Ought
Sun Coming Down
Reviewed by: Max Miller
In my write-up of Hopscotch Music Festival for this very publication, I described Ought as playing “springy nerve-rock.” At the time, it was just an off-the-cuff means of describing their sound without listing comparable groups or resorting to that all-too-vague label of “post-punk.” Upon listening to Sun Coming Down, the Montreal group’s sophomore LP, I’ve realized I can more specifically pin down a description without utilizing non-specific genre gibberish or name-checking a billion groups. Now, it will only take three.
One of the things that always bothered me about coverage of Parquet Courts was when critics would invariably compare them to Pavement. In my opinion, any similarities between the two groups are negligible. Pavement are, after all, one of the most influential bands of their era within the circles in which Parquet Courts and Ought run. It’s like comparing any band that ever picked up guitars in the ‘60s and wrote a bunch of tunes with four-part harmonies to the Beatles; you’re probably correct, but only in a very macro sense. Ought, too, reminded me, in this sense, of Pavement. The reason behind this hazy connection, it turns out, is a single common denominator that was an influence on these three groups.
Pavement are known for blending a vast array of touchstones — from Jonathan Richman to the Grateful Dead to the Replacements — throughout their career. But on their much-lauded debut Slanted and Enchanted, one band in particular stands as an undeniable influence. In fact, Mark E. Smith was so incensed by Pavement’s similarities to the Fall that he decried them as a rip-off act. The Fall are the Rosetta Stone in this scenario. Neither Parquet Courts nor Ought sound like Pavement so much as all three sound like they’ve listened heavily to Hex Enduction Hour.
That’s not to say Sun Coming Down is not without its charms. Although Tim Keen’s motorik beats, Ben Stidworthy’s melodic basslines and Tim Darcy’s chiming guitar chords and stark vocal delivery (perhaps the most blatant Fall nod, with Darcy affecting a close facsimile of Smith’s distinctive accent) all seem familiar, the eight tracks on this album each sound distinct and nuanced enough to show that Ought have at least studied their influences more than cursorily. While some cuts like “Celebration” and “The Combo” condense their anxious energy into upbeat punky numbers, others like “Sun’s Coming Down” and “Beautiful Blue Sky” evoke a Krautrock-like trance, with the latter cutting out all instruments but the drums and Matt May’s keyboards for a moment as Darcy sings, “I am no longer afraid to die, ‘cause that is all that I have left.”
May’s contributions are perhaps the most unique aspect of Ought’s sound that goes far more unnoticed on record than it does during their live show. His keys are tuned in such a way that they create a distorted, tinny sound that passes ably for a second guitar. The way this tone mingles with Darcy’s guitar adds to the hypnotic quality of their music in a live setting, but rarely seems as present on Sun Coming Down. It’s just one reminder that Ought still have a lot of growing to do as a band. If they widen their range of influences a little and work on capturing the essence of their live performance, perhaps in twenty years a million bands will be compared to them.
Rating: Listenable
