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McCarthy by Helms
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fave it Progressive Rock | Math Rock
11 tracks | 50 minutes
Released Oct 2003
on Kimchee Records
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:18 The Hypochondriac's Last Words lyrics BUY MP3 06:18 The Hypochondriac's Last Words lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:18 The Hypochondriac's Last Words
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:56 It Takes Skin to Win lyrics BUY MP3 04:56 It Takes Skin to Win lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:56 It Takes Skin to Win
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:52 At Night the Ringing Filled Their Rooms Like the Bells of Distan lyrics BUY MP3 03:52 At Night the Ringing Filled Their Rooms Like the Bells of Distan lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:52 At Night the Ringing Filled Their Rooms Like the Bells of Distan
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:33 The Skills You Need to Succeed in the 20th Century lyrics BUY MP3 05:33 The Skills You Need to Succeed in the 20th Century lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:33 The Skills You Need to Succeed in the 20th Century
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 01:39 Nothing Can Keep Us From Stopping (Reprise) lyrics BUY MP3 01:39 Nothing Can Keep Us From Stopping (Reprise) lyrics "GIFT MP3" 01:39 Nothing Can Keep Us From Stopping (Reprise)
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:18 The Ten Thousand Things lyrics BUY MP3 03:18 The Ten Thousand Things lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:18 The Ten Thousand Things
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:41 Three lyrics BUY MP3 02:41 Three lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:41 Three
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:33 Nothing Can Keep Us From Stopping lyrics BUY MP3 03:33 Nothing Can Keep Us From Stopping lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:33 Nothing Can Keep Us From Stopping
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:42 Horace: Age 19; Powers None lyrics BUY MP3 05:42 Horace: Age 19; Powers None lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:42 Horace: Age 19; Powers None
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:50 Robots Are Great, But Are We Ready For Them to Dance on Their Ow lyrics BUY MP3 04:50 Robots Are Great, But Are We Ready For Them to Dance on Their Ow lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:50 Robots Are Great, But Are We Ready For Them to Dance on Their Ow
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 07:53 Cornish, New Hampshire lyrics BUY MP3 07:53 Cornish, New Hampshire lyrics "GIFT MP3" 07:53 Cornish, New Hampshire
Hypnotically nodding and angular songs structured in odd meters that wear grooves into your ears.
Editorial review
If Frank Black fronted Mogwai, it might sound something not unlike McCarthy, and therein lies the problem -- if those two acts were getting married, you'd have to speak up and stop the wedding. Favoring a lugubrious sound that spans the poles between fragile, hypnotic drone rock and crashing, oceanic noise, Helms does little new within the hard/soft dynamic already staked out by dozens of other bands of varying quality; frontman Sean McCarthy recites the lyrics in a droll, half-spoken voice evoking the Pixies, which is probably just a Massachusetts thing, but off-putting nevertheless. And yes, Helms and McCarthy are the surnames of the bandmembers, but they're also the surnames of two of the most evil archconservatives of the 20th century -- talk about making a negative first impression. Cool cover design, though. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
On McCarthy, Helms makes music married to the sensate world. Their songs are testaments to the act of being and the life cycle. It's all in the dynamics, as gentle waves of guitar sound intimating the quietness of birth give way to super squalls of notes and energy, much like life's buffeting winds. Then there are the retrenchments back into silence, and not just at song's end. This is not so much like death as a gathering of strength before the next go-round.
The words as sung/spoken by guitarist Sean McCarthy (who with drumming brother Dan McCarthy shares the title of this disc, while the band name's source is bassist Tina McCarthy, whose maiden name is Helms) are mostly concerned with seemingly simple insensate objects which, when acknowledged via lyrical focus, gain totemic power.
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