Ivy "Apartment Life Demos" (2023 Record Store Day LP)
For Record Store Day 2023, an alternate version of Ivy's 1997 album Apartment Life was issued, limited to 2,500 LP copies and pressed in very translucent "Coke Bottle Clear" vinyl. Apartment Life Demos contained the track-for-track demo recordings of the album's 13 songs, including the Japanese-only bonus track "Sleeping Late" (which is also included on the recent 25th Anniversary Edition issued by Bar/None Records), with inner-sleeve liner notes by Andy Chase which describe each song's creative development.
Ivy was an alternative pop trio based in New York, consisting of the late Adam Schlesinger (also of Fountains Of Wayne and Tinted Windows), fellow multi-instrumentalist Andy Chase, and French-born singer Dominique Durand. Ivy received critical acclaim for the six albums they recorded between 1995 and 2011, but met with little commercial success. To wit: Apartment Life was their second full-length album overall, but was the only one released on Atlantic Records, because the major label quickly dropped the band after the album failed to generate strong sales.
When hearing demo versions of dreamy alternative pop songs, you might expect the demos to sound too primitive and unrefined, and expect them to lack the qualities which make the finished recordings work. But that is usually not the case with the Apartment Life Demos. Durand's lead vocals still possess a slightly dreamy quality without being awash in production layers, and the two instrumentalists -- whom Chase says were both "studio geeks" -- already gave many of the songs an understated sense of sophistication. Is this surprising? It shouldn't be. After all, the trio's two prior indie releases (the 1994 EP Lately and the 1995 full-length Realistic) were both able to achieve dream-pop bliss on a lower budget. Also, many newer alt-pop bands have made good recordings with limited resources in the 25 years since. It might be a stretch to say that the Apartment Life Demos are as good as any other alt-pop band's finished product, but that's because they weren't meant to be.
Some of the demos lack almost nothing to speak of. "I Get The Message" has all of its basic and essential ingredients; the ingratiating hook, the softly jangling guitar, and the organ solo are almost as effective as they are on the album version. "These Are The Things About You" also works fine in its demo form, with a noticeably quirky guitar sound. "I've Got A Feeling" and "Quick, Painless, and Easy" have a now-understated form of dreaminess, the latter without much of the finished version's guitar reverb. The demo versions of "The Best Thing" and "You Don't Know Anything" have considerably less guitar noise, and the latter has no Durand vocal. The simple guitar-based demo of "This Is The Day" still works fairly well without horns. "Baker" and "Back In Our Town" have less of a jazz feel in their demo versions, but still have some of their moodiness, and Chase plays a more prominent vocal role on the latter. Simplicity suits the gentle "Ba Ba Ba", and the up-tempo "Get Out Of The City" is still charming with many recorded mistakes. Finally, the demo for the once-rare song "Sleeping Late" showed that the song was clearly a long way from completion, which may be the reason why the finished track was not included on most versions of the album; still, even scat-singing is not boring coming from Durand.
Apartment Life Demos contains no great revelations, but those who appreciate -- and miss -- Ivy's special brand of alt-pop will welcome this alternate glimpse of their stylish sophomore album.
Ivy "Apartment Life Demos" (Bar/None BRN-LP-297) 2023
Track Listing:
1. The Best Thing
2. I've Got A Feeling
3. This Is The Day
4. Never Do That Again
5. I Get The Message
6. Baker
7. You Don't Know Anything
8. Ba Ba Ba
9. Get Out Of The City
10. These Are The Things About You
11. Quick, Painless, and Easy
12. Back In Our Town
13. Sleeping Late
Ivy was an alternative pop trio based in New York, consisting of the late Adam Schlesinger (also of Fountains Of Wayne and Tinted Windows), fellow multi-instrumentalist Andy Chase, and French-born singer Dominique Durand. Ivy received critical acclaim for the six albums they recorded between 1995 and 2011, but met with little commercial success. To wit: Apartment Life was their second full-length album overall, but was the only one released on Atlantic Records, because the major label quickly dropped the band after the album failed to generate strong sales.
When hearing demo versions of dreamy alternative pop songs, you might expect the demos to sound too primitive and unrefined, and expect them to lack the qualities which make the finished recordings work. But that is usually not the case with the Apartment Life Demos. Durand's lead vocals still possess a slightly dreamy quality without being awash in production layers, and the two instrumentalists -- whom Chase says were both "studio geeks" -- already gave many of the songs an understated sense of sophistication. Is this surprising? It shouldn't be. After all, the trio's two prior indie releases (the 1994 EP Lately and the 1995 full-length Realistic) were both able to achieve dream-pop bliss on a lower budget. Also, many newer alt-pop bands have made good recordings with limited resources in the 25 years since. It might be a stretch to say that the Apartment Life Demos are as good as any other alt-pop band's finished product, but that's because they weren't meant to be.
Some of the demos lack almost nothing to speak of. "I Get The Message" has all of its basic and essential ingredients; the ingratiating hook, the softly jangling guitar, and the organ solo are almost as effective as they are on the album version. "These Are The Things About You" also works fine in its demo form, with a noticeably quirky guitar sound. "I've Got A Feeling" and "Quick, Painless, and Easy" have a now-understated form of dreaminess, the latter without much of the finished version's guitar reverb. The demo versions of "The Best Thing" and "You Don't Know Anything" have considerably less guitar noise, and the latter has no Durand vocal. The simple guitar-based demo of "This Is The Day" still works fairly well without horns. "Baker" and "Back In Our Town" have less of a jazz feel in their demo versions, but still have some of their moodiness, and Chase plays a more prominent vocal role on the latter. Simplicity suits the gentle "Ba Ba Ba", and the up-tempo "Get Out Of The City" is still charming with many recorded mistakes. Finally, the demo for the once-rare song "Sleeping Late" showed that the song was clearly a long way from completion, which may be the reason why the finished track was not included on most versions of the album; still, even scat-singing is not boring coming from Durand.
Apartment Life Demos contains no great revelations, but those who appreciate -- and miss -- Ivy's special brand of alt-pop will welcome this alternate glimpse of their stylish sophomore album.
Ivy "Apartment Life Demos" (Bar/None BRN-LP-297) 2023
Track Listing:
1. The Best Thing
2. I've Got A Feeling
3. This Is The Day
4. Never Do That Again
5. I Get The Message
6. Baker
7. You Don't Know Anything
8. Ba Ba Ba
9. Get Out Of The City
10. These Are The Things About You
11. Quick, Painless, and Easy
12. Back In Our Town
13. Sleeping Late
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