggressive rock, electronica, or Top 40 don't do it for you, maybe some jangly hooks are just what you need.