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Show Review: Los Campesinos! [Metro; Chicago; 1/27/12]

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On 01/30/2012

In chicago, lists, live music, mp3, music, show review


Prior to this Metro show, I’d only seen Los Campesinos! twice before. Both times were at Lollapalooza, but both were vastly different from one another. The first time, the band was playing one of the small side stages, had just released their first EP, and the crowd to watch them numbered less than 200. For a festival set, even on a side stage, it was a small crowd. Yet it was as if the band was hoping to win every single person over, even the ones casually walking by on their way to see another artist at another stage. They had an intense energy, playfulness and songs that showed it off while being catchy as hell. After the show, I immediately bought their EP and had them sign it, which all of them did while drawing doodles on it and chatting with me for an inordinate amount of time. There’s just something about those super young bands, so full of life and possibility, that you hope they never lose such charms. A couple years and a couple albums later, Los Campesinos! returned to Lollapalooza, this time on a massive stage with a massive crowd. I was excited to see my old friends again, but watching their set became a bit like going to your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant to find it’s now become super popular and there’s a 2 hour wait to get in. The band was getting the success they so rightly deserved, but I felt as if some of their edge had been lost. Throw on top of it the fact that one of their core members Aleks Campesinos! would be leaving the band at the end of the tour, and I began to worry about the future of these indie pop upstarts. Their last album Romance Is Boring was also much darker and less energetic than their previous efforts, though it was still one of the best records of 2010. That darkness held strong on their most recent effort Hello Sadness, but that album felt like it took the band full circle, the lyrics holding strong and the hooks suddenly perking up to increase the likeability factor. Turns out they’re doing just fine without Aleks (and a couple other now-former members) in the fold. It had become high time, in my mind, to finally see this band outside of a festival setting and see if they could win me over once again.

All ages shows tend to bother me just a little bit, mostly because so much of the youth of today feels that talking to their friends while a band is performing right in front of them is a good idea. If you paid money to see a show, you’re there to watch the band, not talk to friends. You can do that anytime. For free. But the one thing all ages shows bring to the table is the spirit of youth. When everyone’s paying attention, there’s jumping around, sing-alongs at the top of your lungs, and generally good vibes to be absorbed by all. Los Campesinos! provided a great assist in all of this straight from the beginning of their set, starting with the dynamic first single and track off Hello Sadness, “By Your Hand”. Following it up immediately with prior singles “Romance Is Boring” and “Death to Los Campesinos!” both kept the energy level high and also provided a great retrospective of where the band is at present vs. where they were in their early days all of 4 years ago. It was the sonic equivalent of a knockout punch from the get-go, which is probably why everyone behaved themselves in the most immature way possible. There was dancing, there was singing, there was crowd surfing and even a touch of moshing, but thankfully it appeared that everyone was physically okay for the duration of the show. Gareth was doing his best to keep a cool head as the ringmaster of the proceedings, encouraging everyone to keep having a good time but also to be mindful of others and helping those in need. It was about building friendship and community as much as it was seeing some great songs performed, and it seems everyone got their way. Those hoping for catalogue-spanning highlights from Los Campesinos! weren’t really disappointed either, though as expected the majority of songs were from their new album Hello Sadness. It was grand to hear bouncing around from “Songs About Your Girlfriend” to “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” to “There Are Listed Buildings” and “Straight in at 101” without so much as a blink of an eye. Things slowed down just past the midpoint of the set, as new songs “To Tundra” and “The Black Bird, The Dark Slope” were emotionally tough but dragged in a crowd that was looking for a good time all night. Nothing that a little “You! Me! Dancing!” couldn’t fix though, which it did and kept the celebration going for another few songs, including the encore.

Closing out the main set was a very good rendition of “Baby I Got the Death Rattle”, even if much of the crowd apparently didn’t know the song’s closing lyrics of “Not headstone, but headboard/is where I want to be mourned.” Gareth clearly tried to get a sing-along started and it unfortunately didn’t quite work out. Finishing the encore with the classic “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks” worked out far better, and there was a distinct smell of satisfaction in the air when the band walked off the stage that last time. That smell may also have been sweat. What helps make Los Campesinos! an exceptional band, outside of their dynamic and fun live shows, is the respect they have for their fans. They walked off the stage, through the backstage area, and straight to the merch table, where they remained until the very last person had cleared the room. They signed stuff, drew stuff, took photos, shook hands, engaged in too-long conversations, and basically did the same thing as the first time I saw them in 2007. To know that in spite of all their success and growth the last few years that they still care for their fans and put in the time and effort, well to me that’s the mark of a great band. It’s also a big reason why I’ll probably be a fan of theirs for as long as they’re around.

Los Campesinos! – By Your Hand

Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness

Buy Hello Sadness from Amazon

Set List
By Your Hand
Romance Is Boring
Death to Los Campesinos!
Life Is A Long Time
A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State; or, Letters from Me to Charlotte
Songs About Your Girlfriend
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
There Are Listed Buildings
Straight in at 101
To Tundra
The Black Bird, The Dark Slope
You! Me! Dancing!
The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future
Hello Sadness
Baby I Got the Death Rattle
\\**ENCORE**//
Miserabilia
Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks

Upcoming Los Campesinos! U.S. Tour Dates:
Jan 31 – BLUEBIRD THEATER, DENVER CO (16+)*
Feb 1 – CLUB SOUND, SALT LAKE CITY UT (ALL AGES)
Feb 3 – ELECTRIC OWL, VANCOUVER BC (19+)
Feb 4 – NEPTUNE, SEATTLE WA (ALL AGES)
Feb 6 – WILD BUFFALO, BELLINGHAM WA (21+)
Feb 7 – DOUG FIR LOUNGE, PORTLAND OR (21+)*
Feb 8 – DOUG FIR LOUNGE, PORTLAND OR (21+)*
Feb 10 – GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, SAN FRANCISCO CA (ALL AGES)*
Feb 11 – ECHOPLEX, LOS ANGELES CA (18+)*
Feb 12 – CASBAH, SAN DIEGO CA (21+)*
Feb 15 – CLUB DADA, DALLAS TX (ALL AGES)*
Feb 16 – FITZGERALD’S, HOUSTON TX (ALL AGES)*
Feb 17 – THE PARISH, AUSTIN TX (ALL AGES)*
Feb 18 – THE PARISH, AUSTIN TX (ALL AGES)*

*with Parenthetical Girls

Album Review: Lana Del Rey – Born to Die [Interscope]

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On 01/27/2012

In album review, music



Lana Del Rey is a magnet. People are drawn to her, and to her music, and everyone that hears her or knows about her has an opinion. Four or five months ago, you probably heard far kinder things being said about her compared to today, where the inevitable backlash has reared its ugly head and nearly swallowed her whole. All this before her major label debut album Born to Die even sees release. To be fair, the build up and press surrounding Del Rey has been huge – she is signed to a major label and the sky high hopes of executives are that she’ll eventually join the ranks of a Lady Gaga or a Beyonce in the realm of pop superstardom. That’s a very real possibility no matter how much crap she puts out there, so long as it sells. This is coming from the same world in which Ke$ha has a lucrative career despite being one of the more reviled pop stars in recent memory. But what is it about Del Rey that has drawn such ire from people? There’s a laundry list of things, so let’s try and break it down.

Lana Del Rey’s real name is Lizzy Grant. She had a privileged upbringing in New York that eventually resulted in a trip to boarding school and a stint at Fordham University. She dropped out of school to pursue a music career, and built a relatively respectable reputation as a Nancy Sinatra-esque, classically inspired crooner. Doors were opened for her, but not exactly the right ones or the ones she was looking for. As such, she invented her own persona and drastically changed her look to go along with it. Gone was the plain Jane Lizzy Grant, and in her place was the glamorous, full-lipped Lana Del Rey. Under the new name and style she quickly flourished, and though her 2010 debut A.K.A. Lizzy Grant went largely unnoticed, last summer she released the single song “Video Games” and the internet grabbed hold of it with a fierce intensity. It was a matter of months before Interscope Records came calling on the wings of yet another new and excellent song, “Blue Jeans”. It seemed that Grant was getting everything she wanted via the transition into Lana Del Rey. But was it too much success, too soon?

Early Del Rey detractors started by citing her fake persona. She couldn’t make it with her real name and real style, so she had to invent a character instead? How disingenuous of her! Not only that, but her character of Lana Del Rey is this pretty, platinum blonde with pinup style that appears to sell her sex. Listen to the lyrics of “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” as well and you’ll notice she’s singing about needing a big, strong man to keep her safe and warm, and how she’ll stick with him and essentially live to serve him while he goes off and plays video games. She’s playing up antiquated notions of women, that they’re supposed to slave in the kitchen all day, stay home with the kids, and generally accept whatever their husbands want. It’s a far cry from today’s women, fiercely independent and proving they’re equal with men on every level, even as the pay scales still don’t entirely reflect that. So yes, the controversy surrounding Del Rey is understandable. Many have undoubtedly been rooting for her to fail, and their wish is swiftly being Grant-ed. A few weeks ago she turned in a disastrous performance on Saturday Night Live, one that sent the internet abuzz yet again, this time with far more jeers than cheers. As NBC News anchor Brian Williams said, it was foolish of the show to put Del Rey on when her album hadn’t been released and her only notable accomplishments were having two songs popular with the online community. Very few people have gotten so far by doing so little. We’ve finally reached the apex though, the moment that will truly make or break Lana Del Rey – the release of her much-anticipated album Born to Die.

From start to finish, Born to Die feels like a statement. It seeks, as a whole, to try and be the official definition of what and who Lana Del Rey is. The two tracks that made her a rising star, “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” both show up early on in the record, and right next to one another. They are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the grandiosity and melodrama in place here, yet they also provide ample evidence that perhaps she doesn’t have much going for her otherwise. The opening title track signals its arrival with a rush of orchestration and sweeping majesty, quickly paired with a very basic electronic beat that holds steady for the duration. From the very start Del Rey is in a sad emotional state, wandering the streets in her heels, hoping that when she arrives at her man’s house he’ll open the gate and let her in. That theme of neediness and essentially pleading for acceptance extends through much of the album and is also a mirror to real life, in which the pop singer tries everything she can to ingratiate herself to a less than adoring public. Things change in a remarkably interesting way on “Off to the Races”, wherein Del Rey seems to want some street cred. She tells of how her “old man” is an evil gangster, involved in everything from drugs and maybe even murder, but she doesn’t care about that because he holds her hand and loves her with every beat of his “cocaine heart”. He sips Cristal while she swims around topless in the pool for his enjoyment. But she also says that she’s crazy and demands money and gold so she can go to the races and spend money all over town. The coup de gras in all this comes in a few lines in the chorus in which she says, “I need you to come here and save me/I’m your little scarlet starlet singing in the garden/kiss me on my open mouth”. Sure, it’s bad enough just to read it, but the WAY she sings it, in the most innocent, high-pitched baby voice a la Betty Boop, feels like an affront to women everywhere. Yet thinking about it from a different perspective, perhaps it’s just the opposite. A ruthless and tough girlfriend of a gangster one minute and an innocent young girl in need of saving the next, it appears she’s playing the latter role with her man to obtain money and access. Again, we’re dealing with parallels to real life.

Lizzy Grant is playing the role of Lana Del Rey. She must know the stereotypes she’s portraying and is either comfortable with lowering herself to obtain success, or is doing it to be ironic. In a perfect world it’d be the latter, but at the moment it appears to be the former, or at most a little from column A and column B. If she gave a little wink or even a smirk now and then, it’d be easier to say she was faking it to get people talking about gender issues and to work that much harder to change how success is obtained. Instead, everything about her, from her videos to her interviews to her live performances and the songs on Born to Die, smacks of overwrought sincerity. Yet it’s difficult to think a person would purposely sell their entire gender short just to earn money and popularity. Maybe Lizzy Grant really does have more in common with Lana Del Rey than one would reasonably think. Maybe she’s not a good person in the least. Or maybe she simply needs an outlet through which she can channel a life and emotional state built upon sadness, allowing the character to live and work through the situations she herself has trouble dealing with. What we’re searching for is clarity. Something to help us truly understand how Lana Del Rey came to be, and where she might go in the future. The record doesn’t provide any answers, or at least appears not to. What you get instead are a mixture of heavy ballads and tracks that take closer cues from hip hop and R&B, each one like the layer of an onion peeling back to try and explain or re-explain this persona Lizzy Grant has created.

After a moderately strong first 5 tracks, which include the aforementioned singles and most likely future singles “Diet Mountain Dew” and “Off to the Races”, Born to Die slowly descends into bland and boring ballads that are overlong and similarly styled to what came before them. They reiterate many of the same lyrical points as well, only with less emotion and less compelling melodies. The second half of the record is a chore to listen to in many ways, and the 3 bonus tracks on the deluxe edition only make it worse. Somehow 60 minutes with this thing feels nearly twice as long. Perhaps it’s the lack of briskly paced, faster tempo pop songs that are the main source of the drag. In an alternate universe somewhere there’s a 10 track, 35 minute version of Born to Die that is nearly perfect. The reality is we don’t need songs like “Dark Paradise” or “Million Dollar Man” as they feel more like padding than legitimate attempts to write smart or engaging songs. That’s a talent we know Del Rey has, because in spite of all the bitching, “Video Games” still completely devastates with every listen. It’s the high watermark she will continue to try and return to for the rest of her career, however long it may last. And though almost all of Born to Die doesn’t live up to the stratospheric expectations that were established for it by months of hype, you have to admire the risks it takes to even make a record like this. For a major label release of course there’s a couple of blatantly commercial elements to it, but between the dominance of 50’s-style melodramatic ballads and the brazen commitment to a purely fictional character, it’s got more of a story to tell and is more sonically adventurous than a whole lot of other big name artists. At least Lizzy Grant is trying something unorthodox, whether it’s for the right reasons or the wrong ones. Will it all work out for her in the end, or will she end up like one of her lesser songs – sad, pathetic and antiquated? That’s for you and your wallet to decide.

Lana Del Rey – Born To Die

Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans

Lana Del Rey – Video Games

Preorder Born to Die from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Friday 1-27-12

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On 01/27/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

I literally get hundreds of emails about this here site each and every day, and that’s not an attempt to brag but makes for just a little note of concern on my part. If somebody really wants or needs a response from me about music they’ve sent me or want to send me, I do my best to write and send replies. On occasion though, some people have a tough time getting enough oxygen to their brains and they’ll ask me a silly or downright stupid question. If you’re an artist or a promotions/public relations person for an artist, please try to do a little leg work yourself. I get all kinds of emails asking if “Artist X” can have their mp3 featured in an edition of Pick Your Poison. These are the second and third emails I get from such people, and if I’m able, I’ll try and put their mp3 into a Pick Your Poison edition within a couple days of the very first email sent to me. Some artists and promoters are impatient, especially if they don’t see their song up on this site within 24 hours. Others fail to recognize that the music they’re hoping to promote has already been posted on my site, days or weeks beforehand. Here’s a helpful hint to all those people, and to you dear reader as well: there is a search bar. It is located near the top of the page on the right side. Type in whatever you want, an artist name, a song name, and so forth, and the search function will do its best to find all the posts matching your criteria. Brilliant, isn’t it? Just a helpful Friday tip from me to you. Oh, and thanks to the artists and promoters that are clearly paying attention to what’s being posted. You’re the smart ones and I appreciate the leg work you do to make that happen. Okay, now let’s do today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll place the spotlight on tracks from Bleeding Knees Club, David’s Lyre, The Ex-Girlfriends Club, Isidore, Leema Mountain, Po Po, and Sharks. In the Soundcloud section enjoy Rick Rubin’s remix of Justice’s “On’N’On”, among others.

Air – Sexy Boy (Theatre of Delays Remix)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Pictures (GZUS Remix)

Bleeding Knees Club – Nothing to Do

David’s Lyre – English Roses

Dreamend – The Face on the Tintype

The Ex-Girlfriends Club – The Witch (The Sonics cover)

Gotye – Somebody I Used to Know ft. Kimbra (Emerson & Fox Treatment)

Isidore – Song of the City

Jokers of the Scene – Organized Zounds (Cosmic Kids Remix)

Joshua McCormack – Terminal Velocity

Leema Mountain – You

Po Po – Final Fight

Sharks – Arcane Effigies

Staygold – Backseat (Rimer London Remix)

Young Magic – Sparkly (Matthewdavid Odyssey Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

The Explorers Club – Run Run Run

Gosteffects – Slave to the Sweat

Justice – On’N’On (Ruined By Rick Rubin)

Rhum for Pauline – I Can Reach The Top

Silver Rocket – The Worst Is Yet To Come

Turnpike Glow – 1986

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 1-26-12

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On 01/26/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Let me do my best on this Thursday to give you a Class of 2012 update. I try to do this once a week, because typically there’s at least something to report. For example, this week it seems that Azealia Banks has been spending time with fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. He’s apparently become smitten with her, and it’s not hard to see why. If you’d like to watch her perform at his house, simply click this link. Additionally, Class of 2012 artist A$AP Rocky unleashed a brand new, NSFW music video for his track “Wassup”. There are some naked people in it, just be aware of that before following this YouTube link. I should probably also say something about Lana Del Rey too. She’s been on the receiving end of some serious backlash the last couple weeks, spurned primarily from her disastrous SNL performance. They can’t all be winners. The anti-LDR sentiment is growing, and her debut album “Born to Die” is out on Tuesday. I’ll have a review of it before then, so pay attention to the site the next couple days if you’re itching to learn more. Would I slam one of the artists I predicted success for this year? Ah, there’s the rub, and the hook to hopefully grab your interest. What should have your attention right now though are the songs in today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. Plenty to love here, including tracks from Ariane Moffatt, Evan Voytas, The Darcys, Grace Woodroofe, The Just Barelys, The Head and the Heart, and Yukon Blonde, to name a few.

The Cast of Cheers – Family (JAPE Remix)

The Darcys – Josie (Vol. 2)

Evan Voytas – You Don’t Even Know Where It’s At

Ferocious Fucking Teeth – Hinkley

Grace Woodroofe – Battles

The Head and the Heart – Down in the Valley

The Just Barelys – Lions

Museum – November

Project 46 – Jigsaw

Rickolus – Candy Blood

Rosie and Me – Arrow of My Ways

Soso – Who’s Gonna Love Me (Helium Robots Remix)

Thomas Azier – Metropolitan Tribe

Yukon Blonde – Stairway

SOUNDCLOUD

Ariane Moffatt – In Your Body

Kris Menace – Falling Star

Madam – The Snake

Me And My Drummer – You’re A Runner

Neptune – rpr

Yuna – Live Your Life

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 1-25-12

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On 01/25/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

So the Joy Division-inspired Mickey Mouse shirt has been stopped. Yes, Disney decided that there may be some issues with the design, specifically the legality of it, and so they’ve decided to stop selling the shirt altogether. You can no longer find it for sale on the Disney website. They probably also got some flak from some people upset the company would align themselves with a band whose name had Nazi ties and whose lead singer killed himself. But whatever, it was an interesting piece of merchandise while it lasted, and got people talking. If you’re desperate to own one, right now your best friend is eBay, where they’re going for hundreds of dollars. Good luck. Okay, today’s Pick Your Poison is a good one, as they tend to be. I’ll give gold stars to tracks from Cardinal, England in 1819, Erin Passmore, Grand Duchy, Theresa Andersson (with Peter Moren of Peter Bjorn and John), Xiu Xiu and Zammuto (aka one half of The Books). Oh, and I can’t forget about Cynthia Lennon, John’s first wife, singing a ukulele version of the Beatles classic “In My Life”. There’s something just a little special about that.

Bastian – Touch and Go

Biggs – The Drop

Cardinal – Carbolic Smoke Ball

Cynthia Lennon – In My Life (Beatles cover)

England in 1819 – Air That We Once Breathed

Erin Passmore – Downtown

Francis – Traktor

Gangstagrass – Shoot Dem

Grand Duchy – Silver Boys

Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

Roman Ruins – Mighty Love

Saturday’s Kids – Grey on White

Silver Medallion – Trainwreck (ft. Dunson)

Theresa Andersson – What Comes Next (ft. Peter Moren)

Xiu Xiu – Hi

Zammuto – F U C-3PO

SOUNDCLOUD

The Fiery Piano – Pegasus

Handbraekes – Callgurls

Philco Fiction – Portait Of Silence

Tremor Low – Peter Murphy’s Dead

Album Review: Chairlift – Something [Columbia/Young Turks]

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On 01/24/2012

In album review, music



Surely you remember the band Chairlift from those countless times you heard their song “Bruises” a couple years ago in an iPod commercial. Don’t remember “Bruises” exactly? Does the line “I tried to do handstands for you” jog your memory? If not, don’t worry yourself too much. The band was in many ways a one-hit wonder, and their 2008 debut album Does You Inspire You didn’t really inspire on the whole. Outside of touring, they haven’t really done much the last couple years, though there have been some changes. Band co-founder Aaron Pfenning is gone, choosing to focus exclusively on his other musical project Rewards after his romantic relationship with bandmate Caroline Polachek dissolved. Polachek now only has multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wimberly to back her up, and that’s impacted Charlift’s sound somewhat. Pfenning’s occasional vocal presence has vanished, as has his guitar work, leaving the band’s sophmore album Something in a very synth-based 80s pop space. And you know what? The results turn out much better for them.

First thing’s first, Polachek spends much of Something in the role of a woman scorned. That is to say breakups are on her mind, and that’s not surprising given she experienced one with her former bandmate Pfenning. You’d be smart to be wary of reading too much into any of the lyrics though, as many of them are clearly fictitious or fantasy-oriented rather than literal. She’s not REALLY trying to kill or seriously maim another person, though we can’t really rule out emotional hatchet jobs. There are a few moments of pure passion and love though, as on “I Belong in Your Arms”, which with its tenderness, brevity and addictive chorus makes for one of the album’s strongest moments. It is the “Bruises” of this album, though not quite as catchy or marketable. Mostly what’s stronger on this record outside of the subject matter is the way it gets dealt with. Polachek backs off on some of the more vexing metaphors from the band’s debut and instead tries something more emotionally direct, to excellent effect. She seems genuinely saddened singing the line, “The look in your eye says you don’t love me anymore” on “Cool As A Fire”. The soaring chorus only provides more aid to her excitement as she sings, “Have we met before/amongst the buzzing of billions/clear like yesterday when you look at me and smiled” on “Met Before”. Also impressive is the chorus to “Guilty As Charged”, which rightly claims, “If I gave you what you’re asking for, you know you wouldn’t want it anymore”. Smart, plainspoken and with hints of humor, it appears Polachek has a much better idea of what she wants to say and how she wants to say it – a sharp difference from the debut in which many of the moments felt forced or uninspired.

Equally intriguing about Something outside of the great lyrics are how all the songs are put together. Save for “Met Before” and “Frigid Spring”, there’s very little use of guitar on this record. Synths are the instrument of choice, and that combined with some excessive polish on the production end takes you straight to the 80s. If you were to play this album for someone without telling them anything about it, most would probably guess it was either made in the 80s or is new coming from an artist that was popular in the 80s. Polachek’s voice earns more gravitas on this record versus the last, and she takes those reins and runs with them. She channels everyone from Kate Bush to Laetitia Sadler to Christine McVie and maybe even a touch of Cyndi Lauper at times, and not once does she sound uncomfortable or out of her element. Wimberly is far quieter than Pfenning was behind the microphone, in that his vocal presence is barely felt. His true star turn comes with backing vocals on the occasional track and a pseudo-duet with Polachek on addictive single “Amanaemonesia”. The rest of the time he’s simply that guy crafting the beats or sending a melody soaring just to keep up with Polachek’s strong singing. They are the yin and yang of Chairlift, perfectly complimenting and pushing one another to excel in different ways.

It’s a shame that Something is a record that will probably be just as, if not more ignored than its predecessor. Despite the strong collection of healthy and marketable pop songs, it’s unlikely you’ll be hearing much from the band on the radio or in TV commercials. There’s just a slight element of offbeat weirdness to many of these tracks that can turn off more mainstream audiences, to start. While there’s not a massive difference between Does You Inspire You and Something sonically, that first album at least had several moments that felt rooted in the present, likely caused by more guitars and less synths. Given that The Killers aren’t still rocking their 80s pop-rock sound established on Hot Fuss, it’s relatively safe to say not everything old becomes new again and stays that way. Still, as glo-fi/chillwave continues to survive and mine much of their material from the 80s, so Chairlift can do so in a much bigger and blatant way. Besides, a great pop song is a great pop song, no matter what decade it’s rooted in. This is the record that may not give the band the additional popularity they were hoping for, but it does earn them one crucial piece of success pie – critical acceptance. There’s no sophmore slump for Chairlift, maybe because they were already in a slump with their first album. Something is the record where they rise to the occasion, learn from their mistakes, and hit back at the hearts of the coldhearted. They’re alive and well and will run you over in their car to prove it.

Click past the jump to stream the entire album (for a limited time only)!

Buy Something from Amazon

Read More

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 1-24-12

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On 01/24/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s a very busy Tuesday for yours truly, and I apologize for not being able to write more as an intro to this edition of Pick Your Poison. All I’ll say is that some of this set’s highlights include tracks from Ducky, Elephant & Castle (featuring tUnE-yArDs), Gangrene, Liz Green, Sidi Touré and Yellow Ostrich. In the Soundcloud section check out new songs from Andrew Bird and Morgan Page (with special guests Tegan & Sara).

The Breakups – Better Off Alone

Cable35 – Cow Head

COP – Money Games

Ducky – Like Rain

Elephant & Castle – En Memoria (ft. tUnE-yArDs)

Gangrene – Drink Up (ft. Roc Marciano)

Kishi Bashi – It All Began With A Burst

La Chansons – Ice Princess

Liz Green – Hey Joe

Market East – Marielle
Market East – Genevieve

Octoberman – Dressed Up

Rüssia – Lonely

Sidi Touré – Tondi karaa (The White Stone)

Two Suns – Dirty Industry

Yellow Ostrich – Marathon Runner

Yuksek – Always On The Run (Tom Furse Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Andrew Bird – Eyeoneye

Crimson Scarlet – Sanctuary

Morgan Page ft. Tegan & Sara – Bodywork (Richard Dinsdale Remix)

Nees and Vos – Burn Me Down

Pink Kodiak – Oh! I See!

Rebecca Zapen – Swamp Pit

Pick Your Poison: Monday 1-23-12

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On 01/23/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

In today’s weird music news, it seems that Disney has unleashed an odd piece of merchandise – a t-shirt that repurposes the cover of Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” into the shape of a Mickey Mouse head. Have a look on the Disney Store website where you’ll also notice it’s “sold out”. As somebody that owns a Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures” t-shirt myself (as I’m sure many others do as well), Disney’s version intrigues me for a few reasons. First and foremost, they claim the shirt was inspired by Joy Division. I’m inspired by Joy Division too, but Disney is about the last thing I think of when associating things with that name. Anybody that knows a thing or two about the band realizes they took their name from the brothels in Nazi concentration camps. There was controversy with the band when they changed their name from Warsaw to Joy Division for that exact reason. Ian Curtis and the boys were really just taking the piss out of the name. They weren’t really advocates for Nazi brothels. And while we’re talking Nazis and WWII, one of the icons of the war was Mickey Mouse, a symbol used to represent America and American capitalism and values. In a sense, both Mickey Mouse and the band Joy Division were anti-Nazi symbols, even as the band didn’t take on the name until some 40 odd years later. As to the issue of Ian Curtis hanging himself and the general darkness of Joy Division’s music, those really aren’t things you want associated with beloved children’s cartoon character Mickey Mouse. Now for the record, the shirt is made for adults, and hopefully most that buy it understand the history where I’m sure little kids are none the wiser. And finally, I point out the history of the “Unknown Pleasures” cover itself. The image is not a Joy Division original, but rather something they repurposed themselves. The image was originally generated by a computer in the 1960s, mapping out successive pulses from the first pulsar ever discovered. The image was then published first in a 1971 edition of Scientific American magazine, then a 1974 edition of Graphis Diagrams, and finally a 1977 edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy. The boys in Joy Division first encountered the image in that 1977 encyclopedia, which featured black lines on white paper, and simply flipped the two colors for the album cover. The published 1974 version of the image actually had it the same way the cover of “Unknown Pleasures” has it. My point is the Mickey Mouse shirt may have been inspired by the “Unknown Pleasures” cover, but that cover was inspired by an earlier published image that’s entirely science-based. Make of that what you will. I’ve already said way too much on this trivial subject. How about some Pick Your Poison? Tracks I’ll recommend today come from Air Review, Barry Adamson, Coast Jumper, Eric Chenaux, Royal Canoe and The Violet Lights.

Air Review – America’s Son

Barry Adamson – Turnaround

Bonesetters – Maypole

Charles Bradley – Heartaches and Pain

Coast Jumper – For Youth

Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters – Loose Ends

Elfin Saddle – The Changing Wind

Eric Chenaux – Amazing Backgrounds

Fredrik – Fever and Foam

Lizette Lizette – Wheel of Fortune

Roomdance – Circles Approaching

Royal Canoe – Hold On to the Metal

Said the Whale – Heavy Ceiling

Simone Felice – New York Times

The Violet Lights – Sex & Sound

The Weeknd – Echoes of Silence (FreddyWoods Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Hint – Aliens Enter (ft. T Fly)

Jesse Marco – Daddy Cool

Nine Sons of Dan – Took My Heart

The Plasticines – Barcelona (Lifelike Remix)

Walls and Bridges – Shine A Little Love

Pick Your Poison: Friday 1-20-12

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On 01/20/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Happy Friday! I hope your week was great. I’d call mine solid. I don’t have much else to say beyond that. Oh hey, it seems that SOPA/PIPA has been put on hold for the time being, so that’s a small victory for freedom on the internet, which is great. Let’s hope we don’t have to deal with such nonsense again, though the legislation might be back at some point in a different form. Okay, let’s get to some mp3s, shall we? Today I’ll highlight tracks from Black Marble, Circus Devils, COnduits, First Person Shooter, Lee Ranaldo, Lower Dens, Narrow Sparrow, and Shearwater. In the Soundcloud section enjoy Clams Casino’s remix of Lana Del Rey, as well as a new song from Miike Snow.

Black Marble – Pretender

Buddy Holly – Slippin’ and Slidin’ (Jaques Renault Remix)

Carsie Blanton – Backseat
Carsie Blanton – Idiot Heart

Circus Devils – Cyclopean Runaways

Conduits – Top of the Hill

Eux Autres – Right Again

First Person Shooter – Punch Struck

House of Blondes – Do It Yourself (Landscape)

Jonquil – It’s My Part (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)

Lee Ranaldo – Off the Wall

Liftoff – Summer’s Shown

Lower Dens – Brains

Lushlife – She’s A Buddhist, I’m A Cubist

Matt Johnson – Dying Breed

Mausi – Sol

Narrow Sparrow – Spooky Head

Rebelution – Sky Is the Limit

Shearwater – You As You Were

Tayisha Busay – Heartmeat/Lovemuscle

Ticktockman – Blackhole Waltz

SOUNDCLOUD

Lana Del Rey – Born To Die [Clams Casino Remix]

Miike Snow – Paddling Out

My My My – Hard Kisses

Album Review: Craig Finn – Clear Heart, Full Eyes [Vagrant]

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On 01/20/2012

In album review, music



You know and love Craig Finn through his role as frontman for The Hold Steady. Now, he’ll be taking on a new role: solo artist! Yes, for those of you concerned about the state of The Hold Steady, fear not, for this is just a side project that won’t affect the band – at least not directly. The entire reason Finn has chosen to go it alone was less because the rest of the band wasn’t ready and more because he wanted to explore other sounds. The Hold Steady’s music is often celebratory, bar room rock with a Springsteen-like appeal. You go to a Hold Steady show with the notion that you’ll have a wildly fun time, fist in the air and a beer in your other hand. With his debut solo effort Clear Heart, Full Eyes, Finn chooses to step back from the energy and heavy guitars, focusing instead on introspective alt-country ballads and mid-tempo rock. It’s a different side to a relatively one-sided guy, though we’re left questioning exactly how necessary of an exercise it ultimately is.

One thing that’s not in doubt are Finn’s chops as a lyricist. His topics du jour in the past have been religion, failed relationships and good times with friends. On Clear Heart, Full Eyes he maintains that same trend, though with the slower and quieter songs the fun bits sort of take a back seat. He’s not without his sense of humor on some occasions however, as evidenced on “New Friend Jesus”, riffing on stigmata with the lines, “People say we suck at sports, but they don’t understand/it’s hard to catch with holes right through your hands.” One of the main changes the lyrics on Finn’s solo effort bring are a real sense of aging and the often depressing aspects that come along with it. Where his Hold Steady characters were mostly dealing with youthful follies and general messing around, the new characters are middle aged and living in a world of regret. On “No Future”, there’s a resigned and given up mentality that ultimately results in the line, “I’m alive, except for the inside”. And the end of the record brings a laser beam-like focus to breakups and winding up single for the rest of your life. When everyone else gets married, has kids and a family, Finn’s character is alone living in a “Rented Room”. He reminisces about a woman he used to love on “Balcony”, expressing frustration in lines like, “Saw you and him out on the balcony/it was the same thing you did with me”. The record closes with “Not Much Left of Us”, about the mutually assured destruction of two people that weren’t right for one another. “The part of us that still remains is rotten and bruised/like the soft spot on a piece of fruit”, he sings somberly and with a sincerity that makes you believe he’s actually lived it, even if he hasn’t.

As much of a bummer as the lyrics on Clear Heart, Full Eyes can be, the purposeful and off-the-cuff conversational manner in which they were written maximizes their power. They overwhelm everything else about the album, and that’s a very good thing because not much else really shines here. The lack of upbeat or even uptempo numbers makes the record a bit difficult to get through. It’s 45 minutes of darker, relatively depressing material, with only a wry smirk or a wink here and there. Songs like “New Friend Jesus” and “Honolulu Blues” function as would-be singles, picking up enough mojo or a halfway decent hook to make them some of the more memorable moments on an album that mostly drags along in a blur. Much of the musical backdrop for these songs was composed by friends of Finn in bands like Heartless Bastards, Centro-matic, White Denim and Phosphorescent, and you can sort of hear their varying styles across the songs. Alt-country (complete with slide guitars & violins) permeates songs like “Terrified Eyes”, “Balcony” and “Not Much Left of Us”, while a more rock and blues mentality gets taken on tracks like “Apollo Bay” and “No Future”. In spite of the variations in style, nothing is really that far removed from anything else, and Finn’s vocals and lyrics are the glue holding it all together anyways.

It’s a little difficult to tell exactly who the audience for Clear Heart, Full Eyes is supposed to be. Maybe it is middle-aged guys living a life they never intended. In some ways that’s every middle-aged person, as we’ve all had to make certain sacrifices or put our dreams to bed on occasion. The topics discussed here are not unrelatable in the least. But do we really want to dwell on them by listening to this music? Unlike The Hold Steady’s best, this isn’t the sort of record you can throw on at a whim. You need to be in a certain mindset to truly enjoy it or relate to it. Think back to some of the more somber ballads of The Hold Steady. Think of “Citrus” and “First Night” and “Lord, I’m Discouraged” as precursors to this record. If you love those songs and feel like an album’s worth of them if your cup of tea, perhaps Clear Heart, Full Eyes will be exactly what you’ve been looking for. It’s nice that Finn was able to take some time off from his main band and craft a record that truly highlights his songwriting ability and emotional maturity, but it also doesn’t necessarily feel like the concept is worth pursuing any further. He’s had his moment to play the adult, now it’s time to dust himself off, leave the pity party and return to the celebration. The kids are waiting by the bar with their glasses raised.

Stream the entire album for a limited time at NPR

Craig Finn – New Friend Jesus

Craig Finn – Honolulu Blues

Preorder Clear Heart, Full Eyes from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 1-19-12

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On 01/19/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

It’s grin and bear it time in Chicago again. For the second time in two weeks, a snowstorm is blowing in and is set to drop several more inches of snow. I’ve got my rations all set for a day spent entirely indoors. I don’t want to go out in dangerous conditions unless I have to. Yes, tomorrow’s going to be a quiet day for me, and I’m pretty happy about that. If you’ll be dealing with a snowstorm at all tomorrow, stay safe. Maybe listen to some new music? There’s plenty here for you to check out. I’ll advise downloading songs from BOY, Fort Romeau, Oberhofer, Thomas White, and Two Suns. Lightouts’ cover of a Guided By Voices classic isn’t half bad either. In the Soundcloud section you may be interested in Flosstradamus’ remix of Major Lazer.

Bad Bibles – The Statue Talks to Me

Barna Howard – Promise I Won’t Laugh

Beatrice Eli and Drake – The Conqueror vs. Underground Kings

BOY – This Is The Beginning

David’s Lyre – This Time

Fleming – Slip

Fort Romeau – Jack Rollin

Kosha Dillz – Moses Wasteland

The Lighthouse and the Whaler – Pioneers (ZIP)

Lightouts – The Official Ironmen Rally Song (Guided By Voices cover)

Like Spinning – Forces

Oberhofer – HEART

The Sound of Arrows – Wonders (Visitor Remix)

Team Me – Show Me

Thomas White – Ocean Green

Two Suns – Nostalgic

Ventury – Volcano

Wowser Bowser – E Dialeda Ho

SOUNDCLOUD

Georgia Anne Muldrow – Seeds

Major Lazer – Original Don (Flosstradamus Remix)

Wrongkong – My Dearest Enemy

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 1-18-12

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On 01/18/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

And now, for a word about SOPA. Today is the day many websites “go dark” in an effort to push awareness about SOPA. What is SOPA? Well, if you’re reading this right now, I would hope you’ve got at least a small idea of what it is. Then again, if you’re outside the U.S., these things can be a little confusing. Any and all questions you might need answered about SOPA are available to you simply by typing the acronymn into your favorite search engine. Needless to say, if SOPA does become government policy, this site will very much cease to exist in its current form. It may cease to exist entirely, with the mere possibility that I’d be facing potential jail time for posting copyrighted music, even though I’ve been given permission to post all the songs below. So I encourage you to join the fight against SOPA, to help keep the internet free of government censorship. Okay, important piece said, let’s get to the music. Among the group of songs below, there are a handful I’ll place a special recommendation on for you. Those include tracks from Cold War Kids, Jenny Gillespie, Museum Mouth, Now, Now, The Pharmacy and Viper Creek Club. In the Soundcloud section, enjoy some danceable DFA Records cuts from Prinzhorn Dance School and Cut Copy’s remix of The Rapture. I’ll also recommend streaming the new song from Walls.

Avan Lava – It’s Never Over

Cold War Kids – Minimum Day

The Elkcloner – Crossfire

Gross Relations – Cut the Final Scene

Jenny Gillespie – Creature of Our Make

Korallreven – Sa Sa Samoa (For Real For Sure For You Version)

Leonard Friend – Everything for the Sake of Everything

Museum Mouth – Blood Mountain

Now, Now – School Friends

Pandercakes – Andre Breton

The Pharmacy – Dig Your Grave

The Slytest – Winning Without Playing

Topless – Say You Love Me

Viper Creek Club – Because I Know

SOUNDCLOUD

CSLSX – Aeromancer (ft. Mountain Man)

Moonlight Towers – The Easy Way Out

Prinzhorn Dance School – Usurper

The Rapture – Sail Away (Cut Copy Remix)

Robert Deeble – Ring Them Bells (Bob Dylan Cover)

Walls – Into Our Midst (Reprise)

Album Review: Field Music – Plumb [Memphis Industries]

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On 01/18/2012

In album review, mp3, music



Field Music are a very “English” band. Sure, they’re FROM England, but as with so many other bands, that doesn’t automatically dictate what they sound like. It takes a certain style, a certain panache if you will, to make your sound country-distinctive. Beirut tends to do the sound of Eastern Europe justice. Vampire Weekend take on African-inspired pop and are somehow able to get away with it, as Paul Simon did. So with that same sort of trend, Field Music tread heavily in the realms of Britpop and more traditionally stuffy (yet catchy) arrangements. That hasn’t always been the case. 2010’s Field Music (Measure) had the band returning from a hiatus to an engaging 20-song double album that displayed a newfound confidence and looser arrangements than ever before. They also took trips down much more guitar-heavy and psychedelic alleys, which worked to their benefit by keeping you guessing over the course of 70+ minutes. Now two years later, the brothers Brewis are back with Plumb, a 15-track excursion that finds their confidence still intact but their urge for experimentation and expansion falling by the wayside.

The boys in Field Music probably think that they’re still taking risks and innovating, as listening to Plumb that seems to make sense. Orchestral swells, tracks bleeding into one another like one continuous thread, and a few cheeky sound effects are all things they’ve never done before or have done very little of before. Here’s the thing about that though: it’s a new coat of paint on the same wall. Remove those small bits and it’s the same band that made Tones of Town in 2007. They’ve even brought quite a bit of piano back into their arrangements after going largely without it on Field Music (Measure) due to Andrew Moore’s departure from the band. The band has stated in interviews and press materials they wanted to return to the much more angular and non-traditional songwriting of their first two albums, but with a modified and updated perspective that pulls influence from 20th century film soundtracks. Surprisingly, that’s an accurate description of what they’ve done on Plumb, though the film soundtrack references are a little come and go. That is to say from the kick off “Start the Day Right” and bleeding through “It’s OK to Change” and “Sorry Again, Mate” things move smartly, swiftly and with a symphonic bent. Upon the arrival of “A New Town” four tracks in, the band is instantly back in standard mode, ignoring the elements at work in the songs before it. When “From Hide and Seek to Heartache” shows up at track 11, the band suddenly “remembers” what they set out to do for another couple songs. “How Many More Times?” is an effective 40 second a capella experiment while “Ce Soir” would have made for a mournful closing number, though in many respects it sounds unfinished itself. Alas, the record continues for 2 more songs and 6 more minutes, just to get the total running time over the 30 minute mark.

Sometimes you need a couple of pop songs to play through the closing credits, and “(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing” finally puts Plumb to bed. What’s a little ironic is that it’s the record’s first single and one of its best moments. You need to slog through quite a bit of musical nonsense to get there, and you’re left wondering why the entire thing couldn’t have been that good. Not that there aren’t a few Field Music highlights to keep an eye and ear out for. In spite of how it ruins the experimental mojo generated by the tracks before it, “A New Town” is a solid and one of the more engaging Field Music songs in recent memory. The dramatic dynamism of “Guillotine” fares best on this album though, the verses almost hushed with light acoustic guitar picking and subtle bass matched against the explosive and catchy chorus. The obtuse “Is This the Picture?” is framed in excellent fashion too, with the Brewis brothers trading off falsettos amidst some weaving finger picked electric guitars. Beyond those few highlights though, Plumb is plum out of luck. It may be admirable the band wants to experiment with traditional song structures, but most of the tracks just fall flat when there isn’t a chorus to latch onto or are just plain unmemorable when there is one. The good news is that the record’s best moments are almost evenly spaced across its 15 tracks, meaning that if you listen straight through it won’t be more than a few minutes before another gem comes along. In a perfect world (or a perfect album) of course, they’d all be gems. It’s easy to speculate that maybe if they had held onto the film soundtrack theme for the full album or if they’d tried a few more stylistic shifts like their last record then all would have turned out better. Alas, there’s no sense in arguing about what could be, only what is. Try as they might, Field Music just don’t quite have it this time around.

Field Music – A New Town

Preorder Plumb from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 1-17-12

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On 01/17/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Class of 2012 update: With SXSW announcing most of the artists performing this year, I’m pleased to say that 7 of the 10 artists on my Class of 2012 list will be there. So will I. Expect updates from their performances. That includes Charli XCX, who teamed up with Alex Metric on the song “End of the World”, two remixes of which you can download below. Also in the Class of 2012 is Azealia Banks, and as of now she will not be at SXSW 2012. She is giving away a new song though, which again you can download below. And though they’re not part of my Class of 2012, I want to make mention that there’s a new song from The Dirty Three available in this set, and they’ve got a new record called “Off Toward the Low Sun” coming out on February 28th. Other tracks I’ll recommend today come from Beat Culture, Julianna Barwick, and Sick Figures. In the Soundcloud section, be sure to stream a new song from Great Lake Swimmers. Oh, and one last mention of the Class of 2012: Lana Del Rey’s SNL performance? Brutal.

Alex Metric & Charli XCX – End of the World (HeavyWeight Remix)
Alex Metric & Charli XCX – End of the World (Amtrac Remix)

Azealia Banks – NEEDSUMLUV

Beat Culture – Memory (Cassettes)

Contrakids – All the Way Back

Dirty Or The Sound – Modern Times (Instrumental)

The Dirty Three – Rising Below

Halina Larsson – Fires & French Horns

Julianna Barwick – Never Change

Pepe Deluxe – A Night and A Day (A R K Remix)

Picture Book – Sunshine

Rene Lopez – Shing-A-Ling Is What I Bring

Sick Figures – Mad

Typhoon – How We Start Over (DoublePlusGood Remix)

YACHT – I Walked Alone (Get A Room! Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Atlas Genius – Trojans

Brooklyn Horseman – Walking Out That Door

Echö – Day Dream

Great Lake Swimmers – Easy Come Easy Go

Low-Fi – Something

Saturday Night Gym Club – How To Build A Life Raft

Pick Your Poison: Monday 1-16-12

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On 01/16/2012

In mp3, music, pick your poison

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to you. In my mind, I always thought a day like today was about the equivalent of President’s Day, in that while government offices are closed, most everyone else was forced to work. Turns out Martin Luther King, Jr. was more important than George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or both of them combined. Okay, so that’s probably not really the case, one American hero being more important than another, but I do want to say that if all was right and just in the world, we’d have vacations on all 3 of their birthdays. So a big Happy Birthday to Dr. King. The world is a better place today because of the things he did. And so we reach today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. I’ll recommend tracks from Black Bananas, COOLRUNNINGS, Field Music, Pontiak, Porcelain Raft and Tanlines. In the Soundcloud section you can hear some new material from Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, The Jealous Sound and School of Seven Bells.

Black Bananas – Rad Times Express IV

Calvin Harris – You Used to Hold Me (Jason Ross Remix)

COOLRUNNINGS – Spirit of the High

CREEP – Animals ft. Holly Miranda (Modern Machines Remix)

Decode – Shaping Shadows

Doug Jerebine – Ashes and Matches

Field Music – A New Town

Hectic Zeniths – I Might Drown

Jason Urick – The Crying Song

Martha Berner & The Significant Others – Brave

Pontiak – Lions of Least

Porcelain Raft – Put Me to Sleep
Porcelain Raft – Unless You Speak From Your Heart

Tanlines – Brothers

Trippple Nippples – Golden Road (Oli Chang Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Anemone – Onyx Heart

Cotton Mather – Camp Hill Rail Operator

Craig Finn – New Friend Jesus

Eliza and the Bear – Trees

The Jealous Sound – Your Eyes Were Shining

School of Seven Bells – Lafaye

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