Ariane Moffatt's "Tous Les Sens"
Imagine a French-Canadian Imogen heap, with a splash of Regina Spektor (during the piano parts). Both her electronic tinge and her singing in Quebecois, with a lilt are heavenly. I never noticed how the natural pitch of it lends it self to this, much like K'Naan's rapping in Somali. "Tous Les Sens" is my favorite, but "Éternel Instant Présent" and "Tes Invectives" are pretty great as well. My album of last week.
Riverboat Gambler's "Underneath the Owl"
Since I will be seeing them with Rancid, and more importantly Rise Against at an outdoor show in June, I figured I should give them a listen. And what a treat this was. Dashes of Bouncing Souls, The AKAs, and the more hard Gaslight Anthem vibe, basically an epitome of Philly Street Punk, with perfect sing-a-longs. "Alexandria" is the tops here, followed by "Dissdissdisskisskisskiss" and "A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology". Oh and if you have a chance to see Rise Against outdoors, DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! They are great indoors, but they are meant for open air shows. It's like ecstasy for your ears, and Tim spends half the time in the crowd.
Fischerspooner's "Entertainment"
These dudes are weird, but I like bands with double last names (see JamisonParker), and New York fucking owns electroclash. If you don't know what that means, I pity you. The downside here is that the album is clearly front loaded, with the first three tracks being the best."Danse en France" should have been last instead of penultimate, its too weird to transition back to normality.
Chuck Ragan's "Feast Or Famine"
After picking up the acoustic solo album from Tom Gabel of Against Me! I thought I should look into the same from the lead singer of Hot Water Music, another Gainesville proto-punk band. This one was less lyrically, but more musically. "Geraldine" and "California Burritos" tie for best in show, the latter of which features lots of accordion. This album is more soulful than I would have expected, with many echos of Johnny Cash, and that makes it all the better. Like Gabel's solo effort, Ragan outshines his compadres.
Boy In Static's "Candy Cigarettes"
I got this just because of the title, which is only sometimes a good idea. This is a sometimes. Mellow, ambient shoegaze lies within. Oh and he is has been playing viola since he was 8, got your attention now don't I? Give "Toy Baby Grand", "Young San Fransisco", and "LA Runaways" a listen.
Tiger Lillies's "The Gorey End (feat. Kronos Quartet)"
Wow I love Tiger Lillies. A more insane, more dark version of Dresden Dolls. And this is a concept album based on Edward Gorey (The Gashlycrumb Tinies). Everything this sung with falsetto and backed by accordion. "ABC" is so morbidly funny too:
K is for Kris with a blade that is wavy,
One wonders why somebody smeared it with gravy.
L’s for a letter that lay in a trunk,
Its contents explain how the dinghy was sunk.
M is for madhouse where is confined
A lady whose friends say she’s out of her mind.
Röyksopp's "Junior"
I've only gotten one listen so I'll hold off a proper write up for next week, but Norwegian electronica is pretty awesome. Why about cold weather makes all Scandinavians and Canadians awesome with a synth???
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
New Music 03-08-09
This week we have:
K'Naan's "Troubadour" 14 tracks
Not exactly new, but I finally got around to taking notes on it. This is now my frontrunner for album of the year (besting "Home" from Gavin Castleton, which still has the best liner notes I have ever seen). When I took notes I made mention of 10 out of the 14 tracks. Yeah its that good. I even like the song featuring Adam Levine from Maroon 5 and the one with the dude from Metallica. That is a fucking achievement. Also he raps in Somali, which is just beautiful. Sometime a language lends itself to a style of music and they are perfect together.
MGMT's "Time to Pretend EP" 6 tracks
This one is actually OLD, 2005. But I found it at Record Collector (along with Carla Bruni). Do these people just buy CDs to rip them, then sell them? It feautres two of my favs from Oracular: Kids and Time to Pretend, the former when mashed up with Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" is my favorite song right now. "Love Always Remains" has echos of Postal Service, and the chant chorus at the end is genius. "Indie Rokkers" is great, but with "Destrokk" they have severe over used Ks. Boogie Down is not great at all, but the others make up for it. Personally I can't wait for Congratulations to drop around late August
Tom Gabel's "Heart Burns EP" 7(9?) tracks
How did I miss this last summer? In fairness I was still "Powerpop Adam" so it might have been lost on me. As stated in a recent status, I regard this more highly than any Against Me!, except maybe New Wave (not the Ben Lee cover version). More personal and emotive than AM! but keeping that production from New Wave. "Harsh Realms" and "Conceptual Paths" are good, but the stand outs are both Bonus Tracks. Sure the regular version of "Random Hearts" is good, but the acoustic version is miles above. Style matters dude, and a song that drenched in meaning needs an acoustic guitar. I don't make the rules I just enforce them. "I Can't See You, But I Know You're There" is also acoustic and the line "I got my new favorite record today, My favorites change every single day, except you" rivals anything Max Bemis can pen, being both self referential and romantic. But he gets props for having an EP clock in over 25 minutes and 9 tracks. Ballsy.
Superbus' "Lova Lova" 13 tracks
Just got this today, and it is on the 4th listen. As great as Metric is (see below), being French Canadian, they are bested by actual French singing in French. Sounds like a better version of Paramore (as I told Kirsten, classier since they are French) or old No Doubt., but with more synths. What do you expect, they ARE European. I am pretty sure there are laws about that (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, maybe?) "Keyhole" reminds me of the sex appeal of the Faint or Blaqk Audio, but "Call Girl" is a little too europop for my tastes. The standouts here are the English-sung "Just like the Old Days" and its mention of the 1980s groove and "Gogo Dance Show" and its spell-chanting of G-O-G-O-. They really shine with the French sung "Addictions" (see posted link), "A La Verticale", "Lova Lova", and"Apprendre Moi" the latter two being the best on the album.
Cursive's "Mama, I'm Swollen 10(15?) tracks
Classic Cursive, and nothing much more. Something about his style rarely leads to stand outs, but "From the Hips" is amazing especially the opening lines of the verses (which are ruined when typed). I have gotten to listen to the bonus tracks, which promise something special-- alternate lyrics for 3 songs, with one having an extra verse. "Going to Hell" is also pretty good by itself.
The Decemberist's "Hazards of Love" 17 tracks
You read that right, 17 songs. Total time is just under an hour, bravo Colin Meloy! I love the cross fade outros in the first half. I just kind of wish the 4 parts of "Hazards Of Love" were in succession, something feels lost as is. "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" blew my mind. I resumed my listen with it and it is so different form their usual style I thought I had my player on shuffle. I don't want to ruin this since I bet most all of you will get it in a couple weeks, so all I'll say for individual songs is that "Hazards of Love 1" is my favorite. Also it is nice to be able to write about this...finally.
Metric's "Fantasies" 10(13?) tracks
Not really as great as the pre-order bundle lead me to believe, but still good and new stuff from Emily Haines' angel voice is always appreciated (speaking of which I should grab some Soft Skeleton soon). "Gimme Sympathy" is "Fant"astic, though I kind of prefer the acoustic version (I can't help my acoustical mood). "Help, I'm Alive" might be their best single since "Combat Baby", maybe I'm just hoping for a return to Static Anonymity sound... "Stadium Love" has the most going in the background and is the most fun, easily the best to hear live, even if it sounds like she is saying "Steel Love". Oh and how did "Waves" not make the album? That is just silliness...And who decided to limit that version to 500 copies???? FOR SHAME!!!
K'Naan's "Troubadour" 14 tracks
Not exactly new, but I finally got around to taking notes on it. This is now my frontrunner for album of the year (besting "Home" from Gavin Castleton, which still has the best liner notes I have ever seen). When I took notes I made mention of 10 out of the 14 tracks. Yeah its that good. I even like the song featuring Adam Levine from Maroon 5 and the one with the dude from Metallica. That is a fucking achievement. Also he raps in Somali, which is just beautiful. Sometime a language lends itself to a style of music and they are perfect together.
MGMT's "Time to Pretend EP" 6 tracks
This one is actually OLD, 2005. But I found it at Record Collector (along with Carla Bruni). Do these people just buy CDs to rip them, then sell them? It feautres two of my favs from Oracular: Kids and Time to Pretend, the former when mashed up with Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" is my favorite song right now. "Love Always Remains" has echos of Postal Service, and the chant chorus at the end is genius. "Indie Rokkers" is great, but with "Destrokk" they have severe over used Ks. Boogie Down is not great at all, but the others make up for it. Personally I can't wait for Congratulations to drop around late August
Tom Gabel's "Heart Burns EP" 7(9?) tracks
How did I miss this last summer? In fairness I was still "Powerpop Adam" so it might have been lost on me. As stated in a recent status, I regard this more highly than any Against Me!, except maybe New Wave (not the Ben Lee cover version). More personal and emotive than AM! but keeping that production from New Wave. "Harsh Realms" and "Conceptual Paths" are good, but the stand outs are both Bonus Tracks. Sure the regular version of "Random Hearts" is good, but the acoustic version is miles above. Style matters dude, and a song that drenched in meaning needs an acoustic guitar. I don't make the rules I just enforce them. "I Can't See You, But I Know You're There" is also acoustic and the line "I got my new favorite record today, My favorites change every single day, except you" rivals anything Max Bemis can pen, being both self referential and romantic. But he gets props for having an EP clock in over 25 minutes and 9 tracks. Ballsy.
Superbus' "Lova Lova" 13 tracks
Just got this today, and it is on the 4th listen. As great as Metric is (see below), being French Canadian, they are bested by actual French singing in French. Sounds like a better version of Paramore (as I told Kirsten, classier since they are French) or old No Doubt., but with more synths. What do you expect, they ARE European. I am pretty sure there are laws about that (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, maybe?) "Keyhole" reminds me of the sex appeal of the Faint or Blaqk Audio, but "Call Girl" is a little too europop for my tastes. The standouts here are the English-sung "Just like the Old Days" and its mention of the 1980s groove and "Gogo Dance Show" and its spell-chanting of G-O-G-O-. They really shine with the French sung "Addictions" (see posted link), "A La Verticale", "Lova Lova", and"Apprendre Moi" the latter two being the best on the album.
Cursive's "Mama, I'm Swollen 10(15?) tracks
Classic Cursive, and nothing much more. Something about his style rarely leads to stand outs, but "From the Hips" is amazing especially the opening lines of the verses (which are ruined when typed). I have gotten to listen to the bonus tracks, which promise something special-- alternate lyrics for 3 songs, with one having an extra verse. "Going to Hell" is also pretty good by itself.
The Decemberist's "Hazards of Love" 17 tracks
You read that right, 17 songs. Total time is just under an hour, bravo Colin Meloy! I love the cross fade outros in the first half. I just kind of wish the 4 parts of "Hazards Of Love" were in succession, something feels lost as is. "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" blew my mind. I resumed my listen with it and it is so different form their usual style I thought I had my player on shuffle. I don't want to ruin this since I bet most all of you will get it in a couple weeks, so all I'll say for individual songs is that "Hazards of Love 1" is my favorite. Also it is nice to be able to write about this...finally.
Metric's "Fantasies" 10(13?) tracks
Not really as great as the pre-order bundle lead me to believe, but still good and new stuff from Emily Haines' angel voice is always appreciated (speaking of which I should grab some Soft Skeleton soon). "Gimme Sympathy" is "Fant"astic, though I kind of prefer the acoustic version (I can't help my acoustical mood). "Help, I'm Alive" might be their best single since "Combat Baby", maybe I'm just hoping for a return to Static Anonymity sound... "Stadium Love" has the most going in the background and is the most fun, easily the best to hear live, even if it sounds like she is saying "Steel Love". Oh and how did "Waves" not make the album? That is just silliness...And who decided to limit that version to 500 copies???? FOR SHAME!!!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
"Nick and Norah" vs. "Once" vs. "I'm Not There"
I recently re-watched all these and in doing so I noticed that each has a certain "je ne sais quoi" about them. For a brief moment I even "Once" consider that to be my favorite of the three.
Nick and Norah's Infiinite Playlist
This movie is the favorite, in large part because it has arguable the best of the soundtracks. We all know I love indie rock and this movie may have the best soundtrack I have ever heard. Plus the story is very funny and at times ridiculous. While a movie about people swriling around each other ending in romance it never really gets sappy at all. And the gum bit is grossly hilarious if you follow it.
I'm Not There
The Bob Dylan biopic. Featuring about a dozen people playing him at various points, possibly gets second because of how passable Cate Blanchett is as a man. I love Bob Dylan's work, not as much as Woody Guthrie. Guthrie basically invented anything considered "folk" or "Americana" and solely defines a generation and era of the great depression, plus his guitar "kills fascists" which is pretty damn impressive. So the story is so captivating. The soundtrack is somewhat lackluster, and contains far too much Calexico for my taste since a little goes a long way. Iit does have some serious heavy hitters and is a two disc affair.
Once
I love me some Irish music. Glen Hansard is kind of a genius and Marketa aint bad either. The soundtrack is pretty fucking awesome, especially "Falling Slowly" (he won an Oscar for it) and "Broken Hearted Hoover Sucker Fixer Guy", which reminds me of the songs from "Death To Smoochy". Mellow Irish/Czech fusion indie with just a touch of longing in the heart, brilliant. But, to be perfectly honest the movie isn't that inspiring. It is kind of a huge downer, and neither is a particularly good actor. I would have much preferred them use really actors and then fake the songs.
Last in listening to music for Friday's show (Sam Lowry this time, man is a broody genius), I was thinking about how there is no real Americana movie. Walk the Line, only kind of counts since Johnny Cash had strong gospel and country inclinations. Sure he was dark enough, but that is just not enough for a man like me. Someone should fix this. Also, I think I might just watch "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" tomorrow....
Nick and Norah's Infiinite Playlist
This movie is the favorite, in large part because it has arguable the best of the soundtracks. We all know I love indie rock and this movie may have the best soundtrack I have ever heard. Plus the story is very funny and at times ridiculous. While a movie about people swriling around each other ending in romance it never really gets sappy at all. And the gum bit is grossly hilarious if you follow it.
I'm Not There
The Bob Dylan biopic. Featuring about a dozen people playing him at various points, possibly gets second because of how passable Cate Blanchett is as a man. I love Bob Dylan's work, not as much as Woody Guthrie. Guthrie basically invented anything considered "folk" or "Americana" and solely defines a generation and era of the great depression, plus his guitar "kills fascists" which is pretty damn impressive. So the story is so captivating. The soundtrack is somewhat lackluster, and contains far too much Calexico for my taste since a little goes a long way. Iit does have some serious heavy hitters and is a two disc affair.
Once
I love me some Irish music. Glen Hansard is kind of a genius and Marketa aint bad either. The soundtrack is pretty fucking awesome, especially "Falling Slowly" (he won an Oscar for it) and "Broken Hearted Hoover Sucker Fixer Guy", which reminds me of the songs from "Death To Smoochy". Mellow Irish/Czech fusion indie with just a touch of longing in the heart, brilliant. But, to be perfectly honest the movie isn't that inspiring. It is kind of a huge downer, and neither is a particularly good actor. I would have much preferred them use really actors and then fake the songs.
Last in listening to music for Friday's show (Sam Lowry this time, man is a broody genius), I was thinking about how there is no real Americana movie. Walk the Line, only kind of counts since Johnny Cash had strong gospel and country inclinations. Sure he was dark enough, but that is just not enough for a man like me. Someone should fix this. Also, I think I might just watch "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" tomorrow....
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