After Toby Hayes left Judy Garland-inspired, post hardcore math-peddlers, Meet Me in St Louis, in 2007, you may have been forgiven for fearing the worst upon hearing he had a new musical venture.
The scenario of ‘singer-dumbs-down-previous-band’s-less-accessible-sound-in-bid-to-get-rich-and-laid-lots’ is not new. Just ask Chris Carrabba or Chad Gilbert.
However, Hayes’ solo project, Shoes and Socks Off, carries forward much of MMISL’s unique musical outlook into an arguably more mature musical direction.
His 2008 low-fi debut, From the Muddy Banks of the Melitzer, was a one voice plus one guitar affair. It showed a brave willingness to experiment with discords and unconventional melody. It is the perfect repost to every run-of-the-mill, heat broken, one man and his guitar: it marries lyrical thoughtfulness and sonic maturity with honesty and accessibility.
SASO’s sophomore release of earlier this year, Hand Reared Suburban Piglet, takes the exact track-lising from the debut and transforms each song in a daringly individual way.
The result is honestly the best solo album I’ve heard since Thom York’s Eraser. Really.
Stand-out track, I’m a World Class Assassin, showed substantial songwriting talent on the first record, willing to forego standard chord sequences and timing; the schizophrenic, violin-driven arrangement on Hand Reared… is an utter joy.
Here is a live version of the original:
Similarly, the restrained digital atmosphere on Yeah, But is a perfect progression from the original’s raw materials.
This kind of direct translation is risky and any wrong moves would have surely been scorned by fans of the original.
There are many examples of when the raw honesty of a band’s first, low-budget release has been destroyed by a glitzy make-over (Fake Sound of Progress being one of the first memories for me).
This album’s sheer innovation, and the tastefulness of the rework, protects it from such worries. There is inspired and varied instrumentation at every juncture. From the xylophone of Butterfingers to the organ/radio-static combo of Raphael, Hayes never feels like he’s trying to hard or being at all over-blown.
From someone who was in Meet Me in St Louis, a band who, let’s not forgot, where once being heralded by the NME of all people as the saviors of indie (not that that’s any kind of ringing endorsement!), we shouldn’t be surprised.
Shoes and Socks Off are supporting Kevin Devine on the Big Scary Monsters Xmas tour at Clwb Ifor Bach on December 2nd.
You can, and should, buy both albums here.
4 Comments
November 18, 2009 at 7:37 am
Brilliant.
Props for Fake Sound of Progress reference as well.
x
November 21, 2009 at 9:54 pm
You going to welsh club on the 2nd then? let’s go, it will be awesome!
November 22, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Yeah defs! Huw is on board also.
December 4, 2009 at 2:06 am
[...] To Where the Skyline is Fortified With Windows and Doors, the bearded, ex-Meet Me in St Louis vocalist’s third album, is no exception to this rule. His second release, Hand Reared Suburban Piglet, saw Hayes replicate the exact tracklisting of his intimate, one-man-and-his-guitar debut, with an inspired mix of full band, unusual instrumentation, and electronica arrangements. I called it the best ’solo’ album since The Eraser. [...]