I have no idea why, but some evil genius has reimagined M.I.A's smash hit "Paper Planes" as a flapper jam performed by Al Jolson. Behold:
Apparently this isn't the aforementioned evil genius' first foray into Back-to-the-futuring songs you know and might even like. For further enjoyment, you might consider his version of Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta," transported back to the 1960s. I kind of want to send that to @seantroversy to get his take on it, but I'm afraid roughly 10,000 other people have done the same thing.
Just a week after announcing a donation of €5million ($7million) towards music education for children in Ireland, local heroes U2 have faced protests in their hometown of Dublin because of the disruption caused by their massive tour entourage. About 80 people joined a picket near Croke Park stadium because of the sheer volume of trucks required to transport U2’s unique claw-like stage. “The stage was to come down overnight and 94 trucks were to go in and out, one every three and a half minutes, right through narrow roads and both sides of the stadium,” Mrs Barbara Ward, of the Croke Park Area Residents’ Alliance told Ireland On-Line. “People would have been awake all night. We decided to stand up and protest and the drivers never tried to pass us.” The size of the tour was also criticized by David Byrne, who said “Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all.” The somewhere-between 94 and 200 trucks (oh, and the band) are now behind schedule as they head for Sweden, where the next dates on their world tour are due to be held this weekend.
Here's a short video courtesy of U2Miracle.com about the construction of U2's unique stage, known as The Claw:
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
It's a beautiful afternoon here in Seattle, and the crowd is beginning to draw for Capitol Hill's annual music-packed Block Party. This year's big names include Built to Spill, the Jesus Lizard, and Deerhunter tonight with Sonic Youth, Gossip, and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Saturday, among many others, on three different stages over the next two days.
I started with a fast-paced, crowd-pleasing set from Seattle's own supergroup, Thee Sgt. Major III, featuring members of local legends Young Fresh Fellows, the Posies, and the Fastbacks, along with Chordstrike's own Leslie Beattie on vocals.
What a great way to spend a Friday afternoon!
Twelve nominations have been announced for probably Britain's most prestigious annual music prize, the Mercury Music Award. The award is given along with £20,000 ($33,000) to the maker of the most impressive British or Irish album of the last 12 months, according to a panel of industry experts. Among the nominees are Bat for Lashes' Two Suns, Florence and the Machine's Lungs, Kasabian's West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, and self-titled releases by Glasvegas, La Roux and Friendly Fires. But only retro electro-pop duo La Roux have the honor of also appearing on a rival award shortlist simultaneously announced by cheeky pop blog Popjustice. Their singles-based Twenty Quid Music Prize nominees include La Roux's "In For The Kill", plus eleven more including Lily Allen and Little Boots. Both prizes will announce their winners on September 8: the Mercury after a star-studded televised ceremony, the Popjustice after a "London judging debacle." What are the chances of La Roux being £20,020 richer seven weeks from now?
Here's the full Mercury shortlist, with odds provided by bookmaker William Hill:
So what's your favorite record from that list? Or who do you think will win the prize, regardless of your personal preference? I'd love Bat for Lashes to win the prize, because not only is Two Suns one of my favorite albums of the year, but her beautiful first album Fur and Gold was nominated two years ago but lost out to Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future. So I'm cheering for Natasha Khan! Here she is on Letterman, performing recent single "Daniel":
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
Like so many of our most loved artists, fame eluded Tim Buckley when he
was alive. But his appeal has grown since his untimely death at the age
of 28, and several of his records, though disregarded at release, are
now very well considered. It’s usual for fans of a long dead artist to
content themselves with the many rehashes of old songs on posthumous
releases, but Buckley lovers will be thrilled to learn about a new
album which is almost ready to hit the stores.Live
at the Folklore Center, NYC: March 6th, 1967 is a live recording from
early in the artist’s career which contains six previously unheard
Buckley compositions. The intimate performance in front of an audience
of around 35 people was recorded by Izzy Young and has remained largely
unheard since then. Young told Billboard.com, “I didn't hear the tape
for most of the time I've been in Sweden - at least 30 years. When I
played it for some close pals six months or so again, I just couldn't
believe it, all that fresh energy, fresh thought.” He added “The thing
that sticks out in my mind is the rawness of this performance. It's
fast and furious, he doesn't dwell too much in between tracks and once
he's into a song it's all emotion from there on in." The album will be
released on August 25, 2009.
Here's a YouTube performance of one of the songs on the new release, though this version of "Dolphins" was recorded seven years later, in 1974:
Tracklisting: 1. Song for Jainie, 2. I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain, 3. Wings, 4. Phantasmagoria in Two, 5. Just Please Leave Me, 6. Dolphins, 7. I Can’t See You, 8. Troubadour, 9. Aren’t You The Girl, 10. What Do You Do (He Never Saw You), 11. No Man Can Find The War, 12. Carnival Song, 13. Cripples Cry 14. If the Rain Comes, 15. Country Boy, 16. I Can’t Leave You Loving Me
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
John Eccles was a composer for court, church and stage, in the late 1600s and a contemporary of, and collaborator with, one of this years birthday greats, Henry Purcell.In 1700 Eccles, along with colleagues, Daniel Purcell (youngest brother of Henry), John Weldon and Gottfreid Finger entered a competition to see who could compose the best English version of "The Judgment of Paris."Move over Susan Boyle, this is the original "Britain's Got Talent."
This "Paris" is special because it shows Eccles trying to shunt musical theater in an all-English direction, and move it out of the shadow of the dominant Italian and French traditions.As Lindsay Kemp points out in verbose but thorough liner notes, the word settings, or underlay is for English speech rhythms and the score focuses more on line and melody that decoration and
ornamentation.This is a Maske, so it feels much more like music from a play than an opera.
The score is a theatrical and musical treat, lived up to in this vibrant and energized performance, conducted by Christian Curnyn and sung by the Early Opera Company.The soloists are well cast, lucid and each of them really grasp the difference between this and opera.
The Three Mad Songs that end the program are just that, set pieces from various English plays where the heroin loses it, usually because a man has done her wrong.One song each is given to our Paris soloists, Lucy Crowe, Claire Booth and Susan Bickley, so Curnyn presents the listener with a latter day "Judgment," with us playing Paris. Currently I'm awarding the apple to Ms. Crowe for her rendition of "Restless in Thought..." from "She Ventures, and He Wins."
Lastly, I save praise for Nicholas Anderson and the recording engineers.Chandos tout their 24-bit recording as giving greater dynamic range, and on this disc (along with attentive mike placement) this really seems to work.This listener feels right in the middle of the action.-- Hugo Munday
Coldplay's appearance at The Gorge, Saturday, July 11 featured a concert within a concert. At one point, the ever-working mega band belted from the main stage, up to this tiny platform at the beginning of the grass section.
Tracked by two long-throw spot-lights they offered some unplugged goodies, including a rendition of Jackson's Billie Jean. The homage to the King of Pop was treated no differently, from most of the Coldplay super-hits and the audience sang along with gusto.
For a band that's done an unbroken stretch of 130+ shows, I have to admit they sounded very "there." At the end of one of the hottest days of the year, so far, I don't think anyone would argue if I gave the MVP award to the sunset. Truly spectacular, as it often is in this part of the world, adding another dimension to this brand of euphoric anthem rock. Mother Nature did all the mind-altering that was needed. -- Hugo Munday
I've had both the Beatles and Michael Jackson on the brain lately, so I thought I'd see if I could dig up any related video content. I ended up finding the music video for Say Say Say, a duet between Jackson and Paul McCartney. It's thoroughly entertaining--check it out below.
Click here to watch the video on YouTube if you can't see it above.
When I found out that the Beatles' original albums (all thirteen of them, plus the two Past Masters albums combined into one) were going to be digitally remastered for the first time ever, I could hardly contain my excitement. Even though I was born after the Beatles broke up, I still can't get enough of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The Beatles are mythic, and yet at the same time, like trusted friends. I feel as if I know them, somehow, through their music.
Everyone knows their story, of course. And everyone has their own Beatles stories. I remember singing "Help!" at the top of my lungs while my Mom's old vinyl record played in the background (I was three) and learning the story of John Lennon's life and death for the first time (I was, perhaps, five). "Yesterday" was the first song I ever karaoked. My first boyfriend recorded "Norwegian Wood" on a cassette tape and gave it to me as a gift (this was before the era of CDs!) And when I first heard the song "Eleanor Rigby"--well, my breath caught in my throat.
So the thought of being able to hear the original Beatles catalog remastered is just--wow. The Beatles remastered catalog will be released on 09-09-09, and will coincide with another highly anticipated event: the release of The Beatles: Rock Band. For the first time ever (another first!) fans will have the opportunity to experience being part of the band. It's pretty awesome if you ask me. I can hardly wait!
Luckily, we have plenty of Beatles-related fun going on in the meantime. In honor of worldwide Beatles Day, we've tricked out our Beatles Store and we're kicking off a Beatles celebration that will last for the next two months--right up to the release of the remasters and Rock Band.
Visit the store to check out the remastered albums, preview The Beatles: Rock Band, watch videos, and test your knowledge of the Fab Four. And check back often--we'll soon be counting down our favorite Beatles albums of all time.
Are you as excited as I am?
(Watch the trailer for the Beatles Remastered in the Beatles Store if you can't see it above)
When you’re rollercoasting along a track at breakneck speed, heart in your mouth and adrenalin coursing through your veins, is there a song that would make the perfect soundtrack to your fear? Until now, you never had the choice, but those thoughtful people at Universal Studios have decided to change all that. The new Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, at Universal Studios Florida, offers a choice of 30 songs across five genres with which to accompany your white knuckle experience. Individual riders will be able to choose a song to be played directly into their ears, with artists represented including Mötley Crüe, Daft Punk, Dwight Yoakam, Cypress Hill and Donna Summer. Some of the most fearful riders may find it quickest to pick the encouraging sentiments of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” but for the rest, choosing a tune should take some of the boredom out of waiting in the long queue for the ride. It’s not known whether the songs in the jukebox will be changed or added to at any time, nor whether the park owners are taking requests for the future; if they do, what song would you most like to see on their playlist?
Or conversely, what songs would you definitely not want to accompany your Rockit ride?
If you can't see the YouTube video above -- a simulation of the new ride -- you can find it here.
Here's the full selection of songs available:
RAP/HIP-HOP
"Don't Phunk With My Heart," Black Eyed Peas "Insane in the Brain," Cypress Hill "Pump It," Black Eyed Peas "Rock Star," N.E.R.D. "Sabotage," Beastie Boys "Stronger," Kanye West
POP/DISCO
"Bad Girls," Donna Summer "Glamorous," Fergie "Hella Good," No Doubt "I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor "That's the Way (I Like It)," KC and the Sunshine Band "U Can't Touch This" MC Hammer
CLUB/ELECTRONICA
"Busy Child," The Crystal Method "Harder Better Faster Stronger," Daft Punk "Intergalactic," Beastie Boys "Keep Hope Alive," The Crystal Method "Le Disko," Shiny Toy Guns "Pumps Up the Volume," MARRS
CLASSIC ROCK/METAL
"Born to Be Wild," Hinder "Bring Me to Life," Evanescence "Gimme All Your Lovin'," ZZ Top "Kickstart My Heart," Motley Crue "Paralyzer," Finger Eleven "Rollin'," Limp Bizkit
COUNTRY
"All Night Long," Montgomery Gentry "Guitars, Cadillas," Dwight Yoakam "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead" Jason Michael Carroll "Living in Fast Forward," Kenny Chesney "Midnight Rider," The Allman Brothers "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," The Charlie Daniels Band
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
*A word of explanation about this list: while the majority of my picks can be called world music, a couple of them (Emmy the Great, Little Boots) are imports which don't necessarily fall into the world music category. I'm including them here because: 1) they've been released in another country, and 2) I couldn't resist sharing them (seriously, they're that good). But keep in mind that you probably won't find either of these artists categorized under world music in our music or MP3 stores.
I practically swooned the first time I heard this tiny, tattooed French-Canadian chanteuse. With a voice like honey, Coeur de Pirate ("Heart of a Pirate"), otherwise known as 19-year-old Béatrice Martin of Quebec, has crafted a rich, whimsical, and utterly stirring debut album imbued with a vein of nostalgia and maturity that far belies her years. While songs on the album are driven primarily by Martin’s magical piano playing, Martin weaves in string arrangements, horn interludes, and accordion accompaniment with a thoughtful, nuanced touch. Each melody is as finely crafted as spun silk.
The album sounds like it could have been made in 1920's France or used in the soundtrack to the film Amélie.The buoyant “Ensemble” (“Together”) makes me feel like dancing down the street, while the pensive “C’était Salement Romantique” (“It Was Terribly Romantic”) fills me with longing for something that I can't quite define. Listen and imagine yourself wandering the winding, cobbled streets of some old European city. You don’t have to understand French to love this album.
If you can't see the embedded video player above, clickhere to watch a YouTube video of Coeur de Pirate performing "C'etait Salement Romantique."
I was blown away when I first heard Issa Bagayogo’s Issa Remixed. Rarely have I heard West African music infused with house-style dance rhythms so successfully—and so infectiously. Originally from Mali, Issa grew up playing the ngoni (a three-stringed lute popular in West Africa), but rather than sticking to traditional music, he’s infused his albums with elements of jazz, dub, and funk. Hybrid albums like this can often go wrong, but Issa’s compositions are masterfully done, and Issa Remixed is no exception. Who knew that West African chord structures could mesh so well with electronica and sound so natural?
I never would have expected the artist behind one of my favorite folk albums to be from London--a city that I tend to associate more with sassy britpop (think Lily Allen, Kate Nash) or alternative rock (think Coldplay). But with a soaring, lyrical voice that hearkens back to the ‘60s, Emmy the Great (Emma-Lee Moss) is the real deal—with a twist. Yes, her music is folk, but she's anything but traditional. Witty and sarcastic, she probes into heavy subjects (death, pregnancy) and offers up world-weary and frequently biting social commentary couched in that smooth, magnetic voice of hers. This is folk music with a thoroughly modern edge--or, perhaps, folk music for the 21st century.
Reigning fado queen Mariza doesn’t disappoint with her fourth studio album. No fado album is complete without heavy doses of Portuguese guitar—and this album has it in spades—but Mariza also experiments with other musical styles without straying too far from her musical roots. She sets her marvelously flexible vocals to blues and jazzy piano, succeeding at the difficult task of offering up a thoroughly refreshing take on this most traditional and stylized of musical genres.
If you’re into dance music, you’ve probably already heard of Little Boots,
a.k.a. 25-year-old Victoria Hesketh of England. A multitalented
musical dynamo, Little Boots made a name for herself by posting YouTube
videos in which she performed her own original compositions and covered
other popular songs. Not only does she sing, she also plays the
keyboard, the piano, the stylophone, and the very cool electronic Tenori-on—sometimes
all at the same time. With an astute ear and a flair for making multilayered
rhythms irresistibly catchy, Little Boots merits the buzz that she’s
generated. She’s a serious musician taking electro-pop seriously,
and the result is a dance enthusiast's delight, especially welcome in a genre that is sometimes considered too commercial to be "real."
If you can't see the embedded video player above, clickhere to watch a YouTube video of Little Boots performing "Meddle."
We’re halfway through the year already, so it’s time to present half of a Top 10 list for our Best of the Year So Far. The following top 5 picks are the standouts in the ever-growing americana genre that pulls from all brands of alt country, bluegrass, folk, rock, and blues music. Each of the following titles fall somewhere in that spectrum, if not covering all of them in some cases.
Arriving on the scene in her early teens on the strength of her own written material, 18 year old bluegrass singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz already has the right voice and music for anyone to notice that the young songstress has bluegrass in her soul and can express it with just the right tone. Offering listeners a brand of musical honesty and depth that’s mature beyond her years and mixing it with the rustic reflections of an observant troubadour, Jarosz holds her own with an apparent comfort and ease that bodes well for what she can do for years to come. Playing on the album with some venerated bluegrass greats (including Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, and Samual Grisman of the David Grisman Quintet) but not content to rest on the shoulders of such giants, Jarosz wrote all but two songs on the album herself, with interesting cover choices of Tom Waitsand Colin Meloy (the Decemberists) on the other two tracks. This rising bluegrass singer has laid down a solid foundation on Song Up in Her Head and is poised for great things to come. Let’s hope she will continue to burn as brightly as she has out of the gate.
Long-time fans of Neko Case
will be happy to know that dark and obscure themes continue to rule the
day in her musical world. Neko’s signature caterwauls and crooning
refrains call like a siren beckoning listeners to come to her shores in
a perilous world filled with fairy tale creatures whose purpose as
either friend or foe is not always apparent. That’s to say that Neko’s
off-center lyrics keep the listener just out of reach of her inner
circle. There’s a continuous sense that her songs are intentionally
obscure as if offering more literal insights might expose her to too
much intimacy with the listener. Instead, she offers broad lyrical
strokes that give an impressionistic feeling that remains compelling,
if not always clear. With a litany of cameo appearances on the album
from some great artists including members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, Calexico, Giant Sand, The Sadies, Visqueen, and The Lilys, not
to mention those in her own band, the volume of talent around her
manages to thankfully remain in the pocket of the album instead of
overflowing into it. Ultimately, we’re left to scrutinize the finer
points of Neko Case’s songs to see what clues they can offer about her
fairy tale worlds, but we love hearing her sing about them nonetheless.
Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, by Slaid Cleaves (CD, MP3)
Singer/Songwriter Slaid Cleaves
has been building his musical momentum for a while. And by some accounts, this is the album that defines the best of all 8 of his
albums to date since the mid-90s. Speaking of some accounts, partly
because it’s close to deadline, and more because our customers know
the music AND how to write, I’m highlighting a few lines from
our customer reviews to
help explain why this album is here. I’ll just add that the even keeled blend of folk, country, and
blues with a hint of rock is what propelled this into my list. Fans of Son Volt, T-Bone Burnett, Whiskeytown, and The Jayhawks (all on elevated status in my world!) will gravitate to this release and its
amalgamation of all things Americana. And now for some customer raves:
Hyperbolium
says, “Cleaves sings with a warmth that infuses an element of hope in
the crushing blows he delivers. Is there hard-won pain or only a clever
couplet in singing ‘Every man is a myth, every woman a dream / Watch
your little heart get crushed when the truth gets in between… The album
winds down with a bitter critique of politicians, global industrialists
and sleepwalking media, somehow managing to retain a belief in the
goodness of man. The closer, "Temporary," resigns itself to existential
impermanence.”
Tim Brough “author and music buff” says, “I've long posited on Amazon reviews that Slaid Cleaves is America's best working young folksinger and one of our finest interpretive singers. I considered his Unsungto
be one of that year's best records…. The music, downbeat as the
descriptions sound, is thoroughly likable. The hopeful "Beautiful
Thing" swings hard at the liars and manipulators in the belief that
"the goodness of man" sees us through "the new dark ages."
Colin Spence "grey mist"
says, “His 'matter of fact' delivery of the songs belies the potency of
their lyrics - a qualitative combination that would spell out a recipe
for disaster for some artists. But with SC, his somewhat impassive
vocals serve only to emphasize the intensity of the lyrics - then
again, with some songs I detected just a little more edge to his
singing than on previous albums.”
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, self-titled, (CD, MP3)
Fans of Dave Alvin, who know him from his years with The Blastersand all the goods they delivered in equal turns of blues, rockabilly, and vintage country sounds, should fall nicely into the groove of his latest CD. It offers the added twist of an all-star line-up of some of the biggest female stars in folk and bluegrass yesterday and today. Dubbed The Guilty Women, the group consists of Americana scene vets Christy McWilson, Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, and Amy Farris. Alvin’s gruff baritone mixes with rich female harmonies and plenty of bluegrass string work from violins, lap steel guitars, and mandolins to fill the bucolic scenes and stories that come to life on each track. Here’s hoping that the ubiquity of female talent lingers a little longer to work with Dave on similar projects in the future, too.
Do Wrong Right, by The Devil Makes Three (CD, MP3)
Easily capturing the moniker of most-whimsical band on this list, the rough and tumble sounds of The Devil Makes Three leave their mark sounding like a jug band high on hay fever during a night of partying at the county fair where their music shuffles along in shades of half-sober Dixieland and Cajun styles. With lyrics that are peppered with references to all-nighter pop-offs, it’s fun to imagine what could happen during one of their set breaks: “No one’s getting arrested / no one’s having any fun / doctor’s orders for your heart beatin’ / go ahead and take you one / now you’re dumber than a singin’ saw playing ‘Uncomfortably Numb,’ it’s a thorazine work party with free fluorite bubble gum” and: “You drink a cheap malt liquor from a 40 ounce bottle / a fifth of bourbon and some pills if you got ‘em / but you know you’re goin’ to come down every night / and there ain’t no way that it’ll ever feel satisfied.” If you’re looking for a little entertainment under-the-influence, no prescription needed, check out Do Wrong Right. You won’t have to worry about a hang-over, but be aware of the quick onset of do wrong fun.
More contenders for Best of the Year:
Just to keep things interesting and honest, here are a few more albums that may very well end up on our final best of the year list, but for now they are worth noting to round things out.
It doesn't get much better than this: Classic Steve Earle covering classic Townes van Zandt. Since this is cover album (albeit with incredible songs and equally stunning renditions), this one is not currently in my top 5 list, but as the year goes on, we’ll see if any other better contenders can do a one up.
A solid sophomore follow-up to a good first release, Mescalito. I’m still debating in my head whether the style is overly derivative of Dylan, but the voice definitely is. I think it's probably a vocal preference thing for me. I'm also wondering if there’s a hint of Tom Petty(?!). Still on the fence with it as stylistic questions linger, but definitely some good tracks: “Day is Done,” “Change Is,” and “Hey Hey Hurray.”
This one is being released today as we go to print, so with not enough quality time for a critical listen I’ll have to relegate it to the second tier for now. But judging by the latest video clip, sound samples, and decade-spanning collage from Jay Farrar’s work (including Uncle Tupelo), there is little doubt that this will probably rock-it to the top of my list by the end of the year.
And with that, we wait for more to come in the second half of the year, including those sleepers in the ranks and some anticipated releases later in the year.
1. Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs With equal parts Lush-inspired poppy shoegaze, black metal brutality, and epic atmospherics that bring to mind bands like Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You Black Emperor!, France's Amesoeurs' self-titled debut album (and swan song) could very well be my favorite album of the year. Unable to determine a direction for the band, they decided to call it quits before the album was even released, and it's a real shame. True, the album is a bit schizophrenic--it's completely sung in french by both a male and female singers, and sounds like it could have been recorded by 3 or 4 completely different bands--but that only adds to the "wow" factor of this record, and speaks to the level of talent behind the music. While the sound may occasionally fall on the harder side of indie and alt-rock, tracks like "Faux Semblants" and "I XIII V XIX XV V Xxi XVIII XIX IX XIX IV V I IV" elevate Amesoeurs to levels of heavenly bliss.
2. The Horrors - Primary Colours Primary Colours, the sophomore album from (former) coffin-rockers The Horrors, who's debut album Strange House came out in 2007 to much acclaim, have given themselves a complete makeover with spectacular results. Brimming with post-punk texture, fuzz, and instruments that seem to bend sound like some kind of audio equivalent to CGI, the Horrors brought in Portishead's Geoff Barrow and acclaimed video director Chris Cunningham (who directed the video for "Sheena Is A Parasite" from Strange House, took two years off to learn audio production, and makes his debut as a music producer here) to create Primary Colours. Much like Radiohead's sophomore album The Bends, here is the evidence of a band that initially seemed like a flash in the pan novelty, and now reveals themselves as an artistic force that may be impossible to ignore.
3. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart TPoBPAH (as I will henceforth refer to them) are really awful at naming things, but they make damn good music. Take for example the terribly-titled "Young Adult Friction," an addictive, catchy tale of finding love in the library that bounces with excitement, and manages to sonically capture what it feels like to fall in love. The fact that TPoBPAH sound like a British band circa 1992 when they're in fact New Yorkers circa 2009, that they're on the legendary San Francisco Bay Area fuzz-pop label Slumberland Records, and they've virtually redefined what it means to be a indie rock nerd in the last year only sweeten the deal. A non-stop stream of relentlessly addictive songs doesn't hurt either.
Portland, Oregon's oddly named Point Juncture, WA's latest release, Heart To Elk, employs an intoxicating mix of drums, keys, vibraphone, bass, and horns, along with subtle, squealing atmospheric guitar to create visceral, inpsired sonic pop-scapes. Combining intricate, unexpected and unique melodies with equally equisite harmonies, Point Juncture, WA have, with Heart To Elk, created the kind of album you'll want to put on repeat, one that is instantly gratifying, but also reveals itself over time. Though the band has been playing together for the better part of a decade, they haven't managed to break out of their local scene until this release, which has started to see some well-deserved national recognition--expect big things in the future.
From the first few notes of Sharon Van Etten's debut album, Because I Was In Love, I knew I was in love. Sharon's bell-clear, lilting voice and heartbreaking, deceptively simple melodies create a soft and comfortable bed of beautiful melancholy that's hard to resist being drawn into. Like legendary folk mistresses Sandy Denny, Vashti Bunyan, Judee Sill, and Julie Doiron before her, Van Etten's songs are intense, beautiful, and each and every one is a gem. What makes Because I Was In Love so special is that it's so intimate--it puts itself so plainly on display, and it's sadness is tangible. Gorgeous, stunning, and essential.
I'm sure there will be complaints that I didn't call out Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Neko Case, or (insert your favorite band here). Sorry! Share the goodness, and let us know what indie and alt-rock albums you're digging on so far this year in the comments.
D.Folks' self-released album Jupiter doesn't stay in one place very
long, moving seamlessly between organic, '80s-indebted, uptempo pop and
contemporary loverman R&B in a way that's more refreshing than
schizophrenic. Jupiter is an album that both parents and kids will
enjoy, but would probably never enjoy together as a family. Songs like
"Superficial World" bring to mind not only the golden era of his fellow
Virginians the Neptunes' production career, but also their label signee
Robin Thicke. "Falling In Love Again," on the other hand sounds almost
like a soul song for the Yacht Rock set, which is a surprisingly good
thing. D. Folks' closest contemporary is Van Hunt, who is also
currently working sans-label. Maybe they're onto something.
As they're both from Bergen, Norway and seem to share most of the same influences, it's difficult to imagine Matias Tellez as anything but the sequel to Sondre Lerche. Clouds in particular sounds like an extension of Phantom Punch, only written by a teenager. This is charmingly spastic, raucous rock, a musical expression of what it is to be young. This will likely make you feel joyful or awkward. For me, it's a little of both.
Assembled by a crew of some premier sidemen, this fluid set of thumping
soul is the sort of album that as fun to listen to as
it seems like it was to make. With one eye pointed towards the past and the other one
winking, they show love for not only the funky greats of the past 30
years, but affection for kitsch, too. Vosotros takes their motto,
"music for you-all," seriously. They've made the album available as a free download for a limited time and licensed it under Creative Commons to encourage sharing. Enjoy it, remix it, and tell your friends.
Though she's had a song featured on a couple of TV shows you might recognize, there's a good chance you don't know about the Swedish singer-songwriter Miss Li. "I Heard of a Girl" is somewhere between the Cure and Belle and Sebastian, only sung by a dark, unknowable pixie. Much of the rest drifts towards cabaret or '60s girl group sounds. It's pop with a weird streak, salty and sweet, all delicious.
Shimmering, lo-fi, and glorious, Build a Garden feels like the
early work of Beulah, only more earnest and with boy-girl vocals.
Featuring more low-key revamps of four songs from last year's Build it Up and another four new cuts, my only complaint is that the serving size is too small.
The somber songs that make up Catacombs are a continuation of McCombs's earlier work A, Prefectionand display a mature evenhanded approach to songwriting and arranging. Songs like "Eavesdropping on the Competition," a quiet waltz of vocal harmonies with just a spare drum, rising pedal steel, and piano; and the sweetly disturbing Lennon-esque lament, "My Sister, My Spouse," replace the former hit-or-miss melodramatic flourishes of his earlier work. While "Lionkiller Got Married," anchored by a driving pulse continues the somewhat autobiographical narrative started on Dropping the Writ--its classic McCombs: poetic lyrics, his characteristic falsetto, and tenuous pondering, "I wonder why anyone in their right mind/would get married nowadays."
Neko Case's fifth studio album carries all the hallmarks of her previous work: peerless melodies, lyrical imagery, dynamic phrasing, and incomparable vocals. The difference here is the album pulls even further away from her alt-country roots, sounding like a middle '60s album, especially in "People Got a Lot of Nerve," with it's Byrds-esque chorus, in "Vengeance Is Sleeping" which echoes Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell, and in "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth," where Case brings an earthy wholesomeness to the Sparks's original. Another standout, "This Tornado Loves You," (an apt title given Case's all-enveloping approach) is an all-out wall of sound only nearly matching her huge vocals. Like this song, the entire album is loud, warm, and inescapable.
St. Vincent's Annie Clark presents dramatically playful yet fatalistic songs on Actor that course through dark, internal spaces but gleam, glittered with bellike synths and antique-sounding chamber instruments. Shadowy opener "The Strangers" intones "paint the black hole blacker" against a modern ragtime, "Marrow" opens with a shimmering Terry Riley-like modal figure and blooms into an electrified dancefloor anthem, and later "Just the Same But Brand New" is delicate (and still dark) where Clark channels Cocteau Twins Elizabeth Fraser.
On a lighter side, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Beware, is reverent, joyful frolic--a marked departure from BPB's usual darkness. It plays much like the soundtrack to an idyllic farm summer--all careless sunny hayrides, impromptu sing-a-longs, and jug-band nights. Owing much to the workingman's Dead, "You Don't Love Me" shrugs off unrequited love as not much to worry about, "I Don't Belong to Anyone" is a waltzy daydream where BPB sings "it's kind of easy to have some fun/when you don't belong to anyone." The lightness continues on "I Am Goodbye." It's effortless and complete with ecstatic hoedown hey-hos.
