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Rock Over Boston: Megafaun, Future Of The Left

2009-07-16T06:59:00.000-04:00

[PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Piantigini, used with permission] The lead track from Gather, Form and Fly (Hometapes), the sophomore album to be released next Tuesday by former Bon Iver partners Megafaun (Bon Iver + Megafaun = DeYarmond Edison) is "The Fade," a perfect three-part harmony summer pop song in the CSN tradition, but a closer reading of the lyric, and of Megafaun, reveals so much more.

The North Carolina-based trio's starting point is indeed a very traditional one: Southern roots and Appalachia –- banjos, acoustic guitars, fiddles, and gorgeous three-part harmonies (did I mention the harmonies?), but they sometimes have a tendency to take all that and run it through beat-up tape machines or samplers, or put a layer of noise over it, or let a song disintegrate entirely into a five-minute drone. Just to warp it a bit and make it all entirely modern. Megafaun's last couple of trips through town found them sharing a bill at the Middle East with the minimalist Arnold Dreyblatt and before that at the the Lily Pad with electronic musician Greg Davis, so that should give you an idea of the breadth of their influences.

So, yeah, they do sometimes have a tendency to set up jaunty sing-along melodies like the one in the new album’s "Darkest Hour," only to annihilate it utterly not only with its dark lyric, but with buzzing loops of rain, chimes, noise, crude electronic samples of the melody. But gentle meditations like "Worried Mind," demonstrate that Megafaun doesn’t overdo it.

The threesome's first album, Bury the Square, had all of these elements, too (and is recommended also), but Gather, Form and Fly is an ambitious expansion and advancement. There are a couple of moments that don’t entirely work for me, like the Caribbean drums on "Columns," but with Megafaun, it feels like it's all part of the process.

Explaining their sound, though, almost seems to undermine a description of their spirit. Their live shows, including this past Sunday's stop on their tour with Bowerbirds, feel like a celebration or an affirmation of music at its best: the live music show as congregation. They can work a crowd -– getting us involved in singing along, or handing out percussion, or just so genuinely enjoying what they do. Megafaun has been on my must-see list since I stumbled across them at SXSW a couple of years ago -– add them to yours.

And while you are adding bands to see to your lists, here’s an entirely different one to add. Make sure you head to TT’s this Friday night to see ex-Mclusky-ers Future of the Left, who are supporting their new one Travels With Myself And Another [Mclusky's "Light Sabre Cock Sucking Blues" ranks very, very high on Clicky Clicky Music Blog's patent-pending Spicoli/Sneaker Rockness Axis. -- Ed.]. I confess to not really getting it when I heard their first album, Curses!, but seeing them live did the trick. This is truly the great live rock where it has that hint of danger –- it feels like anything could happen. Be there. -– Michael Piantigini

Megafaun: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr
Future Of The Left: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

YouTube Rode: Dinosaur Jr.'s "Pieces" On Jimmy Fallon

2009-06-27T10:02:00.001-04:00

YouTube Rodeo: Johnny Foreigner's Incendiary "Feels Like Summer"

2009-06-24T20:07:00.000-04:00

Ironically, it hasn't felt like summer in Boston since mid-spring. But this video makes up for it. "Feels Like Summer" is the first single from Johnny Foreigner's forthcoming sophomore set Grace And The Bigger Picture, which will be released this fall by Best Before Records in the UK. The Birmingham, England-based noise pop titans are also slowly rolling out dates for a UK tour in October, the growing list of which you can review here. It will spend the summer making the usual festival appearances -- those dates are listed at the band's MySpace dojo right here. No word on supporting acts for the tour, but we certainly have some suggestions... particularly since Varsity Drag is already going to be over there.

Rock Over Boston: Andrew Bird, Calexico, Gravel Pit, Blackjacks

2009-06-21T21:04:00.002-04:00

[We are pleased to welcome to these electrical pages the reportage of Michael Piantigini, guitarist for the recently resuscitated (but now we believe doubly defunct) indie rock outfit Lump and all-around cool guy. Mr. Piantigini's schedule is full, his taste is impeccable, he is a great shot with a camera, and we are fortunate to have his help filling inches with a new column we are calling Rock Over Boston. As you can see below, Mike had a busy Friday night. -- Ed.]

With the humidity high and the weather threatening the Boston waterfront’s Bank of America Pavilion last Friday night, Calexico fought for the last few minutes of sunlight with their southwestern film soundtracks. All Morricone and mariachi, they were facing an uphill battle trying to catch the attention of the late arrivals that, er, weren’t really arriving. As such, who could blame them for not quite catching fire in the way that you’d hope?

Andrew Bird is a musician’s musician. It’s hard not to admire his musical curiosity, willingness to experiment and improvise, and effortless arrangement chops. He opened the show by taking the spotlight gently plucking simple (and sometimes not-so-simple) melodies on the strings of his violin. With a stomp of his foot on a sampling pedal, he’s on to a counter-melody –- maybe this time it’s a bowed, bent note digitally dropped an octave, or just a few seemingly disjointed notes on his glockenspiel, or a whistle. As often as not, he does all of these things and pieces them together and it feels like magic.

If not magic, there’s definitely some mastery involved -- I’ve seen these sorts of set-ups fail embarrassingly on stage, but not for Andrew Bird. It’s obvious that he could do this all night and it would be mesmerizing. Instead, though, these meanderings provide interstitial diversions or extended intros, and the rest of his talented band somehow manage to latch onto the wavelength that seem to be coming directly from this over-stimulated musical psyche.

All this, and songs too: the meat of the show was a six-song run from his excellent latest album Noble Beast. ”Fitz and the Dizzyspells,” had a terrific harmony hook in the chorus that is as pop as it gets. He followed this with that album’s more traditionally folky “Natural Disaster” and “Masterswarm,” the latter with subtle flamenco rhythms and guitar flourishes. These were only prelude to “Anonanimal,” that built to a crescendo that reaffirmed the dedicated and made fans for life of the casual fans within earshot.

That was the point where you realize that this was one of those shows that, without you realizing it, had set up a transcendent moment that incites a crowd into an almost involuntary response. Seated throughout, mesmerized by the spell being conjured by Mr. Bird’s swirling, looping, octave-shifted string and whistle samples, the audience was whipped out of their seats as if moved by a preacher. In much the same way, this crowd was his.

Shortly thereafter, Calexico -– horns and all –- joined Bird and co. for a rousing “Skin Is, My” from the commercial breakthrough “Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs.” Of course, it wasn’t enough that there were now ten musicians on stage -– this song, too, was built upon layers of plucked violin samples. It was staggering and fun. On more crowded nights, I wonder if the security would have been so forgiving of the dancing in the aisles.

Much is made of Bird’s genre-jumping, and he does effortlessly weave together a traditional quilt of all kinds of music –- pop, folk, gypsy, spirituals, etc., etc. -- but it all felt like Andrew Bird music, not some derivative disjointed collection. A fantastic solo version of “Why,” from 2001’s The Swimming Hour, for example, is a kind of bluesy torch song, except he made it utterly his own by building it on an extended loop of strummed violin, riffed on throughout both plucked and bowed.

While wrapping up the show during his encores, Bird name-checked our own Middle East, Johnny D’s, and TT the Bear’s, talking about how he got his start in those clubs. He seemed to really remember them fondly, and maybe some of that energy fed this show, which was much more raucous than his Orpheum show a few months ago.

One genre Andrew Bird most definitely did not own this night was good old-fashioned Boston rock. While some bands may only get their start at the smaller clubs, others thrive their whole careers in those places. With a short Silver Line/Red Line trip after Bird’s show ended, I made my way just across the river to TT’s, but it may as well have been a million miles, and, well, about 25 years.

The late, great, and lamented Homestead Records label is enjoying a bit of a modest renaissance these days with its-about-time reissues of Dinosaur Jr, Big Dipper, and Volcano Suns among others. Notably still not reissued is catalog number HMS-001, titled Basic Blackjacks, the debut of Boston legend Johnny Angel’s banc the Blackjacks. They were tearing it up for the first of two nights at TTs to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that record with a TT’s crowd of long-time local rock luminaries who remember (and shared) their history. I swear -– there was even, however briefly, some slam dancing.

After midnight, the 80’s turned into the 90’s, and The Gravel Pit took over with their catchy pop hooks, Lucky Jackson’s power chords, and Jed Parish’s deep howl and meandering farfisa solos. As if their sound wasn’t big enough, The Figgs’ Mike Gent joined in for a few too. After a few mostly-empty recent visits there, it was great to see a packed TT’s again. -- Michael Piantigini

Andrew Bird -- "Oh No" -- Noble Beast
Andrew Bird -- "Heretics" -- Armchair Apocrypha
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[buy Andrew Bird records from Newbury Comics right here]

Andrew Bird: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Johnny Foreigner LP2 Title May Be Grace And The Bigger Picture

2009-06-20T08:59:00.001-04:00

[Ohai. We're not dead. Yet. -- Ed.] Johnny Foreigner guitarist and singer Alexei Berrow dropped the name in the midst of this extended post at Bloggy Foreigner that went online Thursday. The post was long on band facts, but let’s start with the LP2 stuff. Like this quote from Alexei, wherein we believe he divulges our suspected album title: “[A]nyway, 2008 was like, thee most hectic/extreme/fun year we’ve ever had and grace and the bigger picture is our attempt to document it.” Mr. Berrow reports that the interview process for the second album has already begun — presumably for your typical print mags with long leads, yeh? we’ll wait patiently for our turn — and he notes that the big question put to the band has transitioned from “how did you form” to “what’s the new album about.” Berrow states that his early assertions that the new record would be something of a concept set about its experiences over the last couple of years actually didn’t end up being too far off the mark, to the extent that almost every song on the set (can we start calling it Grace And The Bigger Picture yet — we’re just not sure) is based on occurrences in one city or another during tour. Songs about real people, some of whom Alexei still speaks with. Or would like to. The last song on the new set is called “Close,” and another track is titled “In Every Cloakroom Ever.”

If our guess at the album title is correct, then we’d be very surprised if the record doesn’t open with “Grace” — which has been in live sets over the last year — into “Feels Like Summer.” That said, we’re surprised that the record won’t end with “The Coast Was Always Clear,” which as fans of bootlegs and live shows know re-introduces the “Some Summers!” exclamation from “Feels Like Summer” and makes for a tidy bookend opposite that track. We suppose we’ll have to wait and see. Whatever ends up being on LP2, there’s more where that came from, as Berrow notes that his “head is full” of new songs. Perhaps enough to make LP3 a double-album. We’ll believe it when we see it, but we’d be super psyched if that was the case. We can also expect to see Johnny Foreigner release on a comp at some point a Guided By Voices cover, and the trio is pondering recording some additional covers while we’re at it. Which makes us wonder why that Pavement cover they did never surfaced… Johnny Foreigner is slated to release the single “Feels Like Summer” through JohnnyForeignerBand.com Monday, and perhaps announce B-sides for a physical release of same. More bulletins as events warrant. Do you know what is a good jam? The I Like You Mostly Late At Never version of "Champagne Girls...," which has a lot of delicious guitar attack. Check it out.

Johnny Foreigner -- "Champagne Girls I Have Known" -- I Like You Mostly Late At Never
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[buy Johnny Foreigner stuff from EMusic right here]

From The Admin Cubicle: Clicky Clicky Baby Hiatus

2009-06-08T15:20:00.000-04:00

If you are reading this message, then our daughter has been born, and :: clicky clicky music blog :: has entered hiatus until we figure the whole parenting thing out. Fear not, however, as we are not leaving you completely out in the cold. We expect to be as active on Twitter (@clickyclicky) as possible during the hiatus, so please consider following us there. And a note to our band and publicist friends: please, no more unsolicited physical promos. From here on out these will go right from our mailbox to the Salvation Army, as we haven't the room to deal with them any longer. We're still happy to receive physical promos we specifically request, of course. Thanks for reading along for the last few years, and we hope to be back doing the same old stuff here when possible. Obviously, there will be fewer updates going forward, but we'll do what we can. Until then, to quote Homer J. Simpson, "No! No! No! Don't stop a'rockin'!"

Out: Superman Revenge Squad's "We're Here For Duration... We Hope!"

2009-05-24T20:31:00.000-04:00

We've followed closely the career of Croydon, England-based songwriter Ben Parker for the last couple years, and we see no reason to cease utilizing our bully pulpit to herald this startlingly talented artist. Mr. Parker's most recent project, Superman Revenge Squad, has just made available its second long-player; you can purchase via Paypal the sophomore set We're Here For Duration... We Hope at the Superman Revenge Squad site right here. It's only three pounds sterling with shipping included, and it includes a track titled "I've Been Listening To The Rollins Band." Seriously. A live version of lead track "A Good Idea" from the new set is streaming at the SRS MySpace right here. Three pounds is a small sum to pay for new material from the fellow who wrote the top serious awesome track "A Footnote" with his old combo Nosferatu D2. Not to mention the excellent material that has come since. Here are a couple tracks to get you in the shopping mood. We interviewed Parker here in October.

Nosferatu D2 -- "A Footnote" -- Nosferatu D2
Superman Revenge Squad -- "I'm Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I'm Gonna Be Someone Else" -- Superman Revenge Squad
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[buy Superman Revenge Squad music right here]

The Warlocks: Through The Looking Glass The Hard Way

2009-05-18T07:34:00.001-04:00

We didn't know anything about The Warlocks -- except wasn't that name the original name for the Grateful Dead? -- until hearing the L.A.-based quintet's absolutely sublime tune "Dreamless Days" on WMBR a couple years back. Since then -- and since buying Heavy Deavy Skull Lover, from which "Dreamless Days" was taken -- our affinity for the band has grown steadily. The Mirror Explodes, The Warlocks' sixth record, is available in the UK today and will be released in the U.S. on Tee Pee Records tomorrow. The opening track "Red Camera" begins like a dangerously overdriven version of the title track to Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See, but then floats into dark electric curtains of white noise and feedback. The record is not uniformly weighty: the ballad "There Is a Formula To Your Despair" is distinctly more gentle, although perhaps only a little less narcotic. The Warlocks launch a two-week UK tour July 14, after hitting Paris July 10; U.S. dates have not been revealed. Download "Red Camera" below.

The Warlocks -- ~~"Red Camera"~~ -- The Mirror Explodes
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[video]
[buy Warlocks records from Newbury Comics right here]

YouTube Rodeo: Telekinesis' "Awkward Kisser"

2009-05-16T18:53:00.001-04:00

Mannequins are generally underused in indie rock videos. Or just any rock videos really. This track, more reliant on persistent percussive piano than the previously publicized and satisfyingly crunchy guitar-led anthem "Coast Of Carolina," shows Telekinesis' Michael Lerner to have a much broader range than we assumed based on that first preview single. "Coast Of Carolina" made us think, oh, we don't know, insert good lo-fi band name here. But "Awkward Kisser," makes us think Ben Folds, and not because of Mr. Lerner's eyeglasses. Merge Records released Telekinesis' self-titled full-length debut April 7. Buy it from Merge here. Local-ish fans can see Telekinesis at the Iron Horse in Northampton, Mass. June 12.

"Summer" Here Kids!

2009-05-11T20:51:00.005-04:00

That’s a Grandaddy reference, yeah? More importantly, we’ve been green-lighted with a handful of other blogs to offer you an MP3 of the much-discussed-here forthcoming single “Feels Like Summer.” So have at it! ~~[UPDATE: Or don't! The band's UK label would prefer you download this elsewhere]~~ [Re-UPDATE: Everything is sorted! All is right with the world again! Gimme Indie Rock!].

Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"Feels Like Summer"~~ -- Album Number Two

Johnny Foreigner's Dynamite "Feels Like Summer" Now Streaming

2009-05-07T14:11:00.002-04:00

So yeh, remember the planned first single from Johnny Foreigner's as-yet-untitled album numero dos? The one called "Feels Like Summer?" The one what we don't know any additional details about (wink wink wink, winkety winkety wink)? Well, it is now streaming at the Birmingham, England-based noise pop superlatives' MySpace dojo right here, and it is mammoth. The brief track of stray slack is boisterous, sloppy, glorious and poignant all at once. Compositionally not terribly different from the live bootlegs we've got kicking around, but the gang chant "Some Summers!" and the lone vocal from bassist Kelly Southern at the close are compelling embellishments to the arrangement. Sure, releasing a song titled "Feels Like Summer" at the close of the academic year and with the eponymous season upon us seems a bit calculated, but what, did you think the band would issue a Christmas single now? Puh-leeeze. Initial word was that the "Feels Like Summer" single would be out sometime this month, but as there appears to be no online retailer that will let you pre-order the platter, we're guessing it could be next month before you get your anxious paws on this. In case you either a) live under a rock or b) do not live in the UK, you should know that Johnny Foreigner commences 17 days of tour dates this very evening in Sheffield, England with Tubelord supporting. Peruse the full tour dates here.

More On Morr's Kiwi Homage Comp Not Given Lightly

2009-05-06T16:48:00.002-04:00

Speaking of blog items that mysteriously go missing at :: clicky clicky :: (wait... what?), voracious readers may recall we briefly posted an item a month ago that addressed in turn a new Rumble Strips song ("London," a real snappy one, that) and a planned Morr Music compilation featuring covers of the best in classic '80s and '90s New Zealand indie rock. Well, we now have more information about the latter, which appears to be available to order now. According to an email just in from Morr, the 34-track set is titled Not Given Lightly (A Tribute To The Golden Giant Book Of New Zealand's Alternative Music Scene). The storied New Zealand scene, of course, built its reputation on such notable acts as The Chills, The 3-Ds, The Bats, The Clean and so forth, whose music influenced -- among others -- American indie legends Yo La Tengo and Pavement and countless others.

Like Morr's excellent 2002 Slowdive tribute collection Blue Skied An' Clear [review here], a second disc of Not Given Lightly will contain new and exclusive material from Morr luminaries Lali Puna ("I Like Rain"), B.Fleischmann ("Not Given Lightly"), ISAN ("Harmonic Deluxe") and others. Not Given Lightly is available on 3 LPs or 2 CDs priced at 20 and 18 Euros respectively. Want to hear samples from the comp right now? Snippets can be streamed at the A Number Of Small Things page for the collection right here. We haven't an MP3 to share from Not Given Lightly, but here is a video of It's A Musical's wonderful cover of Tall Dwarves' "All My Hollowness To You." And what the hell, here is Future 3's version of Slowdive's "Alison" from Blue Skied An' Clear.

Future 3 -- ~~"Alison"~~ -- Blue Skied An' Clear
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[buy Blue Skied An' Clear and Not Given Lightly from Morr/ANOST here]

A Weather Recording Follow-Up To 2008 Standout Cove

2009-04-28T11:45:00.001-04:00

[A note to readers: with our new family commitments we will institute some changes here. One of these is the shelving of the Today's Hotness feature, which collected newsworthy items into an amalgamated post. Instead we will run more shorter items as we are able to churn them out. Here is the first. -- Ed.]

Portland, OR-based slowcore stars A Weather have spent recent weeks recording a new set that may see release before year-end. The quintet has laid down tracks in its home town at the studio Type Foundry, and as recently as Friday fronter Aaron Gerber tweeted that he was working on vocals for the planned set. There are few details to be had about the new set at this point, but it will include the track "Lay Me Down," according to another tweet. We can only hope this is a cover of Grateful Dead's "To Lay Me Down." Come to think of it, we recall Cowboy Junkies doing a very good cover of that track for the Deadicated comp in the '90s. We'll have to track that down again. The new A Weather set is unlikely to be ready for public consumption before fall or winter, so in the meantime continue to play the excellent Cove to death. That record, in case you don't recall, was one of our favorites of 2008. Read our review here.

Something we've had on our list of things to write about for months and months is three A Weather demos submitted to and made available to the Interwebs by Fat Cat Records. The tracks, which we believe were recorded by Mr. Gerber whilst he was still at Hampshire College in Western Massachusetts, include two versions of "Still Talk" -- one digitally sliced, diced and Animal Collective-ized and the other acoustic -- and "Tonight I Am Letting You Drive." The tracks are memorable, but the digitally tweaked version of the former is sufficiently different from the material on Cove to imbue it with distinctive intrigue. The three tunes are alternately attributed to A. Sweater and Sweater Weather, monikers that are certainly early ruminations on the name that ultimately framed the quintet. Here's "Tonight I Am Letting You Drive."

A. Sweater -- ~~"Tonight I Am Letting You Drive"~~ -- Music For Six Twilights
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[buy A Weather music from the band here]

06/27 -- The Doug Fir -- Portland, OR
07/12 -- The Backstage Lounge -- Vancouver, BC

Fergus Lawrie On Album Of The Year Contender Yoyodyne

2009-04-17T15:13:00.001-04:00

[PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Woodward/Crimson Glow Photography] We've raved about Projekt A-ko's towering debut Yoyodyne so much already that a review at this point would be superfluous. Instead, we've asked band fronter Fergus Lawrie for a track-by-track breakdown of the record, whose official release date is Monday in the U.K. Mr. Lawrie was kind enough to oblige, but first we do have these remarks: if there is anything disappointing about Projekt A-ko's full-length debut it is that, at least for the time being, the band is solely a recording unit, and no touring to tout the record is planned. This is a shame, as we believe Yoyodyne is the best record released in 2009 to date. Lawrie, et al.'s potent amalgamation of early (read: good) Mercury Rev, Teenage Fanclub and mid-period Dinosaur Jr. would certainly win fans were the band to snag a slot on a hot tour supporting, say, Dinosaur, or Johnny Foreigner, or... well, it doesn't really matter. There's no tour to look forward to for now. There's also no distribution, no press agents (beyond some help from Darren Walker of Filthy Little Angels, who initially hipped us to the record), no advertising -- Yoyodyne is wholly DIY, released on Projekt A-ko's own Milk Pie imprint, only available by Internet order and in select shops in Glasgow. The good thing is there are more recordings in the offing, including what promises to be a shattering cover of Drop Nineteens' "Winona," which is one of Lowrie's all-time favorite tracks (and one of ours, as well). So we've that to look forward to. Now let's see what Lawrie has to say about the songs on Yoyodyne.

Track One: Hey Palooka!

"How’s it feel to be surreal, how’s it feel to be corporeal?" The oldest song on the album written (as a development from Urusei Yatsura songs "Plastic Ashtray" and "Majesty") as part of an ongoing effort to get to grips with "Winona" by Drop Nineteens, an all time favourite song of mine -- we’re working on recording a cover version just now. The long intro to "Hey Palooka" is kind of meant to be intentionally frustrating to people who expect bands to put the obvious "hit" song at the front of the album. The tracklisting was devised by my friend Captain Polaroid as I felt too close to the songs. I think he did a great job of creating a flow and making the album a real grower. Also includes the phrase "pyroclastic flow" (thanks to Kenny!).

Track Two: Nothing Works Twice

"A unique confluence of movement and time -- or not." Sardonic attempt to acknowledge the futility of being in a band coupled with a warning to stop being in a band whilst still being in a band, doh! At one point we actually literally rip off Pixies as opposed to being "heavily influenced" by them or whatever...

Track Three: Supertriste Duxelle

"A gown of Martian spores." Possibly a Stereolab song with the drone surgically removed. Lyrically seeking synthesis of retro / sci-fi / historical / hardboiled / personal / microbiological inspirations. I tried to be fearless with words for these songs even if it meant overdoing it a bit sometimes.

Track Four: Here Comes New Challenger!

"Hey Keiko, give a little milk!", "I tried, but my tears were wine." A light-hearted romp through mortality and the human condition. All post-modern pop is self-aware and in this case the last verse serves as a critique of the song itself [This is totally our favorite part, too -- Ed.].

Track Five: Xavier

"Wish I had a luminous left arm!" An historical epic. A long time was spent structuring this song and I guess it just about hangs together. References include 1) a saint who lived in a cave in Fife and copied the Bible by the light of his glowing right arm and 2) The Bangles. The guitars actually sounded even more foul and brutal until Steven Ward -- who did an incredible job producing and engineering the album -- ditched a couple of Fender Twins we’d used in the recording from the mix. I love Elaine’s vox on this song, especially at the end. It's been great having her start to sing and I hope she’ll be doing a lot more.

Track Six: Molten Hearts

"Eyes like atomic decay, hearts melt like snow bouquets." Finally, the secret truth about Dr. Phibes and Vulnavia! This was the last song written for the album and a lot of fun to record and play; I’d love to play it live. The drums and some of the guitars + vox for this and "Ichiro," "Scintilla" and "Black Empire" were recorded at CaVa studios in Glasgow by Geoff Allan.

Track Seven: Scintilla

"Jars of State moonshine." Drunken Cosmonaut fires death ray at random, or thinks he does. We had a "2001: A Space Odyssey"-type arrangement for the middle drone, but it made the section too exciting so we dropped it in order to save all the extra instrumentation until the end of the album. The Tommy Cooper-style guitar solo was completely unrehearsed and done in one take -- I’m not sure whether to be proud of that or not...

Track Eight: Ichiro on 3rd

"The mind democratic, the heart is a fascist." Ichiro Suzuki [outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, according to Wikipedia -- Ed.] trapped in the jaws of America. He fantasises about a past lover before hitting a home run. He runs towards Japan. Too late, he’s already dead!

Track Nine: Otaku Blue

"Kevlar Superstar do your vinyl best." Underground Celebrity-obsessed geek thinks he's a robot. The alternative stars sing to him from the chorus to try and make him see sense. Nearly all the vox for this album were done in one take (yeah, I know, it shows!) apart from the little scream before the final verse which I had to do about 12 times before it sounded remotely convincing. That was in The Diving Bell with Marcus Mackay, who recorded some of the guitars and vox [he also recorded Frightened Rabbit's Sing The Greys, or at least parts of it -- Ed.]. My voice is knackered from belting out "Kewpies like Watermelon."

Track Ten: Utopia

"Anatomise thy foppery, just don’t fake on me now." Yes, the chorus is a Swirlies reference! It's possible the album breaks out in a fit of optimism at this point before collapsing into noise. We used a lot of effect boxes in a feedback loop to create the sonic squiggles at the end.

Track Eleven: Black Empire

"No man is an island but I am an isthmus." Some nice crisp drum fills from Ian. The distorted vocals were created using a baby monitor.

Track Twelve: Yoyodyne (Scintilla II)

"You only really exist in the days you fight." These last two songs were arranged by my friend Richard Spiller, an amazing musician who does a lot of music for TV shows. "It is nice party after all" is a line from a Bollywood film I was watching one night, "Angelica of despair" from an online poetry generator. Oedipa Maas from "The Crying of Lot 49" makes a brief appearance. I particularly like the arpeggio which decays into nothing at the end of the song, inspired by a visit to Glasgow’s premier minimal art/sound/noise festival Instal. Entropy in action.

Track Thirteen: Don’t Listen To This Song

"I made you love me then I let you down." I wrote the lyrics for this on the train to the recording so they’re kind of scratchy and unfinished, but it suits the song. This song is a spell. Don’t listen to it -- it can only work if you do, like using the video in "The Ring" or the disk in "Pulse" or the phone no. in "Cell."

Finale: The End of WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow

2009-04-15T07:32:00.012-04:00

And so we finally address the remaining two tracks from WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow, Johnny Foreigner's obscure first long-player which was released in a hyper-limited edition of 40 handmade copies in 2005. But you know all that, yeah, 'cos you've been following along as we dissected the album over the last two months [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. As we've already discussed the first eight and the final tracks, we're left with track nine and ten to assess. Coincidentally, these are also two of the more singular cuts from the collection. Not bad by any (any!) stretch, but fairly unusual and we can see them being sequenced toward the end not only because there is a sense of finality to them, but also it might have been hard to wedge them in anywhere else.

"My Interest In Saving You Is More Than Idle Curiosity" opens with a percolating, uptempo rhythm, blasts through a short crescendo and drops into a tidy verse. Guitars call and respond across the stereo field, there is a delicate interlude just before the two-minute mark, and then a gradual build drags us into sonic tumult, overlayed by band fronter Alexei Berrow ranting with an accusatory tone. Feedback plumes point toward a breakdown led by airy synths and punctuated by crash cymbals, and then cascading radio noise ushers in what must be the end of the album, a sad cataclysm through the end of the fourth minute that gives way and decomposes into the stereo field. But of course, it is not the end of the album.

Track 10 is the brief, atmospheric elegy "A Light In Every Home/Lights Are Dancing." As one who has been verily intoxicated on over-the-counter allergy medicine for about a week, we can tell you this transient pastiche of acoustic guitar, synth swells, chimes, snare, loops and noise has been constantly reinventing itself in our head. It is a very curious piece of music, but it is also poignant and wistful. It conveys loss, powerfully and bluntly, but not all at once or in individual moments, but rather as a dreadful accumulation of regret. It is difficult to believe that the record doesn't end here as well, but of course we already know that WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow closes with "A Slow Song For The End," and its heartbreaking clarinet solo. So really, the problem of the three final tracks of Johnny Foreigner's collection is that they are all equally brilliant final words on the matter, all devastating break-up mix-tape fodder. All deliver a sense of an ending. And here we are.

Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"My Interest In Saving You Is More Than Idle Curiosity"~~ -- WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"A Light In Every Home/Lights Are Dancing"~~ -- WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
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[buy in-print Johnny Foreigner records here and here]

Today's Hotness: Line Drawings, Saint Solitude, AC/DC

2009-04-14T07:27:00.011-04:00

>> We like what we hear from Line Drawings, an Australian indie rock quartet whose recently released, self-titled EP has been getting a lot of play here at headquarters. No surprise, really, as Sydney-based Line Drawings' first two Top Friends at MySpace -- :: clicky clicky :: favorites Polvo and Seam -- indicate that we're likely as pre-conditioned to be a fan of these Australians as anyone. Although, if we had to pick our own RIYL to slap on a sticker meant to entice college radio play, we might go with Swervedriver first, as Line Drawings is neither as technical as Polvo nor as seething and disappointed as Seam. That said, there are very pleasing curtains of electric guitar and mildly plaintive vocals, a sturdy recipe (along with well-constructed melodies, also present here) for successful indie rock. Line Drawings has been together since 2007, and prior to that certain of the cohort played together in the act Ides Of Space. The band's self-titled EP contains six moody tracks and opens auspiciously with the urgent guitar anthem "Atmosphere Flies," which is certainly Line Drawings' strongest calling card, and which you can download below. Victoria-based Bell Sounds Digital issued Line Drawings March 28.

Line Drawings -- ~~"Atmosphere Flies"~~ -- Line Drawings EP
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[buy Line Drawings from the band right here]

>> We're inclined to be skeptical of one-man bands, who nowadays often ply their trade with loop machine and/or laptop, because the live spectacle can lack the sort of passion that really drives our fandom. There are exceptions, of course, as we think you'll agree -- if you've seen him -- that Dosh can work some hypnotic business on stage (granted, he performed with a colleague when we saw him). All that said, it really comes down to songwriting, and so we were favorably impressed with Asheville, N.C.-based and Maine-bred solo effort Saint Solitude. The band is a fellow named Dup Crosson, and Mr. Crosson writes very catchy indie pop numbers that -- at least as recorded -- bear none of the undesirable hallmarks of the solitary musician. The piano-anchored toe-tapper "Tosabesatoch" touts a light touch and an arresting melody. The rocker "Soft Contact" sounds like something Ben Gibbard might sing if he were in good mood and was backed by a sunshiney outfit; the guitar-and-voice ballad "Stay In Touch" is obvious enough sentiment-wise but is eminently listenable. "Tosabesatoch" is on the split EP He Is Contrary To Him out this month and available at shows, and Crosson is already at work on a full-length he hopes will be ready for public consumption come summer. Saint Solitude embarks on a three-week tour of the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Thursday, and the act touches down at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville, Mass. April 25, with Midriff Records' Scuba supporting. Full tour dates are at the Saint Solitude MySpace casa right here. Crosson was kind enough to allow us to post "Tosabesatoch" below, so do check it out.

Saint Solitude -- ~~"Tosabesatoch"~~ -- Split EP
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[buy Saint Solitude music from Crosson here]

>> Let us be the first to suggest that in the inevitable TV movie that will re-tell the heroics of the past weekend (remember that whole hostage/pirate/sniper thing?), the climax should be dealt with as a montage soundtracked by AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock, We Salute You." The events leading up to the snipers' dispatching the three Somali pirates should unfold in real time, and the decisive gunshots should be unleashed as Brian Johnson shouts "FIRE!" Just sayin.'

That Was The Show That Was: Neko Case, Crooked Fingers

2009-04-13T07:30:00.001-04:00

[PHOTO CREDIT: Flickr User SetOutRunning | We are pleased to welcome to these digital pages D.P. Dean, our former bandmate, schoolmate and all-around cool guy. We had hopes of leveraging Mr. Dean's recent stint of unemployment into some excellent Philadelphia-based reportage, but alas even in this economy Deano is far too skilled and credentialed to stay out of the game long, and as this item goes online he is prepping for the first day of the rest of his life at a new job. -- Ed.]

One of the disorienting side-effects of being on the wrong side of 30 is the feeling, at times, that your taste in music is getting "old." Or, rather, that what once was young and hip has evolved (or has been repackaged) to fit into the "adult contemporary" bin at your local Borders. Friday night's sold out Neko Case/Crooked Fingers show at the Keswick Theater had all the trappings: plenty of grey hair in the audience, ubiquitous WXPN flyers, assigned seating.

Any worries about the music itself were easily dispelled as Ms. Case treated the Keswick crowd to a 90-minute set that leaned heavily on her new long player Middle Cyclone and 2006's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Case has really come into her own as a solo performer in recent years (and has also become quite a supporter of retired racing greyhounds, endearing her both to this correspondent and our renowned editor-in-chief [True dat -- Ed.]). She bantered easily with her bandmates and the audience, providing a fluidity to the set during her frequent guitar changes. But the key to the performance was the power of Case’s voice -— not always obvious in her work with the New Pornographers -— and the strength of her songwriting. Case's new material continues the trend away from the simple country/honky-tonk of her early solo work toward a more difficult-to-define blend of Americana.

Throughout the set, Case transitioned easily from older favorites like "I Wish I Was the Moon' and "Deep Red Bells" to newer cuts such as "Star Witness," "The Pharaohs," and "Prison Bells," while the band laid a groove behind her, buoyed particularly by Kelly Hogan on backing vocals and Jon Rauhouse on the pedal steel. Of note was Eric Bachmann jumping in on guitar for "This Tornado Loves You" to close out the pre-encore portion of Case’s set.

Bachmann and the current incarnation of Crooked Fingers (Miranda Brown playing occasional bass and adding backing vocals, Tim Husmann on keyboards and drums) had opened the show with a nine-song set featuring a smattering of tunes from Red Devil Dawn and the band’s self-titled debut, Bachmann’s recent solo record, and of course last year’s Forfeit/Fortune [review here]. Though your correspondent was hoping to hear "The Rotting Strip," or perhaps "New Drink for the Old Drunk," Bachmann more than atoned with a rollicking rendition of "Angelina," and a spirited performance of "Your Control" (which was conspicuous for the absence of headliner Case, who added backing vocals on the album version). Truly the highlight of the set (and perhaps the entire evening) was the band’s reworking of Red Devil Dawn's "Bad Man Coming." Husmann pounded out an insistent beat on the drums, while Bachmann and Brown's a cappella harmonizing turned the song into a haunting, almost-Appalachian tub-thumper. -- D.P. Dean

[Ms. Case's tour continues through April 26. Full tour dates can be lingered over here; note that these dates are selling out like crazy, so if you'd like to see the tour, you'd best act quickly and decisively.]

Neko Case: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr
Crooked Fingers: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

YouTube Rodeo: The Answering Machine's "Obviously Cold"

2009-04-11T09:00:00.003-04:00

A wonderful new video for Manchester, England-based indie pop upstarts The Answering Machine's forthcoming single "Obviously Cold." The video is a terrifically geeky send-up of the sporting life, focusing on the curious (to we Americans, anyhow) ice sport known as curling. Heist Or Hit Records releases The Answering Machine's debut full-length Another City, Another Sorry May 25 in the UK. We reviewed it here, and it is going to be huge. There is as yet no release date for the "Obviously Cold" single, the second pulled from Another City, Another Sorry, nor do we know what the b-side or -sides will be. The undeniable first single, "Cliffer," was released March 9. Hope the band is selling those blue t-shirts it wears on the ice in the clip -- those are ace.

Footage: Dananananaykroyd Destroy On Channel M

2009-04-09T20:01:00.002-04:00

More WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow: "God Bless The Last Words Of An Amateur Historian" And "Sword Buried"

2009-04-09T07:37:00.004-04:00

And so let's continue our trip across the unreleased first Johnny Foreigner record, shall we? We're up to tracks seven and eight from the set WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow [which we reviewed in full here a month ago], and next week we'll cover nine and ten, and then we'll be done, as we've already covered album closer "A Slow Song For The End" in the initial review, yeah? Hard to believe we are almost through this, and we've got to say we've enjoyed spending so much time with this collection, which as we reported many times before was recorded by a nascent, pre-Kelly Southern Johnny Foreigner line-up in the trio's practice space in 2005 and released in a hyper-limited edition of 40 handmade copies.

Perhaps more than any other track on WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow, "God Bless The Last Words Of An Amateur Historian" hews closest to the Birmingham, England-based trio's more recent work. It touts expansive guitar arpeggiation accented by Junior Laidley's uptempo drumming and accents, with bass work -- or at least bass notes played on a guitar, a la the SM and Spiral Stairs-only line-up of Pavement -- lacing the two together with a firm melodic backbone. The song is crying out to be re-recorded by the band, it's that good. The ba-da-das and breaks in the denouement are as catchy as any contemporary Johnny Foreigner, and there is even a female vocal part subtly appointing the final moment that Ms. Southern could appropriate. All around an ace track. The second tune we'll focus on today is "Sword Buried," the exceedingly curious electro-trance instrumental we mentioned here as exhibiting what would seem to be a pretty heavy Aphex Twin influence. The track is wholly uncharacteristic of the rest of the Johnny Foreigner oeuvre, but is still a very satisfying pastiche of styles that still is clearly a Johnny Foreigner track. Download both tunes below.

Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"God Bless The Last Words Of An Amateur Historian"~~ -- WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"Sword Buried"~~ -- WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
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[buy in-print Johnny Foreigner records here and here]

Today's Hotness: Johnny Foreigner, Projekt A-ko, The Beatles

2009-04-08T07:04:00.001-04:00

>> The wait is over, and it was surprisingly short: the first single from the planned sophomore set from Birmingham, England noise-pop titans Johnny Foreigner will be for the new tune "Feels Like Summer." The single, which will be issued by Best Before Records in the UK in May, is likely to appear on the forthcoming record, which according to our intrepid KSDS colleague Luke Cotton will be released in September or October. Mr. Cotton, who saw Johnny Foreigner Monday night at Islington Academy in London, also reports that the tune "Custom Scenes And The Parties That Make Them" has definitely been re-christened "Criminals," as first reported by another KSDS correspondent last week. Johnny Foreigner's fourth and final single from their smashing 2008 debut Waited Up Til It Was Light was the double A-sided, digital-only "DJs Get Doubts" b/w "Lea Room," which was released in January. The band completed its planned second full-length last month; it was recorded in Brooklyn with Alex Newport, who is most famous to us for recording Knapsack's This Conversation Is Over Starting Right Now.

>> As we typed today's post last night we were obsessing over how amazing the Projekt A-ko full length Yoyodyne is. We received it in the mail Tuesday and are blown away by the tracks that are new to us. We also think the mixes for the promo tracks are jazzed up and ring clearer somehow -- maybe we just ripped higher quality MP3s than what the promos offered? But anyway, you must stop at nothing in your efforts to acquire this record. We hear from band fronter Fergus that after the album's official release date (April 20), the free MP3s and free worldwide shipping go the way of the dodo bird, so make certain to avail yourself of his waning largesse. When you are rocking out to awesome tracks like "Xavier," "Scintilla" and "Utopia" (the latter of which seems to name-drop our favorite Versus record) you will thank us. Repeatedly. It is only 10 pounds, you can buy it via Paypal, and this very well may be dollar-for-dollar the best thing you buy this year. Maybe -- let's not forget about that Johnny Foreigner record in the pipeline.

Projekt A-ko -- ~~"Molten Hearts"~~ -- Yoyodyne
Projekt A-ko -- ~~"Supertriste Duxelle"~~ -- Yoyodyne
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[buy Yoyodyne from the band right here]

>> There's really nothing left to be said about The Beatles, so we'll say little beyond the fact that we've started to listen to their records before bed again -- as we did when we were about six or seven years old -- and have been enjoying it immensely. So much so that we are currently beaming Magical Mystery Tour to our still in utero baby via the IPod as we type this. You've likely seen the reportage from Tuesday about The Beatles catalog finally getting reissued in remastered form this coming September. If you haven't read said reportage yet, we think the most complete write-up is this one at WogBlog. The 14 remastered albums will be sold in a few different configurations, including a boxed set, and we expect a lot of people will get that boxed set come the year-end holidays. We hope we are one of those people, even tho we already have a lot of the CDs already. Curiously, we have no copy of Revolver on CD. Just vinyl. Weird.

There Used To Be A Post Here About The Rumble Strips, And Their Sparkling New Track "London," Which Was Sent By A Publicist, And Now There Is Not

2009-04-06T18:49:00.004-04:00

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You Were Warned: Dananananaykroyd's Hey Everyone! Next Week

2009-04-01T07:36:00.002-04:00

We've tried to prepare you for the forthcoming full-length debut from Glaswegian fight-pop goliaths Dananananaykroyd. Hey Everyone! will be released in the U.K. April 6, and we've been hyping it for a while. We wrote here about the transcendent preceding single "Black Wax," issued March 23. We wrote here about the recording of the full-length. We relayed here the fact that the Scottish septet is widely considered to be the best live act in the U.K. right now. And yet we're not sure any of that will prepare you for the proverbial kick to the head we expect this album to deliver. Take for example the track below, "Chrome Rainbows." According to a track listing at Amazon.co.uk, the tune is not included on Hey Everyone! It was, however, released as the flipside to the "Pink Sabbath" single issued last October, and it is a monster, and we're grateful to the helpful publicist who sent it along. So have a listen, save your nickels, and get yourself prepared for Dananananaykroyd being all anybody will be talking about this summer.

Dananananaykroyd -- ~~"Chrome Rainbow"~~ -- "Pink Sabbath" b/w "Chrome Rainbow"
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[buy Dananananaykroyd music from EMusic right here, or BanquetRecords right here]

More WeLeftYouSleeping: "His Floor Is My Ashtray" +1

2009-03-31T07:44:00.009-04:00

So where were we? Oh right, running down the tracks from Johnny Foreigner's unreleased first full-length WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow, recorded by the nascent trio in 2005, prior to bassist Kelly Southern's tenure in the band. To date we've shared with you the first four and the final songs of WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow, which puts us squarely in the middle of the track listing. So today let's talk about "His Floor Is My Ashtray" and "I'm Leaving... Soon," tracks five and six respectively. We already referenced the former as a highlight of the "lost" record in our initial assessment here three weeks ago. Citing the record's "carefree and expansive experimentalism," we offered as an example "the wild tumult and the ensuing, surprisingly quiet close of 'His Floor Is My Ashtray.' The tune quietly nestles into a reverie built on a reversed drum track, plucking on the guitar strings behind the bridge and band fronter Alexei Berrow murmuring 'he just calls it like he sees it' over and over again into the fade.'" Sounds pretty good, yeh?

"I'm Leaving... Soon" is notable for the prescient guitar lick that drives the composition. Mr. Berrow is an avowed Craig Finn/Hold Steady fan, so it is sort of an amazing coincidence that the opening guitar business of "I'm Leaving... Soon" would fit well (with a little wiggling, of course) within "One For The Cutters," track three on The Hold Steady's very good 2008 Stay Positive. The Johnny Foreigner track is substantially more forlorn, and Berrow's murmured vocals alternates spaces with some spacey synths that pulse and pan across a stereo field perforated with clacking drum machine. The last 40 seconds are surprisingly overdriven, as live drums enter the mix and Berrow takes to the rafters to scream away his disappointment -- it's quite affecting.

Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"His Floor Is My Ashtray"~~ -- WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
Johnny Foreigner -- ~~"I'm Leaving... Soon"~~ -- WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
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[buy in-print Johnny Foreigner music here and here]

Review: The Answering Machine | Another City, Another Sorry

2009-03-30T07:34:00.014-04:00

The soaring debut full-length from rising Manchester, England-based indie pop phenoms The Answering Machine is as big as we've been speculating it would be for months. And while we meant that metaphorically, we are surprised at how big it actually sounds in some places. Fortunately, it works, but it can be startling at first to hear certain tunes of the formerly scritchy-sounding, Strokes-influenced foursome clad in arena-scale production. Even so, the over-arching bombast and energy of the music and performances are more than enough to keep The Answering Machine from sounding like they are swimming in the sonic equivalent of David Byrne's too-big suit from the fantastic concert film "Stop Making Sense." Instead, the production and performance hint at an increased professionalism and confidence that is exciting to see in the band, which has spent several years leading up to the release of Another City, Another Sorry becoming an increasingly formidable rock outfit.

The sonic development is no more pronounced than on the very orchestrated re-imagining of the b-side "It's Over! It's Over! It's Over!" The track was originally released as the flip to the triumphant "Silent Hotels" single in 2007. The single version now sounds almost comically undersized in comparison to the electrifying rendering on Another City, Another Sorry, which touts crashing guitars, vast reverbs, metallic clangs and angelic, choral "aaaaahs." As with "It's Over! It's Over! It's Over!," much of Another City, Another Sorry is populated with new versions of tunes released as singles over the last few years. We are most excited by the material that was new to us, including the blistering title track, which surprisingly was not selected as either the first or second single from the new set. The undeniable first single, "Cliffer," was released March 9 and is obviously a winner. According to this recent post at The Answering Machine's blog, the next single from the full-length will be "Obviously Cold" -- a hot number for sure, and it has a wonderfully Peter Hook-esque bass line in the verse. That said, we have to believe it was a hard decision to choose between it and the barn-storming title track, and we wonder if the free availability of the song "Another City, Another Sorry" to bloggers rendered it ineligible by management for the vinyl 7" treatment. Other new tracks that rate high marks are the roller-disco-ready soul clapper "Emergency" and the uptempo romantic downer that closes the album with a proverbial bang, "You Should Have Called."

There is as yet no release date for the "Obviously Cold" single [here's a recent live performance], but the quartet is filming a video for it in Los Angeles during its short jaunt to the U.S. this week. The Answering Machine has numerous appearances lined up in L.A. over the span of three days, and then the act flies east to New York for a one-off at Mercury Lounge. Full details are posted at the band's MySpace hacienda right here. Heist Or Hit issues Another City, Another Sorry in the U.K. on May 25.

The Answering Machine -- ~~"Another City, Another Sorry"~~ -- Another City, Another Sorry
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[pre-order Another City, Another Sorry from Amazon.co.uk right here]

The Answering Machine: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr