Category: music Page 162 of 188

On 03/04/2011

Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers (I Follow You Tyler the Creator’s Remix)

Inquiring minds want to know – has Lykke Li ever smiled? Her music isn’t what one would call happy, though her first album “Youth Novels” had a fair number of intense club bangers on it. Through it all and the music videos she’s put out, never once a smile. I’ve seen her perform live twice. No smiles there either. According to a number of studies, Sweden is one of the 10 happiest countries on Earth. It’s where Li calls home, even if she doesn’t spend as much time there these days. For her sophmore record, she spent a fair amount of time writing and recording in the U.S., jumping between New York and Los Angeles, among other places. Those “other places” were primarily deserts, where she isolated herself from humanity and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It was in the desert, starring in a short film for a director friend, that she finally found the inspiration she was looking for to create that new album. And though “Wounded Rhymes” may have been born out of isolation and depression, it’s ultimately soulful and escapist fare, a window into her dark world that’s hopefully more intriguing and inspirational than anything else. At the very least you can dance to a lot of it.

The three minute club banger opening of “Youth Knows No Pain” almost comes off like the rallying cry the title suggests. When we’re young, we’re invincible, and if you knock us down, we just get right back up again. The older we get, the more baggage we carry around, and the harder it gets to recover from those everyday stressors inflicted upon is. The positives and negatives of relationships are some of Lykke Li’s favorite topics, and “I Follow Rivers” is the first of many on the album about exactly that. At its core, the track is about the similarities between rivers and her man – how the wild and untamed natural majesty of rivers is so attractive. The music video for the song is pretty much exactly as just described, with a bearded, outdoorsman foreign-type walking alone through an empty landscape while Li follows closely behind. It also makes for a good pop song, with a strong hook and interesting percussive elements bouncing around. Similarly, “Love Out of Lust” is a more ballad-type track of the highest order, vigorously passionate and filled as much with sweeping drama as it is positivity. It’s a healthy reminder that love can be fleeting and temporary, so be sure to express it fully when it comes around, because you never know when it will again.

Things take a turn for the sad on “Unrequited Love”, but while the lyrics are as the title suggests, the way the song is put together really shines through above all else. With just a lone finger-picked guitar and percussion that amounts to no more than slapping on a knee, the track is more a showcase for Lykke Li’s voice and words. There are harmonies built upon harmonies and bits of “shoo wop shoo wop” going around as well, whipping out the classic 50s and 60s girl group style. Because of this, the track actually has a timeless feel to it in the kindest sort of way. Then like the flipping of a switch, the beats get huge again courtesy of some massive bass drum, the guitars ripple with a touch of surf rock, and Li turns from wounded to the attacker via “Get Some”. Many have and will continue to misinterpret the lines, “I’m your prostitute/you gon’ get some” as sexually demeaning or crass. The point is more the aggression and empowerment than it is giving men the idea she wants to be used and abused. It just so happens the song also has one of the best and strongest hooks Li has ever written. The heavier guitars and garage rock atmosphere of “RIch Kids Blues” are about the only good things about the song itself, which sets itself up as a near class warfare song about the poor choices in priorities that wealthy children tend to have. It’s about the sadness and emptiness that comes from having all the material possessions you could ever want, but not a lot else. Actually, it kind of makes sense then that this track has some good instrumentals going for it and not much else, which is sad and empty. Speaking of sad, “Sadness Is A Blessing” blows out a standard Lykke Li ballad into something huge, complete with piano, organ and bells. Yet again it does as the title suggests, in that it takes darker lyrics and sends them skyward as if to show what positivity can come from them.

Things go very quiet again when “I Know Places” shows up with just an acoustic guitar and Lykke Li’s vocal. It’s her moment to go folk, and it gives creedence to the thought that she excels at whatever musical style she tries – more than just your heavy-beat pop jams. The final two minutes of the song descend into a dreamy electronic haze punctuated with spots of guitar that’s eerily reminiscent of Chris Isaak’s classic “Wicked Game”. When the song itself is about escaping to someplace to be alone, that extra instrumental bit tacked on at the end feels like that goal has been accomplished in a very serene and beautiful sort of way. The solitary vacation is over as quickly as it started thanks to “Jerome”, a great mid-tempo track that offers a wide variety of percussion from rumbling bass drums to drum machines to wooden blocks to handclaps, tambourines and shakers. The touches of keyboards are nice too, but it ultimately comes down to a skilled vocal performance to carry the track beyond the vast wasteland of beats. The bass gets really low on closing track “Silent My Song”, echoing out over a massive space like a speaker hanging down from the clouds. Lyrically the song is low too, descending into sadness as Li sings about a man that puts her down at every turn. It’s like The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb” from the perspective of the woman underneath it. What’s ironic about the track is how beautiful and vocally strident it is. Li’s voice is raised far above everything else in the mix. So while she sings about her voice going silent, the reality is anything but. It marks just one final complexity across a record packed full of them.

So after two records we definitely know that Lykke Li is not exactly a happy person, but “Wounded Rhymes” does leave us with are more questions. Like most people, she has had her share of heartache and heartbreak, but also deep passion and love. She covers every single one of those bases on this album, and the tracks are arranged in such a haphazard way that you’re never quite sure which emotion on this rollercoaster you’ll be turned onto next. And while that is a problem, it’s equally an asset. Instrumentally speaking, the mixture of hot dance numbers and ballads helps to justify each one’s position on the final product. See, you never want too much of one or the other packed together, so after you get all worked up thanks to a great beat, in comes the softer, slower stuff to mellow you out. No worries though, because before things start to drag, another uptempo track comes in to save the day. It’s smart in that each song feels earned and there’s never too much of a good or bad thing. The next question left hanging is whether or not Lykke Li is a hero or a victim. As the styles bounce back and forth, so do her lyrics, one minute wrestled into control by a man and the next taking control of him. She primarily played the role of the shy girl that just wanted a man on her debut “Youth Novels”, but she’s grown greatly on “Wounded Rhymes” – not only lyrically but vocally too. She’s got some powerhouse pipes that really get shown off for the first time on this record, and they help make most every song better than it would have been otherwise. It’s also a huge reason why this new album is an improvement over her first one. There may not be any songs as overtly amazing as a “Breaking It Up” or “Dance Dance Dance”, but what’s sacrificed in big pop numbers is more than made up for in an overall solidity that only leaves you asking for more.

Buy “Wounded Rhymes” from Amazon
Click through the jump to stream the entire album (for a limited time)

Pick Your Poison: Friday 3-4-11

On 03/04/2011

Adele – Rolling in the Deep (Johnny Lawson Remix)

Happy Friday everyone. Hope you’ve got a grand weekend coming up. The weather’s starting to warm up, so it’s okay to venture out a little more than usual. Especially if you live someplace where the threat of snow is all but gone by now. Pick Your Poison highlights for this Friday include tracks from Big Wave Riders, Hungry Kids of Hungary, I Was Totally Destroying It, Simon Says No, and Therapies Son. Also the Soundcloud section is really bringing it today with tracks from Guillemots and Junip, among others (see the Queen mashup as well, off the forthcoming “Sucker Punch” soundtrack).

Big Wave Riders – Skate or Die

Duologue – Get Out While You Can

Fizzle Like A Flood – Killshot

Flash Fiktion – Capsules of Sun (DID Remix)

Hungry Kids of Hungary – Wristwatch

I Was Totally Destroying It – Control

The Knocks – Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (Temptations cover)

Moddi – Ardennes (Kontaktor Remix)

Pegasuses-XL – Sea Mountain Island

Simon Says No – Solitary Rush

Skysaw – No One Can Tell

Therapies Son – Touching Down

SOUNDCLOUD

Boombox Saints – Bringin’ The Boom Back

Guillemots – Walk The River

Junip – Näckrosdammen

Queen with Armageddon Aka Geddy – I Want It All / We Will Rock You Mash-Up

Sarandon – Big Trev

Album Review: DeVotchKa – 100 Lovers [Epitaph]

Buy “100 Lovers” from Amazon

On 03/03/2011

In album review, music

Remember the movie “Little Miss Sunshine”? It was that sweet indie comedy that worked its way into our hearts and wound up being quite successful at the box office. Hopefully being the astute music fans that you are, you took notice of the movie’s soundtrack, which heavily featured the music of DeVotchKa. Granted, much of the soundtrack was pulled from the band’s 2004 record “How It Ends”, but there were a couple of original pieces in there as well. It genuinely seemed like DeVotchKa’s music had the sweeping drama and epic beauty that works effortlessly and perfectly in movies. There would be advertising opportunities, video game soundtracks and a bunch of other things the band signed off on (as well as a bunch they turned down as well), and chances are even if you think you’ve never heard a DeVotchKa song before, you actually have in the background somewhere. All the commercial exposure really helped to build a following for this collection of troubadors, and it helped turn their last record, “A Mad & Faithful Telling” into a moderate hit. Nevermind that it was their weakest record to date. Their star still continues to rise, and their greatest accomplishment to date was an opening slot for Muse last summer when they played in front of over 80,000 people in France. Now DeVotchKa is back with “100 Lovers”, their first new record in three years, and yet again it falls right in line with the widescreen journey they’ve been on for quite awhile now.

Grand orchestral swells and piano introduce the record on “The Alley”, just before a martial snare drum beat picks up the pace and frontman Nick Urata belts out those first words in a croon that sounds like he’s trying to seduce an entire valley full of people from atop a mountain. It’s that sort of huge, and despite that, the band makes it seem almost effortless. The song itself pushes what eventually becomes a theme of the record and practically the norm for DeVotchKa these days, in that their focus is more on beauty and atmosphere than it is on creative, world accented pop. A song like “All the Sand in All the Seas” sounds positively lovely and moves at a brisk pace, but the closest it comes to a hook is some bouncy piano that acts more as a guide linking the verses than anything else. Similarly, “One Hundred Other Lovers” is remarkably reminiscent of the gorgeous balladry that the song “How It Ends” had going for it, which in turn also makes it one of the record’s strongest bits. Immense orchestration and an out of control violin are what form the basis for “The Common Good”, and what’s normally lovely sounds overly busy in this particular case. There’s simply too much going on in the song for it for the richness to sink in. The final minute of the song completely gives way to an even greater instrumental swell that takes things even farther off the rails into almost white noise territory. There’s certainly a passion there, not to mention ferocity, but it doesn’t feel earned.

After the first of two interludes, “The Man From San Sebastian” foregoes the orchestral majesty of the first half and breaks out the accordion and electric guitars. It’s a rock track with a touch of Spanish influence as the title suggests, along with a bit of Eastern European gypsy mojo. Acoustic guitars, tambourines and whistling helps bring the jingle-jangle to “Exhaustible”, a track that’s well put together but feels a lot like its title, which makes it just a little off from the band’s norm. After a second very brief instrumental interlude, Spanish influences take over the band, from the fiery horns and bongos of “Bad Luck Heels” and “Contrabanda” to the peppered accordion and multilingual lyrics of “Ruthless”, there are moments in the final third of the record that genuinely feel like DeVotchKa have gone mariachi. If you’re familiar with the band’s past records though, this is nothing particularly new. Of course they’re far more complicated and well developed than that, but it does give you the impression that the record has those couple interludes to neatly divide it into sections where different musical styles and influences are explored. Closing track “Sunshine” bucks the Spanish final third just a bit with its jack-of-all-trades instrumental. It’s a pretty beautiful song, but doesn’t feel like it has a distinct purpose. There’s not a whole lot to keep it interesting, though it still chugs along for close to 5 minutes seeking some semblance of structure.

Credit goes to DeVotchKa for at the very least providing some framework for “100 Lovers” by grouping similar songs together to create a solidified mood and atmosphere. That’s pretty much what they do best anyways, though the first half of the album places a lot more emphasis on that than the second half does. All the sweeping drama from those first few songs will surely bring to mind Arcade Fire at least a touch, especially since Nick Urata’s vocals have that emotive Win Butler-like wail that tends to be too charming to resist. Compared to past DeVotchKa records, this one’s just a bit easier on the ears stylistically, with the band restraining some of their more ethnic impulses in favor of more straightforward arrangements. That turns out to be both a help and a hindrance, partly because you get the impression that had they gone all the way either in a smooth orchestral pop direction or in an offbeat, world music sort of left turn, it would have made for a better record. Instead, most of the songs are lovely and have their own distinct charms, even if it may feel a little uneven between the various parts. It’s also just a little bit of an issue that for DeVotchKa, there’s not a whole lot of forward movement on “100 Lovers”. Everything they do here they’ve pretty much done before, sometimes with more vigor and inspiration. Still, the band has reached a comfortable spot in their career where maybe they don’t need to keep pushing the envelope and they can simply settle in to being labeled as world-weary travelers. It’d kinda be nice if that weren’t the case though, and they still had a few more tricks up their sleeves.

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 3-3-11

On 03/03/2011

Ayah Marar – Follow You (Youth Kills Remix)

Just to remind everyone in case you were interested, tickets for this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival go on sale tomorrow. There’s been some strong lineup rumors going around, and while I’ve been dropping hints via Twitter the last couple days, expect a couple of huge surprises when the first batch of acts are announced. Honestly, from what I’ve seen, it’s the festival lineup to beat so far this year. But we’ll know more once the whole thing is out there and public knowledge. Okay, so Pick Your Poison today has some decent songs in it. Personal thumbs up go to Blueprint, David Kilgour, Freddie Gibbs, and Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death. In the Soundcloud section you’ll find a new song from Cat’s Eyes, a cool band from Faris Badwan, frontman for The Horrors.

Blueprint – So Alive

Blue Skies for Black Hearts – Majoring in the Arts

Campfires – Dusty Mansions

Clara May – Hyderabad

David Kilgour – Diamond Mine

Dimbleby & Capper – Let You Go (Animals on Wheels Remix)

Display – Play This
Display – Level Up

Freddie Gibbs & GLC – Heads of the Heads

Metal Mother – Billy Cruz

Star & Micey – Back to the Night

Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death – Let’s Leave the Elephant in the Room

Zoo Bombs – Highway A Go Go

SOUNDCLOUD

Cat’s Eyes – Not A Friend

Golden Glow – Adore Me

Toro Y Moi – Talamak (Robot Science Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 3-2-11

On 03/02/2011

Buried Beds – Ivory Towers

A delightful set of songs for you today as part of Pick Your Poison. You should most definitely check out tracks from Craft Spells, Joan As Police Woman, Low, Parts & Labor, The Rural Alberta Advantage, and Vandaveer. Neon Trees’ remix of a Jon Fratelli song is also pretty solid. Of course those are just my personal recommendations, and honestly there’s a whole lot more great stuff in this pile that I hope you’ll discover on your own.

Chamberlin – Fools

Craft Spells – You Should Close the Door

Ed Askew – Deep Water

Icona Pop – Manners

Joan As Police Woman – The Magic

Jon Fratelli – Santo Domingo (Neon Trees Remix)

Kyla La Grange – Courage Free

Low – Try to Sleep

Parts & Labor – Rest

The Rural Alberta Advantage – North Star

Shipbuilding Co. – You Tunguskaed My Heart

Swimclub – What You Want

The Two Koreas – Haunted Beach

Vandaveer – Concerning Past and Future Conquests

SOUNDCLOUD

The Daydream Club – The Record Shop

Poly Styrene – Virtual Boyfriend (CREEP Remix)

Album Review: Middle Brother – Middle Brother [Partisan]

On 03/01/2011

Middle Brother – Me Me Me
Middle Brother – Middle Brother

Here are the fine details that you’re going to read in most every discussion of the band Middle Brother. The trio of guys in this band are the respective frontmen for three separate and more popular bands; John McCauley is from Deer Tick, Taylor Goldsmith is from Dawes and Matthew Vasquez is from The Delta Spirit. They first got together in late 2009 after Deer Tick and Dawes toured together and had a lot of fun doing so. McCauley and Goldsmith would later get together in Nashville during some downtime with their respective bands and invited Vasquez to join them in the studio. What they really liked about the dynamic was that all of them pushed each other to become better musicians. Originally they called themselves MG&V, the simple combination of first letters from their last names, and played a secret, unannounced show under that moniker during SXSW last spring. It was also around that time period they began to record a debut album, which is what is now showing up in stores this week as the self-titled “Middle Brother”. Given that it’s been about a year and a name change since this “supergroup” first clued everyone in to their existence, what’s been the hold up? Scheduling problems apparently. The guys wanted to have proper time to go out and tour to promote the record but were all busy with their main bands and couldn’t quite commit to it last year. This year though is a different story, and the record is arriving right at the cusp of a cross-country tour that, naturally, takes them right back to SXSW where they first debuted in 2010.

If you’re familiar with all three of the “main bands” Middle Brother pulls its members from, then you’ll know almost exactly what to expect from this trio. The group dynamic is pretty even-handed, in that McCauley, Goldsmith and Vasquez all take turns playing various instruments and handling lead vocals. And even when one guy is on lead vocals, it’s reasonable to expect that the other two aren’t far behind with some strong backing harmonies. The sound is very Americana and rootsy, a healthy alt-country twang amidst a couple of more pop-driven songs. On paper it’s easy to see why Middle Brother should work given the talents behind it, but what truly impresses is just how well it really does. For their very first album after not a long time working together, the album sounds like they’ve been doing it for years, not weeks. Part of that surely comes from being musicians and having their own separate full time bands, but whenever you’re working with new people there are always some hurdles to go over in trying to play to everyone’s best strengths. This is extremely strong from the get-go though, and that lack of a learning curve only immerses you in the listening experience that much more.

“Daydreaming” starts the album with some quiet and folksy acoustic guitar that’s nothing short of lovely, save for the lyrics that begin on the lines, “Early in the mornin’, too hungover to go back to sleep/every sound is amplified, heavy lights so dizzying”. The song is one of many on the record that mentions being hungover, but really once you get past that first half of the verse it becomes about pining after the woman you love, about wishing she could be right next to you in the times she’s not there. The well-placed harmonies only add to the track’s inherent beauty, and one gets the impression that if you listened to this song while staring out the window on a sunny spring day that there wouldn’t be a better soundtrack. Neil Young and Band of Horses meet on “Blue Eyes”, a mid-tempo alt-country song with a touch of player piano and lyrics about what some might consider to be the ideal woman. Sadness permeates “Thanks for Nothing”, an acoustic ballad directed at a heartbreaker, a woman that left a poor guy in ruins. “Now the only girls I meet all look for hearts that they can fix/but mine is more like a kid that has gone missing,” Goldsmith sings in a very defeated way. For every person that has had a partner you were in love with just crush that in the cruelest way possible, there is meaning to be pulled from this song. Things get genuinely fun on the song “Middle Brother” (on the album “Middle Brother” from the band Middle Brother…just to fully clarify), a strong country guitar groove that brings everything from handclaps to tambourines and piano. It’s a rollicking track that’s about being the “forgotten” middle child in a family and doing things like learning to fly an airplane to “make my mama proud” and “get my dad to notice me, even if I have to fly it into the ground”.

The centerpiece of the album is a cover of The Replacements’ “Portland”, which is nice in part because there aren’t nearly enough good Replacements covers out there (seriously). Middle Brother does a fairly standard rendition of the song, but the acoustic guitars shine just a little bit brighter in the mix to give it a very 2011 feel rather than the slightly muddier 1997 original. First single “Me Me Me” is a fast-paced and super fun, combining some serious piano pounding, furiously strummed acoustic guitars, and a raw vocal performance from McCauley. The harmonies are ripe and so is the hook, to the point where this is probably one of the best songs of 2011 thus far. If you want to be sold on this band, “Me Me Me” is where you’ll cash that check. Things take an interesting turn on “Someday”, which with its 60s girl group backing “oohs” and “aahs” and Vasquez’s throaty vocals sounds a lot like a throwback pop number rather than the Americana material that’s come before it. The song is great and worthy of being a future single, but it feels out of character compared to the rest of the record. Then again, if Middle Brother is about allowing the personal styles of all three band members to properly mesh in one singular album, that is a touch of Delta Spirit and makes sense from that viewpoint. Goldsmith delivers his most powerful and intense performance on the six minute “Blood and Guts”, slowly stirring himself into a rage as his relationship quickly disintegrates around him. “I just wanna get my fist through some glass/I just wanna get your arm in a cast/I just want you to know that I care,” he says just before his voice soars out of him with a force that truly does feel gutteral and blood curdling. There’s genuine emotion pouring out of this song and sad though it may be, without a doubt people will strongly identify with it. After the portrait of hard life touring that is “Mom and Dad”, “Million Dollar Bill” closes out the record in acoustic ballad style, with all three guys taking the lead on separate verses and holding up backing harmonies. It’s just a little bit lackluster of a way to end things, but beautiful nevertheless.

When talking about Middle Brother, there are a few bands you can look to for comparison. The Band, The Traveling Wilburys, Crosby Stills and Nash (sometimes Young), and their more modern-day counterparts Monsters of Folk are all apt names to be throwing around here. Funny also that each one of those is a supergroup of sorts with that Americana-type sound. So what Middle Brother is doing on their self-titled debut can’t particularly be called unique. What makes a project like this special are the talents involved and whether or not they’re put to full use. In this case, where not only is there relative equality between band members but also each has their own moment in the spotlight, things seem to have turned out exceptionally well. These guys really do push one another to be better in one aspect or another. There are many moments of brilliant lyrical content and/or vocals that reach exactly the right pitch to perfectly convey the points that are trying to be made. For a record about the overused subjects of women, drinking and life on the road, McCauley, Goldsmith and Vasquez prove there’s more that can still be said in a relatively original way. Is Middle Brother a better project than the three bands each of their respective members came from? Yes in some aspects, and no in others. It’s a highly worthwhile side project, really. Like all those other aforementioned “supergroups”, you can’t deny there’s magic when these three get together, but chances are they wouldn’t exist without their regular day jobs. So after some touring, McCauley will return to Deer Tick and Goldsmith to Dawes and Vasquez to Delta Spirit and such, and they’ll all put out potentially great new records that way. Then somewhere be it a year or five from now, they’ll get back to this collaborative project and hopefully the same chutzpah of this first record will continue on the second. In the meantime, be sure to see Middle Brother as they tour this spring. McCauley and Goldsmith are pulling double duty as Deer Tick and Dawes are playing full sets on the tour as well. Have a look at the dates below, and pick up the album – it’s a folk-driven delight.

Buy “Middle Brother” from Amazon

Tour Dates
March 2 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
March 3 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club *
March 4 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel *
March 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
March 6 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
March 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts *
March 10 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall *
March 11 – Toronto, ON – Opera House (with Deer Tick only)
March 12 – Chicago, IL – Metro *
March 13 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre *
March 14 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
March 15 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theater *
March 17 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada *
March 18 – Austin, TX – Brooklyn Vegan, Partisan Records, and KF Records Present: A Free SXSW Day Party at Swan Dive / Barbarella (SXSW)
March 19 – Austin, TX – Auditorium Shores/Ground Control Touring Showcase (SXSW)
April 3 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent ^
April 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley ^
April 5 – Santa Barbara, CA – Soho %
April 6 – Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar %
April 7 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo %
April 8 – San Diego, CA – The Loft %

* = with Deer Tick and Dawes
^ = with Blake Mills
% = with Jonny Corndawg

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 3-1-11

On 03/01/2011

All Tiny Creatures – Glass Bubbles

March roars in like a lion and out like a lamb. The meaning of that classic phrase is only somewhat lost on me, except to say that the quicker we get out of the doldrums of February the better. So hell yes, I’m ferociously excited that we’ve arrived in this third month where Spring finally gets sprung and we can begin the big defrost. Better days are ahead, friends, so let’s celebrate that. Pick Your Poison today is solid, though there’s a couple more Soundcloud tracks than I normally like for a single day. My personal picks include songs from All Tiny Creatures, Baby Dee, Easter Island, Erland & the Carnival, Sam Owens and The Sandwitches. In the Soundcloud section The Fallen Angels do a decent cover of Air’s “Sexy Boy”, and songs from The Last Royals, Outasight and Suck Shaft are worth streaming.

Ancient Astronauts – Worldwide

Baby Dee – Yapapipi

The Boombang – Tobacula

Easter Island – Better Things

Erland & the Carnival – Nightingale

Kinema – My Beautiful Machines (Laubfrosch Remix)

Mesita – Somewhere Else

Sam Owerns – How to Build A Clock

The Sandwitches – Joe Says
The Sandwitches – Lightfoot

Tree Pit – Eleanor Rigby (Beatles cover)

SOUNDCLOUD

The Fallen Angels – Sexy Boy (Air cover)

The Last Royals – Crystal Vases

Outasight – It’s Like That

The Pigeon Detectives – Done In Secret

Suck Shaft – Michal

Album Review: Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will [Sub Pop/Rock Action]

On 02/28/2011

Mogwai – Rano Pano
Mogwai – San Pedro

It’s still very early in 2011, but I’ll put down money right now that no band comes up with a better album title this year than “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will”. That’s what Mogwai titled their seventh album, and when you’ve been making people’s ears bleed profusely the last 15 years with your excruciatingly loud rock music, that’s a title you earn. Yes, this band has been making post-rock music since the time that post-rock probably wasn’t even a term. They’re one of the originators of the genre, and it’s appropriate that they burst onto the scene with their best and most exciting record in the form of 1997’s “Young Team”. Mogwai are also the sort of band that profusely divides music lovers, some view their songs as noise for noise’s sake, while others studiously analyze each composition for the peaks and valleys and undulating beauty of it all. The thing about being around for so long and putting out so many albums though is that you can’t keep doing the same things over and over again. Like any good band, changing up your sound and trying new things is imperative to your survival. Mogwai’s first album was so raw and ferociously loud that it metaphorically scorched the Earth. Since then, they’ve gotten quieter and more studious, pushing for greater beauty in their tracks. The last couple records sounded more like a band on their last legs, tired and worn out and punching those chords in without too much emotion. Yet a song like “The Sun Smells Too Loud”, off 2008’s “The Hawk Is Howling” still broke into new territory by putting away a lot of the guitars in favor of keyboards, synths and a drum machine. It was the singularly arresting moment on an otherwise mediocre effort, but it left the door open to some ways they might be able to break their sound through to the next level.

Instead of taking that leap forwards to where they need to go, Mogwai instead chose to look to their past for “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will”. They reconnected with “Young Team” producer Paul Savage, likely in the hopes that he would drag out the spark that he first saw in a very young group of guys from Glasgow. The good news is that Savage seems to have brought the band out of the funk they’d been in the last two records, because in listening to the new album you come away with the impression that they’re re-energized and enjoy making music again. As for the songs themselves, well, a bit of restored energy can only take you so far; creativity and innovation have to take you the rest of the way. Opening track “White Noise” marks perhaps the most lackluster start to a Mogwai album ever, but that doesn’t mean the song is necessarily bad. It’s graceful and lovely and embraces you with some soft piano while resisting some of the post-rock cliches of slowly building to a loud guitar peak. The restraint shown is admirable, even if it doesn’t get you fired up for the other songs to come. And as a continued sign of progression, “Mexican Grand Prix” is all synths, keyboards, bass and drum machines in what amounts to a dark electro-inspired cut. There’s a strong 80s influence that might bring to mind a band like Neu! or Kraftwerk with a more modern M83-like twist. It sounds almost nothing like the Mogwai we’re familiar with and that’s one of the big reasons why it’s one of the record’s strongest efforts. If only they’d do more of it. Fuzzed out electric guitars are the very first things that seduce you into “Rano Pano”, and they pretty much stay that way as other small bits and pieces come together to create a wall of sound that’s pretty much become a band standard by now. There is a moment though, with about 90 seconds left in the track that the volume level escalates from 2 to 10 in an instant that comes across as something invigorating and visceral like many of Mogwai’s earliest material. Unfortunately that’s just a few moments on an otherwise very autopiloted song.

The way that the guitars, synths and piano all interact on “Death Rays” turns it into a shimmering and soaring spectacle better than Mogwai has done in several years. It’s another one of those restrained moments where the band takes a subdued melody and makes it their own in the best sort of way. The buzzsaw electric guitar that cuts through the fray in the last couple minutes is also one of the best riffs they’ve cranked out in a short while. Things get back to “rocking out” mode again with “San Pedro”, yet another bit of normalcy for Mogwai, though with the added benefit of sounding just a touch more raw and energized than much of what was on their last album. Or it could just be that it sounds more white hot than usual because of the quieter, more beautiful moments it’s surrounded by. The grand piano and splashes of keyboard on “Letters to the Metro” give the track a very soulful base along with emotional resonance that is sad but cathartic. Mogwai likes to use distortion on their vocals when they have them on a track, and they break out the Autotune for “George Square Thatcher Death Party”. The guitars may be mixed pretty significantly into the song, but they’re the least important part of it next to that pitch-shifted singing and smartly used synths. The way that “How to Be A Werewolf” calmly moves from subdued synths to a really sharp rock song feels completely earned over its 6 minutes. The band doesn’t blind or deafen you with pure noise but instead relies on strong melody amidst the heavier guitars. The way they squirm and slide rather than simply attack head on shows that Mogwai has learned a thing or two in their somewhat lengthy careers. “Too Raging to Cheers” is one of the more lackluster efforts on the album, notable really only for the small dose of violin that shows up all too briefly for a few moments. But what would a Mogwai album be without an epic closer? “You’re Lionel Richie” is 8.5 minutes of what this band does best, which is lull you into a false sense of relaxed beauty before pulling the rug out from underneath you with a wall of heavy guitars. It’s a dirge that likely hopes you’ll recall similar death marches “Like Herod” or “Mogwai Fear Satan”, the only thing is this one’s not quite up to that level of brilliance. Even if it were, there’s the whole “done it all before” aspect that would lessen its overall impact anyways. Just because the song isn’t among Mogwai’s 5 best doesn’t mean it’s still not good though. There’s plenty to like about it, and in terms of a way to wrap up the record nothing else seems as fitting.

“Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will” may not be the greatest Mogwai record, but it is a very exciting one. The band seems more awake and aware of their history and are trying to move in a direction that both honors that and also progresses forwards. The increased use of piano and synths on many tracks breaks out some different sounds and tempos as the band holds back on a number of peaks and valleys they’d normally traverse with the quiet-loud-quiet dynamic of electric guitars. This is engaging material despite the subdued nature of it all, though some will argue that it’s just a bit boring. At the very least it’s better than what they’ve been doing, essentially stuck and running in place on their last couple efforts. There are a couple songs on this album that either don’t quite live up to their potential or slide backwards into the same tropes that have become old hat by now, but for the most part Mogwai is in a better place than they were two or three years ago. Hopefully these new, less heavy compositions don’t do much to change the intensity of their live shows, which is the best thing about the band. Apparently so is producer Paul Savage. We can’t quite roll out the “Welcome Back” banners for these guys just yet, but if they keep steady on the path they’ve started anew here, Mogwai could very well be rising from the ashes within a few years. Maybe there is a chance they’ll make that genre-defining album before they reach an expiration date.

Buy “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will” from Amazon

Pick Your Poison: Monday 2-28-11

On 02/28/2011

The Crackling – The Three of You

I promised on Friday that I’d have a brief commentary on the Academy Awards last night, and so let me take a very brief moment to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. The good: This was one of the few years where I genuinely wasn’t upset by any winners. Everything that won deserved to win, including the accolades for “The King’s Speech”. As much as I loved “The Social Network”, it lacked real emotion and conflict for me. We’re supposed to feel some sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg, but him having to give away hundreds of millions of dollars to people suing him while still having billions left over isn’t going to garner much sympathy from me. Nor does his lack of real friends. The bad: What a slooooow ceremony. Of course it always is, with a 3 hour running time and such, but it seemed like several portions really dragged on for much longer than they needed to. Plus, there was a distinct lack of humor by most of the presenters, and at times I wondered if they were left to write their own poor filler dialogue instead of professionally written comedic banter. The ugly: I care very little about fashion, so I’m not gonna mention that. But as Oscar hosts, James Franco and Anne Hathaway did not do a good job. I’d go so far as to say it was poor. They were being touted as younger and hipper but some of their supposed “jokes” felt either way too broad or dated. Franco was the worst offender, and Hathaway did a nice job trying to keep things lighter and more upbeat despite the poor results. Okay, that’s all I’ll say about the Oscars. On to Pick Your Poison. Highlights today include songs from The Alps, The Donkeys, The Holidays and Sebastian Zimmer (aka One In A Googolplex). Also, I love me a good Radiohead cover, and Grand Lake’s version of “The Tourist” isn’t half bad.

The Alps – For Isabel

The Donkeys – Don’t Know Who We Are

Grand Lake – The Tourist (Radiohead cover)

The Holidays – 6AM

Hosannas – Be Careful

The Morning Birds – Heart’s Desire

Nowonder – Dream

Peace – The Dark

Sebastian Zimmer (One In A Googolplex) – Lilly

The Sewing Circle – Lead Role

Sounds Under Radio – Sing

The Whip – Muzzle #1 (The Bloody Beetroots Remix)

SOUNDCLOUD

Anna Calvi – Blackout

Album Review: Toro Y Moi – Underneath the Pine [Carpark]

Buy “Underneath the Pine” from Amazon

On 02/25/2011

In album review, BNM, mp3, music

When we last left Toro Y Moi, aka Chaz Bundick, he was riding high on his 2010 debut record “Causers of This”. It was one of a multitude of entries last year underneath the much-hearalded banner of glo-fi/chillwave. In case you’ve been living underneath a rock for the last year or two, what has earned glo-fi/chillwave a strong reputation has been the smart way in which artists have taken electronica-based sounds and repurposed them with a more lo-fi edge. Crappy, home-recorded tracks aren’t exactly the genre’s defining qualities, but they’re certainly one of the ways you can recognize chillwave when you hear it. You need to have a better head on your shoulders than a lot of more mainstream, studio-recorded electronica artists as well. Toro Y Moi certainly falls into that category, as do notables such as Twin Shadow, Neon Indian, Washed Out, Small Black and Memory Tapes among others. While many of them have put out debut records in the last year or two, Toro Y Moi is first out of the gate with a sophmore album, and at a time when chillwave is naturally burning out of its hype cycle. Chaz Bundick seems to know this, which is probably why his new album “Underneath the Pine” makes some necessary sonic leaps forward to keep a fickle collection of music fans interested and in his corner.

Like the “demise” (i.e. decrease in popularity) of lo-fi a couple years back, the smartest and easiest route off the glo-fi/chillwave path is to clean it up and add more hooks. “Underneath the Pine” does pretty much exactly that, with Bundick putting something of an actual studio budget to use and throwing a bit of polish on what are now more energetic, pop-driven arrangements. That was pretty well evident from the first two tracks released in advance of the album, “New Beat” and “Still Sound”. Both are excellent dance floor singles on their own, exploring a number of old school influences that includes soul and funk to create a more fractured and innovative take on what might otherwise be considered traditional. Both these songs are also notably more concise and fun than much of what was on the “Causers of This” debut. The whole “chill” part of chillwave was to place a bit of emphasis on more laid back and relaxed song structures. Electronica for the calmer set, something that wasn’t concerned with hitting those big beats that send the clubs into overdrive. “Underneath the Pine” still isn’t that modern, club-banging huge electronica album, but is rather an intricate, smartly composed set of songs that just so happen to at the very least get your toe tapping.

As the singular entity behind Toro Y Moi, Bundick really shows off how creative and instrumentally dense he can be with the strong variety of instruments across each track. Given how he implements things like keyboards and looped vocal harmonies, there are sections that do seem sharply inspired by a Stereolab or Broadcast or even Teenage Fanclub given the right circumstances. It’s slightly off from widesceen appeal, but unique and engaging enough to satisfy those with more open minds and penchants for a number of classic tropes. Xylophones and harpsichords (both likely “artificially created”) permeate the main melody of “Go With You” to throw it just a touch off-kilter and keep you guessing as to where it will go next. The way the acoustic guitar blends almost effortlessly with the woozy synths in “Before I’m Done” is simply wonderful, before the trippy psychedelic breakdown comes in the last minute. The collision of traditional piano and synth on “How I Know” gives the upbeat cut more depth than what might otherwise be recognized a 60s-tinged dance number. Bongos are just a small part of what makes “Light Black” one of the record’s most exciting and odd adventures,circumventing a standard song structure for something more playful and “out there”. And the heavy-handed, messed up piano combining with the psych-pop tropes on “Good Hold” makes for an effective Brian Eno-esque underwater adventure that sails seamlessly into closer “”Elise”.

While there was at least one bonified indie hit on the first Toro Y Moi album “Causers of This” courtesy of the track “Blessa”, what that entire record primarily lacked was a real reason to stick with Chaz Bundick’s project. He had the zeitgeist of being a chillwave artist but less actual buzz than his peers. To be fair, there was an overflow of the genre and not everyone can get the coverage they want or deserve. So Bundick was smart to not only keep working over the last year by consistently contributing remixes of other artists’ work, but also handling a very club-riddled “history of electronica” sort of side project known as Les Sins. Then to come running out of the gate this year with “Underneath the Pine” provides more justification as to why he not only needs more of our attention, courtesy of some stronger-than-ever songs that move beyond the overhyped subgenre that plucked him from obscurity and into something that’s more instrumentally conscious and pop-ready. In other words, Toro Y Moi has moved up the ladder and you need to be paying close attention. Here’s a really fun and moderately experimental electronica record that has more in common with most bands today than the actual dance music scene. It’s about time somebody did this the right way, and the cliffhanger we’re all left with is how Bundick is going to change it up on us again next time.

Toro Y Moi – Still Sound

Toro Y Moi – New Beat

Pick Your Poison: Friday 2-25-11

On 02/25/2011

Ezra Furman & the Harpoons – Hard Time In A Terrible Land

It’s Friday, there’s a grand weekend coming up, and I’ve got some really exciting mp3s for you today. I do want to mention quickly that the Oscars are this weekend, and given my intense love for all things film I’m rooting for a couple things to happen. Best of luck also goes out to “The King’s Speech”, “Black Swan” and “The Fighter” for the acting and overall picture awards, while I’ll advocate for “The Social Network” on screenplay and soundtrack. That’s just a handful for you right there. I’ll talk a little more about the show on Monday. Pick Your Poison highlights for today though include new songs from Boris, The Dodos, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, Hunx and His Punx, Man/Miracle, Sloan and Sonny and the Sunsets. Wow, this is a REALLY good block of songs.

Boris – Hope

Delhi 2 Dublin – S.O.S.

The Dodos – Don’t Stop

The Heavenly States – Model Son

High Tension Wires – Backbone

Hunx and His Punx – Too Young to Be in Love

Love Inks – Blackeye

Man/Miracle – Don’t Waste It

Sloan – Follow the Leader

Sonny and the Sunsets – I Wanna Do It

Street Chant – The Fatigues

Sweet Thing – Change of Seasons

SOUNDCLOUD

Azari & III – Hungry For The Power

French Horn Rebellion – This Moment (edit)

Skunk Anansie – Search and Destroy

Album Review: Tahiti 80 – The Past, The Present and The Possible [Human Sounds]

On 02/24/2011

Tahiti 80 – Darlin’ (Jimmy Edgar Remix)
Tahiti 80 – Darlin’ (John Talabot’s OscuroBaile Remix)

The term “French pop” can be a tricky thing. Really the reason why music is labeled as such is because it’s basically synth pop by an artist from France. There’s less an outright distinctive quality to French pop compared to a host of other musical genres, yet so many artists with diverse sounds get lumped into this arena because of where they’re from. The most popular French pop band these days has to be Phoenix, and as a result they are the unofficial standard bearers for the genre. We’re supposed to actively root for other French pop bands to sound like Phoenix or at the very least find some other way to equal their level of success.

Officially though, not every band, French pop or other, strives to sound like some other, more popular version of themselves. Some artists are happy just being on the fringe where they’re free to do their own thing and not be under pressure to live up to lofty expectations. Unlike Oasis, who seemed to want to become the new Beatles in the worst way, Animal Collective has never tried to out-Beach the Beach Boys. Would they love to be mentioned in the same breath, or regarded with the same praise and passion? Surely, but that’s clearly not their intent as they’ve crafted oddball soundscape after oddball soundscape. But in returning to the topic of French pop, the band Tahiti 80 isn’t straining to become the next Phoenix. First of all, they’ve been around longer than Phoenix, and secondly by this point they seem pretty content doing their own thing rather than having a couple singles strike huge and playing to sold out arenas. Would they mind if those things fell into their laps? Probably not, and with any stroke of luck, someday they will find grand success. They’re still working on it with their brand new album “The Past, the Present and the Possible”, which is yet another example of how delightful these guys might be, even if they don’t smash through the brick wall of popularity.

Tahiti 80’s real shot at the “Big Time” came in the form of their 2002 album “Wallpaper for the Soul”. At the time, their U.S. label was Chicago’s Minty Fresh, home to notables like Liz Phair, Veruca Salt, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, and The Cardigans. While Minty Fresh’s profile isn’t exactly stellar these days, the label was doing a whole lot of good back when Tahiti 80 was signed to it. Not only that, but the band chose to go a little more experimental route for that second album, bringing in more atmospherics and genres than their relatively straightforward pop debut. Those changes actually brought the band more attention, turning their music from what was ultimately “wallpaper” into something deeper and more intimate – you could say soulful. In addition to those innovations, there were also plenty of catchy moments along with some 60s throwback melodies. What’s a genuine shame is that they didn’t keep that same momentum going for their last two records, 2005’s “Fosbury” and 2008’s “Activity Center”. Both were pleasant enough, but were more regressive in style and substance than innovative like they should have been. With a title like “The Past, the Present and the Possible”, you’d hope it might be exactly as described, a blending together of the band’s earlier styles with some more progressive and different. Instead, the band is kind of on autopilot.

The thing about autopilot is that it’s not always such a bad thing if you’ve got a lot going for you. Tahiti 80 may not have momentum exactly, but what they do have is likeability. Their music always seems so earnest and well-intentioned, kind of like a teenager from a remote Southern community venturing out in the big city for the very first time. Sure, the city will eat him alive, but depite this you still want to root for him and the kinder,gentler Southern hospitality he brings. Think Kenneth from “30 Rock” and you’ll have a firm grasp on how this band seems to function in the world. Still, they do have the occasion to surprise, as the sharper guitar lines on album opener “Defender” bring to the forefront. It adds a slight edge to the band that their very smooth and often synth-dominated song structures don’t typically have. Things are back to your more “normal” version of Tahiti 80 on first single “Darlin'”, but the track excels with a strong hook and excellent tempo, resulting in one of the band’s strongest tracks in a very long time. If these guys are going to have a hit song, this is their best bet, even if it’s not quite the powehouse anthem they need to carry them there. “Solitary Bizness”, carried over from last year’s EP of the same title, provides a funky respite from the two bland tracks that surround it known as “Gate 33” and “Want Some?”.

A track like “Easy” seems like it would be exactly that to create for Tahiti 80, yet it moderately succeeds despite being fairly standard for the band. An upbeat acoustic number, it’s so damn charming that you’re kind of a bad person if you put it down. Despite being divided into two distinct halves while maintaining a singular running time, the title track does very little with such an attempt to experiment. The first half is more upbeat and poppy, while the second half is a slow ballad and neither is memorable in any way. In fact, the only really notable song on the entire second half of the album is “Crack Up (Extended)”, and that plays out pretty much as a twice-as-long remix of the same song on the “Solitary Bizness” EP. It’s not radio-worthy, but if some inventive club DJ likes the track enough to spin it, there’s the possibility of an underground rave hit. That option is probably better than the alternative, which is simply ignoring it.

Poor Tahiti 80. They’ve pretty much become the vanilla ice cream of the French music world. Vanilla is a fine flavor, and nice every now and then, but something with berries or other flavors mixed in typically is more exciting and better. While digging through the relative plainness of their songs, you’ll occasionally encounter a nut or other flavorful bit show up, adding just a hint of thrilling variety, otherwise known as bits of what could be. It’s these moments that give you reason to pause, and to hope that there will be more just like them to come. The disappointment is that more often than not they never do. Tahiti 80 may be content to continue making the same sort of shapeless indie pop for the rest of their careers, aiming less for massive success and more to satisfy a niche group of fans, but you also kind of want to slap them around and demand that they go off the deep end with some experiment. Make a concept record. Play around with Krautrock or chillwave. Maybe test the waters with an oddball EP. Whatever it takes to break them out of this pattern of normalcy they’ve reached. “The Past, the Present and the Possible” undoubtedly has a lovely few moments that tingle with the excitement of what might be, but they are far too few to make it an album worth recommending. You’re a really nice band Tahiti 80, and I’m happy we’re friends, but I just don’t see it going any farther than that.

Buy “The Past, the Present and the Possible” from Amazon MP3

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 2-24-11

On 02/23/2011

American Babies – Dance All Night

As I continue to work towards not getting any sicker than I currently am, let’s get straight to the point and do some Pick Your Poison for the day. Highlights include tracks from Acrylics, Candy Claws, Echo Lake, Gospel Claws, and Kinch. In the Soundcloud section you’ll also find a new song from Atmosphere if you enjoy some great hip hop.

Acrylics – Sparrow Song

Candy Claws – Snowdrift Wish

Echo Lake – Sunday Evening

Futurebirds – Dirty D

Gospel Claws – I Can, I Will

Jordan Bolton – Control

Kinch – Once I Was A Mainsail

Phineas and the Lonely Leaves – The Bros of Summer

Nedry – Dusk Till Dawn

Punches – Sleepless City (Flosstradamus ReRub)

The Seven Fields of Aphelion – Mountain Mary

tonedeff – Bang

SOUNDCLOUD

Atmosphere – Just For Show

SLUTEVER – No Offense

Three Colours – Calvaire (The Sonic Emporium Remix)

Album Review: Yuck – Yuck [Fat Possum]