Category: Ambient (Page 4 of 8)

Me, Myself, and iPod 5/12/10: The world’s worst action hero gets a theme song

May 12, 2010 /

esd ipod

Vicki St. Elmo – Champion
Between this and last week’s song from the Protomen, it’s clear I have a weakness for songs that sound like they should be from a lost ’80s soundtrack. Of course, that’s the point with this one, as Vicki St. Elmo is the character Kristen Wiig plays in the MacGruber skits on “Saturday Night Live,” and the most unlikely skit yet to be transformed into a motion picture. But don’t laugh: we have it on high authority – my fellow movie critic colleague Jason Zingale – that the movie is absolutely better than you think it is.

The Golden Filter – Hide Me
Synth pop is hard. Everyone thinks that they can grab a couple keyboards and a drum machine and that’s good enough to be considered a synth pop band. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Since there are natural limitations to what you can accomplish, you have to make sure everything works, from the melodies to the arrangement to the vocals. Especially the vocals. Nobody likes a snotty synth pop singer; it suggests contempt for the material. This New York duo seems to get it. I haven’t absorbed the album that this song comes from yet, but it reminded me of Hooverphonic, which in this writer’s mind is a very good thing.

Imogen Heap – Say Goodnight and Go (Back Ted N Ted Remix)
I’m actually posting this to highlight the remixer more than the artist he’s mixing. Back Ted N Ted has a solo album coming out later this summer, and if the bits on his MySpace page are any indication, it’s going to be a doozy.

Steel Train – You and I Undercover
So heartfelt, so achingly sincere. Yes, we’ve heard this song many times before, but I like seeing bands reach for the rafters. Kind of like Fountains of Wayne going for Coldplay-type grandeur.

Toro y Moi – Blessa
Blissed-out bedroom pop. Fans of Dri and her song “You Know I Tried,” take note.

Outrageous Cherry – Fell
You’d expect something, well, outrageously sounding from a band called Outrageous Cherry, but this song in fact reminds me of another band with fruit in its name: the Lemon Pipers. Let me guess: everyone under the age of 30 who just read that last sentence said, “Huh?” Psssst: Google ‘green tambourine,’ and see what happens.

Places & Numbers – Waking the Dead
Solo project from Bobby Darling, previously of Gatsbys American Dream. I bet he and the Republic Tigers would get along great.

'60s, Alternative, Ambient, Artists, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Me, Myself, and iPod 4/28/10: The Silver Seas officially own our souls

April 28, 2010 /

esd ipod

The original title of this post was going to be “Free Crowded House!,” as in I have their new single “Saturday Sun,” which they briefly made available on their web site. I’d repost it here, but that just doesn’t seem right. Plus, I’m loath to do anything that HMFIC, who’s a lawyer, would disapprove of. Sorry, guys. For what it’s worth, it’s good.

The Silver Seas – The Best Things in Life
Their first album, High Society, is one of my favorite albums of the 2000s. Their new one, Chateau Revenge, isn’t far behind, and who knows, it may eclipse its predecessor. It’s not quite as high on the ’70s AM radio sound as the first one, but is yet another first-rate batch of classic pop songs just the same.

April Smith and the Great Picture Show – Movie Loves a Screen
I just love this girl’s voice. Impossibly sunny, and what great pitch. She doesn’t dance around notes – she fucking hits them, hard. And what a sweet refrain. “I just want to mean something to you.” I love a little moon-eyed optimism. It’s a nice antidote to our snark-laden world.

Grosvenor – Taxi from the Airport
Think Joe Jackson’s “Stepping Out” covered by Double (of “Captain of Her Heart” fame), and you’re close. Sophisticated synth pop.

Trentemoller – Sycamore Feeling (Remix Edit)
Fans of Hooverphonic and Propaganda, take note. This moody slice of electro-pop is right in your wheelhouse.

Burning Hotels – To Whom It May Concern
Next time the Airborne Toxic Event is looking for an opening act, they’d be wise to pick these guys.

Kids of 88 – Ribbon of Light
Is it wrong of me for wishing MGMT’s new one sounded more like this?

The Brute Chorus – Could This Be Love?
Attention, Anglophiles. Here’s your next UK buzz band. I like this one because it has a little American swagger in it.

Lawrence Arabia – Apple Pie
Yep, I’m still a sucker for the power pop stuff. Sue me.

Alternative, Ambient, Artists, CD Reviews, Downloads, Electronica, Gothic, Me Myself and iPod, Melodramatic, Pop, Power Pop, Rock, Steal This Song

Hybird: Disappear Here

April 13, 2010 /


RIYL: Leftfield, Faithless, Infected Mushroom

I’ve been in love with Hybrid ever since first hearing “Finished Symphony” on the soundtrack to the PS2 snowboarding game “SSX Tricky.” I’ve also been nearly unable to describe them. They’re dubbed “progressive beats” and “nu skool breaks” by electronic fans, but I have no idea what that actually means. And how could anyone classify Hybrid into one (sub)genre? Listening to the quiet majesty of “Finished Symphony” and the aggressive beats of “Can You Hear Me Now” off of their newest album Disappear Here is almost like listening to two completely different bands; the two tracks sound nothing alike.

And while it’s to be expected that a band might change sound over the course of their career, Disappear Here itself is full of radical genre changes from track to track. While the aforementioned “Can You Hear Me Now” is an intense dance number, it’s immediately followed up by “Green Shell Suit,” a hauntingly beautiful instrumental that would fit side-by-side with “Finished Symphony” on the band’s 1999 debut Wide Angle. About the only thing that’s consistent on Disappear Here are vocals by the band’s newest full-time member Charlotte James. Her distinctive voice serves well as a connective tissue between the wildly varying styles on the album, although some hardcore fans might complain that her near-constant presence on the album takes the band one step too close to a mainstream sound.

Regardless of what you might think of the extra vocals on Disappear Here, this is still Hybrid being Hybrid, going all over the place from one style to another and doing it a damn good job of it. It’s as cinematic and epic as their previous releases, and some tracks, like the pounding “Original Sin” and darkly ominous “Break My Soul” can stand up with the group’s best. This is just more “wow” from a group that can seemingly do no wrong. (Distinct’ive Breaks 2010)

Hybrid MySpace Page

Ambient, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica

The Album Leaf: A Chorus of Storytellers

March 18, 2010 /


RIYL: Hammock, Death Cab for Cutie, Pink Floyd

It’s hard to believe this is the Album Leaf’s fifth album release, and that the group, led by mastermind Jimmy LaValle, is celebrating 10 years of existence. But here it is, A Chorus of Storytellers, the group’s new one, and it’s the same dreamy alt-pop LaValle and company has become known for – but even more polished, if that’s at all possible. Only four of the ten tracks on A Chorus of Storytellers have vocals, but it’s not like you expect an album from these guys to be full of vocal music anyway. In fact, some of their instrumental material is their best, the kind of music that takes you away to a far-off euphoric island and lets you forget about everything going on around you. Of course, it’s also incredibly pleasant music to work to or play in the background of a hipster party. The ten tracks on here flow nicely together, but some of the standouts are the melancholy instrumentals “Within Dreams” and “Stand Still,” and the dark yet strangely uplifting “Until the Last.” But LaValle really shines on the vocal number, “We Are,” which has a beautiful melody and subtly awesome harmonies against a stunning musical backdrop. Too many adjectives? Maybe, but The Album Leaf’s music continues to be adjective-inspiring. (Sub Pop 2010)

The Album Leaf MySpace Page

Alternative, Ambient, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, New Age, Pop

X: THC: X: The Human Condition

March 17, 2010 /


RIYL: early Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, Portishead

This is one branch in the music tree that we didn’t see coming: adult contemporary trip-hop. X: The Human Condition, the brainchild of Michael Nova, is a giant multimedia experience. There is a film, which tells the story of two people driven to change the world through art. The soundtrack of that film sounds like the kind of thing Trent Reznor might assemble if he were feeling vulnerable. The songs slink, bloop and bleep along like the soundtrack for an alt-spa (we’re not sure if alt-spas actually exist, but they should), and possess an ache that Massive Attack’s last album lacked. It doesn’t always work: “Mr. Happy” with its falsetto chorus is more corny than heartfelt, and anyone willing to name a song “The Creature from the Blackened Room” better prepare for some sniggers, even if the music for the track isn’t half bad. When the album’s on, though, it’s on; “The Human Flood” is just begging to be used in a movie trailer, and “Tag You’re It” explores funkier territory. Nova’s not the best singer in the world, and X: The Human Condition will not rewrite the music history books, but for anyone looking to come down from an already chill party, this will do the trick. (Hypnotical Entertainment 2010)

X: The Human Condition MySpace page
Click to buy X: The Human Condition from Amazon

Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Ambient, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Melodramatic

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