|
|
| 1 | Jacques Cousteau Says Hi | | | | 2 | To Those Who Found Us | | | | 3 | Love Theme from Calypso | | | | 4 | Elegy for a Lost Brother | | | | 5 | Gadfly in Isolation | | | | 6 | Franz Josef Land | | | | 7 | Fr Louis at the Summit | | | | 8 | Lost Transmission | | |
|
| 2006 |
Lost Transmissions
|
|
Digital File |
|
| |
|
BradL
[Rating9844499]
|
Here's why you should never rush into writing a review, kids. About three months ago I would have given this three stars. Which would have been more a judgement about me than about Pickering Pick. See, I liked the record, and I certainly admire the fact that Sam wanted to try something new ... but it just didn't click for me. It may have been that I was then obsessed with Trafalgar, which remains my favourite of his albums. But there it is -- I just didn't think he was playing to his strengths. Or, rather, to my taste.
Patience is rewarded. As I've become more familiar with Lost Transmissions, and my expectations dropped out of the way, I've grown to love it -- love the way its warm, heartfelt songs are both contrasted and supported by the electronic, sculptured moodiness of the music. (Leonard Cohen did something similar on I'm Your Man, now I come to think of it.)
And the songs! Have I told you about how literate Pickering Pick can be? If Will Oldham or Bill Callahan wrote a song as intelligent and touching as "To Those Who Found Us", critics would be sticking it high in their top ten lists. As it is, Pickering Pick remains a secret known principally to those on RYM. Lucky us. |
|
SeaBelt
9/10
Digital
[Rating6114165]
|
On Lost Transmissions Pickering Pick steps effortlessly into a new pair of shoes. Not so much a complete departure for him as it is a slight change of scenery. An atmospheric and endearing set of songs all part of the same family yet each with its own distinct, sometimes quirky personality. I don't know how he does this every time out, music seems to flow naturally from him, never sounding forced, never putting a foot down in the wrong place regardless of the direction he chooses to travel in. We've got a unique talent on our hands here, and we should be celebrating this music more often. "Elegy for a Lost Brother" is my favorite, touching and beautiful, wish I'd written it. The album in its entirety is a pleasure and my appreciation for LT has only grown with repeated plays. Give it a spin now. |
|
tobeanecho
Digital
[Rating5977435]
|
Pickering Pick's Lost Transmissions is life music -- and what I mean by that is these songs could be playing at almost any point in your life and they would seem like part of your own soundtrack. I liked 2005's Trafalgar and Waxwing, but this one is something on a different level. It's spacy at times, moving and simple and easy to relate to, both sad and joyful, and in all of it you can hear... well, love, if I may be so disgustingly lame as to use that as a term to describe songs.
I kept searching my brain to figure out what this album was most reminding me of, because I knew it was something that I really loved, and I knew it was something that was a "classic." After much thought, I've figured it out: Lost Transmissions reminds me of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. It doesn't seem like it's on purpose, and frankly there may be nobody that gets that out of the album except for me, but I have gone there, sister. It's not the content (Bowie's "Five Years" is the only one that I could see fitting in with Pickering Pick's songs), it's just the demeanor of the music.
And it's damn near as good, too. "To Those Who Found Us" just jumped at me on the first listen, the second and best track on the album. It sounds haunted, not haunting. "Gadfly in Isolation" has the same sort of thing going for it. They don't sound sad and they don't seem like they have the intent to remind you of things you'd rather forget, but it's just kind of what happens. Actually, it's when the piano takes the lead on "Gadfly" that I just went, "Goddamn, this is good," and I stopped even thinking anymore. This is great music that should be heard by anyone with even a minor interest. Wonderful songwriting and the type of moodiness that I like out of my music. |
|
Kevvy
The Top Tier, The Hall of Fame
Digital
[Rating5877210]
|
Picture yourself at the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport. If you can't picture it, then imagine an airport that you can show up three minutes before a flight is scheduled to depart and still make the flight (because it happened to me today). It’s a chilled out airport in a chilled out province, and it's the first impression a lot of people have of the great city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and it's one of the many places Lost Transmissions integrates itself with your surroundings.
Still picturing yourself at John G. Diefenbaker? Good. Now imagine you're passing time between flights. You're sitting at a bench with your carry-on luggage and watching the usual airport fare. Happy couples reuniting at the arrivals gate, families pushing luggage racks while trying to maintain control of their children, severely underweight or severely overweight security guards trying on their best serious faces... it's all a bit hectic under a wide-angle lens. If you're ever going to focus in an environment like this, you'll need inspiration.
Now you pop in your earbuds and spin Lost Transmissions and the music makes you take notice of the background happenings that you've been overlooking. You see a child struggle to stand still as a complete stranger (your stereotypical art student with a blonde Amish beard and a plaid suit jacket over a t-shirt with a stark slogan) takes a picture of the child's entire family in front of a "Welcome To..." sign. You catch the art student making fun of the camera he just used to his ever-conservative looking mother. You feel how she ignores him. To the left there's a woman obviously trying to do the bare minimum amount of cleaning required to still make the food-court tables look presentable. She keeps most of the rag in her fist so that no one notices how filthy it actually is. She pretends that she didn't just make eye contact with you.
Lost Transmissions is a bold step forward in the growth and musical evolution of musician Pickering Pick. These songs still maintain the heart of folk music in all its storytelling glory, while sonically they expand into atmospheric realms of electronic exploration and electric musings. The great songwriting you should expect from Pickering Pick is still there, but it's splashed on a completely new canvas.
This is music delicately crafted to heighten your senses and bring out the best in them. Do yourself a favour and play of copy of Lost Transmissions to yourself as you set out to explore the familiar. You'll be pleasantly surprised with what you find. |
|
barlights
Buy On Amazon
Digital
[Rating5881386]
|
Sam Pickering Pick sneaks up on RYM with has third album in just over a year. Once again, he does not disappoint, but instead chooses to surprise us with a musical change of pace. "I'm not a man who takes risks," he sings in the first line of the album on "To Those Who Found Us" (the first song is instrumental), but that clearly is not the case with Sam. Gone are the acoustic guitars of albums passed, replaced here with deep electric basses and rich electric guitars. At moments, particularly on the opener, "Jacques Cousteau Says Hi," he sounds influenced by Sufjan Stevens, but throughout I am more struck by a sense of indebtitude to Air. "Franz Josef Land" is a song the French duo only wishes they could produce, and "Lost Transmission" is nearly its equal.
That being said, the hallmarks of a Pickering Pick album are here - lyrics that make you think and demand your attention, and a fantastic voice that always hints at an underlying sadness. Perfect for late nights reading a book or surfing RYM.
Pickering Pick's albums are ususally themed, and he does not make an exception here - these are odes to early 20th century exploration, mainly nautical and arctic. At a little over 32 minutes, my only complaint is that I wanted more. This is not my favorite album of his yet, but I remain highly impressed by the consistent quality of his work. RYM is lucky to have such a fine artist-in-residence, and the tracks will soon be available for download. I strongly encourage RYM's users to give it a listen once they are. |
distribution | CD | | 1 | | CD-R | | 4 | | Digital | | 43 | | Other | | 1 |
|
| | Digital |
| | Digital |
| | Digital |
| | Digital |
| | CD |
| | Digital |
| | Digital |
| | Digital |
| | Digital |
| | CD-R |
| | Wishlist |
| | Digital | |
|
|
rym
