What you say
No-one has reviewed Bem- Vinda Vontade by Mice Parade yet.
What we say
 This record left our Clint feeling ecstatic.
Clint here with the new Mice Parade First and foremost this week
we have their brand new long player 'Bem-Vinda Vontade'. Sometimes I feel like
standing on the roof of Norman Towers and screaming to passers by about the
genius of this band. Why they aren't more worshipped I do not know. They
contain the world's greatest drummer (and I'm including Phil Collins in this)
they have made several brilliant albums, they often (as on this album) contain
the sweet vocals of the lady from Mum and they make the kind of complicated yet
accessible folky post rock that people hope to find in Fourtet's records. Opener
'Warm Hand in Farmland' is a dream come true. Everything I've been hoping to
hear in music for the past 3 years in one track. Beautiful multi layered neo
classical acoustic guitars, spiralling melodies, rampant drums, misery vocals.
Its 'September Reverse' by Gastr Del Sol updated for 2005. The rest of the album
follows along neatly with a much more 'pop' approach than before and so never
really falls into the slightly muso territory that maybe has marred some of
their other work (see also: Tortoise). Highly recommended CD & LP on Fat
Cat.
What the label says:
Mice Parade's fifth album, Bem-Vinda Vontade, is leagues beyond its predecessors in accessibility, coherence, musicianship... It's not often one hears an artist whose albums are so consistently different from one another, while still maintaining a clear lineage, or sense of principle, throughout. Vocals are more present than they have ever been in this once-instrumental band, while often set comfortably back in the mix. The subtle placements of complex rhythms that we've come to expect from Mice Parade are also in abundance, but the songwriting is a different affair than previous efforts, built more around the dueling nylon-string guitars of the new live setup, and delivered with a heartfelt pop warmth.
As on past records, most of the instruments were played by songwriter Adam Pierce, though a closer inspection of the liner notes will reveal a host of guests from around the world. Iceland's Kristin Anna Valtysdóttir (múm, storsveit nix noltes) sings her surreal heart out on two tracks; including the radio single Nights Wave. Drummer Doug Scharin (June of 44, HiM) appears twice as well, along with Dylan Cristy (Dylan Group). These folks are all in the live band, which toured across the country with Stereolab last year on the way to their own sold out 7-city tour of Japan. It was there that Adam met with Ikuko Harada (lead singer of Sony Japan's gold-selling Clammbon, whose 2003 album he co-produced). Ikuko sang on Ground As Cold As Common in both Japanese and English. Marc Wolf (Tower Recordings) and Rob Laakso (Diamond Nights, Swirlies, Lansing-Dreiden) chime in as well with additional guitars.
Half of Bem-Vinda was recorded with Interpol engineer and long time friend x%x% bandmate Peter Katis, at his own Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT. The other half was recorded in the basement of Adam's home (as was all of the last album and many before it) in Mt Vernon, NY, the last stop on the subway out through the Bronx. The recordings were done with the same principles in mind that people have come to connect with Mice Parade, where music doesn't need to be a perfected presentation. For example, all tracks are recorded acoustically in real time with microphones. There is never any computer programming or sequencing, contrary to the past assumptions of critics and fans alike. There are some songs where edits have been made on a computer, perhaps for shortening a part that was too long or connecting parts together, but the fast flickers of guitar that guide us through the transition between tracks 2 x%x% 3 - for another example - are all recorded to a rolling reel of tape and played repetitively. Many people do such things, always have, and Mice Parade has never meant to declare anything about such old-fashioned methods, but after the course of several albums, the same questions are often asked by writers and others so we just thought we'd clear it up. Additionally, most individual tracks as well as final mixes are captured in only one take each. The idea is not to hide from a mistake in performance, but to accept imperfection as natural and human.
Bem-Vinda Vontade translates from Portuguese into something like 'Welcome, Will' and can be considered a sister album to last year's Obrigado Saudade, which [very, very roughly] becomes 'Thankyou Nostalgia.' The resulting phrase - obrigado saudade, bem-vinda vontade - is intentional. And to some, musical. |
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