The Top 20 Albums of 2011
#9 Supermodel: To The Mountains
Words by Dirk Calloway
The bit that gets me about that song is the vocal at 1 minute in. My god, that's basically Freddy Mercury. Supermodel's lead singer, when he's on-form, can tear the roof of a bar. It helps that he's backed up by harmonies from the rest of the band that are spot-on. This is grand, operatic and big-dumb-fun rock. In a weird way, the song above (Want To Move) reminds me a little of an oldschool Status Quo song Burning Bridges. The best song though, is the mini-eruption that is the album's titular track:
It's a slow build that they often use to open their sets / begin an awkwardly-forced encore. To The Mountains executes that Freddy Mercury howl just right, to introduce a thunderous Muse-like buildup, which then segues into a Strokes-esque stomper. Amazingly, the track's energy seems to have been completely expended, so it just... stops. Admirable, considering the group's been influenced by artists who could variously be described as overwrought, self-indulgent and show-boats. Not Supermodel though: they're done when the song itself is done. There's no point stretching something out beyond its natural length, and I think they recognise that wonderfully in the song above. If you're not convinced of the band's genius yet though, you should check out one more song, Game of Kings:
It's piano-driven and sticks to its swung beat throughout, even giving a moment for the rhythm section to shine. And what a backing line they are; the bass-lines that Michael White lays down on this record are stunningly intricate. There are flourishes where a lesser bass player wouldn't bother, and they keep my ears in a permanent state of disbelief throughout. I'm not used to such melodic bass hooks in modern rock. It's a pleasure to listen to his sterling work, especially when its delivered in lock-step with their tight drummer, Tony Kemp. Frankly, it's a pleasure to listen to an album this good made by fellow Kiwis. You can download the album here.
Thanks for reading another post in this series. Tomorrow's review will be about another group of New Zealanders. Read up on the past editions here.
Preface: I listened to, shall we say, quite a few albums that were released in 2011. I also love writing lists and reviewing things, so I combined these activities to come up with this annual list of the year's best records. Each day I review another album from the 'Top 20'. Today we're up to #9, and we've only got eight more to go. Catch up on the other 11 entries here.
Supermodel are the first New Zealanders to make it into the 'Top 10' this year. They'll be joined by one more group. Supermodel's debut album is called To The Mountains. It did quite well last year, sales-wise. To quote their website, the record "topped the iTunes rock category on the first day of releasing.... And it didn't stop there. In the first week of release, Supermodel entered the IMNZ charts at No. 4, and landed No. 37 in The Official RIANZ Top 40 Album Chart." Not bad for a Kiwi group's first record (especially considering the likes of Adele topped the charts pretty much all year). Check out their lead single Blondie below:
Good, no? It's equal parts Muse, Queen, ABBA, and, well, Blondie themselves. In my mind, this is the closest to "arena rock" that New Zealand's seen since the likes of Shihad and HLAH roamed the airwaves. The great thing is, when they play their tunes live, they sound exactly like the music video above. Every vocal line is always perfect, the rhythm section are tight-like-a-tiger and the tempo is hard'n'fast. This is a band that has staying power, probably because they're musicians first and rock-stars second:
The bit that gets me about that song is the vocal at 1 minute in. My god, that's basically Freddy Mercury. Supermodel's lead singer, when he's on-form, can tear the roof of a bar. It helps that he's backed up by harmonies from the rest of the band that are spot-on. This is grand, operatic and big-dumb-fun rock. In a weird way, the song above (Want To Move) reminds me a little of an oldschool Status Quo song Burning Bridges. The best song though, is the mini-eruption that is the album's titular track:
It's a slow build that they often use to open their sets / begin an awkwardly-forced encore. To The Mountains executes that Freddy Mercury howl just right, to introduce a thunderous Muse-like buildup, which then segues into a Strokes-esque stomper. Amazingly, the track's energy seems to have been completely expended, so it just... stops. Admirable, considering the group's been influenced by artists who could variously be described as overwrought, self-indulgent and show-boats. Not Supermodel though: they're done when the song itself is done. There's no point stretching something out beyond its natural length, and I think they recognise that wonderfully in the song above. If you're not convinced of the band's genius yet though, you should check out one more song, Game of Kings:
It's piano-driven and sticks to its swung beat throughout, even giving a moment for the rhythm section to shine. And what a backing line they are; the bass-lines that Michael White lays down on this record are stunningly intricate. There are flourishes where a lesser bass player wouldn't bother, and they keep my ears in a permanent state of disbelief throughout. I'm not used to such melodic bass hooks in modern rock. It's a pleasure to listen to his sterling work, especially when its delivered in lock-step with their tight drummer, Tony Kemp. Frankly, it's a pleasure to listen to an album this good made by fellow Kiwis. You can download the album here.
Thanks for reading another post in this series. Tomorrow's review will be about another group of New Zealanders. Read up on the past editions here.
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