Idiot Glee

Ashland, Kentucky, 1987. Bill Withers’ first secret croons issued decades prior have been ping-ponging between the mountains, for to seed, taking on strange new shapes now that they’ve gained the Appalachian foothills, frequencies filtering through strip mall and holler, o’er skatepark and Taco Bell. A divine herald. James Friley hears the call. read more…

Ashland, Kentucky, 1987. Bill Withers’ first secret croons issued decades prior have been ping-ponging between the mountains, for to seed, taking on strange new shapes now that they’ve gained the Appalachian foothills, frequencies filtering through strip mall and holler, o’er skatepark and Taco Bell. A divine herald. James Friley hears the call.

Young James experiments with the pop form. With Bedtime, he perfects the rock shanty. He jams with Lexington’s Kraut punks and noise scum. But that age-old hills-soul haunts him.

In 2009, Idiot Glee is born in the Resonant Hole. Friley, with fingertips that speak fluent Debussy but prefer to cuss in ragtime, declares via Casiotone, “I Did It Sober.” It’s a manifesto of sorts: James’ veins flow with Ale-8-One, not bourbon. His minivan gives pretty much the only safe passage through that otherworld of predawn Lexington—as he asks us on “I Want the Night to Stay”: “Am I the only one who believes in staying up late?”

Each track on IG’s latest, Paddywhack, isolates the atomic essence of the pop song, replicating that perfect moment ad infinitum until the warm tides of melody, of rippling organ, of submerged synth bass, of falsetto oo’s have surrounded and engulfed you—feel flows more Mesmer than Brian Wilson. It is music so compact and honest and perfect that I witnessed it transform the beer-sticky, sweat-humid, furniture-deprived living room of the Lexington house venue appropriately christened “Crib Death” into a Gothic cathedral: a chiaroscuro of sound and feeling that is nothing short of holy, redemption for all of us High Life-swilling lowlifes. Yeah, he’s that good live.

Scores of blogsick youngsters self-consciously burying half-written Spector-rips ‘neath reverb plugins are missing the point: what makes great bedroom pop great is truth. True vulnerability. True loneliness. True heartbreak. And, as long as we’re messing around with overdubs, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a truly preternatural ear for vocal harmonies. Friley has nothing to prove, ‘cuz it’s all right there. The idiot glee—a code for eternal youth.

Tour Dates

Date	Venue	Location	With	Tickets
Thu 2/23/2012	Metro Gallery	Baltimore, Maryland	Islands
Fri 2/24/2012	The Side Chapel at First Unitarian Church Sanctuary	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Islands (Early Show)
Fri 2/24/2012	The Side Chapel at First Unitarian Church Sanctuary	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Islands (Late Show)
Sat 2/25/2012	Le Poisson Rouge	New York, New York	Islands
Sun 2/26/2012	The SPACE	Hamden, Connecticut	Islands
Mon 2/27/2012	Cabaret du Mile End	Montreal, Quebec	Islands
Tue 2/28/2012	The Music Gallery	Toronto, Ontario	Islands
Wed 2/29/2012	Magnetic Recording Studios	Pontiac, Michigan	Islands
Thu 3/1/2012	Lincoln Hall	Chicago, Illinois	Islands
Fri 3/2/2012	7th Street Entry	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Islands
Sat 3/3/2012	West End Cultural Centre	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Islands
Mon 3/5/2012	The Haven Social Club	Edmonton, Alberta	Islands (Early Show)
Mon 3/5/2012	The Haven Social Club	Edmonton, Alberta	Islands (Late Show)
Tue 3/6/2012	Ironwood	Calgary, Alberta	Islands
Wed 3/7/2012	Habitat	Kelowna, British Columbia	Islands
Thu 3/8/2012	The Rio Theatre	Vancouver, British Columbia	Islands
Fri 3/9/2012	Victoria Events Centre	Victoria, British Columbia	Islands, Kingdom Cloud
Sat 3/10/2012	Vera Project	Seattle, Washington	Islands
Sun 3/11/2012	Mississippi Studios	Portland, Oregon	Islands
Tue 3/13/2012	Hotel Utah	San Francisco, California	Islands (Early Show)
Tue 3/13/2012	Hotel Utah	San Francisco, California	Islands (Late Show)
Wed 3/14/2012	Bootleg Theatre	Los Angeles, California	Islands
Thu 3/15/2012	Queen Bee's Art & Cultural Center	San Diego, California	Islands
Sat 3/17/2012	Mohawk (Inside Stage)	Austin, Texas	Panache SXSW Showcase w/ Delicate Steve, Mikal Cronin, White Fence & more!
Tue 3/20/2012	Hi-Tone Cafe	Memphis, Tennessee	w/ ANR & PLAINS