I'm always excited about covering bands from my hometown. Seeing what people right here, in Boise, Idaho are doing is always enjoyable, because a lot of the time, they're doing things that are really cool, despite the fact that, outside of Boise itself, not a lot of people are really paying attention. I guess, in a way, it's sort of an encouragement for people to check out things going on in their own towns that they might otherwise not think to look for. That said, when Jeremy Jensen of The Very Most contacted us to write a review of his album, and Vu sent the e-mail to me asking if I'd be interested, I was pretty stoked, and Jeremy ran it over to my house (since shipping the album across the entire country, only to ship it back to Idaho seemed rather silly to everyone). I saw these dudes about a year ago at the Idaho City Field Trip (which was moved to the Visual Arts Collective and the Neurolux in Boise, because the venue in Idaho City at the last minute revealed that they needed a really expensive insurance policy for the show to go forward). I remember them playing really upbeat, vaguely Apples in Stereo-ish pop songs, and doing one of the better Daniel Johnston covers I've heard.
Well, The Very Most have taken a lot of forms over the years, but at the core of all of them is songwriter, Jeremy Jensen writing pop songs that wouldn't sound out of place on any Elephant 6 release of the past 8 years or so, right down to the massive list of contributors playing pretty much every instrument known to man. His new album, Congratulations Forever continues that tradition, with a full band and some pretty (locally) high-profile contributors, including Kris Doty (who will definitely be the subject of an upcoming article) and John McMahon (This is where you dig out your Built to Spill albums. You know those awesome cello parts on There's Nothing Wrong With Love, and Perfect From Now On? That's him; he seems to be the go-to guy whenever people need a cello part around here), as well as contributions from friends and family.
The lead-off track, “Good Fight Fighting,” features a really cool vibraphone intro and backing secondary vocals courtesy of his sister, Rachael Jensen, also of Portland's Parenthetical Girls. The song has an upbeat, summery melody to it, and is incredibly catchy.
The second track, “Sod Off,” features a dancey rhythm and vocals by local favorite, Kris Doty. Jeremy doesn't even sing on this one, but it's a great track. I love the keyboards on it.
“Polygraph” features backing vocals from Kris Doty and a violin, a flute, and even a singing saw. I really dig how the instrumentation of this track accentuates the upbeat pop melodies of it in a really graceful way that, despite its excess, never seems like overkill.
The next track, “Neuron,” features drums and Rhodes organ played by Bales of Hey's Steve Gere (fun fact: he also played with The Halo Benders for their reunion shows last April, and he's also the only dude I've ever seen rock pigtails without looking “too hip”) and backing vocals by Julia Green. Also, vibes and clarinet. It's one of the slower tracks on the album. It reminds me a little bit of Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips.
“Profoundly Imperfect” has a really cool almost surf-rock sound to it. The reverb on the vocals sounds really cool. The drumming recalls that cool, bouncy 60's pop sound.
The album is split with a cool instrumental track, “Dodged Ev'ry Bullet Pt. 2.” It sounds like a keyboard demo, but I mean that in a good way. That leads into “Spilt, Spilt Milk,” which features cute vocal flourishes from Kris Doty. It's a softer track. Sort of Flaming Lips-ish, and Elephant 6-ish, in that it includes pretty much every other kind of thing you could use as an instrument ever. Saw, flute, vibes, bells, baritone sax. This is a really cool track.
“Love at Home” features cello, violin and backing vocals by Kris Doty all over a simple acoustic guitar progression and surprisingly tasteful “mom rock” drumming, complete with that 70's pop cymbal thing. To say I miss slow songs like this would be an understatement.
“The Word 'Almost'” continues in a similar vein, but in a more excessive way. Elijah Jensen is credited for the “whale sounds,” and the song also features violins, keyboards, and Kris Doty, Julia Green, and Zach Von House on backing vocals.
“When Not Being Stupid is Not Enough” is a Built to Spill cover, from the EP they did with Caustic Resin. The original version of this song was nine minutes long. Here, it's a three minute pop song, although it's definitely a good cover. John McMahon plays cello and Rachel Jensen does backing vocals. They make it their own, even though it still sounds like a Built to Spill song, with the trademark, almost “classic rock” rhythm style that Doug does so well.
The last track, the title track, is a bouncy pop song with no real lyrics for the first minute and a half. The slide whistle and bells are a nice touch, and Kris Doty, Sarin Jensen, and “C of I choir students” provide backing vocals. This album also features a hidden track that announces itself as “Hidden Tracke.” The “e” is intentional. It's a cool little weird thing with Elijah Jensen on vocals and a nice keyboard thing backing it.
Basically, this is an awesome, summery pop album that anyone who digs The Flaming Lips, Elf Power, Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, or any band along those lines will probably like (and probably about as good as any of those bands). Check it out! More info can be found at the album's official website. Also, there are some upcoming shows. Unfortunately, none of them are outside of Idaho.
May 31 2008, The Bouquet, Boise, Idaho
Jun 6 2008, Flying M Coffeegarage, Nampa, Idaho
Jun 27 2008, The Plastic Garage, Rexburg, Idaho
Jun 28 2008, The College Market, Pocatello, Idaho
Sep 12 2008, Neurolux Boise, Idaho
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