Patrick Wolf The Magic Position (05.2007, Fontana Universal) 7.0/10
Patrick Wolf is an Irish singer/ songwriter/ vionlinist/ self-recording/ child prodigy. Wolf started recording at a young age, and by the time he reached 14 yrs, he had caught the attention of Fat Cat Records, who supplied him with a computer and mixing tools to records his music. At age 16 he formed Maison Crimineaux. Now, his solo project has taken the forefront. The Magic Position is his 3rd release as a solo artist. It's familiar pop is layered with eccentric abstract sounds. The album is variable with dense electronic tracks to piano ballads. It is written like a symphony with swellings and recessions. Elegantly eclectic and charming though it may be, sometimes I find myself a little put-off by the drama. At times a little too youth angsty, his ultimate serious nature doesn't seem to mesh well with the album cover, which makes him look like Mad TV's "Stuart." His voice is a little distracting for me as well. Loungy at times, reminiscent of Bowie smashed with Manilow, he adds a very different voice to chamber pop. Overall its a fairly delightful listen, but laden with distractions.
Liars have created a quick follow up with this their 4th, but first self-titled release. Coming off the return to critical acclaim that Drums Not Dead provided (just as a note They Were Wrong So We Drowned is my favourite Liars album to date and it got wasted critically; goes to show what critics know…wait, uh, well FG are fake critics anyway :)) Liars seem to have taken some additional confidence in their abilities. The band continues on the chameleon path they have been driving over the years. Definitely the most accessible release since their debut, Liars has bridged the gap from Drums Not Dead to a poppier use of their precious drums and a further advancement into their meshing of experimentation and rock sensibilities. Unfortunately, while the album does find some points of enjoyment the majority is dry and lifeless. The Liars have always been known to challenge their fans and for me this is a blatantly challenging album in that it seems to lack any of the heart or fun of their previous releases. It is definitely new ground for the band (I can't argue creative stagnancy), it's just that I would never guess that making something so much easier to swallow would make it additionally more inaccessible. Leave it to the Liars to destroy all concepts of logic.
Wednesday, (8/29) Magnolia Electric Co. and Band of Annuals will be country slaying the Urban Lounge as slowly and delicately as possible for you.
Friday, (8/31) Sees another visit from Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum at the Urban Lounge (It seems like they were just here!). So yeah, get a dose of experimental rock from the oddly named troupe.
Saturday, (9/1) In the Venue will premier the first Fixed Gears Festival (which appears to be two standard shows wrapped into one with the word 'festival' slapped on top). Headliners Ben Kweller and hip hop star P.O.S. will be leading their respective supporting peoples through a pretty fantastic Salt Lake show. I’m excited for this one.
9/4 – Brian Jonestown Massacre – Urban Lounge 9/5 – Dirty Projectors, Yacht, Grizzly Prospector – Kilby Court 9/6 – Snoop Dogg – The Depot 9/7 – Loom, Lionelle, Chaz Prymek – Kilby Court 9/8 - Darron Hanlon, Uzi and Ari - Slowtrain 9/10 – Modest Mouse, Rilo Kiley – McKay Events Center (Orem) 9/12 – Okkervil River, Damien Jurado – Kilby Court 9/13 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – In The Venue 9/13 – The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Urban Lounge 9/16 – Maserati, Block Moth Super Rainbow 9/19 – Jason Collett – Urban Lounge 9/21 – Two Gallants, Blitzen Trapper – Kilby Court 9/22 – Karl Blau, Navigator – Kilby Court 9/25 – Lavender Diamond, The New Pornographers – The Depot 9/26 – Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem – Thanksgiving Point 9/28 – Black Mountain, The Cave Singers (w/ members of PGMG) – Kilby Court 9/28 – The Smashing Pumpkins – McKay Events Center (Orem) 9/29 – White Stripes (hopefully more than one note) – E Center 9/29 – The Future of the Ghost (CD Release), Slajo 9/29 - Darkmeat, Dane The Death Machine, People Person Monster!- Kilby Court 10/4 – The Cure – E Center 10/6 – Deerhoof! – In The Venue 10/11 – Atmosphere – In The Venue 10/13 – John Vanderslice, Bishop Allen - Kilby Court 10/14 – White Rabbits – Kilby Court 10/15 – Interpol, Liars – McKay Events Center 10/20 – Pinback – The Depot 10/22 – Aesop Rock, Black Moth Super Rainbow – In the Venue 10/24 – Caribou, Born Ruffians – Urban Lounge 10/26 – Busdriver, Daedelus – In the Venue 10/26 – Tiger Army – In the Venue 10/27 – Architecture In Helsinki - In the Venue 10/27 – Menomena! – Kilby Court 11/2 – Regina Spektor – In the Venue 11/3 – Valella Valella – Kilby Court 11/4 – Octopus Project – Urban Lounge 11/7 – Do Make Say Think – Urban Lounge 11/15-18 – “High School Musical” on Ice Tour – Energy Solutions Arena 11/16 – Of Montreal, Grand Buffet – In the Venue 11/16 – Fog – Urban Lounge 11/16 – Of Montreal, Grand Buffet 12/4 – Pedro the Lion – Kilby Court
Goodies It's a great day for finding awesome youtubes! Check this out- the most high-production video ever release by Animal Collective for the new single "Peacebone" on Strawberry Jam.
Sigor Ros will be releasing a film entitled "Heima" along with their new album, Hvarf-Heim due out later this fall. Watch this new trailor and prepare to be mystified. (Fader)
I just stumbled across two videos for Uzi & Ari's new It Is Freezing Out. They are really interesting. Like little installation art pieces, these are probably the best local videos I've ever seen. Here are the videos for "Mountain/Molehill," and "Asleep In Armor."
I am pairing my reviews today, cause in my mind they are very similar. (not only because of their similarly seizure inducing album art) Two very hyped albums from dominant and celebrated indie overseas artists were released this week. I have been a huge fan of past work by both of the artists, but was very turned off by both of the albums on first listen because of their new, more pop sounds. It seems like 2007 is seeing a pop invasion. Even bands that you would never expect to add pop into the mix have done so: Deerhoof, Animal Collective, Liars, etc. A lot of artists are turning more mainstream, more accessible, more catchy. Why? I don't know. I have liked it on some albums, but on others I have been very wary. Including these two-
M.I.A. Kala (08.2007, Interscope Records) 8.0/10
Everyone is raving about M.I.A.'s new international blend. On first listen I was hopelessly disappointed. I was expecting, or at least wanting, to hear some of those deep base, tribal beats that I loved from Arular (named after her freedom fighter father). I should have expected that since she ditched Diplo her backing beats would be much different. After a few listens I started to familiarize myself with the new more delicate sound, which includes bollywood rhythms, sirens, gun shots, street singers and guest artists. Slowly I have warmed up to Kala (named after her mother).This time around her lyrics are a lot less sexually charged and a little more politically charged, causing a lot of online discussions and controversy. Recorded at multiple locations including Trinidad, Australia, London, New York, and Baltimore, this album has a more diverse and international sound. From her Pixie's cover to her Timberland collaboration to her children guest singers, this album is all over the place, but still somehow congruent. The album doesn't sound like it came from any one particular continent, its definitely international in every sense. I'm surprised how much I enjoy this album after my initial dislike. Standout tracks are "BirdFlu," "Come Around (with Timberland)," and "Paper Planes."
Architecture In Helsinki Places Like This (08.2007, Polyvinyl) 6.5/10
I can honestly say that at one point in time Architecture In Helsinki was my favorite band. Those days are gone. AIH has ditched their charming subtleties for pure obnoxious pop. Seriously, this album is pretty annoying. The music hasn't gone downhill as much as Cameron Bird's voice has. What once was a frail whisper of complexing lyrics has now become and a repetitive anthem shout. He sounds like a squawking chicken, especially on "Hold On." On first listen to that track I thought it sounded a lot like one of the most obnoxious bands of all time, the B52's. Later that day, I was listening to that track at work and my boss asked, "are you listening to the B52's?" so, I must not be too far off on my comparison. Losing two members, AIH created a new eletro-pop calypso sound. The twee is gone, and the catchy is in full force. One reviewer called the tracks "surrealist nursery rhymes," which I thought was fitting. I'm giving the album a lot of crap, but it's almost completely out of disappointment. If Places LikeThis was my first AIH experience I would have probably given them a higher score, but in comparison it just sounds so juvenile and in-your-face. I'll admit, there are a few charmers on this album. I like "Lazy (Lazy)" and "Underwater," but most the other tracks sound like they were shooting for radio play with this album. I guess that's ok, wait no, no it's not.
I have had an unshakable obsession with ambient drone in the last couple of years so I decided to write a little article on it. While there is something to be said about the processes taken to produce the music’s texture and at least some level of skill to produce the loops and chord progressions that create these melodious blankets – the music is cloyingly simple. Some may argue the complexity of it but the true brilliance of any ambient music is in its restraint not its compositional virtuosity. Really, it’s introspective, not necessarily based solely on its own audible utterances. It is interactive music, playing off the emotive and lulling spells it casts on its listener. It produces retrospection based on individual memory and hangs on the ability to submerse one’s self in something so blatantly simplistic, the enjoyment of which could be easily faked, I suppose. I mean, some of the compositions are so faint and repetitive that, unless you are being particularly attentive, they could be adapted to and blocked subconsciously by a listener’s brain. But its power is in its submissiveness and it’s that same submissiveness that makes its resultant satisfaction almost unverifiable, similar to any type of religious spiritual claim. That’s where we get into shaky territory I guess. Where I can boldly state that I have witnessed some people on this here earth force themselves into what they would later call “spiritual experiences,” ambient music can also be an emotional (or spiritual) ‘forcing-of-mood’ to the submissive. As Sassigrass has so aptly put it, “ambient music is the new emo.” This assertion was simultaneously hilarious and offensive considering Forest Gospel’s historied obsession the word “emo” as the invertible king of all joke’s butts. The reason it was hilarious is because there was a time when Forest Gospel listened to Dashboard Confessional before they were cool (something we later found out was impossible) and offensive because it rang of some truth. So here is the rub, ambient music isn’t the evolution of emo but the manipulation of minor chord compositions into such. Ambient music is (arguably) rooted more solidly in classical music than in pop punk but that is what makes it so deceptively manipulative for the perma-saddies. It cloaks immaturity in intellectualism. So basically, what I am trying to argue here is that I’m smart not sad. Don’t let poser hipsters discredit your belief in my self accredited intellectualism. Oh, it’s kind of hopeless at this point. In honor of its inevitable pop stardom, I am going to review my favourite “experimental ambient drone” albums here in a list. While I respect the originators of the form (Brian Eno, Arvo Part, William Basinski) I am most deeply indebted to these following records for my current, instant tear flow inducers (my obvious penchant for the topic will create a point inflation of sorts on scoring so adjust the rating according to your preferences)…
Belong October Language (2006, Carpark) 9.0/10
Disciples of Fennesz in the fuzz department, this duo creates some of the most achingly beautiful pieces among the group. Perfectly sequenced minor-chord masterpieces that have been run through the crackle of October leaves, Belong makes the perfect music for evenings in that month; hence the title.
Christian Fennesz electro acoustic explorations incorporate
glitch electronics helping make this the most beautiful and organic “electronic” album ever created. IDM fans should take notice because Fennesz somehow makes the crackles and blips from their undanceable beat-candied floors into shores of immeasurably rewarding composition. The 2007 reissue has two bonus tracks!
Definitely one of my favourite records of all time (regardless that it was released just of two years ago). Eluvium, A.K.A .Matthew Cooper, accomplishes here what every ambient artists strives for: looping washes of guitar that could seemingly play forever without ever getting old. This was what made me fall in love with this kind of music.
The Wind-Up Bird seems to be working on a far more narrative affair here than any of his compatriots on this list, shifting from desperate beauty to lilting ease to eardrum caving dissonance. Incorporating electronic flourishes to his mostly violin based compositions.
Tim Hecker has been a long time standard player in the experimental scene but released has transcendent high water mark only last year. Here he has created a gorgeous work of art and then has taken the time to meticulously deconstruct it until the gorgeous nature must seep through the recordings inherent destruction. Flawlessly sequenced.
Equal parts ambience and noise. Powerful tidal waves of musical movements drenched in static and feedback all while
incorporating vocal drones and occasional drums as well. Axolotl works with Violin manipulations among other traditional instruments though you probably won’t know it by his output.
Tired indeed, this may be the slowest and most mournful of the entire list. Stars of the Lid's palette comes from a decidedly more classical background of orchestration and saws your heart strings with violin bows. This is a long affair spanning the length of two CDs or three LPs.
The master of minimalism amongst the group, at least on this seminal recording, Keith Fullerton Whitman is the elder statesman of modern electro acoustics and definitely the geekiest as far as his obsessions with the methods and sciences of the sound he creates. Whitman even taught at Harvard following this record in exchange for using recording equipment there for Playthroughs’ follow-up.
Chiehei Hatakeyama’s electro acoustic compositions have been likened to pop ambience. While I wouldn’t go that far, Hatakeyama does go a long ways in creating a general lulling pleasantness free from care. Along with his drifting afternoon-by-the-lake motifs, Katakeyama occasional transitions his pieces into beautiful folk acoustic guitar lines.
Transitioning from being a hardcore band to an avant-garde one, Black Dice created a long stretcher of primal noise amongst its tidal waves. An undoubted high water mark for the band and an enthralling contribution to noise andambience as a whole.
Lightning Dust is yet another side project of the notorious Black Mountain. These Vancouver acid folkers are taking the genre by storm. Amber Webber and Joshua Wells supposedly started this particular project in 2000, but it wasn't until June of this year that we heard their first release. I have to admit, when I first heard Amber Webber's vocals on Black Mountain I wasn't a fan of the depressed vibrato and intense swellings. I guess she has grown on me. I actually really enjoy some of the vocals on Lightning Dust, especially on "Jump In" and "Heaven" where the couple's vocals are paired together. The music is extremely simplified, moving in slow gloomy gusts. It's like listening to a tired brooding storm, waiting for the lightning to strike, but it just passes over. This darkly psychedelic Space Rock album is sure to fit a somber mood more than most in its class. It's an interesting beginning in my newly created genre. slo-psych.
Retrospective Gregor Samsa 55:12 (2006, Kora Records) 8.5/10.0
Last years Gregor Samsa released 55:12 which happened to slip sleepily under the radar but to omit it recognition here would be criminal. The bands first legitimate full length after a bindle of EPs and a split release reminded me of my affection for post rock and slowcore (two genres that the band embodies) and provided an emblazoned hope for the future of that affection. The band doesn’t really tread any significantly new ground in the area, borrowing the instrumental leanings of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Rachels as well as (dual male and female) vocals that are as beautiful as forerunners like Idaho, Sigur Ros or anything like unto it. I suppose the area where Gregor Samsa succeeds while treading so much familiarity is by creating an album so meticulously gorgeous as to never make a misstep. The duration of the eight songs never once reveals anything beyond the search for triumphant beauty. "Even Numbers," the second track off the record, builds over the course of ten minutes, alternating vocalists and swelling with instrumental prowess before bowing out. This is meditative music that spans every mood in its 50+ minute duration. I think the band's Myspace page quotes it best: "Sounds like, slow and sad. Slow and happy. But never fast anything."
Hip hop heads will be rejoicing this week as super-tour “Rock The Bells” visits the USANA Amphitheater on Tuesday (8/21) with the likes of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan and similarly legendary and acclaimed friends Nas, Rahzel, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Jedi Mind Tricks, Immortal Technique and more !?!
FG favourites, Portugal. The Man, avoid the capital for a set in Ogden at the Country Club Theatre on Thursday (8/23) where they will bust out a set filled with their newly blues infused indie soul rock! This will be a show well worth the trip.
The Twilight Concert Series will continue to display indie rock for free in its over sized setting with French Kicks and Calexico this week on Thursday (8/23).
The U’s Red Butte Garden will continue to provide the independent record worlds most acclaimed country hybrids. Sunday (8/26) will feature Alejandro Escovedo along with Son Volt for your Sabbath evening pleasures.
This is the most blatantly experimental and intriguing of the long form minimalist electronic albums that have been released this year. Unlike The Field and Pantha du Prince (sorry to keep coupling the three) Pole is not wholly interested in entrancing and comforting. On Steingarten Pole manages to make hoards of texture heavy effects that come off as organic…well, organic if you are an alien. The songs moaning bleats and skittering blips feel like an odd arrangement of interplanetary zoo exhibits whose handlers slowly reveal themselves to be as peculiar as the creatures they're exhibiting. Pole's blatant disregard for acute melody and their search for the accessibility of odd almost aligns them with electronic saboteurs Excepter or late Black Dice. Even with such comparisons Steingarten shows easily distinguished traces of the school of mainstream electronica from which it was forged. Steingarten isn’t going to be for everyone (and that is just in relation to those with electronic sympathies) but it scores just enough to be wholly worth the experience for anyone who develops the slightest interest for Pole's musings.
Boom Bip and Doseone explored uncharted territory in one of the most abstract collaborations to ever grace the world of music when they created Circle. 29 tracks of stream-of-conscious lyrical madness provided by Dose is laid over incredibly varied and loosely moving obscure beats (if you can call them that) from Boom Bip. This is one of the most bizarre albums I have ever heard. No one knows quite what genre this falls under. I've seen it placed under such labels as futurism and hip-not, honestly I don't think a genre label is necessary cause there is nothing like this album, and probably never will be. That is the genius behind this album. It's so experimental that it is incredibly unique. It feels like a poetry reading crossed with a nightmare of epic proportions. Reviewers debate whether the lyrics are a social commentary or just complete absurdity. Whatever they are, the speed and quality of Doseone's lyrical amazement is sure to interest anyone with literary leanings. Each song is constantly varied so that listening to the album all the way through feels very similar to watching a movie. As much as I think this album is incredibly important, genius in its progressiveness and very daring, its just not something you could listen to everyday. It will leave you baffled and amazed, confused and slightly scared- you will listen to it a few times out of curiosity, but there is absolutely nothing catchy about this album and unless you are an avante-garde junkie, you'll quietly catalog it with the rest of your music as a prize jewel intended for safe keeping.
The Field From Here We Go Sublime (2007, Kompakt) 7.5/10.0
From Here We Go Sublime plays like a synthetic drizzle, pleasantly and relentlessly pattering against your ear drums. Processing light beats on a perpetual 4/4 time signature The Field’s latest, though almost immediately satisfying, lacks what true minimalist-beat-repetatives strive for: increasing depth with the lapse of time. The Field just seems to continually skim the surface of greatness while slowly penetrating your subconscious. It is kind of frustrating because FHWGS glides remarkably close to its end goal whilst rarely taking a drink. There are a couple of tracks that do take sips however as the album progresses. "Everyday" manages to collapse into enjoyment upon the introduction of a melting vocal sample a third of the way in along with similarly (identically?) structured tracks like "The Deal". "Sun & Ice's" climactic break into inspiration hangs on a single 2 second foray into glitch after which all remains intact. The extreme restrain and simultaneous daring of this move is somewhat dazzling but it can’t help but nag at a desire for more moves like this in similar (i.e., all the other) tracks. It is only in the final minutes of the title (and final) track that the tempo slows and the electronically manipulated cogs begin to unravel before finally being laid to bed. With all these moments, the movement implied in the album title is a bit misleading seeing as how the album touches down millimeters from where it left off. I guess the argument is why stray from a path that is already so markedly agreeable? Even with my critiques there is an undeniable gratification from to listening to From Here We Go Sublime. The restraint is maintained admirably and almost overpowers the desire for risks. The last complement I will afford this record is that it is surprisingly rewarding for its inherent risklessness.
Once again here's an album we should have reviewed a lot sooner. 23 has already seen an abundance of overwhelmingly good reviews for this album, but for some reason I find it necessary to add mine now. Honestly, good thing I am reviewing this late cause I would have given it a very different score when it first came out. Having been a huge fan of BR's previous releases, 23 was an instant disappointment, and I didn't bother spending much time with the album. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I decided to pick it up again and give it another chance, this time trying not to compare it to their older work, but instead listening to it as its own entity. Proving myself wrong seems to be a hobby of mine. This album started to grow like a cancer until it completely consumed me. Forget the punk edge, bass, and angst of the older albums, 23 is a warm mystical dream, untouched, pure and pristine. The delicate melodies and electronic sheets of sound pared with the relentless drum rhythms turn melancholy to heroic in an everchanging beautiful lush soundscape. The male vocals have greatly improved and rival Kazu Makino's in ghostly quality. The album is equally good the entire way through. (something that has never before happened with a BR album) There is no filler here, just ethereal, strangely soft, dream pop thrillers. I wouldn't have guessed it, but this has become my favorite complete album by BR.
I always thought micro-house and IDM (intelligent dance music) were somewhat humorous genre titles with their miniature dance moves and fluttering electroencephalographic (I'm learning new words today! This one references the "neurophysiologic" measurement of the electrical activity of the brain!! Just trying to be the intelligent dance connoisseur the genre implies) increases respectively. 2007 seems to be the critical coming out party for the intertwined genres in indiedom. With The Field's From Here We Go Sublime raking in the highest metacritic score of any album so far this year along with similarly positive remarks laid for both Pole's Steingartenand the very subject of this review, Panthadu Prince's This Bliss, hipsters are beginning to think they are even smarter than the coffee shops that house them. Well count me as not being fully converted but pleasantly intrigued and willing to experiment. The stickiness of this area of music is in making previously unavoidably booty shaking music from the clubs fit tidily inside a city flat. It is turning the obnoxiously overpowering into the restrained minimalistic and doing so while venturing, repetitively, far beyond pop-lengthed songs. I am not sure on the winning album of the three records I have previous mentioned (as they will all be getting their fair spin) but Panthadu Prince’s This Bliss is definitely the current front runner. The album has been the quickest (which isn’t to say that the process was quick) to reveal itself as more than some bored exhaustion of beats and synths or even more than a simply above average electronic album. This Bliss requires relaxation, because without it the subtle gold lining on these tracks would be buried and unsalvageable. Contending against this record with tense criticism will produce a strained and bitter confusion. It is as if This Bliss can judge your character and knows whether you have let down all guards and are willing to submit honestly to its spells. Meticulously constructed, as This Bliss moves from track to track and you become lulled into its world. The songs begin to pour forth caves of musical gems. If you're still unconvinced here is the real tell-tell sign: every successive listen has been better than the last; more intricate, more charming, more enchanting; it has become absolutely stunning to behold.
As you may have noticed, I really love music videos. So, today's goodies are all going to be videos that I have been into lately. Hope you enjoy!
The new Mum is coming out in October and an absolutely intriguing new video for "They Made Frog's Smoke 'Til They Exploded" has surfaced. Not only is the art awesome, but the new sound is too. I can't wait for this one!
I just stumbled across this Besnard Lakes video. I think it was an odd choice of song ("For Agent 13") to make a video for, but it definitely created a beautiful mood for it. Check it out for some gorgeous cinematography.
Don't skip over this awesome new Beach House video for "Master of None." (you are going to like this Mr. Thistle)
Next up, Eugene McGuinness' "Monsters Under The Bed." Watch this one all the way to the end, you'll think twice about sleeping with your teddy bear.
And, as if I hadn't already given you enough to watch, here is a little video comparison. We here at Forest Gospel are slightly addicted to sweet little France Gall. Turns out the regime that we call The Arcade Fire likes her too and will be covering one of her more serious songs "PoupeedeCire, Poupeede Son," (which translates from French to "Wax Doll, Sawdust Doll") for their new split 7" with LCD Soundsytem. Here is a live video of them performing the song along with France Gall's 1965 original Eurovision performance. (thanks GvsB) You can decide which one you like better.
Norwegian free jazz metal experimentalists Shining have created an ADHD answer to America’s Battles with their 2007 release, Grindstone. Grindstone takes the beauty of what Battles accomplished with Mirrored and thrusts it into more theatrical and compositional areas (but theatrical like in an awesome 80’s movie kind of way rather than a tortured Faun Fables kind of way). I guess, in reality, the two bands have endless differences but there is just something about the feel of each that is requiring me to tie them together. Shining moves far beyond loops, traveling into areas of multi-instrumental indulgence and absurdity that, despite its inherent pitfalls, are actually pleasurable. There is an undoubted air of experimentation (especially after the completion of the stellar openers…and yes, ‘stellar’ is the most appropriate word here) but the ideas with which this experimentation are implemented rarely enters areas where it becomes belabored. Shining has created a gem in Grindstone by force of their incredible ethic and character. Maintaining a certain sense of humor, intense musical passion and superior technical skill, Grindstone is a testament to a crazy-eyed nerve to create as cool a record as its creators can produce with their minds and fingers. I think it is in that way that Shining’s Grindstone is comparable to Battles’ Mirrored (and in my opinion better). An exhilarating listen from beginning to end.
David Vandervelde The Moonstation House Band (2007, Secretly Canadian) 9.0/10
This little beauty slipped by us for a few months, but now we've caught on to it, we're holding it tight. David Vandervelde is a Chicago based, self taught multi-instrumentalist. He plays guitar, drums, bass, piano, and synth- like a champ. The Moonstation House Band has classic rock practically dripping from every song. Vandervelde seems to have been influenced by every great. In reading other reviews on this album I saw him compared to: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Mickey Finn, and Marc Bolan. I don't think any of them are incredibly accurate in and of themselves. You can catch small sounds that seems to be from those legends, but somehow Vandervelde has been able to take all his influences and blend them all up into a delicious smoothie of his own concoction. It's a unique sounding album that is somehow familiar. Opening with the most upbeat and catchy tune, on first listen the rest of the album feels like a slight let down- until you listen to it again... and again... and again. The entire album becomes pretty mesmerizing and if you pick it up, it may just be the only thing you listen to for the next month.
Tonight (Monday, 8/13) The Urban Lounge is hosting some pretty standard indie rock with The Ladybug Transistor who apparently hold some type of unidentifiable Elephant Six connection along with Papercuts.
Secondly, Kilby Court will provide your weekend (8/18) with your new favourite circus band with limitless energy. Skybox will headline an undoubtedly entertaining show (saw them open for Man Man a bit back) along with a slew of local supporters so named as The Future of the Ghost, Jon Bently and Vile Blue Shades (in a rare all ages show)!
This list of upcoming shows should be up to date but it probably wouldn't hurt to double check it: 8/21 – Rock The Bells (Nas, Wu Tang, TalibKweli) - TBA 8/23 – Portugal. The Man, The Nurses – Country Club Theatre (Ogden) 8/23 – French Kicks – Twilight Concert Series 8/26 – Alejandro Escovedo, Son Volt – Red Butte Garden 8/29 – Magnolia Electric Co., Band of Annuals – Urban Lounge 8/31 – Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum – Urban Lounge 9/1 – Ben Kweller, P.O.S. – In the Venue 9/4 – Brian Jonestown Massacre – Urban Lounge 9/5 – Dirty Projectors, Yacht, Grizzly Prospector – Kilby Court 9/6 – Snoop Dogg – The Depot 9/7 – Loom, Lionelle, ChazPrymek – Kilby Court 9/10 – Modest Mouse, Rilo Kiley – McKay Events Center (Orem) 9/12 – Okkervil River, Damien Jurado – Kilby Court 9/13 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – In The Venue 9/13 – The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Urban Lounge 9/16 – Maserati, Block Moth Super Rainbow 9/21 – Two Gallants, Blitzen Trapper – Kilby Court 9/22 – Karl Blau – Kilby Court 9/25 – Lavender Diamond, The New Pornographers – The Depot 9/26 – Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem – Thanksgiving Point 9/28 – Black Mountain, The Cave Singers (w/ members of PGMG) – Kilby Court 9/28 – The Smashing Pumpkins – McKay Events Center (Orem) 9/29 – White Stripes (hopefully more than one note) – E Center 9/29 – The Future of the Ghost (CD Release), Slajo 10/4 – The Cure – E Center 10/6 – Deerhoof! – In The Venue 10/13 – John Vanderslice, Bishop Allen - Kilby Court 10/15 – Interpol, Liars – McKay Events Center 10/20 – Pinback – The Depot 10/22 – Aesop Rock, Black Moth Super Rainbow – In the Venue 10/24 – Caribou, Born Ruffians – Urban Lounge 10/26 – Busdriver, Daedelus – In the Venue 10/26 – Tiger Army – In the Venue 10/27 – Menomena! – Kilby Court 11/4 – Octopus Project – Urban Lounge 11/15-18 – “High School Musical” on Ice Tour – Energy Solutions Arena 11/16 – Of Montreal, Grand Buffet – In the Venue 11/7 – Do Make Say Think – Urban Lounge 11/16 – Of Montreal, Grand Buffet
Jan Jelinek Tierbeobachtungen (2006, ~Scape) 9.0/10.0
"Otherworldliness" is probably a good word to start with when describing Jan Jelinek's Tierbeobachtungen (try saying that three times fast…but only if you don’t speak German). Jelinek produces oddly satisfying soundscapes filled with an array of clicks, hums, buzzes and whirrs that hail from unidentifiable origins. The six loop based compositions on Tierbeobachtungen swell like the sounds of a crazed jungle from a distant planet, evoking strange creatures and plant life as each track pans in reversed slow motion across its landscape. The imagery fits well in relation to the album title which translates roughly as "Animal Observations." While being wholly unique, a strained comparison might bring to mind some of Animal Collective's more low key instrumental tracks or maybe Black Dice as filtered through William Basinski. I missed this album in 2006 for various reasons, despite knowing about it, or it would have doubtlessly made my top ten (something true of a few discoveries made this year). With that said, any fan of experimental music should mark this album as a required addition to their Itunes library. A textural and atmospheric masterpiece.
In a genre of music where tracking down limited release CDRs and Vinyl can make collecting music constantly disappointing, Karl Bauer (aka Axolotl) has made things easier for the rest of us. Memory Theatre collects tracks from several of his recent CDR and Vinyl releases that have since gone out of print and compiled them here on what is sometimes a rarity in his field, an actual CD. Memory Theatre does not disappoint either. Bauer’s excursions as a multiple instrument distorting, fuzz drone artist has nary released a bad composition in his budding noise career. The beauty of Axolotl is his ability to turn hills of distortion into transcending states, and waves of clatter into beauty. This collection sees a variety of attacks from Mr. Bower ranging from percussive noise overhauls to dripping caves of ambiance. All in all, Memory Theatre is a superb introduction to Axolotl and, thanks to Important, his most widely available release yet.
Retrospective Red Stars Theory Life Inside A Bubble Can Be Beautiful (1999, Touch & Go) 10.0/10
Sharing Modest Mouses' drummer and led by 764-Hero's bassist Red Stars Theory could be labeled a super group of sorts, but this album goes beyond the usual superstar musician studio work that is slapped together. Red Stars Theory is a cohesive, singularly minded band and Life Inside A Bubble Can Be Beautiful is their magnum opus. Recorded during a high point for post rock and slowcore, Red Stars Theory's debut is a high water mark for the genres. With gritty bass, discordant guitars (ala Sonic Youth), inventive drumming, and beautiful string accompaniments, Life Inside A Bubble Can Be Beautiful drifts into your subconscious like a hazy dream, hitting pleasure spots repeatedly along the way. Spanning 7 songs for over 40 minutes, this album used to constitute what I thought was the perfect length/number of songs. Listening to it again just reinforces that idea. James Bertram's fog obscured vocals penetrate perfectly on the songs in which they are featured while the instrumental tracks help tie the album together perfectly. "Sailor's Warning" features previous vocal contributor, Lois Maffeo, back to impose her haunting voice as well as adding a ghostly feature to the album. Each track fits like bricks in an immaculate wall of sound. The tempo may be strained but Life Inside A Bubble Can Be Beautiful is still one of the most exciting albums in my record collection.
Sea Wolf Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low EP (2007, Dangerbird Records) 6.5/10
Alex Church, formerly of Irving, created his Sea Wolf titling in 2000. After playing in Irving for over two years Alex realized that his style of songwriting was slightly different than that of his band mates and began playing Sea Wolf shows on the side. Eventually he quit Irving all together to work on Sea Wolf, and has released his first signed album, Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low EP. Maybe it's just me, but an EP seems a little under-ambitious for someone who has had a music project since 2000, and didn't released anything until 2007. Alex was mostly raised in California and sights many Californian authors as influential to his songwriting. The name Sea Wolf came from a 1904 novel by Jack London of that same name. Alex has a slightly stuffy voice. His lyrics are occasionally charming, but mostly too repetitive. The album opens with an upbeat pop jam "You're A Wolf" and then slowly tapers off into a few more casual subduers. The instrumentation is simple, and right when it feels like it is headed for a monotonous bore it usually finds a way to redeem itself through a subtle musical shift. It's a fairly well put together album, but there is nothing incredibly special about it. I'll enjoy listening to it when it pops up on my party shuffle.
Atherton bears an unmistakably similar sound to Ryan Adams. From the vocals to instrumentation Atherton’s debut absolutely emanates Adams in the most alt-country moments of his career (don’t ask me which of his moments haven’t been alt-country). While this fact does hinder any type of ground breaking originality from the band it isn’t a sore comparison. Adams, despite his ridiculously pompous moments, has made some genuinely wonderful music and Atherton takes all its cues humbly from these moments. Skyline Motel flows quite beautifully at points, rivaling anything in the alt-country field that seems to be a towering force along the Wasatch Front these days. How Atherton succeeds in a genre that sometimes strangles Salt Lake with the number of its bands is by out-beautifying their contemporaries. Atherton’s tear marked ballads can’t save them from occasional repetitiveness though. The album can be so relaxing and steadily unchanging that you may just find yourself asleep before its end. Skyline Motel works kind of like a lazy river, so that nap may not be all too undesirable. Atherton fits nicely in-between Cub Countrys and Band of Annuals of the world. The question invariably comes as to whether you need anyone else in-between your Cub Country and Band of Annuals. The consistency of Skyline Motel may be just convincing enough to make you answer yes.
On their fifth album, Constellation records mainstay Do Make Say Think continue to prove their consistency and that Canada’s “other” post rock band has been worth its weight in gold all along. With label mates Godspeed You Black Emperor on an indefinite hiatus, DMST’s baroque indie pop post rock may finally receive the shine it deserves. It is really too bad that this far into their career I still am mentioning GSYBE because DMST are as different as bands of the same genre could hope to be (and yes with band names as long as these acronyms are going to become necessary). While GSYBE single mindedly built crescendo after crescendo, DMST wanders into a decidedly more dynamic school of composition, not relying on the forced emotion of their contemporaries (Explosions in the Sky…). Having lent band members to Broken Social Scene it easy to see where BSS gets its knack for melody. It is probably that association that has inspired DMST to add some substantial vocals to some of its songs for the first time. For skeptics wary of projects like A Silver Mt. Zion let me assure you that the effect is pure splendor. On You, You’re a History of RustDMST even wanders into some acoustic folk instrumentals that move like a beautiful babbling brook. The album is definitely light hearted and can be a bit low moving at first but repeated listens have garnered serious rewards. Do not miss this one.
GOODIES I keep forgetting to post all these lovely goodies that I run into. So, let's catch up a little today.
A new video featuring the song "Seahorse" from DevendraBanhart's new release Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyonhas been posted on youtube. It seems like a slightly jazzier side is coming out Devendra. Watch for this album to be released September 25th.
The end of October (the 23rd to be exact) we will see an amazing new album from Black Dice released. This album seems like it may just show a catchy-er side of the band.I already love this track. This is by far the best goodie I will be posting today.
Also, watch for the new Akron/Family album "Love Is Simple" which is due out September 18th. This single has interestingly strange lyrics. I am curious and want to hear the album front to back. I don't think that this one song is giving us an adequate representation of what the album will be like, but I guess we'll see.
I'm sure you have all hear the mass amounts of publicity that the new M.I.A. album is receiving. As much as I love Arular, Kala just doesn't seem to be holding up. It's more dancy, with a whole lot less of those deep base amazing beats that we grew to love from the old album.Here is a sample clip from a song she covered called "Jimmy."
August 6th (tonight) at Velour in Provo, Bishop Allen and Page France will be playing some folkish pop ditties. If you are itching to see Bishop Allen and don’t want to travel all the way down to the Happy Valley don’t worry, the band is supporting John Vanderslice at Kilby Court in October.
August 8th (Wednesday), Kilby Court will house some of FG’s favourite local experimental troupes with Stag Hare, Nolens Volens, and Blood Blisters. This will be a good show.
August 11th (Saturday) fans will likely be split between singer/songwriter Laura Veirs who will be playing a Wild Salomon benefit at Pierpont Pl. and Harry and the Potters at the Salt Lake City Public Library. Choose wisely.
Frog Eyes Tears Of The Valedictorian (2007, Absolutely Kosher) 8.0/10
Canada is rocking our U.S. brains out lately. British Columbia's, Frog Eyes newest release, Tears Of The Valedictorian has shown a more accessible rock n' roll side of the band. The album's carnival feeling was undoubtedly partially due to the additional band member, Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug, whose rowdy keyboards are sure to add a little circus into any album he touches. Lead man Carey Mercer's vocals are actually very similar to Wolf Parade/ Sunset Rubdown's Krug. This albums similarity to the two bands is obvious, and yet it has its own dramatic air. I would recommend it to fans of either band. Tears of the Valedictorian is an intense listen. The new sound is energetically full and loudly expansive. It's a great starting point album for folks who haven't ever listened to Frog Eyes before.
The Twilight Sad Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (2007, Fat Cat) 6.0/10
It is unfortunate to have to dislike this album for something as silly as an accent. What can I say though? All I can think of when I listen to this album is William Wallace and Groundskeeper Willie. Even while covering some significant, interesting sonic territory there is nothing that can distract me from the heavily drenched Scottish accent of The Twilight Sad’s vocals. That may sound petty but there is no use pretending. Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters carry some swelling post rock instrumentation, are signed to the incredible Fat Cat Records (Sigur Ros, Animal Collective, Black Dice) and have received moderate critical nods elsewhere. It just doesn’t connect. I don’t know quite why either. I don’t mind Belle and Sebastian’s vocals and their most certainly Scottish. I hope I am not falling into some subconscious social elitism here but that’s that. His accent is too thick so I don’t like it. That’s all I can say. (some critic!)
Bent on the thickest, rubberiest beats, Justice goes for the jugular straight out of the gate. With a tight grip on your jaw it can be pretty hard not to nod your head and grin mindlessly as Justice provides the most amazingly awesome dance beats that where ever inspired. This album is absolutely nuts; not only does it force you to dance but it destroys all of your inhibitions forcing you to create ridiculous new dance moves. The production here is immaculate with every sound meticulously mixed making sounds you have only imagined in your wildest dance dreams (come on, you have them too). The French duo’s debut harkens Thriller era Michael Jackson being infused with a distinctive 1980’s affected soul. There is also a mandatory name check here: Daft Punk, yeah - these guys are influenced. Anywho, Cross is hitting the summer a bit late but with enough bass to vibrate your scrawny behind warmly through the winter. An unashamed dance album that is instantly accessible and endlessly fun.
Patrick Wolf
Eluvium
