inhighfidelity

Lift To Experience - The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads

2011-03-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

In 2001, Lift To Experience released what we at In(High)Fidelity like to call a Stone-Cold Classic: an album that transcends time and place; an album that we listen to just as much now as we did when it was first released. Joshua T. Pearson, the group’s singer/songwriter/guitarist, is about to release his first solo album since the band’s untimely demise, so we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on one of our all-time favorite albums.
Championed by John Peel, Lift To Experience were a three-piece band from Texas. Their one and only album is an epic song cycle built around the idea that Armageddon is on its way and God has called upon three Texas boys to lead his people to the Promised Land. In the hands of Pearson – the son of a preacher – the band addresses the religious themes in a manner that is both poetic and bad-ass – the music drenched in beautiful squalls of guitar,waves of feedback and hard-hitting drums.
There is an air of mystery about The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads that has only grown in the years since the disintegration of the band - not long after the release of the album - and Pearson’s retreat from the spotlight. Perhaps it is the Catholic guilt that I carry around that draws me back to this album again and again, however I’m more inclined to think it is just because it is an amazing album.

Listen to Lift To Experience: Down Came The Angels (The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads)

JOSH T.PEARSON (LIFT TO EXPERIENCE) - down came the angels by rocktympans

Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo (2010)

2011-03-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hailing from Long Beach, California, Avi Buffalo have a sound that hints at a childhood spent listening to Built To Spill, Nels Cline-era Wilco, and Neil Young. Of course, I have no idea what Avi Buffalo's main man, Avi Zahner-Isenberg, listened to growing up and am merely projecting the sounds bouncing around my head onto these altogether fresh new musical works (everyone likes a reference point).
The songs on this album were written across a three year period, beginning when Avi was only sixteen years-old and still in high school. To recollect the horrible school-boy-full-of-angst poetry I was spewing into my journal when I was sixteen is beyond cringe-inducing at the best of times; but when I listen to what someone like Avi is able to put to paper (and then to wax with beautiful music to accompany it), I want to go back in time and destroy all of sixteen year-old me's writing tools.
The music on Avi Buffalo's self-titled debut is upbeat and poppy, with some rather excellent guitar-work woven through many of the tunes (particularly the excellent Remember Last Time). The tunes are both rootsy and whimsical, with Avi's sweet falsetto croon creating an otherwordly feel. This is music to get lost in.

Listen To Avi Buffalo: Remember Last Time (from the self-titled album, Avi Buffalo)

Avi Buffalo - Remember Last Time by subpop

Sharon Van Etten - Epic (2010)

2011-03-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

A girl in Tennessee wants to write music and sing songs but her boyfriend is unsupportive of said girl’s creative endeavors (very unsupportive). Girl leaves boyfriend, writes songs about the end of a relationship; heartbreak and sorrow abound. Girl records songs and releases her first album – a plaintive affair which combines girls beautiful vocals with a lone acoustic guitar. People begin to take note.
Girl begins to heal from aforementioned heartbreak (as much as one can heal from heartbreak, I suppose) and writes a new batch of songs. This time she is not singing about her boyfriend as much as stepping out from an oppressive relationship into a world full of possibility (though a world still fraught with relationship struggles); a little wiser and a little stronger than before.
Instead of just a guitar, the girl works with a producer who augments her songs with more sounds: some drums, some slide guitar, multi-tracked vocals and a little echo here and there. The album is a departure from the earlier work – albeit a slight one – and the girl playfully calls the seven song mini-album Epic. Her voice is powerful and fragile all at once. Her songs are excellent and stay with you long after the final note has been played. The girl’s name is Sharon Van Etten.

Listen to Sharon Van Etten: Don't Do It (from the album Epic)

Sharon Van Etten - Don't Do It by skipsterus

That Was Then... This Now.

2011-03-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

The Night Is Long...

2009-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

In(High)Fidelity is on an in(def)inite hiatus...

Common Market - The Winter's End EP (Hyena Records, 2008)

2009-04-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

With few exceptions, the state of modern-era commercial hip hop is a very sad one. "Bling" is most certainly not in, as the average man and woman on the street is more concerned with where their next rent check is coming from, as opposed to how many diamonds (see: cubic zirconia) they can fit onto one ring. The "fairytale-nightmare" of thug-life has come to a crashing halt.
Luckily, the underground is ready to surface. In fact, dynamic acts such as Aesop Rock, EL-P, Blue Scholars, and the mighty Common Market have been keeping hip hop alive - albeit under the radar.
Tobacco Road, Common Market's 2008 masterpiece was an amazing leap forward from their strong debut album - and has been on high rotation at In(High)Fidelity since it hit the streets last September. Tracks such as Trouble Is, 40 Acres and Nina Sing, highlight Common Market's aim to raise people's consciousness and at the same time raise their hands.
While Common Market - DJ Sabzi on the ones-and-twos / RA Scion rocking the mic - never shy away from weighty topics, The Winter's End EP (a digital only release), seeks to bring to a close the themes on Tobacco Road; to welcome in Spring in the Northern Hemisphere; and to also give Common Market fans something to sink their teeth into before another full-length drops.
Common Market is hip-hop for fans of good music. Their creativity and the message they carry with it appear to be growing sronger and stronger with every release.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/commonmarket

Record Strore Day Rundown

2009-04-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

As you may be aware, your trusty scribe has been know to lend his pen to other publications whenever the mood strikes. Check out Ben's latest piece for The Rundown, where he talks up the glory that is Record Store Day. Click here!

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Slumberland Records, 2009)

2009-04-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

From the opening jangly guitars of Contender, the first song from the Pains of Being Pure At Heart's debut self-titled album, you will find yourself immdeiately hooked by the echoes of Brit-Pop's glory days circa 1986. The warm, infectious melodies; the superb boy/girl harmonies of singer-guitarist, Kip, and keyboard player-vocalist, Peggy, are enought to set your head swimming.
With an album running time of 34 minutes 58 secs - The Pains Of Being At Heart find a way to incorporate elements of shoe-gaze, good old-fashioned pop hooks and teenlove angst into songs that will be playing over-and-over in your head long after the record has stopped spinning.
Young Adult Friction is a perfect example of the band's winning combination.
Wall-of-sound guitars, fragile vocals, a propulsive drum beat - and the repeated refrain of "Don't Check Me Out" that closes out the song, which begs for a crwod sing-a-long.
Other songs on the album, including This Love Is Fucking Right! and A Teenager In Love, give you a firm indication of what this band is about. Forget about Heartbreak and 808s - try out some heartbreak with drums, bass, guitars and vocals. You will find it far more rewarding.
The Pains Of Being Pure Heart's bandwagon is well-and-truly rolling, and we here at In(High)Fidelity are hitching a ride. Ignore them at your own peril.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/thepainsofbeingpureatheart

It Ain't No Surprise - Leopold and his Fiction (Native Fiction Records, 2009)

2009-03-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man is without doubt one of the coolest, darkest films about the wild-west ever made. In the opening sequence, a meek accountant, played by Jonny Depp, finds himself stranded in the frontier town of Machine - a place not entirely dissimilar to hell on earth.
Machine is the complete antithesis of Mill Valley - the wild-west version of Marty McFly's hometown, depicted in Back To The Future III (possibly the weakest link in one of the greatest trilogies of all time). Even Bufford "Mad Dog" Tannen would not survive long in a town like Machine.
Which, in a round-about-way, brings us to Leopold and his Fiction - a very fine rock 'n roll band who hail from present-day San Francisco. Their sound is grounded in American roots music - blues, country, and healthy doses of garage rock. However, there is an edge to their music, a darkness at the edge of town that leads one to believe that they would be the perfect house band for the Machine Tavern - surely not a place for the faint of heart.
The band's debut album (featured here in 2008) revealed a band with a lot of promise, and Ain't No Suprise firmly delivers on that promise. In the louder moments (hear the excellent Sun's Only Promise), the band gives themself space to stretch out - crashing cymbals punctuating the howling guitar and organ leads. The quieter moments are more reflective, an acoustic slide-guitar accompanied by a plaintive, almost wistful voice, as on the gentle Tiger Lily.
Ain't No Surprise is one of the great new albums of 2009 and should serve to bring Leopold and his Fiction to a much wider audience. Here at In(High)Fidleity HQ, we are only to happy to do our part to help make that notion a reality.

Check Out: www.leopoldandhisfiction.com

Bon Iver - Blood Bank (Jagjaguwar, 2009)

2009-03-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

At times, I am prone to making hyperbolic comments such as "I think the world would be a better place if everyone took the time to listen to Bon Iver at least once a day." However, is it hyperbole if I genuinely believe it to be true?
With their debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver more-or-less took over my stereo in 2008. I bought the album on CD and then upgraded to vinyl. I proceeded to buy copies for friends and family, imploring anyone within earshot to immerse themselves in the restrained emotional beauty that was sure to pour forth from the speakers.
Blood Bank is a four-song EP that builds upon the foundation set by For Emma, Forever Ago, and while the sound isn't a grand departure from the earlier album, I am certainly not complaining. The EPs final track, Woods, is a beguiling piece of music, on which Bon Iver main man, Justin Vernon, builds an entire song out of a single couplet, that is multi-tracked time and time again and manipulated with the studio tool of the day: auto-tuning. Woods is strange, fantastical and fantastic all at once.
If I had to make one criticism of Blood Bank, it is that with only four songs, it is over all too quickly. That is a pretty piss-weak criticism, though. If you have not yet discovered Bon Iver, wait no longer.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/boniver

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Primary Colours (Aarght/Shock 2008)

2008-10-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hailing from In(High)Fidelity's musical and spiritual home of Melbourne, Australia, Eddy Current Suppression Ring hark back to a time when Australian bands like The Saints and Radio Birdman played brash, bratty rock'n'roll - and played it well. In a time when it is increasingly difficult to find a rock'n'roll band who plays just that: good, old-fashioned, meat-and-potatoes rock'n'roll; Eddy Current Suppression Ring need no bells or whistles to set themselves apart from the pack.
Drums, bass and guitars lock on to a groove; singer, Brendan Suppression, sings-speaks-screams over the top of a mighty fine raucous sound, and everyone is happy - i.e. all the folks here at In(High)Fideltity HQ.
The grooves are catchy as hell and embed themselves deep into your sub-conscious. It is just like that time when you and your mates were driving at high speed up the Hume Highway, listening to Neu!, just before ducking into the Dubbo zoo.
Brendan Suppression's lyrics are at times playful, yet for the most part, are poignant reflections of life in these troubled times (though he would probably never admit as much). The band leaves all pretension at the door, and yet, their ability to write intelligent songs - while never abandoning the brashness - is something to behold. Colour Television is perhaps the greatest anti-T.V. song since the Disposable Heroes Of Hyhoprisy's early 90's classic, Television. While, I Admit My Faults, is a man owning the fact that he is imperfect - something quite a few people should come to terms with.
The album's pinnacle, though, is the rip-roaring Which Way To Go - a sure bet for our end-of-year, best of 2008 list. Meat and potatoes never tasted so good.

Key Tracks: Which Way To Go, Wrapped Up, Colour Television, I Admint My Faults.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/eddycurrentsuppressionring

Rock'n'Roll Rundown

2008-10-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Our intrepid editor has been known to lend his pen to publications other than the amazingly good In(High)Fidelity. Check out his most recent work for L.A.'s Rundown right here: Rock'n'Roll Rundown. You're sure to recognize a few old favorites and a couple of new ones.

Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins (Jagjaguwar, 2008)

2008-10-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

You know things have been busy at In(High)Fidelity HQ when we've have had our hands on the new Okkervil River album for over a month, and haven't yet found the time to write about it. For those of you who haven't been paying attention, we think that Okkervil River are the bee's knees, or, as Reinhoff would say: the cat's pyjamas.
Make no mistake, with the release of The Stand-Ins, our expectations prior to hearing the album were ridiculously high. Having seen the band improve with each new release, anything but the best could have very well tainted our view of Okkervil River permanently (Editor's Note: We have recently been researching the difference between "super fan" and "stalker" - luckily, we are still a short way from "stalker" status).
The Stand-Ins is an amazing album, and, quite possibly, the band's finest-to-date. At this point in his career, Will Sheff has few equals. His literary talent with words is explified on the Stand-Ins with tracks like Singer Songwriter, Blue Tulip, and On Tour With Zykos. His voice packs more of a punch than ever before and the band is on fire.
Holding a mirror up to both the life of a working rock'nroll band and the world of stage and screen might end up as a self-referential wank-fest in the hands of any other band. However, Okkervil River are not any other band. The subject matter is handled with a mixture of affection, empathy and disdain, backed by a soundtrack that reminds us of a time when the album, as a format, was still king.
I could write an entire thesis on this album, however, reading that would simply detract from the time you should be spending listening to it. So get out there and start listening.

Key Tracks: Lost Coastlines, Blue Tulip, On Tour With Zykos

Check Out: www.okkervilriver.com

Peter Bradley Adams - Leavetaking (Sarathan Records, 2008)

2008-09-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

Leavetaking, the second solo album from Peter Bradley Adams, is a warm and inviting exercise in less-is-more songwriting. A mostly mellow affair, Adams mines a rich vein of American music that dates back to the Laurel Canyon crowd of the sixties and beyond. It is an album rich in texture and emotion, the sound of a man quietly pouring his heart out onto tape.
Prior to striking out on his own, Adams was a member of Eastmountainsouth, a group that was signed to the Dreamworks label by Robbie Robertson, a key member of The Band. If an endorsement from In(High)Fidelity isn't enough to grab your attention, then it would be foolhardy to ignore the judgement of a man, who in addition to being a part of the classic Americana album, Music From Big Pink, also served time with Bob Dylan and played an intrical part in the recording of the Basement Tapes.
Peter Bradley Adams sings with the conviction of a man who has lived, loved and lost. The album's opening track, The Longer I Run, speaks of an man suffering for his art, a man who "breaks his own heart to keep writing these songs". While, Under My Skin, is a paen to a love that transcends the everyday, the kind of love that consumes you whole.
Peter Bradley Adams is a modern-day troubadour of the highest order, and Leavetaking is an album that will stay with you long after the final note has played.

Key Tracks: The Longer I Run, Under My Skin, Always

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/peterbradleyadams

Why? - Alopecia (Anticon, 2008)

2008-08-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Simeon's Dilemma is one of finest tracks on Why?'s incredibly fine album, Alopecia. It also utilizes an interesting spelling of the name 'Simon'; it looks Old Testament. Stranger still, is the little known story of how I came to be made aware of Why?'s music. Not very oddly, my old housemate - an excellent source for quality music - alerted me to the existence of Why?, recommending I give them a listen.
My old housemate's name: Simeon (spelt with an 'e').
Yet, the story does not stop there, for before I was able to give Why? a listen, I received another email from Simeon. He faced a dilemma brought on by a heady mixture of hard inner-city living, a fondness for the amber ale, life as a part-time student and a full-time connoisseur of only the finest musical delights.
Simeon's Dilemma
Weird... and Why?'s music is a little bit weird too, but in a very cool way. An eclectic melding of inie-guitar-pop-meets-a-little-bit-folkie-meets-ernest-hip-hop-troubadour. When is the NME going to start coming to me for genre descriptions?
Alopecia is an album unlike anything else your'e likely to hear this year. It is utterly original; a melding of music, words, and mulitple genres in order to create something entirely new.
Aside from all of my hype, though, the music is just really good. Listening to this type of music will make you cooler.

Key Tracks: The Vowels, Pt. 2; The Hollows; Fatalist Palmistry

Check Out: www.myspace.com/whyanticon

Girl Talk - Feed The Animals (Illegal Art, 2008)

2008-07-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Building upon the sampladelic stylings of 2006's much-lauded, Night Ripper, Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) has taken his cut-and-paste-on-crack stylings to even greater heights on his latest release, Feed The Animals.
For music-nerds and dancefloor-fiends the world over, each new Girl Talk release is like some teenage wet-dream: a popping, locking, and dropping trip through modern musical history. Girl Talk's ability to bring seemingly disparate musical genres together is quite astounding; his ability to borrow from a multitude of artists to create something entirely new and original is, quite simply, jaw-droppingly brilliant.
To give you some idea of why we are so in awe of Girl Talk's skills, it is reported that in order to create Feed The Animals, Gillis managed to squeeze somewhere in the the vicinity of 300 hundred samples into the albums 14 tracks. Yet, it is not simply the number of the samples, but the way in which they are seemelessly interwoven, that reveals the true genius of Girl Talk.
Currently our favorite album track, Hands In The Air, blends Tag Team's Whoomp! There It Is, with Big Country's, In A Big Country, with Kraftwerk, and Hot Chip, and Afrikaa Bambastaa, and the Velvet Underground, and Aerosmith, and Michael Jackson, and Genesis, and so on and so forth. Excellent.
So, while copyright attorneys the world over breathe a collective sigh of despair, download Feed The Animals for the price you wish to pay, before the physical version hits record stores in September.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/girltalk

In(High)Fidelity Giveaway!!! Falcon!!!

2008-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

You need only look below this posting to see what we think of Falcon's very cool debut EP. Now - in conjunction with the Planetary Group - In(High)Fidelity is happy to present you with the opportunity to win a copy of this stunningly assured set of songs.

The first two people who send benedmonds@hotmail.com an email, with "Falcon Giveaway Yes Please" in the subject line, will each receive a copy of the EP... Good luck.

Falcon - Self-Titled EP (Friends Of The American Songbook, 2008)

2008-07-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Falcon's debut EP is as good as any that In(High)Fidelity has heard in recent times. Soaring and cinematic, even at is most powerful moments, there is a fragility to Falcon's music that keeps it from floating beyond the stratosphere.
Jared Falcon was a song-writing prodigy in the small town of Petaluma, California. Recording over 300 songs onto a Fisher Price tape recorder before finishing high school. To say that Falcon was prolific a prolific writer would be an understatement. Sadly, though, while Falcon was able to translate his view of the world into songs of heartbreaking beauty, he was not able to detach himself from that same heartbreaking world, and, as a result of poor mental health, was never able to properly record his amazing songs.
Enter Shannon Ferguson and Neil Rosen, two of Falcon's classmates, who, having relocated to New York City, have paid the ultimate tribute to their troubled comrade, by recording his songs in a manner that does them the justice they deserve.
The opening track, The Sandfighter, is a slow-burning gem, that sets the tone of this compelling collection of songs. Comparisons to the likes of Arcade Fire and the National start here - and are well deserved.
With five songs recorded for this EP, In(High)Fidelity's mathematics whizz has calculated that their remain... a lot of songs yet to be put to wax (and he didn't even use a calculator). With so many songs yet to be recorded, we can only hope that a full-length Falcom album will follow shortly.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/falconmusic

Key Tracks: It's only five songs... all of them.

The Presets - Apocalypso (Modular, 2008)

2008-07-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

For the benefit of our readers in parts of the world that aren't Australia, I would like to clear something up. Australian rules football is not rugby; it is not soccer; and, it is not American football. It is completely its own sport, and, in my humble opinion, far superior to any of the codes mentioned above.
The Richmond Football Club, who are one of the oldest clubs in the Australian Football League, are the team that In(High)Fidelity support; and, in the more than two decades that we have offered them our heart, each season they have retuned it to us just a little bit more broken. It takes a special sort of person to continually support a really crappy team for a really long time... it does strange things to your psyche.
At this point I'm sure you're wondering: "The folks at In(High)Fidelity have finally lost their mind", which wouldn't be too far from the truth; however, all of this relates to The Presets.
Julian Hamilton, lead-singer and keyboardist of The Presets, also supports Richmond; and so, I immediately feel a bond with him, as all Richmond fans do. What I am trying very poorly to illuminate, is the fact that it is not always music that initially draws us to a particular artist. Perhaps it is the way they look; maybe you like the artwork on their album; maybe you like their name. Whatever it is, go with it.
Having been drawn to the Presets for the most bizarre of reasons, I have fallen under their grimy, electronic, dance-rock spell. Apocalypso that feels like it was made for dancefloors the size of stadiums.
It also reminds me of 1999 for some reason. This one I can't explain, and in no way do I think the sound the Presets is somehow dated; there are just some songs on the album that remind me of 1999. 1999 was a great year for In(High)Fidelity, so it can only be a good thing.
So, in closing, check out the Presets and, as a weird-looking-old-woman-who-should know-when-to-quit once said: Get into the groove.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/thepresets

Key Tracks: Kicking & Screaming; Yippiyo-Ay; Eucalyptus

Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer (Sub Pop, 2008)

2008-06-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

In the three years since Wolf Parade released their debut album, the excellent Apologies To The Queen Mary, the members of the band have splintered into numerous side-projects, which, given their quality, almost threatened to over-shadow the achievements of the original group. In fact, with the success of singer/keyboardist, Spencer Krug's Sunset Rubdown, and singer/guitarist, Dan Boeckner's Handome Furs, some began to think that perhaps Wolf Parade had become the side-project.
Such concerns were put to rest, however, when the band retreated in 2007 to the Arcade Fire's studio-within-a-church, to record their second album, At Mount Zoomer (named for the sound studio owned by Wolf Parader, Arlen Thompson).
On their new album Wolf Parade continue the sonically adventurous journey they began on Apologies To The Queen Mary, with nine tracks that twist-and-shake between the upbeat keyboard driven pop of Soldiers Grin to the more pensive Call It A Ritual and the psychedelic freak-out of California Dreamer.
As with their first album, the lyrical content of At Mount Zoomer is delivered with a heavy dose of the cryptic. If you are looking for a straight up boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl/boy-has-a-heavy-heart song; you are unlikely to find it on this album.
While a good deal of modern music is bland to the point of despair, Wolf Parade paint their music (and their album artwork) with a wash of vibrant and exciting colors. Here at In(High)Fidelity, Wolf Parade hold a special place in our heart - you should buy their album.

Key Tracks: Soldiers Grin, California Dreamer, Fine Young Cannibals, Kissing The Beehive.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/wolfparade

The Dodos - Visiter (Frenchkiss Records, 2008)

2008-06-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

There is a great scene in one of The Simpsons' Halloween specials, in which Mr. Burns is secrectly Count Dracula. When Lisa tries to tell Homer that Burns is a vampire, Homer laughingly retorts: "Oh Lisa, Vampires don't exist. They're make believe... just like elves and eskimos." That line always makes me laugh.
Sadly, the Dodo bird no longer exists. According to my research, the dodo bird was a flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius and has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th Century. There is nothing funny about animals becoming extinct.
Somehow, in my mind, this all ties into the fact that the Dodos, a very cool two-piece band from the San Francisco area are not only existing, but thriving in a time when each week seems to bring new reports of the extinction of the music industry as a whole.
The truth of the matter is, people have always, and will always, need to hear and play music. It is a part of who we are: even when we are sleeping, our hearts are still keeping time. More importantly, as long as group's such as the Dodos continue to consturct albums as enjoyable as Visiter, music will remain a vital component of our culture.
Visiter, for the most part is a mellow, folky affair. Intricate compositions - ruminations on love, loss and life in general - disguised as simple pop songs, in the way that all great pop songs have been since the earliest days of the Brill Building writers.
Using the simplest of tools - a guitar, some very impressive drumming, a litte bit of banjo - the Dodos have created an excellent album that will no doubt fly under the radar of the general public (as all great art seems to), however, flying at all is a pretty impressive feat for a flightless bird.

Key Tracks: walking, ashley, undeclared, god?

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/thedodos

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing (ATP Recordings, 2008)

2008-06-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Firstly, members of my family have been known to read this blog, so I would like to apologize in advance for the use of profanity in this piece. However, there is really no way around it when you're writing about a band called Fuck Buttons.
In my opinion, if you decide to call your band Fuck Buttons - an obviously provacative moniker - your music should be loud, weird and obnoxious. If the newly reformed New Kids On The Block changed their name to The Shit Eaters and were still spewing out tracks like Hanging Tough and The Right Stuff, it just wouldn't be right (Editors Note: NKOTB's music does eat shit, so it may be right). Luckily, Fuck Buttons' music is loud, weird and obnoxious (in the best possible way).
My trusted friend, Mr. Martin, turned me on to Fuck Buttons a few weeks ago, and I have been listening to them solidly ever since. As he told me, they are all "weirdo atmospherics and screamo vocals", the music is dense, often dark, and utterly compelling.
Building tracks such as Sweet Love For Planet Earth, and the amazing Race You To My Bedroom/Spirit Rise, with a mulititude of electronic textures, tribal-like drumming, and vocals that sound like they have been recorded in a cement mixer, Fuck Buttons create walls of sound that must be listened to at high volume (tinnitus be damned!).
If Sigur Ros are the house band in heaven, then Fuck Buttons are keeping the masses dancing down in hell.

Key Tracks: Sweet Love For Planet Earth, Okay Let's Talk About Music, Race You To My Bedroom/Spirit Rise.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons

Leopold and his Fiction - Self-Titled (Native Fiction Records, 2006)

2008-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am somehwat behind the curve in discovering Leopold and his Fiction - a group whose sound, much like their name, belies the fact that there are only two people in the band (Editor's note: As with gangs, a band of two is the smallest band possible).
Leopold and his Fiction's music is a very cool blend of country and blues inflected rock'n'roll, that harks back to a time when life was a little bit simpler, though no less hard. The opening track, She Ain't Got Time, is a thick slice of Nuggets-era garage rock, while Shakey Mama Blues sounds something like the Strokes crossed with a heavy dose of Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf.
Be Still refines the bands sonic attack somewhat, allowing the strength of the songwriting to shine through, while Miss Manipulation, with its plaintive slide guitar and melancholy feel, is a quiet case study on how members of the fairer sex are able to bend we mortal males to their will.
Leopold and his Fiction have not set out to re-invent the wheel with this, their debut album. They have, however, filtered generations of American music through guitar, drums, and microphone into a sound that is all their own; and a mighty fine sound at that.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/leopoldandhisfiction

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple (Downtown Music, 2008)

2008-05-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

For a good part of 2006, no matter how hard you tried, it was difficult to make it through the day without hearing Gnarls Barkley's upbeat-musings on mental well-being, or lack thereof, in the shape of their hit-song Crazy. It was unlike any other music of the time; it was, and still is, an amazing song and deserved all of the hype it received.
I bought the group's first album, St. Elsewhere, on the strength of Crazy, and while it had its moments, I was disappointed by the album as a whole. Don't get me wrong - the pairing of Danger Mouse (note: if you need to be told who Danger Mouse is, you have been living under a rock for the past five years) and Cee-Lo Green had its moments of brilliance, however, there was just too much filler on the album.
As a result, I was reluctant to purchase the duo's latest album, The Odd Couple. Following the phenomenom that was Crazy, the hype surrounding the new album has been minimal; and while many bands suffer from a sophomore slump with their second album, Gnarls Barkley have gone above and beyond anything they have done previosuly.
The album's second track, Who's Gonna Save My Soul, is sublime, rueful and amazing. It has the feel of a classic soul track, re-invented for a time rife with post-millenial tension. As soon as I heard it, I rushed out and bought the album.
Cee-Lo Green once again delves into the darker regions of his psyche, his crooning equal parts mournful and menace; Danger Mouse's production work equals anything he has done thus far. With Crazy, Gnarls Barkley established themselves as a great singles group; with The Odd Couple, they have establsihed themselves as a group capable of creating entire albums brimming with imagination, creativity and soul. Very cool.

Key Tracks: Who's Gonna Save My Soul, Run (I'm A Natural Disaster), Would Be Killer

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley

The Whigs - Mission Control (ATO, 2008)

2008-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

In 1955, riots broke out in cinemas across Britain during the screening of a film titled "Blackboard Jungle", in which rock'n'roll outlaws, Bill Haley & The Comets, played their soon-to-be hit, Rock Around The Clock. Rock'n'roll was still in its infant stages, and it seems it was all too much for the people to bare, though in those days, dancing in the aisles would have been considered rioting.
Some years later, a wise philosopher was prone to saying, "I know, it's only rock'n'roll, but I like it." And, later still, a young preacher from Western Australia implored: "Let there be light, let there be sound, let there be drums, let there be guitars. LET THERE BE ROCK!"
Luckily, The Whigs have followed the call of their forefathers, and, with their latest album, Mission Control, have unleashed eleven songs of unbridled rock'n'roll upon an unsuspecting world. In their music, you can hear the swagger of Australia's You Am I, the pop sensibility of Britain's Doves, and the southern-rock inflection of America's My Morning Jacket.
Album opener, Like A Vibration, and the awesome, Right Hand On My Heart, are smoking-hot, and while the band aptly display their tender side on tracks such as I Never Want To Go Home and 1000 Wives, they truly shine when their amps are turned up to eleven. With so much rock goodnes on offer, The Whigs need to be heard.

Key Tracks: Right Hand On My Heart, I Never Want To Go Home, Like A Vibration

Check Out: www.myspace.com/thewhigs

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (Last Gang Records, 2008)

2008-04-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were young and liked to dance? When clubs were crowded with glow-stick waving, jaw-grinding youth; and the music was uplifting to the point of euphoria? Well, those days are gone, my friends. Enter Crystal Castles.
Crystal Castles are the greasers of today's electronica scene: all leather jackets and torn jeans, more likely to be carrying switch-blades than glow-sticks. Ethan Kath is responsible for the duo's music, while Alice Glass shouts/pouts/sings her vocals over a sound that is a melange of gritty electronica and digital beeps, bips and squeals. Glass, at times, reminds one of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O, albeit an angrier, feistier Karen O. The track, Love and Caring, feels like a short hug, followed by a swift slap to the face.
With tracks like Untrust Us, 1991 and Vanished, Crystal Castles' music is dancefloor ready, though their mission appears to be making music for the dark side of the dance floor. A point perhaps best exemplified through their collaboration with Los Angeles' own avant noise-makers HEALTH, on the punchy track Crimewave. Very cool.

Key Tracks: Vanished, Crimewave, Love and Caring, 1991

Check Out: www.myspace.com/crystalcastles

National Record Store Day - April 19th

2008-04-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

April 19th is National Record Store Day here in the U.S., and I don't see any reason why it can't be International Record Store Day across the globe. Turn off your computer, put your Ipod in a drawer, get in your car and drive to your local record store.
Record stores are home to all types of good folk, miscreants, hipsters, vinyl junkies, confused teenagers, old peope in tie-dyed shirts, and, of course, your faithful scribe, who has been at least two of the above at one point or another in his short lifetime.

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian, 2007)

2008-04-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

I was at school in 1995, when I noticed that someone had scrawled "I hate myself and want to die" across the desk I happened to be seated at. In the spirit of sharing, I don't mind telling you that I had my fair share of angst throughout my teen years (that's the whole point of being a teenager, isn't it?), however, I was taken aback by the sight of those seven words. I was genuinely concerned for whomever had written them and hoped they were simply venting in the odd way that teenagers tend to do, rather than harboring any genuine ideas of self-harm. I'm not sure how much later it was that I discovered that it was Kurt Cobain, Mr. Angst himself, who had made the phrase "I hate myself and want to die" (in)famous.
Life can be hard, hearts can be broken, and people can be cruel. I argue, however, that it would have been far more constructive if Kurt had have said "I hate myself and need a hug". Which, brings me to Jens Lekman's wonderful Night Falls Over Kortedala: an album that is the musical equivalent of the hug you need when life has used you as its own personal doormat.
Jens is a pop-classicist of the highest order and each of the album's 12 songs is catchier than the next. He is also a highly talented lyricist, which is best exemplified on A Postcard To Nina, in which he is asked to pose as his lesbian friend's boyfriend at a family gathering.
Incorporating doo-wop, sock-hop and pop orchestration that would do Hal David and Burt Bacharch proud, Night Falls Over Kortedala is an album that will pick you up, dust you off, and send you back out on your way.

Key Tracks: And I Remeber Every Kiss; The Opposite Of Hallelujah; A Postcard To Nina; Your Arms Around Me

Check Out: http://www.secretlycanadian.com/onesheet.php?cat=SC160

Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (2008, Earthology)

2008-03-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

Cloud Cult have long been an In(High)Fidelity favorite, and, with their latest album Feel Good Ghosts (Tea Partying Through Tornadoes), our love for all things Cloud Cult has been affirmed once again. It is a fantastic album and you should buy it.
You should buy it because of the great music, however, you should also buy it because Cloud Cult are a band that stand for something beyond their music.
Despite repeated offers from record labels to sign the band, Cloud Cult determinedly self-release all of their albums so that they are able to maintain complete artistic control over both the sound of their albums and the manner in which they are distributed. Cloud Cult work diligently to ensure that their releases leave no carbon footprint on our hastily perishing planet. The packaging they use is made entirely of recycled materials and the band tour in an eco-friendly van.
I have written much of Cloud Cult here on In(High)Fidelity and for good reason. If you have limited funds to put toward music purchases, why not put them towards a band that actually gives a shit about something real. Visit www.cloudcult.com now, to purchase the album directly from the band, before it is officially released in April.

Check Out: www.cloudcult.com

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar, 2008)

2008-03-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

When I discover an album such as For Emma, Forever Ago, I immediately despair. I despair because I know my talent with words could never do justice to the beauty of the sound I hear.
For the past two weeks, I have been staring blankly at my computer screen, quietly becoming overwhelmed with the task of imploring you - the reader - to listen to an album of which you may have otherwise never heard. Is it enough to tell you that I have listened to this album repeatedly for weeks now, reveling in its quiet fragility; allowing the warmth of songs such as Flume, and, my current favorite, Skinny Love, to wash over me time and time again.
In trying to describe this album, the best I have been able to come up with is as follows: It is an album that makes me happy and sad at the same time; it is beautiful and fragile; it is a bit like the sound in my head when I try to think of how my heart truly sounds.
I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone but myself, or if, indeed, it makes any sense at all. I do know, however, that For Emma, Forever Ago is one of those special albums that appears at the very time you need it most. J'aime Bon Iver.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/boniver

Key Tracks: Flume, Skinny Love, The Wolves (Act I and II), Re:Stacks

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free, 2007)

2008-02-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

There has been much written in music pages recently, about Vampire Weekend and the way in which they have gotten all Paul Simon on our arses and injected afro-rhythms into their much-lauded self-titled debut album. From what I have heard of the album, it sounds like they have done a rather good job of incorporating these rhythms into their particular brand of indie-pop, however, our subject today is not Vampire Weekend. Nay, my friends, today we are here to talk about the band Yeasayer, and the beguiling album which they released a few months ago to quiet acclaim - All Hour Cymbals.
To be frank, when I brought this album home from the record store and threw it into my stereo, I thought I had been duped. I had heard only good things about the album from reliable sources, however, what I heard was... well, it was alright. It certainly didn’t blow me away upon first listen; or even the second listen for that matter.
However, through repeated listens, All Hour Cymbals began to open itself up to me. Instruments that I had not heard on previous listens; strange, engaging Eastern rhythms; layers of sound that danced around one another; a mélange of voices: singing, chanting, moaning. I was stunned that this sound had come from four guys holed-up together in Brooklyn.
Yeasayer’s sound is one that defies easy genre categorization. At times brooding, at others celebratory; thematically and stylistically, Yeasayer are all over the map, which, perhaps, may be their greatest charm. All Hour Cymbals is an album well worth taking the time to explore; and, having seen them put on one of the best shows thus far in 2008, I can vouch that Yeasayer are a band worth seeing live when they pass through your town.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/yeasayer

Key Tracks: 2080, A.H. Weir, Forgiveness

Black Mountain - In The Future (Jagjaguwar, 2008)

2008-02-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

In the 1990s, groups of young men with long hair would often congregate in places where they could go about their business unnoticed (the southern Californian desert was a favored meeting spot); smoke a lot of pot, listen endlessly to riff-heavy rock from the 70s, and, eventually pick up instruments and make music of their own. The music they made, heavily influenced by the likes of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, came to be known as Stoner Rock - and, for the most part, it was good. The preeminent force in Stoner Rock, was the legendary Kyuss, whose lead guitarist, Josh Homme, would later go on to form Queens Of The Stone Age and bring his rock sound to a far greater audience.
While the term Stoner Rock fell out of favor at around the turn of the millenium, the reverberations of the genre's sound are still being felt today. Case in point: Black Mountain.
Released on what is fast becoming In(High)Fidelity's label of choice - Jagjaguwar - In The Future is an album of epic proportions, yet one that never over-plays its hand. This is no small feat, given that one of the tracks - the mighty Bright Lights, clocks in at just under 17 minutes.
To call Black Mountain's sound derivative, would be to sorely under-estimate the power and urgency the band brings to their sound. This is the best of what heavy rock has offered throughout the years, re-imagined for a time where war rages in foreign countries, while our own governments employ scare-mongering tactics to keep the population paranoid and sedate.
Black Mountain, however, are no one-trick ponies, and some of the finer moments on the album, the winsome Stay Free in particular, are those where the band pick up acoustic instruments and expose themselves for what they truly are: fine songwriters who are unafraid to where their hearts on their sleeves.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/blackmountain

Key Tracks: Stormy High, Tyrants, Stay Free, Bright Lights

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (Columbia, 2008)

2008-02-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

Could this be the first great release of 2008? How about one of the best releases of the new millennium? No stranger to hyperbole, I am inclined to answer both of these questions with an emphatic "Yes".
Having garnered plenty of attention amongst the indie cognescenti in recent months, MGMT have released their debut on the very non-indie label Columbia; which I can only attribute to an Oracular Spectacular decision on the part of their A&R department. Who says major labels don't know their ears from their arses?
While it seems Brooklyn can do no wrong at the moment - see bands such as Yeasayer and The Dirty Projectors - it seems that MGMT are destined to take their sound to a world audience. Immediately captivating, MGMT defy simple genre-categorization, as they incorporate influences as disparate as Bowie, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Daft Punk.
The album's lead off track, Time To Pretend, is a ridiculously catchy, psych-pop fantasy of the rock'n'roll lifestyle: complete with models, shooting heroin in Paris, and, inevitably, choking on one's own vomit. Kids, which is the album's centerpiece, is an electronic track with a beat that you can't help but dance to; it should be the dance anthem of 2008.
MGMT jump between styles throughout the album, from guitar rock, to dance-floor filling electronica, to acoustic balladry; and they pull it all of with a finesse that belies the fact that this is their debut album.
Having recently seen the band live and being suitably blown away, I can attest that in 2008, MGMT is the shape of rock to come.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/mgmt

Sounds A Bit Like: An early contender for album of 2008.

Perfect Black Swan - Perfect Black Swan (Ambulance Records, 2006)

2008-01-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

Having named his band after a Dirty Three album, one could safely assume that Australia's Toby Burke is well aware of the myriad of emotions that can be expressed in music without words. For those of you unfamiliar with the Dirty Three, they are a brilliant instrumental band - also from Australia - led by violinist and Nick Cave cohort Warren Ellis. The name of the Dirty Three album from which Burke took his band's name is Horse Stories. Knowing all this, however, will not prepare you for the tender, sublime beauty that lies within the music of Perfect Black Swan.
Following three albums with the aforementioned Horse Stories, that garnered praise for Burke's songwriting abilities from critics in the U.K, the U.S. and Australia alike; plus an excellent solo album, the aptly-titled Winsome Lonesome, Burke decided to put down his pen - at least as far as lyrics were concerned - and create a song cycle of six plaintive, guitar-based instrumentals.
Each of the songs has its own character, though as a whole, the album has a pastoral feel about it. Perfect Black Swan is awash with the feeling of wide open spaces; a feeling that has carried through the music of many of Australia's best songwriters, from The Triffids, to Paul Kelly, to Tex, Don & Charlie.
As a limited release available only through the mail, Perfect Black Swan is like a safely-guarded secret, that is far too good to keep.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/perfectblackswan

Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millenium General Assembly (Hardly Art, 2007)

2008-01-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

I like to wake early in the morning. I like to hide under my covers as the sun chases away the cowering night yet again; taking comfort in the knowledge that Mr. Sun has done it many times before, and certainly doesn’t need my help. I like to turn on the radio on these early mornings, and listen to the various news pieces on NPR, letting myself drift in-and-out of sleepy, hazy consciousness. I love the sense of disorientation; the not-quite knowing of what is real and what is imagined as the stories on the radio and the dreams still floating around my head inter-mingle, becoming one and the same. Le Loup's music invokes the same feeling within me.
Springing from the mind of Sam Simkoff - the creative force behind Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millenium General Assembly is an exercise in catharsis. Song titles such as Planes Like Vultures and Outside Of This Car. The End Of The World, may lead one to believe that this album is a solemn affair, however, as with much great art, Simkoff has used a difficult period in his life, to inspire something that is anything but difficult. Inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, the album spins tales of despair into songs that are somehow life-affirming.
Recorded straight onto Simkoff’s laptop, the album has a distinctly lo-fi feel and sparse instrumentation. The instrumentation there is – all of which is played by Simkoff – is used to great effect; particularly a trusty old banjo and electronic sound that would not sound out of place on an Atari 2600. Le Loup, now fleshed-out to a seven-piece band, are sure to garner plenty of attention in 2008.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/leloupmusic

Sounds A Bit Like: The Books

Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub, 2007)

2008-01-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

They tell me that Burial practice a form of electronica known as dubstep. Dubstep is a very London-centric style of electronica; it is moody, sparse and places a strong emphasis on that which my dubwise brother could appreciate - the bassline. I picked up this album after I had seen it pop up on a number of musician's end of year lists, and I am rather happy that I did.
While my exposure to dubstep is limited, it appears that Burial - a highly secretive London-based producer - is the genre's crowned-prince; and therein, my friends, is the root problem with genre catgorization: Burial is creating music that is worthy not only of the high praise Untrue is receiving from within the electronica community and those savvy enough to be in the know. On the contrary Burial is worthy of a far greater audience, as he is creating music that is as forward thinking, creative, and just generally mind-blowing, as anything I have heard recently.
I have been listening to this album on repeat for the past five days and it has had me grasping for a thesaurus to come up with new words for 'awesome'. If there is a way to be both sparse and dense at the same time, then Burial has it figured out. Untrue is densely textured, with layer upon layer of sonic goodness folding in upon itself, as dis-embodied voices slink in and out of the action. The wonders Burial works with pitch and tempo dynamics has me forever having to pick my chin up off the floor.
In short: Buy this album.

Sounds A Bit Like: Music I have been wanting to hear for a long time.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/burialuk

In(High)Fidelity - End Of Year List-O-Rama

2007-12-21T10:12:00.000-08:00

Here it is! A full year of laughter and forgetting; a year of good times and bad; a year full of living – distilled into a series of lists. You will find In(High)Fidelity’s top ten must-have albums of 2007, our ten favorite tracks for the year and a list of the ten best shows we saw over the last twelve months.

Top Ten Albums

1. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew’s - Spirit If…
2. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
3. The National – Boxer
4. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
5. Band Of Horses - Cease To Exist
6. The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
7. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
8. Life Without Buildings - Live At The Annandale
9. Feist - The Reminder
10. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger

Top Ten Tracks

1. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
2. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Gang Bang Suicide
3. The National - Fake Empire
4. Okkervil River - Unless It Kicks
5. Dappled Cities - Fire, Fire, Fire
6. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
7. Feist - The Park
8. Spoon - The Ghost Of You Lingers
9. Black Francis - Threshold Apprehension
10. Ryan Adams - Goodnight Rose

Best Shows of 2008

1. Broken Social Scene - Kevin Drew @ The Orpheum Theater
2. Okkervil River @ The Troubadour
3. Arcade Fire @ The Greek Theater
4. Wilco @ The Greek Theater
5. The Decemberists with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Bird / Band Of Horses @ The Hollywood Bowl
6. The National @ The Wiltern
7. Spoon @ The Henry Fonda Theater
8. Dinosaur Jr @ The Troubadour
9. Lucinda Williams @ El Rey Theater
10. Morrissey @ The Palladium

A special thanks to all the people who have taken the time to read In(High)Fidelity in 2007. Your words of encouragement keep me writing. You can always reach me at benedmonds@hotmail.com.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! I'm Out!

Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings (Carpark Records, 2007)

2007-12-14T16:11:00.000-08:00

George Clinton once said: "Free your mind... and your ass will follow." Wise words, indeed, but of what relevance are they to Dan Deacon and his strange, brilliant, ridiculous album, Spiderman Of The Rings? Firstly, George Clinton is a weird guy - he'd have to be to write the sort of music he has with Parliament and Funkadelic - and, from what I've seen, Dan Deacon seems like a pretty weird guy, and I mean that in the best way possible. I remember a time when I wanted nothing but to be considered weird. I wanted to wear it as a badge of honor. However, I think I've always been too normal to be weird in any cool way.
Sometimes I use music to quiet the voices in my head. The voices in my head are friendly for the most part, however, at times, when everyone is trying to speak at once, it can be difficult to make any sense of anything. So, I'll put something in the stereo, we all turn our attention to the music, and life comes back into focus.
You should have seen it the first time I put Dan Deacon in the stereo. As a crazed Woody Woodpecker spilled from the speakers, and a slow building electronic pulse took hold, none of us knew quite what to expect. Sounds, sounds, everywhere! Just when it looked like the whole thing might be about to devolve into a horrible train wreck, it came to a sudden stop. Only to immediately jump into the spazz-eletro-rave-up that is The Crystal Cat (check out the video). All of a sudden, my mind was free... and my ass was following. This is the music to which the voices in my head dance. Well, sometimes they dance, sometimes they laugh; it is a 50/50 split that I imagine anyone who calls their album Spiderman Of The Rings, would be happy to elicit.
Don't be fooled, Dan Deacon may be a mad-genius, however, his music is not for everyone. In fact, I have had those near and dear to me politely ask me to turn him off, as they are unable to hear anything but shrill, piercing, electronic vibrations. Joy.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/dandeacon

Sounds Like: A crazy, good time, electro-spazz

On Tour: Dan Deacon is touring Europe in December 2007; he'll be in the U.S. in January (see you at the LA show) 2008; and Australia in February 2008.

Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities Mixtape (2007)

2007-12-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

Regular readers will be more than familiar with the high esteem in which I hold Okkervil River. Following the release of their excellent 2007 album, The Stage Names, which has been making its way on to many "Best Of 2007" lists, the band have released the Golden Opportunities Mixtape as a free download from their website: www.okkervilriver.com.
The Golden Opportunities Mixtape is a collection of nine songs that the band recorded, mostly on the road, over the course of a couple of years. Eight of the songs see Okkervil River covering artists as diverse as Randy Newman, John Cale, Joni Mitchell, and Serge Gainsbourg. The one original Okkervil River track is a fantastic live recording of Listening To Ottis Redding At Home During Christmas, which originally appeared on the band's debut full-length album Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See.

Check Out: www.okkervilriver.com

The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs (Matador Records, 2007)

2007-11-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

The Cave Singers do not seem to be of this time, and yet they are just as much a part of the here and now as you or I. Their music - a melange of sounds rooted in the folk and blues of early 20th century America - flows forth from the speakers in waves of warm, acoustic guitar; a steady, brushed drum-beat keeping time; and a voice at once idiosyncratic, vaguely familiar, and completely original.
Seeds Of Night, the opening track on Invitation Songs, is also one of its finest. An understated gem featuring all of the elements that makes this band such a joy to listen to. One of the first things you notice is the vocals of singer Pete Quirk, who - given his vocal delivery - has a particularly apt surname. His is a voice that is sure to divide the opinion of listeners, in much the way a young Bob Dylan's voice still does to this day.
Invitation Songs is a wonderful album that moves seemlessly from the slow burning numbers such as Helen and Elephant Cloud, through to the chugging, bluesy stomp of Dancing On Our Graves, and the darker blues of New Monuments - in which Quirk sings of "a house of disrepute where I lost my mind." Far from doom and gloom, though, Oh Christine - perhaps the albums most upbeat moment, and certainly one of its finest - immediately follows New Monument, and brings with it a fresh dose of the warmth that Invitation Songs seems bathed in. This album is one of 2007's hidden gems, and one that you should definitely add to your collection.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/thecavesingers

Sounds A Bit Like: Excerpts from Alan Lomax's collection of recordings.

Band Of Horses - Cease To Exist (Sub Pop, 2007)

2007-11-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

With just fourteen words and a stadium-ready guitar riff, Ben Bridwell (leadsinger of Band Of Horses) has written one of the year's stand-out tracks, with the opening number of Cease To Exist: Is There A Ghost. Having established themselves as one of the better bands on the planet with their first album - 2006's Everything All The Time - Band Of Horses have built a devout following trhough steady touring and excellent songs. One needn't look any further than tracks such as The Funeral or the beautiful St. Augustine from their debut album, to realize that Bridwell is a songwriter with immense talent.
With Cease To Exist, Band Of Horses - who had relocated from Seattle to back their home in South Carolina after touring for Everything All The Time - have delivered an album that pays homage to their southern roots, without sounding in any way dated. Along with the aforementioned opening track, Ode To LRC and Cigarettes, Wedding Bands keep the rock quotient high, while slower numbers such as Marry Song and the countrified-stomp of The General Specific, exemplify the band's ability to slow things down without losing any momentum.
In recent interviews, Bridwell has spoken of the happiness he has found in to his hometown, the joy that has come from the love of a good woman, and his affection for good melodies. All three of these elements are reflected keenly on Cease To Exist, and as Bridwell comes across as an extremely likeable southern gentleman, you can hope for nothing but success for his Band Of Horses.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/bandofhorses

Sounds A Bit Like: Neil Young; Dinosaur Jr strumming away outside on a warm summer evening, watching the light slowly fade.

Black Francis - Bluefinger (Cooking Vinyl, 2007)

2007-10-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

When I drink coffee, I become jittery and anxious. It is not a very pleasant experience; so, unlike a large portion of the population, I do not have the benefit of coffee to wake me up in the morning. Luckily, I find that rock'n'roll can give me just the jolt I need, and I'll be damned if Black Francis (aka Frank Black of the Pixies) hasn't delivered a super-venti sized jolt of rock'n'roll in the form of Bluefinger.
I have never been a huge fan of the Pixies. Of course, I have always known that they're a seminal band and I have a high regard for their recorded output, however, there are so many seminal bands out there, that it is impossible to keep track of all of them. Plus, I was a bit freaked out by the artwork on the Doolittle album - my young, fragile mind found that monkey to be quite disturbing. The point I am trying to make, is that I am not coming at this album from the perspective of a hardcore Pixies fan.
Bluefinger is one of the rocking-est albums of 2007, and, as if he still has anything to prove, Black Francis has put together an album full of great, catchy songs with all sorts of wild hooks. The track, Threshold Apprehension, has quite literally had me in a spin for a number of weeks now. Francis attacks the song with all the vigour of a man half his age, and puts to shame the many young rock posers who seem to be flooding the airwaves with their ever-so-slick garage-rock knock-offs these days.
If Threshold Apprehension was the only song on the album, it would be a winner; the fact that tracks such as the intentionally-sloppy Test Pilot Blues, the wonderfully titled You Can't Break A Heart And Have It, and the mellow Discotheque 36 - amongst many others - shine so brightly, make this album nothing if not vital.

Check Out: www.blackfrancis.net/

Sounds A Bit Like: Driving really fast with the windows down, screaming your favorite song at the top of your lungs.

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War (Arts & Crafts, 2007)

2007-10-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

When it comes to overly-earnest pop of the best kind, Stars have the market cornered. With their excellent 2005 album - Set Yourself On Fire - the band wore their hearts clearly on their sleeves with tracks such as Your Ex-Lover Is Dead and the sublimely beautiful Calendar Girl. Now, with In Our Bedroom After The War, they have upped the emotional ante further still.
In Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, Stars has two singers, neither of whom is afraid to bring an emotional intensity to songs that may otherwise pass as simple exercises in pop-by-numbers. Millan's voice spills from the stereo like a warm wind blowing on a cool autumn day; it is a voice that carries care and compassion, while hinting that we live in a world in which those two commodities are becoming all the more rare. Campbell's voice seems more assured than ever on this album, and tracks such as Barricade and the rousing In Our Bedroom After The War share a similar feel to some of the finer moments in Morrissey's oeuvre.
Stars are at their best when Campbell and Millan share singing duties on songs such as the slow-burning, The Night Starts Here and the clamorous Take Me To The Riot. While the quasi white-boy soul of The Ghost Of Genova Heights is something of a misfire, the album recovers immediately with the somewhat disconcerting Personal, a back-and-forth exchange between two lonely souls seeking companionship in the personal pages.
Passionate, fragile, exuberant, disarming: In Our Bedroom After The War is all these things and more; yet another superb release from the excellent Arts & Crafts label.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/stars

Sounds A Bit Like: Morrissey and Cat Power fronting a Canadian pop band.

Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If... (Arts & Crafts, 2007)

2007-09-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

As founder - and one of the core-members - of Broken Social Scene, a collective of Canadian musicians that includes the likes of Feist, Metric's Emily Haines, Stars' Amy Millan, and many others, Kevin Drew has spent the better part of the new millenium creating life-affirming albums full of sonic-pop experiments, beguiling lyrics, and often sweet and tender melodies.
In comparison to the group's previous albums, Spirit If... - a Broken Social Scene album in all but name - is a far more refined affair, and is all the better for it. While I am a big fan of Broken Social Scene, I find that on occasion, the impact of their songs is lost beneath the multi-textured layers of sound that are one of the band’s trademarks, but which can be distracting at times.
The focus of Spirit If… is squarely on Drew and his fine songwriting ability. Songs such as TBTF, F..cked Up Kid and Gang Bang Suicide all share a tender fragility that belie their somewhat provocative titles, and which seems to be a template for most of the album. Drew knows his way around a pop song and this album is littered with gems that will stay with you long after the album has finished spinning. The joyful spirit of the album is perhaps best conveyed in the celebratory Backed Out On The…, which features lead guitar and backing vocals from Dinosaur Jr. front man, J Mascis, and is one of the best sing-a-long songs of 2007.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/kevindrewspiritif

Sounds A Bit Like: The best parts of Broken Social Scene; hearts mending; one of the best albums of 2007.

In(High)Fidelity In Urbancode

2007-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

As some of you already know, I recently wrote a feature article about Okkervil River for Urbancode magazine's September issue. If you would like a pdf-copy of the magazine, let me know and I will send it via email.

In(The)Flesh - Lucinda Williams, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, 09/08/07

2007-09-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

On the third night of a five night stand at L.A.'s intimate El Rey Theatre, Lucinda Williams was in fine form. With the novel concept of performing one of her five classic albums in its entirety each night, followed by a second set of songs spanning her entire career, each show promised to be special in its own right. On this night, much to the delight of the rapturous crowd, Ms. Williams performed 1998's brilliant Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.
Lucinda Williams is smart, sexy and sassy, and she knows how to entertain. Album cuts such as Right In Time and 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten sounded fantastic. Williams went into detail about each song's meaning, interacting with the crowd in her thick southern-drawl, and eliciting laughter and declarations of love from both the men and women in the crowd. Drunken Angel -dedicated to two Texan musicians - Blaze Foley (of whom the song was written) and Townes Van Zandt - oozed country soul.
The night was made all the more special by the revolving door of special guests that joined Williams on stage. Steve Earle's presence on stage had some in the crowd weak at the knees, and his guitar, harmonica and road-worn vocals were a welcome addition to the smoking-hot band that Williams had behind her.
The second set was made up primarily of songs from West - the fantastic album Williams released earlier this year - the highlights of which included Come On & Unsuffer Me. Williams seemed truly happy to be on stage - and said as much on many occasions; her happiness was reflected back by the many smiles in the crowd. Lucinda Williams is a very, very cool person; living proof that when the world tries to knock you down, you have to just pick yourself and keep on going. Luckily - for us - she has the continuing ability to write amazing songs as this process repeats itself.

Life Without Buildings - Live At The Annandale Hotel (2007, Absolutely Kosher Records)

2007-09-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the year 2001, the weather report inside my mind was correctly predicting extended periods of bleak, cold weather, with a 75% chance of rain. Various storm systems had come and gone, and I was feeling water-logged and tired, though I continued to hold out hope that I would once more be touched by the sun's warm rays.
It was during this time - a time spent looking for a place to hang my hat - that I discovered a strange gem of an album called Any Other City, by an obscure Scottish band named Life Without Buildings. In fact, I bought the album without hearing any of the music, solely based on the allure of band's name. What type of music would a band named Life Without Buildings make?
Much to my pleasure they made very good music. A blend of angular guitars, post-punk danceability and the beautiful, off-the-wall vocals of lead-singer, Sue Tompkins, who sings-shouts-speaks lyrics that seem to be being beamed in from a distant satellite.
I loved the album; some of my friend hated it, which made me love it all the more. Songs such as The Leanover and New Town filled my head with a beautiful rock'n'roll sound; Tompkins vocals were like a riddle, begging to be solved.
When Life Without Buildings played in Melbourne in December 2001, I was on a tight budget, and had already committed to Meredith Music Festival; so I passed on the opportunity to see them play live. If I had have known then that the band would break-up within the year, I would have certainly altered my decision.
Live At The Annandale Hotel was recorded in Sydney on that same tour and features live versions of most of the songs from Any Other City (the band's only studio album), plus tracks from the Is Is & The IRS EP. The sound of the recording is excellent and the band are at the height of their power. Tompkins is splendidly manic - her between-song banter sweetly naive - and the band are raw, punchy and precise. Standout tracks include 14 Days, Sorrow and the amazing, set-closing New Town.
Life Without Buildings are a criminally over-looked band from the early days of the new millenium; and this album is as good a document of their live presence as one could ask for - real memories of live shows aside. Some of you will love them, and some of you will hate them, which will cause those of you who love them, to love them all the more.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/lifewithoutbuildingsuk

Sounds A Bit Like: Karen O before Karen O; dancing to the voices in your head; the weird kids and the cool kids making music together.

In(The)Flesh: Wilco, Greek Theater, Los Angeles 08/29/07

2007-09-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

Wilco are, without a doubt, one of the greatest American bands of our generation. Rising from the ashes of alt-country heroes, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco have spent the past twelve years releasing one excellent album after the other; constantly reinventing their sound: beginning with the country-rock flavor of A.M., Being There and Summer Teeth, before delving into noise experiments with 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Kraut-rock voyages on 2004's A Ghost Is Born, right through to the sublimely brilliant Sky Blue Sky, which was released earlier this year.
The beauty of Sky Blue Sky comes from repeated listens. On the first few listens it sounds like a more stripped-back version of Wilco than we have been exposed to in recent years, however, upon further listens, the complexity of the musicianship, particularly that of guitarist, Nels Cline, comes to the fore.
In Jeff Tweedy, Wilco have a singer-songwriter who is capable of composing tunes that stay with you long after the final note has been played; and with guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotchke, long-time bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansome, Tweedy is backed a formidable group of musicians capable of sending songs off into the stratosphere, with sounds that other bands can only dream of creating.
The setting tonight was perfect, Tweedy was in an upbeat frame of mind and the band were in top form, as they tore through tracks from their entire back catalogue. Stand-out tracks - from the twenty-two song set - included I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, A Shot In The Arm, Impossible Germany, and the touching On And On And On, the closing track on Sky Blue Sky. The California crowd cheered loudly for Woody Guthrie-penned California Stars, while the closing encore set of Heavy Metal Drummer and Spiders(Kidsmoke) had everyone on their feet, clapping and shouting for more, as the houselights came on and Wilco left the stage triumphant.

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger (Lost Highway, 2007)

2007-08-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Since the release his outstanding debut solo album - Heartbreaker - in 2000, the standard of Ryan Adams' recorded output has fluctuated wildly. The release of the highly flawed Rock'N'Roll album in 2003 had even his strongest supporters scratching their heads in shocked bewilderment, while the two Love Is Hell mini-albums failed to hit their mark in the same year, despite some fantastic songs. It seemed Adams had turned a corner in 2005, when he released three albums in the same year - one of which was a double album - that were rooted in the high standard of songwriting that had been the trademark of his earlier work.
With this recent history in mind, it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation - fairly common emotions among Adams' fans - that I slipped Easy Tiger into my stereo.
To my great delight/relief, the excellent opening track - Goodnight Rose (one of Adams' finest tunes) - immediately dispelled any concerns I may have had. On this album, Adams is firing on all cylinders and has delivered one of the finest albums of his career. Songs such as Two - on which he croons, "I've got a really good heart, I just can't catch a break", The Sun Also Sets, and Oh My God, Whatever, Etc. find Adams at his most vulnerable and are some of the albums strongest songs. Other highlights include the countrified soul of Tears of Gold, These Girls, and the album's closing track I Taught Myself How To Grow Old.
For fans of Ryan Adams, this album is an absolute must, for those who have been wondering where to start, Easy Tiger provides an excellent point to work backwards from.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/ryanadams - Listen to Two and These Girls

Sounds A Bit Like: Gram Parsons; knocking back a case of suds at your favorite dive bar; the sun breaking through the clouds.

Feist -The Reminder (Cherry Tree / Interscope, 2007)

2007-08-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

Much like Broken Social Scene, the Canadian collective with whom she came to prominence, Leslie Feist defies easy genre categorization; though her ability to write perfect pop songs is undeniable. As displayed on her excellent release - The Reminder - Feist is adept at mixing things up from one song to the next; this talent being on display from the very beginning of the album, as she seemlessly moves from the jazz-inflected, pensive opening track, So Sorry, straight into the upbeat pop-gem that is I Feel It All.
The first thing that grabs you about Feist, though, is her amazing voice: husky, spunky & self-assured. The type of voice that breaks your heart and wraps you in a warm blanket simultaneously. Look no further than the beautiful lament that is The Park - one of the album's many highlights - to hear Feist's quiet vocal soar as she asks the question "Why would you think your boy could become, the man who could make you sure he was the one?"
The Reminder strikes the perfect balance between quiet introspection and joie de vivre pop playfulness - Past In Present with its accompanying hand-claps, 1234 and My Moon My Man are perfect examples of the latter.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/feist - listen to My Man My Moon and watch the very cool video for 1234

Sounds A Bit Like: Cat Power; Broken Social Scene; Paris in Springtime

Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar, 2007)

2007-08-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Stage Names - Okkervil River's fourth full-length release - is, without a doubt, one of the best albums to be released in 2007. It would be erroneous of me not to point out that this is the latest album from my favorite band on the planet, and that if you have not yet exposed yourself to their genius, you have done yourself a great disservice; however, even if I did not feel this way, even if I was evaluating this album objectively, I would still say that it is one of the year's best.
Okkervil River bring a level of emotion to their music that is almost intoxicating, particularly when you take into consideration the emotional vacuum that is much of modern living. Will Sheff - the band's songwriter and singer - paints vivid scenes with his lyrics, as the characters inhabiting his songs navigate their way through the realities of day-to-day living, with all of their flaws intact.
The songs on The Stage Name flow from the opening one-two punchiness of Our Live Is Not A Movie Or Maybe and the incandescent swagger of Unless It's Kicks, to the hushed, devastating beauty of Savannah Smiles and the sea-faring balladry of A Girl In Port.
While sounding completely modern, Okkervil River carry on a grand musical tradition that harks back to bands such as The Band, The Faces and The Beach Boys; a tradition that recognizes songwriting earnest in its attempt to transcend the everyday-ness of life. If you discover only one new band this year, let it be Okkervil River.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/okkervilriver ...where you can hear the entire album.

Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope (Sire Records, 2006)

2007-07-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

"I cut his hair one night, a pair of dull scissors in the yellow light, and he told me that I'd done all right and kissed me til the morning light." So it is, with lines such as this - taken from the song Samson - that Regina Spektor has the ability to paint vivid images in the mind of her listener; images that are oddly uplifting and sweetly melancholy simulataneously.
This album has been on my radar for some time now, however, it was not until recently that I was inspired to pick it up; and for that inspiration I am truly thankful.
The album has a number of great tracks, and while not all of them hit their mark exactly, there is more than enough here to justify repeated listens. The opening number, Fidelity, sees Spektor confessing that by "protecting my heart truly, I got lost in the sounds I hear in my mind," and immediately I can relate. The aforementioned Samson, is a stirring paen to a lost love; her sweetest downfall. Stripped down to the bare essentials - voice and piano - Samson is perfect, winsome in its simplicity.
On The Radio is Spektor at her best. The track carries with it an emotional weight that seems unlikely in a song that, on first listen, appears to revolve around hearing Gun'n'Roses' November Rain on the radio; however, Spektor's playfulness belies the true message in the song, and her summary of how it (life) works, is as touching and succinct as any I have heard.
Though these songs are the albums strongest, there are plenty of other highlights, such as Field Below and 20 Years Of Snow - on which Spektor's classical training on the piano is truly evident.
Begin To Hope is the type of album that can make you smile and feel sad at the same time; it will make you feel nostalgic for things that haven't even happened yet; hopeful for things that will happen in the future.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/reginaspektor

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge, 2007)

2007-07-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

The word 'cool' is bandied around far too liberally in this day and age. A crime of which, on occasion, this very writer has been guilty. What does cool even mean, anymore? I guess everyone has their own definition of cool, however, if your definition of cool is not wide enough to encompass the latest Spoon album, then I can only deduce that your definition of cool is rather uncool.
Indie kids have been going ga-ga for Spoon en masse since the release of their 2002 album, Kill The Moonlight, though the band have been together since 1994. For reasons unbeknownst to myself this is the first Spoon album that I have listened to at length.
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga opens with the assured swagger of Don't Make Me A Target, and follows with the ethereal, piano driven The Ghost Of You Lingers. The poptasticness of You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb - complete with horn accompaniement - leads into the bass-driven, hand-clap and click strewn gem that is Don't You Evah, at which point you begin to think that there isn't a bad song on this album. Well, you're right, there isn't a bad song on this album. In fact, they are all - to quote from another cool source - money!
If you are looking to boost your cool quotient or are simply looking for some damn fine music, don't make the same mistake that I did in delaying the inevitable, head out to your local music retailer and buy Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga right now. Music this good will be heard.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/spoon

The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army (TVT Records/Good Records, 2007)

2007-07-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

An Open Letter To The Polyphonic Spree:

Dear Polyphonic Spree -

There are far too many of you to name individually, so let me begin by saying thank you to you all for being who you are and for choosing to be a part of something so special. There is much happiness to be had in life, though it is often difficult to find it amongst the sadness and tragedy that seems to be a part of everyday life on an ever-increasing basis. Perhaps the key to finding happiness is through accepting that sadness is an intrinsic part of our lives, embracing that sadness, and transforming it into an energy that we can send back into the world as something positive and uplifting. This is definitely the lesson I have learnt from your music.
Starting with The Beginning Stages Of..., followed by Together We're Heavy, and now, with The Fragile Army, you have created music that has the ability to pick up those who have been beaten and broken; a music that coalesces damaged individuals (and we have all been damaged in some way) into something more powerful - a Fragile Army, if you will.
I have seen you play in London, San Franciso, Los Angeles, and, most recently, New York, and each time I have been amazed by not only the music, energy and sheer joy that pours forth from the stage, but also the genuine feeling of rapture that surges through the audience. In the '60s, a Polyphonic Spree show would have certainly been referred to as a happening, and I can strongly attest that it is a happening that all should be a part of at least once in their life.
In a world in which it can often be difficult to see the sun for the dark clouds, thank you for fighting the good fight and doing your best to make the world a brighter place to exist.

Younger Yesterday,
Ben @ inhighfidelity.com

Check Out: www.myspace.com/polyphonicspree

The White Stripes - Icky Thump (Third Man/Warner Music, 2007)

2007-07-08T11:22:00.001-07:00

In late 2000, a relatively unknown two-piece band from Detroit played a series of shows in a number of small venues across Melbourne. One such show was at 9th Ward in the city, and though I'd only heard a couple of the band's songs, I was determined to see them play. For those in the know, there was a buzz surrounding their shows that I hadn't felt before.
Following a boozy afternoon drinking with friends, I managed to convince a few unsuspecting punters to come along to the show with me. Soon after we arrived - the club still only half-full - Jack and Meg White, dressed in red, took to the stage and put on a show of unabashed, bluesy, rock'n'roll that sticks in my head to this day as one of the coolest shows I have ever seen. Jack's screeching guitar and bluesy riffs; Meg's simple, but ever-effective drumming; the looks they shared that kind of creeped you out when you still thought they were brother and sister - all the key aspects of The White Stripes were already in place. It was an awesome display of rock'n'roll showmanship that left the audience sweaty, satisfied, and wanting more.
Fast forward seven years, and The White Stripes have just released their sixth album - Icky Thump - and are playing shows to crowds in the tens of thousands, as opposed to just the tens. If you like The White Stripes, you will love Icky Thump. Stronger than their previous album and full of rocking tunes such as the title track, Icky Thump, 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues, and the playful, Rag And Bone, this album is a rocking good time.
The White Stripes have never claimed to be high art, they are simply two people coming together to play music that will have you tapping your feet and shaking your hips. Later this year I will see them play in an arena that holds 17,000 people, far more than that Melbourne night long ago, however, I am no less excited. Saviors of rock'n'roll they may or may not be, however, the importance of their contribution to rock'n'roll in 2007 is undeniable.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/thewhitestripes

Handsome Furs - Plague Park (Sub Pop, 2007)

2007-06-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

Wolf Parade are a super-cool band from Montreal, who released the excellent Apologies To The Queen Mary way back in 2005. For reasons unbeknownst even to myself, I have not written about them earlier, so I am glad I have the opportunity to sing their praises in this post. "Wolf Parade?" I hear you ask. "I thought you said this post was about the new Handsome Furs album." Indeed I did, and, indeed it is, but be sure to check out Wolf Parade.
You see, Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade have a couple of things in common. Firstly, Wolf Parade has two singers, one of whom is Dan Boeckner. Handsome Furs have only one singer, however, that singer happens to be Boeckner - the band is comprised of just he and his fiancee, Alexei Perry. The other similarity the two bands share, is that even after multiple listens, I have very little idea what the songs are about - for the most part, they are not of the rather easy to follow "Bought my first real six-string..." variety - and yet it matters not. On Plague Park, the music - mostly guitar and drum-machine - plays just as much a role in establishing the atmosphere of each song as do the lyrics. At times, it seems the vocals simply serve as another instrument, as opposed to being the sole focus of the listener's attention.
In describing Handsome Furs sound, words such as sparse and melancholy would be applicable, as on the track Handsome Furs Hate This City; however, there is also the pulsing electro-indie-pop of Dead & Rural, that belies the darker undertone of the lyrics.
Plague Park is a fully-formed album that stands up on its own two feet, and deserves to be recognized far beyond the status of a simply a side project from one of the guys from Wolf Parade.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/handsomefurs &
http://www.myspace.com/wolfparade

Girl Talk - Night Ripper (Illegal Art, 2006)

2007-06-08T14:17:00.001-07:00

The first 2 Many Dj's album was awesome. However, the 'mash-up' genre that it spawned was/is not so awesome. Here's a great idea, let's combine a cheesy 80's track with a cheesy 90's track, and we'll have a great new song. Wrong! 9 times out of 10 you will simply have two crappy songs combining to make one more crappy song. Mash-ups can be cool, but it takes a lot more than simply taking the vocals from one song and playing them over the music or beat of another. Case in point: Girl Talk.
Girl Talk has been tearing up dancefloors across the U.S. for some time now, and and their album, Night Ripper, has provided the soundtrack to innumerable hipster loft parties from L.A. to Brooklyn (note: I have not yet been invited to one of these parties, so, if you can: hook me up).
To call Night Ripper an album of mash-ups would be to sell it short. It is a party starting, bootie-shaking exercise in mix-tape-mash-up-cut-and-pasting, and is basically a music snob's wet dream. At times, mixing/mashing samples from well over ten songs into an individual track - ranging from Sonic Youth, Nirvana and the Pixies; to Lady Sov, M.I.A., and Annie; to 2 Live Crew, Public Enemy, and Kanye West; to Phil Collins, Boston, and Aerosmith; and well over a hundred more - one could spend hours simply trying to identify the original source material.
Night Ripper is a genre exercise in trying to squeeze as many genres as possible into one song, in addition to making that song as funky and dance-friendly as possible. If you are looking for some music to ensure your next party is 'happening', or something simply to rock-out to in your car, or just a way to prove to your friends just how much you know about modern music, look no further than Night Ripper.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/girltalkmusic (Note: the Grizzly Bear remix on the site is one of the best tracks of the year, though it is not on Night Ripper, so be sure to give it a listen.)

Chris Wilson - Live At The Continental (Aurora Records 1994, re-issued 2007)

2007-05-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

Chris Wilson is an Australian blues artist with an amazingly soulful and powerful voice. This is a live album that was recorded in 1994 at the much venerated, and sorely missed, Continental Cafe in Melbourne, and serves to showcase not only Wilson's amazing voice, but also his strength as a songwriter.
I remember hearing the album's opening track, You Will Surely Love Again, in early 1996, and being brought to tears by the raw emotion it conveyed. Wilson's voice rides seemlessly above the quietly strummed guitar of Shane O'Mara - who is something of an unsung legend in the Australian music scene, while the forlorn sound of Wilson's harmonica late in the the song could break even the hardest of hearts.
You Will Surely Love Again is immediately followed by Wolves, another tour-de-force which sees Wilson's voice soar as he impines "Won't you come on home?" Face In The Mirror follows, a soulful number in which the song's protagonist, broken-hearted, snorting a line off a mirror, tries to convince himself that "the face in the mirror tells me that I'm doing fine."
These are simply the first three songs on the album, with six more of equal standard that follow. Live At The Continental is a brilliant red wine album; an album perfect for long winter nights; an album that you will want to curl up on the bean bag with. Chris Wilson is a huge talent as a singer, songwriter and harmonica player - and this album is a testament to that talent. The re-issued version of the album contains the original nine song album, plus an extra disc of songs recorded on the same night. So soulful, so good.

Check Out: http://www.chriswilson.com.au/ and http://www.lastrecordstore.com/independentsW-Z.html to buy the album online.

In(The)Flesh: Arcade Fire, Greek Theater, Los Angeles 05/30/07

2007-05-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Ever since I got my hands on The Arcade Fire's first album, Funeral, in the early part of 2005, I have been patiently waiting for them to play live shows in the Los Angeles area. It is a fact, that they played at the Coachella Festival in both 2005 and again late last month, but having attended Coachella in 2004 and swearing never to return having endured my most miserable festival experience in living memory, I resigned myself to wait until the band played their own shows. Finally, my patience was rewarded, when the band announced two shows at the Greek Theater in L.A. - quite possibly the best venue for live music in Los Angeles: a beautiful, open-air theater, nestled into the hills of Griffith Park. Granted, I would have loved to have seen the band in a more intimate venue, however, such has their meteoric rise in popularity been over the past two years, the Arcade Fire are no longer of small venues, aside from the occasional special shows, such that took place in London and New York earlier this year.
To say I had high expectations for the show would be an understatement, so too would it be to state simply that those expectations were far exceeded. From the opening song, Keep The Car Running, the six-thousand strong crowd were on their feet, eager to drink thirstily from the cup of The Arcade Fire. There was an energy running through the crowd that was almost electric, and the band responded in kind, with a performance that was full of the energy and bombast that people have come to expect of them.
Amazing renditions of (Antichrist Television Blues), Intervention, and Windowsill from the band's second album, Neon Bible, were met with equal rapture as tracks from Funeral, including Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), and Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), among others.
The show climaxed with a three-song encore that included the already classic, Rebellion (Lies), and the closing number/call-to-arms, Wake Up. During Rebellion (Lies), Win Butler - the bands frontman - was greeted with much enthusiasm, as he jumped off the stage and made his way through the crowd from the front of theater all the way to the back, as the band played on.
The Arcade Fire put on an amazing show that was well worth the wait.

The National - Boxer (Beggars Banquet, 2007)

2007-05-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

On Boxer, The National's brilliant fourth album, the band have perfected their brand of brooding, emotive rock'n'roll, most recently displayed on their critically acclaimed 2005 album, Alligator. The band member's understanding of melody, mood, and tone, coupled with lyricist Matt Berninger's sublime skill with words, combine on each of Boxer's twelve tracks to create songs that are equal parts detail and drama.
From the opening piano chords on the album's first track, Fake Empire - also one of the album's finest - one thing is instantly clear: The National make music that is not only high listenable, but also music that immediately pulls you into its world of Green Gloves, golden slippers, and Squalor Victoria.
The drums sound sharp and dynamic; the guitars warm and angular; the additional orchestration, including piano, strings and horns, is always welcome and only serves to heighten the emotion of the band's sound. The true meaning of Berninger's lyrics is often concealed by his esoteric word play, though, strangely, this seems to draw the listener into each song deeper still. Perhaps the true essence of The National, is their ability to find the drama and beauty in the mundane nuances of every day life.
Easily one of the year's best albums, Boxer should finally earn The National the mass recognition they so clearly deserve. Buy this album.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/thenational

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse (Jagjaguwar, 2007)

2007-05-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Released earlier this year on the excellent Jagjaguwar label, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is an excellent album of grand baroque pop, that immediately draws the listener into its spacey, atmospheric world - most likely found floating somewhere up in the ether. Having drawn comparisons to both the Beach Boys and Pink Floyd, and sharing a similar aesthetic to more recent bands such as Mercury Rev, The Besnard Lakes create music that will appeal to fans of not only diverse musical genres, but also of diverse ages. Your little sister is just as likely to dig the album's mellow-pop opener, Disaster, as your cool uncle Gary is to enjoy the psychedelia of And You Lied To Me, while your boyfriend/girlfriend/best-friend will love the bombastic rock of Devastation.
Combining sounds both new and old, and using a diverse array of instruments, including strings, horns, organ and glockenspiel, ...Are The Dark Horse is a dense, multi-layered album, that offers something new with each listen. On the aforementioned Devastation - one of the album's highlights - a five member choir is used to great effect, on a track that sounds similar to something the Polyphonic Spree might come up with, were they to swap their brightly colored robes for something slightly more doleful. Another stand out, is the strange and delicate Because Tonight, which is a perfect for those occasions when all you want to do is close your eyes and drift peacefully above the clouds.... and who doesn't want to drift peacefully above the clouds every now and then?

Check Out: http://myspace.com/thebesnardlakes

Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (Fat Possum, 2007)

2007-05-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

As far as my current appreciation of music is concerned, Dinosaur Jr. are 'the' band that started it all for me. That is not to say that I wasn't aware of great music prior to discovering Dinosaur, because I definitely was, however, there was something about their music, something about J Mascis' amazing guitar sound and his world-weary drawl, that opened my ears to a whole new world.
I remember listening to Where You Been (Dinosaur Jr.'s awesome 5 th album released in 1993) through a walkman while on a road-trip with my family in 1994. As J ripped into another epic guitar solo, I remember looking out the window at the great expanse that is the Australian countryside, feeling a sense of contentment and well-being that I had never felt before. What I felt was better than sex and drugs combined, though as I had had neither sex, nor drugs, at that tender young age, I could only guess.
Now, with the original line-up of Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph in place, Dinosaur Jr. have released their first new album since 1997, and the first that this seminal line-up has released since 1988's Bug - and it is awesome.
From the opening crunch of Almost Ready, through to the euphoric punchiness of Been There All The Time, and the more mellow moments of We're Not Alone, this is an album for fans of all of Dinosaur Jr.'s incarnations, and for anyone who loves great rock'n'roll and some damn fine guitar playing.
I have not been as excited by a new album as I have this one for a long time, and have listened to it at least twenty times in the past week or so. I will be heading out to the Troubaour in L.A. on Saturday night to see the band for only the second time ever. The first I saw them was in Melbourne when I was sixteen. I was so amped to see them on that first occasion that I was giddy with excitement, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't feeling that same giddiness right now. It is nice to know that some things never change.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/dinosaurjr - where you can listen to the album in its entirety.

Shearwater - Palo Santo (Matador, 2007 Reissue)

2007-05-02T13:24:00.001-07:00

A little background: Palo Santo was originally released in 2006 on Misra Records, then repackaged and reissued in 2007 when the band switched labels to Matador Records. A number of the songs on the reissue have been re-recorded, in order to sound more similar to what the band originally heard in their heads, plus an 8-song bonus disc consisting of demos, bonus tracks and covers has been added. I have not heard the original version of the album, so I can't make any comparison, however, I can say that Palo Santo (the reissued and, henceforth, definitive version) is an excellent album.
Palo Santo is Shearwater's fourth album. The band was formed in Austin, Texas, in 2001 when Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg - both of Okkervil River - required an outlet for their softer songs. Those looking for a sound similar to Okkervil River may be somewhat disappointed, as on this album Sheff has played a lesser role, leaving the songwriting duties - as well as lead vocal duties - in the safe hands of Meiburg. That being said, it is not difficult to spot the similar aesthetic shared by the two groups, be they with regard to the sound or just the general mood of the album.
A lazy person may classify Shearwater's music as Americana. I prefer the hyphenate friendly: Texan-Gothic-Folk-Rock. The NME would be proud of that sort of creative genre invention! Shearwater's sound is expansive; it is delicate and, in parts, haunting, though it also has moments of bar brawl swagger, evident on one of my favorite tracks, White Waves.
It took me at least two or three listens before Palo Santo began to fully reveal itself to me, though now that it has, I discover something new - a lyric, a melody, a sound - every time I press play.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/shearwater / www.shearwatermusic.com

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (Island, 1972)

2007-04-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

For many years, I have heard people speak of Nick Drake in hushed, reverential tones. It is rare to find a Drake fan who isn't completely and utterly enamoured with him. I had heard his music sporadically up until a month or so ago - a song on the radio here, a song at a friend's house there - however, I had never explored his music deeply. I am a firm believer in the idea that the music we love most has a way of finding us when we need it most, and I must say that I am extremely grateful that Nick Drake has finally chosen to find me.
Pink Moon is a stark, beautiful album that Drake recorded in two days with only an acoustic guitar, and occasional piano accompaniement. His lyrics speak of sadness, loss, and despair. Drake, no stranger to depression, would eventually die from an accidental overdose of anti-depressants two years after recording Pink Moon, at the tender young age of twenty-six. While the subject matter of the album may seem gloomy, Drake's tremendous acoustic guitar playing and finger picking, along with his soft, plaintive vocal delivery, transcend the gloominess and transform the album into something simultaneously dark and enchanting.
Listening to the album's opening track, Pink Moon, the piano line that kicks in 61 seconds into the song never fails to send a shivers up my spine, and the shivers recur throughout the remainder of the album, be they caused by a certain guitar note, or a softly sung lyric that speaks directly to the heart.

Check Out: www.brytermusic.com

James Figurine - Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake (Plug Research, 2006)

2007-04-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

How do you like your electronica? I like mine any number of ways, although perhaps my favourite type is Warm Electronica. Never heard of Warm Electronica? Don't worry, I just invented the term. I often find that a lot of electronica is just far too, well, electronic. It is too cold and inhuman, which makes it difficult for me to establish any sort of connection with it. This album does not suffer from that problem. James Figurine is perhaps more widely known by his real name, Jimmy Tamborello, whose is perhaps more widely known as one half of The Postal Service. He, being, of course, the half responsible for the music - as opposed to the lyrics and singing - of said group.
Warm Electronica is a more human form of electronica; it can be like your favourite blanket: warm, cozy and inviting. Its squeeks, beeps and beats are electronic, though it somehow manages to sound as though it has the warmth of an analogue recording.
The opening track of Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake, 55566688833, is a tongue-in-cheek lament of cell/mobile phone politics (55566688833 being the numbers necessary to spell 'love' when text messaging), while Pretend It's A Race And I'm On Your Side, is playful and oddly poignant at the same time, with a layered, sprightly melody built around the refrain "When I say, don't walk away, pretend its a lie." Another highlight is the track Apologies, which offers the sage advice that apologies are in fact gifts, that should be accepted with a smile on your face.
All-in-all Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake is a very cool album that has been receiving repeated plays in my stereo. If you are a fan of the electronic side of The Postal Service, this is definitely an album worth checking out. It also features some fine guest vocalists, including Jenny Lewis and King's Of Convenience's Erlend Oye.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/jamesfigurine

Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday (XL Recordings, 2007)

2007-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

When I first heard Ash Wednesday's opening track, While You Were Sleeping, on KEXP (www.kexp.org) early last year, I was instantly enamoured with its lilting melody and its infectious, rambling, sing-a-long quality. I henceforth spent the remainder of 2006, eagerly anticipating the release of the album (Ash Wednesday), as Perkins toured the U.S. with the likes of My Morning Jacket and my personal favorites, Okkervil River. Much to my delight, when the album was released in February, 2007, I found that While You Were Sleeping was by no means exceptional in its greatness, as there are a number of tracks on the album that are equal to, if not greater than, the album's opener.
Elvis Perkins has had his fair share of personal tragedy in his thirty-three years of living. His father - actor Anthony Perkins - died from complications related to AIDS in 1992, while his mother was aboard one of the planes that flew into the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. The title track of the album - Ash Wednesday - is a stirring meditation on that horrible day, performed by someone who has more right to speak of it than most, but does so in a way that is not overtly obvious, and all the more powerful for it.
As you may expect, the themes of love and loss are a constant throughout the songs on Ash Wednesday. However, Perkins does not allow himself to wallow in self-pity. His ruminations are transformed into wonderfully moving tracks such as All The Night Without Love, Moon Woman II and Sleep Sandwich, among others. This album is a fine example of an artist's ability to turn sadness into something beautiful.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/elvisperkins

Neil Young - Massey Hall 1971 (2007)

2007-03-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

This live album is the third release in the Neil Young Archives Performance Series. Just recently, a good friend and I were discussing the quandary we finds ourselves in, when we wish to take our first tentative steps into the back catalogue of an artist whose career dates decades back, and particularly an artist who has a catalogue as extensive as Neil Young. To be sure, Neil Young is one of the greats, indeed a living legend, but where do you begin, when there is so much music and so much history involved?
In answer to my own question, I would strongly suggest this album. Whether you are a Neil Young fan or are simply looking for some great tunes, this Massey Hall recording is fantastic. It is simply Neil, alone with an acoustic guitar - which he trades for a piano on a couple of tracks - playing to a receptive, adoring audience. There are great versions of Ohio and The Needle And The Damage Done, and a rousing rendition of Dance, Dance, Dance, among many other greats.
Neil Young is the type of artist who is equally compelling at electrified, ear-shattering volumes, as he is quietly strumming his acoustic guitar, singing his often amazing songs. This album is certainly a testament to the latter.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/neilyoung

Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone (2007)

2007-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was having "one of those days". I was having both car trouble and girl trouble. In truth, I was having trouble with a girl who had hit my car, and was being less than forthcoming with the money for the repairs - however that is a story for another day. As it were, though, I was ready to pull my hair out and scream obscenities at the top of my voice.
As the sun began to set, I realized that I had to get out of my cramped, dark apartment. I strapped on my shoes and my headphones, and embarked on the type of walk that you know will take whatever length of time is necessary for your mind to switch back to happy again.
As far as musical accompaniment was concerned, my mood called for something that was out of the ordinary. I needed a sound that would fill my head with a beautiful, loud noise, yet one that would leave space for me to sort through the various emotions that were battling for attention therein. The choice was simple: Explosions In The Sky.
Explosions In The Sky craft instrumental sonic landscapes that are as epic as the band's name might suggest. Music, as a friend of mine recently commented, that is perfect for listening to while running, or driving down a desolate highway on a cross-country road trip, or, as I found, while wrestling the demons in your mind.
All Of A Sudden I Miss Eveyone is an album full of raw emotion and power. The very fact that there are no lyrics, allows you, the listener, to examine and draw your own conclusions from the songs, rather than being told through words that a particular song is a happy song, or a sad song, or any type of song for that matter.
By the time I made it home - my walk taking as long as it took to listen to the album all the way through - I was in a far better headspace. Explosions In The Sky had filled my ears with beautiful, loud music, and, I, with a little help from six string guitars, crashing drums, and some rather lovely flourishes of piano, had successfully calmed the maelstrom of emotion in my head for another day.
I still haven't seen any money from the girl, though.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/texasband
www.explosionsinthesky.com

Cloud Cult - The Meaning Of 8 (2007)

2007-03-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

If I was to be completely honest, I would have to say, that for a lot of the time, the world is not a very nice place to be: Our political leaders seem intent on taking us to the brink of an all-out World War in the Middle East; from Iraq to Sudan, and beyond, thousands of innocent victims are being killed in conflicts into which they have been unwillingly drawn; environmental pollution and global warming continue to grow at an alarming rate; and we live in cities where it is considered strange behaviour for humans to acknowledge eachother with a smile.
However, as Cloud Cult's lead-singer, Craig Minnowa, sings on The Meaning of 8's, Purpose - "There must be purpose here / 'cause most of us keep waking up... / There must be healing here / 'cause everybody here's been damaged" - we cannot abandon all hope.
Indeed while acknowledging that there is much sadness in the world, Cloud Cult also acknowledge that there is also much to celebrate. Their sadness is often expressed as celebration, such as on the amazing track, Your 8th Birthday, which celebrates the life of Minnowa's son, Kaidin, who tragically died at the age of two, six years ago. Cloud Cult are adept at finding the lessons buried deep within our sadness, in transcending that sadness and using it as a tool to create music that is both up-lifting and life-affirming.
This album is not officially released until April 10th, however, if you go to http://www.cloudcult.com/ you can order the album immediately (anywere in the world). It is only early in 2007, however, I am quite sure that this album will feature close to the top in my year-end list of favourites.

Check out: http://www.myspace.com/cloudcult
http://www.cloudcult.com/

Macromantics - Moments In Movement (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)

2007-03-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

Modern commercial hip-hop, for the most part, is formulaic, unintelligent and boring. Macromantics, on the other hand, is anything but formulaic (a female MC from Australia, anyone?), is highly intelligent, and employs esoteric beats and production to keep your head bouncing and your feet moving, while the rhymes snake their way through your mind.
Macromantics (aka Romy Hoffman) is an awesome addition to an already strong independent hip-hop scene that has been slowly, but surely, gathering momentum over the past few years. Her album would sit comfortably amongst the best releases of the Def Jux label, as well as those of fellow female MC Jean Grae - who memorably lent her skills to The Herbalizer's 2005 album, Take London.
Working outside the mainstream, has allowed Macromantics to create a sound as individual as it is impressive. Her rhyming skills are beyond question, and on tracks such as the awesome Miss Macro she has no fear in telling it how it is. Further highlights include the album's title track, the up-tempo Scorch, and the re-working of Australian band Ground Components' Dark Side Of Dallas.
I was lucky enough to catch Macromantics' awesome live show last week in LA. On the basis of that show I headed straight to a record store the following day and picked up the album. It has barely left my stereo since, and shows no sign of giving up its position any time soon.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/macromantics

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (2006)

2007-03-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

Beirut's strangely-exotic music has slowly crept its way into my consciousness over the past few months, and now has me firmly in its grasp. It is a sound as unique as it is compelling, featuring all manner of instruments, including mandolin, accordion and trumpet.
The opening track of the album - The Gulag Orkestar - introduces us to a sound that seems neither of this time nor this place, and immediately sets the tone for what is to follow: a whimsical, often boisterous melange of sounds that wouldn't seem out of place, should they be spilling from an old-time Eastern European tavern. No small feat, for a group hailing from Santa Fe, NM.
The trumpet and accordion, coupled with dense, rythmic percussion, feature heavily in a number of the album's songs, while calmer moments, such as the rather lovely Postcards From Italy benefit with the accompaniement of mandolin, ukele and clarinet. The drama of the songs is only bolstered by the baroque vocals of the groups lyricist, founder and mutli-instrumentalist, Zach Condon. Condon, who was only nineteen when this album was recorded, is more-or-less a one mand band on Gulag Orkestar, which, considering the quality of the album, is quite an achievemet.
One of the greatest things that music offers us, is the ability to transport us out of our everyday experience. Beirut's music takes the listener on a journey not only to distant lands, but also to distant times. Without doubt, spending one's days toiling in the gulag would be far from ideal (read Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich if you don't know why), yet if your days were soundtracked by music such as Beirut's, perhaps it may not be all bad.

Check Out: http://myspace.com/beruit

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? (2007)

2007-02-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Of Montreal specialize in highly-imaginative, highly-eccentric, pop music that is immediately catchy, yet begs repeated listens. With song titles such as Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse (the song belonging to this title being one of the highlights of this album), you can rest assured that Of Montreal are not your average Top 40 pop band.
Lead by the enigmatic Kevin Barnes - the brainchild and mad-professor behind the group - Of Montreal construct songs that are weird, wonderful, and, at times, baffling - obscure lyrics often demanding repeated listens so that the listener may fully comprehend their true meaning.
A healthy portion of this album deals with a somewhat dark period in Barnes' psyche. A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger has Barnes relaying a tale of a Summer spent in Norway in the grips of severe depression, over what is an extremely upbeat, sunshine-y melody. The Past Is A Grotesque Animal is a one of the albums darker tracks, though its pulsing, rave-up, electro-beat and lyrics such as "How can I explain / I need you here / and not here too" and "Things could be different / but they're not" make it a compelling listen.
Of Montreal's music - playful guitars, upbeat electronics - often contradicts the songs' lyrical content, though this seems to be the ultimate goal on this album. People don't like to be battered around the head with tales of sadness and depression (not that it is all doom and gloom), but give it a funky beat and something I can tap my foot to, and it becomes really quite enjoyable.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/ofmontreal

DeVotchka - How It Ends (2004)

2007-02-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

DeVotchka's music defies easy categorization. Think somewhere along the lines of a lovelorn troubadour fronting a "north of the border" mariachi band that grew up listening to eastern European folk music, and you may be getting close. Describing the feeling of the music on this album is equally difficult: soft and delicate; loud and boisterous; mournful; celebratory - DeVotchka wears many hats, and they wear them well!
How It Ends is the type of album that suits many moods and many situations. Perhaps this explains why it has barely left my CD player for the past three weeks and has shot to the top of my Ipod's "Most Played" list. With the soaring baritone of singer Nick Urata leading the proceedings, DeVotchka weave together tales of love, loss, sorrow, and celebration, in songs full of exotic instrumentation such as bouzouki, glockenspiel, theremin, violin, and accordian - in addition to staples such as guitar, drums, and piano.
There are a number of highlights on the album, the greatest of which is the title track, How It Ends. The opening lines - "Hold your grandmother's bible to your breast / Gonna put it to the test / You wanted to be blessed" - introduce a song that has the ability to make one's hair stand on end - even after multiple listens. It is the type of slow song that you and your friends will want to sing-a-long to at the end of a long, boozy night. It will make you happy and sad at the same time.
Other album highlights include the playful, mariachi-flavored, We're Leaving, the quiet lament of Dearly Departed, and the rollicking, Such A Lovely Thing, which contains the bitter refrain: "You only love me 'cause I'm leaving".

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/devotchkamusic & www.devotchka.net. For more DeVotchka music, check out the film Little Miss Sunshine, for which they provided the score.

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)

2007-02-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Shins' latest album was released a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't as yet purchased the album, or at the very least given it a listen, may I suggest that you do so promptly. There are many people who have loudly sung The Shins' praises since the release of their 2001 debut album - Oh, Inverted World - particularly following the appearance of the track New Slang in the Zach Braff indie flick, Garden State. I am not one of those people.
Don't get me wrong - I own the bands first two albums and am of the opinion that they are really quite cool, however, for some reason, I have always felt that the albums were missing... something. Maybe I am crazy, because I certainly couldn't tell you what that certain "someting" is - it is simply a feeling I get when I listen to them. I can tell you, though, that Wincing The Night Away is missing absolutely nothing at all. It is a fantastic album! The Shins have brought together the best elements of their first two albums and have thrown in something extra special into the mix (a little fairy dust, some extra herbs and spices - I couldn't really say) to fully realize their potential.
From the opening track - the excellent Sleeping Lessons - through to the album's first single - Phantom Limb - and onwards, each song is an aural delight that begs multiple listens. One of my particular favorites is the delicate, 60's-psych-pop-esque, Red Rabbits - one of the album's many high points.
If you are unfamiliar with The Shins, it is probably time you cozied up and introduced yourself. If you have already formed an opinion of the band - even a high opinion, Wincing The Night Away could very well alter that opinion for the better, as it has certainly done for myself. Go Shins!

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/theshins

Sparklehorse - Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain (2006)

2007-01-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

With their latest album, Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain, Sparklehorse have created - in my opinion - one of the finest albums of recent times. The group creates music that is laden with joy, sadness, angst, and acceptance, often within the one song.
Sparklehorse is not so much a band, as the musical creation of Mark Linkous - lead singer, song-writer, and the only constant member in the band’s ten-plus year existence. Linkous has had a somewhat difficult career trajectory, which has included recurring bouts of severe depression and debilitating drug addiction, along with the release of a number of excellent albums that have been critically praised, yet have failed commercially. The band’s 2001 album, It’s A Wonderful Life, is one of my all-time favorite albums, and the fact that it did not introduce Sparklehorse to the music listening public at large is baffling!
Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain serves up the same sonic brilliance of its 2001 predecessor, using all manner of weird sounds to craft songs of sonically textured wonderment. For those unfamiliar with Sparklehorse’s sound, two of Linkous’ collaborators on this album - Stephen Drozd (Flaming Lips), Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev / Flaming Lips producer) - may provide some indication of where Sparklehorse lie musicically.
The music, for the most part is ethereal, tranquil and uplifting. Songs such as Shade and Honey, Some Sweet Day and Morning Hollow are all fine examples of Sparklehorse's gentler side, while Ghost In The Sky and It's Not So Hard show that the band are not afraid of rocking a little harder.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/sparklehorse

Islands - Return To The Sea (2006)

2007-01-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

Throughout the last forty or so years, islands have played an integral part in the development of modern music. First, in 1949, Chris Blackwell - an English man in Jamaica - founded Island Records, which would be home to such musical luminaries as Bob Marley, U2, and, for a short, yet productive time, Tom Waits. Then in 1983, came the Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton country-crossover hit, Islands In The Stream - a rousing love song that paired two of country musics finest, and that is everything a love song should be. Finally, in 2006, Islands, a band from Montreal, Canada, released the excellent Return To The Sea, which, in some strange place in my mind, brought everything full circle.
On Return To The Sea, the two core members of Islands - Nick Diamonds (vocals, guitar) & J'aime Tambour (drums) - enlisted the help of a number musicians to play all manner of instruments (accordian, cello, violin, charrango, flute, organ, etc.) to aid in bringing their eccentric, poptastic tunes to life - and, in this, they most certainly succeeded.
I love when bands have a cracking track as the first song on their album. Islands have done this with the epic opener, Swans (Life After Death). Clocking in at over nine minutes, the song carries you along with its driving beat, and its playful, yet oddly poignant lyrics, before changing time and rocking out at the eight minute mark. Very cool - especially as it is a clear indicator of the quality of music to follow.
Islands mission seems fairly clear: To write clever, intelligent pop music, while never taking themselves too seriously - at least that is the feeling I get from songs such as Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby - which is another favorite of mine.
Return To The Sea is a great collection of songs that, like any good pop music, makes you feel something real, while also engaging your mind. Obviously, for the most part, this type of pop music is no longer available in the world of commercial radio or television, and so, must be sought elsewhere. Islands is as good a place as any to begin your search.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/islandsareforever

The Sand Pebbles - Ghost Transmissions (2004)

2007-01-17T10:05:00.001-08:00

The Sand Pebbles, a very cool band from Melbourne, Australia, have been making music together in various line-ups, since way back in 1999. Ghost Transmissions, is the album that brought them to the attention of various tastemakers in the Melbourne scene, though not before a cover of Julian Cope's Out Of My Mind On Dope And Speed saw them written up in various influential publications in the U.S. back in 2002.
Ghost Transmissions is a shining gem of psychedelic-pop-rock. Perhaps, like me, psychedelic conjures images of the band disappearing up their own collective-paisley-coloured Khyber at some point in the proceedings, venturing off on their own - never to come back down again - trip, man. I can assure you that this is not the case. From the slow burn of the opening track, The Day Summer Fell, Ghost Transmissions is, for the most part, a mellow, groove-ridden, journey, through which the band happily plays the part of the pied piper, leading the ever-willing listener.
There are some excellent instrumental tracks on the album, including the 'perfect for driving along the coastline' rock-out of Hanging Out, and the 'this song is making me all warm and fuzzy' groove of Sioux City Falls. The track, Black Sun Ensemble, clocks in at just under twelve minutes, and encompasses all of the best elements of The Sand Pepples sound (i.e. psychedelic-pop-rock). With awesome lead guitar, that is never over-indulgent, and the bass and drums rhythm section locking onto a solid groove throughout, this has to be the standout track of the album.
Finishing with the loose, rocking All My Life (I Love You), Ghost Transmissions is a an awesome listening experience from beginning to end. The Sand Pebbles - who released Atlantis Regrets Nothing - the follow up to Ghost Transmissions - in 2006, are definitely a band worthy of your attention.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/sandpebbles

The Devastations - The Devastations (2003)

2007-01-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

My introduction to The Devastations came late last year, when I was lucky enough to see them play the support slot for The Drones' show in L.A.. As I arrived at the venue quite late in the evening, I missed the first few songs of their set, though I certainly heard enough to convince me that The Devastations had a great sound and were a band that demanded my further attention. After my initial listen to this album, I was convinced that my earlier conviction had been accurate.
The Devastations play music that can be tender and somber one moment, raucous and nettled the next. The album opens with the slow, plaintive instrumental track, He Wasn't Like That When I Knew Him, which features piano, a quietly plucked banjo, violin, and drums. The pace soon picks up on the rambling, break-up themed track, Loelene, which, among other things, features the sultry, French sung vocals of Emilie Martin.
While the album as a whole is excellent, there are two stand-out tracks that stay with me each time I listen to the album, long after the last song has played. The first, is the sublimely brilliant, Previous Crimes. With lines such as "I do not believe in forgiveness/Or setting suns/I cannot conceive your setting sun", this is perhaps the most tender moment of the album. It is a track that would not be out of place among Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen's song catalogues, two people with whom The Devastations share a similar musical aesthetic.
The second track that has chosen to imbed itself deep within my psyche, is the beautifully restrained, We Will Never Drink Again. Here, we find the songs' protagonist sorting through the broken pieces and unanswered questions of a failed relationship. Rarely has someone else's heartbreak sounded so delicate and, oddly, comforting.
The Devastations play the type of music that is perfect for dark, wintry days; perfect for days when your in the mood for a glass (bottle) of red wine and some healthy introspection; perfect for days when you are happy being sad.

Check Out: http://www.devastations.net/music

Cloud Cult - Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus (2005)

2006-12-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

As you may be able to guess from the title, this album is a little bit 'out-there'. However, it is 'out-there' in a really good way. I bought Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus back in April of this year, and have found myself returning to it constantly since then. It has worked its was into my psyche, planted itself under my skin, and has become one of my favourite records of 2006.
Cloud Cult is a collective of musicians, based around the eccentric song-writing talents of one Craig Minnowa. The music they make is playful, poignant, life-affirming, sad, boisterous, and pretty. Across the twenty-three tracks on this album, there is a quite a lot of genre-hopping, although it is quite safe to say that, for the most part, it is rooted in the kind of eccentric pop-rock made by the likes of The Flaming Lips and others. Comparisons are odious, however, as Cloud Cult have a sound that is all their own. Transistor Radio is, for me, one of the stand-out tracks on the album. It is a beautiful track that always reminds me of a Jonathan Safran Foer novel (particulary, Extremely Close And Incredibly Loud, which happens to be my favourite novel of 2006). Other favourites from the album include What Comes At The End and The Man Jumped Out The Window, although each and every song has a way of attaching itself to you.
As they release albums on their own label, Earthology Records (www.earthology.net), and have little or no marketing budget to speak of, it would be very easy for this album to slip between the cracks. However, people have been taking notice, because it is an album full of wonderful songs, created by people who truly care about their art. Plus, it is the sort of album that just makes you feel good. It would be well worth your time and money to seek Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus, you won't be disappointed with what he has to say.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/cloudcult

Tom Waits - Orphans [Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards] (2006)

2006-12-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for an objective review of Tom Waits' latest 3-disc album, Orphans, I suggest that you stop reading and look elsewhere. In my humble opinion, Tom Waits is a musical genius, one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and quite possibly, the coolest person on the planet. As I expected, Orphans serves to reinforce my opinion.

Tom Waits has had a long and varied recording career, dating back to his first release, Closing Time, in 1973. Orphans serves as an almost complete overview of his career, however, it does so using new (30) and rare (24) tracks, as opposed to a 'greatest-hits' collection of his previous album songs. Orphans is comprisedof a total of 54 tracks spread over 3 discs. Each of the 3 disc's titles (Brawler, Bawlers, Bastards), giving an indication of the type of Waits songs we will find on each.

Brawlers displays the more raucous, juke joint, blues stomp, rockin' side of Waits' multi-faceted musical persona. In addition to great new tracks, such as Lie To Me, LowDown and Bottom Of The World, there are also covers of The Ramones and bluesman Leadbelly. One of the most interesting tracks is the poignant Road To Piece, which uses the conflict between Israel and Palestine as its subject matter.

Bawlers reflects Waits' time as a blooze-soaked, love lorn, troubadour. I dare say that fans of 1970's Tom Waits who were unable to make the leap with him into his more experimental days, will be able to find solace in this disk. Long Way Home, which first appeared on the soundtrack of Big Bad Love and has since been covered by Norah Jones, is a touching song of devotion, as only Waits could pen. Bend Down The Branches and You Can Never Hold Back Spring are what Waits' wife (and creative partner) would call Grand Weepers, and set the mood of this disc early in the piece. Comprising twenty tracks, there are a number of gems on the Bawlers disc, of which Never Let Go and Waits' cover of Young At Heart are just two more.

Bastards is a particular treat! This disc will appeal to both long-time Waits fans, and those who are fans of left-off-centre, odd-ballism. The disc is comprised of both songs and a number of spoken word pieces. Some of the spoken word pieces are extremely touching, such as the Bukowski tale of a young, lonely man riding a bus through North Carolina (Nirvana); while some are rather disturbing in true Waitsian fashion (Army Ants, Children's Story). Much the same could be said of the songs. One of the songs I particular like, is Dog Door, which first appeard on Sparklehorse's 2001 album, It's A Wonderful Life. One of the other standout songs, is the bastradization of Disney's Heigh Ho. In Waits' hands, it doesn't sound so much seven dwarves, as diamond slaves in the Sierra Leone. Needless to say, it would frighten small children.

It is difficult to do justice to any Tom Waits release, particularly one of this excellence and breadth. The music is excellent, and the packaging of the limited edition release (with a 90+ page booklet) is outstanding, if for the rare photos alone. If you know and love Tom Waits, you need this album. If you are looking for an introduction, this is probably the best place to start. If you don't like Tom Waits, perhaps it is time to re-evaluate your stance.

Check Out: http://www.anti.com/catalog.php?id=69

A Message From In(High)Fidelity

2006-11-30T15:54:00.000-08:00

All the posts that follow this one, consist of pieces that were written at different times, over the prior eighteen months. Therefore, while the page tells you that the pieces were posted here in November 2006, they could have been written at any time between June of 2005 and November 2006. I simply point this out so that no-one is confused. Perhaps I have only caused more confusion. It doesn't really matter.... More music, maestro!

Say Hi To Your Mom - Impeccable Blahs (2006)

2006-11-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

I bought this album a couple of months ago, and have not been able to stop listening to it since. Actually, I bought the album without having heard any of the band's music, however, I had seen the name around town and thought that with a moniker like Say Hi To Your Mom, it couldn't be bad. I love buying music that way from time to time, especially when the music turns out to be this damn good. Say Hi To Your Mom is a three piece from Brooklyn, although to my understanding, Eric Elbogen (guitar, vocals, synth, etc.) is the brainchild behind their very cool sound, and is, at present, the only member of the band. In the liner notes, the album is described as thus: "A record about vampires. Not creepy, goth vampires but rather people just like you and me who happen to get their nourishment from drinking blood." True to their word, this album is about vampires, however, the lyrics and the music (think along the lines of New Order guitars and synth sounds) are so catchy and playful, that these are the type of vampires that you would feel comfortable snuggling up with on a cold winters night. Vampires are people too. Impeccable Blahs is one of those albums that is immediately likeable and should appeal to people of varying musical tastes. In addition, it is the type of album that suits various moods and situations, which is probably why I have been able to listen to it so much. Standout tracks on the album include These Fangs, Snowcones And Puppies, and the quietly awesome She Just Happens To Date The Prince Of Darkness. This album comes with my highest recommendation, and will definitely be high on my Best Of 2006 list.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/sayhitoyourmom

The Decemberists - Her Majesty (2003)

2006-11-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

Always being one step behind the cool people, just as the music world was preparing itself for the release of The Decemberists latest album - The Crane Wife - in October, I was just discovering the band's second album, Her Majesty, relased way back in 2003. Sometimes it can be good to be a little behind the pace. Her Majesty is a fantastic album, full of great tunes and great stories. That is The Decemberists' thing - or more so their leader, Colin Meloy's thing - they seem to write short stories that are set to music, more so than 'songs'. These story songs are all originals, however, they seem as if they could come from a different time, just as easily as this one. Dare I say, they are.... timeless. No, I probably shouldn't say that, because I'm pretty sure I heard that word used to describe Michael Bolton's latest album of Frank Sinatra covers. Here is a story that may go some way in describing what I hear when I listen to Her Majesty, by The Decemberists:
The year is 1803, and I have been convicted of stealing a loaf of bread from a baker in Baker Street, London. I am being transported to a convict ship, upon which I will be sent to Australia. As we near the dock, we pass a pub that is full to capacity with all the sorts you would expect to frequent an English pub in 1803: Dock workers, cutthroats, prostitutes, buxom waitresses who will freshen your drink, guv'nor. Everybody is three sheets to the wind and having a grand old time. There is a band in the corner singing shanties and folk songs about Chimbley Sweeps, The Solidiering Life, and your Red Right Ankle (which brings a tear to my eye). The song they are playing comes to an end, and someone yells "Play on, The Decemberists!" The last music I ever hear, before dying of scurvy on that dreaded convict ship, is that of The Decemberists.

Check out: www.decemberists.com

Common Market - Common Market (2006)

2006-11-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

This album may be a little difficult to track down - unless you are lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest - however, it would be well worth your time (I ordered the CD from http://cdbaby.com/). I am well aware that hiphop is not everybody's cup of tea, however, Common Market have crafted fourteen tracks of back-to-basics (one DJ, one MC), old-skool, positive vibe hip-hop that beg to be listened, and bounced, to. To describe Common Market as 'back-to-basics' may be somewhat unjust, however, as the production on this album is second to none, as are the samples that have been used to construct this gem. Furthermore, the rhyme skills of Ra Scion (Sabzi works production and DJ duties) are up there with the best in the business. The lyrical content focusses more-or-less on telling it how it is, whether it is the state of hiphop in 2006, the state of politics and the need for change, or the state of male-female relations. This album does not have any pretension. It is basically two extremely talented hiphop heads pooling their talent to create something that is not only both musically and lyrically upbeat, but with tracks such as Connect For and Every Last One, is also carries a message of empowerment. It may seem somewhat preachy in parts, but if this is what goes down at church, I know where I'll be this Sunday. Definitely one of the stand-out hiphop albums of 2006 - the best sounds are coming up from the underground.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/commonmarket

Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been (1993 / Reissued 2006)

2006-11-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

My love affair with this album, and Dinosaur Jr, began in a far-off time called 1994. I was an impressionable teenager, and had recently been experimenting with substance(s) that were certainly not good for my mental health: baggy jeans, a bright orange Cross-Colours hat, and Kriss Kross. Things were looking grim. Luckily, at that time, my bedroom was next to that of my brother David. I began to hear strange, beautiful noises coming from his stereo. Songs that, for no reason I could pinpoint, picked me up out of my mediocre teen-existence and propelled me to some place better. To say Dinosaur Jr helped me to find myself in the teenage wilderness might be somewhat melodramatic, however, it cannot be denied that, at the very least, they gave me something to hold on to as I swam (sometimes drowned) in the bullshit that is a teenage existence. This album, made at the height of the grunge/alternative music era is a stone-cold classic. Fans of Dinsoaur Jr's earlier (pre-Green Mind) work will often dismiss the latter career albums, however, for the most part, this is due to ridiculous "indie-er than though" attitudes. J Mascis' guitar work on this album, and in general, is jaw-dropping , while his song-writing skills here are at their pinnacle. It is difficult to name favourite tracks, however, What Else Is New would be there, as would Out There and the quieter Going Home. The sixth song on the album, "Get Me, is quite possibly my all-time favourite song. The 2006 reissue of the album is blessed with three extra tracks - the stand-out of which is an amazing eight minute live version of What Else Is New, which is worth the price of admission alone.

Check Out: http://jmascis.com/

Mates Of State - Bring It Back (2006)

2006-11-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

Mates Of State are a husband and wife duo from San Francisco that have had me smiling for weeks. I was never much one for maths (math for those of you who are American), however, the following equation has recently had me repeatedly pressing repeat: drums + keyboards + two part male/female harmonies = fuzzy, warm goodness. This album contains some of the catchiest, most poptastic (definitely a word) tunes I have heard for a long time. Fraud In The '80s and Beautiful Dreamer are two of my favourite tracks, though that being said, I don't think there is a a weak track in this collection. Basically, this is the type of music that makes you smile, and bob your head from side-to-side without any pretension - even as you sit, trying to describe to your friends what it all sounds like. I take music quite seriously, perhaps more seriously than necessary, however, taking music seriously these days doesn't mean it has to be all dark and depressing. In these troubled times, it is important to be serious about being lighthearted and having fun every once in a while. It isn't all bad!

Check Out: www.matesofstate.com

Okkervil River - Down The River Of Golden Dreams (2003)

2006-11-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

More than anything, I wish I could be that guy that constantly knows and writes about every new "cool" band in a cynical "I'm-far-too-good-to-listen-to-this-album-let-alone-write-about-it-because-I-could-come-up-with-much-better-music-if-only-I-had-some-musical-talent-and-not-so-big-a-chip-on-my-shoulder-about-what-the-other-kids-said-to-me-at-school-that-made-me-stay-in-my-bedroom-for-the-better-part-of-my-life-with-headphones-on-listening-to-indie-rock-developing-my-fuck-you-I-listen-to-better-music-than-you" attitude, however, I'm not - depending on who you ask. As you read further posts on this blog, you will discover that I have a special affection for Okkervil River. There are album, Black Sheep Boy, knocked my socks off earlier this year, and I was full of rapture when I discovered that it was not their first album. I must admit, a strange feeling came over me as I picked up Down The River Of Golden Dreams. Oh, crap! "How could anything that came before Black Sheep Boy be as good?" I asked myself. "Surely, I am bound to be disappointed!" What a fool I was. Okkervil River, continue to knock me on my arse! This album is outstanding. By the end of songs such as It Ends With A Fall, The War Criminal Rises and Speaks, and Yellow, I find some myself in a state of strange awe, and have to bend down to pick my jaw up off the ground - such is their brilliance. The images that the songs conjure seem so real, that each one feels more like a short-film or a road-trip, perhaps, rather than just words and music. Without the presence of one weak track on this album, Down The River Of Golden Dreams is truly an exceptional album, and you would be doing yourself a grave injustice if you didn't track it down. So says I.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/okkervilriver

The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (2002)

2006-11-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

I bought this album five days ago. It was one of those occasions that I bought three albums at the same time. You know how it is, you buy a few albums, and you try your best to give all of them your utmost attention, however, somehow, it just doesn't work out. You always go back to one or two of the albums repeatedly. I didn't know much about The Mountain Goats before I bought this album. I still don't. I knew that I liked one of the songs, as I had heard it on KEXP - in my opinion, the best radio station in America (check out www.kexp.org, if you don't live in Seattle; 90.3 on your FM dial for those of you that are lucky enough to do so). The Mountain Goats is pretty much one guy: John Darnielle; who is extremely prolific. As such, they are the type of band that has so many albums, it is hard to know where to begin. I began with Tallahasee, and I certainly won't be ending with Tallahassee. The Mountain Goats' music is of the mostly acoustic, singer-songwriter style, however, the lyrical content sets it apart from most of that which constitutes the singer-songwrite realm these days. There is an element of the lyrics that makes it all seem very 'real'. Darnielle doesn't seem to be mincing words... he calls it as he sees it, though in a lot of instances, I am still to determine what he is referring to. Track number 7, No Children, is my favourite thus far. Maybe I have it all wrong. I don't know. I do know, however, that I took a chance on The Mountain Goats, and I have been rewarded soundly.

Check Out: www.mountain-goats.com

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (2005)

2006-11-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

I bought Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy some months ago, and have been somewhat reluctant to write about it ever since. Originally I thought I didn't want to write about it, because it seemed I had been let in on a secret that was too good to share. However, it soon became apparent that I didn't want to write about it because I was afraid. Afraid of what, you ask? Afraid of writing about something of which I am so in awe of. I know that the whole point of this exercise is to let you know about music that I have been enjoying, but this is different. I have listened to Black Sheep Boy innumerable times since I picked it up almost four months ago - I am currently listening to it for the second time today - and it continues to blow me away with every listen. It is a collection of 11 songs based around the fictional Black Sheep Boy, a character created by the band's extremely talented songwriter, Will Sheff (by way of 60's folk singer, Tim Hardin), whose lyrical imagery is often off-putting in its depth and beauty. With instrumentation including acoustic and electric guitar, pedal steel, wurlitzer, pump organ, mandolin, bass, drums, along with a number of other instruments, Okkervil River have created an album that not only mines the rich vein of music loosely termed as Americana, but also an album that stands alone as an underground classic in its own right. With my limited writing ability, I am unable to do this this album the justice it deserves, so I implore you to go out and listen to it for yourself. I dare say you will not be disappointed.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/okkervilriver

The Books - Lost and Safe (2005)

2006-11-30T08:39:00.000-08:00

Perhaps to understand The Books, it is important to understand the concept of "mind races." All of you shoud be familiar with mind races, however, you may know them by a different name, or no name at all. Mind races are what happen to you late on Sunday night, as you lie in bed, thoughts of the week ahead inter-mingling with strange flashbacks and distorted, almost ethereal, recollections of the drunken night(s) before. Random images, sounds, thoughts bouncing around your head as you lie in the state that is not asleep, but not really awake either. It is a strange state of being, one that is not quite real, but that is deeply rooted in reality. The Books music is perfect mind races music. It comprises of softly played instrumentation, mixed with electronic bips & bleeps, and a variety of strange, sound bytes. In many of the songs, random pieces of dialogue from varying strange sources are incorporated into the music, over which, the lead singer sings in his hushed, almost computer-like vocal, echoing the same words. The dialogue ranges from upbeat to quite bizarre at times. Confused? Lost and Safe is probably not everyone's cup of tea, but it is great, chilled out music, to fill up your head space, when you need something a little off kilter to keep you on the level.

Check Out: www.thebooksmusic.com

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy Appendix (2005)

2006-11-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

What's this? The same album twice? Of course not. Don't get me wrong, I like it enough to write about it twice, however, I hardly assume that you have the time to read the same thing twice. Besides, you're either at work - and no one wants to use their brain at work, or at home - and there is probably some crap reality show starting in a couple of minutes. Black Sheep Boy Appendix is made up of songs recorded at the same time as the original album, that were not included on said album. So - you're thinking - another band cashing in by releasing a mini-album of second-rate songs that weren't good enough to make it on a real album. How wrong you are! I really have no idea how Okkervil River have managed it, but these songs are equal, if not greater than, those which are included on the album proper. The songwriting is full of amazing imagery, with the same themes carried across both releases. It is not just the songwriting that impresses, though, it is also the impassioned playing of those songs that blows me away every time. If you've got the funds, I would recommend doing as I did, and buying both the album and mimi-album at the same time. If you are lucky enough to live in England, Virgin/EMI will be re-releasing both in a single package.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/okkervilriver

The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday (2005)

2006-11-30T08:31:00.000-08:00

Time for some question and answer:
Q - Who likes rock'n'roll?
A - Who doesn't like rock'n'roll?
Q - Who likes bands that reference the Bones Brigade in the first song of their album?
A - A reference to the Bones Brigade in any song on the album kicks arse!
Q - Who likes songs that deal in everything from suburban boredom and religious symbolism to drugs and alcohol and hoodrat friends - wrapping it all together into some pretty smart wordplay?
A - You mean lyrics like: "I guess I've heard about original sin / I heard the chick blamed the dude / I heard the chick blamed the snake / I heard they were naked when they got busted / I heard things ain't been the same since." Or how about: "She said we didn't go to Dallas / because Jackie Onassis said it ain't safe for Catholics yet / Think about what they did to Kennedy / And think about his security / Then think what they'll do to you and me"
Q - Who likes singers that kind of sing-talk-testify, over the top of a rollicking, good-time rock'n'roll sound, incorporating drums, guitars, keys and the occasional horn?
A - Guilty.
Q - Well, if you like all of those things, you must love the Hold Steady's album Separation Sunday.
A - That is more a statement than a question, but, yes! With tracks like Hornets! Hornets!, Stevie Nix, Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night," and How A Crucifiction Really Feels - what's not to like. It is a damn fine album. Sure to put a smile on your face.

Check Out: www.theholdsteady.com

The Drones @ Spaceland - Los Angeles - February 17, 2006

2006-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

With the fine album - Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By (see below) - under their belt, and reports of an awesome live show, it was with rather high expectations that I made my way to Spaceland on an unseasonably cold Friday night. While playing to sold-out crowds in Australia, The Drones are yet to make their mark on the U.S.. However, if what I witnessed on Friday night was any indication of their greatness, 2006 should be their year. The Drones took to the stage looking like those misfit kids at school with whom you secretly wanted to be friends, but who were always far too intimidating to approach. I'm not sure how to describe their music, other than calling it rock'n'roll. Think a drunken fight on a leaky boat between Nick Cave and Sonic Youth (with the Bad Seeds drunkenly cheering along), and you're somewhere to understanding The Drones (or maybe further away than ever before). The Drones don't play, so much as attack each song. Gareth Liddiard - lead singer/guitarist - leading the band with a menacing swagger. He and fellow guitatist, Rui Pereira, extrapolating inhuman howls and screeches from their respective instruments, all the while backed by the pounding rythm section of Fiona Kitschin (bass) and Mike Noga (drums). Tonight the band tear through a fifty-minute set, with an awesome rendition of Shark Fin Blues, and a closing track (whose name I don't know) that lasted close to ten minutes and left me virtually speechless by its was so damn goodness (I was at the show by myself, so its hard to say whether or not I would have been speechless had I actually had someone to talk to).

The Drones are an awesome band, who I have no doubt, will continue to blow audiences away. Luckily, you don't have to take my word for it, if you're living in Melbourne or London, the band are playing both of your fair cities in the next few weeks. Check out the Shows section at www.thedrones.com.au to find out where they'll be... and get there. While you're there, you can check out the video to Shark Fin Blues in the Video section.

The Drones - Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By (2005)

2006-11-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

I recently watched Martin Scorcese’s excellent Bob Dylan documentary, “No Direction Home,” in which, a young Dylan tells a press conference that he makes music, not because he wants to, but because he has to. On their latest album, Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By, The Drones sound like a band that make music not because they want to, but because - like Dylan - they have to. There is something primal locked inside them, urgent tearing and screaming to escape, and the only way they can release it, is through their music. With two guitars, bass, drums, and front man Gareth Liddiard’s vocals, The Drones make music that sounds saturated in blood, sweat and booze. Shark Fin Blues, the album’s scorching opening track, tells the story of a ship, sinking into shark infested waters. The narrator of the story, sinking with the ship, ready to accept his grisly fate. The guitars on this track sound more like they are being fought than played. The vocals, desperate. Liddiard’s ability to alternate between quiet rumination to wild howling, are never better exemplified. Having been compared to other like-minded Australians like Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Drones are not afraid to explore the darker regions of the human psyche. Another standout track, is the haunting Locust, which begins with the quiet tinkling of a piano, and ends in a wash of guitar distortion and feedback. In between, the song’s narrator tells of a small Australian town, opening proceedings with the lyric “Georgie, I can’t stop drinking / Seems like everytime I do, I can’t stop thinking.” A town with a dark past, where racism, suicide and alcoholism run through the streets like a river. Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By, is a dark, ominous listen, and along with your favourite bottle of whisky, is a perfect companion for those days when life itself is dark and ominous.

Check Out: www.thedrones.com.au

Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise (2005)

2006-11-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

Simply in its ambition and scope, Illinoise is quite an achievement. Sufjan Stevens, a relatively new player in the folk/pop genre, has set out to make 50 albums, each dedicated to one of the 50 continental United States. This album, following the first installment of Michigan, is the second of the series that could see Stevens’ recording albums for a very, very long time to come.Judging by the quality of this effort, this could only be a good thing. Even if you don’t particularly like his music, you have to respect Stevens’ talent. The album contains an extensive twenty-two tracks, all written and arranged by Stevens, with many featuring choral and orchestral parts. The subject matter ranges from Al Capone to Superman (The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts), from the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, to The Seer’s Tower. Perhaps the strangest, and most oddly touching moment of the album, comes in the form of the song John Wayne Gacy, Jr., about the serial killer who raped, murdered and buried the bodies of more than thirty men under his house, in the Chicago area during the 1970s. Grim subject matter, indeed, however Stevens manages to paint his subject in a light that suggests he was indeed troubled, but perhaps only a little more than the average person. Towards the end of the song, Stevens sings “And in my best behaviour / I am really just like him / Look beneath the floorboards / For the secrets I have hid.” It may take you a while to get your head around this, and many of the other songs on “Illinoise,” such is the complexity of the songs that Stevens creates. I have had the album for quite some time now, and continue to find something new with each listen. I must admit, though, that it is one album that I rarely, if ever, listen to from start to finish. Perhaps, simply because of the sheer magnitude of it, it is an album that is more easily digestible in smaller doses, rather than as a whole.

Check Out: http://www.asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=5

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Self Titled (2005)

2006-11-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have been one of the most talked about bands in music circles this year, having sold almost thirty thousand copies of this, their first album, without any record company assistance, or for that matter, any marketing or advertising. There’s has been a word-of-mouth phenomenon that began in their hometown of Brooklyn, New York, spread like wildfire across the USA, and has now reached as far afield as Australia and the UK. An awesome achievement for any band. Obviously, it was not long before the hype train was fully fired up, and with hype, comes a great deal of scepticism. Is the music any good? In our humble opinion, yes it is. Think of a half-way point between Talking Heads and New Order, with vocals that at times sound like David Byrne (who has championed the band), at others like a cat being strangled (but in a good way). It will probably be the vocals that will divide people, as the music itself is extremely catchy and very likeable. The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth, which has been receiving rather extensive air time both here and abroad, is one of the stand out tracks of 2005. Other noteworthy tracks on the album include Details Of The War, and the album’s closer, Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood. With somewhat ambiguous lyrics, I am still yet to decipher what it is that lead singer, Alec Ounsworth, is singing about, but for the most part, it doesn’t seem to matter. Along with the guitars, drums and warm washes of synthesizer, his voice at times seems to simply be another instrument, as opposed to being the main focus of the song. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have one of the coolest names in music at the moment, and with their infectious pop melodies and unique vocal stylings, have one of the coolest releases of 2005.

Check out: www.myspace.com/clapyourhandssayyeah

New Buffalo - The Last Beautiful Day (2004)

2006-11-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

The Last Beautiful Day, recently released in America via the Arts & Crafts International label (previously released in Australia in 2004 via Dot Dash) is a wonderful slice of quirky, sublime pop. Essentially a one-woman show, Sally Seltmann wrote, recorded and produced all of the songs on the album, with a little help from the likes of Beth Orton - who sings backing vocals on one track - and the Dirty Three's Jim White - who provides drums on three of the albums ten songs. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is about the Last Beautiful Day that makes it such a joy to listen to. On tracks, such as the slow burning Come Back, Seltmann's voice is at once fragile and beautiful, with the quiet guitar accompaniment lending the song a certain poignancy. Elsewhere, the combination of live instrumentation with programmed beats and loops add a complexity to the songs that is always subtle, in keeping with the understated elegance of the album On the uplifting It'll Be Alright, when Seltmann tells us just that, it is impossible not to believe her. The Last Beautiful Day is a fully realized, left-of-center pop delight that delivers something new to the listener with each spin.

Check Out: www.newbuffalo.net

The Casanovas - The Casanovas (2004)

2006-11-28T10:27:00.001-08:00

If it is rock you want, then it is rock you shall have! Hailing from Melbourne Rock City, The Casanovas carry on a tradition that can be traced all the way back to the first chords Angus Young strummed on AC/DC's classic first album, High Voltage. The Casanovas bring the same unabashedly rock'n'roll riffery that causes audiences the world to bow down and give thanks at the altar of all things rock. With song titles such as Livin' In The City, No Time For Love, and the awesome, Shake It, when it comes to The Casanovas, what you see is what you get: high octane, good time, balls to the wall rock'n'roll. Released in Australia in 2004 on the ever great Rubber Records, with a recent release in America via IRock, The Casanovas self-titled debut establishes them as purveyors of some of the finest rock riffs on offer at this point in time, with a firm grasp on the rock'n'roll torch that burns eternal. The albums closing track, 10 Outta 10, while a perfect summation of the album as a whole, is already a live favorite, and has a sing-a-long chorus that begs to be played at ear splitting levels. Consider yourself warned.

Check out: www.myspace.com/thecasanovas

Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike (2005)

2006-11-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Should you ever be passing through old London town, be sure to drop in on my old friend Charlie Farmer, and thank him for introducing us to Gogol Bordello. If you have ever wondered what a Ukranian gypsy playing raucous punk rock in a New York basement might sound like - and if we are being honest, who hasn't? - look no further. This album is brilliant. The way it fuses traditional gypsy instruments with a punk rock aesthetic is reminiscent of The Pogues at their shambolic best - that is if Shane McGowan had been born in eastern Europe, as opposed to Ireland. As Charlie originally told me, this album never fails to bring a smile to your face. With song titles such as Think Locally, Fuck Globally the album has a revolutionary zeal to it, that while tackling serious issues, is never overly earnest. Start Wearing Purple is one of the stand out tracks on the album; a manic sing-a-long that will have you jigging wildly around the room. So if you have been feeling a little sluggish of late, throw Gogol Bordello into your stereo, and as you gleefully shout the chorus to Undestructable, remember, there isn't much that is legal that can make you feel this good.

Check out: www.myspace.com/gogolbordello

Hilltop Hoods - The Calling (2003)

2006-11-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

Observing the Australian music scene from afar for the past few years, I have realized that Australia truly does produce world-class music that is, more often than not, criminally overlooked - both at home and abroad. Which brings me to The Hilltop Hoods. I know what you're thinking, and believe me, I had the same mis-givings: hip-hop with an Australian accent... it just doesn't sound right. Oh, but it does, my friends, it does. It has taken me quite some time to come around to the Aussie hip-hop scene, but with this album, The Hilltop Hoods have finally legitimized that very scene. Released at the end of 2003, purchased by me at the start of 2005 (and subsequently played to death), this album is - for lack of a better adjective - the shit! The beats hit hard and the rhymes - always on point - are full of distinctly Australian wordplay, without pandering to any lame stereotypes. With lyrics like "Oi, Suffer you can't sing/ Yeah I can barely hum a tune/ But I'll make this place bounce like bed springs on a honeymoon", the Hilltop Hoods are sure to get any party jumping. For my mind, the stand out tracks are Testimonial Year (raise them beers), Dumb Enough, and The Nosebleed Section. I know there will be plenty of doubters out there, but give the Hoods a chance, and soon enough, you will be following their Calling.

Checkout: www.myspace.com/hilltophoods