music for the voracious and insatiable music lover
To help get you in the Halloween spirit, I’ve put together a little list of relatively recent spooky videos…
The Mumlers “Coffin Factory”
Dead Man’s Bones – “Dead Hearts”
Metric – “Monster Hospital”
Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”
But let’s not forget about this classic:
*And if you live in the New York area, be sure to come out to see Mount Eerie tonight at the Market Hotel. Should be a good time. Phil Elverum is simply fantastic.
After a full day of show-going yesterday, I was almost too tired to make it out to anything last night, but since I had bought my ticket to see Sin Fang Bous and múm months ago, I decided to soldier on. After all, they’re both from Iceland. A chance like this probably doesn’t come too often. I had been warned that it might be a bit sleepy, but I figured that after a long week, sleepy might not be so bad.
the members of múm offer you a colorful kaleidoscope of sound - even on rainy days
While the show was definitely dreamy and ethereal, it was far from sleepy. I was impressed by how much múm moved the crowd. Every now and then a special kind of feeling permeates the room and elevates a good show to a great show. The members of múm were incredibly talented and gracious. You could tell they were genuinely having a good time, and that feeling was contagious. They danced and flitted about stage as they made their music. Note: the use of the word ‘made’ in the place of ‘play’ is significant here. Many bands with strange sound effects like múm have a tendency to be rather disappointing live because so much of their sound is contructed ahead of time and simply played from a laptop. This did not seem to be the case with múm. They truly were making the music right there on stage with the help of a number of strange instruments and an impressive range of vocals.
In addition to playing a number of my favorite songs from 2007’s Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy ( including: “Guilty Rocks,” “Marmalade Fire,” and “Blessed Brambles”), they played a healthy selection from their recent album Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know. The final song of their set (pre-encore) was “Sing Along,” which featured borderline cute/creep lyrics and cue cards to get the audience to sing along, too. Oh, múm, your last album may not be as strong as its predecessors, but “You are so beautiful to us, we want to lock you in our house,” too.
Here’s a video from Pitchfork TV of one of my favorite songs, “Guilty Rocks” :
So thanks, múm for helping CMJ end on a high note.
Well, I saw one of the most hyped bands of the festival – The xx. As you may recall, I’ve written about The xx before (here and even earlier here). It really is insane how much they have blown up in the last few months. When I contacted them in April to be on NPR Music’s Second Stage, they didn’t even have any press photos handy and the only one to be found on the web was pretty terrible. Now, they no longer have that problem.
(Photo by Christo Geoghegan)
As expected, the room was packed for the show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night, and overall, the crowd seemed pretty enthusiastic… but I’ve got to say, I think they have a long way to go with their live act. Don’t get me wrong. They were spot on. They were so spot on, in fact, that besides the intense vibrations given off from the bass, their show sounded just like their album. And, though I really enjoy their album and relish its simplicity and minimalism, it didn’t exactly make for a rousing or particularly memorable show. They did not really expand on their songs at all, and they were not very dynamic in between songs either. Though they expressed their excitement at playing in NY, they hardly talked between songs. They hardly even moved while they played, leaving the audience with little to keep their interest. The ‘drummer.’ Wasn’t even playing behind a kit. He was merely using a strange drum machine that allowed him to push various pads with his fingers to make the effects.
So I was kind of torn on this show overall. Yes, it was good, but at least right now, The xx is just one of those bands you throw on the stereo on a (sexy) rainy day or when you want to brood a little; not one of those bands known for their showmanship.
Night three of CMJ went by in a blur. I somehow managed to make an appearance at no less than four music venues: Mercury Lounge, Le Poisson Rouge, Bowery Ballroom, and the Suffolk and all without an official CMJ badge! (Thanks, Bob Boilen.) The sheer randomness of the evening was delightful. This is what a music festival should be like–flitting madly in between venues when the mood strikes, making new contacts, and running into people you haven’t seen in a while.
That said, I have to say that my favorite act of the night also happened to be the first one I saw–Patrick Watson. In many ways, Patrick Watson reminds me of sparser Andrew Bird–his music is beautifully orchestrated with a piano (which they literally wheeled through the audience and onto the stage), interesting percussion parts, and often a barrage of tubas, trumpets, trombones, bass, violins, guitars, bass, pianos, and guitars. His show last night, however, was more sparse.
Check out this video from NPR Music + WNYC to get an idea of Patrick Watson’s style. It’s pretty long, but the first song, “Beijing” from his recent album Wooden Arms is one of the best.
I have to admit though, Patrick Watson was not what I expected. The Mercury Lounge had the lights down low. I don’t know if it was the lighting or Watson’s demeanor, but the show was much edgier and more rock-oriented than I had thought it would be from listening to the album. If this was Andrew Bird, it was Andrew Bird with a kick.
One of the highlights of the performance was the song “Traveling Salesman.” The melody was creepily upbeat and carnivalesque, and Watson sang through a Megaphone, which distorted his voice in strangely gorgeous ways and made the vocals sound like a mesmerizing stream of propaganda. The track “Man Like You,” which I first heard in the great little French film C’est pas moi je le jure! was also fantastic. Watson’s falsetto in the song reminds me a bit of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.
Then, something strange happened. A man started walking through the audience carrying what appeared to be one of those lamps with multiple heads, only in addition to being a source of light, these heads were also PA systems of some kind. Basically, it was a tree of megaphones coming out of a rucksack. I almost got hit in the head with it as it made its way to the stage. For the dramatic finale to his set, Watson then strapped on the contraption and proceeded to walk off the stage to the center of the floor, and there, surrounded by CMJ-goers and accompanied by a tambourine and a drum, he sang through this contraption, which made for quite a memorable performance.
Photo courtesy of Joshua Smelser
Tonday – day four – should be fairly eventful. I’ll be sure to report back when it’s all over…
So last night, I headed over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg for the Brooklyn Vegan showcase where I caught the better part of five acts. I had been most anticipating The Antlers and Fanfarlo. Especially after having listened to Fanfarlo’s debut album Reservoir extensively in a short period of time. But it was actually the middle act that I was most taken by – British singer/songwriter Laura Marling.
I had briefly seen Marling before in a collaborative video with Jeffrey Lewis, and I remember being taken by her voice and angelic demeanor, so I was delighted to see her walk on stage. Marling’s set was simple. She didn’t drag her cello from London – just her guitar. But her voice is absolutely gorgeous and the lyrics to her songs are picturesque and intriguing. She revealed that she has been working on her new album for the past eight months, and she played a number of new songs. From what I can tell, her sophomore album will not be a disappointment. Keep your eye on this deceptively young singer.
Here is a video of the track “Ghosts.”
So a buddy of mine named Jeff has started this music blog called 10 Listens that’s definitely worth checking out. Sick of reading reviews that sounded as if the reviewer had only hastily listened to the music, Jeff started a blog to counteract this bit of sloppy journalism. The concept is simple: listen to an album all the way through ten times, then write a review. Then, you will probably have spent 7-8 hours with the music, you’ll have had the chance to change your mind about how it makes you feel, and you’ll hopefully have a deeper knowledge of the music and lyrics.
Over the past couple of weeks, I set out to write my first contribution to the site on Reservoir, the debut album by the British orchestral-pop group Fanfarlo.
The first time I heard Fanfarlo, it was at a show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York on a friend’s recommendation. After witnessing an intoxicating opening set by Swedish band Wildbirds and Peacedrums, I admit I was in good spirits, so when the five members of Fanfarlo took the stage, I was taken by their excitement and candor. Unlike some bands that seem distant or aloof onstage, Fanfarlo was warm, opening, and just plain cute. In their button up shirts and high-waisted pants, the guys were well-dressed—almost to a comical extent. The keyboard player even wore a vest. And, as is often the case, the one girl in the group, Cathy Lucas, was adorable sporting her boyish haircut. The very stage itself seemed to be dressed up in a whimsical fashion. It was adorned with string lights, and flags were draped from the ceiling to create a canopy of color. It was almost too much—even for me, a closet-lover of all things cute and hopelessly twee.
As the show progressed, I kept trying to determine whom they reminded me of. A less folky version of Fleet Foxes? Or maybe Okkervil River meets Noah and the Whale with some Beirut thrown in for good measure? Needless to say, after their lively set, I left their show in a decidedly good mood, and vowed to get my hands on their upcoming album, Reservoir, to see how the sound they cultivated in the studio compared to their live performance. So, I decided to count the show as my official first listen of Reservoir. After all, it was their debut album, so presumably all the songs they played were from it.
During my initial few listens to Reservoir, I was somewhat conflicted. Is Fanfarlo simply another plaid-shirt adorned ‘it’ band like Fleet Foxes, destined to be played on repeat and then quickly played out? Was what they were doing original, or would they be more aptly named ‘Fanfar-lull’ as my former boss, Justin, called them? He had a point. Even during the show, I found myself constantly comparing them to other folk-tinged, orchestral indie bands. And from looking at the comments following their write-ups on NPR and various other music blog sites, it seems that I am not alone in searching for comparisons. Others drop names like Arcade Fire, Sigur Rós, Sufjan Stevens, and more.
Initially, it was my impulse to defend them from the criticism of my former boss. Overall, their music is decent and comes across as too generic only when compared to the more bizarre and experimental bands that keep emerging on the scene. If you’re looking for dance-y synth parts, thick walls of reverb, or sound that is carefully constructed from an intricate barrage of effects pedals, then Fanfarlo won’t be for you. Despite the impressive number of shows they have coming up at CMJ this week, Fanfarlo seems to fit in more with the NPR crowd than with the hipster crowd. (They have already been featured on All Things Considered and touted for “melding obscure literary references with vintage instruments.”)
The lead singer, Simon Balthazar, has a pleasant enough voice—a little different, but not to an annoying extent a la Colin Meloy of The Decemberists or John Darnielle from The Mountain Goats. Balthazar has a certain swagger to his voice that generally comes off as endearing when it doesn’t sound plain lazy like it does in “Drowning Men.”
Reservoir begins with “Ghosts,” a track that starts quietly and gradually builds as the bass line, violin melody, and vocals enter the mix. This natural crescendo makes for a strong introduction to the album even if the hand-clapping gets a bit hokey during the chorus.
The gradual build-up seems to be a mainstay of Fanfarlo. Many of the songs unfold slowly with a piano melody or softly strummed guitar part before erupting into a jovial cascade of violins, violas, and trumpets. The band even managed to slowly build the hype for Reservoir by releasing a steady stream of singles on various independent record labels over a two-year period before releasing the album in its entirety.
Both the live show and the album perk up noticeably with the buoyant, standout track “The Walls Are Coming Down.” But with its attention to the brass section, accordion, and clarinet, the song definitely sounds like a rip-off of the pseudo-Balkan-flavored band Beirut. Apparently, the Fanfarlo performance at the Bowery Ballroom even featured Jon Natchez, who has played with Beirut, which makes me think that my ears perked up to the song in the first place only because it reminded me of one of my favorite bands.
With reflection, I think my favorite song on the album is “Harold T. Wilkins or How to Wait for a Very Long Time.” You can watch a video of an acoustic version of the track here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTwErvgjuU8] to get a pretty good idea of both the song and the people behind the music. In the video, their intimate arrangement around the small shed-like room in many ways reveals the sound they are going for: a bit rustic and sparse on the surface but also surprisingly warm and evocative. Everything about the singer, Balthazar, is charming from his crooked teeth and Buddy Holly glasses to his understated but earnest delivery. The song is simple. Simple beat. Simple chord progressions. But this restrained charm that they have carefully cultivated is absolutely infectious.
I want to be able to come down on a certain side in my review of this album–to definitively say, ‘They suck’ or ‘Hey, they’re actually good.’ Right now, as I wrap up this review, I can’t help but be a bit taken by the catchy beat of “Luna,” as I ponder the strangely apt line, “And you will have to start taking sides.”
I think the interesting thing is I probably would have made a stronger argument for one side or the other had I just listened to this album a few times and then written the review. With something as subjective as a record review, it’s typically pretty easy to find evidence to support either camp, and it’s always fun to tear something apart… but listening to Reservoir ten times has kind of left me more ambivalent in the end—which is not what I was expecting. We’ve had a strange relationship, Reservoir and I. During the course of my listens, I’ve actually struggled to get myself to devote the time to the band when there are so many other CDs I want to be listening to, but the interesting thing is that once I actually put Reservoir on, I typically enjoy it. There’s a hopeful kind of cadence to the album that nicely combats the increasingly cold and rainy days of fall, but the surprising somber quality of the lyrics keeps the album from being too saccharine. (Surprisingly, broken machines, dashed dreams, oppressive walls, rusty nails, bombs, poison, and lies are all covered in the songs.)
Despite the foray into darker topics, however, Reservoir would definitely have been one of those albums my high school self would have thrown on in the car stereo to appease my mother. They’ve got it all: male/female vocals, the Swedish hookup (Balthazar hails from Sweden), plaid shirts, infectious smiles, swaggering vocals, dreamy pop arrangements, lovely string accompaniments, and on and on. They are pleasant, endearing, and safe. With their wave of melodicas, trumpets, mandolins, and a glockenspiel they’re obviously throwing in as many hooks and whistles as they could—and from witnessing their live show, it’s clear that they have fun doing it. But ultimately, I think they are doomed to fall off the radar and join the long list of indie has-beens when the next line of musical darlings comes around… in oh, a couple of months.
If you live in NY, take a deep breath now and try to relax because the next week is going to be a blur of music, college radio kids, free booze, and private parties.
Yep. It’s CMJ: the annual music and film festival in NY that celebrates college radio. From Tuesday to Sunday, there will be hundreds of concerts, and well, it can get a bit overwhelming.
Drink Up Buttercup at the Cake Shop in '08 (Photo Nicholas Roberts)
That’s why I’ve scoured the extensive CMJ line-up and put together a little guide for you. (The shows with the asterisks are the ones I’m seriously thinking about seeing…)
TUESDAY – 10/20
*Music Hall of Williamsburg – Laura Marling (9:30), The Antlers (10:15), Fanfarlo (11:00)*
Le Poisson Rouge – Atlas Sound (10:00), Broadcast (11:00)
WEDNESDAY – 10/21
*The Charleston – Hermit Thrushes (8:00)*
The Mercury Lounge – The xx (9:00)
The Bell House – The Love Language (10:00)
Santos Party House – Real Estate (10:00), Cymbals Eat Guitars (10:15)
Music Hall of Williamsburg – Atlas Sound (10:00)
Bowery Ballroom – Fanfarlo (11:00)
THURSDAY – 10/22
*Mercury Lounge – Patrick Watson (8:00)*
Brooklyn Bowl – YACHT (8:00)
The Rose – Binary Marketing Show (8:00)
Union Pool – Timber Timbre (9:00)
The Delancey – The Antlers (10:00)
The Bell House – Robbers on High Street (11:00)
FRIDAY – 10/23
*Living Room – Hungry Hungry Ghost (9:00), The Love Language (10:00), Lost in the Trees (11:00), The Ugly Suit (12:00), La Strada (1:00)*
Music Hall of Williamsburg – The xx (10:40)
SATURDAY – 10/24
*Le Poisson Rouge – Sin Fang Bous (8:00), Mum (9:00)*
The Bell House – The Postmarks (9:00), Au Revoir Simone (11:00)
Bowery Ballroom – Violens (10:00), Sharon van Etten (11:00)
Of course… many of the best bands are playing at the same time, so you’re still going to have to do your homework.
Before you get crackin’ let me leave you with one last tip: You may want to either avoid the big artists or plan ahead if you know you want to see them. Things could get messy otherwise. And, you’d really be surprised. Sometimes, it’s the bands you haven’t heard of that become your favorite acts.
Accordions, chick keyboard players, and ironic-mustached men move over. Incorporating children’s choirs into the mix seem to be the thing to do now. The Decemberists (listen), Karen O. (listen) and Dead Man’s Bones are just a few of the bands that exhibit this trend.
And as far as I’m concerned, kids singing along to ‘adult’ music seems to be such a better idea than adults singing songs meant for kids a la Kidz Bop or something of that nature. (I am still scarred by Kathie Lee Gifford’s painful rendition of a song on a Winnie the Pooh soundtrack my brother used to listen to as a toddler.)
In particular, I’ve been listening a lot to the Dead Man’s Bones album lately, which features the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir on many of the songs. Now, I realize these children’s choirs may seem gimmicky, annoying, or just plain out weird for some, but unlike Karen O’s Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack (which I discussed recently here), the Dead Man’s Bones album manages to avoid falling into the trap of being overly whimsical, and the adult vocals are nowhere near as jarring as Karen O’s shrill singing. Instead, we are left with a delightfully ghoulish and creative group of songs highlighting heartbreak and the day-to-day concerns of the dead and the dying.
I was just lucky enough to witness Dead Man’s Bones live at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, and let’s just say it was an interesting show. They didn’t book a normal opening act such as a band that compliments their music style. Nope, that would be too obvious; too routine. Instead, the band allegedly put the word out that they were looking to showcase local talent, so when I arrived, I witnessed quite a few strange acts that included, juggling with swords, time traveling, ghoulish behavior, strange contortion, and exotic dancing.
Dead Man's Bones posing with a Children's Choir
For the show itself, the beautiful people of Dead Man’s Bones (which features Zach Shields and actor Ryan Gosling) were joined on stage by no less than seventeen kids from St. Peter’s church choir in Philadelphia. Each wore a white robe with a hood and had his or her face painted to make them look like skeletons. In the low light and black light… let’s just say, the effect was creepy… but in a delightful way. The kids were adorable and their vocal contribution was quite compelling.
One of the high points came near the end of the show when a young girl of maybe 12 or 13 stepped forward to enact her own death as a drum beat simulated a gun shot. Gosling and Shields then held up a white sheet in front of her as images of her memories and ‘afterlife’ were projected onto it. Then, the sheet dropped down and the girl came back to life to sing a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” as the crowd went wild with applause.
Sure, the show wasn’t perfect. It seems like Gosling and Shields are still working on how to translate their music into a live, theatrical setting, but even though the band’s live sound wasn’t quite on par with the album version of their songs just yet, both the children’s choir and Ryan Gosling himself, sure helped make it a memorable evening. Gosling looked so excited and proud during the show as he paced the stage and directed the choir. It was pretty adorable–even the part where I got pelted in the neck by a Snickers thrown by a twelve-year-old in the choir who was violently reverse trick-or-treating. So worth it.
**See my original assessment of Dead Man’s Bones here.
Fitting for a man who retreated to a secluded cabin in the woods of Wisconsin one winter to record his debut album, Justin Vernon is heading back into obscurity… at least for a while. On October 13th, he posted on his website that his show at The Riverside in San Francisco on the 11th was “the last show in the foreseeable future.”
Photo by Annah Legg
As Vernon (rather awkwardly) states in the post, “Wrapping up a meteor is a difficult proposition.” Indeed, the last couple of years have been a whirlwind for Bon Iver. The debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, made quite a few top ten lists, including my own. Bon Iver is the epitome of a cold weather album. Though the Vernon’s falsetto and earnestness evoke warmth, there is also something desolate in it, something expansive and melancholic, that just begs to be played through the dark, cold months of winter.
For Emma, Forever Ago original art
Of course, Vernon still has his side project with Volcano Choir going… but Bon Iver seems to be on hiatus. And I’ve got to say, it would be really hard to follow up For Emma. Did anyone really listen to Blood Bank when it came out at the beginning of the year? I think everyone was still too busy playing “Skinny Love” on repeat.
Some things are just best left abruptly instead of being allowed to slowly and painfully fizzle out over time after lackaluster attempts to match former glory. I have to say that I for one think that maybe Vernon should just head back to the woods… at least until he’s ready to release something that will live up to For Emma, and that sure won’t be easy. Until then, you can stream his last show here for free.
Like countless other folk, I find myself on the edge of my seat, waiting for the release date of Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. Take a look at the trailer (if you’ve somehow missed it), and I think you’ll see why.
As the daughter of a librarian, I grew up on a heavy diet of Maurice Sendak’s book. But my desire to see the movie stems from more than just nostalgia. It looks absolutely beautiful. It would have been really easy to make a poor film from this book. After all, it’s not long and the creatures are wildly imaginative. But Jonze seems to have done the book justice. (He even got Sendak’s blessing). The little kid, Max, looks absolutely adorable, the artistic direction – amazing, and the soundtrack – excellent.
I picked up the soundrack by Karen O and the Kids yesterday, and I’ve since listened to it, oh, three times. I never really got into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen’s other music project, but I confess I am pretty delighted with what she has done with the Where the Wild Things Soundtrack. I fell in love with the very first song, “Igloo.” Though it is one of the shortest tracks on the album, it’s sheer simplicity and innocence are compelling. Take a listen for yourself.
The tracks are by turn quirky, lovely, and well… a bit wild. Sure, some of the shrieking and chanting may be a bit off putting or cloying, but it seems to be done in such good fun, that even I let it slide. Joining Karen on the album are a handful of talented characters – or Kids – including: Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, The Dead Weather/The Raconteurs Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence, Liars’ Aaron Hemphill, The Bird and the Bee’s Greg Kurstin… oh yeah, and actual children.
All this begs the question… is Grizzly Bear’s signing onto the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack any different than Karen O’s signing onto the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack? (See my recent post about this topic here.) Do we excuse and even congratulate the latter due to the artistic merit of the film and label the former a ‘sell out?’ Does the value of the project affect how we judge their actions? Because let’s be honest here – it’s not as if Where the Wild Things Are is smalltime. This film is going to be seen by millions – probably even more people will see it than Twilight.
Sonic Smörgåsbord 