orange watches & lost loves
© Copyright-grandpa's chilli
(634479819629)
Record Label: for algernon
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Loves' labour isn't lost for algernon
BY MIKE BREEN
'Orange' You Glad You Listened
for algernon is the new band from singer/songwriter Jason Wells, a strong presence on the local acoustic scene for the past three years. While he doesn't exactly sound like Mope Pop master Elliott Smith, the smoky, down-beat etherealism of orange watches & lost loves has a lot of that similar, mysterious spirit stirring within. Wells understands the use of space in songwriting -- instead of filling out every square inch of sound, he allows the tracks to breathe on their own. Besides the warmly creeping effect of his actual writing, it's what Wells does with the space on orange watches that makes it such a success. Double-tracked, quivering vocals, haunted piano, directing acoustic guitar and some drum machine beats add a depth that belies the album's humble mannerisms and lo-fi production quality.
Highlights include the melodic, buzzingly angular "The Ballad of the Orange Watch," which makes one think Indie Pop collective Elephant 6 might be making a membership drive call soon, and the aching "Jean-Marie" and "Mistaken Affections," which best show off Wells' adroit emotion-into-music ability. Elsewhere, the strings-driven "You'll Be Sorry" has the breezy glide of Scottish Twee-Pop acts like Belle & Sebastian, and "Better This Way" sports Nick Drake's hallowed mystical chime. Wells has a real, unpolished gift as a songwriter, and Orange Watches & Lost Loves is an unassumingly majestic testament.
appeared in citybeat june 11-17 2003
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The best love is that of the unrealized--we imagine its potential.
author: SWPF
This album has become an old friend that knows things about me...knows that losing time & love only brings us to where we are. I sing along with Wells in the car. I hum "Jean-Marie" while mindlessly warmimg a chair for a paycheck. It reminds me of & haunts me with the quasi-joy I find in pain. I sent it to a "lost love" thinking maybe the album will tell him what it knows.
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author: Jeremy Strickland
Jason's sophomore effort is not easily forgotten. It draws you in immediately with "The Ballad Of The Orange Watch," a fun, angular rocker set to hip-hop beats, catches you mid-set with the gorgeous minimal piano song, "Jean Marie," and begs you to sing along with the chorus of "Lincoln Logs" near the end. And after a few go arounds you'll be singing along with all the choruses, thinking to yourself, "Damn, this sad bastard can write a song."
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It envelopes you like some pleasant illness.
author: Jason Ludwig
First listen: eh, it's pretty good. But not what I had expected. But I like Jean-Marie.
Second listen: ooh, I didn't hear that part before, I like that. Hmm, that's a nice hook, I missed that one. And I really like Jean-Marie.
Third listen(immediately after the second listen): What's happening? I think I'm loving this album. And I definitely love Jean-Marie.
Fourth listen(next day): I definitely love this album. And Jean-Marie can have my baby.
That's about all I can say about this album. It will grow on you quicker than you can dismiss it as just another passive auteur album thrown into the indie pyre. It's defnitely much more than that. Wells' vocals--which throughout most of the album are one decible away from completely inaudible--and minimal but effective instrumentation both work like hand in glove with soft electronic beats that mechanically bob to and from the surface. The overall message of missed opportunities in love is not a new one, but the swirly mix of extreme fragility and tongue-in-cheekness in which Wells presents this message is all his own and demands to be heard. Did I mention I love the song Jean-Marie? In my opinion it is a beautiful and iconic song just waiting for the world to hear it. As is the album.
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