After the recent release of new single Reflection of the Television, the Twilight Sad amp up anticipation for its sophomore album Forget the Night Ahead with another single, I Became a Prostitute.
Remember: The Twilight Sad is coming to Tucson with Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks on Sept. 22 – the same day Forget the Night Ahead is due out in the U.S.
A friend posted this performance from Glastonbury up on Facebook and correctly points out that Bruce butchers the chorus by singing, “Did you hear the old gospel song” and not “old gospel choir.” But it seems like by the end of the song, Gaslight frontman Brian Fallon is saying “song,” too. So influential is The Boss that he’s making bands change lyrics mid-song. You do not question The Boss when he’s wearing aviator sunglasses.
Still, pretty fucking cool.
(Thanks, Luke.)
If I didn’t like contributor Jason Woodbury so much then I might have killed him for not telling me he was going to mention Wavves. Just this once.
OK, so while the whole mess of “Psychedelic Horseshit on Wavves plus Black Lips on Wavves plus Wavves on Wavves” is starting to feel pretty overcooked, it’s undeniable that in the wake of the Pitchfork-stoked hype fire of Wavves and Vivian Girls, people have rightly been asking if substandard tunes covered in tape hiss and fuzz deserve to lauded as “Best New Music.” Bands given the “lo-fi” tag run the gamut from the remarkable (Ganglians, Woods and Crystal Slits) to underwhelming (No Age, the aforementioned offenders), linked less by their songwriting than by their aural presentation.
L.A.’s Best Coast certainly run the risk of being lumped into the whole thing. The signifiers certainly do little to distance the project from the glut of like-minded acts: the blown-out drums, scuzzy guitars, and, of course, plenty of hiss, as well as gigs at L.A.’s ubiquitous The Smell. But Best Coast, current project of ex-Pocahaunted (“the Olsen Twins of Drone”) member Bethany Cosentino, breaks from the herd with a liberal dose of pure pop at her side. Best Coast hasn’t actually released anything, but the songs on the MySpace go a long way in cultivating anticipation for her upcoming 7-inch on Art Fag Recordings. All six tracks hosted are the kind of breezy, gentle power-pop that is tailor made for beach listening, at once wistful, engaging and elemental. And her fan base (cult?) is a quick-moving one. Standout track The Sun Was High (So Was I) is weeks old but has not one, but two excellent fan-made videos making the inter-tube rounds. Scuzzy and “lo-fi” for sure, but most importantly, awesome jams.
Previous posts by Jason:
Kissing Cousins: Pillar of Salt
Review: The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage
Anni Rossi, Modified, 2/9/09
Stephen Steinbrink: Ugly Unknowns
Obi Best/Towncraft, Modified, 1/22/09
Contributor Jason Woodbury – he of Hands on Fire and Cardiac Party – returns to discuss a Richard Swift-produced project.
A couple months ago, I had the extreme good fortune of catching the fantastic Richard “Dickie†Swift in Tucson, opening for Jason Lytle at a pre-SxSW gig. Swift and the boys put on a stellar show (though they outdid themselves a couple weeks later at Modified. After the show, we chatted and he informed me that he had just finished up producing and recording a record by a band called Kissing Cousins. He described the record as the Shangri-Las-meets-Black Sabbath. I was instantly curious.
Thanks to the good folks at Velvet Blue Music, my curiosity has been sated, and well rewarded. Recorded straight to tape using a Tascam 8-track purchased from Jeff Tweedy of Wico, Pillar of Salt makes good on Swift’s description, with fuzzy riffs smoldering under girl group vocals and reverb heavy tambourines, while lithe flutes drift overhead, recalling the dark psychedelic approach of Black Mountain.
The sinister vibe suits the girls well, as singer/songwriter Heather B. Heywood wraps her tales of snake handlers and being “slain in the spirit†– nods to her charismatic Pentecostal upbringing – in plenty of sultry swagger, somehow making Judgement Day sound impossibly sexy. First in the Fire marches with ominous, thundering percussion, while Red Lamb employs shoegaze guitars and a soulful, Berry Gordy approved melody. The record ends with a devastating double shot, Don’t Look Back, featuring a finger-wagging, spoken bit that simultaneously sounds like a benediction and slow dance request, and the instrumental Snake Handler (Part II) closes the record with a graceful note of redemption.
With any lucky, the girls will tour a bit more in support of Pillar of Salt. The drive from Silver Lake to Phoenix isn’t that bad, and this stuff begs to be heard live.
You can pick up Pillar of Salt directly from Velvet Blue Music.
Previous posts by Jason:
Review: The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage
Anni Rossi, Modified, 2/9/09
Stephen Steinbrink: Ugly Unknowns
Obi Best/Towncraft, Modified, 1/22/09
Here’s new video for Chains, Chains, Chains – directed by Sean Pecknold, brother of Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. Sean also directed the video for the Fleet Foxes’ White Winter Hymnal.
Phoenix stopped by KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic on Monday for a set, and I’m so glad the band didn’t resort to an acoustic set. I don’t ever wanna hear 1901 in acoustic form again; it just doesn’t do the song justice.
And I’ll agree with Casey that Lisztomania is quickly rising as one of the year’s best songs. No surprise it’s the first song Phoenix plays here, but they immediately follow it up with older tracks Long Distance Call and Consolation Prizes. (And, yes, three years qualifies as “older.”)
By now, you’ve probably had all the Michael Jackson tributes you can handle. (This is probably the first place you should have turned to for that.) Anyway, I’m not one to weep over the death of a celebrity – one of the strangest phenomenons to me (especially after watching events unfold on Twitter).
That’s not to say Jackson didn’t influence my listening habits. Of course he did. I can remember playing my brother’s vinyl copy of Thriller and friends dressing as Jackson for Halloween when I was younger.
But in many ways, hip-hop offers the best kind of tribute through the art of sampling. It’s a tangible form of gratitude and recognition of inspiration. And while I’m sure there are dozens and probably hundreds of others that I don’t have or haven’t heard, here’s just a few hip-hop tracks from my library that sample Jackson, with Nas’ It Ain’t Hard to Tell my favorite.
In my head, I know better than to be so excited about the news that Sunny Day Real Estate is reuniting for a 20-date tour, which includes a stop at Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Oct. 9. It couldn’t ever mean the same as it did 10-plus years ago, but wistful nostalgia wins out every time, doesn’t it?
After so many SDRE breakups, false starts of possible reunions and near reunions (remember The Fire Theft?), I feel like I should definitely embrace this for all it’s worth.
In addition to the reunion, Sub Pop is reissuing remastered versions of Diary and the self-titled second album (or “LP2” or “The Pink Album”) with bonus tracks and new liner notes on Sept. 15 on both CD and LP. (That probably would make a great present for anyone whose birthday falls on or around Sept. 7 … just sayin’.)
Though I’m always suspicious and mostly sour on the double-dipping sales tactics of reissues, I can get behind this one for a couple reasons. For starters, Diary (1994) and LP2 (1995) were released some 15 years ago, so they probably deserve the remastering treatment that technology didn’t allow for back then. And it’s not like they’re asking fans to re-purchase the same album a year later (ahem). Also, if the reissues open up SDRE’s music to a new/younger generation, then what’s the harm in that?
But the best reason for the reissue? I can buy a playable vinyl copy of LP2. My copy – a gift from my brother back in the day – is slightly warped. If I recall correctly, my bro bought it in San Diego, put it in the car trunk and drove it home across the brutal desert heat. Needless to say, it was left a tad misshapen (“melted,” you might say).
I’ll have to do some digging to find the clip, but I interviewed guitarist Dan Hoerner some time ago for a story when I was working at The Arizona Republic during college (I might even have the audio of the interview).
In any event, the reissues will be available at Sub Pop and www.sunnydayrealestate.fm (which also has presale information on tickets).
Related:
New Jeremy Enigk: Life’s Too Short
New Jeremy Enigk: Mind Idea
Full Sunny Day Real Estate tour dates:
September 17th Vancouver, BC/Commodore Ballroom
September 18th Portland/Crystal Ballroom (Musicfest NW)
September 20th Salt Lake City/Murray Theater
September 21st Denver/Ogden Theater
September 23rd Minneapolis/First Avenue
September 24th Chicago/Metro
September 25th Detroit/St Andrews Hall
September 27th New York/Terminal 5
September 28th Boston/House of Blues
September 30th Washington DC/930 Club
October 1st Philadelphia/Trocadero
October 3rd Atlanta/CW Center Stage
October 5th Dallas/Granada Theater
October 6th Houston/Warehouse Live
October 7th Austin/La Zona Rosa
October 9th Tempe/Marquee Theatre
October 10th Anaheim/House of Blues
October 11th Los Angeles/Henry Fonda Theater
October 13th San Francisco/Fillmore
October 15th Spokane/Knitting Factory
October 16th Seattle/Paramount Theatre
If Fat Cat Records is going to send three great bands from Scotland to the U.S., might as well do it all in one fell swoop. That’s how Plush in Tucson is ending up with what looks to be one of the most promising shows of the year so far on Sept. 22: Frightened Rabbit with the Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks. (Thanks to Catfish Vegas for the heads up.)
I also find it eerily coincidental that I’ve posted about each of these bands in the past two months. I’ll take that as a little bit of karma coming my way and gladly cash it in for another road trip to Tucson.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 day of show. It’s a 21-and-over night brought to you by Stateside Presents.
This reminds me that I still have video from Frightened Rabbit’s in-store at Stinkweeds in October that I have yet to cut and post. In the meantime, here’s a clip I took of the band performing Keep Yourself Warm in June in Phoenix.
Related:
Frightened Rabbit: Swim Until You Can’t See Land
The Twilight Sad: Reflection of the Television
We Were Promised Jetpacks: Quiet Little Voices
Need proof that you, too, can direct a music video? Look no further than this no-budget car-wash thriller from Jason Lytle for It’s the Weekend, from his new album Yours Truly, the Commuter. Funny, he doesn’t strike me as a minivan kinda guy.