0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September14, 2010 - 7
. Sparse but sweet
By EMMA GASE
DailyArts Writer
Though The Walkmen come from
New York City, a place oversaturated
with indie-music
royalty, they have
always managed to
aggressively assert The
their relevance in
the music world (see Walkmen
single "The Rat" Lisbon
for evidence of said
aggression). After Fat Possum
storming the scene
with their debut Everyone Who Pre-
tended to Like Me is Gone in 2002, The
Walkmen turned a more sullen corner
with 2008's You £t Me.
On the band's most recent effort Lis-
bon, lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's
voice rings clear, and we can actually
distinguish the lyrics, which are, in
traditional Walkmen style, exasper-
ated and frustrated.
Lisbon suggests a band that has
taken a rather large chill pill. Think
less "band spitting bile" and more
"Grizzly Bear precision." Lisbon is
comprised of taut songs that don't
overstay their welcome and economi-
cal arrangements that are the musical
equivalent of "portion control."
The opening track "Juveniles" hap-
pens to be the best on the entire album.
The Walkmen take
a chill pill.
Leithauser registers better vocal
control than ever before as he belts
"You're one of us/ Or one of them."
The carefree, summery mood is skill-
fully crafted, tricking the listener into
believing it's effortless. Upon a closer
listen, the intricacies unfold them-
# selves in the song's closing minute as it
all comes together in triumphant, jan-
gly crescendo.
"Blue as Your Blood" tiptoes in with
a restless-sounding guitar line accom-
panied by drummer Matt Barrick's
barebones tick-tock tapping that fur-
thers the uneasy mood of the song. You
can practically taste the anxiety in the
relentless and static beat. The spare
arrangement allows Leithauser's voice
to take center stage, which serves as a
soothing and melodic counterpart to
an otherwise austere arrangement.
"Stranded" is a strange waltz
complete with slow-building brass
arrangements. Poignant as well as
melancholy, it wouldn't sound amiss
in the ending credits of an indepen-
dent film. Resignation and dejected-
ness are evident as Leithauser moans
"There's broken glass all around my
feet / Laid my plans so carelessly
/ Whats the story / With my old
friends?"
However enjoyable The Walkmen's
refreshing sparseness may be, sparse-
ness and directionless do not mix well.
"Follow the Leader" is a skippable
rambling on guitar that sounds more
like the band warming up before a
live show than a slick, label-produced
track. Far from even attempting to
have a melody, even the usually cap-
tivating voice of Leithauser is, for the
first time, abrasive. Fear not, however,
for the song is over very quickly and
anti-climactically.
Lisbon succeeds as a guitar album
without relying on the usual guitar
histrionics. The clear Television-like
tone and lack of adornment (save for
the horns in "Stranded") in produc-
tion really lets the guitars stand out.
Despite the inherent simplicity, the
band fills out the arrangements with
minimal instrumentation and no obvi-
ous overdubs, which takes a great and
rare skill.
So often now, bands fall on one
of two sides of the spectrum: sloppy
and drunk garage-rock with a lazy
throwback to-fi recording style, or
on the other side, pretentious lush
instrumentation that hangs like an
over-produced Spector-wannabe haze
throughout the whole record. The
Walkmen have thankfully managed to
avoid both of these unfortunate mis-
steps, and shall rise a little higher in
the NYC music royalty ranks because
of it.
T H E
SA L Ii M E
COURTESY OF FAT FOSSUM
There are 12 things in this picture used to attract males age 18-35. Can you find them all?
'Resiet
Behold the video-game
movie that doesn't
completely suck
By KAVI SHEKHAR PANDEY
Daily Film Editor
Holy bazingas. Who would have thought
that such an esteemed film critic as yours
truly would ever strongly
recommend a "Resident
Evil" movie? Well, it's hap-
pening - "Resident Evil:
Afterlife," the fourth film
in the franchise, is an abso-
lute blast. Yes, the Earth
is still round and Ter-
relle Pryor still can't read
"Green Eggs & Ham," but
there now exists a video-
Resident
Evil:Afterlife
At Quality16
and Rave
Screen Gems
entertaining action sequences. Plus, there's
a negative correlation between the number
of movies in a franchise and the quality of
each successive film. So pseudo-statistically,
the fourth "Resident Evil" looked like it was
goingto be a blah-fest.
Seriously, it's not. But this is still a bit of
a precarious review. The handy-dandy star
rating and forthcoming gushing really only
apply for those familiar with both the "Resi-
dent Evil" films and video games. The film
doesn't bother with exposition - without
watching the previous three films, "After-
life" won't make a lick of sense.
The opening sequence, in which Jovov-
ich (naturally clothed in skin-tight leather)
slices through hundreds of dudes in a corpo-
rate hideout whilst performing crazy-cool
acrobatics, is agreat example of this. It looks
superb and offers some tremendous stunts,
but would be epically confusing for anyone
who hasn't seen the previous film, subtitled
"Extinction." Even though "Afterlife" soon
changes gears to post-apocalyptic Los Ange-
les and becomes a more straightforward "get
from point A to point B before zombies mur-
der us" tale, viewing the first three films is
an advised prerequisite.
Those who have played through the video
game "Resident Evil 5" would appreciate
"Afterlife" the most, as the film is chock-full
of winks and nods to fans of the game. Sur-
prise characters from the "Resident Evil"
canon pop up in this film alongside an intense
throwdown with the undead, axe-wielding
Executioner and a climactic fight against the
annoyingly shifty super-badass Albert Wes-
ker (Shawn Roberts, "Edge of Darkness").
And man, do these battles look gorgeous,
especially because of the 3-D. As it proudly
proclaims, "Afterlife" was shot using the
3-D cameras created by James Cameron.
So unlike the post-converted 3-D trash that
hit screens earlier this year (see: "Clash of
the Titans"), 3-D in this film is used to cre-
ate an enveloping experience, much like in
"Avatar." Nuclear explosions and slobbering
zombie attacks have never felt more up close
and personal.
The film's story isn't particularly arrest-
ing, but it doesn't have to be - the action
carries the film. Many people are sure to
be frustrated by the unbelievably excessive
use of slo-mo, but think of it as the director's
attempt to let the audience appreciate how
damn beautiful everything looks. "Resident
Evil: Afterlife" is a solid enough cinematic
experience to make renting the first three
and plowing through them worthwhile, just
to prepare to watch the newest one in the-
aters. You've all seen "Inception" four times
by now, so it's OK to turn off your brain and
watch zombies get slaughtered for 90 min-
utes. In 3-D!
game movie that totally does not suck. With
stunning action choreography, the intense
charisma of Mila Jovovich and incredible
use of 3-D, "Resident Evil: Afterlife" is tons
and tons of fun.
Agreed, part of this love for "Afterlife"
definitely stems from the low expectations
coming in. The first three movies were all
fairly mediocre, watchable only because
of an intriguing storyline and handfuls of
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