REVIEW: Aaron McMullan - Yonder! Calliope?
We'll walk through my dukedom
And a paradise we will share
Even though most of this professional debut disc's songs document Aaron McMullan's personal hell in searching for the best of himself, the music calms.
Mostly accompanied only with guitar, McMullan sings in an Irish scratch, where even a ballad such as "Sinead in Savage Purple" has the listener on edge. Yet still it calms.
"Yonder! Calliope?" is not a multi-mood disc. If you're angry it may be the perfect accompaniment. If you're happy and you know it, it may be perfect. But it won't be all things to one person. It's not pop music. It has feeling, layers and acoustic, rock-folk-punk striation. While a listener can enjoy the background of McMullan's voice while doing something else, his is music that usually stops you enough to think about what's being said.
That can be inconvenient, so it's not for all moods.
"Blue from Black" makes the introductions to a man who has something worth saying. A growling guitar and the Irish intensity commingle, where emerging from the black is a revelation, but won't guarantee never returning: Faces to the left and right and ahead of me while they fade with their twisting, snarling inside of me move from black in front of me.
"Sketches in Broken C" is the most mass-media friendly, neither a compliment nor condemnation. It's just that it follows the strictures of pop, something catchy repeated often. It starts as if set inside a continuous conversation and evolves through the imagery of piss and shit snarling with jealousy. About 1:20 in, the drums literally kick in and push the song into a rolling, lolling toe-tapper. This one may stay in your brain for a while, having that same meandering conversation with your thoughts.
In most any venue where McMullan throws himself it's his passion for existence and experiences that comes across most. He may feel alone at times, but clearly he's not. Aaron McMullan, formerly known in small circles as Duke De Mondo, gets passion and enthusiastic friendship in return, often sincerely disbelieving he's worth the attention. Yet, fighting against this disbelief blankets "Yonder! Calliope?" like Stephen King's "The Mist."
When he plays with others, nervousness dissipates. That's where frequent co-collaborator Ryan Flemming seems to play an important role. Though the hip-hop world is infested with unnecessary collaborations, McMullan would benefit from the synergy of another or others, allowing the release of different elements of his own voice.
Occasionally, as in "City Country City", that voice phlegms up, like he's singing half underwater, though whether he's sweeping up or sinking down is a matter of debate. It takes a couple of bars to clear the song. The possible (wildly speculative) explanations are numerous as to why.
One that I like is that Aaron McMullan was taken with uncertainty and a sparring bout ensued. There's more sound in this tune and it builds; clapping, banging plastic surfaces with metal and wood ballistics. There's whistling, there's odd auralities, moans, chants, that are all designed to "accidentally" fit together. On top of that he's supposed to lay down the lyrics while trying to avoid crashing-upon-itself cacophony.
It's ambitious to want to spruce up the sparsity and with the passing pleasant aroma of "Day in the Life" this one rides the edge of controlled chaos and crap, falling on the less brown side. As everything else goes on, it's his voice that still dominates "City Country ..." The Northern Irish timbre is strong and brings the memory of all the country's painful history and, to the untraveled ear can amaze just by existing. In the same way Americans are stunned by a black man with a "cultured" British accent.
Aaron McMullan is self-confessional about near self-destruction in a post-teenage wasteland of doubt. Though any quick scan of the man's writings shows a wide range of music loves, "Yonder! Calliope?" is more about the tradition of Irish music - dark humor through language play and earnest, seriousness combined.
The other overall quality that makes the disc worth listening to is an increasingly rare focus on lyrics, and meaning. It's worth it to examine what's being said, you get something new each time. The 20-something McMullan's world - at least through this disc - is one of stepping back into memory. And not stepping back very far.
These songs are clearly not trying to solve what are usually thought of as the world's problems - conquest, war, famine, death. However, the title asks, about a concept that plagues everyone - being stuck and getting out. Whether that's being stuck in a rut, stuck in a relationship or just stuck trying to bleed out creativity, we all ask, "Where's my inspiration?"
This disc can help you find it because it's clear McMullan struggles like anyone else. He is not content to just pour out rubbish but he wants, passionately, to present the best of himself.
Inspiration comes of all kinds. All kinds are not worthy of passing on to an audience. The self-flagellation must have continued while recording "Yonder! Calliope?", punching himself in the head at every note, every inflection that sounded off to him. And now, McMullan is going to have to promote and spend time with this album, but his music will have already moved on to new things.
The musician, now amused, can snort at my presumptions and laugh at being reviewed at all.
___________
TRY IT OR BUY IT
Listen ::: Last FM, Aaron McMullan
Buy ::: I-Tunes
Buy / Listen ::: Ex Libris Records
View vid-eo and other items at Exlibris Records - they're doing him up a treat.
And a paradise we will share
Even though most of this professional debut disc's songs document Aaron McMullan's personal hell in searching for the best of himself, the music calms.Mostly accompanied only with guitar, McMullan sings in an Irish scratch, where even a ballad such as "Sinead in Savage Purple" has the listener on edge. Yet still it calms.
"Yonder! Calliope?" is not a multi-mood disc. If you're angry it may be the perfect accompaniment. If you're happy and you know it, it may be perfect. But it won't be all things to one person. It's not pop music. It has feeling, layers and acoustic, rock-folk-punk striation. While a listener can enjoy the background of McMullan's voice while doing something else, his is music that usually stops you enough to think about what's being said.
That can be inconvenient, so it's not for all moods.
"Blue from Black" makes the introductions to a man who has something worth saying. A growling guitar and the Irish intensity commingle, where emerging from the black is a revelation, but won't guarantee never returning: Faces to the left and right and ahead of me while they fade with their twisting, snarling inside of me move from black in front of me.
"Sketches in Broken C" is the most mass-media friendly, neither a compliment nor condemnation. It's just that it follows the strictures of pop, something catchy repeated often. It starts as if set inside a continuous conversation and evolves through the imagery of piss and shit snarling with jealousy. About 1:20 in, the drums literally kick in and push the song into a rolling, lolling toe-tapper. This one may stay in your brain for a while, having that same meandering conversation with your thoughts.
In most any venue where McMullan throws himself it's his passion for existence and experiences that comes across most. He may feel alone at times, but clearly he's not. Aaron McMullan, formerly known in small circles as Duke De Mondo, gets passion and enthusiastic friendship in return, often sincerely disbelieving he's worth the attention. Yet, fighting against this disbelief blankets "Yonder! Calliope?" like Stephen King's "The Mist."
When he plays with others, nervousness dissipates. That's where frequent co-collaborator Ryan Flemming seems to play an important role. Though the hip-hop world is infested with unnecessary collaborations, McMullan would benefit from the synergy of another or others, allowing the release of different elements of his own voice.
Occasionally, as in "City Country City", that voice phlegms up, like he's singing half underwater, though whether he's sweeping up or sinking down is a matter of debate. It takes a couple of bars to clear the song. The possible (wildly speculative) explanations are numerous as to why.
One that I like is that Aaron McMullan was taken with uncertainty and a sparring bout ensued. There's more sound in this tune and it builds; clapping, banging plastic surfaces with metal and wood ballistics. There's whistling, there's odd auralities, moans, chants, that are all designed to "accidentally" fit together. On top of that he's supposed to lay down the lyrics while trying to avoid crashing-upon-itself cacophony.
It's ambitious to want to spruce up the sparsity and with the passing pleasant aroma of "Day in the Life" this one rides the edge of controlled chaos and crap, falling on the less brown side. As everything else goes on, it's his voice that still dominates "City Country ..." The Northern Irish timbre is strong and brings the memory of all the country's painful history and, to the untraveled ear can amaze just by existing. In the same way Americans are stunned by a black man with a "cultured" British accent.
Aaron McMullan is self-confessional about near self-destruction in a post-teenage wasteland of doubt. Though any quick scan of the man's writings shows a wide range of music loves, "Yonder! Calliope?" is more about the tradition of Irish music - dark humor through language play and earnest, seriousness combined.
The other overall quality that makes the disc worth listening to is an increasingly rare focus on lyrics, and meaning. It's worth it to examine what's being said, you get something new each time. The 20-something McMullan's world - at least through this disc - is one of stepping back into memory. And not stepping back very far.
These songs are clearly not trying to solve what are usually thought of as the world's problems - conquest, war, famine, death. However, the title asks, about a concept that plagues everyone - being stuck and getting out. Whether that's being stuck in a rut, stuck in a relationship or just stuck trying to bleed out creativity, we all ask, "Where's my inspiration?"
This disc can help you find it because it's clear McMullan struggles like anyone else. He is not content to just pour out rubbish but he wants, passionately, to present the best of himself.
Inspiration comes of all kinds. All kinds are not worthy of passing on to an audience. The self-flagellation must have continued while recording "Yonder! Calliope?", punching himself in the head at every note, every inflection that sounded off to him. And now, McMullan is going to have to promote and spend time with this album, but his music will have already moved on to new things.
The musician, now amused, can snort at my presumptions and laugh at being reviewed at all.
___________
TRY IT OR BUY IT
Listen ::: Last FM, Aaron McMullan
Buy ::: I-Tunes
Buy / Listen ::: Ex Libris Records
View vid-eo and other items at Exlibris Records - they're doing him up a treat.
Labels: acoustic, irish music, new music, review
1 Comments:
Hey Temple, my blog got zapped and stolen! (bastards)
You can find me now at
www.niffiner.blogspot.com
By Jennifer Lankenau, At October 2, 2007 12:38 PM
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