Dan
walked in last Thursday, and after we exchanged our usual greetings, he
immediately proceeded to walk over to the vinyl racks to see if we got in The
Notwist’s new album.He looked at
me with excitement that comes about when he is sincerely curious about
something new.I could tell he had
no preconceived notions of what it would be.Dan is a musical jedi.He is most akin to (in terms of music taste) Obi Wan Kenobi, he is open
minded, but can see the “truth” of subjectivity “from a certain point of view”.If he told me to go to the Dagobah
system to train with Yoda I would. Circumstances however, have landed me at the writers desk, so
you all get to deal with my 11th grade grasp of the English language
and lackluster sentence structure.Now! The Notwist-Close to the Glass.
The
album begins with an array of quiet electronic noises, gliding into glitches
and melodic circuit bending.As it
takes shape, the sound coalesces into a sparse but beautiful surrounding for
the understated vocal track.Notwist manages to build those glitches into the sonic backbone of the
track. They are even basing the key signature off the initial sounds (which if
isolated wouldn’t make sense).But
by the time spaced out Rhodes, reversed/swelled string(ish) sounds, and what
appear to be room sounds (perhaps of them dropping pieces of wood or perhaps
electrical cable in time to the drums) are layered into the mix, they act as
one to provide a textural aura that surrounds their melodic focal point.
This
is an album to listen to through headphones, and a rewarding one at that. I noticed so many gorgeous subtleties to each track on
“Close to the Glass”.To me, this
is the first album of 2014 that I am legitimately going to listen to throughout
the whole year, and I will definitely be adding it to my collection.The Notwist takes you for an emotional
ride, and if you’re like me, hearing one song will make you crave the album in
it’s entirety.
With such impeccable song craft,
“Close to the Glass” is a joy to listen to, will keep you coming back to it to
hear all the little details that hooked me.As spring approaches, “Close to the Glass” is the perfect companion
to welcome longer days, drives with the windows down, road trips and
reflections on the winter past.
Those of you not from upstate NY
may have a hard time relating to just how brutal our winters are.Not just in terms of temperatures or
precipitation, but the length of time that they last, and the amount that it
really does get to us up here.Granted we all have pretty tough winter skin, and multiple layers of
clothing on most of the time, but it does begin to beat you down when the sun
is only out till 5pm.This
has been the longest winter for me in recent memory, and I am glad to say that
as it (hopefully) is winding down.As we prepare for the few months of beauty that upstate has each year,
it is good to listen to something that reflects on the conflict and beauty of
whatalmost 7 months of cold can
do to us.Enter Mono (the band,
not the ailment).
After being on a post-rock kick for
the past two months, I felt like I needed a break.I figured moody, ethereal and drone-y seemed a little one
dimensional to keep writing about.However…I hadn’t listened to Mono.Now I have, so anyone reading this will have just ONE more post-rock
album blog to trudge through.Feel
free to skip ahead if you think you know how this one goes.
Mono: Holy Ground *Live in NYC* is
an incredible journey for the mind.I can equate it to being stranded in the snow, forced to reflect upon
the decisions that have lead up to the present.A bold statement?Yes.But as a proprietor of
introspectivehead trips, I am all
for this type of ambient guitar washy-ness (plus did I mention that there is an
orchestra behind them?), and the album builds to so many climaxes that it lets
the band’s dynamic range move it along rather than relying production tricks.
I can only hope that Premier Guitar does a
“rig-rundown” (youtube video explaining their pedal boards, amp choices and
guitars) on these guys soon.I want
to learn their ways.The fact that
this album is live and sounds so damn good is incredible.
So after today, no more post-rock
reviews for a while…I just listened to the new Saint Vincent,so keep your eyes out next week!
Despite my love for the delay pedal as
an integral part of a bands guitar sounds…somehow in all my years of post
rocking, Mogwai escaped my ears.I’m not proud of it, but I’ll own up to it and say this...After listening to “Hardcore Will Never
Die…But You Will” and their new album “Rave Tapes”, they will not pass me by
again.
Post-rock
is defined by Wikipedia as “a subgenre of rock music characterized by the
influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms
and ‘guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures’ not traditionally found in
rock. Post-rock bands are often without vocals”.While this is accurate to a certain degree, the genre has
certainly evolved since its roots in the early 90’s.Sigur Ros, Moving Mountains, Mogwai, Don Caballero,
Tortoise, and Explosions in the Sky are good jumping off points for those new
to the genre.
“Rave Tapes” is primarily without
vocals.It is a moody journey
through gorgeous textural soundscapes, and an exploration of dynamic
contrast.The band will move
seamlessly from drone-rumble guitars into clean delay-laden riffs that force
themselves into the foreground.The rhythm section is joined by synthesized reinforcement and keeps the
record sounding fresh and adds excitement certain sections.
Mogwai
is nothing if not consistent.They
deliver a record that sonically complex and instrumentally sound.This is a group of incredibly talented
musicians and their 19-year career is full of sonic wonderlands to
explore.If you are new to the
band, “Rave Tapes” is a good starting point, and opens up the doors to their
extensive back catalogue.If you
are a longtime fan, listen to “Rave Tapes” and feel free to post lengthy
responses to this about how ignorant I am of the bands true genius from their
early years.Don’t worry, by the
time I see any backlash I will have listened to as much of their discography as
I can get my hands on, and will have some kind of sardonic reply.“Rave Tapes” is a great album all the
way through.Mogwai is a band
worth knowing well.Keep post-rocking
out.
I have felt a bit downtrodden
recently.The normal day to day occurrences that
cause us all stress, the biting cold of the winters in Rochester, whatever your
gloom, it is something we can all relate to.Some of us lose ones we love, through death or through the
end of relationships, and it hurts. It takes the warmth in our chests and
replaces it with an emptiness that feels as though it will never be whole
again.We could wallow in
self-pity, we could get angry at ourselves, or at the situations we are in. Or we can accept these things for what
they are, and put on a Sigur Ros record.
Towards the end of next month
(February 21st) the Alternative Music Film Society will be screening
“Heima”.A documentary that
follows the Icelandic post-rockers back to their homeland to play a series of
shows for free, some in fields that look like they were pulled right out of
middle earth, some in old defunct bomb shelters, some in the middle of a
village.They decided to go home
and remind themselves and their countrymen that they knew where they came
from.I would highly recommend
attending this film.It is life
changing.
I can still remember the first time
I ever heard Sigur Ros. It was almost 6 years ago now.I was driving down Norton St. heading
towards the 590 on-ramp. This was right after the girl I had been dating for
close to a year called me, to tell me she had met someone else.Cliché?Incredibly.However, this is an integral part of the story.My body felt devoid of feeling.I felt incredibly alone, betrayed, and
confused.The CD in my car had a
mix of songs I had never heard, songs that my older, wiser cousin Pat had
recommended to me.To this day he
has never steered me wrong when it comes to music.He had been telling me about this Icelandic band I had never
heard of, and how it would literally change the way I looked at the world, and
the way I thought about music.
I put in the mix CD and turned the
volume all the way up (the way you do as a 19 year old whose heart has just
been broken).I heard the first
few notes slowly fade in, an ambient wash of bells, reverb drenched guitars and
glockenspiel.It grew and grew,
and as I saw the sun over the peak of the hill, the most beautiful piano melody
that (to this day) I have ever heard embraced me in its gorgeous
intervals.The song (which I would
later discover was called “Hoppipolla”) made this metaphorical light inside me
grow, and slowly warm my chest, my hands, and my face.I felt tears rolling down my cheeks,
unrelated to the “heartbreak” I had just experienced.For a moment I felt as though I was floating.I felt this huge wall of beautiful sounds
lifting me from my seat, and placing me in a world that was devoid of anything
ugly or morose.The song reached
its climax and then dropped to just a layer of ambience and a lead vocal
line.The vocalist sang a string
of words I couldn’t understand, “Og ég fæ blóðnasir. En ég stend alltaf upp.”
At that moment it didn’t matter that I didn’t understand the language, I
connected to it.As the vocal
phrase finished, the enormous wave of sound returned more triumphant than
before. I felt goose-bumps form on
my arms, I let the unbidden tears flow, I was one with everything.As an army of trumpets took over the
vocal melody I turned onto the 590 ramp, felt the sun’s warmth on my face and
smiled through the tears. I knew
someone had felt exactly as I did that very moment, and had captured it in this
song.I knew this was a pivotal
moment in my life.I knew I would
never forget it.
Last week, the relationship I had
been in for 3 years ended abruptly.All the emotions I thought I had experienced and understood came back
like a storm.I couldn’t bring
myself to get in my car that day.I walked to work in the snow.I wanted to feel something, even if it wasn’t pleasant, and as my iTunes
shuffle began, the quiet build I now knew well, “Hoppipola” swept me away, and
once again I smiled through the tears, through all the pain that I felt inside,
and I let it wash over me again. As empty as I felt, as cold as I was, and
bitter as that winter morning’s frozen kiss on my cheeks felt, I let the warmth
return to me.I felt at peace.
I know this isn’t my typical blog
post.I apologize to those of you
expecting my normal semi-sarcastic-analytical-run-on-sentence laden post.I am sorry to bear my soul, but in
order to understand how powerful the music that Sigur Ros makes is, it needed
to be contextualized.I hope that
anyone that is feeling hollow, or broken, or cold can take the same feeling of
unbridled joy and sheer awe that I did from Sigur Ros.My cousin was right. Sigur Ros changed the way I looked at
music.They changed the way I saw
the world.On the 1 in 7 billion
chance that someone from Sigur Ros is reading this, I want to say this...I
don’t know your reasons, I don’t know your inspiration, I can’t speak your
language, but you have given me something that I will never be without.You have given me hope, and I will
share it with anyone who will listen.
If you can attend our screening of
Sigur Ros’ “Heima” on 2/21/14 I suggest you do so.It is truly a touching testament to a band who does it for
all the right reasons.If you
can’t make it, and want to check them out, come in and see us at Lakeshore, we
have their whole discography on CD and vinyl, most of which you will find no
where else.And thank you everyone
who read this.It was very therapeutic,
and if nothing else, even if you never agree with my recommendations, I hope
that there is music that moves you on this level.Everyone deserves to have hope.
Every once in a while “super-group” doesn’t
mean “super-shitty”. As rare
as a vile of dodo blood, when a truly inspired “super-group” is born, it means
we should all take heed.
Mister Heavenly is Ryan Kattner (of Man Man),
Nicholas Thorburn (of Islands, and the Unicorns), and Joe Plummer (of Modest
Mouse). They released “Out Of Love”
in 2011 on Sub Pop Records.
According to Kattner, "It actually
sounds like a mash-up of our (Kattner’s and Thorburn’s) two styles. For the Man
Man stuff, if you like our doo-wop-y stuff, 'Doo Right' or 'Ice Dogs,' that
vein. If you like what Nick does, the stripped-down pop stuff and the Unicorns
stuff, it's like that." In a
press release, Mister Heavenly described themselves as “doom-wop”…Totally
accurate description.
The
album begins with one of the best opening songs I’ve ever heard on a
record. “Bronx Sniper” eases the
listener into the album with Thorburn’s quiet breath-y voice, almost as if it
is a calm that will inevitably give way to a total indie-freak-out-nor’easter. The introduction quickly gives way to
dirty guitars, aggressive piano, and Kattners signature melodic
growl-crooning.
As
a whole, the album does a great job of combining the best elements from all
three members respective bands, and makes for an exciting listen.
After several months of listening booth
circulation, and internet-buzz, I decided to objectively listen to Weekend’s Jinx.It took me a few listens to understand the appeal, which I
admit doesn’t make a great case for the album, but the thing is, its super
textural and adequately layered.And after popping it into our trusty CD player and listening to it over
the speakers at Lakeshore, I really do enjoy it.
I
had a hard time placing Jinx amongst new bands sonically, and when I asked
Andrew (the owner of Lakeshore) what he thought, he said Jinx sounds like
“pornography” era Cure/early indie-guitar-rock.This was a pretty spot on description for the album.Although…I can hear a lot of
background-feedback-layers and a much more dense sound than most of the Cure’s
work.The guitars are drenched in
reverb and delay, with a little clean jangle on the top.There are layers of buzz saw-y synths,
and a tinge of “Doolittle” era Pixies.
I love the production approach to
the album.It is hard to pin
down the influences, since it sounds both new and old at the same time.There is a hint of Simple Minds
to the vocals (and yes this is the most referential blog I have done to date),
but the album gets really noisy (and remains melodic) around halfway through
the record.
It is a nice throwback sounding
record, and I really enjoy the idea of being both new, but still paying homage
to their influences.I know I’m
going to listen to it a few times throughout the week, to make sure that I can
understand it a little better.
They have gotten pretty noteworthy
placements including mention in Sports Illustrated, in addition, their song
“End Times” was used in the promotion of the sixth season of Dexter.
Donald Glover has been
a busy man.At only 30 years old,
he has achieved success in almost every artistic endeavor he has taken on.Writing for the wildly successful “30
Rock”, playing college student Troy Barnes on NBC’s Community, all the while
writing and recording under the stage name “Childish Gambino” (the name was
supposedly the product of a Wu Tang Clan name generator).
As rappers go, Glover
dwells somewhere between Busdriver and a super self aware Drake.His new album “Because the Internet” is
as meta as it gets. with Admiral Akbar references, some of the best puns and
punch lines put to beats, and with actual writing talent to back up his new
found confident delivery.Even
when he sounds unsure, it doesn’t detract from the album, it almost adds the
depth that Glover has become known for in most of his work.
There is something
endearing about Glovers lyrics even at his most boastful moments.Maybe its because he DOES legitimately
get money, but never finds the need to strait up say “I get money” or “I f***ed
some b****es”.That kind of
stereotypical self-assurance seems beneath him.Instead he finds eloquent ways to say inelegant things.
“More green than my whole foods, and I’m too fly, Jeff Goldblum” (which I’m
assuming is a pretty cool way to say that one has money, smokes a lot of weed,
and is cooler than most, by way of making a reference to a movie that came out
when he was 3).It is also
hilarious.In part because it is
hard to imagine Glover as someone other than Troy from “Community”, but also
because it does seem like he is several different people over the coarse of
“Because the Internet”.He has no
problem expressing self-doubt and even a sense of self-loathing in his
lyrics.Somehow he bounces back from
the depths of depression to archaic cultural references delivered by the second
(which should be expected from a 30 rock writing alumni flexing his linguistic
muscles).
I do get the distinct
impression Glover is making fun of other rappers.Not that he name drops in a negative way, or calls anyone
out directly.Instead he just does
nearly every facet of the genre so well that it just seems like he is
subconsciously letting everyone else in the rap world know that not only is he
going to participate in their game, he is going play it better, and then make
new rules.Hopefully other players
can learn them.
Ludwig Göransson (known for his
work on Community, New Girl, and Happy Endings)produced the album with Glover at the mansion of Miami
Heat’s Chris Bosh in LA (which Glover would dub “The Temple”). Just today I’ve
listened to the album two times in a row.I wanted to catch the subtleties of the production and the syncopation
of the vocals around the spacey, understated and sometimes sparse beats.
In addition to the album itself, On
December 6, 2013, Glover released a 75 page screenplay designed to sync with
the album. It was revealed on the website becausetheinter.net.It is safe to say that Glover is serious about his musical
career.Having a laundry list of
successes in several mediums, it is anyones guess what he will do next, seeing
as he has bounced around from screenwriting, to stand up, to acting, and
rapping.If Donald Glover can
continue to be as prolific as he has been over the past few years, we can
continue to expect great things.
Specializing in alternative music since 1988, our priority is helping our customers find the music they want and introducing them to new music we know they'll like.
