The Tape

My favorite violinist this and that side of the Mississippi has released a couple of great tracks. Final Fantasy (Owen Pallatt) makes great pop songs revolving around violin loops. He’s released a couple of albums and has a fantastic live show that involves stories on a projector*. I’m sure most of you know who he is so I won’t go into a lot of detail, but if you haven’t heard him I highly recommend you listen to his cd’s, as well as these new tracks. These songs are supposedly going to be released on a series of EP’s being released in September and October.

***

P.S. I’m not sure “Ultimatum” is new, but it’s really good as well.

Final Fantasy- Horsetail Feathers

Final Fantasy- The Butcher

Final Fantasy- Ultimatum

CHEW LiPS is a band of only 6 gigs old. They have 3 members named Tigs, Will and James. They’re playing soon in London and Paris. They sound pretty sweet. Their song Solo starts out with a favorite thing of mine, some 8 bit sounds! Tigs starts to sing over the chiptune beat, chanelling Karen O and her contemporaries. The song starts to pick up as the bass gives definition. The lyric “We don’t wanna wait there’s no time no time” repeats sounding more at home each iteration. The song finishes not much higher than how it started, its climax told the same way. But it makes sense, the song has few places to go, almost perfection on the first go. CHEW LiPS sounds like a band that can do great great things and since this only a demo I expect an EP to sound fantastic. Keep an eye on these guys lest they sneak up behind you and get stuck in your head.

CHEW LiPS - Solo (Demo)

This is the last post I shall make before heading off to Centralish America (Costa Rica) and Ima make it local. Afternoons is an L.A band who started about 6 months ago making tunes that sound like the choir leapt off the stage and joined the marching band as they romped through Los Angeles on a summery day. The standout track here of course is “Say Yes” which is exhilirating, catchy, happy, and uplifting and it’s also pretty good. So before I head off to some sun drenched beaches: brighten up your day with the Afternoons. (Yeah that was kind of cheesy.)

Afternoons - Say Yes

Blastronauts have hit pimp slapped us again with some lovingly crafted rising/falling pop music. I Am A Ferriswheel moves from some determined guitar strums into a drifting storybook like narrative on the life of a ferriswheel. We get pulled back up by some drums and singalong vocals, and then we get a nice climaxing whoa chanting finale. The world is on fire and we like it. Now we don’t have an mp3 for you guys but maybe if everyone asks really nicely Blastronauts will hook us up.
Blastronauts-I Am A Ferris Wheel

Now see where asking nicely takes you in life. Yay Mp3s!

http://www.myspace.com/blastronauts

Sounding like Say Hi To Your Mom found a band in a bar during a cold night in Canada, or more accurately South Carolina, Run Dan Run blends a melodic drum machine/vocal combination with the force of a full band, a soft and honest voice with echoes of a 808 cowbell speaking of forgetting names with pretty synths and the slow strum of a guitar: perfect. Dan McCurry, Nick Jenkins, Ash Hopkins, and Erin McKinley prefer to describe their electric indie pop groovings like so:

Once upon a time Dan was captured by mind-manipulating aliens that planted a small microchip into his brain that transfers and channels information through verse & audio. When this chip was activated from the distant planet that these aliens watch over Dan from he began acting strangely neurotic and wrote down alien transmissions in song form. He was then met by Nick Jenkins, a cyborg & freelance musician, and they began performing recording experiments. Shortly after their experimentations, they concocted a plan to take over the world, however, they needed a foil. Using a very disproportionately large tractor beam, they pulled in Ash Hopkins from “Starzzhip Interrprizze” and passed off their plans for world domination in the form of an unsuspecting, small operations indie pop rock band. They called their superannihilation plan for all humanoids “Run Dan Run”. They conducted hypnosis/mindthought planting experiments on the general masses at shows around their project base, Charleston, SC. They found a likely specimen for synthesizing hamsters with people in a young singer, Erin McKinley. They abducted her in a giant beam of light, gave her an aluminum foil helmet and made the first hamster-human ever recorded. They called their breakthrough discovery “Basic Mechanics.” Now they’re ready to infiltrate the homes of earthyouth in an honest-to-goodness jewel-cased CD package… muhahahahaha! Muhahahahaha!

Whatever you may choose, the message is constant. Run Dan Run makes music you want to hear and contrary to the ideas you may have gotten, they will not abduct you into a mind controlled cult to further the plot of an indie pop band’s world domination. Maybe.

Run Dan Run - The Turnover

Run Dan Run - Your Name Escapes Me

So over the weekend I go to see The Wombats at The Roxy. Unknown to me there were headliners that had not been announced on the ticket/myspace. Upon arriving to the venue I was treated to the sounds of The Yelling, a North Hollywood band whose name fits the music perfectly. Not my cup of tea so I’ll skip to 30 minutes later. I decided the google the other name on the billing: Pop Noir. On arriving at their myspace I was sucked into a world of synth laden choruses, swaggering bass lines, and shimmering guitar riffs. Pop Noir is two brothers, Joe and Luke McGarry, as well as a drummer, Nico Saveedra. They (Joe and Luke) are born in Manchester and make music you’ll enjoy dancing to. Joe was kind enough to give us an interview.

If you each could pick only one, what band/album/song was the most influential in forming your sound?

That’s a really tough question, I don’t think we can do it.. We can narrow it down to a city, though: Our hometown of Manchester! So much great music came out of there, Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, The Smiths, A Certain Ratio, Durutti Column, Oasis.. You could even count The Verve, they’re from just down the road..

We’d love to get George Michael to produce our album!!

Batman or Spiderman?

I don’t think we’d be Pop Noir if we didn’t pick Batman..

Head over to their website, buy their EP, and support Joe and Luke in their quest of becoming everyone’s favorite band!

Pop Noir - Girls Of Prey

Pop Noir - Bang The Drum

I’d like to let everyone in on a secret: I’ve found my summer jam. Oh yes, as D.A.N.C.E and Any Way You Choose To Give It were last year, Can’t Stop Movin is to this. Found over at Good Weather For Airstrikes this song will sweep you up and take you away on a rollerskate ride of sunshine and sample love. Reminding me of Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve’s Percy Power in terms of sample variety but subsituting the mellow psychedelia for a song that will have you pulling dance moves that have been out of style for decades, in the best possible way. I highly reccomend everyone to start this trend now and hopefully we’ll hear it poolside, beachside, and sunny side for summer. Oh and pick up Sonny J’s album next week too

Sonny J - Can’t Stop Movin

Hour of the Shipwreck is a five member band consisting of RICHIE KOHAN - 12 String Guitar, Vocals, BARBARA GRUSKA - Drums, Vocals (Jenny Lewis, The Watson Twins, Inara George, Mike Andrews), MARCEL CAMARGO - Guitars, Mandolin, Orchestra Bells, Vocals (The Watson Twins, Inara George, Airto Moreira), AARON ARNTZ - Wind Organ, Keyboards, Bells, Orchestra Bells, Vocals (Zappa Plays Zappa), and GABE NOEL - Bass. They play a mix of dreamy pirate rock and Danny Elfman inspired music. Their CD was officially released tonight. They played a show at the party and I was lucky enough to witness one of the greatest rock performances I have ever seen. Not only are they great performers but their new CD rules. “If they don’t get famous off this album there is something wrong with the world”-Sam Kauffman-Skloff. Now I’ll highlight some of my favorite songs on the new album.

Hour Of The Shipwreck-Unclouded Eyes

Hour Of The Shipwreck- My Fantasy

This next one does something amazing, they are able to take a heavy solo and put it against a piece of music that is slow and beautiful.
Hour Of The Shipwreck-Save The World

These are undoubtedly the hardest rocking songs on the album. I honestly have nothing to say about this album besides it being great. So if your into these tracks you can purchase the album on their myspace.

I was able to catch up with Jason Schwartzman, who along with being super busy working two jobs (actor, musician), and the fact that he just finished his second album, he had time to answer a few questions. Here we go.

Jason Schwartzman: let me preface this interview by saying
sorry for the short answers

Tape: Which art do you feel closer to, acting or music?

JS: That’s a tough one… like, what do you like more pasta or pizza?

Tape: We know that you left phantom planet for your acting career. What made you come back to music with this new band (Coconut Records)?

JS: I missed playing music and spending time with other musicians.

Tape: What inspires you, Has your music inspired your acting and writing and vise versa?

JS: I’m sure that it has but unfortunately i can’t come up with any noteworthy examples at this moment

Tape: What’s your view of the music industry today?

JS: I try to keep a “change is good” mentality ….and hopefully it will inspire new avenues for talented artist

Tape: What music do you draw inspiration from?

JS: Uh…. there are so many great bands…. the beatles?! the beach boys?! how’s that for an original answer?

Tape: What new music have you been into?

JS: anything jack white is doing, panda bear, artic monkeys, plus many more that i can’t think of off the top of my head

Tape: Can you explain your role in the She and Him [M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel - ed.] album?

JS: I co-wrote a song on the record called “Sweet Darlin”

Tape: Are their any artists you have particularly enjoyed working with or would like to work with in the future

JS: Steven Malkmus

Check out the Coconut record Myspace:
and listen to Some tunes

Coconut Records - West Coast

B.R.A.M. is a very poppy rock band composed of six members (Barbara Gruska: Drums, Marcel Camargo: Guitar, John Kirby: Keys, Aaron Arntz: Keys, Gabe Noel: Bass, and Bram Inscore: vocals). Bram, Aaron, and john all met at USC, Gruska came from cal arts and Marcel completed the group. B.R.A.M. have been playing as a band for four years. Their is something that makes their catchy melodies, different and more interesting, then a lot of the pop music i have been hearing recently. I contacted them as soon as i stumbled across their myspace page. They told me they are working on finishing their first CD, which i am looking forward to reviewing promptly when its released. Be sure to check out their myspace.
You’re The Reason-B.R.A.M.
Messages-B.R.A.M.