There's a ton of great things happening in Spokane's scene this young summer. These things are on display weekly in our pages. They're well known and I thank God daily for them. On weeks I pencil in two or more local stories to compensate for weak touring slates, the thanks flow more readily.
All is not well in Whoville, however. There are things yet missing.
The concrete stuff -- the scene's annoying back-patty-ness, not having a proven thriving record label, getting less dope national bands than we deserve -- I've moaned about before. The more esoteric stuff only just hit me today.
All the artists I find myself listening to compulsively in the mild early days of summer -- Joanna Newsome, Dappled Cities Fly, Blitzen Trapper, Battles, Lily Allen on that new Dizzee Rascal cut -- make great use of towering, dynamic, slightly ridiculous falsetto. Even Ghostface, though it's not a true falsetto to just rap hella high, has that upper register working. It's expressive and absurd and ballsy, especially in contexts outside twee pop (where it's kinda expected).
No Spokane band has really, and I mean really, embraced the falsetto. Cyrus Fell Down comes close, but to be done well falsetto must sound effortless and otherworldly. David Plell, bless his heart, sounds like he needs a lozenge after he gets done. Absurd as this sounds, I'm only half joking. Local bands have done a great job experimenting with form and instrumentation. Now how about vox?
If you answer this call, and do it artfully (Coldplay covers don't count), there's probably a writeup in it for you.
Take it seriously, and maybe I'll make a contest of some sort out of it. Call them the Lukeys... no that's too self-serving. The Falsies. Yeah.
I'll make trophies. That's how we journalism types show we're serious, right? Trophies?
