FLEET FLASHBACK

from Inlander 10/08/2020

A look at new albums from 2000s-era indie superstars Sufjan Stevens and Fleet Foxes

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER THE ASCENSION, SUFJAN STEVENS Sufjan Stevens seems most comfortable working within the framework of a recognizable concept, from the nowabandoned Fifty States Project that made him a star to his last LP Carrie & Lowell, which was structured as a catalog of childhood memories both mundane and traumatic. The singer-songwriter’s latest release, The Ascension, is less narratively conceptual than it is sonically so, a collection of shuffling, stuttering electronic soundscapes that are equal parts suffocating and freeing.

Stevens recorded the album with a pared-down collection of equipment on his farm in the Catskills, and it rambles and wanders for a full 80 minutes, which is even longer than the multi-era epics that made him famous in the early 2000s. It’s too unruly and undisciplined for its own good, but you also get the sense he’s working through some shit as his chilly synth soundscapes move through influences like Krautrock, Depeche Mode, ’90s trip-hop and Amnesiac-era Radiohead. It’s always beeping, whirring, hiccuping and glitching, with Stevens’ famously ethereal, gossamer voice at the center.

28 INLANDER OCTOBER 8, 2020

The Ascension is an about-face from 2015’s brilliant Carrie & Lowell, whose songs were so spare and so intimate that you could practically feel Stevens in the room with you. This isn’t the first time Stevens has experimented with these sorts of sounds — if anything, it feels like a companion piece to 2010’s divisive and synth-drenched The Age of Adz — particularly on “Ativan,” which comes on like an aural anxiety attack, and “Die Happy,” which repeats its central refrain over and over again so that its meaning shapeshifts from defeatist to acceptance.

The record’s back half is stronger and more focused than the front, and it’s where all the best songs are, in particular the shuffling “Goodbye to All That” and the gorgeous title track. The album closes with the 12-minute “America,” released as a lead single back in July, which looks with remorse at a country that Stevens has lost faith in (“I have loved you, I have grieved / I’m ashamed to admit I no longer believe”).

But Stevens has always been a romantic pessimist, if such a thing exists. Whether he’s detailing his own mental health, the tragic fate of an imaginary couple or the dark backroads of U.S. history, there’s always a sense that he doesn’t truly believe we’re all doomed. “I lost my faith in everything,” he admits at one point, but immediately bounces back: “Tell me you love me anyway.”

SHORE, FLEET FOXES When they became unlikely indie stars a little over a decade ago, Fleet Foxes were amongst the wave of 20-somethings who worshipped at the altar of the Woodstock era, gaining an audience with earnest throwback songs that would have seemed hopelessly uncool only a short time before. All these years later and the band still stands as a shrine to the gods of ’70s album rock, but their personal sensibilities remain firmly intact.

Shore is Fleet Foxes’ first LP since 2017’s Crack-Up, which marked the band’s return to making new music following a three-year hiatus. The break clearly refreshed them, because they returned to the studio with more energy and artistic playfulness than they’d had in previous records, and that sense of experimentation continues here.

Fleet Foxes mastermind Robin Pecknold has said that he was aiming for a warmer, brighter sound on Shore, and true to its title, so many of the tracks have the zen-like feeling of water lapping at the sand. Consider “Featherweight,” with its cascading pianos, or the stories-high choral arrangement (reportedly taken from vocal samples on Instagram) that envelops “Can I Believe You.”

The band’s reverence to the past (both of rock’s and their own) shows up in the bright horn licks of “A Long Way Past the Past,” which bring to mind early Steely Dan and even Todd Rundgren, while the layered harmonies and spare, hymnal-like softness of “For a Week or Two”

BACK AT THE BAR

Baby Bar and Neato Burrito are among downtown Spokane’s most beloved nightlife institu- tions, but both businesses — which occupy the same building at 827 W. First Ave. — have been closed since the start of the pandemic. If you’ve missed indulging in their signature greyhounds and Thai burritos… well, you’re still gonna have to wait. But the bar’s new virtual concert series might scratch that itch, with a number of local artists taking over the space for ticketed online shows. The next show you can catch is this Friday, Oct. 9, with a mix of comedy and music courtesy of Lilac City Live host Ryan Dean Tucker; buy tickets and see future events at babybarneatoburrito. veeps.com. The Browne’s Addi- tion venue Lucky You Lounge is also kicking off a string of virtual concerts on Friday night with per- formances by folk-rockers Trego and country singer-songwriter Jenny Anne Mannan; see luckyyoulounge.veeps.com for tickets and a full calendar. We’ll have more coverage in next week’s issue of the Inlander.

and “I’m Not My Season” recall vintage Fleet Foxes.

For all its sun-dappled sweetness, darkness does creep into the lyrics, particularly on album highlight “Sunblind.” The song was inspired by Pecknold’s grandfather suffering a stroke, and it namechecks recently deceased Ameri- can songwriters like David Berman and John Prine. But it’s also paying happy tribute to these fallen artists, as Pecknold’s lyrics evoke an escape into the country for a weekend getaway, all his favorite records in tow.

At 54 minutes, Shore is a bit overlong (not as long as the Sufjan record, of course, though it is worth noting that the horn arrangement on penultimate track “Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman” bears striking resemblance to Stevens’ early work). But Fleet Foxes’ gentle pasto- rals are just what I needed right now, one last gasp of late-summer reverie during a season that was far from normal. n

MONDAY

Coming up: Mateusz Wolski

inland sessions Mondays 7:30 pm

COMMUNITY GET OUTSIDE

Trees are vital, and you don’t need to live among the forests of the Pacific Northwest to know that — but how lucky are we that we do? A healthy mature tree provides oxygen, and removes pollution from the air, too. Trees also provide habitat and food for all manner of cool creatures as well. But our forests can use a helping hand now and again, and that’s where events like Reforest Spokane come in, when you can give the region’s ecosystem a boost that will improve life for all of us. This year, the Reforest Spokane project is focusing on Marshall Creek, located between Spokane and Cheney, and you can help revitalize this wetland with a little time and elbow grease. Join the Lands Council and Avista Saturday to work in small, socially distanced groups. Masks are required and First Avenue Coffee will hook up all volunteers with a free drip coffee. — DAN NAILEN

Reforest Spokane • Sat, Oct. 10 from 9 am-2 pm • Marshall Creek area • 17607 S. Short Rd., Cheney • landscouncil.org

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

VISUAL ART AMERICAN GOTHIC

Since the 1960s, Mel McCuddin has been a fixture of the local art scene, and has developed an instantly recognizable style that brings a wry sensibility and a distinct visual sense to images of nature and everyday tableaux. Beginning with stark, expressionistic backgrounds on large canvases, McCuddin’s oil paintings are practically improvised, as he lets his human and animal subjects (as well as their quirky personalities) develop in real time as he works. Check out his latest exhibition starting this weekend at Coeur d’Alene’s Art Spirit Gallery, where the artist has featured dozens of showcases since the space first opened in 1997, and you can see for yourself how an artist can work for decades and not miss a step. — NATHAN WEINBENDER

WORDS COPING SKILLS

You’re not imagining it — 2020 really is this bad. In a year that was already going to be anxious and obnoxious thanks to a presidential election, the arrival of a lethal, global pandemic just cranked all the toxic noise on the internet up to 11. How to deal? Look to the humanities for help, specifically Humanities Washington, who have put together an online series of talks called What These Times Mean: Navigating 2020. Next up in the series is University of Puget Sound professor Sara Protasi, who will focus on the emotions of envy and resentment, and how they color our online interactions — especially when they’re stirred up by seeing others’ good fortune posted for the world to see. — DAN NAILEN

GET LISTED!

Submit events online at Inlander.com/getlisted or email relevant details to getlisted@inlander.com. We need the details one week prior to our publication date.

ADVANCING NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST AND AROUND THE WORLD

WORDS FACING FEARS

If this year is making you anxious, you’re not alone. For an unflinching look into all things sweat-inducing, join Auntie’s Bookstore for a virtual event featuring author Eva Holland, whose new book Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear combines research with daring experiments to understand what fear is and how it can be harnessed. Fear comes in many shapes — the loss of a parent, skydiving from an airplane — and Holland has stared down all of them, big and small, hers and ours, and returned to shed some hard-earned wisdom on the subject. Come away with inspiration to face your own worst nightmares, or at least some secondhand courage to consider it. Holland will be in conversation with Spokane-based environmental journalist and author Ben Goldfarb. — LAUREN GILMORE

Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear, Eva Holland with Ben Goldfarb • Fri, Oct. 9 at 7 pm • Free • Online; details at auntiesbooks.com

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COMMUNITY MINGLE ON MONROE

Spend a sunny fall Saturday out and about while shopping small, supporting local and staying safe (masks on!) during this new event from the North Monroe Business District. The daylong celebration also includes the unveiling of five new murals by local artists — Mallory Battista, Desmond Boston, Jiemei Lin, Karli Ingersoll and Amber Hoit — around the district, offering visitors a chance to vote for their favorite artwork. The mural with the most votes is set to be featured on this year’s Small Business Saturday (Nov. 28) tote bags distributed by member shops. This Saturday, businesses along the recently revitalized stretch of North Monroe are setting up sidewalk sales to keep shoppers safely distanced, as well as offering special promos and activities to create a festive atmosphere. — CHEY SCOTT It’s time to elect a leader who will follow science, protect public health and safety, and rebuild our local economy. Affordable housing, access to healthcare and educational opportunity are at the top of Tom’s agenda.

I SAW YOU

SARDINE We saw each other twice last week. Me, colorful clogs. You, dark rimmed glasses shopping with a cart full of frozen food and figuring out the exit code on the first try. (A man with a brain that can cook, ooh la la.) I didn’t mean to call your crew but the sardined elevator ride brightened my evening. Let’s meet. howlingsardines@gmail. com

MILLWOOD BOTTLES , STUCK AT THE TRAIN. I saw you in your car stuck at the train in Millwood outside of Bottles, you looked upset but then glanced over at me while I was eating salsa. You pointed out a chip that was in my beard and I knew then it was meant to be. That’s when the railroad X-ing opened and you drove away before I could write my number on the window. Damn you universe!! I’ve been here every day since, waiting with chips in my beard. Please if you see this I know it was a sign. Yours truly, creepy salsa window guy

RE: FLAG HIJACKERS Interesting, I saw the same people and was hesitant to honk because I didn’t know if those people would hate me because solely through a chance mixture of DNA, I have less pigment in my skin. I feel it is racists such as yourself that have hijacked my flag and my country that I love. You hold yourself up as being something better, but you are EVERY bit the racist you are accusing others of being.

CHEERS

of Manito who have stepped in to do RE: FLAG HIJACKERS Cheers to you, sir or ma’am, for spending the time to (quite) politely, yet cunningly, address those US flag wavers who adorn our most public spaces! We commend you! Not only for bringing these actions to public attention, but also for opening the doors to those of us who wish to describe what these acts truly represent: The excitable citizens displaying our symbol of freedom (for all), integration (for all) and equality (again, confused between the definitions of “patriotism” and “nationalism.” They are, in short, rabidly stupid supporters of Donald Trump and his neo-fascist regime. In Germany and Austria of the 1930s, all pro-Hitler citizens also waved flags in public: those displayed the black swastika upon a white circle against a background of red, representing nationalism = to Make Germany Great Again. Yet the anti-Nazis flew the Weimar Republic patriotic flag of Germany, until they weren’t allowed to do so under pain of imprisonment or eventual death. Yes, our own beautiful flag is carried by *both* sides, yet those who carry it for humanist purposes have already been harassed by those waving the same in support of Trump. Yes, a slight difference from 1930s Germany, but probably ending the same way — patriots versus nationalists. The Trumptards are, indeed, *hijacking* our sacred banner by hiding behind it, just as their rude, unholy, unqualified leader does every day. Please, don’t blow your car horns to these asses. Rather, make sure you’re clearly registered to vote, and educate your kin and friends, to be sure we will never have to honk at a swastika-like flag in the future. Again, thank you. See you on November 3rd.

RETURNED KEYS Kudos to the person that found and turned in the key ring that I dropped in a parking lot in the Spokane Valley and noticed I had a PO box and turned them into the Post Office. THANK YOU!

MANITO PARK VOLUNTEERS Cheers to the volunteers from the Friends HANDICAP PARKING FREAKOUT

for ALL) are willingly and ignorantly SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou by 3 pm Monday. 2. Pick a category (I Saw You, You Saw Me, Cheers or Jeers). 3. Provide basic info: your name and email (so we know you’re real). 4. To connect via I Saw You, provide a non-identifying email to be included with your submission — like “petals327@yahoo.com,” not “j.smith@comcast.net.” light blue Toyota going to get a haircut. Did your mother not raise you right? You got out of your car SO aggressively, and family home. Don’t be jeopardizing everyone around you! I should’ve put my cane out to stop you both and call

October 3rd @1:45 To the man in the the manager.

HEROES To whom it may concern... This is from one of the supposed “heroes”. We are X-ray techs, who physically treat

weeding and other maintenance tasks in Manito Park due to short staffing. banged on the handicapped sign and started yelling at me because I was in Covid Positive patients in your hospitals every day. We’ve worked every “ We saw each other twice last week. Me, colorful clogs. You, dark rimmed glasses shopping with a cart full of frozen food... ” Our park is all the more beautiful for handicap spot as I waited for my mom day this year, no days off. We go to their generous contribution of time and to come back out of Starbucks. You work. No unemployment for us. We energy. clearly didn’t see the handicap plates on get canceled yearly raises, no personal her car as we pulled in and immediately protective equipment, unless you count CONGRATS To that Goofy Little Kid judged her because she didn’t look disreused disposable gear. We have no from Central Valley High School: A abled to you. Just because somebody union, unlike our RN coworkers, who we World Jr. Gold Medal, a Memorial Cup, a doesn’t fit the mould of what you think work with and very much appreciate. Calder Cup and now a Stanley Cup. You a disabled person looks like does NOT And so we will care for you, with our are a true champion. give you the right to get out of your wages frozen at 2019 levels indefinitely car and act like a maniac. My mom has due to lost profits from our employer. JEERS almost died three times and the last thing I need is to be harassed by some We will be wearing reused single use masks daily, like we have for the last six middle aged man who should be old months. And we will fall further behind CORVETTE CLUB (?) Saturday, Oct. 3 enough to know better. PS. The face you in our lives while our company prioriat about 10 am, there was a number made when you looked down and saw tizes profits over all other. Thank you. n of mostly new Corvettes that drove the plates was priceless. Maybe don’t through Rosalia. The majority of the judge next time? Times are hard enough cars were driving at a decent speed, right now... while the last ten or twelve cars (some distance back) must have felt that they TOMATO STREET CUSTOMER JEERS THIS WEEK'S ANSWERS were going to be left behind and decidto the woman and child at an Italian N B A J U M B L E S G I L ed it necessary to drive down the main restaurant friday afternoon Oct. 2. You U R L O R A L I S T R K O street at speeds over 50, 60 miles per refused to wear a mask when you left B O I L I N G O V E R A E R hour! Residents of town were yelling at your table and walked through the L A N O B I I P A D at you to slow down, which appeared to prompt you to drive even faster!! If you restaurant to the restroom and back. Your CARELESS behavior puts the busiB L A L O T A R T Z E I N N A B G U S R A N D O I D I N L L G E M S A N have such a low opinion of small towns ness, employees and other customers S T E A L M C I K O O K Y that you would behave like this and risk at risk for COVID-19. Washington state T O R R I D P A C E N I T killing someone, then STAY HOME!!!! We governor mandates wearing a mask in O A R L O V A T O live here, and our kids shouldn’t have to public places. Keep your careless self J F E L E A R M I N A G R L I I B R E I R C A L O R I C O M I N G I N H O T S N L O P E N T O E A N N

T S A P A R T Y O N L E T NOTE: I Saw You/Cheers & Jeers is for adults 18 or older. The Inlander reserves the right to edit or reject any posting at any time at its sole discretion and assumes no responsibility for the content.