New Music Tuesday - 03/06/2012

Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself

Multi-instrumentalists always amaze me a bit. The idea of, not only being able to play a myriad of instruments, but also be able to play them all well is just incredible to me. Andrew Bird is one of those amazing artists. This is his seventh album (tenth if you count the "Bowl of Fire" releases, eleventh for the Norman soundtrack), but nothing about his work feels tired or overdone, which he's accomplished without much reinventing of his wheel. If anything, this feels somewhat more upbeat than past work. Not a huge or detrimental change, but still a very welcome one!
"Eyeoneye"

Magnetic Fields - Love at the Bottom of the Sea

Magnetic Fields probably have one of the most distinctive sounds in indie rock, one that would take about two second to recognize, even if your exposure to the band was minimal. The band and its members have been fairly prolific. They're last studio album was released in 2010 and lead singer Stephin Merritt released a solo record just last year. The most endearing thing about this band, for me, are the lyrics, kinda cheeky and descriptive, something they haven't managed to lose during their time together and certainly not here!
"Andrew in Drag"

Pond - Beard, Wives, Denim

Pond is the side project (though may have actually come before) of two of the four members of Tame Impala. They have a very similar sound, a psychedelic rock base. I generally dislike it when side projects don't veer much from the primary band's sound, but both acts are relatively new, so I welcome as much as that sound as they will create right now!
"Mystery"

White Rabbits - Milk Famous

One of my absolute favorite bands; I fell in love with Fort Nightly and, although it took me longer, It's Frightening. I had the chance to see them live back in December. At the time, I wasn't sure how I felt about their new songs, a trepidation that continued into my first couple of listens to Milk Famous. I think I've decided that I love it, though. It's garnered some well-deserved comparisons to Spoon (for me, it recalls Transference the most), but they manage to pull in that influence without sounding like a copy-cat of the band. The vocals don't hold the same strength as they did on the last two albums, but lyrically, they just keep getting better. I like where they are going with their sound!
"Heavy Metal"

Xiu Xiu - Always

I'm not actually that familiar with Xiu Xiu's past work, I was going to see them during the MidPoint Music Festival, but the venue was full for them, so I missed out. I've never found the time to really check them out since, so this is my introduction (I say that a lot with some of the established bands I speak of here). Although I'm only a few songs in, I do like their sound. Their discography is daunting, though. Only ten years, and they've put out nine albums, one live album, one compilation and an EP...that's a lot to catch up on!
"Beauty Towne"

Yellow Ostrich - Strange Land

Another of my recent favorites, Yellow Ostrich released one of my 20 favorite albums last year and were definitely my favorite new discovery of the year. The album announcement seemed to come out of nowhere, especially coming on the heels of a re-release of the first album and all the buzz around that release. I had some concern approaching this released of how well Alex Schaapf would be able to retain his sound while expanding into a more fully-realized band, but the transition has been handled perfectly. It benefits from a larger band, but still has many of the elements that made his music so charming in the first place!
"Marathon Runner"

Sharon van Etten at the Wexner Center for the Arts

In the absence of a Valentine's Day date, it is still very important to find something to do with the evening. For me, that was seeing an artist I absolutely love perform live in Columbus, OH. That artist was Sharon van Etten, who performed with opener Shearwater at the Wexner Center on OSU's campus.

Shearwater was on first and it was a great opportunity for me to get to know this band better. I had only recently started listening to their music, specifically The Golden Archipelago, due to their connection to Okkervil River, who created one of my favorite albums last year. They had released a new album, Animal Joy, just that day, so I hadn't had much of a chance to listen to that at the time.

Though knowing the band produces a high-quality level of music and having high expectations, they still managed to blow my mind away. The lead singer, Jonathan Meiburg, has a deep, powerful voice (actually similar, I think, to Will Sheff's voice....hmmmm) and the songs have this great theatrical quality to them.

Given their amazing show, they have come pretty close to being favored over Okkervil River, though it's still too early to tell. I was, however, compelled enough by what I heard to shake John's hand after the show and buy a copy of their new record!

Next on was Sharon van Etten. I had seen her live once before, at the MusicNow Festival in Cincinnati and already knew what a great (and nervous) presence that she had on stage. She first exhibited her personality as I was snapping pictures of her and her band setting up. She looked up and gave me a smile, which just further cemented the image in my mind of her as an artist truly appreciative of her fans.

Sharon released a new album, Tramp, earlier this year; one that's probably my early favorite (as in #1!) of the year and she mainly performed songs from that release. Despite a fairly sunny disposition, many of her songs drip with heartbreak, which was evident from the moment she opened her mouth on the first song of her set.

She was able to transition almost seamlessly between the pain in her music and a more jovial, lighthearted banter on stage, without it feeling awkward. Almost as amazing as her music is her personality and she's only gotten better at showing it onstage as time goes on (although I really only have two data points).

She's performing in a couple of months in my college town, Bloomington, IN. There's a good chance that I'll see her again there!

Mini setlist:

Shearwater - "Animal Life" (from Animal Joy)

Shearwater - "Castaways" (from The Golden Archipelago)

Sharon van Etten - "Serpents" (from Tramp)

Sharon van Etten - "Love More" (from Epic)

Cloud Nothings - "No Future/No Past"

Cloud Nothings' Attack on Memory is an easy early contender for this year's best-of list and "No Future/No Past" is probably tied as my favorite track on the album (with "Fall In"). It's a slow builder, repeating the same line for much of the song, but getting louder as it goes on before an incredible climax. The song is accompanied by one of the more interesting music videos I've ever seen, showing a middle-aged man getting dragged around by some unseen force.

New Music Tuesday - 02/28/2012

Fanfarlo - Rooms Filled with Light

I loved this band's first album because it felt like an updated version of Neutral Milk Hotel's iconic brand of indie rock. It was a strong folk sound with extensive use of unconventional instrumentation. With this second album, they do seem to be exploring a different direction with their sound. It's a somewhat difficult transition for established fans, as it seems to do away with that instrumentation in favor of synthesized, more electronic sounds. It still contains a healthy dose of charm, though!
"Shiny Things"

Memoryhouse - The Slideshow Effect

Dream pop really seemed to have its moment in 2010, but made way last year for more distorted sounds with the same synth-heavy base. It seems we will be getting a mini-resurgence this spring (see this and the next album on this list). While it can feel a little bit passé, I don't know if the genre was fully explored before the blogosphere moved on, so it's a welcome return. Memoryhouse is relatively new to the game; this is their debut album, though they released an EP last year. I guess we'll see how the newbies stack up against the more experienced dreamers this week!
"Walk with Me"

School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

This is the more established of the two dream pop bands releasing new albums this week. This will be their third album and first following the departure of founding member and lead singer's twin sister, Claudia Deheza. While they released their debut in 2008, their sophomore effort came out during the great dream pop surge of 2010. They weren't my absolute favorite of the genre, but I'm hoping the creative changes necessitated by a departure are enough to really shake up their sound.
"The Night"

Best One-Album Wonders

A music-loving coworker of mine issued a challenge to me for my blog, to name the five best artists who only released one album before calling it quits. Should be easy enough, there are many musicians who just, for one reason or another, never made it past a debut. There were, of course, some constraints to make this list a little bit harder.

1. Those that died before releasing followup material do not count. I guess the assumption here is that, if they hadn't passed, they would have released more albums.
2. Side projects are also excluded. Many musicians do side projects, many of which may only encompass one album. They do not count since, unless they developed into full bands, they are usually just diversions.
3. The band must be broken up. New artists that have only released one album so far are excluded, since we can assume that they will release more. Thankfully, bands that broke up, then re-united years later may be able to count as long as it seems that the reunion won't lead to a new album.

Alright, so those rules make it a little harder, but I have scoured by iTunes library and present my four (I couldn't come up with a fifth) favorite one-album wonders:

The La's - The La's

The La's were a Liverpudlian alternative rock band that were a bit of a precursor to the Brit-Pop of the mid-90s. They released their first and only album, The La's in 1990 after six years together. They broke up two years later following the departure of bassist John Power. While they've reunited three times since, including last year, no followup album has been forthcoming.
"There She Goes"

The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols pretty much personify the image of a band that burns bright and fast. They released one studio album of angry, anarchic punk rock, and fairly promptly disbanded. Perhaps their longevity wasn't written in the cards, with Johnny Rotten's off-the-handle attitude and Sid Vicious's self-destructiveness. Vicious died not long after the group disbanded and Rotten never seemed able to accept praise for the band, implying little desire or ability for a follow up.
"Anarchy in the U.K."

Frou Frou - Details

I don't know if this might technically count as a side project rather than a single-album band, but many of my favorite Imogen Heap songs were created with Guy Sigsworth in tow. In many ways, it's stylistically similar to her solo work, with a folk meets electronic sound. I count it here since it is some of my favorite music from her and seems to be where she really started to get attention as a musician. At most, unreleased demos have been promised from the duo, but no real releases. Heap, however, has released two albums since the end of the band in 2003, with a third forthcoming this year.
"Let Go"

The Pattern - Real Feelness

A coworker from way back in my days of working for an on-campus caterer introduced me to this band, in fact, he swore by them. I don't know if I've developed quite the same love for them, but they have a genuinely enjoyable brand of garage rock. They formed in 2000 and released one album. The drummer left the band in 2003, which seemed to do the band in. They officially disbanded about a year later. All members have been active in other projects; there's been little talk of The Pattern since.
"Fragile Awareness"

New Music Tuesday - 02/21/2012

Frankie Rose - Interstellar

Frankie Rose is a past member of two stellar (pun intended) girl bands, Vivian Girls and the Dum Dum Girls. Those girl pop band elements are present even in her solo work. This seems to exist somewhere between that and a synthy, ethereal sound, kinda like Zola Jesus with a lighter voice. It's nice to see someone finally doing something different with the throwback girl band sound.
"Gospel/Grace"

Grimes - Visions

There's something incredibly fascinating about Grimes' music. The electronic beats mixed with a airy, child-like vocals are something that should be incredibly annoying and difficult to listen to, but the result is incredible. I feel like this is music I could put on repeat and not tire of too quickly, I'd probably just be dancing around a lot!
"Oblivion"

Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It

Deeply personal, this guy's music carries a lot of baggage in it. He throws all his emotions and liberal allusions to a troubled past in his music. Performed at barely a whimper, it's definitely not dance or party music. Just an introspective look at another person's life.
"Hood"

Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

I think this is my "going to the record store day" release. Early listens are pretty incredible. They've taken their signature loud, guitar- and reverb-heavy sound and managed to soften it up without losing their sound. It's more melodic, more listenable and they seem to really be developing a signature, sustainable sound.
"Comeback Kid"

Jeopardy's Going Indie

I am a religious Jeopardy viewer; I watch it every night I'm able. I've gotten pretty good in most of the categories, though I certainly need to brush us on Shakespeare and opera. I rock modern music categories, though, especially when with ridiculously simpler answers like these:



Who is Fleet Foxes?




Who is Best Coast?

And they won!

Who is Bon Iver?


I took the online test a few weeks ago, but have yet to hear back. If they keep asking questions like this, though, I'm golden. Just waiting for the callback...