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 LEE
RANALDO – Between The Times And The Tides (Matador)
By Mark Weinberg
When the news broke in late 2011 that Sonic Youth’s
Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon were dissolving their 27-year-marriage,
it sparked off an Internet wildfire. Questions arose from
the HTML ashes: What happened to true and eternal love? What
led to this decision? Will the band ever perform or record
again? Did anyone see this coming?
Of all the myriad reactions, perhaps that last interrogatory
is the most intriguing. It is against this unexpected, and
somewhat dark, subtext that we are handed this new 10-song
collection, Between The Times And The Tides from
Sonic Youth’s other guitar player and consummate
underdog, Lee Ranaldo. Whatever the motivation may have been
for releasing a solo album at this point in his career, the
record has arrived. And, fortunately, for many SY admirers
(and likely this effort will attract some new fans), this
album is a solid arrangement of jangly, at times folksy, rock
that is at once a fresh but also familiar aural tangent. Many
tunes are actually catchy and hook laden -- did not really
see that one coming.
Whether or not these songs were inspired as a response to
Ranaldo’s personal experience of potentially being forced
to step away from his main gig, there is a comforting and,
to a degree, peaceful vibe resonating from the melodies and
minor keys. There is a decidedly romantic motif running through
the lyrics (“Someone in the crowd has got me falling
at her feet” “I long for your lips which I hope
to kiss” “I need to see your face tomorrow, just
an hour or two before you go”) and the songs themselves
evoke a similar poetic and sentimental energy; there is a
certain warmth coming off these tape reels. As the LP spins
forward, it quickly starts to feel like a friend you have
known for a long time. The output is by no means perfect,
but it does help soften some sharp edges around you.
Ranaldo strides out of the gates confidently with four electric
songs that peak your interest, drawing you into his new sound
world. Standout “Off The Wall” and the later “Lost
(plane T nice)” are memorable tracks reminiscent of
REM’s off-kilter pop, while “Fire Island (phases)”
echoes the alt-country design of Wilco. A glance at the liner
notes confirms that Nels Cline (lead guitar player of Wilco)
is featured on these recordings. Although Cline’s influence
and performance are easily recognizable, his involvement adds
a layered quality that is beneficial to the material.
Even though Ranaldo has been in the game for over 30 years,
Between The Times is being billed as his solo debut.
While that may be somewhat of a misnomer (or a marketing tool),
this is his first entirely rock-based offering and, in part,
it does have that wide-eyed feel of a musician summoning his
talent, eager to make his imprint heard. Perhaps Lee is even
self-aware. Just seconds into the pulsing opener, Ranaldo
sings, “Everybody’s hustling for a place on the
screen.” It’s a crowded musical landscape these
days, but listeners should be comfortable accepting this addition
to the scenery.
The album does lack continuity in spots and clearly not all
the songs connect. “Hammer Blows” feels like a
lesser John Fahey jam, with vocals thrown on top. The closing
track, “Tomorrow Never Comes,” is a psych rock
exercise that never fully lifts off the ground. Putting the
pros and cons of this outing aside, we surmise that when music
is at its best it has the power to transform our thoughts
and take us someplace away from our own minds and daily routines.
While this record will not change your life, it is a pleasant
enough way to span a few moments cruising around inside someone
else's dream.
JerseyBeat.com
is an independently published music fanzine covering
punk, alternative, ska, techno and garage music,
focusing on New Jersey and the Tri-State area. For
the past 25 years, the Jersey Beat music fanzine
has been the authority on the latest upcoming bands
and a resource for all those interested in rock
and roll.
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