Band of Horses

"The Funeral"
from the album Everything All the Time
2006
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We all wait. Leaves paper the walks in crumple foil, give way to blue rain, then tufts of snow. Music stains it all; we measure ourselves through our new listens. We stay indoors and hear all kinds of bumps and bruises and cologne cacophony. We dim the wind indoors. There's always something on the horizon, something we place ahead of us in time to make today look like a mark in a larger pattern. In the space we save for that other, another, it's a day marked off. You'll excuse the "Grey's Anatomy" generalism, but spring's coming.

Another season climaxed. Typically, spring brings a slow unveiling of some of the year's most anticipated discs, after the seasonal hangover of January and February and the late vacation of November and December. Band of Horses -- a quartet of Seattle mainstays containing prior members of Carissa’s Weird who are coming off of popular dates with Iron & Wine -- may not top DJ Martian's, but they deserve to. You can hear in their acoustic guitars and coyote drawl the warm moist of tourmate Sam Beam, as well as the more tremulous strains of My Morning Jacket. Though we lose our winter to listen, we follow their gorgeous ballads in the ballast. It begins to make sense, in time. In fact, their soft country howl might just replace the wind for the Atlantic's bleached bone seashores this summer.

Recorded in Seattle with Phil Ek after the success of their EP last year, Everything All the Time includes several must-hears, but the most pressing is "The Funeral." Stolid with solitude and angst, the band grumbles around a chiming guitar and the gummy reverb of its partner, alternately clean and guttural before they hit its arcing chorus. The My Morning Jacket comparisons emerge most clearly here, though Band of Horses succeeds where MMJ failed on Z: they have fucking melodies. Lead singer Ben Bridwell chants “At every occasion, I'll be ready for a funeral,” backed by the blue-spined swoon of both his and Mat Brooke's dueling guitars. And then the band starts again, moving back-forward by waking up tomorrow and promising to see the same fates through, the same misses and maybes and never-agains. They show how simple it should be to make music that can put a stop to everything else for just a glance, your book down, you quit wondering just who's in your blind spot, and stop questioning who might be squinting against the noise cramming your cubicle. These aren't new parts, and certainly there’s nothing groundbreaking to be heard. It's simply transfixing -- death pitted past the womb, time versus the clock, crows circling the hawk kinda shit.

Everything All the Time serves as a remarkably notable debut in a year which is already proving one of this decade's most promising. The blur is shadowing into shape again, leaving us something to love as we wait for that next other through spring.

~ Derek Miller, Stylus Magazine

Richard Ashcroft

"Break the Night with Colour"
from the album Keys to the World
2006
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Video streams of "Break the Night with Color":
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Self-belief is a strange thing. It's fine and damn convincing when you're on the way to the top. In 1994, Oasis might have been busy telling everyone who would listen they were the best band in the world, but we bought it because they probably were. It was the same when the Verve hit the big time a few years later, and Richard Ashcroft could stand triumphant before 30,000 people who were all immersed in his shamanic, star-gazing bluster. The problem with an unshakable self-belief comes when you’re on the way down. When the audiences start to dwindle and the tunes dry up, having an ego the size of London can look a bit, well, daft.

And so we arrive at this, the erstwhile "Mad" Richard Ashcroft’s third solo album. It’s a record that comes with the customary barrage of self-hype, including Ashcroft's ludicrous claim that the songs he's written this time are equal to those on the seven million selling Urban Hymns. That record is something of a hallowed classic of British indie rock, and although flawed and overlong, it tapped into a rich vein of songwriting and a yearning soul that took Ashcroft's wide-eyed ballads to the masses.

It probably goes without saying that the songs here are nowhere near as good as "Bittersweet Symphony" or "The Drugs Don't Work," sounding instead, much like his previous two solo outings. Like those records, Keys to the World finds Ashcroft comfortably settled into the lush, MOR setting that has typified his post-Verve output. Indeed, despite assurances that this time he had ditched the ultra slick values for a rawer, more back-to-basics sound, Keys to the World remains swamped in strings, horns and a glossy polish, giving the album a detached, music-in-the-background feel.

It's a shame because it all starts so promisingly. "Why Not Nothing?" is a driving anti-religion rant that finds Ashcroft wailing against "Machiavellian tricks" and "God squads” with a surprising vigour and urgency. Of course it's over the top, but it's at least ten times as exciting as anything Ashcroft has given us since the Verve. Unfortunately, even a big old Curtis Mayfield sample doesn't stop "Music is Power" from killing the album's momentum less than 10 minutes in. The white-boy funk comes across as far too slick and contrived, leaving Ashcroft's cosmic nonsense lyrics stranded helplessly up front. It's by no means awful, but it is bloody frustrating because when he occasionally gets it right, Ashcroft still knows his way blindfolded around a killer melody. The album's first single, “Break the Night with Colour," is buried under a sheen of polished production, but still manages to shine as a simple, beautiful song that is sung wonderfully. It's very nearly this album's saving grace that Ashcroft is singing better than ever. A song like "Sweet Brother Malcolm" is almost delivered from the plodding lyrics and hackneyed sentiment by Ashcroft's honey-coated vocals; deep and tuneful, and cracking in just the right places.

Ultimately though, it's probably because Keys to the World feels so inconsequential that it disappoints so much. Richard Ashcroft, like Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown and the rest of our Britpop icons, continues to talk the talk, and walk with a cocksure swagger that used to be irresistible but now seems increasingly hollow and deluded. Every time a new album arrives it comes with the promise of a return to form, and it invariably disappoints. Since his performance with Coldplay in front of mega millions at Live 8, Richard Ashcroft's stock is riding pretty high, but in truth, Keys to the World feels like nothing more than a natural progression of his solo work.

Sure it's full of unwavering confidence and some pretty songs, but the dull groove Richard Ashcroft seems to have settled into is striking. We can't reasonably expect a married father in his mid-thirties to burn with the same intensity he did ten years ago, but it doesn’t excuse that large parts of this album are unbelievably ordinary. Richard Ashcroft’s way with a tune and his voice means that people will still listen to him, but with some of the most exciting music in years exploding from Britain's towns and cities right now, another decent-ish album from another faded indie star, even with all the self-belief in the world, doesn't seem quite enough.

~ Michael Lomas, Popmatters

Girls in Hawaii

"Organeum"
from the album From Here to There
2005
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Download an MP3 of "Organeum" from Spin Magazine
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Girls in Hawaii are garcons from Belgium, mais non? These neo-psych noodlers wed angular, country-tinged rock with off-kilter melodies; not exactly the preferred soundtrack for chicks spring-breaking on Maui. Here they occupy a dream-state similar to that of California's dios malos and Granddaddy, one where spacey-yet-rustic tracks -- such as "Time to Forgive the Winter" and "Short Song" -- are staples.

Like their beachgoing namesakes, Girls in Hawaii relish in a sunny stratosphere, and are only now bringing their solar-powered electro-tremors across the pond. It's taken two years for From Here to There to make a stateside debut, but its arrival seems well-timed in an era where foppish and fashionable post-punk is de rigueur. Frontmen Antoine Wielemans and Lionel Vancauwnberghe maintain a DIY veneer for the filigreed electronic textures that earned them accolades in Brussels' dEUS-dominated music scene.

It's only when the Girls try to sound like other musical outfits from the mother continent that they misstep, succumbing to the weight of their influences. "The Fog" sounds lifted from Hail to the Thief (sans Nigel Goodrich's touch) and "The Ship on the Sea" sinks under a shoegaze-goo that could asphyxiate even Mogwai. Largely, though, From Here to There is positively wistful and goes down smoothest with a Sierra Nevada, not a Pierlala. Pass the sunscreen.

~ Julia Simon, Spin

the Eames Era

"Year of the Waitress"
from the album Double Dutch
2005
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Download an MP3 of "Year of the Waitress" from Insound.com
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It's no secret that 2005 was a pretty tough year for Louisiana. The damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been well documented in the media, and the state is certain to feel the repercussions of the brutal storms for years to come.

However, if one takes the time to look for it, you can generally find a silver lining in even the darkest of times, and Louisiana's silver lining for 2005 just might be Double Dutch, the full-length debut album by Baton Rouge's the Eames Era. (The band's name is a reference to the famous furniture-designing husband and wife Charles and Ray Eames).

Double Dutch, released last fall to a fair amount of buzz and glowing reviews from anyone who heard it, doesn't really break any new ground in terms of ideas or sound, but what it does is demonstrate how well this band plays music together, how much fun it has doing it and, most of all, how much potential the musicians have to do so much more.

Songs like "Talk Talk," "Listen for the Sun" and "Go to Sleep" are instantly likable, revealing not just shimmering melodies but musical nuance with repeated listens. "Year of the Waitress" just might be the best song that you didn't hear last year.

You'd think it would be easy for a band to sit back and enjoy the success of releasing a stellar debut record, but the Eames Era isn't like every other band

"It's a bit more polished than what people will hear if they see us in person," says bassist Brian Waits of the debut. "We're working on new material right now that's a little more raw and captures what we do live a little better."

While considering Double Dutch anything close to a disappointment would be flat-out wrong, Waits is completely right when he says the album doesn't quite capture the brilliance of the Eames Era live. "It's fun for us to play the music," Waits said of the ability to put on a great show for the smallest of audiences. "We want everyone to have a good time too, but we don't worry too much about how many people are there. We just have a good time."

Just days before Double Dutch was released last fall and the band was to set out on a tour in support of it, the band's van was involved in an accident with a military vehicle that was part of the relief effort taking place in southeastern Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

While none of the band members were critically injured, guitarist Ted Joyner required surgery for the broken arm he suffered in the collision and lead singer Ashlin Phillips needed stitches to close a nasty cut on her face.

The band proved resilient, though, and finally hit the road in support of Double Dutch, completing a three-week tour last month. Of course, anybody that gets a chance to see the Eames Era live is generally left drawing comparisons to the exceptionally popular country-tinged Los Angeles-based indie outfit Rilo Kiley. When your band is made up of a four guys and a pretty redheaded female lead singer, these things are bound to happen.

Waits doesn't really see the resemblance in the music, but doesn't mind the comparison.

"I think if you listen to our music, you won't hear a lot in common with Rilo Kiley except for maybe Ashlin's voice," Waits said. "But they're certainly a great band and we're honestly kind of flattered by it. They're huge."

Don't be surprised if in time the Eames Era is, too.

~ Brian J. Stokes, Centre Daily Times

Audible

"Sunday Bell"
from the album Sky Signal
2005
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Download an MP3 of "Sunday Bell" from the band's website
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Calling your band "Audible" is sort of like calling a movie "Visible." Well, actually, it'd be more like calling the studio "Visible," but you get the picture. It's an understatement of grand proportions, leaving the listener with few, if any, expectations, other than that you can hear it. Well, that is, unless it's really low-frequency ambient music, in which case the name is somewhat ironic. But lucky for us, that's not the case. But all of this pointless yammering about the implications of a musical artist's chosen name is really getting in the way of the important stuff, namely the actual sound that Audible creates.

Made up of a few ex-members of Matt Pond PA, Lefty's Deceiver and Mazarin, Audible sounds like what you'd expect them to, having learned of their performing resume. Mixing the acoustic with the electric, the pastoral with the psychedelic and the melancholy with the joyous, there are many fabulous sounds being stirred up on the band's debut album, Sky Signal. Frontman Mike Kennedy and keyboardist Mary Garito are the two earliest members of the band, and as such, are the two central figures in crafting Audible's sound. Being the main songwriter, Kennedy is the one responsible for writing the music. But Garito shines in her own way, adding in the electronic flourishes that make the album sparkle.

Kennedy's tenure in Matt Pond PA is somewhat transparent in his songwriting. Like his Pennsylvanian peer, Kennedy writes lovely chamber pop tunes that are beautifully layered and deceptively simple. Tunes like "October Song" and "Sunday Bell" are instantly catchy four-four pop gems. And during slower moments, like "We Were Wrong," Audible even sounds a bit like a country-fied Elliott Smith. When Mary Garito comes in, however, that's when things get really exciting. Imagine a Matt Pond-Brian Eno mashup and you're pretty close. The keyboard leads on the title track are worth the price of the album alone. Nothing will prepare you for "Five Pirates," though, with its sinister scratching guitars and fat, bassy synth tones. It's still pop music, but it's far more skewed than one would have expected up to this point.

And then there's "Chase the Kids Away," a waltzing, psychedelic trip that goes from light and airy to steady and rockin'. With each successive song, Audible seem to top themselves, proving once and for all how an album is meant to be sequenced. We all know how annoying it can be when the best song is the first one. Thankfully, no such crime has been committed here.

Audible, I suppose, is just a name, and teasing you about its significance was an obnoxious tease and a rather ineffective one at that. But hey, the band's really good. That's all that matters, right?

~ Jeff Terich, Treble

Matt Costa

"Cold December"
from the album Songs We Sing
2006
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Naming an album Songs We Sing may seem presumptuous, but Matt Costa seems to get away with it by offering melodies that make it difficult not to hum at least a few bars.

Released by Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, this full-length debut has a notable sand-and-surf feel, but with a compelling pedigree hidden beneath the bittersweet complacency we're so accustomed to hearing from modern singer-songwriters. The pop overtones Costa lends to folk, country, and rock suggest he may be just as influenced by the Kinks' emulation of Americana music as he is by real thing. It's a unique twist that marries Brit-pop melodies, modern song-craft, and traditional styles in an aural ménage a trois.

Lyrically, Costa keeps his focus ambiguous without being esoteric. "And the salt burns my skin / and your eyes were cold as the ocean," he sings on "These Arms," just hinting at a potential sea of emotions resting beneath the song's piano-dotted surface. Such generalized lyrics make it easy for listeners to place themselves in the songs, but don't offer them much to do once they're there. Fortunately, their delivery is near perfect, with vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation to fill any gaps. When a harpsichord enters "Astair" it offers some classical refinement to what might otherwise be just another letter to a mutually disenchanted former lover.

Costa apes a variety of musical styles, throwing some stock blues guitar on "Ballad of Miss Kate," and borrowing heavily from both Buddy Holly ("Sweet Rose") and the Beatles ("Oh Dear"). It's nice to see that kind of daring, but the effort here is at times too earnest. The transparency with which Costa invokes his forebears robs Songs We Sing of its own identity and leaves it sounding more like a multi-artist compilation than a cohesive full-length debut. A lack of stylistic unity shouldn't be a deal-breaker, though, and for those looking for a singer-songwriter who sings more than one song, Matt Costa is likely worth a listen.

~ Jacob McCarthy, Hybrid Magazine

Guillemots

"Trains to Brazil"
from the EP From the Cliffs
2006
iTunes

"Trains to Brazil" is the free download Single of the Week at the iTunes Music Store (through Monday, March 27)

Some people look good on the dancefloor; others prefer to stand in the shadows. Some people want to live forever; others know all too well they won't. And for those who didn't buy Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not on the first day of release during lunch hour at the Oxford HMV, here are Guillemots, who are to the Arctic Libershambles what the Beta Band were to Oasis in 1998, or what Badly Drawn Boy was to Travis in 2000-- a detour away from everyday pub-rock pabulum toward something more tasteful, more adventurous.

Guillemots' collective CVs -- singer/chief songwriter Fyfe Dangerfield (no, it's not real) and bassist Aristazabal Hawkes have formal classical training; guitarist MC Lord Magrao is a Brazillian with noise/metal pedigree-- make the London band sound like a bigger mess than they actually are. Together, they make adult-contemporary/contemptuous pop music. But where the Betas and Badly Drawn Boy strove to be both eccentric and accessible at the same time, the Guillemots are more pragmatic: they release improv studio jams through website downloads, while saving the proper tunes for their major-label debut, From the Cliffs.

The approach pays immediate dividends: From the Cliffs practically tumbles down the stairs with "Trains to Brazil," a triumphant clarion call that's worth a main-stage slot at Glastonbury alone. Like Doves' stellar 2005 single, "Black and White Town," it's the sound of dreary, grey skies starting to bleed light, its Motown momentum undercut by a sobering bridge -- "Be thankful you're here / Because it could be you tomorrow or next year" -- before blindsiding you with a brass-blasted chorus that'll make you see stars. But in the tradition of latter-day Talk Talk or post-Kid A Radiohead, Guillemots aren't so concerned with perfecting performances as illuminating the dimly lit space around them. Their obsession with atmosphere is felt most intensely on the slumberous nine-minute masterstroke "Over the Stairs," which imagines Paul McCartney sleepwalking through Mercury Rev's Catskills in the dead of night: candelabra-lit balladry haunted by spirits speaking in tongues, guided by possibly the most unsettling wind chimes ever committed to tape.

Too bad the Guillemots' phantasmagoric fascinations go unexplored on From the Cliffs's second act. Instead, the swinging, dinner-party pop of "Who Left the Lights Off Baby" sounds like it should soundtrack some Hugh Grant romantic comedy (it even comes with an egregious sax solo for the credits roll), while would-be climax "Go Away" is a cod-reggae exercise burdened with a whiny, wordless chorus and an unconvincingly tough vocal from Dangerfield. But even in their most pedestrian turns, Guillemots songs abound with all manner of sublimated sonic chicanery -- kettle whistles, alarm clocks, schoolyard giggles, squeaky bird noises -- suggesting that something far more beguiling is lurking beneath the surface.

~ Stuart Berman, Pitchfork

Belle & Sebastian

"Funny Little Frog"
from the album The Life Pursuit
2006
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Stream Belle & Sebastian's video for "Funny Little Frog" [Real]

What do you think could be classed as the life pursuit? Wealth? Happiness? The girl or boy of your dreams? For Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch, it's sometimes seemed like it might be the perfect song. Having previously admitted that he writes with his "record collection looking over my shoulder," Murdoch's worked steadily from the orchestral '60s pop of B&S's early albums, though the northern soul inflected indie of their mid period, to the '70s-tinged hyper-pop of 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, trying out each style for size.

The results have, in part, been heartbreaking, uplifting, inspiring and infused with bolt-from-the-blue maverick talent, but there's always been a sense of something remaining unfinished with Belle & Sebastian -- as if they were still looking for that perfect song, still trying to replicate those hallowed first two albums when they didn't have to try at all. The quest still continues with The Life Pursuit, but these days you get the impression the band have stopped beating themselves up about it all so much. That they've learnt to relax and enjoy the ride.

Hence we get an album which, musically at least, veers all over the place, from chamber pop to glam to, God help them, hotel lobby jazz. In other hands, this would be a terrible mess, but in each instance you feel like the group are inching ever closer to that perfect pop moment -- and as soon as you've twigged that the life pursuit is music itself, then each track becomes a separate stab for a gold medal.

It starts brilliantly. "Act of the Apostle" is a supremely confident orchestral pop classic that takes in dreamlike harmonies, a melody that seems to float upwards as it progresses and what sounds like pool balls crashing together. "Another Sunny Day" and "Funny Little Frog" are gloriously simple, pop breezes that revel three or so minutes of pure melodic happiness. "Dress Up in You" drifts along beautifully, hand in hand with the geeks and outsiders just like the old days. "Mornington Crescent" is them having a crack at The Stones' "Wild Horses" -- and finding, inevitably perhaps, that they can pull this off as well.

The wobbles happen when B&S veer a little too closely to pastiche. "White Collar Boy" is just too David Essex for comfort. "The Blues are Still Blue" is fun, but never quite escapes being a pub rock T-Rex. And the boogie pop of "Sukiein the Graveyard," meanwhile, just feels unnatural. But if they had to undertake some '70s experiments to reach the wonderful "For the Price of a Cup of Tea," which sets B&S pop smack bang in 1973 right next to John Simm, it's all worth it.

Another unfinished feeling album from Belle & Sebastian then. But this time you know why and where they're headed next. A noble pursuit indeed.

~ Ian Watson, dotmusic

La Rocca

"Sing Song Sung"
from the EP Sing Song Sung
2006
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Last month Irish-turned-L.A. rock band La Rocca released their first EP, Sing Song Sung, and are enjoying some early success in Austrailia and increasing media praise here in the states.

The title track "Sing Song Sung" features a beat and bass line reminiscent of the Strokes, but with engaged vocals and lots of bells, it's much more satisfying. At just over two minutes, it's just catchy enough to leave you wishing for an extra 30 seconds.

If Bruce Springsteen still had balls, he would do a cover of ”Sketches (20 Something Life"). It was written for him. Oh, and there's a super annoying keyboard riff. Rouding out the EP is "Home," which runs parallel to something from Radiohead's OK Computer, and "Cambodia," which has a New Orleans-feel reminiscent of World Leader Pretend.

Overall, a surprisingly strong and mature EP. Their debut full-length The Truth comes in May.

~ perfectporridge.com

Film School

"On & On"
from the album Film School
2006
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We've been searching long and hard for the American Radiohead for years. People have recently proclaimed My Morning Jacket to be the closest fit. It's more likely that our Interpols and Sufjan Stevenses are the creative forces that will endure and mature during the next decade. But Film School sound like a band attempting to fit into that niche of literate rock music. They succeed pretty well, and they find their strength in softer songs. This is not a band on the cusp of something new and spectacular. It's a very good repackaging of what other new, spectacular bands have used to create their identities. Film School's highest achievement is the quality with which these ideas are repackaged.

"On & On" is one of their best moments. If it were a minute shorter, you could even imagine hearing it on modern rock radio stations. Robotic quarter-note, single-string accents ring from guitars instead of chords. The bass player creates his own path rather than simply following along by plucking the root note at appropriate times. It's unique and haunting and works well as an opener (not counting the instrumental "Intro"). "Harmed" is excellent at times, but its distorted section lacks the charm of the more creative and melodic quiet sections.

"Pitfalls" begins with just drums and bass and recalls the mature, recent Fugazi work. The music is engaging throughout, but vocals by Krayg Burton don't coax the song past its comfort zone. This song best exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of Film School. On the one hand, they manage to lay down fantastic instrumental tracks. The rhythm section is superb. They have the knack of creating moody rhythms that can be ominous and catchy at once. The drum sound and style mimic bands grouped with the recent goth-pop movement. A busy hi-hat and precise bass kicks give the otherwise dreamy and atmospheric music a jittery, off-putting groove.

The surrounding guitar tones normally ring with clean, trebly notes played very rhythmically to interact with the drums and bass. The single-note style that the Strokes have mastered works well for these guys as well. The atmospherics are more akin to Pink Floyd and prog rock, though. The synthesizer tones are often cheesy and mechanical. Other synth sounds include angelic, robotic female vocals. Perhaps the least arresting part of the equation are the lead vocals. "Breet" proves to be the exception. It's a slap-happy sing-a-long that is in debt to the Cure's radio-friendly numbers.

Of course, that youthful desire to be a deep, deep band with thought-provoking song titles and enigmatic lyrics shows itself with "He's a Deep Deep Lake." The title is as bland as it is pseudo-intellectual. What's worse is that the music is an audio equivalent of the pretentious weightiness hinted at in the title.

Another clear standout, due to its singular sound, is "Sick of the Shame." Instead of berating us with high volumes and studio tricks, as often happens on some of the louder songs, this gentle waltz bathes in nuance. The atmospheric noises here, as opposed to their appearances on other songs, are more significant and important because the backing music is quieter. The album ends gracefully, in the same subdued mood, with "Like You Know."

Maybe they want to be a heavy, hard-rocking band, but the final two tracks demonstrate clearly that Film School are much more productive and assured when they dial the volume down from 10. There's no shame in utilizing dynamics. Radiohead are the kings of that.

~ David Bernard, PopMatters

the Stills

"In the Beginning"
from the album Without Feathers
2006

Download an MP3 of "In the Beginning" from Vice Recordings
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There's a reason you haven't heard much from Montreal's The Stills lately. They made some lineup changes and locked themselves away with some big name guests to record the follow-up to 2003's Logic Will Break Your Heart.

Without Feathers will be released on May 9 by Vice Recordings. "It doesn't sound like Logic, but don't be scared," the band says. "It's not like we went metal or classical with it, it still sounds like us."

The album was produced by Gus Van Go and vocalist/guitarist Dave Hamelin. It was recorded in Montreal and mixed in Brooklyn, beginning in December 2004. A number of top Canadian artists contributed to Without Feathers, including Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew, Metric's Emily Haines, and Sam Roberts.

As reported in the fall, The Stills have a new look after shuffling their lineup. Guitarist Greg Paquet left and was replaced on the instrument by the versatile Hamelin, the band's former drummer. He'll also handle some vocals along with fellow guitarist Tim Fletcher. Former Sea Ray drummer Colin Brooks has taken over on skins, and keyboardist Liam O'Neil has been made a permanent member of the group.

~ Phil Villeneuve, chartattack.com

Tapes 'n Tapes

"Omaha"
from the album The Loon
2006
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Download a free MP3 of "Omaha" from the band's website
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Tapes 'n Tapes are bridging the gap between lovers and fighters. With a promise to "fight for lovers' rights," they tumble through their new album, The Loon (self-released), with all the lusty frustration of a teenager still living with Mom and Dad. This isn't typical boy-meets-girl fare; Josh Grier's shuddering, fuzzy vocals tell disjointed tales of sailors, loggers, and circus men. Maybe it has something to do with being scruffy twentysomethings wrestling with monogamy (or a lack thereof), but the band exudes a perverse sort of sensuality: two parts pleading lament, one part cuckolded howl. This is love Pixies-style. In other words, don't pop this disc in if you're hoping for an intimate encounter with a happy ending. Your chances are better with what follows, the band's annotated version of the ultimate wooing mix tape. Designed for a 60-minute cassette, their compilation could set the mood for your next evening of candles and silk sheets. Okay, so you'll have to get up and flip it over halfway through. The extra time it took to perfectly time and dub all those songs still makes it sexier than a CD. And if you need longer than an hour, hats off to you.

~ Lindsey Thomas, Minneapolis City Pages

An Evening of Love with Tapes 'n Tapes
(Please use with discretion.)

SIDE ONE
1. Death From Above 1979, "Sexy Results"
The brothers Tapes don't believe in messing around. If you're gonna take the time to woo a lady, you want to get to the point.
2. Prince, "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
Come on, it's Prince. Key lyric: "I wanna be your lover."
3. Interpol, "Untitled"
First you have to let her know that you're confident. Then you have to show her your sensitive side.
4. Stevie Wonder, "As"
If Stevie can't win her over, you ain't got a chance. Why did you invite her over in the first place? Damn.
5. Buddy Miles, "The Way I Feel Tonight"
"Oh, you do like Stevie. Would you like to take a seat on my bed?" For best results: Wait for the sax solo, stretch, and place arm around her shoulders.
6. Palace Music, "New Partner"
"Aw girl, don't cry. You know you're always on my mind."
7. Replacements, "Kiss Me on the Bus"
Don't be shy, just put it out there and let her know. Playa, please!

SIDE TWO
8. Sleater-Kinney, "Modern Girl"
Hold it...slow down.
9. Wilco & Billy Bragg, "California Stars"
You know who wrote this song? Woody Guthrie.
10. The Beatles, "I Will"
"Who knows how long I've loved you?" About 45 minutes.
11. Cee-Lo, "All Day Love Affair"
woo \'w\ vb 1: to sue for the affection of : court 2: to solicit or entreat esp. importunity 3: to seek to gain or bring about ~ vi : to court a woman -- woo-er : n, see also: Cee-Lo
12. Tears for Fears, "Head Over Heels"
I got a fever and the only prescription is more flanger!
13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps"
If she doesn't like this song, then she has bad taste in music, and maybe you should be thinking twice.
14. Les Savy Fav, "Sweat Descends"
Shit! This thing's almost over. Swing for the fences.
15. Stephen Malkmus, "Baby C'mon"
Naw! Are you for real? I thought we made a connection. Damn.
16. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, "How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?"
You're gonna miss me, girl.

Clearlake

"It's Getting Light Outside"
from the album Amber
2006
iTunes

It gets tiring having to interpret a band such as Clearlake, not because the music wears on you -- it's anything but trying -- but because there's nothing straightforward about it. Vocalist Jason Pegg describes Amber, Clearlake's third full-length and first full album since 2003's brilliant Cedars, lyrically as the changing of moods from sunset to sunrise, how one might attempt to disguise negative feelings and let them slowly emerge as morning approaches.

Amber's lyrics do tell a story about coming to terms with emotional attachment, but the fact that Clearlake is more of a rock band than most want to admit has a large effect on the words' sincerity. The dichotomy on the record between heavily emotional lyrics and driving guitars makes for all sorts of questions: Should the listener be allowed to get distracted by the music and let the lyrics support the sound, or should the beauty of the lyrics demonstrate Pegg to be all the more sincere simply because his words are hiding under all that music?

It almost feels as if Amber was created post-breakup, when the album's main character wanted to reunite with old acquaintances as a replacement for bitterness and solitude. A song such as "Good Clean Fun," one of Amber's catchiest and most masculine, with its rolling beats and menacing guitar angles, is fitting for the man who wants to split with his emotions. It also arrives just after the misfit title track, which hands the spotlight to a sharply sliced bass and street lamps that our character hasn't seen lit up since being left on his own.

Pegg's lyrical jewels here, though, are neither as aggressive nor as catchy as the songs that command attention. Both, however, find Amber's character realizing his need for the energy that other people provide, even though they approach the subject from different angles. "It's Getting Light Outside" is poppy and peaceful, the musical equivalent of his thoughts on platonic pleasure: "Even though I could talk all day/ I still run out of things to say/ I feel fine in your company/ Even when we sit silently." It's about comfort in relationships, feeling at ease and knowing that no obligation to entertain or fulfill an expectation exists.

So when Pegg's character later sings on "Dreamt That You Died" that "It took you to die/ That much so that I could wake up and finally see," he experiences the same revelation as with "It's Getting Light Outside," only this time there is repressed regret over missed communication alongside his understanding. With another band, lyrics and subjects like this might seem trite, but with Clearlake, they melt into a realistic understanding of human emotion. And it works beautifully.

The members of Clearlake strove to make a rock record that would allow for a more intense live show; they supposedly spent free time listening to bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Low, and Neil Young. And it shows. There are bits and pieces of sharp riffs, driving guitars circling into infinity. Pegg even plays harmonica on Amber's most traditionally American-sounding track, "Neon." But nothing ever sounds directly influenced. This is quite a feat, given that some of Clearlake's most striking songs, including those on 2005's Wonder if the Snow Will Settle EP, are delicate and wintry. Dipping into heavier rock elements can make emotional lyrics seem misplaced at times -- it almost seems like the band is intentionally aiming to present a man's record -- but even the album's rare moments with jagged guitar are tastefully executed.

Part of the band's versatility is due to the charm of Pegg, who sings with the innocence and timidity of a British child (I've got Winnie the Pooh's Christopher Robin on the brain, personally). His voice is addictive because of its immediate grace, but it never sounds overly confident. And it can round out nearly any style without having to adapt. Rather fortunate, because his presence tops off a record that tries new things and, despite a slow moment here and there, ultimately works in the band's favor.

~ China Bialos, Prefix Magazine

the Lashes

"Please, Please, Please"
from the album Get It
2006
iTunes

Download an MP3 of "Please, Please, Please" via Columbia/Red Ink
[right-click/save-as]

The Lashes' full-length debut on Columbia imprint Red Ink is strong one, and hopefully portends a long career for the Seattle rockers. Seattle may have permanently put itself on the musical map in the early 1990s with the grunge movement and the Big Four (Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam), but it's been host to as many good bands as any city not named New York or Los Angeles. The area has spawned The Posies, MXPX, Sleater-Kinney, Harvey Danger and a list of plenty more bands of note, now including The Lashes. Get It shows The Lashes that definitely do, as their power pop fueled with pure punk energy blasts from the speakers like the dam holding their enthusiam just broke. Aside from a couple slower, less raucous numbers (which are quite lovely), the band races through the eleven tracks without stopping to ask if anyone needs a break, leaving listeners breathless and giddy by the end of the first track, "New Best Friend," and they don't let up until the end of "Wanna Girl." "Please, Please, Please" stands out as an album highlight, too, as singer Ben Clark begs for what he wants (whatever that may be…). It wouldn't be much of a surprise to see The Lashes on MTV, taking over the world soon. The album is slick enough (with production by John Goodmanson and mixing by Chris Lord Alge) to fit in the mainstream just fine, but it's not so shiny that it will drive away the more open-minded indie kids. All in All, The Lashes' Get It is an unqualified success, a record any modern rock fan should be able to get.

~ musicbeet.com

the Features

"Me & the Skirts"
from the album Exhibit A
2004
iTunes

The Features is as hyped as a young child under the influence of a concoction of raspberry cordial and candy. Kings of Leon herald them as their "new favourite band" and handpicked them for a tour last summer. Journalists are swarming over their debut release Exhibit A. Listeners worldwide have confirmed that The Features have produced a swashbuckling occasion that rivals the recent flood of new bands. Whether you choose to believe the hype or not, there is no doubt that this album should be heard, whether it be on the basis of interest or recommendantion.

Opening and title track, "Exhibit A," immediately showcases this boisterous raucous of music thats so abruptly taken the industry into its delicate palms. Fast-paced guitar and drums, additional keyboard moments and that popular usage of the loud/quiet structure. It's hard to pinpoint specific examples to describe Matthew Pelham's vocal style, the best comparison or hybrid I managed to construct, was a cross between Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) and Tim DeLaughter (the Polyphonic Spree). Nevertheless, this track is one of the best on the debut, and a ripping song in its own right.

"Me & the Skirts" is a sea-worthy jig if you've ever heard one. It's namely the keyboards that instill this thought, and "Blow It Out" would fit snuggly onto any Weezer record, it also containing an anthemic chorus, in respect to karaoke style sing-alongs: "If you're happy and you know it, Turn the volume up and blow it out." "Leave It All Behind" is yet another diamond in the hidden treasure chest of the Features' compositions. The chorus persisting as the songs most favourable quality, featuring much loved woah-oh's. "The Idea of Growing Old," one of the more slower paced tracks on the album, shines just as brightly as the adrenaline-fuelled songs and "Circus" once again exemplifies the bands affinity and skill for writing beat-driven, melodic tracks.

If this debut is any factor used in discerning the possible success of the Features, it certainly provides evidence enough to claim that this band will find success in their niché of the industry. Already boasting a large following from punters and bands alike, this band will soon be dazzled by the bright lights and neon signs on their road to fame. This debut guarantees to please those who appreciate some light entertainment, provided by a band with infinite skill in writing catchy pop tunes.

~ fasterlouder.com.au

Rocky Votolato

"Portland is Leaving"
from the album Makers
2006
iTunes

Download a free MP3 of "Portland is Leaving" from Barsuk Records
[right-click/save-as]

The human misery index of Rocky Votolato's solo recordings is at an all-time high. As sad and depressing as a bus station at 3 a.m., Makers, Votolato's fourth album of melancholic folk and fey indie-pop, is one dark night of the soul after another, and morning isn't coming anytime soon for any of his tragic characters.

Lyrically, Makers reads like a social worker's case files. There's the alcoholic in the country-tinged "Tennessee Train Tracks" who pleads for someone to "Come dry me out," while fending off ghosts and bad memories. Then there's the suicide pact detailed in the title track and the delirious insomniac of "Portland is Leaving" who confesses, "I'm a punch line who's punch-drunk with my fist in a broken mirror." These are not happy, well-adjusted people, but then again, who really is? Rest assured, if you are indeed satisfied and content with your life, you can take comfort in the fact that you probably won't ever find yourself listening to Votolato and going, "Hey, that song's about me, isn't it?"

The ones who get it, who understand where Votolato is coming from, will. If you've ever lived in some gray Rust-Belt burg with limited possibilities, you can see yourself as the self-doubting, unemployed nobody of "The Night's Disguise" or the restless girl stuck in the old mining town, "Goldfield." If you've ever lived in fear of what a mean-spirited family member might do after a bad day at work, the dingy, white trash motel of "Where We Left Off," with its "Pink flamingos and light flickering from the TV screen," must seem like Utopia. And if you've ever walked in the rain tearing yourself up over a girl " … as pretty as [she is] cruel," that's you in "She Was Only In It for the Rain."

Patterning himself after singer-songwriters like Elliott Smith, Michael Penn and Damien Jurado, Votolato crafts gritty, hook-filled neo-folk melodies with the bare minimum of accompaniment. Mostly, it's just Votolato and an acoustic guitar –- with a bit of plaintive piano, some harmonica, keyboards or lovely layered vocals for good measure -- and that's enough for bittersweet, achingly beautiful gems like "Goldfield" and "White Daisy Passing." At times, Votolato echoes Simon and Garfunkel. His "The Boxer" is the misty "Uppers Aren't Necessary," with its clever, pinwheel finger picking and spare, melancholic atmosphere. "Streetlights" and "Tinfoil Hats" are catchier, more contemporary numbers with smart pop hooks that border on clichéd -– think the Goo Goo Dolls -- but never quite cross that line. When Votolato adds more instrumentation, he does so tastefully –- see "She Was Only In It for the Rain," embellished with sharply plucked violin and foggy organ.

Some of Votolato's best work has a little twang to it, as in "The Night's Disguise." But in the bittersweet "Tennessee Train Tracks," perhaps his best song ever, Votolato doesn't just dip his toe in alt-country waters. He dives in headlong, like Ryan Adams in his work with The Cardinals, and the fullness of the arrangement is pure Nashville. Perhaps that's the native Texan coming out in him. Mostly, though, Makers rains for days, and in that way, it captures the gloomy feel of the Pacific Northwest, Votolato's second home. You'll hear traces of Dashboard Confessional-style emo in Makers -- understandable considering how long he's fronted hibernating emo-baiters Waxwing. But Votolato has pretty much severed those influences from his solo work, preferring more spare, dank atmospheres and traditional, unplugged sounds.

Good for a lonely night of hard drinking or honest self-evaluation, Makers won't make you forget Elliott Smith or his gorgeous, sweeping harmonies. It just doesn't aim that high. But for what it is, namely a strong, if somewhat benign, collection of songs from a weather beaten soul who plays a mean guitar, Makers is a therapeutic listen with a gentle, if somewhat morose, melodic sensibility. Just be sure to keep the anti-depressants handy.

~ Peter Lindblad, lostatsea.net

Mates of State

"Fraud in the '80s"
from the album Bring It Back
2006

Download a free MP3 of "Fraud in the '80s" from Barsuk Records
[right-click/save-as]

Often, when talking about Mates of State, people mention the fact that the band is a married couple (Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel) before they talk about the music. See, I just did it. But while, yes, Gardner and Hammel are almost irritatingly beautiful and quite obviously very much in love, it's the music they make that has, over the course of their free previous full-lengths, earned them a reputation as a truly unique, wonderfully complex pop band. On Bring It Back, the pair take their sound to still more creative heights: Gardner adds more than 20 different keyboards and sounds to her familiar bass heavy organ while Hammel's ever-inventive drumming is embellished with a mind-boggling array of effects. The result is not only the duo's most technically accomplished record but also its strongest. And although it is an ecstatic, hedonistic album (the couple made the record following the birth of their daughter) with instant, get-up-on-the-table-and-dance appeal, Bring It Back is most rewarding with repeated listens, when the pair's dense, lush, layered melodies and quixotic harmonies are revealed in all their glorious, enchanting detail.

~ Acton Bell, Nylon Magazine

the Gabe Dixon Band

"All Will Be Well"
from the EP Live at World Cafe
2005
iTunes

As a possible heir to the throne that holds court over the Dave Matthews Band/Widespread Panic good-times/baseball cap-wearing crowd, Gabe Dixon has been quietly making the slow climb from coffeehouse weekender to full-blown college rock phenomenon for just under ten years. While he's still not above throwing down a version of "Hey Joe," he and his talented band are at the top of their game on the six-track EP Live at World Cafe. Far more Ben Folds than Blues Traveler -- he's toured with Sir Paul McCartney and Loggins Messina -- Dixon's piano-driven pop is instantly likable, void of pretension, and easy as a keg stand at three in the morning. One listen to the band's electrifying version of 2002's "More Than It Would Seem" from On a Rolling Ball will cause even the most jaded rock snob to reach for the hacky sack.

~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide

Pearl Jam

"World Wide Suicide"
from the album Pearl Jam
2006
iTunes

Download an MP3 of "World Wide Suicide" from the band's website

Pearl Jam wears its emotions on its sleeve on its self-titled eighth album, which will be released May 2.

Material for the 13-track set took shape in the wake of President George W. Bush's re-election as well as the United States-led invasion of Iraq, the third anniversary of which is quickly approaching.

"It's understandable why someone would like their entertainment to provide an escape from modern day worries and the reality of war," Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder told Billboard.com. "We feel this record creates a healthy opportunity to process some of these emotions rather than deny them."

The J Records set marks the band's first studio set since 2002's Riot Act, which took aim at Bush with the track "Bushleaguer," which Vedder wrote with guitarist Stone Gossard.

Two tracks have already been debuted live: "Comatose," which was previously known as "Crapshoot Rapture," is a fast, punkish rocker in the vein of 1994's "Spin the Black Circle," while Vedder's "Gone" was unveiled last fall during a show in Atlantic City, N.J. His solo demo of the song was recently included on Pearl Jam's annual holiday single for members of its Ten Club fan organization.

In a move that is unprecedented for a band of its stature, Pearl Jam is giving away a free MP3 of first single "World Wide Suicide" via its Web site, simultaneous with its Tuesday release to U.S. rock radio outlets. Also expected in the next week is an announcement about Pearl Jam's 2006 touring plans.

~ Billboard

Ambulance Ltd

"New English"
from the EP New English
2006

Download an MP3 of "New English" [right-click/save-as]

While it works on its sophomore album, rock act Ambulance Ltd will tide fans over with the seven-song New English EP. Due March 14 via TVT, the set is led by two new songs: the title cut "New English" and "Arbuckle's Swan Song." It also features a cover of Pink Floyd's "Fearless" and the rarity "Country Gentleman," previously only available on StarTime International's Super Cuts compilation.

The EP is rounded out by an acoustic demo of "Country Gentleman" and a demo of "Sugar Pill," plus "Straight A's," a hidden track from the U.K. pressing of Ambulance Ltd's 2004 debut LP. The group's next, as-yet-untitled effort is expected for release in late summer.

~ Jonathan Cohen, Billboard

Eagles of Death Metal

"I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)"
from the album Death by Sexy
2006

Download a free MP3 of "I Want You So Hard" from Insound.com
[right-click/save-as]

Three years ago, Eagles of Death Metal singer Jesse Hughes was, by his description, "a married, 210-pound working stiff." That was before he teamed with childhood friend (and Queens of the Stone Age frontman) Josh Homme for 2004's blues-rock romp, Peace Love Death Metal. Due in April, the follow-up, Death by Sexy, salutes all the things Hughes loves: ladies, partying hard and Poison.

Homme first met Hughes in high school, playing on the same local soccer team in their hometown of Palm Desert, California. The Eagles formed years later, when Homme convinced Hughes, then a recently divorced journalist, to start rocking out. Hughes, assuming guitar duty while Homme (who goes by the alias Carlo Von Sexron in the Eagles outfit) took over drumming duties.

The first Eagles tracks surfaced on the Homme's Desert Sessions Vol. 3-4 side project in 1998. The pair -- along with additional guitarist Tim VanHamel, from Belgian rock outfit Millionaire -- released their classic-rock-tinged debut album, Peace Love Death Metal, in March 2004.

Their sophomore album was recorded over eight days in Los Angeles. Included on the thirteen tracks are "Shasta Beast," which Hughes says is about "going out with a girl with a curfew," and the swamp-rock Stones send-up "Move in the Night."

But among the record's highlights are in-between-song sound bites from an "artistic discussion" Hughes had with a young female fan late one night in the studio. Says Hughes, "At one point you can actually hear my mustache."

~ Lauren Gitlin, Rolling Stone

Islands

"Rough Gem"
from the album Return to the Sea
2006

Download an MP3 of "Rough Gem" via Equator Records
[right-click/save-as]

Islands sprouted out of the kindred x-ray vision of Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur, two rag-tag youths from the weird side of the tracks. Previously, they'd worked together in sludge-crust band the Unicorns and, after some time apart, met up in L.A. on the set of Woody Allen's film "Melinda Melinda Melinda." Unexpectedly, they'd both been separately cast in the pivotal "restaurant" scene, in small "walk-on" roles opposite each other. Their fierce competitive spirits kept the two from getting too close, but once the final cut of the film surfaced and they found both of their parts had been left on the cutting room floor, their dormant friendship had been rekindled, cloaked in mutual pity and despondency. After much deliberation, they agreed to return to the snowy climes of Montreal and jump headfirst into the often heartbreaking world of music.

This time they'd be exploring a music best catalogued as "other," in what seemed a tribute to the timeless sound of great pop music, combining rhythms and sounds of cultures in the southern and eastern hemispheres, as well as a dash of "rap." Return to the Sea herein referred to as "their classic album" was recorded in the sweaty month of July while Islands was still a couple of lonely icebergs, not yet an archipelago. So local friends, including Richard Reed Parry, Regine Chassagne, Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufeld, Dan Boeckner, Spencer Krug, and l'il Mikey Feurstack lent their valiant efforts to the recording process.

When their classic album was finished, Nick and J'aime set out on a search for the most exciting musicians in existence. On their travels, they encountered Patrice Agbokou, the Togo born bass player with the gift of "finger magic." Patrice's impressive resume, which included a short stint as Prince's bass player at age of 12, helped cinch the deal.

Next to join were the magnificent Chow brothers, Alex and Sebastian, known to many as the 1993 and 1994 "World Super-NES-Fest" champions. Between the two of them, they play every instrument ever created, but are known to be particularly deadly on "Mario Paint Music Maker," which they play quite competently in the band.

Islands wouldn't be complete without their resident heartbreaker Patrick Gregoire, breathing new life into the aforementioned classic album via his sexy bass clarinet (often foolishly mistaken for a saxophone), sometimes used as a stick with which to shake girls off.

The group also boasts the genetically musical mustachioed James R. Guthrie, grandson to Woody and nephew to Arlo, and two of LA's finest rappers Subtitle (Giovanni Marks) and Busdriver (Regan Farquhar). Other guests sometimes peek out from corners.

Their classic album will "drop" on April 4, sometime in the morning, on Equator Records throughout North America and April 3 on Rough Trade Records overseas. They will tour in support of it. You will love it.

~ Equator Records

Wolfmother

"Mind's Eye"
from the EP Dimensions
2006
iTunes

This new band wears its influences on its sleeves, but one thing is certain... the group wave the indie rock banner. Wolfmother seems to wear evoke shades of Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Yes, with a little bit of Kasabian for a modern contemporary edge, though it is not to say that Wolfmother is a derivative-feeding band. One can really immerse him or herself into the tumultuous sounds on this EP: the title track is where guitarist Andrew Stockdale really channels the spirit of Ozzy; "Mind's Eye" features keyboard work that seems so 1970s Rick Wakeman/Yes; while "Love Train" (not the O'Jays classic) evoke the hard funk of Zep's "Trampled Underfoot." "The Earth's Rotation Around the Sun" conclude the EP as an instrumental that fortunately unlike those '70s prog bands doesn't end up sounding indulgent... short and to the point. This band's music strikes a delicate balance that will appease art and indie rock fans (This EP also contains videos for "Dimension" and "Mind's Eye").

~ David Chiu, newbeats.com