Category Archives: general

New Japandroids: The House That Heaven Built

March 27, 2012 Kevin 4 Comments

In September, Japandroids played a show with Bass Drum of Death at Trunk Space in a set that appeared to be riddled with technical issues that left the Vancouver duo a tad frustrated. They powered through but promised free entry to their next Phoenix show for anyone who held on to the ticket stub. I was hoping I’d get to cash in when I saw the band had announced a new tour on Monday, but alas, no Arizona dates were included on this leg (though they seem like the sort of guys to make good on this promise).

But all’s not lost: Brian King and Dave Prowse also dropped a new song that will be on the forthcoming album Celebration Rock, due out June 5 on Polyvinyl (pre-order here). “The House That Heaven Built” will be released as the A-side on the fourth installment of the band’s 7-inch series it started two years ago. (This B-side will feature a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds cover of “Jack The Ripper.”)

With “The House That Heaven Built,” Japandroids really make no bones about reaching for a bigger dynamic â€“ the sort of uninhibited, call-and-response anthem that bands like the Hold Steady perfected. “On a lot of this new record, we actually tried to simulate the sound of what we thought the crowd would do during the songs,” King told Pitchfork.

Stream the track via Soundcloud below:

I also love Japandroids’ commitment to their minimal, punk aesthetic. Celebration Rock sticks to the eight-track length of Post-Nothing and keeps its predecessor’s stripped-down album-cover design.

Here’s the Celebration Rock tracklisting:

1. The Nights Of Wine And Roses
2. Fire’s Highway
3. Evil’s Sway
4. For The Love Of Ivy
5. Adrenaline Nightshift
6. Younger Us
7. The House That Heaven Built
8. Continuous Thunder

general

The Morning Benders change name, release mixtape of new music as POP ETC

March 26, 2012 Kevin Leave a comment

The Morning Benders’ 2010 album Big Echo was (and still is) incredibly popular in this household â€“ a great example of my wife picking up on an album and not so subtly playing it over and over again until I finally wise up.

Turns out, Big Echo will be the last piece of work under The Morning Benders name. The band announced Sunday it was changing its name, and with good reason (via Buzzbands.la). As explained on its former website, the band learned the hard way that “bender” is a slang/derogatory term used to disparage homosexuals in the UK.

An excerpt from the band’s statement:

“1. We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick.

2. In the UK and many parts of Europe the name has simply become too distracting. The MUSIC has always been our number one focus, and we want to present that to people in as pure a way as possible.”

So the band has changed its name to POP ETC, marking the occasion by releasing a mixtape of 11 new (synthy) tracks under the new handle. Stream it below via Soundcloud or download it at the new website.

arizona, covers, general

Sam Means: I Will (Beatles cover)

March 22, 2012 Kevin Leave a comment

It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that, after listening to Sam Means’ cover of “I Will” â€“ recorded straight to his cell phone â€“ my greatest accomplishment on the iPhone for the day was playing another game of Words With Friends.

This is the first song of what Means (formerly of the Format) is calling a “potential series,” cleverly titled Live From My Cell Phone. “Partly because the songs are recorded straight into the FourTrack Recorder app on my iPhone 4S, but mostly as a cheap attempt to hide the fact they kind of sound like crap.” Come on: “Crap” is a little harsh. Let’s go with “lo-fi.” But seriously, this is a great idea, another way technology closes the gap a little more between artist and fan.

Means, who designed the album art for Source Victoria’s Slow Luck and played piano on the song “I Know You Well,” is teaming up with Photo Finish Records to release a 7-inch, titled Nona, on Record Store Day. So be on the lookout for that.

general

Caveman: Old Friend

March 19, 2012 Kevin 1 Comment

My attention span ain’t what it used to be. Music, in all its many ways to be consumed, has become too disposable. My friend Casey wrote a great post about how Spotify, Rdio and the like are slowly pushing MP3 blogs to their deaths, or at least forcing the owners of said blogs to consider the evolution (point taken).

Still, I’ve only half-heartedly accepted streaming music as a way of life (the music may always be accessible, but my cell phone service won’t necessarily be). And so I’m wandering aimlessly â€“ from MP3s to streaming, from my computer to my phone (and sometimes even still on my iPod … how quaint!). Most of the time I can’t remember what I actually own and what I’ve only streamed. It’s always too easy to find that next song.

And so these days it says something about an album when I can return to it and continue to find new ways to enjoy it, months after the initial listen. That’s been the case with Caveman’s CoCo Beware, given a wider release by Fat Possum this year after a self-release on the band’s Magic Man! label in the fall.

There’s an alluring sense of calm to the 10-track album, all dreamy and deliberate with swirling guitars and harmonies. At some points it reminds me of the Dodos in their less spastic moments.

After a string of SXSW dates, Caveman is pretty much on the road through the first week of May, including a stop at Club Congress in Tucson on April 28. To celebrate, the Brooklyn-based band unleashed an MP3 of the song “Old Friend” that you can download below or, you know, stream somewhere.

Caveman | Old Friend

I’d also highly suggest giving a listen to “Thankful,” my favorite song from the album. I really fell for the imagery here: “You drove your car in the sea / looking for something to believe”:

arizona, general, video

Miniature Tigers: mural time lapse video

March 8, 2012 Kevin Leave a comment

I have yet to be able to sit down with Mia Pharaoh, the new album from Miniature Tigers, who are in town tonight at Crescent Ballroom headlining the Modern Art Tour.

The show’s promoter, Psyko Steve, commissioned Tucson artist Joe Pagac to paint a mural on downtown arts venue Eye Lounge at First Friday. It was a collaboration with Tigers frontman Charlie Brand to help promote the album and show.

Check the time lapse video of its creation above, set to the new Miniature Tigers song “Afternoons with David Hockney.”

general

Serengeti as Kenny Dennis: Shazam (video)

March 1, 2012 Kevin 1 Comment

Kobe Bryant might be able to tell you how Shaquille O’Neal’s ass tastes, but not Kenny Dennis, the alter ego of Serengeti and lover of all things Chicago (Bears, Hawks, Sox, Bulls).

Shaq Diesel crossed the line by dissing Dennis’ mustache at a Jive Records showcase in 1993, when Dennis (aka Kdz) was a member of Tha Grimm Teachaz and the Big Aristotle was moonlighting as a rap star. Fueled by O’Douls, Dennis had to reply. As Serengeti told me last month after we talked sports: “Kdz, as he was know then as, immediately came home and recorded ‘Shazam.'”

Almost 20 years later, and we have a visual accompaniment that includes Dennis dribbling Photoshopped Shaq heads. This is incredible.

The song is part of the Kenny Dennis EP that is coming out on Anticon on April 3. Not long before that, on March 20, Serengeti will release the Beak & Claw EP, a collaboration with Son Lux and Sufjan Stevens they are calling s / s / s. Pitchfork has the scoop.

general, video

Nada Surf: When I Was Young (video)

February 1, 2012 Kevin 2 Comments

It’s sorta strange to think of Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws as an elder statesman of the indie-rock game, even with that vibrant voice. But here he is in his 40s, a little gray around the edges and performing live in oxford shirts and sport coats.

Nobody could blame him for surrendering to nostalgia, as he does a few times on the new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, and especially on the wistful lead single, “When I Was Young.” The video takes a pretty literal approach to the song, following a mop-haired kid’s sentimental romp through the city. It’s trademark Nada Surf — sweet and sincere with a hint of aching melancholy.

Meanwhile, the band played a record release show on Jan. 24 at Bowery Ballroom in New York. You can watch the hour-plus concert over at YouTube or see a performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at Stereogum.

general, video

Wilco meets Popeye: Dawned On Me (video)

January 26, 2012 Kevin 2 Comments

Everything is coming up Wilco lately.

There’s nothing quite like a 2 1/2-hour set — stuffed with a catalog-spanning 26 tracks (check the pie chart!) — to gently remind you of the greatness that exists in my Wilco collection. Since Saturday’s show at Gammage Auditorium, I’ve gone on a little Wilco bender, from watching the band’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert in October to falling in love with Summerteeth all over again. (Their newest rendition of “Via Chicago,” which morphs from hushed acoustic stillness to a chaotic blur of drumming/noise behind it, was startling and spectacular.)

On Wednesday, the band released its first video since 1999 — an animated take for “Dawned On Me,” starring Popeye and friends. Naturally, frontman Jeff Tweedy has his sights set on Olive Oyl. It’s a fun, if not totally senseless, collaboration, and you can poke around www.wilcospinach.com for more.

Setlist for Wilco at Gammage Auditorium, Jan. 21, 2012:
One Sunday Morning
Art of Almost
I Might
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
(Was I) In Your Dreams
Black Moon
Impossible Germany
I’ll Fight
Hotel Arizona
Jesus, Etc.
Born Alone
Capitol City
Handshake Drugs
I’m Always In Love
Dawned on Me
Hummingbird
Shot in the Arm

ENCORE:

Via Chicago
Whole Love
Box Full of Letters
California Stars
Heavy Metal Drummer
Walken
I’m The Man Who Loves You

general, video

Portugal. The Man: So American (video)

January 23, 2012 Kevin Leave a comment

I’m still taking inventory on 2011, though I’m not committed to posting a year-end favorite albums list â€“ something I also didn’t do last year, and at this point, does anybody really care?

I think it’s fair to say that Portugal. The Man’s In The Mountain In The Cloud would land in my mythical Top 10, an album that I came to late in the year (despite its mid-summer release) and dominated my listening habits in the final months of ’11. In no time at all, as if by osmosis, I would hear my wife humming Portugal tunes out of nowhere.

In truth, I had listened to In the Mountain not long after it was released. But like so many albums, I first spun it while I was working and it was doomed to fade into the background lest it fracture my focus. Then the band played the song “So American” on Conan in September, and it wasn’t long before I hopped back on the wagon.

I loved the 2007 album Church Mouth, so it wasn’t a stretch to think I’d like this one. Turns out, I really liked it. “So American” ended up on the year-end mix CD I make â€“ a post on that process soon, I think â€“ and it’s one of the songs that’s generated a lot of positive feedback from friends.

I’d never stopped to think about the Elton John-like influence on this song (and most of the album) until my wife said something (she’s really the one who should be blogging here). And it’s a comment that’s been repeated a couple times by friends.

So in the better-late-than-never department, here’s the video (released in October) for “So American,” with the guys in the band flaunting their pale bods (to be fair, they are from Alaska) bro-ing down at the beach and a campfire.

Coincidentally enough, after typing out this post on Sunday night, the band announced dates Monday morning for the Jagermeister Music Tour, including an April 6 stop at Crescent Ballroom. A limited number of tickets, with waived fees in some cases, can be purchased through the band here.

And here they are performing an acoustic version of the song: