Category: MP3s

This Week’s Finds: March 6-12 (The Decemberists, Devin Davis, The Hold Steady)

“The Engine Driver” – the Decemberists

With crisp, minor-chord rhythm guitar, spacious yet intimate percussion, and an unusually effective melodica, the Decemberists deliver a haunting take on the time-honored train song—whether metaphorical or actual, the train conjured here both lyrically and musically feels lost even as it chugs by necessity along its predestined tracks. While not as obviously a historical tale as many this unique band has told, there’s yet something in the graceful fabric that suggests history (and history’s handmaiden, loss)—something that has much to do with the distinctive, nasal urgings of singer/songwriter Colin Meloy’s voice and his singular syntax and vocabulary. “The Engine Driver” will be found on the band’s new Picaresque CD, due out on the Kill Rock Stars label on March 22. MP3 via Better Propaganda.


“Turtle and the Flightless Bird” – Devin Davis

Chicago bedroom rocker Devin Davis opens his mouth and Ray Davies all but tumbles out. This is a fine thing in and of itself, as I am kindly disposed to anyone properly inspired by the Kinks. But Davis (and isn’t come to think of it “Davies” pronounced “Davis” in the U.K.?), to my ears, has much more going for him than a Kinks fixation, a fact made clearest by his achievement as a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/arranger/engineer/producer. Technology has made it easy enough to be a one-person band in your own home studio, but rarely will you hear a bedroom rocker who sounds as loose and unfettered as Davis does. Think of it: to do all this yourself requires incredible precision and repetition; how do you then produce something that sounds so loose and alive? Playing the part here of a crestfallen turtle who appears to have lost his true, inter-species love, Davis delivers a song buzzing with spirit and life. From the quiet, bouncy-sad electric piano intro through to the heart-opening chorus, with its stirring melody and ramshackle feel, he not only transcends his influences, he transcends his technology. “Turtle and the Flightless Bird” comes from Davis’s debut CD, Lonely People of the World, Unite!, set for release on (of course) his own Mousse Records imprint next week. The MP3 is available on his web site.


“The Swish” – the Hold Steady

Cross early Bruce Springsteen with mid-career Iggy Pop and you get a harsh, riveting slash of wordy, sardonic rock’n’roll that at the same time offers a bracing, Dada-ist antidote to the retro-’80s love-fest dominating the indie rock scene here in the mid’-00s. (As singer/guitarist Craig Finn directly notes in this song: “I’ve survived the 80s one time already/And I don’t recall them all that fondly.”) This song isn’t pretty; there’s no real chorus; the band isn’t trying to get you to like them. The Hold Steady throw a lot of electricity into their particular rock’n’roll stew and the end result may not be beautiful but to me it sounds not only compelling but maybe even original, which is saying a lot at this particular point in the rock timeline. “The Swish” comes from The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me, the band’s first CD, released last year on French Kiss Records. A new CD is due out in May. The MP3 is available on the band’s web site.

This Week’s Finds: February 27-March 5 (Iron & Wine, Liz Durrett, Pit Er Pat)

“Woman King” – Iron and Wine

A timeless sort of mystery hangs in the air from the opening rhythms of this satisfying new song from Sam Beam, the one-man band who calls himself Iron and Wine. While the critically-acclaimed Beam in the past has been just a little too whispery-slow for my tastes, here he finds a propulsive, ancient-seeming groove to explore; combined with concrete, evocative lyrics, the results are deep, elusive, and magical. While his acoustic guitar is still center stage (I’m loving his slide work in particular), Beam delivers an outstandingly textured song through the use of precise percussion, engaging electric guitar accents, even what sounds like a woodwind-like synthesizer line. “Woman King” is the title track to a six-song EP released last week on Sub Pop Records. The MP3 is up on the Sub Pop site. Me, I’m going to go back and listen to some of his other songs again; maybe I’m now ready to hear what many others have been hearing in him for a while already.

“Ablaze” – Liz Durrett

Liz Durrett proves that slow doesn’t have to mean boring, trombones aren’t necessarily out of place in a moody rock song, and that Athens, Georgia isn’t finished spawning worthy musicians. After a pensive, minor-key guitar intro, Durrett enters, awash in echoes and echoed by (yes) a trombone chorus. I am hooked by the oddly glowing shadowiness of it all. Durrett has a substantive duskiness to her voice, and a pleasing way of creating melody out of a minimum of notes. “Ablaze” is one of nine songs on her debut CD, Husk, which was released last week on Athens-based Warm Records. Durrett is a niece of the offbeat singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt, who produced the record. These songs were all written between 1996 and 1999, when Durrett was still in her teens; an album of newer material will apparently be released before the year is out. The “Ablaze” MP3 is available
through SXSW.com.

“Underwater Wave Game” – Pit Er Pat

A strangely engaging little song from a strange little guitar-free band. Keep your ears on the opening piano motif–an endearing string of ascending four-note clusters. They form the backbone of this indecipherable song; when they disappear in the chorus, we’re a little disconcerted but some of the unusual intervals singer/keyboard player Fay Davis-Jeffers leaps to and from vocally become their own sort of hook, and before long we’re swimming along again with the endearing piano. At about 1:55, however, I feel I’m in over my head as the song hits an almost dissonant stretch all the way to 2:45. But—hurrah—the piano motif returns triumphantly, and in so doing justifies the ornery section. All in all this sounds engagingly like, oh, I don’t know—maybe the Waitresses singing Genesis after listening to Talking Heads ’77. Or maybe not. In any case, I have been listening and listening to this, continually assuming I wouldn’t actually end up featuring it but I kept hitting the play button again and again, finally alerting me to the fact that even if my brain can’t figure out why I like this some other parts of me obviously do. The song will be on Pit Er Pat’s full-length debut, entitled Shakey, to be released in early March on Thrill Jockey Records. The MP3 is available on the band’s site.

This Week’s Finds: Feb. 20-26 (Low, Over the Rhine, Doris Henson)

“California” – Low

How much to keep sounding the same and how much to evolve and explore is a question that faces all bands that manage to stay together for more than a few years. Remain too much the same and risk staleness (“There’s a fine line between a groove and rut,” as Christine Lavin once sang); change too much and risk alienating fans who like how you sound already, thank you very much. And in the indie rock world, any change that smacks of “accessibility” is treated with the harshest of scorn, for reasons I have never quite figured out. In any case, here’s Low, a band from northern Minnesota that cultivated a devoted following through the ’90s while giving new depth of meaning to the word “slow” in the so-called “slowcore” genre. And here’s a song from their latest CD, The Great Destroyer (Subpop Records) that moves with a nice crunchy, toe-tappy bounce. This is not the first upbeat song the band has recorded by any means, but so far they remain indelibly associated with their brooding, slow-burning material. Me, I’m enjoying the grit and intensity a band that knows slow brings to a peppier number. On the one hand, I love the big, fat, but still ambiguous chords that open the song, and drive its center; but on the other hand, check this out: right at the moment in the song where songs that have these kind of big, fat chords will break into a bashing, cathartic instrumental break (at around 2:00 here), Low, slyly, retreats into quiet–instead of big bashes we get a slow, ringing guitar and gentle harmonies, which simmer slowly together before delivering a final almost-bash. Pretty cool. The MP3 is available on the Subpop web site; the CD was released in January.

“Born” – Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine’s Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist have learned over the years how to make a singular sort of aching, exquisite music–at once brilliantly wrought and deeply relaxed, equal parts off-hand expertise and deep humanity. “Born” is soft and soulful, an acoustic strummer enhanced by melancholy, restrained steel guitar accents and a piano played with such a warm touch I want to curl up in bed with it. And then of course there’s Bergquist’s bewitching voice, which, if an acquired taste, is way worth acquiring. “Born” will be found on the band’s new CD Drunkard’s Prayer, set for release in late March on Back Porch Records. The MP3 is one of two from the CD now available at PasteMusic.com.

“Sidestepping” – Doris Henson

From the largely ignored metropolis of Kansas City, Kansas comes this curiously named five-man band with a curious-sounding song. Over an itchy, bare-bones rhythm (drumbeat, erratically strummed guitar with some well-placed feedback), “Sidestepping” begins sketchily, singer Matthew Dunehoo’s airy, high-pitched voice kind of toying with the lyrics at first. There seems not to be a verse or chorus; instead, Dunehoo merely sings a lazy, descending melody in between instrumental breaks. But, hey: the volume and intensity of the accompaniment cranks up a notch at around 2:13 and as this subtly new soundscape unfolds, I am transfixed. Everything is the same but different: the lazy descending melody is stretched and hung now upon dramatic chord changes, and Dunehoo’s singing acquires an edgy substance that sounds appealingly to me like Brian Eno doing his best Ray Davies impersonation. “Sidestepping” comes from the band’s new CD, Give Me All Your Money, their second, which will be released later this month on Desoto Records. The MP3 has moved around over the years but it’s still up as of 2011 on The Pitch, a Kansas City alternative paper.

This Week’s Finds: February 13-19 (The Layaways, Laakso, Damon and Naomi)

“Silence” – the Layaways

An untamed growl of guitar noise lays at the heart of this pop confection, like a bit of crunchy frog sealed within succulent Swiss chocolate, as it were. It’s a simple song, but the vibe works well for me, a vibe constructed through a combination of an appealing melody and a knowing ability to romp through some of the choicer specimens in rock’n’roll’s sonic back catalog: from Jesus and Mary Chain-esque squalls of sound to Yo La Tengo-ish understated vocalizing to (this is the kicker, for me) a Cars-like use of catchy synthesizer riffs. While I’m generally all for the ’80s touches that seem to be inspiring lots of today’s independent bands, I particularly enjoy when there’s integration going on rather than re-creation, however exuberant. The Layaways are a trio from Chicago; “Silence” is the lead track on the band’s second CD, We’ve Been Lost, released in December on Mystery Farm Records (which appears to be simply a label set up by the band for its own releases). The MP3 is available via the band’s site. Thanks to visitor Jen for the tip.

“Aussie Girl” – Laakso

From Sweden comes this idiosyncratic, joyful blurt of a bittersweet song. Wrap Conor Oberst up with the Decemberists, give him a fetching little Swedish accent, speed him up and spin him around blindfolded, and maybe he’d sound like this. Any four-person rock band featuring one member who plays trombone, trumpet, accordion, and glockenspiel is going to immediately catch my attention, and I must say I do enjoy the subtle texture said member (David Nygård) delivers. For what is in fact a fairly precise song, there’s an endearing fringe of sloppiness oozing out around the edges here, due I think to lead singer Markus Krunegård’s wavery energy and unbridled spirit. And while a song bemoaning the torture of a (very) long-distance relationship is unlikely to break new ground observationally, I find that good pop music has the happy ability to keep me unworried about cliche. “Aussie Girl” can be found on the band’s first and only full-length CD, I Miss You, I’m Pregnant, released on Adrian Recordings, a Swedish label. The MP3 is available via the band’s site.

“Beautiful Close Double” – Damon and Naomi

I like how Naomi Yang’s dreamy voice floats against a rooted instrumental base here. Too much of what is sometimes known as “dream pop,” while perfectly agreeable, does tend to drift off into an airy sort of neverland. Damon and Naomi–two-thirds of the landmark indie band Galaxie 500, back in the day–keep things grounded in a variety of subtle ways. (Key word subtle: be warned this song can in fact sound as if it’s merely drifting off into neverland if you don’t pay close attention.) To begin with, the song is set against Naomi’s classic-rock bass riff (sounds like “Cinnamon Girl” to me, actually). Second of all, drummer Damon Krukowski, while starting off cymbally and understated, echoing the bass line for a while, kicks out a few jams (subtly) now and again. Distant layers of muted trumpet add a distinct substance as well. As for Michio Kurihara’s rubbery-sparkly guitar licks, well, they’re pretty dreamy I guess, but what the heck, they’re still cool. “Beautiful Close Double” is the song that opens Damon and Naomi’s new CD “The Earth is Blue,” set for release this week on the duo’s own label, 20/20/20. The MP3 can be found on their site.

This Week’s Finds: Jan. 30-Feb. 5 (Veal, The Octopus Project, Blonde Redhead)

“Judy Garland” – Veal

“If you looked like Judy Garland/I’d be over it in half a shake/But you stood there dumbfounded/You looked nothing like Judy Garland” is how this song that appears at least partially to be about being knocked unconscious begins. We’re instantly right in the middle of something (although exactly what is part of the quirky mystery), a feeling enhanced by the smart cascade of (mostly) major chords, which change on the first beat of each measure, and the asymmetrical use of seventh chords (at “half” and “nothing”). I feel pulled in, delighted, and yet still completely unprepared for (okay, I’ll use one of the music industry’s hoariest cliches because nothing else quite applies) the killer chorus this leads into. I won’t describe it (much; but do listen for those extra two beats, the crazy lyrics, and how sharp the harmonies suddenly are), but yes, absolutely, it’s a killer chorus. Veal is a Canadian trio led by singer/guitarist Luke Doucet, whose cheery voice has a wonderfully elastic upper register. (The drummer, I feel compelled to point out, is simply named Chang.) “Judy Garland” comes from the band’s third and most recent CD, “The Embattled Hearts,” released in 2003 on Six Shooter Records. The MP3 can be found on the band’s web site.

“The Adjustor” – the Octopus Project

A lo-fi-ish, white noise-y, scratchy-boopy instrumental with genuine warmth and charm. Which shows that all things are possible (good news for Eagles fans, I should note). A quartet from Austin, the Octopus Project sounds like a surf-dance band attempting to play jazz on R2D2’s spare parts. First we spend an agreeable minute or so establishing the basic groove–a chiming sort of repeated melody propelled by a perfectly fetching sort of clickety-scratching percussiveness (sounding a bit like someone trying to play the snare drum on a broken guitar neck). Then come some (for lack of a better word) solos: the minimalist solo played by a squeaky-honky gizmo (sampled tricycle horn?) which begins at 1:13 is well worth the download by itself; so is the one played by what sounds like a sampled dial-tone, at 2:13. What makes it work so well for me is that, for all the electronic manipulation going on, the song still happens in an expansive aural space–due no doubt to the fact that the band uses actual drums and guitars along with the machines. “The Adjustor” can be found on the band’s new CD, One Ten Hundred Thousand Million, their second, released last week on Peek-a-Boo Records (the label which spawned the group Spoon). The MP3 is available on the band’s site.

“Misery is a Butterfly” – Blonde Redhead

Talk about a simple, repeated melody–“Misery is a Butterfly” succeeds, to my ears, largely because of the plain, recurring piano riff that serves as a backbone for this atmospheric, borderline melodramatic piece. There are strings, there’s almost a dance beat popping up here and there, there are breathy-emotive vocals from guitarist Kazu Makino, there are Rachmaninovian chords, but time and again we get back to the piano riff, and everything seems all right again. Blonde Redhead is a veteran NYC-based trio that has gravitated over time from a Sonic Youth-style dissonance to a lusher sound that early fans of the band might not like very much. Me, I’m kind of intrigued by the still-somewhat-strange-ness of the whole thing. The song is the title track from the group’s sixth CD, released last year on 4AD Records; the MP3 is found on Better Propaganda.

This Week’s Finds: January 23-29 (Bettie Serveert, Cass McCombs, Engine Down)

“Attagirl” – Bettie Serveert

With a charmingly slinky verse and disarmingly catchy chorus, “Attagirl” might not, still, have succeeded so well without the captivating presence of Carol van Dyk (alternatively spelled Dijk)–the Canadian-born, Netherlands-raised singer who fronts this veteran Dutch band. Rilo Kiley fans take note: Jenny Lewis may yet sound like this (she’s cut from the same cloth), but there are ineffable aspects of tone and timbre that remain out of reach when you’re only in your 20s. From start to finish we are in the hands of a comfortable and confident crew here; I like the scratchy-frenetic guitar in the background, subtly undermining the faux-bossa-nova ambiance, and of course I love that wordless “ohhh” in the bridge, alternating back and forth on a fetching fifth–the song gets expansive and smooth right there in just the right way, with layered vocals and a quivering complement of things being strummed (do I detect a mandolin, even?). This leads into a most excellent chorus, with an urgently sing-songy melody, words that sound, somehow, better as sounds–“Don’t get stuck somewhere in the middle/You’ve paid all your dues and you’re not a second fiddle”–than than they do as a sentiment, and a superb and snazzy off-the-beat finish: the way van Dyk breathes out “Attagirl” at the end is just too cool for words. “Attagirl” is the title track off the band’s new CD, scheduled for release on Minty Fresh records on Tuesday of this week. MP3 via Better Propaganda.


“Sacred Heart” – Cass McCombs

This is the kind of song that convinces me that we are, truly, entering a new golden age of rock’n’roll. And I’m serious. When a 20-something guy like Baltimore’s Cass McCombs can take all his influences (I hear ’80s stuff here–a touch of Smiths, a dollop of New Order, a sprinkle of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark–and then ’60s stuff too, such as his unexpectedly Dylanesque turns of phrase and word selection) and wrap them into something this timeless and thrilling (geez, I find simply the open, vibrating chord that starts the song bizarrely thrilling), and when he is one of many doing this very sort of thing, and yet each differently, here in the middle ’00s, what else to call it? A new golden age. If I’m wrong, at least I’ll go down swinging. In any case, rock has weathered a lot, including being eviscerated by Madison Avenue and shoved off the pop-cultural main stage by hip-hop, but even so there is something timeless at its core. Sure, you have to sort through an incredible amount of nonsense to find it (were there quite so many inept troubadours in the Middle Ages as there are unlistenable singer/songwriters in the Information Age?), but it is here to be found: specifically here with this gentle-urgent vocalist, singing his sweet descending melody with aching assurance; and generally out there, as McCombs is hardly alone on the scene with serious rock’n’roll talent and know-how. “Sacred Heart” is an advance single from his new CD, PREfection, set for release on February 1 on Monitor Records. The MP3 can be found on the Monitor web site. Thanks to the estimable record review site 75 or less for the lead on this one.



“Cover” – Engine Down

It’s very easy to be very loud and very fast; it’s significantly less easy to be not-quite-very loud and not-quite-very fast, and harder still to do so while exhibiting a strong sense of melody and craft. The Virginia-based foursome Engine Down churn up a lot of dust here, but right away I hear plenty to separate this from the output of the many (many) loud and churning bands nowadays filling the web with their MP3s. They know some interesting chords, to begin with, and push us through them right away–you can hear how the whole musical ground shifts and shifts as the melody in the verse progresses. They have a sense of production perspective as well, allowing various elements to flow through the aural center of the song as the piece blazes along–a lead guitar line emerges from the noise here, a nice wall of vocal harmonies there. And to me the great hook is the off-beat delivery in the chorus: singing on the second and fourth beats here (the “Your cover has been blown” line) is an ineffably delightful twist in a hard-driving 4/4 song. Consider it all another vote for experience: Engine Down have been around since 1996; “Cover” comes from the band’s fourth full-length CD, self-titled, released on Lookout Records in August 2004. MP3 via Better Propaganda.

This Week’s Finds: January 16-22 (Audible, Provan, Chad VanGaalen)

“Sunday Bell” – Audible

The way the crisp guitars and simply articulated piano refrain leap into motion is instantly heartwarming; I already know I’m going to follow this song wherever it wants to go. I am quickly rewarded, as the first place it goes is into Mike Kennedy’s appealing tenor–he sounds like an upbeat Elliott Smith, replacing Smith’s wavering fragility with a bell-like resolution. The song gains a lot of power by its capacity to sound both sad and happy at the same tinme: the melody is bittersweet and descending, but the rhythm drives forward with vigor. Kennedy’s wonderful voice bridges the dichotomy perfectly, effective at both the upper (listen to how he sings the word “decision” in the second line) and lower ends of his register (as the melody heads downward, his voice seems to expand and envelope the sonic landscape). I also like how the driving rhythm is interrupted in the bridge section, itself split into two parts: opening with a sharp, punctuating beat, the melody continues but the accompaniment glides into a swinging sort of two-step. This whole section is underscored by a subtle dissonant sustained note on the synthesizer (sounds like maybe a ninth), before resolving into a reprise of the main melody. “Sunday Bell” will be found on the band’s debut CD, Sky Signal, scheduled for release on January 25th on Polyvinyl Records. The MP3 is available on the Polyvinyl web site.


“I Won the Context” – Provan

Sometimes, very often, maybe even most of the time, it’s just a little thing that makes a song fly. That’s what we’re looking for: songs that fly. Lots of songs walk reasonably well (even as, of course, many can’t even crawl), but not many soar. That said, there is no–absolutely no–formula for how to fly. Often it’ll be the plainest sort of extra touch (an almost random-seeming melodic twist, a particular chord in a particular place, the quality a singer’s voice attains during one specific syllable) that launches a song, unexpectedly. In this case, it’s singer/guitarist Joe Kelly’s one-octave vocal leap in the verse–when he gets to the word “prize,” to use the first example. It’s a simple thing, could’ve even been an afterthought, but when he does that, to my ears, the song takes off. Of course, one might reasonably ask whether this little vocal leap would have had the same effect without everything else cool going on in this song: the punchy, inventive drum work, the way the melodic lead guitar works against the band’s churning-crunchy sound, and the subtle strength of Kelly’s voice itself the rest of the way–while he sings with the high yearning sweetness of many a power-pop frontman, he’s got an underlying muscle to him (reminsicent, to me, of Peter Case, for those who know his stuff). So maybe it’s not a simple thing after all, come to think of it. “I Won the Context” is a song from a yet-unreleased EP from the Brooklyn-based Provan, who have two previous EPs to their name. The MP3 can be found on the band’s web site. Thanks to visitor Mary, from the PowerPop blog, for the tip on this one.


“Traffic” – Chad VanGaalen

With an endearing Neil Young-ish-ness to both his voice and the resolute idiosyncracy of his music, Chad VanGaalen is a Canadian bedroom rocker beginning to attract attention very much outside the bedroom. Crankily engaging from the get-go–there’s something satisfying and brilliant about how he matches his high voice in the verse against a bass playing the same notes way below–“Traffic” pumps along with both grit and perkiness, a lo-fi production with hi-fi instincts. After 10 years of writing and recording literally hundreds of songs, VanGaalen put 19 of these songs together onto a debut CD, Infiniheart, released in a very limited way last March by Flemish Eye Records. Slowly word began to spread; with the buzz really picking up by year-end 2004, the CD is now slated for a larger re-release this spring. “Traffic” is the closing song on VanGaalen’s CD; the MP3 is available on the Flemish Eye web site.

This Week’s Finds: Jan. 2-8 (Imaginary Baseball League, Seachange, Controller.Controller)

“Fat Boys Are Not Athletes” – Imaginary Baseball League

Muscular and precise, this song is driven by a snare-less drumbeat and an itchy, energetic low-register guitar line. This is right away a wonderful thing, as rock’n’roll history is pockmarked by guitarists who tend to wail unaccountably in the upper register. But listen to how compelling and grounded and unpredictable the instrument sounds when the guitarist keeps his or her fingers up at the top of the neck. Singer/guitarist Aaron Robinson’s urgent—but, also, not too high—voice adds to the tension and drive; he has the nervous edge of a David Byrne or Adrian Belew while staying largely out of their sort of upper-register singing. Robinson actually reminds me of Gary Clark, lead singer of the by now obscure Scottish band Danny Wilson (they had a hit in the ’80s with the song “Mary’s Prayer”); there is something reminiscent of the Blue Nile in Imaginary Baseball League as well–perhaps they have an affinity for Scottish rock bands. I for one wouldn’t have expected it from a four-man band from the Nashville area, but clearly there’s more to the music scene down there than the Grand Ole Opry. “Fat Boys Are Not Athletes” comes from Imaginary Baseball League’s self-released 2004 CD Revive; you’ll find the MP3 on the group’s web site. Thanks to visitor Ben for the suggestion.


“Walking in the Air” – Seachange

A reverberant dream of a song, “Walking in the Air” sweeps me in and slows me down; it seems literally to require the listener to meet it on its own, decelerated terms. Using echoey synthesizers, aching minor chords, subtly shifting time signatures, and inventive production, Seachange succeeds in the more-difficult-than-it-seems task of creating real drama in a soft and langorous aural environment. The one-minute, ten-second introduction is itself a marvel of slowed-down luminosity; by the time the violin emerges from the background to add a sad, clean note over the gathering rumble, I feel my heart rate has already been slowed, my breathing deeper and more mindful. Singer/violinist Johanna Woodnutt’s breath-filled soprano, singing largely indecipherable words, seems the ideal addition to the half-folk, half-psychedelic ambiance; what else, after all, could this song be called but “Walking in the Air”? Seachange is a six-piece band from Nottingham, England; the song, apparently not otherwise released yet, is available as a Christmas present on the band’s web site. Thanks to the ever-vigilant Largehearted Boy for the tip.


“Silent Seven” – Controller.Controller

The Pretenders meet the Gang of Four via Public Image Ltd. Or something like that. In any case, this Toronto-based quintet has definitely found inspiration in some of the post-punk music of the late ’70s and early ’80s. But these guys seem to want more than anarchy or dissonance with their dancebeat; both in terms of melody and structure, “Silent Seven” is disarmingly well-crafted, unfolding with a simmering sense of grandeur. Funny, here’s another song with a minute-long introduction, but how different the vibe than with the Seachange song. And here’s another group with a nervous-edged vocalist, but here we have the exotic and powerful Nirmala Basnayake evoking Chrissie Hynde rather than David Byrne. As with many songs that I end up writing about, “Silent Seven” is another that delivers all the way through, rather than coasting towards a finish–note in this case the guitar chords that ring out, rhythmically, at around 3:45, and the nifty, satisfying change the instrument glides into at 3:50. This with the song nearly over. “Silent Seven” is the third track on an EP called History, the band’s first recording, which was released in 2004 on Paper Bag Records. You’ll find the MP3 on the band’s web site.

This Week’s Finds: Dec. 26-Jan . 1 (Dead Meadow, Bill Ricchini, Emma McGlynn)

“At Her Open Door” – Dead Meadow

I am always partial to bands that can establish a distinct sonic presence quickly. The D.C.-based trio Dead Meadow does well this way, with its Led Zeppelin-meets-R.E.M. vibe: big, searing guitar lines mixed into the background, propelled by a fuzzy folk-rock vibe and chords that take you right back to the late ’60s or early ’70s (for instance, count along with each of the opening beats and when you get to seven—there, that’s a combination of notes and sounds that speaks to us from the past). I also like the quality of singer-guitarist Jason Simon’s voice, how it is not of the usual tone or timbre that I’m used to hearing with this sort of slurry, heavy-chiming environment–he’s more Robert Smith (the Cure) than Robert Plant (Zep). The song weaves an insistent if nebulous spell through its largely indecipherable lyric section, then opens out at about 3:30 into an extended instrumental coda. Churning, psychedelic guitars come to the front, but listen too for the dreamy, choral-like synthesizers up on top. “At Her Open Door” will be found on the band’s CD Feathers, scheduled for release in February on Matador Records. The MP3 can be found on the Matador site.


“Ballad in 2D” – Bill Ricchini

This song has a lot of things going against it, to my ears. I’m not a particular fan of lo-fi, “bedroom”-style rock’n’roll, which this most definitely is; while I like Elliott Smith’s music, I’m not usually happy with anyone who sort of sounds like him; and I also tend to hold in suspicion songs with lyrics that don’t scan well (i.e. when the singer has sometimes to put the emphasis on the incorrect syllable to make the line fit with the music). All these things apply to “Ballad in 2D,” and, what do you know, I still think it’s haunting and memorable–perhaps all the more haunting and memorable because it manages to transcend its potential drawbacks. Ricchini knows his way around the sounds at his disposal, but he doesn’t overdue it–he uses layers organically, while other bedroom recorders tend to overcompensate and pile on in a way that sounds phony. But what sells me finally is the beautiful and beautifully presented chorus. Here Ricchini allows the simple but brilliant, Bacharach-esque melody to take center stage, much the way Ron Sexsmith so often does with his simple and brilliant melodies. “Ballad in 2D” comes from Ricchini’s one and only CD to date, Ordinary Time, which was recorded (yup) in his bedroom in South Philadelphia and released in 2002. The MP3 can be found on Ricchini’s web site.


“Whole Heap” – Emma McGlynn and the Monorails

Blistering and glistening, “Whole Heap” is an emotional freight train of a song. While Ani DiFranco inevitably comes to mind (ferocious acoustic guitar work, emotive singing, hyper-self-involved lyrics, self-owned record company), I think McGlynn is carving out her own sound within this particular niche. Both musically and lyrically harsher than “Impatience” (a Fingertips Top 10 selection earlier this year) “Whole Heap” uses blazing electric guitars and thrashing drumwork to crank the intensity up a few notches. Even in the more frenzied setting, McGlynn sings with uncanny precision–a sort of out-of-control control. And then I like how she pulls back at around a minute-fifty, running her voice through a filter, only to plunge forward into a full-fledged PJ Harvey-ish catharsis as the piece careers toward a distorted, plug-pulling end. “Whole Heap” is the lead track on McGlynn’s Kamikaze Birdie CD, which was originally released last year on McGlynn’s own Impatio Sound label; it was apparently re-released in September of this year with distribution through Genepool/Universal. The MP3 is available on McGlynn’s web site. (Be aware that there are a number of audible “naughty words” along the way, in case you’re playing this on your speakers where others can hear.)

This Week’s Finds: Dec. 19-25 (Explosions in the Sky, Amy Miles, Autolux)

“Memorial” – Explosions in the Sky

At once contemplative and majestic, the instrumental “Memorial” unfolds with precision and grace; it feels like a story someone is telling you in a language you can’t quite understand. With chiming guitars, an expansive sense of song, and a controlled use of both ends of the volume dial, Explosions in the Sky sound like they must be from Europe somewhere. But what the heck, they’re just a little old band from Texas, which gives me more faith in Texas than I might otherwise have (no offense to the many other Texans I don’t know who would also give me faith in the place!). This is an edited version (it’s still 6:23) of a longer (8:50) piece; one of just five long songs on the band’s second CD, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, released last year on the Temporary Residence label. You’ll find the MP3 on the Temporary Residence site. “First Breath After Coma,” another excellent song from the CD, is available as an MP3 through the Bella Union Records site (Bella Union is the band’s label in the U.K.); the only reason I didn’t choose that song over this one is because to access the MP3 at Bella Union, you have to give them an email address. I have no particular issues about doing that, but I prefer if possible not to feature MP3s with obstacles.)


“Kill to Know” – Amy Miles

Like Liz Phair before her extreme makeover, Amy Miles writes down and dirty songs and sings them with an appealing sort of blase-ness. The verse here is sly, itchy, and confrontational; the instrumentation effectively sparse but spacious. Well and good, left at that. But check out the chorus–even as the rhythm continues its unassuming chugging in the background, Miles here sneaks in a casually perfect melodic line (with the words “What is it that you want to know?”), something you might hear in a song by the band Garbage, or maybe in one of the Pretenders’ older, poppier moments. A nugget of surprise in this homespun number, the chorus is subtly augmented by well-placed noodles on the electric guitar underneath and blossoming synthesizers above. This musical moment makes me smile each time it comes around, as does her voice the more I listen to it. “Kill to Know” is the lead track on the CD Dirty Stay-Out (2002), her only album to date. The MP3 is available on her web site. (No more MP3 available but here’s the video….)




Here Comes Everybody” – Autolux

Breathy-noisy neo-psychedelic rock’n’roll from a well-connected new Los Angeles band. Don’t miss the opening notes–they may sound like a throw-away electronic bangle but there’s a lot going on here. First of all, listen to the sound itself: it’s a strange and wonderful blending of a plucked string and a retro-future-y sort of synthesizer-static noise. Very cool. And even cooler that the octave interval the noise describes is seamlessly incorporated into the open-chorded introduction, and again later in the song. Turns out this bit is one of many engaging and sophisticated production touches you’ll hear here. And guess why? Autolux was signed to DMZ Records, a label co-created by T Bone Burnett and movie makers Joel and Ethan Coen; Burnett is the producer here. Great to hear a gifted (older) hand at the dials for a new band–I think there are bountiful synergies to be encountered via such couplings; too bad the mechanics and economics of the music world don’t often allow it. The song comes from the band’s debut CD, Future Perfect, released in October; the MP3 is available on Insound. (There is no direct link available, so you can’t hear it, but the MP3 is still on Insound for downloading if you click on the song title.)