Name one album that starts with as good a line as, “You’ve got your knitting needles and I’ve got my sledgehammer / you get judgmental and I get a stammer when I’m nervous / I get a stammer when I’m nervous.” and I’ll give you the evil eye.
Aldona’s Daughter by Stunt Lover is a head rush of an album. Buzzsaw guitars, punk rock rasp with a melodic slice. Attitude by the bucket load and extremely good production values. Although I know through conversations with Kaylee that they would have preferred a rawer/rougher production I think it works.
This collection of songs have been sequenced in such a way that it manages to create an emotional reaction that worked on me extremely well when I first heard this album all those months ago. I’m sure there are people in and around Salford who have been highly amused by the guy punching the inside of the roof of his banged up Fiat 500 as the song, the Stepping Stone inspired ‘SCAB’, blares out at number 11.
But hey, this isn’t just one note punk rock. It has depth. A real songwriter’s edge and arrangements that serve the songs very well indeed. Which leads me to the anthemic, ‘Fear of Falling’ another song about relationships that cuts deep but fuck if it doesn’t give you something to sing at the top of your lungs.
4 songs in and we hit, ‘3 dreams’ with it’s Morricone styled guitars which in turn takes on a dream like quality. Harmonica sounding synths drenched in reverb sit in the mix giving it space and a sense of otherworldly experiences, floating just about the clouds. It’s clever but not self satisfied, it serves the song beautifully. And then the backwards guitars hit and it becomes cinematic and epic and you have to shake yourself down ready for track 5.
5th track in and we hit, ‘SkyBelow’. A song that I would easily qualify as beautiful, honest and raw. The first timeI heard this I genuinely welled up. Lyrically it tells you everything and you feel like an intruder but fuck me if it isn’t about the delivery. It morphs and switches musically in an effortless manner. And those vocals, if they they don’t hit you I don’t know what to do with you.
I could keep going but alas, times is short. Maybe I’ll come back and add some more thoughts. In the meantime why don’t you give this a listen. Treat yourself. And get ready for Stunt Diver’s next release which promises a new interesting direction which I’ve had the good fortune to have had a taste of and whoa!
Kaylee Bear’s “Aldona’s Daughter“ is an excellent example of what makes Post Punk so impactful. The music is crunchy and raw with catchy melodies and mostly conversational vocals, drawing the listener in. The use of audio effects and adding elements of different styles does some seriously heavy lifting in regard to building atmosphere, all the while giving every song enough room to breathe. So far so expected.
Where this album comes into it’s own, to my ears, are the lyrics. Every song seems to be about the close relationship with a loved one; sometimes tender, sometimes frustrated. There is a great deal of intimate familiarity with another person in there, that you would not get from an acquaintance.
There are lyrics expressing regret and sorrow, but also elation and contentment, making the entire piece feel very grounded and relatable. The order of tracks feels also very deliberate, depicting a mix of (sometimes conflicting) emotions, but ending with a song that is about the happiness of being with this one specific person.
Overall I enjoyed this a great deal and can recommend it highly to everyone that likes their love songs a little more realistic and less overly saccharine.
Previously…
The Nirvana Fallacy (or, Mania and Her Sophomore Slump) – Saint Louie