Let’s just get a couple need-to-know bits of information taken care of right away. DIIV is the band formed by Beach Fossils touring guitarist Zachary Cole Smith. They used to be called Dive, but decided a few months ago to change it because a Belgian band has been using the moniker for more than a decade. Now when you write DIIV, you’ll know exactly what band is being talked about. After signing to Captured Tracks last fall, they released a few 7″ singles to quite a bit of buzz. Their full length debut Oshin is hot off the presses, pulling together most of those singles along with a bunch of new material. As to DIIV’s sound, it fits well under the label of dream pop, but plays with the conventions of that genre just a bit to make you question whether it’s properly applied here. Many of the songs on the album are instrumental, or at least instrumental adjacent. The ones that do have lyrics are often buried, processed or echoed to the point where you can’t make out what’s being said anyways. The times you can are typically when the song title is repeated over and over again. You’re not intended to gain understanding or purpose from the words; it’s the melodies and the way they’re presented that affect your enjoyment of this record. In that sense the listening experience is like that of a post-rock album, only with each journey packed into three minutes instead of eight. Surrender yourself to the waves of guitar washing over you and get transported to another time and place. There’s plenty of beauty to be found in these tracks, but it’s often the muscular kind of Explosions in the Sky rather than the more subtle crest and fall of Sigur Ros. It’s best on display via “Doused,” which brings forth an intensity and tension the rest of the album lacks. Placed at almost the very end of the record though, it’s off-the-map thrill ride vibe feels like a reward rather than a way to show up everything that came before it. Oshin actually thrives because of the way the whole thing is arranged. Individual highlights like “Human,” “How Long Have You Known?” and “Sometime” are parsed out generously from start to finish, and though the moments in between can sometimes sound like unimportant interludes, everything is essential if you listen to the record in its entirety in order. While the shimmering guitars are probably the most stand-out thing about the album, DIIV’s secret weapon is the rhythm section. It gives the record heft and propels things forward rather than simply allowing it to float in the ether. That’s an essential component giving the band more gravitas and separating them from similar-sounding peers. Oshin might not be the home run the band was hoping to hit in their first time at bat, but it’s a very strong triple that shows serious promise for the future. You couldn’t ask for much more.
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Class of 2012 crossover alert! A few months ago I told you that A$AP Rocky and Lana Del Rey were working together on a song. It was originally set to appear on a mixtape by production team KickDrums, but they decided to remove the song and save it for A$AP Rocky’s upcoming album this fall. Funny story: the song “leaked” months ago before it was pulled from the mixtape, and then this week it resurfaced with claims it was “official this time” but of course it wasn’t and got pulled down again. Somebody keeps screwing up with that track. Really what I want to talk about though is the official music video that Lana Del Rey released a couple days ago for her song “National Anthem.” It’s nearly 8 minutes long and features Del Rey as both Jackie O and Marilyn Monroe. A$AP Rocky is not on the song anywhere, but he appears in the video in the role of JFK. Don’t ask me to make sense of it, just watch it. I’m just happy that these two kids found each other. I mean, who hasn’t dated a classmate a time or two? Anyways, onto today’s Pick Your Poison. Strong lineup today, with tracks to recommend from Barbara Morgenstern, Chelsea Light Moving, CIRC, Edmund II, Giant Sand and Rainer, Oddience, Paul Banks (of Interpol), and Trick Shooter Social Club. The Soundcloud section has some great streams as well from The 1975, Dark Dark Dark, The-Drum, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Fang Island, as remixed by Anamanaguchi.
Barbara Morgenstern – Spring Time
Chelsea Light Moving – Burroughs
Courtship – The People Around You
Deep Forest – White Whisper (Pericles Remix)
Giant Sand and Rainer – The Inner Flame
Miss Shevaughn & Yuma Wray – The River Made Me Do It
Paul Banks – Summertime Is Coming
The Sometime Boys – The Good People of Brooklyn
Trick Shooter Social Club – Powder Blue
SOUNDCLOUD
Fang Island – Sisterly (Anamanaguchi Remix)
Occasionally I like to keep my Chicago readers informed about the latest and greatest shows happening in and around the city, and today shall be no different. The sextet known as Still Flyin’ will be making their way to the city this Friday, performing at The Burlington Bar with two great Chicago bands Roommate and Magical Beautiful. Still Flyin’ is touring in support of their new record On A Bedroom Wall, which is an excellent slice of 80’s-styled synth pop. If you’d like to hear something from the band, definitely check out the two mp3s posted below. If you’d like to go to the show at The Burlington Bar on Friday, it starts at 9PM and tickets are being sold at the door for a mere $7. It’s worth it if you ask me. As for today’s Pick Your Poison, don’t miss songs from Doc Days, Grand Resort, Ivan & Alyosha (with Aimee Mann), Me and My Drummer, Mungolian Jetset, and Waterlaso. The M Machine’s remix of Passion Pit, which is available for streaming in the Soundcloud section, is a nice slice of fun too.
The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby (Feature Cuts Remix)
Doc Days – Mirrored Dream
Doc Days – Oceanic Consciousness
Feist – Bittersweet Melodies (Christian Strobe Remix)
Female Demand – Paint My Brains With Your House
Grassfight – Look Homeward, Heathen
Ivan & Alyosha – All the Times We Had (ft. Aimee Mann)
Me and My Drummer – Heavy Weight
Mist Glider – Blueberry Hill (ft. Shelf Nunny)
Still Flyin’ – Travelin’ Man
Still Flyin’ – Cleat Talking
SOUNDCLOUD
The East Collective – East End Rudeboy
Every Tuesday I like to give you the list of artists releasing new material, as a way to remind you that music is still for sale and you can in fact buy it if you like it. That said, you can hit up your local music merchant or online retailer for new stuff from Air Traffic Controller, A Place to Bury Strangers, Beachwood Sparks, Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, DIIV, Echo Lake, Everest, Exray’s, The Flaming Lips, Henry Clay People, Infantree, Jesca Hoop, Joe Jackson, A Lull, Milk Maid, New Beard (new mp3 featured below), The Offspring, Sonny and the Sunsets, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and Ty Segall Band. So that’s your notification list. The Pick Your Poison list for today is below, and has a few songs/artists I’d like to personally recommend. Those include tracks from Apollo Cobra, Chris Cohen, Codeine, Crypts, Dragonette, Guardian Alien, John Maus, New Beard and Warm Weather. Lots of great stuff here worth learning more about, if you’re so inclined. Hip hop fans might like to know there’s a new Nas track (with Rick Ross) up for streaming in the Soundcloud section too.
Extra Life – Discipline for Edwin
Guardian Alien – See the World Given to a One Love Entity (Part 1)
The History of Panic – The Chase
Jen Schande – I Really Like Sonic Youth and I Really Want to Have Sex With You
Santigold – The Keepers (The Knocks Remix)
Vienna Ditto – I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole (Blind Willie Johnson cover)
SOUNDCLOUD
Sigh. I don’t know about you, but I love Blur. I think they’re one of the more unsung heroes of the 90’s, even though they are/were pretty popular. The thing about Damon Albarn, especially in the last 15 or so years, is apparently that he’s restless. Blur wasn’t enough for him, and so came Gorillaz, then The Good, the Bad & the Queen, then DRC Music and most recently Rocket Juice & the Moon. I’m not even going to get into his soundtrack work. The point is, we’re going on nearly a decade since the last Blur record, and there’s been a bit of back-and-forth about whether they still exist or not. There have been a few Blur shows in the U.K. recently, giving hope to that idea, along with reports they were in the studio recording. Yet Albarn has been coy and has suggested that Blur is over. While we continue to wait and see where that whole saga will go, the band is giving one little nugget of confidence suggesting they’re still around. Next Monday, July 2nd, Blur will perform 2 new songs on a London rooftop. Whether or not they’re trying to recreate The Beatles’ famous Apple Corps rooftop performance, you can watch them play “Under the Westway” and “The Puritan” at 6:15PM BST (aka 1:15PM EST) live via a link they’ll be posting on their Twitter page. I’m excited to hear and see what will happen, and I hope you are too. Okay, onwards with today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll recommend tracks from the bilinda butchers, Howth, Pixel Memory, Saint Motel, Tassels and thenewno2. In the Soundcloud section don’t miss streaming a new song from Stars.
Dent May – Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead cover)
The Illegitimate Sons – Gillian
Saturday, Monday – The Slow and Slopy Journey of Little Rhino
Shy Around Strangers – Never Look Down
Teen Daze – Brooklyn Sunburn (Lushlife Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
A Girl Called Ruth – You I See (Acoustic Version)
My Son the Bum – Money Is The Whip
If you’re American and care anything about sports, you probably heard that last night the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship. This is a music site and I rarely mention sports on purpose, but this one stings just a little bit. If you’re from Miami or simply love the Heat, now’s the point where you want to stop reading and dive headfirst into the mp3s below. Okay. I’m not going to call Lebron James a bad basketball player. On the contrary, he’s one of the NBA’s best and deserved the MVP trophy he won. It’s the way he goes about it that feels almost criminal. Leaving Cleveland for Miami in an hour-long TV special a couple years ago was a classless move. So was the big “presentation party” where James, Wade and Bosh came out on a stage to confetti and cheers from adoring fans. They assembled a monster team with every intention of winning an NBA championship. I couldn’t have been happier last season when the Heat lost in the finals. Yet if I lived in Miami or Florida in general I’d probably be ecstatic over the collection of superstars the Heat have assembled. Sometimes you just want to see the underdog triumph against such a behemoth. The Oklahoma City Thunder are sort of the ultimate underdog team too, because they’re pretty new and just a bit “off the radar” versus other major cities like Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Alas, it was not to be, and the Heat conquered as it has been expected of them. Now I’ve got to hope that doesn’t continue for multiple years. This, from a guy who loved every second of the Chicago Bulls’ 6-peat from the 90’s. Ah, what a time to be alive. Alright, sports talk over. Pick Your Poison talk now. Gold stars today go out to tracks from Barna Howard, Benjamin Francis Leftwich (covering The Beatles), Chomp, Daydream Vacation, Funkywalkman, Physical Therapy, Poolside, Purity Ring and Strand of Oaks. In the Soundcloud section don’t miss streaming songs from Holograms, The New Pornographers (covering Fleetwood Mac), and OM.
Barna Howard – Timber Nails and Tears
Benjamin Francis Leftwich – With A Little Help From My Friends (Beatles cover)
Chomp – Throw Out Your Wish List
David Douglas – California Poppy
Daydream Vacation – Dare Seize Fire
Dr. Michael White – I Love You Too Much to Ever Leave You
Physical Therapy – Drone On (ft. Jamie Krasner)
Volta – Keyboard 47 (NEEDS Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
The Birthday Suit – Less Worthless Years
Hot As Sun – Only a Woman (Blood Diamonds Remix)
The New Pornographers – Think About Me (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Happy Summer Solstice! Yes, my friends, today is the day in the northern hemisphere with the most sunlight. If you’re planning to do something outside, such as grill or play sports, there’s no better day to do it. Maximize your productivity and have some fun while doing so. Even the graveyard shifters get a little more light than usual, though that may be a detriment if it makes it tougher to sleep. And hey, solar power earns an extra boost today too. But who am I kidding. Yesterday was really bright too, and tomorrow will be as well. These additional amounts of sun amount more to minutes than hours. Today’s sun is probably no more than 30 seconds more than yesterday’s. I guess the grand point is: it’s summer. Enjoy it. This edition of Pick Your Poison is a nice soundtrack to it as well. Pay close attention to tracks from Acid House Kings (THREE of them!), Chandeliers, Donnis, Lorelai, The Royal Concept, Western Affairs and Zulu Winter. In the Soundcloud section there’s also a great remix by Four Tet of a track from Neneh Cherry + The Thing.
Acid House Kings – First Time
Acid House Kings – Say Yes If You Love Me
Acid House Kings – Do What You Wanna Do
Amanda Jo Williams – Hello Good Morning
Ami Saraiya & The Outcome – Purging
Chandeliers – New Times
Chandeliers – Le Corsage
Garmiani – Now That We Found Love
James Bowers – Regrets, Damnations, and Dreams
Janes Addiction – Been Caught Stealing (Metranohm Remix)
Jonathan Boulet – This Song Is Called Ragged (Jonti Remix)
Maren Parusel – Castle in the Sky
Outfit – Everything All the Time (Amateur Best Remix)
The Royal Concept – Gimme Twice
Shannon McArdle – Warden (ZIP)
Suburban Living – Float in Clouds
Way Yes – Gino (Larry Gus Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
Neneh Cherry + The Thing – Dream Baby Dream (Four Tet remix)
If you’ve not heard already, there’s a new supergroup lurking about the indie world these days. They’re known as Divine Fits. The trio is made up of Spoon’s Britt Daniel, Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs’ Dan Boeckner and New Bomb Turks’ Sam Brown. Sounds intriguing, right? Well, their first single “My Love Is Real” is finally available for you to hear and stream, but in order to do so you need to “Like” them on Facebook. Here is their Facebook page so you can go do that immediately. So long as you’re logged into Facebook, maybe head over to the Faronheit page and click “Like” on that too? I don’t have any content you can unlock by doing so, but I do post a number of great music videos and links to posts on the site there as well. It’s just another way we can keep up with each other. Okay, now onto today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll advise you to download new music from Br’er, Cat Power, Dazzletine, I Come to Shanghai, Museum and White Violet.
Charlie Big Time – The Liberation of Love
Corduroy Road – My Dear Odessa
Efren – If My Heart Don’t Fail Me
Height With Friends – I Can’t Stand to Be Refused
I Come to Shanghai – Nothing to Conceal
Ladyhawke – Sunday Drive (Villa Remix)
Radical Face – Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinead O’Connor cover)
White Violet – Lays Around Lazy
SOUNDCLOUD
HeavyWeight – Come Alive (Radio Mix)
If it’s Tuesday, that means there’s new music releases out for your consumption. I like to give a quick rundown of all the artists coming out with stuff, just in case you weren’t aware or forgot that one of your favorites has something new you could be enjoying this very second. So, be on the look out for new full lengths or EPs from Blues Control, Can, Fiona Apple, Glen Hansard, Grace Potter, Hacienda, John Zorn, Men Without Hats, Moby, Neneh Cherry & The Thing, Peaking Lights, Silver Jews, Smashing Pumpkins, Walk the Moon, White Arrows and Zulu Winter. As far as Pick Your Poison goes, allow me to recommend tracks for download from Buffalo Killers, Cold Cave, Cowgill, Drug Cabin, Lockah and Shark?.
Black Light Dinner Party – Small Boxes
Blank ft. Noonie Bao – Do This Thing
Cold Cave – Believe In Our Blood
Cowgill – I Think I’ve Been Breathing
Fairchild Republic – Stay Young
Fairchild Republic – Arcadia
Little Comets – Language Is Over (Acoustic)
Lockah – The Sour Drink From the Ocean
The Modern Airline – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sky
Oh Laura – California (ZIP)
SOUNDCLOUD
Delta Rae – Bottom Of The River
Marina and the Diamonds – Power & Control (Krystal Klear Remix)
Due to some technical difficulties, I was unable to post this yesterday as planned. Please excuse the lateness of this post. That said, there’s some good stuff in this set of music. Highlights include tracks from Blackie, Dead Leaf Echo, Erika Spring (of Au Revoir Simone), Everest, Glass Vaults, Ormonde and Radiant Dragon. In the Soundcloud section you can stream new material from Heavenly Beat and Nigel Godrich’s new music project Ultraista.
The Appleseed Collective – Something New (Changes)
The Appleseed Collective – Evil One
Butchers & Bakers – The Cleaner
Everest – Raking Me Over the Coals
IlldotLogic ft. Drazah Backwards – Bad Bad Man
New Look – Teen Need (Creep Remix)
The Orwells – Mallrats (La La La)
Voiceplay – The King Has Returned
SOUNDCLOUD
One of the most fascinating things about Kristian Matsson is how he’s able to take very familiar folk sounds and turn them into something that seems fresh and exciting. His first two albums as The Tallest Man on Earth were built solely on his raspy vocal and either an acoustic guitar or a piano. The songs are also almost entirely home recorded outside of a traditional studio, giving them an additional ramshackle quality that speaks well to Bob Dylan’s earliest material. Matsson is from Sweden, but he uses and reveres classic American folk as his template. His last full length The Wild Hunt was very propulsive and catchy, with an emotional core that often made you feel like the man was playing as if his life depended on it. Just listening to him wail on “You’re Going Back” or “King of Spain” either sucked you in completely or left you out in the cold, as his abrasive yet heartfelt vocal isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea. On his third long player There’s No Leaving Now, the gears have slightly changed (or evolved, if you will) for The Tallest Man on Earth. The music still retains that slightly gritty, home recorded quality, however Matsson plays around with multi-tracking a little, creating fuller arrangements with more instruments. “Revelation Blues” is where the extra bits are most evident – a lightly brushed snare drum along with small flourishes of piano and woodwinds compliment the main melody strung together by a carefully picked guitar. Other than that, only the occasional slide guitar on top of an acoustic is an indicator there’s more instrumentation than usual. The alt-country quiet of “Bright Lanterns” is probably where that’s implemented best. Outside of the guitar-driven tracks, the title track differentiates itself simply by being a piano-centered ballad in the same vein of “Kids on the Run” from the last record. Matsson does an excellent job wrenching the sadness out of the song. Such powerful displays of emotion were some of The Wild Hunt‘s strongest points. There’s No Leaving Now loses some of that primarily due to more languid and relaxed melodies where the vocals don’t require so many acrobatics. The album’s two most energized songs “1904” and “Wind and Walls” are also two of its best, even though their lyrics don’t entirely make sense. It’s the way he sings lines like, “But the lesson is vague and the lightning shows a deer with her mind on the moor/and now something with the sun is just different/since they shook the earth in 1904,” that somehow makes them seem far more coherent than they appear when written down. Still, not everything on the record is so convincing or vibrant, as songs like “Leading Me Now” and “Little Brother” breeze past pleasantly but forgettably too. Matsson can and has done better work than this, and three albums in it might be time to start asking if his particular troubadour brand of folk is wearing a bit thin. It’s nice to hear him spreading his wings just a little and fleshing out some of the tracks a bit more, but it means very little in the end if the songs aren’t worthy of that expansion. Ironically, There’s No Leaving Now often comes off like Matsson has gone away on vacation, perhaps to the beach depicted on the album cover. Wonderful as it can be to take some time for yourself and forget about your troubles, it’s no way to live. Sooner or later the world will come find you. Let’s hope for the next album that The Tallest Man on Earth pulls his head out of the clouds and reconnects with the emotions and excitement that made his earlier records so vital and fascinating.
Say hello to the weekend, my friends, because it is upon us. Before you pack an overnight bag and head off on a quick trip out of state or whatever, give me two seconds to tell you that The Sadies are coming to Chicago TWICE next month. They have earned the reputation of being Canada’s best live band, which is saying something when Arcade Fire is one of your biggest competitors. In other words, you probably won’t want to miss them when they come through town. July 7th they’ve got a show at Schuba’s. Tickets are $14 and can be bought here. On July 9th, they’ll be playing a FREE show at Millennium Park with James Vincent McMorrow. Just show up at that one if you want as there’s no tickets involved. If you’re wondering what The Sadies sound like, I’ll definitely recommend the mp3 below for a taste. In this set I’ll also recommend songs from Deap Vally, James Apollo, Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, Ranch Ghost, Seatraffic, Sic Alps and Suit of Lights. In the Soundcloud section stream new stuff from Dispatch, Iron & Wine and Nguzunguzu. Have a great weekend!
Chew Lips – Do You Chew? (Lieke Remix)
Deap Vally – Gonna Make My Own Money
Dumbo Gets Mad – Marmelade Kids (Sun Glitters Remix)
Garrison Starr and Jason Karaban – Everything Is in Your Hands
Laetitia Sadier – There Is A Price to Pay for Freedom (And It Isn’t Security)
The Sadies and Andre Williams – I’ll Do Most Anything
Strip Steve ft. Puro Instinct – Astral Projection (KiNK Instrumental)
Suit of Lights – The Human Beings
Thee Swank Bastards – Getaway Car
SOUNDCLOUD
Iron & Wine – Trouble (Little Feat cover)
Usually I save this for Friday, but given my penchant for mixing things up a bit on occasion, let’s talk about it now. All of the site’s social media links are on the upper right corner of the page, but I’ve been working especially hard to generate some “Likes” over on the good ‘ol Facebook page. Twitter’s doing well, as is site traffic, but things have been progressing slowly at Facebook since I started the page a couple months back. So I’m going to keep mentioning it once a week until it’s doing well too. There’s extra, exclusive content over on Facebook too, including music videos I like and Spotify playlists I create. Just sayin’. I’m also just sayin’ today’s Pick Your Poison is solid. There are some pretty damn good tracks up for download from Emily Hane White, Fires, The Inner Banks, Mission of Burma, Mrs Magician, and North Atlantic Drift. Stream songs in the Soundcloud section from Lantern, Mika and Passion Pit, along with A-Trak’s remix of Justice.
Emily Jane White – Oh Katherine
Grace Jones – Williams Blood (Aeroplane Remix)
The Inner Banks – Box and Crown
Jon Sandler – Late Night Champ
Mission of Burma – Second Television
North Atlantic Drift – Waiting in the Afterglow
Rah Rah – I Could Tell You I’m Sorry
The Sometime Boys – Summer Solstice
Tiger! Tiger! – Cut Them Where They Bleed
White Light Parade – Want You to Know (Is Tropical Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
Justice – New Lands (A-Trak Remix)
When talking about the self-titled debut album from POP ETC, it’s almost essential to forget what you know and think you know about The Morning Benders. The storyline plays out as follows: upon learning that their band name was being used as a homophobic slur in the UK, The Morning Benders made the executive decision to change their name to POP ETC. With the name change came a lineup tweak and a move from San Francisco to Brooklyn. It’s close to the musical equivalent of gender reassignment or witness protection, and such radical adjustments also provide the opportunity to reinvent yourself however you like. The old Morning Benders liked guitars and indie pop. They wrote a super catchy song like “Excuses” that found placement in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercial and on “Best of” lists back in 2010. They corralled their musician friends from San Francisco like John Vanderslice and members of Girls into a small studio to play a song or two for fun.
By contrast, POP ETC like synths and commercial pop music. They use AutoTune liberally and even apply it to a cover of Bjork’s “Unravel”. They release mixtapes titled “New Influences Weekend Mix” and “1986 Weekend Mix” full of artists like Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Tears for Fears and Boys II Men. The moving parts might be the same, but this is an entirely new model and should be regarded as such. Those still in denial need only listen to the appropriately titled opening track “New Life” on POP ETC’s new album to best understand the group’s aim. Synths warble next to drum machines, and singer Chris Chu mourns the death of a relationship through R&B flavored sentiments and AutoTune. Somewhere, the 808s & Heartbreak version of Kanye West can relate. Top 40 and Urban radio stations should be licking their chops over the sparkling Drake-like bounce of “Back to Your Heart,” if only the lyrics weren’t so cringe-worthy. “She said, ‘Why do we bother?’/and I said, ‘I’m not your father,'” is just one moment in the song that might make you wince. First single “Keep It For Your Own” is perhaps the best four minutes of pure pop on the entire album, where light bits of acoustic guitar, bass and piano actually support the verses, the hook in the chorus is strong, and all the vocals/harmonies haven’t been modulated. It’s the only track on the record produced by Danger Mouse, and considering how well it works, they might want to have him do the entire thing next time.
So much of the rest of the album feels like a blatant attempt at mainstream pop it can be almost disturbing at times. “R.Y.B.” stands for rock your body, and not only did Justin Timberlake do a song about that very topic that was a whole lot better, but it’s easy to get the impression that ‘NSYNC would probably pass on it too. That and closing track “Yoyo” are both obnoxiously loud too, as if the synths have been turned up to 11 to distract you from how utterly mediocre they are. The faux R&B seductions of “Live It Up” and “I Wanna Be Your Man” have decent melodies and even some impressive harmonies in them, but stumble and fall from downright painful lyrics. “I ain’t never disrespect no woman/never called a girl a ho,” Chu AutoTunes on “Live It Up,” a song about sleeping with groupies while on tour. The chorus of “I Wanna Be Your Man” is the song title repeated over and over and over again ad nauseum, to the point where if you play this song for a girl you’re trying to woo she’ll likely say yes by the halfway point so the begging doesn’t have to go on any longer. You could say POP ETC are trying as hard as they can to develop a relationship with as many people as possible on this album, beating you over the head with a sonic lead pipe until you finally come around to the idea that they’re a good band.
They’d fare far better with a touch of moderation, as songs like “Halfway to Heaven” and “Everything Is Gone” display. Unfortunately such moments are too few and far between to make much of a difference. One thing that does make a difference is how and where you listen to the album. Like a blockbuster action film, sometimes you need a good popcorn record to mindlessly enjoy for awhile. If you’re out on a deck with a cold beverage and a good book or are at a party with your friends, a little POP ETC can be quite nice. Don’t be too surprised if the band starts to pick up some mainstream success from this album either. I mean it IS better than Ke$ha. That last sentence probably tells you all you need to know. In an ideal world, the transition from The Morning Benders to POP ETC would have gone a lot smoother. Chris Chu has proven he can write smart and addictive pop songs with guitars, and it stands to reason he could do the same without them. Let’s hope that next time the band returns they learn from this misstep and come up with some music that’s truly worthy of their new name.
Have you heard of The Deer Tracks? I mentioned them a couple weeks ago, but wanted to bring them up one more time quickly before tomorrow, when they’ll be playing a show at Schuba’s here in Chicago. In a nutshell, The Deer Tracks are a duo from Sweden who make electro-pop with sort of an insular edge. Their melodies shimmer and sparkle and often have a fun, danceable edge to them, but at the same time there’s an intimacy and preciousness to them as well. Maybe it’s their wider use of glockenspiel or their male-female vocal interplay that gives it that vibe. Anyways, they’re working on a trio of records known as The Archer Trilogy. Two of the three parts have been released, and the final piece will be out this fall. If you see them tomorrow night or on another one of their tour dates, they’ll be playing material from the entire trilogy. Buy tickets for the Schuba’s show here, and download the songs “W” and “Dark Passenger” to get a feel for their sound. I hope to see you at the show! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll offer up recommendations that you download tracks from Azealia Banks, Finn Riggins, Odd Hours, and Radio Moscow. In the Soundcloud section stream tracks from Attaque, Panoramic & True, Supreme Cuts and Van She.
Bart and Friends – There May Come A Time
Fiona Apple – Every Single Night (Its Overture Remix)
Love and Radiation – Faith Permits No Doubt
Saint Saviour – Midnight City (M83 cover)
Sam Densmore – Why’d You Let Me Down?
Total Warr – xxx HATE xxx (Is Tropical Remix)
Touch Tone – Home Away From Home (Starcadian Remix)
SOUNDCLOUD
Supreme Cuts – Ciroc Waterfalls
Yeti Lane – Warning Sensations (School Of Seven Bells Remix)
