PO: Minor Victories - Minor Victories LP (Members of Slowdive, Mogwai, Editors)

[Derek™]

5 hours ago, The Ghost of Randy Savage said:

I really like Out to Sea for it's slow build, and I've always been a fan of reverb-soaked vocals that get pushed kind of the the backround. The feeling I get from the song actually reminds me a lot of the M83 track Steve McQueen, the quieter build to a really triumphant sound.  Not to get to Gumbo-y, but that song makes me feel like I can do anything. It's weird.

 

 

I can totally see what you're getting at, there.  Triumphant is a very apt descriptor for the heights that song achieves.

[Derek™]

Just read the Pitchfork review for kicks.  This is my favorite part.

 

Quote

Minor Victories have wisely shied away from billing themselves as a supergroup, a term that implies a degree of star power they can’t quite deliver. They prefer the much more neutral descriptor “band.” Still, it’s impossible to separate the group from their other projects. Any band featuring Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, and Editorsguitarist Justin Lockey (along with his brother James) is going to carry certain expectations, and on their self-titled debut they live up to each and every one of them. 

The album’s creation involved a lot of emailing back and forth between members before some of them had even met, sort of a Postal Service situation only with a lot more CC’s. “We didn’t record in the same room, or at the same time,” they write in the album’s liner notes, “to be honest we probably didn’t start off with the same vision.” Shared visions are irrelevant, though, when you have a lineup of players with such defined lanes. The album’s sound feels preordained: Slowdive’s sighing shoegaze, Mogwai’s cinematic wanderlust, and Editors’ gloomy riffage are all represented, and in more or less equal measure. 

If there’s one thing all three of those bands have in common, it’s that you if you’re reading this site you probably know what they all sound like, but you probably can’t hum any of their songs off the top of your head. That’s not a knock; like a lot of acts from their respective scenes, those groups prioritized aesthetic statements over strong songwriting voices. That sonics-first mindset inevitably carries through Minor Victories, too. On opener “Give Up the Ghost,” Goswell sings broodingly about black roses and the blood surging through her veins, but it’s mostly an excuse for the song’s gothy ambiance, buzzsaw guitars, and moody orchestral accents. “A Hundred Ropes” and “Folk Arp” are even more sweeping, with even more dramatic string arrangements. Everybody in the group clearly knows their way around a studio, and the album rarely sounds less than superb.

What’s missing, though, is the central promise of a supergroup: the thrill of hearing established musicians in a truly different context. 

Par for the course, Pitchfork.  Bravo.

[Canuckle]

I think those two phrases are meant to compliment each other, although they do sound contradictory when ordered the way they are. If I put them in the following order, they make more sense...

Quote

 

What’s missing, though, is the central promise of a supergroup

(Thus) Minor Victories have wisely shied away from billing themselves as a supergroup

 

Sounds like PF expected much more than was delivered, and punished them for it (which they do on a regular basis). They did the same with EL VY, and with a much harsher review. Either way, no one should be banking on reviews for albums they are looking forward to (from PF, CoS, Rolling Stone, NME, or wherever). Take it in as a fan, and if it hits you the right way then that's all that matters. /sap

 

Back to the album, I haven't given it a spin yet, but if the collab is anything as good as EL VY was I'll be pretty happy. 

[batman]

anyone else check out that 'orchestral variations' release they put out for black friday RSD? i stumbled upon a copy earlier at a local shop but passed on it at $34.99. listened to the two tracks they've posted online and i'm floored. luckily grabbed a copy from 1-2-3-4 go's leftover sale. this might end up being even better than S/T. 

[achillesstand7]

I also picked it up after hearing the two tracks online. Haven't listened to the actual LP yet, but I'm hoping to do so tomorrow. Sounds really cool from what I've heard. 

[throwgncpr]

anyone know where to grab the RSD release online?

[levitz]

Amoeba

[throwgncpr]

It was gone when I checked 4 minutes after they went live. I was able to snag one at Melody Supreme though.

[glass realms]

This was really the only RSD BF record I wanted. Was lucky that the one shop I went to had a copy. It's good to finally hear the rest of the album after have the 4-track e.p. from Rough Trade for a few months.

[youspinmeround]

These Are Just Instrumental Versions Of The Album, Correct ? 

[batman]

7 minutes ago, youspinmeround said:

These Are Just Instrumental Versions Of The Album, Correct ? 

nope, completely reimagined.

 

In a statement, Justin Lockey said of Orchestra Variations:

 

I don’t really know that much about music in terms of theory, notes, scales etc. I generally just fuck about with things until it sounds right to my ear... So I guess to call this album ‘Orchestral Variations,’ it would have to be in the loosest ever sense of the term. 

When we were putting together the Minor Victories album, a lot of the music came about through string arrangements, motifs, melodies, countermelodies and other such noodlings I was messing about with. This record kind of takes it back to that initial point, and re-imagines the whole record from that standpoint–the bare bones, the hint at a vocal melody, not relying on any backbeat–but stripping the songs back to the base elements and then piece-by-piece making an entirely new record. It takes the songs and elements around them and the phrases into a new place, mostly born out of hindsight and I guess a curiosity to fuck around with it all long enough until it sounded right to my ear. From all that an entirely new record was formed. It’s not a remix album, or b-sides... it’s just another way at looking/hearing things.

http://pitchfork.com/news/69217-minor-victories-slowdive-mogwai-editors-announce-new-album-share-video-for-new-song-cogs-watch/

[ExtraFox]

There are a couple of Pre-orders up for the UK version of this (Rise in Bristol and Rough Trade). Cheapest is £35 ($43.50)!!!!!!!!!!!

[Roandy55]

Currently still in stock here.

 

http://www.easystreetonline.com/UPC/767981159119/Minor-Victories_Orchestral-Variations-

 

[toomanyrecords]

Had a dude from a Facebook group hook me up with this because my store didn't have it. After tax shipping and a tip it came to 44 bucks. Feeling like a fucking scrub. 

[drds89]

Edit: sold

Edited December 2, 2016 by drds89
Sold

[danyc]

Got the clear Orchestral Variations for Christmas and while the music is great, it's not a quiet pressing, sadly. Anyone else experience this? 

https://www.discogs.com/Minor-Victories-Orchestral-Variations/release/9416635

Seems others have had this issue based on the comments at discogs. Thinking of asking Fat Possum about this, not really as a way to bitch, but maybe to see what they say. Feel like I saw there is a wider release coming out in the new year, so maybe they would replace these, if people want. 

[throwgncpr]

I commented on the discogs listing, but yeah, mine is a bit noisy

[jrodan]

weird, I didn't notice mine being noisy at all.

 

also, I wish they would put this whole thing on Apple Music. Prolly won't be up til the wide release, but still. I wanna listen at work.