The Veils @ Union Hall, 6.8.07

Yeah this show was like 6 weeks ago but it was so good I had to post it for future reference. The Veils are fronted by Finn Andrews, and his troupe has changed from the 1st to 2nd record, as you may have read before on my quasi-review on The Veils excellent, recently dropped Nux Vomica. Union Hall is tiny...probably ties Club Delancey for smallest venue I've been to. But the acoustics are excellent and unless your stuck in the back, you're pretty much forced to share the performance intimately, which can be a good or bad thing. On this night, it was a great thing. Finn Andrews has pipes that are well suited for a grander stage -so doing Union Hall was a cinch. The Veils, in their entirety, sounded fantastic -almost as if they were actually playing their album in the back. Wait, maybe they were....?!




www.theveils.com

Album of the week

Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)









There's been a lot of talk of Spoon now being a full-fledged "Rock" band. Just because their album cover and art and their press photos look more "rock" trendy doesn't make them so. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga doesn't sound too different from the excellent Gimme Fiction and in fact, Ga is probably a bit more experimental and eclectic, albeit very minimlal than Gimme. Many of the songs, including the solid "Rhthm and Soul" and standout "You got Yr. Cherry Bomb" could have easily fit on their last album. However, debut single from Ga, "The Underdog," covers new ground that doesn't sound like any Spoon song I can remember -with it's instumental and melodic experimental traits. It still has the Spoon signature on it though and it makes for an excellent single. "The Ghost of You Lingers" is the most experimental track on the album, with less discernable vocals and more attention to the style and structure as it relates to it's title of the song and less attention to an accessible sound. The style works nicely, as there is an owl-like sound repeatedly in the back ground and a constant pounding of a short range of piano notes, making the song more mysterious and urgent, which is cohesive with its title. However, the song suffers from no real transition...it basically goes nowhere in the end.

What makes Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga stand out from its predcessors is the attention to detail in each of the songs. It definitely has a wider range in sound -as you can hear with the solid standard Spoonish opener, "Don't Make me a Target" ...which then moves to the echoey, haunting "The Ghost of You Lingers" and then to the highlight of the album, "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb." The next track, "Don't You Evah" is a mediocre ode to past Spoon records -still, it standouts in it's timelessness. Then you have "The Underdog" later in the album, which is followed by the worthy, minimalish sound of "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case." Then they have the great "Finer Feelings" which probably should have been placed as the last track. The finale, "Black Like Me" is decent enough but it has a quasi-emoish adolescent indulgent sound and mood to it. While song for song, Ga may not stand up to Fiction, it manages to make the case for being Spoon's fullest realized effort.

hear: Don't Make Me a Target, You got Yr. Cherry Bomb, Rhthm and Soul, The Underdog, Finer Feelings

www.spoontheband.com
www.mergerecords.com

Battles @ Studio B, 7.20.07

Battles have released arguably the best album of the year, and now they have given the best concert I've seen this year -along with Mew. Musical craftsmanship at it's finest. Every member of Battles has already achieved success under another moniker, most notably the brilliant drummer, ex-Helmet's John Stanier. Watching Stanier perform with unparalleled intensity and focus is akin to watching any of the masters of instruments we worship today. It's beautiful stuff. He provided the base for the other 3 to show their unbelievable talent as well. Don Caballero's Ian Williams seamlessly switched between guitar and keyboards, providing such overwhelming content to the songs you wonder how he had time to get it all in there.


Tyondai Braxton (yes, the son of Toni) masters a second keyboard and provides the otherwise placable vocals behind the few tracks that contain indistinguishable words -or a voice. His tone and range synchronize perfectly with the mathematical structure of the music which is highlighted by stimulating, addictive melodies. Then there's the rad bassist, david Konpaka, who could have been president of his fraternity or perhaps an investment banker...just doing his thing, performing some intoxicating solos in the back. Battles also performed probably the single impressive live song I've heard this year, "TIJ," which along with "Atlas" sounded like the biggest crowd-pleasers of the night. Yeah I may have used a few hyperboles- but Battles made me do it.



www.bttls.com

Erlend Øye plays In-N-Out Burger

From the (other) horse's mouth:

"My friends and I were hanging out at In N Out in Atascadero and they challenged Erlend Oye to a freestyle rap battle. He declined, but he did play us a song! I didn't realize he was the guy in the Kings of Convenience but now I realize how cool this was!" -tabbytabby on Youtube

Album of the week

Interpol
Our Love to Admire (Capitol)










Our Love to Admire is a decent album that sounds crisper, uses more electronic tidbits here and there courtesy mostly of the keyboard, and highlights Paul Banks vocal capabilities. He has never sounded better. However, the actual music has. And after 3 years, I can't help but be a little disappointed by the final product. The catchy first single, "Heinrich Maneuver" didn't encourage our hopes that Interpol had added more to their palette, albeit still a solid track. However, the excellent "Pioneer to the Falls" and "Mammoth" do show Interpol expanding their sonic ambitions. This is probably the most anticipated album of the year -definitely for me. Our Love to Admire has received the most intense mixed reviews of any recent record...the British absolutely love it. Sadly, I'm not quite there. But overall there are enough solid moments to make it a pretty dang good album, even if it's not up to the caliber of their past albums.

What puts Interpol in such a tight position is that they already released -what is in my opinion- the best album of the millennium with Turn Out the Bright Lights. Living up to that album is no simple feat so to release a merely good album is to pretty much automatically produce criticism...especially with everyone's high hopes. But as I said, there are positive and encouraging moments on Admire, most important of which is Paul banks vocals. His lyrics are as clever and obtuse as ever: "There are seven ancient pawn shops along the road, and the seven aching daddies you may want to know"("Mammoth"), albeit at times juvenile("No I in Threesome"). The lyrical matter of many of the songs reflect Banks' personal struggles with relationships -and at times, drugs: "I live my life in cocaine, Just a rage and three kinds of yes...You look so young, like a daisy in my lazy eyes" he somewhat laments on one of the standout tracks, "Rest My Chemistry". You don't have to put in too much research to get the idea of "Heinrich Maneuver" -the lyrics centered around a former love who moved west with high aspirations. The lyrics remain somber for most of the album -on the 2ND-to-last track, "Wrecking Ball", he sings "I'm inside like the wrecking ball through your eye...no one's for me. "Who do you think?", one of the better tracks, and "Wrecking Ball" both reflect the U2 influence that has always been there. Sometimes it seems Turn Out the Bright Lights is what The Unforgettable Fire would have sounded like if Robert Smith had been the producer and Ian Curtis the singer. Our Love to Admire will grow on you, and at the end of the year I suspect it will be one of my favorites of 2007.

hear: Pioneer to the Falls, There's no I in Threesome, Heinrich Maneuver, Mammoth, Rest My Chemistry, Who do You Think?



www.Interpolnyc.com
www.Capitolrecords.com

The National cover "Pretty in Pink"

Rarely do bands give-in to fan petitions. So when The National showed up at the Daytrotter sessions, they declared that the songs they would play would be those they regularly do not play live. See, The National faithful took matters into their own hands and made a petition, asking for the boys - who are originally from Ohio but now reside, obviously, in Brooklyn - to add certain songs to the set list. The National, being upstanding fellas, played some of those songs live at Daytrotter to appease their minions. And while at it, they covered The Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink"! The version is stripped down and doesn't reveal any additional sonic revelations from The National, but it's just nice to hear Matt sing it know that Molly Ringwald hasn't been forgotten. "Lucky You," from Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers is probably the most petitioned song -as it is amazing and I've never heard them play it live during the many times I've seen them. "Gospel" must be another. However, I'm not sure about "Slow Show" which they also play -they played it at their recent Bowery shows and it's one of the highlights from their recently dropped Boxer.

www.americanmary.com
www.daytrotter.com

Secret Stars reunion, Ida play for Callum Robbins benefit

Callum Robbins, the son of J. Robbins and Janet Morgan, who are involved in the bands: Channels, Jawbox, and Burning Airlines, suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. So friends and family are coming together for the little tot to raise some much needed $( I mean, have u seen "Sicko"? I haven't but I've heard -oh I've heard). Anyway such an event is already starting off positive with the members of Secret Stars reuniting for one night only. Slowcore lovelies, Ida will be performing as well. Both bands were pioneers to the current inide craze back in the late 90's, early 00's. Of course, Ida is still going strong. Well, maybe not strong ..but they're going.

Band of Horses @ Hiro Ballroom 7.10.07

The South Carolina transplants brought their amazing brand of western-ghost town indie rock to the delight of music and bad art fans alike at Hiro Ballroom Tuesday night. After a hilarious, raucous comedic performance -which was pretty much selling bad art - by fellow Carolinian Zach Galifianakis, Ben Bridwell and co. took to the stage to deliver a full set, including teasers from their presently untitled upcoming Fall release. And now that BOH have more than 1 album, they were able to go outside their standard '8-songs from EATT and 2 covers' formula. They actually threw down 14 heart-felt tunes this time around.
They weren't lying about the southeastern tag that's been applied to their new songs, as many tunes reminded of Willie Nelson meets My Morning Jacket meets Midlake. Here's hoping the polished album tracks have a little more of that Northwestern flavor that made their debut so incredible. Having said this, the opener was a newbie and sounded great -and another had a range of Def Leopard like proportions in part of it's chorus and proved to be one of the more enjoyable moments of the show. They seamlessly shifted into "The Great Salt Lake" for their second song. Always a great one live. "Funeral" seemed to be more fluid and clean live than in times past and ended being one of my favorites of the night, along with "Weed Party" and "Our Swords", the latter being the first song of their encore -the finale being a stirring cover of Midlake's "Bandits." The BOH cast has been a revolving door for the past year, but it seems as if they have found the right chemistry. Though not as memorable as the first time I saw them at Bowery, this was a more professional and polished performance than past shows. Now, if they can just get Mat Brooke back....we'd have half of a Carrisa's Wierd reunion again!

Album of the week

The Six Parts Seven
Casually Smashed to Pieces (Suicide Squeeze)









There's something to be said for dependability. Many bands will drop one or two good records and then fade out. Then there are groups like The Six Parts Seven. Granted, their music has a more timeless, versatile quality that makes it easy to enjoy. At the same time, it's not the brand of sound that is going to overly attract the masses -far from it actually as it's the pure indie variety and not what you're hearing over the airwaves or reading in Spin. The Six Parts Seven have never made a significant push with any of their records to grab the limelight, yet listening to their music you can hear the overwhelming talent that exudes subtlety from their songs. They are only in it for the music. The boys don't even have a website -and they've been around for more than 10 years. Even their myspace page isn't run by anyone affiliated with the band, but by fans.

I remember when I first heard Six Parts Seven. It was at a remote joint that few knew about. They were opening for Carrisa's Wierd -or maybe it was Pedro the Lion -can't really remember. I only caught the tail-end of the show but that was enough for me to go outside and buy their excellent Things Shaped in Passing vinyl. Casually Smashed to Pieces immediately identifies itself with the past records, especially with probably their finest work, Everywhere and Right Here. Still not a peep of a voice...just instrumental beauty, highlighted repeatedly by the trumpet. The glory days of ambient, instrumental indie rock and its cousin, slowcore, have ended. But bands such as The Six Parts Seven are still very much relevant and highly respected, mostly because of their influence on the present state of indie music and because they continue to produce quality records that are easy to return to.

hear: Stolen Moments, Falling Over Enening, Confusing Possibilities, Everything Wrong is Right Again
www.myspace.com/sixpartsseven
www.suicidesqueeze.net

The National @ Bowery 5.30.07

So yeah..I'm a little late on this...but it was such a good show!

It's almost impossible to go to a bad National show. Made up of classicaly trained musicians and seasoned veterans, The National have the live equation solved, bringing their raw emotion and vulnerable passion to the stage. Vocalist Matt Berninger has been known to garner a bit of stage fright and his anxious, aggresive reaction always brings an added excitement to the show -whether he has his head snapped back, drinking the microphone as he yelps "squalor Victoria, squalor Victoria!" or when he pulls an impromtu jump to the balcony of Bowery, hanging by his arm and keeping his vocal composure, as he did tonight. Biggest crowd-pleasers of the night were "Abel", "Secret Meeting" and the fresh "Fake Empire." "Mr. November" proved to be the most entertaining number, raising the nervous energery an extra notch and consequantly, getting the crowd all riled up....which led to Matt's stage diving. There was a 6th member to the team tonight -a violinist who stroked his strings with a Jimi Hendrix type ferocity. He was fun to watch -he must be at least 40 yrs. old but you wouldn't have known it. But in the end it's not the showmanship that assures a great National show but the fact that each member is a master of his instrument(s).Go out and buy these albums!!! :
www.americanmary.com

Album of the week

Junior Boys
Dead Horse EP (Domino)









There have been a pluthera of remix albums released lately -My Brightest Diamond, Stars, and fortunately, Junior Boys. Most of these albums didn't need to be made. While there were a couple entertaining or impressive tracks on each, most of it wreaked of experimentation constucted by laziness -or boredom. Then there is Dead Horse. Only 5 tracks on the album, including 2 remixes of the underrated track, "FM." They did it right. Not every song on So This is Goodbye needed an overhaul. What makes the songs on this album so good is that the artists were able to maintain the original charm of the originals while adding excellent variations that allowed each track to still stand independent from the original, most notably the opening track, "In the Morning" remixed by Hot Chip. This is a great album for anyone but it's a must have for those who dig Junior Boys.www.juniorboys.net
www.dominorecordco.com/site

New Interpol video - "Heinrich Maneuver"

The first video off Interpol's much anticpated release, Our Love to Admire, which drops in T minus 7 days. "Heinrich Maneuver" is said to be Paul Bank's ode to California.

www.Interpolnyc.com

Albums of the week - hype train edition

Battles
Mirrored (Warp)









Mirrored isn't Battles' 1st release but it definitely has garnered a lot more attention than anything from their brief resume. The album itself is deeply impressive. They have paved new ground and done it with exceptional talent as the record proves song after song, each convincing of master musicianship. However, one complaint Mirrored has encountered is it's likability. Similar to TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain, there is plenty to ooh and ahh over, but the question is whether it is an easy record to return to again and again. For me, it is. It gets better with every listen. But I don't think Mirrored is for the masses, and given the amount of hype around this album, I wonder if some of it isn't a bit pretentious. Even so, this is one of the best albums so far this year and I give it my full endorsement. Oh snap!

www.bttls.com

Dan Deacon
Spiderman of the Rings (Carpark)









Do you hear that?! That's the hype train, loud and clear. Originality alone isn't an excuse for any grand prize. But Dan Deacon combines his singular sounds with catchy hooks and moments of electo-pop ecstasy to give us one of the best electronic albums so far this year. Having said that, we've had little in that department to celebrate. Deacon adds to the palette a sense of humor, which is sure to catalyze the hype train even more. Spiderman of the Rings flirts with greatness but never grasps enough overwhelming consistency to justify all the hype. Even so, there are a few real good tunes on here and it proves to be a rather fun record.

www.dandeacon.com

The Twilight Sad
Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat)









That reoccurring sound you kept hearing a couple months back was all your friends click, click, clicking to tell everyone about this great new Scottish band. The Twilight Sad don't shade their nationality, but embrace it, as you hear probably the thickest Scottish vocals on indie radio and share sonic similarities to fellow countrymen, Mogwai and The Arab Strap. But these comparisons don't exhaust these lads whatsoever. The overall, heavy indie, quasi-emoish rock sound resembles The Appleseed Cast or Sunny Day Real Estate. The additional orchestration, along with that thick Scottish accent sometimes reminds of their neighbors, The Pogues. Maybe everyone overshot it a little with all the hype as Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters reflects their potential more than anything. But these guys do provide some sonic gems, awashed in heavy emotion.

myspace.com/thetwilightsad

LCD Soundsystem @ Webster Hall 5.15.07

So I'm a little late on blogging this...but for posterity purposes, I must get this down.

James Murphy presents....James Murphy. The ingenious, quasi-vain, mastermind behind LCD Soundsystem would have to try really hard to NOT put on a good show. Granted, it was the last show on the leg of the tour so some signs of exhaustion would seep in here and there. Everything still sounded solid at Webster, which has decent acoustics and is ideal for emcopassing the sounds of dance-beat-indie-rock of LCD. It was also the guitarist's last show so that added some treasure, if you will. There were a bunch of bobble-heads around me -frats boys behind and yuppie record label lads in front. None of whom probably knew LCD S. back when he was releasing his tracks soley via Vinyl...ah, those were the days -especially at Insound when he would release one and we'd get a butt-load of orders, drowning in an office of label-less vinyl. But James has stayed true to himself through all this Capitol Records and commercial stuff so his succes is just by fine with me. As he said in DIW, if you think he's made you look stupid for likeing him, well...he's not here to make you look smart.


The opener, Yacht, bless his heart, was horrible.

www.lcdsoundsystem.com

The lost funeral

Once my brother had skipped off to college, I had some music suddenly at my disposal. I still don't know why my brother left some of his music -as much of it was quite good stuff. One album in particular affected me: London 0 Hull 4. When I think about this album my mind immediately flashes a picture of the casette case. I thought it was so cool. I then always recall mowing the lawn while listening to The Housemartins. Yes, the Housemartins were a regular in my lawn-mowing rotation, and since have been one of the most influential bands in my ever-growing love for music. How this band went away, why weren't they bigger, and where are they now are questions that have lingered. Following their demise, lead singer Paul Heaton sarted the acclaimed UK band, The Beautiful South. Drummer, Hugh Whitaker, went on to play with The Gargoyles. And the bassist, Norman Cook, we all know as Fatboy Slim. Their lyrics, combining themes of Marxism and Christianity, were original for the time. They used claymation -a style that was in vogue during this period. They also heaped up some controversy with the title of their 2nd and only other album, "The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death", apparently a disaproving nod in the direction of the royal family. Did the royal family kill The Housemartins? Or was it Andy Rourke?? I'd love to see an 'E' True Hollywood Story take. Alas, the Housemartins vanished without a sound. But if I ever have mow a lawn again, you best be knowing I'll be breaking out my Walkman and blasting "Happy Hour" once again.

As you may have guessed, the lads were from Hull, England. They often reffered to themselves as The "4th Best band in Hull."







The album title, London 0 Hull 4, is a reference to a football (soccer) game.

Album of the week

The Veils
Nux Vomica (Rough Trade)










Finn Andrews is a puppet master of the heart -his heart. He has total control over what kind of emotion he wants to put into each song, resulting in a wide variety of songs that don't ever stray too far from his signature musical craft. Nux Vomica seems to have something for the whole family: the rockabilly of "Advice For Young Mothers to Be"; the classic rock, zeppelin-ish "Jesus for the Jugular"; the heart-wrenching ballad , "Under the Folding Branches", and the modern, new wavy, catchy sounds of "Night Thoughts of a Tired Surgeon" -a bonus track on U.S. editions.

Whatever the influences, Andrews has his feet firmly planted on his own ground. And this time around -as opposed to The Runaway Found- his jangled rock has turned more independent and slightly darker(see "Pan", "Jesus for the Jugular", the title track). Everybody now: "ma-tur-i-ty" ...except for the fact that the lad is still quite young -23. He's still a prodigy. To blame it solely on maturity would be to diminish his talents. I'll settle with deliberation- along with a wider lens of life . An artist as brilliant as Andrews isn't going to make the same record twice.

Nux Vomica continues to show off his knack for producing rustic, catchy melodies(i.e. "Not Yet", "Calliope!", "Advice...", "Under...") as well as his ability to offer lyrics seemimgly from one well past his age. When it comes together, he becomes that puppet master, pulling the strings tight from his heart into his lungs, resulting in a croon: "You're nothing but a child!"("Pan"). Or on "Under the Folding Branches" when he withdraws and wraps the strings firmly around his heart: "I loved you once, didn't I?"

hear: Calliope!, Advice for Young Mothers to Be, Jesus for the Jugular, Under the Folding Branches, Night Thoughts of a Tired Surgeon








www.theveils.com
www.roughtraderecords.com

QUICK LICKS:
Dntel, Dumb Luck (Sub Pop)








Jimmy Tamborello has many projects, but in a sense Dntel is the home base for the "electronic half" of The Postal Service. After all, we wouldn't have "We Will Become Silhouettes" without Dntel and it's collaboration on it's first record. Thinking of perhaps spawning 5 new side projects, Jimmy taps a host of extras, including Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, Mia Doi Todd, and Jenny Lewis to bend the 'angular' electronic stereotype and create soft, comforting electronic music that is Dumb Luck.

hear: I'd like to Know, The Distance, Rock my Boat, Breakfast in Bed
www.dntelmusic.com/index

Blonde Redhead, 23 (4AD)








What it lacks in experimentation and progressiveness, they make up in clever melodies and a stripped-down, arcane sincerity. The vocals, perfect for a lucid dream, are as luscious as ever. You can't miss with almost any track.

hear: pick one. My favorites are SW and Spring and by Summer Fall
www.blonde-redhead.com

Top 5 movies of 2007...so far

Well it is the half-way point of 2007 and I'm sure you are wondering what movies you need to see. I'll tell you the best 5 -this isn't a subjective list -these really are the best 5. I know.

1. Zodiac

Someone, somewhere said this is the 1st movie about serial killers that seems like it was directed by a serial killer. It's not that the direction is random...it's more that it's spot-on. It feels like a documentary and given it's a true story, that's a testament to its reality. Little is embellished. It's entirely engrossing and loaded with great acting, most notably Robert Downing. And although it's about a serial killer, there's something about this movie that appeals to a wide audience. Maybe it's the lack of blood and guts shots -or the fact that it's true- or that because it's still somewhat a mystery- that the appeal is greater. See the trailer here





2. Once

See the trailer here

3. Blades of Glory

Trailer

4. Breach


Trailer

5. Hot Fuzz

Trailer

Honorable mentions: Surf's Up, Disturbia, Ratatouille, Fracture