NYC Taper Recordings of The Loom + Common Prayer @ Rock Shop // 08.13.10
Common Prayer
The Loom - "True Believers All" (Live @ The Rock Shop)
Common Prayer - "Love –> Building on Fire (Talking Heads)" (Live @ The Rock Shop)
My friend at NYC Taper made it to my last show on August 13th at The Rock Shop and was able to catch the final two sets of the night by Common Prayer and The Loom. Taped from the soundboard, the resulting recordings are top notch representations of a pair of the best sets I've experienced all year.
Thanks to NYC Taper, The Loom, and Common Prayer for making this happen.
Download the full set by The Loom at nyctaper.com
The Loom Setlist:
[Total Time 56:22]
01 With Legs
02 The Middle Distance
03 Doldrums
04 True Believers All
05 [banter]
06 A Song of Faint Praise
07 [banter]
08 The First Freeze
09 Song for the Winter Sun
10 Curtain Calls
11 For the Hooves that Gallop
12 Snowed In
13 Helen
14 [encore break]
15 [new song]
Download the full set by Common Prayer at nyctaper.com
Common Prayer Setlist:
[Total Time 32:44]
01 commonprayer
02 Marriage Song
03 Hopewell
04 Us vs. Them
05 Sara G
06 Of Saints
07 Free Air
08 Everything & More
09 Love –> Building on Fire (Talking Heads)
Getting Personal With: Judson Claiborne
Judson Claiborne - "A Song or Dreaming"
Barefoot on a stage, Christopher Salveter sings with a soulful southern drawl. It's the type of soul that only a southerner can seemingly possess. Slow, steady, filled with pain but also optimism—it's a voice that can shake rooms, bring tears and also bring light to the most melancholy oh folk. This is the quality that made legends out of Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and Johnny Cash, and it's what lacks most severely from manufactured corporate pop music.
Salveter established himself in the early 2000s in the Chicago music scene with the heavily overlooked Low Skies. Salveter provided the unique electrified post-rock-like sounds of the band with a unique voice relatively unfamiliar to such music. Upon first listen, songs like "Margaret" and "Sad Hymn" struck me as deep as anything I had ever heard. These songs were passionate, emotive, and modern, during a time when modern music equipment seemed to be stripping away the raw, emotive elements that make songs so relatable.
From Low Skies, Salveter moved on to Judson Claiborne—a more personal project where the electric guitars have been stripped away and the percussion beats more softly. On his website, he explains "Judson Claiborne is the reclamation of a name given to me by my father. On a personal level, it means rebirth into a greater consciousness." With Judson Claiborne, Salveter's voice never has to battle for position with guitars. Because this, his words are more meaningful, and his emotions are better understood.
Heavily moved by his music, I spoke to him about where this passionate music stems from, and the voices that do for him what his do for me...
The song that hit's me hardest on Time And Temperature is "My How We Change." Every time I hear it your vocals sweep in and my eyes immediately become misty. It's undeniable that you have a highly emotive quality to your voice. Has it always been that way?
I suppose, the voices that inspire me are those that transcend our crazy complicated experience as humans. There's something in Sam Cooke's or Roy Orbison's voice that i picked up as a kid early on that I feel is the best example of this. It has a reverence for life and is light and beautiful, but the kind of love and laughter you reach after you've been through some hard times, which IS the human experience. Constant death & rebirth, reflected in the voice, it's a communal thing.
When actors want to cry they often dig deep into their subconscious to past memories. Is there a place you go in your mind when singing those sadder parts?
To extrapolate on the answer to my last question, I want to connect with a room of people. I recognize that we all come from different traditions and trajectories and experience art in different ways, but at the same time, I want to find that the things we all share. we all have varying degrees of sadness at any given time, so when a song is sad, this is where I go.
What's your first memory of yourself singing with emotional resonance?
In the bathtub, maybe fifteen years ago, singing for an hour or so, wandering around the internal wilderness with my voice as my lantern, something unfamiliar but trustworthy guiding me through.
How did people react?
I was alone in the tub that time but people have told me all sorts of things after watching me perform. I've made folks peaceful, turned on, pissed off, bored, happy, sad, etc.
Are there any singers who can bring you to tears?
oh yes. most recently, Percy Sledge & Lisa Gerrard of dead can dance
Are there any recurring themes in your lyrics that came subconsciously to reveal things about you that you weren't completely aware of?
This sort of thing happens all the time. One of my favorites is the ol' "no matter where you go, there you are" situation. You take all your baggage wherever you go, even when you think you donated it all to the salvation army.
What types of music were you most directly experiencing while growing up?
I grew up in Missouri on a steady diet of Elvis & REM
Do you agree with the theory that artists need to suffer a bit to create?
I do, because the reality is that a good deal of life is suffering. I think in order to be humans we have to be okay with this and sometimes make art or do some creative thing to better understand and deal with it.
Judson Claiborne will be playing The Rock Shop in Park Slope tonight with Jeremy Messersmith.
Twi Spi (2009) from jodie mack on Vimeo.
Getting Personal With: Jason Russo (Common Prayer/Hopewell)
Many of the most interesting, creative people I've gotten to know over the years grew up without a television. Maybe creative development really is stifled by being spoonfed entertainment that leaves no room for an imagination. This is not to say those who grew up with television can not be creative, but one has to wonder exactly how much it hinders the development of the imagination.
Jason Russo grew up in a religious household with 2 brothers, a sister and no tv. The son of a psychiatrist spent the better time of his youth in graveyards, woods and strip malls in upstate New York before music consumed much of his life. At the young age of 19, Russo found himself touring alongside his brother Justin as guitarist for critically acclaimed Mercury Rev during their peak, before focusing entirely on his own eclectic psychedelic rock band Hopewell.
With six releases since 1998, Hopewell has developed a reputation as a wonderful live band while gaining a legion of devoted followers while touring with such legends as My Bloody Valentine, Mike Watt, and Brian Jonestown Massacre.
During spring 2009, the talented Russo teamed up with Alexandra Marvar to begin work on a new musical project by the name of Common Prayer. Leaning more towards a ramshackle folk than the dark psychedelics of Hopewell, Common Prayer's first record There is a Mountain has been a breathe of fresh air in 2010, garnering praise from many critics.
Having just wrapped up a trip to Europe that included shows with the legendary Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Mojave 3), Jason and Alexandra are back to New York with shows lined up at The Rock Shop (8/13), Union Pool (9/3), Glasslands (9/16).
Growing up listening to Mercury Rev and then following his path to Hopewell and Common Prayer, it was an honor to be given the opportunity to ask Jason Russo a few questions about his path towards music.
From what I remember, you have a pretty religious upbringing. Can you elaborate on how that may have guided your musical direction at an early age?
Good memory! How has it guided me? Hmm. A religious upbringing meant that I was not exposed to popular culture as much as most kids. We didn’t have TV for example. Perhaps that prompted me to dive head long into the r&r lifestyle as a teenager? More importantly I think it gave me a perspective on common human drama. I learned early on that all love songs were metaphors for a larger human need.
Though we didn't know each other, we grew up in close proximity in the suburbs of upstate New York. Did you have any favorite hangout spots?
A lot of my hanging out was in parking lots, strip malls, train tracks, graveyards etc. Or the woods. I spent a lot of time in what was left of the woods back then. Do you remember the Rhinecliff Hotel? That was a favorite of mine. They let us drink waaaaay before we were legal.
Were there any local bands that you were into that may have helped you push harder into your own musical career?
Yes! Agitpop. They were from Poughkeepsie (the big town next to my hometown Hopewell Jct.) and they were on 120 Minutes (!?) They toured with Soul Asylum and the Replacements. I eventually lived with the singer and he sort of introduced me to the business of music, for better or worse.
What was the first instrument that you played?
Guitar. It’s also the last instrument I will play.
I know your brother Justin is very musical, but how about the rest of your family?
Non musical. My Mom sang a lot in church but my Dad is tone deaf. My other brother is a boxer and my younger sister is, among other things, a mechanic. Apparently, way back we had a great uncle who nearly toured with Tex Ritter, but my great grandfather wouldn’t let him go. There was a sculptor in that generation as well.
What do you think draws you most into psychedelic music?
It’s open ended-ness. Psychedelic music is speculative music. I need a fair amount of wonder and unpredictability to not get bored.
If you could put together your dream band, who would be in it?
Hmmmm, not sure about individuals. My dream band would definitely involve an entire marching band though. At my beck and call.
You've been playing in and around New York for a long time. Who's the best band that never made it?
Grand Mal. Hands down.
In the last year you've played all around, with both Common Prayer and Hopewell including a couple outdoor festivals. Where's your favorite place to perform?
Well Common Prayer likes ramshackle type places. We just played in a converted coach house in Brighton, UK. The stage area was full of partially functioning music equipment and toys – we had a field day. Hopewell just played at Governors Island, that was fun as hell. In a different kind of way.
What have you been able to accomplish with Common Prayer that you couldn't musically with Hopewell?
As Hopewell progresses it’s gotten more accomplished in it’s abilities – we can make any kind of music we want now – Common Prayer is more spontaneous – like a splatter painting. Its more impulsive. It has become a place where my catchier little songs have found a home, Hopewell is on a longer darker mission...like Star Trek...Hopewell may never come home and Common Prayer never leaves the house. Capiche?
You've shared the stage with icons like Neil Halstead and Flaming Lips. Who's the most exciting person you've been able to meet in your life?
Hmm, in my life? I have hung out with a lot of Trappist monks in my time. They are totally surreal and usually really really old. It’s exciting in a slow way. Otherwise, yes, Wayne Coyne is entertaining and thoughtful, Anton BJM is seriously engaging and Neil H. is very cool—he took Alex and I surfing and then out to high tea in Cornwall. He’s a stand up guy.
How has Alexandra influenced your songwriting methods?
[laughs] Well, she keeps an eye on me to make sure I am not getting ahead of myself. It’s a hard thing, when you write songs, to stay away from being cheesy. Alex has a good perspective on that sort of thing and I trust her taste. She adds an element of chaos too...a good foil in other words.
Common Prayer - "Us vs Them"
Hopewell - "Stranger"
A Mechanical Orchestra, Singing Saws & a Sweat-Soaked T-Shirt
6 a.m. Daylight has emerged, and yet a small group of us remained at least partially awake with our minds trying to grasp what had just occurred in front of us in a small apartment in Bed-Stuy. Half of us had never met. The others had arrived at shortly before 4 a.m. with a pair of musicians scheduled to play at both of our apartments separately hours earlier. Julian Koster AKA Music Tapes had ambitiously scheduled a multi-stop late night lullaby tour of New York City starting on Long Island. Falling far beyond schedule, our 1:30 a.m. stop had gone two hours late with yet another stop down the street following us.
At this point the room, which had earlier been quite filled, was occupied by a few tired souls drifting in and out of consciousness. My own anticipation, which had been growing for weeks leading up to the night, had dwindled. In this performance by Music Tapes I had built up the expectation that it might be capable of saving me from a rut during which I was struggling to feel music at a pure emotional level.
I had made preparations leading up to this momentous occasion. My heart was poured out to Koster to convince him to play at a close friend's apartment. My friend, who tends to get carried away with excitement about these things, was bound to try to make this an over the top top event, so I emphasized keeping it intimate and pure of distractions. The intake of music should be the focus. Drinking should be minimal. Anyone with their minds on finding someone with whom to intertwine genitalia needed to go elsewhere. Keep the cameras at moment. Put the cell phones away. Tear down the walls.
At the standard concert, fans tend to set up walls between themselves and the performers they've paid good money to see. Devices such as cameras and smart phones, via which fans seek to capture these moments, hinder the brain from the full attention necessary to construct a resonant experience and vivid memory. We want so bad to tell the world about the cool things we're doing that we can't even engage with exactly what we're bragging about.
I've spent my fair share of time behind these walls, not just consumed by my camera but also behind the judgmental filter of being a writer and critic. It's a disgusting environment, that of the media. Look into any VIP section an you'll find a load of vapid human beings supposed to act as your gateway into new and enticing worlds, but instead they'll be blocked off from any music, consumed by the social aspects of being in a scene. Free booze. Mingling. Judging. As long as they're the first ones to publish photos and a few words lacking substance, they'll get the hits anyway. This is not to say that these people don't love music. All of the people I criticize are totally consumed by passion for music but become lost within all the other bullshit.
Before the arrival of Music Tapes, Saturday night that wall was torn down at least for a few hours. Friends gathered in this apartment living room watching three sirens take turns wowing the room with a variety of songwriting talents, but it wasn't until Christopher Paul Stelling performed that the final emotional wall came crashing down. As though Stelling was reliving every emotional moment that went into the creation of each of his songs, he dug deeper than I've seen just about anyone, and everyone in the room was channeled into every second. It was heartbreaking. It was draining. It was revitalizing. It was genuine. Rare gems like "Poor Leviathan" and "Like Little Broken Birds" set a mellow, somber mood. And a cover of "Amazing Grace" accompanied with female voices from the crowd spoke with the same amount of soul as it's meant to have.
When he finished, a sweat-drenched Christopher Paul Stelling looked drained, not just physically but emotionally. Words could not be exchanged because words couldn't do anything justice.
(Stream him album here):
We then waited for the arrival of Music Tapes. We waited. And the we waited some more. Following Stelling's performance, I felt complete. He had restored my ability to feel music the way I had anticipated Music Tapes doing. A phone call alerted us that we were finally minutes away from a very intimate Music Tapes performance. Only a few of us remained, joined by strangers from another place close by. Accompanied by another multi-instrumentalist and a friendly dog named Rudolf, Julian set up a collection of props/additional band members including a robotic orchestra, snowman, and a choir of little plastic Christmas decorations. Switching between saw, a bowed banjo and plastic organ (can't recall proper name), even at 4 a.m. the music hit deep. Members of the small crowd sat politely, occasionally drifting to sleep. What I've always admired about Julian is that his approach to music feels genuine and adventurous, and when they played "The Minister Of Longitude" I had to pinch myself to remind myself that this was really happening.
For one night, there was no seen or need to be seen. No pictures. No walls. Just music in its purest form inhabiting a small space occupied by a number of friends willing and wanting to share in a magical experience that will never be forgotten.
Yes, there's something special about having a pivotal member of Neutral Milk Hotel/Elephant Six play for us, and that little fact will be the one thing that grabs the attention of scenesters, but who cares about affiliations. In the moment that didn't matter. Anyone this talented deserves being championed no matter what.
August Mix Tape
Having fallen behind on this website and unloading great new music to the general public, I decided to throw together a mix tape of a bunch of my favorite new songs. Included are some familiar names who haven't released music in a long long time (Three Mile Pilot, The Vaselines, Versus) as well as a bunch of new bands deserving to become household names. Enjoy.
Sparrow & The Workshop - "Devil Song"
The Acorn - "Slippery When Wet"
Three Mile Pilot - "Days of Wrath"
Unicycle Loves You - "Mirror Mirror"
The Vaselines - "Sex with an X"
Common Prayer - "Us vs Them"
DREAMEND - "Magnesium Light"
Hooray For Earth - "Form" (Oh No Ono remix)
Ghastly City Sleep - "Into The Dark"
Zambri - "Tonight We Fly" (The Divine Comedy cover)
Love Language - "Blue Angel"
Eric Gundel - "Explicit Beverage"
Frances - "Between Us"
Sticklips - "At Least"
The Clientele - "Jerry"
ARMS - "Ooh La La" (Faces cover)
Versus - "Invincible Hero"
Parlovr - "Archy & Mehitabel"
Untied States - "These Dead Birds"
Spiritualized - "Cool Waves" (Live at Radio City Music Hall)
Concert: Special Guests w/ Common Prayer, Christopher Paul Stelling and Ivana XL @ Rock Shop // 8.13.10
Jonny Leather Presents:
Your New Favorite Band - August Edition Concert
Friday August 13 [spooky]
SPECIAL SECRET GUESTS
COMMON PRAYER
CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING
IVANA XL
at Rock Shop
249 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
doors at 7:30pm
$8
21+
Secret Guest - "secret song"
___ ____ has put out one of my favorite records of 2010, with an expansive sound filled with trumpets, banjos, french horn, and a dark gothic edge that recalls the finest moments of Low.
Common Prayer - "Us vs Them"
With Common Prayer, Jason Russo and Alexandra Marvar have created a sound that's totally their own but also incredibly warm and inviting. A mix of folk and British rock in a way that feels seamless and natural.
Christopher Paul Stelling - "Flawless Executioner"
From the depths of the Florida swamps, Christopher Paul Stelling picks the acoustic guitar with the skill of a master, while his voice unloads impassioned words of life, death and everything in between. If your eyes don't tear up just the slightest then you haven't been listening.
Ivana XL - "Stars"
Her voice sends chills down your spine. Sensual, shy, casual, Ivana XL is what falling in love sounds like.
Getting Personal With: Deleted Scenes
Deleted Scenes - "Fake IDs"
For me, music has always been a deeply personal emotional experience. For every goofy mindless song I've thrown on repeat, there's a song like Radiohead's "How to Disappear Completely" that shakes my entire existence and leaves me trembling in fear and sadness. From Ian Curtis to Elliot Smith to Scott Walker to Jason "Spaceman" Pierce, the most genuinely engaging emotional music has always had a depth beyond the melodies and words. For many of the greats, music has acted as a therapeutic release. A lot of bands will try to copy Ian Curtis and Joy Division's sound, but without Curtis' haunted soul giving the music pure emotional resonance they will fall flat.
Everyone is different. Everyone has a different story. What I would like to do with my new series of interviews, titled "Getting Personal With," is to help uncover who these bands really are beyond their songs, why they make music, and why it sounds like it does.
My first interview is with Dan Scheuerman of DC-based Deleted Scenes. Dan is the songwriter and plays guitar in Deleted Scenes. The band's debut album was rich with lyrical storytelling that often focused on his rather religious upbringing. Musically, they've embraced variety. While a majority of the songs are characterized by smooth bouncy basslines, angular riffs and Scheuerman's urgent vocals (as though pleading for help), they're often delightfully unpredictable.
With a new record on the horizon, a tour of the east coast underway, I asked Deleted Scenes Dan Scheuerman a few personal questions to gain a more thorough understanding of music he writes, and he willfully agreed to share some of the personal aspects of his character.
Where are you from originally, and what kind of childhood did you have?
I'm from Gaithersburg, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC. I am the third of six boys. We were your typical large Roman Catholic family, and we are very close to this day. My parents are very devout Catholics, beyond the simple church-on-Sunday requirements, and so religion was a huge part of my upbringing. Every Saturday we used to sit together as a family and sing worship songs and read the Bible together. Both of my parents played guitar, and all my brothers sing, so it was really like a legit choir with multi-part harmonies. That was my first experience with music, and really my only experience with music for most of my childhood. We weren't allowed to listen to any secular music growing up, and there was no radio in the house. The only music we had was the music we made.
(Appropriately, the first radio song I remember hearing was "Losing My Religion." I remember it made me feel really creepy and completely exposed. I was at a water park in Maryland called "Wild World," and they played it about every third song. It definitely brought a serious burden on the day.)
I have a very complicated relationship to religion in my music, and I couldn't try to explain it without a lot of self-conscious doublespeak, so I won't. But I will say that it's important, and it greatly informs the way I look at the world. One summer when I was in about fourth or fifth grade my dad challenged me and my two older brothers to memorize Matthew 5, 6, and 7. I only got through about half of Matthew 5, but I think that experience pretty much cemented my sense of morality. I think my dad's whole goal in life was to provide a firm moral foundation for his kids, and I think he did that quite well. If you read Matthew 5, you'll find a lot of Jesus's most universally appreciated ideas--the importance of humility, the unimportance of material possessions, the supremacy of conscience. A lot of this stuff I'm really grateful for, and I know I'll have it forever. Any new ideas I come across ultimately have to square with that foundation. I used to struggle with that, but I think I've come to a separate peace with it.
Do you remember the first song you wrote? What was it called, and what was it about?
The real first song was in about sixth grade, and it was called "Waiting For the Shatter." All the neighborhood kids used to play baseball in the green space at the end of our court, and there were a lot of cars and houses around. At one point someone decided we should use a real baseball instead of a tennis ball, and so every major hit was followed by a period of waiting for the shatter. I remember someone used that phrase, and I said it sounded like a song. I went ahead and wrote it, but it was a love song about asking a girl out and waiting for her to say no. I think the only form of asking girls out at the time was through passinng notes. Actual talking hadn't evolved yet, so there was a real period of waiting if you wanted to find out if someone liked you.
How do you support your music career financially?
I am a literacy tutor in Washington, DC. Deleted Scenes doesn't yet pay the bills.
You've admitted to having been pushed out of New York in "City That Never Wakes Up". Is there anything about New York that you miss? What was the driving force that led you to DC?
That song is a mess of images, so I don't want to say that it's only NYC. Although the skyline of burnt out cigarettes is from NYC. I don't really miss much about NYC. I felt very lonely and became kind of self-absorbed and vain during my time there. Reading L Mag is disruptive to my soul. Anyway, the chief driving force in me leaving NYC would have to be the bed bugs. I moved into this place in Greenpoint, a single room with a shared bathroom and no kitchen that I called the Hotplate Inn because it came with a hotplate. It was furnished with a bed and mini fridge. Anyway, the bed was infested with bed bugs, and so all my stuff became infested with bed bugs. It's really a wretched existence. They hide all day in the corners and cracks, and under the fake wood paneling, and in your clock radio, and in the power sockets, and under the radiator, and in the closet, and in your computer, and in gear, and in the creases of your clothing (so you can't visit anyone without exposing them). After you notice the red spots, you start sleeping with the lights on, so you can catch them in the act, which is just gross. When they scuttle away from your body, they leave a streak of your own blood. Then you get all gung-ho, and you have to buy all this powder to pour all over the cracks and seams of your room, so you're basically living in a cloud of poisonous chalk. And in the end the chemicals don't work because the real bed bug killing chemical has been illegal since the 70s, which is why bed bugs are back anyway. And so ultimately you have to move out, and leave behind all your precious musical gear, all your books, all your non-washable-on-hot clothes, and all the little things that you've collected that might somewhere hide a tiny microscopic white egg that will travel with you and begin the process again. I think that feeling became my allegory for New York. A feeling of having all your shit rendered useless. I left all my stuff there, and ended up sleeping in a borrowed children-size sleeping bag on a wood floor in Bed Stuy. Then my girlfriend got robbed, and I moved back to DC as soon as I could after that.
Unlike many bands, your songs vary greatly stylistically. From my perspective this is a great thing, but do you ever worry about lack of cohesion?
No. It will all even out. Journalists often like to be told what something is so they can categorize it and then move on to the next manila envelope or spam email. We'll keep experimenting with style. As long as we don't fall into rote genre exercising, we'll be fine. A lot of my favorite bands are musically restless, and I don't really see a problem with it as long as the songs hit you in an honest way.
Is music therapeutic for you? and do you ever worry that the political nature of music scenes and recording industry will destroy the therapeutic nature of your art?
Performing is therapeutic. Writing is more delicate and involves too many levels of self-consciousness to be therapeutic. As far as industry stuff, I try not to think about it too much. It's all so ephemeral, even the great stuff like Motown. I just concentrate on saying something true. As long as it's true, and I continue questioning the quality, I think I'm doing my best.
I'll end this with a less personally intrusive question. If you could convey any one message in your songs, what would it be?
Oh jeez, if I could answer that I would quit making music.
Deleted Scenes are currently on tour:
Jul 12 2010 • 8:00P • Mercy Lounge • Nashville, TN
Jul 14 2010 • 9:00P • GO Bar • Athens, GA
Jul 15 2010 • 8:00P • New World Brewery • Tampa, Fl
Jul 16 2010 • 8:00P • Will's Pub • Orlando, Florida
Jul 17 2010 • 8:00P • Jack Rabbits (w/Black Kids!) • Jacksonville, FL
Jul 18 2010 • 5:00P • Snug Harbor • Charlotte, NC
Jul 20 2010 • 9:00P • Tipsy• Greenville, NC
Jul 21 2010 • 8:00P • Pinhook w/Medications • Durham, NC
Jul 22 2010 • 7:00P • U Street Music Hall w/Medications and Hume • WASHINGTON, DC
Jul 23 2010 • 8:00P • Littlefield w/Medications • Brooklyn, NY
Jul 24 2010 • 8:00P • O'Brien's w/Medications • Allston, MA
Jul 25 2010• 8:00P • Le Divan Orange w/Medications • Montréal, QC, CANADA
Jul 26 2010 • 8:00P • Teranga w/Medications • Toronto, ON, CANADA
Jul 27 2010 • 8:00P • Majestic Cafe w/Medications • Detroit, MI
Jul 28 2010 • 8:00P • the Cave w/Medications • Chicago, IL
Christopher Paul Stelling: New Record and Videos
In the latter part of 2009 I met Christopher Paul Stelling at a friend's house party where Stelling would be performing. Up until that point I had only heard of Stelling from that friend, who raved endlessly about him. I'd taken a gander at his myspace and enjoyed a couple of the sounds, but never quite gave the songs the undivided attention they deserved.
Meeting Stelling for the first time he made a powerful impression immediately. Unlike the stream of hipster musicians I encounter on a daily basis, he had a unique presence. There was no wall of defense/judgement. With long hair, and natural-colored clothing that looked as though they've seen the world, he was a hippie in the nicest sense of the word—intellectual, approachable,and warm-hearted.
A little later in the night, in the living room of a Bed Stuy apartment, he performed a handful of songs on his beat-up acoustic guitar. The entire room was captivated throughout the entire performance. His fingers picked through the strings at rapid pace brewing up fluttering melodies while passionate words of the devil, swamps, love and loss escaped his raw throat. The faster songs like "Pig Roast" had the more immediate impact, lending to energetic performance where Stelling stomped his foot violently as added percussion.
Needless to say, the first time I saw Christopher Paul Stelling perform, I was thoroughly impressed. His passion and skill radiated from his performance and felt real and unique.
Through the rest of the year and the beginning of 2010, I've seen him perform again and again, finding different types of magic in every performance and song, while also getting to know him as a person. He's refreshingly honest and true to himself, both in his music and his life.
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be one of the first people with a copy of his debut double-album The Songs of Christopher Paul Stelling. Twenty sounds sounded like a lot until finding out the massive number of recordings they were cut down from.
Listening to these tracks, I felt especially moved by the slower, heartfelt ballads like opener "Flawless Executioner" and "Like Little Broken Birds." Unlike the live performances, I could devote more time to the tracks, hearing things that I couldn't possibly hear in the heat of a performance. Clocking in at well over an hour, there's not a minute on the record in which Christopher Paul Stelling not only believes the words he's singing but also feels them. That's exactly why songs like "The Ocean Took My Love Away" are so touching to listeners. Anyone can write emotionally impactful words, but if their presented with a sterile approach, they become meaningless to anyone hearing them.
Download The Songs of Christopher Paul Stelling for free now:
"The Museum vs. Jesus"
"Never Been There"
Interview: Miracles of Modern Science
Miracles of Modern Science - "I Found Space"
In the last decade it's become quite common for rock bands to utilize string players to expand their sound, but not for rock bands to structure their sounds around these instruments the way Miracles of Modern Science have done. Since Arcade Fire's Funeral was embraced by music lovers in 2004, what has been described as chamber pop has taken a big place in the modern rock spectrum. The rock formula of guitar, bass and drums has been given additional flourishes with cello, mandolin, or violin. It's not entirely new to rock, but it's the most prominent classical instrumentation has even been in rock.
Sure, in the 90s Primus often showcased upright bass and mandolin, and since the days of The Beatles string accompaniment has been in rock music, but Brooklyn's Miracles of Modern Science have taken it one step further and structured a pop rock band around the classical instrumentation (cello, violin, mandolin, double bass, and drums). The resulting sound is what cellist Geoff McDonald describes as a "Civil War string band shot into outer space on a disco ball spaceship." Miracles of Modern Science is not gimmick driven band. They are not Yellowcard. They are a band taking a much needed different approach to a tired form of music with the type of enthusiasm necessary to make it work.
Like any good band with something new and interesting to say, the list of influences that is are injected into their songwriting is eclectic, from Stravinksy and Mahler to Van Halen and Pavement. Formal classical and jazz training gives them an understanding of their tools that won't be found in a garage rock band, while also providing them with a different approach to songwriting than most rock bands.
They no longer wear silver spacesuits on stage as they did in their earlier days, but their performances are still thoroughly engaging and not to be missed.
With a 3 week residency beginning this Thursday (June 10) at Cake Shop, the members of MOMS answered a few of my questions about their histories as musicians and their approach to music:
What's the biggest challenge in performing at rock clubs with classic instrumentation?
Josh Hirshfeld (mandolin): Strings sound the best unplugged. We play rock music, but we always go for that natural sound. We're not putting the strings through distortion pedals to make it sound like that metal violinist who plays in Union Square (as bad-ass as he is). But problems arise when we try to bring that natural acoustic sound up to rock club volumes. If we're on a small stage and the bass amp is pumping right into the hollow body of the cello, there can just be crazy amounts of feedback. But if our songwriting approach is partly about the strings being played in ways they aren't traditionally played, it makes sense that live we'd have to take them to places you don't traditionally hear them.
Kieran Ledwidge (violin): Despite the fact that there's often a question of balancing our unusual instrumentation (particularly at clubs built around accommodating bands anchored by guitars or synths), our biggest challenge has been being able to hear ourselves clearly. Listening to the sound you're currently creating informs every mechanical action and adjustment you make. Since we have no frets (mandolin aside), visual feedback isn't accurate enough. Bowed instruments are also inherently dynamic in their volume - and if you can't hear yourself, there's a temptation to play louder with the bow until you can... but in the context of a rock show, that can easily lead to overplaying the instrument. The sound of an overplayed amplified string instrument is one of the more horrible sounds in this world - trying to drown out the sound of a cat being strangled by drawing a rusty nail across a blackboard would probably paint the sonic picture.
How long have each of you been playing your instrument of choice?
Kieran: I've been playing violin for 19 years.
Geoff McDonald (cello): 15 years
Evan Younger (bass, vocals): My path to the double bass was gradual – I jumped from piano (17 years) to guitar (14 years) to electric bass (11 years) to upright (9ish). I didn't start singing seriously until college, when I came under the tutelage of Geoff McDonald.
Tyler Pines (drums): I've been playing piano for 16 years and drums for 12.
Josh: I've played guitar for the last 19 years, but I picked up mandolin 9 years ago, and really began to focus on it as my main instrument when we started the band about 6 years ago.
You've clearly studied a wide range of the music spectrum. Who are are your favorite musicians/biggest influences?
Geoff: My biggest influences are Stravinsky, Mahler, and Younger.
Kieran: Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Bowie.
Josh: Pavement did the most to make me want to be in a band.
Evan: Van Halen are a huge inspiration for us. I like to fantasize that someday we'll do for "rock strings" what VH did for rock guitar. And of course David Lee Roth is the greatest frontman of all time.
How do your classical and jazz backgrounds influence your songwriting process?
Geoff: My answer to this question is tempered by the fact that a lot of my musical contribution to the band might be described as "editing/arranging"...but as far as those things are concerned, I definitely think in terms of texture a lot, and I would say I sometimes draw on training in classical orchestration for that. That doesn't mean I'm trying to recreate sounds from classical music, but the principles are still there: voicing, dynamics, balance, contrast, which instrument would be best to carry a particular hook or figure. To that end I think it's interesting that often one of us will write something that is comfortable or idiomatic for our own instrument, but then that same snippet sounds cool and different thrown to another instrument...for instance the way the mandolin takes the melody from the cello in the first verse of "I Found Space."
Kieran: My compositional background before MOMS was almost completely classical - mostly for string ensembles of various configurations. Despite the difference in style, that experience has been surprisingly helpful when we're writing songs - in terms of general songwriting elements and specifically with the string parts. Being familiar with the capabilities of the instruments has been a definite help in working out parts that better complement each other and sound more natural for them, and also helps in broadening our textural range (by making use of the various tone colours created by different techniques). I'll take any opportunity to re-purpose my classical training.
Josh: I don't think we've ever said "How can we make this part sound classical?" or "How can we fit this classical technique into this song?" It's more about how we all come from such different backgrounds (Kieran and Geoff from classical, Evan and Tyler from jazz, me from rock) and bring such different things to the table. I don't know nearly as much about the range of all the cello or violin's sounds compared to someone who has been learning all of it's crazy secrets for years. Our string players aren't a passive string section, set off to the side with sheet music. We're all part of the process. So once an idea is on the table, it goes through this gauntlet of people with very different backgrounds and tastes -- it'll either be expanded, chopped down, or even scrapped, but once we've all had a piece of it, it has probably turned into something that sounds very MOMSy.
Where does the science/space theme come from?
Evan: Josh came up with our name – I think we just liked the sound of it, and all the science and space imagery followed from there. From our first show in 2005 until last summer, we wore silver spacesuits on stage, but nowadays we like to be more subtle about it. The futuristic imagery juxtaposed with our "antiquated" instrumentation makes for a nice visual contrast that sort of works as a metaphor for our music.
Josh: In terms of that theme going into our music -- when we started MOMS our freshman year of college, I was coming off of a few years of playing with my high school instrumental space rock band. So in the early stages of MOMS, my mind was on twinkly lines that eventually explode (in the sky). I think we retain some of that sound (we still like build-ups with big pay-offs), but we don't tell ourselves that we have to make a song spacey as we write it.
How do you describe the sound of MOMS to someone who's never heard you
Geoff: "Civil War string band shot into outer space on a disco ball spaceship" is still pretty damn on the money. But I always tailor my answer to that question to my audience. I play up the "disco" part to the young folk, the "spaceship" part to the scientists, and the "Civil War" part to U.S. History buffs. Those three categories are basically the demographic breakdown for "When I'm Asked What MOMS Sounds Like"...
Thursday, June 10 at Cake Shop
4th: Miracles of Modern Science
3rd: The Albertans (http://myspace.com/thealbertans)
2nd: The Royal Chains (http://myspace.com/theroyalchains)
1st: Quiet Loudly (http://myspace.com/quietloudly)
Presented by Jonny Leather
NYCTaper: May 3, 2010 Glasslands
Ghastly City Sleep - "I Never Left My Head" (Live at Glasslands)
Royal Forest - "Borrowed Tune" (Neil Young cover live at Glasslands)
Royal Chains - "Won't Back Down" (Tom Petty cover live at Glasslands)
My friends at NYCTaper.com recorded my May 3rd concert at Glasslands (though they missed Brick+Mortar's phenomenal set). This concert was a memorable one, with all 4 bands playing really strong diverse sets.
You can and should download mp3s of the full sets at NYCtaper.com for free here: http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=3253
3 of my favorite songs have been included above in this post to give a sample, including a wonderful Neil Young cover by Royal Forest.
Here's some kind words about the show from NYCTaper:
Our good friend Jonny Leather has been going above and beyond to give the already-teeming Brooklyn scene access to exciting new music through his semi-regular concert series. We were fortunate enough to capture this excellent bill, featuring Brooklyn’s Ghastly City Sleep, garage rock duo Royal Chains and Austin’s Royal Forest (along with Brick + Mortar, whose set we unfortunately missed) at Glasslands, which is a perfect place to absorb yourself in some new music. Each act was striking in it own way, but perhaps none so much as Ghastly City Sleep, whose music takes a sharp turn from current trends with dark, sometimes lengthy songs that are not afraid to challenge listeners’ expectations. Jonny Leather compares them to Radiohead, and I can see the resemblance in the rhythmic variations, sharp, angular vocals, and the aforementioned dark overall tone. For a young band, these guys have a fully developed sound that is poised for bigger things. Check out their debut album at Robotic Empire Records and see for yourself.
Royal Forest could be called “The Band Formerly Known As Loxsly”, but they probably made the right choice with the wholesale name change to avoid any association with the somewhat weak act by a very similar former name. Apparently in their former incarnation the band earned a lot of comparisons to Grandaddy, which I still hear echoes of, along with occasional hints of my favorites Polvo. Currently the band is promoting a self-titled EP, with a full-length on the way.
Being a garage-rock duo, Royal Chains needed to do everything right to impress me - and they did. Too often, I find these setups aren’t musical enough (or are just too wasted), or seem to treat the whole thing as a joke. Royal Chains came out and played their asses off. With two EPs under their belt, these guys have shown they are serious about songwriting, and they seem determined not to fall into the lame “we’re two drunk guys playing half-assed songs” trap at all. Instead, band members Adam and Dan bring real musicianship and feeling. And, in a perfect ending, they managed to show they don’t take themselves too seriously by playing a cover of Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down.”
Please support Jonny Leather and the shows he promotes. One good way to learn more is to be his friend on Facebook. Thanks to Jonny for inviting us to this excellent show. It took us a month to get it posted, but I think it will be worth the wait!
I recorded this set from the balcony with the DPA microphones in an “XY” pattern. The recordings are generally excellent, with a small caveat - during Royal Forest’s set, the mics were clamped to the balcony rail, which was vibrating due to a fan clamped to it nearby. Therefore, during quiet parts of the music, you can hear these vibrations. The band thought it sounded good despite this flaw, so I think it is still very worth your time. For listeners’ convenience, and to provide maximum exposure to all three bands, the music of all three bands is included in one ZIP file of MP3s. The MP3s are properly tagged for easy importing into iTunes, including artwork!
6 Caronas, Chips with Salsa, and a Casual Interview w/ Noel Heroux of Hooray For Earth
Hooray For Earth - "Surrounded By Your Friends (Adrienne Drake remix)"
Hooray For Earth frontman Noel Heroux is nothing at all like Sid Vicious, but the first time I saw him play he smashed his beloved Flying V during the band's grand finale at a Bushwick loft space. Unlike the legendary punk rocker, Heroux's destruction was hardly the product of a of rage, but rather the result of an emotional peak. It was one of those moments where an artist is so filled with excitement that in the heat of the moment they can act without sight of consequence. For Noel, this meant for an energetic finale to a fantastic show, but also to the final notes played on the guitar that felt as much as a connection to as any of his body parts. As the guitar smashed to the ground after being thrown into the air, Heroux's smile hinted towards the type of disappointment seen in a child when his favorite stuffed animal loses an eye during play.
I saw a lot in the personality of Noel Heroux the first time I saw Hooray For Earth play. As typical with loft shows, the sound was pretty terrible, but the band played with the type of passionate joy that makes up for it. For Noel and the rest of Hooray For Earth that particular show was important because that'd be the last time drummer Seth Kasper would perform as part of the band (leaving to join Wild Light).
A month or so later, Hooray For Earth joined a fantastic lineup with Depreciatation Guild, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers and KiNo at the Bell House as part of a benefit concert organized by yours truly. Another performance leaving a lasting impression, it'd be the start of a blossoming relationship.
Over the course of 2009 and first half of 2010, I have found myself at nearly every Hooray For Earth show to take place in New York. It all began with me as another fan. Upbeat songs like "Heartbeat" and "Take Care" from their debut record were constantly on repeat on my iPod. Something about the combination of the melodic songwriting and drop d tuning made Hooray For Earth truly unique. Live, the songs were even stronger and more passionate during a time when our overload of indie rock is played with an obnoxious feeling of disinterest.
After putting on multiple concerts with Hooray For Earth, I found myself more and more connected to the band. No longer just a fan, a friendship had grown. Noel, Chris, Gary and Joe are a humble group of guys who happen to play music that I love, that keeps getting better and better.
When I started following them as a journalist and fan, I often felt alone in that regard. Everyone else seemed be talking about much "hipper acts" from Brooklyn's lo-fi scene, but now HFE seems to finally getting their chance to shine, with an upcoming tour with Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Surfer Blood, as well as tonight's concert with The Futureheads.
Last Thursday I met up with Noel for an interview. It's a weird thing to interview a friend whose art you admire, and we kept it casual. Over the past month or so I've felt disconnected from music journalism, and I felt that if anyone could revive that passion in me, it's Noel.
As the Caronas kept coming to the table, we talked in a format that was more friendly conversation than interview about Hooray For Earth's upcoming tour. As much as Heroux looks forward to his first tour in which he can safely assume people will turn out for, he doesn't look forward to being apart from his beautiful fiancee Jessica Zambri. The most interesting stop on the tour may come at Jack Rabbits in Jacksonville, where Hooray For Earth stopped on their last tour to play in front of an empty room, matched with a punk band who had created a bonfire behind the venue prior to the show.
Since the first time I saw Hooray For Earth live, most of the songs that were part of their sets back then have been ousted by newer material from their recent ep MOMO. Songs like "Comfortable/Comparable" and "Scaling" have shown the band growing as a band and expanding their boundaries, but at times the fan me and others have a desire to hear the older songs that we have a certain nostalgia for. While Heroux told me that many of the older songs stick out like a sore thumb, "Take Care" could find its way back into setlists, as it did in a recent show in Boston where fans requested it. It is not uncommon for an artist to want to throw away their older material for the new as they develop their style. It is undeniable that Hooray For Earth's best work is still ahead of them as they continue to grow and take chances, but "Surrounded By Your Friends" will always be a great, as will "Take Care."
Knowing Noel Heroux the man I've grown to appreciate Noel Heroux the musician on an even higher level. Tonight's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg opening for Dovecote labelmates The Futureheads will be another glimpse into the bright bright future of Hooray For Earth. Just don't expect a cover of any songs by Kiss (a band Heroux admittedly can't stand).
On Hooray For Earth's most well known track to date, Heroux sings the words "in the end you're surrounded by your friends." It could sound cheesy, but instead contains a feeling of warmth and honesty, which is yet another reason it makes me happy to say in the end when I'm surrounded by my friends, Noel and Hooray For Earth will be there playing a song.
Live Review: Neil Halstead Played Union Hall //5.18.10
If there was any justice in the music world, Slowdive would be regarded as highly as My Bloody Valentine and Neil Halstead wouldn't have a difficult time selling out a venue as small as Union Hall. Unfortunately for the Slowdive and Mojave 3 singer/songwriter the Brooklyn venue wasn't at capacity for his performance on Tuesday night. Maybe it was the rainy weather or that everyone was busy seeing a "flavor of the month" band, but either way it's somewhat depressing. While much of my experience of the intimate solo performance was marred by a crowd member in need of a gag ball and a blow to the head, the moments during which Halstead's soundwaves were not interrupted were immensely rewarding. The former shoegaze pioneer has built himself quite a catalog of brilliant songs. Stripped down to the bare presentation of an acoustic guitar and vocals, Halstead has proven to be the most gifted songwriter to come out of the shoegaze movement. Where My Bloody Valentine's songs most deeply depended on Kevin Shield's sonic brilliance, Slowdive were always more about the songwriting.
Well into the set, Halstead began taking requests, and to my pleasant surprise he played classic Slowdive tune "Allison." Hearing the stripped down version gave it an extra level of depth—the words becoming more meaningful. It was one of those golden moments when everyone in a room seems to be feeling a special kind of magic. It's not often that a live performance can be so touching.
Throughout his lengthy performance Halstead displayed a humble, approachable character. He cracked jokes and even handed out a couple beers to the crowd. He was the epitome of what we want our idols to be like.
Live Review: Zs @ Knitting Factory // 5.11.10
Only inches away from the seated Zs at their record release party at Knitting Factory, I couldn't help but think of John Zorn's legendary band Naked City. Along with Bill Frisell (guitar), Fred Frith (bass), Wayne Horvitz (synth/piano), and Joey Baron (drums), the avant-garde sax player created some of the most original and unpredictable compositions of our time. Nothing ever fit within any confines of a genre classification, and that's the sign of something original.
While Zs aren't quite as all-over-the-map as Naked City, the dynamic nature in which their songs slowly build through textures and then erupt with fury is where I heard a connection between the two bands.
Seated in a circle facing one another, the pair of guitarists and drummer provided an immensely precise platform for the more free form bursts and squeals of Sam Hillmer's tenor. Each member displayed an immense level of skill on their instrument to a level of jaw-dropping proportion.
Zs performance was yet another reminder that Brooklyn's music scene is far bigger than the crop of indie pop and shitgaze that gets all the attention from the indie blogs. We're currently witnessing a movement of adventurous musicians exploring a more diverse terrain of music along the lines of experimental jazz, metal, folk and other genre-less domains. Since the days of birthing Jazz and punk, NYC has always been a place for discovering some of the most audacious sounds, and musicians like Zs, Extra Life, Larkin Grimm, Mick Barr, and Stars Like Fleas are continuing that legacy.
For many bloggers, seeing a band like Zs play 45 minutes of instrumental compositions would be like an 10 year old watching 8 1/2, which is why their incredible new album New Slaves will likely go overlooked by a majority of the industry.
Concert: Judson Claiborne, Peter Wolf Crier, Pacific Theater @ Union Hall // 6.18.10
Jonny Leather Presents:
Your New Favorite Band - June Edition Concert
JUDSON CLAIBORNE
PETER WOLF CRIER
PACIFIC THEATER
at Union Hall
702 Union Street, Brooklyn
doors at 8pm
$10
21+
Pacific Theater - "Refugee"
Peter Wolf Crier - "Crutch & Crane"
Judson Claiborne - "A Song or Dreaming"
JUDSON CLAIBORNE
Following his self-released solo debut, Before Midnight Scholar, Chicago's Judson Claiborne continues to document the phenomenon of personal transformation with Time and Temperature, his new record on La Société Expéditionnaire.
The distant melancholy familiar to listeners of Low Skies (Judson's previous band) has grown into emerging layers of song in the tradition of troubadours, journeymen, country-western stars and master-less wanderers. Time and Temperature is the finest blend of indie folk with progressive abandon, as the ghosts of the Great Ones smile down on Judson Claiborne with a nod and a wink.
PETER WOLF CRIER
ONE OF THE BEST TWIN CITIES ALBUMS OF 2009
"Peter Wolf Crier's take on lo-fi indie-folk is surprisingly refreshing, contrasting moments of childlike preciousness with somber undertones and the slightest hint of utter, irrefutable despair." -City Pages
PACIFIC THEATER
"I was initially struck by the fact that the production is surprisingly professional, crisp and clean, with a full tonal range. The music itself, though hating to reference in this way, could be likened initially to Bell X1, or The National possibly. They are definitely a Brooklyn band in mood though, following down that path of BK melancholy, with some very solid compositions and some amazing and quite diverse musicianship, especially considering that they are a band living in the same part of town as me that I haven't heard much from. I think the thing overlying all other aspects of this album though, is its potential for reaching a much larger audience, it is a well thought out, well constructed, and well produced collection of songs, with a graspable context. I’m quite excited to see where this band will make its next step. —Richard Elias/Insound
FEAST ON THIS Free MP3 Recap: April Edition
Every mp3 I posted in April. All in once place.. All worth a listen.
Heavy Trash - "Gee I Really Love You"
The Mynabirds - "Let The Record Go"
Frightened Rabbit - "My Backwards Walk" (Daytrotter Session)
Think About Life - "Having My Baby"
Christopher Stelling - "The Ocean Took My Love Away"
Citay - "Mirror Kisses" (featuring Tune Yards)
Extra Life - "Black Hoodie (Pre Album Version)"
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
Jesus Makes a Shotgun Sound - "Do Not The Clothes Make the Man"
Miles Kurosky - "An Apple For An Apple"
Parenthetical Girls - "Evelyn McHale"
Saharan Gazelle Boy - "Something I Wanna Know About You"
The Silent League - "Here's A Star"
You Can Be A Wesley - "Creatures"
This Is Versailles - "Gold Pills"
Sally Head - "Man With Small Hands"
Hot Protestants - "Sad About An Ice Age"
Royal Chains - "Lucy Takes A Dare"
Royal Forest - "Save The Ghost"
Peter Wolf Crier - "Crutch & Crane"
Judson Claiborne - "A Song or Dreaming"
Tallest Man on Earth - "Burden of Tomorrow"
Robyn Hitchcock - "Comme Toujours"
Spanish Prisoners - "Still Ill"
Miracles of Modern Science - "I Found Space"
Titus Andronicus - "Four Score Part Two"
Bear in Heaven - "Wholehearted Mess"
Critical Differences: Pitchfork’s Lost Archives - Save Ferris Edition
There are few things in journalism more unethical than changing or deleting your past, and dig deep enough about indie music's juggernaut Pitchfork and you'll find that they've done just that. Reviews have been deleted and new reviews have been written to reflect current tastes/trends.
Very very few things are more amusing than the long lost 9.5 review of Save Ferris' It Means Everything.
Dear Pitchfork and other web media, it may be easier for you to run from your past mistakes than your printed siblings, but the past never completely disappears.
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://pitchforkmedia.com
Read Pitchfork's Legendary Review of Save Ferris' It Means Everything
Save Ferris: It Means Everything [Epic]
Rating: 9.5
If you're lucky, really lucky in life, you might be able to occasionally catch sight of a band that has reached their perfect groove. It's when they're tight and unified, playing music for the sheer fun and love of it, far before the cynicism sets in. They give off a special energy that is meant for the smaller venues. They record CD's that become "keepers", the mainstay of your collection, though they may go "out of style" someday.
Save Ferris' It Means Everything knocked my socks off. I was in bed, the changer had just changed over from Meat Beat Manifesto and off in the distance this CD pulled me awake with its clean bouncin' groove. Its tight, unpretentious, energetic ska led by the rich and soothing voice of Monique Powell opened my eyes to a beautiful day. Yes, a band in their perfect groove. I reached bedside to my DC City Paper and began to frantically search for them live. That's when their cover of "Come On Eileen" came on. I think I came. Great music that won't be soon forgotten by anyone who's heard them.
- James P. Wisdom, Pitchfork Media
25 Records from 2010 That Deserve a Listen
2010 has been good to us so far, delivering quite a few music gems in between hidden beneath the piles of mediocre records. Great albums by Liars, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz, Shearwater, Tallest Man On Earth and other mainstays have gotten the expected universal praise, but plenty of lesser known bands have slipped through the cracks without the deserved attention for their hard work. Below are 25 of the best records of 2010 so far that have gone generally unnoticed by the music media.
Adrienne Drake - Dullabies
A terribly haunting dance record with similarities to Burial but a sound of its own.
ArpLine - Travel Book
Explosively catchy prog rock.
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
An epic album built on big reverby stoner rock that flows perfectly from front to back.
Bluebrain - Soft Power
A wonderfully loud experimental electronic dance record.
Christopher Paul Stelling - The Songs of Christopher Paul Stelling Vol. 1 & 2
A reminder that an acoustic guitar and a voice can still be interesting when the person writing the songs is immensely talented. His incredible fingerpicking playing style will lure you in so his words can invade your soul
Christopher Stelling - "The Ocean Took My Love Away"
Citay - Dream Get Together
Strangely combining folk with big '70s riffs without sounding like a colossal mess
Citay - "Mirror Kisses" (featuring Tune Yards)
Common Prayer - There Is A Mountain
A more adventurous, rustic record from Hopewell frontman Jason Russo
Elaine Lachica- I Think I Can See The Ocean
Her lovely voice shines brightly over a wide-ranging album that seems loungy at times before the ethereal "Rapture" lifts off into swelling post rock.
Extra Life - Made Flesh
Eerie, exhausting experimental rock from Brooklyn.
Extra Life - "Black Hoodie (Pre Album Version)"
Field Music - Measure
Some of the best pop rock harmonies caught on tape in decades combined with excellent xtc-influenced musicianship.
Ghastly City Sleep- Moondrifts
Capable of pulling off epic swells comparative of Mogwai and Radiohead
Download Full Album: Ghastly City Sleep - Moondrifts
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
Hooray For Earth - MOMO
How many more times can I rave about this band without it being annoying?
Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound- DAMNANT QUOD NON INTELLIGUNT
Part Radiohead part Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum with one hell of a band name Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound has made something that's simultaneously beautiful and menacing
Jesus Makes a Shotgun Sound - "Do Not The Clothes Make the Man"
Judson Claiborne - Time And Temperature
Former Low Skies singer Chris Salveter has a unique emotive voice complimented perfectly by his band's complex brand of alt-country
Judson Claiborne - "Song For Dreaming"
The Loom - Teeth
Elements of Low's mellow slowcore are mixed with chamber pop orchestration to create a magnificent slowburner
Malachai - Ugly Side Of Love
DJ records that flawlessly mix '60s pop-psychedelia, Morricone, and trip-hop are rare enough as it is, but one with a charismatic, scratchy-voiced singer this good are impossible to find
Miles Kurosky - The Desert Of Shallow Effects
He wrote some of the best albums of the last decade with Beulah and then went on hiatus, only to come back with some of the biggest, catchiest tunes he's ever written.
Miles Kurosky - "An Apple For An Apple"
My Gold Mask - A Thousand Voices EP
A guitar and drums duo can still sound fresh when the drummer has a huge voice to thrown on top of tribal beats and sinister, reverb-heavy guitars.
Parenthetical Girls - Privilege, pt. I
Their first in a series of EPs to be released in 2010 is a wonderfully melodramatic affair for anyone whoever wanted to hear a modernized Gene Pitney.
Parenthetical Girls - "Evelyn McHale"
Royal Forest - EP
When they changed their name from Loxsly to Royal Forest, they also bulked up their guitars without losing the Grandaddy-like charm
Sad Red - Elder
Playful, jazzy space-rock that avoids being overly jammy
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to Visit Sadred.com"
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Saharan Gazelle Boy - Airplanes Can't
Heartfelt, electronic bedroom recording from a member of the tragically underrated Capybara
Saharan Gazelle Boy - "Something I Wanna Know About You"
Download the full album for only $2 here.
The Silent League - But You've Always Been the Caretaker
Ambitious, beautifully orchestrated and refreshingly original, this should set the standard for chamber pop. Very few bands could ever pull this off this sort of record without just sounding like a terribly cheesy ELO cover band.
The Silent League - "Here's A Star"
Sonoi- Sonoi
A hazy trip that fits right alongside classic Yo La Tengo for slipping into a pleasant coma on rainy days.
Untied States - Instant Everything, Constant Nothing
Yup, those are guitars ripping your insides apart. Untied States has created an adventurous record loaded with angular Denison and Froberg-influenced guitar riffs but less abrasive vocals than that of Jesus Lizard or Hot Snakes.
Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde
A throwback to the melodic 70s guitar rock of Thin Lizzy, loaded with catchy harmonies. It's not groundbreaking and Kings of Leon's early records did it better, but it's almost impossible not to love a song like "Babies Don't Like Blue Anymore."
Full Album Leak: Ghastly City Sleep - “Moondrifts”
Download Full Album: Ghastly City Sleep - Moondrifts
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
There is no question that Radiohead is the most critically acclaimed band of the last decade. They're one of the few bands that has been able to maintain indie cred while being incredibly popular. And yet despite all this, how many great bands have really come along with a sound that evokes the thought "this sounds like Radiohead." Sure we've had the sappy watered down Coldplay, and the occasionally amazing Muse, but look at Brooklyn's scene which is overinfested with twee indie pop and lo-fi garage punk. There's about 50 shoegaze bands but you'll have a hard time finding an epic post-rock band.
To just call Ghastly City Sleep a Radiohead-influenced post rock band would be a disservice, but Ghastly City Sleep are a very rare find in our Brooklyn scene—a band capable of pulling off epic swells comparative of Mogwai and Radiohead. Think about those best moments of Mogwai or Sigur Ros concerts when quiet slowly-but-seamlessly builds to a beautifully massive storm cloud of rock that fully engulfs you. That's what Ghastly City Sleep's Moondrifts is like. This shouldn't come as a total surprise with members coming from bands like City of Caterpillar, and getting help from Kayo Dot's Mia on strings. Moondrifts is being released by Robotic Empire, home of Torche, Kayo Dot, Red Sparrowes and Isis.
This is a band that Brooklyn has been waiting for.
Jonny Leather’s Next Wave Concert Compilation
Royal Forest
I've got a total of 4 concerts scheduled for the upcoming months. I'm slowly rolling them all out with full details. Each of the 4 shows is loaded with bands that sit on the verge of breakthrough. They're potentially the next wave of great bands. To celebrate the abundance of shows and promote these amazing bands, I've put together a compilation of all of the bands performing (except Lagoon, who do not have mastered recordings ready at this time).
Download Full Compilation
April 21 @ Union Hall / Neighbors, Lagoon, My Gold Mask, Sunglasses
rsvp on facebook here
April 24 @ The Charleston / Sally Head, Hot Protestants, This is Versailles
(details soon)
Sally Head - "Man With Small Hands"
Hot Protestants - "Sad About An Ice Age"
This Is Versailles - "Gold Pills"
May 3 @ Glasslands / Brick + Mortar, Royals Chains, Royal Forest, Ghastly City Sleeps
rsvp on facebook here
Royal Chains - "Lucy Takes A Dare"
Royal Forest - "Save The Ghost"
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
June 18 @ Union Hall / Pacific Theater, Peter Wolf Crier, Judson Claiborne
(details soon)
Peter Wolf Crier - "Crutch & Crane"
Critical Differences: Pitchfork Reviews Dr. Dog - “Shame, Shame”
Dr. Dog - "Stranger"
The following rant/reaction to Pitchfork's review of Dr. Dog's Shame, Shame has little to do with my own feelings about the Philadelphia rocker's brand new record. It could have really been any record. I'm only listening to the record for the first time while writing this. What this has to do with is one of the many contradictions found within Pitchfork's album reviews.
5 albums into their history as a band, Dr. Dog is one of many bands that Pitchfork has never reviewed favorably despite being pretty universally acclaimed by critics. This is not to say that Pitchfork or anyone should be part of mob mentality, but it does mean that in stating their case against such a record they'll need to state a stronger case than if it was poorly received by the rest of the music critics.
Zac Kelly's review of Shame, Shame is full of positive words for the band:
Shame, Shame is arguably the band's finest moment. As if working in reverse, the band is finally making terse, jaunty chamber-pop and folk-inflected rock collages that would suggest the work of a younger, wide-eyed outfit.
But after two rather positive paragraphs with the occasional back-handed compliment ["So it's a pleasant surprise that after a gruelingly long run of dry, indistinguishable material, Dr. Dog have produced a record that shakes off (most of) their pallid Beatles-borrowing and embraces a bigger, more charismatic sound."] he takes a step back and gives us a better idea of exactly why he gives the record a 6.7.
Dr. Dog still aren't the most inventive band in the world, lyrically characterless and often prone to plow into their influences so forcefully it's almost uncivilized.
So, this is a legitimate argument here,. Dr. Dog wears their influences on their sleeves and such lack of originality should hinder the score given a record. But then again, weren't Real Estate, Surfer Blood, and Girls all awarded "Best New Music?" Didn't Harlem just get an 8.1. Sure the lyrics on the Dr. Dog record are nowhere near Dylan or even Bejar territory, but they're still not as juvenile as anything on that Girls record. [Just to clarify, I enjoy Girls' album. It's a fun listen, just not groundbreaking].
As the big powerhouse of music journalism, Pitchfork has become a self-proclaimed gatekeeper of substantial indie success. In general they have good taste and enough passion towards music to remain on top, but we must demand Pitchfork to be more consistent and broadminded if they're going to remain on top. Pitchfork's reviews are as predictable as a Michael Bay movie. We know what they like, and what they will like. Their revenue depends on hits, and so they must continue to review what's popular in order to exist and remain on top. To remain hip, they'll need to positively review weird records that have enough indie commercial appeal without getting so adventurous that their readers become disoriented.
Remaining cool to such an expansive readership is a challenge that Pitchfork has been lucky to overcome thanks to indie's rise to mainstream, and the generally dissolving nature of music journalism.
So then, after listening to Shame, Shame once, what is my opinion of the record? Well, it's a Dr. Dog record, and despite my own criticisms of Zach's review, much of it is on point. It's not lifesaving or essential, but it's mostly a good listen, and possibly their best work so far. 7.3
But what does either of our opinions matter when you can listen to the whole record online in the time that it takes to read a couple reviews.
Concert: Ghastly City Sleep, Royal Forest, Royal Chains, Brick + Mortar @ Glasslands // 5.3.10
Jonny Leather Presents:
Your New Favorite Band - May Edition Concert
GHASTLY CITY SLEEP
ROYAL FOREST
ROYAL CHAINS
BRICK + MORTAR
at Glasslands
289 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn
doors at 8pm
$6
21+
Brick + Mortar - "20 LB"
Royal Chains - "Lucy Takes A Dare"
Royal Forest - "Save The Ghost"
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
GHASTLY CITY SLEEP
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
Ghastly City Sleep is the kind of epic post rock band that Brooklyn has been waiting for. Finding a home for their debut LP, Moondrifts, with Robotic Empire—home of such crushing bands as Isis, Torche, Red Sparrowes, and Kayo Dot—Ghastly City Sleep are coming out of the gates with a fully realized sound. Sonically, this is the closest Brooklyn has ever had to a Mogwai, or the heavier leanings of Radiohead. Their massive epic songs are big enough that they could lead the emergence of a new scene in the city of scenes.
"It isn't often new music surfaces that is so deeply intense, just hearing it may induce instant nostalgia; the ancient sensations you get when the seasons change, a vivid dream involving the first person you ever loved. In the same way that select few can simultaneously achieve dark and uplifting songs, the Brooklyn-based quartet known as GHASTLY CITY SLEEP hone in on some immensely powerful elements to deliver a commanding, breathtaking first offering." —Amazon
ROYAL FOREST
Royal Forest - "Save The Ghost"
Changing their name from Loxsly to Royal Forest recently due to the confusion with the generic Brooklyn band Locksley, Royal Forest has bulked up their sound. The Austin-based quintet still has a bit of that Grandaddy-like sound, but the guitars have grown heavier and contain more bite.
"Instead of relying on a couple of offbeat songs to demonstrate a more experimental bent, Loxsly often blends familiarity and new ground within the same song, making for a more intriguing concept."—NPR
ROYAL CHAINS
Royal Chains - "Lucy Takes A Dare"
When The Royal Chains headlined one of my shows a few months ago the garage rock duo managed to fill out the room with a sound bigger than just drums and guitar while turning quite a few heads. My friends at forthebeat were just a few of the new fans they won over with their straightforward-but-electrifying set.
BRICK + MORTAR
Very rarely do I ever check myspace, but with the occasional interesting message coming through I still haven't deleted my account. Even less likely to happen than me checking my myspace is me getting a message from a good band. My inbox is littered with shit bands that want to be my friend. I hardly ever actually check out the bands anymore, but luckily for me I took a chance on Brick + Mortar and was instantly enamored. Their name fits their sound. A drum and bass duo with plenty of electronics, they find a comfortable place between catchy and punishing. Brick + Mortar is the golden nugget of my myspace inbox, found between the most boring bands in the world, and the sluttiest women in the world.
Bear In Heaven Played Music Hall of Williamsburg // 4.9.10
Bear in Heaven - "Wholehearted Mess"
Success and fame, even at the indie level, comes with a price. People will find the most ridiculous illogical ways to criticize you.
"just watched this public service announcement thing by adam from bear in heaven. interviewed this guy a few months ago for the blog i used to run, but it was over email so i never put a name to a face. glad i didn’t. based on beast rest forth mouth i kinda always pictured the bears in heaven as like dr. manhattan from watchmen, blue, probably from outer space, totally transcendent of fashion, culture, and “coolness,” but now that i see this adam guy is another pea coat-wearing mustachioed hipster i’m kinda disappointed. my mental image of bear in heaven is dead."—carltonbanks.net
Luckily, my enjoyment of a band's music is solely based on the music itself. If the wardrobe choices of Bear in Heaven is of concern, I'll note that they took the stage dressed in 2 mustaches and a mountain-man beard as they made their triumphant return to Brooklyn on Friday night with a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Even if this band were to dress in stereotypical hipster garb like neon, American Apparel onesies and fannypacks—thankfully they don't—it wouldn't take away the fact that they are one of Brooklyn's best bands.
Following a sudden rise to popularity after years of toiling under the radar, Bear in Heaven has seen all of the hard work coming to fruition. Their recent long tour with Cymbals Eat Guitars seems to be only the beginning with an upcoming European tour coming in a few days, only to be followed with US tour dates opening for Metric.
Back in December, fellow NY Press writer wrote of Bear in Heaven's performance at Webster Hall opening for Mew:
"as a live band, Bear has a ways to go: a lot of sonic nuance is lost in Webster Hall’s sound system, but BiH’s dependence on reverb and synth lines that seemed to drown out everything else hardly did the band any favors on Friday night."
I was at the same show. Bear In Heaven sounded massive, but weren't mixed to greatest compliment their sound. Rare is the case that Bear in Heaven has had the chance to play NYC venues with a sound big enough to handle them. With that changing, the band has made adjustments and after the extensive touring, the performance at Music Hall of Williamsburg proved just how incredible Bear in Heaven can sound in the live setting. Unlike past concerts, Jon Philpot's distorted vocals were mixed high enough to avoid being buried by Joe Stickney's ferocious drummer, and the doomsday drone of Adam Willis' guitar and Philpot's keyboards. Bear in Heaven sound wholly original during a time period of complete oversaturation. And what make Bear in Heaven stand out is not the effects used, but rather the songs themselves with contain an incredible level of melody and technical skill. Unlike the current chillwave bands who've become the big movement, you can strip down songs like "Lovesick Teenagers" and "Wholehearted Mess" to their barest elements and they'll remain solid songs. It would be very interesting to see Bear in Heaven play an acoustic set.
During their outstanding homecoming performance, Jessica and Cristi Jo Zambri joined Bear In Heaven on stage with complimentary backing vocals on "Lovesick Teenagers" and set closer "Casual Goodbye."
Following them, as they have for the entire tour, Cymbals Eat Guitars sounded like the lesser band, despite the headline position. Opening with the caterwaul of "And The Hazy Sea," they sounded promising, like on record, but something felt lacking. Cymbals Eat Guitars show incredible strength in the return to the guitar heavy sounds of 90s indie, but unlike their most obvious influence Built to Spill, their sounds seem to lack the level of melody necessary to make them memorable. The powerful guitars continue to make me want to like this band far more than I actually do like them, and following Bear In Heaven's highly melodic songs, Cymbals' biggest flaw just became too clear to disregard. They're a young band who could potentially release an epic record, but they'll need to recognize their weaknesses and rather than hide them behind great riffs, they'll need to develop their songwriting.
Concert: Sunglasses, My Gold Mask, Lagoon, Neighbors @ Union Hall // 4.21.10
Jonny Leather Presents:
Your New Favorite Band - April Edition Concert
SUNGLASSES
MY GOLD MASK
LAGOON
NEIGHBORS
Doors at 7:30
21+
$8
Sunglasses - "Whiplash"
My Gold Mask - "Violet Eyes"
Neighbors - "Hooligans"
SUNGLASSES
Sunglasses - "Whiplash"
With a debut EP scheduled for a June release on Lefse Records (home of Neon Indian), Sunglasses is potentially the next big thing. Their fresh, funky electronic jams sound like fun summer night in Brooklyn.
"a psychedelic, belly-dancing journey through the universe, complete with awful spandex, awkward hipster chicks dancing, and primitive green screen production, making for a completely awesome music video that you’ll want to share with your friends, and you, yourself, will keep watching because the pairing of the song and the visuals is just so good." —forthebeat
MY GOLD MASK
My Gold Mask - "Violet Eyes"
Guitar and drums duo My Gold Mask are quickly becoming one of Chicago's hottest young bands. Singer Gretta Rochelle pounds steady tribal rhythms that react perfectly to her banshee vocals and Jack Armondo's slick lead guitar which varies from surf to art rock, always with excellent tone. Their songs have an exceptional intensity and fullness that is hard for a duo to capture.
"Circle Mass is a furious frolic of everything we love most about My Gold Mask...intense rises and passionate vocalizings." —Sheena Beaston
LAGOON
Lagoon combines the vast talents of 3 very young Brooklyn musicians who stray far away from the watered down indie pop scene. A haunting new sound emerges as Steven Vega loops patterns creeping math guitar riffs while Mason Remel provides complex beats and extraordinary singer Alex Drewchin lets loose soaring vocals. Lagoon is like a young phenom athlete only steps away from the major leagues. They have the talent and enough adventurousness to have an enormous impact on the music world.
NEIGHBORS
Neighbors - "Hooligans"
Claiming Agent Dale Cooper as their influence on their myspace page, Neighbors have the right sort of dreamy tone that would fit within the soundtrack of Twin Peaks. I stumbled upon the band recently due to a recommendation by a friend and I was immediately blown away. Strong songwriting, catchy songs and enough variation to move you from swaying to dancing, Neighbors seems like a surefire indie hitmaker with a bright future in the Brooklyn scene.
"Noah Stitelman’s world-weary lyrics (“Suck it up kid, life’s a mixed, mixed bag at best”) and deadpan delivery (Doug Martsch comes to mind) leads you to think he’s pretty much over it, whatever “it” may be, but the backing instrumentation implies otherwise. Primarily a solo project, even Neighbors’ slower tracks are alive and full-sounding, with layers crashing and tumbling all over each other like a psychedelic Arcade Fire. Stitelman spends the majority of his time playing guitar for NY-based Jacksonknife, but we’re salivating for some solo shows." - L Magazine
Megafaun Played Mercury Lounge // 4.2.10
Megafaun - "Kaufman's Ballad"
"I'm really glad I didn't pay for the tickets to that shit," she said walking out of Mercury Lounge on friday night, only minutes after an apparent gunshot rang out a block away.
Amazing how we perceive events so differently. Though my feelings towards Megafaun's 2009 record Gather, Form & Fly are positive, my expectations for their concert were unreasonable. I expected to see a young band playing a solid set, but nothing totally mindblowing, especially after War On Drugs' somewhat disappointing set. Growing more and more jaded by the day, and having seen one of the greatest live performances I've ever witnessed a day earlier (The Walkmen at The Bell House), it takes a lot to impress me. From start to finish, Megafaun's set on friday night was a refreshing reminder of that feeling that engulfs you when your expectations are shattered and an artist grabs hold of your heart and injects it full of a beautiful passion. The bearded North Carolina trio played sun soaked American folk music often loaded with harmonies and jazz-inspired instrumentation. Their approach was fearless, taking chances with long instrumental buildups, as with set highlight "Impressions of the Past." Humbled by the warm reception of the crowded room, they thanked the crowd repeatedly with an admirably genuine tone. Their first headline tour as a band, they clearly couldn't be more grateful for even the slightest sense of success they've had. In a day in age where bands often find success rather rapidly thanks to a few friends and a sudden blog post before they've really hard to work at all, it's too often that bands give off an air of entitlement while more talented bands who've worked their asses off go unacknowledged.
During their performance, Megafaun adventured outside the comfort of more direct folk with expansive funkified jams but never lost focus. Songs like the Bon Iver-sounding "Guns" show an immensely promising future for Megafaun. [Bon Iver's Justin Vernon was once a bandmate of the 3 Megafaun members in DeYarmond Edison].
Clearly, what I saw on friday night was a different performance than what the girl I had overheard had seen. Both of us in the same room watching the same thing with a completely different set of eyes, ears, tastes and emotional characteristics to effect our experience.
Megafaun will be playing at Brooklyn's Union Pool tonight with the wonderfully talented Sharon Van Etten. I strongly recommend checking them out before they leave town.
