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March 31, 2005
Calling a Fake
Sam Prekop - C + F
I could probably listen to Sam Prekop sing the periodic table (all the way out to Ununoctium), so when he's got a tight beat behind him and some easy-swinging guitars (like in 'C+F'), it just makes it all that much more enjoyable. I would almost go so far as to describe that bubbling wah'd/phased-out guitar in the beginning as scrumptious. Bookended by some keening horns at the end = this song is a straight late-night jam.
Some of you might know Sam from his excellent work in the Chicago-town band, the Sea and Cake. Along with Archer Prewitt, Prekop has emerged as one of the finest songwriters in the 'autumnal/breezy' song category (which is a good thing). This song would sound exactly perfect while sitting in the back seat of a 1996 (mother-of-pearl) Nissan Maxima with the front seat passenger-side window down, at 10:45 p.m., travelling south-bound along the Eastern Shore of Virginia, in late May. Probably.
'C+F' is taken from Prekop's new solo album, "Who's Your New Professor", which you can buy right here.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 30, 2005
Scrumlin
The Owls - Air
Some facts about the Owls-
This is the first sentence in the Owls' bio: "Who are The Owls? "Two librarian chicks, the sexiest bass player you’ve ever seen, and a drummer who’s the spitting image of Gary Oldman." In other words, a little something for everybody." The Gary Oldman drummer has (since that was written) departed, but everyone else is still hanging tight in the band. They are not to be confused with the Tim Kinsella-fronted travesty also known as (the) Owls.
'Air' is the opening track on their Magic Marker Records debut, "Our Hopes and Dreams", and it is the instantiation of every great thing about sunny, delicate indie pop. Imagine a video treatment along these lines- a girl, wearing a bright yellow sundress and sandals, walks out from a small mountainside cabin and onto the front porch. Takes a deep breath. Runs through a small clearing filled with immaculate and improbably tall daisies. Has encounters with many small, adorable animals; chuckles to herself. Finally arives at the top of a grassy hill and takes in the gorgeous view. However, since the song is a break-up semi-jeremiad (lyrically), there'd have to be some sort of twist-ending to the video, like it turns out that the cabin is only hers because it was willed to her by her boyfriend who died tragically while trying to save a bunch of mangy donkeys from an electrical fire (lightning strike) at a nearby farm (the donkeys made it, but he didn't). Not sure how you would illustrate that (maybe flashbacks, or a non-diagetic voiceover at the end?), but it adds the appropriate amount of pathos.
Really took that too far, didn't I? Anyway. It's a supremely pretty song- do yourself a favor and listen to it- if you dig it, you can buy the band's mini-LP right here.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 29, 2005
5th Business
Oranges Band - Finns for Our Feet
Roman Kuebler (lead singer of Oranges Band) sings in a way that reminds me an awful lot of the Hold Steady's (or Lifter Puller's) Craig Finn: ranting, breathless, focused on narrative. So the title of this track could either be a reference to natives of Finland (possible), or a shout-out to the lead man of the Hold Steady. Truthfully, neither scenario makes too much sense. Roman seems more concerned with evoking interesting scenes than with necessarily telling a linear story.
Viz.: "the only chance for you and four eyes is California split up pacifically/when our apartment falls into the sea/you'll breathe through holes in the trees". Judging by the lyrics, it seems like this should be a break-up song- "our apartment/it wouldn't save us/but it's the only chance that they gave to us". On the other hand, the music is bouncy and resilient. The guitars sound crisp and optimistic, and the drums are just brutal. And 'Finns for Our Feet' ends as such a cliff-hanger: everything drops away except for Roman's vocals and his final, almost-pleading 'us'. [BUY]
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 27, 2005
Relevee
Jane - Berserker
This has got some very subtle movement to it, first of all. Jane is comprised of Noah Lennox (Panda Bear of Animal Collective) and Scott Mou (Queens, 14K), and they're releasing their debut album, "Berserker", in early May, on Paw Tracks. The first minute or so of 'Berserker' is vinyl-esque clicks and pops, coupled with some Cocteau-Twins-at-the-wrong-speed percussion. That changes quickly though, when Mou brings in a soft drone and what sounds like a bushel of tinsel to accompany Noah's formless vocals. There are short and ethereal jet engine sounds occuring intermittently. I feel like this song is what it would sound like to listen (over a walkie-talkie) to someone singing to themselves over top of very pleasant television static. The production on 'Berserker' is so deep and dense that there are dozens of fleeting ribbony drones that slip quickly back into the mix before you can really get a handle on what's happening (i.e. make sure you listen to this at a high volume, or on headphones).
This track is taken from Hisham Bharoocha's (ex-Black Dice) outstandingly selected "They Keep Me Smiling" compilation (feat. Animal Collective, Black Dice, Benji Cossa, Terrestrial Tones, Excepter, etc.), which you can pick up from Insound for $37. The price is a little steep, but it's worth it for such an exquisitely packaged collection.
Posted by matt at 10:03 PM
March 25, 2005
Who Hates Fun?
Santana - Live at the Fillmore 12/31/68 - Soul Sacrifice
Well you've been clamoring for a 15 minute extended jam song since September, and now here it is. No one can say I don't give the people what they want. Some of you might be saying, "what is this accursed dad-rock?", and others might be saying, "Molars, you goddamn rascal". Etcetcetera. Answer to the first question: it is indeed dad-rock, sent to me by my own dear Dad via the magic of the internet machine. However, it's just so good, I couldn't not post it.
"Y'all don't think this is a soul sacrifice, I got news for you", then wilderness drums and a motherfucker (g) of a bassline. Suddenly, an organ pops its head up, busting into everything and romping around in every conceivable manner like a (cartoon) blue whale that's drunk on paint thinner. But that only lasts a minute (comes back later, in a big way). Santana takes the lead here, his guitar sounding both articulate and relaxed. Drums are still with him, hanging tight. Someone shouting in the background. It just goes on like this, and it gets better and better. New Year's Eve, San Francisco, 1968. You know they had fun at this show.
And now some words from Dan-
The strangest thing to happen yet.
The chance of earning 100,000 shillings has made for some interesting proposals. Three weeks ago, I received an odd one by SMS. "Daniel, I've a suggestion on recovering the stolen items. It's a traditional one! Come to Hostel B Room
118 at 1 pm today. I'm Onyango Nduri."
Naturally, I assumed that I was being lured to Hostel B so I could be murdered for my silver (or are they lead?) fillings, the only thing that thieves have yet
to take from me. So at noon I borrowed Suzie the German's picante-flavored pepper spray. With this, I decided I was sufficiently indemnified against any
unwanted dental work.
Weaving through a dormitory that can best be described as "Lorton prison on visiting day," I made my way to room 118. Opening the door, I was immediately
assaulted by the odor of curried Vicks Vapo-Rub. It smelled like murg paneer being served in a boxing gym. My sense of smell was not far off. In one corner of
the cell was a bubbling pot of brown liquid. Along the opposite corner was a collection of out-dated computers. Seated in the middle of the floor was a
shirtless Onyango Nduri, displaying a physique that suggested that he should be more comfortable shirted. By his position on a mat, I would guess that he was
trying to change his state of affairs though a desperate series of sit-ups.
"Daniel Yi, right? Please sit." I chose to sit on a box next to the computers, so as to be as far away from the boiling brown liquid as possible. After an interminably long period of small-talk, made all the more oppressive with his continued refusal to put on a shirt, the Luo finally got down to business.
"I read the poster you put up, the one with the 100,000 shilling reward, and I am very sorry. Susanne was a friend of mine." "But don't worry. I think I know someone who can help you."
He got up from his mat and began to assume different positions around the room as he spoke. It seemed to me as if each position was meant to maximize the effect of his words.
"I once knew a man from my birthplace in Kisumu." Onyango said as he stood looking wistfully out his small window. He turned his head to look at me and
sort of arched an eyebrow. "They say he has powers. Powers to see things and cause things to happen."
Excitedly, he started moving towards me. More out of wishful thinking than fear, I fingered the pepper spray in my pocket. "If you want, I can bring him here." He was only a foot away. "He can cast a spell and force the thief to bring your things back."
I asked him how he knew it would work.
"I have seen him deal with theft four times in Kisumu. All four times, the thief returned with the things in broad daylight. Once, it was an American couple who
got their things back. If you want, I can even give you their email address." Onyango said all this very fast, while doing a little a goat dance. The undulating movement forced him to stop a moment to catch his breath.
He started up again, claiming (I think as a joke)that the diviner was said to have had something to do with Idi Amin's downfall in Uganda, and the recent election
of Mwai Kibaki in Kenya.
As far as cost was concerned, Onyango only could say, "It depends on the size of the job and the ability of the person to pay." I wondered outloud what the
difference in price would be between altering the course of East African political history and recovering a laptop. "You will have to ask the diviner that."
I told him that the whole thing sounded like a great idea. It would satisfy my academic curiosity. Further, in Kenya I've been robbed in every way so far except by 'elaborate scam.' I thought it was good to complete the circuit. So we agreed that he should cart this diviner in from Kisumu. As I walked out his door,
Onyango grabbed my elbow. "The diviner only has one condition. The only thing is, no matter who brings the things back, you cannot press any charges against
him." Hmmm.
Anyway, now I am still waiting on this diviner guy to show up and do his stuff. The only concern is what another Luo (a born-again Christian named Ken Odak)
brought up a couple days after I first met with Onyango. Odak said that he had 'no doubt' that we would get our things back, provided that we bring in the diviner. But then he ominously added, "at what cost?"
Odak said that the diviner works by calling on evil spirits to assault the thief. This neither Susie or I had no problem with. But it seems that as soon as these evil spirits are agitated, they don't stop with just the thief. They go after the people who called on them - that is to say: us. He concluded with a remark
I believe to be from "The Game" (the Thursday night movie on campus). Gravely looking at us, he warned, "once you get in, you can never get out."
Susie seemed a bit distraught by this, saying that maybe it would be smart if we didn't take any chances with things we don't know about. A laptop is just a
thing, after all, she said. Well, to promote mutual understanding, I proceeded to make fun of her mercilessly. For the sake of cross-cultural exchange, she did not speak to me for several days.
Read installments one, two, three, four, five, six, or seven of Dan's correspondence.
p.s. I promise to have some good news next week about the upcoming contest.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (1)
March 24, 2005
Sabassa Moonshine
Uncut - Day Breaks Red Light
OH BABY DOES THIS GRRRROOVE LIKE A MONSTER OR WHAT? (Just kidding, I'm not going to actually write like I'm an oversexed rhino on E). I first heard *of* this song a few months ago and have been trying in some way or another to track it down. Let's take a listen: first thing you hear are drums that sound like they were recorded about 157 ft. away from the mic, down the hall, in a closet filled with cotton balls. A good beginning. Then some calloused guitars start building a nice wall of lockstep rhythm, a little unbalanced, but solid. Ian Warong sings, "day break/red light/sheets pulled/last night", dazed and bleary-eyed from late-night worrying (maybe). Towards the end, the guitars simply take over- they quit building and caulking that wall- and one just scrawls loops and lines of grafitti all over the song. It's invigorating.
Uncut was a two-person dance music outfit prior to becoming a four-man traditional band (Jake Fairley, who has done some stuff for Kompakt Extra, left to (wisely) pursue a more techno-house career in Cologne), and now occupy parts of Toronto. They released their debut album, "Those Who Were Hung Hang Here" in September. [BUY]
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 23, 2005
Obsessive Handwashing is Fine
Devendra Banhart - At the Hop
This song is a mere 6 months old. A list of words and phrases surrounding Devendra: Joanna, freak-folk, Young God Records, Vetiver, Vashti, Oh Me Oh My, San Francisco Art Institute, stationary from the French Treasury, Rejoicing in the Hands, Bastet compilation. Etc.
"Nino Rojo" was by far my favorite of the two albums he released last year; there was something much more tender and intimate about it- almost as if Devendra saved the tracks that were more near and dear to his heart for the second release. I'm even tempted to say that there's a Kid A-Amnesiac relationship between "Rejoicing in the Hands" and "Nino Rojo": the first album establishes the artist's new direction and the more accessible (popular?) material is relegated to the second album. Maybe not- anyway, "Nino Rojo" is just the flat-out better album, overall.
'At the Hop' was the first single from the album, and it floored me. Devendra narrates a desire to accompany a departing lover: 'put me in your suitcase/let me help you pack/cause you're never coming back', to the point where he urges the fleeing lady to 'wrap me in your marrow/stuff me in your bones/I sing a mending moan/a song to bring you home'. Also, for whatever reason, the Archie allusion he makes in the middle of the song is terribly moving. It's just simple and great. [BUY]
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 22, 2005
Celebrator
Blood Brothers - Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck
There is something very 50's ballad about this song, despite the fact that it features an extended throat-shredding screamy interlude. To wit: boy meets girl at school ("you met Jane four years ago today/dancing at some vomit-stained frat party), boy ditches girl for more exciting more Barbie-ish lady ("so you traded her in for a better looking brand"), boy gets into gruesome car accident ("those tire tracks zig zag your torso like the Devil's self-portrait"), flits into and out of consciousness, haunted by images of his ex ("she visits you in your sleep, but that newspaper gown is always on fire").
Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney work in contrasts- the former is a real crooner, the latter possesses an unbelievable falsetto/yell/wail. How it goes then is that this song turns on a dime- from sympathetic to accusatory and back again- thanks in no small part to the work of the vocalists. There have been periods when I've listened to this song 25 or more times in a row and relished it- it's just that absorbing and inventive; the Blood Brothers managed to create a captivating little romance with 'Love Rhymes...'- and it's one of those songs that almost demands a sequel (like New Pornographer/Destroyer Daniel Bejar's 'Jackie' on "Mass Romantic" and the forthcoming 'Jackie, Dressed in Cobras').
This song comes from the excellent 2004 LP "Crimes", which you can buy here.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 21, 2005
Minneapolitan
the Fire Show - Magellan was a Felon
Olias Nil and M. Resplendent = the Fire Show. This song (which is awesome) was party to one of the worst record-buying decisions I ever made in my life (all other culpability belongs to Mr. Joe Tangari)- I found a copy of the "Saint the Fire Show" LP for cheap-cheap at Let It Be Records in Minneapolis when I was visiting that clean, sweet city back in the hot and weird summer of '03. I was there for a business conference which I really did not want to attend at all (I ended up having to con $40 out of someone there just to get a ride back to the airport so I could make it home- long story), and so did a lot of aimless wandering around Mpls. During one of my slack-jawed romps in the downtown, I found Let It Be and proceeded to purchase: Iron & Wine's "Creek Drank the Cradle" (good decision), Daedelus' "Rethinking the Weather" (listened to 3 tracks of it, took it out of my CD player and never listened to it again. Put a voodoo curse on it, then sold the damn thing), and The Fire Show's "Saint the Fire Show".
Now it's not like I hadn't done my research. I had heard a few of the Fire Show's songs, and I liked what I heard. This album (StFS) was their swansong, and supposedly their best, and it wasn't like I was going to find this album in a lot of other record stores, so why not pick it up. I brought it back to my hotel room, popped it into the CD player, and hit play. Holy fucking shit. I looked at the case to make sure it was the correct record. Yes. Good god: the noise, the meandering percussion, the wailing and just the aggressive oddity of the thing were too much to take. I listened to the whole thing, all the way through, once. I went back to Let It Be and tried to return it. The guy behind the counter looked at me with a mixture of pity and contempt. No go.
If I had given the record a few more chances, I bet it would have grown on me. I'd like to think that my tastes are a little more wide-ranging now than they were 2 years ago, or at least that my tolerance for post-punk-ish experimental pretension has increased marginally. Anyway. This was the song that tricked me into purchasing this record- listen and you'll be able to tell why (hint: because it's good).
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 19, 2005
I doubt I'll find a swimming pool
Phiiliip - Another Book
What can I tell you but that this song is addictive? It features a voice that will add enjoyment to your day, rhymes and wordplay ('feed the fed'? oh yes), and some (oh damn), metal oil barrel drums!!^ St. Patrick's day has caught up to me, to some extent, thanks to my brother's postulation that, as an Irishman, whiskey should be like milk to me. That is not entirely true, and I think I've managed to prove that empirically. Anyway. Love this song, because it will treat you well. Phiiliip deserves a better write-up than this, but hey, if you listen and like it, go ahead and buy the man's album (feat. a mix by Excepter!! Who are fantastic x 10) here.
Back to competence on Monday. If you're lucky. Dan Yi will be back next Friday, with all new adventures.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 17, 2005
Shapes Non Grata
Les Mouches - Carload of Whatever
The flies? Yes. Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy, string arranger/violinist for Arcade Fire, the Hidden Cameras, and Jim Guthrie, etc.) directs this group of lurching guitar-spindly Torontonians and their brand of intensity. Credit where credit is due: I first heard about Les Mouches via the excellent Said the Gramophone (and thanks to site founder Sean Michaels' impeccable taste).
'Carload of Whatever', taken from the band's outstanding "You're Worth More to Me Than 1,000 Christians" LP, starts off with a viciously circular riff that gently gives way to some carefully plucked and budding notes. Owen's plaintive and whispery voice (at first) floats down easily between the spaces- with promises, observations, and resolutions. There's a small rest stop of handclaps along the way- Owen's voice is drowned in manual percussion. Tense-up and eventual release: shouting + laughing- "I want your blood in me". This song was very carefully built.
You can purchase Les Mouches' LP from Insound, and while you're there maybe pick up the Final Fantasy album (highly recommended- despite what P-fork said, it's gorgeous).
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 16, 2005
Watch These Cats they're fast
We Are Wolves - We Are All Winners
Two interpretations of this song:
1) The oscillating synths, drum machine beats, and autopilot bass in this track can most closely approximate what it would be like to star in the climactic scene of a TV cop drama much like Miami Vice where a young detective who's gotten chewed out by the chief on more than one (believe me!) occasion, and who is now though about to bring in the biggest collar of his goddamn life if he can just find someone to pilot a speedboat through the (here's the twist) molten marshmallow sea (there's a hurricane off the coast too, did I mention that) to block the sale of illegal flora and fauna to local ne'erdowells via the miracle of the black market. "We Are All Winners" would be appropriate for the shots that follow the speedboat through the pastel-colored and choppy ocean on its way to intercept the smugglers' boat.
2) The lyrics of this song consist of one phrase: 'we are all winners/and we will/never fall'. This is ambiguous, to say the least. What is the domain of 'we'? It could presumably be restricted to the band [We Are Wolves are all winners] or it could be roped widely around all of humanity, a sort of inner-song PSA self-esteem cheer [we, as people, are all winners]. There aren't many clues that the band gives us, so really, it's up to you to decide. (the preceding is why I feel especially justified in having spent over $80,000 to obtain a philosophy degree. hahaha, stupid business majors and your Jaguars and condos and hot tubs full of Hennessy and hookers- don't have an mp3blog like this, do you, jerks? I might not be able to pay my heating bill, but at least I have symbolic logic to keep me warm. <end scene>)
Whew. Anyway, We Are Wolves are three fabulous Montrealians(?) who have just released a CD entitled "Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux", which, roughly translated comes to "I fold you in two, non-stop" (I hope). You can listen to another one of their songs over on their site, and if you dig it, you can order their CD from Cheap Thrills. (Also of note- this band (WAW) is playing at the Hot Springs' CD release party, which reminds me to tell you: if you haven't listened to that song of theirs ('Bacteria') I posted, you should do so now. I promise it's good, and I really mean that, this time.)
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (4)
March 15, 2005
Acute Adorability
[This was supposed to be posted at 8:00 a.m., but I guess Typepad had other ideas]
The Besnard Lakes - You've Got to Want to be a Star
Husband and wife team of songwriters (like Mates of State, or Quasi (divorced, but still)), Jace Lacek and Olga Goreas, whose band abandoned left them for greener pastures of some sort. Went into the studio anyway to record their debut album, "Volume 1", which, as far as I can tell, seems to be a concept album about the interactions between a skyscraper girl (not sure what that means- maybe a 'city woman') and a retired-spy-cum-musician. Their music is reminiscent of both Portishead's trip-hop sans-hop and Slowdive without the effects pedals (in that Besnard Lakes affect an atmosphere that is dark and dreamy, but not swirling and tempestuous. Their songs are full-focus TV-colored mysteries).
This band rides a cold groove (made of herky-jerk drums, webs of guitar, and a static-cling bassline + slip and slide organ) until about the 2:12 mark, when everything cuts out except the sound of a hollow echo and a pulsating organ. Olga whispers her words to an audience of handclaps and has her voice stolen by some backwards-looped sounds at 5:15. Then the bass drops in again, and she vamps along with the guitars until the end (at 9:32).
You can listen to all of "Volume 1" (or almost all of it) over at the band's website (linked above), and if you like what you hear, you can either buy the record straight from them (email), or from Cheap Thrills.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 14, 2005
Insotastination
Wolf Parade - CBC Radio Session - Unkown Title
This is the third Wolf Parade track that I've posted, and in my opinion, it's one of their best. Their songs are some of the most invigorating that I've heard in the past year (in the sense that they make me excited about music in general)- not only are they musically inventive and captivating (Spencer's keyboard lines, Hadji's laptoppery, Dan's and Spencer's voices), but their lyrics also touch on themes that seem somehow more...essential. For instance, in this song (which may or may not be called 'Shine A Light'), Dan sings "It's just a matter of time/watch your parents die/and I pretend/I pretend/I'm content to be quiet", and [the chorus] "You know our hearts beat time out very slowly/you know our hearts beat time out waiting for something that could never arrive". But then, despite all of this pessimism, Dan still says, at the beginning of the song, "I keep my head uptight/make my plan tonight/and I don't sleep/I don't sleep/I don't sleep till it's light/some folks sink/some are buried alive". The narrator of this song functions by way of a sort of resignedly stoic outlook.
One of the best moments in this song comes at the 1:06 mark when Dan is singing and Spencer offers a kind of ranting, gutteral harmony. Their voices are so different (Dan's is more gravelly- a Jamie Stewart/Springsteen hybrid; Spencer's voice is like a shiny, wobbly, alien toy) and the juxtaposition is fantastic. Hopefully this song will be on their Sub Pop debut when it comes out in June/July (a studio recording of this song is bound to be just viciously good). I would urge all of you who have even a passing interest in this song to go ahead and order the band's outstanding second EP, available at Cheap Thrills (it's sure to be sold out soon).
P.S. The title track of Daft Punk's upcoming "Human After All" LP has been stuck in my head for 5 days. The rest of the album is sort of OKay-ish.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (3)
March 07, 2005
Downward Whistle
I'm going to be gone until next Monday, when the regular Molars service you've come to expect (mp3s and bad music writing) will return, FULL FORCE. I'm building foot bridges and chopping down poison ivy thickets in a state park somewhere. Volunteering and so forth. Anyway- I hope to have a new contest going soon, since the last one was such a roaring success, + maybe some more news about the eternally forthcoming Steely Dan Week. Hope you're all well-
Posted by matt at 03:53 PM | Comments (4)
March 04, 2005
Petroleum Distillate
Magazine - Shot by Both Sides
The main guitar riff in this song sounds like it could walk around, grow a mustache, and tie a girl to some train tracks. Alternately, it's also what I would pick as something that Skeletor (from He-Man + the Masters of the Universe) might have on his 'hard workout' mixtape. It's sinister, to say the least.
Quick history: Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley were the two main songwriters of the Buzzcocks first release (I think, don't quote me on this) "Spiral Scratch", but then Devoto left the band and formed Magazine. Pretty much a leteral move on Devoto's part, since both bands are now legendary (one punk, one post-punk). 'Shot by Both Sides' was actually written by Shelley and Devoto, prior to D's departure from the Buzzcocks. This is a good song to blast right before you leave work for the weekend. Embrace it.
Anyway- this song is on Magazine's "Real Life" album. [BUY]
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 03, 2005
Nrthrn. 50'
Les Savy Fav - The Sweat Descends
My writing skills are hovering around zero today, so this will be short.
Listen to the beginning and you'll hear, at second 17, the sound of a guitar performing an algorithm that bends around and consumes itself. Gorgeous. Jabour is almost without parallel as far as post-punk guitar players go. Harrington (lead singer) is thoroughly in full Harringtonist form here: "my tight young skin/covers up a sick palimpsest". Pretty much growling when he says that. He has such a versatile voice: exhorting, cooing, conversing, yelling. All over the map. I'm disappointed to hear that Les Savy Fav are only going to make one more album (probably) of "slow, pretty stuff", but at least they're going out on a high note with "Inches" (which 'Sweat Descends' is taken from). [BUY]
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 02, 2005
Tuxzedoreos
My Morning Jacket - The Bear
I first saw My Morning Jacket on Conan O'Brien a couple years ago, playing 'One Big Holiday' from 2003's "It Still Moves". They absolutely tore the place apart. Jim James sang so clearly and passionately and his cousin, Johnny Quaid, mauled his guitar so well that Conan actually forewent his usual platitudes (e.g. 'that was great, thanks') and said to the band, "That was amazing. I'm going to go out and buy that record."
Anyway, I had wanted to post the live version of this song (I'll get to that in a minute), but I only have access to the studio track right now (legal trouble), from 1999's "The Tennessee Fire". 'The Bear' starts with the drumbeat from a famous song (guess which one!), and sounds, overall, like it was recorded by lowering the entire band into a half-mile deep water well studded with microphones (the well, not the band). People talk a lot about Jim James' voice, so I'll just say one thing: it transfixes you (also, the man clearly sings from his toes up- his voice sounds whole-body-generated); the reverb has the effect of turning James' voice from something clear and primary into something even more affecting (like a shaft of light filtered through a stained glass window. I am on a roll with the bad similes today). 'The Bear' treads a slight and worn path (pine straw, broken twigs) up until about 3:14, when it's a full-on sprint through thorny bushes and over gnarled roots to the final, drawn-out, epiphanic "forever".
The live version of this, from the "Acoustic Citsuoca" EP, is even better and more immediate-sounding (your head will catch on fire, it's that great). That EP is about 20 mins. long and represents the best CD-buying money I spent last year (it's like $6). You can buy "The Tennessee Fire" here, and as for the EP, you'll have to go to an actual record store.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM
March 01, 2005
Jibber Jabber
The Hot Springs - Bacteria
Via Canada, mostly Montreal. This is maybe the best straight-ahead rock song I've heard since Babyshambles' "Killamangiro", and that song is just unstoppable- but, but, but, there's a lot of tenderness in 'Bacteria' as well, which makes it even more remarkable. The Hot Springs will go far, if there's any justice.
A kick drum makes evil beats at the start, and then some dispatches from distorted and clean guitars, subsequently joined by Giselle's vocals, which are shiny and hot. At 1:13 watch out for a bass and drums love-in, so good and smooth. 2 minutes and 18 seconds long, all told, nothing in this song is around for long enough to grow stale. On to the lyrics: Giselle talks about the inevitable biological effluvia that you notice when you're around a person long enough, and the fact that even those human shortcomings are in some way terribly moving. "Your slime/your skin/I love you and your bacteria", is the decision she reaches, but check out her subtle observations- "white stuff/is wrapped around the corners/yeah of your mouth/and after you take a sip/a string of spit appears", or "and what grows inside your navel/shares properties with cheese/yeah Camembert". Is there any other band out there that sounds like a more intense Yeah Yeah Yeahs that also drops the name of a french cheese into their songs? I think not.
The Hot Springs haven't released anything yet, but this song and another (the unbelievable 'Cacodisco' which just bleeds dancey energy- available on their website) are from their forthcoming "Rock Partouze" (Rock Orgy, translated), which comes out on March 26th, and which you'll hopefully be able to buy from Cheap Thrills.
Posted by matt at 08:00 AM