Spiral Stairs
“Dance (Call Wolf)
Doris And The Daggers
I always loved Pavement so much. And Scott Kannberg has always been one of my favorite songwriters. Well, when I heard that Kannberg was going to be releasing a new Spiral Stairs album, I was beside myself. And let me tell, the nine year wait was worth. This is a great album. I had to quote his promotional blurb, because it’s so spot on:
The songs range a wide sprawl of moods and subjects. The gleeful, charismatic “Dundee Man” essays a golfing trip to Scotland Scott made with old friend Paul Esposito (“It’s a travelogue,” says Scott, “but it’s also about a guy who’s, like, really proudly Scottish. It’s a great pub song.”). The moody, horn-shaded “Trams (Stole My Heart),” with its melancholic visions of blankly riding trams “from town to town”, is one of a clutch of songs Scott wrote during his sojourn in Australia (“Pig City” and “Vultures Of Caboolture,” the other two chapters of this Brisbane trilogy, will surface as B-Sides later on, and are well worth tracking down). The anxious, paranoid narrative of album opener “Dance (Cry Wolf),” meanwhile, is leavened by a stomping, danceable vibe, with Scott allying chords with a Wire-ish feel to a Roxy Music, David Bowie groove. “It’s positive, a kind of ‘Dance away the pain’ thing,” says Scott.
“Dance (Cry Wolf)” is one of my new favorite songs. It is so wonderful.