Danielson Ships

Never has an album’s first listen blown me away as Danielson’s Ships did. Usually I require multiple listens in order for an album to have an impression on me. But this album broke that rule and that’s impressive in itself. The sound is so unpredictable, so obscure and so intense that it has your heart racing. Now that the shock has worn off, I need to give it my regular treatment of repetition to see if it’s truly great but it’s off to a good start. The band is led by Daniel Smith who is accompanied by a number of family members and for this album, a number of guests. In fact, over 20 musicians contributed to this album. Notably, these guests include Sufjan Stevens and members of Deerhoof. Either these people had a large influence on the album or Danielson’s sound attracted them because there are definitely similarities. A pretty accurate description of Danielson’s sound would be a mix of Deerhoof’s craziness and Sufjan’s pleasantness. Similarly, the feelings they invoke are a mix of confusion and happiness, also produced their respective guests. But whatever influence these guests may have had, no credit can be taken away from Daniel. For without incredible his voice behind these songs, the album would just be ordinary. No amount of words can do this band any justice. You really need to hear them for yourself. So do it!

Ship The Majestic Suffix – I think it’s only fair that the first song you hear be the first song I heard i.e. track one. For ultimately, it was this song that knocked me over with it’s quirkiness. It lulls you into false sense of security in the slow sections, but I warn you, you won’t be there for long!

Did I Step On Your Trumpet? – I simply cannot sing enough praise for this song. I love it so much. His voice, the excitement it creates and the general obscureness makes this track a must hear.