(Originally posted on Tympanogram on August 7, 2012)
Deerhoof – “Breakup Song”
Everyone’s favorite San Francisco based fun-time art-pop band, Deerhoof, are preparing to release a follow up to 2011?s Deerhoof Vs. Evil with Breakup Song due in stores on September 4th via Polyvinyl.
They have released a typically quirkily named track, “The Trouble With Candyhands” on the Polyvinyl Soundcloud page that provides us with a short glimpse of their ever evolving sound. The addition of staccato brass adds a bit of a danceable salsa flair to the typically frenetic sound of the band. The guitars are dialed back significantly but Greg Saunier continues to carve intricate, shifting rhythms right through the heart of the song with Satomi’s high falsetto soaring sweetly above the foundation. You can hear snippets from the entire album by popping a token in the Jingletron. Based on this first listen it sounds like Deerhoof are placing a little more emphasis on their electronic leanings that started to show a bit more on Deerhoof Vs. Evil.
With a new album comes a new tour and Deerhoof are ferocious live, so check them out when they come to a town near you. And if you are in Portland, OR for their show (with the equally amazing Buke and Gase opening) I’ll let you buy me a few beers.
Legendary Canadian band Sloan are re-releasing their groundbreaking 1994 sophomore effort “Twice Removed” with a whole host of goodies and following that up with a tour.
So as you can see from the above video there are TONS of extras that will be included when you pre-order. In my opinion this makes it completely worth the $89.99. If you haven’t heard the album then you probably won’t be willing to part with so much cash, and probably won’t be interested in all of the extras, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make yourself familiar with one of the greatest Canadian rock albums of all time. Forget Canadian, this album holds up as one of the best no matter what you put it up against.
This will be the first time “Twice Removed” has been made available on vinyl since the 90’s, a big plus for those of us that are completists. If you want to familiarize yourself with Sloan and you are on Spotify then you are in luck because the entire Sloan catalog is up there for your listening enjoyment.
Ironically one can not access Spotify in Canada, so enjoy the video below, or simply listen while you head to Sloanmusic.com to check out their tour dates, where they will be playing “Twice Removed” front to back all across Canada and the Northern U.S. As of right now they have posted dates throughout September with a promise that there will be more shows booked through October and November so keep checking Sloanmusic.com if you don’t see a town near you listed.
SEP 05, Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge (Northwest Music Fest) SEP 06, Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern SEP 07, Golden, BC – Rockwater SEP 08, Oliver, BC – Tinhorn Winery SEP 09, Lethbridge, AB – Average Joe’s SEP 11, Edmonton, AB – Starlite SEP 13, Cranbrook, BC – Key City Theatre SEP 14, Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom SEP 15, Victoria BC – Rifflandia SEP 17, Medicine Hat, AB – Esplanade Theatre SEP 18, Regina, SK – The Pump SEP 19, Saskatoon, SK – Louis’ Pub SEP 20, Winnipeg, MB – The Pyramid SEP 21, Minneapolis, MN – 400 Bar SEP 22, Chicago, IL – Subterranean
(Originally posted to Tympanogram on July 31, 2012)
Thee Oh Sees – “Putrifiers II”
I was in Chicago a few weeks ago for the Pitchfork Music Festival, which is always a great place to scope out the music that everyone else is already excited by, but I have somehow missed the boat on. It’s a good way of forcing myself to get obsessed with new things, and this year was definitely good for that.
I’m sure I’ve come across tracks by Thee Oh Sees recently, but so many things tend to get lost in the shuffle when you listen to so much music. The point here is that sometimes it takes a band to kick your ass thoroughly live to get you to understand how worth your time their music is. The most recent album by Thee Oh Sees is last years excellent Carrion Crawler/The Dream, but I’m urging you – no – pleading, begging and demanding that you see this band live. Sure the recordings are great, but I think that I’m adding my own memories of the two live performances I caught in Chicago. The albums aren’t able to really capture all of the energy, and to be honest the tempi are significantly slower on all of their recordings than live versions. It would be impossible to sum up their sound in a short post, but let’s just go with this: noisy, psychedelic garage rock not unlike Ty Segall or White Fence but with catchier hooks and more space-echo.
Thankfully they also have a new album coming out on In The Red on September 11 called Putrifiers II. They recently released a track from it, “Lupine Dominus”, that is noisy and bass driven like so many songs off their previous efforts like Carrion Crawler/The Dream and Help. John Dwyer’s crazed vocals take more of a back seat to Brigid Dawson’s, but the track still manages to showcase their hypnotic and reverberant sound. Check it out, and check out everything you can by them, many of their recent efforts are available on Spotify. They are also all over the country on tour throughout the summer, so be absolutely sure that you check them out.
[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TheeOhSees_LupineDominus.mp3|titles=Thee Oh Sees – “Lupine Dominus”]
Catch them on tour:
08/03/2012 Pickathon Happy Valley OR
08/04/2012 Pickathon Happy Valley OR
08/05/2012 Woodsist Festival Big Sur CA
08/11/2012 Outside Lands Festival San Francisco CA
09/09/2012 El Rey Los Angeles CA w/Sic Alps + The Mallard
09/10/2012 Bar Pink San Diego CA w/Sic Alps
09/11/2012 Bunkhouse Las Vegas NV w/Ty Segall
09/13/2012 Gothic Theater Denver CO w/Ty Segall
09/14/2012 ACM @UCO Oklahoma City OK w/Ty Segall
09/15/2012 La Zona Rosa Austin TX w/Ty Segall
09/18/2012 Goat Farm Atlanta GA w/Ty Segall
09/19/2012 The Bottletree Birmingham AL w/Ty Segall
09/20/2012 Zombie Shop Nashville TN w/Ty Segall
09/21/2012 Strange Matter Richmond VA w/Ty Segall
09/22/2012 The Well (Wick) Brooklyn NY w/Ty Segall
09/23/2012 ATP Asbury Park NJ
09/25/2012 Town Ballroom Bufffalo NY w/Ty Segall
09/26/2012 The Hoxton Toronto ON w/Ty Segall
09/29/2012 High Noon Saloon Madison WI w/Ty Segall
09/30/2012 Turf Club St. Paul MN w/Ty Segall
10/02/2012 VFW Missoula MT w/Sic Alps
10/03/2012 Broken City Calgary AB w/Sic Alps
10/04/2012 Broken City Calgary AB w/Sic Alps
10/06/2012 Rickshaw Theater Vancouver BC w/Sic Alps
10/07/2012 Neptune Seattle WA w/Sic Alps
Kelsie Brown has been releasing a steady stream of quiet, ethereal bedroom pop on her bandcamp page under the name Red Alder for over a year. Last week, on June 24, she announced that an entire album’s worth of older tracks were going to be released, and this is that album.
Though the songs aren’t meant to fit together to create a cohesive album – as they are lo-fi demos for the most part going as far back as 2005 – the general style and atmosphere of each track is very similar throughout. A piano awash in reverb builds over the top of vocals that are simultaneously whispering and shouting to be heard on “So Gracefully”, perhaps the most well formed of this collection as far as pop structure is concerned. Despite these songs not being thought of as forming an album “In Rain I Sat Alone and Waited” does seem to pick up where “So Gracefully” leaves off melodically. Synth tones overlap, accumulating a cloud of dissonance before disappearing into the night.
Another instrumental, “Untitled 2?, draws similarities to Erik Satie’s solo piano works. The simplicity of two repeated chords with a wandering, melancholic melody over top sounds uses the Gymnopédies and Gnossienne of Satie as starting points. And in “Two,” Brown’s voice cries out in occasional dissonance against the gentle piano texture.
This collection is available now on the Red Alder bandcamp page for any price you’d like. Though no performances are listed at this time, if you are in the Seattle area keep your eyes out for a possible show in the future.
As is tradition for me around this time (almost) every year, I take off to Chicago to catch the Pitchfork Music Festival that has been happening every year since 2006 in Union Park. Though I didn’t have a chance to go last year, due to an expensive cross country move that I was going to be partaking a month after the festival, I am excited to return to the tradition again this year. Just as I did in 2010 I’m going to break the weekend up into 3 posts, one for each day of the fest, detailing each of the acts that I am looking forward to catching and hopefully helping you to discover some new acts even if you aren’t going to the festival. With any luck I’ll be able to update after each day of the fest to inform you as to what exactly went down, with links to any pictures and video (of at least reasonable quality) that I can find.
Friday July 13, 2012:
Tim Hecker, with the release of “Ravedeath 1972” in February 2011, blew pretty much everyone away with his expansive ambient drones. For me, as someone that doesn’t normally sit and listen to ambient music, there is something very intriguing about the sound of this album. It’s dense, complex, gritty, it may seem simple on the surface but there is a lot to dig in to. It’s an album to which I keep returning. I’m looking forward to his performance on Friday, but I’m also a little bit nervous that his brand of atmospherics may get lost to an outdoor venue. There’s a lot of subtlety to his music that may be hard to grasp in an open air venue. Typically the crowd at the festival knows (I’m making an assumption here based on my own personal feelings after years of attending) the music fairly well so I’m sure it will go as well as it can, but there is still a chance that it will end up like the disastrous (and BORING!) Panda Bear set from 2010.
Japandroids, are definitely not ones to disappoint. After the release of their first album “Post-Nothing” this Vancouver duo played the side stage of the festival in 2009. The energy of their songs and the catchiness of their hooks seemed to endear them to everyone. Every shout along chorus seemed familiar and inviting even to those in the crowd that may have only come to know the band that day. Not much has changed in the 3 years since that album was released. They have a new LP out, the aptly titled “Celebration Rock”, that is perhaps the best release of the year so far. The new one is even more exciting than the last, and that Japandroids have spent the majority of their time on the road has certainly helped. There is no question that this set will be fantastic, though I can’t hide my disappointment and frustration that Pitchfork has decided to once again relegate them to the smaller stage.
[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/07.-The-House-That-Heaven-Built.mp3|titles=The House That Heaven Built]
Dirty Projectors seem to be in step with Japandroids. The last time we heard from Dave Longstreth and company was the same summer that the Vancouver duo released “Post-Nothing”. Both albums fought for my attention that summer, and neither one surpassed the other in listens. I loved (and still do love) “Bitte Orca”, and being that a stream of the latest Dirty Projectors album, “Swing Lo Magellan”, was just released yesterday (and it sounds fantastic) I’m sure this will be another hard fought battle for the summer. The official release date for the album comes just before the festival (July 10 on Domino Records), and may push Japandroids around for their spot as “best release of 2012 so far”. But all that is ok. This will also be a repeat performance, as they played in support of “Rise Above” in 2009 just before the official release of “Bitte Orca”. That was my first ever introduction to the band, and now that I am more familiar with their stuff (as is everyone else) I’m sure to get a lot more out of it.
As for the rest of the performances on the first day of the festival, I have never really been the biggest fan of Feist. I found “The Reminder” quite boring and because of that I haven’t even bothered checking out her new one, “Metals”. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised. Though earlier in the day I am going to have to check out The Olivia Tremor Control as they have been in the back of my mind forever as a band that I definitely need to check out. All that I know about them is that they are one of the original bands in the Elephant 6 collective. That alone is enough to get my attention. I also realize that I lose about a million hipster cred points for not checking them out sooner.
From Portland, Oregon’s Field Hymns Records, Foton has produced an album full of electronic, mostly ambient sounds that fall somewhere between Boards of Canada and more experimental, free-form soundscapes that are (what I imagine to be) like field recordings from a trip to Mars.
Melodies and pulse fall in and out of focus across much of the 30 minute album. For example “There Was the Ruby Glade” keeps trying to leave the ground but sputters into Wagon Christ territory before concluding. Instead of one solid structure, or one solid idea, we have fragments of surging electronics that glitch and buzz, held together by droning ambience.
“Slope 7F” provides the longest melodic line of any of the songs that hauntingly rings out unsupported by any harmony before the sound of a pipe organ comes crashing through in a swell of sound, that again is cut off completely. The song builds and falls continually leaving the listener hanging, before the lengthy melody returns only to be defeated by scratches of howling distortion and drums. This is probably the finest song on the album.
The closing track, a 15-minute magnum opus of pure, throbbing, ambient sound that builds to a loud organ sound once again, retaining the same harmony throughout and eventually fading away after several shifts in timbre. What’s interesting here is not so much what happens structure wise across the sprawl of 15 minutes, but it’s what happens timbre wise that changes the almost physical shape of the sound that emerges. The form is not in the division of sections here, because there is only one part, rather the form lies in how the pitch envelope is shifted slightly over that time.
This album is an interesting experiment in sound, creating shifting ambient soundscapes that aren’t afraid of straying from that archetype to allow melody and pulse emerge if need be.
Head to the Field Hymns page for Foton to purchase this release (out now!) for only $6, or click through the bandcamp link below. The album is being released on a limited edition of 100 cassettes, so don’t delay. Instant download upon purchase.
(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]
Carrie Brownstein of Wild Flag is featured on this week’s WTF Podcast with Marc Maron. If you aren’t a fan of the podcast now would be a perfect time to start checking it out. Marc presents 2 episodes a week of conversations with comedians, actors, writers that are sometimes funny, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes revelatory and always entertaining.
On this episode (No. 267) Carrie and Marc discuss Carrie’s years with Sleater-Kinney, awkward meetings with Peter Buck of R.E.M., meeting Fred Armisen and creating Portlandia, guitars, pets and a whole bunch of other things. Check it out.
Also, as an incentive to listen, Marc gives his listeners a 20% discount on the Merge Records website. That discount covers everything on the site from vinyl, CD’s and merch to digital downloads, so take a listen and find out how to get that discount.
Check out the WTF Podcast with Carrie Brownstein here
Download from iTunes. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast, it’s regularly great.
Wild Flag is currently finishing up their tour. There are still some shows coming up on the West Coast, and Mexico, through May. Check them out if you can.
![Deerhoof - "Breakup Song"](http://tympanogram.com/files/deerhoof-breakup.jpeg "Deerhoof - "Breakup Song"")
![Thee Oh Sees - "Putrifiers II"](http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/theeohsees-putrifiers.jpeg "Thee Oh Sees - "Putrifiers II"")
![Red Alder - "Hyper Vertical"](http://f0.bcbits.com/z/36/81/3681815890-1.jpg "Red Alder - "Hyper Vertical"")
![Foton - "Omega"](http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/foton-cover-LARGE-600x604-298x300.jpeg "Foton - "Omega"")
![Japandroids - "Celebration Rock"](http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/japandroids-celebration-rock-300x300.jpeg "Japandroids - "Celebration Rock"")
