What do you get when you cross a classically trained but independently minded pianist with two folk/rock instrumentalists? You get a Joni Mitchell/Aimee Mann/Jenny Lewis hybrid, which is probably accurate when describing the music of New York City based trio Elizabeth & the Catapult. This jazzy alt-pop trio, fronted by singer Elizabeth Ziman, released an EP on their own in 2006 and then created enough of a buzz through touring that they were courted by major labels. But they ultimately signed with indie Verve Forecast, and the guess here is so that the group could maintain creative control, which is a good thing for all of us. Their full length debut, Taller Children, has two of the group’s best tracks from the EP, the bouncy and snarky “Momma’s Boy” and the dreamy, Jill Cunniff-ish “Right Next to You.” But there’s much more, with the rest of the LP continuing to jump between bouncy and dreamy, but Ziman and her cohorts deliver it all with precision and pizazz. Other standouts are the uber catchy title track, melancholy “Rainiest Day of Summer” and quirky “Everybody Knows.” (Verve Forecast 2009)
When UK bands were crashing on American shores during the Britpop boom of the mid ’90s, it made sense that Pulp would have a more difficult time making the transfer than some of their contemporaries. Singer Jarvis Cocker’s lyrics were steeped in class warfare and bedroom politics, meaning that most American teenagers wouldn’t quite understand what it meant to live like common people. Flash-forward a dozen years or so, and Brooklyn band Amazing Baby, born from the ashes of several other Brooklyn bands, lets their Pulp flag fly on Rewild, and the results are intoxicating. Ringing guitar lines, breathy but deathly serious vocals and pogo-friendly drum beats abound, but Amazing Baby are no knockoff band; Pulp, for example, would never have written “The Narwhal,” though Supergrass might have. After enduring band after band of self-absorbed ninnies, to see a group like Amazing Baby actually enjoying themselves is a sight for sore eyes. More, please. (Shangri-La 2009)
The story of Nashville-by-way of Australia’s Butterfly Boucher is an all too common one these days. Her debut on A&M Records, Flutterby, was well-received by fans and she later had a song placed on a critical scene of “Grey’s Anatomy.” But A&M couldn’t figure out how to maximize her potential, and didn’t really try hard to do so, so Boucher was granted her freedom, which she embraced with the vigor of someone who wanders the desert to find an oasis. Her new album, Scary Fragile, on her own imprint, Situation Operation (she is managed by alt-pop powerhouse label Nettwerk Music), reflects the last few years of trying to make music for the right reasons. This woman can write songs really well, and it’s just mind-boggling that labels can give up on talent like her’s so quickly. Boucher sings in an endearing Australian accent and her voice is unique and easy to pinpoint – and she’s hip without being hipster, melodic without being predictable. The album kicks off with “I Found Out,” which is clearly an anthem of liberation that flat-out rocks. And on a mostly solid sophomore effort, the other standouts are “Gun For a Tongue,” which may remind you of Luscious Jackson; the summer rock feel of “Keeper” and the haunting beauty of “Bitter Song,” which is the same track used by “Grey’s Anatomy.” (LABEL: Situation Operation)
If you can get past the subliminal screams of “Hipster band! Hipster band!” as you’re listening to Skeletons, the sophomore effort from Brooklyn teenagers Tiny Masters of Today, it’s easy to see why they’ve earned the love of David Bowie, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and (cough) Kimya Dawson. They make simple but crazy catchy DIY alt-pop, all fuzzed out guitars and dispassionate vocals (but well sung for teenagers), with tunes that would give the Breeders and the Strokes pause. Indeed, “Ghost Star” is catchier than anything the Breeders or Strokes have sent to radio in ages, and “Big Stick” has the kind of drum track that the Beastie Boys will surely sample for their next record. The biggest problem with Tiny Masters of Today is that while they do what they do really well, they’re not exactly versatile. Sure, they incorporate indie rock, hip hop elements, and other borough-friendly sounds, but the album feels longer than it is, even at 26 minutes. Still, you can see the makings of a band that will one day be worthy of the hipster buzz they’re already getting. It will be interesting to see what they do when they reach their twenties. (Mute 2009)
Ripping off ’80s artists can work, but you have to choose wisely. Go for Depeche Mode or New Order, leave Kajagoogoo alone. Empire of the Sun’s debut album Walking on a Dream has been out for a bit now, and It is frequently being compared to MGMT’s breakout debut Oracular Spectacular. The comparisons, however, aren’t justified. While MGMT is a psychedelic band with a synth-pop side, Empire of the Sun are firmly synth-pop and electro-pop to the hilt, with a sound ripped straight from 1984. Whether or not that’s a good thing can be debated. Sure, they work as a throwback retro act, and songs like the ultra-catchy title track and “Half Mast” are well-made simplistic pop-dance numbers, but once you dig past the obvious singles, there isn’t much to Walking on a Dream. The second-half of the album has some touches of experimentation, such as the “Delta Boy” with its Flaming Lips freak-out vibe, and “Country,” which has a strange easy listening feel, but its mostly just boring and kind of monotonous. By the time that the closer “Without You” comes up, the duo from Australia have more than worn out their welcome. Still, the highlights are great; hopefully they can craft something a bit more consistent next time. (EMI 2009)
On Brain Cycles, Radio Moscow’s sophomore release, there’s an eight-minute jam called “No Good Woman,” in which there is a three-minute drum solo complete with headphone-porn stereo effects. The audacity of said drum solo is matched immediately by a one-minute unaccompanied guitar solo that closes out the track, with equally ludicrous stereo-shifting effects thrown in for no good reason. If that sounds awesome to you, then you should probably just buy Brian Cycles (as well as Radio Moscow’s 2007 debut) right now. If not, well, then you have no soul. Radio Moscow is a blues-rock band with some heavy psychedelic influences. They’re carved from the same stone as Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Allman Brothers. Subtle as a punch in the face, their musicianship is without question; guitar solos run amok as drums fly at you in all directions, while Parker Griggs bemoans about womanly woes and many other of life’s common ills. It’s not original in the least, but sure as hell sounds good. These boys from Iowa know what they are doing, and Brain Cycles is sure to cause all but the most jaded blues rock fan to drop his head in awe and cry out “goddamn” at least once. This isn’t Wolfmother-style emulation of a classic rock sound - this is the real deal. (Alive 2009)
Everything is weirder in Iceland, that’s a scientific fact. Their pop singers are weirder (Bjork) their rock groups are weirder (Sigur Ros), and if Sin Fang Bous is any indication, their singer-songwriters are weirder as well. Sin Fang Bous is actually Sindri Mar Sigfusson, the lead singer of Seabear. If you’ve heard Seabear, that won’t really prepare you for Sin Fang Bous, since the former is indie pop and this is decidedly…different. The music on Clangour runs between glitched-out electronica to quiet acoustic rock, all facing a common bond in Bous’ off-kilter and utterly charming songwriting. One-of-a-kind romantic verses like “I will be the lumberjack and you will be the trees” populate left-of-center odes like “Clangour and Flutes.” Decipher that one? How about “Sinkership,” which has Bous proclaiming, “I’m coming down, I see eyes in the mirror / An old rhino sweeps in rolled up flames”? Give me a ring when you figure that one out, but even if you can’t they still work, as the dreamy electronic vibe of Clangour accompanies the out-of-this-world lyrics. High speed loops of bleeps and bloops are layered behind simplistic acoustic guitar strumming, creating a Bob Dylan-meets-Beta Band vibe. It’s not wacky or sample-filled like Beck, but very deliberate and low-fi. This isn’t dance music, and calling it “electronic” might even be a misnomer; this is acoustic singer-songwriter stuff that happens to be plugged in to a few computers and a drum machine, and it’s pretty amazing. (Morr Music 2009)
Posted by Alexzandra Hackford (06/05/2009 @ 12:06 am)
From the back woods of Sparta, Tennessee come eclectic indie-rockers the Features. Their latest release, Some Kind of Salvation, was recorded without the help of a major label, and boasts a hodgepodge of songs with inventive lyrics and infectious melodies. Opening track “The Drawing Board” sets the tone of the record with a barrage of funky horns, and “The Temporary Blues” makes a statement about that shit job you just can’t stand but really can’t live without. Other standouts on the record include “GMF” - about zombie vegetables that take their non-conformist farmer hostage - and “Wooden Heart,” a post-break up/rebound anthem about putting the shine back on that tarnished but most important blood-pumping organ. On the whole, the record is full of energy. It’s relevant yet different, with audible influences like the Kinks and Elvis Costello. Some King of Salvation is a bit of a departure from the wild psychedelic rock you may expect from the Features, but “Off Track” or not - this foursome is poised to make a bold statement in the world of rock music. (Loose Tooth 2009)
We were admittedly late to the Metric party, but after hearing the band’s fantastic new album Fantasies, we are officially smitten. And how cool is this: they just made a video for “Sick Muse,” the song we’ve been putting on mix discs since the album’s release.
The clip itself is simple one: the camera stays still while the band members play, or dance, or sing, or whatever they feel like doing. And if Emily Haines doesn’t have the cutest dance ever, we don’t know who does. Swoon. And as a bonus, this player - which defaults to auto-play, grrrr - contains videos for “Gimme Sympathy” and “Help I’m Alive” as well, along with audio streams of the entire Fantasies album. Sweeeeeeet.
U.S. based British band Minibar has been a fixture on the Los Angeles indie pop scene for the last decade, but yet Minibar has managed to stay under most everyone’s radar. Those who know the band know the slightly smoky and brooding vocals of front man Simon Petty, who is also one heck of a songwriter, and now he gets to prove that point with his debut solo effort, The Sea, The Sea under the moniker Solomon’s Seal. Petty’s obsession with the Smiths is documented in the press materials, and he’s also said to be influenced by the late, great Nick Drake. One thing going for Petty right off the bat is that he doesn’t feel compelled to fake a British accent like other alt-popsters. His vocals bring the songs effortlessly to life - and the songs themselves, with their beautifully sparse production and arrangements, are simply wonderful. The haunting instrumental “Solomon’s Suite” is an odd opener, but then right from the soothing piano and smooth vocals of “A Trick of the Light,” Petty’s artistry just shines. Other standouts are “Sleeping in the Car,” which sounds like a Glen Phillips-Joseph Arthur hybrid, the pretty guitar/vocal of “I Built a Fire,” and the romping, Peter Gabriel-esque “A Part of the River.” (Unshackled 2009)
It is increasingly difficult to stand out in the overcrowded pop scene these days, but leave it to Missouri transplants White Rabbits (they’ve since relocated to Brooklyn, much like fellow Midesterners Locksley) to take a trick from .38 Special’s playbook and turn it on its ear: two drummers! The similarities end there, though; It’s Frightening, the second long-player from the White Rabbits, takes those two drummers - think Adam and the Ants, not the Doobie Brothers - and frames them with singer Stephen Patterson’s barroom piano and some sparse guitar work to create the kind of angular pop that you’d expect from the bands on the other side of the pond. Britt Daniel’s presence here as producer is no surprise, as the band’s “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong” sounds like a lost Spoon track, and Single of the Year candidate “Percussion Gun,” armed to the teeth with handclaps and double-decker harmonies, is delightfully quirky and insanely catchy. That unusual approach to their drum tracks could prove to be an albatross - ask Guster about that one - but for the moment, all is quite well with the White Rabbits. (TBD 2009)
Here’s the setup: the folks at RPM Challenge dared bands and solo artists to write, record and deliver a finished album in one month. Any number of things could happen under that kind of deadline: pigs could fly, songwriters could lose lots of sleep, and the biggest risk of all - the music could suck. One of the people who took the RPM bait was SoCal based twodoggarage, led by singer and songwriter Alex Kimmell. The band’s debut, Pinboy, was chock full of catchy pop tunes that brought Kimmell out of left field and onto our radar. This one, A Gross Display of Penmanship, with its diverse and interestingly arranged songs, is arguably even better. And further, the more you listen, the more it should grow on even the most skeptical of critics. Kimmell shows versatility galore with catchy ditties like “Something Real” and “Enough,” flowing mid-tempo Glen Phillips-esque tracks such as “Gradually Disappearing” and “Lift Me Up, Carry Me Down.” He even gets truly experimental on super-cool electronic instrumental “Circles” as well as on the rap-infused “The Runner” and spoken-word-meets-fuzz-box title track. Sure, the recording quality is at times bedroom-ish, but Kimmell makes the best of it, as well as the most of his time putting an album together on the fly. (self-released 2009)
Beginning today, coinciding with the band’s North American tour, Coldplay fans can download LeftRightLeftRightLeft, a nine-song live album, for free on the band’s web site. As you might imagine, the track listing favors their latest album Viva la Vida, however - and the fans will love this - it focuses on album tracks over singles. “Strawberry Swing” and “42″ are here, while “Talk” and “Yellow” are not. Bravo, gentlemen.
Fans have until the end of their US tour to download LeftRightLeftRightLeft, while the band will be giving away CD copies of the album at their concerts. Dig in, kids.
They would surely bristle at the idea that their songs are of the throwback variety, but the simple fact is that there aren’t many, if any, bands writing the kind of music that propels See the Light, the magnificent new album by UK duo (or is it septet?) the Hours. Singer Antony Genn’s phrasing recalls Wonder Stuff frontman Miles Hunt (though Genn is a much better singer), and the songs are flat-out skyscrapers, gorgeous piano-driven epics that put the ‘wide’ in widescreen. “Come On” uses seven words to create one of the catchiest choruses you’ll hear this year, while the seven-minute title track is a brilliant, two-chord slow burner, like a mid-tempo version of Pulp’s “Common People” (which is fitting, since Genn is a Pulp alumnus). There is a lyrical gaffe here and there - “The Girl Who Had the World at Her Feet” opens with the line “The cash cow is heading for the slaughterhouse,” ugh - but such bits come with the territory, and their damage is minimal. Don’t be surprised if these guys become a very big deal in a very short amount of time. (IsGoodLtd 2009)
Ladies and gentlemen, the line for Single of the Year starts here.
I’m frankly shocked that these guys are from New York. American bands, particularly young ones, don’t write songs like this anymore, and they certainly don’t use arrangements like this. I had these guys pegged for a UK act all the way, with the Adam & the Ants-style percussion, hand claps and old-fashioned piano. Maybe the arrangement was producer Britt Daniel’s idea, who knows. His band Spoon isn’t exactly playing the American game, either. No matter who’s responsible for putting it together, it’s damn good, and had me racing for the band’s MySpace page. How about that, the other tunes are good, too. Time to hit up the publicist for a review copy. (The band’s album, It’s Frightening, comes out May 19.)
So the tune is definitely a keeper. Now about about the video? Tastefully simple, a rarity these days. The camera spins around - and sometimes above - a circular display of white lights that surrounds the band. That’s it. I bet they shot it in an afternoon, then hit the pub, while the director popped a couple Dramamines and went to bed. Nicely done, lads.
