Wednesday, 7 Feb 2007
The Broken West got a raw deal when Pitchfork writer Stephen Deusner settled on a 6.7 ranking for the latest Merge release, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On. The mostly positive review leaves me and other elbo.ws regulars scratching our heads as the scope of the review (generally positive) doesn’t seem to match the corresponding below 7.0 ranking. Deusner and I do share the same affection for the track, “Down In The Valley,” which he spot on describes as, “a solid four minutes of churning guitars, fizzy harmonies, and insanely catchy melodies.”
I digress and state that I think the Broken West have managed to put out a record that will find them on a lot of critics and bloggers year end lists once winter disappears and reemerges again. Yes, I’ve heard the Wilco comparisons and I really don’t notice them too much except for “Brass Ring,” which, in certain parts definitely has a Wilco vibe to it.
They’re touring with The Walkmen in March and their SXSW performance on March 14th is on my “can’t miss” list. Now if I could just get them to play here in
Buy: Strictly Discs
Myspace: The Broken West
MP3: The Broken West – Down In The Valley
Stream: The Broken West – I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On
Related: An Aquarium Drunkard exclusive acoustic tracks
February 7th, 2007 at 8:46 am
In case anyone doesn’t know and cares about this type of stuff, the title of this album is a literary reference to Samuel Beckett. That’s enough to peak my interest.
February 7th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Nice, thanks for sharing that!