Dirty Projectors have been an acquired taste over the past few years, but it seems that every experience I have with them raises the bar to another level. A while back, I saw Dirty Projectors open for Xiu Xiu, before I had ever listened to any of their recorded material. I was unimpressed with the unorthodox song structures, down-right strange guitar work, and grating voice of lead singer/songwriter Dave Longstreth. I didn’t bother giving them another chance, until they released their last album, Rise Above, on Dead Oceans. Despite everything that I had previously complained about, I was still drawn to this record, especially the title track and lead single (if you can call it that) “Rise Above.” In fact, it was probably because of those things I listed that made me fall in love with their work. “Rise Above” was like nothing I had ever heard before; the guitar work was fluid, all over the place, and seemingly improvised, as well as being in complete control and time. The vocals had the same effect; Longstreth’s elastic and nasally vocals made it seem as if the song was about to completely fall apart, but when Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman harmonized with him, everything made so much more sense. Needless to say, I was enamored with the controlled chaos that was Dirty Projectors. And their live show filled tiny rock clubs as well as cavernous museum performance halls with the extremes of their music being taken to even greater lengths.
In about a month or so, Dirty Projectors will be releasing their 7th full length album, Bitte Orca, on Domino Records. Despite the fairly expansive back catalog, Longstreth hasn’t lost any of his songwriting ability. One would assume that eventually he would have to cook up a dud at some point. This won’t be that. Every song on this album is immediately accessible as well as worth worth future listens. The first thing you will notice about Bitte Orca is the increased production on the sound and feel of the instruments and vocals. Additionally, certain songs, especially the first single “Stillness Is The Move”, contain the fractured-pop sensibilities that the band has always touched on, but never fully embraced. In no way should this be interpreted as an attempt for a “mainstream record”, especially given the jump to the semi-major house of Domino. The wild guitar work that Longstreth is known for is fully feral now, running rampant through every song, with no notice for the direction the precussion, bass, or vocals are heading. Longstreth’s crooning is as strained and imperfect as ever. And while you will eventually learn to love his screams, howls, and falsettos, Deradoorian’s and Coffman’s singing have a larger prescence on the album, a welcome change from the backup vocals they primarily provided for previous recordings. What is most enjoyable about Dirty Projectors songs is the staying value. Having an album like this on repeat is not only enjoyable, it is almost required in order to fully appreciate every intricate bit that makes up each song.
Filed under: Uncategorized
This semester has been essentially void of any new writing, mainly because anything I seem to write nowadays is in various coding languages (html, mySQL, Python(?)…) Well, we’re getting closer to the summer, and that means less time necessary for schoolwork and more time for writing. While the general focus will continue to be on music, I plan on expanding into more of my general interests.
Anyway, I have been working on a few things, so keep you’re eyes peeled, because I’ll be unveiling them sooner than later.
Like other noise-pop bands, San Diego-based Wavves, brings a catalog of scuzzy pop songs that are both immediately catchy and somewhat painful to listen to. Essentially a solo project for one Nathan Williams, the self-titled debut, out now on Brooklyn label Woodsist, aims to get you to sing along and blow out your speaker cones within a 2 minute-song span. What seperates Wavves from bands like Times New Viking or Eat Skull is that the songs are clearly fit for a crowded, sweaty basement as you exchange sweat with some random dude who hasn’t showered in 3 days. But they work just as well sitting on a blanket on the beach with your friends, staring out at the water behind your dollar store sun glasses pondering your place in the universe.
Keep an eye out for Wavves’ next release, Wavvves, on De Stijl in early 2009. (And yes, that is three V’s)
Over the past few weeks, anticipation has been exponentially growing for Animal Collective’s next release, Merriweather Post Pavilion, scheduled to be released on vinyl format on January 6th and on CD, January 20th, 2009. Since the initial announcement, a track from the album, “Brothersport”, was leaked and is still widely available on the internet. Another track has leaked and as much as I’d love to host it, I’ve decided to share a listen with you instead of subjecting myself to the threats of the Web Sheriff.
Check out “My Girls”, hosted by another site here.
edit: (I guess the web sheriff got to this guy too).
Sorrrryyy! It’s been so long, I know. No excuses though. Hopefully I can find some time every so often to update this thing.
So I met a couple of nice dudes the other day, Holden and Jeremy from a band called Pretty & Nice hailing from Allston, MA, just outside of Boston proper. They just dropped a great new LP and I think you should get it. Tightly written pop numbers that remind you of the best of Elvis Costello being played by a bunch of quirky young dudes making a big racket in your mom’s basement.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: brooklyn, matt and kim, new music, rcrdlbl.com
First off, I have to recognize that this music isn’t exactly ground breaking stuff. It’s simplistic pop melodies, played by an overexcited dude and girl. But we’re not talking about any old, hyperactive duo; this is Matt and Kim! Everyones favorite pair from Brooklyn bringing us catchy singalongs that are somehow fun to dance to. And this new track from their upcoming release “Grand” is no different. It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything new from these two and from the sound of it, we have more of the same fun stuff to look forward to.
I’d post the track itself for you, but rcrdlbl.com has asked nicely not to repost it so I won’t. Click to head over to their site and grab the track!
Filed under: blogs | Tags: blogs, freewilliamsburg, hipster, hipsterrunoff, stuff white people like
While surfing a totally non-hipster blog, I came across a link to this relatively new blog, “Stuff Hipsters Don’t Like.” It’s a take off of the “Stuff White People Like” concept and I think it’s great. The author presents a critical view of hipster-ism, the same way HIPSTERRUNOFF and FREEwilliamsburg do, but has a self-awareness about their own hipster existence.
After this seemingly recent influx of critical takes on hipster and youth culture as a whole, we all need to step back for a minute and take a good hard look at ourselves.
Aren’t we all a little bit hipster?
Filed under: reviews | Tags: baltimore, best of 2008, ponytail, we are free, yeasayer
ponytail- Ice Cream Spiritual
Next up is a record that has made me look at music in a completely new light. That may sound like a gross exaggeration and awful use of a literary cliché, but take notice of the name of this blog. “Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)” was the first single released from Ponytail’s sophomore album Ice Cream Spiritual, which arrived mid-June from We Are Free Records, home of fellow musical shamans, Yeasayer. And I couldn’t think of a better title for either the track or the album. The band’s sound can best be described as a channeling of some sort of animalistic, tribal spirit, expressing exuberance for love and life through their wild energy that blasts past conventional ideas of how instruments and singing should sound. A lofty description, right? Take one listen to the single and try to disagree.
And while individual songs may be self contained packages of sonic explosions, this album is best experienced as a whole. After repeated listenings, you begin to understand how much of an uplifting experience this record is. The positive feeling and aura that these songs give off shines through the band’s use of inventive guitar work and vocals. Two lead guitars take you on an exhilarating ride on rolling surf-rock waves. And lead singer Molly Siegel’s banshee vocals seem to combine Yoko Ono with a screeching owl. But somehow it all fits together; Ponytail wouldn’t work with typical lyric structures. Their goal is to show us the true beauty in the world we live in through the layers and layers of positive energy seeping out of each track. And these crazy kids from Baltimore come damn close to succeeding.
Ponytail- Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From an Angel)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: baltimore, best of 2008, ecstatic sunshine, ponytail
I figure that since we’re a bit more than halfway through 2008 and there have been a TON of great albums released so far, we’re long overdue for a recap. First though, I’ll lay down a few rules.
1. No leaks. Even if they are scheduled for later on in the year, I don’t think it’s fair to slap a number on them yet. Changes still can occur between the leak and street dates. Besides that, I’ll get to write about more albums overall.
2. No Re-Releases. Who wants to read about old stuff?
3. Even though today is technically more than halfway through the year, everything released up to last Tuesday counts.
ecstatic sunshine- WAY
The path that Ecstatic Sunshine has taken is certainly a unique one. Starting off as a minimalist artsy surf-rock duo, the band released Freckle Wars in their native Baltimore to complement many of the other art-rock groups coming out of that region. We heard dueling guitars squash riff upon riff into each of the 12 compact songs on the disc. The result was an enjoyable listen, something that, while extremely catchy, you could listen to over and over and seemingly discover something new each time. That continues to be the appeal of Ecstatic Sunshine in 2008. After their transitional EP Living, their latest album has seemingly made a 180 degree turn in direction.
Off the bat, the track number is a bit deceiving. Only 3 songs? This must be another EP right?
Well it’s not. With each track ranging from 7 to 12 plus minutes long, we have a full album’s worth of material, even if the movements aren’t exactly separated from one another. And instead of quick and dirty guitar jamz, we have heavily effected-guitars, blissfully droning away. This now-3-piece-collective has taken the soul of Ecstatic Sunshine’s previous works and embedded this love of melodies that are equally uplifting and wild into a tangled nest of amplifier static and processed loops.
So check out these dudes from Baltimore. Dustin Wong founded the band with his pal Matt Papich back in 2004, and while he has since traveled on to focus full time on another group of Baltimore natives, Ponytail (who are soon to be the focus of another Best of 2008).
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: documentary, gogol bordello, heavy metal in baghdad, pied piper of hutzovina, super size me, the brian jonestown massacre, the dandy warhols, vice magazine
I’ve been getting into documentaries lately, and I just stumbled upon this site today which I think is fabulous. Visit Snag Films to watch free streams of hundred of documentaries. And I wouldn’t be talking about this site unless it was well worth it. For the price of free, no registration required, you can watch full length docs like Super Size Me, State of the Union, and my personal favorite Dig!, an incredibly interesting account of the trials and tribulations of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. Two bands with intertwined histories that allowed them to reach the peak of their popularity in the late 90’s, but had many struggles on the way to their own versions of success. Please go watch this now, I promise that you will love it.
The next two films on my list are Heavy Metal in Baghdad and Pied Piper of Hutzovina. Heavy Metal in Baghdad was produced by Vice, everyones favorite hipster rag, and follows an Iraqi heavy metal band in the period of time during the fall of Saddam regime. Pied Piper of Hutzovina is a travel account of Eugene Hutz, ring leader of Gogol Bordello, during a 2004 road trip through his native Ukraine.
Anyway, go watch some films. It’s a much better waste of your time anything on Youtube.
Also, keep an eye out for my reviews of “The Best Albums of 2008 (so far)”. It’ll be good. I promise.
