Just getting my teeth into this month's mix. Future of the Left is awesome! And don't anyone take this the wrong way; I mean it as a compliment; but to me it sounds like they are a cross between Primus and Cake - filling a need I didn't even know I had! Will definitely re-listen and probably laugh my ass off as I understand more and more of what they are saying. But musically as well; very good.
I've added No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims, by D-A-D (formerly known as Disneyland After Dark, until Disney promised them a future in poverty if they didn't change the name).
It's from 1989 and it's the groups third album. It was still a big hit at parties when I was in high school, and in my opinion it's still pretty good today.
I hope someone enjoys it. :)
Very much like the Richard Hawley offering but I love, love, LOVE! the J Mascis "Where are You". Sort of a timeless, acoustic rock thing going on; and every song beautifully played. Great lyrics. I will be listening to this over and over and then going on in search of more. It's so weird to think of this as the "Dinosaur Jr." guy... and while I wasn't a big fan I did like some of their music. This is just so different.
I'm digging the Richard Hawley album. Some fun lyrics in there.
I'm badly overdue with my July contribution, but I found a smooth, summery treat from the Far East to stir into the brew.
Shintaro Sakamoto - HOW TO LIVE WITH A PHANTOM
Other Music Recording Co (their first full-length release!)
I'd never heard of the dude, but apparently he's Big in Japan after a couple decades as the frontman for a 3-piece psychedelic rock outfit called Yura Yura Teikoku. The record geeks at NYC's Other Music liked his solo debut so much they decided to release it stateside. Hope you guys like it as much as I do!
In a Phantom Mood
A Stick and Slacks
Originally Posted by [url=http://www.othermusic.com/2012july19update.html]Other Music[/url]
This looks like fun. I've added "Crawdaddy" by the Darling Buds. Part of the late 80s/early 90s "alternative" tidal wave, they were really just pure, upbeat pop.
In the small world department Motion Sickness of Time Travel (rrmorton's addition for June) is playing a show this Tuesday (the 24th) with I Come To Shanghai: Robert Ashley's (of the Games for Windows Radio and A Life Well Wasted podcasts) band. If you're in Asheville check it out for me.
So it's late here but it's also the start of the month. Or was.
That means it's wipe time, ladies and gentlemen.
My addition this month: The Sparrow by Lawrence Arabia.
I'll post some more, plus thoughts on last month's additions, at a more reasonable hour.
I just wanted to say that I loved hearing the Darling Buds again. Thanks Manresa!
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
This month, for your listening pleasure, is Carl Stone's "Mom's." Stone is firmly on the academic side of music composition, having studied under Morton Subotnick (one of the earliest electronic music composers). Most of Mom's is built from small musical fragments, reassembled into lengthy, evolving pieces that share little with the source material. To my ear, it still sounds fresh, twenty years (!) later.
I added "You're Awful, I Love You" from Ludo. They're a fun little rock band with a humorous slant (though they can sometimes create some shockingly lovely music). Their original self-titled album and concept EP aren't quite as good, alas, and while I see that they have a new album (and Spotify can't tell them apart from a couple of other music acts named Ludo, sigh), I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I think my particular favorite of the album is "Lake Pontchartrain" which is a compact, goofy little horror narrative in ~3 minutes.
I have added the new album (April, 2012 so "newest" is probably more accurate) from the band Lotus Plaza, a gem called Spooky Action At A Distance. That's the nom de rock of Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt, a side project he started back in 2009 I guess.
At any rate, I've never really clicked with Deerhunter, but to me Lotus Plaza is what Lockett Pundt should be doing fulltime for the rest of his career. Sounding very much like a more upbeat and brighter Jesus & Mary Chain (there's an undeniable Reid brother laconic-ness to his vocals) with plenty of edge left intact, I also hear disparate bits of shoegaze, jangle-pop, dreampop, and even a smidge of eighties synth pop. We've seen other artists rub up against those influences before, of course; what makes this click is that Lockett Pundt writes these amazing anthemic and stirring melodic hooks into his songs--a gear that I don't think many who've trod this path possess. I think it is an amazing record, one of the very best of 2012 so far.
I think I covered every album that would show up for me in an earlier post, so there we go. Except for Richard Hawley, which was enough "Fucking cool" to cover off the loss of Gallon Drunk for most of you.
My choice this month was either Graceland (25th Anniversary re-issue) or, well, Lawrence Arabia.
Prompted by The Cake Sale above, I listened to some Cakekitchen this month. Cakekitchen are a Kiwi band (possibly even Flying Nun?). Lawrence is a Kiwi chap who decide to come and live in London, which is where I am. Small world, eh?
What he's made in The Sparrow is some beautifully psychedelic folk-y pop. It's deep and literate (and not in the Decemberists fashion), hook-filled and fantastically arranged. It's maybe not the best or the brightest or the deepest album this year and it's maybe a bit autumn, but it's quietly brilliant and hints that he's maybe got a masterpiece inside him. Enjoy.
My pick this monthly is not terribly creative. The Gaslight Anthem have a new album out and this is it. These guys are insanely consistent. They now have four albums and an EP and every one of them is in my regular rotation. Straight forward rock and roll done right.
Well, since I went to see this band on Friday and was blown away by how awesome they are as usual, I'll add their album to the playlist. It's "Transmalinnia" by fucked up space rock band Lumerians from here in the Bay Area. They play an amazing and mesmerizing amalgamation of 60s psychedelic rave-up mixed with Krautrock beats and weirdo Cabaret Voltaire-ish noise-synth. The whole thing comes out very satanic. I advise seeing them if they come to your town...STONKING live band, seriously. Psychotropics optional but recommended.
They promise a new album soon. Can't wait!
Have to add that this is really lovely. It reminds me of some of William Basinski's pieces or maybe Tetsu Inoue or Andrew Liles. Echoey dreamy loops, but there some direction there...it's not just ambience. It's not random; there's clearly some intent behind it. Definitely deserves more thought and listens.
(this thread needs more discussion...there's some cool albums being posted in here)
I agree... the problem is 1) an embarrassment of riches, and 2) carving out Attentive Listening time, especially during the summer parenthood madness. No matter how often I suggest Carl Stone, my girls just want to do the Call Me Maybe dance party.
Holy balls -- 'One track in and I am LOVING this. All of the albums this month have been great.
I suck when it comes to discussing music intelligently but I will say that, three months in and Kirian's idea has been wildly successful. I was skeptical given how previous shared playlist efforts (here and on other forums I frequent) petered out but making this one album oriented and refreshing it on a monthly basis has made all of the difference.
Thanks!
Well, as I started the thread I'm probably responsible for provoking discussion. Apologies for not giving you more, my Spotify playlist is rather long but your stuff goes right to the top.
So, Lawrence Arabia first as that's the album I went with. The problem with this album, as far as my submission of it goes, is that I'm a sucker for albums with a catchy introduction, and the way Travelling Shoes kicks the album off is exactly my kind of catchy. The quick switch-up once they've played the introductory phrases out pulled me right in after that and I was just a bit lost to these wonderfully crafted little songs. There's nothing gut-busting or particularly miraculous about any of the album, and it's not a pastoral album but it's got that same inner-monologue feel to it. It's a bit different to my last few submissions which is why I went with it.
It reminds me of a cleaner, better, brighter version of some of the stuff that started kicking around when I was getting back into music, and that's what attracted me. I don't think it's going to win any awards or bring anything great, but it is going to stick around.
(I've got a doozy for next month, I think. I need to listen to it again, but I'll put it this way: it's based on a very unlikely source by very unlikely artists).
I've only really listened to the Gaslight Anthem albums so far. It's really wonderfully catchy. I've never much been into this sort of music, purely out of unfamiliarity and laziness in not seeking it out, but there's a great lyrical quality to it. I like that it's full of a quite grounded emotion, and I like that they're not afraid to put together a really catchy and quite driven sound on top of it. I'll definitely be revisiting this one in the future, I really like it.
Lotus Plaza up next. First song's reminding me of several bands I remember that I'm struggling to mention. A slower version of I Should Have Known Better by Yo La Tengo. Other bands. It's killing me, and I'm one song in.
Then the Carl Stone album (a proper listen this time, and I'm looking forward to it). As a note, I was in Banteay Srea a little over a month ago so I should be able to compare it to the source.
What I've listened to so far:
I'm really surprised how much I enjoyed Lawrence Arabia, since I never cared all that much for The Brunettes. It's got dapper chamber-pop sound of someone like The Divine Comedy but without the vocal expressiveness that usually goes along with it. "Early Kneecappings" and "The Bisexual" are particularly good.
Ludo is a little more on the commercial pop-punk side than I usually like, but there's some pleasurable connections to Weezer and The Rentals in there musically...unfortunately, the bratty-sounding vocals are kind of killing it for me.
Lotus Plaza is great so far (only 3 songs in)...I was expecting more post-rock ambience from a Kranky band, but it's really just a full-on dream-pop album with pop overtones. "Out of Touch" almost sounds like an early Apples In Stereo track.
Ah, the Ludo album's not showing up for me.
Yeah, 'The Bisexual' is the song most people pick up on, and the pairing of that with Early Kneecappings anchors the album. The latter's my favourite song on the album, I think.
These region restrictions are really irritating.
Loving the Lumerians, Lotus Plaza (Eveningness is very Walkabout), and Carl Stone this month... I've made a good (if duh) change to how I listen to this thing by creating individual playlists for all the contributed albums. That way I can handle them one at a time on my ipod etc without having to contend with the full mix if I don't wanna.
My contribution is the new album from Echo Lake called WILD PEACE.
New on Slumberland, Oakland-based slowcore shoegaze outift that for me evokes a bit of Galaxie 500 and Cocteau Twins. It didn't grab me on first listen but something kept me going back and after three or four spins, some gorgeous songs started standing out from the dronepack like Young Silence, Last Song of the Year, and the epic closer Just Kids. These moments where vocalist Linda Jarvis cuts loose on some gorgeous melodies helps the less-dynamic tracks immeasuarably. So, about half a brilliant album then.
*Note, there seems to be a file error with Spotify where the second track plays the first track over again.
Last edited by rrmorton; 08-09-2012 at 10:07 AM.
Nice pick. I've already heard this one (Slumberland being one of my favorite labels), but it's a solidly dreamy album. There's melodies there...buried deep sometimes, but they peek out and they're surrounded by plenty of ethereality. Young Silence is a definite standout.
I think I may have heard the Echo Lake album already, but I'm not sure. Looking forward to it.
I've just finished Lotus Plaza, and I really enjoyed it. It's got a similar mood, I feel, to the Chromatics album from this year. Completely different sound, but that sort of step-back-from-time, vague but beautifully pictured feeling. I really enjoyed it and will enjoy putting it on rotation.
I also can't shake the Yo La Tengo feeling from it, I wonder if that's just me.
Banteay Srey: a little like the temple. It would definitely work in the early morning or late evening when there are less people around. Good song. Bit BoC.
Last edited by Kirian; 08-09-2012 at 12:52 PM.
I just added Apocalyptica: Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. It's 4 Finnish guys, who as the title suggests, play Metallica on 4 cellos. I like it.
My add this month, late as it may be, is Unearth by Grasscut. It's a duo of a composer (Andrew Phillips) and keyboardist/bassist (Marcus O'Dair). I don't really go in for electronica and the like, so this is a real change for me personally. Maybe someone can help me find things like this. It's a cool blend of natural instruments and electronic effects. Lots of glitch, and very tuneful, almost classical-style piano and strings. It skews strongly towards the pop end of the spectrum. Lots of hooks, but there's so much layering going on here that the songs never get old. It's dreamy, ethereal, and pretty psychadelic. Definitely one of the coolest things I've heard this year. I think this one will be in rotation for a long time.
This is really good. Reminds me a lot of some of the indietronica on labels like Morr Music or City Centre Offices that was popular in the early 00s. The Notwist, Styrofoam and Ulrich Schnauss come immediately to mind. It's even got bits of New Order in there. Great choice, this is going in one of my playlists somewhere for sure.
I bloody hate you guys, between you and the music magazines my 'Current' Spotify playlist is 503 tracks long.
So, Lumerians are entire bunch of brilliance, wrapped up with a psychedelic bow with a hooked, handwritten greeting card attached and some fuzzed-out feed guaranteeing they'll stay fresh for a good long while.
I don't buy enough flowers.
Echo Lake, on the other hand, are some pretty laid-back, spangly, dreamy shoegaze that would be just perfect to put on when taking a long relax somewhere in the Hebrides or Lake District. Ah, balls, I'm stuck down South for now. God but I used to love stuff like that, and if it wasn't for my need right now for music with more of a release than a build of emotion, I would have loved it more.
Loving them both guys.
The Carl Stone had all sorts of shades of bands peeking in and out, and I'm going to have a poke around at his older stuff and stuff like it. Thanks for bringing him to my attention. I had a phase a few years ago where I loved stuff like The Books and early Mouse on Mars so that was quite the reminder for me.
So, Apocalyptica sounds pretty much as described. Four classically trained musicians playing Metallica songs with many times the grace, dexterity and (at this point) feeling that Metallica could probably put into it themselves. It's a decent novelty; sounds a bit Celtic in places. The musicians are clearly very talented, from playing to the arranging of the pieces, so I may give their catalogue a look-over.
Last edited by Kirian; 08-11-2012 at 05:17 AM.
Completely agree, very much enjoyed that.
Glad you guys are digging on the Grasscut. I've been doing a little listening myself. <
Gaslight Anthem is surprisingly much better than I remember. I listened to their last one and found it samey and dull. It's a real insult to these guys that they get compared to The Boss. Personal preference and whatnot. Good vocals, raw energy, blue collar. Unremarkable, but really good.
Lawrence Arabia is the other one that caught my ear. I love the chamber feel. I'm a sucker for string backing. Just simple, unpretentious stuff. Catchy too.
The snob in me wants to hate Ludo, but the part of me that digs some bubblegum sensibilities tends to take over when they play. Good, up-beat pop punk type stuff with a real flare for the dramatic. I even got a very, very light metal touch here and there with some double bass. Guilty pleasure, but a pleasure for sure.
Liking Dismemberment Plan. I know they've got quite a following and they've been on my radar for a while. Gonna have to give them some more individual attention for sure.
Thanks all for this. It made me stop lurking around here and the good shit keeps rolling in. Nobody I know personally likes to do the playlist thing, so glad I can get the Spotify itch scratched somewhere.
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