13th Oct2011

Album Reviews: Owen – Ghost Town

by nickwan

It’s no surprise Owen is one of the most anticipated releases for us here at 402. I literally had to pull out the “I’m the boss” card to get to review this. I mean… who wouldn’t? Mike Kinsella, the brains and brawn behind Owen, has been steadily putting out some of the best releases of the decade. It’s hard to say what really makes up the magic that exists from the start of an album to the end of it… it’s sort of like what makes up a movie you can watch over and over again. You know what’s coming, but because it’s done so well it’s too good to not watch. Or in this case, listen to.

Ghost Town, Owen’s sixth release in a decade, is yet another spell cast from what only could be wizardry. And how, as this is rumored to be the last Owen release…

Listen to a few tracks below!


The Pros

Something you’ll notice extremely early on is the larger band feel of this album. There seems to be much more instrumentation laced throughout the entire album than previous albums. Kinsella, a guitar vishnu and multi-instrumental paragon, normally fronts his singing and acoustic guitar as the stars of most arrangements, with minimal accompanying instrumentation surrounding a thick core. This album seems to go all out on a complete sound, with many songs including very strong drum and bass presence. Unlike other albums, it’s hard to imagine many of these songs translating to anything similar live. The drumming and layering of lead guitar seems very intricate, maybe more intricate than Kinsella can get away with live.

Ghost Town is undoubtedly the most rock sounding album of the entire discography. Compared to I do perceive. (arguably Owen’s most rock album), this album would be a notch down on the catchy riffs and plenty of notches up on the rock sound. Don’t come expecting I do perceive. part II here — Ghost Town really is it’s own beast.

Some new things that aren’t necessarily completely new to the Owen repertoire is the use of the stringed instruments other than guitar. There seems to be a much stronger presence of cello and violin on this than previous albums. The lends yet another layer of complexity to the entire album. And maybe most importantly, the amount of production that went into this album didn’t overshadow the core essence of what Owen is all about. Like always, the subtle weaving of all instrumentation and vocals are both exciting and haunting.

The Cons

Unlike previous efforts, it was hard to pinpoint that hooky song Owen albums usually include. Everything seemed to go by so fast that there wasn’t really one extremely catchy vocal melody or guitar riff or chorus that sucked me in the first time. After three listens, “I Believe” and “No Language” have ended up being my two favorites. This shouldn’t be a complete surprise, as both tracks feature some of the most complex and beautiful arrangements on the album.

I’m also never a complete fan of including tracks from an EP unless they are drastically different. “O, Evelyn…” is the title track from the EP with the same name, released during Record Store Day this past year. As much as I loved the teaser-EP, I would have been more in love with Ghost Town had it featured something other than “O, Evelyn…” or at the very least, a different arrangement of the song.

My last con, which is a very personal one, is the fact that I’ll probably never see Owen play in San Francisco again. I went through high school and all of college, basing much of my musical inspiration around Mike Kinsella projects. Having the ability to see him live three times was nice, but nowhere near enough. To this day, I’ve never flown further for a show (or flown for any show) than when Owen played with Andy Hull and Kevin Devine during CMJ a few years ago. So, hearing that this may be Mike Kinsella’s last hurrah actually makes me feel kind of ugly inside. Maybe that really is the whole idea behind Ghost Town, though. This feeling I get is truly, in all sense of the stupid word, emo.

The Verdict

Owen’s latest album would normally be good enough to jump into the album of the year nominee boat, but this time around is a bit different. The album actually plays really fast. I find myself having to keep repeating this album before it goes into the next album I have to review, and it’s more because I feel like I’ve barely breathed by the time it’s over. With the inclusion of “O, Evelyn…” and the lack of a snapper-hand-clapper, I feel like this album might be more of a slow growing force than a bullet train of awe. I’ve had two days with the album so far and it definitely will be a mainstay on my playlist for a very long time. It just didn’t feel that way initially. Come November and we’ll see if Owen’s Ghost Town can stand with the rest of them.

As for more on the album, Ghost Town has seemed to benefit from the production team of Brian Deck (Iron & Wine) and Neil Strauch (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy). The full sound gives Owen that band vibe it once hinted at with I do perceive. Those who are looking for an American Football revival might be mistaken — Ghost Town is far from American Football and that style of rock. It’s hard to exactly tell where this one will rank amongst the other Owen LPs, but for right now it’s definitely #1.

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10th Apr2011

Weekly Digs #25 (4/9/11)

by Finley


Record Store Day approaches! A day full of limited edition pressings, split 7″ releases, in-store performances, and (for us lucky members of the destitute indie press) a little free schwag for our troubles. Most recently, Polyvinyl Records (Deerhoof, Matt Pond PA, Japandroids) has blessed us with a pile of RSD promos. We are going to pay it forward with a handful of reviews this week. You like Deerhoof? You like Owen? You like Saturday Looks Good To Me? Stay tuned! For now, check out what we liked this week.

Finley’s Picks

Mighty Clouds – Mighty Clouds

We got this from Polyvinyl and it is incredible– a beautiful folksy, strumming, meandering stew of sweet vocals and simple arrangements. I would review this myself, but Nick Wan jumped on it like a grenade full of candy.

Bright Eyes – Shell Games

I didn’t listen to this for the first few weeks I had it– I’ve had a soft spot in my heard for the quavery little emo king since Fevers & Mirrors and I didn’t want his final Bright Eyes album to suck balls. Thankfully, it doesn’t. True to recent form only about half the songs are great, but I’ll take 6 great Bright Eyes songs over 6 Best Coast albums any day.

An Horse – Rearrange Beds

An Horse is the shit, and I am gearing up for the release of their new album, Walls, by listening to this Tegan and Sara-meet-Jesus H. Christ And The Four Hornsmen Of The Apocalypse masterpiece. Check out the are project for “Postcards” below:

 

Nick’s Picks

Owen – O, Evelyn

Duh– Winning.

Adebisi Shank – This is the Second Album from the Band Adebisi Shank

Honestly, we’re a few months into the year now… many things have happened. Charlie Sheen. Rebecca Black. The Royal Wedding. Fox renewing Fringe for another season. I’d say one that tops them all is listening to this album.

Everything on Wild 94.9

Back when I was in middle school and high school, 94.9 was one of the two “rap” stations in my area. Since then, much hasn’t changed… except for the impossibly crappy radio rap. Did Kanye just say he was going to probe me? What?

See the creepy pile of creep below:

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07th Apr2011

Album Reviews: Owen – O, Evelyn

by nickwan

Yes ladies and gentlemen, my third favorite holiday is coming up! April 16th, also known as Record Store Day, sits behind Christmas and Thanksgiving as one of my favorite days of the year because of the limited pressings of all sorts of fun releases. Owen, aka Mike Kinsella, is releasing a 7″ entitled O, Evelyn, which he claims to be his one of his best songs he’s written. On the flip side is a cover of The Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma”.

 

 

The Pros

Aside from the general Record Store Day limited pressing, Mr. Kinsella was not joking about this pressing. “O, Evelyn…” — the title track off of this vinyl — is the sort of Owen track that I initially fell for when I ran into Owen in some bargain bin at Amoeba Music. It’s Mike, a microphone, and a bedroom with a laptop recording. If you are familiar with the Owen guitar-work, you should know that this will not fail you. If this is your first time listening to Owen, the answer is yes… he is this good live as well.

The Cons

In a cliche fashion, this does make me want more Owen. In my fantasy, he takes himself out this way over the summer break and I get to follow the tour up and down the west coast… but that’s just my dream. I’d settle for another full length. And this song, “O, Evelyn…”, really wets the pallet. I wonder what other songs Mr. Kinsella might have up his sleeve.

The Verdict

The verdict is the same for most RSD pressings: BUY IT. This thing only has 2,000 pressings for a single day. There are well over 2,000 Owen fans. You do the math, audiophile.

For more RSD releases and happenings, go check out www.RecordStoreDay.com! Click this link if you want to open a PDF of all the RSD releases this year!


 

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30th Dec2009

NW Reviews: Albums of the Year

by nickwan

Now, in one massive post, the albums of the year from some of us here at 402 Productions!

Nick Wan’s list:

The album of the year is…

David Bazan - Curse Your Branches

David Bazan - Curse Your Branches

Best album this year? It’s hard to compete against someone who has produced three cult followings for three different projects, has put out multiple albums without a lull over the past decade, has attracted a mass following from three different parts of the Seattle-indie world, and has the talent to put out Curse Your Branches, which is a cumulative effort from all three of his faces (Pedro the Lion, Headphones, and David Bazan the solo act). Some might argue that all three sounds the same, but all three are actually very different. From the full on live three piece band to the synth-pop-rock to the singer-songwriter and now a mix of all three and more, Bazan has crafted the best showing in 2009 with Curse Your Branches.

Here are my top albums in no particular order, but possibly in particular genres.

Tegan & Sara - Sainthood

Tegan & Sara - Sainthood

The Quins, along with the two producers who put out The Con and So Jealous, have reached the #2 spot on my list for not failing to deliver the next installment of Tegan & Sara. The album, Sainthood, takes a major step away from their past acoustic singer-songwriter beginnings towards more band-oriented music. The cohesiveness between all the instruments punched in with catchy vocal melodies make up a very big surprise from the Canadian twins. Although very different than their older stuff, the album itself still had some minor shortcomings. For instance, rehashing “niche” pop-punk songs from Tegan (e.g. “Northshore”) and the random one-off indie-pop song from Sara (e.g. “Alligator”) make for predictability. Also, the lack of a solid “hit” on the album might not stand the test of time in the later years, unlike their past albums where there has been a definite “hit” (e.g. “Back in your Head”, “Walking With a Ghost”, “Monday Monday Monday”, etc). However, for this year, this album has shown musical maturity and growth from the Plunk sisters and it seems as if the next step might be even more surprising than this step with Sainthood.

Owen - New Leaves

Owen - New Leaves

Owen, aka Mike Kinsella, cradles us with another Chicago-indie hit. New Leaves is what happens when Mike goes from his bedroom to a larger room with a band in mind. The songs on this album might not have that “there’s a pillow next to me” sound, but the album does have the “how will I play this live, solo acoustic?” sound. Kinsella’s response to playing these songs solo? Playing them with a band. Owen, the band form, took form for the album release party — a first since Mike played in American Football in the late 90′s. The album is consistent and doesn’t have a downfall at any given point, but does take on a bit of wear when compared to his other bedroom hits. The album itself is the less-keyboard-y version of Bazan’s album in my opinion, which doesn’t sit too well with the Owen fan base since Mike has only elaborated on what accompanies his playing rather than changing the entire sound of how he plays music. Still, the album is the best thing Owen has come out with since i do perceive and one could only hope he plays an actual tour with a band some time soon.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

Fanfarlo, a newcomer from London, has set the bar high for indie pop a la Noah and the Whale and Beirut. These guys jumped on the scene early this year with this release and has flown under the radar ever since.  Only touring in the USA once, ever, Fanfarlo hasn’t seem to have broken out of their shell. This album, I would say, seems to be able to withstand the test of time. And should Fanfarlo be able to reach out and become something like Noah and the Whale or Beirut here in America, then this album could be one of those albums people look back on and say, “damn, should have picked up on these guys back in 2009″. I got your back, Fanfarlo. For whatever that is worth.

fun. - Aim and Ignite

fun. - Aim and Ignite

It took a hard while for me to justify this album over Morrissey, but I did. Nate Ruess and company are venturing forth into a new realm of music that is slowly catching on. Although some might agree that Forgive Durden’s Razia’s Shadow was more pinnacle in pinning the new fascination behind this new theatre-rock, fun. is doing their part to further the genre into something maybe less story based and something more musical based. fun. is taking the eccentric and elaborate arrangements of theatre and putting that into indie-rock form, creating this new music that seemingly only few bands are trying out lately. fun. should look forward to a big year in 2010, as should the indie-pop-rock scene.

Malajube - Labyrinthes

Malajube - Labyrinthes

I was turned into a big fan after my first few listens to this album. I think these guys might be the most under rated and over looked band right now. Sure, the French language isn’t the greatest “sing-along” language, but the music is everything from warm and fuzzy to hard and complex. These guys touch on a lot of different bases with their album, honing in a sound that seems so peculiar that it makes the listening aspect of this album a lot more fun. It definitely makes the lack of knowing what they are saying a lot more convenient. A good musical album, regardless of what they are singing.

And that’s all from this year. There is a post I put up for potential albums of the year, including links to the reviews, so if you want to see what I was considering check it out here. Hope you liked the podcast, and I hope to have a few more coming soon.

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29th Sep2009

Paramore – brand new eyes

by nickwan
brand new eyes

brand new eyes

If you have preconceived notions about the pop-punkers Paramore, please throw them out the window. I have always been an advocate for these kids (just ask Felisha) and completely loved Riot!. They had that harder sound about them that carried a little more weight with me than some of these other fake-sounding aggressive bands. Maybe that was mainly because the band’s main influences are close to my own… At the Drive-In, Fugazi, various hardcore bands… This is just what ended coming out of their amps and mouths. And I totally dig it.

Many will disagree with me, but Paramore is one of the few bands who come close to sounding like At the Drive-In with this new album. It’s got this crazy vibe about it that only the Hell Paso crew brought to the table oh so long ago. I mean, it doesn’t seem that Hayley and gang are doing copious amounts of drugs like the ATDI guys were doing, but they are definitely doing something, and that something is called right. They are definitely doing it right.

The first two tracks, “Careful” and “Ignorance”, definitely give me that older aggressive vibe I always liked. The third track is more than likely the second single off the album, but has some nasty lyrics about it that my friend Brandon Lowder probably has uttered before. The next few tracks keep it moving with that progressive punky sound those late 90s bands used to put out. I’m trying really hard not to live in the past, but this album is making it much more difficult.

Dare I say… brand new eyes is actually a better album than Brand New’s Daisy? I think I will say that. However, does it top Owen’s New Leaves? It’s hard to say. Can it top David Bazan’s Curse Your Branches? I mean… how can you top the albums of the year? I guess if you made the album of the year, then you would obviously top the previous contenders… but is Paramore, those teenagers from Franklin, Tennessee, really going to top one of Chicago’s greatest indie musicians, or even one of Seattle’s best singer-songwriters? Well, let’s give it a few more listens, but sources point to no. But this album definitely is a contender for a top spot for albums of the year. At the highest, maybe #3 or #2… but it’ll be pretty hard to compete with Bazan and Kinsella. At least on my list.

(Still waiting on Tegan and Sara)

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16th Sep2009

Owen – New Leaves

by nickwan

Not only has Mike Kinsella brought lists of confusion to those who want to play his songs since he rarely ever plays in standard tuning, but does it in such a way that makes you think “damn… this doesn’t sound like it’s that hard”. When it comes to simple sounding music, Mike Kinsella in his “Owen” persona takes the cake. The layers of instruments, the simple use of distortion, and yes… the weird time signatures that pop in and out of the record, make his new album New Leaves his best album to date, and a contender for album of the year.

Mike Kinsella is no guitarist by design. Originally the drummer for influential Chicago indie band Cap’n Jazz, Mike Kinsella found his way to the guitar in his own studio outfit dubbed American Football. A few years pass, and Owen is created. His first album being completely different from his next albums, this newest album is the most “kick back” to his older upbeat sound. New Leaves takes the intricacies of At Home With… and the indie-pop sound of I do perceive. and fuses the two into this new creation.

The Polyvinyl site (Mike’s label) officially states that this album was recorded over the course of two years, with three producers other than Mike to help him with the noise. Unlike At Home With…, New Leaves doesn’t set out with the intent to be that “at home” feeling album. Although, as usual, Kinsella brings the notion of an “at home” feel not for one entire song but rather in and out of songs — never once does this album encounter just a solo attempt with guitar and vocals as his previous albums have showcased in at least one song.

Something that definitely is a kick back to I do perceive and those songs would be the electric guitars. Although they sparsely appear throughout his discography, I do perceive had the bulk of the electric vibe to it. This album, New Leaves, definitely brings that attitude and feel back. Songs like “Never Been Born” and “The Only Child of Aergia” showcase this brilliantly. As for the more At Home With… flavor, “Ugly on the Inside” is the best earthy-acoustic sound produced on this album, with reminiscence of “Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi” off of At Home With… Although, some people might be surprised to hear that “Good Friends, Bad Habits” is not the original acoustic demo he posted on his MySpace page a few months ago. On the contrary, it doesn’t sound like it at all… however, if you ever get a chance to see Mike live, you will be surprised usually to hear what the acoustic versions of most of his songs sound like.

The pros for this album: Mike Kinsella is not afraid to go back and revisit those old sounds he once created. Many artists today feel like tampering with older stuff is almost on a level of unoriginality. Mike Kinsella uses his predefined sound as more of a base rather than a complete rip off to start his album. I would definitely say it is most different from other albums he has put out. Another pro is that there isn’t any of those “Owen-esque” bridges or outros that last half of the length of the song (e.g. “Bad News” and most of his first album, self-titled). Some people might not think that’s a pro, but I am a firm believer of a studio vs live sound… and the infinite outro is definitely an on-stage-only execution.

The cons for this album… when will you ever actually hear any of these songs? Much less, with a band? I know he played with a band in promotion of this album ONCE in his hometown of CHICAGO… but unfortunately, the last time I flew out to Chicago for a show with Mike Kinsella was when he put together a Fugazi cover band and right after one song downtown Chicago had a black out. Sweet flight over, bro. Mike Kinsella is a father first, also. Touring for him is seldom and usually to the east coast. Plus, he usually never headlines… so his sets are anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes long. Another con, going along with the live sound theme, is the idea that all these songs not only have band components to them but they are practically integral. With the past albums, and most pronounced with At Home With…, Mike Kinsella used a backing band in the studio only to make the (usually acoustic) guitar and vocals more accentuated.  Rather, this newest album has a lot of bass guitar and piano that become the main rhythm or most memorable lead to the songs where they are featured. To be honest, the first time I saw him play “Bad News”  I honestly thought to myself “holy shit, he’s playing the rhythm and lead at the same time…” so, with that in mind, it’s possible he surprises us with his guitar madness yet again.

In the race for album of the year, this album is my personal favorite of the year. The five most memorable albums thus far have been: Owen – New Leaves, David Bazan – Curse Your Branches, fun. – Aim and Ignite, Brand New – Daisy, and Ace Enders & a Million Different People – When I Hit the Ground . The next most exciting album for me to hear will be Tegan and Sara’s new album Sainthood along with AFI’s upcoming album Crash Love. It’s always possible that Glassjaw might throw a new album out there… but who’s to say? Far is expected to have an album out for sale before the year end as well, so there is definitely plenty of music to look forward to still… it’ll just be hard to top this album.

This album doesn’t officially come out until September 22nd, but if you were lucky and got the pre-order then it’s been at your doorstep since yesterday at the earliest.

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01st Sep2009

David Bazan – Curse Your Branches

by nickwan

After extensively touring throughout the US, Canada, UK, and Australia for the past 3+ years, Bazan has crawled his way back into the studio to put out his first full-length LP, Curse Your Branches. Released today, Bazan’s consistancy for his Seattle-bred sound is only furthered by these 38 minutes of indie love. Never leaving the realm that he pioneered with Pedro the Lion years ago, Bazan only expanded the amount of instruments he could play and has implimented them all into this record, blending his sound he gathered from his Headphones project and the singer/songwriter style he also garnished in 2006 with his EP, Fewer Moving Parts. It’s hard to find much wrong with David Bazan, from his live show to this newest release, and maybe that is what is his biggest enemy… consistancy.

Years ago, coming up in the late 90′s, the term “slow-core” started popping up. This was used to describe bands who weren’t part of the alternative rock scene (composed of bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, etc), nor were they moving along with the indie bands of the time (i.e. Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, etc). This music was a lot slower and a lot more… sigh… sad and depressing. Some classic pioneers other than Pedro the Lion of this unfortunate labelling of a genre would be, in no particular order, Carrissa’s Wierd (Seattle), early Death Cab for Cutie (Seattle), Elliott Smith (Portland), Rocky Votolato (Seattle), and to a somewhat further extent The Red House Painters (San Francisco). This music, slowcore, is nothing more but glorified slow songs that are pretty easy to get intimate with on an aural level. Usually not the most technically difficult music, the arrangement usually matches the root meaning of the song, as the song itself is mostly in form of a story of some sort. It’s not very common for a slowcore song to have little to no meaning.

Now, there are tons and tons of bands taking influence from these artists. We’ve seen what slowcore-electronica could become (e.g. The Postal Service, Headphones). That electro-style has been popular for the past decade and has yet to stop inflitrating every nook and cranny of the rock world. We’ve heard the gamut of bands the mainstream consider “emo”, from the very well known Dashboard Confessional to the very unrecognized Jeremy Enigk, this music has subtly stretched further than most of these artists have realized.

Coming back to this album, David Bazan has not sacraficed anything of his own style for this album. And this should stand as a testament to this music he has helped build; this album could just be the quintessential slowcore album. Three albums in this genre have really struck me as “impossible” or “too good”, Pedro the Lion’s Achilles’ Heel, Pedro the Lion’s Options, and Death Cab for Cutie’s The Photo Album. Curse Your Branches is close to topping at least one of those albums for me.

The album, song for song, is too consistant in the sound in my own honest opinion. This does two things for the record: 1) it solidifies it’s stance in the scene this music will be promoted towards and 2) fails to bring about any change for Bazan in terms of style or music in general. For someone who isn’t very into this type of music, or is trying to get into this type of music, it would be very easy to mistake the discography of Bazan’s work, from Pedro the Lion to now, as all the same band. Very unfortunately for Bazan, all three entities he has played under are very different. But not different enough. This, again, plays into holding his own style… however, how many times can you sing the same song differently? Minus the Bear suffered from that bug with their past two releases… there is only so many songs about having sex, beaches, and drinking one person can write until each song is the same. How many songs about questioning God, break ups, make ups, and the music industry can Bazan write?

The most dissenting songs from Bazan’s style are “Please, Baby, Please”, “When We Fall”, and “Bearing Witness”. Both songs have this beach-campfire vibe about them. I’d say Bazan has never wrote a song like this before, but for some reason… it doesn’t sound different from what he’s done before. It’s different enough for this album to stick out though. Also, whoever is the new bassist(s) for this album, you’re doing one hell of a job.

Two songs that I would consider “the best” of the album, “Heavy Breath” and “Curse Your Branches”. These songs really tie together every single thing Bazan is about. Synthesizers, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, a full band attitude, and a very vocally driven performance via lyrics in song. It’s hard to believe that any other people were playing instruments on these two songs since everything about these songs SCREAM “Bazanbazanbazan”.

Between my two favorite releases this year, Ace Enders and fun., David Bazan is close to topping the unofficial charts. This album is way lo-fi when it comes to production, probably not hitting on much other than mixing and mastering. The personnel on this record isn’t much more than Bazan, a few familiar friends, and the will to make the most perfect slowcore music right now.

This album is definitely a breath of fresh air in a place where the scene has been swooped on by musical-rock (fun., Forgive Durden, Say Anything), as well as… well, that other indie rock (Ace Enders, The Gaslight Anthem, Black Kids, Brand New etc). The next breath of fresh air could possibly be from one of my all-time favorite artist, Owen New Leaves. But that’s not until the 22nd.

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