In and Out: I know two girls who are in love with Beirut's Zach Condon [mp3]

Download: Beirut - A Sunday Smile [mp3]

Beirut's The Flying Club Cup is slated for release next week [October 2]. If you pre-order from Newbury Comics, you can get your grubby fan hands on an autographed copy. That's right, Zach will have touched a pen that touched your liner booklet.

Alena, Xtina, and I were at the Society for Ethical Culture on Monday to see Beirut perform live in a peaceful old-lady-seats venue with terrific acoustics. I made a "sonic q-tip" metaphor to Diana which left her utterly perplexed, so I'm going to refrain from posting a review this time.

[Photo by Mina K]

In and Out: A Death of The Hit or "Closing Time" in a Modern Historical Context

We all come here for the same thing. We are all here in some form of the same pursuit of pop music. You can dress it up any way you like but the facts remain: Whether you like The Flaming Lips, The French Kicks or (and this should be obvious) The (fucking) Fray, you're all fans of pop music. Even the most hard-core, un-signed "indie" bands use a form, albeit at times a confused form, of pop song-writing. It is our one unifying characteristic. These are all pop bands writing, or trying to write, pop songs and we are pop fans listening or trying to listen.

So why are they so bad at it? Why are so many indie bands so bad at writing little pop songs? Where are the hits? And just what are they hiding?

Last week I was listening to my iPod Shuffle and in the midst of the 265 random songs, a shotgun blast-sample of my larger music collection, came through Semisonic's 1998 smash-hit "Closing Time." As far as I can tell there are two kinds of people in the world: people that like "Closing Time" and respect it's infectious 4-note piano riff, and then there are people who hate "Closing Time" and generally don't like balloons and puppies and sit in their basements listening to Pavement, bitching about that one time their college girlfriend asked to listen to Coldplay while they "did it." Fair enough? Good.

"Closing Time" is close or pretty close to being a perfect pop-song. You've got a catchy opening-riff, meaningless yet tautological lyrics ("every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"), a memorable hook in the verse ("Closing time ...") and an anthemic chorus ("I know who I want to take me home"). It's an almost perfect storm of the last 50 years of pop song-writing and in the summer of 1998, we were all swamped in the middle of it. Semisonic's album was certified as Platinum and the band went on to never recapture their one most brilliant moment.

The problem is not that all bands should be able to write a song like "Closing Time" for it surely takes a lot of talent and little bit of luck. The problem is that talented bands seem to be intentionally avoiding trying to write a song like "Closing Time." What is the fear of the hit single? Even though we all can agree most bands are using pop song-writing techniques, there appears to be a desire to not write a catchy, radio-ready single. Does this preserve underground credibility? Sure. But ask Dan Wilson of Semisonic. Would he rather be a cool "underground" band from Minnesota that never made it? Or would he rather pick up his Feeling Strangely Fine royalty check every month and pay his mortgage and then blow a couple thousand dollars at Crate and Barrel? Exactly.

So why the fear of the hit single? Would it really kill your credibility? How much is that credibility worth in the first place, especially if it doesn't translate into album sales and band revenue. Does being credible necessarily mean being poor and unknown? Didn't you start your band in the first place to be heard? Didn't you want to play music for The People, not just for a few people?

All this means we have to ask some hard questions. Are these bands, talented as they may be, afraid of writing the hit single or completely unable to? Like a chicken shit sky-diver, some indie bands claim they don't want to write "radio music" when in reality they might just be scared to get out of the plane. What if the chute doesn't work? What if they can't fly with the bands who get their (so-called shitty) music on the radio? What if they actually can't write the hits they call "formulaic" and "three-chord monstrosities?" Are they too sophisticated to be so simple? Are they too elitist to be so popular?

We might never know. But when you listen to a song like "Closing Time" you wonder, where has the song-writing gone? And what the hell are you so afraid of?

Preview: The Twilight Sad at The Music Hall of Williamsburg [Brooklyn, NY, 09.30.07]

Don't forget this show this Sunday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The Twilight Sad and The Big Sleep. The Twilight Sad could take some getting used to. They seem like a Scottish Walkmen at times but then I stop paying attention for a minute and they turn into a 'songs inspired by coldplay' band that doesn't own a piano. The jury is still out, it's going to be hard to get over that voice, but I can hear the good qualities... I appreciate their Mogwai length song buildups, but the real jem to see here is The Big Sleep.

How did they come up with 9 tracks of perfection on Son of the Tiger? Six months later, I'm still daily turning to this. With the number of new releases and myspace bands popping up daily screaming for attention, this is some kind of miracle. I hope this was on someone's top list for 2006, because it might just make 2007 too.

The real question is, what have they done to our rustic Northsix?
Here's a few guesses, the weird bleachers are gone, the bathroom/room is gone, and they moved the merch booth area. It's probably all painted, maybe there is a balcony? I don't know...jam people in, make it like everywhere else....why williamsburg why?

When will I quit bitching?

And that new name just makes me think whoever is playing there tickets are probably going to be too expensive. It's like Radio City Music Hall or Brooklyn Academy of Music...the names alone cost money. This show is $12 online or $14 at the door. Not too bad, but this place better not have an attendant in the bathroom or I'm moving.

In and Out: Another edition of "If You Miss These Shows, You Don't Like Music"

What up, fockers? Yeah, we're back again after what seems like forever. And admittedly, the show schedule in this city has been more than a little thin (and no, Dan Deacon playing his shit 30 times in two weeks doesn't count). But, it seems like we're back on track with some good bands, some small bands and some big shows supporting big records. Here's the shot sheet. And again, if you miss these, I feel bad for you and think you should probably spend the week making an application tape for The Pick-Up Artist: Season 2.

Tuesday, Sept. 25:

Bat For Lashes @ The Bowery. This is big and still not sold out, so sneak your tickets now. If you haven't heard of this band, I honestly don't know what to do with you. Move back in with your parents. It's over.

Bear Hands and a bunch of other tiny, weeny, little bands @ Pianos: Bear Hands has one great song, "Long Lean Queen" and some of the worst lyrics of all-time. "Long and lean/God save the Queen/Peace in the world/Is peace in my brain." Can't argue with the world peace sentiment but tell me what incarnation of the universe accepts "brain" and "queen" as rhyming words? Where is that true? Russia? Iran?

Wednesday, Sept 26:

LooseRecord.com favorites and un-favorites Liam and Me make their triumphant return to the Knitting Factory where they seem to sell out .... all. the. time. Now, this band does cause a rift between the writing/blogging staff (people in the know, foot soldiers, on the grind) and the editorial staff (queens, "let them eat cake," detached-totalitarian-style ruling party) but, make up your own mind. It's synth-rock people - not rocket science. And fuck you if you don't like it. jk. lol.

Now, if you want the exact opposite experience, you can head over to the Annex where the Secret Machines (or the impostors passing as the Secret Machines) play the final show of a 4 week residency. Yes, it's new material. And yes, if you saw them at their "triumphant" return to New York, also at the Annex back in May, you know that the new material is rough in places, bad in others. Expect a set of songs you don't know (one or two of which will blow your doors off) and then a closer of "Lightning Blue Eyes" and something else to remind you this band used to write serious music and used to destroy audiences for pure recreation.

Thursday, Sept. 27

Yeasayer and The Forms @ Cake Shop. This is the ultimate, "miss this and feel sorry for yourself" show. Cake Shop is tiny. Yeasayer is big and has one of the most interesting, creative records of the year. Go listen to "2080" and tell me you don't hear Broken Social Scene playing Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints in outer space. Tell me you don't hear that. Exactly. Go to the show.

Jose Gonzalez @ The Gramercy Theater. It's expensive but the Gonzalez has a quietly electric persona for his live show. It might not change your life but he'll probably play "Heartbeats" and you can hold your girlfriend's hand and remember the mixtape you gave her two years ago.

Friday, Sept. 28

We close the week in massive fashion with Okkervil (rhymes with Knockerville) River at Webster Hall. Their latest release is an absolute monster of a record and pretty much solidifies them as Indie-Rock Supa-Stars along with Spoon, Bright Eyes, and The National. These kids will churn out another brilliant record every two years until 2020.

If you want to get your sunny-guitar-pop-on, head back to the Knitting Factory for The Lucksmiths. You like the Shins? Oh shit! This band gave birth to bands like The Shins but not in an annoying, "this band is actually un-listenable now but used to be good" way. They still crush people with sunny, little songs and lyrics about "t-shirt weather." Take that Fall. You can wait your turn.

Live Photos: Endfest @Qwest Field, Seattle [09.22.07]

Bright Eyes

Smashing Pumpkins

Satellite Party

Minus The Bear

Social Distortion

[Photos by Chona Kasinger]

In and Out: Can't Give Enough Love To Foreign Born [mp3]

Since we received Foreign Born's latest album, On The Wing Now, I've been absolutely ga ga...particularly about the first 5 tracks. The album is rich in sound, and it rewards the listener that pays attention to detail.

Here's a download from Dim Mak's site, my favorite song off the album:
Foreign Born - Union Hall [mp3]

Photos: Metric @ Webster Hall [09.21.07]

Photos: Beirut @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple [09.20.07]

Live Review: Longwave at Mercury Lounge [New York, 09.07]

Longwave's best song, and coincidentally one they didn't play, is called "Wake Me When It's Over." Unfortunately, this title is far more applicable to the sleepy, un-memorable opening set from The Dead Trees. Coming on the heels of two high-energy, low-concept bands The Shackeltons and Eagle*Seagull, The Dead Trees took the best elements of neo-Beatles era Brit-pop, tied them down and shoved 40 Tylenol PM in their mouth. Luckily, Longwave did remember to wake us when The Dead Trees were done.

The trouble was, what were we getting up for? Longwave was definitely louder and tipped their caps to a different set of influences and they certainly explored the highest possible (tonal) reaches of the fret board. But what? So what? Maybe nothing. Maybe we got up for nothing.

By my unofficial count, Longwave has between three and five good songs. They even played one of them: the uplifting and completely defensible "Tidal Wave." With it's charmingly honest pre-chorus, "I am everything you wanted/I am everything you need," the band is either being extremely prescient or extremely arrogant. So now you tell me what I want? And you know what I need? Have you been reading my diary, Longwave? Do you know that I watched and enjoyed Sandra Bullock in The Lake House? Is there anything else you want to tell me?

But secrets or no secrets, the band shares itself just enough. The lead-guitarist could pass for the lead-singer of the Secret Machines if the lead-singer of the Secret Machines was a competitive lumberjack. The only electric personality on stage belongs to Longwave's front-man. Looking just a touch like Britt Daniel, he pushes and gestures a little like a rock star. But there's nothing unheard of here. Just very decent college rock from a very, very decent college rock band.

And like a lot of things in college, sometimes you wake up for shit and sometimes you don't. Either way, I'm not positive it matters. Now give me some Percocet and let me go back to sleep.

[Tiny picture courtesy of MySpace]

Album Review: Les Savy Fav Let's Stay Friends [Frenchkiss, September 2007]

Les Savy Fav—Tim Harrington (vocals), Seth Jabour (geetahr), Syd Butler (basssounds), and Harrison Haynes (sticks and skins)—are finally releasing their much-anticipated album Let’s Stay Friends on Frenchkiss TODAY (as in, 09.18.07). In spite of much anticipation I did my best to avoid reading about it until I could hear it for myself. As a result, I’m sure I’ve repeated some of the comments others have already made, but hopefully you’ll stick with me until the end.

Here’s the deal: if you haven’t already bought your advance-sale copy of the album, GO GET IT NOW! That should be all I need to say, but in case you are still skeptical here is the low-down: Let’s Stay Friends is probably the best and most cohesive album Les Savy Fav have done. The product of nearly six years of work, live shows and growing up, I have to agree with the rest of the critics in saying that it is arguably their best yet. This album represents the effort it takes to continue following your dreams, make music and do what you do best. (This includes getting married and having kids!) In the years it took this album to get made, Les Savy Fav managed to retain the core sound that has made them icons of the independent music movement, but have also refined both their music to create pure awesomeness.

“The Equestrian” is the single off this album and it has already been heard on various Internet and radio stations lately. As a single, it is one of the most cohesive on the album with Haynes and Butler matching Harrington’s driving lyrics with an intense beat and sexy, almost angry, tone. The next song matches it for intensity and rhythm, but is followed by a slight breath of fresh air in, “What Would Wolves Do.” This song is one of my favorites and it is where I feel the band really begins to prove their development of a more lyrical, cohesive and melodic sensibility than can be found on their previous records.

This shift is immediately followed up with “Brace Yourselves,” in which the driving beats of the first few songs are replaced by something that sounds a bit more refined but no less energetic. It is questioning more than argumentative, and presents the band as a forward-looking archetype for the modern world with the lyrics like, “Before I was a crush I was a kiss. Before I was a god I was a wish.”

My next favorite song is “Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old,” and here Les Savy Fav introduce an entirely new sound - female vocalists (did YOU call in for the phone-in contest?)! They also return to the driving rhythm of the album’s earlier songs, but with more of a dance-rock sound. I hate to make comparisons but with the darker melody and more synthesizer, this song really puts me in mind of Ladytron, only way better. It will certainly make you want to rock out, but so will the entire album.

The end of the album is always a surprise to me, because I want it to keep going like the fucking energizer bunny. Let’s Stay Friends presents us with a band that is like a modern-day Pan, inciting the populace to dance while shouting the rhymes of contemporary parables. Altogether this is a great album and certainly represents the maturity of the band and all of the hard work they have put into their music and lives over the past several years. In my opinion it is one of the best albums to be released this year, and it is the only one that makes me want to listen to it over and over (and over and over) again. One time through is just not enough.

Oh, and the only negative thing I could think of is that this album might make it to the mainstream. Sad, but true, the band might actually make money off something other than Deadly Squire and sometime DJ gigs.

In and Out: Saturday Looks Good To Me [mp3]

Thanks to Force Field for pointing us to a fantastic song by Saturday Looks Good To Me, who play NYC's Luna Lounge on 10/17:

Saturday Looks Good To Me - Make A Plan [mp3]

Album Review: The Manchester Orchestra I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child [Favorite Gentlemen, March 2007]

Last weekend, I drove from Portland, Maine to Brooklyn, New York. It took six hours. We listened to the radio the entire way. There was exactly one moment that matched the excitement of hearing tracks 1-3 ("Wolves At Home," "Now That You're Home," and "The Neighborhood Is Bleeding") of The Manchester Orchestra's I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child: Randy Moss' touchdown, in which he outpaced three Jets defenders on a crossing route and snagged a perfectly flighted ball from Tom Brady.

Final tally: six hours, almost 100 songs, across dozens of stations in five states, zero inspiring musical moments.

Two related points: The radio sucks; The Manchester Orchestra is, tragically, unsigned.

"Like A Virgin" is far from brilliant. It tails off towards the end, as the band (average age 19), stops pushing and relies too much on lead singer Andy Hull. But the first three songs, exactly 10 minutes, explode out of your stereo. Staccato guitars, pulsing chords, and vaguely British vocals. It's like something you've heard before, but better, with more desire and commitment. Live, the band might blow your head off.

On the football field of life, the music industry's facing third-and-long. The coaches call for a three-receiver set. At the snap, Editors (10,000 copies sold in the album's first three weeks) and St. Vincent (5,000 in the same time period) get knocked off their routes and out of the play. Manchester Orchestra beats Ambition off the line and is streaking towards the endzone with half a step on Expectation. Throw the band the damn ball. Even if it drops the pass, you've still got Kanye (860,000 in the first week) punting. He's averaging 50 yards per.

Album Review: Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala [Secretly Canadian, October 2007]

Although not drastically different from previous endeavors, some of Jens’ best tracks to date can be found on Night Falls Over Kortedala. From asthma inhalers to avocados and back again, Jens exemplifies his signature wit and slightly absurd lyrics of loves lost and found. Much like 2004’s When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog and 2005’s Oh You’re So Silent Jens, the young Swede is forlorn as usual, and Lisa remains to be his only friend.

Still, Jens is never down for too long. Give him a xylophone and a ukulele and he’s quick to rebound. Soon enough his heart shimmers and swells and he’s changing the subject to figs. Constantly on the verge of falling either in or out of love, Jens realizes that heartache will always find him. Even if he’s leaving on his own accord (“I Am Leaving You Because I Don’t Love You”), relationships are never easy. Jens still feels the need to apologize, lamenting, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t love you enough.” Nonetheless, his heart goes on beating, “beating like Ringo.” He may be easy to love, but loving is never simple when the object of your affection is a wanderer.

A champion of musical reappropriation, Jens possesses a seemingly endless supply of found sounds. More expansive than ever in his choice of samples, the record is a globetrotting expedition that somehow never feels too far from home. Thanks to Frida Hyvönen and El Perro Del Mar’s Sarah Assbring, we can rest assured that Jens isn’t too lonely either. Whether it’s an ode to his hairdresser (“Shirin”), or an awkward dinner table conversation (“A Postcard to Nina”), I can’t help but believe every word that comes out of his mouth. The explosive opener sets the tone as Jens declares, “I would never kiss anyone/Who doesn't burn me like the sun/And I remember every kiss like my first kiss.”

One could argue that there are more than a few standout tracks at work here, and while “The Opposite of Hallelujah” seems to be the obvious choice, the sunny “Into Eternity” is no exception. We all know what it’s like to be “prisoners of the moment,” and this song is the perfect embodiment of this very idea. As Jens croons over and over, “You in my arms . . .” I know I would gladly die with this song on repeat.

Album Review: Devendra Banhart Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon [XL, 9.24.07 2007]

Where's the overlap between Elvis, Jim Morrisson, and Antonio Carlos Jobim? God knows. And Devendra, apparently, as he's resurrected them all through a typical Banhartian luau / seance on his new album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. That said, it might be hard to imagine Devendra's fifth album as one of his least strange, having finally abandoned his freak-folk signatures of witchy falsettos and arcane lyrics for a stronger focus on, well, the music.

Recent promotional photos depicting Banhart as a bourgeois, bearded transvestite are misleading - this album seems far less about sensationalism than those of the past, and more of spirituality, as hallucinogen induced as it may be. Those hippie mantras about balance fit in pretty well when describing the record and its genre-hopping; though it may not be to Ween-like proportions, we've got gypsy rockabilly, tripped out doo-wap, gospel and bossa nova, all harmoniously thread together and somehow convincingly performed.

That's not to say the inanities are gone. While it's easy to picture Devendra slowly strumming some rustic guitar or hunched over his Rhodes suitcase piano, staring off past whatever it is his eyes are actually resting on, Smokey's other half still has plenty of the gibberish metaphors, animal personifications, and romantic brisses we've all grown to love. They're all just set to prettier songwriting this time around.

In and Out: "You Should Be Honored By My Lateness" or Kanye Becomes A More Arrogant, Less Socially-Inclined Verision of Bono

In rock music, whether or not you like his persona or politics or even his music, people have been waiting for a second-coming of Bono. A true rock-personality. Absurd. Over-sized. Talented. And a flair for the dramatic and transcendent moment. In a vaguely similar way, basketball fans wait for the second-coming of Michael Jordan. A talent and a personality that stink of super-star - someone to be larger than life and totally comfortable walking around at tree-level.

Well, unfortunately, rock-rhetoric has gotten larger (see: Kaiser Chiefs 2003-2007, Bloc Party 2006, music blogs 2002-present) but rock personalities and frontmen have gotten smaller. Tell me there was one moment in all the indie rock shows you've seen where you honestly believed the leadsinger could carry the same shtick to an arena. Yeah, Interpol seem electric at Webster Hall (some people disagree) but how are they going to roll at MSG tonight? A show they couldn't sell out despite sharing the bill with a brilliant recovering addict (Cat Power) and a band that very well might blow them off the stage (Liars). The point is, these are small bands. Their singers command the Mercury Lounge with ease but where are they at Madison Square? Fuck, where are they at Giants' Stadium? This was never a problem with Bono. He had enough attitude and persona to rock a small club or kill a stadium. In 1991, Bono could probably have played Outer Space and still filled it up with passion and something vaguely electric. And even now, Bono can still get up to get down. But the man is pushing retirement-age. So, we wait. Who is the next rock-musician who shows up to burn down every venue he or she plays, no matter how big or small it may be?

It won't be a rock musician at all. It just might be Kanye West. Check out this video from (of all places) Jimmy Kimmel's late show. Kanye has more posture and command of the stage and the crowd than any rock-star we've seen in a while. And check out the production flourishes. (Kanye: I want strings. Oh yeah, and fuckin' horns. Get me a fuckin' orchestra to go with this french-techno sample. And do it now.)

So rock music, tighten your pants because you're getting absolutely dogged by a music-geek from Chicago who wears pink polo shirts and Louie V accessories. Sound like a challenge? It is. Step up or step out.

In and Out: Calvin Harris, Baby's First

“It’s all a bit weird,” remarks Calvin Harris regarding his experience so far in America. No further elaboration follows, as his face takes in the complete stranger before him called "6th Avenue." The tall 23-year-old small town Scottish boy is visibly overwhelmed by the newness of his current incarnation as the latest up-and-coming electro-rock darling. My idiosyncratic mind can’t help but picture a Christmas tree with ornaments that read:

Baby’s First Full-Length Album
Baby’s First Show In The States
Baby’s First Strenuous Promo Tour
Baby’s First Night Karaoke-ing With A Heap of Crazy Americans


This year Xtina and I spent the tainted holiday of September 11th at “Calvin-oke,” a karaoke party welcoming Calvin to New York City. About 25 music industry folks - nearly 20 bearing XX chromosomes - came together and belted out their favorite cheesy tunes in a private room at IBOP, a karaoke den near Korea-town. Calvin's label Almost Gold provided the scotch beverages, which I graciously accepted.

Calvin is currently living a dense schedule of interviews and promo appearances…it’s gotten to the point where the topic of sleep has crept into his Q&A sessions. From the pre-karaoke mixer at Almost Gold label headquarters through the first few songs sung at IBOP, he appears relatively shy and awkward amidst the other hyper-social party guests. But then we all get a carrot - “Let’s Get Blown” by Snoop Dogg kicks off, he’s passed the mic, and we witness the magic of Calvin Harris that has us all addicted to I Created Disco. He suddenly transforms into Charisma-bot, who is ten notches more outgoing than mild-mannered Calvin-bot. Of note, he's also the best singer in the group (I’d like to think I placed second or third).


Bear with me as I talk about myself for a moment. I sing in bands, showers, and on empty streets, but I’m not much of a karaoke aficionado. My folks own a karaoke machine, on which I've only been known to roar the occasional Metallica song to see how long it takes for my dad to clear the room in horror. (I love you, Dad.) That being said I entered this party with skepticism, but the fun and friendly party-goers soon had me gladly joining in on their song selections. Let it also be known that Xtina karaoke'd for the first time in Xtina history! Towards the end I coaxed Calvin into singing Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” as a duet. Yes there is video footage, and no I am not legally allowed to publish it. Sad face.

Though last night's Mercury gig was sold out, littering Craigslist with unanswered wails, I shimmied my way in at the last minute. The show can be summed up quite simply: Calvin killed. He was engaged, the crowd was engaged, we were all dancing furiously together. Baby's Last Small NYC Show.

Hope you all enjoy this photo where I look way into my drunken syllable.

[All photos by Mina K, except the last one by Xtina]

Preview: Dan Deacon and friends at The Yard [Brooklyn, NY, 08.16.07]

This is a picture from the future of the good time you will be having with Dan Deacon. But the Webster Hall show on Saturday is sold out, how could that be me?

Oh, but wait loose blog reader there's a better venue where Dan is playing, a secret outside venue now known as the Yard which used to be called the Issue project room, so you may have already been there and you know what I'm talking about. Formerly a giant silo on the gowanus canal, with lawn furniture and junked cars, home to ambient, experimental art and music, has changed hands for big time rock and roll.

Wait, all this is Brooklyn?

Yes!

It sounds so beautiful doesn't it? Like an urban oasis...well not exactly, but you take what you can get, and this monstrous show on Sunday will be the perfect end to a (hopefully) nice weekend. It starts somewhere around 2PM, so you won't miss that early monday class.
Now think about that picture above and put some grass behind it, and fireflies and a canal and a giant silo. Now go surround Dan Deacon and dance your crazy ass off.

Dan is of course just the beginning of the also playing are USAISAMONSTER, Aa aka BIG A little a, and Best Fwends, among other who haven't even been announced yet.
It's a really amazing space, it doesn't seem like Brooklyn and this show is more than enough reason to go out of the way to find this: 400 Carroll St between Bond & Nevins Street, $8.

I'm sure you're a little sad and think, where have all the artists gone then? They are all at the Conflux festival in Williamsburg on Saturday, where yours truly is putting up flyers to get people to call me and my friend and tell us where the other person is. We can't find each other without your help. Then we'll all goto Dan's show I promise.

Photos: aloha at Union Hall [Brooklyn, 09.07.07]

Live Review: Lymbyc Systym at Union Hall [Brooklyn, 09.06.07]

(Photo by surako, from Flickr.com; Tokyo, Japan)

I always have trouble reviewing instrumental rock bands. I think I called the Sigur Ros concert “a birthing process” or some such nonsense a while ago. While most likely a bit annoying to the uninitiated reader, the good thing about this propensity for hyperbolic descriptions when writing about instrumental bands is that it truly shows how much I either loved or detested it. Please keep this in mind, as Lymbyc Systym is going to fall into the first category.

Lymbyc Systym, made up of brothers Jared (keys) and Michael (drums) Bell, know how to rock and the next time they play a venue near you I recommend checking it out. On Thursday night at Union Hall, they played a series of songs from their recent release, Love Your Abuser, but minus the help of other musicians (or perhaps some elements of the music from their record were just lost in the speakers). While I was disappointed that there were no string parts, the Bell brothers made up for it by blowing me away with the raw intensity of their sound. While I have often compared Lymbyc Systym to fellow Rhodes piano enthusiasts The Album Leaf, the show on Thursday proved me wrong. There was something far less self-constrained in their playing, and it was awesome.

Part organic geologic soundscape and part melodic aurora, the balance struck between the different aspects of their sound is amazing. The music Lymbyc Systym creates encompasses both the productive and destructive energies of the natural world: loud crashing drums and cymbals, dissonant piano chords, parenthetically surrounded by pauses and harmonic key solos. The self-description on their Myspace page of Sounds Like: “warm ice” definitely fits. Well, more like “glacial melting”. Lymbyc Systym is much louder and more intense than I had anticipated. Michael bangs away on the drum set like he’s trying to knock it over, and Jared somehow manages a three-tiered deck of keyboards without hitting a wrong note. Especially on their final song (“Love Your Abuser”), which is a particularly intense song and which also exemplifies the elements of geologic progression more perfectly than any other song on their album, when they were joined by vocalist/guitar and trumpet players from The One AM Radio. If you have any sort of fondness for instrumental rock of the loud atmospheric sort, this is one band you should definitely look into.

That said, this review should definitely include a bit about The One AM Radio, as both Bell brothers also play in it. However, these two bands are extremely different. The One AM Radio is much more of an indie band, with lyrics and guitars and such. As for the live show on Thursday, my impression is that the band members have their genres confused and the vocalist, Hrishikesh Hirway, would do much better to step out of whatever bedroom band/shoegazer concept he has going on and accept that he really wants to be a rock star. Mr Hirway has a voice to rival Ben Gibbard’s, if only he had the confidence to embody it with soul. His lyrics are also quite competent, but as they lacked most of the heartfelt energy they needed to soar, they tended to fall a bit flat. I am going to keep an eye on this band, Hrishikesh Hirway in particular, and hope that confidence finds its way into his throat soon.

The show was opened by Canada's Montag (Antoine Bédard), who plays a solo show of fun, funky electronic stuff. He even sings in French sometimes!

(PS - Sorry no live shots yet, my camera battery died!)

Review: Film School Hideout [Beggars Banquet, 09.11.07]

A lot of reviews of Film School’s last self titled album talked about how much promise they showed reinterpreting a familiar, retro sound. Like their contemporaries, Interpol, they were updating the sound, forcibly stumbling on something new out of the near impersonation.


Unfortunately, their latest, Hideout doesn’t sound new or worse yet even memorable, it’s somehow taking a step backwards...and in a very apathetic way.
I had a similar disappointing experience with I love you but I've chosen darkness. I liked the 12" EP a lot, the name was certainly memorable, so I went to see them at Northsix. Right away I made excuses, maybe there were sound problems particular to their setup, or they were just off for whatever reason, but it was awful. It’s the first time I saw people walking out. I mistakenly brought a friend and I had been talking them up all night. But I couldn't just leave. We convinced ourselves to give the next song a chance, and the next one, but it never got better and we gave up 30 long minutes into their set.

In Film School’s defense I saw them play at Mercury Lounge and they were great...right away, likable normal guys, the lead singer reminded me of one of my best friends from high school. All of their equipment was stolen the night before but they played the album flawlessly with borrowed instruments. They can play, there is definitely no problem with them performing.

So I’m fighting with myself over this again...there’s nothing to obviously point a finger at, it’s pretty benign as it fades into the background while I’m trying to pay attention to it. I know that’s the inherent problem with this sub genre, it really fights to push you away and retreat back into the fog of sound. I think Film School might be suffering from not enough contemporary influence here, it fits in too well with My Bloody Valentine or atmospheric Brian Eno albums from the early 90’s. It’s almost an imitation of this period, a little cleaner sounding, but then again we’ve done away with cassettes. There are hooks that don’t sink in, and melodies that meander along stuck in outdated synth voices or harpsichord, or just plain outliving their short catchiness in unedited repeated choruses. Then there’s a mystery 15 second track, I still haven’t come up with an excuse for.

The other problem is the last album reworked some of the better parts of those same sounds... the synth, chorus effects, using 24 tracks to their full advantage. I’m beginning to think maybe this line of thought was only enough for one album, now they’re left grasping at the things that worked previously. There are glimpses of a new direction, like in ‘What I meant to say’, which starts out with an out of place clear distorted scraping sound and then slowly, individual instruments make their way verse by verse to the foreground. The vocals don’t stay chorused out, there’s variation. It’s a welcome experiment, but It’s the last track on the album all I can hope is it’s trying to say ‘Don’t give up on us yet,' this is a transition album. They are buried in their hideout, and I'm not going looking for them.

Preview: GZA at McCarren Pool [Brooklyn, NY, 09.15.07]

GZA, the genius, performs Liquid Swords in it's entirety for what is the first time ever in NYC.
This ranks right up there with the Sonic Youth Daydream Nation show at the pool a month ago...by the time this venue shuts down the shows that will have happened here will be staggering. This should practically be declared a historic site when all is said and done. But before you shed a tear, let's take it back to 1995, when the pool was locked up and the only 20 story glass buildings were still in Manhattan. Wu-Tang was a mysterious karate film sampling collection of characters, all to go on with impressive solo careers. The first of these solo masterpieces was Liquid Swords and it represented the pinnacle of this new era. GZA used sparse percussion arrangements of scratchy piano loops that were defining the neo east coast sound while simultaneously breaking new rhyme ground. (I know...don't even try it) The genius explains:

"I thought to put animals in a setting as if they were people in the ghetto. When I said "the porcupine had a rep for sticking everything that moves, in areas that the rhinos and hippos approved." I saw the rhino's and hippo's as being big, because they are. I also see them as being muscle-men, like the mob or something. When I took an animal and wrote it down, I had to put them in an area where they belonged. Just like I said "the chimps they grow hemp, and hustle by slanging trees."That's a metaphor in itself. They swing in trees, and slang is a term in the hood for selling, and trees is weed. That's a whole breakdown for the rhyme. And the "elephants for security that move tons of leaves" They eat up at least 500 pounds of trees and branches a day. They're security and they help move the product. It's not too deep to understand. It's simple."

---- hiphopgame.com

Get your tickets before you're posting a sad pity story on Craigs list.

**************NOTE****************
Oh well, it's been cancelled due to poor ticket sales...disregard above.

Preview: Lymbyc Systym at Union Hall [Brooklyn, 9.6.07]

Sorry for the short notice, but I thought I should let all our readers know that this will be a great show if you're in Park Slope tonight! Lymbyc Systym is made up of brothers Jared and Michael Bell from Tempe, AZ, and they are currently on tour supporting their latest album, Love Your Abuser. Their music is a perfect combination of melodic pop and electronic machinations, much like a more less-synthesized The Album Leaf, whom they opened for last year. Instrumental, and making the most of the Rhodes piano, these guys will take you to another level.

At Union Hall tonight, Lymbyc Systym will be supported by One AM Radio and Montag, and it should be a night filled with electronic pop - perfect for that first touch of autumn that's almost in the air.

Preview: Oh No Oh My at Soundfix records [Brooklyn, NY, 09.8.07]

Blog darlings Oh No! Oh My! are performing in good olde williamsburg this saturday at 5PM. I never know what time to show up to Soundfix, especially when it's a free show, let's just say be sure to show up early and leave it at that. I stress again...you can't be too early, get a coffee, browse...it's a small back room and so worth it. I'm surprised to see this last minute free additon to their extensive 2 year tour of nonstop promotion for their self titled release. They are playing some other shows in the NYC area which are not free.
They have practically been forced to get this out by word of mouth, no thanks to the blogosphere, who have completely ignored them.
Give them a chance, I'm begging you, they are begging you. Bottom line don't let a bunch of typed words make up your mind for you.
Seriously, if you are sick of hearing about them or don't believe the hype, at least go check them out at Soundfix. What have you got to lose? Nothing? Exactly.