New Music - Titus Andronicus

It’s late, so I’m not up for writing too much tonight, but I just got back from a weekend road trip and want to share my $0.01½ about an album I’ve been neglecting for the past few months. I’ve already mentioned the warm, drug-addled epic “No Future”, but it took a while for me to catch up with the rest of the debut record from Titus Andronicus. As you’d expect from the title, there’s a lot of angst on The Airing Of Grievances - imagine a more muscular, Springsteen-esque take on the pre-I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning Bright Eyes albums (the ones where he tore his throat yelling and cursing into home microphones) and you‘d have a good idea what these cathartic little anthems sound like. I was rocking out to this album a few times between Massachusetts and Brooklyn today and loving every speaker-blowing minute of it, especially the song named after the band named after one of Shakepseare’s earliest, bloodiest tragedies.

MP3 :: Titus Andronicus
MP3 :: No Future
(from The Airing Of Grievances. Buy here)
---------------------------------------------------------

[mp3] Blitzen Trapper - "Furr"

Last year Blitzen Trapper burst onto the indie-rock scene with a debut, Wild Mountain Nation, that garnered heaps of hype and attention from music bloggers much better than me. They were praised for their Pavement-meets-Southern rock sound, which is a pretty lethal combination, admittedly, on paper. But something about the songs I heard left me cold, wondering what all the fuss was about. I know it’s impossible to like everything, but this was something that should’ve been right up my alley. So Blitzen Trapper, on a smaller scale, were my 2007 “hype hate”, joining Grizzly Bear from ‘06 and Sufjan from ‘05 - widely glorified bands/artists whose music I found soulless, or precious, or just bored the shit right out of me. Hope I still make music blogger heaven someday after saying that.

The thing with Blitzen Trapper though was that they never reached the popularity level of those other 2, so I didn’t feel as compelled to at least try too hard to figure out what everyone else seemed to hear (I mean, I’ve suffered through Illinois like a dozen times and genuinely like “Casimir Pulaski Day” and “Chicago” and that’s it). I read the reviews, and I listened to 3 or 4 of the Wild Mountain Nation tracks that went around. They just didn’t do anything for me. Simple as that. Haven’t listened to the band since - until recently. Not one to hold a grudge, I figured I’d give a listen when a new track surfaced from their forthcoming sophomore record. You Ain’t No Picasso had it first - the song’s “Furr”, from a Sup Pop album due in September of the same name, and wouldn’t you know it, it knocked me on my ass. More understated than anything I’ve heard from them before, it’s a little folk spiritual - a journey through faith and nature and one of the prettiest songs I’ve heard in a long while. Not precious or boring at all, and full of soul. Whomp, there it is.

MP3 :: Furr
(from Furr. More info forthcoming)
-------------------------------------

[mp3] The Donkeys - "Walk Through A Cloud"

One of the best pure summer songs I’ve heard in a long while is the first single from The Donkeys’ upcoming Living On The Other Side (Dead Oceans, Sept. 9). “Walk Through A Cloud” is just as sunny as the title suggests and as simple as 60’s pop - tightly wound California harmonies over breezy, chiming guitars. Dude may have “been gone for too long” and “left (his) baby sad and blue” but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be down for too long.

MP3 :: Walk Through A Cloud
(from Living On The Other Side. Info here)
-------------------------------------------------------

Sneak Peak - Calexico's "Carried To Dust"

That there’s a quick first look and listen to what we can expect from the new Calexico record, Carried To Dust, due out September 9 on Quarterstick Records. As much as any band I can think of, the music Calexico create reflects where they’re from (the Southwest). This video and the short song snippet look like the band will continue that geographical connection on their upcoming release. Which is cool.

Carried To Dust will feature a host of musical collaborators, most notably Sam Beam, who you’ll remember has already done good work with the band in the past on the In The Reins EP.

In other Calexico news, the band just had their song “Crystal Frontier” played in space, and by all accounts it was the first alternative Tex-Mex indie rock tune that has ever been played above the stratosphere. In celebration they are offering the tune up as a free download.

MP3 :: Crystal Frontier
(from Even My Sure Things Fall Through. Buy here)
------------------------------------------------------------------

Bonus MP3 :: Across The Wire (acoustic version)
(Previously unreleased. Original version from Feast Of Wire. Buy here)

Stream :: History of Lovers
(from In The Reins. Buy here)
------------------------------------------------------------------

Gold Soundz: "Vancouver Divorce"

I’ve never hidden my unabashed love for Canada’s greatest rock band of the 90’s, The Tragically Hip. The highly literate, driving anthems on Road Apples, Day For Night, and Phantom Power soundtracked my college years and will always be sentimental favorites. But save last year’s excellent “In View”, most of what the Hip have done over the past 7 or 8 years has been significantly less interesting than their classic early material. Sometimes I feel like the band has seemingly given in to the expectations of their (dominantly Canadian) fan base and churned out a series of increasingly predictable albums this decade catering to them.

Not so for Hip front man Gordon Downie though on his two solo albums. In fact, I’d say these are 2 best records Downie has been involved with this decade - both of which have gone in very different directions than his main act. 2001’s Coke Machine Glow is a sprawling, spontaneous sounding, highly poetic affair that houses 2 of the best song’s he’s ever penned (“Vancouver Divorce“ and “Chancellor”). He followed that up in 2003 with the tighter Battle Of The Nudes, an album recorded with his Country of Miracles band. Both albums stray far from the strictures of recent Hip albums, showing less dependence of riffs and more on utilizing the diverse assortment of Toronto musicians who were more than willing to play with a legend of Canadian music. Fans of the Hip’s early years should find plenty to enjoy from these 2 solid albums.

MP3 :: Vancouver Divorce
MP3 :: Chancellor
(from Coke Machine Glow. Buy here)

MP3 :: 11th Fret
(from Battle Of The Nudes. Buy here)
--------------------------------------------------

Gold Soundz columns highlight some of my favorite songs of all time. It‘s called “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:

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”
-------------------------------------------------------

New Music - Ponytail

So far this summer, while I have some, ahem, extra time on my hands, I’ve been catching up with some of the music that I couldn’t get to earlier in the year. Making a big impact these days is the careening, childlike indie-pop of Ponytail. When I first started reading about their new record, Ice Cream Spiritual (out now on We Are Free), I incorrectly assumed that I’d find it a difficult listen. Reviews kept bringing up a stylistic connection to Deerhoof, a band I’ve always wanted to like more than I actually do, and one where the vocals are my biggest issue. The main focus of everything I’ve read about Ponytail was the band’s reliance on Molly Seigels’ non-vocals (she hoots, hollers, coos, caws, screams, bleats, yelps, screeches - everything but sings), and that worried me. I figured her vocals would be annoyingly distracting, but it didn’t take long to realize I was wrong - they fit right in with this joyful kaleidoscope of sound in a way that makes imagining Ice Cream Spiritual without them virtually impossible.

Even without traditional vocals and lyrics the music on Ice Cream Spiritual is strangely riveting - a physical force full of pounding riffs, blazing electric guitars, and shifting rhythms. The 8 tracks blow by in one breathless surge of energy (33 minutes) that practically begs you to start it over again right away. Unlike other bands that employ the stranger aspects of this kind of excitable, ADHD-fueled pop music, Ponytail keeps everything within very tight melodic boundaries. The songs are wild and all over the map, yet still somehow focused. In fact, they sort of bleed into one another, which only adds to the roller coaster feel of the album. Every time the ride might be slowing down there comes another unexpected drop or twist or turn that gets things moving again. “Celebrate The Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)” is as good an entry point as any - an unpredictable ride that goes through too many different settings to keep track of, yet builds to a cathartic finale. Just like the rest of the album, it’s a sonic whirlwind that’ll leave you gasping.

MP3 :: Celebrate The Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)
(from Ice Cream Spiritual. Buy here)
--------------------------------------------------

[mp3] The Walkmen - "In The New Year"

Before this festive holiday weekend kicks off I’m going to leave you with the new one from The Walkmen. 2004’s brilliant Bows & Arrows was one of my very favorite records of that year, but I was left pretty cold by the follow up, A Hundred Miles Off. You & Me is due out August 19th via Gigantic Records and the first single, “In The New Year” brings back all the woozy grandeur that that I loved about them in the first place. Watch out, if this first single is any sign of what’s in store, this could turn out to be one of the year’s best.

MP3 :: In The New Year
(from You & Me. Info here)
-----------------------------------------------------

Ryan Adams & Mandy Moore Split!

No! Look at that hair! They were made for each other. Not even public groping in a comic book store could save the most bizarre celebrity couple since Lyle Lovett & that chick from Pretty Woman. Ryan Adams' publicist has confirmed that his relationship with (watch out, terrible pun alert) Miss Mandy is no moore (ouch).

The break-up, which was caused in part by tempermental Ryan's aversion to the paparazzi, sparked what just might be the greatest quote in the history of spoken language. On the split, Ryan said: "I found the entire speculation and subsequent photographs and intrusions terrifying and only wish to live as normal a life as possible, so that I might always remain punk as f*** AND sober. Also, I just want to jam. Plus I like metal A LOT."

And there you have it. With that quote I will always consider Ryan Adams cool as shit (or punk as f***, whatever) no matter how many terrible albums he releases every year.

Thanks to Rawkblog for the heads up.
------------------------------------

New Music - Forest Fire

In what will no doubt be remembered as “The Radiohead Method”, letting the public decide how much your album is worth is fast becoming a widely used marketing strategy among bands of all levels. The latest label to attempt this very progressive method of distribution is Catbird Records, of the music blog The Catbirdseat. They have made Brooklyn-based Forest Fire’s new album, Survival, available through a plethora of ways and means, including a pay what you want option that allows you to download for free. That’s nice of them, but quite unnecessary, as Survival is an impressive little weird-folk record with several striking highlights that deserves to rake in some coin. My favorite track so far is “Slow Motion” - a buzzing, fractured folk song that is easily among the best new music I’ve heard in some time. Cut the Velvet’s “Heroin” in half and turn it into a campfire sing along and you’re getting close. Worth checking out, and certainly worth a few of your hard earned dollars.

MP3 :: Slow Motion
MP3 :: Survival
(from Survival. Buy here)
-------------------------------------------

Linkage...

Just call An Aquarium Drunkard butter, because they’ve been on a roll lately. Blatantly bad jokes aside, AAD are 3 for 3 with their recent in-depth interviews with the indie-world’s top rockers. Last week they got spoke to Craig Finn of The Hold Steady (in 2 parts! - here and here), and Canadian songwriter Hayden (here). Today it’s Centro-Matic’s Will Johnson (what are you waiting for) who just released another solid album, Dual Hawks. The best part - Johnson spills the beans on an album he and Jason Molina did together that will likely be released sometime in early 2009!

MP3 :: I, The Kite
MP3 :: Trust To Lose
(from Dual Hawks. Buy here. AAD are hosting 2 more mp3s with the interview)
-----------------------------------------------------

After months of no activity it’s nice to see Marathon Packs back as a regular active blog. Eric’s always got insightful things to say about music and culture, and now he’s hosting a very generous mix of his favorite tracks (The Mid-Term Mix) so far of 2008. You can download it as a ZIP with individual files or as one long 60+ minute track. Either way, it’s full of great stuff, about half that I already know and half that I didn’t.
-----------------------------------------------------

And I Am Fuel You Are Friends has the trailer for the 2007 Joe Strummer documentary The Future Is Unwritten, as well as an mp3 from Strummer’s pre-Clash band, The 101ers.
-----------------------------------------------------

New Music - The Low Low's

The Low Low’s are set to release their new record, Shining Violence, this August via Misra. Their version of The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Modern Romance” was already one of my favorite June songs. The album contains it and 8 other tracks in what looks like it's going to be one of the summer’s best. “Modern Romance” is a good place to start, but the rest of these songs are just as good - the band excels at combining sweeping, desert sky indie-rock with droning guitar noise and three-part harmonies. Imagine a night time jam session on your back porch with elements of Giant Sand and Mazzy Star’s druggy Americana and My Bloody Valentine’s white noise and you’re getting very warm.

MP3 :: Modern Romance
(from Shining Violence. Info here)
------------------------------------------------

New Music - Matt Mays & El Torpedo

Matt Mays & El Torpedo are back with a new record called Terminal Romance on July 8. Mays has always played it pretty straight in the folk-rock and alt. country genres, and these 2 new tracks don’t stray much from his comfort zone. Imagine latter day Jayhawks jamming with Lucero (not hard, I know) and you’re close. The title track, especially, is an impressive, nearly-epic slab of hard hitting Americana that’s worth the price of admission alone.

MP3 :: Terminal Romance
MP3 :: Tall Trees
(from Terminal Romance. Buy here)
----------------------------------------------