Euphone
The Calendar of Unlucky Days
[Jade Tree]
Rating: 5.7
Here at Pitchfork, we occasionally like to give some of our records the chance to age a bit
before offering our humble (?) opinions on a product. Sometimes, blinded by the bad cocaine
and lulled by the soft caresses of the young playthings record companies keep on sending over,
we tend to judge music by its first listen and not by its potential staying power.
The sad sack of shit reviewer who had the opportunity to review the last Euphone record, the
Breaking Parole EP suffered from that same moldy dick- cheese way of thinking. He
enthusiastically praised the band for its brand of ultra- grooved out instrumental noodling
without thinking too hard about how permanent his fondness would be. He liked the tricky
drumming, the modular bleeping, the smooth, buttery basslines, and thought that would always
be the case.
Having heard all of Euphone's recorded output, I can see where he was coming from. It's all
very accomplished, somewhat soulful stuff, and the band's latest work, The Calendar of
Unlucky Days fits in with the previous work. Throughout its career, the band has always
been one of the better sub- Tortoise acts, aided by a certain panache for its playing. The
newest offering sees it taking a more subdued, studio- centric approach, using tape loops and
treated drums to accent the carefully thought- out melodies. In other words, fans of old
Euphone will like this.
Myself, I'm not thrilled about all this. This is not to say that The Calendar of Unlucky
Days, or indeed any of Euphone's other product is bad. I might put this on at one of my
slinky booty parties and be lauded for my choice in background music. Songs like the Stereolab-
ish "Wickedness" and the down- tempo funk ditty "Needle and Crate" are catchy indeed, but
not terribly memorable. At worst, Euphone takes a slight bassline and plays all the piss ou
of it, as with the record's closer, "Playboy." One can only do so many organ solos or fancy
drum breaks over a melody that seems to go nowhere.
Six months later, do you care? I don't.
-Samir Khan