Written by hKWAP on Monday, 30 of November , 2009 at 7:30 pm
This shit grooves HARD!! The first single off of their highly anticipated 7th Lp excursion, “Written In Reverse” is raw energy and a very exciting hint at things to come…Enough said, check the newly released album art (left) and the single format artwork (right) as well as the long player track list (below). Peep the stream of this truly excellent single (via NPR) HERE!
1 Before Destruction
2 Is Love Forever?
3 The Mystery Zone
4 Who Makes Your Money
5 Written in Reverse
6 I Saw the Light
7 Trouble Comes Running
8 Goodnight Laura
9 Out Go the Lights
10 Got Nuffin
11 Nobody Gets Me But You
Written by hKWAP on Monday, 30 of November , 2009 at 2:37 pm
An apt “yang” to the gleefully melodic “yin” of MWPP, FBK delicately compliments/offsets the buoyant harmony of its predecessor with obscured ambience and dark ambivalence. In listening to this song cycle, its almost as if you are experiencing the tracks through a dingy and translucent cellophane, forcing the listener to employ his/her most attentive ear to extract the cleverly concealed music within. Indeed, it’s quite uncanny that a group should undergo such drastic change only months after releasing what had been their most “easy listening” and “obvious” album to date. I might even call it a step back for the trio, not in quality, but in style. It is at once surprising and possibly unnerving to the many who became fans after the aforementioned January 09 release, while comforting to those self proclaimed “die hards” who deemed MWPP “too mainstream” and feared that their beloved Anco had taken a turn for commercialism. (Really, anyone who considers MWPP “mainstream” is probably a little too pretentious for their own good) FBK carries with it a certain disorder and randomness absent from the slick and calculated MWPP. The transition from the doleful and spooky opening of “Graze” to its final section, a melody that could easily find itself in the background of a Disneyland ride, acutely embodies this jumpiness. What Would I Want? Sky proves to be one of the more easy listening “poppy” Anco songs to date, while the following track takes on an air or slow atonal repetition that would make it almost unlistenable out of context. Unexpected from start to finish, the EP makes no attempt at structure, underlying theme, or melodic conformity- a truly miscellaneous collection of emotions and music. To me, it’s a little heavy in transitional ambience, a characteristic which would be expected from a full length, but is a little frustrating when it outweighs the more rhythmically and melodically “catchy” sections. Some will despise this, some will genuinely love this and commend the band for their disregard of convention, and some will passively and unfeelingly praise this because, well, it’s Animal Collective right? Regardless, the release is definitely a nice compliment to an already stunning and diverse catalog and demonstrates a rare disregard for commercial expansion. (To be fair, they could probably live off MWPP for a while) Be sure to snag a copy of Fall Be Kind when the physical EP gets released…
Written by willshoob on Sunday, 29 of November , 2009 at 7:35 pm
Can You Dig It? is a great compilation album put out by Soul Jazz Records, featuring fantastic artists such as Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, The Impressions, and a lot more. 34 tracks are crammed on to two discs, and they all focus on “The Music and Politics of Black Action Films 1968-75.” Needless to say, this is the most badass compilation you’ll ever pick up. Along with the music you’ll also get a super informative, super hip 100 page book, teaching you all there is to know about black action films during the 70s. A great thing about the compilation is its diversity. You get the funkiest songs of all time with Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” and James Brown’s “Make It Good To Yourself”, but then you also get orchestral arrangements put together by dudes like Quincy Jones and JJ Johnson. Music comes from movies like Shaft, Cleopatra Jones, Superfly, Foxy Brown, and every other black action movie from the 70s. If you don’t at least check this out, you just don’t like to have fun. Download a couple of my favorite tracks below, and get ready to get yr funk on.
Written by willshoob on Tuesday, 24 of November , 2009 at 3:26 pm
Thanks to Stereogum for the video. I’m not quite sure about what TV show this is for, but it sounds cool nonetheless. Anyways, check out Owen Pallett playing “Keep The Dog Quiet”, which he mentions is the second track from his upcoming album, Heartland. Watch the video below, and check out the tracklist for Heartland below.
Heartland
1. Midnight Directives
2. Keep The Dog Quiet
3. Mount Alpentine
4. Red Sun No. 5
5. Lewis Takes Action
6. The Great Elsewhere
7. Oh Heartland, Up Yours!
8. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
9. Flare Gun
10. E Is For Estranged
11. Tryst With Mephistopheles
12. What Do You Think Will Happen Now?
Written by willshoob on Monday, 23 of November , 2009 at 8:59 pm
The San Francisco super group of sorts is back with the Dead Oceans family for their third record. Dream Get Together will be coming our way, and I can’t wait. Led by ex-Piano Magic man Ezra Feinberg, Citay’s third album is produced by Tim Green from The Fucking Champs. Shredding guitars and charming vocals characterize “Careful With That Hat”, the first single the band has released for the new record. The record looks to be fantastic, especially the track “Mirror Kisses”, which was written specifically for guest vocalist Merrill Garbus (of Tune-Yards). She’ll be singing in a three part harmony with two other Citay members, in what is guaranteed to be a memorable track. “Careful With That Hat” is about seven minutes long, but it’s a speedy seven minutes. The track feels like the perfect length, which is a testament to the type of band Citay is. I highly recommend you download “Careful With That Hat”, if you want a nice lil’ trip without all of the drugs and shit. Check out the tracklist below as well.
Dream Get Together
01. Careful With That Hat
02. Return From Silence
03. Dream Get Together
04. Secret Breakfast
05. Mirror Kisses
06. Hunter
07. Fortunate Sun
08. Tugboat
Written by willshoob on Sunday, 22 of November , 2009 at 9:00 pm
Even though this record was released last Tuesday, the New Jersey natives are making sure to stay busy. Bassist Alex Bleeker has a new LP coming out Friday, that’s sure to be great. It also features other members of Real Estate, along with the always great Julian Lynch. Another member of Real Estate is also Ducktails, who has a pretty legitimate following of his own. On top of all of that, Underwater Peoples has put out a tour only “live on the radio” record, that you can only pick up at their shows. If that’s not enough, they also have a 12″ coming out via Mexican Summer to help bring in the new year, because hey… Someone has to compete with Beach House for record of the year before 2010 actually begins. So now that all of that is out of the way, let’s talk about some music.
The Woodsist (instant-cred) released record starts off with “Atlantic City”, a track that accurately speaks its name. Amidst the beach-y guitar lines, the song starts off with a sludgy bass line that not only contrasts the guitar part, but does a pretty good job of contrasting the beach aspect of their music, with their equally apparent New Jersey roots. The track clocks in at just under two minutes, segueing in to one of my favorite tracks on the record, “Beach Comber.” I posted this track a while back, but if you don’t remember, let me just quickly tell you that this track is fantastic and easily one of the years best. Another beach vs. New Jersey battle, this track also features some nice vocals. Among the various lyrics, a Lorax reference is hidden in there, which immediately gives the band childhood/nostalgia points. “Black Lake” follows, which is a total chiller. The track floats along, drink with little umbrella in one hand, beach chair in the other. Hazy vocals float through the track, drifting in and out as effortlessly as possible. The next track is “Fake Blues”, which starts off with a nice guitar line, while other instruments slowly come in. This track is about as close as the band gets to “loud”, as the drummer rocks on his floor tom throughout most of the track. The vocals mirror the guitar line, something I’m growing fonder and fonder of as I hear it more. Skip a couple of tracks and you arrive at “Pool Swimmers”, which seems to be the track most influenced by Ducktails. Those swirling guitar lines he’s “famous” for are especially apparent here, with an effect being placed on the drums as well. However, when the chorus hits, the effects seem to get lost in the mix of pure Real Estate joy. Although the effects are still there, they seem to be overshadowed by the natural landscape that is a Real Estate track. The album ends with “Suburban Dogs”, a nice, but slightly disappointing closer. It’s not necessarily a bad song, but it’s nothing to remember. The closing track for the average listener is the most important, it leaves the final impression. If you’re listening to the album one time and the last track isn’t great, it may leave a stain over the entire album. Of course, if you’re a big fan of Real Estate and have devoured every track this isn’t an issue, but it may be an issue with an “average listener.”
With that being said, the good on this album overshadows whatever bad may be apparent, which is very little if at all. A tremendous debut LP by a tremendous band, I can’t wait to see what Real Estate has in store for us next. Based on their current output, we should be expecting some more very good music, very soon. Download “Beach Comber” below.
Written by willshoob on Saturday, 21 of November , 2009 at 1:25 pm
Everyone seemed to get past the whole upper case letter thing at about the same time, thus explaining the current hype around her. tUnE-yArDs is Merrill Garbus, and her debut record BiRd-BrAiNs was just re-released on 4AD. She just recorded a couple of rad videos that took place at the Time Travel Mart in Echo Park. Check them both out below, along with a track from her debut record.
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