REVIEWS OF "WHAT IT IS" ........................................... Randy Harward: CMJ New Music Report Issue: 765 - Jun 03, 2002 Cordelia's Dad may well be the first band suitable for both the alternative rock crowd and the congregation of a snake-handling church. Indeed, the group's rocking takes on traditional and sometimes creepy folk tunes bridge a vast culture gap, with delightful effect. The rock, however, has steadily slithered to the forefront on each of the band's four prior studio albums and on What It Is, the trio (Tim Eriksen, Peter Irvine and Cath Doss, also known as the indie-rock threesome, Io) again dials it up a notch (Praise Jesus! Pass the diamondback!). Sonically, some of the folksy aesthetic is lost, but the stark, vivid lyrical imagery remains (On "Camille's Not Afraid Of The Barn," a barn with a piss-and-cigarette stench is sung into holographic existence. The image of horror-stricken "Brother Judson" and his catatonia is depicted simply but effectively). That's not to say the rootsy sounds aren't entirely forsaken: "Dark and Rolling Eye" boasts the fiddle of erstwhile member Laura Fisk, and if you listen closely, you can hear acoustic instruments amidst the din. But why nitpick or analyze? What It Is is just plain good. ........................................... FEED Magazine: By Aaron Tieger: June 2002 http://www.americanfeedmagazine.com/tiegerinner6102002outer.html ........................................... WHAT IT IS, Cordelia's Dad. Kimchee Records This is the seventh album from Cordelia's Dad, and the first real rock album since 1996's road kill. That album was a collection of live tracks documenting what at the time was a finished era for the band, when it seemed that they would reserve the name Cordelia's Dad for acoustic music, and continue to rock out under another name. For various weird reasons that didn't end up happening, and now the band seems to have reconciled itself to its apparent stylistic schizophrenia. This is the seventh album from Cordelia's Dad, and the first real rock album since 1996's road kill. That album was a collection of live tracks documenting what at the time was a finished era for the band, when it seemed that they would reserve the name Cordelia's Dad for acoustic music, and continue to rock out under another name. For various weird reasons that didn't end up happening, and now the band seems to have reconciled itself to its apparent stylistic schizophrenia. This is also the first rock record featuring the longtime lineup of founding members Tim Eriksen, (middle voice/guitar/stuff) and Peter Irvine (low voice/drums/drum) in addition to Cath Oss (high voice/bass guitar/hero accordion). Which is ironic, because structurally it's most similar to the band's 1989 debut: primarily electric, with a few acoustic and unaccompanied vocal tunes. It's almost impossible to say who Cordelia's Dad sounds like. Adjectives that spring to mind are angular, weird, fierce, tender, pure. There's raging guitars, catchy choruses, and solemn hymns. As far as specific comparisons go, the band has often cited The Ramones and the ballad collections of Anne and Frank Warner as primary influences, and certainly they remain attached to both these sources: they rock as hard as the Ramones, and Tim's singing is definitely indebted to singers like Lee Monroe Presnell and Frank Proffitt. Their songs, too, remind me of both sources: "Song of the Heads" features a Ramones-esque "sha-la-la" pre-chorus as well as a simple-yet-effective rallying cry: "What goes around comes around," and the album's genuine love song, "Leave Your Light On" is weird enough to be personal, yet abstract enough to connect it to the ballad-singing they do in their acoustic mode. But in combining these influences, Cordelia's Dad transcend both. The album ends with "Song of the Heads" followed by "Brethren Sing," an unaccompanied three-way harmony piece dating back to 1848, about the redemptive powers of music. I can't help but be reminded of something like the very end of the Ramones' debut, "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World" (not the Nazi stuff at the beginning, the very very end). Not in lyrical content, because on this level the words don't matter: I don't give a fig for Jesus or Heaven, but the propulsive harmonies of the hymn put me in exactly the same state of mind as the I-IV-V of The Ramones. It's hard to single out particular tracks on the album. Each deserves an essay and at the same time needs no explanation. The opener, "Camille's Not Afraid of the Barn" is one of Tim's best songs yet, with verses like "There's a barn that smells like piss and cigarettes, something locked up tight inside, tonight we'll squeeze between the fear and the dark, and see what this town has to hide." Though the main guitar is acoustic, by the song's end we are graced with distortion and feedback. It should be a classic, something on mix tapes alongside "Rockaway Beach" and "Surrender" in the backseat of a beatup car. "Five Way Flashlight" is another great one. "Five way flashlight/five way flashlight tag like phosphorescence in the waves/I've seen fires from the air against midnight snow/When you flew over could you see the flashlight in my hands?" What the hell's it about? Doesn't matter, it makes perfect sense. Featuring both trombone and throat singing, this breathless, hushed tune evokes a sense of frenzied wonder. About all I can confidently say about "Little Speckled Egg" is that it's a weird song about an egg. Tight, bouncy verses; a whistling break; a crashy bridge; a thundering, thundering noisy instrumental section followed by a tried-and-true punk-rock start-and-stop this is everything rock ought to be. "Dark and Rolling Eye" is the sole acoustic track on the album (featuring former member Laura Risk on fiddle) and it fits right in. A great, somber trad tune about paying a minister's daughter to screw, then getting VD. I've heard them play this countless times and I still get chills. (Ditto "Hammer," one of their spookiest). One of the best things about Cordelia's Dad is their optimism. Far too much bullshit has been spouted about the link between misery and creativity, the dependence of the latter on the former, etc etc, ad frigging nauseam. Dig this: "The night will squeeze between the fear and the dark/and see what this town has to hide"; "Get that upswing/fuck that down thing drop that down talk/go for a walk get those boots on/shake that dust off"; "All I ever want or wish to know/that all is clear above and calm below": the songs on this album prove that joy and resolve can be just as inspiring as angstridden moping. These songs have been around for awhile (the album was recorded by Steve Albini and Mark Alan Miller between June 1997 and June 1999, and the band had been playing some of them for several years prior), and it's a little strange that it's taken so long for the world to hear them. It's also more than a little sad that due to various personal circumstances, there will likely not be a major national tour behind the album. Cordelia's Dad live is a profound physical and spiritual experience. The only real problems I have with the album are "Idumea"? I guess I should take it as good that there are more songs in the vault, waiting. To sum up what Cordelia's Dad is all about, dig "Eyelovemusic," because if it's not a manifesto then it's at least a mantra: "I love music, and I love there is sadness in every song. Sweet sadness says too much cool is bad for struggling hearts. I love music, and I love hear the overtones." Too fucking right. With thundering drums, fierce guitars, and the coolest harmonies in rock, What It Is is not only the band's best rock album yet, but one of their best, period. To sum up what Cordelia's Dad is all about, dig "Eyelovemusic," because if it's not a manifesto then it's at least a mantra: "I love music, and I love there is sadness in every song. Sweet sadness says too much cool is bad for struggling hearts. I love music, and I love hear the overtones." Too fucking right. With thundering drums, fierce guitars, and the coolest harmonies in rock, What It Is is not only the band's best rock album yet, but one of their best, period. ........................................... Actionattackhelicopter.com: Michael A Cavagnaro: June 2002 Cordelia’s Dad just can’t seem to make up their mind. About half of this album is Puller-esque rock-n-emo, and the other half is folk-inflected ballads and even an a capella number. Perhaps this dichotomy is due to the fact that What It Is was recorded at two different times, partly in 1997 with Steve Albini and partly in 2001 with Dinosaur Jr. producer Mark Allan Miller. To their credit, the album’s not half bad. Ha ha, get it? Anyways, vocalist/Guitarist Tim Eriksen has that Michael Stipe/Gene Eugene vibe to his voice, which suits the sometimes gruesome, always melancholy tales just fine. The addition of female harmony vocals, horns, violin, and either a didgeridoo or throat-singing -- it’s hard to tell -- add a haunting edge to many of the more Americana-sounding songs. I like what Cordelia’s Dad is trying to do, but I think that the album suffers from its multiple personality disorder. Personally, my tastes lie more towards the haunting, macabre Sixteen Horsepower/Slim Cessna’s Auto Club scene, so I wanted to hear more of the "traditional" side of the band. Maybe next time around, they’ll focus on that aspect more. ........................................... Cordelia's Dad Album Title What It Is Date of Release 2002 AMG Rating 4 stars Genre Rock http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Awjkxlfwe0cqo AMG EXPERT REVIEW: While just a basic trio, Cordelia's Dad compose a far greater and larger sound than imagined, moving from the early alternative rock of the nineties Seattle scene with a tablespoon of jazz and R.E.M. traces on Upswing, a moody and winding track. Inhaler recalls Canadian cult rockers The Tragically Hip, a mix of jazz ideas on a slow tension building arrangement. Lead songwriter Tim Eriksen has a downbeat vocal ability like Dave Matthews and Michael Stipe, particularly on the somber and melancholic Eyelovemusic. A number of the jazz touches have a Middle Eastern or Indian element to them, as Five Way Flashlight this trait perfectly. But the album's greatest asset is its ability to move through different ideas, none more so than the hymnal and gorgeous Despair, resembling mountain music. The highlight track would definitely be the stellar Rock Me (To Sleep), characterized by a deliberate hard rock and beefy rhythm like Led Zeppelin or even Creed. The quality of the music though can't be defined, as the group resort to a Ralph Stanley style on the final Brethren Sing. This is a definitive album that is not easy to define. ........................................... Basement-Life.com: Peter D'Angelo http://66.9.86.135/ They're a folk act, they're a rock band, they sing a capella traditional hymns, and they do it all fairly well. Cordelia's Dad is back with their seventh record, and it contains a beautiful hybrid of styles that share a common base in Americana inspired music. With a trio of vocalists, including guitarist Tim Eriksen - who's slow drawl bears a striking resemblance to that of Michael Stipe - Cordelia's Dad dabble in incredibly slow tunes full of atmosphere and feeling. The styles on the record shift about halfway through, with the beginning of the disc having been put together in 1997, and the latter tunes coming from a 2001 recording with Steve Albini. Things do get a bit weird by the Albini sessions, especially with the ominously gothic lyrical tendencies and the lengthy "Rock Me (To Sleep)" which sounds a bit too much like REM covering Tool. Earlier moments feature quieter arrangements with a folk core and less abrasive acoustic accompaniment. While the record certainly has some odd segues and a bevy of styles, they make for a disc that keeps the listener guessing and is full of surprises. Sure, not every one of the twists is for the better, but when the handful of Real gems, including the solemn "Dark And Rolling Eyes," do kick in, Cordelia's Dad make up for any past indiscretions. REM fans may find this to be especially appealing, but the broad range of styles and subjects can be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys laid-back intelligent rock with solid folk roots. ........................................... http://highbias.com/: Michael Toland http://highbias.com/ Boston's Cordelia's Dad started out a decade ago as an electric folk power trio, playing traditional American folk tunes in a punked-up rock & roll style. After a couple of albums in that vein, leaderTim Eriksen decided to make Dad an all-acoustic affair, while continuing the electric explorations with original songs in a band called Io. Dad has since become a well-respected institution in the folk underground, while Io seemed to just fade away. Only in nomenclature, apparently, since Eriksen revives the songs and sound under the Cordelia's Dad banner for What It Is. Though the general sound recalls the band's earliest days, to say this is a return to former glories is a mistake. Eriksen isn't the same musician now he was then, and his tunes are a slightly odd combination of the early American folk music he's been trafficking in for years and guitar-based indie rock. Power chords and unconventional melodies carry his impressionistic poetry, and his thick-toned guitar and droning vocals (the main influence on which seems to be bagpipes) lead the way. Bassist/singer Cath Oss and drummer Peter Irvine offer dynamic support. Seriously rocking tracks like "Brother Judson," "Song of the Heads" and "Little Speckled Egg" are balanced by ballads like "Leave Your Light On," "Hammer" and "Eyelovemusic." There are a couple of folk songs present in "Dark and Rolling Eye," "Despair" and "Brethren Sing," the latter two of which come from the a cappella shape-note tradition. The band sounds equally comfortable with both approaches, setting the stage for future blendings of both sides of its personality. With What It Is, Cordelia's Dad makes a genuine breakthrough. ........................................... HTTP://WWW.INK19.COM: Stein Haukland A surprising turn-around from Cordelia's Dad, this, who have dragged their bedroom folk to hell and back, and return with what is, essentially, a vital rock album, all lo-fi cowpunk and a straightforward, if fresh-sounding rock approach to the material. Proof, if nothing else, that contemporary folk music has more in common with punk rock than either of them might readily admit to. Here, Cordelia's Dad come across like a prime-time Husker Du performing in a slightly more pastoral register, and a song like the beautiful, dreamy "Inhaler" combines the weird with the sweet into a mesmerizing sort of freak-out post-folk rock. Absolutely brilliant. Elsewhere, there is the head-on attack of "Camille's Not Afraid of the Barn," thatís nothing but heartbreakingly good, and there's the exhilarating "Brother Judson," sounding as if Sonic Youth suddenly dropped their pretensions to record some down-home all-out rock (in a weird time-signature, of course). A bit like Pernice Brothers, perhaps, but looser, with more of a band-quality to it, as if the playing itself, the discovery of new worlds as you go along, is at least as important as the rendering of finished melodies and words. Cordelia's Dad have made a disturbing but hugely impressive album that sees them adding a whole new approach to their already far-reaching musical horizon. It's a bold move, but one they emerge from in stylish manner. ........................................... http://www.slugmag.com: Jaime Gadette Ahhh, a refreshing breath of air has been sent by producer Steve Albini to fill a musical void. This "folk-rock" band transcends categorization by experimenting with a collage of eclectic instruments and vocal stylings. "What It Is" features vocals reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel in tone, and of mountain top choirs in harmonies. Its rambling, ode-like lyrics are pleasurable enough to stretch a smile across your face while the snap-dragon drumming grabs onto your ears until the last track has faded. "Little Speckled Egg", "Five Way Flashlight" and "Hammer" spin stories around random concepts that wouldn't be too out of place on a Pixies reunion album recorded live in the Ozark mountains. I highly recommend this album for it is truly a well-crafted product of a hard working group of North Easterns. At the very least, put that Warped Tour comp back in the bin in favor of a band that defies conformity. ........................................... The Noise, the strange-but-ubiquitious Boston rock paper: Jesse Thomas The last dozen years or so have brought about a number of second-string post-grunge sub-par rock acts, from the typical (STP) to the downright awful (Candlebox). Fortunately for us, Cordelia's Dad have managed to bring together all the best aspects of this genrem, and raise the bar for the future. Reyling on strong vocal performances, driving rhythm guitar, and a splash of studio trickery (the Tuvan throat singing on "Five Way Flashlight" is awesome; the trumpet or trombone on "Inhaler" is less than), Cordelia's Dad have assembled an excellent rock record. It was produced (in 1997) by Steve Albini (Nirvana, the Jesus Lizard) and (in 1999) by Mark Alan Miller (Dinosaur Jr.), and it shows, especially in the Low-esque "Hammer." WHAT IT IS brings me back to the mid-90s, and that's not a bad thing. This album would appeal to fans of K's Choice, the aforementioned Low, and just about anyone interested in guitar-driven rock 'n' roll. Too bad they're about six years too late for a decent Lollapalooza. OTHER STUFF ........................................... There is a lengthy piece in the magazine Sing Out!, which came out in Fall 1999. Click here to check out Cordelia's Dad Interviewed by Auger/Anvil. Check out July, 1998, issues of CMJ New Music Monthly and Mojo We have extensive press clippings of reviews from newspapers and many magazines, including Rolling Stone, FolkRoots, CMJ, and so on and so on. --------------------------------------------- Questions? Drop us a line! band@cordeliasdad.com ---------------------------------------------