It’s music to trip to — 15 years ago it would have been called “trip-hop.” I don’t know what the kids call it today. What’s odd is how short the tracks are, but maybe that’s how it works now.
“Paper Hearts (So Horny Mix)” is an instrumental until the final five seconds, but it’s good for talking over. “Lullaby” sounds like a Portishead track, although the voice is just a bit too shrill. The Adrian Carter Mix is better although still a bit jarring.
“Wish I” is more along the lines of what I would expect from this act. It sounds like some spacier Everything But the Girl stuff, and the vocals are mixed in a more flattering matter.
There’s not enough of this out there, so it’s a welcome addition, but I hope the next record has more polish.
Pixsid “Atoms Apart”
July 10, 2011The Luyas “Too Beautiful to Work”
July 10, 2011That’s what I’m talking about: female vocals and synth-dominated accompaniment. Not like La Roux but more like Stereolab. It’s so good I can’t write in complete sentences.
The title track leads off and is absolute bliss. If anything the singing could use a little more confidence, but this is picking nits. “Tiny Head” isn’t about flat beer, but it certainly could be. This one is slightly psychedelic.
Fans of Hope Sandoval (lead singer of Mazzy Star) will tweet their love of “Canary.” This song is, er, Topps and a true one-of-one. This one is good with headphones.
Is “Cold Canada” about beer? I mean, one of these songs has to be about beer, right? The accompaniment is more frenetic than on other tracks, so if you wanted the trippy sound of “Tiny Head” with a little more noise, go north, baby.
“Seeing Things” is the last track and is slower and more subdued. All in all it’s a great way to end a fun record. I’m a fan of The Luyas — mark it down.
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion “Bright Examples”
July 10, 2011This one gets me right here. (Imagine where I’m pointing.) Ms. Guthrie knows what her voice can do, and she applies it to the music well. The result is perfectly balanced composition. They go for that She-and-Him-Matt-&-Kim vibe that we all know and love, but that’s fine. They do it the right way.
“Ahead of Myself” sets the tone right off the bat. The music reminds me of Wallflowers, of all things.
If you want something in the Neko Case vein, give “Seven Sisters” a try. These acts always veer into the both-types-of-music vein (that would be country and western) from time to time, but that’s OK. It’s quite believable here.
“Hurry Up and Wait” makes me want to go to the Opera House Casino and get a one-pound chicken fried steak dinner for $5.99. But the difference is that this song isn’t good for a limited time only.
Some songs are made for movie soundtracks, and “Butterflies” is one of them. When Kristen Wiig or one of her ilk is driving around trying to figure out why she always fucks things up, this is the song that plays on the car stereo. If the director is really smart, he tells the sound editor to adjust the sound when the camera shot comes from outside the car.
“Cry Quieter” and the title track are also recommended, although they’re not as good as the tracks mentioned above. There’s a lot to like on this one.
Joel’s Hit Show, Episode 115, 29 June 2011 Playlist
June 29, 2011Emilie Mover, Breakup Medley (Pain & Regret)
Agnes Obel, Close Watch
Esben and the Witch, Light Streams
Sleeper Agent, Get It Daddy
The Shivers, Love Is in the Air
The Lost Years, Deeper and Deeper
Gang Gang Dance, Glass Jar
Ellie Goulding, Lights
The Coathangers, Go Away
Givers, Ceiling of Plankton
The Well Wishers, Goodbye
The Wilderness of Manitoba, Summer Fires
Lemuria, Wise People
Seapony, Blue Star
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, Stick It to the Woman
Benett, Anthemme
Bikini Kill, Rebel Girl
Birds & Batteries, Strange Kind of Mirror
Bettie Serveert, What They Call Love
The Bird and the Bee, Again & Again
Bis, Protection
Thurston Moore – Circulation
Dredg – Upon Turning
Sonic Heavy – Break it Clean
Talky Tina – Don’t Go
Huxtables – Sectional
Simple Jack – Song for Meg
Touch My Rash – Can’t Stand You
Sci Fi Zeros – Jumping Ship
Pour Habit – East 69th
Title Tracks -Forget the Ghost
Queers – Love, Love, Love
Pansy Division – Luv, Luv, Luv
POTUSA – Nuthin But Luv
Electric Frankenstein – Up from the Streets
Death Valley High – Multiply
Unseen – Don’t Look Back
Cliftons – Too High to Die
Shilpa Ray – Hooker
Vampire Weekend – Cousins
Coffin Lids- On the Loose
Anti-Flag – Underground Network
White Pig – Drop Out
Turbo Fruits – Trouble
Gits – Second Skin
Watch Star Trek online on Netflix
June 27, 2011Stream it live (clearly an SEO experiment to see what kind of traffic this drives — sue me).
Agnes Obel “Philharmonics”
June 26, 2011It’s a folky female singer/songwriter. “Riverside,” like many tracks on the record, is good but not great. It has the same piano as “Man in Mind” by Ida. I certainly enjoyed listening to this album, but nothing really popped. Same with “Just So” and “Avenue.” They do sound better than the others, but they doesn’t make me say “wow,” either. Just “yeah — that’s fine.” This is the musical interpretation of “Yes, dear.”
The singer sounds like Poe and Susan Ottaviano (Book of Love), the latter especially on “Close Watch.” This one is my favorite. It seems that when she tries to do less that everything turns out a lot better.
The last track is “On Powdered Ground,” but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with skiing. Bits of PJ Harvey and Rasputina can be overheard here, but it’s subtle. This record isn’t bad, but it’s uninspired.
Emilie Mover “Seems so Long”
June 26, 2011Acoustic singer/songwriter stuff, and she has quite the calming voice. Her melodies use this perfectly, too. “Born in the Wrong Time” has strings that complement the track well.
“Break Up Melody (Pain & Regret)” is so beautiful that I don’t even want to get into a hyphenation debate. She can do whatever she wants when she sounds like this, and that includes the use of ampersands. Sweet holy moly.
Deceptive song titles abound, although it really has more to do with my senseless expectations. There’s no reason a song called “Dance All Night” can’t be about slow dancing. I mean, really, it belongs in an eHarmony commercial. And it’s not even necessarily about slow dancing, but when you see that title, you expect something with a purple sticker or at least a BPM over 100. That’s OK. What matters is that it has pretty harmony during the bridge.
“Mean Man” is the last track and a little slower than the rest, if that’s even possible. Maybe you listen to this one in the morning after binging the night before with a bucket of chicken. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.
This could be one of my favorites of 2011.
Esben and the Witch “Violet Cries”
June 26, 2011They do the British Siouxsie and the Banshees thing, maybe with a little more guitar yet also a little more ethereal, Cocteau Twins style. The opening track, “Argyria,” might be about a country whose major exports are ugly socks and sweaters, but it’s hard to say because there aren’t any discernible lyrics until nearly four minutes have passed.
“Light Streams” is slightly cheerier and exposes their roots. This same song done by Americans would be downright depressing. The percussion is mixed a little higher, and it stands out among the slow tempo. This one sounds more like Cocteau Twins as well.
Fans of reverb and occasional haunting male backing vox will like “Chorea.” The sound is tinnier, but this seems to be intentional. It’s definitely music that belongs in a warehouse because of how it would it would echo. The song possesses me with an urge to buy vinyl.
The other song that accurately represents this record is “Eumenides.” You get a good mix of singing and accompaniment here. No Groupon necessary.
Joel’s Hit Show, Episode 113, 15 June 2011 Playlist
June 16, 2011Givers, Ceiling of Plankton
Jookabox, The Eyes of the Fly
An Horse, Dressed Sharply
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, Stick It to the Woman
The Shivers, Kisses
The Go! Team, Buy Nothing Day
Jessica Lea Mayfield, Blue Skies Again
Mages, Moonshine
The Thoughts, You’re Not Happy Here
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Wrong Time, Wrong Planet
Rachel Goodrich, Let Me Go
Bella Ruse, An Animal a Natural
Asobi Seksu, Sighs
Ear Pwr, National Parks
About Group, Don’t Worry
Dot Allison, In Winter Spill
Allo Darlin’, Silver Dollars
Lily Allen, Cheryl Tweedy
All Girl Summer Fun Band, Becky
The Anniversary, O’ Lady Butterfly
The Amps, Tipp City
An April March, Summers Gone
Angus and Julia Stone, Just a Boy
¡Andale!, Eventually
April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Drop Dead Gorgeous
Olof Arnalds, Klara
ApSci, Under Control
Aroah, Y la Cinta de “Los Bingueros”
Asleep in the Park, Nobody Wants
astroPuppees, Woo Hoo Hoo
Autolux, High Chair
Azure Ray, Don’t Leave My Mind
Audrye Sessions, Nothing Pure Can Stay
Au Revoir Simone, Stars
Bang! Bang! Eche!, 4 to the Floor
Babes in Toyland, Won’t Tell
Bardo Pond, Yellow Turban
Bagheera, Better at Night
Balbec, Drifting
Bangs, Southern Girls
Bambara, Lullay
The Bad Plus Joined by Wendy Lewis, Lithium
Beat Happening, Cast a Shadow
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