PHW Album of the Month - 4/08

Frightened Rabbit released my favorite album of the month of April. There’s little question about that as it has dominated my personal listening for the past 3 weeks, although I did give some thought to Attack & Release and Kensington Heights as well. After February and March’s favorites it’s nice to see the rock bands getting some love again.

The Midnight Organ Fight is a pained documentation of the “frustrated male” - which is the one recurring theme that ties this expansive, but never long, record‘s 14 tracks together. The “organ” of the album title doesn’t refer to a musical instrument by the way, but some combative contact between the male/female fun parts, as “Fast Blood” makes perfectly clear. Sexual references abound throughout - “The Twist” is a sad, desperate cry for some female attention (and again, the title isn‘t referring to the dance), and “Keep Yourself Warm” recognizes that that kind of disposable Mclovin’ is only a short term cure for loneliness. Other highlights include “The Modern Leper” - a thesis statement in self-loathing, “I Feel Better” - it’s mirror image, and “Head Rolls Off” - the sparkling first single. But every song on Frightened Rabbit’s sophomore album bristles with real emotion, memorable hooks, and tight musicianship. 14 songs and not a bad apple among them. Loud guitars and a singer who means it. Go get this one.

MP3 :: The Modern Leper
(from The Midnight Organ Fight. Buy here)
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And here’s that official video again for “Heads Roll Off”:


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And another great album track, “Old Old Fashioned”, performed acoustic in a radio session:


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Band pic from Lazy Eye Photos
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New Sounds Goin' Round....

The Pedaljets first intended to release their self-titled second album way back in 1989, but weren’t happy with how it came out so didn’t. Now, nearly 20 years later and with the help of some modern studio manipulations, the record has been dusted off and is set for release on May 6 through OxBlood Records. “Agnes Mind” is the first single and recalls both the 80s underground it was originally intended for as well as modern Americana.

MP3 :: Agnes Mind
(from Pedaljets. Buy here)
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“Autobahn” by Sinkane has no relation other than name to the Kraftwerk song. It is though a musically fluid and hypnotic track that’s meant for widescreen listening. It’s easy to imagine the singer walking through a vast open space, alone, with the cliché of shooting stars streaking the night sky overhead.

MP3 :: Autobahn
(from Color Voice. Buy here)
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Pitchfork recently bestowed the title of Best New Music to The Airing of Grievances, the new one from New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus. So that should help them out. “No Future” is a cracklin’ epic that matches the bleakness of its title with a whirlwind of grimy electric guitars doing battle with lead singer Patrick Stickles’ gruff vocals.

MP3 :: No Future
(from The Airing of Grievances. Buy here)
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[bootleg] The Replacements - "Simply Unacceptable"

To follow up the recent Gold Soundz post on The Replacements I thought I’d share this widely circulated bootleg from 1985. Commonly known as Simply Unacceptable, it was recorded in the band’s hometown of Minneapolis, MN on July 1, 1985, right at the crossroads that separated the early years (Twin Tone/Bob Stinson) from the later years (Sire/Slim Dunlap). Of course, not much changed about The Replacement’s live shows over their careers. I was too young and got into them too late to ever see a show, but I know people who did who say the shows were either rock and roll epiphanies or the band’s “dysfunctions” made you want to walk out. This one would fall under the former. Simply Unacceptable is the band in top form playing reckless, inspired versions of their own songs along with a handful of choice covers. Enjoy…

MP3 :: Never Been To College
MP3 :: Bastards of Young
MP3 :: Gary’s Got A Boner
MP3 :: Color Me Impressed
MP3 :: I’ll Buy
MP3 :: Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
MP3 :: Unsatisfied
MP3 :: Punk Poop (aka 1977)
MP3 :: Jean Genie
MP3 :: Can’t Hardly Wait
MP3 :: Dose of Thunder
MP3 :: The Man Who Invented Himself
MP3 :: I Wanna Destroy You
MP3 :: I Will Dare
MP3 :: Little Mascara
MP3 :: Left of the Dial
MP3 :: Take Me Down To The Hospital
MP3 :: Takin’ A Ride
MP3 :: I’m In Trouble
MP3 :: Rattlesnake
MP3 :: Hitchin’ A Ride
MP3 :: Customer
MP3 :: Kids Don’t Follow
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[video] The Mountain Goats - "Sax Rohmer"

Heretic Pride was a welcome return to form for The Mountain Goats after the disappointing Get Lonely. It finds John Darnielle back on top of his game with a collection of emotionally bruised songs almost as direct as those from The Sunset Tree. Like that album did in 2005, Heretic Pride is finding itself slowly rising among my favorite albums released thus far in 2008. Lead single “Sax Rohmer #1” is a tense declaration of intent - I am coming home to you if it’s the last thing that I do. Don’t forget to leave the light on.

But with the white suits, scribbled lyrics on the walls, and lines like every moment points toward the aftermath that make up this dizzyingly circular video, Darnielle’s earnestness can easily be mistaken for a slight emotional imbalance - this welcome return leading to its own sad end.

MP3 :: Sax Rohmer #1
(from Heretic Pride. Buy here)
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Gold Soundz: "Favorite Thing"

No other band has influenced my tastes over the past 17 years more than The Replacements have. They are, without a doubt, the reason I am the music fan I am today.

That being said, the brand new Rhino re-issues of the first 4 Replacements albums have a lot to offer any fan - the casuals who may need to fill in their collection’s missing pieces, the hopelessly devoted die-hards looking for unreleased gems (like myself), and those who fall somewhere in between. Documenting the period prior to the band’s signing to Sire Records in 1985, the recordings capture the band at their wild, careening best - quite realistically the most exciting American rock and roll band of the past 3 decades. Many of the newly unearthed rarities on these discs are actually songs I’ve loved for years (“Perfectly Lethal” especially), others are nice surprises I never knew existed.

I first heard The Replacements driving in an older friend’s car sometime in the winter of 1991. “Waitress In The Sky” and “I’ll Be You” were on a mixtape and I was taken immediately. I think I started with buying the tapes - Let It Be and Don’t Tell A Soul originally and I filled in the gaps from there. I was a little taken aback by Let It Be at first - it thrashed more than I expected compared to the shuffling folk-rock I’d already heard. Soon enough though the songs started making sense and I had a new favorite band.

There are countless Replacements’ songs I could include in a Gold Soundz post, but if pressed I think “Favorite Thing” truly captures their early spirit. Even though Westerberg did some of his best writing post-Let It Be, I’ve always felt that the Twin Tone years were the band in their prime (not revelatory, I know) and once they were on a major that the studio albums lost the drunken punk spirit that set them apart. “Favorite Thing” catches the band absolutely ripping to shreds, but also a typically inspired lyric from Paul, which, when he wanted them to be, were becoming more and more insightful (“Gary’s Got A Boner” notwithstanding). Stone classic.

MP3 :: Favorite Thing
(from Let It Be. Buy here)
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Related :: The Replacements - Tim (Re-Imagined)
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Gold Soundz columns highlight some of my favorite songs of all time. “Gold Soundz” because I thought this blog would be cooler if I ripped off a title for a “column” from a not-at-all obscure Pavement song. Previously featured in Gold Soundz:

Slobberbone :: “Gimme Back My Dog”
The Jam :: “In The City”
World Party :: “Way Down Now”
Elmore James :: “The Sky Is Crying”
John Prine :: “Lake Marie”
The Band :: “Jawbone”
Neutral Milk Hotel :: “Holland, 1945”
The Velvet Underground :: “I Heard Her Call My Name”
Hank Williams :: “I Saw The Light”
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[video] Radiohead on Conan O'Brien

Radiohead performed a sublime version of “House of Cards” from In Rainbows last night on Conan. The video was prerecorded in London exclusively for use on the show in support of NBC’s week of green programming. And oh yeah, Yorke dropped the twat word on national television. Bleeped of course.
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Sun Kil Moon - April

Don’t make the same mistake as me with the new Sun Kil Moon record, April. The first 2 times I tried listening to it were in the car on my drive home from work. A 45 minute battle along the Belt Parkway with half the cars in Queens/Brooklyn trying to make your brain explode is not the way to take in Mark Kozelek’s gentle, swirling hymns. The obvious beauty of these songs was completely lost on me, and for the past few weeks I‘ve been ignoring them. Until today. Sitting here in the early-morning hours trying to shake off one of those perfect night sleeps when you don’t have to get up for work is a much better setting to hear an album that, more than most, is not meant to be heard under all conditions.

Those first 2 listens made me pretty vehement in my early negative opinion, but I‘ve since come around. April may not be quite the record Ghosts of the Great Highway was, but if you liked that record (and chances are if you did, you really did) then April is a must hear. It’s 11 more songs that have all the same qualities that made Ghosts such a pleasant surprise and a modern Americana classic - carefully plucked acoustics and piano; winding Crazy Horse-grooves; Kozelek’s sturdy, reassuring voice; and a hazy, sustained mood running from start to finish. The melodies again take time to settle in and show their faces, but once they do you’ll be helpless to them. Just make sure you aren’t driving in traffic when you first listen.

MP3 :: Moorestown
(from April. Buy here)
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Tall Firs - Too Old To Die Young

New York based Tall Firs recently released their sophomore record - Too Old To Die Young. Coming from his Ecstatic Peace label, the album has Thurston Moore’s fingerprints all over it. The partnership is fitting because if Tall Firs recall another band it’s the more melodic side of Sonic Youth (think “Candle” from Daydream Nation or “Incinerate” from Rather Ripped). If you counted the rings you’d find these firs date back to the era of vintage 80s/90s indie rock of bands like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, and Mudhoney. The vocals are a cross between Moore’s and the stoned drawl of J Mascis - furthering the connection to the alt rock heyday that the tossed off fluidity of the music easily conjures, and the songs feature a youthful nostalgia (see “So Messed Up’s” references to underage drinking and drugging - we were acid crazed teenage tweak-outs/those blues for days of pills and freak-outs/tonight we‘ll be alright/we‘ll make it through tonight/tonight we’re so messed up) that probably shouldn’t ring as true as it does. At 9 songs and just 36 minutes Too Old To Die Young (the title itself a sort of secret password into a club for kids of the late 80s and early 90s) is a concise and consistent listen - and one of 2008’s most unexpected and welcome surprises to date.

MP3 :: So Messed Up
MP3 :: Hairdo
(from Too Old To Die Young. Buy here)
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Johnny Karaoke Superstar

Sometimes John takes pictures for PHW. Sometimes I post pictures of him with real headwounds, drunk but not defeated. And now I post hilarious videos of him singing his heart out to 800 people on a cruise. This one is sort of Meatloaf meets Chris Farley. One need not have been friends with him since high school to enjoy. But it certainly helps. Royal Caribbean, you're beautiful. GOODNIGHT!
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[record review] Constantines - Kensington Heights

Even though I was shut out of hearing the Constantines’ show this week at Mercury Lounge, my anticipation for getting a copy of Kensington Heights was not dulled by that unfortunate turn of events. Those waiting for a CD release still have a few days to go (April 29, Arts & Crafts), but if you’re willing to go the digital route you can purchase the album right now from eMusic, who have the advance.

Now that I’ve (figuratively) spun the record a few times it’s safe to say that Kensington Heights is another tight and tense collection of urgent rockers and slow building ballads from a band that’s shown more in the way of consistency than evolution over their career. I’d put (self-titled debut) The Constantines and Shine A Light up against any hard indie-rock album of the decade, and 2005’s Tournament of Hearts just a notch below. Kensington Heights is probably going to be grouped with and compared to the latter, as it once again finds the band inching away from the aggressive post-punk of those first 2 records to a sound with more nuance and subtlety.

But that’s not to say Kensington Heights forgets to rock, as it does so well on several occasions. Twitchy opener “Hard Feelings” matches anything in their canon - it’s a bracing rocker that downplays its pop-potential for something more in-your-face exciting. The riff that begins “Million Star Hotel” is huge and comes in and out of the mix at all the right moments, and “Trans Canada” is a near robotic track that features an icy cool rhythm on the verses and an explosive vocal on the all-too-brief chorus. The driving pop-rock sound found on past albums (“Soon Enough”, “Young Lions”, etc) is met with “Our Age” and “Credit River”, but the best of the rockers may be “Brother Run Them Down”, a ferocious anti-generational anthem that kicks off the album’s back half.

The slower portion of Kensington Heights has nearly as many high points, beginning with the mid-album “Time Can Be Overcome”, which takes its time to get going, but once it does is not to be missed. You can feel the primordial blues of Bryan Webb’s vocals deep in your bones as he turns in what must be considered amongst his finest performances. Album closer “Do What You Can Do” is just as effective, with the gradual swell of Webb’s positive message not lost among an intensely dynamic band performance. And the acoustic “New King” surprises in its directness, if not its earnest lyrics about a family trying to make it through some hard times.

The heights referenced in the album title isn’t the sound of Constantines reaching new ones, just the same ones for the fourth time around. Again the band is far more positive in their over-arching themes than most of their gloomy peers - not so much shiny happy people as able to make you feel united with others against the trials of everyday living. Long since past needing the Springsteen/Clash/Fugazi comparisons to make people listen, with Kensington Heights the Constantines have delivered another solid batch of rousing rock n’ roll songs to sing along with alone after a hard day at work or collectively with friends on Saturday night.

MP3 :: Hard Feelings
(from Kensington Heights. Buy here)
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MP3 :: Soon Enough

MP3 :: Love In Fear

(from Tournament of Hearts. Buy here)

MP3 :: Nighttime, Anytime (It’s Alright)

MP3 :: On To You

(from Shine A Light. Buy here)

MP3 :: Arizona

(from Constantines. Buy here)
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[mp3] No Age - "Eraser"

Oh snap bitches - that’s a new header photo up there. Not bad right? It’s a picture I took last year at Rockwood Music Hall at a show from the now-defunct Here Lies Pa. After a year and a half of not having a clue how to crop a photo my girlfriend comes home today and does it for me in about 8 seconds. I feel like my blog is all grown up now. Maybe on to advertisements next?

On the music front for the weekend, I’ve been spinning the new record from recent Sub Pop recruits No Age pretty relentlessly over the last few days. I’ll admit to being late to the Weirdo Rippers phenomenon of 2007, and even after hearing it months after the fact I (embarrassing admission coming…) wasn’t blown away . Different story entirely for Nouns (out May 6) - a more song oriented collection than the often murky debut. Nouns downplays the dissonance a smidge and ups the tunefulness a bunch, revealing to me what many heard last year - that this is a young band to reckon with now and be excited for what their future holds.

MP3 :: Eraser
(from Nouns. Info here)
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No Age are set to play The Bowery Ballroom on May 6
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[mp3] My Morning Jacket - "Evil Urges"

For those of you that thought 2005’s Z was My Morning Jacket pushing their sonic boundaries to the limit, be prepared to lose your minds. Hot off the press is the ridiculously awesome title track to the forthcoming studio follow up, available now as a free download by the band and the folks at ATO. “Evil Urges” ups the ante, finding the band flawlessly combining the aspects you already love about them (the balls out rocking) with what you soon will (the pretty much unrecognizable new Prince-like falsetto of Jim James, lavish strings; subtle electronics). Evil Urges is due out 6/10 and I have a very evil urge to hear it before then.

MP3 :: Evil Urges
(from Evil Urges. Info here)
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