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August 24, 2006
Her skin up close was pixelated
This is the song from Portugal
Something sweeter, prettier, and shinier than anything you've ever known. A 25 ft. Christmas tree made out of caramel, spun sugar, and chocolate, illuminated in the brightest light. A sunlit hill in California in October, breezeblown and unspoiled, the blue line of the ocean just within view. A handful of the finest-grained silt from a nearby river, dotted here and there by tiny, tiny (barely discernible) flecks of gold. A walk down a wooded path that turns, suddenly and improbably, into a wild cartoon adventure, complete with talking animals and incandescent hand-painted scenery.
'Bros' is a continuation, a pursuit of the sounds of 'Search for Delicious', 'What I Do' (from Animal Collective's BBC session last year), and 'Comfy in Nautica'. Panda Bear takes this song into territory that, at first listen, sounds like it borders on excess (it's almost too thickly pretty to finish in one sitting). But one time through and you can start to parse the song: the seemingly nondiegetic owl that hoots three times at the start, that hiss of steam right after Noah sings his first line, small and tender screams, the crying/laughing man sandwiched in the middle. And those are just the edges of the song- the main part of the track seems to be an extremely refined and layered sample of sleigh bells, tambourine, and guitar (there's a simple, bright-toned riff that guides the verses), all of which kicks up a few more degrees of thickness for the choruses. Noah's vocals are mixed pretty squarely in the middle of things, so it's hard to tell exactly what's going on lyrically in 'Bros'. The clearest snippets come in the verses, when Noah sings, "I'm not trying to forget you/I just like to be alone (on my own)" (the 'alone' and 'on my own' seem to alternate), which makes it sound like the song is meant as a reassurance for a close friend, or significant other (it's definitely easy to misinterpret someone else's general desire for solitude as something specifically negative and more sort of ad hominem). Along the same lines as 'Comfy In Nautica', with its main message of "try to remember always to have a good time", 'Bros' is a beautifully crafted positive memento, designed to deliver a kind of emotional pause.
This version of 'Bros' is from the Fat Cat 2006 Sampler (so I'm not sure what exactly makes this an 'edit', maybe the album version's longer). According to the guys in Animal Collective, "Bros" will be released on Fat Cat towards the end of this year, and then in early 2007, the entire collection of Panda Bear's new songs will be put out (in some manner). For the time being, you can buy "I'm Not/Comfy in Nautica" here.
Posted by Kevin at 04:11 PM | Comments (1)
August 18, 2006
Visit to the crayon depot
A Sunny Day in Glasgow, at the Khyber in Philly (on August 3rd):
1. Laughter
2. A Mundane Phone Call to Jack Parsons
3. Ghost in the Graveyard
4. Horn Song
5. Fabulous Friend
6. Best Summer Ever
The Khyber is a place I've written about before, a sweaty little box in the old section of the city that's played host to some of the best shows I've seen in Philly- a perfect spot for the band's second show ever. They were the openers and they started early (as promised); started playing, in fact, without any kind of warning at all. It was a simple set-up, with Ben (guitar, effects, vocals) sort of isolated on the far left and his sisters Lauren and Robin grouped together in the middle-right part of the stage, taking turns playing the keyboard/laptop and managing the various percussion changes. Okay-
So as gorgeous as these songs are on record, they sound even better live- the songs breathe easier and heartbeat harder (if that makes sense) when performed by the people responsible: Ben spooling out whorls of bright noise from his guitar, Lauren singing with her eyes closed tightly, Robin singing, playing keyboard, and rocking her hips back and forth, the three of them clearly very much involved in the songs themselves. There were a handful of barely discernible rough spots in the set (marked mostly by smiles and quick glances between the siblings), but that just made the show that much more charming and entertaining. Both of the unreleased songs ('Ghost in the Graveyard', 'The Horn Song' (listen to it here)) were jaw-droppingly good- the former is a guitar squall, the most shoegazey of all the band's songs, violent and extremely pretty, and the latter is such a tiny, filigreed thing, a short poem carved into a little block of Brazilian rosewood, placed on your palm. The Field Mice cover ('Fabulous Friend'), sung by Lauren (if I remember correctly) was pretty spectacular as well, particularly the way she sang the line: "I'm not brave, I'm not special, I'm not any of those things", which has stuck with me since then (one of those indelible concert moments). 'Best Summer Ever' though was where they really just nailed it- everything came together so well, those rippling, incandescent waves of guitar and crisp beats matched up perfectly with Lauren's warm and airy vocals- when the band finished, people in the crowd were smiling, obviously happy to have been there.
[photos are from the band's website]
You can see A Sunny Day in Glasgow play at the Fire in Philly a week from today, at 9 p.m. (get there early). "The Sunniest Day Ever" EP is still available on the band's site for low, low prices.
P.S. new track from Portugal coming soon, new track from Norway after that.
Posted by Kevin at 07:02 AM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
Bury me in wood and I will splinter
Contest is over! Winners have been decided! Prizes will be distributed quickly and quietly via the USPS!
Winners
Jillian P-S (lemon chicken)
Ian M (Smog's 'Say Valley Maker')
Douglas W (Ginger-garlic tofu)
Good news that dovetails nicely with the preceding: Pitchfork's track reviews section has a very well-written little write-up on the Sunny Day in Glasgow track "C'Mon". My review of their concert from the beginning of the month is forthcoming- still sorting out the internet connection at the new home, etc. Congrats to the winners. Philly people: don't forget that the band is playing out at the Fire on the 25th of the month. More later...
Posted by Kevin at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2006
Paid in confederate scrip
Just a reminder: tomorrow (Monday) is the last day to enter the contest (which is detailed in the post below). The prize for each of the three winners is a copy of A Sunny Day in Glasgow's "Sunniest Day Ever" EP, a damn good prize (in my opinion). Based on the number of entries, this contest is by far the most successful one Molars has ever held, so I want to thank all the entrants, and the band for being so supportive. I'll announce the winners on Tuesday, or whenever I get everything settled (soon).
Also- who else is excited for the fourth season of the Wire? I think it starts on Sept. 10th. Whenever I bring this show up in conversation, people think I'm talking about the telephone/computer/copper variety. Kind of frustrating.
Posted by Kevin at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2006
Pennsylvania should never be jealous of Virginia [A Sunny Day in Glasgow Contest]
Moving back to Virginia, back to Richmond specifically. Even though I love Philly, Pennsylvania as a whole is just too Amish for my tastes (kidding, Amish, I love you). Some things I wanted to mention though:
1) Hand Held Heart have updated their website, and they are now taking orders for the Skull Skull 12" (this band is composed of members of Liars and Young People), I think it's something like $10 ppd. Definitely get on it now though if you want one, cause there were only 300 pressed. Also, the news on the Liars/Blood Brothers split is that it will be released around the first week of September, with the cost yet to be determined. Good stuff.
2) The Sunny Day in Glasgow show this past Thursday night was extremely fun, and I'll definitely be writing more about it in the next few days (that's the first order of business, post-move). The band is playing again in Philly on the 25th, at the Fire, so go out and see them if you can (it's a Friday night, you have no excuse not to go!). I was so impressed with the show and have been listening to their "Sunniest Day Ever" EP so often that (against my better judgment) I've decided to make a new contest!
3) The only two contests that have ever been run on Molars were semi-unsuccessful, to put it mildly. The first contest had two entrants, one of whom was a friend of mine from college. The second contest had one entrant (and it was an excellent entry)- Sean from StG. That trend would suggest that this contest will only have .5 entrants, which if it happens will make me cry salty, long tears. Let's try to do a little bit better this time, people. Free stuff = fun. Here are the rules!
A Sunny Day In Glasgow Contest
Two ways to enter-
1) Send an email to molarscontest (at) gmail (dot) com, and tell me what your favorite song is at the moment (and why, if you feel like going into it).
2) Send an email to molarscontest (at) gmail (dot) com with your favorite recipe. For anything: french toast, potato salad, chocolate milkshakes, swordfish, daal, pumpernickel, pancakes, whatever it is that you know how to make well, send in the recipe. I need to learn how to cook more dishes.
I'll randomly pick three (3) winners out of the (hopefully) multiple entrants, who will each receive a copy of "The Sunniest Day Ever", A Sunny Day In Glasgow's self-released EP. It's good. I'll probably close the contest next Monday, but that depends on how many people enter...[update: more than .5 entries so far!]
Posted by Kevin at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)