New Music Stuff

/ / New Music

Sweet merciful crap. What a list. This is two Fridays and Record Store Day on the 17th, plus some assorted iTunes/Amazon raiding over the last couple weeks. It’s been … well, let’s put it this way: I’ve had more frugal weeks. 🙂

  • Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts
  • Noisettes – What’s the TIme Mr. Wolf
  • Dessa – A Badly Broken Code
  • Paz Lenchantin – Yellow My Sky Captain
  • Las Ketchup – Hijas del Tomate
  • Double – Blue
  • Echo and the Bunnymen – Discography
  • The Gathering – Discography
  • Frente! – Discography
  • Jewel – Discography
  • Bryan Adams – Reckless
  • Letters to Cleo – Discography
  • Madonna – Discography (yes, you are reading that correctly)
  • Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Discography
  • Beth Orton – Discography
  • Moonspell
  • Lois – Maffeo and Brendan Canty – The Union Themes
  • Julie Doiron – Heart and Crime
  • Nedelle – From the Lion’s Mouth
  • Freakwater – Old Paint
  • Heather Duby and Elemental
  • HIM – Sworn Eyes
  • Morcheeba – Charango
  • Morcheeba – The Antidote
  • The Standard – Albatross
  • Spiral Beach – Ball
  • The Von Bondies – Pawn Shoppe Heart
  • Endochine – Day Two
  • Moonraker – Peeg Vater
  • Brothers Creeggan – Discography
  • Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle – Discography
  • Songs Ohia – The Magnolia Electric Co.
  • From Bubblegum to Sky – Nothing Sadder than a Lonely Queen
  • Colour Revolt – Colour Revolt EP
  • Coughs – Secret Passage
  • Blue Bird
  • Juliana Theory – Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat
  • Juliana Theory – Love
  • !!! – Me and Guiliana down by the School Yard
  • Breaking Pangea – Cannon to a Whisper
  • Evangelista – Hello, Voyager
  • Cantinero – Championship Boxing
  • Cat on Form – Structure and Fear
  • Scout Niblett – I Am
  • Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
  • Acid House Kings – Sing Along with Acid House Kings
  • Athlete – Beyond the Neighborhood
  • Jennifer O’Connor – Here with Me
  • Cassettes Won’t Listen – Small-Time Machine
  • Brazilian Girls – Talk to la Bomb
  • The Do – A Mouthful
  • Death by Chocolate
  • Nana Grizol – Love It Love It
  • The Aliens – Astronomy for Dogs
  • Milemarker – Ominosity
  • Vivian Girls
  • The Album Leaf – Seal Beach EP
  • Mumble & Peg – This Ungodly Hour
  • Lovedrug – Everything Starts Where It Ends
  • The Honorary Title – Scream & Light Up the Sky
  • Ambulance Ltd – New English EP
  • The Blakes
  • Blake Babies – God Bless the Blake Babies
  • House & Parish – One, One Thousand
  • Howlin’ Rain – Magnificent Fiend
  • Annie Haden – The Enemy of Love
  • The Lovely Sparrows – Bury the Cynics
  • Das Oath – Mini LP
  • The Elevator Drops – People Mover
  • Dulcesky – Lands
  • Dulcesky – Film EP
  • Mara – It’s Who I Am
  • The Graduate – Anhedonia
  • I Like Trains – Progress Reform
  • The Lovely Feathers – Fantasy of the Lot
  • The Geometrid – Looper
  • Lansing-Dreiden – The Dividing Island
  • Kilowatt Hours – The Bright Side
  • Manchester Orchestra – Live at Park Ave.
  • The Ms – Furture Women
  • Hayden – The Closer I Get
  • David and Naomi – The Wondrous World of Damon and Naomi
  • Dressy Bessy – Electrified
  • AM Syndicate – Empire
  • Cart!  – DEMO
  • Holopaw
  • Hor – A Faster, More Aggressive Hor

See?! Told ya the list was sick. I believe the term is “binge.”

In light of today’s tragic ticket debacle, I’m pretty sure this isn’t the end, either. So, those Rush tix went on sale at 10. Apparently, Firefox doesn’t have 128-bit encryption–a requirement for buying pre-sale online. I can sort of see the point, but … come on. Either that or their stupid anti-bot word-typing thing was just severely fubar, which wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Anyway, in short, I didn’t get any tickets, and I ended up having to buy a new keyboard

New Music Friday. Soon To Be Followed by New Music Saturday.

/ / New Music

Another Friday, another trip to Graywhale. The things I learn from going there …

For example, tomorrow is Record Store Day. At Gray Whale, all used CDs are buy 2, get one free. WHAT?! WHAT!? Yah. My morning was going to be about getting ready for game 2 of the Sabres/Bruins series (hockey, for all you who are not “in the know”). That has changed. Since I own a Killer Whale card–a must for anyone within 50 miles of a Graywhale store–I get in at 9. An hour or so of perusing, cavorting, etc, then home for the game. That’s the order of the day.

So here’s the new list of what I picked up today.

  • The Juilana Theory – Love
  • The Juliana Theory – Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat
  • Evangelista – Hello, Voyager
  • DulceSky – Media Luna EP
  • Blue Bird
  • Coughs – Secret Passage
  • Colour Revolt
  • From Bubblegum to Sky – Nothing Sadder than Lonely Queen
  • Lois – Bet the Sky
  • Lois – Butterfly Kiss
  • Scout Niblett – I am
  • Bettie Serveert – Log 22
  • Cat on Form – Structure and Fear
  • Cantinero – Championship Boxing
  • Breaking Pangea – Cannon to a Whisper
  • !!! (Chk Chk Chk) – Me and Guiliani down by the School Yard

I have other stuff by some of these bands, but not many. I already have Bettie Serveert’s “Log 22,” but only in mp3s. I’m familiar with Scout Niblett’s work, so I’m glad to have found that CD. I’ve heard a few snippets of some Juliana Theory material and I’m familiar with their history, but I don’t have any of their stuff. Well, okay … NOW I do, but I didn’t. That’s my point.

The Breaking Pangea CD interests me on name alone. I’m listening to the Juliana Theory’s Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat at the moment. It’s a shame these guys broke up after making this CD.

Dulcesky is a local band. In fact, they’re playing tonight at the Woodshed in downtown Salt Lake. Wish I had known that earlier today.

Anyway, more tomorrow. Probably.

Review: Drop Side Nine – A Perfectly Orchestrated Breakdown.

/ / New Music, review

So, the other day, I got a friend request on Facebook. I had no idea who this guy was, so I checked out his page. Turns out he’s a local musician. I sent him a message asking him how he found me, thinking he found this blog. In actuality, he found me on The Depot‘s Facebook page. I told him about this site, and he said, “Well, hey. I have some stuff. Wanna review it?” Downloaded it, listened to it, and … well, here it is.

Drop Side Nine is comprised of Scott Peterson and Brandon Larsen, life-long friends who grew up in the same small town, went their separate ways, and ended up doing exactly what they’ve always wanted – making music. The result is what we’re given in A Perfectly Orchestrated Breakdown.

The first thing I noticed was the sound quality. I like the garage recording sound. We’re not talking Garage Days Re-revisited, but there’s definitely an awesome vibe to the recording … like they’re seriously just having fun. Gives it a very raw, unaltered sound. Having said all that, I’m also extremely excited to see what some more professional recording and mixing can do for these guys. There is potential. Lots. And lots. And LOTS.

As for the instrumentation, I’m … wow. There are two guys, right? Just two? I mean, there’s synth, piano, guitars, strings (violins? cellos? maybe it’s synth … hard to tell), standard drums, drum loops … there’s a lot going on here. I’m guessing a lot of this is track layering. I can see the need of a full, 4 or 5 piece band to pull off this stuff live. Probably two guitarists, a keyboardist, bassist, and drummer. Obviously, some of the elements are already there.

Brandon has a kind of pre-trained James LaBrie-type voice going on that with some proper training could seriously take off. I like that it sounds completely unprocessed. I *hate* processed voices that sound great on a CD, but then you go see a band live, and come to find out, the singer really sucks. Such is not the case here. What you hear is what you’ll get live. Again, with a bit of vocal training, we could have the next Geoff Tate.

It’s fairly evident from lyrics that either Scott or Brandon (or, both?) have been through some painful experiences–the genesis for many of the songs on the CD. (from “Broken Down”) “Make this go away, turn a page–a brand new day. Now I’m so alive. I know this time that I’ll get it right. Broken down, I’ve begun to bleed.” (from “Take”) “I want you all to see it. I want you all to hear it, and this is what I’m screaming so maybe now you’ll feel it, and I will say it again: the walls are closing and, and I can’t take it no more.” (from Something New”) “I’ve awakened from my downward slide. I won’t be a victim anymore. Take a hard look at yourself cuz I’m coming out swinging. Ready to take your ugly world and turn it into something new–maybe a taste of the blues will help you secretly.” They’ve taken their experiences and turned them into this first offering.

Overall, there is serious potential for these guys. It’s obvious from Scott’s Facebook page that there’s already a growing interest. Now is the time to “get on board” and have the chance to say, “Hey … I knew them and saw them before YOU did!” If they keep plugging away (get it?! guitar and amp joke!), there’s no telling where they can go. We, the fortunate ones, get to watch the entire ride.

To Scott, who I know will read this, thanks for finding me. It’s been my privilege and pleasure to listen to your stuff. I’m serious … keep this up.

Feeding the Addiction: New Music Friday

/ / New Music

I love it when I go to Graywhale and the guys start playing stuff they think I’d be interested in. That’s just awesome. Thanks!!

By that, I mean the new Scout Niblett CD that came out in January, Calcination of Scout Niblett. It sounded like new Joanna Newsom, but nothing I recognized. “No, man. This is Scout Niblett.” So she’s on my radar of things to watch out for.

Kyle also recommended Songs: Ohia’s last/Magnolia Electric Co.’s first CD, Magnolia Electric Co. He has pretty impeccable taste in music, so I just ordered it on Amazon.

Anyway, here’s today’s list.

  • HIM – Sworn Eyes (this is not to be confused with H.I.M.)
  • The Von Bondies – Pawn Shoppe Heart
  • The Standard – Albatross
  • Spiral Beach –  Ball
  • Nedelle – From the Lion’s Mouth
  • Julie Doiron – Heart and Crime
  • Freakwater – Old Paint
  • Moonraker – Peeg Vater
  • Endochine – Day Two
  • Morcheeba – The Antidote
  • Morcheeba – Charango

I’ve heard some of Morcheeba’s stuff, but that was mostly from the mid-90s, circa Who Can You Trust and  Big Calm. Very Tricky/Sneaker Pimps type stuff.

Anyway, I’m feeling way under the weather today, so I’m leaving this post as-is for now and going to try to rest. I have some other stuff to discuss, but that’ll probably be later this afternoon or tomorrow. 5 words: the return of the king. And no–I don’t mean the movie (which is fantastic, and now out on blu-ray, but I’ll wait until the extended edition is released before I buy the set).

Lest You Think I Was Kidding

/ / New Music

See? New CD. Most excellent.

Sunday Morning …

/ / Concerts, New Music
Ed. note: “Sunday Morning” has now become Monday morning due to an unforeseen, unfortunate event yesterday morning that put the writer in a state of discontent for a vast majority of the day.

So today, I seemingly have a kidney infection. Nothing too out of control … for some reason, I get these with alarming frequency. And the pain absolutely sucks. Extremely sore lower back, excruciating joints and stuff … it’s probably the least fun anyone could have without actually dying. If any of you out there have had a kidney infection, you know what I mean.  Anyway, since I’m kind of penned up in the house for who knows how long, I thought I’d tackle the stack of new stuff I haven’t written about yet and get these imported into iTunes.

Oh. And I can’t sleep, which is the main reason I’m sitting here.

List.

  • Beak
  • Raveonettes – In and Out of Control
  • Vue – Vue
  • Lois – Strumpet
  • Corder0 – Lamb Lost in the City
  • Heather Duby
  • Heather Duby – Come across the River
  • Of Montreal – The Sunlandic Twins
  • Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man – Out of Season
  • The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights
  • Katherine Whalen’s Jazz Squad
  • Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch
  • Plastiscines – LP 1
  • Flyleaf – Memento Mori
  • Von Iva – Girls on Film
  • The Music
  • The Music – Welcome to the North
  • Fang Island
  • Cloudland Canyon – Lie in Light
  • Golden Smog – ANother Fine Day
  • Elf Power – In A Cave

Over the course of the next week, I expect about another 10+ CDs to show up in the mail. Lots of ordering based upon recent purchases. Especially Cordero, Vue, Plastiscenes and The Music.

Of other note, we have tickets to the BNL show in Boise on May 21st. If any of you are going to be there, please let me know! We’d love to meet up with fellow fans.

Same for the Muse and Silversun Pickups show in Utah on April 5th (ONE WEEK TO GO!). Let me know if you’re going!

Barenaked Ladies – All in Good Time

/ / New Music, review

When last we heard from our boys au naturale, they had put together a solid, eventual two-disc set that was both emotive and frolicking. With humourous bits on “… Are Me” such as “Bank Job” and “Bull in a China Shop,” and with such whimiscal, fanciful songs as “Everything had Changed,” we were treated to some fantastic music by a great band.

Then we were treated to an entire new CD in “… Are Men.” Kevin Hearn took the lead with “Serendipity” and “Another Spin,” while Steven page and Ed Robertson took the reigns on pretty much everything else.

In 2009, Steve and the band parted ways. Many among the faithful shuddered in fear for what the future of the band would hold.
Barenaked Ladies are back. To the faithful who endured the wait, wondering with baited breath what would become of the band, the payoff is … well, it’s fan-frickin’-tastic.

Fare thee well, Steven Page. We will miss you.

For the rest of us, please join me in ushering the new era and welcoming the revamped band to the limelight, which they richly deserve.

In Steve’s absence, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn have stepped up to the plate with a force that I really think few doubted. Jim has two tracks and Kevin has 3 on the new, non-bonus track CD. If you’re one of the few who can find the bonus track disc,  you’ll be treated to 1 additional track from each Jim and Kevin.

See my earlier post regarding Kevin and Jim’s side project material. If you have any doubt that they have earned their right to pen at least a couple of Ladies tracks, please find a way to (legally) acquire their material. You won’t regret it.

Now for the CD review …

I could be wrong about this (but I’m probably not), but I’m willing to stake a dinner at Flemings for the entire band that the opening track, “You Run Away,” is a graceful tribute to the departure of Steve. Emotionally charged with lyrics like, “You turn and run away from me. I’ll give you something to cry about. One thing you should try out: hold a mirror shoulder high, when you’re older, look you in the eye.”

To say that it is blatently transparent is akin to saying something like “an elephant is large and gray.” You can actually hear the pain in Ed’s voice as he laments the loss of his long-time band mate and friend. Tremulous and shaky at times, traumatic and tortured, the band gives us a brief glimpse into the hell the band went through.

As the CD progresses, it’s evident that the band went to great lengths to maintain an air of familiarity so as not to alienate its original fan base, but at the same time they have taken on the daunting challenge of making a CD that’s different than anything they’ve done previously. With tracks like “Summertime” that has a rather heavy guitar riff (well, okay … heavy for them), though complimented with synth and keyboards from Kevin that help guide the fan back the the comfort of the old while experimenting with the new. Jim and Tyler provide some really fantastic back-up vocals. “So bundle up and hunker down. Here it comes again, just one more round. See you on the other side. Mercury falls, so how do we make it through the days? How do we not give in and bottom out? well you have to understand that soon enough you’ll wake  up from such a daze thanks to all the many ways we’re all pushing through for summertime.”

Track 3 is Kevin’s first song: “Another Heartbreak.” There’s something about his voice that is just so … different. Airy and light, moody and soothing, he navigates his way through they lyrics. “Now here you stand in front of me in all your complexity that I’ve mistaken for simplicty.” Again with the heavier guitars, but this time they’re in the background as Kevin pounds away on the keyboard.

“Four Seconds” is like nothing they’ve ever done.  It kind of reminds me of a creepy mix of “One Week” and “For You.” I can’t even keep up with the lyrics. “I’ve been away for years and a day. You’d be thinking I’d be lonely, but I’m not here to stay. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” The best part of this song is the prominent vocals of none other than Tyler Stewart. What a rare treat. “One Missississippi, two Missississippi, three Missississippi, Foooouurr …”

They played this song at their show at The Depot back in December. I remember thinking at the time that I couldn’t wait to hear it on the CD. That has not changed one bit. It’s just so funky. And DIFFERENT. This one has radio potential written all over it. It’s short, too: less than 3 minutes.

Jim gets the nod on track 5, “On the Lookout.” I love how this kind of has a 70s vibe to it. The use of strings completely makes the song. The other 3 band members take point on harmonizing. “This all will pass, just like us. Just like this thought. Don’t miss this; we’ve only got one shot.”

Like always, I don’t want to go through and review the entire CD. I just want to give you an idea of what you can expect when you play this for yourself. My personal opinion is that, if you like BNL in the past, this CD will amaze you. If you haven’t liked BNL in the past, well … I can’t help you there. This CD, on the other hand, can and will.

New Music: Saturday and Mail Edition

/ / New Music

So I took my daughter to Graywhale on Saturday. What a joke that day was. I tried finding ONE copy of “Princess and the Frog” for my kids. I ended up buying it 4 times, two of which were the 3-disc blu-ray version. One of the single-disc versions which went back to a store, the return on which I actually made $10. Don’t ask how … I’m not even what happened. All I know is that I got back $10 more than I paid. It was really weird.

Anyway, the reason for going to Graywhale was an attempt to return one of the blu-ray3-disc copies. I definitely did not need two, so I figured I’d just take it back. Unbeknownst to me, they have a no-cash-return policy, and offer in-store credit. So I figured, “Well, I might as well peruse their CDs while I’m here.” Yah. Try that with a 4-year old hyper child.

I managed to escape with some good stuff though.

  • Sigur Ros – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
  • Sigur Ros  – (  )
  • Dioramic – Technicolor
  • Silversun Pickups  – Carnavas

Not a bad haul. Then in the mail, I got some more!

  • Foma – Phobos
  • Foma – Ice Caves
  • Great Northern – Trading Twilight for Daylight

There’s more coming in the mail.

So, here’s what happens. I go to … wherever. I get new music. I bring it home, listen to it, and if it’s *really* good, I’ll hop on Amazon and see who has what. Sure enough, most artists have a whole catalog of stuff, most of which can be had for pennies plus shipping.

Such is the case with artists like Great Northern. I picked up their “Sleepy Eepee” at Gray Whale a few weeks back. The guy at the counter kept raving about them, so I figured they’d have to be worth a shot.

Come to find out, they’re really awesome. Solon Bixler, former 30 Seconds to Mars guitarist, is the band’s male vocal frontman. Rachel Stolte is the female singer. The two of them together create some really ethereal, atmostpheric vocals that really mixes with with the strings, drums, guitar and piano. Rachel’s voice is vaguely similar to Scarlett Johannson’s.

Anyway, highly recommend them. Much goodness is to be had.

New Music Friday … on FRIDAY

/ / New Music

HOLY haul. I swear, I don’t get how more people aren’t raiding Graywhale. Such an amazing collection of music. What is the matter with you people?!

So I was on the second floor, raiding the indie section, as often I am wont to do on my Friday lunch break. Over the in-house stereo, I hear this voice that sounds like the chick from Bat for Lashes. I ask the guy at the counter who it is. “Yah … umm, this is Portishead.” Now … granted it’s been a while since I’ve listened to them, and I do enjoy Beth Gibbon’s voice, but … really? It didn’t sound like anything of theirs that I have. “Is this their new CD?”

“No, it’s like their second or something.”

“Really! I have most of their stuff, but this doesn’t sound familiar.”

“Yah … you should check it out.”

So I grab my stack and head down stairs to pay. As always, the guy at the counter and I banter about what CDs I’m getting. Invariably, he’s heard of and listened to almost all of them. Luckyyyy (it’s hard to impersonate a “Napoleon” voice while typing, ya know?). Anyway, he was ecstatic that I picked up Saharah Hotnight’s Jennie Bomb CD. “Dude. These guys totally owned when they opened for the Hives. You’ll love ’em.” Sure enough, very cool Swedish chick band. That’s hard to not like. Not to mention they have  a vibe very reminiscent of Juliette and the Licks. Again, hard not to like, right?

Upstairs guy comes down and says, “Hey, do you want that Portishead CD?”

“Sure. Why not?”

So he goes and gets it. Sure enough, it is indeed “3,” which they released in 2008. Downstairs behind the counter guy says that he heard that they’re working on new music, too. Much awesome-sauce! According to some articles, we can expect new P music in the last part of 2010. *Happy dance*

So here’s the list for today.

  • Portishead – Third
  • Cordero –  En Este Momento (really excited to listen to this one)
  • All Smiles – Ten Readings of a Warning
  • The Appleseed Cast – Two Conversations
  • Saint Etienne – Finisterre
  • Sahara Hotnights – Jennie Bomb
  • CIAM – Anonymous
  • Beep Beep – Business Casual
  • Bettie Serveert – Dust Bunnies
  • Blue-Eyed Son – West of Lincoln
  • Books about UFOs – Let the Bridges Ignite (local Utah band!)
  • The Beautiful Confusion
  • Land of Talk – Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
  • Layton – Grand Design (no, not a Utah band)
  • Heloise and the Savoir Faire – Trash, Rats and Microphones
  • Heather Duby – Post to Wire

See what I mean? AMAZING list. I also picked up the new “The Princess and the Frog” blu-ray for my girls, which has most excellent music by Randy Newman.

So there ya go. Can’t wait to dive into this stuff. I have a lot of Bettie Serveert already, so I’m sure that’ll be cool.

New Music Friday, Bought on Saturday, Ripped Sunday, for Monday …

/ / New Music

Yah. That title even confuses me.

So I got some new stuff on Saturday. EXCELLENT stuff, too. I’m telling you … my methods are fool-proof. Check out the list.

  • Audrye Sessions – Self-titled
  • Apollo Sunshine – Shall Noise Upon
  • Clinic – Walking With Thee
  • The Dead Trees – King of Rosa
  • Dizmas – On a Search in America
  • Division Day – BearTrap Island
  • The Rocking Horse Winner – Horizon
  • Pronto – All Is Golden
  • Pony Up – Make Love to the Judges with Your Eyes
  • Persephone’s Bees – Notes from the Underworld
  • Neva Dinova – The Hate Yourself Change
  • Van She – EP
  • Straylight Run – Straylight Run
  • Earlimart – Hymns and Hers
  • The Elected – Sun Sun Sun
  • Goldspot – Tall of the Yes Men
  • Dragonette – Galore

Count ’em … 18 CDs for about $60. And this stuff rocks. This stuff all got ripped and loaded Sunday morning before we went to my sister in law’s house for her birthday. My wife commented on the Audrye Sessions CD, which, for being on random, got a lot of airplay. Weird. She liked everything she heard of theirs though, which is awesome.

Far and away, the most interesting cover was the Dragonette CD. Glossy pink and black. It looked like a vinyl purse, for all intents and purposes. And I mean *glossy*. It’s like someone took shellack to the jewel case insert. The two songs of theirs I sampled while ripping were cool. Kind of electronica with a twist of angry female pop. Not bad.

More later. Just thought I’d share the good news.

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