Koester
Oh! Turpentine
»
Koester
Oh! Turpentine
Pitch-A-Tent, 2000
RiYL: Will Oldham, Cracker, Leonard Cohen, Flaming Lips |
Koester has a knack for lyrical imagery, and his husky vocals are in the front of the mix, allowing the listener to relish every detail. On "The Winter Only Lasts So Long," he paints vivid seasonal pictures with simple but evocative phrases such as "i'm wasting away these skinny days" and "February falters and lifts its gloom." On that same song, he opens a verse with "Seventeen magazines strewn across the room," and that extra detail in the first word, uttered in Koester's intimate voice, makes all the difference in infusing the song with a sense of presence, whether he's talking about an amount of periodicals or the title on their cover.
Koester likes to juxtapose first-person and third-person lyrics, delving deep into impersonal descriptions in one song's verse, only to burst out with a first-person chorus declaring his love or interest in the subject he's been describing. In this sense, he compels listeners to pay attention, as the shifting points of view cause confusion to the casual observer.
He also proves eloquent and unconventional in his descriptions of the various women that pop up in the course of the record (Barbara, Valerie, and Carolyn to name a few). The record opens with one of these: "Quick-witted / and unkind / unusually sublime / she wore her hair up like a teacher," Koester intones at the start of "Bucktown." He follows that up with an inventive couplet that shows a humorous, welcoming side to his somewhat imposing voice: "Ass just like a peach / made me wanna make a speech." Koester usually drops at least one highly memorable line per song.
The music on Oh! Turpentine is a collaborative effort, involving members and ex-members of such indie notaries as Maki, Drunk and Verbena. The instrumentation is never overwhelming, content to create atmospherics supporting and surrounding the songs. Most of the tunes have a heavy backbeat and a slow progression, but they tend to rise to climactic points where guitars, keyboards, and various percussive instruments all contribute to the guiding melody.
Fans of so-called "alt-country" and the more rural aspects of modern rock should enjoy Oh! Turpentine on many levels. Koester presents an immediate, engaging set of songs that come together with surprising ease, and it makes for a powerful debut.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.