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Pick Your Poison: Monday 10-22-12

Let me provide you with a quick bit of site news on this Monday. You may (or may not) have noticed that posts on this site have been a little sparse recently. By sparse, I mean there’s still a Pick Your Poison pretty much every day, but longer form writing pieces and album reviews have largely shown up once or twice or if we’re lucky three times a week. Back in the earliest days of the site (like 2007-ish), I would often crank out 4-5 reviews a week. Then again if you read those reviews, you’d realize that quantity does not equal quality. I do my best to provide thoughtful and insightful commentary about records that more often than not I believe in (or at least want to). I listen to most albums an average of six times before I even type a word about them, because it’s necessary to allow time for the little nuances to sink in. Sometimes I’ll reach that sixth listen, will sit down to write, and nothing will happen. Call it writer’s block if you like, but I think it primarily stems from an occasional inability to find the necessary entry point into a record that might otherwise be impenetrable. Once you figure out a good approach, then the real writing can begin. It might take an extra 2-3 days for me to find that opening, but there’s a certain sense of reward that comes with the idea that you’ve gotten it right (in your own mind). So what I really wanted to say was this: while I like to take my time and do some thoughtful writing, I also need to have that time available to think and write and edit. The last few weeks have been a little maddening for me schedule-wise, and I simply haven’t been able to devote as much time and resources to the site as I’d like. The worse part is that my schedule is unlikely to change anytime soon, meaning this slowed progression might continue into the indefinite future. I’m not considering, not even for one second, shutting down the site. You should know that. All I’m asking is for you to bear with me in this challenging period, with the hopes that I find a way to manage my time better soon. If I can figure out a better way to deal with all I’ve got going on, not only will my life get easier, but the site will hopefully flourish more than it already has. Sound good? Let’s talk Pick Your Poison for today. Good stuff below from Crime & The City Solution, Ending People, Ghost of Chance, Kendrick Lamar, The Mommyheads and Night Owl. In the Soundcloud section you might be interested in streaming tracks from Action Bronson, Holmes, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires and Rah Rah.

Akwarian Sea Rebel – Stibnite

Crime & The City Solution – My Love Takes Me There

Die Eternias – To the Monkey

Ending People – Tiny Little Army

Ghost of Chance – Mexico City

Honeymilk – It Might Be

Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Pt. 3 (Will You Let It Die?)

The Mommyheads – Bleed From A Glass

Night Owl – Glove Box

Rare Monk – Death By Proxy

Regular John – Slume

Skipping Girl Vinegar – You Can

Thus:Owls – White Night

Villains Company – Feels Good

SOUNDCLOUD

Action Bronson – The Symbol

Chemical Smile – Thanks For The Company

Grounders – Crown Land

Holmes – Mosquitoes

Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – Total Destruction To Your Mind

Rah Rah – Prairie Girl

Pick Your Poison: Friday 10-19-12

Can I pull off the craziest Saturday in the history of histories? I’ve booked myself solid this Saturday, and not really by choice. Okay, so partly by choice. It starts mid-afternoon with a bachelor party. You may be wondering why a bachelor party is happening in the middle of the afternoon. Well, it’s only the kick off to several hours worth of activities planned that go well into the overnight hours. After spending a few hours pre-drinking there, I’ll skip down to Grant Park for a charity walk. That will take a couple hours, and after some post-walk drinks I’ll cruise over to Schubas for the Chad Valley show. In other words, the day goes as follows: debauchery + drinking –> charity + drinking –> concert + drinking. One common thread there, my friends. I promise I’m not an alcoholic (this is something an alcoholic would say). Hahaha. Anyways, my Saturday will be busy. I hope you’ve got some equally wild plans lined up. If not, maybe some new music will keep you occupied. Please enjoy this set, with highlights coming from Alexx Foxx, Brooke Sharkey, CHamberlin (covering Paul Simon), The Eeries, Gospel Claws, Mice Parade and Romans. In the Soundcloud section let me recommend streaming Tim Hecker’s remix of Holy Other, and a new one from Icona Pop. Have a great (and safe) weekend!

Alexx Foxx – Make Love

Bago – I Forget You

Brooke Sharkey – His Voice

Chamberlin – You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover)

The Eeries – Should’ve Stayed Home

Escort – Camèleon Chameleon (Black Russian Remix)

Gankyu Neko – Futotta Neko

Gospel Claws – I Want It All

The Herald Beat – Phone Calls

LexiconDon – Pretending

Mice Parade – This River Has A Tide

Romans – Let’s Get It On

Tailor – Step Back

Watertonic – Different

Wazu – Councillor

When Saints Go Machine – Parix (BIRD$ Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Big Wave – Only You

Holy Other – Held (Tim Hecker Remix)

Icona Pop – Good For You

Jimbo Mathus – In The Garden

Peter and Kerry – Split For The City

Pipers – Ask Me For A Cigarette

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 10-18-12

Let me jump on this Chicago show rundown right quick, just so you can update your mental concert calendars about a band coming through town this weekend. The late ’80s/early ’90s band Crime & the City Solution are back and touring for the first time since the ’90s. Australian singer-songwriter Simon Bonney formed the band almost 30 years ago, and records like Just South of Heaven and Paradise Discotheque held their own against many more popular British new wave bands like The Cure and New Order. The band just put out a retrospective/introductory collection of songs to remind people of the greatness that once was Crime & the City Solution. That of course is not to say such greatness doesn’t still exist today. Early word says their live shows now are just as potent as they were back in the day, and they’re also armed with some new material ready for their upcoming 2013 comeback record American Twilight. So yes, it should be a great show. Check out the mp3 for “I Have the Gun” if you’d like a taste of what this band has to offer. Crime & the City Solution will be performing on Sunday, October 21st at Lincoln Hall. It is a 21+ show that starts at 8pm. Tickets are $25, but are two for one, meaning you can bring a friend for free. That’s a sweet deal. Buy tickets here. Now let’s talk about today’s Pick Your Poison. Tracks that get a personal thumbs up from me today include ones from Bassnectar, Big East, John the Conqueror, Olympic Swimmers, Steffaloo, and Tom Hickox. In the Soundcloud section please enjoy streams from Cuddle Magic, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, The New Division (ft. Keep Shelly in Athens) and YACHT’s remix of ON AN ON.

Bassnectar ft. Angel Haze – Freestyle

Big East – Knock Em Out

The Bloody Angle – Ol’ Ben Haley

Echoes de Luxe – The Ride (Big Black Delta Remix)

ExDetectives – Second Chance

Heather Schmid – 2012

John the Conqueror – Say What You Want

KSSR – Passenger

Offshore – Summer Hits

Olympic Swimmers – Knots

Post War Years – The Bell (The Invisible Remix)

Steffaloo – Can’t You See

Tom Hickox – The Angel of the North

Ungdomskulen – Young Hearts (DD&D Remix)

We Are Me – We Gon’ Party

YOWIE – Shriners Sure Do Cuss A Lot

SOUNDCLOUD

Cuddle Magic – Rabbit Time

The Daredevil Christopher Wright – A Man Of The Arts

The Maldives – Blood On The Highway

The New Division – Night Escape (ft. Keep Shelly in Athens)

ON AN ON – Ghosts (YACHT Remix)

West End Motel – Burn It Down

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 10-17-12

For those of you that don’t pay close attention to the latest goings on in the music world, let me inform you that the CMJ Music Marathon is happening in New York City this week/weekend. What is the CMJ Music Marathon? Well, it’s a conference for music industry professionals and a showcase for bands and labels at almost every concert venue across the city. It’s a great way to discover what the next big bands are going to be, and maybe hear some interesting/informative discussions about music issues. Call it the SXSW of the East Coast. I had the privilege of going to CMJ back in 2004 and it resulted in some of the craziest and best shows I’ve seen to this day. I walked to every venue in and around Manhattan and never took a cab, bus or train once. Doing that helped me to fall in love with the city itself, which is certainly not a unique experience for the millions that live there already. I got to visit legendary concert venues like CBGB, Arlene’s Grocery, Webster Hall and the Bowery Ballroom as well, which continues to give me perspective every time I hear them mentioned by somebody or in a publication. So we’re quickly creeping up on my 10th anniversary of attending CMJ and I’m starting to realize that unless I start to make some serious plans I’ll probably never return for it again. Maybe 2013 will be that year. Or maybe I’ll hold off until 2014 to officially celebrate 10 years of memories like the time …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead almost killed me in a drunken, riot-style set that destroyed every instrument on stage. Oh CMJ, you are sometimes cruel, but always fun. As I wipe away a wistful tear from my eye, let’s talk about today’s Pick Your Poison. Good stuff in this set from The Amends, Call Answer, James Hand, Matt Bauer (covering Prince), Prince Rupert’s Drops and Red Wanting Blue. In the Soundcloud section let me advise you to stream tracks from Holy Ghost!, Kenna, Toro y Moi and Woodsman.

The Amends – A Certain Speed

Bing and Ruth – And Then It Rained

Call Answer – Now Attract

Fresh Wreckage – Say Yeah

James Hand – Now Not Later

Matt Bauer – Under the Cherry Moon (Prince cover)

Passion Pit – Constant Conversations (Little Daylight Remix)

Phoenix – Lisztomania (Bomb Coltrane Remix)

The Presets – Ghosts (Senor Coconuts Remix)

Prince Rupert’s Drops – Almond Man

Psychobuildings – Wonderchamber

Red Wanting Blue – Stay on the Bright Side

Sean0Sean – Mexico

Sei A – Miss

SOUNDCLOUD

Holy Ghost! – It Gets Dark

Incan Abraham – Springhouse

Kenna – Long Gone

Lower – Someone’s Got It in for Me

Toro y Moi – So Many Details

Woodsman – Sonic Tomb

Album Review: Tame Impala – Lonerism [Modular]



There’s something incomprehensively magnetic about Tame Impala. Identifying exactly what makes the Australian band’s music so compelling is a challenge in itself, primarily because common sense says that psych-pop songs without much in the way of song structure and choruses shouldn’t go down so easily and smoothly. We’ve been trained on verse-chorus-verse, and anything else almost always falls into the “experimental” category. Then again, bands like The Flaming Lips and MGMT have achieved massive popularity while doing things their own way and going completely off the reservation more than a few times. If they can do it, why not Tame Impala too? They’ve even been working with legendary psych-pop producer Dave Fridmann, the man behind The Soft Bulletin and Oracular Spectacular, for their 2010 debut full length Innerspeaker as well as this new one Lonerism. The way in which he shapes Tame Impala’s sound into something more commercially viable can’t be ignored, though his magic is nothing compared to frontman Kevin Parker’s influence, which is so immense you might consider this band a solo project with a bunch of hired hands to recreate the songs in a live setting. Of course some of the other guys in the band might take offense to such a statement, but on any given song Parker is responsible for vocals, guitar, bass, drums and keys, which is essentially everything. He even reduces Fridmann’s normal job of in-studio producing to that of giving him the unmastered studio recordings and asking for judicial editing and a little bit of polish. It becomes an effortless blend of DIY home recorded aesthetic and present day glossy production, which is one of Lonerism‘s biggest charms.

While there is a certain modern aspect to the record, so much of it sounds like vintage ’60s psychedelia that under the right circumstances you might be able to fool a bunch of people into thinking it’s directly from that era. That task becomes even easier because Parker’s voice has enough John Lennon in it to convincingly present songs as some of the former Beatle’s long lost solo recordings. The day-glo vocal harmonies and quirky bounce of “Mind Mischief” for example feels cut from the same hangdog cloth Lennon often adopted, and the swirling shift it takes towards the end is gloriously “A Day in the Life”-like in nature. But Parker’s talents go beyond simple and unavoidable mimicry because he’s able to consistently find ways to challenge our expectations while still hanging onto a very real pop sensibility. Listen to the six minute swirl of “Apocalypse Dreams” to get a real taste of how he’ll change things up just as you’re starting to get comfortable. Instead of being disappointed by his yanking of the rug from underneath our feet, where things head next are almost always equal to or greater than whatever preceeded it. In other words, you’ve got to trust Parker has your best interests at heart and follow him into the darkness. There’s even a song near the end of the record that explains quite perfectly how you should approach these tracks: “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control.” That sentiment makes “Music to Walk Home By” music you can walk home by, and “Why Won’t They Talk to Me?” a self-fulfilling prophesy.

The two songs on the album that really break free from any influences and previous work are the trunk-swinging stomp of “Elephant” and the gloriously strange drift of “Sun’s Coming Up.” Both stand out for completely different reasons as they represent Tame Impala at their most focused and unfocused. The former engineers an energetic, bass-heavy groove that’s jarring compared to everything else on the album, but it hits harder and is more addictive than anything else that comes before and after it. The latter track closes the record and might as well be two songs in one – a waltzy, dramatic piano ballad at the start and a shimmering, psychedelic guitar instrumental at the end. That imbalance doesn’t really do it any favors, but it does make for an excellent way to close out the record. All the other songs fly by on a breeze, so this gentle application of the brakes prepares us for the end. We’ve had all night to play, and now it’s a race against the impending day. “Sun’s coming up now / I guess it’s over,” Parker sings wistfully as the last lines of the album. For all the disappointment and heartbreak that’s chronicled throughout Lonerism, somehow this one cuts the deepest. Perhaps that’s because we too don’t want it to be over. Buried beneath the sadness is also triumph – the realization that the record you just heard was a masterful display of what modern psych-pop can and should be. Tame Impala have expanded and refined the core sound of their debut into a confident work of art worthy of being named one of 2012’s finest.

Tame Impala – Elephant (Canyons Wooly Mammoth Remix)

Buy Lonerism from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 10-16-12

Okay friends, here’s your weekly list of artists that have new albums and EPs available in stores or at your favorite online music retailers starting today: Autumn Owls, Beaten By Them, Ben Gibbard, Ben Harper, Blackbird Blackbird, The Bloody Angle, Chelsea Wolfe, Donald Fagen, Earlimart, A Fine Frenzy, Gabriel Kahane, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Jason Lytle, K’Naan, The Luyas, Mac DeMarco, Martha Wainwright, Matmos, Peace, Pinback, Rosie Flores, Santah, Savoir Adore, TKTTSM, and Young Dreams. Let’s not forget about your daily dose of new music though via the mp3s as part of Pick Your Poison. Recommended tracks today come from Atlas Genius (covering The xx), The Bohannons, Mark Mallman, Natalie Duke, Warning Light, Winter People and The Wonder Revolution. In the Soundcloud section, there’s some good stuff to stream from Eve’s Twin Lover, The Hotelles and People Get Ready.

Atlas Genius – Islands (The xx cover)

The Bohannons – River Above

Ethereal and the Queer Show – Horse

GANGI – Gold (Pharaohs’ Ground Zero Mix)

GPSYMTH – Hamilton

Mark Mallman – Dirty Dishes

Mickie Lindbergh – Neon Soldier

Milk+ – Equinox (ft. Ikey Owens)

Natalie Duke – Gift

Sophie Auster – Run Run Run

Thomas Azier – Fire Arrow

The Vliets – God’s Drug

Warning Light – Private Seacaves

Winter People – Wishingbone

The Wonder Revolution – Firefly

XOV – Sextape

SOUNDCLOUD

El Perro del Mar – Walk On By (W. Pontonen Remix)

Eve’s Twin Lover – How

Flume – Holdin On

The Hotelles – Aviators

Pegboard Nerds – Self Destruct

People Get Ready – Middle Name

Pick Your Poison: Monday 10-15-12

When you really think about it, David Byrne and Trent Reznor are two very different artists from two very different worlds. Yet they also are very independently-minded artists who are rigorously respected by their peers. So just because Reznor made his name via the industrial metal of Nine Inch Nails and Byrne earned his fame via ’80s pop icons the Talking Heads doesn’t mean they can’t sit down for a friendly chat to discuss their experiences in the music business. That’s actually exactly what happened on Sunday night, when they met up in L.A. to speak about trying to create and distribute music in an increasingly digital world where the traditional record label model may no longer be viable. Byrne was also promoting his new book How Music Works, which is an excellent diagnosis of the music industry as a whole these days. Reznor’s new band How to destroy angels will also be releasing the An omen EP next month via major label Columbia, in case you weren’t already aware of that. In the discussion, Reznor talks a bit about why he felt the need to return to a record label after putting out the last few Nine Inch Nails releases on his own. His main point, I suppose, is that being responsible for your own exposure and marketing as a tiny enterprise brings its own set of challenges that he didn’t want to have to deal with anymore. A good 11 minute chunk of that video with Reznor talking can be watched here. It comes recommended obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t even have mentioned it. But while I’m recommending things, let’s talk about today’s Pick Your Poison. Good tracks today come from Golden Bloom, Iko, Lemonade’s remix of Lindstrom, Markus Mehr, Pearl and the Beard, Sufjan Stevens and Young Dreams. In the Soundcloud section I’m also recommending two Twin Shadow-affiliated songs: one from Chad Valley and the other a remix of Solange’s “Sleep in the Park.”

Arc in Round – Spirit (King Britt Remix)

Calvin Love – Gut Feeling (Devo cover)

Daniel Romano – She Was the World to Me

Deluka – Never Alone

Dikta – What Are You Waiting For

Golden Bloom – Flying Mountain

Iko – Kites

Lindstrom – Eg-ged-osis (Lemonade Remix)

Lisa Richards – Beating of the Sun

Markus Mehr – Duck Became Swan

NO CEREMONY/// – FEELSOLOW

Pearl and the Beard – 40K

Photek – Pyramid

Reuben and the Dark – Shoulderblade

Sufjan Stevens – Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling

Young Dreams – Fog of War

SOUNDCLOUD

All Eyes – All I Want

Chad Valley – I Owe You This (ft. Twin Shadow)

Marika Hackman – Lithium (Nirvana cover)

Solange – Sleep In The Park (Twin Shadow Remodel ft. D’Angelo Lacy)

Terraplane Sun – Ya Never Know

Trixie Whitley – Breathe You In My Dreams

Pick Your Poison: Friday 10-12-12

I’ve been a bit of a bad boy. That is to say I promised the world when I started a Facebook page for this site. Exclusive content, music videos, and links to every single post that appears on this site. Sadly, while I still do keep that page up and running, I’ve become a bit lazy when it comes to updating it. There will often be 2 or 3 posts collected and backed up in the hopper waiting for me to put them up on Facebook. I shared a few music videos and exclusive content (such as Spotify playlists) over the summer, but that’s pretty well dropped off too. It’s not a ghost town over there, but it’s far less active than I’d like it to be. Blame it on a busy schedule (which is actually quite accurate). But I promise I’m going to do my best to keep it up-to-date and reinfused with exciting new content. While I work on that, I kind of want to encourage you to get over there and press the “Like” button if you have yet to do so. I’d appreciate it. I’d also appreciate you looking at this weekend-starting edition of Pick Your Poison. Thumbs up today for tracks from Bogan Via, Book Club, Empresarios, Mist Glider, MMOSS and Sean Bones. The entirety of the Soundcloud section today is great stuff available for streaming should you be so inspired, and I hope you will be. Have a great weekend everybody!

Algernon Doll – Spiral Sounds

Bogan Via – TES

Book Club – Oh! You Lied

The Broken Needles – Saltflat Baby

Challenger – I Am Switches

Cracked Latin – My Miami

Empresarios – Rompan Fila

Hot Hot Hawk – Rise and Down (ft. Ksenia Popova)

Kairo Kingdom – One Two (No Big Deal Remix)

Kendrick Lamar – The Recipe (Its Overture Remix)

Landerim – The Black Swarm

Mist Glider – Just Us

MMOSS – Another Dream

Saturday, Monday – Headshake (ft. Julia Spada)

Sculpt – Deece

Sean Bones – United

SOUNDCLOUD

Avicii – Summerburst ID (Shoe Scene Symphony Bootleg/Unofficial Remix)

GRMLN – Patio

HAERTS – Wings

Mr MFN eXquire – Telephuck (ft. Gucci Mane)

Popstrangers – Heaven

Teen Daze – Divided Loyalties

Snapshot Review: Grizzly Bear – Shields [Warp]



Sonically speaking, Grizzly Bear shouldn’t be the sort of band described as “difficult.” Close listens to their early work like 2006’s Yellow House prove they have a knack for writing slower but very complex and beautiful melodies replete with vocal harmonies. It’s not nearly post-rock, as there is far too much verse-chorus-verse structure contained within the songs and not nearly enough explosive crescendos and waves of sound. A better comparison would be to call them a less poppy version of that other animal band Fleet Foxes, because while their songs more often than not lack dynamic hooks, they make up for it in pure pastoral folk atmosphere. Of course there are moments on 2009’s Veckatimest such as “Two Weeks” and “While You Wait for the Others” that felt like they should have been massive hits but failed to fully connect for one reason or another. On their new album Shields, Grizzly Bear seem to have fallen off the map once again, pushing aside the small gains they made in the mainstream music world in favor of staying true to themselves and the purest of songcraft. They still sound rather effectively like themselves, as in you’re not going to mistake them for another band, but the ease and charm by which they worked their magic last time has been scaled back in favor of a much more cerebral and measured approach. The melodies reach a new level of complexity and detail, positively oozing with glorious ambience and texture. Opening track “Sleeping Ute” bounces, weaves and rolls like waves on a choppy but positively electric sea as the band stuffs a truckload of sounds into it. You absolutely need to devote time and effort to allow yourself to be absorbed in the world this record inhabits, and such precise attention winds up well rewarded with each successive listen. Much like Beach House’s latest album Bloom, this is a record less concerned with breaking new ground and more insistent on condensing the band’s strengths into something more potent and captivating than they’ve ever done before. The person who excels at this the most on this particular record is Daniel Rossen. He’s never quite been the shining star of Grizzly Bear (that honor goes to Ed Droste), and occasionally he’ll have a clunky song (see “Dory” on Veckatimest) or a quieter one (see “Deep Blue Sea” on Yellow House) amidst a gem like “While You Wait for the Others.” In the time since the band’s last record, he’s kept busy by recording and releasing a solo EP, which didn’t venture very far from anything he’d done previously. It made him a better songwriter and composer though, as his tracks “Speak in Rounds” and “A Simple Answer” are two of the album’s best moments. Of course there are quite a few of those when your record functions as a proverbial highlight reel of original music. Droste’s times to shine happen on the single “Yet Again” along with “Gun Shy” towards the end of the record. Of course it is those final two tracks “Half Gate” and “Sun in Your Eyes” that truly raise the bar for Grizzly Bear and any band that sounds like them. They swell with the sort of brightness and beauty you expect them to explode at any moment out of sheer intensity. So much of Shields is a dark and lonely journey punctuated by remarkable arrangements, but the last 12 or so minutes break free from that depression and that feeling is simply euphoric. Just when you think there’s no way Grizzly Bear can top themselves, here’s a record that proves they can. May there be many more as fundamentally challenging as this one in their future.

Buy Shields from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 10-11-12

Oh, let’s have a rather pointless discussion for today’s Pick Your Poison intro. Glancing at the calendar, I can’t help but notice that it’s 10/11/12. These sequential date things have been going on once a year since 1/2/03, and after 2014 there won’t be any more of them for close to another 100 years. In that regard, we should make the most of such moments and create some new memories. The date is easy enough to remember, so you’ll never forget that time you did that thing on 10/11/12. It’s National Coming Out day as well, which can be a monumental event in a person’s life, telling family and friends about your sexual orientation. If that describes you and it’s something you’re ready for, I encourage you to do that today. Really you can do that any day though, and it’ll still be a very special occasion. Or things could go horribly wrong and your family disowns you. That’d actually be special too, but for all the wrong reasons. For the rest of us, I’m sure that if we can’t come up with something exciting to do on a Thursday night besides go to work or sit at home watching the Vice Presidential debate, we’ll still have until November 12, 2013 to figure out something wild to do then. You know what though? Maybe today is the day you discover your new favorite band via Pick Your Poison. Let me recommend a few tracks for you from Andy Burrows, Fake Blood, Hank & Cupcakes, Purity Ring (ft. Danny Brown) and Torkelsen. In the Soundcloud section don’t miss audio streams from Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Ducktails and Yellow Ostrich.

Amicus – Sometimes I Miss You

Andy Burrows – Company

Black Lizard – Dead Light

Fake Blood – Bionic

Hank & Cupcakes – Sweet Potion

KIDCITY – Call Mom

Lovely Little Girls – Massive Vulva Cantaloupe

Metal Mother – Mind_Off

Purity Ring – Belispeak II (ft. Danny Brown)

SLDGHMR – Deviate (ft. La Felix)

Squarehead – More Quickly

Torkelsen – Havet

Van She – Jamaica (Mad Professor Dub)

VBZ – Quasicrystals (Grand Atrium Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Benjamin Francis Leftwich – In The Open

Cities Aviv – G A L L E R Y G U R L Z

Ducktails – The Flower Lane

LCMDF – I Go Insane

Menahan Street Band – Lights Out

Yellow Ostrich – Ghost

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 10-10-12

Okay, let’s spend another Wednesday talking about another band coming through Chicago soon. This time it’s Vancouver foursome Yukon Blonde, who will be at Lincoln Hall this Sunday, October 14th. Their second album Tiger Talk came out earlier this year and was filled with hook-heavy rock songs that have the ability to stick in your head for days. One of the things that makes Yukon Blonde such a great band is their incessant touring schedule. Honestly, I can’t really recall many bands that seem to tour more than these guys. Sure, there’s the possibility of becoming road weary, but the more shows you play the better you get at it. From what I’ve heard, Yukon Blonde have become incredibly good in their performances, so make sure you show up right at 8pm for their opening set. Please enjoy the song “Stairway” as inspiration to pick up a $15 ticket to this 21+ show. I’m also pleased to say The Jezabels will be headlining the show, touring in support of their new album Prisoner, which is also pretty good. So to sum up, 2 excellent bands playing 1 excellent Chicago venue this Sunday night. Buy advance tickets here. Let’s talk about today’s Pick Your Poison now, shall we? I’ll hand out gold stars in today’s edition to songs from Ace Reporter, The Delta Routine, Exquisite Corps, Free Energy, Mean Lady and Meshell Ndegeocello. In the Soundcloud section, you won’t want to miss streaming songs from The Babies, Young Volcanoes and Com Truise’s remix of The Twilight Sad.

Ace Reporter – Untouched and Arrived

Alt-j – Tessellate (SARM Acoustic Version)

Dancing Heals – Live and Learn

The Delta Routine – Don’t Wanna Let You Down

Exquisite Corps – I Want What I Want

Fantasy Rainbow – Condominium

Free Energy – Dance All Night

Legendary Wings – Nachos

Leon the Professional – The Real

Main Attrakionz – Cloud Body

Mean Lady – Bop Bop

Meshell Ndegeocello – To Be Young, Gifted and Black (ft. Cody ChestnuTT)

Palmbomen – Black Safari

Ronnie Fauss – This Year

Staygold – Wallpaper (ft. Style of Eye and Pow)

SOUNDCLOUD

The Babies – Get Lost

Enfant – Border of Mexico

From the Airport – Colors

Stockers! – Times Before

The Twilight Sad – Sick (Com Truise Remix)

Young Volcanoes – Traffic

Snapshot Review: Muse – The 2nd Law [Warner Bros.]



To all the Muse fans concerned that the band was set to take their sound in a new, dubstep-inspired direction: feel free to breathe a sigh of relief because that’s not happening. Well, at least not yet. Yes, the first track to leak from Muse’s new one The 2nd Law was the track “The 2nd Law: Unsustainable,” and it absolutely falls under the dubstep genre. Interviews with band members about the change in sound yielded quotes about how inspired they were to see dubstep artists sending crowds into a frenzy with wires, drum pads and turntables. It turns out you can rock a crowd without the need for a guitar or drums or piano. If they truly took that message to heart though, they’d have made an entire album’s worth of crazy drops and frenzied dial-up internet noises. Instead, it’s just the one song. For most of The 2nd Law, it’s business as usual for Muse. Here is a band that has become more and more bombastic and arena-forged with each new release, apparently seeking to claim the crown that Queen left behind with fist-pumping anthems and tracks with titles like “Exogenesis: Symphony, Parts 1-3.” On the new record, songs like “Survival” and the opening number “Supremacy” are layered with huge orchestral swells that create a grandeur and excess the likes of which deserve to be the soundtrack to some big summer blockbuster popcorn flick. In fact, “Survival” was the official theme of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and it sounds every bit like it belongs as such. This is the Muse we met on the last album, 2009’s The Resistance. On the band’s 2006 record Black Holes and Revelations, they dabbled in synths and electronic textures more than they ever had before, and those sounds once again make themselves evident on this new full length thanks to the pulsations of first single “Madness” and “Follow Me,” the latter of which truly feels like a slowed down, less guitar-heavy remix of “Map of the Problematique” with nods towards U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Whether or not that’s a good thing is your decision, but it’s somewhat nice to hear a few stylistic nods back to their earlier material. It’s a real shame then that The 2nd Law suffers from such a saggy midsection. “Animals,” “Explorers” and “Big Freeze” all strip away the excess to remind you that this is still a relatively simple rock band that made great records like Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry not too long ago. The problem is that they fail to capitalize on the opportunity to do something interesting with these songs. They don’t need to go big to be great, they just need to remember that the smaller moments are of equal importance to everything else. Things do take a decidedly random turn towards the end of the record, when bassist Chris Wostenholme takes over lead vocals for the first time on “Save Me” and “Liquid State.” The former track comes across as a little jarring at first for two reasons: the switch in vocals and the very measured and delicate instrumental work. It’s the only song on the entire album that would function well as an Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock adventure, if only those pesky vocals didn’t get in the way. Wostenholme doesn’t have a bad voice, it’s just for that particular track his singing hurts more than helps. Bellamy’s falsetto would have done a bit better with it, but really what that song needs is room to breathe. The crunchy metal-lite feel of “Liquid State” suits Wostenholme a lot more, though with the “Hysteria” or “Plug In Baby”-like aggression almost deserves an equally visceral vocal that’s not fully landing in this case. You could say he’s off to a decent start, but could use a bit more practice to equal the many fine other things Muse has done over the last decade. The 2nd Law closes with “The 2nd Law: Unsustainable” and “The 2nd Law: Isolated System,” the first of which is the aforementioned dubstep attack, which really comes out of the blue when you consider everything that’s happened leading up to it. The other track is a calmer and lightly pulsating piano and strings instrumental mixed with more sound clips of announcers and news reporters all talking over one another about problems around the world. Working in tandem with “Unsustainable,” the two peas in a pod make a great statement about what this entire record could have sounded like. It’s progressive and interesting and completely unlike anything Muse have ever done before. For a band that likes to continually push the envelope and keep their fans guessing, this record is strikingly safe and overly sincere. The Resistance at least sounded like a band having fun by going completely over-the-top with excess. Interesting as it might be at times, The 2nd Law sounds like it was made by a band trying to find focus while going more and more blind each day. There are moments of clarity amidst their fumbling, but mostly you just hope they get some glasses and keep making engaging music for years to come.

Buy The 2nd Law from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 10-9-12

It’s a surprisingly strong week for new albums, but then again when we get into the fall like this, almost every week is strong. Be on the lookout for new stuff from AC Newman, Black Marble, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Callers, Can, Caviare Days, Chrome Canyon, Citizens!, Coheed and Cambria, Converge, Dana Falconberry, Django Django, Electric Six, Ellie Goulding, Freelance Whales, Kaki King, John Cale, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Lord Huron, Mark Mallman, Martin Eden, Matt and Kim, Metz, Paws, Portugal. The Man, Royal Trux, Tame Impala, Trash Talk, Ty Segall and The Wallflowers. If that’s not good enough for you, or perhaps you’re in the mood for something a little bit different or fresher, enjoy the mp3s in today’s Pick Your Poison. Good stuff I’ll advise you to check out from Bear Colony, Daymoths, Departures, Fat Goth, How to destroy angels, Left Boy and Silkies. In the Soundcloud section, don’t miss streaming songs from Generationals, Mac DeMarco, MØ and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

Adele – Skyfall (Theatre of Delays Remix)

Bear Colony – Flask Retort

Bronx Science – The Light Behind Your Light Is Changing

Crash and the ‘Coot – Brian Fury Wins! (Alternate Version)

Daymoths – Terrible Beauty

Departures – Being There

Elim Bolt – Farm Kid

Fat Goth – Debbie’s Dirty Harry

Glimmermen – Travellin’ Men

Great Caesar – Tuned to Break

How to destroy angels – Keep it together

Humphrey Milles – Breathe

Left Boy – Sweet Dreams

Little Dragon – Little Man (Clancy’s Deep Haze Remix)

Quixotism – Sooner

Silkies – Red

SOUNDCLOUD

Generationals – Sale City

Mac DeMarco – Ode to Viceroy

MØ – Pilgrim

Morgan D – Feel Like Singin (The La La Song)

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Jeremy

Scorpio Loon – Things I Like To Do

Pick Your Poison: Monday 10-8-12

Happy Columbus Day to you and yours. I hope you got the day off work to celebrate. If not, just know that Christopher Columbus wasn’t exactly the greatest of people. He basically discovered America by accident, then proceeded to drive out the Native Americans that already lived there. If such a thing were to happen today, the media would relentlessly criticize such a move. Instead we call the man enough of a hero to get a holiday named after him. If he wouldn’t have gotten lost on his way to India, somebody else would have discovered North America, and from there who knows what direction the country might have taken. I’m happy about the freedoms I have today, and hope that in spite of his shady deeds it was the right move for the country. Okay, let’s do some Monday edition of Pick Your Poison. Don’t miss some good tracks today from Jenee Halstead, King of Spain, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Peculiar Pretzelmen, Qurious, and Village. Remixes from DISCOFORGIA and Justin K. Broadrick also make for some excellent work. In the Soundcloud section, stream good stuff from Girls Names, Martin Eden (aka Eluvium) and SURES.

Bon Iver – Minnesota, WI (Lovely Extended Remix)

Caveman the Wise – Harold of the Moon

David Guetta ft. Taped Rai – Just One Last Time (Fareoh Remix)

Diva Dompe – Inverted Image

Gallons to Ounces – It Kills Me

Jenee Halstead – Rodeo of Sadness

King of Spain – Green Eyes

Letting Up Despite Great Faults – Bulletproof Girl

Mogwai – George Square Thatcher Death Party (Justin K. Broadrick Reshape)

Mykus – Pressing Flowers

Neil Nathan – Sweep the Nation

Nerd Revolt – Breaking Free

Oreaganomics – Happy Yet True

Peculiar Pretzelmen – Hammer/Nails

Qurious – Rubies

Tame Impala – Elephant (DISCOFORGIA Remix)

Village – Nowhere

SOUNDCLOUD

Arkells – Thinkin Bout You (Frank Ocean Cover)

Childhood – Blue Velvet

Girls Names – The New Life

Legs Like Tree Trunks – Snowflake

Martin Eden – Short Cut

SURES – L.A.

Pick Your Poison: Friday 10-5-12

It’s Friday, I’m out of town for the weekend, so I’m going to keep this very short and very sweet. Have fun and try not to do anything I wouldn’t do. What wouldn’t I do? The short answer is not much. I think my upcoming weekend away will more than prove that. But in my stead, please enjoy this Friday edition of Pick Your Poison. Good stuff today from David Bronson, La Chansons, The Modern Airline, Pretty & Nice and Sunglasses. In the Soundcloud section there’s delightful tracks to stream from Those Darlins, Vitalic, The Walkmen and Joe Goddard’s (of Hot Chip) remix of Jessie Ware. Have a great weekend!

Buffalo Killers – It’s a Shame (Live)

The Cast of Cheers – Human Elevator (Errors Remix)

Misfits ft. Lazy Habits – Coda

Coves – Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)

Danny Brown – Grown Up (Nubbz Remix)

Danny Switchblade – Ordinary Neighborhood SuperStar

David Bronson – Times

Kat Webb – Waver

La Chansons – Treasure Trove

The Modern Airline – Vee Haf Veys (of Making You Rock)

Pretty & Nice – Capsules

Rainy Milo – The Other Way

Starkey ft. Trim – Solar Flare (Freestyle)

Sunglasses – Cold Shoulder

The Trashed Romeos – I Sit and Cry

Wiz Khalifa ft. The Weeknd – Remember You (VOODOO FARM Club Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Casablanca – Journey

Jessie Ware – Night Light (Joe Goddard Remix)

The Mouth Of Ghosts – When The Sun Sets

Those Darlins – Summer’s Dead

Vitalic – Stamina

The Walkmen – Dance with Your Partner

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