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New Megafaun: These Words

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Last year, I had the chance to interview Megafaun drummer Joe Westerlund, who was pretty excited about the sonic direction his band was taking. At the time (April 2010), the band was preparing to release the six-song EP Heretofore while looking ahead to recording material for their second full-length.

“Mostly I think we’re getting more comfortable stripping things down and just writing more straightforward songs,” Westerlund said. “And at the same time, we’re writing other things that are taking things further out into experimental territory.”

That last sentiment is proving to be somewhat prophetic after listening to “These Words,” the first single from the forthcoming self-titled LP due out Sept. 20 on Hometapes. These guys are really taking studio improvisation/experimentation into chaotic directions, where songs are deconstructed and built back up into something beautiful. The first listen to “These Words” almost felt unnerving in spots – it’s a challenging/rewarding experience.

The track features looped field recordings Westerlund gathered from his travels in Bali and rural North Carolina: frogs and cicadas, to name a couple.

Here’s an album teaser video:

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Miniature Tigers release Fortress demos

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To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the release of their second full-length, Fortress (July 27, 2010), Miniature Tigers are releasing demo versions of the album’s songs in three installments for free.

The New York-based band, by way of Phoenix (thank you very much), is unveiling them in sequence, so the first batch includes the first four songs on the album: “Mansion of Misery, “Rock N Roll Mountain Troll” (one of my faves), “Dark Tower” and “Gold Skull.” These are great sketches of the final songs — with sometimes trippy experimenting that the demo process allows. Loving the horn bridge (or are those kazoos?) on “Rock N Roll Mountain Troll.”

Thanks to the band for letting us in on these. Visit Miniature Tigers’ website or fork over your email address in the widget thingy below to get downloading.

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New Isaiah Toothtaker: Muerte Folks

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Tucson emcee/tattoo artist Isaiah Toothtaker, who earlier this year released his full-length Illuminati Thug Mafia, is already unleashing new treats.

On Monday, Toothtaker dropped a free single called Muerte Folks, a haunting two-verse tale on the topic of suicide.

Production was handled by Depakote, a newcomer to the Machina Muerte crew who reinterprets Heartbeats by the Knife without losing any of its chilling edge. (Anyone know where the opening lines come from … sounds like a movie perhaps?)

A video for Muerte Folks, created by Marco Oliva and Thomas Haskins at Hobo Stew, was also released:

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The Antlers: Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out (video)

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If I was the sort of person who made half-year best of lists, you’d probably find the Antlers’ Burst Apart on there, so it’s probably fair to assume it will wind up on the year-end tally (assuming, you know, I actually make one, unlike in 2010). And this probably proves that I should listen to more Talk Talk, as my brother has urged all these years.

As I’ve familiarized myself with the music, I’ve only just now started trying to tackle the lyrics. They are, to say the least, crushing. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out stood out because a friend had mentioned experiencing this in recurring dreams, which apparently means you’re worried about appearance. Whatever the interpretation, I’m not sure singer Peter Silberman really requires the metaphorical mysteries here. He’s fairly blunt about the wreckage of post-breakup sex:

“One dumb night I’ll make a point to take an old verboten route,
And one dumb night I’ll take you out, to the bar we’ve both blacked out.
One dumb night two bad decisions don’t divide to cancel out.”

Check the video and draw your own interpretations of the song.

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Open Mike Eagle: The Processional, live on Knocksteady

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Open Mike Eagle - Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes

Open Mike Eagle’s new album, Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, came out two weeks ago, an LP that falls in the must-hear – and must-have – category (I want that album cover in vinyl size – or larger).

The album’s first track, The Processional, gives the uninitiated a pretty good idea of what Mike Eagle is about, from an even-keeled flow to his pop-culture references (shout out to ’97 Weezer in the opening line) to a sung hook so catchy it should make hip-hop fans out of people who claim to not like hip-hop. OME’s singing of a Busta Rhymes verse from the 1996 track Abandon Ship is alone worth the cost of admission here.

Watch the Los Angeles-based MC perform the track for Knocksteady below and remember he’ll return to the Valley on July 2 – about five months after our show – for a gig at Chaser’s in Scottsdale.

RELATED:
New Open Mike Eagle: Nightmares
Awkward: Advice (feat. Open Mike Eagle)

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Incoming: Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and the Walkmen, Sept. 15

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Something seemed fishy when the Twitter account for Fleet Foxes (presumably authored by singer Robin Pecknold) posted this on Saturday: “I would be stoked if I lived in Phoenix.” Few people outside of Phoenix ever have uttered those words, so it made more sense when Pecknold followed with this nugget: “Phoenix comment was foreshadowing.”

It didn’t take much to start sniffing out the clues on the Twitter trail, but when Sub Pop announced a batch of new dates for Fleet Foxes with the Walkmen on Monday and Phoenix was not on there, I went straight to the source (and got a not-so-cryptic reply). By the end of the night, our pal Drew found the smoking gun (only for it to disappear shortly thereafter).

Nevertheless, it’s official now: Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and the Walkmen will unite on Sept. 15 at Comerica Theatre for one of the beardiest shows you can imagine in another Stateside Presents coup.

With the new Bon Iver album out today, Justin Vernon is everywhere – from Fallon to Colbert to Best New Music status for the 9.5-rated LP.

Fleet Foxes garnered similar praise last month for Helplessness Blues, so you can see what a stir this show will cause.

I’ll try not to be one of those snobs who brags about seeing them before they hit it big, but, well, I did see Fleet Foxes in March 2008 in the cozy confines of Modified, a venue/crowd Pecknold praised in a tour diary at the time. (His seated, microphone-less version of Oliver James was pretty stunning.)

Meanwhile, Bon Iver is back after playing Mesa Arts Center on Sept. 29, 2009.

Tickets for this three-headed extravaganza go on sale Friday.

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Mumford & Sons cover the National: England

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If you’ve listened to England, a slow-burning favorite from last year’s High Violet, and thought, “What this song really needs is some furious acoustic strumming that will really make the panties drop,” well, then, you’re in luck.

Mumford & Sons – whose foot-stomping folk has won over the record-buying public, specifically females (I saw first-hand at the Railroad Revival Tour and was inspired to cash in on some merch) – tackled this cover of the National track for VH1’s Unplugged (which airs next week), though they admit they’re not sure what to make of it:

Says the vested Marcus Mumford, the group’s singer and unlikely heartthrob: “Still trying to figure out whether or not it’s offensive towards English people, but yeah, we’re making it non-offensive.”

I love England, as I’ve expressed a couple times before, so I’m wary of anyone attempting to cover it. But I will say this: For better or worse, Mumford & Sons certainly stay true to their style with this version. The tempo is kicked up a tick and you can feel halfway through that the strum-gasm isn’t too far behind.

At the very least, the National – and a tremendous song – will benefit from the exposure.

(Via Each Note Secure, via Stereogum.)

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The Black Angels: NPR Tiny Desk Concert

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If you’ve not had the fortune of seeing the Black Angels live – I have twice, not including their recent sold-out show here in Phoenix – it can be loud and fuzzy, dark and hazy, a psychedelic vibe wrapped in the allure of a fog machine. The Austin band’s performance for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert is not like this at all.

The Black Angels stripped down to the acoustics for this four-song session, save for singer Alex Maas’ echo-heavy microphone. It’s a great set, though a little weird to see this particular group in an obviously mismatched backdrop as the sun beams through the NPR offices. Someone pull down the blackout shades, please.

Setlist (first three tracks appear on the 2010 album Phosphene Dream):

Bad Vibrations
Haunting At 1300 McKinley
Entrance Song
Too Much Hate

Watch the video version at NPR or listen to the audio via the widget below:

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The Donkeys: Don’t Know Who We Are

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I began the week lamenting our return to hellish heat by featuring a band from San Diego, so why not end the week on a similar note?

I wish I would have had the new album by the Donkeys, Born With Stripes, on our road trip – its melodies breezy and inviting (not to mention a touch psychedelic).

The band is going to play a string of dates this summer – including June 18 at Yucca Tap Room – leading up to a seven-show run with the Hold Steady in late August. Check out the lead single, Don’t Know Who We Are, which is a good way to slide into your weekend.

The video for the song, with its grainy/Hipstamatic-looking visuals, is below:

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El-P feat. Nocando: Time Won’t Tell remix (video)

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Earlier this year, Nocando topped off one of El-P’s tracks from his 2010 instrumental release Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 with vocals, forming a West Coast/East Coast collaboration that begs for a full album of material.

We saw the video for the track from El-P in August, a strangely uplifting depiction of a young boy attempting to rise above the urban decay around him.

Nocando’s version – directed by Kyle Gray – turns our attention to the withered wasteland at the Salton Sea, a toxic graveyard that offers a West Coast counterpart to this dire vision of what feels like a real-world backdrop to The Road.

Check out a behind-the-scenes look at the video, shot and edited by Humberto Hidalgo: