(Originally posted to Tympanogram on June 26, 2012)
Chelsea Light Moving
As a Sonic Youth obsessive, I take it as my duty to inform everyone that Thurston Moore has formed another new project. The name of this new venture is Chelsea Light Moving and they popped up out of nowhere late last week on the Matador Matablog.
Thankfully the band sounds like they are interested in more of the late Sonic Youth aesthetic than they are in the solo Thurston Moore sound. The track, “Burroughs,” comes off sounding like a B-side for The Eternal or Rather Ripped, with an upbeat and noisy verse, sharp guitar stabs, and an extended exploratory coda. This track captures the energy that I believe is missing from Thurston’s Demolished Thoughts effort. It sounds raw, exciting, and it doesn’t even matter to me that this is probably the millionth track attributed to the influence of William S. Burroughs that Moore has penned.
The band is rounded out by Keith Wood on guitar, Samara Lubelski on bass, and drummer John Maloney. According to the Matador press release the track was recorded and mixed May 18-20, 2012, by Justin Pizzoferrato at Sonelab, Easthampton, MA. And there are some (very few) dates posted for Thurston, with no mention if it is him appearing with solo material or with new Chelsea Light Moving tracks. We are promised another track in a week though, so be sure to check back and grab that one as well.
[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/chelsea_light_moving_burroughs.mp3|titles=Chelsea Light Moving – Burroughs]
Chelsea Light Moving | Blog
I’ve written about these guys before when they were trying to raise funds to produce a new release. In that time they finished recording and pressing “Forever Hammer” a 4 song, 18 minute, EP of finely crafted jazz/metal/prog/fusion….well, they simply refer to it as “lungcore” and you should too.
In celebration of this latest release the band will be playing a show on August 16 at the Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY. Tickets are currently on sale and at $10 – $12 they are a steal! Also on the bill is Gato Loco and the Hirschfeld/Nazary Duo.
I’ve had the EP for a few months now, being that I dutifully contributed to the Kickstarter project and it’s great to hear them continuing to evolve their sound. The level of musicianship is way beyond anything else out there, and there really is no band that even comes close to playing anything resembling Jerseyband’s type of music. They are a genre unto themselves.
Unfortunately it looks like their web presence hasn’t been updated much since the release of their last full-length, the phenomenal “Beast-Wedding” from 2009, that can be heard in its entirety on their Bandcamp page. Their past releases “Little Bag of Feet for Shoes” and the live album “Lungpunch Fantasy” can also be heard on the site too.
If you are in NYC, go to this show, you’ll be sorry if you don’t.
(Originally posted to Tympanogram on June 12, 2012)
Japandroids – “Celebration Rock”
When a band sort of falls off the radar for a little bit it’s natural to feel worried. In today’s musical climate a band only stays relevant for as long as they can pump out song after song and album after album. It’s even more worrisome when a band like Japandroids – a band so exciting, energetic, and original, and with such a talent for writing catchy, shout-along choruses – seems to be puttering to a standstill. The Vancouver pair seemed to be disappearing into memories, stretching themselves thin touring 475 days a year, and leaving us hanging with spare singles and cover songs to tide us over.
The problem with such an approach is that the expectation for something truly epic, something that will exceed all previous efforts increases exponentially. And this is the part of the post where I let you know what you are hoping: they have.
On Celebration Rock Brian King’s voice is a little bit more crackly and weather-worn, no doubt the result of all of the aforementioned touring, but all of the energy and shouts are still there; not only are they still there, they are surprisingly better, more earnest, and more filled with joy. After Post-Nothing I think we all figured that it was safe to assume that there was no way this band could continue on in the same manner. In order to remain relevant, they would have to try to do something different, branch out, and add things to their sound. Well, here’s Japandroids proving us wrong.
Celebration Rock is comprised of 8 songs that fly by in a frenzy, never letting up for a second. The album opens and closes with the sound of fireworks, and every song is propelled forward like it’s been shot out of a cannon. The steady drumbeat of “The Nights of Wine and Roses” fades in, and King can hardly contain his excitement as the guitar enters the mix, swaying a bit against David Prowse’s solid backbeat. Things pick up from there, building until the bottom suddenly falls out, and the pair’s most jubilant string of interjections is extended over the following thirty seconds.
Usually I would say that a good album needs to have a shape to it – the ups, the downs, the entire emotional landscape, you know. Albums need to take us on a journey and allow us to get lost as listeners. But with Celebration Rock, there is absolutely no room for complaint. Japandroids is rocking harder than ever before; they are clearly excited by their music, and they are unapologetic for it. Every single song is comprised of hooks that seem so effortlessly strung together. Between the energy, the hooks, and the nostalgic impact of the lyrics, it’s easy to get lost in Japandroids’ oeuvre. The songs sound new and familiar, capturing the fleeting idea of reminiscence that we all find ourselves feeling from time to time.
The album also features one of the most fantastic one-two rock punches in recent memory, placing “Younger Us” and “The House That Heaven Built” one after the other, the latter of which is a standout track among an album of standout tracks.
The pair is currently on tour, but from what I have heard tickets are selling incredibly fast, and with good reason. Seeing a Japandroids show is a great experience, and one that comes highly recommended. Check their website to see if they are coming to a town near you, and to order the album for yourself.
[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/07.-The-House-That-Heaven-Built.mp3|titles=The House That Heaven Built]
![Japandroids - "Celebration Rock"](http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/japandroids-celebration-rock-300x300.jpeg "Japandroids - "Celebration Rock"")
