MUSIC: Vampire Weekend at Roseland

For those of you who unfortunately missed the Vampire Weekend concert/livestream presented by Amex Unstaged, here's your chance to catch up!
MP3 download of the entire concert
Watch the performance below:

Two new songs, "Everlasting Arms" and "Obvious Bicycle", were performed for the first time as well as "Unbelievers", "Ya Hey", "Step", and "Diane Young", also from from their upcoming album (but previously not performed).

REVIEW: If You Leave by Daughter

Daughter

    Daughter’s If You Leave, opens with an instrumental piece that sounds almost like a train.  This little piece just filled me with hope, reminiscent of “Strawberry Fields “Forever” or “Back In the U.S.S.R.”, but if the start of the major part of that opening track, “Winter”, filled me with despair.  As did the rest of the album actually.

    Elena Tonra has a beautiful voice.  It’s a dreamy combination of Florence Welch and Florence Welch.  (That was not a typo.)  It is a lovely voice, and she is immensely talented, but music is not just about talent.  It is about what you do with that talent. Tracyanne Campbell, of Camera Obscura, has a similarly angelic voice which she uses to create a classic 50s vibe.  I feel like Camera Obscura is singing directly to me, and I’m a badboy greaser who has broken poor Tracyanne’s heart.  Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, brings me to a strange world where her pain is my pain.  Ingrid Michaelson creates a beautiful image of young love.

    This innocent, light voice can be a great asset in pushing a dramatic point.  It can scream that I am young, and I have experienced too much or I want to experience more.  

But Elena Tonra tries to lose this voice.  She tries to mature the album by singing in a choppy, lower range.  While she tries to be Patti Smith, the attention-seeking instrumentals want to be Coldplay.

Just imagine Florence Welch trying to be Patti Smith backed by Coldplay playing excruciatingly loudly.   It’s a truly painful thought.

    The sad thing is Daughter is filled with talent, but they need to focus it.  It is not the radio-play type of talent, but that is not the goal in life.  They need to mellow out a bit, take it down a notch.  Other sweet-voiced female vocalists (I’m not being sexist, I’m a girl) have found their niche, and Daughter needs to think long and hard about what this for them. The album is not coherent, despite the simplicity of the single word titles and lyrics.  It sounds like the complaints of a sad white girl, which Elena is by all means.  But it is not a progressive sadness.  There are great sad albums and sad bands, but the sadness is more like an insecurity--it has not yet occurred and there is no reason for the discord and depression.

    Music is all about the vibe created by the combination of raw emotion, writing, instrumentals, and vocals.  There is some emotion.  There is writing.  There are instruments.  There are vocals.  But these things are not cohesive on If You Leave, making the album seem like a mopy teenage girl.

What Daughter Sounds Like

INTERVIEW: The Thermals

Holy crap, I just interviewed Hutch Harris from The Thermals, one of my all time favorites! Enjoy!

To introduce yourselves to people who haven't heard of you before, who are you guys, what is your genre of music, and where are you guys from?

we are the thermals, a post-pop-punk band from portland, oregon.

How did the band form and how did you get your name?

the band formed in my kitchen.  the name means hot air, or long underwear.

Who are your influences and idols?

agent orange, the breeders, misfits, subhumans, early weezer and green day.

What is your favorite part about being a band?

writing songs, recording, and playing loud, sweaty shows.

Your music and lyrics are often filled with passionate anger and angst. What inspires such raw emotion?

i'm just wired that way.  i am filled with intense emotional anger every day of my life.

Your albums have gotten great reviews and you have a gotten a pretty big fan base. How does that feel? 

it feels great.  it's everything i ever wanted as a musician.  

When 'The Body, The Blood, The Machine' got the Best New Music distinction from Pitchfork, how exciting was that?

it didn't matter to us at that point really, because we didn't read pitchfork, we barely knew what it was.  but people around us told us it was important.

Can you describe the band's writing process?

we work on music at our studio, then i work on lyrics at home.  sometimes a song will come just out of the band playing together.  sometimes i'll bring ideas to the band and we will work on them.  sometimes i'll bring almost-finished songs to the band.

What are the plans for the year and beyond?

touring, touring, touring.  mostly US and EUROPE.  some canada.  already thinking about the next record as well.  maybe a little writing near the end of the year.

Whenever I see a picture or interview with the band, Hutch is always sweaty. Explain? No offense of course. 

you must be talking about pictures taken after shows we've played.  i give it my all at every show we play.

That's all I can think to ask. Anything else you want to share, something really funny?

nope :)

Fan Questions: 

What would be your advice on getting gigs, and touring for a small band?

you have to be very persistent, and not get discouraged.  i really wouldn't know how to book a tour myself at this point.  i haven't booked a show for eleven years or so.  back when we booked our own shows, we did so without the internet or even cellphones!  fucking crazy.  i would assume the internet has made booking a lot easier.

What is your favorite guitar?

fender telecaster.

How would you describe your playing style?

serviceable.

What effects do you run normally?

two ibanez tube screamers and one boss digital delay.

How do you run your vocals?

rode NT1 mic, through an ART pre-amp, into a tascam 4-track cassette.

What advice do you have for getting signed?

i think it's better to concentrate on writing goods songs and PRACTICING.  a lot.  i think too many bands are thinking about how they can get signed instead of thinking about how to just be a better band.

Whats the difference between playing all ages DIY shows and all ages or 21+ clubs and big music festivals?

we prefer all ages DIY shows the best, but big festivals are fun as well.  we really like tiny, packed-out shows in total fire-traps where we could all die at any moment.

Who are some of your favorite new/up and coming bands?

wampire, the woolen men, the wimps, la luz.

Website: http://www.thethermals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thethermals
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thethermals

MUSIC: Silence Yourself by Savages

Check out the new album by British post-punk band, Savages, below. Spoiler: It's really damn good.

NEWS: NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL REUNION TOUR

Logging onto Facebook, I saw the piece of news I least thought I would see. Beloved indie band, Neutral Milk Hotel is doing a reunion tour this year. So far there are only five dates in North Carolina, Georgia, and Japan, but more dates are likely to be added. It's the On Avery Island line-up which is Jeff Mangum, Jeremy Barnes, Scott Spillane, and Julian Koster. 

VIDEO: Get Pumped!

NEWS: Steve Buscemi and Vampire Weekend and Livestream tonight

    Get excited for tonight!! Don't know what tonight is?  It's Amex Unstaged, featuring Vampire Weekend and Steve Buscemi. Legendary actor Steve Buscemi (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, The Wedding Crashers, and basically anything made since 2000) will direct the band Vampire Weekend in a sold-out concert in New York also available on livestream, sponsored by Amex.  Previously, Jack White, The Killers, Coldplay, Mar J. Blige, Sugarland, and other famous talents have taken the stage in the annual Amex Unstaged concert.

    To build hype, Steve Buscemi and Vampire Weekend have led a great PR campaign to draw attention to their bizarre relationship, through pictures, parades, and videos. They also discovered that bassist Chris Baio was related to Buscemi distantly.

REVIEW: Bankrupt! by Phoenix

      Phoenix are the model (independent) music success story. Each one of their albums brought them closer to the mainstream until they broke in with their last record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This record managed to launch them into the mainstream with a huge amount of force behind them. This force was a combination of pop sensibilities mixed with indie ideas. The lyrics were also much more sophisticated than you average pop song, which is something many people wanted, but didn't know. The album also somehow managed to be very good and still appeal to a widespread audience, which is every artists dream. The hipsters loved it and the non-hipsters loved it. The only question was how they were going to follow up their breakthrough album. Now the time has come when that album has been released. Phoenix have created an album that is a perfect follow up to Wolfgang by creating an anti-pop album that still feels like a pop album. I will try to clarify that confusing statement in the next paragraph.

      The album starts up with the single you've heard a thousand times, but still at least kind of like, 'Entertainment'. 'Entertainment' manages to still be fresh after many listens. It's also probably the most bubble gum pop song on the record, but it's still a good song. After this the album takes a turn. The music still feels like pop music, but in someway it doesn't. The music begins to feel like the next evolution of pop. It's a fantastic combination of bubble gum pop and indie pop, but leaning more to the indie side. The album takes another turn after too tracks with 'Bankrupt'. It's completely instrumental track a bunch of random synth riffs made into a single song. This song is a really great metaphor for the album. It's all over the place and experimental at parts, but still feels like a pop song at heart. The album continues on with other very Phoenix sounding songs, but still very good sounding. The track 'Don't' is worth noting for being so extremely good. 'Bourgeois' is a break from that, being slower and more reflective. After one more song that album closes. Phoenix have created the perfect follow up to their previous album, but that doesn't mean it's a perfect album. The album doesn't feel like collection of songs of a similar theme, it kind of just does what it wants. It moves around from pop to indie to experimental at a moments notice, which sounds cool in theory, but often doesn't work. A couple of the songs end up being medicore and dull sounding. When the albums works, it works amazingly, but when it doesn't it falls flat. I'm going to give it 8/10 stars because it succeeds more than it fails.

BEST TRACKS: 'Entertainment', 'The Real Thing', 'Drakkar Noir', 'Chloroform', 'Don't'

★★★★★★★★☆ ☆

    

BLOG: Interview with The Thermals

Hey guys. I'm doing an email interview with The Thermals in the near future. Comment anything you want me to ask them!

MUSIC: Alien Days by MGMT

The one thing I really was disappointed about not getting on Record Store Day was MGMT's cassingle of Alien Days, but the band has posted the song on their SoundCloud so everything is all right.

MUSIC: Alien Days

MGMT will release "Alien Days", a fan favorite although previously unreleased song, on Record Store Day.  Interestingly enough, they have taken the idea of listening to music through lost technology in a different direction--it will be released on a casette tape!  It will include a B-side, "Message 7 From the Hearty White".  To find the official preview, look on the MGMT Youtube channel.  The video includes a dancing sock puppet, moving casette tapes, and a ton of random psychedelic scenes that only MGMT could create.

MUSIC: Get Lucky by Daft Punk

After months of fakes, it seems that we finally have a real version of the awesome new Daft Punk song "Get Lucky. I can't wait for this album!

MUSIC: Bankrupt! by Phoenix

Phoenix's new album Bankrupt! is streaming here and I love it so far. 

REVIEW: Desperate Ground by the Thermals

        The Thermals are a very hard band to describe. After five really good albums, The Thermals have created a unique sound, but it's almost impossible to pinpoint exactly what that sound is.  On their Facebook page they say they are "post-pop-punk".  Wikipedia describes them as indie rock, lo-fi, power pop, and rock. I would describe them as punk with many other things sprinkled in. "Desperate Ground" is another Thermals album in every way possible, but the album still feels fresh and different from their other music. Maybe it's the increase of distortion, or maybe it's the extreme energy of the album, but something about this album that sounds so familiar still manages to sound unique and different. With trashing power cords, cryptic lyrics, and energy that soars through the roof, The Thermals have created another album that is a genre of it's own, yet still feels familiar, and it works out fantastically. The albums is a blast to listen to and the lyrics are always very intricate, especially compared to other punk bands. The only problem with the album I have is that most of the songs sound relatively similar. With the vocals being distorted in the same way, the whole album sounds one big song. A little more variety would be nice and this album just par for the course for The Thermals, but I'm not unhappy with the finished product. It feels right as an album and flows nicely. The earlier and more pop sounding tracks give way to a different sound towards the end of the album. If you somehow don't like The Thermals, you won't like this album, but if you're a fan, this is another great Thermals album that has been standard since More Parts Per Million  and that was perfected on The Body, The Blood, The Machine. My final score is 7/10 stars for being very good, but feeling a bit repetitive and formulaic for the band.

BEST TRACKS: The Sunset, I Go Alone, The Sword By My Side, You Will Find Me, The Howl of The Winds

★★★★★★★☆ ☆ ☆ 

NEWS/VIDEO: COACHELLA 2013

Missed Coachella weekend one?  Now worries!  We have you covered with the links to some of the buzziest performances.

Catch up on the best performances with the links below:
Vampire Weekend
Franz Ferdinand
Blur
Stone Roses
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Modest Mouse
Jake Bugg
Palma Violets
The XX
Two Door Cinema Club
Violent Femmes
Passion Pit
Foals
Tanlines
The Airborne Toxic Event
Cloud Nothings
These are not all the bands that performed, so you can look on Youtube if you see a performance not listed.  Coachella will also be livestreaming again this weekend with the same lineup so head over to Coachella's Youtube channel to watch.

VIDEO: Daft Punk Trailer

This trailer from Coachella which shows a good chunk of a song from the new Daft Punk album, Random Access Memory, and also shows Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder, Todd Williams, Julian Casablancas, Animal Collective's Panda bear, Chilly Gonzales, and DJ FALCON as collaborators on the album.

REVIEW: Jake Bugg by Jake Bugg (Second Opinion)

               No one could have predicted that a nineteen year old, urban, British kid would record the most brilliant folk rock LP of the twenty-first century. Yet here we are, just three days after the American release of Jake Bugg’s debut album Jake Bugg. The album that climbed to the number one spot of the UK Albums Chart. The album that’s gotten Bugg to headline famous festivals such as Glastonbury, Peace & Love, Evolution, The Sonic Series, and Coachella (which he just wrapped up about ten minutes ago at the time of press).

               It’s no surprise that an indie-folk act should attract so much buzz when The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters and Men and Ed Sheeran have been all the rage this year, but Jake Bugg presents what none of the others do: a true, classic folk album. The aforementioned acts have gained praised for their acoustic sounds and catchy tunes, and they probably paved the road for Bugg’s success; however, they are radio-friendly, pop folk songs, while Bugg tackles folk music in a more raw form. The album opens fast with “Lightning Bolt”, which is also the lead single of the album. The fast strumming, vocal calmness, and simple but metaphoric lyrics make me feel like Johnny Cash never died. In fact, all of the faster tracks on the album are the closest thing to The Man In Black since Mr. Cash himself. It is not blatant copying, though; these songs seem to be influenced more mildly by others, notably Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan (although Bugg himself denies this influence), The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground and Neutral Milk Hotel--basically every classic rock fan’s dream. 

               Of course Bugg adds his own charm to the whole album, but it is so easy to draw these comparisons because the album, even on MP3, plays like a classic vinyl. It’s got static-y bits, richness in sound, depth, and all those little things that make vinyl so much better sounding than an MP3. 
              But the album is not all perfection. It is not a great folk album, but it is a great contemporary folk album. The slow songs in the middle of the album, beginning with “Seen It All”, seem insincere, like Lana Del Rey, any tacky 90s soft rock group, a failed attempt at Loaded era Velvet Underground sound, lounge music, or (I shudder at this) a whiny Coldplay. Luckily, “Country Song”, “Ballad of Mr. Jones, and “Trouble Town” are able to break up most of these tracks, balancing out the album. Finally, “Note to Self” saves the album with its quaint fiddle playing and speedy guitar chords, and the final four tracks are all bliss.

               Jake Bugg as an artist is outstanding, and his album holds together very well. In the future, if he veered from slower tunes, I believe he could record a truly great folk album. The instrumentals on his fast tracks as well his vocals are significantly better. His lyrics may get cliche during the slower melodies, but in the faster ones, he shows great metaphors, simple lyrics, and extensive geographic knowledge of the places he sings of-- key elements of folk.

Bottom line: Jake Bugg has the potential to revive folk rock, but Jake Bugg (the LP) only gives him a little start, as the album is quite inconsistent.

Best Tracks: “Lightning Bolt”, “Taste It”, “Trouble Town”, “Note to Self”, and “Someplace”

VIDEO: Coachella Livestream

REVIEW: Jake Bugg by Jake Bugg

               Since being released in the United Kingdom last October, Jake Bugg's self-titled album has received platinum status, but we here in the states have only had an EP and a single to hear what all the hype was about. I really both enjoyed the EP and the single, so I was excitedly waiting for the album to arrive state-side, while resisting the urge to pirate it. Finally the day has come when we Americans can here this album and it was mostly worth the wait. I enjoyed the album a lot, but it still leaves something to be desired. Keeping reading to see what I mean by that.

               From the first song of the album, "Lightning Bolt", which was one of the singles, you get a pretty clear sense of the what the focus of the album is, which is Jake's voice and acoustic guitar. While other instruments might weave in and out, they're only background for the aforementioned  things. There is not a huge of variety on the album, but for what it is, it's very good. The lyrics are insightful and Jake's singing and guitar work is fantastic, but not much happens on the album. The Bob Dylan similarities shine through extremely clearly (even thought Jake says Bob Dylan wasn't a big influence), but it feels like a more modern take on it. It feels less folksy than Dylan and has a more indie and pop feel. It feels like  a cross between Bob Dylan and The Lumineers (or insert generic pop folk band here), which works by bringing out the best in both of those artists, but also the worst. The worst thing about both of those artists is how, to at least a casual listener, all of their songs all sound the same, and this comes out in this album. I can't find a song I don't love or at least like on the album, but the extreme similarity between the music makes me feel like the album could have been more adventurous. Jake obviously know's what kind of music he makes and sticks to his guns, but a little more variety would be nice. As singles, the songs are great, but in collection, they lack something. I'm going to give album 7/10 stars for being fantastic, but boring at the same time.

BEST TRACKS: Lightning Bolt, Taste It, Ballad Of Mr. Jones, Some Place

★★★★★★★☆ ☆ ☆ 

MUSIC: New Queens of the Stone Age

MUSIC: New Flaming Lips Album

Flaming Lips are streaming their new album, The Terror, on NPR. I'm still trying to figure out whether it's a piece of genius or utter crap, it's one of those really experimental albums that you either get or not.