29th Sep2010

Album Reviews: Owen Pallett – A Swedish Love Story

by nickwan

A follow-up to Owen Pallett’s Heartland, A Swedish Love Story is an EP of all new music from Mr. Pallett. With an artist like Pallett, you really don’t have any idea which direction he might sway towards. Could this EP be more experimental indie pop? Could this be more instrumental? Could it be more vocal? What could it possibly be? Well, it’ll be pretty hard to top a masterpiece such as Heartland. But could this new EP come close?

Owen Pallett has been non-stop since his release of Heartland with constant touring, recording strings for The Arcade Fire’s latest album, and just recently appearing at the Polaris Awards. It seems as if the Toronto native has had his hands full this year. The hype for Mr. Pallett hasn’t seem to have reached it’s apex, but Owen Pallett is most likely one good supporting tour away from becoming huge.

If Heartland didn’t impress instrumentally (if you weren’t impressed, you’re lying to yourself), A Swedish Love Story should. I’ve said this earlier in the year and this short-release has confirmed it: Owen Pallett is the prototypical singer-songwriter all singer-songwriters should aspire towards. It’s music, and it’s really really good. Throw your overly-excessive ideas of weirdly deep metaphors and reverb tanks turned up to 12 in the trash. Owen Pallett is about as real and honest as singer-songwriter music gets. It’s not over the top and it’s not under-produced. It translates from the album to the stage very gracefully and transfers back from the stage to the album if you’ve seen him live and wanted to pick up a CD on the way out of one of his shows. A Swedish Love Story is no different than what he’s been putting out all year. Just good music.

There seems to be no hint towards whether these “brand new tracks” were actually brand new tracks or just b-sides from his previous studio adventures. In either case, it seems that this album doesn’t necessarily point in a general direction of where Owen Pallett will venture to next. Maybe not necessarily a great con, since the spontaneous nature of Owen Pallett’s songs are a majority of the reason it is so interesting, but interesting to note that he has been hard to pin point what will exactly be on the next release. We know it will have lots of technical violin and instrumental arrangements. We know he’ll maximize his vocal ability throughout the album. What we don’t know is whether we’re getting the more of the singer or more of the songwriter. And for some people, that is a con. The random unknown of Mr. Pallett is just that… who knows what the next song might be?

Well, it’s obviously a good album. A little more instrumentally, but that just might be because this is a more concentrated Owen Pallett. If someone said to sum up Owen Pallett in four songs you haven’t heard, this is a great way to get a taste of what he’s about. However, his LP releases do show a little more tact than what this has to offer, so if you’re looking for the musical experience rather than to be blown away by the musically gifted, just go ahead and get Heartland.

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28th Sep2010

Album Reviews: Jesca Hoop – Hunting My Dress

by Adam Finley

Most musicians begin their careers by wowing family, then struggling to build a fan base, and finally earning the respect of famous musicians (see: David Bowie & The Arcade Fire).

California folkster Jesca Hoop is building her career the opposite way. She used to be the nanny for growlcore troubadour Tom Waits and earned respect from one of the greatest living songwriters before she ever released a song.

Earlier this year Jesca dropped Hunting My Dress, her second full-length album and first on Vanguard. Influences are not hard to identify here. Jesca moved to England in 2009 to record Hunting My Dress, and it’s not hard to hear strains of Kate Bush or Nick Drake in the mossy forest of instrumentation that she builds. Jesca alternately sounds like Fiona Apple (‘Whispering Light’) and Martha Wainwright (‘The Kingdom’), with hints of Nellie McKay and Bjork thrown in, and one particularly noisy piece of ‘Feast Of The Heart’ which would sound at home on an M.I.A. track.

Jesca has a beautiful ability to sound like a dozen artists you know, yet also sound exactly like herself. She’s at her best when singing simple, mostly-acoustic songs with memorable guitar lines and image-laden lyrics, letting her voice play across octaves rather than stay in the constrained hush-sing which accompany some of her more sedate pieces. The standout tracks on Hunting My Dress feature Jesca at her most playful: ‘Murder of Birds’ with its soaring vocals and crystalline guitar line, ‘Four Dreams’ with its catchy sing-along chorus, and ‘Bed Across The Sea’ with its pure cheekiness, “L.A. is hot as fuck/and Manchester is about to freeze”. Hunting My Dress at once fits Jesca into the pantheon of modern female singer-songwriters while setting her apart from everyone else.

Hunting My Dress neither boldly forges new sonic territory nor commits to revisiting the old. It’s an inbetween album and, no lies, it’s a sleeper. It took five solid listens before I could wrap my brain around and appreciate the denser compositions. And though her voice has a bafflingly large range, Jesca often hamstrings herself by going too low or way too high where she sounds somewhere between pre-record deal Joanna Newsom and a wounded Fraggle.

Great artist, but just a pretty good album. Nothing here is overly innovative. Nothing here screams “album of the year”. But Tom Waits was on to something when he said that Jesca’s music was “like swimming in a lake at night”; for a long countryside drive on a drizzly day, you could do much worse.

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20th Sep2010

A.A. Bondy @ New Parish 09/07/2010

by HenryJones

Last week I had the opportunity to see A.A. Bondy at the New Parish in Oakland, which “might be the best venue in the world”, says Bondy himself after getting a taste of complementary BBQ. The show opened with JBM (aka Jesse Merchant) who sings honest and introspective folk songs stripped down to a solo performance with a loop pedal, a small drum kit, guitar and harmonica. JBM lures the audience in with confidence in simplicity, using a loop pedal only enough to support the song and never trying to prove anything.

After JBM, A.A. Bondy stormed the stage and tuned his guitar behind some drone music and then left. “interesting” said the New Parish sound guy who was relieved of his duties to make way for A.A. Bondy’s man who couldn’t seem to get a low humming sound that seriously peeved Bondy. But once the sound was cleared up it didn’t seem to clear everything up for ol’ A.A. Bondy who continually played around with different pedals and seemed to be experimenting something new on every song. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who can make more sounds come out of a hollow body electric than him.

A.A. Bondy was joined by a bass player/keyboardist and a pedal steel/drummer. When the band kicks it into high gear the energy is gritty and pulsing with Bondy cranking distortion on his guitar. He had a good mix of soft pickin’ and singin’ and kick ass blue collar grind your face to the pavement Rock. A little whiskey added to the fire and Bondy was a huge presence on stage.

But A.A. Bondy is not satisfied, and it’s a good thing. He never sang a line the same as the record or played a note the same. He seems restless on the stage constantly trying to discover something new about the music and when he’s happy about the result the audience eats it up like fried turkey.

Category : Live Reviews, Music
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19th Sep2010

Album Reviews: Best Coast – Crazy For You

by nate

Surf’s up, bros! Let’s pack up the boombox and hit the sand! Don’t forget to bring that new Best Coast CD! Actually, please do. Unless you want to listen to a solid 25 minutes of reverb-drenched G, C, D songs about summertime, fighting with your boyfriend, and cats. Then by all means, bring it along. This Los Angeles based indie pop outfit released their debut album, “Crazy For You” on July 27, 2010. Just in time for some summer fun! Unfortunately, of the many adjectives I could use to describe this album “fun” would probably not be one of them. “Good” and “original” would be two other noticeable snubs from the list.

While attending Eugene Lang College in New York, founding member Bethany Cosentino came up with the idea for the name “Best Coast” in respect to her deep longing for her sunny west coast home. And so, upon her return, Best Coast was born. Along side her long time companion Bobb (two b’s) Bruno and Ali Koehler, formerly of Vivian Girls, Cosentino set out to record an album of summertime bliss. The LP sports 10 tracks of surfy, glazed over indie pop. With generally simple guitar riffs and an overdose of “oooo’s” and “aaah’s” reminiscent of the Beach Boys, Crazy for You is an underwhelming effort. But before I talk this album to death, it’s only fair that I give you, the reader, a taste of it yourself. So without further adieu, here is a small sample of the debut album.

Although they are few and far between, there are several things that Best Coast did well in making this album. They did a fairly good job of capturing the retro summertime “feel”, keeping everything pretty low-fi and turning up the reverb for an overall murky sound. From a production standpoint, they made the album sound natural enough as it was. There wasn’t a feeling that the low-fi sound they went for was at all forced. In addition, the vocals were very well suited to the songs. Bethany Cosentino’s vocals have that sort of “belting from the chest, but making it seem so easy” sound that reminds me of Cindy Wilson from the B-52′s. All together, the band seems pretty well put together, and they are good at what they do.

To me, this album just sounds flat. If you were to take a glass of Coke, fill it up with a few ice cubes, let those ice cubes melt, and then drink the Coke, that is what this album would taste like. The reverb-induced hazyness of this album can’t hide the fact that, this album, when stripped down to it’s raw self, is boring. I actually caught myself checking to see why there was a 3 second silence in the middle of a song, only to find that it was in fact a new song all together. This album just sounds like one long uninspired mid-summer jam. The lyrics are very repetitive and generally lack anything of substance that would set them apart from any other song. This band is a microcosm of everything that I despise about the indie music scene. They cover up for a clear lack of musical ability and uniqueness by selling themselves as “avant-garde”. Going against the grain is one thing, but in the end, it all comes down to the music.

Crazy For You is a dismal effort to say the least. Although this band has potential, this album was a definite cop-out. The songs are as musically pedestrian as they are lyrically. Best Coast tried so hard to play into the hands of a hungry indie crowd, that they forgot about the most important part; the music. That being said, I look forward to this band’s future work because they have the potential to be successful if they are willing to put in the effort. But unless you want a flat glass of Coke, I would not suggest this album.

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16th Sep2010

Album Reviews: The Boy Who Trapped the Sun – Fireplace

by nickwan

It’s coming down to the last quarter of the year and some quality albums are knocking at the door. It’s hard to tap into the “best of” pool since so many great albums have turned our heads this past Spring and Summer; however, the Autumn mood does call for respecting. We’re talking earthy, rustic, turning a new leaf type music.

The Boy Who Trapped the Sun, or Colin David MacLeod as his mother would call him, has released two EPs previous Fireplace with seemingly little sound. Now, with Fireplace being his first full-length, it seems as if Mr. MacLeod is bracing for a much larger crowd. Many who have picked his album up has seemed to enjoy it for the most part, which is also coupled by Mr. MacLeod being a stand-up guy it seems. Check out his single “Katy” below!

Usually, when a indie-folk artist sticks his or her songs out there, there is a clear divide between whether their songs are more singer-y or songwriter-y. In this case, song-for-song there is a great blend of both. There is no leaning towards one instrument or another, but rather a great blend of all instruments. I’m not overwhelmed by strange stories or by shallow catchy choruses, nor am I bombarded with eccentric guitar lines or overly-simplified rhythms made for vocal spotlighting. This is some great song writing — lots of start up garage band kids should take note, as this is a great blueprint if you want to ever know what well-thought out songs sound like.

The album’s great songs seem to have been thrown on in a way that doesn’t flow too well. Lots of starts and stops with this album. The album starts in a very sullen, starlight shimmering style which is then just an afterthought when the first song, “Katy”, is an uptempo hooky indie-pop tune. This definitely happens more than once on the album. The upbeat “Thorn in Your Side” into the sleepy time piano jam of “Walking in the Dark”. It’s just about every couplet of songs that contrast each other in a not-so-great way. With so many great songs on this album, the flow really takes the album from “great” to just “good”.

Great set of songs, but not necessarily the greatest way to track list them. Yet another album I’d much rather chop up into tiny morsels rather than eat whole in one sitting. I found myself skipping around to fit songs in a flowing manner, which just led me to shuffling this album into my “studying music” playlist. Maybe one could say this is just a rookie mistake for the gentleman’s first full length album? Others might argue as to why The Boy Who Trapped the Sun decided this is how people should listen to this album. For better or for worse, this album is still good for what it’s contents are.

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15th Sep2010

Missed Gems (2009) Andrew Jackson Jihad – Can’t Maintain

by Adam Finley

Andrew Jackson Jihad is a folk-punk band (though, like most iconoclastic bands, they abhor arbitrary genre labels) that’s managed to remain vital since 2005 while never building a significant following outside of their home state of Arizona. AJJ takes the folksy, self-serious Americana of Rocky Votolato and gives it a sharp jab of speed and  humor, like Flogging Molly getting wasted and blasting through the entire Bright Eyes catalog without a hint of irony. Can’t Maintain, AJJ’s second full length LP on Asian Man Records, was one of the few albums of 2009 that both touched me and made me laugh my ass off at the same time.

Alternately earnest, silly, furious, sentimental, cheeky, and self-serious, Can’t Maintain skillfully walks the line between emotive drivel and throwaway novelty folk-punk. ‘Heartilation’ opens the album in a self-pitying fashion, but the Con Air reference 30 seconds in hints that the pity party will be short lived, and soon enough lead singer Sean Bonnette is shouting bloody threats and righteous self-help platitudes in back to back lines on ‘You Don’t Deserve Yourself’. On ‘We Didn’t Come Here To Rock’, AJJ aims its poison tongue at music critics with the elegantly crass put-down, “if that’s what gets your dick hard/telling people they’re bad at making art”. On the next song AJJ builds a ridiculous conceit comparing long-haul truckers to white blood cells fighting infections within the sickened body of America and, for the most part, it works. ‘Sense, Sensibility’ is a deeply touching song about hope in the face of hopeless situations on par with anything the Mountain Goats have ever produced. And last I checked, John Darnielle can’t rock a whistle solo like the boys of AJJ.

Andrew Jackson Jihad – Sense, Sensibiity from If You Make It on Vimeo.

The album ranges far and wide for subject matter, metaphors, and musical influences, yet it doesn’t feel cobbled together. In fact, Can’t Maintain feels more cohesive than most albums written on a single subject, even if it is hard to pin down from song to song. Combine this with impressively wide instrumentation (piano, saxophone, cello, violin, xylophone, and kazoo join the standard folk-punk banjo/guitar/drum combo), loose but engaging harmonies, and a breezy run time of 28 minutes and by the time you think you’ve begun to get a bead on Andrew Jackson Jihad, the album is over and it’s time to restart the damn thing. With all the great music there is to listen to, I will still happily put Can’t Maintain on a continuous loop for hours.

Be fair: it’s easy to miss a great new release from Asian Man Records. The label that made a name for itself by breaking bands such as Alkaline Trio and Less Than Jake while I was in high school has faded in stature to its current state as a dumping ground for so-so ska/punk acts. Nevertheless, Asian Man founder Mike Park deserves props for scooping up Andrew Jackson Jihad and blessing us with this amazing record. In addition, AJJ tend to fly below the radar. When Can’t Maintain was first released, no one but Sputnik Music and Radio Free Chicago even bothered to review it. Pitchfork wouldn’t touch the damn thing, so busy they were sucking Dan Deacon’s dick (note to self: that is an excellent band name). On top of this, both members of AJJ hold day jobs around Phoenix and tour only occasionally, making word of mouth, private torrent sites, and an awesome name their three best marketing tools.

Can’t Maintain, and Andrew Jackson Jihad in general, is not for everyone: if you don’t like the idea of Kimya Dawson fronting Murder By Death, and asking everyone to play drunk, then this album isn’t for you. However, if you are a fan of Kimya or Jeffrey Lewis or the DIY anti-folk scene in general, you’ll dig Can’t Maintain. If cheeky, raucous songs performed by self-deprecating and surprisingly complex musicians is your thing, then welcome home. May you enjoy this gem as much as I have.

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12th Sep2010

Jenny & Johnny @ Bumbershoot – 9/6/10

by Adam Finley

Being a fan of Jenny Lewis is like having a pet chameleon that can change any color, even those gross greenish-brown tones that always remain fresh in the crayon box long after all the good colors have been worked down to misshapen nubs. There’s a little something for everyone in Jenny, and her newest project, Jenny & Johnny (with boyfriend Jonathan Rice), is a shade of nostalgic blue that will appeal to most.

The first time I listened to J&J’s debut album, I’m Having Fun Now, I got a strong sense that the  male/female voices melting into each other behind the lyrics was what happened to Jack & Diane after they left their no-horse midwestern town to make it big. Or the career arc that Tom Petty’s ‘Eddie’, and his girl with the matching tattoo from “Into The Great Wide Open”, should have had. The entire album is a throwback to a simpler time, when two youngsters more in love with music and life than fame or money could thrive in the world, and everything about the band’s live show matches this aesthetic: Johnny with his leather jacket, boyish looks, and faux-punk sneer; Jenny with her cutesy outfit, novelty stage decorations (a pink flamingo whose leg snapped off 20 seconds into the show), and shy-girl stage banter, “um, you guys are really cool!”; even J&J’s touring guitarist, who rocked an old-school letterman jacket and jeans with rolled-up cuffs.

Being one of the first shows that Jenny & Johnny have ever played, it was a testament to both the veteran status of the individuals involved and their ability to buy into this collective myth which made the show so entertaining. J&J plowed through the majority of their debut in a precisely timed set, including the obligatory new song (“Just One Of The Guys”) and cover song (“Love Hurts”). Johnny stuck to his sneers and a half dozen guitar changes while Jenny handled bass, rhythm guitar, keyboard, and assorted percussion, including some hilariously just-off-beat accompanying drumming on the chug-a-long ‘Slavedriver’. There was no crowd uproar for any one track– the album was released with little fanfare just days prior and, being a motley festival crowd, it was refreshing to hear small pockets of fans shout for personal favorites. For me it was “My Pet Snakes” and one of the must destructively sensual couplets of of the year: “I don’t believe in sucking your way to the top/fingers crossed, you’re flipping me off”, delivered with a coy smile that would send shivers up any indie kid’s spine.

I’m not certain that J&J’s voices meld together as well live as they do on record, but having the security of their characters, as well as their real-life intimacy to fall back on, made the show extremely fun to watch. It was the perfect example of actors playing roles so well that the line between real and fake is inexorably blurred; if something can be both inauthentic and absolutely genuine at the same time, this was it.

Oh, and I learned one new thing about my pet chameleon, Jenny Lewis. She plays drums in real life like I play drums in Rock Band– imperfectly but joyously and, I must say, colorfully.

Category : Record Reviews
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11th Sep2010

Album Reviews: Sea of Bees – Songs for The Ravens

by nickwan

Supposedly, the stegosaurus wasn’t real but rather a transitional evolutionary piece in the dinosaur puzzle. That might be a complete fabrication, but thinking about it does make me realize a few key things about my previous life: 1) Billy, from Power Rangers, would technically be up shit creek, 2) sucks for all those artists who drew life-like stegosauri (stegosauruses?) into paintings, pictures, and textbooks, and 3) it makes me realize that certain bands should be considered “transitional” more that a “this-or-that” type band.

Sea of Bees is a mix between the former-”it”-sound (folk and ghastly) and the newest “it” sound (driving vocals meets some sort of experimental or pop vibe [experimental: see Joanna Newsom; indie pop: see Best Coast]). Between the cascading differences of what is in at the moment, Adam Finley (one of our staffers) said something interesting to me this past week. Some albums do slip through the cracks, may it be because we see other albums in priority to them or because of their transitional sound, but in the end sometimes it takes a special appreciation for that pinch-hitter or special-teams-core player to really be a game changer for the entire team. Enter Sea of Bees.

Some would say this is the female equivalent of Mike Kinsella, except less on the intricate guitar-work and more on the intricate vocal-work. Her live shows seemingly consist of herself, even though her album shows a very studio (very polished) sound, accompanied by several instruments and synths. Much like Kinsella, her live show seems to promise just as much as her album shows. The album itself is a mix between the indie-folk sound of the old and a vocal punch from the new. It might be pressed to say that this would be a great transition from something like Heather Duby’s past albums to Joanna Newsom’s newest album, but I feel that this has a spot somewhere to shout.

Much like the supposed stegosaurus, if this is just a band or artist to woo me over until the next artist, I really would rather just cut this album up on a playlist and never throw on all 11 songs in sequential order again. Although, the difference between the stegosaurus and Sea of Bees’ Songs for The Ravens is that the stegosaurus was real and then proposed false whereas Songs for The Ravens is definitely real and not proven false. However, what makes this case special is that this album bridges both old indie folk with new indie-pop vocal, and it is hard to decide which side to go with. People looking for new music will see straight to the indie-folk and be done with this. People who want that indie-pop vocal vibe will hear the tone of the folk and be turned off. I wouldn’t exactly call this glorified coffee shop music, but it’s hard to stick it on a shelf next to anyone without looking awkward.

On one hand, crisp. On the other, worn. It’s like left-overs from a 5-star restaurant. It’s the best reheated food you’ll ever have in your life… but it’s reheated left-overs. I’m no chef, but I’m a fan of these guys. Well, girl… as the live show seems. I feel that another album or the next musical evolutionary step would turn me on to Sea of Bees a lot. I do enjoy this for what it’s worth, but it’s a little more past than present.

stegosaurus
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07th Sep2010

Album Reviews: Bombay Bicycle Club – Flaws

by nate

Bombay Bicycle Club. This London based indie outfit consists of Jack Steadman (vocals, guitar, banjo, xylophone), Jamie MacColl (lead guitar, backing vocals, banjo), Ed Nash (bass, keyboard, backing vocals, mandolin), and Suren de Saram (drums, backing vocals, guitar). The band is currently signed to Island Records (UK). With colorful guitar hooks and mellowed out vocals, BBC is everything that one could ask for in a typical indie or low-fi band. Think Mike Kinsella, but backed by Tokyo Police Club. This band is easy on the ears from the first listen, but writes with enough depth to leave you wanting more.

On July 12, 2010, the band released their sophomore album simply entitled “Flaws”. The album was a swift departure from their previous work, as it was comprised entirely of acoustic songs. Some covers, some originals, and some revisits of their own material, “Flaws” was met with mixed reviews among critics. Given the bands previous history of ambient electric sounds, a wholly acoustic release was more or less a leap of faith. As it stands alone, this album has a great feel to it, reminding me more of folksy acts like Iron and Wine and M. Ward.  That being said, it takes a whole new direction than anything they have released before. As with any major change, this album was met with both love and hate. How will it stack up? I’ll let you be the judge.


This album has a very relaxed feel to it, and consequently lends itself well to first time listens. Songs like “Many Ways” and “Ivy & Gold” leave me unknowingly whistling their catchy melodies for hours after each listen. None of the tracks run much longer than 4 minutes and they all generally blend well together. This album does a good job of employing the full potential of an “acoustic album”. It offers catchy acoustic guitar hooks and soft snare beats, but also employs the banjo, xylophone, mandolin, and even the occasional keyboard. It offers a full band feel, but still retains the unplugged sound that BBC sought to create. The vocal delivery of Jack Steadman mixes very well with an acoustic sound, and album as a whole begs to be listened to several times in order to encompass all of it’s subtle nuances. Whether you are a relative newcomer to the indie scene or a seasoned veteran, “Flaws” has plenty to offer.

The cons for this album are ones that may be commonly noticed among acoustic albums. Mainly, some of the songs sound a little same-y. Although it is quite a common theme among such albums, I feel like there was more that this album could have offered. While some songs stuck out vividly, others seemed to be mere skeletons in comparison. Ideas that could have and should have been expanded upon, but then again there is only so much that one can do under the pretense of an “all acoustic” album. With only two LPs, one would presume that BBC will make a return to their electric sound, which leaves to question how well this album will be remembered among their other work. Overall, it has a great sound, and great potential, but there are a few loose ends that need tying up.

“Flaws” is a solid, admirable effort from the London indie rockers. It has plenty of aesthetic charm, but still has enough depth to warrant multiple visits. Judging this album standing alone, I would say that it is a very good album, however it should be noted that a decent portion of BBC’s fanbase was less than satisfied with this bands new direction. I personally enjoyed it, but it’s all a matter of personal preference. All in all, this album is definitely worth a listen.

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