Tales From Turnpike House

Today's Music That Jason Would Be Nice To Even If He Wouldn't Really Like Its Company is St. Etienne's Tales From Turnpike House. This album is nice, I guess, and not too pretentious, but I don't really care for it. It kind of falls in the 'neo-lounge' category, which sometimes means 'trip-hop like Thievery Corporation' and sometimes means 'lite music without a shameless pop skeleton'. This album is kind of light and wistful, and doesn't really have much in the way of depth; sometimes it sounds like recycled pop straight from 1984, sometimes it sounds like the kind of awful electronic music you would expect to hear from a pristine mall store with overpriced clothing. The music is nice, I guess, but doesn't really create much of an atmosphere. Compare it to something like Aimee Mann or Iron & Wine, and it doesn't really seem to stand up. It doesn't have the aural soundscape of, say, Sigur Ros, not even close.

The only track on the album that really seems to have any effect would be the last one, "Goodnight", and even that is probably a matter of opinion. Overall this album manages to be less obnoxious and dumb than most of what you'd find on popular radio (i.e. what is marketed towards impressionable youth) but still doesn't have that much going for it. It's cute but doesn't really cover any new ground; I've probably spoken enough ill abou this album for one day.

In Other News:
Sleep continues to be a rare beast in my wilderness.