Tag Archives: bandcamp

2013, albums, miscellaneous, music, songs

Stream/Download: Friendo – “Cold Toads”

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Friendo
Friendo

A few weeks ago when I was putting together my posts for Cindy Lee and Viet Cong I kept following links around bandcamp just to see where they would take me. I found myself tracing the paths of each of the members of Viet Cong according to what people were saying on last.fm and just basically chasing threads wherever I could find them and following them as far as I could go.

I came across Friendo, Mike Wallace’s former band. If you’ll remember Mike is also the former drummer of Women and the current drummer for Viet Cong. I think that there was some overlap with Friendo and Women, by the way. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like Friendo is really active at all anymore, but you can still download a bunch of their stuff for free, and of course pay to download their entire “Cold Toads” album. They were a band that sounds to be equally influenced by ’60s rock with the added noise and jangle of current art and experimental rock. Similar to the sound of Women in some ways, but the influence of the ’60s is much more prevalent in Friendo than it was in Women (except for say the odd track like “Grey Skies.”)

Right now on their bandcamp page you can listen to and download 3 tracks from “Cold Toads” and also the song “Pass Times” from the Faux012 7″ that also included songs by Women (“Bullfight”), Cold Pumas and Fair Ohs; you can also download 3 free demo tracks.

Everything that was actually released in a physical format, both the “Cold Toads” LP and the Faux012 7″ have long since sold out, but digital downloads are still available. The LP was released through St. Ives Records, but distributed by Secretly Canadian and the Faux 7″ can be purchased as a digital download here.

Just like their bio says, their songs can be gentle and breezy or disjunct and a bit more abrasive. They work equally well on both ends of the spectrum as can be heard when listening to “Callers,” a gently rocking slower song with ethereal harmonies and delicate guitar. Follow that with a song like “Oversees,” or “Counter-Time” which are both everything that “Callers” is not. These two songs showcase their noisier side with a guitar that isn’t quite in tune and rhythms that consistently drive things straight ahead. All the tracks that are up on their bandcamp page are worth checking out, and the entire album is worth the purchase.

Buy Cold Toads//Bandcamp//Facebook (you never know, maybe they’ll come back and post something. Their last update was November 2012.)

2013, miscellaneous, music, news, songs, Uncategorized

Stream/Download: Quasi – “See You On Mars”

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If you couldn’t tell from my earlier post, I am excited about the new Quasi album. I always get excited when I first get into a band and they decide to release an album – let alone a double album – not long after. That they have been together for 20 years now is something that blows my mind. I guess that I’ve been missing out for some time.

Now that we have two songs we can start to get at least a little bit of an idea of how this album is going to come together. Maybe that’s a long-shot, as there is a 24 song track list. But “See You on Mars” (track 2 on the player above) at least gives us an idea of the diversity of the album. It starts off as a bit of a straight ahead, bass-thumping pop-tune (ok, when I said “straight ahead” I was lying, it’s in 7/4, more specifically in alternating bars of 4/4 and 3/4, but straight ahead within that framework. Ok, hey, the point is that every beat in the measure is accented) before breaking off into a bar-room rock tune that reminds me more than a little bit of a tune that could be on Sloan’s “One Chord to Another” or “Between the Bridges.” Of course the ending features a bass guitar glissando that slides up to #4 (sharp 4, not number 4) and never resolves to 5, which is going to drive me crazy every time I hear the song. If the next track doesn’t start with a C# somewhere in the opening chord I might just loose my mind.

“Mole City” is out on Kill Rock Stars on October 1st. Pre-orders for the limited edition vinyl are still available and a lot of the other packages are up for grabs too. You can also download this track as well as “You Can Stay But You Gotta Go” from the band’s bandcamp page. Check out the links below.

You should also know that the entire 20 year output of Quasi is available for streaming on spotify, and of course I would suggest checking it out. “Hot Shit” and “When The Going Gets Dark” are also among my most listened to of their albums. Sloan’s entire discography can be found there as well.

Pre-Order//Bandcamp //Facebook//

Quasi on tour:
October 3 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
October 4 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
October 5 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
October 7 – Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
October 8 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
October 9 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
October 10 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
October 11 – New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
October 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot And Saddle
October 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
October 14 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
October 16 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
October 17 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
October 18 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
October 19 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
October 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
November 3 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
November 4 – Salt Lake City, UT @Kilby Court
November 5 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
November 7 – Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
November 8-10 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
November 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
November 12 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
November 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
November 14 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Soho Restaurant and Music Club
November 15 – San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
November 16 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
November 21 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Caberet
November 22 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
November 23 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge

2013, albums, miscellaneous, music, news

Benefit Comp featuring unreleased tracks by Thee Oh Sees, Cave Singers, Elf Power and more

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Coming Together for a Cure Vol. 2
Coming Together for a Cure Vol. 2

We all love music, that much is obvious. It’s why you are reading this, it’s why I’m writing this. Sometimes music has the opportunity to really make a difference. Those differences can come in the form of small things – helping to make mundane chores bearable, perhaps giving us some new perspective on the world, showing us beauty in new things, new sounds and on and on. And sometimes music is able to do so much more, something that is bigger than all of us.
 
This compilation gives us all a chance to let music make a huge difference in the lives of so many. One such person is Ryan Benton, diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at the age of 3, who is the curator of this compilation that puts together a ton of unreleased tracks from more great bands than you could even conceive of. In Ryan’s own words:
 
I was given a life expectancy of late teens to early twenties. I am currently twenty seven.  In the fall of 2008 I traveled to Costa Rica to be treated for the first time with adult stem cells. I had to travel out of country because the all natural treatment was then and currently now not available in the states. After receiving my first treatment I began gaining back strength and have since gone back on seven separate trips for continued treatment.  
With the help of Air House Records, I have put together a benefit compilation featuring fifteen amazing tracks from national artists such as Thee Oh Sees, Cave Singers, Elf Power, Shine Brothers and The Wonder Revolution. Proceeds will go entirely towards helping fund adult stem cell therapy and research.
 
So in buying this album you will be helping Ryan as well as countless others that find themselves in the same situation. We all know that stem cell research will provide us with answers to medical problems that many Americans face every single day, yet it is currently outlawed in the United States. So why not take a stand against the ridiculous state of affairs that is the American Health Care System Inc. and buy this compilation for a great cause. Ryan continues:
 
Stem Cell Therapy is the first form of medicine that has ever truly helped with the digression of this disease. Stem Cell Therapy is one of the most promising and revolutionary forms of medicine to date. I can attest to this first hand after seeing the positive effects it has had on my debilitating health. Along with my disease it has shown great promise and potential in treating other fatal diseases. We need to embrace this remarkable form of medicine here in the U.S. and outlaw its ban. I am almost certain that without these treatments I would not be alive today.
 
The comp will be officially released on October 29th via Air House Records. You can listen to a sample of “The Factory Reacts,” a track previously unreleased by Thee Oh Sees, below.
 
The Factory Reacts
 
The compilation features unreleased tracks from not only Thee Oh Sees, but also Elf Power, Springs, Miracle Days, Cave Singers and a whole bunch more. I whole heartedly encourage everyone to buy this album to help support a cause and also to maybe discover some music that you may have not heard before. I’m listening to it right now and it’s a really solid collection of songs.
 
If you would like to know more about Ryan, watch the short documentary below. You can also listen to and purchase the first installment of this compilation at comingtogetherforacure.bandcamp.com.
 
Remember: October 29th is the official release and all proceeds will go to the Aiden Foundation to help fund adult stem cell research and therapy. I’ll remind you through Facebook and Tumblr.
 
Air House Records//Bandcamp//Youtube//Learn more about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy//
2013, albums, music, reviews

Album Review: Cindy Lee – “Tatlashea”

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Cindy Lee
Cindy Lee

Like I said two days ago, that the next day I was going to write about the other band that was formed after the dissolution of Women, well that was before I found out that Lightning Bolt had released a new track. I’m always one for keeping things as current as possible, so I allowed myself to get a little off track.

Well since Viet Cong formed with Mike Wallace and Matt Flegel (among others, of course) we should now talk about Pat Flegel’s new project, Cindy Lee.

First off this is far more experimental than anything that Women ever did, and it seems that it is going to stand as far more experimental than what Viet Cong is doing (though, to be fair, that album hasn’t come out yet, but I’m just making the assumption based on the track). The album, only available as a digital download now that the cassette has sold out, reminds me at first of the first Sonic Youth album.

Album opener “Fuck Myself Stupid” features a noisy growl of a guitar that sounds as if it has been treated to some preparation of some sort a la “Lee is Free” (I can’t help but allude to Sonic Youth) and that is combined with some moaning as the song continues to grow louder, building to the end. We do start to get some more or less traditional songs on the album, however. Of course I am using that as a relative term.

“Find Another Man” may have a steady beat, (shoddily tuned) rhythm guitar and some vocals, but it is similarly out there. The lead guitar wanders, twanging in the background while the bass holds down a circular steady eighth note pattern. Devolving into chaos little by little, Flegel coaxes eerie sounds from his guitar until another verse forms. The chaos that ensues upon its completion is far more violent than before, and the band seems to revel in the creation of noise and atmospherics.

A supernatural, disturbing vibe seems to emanate from these tracks. Between the cavernous echo that surrounds the instruments, combined with faint voices heard off in the distance and the sounds of someone actually tapping on the microphone (the aural equivalent of an actor suddenly taking notice of you watching him and stepping to face you), these elements combined make for a somewhat uneasy listening experience.

Understand, that I am not saying “uneasy” in a negative light. That takes some skill, to stick with such an aesthetic and to pull it off so well. The mix of control and chaos, of noise with melody, that seems to be the focus here. And I don’t think that the album ever takes it too far. There isn’t a point on the album where I am thinking to myself, “Ok, now this has gone on long enough.” The sequencing of the tracks and the structure within the tracks themselves prevents that from happening.

Take for example the next pair of songs “Holding the Devil’s Hand,” with it’s 60’s ballad style arpeggiated guitar line and high vocal; that song is followed by “Aboriginal Sin,” another burst of screams, arhythmic drums and atonal guitar work with the recording going into the red from time to time. One song is about creating melody while the next is about playing with shape and atmosphere. Each pursuing the same sound in different ways.

Standout track, for me, has to be “Assassination Reality” that is a combination of all aforementioned elements. It’s a noisy, straight ahead rock track taken right from the early Sonic Youth playbook before collapsing in on itself with distorted vocals and prepared guitars. All with a fine covering of the warmth of tape recording for just the right amount of character to the sound. I don’t want to not mention “Promise of Lonlieness” which is a haunting, melancholic, and tuneful while atonal album closer that is rather beautiful.

The recording is available on Cindy Lee’s Bandcamp page for only $2 Canadian. And of course, as with all Bandcamp pages, you can preview all of these tracks. Oh look there’s the player right there at the top of the page. Maybe you’ve been listening as you read along.

They have a few shows opening for Deerhunter at the end of this month in BC, which makes total sense. So check that out if you can. Also check out this lengthy interview that will give you a lot more insight into the actual band and the story behind the meaning of some of the song. It’s pretty interesting.

Friday, August 30 @ The Rickshaw Theatre (Vancouver, BC)

Saturday, August 31 @ Sugar (Victoria, BC)

//Purchase via Bandcamp//

2012, albums, music, reviews, tympanogram

Album review: Red Alder – "Hyper Vertical"

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(Originally posted to Tympanogram.com on July 10, 2012)

Red Alder - "Hyper Vertical"
Red Alder – “Hyper Vertical”

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.

Find Red Alder on: Facebook | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

 

2012, albums, music, reviews, Uncategorized

Album review: Foton – "Omega"

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Foton - "Omega"
Foton – “Omega”

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.