Glo-Fi is all the rage in the hip indie circles of late. Hazy, nostalgia drenched & easy pleasy – it’s a genre that invites plenty of criticism and outside a handful of acts, that criticism (half-assed, insipid, too safe) is well founded. Glo-fi is shaping up to be the late 00/early 10′s answer (bastard child?) to the Loggins & Messina spearheaded Yaht Rock sound of the 70′s.
That being said there are a few acts working on the edges of the genre that are turning out interesting sounds. One i’ve been keeping my eyes on has been Australia’s “Witch House” scene, acts like OOoOooo, Salem, and ///▲▲▲\\\ combine a much lighter touch of that AM radio vibe, but blur and stretch it in their creepy funhouse mirrors, adding layers of heavy distortion, church organs, garbled vocals, echo and delay, ending up at the end with something in my opinion, much more interesting, and while still detached and sedated, managing to be so much more creative, edgy and engaging.
Outside of even this left field genre, exists Tonstartssbandht. Don’t even ask me how to pronounce it. Not even technically related to glo-fi or witch house, this one man (maybe more?) show located somewhere between Montreal & NYC, seems to be aware of what’s going on in contemporary music culture and then actively subverting it. I heard his most recent EP while looking for for used vinyl at Montreal’s Cheap Thrills. Not for everyone, Tonstartssbandht seems to revel in obscuring its own brilliant pop hooks. Heavy heavy blown out drums and grinding guitars matched up to shrieking and yelping guy/girl vocals thrash and threaten to completely disintegrate the tracks (not to mention your headphones) but once you’ve got over the initial shock value, it’s the pop hooks that will keep you coming back to listen and relisten. These songs are nerviously anthemic in a way that will having you trying to dig up the lyrics so you can shout along at the top of you lungs.
If you’re into glo-fi, if you’re into music that challenges, and then rewards, check this guy out his most recent EP is available for free download.
Mono – Holy Ground: NYC Live
The band-plus-symphony live album is nothing new. Portishead did it in 1998, mixing Beth Gibbons’ lovely voice with the New York Philharmonic at the Roseland Ballroom. Metallica tried it in 1999, recruiting Michael Kamen to conduct the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for what is arguably the best performance in the back half of their catalog. But neither of these artists’ music is inherently symphonic to begin with. Sure, Metallica pinched whole phrases from Gustav Holst and regularly nipped other classical works for their early thrash, but their music never had anything more than the grand flow of symphonic strings, the thundering bombast of tympani.
Mono is one of the few bands overtly influenced by classical music to try the rock and symphony bit, and from the record we have with Holy Ground: NYC Live, the results are astonishing. Rather than simply reinterpreting their songs with a symphonic counterpart, the band allows the music to stretch and grow, filling the Society for Ethical Culture Hall with waves of guitar reverb pitted against the soft moan of cellos and violins. In this context, a song like “Pure as Snow” becomes a journey, an excursion much like the walk through the wintry woods depicted in Dimitri Galuret’s video for last year’s Hymn to the Immortal Wind track “Follow the Map.” Read the Full Review
Melissa Etheridge – Fearless Love
The first of 12 tracks is titled the same as the album, Fearless Love, and it has the fiery, fierce sound of many of her previous hits such as Yes I Am, Come to My Window, or I’m the Only One.
Her voice is as strong today as it was on her first album in 1988. The lyrics sound heartfelt, personal, and characteristically Etheridge. Fearless Love, Etheridge croons, “I want a fearless love/I won’t settle for anything else.”
The third song, Company, the next singles release contender, offers more reflective lyrics: And the stillness of the night reminds me that I don’t like to be alone/All I want is company/Someone to understand this misery/What is truth and what is fear/All I want is company.
We Are the Ones would also make a great single. The last song, Gently We Row, Etheridge sings thoughts of her daughter: And when I found me/I wrapped my arms ‘round my own daughter/And she fell into her own place and time. Read the Full Review
Hole – Nobody’s Daughter
Some time back in the early 1990s, I sat on a friend’s bed after school watching her claw holes into a pair of fishnet tights with the goal of getting them to look as artfully distressed as Courtney Love’s voice sounded. One of the sweetest-natured girls I’ve ever met – the kind who apologises to everybody who bumps into her – she was obsessed with Love’s angry grunge band, Hole. Love gave her a snarling, rebellious, conflicted feminist voice that she didn’t vent anywhere else in her straight-A life. The only time I remember her shouting was that afternoon, when her mum popped her head round the door, gestured toward the stereo and said “Goodness, she sounds cross!” “Cross??!!” yelled my friend, “Courtney Love isn’t cross! She’s…” there was a pause as courage for an expletive was gathered and lost “…really cross”. Read the Full Review
Record Store Day is this Saturday folks, (April 17th 2010 for you exact date lovers) We’re seeing our shipments starting to arrive with all our various exclusive releases. Because there’s such a limited quantity of these releases not every indie store in the country is getting all the items, but we can tell you that we’re trying to get as many as we can. Here’s just a teaser of a few we know we’ll have in stock (albeit, in limited quantities) on Saturday. Better set that alarm and get down here cause i’m sure they’re gonna go fast.
Grace Potter Live EP
Grace and some of the Nocturnals will be down here later in the evening around 7pm till close they’ll be signing copies of their new exclusive live EP and spinning some of their favorite tunes!
Gogol Bordello – 7 Inch
Ex Pure Popper/Burlington Scene alumni cum mega-indie Balkan punk rocker Eugene Hutz is dropping an exclusive 7″ for all you Gogol fans out there, and judging by album sales, we know there are a bunch of you.
Flaming Lips, Henry Rollins & Peaches doing Darkside of the moon.
On Vinyl… Yeah this total oddity (Henry Rollins & Peaches?) will definitely be available in limited quantities for all you lovers of The Lips, or maybe Floyd fans, or maybe Rollin’s fans… Peaches, etc….
And just a few more lovely pieces of vinyl coming out of the shipping boxes as i type this…
Modest Mouse – Moon & Antartica, Pantera Catalog & The Magnetic Field 69 love songs box sets!
MGMT – Congratulations
“It’s Working” leads off Congratulations as a fairly lighthearted track with a understated post-punk bass line. “Song For Dan Treacy” follows as a mod-rock throwback infused with an electric organ and a series of effects. “Someone’s Missing” quietly introduces itself through Andrew Van Wyngarden’s echo-heavy vocals, but just as soon as it begins to pick up speed a gentle funk fades the track out. The ire-raising “Flash Delirium” and “I Found A Whistle” round out the first half of Congratulations, though each honestly fails at revealing much more than par-for-the-course psych-rock.
If any song were to polarize listeners it’s likely to be “Siberian Breaks,” a multi-part ballad that sweeps up pseudo-flower power, a curious spoken word transition, and spacey keys into a convenient 12 minute package. Its kaleidoscope effect does little to offer a contrast to the rest of the record but it could very well be the straw that breaks the MGMT fan’s back; the 12 minute, oddly erratic straw. Rounding out the record is the garage rock-revival sounding “Brian Eno,” “Lady Dada’s Nightmare”—which could have more suitably accompanied the terribly uncomfortable “Kids” video—and the slow freak-folk of Congratulations‘ title track. Read the full review
Coheed & Cambria – Year of the Black Rainbow
Coheed And Cambria has always been remarkable for the extended science-fiction tale that runs through its albums, one that’s also manifested as the comic-book series The Amory Wars (written by Coheed’s leader, Claudio Sanchez). But the band’s fifth full-length, Year Of The Black Rainbow, has higher aspirations: cinematic ones. The disc kicks off with “One,” an eerie, soundtrack-like instrumental that would feel right at home in a J-horror film. Read the full review
Khaki King – Junior
Katherine aka Kaki King may have only just reached the ripe old age of thirty, yet she has already clocked up a succession of accolades from other well-respected musicians – Dave Grohl and Robert Smith being two that spring to mind – not to mention consistent levels of critical acclaim bestowed upon each record she’s put her name to since her debut long player ‘Everybody Loves You’ back in 2003.
Now onto album number five, ‘Junior’ is possibly her most gut-wrenching statement of intent yet, following on from its predecessor, 2008′s ‘Dreaming Of Revenge’ in every way possible right down to the sentimental desire for retribution shown previously on ditties like ‘So Much For So Little’. While the lyrical theme throughout ‘Junior’ seems to revolve around Ms King’s obvious dislike for a former lover, it’s the sublime levels of instrumentation that really come to the fore here, particularly bearing in mind her exquisite guitar playing and subtle arrangements that take in fury and melancholy in equally disparaging measures. Read the full review
Murs & 9th Wonder – Fornever
Gunning for the title of “hardest-working man in hip-hop,” Murs has released 30-plus albums and EPs over the last 15 years, including collaborations with Slug of Atmosphere and his own crews 3 Melancholy Gypsys and Living Legends. Yet arguably his most memorable moments have arrived in tandem with the North Carolina producer 9th Wonder.
“Fornever,” the duo’s fourth collaboration and the first of 10 albums that Murs plans to release in 2010, does little to expand upon an already established template. As consistent as the Southern California climate and equally affable, 9th Wonder’s soulful, sun-kissed beats blend like barbecues and backyards with Murs’ relatable raps about subjects as varied as his affinity for Asian girls and the perils of cigarette addiction and dating porn stars (“Vikki Veil”). Read the full review
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – I learned The Hard Way
The Dap-Kings succeed through attention to detail. While a lot of music makes aesthetic or stylistic nods to 60s, almost none of it actually captures the sonic character of the era. But on each of their albums, Jones and her collaborators, led by Gabriel Roth, have done just that. And it doesn’t just come down to the production and placement of the microphones. Jones deserves the most credit, simply for having an amazing voice that she understands how to wield effectively. Her impeccable sense of delivery balances power with nuance, varying her forcefulness for maximum impact. The songs give her plenty of room to move, too– if these tracks weren’t every bit as good as the ones that inspired them, all of the performance and production acumen in the world couldn’t save them. As rote as it sounds, “Better Things” and “The Game Gets Old”, among others on I Learned the Hard Way, would likely be classics today if they’d been released alongside the music that influenced them. In fact, they may yet become classics to a smaller, more niche audience today. Read the Full Review
Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog has caught praise and derision for seeming to exist in three modes, alternately replicating The Band, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles. But the first artist listeners might think of upon hearing “Where’d All The Time Go,” off the quintet’s sixth album, is The Flaming Lips. The song features the same reedy croon as Wayne Coyne, the same wispy, watercolor keyboards that blanketed The Soft Bulletin, and the same sort of smiley, existential musings on death as “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate.” That last point is key: Shame, Shame draws from the well of rocker inspiration that is early-midlife bewilderment at mortality. It’s an album of confusion and carpe diem, which might explain why its two best traits are its psychedelic bent and liveliness. Read the Full Review
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love sounds like such an interesting concept that it’s easy to be disappointed with it on first listen. For the most part, the double album is a light, airy thing, with light, airy singers plopped onto light, airy music with disco sensibilities and modern club beats. There are lots of strings, as if to underscore the drama, but also enough buzzy noises and 120-130 BPM tempos to make one remember when Fatboy Slim was not only relevant, but wildly popular as well. It’s an album that could easily be put on in the background, whether as the backdrop for a classy party or simply for cooking dinner. It is so passively ear-pleasing that you actually have to make an effort to notice it.
Make the effort, though, and you will be rewarded. Byrne has done us the favor of providing detailed liner notes (or a 100-page book if you’re feeling extravagant), most of which are reprinted here, so very little decoding has to be done of the lyrics. What this allows us to do is concentrate on the delivery of those lyrics, and Byrne has coaxed expert performances out of nearly all of his collaborators. Read the Full Review
We’re a little over a week away from Record Store Day 2010. The last two were a lot of fun, so we’re pretty excited. There are a ton of titles this year on all formats, including exclusives, reissues, live material and all sorts of other neat stuff. In addition to all the Record Store Day releases, we’re going to be running some cool sales and putting out a ton of cheap used cd’s and lp’s.
This year we have an extra-special treat. We will proudly be hosting Grace Potter and some of her band-mates from The Nocturnals. They are going to come in to sign albums and meet fans. As if that wasn’t enough, Grace will also be DJing at the store for the final hours of the event. One can imagine a high-calibar songstress like herself having great taste! They should be arriving around 7pm.
Feel free to call the store with any questions you may have. Please take note of a few details before you do:
-Store Hours on Record Store Day will be 10am-9pm
-All of our orders for Record Store Day titles are in. We tried to get just about everything. Given the limited nature of these releases, we’re not sure exactly how much we’ll be getting of anything.
-We will not be reserving any of the event’s exclusive titles for customers. No exceptions. All items are first come first serve. If you really want that Magnetic Fields “69 Love Songs” Vinyl box set, come at ten o’clock.
-More information can be found at the event’s official website.
-Here is a fairly comprehensive list of Record Store Day releases: Read the rest of this entry »
As most of you well know, the internet is host to a seemingly infinite number of semi-literate and wholly-baffling opinions. (See this website for several examples.) Perhaps the greatest concentration of these can be found at the retail monolith amazon.com, where customer reviews defy the laws of grammar and logic more often than not. Let’s examine a few of the different ways we can enjoy the dubious meditations of amazon critics. All reviews are quoted exactly, typos and all, except when personal information has been censored.
1. One Star Reviews of Albums Commonly Accepted as “Great”
…on “Rubber Soul” by The Beatles
“Okay, let’s get it straight! I listen to this CD from the Florissant Valley County Library only once because ALL of the songs are totally BORING! I don’t think I’ll buy this CD…maybe………………………MY E-MAIL ADRESS IS thebeatlesfan*****@yahoo.com”
-This woman thinks Rubber Soul is a one-star album, yet her email address begins with “the beatles fan.” Also, she seems undecided on buying it, despite assigning it such a low score.
“This is nowhere near the finest album ever recorded. I’d say somewhere between #100 & #200. I have heard local bands do better than songs like this.”
-You know, even being on the low end of the top 200 hundred albums of all time would be quite an honor.
“Ok…but i prefer Jim Nabors…his voice and styling is superior to the Beatles…and a much better actor..”
-Unfortunately, few artists stand up to the “Jim Nabors Litmus Test.” People looking for a quick grammar lesson take note, this is exactly how to use ellipses.
