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Seriously, is everyone in New York City in a band? The sheer number of musical acts to come that one city is staggering. However, given the filthy, overcrowded, damnear horrific condition of the Rotten Apple, it only makes sense that so many would turn to music to liberate them from the putrid reality of their surroundings.
The Forms' music is a perfect example of that escape-from-reality sound. The Brooklyn-based quartet of Alex Tween, Matt Walsh, and Brendan and Jackson Kenny have garnered a great deal of positive press for their debut album Icarus and self-titled follow-up--both produced by the legendary Steve Albini himself. For a band that's been together since 2000, their output has been scarce, but always high-quality. In many ways, The Forms sound rather like a cross between Coldplay and prog-rock, producing melodic indie rock in all manner of odd, nonstandard time signatures--which may be somewhat offputting to some listeners, but stick with them: the sound will grow on you. Even if the time-signatures are rather alien to pop music, the melodies are strong and easy to follow.
Unlike many The Forms focus first and foremost on songwriting, not on musical virtuosity, and this is apparent througout their self-tilted second album. "Knowledge in Hand" opens the album with a defining statement of the band's somewhat psychedelic, largely distortion-free sound, with a groovy layering of piano and guitars to back up a powerful lead vocal. "Bones" and "Blue Whale" are both stirling examples of shimmery pop-rock that recalls the glory days of 4AD while featuring a distinctly modern sound (mainly created by Albini's clean and no-nonsense production, which hasn't changed much since the 1980s, though it now clearly partakes of modern studio technology). At 3:50 long, "Blue Whale" is the longest song on the record, with most of the other tracks measuring only three minutes in length. This musical economy actually serves the band's melody-driven quality well, as there is no sonic "filler"--like extended guitar solos or bridges--in any of their songs.
However, this brevity also works against the music, in some cases. Many songs do not end, but simply fade out after the three-minute-mark as if the band just doesn't know how to bring them to a conclusion, so they just keep playing while Albini pulls the master mix fader down to zero. I wonder just how well this stuff translates live: if you can't figure out how to end a song, what do you do after the final verse is sung--just quit playing? And though none of the developed tracks themselves have any musical filler, there are two tracks, "Borges" and "Blue Whale (outro)" that, at less than a minute long each (the latter is only seventeen seconds long), seem to serve no purpose whatsoever on the record. They're not even sketches of songs. Quite frankly, I think they're simply studio outtakes the band decided to throw on the album just for the hell of it.
Nonetheless, The Forms is a very good listening experience whose etherial chords and atmospheric vocals will certainly open up a gateway in your mind to a prettier place. If your reality is bleak and crummy as any Brooklyn street, The Forms will gladly take you along to a much better realm.
Sadly, they have no live dates listed.
Links:
theforms.org
myspace.com/forms
)Today is July 4th, America's Independence Day. I have put together a collection of Americana/Roots music as theme. Some artists are not strictly in this genre, and to group them together might be unfair, so I suggest if you like what you read and hear, find out more about them on their respective websites.
Of course, when you think of "America", the one name that really comes to mind is Bruce Springsteen. Since 1973, "The Boss" have been representing the everyman with his American heartland rock music. He's probably best known for his album (and song), "Born in the U.S.A." at the height of his popularity in 1984.
The album tied for "Most Top 10 Songs from One Album" award, alongside Michael Jackson's Thriller and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, with - count 'em - seven songs: "Dancing in the Dark" , "Cover Me" , "Born in the U.S.A." , "I'm on Fire" , "Glory Days", "I'm Goin' Down" and "My Hometown".
With an amazing string of hit songs, it's actually not surprising that find out that Springsteen's albums consistantly hit #1 on the Billboard charts, with eight #1 albums: The River (1980), Born in the U.S.A. (1984), Live/1975-85 (1986), Tunnel of Love (1987), Greatest Hits (1995), The Rising (2002), Devils & Dust (2005), and Magic (2007). With the exception of Jay-Z, all of the chart-toppers are no longer around (The Beatles, Elvis, and The Rolling Stones), so this is a pretty amazing feat for an all-American New Jersey boy.
By the way, I have never seen Springsteen live, but from watching SNL and reading about it, I get the impression that The Boss and the E Street Band plays an amazing, live show, full of blood, sweat, and tear.
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CORY CHISEL
thewanderingsons.com ♥ myspace.com
The EP I have here is called Cabin Ghosts, and it's listed simply as "Cory Chisel", but I believe the full, and correct, name should be listed as "Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons". There is also no cover art with the EP, so please note that the art that I used to represent them here is not the final CD cover. I tried looking up when the CD will be release, but I couldn't find any details of the details. I am assuming it will be release sometime in 2008 and/or only sold on tour. Listening to the EP, it sounds to me to be very Springsteenesque, especially when Chisel sings out, "The thunder roll, its angry heart, across my shoulders in the dark, maybe I'm losing ground" on "See It My Way". I am also guessing that the EP was recorded live as there's clapping from the audience inbetween the songs, but on some songs, the audio sounds too perfect (you can clearly hear everything, from backup singers to the quiet acoustic guitar). The song I was asked to use is "Home In The Woods", which I can understand as its lyrics and theme is about wanting to escape from the city and live in an isolated cabin in the woods - perfect for an EP called Cabin Ghosts. They are currently on tour with Joshua James. See tour information below.
Jul 16 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 17 - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania July 18 - Radio Radio - Indianapolis, Indiana July 19 - Beat Kitchen - Chicago, Illinois July 20 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, Michigan July 22 - Shank Hal - Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 23 - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, Minnesota July 24 - Waiting Room - Omaha, Nebraska July 25 - The Record Bar - Kansas City, Missouri July 30 - Toad Tavern - Denver, Colorado July 31 - Belly Up - Aspen, Colorado Aug 1 - Club Sound - Salt Lake City, Utah Aug 3 - The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington Aug 4 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, Oregon Aug 5 - Boardwalk - Orangevale, California Aug 6 - Hotel Utah Saloon - San Francisco, California Aug 8 - Casbah - San Diego, California Aug 9 - Hotel Cafe - Los Angeles, California Aug 10 - Rhythm Room - Phoenix, Arizona Aug 15 - Lawrence Memorial Chape - Appleton, Wisconsin Sep 13 - Red Rocks Amphitheater - Morrison, Colorado Nov 26 - New American Theater - Rockford, Illinois
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SAMMY WALKER
ramseurrecords.net ♥ myspace.com Sammy Walker is a folk/country singer/songwriter from Georgia (but I think currently in North Carolina?), was briefly popular from 1975 to 1977, with two of the albums on major label, Warner Brothers. It would seem he went into early retirement until 1994 with Old Time Southern Dream. Now, after 14 years since that release, he is back now with Misfit Scarecrow to be released on July 22nd on Ramseur Records. Walker has a very distinctive, southern, and clear, but aging, voice. Some of the melodies and lyrics really made me think of Bob Dylan. Since I don't have Walker's earlier works, I can only imagine what his earlier works might sound just like early Dylan. Walker's songs all tells little timeless stories, all told through the eyes of the protagonist. Sometime that person might be a corpse ("Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone") or a scarecrow ("Misfit Scarecrow") or a farmer ("Proud and Poor"), but they all tell epic tales. I really enjoyed "Another Sad Song About You", a song about running into someone from the past. It goes into great detail describing someone leaning on a lamp post: "a blue scarf around your neck, and a silver charm across your heart". Despite a timeless feel to the song, I did enjoy the modern references, in such lines like: "I heard about your brother, when the Twin Towers came crashing down." The country/blues song, "Someday I'm Gonna Rock and Roll", ends the album with a humourous tone. I get the impression that the song is really about Walker, himself. He must get a lot of people telling him he should do rock and roll, but he scoffs at it.
In case you were wondering why that line is so funny, it's because Rodgers is often considered as the father of country music. |
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FISKUM
fiskum.com ♥ myspace.com
Fiskum is actually from Minneapolis, and his album, Darkness/Fire/Dancing was released late last year. The first time I heard "Tom Waits' Bar And Grill", I thought of Harry Chapin's "Taxi", especially when he sings "and she says 'hi, how'd you been? I saw your call, I stopped on in'". With the title, you can tell that he is giving a little nod to Tom Waits, and, like Waits, paints a story about a chance encounter with an old close friend at a bar & grill. I later read Fiskum got the idea for the song from a short conversation with someone trying to "explain to his new girlfriend why he was seen hanging with his old flame." He wrote notes for each of his song on his music page, and this is for "Tom Waits' Bar & Grill":
There is a
surprise at the end of the album, it's another version of "Winter
Moon". The song looks like a live recording, and it's sung entirely in
Welsh by an uncredited woman. You can find Darkness/Fire/Dancing at your usual location on Amazon and iTunes. |
JOSEPH ARTHUR
josepharthur.com ♥ myspace.com
Peter Gabriel saw something in Joseph Arthur, because he signed Arthur on his record label, Real World. Although he's no longer on Real World, he's releasing a ton of material on his own record label, Lonely Astronaught. Already this year alone these are the EPs that's already released: Could We Survive (Mar 2008), Crazy Rain (Apr 2008), Vagabond Skies (Jun 2008), and Foreign Girls (July 2008). At the rate he's going, he'll probably have three or four EPs released before his album, Temporary People comes out September 16th, 2008. I actually have only two of the EPs, Could We Survive, which seems to have a (anti?) war theme, and his latest, Vagabond Skies. There's something perfectly folk and pop on the lead song, "Slow Me Down", that you should check out. As you can hear on that song, it's not completely traditional folk. Such beat/loop machine can be found in the background of "Pretty Good Company" and "Second Sight". It's also nice to hear Joan Wasser (violins) doing some backup vocals on some songs, I hope she participate more in the upcoming album. I like what he's doing, bundling his limited art prints if you buy two EPs ($20). This is good for hardcore fans to collect his art, while at the same time give the second EP as a gift of music to their friends and family. |
PS, this article took very long to write. There may be a part two later tonight.
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
This gem is courtesy of my trashcan-hucking, classroom table-upending, chest-flashing one-man wonder of summer school destruction and chaos. He’s a nice kid—just a bit wild, and lacking whatever it is that allows one to behave in a somewhat civilized manner. Sometimes, however, lacking a social filter allows one to speak seldom-heard truth.
This is from his journal response regarding a time he had misjudged someone:
A time when I misjudged someone was when I judged that people that go to ______Junior High are ghetto because my family said that most of the people are stupid and poor. I found out I was wrong. When I went to _____ Junior High to go to summer school and I now know that a lot of them are smart and look like they have expensive clothes. I also found out that it doesn’t matter how expensive their clothes are they could still be mean and stupid. I also judged that everyone was mean and ignorant. I was proved wrong by a lot of people at _____Junior High.
Keep in mind that summer school is held at the “ghetto/stupid/poor” campus, and students from the other campus, such as this articulate young man, are outnumbered 4 to 1. Also bear in mind that he is probably the thinnest and shortest student in the class. I had to explain his comments to a few students who stopped listening at “ghetto, stupid, and poor,” but it was worth pointing out how much guts it took for this little guy to admit the error of his unfounded stereotypes in the presence of those he had prejudged. (I didn’t draw attention to the fact that he pretty much tossed his parents/family under the bus with his confession).
I wish mom and dad could have been there to share in their son's enlightenment. I also wonder how many parents motivate their kids during the year with threats of being sent to summer school with all of the "stupid and poor kids."
Nothing's quite as good as a solid, soulful R&B record to chill you down or warm you up, depending on your mood or...ahem, your company. But real R&B has been hard to come by lately. Sure, artists like Rihanna are often identified as R&B, but that kind of hip-hop-influenced R&B is but a pale shade of the real thing that crooners such as Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, Grover Washington Junior, and Deniece Williams have put out. Fortunately, thanks to the good folks at Little Dizzy Records, a Sherman Oaks, CA-based independent urban digital record label, aficionados of real R&B--the smooth and soulful kind--will find their palates sensuously courted by newcomer Angie Whitney, whose first solo album, That's What Love Is All About, is out now.
Angie Whitney's been singing since the age of four. A native Californian, as a child she began singing duets with her twin sister Rachel, and soon became members of their father's church choir in Vallejo, California. The twins were soon in demand by many local groups and organizations, but Angie's career as a professional singer really gained credibility and notice when she and her sister and cousin formed their own group, The New Horizon, and were also selected as background singers for one of my alltime favorite soul groups, the legendary Spinners. Whitney now performs with the Angie Whitney Jazz & Blues Clique and Easy Street Big Band Orchestra, but her debut solo album is all her--and she's all you really need.
Despite its almost clichéd title, That's What Love Is All About is a lovely collection of soulful tunes that will heat up dancefloors and bedrooms. The lead track, "Don't Tease Me Now," is an upbeat, funky, almost disco-like dance track propelled by Whitney's smooth, silky voice and a sultry sax accompaniment. The song has a distinctly '80s kind of sound and calls to mind Sade, which is a very good thing--but Angie Whitney has a vocal identity all her own. The music, composed of soul staples bass, piano, and strings, is accented uniquely with smoky saxophone accents that play off of Ms. Whitney's voice as if she's actually singing a duet with the instrument in the intro to "Now Baby or Never," a finger-snappin' little number with a jazzy, 1920s Cotton Club sound. The title track, "That's What Love is All About" is a lovely romantic ballad, but is somewhat overshadowed by the minimalistic beauty of the eminently-soulful "Love Me By Name," which is smooth as eighty-year-old scotch and just as heart-warming. And definitely check out the straight-up elegant funk of "Excuse Me (I've Got A Life To Catch)" which features the slickest interplay between synths and sax that I think I've ever heard.
All in all, Angie Whitney's first solo effort is a sexy, sophisticated, accomplished album that gives its listeners a true, unadulterated soul/R&B experience. Her voice is not as powerful as Aretha Franklin's, but is much more energetic than Sade's, so I would say she covers a middle-ground between each...a territory little explored by soul singers these days, who all aspire for Aretha's mighty pipes or Sade's slinky purr. So put this album on the next time you come home from a long day at work. Mix up a martini, relax with yourself and a significant other, and let the music give you a nice mental massage that might...well, who knows what it might lead to, if you get my drift. ;)
Links:
angiewhitney.com
myspace.com/angielwhitney
www.littledizzyrecords.com
Labrador Records (labrador.se) once again turned to Pirate Bay to help distribute their Labrador Summer Sampler 2008. If you remember, they did the same thing last year after their servers crashed due to a high volume of demand.
If you already use BitTorrent, then downloading it from Pirate Bay is easy enough, but unlike most people, I don't use the torrents. Instead, I had to get the files from a friend. If you're in the same boat, regarding not using bittorrent, I have made the free sampler available for download: sendspace.com/file/2yaj76 (154 mb).
Please note: I am acting under the assumption that Labrador wants as many people to download their sampler as possible. So please share this with your friends.
Although compared to last year's massive 68-track-sampler, this year's new 30 tracks is smaller... but it is still a lot of music to listen to. Since we've covered many of these bands (see corresponding links to previous W♥M articles), I was more interested in the bands I hadn't heard of: Leslies, Caroline Soul, and Johan Hedberg. Although Leslies previously appeared on their 2007 Sampler ("Dear Friend"), this is the first time I paid attention to them due to their poppy "Take a Look" song.
01 [Ingenting] - Här Kommer Solen |
11 Chasing Dorotea - Dark Angel |
21 The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief |
In other news for this past week, we find Devo asking "Are We Not Toys?" after suing McDonald's for using their likeness in one of their McToys. CNN reports that "Kid Rock Was Only Kidding" when he told people to "steal everything". This tells me a lot about Kid Rock fans if he had to EXPLAIN that it was only a joke. Duh?
DMX is arrested (again), "Fly - The Musical", Adele won some awards and people seem to be happy she doesn't want to kill herself like Amy Winehouse, and you also found out that Kanye West LIKES TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS, DUDE! His defense blog on the whole Bonnaroo fiasco comes down to the venue's ability to setup the stage and that Pearl Jam was an hour late. That's right, Vedder is a slowpoke.
See links below for news source:
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Coco B's originates out of California, which is very evident in their music. Many similarities could be made to Californian grunge and alternative rockers. Coco B's has captured the alternative rock sound perfectly. Though at first their music may sound very generic, they could be easily described as the very definition of alternative rock. The vocals borderline the emo sound, but those who can't stomach emo rock will likely still be able to appreciate Coco B's for its alternative side. Their general composition is held together by strong baselines and hypnotizing choruses.
On their 2007 album, songs like "Hot Pantz" and "Sunset City of Dub" demonstrate Coco B's relaxing side, which is very earnest yet relaxing. Tracks like "I Live In L.A." and "Access To No.'s" are good examples of their more upbeat songs, which usually have much stronger and rhythmic drum patterns.
In general Coco B's doesn't execute much variety, but they've definitely captured a noteworthy sound. Coco B's debut album (Fast Trak Holy Nova Symphony) was released under the label Grand Theft Autumn, since then they've released two EPs and their 2007 self-titled album under the K-Double Recording Co. label. Their "Basement Songs: Firehawks and Dirtybirds EP1" was also released cooperatively through RCRD LBL. Coco B's is definitely a band to be checked out by any fan of the alternative genre.
Links:
www.cocobs.com
myspace.com/cocobs
Summer school week #2 has been surprisingly low key, except for the individual who felt compelled to yank his own shirt down from the neck and expose his chest to the class. Then today, I observed startled looks from table group I was assisting, and I turned to see him lifting up a table, and depositing it's contents (all of my teaching gear for the day) all over the floor. I guess he didn't realize that hefting a table to display the strength of his cannons would cause everything on the table to fall off. Not my responsibility to show him that. I teach English, not physics.
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07/04/08 1982 Bar Gainesville, Florida
07/04/08 The Atlantic Gainesville, FL 07/05/08 Big Monster Fest Jupiter, FL 07/06/08 Eclipse Riverside/Avondale, FL 07/07/08 Secret Squirrel Athens, AL 08/29/08 Bottletree Cafe Birmingham, AL |
I hate punk. I loathe "garage rock." And flatout despise any sort of music that is described as *-core. I like my music professional, well-crafted, and slick: none of that "lo-fi" recorded-in-some-jackasses-basement-on-a-Tascam-4track shite for me. So why, then, do I actually like We Vs. The Shark?
We Vs. The Shark is a loud, wild, thrashin' kind of pseudo-punk band from the music capitol of the southern states, Athens, Georgia--so it's only right that their music has a very strong B-52s influence. Information about the band is scarce, though we do know the group is composed of Luke Fields, Samantha Paulsen (why does the keyboard player always have to be a girl, and vice-versa?), Scott Smith, and Jeffrey Tobias, and they are mostly known for their energetic, ca-razy live shows. Jeff Tobias also works with Pegasuses-XL and Dark Meat, neither of whom I've ever heard of, but that's neither here nor there. What is here is a band whose latest album, Dirty Versions (on Hello Sir Records), was recorded "nearly live" in only two days to capture to spirit and power of their live shows...and if this album accurately captures the essence of their live performance, then I definitely want to see this band live.
Dirty Versions sounds like the twisted, mutated result of a high-speed collision involving the aforementioned B-52, Mister Bungle, and The Melvins. Despite being recorded "almost live," the mixing and production on this record is slick and clean: every instrument is clearly heard, which is vital when you're dealing with complicated arrangements like these. The music of We Vs. The Shark courts certain definitions while always ducking and weaving through them. Some songs have a grinding, heavy-metal feel to them; others are jumpy, almost poppy tunes. None of them sit still long enough to pin a definite classification to them, though, which makes songs like "Gothic Y'all" and "Mr. Ego Death" almost impossible to describe. There are grinding guitars, crashing drums, screams, howls, weird electronic sweeps. There are blast beats that would make Dragonforce proud followed by slow, quiet sections. There's a lot of energy packed into these songs, and it literally explodes from your speakers in tracks like "I Am The Contempt Machine" and "Keep It Wolf."
I hate The Dillinger Escape Plan, and in some ways, We Vs. The Shark reminds me of them--but in a good way. If you take Dillinger and strip out the abominable hardcore elements, but keep all the power of their music while adding a dose of melody and humor, you've got We Vs. The Shark, a band that exceeds all reflexive comparison and has an identity all its own. Fortunately, that identity is close enough to a number of different genres to draw a diverse crowd, all of whom will find something they like in We Vs. The Shark's music...and that's about the best thing you can offer as a band these days, especially one from a regional music Valhalla like Athens.
If this album has you itchin' to see the band live--as I (and they) no doubt hope it would--then you've got ample chances to see them in the next few days.
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