First week at the new job is complete, the little loose threads that remained from previous gig are all tied up and I am almost half way through the musical niblets that have made their way to my inbox in the last seven days. It was a nice little break from TWIAPC (mostly in that I was productively able to get a lot of things sorted) but I’m now happy to find myself tucked back in to posting. Thank you for your patience and the nudges of support I have received.
These two bands immediately grabbed my attention and I’m happy to be able to bring you into their magnificent fold.
In the mood for some intensely awesome rock & roll with electronic leanings? Then you need to hear Funeral Party. They go hard and you’ll follow right along as it is nigh impossible to resist the danceable beats. The LA trio has a healthy appreciation of cow bell and the power of a tight bass line. Both contribute to the vigorous currents flowing through their work. Lead singer Chad Elliot has the perfect voice – melodic but raw enough to hit the shouty bit convincingly- for this punkish group and is really the cherry on top of an addictive music sundae. They’ll be at the Northstar Bar on August 11th getcher tickets!
[MP3] Finale
Canada continues to plump up my playlists with the superb addition of Montreal’s Parlovr. Self professed sloppy rockers pack a powerful punch and ruthless musicality that envelops you. Their arrangements are guitar heavy with distinct percussion that serves to keep the beat stumbling forward but also to grab your attention. The songs consist of dense layers revealing various musical flavors -punk, garage rock, pop, psych rock – as they unfurl and get more and more entrancing with every listen. They’ll be blowing up Danger Danger Gallery on Thursday (22nd) which I would strongly suggest you get yourself to.
[MP3] Pen To The Paper
Heya folks, I started a new job this week and with the major shift from self employed flexible schedule world to 9-6 lots-to-be-done land I need to take a bit of time to adjust and calm my head a bit. If you need something awesome to get you through the next few days might I suggest…
Sheenabeaston’s stellar Siren Music Fest preview for East Village radio
peruse the blog roll ————>
Check out the incredible work over at Strangers In Stereo
I’m hoping to be back in action by Sunday after a good bit of napping and catching up on email.
This Austin band has captured all that was feel good about early 70′s pop fuzzed it out and given it the garage band treatment. Their new single “Be Brave” wears the shine of a well defined sense of sound and allows their shouty group vocals stand out perfectly. A slow weedely guitar sets the attitude and a few fantastic sax solos provide the sparkle. Strange Boys will be stopping through Philly on September 19th at Kungfu Necktie for two shows with Those Darlins, Gentleman Jesse and His Men.
I’ve been visiting One Happy Island nearly daily since I got my hands on their first album -which dropped July 5th- a few weeks ago. The Boston trio creates unabashedly cheerful twee tunes out of whip smart word play, quirky instrumentations and a good bit of awesome. The 15 songs you’ll find on One Happy Island intrigue the ear, each in their own way, some for the interesting subject matter – if you ride bikes you’re gonna love OHI- others for the distinctly light hearted perspective on love and the realities of relationships. It’s a great romp of an album perfect for a day when you might need a pick me up.
Man do I love this amped up edit of the Drum’s single Let’s Go Surfing. The Raveonettes add a touch of scuzz and push the mix a little louder. It is a sweet and salty mix as the retro fun of The Drums original are dirtied up a bit at the Raveonettes touch.
[MP3] Lets Go Surfing (The Raveonettes Remix) – The Drums
This remix takes the Cosmic of the title to a synth tastic level. It doesn’t try to force the grandness of the original into an agressive dance beat but plays up the spacier elements to simply enhance the flavor. This is a must add for your “spinning in circles in a field with headphones on” playlist. Cause we all have that one, right?
[MP3] Cosmic Love (Short Club Remix) – Florence & The Machine
Yap, I have become thoroughly smitten with Ms. Monae and this remix simply gives me another track to loop to scratch the Monae itch. Organized Noize is the production team who have had their fingers in some of the more iconic hip hop moments – TLC’s “Waterfalls”, En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go” as well as a big chunk of Outkast’s work – and their tweaks here are deft. Categorize this as other way to appreciate the wonderful Janelle Monae.
[MP3] Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) (Organized Noize Remix) – Janelle Monae
When I saw the Futureheads last month they mentioned this song was inspired by cartoons of their youth so, it comes as no surprise that they would go for the toon treatment for the video. I love the song and the video even more. Both capture the cheeky riled up essence of the British pop/punk group. I’d highly recommend you get a copy of their new album The Chaos.
I really love the spirit of this video. It is right on par with Sean Bones’ laid back but good spirited music. I was a big wheel fanatic as a kid so I guess I have a soft spot for the video for that reason too. Sean Bones new album Rings is out now on Frenchkiss Records. It is a superb stroll through a number of musical flavors from rocksteady to retro pop.
The Mynabirds – Let The Record Go from Saddle Creek on Vimeo.
Never before has a girl fight looked so stylish and vivid. Flexing their retro muscles once again to tell a story of revenge the Mynabirds prove they’re not only talented musicians but also otherwise artfully inclined. If you haven’t listened to my previous praises of the group maybe it’s time to heed the call.
TWIAPC: Ok so, what’s your story? How’d Yawn come to be?
Y: YAWN essentially grew out of our friendship throughout high school and our mutual love for music. We started playing punk/rock music together a few years before we became YAWN and through natural expansion of musical influences and desire to experiment, we slowly progressed into what we are now.
TWIAPC: Your music has an undeniable tropical feel, something one doesn’t immediately associate with a band from Chicago, where did that influence come from?
Y:It’s really a combination of a lot of things. The music we were listening to when we made the E.P. had a large influence on the overall sound. Tropical sounds from bands like AC, El Guincho, Ali Farka Toure, Brian Eno…lots of african and bollywood records too. You can hear them in the samples we use. Summer time in Chicago can feel pretty tropical as well, and recording our music during that particular season had an influence on the sound as well. I don’t think it was something that was done intentionally, or discussed as a band that we wanted to sound like that. Hopefully we can sound completely different on the next set of songs.
TWIAPC: Your video for “Kind Of Guy” is one of my favorites this year. How’d you decide on such a random but AMAZING concept?
Y: Thanks, really glad you like the video! The concept of the video was completely the idea of the director, The Druid Beat. He lives in LA, and we randomly met by chance. He heard our music, and sent us this ridiculous description of a neon-space nativity scene with full of colors and sexual imagery. After seeing his other work, we knew it was gonna be awesome. During the shoot, we sort of bonded with him over an appreciation for public access tv, and he just sort of added the beginning and ending parts, which took the whole thing to an even weirder place. He’s the man in the blue snuggie, and he’s amazing.
TWIAPC: I understand you guys identify strongly with the DIY music scene. How does this effect your music and approach to “making it.”
Y: I’d say for us it specifically applies to the way we make music. We’ve been in studios before, and worked with others. We wound up with a rushed product that didn’t sound the way we wanted due to outside input from producers, not to mention the complete waste of time and money involved. Luckily, we learned from those mistakes and picked up general knowledge on recording. We sort of then decided it would be best to just record ourselves so that we could take unlimited time to tinker away as we wanted, and spend our money on buying recording equipment for ourselves instead. This also helped contribute to our sound, since we could write and record at the same time without outside constraints and opinions. I think it effects our approach to “making it” in a strong way, since we are completely satisfied with the finished product and feel good about others hearing it and getting exactly what we intended them to.
TWIAPC: You have a second EP due later this summer. Can we expect an expansion on what you included in the first EP or will you be toying with some new sounds?
Y: A little of both i think. There are songs that have a tropical feel to them still, but there are others which sort of stray away from the feel of the first E.P. It’s still all very up in the air, and we’re deciding which set of songs to finish and put together for people to listen to.
[MP3] Kind Of Guy
There are bands that spend a lot of time looking too cool to be playing a small show or too focused on trying to achieve perfection to really look comfortable on stage. Then there’s Poison Control Center. These guys are far more interested in getting really into their jams and making sure everyone is having a good time. During their gig at the M Room last week they brought nothing but their best to every song. Every member vibrated with such energy during the performance of their slightly maniacal music that it literally burst out of them. They interrupted nearly every single one of their songs with summersaults and shoulder stands, all without ever loosing the flow of the music. The band is made up of veteran performers, all capable of puching themselves just enough in terms of stage presence without allowing the arrangements crumble into chaos.
The Poison Control Center sound they were there to display is brash, catchy and energizing. As I was expecting there was a freshness in their live set that gets polished out of the recorded versions and it was exhilarating to see an entire band uniformly bliss out on stage. All the elements of their sound -punk, rock & roll, pop, psych rock – came together on that stage leaving me feeling incredibly satisfied by their awesomeness. PCC is in a van criss crossing the country for what appears to be the rest of the year so each and every one of you should have a chance to catch them. Do NOT miss out.
I’ll admit I sometimes sit on band that initially grabs me just to make sure the initial impression is worthy of sharing. This approach can go either way; sometimes the quirk which first drew me in turns cloying after a few listens, other times it just keeps getting better. In the case of A B & The Sea it was the later. Upon first hearing their retro leaning classic pop singles I got my hands on any and everything I could from them and it is all delectable. The quartet meld a bit of surf rock with a touch of sunny pop -70′s flavor- to create a delightfully addictive sound. Their new EP Boys & Girls is rich with tunes meant to be played during a breezy summer day complete with barreling bass drums, hand claps and plenty of finely crooned “ooohs” & “aaahs.” They’re doing a mini west coast tour this summer and hopefully hopefully they’ make their way out East soon.
Irish singer/songriters Simon Fagan’s second LP Outside Looking In hit the digital market last month and it is also one of those releases that needed a little time to marinate. His music is incredibly comfortable, you can slip into the arrangements and lyrics without much effort which can be said about a lot of average music. Fagan’s real talent is found on the third or fourth listen to his album when you realize how tight his instrumentations are and the careful measure he uses to deliver the lyrics. He knows his voice well and has a real knack for dynamic delivery which gives his material genuine emotional weight. Give him a go, you’ll find yourself hitting repeat more than you’d expect.
I got my first listen of the new School of Seven Bells album Disconnect From Desire yesterday and it is magnificent. Then this remix magiced its way into my iTunes remix shuffle and it was like icing on the cake. Lusine plays off of SOSB’s etherial spirit by scaling it back and adding some subtle tweaks and sparkles. This is a smooth smooth jam you should pop on your next chill out mix.
[MP3] Half Asleep (Lusine Remix) – School Of Seven Bells
Philly DJ Emynd snuck this track out there this week (I caught wind of if from the heads over at Uristocrat) and it just rubbed me the right way. It’s a laid back take on synth pop rockers La Roux vocals spread over swaggering beats copped from Birdman’s Money To Blow. The two meld much better than you might expect another job well done by meester Emynd.
[MP3] Money To Blow (La Roux x Birdman) – Emynd
Not sure about the rest of you but there has been a lot of World Cup watching in the TWIAPC household. Sadly with Ghana’s loss tragic loss today all the teams I had any attachment to are out. I’ll still tune in to see how the tournament of surprises plays out but hopefully with a little less anxiety involved. This remix by The Very Best of African troubadour Baaba Maal’s “Miracle” is totally something I can see running behind some of the replay montages that will be peppering sports casts over the next week. They maintain the tribal soul of the original track but amp it up perfectly with some superimposed beats. Get it.
The summer between my junior and senior year I decided to stay at school and begin work on my senior comps project for my studio arts degree while splitting my time between working for the slide library and the campus book store. While definitely the least adventurous summer of my college years it was just what I needed, a meandering summer spent living the small town life. I was lucky to have a grip of quality souls who had also opted to stay on campus with whom I could pass the time. Evenings were spent floating down the Canon river to stay cool, playing intense cribbage tournaments, making elaborate dinners, tossing frisbees and, or course, listening to/discussing music.
Without the stress of school work to otherwise distract us we were able to stay up late into the night playing our favorite music for each other. I brought my classic rock knowledge to the table, my roommate ( a DJ) shared with me his love of hip hop and my fellow book store worker imparted upon me his encyclopedic knowledge of indie music. Those tune swapping sessions opened me up to more new music than ever before. I filled my iPod with their recommendations and passed my days stocking shelves and filing slide while listening to Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Broken Social Scene, Drive By Truckers, Ron Sexsmith, Death Cab For Cutie, Blackalicious, The Books – to name a few. Needless to say it was a pretty ideal way to savor my last summer. I look back on that summer and realize it was probably the catalyst for my current dedication to perpetual musical discovery.
Check The Rhime- Tribe Called Quest
I Believe In A Thing Called Love – The Darkness
Move Your Feet – Junior Senior
Holy Grail – Badly Drawn Boy
Billy Liar – The Decemberists
The District Sleeps Alone (Postal Service Cover) – Jonna Lee
Give Pretty Soon – Drive By Truckers
Busted Heart – Bishop Allen