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Album Details
- Artist: Dani House
- Album: How We Eat The Sun
- Label: Ablated Sealskin Records
- Year of Release: 2011
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: carlito on 2011-07-23
Media
RecommendI'm always a little nervous when reviewing a Lo-Fi record. You don't know what you're in for. It's a hit or miss. Sometimes you get rare greatness, many times just crap. But usually, you get a bit of both. The band is Dani House. The album is How We Eat The Sun.
There are plenty of influences to be heard in DH's music: Punk, Rock, Metal, Country, Folk. It's hard to nail them down into one all-encompassing genre. But they seem to be at their best during the more intimate ballads, where it's really just voice, guitar, maybe some light percussion, and I think I heard a banjo on a few occasions.
"If I Could Be An Animal" is a wonderful little song with a tinge of bluegrass--an influence that seems to make an appearance in a number of tracks. "Thursday Afternoon" is another ballad with some nice harmonica solos. The song reminds me of Nirvana for some reason. I think it's the lead's voice. It has a Cobain quality to it.
My biggest struggle with How We Eat the Sun is not the Lo-Fi quality but rather the amount of time DH wastes on tracks like "Eh Fuck" and "Orange Juice" where all you hear is someone mumbling, "Orange juice. Is that what you want?"
There are plenty of high quality Lo-Fi records out there. Producing one in today's do-it-yourself music market is easy enough that every musician is without excuse. Dani House is a talented band for sure; they can be quirky and funny in one moment and then surprise you with some beautiful music in the next. But some of the songs sound like they're just goofing around in their parents' garage (i.e. "Nutter Butters"). There is nothing wrong with that, but you don't need to put it on the album, and shouldn't if you want to be taken seriously.
As far as I can tell, Dani House needs to find the balance between creativity and professionalism. Music is art, yes, but it's also a product. So don't ignore the customer.
**Editor's Note: After posting-review and fan-feedback, for what it's worth, further research shows this to be a one-man band**
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on 2011-09-30 DangerMarvin Said:
I must disagree with ME's review of this record on the grounds of the biased opinion of the album's professionalism. Lo-Fi records present themselves as a more personal product than major label releases, and this has become a much more sought after quality in music in recent years. One can offer the example of modern anti-folk artists such as Jeffrey Lewis, or the Moldy Peaches, whose records often featured a roller coaster-esque display of songs differing greatly in style, quality, and conventionality.
This being said I think "How We Eat the Sun" is a pristine example of what it means to be an independent artist in the US today. It reveals a young growing artist who is ambitious and knows how to express himself; yet still needs to find his voice, which can be difficult when running from instrument to instrument exploring unknown territory. I think, however this is a more virtuous attribute to a musician. Music can only evolve when an artist takes what he hears or already knows and explores it further. Such as the case of "Nutter Butters", a sort of punk, a'cappela rap laced with psychedelic sound effects. Other examples such as "More Than My Life", and "I Was An Android" feature a folk basis, with an abstract psychedelic atmosphere, with distorted slide-guitar or electric organ respectively.
Many of the songs also feature a classic folk-ballad style of lyrics, yet they are obscured into a strange dream-like environment with equally strange imagery. A prime example of this is the charming "Thursday Afternoon", which is a sweet song with rather bittersweet lyrics. House almost seems to be straddling a fence between contentment and apathy, with lines like "I feel like I'm invisible, but I don't mind|I'm shaking off the winter." Overall the song has a beautiful flow and arrangement, with folky harmonica bits and a spacey electric piano accompaniment.
Regarding transitional tracks such as "Eh Fuck" and "Orange Juice", rather than writing them off as useless and suggesting they be omitted, I say in defense that many artists with longer records disperse transitional tracks throughout to ease the tension of hearing song after song; much akin to a performer telling a humorous joke or anecdote between songs at a live performance to make the audience feel more of a part of the performance. I don't believe there is anything wrong with this, more so I believe more artists should make the effort to create a more unique and personal product when releasing recorded music, fans will be more willing to buy records that present something more exclusive and personal than an LP consisting of 12 songs of equal length and unaltered stylistic qualities.
This is a new age of music, and we need to start treating it as such.
Rating: 7/10
on 2011-07-23 GodSpeedYouSparkster Said:
I belive that Dani House is one guy doing everything. Recoring it all one at a time. Id fix your review lol.
Not Rated
on 2011-07-23 GodSpeedYouSparkster Said:
I belive that Dani House is one guy doing everything. Recoring it all one at a time. Id fix your review lol.
Not Rated
