The Various Voices of Hoover(phonic)

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings

Up until today, I thought that Geike Arnaert was the only singer Hooverphonic ever had. I was wrong. Pleasantly wrong, at that.

Their original lead singer now goes by Suzanina, but on  A New Sterephonic Sound Spectacular, she went by Liesje Sadonius. A quick Google search finds that she has a 4-track release, Heavenly Juice. I can’t find a CD for it on any of the normal CD-selling sites, but it’s on Amazon and iTunes. The title is perfect for the music. It reminds me of the first time I had a fresh off-the-tree peach. Nothing store-bought or chemically treated, this peach was succulent, flavorful and alive. Eating it was the closest thing I could imagine to fruit-utopia. Suzanina’s music reminds me of the peach. It’s just as succulent, the music explodes on my ears like the peach juice on my tastebuds, and it really is just that heavenly to listen to. To quote my wife as she’s sitting behind me playing Tetris on her phone, “Man … you really do find some cool music.” Yes I do, sweetie. Yes I do. 🙂

Did you know that Geike Arnaert has moved on from Hooverphonic? I mean, I knew … but did you? She’s working on solo material that isn’t going to be out for a while, but I’m excited to see what she comes up with. She didn’t have a very large role contributing to Hooverphonic other than her vocals (but what she did contribute was divine), so what she comes up with musically is leaving me extremely curious. Her site is “currently under construction,” so keep an eye out for when it comes back up.

Meanwhile, Hooverphonic is alive and well. With the departure of Geike, they picked up Noemie Wolfs. They released The Night Before in Europe late last year. Amazon has imports, but that’s it. Truthfully, this CD probably won’t appeal to the Blue Wonder Powder Milk Hooverphonic fans, but make no mistake about it–this CD is good. Unfortunately, that’s about all that can be said for it. It’s definitely more organic and stripped down than past Hooverphonic CDs. In place of synthesizers and keyboards, we’re given pianos, actual guitars and strings. It’s not a bad combo, but it’s such a departure from the group who, for 12 years, has been giving us sound-sampled synth-pop. To shift gears like this is almost the equivalent of throwing the car in reverse and backing away from where they should be heading.

Ahh … but there’s the rub. I’m putting my expectations of what I think the band should be producing. And make no mistake about it–I am most definitely not in the band. If I were to listen to this CD without a band name attached to it, I would definitely rate it higher than I currently do with the Hooverphonic brand affixed. Which kind of makes me question my rating system. I mean, that’s a total bias. And I really need to leave that at the door.

Anyway, there ya go. Hooverphonic. Gotta love ’em.

http://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Juice/dp/B003TXQG58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1299036105&sr=8-1

New Music: Weekend Edition

/ / New Music, rantings

Interestingly enough, I don’t know if this can qualify for “new music” since it’s been sitting on my tower, waiting to be ripped for about a month or more. Truthfully, I don’t remember when I bought it. Oh well. They’re still new to me, right? RIGHT!? So here’s the list (so far):

  • Gray Does Matter – How to Make Millions in Real Estate
  • Ric Ocasek – Troublizing
  • Old Hickory – Other Eras … Such as Witchcraft
  • Ridel High – Emotional Rollercoaster
  • Mumble & Peg – Wondering in Volume
  • Olympus Mons
  • Dan Sartain – San Sartain vs. the Serpientes
  • Magnapop – Fire All of Your Guns at Once
  • Mysteries of Life – Come Clean
  • Year Future
  • B.L.A.M. – The Blam
  • Snow Patrol – Songs for Polar Bears
  • Mighty John Henry – Hot Air Head
  • The Honeydogs – Seen a Ghost
  • Danielle Howle and the Tantrums – Do a Two Sable
  • WIld Sweet Orange – We Have Cause To Be Uneasy
  • Maximum Balloon
  • Chin Up Chin Up – This Harness Can’t Ride Anything
  • The Frames – Black Forest
  • An Angle – And Take It with a Grain of Salt
  • Animal Collective – Grass

I’m familiar with The Honeydogs, Snow Patrol, M&P, Animal Collective, and Ric Ocasek. Other than that, I have no idea what the rest is like. I’ve spun a few random sampling tracks from a couple of these, such as Danielle Howle, Magnapop, Olympus Mons … all of it sounded pretty good so far. Tomorrow I’ll listen to some of this at work and see what happens.

And Now for Something Completely Pomplamoose

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings, review

So … yah. This is the specifc reason I live for finding new music. I’m fairly confident I’m late to the scene with these guys, but better late than never. Right?

I’ve been kind of tweeting/facebooking/blog-commenting back and forth with a certain writer out in San Francisco. Every so often, this “Pomplamoose” band name would pop up, and I’d think, “Hmm. Wonder what they’re like.” This volley string has been going on for several weeks. Finally, tonight, I asked about them. She pointed me to a couple of websites, I grabbed the music, and checked out a few videos on YouTube.

I’ve had one other band hit me with the force that these guys have: Muse. Not that they’re at all like Muse; the styles are radically different. Muse is Muse. Pomplamoose … wow. The voice. The beauty of the music. Ignore the fact that the music is pure, organic, and just flat-out amazing. Check the YouTube channel, fer cryin’ out loud. Remember when MTV didn’t suck? Remember how they used to play videos? These are the kinds of videos they should be playing. They’re FUN! And you can tell that they had a lot of fun making them. I’d love to see if their live show is similar to one of these videos. Incredible work.

So who exactly is Pomplamoose?

They are Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. Their Facebook page says “Northern California” for the location, but I’m guessing that they’re at least close to San Francisco. I could be wrong. I have my reasons for thinking this, but it’s just speculation on my part. Where they are isn’t necessarily important, for that matter. What does matter is their incredible music. Jack’s over-exuberant drum playing, shot from different angles, is a blast to watch. His enthusiasm for everything is infectious and inspiring. Nataly’s voice is pure platinum. I would try to compare her to Feist, but it’s not a fair comparison. Feist doesn’t do her own harmonies. Nataly does. Granted, it’s done over various takes, but ya know what? It sounds awesome.

Three of my favorite tracks so far “Expiration Date,” “Little Things,” and “Centrifuge.” “Little Things” discusses what it really is that makes love great. “Saying that my cooking’s great while you try to hide a stomache ache, you really didn’t have to … Loves the little things that changes everything.” That line is just great. And all their songs are filled with cool lyrics.

To provide you with an example of what their videos are like, check out “Centrifuge.” I love the different angles of everyone who’s contributing. I love that they use an upgraded version of a kid’s xylophone. Around 2:16 they start all these awesome little dances. FUN! Also … watch for the sax solo. Even more fun.

Their music is happy. It’s bright. It’s shiny. They remind me of the Weepies; it’s almost impossible not to smile while listening to either of them. Above all, they’re fun. They’re fun to listen to, they’re fun to watch … I can only imagine what a live show would be like.

So there it is. Pomplamoose–a great find! File this under “shake” cuz you’re gonna want to get up and move!

 

 

 

Review: Radiohead – The King of Limbs

/ / New Music, review

Holy crap. Really? A day early?! The news is all over the place: Facebook, Twitter … Radiohead had nothing else going on today, so why wait until tomorrow to release their newest masterpiece?

And why indeed! For those of you who have heard “Lotus Flower,” you’ll know the excitement and anticipation this CD holds. One of my favorite songs of theirs is “Everything In Its Right Place.” For some reason, this song kind of has that vibe to it. LOVE LOVE *LOVE* this song.

For those of you who have been living under a musical rock aren’t familiar with Radiohead, a brief history is in order. The band consists of Thom Yorke, who handles the vocals, Jonny Greenwood on guitars and occasional keyboards, Ed O’Brien on guitars, Colin Greenwood providing bass and synth work, and Phil Selway on the drums. King of Limbs is their 8th studio recording, and if it’s anything like their previous works, you’ll want to grab this. Like … now.

Yet you’re still reading this. Why?! Why are you buying this RIGHT NOW?!

As I’ve discussed in previous posts, more and more bands are doing their own marketing and distribution. Radiohead is no exception. They’re jazzing it up for the “newspaper version.” Check out what all is included at the link above. I ponied up the $48 for that one, and I would strongly recommend that you do the same. For one, it comes with a CD, which I can then rip to wav if I want. For another, vinyl. Clear. Making a HUGE comeback. For the audiophile purist, vinyl is the way to go.

However, if you’re not into the ancillary peripherii, the $9 and $14 for mp3 and wav respectably is a great way to go. Either way, you’ll get your digital copy of the new CD immediately. Or, well … as fast as your throttled high-speed internet provider will allow (I’m spitting in your general direction, Comcast.).

So how does the new CD sound? What’s it like?

On one hand, it’s a rich, deep, haunting CD. At the same time, there is a more minimalistic approach than in Radiohead CDs of the past. By “minimalistic,” by no means do I mean that the music is sub-standard. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a pure sound to this that

“Bloom,” the first track, is a eargasmic trip into a soundscape that these little Apple earbuds simply do not do justice. I really need my Bose headphones back … *sigh*. Oh well. With the effect this song has had on me the two times I’ve listened to it, I’d swear that it’s binaural, but I can’t be positive. I do know that it’s extremely mellow and relaxing.

Compared to “Morning Mr. Magpie,” that is, which starts off, “You got some nerve, coming here. You stole it all … give it back.” There’s a very low-level feel of angst and just a hint of pissed-off-edness to keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the song to explode … and it never does. It maintains the air of “I’m going to kick your ass … maybe” throughout the entire song.

“Codex” is a fantastic piano piece that will haunt you until the day you die. There’s a warm mix of traditional piano, synth, a very subdued, possibly drum machine bass, and of course, Thom’s crooning. Mid-way through, there’s some synthetic horn sounds that mixes really well with the song. Overall, it’s a really peaceful piece.

You know my MO … I’m not reviewing every song. I will say this: If you’ve liked the last few Radiohead CDs, this one will grow on you really fast. This one is to be enjoyed with a a drink, dim lights, and a good pair of headphones or a fantastic home stereo. If you’re the brandy-sipping type, you might want to pour yourself a glass, sit back in your favorite chair, kick your feet up, and just chill with this. You’ll find yourself hitting repeat and zoning out for hours.

New Foo For You

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings

Just for fun, I typed #music in twitter’s search field on my phone. The first hit that came up was from @hennemusic. What good news is this! Foo Fighters announce new album details? Read the article on his website here. Not sure where he gleaned his info, but it’s pretty detailed.

I knew that something was in the works, but this is more info than I’ve seen anywhere.  So this is great news! They’re a phenomenal act to catch live. Here’s hoping a tour comes by your neck of the woods. If not, save up your gas money and hit the road. Nothing like a good drive to a “foreign” city to check out incredible music, right?  

Awesome. April 12. Good day to be a Foo fan!

Ahmed El Shazli: Egyptian Musician

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings

All of the sudden, I am 100% enamored with Egyptian EVERYthing. Culture, cuisine, people, music … it stands to reason that I would at least be interested in their music, but it’s not just that. Their whole idea of rebuilding their country from the inside out with NO outside influence … it is so inspirational and amazing to watch.

I started following closely when the whole idea of overthrowing Mubarak took off. I hoped and prayed like mad that it would end well for them. And in the end, it did. It’s opening doors of communication in and out of the country like never before. For example, Twitter was ALL abuzz with news we didn’t get to hear through the traditional media. I read numerous posts from various Tweeters, like Ahmed. He and I have a had a small but meaningful dialog back and forth about him and the goings-on in Tahrir Square. Through this dialog, he pointed me to his website. He plays the piano and violin, and he composes and arranges music.  How amazing is that?!

I would highly encourage everyone to check out his site. On it, he has a player set up that cycles through his compositions. They’re all really amazing work! It sounds like he’s recorded it on his computer with a keyboard of some kind. How he recorded the violin parts is a mystery to me, but I’ll find out. Super impressed that he can do this. What I really like is that there seems to be an ethnic influence in the compositions, which is exactly what I was looking for–classical music compositions with an Egyptian influence.

This is the kind of music I want to “discover.” This, current Egyptian music, Egyptian rock, folk, indie … if they have those genres or an equivalent. This is what I want to find. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

More Upcoming Music for 2011

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings, upcoming music

I was really just looking for music coming out this week. Instead, I got a pretty large list of things coming out for this year. Check out this link. Isn’t that sweet?! It may or may not be comprehensive. I’m betting it’s not, but it’s a healthy-sized list regardless.

Of interest to me are:

  • Motorhead (actually came out yesterday)
  • Bright Eyes
  • The Dears
  • Mogwai
  • Sonic Youth
  • Dropkick Murphys
  • R.E.M.
  • Green day
  • Soundgarden (*really* stoked for this one!)
  • Mountain Goats
  • The Kills
  • Vivian Girls
  • Lady Gaga*

I’m sure I’ll become excited for more of those bands as I start researching them and seeing what they have to offer, but for now, my list from now until the end of April is looking pretty healthy. Not to mention the unscheduled-yet-semi-confirmed list!

Two interesting CDs from the no-date-confirmed list are from The Cars and Human Leauge. I thought that Human League had all but fallen off the face of the earth. Not too far from it … they’ve only released 3 CDs since 1986’s Crash gave us the hit “Human.” The Cars, on the other hand … they haven’t released a studio CD since 1987, if I remember right. The notable absence on this new release will be Benjamin Orr, who passed away in 2000 from cancer. I’m curious to hear how this new CD sounds without him.

Anyway, happy perusing. I hope your favorite band is on the list!

*yes, crystal … that was my little joke to you. 😉

Review: Yanni – Truth of Touch

/ / New Music, Opinion, review

You all thought I was kidding when I told you I have a wide range of musical taste. Admit it. You thought I was just kidding.

Wrong. See?

And I’m more than qualified to write this review as more than just someone listening to his music for the first time cuz I own almost everything he’s ever made. Well, studio recordings, anyway. Not all the compilation discs, because what’s the point? I’m talking Niki Nana, Chameleon Days, Keys to Imagination … old-school Yanni.

It all started when I was living in Virginia Beach back in 1992. I had some pretty stringent rules that I was living by. One of which was that I could only listen to instrumental music. The guy I was living with had some interesting stuff: Tangerine Dream, Lanz and Spears, solo David Lanz stuff … and this guy named Yanni. My buddy recorded Yanni’s Reflections of Passion on one side of a 45 minute tape. Of course, I lost the last couple tracks and a portion of the last song on the recorded tape, but at least I had them.

Anyway, as I got more into CD collecting and music in general, I decided that his music is collection-worthy. By that, I don’t mean that his music is worthy to be in my collection … I mean that his music is worth collecting. I’m not that arrogant. 😉 So I picked up Dare To Dream, which had jus barely been released.

And that was that. Yah, I like Tool, and I really get into Metallica’s old stuff … I also have times where I like to chill. You’ll be hard-pressed to find more chill music than Yanni’s.

So how does the new CD rate?

After 2 tracks in, I knew he had another winner on his hands. The sounds are lush, full, and the music is as entrancing as it has always been. If there is one thing that can be said of Yanni, it is that he has the uncanny ability to convey the feeling of the song through the music. Almost every other artist requires lyrics to convey their meaning. Yanni’s music is the lyrics. You know exactly what he is trying to bring across. This has always been, and it always will be.

The CD starts off with the title track – “Truth of Touch.” Just from the key the music is written in, to the chosen melody, the accompanying bass line, the background strings … you can feel the truth of … of ….. well, everything. I know that sounds cheesy. Really … I do. But it’s the truth! No pun intended. This song is full of happiness and peaceful warm fuzzies … like you’ve just come out of the surf from swimming with turtles and clown fish, and you’re ready to sit in and dry yourself with warmth and sunshine.

“Echo of a Dream,” the second track on the CD, will very much make you question your own state of being. “Am I awake? Did I drift off ? How did I end up in this ethereal state …?” A lot of the sounds on this track seem to have an almost binaural effect … setting your mind to relaxation mode as you ride those alpha waves to a state of relaxation and tranquility. Put this on repeat, and you’ll probably be out within two or three rounds.

Conversely, “Vertigo” slams into the song with a force akin to free-falling from a rooftop and landing  on your back on the cement below. Again, the chords, the instrumentation, the beat … you get the feeling like you’re lost in space and tumbling endlessly through a void, yet you have that nagigng feeling like you’re going to hit a wall at some point … you just don’t know when.

As the CD progresses, some of the later tracks have a kind of Hooverphonic, Enigma sound to them. It’s different from anything I’ve ever heard him do. You could almost dance to some of this stuff.

There are some suprises on this CD, but I’m going to let you discover those on your own. Who am I to spoil anything?

I am not at all surprised that he’s been around these 25+ years, consistently coming up with new music. He has a style that is at once so unique yet so familiar that he becomes  his own enigmatic doppleganger. How someone is able to this much music on his own over the course of 14 CDs is amazing to me. Yes–there are similar elements from previous works. That doesn’t mean that these songs are not incredibly fresh and incredible. He maintains an air of familiarity, yet also re-invents himself with just about every new release.
File this under “shiver,” for you will get goosebumps when you listen to this.

Review: Malatese EP

/ / New Music, Opinion, review, upcoming music

Well, today was rather interesting. As you’ll recall, I recently reviewed the Gypsy Death and You EP. WHO, by the way, made it on the newest NWShoegazing compilation! Congratulations to Alex and Emily! Excellent cover, excellent band. Again, if you haven’t checked them out, do it! They’re on muxtape.

Malatese is Jon Reed (drums), Graham Brouder (bass, vocals), Travis Legg (vocals), and George Dodson (guitar). They’re from Harrisonburg, Virginia.

So apparently Gypsy Death and You are friends with the guys from Malatese. I’m assuming they read my review of the GDaY EP because they very kindly sent me a link to their music to check out. Here are my thoughts.

My wife is with me, listening to their stuff as well. Her first reaction to “Time Mask,” the first song on the EP, was that they have a somewhat similar sound to really early U2 from about 34 seconds in. I mean, we’re talking Boy-era U2–not The Joshua Tree type material. So, you know … that’s a pretty good thing. I think it is, anyway. She also compared their sound to Weezer. I didn’t get that from their sound, but to each their own, right? I think they have a much more aggressive sound than either of those two band. Not violently aggressive … just aggressive. As in, “Hey guitar … I’m gonna pwn you. Just get used to it.” Or “You are *my* drum kit. You *will* obey me!” You know … stuff like that.

The first thing that strikes me is how well balanced the mixing is, even though it’s obvious this wasn’t recorded in a professional studio. Despite that, the drums sound as raw as if you were sitting right in front of them; the bass comes through with a very prominent distinction. I’m pretty sure I’m hearing two guitars here. Now … I don’t know if this is on purpose or not, but one of them sounds a hair out of tune. If that was on accident, whoops. If it was on purpose, congratulations–you’ve stumbled on some kind of sonic dissonance that doesn’t suck–in fact, it’s actually pretty damn cool. Edit: Uneless I’m mis-reading their email, there is but one guitar. Guess I need to break out the headphones instead of listening on iTunes.

“Heaven Would Melt” has me scratching my head. During the chorus, there’s some kind of squawking falsetto screaming that I can’t quite … get. It just doesn’t seem to fit the song. Now … to be fair, in the interest of full disclosure, with the kind of muted vocals and over-emphasized distorted guitars, it’s a bit hard to make out all the lyrics, so the squawk shrieking might very well be completely relevant. However, I have no idea.

Remember The Misfits? Ever heard of Samhain? Yah … there’s a very Glenn-Danzig-meets-Jim-Morrison kind of quality to the singer’s voice and style. For the music, it totally fits. I’m liking it.

One thing the band told me when they wrote and said, “Let us know of any comments you have, for we did everything ourselves and won’t turn down any kind of feedback.” I have one suggestion: find a way to get some funding for a professional studio because I would *love* to hear what you guys can do with some better recording equipment. I mean that with all the respect I have for what you’ve accomplished so far. Your sound is raw and raging, and I like that. I really do. But you owe it to yourselves to see what would happen in a professional studio. Hey … ya never know what you can pull off!

So I’m filing this one under “bands to watch.” I don’t know if they’ll ever score a radio hit with their sound, but ya know what? These days, that’s probably a *very* good thing. 🙂 Actually, let me amend that: I can see them becoming a college radio circuit phenomenon. That would be very, very cool cuz most college radio stations don’t play crap, so if they hit that stream, good things will happen.

Online Malatese hang-outs:

Her are some music vids they sent along as well.

Thanks for the music, gentlemen!

Review: Moldover!

/ / New Music, Opinion, review

I know I already posted about this article, but I think it bears mentioning again in that I bought some stuff from reading it.

Namely, Moldover’s CD. If you check out his site, you’ll see why. It’s not rocket science. My copy came in the mail yesterday.

So, for now, we’re going to set aside the fact that the music will make you get up and shake your rump like you are the dance club. Let’s focus on the CD case.

In 2006, the legendary Tool released 10,000 Days with one of the most innovative jewel cases ever conceived. Built into the case was a set of lenses that allowed the user to view the images within the book in stereoscopic 3D. Pictures specifically designed for the CD case, members of the band … insane Alex Gray artwork.

Moldover is no Alex Gray, but he is, if nothing else, at least as innovative and creative. See … his CD case is a printed circuit board. On the board is a button that activates a little piezo speaker and blue LED. Also on the board are two photo diodes that cause the speaker and the LED to react–either by lowering the pitch or by dimming the LED. In essence, the board is its own musical instrument. How cool is that?! It’s battery-operated, so if the board starts acting funky, you can replace the battery for cheap, and you’re back to making music. Or at least squawky light-up music.

There’s a headphone jack to soothe your narcissism and allow others some peace and quiet. Or, if you feel so ambitious

Also etched on the board are the song titles, in typical PCB line fashion. On the inside cover, where the CD sits, there is a maze of lines running all over the board. At least, Ithink it’s a maze. On the left side of the board are two holes. One says “In” while the other one says “Out.” I emailed Moldover to see if my guess is correct, but I haven’t heard back yet. He’s probably off making amazing music or something.

So if you watch that video on his site about how the CD case is a musical instrument unto itself, you automatically assume that all of his music is going to be this trippy squawk stuff. Your assumption would be so far left of right that you couldn’t even prop yourself up on the edge … you would end up tumbling into the other dimension that he specifically created for his music. But when you land, you’d be so happy that you got there, that you wouldn’t care that you were just that wrong.

There’s a diversity to this CD that you can’t really justify expecting if all you based this purchase on was the “buy this CD” video, which is precisely what I did. I fully expected to get this and file it under “Aphex Twin.” Ha ha ha ha ha!

I’m assuming that he plays all his own instruments. I have yet to confirm that. But there’s a lot going on here. Drums, guitar, bass, keyboard, synth … I’m also assuming a lot of it is processed through his home-made device.

There are dance tracks. There are rock tracks. There are melodic, pensive tracks. There are discordant, loud tracks. This has something for practically everyone.

Stand-out tracks:

“Say It.” The Speak’n’Spell track. Using his custom-made sequenceer, he integrated the iconic 80s toy and created a completely melancholy track. Every word he’s asked to spell is filled with hope, dreams and life … of which the machine tells him is wrong. I cannot express how cool this track is. Seriously. This alone should make you buy the CD.

“Slipping In.” The aforementioned rock track. A very Anthrax or RatM-style rap overlaying a metal guitar track. I’m a HUGE fan of the lyrics … in all honesty, he’s no Zach de la Rocha, but he can definitely hold his own. Very cool song.

“Reflex.” A very moody, atmospheric, kind of dark track. I was talking to my 6 year old girl about how she shouldn’t be playing “Nazi Zombies” (Seriously?! Her friend at school asked her if she likes playing that game. WHY would a 6-year old even know that game exists?! It’s not even a game unto itself … it’s a Call of Duty add-on. Just … wow.), and she asked, “Is this the music from that?”

“From … what? The game?”

“Yah.”

“Ha ha. No, honey. This is daddy’s new CD.” Pretty funny. but yah–there’s that dark element to it. I think it has to do with the Hammond organ sound that pervades the whole track, mixed with the bass and freaky noises.

I am so much more than just pleased with this CD on multiple levels. The music itself is amazing. The jewel case is seriously a collector’s item. It’s too cool NOT to own! However, it is $40, so if that’s out of your budget, I would recommend the iTunes version at $9.90. However you manged to obtain this CD, I would suggest you do it as soon as possible.

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