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It occurs to me, while deciding what to say about this album, that not all art is appreciable by all people. While I can appreciate how much effort and proficiency an artist might put into their work, I might also not really enjoy the work for its own sake, simply because of my personal preferences and taste. This does not invalidate the piece of art, but neither will I spend much time looking at it.
That said, I bought the new album, "Waiting" by Look Left at Anthrocon this year. LL has been one of my favorite bands, ever since downloading "The college years" from itunes. I fell in love with those indie, folk-rock sounds, heavy on the acoustics, wrapped up with sweet harmonies. Ever since "Master of Tiny Shoes," LL's 3rd album, they've been becoming more and more experimental, diverting into the occasional comedic song, accapella-heavy songs, among other artistic strokes. Such experimentation is always a good thing, and I took it to mean that the band was becoming more comfortable in their abilities, and was branching out thematically. I liked it, for the most part.
That is, up until "Waiting."
Now don't get me wrong: Look Left has only been becoming more and more talented and proficient, and the talent in the music is apparent. However, many of the more "artistic" portions, like the brass preludes and the 49-second Pipe-orgain opening to "Two-headed Man" just didn't do anything for me. And, unfortunately, most of the songs in the album just aren't just as fun to listen to as songs in other albums.
But the album is still well worth listening to.
"Waiting" is an essay written in verse. Aside from the opening 3 songs, the album is a persuasive article, written to make the listener stop and think about the action of not taking an action: about waiting. Its integral to the human experience, but also the most glossed over. Two monologs serve to lay down a thesis expanded upon in the individual songs. Like smaller stories around a central theme. Very few albums I have ever listened to bother to even attempt this, and its artistic. And thats a good thing.
Because you can't always hit a home run with every swing. You can't write a masterpeice every time you put a pen to paper. "Waiting" is an album worth buying, because I highly doubt you've listened to anything like it. While I'll be picking out the few songs I like from the album in the end, I have no doubt that I'll come back to this album in, say, 15 years, and wonder to myself "wow, why did I ever stop listening to this?"
In the end, I cannot wait to see what Look Left puts out next. "Charity auction Ninja" and "Waiting" are certainly among their best, and this album sounds even better than anything so far. With their propensity to both stay true to what they know best, and to try things few others would, Pepper Coyote and Co. will stay on my radar for a long time to come. Those who can, Do.
Those who can't...
well, apparently they run this f*cking place
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