2 posts tagged “mason proper”

 09/28/2008 16:11:34  ♥ written by vu ()

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Download this episode (39 min)

Music used/mentioned: Arianna Solare (W♥M), Mason Proper (W♥M), Abbotfinney, The Sugarcubes (W♥M), Sunn O))) (W♥M), Jacky & Strings, You Bet!, The Shangri-Las (W♥M), and Gossip (W♥M).

PART ONE
Jon from Mason Proper was nice enough to stop by and talk about:

• the #2 most added album on College radio station this week
• The origin of "oly oly oxen free"
• "There is a Moth in Your Chest" title and two different versions of their album explained
• Moth vs Oxen
• The story behind their friendship with Cloud Cult
• Upcoming CMJ
• Insound.com's exclusive limited DVD and remix contest (ends Sep 30^th).

PART TWO
Alex tells us about his recent Southern Lord purchases...on his BIKE!

PART THREE
Vu ♥ 60s girl pop and soul, so he mentions: You Bet!, The Shangri-Las, and Gossip.

CREDITS: Special thanks goes to Jessi Hector at Sneak Attack, Alex from We Heart Music, Christina from Ariel Publicity, Jacky and Strings, Abbotfinney, and, of course, Jon Visger from Mason Proper.

 09/23/2008 20:53:50  ♥ written by andrew ()

Safe For The Time Being Mason Proper Tour Dates 09/24/08 Live on 107one Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, Michigan 09/25/08 CD Release Party w/The Silent Years, The Novel Citizen @ The Blind Pig (ALL AGES) Ann Arbor, Michigan 10/21/08 Dovecote Records CMJ Showcase @ Rehab New York, New York 10/31/08 Rubbles Bar w/ Those Transatlantics (18+) Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 11/01/08 Small Planet East Lansing, Michigan 11/07/08 New Horizon Winona Lake, Indiana 11/08/08 WIDR Presents Mason Proper @ Papa Pete’s w/The Mighty Narwhale Kalamazoo, Michigan 11/10/08 Black Cat w/Cloud Cult Washington DC, Washington DC 11/11/08 Bowery Ballroom w/Cloud Cult New York, New York 11/12/08 Heirloom Arts Theater w/Cloud Cult Danbury, Connecticut 11/13/08 Middle East - Downstairs w/Cloud Cult Cambridge, Massachusetts 11/15/08 Bug Jar Rochester, New York 11/22/08 The Intersection w/the Mighty Narwhale Grand Rapids, Michigan 12/13/08 The Beat Kitchen w/Everthus the Deadbeats (17+) Chicago, Illinois Discography [2007] There Is A Moth In Your Chest [2008] Olly Oxen Free [2008] Shorthand EP (iTunes Exclusive)

Michigan's Mason Proper make this whole Rock n' Roll thing seem effortless. Reminiscent of the Pixies or perhaps early Spoon, and occasionally uncannily channeling Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, their ambient but crisp mid-tempo rock provides a gloomy (though never overtly depressing) soundtrack befitting the first full day of fall in the Midwest.

Released today, Mason Proper's LP "Olly Oxen Free" is significantly less of a hard-rocker than their 2006 debut "There is a Moth in Your Chest," but it seems to decently capture a more measured, laid-back tone - stretching out the wavelength while managing to retain the same amplitude and intensity of their previous offering.

At the start, Jonathan Visger's ominous vocalizations have me looking over my shoulder, expecting stalkers in the form of electric-guitar-wielding apparitions. From spooky opener "Fog" and slow-ish head-bobbers "Point A to Point B" and "Lock and Key" to the progressively emerging pulse of closer "Safe For The Time Being," the whole tone captures a tune-in-and-zone-out feel, without ever approaching the fuzziness that often defines "shoe gaze."

It's not an album to consume in small bites - it works best as a whole. Start at Track One and let the guitar-driven melancholy draw you in and immerse you in its murky depths. Ten songs in thirty-seven minutes may be a bit brisk, but that's what "repeat" buttons are for.