Palebear Archives

Category : Indie Pop

A Cat Called Cricket
Here Comes Another Melody

So how was your Wednesday? I spent the entire day listening to new CDs. Again. I need to go watch TV or something to unravel my brain which is seriously burnt out on trying to come up with RIYLs and synonyms for “indie pop rock”.

But before I do, here’s a nice little CD from a folksy, indie pop rock (ahaha) band from Maryland that reminds me an awful lot of Philly’s Matt Pond PA. Something about the strings I guess, which I’m known to be a sucker for. But seriously, there are some awful nice stringsy arrangements going on here. Bit ‘o Rilo Kiley perhaps in there. Nice banjo picking. Excellent layer cake harmonies, especially on “While You Sleep”. Slight alt-country feel. Vocals sound familiar, can’t place it. “More Of (Nothing)” is an awesome acoustic guitar and strings instrumental that turns Polyphonic Spree-ish at the end. I expect it to be played as background music on PBS soon.

Sorry, I’m about to collapse here, must go watch mindless TV now. Put the Cat Called Cricket back on To-Listen list. But you can head over to their Myspace to listen for yourself. Over and out.

…urgh, came back from watching TV because forgot to mention that the label that they are on, The Beechfields, also houses two great bands that a lot of us like: Private Eleanor and The Seldon Plan. Ok, now I’m really going.

Listen:
Tracks on Myspace

Visit:
A Cat Called Cricket website
The Beechfields website

by Palebear | No Comments

Annabella
Say Goodnight

I lost the sheet that came with this CD, but decided to give it a review anyhow. The Texas based husband / wife duo Annabella makes lovely indie pop that really reminds me of Innocence Mission, Mojave 3, maybe Sarah McLaughlin a little. Later into the CD, on “Just So You Know”, I realized that The Sundays comparison was entirely valid as well.

The music is understated and dreamy, a bit of a departure from other up-tempo indie duos like Viva Voce and Quasi. Piano and other instruments add nice touches. For me, Terri Dittmar’s voice falls into that category of exquisitely beautiful, but tiny bit too mainstream. But I think that may actually increase the band’s fanbase. All in all, I really liked this CD - it’s such an undeniably pretty album.

Listen:
Sun Is King

Visit:
Annabella website
on Myspace

by Palebear | No Comments

Audible
Sunday Bell

I guess the first thing that struck me when hearing “Sunday Bell” from the band Audible was how much lead singer Mike Kennedy sounds like Blake Sennet (Rilo Kiley, The Elected). Now, I don’t put that much store in any powers of musical deduction, but after i got over the Sennet similarity I was thinking, man this sure sounds like good old school Matt Pond PA.

And sure enough, reading the bio for Audible we see that both Mike and bandmate Jim Kehoe were indeed in Matt Pond’s original lineup. Along with Mike’s girlfriend Kris Muller on bass and Mazarin’s Sean Byrne on drums, Audible continues that deliciously layered but wisely compact Philadelphia indie poprock sound blazed by MPPA, Bill Ricchini, and Mazarin.

Continue reading “Audible - Sunday Bell” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Band of Horses
Everything All The Time

Somtimes I really hate Pitchfork.

I’d gotten the new Band of Horses pre-release of Everything All The Time more than a month ago and it had taken up residence in the trusty Ipod. Slowly winning me over with their intoxicating blend of dreamy and orchestral horsey musings. Forget Brokeback Mountain’s cowboys, I’ll take this band of horses anyday. I’d come up with a perfect opening comparison for them and was just about ready to take on writing them up. Then, the other day I turn on Pitchfork and see the EXACT same comparison waiting there for me.

What a bummer. Anyhow, what I had thought was an immensely original comparison was that Band of Horses remind me of My Morning Jacket fronted by James Mercer of The Shins. Looking back on it, that wasn’t such an amazing intuition. This is exactly how they come across to me.

I guess you snooze you lose. We don’t have a staff of millions. But enough about us, what about the amazing Band of Horses? Well, they are amazing.

Like The Shins, their music goes for the gut, with grand, sweeping, bold-is-brilliant aural colors. The differences are that they venture frequently into the alt-country outback frequented by a band like Wilco. Also, every song on the album is extremely strong which is quite unlike Shins albums to me. With Shins, the hits are farther apart. With BOH it’s nearly non-stop.

Continue reading “Band of Horses - Everything All The Time” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

Bedroom Eyes
Embrace In Stereo

I caught this Swedish band off of 3hive yesterday and they’re great, like many of the smaller and unsigned pure indiepop bands coming from that country. I don’t know what it is, but the music of indieSwedes just seem to really agree with me (I wonder if it’s the fact that they like handclaps so much in the songs.)

Anyhow, this is Jonas Jonsson’s wonderful little bedroom EP project Embrace In Stereo under the name Bedroom Eyes and it’s available in its entirety for free on the website. Backing him up are Emil Karlsson (drums), Mattias Andersson (bass) and Patrik Zackrisson (keyboards).

The poppy flavor of the songs include a bit of 90s (or is that 80s) throwback with a hint of twee mixed in. And a bit of Teen Fanclub influence perhaps. Jonas’s voice also reminds me a bit of Tim Booth. My favorite track is “The Skywriter” which contains a surprisingly drony and driving outro, somewhat at odds with the rest of the tracks which are more pure pop.

Band Website:

www.bedroomeyes.se/

Available Tracks:

Motorcycle Daydream
Dancing Under Influence
The Skywriter
Blueprint for Departure

by Palebear | No Comments

Between The Pines
S/T EP

I’ve run across the music from this band quite a few times already over the past couple months, so I finally decided to make a proper post about them. Between the Pine actually has a free EP available at the 80H Records site, so there’s no excuse to give them a listen. If you like mopy lo-fi acoustic songs, you’ll be glad you downloaded the 3 songs. They also have a full length available on Itunes and CDBaby and I believe they’re currently working on a new album.

The three songs are beautiful, sparsely populated, somewhat folksy tunes that seem informed from such diverse musical sources as Sea and Cake, Tarnation, Norfolk and Western, Birddog and Ponies In The Surf (and other Asaurus bands).

I’m making all this stuff up out of my ass again - rather than reading my lame attempts to compare them to various bands, why not just go and download these amazing songs yourself and see?

Listen:
Please Sit Down
I’ll Carry On My Father’s Joke
We Awoke

On Itunes:
S/T

Watch:
CocaCola
weird song, sequenced to an old Casper the Friendly Ghost film

Visit:
Between The Pine website

by Palebear | 1 Comment

Beulah
Silver Lining

The Target Commercial indie music parade continues with the band Beulah, one of my all time E6 faves. I always get so distracted by the music that I forget what the actual commercial features… in this case, I just remember in the beginning it’s a teacher drawing a bunch of things in crayon or chalk on a wall that he then walks through as a classroom.

But anyhow, the important thing is that it’s them all right - the song being played is “Silver Lining” off The Coast Is Never Clear. It’s got the trademark trumpet indie pop lines, simple guitar groove and splashing drums that make them such a great band.

You know - the crazy thing is that earlier I’d heard an Apples In Stereo track for Target too, but I completely forgot about it until I heard the Beulah one! I’ll have to post about that one later…

by Palebear | No Comments

Bishop Allen
Corazon

I’ve been a periodic visitor to the wonderful MP3 blog Said The Gramophone for awhile now… there’s some great finds over there. This band was one of them (though I must admit I’ve seen the name Bishop Allen on another site previous to finally checking out their music).

New York’s Bishop Allen play joyous and honest indiepop. I think I’ve found a nearly worthy successor to the defunct Masters of the Hemisphere. Just maybe. The band has the same sort of spirit though they don’t sound exactly like the Masters.

The track from Bishop Allen’s new EP January is called “Corazon” and is a great mid-tempo pop song, perhaps a bit more mellow than some of their other tunes. It sometimes reminds me of Track Star or American Analog Set with a less mellow singer. Actually, a bit like Dios Malos also. There’s some tasty piano throughout the song. The way that the Justin’s vocals sort of slur uphill in the verses while the chorus resonates simply between just two chords is great. The best indiepop bands seem to be able to do that: take two chords and make two and a half minute epics out of them.

I listened to some of the other tracks from an earlier album and they were just as good, if a bit wordier. “Eve of Destruction”’s verses don’t seem to have any breaths in them at all! “Busted Heart” reminds me of Isaac Brock or Doug Martsch fronting My Morning Jacket.

Not only is their music only available through their website (and on Itunes), but they are currently undergoing an amazingly ambitious project of releasing one EP every month this year! Completely insane, but I welcome the chance to sample more of these little poppity gems. Yes, “teach me your songs” indeedy…

Members:

Jack Delamitraux
Christian Owens
Justin Rice
Christian Rudder

Bishop Allen website

by Palebear | Comments Off

Blanket Music
Love Translation

I have been really digging this disc of covers by Blanket Music lately. The band is the project of Hush Record’s Chad Crouch and though I’ve never really heard his stuff before, I’m really glad I scored a copy of disc 2 of their latest double CD release.

The Portland, OR band decided to make their 4th release a double CD with a slight catch. The first disc is called “The Love” and consists of an original “collection of love songs rooted wholly in earnestness.” However, the 2nd disc is called “Love Translation” and features the band covering different artists that are friends of the band.

This is a pretty neat idea, because they’ve covered some pretty familiar indie names… two of the most prominent being The Decemberists and M. Ward.

Continue reading “Blanket Music - Love Translation” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

Casey Dienel
Doctor Monroe

Hush Records is well known for releasing indie artists who march to a completely different drummer, with a tendency toward more mellow and sparse artists. Their latest release comes from Casey Dienel, a singer-songwriter who packs a double punch of astute lyrics with slightly loungey, staccato piano riffs. The general feel of the music is jazzy, but comes with an indie sensibility. Think Mirah playing quieter Ben Folds. Or Tori Amos without all the erotic fluff and flutter.

A recent transplant to New York from Boston (via a “small seaside village”), Dienel released “Wind-Up Canary” after a long history of penning bedroom songs that no one got to hear. One of the amazing things is that this is her FIRST recording ever. It sure doesn’t sound like it. It sounds like she’s been recording most of her life.

The music is pretty different, which is expected being on Hush. It’ll never be confused with teenage rock anthems and will remain on the “quiet-time music” backburner for a majority of folks. But the music is nearly instantly likeable. And intimately friendly, which is becoming somewhat of a lost art these days with all the aloof indie musicians running amuck.

Tracks:

Doctor Monroe

Albums available on Itunes:

Wind-Up Canary (Hush 2006)

Label:

Hush Records

Artist Website:

www.caseydienel.com

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Celestial
Dream On

I keep messing up on Skipping Stones Records releases… for some reason we have reviewed very few of their albums, even though the majority are awesome releases. (I know we’ve missed talking about Dyrdin and The Charade, two great bands that they released stuff by). They’ve all spent some time on repeat in the playlist. So finally, here is one of their newest releases - Celestial’s “Dream On”.

It could be just coincidence, but this is another Swedish artist - Andreas Hagman is the brains behind this band. And you know how we like the Swedes. I don’t think it’d be going out on a limb to say that this album of great pop songs reminds me very much of The Field Mice, TBS, Galaxie 500, and East River Pipe… that’s for starters. Great swaths of dreamy pop melodies and reverbed, jangly electric guitars. The songs seem to neatly bridge the gap between shoegaze and twee - like a lot of the Sarah records which are said to be somewhat of an influence in the press bio.

There’s also a strange jangly undercurrent which reminds me of early REM at times. That feel doesn’t come up that often, but it’s there. Even after repeated listens, no one song on the album stands out as the best for me - all of them are keepers. If you liked your old school indie pop thick and dreamy, then you’ll like this album.

Listen:
Celestial on MySpace

Visit:
Celestial website
Skipping Stones Records website

by Palebear | 1 Comment

Chad VanGaalen
Infiniheart

Chances are quite good that you’ve heard of Chan VanGaalen by now, or you’re about to hear his songs this year. The Calgary busker turned Sub Pop signee has enjoyed a good amount of well-deserved press lately. I got sent a copy of his debut Infiniheart awhile back and I’ve been listening to it quite a bit, though I only got to write up about it now.

Earlier in his career, VanGaalen would simply record his own CD-Rs full of his music on a multitrack recorder and then sell or hand these limited editions out at shows and to his friends. The undeniable quality of the music got a buzz going, and it didn’t take long for major indies to come a-sniffin’.

On his debut, he is equally adept at soaring indie rock on songs like “Clinically Dead” (which I feel really recalls The Shins), dusty porch folk a la Will Oldham on “After the Afterlife” and pseudo Postal Service electronics on “Kill Me In My Sleep”. And that’s only the first 3 songs on the album! “J.C.’s Head On The Cross” mutters along like some Folk Implosion outtake, while “Somewhere I Know There Is Nothing” has a My Morning Jacket vibe going. The rest of the songs are all equally inventive and quirky in their genre shifting.

Continue reading “Chad VanGaalen - Infiniheart” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Citizens Here And Abroad
Appearances

After hearing several tracks from Citizens Here And Abroad off of internet radio, I decided to write them up here. The group’s debut album is called Ghosts Of Tables And Chairs and the track I heard off the radio was Appearances.

The group mixes dream rock urgency with more playful indie rock along the lines of Rilo Kiley. I get good doses of Kim Deal coming through the speakers as well. I especially liked the guitar lines which are mostly clean repeated notes and the stepup in energy of the chorus which swims with delicious distortion.

Continue reading “Citizens Here And Abroad - Appearances” …

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
S/T

When a relatively unknown indie band gets a blog buzz on, it’s a difficult thing to suppress. I thought I was up on the cutting edge by finding this band, but I’ve since seen them featured in any number of music publications and even dropped by word of mouth by someone whose idea of “super indie” is the Arcade Fire. Last to the party, as usual.

This is delicious and pernicious indie pop that grabs a hold of the reins of your brain lobes and rides you down a somewhat 80s dayglow tinged road. “In This Home On Ice” will find you galloping along helplessly with the song’s shimmering guitars. There is little debate as to whether lead singer Alec Ounsworth sounds just a tad bit like David Byrne, but on this track he comes across more Elephant 6 - like, maybe Neutral Milk Hotel. He also sounds a bit like the Decemberists as well, but the music is less choppy waters and more tidal wave-like.

Continue reading “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - In This Home On Ice” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

You know what? I’m going to have to apologize in advance to Dappled Cities for getting up on the rant-box within their review. Sorry guys, the album IS very good - and unique sounding. Ironically, what I wanted to say is that I do read quite a few music mp3 blogs around the net and it seems like more and more you read a review where the content has almost nothing to do with the actual music and more to do what the author had for lunch, or what shirt his girlfriend was wearing that day which reminded him so poignantly about the band he’s talking about. I say ironic, because I guess that’s what I’m actually doing in this review!

Many Mp3 blogs have those short Seinfeldish reviews, and then they end with 1 or 2 sentences saying, “nice album, they’re playing at BlahBlah Bar, check it out HERE (linking to many online MP3s). For that pittance of actual music coverage, they get a reamload of CDs in the mail from the major indies for free. Uh, not that I don’t get a few CDs for free myself.

Every so often, I go through this existential, fatalistic, gloom-n-doom reasoning about the site - wherein I say, why do I even bother talking about these bands? (Have you guessed yet that today is one of those days?) Surely, everyone is just going to go to read the insightful reviews at Bitchfork or StereoDum if they really want to know about a band. And if they just want links or free music, all they need to do is look at any of the more popular indie blogs out there. No one needs indie blogs that actually try to write more than a piddling few sentences about a band, right?

EXACTLY RIGHT. Over the past year or so, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you can’t beat them, then join them. So I’ve been sort of cutting down on the length of the reviews. But you know what? I just can’t bring myself to completely suck out like the majority of review blogs out there. Every now and again I feel like spouting. Hence, the split focus of this blog between reviews and personal “issues”.

If you’ve been any kind of reader of this blog, you’ll remember that I’ve had this sort of conversation with myself many times (working from home has the unfortunate consequence of encouraging discussions with either the cat or the washing machine). I feel like that Al Franken character that talks into a mirror to reassure himself that everything is hunky-dory. He’s talking into the mirror and going “It’s OK to write short reviews. The bands AREN’T going to contact you with hate mail. The readers aren’t going to go over to read Bitchfork instead - and you know why? Because people LIKE me.”

I think it’s just that every so often, I need to physically remind myself by writing it down in the blog that there’s no need to feel bad about writing 1 or 2 piddling sentences about a band and calling a review. I’m sure the majority of the college kids writing blogs are more concerned about the next after-show boozer party than that. More power to ‘em I guess, it sure helps keep you writing post after post.

Did I also mention I have been having extreme shoulder issues from a non-ergonomic work environment, and that writing for Palebear is often to blame? Yeah - suffer for your great work…

Keeping this reviews site semi-personal has been helpful, especially on those days when anything is liable to set me off in a spiral of musical depression. I keep saying I’ll try to make more personal posts more often, but I keep getting caught up with the number of CDs coming in.

Anyhow, back to Dappled Cities. This must be the longest review they’ve ever received that isn’t directly about their music - or not. Their release “Granddance” on Dangerbird is positively Arcade Fire-ish, especially on tracks like “Colour Coding” and “Watercourse”. Over tracks like the great “Work It Out” are sort of like Danielson’s Trumpet song - they have that sort of ringmaster showmanship vibe. The instrumentation is great, as are the overall dynamics. Er, are they from Australia or are they just touring there?

Visit:
Dappled Cities website

by Palebear | 2 Comments

Death To Anders
Fictitious Business

I’ve been trying to figure out this CD from Death to Anders. From the opening track, I thought at first it was going to be standard indie pop /rock with vocals that reminded me of Sugarplastic, Silver Scooter or maybe Oranger. But then “Ghost Rock” comes smashing in with distortion and strange chords - kinda Sonic Youth meets Possum Dixon and Weezer. The sound is alternately quirky, anthemic and then slightly atonal. The style is all over the map - hoedown countryish to shoegazer ballads to noisy freakouts. There’s another indie band that I can’t remember that sounds very close to this Silverlake band. This is their second album, it’s quite good. Or at least interesting. But I have to admit it’s going to take a few listens…

Visit:
Death To Anders website
Death To Anders Myspace

by Palebear | No Comments

Deerhoof
+81

There’s a cool new song up on the KRS website from quirk-popsters Deerhoof. This is off their upcoming Friend Opportunity, called Deerhoof - +81. Actually, I don’t know too much about Deerhoof myself, but I thought I saw that this song had already been released as part of a +81 EP.

In any case, I’ve been meaning to at least make an attempt to buy into the Deerhoof hype for awhile now. First impressions - Blonde Redhead meets MBV, Sonic Youth and Stereolab, plus the obligatory Yoko Ono comparison. They’re more poppy to me than SY, but occasionally go off the deep end. In a challenging but good way.

Other MP3s and Movies:

Wrong Time Capsule Video
MP3 EP of Live and Cover Tracks (including the Beatles’ The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, Herman’s Hermits’ There’s A Kind Of Hush and My Bloody Valentine’s Lose My Breath)

Band Website:

Deerhoof

by Palebear | No Comments

Ellery
Arizona

I heard this really nice, mellow track on SomaFM the other day by a band called Ellery. I guess what made me remember their name was that there is an Ellery Lake that I’ve visited many times near Yosemite and I have a lot of good memories from that place. So when it came time to write a post, that little random thing stuck in my head.

Tasha and Justin Golden continue the popular husband-and-wife team trend (Low, The Handsome Family, Viva Voce) as the band Ellery (previously known as Dividing The Plunder). The track I heard is called Arizona and is from their EP release “Make Your Troubles Mine” which swims sweetly along at a speed that’s not going to start any hearts racing. But this is what they do best. They play gentle pop songs that might qualify for alternative adult radio, which is sort of interesting because I normally don’t gravitate toward these type of songs. But there were some really good tunes on the EP. Know Better Now which is the last track is particularly beautiful.

Continue reading “Ellery - Arizona” …

by Bryan | 1 Comment

Eulogies
S/T

Man, before I begin: do NOT go about making the U.S. Post Office workers angry at you if you care about receiving your mail. I dunno what happened, but it turns out they were “holding up” all my incoming mail. I didn’t issue a hold on it or anything. They just didn’t want to give it to me!

So today, when I went in, some kind soul at the Post Office probably realized the error made and I was literally swamped with packages dating back two months ago. Not that I was complaining about having the flood of CDs reduced to a trickle lately - it’s been difficult with the shoulder/back injuries to do much computering and reviewering. But anyway, whew glad they finally decided to give me my mail. OK- back to the review:

I have to admit that I didn’t care so much for Peter Walker’s solo stuff. I’d gotten his Young Gravity CD earlier and just never got into it. The songs on that album seemed to have a lot of promise but just didn’t seem to grab me. I didn’t really feel the Wilco/Neil Young comparisons either.

However, Walker has a new band called Eulogies that DOES seem to add the missing musical puzzle pieces in the form of bandmates Chris Reynolds and Tim Hutton. With the addition of those guys, the songs sound nice and full and Walker’s voice nestles itself nicely into the music. At times, the songs remind me a little bit of labelmates Sea Wolf (minus the strings, of course).

Even though I know Walker is a sometimes folksy/mellow singer-songwriter, some of the best songs by Eulogies are the ones that have a driving beat like “Suicide” and “Under The Knife”. The bass on that latter song is pretty cool and reminds me of indie instrumental bands like El Ten Eleven and Scenic. Other tracks like the excellent “Can’t Relate” have hints of Grandaddy and Sparklehorse embedded deliciously in the mix. There is some serious goodness here - I’m going to have to go back and revisit Young Gravity just to make sure I wasn’t napping when that particular CD was dropped in my player.

Visit:
Eulogies website
Dangerbird

by Palebear | No Comments

Eux Autres
Cold City

Man, amazing. I’m back reviewing. What happened? I don’t know. Got bored. Decided to write in short sentences. Well.

At least some review packages have gotten through the post office blockade, so for now I’m keeping the address the same. Please let me know if you’re getting them returned.

Ok, so this is supposed to be a review. Here it is: the more I listen to Eux Autres the better they sound. How’s that for a major cliche-o-matic. Yay! The Portland band’s newest CD is Cold City and I have to admit I nearly put it aside until I heard a few tracks on SOMA and looked to see who it was. Shamefaced, I retrieved the CD from the “discard” pile.

Janet Weiss (a heroine of many) had a hand in the recording of their album. Not surprising there might be a few Sleater-esque moments starting with “Gratte-Ciel” and “When I’m Up.” But hey, before we even get into that I have to say that the initial 2 songs of the CD tread a different indie line: think Tullycraft plays Pants Yell! plays Masters of the Hemisphere for “The Deadball Era.” And for “Molly” let’s go That Dog plays with Slumber Party.

Whew, ok I used up all my references in one fell swoop. Oh what the hell, one more try: for “Anne Boleyn” let’s go Life Pursuit era Belle and Sebastian meets Field Mice. Regardless, the indie pop rings true on this album. I have to say that again that Masters of the Hemisphere RIYL really comes out on one of my favorite tracks, “Collision Theory.” Interesting Frenchiness also occurs occasionally. Overall: tres delicious.

Listen:
When I’m Up

Visit:
Eux Autres website

by Palebear | No Comments

Francine
Airshow

We got into Francine through Soma FM (one of the best radio routes to great new indie music). Clayton sent me a copy of their new album Airshow which just came out this past Tuesday. It’s a wonderful disc of mellow to midspeed indie pop. The songs may not startle, but that’s a good thing here.

I still don’t hear the Malkmus mid-range comparisons really. In fact, listening to this at Palebear HQ we came up with a few different comparisons. Francine’s music sounds to me a bit like a cross between Michael Penn and Jon Brion. That’s kind of interesting actually because I know that Clayton actually co-wrote a song with Aimee Mann called “Invisible Ink”… and she’s married to Michael Penn. And Jon Brion produced some of Aimee Mann’s work. So I guess it’s not so far a stretch?

Anyhow, there are tons of great imaginative songs here on the album that went immediately into my IPod. The arrangements and melodies are quite interesting, but never complex enough to make you frustrated. Cool stuff.

Selected Albums on Itunes:

Airshow
28 Plastic Blue Versions of Endings Without You

Band Website:

www.francine.info

by Bryan | Comments Off

Francine
Silver Plated 606

I heard a track from Francine off of SOMA FM and instantly needed to find out more about the band. Wow, I really liked the two songs available for download off their most recent album 28 Plastic Blue Versions of Ending Without You. These guys are masters of the unexpected (but nevertheless delicious) left-turn chord change.

The first track is called Silver Plated 606 and the chorus really showcases their talent at this. I mean the chord changes are super interesting, but are so natural that it doesn’t feel like they’re “trying” to be complex or anything. If I could point to any one band that they remind me of on this song it would have to be Heatmiser (Elliott Smith and Sam Coomes of Quasi got their start from this band). The loping tub drums and the aforementioned chord changes really remind me of “The Fix Is In” off of Mic City Sons. Their use of slightly twangy guitar with that engaging drawl led me to think of some of the Dandy Warhols’ slower songs.

Continue reading “Francine - Silver Plated 606″ …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Frankel
Chatterbox

I nearly missed talking about the great Frankel EP out on Three Ring Records. I got this album late last year and had been listening to it for quite awhile. But the disc started to skip on me a bit so I got distracted and accidentally filed it away in the “done” pile.

Anyhow, when I found it the other day and put it on, I was reminded of the very first thing that I noticed on listening to the first track “Pass Out”. There is a “phone-off-the-hook” noise in the beginning of the song that ALWAYS gets me to look at my phone to see if I’ve left it off the cradle. This happened to me no less than 3 times. Funny how something like that sound is so universal that it affects everyone the same way.

Now, I was going to segue that thought into something about how this album is “universal” and “timeless” but I can’t quite seem to find the right transitions. Well, I DO think that a lot of people who dig quieter and mellow pop in the vein of Elliott Smith and Pedro the Lion will definitely like this album. Frankel mixes mostly quiet acoustic guitar with wonderful folk melodies, but there is an orchestration that reminds you of Smith and maybe also Wilco or Lambchop.

That first track as well as the next one,”Don’t Leave”, definitely does remind you of Elliott Smith filtered through The Field Mice and Tahiti 80.

“The Antidote” is my favorite track and sort of sounds like Ken Stringfellow singing on a Fountains of Wayne song. There’s that buzzy middle keyboard section in here that picks the mood up a bit and makes everything more bouncy. “Method Actor” starts off with much stranger background music, like one of the Sparklehorse B-Sides songs merged with an Air song.

“The Great Unknown”, while a bit cliched in its evoking of a”Kashmir-like” feeling in the strings at the beginning of the track, actually reminds me a lot of a Bill Santen track at times. “All Satellites” starts out as a dreamy quiet tune but quickly makes its shoegazing powers known with a requisite dreamy and droning guitar. This is just a 6 song EP, but the initial taste test is definitely a positive one. Looking forward to hearing any of Frankel’s new stuff…

Albums on Itunes

Chatterbox EP

Artist Website:

www.frankelmusic.com

by Palebear | Comments Off

Fruit Bats
Lives of Crime

While Fruit Bats in the wild are a somewhat scary flying mammals, Fruit Bats the band actually plays some great indie pop. They’ve been described before as “Califone meets The Shins”… however, what I hear most from them is a good dose of Elephant 6, especially The Apples In Stereo. Which is sort of cool, because I felt like that part of indie rock/pop was not being represented too well on Subpop (although the band has released an earlier album, Mouthfuls, on Subpop).

Continue reading “Fruit Bats - Lives of Crime” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Headphones
Pink and Brown

If you think this band sounds a little like Pedro the Lion playing keyboards exclusively… well, then you’d be at least 66.6% correct. The Headphones are David Bazan from Pedro the Lion, his bandmate Tim Walsh but with Frank Lenz from dreamrockers Starflyer 59 thrown into the mix. A bit of of a supergroup perhaps… and they play some true coolness without using any guitars. Just synths in the music. There’s no mistaking Bazan’s delivery here though. And the music is similar in its melodic twists and turns to Pedro the Lion.

The track I heard was Pink and Brown. Mellow and drawn out, but with a preponderence of keyboards throughout (the drums are real though… I think), the Headphones sound very much like Pedro the Lion backed by American Analog Set. The keyboards are bit drony like Amanset and the song I heard has a similar mid-speed setting to it. The sound has that same minimal yet beautiful quality to it and Bazan’s vocals definitely shine, though they are less understated than Andrew Kenny’s.

But unlike typical offshoot bands (try Postal Service = electronic DCFC), such collusion is more welcome and the sound seems to gel quite well.

They currrently have one album out on Suicide Squeeze and I believe they toured with Minus the Bear to support it last fall. Hm… I wonder if The Headphones should also try a “Recording Engineer Tour” and then go hit up The Microphones to play with them. Hehe…

Members:

David Bazan
Frank Lenz
Tim Walsh

Albums available on Itunes:

S/T CD

Headphones Webite:

www.headphonesmusic.com

by Palebear | Comments Off

On first impression, you’d be damn tempted to label the group I’m From Barcelona as a Swedish Polyphonic Spree - just because of how many members there are. Then you’d be tempted to say, well they only made it because of all the latest interest in all things musically Swede. Whatever the case, these dudes and dudettes create goofy ensemble pop songs sung in an entertaining orchestral twee style.

Meaning there’s a choral element and a whole lot of instruments thrown into the mix. Originally created by Emanuel Lundgren as a gag type of collective where he just invited all of his friends to participate. Twenty eight of them or so took up the challenge, many who had no musical experience at all. Then the band started to get airplay and web word of mouth spread them wide. It’s a story you hear told a lot nowadays. Sometimes it’s all hype but in their case, it’s deserving - the songs are really good. I just would hate to figure out how to split royalties among 28 people…

And yes… they are not actually from Barcelona - I don’t think Lundgren had even BEEN to Barcelona before naming the band.

Listen:
I’m From Barcelona on Myspace
Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams, Buddy EP

Visit:
I’m From Barcelona website

by Palebear | 1 Comment

I have to admit I’m kinda surprised that Imperial Teen is still alive and kickin’. I got into them pretty early on, right when they released Seasick and they’ve remained a staple in my Ipod “Walking Music” playlist because of their bouncy pop masterpieces. Turns out that they’re back with a new album on Merge after 5 years or so.

They’re sorta getting on their in years - I mean Roddy and company weren’t exactly young to start with when they started playing as Imperial Teen. Dude, Will used to look (and slightly sound like) this wiry young punk - now he’s aged Lee Ranaldo-like complete with a little wisp of gray hair in the front.

But, then who cares what they look like, right? In their press photos it’s like they’re almost embracing their middle-agedness gleefully. “So pretty” indeedy. And their album, “The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band” has some of the same simple yet strong tunes that made me like them in the first place. “Shim Sham” stands out as one of the hits, and while they’ve definitely found a successful formula to milk again, it ain’t no lazy cow. By the way, the album is available to be streamed at Merge…

Listen:
The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band

Visit:
Imperial Teen website

by Palebear | 1 Comment

Regular readers of Palebear (all 3-4 of you) will note that I love to complain. I love to hijack other people’s reviews to spout forth my own nefarious propaganda from upon the blog soapbox. I love to put a damper on the party with doom and gloom about the current direction of the music biz. I love to self-aggrandize with exaggerated and mixed metaphors.

Well, this review is going to be another of those. So I apologize in advance to anyone who’s here looking for a real Bitchforkian or Rolling Boneian review of Iron and Wine’s new album The Shepherd’s Dog. Go view those publications to get the real, actual scoop by writers that are paid millions of bucks.

But really, Mr. Sam Beam doesn’t need any of my help. The album is quite different from his earlier ones and if you’ve gone straight through from those skipping the Woman King EP or the Boy with a Coin single, you might be a bit shocked. But add those little releases in (and note the ubiquitous Postal Service cover) and you’ll see that there’s continuity; the direction he was going in was easily foreshadowed by those EPs and he continues to hold the torch of one of the best bands currently on Sub Pop.

I really like the album, although he’s muted the lo-fi Appalachian folk presentation in favor of fuller instrumentation. Beam’s voice still, well, BEAMS - a bright beacon on songs that in others hands might be bloated currency filled with unnecessary meandering. I suspect that far from alienating his current fans, he’s bound to pick up a few new ones, maybe some avant-garde musicologists and those who thought that his earlier work was too hushed or slow. A few songs are sorta wacky - in particular I thought the end of “Wolves (The Song of the Shepherd’s Dog)” was positively funky street. But there’s enough of the old folky Beam in the other songs to tide me over until he the day where he goes completely back to his old stuff. I dunno if he will do that, though - I think he’s too restless musically to go for a reprise of “Creek”.

Ok, so I promised some complaining. You can just skip down to the links below if you’d rather not hear it. Here is my unstructured grousing: I’m a part-time music reviewer who’s supposed to reviewing for “fun”. Long ago, I gave up any illusions of making a career out of this. I’m just not a good enough wordsmith to command music-moola from Spin and too old to be a collegiately wide-eyed music reviewer who writes reams of reviews for free just because “it’s the music, man.”

No, it’s gotta be that I write for 1. “Fun” in my spare time 2. The dubious pleasure of receiving promos in advance of the music buying public.

Let’s talk about “Fun”. Sure, it’s fun to write about an album once in awhile. However, the catch is that if you can write a halfway decent review (or, as it’s come down to, even a decent 100 word blurb), then bands, songwriters, record labels and publicity houses by the thousands will beat a path to your door. There are just so many emails and packages that I get from these people, who I actually sympathize with. We used to run a record label and it was so difficult trying to figure out who to send stuff to. So when you did find a music reviewer that you thought was good and whose taste fit the style of what you were releasing, you’d be sure to send them a CD.

But it’s a Catch-22 for a one-man reviewing operation: the better and more open you are, the more stuff that you receive and the more your workload increases, and consequently the greater the chance of the quality of your writing suffering. And at some point, it stops being “fun” and more like a job. But, as I’ve said I’m just not into working myself to the bone for free. I don’t have a crapload of time or patience on hand. You just get Burnt Out On Blogs™.

So, it comes down to this. Other than to unburden myself in diatribes like this or to promote the occasional release that I absolutely feel needs to be supported because it’s such a great album and no one knows about it, I’m writing for the occasional feeling of Specialness. The great feeling that, hey, look I got an album from one of my favorite songwriters - and I got it before anyone else did, and for free, and it’s such an awesome album. And I get to talk about it so my 3 readers will know what its like before it comes out Whoo-hoo! I rock!

And then I go on the internet and it turns out that the album has already been in the filesharers hands for months.

I hate to dredge up cliches, but digital music is such a blessing and a curse for people involved in music. On the one hand you’ve got super-wide distribution and a larger audience, and on the other hand, that same ease of accesibility makes it so easy for people to get music without paying for it. I’m not going to get all high and mighty - I don’t use the filesharing systems, but I’ve gotten music illegally for free online before. Guilty.

So maybe it’ll seem I’m somewhat of a petulant hypocrite to say this - but man, you gotta give me SOMETHING to keep me writing reviews day in and day out for free. My love of music is large, but reviewing just cannot exist in a vacuum for long unless you’re in college or being paid by the word. I need to be able to feel that I got something out of it, and I get sort of depressed by all the MP3s being slung like jai-alai balls between people who have no idea that they are slowly but surely KILLING the one thing that sometimes keeps me writing.

CDs aren’t worth anything nowadys. Trust me, I’ve gone to Amoeba and tried to sell back copies of CDs. I think I tried to sell back 100 CDs and they took maybe 3. So if CDs aren’t worth the paper and plastic they’re made out of, and the songs are already online for free, what’s so special about receiving a promo?

A side note: this is recently why I’m interested in vinyl LPs. At least there’s something physical there to collect. Please do send me all the promo LPs you have!

If I was a much more sane music reviewer, I’d just ignore all that shit and just count myself lucky that I’m in the game. I do get promos, sometimes even fairly far in advance. I get to compete with 500,000,000 or so other indie music review bloggers for the attention of the music-buying public. I get to occasionally receive snide comments on posts (thank you, to the few who do actually write nice comments). I get to wade, nay swim through manilla envelopes and online press releases for fun. I get to be ignored by a lot of big major music blogs that I try to make friends with, but when I do happen to make a small complaint about them in a post, I get a one word comment or sad face from them in return and then they go back to ignoring me. I get to feel guilty about not reviewing really great indie bands even though they really deserve a well-written review.

Oh, it’s a wonderful life. But for some reason I just refuse to play along. </endrant>

p.s. Subpop reps, please ignore this post. =)

On Itunes:
Woman King EP
In the Reins (w/ Calexico)
Our Endless Numbered Days
The Creek Drank The Cradle

Visit:
Iron and Wine website
Subpop website

by Palebear | No Comments

J Forte
Lines To Follow

Psst. Here is some secret pop music, so secret, I guess that the album is actually called “Secret Pop”.

All kidding aside, this is a delicious energy bomb of a song by J. Forte. Late of Ape House (never heard of ‘em) and now of Lejeune (never heard of ‘em as well), Mr. Forte offers up some delicious pop in the vein of Silver Scooter, Subset and Beulah (I’ve definitely heard of ‘EM). Maybe a bit of Magnetic Fields and Matthew Sweet in there as well. Come Back Now Baby is also a great energetic track.

Listen:

Lines To Follow
Come Back Now Baby

On Itunes:
Secret Pop - J Forte

Visit:
J Forte’s website

by Palebear | No Comments

Juviley
How To Miss The Ground

Ok, so I sort of needed this album to right my sanity. After tossing quite a few CDs of Kinski-esque Melvins metal, it was nice to come across the beautiful, pastoral album by Juviley. Equal parts Kings of Convenience, Mojave 3 and Belle and Sebastian, “How To Miss The Ground” mopes melodically along at its own pace. In particular, I enjoyed the drowsy slide guitar which infuses his pop songs. Feeling no need to speed up the world, Or Zublasky encourages us to slow down and smell the music. Smells quite good to me.

Visit:
Juviley on Myspace

by Palebear | No Comments

Karrie Hopper
An Unusual Move

Got this rather nice release off Nobody’s Favorite Records the other day… this is a fairly small indie label thats been known to put out mostly introspective and acoustic stuff. Karrie Hopper has a voice that will put you in mind of Mirah plus the Innocence Mission, and the music follows the spirit of both of those artists as well.

“An Unusual Move” is actually unusual on the surface just because it’s a fully letterpressed album - something you don’t see too often from indie artists. There are some great folksy tracks here of plaintive acoustic guitar which match Karrie’s charming voice which tends to transport you back to childhood because of it’s innocent quality. The music is sometimes augmented by piano and backup vocals. Definitely an album to take a listen to if you like the quieter stuff.

Listen:
Twilight Song
Folk Song

Visit:
Karrie Hopper on Myspace
Nobody’s Favorite Records

by Palebear | No Comments

Kings of Convenience
Riot On An Empty Street

I had great hopes for this newer Kings Of Convenience CD - “Riot On An Empty Street“, because I’m a big fan of their Quiet Is The New Loud album from before (both are on Astralwerks). Certainly the first part of the disc features that same hushed and beautiful acoustic guitar with intertwined voice harmonies that made a lot of people call them the next great Simon and Garfunkel. Except of course they’re Norwegian.

But while “Homesick” is a beautiful track that reminded me of Azure Ray, and “Cayman Islands” is lilting and just sweet enough to comfort many a weary music traveller, the album seems to go astray near the bouncy “Love Is No Big Truth” and derails with the 80s-like “I’d Rather Dance With You”. It’s almost like New Order or something.

Continue reading “Kings of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Laura Cantrell
14th Street

I don’t know if it’s just me but Nashville’s Laura Cantrell has one of the sweetest and prettiest voices I’ve heard lately. This sort of came out from left field for me, because I found her music while just browsing the Matador Records site. When I think of Matador, I’m thinking Interpol and Yo La Tengo… all the big indie rock names. But Laura doesn’t really fit with that crowd, though Matador is definitely known for it’s eclectic lineup.

The first song off her new album “Humming By The Flowered Vine” is a cover of a song by Portland’s Emily Spray called “14th Street”, a catchy and straightforward (if slightly adult contemporary) pop song. A really beautiful tune actually, I could see how it would definitely catch indie label ears. It’s Cantrell’s voice that really shines through here, a combination of sweet airy vocals that ride just barely on the edge of melancholy. When she sings up higher its a bit Joni Mitchell, but when in her wheelhouse range it’s more Lori Carson.

Continue reading “Laura Cantrell - 14th Street” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

Les Issambres
S/T

We seem to get a lot of Swedish pop bands in the mail, and the thing is that so many of them are so GOOD. It’s a bit strange, I wonder if it has something to with the weather over there or something in the water. Les Issambres is a quartet that plays a great brand of sunny indiepop songs. Instead of being straight twee though, there is a bit more seriousness in the music. Some has to do with Stefan’s droll and deadpan delivery of the lyrics. A nice counterpoint with Karin’s more playful delivery.

There is a Galaxie 500 like feel to “Santa Fe” which is a super-sunny but driving pop tune - I think it has something to do with the flute which reminds me of one of the Galaxie 500 songs that I can’t put my finger on. Sometimes it also lends a Free Design or Os Mutantes touch to the music. The flutey beginning of “Second Hand Store” feels like it’s taken straight out of a Masters of the Hemisphere song. But “Kicked Out Of The Blue” actually reminds me of a song from The Church. What I like a lot about the Swedish pop bands like this is that they seem to come across really straightforward in approach without being overly boring. There is variety without making the listener jump through too many hoops. Very nice pop songs here…

Band Members:

Stefan Jacobson - vocals/guitar
Karin Jacobson - vocals/drums
Tomas Tirén - bass/piano
Jan Pettersson - flutes

Available Tracks:

Santa Fe

Band Website:

Les Issambres

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Loney, Dear
Loney, Noir

Very rarely, I get sent albums that leave me pretty speechless. Where the music is so good that it seems pointless to trundle out your review superlatives. I have had this problem with the new Loney, Dear album called “Loney, Noir” which has been on constant playback for a month or so now.

Interestingly, this came in a Subpop package along with the new Shins which I’d been eagerly awaiting. Yeah, “Wincing” is pretty great… but Loney, Dear completely took over my CD player with his amazing one man band recordings. Granted, I’ve got a soft spot for the Swedes (and yes, I was a fan before the current influx of Swedish indies) but Emil Svanängen has really turned on the charm in his pop music.

It’s hard to describe except to say that it is so beautifully natural and organic sounding. It’s not shoegaze, but I’m going to call it “Stargaze” music because it’s filled with the same childlike wonder I once felt when watching the Leonid shooting stars up near Mount Wilson. And I don’t mean that ill-fated kind of childlike wonder that often transforms Peter Griffin on Family guy into a gibbnering 7-year old idiot. I mean true wonder.

The first three songs, “Sinister In A State of Hope”, “I Am John” and “Saturday Waits” are reason enough to get the album. But I was already completely sold by the end of the first track. For reference, the actual setup of the music is similar to either Badly Drawn Boy or Sufjan Stevens or Polyphonic Spree where simple pop and folk melodies are framed by a larger amount of instruments than might otherwise be orchestrated. The instrumentation is quirky which adds to the sense of wonder. Vocally, Emil channels Brian Wilson, Jeff Hanson, or Paul Simon when he sings in a higher voice (which is most of the time), or Jason Lytle when he sings lower. There’s a slight nod to the Elephant 6 type of sound of Beulah or The Apples, but it’s just slight.

Though the recordings are done on his own in somewhat modest settings (apartment or basement of parent’s house), I’ve heard that when he plays live he adds on a full band. I would really like to see them play a show, but I don’t believe they’re coming around to California. They’re playing SXSW, though. I’ve heard they did shows with Peter, Bjorn and John in Sweden - what a bill that would be.

Basically, I am just going to call this the best album I’ve gotten this year so far. And I would be super surprised if it didn’t make top 5 at year’s end. I know it’s early, but Loney, Dear is just too good.

Listen:
I Am John
Saturday Waits (sample)
The City, The Airport (sample)

On Itunes:
Loney, Noir
Sologne

Watch:
I Am John

Visit:
Loney, Dear website
Loney, Dear on Myspace

by Palebear | No Comments

Low Fire
The Second Shortcoming

Rather nice, little buzzy indie pop album from Denmark’s Low Fire. It’s out on Workaholics on Holiday which I believe is an arm of BSBTA, who’s releases we’ve occasionally reviewed. The songs span a whole bunch of genres, from twee to c86 to pop punk. The band is the alias of Niklas Steffensen, but I believe he employs a bunch of buddies in the recordings.

I don’t have the time to go through all the tracks - but I just want to say that “Ringing In Yr Ears” could’ve been a Death Cab B-side track. Easily. A whole lot of songs (in Guided By Voices fashion) mean that there’s a lot of listening to do here. That might turn off some, especially if you don’t “get” lo-fi. But for those with the patience, there are some nice rough gems here and there in the mix. Good stuff…

Visit:
Low Fire website

by Palebear | No Comments

M Coast
Say It In Slang

I woke up this morning and just realized how ASTRONOMICALLY behind I’ve fallen on getting new music posted on Palebear. We’re definitely not at a loss for new music… it’s coming out of my ears. Need to play catchup, so the reviews are going to come fast and short.

I’ve been trying to figure out M Coast (AKA Marshmallow Coast) for awhile now ever since I got their album in the mail. The first song, “Sailing Around The World” = Stereolab or Broadcast. The second song, “Out of the Water” = Folk Implosion. The third song, “One Fine Day” = Masters of the Hemisphere plus, uh Free Design? Does that give you a general picture? I hope so, because that’s all you’re going to get to go on from me.

Seriously though, this is another super excellent indie pop album that just slipped through the cracks. Oh, and by the way this is an E6 collective band so that explains the “sounds like Masters” comment.

Listen:
On Myspace

Visit:
Marshmallow Coast website
Marshmallow Coast website

by Palebear | 3 Comments

Maarten
Pictures of a Danish Girl

I don’t know hardly anything about this band Maarten who are a French band. But I’ve heard a few tracks off their album Pictures of a Danish Girl released in 2004 on internet radio and they are quite nice. Soft and lilting pop, like a guy version of Azure Ray at times, or perhaps less folksy Kings of Convenience. The singer actually really reminds me of the vocals of a band called Tahiti 80.

“Pictures of a Danish Girl” features wonderful strings and trumpet against a pastoral acoustic guitar arrangements. This is a very short and compact song, clocking in at less than 2 minutes long but it sure is a beautiful little track.

Continue reading “Maarten - Pictures of a Danish Girl” …

by Tyranosaur | 1 Comment

Matt Pond PA
Emblems

Yes, I know that Matt Pond PA’s Emblems album is actually from 2004, but I just got a chance to pick it up at Amoeba the other day. Excellent, strongly constructed songs like his earlier work, such as the Measure CD which is where I originally heard about him. To be honest, the slightly weird name (does PA stand for “public address”?) was what first caught my eye in a music magazine. I believe it was an article in Magnet Magazine. But the interesting mix of straightforward rock, alt-country and a bit of folk along with his engaging lyrics was what kept me coming back for more.

Continue reading “Matt Pond PA - Emblems” …

by Palebear | 2 Comments

Metal Hearts
Socialize

Metal Hearts are another band that I originally found from tracks being played on SomaFM (Indiepoprocks is one the most awesome online radio feeds around).

I don’t know too much about the band other than they are a Baltimore based duo comprised of Anar Badalov and Flora Wolpert-Checknoff and they are pretty young (very early 20s?). Anar also bears a striking resemblance to Ashton Kutcher in the press photo - but we won’t go there.

The music is a mix of moody, down-tempo American Analog Set, DCFC (especially on “Foothills”) and bits of Viva Voce. I really like the hushed vocals on the tracks I heard. The feel might be a little too m