Today’s Pick Your Poison highlights include tracks from Echo Orbiter, HolySons, Soars and Wheels on Fire. You’d also be wise to have a listen to Active Child remixing School of Seven Bells.
Deluka – OMFG (Lauren Flax Remix)
Echo Orbiter – Mouth of an Incomplete Twin
Echo Orbiter – This Worm in Rigor Mortis
Josephine Foster and the Victor Herrero Band – Anda Jaleo
Pet Marmoset – Little Bird
Pet Marmoset – The Ballad of Maynard Noe
School of Seven Bells – Heart Is Strange (Active Child Remix)
Bedroom recordings have taken huge strides in the past few years. With the advent of better technology and the ability to purchase sampling and mixing programs for cheaper than ever before, more and more people are making music their own way on their own dime. If it’s good enough and the person or band does the right sort of promotion, the music will be heard and popularity will move up or down accordingly. One of the bigger indie successes in recent memory has to me that of tUnE-YarDs, the one woman project of Merrill Garbus. She recorded her entire debut album “Bird-Brains” only using the microphone built into her laptop, and it pretty much sounds like it. Still, poor audio quality or not, plenty of people fell in love with the songs on that album and she’s also managed to establish a bigger fan base thanks to what many call a jaw-droppingly great live show. So if the DIY star of 2009 was Garbus, there’s little doubt the 2010 one is Tom Krell, a philosophy student that records under the moniker How to Dress Well. Last fall, How to Dress Well surfaced via a blog where Krell began posting a series of EPs for free download. Thanks to that easy availability, a number of keen ears caught wind of HTDW and the press cycle began. Now a year later, How to Dress Well has only picked up more steam as his debut album “Love Remains” has finally arrived in stores thanks to Lefse Records.
For those that caught onto How to Dress Well back in the “early” days of 2009, a number of songs on “Love Remains” should be immediately familiar to you. Much of the debut album is composed of tracks that appeared on the several EPs released months back. Many of the versions that are on this record have been touched up, but never to the point where they sound in any way professional. The new songs also carry that same aesthetic, and in some of the louder moments you get the fuzz that comes with taking your recording “into the red” aka beyond the capabilities of a microphone not connected to a carefully calibrated soundboard. So what makes up the core sound of How to Dress Well? When reading most anything about the man, you’ll catch references to “strong R&B influences”. If you have listened to a lot of R&B, most specifically from the 90s, you can definitely hear pieces of it on “Love Remains”. Where How to Dress Well differs is primarily in the use of general electronic textures and overdubs to create music that’s less rhythmically inclined and more adrift in the ether. Songs flow in an almost organic way, and when it comes to beats, the unconfirmed mixture of computers and handclaps stays static no matter how fast or slow everything else might be going. It creates a few moments of what feels like imbalance, but the reality is actually a bit brilliant, throwing you just off the mark enough to take notice but never enough to ruin what’s already going. The vocals are another highly fascinating aspect of How to Dress Well. Either due to the poor recording quality or through pure manipulation, you’ll barely be able to make out a word of what’s being said at any given point in the record. Without a doubt the words are there, but they’re sung like a person who recognizes a melody from a long time ago but can’t seem to remember exactly how the lyrics go. Suddenly the spotlight and a microphone is in front of you and the crowd wants to hear you belt it out…but you can’t, so you do the next best thing which is mumble to the point where it SOUNDS like the words are right but nobody can make them out clearly. Yeah, the muffled lyrics don’t help should you want to sing along, but if you’re so inclined, feel free to hum along to the melody of a track like “Ready for the World”.
While R&B may be a standard frame of reference for How to Dress Well, should you not normally listen to or enjoy that sort of music, no worries. In indie terms, think of “Love Remains” like a less percussive, early stage Animal Collective record with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver on lead vocals. Krell does sound an awful lot like Vernon, and the overdubbed and often harmonized backing vocals only add further creedence to that. Actually a great model on the whole for HTDW would be the group Gayngs, of which Vernon is a member. They’ve got a slow, soft rock sort of vibe with a hint of that same R&B flavor – the difference in the end being the high level of production and wide variety of instruments used. For a home-recorded, very limited range record, “Love Remains” does an incredible amount of things with an incredibly small number of tools. Krell’s ability to manipulate just a couple of sparse sounds on a song like “Endless Rain” into something that feels fully formed is fascinating to hear and really establishes him as a talent. That he can also pull off such a serene mess of a masterpiece without using much in the way of lyrics is even more impressive. At any moment it feels like the songs could just dissolve into nothingness or simply ambient noise, but none ever do and that’s a big part of what makes “Love Remains” such a gripping listen. It goes without saying that you should pick up a copy of this record. It’s one of the year’s finest, and might just inspire a whole new collection of musicians crafting smart music using just a handful of instruments in their bedrooms. Chances are very few will find the sort of success that How to Dress Well has, but if the next Tom Krell is out there somewhere tinkering around, we’d all be idiots to not give him or her some positive attention.
How to Dress Well – You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’
How to Dress Well – Ready for the World
How to Dress Well – Ready for the World (Twin Sister Remix)
Buy “Love Remains” on CD/LP from Lefse Records
Buy it from iTunes
Ah, it’s Monday. If you’re on the West Coast, I hope you’re surviving record heat. If you’re on the East Coast, I hope the rain isn’t getting you down. If you’re in the Midwest, what the hell happened to 70 degree temperatures? 80s one week and then 60s the next. Not losing much heat is Pick Your Poison, and there’s another solid collection of mp3s for you to download today. Great stuff from In Grenada, Roman Ruins and Wintersleep. There’s also a song from a band known as Writers Strike, who were formerly known as First Aid Kit. They’re not to be confused with the Swedish female folk duo still known as First Aid Kit. Still, Writers Strike is good, so be sure to check them out too.
Ben Forrester – Swings & Roundabouts
Ben Forrester – Urgency
Dumbo Gets Mad – Eclectic Prawn
In Grenada – Hills (Flooded Valleys)
Kno – La Petite Mort (Come Die With Me)
Meiko – You Gotta Fuckin’ Tip (Live at Hotel Cafe)
Earlier this week, I reviewed the new of Montreal album “False Priest”. I wouldn’t say I was unkind towards the band, but the review wasn’t completely positive. Die hard fans might not like what I had to say, but I stand by what I think are fair words. That being said, I’m white hot about this session the “band” did on Minnesota Public Radio just yesterday. The reason I put “band” in quotes is because Kevin Barnes performs solo, with just him and a piano. The results are remarkably awesome. Stripping back all the layers that make up each of Montreal song and taking it to such a minimal level actually works wonders. Barnes does “Flunkt Sass vs. The Rute Plume” to start and there’s something so emotionally satisfying about the rendition. At many of their live shows recently, the band has also been performing the song “Tonight” by the obscure folk artist Sibylle Baier, which Barnes does here as well. Finally, Janelle Monae (who’s currently on tour with of Montreal) steps up and does her part on the “False Priest” cut “Enemy Gene”, and the piano only version is once again pretty jaw-droppingly great. For the interview portion, should you want to hear it, Barnes talks a little about his dislike of discussing the meaning of lyrics and the importance of having a strong visual element within live performances. It’s good, and not what I expected to hear from him. So you could say this is one great session on the whole, and it’s actually served a good point in getting me to develop a new found appreciation for of Montreal. Also, if Kevin Barnes released an album of solo piano songs, I’d buy it in an instant.
Of Montreal – Flunkt Sass Vs. The Rute Plume (Live on MPR)
Of Montreal – Tonight (Sibylle Baier cover, Live on MPR)
Of Montreal – Enemy Gene ft. Janelle Monae (Live on MPR)
For a Friday, this is a damn great Pick Your Poison selection. Plenty of songs to choose from, and a few higher profile cuts as well. Be sure to have a listen to songs from Botany, Nightlands, Parting Gifts and Pearly Gates Music. Also exciting is a remix of a song from Jose Gonzalez’s band Junip, along with a Paul McCartney cover from none other than The Morning Benders. Have a great weekend everybody.
Clare Maguire – Ain’t Nobody (Breakage Remix)
Higgins – Wayne Wayne (Go Away) (R. Stevie Moore cover)
James Apollo – Happiness
James Apollo – How Hard
Junip – Always (Run Roc Remix)
The Morning Benders – Ram On (Paul McCartney cover)
Nightlands – Suzerain (A Letter to the Judge)
Nightlands – 300 Clouds
Pearly Gates Music – Bad Nostalgia
Solar Temple Suicides – A Rough Road Leads to the Stars
With all the intense focus on glo-fi/chillwave these days, more normal-sounding dance records can skate under the radar with relative ease if you’re not paying attention. And dance rock, the genre upon which guitars hit hard amidst the beats, well that’s been as good as dead in the last couple years. This is why once highly prolific bands such as Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand find themselves in a bit of a struggle to survive in their current state. Evolve or die is the mantra, and that tends to go for dance rock bands both popular and unpopular. In keeping a close eye on the trends, many record labels are signing bands according to what’s hot, which is why glo-fi continues to make the (chill)waves it does. Not calling anything a mistake, but now and then you do get the occasional band making their debut while playing up trends that have already passed. The progressive dance label Warp signed the duo known as The Hundred in the Hands and is putting out their self-titled debut record this week, but one listen and you’ll get a firm grasp on a the hot sounds of 2005. Now it stands to argue that judging music purely based on the public zeitgeist is foolish, because you never know when some band will turn in a brilliant record using an outdated sound. Hell, if there’s a rap-rock record that comes out in the next couple months that’s incredibly smart and well put together, the general public would be idiots to not give it the proper attention. So let’s not judge The Hundred in the Hands based on what genre they’re choosing to exploit, but rather the content and composition of their songs.
Having hammered that point home, it’s a shame that The Hundred in the Hands don’t have something stronger to offer for a debut album. These two first attracted my attention a few months back when I caught their live set as they were opening for another band. It was such a strong show and such fun that they pretty much blew all the other bands on the bill that night out of the water. As a direct result, I picked up a copy of their “This Desert” EP and continued to be captivated by their somewhat quirky take on what would normally be a standard dance rock album. The issue is that the band apparently made the conscious choice to avoid that sound in order to move in a bit more of a mainstream and “traditional” direction. The sonic gap between what appears on that EP and this self-titled full length isn’t as big as you might think, but when you’re working in a world of stale ideas, any unique spin you can put on your music is an advantage. This is why the squeaky clean production on “The Hundred in the Hands” turns out to be a very bad thing, along with the easy melodies that occasionally feel like you’ve heard them before. As disappointing as that might be, the band still does well for itself on a few levels. First is simply Eleanore Everdell, who is simply amazing on virtually everything she puts her voice to. Those are some seriously strong pipes, both incredible in their range and depth of emotion. When she gets all bedroom eyes on “Lovesick (Once Again)”, it turns into one of the most beautiful and intense moments on the record. “This Day Is Made” is haunting and immensely gripping thanks pretty much entirely to her singing. It doesn’t always work out though, and a song like “Gold Blood”, which is heavy on the rock angle and ups the BPMs just a bit turns Everdell into a Karen O-like figure. Unfortunately, she’s no Karen O, and the track makes that all too clear. Instead of a wild child she’s best in the character of an ice queen, freezing you out with talk of empty houses and wasted time. Jason Friedman’s role as guitarist and general foil works just fine, though he does very little to distinguish himself on the record. Everdell’s synths are generally the more dominant instrument, and the mixed use of drum machines and live drums doesn’t seem to make much of a difference except to pile more polish on top of what’s already there.
Thankfully “The Hundred in the Hands” doesn’t fall prey to every dance rock cliche there is. There are moments, glimmers if you will, of a potentially great band amid the blatant attempts to generate hook-filled choruses that will reach more ears and rise them above many of their indie bretheren. Songs like the opening “Young Aren’t Young” and “Pigeons” stand out for their ability to maneuver around the simplest melodies and try for something greater. There’s potential here, as there was potential on the “This Desert” EP, just not nearly so much of it. When faced with two paths to travel down, The Hundred in the Hands chose the easier walk. They’re now paying for it by being tagged with the “just another band like dozens we’ve heard before” label. It’s a shame too, because Warp pretty much only signs “above average” bands, which this duo seemed to be based on my brief history with them through a live show and an EP. Hopefully this debut record does well enough for them that they’re able to hold onto their label for another one. That will truly be the test of how ready they are to play in the big leagues of indie. They don’t need to be glo-fi to make waves in dance music, they just need to be great. Right now, The Hundred in the Hands are only moderately good.
The weekend is just a day away, so try to stay distracted until then. Pick Your Poison is here to help you out. A new song from British Sea Power that’s quite good is available for download below. You’re also going to want to give the Lower Dens track a listen. And even though they’ve broken up, The Lucksmiths still have one little piece of music still left to give, and it’s worth hearing below.
Belfi / Grubbs / Pilia – Onrushing Cloud
Climber – I Have Seen Everything
David Gergen – The Streets I’m Walkin’
Geoffrey Armes – Sweet Breakfast
Kokayi – Autumn Rules (Radio Edit)
The Lucksmiths – Get-to-Bed Birds
Masonic – Lifetime of Deception
Plenty of wonderful songs this mid-week for your downloading pleasure. Exceptionally great stuff you’ll want to pay attention to today comes from Abby GoGo, Johanna and the Dusty Floor, Sonny and the Sunsets and The Thermals. There’s also a solid remix of a Phantogram song and a little bit of stand-up comedy from the one and only Bill Hicks.
Abby GoGo – Louder Than Dreams
Bill Hicks – Please Do Not Disturb
Innercity Pirates – Seen It All Before
Jay Nackashi – My Earthly Creature
Johanna and the Dusty Floor – Forest of Sorrows
New Collisions – Ne’er Do Well
Phantogram – When I’m Small (Chuck Brody Remix)
Do you remember our last summer of independence? Kevin Barnes apparently does, and spoke about such on the last Of Montreal album “Skeletal Lamping”. That was the band’s ninth album, and charting their evolution since the very first one in 1997 has been a highly interesting adventure. As part of the whole Elephant 6 collective, Of Montreal began as a very twee pop, innocent bedroom adventure. That sound was a great part of the band’s early appeal, though after a few records things naturally began to get a little tired and stale. So like all good artists do, Of Montreal evolved and the new phase was one of wackier, more spaced out hyperpop that owed great debts to 70s disco and funk while continuing to push the boundaries of modern music. Kevin Barnes and his merry band of misfits worked hard to essentially become Prince 2.0, and with a record like “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” they damn well succeeded at it. But “Skeletal Lamping” was a sharp move in the wrong direction, to the point where Barnes created a transgendered alter-ego known as “Georgie Fruit” who took over on a handful of songs. Not only that, but lyrically things evolved to the point where everything became hyper-sexualized and explicit to the point of making even the most liberal people cringe just a little bit in disgust. Combine that with a collection of songs that only a child with ADHD could love (because they often began and ended with such speed and complete disregard for whatever came moments prior) and ultimately it was a mess – the first moderately bad Of Montreal album in quite awhile. How does one recover from such a musical misfire? If you’re Kevin Barnes, it probably means re-enacting the “Goodbye Horses” scene from “Silence of the Lambs”, but to each his own. But appearing to be just a little bit smarter this time around, Barnes enlisted the help of legendary producer Jon Brion to help with the next Of Montreal album, and also recruited friends such as Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae to spike up his punchbowl just a bit. All of these things are put together in the brand new Of Montreal album “False Priest”.
Sliding through even a couple of quick tracks at the beginning of “False Priest” brings an interesting idea of how things have changed in the last two years for the band. To start, Kevin Barnes has found his focus again. Somebody must have put him on a prescription of Ritalin because there’s no more bouncing between songs that are only halfway finished. Instead, songs expand and contract as they should and as they have on most other Of Montreal records. Additionally, the he/she character known as Georgie Fruit seems to have disappeared, though if Barnes merely singing in falsetto indicates he’s in character, then perhaps Fruit is still kicking on a few tracks. But the oversexed wordplay is toned down as well to make way for less cringe-worthy lines. The themes are still sexual in nature, but more on a PG-13 level than an NC-17 one. Relationships tend to be the topic of choice, but instead of sleeping with everything that moves, songs like “Our Riotous Defects” and “Coquet Coquette” are about the inability of men to understand women as Barnes echoes his confusion over why his woman is yelling at him or is withholding sex. As generally engaging as this might be, it does feel like territory that Of Montreal has covered before, albeit from different angles. Barnes doesn’t have quite as many interesting one-liners as he’s had on more recent albums, but he’s still without a doubt the chief architect of this band.
The way collaborators are used on “False Priest” is one of its strengths. Jon Brion acting as producer pulls the mostly minimalist arrangements that seem to dominate Of Montreal’s sound and dresses them up a little bit to give them a fuller and overall stronger feel, like the skinny kid that built up some muscle by working out. That said, Brion doesn’t nearly do enough to mess with what’s already a trademark band sound. You can throw lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. How much of an influence Brion had on this final product is officially unknown, but one gets the impression Barnes might have been a little sensitive about messing with songs he’d probably been working on for awhile. As for the vocal turns from Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles, both add a little bit of extra spice to the record. It’s nice to hear vocals other than Barnes and more Barnes harmonizing with himself. Monae’s work on “Enemy Gene” is simply wonderful, and the already good song only gets better when she steps up to the microphone. Monae also does a little vocal part on the second half of “Our Riotous Defects”, and it turns a very plain Of Montreal song into something far more worthwhile. Put together that makes the track just a little better than average. As for Solange, her work on “Sex Karma” is less inspired and more according to script. It plays like a back and forth dialogue between boyfriend and girlfriend, and the move is so cliched that even a fascinating melody can’t scrape off all the cheese. That along with the poor innuendos don’t necessarily make the track worth yoru time. Barnes is hit and miss when he’s on his own too, sometimes holding steady in old patterns that have become a little too comfortable to the point where they’re bordering on boring. Other times he pushes boundaries, such as on first single “Coquet Coquette”, where guitars really up the ante and hint towards a potential future in that heavier direction. There are moments of digital trash that pile up in some of the gaps between vocals on “Like A Tourist” that feel highly fascinating and innovative for Of Montreal as well. And a song like “Famine Affair” has a remarkably 80s new wave vibe to it that shifts past the funk and into a more rock direction, especially when the chorus comes around. If there’s going to be a next sonic evolution for this band, that might be the track to use as a future model.
Ultimately “False Priest” comes off like a transitional record for Of Montreal. For a band that’s been around for so long, continuing to come up with new and interesting ideas has to be a significant challenge, which is why a number of songs on this album feel like retreads of where Barnes has gone before. Should Of Montreal continue down this path, the band will wind up stuck in the same cliches and the fans will suffer. Of course it also hasn’t been easy trying to adjust to all the many whims that Kevin Barnes seems to have from album to album. But he does the right thing by putting the train back on the track in the right direction, most notably by rendering out complete songs with less offensive lyrics than the poor “Skeletal Lamping”. The collaborations on this album turn out mostly positive, but they do leave you wondering how much personal influence Barnes placed on top of things like Jon Brion’s suggestions. A spirit more open to collaboration can only help to diversify Of Montreal’s sound even more, and that’s exactly what’s needed at this point. Still, there are moments of greatness on this record, providing a road map for just what might be next for this band. Should Barnes actually choose to pursue one of these new directions, and past evidence suggests he might, it could mean the continued love and critical acclaim for a band that has proven its resilience time and time again in the face of difficult odds. “False Priest” may be a little bit of a recovery from the tumble they took last time around, but there’s still a whole other set of challenges that lie ahead. How they face them will determine their future as a one of today’s most brilliantly oddball bands.
Great stuff in today’s Pick Your Poison, but what else is new? There’s a new track from Chicago’s own The 1900s that’s absolutely great. You can also download a track from Anoraak that features Sally Shapiro. The band Parallels does a cover of The Ramones’ “Pet Semetary” that’s pretty decent. Also recommended are tracks from Shit Robot and White Noise Sound.
Anoraak – Don’t Be Afraid (ft. Sally Shapiro)
Eminem – Lose Yourself (Don Diablo Remix)
Gigi (Ejigayehu Shibawbaw) – Shemum Mune
Parallels – Pet Semetary (Ramones cover)
Plates of Cake – Emil the Soldier
Polymorphic – Apocalypse (Noise Invaders Remix)
Buy from Beatport
Sebastian Blanck – Empire of the Free
There was a slight chill in the air last Friday night as School of Seven Bells and Active Child rolled into town to play a show at Lincoln Hall. Interestingly enough, the last time I saw School of Seven Bells was in the also-chilly late fall of 2008 when they had only released their debut record “Alpinisms” and were opening for M83. Since then, they’ve toured the world over a couple times and released a sophmore effort “Disconnect From Desire” that was a little different but still just about as great as their debut. With the small adjustment in sound and the couple years worth of live shows under their belts, it left a big question mark as to how their live show has changed. As for Active Child, they’re a (one man) band I’d been meaning to check out, but given the massive stockpile of music I deal with on a daily basis I never got around to it. That curiosity is exactly why I showed up early enough to catch their opening set Friday night.
Upon walking into Lincoln Hall, Active Child had just gotten started and the very first thing I encountered when looking to the stage was the man behind the name Pat Grossi singing and playing the harp. It would have had a very Joanna Newsom-ish vibe were there not some dark computer backing beats being provided by a pair of laptops and some guitar work courtesy of unofficial bandmate Stratton Easter. Having just two people on stage always makes for some interesting challenges, mostly in the recreation of the many layered sounds that appear on record. The laptops helped, but Grossi and Easter did all the real leg work, often moving between instruments such as keyboards and guitars to pull it off in what seemed to be effortless fashion. Of course just because it looked effortless doesn’t mean that it was, and mid-way through their set Grossi had to pull off a layer of clothing to keep cool. The crowd was very gracious to the band, though they clearly had a few female friends that were not shy about screaming loudly and even telling people to buy merch before Grossi had a chance to. It was all very amusing and interesting, but also pretty impressive from a musical standpoint. The songs sounded great and had a very moody, almost psychedelic vibe that worked well with the lighting and smoke machines. It also made perfect sense as to why Active Child was touring with School of Seven Bells given their somewhat similar sounds. Having not heard any music by the band prior to walking into their set that night, I can now say that Active Child is excellent both on stage and on record. I picked up the “Curtis Lane” EP after the show.
One of the more interesting things that happened before School of Seven Bells started their set was a lack of a tuning session. Most bands will set up their instruments and then tune up with the sound guy for 10 minutes, picking at a guitar or hitting the snare 50 times to get a level right. All SVIIB did was plug in, sing a few notes into the microphone, and then walk off stage as some pre-recorded atmospheric noise played over the speakers. Why they made everyone wait another 15 minutes before re-emerging and officially starting their set is a mystery, but it did allow sufficient time for the smoke machines to turn the entire stage into something rivalling London’s foggiest days. With psychedelic visuals projecting on the black curtain above the band as well, there’s certainly been some showmanship added to the band’s otherwise strong live show. When I saw them in 2008, School of Seven Bells were already a pretty strong live act. Given that Alejandra and Claudia Deheza both came from On! Air! Library! and Benjamin Curtis had spent plenty of time with Secret Machines, they were all seasoned pros before they even got together on this project. Perhaps the real point in playing those dreary instrumentals and building up smoke was to get the crowd into the appropriate mood. Everyone was pulled into the band’s world, a dark and dreamy place where the lines between reality and fiction, life and death, band and audience, were significantly blurred.
It was only fitting then that School of Seven Bells started their set with the fuzzy “Alpinisms” cut “Half Asleep”. The smoke, lighting and enchanting harmonies of the Deheza sisters turned the whole ordeal into a hypnotically beautiful way to begin. Lincoln Hall has the most technologically advanced and arguably strongest sound system in Chicago, but even that couldn’t stop a few minor microphone sqeaks during a couple songs during the set. Other than that, everything else was technically flawless and worked well with the shoegaze-inspired sound. The stage setup was purposefully functional too, with the Dehezas up front on guitar, keyboards and vocals while Benjamin Curtis and the touring drummer hung out in back. Having a live drummer is something a bit new for the band, who were getting by using drum machines when touring to support their first album. Whether he adds or subtracts from the good music that’s already there is up for debate. I chose to regard the drummer as unnecessary but never to the point where he hurt any of the great melodies the band has going for them. Much of the time he was competing with a drum machine anyways, and a lot of what he was supplementing with wasn’t overly complicated. If it makes SVIIB feel more like a full band, then he clearly serves that purpose at least, but otherwise it makes little difference whether or not he’s on stage.
As one might expect, the band ran through a set that mostly consisted of songs from “Disconnect From Desire”, given that’s the new record they’re supporting. “Windstorm” sounded pretty great in a live setting, though the album version is probably just a little bit better. “Heart Is Strange” fared better on stage, as did “Bye Bye Bye”. One of my personal favorite SVIIB songs “My Cabal” turned into a birthday dedication, which was nice and a better rendition than I heard when seeing the band a couple years back. My only real disappointment was the lack of certain highlights from “Alpinisms”. Without a “Iamundernodisguise” or “Connjur” to be found, that was a slight let down in an otherwise excellent set. There were many times the music and atmosphere blended just right to transcend the experience you’d get by simply giving one of the band’s records a close listen via headphones.
At the start of their encore, Alejandra Deheza prefaced things by saying, “Um, we’re gonna try something”. That “something” turned out to be a cover of “Kiss Them For Me”, originally by Siouxie and the Banshees. It was quite brilliantly done and mixed with the band’s sound nearly perfectly. I’m pretty sure Alejandra forgot the words to the last verse of the song, but it didn’t really matter, because everybody on stage looked like they were having a blast. That was really the only moment in the entire show when they were all grinning ear to ear and truly letting loose on stage. They came off as a bit stiff at the beginning of their set but gradually grew warmer and happier as things progressed. The crowd was receptive as one might expect throughout the set, though I was left wondering how many of them actually recognized the Siouxie cover during the encore. No matter, there were lots of satisfied faces leaving Lincoln Hall last Friday night. The smiles might not have been there, given that SVIIB aren’t exactly the happiest or most upbeat band in the world, but looking at the eyes, you could tell it was a great night. Should you have the opportunity, going to see School of Seven Bells and/or Active Child touring through your town is definitely something worth doing. Not nearly enough bands these days attempt to make their live shows experiences rather than simple jam sessions, but thankfully these two bands know that there’s more to a performance than simply playing back the songs from your records verbatim.
If you’ve got yourself a Garfield case of Monday-itis, don’t worry too much – Pick Your Poison will help get you through this trying time. Be sure to give a listen to a new song from The Migrant, whose album comes out tomorrow. For fans of covers, Sky Larkin does a halfway decent rendition of Heart”s “Barracuda”. There’s also a remix of a Starfucker song and a track from Vanity Theft that’s worth your time.
Embarassing Fruits – Vanishing Frontier
Jerry Granelli – Wait for the Machine
Mr. Little Jeans – Faking Gold
One in a Googolplex – Monolith
One in a Googolplex – Just Like You
RocketNumberNine – You Reflect Me
Sky Larkin – Barracuda (Heart cover)
A couple weeks back Jenny Lewis and her boyfriend Johnathan Rice released their first album as a duo known as Jenny and Johnny. Lewis you may know from Rilo Kiley or her own solo work, and Rice has had his own solo project for awhile as well. In my review of their record “I’m Having Fun Now”, I wasn’t overly kind to Rice, basically saying he was the weak link in an otherwise lovely album from Jenny Lewis. Well, having heard this interview and live session with the both of them, I stand by that claim. Still, this session is interesting, with simple acoustic guitars and the two voices it works surprisingly well. There’s a small touch of piano as well on “Switchblade”. In the interview, the pair talked about how the project came into existence, why the album title is what it is, and doing some work with Elvis Costello. It’s one of the better artist interviews I’ve heard recently, though things do get a bit awkward when the interviewer goes off on his love for Costello’s TV series “Spectacle”. Good stuff to start your weekend with though, and I hope you enjoy it thoroughly.
Jenny and Johnny, Live on Minnesota Public Radio, 9-12-10:
Jenny and Johnny – Big Wave (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Jenny and Johnny – Animal (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Jenny and Johnny – Switchblade (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Yet another weekend is upon us, and with these last remaining days of warmth (depending on where you live), I hope you’ll be spending some time outside having fun. Fall officially begins next week, so enjoy the last moments of summer while you still can. Great stuff in Pick Your Poison today as well. Be sure to check out the new song from The Fresh and Onlys as it is the “only” track I’ll completely certify as “fresh”. Sorry, bad wordplay. Other great recommendations are for tracks from Sun Airway and Suuns. The band Paleo is sterting to attract the right kinds of attention with the song available below, and in the “did you know?” file, the band Ima Robot who’ve been around for a few years now is actually fronted by Alex Ebert, current lead singer for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. There’s a new Ima Robot track below as well.
Allo Darlin – My Heart Is A Drummer
Death Culture At Sea – Field High and Burning
The Fresh and Onlys – Waterfall
Paleo – The King James Fakebook
Oh the politics of being Weezer. This band attracts so much attention for so many different reasons, and in preparation for the release of their new album “Hurley”, things hit a fever pitch. First it was word that the band was heading back to the indies after all those years in the majors. They ended their partnership with Geffen and hooked up with the small punk label Epitaph. Many took it as a sign the band was eager to return to their roots and take off much of the polish that so dominated their last few records. Then there was the controversy over the title “Hurley”, and how with the cover photo it appeared to be a tribute to Jorge Garcia’s character from the TV show “Lost”. Well, more recently guitarist Brian Bell revealed that the band struck some sort of deal with the clothing company Hurley, and that’s the real reason for the title being what it is. He later retracted that statement, but of course there is now a collection of Weezer-related clothing items for sale from Hurley. Then you get into the conflict that has plagued Weezer fans for several years now, that the band has given up on the magical early days of “The Blue Album” and “Pinkerton”, descending into a world of crap music ever since. Still, with each new Weezer album, those same fans that love to bitch hold out hope for a return to form only to be disappointed time after time. I’ll readily admit to being guilty of this, which is why last year in my review of “Raditude” I settled on the idea that the band had resigned any attempts at making creatively stimulating music anymore and were simply looking to have fun. If that meant ill-advised collaborations with Lil Wayne, then so be it. The plan was to stop judging them based on their past, but rather on the merits of every other soulless, alternative rock-ish band making mainstream music today.
For those hoping that signing to Epitaph would take Weezer away from the overly polished pop nonsense they’ve been putting out recently, “Hurley” actually makes a little progress in the right direction. The first sign the band is feeling nostalgic comes from opening track and first single “Memories”, where they recount some of those crazy times as a band on the rise during the mid-90s. They were so young and stupid back then. And the song’s not half bad either. That display of strength continues through the next track “Ruling Me”, which seems nearly destined to be the next single with its surging chorus and sugary sweet backing harmonies. On “Unspoken”, much of the track is sustained with simply Rivers and an acoustic guitar. It may lack the scratchiness of the couple home demo records he released, but there’s a certain charm to the song as it slowly builds, adding flute then some rhythmic shakers then orchestration before going full-on with the blasting electric guitars in the final minute. Similarly, the very beginning of “Run Away” features a lone piano and Rivers singing into what sounds like a shoddy microphone set up in a bedroom. Unlike “Unspoken” though, the full band enters 30 seconds into “Run Away” and it turns into something closer to an average mid-tempo rocker for Weezer, though with some xylophone hits and a few other odd elements it takes a somewhat unique approach. Keeping a similar tempo, “Hang On” is a love song that’s tender enough to move some hearts while containing a chorus that’s catchy and earnest. Weezer saves the biggest surprise for the end though, when “Time Flies” turns everything that came before it on its head. The audio fidelity completely drops out and you get what ostensibly sounds like a demo recorded without any professional studio equipment. The acoustic guitar, bass drum and piano all fight for space in the mix amid Rivers’ singing and backing harmonies. Everything sounds completely unclean and that’s a huge part of its charm. Add in a pretty addictive hook and it’s probably the best non-Weezer-like song that Weezer has ever put together. Perhaps credit goes to the legendary Mac Davis, who produced and helped write the track (but none of the others).
As wonderfully fun and surprisingly old school “Hurley” can get, there’s still a handful of problems to deal with as things progress. The song “Trainwrecks” is just that, seeming to be a pointed attack at hipsters or slackers or somebody. The issue isn’t so much what’s being said but more like how it’s being said. The verses get so bogged down in attempts at clever wordplay or simply complaining that the chorus gets buried and can’t really dig itself out. “Where’s My Sex?” is the one Weezer song on the album that’s remarkably plainful to listen to. The whole thing is a play on words, as Rivers’ daughter reportedly once pronounced the word “socks” as “sex” one day and it inspired the song-long joke that’s not funny after the first minute. That’s the one, like “Love Is The Answer” from “Raditude” or “We Are All On Drugs” from “Make Believe” that you don’t want to go near with a ten foot pole. And while “Smart Girls” is fun and bouncy like Weezer often do, the biggest mistake it makes is playing out like a crazy mad libs experiment. Before winding up on the official tracklisting for the album, the song was called “Hot Girls”, and if you replace “smart” with “hot” (or “dumb” or “crazy” or etc.) then the effect remains exactly the same. Lazy writing is to blame for that one, and Rivers collaborated with No Doubt’s Tony Kanal in writing it. Suddenly it makes more sense as to why it kind of sucks.
The biggest positive about “Hurley” is that Rivers wrote more of the songs on it than he has on the last couple Weezer records. Sure he’s been collaborating with other people for awhile now, but more of the words on this new album have that old Weezer flavor to them. And that helps to push “Hurley” far above the band’s last few records, towards a territory that’s reserved for those long time fanboys and fangirls holding out hope for another masterstroke akin to those first two efforts. The harsh reality is that we’ve been forced to accept so much crap from this band that when they rise even a little above average, it’s freak out time. Just because this is the best Weezer album in the past 8 or 9 years doesn’t mean it’s automatically amazing. Still, the band does much more right than wrong here, and though they continue to fall into their same old traps of recent times now and then, Weezer seems more humbled and smarter than they have in quite awhile. The explanation as to why will continue to remain a mystery, as nobody can definitively say that changing record labels or possibly partnering with a clothing company is the magic solution to getting back your mojo. Weezer’s not all the way where they need to be just yet, but after the sharp downward spiral they’ve been on these last several years, the biggest surprise is that they’re now starting to climb back up from that dark valley. It’s gonna be a long and arduous journey to the top again should they try for it, but at the very least it could be a fun one. Turn your brain off for awhile, crank up some “Hurley”, and do what you can to enjoy it. In terms of mainstream alternative rock today, you could do a whole lot worse.
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