Third album for this Swiss quartet Annie Taylor. They could easily come from Portland, or from some Midwest town—you name it. The group is led by the capable and resolute Gini Jungi, who has three boys providing a very valid base of support. Gini has a very polite voice, and the band features a clear sound thanks to modern production. There is also a careful approach to enhancing the group’s talent for crafting songs that seem made for radio airplay. But what do I say? Are they perfect for this?! Let’s move on, because there is really a lot of material to analyse.
Out of Scale first songs
Firstly, Out of Scale is an album (and the first for Clouds Hill) where the atmospheres shift throughout its journey. The breezy Alligator opens the album. Later, the suffused indie country environments of The Ocean appear. If we didn’t know where they were from, these tracks might fool us!
Burns entire discographies of many, too many colleagues
The bubblegum choruses of Something Ain’t Right or the garage punk anthem of Lucidity that in less than two and a half minutes burns entire discographies of many, too many colleagues. Plastered by a notoriety acquired more for good luck than for their own merits, and what about the ragged ballad that is Fire? Out of Scale is the perfect record, like America seen from Zurich of That City where every element is perfectly fitted, melody, raw guitars, direct rhythm section, and sublime singing. This is just one of the eleven tracks that form a set list without pauses, where inspiration and, above all, the blessed attitude never fail.
The important attitude in Out of Scale
The attitude: you breathe deeply in silence, with The Breeders’ holy card tucked tightly into your notebook. You let yourself be carried away by the essential rhythm, into another world, back in time—one they, for obvious reasons of age, did not live, but we… seniors? Yes—and how!
The moods
What a beautiful test: all together, all in chorus, live. Place it at the beginning, and you will have everyone at your feet. Melody, yes—but when needed, it is ardour that takes over, as in the Hole-infused What Do You Have to Sell? How brazen! Friendship and love—romantic relationships—form the heart of these eleven songs. Different moods—euphoria, disappointment, and anger as well—are expressed with excellent intentions and just enough impertinence.
“You don’t live on frivolities alone” on Out of Scale
Yet there is no lack of depth or reflection, because you don’t live on frivolities alone. It closes—and sums up—the bucolic Places: walking, even hand in hand, at any age (I recommend it), without thinking too much about it, with the sun making you squint as you observe the flower beds and green lawns lining the sidewalk. But it always comes back there, to the opener, Alligator —the perfect song for summer. And yet, it should be listened to in autumn, winter, and spring as well…
Less serious but interesting notes
Note: The members of the group met in a bar in the Swiss mountains while snowboarding.
Note two: Annie Edson Taylor was an American teacher with a rather difficult character. In 1901, he threw himself from Niagara Falls into a blow. She was the first to do so ever. He got away with only a wound to the back of his head.
Why these two notes? So, because I want to let you know.
Tracklist
- Alligator
- Something Ain’t Right
- Lucidity
- Fire
- That City
- The Cure
- Overload
- The Ocean
- Silence
- What Do You Have To Sell?
- Places
Line Up
- Gini Jungi – vocals
- Tobias Arn – guitars
- Michael Mutter – bass
- Daniel Bachmann – drums
