The Shimmy Shake

Singled Out - Yukon Blonde's Stairway

2012-01-26T05:45:00.002-05:00

Vancouver's Yukon Blonde has a new album coming out. The first single Stairway is good, full of guitars, energy and simple harmonies. Quick hooks go a long way.

A little jealous they won't make it to the DC area on their 62-stop North American tour, but if you're in Philly you should check them out. They'll also be at SXSW.

You can grab the song for free from their SoundCloud page. Their debut album Tiger Talk will be out 20 March on Die Alone Records.

Stream and download Yukon Blonde's Stairway from SoundCloud

What We're Watching - Mark Ronson's A La Modeliste

2012-01-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

This has kinda been ruling my world since I saw it at the beginning of the BCS Championship Game. Trombone Shorty, the artists formerly known as Mos Def, Ms. Badu and the Dap Kings. Plus Mark Ronson behind the boards.

I don't know what the Hyundai/GRAMMY RE:GENERATION project is, and don't really care (what's a Skrillex?). I know this song is excellent.

Singled Out - Glory by Jay-Z ft B.I.C

2012-01-11T05:28:00.004-05:00

It's nice of Jay to take a second away from the Lennox Hill Hopsital Suite/Mobile 40/40 club to drop a new track honoring his baby girl.But I almost kinda wished he didn't.

Jay still is, a magnificent rapper. His word play and flow are, all things considered, consistently remarkable over a long career.

But that's just it. This is a remarkably unremarkable song for Hov. And it's a remarkably unremarkable song for his first born to boot.

The lyrics are treacle over the top, even given the subject matter. I paint the sky blue? That's real cute. Sounds of her cooing? No. Talk about conception in Paris? Ew. I kinda gave up on it with his line about Destiny's child. I might've thrown up in my mouth a little.

The only thing redeeming is The Neptune's produced track underneath. Pharrell always turns out

I'm happy for Jay and Beyonce. I wish them all the happiness that their daughter will bring to their life, because I know the happiness that my two boys have brought to mine. But maybe not tribute songs to her or the next one anymore?

Stream Jay-Z's "Glory" at Life + Times

Best Albums of 2011 - Three Albums About Los Angeles

2012-01-01T09:55:00.002-05:00

"They call Los Angeles the City of Angels. I don't know if I'd call it that exactly, but there are some nice people here."

And so Sam Elliot starts out The Big Lebowski, one of many love odes to Southern California. It always seems bands are writing songs about leaving New York, or missing the South, but with Los Angeles it just seems like home. No one's writing about coming, and surely no one is writing about leaving.

Dawes' sophomore effort Nothing is Wrong fits that bill. It's full of dusty rock n roll seen through the prism of LA, but rooted in the best parts of American folk and Southern rock. It's a music meant for driving, but not too fast, and definitely away from the city. And listening to them wax about charming but sad Angelenos almost makes you think about relocating.

It would take California to bring Ryan Adams back to focus on Ashes and Fire, his finest and most coherent album in years. Working through inner ear problems and clearly loving his marriage to Mandy Moore (still WTF?), he's eschewed the agressive alt country stylings, the metal sidetracks and even his Replacements-style rock for an easy, stripped down, honest album about his life. His voice and songwriting are still as perfect after all these years (Do I Wait, Save Me, Come Home). Does he get mushy and sentimental? Sure, but it works.

Sometimes it's the isolation in a region of 12 million people that gets you. It's being trapped that makes you write. So was the case for Ross Flournoy, who pushed by an NPR songwriting contest found the inspiration for a new band an album. Apex Manor's Year of Magical Drinking is remarkable. Fun and spirited, driven by excellent tracks like I Know These Waters Well and Teenage Blood, it is one of the most accessible and energetic albums out in 2011.

Best Albums of 2011 - Four Albums That are Cold Rocking It Without Prior Prejudice

2011-12-31T15:37:00.001-05:00

Blessed are the noise makers, the chord crunchers, those that take it to 11; for they shall inherit the earth.

Well, Jesus might have said it had he been into crunchy guitars and big noise.

Despite dupstep, chillwave and whatever else, several bands churned out remarkable guitar driven, fuzz laden, noise pumping rock albums worthy of your time, money and future investments in hearing aids. They must all be played loud.

Times New Viking's brought a shambly, disorderly vibe to their album Dancer Equired, propelled by the profane and quick paced "Fuck Her Tears." But tracks like "Try Harder" and "Don't Go To Liverpool" aren't as tight but just as enjoyable.

It's clear that Yuck mined their Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth records for their self titled debut, but you beneath all the fuzz you get some beautiful love songs like "Georgia," "Shook Down," and "Sunday." But they still go hard, with a seven minute album closer built off ever increasing buzz.

The master class in cold rocking it can be taught by Wild Flag, with the singular text being this year's smashing debut. Though not really a debut, since the members are veterans of seminal 90s bands (Sleater-Kinney and Helium). But the opening song sets the tone and it keeps going and going. Try not dancing to "Romance" or bopping to "Future Crimes." Break out your air guitar... it's encouraged.

But for pure sex and rock n roll, there's Hanni El Khatib's Will the Guns Come Out. .A mix of blues, Stax soul, and garage rock, it's potent. Often just stripped down, vocals distorted, it's refreshing and fierce. But the stand out is You Rascal You, as Khatib sounds like he's struggling to to hold his guitar from taking over, and each bridge break he let's go a bit. It caterwauls and wails.. You haven't heard it this lustful in awhile.

Best Albums of 2011 - Something About Hip Hop and R&B

2011-12-30T19:31:00.001-05:00

I don't get a lot of music, but I really don't get much of modern hip hop. I thought Lil Wayne's effort this year was garbage, I find Drake to be boring, and Rick Ross to be less than engaging.That said, I listened to some pretty amazing hip hop and R&B this year. So maybe I shouldn't complain too much.

There was the outsized egos of Jay Z and Kanye pairing up for Watch the Throne, and album so conspicuous in its excess and grandeur it was almost impossible to see this album for what it was: two guys having a ton of fun. It wasn't the most brilliant album this year, but by forgoing any restraint, Kanye bookended last year's MBDTF with a masterpiece that had Jay around for polish.

On the flip side was The Roots with Undun, proof that ?uestlove is the hardest working man out there right now. A perfectionist to the utmost limit, he and the Roots have used their time as Jimmy Fallon's house band to make sure every note and every tap is in its right place. He's evoking pure 70s Philly era soul on this album, and it works. every track feels labored over; you just want to roll around in it for awhile.

And between those two you have two remarkable, must owns from the next generation. First is Frank Ocean's Nostalgia/ULTRA, and album that I simply ADORE. Here we have someone nimbly fusing real love problems over A+ major producer beats with an astonishing voice, to incredible effect. From enhancing Coldplay's Strawberry Swing to reinventing The Eagles' Hotel California as some sort of young urban love and divorce story, Frank Ocean is want you want playing when you're solo or lounging with company.

The second is Childish Gambino's Camp. Here we have a guy rapping about getting laid, getting drunk, and getting paid. But he's also speaking about the duality that millions of middle and upper middle class black kids are growing up with. It's a universal them of non-inclusion to be sure, but that double consciousness speaks more potently to them. And it's that awareness that elevates Donald Glover from just another rapper to the big leagues.

Best Albums of 2011 - Three Sophomore Releases I Loved

2011-12-30T11:01:00.002-05:00

Sophomore releases are notorious stumbling blocks. You want to branch out, but you don't want to be too different. It's tough to balance all that.There were three sophomore albums from three bands that I absolutely loved this year. I wore digital grooves on my digital files I played them so much.

First you have Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Belong, a magnificent tribute to 90s Smashing Pumpkins excess rock. It still feels like their self titled debut, but fuller, richer. They've grown into this sound and they relish it.

Next is Telekinesis' 12 Desperate Straight Lines. Here we have Michael Benjamin Lerner going a bit harder than his self titled debut. It's not all sweet lyrics about being in love anymore. "I never loved you, I never loved any one." Yeah, he's a hurt dude. But this is a guy who knows how to craft a perfect pop song, and makes you hit repeat again and again.

Finally, one of my must own albums of the year, Rural Alberta Advantage's Departing. This album is stark and melodic, like the Alberta province where the band is from and takes their name. But where their debut Hometowns spoke of that isolation, Departing is about the world outside and leaving your love and family. All the tracks are phenomenal, but standouts include the driving drum of Stamp, the beauty of North Star, the powerful opener of Two Lovers and the equally poignant and bare closer Good Night. I saw the band close out their show with this number and they brought the house down.

Best Albums of 2011 - Anything Merge Records Put Out this Year

2011-12-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

So I started working on my various lists and realized that a lot of my favorite albums in 2011 seemed to come from Merge Records, that powerhouse label down in North Carolina. They remain one of my favorite labels because they consistently put out good music, take care of their artists and after almost 23 years doing it still has a ton of energy and drive.

There's something here for everyone. Bitter love gone wrong lyrics? Try Telekinesis 12 Desperate Straight Lines. Shoegaze-y beautiful rock? Wye Oak's Civilian. Winking 70s style smooth rock? Destroyer's Kaputt. Sonic Youth noise rock (with this year's best profanity laced single)? Times New Viking's Dancer Equired. The list goes on and on and on.

Here's a short list of some of my faves that I couldn't stop listening to.

Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines
Wild Flag - s/t
Apex Manor - The Year of Magical Drinking
Destroyer - Kaputt
Times New Viking - Dancer Equired
Wye Oak - Civilian
Amor de Dias - Street of the Love of Days
The Rosebuds - Loud Planes Fly Low

Best of 2011 - A Preface

2011-12-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

I've been mulling my EoY list for awhile, and I feel a bit out of sorts.

Most of the music people who professionally listen to music said you should like I didn't like.

And listening to this past year in music made me not want to rate any of them. I have favorites above others for sure, but I honestly felt like ranking them would just be a kind of waste.

So here's my idea. I'm just going to group them together in odd categories of my liking. They will all be albums I think you should own (though some more than others).

Anyway, that'll be over the next few days... so stay tuned or something.

Plans for the Night - The Postelles at The 9:30 Club

2011-10-20T05:46:00.000-04:00

The Postelles are returning to DC, bringing their surf/sock hop rock by way of Brooklyn sound to 9:30 Club on Friday, 21 OCTOBER where they're opening for the Wombats. We really liked their s/t debut this summer, and for $15, it's a show that has a pretty low risk/high reward thing going on.

The group put out a four song cover EP that takes on some tracks by The Ramones and the Smiths. You can pick it up for free at the site. Below is a cover that's a perfect fit, Joe Jones' California Sun. They stripped it down and cut the tempo a half sec. It's a bit more R&B infused too, which is nice.

Buy tickets to The Postelles show at the 9:30 club 21 OCTOBER

Download The Postelles cover of Joe Jones' California Sun

What We're Listening To - Frank Ocean's nostalgia, ULTRA.

2011-08-16T16:11:00.000-04:00

I had put off listening to Frank Ocean for some time. I don't really dig much of modern R&B, and his association with shock rap collective Odd Future just kind of turned me cold. We have plenty of hypersexed crooners rocking the airwaves right now.

But his crooning on Watch The Throne piqued my interest, especially his notes on Made In America (maybe they can book him for the MLK Memorial dedication later this month in DC). It was tender and pure, and at the very least deserved a longer look.

nostalgia, ULTRA. is a near flawless debut album with pitch perfect singing, brand name production, smart lyrics and a groove that won't quit. it is challenging in the most desirable way possible.

Frank Ocean (nee Christopher Breaux) released it for free on his tumblr in February after Def Jam signed and ignored him. Since then, critics have heaped huge amounts of praise on it and Def Jam is scrambling to figure out how to give it a formal release. The album, while not only great, is a perfect picture of everything that's wrong with major labels.

Ocean has a keen ear towards what makes good pop music. He's penned a song for The Beebs (which doesn't disqualify him... people's gotta eat). But there're no R&B throwback covers here. He adds new lyrics and soul to Coldplay's Strawberry Swing, adds more sex to MGMT's Electric Feel, and ups the despair and indulgence of Hotel California. Even Radiohead's Optimistic makes a cameo (if only to serve as his foil that "bitches" would rather listen to Jodeci)

But on the original tracks, the boards are turned over to super producers Tricky Stewart and Midi Mafia (behind hits like Umbrella, Single Ladies, 21 Questions). But that only serves to make them radio friendly for your ear. Ocean is an artist with much on his mind and his lyrics go beyond just being sexy. They're thoughtful, humble and incredibly self aware. Songs For Women is a peek inside his head on his music and why he does it. Lovecrimes is backed by Nicole Kidman's tirade from Eyes Wide Shut

Novacane could be your newest sexytime jam (put it on random with Washed Out and you've got an all night party), a compelling story of girl he met at Coachella and the incredible high she gives him. And if there's any doubt his voice isn't the real deal, We All try is magnificent.

Ocean isn't as corny as Drake and not as earnest as Bruno Mars. He's more nimble and intelligent than Trey Songz, and not as overt or agressive as Chris Brown. Hopefully nostalgia, ULTRA and Frank Ocean mark the turning point for sensual, thoughtful contemporary R&B.

What We're Listening To - JAY Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne

2011-08-12T10:09:00.000-04:00

The long awaited collab of hip-hop's two reigning titans arrived this week, after fits and starts and a lock down so tight no one heard it until they said so.

And it's good. Not great by any stretch, but it shows Jay-Z back in good form and Kanye finding the sweet spot he hit on MBDTF and keeping it going.

When H.A.M. dropped, I was admittedly not impressed. That gaudy single art, the lackluster lazy rhyming, the trash heap beats. Then came the threat of a full collab album, something Jay has quite frankly never been able to pull off. Need I remind you of Best of Both Worlds AND Unfinished Business? Not to mention Collision Course and The Dynasty.

And Kanye, notoriously a weak rapper, has been growing lyrically and eating Jay for lunch. Where Jay killed it on Diamonds from Sierra Leone, Ye destroyed it on Run This Town and Haters.

But here we are, and in a weird bit of alchemy, all these elements that together should make a miserable album instead create a solid experience.

They've invited a ton of friends to come lamp: Beyonce, Frank Ocean, Bon Iver. It is an album that is singularly Kanye's vision in its scope, size and production. Prime example: they paid nothing short of a trillion dollars to clear Otis Redding's Try a Little Tenderness. It was 100 percent worth it and shows the two at their most comfortable. No hooks, horns and an Otis Redding that go nowehere, it feels simultaneously fresh and a throwback to early Kanye. Gotta Have It samples a skittish James Brown, with some assist from the Neptunes, you can tell this is going to be a party.

Jay-Z over his entire career has never dreamed this big (his masterpiece The Blueprint is remarkable for its restraint and smoothness). And at times he gets swallowed in. You would think New Life, a RZA coproduced track sampling Nina SImone would be perfect. And the idea is great: two guys rapping to their unborn children. But Jay doesn't do sentimentality (exception: Song Cry), and Kanye never sounds sincere (I find it hard to breathe in when the next track is That's My Bitch).

But when it shines, it burns bright. Niggas in Paris is possibly my favorite track on the album, built off of frantic rapping, a tapping high hat and synth, and some nonsense half bits from Ye and Jigga.

What is the end to this collaboration? These two have been appearing on each other's records for a solid decade now, so this is nothing new. I'm glad to see whatever falling out they had has been resolved. Ye still is looking up to his Big Brother, and in some ways, Jay-Z still needs Kanye to stoke that fire and hunger. But where this album leaves us I'm not quite sure.

Buy JAY Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne from Amazon's MP3 Store

What We're Watching - Yuna's Come As You Are

2011-07-06T13:35:00.000-04:00

It is no doubt ballsy to cover a Nirvana song. It's fairly iconic, and you want to make it your own, but you really can't improve too much on the original.

So to cover something as haunting and lyrically loaded as "Come As You Are", seems like an idea that might be better to walk away from.

Yuna, with her debut EP Decorate out on the FADER label, brought her minimalist approach to the track. But instead of the guitar singer songerwriter vibe she gives off, the cover is backed with a drum machine, some tinkling keyboard, skitter skatter electric noises, and her haunting ethereal voice.

There's no way you believe her when she croon "No I don't have a gun."

You can stream Yuna's Decorate EP at Soundcloud

Buy Yuna's Decorate EP at the Amazon MP3 Store

What We're Listening To - Dawes' Nothing is Wrong

2011-06-18T08:23:00.000-04:00

I'm always amazed at the different sounds that come from LA. Maybe because of my East Cost leanings, but it seems like every lost dreamer and wandering soul who picks up a guitar out there coaxes a completely different sound out of it. When I read about the revival of LA rock, I'm continually baffled, not by the bands (because they are good) but by the fact anyone would try and lump that into one box.

Case in point: dusty American rockers Dawes, who are remains of previous post punkers that fell in love with some vinyl from CSNY, Graham Parsons, The Band and Jackson Browne at some point. Their sophomore album Nothing is Wrong is a marvelous slow build of harmonies, gentle folk guitars and wandering lyrical tales.

"You got that special kind of sadness. You got that tragic sense of charms that only comes from time spent in Los Angeles" Taylor Goldsmith sings on the album opener, and you know he's talking about a girl, but maybe himself a little bit. It's mostly hazy tales of love, growth and fishing for understanding on the album, redefining Americana a little bit. I tend to lose them when they slow down too much, and songs like Moon in the Water or So Well tend to fade too much into the background. But When Dawes shines on tracks like If I Wanted Someone, The Way You Laugh and Coming Back to a Man, it holds my focus intently.

It makes me want to drive, though not necessarily to LA. Dawes is evoking a picture of America far from LaLaland. But maybe that is America.

Listen to Dawes' If I Wanted Someone on Hard of Hearing Ep 013

Buy Dawes' Nothing is Wrong from Amazon mp3

What We're Listening To - The Postelles s/t

2011-06-10T20:50:00.001-04:00

And here comes summer, skipping over spring with a fiery sustained furnace blast for the past two weeks.

A break from the heat would be entirely all to welcome. But if we didn't have summer heat, we'd have no reason for cookouts, pool parties and all night hangouts.

So I'm thankful for the summer heat like I'm thankful for the self titled debut album from The Postelles, a fun dancey rock album. It keys up on tail end of the surf rock from last year, but crossed with the pop rock catchiness of The Strokes, Weezer or Arctic Monkeys. This makes sense since Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond Jr produced it. It's clean and not a note out of place throughout. Think a slightly older Surfer Blood.

Sing along choruses start bright and big from the album opener and keep going til the end. White Night, Sleep on the Dance Floor, and 123 Stop are party starters for sure. The lyrics don't run too deep (Boys Best Friend is a jokey little tale about falling in love with a lesbian). It does get mildly repetitive, but that's okay cos as soon as it starts it's over. No one's gonna blame you for hitting repeat.

I'd recommend going to catch them on tour this summer, and if you're in DC see them 11 JUNE at Red Palace.

Buy The Postelles's self titled debut album

Buy from Amazon

Singled Out - John Legend covers Adele's Rolling in The Deep

2011-05-13T20:18:00.000-04:00

So arguably the year's biggest single so far has been Adele's Rolling in The Deep. The girl can sing, though I was so underwhelmed by her first album, it's taken me sometime to warm up to her sophomore effort, which is much brighter.

But at the Childish Gambino show last week, they closed out with John Legend's cover of the song. Bare, no music, just his incredible voice with a gospel choir backing him up. It's powerful.

You can download the song from the link for free.

John Legend - Rolling in the Deep (Adele Cover) by johnlegend

Things We Love - Amazon Cloud Drive and Player (and Google too at some point)

2011-05-11T17:13:00.000-04:00

I started writing this post in fits and starts. I just sort of left it in the drafts pile, would come back and massage it a bit. I was going to pull the trigger last week, but couldn't find a decent graphic.

And now Google has gone and stolen my thunder with its Music by Google site. And it's storage is 20 times more than Amazon's right now for free (but unsure how free for long).

Which is awesome. More companies saying "fuck off" to major music labels and refusing to negotiate with terrorists is a good thing. Maybe this will part the waters for other companies like Spotify (which I loathe).

I still advocate Amazon over iTunes as the place to best spend your musical bucks. And since you can't buy from Google right now, Amazon wins that battle too. The Cloud Drive/Player and Google Music are changing the game radically and positioning Amazon and Google a thousand steps ahead of iTunes in digital retailer industry. The labels are hoping that Apple's cloud offering will be super fancy awesome and make Google and Amazon's look like crap. I doubt it. The've been on the wrong side of every big industry decision since Napster, and have paid the price in declining sales ever since.

But why is this so game changing?

First, Amazon and Google didn't bargain, negotiate or even notify the the major labels about their moves. Why should they? The arcane notion that labels must issue you a license on how and where you can listen to your music is dumb and a holdover from before the advent of high speed connections and cloud storage. If you buy it, you should be able to listen to it how you please, whether you store it in the cloud or on your phone or on your computer.

Second, Amazon (and at some point Google too) is making purchasing music easier than iTunes. Doesn't matter where you are (work, friend's house, laptop downstairs away from your desktop), you can buy an album, and then download it later to where you want it. They both make it easy to play on your Android device (earlier this week CloudPlayer loaded some muddled iOS play functionality).

Finally, it's easy. It doesn't take a degree in computer science to make it work. Your music is accessible whenever you want it. Just click a button to play, listen or download.

Amazon has 1,500 albums on sale for $5 each this month. Start your cloud storage up today.

What We're Listening To - Amor de Dias' Street of the Love of Days

2011-05-09T13:08:00.000-04:00

If you haven't been paying attention, Merge Records has been churning out an incredible string of must have albums in 2011. Telekinesis, Apex Manor, Mountain Goats, Times New Viking, Wye Oak, and Destroyer have added more trophies to a case already struggling under the weight of other great albums.

Adding to that list is the debut from Amor de Dias, the new duo featuring Alasdair MacLean of The Clientle and Lupe Núñez-Fernández of Pipas. Street of the Love of Days is a fantastic album, echoing the gentle Brazilian samba and bossa nova of Getz/Gilberto/Jobim. It is one of the most gorgeous releases I have heard all year.

Recorded over three years with the help of friends and when they had time from their various tours and main bands, Núñez-Fernández and MacLean are two peas in a pod complenting each other perfectly. Lupe occassionally sings in Spanish, to delightful effect on songs like Wandering and Late Mornings. Alasadair takes lead some, cooing on House on Flint to come dance, an altogether pleasing comeon. But the song and album sounds like a dream you can barely catch, so lounging lazily seems like a better activity.

If you're looking for something to help you fill upcoming weekend morning at home or those afternoons that meander into dusk, Amor de Dias' Street of the Love of Days will fit that bill nicely.

Street of the Love of Days will be available 17 May 2011.

Buy Amor de Dias' Street of the Love of Days from Merge Records

Happy Birthday Fort Lowell Records!!!

2011-04-25T08:57:00.000-04:00

A year ago, one of my oldest friends launched a record label, promising to revive vinyl 7 inches and push out music from local Tucson bands.

And with that, Fort Lowell Records was launched.

Now it's a year later, and six releases issued, it's still rolling along. I've had the pleasure to be a critic and to play label music on my podcast. But mostly I've had the pleasure to be a fan. FLR Head Honcho James Tritten has done an amazing job. Here's to many more years brother.

Like those long ass cigarettes from Virginia, you've come a long way baby.

Head over to the site and pick up some tee shirts or better yet, buy a release or two. Music sounds better seven inches at a time.

What We're Watching - Wye Oak's Fish

2011-04-21T05:52:00.000-04:00

Wye Oak's video for their song Fish (off Civilian) is a just as gorgeous as their lush beautiful music.

With spectacular artwork from fellow Baltimoreans Katherine Fahey and Michael O'Leary, it's silhouetted shadow puppets will stick with you.

f you don't have Civilian you should get it. It's a fantastic album.

Wye Oak - Fish (Official Video) from City Slang on Vimeo.

What We're Listening To - Jamaica's No Problem

2011-04-19T06:22:00.000-04:00

Aside from the fact that I really like it, I'm kind of unsure what to make of French pop duo Jamaica and its album No Problems. It's immensely enjoyable, and what could be easily dismissed as a Phoenix ripoff it bucks that notion at each turn. It's more like a dancier, funkier Hall and Oates.

Stick with me here.

Justice's Xavier de Rosnay produced it, so it's got a certain polish to it; every guitar strum, drum pop, and layered effect starts and stops on cue. But listen to tracks like Gentleman or She's Gonna. These are fun filled, 80's adult rock kissed songs, with the strolling guitar and faux r&b singing.

That's not an indictment, cos Jamaica has a definite understanding of what makes you move. Simple chorus and lyrics (possibly the result of French to English singing... see Phoenix) are through and through, repeated for an effect that's more instrumental than conveying a message. Album openers Cross the Fader and I Think I Like U 2 beg to be played in the middle of weekend pool party in July.

The remixes on the deluxe edition are even more delicious, mor spaced and synthed out versions of the original.

It's an album that is ringing the bell to welcome in summer. Mix it in with a few tracks John and Darryl for an even better time.

Buy Jamaica's No Problems at the Amazon mp3 Store

On The Horizon - The Head and The Heart

2011-04-17T14:42:00.000-04:00

Last month when we interviewed Matt Bishop of Hey Marseilles, he put on our radar fellow Seattle band The Head and The Heart. Pushing out their self-titled debut over the weekend on venerable Sub Pop, you're likely to hear a lot about them soon.

And you should. Sweet harmonies and a mild alt-country twang with a heavy dose of folk, The Head and The Heart make music reminiscent a more tender, listenable Ryan Adams (remember that?).

You can pick up two tracks (Down in the Valley and Lost in My Mind) from the band at its website in exchange for your email address. I like both tracks (and the rest of the album is just as good too), perfect Sunday afternoon music to drift off to.

Download The Head and the Heart's Down in the Valley and Lost In My Mind from the band's website

Buy The Head and The Heart's self-titled album from Amazon mp3 Store

What We're Watching - Superchunk's Crossed Wires video

2011-04-15T09:21:00.000-04:00

Superchunk always does solid, kinda goofy videos. The clip for the song Crossed Wires (off 2010's EXCELLENT Majesty Shredding) is no exception. Sort of a basic premise of strapping a camera to cat, you see the kitty party with strippers, hang with some bums, and stickup Jon Wurster. Entertaining all the way around. Also a reminder that Majesty Shredding is a good springtime album.

Buy Superchunk's Majesty Shredding from Merge Records

Or from the Amazon mp3 Store

On The Horizon - City Reign

2011-04-05T15:39:00.000-04:00

We received an email in our Shimmy Shake inbox the other day which caught our attention, since it started off with praise for one of our reviews. It was a from City Reign, a band in Manchester. They simply said I might like their music and they didn't want to clog my inbox up with junk, so reply back if I wanted a track.

The tracks they sent back were definitely worth it. Released on their own Car Boot Label, Daybreak is a nice bit of anthemic guitar noise pop (Think a happier sounding Yuck). Lead singer Chris Bull matches bright harmonies against guitarist Michael Grice's fuzz. It's pleasant all the way around.

The Daybreak single (along with an extra live track The Line), will be available 9 May. Though I'm not sure where. Check their blog out for more info.

What We're Listening To - Pains of Being Pure At Heart's Belong

2011-04-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

"Be you and the best possible you there is." Probably something you heard your mother, guidance counselor, or some self-esteem guru mutter over and over again. But it's the truth. Growth is good, but why go try and reinvent yourself, mucking up the best possible you there is?

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have taken this bit of wisdom and run with it for their sophomore album Belong, turning in again another marvelous album chock full of jangly guitars, brainy love lyrics, and whispery vocals.

But the guitars have gotten louder, the sound slightly more full. And instead of so much John Hughes nostalgia, the band is looking towards the alt rocky 90s (assisted by Flood and Alan Moulder, who produced The Smashing Pumpkins Simaese Dream, Mellon Collie, NIN's Downward Spiral, and some EPs for My Bloody Valentine). Heart in Your Heartbreak and Belong are the biggest sounding things they've done, and the band is better for it. And tracks like Strange and My Terrible Friend (with that nonstop drumming and synth overload) are just as familiar as anything before. It's shoegazey/dream pop that's on the verge of exploding. And it's delightful.

Listen to your mom. She was right most of the time.

Buy The Pains of Being Pure At Heart's Belong from the Amazon mp3 Store

Buy the CD or LP from Slumberland Records

Singled Out - Will Currie and the Country French's Tommy Douglas

2011-03-29T09:33:00.000-04:00

The feeling of political discomfort isn't isolated to America or the immolating North African Coast and Middle East. Our nice neighbors to the north aren't terribly in love with their political leaders either. But as opposed to painitng their prime minister up like The Joker and bringing guns to a political rally, Will Currie and The Country French wrote a song.

An ode to the greatest Canadian, Tommy Douglas is a Burt Bacharach-ian/Ben Folds-esque romp of a song, pleasant enough in melody, but strong in its wish for a great politician like him again. "What we need is Tommy Douglas, men who speak and follow through," Will Currie sings. A young Pierre Trudeau or Stephen Lewis would fix everything.

The song is off their "Awake, You Sleepers!" album out later this year on Murderecords. You can pick up the track in exchange for your email from the band's website

Play it, think of spring, and be reminded of progressive greatness.

Download Will Currie and The Country French's Tommy Douglas from the band's website (in exchange for your email

Interview with Matt Bishop of Hey Marseilles

2011-03-25T10:49:00.000-04:00

I really like Hey Marseilles' lyrically dense, sonically rich folk pop. I was super excited to see them at Sixth and I Synagogue last year, since they don't often tour too far from their Seattle base. Lead singer Matt Bishop was kind enough to answer a few questions for the shake

The Shimmy Shake: How did you all start? And the name, just an affinity for French Mediterrean sea towns?

Matt Bishop: We started as a lot of bands do: college pals realizing we had a shared affinity for the same instruments and bands that played them. We would mess around with song ideas in Nick and Philip’s basement studio, keep finding others folks to play on those recordings, and eventually we booked a gig with everyone. The name is primarily a product of our appreciation for Euro-ness and rhyme.

SS: The SHow would you describe your sound? I've heard it described as orchestral folk to indie pop chamber rock.

MB: Those are fair descriptions. We like pop tunes, acoustic instruments, strong melodies, and compelling arrangements. We like songs to move and turn corners quickly. We like taking as many layers from our recordings as we can and playing that out live. Just orchestral folk pop works too.

SS: One of my favorite things about the album are the lyrics. They're all such descriptive stories, I feel like I'm reading letters between you and friends. Where do you get the ideas? Any backstory to certain songs? What are some of your favorite songs from the To Trunks and Travels?

MB: In writing lyrics, I like to create a visual scene for the listener, a portrait more so than a story. On the record there are references to the ocean and mountains and plains and highways and all sorts of things I experience when I travel around the Western U.S. Which is probably why the record ended up having a consistent travel theme. “Cannonballs” was written driving through the endless flatlands of Montana; “Cigarettes” I wrote on a bright afternoon at Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park; “Calabasas” manifested itself after a California road trip. Certainly there are stories in those songs, but by and large they follow pretty common formulas related to relationships and philosophical meanderings.

SS: There was a really slow burn with this album, from it's release in 2008 to it catching fire in 2009 and 2010. How'd that happen? Is it hard to promote an album for that long?

MB: I think it took a bit of time for it to garner a larger audience just because we spent a while trying to figure out how to get it to people. For most of us, Hey Marseilles has been our first real venture into navigating the music business and what it means to be a band. There are a lot of things to do outside of making a record that translate to people actually hearing it, and we took some time figuring that out.

In terms of promoting the record for that long, the biggest challenge was just having to play the same songs for so long. Inspiration and creativity were hard to come by in those circumstances. But in working on our new record for the last few months, I think we’ve found our groove again.

SS: Another band that we really enjoy (Telekinesis) is from Seattle, but a lot of bands from the upper northwest are writing this great music, with incredible melodies and lyrics. Like I don't think you could have this sound come from Brooklyn. What is it about the area that breeds such good music?

MB: Lots of clouds + needing to stay inside + drugs necessary to deal with gray (primarily coffee) = good music.

Also, once sun comes out = inspiration to make more good music.

SS: I have this image of touring being a nightmare with so many people. How does it work?

MB Having seven dudes means we always needs a trailer hitched to the van and if we stay in a hotel we’ll need a couple of rooms. That’s about it. And sometimes figuring out how to fit on stage, but that always works itself out. Like any band, you have to learn how to acclimate to each others’ strengths and weaknesses or you won’t be a band for very long.

SS: I saw you posted that the band is working on new songs. What do they sound like? When are you looking to release your next album?

MB We have high aspirations that the record will come out at the end of 2011. My general assessment so far is that the songs won’t stray too much from To Travels & Trunks musically, but they’ll reflect a growth and maturity we’ve developed as musicians in the three years since finishing that record.

SS: What are you listening to now (besides what I imagine are your recording tracks)? What are some of you favorite bands that readers should check out?

MB: Agesandages. Campfire OK. Loch Lomond just released a fantastic new record. Our friends The Head &a\ the Heart are releasing their debut nationally; if you haven’t heard of them yet, you will soon

Buy Hey Marseilles' To Travels and Trunks from Amazon's mp3 Store

Download the track Rio from Hey Marseille's website for the price of your email address

Singled Out - Title Tracks' All Tricks

2011-03-25T09:58:00.000-04:00

DC's Title Tracks will pushing out their sophomore release In Blank 19 April, but John Davis is dribbling out songs on his website here an there, and they sound good.

All Tricks keeps the same momentum from It Was Easy, and is still full of that pop punk goodness.

If you're in DC, the band is doing a release party at Black Cat Backstage on 20 April. Tickets are $10.

Preorder Title Tracks' In Blank from Ernest Jenning Records.

Download Title Tracks' All Tricks from Austin Town Hall

It's Just Business: Pains of Being Pure At Heart Release Album Digitally One Week Early on iTunes, But You Should Just Wait to Get It

2011-03-22T12:34:00.000-04:00

The new Pains of Being Pure At Heart album Belong (Slumberland) officially drops next week on 3/29. It sounds incredible, more of the same but better in ever way possible. Still lots of jangly guitars and a band that only sees the 80s through John Hughes colored glasses.

You can pick up the album early if you'd like from iTunes, where it's available today. It doesn't come with any bonus material, no videos or extra tracks. The digital booklet will be the same as if you got it next week.

It does however come with a higher price tag. iTunes is selling it for $9.90. The Amazon mp3 store will sell it for $8.99, almost a full buck less. For an extra 10 cents, you can buy the vinyl from Slumberland for $10 (and they put a digital download code in there too). Even buying the CD from the record company is cheaper than buying the digital download from iTunes.

All that to say, iTunes is a rip. And it's no hate on Pains or on Slumberland (who do great work and push out really great music from really great artists). But it's still me spending a dollar, and if I have to choose whether to keep that buck in my pocket, or give it to Steve Jobs, well, that's an easy choice.

Buy Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Belong from the Amazon mp3 Store for $8.99 (available 3/29/11)

Buy the CD or vinyl from Slumberland Records

Singled Out - Hanni El Khatib's Build. Destroy. Rebuild

2011-03-20T08:49:00.000-04:00

There's a lot to like about Hanni El Khatib. He's got rock star ready looks and an insouciance that seems like he earned it. And he tears through songs with such a ferocity on guitar it's impossible to not notice.

And there's a lot to want to like about his upcoming June release, Will The Guns Come Out. Take the track "Build. Destroy. Rebuild." On its surface, it's reminiscent of early Jack White, garage-y and bluesy. But The rhythm and melodies are more than that, more funk and 70s era soul than what the White Stripes or other Detroit garage rockers brought to the table.

If you didn't check out the highly polished and stylized video for Loved One, do that. Then grab Build. Destroy. Rebuild and thrash around a bit yourself.

Download Hanni El Khatib's Build. Destroy. Rebuild from RCRD LBL

Buy the 7 inch Build. Destroy. Rebuild b/w Loved One from Innovative Leisure.

Andy on R&B

2011-03-18T21:19:00.000-04:00

We like the blog First World Problems, run by twitter pal Andy. It's smart, funny, and constantly hitting up new music.

Andy has written a really solid essay on R Kelly's Ignition, white guilt, and mainstream music (Remix), probably one of the more interesting things I've read on the internet in a long time. Give it a whirl, I think you'll like it.

Of course, whenever I hear Ignition, I think of Dave Chapelle.

Chappelles Show
Tags: Buy Chappelle's Show DVDs,Black Comedy,True Hollywood Story

What We're Watching - Hanni el Khatib's Loved One

2011-03-18T16:00:00.001-04:00

What's that? You're looking for some catchy authentic sounding garage rock?

I think you'll be digging Hanni el Khatib's Loved One. It's from his album Will The Guns Come Out which drops in June.

Played over shots of people enjoying a seaside midway, and a single camera chasing some doe eyed model, this is priming the pump for summer time.

What We're Watching - Wale's The Break Up

2011-03-18T10:44:00.000-04:00

Wale is leading a one man effort to get you to love the DMV.

And his video for his song The Break Up has lots of stuff we like in it. It's got shots of Howard's yard, sped up soul samples, and Morgan Freeman as narrator. It even kinda makes me want to like 500 Days of Summer, which in my humble opinion, is one of the worst films ever made.

Anyway, watch it, and wish you were in DC for this awesome spring weather

What We're Listening To - Disco Vietnam's TOTALLY AWESOME DECISIONS

2011-03-15T11:50:00.000-04:00

I'm late to the Disco Vietnam bandwagon, but I'm going to bet that you probably are too. No worries, because they haven't run out of copies. On 2010's TOTALLY AWESOME DECISIONS, Disco Vietnam is crafting what I can only describe as some of the best fucking power pop out today.

Part hyperbole, part flattery, it's all truth. Disco Vietnam's Barry and Kenny Schwartz are making music that's aggressive, fun, catchy, and surprisingly meticulous in its production. Harmonies and three chord guitars run rampant. At times it reminds you of the best of Weezer (you remember, when they were good), songs about being young, but it goes further than that. They're imbued with the wisdom that age brings but not forgetting the sting. On the EP closer they proclaim "Even if the world starts over, I will still be here by your side. This song's not about you anymore." Little Infinity, Homecoming Queen, Luck Into Skill, and the rest are simply well crafted song.

An even better song not on the album (but available via Amazon) is the 2008 single The NP (Natalie Portman) a quasi ode to the actress. All eight tracks together make a terrific little package.

Buy Disco Vietnam's TOTALLY AWESOME DECISIONS directly from the band for $5

Buy Disco Vietnam's The NP (Natalie Portman) from the Amazon mp3 Store

What We're Watching - Bruce Springsteen's Tougher Than The Rest

2011-03-15T08:55:00.000-04:00

I really liked the Title Tracks cover of Springsteen's Tougher Than The Rest. It's a sweet, older love song, kinda showing what love really is: tough, abused, scratched and beaten up on the edges. Title Tracks makes it a little more tender, but Springsteen's original with that gruff voice makes it the best.

Concert Review - The Rural Alberta Advantage at Rock N Roll Hotel, Washington DC 3/13/11

2011-03-14T06:58:00.000-04:00

"It's so nice to see a sold out sign when you roll into town," Nils Edenloff bantered in between songs to a packed house of 400 people. And though a little bit behind schedule (opening band Pepper Rabbit brought its Keane-esque rock out about 30 minutes late), they put on an incredible show.

Pushing through most of the songs from their latest release Departing (an album we very much like), everything sounded more full. Edenloff's voice didn't sound as thin as it sometimes can on the record. Paul Barwatt's drumming was even more ferocious and Amy Cole's multi instrumenting even more pronounced.

Getting the famously not dancey DC set to dance is always a problem, but as the show heated up and encouraged by Edenloff's proddings ("I think this is a dancey song" he said of Frank A/B, a song about a deadly rock slide, so WTF), head nodding eventually turned to bouncing and pogoing. A woman in front of me was writhing like a pole dancer, so whatever gets you going I guess.

The highlight though was for the final encore song, when the band came into the audience and closed out with an acoustic performance of Good Night. Powerful to say the least, I heard lots of people muttering "shit" or "Holy fuck" as the walked out. Couldn't agree more.

Title Tracks to Release New Album April 19!

2011-03-11T11:33:00.000-05:00

Andy Johnson of First World Problems hipped me to Title Tracks, a DC band with great pedigree (frontman John Davis was a drummer for legends Q and Not U and more recently Georgie James). 2010's Take It Easy is a solid indie pop/rock record, one that should definitely be in your collection.

A few weeks ago Davis said he was tracking for his new record due this year, and yesterday announced that Title Tracks would release its next album In Blank on April 19 (Ernest Jenning Records). The band is having a release party at the Black Cat on April 20. Tickets are $10.

Listen to Title Tracks' Steady Love from Take it Easy

Buy the It Was Easy CD or LP from Dischord Records

Buy It Was Easy from the Amazon mp3 Store

Tickets to See Wild Flag at Black Cat!

2011-03-09T14:04:00.001-05:00

UPDATE: THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT!

Through a strange confluence, I have two extra tickets to see Wild Flag at the Black Cat in DC tomorrow.

If you'd be interested in taking them off my hands, all you have to do is follow The Shimmy Shake on Twitter, and reply to us saying why you want to go. We'll pick a winner by 4 pm tomorrow.

Good luck!

Singled Out - Okkervil River's Wake and Be Fine

2011-03-09T07:13:00.000-05:00

Okkervil River is one of those bands that make consistently good music.

There's no reason to believe that its new album I Am Very Far (out May 10 on Jagjaguwar) will be any different. But if you needed proof, you should get the track Wake and Be Fine. A romp of a song, it's thoroughly enjoyable and meant to be played loud.

You can pick it up at their website for the price of your email address.

Win a Signed Howe Gelb 7inch from Fort Lowell Records!

2011-03-08T10:32:00.000-05:00

We've made no bones about how much we like Fort Lowell Records. James Tritten (of the magnificent, though now expired, Audio Explorations) started this incredible label last year, only publishing 7 inch records for local Tuscon bands.

And what a well to draw from, because the releases have all been stellar.

On Record Store Day, Fort Lowell Records will release FLR 006 and you have a chance to win a signed copy from Howe Gelb, courtesy of Fort Lowell and Zia Records! Visit Fort Lowell's site and follow the instructions and you'll be all set. While there, check out some of the previous releases (may we suggest the most recent Death Kit?).

Happy Mardi Gras!

2011-03-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

Joyeux Mardi Gras mes amis! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

What better way to celebrate this last day before the start of Lent than with some good food, good beer, and rocking Cajun/Acadian music?

NPR's All Songs Considered just loaded up a Tiny Desk Concert of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. You should defintiely check it out.

Party hard everyone. Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras and a good Lenten Season.

Singled Out - The Wilderness of Manitoba's Orono Park

2011-03-07T12:25:00.000-05:00

Stumbled along this song Orono Park by The Wilderness of Manitoba, a Toronto band making dreamy folk music. We probably are at a glut of folk musicians right now, but really, what's one more when they're good?

The song is from their upcoming three-song Summer Fires EP (out March 22 on tinyOGRE), which puts you a third of the way there. The other two songs are pretty impressive as well.

It was the song of the day at Spinner on March, so feel free to pick it up there, no email address required.

Get The Wilderness of Manitoba's Orono Park at Spinner.

Pleased to Announce the Launch of Hard of Hearing!

2011-03-05T10:43:00.000-05:00

It's finally here!

If you haven't had a chance yet, mosey on over to the Hard of Hearing page and download the inaugural episode, HOH001. We play some great songs, have some good banter. The first episode is a touch rough, but we'll get it down for the second one.

Let us know what you think at Hard of Hearing page. And if there's a song or artists you like that you think we'll like too, let us know!

What We're Watching - Black Lips Vide for "Go Out and Get It"

2011-03-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

Cos it's fun and warming up, here are The Black Lips drinking, singing and having fun on a boat.

What We're Watching - The Rural Alberta Advantage's Stamp video

2011-03-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

We really like the RAA's song Stamp. It's driving, tons of energy, and those great lyrics from Nils Eldenloff.

So it's nice to see the band have a little fun with the video. It's the story of a two fans overly in love with the band - a super fan guy, and a groupie girl. Will they fall for each other?

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp from Saddle Creek on Vimeo.

What We're Listening To - The Rural Alberta Advantage's Departing

2011-03-03T09:28:00.001-05:00

What I found so captitvating about The Rural Alberta Advantage's deubt album Hometowns was that a band could capture so much emptiness and lonliess with lyrics and sound, but still manage to be outsized pouring out my speakers. Every song seemed deliberately sparse, with what seemed like driving drums and little else. It was stunning, a crystal clear picture of the bleakness of Alberta, and what it must be like to fall in love, breakup and wish you had that someone back again.

With Departing they've filled out some of the space a little bit, with more pianos here and there, backing vocals and harmonies rounding it all out. But still remaining are strident songs about love, lonliness, and loss. "Our love will hold you tight or tear us apart tonight" sings Nils Eldenloff on Under The Knife. It's convincing, and you believe it.

All the songs are gems, but there are some real standouts. The song writing on North Star puts you in the car on the pitch black road, looking for that star to guide you home and back to his heart. Stamp is just a rail train of percussion that won't stop.

Departing's sparseness, like Hometowns, is its most winning feature. Truth: less is more with The Rural Alberta Advantage.

Check out the songs North Star and Stamp at the The RAA's website

Buy The RAA's Departing from Saddle Creek Records

Buy Departing from the Amazon mp3 Store

On The Horizon - Obits

2011-03-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of addicted to fuzz and distortion right now.

Obits' Shift Operator is hitting that sweet spot.

You can pick up their second full release on March 29 from Subpop. It's called Moody, Standard and Poor, which quite frankly, is a fucking brilliant name for an album.

For free (no email address required) you can pick up the track Shift Operator here.

And you can preorder it here.

Bands We Love - Hey Marseilles

2011-03-02T06:13:00.000-05:00

A year or two ago, when Shelby was was still running Shifted Sound, he played a few tracks from Seattle band Hey Marseilles album To Trunks and Travels and they quickly became one of our favorites. A large ensemble full of violins, cellos, horns, accordions, guitars and propelled by Matt Bishop's vocals, they write songs of love and friendship that are truly beautiful and sincere.

I got excited when they came out east for a small tour last summer, and caught them at Sixth and I synagogue's basement show. Even with a whirlwind schedule (they had to be in Amherst the next day), they brought tons of energy and even willingly played two encore songs, essentially filling out their debut album live.

We're working on setting up a quick interview with them about their new album and plans for the upcoming year, but for now you can surf over to their website and grab the track Rio for the price of your email address. You can also check out this video below of that song plus another.

The Doe Bay Sessions - Hey Marseilles from Sound on the Sound on Vimeo.

Eux Autres stage faux Muppet Show for Under Rays video

2011-02-27T23:08:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't like puppets?

Eux Autres have a new video for Under Rays, a neat little song made better by a video full of Fraggle Rock-esque muppets. I think you'll dig it.

Eux Autres - "Under Rays" from Nicholas Larimer on Vimeo.

What We're Listening To - Yuck's s/t

2011-02-25T13:03:00.000-05:00

There's nothing really overly phenomonal about Yuck's sound. They're playing music that's sweetly derivative of 90s fuzz sound melody masters like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, and Buffalo Tom. It's music that for me is evocative of sitting on the couch and watching The Real World: Boston for some odd reason.

What Yuck lacks in lyrical maturity (no I don't find rhyming crucifixion, benediction, addiction and affliction to be all that interesting) they make up for spades in tuneful chops. Georgia rules with its sweet girl-guy harmonies, along with Rubber, Sunday and Suicide Policeman for their gentle melodies. The four-minute Rose Gives a Lily shows a band comfortable enough with their instruments and source material to do eschew lyrics all together.

It's a perfect lazy springtime album, one where melody and youth reign supreme.

Buy Yuck's self titled album at Amazon's mp3 Store

What We're Listening To - Telekinesis' 12 Desperate Straight Lines

2011-02-21T22:03:00.000-05:00

On tour , Telekinesis' Michael Benjamin Lerner has taken to covering, of all things, Justin Bieber's Baby.

Ignore that it's Bieber. The lyrics are a simple broken heart love song, and Lerner strips away the production and makes it a wonderful tune.

And this ability to capture, interpret, and express such youthful emotions made the Telekinesis debut an irresitible album I found myself listening to over and over again (it was our Best Album of 2009).

But what the first album captured so perfectly with it's tales of falling in love, 12 Desperate Straight Lines captures succintly the reverse feelings of breaking up and being hurt. Lerner lost a love and got a bad case of vertigo, which would affect anyone. But he adheres musically to the formula that he's perfected: quick power pop songs, with splashes of guitars and effects to break it up a bit.

He goes a little harder with 50 Ways, a nod to the cheesy Paul Simon song ("There truly are 50 ways..."), and even a little Cure-y with Please Ask For Help. He cleaned and sped up his 2010 Record Day and Parallel Seismic Conspiracies EP single Dirty Thing, stripping away the fuzz and distortion and adding a toy piano. It's a different take, but the first iteration is a beautiful kiss off.

But it's still the same Telekinesis, rocking it on Car Crash, having some delirious redemptive fun on Gotta Get It Right Now. The latter is a song my two-year-old loves, singing along to the simple "ba ba ba" chorus. You probably will too.

Stream and buy Telekinesis 12 Desperate Straight Lines at Merge Records.

Buy Telekinesis' 12 Desperate Straight Lines at the Amazon mp3 Store

What We're Listening To: Radiohead

2011-02-21T14:22:00.004-05:00

This one certainly snuck up on everyone. Out of nowhere, Radiohead decided to self-release a new album via the Internet, informing the masses through Twitter, Facebook, and their email listserv. I didn't have to think twice about purchasing the album, and after two listens, they didn't dissapoint. In Rainbows could be considered a return to form, after 2003's heavy and angst driven Hail to the Thief. With In Rainbows, Radiohead honed their craft by cutting out all of that Bush induced anger, and focusing on the music. Their new album, The King of Limbs, is heavy on synthesizers and electronic noise (for a lack of a better word), but it doesn't exactly pick up where Kid A left off. Instead, it plots new ground, creating a musical world that is as mysterious as anything they have done before. The songs flow together extremely well, and before you know it, the album has finished as quietly as it began. This is the sound of the twenty first century. Go check it out!

What We're Listening To - U.S. Royalty's Mirrors

2011-02-12T10:18:00.000-05:00

The buzz around DC band U.S. Royalty reached me before I had even heard anything. I think a coworker told me to check them out, or I heard them on a podcast, or possibly saw a poster at a club. Who knows.

Mirrors is an effort that barrels out of the gate and mellows quickly, trying to hold in big guitars and meandering lyrics and vocals. After a short instrumental piece, nothing has as much swagger 60s psych rock as second track Hollywood Hollows. And it's probably just as well, because the band shines better when it's not doing that. Monte Carlo, Vacation Vacation, Old Flames are solid pieces of Americana rock (less southern, more hazy... think Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket). Fool to Love You is a good finger drumming jam, probably even more so live.

But there's Allman Brothers/Lynyrd Skynyrd touches there, like Give Up The Ghost, with its Muscle Shoals stomp in the front and Freebird uptick on the backend. Fun all the way around.

This will no doubt be a big year for US Royalty. Catch them live before they get too big.

Stream for free and Buy US Royalty's Mirrors for $7.99 directly from the band at its website.

Or the other usual suspects have it as well (Amazon, iTunes)

Singled Out - Lady Gaga's Born This Way

2011-02-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

I don't ever feel really bad about singling out tracks from clearly outsized pop stars. I might not ever write a full review of one of their albums, but the Singled Out kinda says "This is worth a grabbing."

Which is the way to think of Lady Gaga's Born This Way, a fist pumping, synth dance party, 180 beats per minute, Pride parade motivational chant. Like you can seriously feel the disco lights flooding out of your speakers as this rocks. At 4 minutes it doesn't seem quite long enough, like it's begging for one of those crazy 12 minute extended club dance remixes.

This is the closest Gaga has come to Madonna musically, and she is paying serious homage to the Material Girl. Express Yourself, Like A Prayer, even a little rap break down a la Vogue (and just as silly: "Don't be a drag/Just be a queen/Whether you're broke/Or evergreen").

I'm eager to see where this goes in May with her full album. She's an interesting creature and talented musician, though I think most of the time her message (if there is one) gets muddled. Here's hoping for clarity on the full release.

White Stripes No More

2011-02-03T12:19:00.000-05:00

The news that the White Stripes are calling it quits kinda struck me as odd, since I thought they pretty much had arrived there. With Jack White reviving the careers of formerly great country singers, his band the Raconteurs, and Meg White doing God knows what, I can't tell you what the last White Stripes album was (Icky Thump apparently).

I only own one White Stripes album (Elephant), so I'm by no means an authority on their music. But I love Elephant, and the energy and confusion it holds. But as great a showman and guitarist as Jack White is, it's Meg White's drumming that always drove me to lke what they did. She often sounds like she's going to tear a whole in that kit. I love it.

Stream Telekinesis' 12 Desperate Straight Lines over at NPR

2011-02-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

On February 15, Telekinesis will drop its sophomore effort, 12 Desperate Straight Lines.

You can preview these dozen immediately catchy, power popped rock songs at NPR's First Listen, a place quickly becoming the go to site for indies to stream their new releases. While there, check out Bright Eyes new album too.

And when you finish listening to 12 Desperate Straight Lines, go to Merge Records and preorder it (and also pick up the mp3 Car Crash to tide you over for a week). They might still have some Telekinesis pencils left.

Hard of Hearing podcast launches in less than a month!

2011-01-31T05:50:00.000-05:00

So a podcast. I can barely keep up with a blog.

I broached the idea of a podcast with Shelby after he shut down his Shifted Sound podcast last year. I had a little more time, and I liked what Shelby was doing.

So we talked back and forth and came up with a idea. A podcast, maybe once every two weeks, where we kind of banter a bit, a little trash talk, and we each get three songs. You get a fun podcast that didn't mean Shelby sifting through tons of music each and every week. And I'd pick up a some of the editing and what not (with his help).

He was sold.

So around the end of February, we'll launch Hard of Hearing: Independent Music for Adults. What that means is less snark, and probably more effusiveness for the music we like. Shelby and I have different tastes, but over the past four years we've tipped each other to some pretty awesome bands. It'll rely on feedback from you, there will be an interactive element to the show. But it will evolve and be an interesting experiment.

Hope you'll subscribe and listen. And feel free to drop me a comment telling me what you'd like to hear.

What We're Listening To - Ponderosa's Moonlight Revival

2011-01-18T16:43:00.000-05:00

There's so much to like on the Ponderosa's Moonlight Revival, it kinda hurts when it hits its low points. Luckily those few low points are bolstered by enough southern rock swagger to bring back Ronnie Van Zant.

Very firmly paying homage to the Allmans and Skynyrd, Ponderosa also sound a lot like Whiskeytown, early Kings of Leon, and labelmates Old 97s. Which means your getting a lot of songs unabashedly about being young, falling in and out love, chasing girls and drinking. The songs are loose, like they've been played live plenty of times, and the band knows where it's going.

It works a lot of times. On the white boy soul-burning ballad Hold On You, lead singer Kalen Nash is puts every inch of his voice into it. I imagine live, this nearly five-minute diddy gets taken out for a 10 minute Freebird-esque walk. Old Gin Road is raucous and fun, a romp about trying to leave a small town. But the slower, darker songs (Girl I've Ever Seen, Broken Heart) just seem to get in the way of the party here. But there's still fun to be had all over (Pretty People, Devil On My Shoulder), and the band jams so well, it's makes the whole album an easy listen.

But for a debut, it's pretty remarkable. I wish it was a little warmer so I could blast it and drink beer on my porch.

Get Ponderosa's Moonlight Revival at Amazon's mp3 Store

Singled Out - The Rural Alberta Advantage's Stamp

2011-01-10T18:56:00.000-05:00

"The hardest thing about this love is that you're never coming back."

The Rural Alberta Advantage, one of our favorite bands of 2009, rip and roar through their new single Stamp. I'm hoping this track is indicative of their new album (Departing, on Saddle Creek 3/1). Lyrics about lost love, Nils Edenloff's haunting vocals, AND THOSE FUCKING DRUMS. Man, those drums sold me on the first album, and they are selling me on this track.

This song is big for just three minutes. And as fast as it starts, it's over. Enjoy the ride by hitting repeat.

You can pick up the track in exchange for your email address at Saddle Creek's site.

Top 10 Albums of 2010...According to Tim

2010-12-31T05:27:00.021-05:00

2010 was a good year for indie music. It was very difficult to narrow down the year's best output to just 10 albums, but below are the 10 albums that made a lasting impact on me. As you can see, I left out albums from LCD Soundsystem, Sleigh Bells, Joanna Newsom, and The Drums. Although all of these albums were quite good, and I enjoyed them a lot, they just didn't make the cut.

10. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild

Hunt - Dead Oceans Records | The Tallest Man on Earth is the moniker of folk musician Kristian Matsson, who hails from Leksand, Sweden. In October, I purchased his five-song EP titled Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird and was immediately struck by the incredible song-writing and poetic lyrics. This led me to get a hold of The Wild Hunt LP, which was released in April. I was not disappointed! The LP contains eleven stripped down folk songs that highlight Kristian's vocals and acoustic guitar playing. The vocal lines and lyrics on the album remind me of Bob Dylan's best folk music from the early 1960's. But instead of just copying Bob Dylan, the music and lyrics have amazing depth that demand repeat listens.

9. The National - High Violet - 4AD Recordings | The National's Boxer was one of my favorite albums of 2007. I had very high expectations for their new release, and I think this made it very difficult for me to place this album very high on my top 10 list. As opposed to Boxer, which opened up with the highly energetic yet contemplative track "Fake Empire", High Violet begins with heavily distorted base pedal notes on the guitar and lead singer Matt Berninger singing "It's a terrible love that I'm walking with spiders". Overall, I found High Violet a darker and more demanding listen than The Boxer. But in the end, I found myself enjoying it more and more the more I played it. It has been said before, but The National have a great early-morning, post-drinking binge sound that comes through brilliantly throughout this album.

8. The New Pornographers - Together - Matador Records | Is it possible to write smart pop songs better than this? Doubt it! The Canadian super-group returned in force with Together, with A.C. Newman and Destroyer (Dan Bejar) teaming up to write 12 outstanding pop songs. My favorites are "Crash Years", which features Neko Case's powerful vocals, "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco", and "A Bite Out of My Bed" which features a trumpet cameo from Zach Condon of Beirut.

7. The Vampire Weekend - Contra - XL Recordings |

Led by lead singer Ezra Koenig, New York based indie-rock band Vampire Weekend put in an excellent sophomore effort with Contra. Self-professed as specialists in "Upper West Side Soweto" music, Contra does a great job of mixing quirky lyrics, with up-beat melodies and luscious instrumentation. Even after hearing this album more than a dozen times, it's hard to discern any deeper meaning in the lyrics, but who cares! With music that sounds this good, just turn it up an enjoy.

6. Spoon - Transference - Merge Records | This album could have been aptly titled "Another Side of Spoon". Coming off their brilliant and heavily-produced 2007 release Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Transference features a different Spoon sound: raw and fiery. While the songs are much more stripped down, they contain just as much depth as anything Spoon has put out in the past. Transference contained my favorite musical moment of 2010: about halfway into the track "Who Makes Your Money". Check it out!

5. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz - Asthmatic Kitty | Sufjan Stevens, the amazingly creative singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan, put out a great album this year in The Age of Adz. In past albums such as Michigan (2003) and Illinois (2005), Sufjan's songs spoke of love, lost, and economic decline through vast stories that often contained multiple characters and historical figures. The Age of Adz is a grand departure from these past albums in that the songs are in the first person, providing a more direct connection to Sufjan and his thoughts. This is not the most accessible of Sufjan's albums, so I wouldn't recommend it to people who are new to his music, but it has more depth and raw emotion than anything he has done before.

4. Beach House - Teen Dream - Sub Pop | This album came out in the early days of 2010, but it had such big impact on me that I had to put it on my top 10 list. Teen Dream is the third album put out by the Baltimore indie pop duo Beach House, and my first introduction to their work. From the melodic counterpoint of the first track "Zebra", to the dreamy zig zags of "Norway", Teen Dream works as a complete album, with a surreal, dreamy feel throughout. I've heard some complain that this album would put them to sleep. I disagree. This album has such a great sound to it, that I can't help but listen to it over and over again.

3. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast - Kanine | Surfer Blood has to be my pick for the best new band of 2010. These young University of Florida students have guitars and they know how to use them. I can't remember the last time guitars sounded this good. Track after track, they pop out amazing guitar riffs, which just want me to turn up the volume. I can't wait to hear more stuff from these guys in 2011.

2. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest - 4AD Recordings | This album was the biggest surprise for me this year. Being my first introduction to Deerhunter, I had no idea what to expect. What I discovered was a band that combined an amazing late-night, hazy sound reminiscent of the best of the Velvet Underground with a guitar rock sense reminiscent of Spoon. Not only does Halcyon Digest have a great cohesive sound, which may be the result of mixer Ben Allen (who also worked on Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion), but it also contains some immensely creative song-writing. I had to put this album at the top of my list.

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs - Merge Records| This is a stunning third album by the Canadian indie-music supergroup. I was taken away by their debut album Funeral (2004), which contained stomping anthem after stomping anthem of emotion. Their second album, Neon Bible (2007), left me perplexed. Instead of honing their large sound, Neon Bible's dark, melancholic anthems began to feel heavy and tiresome. The Suburbs, however, is an unqualified return to form. The album's songs are inspired by two of the band members' upbringing in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Over the course of the album's 16 tracks, we travel through the desolate streets, shopping malls, and highways of the suburbs. Paired with Arcade Fire's crafty melodies and non-stop energy, this is my favorite album of 2010.

Best Albums of 2010, in a single post...

2010-12-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

With a different post each day, it can be kinda unwieldy to read them all. So here's a post with links to each post.

You can also capture all 'Best Of 2010' posts on one page by clicking here or the tags at the bottom of each post.

10. Vampire Weekend - Contra
9. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
8. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
6. Versus - One the Ones and Threes
5. Girl Talk - All Day
4. New Pornographers - Together
3. Spoon - Transference
2. The Roots - How I Got Over
1. Janelle Monae - The Archandroid

Best Albums of 2010 No 1 - Janelle Monae's The Archandroid

2010-12-23T15:09:00.000-05:00

2010 was a year of some pretty exceptional music acorss genres and styles. But for me, I found none as interesting or as remarkable as Janelle Monae's The Archandroid. A stunning debut album from someone with so much ambition, desire and promise, it's hard not to laud her for this album while eagerly waiting for her next album.

Monae's tales of android Cindy Mayweather in a society that's gone awry are compelling. But it's Monae and her influences that cause you to take notice. She's aping James Brown, Prince, Bowie, George Clinton, Lauryn Hill, sometimes mixing them all up together. On Neon Valley Street, she could be any current R&B diva, singing sweetly; but then she starts rapping through a computer voice.

The first half, with songs like Faster, Dance or Die, and the infectious Tightrope, you see Big Boi and the rest of that Atlanta sound influence. She culls from sci fi as much as her parents 70s vinyl (the MJ influence is heavy too... Locked Inside sounds like an extra from the Off The Wall sessions). The second half is more tender, more classic neo soul, with exciting rock and funk elements.

If Janelle Monae is within 100 miles of your city, go see her show. It's a 1000 times more mind blowing than the album, with dancers, live instrumentation, and Monae's electric stage presence.

Read our June 2010 review of the Archandroid here.

Buy Janelle Monae's The Archandroid at the Amazon mp3 store

Best Albums of 2010 - The ones I liked but not enough to be in the Top 10

2010-12-22T12:15:00.000-05:00

There were two full scoops of albums I thought were interesting or amazing, but not amazing enough to be in my Top 10 for the year. These are albums I encourage you to pick up, explore, fall in love with, put on a mixtape. They are albums that fill in the space of a year that my Top 10 could not.

They are indeed excellent albums

J Cole's Friday Night Lights mixtape - In a year of uninteresting hip hop, here is J Cole making me believe in genre that most years I write off for dead. Aggressive on delivery he owns every minute of this mixtape.

Sky Larkin's Kaleide - Brainy, wordy indie pop rock band from Leeds. Katie Harkin's voice is worth the album alone, but there's so much energy here you'll stick around again and again.

Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record - Just a fun dance record. I love Texico Bitches, mostly for the ram ma lam ma ding dong.

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings' I Learned The Hard Way - Whoa. Don't ever cross Sharon Jones. She will eat your punk ass for dinner, then write an incredible sould song about what a dog you are. And The Dap Kings will be there to back her up.

Shelby Lynne's Tears, Lies and Alibis See above about Sharon Jones. But instead of soul, insert Loretta Lynne country song instead.

Dum Dum Girls' I Will Be - Catchy lo fi fuzzy girl group pop. What's not to like?

Arcade Fire's The Suburbs - Tales of lonely suburban life from that band you used to like until your mom started liking them. Obligatory inclusion? Possibly. But that doesn't not make it a compelling and interesting record.

Best Coast's Crazy For You - Sunny, surfy, lo fi weed rock. You will get a contact buzz reading their twitter. You'll feel euporic just listening to these happy songs.

The Drums' s/t - Surf rock meets the Smiths. That is, dark moody lyrics about love over dreamy surfing guitars.

Superchunk's Majesty Shredding - 10 years since their last album, and Mac and the gang haven't mellowed one bit (insert obligatory slack motherfucker joke here). I think it sounds more like a kicked up Portastatic, since no one can be 19 forever. But damn if this entire album doesn't make you want to pogo around.

Best Albums of 2010, No 2 - The Roots' How I Got Over

2010-12-22T11:57:00.000-05:00

There are no bad Roots records. There are only ones that don't appeal to you. Like that underground spaced out sound? You're probably an Illadelph Halflife. The rockier side of live instrumentation hip hop? Phrenology. Aggressive no holds barred We're The greatest boasting? Well, that's Things Fall Apart.

?uestlove even took umbrage with haters this summer on Twitter, essentially saying over a series of posts that each album is different and if you don't like it, tough.

So it would seem fitting that with How I Got Over, a collective that's been together for over 20 years turns in an album more introspective than the rest. For that's what happens when you get old, you get prone to take stock.

How I Got Over is more thematically consistent than any other work they've put out. It's dark and Black Thought is going places that hit as hard as ?uestlove on that kit. The stellar Dear God 2.0 is an anthem for urban recession sufferers (backed by a sample from Jim James of Monsters of Folk), a prayer to God to fix the world he's let go completely awry. "Why is the world ugly when You made it in your image? And why is living life such a fight to the finish?" The Roots are like a hip hop version of Springsteen on this album. But instead of speaking to a Jersey working class, it's Philly black inner city that frames it. HIGO at each turn perfectly captures what it means to work extra hard and try and live right and still feel like you're three steps behind. On Walk Alone, our hero walks alone, cos he's always been alone.

There are no clever by half rhymes here (sorry Drake and Weezy fans). A tip to Julliard is about all you'll get. This realism in hiphop trend (see J Cole, Wale to some extent) is refreshing. On Now Or Never, Black Thought grapples with the success and questions of if he deserved it "What's the saying, bygone be bygones? Niggas who used to be the underdogs now icons." (I mean, you are on TV every night, so it's a fair question).

There's no need to discuss the musical chops. Every Roots album is flawless in that regard, and this is no exception. A perfectionist, ?uestlove produced all but one of the tracks, and there's not a note or high hat out of place. The echoes and haunting piano keys match perfectly. And the collab with James on Dear God 2.0 and Joanna Newsom on Right On shows that after 20 years there are still ways to innovate and stay fresh (Though the Bon Iver/ Kanye cowork on Monster and Lost in the Woods is AMAZING).

You shouldn't own this album because it's the best hip hop album out this year. You should own it because it's hands down a classic.

Best Albums of 2010, No 3 - Spoon's Transference

2010-12-21T14:06:00.002-05:00

When Britt Daniel's mother listened to Transference, she worried that Spoon might be going too metal.

Maybe not metal, but Transference is an album that sees Daniel and company finally let go, strip everything down and get incredibly loose ("pure Spoon" Daniel says of it). Where Gimme Fiction is a shining example of tightly wound perfect indie collegiate radio rock, and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is a classic that improved the previous formula, Transference gets rid of all that and sticks to a few chords here and there. It's a return to that sparse sound of Girls Can Tell, but from a band that's more assured of where it's been and where it's going.

At turns it sounds remarkably unfinished (indeed, five of the 11 tracks are unpolished demos, a testament to Spoon's musicianship). But not unfinished in a Michael Jackson leftover kind of way. Just very raw. Raw in the way each song assaults. You might feel violated by Written in Reverse, and I'm pretty sure the piano did since its banged to kingdom come.

It's raw in the lyrics. "No one else remembers my name. Just those parts that I play" Daniel sighs in the closer Nobody Gets Me But You. And the title of "Is Love Forever" kinda says it all.

But it's that rawness and essentially freedom that has seen Spoon evolve to the band it is on Transference. He still likes his corny but endearing ballads (Goodnight Laura < Black Like Me < Fitted Shirt). And they still get plenty funky and obscure. What exactly is "Who Makes Your Money" about anyway?

Over it all, one thing is for certain - Transference is pure Spoon.

Buy Spoon's Transference at the Amazon mp3 Store

The Year in Music...According to Zak

2010-12-21T10:46:00.003-05:00

So…2010. Let’s see, it was hands down the most emotional year of my life. The year with the greatest ups and worst downs I have ever experienced. So one would imagine with those emotions flowing that I would have identified with a number of albums…after all one could argue that music is best experienced at heightened emotional times. However, 2010 proved to be a year of really great albums that I loved…yet only a few connected emotionally with me. None of these records however, stood out as a clear number one. If I were to revisit this list tomorrow, I may change the order again. Quite frankly, my top five from last year would be ahead of all of these from this year. Yes, there were songs on these records that moved me…I mean like you feel it in the gut…but none of the “albums” did that. They were all really great…but none were exceptional to me this year. Anyway…here they are and my thoughts and a quote from a song…one that for me resonated with me.

10. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

The Arcade Fire returns with a record that REALLY wants to be Funeral. It tries to grow and up and mature and all the things you are supposed to do…but it fails a bit towards the end. Don’t get me wrong…it has it’s moments. “Suburban War” and “Ready to Start” are definitely grown up versions of “Wake Up,” and “Neighborhood #3,” respectively. But as The Suburbs reaches it’s final tracks, I’m just left feeling less than satisfied.

“They said the past won't rest, Until we jump the fence and leave it behind”

9. Girl Talk – All Day

The DP nailed it on this one…to not like this record is to not like music. I mean, it’s the most damn likeable thing I’ve heard in years. It’s like skate and space on steroids. The regulars are there…Jay, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Neil Diamond...and although I think it is a bit passé to end with “Imagine” it is tons of fun to try and figure out which Miami Sound Machine that is.

(no quote would be appropriate…but the key track is definitely “Triple Double.”)

8. The National – High Violet

The National return with a sonically astounding album. Start to finish, I cannot fault the feel of this album. It feels and sounds amazing. However, lyrically, I am not sure it is their best work. During the brilliance of this album, we have to “walk with spiders” “cover me with rag and bones,” and most disturbing “eat your brains.” So I don’t know what to do with this. The Runaway is one of their best…hands down…but I am left wanting a bit more.

“I never thought about love, when I thought about home.”

7. Kissaway Trail - Sleep Mountain

The type of band we all love (at least the DP does), one that wants to be the Arcade Fire. Great anthems fill this record and lyrically it is brilliant. I don’t know anything about this band…and I bought it on a whim in Orlando, with thoughts of yellowbirds, solely based on the album artwork. And I fell in love with the sound.

“It’s not how we planned it to be, maybe this year will be better.”

6. Local Natives – Gorilla Minor

An outstanding debut! Local Natives bring stripped down rock with haunting lyrics and make you want to sing along. I loved everything about this record…the feel, the sound, the lyrics…start to finish a solid debut from a band that somehow weaves the feel of those great late 90’s indie rock records with an urgency to push forward. My only complaint is that it is a bit similar throughout...which turns out to be a good thing. For goodness sake, it’s nice to know what to expect.

“Memory tells me that these times are worth working for.”

5. Spoon – Transference

An early 2010 release that hung around all year long. “Got Nuffin,” “Written in Reverse,” and “Goodnight Laura” found their way onto almost every mix I made this year. And as album it clearly stands out as one of Spoon’s best. They have found their way as a mainstay in my collection with an exceptional back catalog and a superb record in Transference.

“And you close your eyes and slow yourself and let your worry leave you and let go of it all just for this evening .”

4. Tokyo Police Club – Champ

The most geographically confused band I have ever known comes back with a bang. The most emjoyable record of the year for me. Nothing to heavy lyrically and the songs are put together much more sophisticatedly than on Elephant Shell. Champ finds the boys experiencing some more heartbreak but in a very Weezer sort of way. Like you can’t feel to bad for them because they are having so much fun.

“But the big bad years are gone yeah, the big bad years are done and gone away”

3. Kanye West –My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

It’s all been said about this record…I mean it really has. I wanted to not like it. I made the mistake of reading all the reviews, including Pitchforks grossly overrated 10.0, and I wanted to not like it. I wanted to find fault in it. I wanted to rip on his 4 minute ending to “The Runaway” with the auto-tune way past any point of understanding but then I heard it in headphones and realized The Beatles wished they could have pulled this off with St. Peppers. And ending with the Bon Iver track...I learned to just let it be what it is. One of the greatest accomplishments in pop music.

“I'm up in the woods, I'm down on my mind I'm building a sill to slow down the time” or Kanye’s take, “I'm lost in the world, I'm down for the time, I'm new to the city, Down for the night”

2. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More

A great debut…I mean this band has the makings of an amazing future. Lyrically the best record I heard all year. Hands down. At times they are part Avett Brothers, other times they are closer to the Fleet Foxes…but his voice, delivery, and lyrics may be closer to Conor Oberst. The opening track “Sigh No More,” is so much like a Fleet Foxes song it could end up on their next record…yet midway through the record we find “Little Lion Man,” a radio friendly track with banjos, only to find our way back to being reminded that we are “not alone in this” on the brilliant, “Timshel”

“Where you invest your love, you invest your life”

1. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms

Let me start by saying that I overplayed this record…grossly overplayed. Almost enough to make me not want to put it here. But once I walked away from it…and listened to it for what it is it became crystal clear. Here is one of my favorite bands putting out a near perfect record. I can’t not put it at number one. From Ben’s lyrics on the opening track screaming “I don’t ever wanna come back home” to the closing notes where he whispers, “We could live by our own laws in favor” it was the closest thing to describing my year.

“On my way back home, a chance I thought of, oh my favorite song where I'd gone wrong.”

Best Albums of 2010, No 4 - The New Pornographers' Together

2010-12-20T16:53:00.001-05:00

The first time I heard this album was at listening party in a crowded bar in a pretty popular bar in DC, with what can only be described as two New Pornographers super fans. Suffice to say not in the most ideal conditions.

Among all that noise were the incredible sounds of a pretty amazing album. Catchy and upbeat, what's not to like?

Over 12 songs and 45 minutes, AC Newman tries to cram as much bombastic power pop goodness as possible. And with his army of golden voices he largely succeeds.

Dan Bejar's Silver Jenny Dollar is glorious and chipper and love note, just kinda bouncing along not headed anywhere in particular (especially when he chases the beat and growls "I love you"). If You Can't See My Mirrors is also cheery beyond belief. Indeed, every single song here (even the downtempo Valkyrie in The Roller Disco) is relentlessly happy.

But it's Neko Case's big gun vocals on Crash Years and My Shepherd that sell this album. She's more reserved than Middle Cyclone, but she infuses both with sweetness. Try not singing along when they come on.

There is no doubt in my mind you will instantly fall in love with this album and keep coming back to it again and again.

Buy The New Pornographers' Together at the Amazon mp3 Store

Best Albums of 2010, No 5 - Girl Talk's All Day

2010-12-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

To not like Girl Talk is to essentially say you have zero affection for any Billboard Top 200 hit across any genre for the past 40 years.

A bold claim for sure, but it's right. Gregg Gillis cratedigs and samples nearly two and a half generations of music to deliver All Day, the successor to the immensely popular and aprty all the time ridiculous album Feed The Animals.

The schtick and formula are the same to some degree with any Girl Talk album. Take a dozen tracks you already know, chop, layer, mash em together and voila.

But Gillis has gone over the top with All Day. Each of his albums are getting progressively longer, with All Day 20 minutes longer than Feed the Animals and almost double the length of Night Ripper.

They're also incredibly more complex, more sonically dense, more meticulous, each mashup more thematically consistent. Ludacris over Black Sabbath, doesn't just fit, after a few listens, you almost can't imagine the two songs as individuals again. Modern English and Jay-Z, bleeding into Lennon's Imagine reinforce this underlying thread that all pop music shares.

The jokes are still there, subtle but funny if you catch them. Wale's Pretty Girls over Beck's Loser is one of the funniest about DC's most famous perennial comeupper. ODB over Radiohead's Creep is brilliant.

If you haven't gotten a ticket to see Girl Talk on this tour, do it now. What is amazing on your iPod will make your head explode live.

Download Girl Talk's All Day for free from Illegal Art

Best Albums of 2010, No 6 - Versus' On The Ones and Threes

2010-12-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

2010 twas the year for fogey indie rock. Pavement got back together (and then not). Dismemberment Plan is touring again. Superchunk put out an impressive album. Apparently being over 40 doesn't affect your ability to rock out.

Which is true of one of my all time favorite bands, Versus (thanks to former Teenbeat label mate Tracy Shedd and Ft Lowell Record HMFIC James Tritten for introducing me to them and their music). It's been 10 years since they put out Hurrah, and the return with On The Ones and Threes is magnificent. Older, wiser and darker, the album doesn't lack any of the energy from their earlier albums.

Nu Skin indulges in a delightful guitar solo half way through that just gets louder and more destructive, falling apart before coming back together for the last verse. It keeps up with Cicada and Invincible Hero, but it's Fontaine Toups sweet singing that surprises and balances Richard Baly. Pink Valhalla is dreamy and morbid: "So step into the twilight/There's nothing left to lose/I can live forever." And then they go full pop with Scientists, a song that will make you a believer.

I hope I can be as good in a decade.

Buy Versus' On The Ones and Threes from the Amazon mp3 Store

Best Albums of 2010, No 7 - Kanye West's My Beautifu Dark Twisted Fantasy

2010-12-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

Has there been a more eagerly anticipated, blogged about, loved album this year than Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? And it's only been out for three weeks!

After the Taylor Swift fiasco, Kanye hunkered down in his Hawaii studios set about his road to redemption. He invited his big brother Jay, and every other manner of person to rhyme/sing on his album. John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, Rick Ross, even Bon Iver (which is just bizzare, but works so well).

But it's impossible to seperate that incident from him, and it's impossible to seperate him from his music. The album is intensely personal, fiercely defiant, and at every turn remarakbly brilliant. Where 808s and Heartbreaks was an mess, here Kanye brings back the laser like precision and sonic exploration of Graduation. No Kraftwerk or video game sounds here.

POWER, which might be the most impressive single this year, is dense with chants, hand claps and a thudding bass and gnarling guitar. West has never been in this territory over four albums. All of the Lights stands out for some of the most ornate orchestra (Violins! French Horns! Drum Circles!). Even his return to sped up soul samples with Devil in a New Dress (Mayfield!!!) seems less about his talent behind the board than behind the mic. He's raw here opening up and letting every emotion out ("She says she loves me for me, could you be more phony?"). West out raps virtually everyone who comes to play on this album (though Minaj's Monster line proves she's got something to say. Pink Friday proves it's just not much).

For a man with an ego as outsized as Kanye West, MBDTF is that perfect complimentary album. To not like Kanye West cos of who or what he does misses the point. He's back to making some of the most interesting music out.

Buy Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at Amazon mp3 Store

Best Albums of 2010, No 8 - Sleigh Bells' Treats

2010-12-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

The first indicator that Sleigh Bells had a bonafide hit with Treats was my oldest son's reaction. The distortion, the noise, the chanting, the cheering... he loved it. For a 7 year old, this was the best kind of music: messy, loud and rhythmic. After listening to the album all summer, he knows all the guitar sounds, all the drum thumps, all the over the top call and responses. It comes up on shuffle and he asks for me to turn it up.

Which is good, cos I feel the same way. Sleigh Bells turned in an album chock block full of what can only be described as cheer rock. You feel guilty for liking it. And when people describe it as difficult, I find it odd. Because everyone I've ever played it for immediately likes it.

LA Times described it best: "It sounds bad in a way that suggests Rick Rubin fell asleep on a hundred-grand mixing board and pushed every fader to “11.”"

The assualt is brief, only 33 minutes over 11 songs. And they're not breaking new ground lyrically. A/B Machines might be my favorite, but the cheeky lines on a sun washed out Rill Rill are the best ("Wonder what your boyfriend thinks about your braces").

This album is fun and a guilty pleasure in every sense. Grab it now and blow a speaker.

Buy Sleigh Bells' Treats from Amazon mp3 Store

Best Albums of 2010, No 9 - Surfer Blood's Astro Coast

2010-12-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

2010 was some sort of Southern California beach party, soundtracked by what seemd like a never ending string of lazy, hazy surf music. Surfer Blood kicked it off and had what might be considered a teenage boy's best year ever. Non stop touring (I saw them once as openers, the next two times as headliners in the span of a three months) and an upgrade to major label status with Warner. Not bad for a mostly under-21 group of guys from South Florida.

There's much to like here. Big noisy guitar sounds and relentless drumming shoehorned against the love turned bitter lyrics of Floating Vibes, or forlorning in general of Take It Easy.

Yeah, someone fell in love with Weezer's Blue album (they closed out one of their sets with a cover of the Sweater Song).

The single Swim is alone worth the price of admission. Awash in those effect pedal big guitars, and John Paul Pitts "oh oh oh" will have you drumming along at your desk.

I worry that Surfer Blood will lose the carefree attitude and freedom to drift that's so apparent on Astro Coast (Slow Jabroni and Twin Peaks just kind of wander along). As long as they keep having fun, I'll buy their next album.

Buy Surfer Blood's Astro Coast at Amazon's mp3 Store

Best Albums of 2010, No 10 - Vampire Weekend's Contra

2010-12-06T08:43:00.000-05:00

"In December, drinking horchata, I look psychotic in balaclava."

And with that, the preppiest boys in indie rock start out their sophomore effort, making impossible rhymes with impossible words over impossibly infectious beats.

There's been a lot of growing up since Vampire Weekend dropped their self titled debut two years ago. They've toned down the Paul Simon Graceland aping, fleshed out their sound more and turned in an album of stories about what are essentially little preppy white boys and white girls growing up disassociated and disaffected.

Their characters are the douchebags you went to college with, the Diplomat's Son, the guy who still hangs around the same club, the girl who is principled enough to eat fake Philly cheesesteaks but use chemically abhorrent real toothpaste. And just for shits and giggles is the incredible two and half minute romp Cousins.

This album is fun, overly intelligent effort. Sometimes I wish they'd stop trying so hard to be clever by half and work on making excellent music. Contra comes pretty close to that request.

Buy Vampire Weekend's Contra at Amazon's mp3 Store

Best EP of 2010 - Cassis Orange

2010-12-04T15:41:00.000-05:00

I'm behind the ball on this Best of 2010 Album thing, but I had a free minute, and thought I'd drop out what I thought was the best EP of 2010.

Admittedly, I'm jaded. Autumn Ehinger of Cassis Orange is a friend, but her songs of love and lonlieness penned about her time in Japan are four of the most excellent tracks you will hear all year. "I don't want you to call me/I just want you to want to" she sings above the sweetest tinkling on her keyboard.

Other Runners up
Telekinesis, Parallel Seismic Conspiracies - A hint of what MBL will deliver on his sophomore effort from Merge next year, Dirty Thing.

Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Say No To Love 7 - This band is getting stronger and stronger, refining that 80s sound, like Pretty in Pink all grown up.

Ft Lowell Records FLR001 through FLR004 - Ft Lowell records have put out a series of really strong 7 inches this year, from Arizona and Tucson bands you probably never heard of, but should invest the $5 and get them. Dead Western Plains, ... music video, Wet and Reckless, Young Mothers and Tracy Shedd round out an incredible start for a first year label.

What We Are Listening To - The Drums s/t

2010-08-31T16:43:00.000-04:00

I wish I could say I came across The Drums s/t album through some awesome bar playing it in Boston (though a lot of restaurants brought it musically), but a simple 140 character suggestion from Amazon mp3 was the selling point for me "Suggested if you like the Smiths, Surfer Blood, driving up the coast."

Which are three things I like on an above average basis (the Surfer Blood album is one of the years best and most earnest efforts). Also should be added to that list is dancing. And surf pop.

But these 12 stripped down minimalist synthed songs are fun. Very Pretty in Pink as cowrker said. The handclapping on Skippin Town and the whistling on Let's Go Surfing is fun. And Morrissey he's not. He goes dark but think simpler. "You're my best friend but then you died." "Baby I don't know what to do without your love. Tell me what to do-ooo-oo-oo"

Every song is great though, rising above most other surf pop clogging up this year. Grab the album and pull a few songs off for a mix tape or two.

If you're interested in hitting up their 9:30 club show on 9/12, leave a comment or send me an email.

2010 Second Quarter Review

2010-06-24T14:55:00.000-04:00

I totally slacked on writing this second quarter, which I might try and rectify with a series of reviews because there were some REAL standouts between April and June.

There is one album that I'm omitting: The new Stars record. I haven't had time to digest it and listen. So I'm sure it'll be a part of the third quarter review.

Without further adieu

Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record This is a really fun dance record. BSS, a band (collective?) that I always found too hard to really get into, delivered in solid form with Forgiveness Rock Record. Texico Bitches is going down as one of my favorite singles of the year. Favorite Tracks - Texico Bitches, Art House Director, Ungrateful Little Father, Highway SLipper Jam
Cassis Orange s/t EP Autumn Ehinger, the tiny but awesome one woman force that is Cassis Orange is a friend of the Shake that we met at XX Merge last year (she was covered in pink duct tape, Imperial Teen's No 1 fan). Somehow she's able to capture all her energy and push out on four excellent songs. Lots of pianao, very solid beats, she has an ear for perfect pop.The EP is free at her website, and hopefully she'll do us a solid and play at the ISIS HQ backyard party this summer. Favorite Tracks - Listen Heartbeat, Kotzebue
Hold Steady's Heaven Is Whenever Not my favorite album by this band, but I guess like Craig Finn's characters, you can't stay boozy and druggy your whole life. Still anthemic, and still rocking, the departure of Franz Nicolay and his keyboard leaves a noticeable whole. Despite all that, it's still one of the out this past quarter (though don't expect it to make on EoY lists). Favorite Tracks - Heaven Is Whenever, Hurricane J
Janelle Monae's The ArchAndroid One of my favorite albums for the year. Genre hopping, with rock, funk, hiphop, cabaret (?!) and soul, this is Monae's second and third installment of her ArchAndroid suite. Yeah, the idea is a little out there, but it works. Favorite Tracks - Cold War, Tightrope, Oh Maker
The New Pornographers' Together This is my first New Pornographers album, and all it made me want to do is go buy the others. Every song is a pop masterpiece, and I'm firmly in love with Neko Case. My Shepherd, what AC Neman calls his 'torch song' will make you want to cry. Get this album now and put it on repeat. Favorite Tracks - Crash Years, Silver Jenny Dollar, My Shepherd
Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings' I Learned The Hard Way You think you got problems? Listen to a little Sharon Jones, and you'll think twice. I Learned the Hard Way is perfect retro soul music, and serves as the perfect stage for Jones' incredible voice and the Dap Kings tight playing. Favorite Tracks - The Game Gets Old, Better Things, She Ain't a Child No More
Tokyo Police Club's Champ Another followup effort from a band that I wish had done better. TPC's blast of EP's in 2007 and it's energetic Elephant Shell in 2008 put a lot of hope for a return. They've grown up a bit, and they're still making similar pop, but it lacks the punch of their earlier stuff. Wait Up and Bambi come the closest, and are by and large the standouts on the album. Favorite Tracks - Wait Up (Boots of Danger), Bambi
Sleigh Bells' TreatsI don't know how to describe this album. Post apocalyptic cheer rock hip hop? Over distorted dance noise? I tell people it's weird, then play it, and they love it. Super accessible, very very fun. Liek I said on Twitter, perfect for a late night dance party with tons of rose wine. Favorite Tracks - Kids, Run The Heart, A/B Machines
The Roots How I Got OverAfter one listen, this is on my shortlist for Album of the Year. If you thought playing late night walk overs for Jimmy Fallon would make them soft, forget it. How I Got Over is the best hip hop album so far this year. Every track is a winner, from start to finish. And things I was sure wouldn't work (Joanna Newsome? Monsters of Folk???) are PERFECT. Am I jocking it hard? Yes, but only because it's THAT GOOD. Dear God 2.0, Web 20/20, Hustla, Walk Alone
Shelby Lynne's Tears, Lies and Alibis Since I first listend to I Am Shelby Lynne, I've been in love with her voice. Tears, Lies and Alibis is kinda return to her mix of soul and country, still with that aching voice and love done me wrong songwriting. I think you'll love Shleby

The links are all for Amazon, but you can find most of these artists at eMusic or another online independent retailer.

What We're Listening To - Janelle Monae's The ArchAndroid

2010-06-08T14:58:00.000-04:00

I remember when neo-soul was a cheap way to lump black artists who were doing things that pushed the boundaries of contemporary R&B and hip hop.

It essentially was indie rock for black people.

RES, the original Black Eyed Peas, Knaan, India. Arie. This is just a sample, but these were artists with little to no commercial appeal, peddling their brand of music to highly educated black 20 somethings.

I blame the movie Love Jones.

So now we have Janelle Monae, who's making records about android uprising and falling in love, garnering 8.5 from the color-phobic Pitchfork, and sampling every single music genre, collaborating with some of ATL's finest.

My friends, this shit is indie (well polished indie, as it's on Bad Boy. If Diddy did any producing, you can tell he restrained). It's a close cousin to what Cee-Lo was doing before he met Danger Mouse.

The middle two parts of her four suite Metropolis story, The Archandroid crams 20 mostly brilliant songs (or song thoughts... Neon Gumbo is a 97 second cascade of blips and sounds) into what should be a double album. It's dizzying and tiring.

You spot influences all over. "Oh Maker" is probably the best Lauryn Hill song that Lauryn Hill never wrote, except it's about robots. "Say You'll Go" is beautiful Stevie Wonder-esque love song. She channels the helluva out of Prince on "Mushrooms and Roses." "Tightrope" could be this summer's jam and YouTube dance sensastion, straight off of Stankonia.

Her inner rock goddes takes hold and she invites Of Montreal to help her rock it on "Make The Bus", but she's capable all by herself on the much better and more resonant "Cold War," borrowing some of Andre 3000's freakiness (and his Bombs over Baghdad drums) with some of her own blend of weird thrown in there.

The concept, like most album themes, kinda gets old. Her voice and the music doesn not.

Seeing as how Outkast isn't putting anything out for a bit, pick this not to hold you over or replace, but to fall in love with, to remind you that weird is good.

Buy Janelle Monae's The ArchAndroid from Amazon's MP3 Store

The Post Where We Say Farewell to The Greatest Damn Podcast on the Planet

2010-05-24T09:52:00.000-04:00

All good things must come to an end. No not Lost, but one of our dearest friends in this digital world, Shelby of Shifted Sound, is hanging up his podcast hat.

Shelby's show is one of the main reasons I started The Shimmy Shake. He said there was no harm in trying, and that there would always be at least one person reading it.

We've overlapped and turned each other on a lot of bands, we've disagreed on others. But most importantly, we've connected over a shared love of music and giving small bands a little more deserved promotion.

I'll miss Shelby's weekly show. If you haven't gotten a chance, drop by and leave a not of appreciation...

www.shiftedsound.com

Singled Out - Young Mother's Living In The Graveyard

2010-04-23T10:31:00.000-04:00

Since James over at Ft Lowell Records first told us about Young Mothers, with that awesome little living room performance video on YouTube, we've been firmly in their corner.

So when we got our FLR001 7 inch this week, we were pleased to find some Young Mothers' bonus material in there, a little four song EP. And though all four songs are great (I Just Wanna Know! is as perfect as lemonade in summer), it's the closing "Living In The Graveyard" that really brings it. Zachary Bennet-Toporek is singing his heart out, but the band sounds very tight. Very polished production goes a long way.

The guys were kind enough to give us permission to post the song, so we'll keep it up here for two weeks or so. We definitely recommend checking them out.

And if you haven't purchased the 7 inch, then why not? Both of those tracks are great as well.

Listen to Young Mothers' 'Living in The Graveyard.'

Buy 'Come On, The Cross' from Ft Lowell Records

Preorder 'Come On, The Cross 7 Inch' from Amazon

What Apps We're Playing With - Cardinal by assn

2010-04-19T16:17:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to this conference, essentially a learning session/have fun meetup for iPhone and other mobile platform developers (but mostly iPhone).

If you go to conferences, you should almost always follow the associated Twitter hashtag. Because you'll probably won't get to interact with everyone there, and since these things and Twitter are all about self promotion and sharing ideas, they work really well together.

As was such the case with @smixx and @assn_ca, a Calgary developer. I was reading over some tweets, and I came across one where he said he was giving away his Cardinal app in the iTunes store.

Cardinal is a TERRIFFIC app for sharing what you're listening to with your Twitter or Facebook followers. Starting the app up shows what's currently pumping in your earphones, even a bit of cover art. Another tap and you're sending on a little pregenerated tweet. Or if you're like me, you're editing it up a bit. And it does it all with an iTunes link so you can buy it. it's all very seamless and very smooth.

I use blip.fm a lot, but I always found it kinda cumbersome. I had to search for what I was listening to, then pick it, then generate some text. Cardinal is like blip.fm, but better. Not because it's native, but because it's much more intuitive, much more tied into the entire iPhone experience.

Now, I know some of you have beef with iTunes, and that's totally fair and understood. But consider this. It's an iPhone app. I would LOVE to have links to Amazon or eMusic, or AmieStreet or CD BABY orinsound, but I can't buy music on my iPhone from any of those sites.

And since a majority of iPhone users purchase music on their devices as opposed to in the store (and that iTunes is still the biggest digital music retailer on the block), it's a tighter and better intergration. Linking to iTunes in this case is a great idea. There's a greater chance that people will buy music this way, compensating artists and labels (even shitty arti$ts and labels).

assn has the app for free for the next four days (normally $2, a very small price for something very cool). Pick it up and show us what you're listening to.

Check out Cardinal in the iTunes App Store (this should just open a web page)

My Favorite Spoon Song...

2010-04-14T02:18:00.002-04:00

I think I love Black Like Me more than any other Spoon song. I always think this band's at its best when it's at its most tender.

And that lyric - "Street tar in summer will do a job on your sole/soul". It makes me want to fucking weep.

I'm pretty sure Britt Daniel is speaking gibberish most of the time. But that song reaches into my soul and grabs me.

Thanks a bunch.

Black Like Me - Spoon

Pianos...

2010-04-14T01:18:00.002-04:00

Spoon's philosophy on pianos. When you think you have enough, you totally need at least one more. I count three.

Un billet...

2010-04-13T18:04:00.002-04:00

Well, this is a helluva problem to have.

The nice people at Merge Records blessed us with two tickets to the sold out Spoon concert tonight in Oakland at the Fox Theatre.

I'm out in the SF Bay area for work so one of the tickets is claimed for. But if you're a reader of this blog and want to meet up with me tonight for the show and a beer, send me an email.

Much love to Lindsey at Merge for picking us to win the tickets (and also Mirla and Christina and everyone else there cos you all are the AWESOME).

What We're Listening To - Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings' I Learned The Hard Way

2010-04-08T15:00:00.003-04:00

When I listen to Sharon Jones, one of the questions I always myself is, "Exactly how deep is the well of spurned love?"

Apparently pretty fucking deep.

Sharon Jones and Dap Kings don't grow so much as polish and evolve with their latest release, "I Learned The Hard Way." I almost like this album more than 100 Days, and I absolutely LOVED that album.

It's almost as if Sharon's mellowed a bit. Not so much in the lyrics ("I've got better things to do than remember you") but more in the vocal intensity. Before it was almost as if she was channeling so much of that feeling through her voice, it felt aggressive. But songs like "Give It Back" and the title track are calm, though sharp and pointed. Listen to that plaintive call in "Mama Don't Like My Man." assisted by only a guitar and some backup vocals, she births a classic as good as anything coming off of Motown or Stax in the 70s. Her voice is an instrument every bit as integral as those Dap Kings horns.

And whoa. The Dap Kings sound tighter than ever. There isn't a horn out of place, a drum beat off time, or a guitar lick out of sync. "The Reason" a 2 1/2 minute instrumental track is proof of how amazing this band is.

if you've ever wondered what the fuss is about, now is the time to discover Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings.

2010 First Quarter Review

2010-04-04T08:27:00.003-04:00

With 25 percent of the year come and gone, I've listened to some pretty solid music (even stuff I haven't taken the time to memorialize on here, which I should do, because it helps keep me sharp on the writing and gives you all something to mock me over).

So in no particular order, here's a list (with some minor commentary) of some of the better music I've picked up from January 1 to March 31, 2010. For the most part, these are new releases. But I'll denote those that aren't (not that it matters, but it does for EoY lists and things like that).

Surfer Blood's Astro Coast - I'm still not sold that this album is the second coming of whatever. It's good, and the more I listen to it the more I like it. But it kinda grinds on me afterwhile. But it's happy and poppy enough, so that's worth something.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists' The Brutalists Bricks - Anthems and energy galore. Start your day here

Young Mothers Come On, The Cross 7"

Vampire Weekend's Contra - I'm officially a full on lover of this album. And I've also started dropping the redic term Contra into conversation to describe a hottie.

The Rosebuds' Daytrotter Session

Shearwater's The Golden Archipelago

The Bird and The Bee's Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1 (A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates)

Aziz Ansari's Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening - A comedy album shouldn't count. But geez, if he isn't HYSTERICAL.

The Soft Pack's s/t album - Of all the shitty surf music that seems to be leaking onto the indie scene right now, I'm in love with this band. Punk, not too aggressive, fun.

Spoon's Transference - I was lukewarm to this album, but it's definitely hooked me. A sparse classic as always.

Shout Out Louds' Work - This will come up and I'll go, who is that? And I'm always surprised at how good it is.

And here are the previous releases:

Asobi Seksu's Citrus

Spoon's Girls Can Tell

Kid Sister's Super High Shine EP

Various Artists' Sub Pop Cybersex Digital Sampler v. 2.10

What We're Listening To - She & Him's Volume 2

2010-04-01T16:52:00.003-04:00

For the past two weeks, I've been listening to what easily is my album of the year.

I may not have gotten into the groove that was Vol 1, but Vol 2 has me hooked.

Zooey's sweet, sugary, candy coated piercing vocals. Her cooing on Thieves can only be matched by her indomitable songwriting prowess.

Coupled with M. Ward's fuzzy, Phil Spector lite production values. Yes, he's pining for a time on the musical spectrum that literally existed for half a second. But just because your mark of perfection is tiny doesn't mean you shouldn't try to aim for it. Because my friend, he hit it.

What I'm saying is this. I'm a convert. They've done it for me. I looked at my iTunes playlist count and I can only imagine that to hit such a number over the past two weeks I must've been listening to this album on repeat in my bed while I sleep.

She & Him are rocking my ears, my heart and my soul. Thank you.

Labeled - Fort Lowell Records' James Tritten

2010-03-30T16:53:00.006-04:00

We've known Jimmy for what seems like forever. he's one of these guys you don't envy, but definitely got a little bit of the jealousy for. He used to book bands (Candy Gram Booking). He was in an awesome band (Audio Explorations... check out the sonic Florida summer that is Ginnie Springs). he's married to a beautiful and awesome musician (Tracy Shedd. And that line from High Fidelity about being married to a musician is totally true. You want that life).

So when Jimmy (or James... who the hell calls him James?) said he was starting a label, one that only did 7 inch singles no doubt, I felt that little twinge. But mostly I was excited. Cos everything this guy does is cool.

We Singled Out Fort Lowell Records first release a few days ago. Young Mothers is good. And for $5 you should totally order one. The best damn podcast in the entire world, Shifted Sound, played the awesome B-Side Good Swords on Episode 194

Jimmy was kind enough to answer some questions about Fort Lowell Records for us, which again, was very awesome. You gotta love this guy. But you will definitely love the music his label is putting out.

Pre-Order FLR001 and check out the rest of the Fort Lowell Roster

Name and age: James Tritten, 34
Title: El Patrón
Location: Tucson AZ
Years running: 0.25 Years

Shimmy Shake: So how did this all start?

During the first weekend of December 2009, I was home sick all weekend, which actually ended up extending into having to call off of work on the following Monday. Most people in the world are able to curl up in bed, zoning out to the television or a movie when they are sick. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), I don't own a television, so I curl up on the couch and zone out to music. Something came over me to dive into my 7inch collection, pulling from collections of Sarah Records, Figurehead, Pop Narchotics, SpinArt, Decorder Ring Records, and some favorite bands from back east like Common Thread, Jennyanykind, The Damnbuilders, and Charlene. It quickly rekindled my old passion for 7inch records, and memories like when I used to take weekend drives from Jacksonville to Orlando, FL, to go shopping at Bad Moon Records. They always seemed to have the best 7inch records to offer.

There was a time in the early-mid '90s when having a 7inch record out was a really big thing for a young band. In fact, it was a goal that most of us would strive for. It dawned on me that this had gone away on some levels in the music community. I am not saying the 7inch record is dead, because I have been buying them for all of these years since. But that desire to have a 7inch record released for a young band seems to have gone away on some levels. At least in Tucson, AZ, there are very very few bands that have 7inch records out, and no one seems to be pushing to get bands released on 7inch records, or vinyl at that. So, I figured this would be a great way for me to give back to the city of Tucson.

Shake: What's the genesis behind Fort Lowell Records?

Tritten: My wife and I moved to Tucson, AZ, back in 2006. We fell in love with the community here because of how supportive it is of the arts. There is so much activity and support; you sometimes feel you are living in a big city. However, everyone knows everyone, which keep things closely connected like a small town. In many ways, it is truly the best of both worlds.

Tucson is very proud and supportive of Tucson, and for good reasons. There are a lot of great artists, musicians, people, and just things in general happening here in Tucson. I have had it in mind for the past three years that I wanted to do more to give back to the community. So, that weekend in December as I was trying to regain my health as I listened through my own record collection, the idea of Fort Lowell Records came to me and all of a sudden I knew my place in this city. I have always had friends tell me I need to do something that introduced others to new music. I have thought about opening a record store many times. I have thought about DJing at a club or radio station. Heck, I used to be a booking agent and put young bands on the road for others to learn about them. But this idea makes the most sense to me. I love vinyl records, I love music, and I love Tucson!

Shake: Where did the name come from?

Tritten: Fort Lowell is an area of Tucson that I like quite a bit. It was actually an old Army post in an area that was once considered outside the city. These days, Tucson has expanded so much that Fort Lowell is actually now part of the central district. There is a beautiful park around the old fort, and the historic buildings with original adobe are completely unlike any other historic area I have seen before (coming from the East Coast). I also wanted to give some sort of reference to Tucson with the name, and the idea of Cactus Records just made me laugh too hard. Fort Lowell itself was used more for providing supplies and support to others, which is what I see Fort Lowell Records doing for the music community.

Shake: What's your mission/belief statement?

Tritten: Music sounds better 7 inches at a time.

Shake: What do you hope to accomplish?

Tritten: I want to document what is going on here in Tucson and show it to the world. There are a lot of great artists in the city of Tucson, but more importantly, there is a great community here. Those who have been to Tucson know it and understand it. But unfortunately, Tucson is a little out of the way for everyone to come visit and learn about our great city. Fort Lowell Records will make the great music of Tucson available for everyone to experience without having to leave their living room, or car, or desk, or wherever they choose to listen to music.

I want to create great art and design with Fort Lowell Records. I am extremely particular with this, especially with records. Some of my favorite artwork for records has been with Command Records and Blue Note Records. I love the fact that you can honestly pick up any record on either of those labels, and you know what label it is on without having to look. That is branding; that is style. 4AD is the same way. This is a goal of mine with Fort Lowell Records.

To achieve this, I decided I needed to find one photographer for myself to work with for all artwork. I personally will be managing the graphic design for each release, which will begin to keep the look very similar. Alaina Brownell, a local photographer from Tucson, has signed on as our official photographer. We will be using her imagery for all releases, establishing the similarity between each release that I am looking for. Alaina's style of photography goes hand in hand with my style of design. I also love the fact that she is a Tucson native, and she only works with film... "analog photos!" This is very appropriate for a Tucson-based vinyl-only record label!

A close friend, Loreto Echevarria, who is a local fashion stylist here in Tucson, introduced Alaina to me. We have also decided to bring Loreto on board with Fort Lowell Records as well, to help coordinate the selection of photographic imagery with each release. Loreto's energy really contributes to the creative process. In addition, her and Alaina's friendship, along with our artists and myself, has already established a family element to Fort Lowell that I was hoping for.

I personally reached out to clamdiggin, simply for admiration of what they do. They are a design company that produces their own clothing, posters, artwork, personal accessories, etc. They work with Urban Outfitters on various projects, as well as host their own art openings from time to time for their own work. I simply offered clamdiggin the opportunity to manage the artwork for the B-side label on the vinyl record itself for each release. I gave them full control over this because I trust and believe in them. I want to promote what they are doing and give them another outlet to do more. I simply love their work, and I am proud to have them as part of the Fort Lowell Family.

Lastly... I simply want more vinyl to be produced in the world, especially to be a part of my own personal record collection, so... I figured I would just put it out there myself!

Shake: Why only vinyl?

Tritten: The act of listening to a vinyl record is an interactive experience and it does not allow for the music to simply be background ambiance. The limited time length causes the artist to truly focus on the arrangement of their music, and what songs work best together and fit on each side. In the case with 7inch records, the focus is even tighter, limiting the artist to only one or two songs per side, as well as the traditional emphasis on side A being the "hit" and side B being the "left over" track. I also find that the warmth of a vinyl adds a mysterious third party production element that is a final touch of magic to a record that the artists, engineers, or producer can't replicate. Lastly, the large format art work is much more complimenting to all of the hard work that went into writing and recording the music within. Vinyl records are a work of art, and anyone that appreciates music as art, and not just something to fill a silence, understands the significance of everything that vinyl records represent.

Shake: What do I need to know about vinyl before digging in?

Tritten: I think the only thing to truly worry about is that your electric bill has been paid in full so your turntable will work! :)

Seriously, there really isn't anything to "know" that will keep you from enjoying records. One of my favorite things to do is buy a record from a band that I have never heard of. This really puts the emphasis on the overall vinyl packaging itself, which can be very rewarding. I personally have a tremendous amount of respect for packaging. I have been introduced to new sounds / new music many times with records that I normally would not have thought to buy, just because of their packaging. I remember a Bluetip 7inch from Dischord Records (No.111) I bought in 1998 just because of the beautiful blue vinyl and the vellum packaging. I kind of knew what to expect since it was on Dischord, which was not a label I frequently bought from back then, but then fell in love because of the entire experience with the release. I guess I would advise that you go into purchasing records with an open mind. Sometimes it is not just about the music, and that is okay. You may find yourself appreciating a new sound because of other elements of the release that attracted you. That is one of my favorite experiences with vinyl records.

Shake: What's the deal with the weights and colors?

Tritten: There is a school of thought that the colored vinyl is actually not as good of a quality as the black. I honestly don't know the answer to this, nor do I really care. In fact, I am always more excited when I get a record on colored vinyl. It adds to the overall excitement, presenting an attention to detail that you can't experience with any other form of release. As for the weight, heavier is better, but it would not stop me from buying a record if it was not released on a heavier weight vinyl. I have seen some record labels actually give options of different weights with a release. When this is the case, I would recommend going for the heavier weight. But I have also seen where they give options of heavier weight or colored, and in that case... I would go for the colored!

Shake: Young Mothers sound fantastic. What sound are you looking for?

Tritten: I am more interested in documenting the scene of Tucson than a particular sound. I suppose overall I want to stay near by the Indie Rock/Pop sound, but I am open to almost anything. The music does need to hit me, though. I do need to actually like what the band is doing. But fortunately, I like a lot of different styles of music, and different sounds. That is another goal for Fort Lowell Records: to introduce people to new styles of music they had never heard of. I feel there are a lot of great styles of music being represented in Tucson that not everyone is aware of. Someone may decide they like the first few releases from Fort Lowell Records and want to start buying everything in the catalog. Somewhere down the line, I may choose to put out something that is much harder in style than previously releases, and that record alone could end up introducing that listener to something that would not have normally invested in; much like the Bluetip record for myself back in 1998.

Shake: What are some other bands on the horizon?

Tritten: FLR002 (Fort Lowell Records #2) is going to be with a band called ...music video? (their name includes the "..." and the "?"). ...music video? is about to put out their third full length album, and I thought it would be a great compliment to have a 7inch record go along with the full length. Fort Lowell is not involved in releasing the full length, but we are releasing the first single from their new records, called "I'm Afraid of Everything." It is a sweet jam with a killer beat! It is the kind of song that is going to get the kids off their seats and onto the dance floor! I frequently put it on early in the morning when I am ironing my clothes and dance around the living room listening to it! And the best part is, the B-side does not stop! It too has an infectious groove!

Young Mothers, who will be the first release for Fort Lowell, has decided to use the 7inch to release two exclusive tracks. They too have a new release of their own coming out that coincides with the 7inch. Young Mothers' front man, Zach Toporek, told me the 7inch record release came at a good time for them. They had a handful of songs they were going to record, and out of those songs two of them just did not fit with the others for their EP. Zach came to our home to demo the two songs, "Come On, The Cross" and "Good Swords," for my wife and I, solo acoustic. We all agreed immediately that these songs from Young Mothers would be perfect for a 7inch Record, and for the first Fort Lowell Records release. The music is already at the manufacturer, and the test pressing should be arriving in a few weeks. We all can't wait to get this out!

In addition to Young Mothers and ...music video?, I knew that I wanted to include Tracy Shedd with the Fort Lowell Records family. When her best friend, Emily Wilder (cover star of Tracy Shedd's last Teenbeat album, Cigarettes & Smoke Machines, and director of the latest music video for Tracy Shedd's song "City At Night" from her new release on Eskimo Kiss Records called EP88), gave us a copy of her new band, Wet & Reckless. Immediately, we knew that Tracy Shedd and Wet & Reckless needed to do some sort of split release together in the future. So when the idea of starting Fort Lowell Records came about, we immediately decided that Fort Lowell would be the ones to release this split. Tracy and Emily have been collaborating together for many years with their art, and we are very excited to make this release part of the Fort Lowell catalog.

Other than that, I am actively listening to bands around Tucson and going to see as many of their live shows as possible. However, being that Fort Lowell is a 'Record' Label, even if I am excited about the band's live performance, their recordings need to capture my attention as well. I am very happy with the opening line up for Fort Lowell Records, so I need to direct my immediate attention toward getting these records out first. There are plenty of great bands in Tucson to work with, and if I could release everyone of them, I would. So, spread the word about Fort Lowell and help us sell these records. The faster we sell the first few releases, the fast we will start putting more out. The more records we can sell, the more bands we can support. It's that simple.

Shake: What are some of your favorite recent releases?

Tritten: I just discovered another new Vinyl Only Label, Us Two Records from Dallas, TX. Alan and John are focused toward putting out splits with various bands. Their first release is with El Paso Hot Button and Lipstick Terror, and I love it! It is a great package altogether, and the music is alive and fresh. Us Two Records' release drove me to purchase El Paso Hot Button's full length, and now they are one of my favorite bands out now. I also recently discovered the label True Panther Sounds, and immediately fell in love with the band Girls and their new album called Album. I am very impressed with the new Fever Ray record, as well as Fin Fang Foom and Mercury Program (both on Lovitt Records). The Flaming Lips' album Embryonic is also a very impressive package; Double Colored Vinyl, one Blue, one Yellow. Japandroids is a great new duet that I am in love with! They are actually about to release a series of limited 7inch Records, rather than a new album. I have already pre-ordered the first one!

Shake: What's an album you find yourself always going back to?

Tritten: Sunday Puncher - For Your Everchanging World (Turnbuckle Records). It's everything I ever wanted in a record. It's thought provoking. It's challenging. It's unique and fresh. There is a passion in the performance you don't often hear / feel. When I am at my lowest point, it's the record I like to put on to pull me out of my whole. When I am at my highest point, it's the record I put on to celebrate. If there were a dream record for me to put out, it would sound like this one.

Shake: Where do you see FLR in 1 year? 5 years?

One year: I would like to have four records released by the end of 2010. I believe this is possible. It will take the support of others to make this happen, but I believe there are enough people excited about Fort Lowell Records and Tucson, AZ, to do so.

Five years: My goal is to be able to release one record a month. At this time, I really do want to keep with 7inch records only, and twelve in a year seems like a reasonable achievement. I have also had thoughts of releasing a series of split 7inch records with one Tucson band, and one national band. I would like to get involved with hosting CMJ or SXSW Showcases for Fort Lowell artists, something I was successful with when I was a booking agent. There are so many possibilities. For now, I will simply be excited to get through the first year.

What We're Listening To - The Bird and Bee's Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates

2010-03-29T11:24:00.004-04:00

An album of Hall and Oates covers, synth jazzed out.

There is simply no selling or categorizing this album. It is one where either you're repulsed and won't listen, or find the idea so corny you feel compelled to pick it up. Trust me, pick this up.

I don't even know if Daryl Hall and John Oates are worthy of having their music lovingly and appreciatively covered, but if they do, The Bird and The Bee did it.

Inara George and Greg Kurstin, as they did on their s/t debut and Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, are making music that is loungey and nice. Indie pop for your mom and dad.

But an entire album of Hall and Oates? The beauty is that you know these songs, so they're comforting in that sense. You immediately sing along. Kurstin never wanders too far from the original music. But it's George's voice. It's jazzy and soulful, breathing some new life into Sarah Smile, turning it into an amazing song. She sounds like a direct descendant of Bonnie Rait and Annie Lenox. You can see why Blue Note signed them. She might be on the sidelines, but she's a direct fit at their roster.

All the H&O favorites are here, and you won't be disappointed. Maneater, Private Eyes, Kiss on My List, Rich Girl. And instead of being karaoke, Kurstin and George were very deliberate. There's no snickering, or oversinging. No kitsch.

Not sure if I'd call Hall and Oates masters. But Interpreting The Masters is a lot of great fun. Here's hoping Volume 2 will keep that spirit alive and is better than some other Volume 2's released last week.

Buy The Bird and Bee's Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates

Buy from Amazon

Stream the Entire Album at CBS Radio's StreetDate

Say hello to Tim...

2010-03-18T03:39:00.002-04:00

I was hoping to introduce Tim before he started posting, but that's why I gave him the keys to the place.

Tim and I work together, and have developed a decent bon homie over the past year. He's got the same kind of wicked humor, and likes even more jacked up music than I do.

He also doesn't pull any punches, as you can tell with the She & Him review (which I pretty much agree with. I'm pretty sure Ben Gibbard is going to beat him up for that).

If you're on Twitter (and seriously, at this point why aren't you?) you can follow Tim @timtalksnow. Or check ou this blog, Tim Talks Now.

An Uneasy Feeling: She & Him Volume 2

2010-03-17T23:26:00.001-04:00

She and Him, a musical collaboration between Indie-Folk artist M. Ward and singer/actress Zooey Deschanel (The Happening, 500 Days of Summer), are expected to release their second album on March 23rd on Merge Records. It is aptly titled "Volume 2". I never got a chance to listen to "Volume 1", but decided to give this album a whirl when I saw NPR was previewing the album before its release (Check it out here: http://bit.ly/cYMi3S if you're interested in hurting your ears).

Yes. You heard me correctly. This album is painful on the ears. And it also pains me to hear an artist that I enjoy a lot, M. Ward, get mixed up with this Zooey woman. She appears to be a bad influence. The third track, "Don't Look Back", (and pretty much most of the album) sounds like a satire of the all-girl groups from the mid-60's. Except, instead of being a satire, I think we are supposed to be taking this stuff seriously. Note the following lyrics:

"Don't look back - all you'll ever get is the dust from the steps before - I don't have to see you every day, but I just want to know you're there."

I don't have to see you every day, but I just want to know you're there. Awww....how cute! Except it's not. It is hard to take it seriously. Especially when the next song is a cover of NRBQ's "Ridin' In My Car", with lyrics like this:

"And I can't find no true love oh baby it's so hard - and I still think about you every time I'm ridin' in my car."

When you're tossing stuff like "true love", "riding in cars", and "making romance" around, it reduces the credibility of the songs. At times, I thought some of the songs were takes that were too poor to make it onto the Dirty Dancing sound track.

I would highly recommend that you stay very far away from this album, unless you need something to annoy someone else. For example, I was previewing this album the other day for this review, and my wife came in the room, and remarked curtly: "What the heck are you listening to?"

Fuck Spotify

2010-03-17T05:19:00.002-04:00

Maybe this is cranky old man talking, maybe it's last night's bourbon.

But fuck Spotify.

And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Spotify is a European only streaming music service that allows you access to an unlimited stream of ad supported music. You can subscribe and get some sort of iPhone/Android app to listen to off line. And of course, if you like it, you can buy it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - streaming music is bad for musicians, both financially and artistically. It promotes a singles driven culture, and the royalties you reap (especially independent artists) are very minor.

The problem is that there is no value on content (same thing for newspapers and print media online). And if the consumer doesn't value it, then he'll never give you any money for it.

The big four record companies (who all own a stake in Spotify in exchange for access to their catalog) haven't quite figured out that their sales keep dropping because they put less and less value on their content.

Spotify is just quicking their death. Don't buy in.

Singled Out - FLR001 Young Mothers 7"

2010-03-16T09:06:00.004-04:00

Will 2010 be the year we see a revival of the seven inch? God, I hope so.

Is there a more perfect, innovative way to distribute singles, pay artists, and keep people excited about music? Little Skittle-colored pieces of viynl, just brimming with one or two songs. More real than a digital download, it puts real dollars into artists pockets. They're cheap to produce, and if you've spent $5 on a 7in and it sucks, you don't feel like you've lost anything.

Indeed, the money you'll spend on Ft Lowell Records first 7 inch release from Phoenix band Young Mothers, is totally worth it.

With just two songs, you've got to come hard and impress. The first song "Come On, The Cross" is a strong indie pop effort. Multi harmonies, jangly guitars. Kind of reminds me of Weezer (early) or The Decemberists (but with out all that Decembereists weirdness). A wandering coworker said it reminded him of Modest Mouse. So there ya go.

The second, Good Swords, is a slower, more barebones affair. And though I'll probably regret this later, it reminds me of Versus in their more tender softer moments. It's beautiful and serene.

There's plenty of Young Mothers work in iTunes, but I'd wait until April 17 to pick this up. I'm sure the good folks at Ft Lowell will be tossing in some extra goodies with this first release.

For purchase and release information, see:

Ft Lowell Records

Young Mothers

What We're Listening To - The Soft Pack's s/t

2010-02-22T09:31:00.002-05:00

The Soft Pack's self titled kinda debut album (the first under the band's new name) is a fun 10 song, 40 minute ride, full of garagey punk guitars and mopey lyrics. It's an odd combination that works much better than you would think.

If I hadn't been hooked by the opener "C'Mon," I wouldn't have stayed for the rest. With its Dick Dale surf rock guitar opening, pushing drums, and ridiculously catchy chorus, these guys got the order right. "Move Along" and "Answer to Yourself" melds those depressing lyrics ("I don't know what shape I'm in/Living here I just can't win") with some classic punk motifs of simple guitar chords and bass.

My favorite one-two punch is "Flammable" and "Mexico," two songs that can't seem further apart. Flammable with all this bottled up quick energy, sounds like a train about to derail. Then it's back to that dreamy surf rock with Mexico, a song that almost twice as long as the one before it. It slows you down to a crawl, and it's beautiful.

In a year that so far has seen some pretty stellar releases, this is another notch on 2010's music belt.

Download for FREE The Soft Pack's "Answer To Yourself" from Amazon mp3

Labeled - Interview with Cherub Records Head Honcho PJ Sykes

2010-02-09T14:31:00.002-05:00

Chances are if you follow music, you probably follow a few labels. Labels tend to sign the same bands, so you know if X band is on Y label, Z band on the same label will probably sound just as fantastic.

We fell in love with Merge last year, but we've been fans of Teenbeat, Matador, Slumberland... the list goes on. And those are the biggie indies.

I wanted to take a moment and interview some friends who are doing some very cool work with their own labels. In this series Labeled, we'll chat with some smaller labels and see how they do it.

First up (and on his 30th birthday no doubt) is PJ Sykes, founder of Cherub Records, a kind of bedroom label. I met PJ and his lovely fiancee Melissa this summer at that Merge XX fest. He saved our spot near the front of the stage, where he was snapping pictures (which you can see here.)

You can check out Cherub Records stuff on their website. Most of the free stuff is gone, but if you hear something you like, drop him some cash.

The Basics

Name and age: PJ Sykes ~~almost~~ 30. (Ed Note: We delayed putting this up, but he's 30 as of today)

Title: I never know what to say here... Founder?

Location: Started in Lynchburg, VA moved to Richmond, VA early '00s

Years running: started officially in 2001 (with roots back to 1996)

So how did this all start? What's the genesis behind Cherub Records?
I was playing in a band called Angels VS Aliens on my friends label called Batty Records. When AVSA was breaking up I started getting interested in releasing some side projects and friends bands. Since Batty Records wasn't really my label I decided to come up with a name to put out records under. It was a very last minute thing... I think I looked around my bedroom and took a handful of words and stuck them in front of word "records". Cherub came from "Cherub Rock" a Smashing Pumpkins song. No real reason other than it sounded good at the time. The reason I started a label was so I could get press. I found it was smarter to contact press as "PJ Sykes from Cherub Records" rather than "hey talk about this band I'm in"

What's your mission/belief statement? What do you hope to accomplish?
Originally the label was all homemade CDrs with artwork that I made by hand. Most of the releases have had handmade artwork for the first batch then photo copied versions later. It started off as a way to put out some funny Kids Techno albums. Then I started to branch out. At one point I was trying to release records by bands that I liked but didn't necessarily record, or play in. Then I realized that cost a lot more money that I was willing to part with... so I did some Compilations instead. Soon after that the label basically became a place for my own music or music that I have a hand in directly.

What are some of the challenges for your label?
The main challenge for my label was been deciding what I what it to be. Now that I'm comfortable with what it's function is it's much easier to run. Many of the early challenges were getting the releases into stores, and once they were stocked... selling them. Now that I can sell them online through iTunes and other websites I don't feel the need to keep physical releases stores. All the bands on the label are projects I'm directly involved in.

What sound are you looking for? What are some bands on the horizon?
I'm into a lot of music and the "sound" of Cherub has changed as I get into different things. Working on finally getting the Graceland Grave Robbers release online. It's being mastered in February.

What are some of your favorite recent releases? What's an album youfind yourself always going back to?
My top 5 from 2009:...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead The Century Of Self
Akron/Family Set Em Wild, Set Em Free
Vic Chesnutt At The Cut
Fin Fang Foom Monomyth
Lambchop Live at XX Merge (PJ Shot the album cover for this)

I keep going back to Fugazi, Mogwai, Smashing Pumpkins (pre 2000), the first three Foo Fighters albums, My Bloody Valentine "Lovelace", The first three Trail of Dead albums, Rollins Band "Do It", Refused "Shape of Punk To Come", Joy Division, New Order (anything pre Republic)... there's more I'm sure!

Where do you see Cherub in 1 year? 5 years?
1 year - put out the rest of the A New Dawn Fades stuff that is in the "vault"
5 years- put out some one off projects with different people.

Where can I get a Cherub pressed album?
Right now the best way is to download Cherub releases from iTunes or www.cherubrecords.bandcamp.com

Who's doing the pressing? Distribution?
Still all handmade by me or downloads to your computer.

What We're Listening To - Vampire Weekend's Contra

2010-02-05T11:57:00.002-05:00

I'm on the fence about Contra.

I've listened to it over and over and over again. And I can't quite peg it. But something is wrong with it. I dunno. Maybe attacking me first out the gate by rhyming horchata and balaclava isn't the way to get me to like you. Yes, you're smart. Don't flaunt it.

But then there are songs like California English and the Diplomat's Son, brimming with Afro Caribbean beats and funk. Don't even get me started on Cousins. That is how you make a pop song people.

But I feel like every other song puts me in a bad 80s movie. Maybe I'm asking too much.

Whatever it is, I can't stop listening to it. Buy at your own caution.

An Airbag Saved My Life

2010-01-22T23:23:00.005-05:00

Ever notice that Radiohead's OK Computer opens with a guitar, cello, and sleigh bells? Pretty badass. And that's before you get to Phil Selway's sick drumbeat. Well played, sirs. Well played.

Best Albums of 2009: No. 1 - Telekinesis' s/t

2010-01-17T06:38:00.002-05:00

"I've got a heart and it's afraid to love. Sometimes I think the damn things full of rust."

And with that, Telekinesis (aka Michael Lerner) starts off the most perfect pop album of 2009.

He's got a knack for taking 3 minutes and cramming the most intense drumming, guitars, and evocative songwriting possible. rarely do you have an album where each and every song is a winner.

One might draw easy comparisons to early Death Cab (mostly due to Chris Walla's production). But step back and you can easily figure out why Merge signed him: he sounds like younger, deeper in love Portastatic. Great Lakes sounds like an extra from the Be Still Please sessions.

The energy of Tokyo, the Beatleness of Awkward Kisser, the simple sweet beauty of I Saw Lightning. This is an album that grabs you instantly and gets better and better with each listen.

Please get this album. It'll be one you return to again and again.

Shimmy Shake interview with Michael Lerner

Best of the Decade...according to Zak

2009-12-26T22:53:00.006-05:00

I just need to note that I am not cool or hip and this list would NEVER fly in any magazine/blog/zine you read as a best of the decade. Rather these are the records that shaped my decade. Like you care right…well I guess you sorta do care, because you are reading The DP’s blog and my skinny ass can show whenever I want. So here you go…the top twenty records that changed/ shaped/ challenged/ amazed/ reverted me to the person I am and more importantly the one I want to become.

1. Bright Eyes—Lifted, or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)

2. Bright Eyes—Digital Ash in Digital Urn (2005)

3. Okkervil River—The Stage Names (2007)

4. Stars—Set Yourself on Fire (2004)

5. Arcade Fire—Funeral (2005)

6. Jay Z—The Blueprint (2001)

7. Pela—Anytown Graffiti (2007)

8. The National—Boxer (2007)

9. Band of Horses—Everything All the Time (2006)

10. My Morning Jacket—At Dawn (2001)

11. Death Cab For Cutie—The Photo Album (2001)

12. Avett Brothers—I and Love and You (2009)

13. The Decemberists—Her Majesty, The Decemberists (2003)

14. Bon Iver—For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)

15. Bright Eyes—I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning (2005)

16. Tokyo Police Club—Elephant Shell (2008)

17. The Postal Service—Give Up (2003)

18. Fleet Foxes—Fleet Foxes (2008)

19. Maria Taylor—11:11 (2005)

20. Kanye West—The College Dropout (2004)

Because I’m a math guy…here are the stats by year

2000—0%
2001—15%
2002—5%
2003—10%
2004—10%
2005—20%
2006—5%
2007—15%
2008—15%
2009—5%

Best Albums of 2009: No. 2 - Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

2009-12-25T08:36:00.002-05:00

What is there to say about this album that hasn't been said?

These French dance nerds have been making awesome music for a decade.

And here we are in 2009 (or 2010 cos I suck at posting), dancing to this album.

Yes you've heard their songs everywhere. And 1901 should make you want to buy a Cadillac.

Buy this album now. You don't want your kids to know you were lame in 2009.

Best Albums of 2009: No. 3 - Harlem Shakes' Technicolor Health

2009-12-24T22:39:00.002-05:00

Xmess Eve.

I'm drunk.

So let's keep this brief and professional, like an office hookup.

Harlem Shakes put out an album that on first blanch is Vampire Weekend without the douchy-ness.

But Technicolor Health is the album FOR 2009. It is full of blips and falsettos and sounds befitting a video game. It has such a good energy that you'd be dead to not dance. These Brooklyn-ites get hipsterism without being dicks. And we appreciate them for it.

Strictly Game, Unhurried Hearts, Niagra Falls. These are the songs that more accomplished bands wish they could write.

This band make me happy and makes me dance each time I hear them. Asham they're maybe over.

More booze please...