44 posts tagged “dance”
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I know these are long overdue. These were recordings from SXSW.
First of all, I'm not very happy with the audio quality, I was recording it using a built-in mic on the recorder. On retrospect, I should have bought along a professional mic and plug it into the input. So apology for the poor audio once again.
THE MAY FIRE
themayfire.com ♥ myspace.com/themayfire
This audio is pretty poor, you can hear another band doing soundcheck in the background as we quickly got the band to talk about how the name came about and how Johnny Beane joined them, when their original guitarist left.
At of the time, they were looking to write a full length album, since they have released three EPs.
SOLID GOLD
myspace.com/solidgoldband
This was conducted in an open restaurant (thank god for spellcheck, I can never spell that stupid word), and at one point in the interview, the waiter came and took our orders (we ordered coffee & tea). Also the first question came via text and it was "What's up with those mustaches?".
As I have previously mentioned, these guys are cool and don't really take themselves too seriously.
They will be playing the ever-popular "Rock the Garden" show this year with The Decemberists. Everyone I know is going to this show!
07/31/09 The Zoo w/ the pines and jeremy messersmith minnesota zoo
Next week: two more shows!
06/19/2009 16:45:58 ♥ vu (
)
♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
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09/30/09 Fox Theater, Oakland, CA
Discography
10/01/09 Fox Theater, Oakland, CA 10/03/09 Pearl Theatre, Las Vegas, NV 10/04/09 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA 10/07/09 Congress Theatre, Chicago, IL 10/09/09 Air Canada Centre, Toronto 10/11/09 Hammerstein Ballroom, NY 10/12/09 Hammerstein Ballroom, NY 10/13/09 Hammerstein Ballroom, NY
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Having already sold 60 million records world-wide, with 50+ hit singles, and sold-out world tours... Australian actress-turn-pop diva, Kylie Minogue, or simply known as Kylie, have come a long way from her humble beginnings in the early 90s as an actress.*
Kylie's latest release, at least in the US, is called Boombox: The Remix Album 2000-2008, and as the name implies, this is not a studio album but a remix album. Note that this is her 11th remix album, earlier remix hits, check out Greatest Remix Hits 1 (1997) followed by Greatest Remix Hits 2 through 4.
The new remix album opens up with possibly the best song on the album. Technically not a remix, but more of a mashup between New Order's "Blue Monday" and Kylie's "Can Get You Out of My Head". The mashup version first appeared live at the 2002 BRIT Award from DJ Stuart Crichton, but later appeared on other releases (including an odd choice of movie soundtrack for Layer Cake, starring current Bond, Daniel Craig).
Other interesting remixes includes Fischerspooner's "Come into My World" remix, which remains intact as sounding similar to the original mix, but adding his own flair to it.
I have never heard of Death Metal Disco Scene (myspace), but I was definitely impressed with their "Wow" remix, where they mostly concentrated on the extremely catchy "bow-wow-wow! just the way that you dance! bow-wow-wow!" section.
I simply hated the original mix of "2 Hearts" that appeared on Kylie's 10th studio album, X, but Mark Brown made it more bearable by making the song a little faster.
I haven't heard the original "Your Disco Needs You", but the Casino Mix on Boombox is really good. It made the song to sound more like a Pet Shop Boys sound to it, and I'll definitely will try and pick up her 2000 album Light Years to check it out.
The best remixes are the ones that either transform the song, making it their own distinct and unique version. Case in point is The Chemical Brother's version of "Slow". They manage to pull off their usual beats and rave sound, extending the middle part and only keeping mostly the chorus. If you hear this "Slow" version on the radio, you'd swear that it was a Chemical Brothers song.
Boombox is available now at any box store that carries music. Starting in October, Kylie will be over in the US to do a few selected dates for her first US appearance. I'm sure by then tickets will be sold out - so buy your tickets now if you want a guaranteed seat. From watching her concert footage, it's a huge show with lots of costume changes and loads of dancers.
* Although primarily known as a pop singer, let us not forget her appearance in the horrible video game movie, Street Fighter, as Cammy. She made such a wonderful impression, that the Washington Post called her "the worst actress in the English-speaking world". Aw, well she now knows how Madonna feels.
05/21/2009 05:32:56 ♥ vu ()
♥ kylie.com ♥ myspace.com/kylieminogue
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UltraChorus is Chris Heidman and Jeff Lorentzen, Minneapolis producers with backgrounds in indie rock and old school hip-hop/R&B, respectively. The pair met in 2005 while working for an artistically-minded billionaire (they exist), made a musical love connection, and formed UltraChorus, a worthy addition to Minnesota’s electro-pop music scene. Unfortunately, Minnesota’s electro-pop music scene exists mostly in theory and in the minds of the sweat-banded minors that populate First Ave.’s techno/electro dance night. In a city that favors guitar-driven rock, laidback college jams, and twee art school boy/girl harmonies, is there room for sleek robot jams?
The benefit of possessing progressive instincts is that the bar for innovation is set comically low. Any Daft Punk goof with a keyboard can create something appropriate for 17 minutes of uninterrupted epileptic thrashing. I think one of the reasons why electronic music can feel cold and detached is because of this “homogeny effect,” where one song blends seamlessly into the next and neither have audible distinctions. This uniformity makes for good dancing, good tripping, suspect fashion decisions, and little else. It’s encouraging, then, that UltraChorus have shaped a brand of club music that remains relevant off the dance floor. Listening to their super secret unreleased tracks (tentatively compiled under the just-for-fun moniker Ultra-Def) has been…enlightening, to say the least; while it’s obvious that the duo is rooted in electro-pop traditions, there’s a humanistic element that suggests a man behind the curtain operating the big mechanical beast.
As a band, Heidman and Lorentzen pull from their experiences in the production studio to create smart, complex sound collages that break the fourth wall of electronica by engaging their audience with more than a meticulous beat. Their debut single, “Words Kept Talking” is equally futuristic as it is pop-accessible, which makes sense, as both musicians cite mainstream influences like Outkast and Ghostface, along with “indie” favorites Velvet Underground and Magnetic Fields. Both “Words” and its B-side, “Planetman,” generate an oddly nostalgic mood, like watching an old home movie through the wrong end of a telescope (the details are hazy but familiar). I attribute this ‘shroomy statement to the hint of R&B flavor nestled in with the obligatory blips and bleeps (a deliberate (?) choice that reminds me of junior high “dance offs” in the school gym and also of being young and foolishly smug). UltraChorus may very well be intellectual, adult electronic artists, but they certainly satiate those googly-eyed youthful cravings. I imagine that somewhere, in a parallel dimension, where teens gather to groove on moon rocks and touch each other inappropriately, “Words” is playing full blast and the kids are actually paying attention.
“Words Kept Talking” is available on iTunes and limited edition 7” vinyl (to order the 7” visit the band’s Myspace for a direct link). As of now, UltraChorus is busy, busy, busy recording, but keep posted for news.
04/01/2009 09:50:08 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com)
♥ myspace.com/ultrachorus
You know, the festival is only four days, but it really seem like weeks.
While having every band in the world merge at one place might sound like a great idea... sometime their appearance conflicts with other artists that you also want to see. So one of the biggest problem I had was sacrificing who to see.
Music happens from daylight (probably closer to 10am start) until two in the morning, or even later.
I usually started my day around 8am, working out my schedule for the day. Sometime it's logistics, sometime it's time-issues, but usually I have a full day's worth of stuff to do. I don't follow my schedule to a T, but there are certain items that I absolutely cannot miss (scheduled interviews takes priority over shows).
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- Offline gmail. This worked! I read/did most emails offline and when I was connected, all emails were sent, marked as read, etc.
- iPod Touch, worked like a charm. I was able to grab onto various (free) wifi to receive emails or websurf (maps), etc.
- Austin Convention Center's SXSW wifi stayed up most 99% of the time. Wonderful!
- Cash (ATM) availability
- Blocking off 6th street for pedestrians
WHAT SUCKED
- AT&T Network, apparently everyone in Austin had an iPhone
- Walking......
- Sony Memory Stick not supported on my laptop
- Bands playing 30 minutes or less
- Badges are ridiculously expensive ($600-$700). I think they should make it more affordable, especially since most places don't bother to check for a badge and/or were free. If there was a cover charge, it is usually under $10.
I guess my problems are not really that bad.
DAY ZERO (Tuesday)
Travelling… nothing too exciting. My least favorite state was the one with the road tolls (I think this was in Oklahoma). We did stop in Oklahoma City to see Blackwatch Studios (myspace). We got to hear a few songs from Minneapolis' Cedar Avenue (official/myspace) band from their forth-coming long playing record. The few songs we heard were incomplete, but it sounds really layered with a variety of tracks.
By the way, if the name Cedar Avenue sounds familiar to you, it is because Kristin reviewed their debut album a while back.
DAY ONE (Wednesday)
Getting my barring was hard. I didn't know where any of the streets were. So when people text me: come over to (name of venue), I replied and ask what the cross streets were. Since walking around was my main means of transportation, I ended up crossing out outlier venues immediately.
Wednesday was evening-only, so I mostly went to see some British acts over at Friend's. These guys were all from the London area, with the exception of Liverpool's Wave Machines (official/myspace). These guys creeped me out with their masks that they wore on stage - however, due to heat and comfortableness, they took them off half way into their short set. Also caught a bit of Jay Jay Pistolet (myspace), whose singing voice is very peculiar... it's like he sounds like he's sing out the side of his mouth.
When Mumford & Sons (myspace) took the stage, it was very, very, very crowded. The audience loved them and it's apparent that these guys are going to blow up this year.
The Havana Bar had some Spanish showcase, featuring mostly Mexican bands such as Songs For Eleonor (myspace), Satin Dolls (official), Cosmopolitan (myspace), and Los Fancy Free (myspace). With the exception of The May Fire (official/myspace) and Spain's Capsula (official). We like Spanish acts, so be sure to read more Mexican Summer and my coverage of Los Fancy Free.
DAY TWO (Thursday)
I think this was the big press day, I got to meet & greet Victoria who setup the interview with Solid Gold (myspace). She was kind enough to have me in the Myspace Music event, featuring some artists that I really enjoy: Kate Tucker, Meiko and Ed Harcourt.
To kick off the party was The Real You (myspace), a power-pop band from Seattle, Washington. According to their biography, they've been on constant tour since forming in early 2007 - so I'm sure you'll run into this young band eventually.
I haven't been keeping up with Kate Tucker (official/myspace), but apparently her latest project is with a band called The Honeydove (myspace) - who debuted at SXSW! Unfortunately, I had prior commitments, but I would've liked to have seen her new band play at the Beauty Bar.
Anyway, the nicest bit about her set was that she wanted everyone at the event to get a copy of her last album, "I want to give you my music!"
So if you weren't at the event, you missed out. Hey, maybe you can stop in and say hi to her in Washington:
- 04/05/09 Sunset Seattle, WA
05/21/09 Chop Suey as honeydove Seattle, WA
Meiko (official/myspace) had a guest trumpet player on for most of her set (she requested him on for the rest of show because I guess she felt more comfortable with having someone else with her). She actually started her set with "Piano Song", which ironically just her and her guitar... She made some funny comments, such as "I've never played to a bunch of porta potties before".
You get the impression that she was happy to be there, and maybe it's yellow-iest dress combined with her orange/red dyed hair, but she looks gorgeous.
Ed Harcourt (official/myspace) was very engaging…. During "Until Tomorrow Then", he got down to the audience and walked around, singing and putting his hands around people while everyone was filming and taking pictures. Enclosed is a video evidence.
Harcourt is releasing a new six-track EP called Russian Roulette out on May 5th, but SXSW audience were privy to some of his new songs courtesy of Dovecote Records and Directv. Pay close attention to "Caterpillar", as this is a personal song about his newborn daughter being placed in an incubator as they helpless sit and wait.
Went to an open-door new talent showcase, this was not an official sanctioned SXSW event (you'll find that there are many, many unofficial events), so I don't have a listing of who played at what time. They were all giving away their CDs, but I couldn't bother to pick them up (this would require me to carry around stuff, and I didn't have a hand bag ready). Reminder for next year: bring a man purse.
Also went over to check The Elevaters (myspace) and Rumspringa (myspace) at the Hi-Lo venue. While Elevaters were fun and energetic, it seems the drums/guitar duo of Rumspringa had a lot of problems with their equipment. They had to cut their southern-sounding melodic set short after four (?) songs, quote from the singer, "my shit ain't working."
DAY THREE (Friday)
The busy day. Walked all over town basically. My only out-of-the-way venue was at 3 o'clock to see Superdrag (official/myspace) at Guero's, which I thought was far walking there. I ran into one of our RV family, who we'll call Rose because she looks like a pint-sized Pippettes, complete with dress and all. We walked back across the river so I can make it to my Asteroids Galaxy Tour (official/myspace) interview (this was delayed because of some miscommunication).
Afterward, headed over to Beauty Bar to see Solid Gold play, mustache and all. I can tell the audience was having a good time, especially the girl at the backstage.
Then snuck over to see this punk(ish) band that MTV was covering. I didn't catch their name, but it sounded something like Dirty____ Something. The singer had bleach blonde hair and eye shadows.... and likes to walk around with no shirts on.
Evening was spent mostly at the Scotland show: We Were Promised Jet Packs (myspace), Dananananaykroyd (official/myspace), Camera Obscura (official/myspace), The Proclaimers (official/myspace), Glasvegas (official/myspace), Primal Scream (official/myspace). I was in-out so I did end up missing Glasvegas & Primal Scream, but thanks to Bob for sending in some pictures.
DAY FOUR (Saturday)
Saw a few bands in the daytime at the Press Here Garden Party at the French Legation Museum across the Freeway (this is actually closer than it sounds). The walk there was interesting, and I discovered a no-seating Wendy's on the right side of 7th Street. Yep, I ended up having dinner there since they were making these chicken things that's not available in Minnesota.
I got to the Garden just in time to see Jeremy Jay (myspace), and enjoyed the most of the day with The Soft Pack (myspace) and Diane Birch* (myspace) before heading over to 900 Red River to see Jeremy Jay again.
Listened to Camera Obscura afterwards with those Peelander-Z, as I previously mentioned.
Headed back to the Garden to see Melissa Auf De Maur (official/myspace), who started her set with three cover songs: Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", Danzig's "Devil's Plaything", and The Smiths "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". Although the first two went off pretty well, she totally messed up on "Stop Me" - which is understandable because that song has a lot of Morrissey's lyrics and also they had only practiced it the night before in their hotel room.
It wasn't long before people started filling up the seats at the Garden to see Laura Marling (official/myspace). She was joined on stage by Marcus Mumford, I think. He played percussions and sang backup, although I have to say that Marling would've done just fine with her lovely voice and acoustic guitar.
Saw Late of the Pier at the Bat Bar later that night. Since it was being broadcast live on Directv, I think the pressure got to the band and it was just embarrassing to watch. Towards the end, they seem to not be so nervous, and the (rather long) setlist ended with men in death masks coming on stage to carry the band offstage. I don't have Directv, is there a way for non-subscribers to watch this?
Honey Ryder (myspace) was really happy to be Austin, I think this was their first ever US appearance or something. I believe also that their name came from a James Bond girl ? I don't know much about them, but they seem to have a wider audience and following in the UK, where their single "Fly Away" entered the UK Top 40 at #31.
GoldieLocks (myspace) is 75% English and 25% Swedish from Croydon (South London). She raps to DJ Sports (?), who is wearing this Skeletor T-shirt. After the show, she wanted to give everyone in attendance her EP, which actually went pretty fast. As I previously mentioned, keep an eye on this one.
There's no denying that The Gin Riots (myspace) have quite a few hardcore fans here, as evident by a bunch of Gin Riots T-Shirt in the audience.
It's been a few years since The Crimea (official/myspace) toured in the US, so I was happy to be there for them on their second and last SXSW appearance. They were the last band on my list, so it was kind of a relief when it was all over.
And as corrected by superfan Christopher, Tara Blaise shared the stage to sing backup for the band.... Highlight of the show was then Davey Macmanus stepped down and sang in the center of the audience.
* A note on Birch is that she has these incredible legs, but too bad they were well-hidden behind her piano on stage.
03/29/2009 17:50:12 ♥ vu ()
♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com
Today's schedule looks like a lot of fun: two interviews (Asteroid Galaxy Tour and Honey Claws - yes, again!).
Since my legs & feet haven't had this kind of usage in a long time, it was hurting pretty bad yesterday (especially with trying to make it to too many places). So I thought it would be a good idea to just settled into one place and just check out random bands while waiting for other things.
Highlight of the day was interviewing Solid Gold, yes, they are from Minneapolis and, yes, I am living in Minneapolis. Why did it take SXSW to get us together? No idea. Obviously, more write ups will have to be done after SXSW, but quickly, I just wanted to let you know these guys are really down to earth and have great sense of humor. When asked what song (of theirs) we can play out to the interview, they all agreed on George Michael's "Freedom '90". Of course.
Much more on them later.
Gigwise, saw too many bands to mention. Ed Harcourt did a fantastic set, among one of the many highlights. Also managed to meet a few PR reps, so it's great to put a face to a name.
I seriously can't believe I have two more days of this. Saturday's schedule looks too insane to mention. Yikes.
So, off to grab breakfast and then to another long day ahead of me. Seriously, I think I am going to sleep for three days when I get back home.
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02/06/09
Übel und Gefährlich Hamburg
02/07/09 Möbel Olfe Party Cobra Killer DJ-Team, Berlin 02/13/09 Cobra Killer Casablanca 02/14/09 Cobra Killer Marrakesh 02/18/09 Shamballa Zagreb See Also |
One of the theme that I keep hearing on her album - and it's perhaps the guitar or bass loops - of a garagey sixties music. This is evident on songs like "In Diesem Raum", featuring an infectious bassline and Trost's best 60s girl voice. Although a wonderful song, I felt the ending to this song was kind of repetitive.
My favorite song on the album is "Cowboy", it has the best quality of "In Diesem Raum", but minus the tiresome ending. It's a perfect radio song too, ending just slightly at the three minute mark.
You can find Trust Me for sale if the record store have them in stock - otherwise head over to eMusic or iTunes
Incidentally, I don't know what is wrong with Firefox, but it simply will not load up Minty Fresh's website. It's probably just my security settings and it's probably all for the best because I hate all-flash websites anyway.
01/29/2009 21:02:14 ♥ vu ()
♥ cobra-killer.org ♥ myspace.com/cobrakiller1 ♥ myspace.com/trostcity
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One fan "Danger for Dollars" bought the album for $12 and then pointed out that it should've only costed $6, clearly there is a glitch. I hope they fix the problem and refund that guy's money! iTunes seems to have resolved the problem by disallowing buying the whole EP as one download, but instead makes you buy individual tracks :/
So, anyway, I've previously mentioned I love Tommy Boy Records and loved everything about Plushgun's self-titled EP (including the cute drawing and obessive songs).
Dancing In A Minefield EP has one great song (the first song) and four uncessary remix of "Just Polite" and a remix of "How We Roll". It's obvious to me that the single is just leading up to the full length, giving his fans something to tie them over. I felt that "Dancing In A Minefield" is kind of a rebellious/teenage angst song and it brings up feeling about "screw it all" and let's sort it out tomorrow feeling.... It's like almost too deep to be a pop song, and yet there it is. I love the climatic ending too.
Anyway, if you love 90s-sounding techno/pop/dance and especially remixes and reinterpretation of songs, you'll love Plushgun. He's gaining a lot of fans and recently his fans voted "Just Impolite" to be the winner of MTVu's "The Freshman" (No relationship to me. Get it? Vu? Nevermind). Congratuations! The video has a sad destruction of what looks like a black Ford muscle car and has a bit of Sid & Nancy feel to it.
Also, Plushgun will be one of four artists to be on Spin.com's "Battle Of The Bands". They get to re-enact the final scene in "Se7en". I guess anything to get a-head, haha, right?
Dancing In A Minefield EP is out now and be sure to look for Plushgun at The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale in New York with Andrew WK for a special all-ages show on December 28th.
Links:
plushgun.com
myspace.com/plushgun
This is a very new band with Lars Iversen and Mette Lindberg; and apparently they are known for their debut single "The Sun Ain't Shining No More." This song is a bonus b-side on their Around the Bend EP; in fact there are two "Sun" songs (one a remix by Bruce Aishe, which is much more dancetastic and I didn't like it as much as the original mix). I have to say I was really blown away the first time I heard the "Sun" song - it is very much like 60's girl pop, but kind of having a eurodance background track.
Recently, their song "Around the Bend" is featured in advertisements for the new iPod Touch. Listen to the song and you can see why they are the hot and the happening. You have to love the catchy trumpets and horns, right?
Despite calling themselves 'tour', they are currently not on tour - but expect them to be when they will be promoting their debut full-length album in early 2009. For right now, you should enjoy the Around The Bend EP.
PS, I think the EP is a digital release-only on iTunes.
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Links: theasteroidsgalaxytour.com myspace.com/theasteroidsgalaxytour
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Let me throw out some numbers to impress you: 10 million records sold, 5 consecutive UK #1 albums, 4 Grammy Awards..... The Chemical Brothers needs no introduction. (Be sure to check my previous Chemical Brothers article for We Are the Night if you do need an introduction.)
Their second greatest hits album, Brotherhood (the first was Singles 93-03), they prove they are still the big beat techno kings with two brand new tracks, "Midnight Madness" and "Keep My Composure". I was doubtful, at first, for the new tracks, because I felt the intro to "Keep My Composure", was weak - however the song quickly turn amazing when Spank Rock did more rapping. "Composure" feels like "Galvanize", a mix between beats and rap - a sound that the Brothers seems to be heading towards.
Those are the two stand-out new tracks, but we shouldn't ignore the other 12 greatest hits tracks. Some of their best known songs are on here - unfortunately my favorite song, "Life Is Sweet", isn't on here. This is understandable because if you listen to their debut album, the song doesn't really have an ending (it just morphs into "Playground for a Wedgeless Firm").
I personally think that they are also known for their amazing music videos, with some of the most memorable video moments like the girl that keeps seeing skeletons ("Hey Boy Hey Girl"), a couple on the run from the law ("Block Rockin' Beats"), a singing fish ("The Salmon Dance"), that amazing train ride ("Star Guitar), etc. If you haven't seen their music videos, you need to do yourself a favor and look them up on youtube or something.
Brotherhood comes in two formats: a standard 15-track release and a deluxe package (which I recommend for fans), which comes with a bonus disc. The bonus disc contains 10 "Electronic Battle Weapons" tracks - these songs were available available on ultra rare DJ-White labels, but for the first time it's publically available with this release. Although it's kind of neat to hear some of the standard beats and loops that the Brothers use in their sets, I felt you had to be pretty big hardcore trance/dance fans to really appreciate this. After a while, forgive me for say, but it sounded all the same to me. It's still good though, like something you would put on when you're cleaning the house.
The sweet package also comes with lyric book containing all the singles cover artwork, but in duo-tones colors (like silkscreening art), and one postcard showing them on stage at Glastonbury.
If you're a Chemical Brothers fan, you definitely need to pick this album up, if only for the two new songs. The two songs made me very excited for what's to come for the Chemical Brothers. Brotherhood is available now from Astralwerks.
Links:
thechemicalbrothers.com
myspace.com/thechemicalbrothers
Birds, what is up with that? It seems lately that we're getting album artwork that features birds on the cover artwork (especially owls). Can someone explain this to me? Seriously.
Below are a ton of bird-album artwork.
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AVIARY GHOST
aviaryghost.com ♥ myspace.com
Fom Illinois is Aviary Ghost, a band that seems to be headed by Charlie Crimando and Stephen Kemsley. Reading their biography, it would seem that they spent a lot of time recording music in a one-room apartment in Michigan. One of my favorite song on their album, Memory Is A Hallway (featuring cut-out birds over a scenic location), is the most fast-moving song is "Windowlight", which seems to be about the light through the window - sung in an old-fashion cabaret-style song, which I will say works very well for the song. I thought "Somewhere Else" was also pretty good. The song is described as "catchy Swedish pop", which I'll have to agree with. The lyrics are pretty detailed too, I especially liked the chorus: "we're laughing, 'cause laughing is much better than a scream". You can get their album, Memory Is A Hallway (recently released July 15th), on iTunes or CD Baby.
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MORE TEETH
more-teeth.com ♥ myspace.com
I think someone in the W♥M group have this album, One Bird a Day, for review, so I won't go into too much details about it. Surfice to say that it's a compilation of three or four bands in the electro-genre. Based on what I've heard, I really dig Sparkydog (sounds like new wave) and More Teeth (which sounds like very experimental noise art). I've decided to go with More Teeth because of their snazzy drums and electroclashesque vocals of Mindy Abovitz. JESSICA LEA MAYFIELDjessicaleamayfield.com ♥ myspace.com
We're not really promoting Jessica Lea Mayfield (I don't think her PR company knows my address, which I will confess is fine as I have too much music to handle), but I couldn't resist the owl-art on her soon-to-be release album With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt out on September 16th on Polymer Sounds on her press release. What's there to say based on this one song, "Kiss Me Again"? She has a very nice voice, and sounds like Thao Nguyen. |
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PUTOIS
citizensofcontraryknowledge.com ♥ myspace.com
Yet another Chicago, Illinois band - man, they really love their animals! I believe "putois" is actually a ferret or something. Anyway, on their second album, Problem Is Not a Problem Anymore, we see a crane with some ducks (while their debut album, The Thinking Fireplace features a cartoon bird dressed as a gentleman). It would seem that these introspective songs are written and sung by its creator, one Bob Mason since 1995. Most of this album is acoustic, mostly folky and the song "No More Dancing" would best represent what currently Putois sounds like. There are a few highlights on the record. For instance, I liked what he was trying to do with "Cta". This had a weird bass and quirky noises and beeps. Even his singing style is different here (although I think this might be a guest-vocalist? It just sounds very different). The other song that isn't so acoustic is "The Lonely Traveler" with its arrangement of piano and harmonica. If you like bands like Minnesota's Low, Putois might be right up your alley. Problem Is Not a Problem Anymore is out now, you can get it from CD Baby. |
PLUSHGUN
plushgun.com ♥ myspace.com
I love Tommy Boy Records. One of my first CD was a Tommy Boy and I just remember how big they were in the early 90s, especially with the b-boys and girls. Well, I guess the record label is still around and I have one of their latest release by one-man-band, Plushgun. Daniel Ingala's vocals sounds like he has a British accent, reminiscent of early 80s new wave pop bands. His latest self-titled EP has a cute drawing of a bird with an old SNES controller in a cassette-tape-style mess in the sky. All the songs were available for download on August 19th (iTunes). The four songs on the EP is a very easy listen. I love all the songs actually, with the exception of the semi-sappy "14 Candles". Although it was nice to hear a woman singing backup on this song, but I didn't think this song belong on the EP. Maybe I just don't like love songs. His other songs are more upbeat and sounds more like obsessive/stalker feel to them. There are some great lyrics on "Just Impolite" ("I walk the line, like Johnny Cash" and "I'm not upset, just impolite"). A physical copy of Plushgun will be available on September 9th via Amazon and other retailers for $9.99, but if you can't wait the download is sold now for 60% cheaper ($3.98) |
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BRICE WOODALL AND THE POSITRONS
bricewoodall.com ♥ myspace.com
Check out Brice Woodall and the Positrons with their album, Sine Wave Sea. The artwork on the cover is a flying bird block with a hole in its stomach. I know it's a bird because if you visit the artist's website (trevorbittinger.com), his all-flash website features these same block birds flying around. Brice Woodall is currently based out of Chicago, Illinois, according to his myspace. Woodall's vocals has a woman quality to them, but not in a falsetto way (and not as a put down). His voice is very interesting, it definitely pulls you in. I think my favorite songs off this album is easily "This, There, Where", a pop song with some interesting mix. I also dug the experiment on "Winter/Break/Down/Away". Well, it looks like they are currently on tour, be sure to check them out.
09/12/08 Double Door- Kittypalooza Chicago, IL 09/24/08 Rapture Charlottesville, Virginia 09/25/08 Lucky Buddha Richmond, Virginia 09/26/08 Trash Bar Brooklyn, New York 09/27/08 Murky (upstairs) Arlington/DC area, VA 11/08/08 Art*Bar Riverwest Milwaukee, Wisconsin 11/19/08 Madison, Wisconsin 11/20/08 Chicago, Illinois 11/21/08 Detroit, Michigan 11/22/08 Indianapolis, Indiana You can pick up Sine Wave Sea from InSound. |
CITIZENS OF CONTRARY KNOWLEDGE
citizensofcontraryknowledge.com ♥ myspace.com
Featuring a drawing of a chicken on the cover of Citizens of Contrary Knowledge's You're What You Wish You Are. Upon closer inspection, is that a cock? They do sound a bit southern cock rock... Reading their biography, it would seem most of the band members are residing in Harlem, New York. Their singer/frontsman, Chris Barczynski, sounds like he doesn't take his biography too seriously (he writes that he was in the Witness Protection Program, etc). This is also a problem when he lists that he's appeared on stage with Green Day, Sugar Ray and Hootie - should you believe him? I'm leaning to 'no'. I was drawn to the faster/rock song and my favorite is "Complicated" and "Lonely Hearts Society", which is driven by a muscular guitar playing (with some neat tricks). Despite as I have said about their music being rock, they do lean to the sensitive/slow side with "House of Cards", "Unless You Do", "Real Love", and "Wrong Side of the World". I think listening to them that they might fare better as a live act, perhaps jamming their songs at a longer length at a dive bar. You're What You Wish You Are is out now, available on CD Baby. They just finished playing Arlene's Grocery, which is apparently a bar? |
Here is the bonus segment, some bird-bands we've previously covered: Tinkture, Birdflu, Story of the Year, The Alarmists, The Notwist, Loquat, El Perro Del Mar, Ben Sollee, Peter Bradley Adams (Owl), Death Valley Sleepers, Death Cab For Cutie, Patrick Wolf, Deadbird, Jeff Hanson (Owl), They Might be Giants (Owl), Eels, Biography Of Ferns, Computer Vs. Banjo (Owl), Ash, Susan Krebs
Bands we haven't covered, but I'm sure we'll get around to them. These features birds on the cover: The Great Northwest (Experimental Folk), Nebraska (Folk), Foals (British Rock), The Black Keys (Southern Rock), KYTE (Ambient Pop), and the talented Graeme K (Experimental/Old-time/Dance). Honorable worth mention is Abigail Washburn with her tiny birds on the cover.
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