COTV
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8.28.2008
8.27.2008
Ribbonpigeon
You Should Know
Hailing from Mufreesboro, Tennessee, Ribbonpigeon creates the kind of rustic alt. country music perfectly suited for your next road trip. Lead singer Kent Goolsby was blessed with a ragged voice that rings authentic, and his accompanying band provides the perfect musical backdrop for his weathered delivery. At their best, the tracks on the band's new album Young Lungs are somewhat reminiscent of old Whiskeytown, and yes, I realize that's high praise, but listen to the opening of "Signal Fire" and tell me it doesn't sound like something you might find on Faithless Street. With stripped-down highlights like "Devil Wind," it's obvious how capable the band is at penning acoustic-based gems, but they prove equally adept on the Crazy Horse-esque rocker "Lowlands." That's the strength of Young Lungs. Through the use of harmonica, lap steel and fiddle, Ribbonpigeon packs a lot of variety in an album that barely exceeds thirty minutes. It puts the band on the map as an outfit well worth mentioning in the same breath with fellow Tennessee bands Glossary and Lucero. Highly recommended for fans of alt. country fare. -- Capt. Obvious
August Mixtape
SIDE A
1. Horse Feathers - Curs In The Weeds
2. Dead Confederate - The Rat
3. Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - We Should Fight
4. The Little Ones - Morning Tide
5. Department Of Eagles - No One Does It Like you
6. The Curse Of Company - All The Mines
7. White Denim - Sitting
SIDE B
1. Jennifer O'Connor - Here With Me
2. Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines
3. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
4. The Broken West - Auctioneer
5. TV On The Radio - Golden Age
6. Kuroma - Alexander Martin
7. Final Fantasy - The Butcher
Tags:
8.25.2008
Motel Motel
You Should Know
Motel Motel is one of those bands you hear and think to yourself: "How are these guys not huge?" Formed in 2006, the Brooklyn band sounds New York City enough to fit in with the likes of The Walkmen but they add enough country twang to satiate fans of Americana. After an 11-city cross country tour from Boston to Denver, the band decided to stay in Colorado to record their album New Denver... illegally. The band would sneak their instruments and recording gear into Denver's Hamilton Theater during the night and sneak out in the morning (they were caught once and escorted by the Denver Police). On New Denver, lead singer Eric Engel's nasally croon navigates through songs that sometimes sound as Modest Mouse as they do Gram Parsons. On the string quartet-accompanied opening track "Harlem," Engel fervently sings: "Somewhere there's a town where the roads are covered in red and violet roses/ The people sleep through a thousand years of sadness/ Lord you couldn't wake them if you wanted to." The song is a real gem, but it doesn't stand alone. From the cocaine and caffeine-fueled "Coffee" to the pared-down folk of "Mexico," the 72-minute New Denver is full of surprising grandeur. Definitely a band and album not to be missed. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Motel Motel - Harlem
MP3: Motel Motel - Coffee
MP3: Motel Motel - Mexico
Tags:
8.23.2008
The Gaslight Anthem: The '59 Sound (2008)
New Wax
Take a few punk-rock kids from New Brunswick, New Jersey and raise them on a healthy dose of Springsteen and The Clash and you've got The Gaslight Anthem. Sure, all the expected themes are there: blue-collar struggles, heartbreak, etc. Is it cliche? Absolutely. But I'll be damned if the band's newest release The '59 Sound isn't one of the catchiest albums I've heard in recent years. Lead singer Brian Fallon's got a certain kind of magnetism you just can't teach, and no matter how many nostalgic references or nods to classic cars he makes, you can't help but appreciate the sincerity he projects. Songs like "Old White Lincoln" will etch their way into your psyche, and you'll find yourself singing lines like "You wear your high top sneakers and your sailor tattoos" repeatedly until your girlfriend tells you to shut the heck up (true story). Musically, The Gaslight Anthem combines a little Rockabilly, a little Punk Rock, and a little Americana-tinged Rock 'n' Roll to create an album filled with catchy guitar riffs and sing-a-long melodies. While The '59 Sound may not live up to the emotional heft of the influences it pays homage to, it's consistently fun and does kind of make you want to buy a leather jacket and hang out at diners. Kind of. -- Capt. Obvious
8.22.2008
Mount Eerie: Lost Wisdom (2008)
New Wax
Lo-fi genius Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie/Microphones fame is set to release Lost Wisdom in early October on his own imprint P.W. Elverum & Sun. The album is a collaborative effort with Canadian singer/songwriter Julie Doiron and her guitarist Fred Squire. Recorded in just a few days in Phil's hometown of Anacortes, Washington, Lost Wisdom has no-frills production and minimal overdubbing. What results is a less cluttered take on Elverum's already lo-fi approach. Elverum and Doiron harmonize on the majority of the album and their voices compliment each other enchantingly. With only two of the ten tracks exceeding three minutes, Lost Wisdom conjures images of abandoned Northwestern shorelines and small mountain towns. The mood throughout is unflinchingly melancholic and songs like the ghostly "Flaming Home" adhere to an overwhelming sense of desolation. On the track, Elverum sings "You thought you knew me" and a distant Doiron answers "Emptiness prevails." Granted, Lost Wisdom isn't exactly a dose of Prozac, but it's late night music at its best and loneliest.
Blog Roundup 8.22.08
Props
Photo by Joe Salter
Music Is Art always has top-notch content and melds music with art in a way unrivaled by other blogs. You need to check out the post about Radiohead's August 13th set. The entire show is downloadable as a zip file.
Sex With Headphones On, a new addition to the blogroll, has a great little mixtape for your listening pleasure.
Another great addition to the blogroll is Tough Customer, which has already introduced me to some great new artists. I always prefer blogs like this that cover the more obscure bands out there.
The Tangled Cord has a doozy of a mix for you. Lots of great stuff on here: Dr. Dog, Deer Tick, Haley Bonar, Takka Takka, Horse Feathers, The Sleeping Years, Beck.
This Mornin' I Am Born Again offers up songs that mention rain in their titles. That Patty Griffin song is classic.
Tags: Blog Roundup, Captain Obvious
8.20.2008
The New Year (2008)
New Wax
I'd like to claim that I was previously familiar with The New Year because their new album is wonderful and because they seem like a band destined to climb my last.fm charts, but I had only recently heard of them and after delving into their latest album, which is self-titled and set to be released on Touch & Go next month, I consider myself a new fan. Formed by brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane after the break up of Bedhead, a highly regarded 90's band associated with the slo-core movement, The New Year creates some beautifully understated music built on interweaving guitars and slow tempos. The album's first single, "The Company I Can Get," is an entrancing sub 3-minute song that seems much longer, but in a good way. Plus it mentions some "redneck in the red Corvette" that I'm pretty sure I've seen driving around my town. Known for their innovative use of multiple guitars in the past, the band's new material sees them relying on a new weapon of choice: the piano. In fact, the sparse "Body And Soul," is built primarily on piano and vocals, and it isn't until 3 minutes into the song that any sort of guitar is introduced. The New Year has a vintage 90's indie-rock feel and gets better with each listen. You might like it too. Ok, I'm gonna go buy their other albums now. -- Capt. Obvious
8.17.2008
Twin Cats
You Should Know
A young couple drives silently in an old beat up truck after getting into an argument about jealousy, possessiveness, or money problems. It's foggy. The windows are up and condensation is building inside the car. They are surrounded by mountains. An ominously dense cloud covering eerily stalks the treetops as a slow-burning song plays through a cheap pair of factory speakers: "My mother is gone/ She went to go up north." This is the scene I imagine when listening to Twin Cats' new album Up North. The moniker for Chicago's Joseph Murphy, Twin Cats creates deliberate, haunting, and atmospheric music that exhibits undeniable slowcore leanings. The album's title track opens with a minimalistic guitar plucking out single notes and Murphy's rustic voice is backed by ethereal background vocals. Eventually the voices fade and the skeletal track builds up into a fuller instrumental breakdown that wouldn't be out of place on a post-rock band's album. The next track, a wonderful little folk song entitled "The River," seems more informed by the likes of Will Oldham than Low or Red House Painters. That's what's so intriguing about Up North. Just when you think you've got it figured out, it veers off in an unexpected direction. The good news is, whatever direction it takes its done with the deftness of an experienced songwriter. This is an album well worth a careful listen, so head over to www.orchidcollective.com to get your copy. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Twin Cats - Up North
MP3: Twin Cats - The River
Tags:
8.15.2008
8.14.2008
September Malevolence: After This Darkness, There's A Next (2008)
New Wax
There’s something so definitively apropos about the artwork on September Malevolence’s latest release, After this Darkness, There’s a Next. The towering dust devils sweeping like prodigal spirits over the parched desert and menacing the galloping riders reminds me of the brutal landscapes of McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. So does the album title, for that matter. Not terribly surprising that the artwork comes from a nineteenth century German artist.
What is surprising is that September Malevolence hail from Gothenburg, Sweden—far away from Arabian whirlwinds or sweat-blackened Stetsons or salt-rimed caliche. No matter. Gothenburg serves as a perfect rendering ground for September Malevolence’s Mono-meets-Jandek soundscapes. And a foreboding journey it is. But while After this Darkness makes no bones about its dreary vision, the music remains curiously inviting, and brief moments of hopefulness punctuate its morose landscapes. However dark the lyrics become, the music resists sagging into boring post metal sludge. In “Who Watches the Watchmen,” the album’s opening track, Martin Lundmark’s vocals maintain a sing-song edge reminiscent of The Mommas and the Poppas’ “California Dreamin,’” even as the speaker promises “You’ll see me happy / when all the bastards are dead.” Heavy with a sense of abandon and disillusionment, “I Shut Doors and Windows” may depict a reluctant small-town reunion among old ghosts. Again, the earnest appeal of the music belies the unsettling lyrical content.
Much of this album’s success involves its success in creating guitar-driven crescendo rock that’s also lyrical. It’s a tricky enterprise that highly-touted groups like Mono, Red Sparowes, and This Will Destroy You don’t bother attempting, but somehow Lundmark’s flattish vox compliment the boundless guitar swells just as well as the more sparse and delicate key arrangements of “Brandskär” or the more traditional guitar plucking of “All Lies.”
After This Darkness, There’s a Next will likely occupy my list of favorite 2008 releases. Go buy a copy from Tender Version. They’ll probably appreciate the support, and the album comes with six compelling pages of artwork.
Memorable line: “Someone set fire to / the place I used to call my home.”
-- Kilgore Trout
UltraMarathon Man (2008)
Celluloid
Ever known anybody who took up the challenge of running a marathon? I can personally attest that it is no easy feat, but it is achievable nonetheless. I had the pleasure of viewing the documentary UltraMarathon Man on its opening night a few days before I ran the San Francisco Marathon. Needless to say, I came away inspired and amazed. Ultramarathon man Dean Karnazes decided to run 50 straight marathons in each of the 50 states, on 50 consecutive days. Dean Karnazes seems as determined to push the human body to its limits as Nelson Mandela was in pushing human equality and freedom in South Africa. Dean’s humanitarian cause: to bring awareness and change to America’s obesity epidemic. Just think, for this 50/50 challenge he wakes up after four hours of sleep, and runs a 26.2 mile race. Next day, 26.2 miles. Day after that? You bet, another 26.2 miles. Repeat for 50 days straight. His 50th marathon of the challenge: the prestigious NYC marathon. A nice way to finish, right? Think again. After this final race, out of spontaneity, he decided to keep running in Forrest Gump fashion. How many miles did he continue to run for in the days following his 50th marathon? I’ll give you a hint, without revealing exactly how long. It’s about ¾ of the distance Chevy Chase traveled to land his family at the famed Wally World in National Lampoon’s Vacation, give or take a couple miles.
Dean Karnazes is not your average weekend warrior. He has a resting heart rate of 40 and appears to have the lung capacity of an adolescent dolphin (the latter is tongue-in-cheek and is not substantiated). In addition to the 50/50 Endurance Challenge highlighted in the film, Dean has completed a 200 mile relay race solo. He once ran 350 miles nonstop. He ran 10 marathons in 24 hours on a treadmill in Times Square. He won the 135 mile Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley’s 130 degree temperature. He ran a South Pole marathon in 40 below weather and swam across the San Francisco Bay. He also achieves impressive feats in mountain biking, surfing, and hiking. Dean completed all these achievements while juggling his position as president of a health food company and being a Dad in a family of four. He does his running in the early morning and functions on around 4 hours of sleep. Incredible, you say. Possibly insane, you say? With a laugh, he often admits to being a little crazy. You might be saying, well, what does any of this extremism have to do with my life, I’m not much of a runner? His message throughout the film speaks to anyone regardless of athletic ability or talent. He just encourages people to get off the couch and exercise. A reporter asked Dean what his hopes were for the movie. After thinking about it for a while, Dean simply replied, “my only hope for this film is that anyone who watches it leaves the theater more inspired to turn his or her dreams into a reality than when they entered.” This movie is about more than running. It’s about pushing oneself to be the best that one can be. To “take the next step” and go for something. Whether that be music, art, business, fitness, or juggling.
What also makes this film enriching is the connections Dean makes with the thousands of people who choose to run with him during the 50 marathons. Dean has charisma and he’s pretty funny. He cares about people. He shares his spirit with others. He’s good looking. He orders full pizzas on the run (cell phone+credit card+coordinates=full stomach for Dean). If this guy was arrogant and in it for the fame and money, I would tell you not to bother with reading his books or watching this film. Dean does not run for the medals or fastest times, nor does he run for recognition, even though he is a celebrity in the running world. Dean runs because he is good at running. He runs because he is curious about perceived limits. He runs because he wants to live every moment of his life to the fullest. Dean fully admits that, as humans, we don’t always know our full intentions when we do things. There’s still a bit of mystery in what drives us as humans, he says. An underpinning of this film is this air of mystery. Of the unknown. Pushing oneself into unknowns, by claiming your knowns. Running is the vehicle that allows Dean to access this world, pushing both his body and spirit to inconceivable limits. It’s a nice message to know that we have some control over our dreams. Dean, and those in the film, are living proof. And so are we. For information on this film and Dean's books, visit: www.UltraMarathonMan.com. -- Juggling Joe
Verdict:
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8.13.2008
Death Vessel: Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us (2008)
New Wax
What's with all these Americana and folk artists with names that sound more fitting for death metal bands? I think I'm going to start a bluegrass band named Bludgeoned Carcass. Death Vessel is actually the moniker for singer/songwriter Joel Thibodeau, who has long enough hair to be in a death metal band but actually creates a unique brand of psych-folk. Death Vessel's 2005 album Stay Close garnered some serious acclaim and landed him on Sub Pop records way back in 2006. Finally, after being expected to drop last year, Death Vessel's Sub Pop debut Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us is ready for consumption. Some of the album's quieter moments may remind you of older Iron & Wine, who Death Vessel has toured with, but those comparisons go out the window as soon as Thibodeau opens his mouth. While not quite as androgynous as the likes of Antony, Thibodeau's got an unusually high falsetto that only adds to the album's mystery. Aside from Thibodeau's unique voice, the arrangements on Nothing Is Precious are intimate yet intricate (there are more than 30 instruments played on the album) while his lyrics are rich with abstract imagery. I'd definitely recommend this to fans of freak-folk fare such as Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsome. The album will be available on August 19th. -- Capt. Obvious
8.12.2008
The Covers Mixtape VIII
SIDE A
1. Damien Jurado - Which Will (Nick Drake Cover)
2. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Little Boy Blue (George Jones Cover)
3. The Mountain Goats - White Box (Jandek Cover)
4. Lackthereof - Fake Empire (The National Cover)
5. Mark Kozelek - New Partner (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Cover)
6. Ola Podrida - Atmosphere (Joy Division Cover)
7. Kind Of Like Spitting - Sin City (Gram Parsons Cover)
SIDE B
1. Okkervil River - April Anne (John Phillips Cover)
2. Joe Pug - Grievous Angel (Gram Parsons Cover)
3. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Handle With Care (Traveling Wilburys Cover)
4. Bat For Lashes - A Forest (The Cure Cover)
5. Marissa Nadler - No Surprises (Radiohead Cover)
6. Sparklehorse feat. Thom Yorke - Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd Cover)
7. Beirut - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen Cover)
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8.11.2008
Deathbot
You Should Know
So I get a lot of emails from bands, and for the most part I delete them because either (a) I'm not into it, or (b) they only send me a few tracks and I'm not comfortable spouting off opinions based on a song or two. Recently I got a message from a San Francisco band named Deathbot (their name reminds me of when I used to listen to stuff like Sepultura and Corosion Of Conformity in middle school). Not only are they offering their entire new album Cold Wind Revival for free download on their website, they don't suck either. Rather than being some Swedish death metal band, Deathbot is the alt. country project of songwriters R. Mansfeld and Joseph James, who were the respective lead singers of New York punk/rap group Turbulence & Calibrate and California americana band Big Wheels. These guys don't look much older than their early 20's but the songs on Cold Wind Revival are polished little alt. country gems well worth checking out. The songs on the album have a very "dudes in western shirts singing by a campfire" feel to them, which is always fine with me. So go check out their new album.. I mean, it's free, what have you got to lose? -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Deathbot - Bombs In Bloom
MP3: Deathbot - Give It To Me
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8.10.2008
Pierre De Reeder: The Way That It Was (2008)
New Wax
The name Pierre De Reeder might not ring a bell but you're probably familiar with his work. Since 1998, De Reeder has been the bass player in L.A.-based indie-pop outfit Rilo Kiley. With his new album The Way That It Was, De Reeder not only creates an album that holds its own against side projects from bandmates Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennet (The Elected), he proves how integral he is in shaping Rilo Kiley's sound. While The Way That It Was includes contributions from a cast of musicians including Lewis and Sennet, De Reeder takes on the bulk of the instrumental duties on the album. De Reeder's got one of those timeless breezy voices that sounds like it would fit perfectly on a 60's pop record and it's a great fit for the sunny arrangements on the album. From the bright electric guitars on "Never Thought" to quieter acoustic-based fare such as "All These Words," De Reeder exhibits his knack for penning solid pop songs. I really wanted to say "pop-tastic" there, but I didn't want to force it. Basically, The Way That It Was is a great little summer indie-pop album, and it's set to be released tomorrow through California-based Little Record Company. -- Capt. Obvious
8.09.2008
Capillary Action
You Should Know
My first thought when I played Seattle-based band Capillary Action's latest release So Embarrassing was "Wow, this is really interesting." It was soon followed by "How the f!@$ am I going to describe this band's sound in any sort of tangible manner?" *Deep Breath* Here goes. Lead singer and musical mastermind Jonathan Pfeffer strikes me as being an obscenely talented musician. With So Embarrassing, Feffer and his backing band weave together a tapestry of several musical styles: there are elements of punk/hardcore, math-rock, prog-rock, and even free jazz. In other words, Capillary Action is damn near uncategorizable. The intricacy of the album will appeal to some listeners while others will undoubtedly be turned off. It's the Frank Zappa effect. But if you've got an ear for this brand of technicality, the frantic yet musically tight So Embarrassing is as rewarding an album as they come. I defy you to hear it the same way twice. There's so much going on, you'll gain a new perspective of the band's sound after each listen. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Capillary Action - Elevator Fuck
MP3: Capillary Action - Placebo Or Panacea
Tags:
8.08.2008
L.A. Confidential (1997)
1997 Best Picture Nominees Revisited: Part 4 of 5
A popular comparison, in 1997 and today, links Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential and film noir (or neo-noir, or retro-noir, depending on who you read). Given the film’s plot and characters and mood, this association seems perfectly reasonable. L.A. Confidential exists in a Los Angeles populated by corrupt politicians, amoral cops, tabloid journalists and the occasional femme fatale. The story itself follows a pair of antiheros-turned-protagonists through a maze of deception and death where things are always slightly amiss and the case is never fully closed. Jack Gittes or Same Spade could show up at any moment and we wouldn’t bat an eye. But in reality, and this is an important point, L.A. Confidential’s connections to film noir are flimsy at best and act only to superficially toughen what is really a deeply optimistic film, a film that, viewing now, is truly of its time.
As I mentioned in my Good Will Hunting piece, America circa 1997 was “pre-Lewinsky//pre-9/11//pre-
Towards the start of L.A. Confidential, LAPD Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) approaches the newly promoted Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) at the precinct’s Christmas party. During the ensuing conversation, Smith flat-out asks Exley, a rampant idealist whose choice to become a detective as opposed to some sort of bureaucrat mystifies the captain, if he’d be willing to beat a confession out of a suspect he knew to be guilty. Exley, eagerly but not defiantly, says he would not. This prompts the captain to suggest that perhaps the detective division may not be a great fit for Exley. Exley, however, is not swayed. The conversation ends, and the film continues. In the bleak, cynical world of film noir, a scene this generous would never exist. Police corruption, though it may be a given in the noir universe, always dresses itself in a veil of legitimacy. It’s a subtle move, but in having a police captain openly admit his own corrupt practices, and having another cop stridently take the other side, Curtis Hanson announces his movie as an anti-noir, a crime drama with clear demarcations between good guys and bad. In L.A. Confidential, film noir (or any elements thereof) is a red herring.
Why is this important? I think that by relieving the film of its nihilistic and cynical false façades, the narrative suffers. Bud White (Russell Crowe), Ed Exley’s counterpoint, the physical, remorseless type of detective that Dudley Smith loves, does not resonate quite the same now as he did ten years ago. White is Hanson’s conduit into the mind of classic film noir archetype—the hardboiled, alienated, bitter detective. White is the corrupt LAPD’s muscle and mouthpiece not because he is inherently evil but because corruption is the nature of the city. His personal vendetta against wife beaters and sexual predators reveals White’s admirable sense of morality. So when Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger), a hooker bearing a striking resemblance to Veronica Lake, enters his life, the question of whether or not she can help redeem White never needs to be asked. In a film with such clear views of good and evil, characters like Lynn Bracken and Ed Exley become the moral compasses that the Sam Spades of the world lacked. Even his name—White—which in a film noir world would be laced with irony carries a sort of angelic undertone here.
In a sense, Hanson exploits the archetypes of film noir in order to create a clear mode of character development. The main issue here, and this is a problem, is that film noir archetypes work because they are irredeemable. It’s a sad type of beauty. The archetypical noir antihero is a detective because he will always search but never find redemption. The world will not allow it. The archetypical noir woman is a femme fatale because she is just as disappointed and disaffected as the men, but her only way to action is through cunning. In foregrounding the narrative in noir elements, only to undercut this same narrative with an anachronistic sense of optimism, Kim Bassinger’s Oscar-winning performance now feels matronly, Ed Exley’s idealism feels cheesy, and Bud White’s character feels remarkably one-dimensional.
That’s the bad news. The good news? Curtis Hanson knows filmmaking. L.A. Confidential presents a complex narrative with scores of characters and multiple plotlines. Hanson and Brian Helgeland’s script, which whittled down a bloated source novel by James Ellroy, impressively handles each of these elements. I can’t express how great it is to watch a film so multifaceted and realize, “Wow, there aren’t any plot holes.” A crime drama needs this type of care in order to stand apart. There’s a reason films like Heat and L.A. Confidential stand out from The Italian Job’s and The Score’s of the filmmaking world. The former elevate character over cleverness, a trait that plagues the latter. In this regard, notable performances from the likes of Kevin Spacey and the aforementioned Cromwell, Pearce, Basinger and Crowe never hurt.
But it isn’t plotting or character or acting that have slightly dimmed L.A. Confidential this latest time around. By the logic set forth in my As Good As It Gets piece, of all the 1997 Best Picture nominees, I liked L.A. Confidential most upon initial release. It is elegant filmmaking; it’s got a great score and great cinematography. But it’s just so damn pedestrian today. Yes, the good guys win and the bad guys lose, but the world doesn’t work like that. And I’m not talking about just the film noir world. Our world doesn’t work like that. I don’t think it is cynical to say that either. There’s a reason a superb crime drama is currently setting box office records (hint: it’s often confused as a superhero film). And part of the reason is that, like the film noirs of the postwar, Vietnam, and Cold War eras, the modern crime drama presents a viewer with legitimate moral ambiguity. The lines between good and evil are purposely blurred. In this regard, L.A. Confidential is a bit too cookie cutter to be great.
Classic, Rewatchable, Lock it in the vault and throw away the key: Rewatchable -- M. PemulisTags:
Portland Cello Project
You Should Know
If you love indie music (which you probably do, since you're on this blog) and you're like me and think that cello is one of the more elegant instruments out there, then mark your calender for August 12th, which is the date Portland Cello Project's self-titled album is set to be released. The 8-16 member cello ensemble affectionally known as PCP by fans has become an important thread in the fabric of Portland's indie music scene. By collaborating with talented local musicians such as Laura Gibson, Horse Feathers, Weinland, Norkfolk and Western, Loch Lomond, and many others, the ensemble has gone from playing small clubs to packing 650+ seat music halls. The album is beautifully arranged and it's great to hear how some of these little indie songs come to life with the enrichment of layered cellos. For example, Portland folk artist Laura Gibson's collaboration with the ensemble on "Hands In Pockets" is an understated yet richly textured gem. It's a highlight on an album full of gorgeous moments. And by the way, if I haven't sold you yet, there's also a hilarious cover of Britney Spears' hit single "Toxic" on the album. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Laura Gibson w/ Portland Cello Project - Hands In Pockets
MP3: Musee Mecanique w/ Portland Cello Project - Under Glass
Tags:
8.07.2008
Lakes Of Russia: Stars Decorate The Fire (2008)
New Wax
Lakes of Russia are virtually unknown outside of Australia—at least, as far as iTunes is concerned. If you’re in the right headspace for some austere instrumental post-rock, search no further than Stars Decorate the Fire, which you can snag through Afterdark Records. The Lakes of Russia moniker apparently holds no real significance. There’s not a Russian to be found—only Jake McMinn who, quite admirably, composes and performs each piece with just two guest musicians. With his reliance on guitar, keys, and the occasional sawing string section or choir effect, McMinn doesn’t necessarily seek to reinvent the postmodern wheel, but his craft does posit a fine contribution to the greater post-rock canon. You’ll hear echoes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, Mono, and McMinnon’s fellow Aussies from Dirty Three. What you won’t get from this release is the sense of danger or reckless abandon that many of these other artists conjure up. You won’t hear drums either, for that matter. Lakes or Russia’s Myspace profile sums up its target demographic quite nicely: “music for the lonely and sleep-deprived.” Hold your breath, because this album is a slow-burner. Stars Decorate the Fire spins a soothing yet melancholy tapestry that functions best as a continuous narrative rather than just a collection of tracks. I’d cite my favorite track, but I think that might be missing the point. -- Kilgore Trout
Happy Birthday To Us
You Should Know
So exactly one year ago, inspired by the likes of Aquarium Drunkard and some other personal favorites such as Sound As Language and The Wheel's Still In Spin, I decided to start this music blog. It all started with an innocent little post on an old Richard Buckner album and grew from there. Through the help of some friends/guest contributors and the cooperation of some fine musicians (my favorite thing about this site is the interviews), this thing has grown from maybe 20-30 viewers a day to a very respectable 600-700. There was even that fluky month where we had more than 76,000 views. While our numbers are modest in comparison to some uber-popular music blogs out there, I have gotten some great feedback from our readers as well as from some musicians I have the utmost respect for. Our main goal here is to provide some free publicity for bands that you may not have heard of and I want to thank all those artists out there who have sent in CDs. It's like Christmas for me every day checking my mailbox. So thanks to anybody who reads the blog and hopefully we can keep this thing going another year! -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Andrew Bird - The Happy Birthday Song
MP3: The Veils - A Birthday Present
MP3: Sufjan Stevens - Happy Birthday
Tags:
8.06.2008
The Low Anthem: Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (2008)
New Wax
Providence, Rhode Island's The Low Anthem is set to release their second full length on September 2nd. Entitled Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, the album was recorded in an island cabin sporting a makeshift recording studio that had to be transported by ferry. Ranging from junkyard rock ditties to stark folk balladry, the tracks on the album contain a smorgasbord of instrumentation that includes zither, pump organ, Tibetan singing bowl and oil drum. The subject matter of the songs revolves around the warring elements of community and competition. References to Charles Darwin's idea of "survival of the fittest" intermingle with a longing for acceptance. It's an interesting dichotomy and this band of 20-somethings manages to fit the heady subject matter into deftly crafted yet diverse folk songs. There's the album's opener "Charlie Darwin," a gentle track sung in falsetto, and then there's the rough-edged rendition of Jack Kerouac/Tom Waits' "Home I'll Never Be." The band covers sparse material and raucous jangle with equal mastery and Oh My God, Charlie Darwin is some top-notch Americana that builds on their excellent debut. -- Capt. Obvious
8.05.2008
Matt Bauer
You Should Know
If I had any sort of talent for making music, this is the kind of music I'd try to make. Matt Bauer's new album The Island Moved In The Storm is many things at once. It's complex yet starkly simple. It's hauntingly dark yet beautiful. Based loosely on the story of a young woman known as "Tent Girl" who was found dead near Matt's home in Kentucky in 1968, the album explores themes of life, nature, and inevitable death. The songs on the album are essentially overlapping narratives inspired by the dead girl's story and the rural surroundings of Bauer's Kentucky upbringing. Listening to The Island is very cinematic in scope. In fact, Bauer's deft musings on violent beauty and the natural order of things could serve as a worthy backdrop to scenes from a Terrence Malick or Werner Herzog film. On "Rose And Vine," Bauer essentially equates human relationships with the inevitability in nature: "Dad was spider, mom was a fly." Recorded in a variety of locations which include San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Kentucky, The Island Moved In The Storm retains a spare instrumental backbone and Bauer's barebones guitar and banjo suits the material beautifully. Guest contributors include Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors), Capt. Obvious favorite Alela Diane, Elizabeth Dotson-Westphalen (St. Vincent), and many others. Bauer is a tremendous songwriter and hopefully this is the album that garners him some well-deserved attention. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Matt Bauer - Don't Let Me Out
MP3: Matt Bauer - Rose And Vine
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8.04.2008
Willy Vlautin: Northine (2008)
The Bookshelf
Richmond Fontaine lead singer and author Willy Vlautin dares to write about the kind of people that society sweeps under the rug and he does so with unflinching honesty. Where his previous novel The Motel Life was a bleak account of two young brothers on the run after a tragic hit-and-run accident, Northline centers around 22-year old Allison Johnson, a pregnant alcoholic who flees Las Vegas and her abusive speed-freak/skinhead boyfriend Jimmy Bodie for a new life. She ends up in Reno where she regrettably puts up her child for adoption, finds an apartment, and takes on two jobs: one as a midnight-shift waitress at a local diner, and another as a telephone solicitor for Curt vacuums. Throughout her various struggles and bouts with self-doubt, Allison finds solace and encouragement in her imaginary conversations with actor Paul Newman. Vlautin's prose throughout is simplistic and unsentimental and he tackles even the most disturbing imagery with a stark and honest pen. Allison is about as flawed as they come, but her struggle to attain even an ounce of self-worth is endearing despite her many stumbles and fuck-ups. After a life full of letdowns, Allison encounters a handful of decent people ranging from an old trucker who lost his son in a car accident to her new love interest Dan Mahony, a good-hearted yet similarly emotionally scarred regular at the diner where she works. While the threat of Jimmy finding her looms throughout, Northline ends on a hopeful (if not desperate) note, and at this point we're really pulling for Allison. A quick and easy read at 192 pages, Northline is a moving account of someone just trying to attain some semblance of happiness. -- Capt. Obvious
Buy It:Amazon: Willy Vlautin - Northline
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8.03.2008
The Walkmen: You & Me (2008)
New Wax
I really liked The Walkmen's debut album Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone, but I haven't paid much attention to their last couple of albums. Having been pretty disappointed with the yawn-worthy recent efforts of fellow New York bands such as Interpol and The Strokes, I wondered if You & Me would continue the trend. The answer is a resounding no. You & Me is more than just solid, it's one of the better albums of 2008. The Walkmen's winning formula is a steady dose of slow-burning vintage instrumentation and lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's throaty vocals. And of course, a healthy dash of Dylan influence thrown into the mix. While the first single "In The New Year" is rock solid, I keep hitting the replay button on "Four Provinces." Not only is You & Me filled with single-worthy songs, it's available in digital format here for only $5. The band is donating all proceeds to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer center, but it will only be available at this ridiculously low price for a few more weeks so jump on the opportunity. You'll have to wait until August 19th to get your hands on a physical copy of the album. So fork over your 5 bucks and know it's going to a good cause. -- Capt. Obvious
8.02.2008
8.01.2008
Silver Darling
You Should Know
Having your own music blog has its positives and negatives. You have the exhausting task of constantly upholding an image of actually knowing what you're talking about, and sometimes you'd just rather play guitar hero than be tethered to your obligatory daily post. Sometimes you ask yourself "What's the freakin' point?" Then you get an advance copy of an album entitled Your Ghost Fits My Skin by a Sacramento band named Silver Darling and you're reminded why you do this: to spread the word about good music. Yeah, Silver Darling meets the prerequisites listed in the alt. country/folk rock band handbook. Facial hair? Check. Western shirts? Check. But are they actually good? Hell yes. The band's strength lies in lead singer and ex-construction worker Kevin Lee's deeply honest delivery. Lee's words ooze credibility and the songs on Your Ghost Fits My Skin can go from raucous jangle to intensely haunting without warning. It's a memorable debut I'd strong recommend picking up on September 7th when it's released on California-based Crossbill Records. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Silver Darling - Leave My Body Like A Stone
MP3: Silver Darling - Roof And The Seed
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Patchwork: Take Me Down The Interstate (2008)
New Wax
So I've been spinning this album for the last few days and it gets better and better with every listen. Fittingly named Patchwork, the Madison, WI band centers around principle songwriter Jeremiah Nelson, who is backed by a revolving cast of musicians. Titled Take Me Down The Interstate, the record feels like a ragged journey through the small-town Midwest in an old beater with 20 bucks in your pocket. The album opens with the dreamy, jangly, and infinitely re-playable "Spaceships," a reminiscent musing on "pharmacology" and South Dakota drinking sessions. The songs on the album are a perfect blend of dreamy pop and country twang and vary from sparse acoustic/slide guitar numbers to whiskey-soaked full band efforts. Definitely check out the video of Jeremiah's solo rendition of "Spaceships" a few posts below. Take Me Down The Interstate is currently available in digital format and will be physically released on August 15th. Buy it. -- Capt. Obvious
Listen:
MP3: Patchwork - Spaceships
MP3: Patchwork - Losing Faith
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