Month: March 2014

Pick Your Poison: Monday 3-10-14

On 03/10/2014

Haven’t done a show preview in a little while for all my fellow Chicagoans, so let’s do one of those today. This upcoming Tuesday, The War on Drugs drop their fourth full length Lost in the Dream. After the remarkable step forward that was their 2011 record Slave Ambient, this new one is another shift towards a more extended jam session through the corridors of classic rock. As familiar as the sound might seem sometimes, be it pieces of Dire Straits or Bob Dylan and maybe even a touch of The Traveling Wilburys, the band also manages to make it their own and ultimately create one of the strongest records from 2014 so far. Though I think it sounds like almost nothing else on the album, the first single “Red Eyes” is one of, if not my absolute favorite song at the moment. This is a band on the up-and-up, and I think this year is going to see them become more popular than ever before. The War on Drugs will be playing an 18+ show at Metro in a couple weeks on March 23rd, and of course I’m going to recommend that you go. As a bonus, Mark McGuire will be opening the show. McGuire’s latest album Along the Way came out last month and is pretty strong as well. Stream the track “In Search of the Miraculous” on Soundcloud to get a taste of what that’s like if you’re not already familiar. If you want to pick up tickets, they’re $19 in advance and $21 at the door. Here’s a link to the ticket purchase page. Come on out, it should be a fun night. And if you’re not from Chicago, check out their other U.S. tour dates, which run through mid-April. Okay, let’s do today’s Pick Your Poison. There’s some good cuts in this set from The Analog Affair, Canopies, Celine Neon, Equals and The Shoe. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Brody Dalle, Joel Ford, Mac DeMarco, of Montreal, Pattern Is Movement, Pure X and TOBACCO.

A.J. Ellis – Stand Up

The Analog Affair – We Were Lovers

Andrew St. James – A Prayer for East Oakland

Austra – What We Done? (Ohmeda Remix)

Aviel – Alone

Bad Suns – Transpose (Nicity Remix)

Canopies – Miss You Now

Celine Neon – Vacation Time

D/C – Devil on My Shoulder

Equals – Conveyor

Heyrocco – Melt

The Shoe – Paper Cup

The Villainy – Tired of Tears

#XI – Retrogrades

Song of the Week: Movement – Like Lust

By Faronheit

On 03/07/2014

In music, song of the week

If you could create a musical baby between James Blake and Massive Attack, it would probably come out sounding pretty close to what Movement is doing right now. They’re the sort of band that likes to blur the lines between genres and refuse to be easily pinned down, though you can suss out a few major themes in both this song “Like Lust” and the track “Us,” which they released last fall. Both are intensely beat driven, dark grooves that contain multitudes of subtext beyond what you might otherwise pick up on with just a single listen. Similar things can be said about the vocals, which are soft but hint at an intensity and passion, particularly as the line, “When it feels like lust,” fades in and out, symbolically rising to the occasion. The buildup for the synths is noteworthy as well for how it changes the direction of the song ever so slightly to keep you invested for about a minute longer than what might seem reasonable. With tour dates supporting sonic cousins Darkside and their debut EP out in April, Movement have rightly earned themselves a position as a band to watch. Let’s hope they keep cranking out tracks as good as the ones we’ve heard so far.

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 3-6-14

By Faronheit

On 03/06/2014

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Music Video: Lykke Li – Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone

YouTube Audio Stream: How to Dress Well – Words I Don’t Remember

Watch the short film “Are You Okay?” a collaboration between Dum Dum Girls and Bret Easton Ellis

Watch a clip of Andre Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix in the upcoming film All Is By My Side

YouTube Audio Stream: Son Lux ft. Lorde – Easy (Switch Screens)

Check out the sheet music for a new Parquet Courts single “Sunbathing Animal”

Music Video: Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Little Fang

Music Video: Iggy Azalea & Charli XCX – Fancy

Music Video: The War on Drugs – Red Eyes

YouTube Audio Stream: Sharon Van Etten – Taking Chances

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss tracks from Cody ChesnuTT, DeltaFoxx (covering Pearl Jam), The Fire and I, La Sera, Secret Colours and Train Company. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Christopher Owens, The Dodos, Fort Romeau, Fujiya & Miyagi, Oneohtrix Point Never, Perfect Pussy and Wartime.

AlunaGeorge – Kaleidoscope Love (Kaytranada Remix)

Cody ChesnuTT – Gunpowder on the Letter (ft. Gary Clark Jr.)

DeltaFoxx – Daughter (Pearl Jam cover)

Dream Curtain – Unknown Ends

The Fire and I – Ruined//Graffitied

La Sera – Losing to the Dark

Model Airplanes – Innocent Love

Monsterheart – Bunnies

Museum of Love – Monotronic (Secret Circuit Remix)

Ray Bonneville – Love is Wicked

Secret Colours – It Can’t Be Simple

Thief – Closer (Weird Together Remix)

Train Company – Step to Me

True – Videos (Mercury Remix)

Album Review: Lo-Fang – Blue Film [4AD]

By Faronheit

On 03/06/2014

In album review, class of 2014, music

Lo-Fang, aka Matthew Hemerlein, is a very talented guy. His early singles proved as much, showing off a diverse range of styles and instruments, all of which he played himself. Throw in some pretty catchy choruses, and you’ve got all the makings of a superstar. At least that’s what it looks like on paper. He may well rise above the fray and build an audience from the ground up, and having teen wunderkind Lorde in his corner to take him out on tour will undoubtedly help push things in the right direction. What’s unfortunate however is how Hemerlein’s debut album Blue Film turns a promising singer-songwriter and composer into a small disappointment. Turns out when you focus on only one or two aspects of your songs, there are other pieces that suffer.

If Blue Film was an entirely instrumental record, it would have turned out pretty great, what with the very Andrew Bird-like mixture of guitars, violins and synths. That’s the arena where Hemerlein really proves his worth as a musician. The other half of that includes vocals and lyrics, which is where this album really takes a turn for the worse. There are clunky and awkward lines in virtually every single song, and those mouthfuls are akin to someone trying to forcefully connect two puzzle pieces together that do not fit. “I never figured out how to / Unfold your paper cranes / Origami agony,” are kind of strange and ultimately meaningless lines from album opener “Look Away,” though the hook and gorgeous composition do a great job of averting total disaster there. While the nearly seven minutes of “#88” makes it a touch too long to be an official single, it’s one of the few tracks released in advance of the record that does a fantastic job of showing off Hemerlein’s musical diversity and influences. Unforunately it too suffers from a few lines that might as well have been pulled from the book of most commonly used lyrics.

It stands to reason that even the blandest of lyrics can be made better or more colorful by a clear emotional investment from the person singing them. No matter what the subject matter of a song, from reflections on the world around you to the morality of cheating on your significant other to trying to be a better person, it seems like Hemerlein treats everything with a calm and nearly apathetic tone of voice. Even just a hint of genuine passion or the stretching of his vocal range from time to time could have given some extra life to songs that desperately needed it. Then there’s the matter of the two covers on Blue Film, both of which seem like ill-advised choices. The first is “Boris,” from the female duo BOY, which is a very dark song about sexual harassment in the music industry. These women are singing about their experience, but in Hemerlein’s hands the perspective shifts to the creepy guy offering them Codeine. If covering “You’re the One That I Want” from the musical Grease seems like a bad idea for an artist who largely deals with orchestral pop, you’d be correct. Hemerlein slows the tempo down to a delicately composed crawl, which changes the mood from upbeat and fun to downright desperate. It’s fits in perfectly with the rest of the album for that very reason, but it begs the question of why he felt the need to do it in the first place.

Prior to signing with 4AD, Hemerlein was planning to release Blue Film as a mixtape. As most mixtapes are, it probably would have been free. When the label heard what he had put together, they wanted to release it as Hemerlein’s debut album. Hindsight being 20/20, maybe they should have waited for the next batch of songs before trying to provide a proper introduction to Lo-Fang. Surely whatever he does next will be better than this.

Buy Blue Film from 4AD [or iTunes]

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 3-5-14

By Faronheit

On 03/05/2014

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s strange for me to think that there are people in this world who are still misogynists, bigots and general idiots. That’s not something I deal with on a regular basis, so the idea of it seems foreign to me, even though I know it’s going on every single day. Somebody famous will speak out against all of these people who think that the anonymity of the Internet grants them license to do and say whatever they want on it to whomever they want without recourse. Here’s a tip from someone who’s spent more time online than most: if you don’t like something or someone, avoid them. There’s no need to harass somebody online when you can just click on something else that doesn’t bother you. I’m all for people expressing their opinions, what with freedom of speech and all, but if your opinion is that you’d like to have sex with a specific celebrity, that’s probably something they don’t need to know. Has there ever been a situation where some random guy sent an overtly sexual message online to a woman he’s never met before and had it turn into something real? You’re delusional if you think that will work out in your favor. Similarly, who is it helping when you write a nasty comment underneath a YouTube video. Is it too much to ask people to be as civil when interacting with others online as they are interacting with one another in person? I understand that my point isn’t really adding anything new to a conversation that’s been going on since the dawn of the Internet, but it’s nice to reiterate that message every now and then. While I’ve been speaking in general terms, what’s motivated this diatribe has been writing from people like Sky Ferreira and Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry, musicians I care for and respect, who have had to deal with these sorts of problems. We can all do better with our online interactions. Okay, let’s talk your mid-week Pick Your Poison. There’s some good tracks today from Casket Girls, Induce, Jupe Jupe, Pontiak, Spaceship Aloha and Yalls. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Chromeo, Haley Bonar, Hercules & Love Affair, Owls, and Sharon Van Etten, among others.

Axons – Still Light

The Casket Girls – Secular Love

Exotic – Red Lights / Rainy Nights

Great Good Fine OK – Not Going Home

Indestructible Grandpas – 1-800-MATTERS

Induce – Alina

Jupe Jupe – Vicariously

Misun – All for Leyna (Billy Joel cover)

Paper Lions – My Friend (Octopus Project Remix)

Phoenix – SOS in Bel Air (Ariel Pink’s Krystal Bamboo Remix)

Pontiak – Innocence

Spaceship Aloha – Galaxy

Sugar Bomb! – Hangover

Yalls – Warlords

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 3-4-14

By Faronheit

On 03/04/2014

In mp3, music, pick your poison

We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Addison Groove, American Authors, Arthur Beatrice, Ava Luna, Axxa/Abraxas, Carla Bozulich, Damaged Bug, Drive-By Truckers, Each Other, Eagulls, Eternal Summers, Fenster, Ghost Beach, Holly Golightly, Homeboy Sandman, Laibach, Linda Perhacs, The Men, Mount Salem, Nick Waterhouse, Nothing, Real Estate, Rick Ross, Roman Remains, RVSB, Sally Seltmann, Sam Rivers, Trust, UME, Wake Owl, Warm Soda, We Are Scientists, Wolves Like Us and Young Fathers. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Carl Creighton, Jungle Doctors, Lola’s Bad, Moke Hill, Rasputin’s Secret Police, The River Monks and Two Twins. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Atmosphere, French Horn Rebellion (ft. Haerts), Movement, Peter Matthew Bauer, Porter Robinson and Bastille remixing Kimberly Anne.

Benjamin Shaw – Goodbye, Kagoul World

Carl Creighton – Snowbank

Divino Niño – It’s Been Like It Never Used To Be

Faux Effet – Aostuc

Jeremiah Jae – Survival (ft. Oliver the 2nd)

Jungle Doctors – Dry

Lola’s Bad – Break Free

Marvel the Gr8 – Top Gunner

Moke Hill – Don’t Know Where It Started

Rasputin’s Secret Police – Zoe

Revere – I Won’t Blame You

The River Monks – Beasts

Two Twins – Thomas

Zenith – ffuture

Pick Your Poison: Monday 3-3-14

By Faronheit

On 03/03/2014

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s not the most musically oriented of the awards shows, but the Academy Awards happened on Sunday, and I’d like to take a moment to talk about them. I’ve given plenty of commentary about the Grammys and how much I generally dislike/don’t watch them because they give awards to all the wrong artists, songs and albums, but the Oscars are different. The Academy Awards may not always get it right, but they do give plenty of recognition to great films from the previous year. I was happy to see 12 Years A Slave get the Best Picture win, even if it wasn’t even in my Top 5 films of 2013. It’s an impressive, well-made film with mindblowing performances and deals with an important topic. And my favorite film of 2013, Her, did walk away with a Best Original Screenplay win, which is exactly one more award than American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Nebraska picked up last night. Nothing against any of those three movies that earned a bunch of nominations but went home empty handed. Them’s the breaks sometimes. Overall I found this year’s Oscars to be largely predictable, both in the very “safe” hosting job that Ellen did as well as the winners and losers of the night. While I always do well on my Oscar ballot, this year I set a new personal best by only getting one category incorrect. That’s how easy it was. Perhaps the lone surprise of the evening was John Travolta and his wonderfully absurd introduction of singer Idina Menzel, for whatever reason calling her “Adele Dazeem” instead. There’s been plenty of comedy pulled out of that gaffe in the last 24 hours, and I hope it keeps going for awhile, just because. But while I’m thinking about singers and music performances, how about that performance of “The Moon Song” with Karen O and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend? That small, intimate performances was a highlight of the night for me, a brief respite from the big, epic glitz and glamor of the evening. In case you missed it, you can watch it here. It’d be nice if there are more moments like that at future Academy Award broadcasts. What were your thoughts on the evening? Share them with me in the comments below. Meanwhile, there’s this Monday edition of Pick Your Poison to get to. Great tracks today from Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, Jadeite, King of Prussia, LIZ, Will Phalen, Zoo Brother and The Field’s remix of Wild Beasts’ “Wanderlust.” In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Bok Bok (ft. Kelela), Fennesz, Hauschka, Landlady, Panama and Real Estate (covering George Harrison).

Coldplay – Midnight (Jeremy Hills Remix)

Ed Schrader’s Music Beat – Pantomime Jack

Hominidæ – Aloe

Jadeite – Frostbites

King of Prussia – Actuary

LCMDF – Rationality (ft. Ballet School)

LIZ – Say U Would

Schoolboy Q – Hell of a Night (Death Ledger Remix)

Sleepmakeswaves – One Day You Will Teach Me to Let Go of My Fears

Slim Tailor – Nova Stella

Tuomo and Markus – Don’t Shut Down Your Radio

Wild Beasts – Wanderlust (The Field Remix)