Spin is streaming a song off of Tim Kasher's upcoming solo debut, The Game of Monogamy, today. Titled "Cold Love," the track is replete with female backing vocals and a surprisingly slick production sound. And on first listen, I really, really hate it.
Kasher made a name for himself in the 1990s fronting Cursive before forming The Good Life as a side project. While Cursive's sound was abrasive and pained, The Good Life acted as an outlet for his softer, more acoustic songs. Between the latter's Domestica and The Ugly Organ and the former's Album of the Year and Black Out, Kasher's music caught my ear and never let go. The almost atonal guitars and vocals in Domestica were a vehicle for whatever teenage angst had a stranglehold on my life a few years ago (yes, I came to the game late). With The Good Life, his mellower songwriting and instrumentation helped me transition into a more tender Slant-Rhyme.
But this new song...I just don't know what he's trying to do. While Cursive's later albums (Happy Hollow and Mama, I'm Swollen) were definitely departures from their earlier material, there was still a similar undercurrent. With "Cold Love," I don't feel that at all. The vocals are still recognizably Kasher but the fancy production and cheesy supporting vocals scream...something completely different. Stylistically, the musical difference isn't that different from Against Me!'s defection from their "anarcho-punk" leanings.
I was a huge fan of Against Me! and their first two albums (and a number of their EPs) are still among my sentimental favorites. Then came Searching for a Former Clarity and New Wave. They had already dabbled in electric guitars and less anthemic fist pumpers with their sophomore effort, As The Eternal Cowboy, but their following two releases eschewed their punk leanings almost completely. Similar to Kasher's new song, Against Me! retained Tom Gabel's familiar vocal rasp but changed everything else. Streamlined and polished until it was a sterling example of how some bands should just call it quits before they completely alienate their early fans.
Then again, when Elliott Smith stopped recording everything alone in his basement with a four-track, everything worked out eventually (not so much for him, but for people who enjoy his music). Sure, he hired a band and a horn section for XO and Figure 8, but it didn't seem as forced. It was more a sign of Smith maturing as an artist and taking advantage of more resources to create something more. That could just be the benefit of hindsight, though.
On the other hand, Kasher has been straying away from autobiographical lyrics less and less over the course of his last few releases. Domestica and Black Out were intensely personal albums, both the result of his divorce, and the raw emotion was a driving force behind the music. Kasher is now happily (I assume) married again and it could be making him complacent in his songwriting. With the release of Happy Hollow and Mama, I'm Swollen, Kasher was still writing about topics that were clearly important to him (religion, love, etc.) but his sentiments were starting to ring hollow. With "Cold Love," nothing hits home.
Anyway, just my thoughts. Link below so you can check it out for yourself.
Tim Kasher - Cold Love
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I never liked him. I think he is a whiny little child who just moans on and on about his past relationships. He is a drunken loser who is only slightly known among high schoolers.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I think he is a total douche.
And cursive has one of the WORST drummers in the history of drummers. I have seen three year olds beating on pots and pans with more talent.