You may know Frankie Rose from any number of bands she’s been in the last few years. She’s been the drummer for Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls, which if you know all those bands you know they’ve got a lot in common sonically. They were all part of the lo-fi garage rock revival that took place not so long ago, and her leaving those bands also pretty much coincided with the hype dying down on that sort of music. In 2010 she took matters into her own hands and started Frankie Rose and the Outs, an all female band that had a very retro 60s girl group vibe to it. Once again restless and discontent with what she was doing musically, the Outs became out of a job late last year. Rose is now continuing on her own, under her own name, though with a couple supporting players to fill out the sound. She’s also changed her sound again, and her new album Interstellar takes a cue from 80s new wave. Listen carefully and you’ll hear shades of New Order, The Cure, and The Human League in their finer moments. The synths sparkle, the drums burst open and echo, and Rose’s light, airy vocal keeps it all afloat. There are great retro pop moments all over this thing, from the beat-heavy “Know Me” to the ridiculously catchy “Night Swim”. She’s overdubbing her own vocal harmonies now too, and it adds a precious beauty to ballads like “Pair of Wings” and “Apples for the Sun”. The focus and strength on display across the record is remarkable, and it’s a real pleasure to hear her embrace that and excel despite the continued tweaks to her style and band personnel. Interstellar isn’t the sort of album you deeply analyze, but the more time you spend with it the more the little moments make their presence felt. In some ways, those are the most rewarding kinds of albums.
Category: mp3 Page 76 of 120
In honor of it being Friday, I’m going to keep this short and sweet like usual. I will make a quick mention though that starting next week I’ll be trying something new on the site. I’m not going to reveal the details of it just yet, but let’s just say it allows me to get more done and provide more content to you on a daily basis. We’ll see how it goes and if it works out then great. In the meantime, enjoy these songs to give your weekend an extra boost. I’ll recommend tracks from Baby Teardrops, The Clean, The Dead Ships, Gorillaz collaborating with Andre 3000 and James Murphy, The Great American Canyon Band, Mystery Pills, Pond and The Wooden Sky. In the Soundcloud section there’s a pretty good remix of Bombay Bicycle Club, and new stuff from Lazer Sword and Reptar, among others. Have a great weekend!
Baby Teardrops – I Can Live My Life Alone
Born With Stripes – …You Stole the Laces From My Shoes
The Clean – Tally Ho
The Clean – In the Dreamlife U Need A Rubber Soul
The Cuban Brothers – You Don’t Have to Take Your Clothes Off
The Dead Ships – Bones Cracked
The Dead Ships – Before You Go
Gorillaz, Andre 3000 and James Murphy – DoYaThing (ZIP)
The Great American Canyon Band – Tumbleweed
Mystery Pills – The Glass Traditions
Night Beds – Wanted_You in August
Romanthony – Hold On (Logo’s Hold-Up Remix)
The Sweet Serenades – Moving On
SOUNDCLOUD
Bombay Bicycle Club – How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep (Scuba Remix)
Quantic & Alice Russell with the Combo Barbaro – Look Around The Corner
What to talk about today. Oh, I don’t think I’ve officially weighed in on Chris Brown yet, so long after the fact, let me talk about that briefly. There’s been a bit of talk about Brown these last few weeks after a few things happened. First, they let him into the Grammys. Then they let him on stage at the Grammys. And let him perform. More than once. Brown stepped up his swagger a bit on Twitter, basically condemning those “hating” on him. Throw onto the fire some girls Tweeting that they would let Brown beat them up. Plus all sorts of evidence that Brown and Rihanna had become very friendly again, possibly even reignited their relationship. Plus, they recorded a song together. All these things happened within the last month. Most recently, and we’re talking days ago, WWE Superstar CM Punk got into a bit of an online feud with Brown, resulting in some rather hostile exchanges. Punk took to YouTube to give his side of things, and his response has gone viral. Personally, I’m in agreement with Punk and a whole lot of other people that feel like Chris Brown should just go away. I’m not saying “go away” like no longer exist, but instead just retreat from the spotlight. The doors of success and fame should be closed to him. So should every woman. If you hit a woman, you don’t deserve to be with one. Period. Sorry to go all dark and social issues and talk about artists that really have nothing to do with the content on this site. Some mp3s will make it better. In today’s Pick Your Poison, I’d advise you to have a listen to tracks from Bosco, Cadence Weapon (who samples Grimes on the track below), Crocodiles, Dustin Wong, Morningbell, Ryan Monroe (of Band of Horses), and Wooden Wand. Have a look in the Soundcloud section too for new stuff from M. Ward and TV Buddhas.
Crocodiles – Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9)
Go Back to the Zoo – Beam Me Up
Gotye ft. Kimbra – Somebody That I Used to Know (Francis Prève Remix)
Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – Centreville
Les Jupes – If This Is the Light
Morningbell – You Think I Don’t Know (But I Know)
Pink Mink – Earthquake on the Loose
Ryan Monroe – Any Way, Shape or Deformity
Spottiswoode – Beautiful Monday
Wooden Wand – Motel Stationary
SOUNDCLOUD
Dani Deahl Ft. Oh Snap! – Diplo Hates You (Original Mix)
M. Ward – Primitive Girl (Single Version)
Happy Ash Wednesday to you and yours, and if that’s not your thing, hopefully the fact that it’s also National Margarita Day entices you just as much. Today is a little bit of a sad day for the music world, as last night we found out that Women guitarist Christopher Reimer died in his sleep. He was 26 years old. Women have essentially been on a hiatus these last couple years after they fistfought one another in the middle of a show. Still, they put out two damn good records and I was always holding out hope they’d patch things up and start making music again. With Reimer gone that seems less likely than ever. I’d like to offer my condolences to his family and to his bandmates, who in spite of their differences must be putting those aside for at least a little bit. Now let’s get to today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. I’ll advise you to check out tracks from BBU, Ceremony, Ducky, Inca Gold, JD Samson + MEN, Sauna, Sonoi, U.S. Elevator and Violens.
BBU – Please No Pictures (ft. Das Racist)
BBU – Beau Sia
Damon Moon & the Whispering Drifters – Lungs, Dirt, & Dreams
The Danvilles – Seemed So Easy
Seun Kuti – The Good Leaf (Spoek Mothambo Remix)
U.S. Elevator – All Through the Night
Violens – Unfolding Black Wings
SOUNDCLOUD
The District Attorneys – Confusion of Trust
EJ – Mama, I’m Gonna Sing (Pete Tong Remix)
Happy Tuesday, friends. It is my pleasure to once again name some of the artists releasing brand new records on a day such as today, so that you may make purchases wisely. Keep in mind these aren’t recommendations per se, just a list so you know what’s out there. New albums this week come from Barna Howard, Bright Moments (who have an mp3 below), Busdriver, Cheap Girls, Christopher Paul Stelling, Colleen Green, Cursive, Damien Jurado, Damon Moon, Dustin Wong, Field Music, Frankie Rose, fun., Grimes, Guy Capecelatro III, Isidore (who have an mp3 below), The James Low Western Front, Jonquil, Perfume Genius, Pontiak, Princeton, Sara Radle (who has an mp3 below), Sleigh Bells, Tindersticks, Terry Malts, Yalls and Young Empires. Phew. Exhausting. Talking specifically about Pick Your Poison today, I’ll recommend tracks from Bright Moments, Isidore, Mirror Lady, Sara Radle, and Tripwires.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Paradisco (Gottfried Beyer Remix)
Picture Book – Sunshine (Justin Faust Remix)
Rossi B & Luca (ft. Flirta D) – Mind the Gap (Teeza Temix Instrumental)
Virginia Plain – Electric Eyes
Virginia Plain – Swamp Thing
Wrinkle Neck Mules – Leaving Chattanooga
SOUNDCLOUD
Gazburn – Walkin’ On Another Planet
Rita Ora – Somebody That I Used To Know (Gotye & Kimbra BBC Live Lounge Cover)
Claire Boucher is nothing if not productive. As the singular force behind the musical pseudonym Grimes, she has released four full length records in the last 2 years. That started with 2010’s Geidi Primes, blossomed into Halfaxa later that year, and then continued building with Darkbloom last year. If you’ve heard approximately zero of those first three records, don’t beat yourself up too much; they sit and taunt from the deepest of deep levels in Canada’s underground electro scene. That is to say they were impressive and influential enough to earn Grimes some attention, but difficult and unfocused enough to keep her out of the spotlight for all practical purposes. Each of those first three albums was intended to play up a different side of her influences, and none of them were really all-encompassing efforts. Boucher herself has basically called them practice records for the real thing, which has finally resulted in her brand new album Visions complete with a brand new home on indie stalwart label 4AD. The end product is a remarkable and rather breathtaking skew on traditional pop music and electronica, complete with a supremely psychedelic edge that slices deep into your emotional reservoir even as it prods the pleasure centers of your brain with seductive beats and hooks.
The first thing you should know about Grimes is that she’s a producer before she’s a musician. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, but the whole point of mentioning it is because it affects the way she puts together songs. In fact, Boucher is doing what so many other forward-thinking artists are doing these days, which is attempting to break the rules of traditional songwriting and composing through the use of technology. At its core, Visions is a record created by a voice and a keyboard. Listening to it, there’s almost no way you’d realize that given all that’s going on. Virtually everything is run through some sort of filter or effect, and portions of songs are dubbed and overdubbed and smashed atop one another like some sort of sonic sandwich. Credit goes to Boucher for knowing when to stop adding more, because in more than a few cases it feels like the depths of some of the songs could be infinite. Her restraint is admirable and a great sign that she knows what she wants and tweaks it ever so slightly until she gets there. The ultimate result is a record that’s equal parts pop music and ambiance, pleasure and pain, not to mention human and computer.
The first track on Visions is “Infinite Love Without Fulfillment”, and it immediately lays out what to expect for the rest of the record. Lasting a mere 96 seconds, it confounds traditional song structure while maintaining a very danceable rhythm and sugar-sweet vocals. Boucher’s voice takes on 3 distinct personalities on the track, and they intermingle with one another with no regard for decency or clarity, to the point where it becomes like trying to listen to a single conversation in a room full of talking people. In spite of the perceived vocal confusion and the challenge of distinguishing lyrics, there’s a symbiosis and elegance to how all the moving pieces of the song work together. Indeed for most of Visions you’ll struggle to understand what Boucher is singing about, and that’s not always because of overdubbing. On the song “Genesis” for example, her singular voice is so drenched in echo it becomes the auditory effect of trying to see the car in front of you while driving through a dense fog. “Eight” turns one of her vocals into a deep-voiced robot and another into a woman that’s clearly been breathing in way too much helium. Despite all the different ways Boucher throws her vocals around, there are a few moments of genuine clarity, and those brief snapshots tend to be about relationships going through some sort of turmoil. “Oh baby I can’t say/that everything will be okay,” Boucher sings on “Circumambient”, signaling right from the start that there’s problems. Towards the end of “Skin”, she’s also in a sad place, espousing, “You touch me again and somehow it stings/because I know it is the end.”
Lyrical content is really the last thing you should be looking for on Visions though, because it’s far more about how these songs come together than it is any message they’re trying to get across. Boucher herself has said in interviews that she often feels the need to cover up her lyrics out of self-criticism over her skills as a writer but also because the melodies themselves should be telling you how to feel and not the words. With so much emphasis placed on what’s being said and not the way it’s being said, that’s a very refreshing take on pop music. Think of this record like a synth-pop inspired version of Sigur Ros, where the vocals are first and foremost another instrument in the mix rather than something intended to sit front and center as a path to deeper understanding. Or, even better, there are portions of the album that are very K-pop and J-pop influenced, and whether you’re a fan of Dance Dance Revolution or simply like those sorts of songs without speaking the language, there’s plenty of moments such as “Nightmusic” that you’ll be able to wholly enjoy. In fact, there’s a whole host of influences on Visions that may tickle your fancy depending on your tastes. Obviously if you’re into electronica and its many subgenres like IDM and Balearic you’ll be impressed with the strong beats that populate much of the record. The same goes for devotees of 80s pop, wherein the strains of a track like “Vowels = space and time” calls to mind Stacy Q or “Oblivion” has something distinctly Cyndi Lauper about it. And while 2011 was the year of the R&B revival, songs like “Be A Body” and “Skin” break out those influences as well, the former even impressing with some sky-high Mariah Carey falsettos. In spite of the various swaths of genres across the album, it all holds together quite nicely thanks to Boucher’s dynamic production style and ability to put together a very strong melody.
It goes without saying that Grimes is one of the most exciting new talents to emerge out of an ever-evolving music scene. Her previous records all hinted at what Visions would be in one way or another, and it’s extremely pleasing to hear her finally fulfill much of that early potential. For all of its oddities, this record is extremely listenable from start to finish, and cuts like “Genesis”, “Oblivion”, “Circumambient” and “Nightmusic” make it supremely catchy as well. In many ways these songs feel like the next step towards a genuine breakthrough in music, one in which a multitude of styles gives birth to a beautiful new hybrid that’s more aesthetically pleasing than any single one of them on their own. The best part is there’s continued room for improvement and growth, even as this record hovers near the precipice of perfection. Grimes has been an artist to watch from the day she first started releasing music 2 years ago, but only now, thanks to Visions will she begin to earn the attention she truly deserves.
Happy President’s Day to my American brethren. Today we essentially roll the birthdays of 2 U.S. Presidents into one day and call it a holiday. It helps that they were two of the greatest Presidents of all time, whom history books have written about both at length. George Washington was our very first President, not to mention a war hero, so his work in freeing America from British rule was clearly unprecedented at the time. Abraham Lincoln held a similar key in his hand, unlocking the freedom of millions of enslaved African Americans, even though the path to true equality wound up being far longer and more difficult than anybody would truly realize. So we salute both of those great men today, not that any of you needed a history lesson filled with the most basic facts you probably already knew. Let’s move on, shall we? In today’s special extended holiday edition of Pick Your Poison, I’m proud to recommend tracks from Black Mountain, Black Tambourine, Charli XCX (part of my Class of 2012), Diplo, Electric Flower Group, Luke Roberts, Nu Sensae, TacocaT and THEESatisfaction. In the Soundcloud section, please by all means stream some great songs from Django Django along with Trentemoller’s remix of The Drums.
Black Tambourine – What’s Your Game
Dan London – Little Bit About Me
Diplo – Express Yourself (ft. Nicky Da B)
Electric Flower Group – Eclipsed
Jonquil – It’s My Part (Co La Remix)
Miike Snow – Devil’s Work (Keys N Krates Remix)
Rusko – Somebody to Love (Skream Remix)
Subburbia – I’ve Got No Friends
tree – Universal (ft. Ariel Thiermann)
SOUNDCLOUD
The Drums – Days (Trentemoller Remix)
As I typically am on Fridays, I can’t wait to officially start my weekend. Not that my weekdays were anything worth writing home about. But there’s still that sense of relaxation and having nothing on the calendar or FUN on the calendar for a couple days that always brings some excitement to it. So I hope you’ve got a nice weekend planned, and we’ll start this whole thing again on Monday. Here’s some mp3s to get you going. I’ll recommend tracks from Christopher Paul Stelling, Eyes Wings & Many Other Things, Midtown Dickens, Sophia Knapp, Superhumanoids and The Young. There’s also a nice pair of covers in the Soundcloud section for your streaming pleasure, including Pete Yorn doing the Beach Boys and The Kills doing Velvet Underground.
The Cast of Cheers – Family (Royal Scams Remix)
Christopher Paul Stelling – Solar Flares
Clubfeet – BrightLightsBigCity
Dreamend – Your Apparition Stays With Me Still
Eyes, Wings & Many Other Things – Cruelty
Filewile – You Say I (Electric Blanket Remix)
The James Low Western Front – I Would Have You
The Jayhawks – She Walks in So Many Ways (Live)
Midtown Dickens – Only Brother
Pandercakes – Paint By Numbers
Uncle Roman’s Jetboat – Floodlights in the Sunlight
Uncle Roman’s Jetboat – Fearless Like Yourself
SOUNDCLOUD
The Kills – Pale Blue Eyes (Velvet Underground cover)
I’ve just come to the realization that a month from today, SXSW will be going on down in Austin, TX. I’m proud to announce that this will be the first year I will be attending. It’s part of a fun little adventure I’m calling Faronheit’s First Field Trip. There’s so much to see, do and absorb over the handful of days I’ll be there, and I’m excited to report back to you all the excitement. It also pleases me to learn that over half of my Class of 2012 will be performing sometime over that week. In fact, Pitchfork just announced that Nicolar Jaar, Grimes, Purity Ring and Charli XCX will be playing their showcase, which is taking place at a church. Fiona Apple is the only other artist on that bill, which for me makes it a must-see. As it’s a 400 capacity venue however, that’s going to be tough. We’ll see how things go once I’m there. As for today’s Pick Your Poison, I’m sure more than a few of the artists below will be at SXSW as well this year. Highlights today include tracks from Aaron & The Sea, The Cribs, Emily Jane White, La Sera, Lushlife, Midnight Magic’s remix of Panama, and White Hills. In the Soundcloud section, you don’t want to miss streaming tracks from House of Wolves, Mouse on Mars and That Ghost.
Aaron & The Sea – There There Creature Creature
Cats on Fire – A Few Empty Waves
Cuff the Duke – I Hear You Calling (Billy Fay cover)
Juston Stens – Edge of the Moon
Panama – Magic (Midnight Magic Remix)
So Many Wizards – Lose Your Mind
Ticktockman – Archaic Republic
Zander Bleck – Temptation (Hype Jones & Beastmode Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
Daniel Laufer – Gentleman (ft. Chloe Charles)
Shearwater’s last three albums, 2006’s Palo Santo, 2008’s Rook and 2010’s The Golden Archipelago formed something of a trilogy for the band, a rather loose collection of songs with similar themes and sonic qualities. The whole thing came together last January when in a one-time performance in Austin, TX, the band played all 3 records back-to-back-to-back in a show they dubbed The Island Arc. The consensus in the band was The Island Arc was set to close that chapter of the band in preparation for their next step, which would be a bit different from the spacious and grandiose beauty of those three records. Besides, for all the orchestral swells and beauty that was The Golden Archipelago, it had reached a point of pretension that further enforced the idea that Shearwater was this niche band with a carved out, pre-built fan base. The quality was high, but not so many people allowed themselves to get into it. Moving beyond The Island Arc also brought more changes with it, including a switch of labels from Matador to Sub Pop, and producers from John Congleton to Phil Ek. This bold new adventure Shearwater has undertaken finally arrives in the form of their new album Animal Joy. For those turned off by the band’s expansive arrangements and complicated melodies in recent years, here’s a much simpler and more direct record that should give you a reason to take another look at Shearwater.
The cover art for Animal Joy tells you a lot about what to expect on the record itself. Two furry, clawed animal feet photographed in close-up, looking like they could tear just about anything apart, including a human being. It’s very primal in nature, and the music is too, like an attack straight at your jugular. That’s not to call it harsh or necessarily fierce, but for a band whose last 3 efforts have been largely gorgeous flights of fancy, the plain and direct way these songs are presented feels just a little bit alien. “Animal Life” quivers just a little in its finger-picked beginning, fragile but sparse beauty that it is, before Jonathan Meiburg gets his gusto up and tears into a dynamic and vital chorus. It makes for one of the poppiest songs in the band’s catalogue to date, and the ease at which it goes down is more comforting than you might think. The voracity at which single “Breaking the Yearlings” races along is equally thrilling, in part thanks to an overdubbed double percussion attack and some seriously deep guitar work. There is nothing delicate or even beautiful about it, even though the badass exterior it puts up projects a different sort of loveliness. The piano and drums chug of “You As You Were” brings a very Springsteen-esque quality to the track, which is tempered only by some plinking xylophone work and Meiburg’s commanding vocals as he chants, “I am leaving the life” as if he’s breaking free from an oppressed state. In fact much of the record’s themes are about the yearning to escape social conventions and embracing our own natural instincts.
Undoubtedly some will be left wishing for the more lush and gorgeous version of Shearwater from their last few albums, and the somewhat good news is that Animal Joy doesn’t leave those people completely out in the cold. The 6.5 minute “Insolence” does a fair and rather lovely job of bringing the first half of the record to a close in an epic ballad style that holds an air of familiarity to it. Following those moments of classic Shearwater comfort comes “Immaculate”, which roars to life at the pace of a cheetah and doesn’t slow down for even a second of its 2.5 minute duration. It is the most unique moment on the entire album, less because of originality’s sake and more because it is so unlike any of the other songs on the record. Yet after that point the album’s final few songs turn out rather bland and forgettable. “Open Your Houses (Basilisk)” tenderly jaunts along with such an instrumental similarity to Spoon that you half expect Britt Daniel to make a guest vocal appearance. The tenderness of “Run the Banner Down” and “Believing Makes It Easy” are very nice on the surface, but are ultimately very listless and whitewashed, almost as a means to an end. Speaking of the end, “Star of the Age” has plenty going for it instrumentally and vocally, but once again feels like another hat Shearwater is trying on to see if it fits. This particular piece of headwear feels as if it’s been worn a thousand times before by different people, none of whom have the same unique qualities Meiburg & Co. have going for them. Only the intensity and vibrance of “Pushing the River” brings some serious gravitas to the back half of the album, and it’s just a shame there aren’t more tracks like it to lend some additional support.
Shearwater is the sort of band that should know better by now. They’ve been in existence for over a decade, even if the first half of that was spent as Meiburg’s side project to Okkervil River. They’re right to want to change course and try something new, but it’s important to carefully think through a move like that before attempting it. Animal Joy has plenty of positives going for it, particularly in its very direct and pop-strewn first half, but eventually it loses sight of such fresh-faced charm and becomes a set of copies that it feels like we’ve heard before from different bands. Clearly their next evolutionary step is still under development. Call it a transitional record if you like, but by no means is this something to ignore. There’s moments that will suck you in and leave you breathless, while for others having the band show a little teeth and claws is a form of wish fulfillment. Meiburg’s vocals are as powerful as they’ve ever been, and drummer Thor Harris is allowed to shine like never before. If Animal Joy is treated by the band as a learning experience with the best moments used as a template for the future, things will undoubtedly remain bright for Shearwater in the future.
Shearwater – Breaking the Yearlings
Shearwater – You As You Were
Now that we’re past it, I hope you enjoyed your Valentines Day, or as some might call it, Black Tuesday. Mine involved junk food and alcohol. In other words, a normal Tuesday for me. I don’t have a whole lot of time to chit-chat today as I’m writing this and my laptop claims it’s going to shut down in 10 minutes to “install updates” and I don’t want to have to sit through all that and pick up this whole dialogue when it’s done. So let me just tell you today’s Pick Your Poison is a little larger than normal, and has plenty of solid music for you to enjoy. I’ll recommend tracks from Adam Cohen, Bobby Conn, FIDLAR, Joachim Cooder, Sandro Perri, Shannon Stephens, Viper Creek Club and Yalls. In the Soundcloud section please enjoy streaming tracks from He’s My Brother She’s My Sister as well as Marissa Nadler.
Cheers Elephant – Doin’ It, Right
Drunken Prayer – Always Sad
Drunken Prayer – The Missionfield
Eli Mardock – Everything Happens for the First Time
Joachim Cooder – Bright Light Blue (ft. Frank Lyon)
Joachim Cooder – Pointed Into Zoom (ft. Inara George)
Sandro Perri – Futureactive Kid Part 1
Shannon Stephens – What Love Looks Like
TRMRS – Goodtime Blues
TRMRS – Enter the Door
Viper Creek Club – Now You’re in the Mirror
Young Magic – Night in the Ocean (S.Maharba Serpent Love Song Remix)
Young Magic – You With Aid (Galapagoose and Wooshie’s Remix)
Yuksek – Off the Wall (Brodinski Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
He’s My Brother She’s My Sister – Can’t See The Stars
Killer Mike – Big Beast (ft. Bun B, T.I., and Trouble)
Marissa Nadler – The Wrecking Ball Company
Happy Valentines Day to you and yours. I hope you’re steeped in love today if you’re in a relationship, and I hope everything goes well and as planned. If you’re single like me, while we’re forced to deal with all the romance of a day such as today, we can freely self-medicate with alcohol or ice cream and not feel as guilty about it. Really there’s positives about this day for everyone. And hey, there are even a couple of Valentines Day-themed songs being featured in today’s Pick Your Poison set. Please be most fully aware that the Charli XCX song, which the girl is amazing and part of my Class of 2012, that will only be available for a short while longer. If you’re reading this and are no longer able to download that mp3, well, apologies. She said she was only going to leave it up for download for the day. The other stuff hopefully sticks around for longer. I’ll recommend tracks from Casey Shea, Fenster, Howth, I Am Oak, Minarets, Spirit Animal, Sun Glitters and Voltaire Twins. In the Soundcloud section please enjoy streaming songs from Apparat and Ex Norwegian, among others.
Grouplove – Tongue Tied (Spacebrother Remix)
Octavion X – Only One You’ve Got
Soso – My Women My Guitars (Cody ChesnuTT cover)
Spirit Animal – Crocodile Skins
SOUNDCLOUD
Have you been keeping up with my Class of 2012 the last month and a half? There’s been plenty going on, most of it with Lana Del Rey, but I wanted to take a moment to place a spotlight directly on another one of my musical students: Grimes. Her record “Visions” comes out next week, and I’ll be reviewing it then, but for the time being I want to point out you can stream the entire thing right this second over at NPR. Should you take the 48 minutes out of your day to do that? Considering I rarely if ever point you in the direction of a full album stream, maybe you take this time to heart. Of course you may not like what I have to say in my review of the record next week, so take that for what you will. For music you can download for free, look no further than right below, where you’ll find today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. I’ll recommend tracks from Busby Marou, Dana Buoy, Field of Wolves, Man Bites Dog, The Spring Standards and Warning Light. kayln rock will handle any pre-Valentines Day music needs, and Scissor Sisters positively rock the remix of a School of Seven Bells track. There are also some solid remixes of tracks by K’naan, Lana Del Rey and Miike Snow worth checking out in the Soundcloud section as well.
Carter Tanton – Pasture Sound (Kotchy Remix)
Field of Wolves – Don’t Explain
Human Machine – Future Computer
Man Bites Dog – Whispers in My Mind
School of Seven Bells – Lafaye (Scissor Sisters Remix)
Shake Aletti – Light & Sparks – Bxentric Remix)
Silver Medallion & Feature cuts – Drop Out, Kiss Girls
The Spring Standards – Here We Go
Warning Light – Nightfall in the Border Country
SOUNDCLOUD
K’naan ft. Nelly Furtado – Anybody Out There (Richard Dinsdale Remix)
Lana Del Rey – Born To Die (I Am A Camera Remix)
Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Another year, another of Montreal record. Technically speaking Kevin Barnes puts out a new full length album every two or so years, but there’s usually an EP or a collection of remixes or something that gets releaed in between. For example the last of Montreal album was 2010’s False Priest, but in 2011 it was thecontrollersphere EP. In total there have been 11 long players released under the of Montreal name since 1997, including this year’s Paralytic Stalks. There’s been a steady evolution in the sound of each record too, even if it hasn’t always been for the better. 2008’s Skeletal Lamping largely ruined the momentum built up by the critically praised Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer, as it was a mess of an unfocused record filled with ADHD-type songs. Just as a song would be reaching its stride and burrowing its way into your memory banks, it’d take a sharp left turn and send you someplace entirely different. More often than not you’d get about 3 separate thoughts spread across a singular 4 minute track, making it a rather difficult listen on the whole. That’s not even mentioning the fact that Barnes invented an alter-ego called Georgie Fruit who was a sex fiend and a disco queen with a falsetto voice. At least False Priest was built on the rock solid foundations of wanting to craft an R&B record with funk/psych-pop vibes. Packed with guest stars like Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles, the concept was interesting but the execution was much less so. You can’t really fault the guy for wanting to experiment, but most recently he seems to have reached some creative stumbling blocks.
Now we’re faced with the monumental task that is Paralytic Stalks, a record that foregoes any guest stars and alter-egos in favor of a return to some of the more core odd pop elements that earned of Montreal praise in the first place. Kevin Barnes would object to the idea that he’s backpedaling at all, even as he claims that his songwriting style has become far more personal again, akin to what it was on Hissing Fauna…. Believe what you will about the guy’s lyrics, but it’s a small challenge to pinpoint a time when he wasn’t being coy and metaphorical about things, his colorful palette of words functioning closer to a locked door than an open window. If anyone wants to explain what the lines, “You speak to me/like the anguish of a child doused in flames” are hinting at on opening track “Gelid Ascent”, it might go a long way towards proving those personal ideas. Still, there are a few moments where Barnes mentions his wife Nina by name, as when he pointedly asks, “Oh Nina, how can I defend myself against the world that batters me like a retarded cartoon” on “Ye, Renew the Plaintiff”. That at least tells you he’s speaking from the heart. Most of the time though we’re left with a puzzle, and a line from “We Will Commit Wolf Murder” probably says it best: “I’ve tried to understand his logic, but there’s just no pattern there/no sympathetic voices anywhere”. As confusing as many of the lyrics can be, their actual themes make solid sense. This is a violent and dark record, filled with thoughts of revenge, emotional breakdowns and infidelity. Not the most pleasant of subjects, but at least these are things that mean something to the man writing about them. If you can relate to his sentiments, so much the better. It should be obvious, but you’re not going to walk away from this record with a smile on your face.
From a purely sonic perspective, you could say that Paralytic Stalks is one of the more fascinating of Montreal albums to date. Spanning 9 tracks and a runtime of almost an hour, there’s an easily recognizable divide after the midpoint “Malefic Dowery” where 3-4 minute songs suddenly become 7-8 minute ones before the grand 13 minute finale hits. Ironically that’s also the point where the record starts to go awry, even though most of the nearly 9 minutes of “Ye, Renew the Plaintiff” aren’t bad by any means. The front half of the album is positively delightful on the ears in spite of its lyrical unpleasantness and unfocused tendencies. Single “Dour Percentage” is absolutely the best moment, channeling his most soulful pop side complete with some horns and flutes for accompaniment. What it lacks is a truly dynamic hook. The chorus is good but not quite good enough to stick with you. Almost equally compelling but far less pop-driven is “Malefic Dowery”, which has the distinct honor of being one of the most un-of Montreal songs in of Montreal’s catalogue. It’s beautiful, lush, straightforward and gets by on mostly acoustic guitar, piano and flute – all instruments you don’t really think of when talking about of Montreal. If Barnes had chosen to craft an entire record based around the elements of that song, it might have been exactly what he needed to make that next leap creatively. Instead, the album slowly descends into madness. Key to this collapse is the penultimate track “Exorcismic Breeding Knife”, an atonal psychedelic bad trip that entirely lacks any sort of shape. Its nearly 8 minutes amount to a series of noises, drones and sound effects, all atmospherically akin to a truly bad drug trip. The walls are quickly closing in, the floor is melting, and there’s a clown in the corner with a knife and a menacing look on his face. Those visuals are pretty much the auditory equivalent of what goes on in that track, and thinking about it further, there’s also a remarkable similarity to The Beatles track “Revolution 9”. The equally lengthy “Wintered Debts” and the doubly long closer “Authentic Pyrrhic Remission” both at least have some looser, more pop-driven moments to offset the stranger and more detached moments. That doesn’t make them much easier to sit through, but at least they feel more upbeat and logically constructed.
A careful listen to Paralytic Stalks would seem to indicate that Kevin Barnes has very much lost his mind. That may very well be the case, or at least he’s allowed his eccentricities to take control for a bit. Those peculiar flights of fancy are almost certain to alienate a fair amount of the of Montreal fan base currently in place, undoubtedly hoping for something brighter and poppier more akin to the Satanic Panic in the Attic era. A few might find it inspiring though, a very forward-thinking take on 20th century orchestral movements. That seems to be what Barnes was going for, the actual success of it dependent at least in part on your own peculiar musical tastes. You’ve got to admire the guy, at least for a moment, for the sheer audacity it took to put together a record like this. Very few artists with of Montreal’s level of popularity would even dream of doing something so obtuse and uncommercial. Barnes’s dignity may be entirely intact, though his mental facilities may not be. Let’s hope this is a phase he’s working through, or a stepping stone towards a record that will define his legacy. It’d be such a shame if it were anything else.
I tend to recall February as the snowiest month of any given year, and given the light winter we’ve had thus far, I’m anticipating at least a couple storms to blow through before the end of the month. As I’m typing this, it’s snowing outside. Today it will likely only be a couple inches of snow. A little farther to the East, specifically in NW Indiana, things are much worse courtesy of lake effect snow. How much you get and where becomes so highly dependent on wind patterns. Chicago may be getting spared this time around, but let’s talk again in a week and find out how many more bullets we’ll have dodged by then. On with today’s Pick Your Poison, a grand start to your weekend. I’ll recommend tracks from The Caseworker, Cold Blue KId, Infernal Devices, Maps & Atlases, Moonface (aka Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown), Tindersticks and Woodsman. Andrew Weatherall’s remix of Wooden Shjips is fascinating as well, and you can stream it in the Soundcloud section.
The Bodies Obtained – Life After Life
Infernal Devices – Life in Stereo
Lykke Li – Love Out of Lust (Saturday, Monday Bootleg Remix)
M.I.A. – Bad Girls (Stereoheroes’ “BattleSheep” Edit)
Moonface – Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips
Paper Beat Scissors – Rest Your Bones
Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear (DISCOFORGIA Remix)
The Weeknd – Next (Keys N Krates Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
The Makers – Don’t Challenge Me
