Pale Young Gentlemen
Pale Young Gentlemen
© 2007 Pale Young Gentlemen (707541880329)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
Chamber pop/rock
tracks
- 1 Fraulein
- 2 Me & Nikolai
- 3 Saturday Night
- 4 My Light, Maria
- 5 Clap Your Hands
- 6 Up North
- 7 A Shadow on the Wall
- 8 As a War
- 9 An Appeal to St. Peter
- 10 Single Days
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notes
For a time, every indie band had a cellist. Their moody sawing didn’t always fit the music, but it sure added a whiff of high art to the most naive material. Pale Young Gentlemen have a cello player (she’s a pale young woman, not a gent), but their music requires one — just as it requires cabaret-style piano, an exaggeratedly fey vocalist and beats drawn from 19th-century dancehalls and Eastern European folk music. Imagine Jacques Brel dancing with Bartok and Freddie Mercury, and you’ll have some idea of how the delightfully arch “Saturday Night,” “Fraulein” and “My Light, Maria” come off. Singer/keyboardist Mike Reisenauer adds drama to every track, punctuating his romantic evocations of young fellows undercut by unrequited love, sad-sack workers in search of a single white night of relief, and young gallants on the make with histrionic stage whispers and extended sighs. And his fellow players are never thrown by his flourishes.
To be sure, the Pale Young Gentlemen’s mix of 19th-century ennui and 21st-century indie-pop isn’t for everyone, but it’s very accomplished. In fact, one album into their career, the Pale Young Gentlemen have smoked most of the pop-rock acts working in Madison today.
-Tom Laskin, Isthmus
reviews
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Innovative
author: Bill GarlandWow. This album is the most innovative collection I have heard of in ages. It's restoring some of my faith in new music -- too bad you really have to go searching for terrific music like this. But I'm sure glad I found it. Thanks so much. Great work.
Excellent, but hopefully a sign of more to come
author: Matt JenningsI can't stop playing this album. Everytime I think I have picked out my favorite track ("Clap Your Hands", then "Up North", now "An Appeal to St. Peter") I find another one. The only complaint I can make is that the album's length (about 30 minutes) leaves you wanting more. And I'm not sure that is really a complaint.
Haunting
author: Rex in Austin, TXI downloaded Fraulein and Saturday Night from the myspace page, and immediately placed them in heavy rotation. The baroque instrumentation provides an agreeable backdrop to the vocals which exhibit a solemn pomp juxtaposed with genuine vulnerability. I have since purchased the album and it is solid start to finish; my only hope is this band gains a critical mass to substantiate a tour into my neck of the woods.
Two ears up!
author: Chris in WinnipegThis fun album can surprise with moments of seriousness and an almost haunting tone. "A Lady of a Certain Age" is one of my all time favourite songs. Great lyrics and unique sound!
weekend
listen to this album. i feel mood of billiant weekend. i love this mood.
epic
author: Joedelightful piano melodies abound. Refreshing music in the indie scene.
recommended
author: Brianthese songs are unique, catchy and piano-driven. definitely lo-fi, and i mean that in a good way. the cellist provides a counterpoint to the piano. the music has a kind of vague eastern european feel to it, but i also hear a 1960's ray davies influence in the vocals and the songwriting. the drummer does a nice job of propelling the songs forward. PYG do not sound like anything else being done today, and they deserve credit for that.
fun!
author: bethhey! why has no one reviewed this album! this is so fun and original. it has a 19th century sound with some crazy melodic twists and a contemporary beat that makes you want to dance