Listening to this record makes me think of tons of stuff from several eras: Anne Clark, Petra Haden, Grey Anne. Zoe Boekbinder knows exactly how to make the kind of music I like, and she does it over and over again on these 12 darling specimens of songs.
“Hollow Bones” has a somber horn to add to the mix and is slightly folkier. “Serrated Spoon” is perfect with a mug of cocoa, a cat, and a ball of yarn. (Some assembly required.)
Jenny Toomey fans would like “Seven Times.” The end of “Breezewood, PA” sounds like the beginning of this song. If I were a DJ, I would end with that song and begin with this one. Oh, wait.
If you like storytelling in the Fiery Furnaces style, “Gravity” will do the trick. The chorus has a strangely rhythmic feel. It’s good, but it really stood out to me for some reason, as if the Andrews Sisters had shown up at the recording session.
“Bakery” reminds me of Regina Spektor, and the horn on this one is a little happier. This is probably the weakest of the good songs on the album, but it’s still amazing. The last track is “Anything Forever” and is another slower one, this time with strings. Musically it reminds me of Lisa Germano, but vocally it’s like all the rest. This would have been one of my Top 10 albums of the year, but it was released too late for me to add it to my list before the deadline.
Zoe Boekbinder “Darling Specimens”
December 4, 2011Joel’s Hit Show, Episode 134, 30 November 2011 Playlist
December 1, 2011Soley, Smashed Birds
Nous Non Plus, One Night in Paris
Now, Now Every Children, Not One, But Two
The Good Natured, Skeleton
Ohbijou, Obsidian
Oh Land, Sun of a Gun
Primus, Hennepin Crawler
OK Go, Do What You Want
Agnes Obel, On Powdered Ground
Big Harp, Out in the Field
Tara Jane O’Neil, This Morning
O+S, Permanent Scar
Meshell Ndegeocello, Dead End
Beth Orton, Central Reservation
Operation Makeout, Current Events
My Brightest Diamond, There’s a Rat
OP8 Featuring Lisa Germano, If I Think of Love
Anna Oxygen, Primary Colors
Sports, Disappear
Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Say No to Love
Peaches, Trick or Treat
Caitlin Rose, Learning to Ride
Pee Shy, The Greatest Show on Earth
The Peekers, Concrete Feet
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Queens
Jemina Pearl, After Hours
Park Avenue Music, Piet
Pajama Club, Tell Me What You Want
The Pastels, Classic Line-Up
Peggy Sue, Careless Talk Costs Lives
Juliana Hatfield, Bringing You Down Again/Stray Kids
Liz Phair, Turning Japanese
Gretchen Phillips, Peola
Melanie Devaney, Nothin In L.A.
Petracovich, Paper Cup
Rain Perry, The Compartmentalized Thing
Gringo Star, Shadow
Persephone’s Bees, Muzika Dlya Fil’ma
Picture Me Broken, Darwin’s Song
International Waters, I’m in Love With the Oni Gallery
Picnic, I’ll Be There
The Pieces, What You Want
Gem Club, Twins
Pizzicato Five, Love’s Theme
Alphabet Soup, Episode 13, 26 November 2011 Playlist
November 26, 2011Mt. Eerie, Julie Doiron & Fred Squire, Flaming Home
Night Driving in Small Towns, Come & Tell Me
Nneka, Mind Vs. Heart
The No-No’s, Adorable Combustible
The New Pornographers, Up in the Dark
Marissa Nadler, Baby I Will Leave You in the Morning
The Newloud, Out of Control
Joanna Newsom, En Gallop
Nina Nastasia & Jim White, Late Night
Nazzcar Rain Delay, Imaginary Friends
Negativland/Chumbawamba, C is for Stupid
Kate Nash, I’ve Got a Secret
Nerdkween, Afterward
Meshell Ndegeocello, Slaughter
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, Duchess
Joel’s Hit Show, Episode 133, 26 November 2011 Playlist
November 26, 2011Katie Johnson, Pocket Full of Posies
Jared Mees & the Grown Children, Inaudible Song II
Kevin Devine, Between the Concrete & Clouds
Firehorse, Puppet
Fun., We Are Young
Class Actress, Missed
Hess Is More, Burn
Dreamers of the Ghetto, Night Hawks
Mr. Gnome, House of Circles
Louise Burns, Chinook (Sing from the Valley of Doubt)
The Do, Gonna Be Sick!
The Lower 48, Golden Shore
Sarah Jaffe, Clementine
Anomie Belle, Bodies Offering
My Brightest Diamond, We Added It Up
Girl in a Coma “Exits & All the Rest”
November 13, 2011It’s always nice to review another record from the same act because then you can see how the band has matured. It’s almost like when a band releases a new album.
At any rate, Girl in a Coma have done a lot of homework since their last effort. Although the sound is still distinctly them, as well as San Antonio, home of such luminaries as Naked Rob, there’s nothing to make you cringe.
You could even say the band knows how to adjust on the first track, “Adjust.” It reminds me of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, before they signed with a major. And before you forget where the band’s name comes from — it’s a Smiths song — get ready to enjoy “Smart.” It has that ’80s modern rock guitar, mixed with wee bits of Dashboard Confessional and Smashing Pumpkins. This shepherd’s pie of a song is a new instant favorite of mine. It puts the “pen” and the “us” in stupendous. Most songs can only do one.
“So” slows it down, but the song does well with it. The vocals are mixed superbly here. All the songs with short titles are the best. I also like “Hope.” It has drums that remind me of U2’s “New Year’s Day.”
“Sly” is the other track I recommend. It builds and builds over five-plus minutes, and then it’s done. Yet somehow it works.
Terra Lightfoot “Terra Lightfoot”
November 13, 2011It’s a she, not a band, but her band, like her, is probably from Canada. “Straight Line” sounds like three other CDs I’ve reviewed today. For those who aren’t here (i.e., not my cat), let me put it in other terms: She sounds like Julie Doiron or Caroline Smith. Better?
Danielle Howle and Blair Tefkin fans alike will like “Sleep Away the Winter.” You don’t have to sing like a girl or farmer’s market songstress to be proficient in the indie rock department, and this track is proof.
“Foxes” is a well-balanced track that defines Terra Lightfoot quite accurately. A subdued banjo peeks in and out during the four-plus minutes. I also like “Parking Lot.” It’s truly paradise.
The last track is “Creases.” It is stringier but otherwise like the rest of the tracks. In retrospect, maybe all the songs sound a little alike, but so what? At least they’re repeating a sound that works.
The Decemberists “Long Live the King”
November 13, 2011I know their fans hate it when I say it, but Colin Meloy, today’s James Taylor, is back with an EP. “E. Watson” is first and does what the Decemberists do so well: tell stories.
“Foregone” reminds me of the Jayhawks. Death Cab for Cutie fans will appreciate “Burying Davy.” That’s my favorite on this record. A treat is the home demo of “I4U & U4Me.” This sounds like James to me, and I do appreciate the Circle K shout out.
If you want something a little more country, give “Row Jimmy” a spin. The last track is “Sonnet.” I have no idea whether the lyrics actually are one.
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan “YT//ST”
November 13, 2011Ha. Every time I see “noh wave” I giggle. But that is what they call this stuff. Proof that modern Japanese music doesn’t have to be J-pop, these guys gives us weird, brooding dream pop with progressive chords. “Queens” is like Cocteau Twins if they did prog rock.
“Reversal Crystal//Murder of a Spider” is very proggy. Good stuff for progtologists everywhere. (That’s keyword density right there, folks.) The other track I like is “A Star Over Pureland.” Wailing guitar and wailing vocals for your wailing souls. This song hits you like a shark attack. There’s not a lot of selling here. You’re either into that opera/prog sound or you’re not.
The Devil Makes Three “Stomp and Smash”
November 13, 2011I used to work with this sweet old lady named Veronica Davis. Her son opened for The Devil Makes Three at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. It was a favor to him I guess that they asked him to open for them (enough pronouns?), and so now I will return the favor on his behalf and review this record.
The Devil Makes Three are your standard banjo-based, hardly strictly bluegrass band, if there ever were one, with an edge. “Statesboro Blues” is a good introduction to the genre if you have no clue.
This is a live album (recorded at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma), by the way, which gives you all the proof you need that this band has actual fans. Similar to Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” there’s a large segment of the population that wishes things were like they were in the perceived good ol’ days, and that same segment loves shit like this. Give “Tow” a spin and reminisce about days that probably never existed, even if your grandpappy says otherwise.
“Graveyard” makes me think of what the Eagles would sound like if they had been a little bit country. I enjoyed “They Call That Religion” even if the song is just preaching to the choir. Actually, it’s much deeper than that, but with such a polarizing title, no one will notice.
You can get jiggy with “Black Irish,” which is probably racially insensitive, but those are the risks you take with puns. Actually, it’s one of the best tracks on here.
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