Author Archives: georgediab

ZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzz

Posted on by
Reply

It’s tough to say you hate Panda Bear. I mean, they are so cute and cuddly..and they are usually harmless. They are, for the most part, pretty boring. You go to the zoo, and you watch them eat and poop, you revel at their cuteness, and you move on to the more interesting animals.


The Panda Bear that is also known as Noah Benjamin Lennox is also boring. I’d even venture to say VERY. BORING.   The album Tomboy is so repetitive and monotonous, that I nearly ejected the CD from the car stereo and threw it out the window. It would have been the only excitement or happiness I would ever get from the album.


I should have known better. I didn’t love the 2007 release of Person Pitch. Two things played into the mistake I made at the record store. The first mistake was a review I read written by Brian Hiatt in the Rolling Stone. 


After reading the write-up, I stored these three things into my long-term memory (which is sorta short these days…)


1. “Simple and powerful”
2. End Product is more like an attack on his guitar
3. Animal Collective’s 2009 breakthrough Merriweather Post Pavilion


This was all that I could really remember when I got to the record store and saw it on sale for $8.99. I had another album in mind, but with points 1 through 3 in my head, and the orange sale sticker…I was doomed to waste 9 hard earned dollars.

When I listened to the CD on the way home, I was just grimacing, wondering how I went wrong. I can’t make out one guitar…and all Panda Bear does is repeat lyrics over and over and over ad nauseum.


This was the song that was the proverbial straw, and it’s not even the worst song on the album. Take a listen to “Drone” (never in the history of music has a more accurate title been chosen for a song… you won’t want to listen for long, I’d imagine. Not that you would need to. I’ll post the lyrics below so you can follow along.)


Click to play Panda Bear – Drone

Now I see you again
Now I feel you again
Now I know you again

Multiply those three lines by thirty.


So…


1. “simple” was accurate, but this is far from “powerful”. This sounds frail and fragile. 
2. Attack on guitar? What guitar?
3. Panda Bear is a member of the band Animal Collective, but then again I have always thought that the album was overrated.


Number 2. Tricky number two. When I reread the article I realized I missed a lot of important details.


But the end product is more like an attack on his guitar, which Lennox warped into various unrecognizable forms – metallic burbles, echoey madness, church-organ-like resonance – by playing it through a synth module.


Which wouldn’t have stopped me from buying the album, since that sounds super cool. The lesson is that even synth modules can’t save you and make you interesting. That at least explains why I never heard one guitar on the whole album.


Well, I guess you can skip this album. I’d suggest you get a copy from your hipster brother, or steal it off mediafire. The best idea is to download it illegally, and then immediately put it in the recycle bin.


Don’t waste the money on the new Panda Bear. It’s Unbearable.


/giggle


  

Music should still be tangible

Posted on by
Reply


Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its concept is to celebrate the art of music! The day brings together fans, artists, and the over 700 independently owned record stores in the U.S., along with hundreds of independent record stores around the world.


I was horribly hungover this morning after an amazing evening watching Mumford & Sons at the Cosmopolitan Boulevard Pool. I drank two glasses of water and dragged myself to my car and headed out to the ONLY place it makes sense to celebrate Record Store Day.


The only record store I go to in Las Vegas is Zia Records. I could go to a Best Buy or a Target to buy my media, and in a pinch I will, but if I can help it, I always try to make those purchases at Zia.

As soon as I walked into the store, I am greeted with some great deals to celebrate the special day! For $3 I could get a commemorative t-shirt to remember the day (and look uber cool) and a stack of vinyl in a secret grab bag. I couldn’t pass that up so I threw the shirt over my shoulder, stuffed the grab bag under my arm, and walked further in to the store.


I then headed to the new releases wall to grab the new Thursday CD No Devolución. I’d heard that the band has moved away from its Post-Hardcore sound on this album, and I was anxious to hear what they sound like now. Luckily enough, it was on sale for $12.99!

I continued walking around the store, looking for a Record Store Day exclusive I had heard was to be available from the band Manchester Orchestra. I was looking for the “Simple Math” 7″ vinyl, featuring a cover of Built To Spill’s The Plan. None of the Zia employees knew what I was talking about, and it was so slammed that they could only point me in the direction of where all the special RSD releases would be.
Rhymesayers Entertainment picture disc vinyl

I checked all the RSD endcaps, but didn’t find what I was looking for, but I did find something else I wanted!

In honor of Record Store Day, the hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment had released a picture disc vinyl with unreleased tracks from Atmosphere, Blueprint, Grieves, and a few others! It also came with a cool sticker and a digital download card so that I could also get the MP3’s! That’s a win, and you know that went under the arm as well!

I took my merch to the counter, paid, and bounced back to the ride.

Once home, my first goal was to unwrap the grab bag of vinyl and see what gems and/or garbage I had in my package.

I slowly rip open the bag, and…WTF! That’s Lou Rawls!




Very sweet! That’s not all though! Also in the grab bag was Jerry Riopelle’s Saving Grace, David Becker Tribune’s Siberian Express, Ronnie Milsap’s Milsap Magic, Kenny Rogers’ Love Lifted Me, and a still sealed Christmas carol album from 1969 as well as a few other random pieces.

in the “grab bag”

One, which I think is kind of interesting, is John Stewart’s Bombs Away Dream Babies, which features Stevie Nicks on a few songs. One of those songs is “Gold,” which you can listen to below.


Click to play John Stewart – Gold (Featuring Stevie Nicks)


Next I opened my new Thursday CD. Threw it into the Macbook and started the first track, “First To The End” and went searching the interwebs for the skinny on this new album and new sound. 


I found this summation of the album from Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly:

There’s a lot of breakup records out there that only address the end of relationships, and I think the theme of devotion doesn’t get explored that often. If devotion is the theme, the new record is a prism that’s being used to refract all of its different aspects.

It appears to be true, the rumors? Thursday’s sixth studio album, No Devolución, is not a screamo hardcore album. It’s got actual singing. It’s dark and mysterious and filled with reverb and atmospheric swells of sound. Rickly even overdubbed some of the vocals in the middle of a forest near the studio. That’s one way of doing things differently. There is a lingering of that old Thursday on the album. “Past and Future Ruins” might be that perfect song that blends the old  Thursday with the current one. Check it out below.


Click to play Thursday – Past and Future Ruins

The best thing I grabbed today was the 12″ picture disc from Rhymesayers. This record only had a pressing of 1000 copies (mine was numbered 947). The design on the record was created by Ohio artist Chris Gliebe. The highlight of the music on the record comes from rapper Grieves and produced by Budo. Budo, otherwise known as Josh Karp, is the real mastermind of this duo. He’s had a formal study of Trumpet and music theory, but his love for music had Karp branching out to any instruments he could get his hands on. The track “Got’s To Go” features some amazing guitar and synth work that adds some heaviness to the quick flow that Grieves lays down. Peep these lyrics from the start of the track.

Everybody’s got a dark side to the force / Something violent inside em, that makes em wage a war / Picking the pieces up off the floor / the frame fell off our picture perfect amore, damn

Click to play Grieves & Budo – Got’s To Go

All in all, this was a great Record Store Day! I hope you got out to a record store on Saturday, and if you didn’t, please…head down now. They will be happy to see you, and be sure to mark the date of April 21 for RSD 2012!

  












A Fever Dream [3fer edition]

Posted on by
Reply

It’s threefer time y’all!
Your three tracks are all off fantastic albums that have come out over the span of the last 5 months or so.



Tides Of Man

Tides of Man



Tides of Man is a progressive rock band from Tampa, Florida. The band came into existence when the members of the band booked a show for late 2007. Even before the band even had any material to perform. 



If you are into bands like Radiohead, Circa Survive, or Coheed and Cambria; there is no chance that you won’t love the sophomore album Dreamhouse (2010). 


Tilian Pearson, the vocalist, does some great work, but it’s the compliment of guitarists Spencer Gill and Adam Sene that bring the work to such amazing heights.

Click to play Tides Of Man – Sunshine

The band is currently in limbo. It seems that Pearson may be quitting the band to come on as lead singer for the band Saosin. The remaining members of the band hope to continue on, and are currently looking for a new frontman.







The Get Up Kids

The Get Up Kids

Kansas City rockers The Get Up Kids have released a new album! back in the 90’s these guys were a huge deal in the Alt-Rock scene. Some might call them emo, but the band would prefer you didn’t. They broke up in 2005, but after a successful reunion tour in 2009, the band went back into the studio to record new material. This new album, There Are Rules, might be the best album these five guys have done yet. This is of course my opnion, but I am sure that if you are familiar with their previous work, that you would agree. If you don’t agree, feel free to flame me in the comments.


This album seems to be a bit more agressive sonically, although the track I am sharing here is less so. It leans more to the vibe of Vampire Weekend, which you should also be aware of if you aren’t already,


Click to play The Get Up Kids – Shatter Your Lungs


This album was released late January of this year. It’s album number 5. You like it. Go buy it.
Bright Eyes

Conor Oberst, frontman of Bright Eyes



We’ve talked about Bright Eyes before, but this latest album is one I have been playing since it was released on February 1, 2011. It’s album number 7, and I honestly feel lucky when I get to hear such a great piece of work. Conor Oberst really delivers with The People’s Key. It’s more straightforward then previous releases, and yet still retains some of the lo-fi feel of previous work. 


We expect amazing when we stop to consider Conor O’s discography. He has been involved in so many important bands and albums. Monsters of Folk, Norman Bailer, and the Mystic Valley Band have all had Oberst at the helm.


Click to play Bright Eyes – A Machine Spiritual (In the People’s Key)


The song feels like a man’s thoughts about his place in the world. How humanity and nature interact, and the delicate dance we are allowed on this earth in this galaxy. That explination doesn’t make sense, I know, but it’s the kind of cerebral trip Conor Oberst is known for. It’s why we continue to listen. It’s music for the mind and soul.


Your music in the clouds

Posted on by
Reply

Have you heard about the Amazon Cloud Drive?

This is a new service provided by Amazon that they hope will make them some extra income, as well as spur additional sales in their MP3 Download Store.

Why do you want one? The main reason might be that no one buys physical CDs anymore. I mean, do you? Well, if you are anything like me, you have a few devices and computers that you play your digital music on. Maybe you only have one place where your music library is, and it’s probably safe at home. Except it’s not safe. It might even be little anxious thoughts that nag you about the fact that you aren’t backing up all this precious music. All the CDs you ripped to MP3, all the albums you have bought on iTunes; they are all at risk. Not to mention all your photos and documents…did you just have a full on panic attack?

Amazon Cloud Drive starts off as free, but will be limited with only 5GB of space. This might be adequate for some, but if you are even here reading this, it might be likely you are a music fan and probably have a library bigger than 5GB. Plus, you might want to move all those bazillion megapixel images you have taking up space on your drive to the Amazon Cloud, which means you will need more space. The pricing plans go all the way up to a terabyte of space (1TB) and all the many sizes in between, but the price doesn’t go down the bigger you go. It’s a dollar a GB. 1TB is $1000 a year. That’s a hefty price for most of us. I’m a music nerd, and my music library is over 180GB. so I would probably be looking to spend $200 a year to cover my entire library. I’d have to leave any other files types (photos/movies/documents) on my machine, or come up with $500 for the next plan up (500GB).

I am pretty committed to Dropbox. I’ve paid for the 50gig upgrade ($100), and have convinced many friends and peers to at least sign up for a free 2GB account. I suggest you sign up as well. Dropbox is the same idea as this Amazon Cloud Drive, with a few exceptions. Dropbox stores your files on their server, but also has a client that will keep folders on any of your computers in sync. Move a file into your dropbox at home and it will be synced and ready to use when you get to work. You can get to your files with any browser if you find yourself on a machine that isn’t yours. There are also apps for Android and iPhones that will allow you access to your files on the go. But trying to keep an iTunes library synced this way is problematic because of the machine specfic XML files that iTunes uses to read your library contents. What this really means is that you can only have iTunes open on one computer at a time. There are ways around this, but I find it’s not worth the work. I use dropbox to move albums and documents back and forth between computers and to share with friends. Also, it’s important to mention that when you refer your friends to Dropbox, you get an additional 250MB per referral added to your account for free. I’ve earned an extra 5GB this way!

I use Audiogalaxy to have access to my library from anywhere, and that’s free. But unless you have a backup plan on that library, all those files are at risk, since you are never really uploading anything to Audiogalaxy. It’s just allowing you to stream music from your machine at home, for example, to your PC at work or even to your smart phone. It’s a great service, especially for the price, but I’ve been feeling like updates for new features and bug fixes are slow to come.

Should you get an Amazon Cloud Drive? I’d sign up for the free account. 5GB of cloud storage is tough to beat, and I’m sure you will use it. Paying for it will entail checking the size of what you want to securely store in the cloud and then deciding if the price is something that matches your budget and needs.

There are some other perks though that might sway you. For example, if you purchase your digital music from Amazon, you can store those files to your cloud, and it won’t count against your total. That means that you are only paying for the storage of music that you haven’t purchased from Amazon. If you continued buying music from Amazon you could grow your library without having to come out of pocket for more space. They are also running a promo right now that will give you a free upgrade to the 20GB account if you buy one full album from Amazon. This freebie is only good for a year, and is only available to US customers.

There are some risks and downside with Amazon Cloud Drive. For one, it’s still unsure how the music labels will react to this. Amazon doesn’t have agreements with any labels as of now, because it believes there’s no reason to — since the Cloud Drive is just holding onto what’s already yours. The labels might not see it the same way. MP3tunes ran into this problem and is facing a pending lawsuit from from labels and publishers under the umbrella of the major label EMI. Also the Amazon Cloud Drive has an android app, it doesn’t have one for the iPhone. An iPhone may happen, but Apple has many reasons to not allow this into the app store. Plus, it’s very likely that Apple will be releasing a service like this in the near future, and you may not want to upload all your music to Amazon just to have to reupload it to Apple’s service.

If you are still liking Amazon Cloud Drive I suggest you pick up the new Mountain Goats album All Eternals Deck. It’s only $5 and will get you that free 20GB upgrade, which is a killer deal, all things considered.

Click to play The Mountain Goats – Beautiful Gas Mask

Who’s the fool?

Posted on by
Reply

My two loves are music and technology. In my day job, I write software. I’ve been writing code for over 13 years professionally. Before that, I would write little scripts on a TI-99/4A for fun. My first application was a program that would take your questions and answer you with a yes/no/maybe answer. Like a virtual Magic 8-Ball. This was needed because I didn’t have many friends, and talking to my computer allowed me some basic interaction skills. Honestly, I think even now I’d prefer my social interactions to be behind a computer keyboard!

I’ve often thought of starting a tech blog. Something along the lines of a Mashable or a Mental Compost perhaps. I may, one day, expand our inALLcaps brand to review books, movies, and gadgets. Until then, it’s exclusively music.

I am going to blend the lines a bit today and mention two cool technologies that tie into music. Well, it ties in once you understand the context.

A friend of ours came into town from Seattle (or just outside Seattle… /wink) for a bit of vacation time. They ended up staying at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The story goes that in their room were two large framed photos on the wall. One was a montage of photos of the band Fall Out Boy. The highlight was a picture of Pete Wentz peeing.

The other picture was of a beautiful blond frontwoman, in a tight red dress. Here is the picture he took with his phone.

He showed me this picture while we were drinking at the Griffin downtown. I really wanted to know who this blonde bombshell was, as did he, but I had no clue.

The next day he posted the same picture up on his facebook wall. I was again intrigued, and thought about how I could figure out who this hottie was. I remembered an article I read somewhere about reverse image searching. It’s popular in the retail sector. Someone with an app like Amazon Pricecheck could snap a photo of a product for example, and the app would try to determine what product in Amazon’s inventory matched your photo. I’ve used the app and found it to be very hit-and-miss. This proves that the technology is out there, so I jumped on google and stumbled on to TinEye.

TinEye is essentially a reverse image search engine. You can submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions.

I found this bit of marketing from their website:

TinEye is the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks. It is free to use for non-commercial searching.

TinEye regularly crawls the web for new images, and we also accept contributions of complete online image collections. To date, TinEye has indexed 1,953,157,319 images from the web to help you find what you’re looking for.

This looks EXACTLY like what I need to ID this image. I upload my friend’s photo, and within a second get returned some results. With another click I verify that this is Vinila Von Bismark from the rockabilly band Vinila Von Bismark & ​​The Lucky Dice.  I’m also able to get access to a higher resolution image of the singer.

Vinila Von Bismark performing at the Hard Rock

Vinila Von Bismark appears to be from Madrid and also seems to be a popular DJ. I don’t sound confident because I could find barely anything on google about Vinila that wasn’t in Spanish. If I trust Google Translate, another great technology, then it appears that she is actually a he! The more google results I found and translated, the more I think it is not a language translation error.

Awkwaaaaaard!

Click to play Vinila Von Bismark & The Lucky Dados – Bad Boys


I’M A MAN from Gustavo Lopez Mañas on Vimeo.

I need a devil to warm up my heart

Posted on by
Reply

It sounded familiar to me, but I just couldn’t place it. The Little One and I had been watching a little TV, when the trailer came on during a commercial break. Right before the two minute mark is what I’m talking about.

I knew that song. Couldn’t place the artist. I put T.L.O. on the case. She can get the answer to any question. She’s my own private Google, that girl. Except way hotter than Google. She puts the boobs in G(*)(*)gle. Um… What was my point again?

Ah yes!

She says, barely perceptible, “I don’t agree.”

“Who are you disagreeing with?” I respond.

“I-Duh Ma-reeee-ah” she says loudly, enunciating every syllable.

I know it’s a mistake, but the word spills past my lips. “What?”

She lets out a sad sigh and looks me in the eye. “That’s who sings that song. Ida Maria.”

“Oh!” I respond excitedly, “I wonder if I have that album already.”

I grab my iPhone and open the Remote app to scan the artists in my music library. I come up with no hits in my library. I quickly switch to Evernote to add an entry to my shopping list of CDs.

Ida Maria

The next morning, after previewing two albums from the band, I buy Ida Maria’s (actually pronounced E-dah) entire discography. Don’t worry… it was only two albums! The first album, Fortress ‘Round My Heart was released in 2008. The second album, Katla, was released early November, 2010.

Below is the full track used in the trailer. It’s called “Oh My God” and is from Ida Maria’s first album Fortress.

Click to play Ida Maria – Oh My God

I’m sure I first heard this song on Hypem.com’s Popular list years ago around the time it came out. Not sure why I didn’t pull the trigger on this album then, but I’m glad it’s in my collection now.

Fortress ‘Round My Heart is a bluesy pop/rock album that has some moments of fun friskiness. Songs like “Louie” and “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” are as fun and filling as a grape pixie stix. Mostly though, this album has a very somber message. Imagine a heart symbolized as a piece of paper. Imagine that piece of paper being ripped in two. Then take these torn pages of love, and add Whiskey and Rock N’ Roll. That’s what you get for the remainder of the album in songs like “Forgive Me” and “Drive Away My Heart”.

With the latest album, Katla, it’s more of the same. Just much more aggressive in its focus. It’s Fortress with a sniper scope. Katla is a massive volcano in Iceland near the infamous Eyjafjallajokull volcano that clogged Europe airspace with ash for 5 full days. If Katla were to fully unleash its fury, it’s estimated to be 10 times bigger and stronger than Eyjafjallajokull. Just as Katla is 10 times bigger and badder than Fortress.

The track “Devil” blew my mind like a volcano. It’s dark and thick, and might actually allow demons entry into your home. My the end of the track I was in a trance, snapping out of it long enough to hit the repeat button.

Click to play Ida Maria – Devil

Yup. That’s the sonic equivalent of opening a Pandora’s Box contained in a 9:47 song.

I haven’t seen the Galifinakis flick by the way. I really might see it just for the Indie-leaning feel the soundtrack seems to have. Seems like there are a slew of movies that are using Indie-ish artists in their soundtrack. A practice that probably traces back to the movie Little Miss Sunshine and the soundtrack that heavily featured indie folk punk artists DeVotchKa.

Stand the test of time… [3fer edition]

Posted on by
Reply

The amount of music I want to tell you about far exceeds my post allocation for the blog. I’m going to try to post a “three-fer” once a month. Just a quick three bands you should hear and be aware of. Thinking the second Monday of the month works for me. Work for you?

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Everybody thinks the name is some kind of statement but it’s a quote from David Brent in an episode of The Office. “When me and James Rushent first started writing music together we decided to put it up on MySpace. We needed a name to put as our profile name so just put what was the first thing that was said on TV, we switched it on and Ricky Gervais said “My Drinking – Does it offend you, yeah?” so we just went with that. No thought went into it whatsoever.

—synth player Dan Coop, NME.com interview

Dance-Punk has been around since the 1970’s. Isn’t that a trip? It stems from bands being influenced by dance music. Does It Offend You, Yeah? formed in Reading, England in 2006 and  sound like they have been influenced by Haitras and Daft Punk.

Click to play Does It Offend you, Yeah? – The Monkeys Are Coming

Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You is the upcoming album from the band due out on March 14 in the UK and March 15 in the United States. I’ve listened to it extensively, and it’s something you must pick up.

Beady Eye

Beady Eye

With that new band name, the former Oasis members Liam Gallagher, Andy Bell, Gem Archer, and Chris Sharrock get a spot on the shelf of the record store right next to the Beatles. That’s very crafty no? Would be brilliant if people actually purchased music in a STORE! Noel and Liam still haven’t spoken since the band broke up after a tiff backstage in Paris. The brothers always wanted to best The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Wouldn’t it be something if Liam could finally do it after shedding the dead weight?

Click to play Beady Eye – Beatles And Stones

Liam and the boys released the album Different Gear, Still Speeding on March 1st. If you are a fan of that Britpop/Rock of Oasis, you might think about picking up this slightly Bluesier album ASAP.

Saigon

Man this cat has flow. I suppose you know you have to bring it on an album you title The Greatest Story Never Told. Brooklyn’s Brian Daniel Carenard, otherwise known as Saigon, definitely brings it. If you are already familiar with Saigon’s work, you will find this album to be more mature. Less glitz and glamour, and more focus on surviving on the neighborhood streets.

This album came out on Just Blaze’s Fort Knox Entertainment label, and the track below is produced by Blaze himself.

Click to play Saigon – Clap featuring Faith Evans (Produced By Just Blaze)

The fact that this album does not have any major label support is really a testament to just how fucked the music industry is right now. It’s a great rap album, and if you like Jay-Z you might find Saigon a nice addition to your collection.

Is it me you’re looking for?

Posted on by
Reply

Perhaps the really provocative area for future development lies… in cyborg rock; not the wholehearted embrace of Techno’s methodology, but some kind of interface between real time, hands-on playing and the use of digital effects and enhancement.

–Simon Reynolds

Mogwai

Post-rock is made up of guitars like a regular rock band, but processed through so many filters and effect pedals that it barely sounds like a guitar on the other side of the speaker. Bands of this genre also tend to rebel against the norms of rock bands. Macho posturing and power chords are replaced by lengthy, textural instrumentals and often computers playing a part in the sound of the music.

Todays post is about my favorite Post-Rock band Mogwai from Scotland. They formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (electric guitar, vocals), John Cummings (electric guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (electric guitar, piano, synthesiser, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drum kit). The band is named after the creatures from the film Gremlins, although guitarist Braithwaite comments that “it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got round to it.“

Mogwai’s style could easily be called shoegazing or Math Rock and occasionally instrumental metal. These are all genres that can fall under the heading Post-Rock. Mogwai is at the forefront of the genre and moving it forward with confidence and purpose.

Let’s listen to some Post-Rock shall we? …and before the title of the track throws you completely for a loop, I’ll mention that the band often has a hard time with titles since most of the songs are just instrumentals. The band has said in the FAQ off their website that they sometimes just use strings of words they have “said or seen that sounds good or makes us laugh“.

Here is the closing track from Mogwai’s seventh album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (released 2/14/2011).

Click to listen to Mogwai – You’re Lionel Ritchie

The song starts off almost as something from the score of a movie. Cinematic and shimmering we hear some vocal samples (I’m assuming they are Scottish) that really frame a picture in your head. The song simmers for 4 minutes until the heaviness sets in. The bass comes in like an oppressive force of nature. All the members of the band painting pictures in your ear.

Barry Burns once stated in an interview with Chillville that he and the rest of the band do not like the categorization of Post-Rock because he believes “it overanalyses everything.” I get it. No one wants to be so easily put into a box, forever feeling limited by the parameters of said box. But the thing is… To explain music to others, we sometimes have to put boxes around it, even if they’re just made with pencil.

I Will Meet You In Your Heart

Posted on by
Reply

I am currently smitten  with Minneapolis band Tapes N’ Tapes. The group is named after the boxes of tapes the band had recorded demos on.
Their first full-length album, The Loon, was released in 2005 and was recorded by the band… Indie DIY style. The recording took place in a Wisconsin cabin with no running water.
Tapes N’ Tapes had some great timing with the release of this record. The hype of music blogs had really begun to achieve new heights and prominence. Many up and coming blogs back then wrote up The Loon favorably. They compared them to The Pixies and Pavement. They were hailed as one of the first “Blog Bands”. Then Pitchfork Media gave them a “Best New Music” commendation.
The sophomore effort Walk It Off, released in 2008, was not reviewed so favorably. I think it’s a great piece of work. It’s just a different direction that many people felt had more to do with producer David Fridmann (many consider Fridmann the 5th Flaming Lip for his influence and production on that band).
After a small hiatus, the band is back…and when I mean back, I mean back to basics. Their 2011 release, Outside, was again produced by the band. It is a return to the sound of The Loon. They have regained their status with the bloggers and the fans alike.
I for one can’t stop playing this new album. It seems the band continues to be influenced by The Pixies and Pavement, as well as by Modest Mouse and maybe even The Strokes.
The album got me searching for possible hidden meanings of a track titled Outro placed on the middle of the album. I had, at first, thought that maybe they were making a play on the fact that track 6 might have fallen at the end of side 1 of a cassette tape. I did some math…and the end of track 6 comes in at 19 minutes, 52 seconds.  I was right.  Outro finishes “side 1” with a raucous exit. 
Click to listen to Tapes N’ Tapes – Outro


Short but fucking sweet. There are some great tracks on this album. Buy the album and be sure to check out “Freak Out”, which is the band’s first single, as well as “The Saddest Of All Keys” which I have set to repeat in my car:


Click to listen to Tapes N’ Tapes – Saddest of All Keys

  

Not a single one of us has the guts to bear a cross

Posted on by
Reply

The Dears

I had never heard of Montreal based band The Dears before seeing that video. Needless to say, but for the sake of word count, I’m a fan now. You might hear Morrissey in Murray Lightburn’s voice and lyrics. Lightburn has been quoted saying he is “absolutely fucking bored to death” with the comparison. He does sound a little like Morrissey, but can also sound a lot like Marvin Gaye at times.

I am mostly enamoured with the sound and songwriting of the band. It’s reminiscent of everything I love about Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, and TV on the Radio*. Adjectives that apply? Heroic, epic, expansive, dynamic.

The band had broken up after its 2008 release Missles. It regrouped, shed all members keeping only Lightburn’s wife, singer and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak. They brought back previous guitarists Patrick Krief and Rob Benvie and bassist Roberto Arquilla while adding a completely new member in Jeff Luciani on drums. With the reformation compelte they set off to record their latest album Degeneration Street. The new album is by far the best album in the discography, but I woudn’t sleep on their previous efforts. Check out a track from the Degeneration Street:

Click here to play The Dears – Thrones

I felt like the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences really wanted to bless an indie band for the 53rd Grammy Awards that took place this year. That nod went to the mostly undeserving band, Arcade Fire, who happen to also be from Montreal. I believe that The Dears might have been a more deserving nominee. Not that it was nominated. It’s just my opinion. I can also say with 100% certainty that The Dears would have put on a much better performance on Grammy Night.

There IS a reason why our post titled “Arcade Fire Sucks,” written June 2010, has suddenly shot up to the most vistied post on our site since the night of the Grammys. They just kinda suck…

Watch the video below for a glimpse of what MIGHT have been.