Palebear Archives

Category : Indie Rock

A Is Jump
Peeling Space

I had actually heard the entire My Ice-Fingered Ghost CD from A Is Jump long ago (quite cool name for a band, by the way. We ARE a playstation nation…) but I didn’t get a chance to write them up until now. Interesting, because this is actually my favorite band off Future Appletree, whose roster also includes the familiar Marlboro Chorus and Driver of The Year.

So now that I’ve gotten to listen to it I have to say that yep, all the reviews about the band are correct in saying that they’ve yanked a bit out of Great Brit and brought it back to the flatlands of the Midwest. These are great layered songs that often feature the singer’s strong falsetto ringing stridently over washes of guitar. The opening track, “Peeling Space”, has a really good up and down main guitar line that rings almost like XTC or Sugarplastic (one and the same, aren’t they) but less campy. The same type of instrumental walking lines appear on the excellent “Waited So Long” which sounds so familiar but I can’t place where I’ve heard the main melody before.

Continue reading “A Is Jump - Peeling Space” …

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Airport Cathedral
Jetlag

I nearly missed listening to Airport Cathedral’s Jetlag album, but I’m really glad I got the opportunity. Reading the reviews about how lead singer Andy Fitts sounds a lot like David Bazan was enough to pique my interest. So does it sound like Pedro? It sure does, but in a damn good way.

The opening track, “Cure-Alls“, struck me as a cross between Pedro the Lion and Idaho’s Jeff Martin. The sometimes drawled but sincere vocals are a great match with the energetic yet enigmatic indie rock that the band plays. Fitts assembled quite a roster of contributing musicians to help him out on his debut, including Subpop’s Rosie Thomas, David Broecker (backing for John Vanderslice) and James Mendenhall (The Prom).

“TKO” definitely has Pedro The Lion’s phrasing hallmarks stamped all over it, but Fitts also sounds a bit like Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza on this track and the next one, “The Tease“.

While pundits (like us) are quick to jump on the Bazan bandwagon when describing the music, Airport Cathedral is no one trick pop pony. There are some seriously well-constructed songs on the album. As you step through the songs one by one with no decrease in quality of craft, that fact becomes even more readily apparent. This musical strength of the later non-”suggested” tracks is an indicator that this is a band to keep an eye on. I’d put my money on bands that are able to deliver throughout an album, as opposed to massive one-hit wonders any day.

Artist Website:

www.airportcathedral.com/

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Albumen
Lake Desolation

The year is still mighty young, but I’ll go out on a limb and say the new Albumen record is one of the best of its “type” that I’ve listened to this year. “Type” is going to be difficult to pin down accurately, however, for their new album Lake Desolation. The songs are all over the map and underneath it, ranging from fine folk ramblings to disturbing electronic offerings to straightforward rock. Sort of like Earlimart lost somewhere in The Appalachians but with more keyboards.

I’m not gonna lie and say this won’t be a challenging album for many who are used to more straightforward neu-folk like Iron and Wine. This is folk that is RIPPED completely open. Often bathed in deep-well reverb and loads of strange blips and beeps, the songs refuse to sit still and play nice. I think this is why I dug the album so much.

Casual alternative listeners may be content to say that the singing often sounds remarkably like Michael Stipe with less of the whine (and more of the hair). However, for indie folks more in-the-know, let’s go with an initial impression of Bill Callahan (Smog) and David Berman (Silver Jews) with just the barest, barest inkling of Calvin Johnston’s (Beat Happening) bassoon-like mutterings at times.

Many of the songs are dynamic, containing quieter porch folk and that leads to forceful overdriven choruses and endings. “Circle Down” is a good example of that double-sided nature. “Silent Sunrise” is one of my favorite tracks on the album, a midtempo rocker with really infectious chords and melodies.

Continue reading “Albumen - Lake Desolation” …

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Amateur Radio Operator
Sirens Of Titan

I don’t know if it was intended or not, but the first thing that I noticed about Amateur Radio Operator was their album name - Sirens of Titan. Hello title-of-a-Kurt Vonnegut book. Needless to say, I sort of sat on this album for several months - even though I really dig it. This seems to happen frequently. The more I like an album, the longer it takes to get it reviewed. I guess that goes against common sense, but hey - you get what you get.

Anyhow, I really like the deep, vast alt-country soundscapes created by the band. It’s VERY Band of Horses (yeah, that Band of Horses). But at times I like ARO even more because of they lean even more toward the sparse and moody, with cello and quieter moments giving the songs greater swim and less swing. The vocals definitely land them in the My Morning Jacket territory but the music can be more Norfolk and Western at times. Unlike others, I think I actually like the speedbumps here - it fits wonderfully with the overall mood. But of course they’re capable of rocking out as well.

According to the bio, they’re big fans of “entropic music” - the decay that hides alongside bigger made-for-radio choruses. I like that. Broken Household Appliance National Forest - here we come.

by Palebear | No Comments

Aqueduct
Jaguar Commercial

A long time ago, I had been informed of the up-and-coming band Aqueduct by a web friend who lived in Oklahoma. Then a few days ago I came across some of their songs on the web and listened again. One song in particular seemed to stick out… it was Hardcore Days and Softcore Nights.

What struck me most about this song is that it seemed to be a cross mutation between the Folk Implosion and Rolling Stones “As Tears Go By”. Very weird indeed for starters, but not a bad song. Sort of the type that grows on you. Though, I didn’t like their other song Growing Up With GNR as much, I resolved to keep an ear out for them.

Continue reading “Aqueduct - Jaguar Commercial” …

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

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
Cease To Begin

So how’s the new Band of Horses album Cease To Begin? Hm… here’s the thing. Band of Horses released Everything All The Time to a immense landslide of public acclaim, and it similarly blew my socks off from the moment I first heard it. There were the insta-hits “The Great Salt Lake” and “The Funeral” and nearly every other song on the album went into me like a shimmering tornado.

In other words, it was beautiful and try as I might, I couldn’t stop expecting something similar to happen with Cease to Begin. I think reviewing music, even as a part-time thing, tends to instill a bit of the jaded cynic in you. I expected rapid-fire, enthusiastic enjoyment immediately. I mean, I’m thrown so much music at once that it’s difficult to remember that some bands or albums take a little more time than others.

The thing is that there’s just no time - if I gave every band the time that I’m willing to give Band of Horses then I would be reviewing music 24 hours a day. And we all know where that leads…

Anyhow. Structurally, the music is intact - sweeping, dreamy and poignant rock. James Mercer meets My Morning Jacket meets Doug Martsch is still an apt comparison. Early on, the standouts for me were “Is There A Ghost”, “No Ones Gonna Love You”, and “Detlef Schrempf”. It’s not that the other songs are bad - I think they’re just going to need a little more time to percolate through my music-weary system. I also feel like this album seems a little too short - 10 songs clocking in at under 35 minutes.

But do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Beards and all.

Listen:
Is There A Ghost

On Itunes:
Everything All The Time (on Subpop)

Watch:
The Great Salt Lake (video)
The Funeral (video)

Visit:
Band of Horses website
Subpop website

by Palebear | No Comments

Beltline
Welcome Nostalgia

Beltline is a Portland area band that offer up a heady mix of a number of styles including eclectic indie rock and more sparsely populated alt country music. They have succeeded in combing the cameradrie mindset of big band porch rockers like Lambchop with an edgier rock attitude that shines forth in their songs. Instruments like cello and vibraphone make a frequent appearance and add a lot of personality to the tracks. The band centers around the nice vocals of Rob Jones but includes a revolving crew of indie stalwarts from bands like The Decemberists.

Sample tracks from Beltline:
Bang / Head / Counter - Welcome, Nostalgia CD
The New Rules - Welcome, Nostalgia CD
Welcome, Nostalgia - Welcome, Nostalgia CD

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

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

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Baby 81

You know, I’m not going to say that the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club isn’t a good album as a whole. It’s just that I feel like I’ve outgrown this whole sound… I ate up B.R.M.C. in 2002, but since then we’ve had the Strokes, White Stripes, etc. and others pretty much duplicating that sound needlessly.

I do like a few tracks on the album, but for the most part this sounds exactly what you’d expect BRMC to sound like - and that’s sorta problematic for me. I mean, you can only go so far with this type of sound. It’s sort of funny that they sing: “Suicide IS easy… what happened to the revolution?”

They’ve always had a Velvet Underground and Dandy Warhols type of groove going, and that’s what you get with their new album Baby 81. I dunno, the songs are decent… I’m just finding it difficult today getting all excited about them.

by Palebear | No Comments

Burning Idols
The Feeding Bird

This was a pretty interesting little EP called The Feeding Bird by the band Burning Idols that found its way into my inbox the other day. There is something strange and off-kiltre about the mixing of Patricia’s tinny and reverbed Slumber Party meets Madder Rose vocals in the opener “Siempre” with the more edgy, angular and punky musical accompaniment. And in the end I thought it worked quite well.

“Butterflies” has a more standard punky structure. But there’s those vocals again. This time, the guys contribute backup vocals. It’s really interesting… I don’t want to say that the singing lends an element of “twee” to the mix, but the interplay reminds me of Tullycraft, Butterglory, etc.

“Slow Dig” seems to capture the lazy-hazy cadence of Slanted era Pavement, with those shambling “do-do-do”s at the end really reminding me of them. There’s an old band called Star Ghost Dog that comes to mind sometimes, though Burning Idols are much looser than straight-up indiepop. In fact, the closer “Pretty Though” has enough sonic mayhem and machine-gun distortion to sound Sonic Youth-ish. A lovely and dynamic mix of indie rock tunes on this EP.

Band Members:

Patricia Gomes - guitar /vocals
Pablo Andres Lopes - bass
Eric R. Gumulak - drums / vocals

Available Tracks:

Siempre

Band Website:

www.burningidols.com/

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Cassettes Won't Listen
Cut Your Hair

So I was driving back from the post office listening to KCRW (and I usually don’t because good ‘ol Nick sort of sucks extra hard in his choice of music in my opinion). But anyhow, all of the sudden I heard the familiar strains of “… hit me where it muzzles, hesitate you die…” but it was an electronica arcadepop sort of band playing it instead of Pavement. I decided to listen till the end, if only to see whether they’d sing “career” or “korea” (I couldn’t tell with them either).

Not a bad cover, and it turns out the cover of “Cut Your Hair” is by a band called Cassettes Won’t Listen. Side note: have you noticed how many bands nowadays have the word “tapes” or “cassettes” in their names? Interesting, maybe we’ll see a resurgence of cassette tape decks (If you’re of the iPod era, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. Incidentally, we should be having a feature on indie cassette tapes coming up one of these days).

Anyhow the synthesizers buzz twiggily and the drum machines plop quite well on this rendition of “Cut Your Hair”. Out on Dope Lotus Records now, Cassettes Won’t Listen is from New York although the four members are all originally from the San Fran area.

Here’s the track, off the Dope Lotus website:

Cut Your Hair (Pavement cover)

Selected Albums on Itunes:

Nobody’s Moving EP

by Bryan | Comments Off

Charmparticles
A/O

Some beautiful atmospheric music from a band called Charmparticles bubbled up to the surface on Soma the other day. The song they played was called “A/O”. I immediately went to check the website to see what samples they had.

This quartet hails from Portland, Oregon and specializes in the reverb driven, billowing type of rock that makes me think of newer bands like Doves and The Delgados as well as pleasantly reminding me of older ones like MBV, Autumns, and The Church.

Continue reading “Charmparticles - A/O” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

Chris Koza
Patterns

Got this nifty CD entitled “Patterns” from Minneapolis popsmith Chris Koza. When we say popsmith, I should probably say alterna-country-folk-popsmith. Sounds like I did a little more work coming up with that. But truthfully, he has a knack for making some great pop tunes. Granted, some of these songs lean right up against the edge of mainstream AOR. But they’re still some great songs here.

I note he’s been compared to a ton of different folks; for mine, let’s try Matt Pond P.A., Jon Brion, and M. Ward. The acoustic guitar songs are often introspective. Personally, I like more of the pop-rock stuff like “Midnight Rose” and less of the rootsy-rock harmonica songs like “Candle in the Dark”. His more mellow tracks like “Goldmine” do indeed remind me of Wilco as the press kit mentions.

Band Website:

www.chriskoza.com

by Palebear | 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

CSS
Cansei De Ser Sexy

Ok Brazil you didn’t win the World Cup but at least you gave us CSS. No, you HTML nerd, not Cascading Style Sheets! I mean the Brazillian boppity discoduck electro-splut Cansei de Ser Sexy, the latest band out on Subpop. Wow, they are as out there as any artsy band from Brazil can be.

Five gals, one guy. They actually sing in English instead of Portugese, reportedly because the native language “sounds too serious or beautiful”. Interesting. You might also be interested that “Cansei de Ser Sexy” was a quote from Beyonce which means “tired of being sexy”. Fun.

So what do they sound like? Here, I’ll take a stab: imagine The Go Team mixed with Ladytron with some funky 70s disco sounds thrown in for good measure. A couple of their songs sound similar to a favorite old band of mine Star Ghost Dog, but heavier on the synths and weirdness. Almost like a Brazillian version of Sissybar plus Blonde Redhead. Vocals could be Chan Marshall or Annie Hardy on speed.

Some of the songs sound like they’re completely thrown together at the last minute… there’s definitely a lo-fi type of high school cheerleading squad element. The word on the street implies that they got together without knowing how to play their instruments, but I don’t know how much the usual “amateur beginnings” to believe in press spinning like this. In any case, they’ve got a great fresh sound that you should check out.

Band Members:

Lovefoxxx (Luisa Matsushita) - vocals
Adriano Cintra - drums, guitar, vocals, production
Carolina Parra - guitar, drums
Ana Rezende - guitar, harmonica
Luiza Sá - guitar, drums, keys
Iracema Trevisan - bass

Available Tracks:

This Month, Day 10

Band Website:

www.canseidesersexy.com/

by Palebear | Comments Off

Cyanotype
Versus The World

The Shmat can’t quite decide if Cyanotype reminds him more of the Swirlies or of My Bloody Valentine or Yo La Tengo. Or all three mixed together in a blender-o-matic. Cyanotype is actually a pen name for Isaac Bear (which in itself sounds almost like a pen name).

Bear’s singing is somewhat monotonic, but that really seems to fit the music. His voice is at times similar to Lou Reed. The Shmat is not sure if that is a compliment, but he thinks it should be.

Continue reading “Cyanotype - Versus The World” …

by Shmat | Comments Off

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

The Devics
Push The Heart

I’ve been gradually becoming assimilated into The Devics‘ mysterious musical world from listening to their CD repeatedly while driving around town. I didn’t know of this L.A. based band until now, though they’ve made a name for themselves over in Italy. The multi-cultural transplants Sara Lov and Dustin O’Halloran are the only members of this slightly quirky dreamrock band but they make up for their lack of numbers with the awesome songs on their new album Push The Heart.

There is a strange ghostly and glowing power running throughout the music, a push and pull of chord pairings which alternates in feeling between whimsical, broken-down cabaret clubs and a classical, almost courtesan setting. That last observation is no doubt validated by the fact that O’Halloran is an accomplished classical musician and composer and has released his own solo piano work to great reviews.

For those who need an overall description of what the music sounds like, imagine Chan Marshall fronting The Delgados. I’m also reminded of another great indie pop duo, Viva Voce, though i think The Devics are a bit more serious. They make really great music that is distinctive, evocative, and compositionally “complete”. A side note: they really seem to like the waltz structure for their songs.

The opener “Lie To Me” is a soft piano arpeggio waltz showcasing Lov’s breathy vocals that does indeed remind me of the Delgados. “Secret Message To You” harnesses a manual typewriter as a beatbox. Sure, it’s been done before but I’m not sure if I ever heard it fit a song so well. Along with tiny bells in the background and a revolving chromatic scale outro, this one was really fun. With “Songs For A Sleeping Girl” comes O’Halloran’s first vocal contribution and it’s certainly significant. All of the sudden, the music gains a more standard folk rock feel but the true treat is the doubling of Lov’s vocals over his. The song reminds me a bit of Mojave 3 or Low at times.

Continue reading “Devics - Push The Heart” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

Earlimart
It's OK To Think About Ending

The other day I was idly flipping channels on the TV as we all do when I came to rest on Channel 11 (which is FOX Broadcasting is my neck of the woods). My finger was hovering over the remote button ready to move on when I recognized the soft strains of Aaron Espinoza’s voice coming through. The show was House MD and I’d never watched it before but I was sort of surprised to hear them play the Earlimart song “It’s OK To Think About Ending” off their awesome CD Tremble and Tremble.

I did some searching online and found that the episode in question is called “Role Model” (#17) and the song appeared right at the closing scene. So I was sort of lucky to catch it. Kind of cool, and fit the mood pretty well.

Continue reading “Earlimart - House MD Show” …

by Palebear | 10 Comments

Eisenhower Field Day
Let's Not Tell Lies

Funny, I nearly put this CD by Eisenhower Field Day aside after hearing the first few tracks of “Let’s Not Tell Lies”. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for the music at the time.

Then, a half hour later I took another look at the press kit and saw that this disc also contains their older EP “Our Time In The Colonies”. On a whim, I put the CD back in and was immediately struck by how good the songs were. I’m not sure why that happened… later after returning to the earlier album I saw what they were going for. I do like a few of the newer tracks, but so far I seem to identify with the older ones more. Lucky for them, they put their old EP on here or else I probably wouldn’t have written about the CD at all!

This is a louder sort of melodic power pop/punk that they’re playing that really harkens back to early 90s indie rock. The band they most remind me of is Superchunk, I think it’s that Noah’s voice reminds me of Mac. I immediately loved “Don’t Throw Away” which is really catchy. The drums are being played really fast on nearly all the songs. “Exit 51″ is great as well, but my favorite track is definitely “On The Weekend”. (The guitar part on the song will remind some people of a Smashing Pumpkins track, but don’t let that fool you.) “Five After” has an off-kiltre sort of groove to it that reminds me of Dismemberment Plan and several other tracks have that same feel. For the newer album, I ended up liking “National Sunday Law” the most. I’ll probably have to go back and give the new stuff some more listening time later on.

Listen:
Exit 51
The Backs of My Arms
Two Pockets

On Itunes:
Let’s Not Tell Lies / Our Time In The Colonies

Visit:
Eisenhower Field Day website

by Palebear | No Comments

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

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

Giant Drag
Hearts and Unicorns

It was instant-like with Giant Drag for me. I’ve got a softy spot for bands with just a guy and a girl in the lineup. What always surprises me is the amount and power of the noise that is possible with a imple drums and guitar lineup. Oh sure, there’s overdubs. But still there’s a pretty powerful presence on their album “Hearts and Unicorns”.

The band is sort of like a reverse Quasi lineup; there’s Micah on drums and Annie on guitar and vocals. But they’re definitely more dreamy and less playful and self effacing than Quasi. Other duos that they resemble are Viva Voce, who are similar in hellraisin’ style but definitely more electronic, and Elk City who share a similar atmospheric vibe but tend toward more folkier moments.

There’s going to be some comparisons to shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine of course, what with the powerfully distorted guitars that swim throughout most of the songs. The song “Cordial Invitation” totally has those guitar bends and fogbank cloud of noise hovering underneath the music. But they mostly avoid MBV’s mid-treble emphasis and crackling broken distortion which is probably a good thing as far as radio play goes. The distortion is often more like, er, grungey. There, I said it… whew.

Continue reading “Giant Drag - Hearts and Unicorns” …

by Tyranosaur | 1 Comment

I told myself I wasn’t going to label Great Lake Swimmers as Band of Horses meets Norfolk and Western. But there’s a big difference between telling yourself that and having it obliterate any useful RIYL information running around in your head.

But truly, this is a great band that plays the dreamy and reverbed type of Alt-Country Americana Folk (er, Canadiana Folk) that Band of Horses is known for. They’re much more toned down, however - less of the anthemic indie rock feel. Great Lake Swimmers are from Toronto, and I’ve yet to hear a song of theirs that I haven’t liked - which means I should probably get on the ball and buy their CD(s). “Moving Pictures, Silent Films” is probably one of the most starkly beautiful songs that I’ve ever heard - so full of yearning and open spaces. It is unbelivably gorgeous and has been known to move many a Hockey-playin’ man to tears… Ok I made that up but you get the idea.

Listen:
Your Rocky Spine
Moving Pictures Silent Films
Song For The Angels

On Itunes:
Great Lake Swimmers
Ongiara
Bodies and Minds

Watch:
Bodies and Minds video

Visit:
Great Lake Swimmers website

by Palebear | No Comments

Helio Sequence
Keep Your Eyes Ahead

These guys know how to snack. Look at the photo below: doughnuts, cookies and milk perfectly and strategically placed. Does that ordered and harmonious tablesetting signify anything about their newest album Keep Your Eyes Ahead. Surely, and deliciously.

That’s not to say that The Helio Sequence’s music is wooden and fixed in any way. But I think that their songs have benefitted a bit from structure and order. The former album I heard, Love and Distance, had moments of brilliant pop and rock embedded in occasionally meandering electronic forays. The songs on this album just seem more concentrated and focused. If you think that I ripped that idea off from the official bio, you’re wrong - but it’s nice that we’re all on the same page there. Apparently, that is exactly the conclusion that Brandon Summers, who is one half of the duo that also includes Benjamin Weikel, came to after nearly losing his singing voice permanently. He opted to do some soul-searching, and I think the music benefits from it.

They sometimes kinda like fellow Subpop labelmates Rogue Wave, but Helio Sequence’s sound is a bit more ethereal and dreamy. Not cavernous reverb, but quite a bit. The synthesizer stuff is still there, but it’s very controlled. Instead of a distraction, it’s tasty flavoring - like the sprinkles on that doughnut. My favorite track on the album comes in past the halfway mark and is the title track. Bouncy, driving and melodic, “Keep Your Eyes Ahead” is sure to win over new fans with its power pop and slightly disco driven beat.

As a complete changeup, “Shed Your Love” is a lovely acoustic ballad, and is sure to get some face-time on teen angst OC type shows. Reminds me a bit of James for some reason. The plaintive country folk-singer song “Broken Afternoon” and the hoe-down of “No Regrets” is even more of a departure - dare I say it sounds like they’re taking a try at sounding like Dylan? Or maybe M. Ward? I know they’re no stranger to shades of country (the previous album had that”Harmonica Song”), but this is quite different - and I really like the new avenues they’re exploring..

by Palebear | No Comments

“KR” is going to get abbreviated in that fashion heretoforth because of his keyboard-tripping name that ties up my fingers whenever I try to type that. Besides the name, the eclectic Swede has been turning my ear upside down with his trippy songs that ride on classic 70s melodies and sounds (Stones, T Rex, Late Beatles, etc.). I’ve also heard him being referred to as a “Beck of Swedes” but that’s not exactly accurate.

So what is accurate? No idea. The songs on Sweet Bills are definitely more straight rock at times but there is just an overall weirdness that permeates all the songs. He’ll throw in weird samples every so often and mixes in electronic stuff and over-distorted drums. Lots of funky horns thrown in the mix. I think you just have to hear KR and decide for yourself.

Listen:
on Myspace

On Itunes:
Do You Want A Piece Of Me EP

Visit:
Kristoffer Ragnstam website

by Palebear | No Comments

Love as Laughter
Laughter's Fifth

Highly irreverent indie rock from Sam Jayne of Love as Laughter makes for some interesting listening. I’m usually not such a big fan of 70s or 80s classic rock influenced modern bands, and there have been quite a few to come out on Subpop in the last year. But I actually took a fancy to a few of the later tracks on the album such as Neil Young influenced “Every Midnight Song”. That song really got off the ground and started to rock out near the end.

Continue reading “Love as Laughter- Laughter’s Fifth” …

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Love Is Chemicals
Claw Your Sweater

So you say that Weezer’s “Sweater Song” is the only one worth listening to? Then let me introduce you to the fantastic band Love Is Chemicals whose song “Claw Your Sweater” has been burning a hole in my ear for the past couple months now.

With it’s penchant for noisy distortion at times, you wouldn’t call this band straightforward poprock. But the delicious, anthemic chorus of “I know better than to claw your sweater with my crooked fingers how they creep you out” is amazingly catchy. The two bands that I feel Love Is Chemicals remind me of at times are Masters of the Hemisphere (in the vocals especially) and The Dismemberment Plan (for the crazier passages). With its wicked smart instrumentation and tasteful melodies, “Claw Your Sweater” is the delicious type of brainy bumblerock that indiebees will buzz about happily for hours.

The other songs on their self titled debut album are just as great… I like the fact that they are experimental but remain really conscious of the actual songs. Their music doesn’t descend into either God Speed Ye Black Indulgence but it’s challenging and arty enough to require a few listens to really get into. I don’t know too much else about this San Francisco based band, but their songs are definitely worth checking out when you get a chance.

by Palebear | Comments Off

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

Map
Think Like An Owner

I’ve got quite a few CDs by the band Map, including 2 EPs “Secrets of the Highway” and “Eastern Skies, Western Eyes” and this full length album “Think Like an Owner”. I always sort of pegged them as shoegaze, but this album seems to feel quite a bit different. There’s a bit of retro 80s feel to the songs and many of the tracks appear darker in tone.

Josh Dooley leads the quartet Map with his slightly angular harmonies. The musicians are excellent at attaining a dreamy blend of slightly distorted guitar and splashy drums. But the slower songs on the album (like “Girl”) are surprisingly tender and show the band is capable of slower poppy stuff too.

Continue reading “Map - Think Like An Owner” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

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

Whoah. Just looking at their promo pics, dese guys know how to live it up. I thought MGMT might be some ska-metal band from their abbreviation, but thankfully they’re not. Oh, the name. It’s pronounced “Management”. I think.

The music - very, very trippy. Like David Bowie singing Mercury Rev plus Polyphonic Spree. I actually have no idea what to make of them because I was so expecting a metal band to blast at me when I put the CD in. Wacky, full orchestral production, electronica meets modern glam prog-rock. At times they even channel disco. They’re opening for Of Montreal which I guess makes a bit of sense, although MGMT are no E-6ers. That should be an interesting billing.

Visit:
MGMT Myspace
Cantora Records website

by Palebear | No Comments

Midnight Movies
Lion The Girl

You know, I have to say I was guilty of judging a book by its cover. The name Midnight Movies just sounds like a band I wouldn’t be into - like ugh, Ska, or something. It turns out that they’ve got a cool modern sound mixed with a tinge of 80s - but they’re definitely more along the darker rock or dreamrock scheme of things. No Ska here.

Their sound reminds me a bit of Clinic and Blonde Redhead (who they’re touring with) though the vocals are sort of Nico plus Stereolab. Funny, on the slower areas of the songs I also hear Madder Rose? The music can come across a bit detached or distant at times, though that’s definitely on purpose. They also bear a resemblance in style to the great Silversun Pickups, and I believe they’re also a local band right here in my backyard.

I was sent their new release “Lion the Girl” the other day and I have to say it’s one of the stronger albums I’ve received this year. It ain’t going to replace Loney, Dear as the front runner, but it’s pretty high up there. And it’s a totally different sound - rocking all tomorrow’s parties in every way.

Listen:
Midnight Movies on Myspace

On Itunes:
Midnight Movies

Watch:
Patient Eye
Persimmon Tree

Visit:
Midnight Movies website

by Palebear | No Comments

Minipop
A New Hope

So I magically came across this band called Minipop - or to put it more accurately I was sent their CD. Quite delicious, girl-fronted, heavy dreampop for your listening pleasure. I thought I’d heard of them somewhere before but I’m not sure. There’s just so many band names floating around in my head these days. The gal singing sounds a little familiar - I just can’t place it, a little like Dolores O’Riordan - NOT. No, not like that. Scratch that thought permanently from your head. Maybe more like The Devics?

Music-wise, anything from Autumns to Map to Delgados would be a good enough guess. I sorta feel like they’ve got a mainstream-ish thing going - not necessarily a bad thing, but the songs are pretty polished and well produced. Some big fat delicious distortionverb going on all over the place. I like this stuff… oh unfortunately at press time, they are redesigning your site. So you’ll have to be content w/ their MyDisgrace page…

Listen:
On Myspace

Visit:
Band website

by Palebear | No Comments

Mission of Burma
2wice

In honor of the new Mission of Burma album “The Obliterati” out, please listen to the single “2wice” from the Matador website. Initial feeling-outs of the latest release from this legendary punk band are pretty cool… same energy-bomb density and urgency. But this is like decades later. The trio seem to have worn awfully well over the years. Well, “worn” is probably the wrong word to use here; their sound is as fresh as back in the day, with frenetic drum hits and bass lines and raw slashing guitars that meld together in a powerful and melodic song.

Band Members:

Roger Miller
Clint Conley
Peter Prescott

Albums on Itunes:

Vs.
Signals Calls and Marches
ONoffON
The Obliterati

Band Website:

www.obliterati.net/

by Palebear | 1 Comment

Mon Frere
Blood, Sweat and Swords

Never let an album cover pre-influence your opinion of a band. These words should be enscribed on a stone tablet and hung over every prospective music reviewers desk. I’m often guilty of this sin, and the Mon Frere album was no exception. I mean just look at the cover. Swords with skulls through them… hmm, can you say either supergoth or blast-plaster metal?

Indeed. The band is nothing like that and they’ve even provided a handy genre categorization for me which is Powerhouse Electro Dance Rock. Oh, another rule for the stone tablet mentioned above: Never let the first song of an album influence your overall perception of the band. I listened to the first track (”Y.M.M.W.D.S.B”) and was all, like, Mates of State! But after that first song, they start to live more up to their genre.

I will give Nouela some props in that she has some crazy amazing pipes. She belts that stuff out. However, the music tends more toward synthyish new wave and electro-rock like No Doubt. (Occasionally, I hear something that reminds me of Rainer Maria, but it’s mostly a fleeting hint.) Her voice fits the music style superbly and the songs are fairly catchy, but just isn’t my cup of tea. Right now, anyway.

There is a bit of a campy or even loungey aspect to some of their tracks. The guitar is often nicely choppy and chunky, like on “Let It Bleed”, “Big Shot” or “Drain”. For “Bulliton” can you say Barracuda? Hehe. They even slow it down a bit on songs like “Leaving Town” which sort of reminds me of a Devics song?

Bratty and brash, I think most of these tracks would fit pretty well next to your synth-pop stuff. Just don’t let your mom see the cover.

Band Members:

Kyle Swisher - Guitar
Nouela Johnston - Vocals, Keys
Dustin McGhie - Drums

Albums on Itunes:

Blood Sweat and Swords
Real Vampires EP

Available Tracks:

Drain

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Nada Surf
The Weight Is A Gift

A long time ago, in a music galaxy far away, there was a great band called Nada Surf whose spectacular rise from humble garageband to MTV rotation regular culminated in the band’s abrupt dismissal by disgruntled biggiewigs at Elektra Records. Or so it’s been said. They then promptly vanished from the indie music scene. More than seven years later, the band released another album (Let Go) to pretty good reviews and fast foward to today where they’ve got a pretty good following and now reside on one of our favorite indie labels, Barsuk Records.

Though a long time may have passed (band years are like dog years; so you could say Nada Surf has been kicking around for 70 years in those terms) they still write some of the best straightforward indie powerpop tunes this side of Matthew Sweet. Their latest album is called “The Weight Is A Gift” and it certainly is a gift in its instantly likeable and hummable pop tunes.

Continue reading “Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Norfolk & Western
The Gilded Age

I have to admit that I’ve needed to keep the new Norfolk & Western album The Gilded Age percolating in my Itunes “To Review” playlist for quite awhile before taking a stab at giving it a review.

You see, I’ve been a huge fan of theirs (the band revolves around Adam Seltzer and Rachel Blumberg) and have been following their work since 2003 or so. The general feel to their music is, well, it is often “hushed” and introspective (small wonder they’re on the Hush label). And I LOVE this kind of stuff, and the band has never disappointed. They take porch rock and imbue it with all sorts of instruments like banjo, pedal steel, and strings. Long before the Decemberists hit it bigger with their carnival-like atmospherics, N&W were the band who filled that niche for me.

But with their latest album they completely deconstruct the folky notions that I’ve had about their music. And not surprisingly, it ends up working due to their musicianship and songwriting capabilities. I mean, the first song is called “Porch Destruction”. What do YOU think that’s about? They’ve definitely upped the rawer and distorted side of their music, though I’d argue that they’ve had that potential all along. I always felt they were more of a band with the dynamics of say Low, Red House Painters or Lambchop than straightahead folk music anyhow.

Interestingly, the music for “Porch Destruction” really reminds me of an old Sparklehorse song. And despite its name, the real fireworks don’t start until nearly halfway into the song and it’s tempered by strings and xylophone. The title track “A Gilded Age” starts out right away with distorted and delayed guitar fighting it out with a funny little banjo line.

“Watch The Days Slowly Fade” may be the track on the album that sounded the most different to me. The chords and melody remind me of Neil Young plus Matt Pond PA. This one really rocks out at times which was cool. The sound collage “There Are No Places Left For Us” is classic Norfolk and Western … it’s an instrumental intermission that’s almost like a creepy Russian radio broadcast.

Continue reading “Norfolk and Western - The Gilded Age” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Oranger
Crones

I heard some tracks from Oranger the other day, and I was wondering where I’d heard their name and songs before. A quick look online showed that not only were they the support band for Pavement in the late nineties, but also a stint opening for Elliott Smith in Europe.

Which is pretty amazing, because I don’t get the feel of either of those artists in Oranger’s music. Well, maybe they’re similar to Malkmus in the way the singing is a bit offhand, and the hooks could be a bit like Heatmmiser at times. They play some pretty fast and furious indie pop that is extremely hooky. Deliciously hooky. I’d say that they often remind me of the Austin band Subset in their repeating guitar lines and the setup of the choruses with the drums coming in.

Their song Crones is a great track that really does sound like a Subset track, maybe geared more toward Fountains of Wayne in fullness though. This is off their 2005 album called New Comes And Goes.

Continue reading “Oranger - Crones” …

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

The Pixies
Velouria

Now, I haven’t actually seen this commercial that features The Pixies song Velouria. Why? Because it had only been broadcast in the UK this year. That’s quite unfortunate because I would have taken The Pixies over the recent so-called punk or “emo” choices of commercial makers in the U.S. Come on you pilgrim, it’s the Pixies - ground zero for a thousand billion fascinated punks and musical imitators everywhere.

Velouria is off of their awsome Bossanova album which a lot of people have noted sounds quite different from their other albums such as Surfer Rosa and Come On Pilgrim. It’s like they’ve collected all the mayhem and roughness of their other work and distilled it into a refined dark punk album that has a really angry sheen to it. Less raw, but nevertheless engaging in a grim way.

Continue reading “Pixies - Wannadoo Commercial” …

by Bryan | Comments Off

Radars To The Sky
S/T EP

Coming at ya - a fantastico, energetic little EP by Radars To The Sky, of which ex-Avelar singer Andrew Spitser is a member. Some of us had written once about his Franklin Bruno vs. Doug Martsch vocal similarities, and a little bit of that has carried over to the new sound. But you might also want to plug yourself in some XTC, Pixies, Yatsura Urusei (listen to the 3rd and 4th song on the EP), and Neutral Milk Hotel for comparisons. Interestingly, having heard Avelar several years ago I really think that Andrew’s singing style fits much better in today’s landscape of strident folk-to-a-yelp singers… in that sense maybe it was a bit of a precursor before its time? Maybe.

The hit on the EP is definitely going to be “Long Walk Home” which should spend some well-earned time on more than a few bloggers playlists. This is where the strength of the band really comes out in