Heartless Bastards, Parted Ways
Fanfarlo, The Walls Are Coming Down
Fading Collection, Antlering
Xiu Xiu, Hi
Fabulous Disaster, No Stars Tonight
Fastbacks, Believe Me Never
Sleigh Bells, Born to Lose
Family of the Year, Living on Love
Feist, Anti-Pioneer
The Magnetic Fields, Andrew in Drag
Fereshta, Motherland
Fever Ray, Dry and Dusty
Sea Lions, I Should Be Sleeping
Fitz & the Tantrums, MoneyGrabber
Firehorse, She’s a River
The Jezabels, Long Highway
Sarah Fimm, Crumbs and Broken Shells
Orenda Fink, Bloodline
Frankie Rose, Interstellar
The Fiery Furnaces, Single Again
Florence & the Machine, Girl With One Eye
Big Deal, Distant Neigborhood
Flashing Red Airplane. It’s a Long Way Down When You Know Your Way
Fonda, Imitation of Life
Sharon Van Etten, All I Can
Fol Chen, In Ruin
Frente!, Labour of Love
Tennis, High Road
Edith Frost, Waiting Room
Free Kitten, Noise Doll
Anya Marina, Hot Button
Eleanor Friedberger, My Mistakes
Fur Cups for Teeth, Edie Idol
Grimes, Genesis
Fuzzy, Lemon Rind
Fun., We Are Young
Memoryhouse, The Kids Were Wrong
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Greenwich Mean Time
Victoria George, Lately I
Loquat, Time Bending
Gem Club, I Heard the Party
Lisa Germano, If I Think of Love
Imperial Teen, Last to Know
The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Jardin Du Luxembourg
Hannah Georgas, The Deep End
Archive for April 2012
Joel’s Hit Show, Episode 148, 18 April 2012 Playlist
April 18, 2012Lost in the Trees “A Church That Fits Our Needs”
April 15, 2012A big folking band. The six-piece sounds like Tilly and the Wall on Prozac, meaning the percussion is distinctive, even if not actual tap dancing, but otherwise the music is pretty slow. “Neither Here Nor There” is a good example of this.
If you like strings with character, “Golden Eyelids” really bugs out. Most of the time it’s a serious song, but during the chorus it is just silly enough to make you notice. The vocals are also quite strong.
A faster track, “Tall Ceilings” has a melody that works with well-mixed strings that know their place — right underneath the vocals. It all comes together well here and sounds even better loud.
Lisa Germano fans will enjoy “This Dead Bird Is Beautiful.” It might be too much to assume this wasn’t at least inspired by her. The vocals on “Villain (I’ll Stick Around)” sound like Grace Slick.
The last track is “Vines.” It’s the slowest of the slow. This album is more a collection of tracks than any type of story. In this day and age of Spotify and whatnot, it’s probably for the best.
Usurper Vong “Vong Songs Vol. 1: Humans Make Me Nervous”
April 15, 2012They’re from San Jose so maybe I’ve sat next to them at Camera 12 when watching a movie. I bet they’re not the type who texts during movies. Anyway, I picked this up because the drummer is a woman with a pun in her name.
Speaking of puns, I like “Amputea Time.” The mixing is kind of strange, in that there are backing vocals, but you can’t tell whether you’re supposed to be listing to them. It’s like a badly folded burrito, where you get some bites that are all rice, while others are all pico de gallo. Still, it’s nice to at least have all the parts there. The other notable thing here is that lead singer Derek Gomez ends lines on an upswing, the way Johnny Rotten does. He kind of does that everywhere, but it’s especially noticeable here.
Like a lot of local acts, these guys tell entertaining songs about stuff that happens to them, and I have to think they’re a lot of fun live. I’d say they should play a Nickel City show, but I bet they’ve already done one, and I probably just missed it because I’m irresponsible like that. It comes to mind when I hear “Degenerate Genius,” a song perhaps inspired by their respective parents’ record collections.
“Peeping Tomkat” is kind of creepy, but that’s OK. Nothing beats a song that makes you feel guilty when you sing along with the chorus. The other song I like is “Wrong Guy,” which is good eating music when you’re having a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.
Various Artists “Communicating Vessels Vol. 1”
April 15, 2012Two tracks each from six different acts. Here’s a rundown:
- Preston Lovinggood is a talented singer/songwriter who reminds me of Peter Murphy on “Duncan” and “No Baby”
- The Green Seed is a storytelling hip-hop outfit on “Crack Kills” and “Preservation,” which samples like M.I.A. would
- The Grenadines are a smooth sometimes-dance rock group with breathy male-female vocals on “Shake” and “Colourblind,” which is the best song on here even if too short
- The Great Book of John sound a little like Echo and the Bunnymen on “Let Me Slide” and “On and On”
- Sanders Bohlke is another folk singer on “Quiet Ye Voices” and “The Weight of Us,” although the female backing vocals really help the songs get to the end
- Duquette Johnston and the Rebel Kings do Monkees-style ’60s pop, replete with handclaps, on “Roll Baby Roll” and “Rise Up Children”
Go Back to the Zoo “Benny Blisto”
April 15, 2012They’re Dutch so they’re more than much. I thought one of the dudes on the cover art was a woman so I grabbed this CD to review. My mistake. But it’s not all bad because their sound is accessible enough to me that I can still appreciate it.
“Electric” is the first track and sounds like a Killers/Franz Ferdinand throwback. Fans of Bang! Bang! Eche! will recognize the style of “Hey DJ.” This is probably the song that would break them. I say “would” because I don’t think there is enough that distinguishes this band.
For those that miss the mid-’80s rock songs that would show up in movies everywhere, “Nicer” is a trip down memory lane. “Oh No (We Stayed)” is another good track, especially the chorus.
There are a couple extra tracks, but it reminds me of those blasters of Topps baseball cards you buy at Target, which read something like “10 packs plus one extra pack.” But they’re all the same. Just say there are 11 packs. In any case, “Smoking on the Balcony” is an extra track, but it sounds good to me. This is another Bang! Bang! Eche! soundalike, with hints of the Farm as well.
The Staves “Mexico EP”
April 15, 2012They’re sisters. They’re British. They’re all folked up. The guitar is enough to promote them to Azure Ray/Watson Twins status, except of course there are three of them — not two.
It’s more of a single with two B-sides, but it’s not for me to say. I’m not in the band. At any rate, the title track is first. It sounds like Stevie Nicks and Caroline Polachek (Chairlift). “Icarus” isn’t about Nintendo but still a good song. It makes me think of Mumford and Sons.
The last track is “I Try.” The melody is better than it has to be. There’s nothing really imaginative about this stuff, but there usually isn’t a need for that sort of thing. As reliable as macaroni and cheese, you’re a fool to come away unfulfilled from listening to the Staves.
Panic Years “The Month’s Mind”
April 15, 2012I thought I was listening to Ben Gibbard doing it with James Blunt. No, it’s probably just some band that is somebody’s indie darling right now. I’ll consider “Panic Years” to be a reference to the Bush 43 administration because it’s fun, but it probably has nothing to do with anything so deep.
“Bad Faith” has progressive keyboard, but the guitar is too comfortable with itself. This song is more Weezer than prog. The beginning of “Anomie” sets the stage for a dance rock number, but that just isn’t how this act rolls. Instead you get some weird She Wants Revenge knockoff with emo vocals.
There are clean versions of “Two Hearts” and “The Month’s Mind (Reprise)” at the end, which was nice of them. There’s also another edit of a track but it’s not as good so don’t worry about it.
Dirty Dishes “The Most Tarnished Birds”
April 15, 2012Not Dishes, who I miss tremendously. But Dirty Dishes are from Boston, so that’s something to be excited about as well. The first track is “Hush” and has nothing to do with the sound of the Red Line gliding effortlessly on the tracks.
“Gaze” is awesome and reminds me of when Tanya Donelly was the guest singer on Catherine Wheel’s “Judy Staring at the Sun.” Actually it’s better than that. I’ll always be a Donelly fan, but sometimes she used her voice as a crutch. Jenny Tuite certainly could do the same, but she doesn’t.
But the track I like the most is “Bloom.” It sounds like Juliana Hatfield’s “Dying Proof” with bits of Neko Case (yes I know she is not from Boston) mixed in. I absolutely freeze when I hear this, and it has something for everyone. Even noise fans will want to hear this.
The single-word titles continue with “Break.” It’s a bit more somber than the rest. The last track is “Blur” and sounds a little like Letters to Cleo. Those that want more of the mid-’90s Boston sound should look no further.
Anya Marina “Felony Flats”
April 15, 2012Anya Marina is a former KSCU DJ, but she was before my time, like Mike TV. I was here for Faco and Naked Rob, though. You can’t have everything in life. I have to admit I wish I was around to meet her, because musically she’s fucking amazing. Good for her for being on Atlantic. I wish her the best.
“Body Knows Best” gets the album off to a good start with some straightforward power-pop, complete with tambourine in the chorus and la-la’ing in the bridge. The sound is a bit trapped in the mid-to-late ’90s, with a bassline reminiscent of Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta.”
Absolute bliss can be found with “Hot Button,” which is not about a stolen dose of heroin. Overall, this is a slower track and an excellent choice as a leadoff track when performing live.
“Flinty” is catchy. The melody is similar to Tegan and Sara crossed with Blondie’s “Hanging on a Telephone.” The guitar is simple but effective. The hot summer ballad is clearly “Heart Stops.” It’s the music to play in the background when you’ve been playing the same Zelda title for eight weeks, and you’re this close to beating all the side quests.
The title track is last and broods with piano and Marina’s voice. It’s another fine effort, the whole album. Not really hearing anything compromised on the sound, and that’s a good thing.
Josephine Foster “Perlas”
April 15, 2012I think these songs are all in Spanish. None of them are a cover of “Ciega Sordumuda,” unfortunately. The first track, “Puerto de Santa Maria” does have the same guitar, though.
When you come to the hill, be sure to be listening to “Cuando Vienes del Monte.” iTunes spells it “monto,” but it is wrong. The harmonica is a little shrill, but otherwise this sounds like something Tomas Petty would perform if he were a woman named Josephine Foster.
“Dame Esa Flor” is about giving someone a particular flower. One time I was listening to EO, and I discovered he doesn’t know how to read Spanish. None of this music belongs on Dekadance, but hopefully he’ll find it in his heart to play this when he is filling in for someone. I enjoy hearing him try to read it because it humanizes him.
Marge Simpson fans won’t particularly like “Perlas,” but it is a good excuse to snuggle your homie-womie-romie-domie. All in all, this album is full of that minimalist guitar and higher-octave crooning you get from the Larkin Grimms of the world. That it happens in Spanish is easily overlooked.
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