Beyond In Rainbows

With all the blog love & affection going to the very worthy In Rainbows this week, you could almost forget that the week saw a plethora (always wanted to use that word in print) of other exciting new releases. So, here’s the week, In Review:

Beirut :: The Flying Club Cup

I have to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Gulag Orkester when it lit the blogging world on fire last year, but it’s found a niche in a my regular rotation over the past few months. The follow up continues Zach Condon’s exploration of European folk music, shifting from the Balkans to France. Stylistically The Flying Club Cup is not a great departure from the debut or the Lon Gisland EP, but does feature some improved production and a set of very consistent songs.

MP3 :: A Sunday Smile
(from The Flying Club Cup. Buy here)
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Band of Horses :: Cease To Begin

Already wrote quite a bit about this one earlier this week, so I won’t repeat myself. But I’m not tiring of the latest from Ben Bridwell and crew, and don’t intend to.

MP3 :: Is There A Ghost
(from Cease To Begin. Buy here)
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The Octopus Project :: Hello, Avalanche

Can’t wait to hear more from The Octopus Project. I’ve had the first single, “I Saw The Bright Shinies”, on a regular rotation since mid-summer.

MP3 :: I Saw The Bright Shinies
(from Hello, Avalanche. Buy here)
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Robert Pollard :: Coast To Coast Carpet of Love / Standard Gargoyle Decisions

The former leader of Guided By Voices is releasing two (more) solo records. It can be quite a daunting task keeping up with Bob’s output, but you know the man is always good for a bunch of great tunes with every release.

MP3 :: Current Desperation (Angels Speak Of Nothing)
(from Coast To Coast Carpet of Love. Buy here)

MP3 :: Pill Gone Girl
(from Standard Gargoyle Decisions. Buy here)
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Sunset Rubdown :: Random Spirit Lover

I’m not nearly as enamored with this band as certain other bloggers, but the stranger half of Wolf Parade has released the follow-up to last year’s Shut Up I Am Dreaming. Not for everyone, but Spencer Krug has a unique ability to connect on a very deep level with some listeners.

MP3 :: Up On Your Leopard, Upon The End Of Your Feral Days
MP3 :: Winged/Wicked Things
(from Random Spirit Lover. Buy here)
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Jens Lekman :: Night Falls Over Kortedala

A bona-fide superstar in his native Sweden, Lekman creates a very unique brand of twee Euro-pop that flourishes because of his skill as a songwriter. He was on my radar for a while and these first tracks are reason enough to dig a lot deeper.

MP3 :: Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo
MP3 :: The Opposite Of Hallelujah
(from Night Falls Over Kortedala. Buy here)
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Cass McCombs :: Dropping The Writ

“That’s That” first came to my attention over the summer, and since then I’ve been looking forward to checking out more from McCombs.

MP3 :: That’s That
(from Dropping The Writ. Buy here)
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The Fiery Furnaces :: Widow City

I got tired of Blueberry Boat fairly quickly a few years ago, and haven’t checked out any of the last few Furnace’s releases. Widow City is getting some write-ups saying it’s a return to Blueberry Boat’s eclecticism, so if you’re a fan of that record check out a new song.

Stream :: Duplexes Of The Dead
Stream :: Automatic Husband
Stream :: Ex-Guru
(from Widow City. Buy here)
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New Sounds For Yer Weekend...

Trances Arc is a 5-piece rock band from Atlanta. They recently put out their second album, XOXOX, through Slush Fund Recordings. Previously released song “Champagne Wishes” was recently featured on a Starbucks Hear Music sampler called Off The Clock. Of XOXOX lead singer Eric Toledo says “we tried to capture the energy of our live show, exploring the long hallways and exposed brick walls of this cavernous studio space... it sounds huge in here”. The band’s done well in that - these songs bristle with intensity. 10 tightly played, mid-90s sounding alt-rock anthems.

MP3 :: Parliament
MP3 :: (Star Spangled) XOXOX
(from XOXOX. Buy here)
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The Black Kids self-released EP Wizard of Ahhhs was recently given the coveted Best New Music status over at Pitchfork. They said: they're giving away something we can't buy often enough: a record with not just a distinctive aesthetic, but also one single-worthy track after another. Dueling keyboards and scrappy lo-fi guitars give rise to Go! Team-style shouted-back cheers, a communal urgency not unlike the Arcade Fire's, and an uptempo bounce paying homage to Motown 45's. In short, Black Kids make catchy, tightly executed songs that put a memorable stamp on pop's classic themes.

The EP is not available in stores - instead head over to their myspace and download the whole thing…for free! Here’s a sampler:

MP3 :: Hurricane Jane
MP3 :: I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
(from Wizard of Ahhs. Download)
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The Epochs are an electro-pop band that will playing 4 CMJ shows in NY. Self described as Radiohead meets Junior Boys meets A.C. Newman. Or think piano meets computer meets scruffy white-boy soul on a crisp Autumn day in Brooklyn.

MP3 :: Mouths To Feed
MP3 :: Opposite Sides

Oct. 15th 10:00AM KEXP On-Air Performance NYC

Oct. 18th 8:00PM Blender Theater (w/Datarock) NYC

Oct. 18th 11:45PM R Bar NYC

Oct. 19th 8:00PM BAM Cafe Brooklyn
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New Music: David Shane Smith

One of my favorite New York musicians, David Shane Smith, has a new collection of songs he’s distributing. I wrote about Smith a few months back in a Talkin’ New York feature - his albums are all burned onto homemade CD-Rs and passed out for free at his shows. Angry Earth is the latest, joining Love Songs and Wintertower as some of my most played local artist albums.

The songs and sounds of Angry Earth are obviously related to the cold, distant ones of Wintertower. There is a clear progression in the recording techniques - Angry Earth is more instrumentally varied than either of its predecessors, and the recording is much cleaner as well. That’s not to say that anyone’s going to think David Fridmann manned the boards, but the added crispness of the recording only helps to shine a light on Smith’s voice and words. It’s as if Radiohead were recording with no budget - with Smith sleep-rapping his nuclear wasteland poetry over bedroom blips and bleeps. The images remain stark and mechanical - payphones, window bars, calculators, religion on the bathroom stalls, but these songs still manage to come across as more personal than Wintertower’s bleak dead-city scenes, and on album centerpiece “Burnt Forest”, even hopeful as new life rises from the ashes.

MP3 :: Calculator
MP3 :: Burnt Forest
MP3 :: New World
MP3 :: I Smoke
(from Angry Earth)
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Smith recently played his final New York show. He’ll soon be relocating to the West Coast, so if you happen to live in the L.A. area be sure to check him out live.

Bonus MP3 :: Sorry
(this is a favorite of mine that David passed along. It’s an older song but features one of his most tuneful and memorable choruses)
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Somewhere Over In Rainbows

I’m sitting here listening to the 10 new Radiohead songs on In Rainbows for the very first time right now as I type. Before today I’ve only ever heard a live version of “Arpeggi”. I’m honestly glad to have never listened to the countless bootlegs that have been available for a long time (years, even) of these songs. “Videotape” will not let me down compared to what they played at Bonnaroo or whatever. I have no preconceived ideas, no expectations, no alarms and no surprises.

“House of Cards” is playing now. It’s track 8, and so far I have been amazed at the music that I’ve heard. I’m not going to be so bold as to say “best album since….” (I mean I haven‘t even listened through once yet), but In Rainbows sounds to me like Radiohead at the top of their game. It sounds like the perfect synthesis of “rock” Radiohead and “electronic” Radiohead that Hail To The Thief aimed for. It sounds like the most talented band in the world regaining themselves.

MP3 :: House of Cards
(from In Rainbows. Buy (or don’t - your conscience) here)
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New Music - Division Day cover "Plowed"

Division Day’s recent Beartrap Island has been a real grower for me over the past few weeks. As you may have heard the band has been releasing previously unheard covers and remixes every week for the past month or so to help promote the album. The most recent one to find my inbox is this cover of “Plowed” by long since forgotten mid-90s grunge latecomers Sponge. I’ll have to admit that that first Sponge album, with this song, “Rotting Pinata”, and “Molly”, was quite the guilty pleasure in college. Hearing Division Day turn it from an alt-rock anthem into burbling electronic maelstrom was a fun listen today. Check it out, as well as other recent covers/remixes.

MP3 :: Plowed (Sponge cover)
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MP3 :: Every Shining Time You Arrive (cover)
MP3 :: Ricky (Tandemoro Remix)
MP3 :: Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode cover)
MP3 :: Reversible (Ginormous Remix)
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MP3 :: Tigers
(from Beartrap Island. Buy here)

Stream Beartrap Island at Virb
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And here is the video for “Tigers”:


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Album Review - Band of Horses: "Cease To Begin"

Looking back at my Top 10 of 2006, I wouldn’t change a thing about it now. But I’ll tell you what - the album I’ve played most from that list in 2007 is not #1 (Destroyer) or #2 (Califone) - it’s Band of Horses’ Everything All The Time, which placed at #3. It’s an album I don’t ever tire of and can listen to almost anytime, the rare type that can be enjoyed without thought of time, place, or context. Today Band of Horses releases their sophomore record, Cease To Begin. Once again coming via Sub Pop, the new album finds the members of the band after having relocated from Pacific Northwest to the cozy confines of South Carolina. It’s this change of scenery that has everyone focused on the more laid back, country-ish feel to many of the new songs. To me though, Cease To Begin is more a continuation of the debut (which possessed a healthy amount of this sound) than a dramatic departure from it.

The most striking aspect to Cease To Begin is how effective Ben Bridwell sells his sometimes poetically-challenged lyrics. Although that’s not a new thought after Everything All The Time, on the new record Bridwell seems particularly capable of not only wowing you with his reverb-drenched pipes, but making you believe every simple, heartfelt, earnest declaration he makes. Without a shred of irony or sarcasm Bridwell wails that “the world is such a wonderful place” and “no one’s gonna love you more than do”. If you’re going to sing words like these, you’d better sound like you mean them, and I‘ll be damned if he hasn’t made my entire worldview change with those simple words. It is a wonderful place! Bridwell’s performance should be evidence enough that “what is said” isn’t as important as “how it’s said”.

The country tones come through on the languid sway of “Detlaf Schrempf” and album closer “Window Blues”. The gorgeous “Marry Song” is easily the most harmonious song I’ve heard all year. These are some of the more powerful songs on Cease To Begin, and show Bridwell equally comfortable with the quiet as the loud. “Is There A Ghost” comes closest to the anthemic songs of the debut, gradually building to a blast of power chords that most closely recalls the dramatic quiet/loud/quiet of “The Funeral”. It, like the album, is deeply satisfying despite never once upsetting your expectations. “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands” achieves a similar feat - loud, crashing guitars wrestle with Bridwell’s echoed drawl, rising and falling against one another over and again. The only other rocker on the album, “Islands On The Coast”, isn’t as memorable and fails to provide the series of great rock songs that “The Great Salt Lake”, “Wicked Gil”, “Weed Party” did on the debut.

Bridwell has already caught some slack for selling and licensing his songs to various media outlets. But who could blame him? Artists have the right to make sure their music is heard, especially in this day and age of little to no radio support. Songs as good as those that populate Cease To Begin deserve it more than any. With this record Band of Horses can expect to reach the next level of indie-rock superstardom with or without the help the commercials and TV placements allow, one co-habited by Spoon, The Shins, and The Decemberists. They deserve nothing less.

MP3 :: Is There A Ghost
(from Cease To Begin. Order here)

Bonus MP3 :: The Funeral
Bonus MP3 :: The Great Salt Lake
(from Everything All The Time. Buy here)
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Video: Spoon On SNL...

"The Underdog"


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"You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"


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Video: Animal Collective On Conan..

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Friday Night Is Killing Me

If you’ve read this blog with any sense of frequency than you may be aware of my adoration for The Replacements. Paul Westerberg and his drunken compadres spent the 80s making some of the most viscerally charged hard rock and heart-on-the-sleeve balladry of all time. In the early 90s the band splintered into fourths, with most of the attention focused on what Westerberg would do next. After laying low for a while he surfaced with a pair of songs on the soundtrack to the movie Singles (including the hard-hitting and catchy “Waiting For Somebody”), and a solo debut in 14 Songs. Both did a lot to put him back into the indie public eye, but neither provided the mainstream crossover success that they were obviously aimed at.

Somewhere around the same time his former bassist, Tommy Stinson, slipped out his own ragged collection of tunes to little fanfare. I read the 3-star review of Bash n’ Pop’s Friday Night Is Killing Me in Rolling Stone and was intrigued, and having heard the first single “Loose Ends” on the radio, picked up the CD. All those years of under-aged touring and watching a great songwriter work up close had provided plenty of inspiration to Stinson, who was amazingly at the time still in his mid-20s. Friday Night Is Killing Me initially hit me much harder than 14 Songs, and provoked, along with the solo work of Westerberg and drummer Chris Mars, a famously naïve quote (among my friend John and I) that “I’m glad the Replacements split up. Now we get 3 times as many albums that sound like them.”

If you’re a fan of The Replacements than you’d be wise to check out Friday Night Is Killing Me. Until the Stereo/Mono albums in 2002 it was my favorite, along with 14 Songs, post-Replacements record. The title track alone is worth the price, but the album houses a healthy mix of barroom rockers and weepy folk rock ballads. It may not be Let It Be or Tim, but it’s certainly better than Don’t Tell A Soul or Eventually.

MP3 :: Friday Night Is Killing Me
MP3 :: Loose Ends
(from Friday Night Is Killing Me. Buy here)
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New Music - Murder Mystery

It will only take you about 10 seconds to identify the city Murder Mystery hails from. They flaunt the New York retro-rock flag of The Strokes about as obviously as one could expect. But whereas The Strokes are clearly influenced by the late 70s punk/post-punk NY scene of Television, The Talking Heads, Blondie, and The Ramones, Murder Mystery doesn’t draw on those sources as clearly as their fellow-New Yorkers. Instead it’s a mix of Is This It-like brattiness, 80s New Wave romance, and just enough of the occasional shuffle-step in the drums to let you know they own a handful of the alt-country classics.

What they’re good at is churning out ultra-catchy, energetic pop-rock songs in rapid fire succession. Their grammatically challenged debut, Are You Ready For The Heartache Cause Here It Comes, is a 12 song, 33-minute blast of rock n’ roll hooks. It shows off the band’s melodies and professional musicianship - they’re tight, with some poppy bass-lines and intricate guitar work. More than half of these songs would fit comfortably on any modern rock playlist. Lead singer Jeremy Coleman has seemingly adopted Julian Casablancas’s laid back disaffectedness, but his voice falls a little short of that singer’s occasionally distinct howl. And the decision to not mix up the tempos (every song is upbeat) makes listening straight through a bit tiring by the album’s second half. Since it’s a debut though they can get away with the lack of diversity - next time a wider variety of tempos and sounds will be needed. For now Murder Mystery gets by on a simple notion - catchy songs with a good beat will get people’s asses on the floor.

MP3 :: Who Doesn’t Wanna Give Me Love?
MP3 :: Honey Come Home
(from Are You Ready For The Heartache Cause Here It Comes. Buy here)
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Website :: Murder Mystery
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Linkage...

Robert Pollard has a pair of new albums slated for release through Merge Records. I haven’t heard too much of Pollard’s solo stuff since the demise of GBV, but these songs sound promising. Here is one from each release:

MP3 :: The Killers
(from Standard Gargoyle Decisions. Pre-order here)

MP3 :: Rud Fins
(from Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love. Pre-order here)
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Well, Stereogum has proven once again that they are in no way shape or form an ordinary music blog. After wowing everyone in the music world a few months back with the OKX compilation, they’ve done it again. Drive XV was released for free digital download at their site and brings together some of the best bands in indie rock today covering all the songs from REM’s classic Automatic For The People. You need to check this out if you’re a fan of old REM, or a fan of The Wrens, Meat Puppets, Blitzen Trapper, etc. Plus, they’ve promised a whole mess of outtakes in the coming days, so keep checking in.
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As a follow-up to the BIG news earlier this week regarding In Rainbows, Dave over at Rawkblog has put together a live compilation of all the new Radiohead songs.
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There’s a lot out there for Iron & Wine fans these days. In addition to all the press the pretty excellent The Shepherd’s Dog is getting, Pitchfork has an interview with Sam Beam that gets in depth into the writing and recording process of the album. Also check out The Good, The Bad, And The Unknown - they have a host of rare I&W songs from throughout their career, even a few I never even knew existed.
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Again, AOL Spinner is streaming the new Bruce Springsteen album Magic all week. It’s gotten some lukewarm reception so far, but c’mon, it’s the Boss.

Stream :: Bruce Springsteen - Magic
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I saw Okkervil River play the other night at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC. They were fantastic, as usual, despite me being slightly distracted by the barrage of text messages I received from my brothers with all sorts of bad news about the Mets. For the encore Will Sheff came out and played an acoustic version of “A Stone” - one of my favorite songs from Black Sheep Boy. Today I saw a write-up at Stylus regarding the same song. Yeah, it moves me too.
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Congratulations are in order to my friend Evan, whose blog If I Blog It, They Will Come achieved its goal of getting Kevin Costner to send in a photo of himself looking at the blog that they began around the same time I started PHW. Well done Ev. Now on to Robin Williams…..
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New Music - Spokane

Spokane released their latest record, Little Hours, through Jagjaguwar this past summer. The album is the first for the Richmond, Virginia based band in 4 years. It’s a somber, minimalist affair - full of hushed vocals, delicate acoustic guitar, brushed percussion, and spacious keys. These songs sound so fragile that the slightest movement could break them into a thousand pieces. Think Low if they were from the South. And slower. With more distance between the notes. Stark, stately, and captivating.

MP3 :: Thankless Marriage
(from Little Hours. Buy here)

Video for “Thankless Marriage”:


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