Mittens on Strings - Pushing Buttons
(Luddite)
Mittens on Strings comes with ink jet and Kinkos constructed liners in a saved-from-the-landfill DVD case that once belonged to an AOL trial offer. DIY continues, although at this point, as is the case with Mittens on Strings, the DIY band pretty much has to WANT to be DIY. DIY becomes DI for Y, and I mean only for Y.
Mittens on Strings' homemade bone, Pushing Buttons, is quiet, lo-fi, mellow folk. It is simple and bare. It is nothing special. Yet, it is still pretty good. In the case of Mittens on Strings, "simplicity" becomes "restraint."
The easy comparison, then, would be the kings of restraint, Low, and there definitely is a little Low-ness going on here, like on "Struck Down," when the male and female singers sing in unison to a 30 bpm beat. Mittens on Strings is a lot less adventurous than Low though. Perhaps they are like what Low would be if Low was a Love Rock band in Olympia in the early 1990s.
When the female singer takes lead on "Down Payment," the Love Rock comparison doesn't seem like a bad one. The strum is a simple, folk strum, but a simple layer of fuzz is added as an effective but basic accent. The lyrics have a sort of bare emotional content, however they are pure fantasy, sounding if from the same time period as the rustic cover art of black-faced coal miners.
When Mittens on Strings strays from the simple, like on the feedback guitar solo on the title track, they fall flat on their face. But when they keep it straightforward, using subtle, simple accents, their music is enjoyable. They definitely do simple well, but I wonder if anyone outside of the DI(F)Y-obsessed will notice or care.
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