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Month: August 2012 Page 1 of 3

Pick Your Poison: Friday 8-31-12

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On 08/31/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Back in high school, I was pretty into a series of Japanese music games that all fell under the category that game maker Konami classified as Bemani. This was in the days before Guitar Hero and all that became a sensation, and there were Bemani games called Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania that were arcade versions of the same thing, but with all Japanese pop music instead of popular American rock. It was actually pretty rare to find a Guitar Freaks or Drum Mania game in an arcade in the U.S., as were other Bemani titles like Pop’n Music and Beatmania. The most popular of the Bemani series was one that eventually rose to a fair degree of popularity in America, and that was Dance Dance Revolution. It even worked its way into a few TV shows and movies (see: Yes Man and Malcolm in the Middle). There were about a dozen DDR machines in and around the Chicagoland area in the early ’00s, and my friends and I would often drive 30-40 minutes to play on one for hours. These days, you can find one in almost every legitimate arcade, getting far less use than they did 10 years ago. The point I’m getting to, and there is a point here, is that I did learn to like a lot of the J-pop songs they put on these games. In fact, you might say that I still carry a slight fondness for that genre of music, even if I don’t really ever listen to it (or play Bemani games) anymore. Enter the new video from Chairlift. I think their latest album Something is one of 2012’s finest so far, and while I like their particular brand of ’80s inspired synth pop, it didn’t exactly become clear to me why until I saw the video for “I Belong in Your Arms (Japanese Version).” Yes, the band recorded a version in Japanese, and made the video to celebrate the release of their album in Japan. It’s essentially a green screen video with computer generated backgrounds and the words at the bottom for karaoke purposes. In essence, it’s a slice right out of the J-pop playbook, and I kind of love it for exactly that reason. Do I like the Japanese version of the song better than the English version? Well, I can sing along with the English version, so that’s a plus. Anyways, that was a long-winded story to a very shallow point. I encourage you to watch the video though, which can be viewed here. That, plus this edition of Pick Your Poison should set you up for a grand holiday (if you’re celebrating) weekend. Please enjoy downloads from Charley Bickers, The Demos, Kate Miller-Heidke, Mighty Quinn, Shipbuilding Co., and Thrive. Have a great weekend!

Ball of Flame Shoot Fire – The Curse

Charley Bickers – Three Little Words (ft. Si Jones)

Crushed Out – Weigh You Down

The Demos – Neon

Electra – Charge!
Electra – Starve

Kate Miller-Heidke – Ride This Feeling

KOAN Sound – Sly Fox

Main Attrakionz – Do It For the Bay (ft. DaVinci)

Mighty Quinn – Vacation

Qualms – Love

The Shamefaced Sparrows – Ride That Seastorm! (Demo)

Shipbuilding Co. – Salt Creek
Shipbuilding Co. – St. Elizabeth

Shysweet Leaves – House in Dreamwing Color Hour

Steel Trees – Stoner Zombie Killer Kids

Thrive – Yeti

Visitor – Coming Home (Viceroy Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Jethro Fox – Blinding Light

Kaleidophone – Gogglebox

Luciar – Deadly Precious

New Animal – Falling Up

Passion Pit – Take A Walk (Chew Lips Remix)

Album Review: Minus the Bear – Infinity Overhead [Dangerbird]

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On 08/31/2012

In album review, music



And now, a brief evolutionary history of Minus the Bear. When they first emerged in the early ’00s, they were a goofy math rock band whose twisted finger tapping guitar style and oft-hilarious song titles were considered endearing. On 2005’s Menos El Oso, they matured to the point where their goofy song titles and lighthearted bounce were replaced with sincerity and precision. Though it didn’t always feel right, people did start to treat the band with more respect, which they took and ran with. 2007’s Planet of Ice was a calmer attempt to broaden their sound with more prog-rock elements and dashes of electronics. It was beautiful but failed to fully engage the listener. That only got worse in 2010 with Omni, a synth-heavy record that moved away from their signature guitar sound in favor of something that sounded overproduced and an attempt at commercial success. Whether or not the strategy worked is debatable, because while their record sales went up, they were also signed to a better label with a better promotional team.

After four full-lengths of varying quality, Minus the Bear seem to have settled down on their fifth record Infinity Overhead. The dominant synths of Omni have all but vanished, as have some of the more atmospheric and progressive pieces of Planet of Ice. Their guitars are back in full force, and the finger tapping math rock style returns too, though with a bit less emphasis than some of their earlier material. Listen closely to “Toska” and “Cold Company” for some of the most impressive instrumental work they’ve ever done. That you have to listen closely at all is evidence of how Minus the Bear have changed over the course of their career. They’re in no way returning to their carefree and goofy early days, and whether or not you view that as a good thing, it makes their music more difficult to penetrate.

There are rewards to be found in listening to Infinity Overhead several times as the songs slowly begin to grow on you. “Lies and Eyes” and “Diamond Lightning” in particular start to stand out the longer you live with them. They’re also two tracks that probably best blend the various elements and styles the band has adopted over the last decade, which is in a sense a good way of hearing exactly how they’ve grown. The retrospective aspect is nice, but you also come to realize that this record doesn’t venture any place new. Say what you will about Omni, but at least that was one of Minus the Bear’s attempts to shake things up a little.

To think that they’re sitting in a stalled out vehicle here is a little disappointing, as are most of the tracks on the album, most of which have all the distinctiveness of wallpaper. Moreover, the band simply sounds bored most of the time, or at least are approaching these songs with such extreme seriousness that they’re suffocated by it. If they want to get all stonefaced about their music, there needs to be passion in making it that seeps through to the listener. Infinity Overhead is more often than not a joyless business transaction, and coming from a band that once created vital songs with hilarious titles like “Thanks For The Killer Game of Crisco Twister” and “Just Kickin’ It Like a Wild Donkey,” that’s perhaps most disappointing of all.

Minus the Bear – Steel And Blood

Buy Infinity Overhead from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 8-30-12

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On 08/30/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

When I first heard that Dan Deacon had developed an iPhone/Android app that allowed you to “control the lighting” during his live shows, my first assumption was that you could control the stage lights while he performed. It’s not quite that innovative, and if a couple hundred people are using it at the same time during a show, it’d turn the stage lighting controls into a strobe light sort of mess. What it actually does is it turns your phone into its own stage light of sorts, flashing and changing colors in time with the music and such. It also apparently changes depending on your location within the venue. You don’t even need to have wi-fi on your phone for it to work. One would assume that if you’ve got a bunch of people holding their phones up in the air during the show, certain sections of the crowd would all be in sync color-wise and pulsating-wise. It’s got to look pretty cool from the stage, but I wonder how it looks from the crowd. Anyways, if you go see Dan Deacon soon (he’ll be a North Coast Fest in Chicago this weekend), download the app for free in your smartphone’s app store and try it out. Report back and let me know how good it is. For now, please enjoy this edition of Pick Your Poison. Worthwhile tracks today include ones from At Sea, Ben Gibbard, Dalton, I/O, King of Spain and State Broadcasters. In the Soundcloud section you might be interested in streaming songs from D/R/U/G/S and Pure Bathing Culture, while Teen Daze’s remix of GRMLN and Todd Rundgren’s remix of Tame Impala are standouts as well.

Amplicity & Chucky Charmz – Anita

Astronauts, etc. – You Can Yell

At Sea – The Past Is a Drug

Ben Gibbard – Teardrop Windows

Cave Painting – So Calm (Daughn Gibson Remix)

The Cringe – String You Along So Long

Dalton – Wood Frames

Disco Fries – BassOff

Eight Belles – Buried Child

I/O – You Slay Me

Johan Reinhold – Heart in a Jar

King of Spain – Basement Fires

Ronnie Fauss – The Night Before the War

State Broadcasters – Kittiwake

Zulus – Death in the Current

SOUNDCLOUD

D/R/U/G/S – Hemisphere

GRMLN – Coral (Teen Daze Remix)

Harts – Back To The Shore

Pure Bathing Culture – Gainesville

Tame Impala – Elephant (Todd Rundgren Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 8-29-12

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On 08/29/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Another week, and another Chicago show coming up that I’d like to tell you about. I try to help out bands that could use a little extra promotion to get the word out that they’re coming to town, and today I’m talking about The Rocketboys. The Texas band have established themselves pretty well the last few years, and their newest album Build Anyway has been getting very strong reviews. Let me encourage you to listen to their song “Bloodless” and judge for yourself. Anyways, they’ll be rolling through Chicago in support of the new record, playing at Ace Bar on Tuesday, Sept. 4th with Bearcat opening. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $8. You can buy them in advance here. Check these guys out before they’re playing big venues with poor sight lines. Now let’s tackle today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll advise you to download songs from Courtship, Exquisite Corps, Jets Overhead, Pan, A Shoreline Dream, Why? and Wovenhand. In the Soundcloud section, don’t miss streaming songs from Flock of Dimes, Parenthetical Girls and Win Win.

Angie Atkinson – Taste

Courtship – Like This

Exquisite Corps – Tyger Wine

Honey Mustard – Wire

JAN – Work for the City

Jets Overhead – Boredom and Joy

Klarka Weinwurm – Pictures

Padraig Whelan – What I Know, I Know With You

Pan – Joe Frazier

Rob Cantor – Why Bother (Weezer cover)

A Shoreline Dream – February Truths

Starlings, TN – You Will Heal

WALL – No Secrets

Why? – Jonathan’s Hope

Wovenhand – In the Temple

Zula – Make Contact

SOUNDCLOUD

Angelica’s Elegy – When You’re Asleep

Flock of Dimes – Curtain

Le Roi Crocodile – Ghost Speak

Parenthetical Girls – Curtains

Thunders – MagicSick

Win Win – Salt Days +

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 8-28-12

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On 08/28/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Are there some great new records out this week? You bet your ass there are. Here’s a list of artists you can choose from: Abandoned Pools, Alanis Morrissette, Dan Deacon, Divine Fits, Flatlanders, Houndmouth, John Zorn, Juliana Hatfield, King of Spain, Lightning Love, Mad Planet, Maria Minerva, Matthew Dear, Maximo Park, Minus the Bear, Poor Moon, Richard Hawley, Swans, TEEN and Wild Nothing. I’m pleased to say I’ll be reviewing a couple of those albums this week, so be on the lookout for that. As far as today’s Pick Your Poison goes, let me throw out some recommendations for tracks from Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters, Ellie Lawson, Eric Harvey, Life Size Maps, Miniature Cities, Steven A. Clark, and The Sweet Serenades. I’d also like to give a special shout out to The Handsome Family (mp3 below), who will be playing a show in Chicago at Mayne Stage on September 14th. They’re a great band and are great to see live, and if you’re in the area and have the means please go to the show. You can buy tickets here.

Aniki & K Theory – Thou Shall Not Touch

Clubfeet – City of Light (Softwar Remix)

Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters – Gild the Lily

Easy Star All-Stars – Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover)

Ellie Goulding – Lights (Cannonhead Remix)

Ellie Lawson – Learn

Eric Harvey – Tried and True

The Handsome Family – Darling, My Darling

K’naan – Hurt Me Tomorrow (Parag Remix)

Ladyhawke – Blue Eyes (Ron Flieger Remix)

Mike Dillon – Leather On

Miniature Cities – Just to Keep Me Awake

Steven A. Clark – Seashore

The Sweet Serenades – Can’t Get Enough

Vague-à-bonde – Evolved

SOUNDCLOUD

The 1975 – The City (No Ceremony Remix///)

Kjartan Bue – Man Riding Backwards

Night Moves – Country Queen

ON AN ON – Ghosts

Skye – Featherlight

SURES – Stars

Album Review: Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits [Merge]

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On 08/28/2012

In album review, mp3, music



Let’s get the introductions out of the way quickly. You know and love Britt Daniel from Spoon. That song they do “The Underdog” is pretty great. Dan Boeckner has been in a couple bands you may have heard of, including Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs. He’s no longer a member of either of those bands anymore, but really everything he’s been involved in has been wonderful. Sam Brown is from the band New Bomb Turks. You’ve probably never heard of New Bomb Turks or Sam Brown, but he’s a drummer and everyone always forgets about the drummer. With the powers of Daniel, Boeckner and Brown combined, they are Divine Fits. Their debut album is inventively titled A Thing Called Divine Fits. All reasonable logic says that given the players involved, the excellence of this record should be almost a sure thing. Welcome to a band where expectations are met.

The breakdown of A Thing Called Divine Fits is about as even-handed as the composition of it. Daniel and Boeckner bring their considerable talents to the table, and while they insist it was an extremely collaborative atmosphere, the liner notes show that only two songs out of eleven are credited to both of them. The rest are either written solely by one or the other, save for “Shivers,” which is a cover of a Boys Next Door song. The record is split right down the middle vocally too, and they accomodate for the uneven number of tracks by both singing “The Salton Sea.” What do these songs sound like? Well, the Boeckner tracks are a lot more synth heavy and Handsome Furs-esque, while the Daniel tracks feature more guitars and bounce like a good Spoon song should. In other words, if you like either or both of their other bands, you’ll like Divine Fits too. Their previously established sounds aren’t too far apart from one another, so the blending of both into one record sounds even better than you might anticipate.

The ways A Thing Called Divine Fits differs from the work of Spoon and Handsome Furs are somewhat subtle, but they are there. Opening track “My Love Is Real” gets by on little more than a synth and a rhythm track, which you could definitely say is more minimalist, while the hook of, “My love is real/Until it stops,” is very concise considering the typically wordy Boeckner wrote it. Boeckner also goes a little outside of his comfort zone on the sparse acoustic ballad “Civilian Stripes,” though he has done a couple of somewhat similar-sounding songs with Wolf Parade before. It’s his vocals that really sell the song, which are more heartfelt and emotional than he’s ever been. Ultimately Divine Fits does more for Boeckner than anyone else, especially since he has much more on the line with no other project to go back to. He shines in exactly the ways he needs to and takes the opportunity to grow, even if it’s only a little bit.

Daniel for the most part rides the wave this record provides for him, especially on “Flaggin a Ride” and “Would That Not Be Nice.” Both of those songs are individually great and super catchy but don’t push on any stylistic or lyrical boundaries. If you want to hear him go just a little off his playbook, “The Salton Sea” is the place to start. It’s not a pop song; it’s an atmospheric piece in which the synths create this pulsating ocean of noise that you just want to swim around in. Many will write it off as one of the album’s more minor moments, but there’s something almost indefinably cool about it if you pay close attention. The same can be said about closing track “Neopolitans,” which seems to signal from its own little world where synths lightly strobe before giving way to moments of sudden acoustic guitar clarity and echoed vocals. It’s the one track on the entire record that truly epitomizes what it would sound like if you mashed Handsome Furs and Spoon together for four minutes. There’s a bipolarity to it, but it works well anyways.

All the members of Divine Fits insist that they are taking this band seriously and this isn’t a one-off collaboration or side project. Yes, Daniel will return to Spoon, but he may do what Boeckner did for years with Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs and do a record and tour with one before skipping over to the other for more of the same. Of course Daniel has also started another band, so who knows how he’s going to manage everything. It’s also unlikely Boeckner will sit around waiting to make another Divine Fits record, so he’ll probably debut a new project in 2013. But yes, based upon the strong start that is A Thing Called Divine Fits, they’d be fools to stop now. If anything, hopefully this band turns into a space where these guys don’t feel bound by expectations or constraints and can truly let their crazier and uncommercial sides out of the cage. That would likely be either an unlistenable mess, or something brilliant and (r)evolutionary. Given their pedigree, you’re almost guaranteed the latter.

Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice

Divine Fits – My Love Is Real

Stream the entire album (for a limited time)

Buy A Thing Called Divine Fits from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Monday 8-27-12

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On 08/27/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

If you’re a reader of this site then I hope you’re familiar with New Zealand’s fourth most popular band, Flight of the Conchords. In what were ultimately tragic circumstances, the duo of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement chose to end their HBO show in 2009 after only two seasons. I secretly suspect they failed to realize how popular it would make them and the sort of pressure that would be forced on them to continue making a high quality music-intensive show like theirs. The second season had some small issues and the songs weren’t quite as good either. By pushing them to do a season a year, they were essentially writing scripts and a dozen brand new songs each time, which for even an ordinary band or artist is a lot. That the songs had to be funny probably made it even tougher. But they were a band before the TV show ever happened, and while they’ve done a fair share of touring, we have heard little to nothing from them these last couple years. They are, in essence, retired. Jemaine has gone on to a relatively lucrative acting career, and Bret won an Academy Award earlier this year for one of the many songs he wrote for the soundtrack to The Muppets movie. Great to see them both doing well, but it’d be even better if they got back together for some Flight of the Conchords stuff. Well, wish somewhat granted. The fellas got back together recently to do a video and song for charity. It starts with a classic “band meeting” and ends with the “We Are the World”-type song with much funnier lyrics and featuring a bunch of New Zealand celebrities. As far as charity songs and videos go, it’s actually pretty good. And of course it’s great to see Flight of the Conchords doing anything. Okay, onto today’s Pick Your Poison. Pay attention to mp3s from Chomp (members of Cloud Nothings and Total Babes), Daughn Gibson, Dum Dum Girls, Neil Halstead, and Slow Hands. The Soundcloud section today is stellar, and you should absolutely stream new songs from Chad Valley (ft. Glasser), El Perro Del Mar, Future Islands, Twerps and Ultraista (Nigel Godrich’s band).

Andre Williams – Blame It On Obama

Cara Mitchell – Passing Sun

Chomp – Fresh Wounds

Chrystian Rawk – False Ghost

Daughn Gibson – Reach Into the Fire

Dominic Lord – Old English

Dum Dum Girls – Lord Knows

finite_infinity – Club Values

Marian Call – Dear Mister Darcy

Michael Zapruder – Florida

Neil Halstead – Digging Shelters

Nerd Revolt – Fallen

Pair of Arrows – Vestige

Qualms – Pressure

Slow Hands – Rhabarbarum

SOUNDCLOUD

Chad Valley – Fall 4 U (Feat. Glasser)

El Perro Del Mar – Walk On By

Future Islands – Tomorrow

Smoke & Jackal – No Tell

Twerps – He’s In Stock

Ultraista – Bad Insect

Pick Your Poison: Friday 8-24-12

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On 08/24/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

One thing that very few people know about me is that the band …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead are responsible for one of the greatest live show experiences I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing. It was at the Bowery Ballroom in New York in October of 2004. After what proved to be a fascinating bill that included indie pop from Mates of State, hip hop from Aesop Rock and blisteringly loud noise rock from SUNN O))), ..AYWKUBTTOD came out to play at 2:30AM. They were pretty drunk because they’d been forced to sit through a bunch of other acts, keeping in mind this was also in the wake of their 10.0 review for their 2002 record Source Tags and Codes. I was right up against the stage with no barricade providing one of those notorious gaps between a band and the crowd. Anyways, not only was the performance extremely visceral and thrilling on a minute-by-minute basis, but they were trashed to the point where they didn’t particularly care what happened. So they completely destroyed their instruments and everything on stage. Guitars, amps and drum kits were obliterated. Pieces of the stage were coming up because microphone stands were being slammed into them. At one point security pulled me away mere seconds before I would have been struck in the head with a microphone stand. Then the band invited everyone up on stage for one last song with whatever instruments they had left. Security tried to hold people back, but it was a gigantic rush and most of us were up there singing into the remaining microphones with the band. It was a true triumph, and one that I’ve never seen repeated in the handful of times I’ve seen the band perform since. They’ve mellowed, gotten rid of a few members, and turned in a few not-so-great albums. Their last one Tao of the Dead was actually strikingly good, even if many failed to recognize it as such. I’m pleased to announce though that Trail of Dead are back yet again with their eighth full length album, titled Lost Songs. It will be out on October 23rd. Along with that announcement comes a new single called “Up to Infinity.” The song is about the tragedy occuring in the Syrian Civil War, however the band also wants to dedicate it to Russian punk band Pussy Riot, because of the injustices they’ve suffered at the hands of the Russian government. You can stream the song here. The band will be on tour supporting the new album this November. Go see them, even though they refuse to trash stages and start riots at venues anymore. Okay, let’s get through this Friday edition of Pick Your Poison so your weekend can get started right. Great songs today coming from Bella Darling, The Men, Pet Lions, Pipers, Solos and Something Fierce. The Soundcloud section features some excellent stuff from chris e pants (aka Chrissy Murderbot), Lightning Bolt, Michna and Pinback. Have a great weekend!

Adian Coker – Angels & Demons

AG – I Wanna Be Your Man (The Beatles cover)

Bella Darling – Pharaohs

Brim Liski – Supermassive

Central – Beat 4

Driving Cassady – You Ain’t the One

Indyns – Fields Lie Fallow

The Men – Candy

Nick Stefanacci – Fly Away

OMBRE – Tormentas

Pet Lions – Lightning Bolt

Pipers – Edge of Nowhere

Saint Lou Lou – Maybe You (Lauer Remix)

Solos – All My Tribulations

Something Fierce – Warlords of Information

SOUNDCLOUD

chris e pants – Doggy Style

James Cook – Arts & Sciences

Joshua Michael Robinson – Broken Sling

Lightning Bolt – King Candy

Michna – Through The City On The Edge Of Forever

Pinback – Proceed To Memory

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 8-23-12

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On 08/23/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s been a short bit, so let’s do a quick Class of 2012 update. Let’s start with A$AP Rocky. His first full length album LongLiveA$AP will be out on Sept. 11th, but in advance of that he’s making the media rounds which included a stop at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday. You can go here to see him perform “Goldie” with The Roots. It’s a pretty subdued performance, perhaps because he had to do his best to censor his language for TV. Even then I think a swear or two got past the censors. While we wait for Lana Del Rey to actually start touring in support of her album Born to Die that was released earlier this year, it’s been announced that she’ll be the new face of Jaguar automobiles. Yes, starting next month you’ll see her in ads for Jaguars. See some details about that here. Del Rey will also be appearing in ads for H&M this fall. In other words, you’ll be seeing her on TV and in print quite a bit, but music will have little to nothing to do with it. In sadder news, while she’s made plenty of waves so far in 2012, Azealia Banks has announced that her debut album Broke With Expensive Taste has been pushed back from this fall to February 12, 2013. Between her changing management and getting a lot of other exciting opportunities going, I guess she really wants to take the time to ensure everything about that record is as great as it can possibly be. One of the better things to happen with Azealia Banks in recent weeks though is that she’s stopped fighting with her 2012 Classmate Kreayshawn. They got into a bit of an argument at the start of the year, but they’ve since talked out their problems and after some apologies are now friends. I’m always happy when my Artists to Watch get along. By the way Kreayshawn’s album Somethin’ Bout Kreay was also pushed back, but only by about a month. It will be out officially on September 18th, and I’ll be reviewing it right around then. Last but certainly not least, Grimes released her music video for “Genesis” yesterday, and it’s pretty awesome. If you like weird dancing, girls in floor-length dreadlocks wearing silver suits of armor, swordplay (and swords on fire!), snakes and much more, it’s pretty much a visual feast. Hell yes it’s amusing and hell yes you should watch it. Like, now. Pick Your Poison can wait. When you get back though, you’ll want to keep an eye on mp3s from Animal Parts, Crybaby, Happy New Year, Southern Shores, Soviet, and Teen Daze’s remix of White Arrows. In the Soundcloud section, stream delights from Dark Dark Dark, Princess Music and TE Morris.

Animal Parts – What Our Love Is

Bailterspace – Blue Star

Chasing Kings – Do It To My Self

Comtron – Fraud

Crybaby – True Love Will Find You in the End

Diva – Wanna Get to Know You

Dog Society – The Fuse Before

Glitches – Dust & Shadow

Happy New Year – Summer

Nervous Curtains – Wired to Make Waves

Pravada – Someone Else

Rich E Rheu – Don’t Like Freestyle

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside – Like A Drug

Seamonster – Parasol (Monster Rally Remix)

Southern Shores – New Love

Soviet – Lost When Found

Van She – Jamaica (Unicorn Kid Remix)

White Arrows – Roll Forever (Teen Daze Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Dark Dark Dark – How It Went Down

Marilyn Manson – Slo-Mo-Tion (Dirtyphonics Remix)

Princess Music – White Wave

TE Morris – The Long Distance Runner

Tes Elations – May She

Ungdomskulen – Askefast

Snapshot Review: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes [4AD]

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On 08/23/2012

In album review, mp3, music, snapshot review



If you took Jello Biafra from his Dead Kennedys heyday and put him into a band that plays distorted and weird renditions of AM Gold sounds of the ’60s, you’d come reasonably close to what Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are all about. While Ariel Pink never goes for the throaty yelp and ferocity that Biafra often had during those times, his strange perception of the world around him often pushes his vocals to take on different personalities and affectations. Simultaneously you’re also stuck with the challenge of trying to determine if Pink is actually being sincere or not. He cracks a lot of jokes and sings a lot of nonsense, many times in voices that sound dismissive or idiotic, yet there are also love songs that often have tenderness and genuine emotion attached to them. The many flights of fancy that suit his variety of whims at any given moment can make listening to Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti records a very difficult task, if not a chore. It’s almost always fascinating if you can stand it, and on occasion he’ll hit on something truly brilliant, such as the song “Round and Round” off of 2010’s Before Today. There was little funny about that song, but its hooks cut so deep they could leave scars on your ears if you weren’t careful. Such is the dichotomy of the man and the band behind him. Nothing on their new album Mature Themes ever hits the way you might want or expect it to, but if it did then it wouldn’t be a proper APHG record. If you’re looking for the most oddly engaging record of 2012, congratulations you’ve found it.

One of the smartest things you can do when listening to Mature Themes is to surrender your will and control and simply let it take you where it wants to go. Questioning a shift in direction or a lyric will leave you frustrated time and time again, because so much of it fails to make sense. Pink is operating on his own level here, and whether you think that’s above or below your own is irrelevant. Lines like, “The bad breath of a cross-eyed goat/ Eating children for a Monday morning,” on “Driftwood” aren’t supposed to make sense (to us at least), just like how “Schnitzel Boogie” stops mid-song so Pink can place an order at a drive-thru. “Is This the Best Spot?” is like some mad science experiment gone awry, bouncing between G-spots, H-bombs and a Rocky Horror-esque reference to time warps in under two minutes. And as you sit there scratching your head about what planet the guy is living on, songs like first single “Only in My Dreams” and the title track come in with some earnest folk-pop you might have gotten from Simon & Garfunkel or The Beach Boys. Of course the bipolar and challenging nature of this album isn’t anything really new for Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. They’ve been releasing records steadily over the last 10 or so years that carry a whole lot of similarities to what they’re putting out now, only the quality, fidelity and exposure has improved over time. Before Today was the band’s first album on 4AD and their first to feature clear studio recording. They also simplified and blended their various eccentricities more than ever before to create something more easily digestible than ever before. Mature Themes is by contrast both a step forward and a step backward. The band sounds more polished than ever, but the strangeness is back in its fullest effect. In some respects it’s serving to weed out the new set of fans that have discovered the band in recent years, trying to scare them away from a good thing. But if you find Pink’s oddball sensibilities gripping, there’s more than a fair share of reasons to keep paying attention. On the song “Early Birds of Babylon,” Pink keeps asking, “Hey, how does he do that?” Listening through this record, you’ll likely find yourself asking that same question of Pink over and over again.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Only in My Dreams

Buy Mature Themes from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 8-22-12

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On 08/22/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

On occasion I like to try and do some good in the world and for my Chicago readers by pointing out a good or exciting show happening in town sometime in the near future. Today I’m happy to talk about the band Videotape. I wish I could tell you they got their name from the classic film American Psycho, however I’m almost positive that’s not the case. What is the case though is that they’re a pretty good band, and they’ll be playing a show on Friday at Township that you should attend if you’ve got the time and $6. Love and Radiation, along with Pool Holograph, are opening. Take Videotape’s Between Me and You as a sample mp3 to perhaps entice you into going. You can buy tickets for the show by clicking this link. Simple enough, right? Well, so is today’s Pick Your Poison. Good tracks today from Beaten By Them, Cave Painting, Dan Friel, Minarets and Ted Morris. Stream new things in the Soundcloud section from California Wives and Mount Eerie.

Bass Science – Psychedelic American Boyhood

Beaten By Them – Salvador Divinorum

Blessed Feathers & Peter Wolf Crier – Porcelain (Red Hot Chili Peppers cover)

Cave Painting – Light Show

Chris McFarland – Simple Selfish Plan

Dan Friel – Valedictorian

Kalipo – Bierchucks

King Fantastic ft. Awolnation – Surf’s Up

Makoto – Hurts So Much

Malka – Electropicalia

The Marquee – First Time

Meklit Hadero & Quinn Deveaux – Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (Arcade Fire cover)

Minarets – Feeling Foolish

Mist Glider & Heart Tricks – Mermaid

Ted Morris – God Knows

Titanics – Beacons

SOUNDCLOUD

California Wives – Blood Red Youth

The Invincible Summer – Runaway

Les Sins – Fetch

Mount Eerie – World Heaves

OurGuys – Famous Last Words

Silver Medallion – Hey Cinderella

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 8-21-12

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On 08/21/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

This week is a relatively high profile week for new music releases, especially compared to the last couple weeks. Be on the lookout for new stuff from Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Bailterspace, Bill Fay, Bloc Party, Call of the Wild, Careful, Cate Le Bon, Carol Kleyn, Chris McFarland, The Darkness, Dots Will Echo, Dylan LeBlanc, The Heavy, The Kinks, Lee Hazlewood, Owl City, Reverend Horton Heat, Ry Cooder, Six Organs of Admittance, Teengirl Fantasy, Van She and Yeasayer. In case you missed them, I’ve already reviewed the new albums from Bloc Party and Yeasayer in case you’d like to learn more about either one of those. As for today’s Pick Your Poison, let me give you some guidance on what is a pretty strong set of downloads. Don’t miss tracks from AC Newman, Baby Baby, Hero Jr., The Reflections, Robert Pollard, Schoolboy Q and Woodsman. Also, if you’re intrigued by the Stükenberg mp3 below, you may be interested to know that they’ll be playing a show in Chicago on Sept. 15th at Ultra Lounge with Popular Tongues, Kelroy and Viaducts. You can buy tickets ($8) for that show here. In the Soundcloud section you can stream new gems from AlunaGeorge, Mount Eerie, and Weekend.

AC Newman – I’m Not Talking

AppleTree – Hi!

Baby Baby – Wah Uh! Uh Oh!

The Cyrillic Typewriter – Boxing Arenas

Gottfried Beyer – Ménage

Hero Jr. – Naked

Kyler England – Take These Things to Heart (Acoustic String Remix)

Let’s Go Safari – Oh Jane Doe (Your Pretend Boyfriend Remix)

Letterist – Under Volcanoes (The Golden Pony Remix)

One In A Googolplex – Grow Towards the Sun
One In A Googolplex – Every Star is a Thought

The Reflections – Summer Days

Robert Pollard – Who’s Running My Ranch

Schoolboy Q – Party

Shy Hunters – Stained Glass House

Stükenberg – Better Off Alone

Woodsman – All Tangled Up

SOUNDCLOUD

AlunaGeorge – Your Drums, Your Love

Jethro Fox – Lonely Sound

Mount Eerie – Ocean Roar

Weekend – Your Own Nothing

Wet Nuns – Why You So Cold?

Yuno – Sunlight

Snapshot Review: Yeasayer – Fragrant World [Secretly Canadian]

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On 08/21/2012

In album review, mp3, music, snapshot review



As a general rule, you could well say that whenever the lead singer of a band starts picking fights with random people and things in interviews, it’s a sign of trouble. That doesn’t always mean an epic war of words between two or more parties. More often than not it’s a cry for attention, the idea of saying something inflammatory to get your name in the press because it might not be there otherwise. Billy Corgan has been pulling this trick for decades, and it’s kept the Smashing Pumpkins on people’s minds even during the last decade when they were churning out loads of crap. Which brings us to Yeasayer’s Chris Keating. Chatting with Rolling Stone about the band’s new album Fragrant World, he openly insulted R. Kelly and the current state of EDM (electronic dance music). And while he complimented Frank Ocean’s excellent work in the R&B genre, he capped it off by saying the genre should “gay it up a little,” referencing Ocean’s bisexuality. Of course he’s still better off than Surfer Blood frontman John Paul Pitts, who is dealing with a much more serious situation right now. But Keating’s comments are helpful because they give the band headlines while distracting from reviews of their new record. If your album is good, the attention will find you even if you don’t open your mouth. So yes, pulling a quote stunt like he did feels like an act of pre-release desperation. Hearing the first two Yeasayer albums All Hour Cymbals and Odd Blood, you might imagine that such a talented band with a great ability to avoid being confined to a particular label or genre would continue to flourish. Unfortunately their unique mixture of freak folk and psych-pop has been brushed off in favor of something decidedly more minimalist and dark. Arrangements are no longer packed with an array of colorful instruments, instead synths and electronic beats seem to be the two driving forces on their songs. Sometimes, as in the chorus of “Fingers Never Bleed,” it brings out a very ’80s R&B vibe that wouldn’t sound too out of place on a Janet Jackson record. Other times it can sound like Chromatics filtered through the lens of The xx, as on “Damaged Goods.” That might make it seem like there’s a reasonable amount of variety across the album, as with the previous two Yeasayer long players. Actually, Fragrant World is the most cohesive and sonically solid record the band has ever made.

It’s a shame then that these are also the most uninteresting and unremarkable songs they’ve ever created as well. Even if you have the patience to listen through the whole thing a half dozen times, it’s unlikely you’ll come across many tracks that distinguish themselves from the pack and actually stay with you. The album’s midsection of “Devil and the Deed,” “No Bones” and “Reagan’s Skeleton” do the best jobs of being reasonably catchy and memorable. As much as they do right, they also just sort of drop off without trying anything truly new or different. There aren’t any twists in spots where there should be, and it feels like something’s missing as a result. The shift away from fuller and more complex arrangements also brings the band’s lyrics into a greater spotlight than ever before. Anyone that’s paid close attention to their last two albums knows Yeasayer aren’t the most prolific songwriters. Their skillfully crafted songs have gone a long way towards covering that problem up. Now pushed to the surface, the words are just another way the band stumbles and falls. It might be a little more forgivable if they had kept some of the uplifting and inspiring themes of their last couple records. Unfortunately much of the new album is about death and darkness, so if the bass-heavy melodies don’t bring you down then the lyrics probably will. “My girl says that all the rain promises is to give life to the seeds/Live in the moment/Never count on longevity,” Keating sings on “Longevity.” While it’s probably not intended that way, you could imagine those lines being mirrored back at the band and their career so far. While it’s admirable that they’re not content to sit still and fully commit to a certain style or genre of music for very long, it could also spell trouble for them if they make one too many wrong moves. Fragrant World may be the start of that inevitable downfall, or it could be a small misstep in an otherwise strong career in music. For the sakes of everyone, let’s hope it’s the latter.

Yeasayer – Henrietta

Buy Fragrant World from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Monday 8-20-12

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On 08/20/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Last Thursday I talked briefly about the Russian punk band Pussy Riot and the legal situation they were facing in court. Well as you may have heard, on Friday the band was found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” and all three members were sentenced to two years in prison. While many artists, celebrities and important figures have gone on record supporting the band and their actions, the Russian government isn’t about to change their minds. In fact, word today is that they’re busy searching for other members of the band, hoping to arrest them and charge them with the same crime. There are apparently 10 total members of Pussy Riot, so the three that have been convicted and sentenced are only a small part of their whole. In fact, after the sentencing on Friday, the band released a new song called “Putin Lights Up the Fires”. There were also “Free Pussy Riot” rallys held around the globe on Friday to show support for the band. While none of this will probably help the three women whose sentences have already been decided, hopefully such an outpouring of support and protest can help bring about some real changes and discussion about the topics of freedom and religion and feminism across the globe. Okay, I’ve gone over this enough for now, and it’s a heavier topic than I’d like for these Pick Your Poison posts. This is about discovering new music, not incarcerating someone because of it. So please enjoy tracks from Ab-Soul, DaVinci (with Freddie Gibbs), Holmes, The Pauses and Silent Rider. In the Soundcloud section Amateur Best and Deerhoof have new tracks up for streaming, and Peter Bjorn & John’s remix of Norah Jones is a surprising delight for many reasons.

Ab-Soul – Nibiru

Bjork – Mutual Core (The Adamski Kid Remix)

DaVinci – MYOB (ft. Freddie Gibbs)

Dinowalrus – Grounded

Donnis – Absolutely (ft. IAMSU & Jay Ant)

Eli & Fur – Tonight (Jimmy Edgar Remix)

Four Rounds & The Sound – Nothing But Time

Holmes – Stereo

How to Dress Well – Again (Janet Jackson cover)

Jaggery – No Sympathy

Natural Child – B$G P$MP$N

The Pauses – The Beginning of Things

Qualms – Pressure

Silent Rider – Beggar

Zucchini Drive – Howler Than Thou

SOUNDCLOUD

Amateur Best – Ready For The Good Life

Deerhoof – Fête d’Adieu

I Am Giant – Purple Heart

Milkman – Neon Eyes (Original Mix)

The National Rifle – Coke Beat

Norah Jones – Miriam (Peter Bjorn & John Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Friday 8-17-12

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On 08/17/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Every now and then you need one of those weekends where you can just spend some quiet times with friends and not have to worry about going places or doing much. Sit back and relax on the couch with a beverage and enjoy shutting the world out. That sounds like a great idea to me, and so I think that’s what I’ll be doing all weekend. You should join me in doing the same. I’m not inviting you all over to my place, but we’ll each spend time in our respective places without a care in the world. If you have a second and are so inclined though, a quick click of the “Like” button on this site’s Facebook page would be very much appreciated. I promise not to spam you at all or clog up your Facebook News Feed. I’m a respectful Facebook user and I hope you are too. Now let me get to today’s Pick Your Poison. Solid set of songs today, in particular from The Dandelion War, Dan Melchior, Franz Nicolay (formerly of The Hold Steady), GRMLN, Karlie Bruce, Lonely Drifter Karen, More Amor and TEEN. In the Soundcloud section there’s streaming goodness from He’s My Brother She’s My Sister, King Krule and Neon Hitch. Have a great weekend!

The Dandelion War – Drifters

Dan Melchior – All the Clocks

Delicate Steve – Afria Talks to You (Oorutaichi Remix)

Franz Nicolay – Did Your Broken Heart Make You Who You Are?

GRMLN – Coral

Jay Rock – YOLA

Karlie Bruce – Paperback Lover

Lonely Drifter Karen – Comet

Marenberg Kollektiv – Sun Goes Down

Minta & the Brook Trout – From the Ground

More Amor – Heart

Nick Ferrio & His Feelings – Popular Flower

Squadda B – Love U

TEEN – Unable

Tesla Boy – Fantasy (SoundSAM Remix)

Tilly & the Wall – Love Riot (Cycad Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

AJ Edwards – Let Down Your Guard

Dan Croll – From Nowhere

The Fades – Be Your Man

He’s My Brother She’s My Sister – Electric Love

King Krule – Rock Bottom

Neon Hitch ft. Tyga – Gold

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