Author Archive
Whoa. Sub Pop Scores Major Coup, Signs Shabazz Palaces
Per KEXP. (Update: And now the label itself. You can get a free 5-song sampler there.)I think this is an incredibly smart and intelligent move for both band and label. Sub Pop has always shown an ability to morph with the times (their recent world music collaboration with Jon Kertzer a good example), and teaming up with Seattle’s most innovative and intriguing hip hop act in years, if not ever, should reap benefits. We should see some exciting exposure for Butterfly and his mate, Tendai Maraire, and of course, new music. Kudos to one of the best labels around, period.
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Funny anecdote: When I was looking up on Vimeo that Jaill video I posted last night, I noticed Sub Pop also had added this Shabazz video to their profile, which I thought was weird. “Weird,” I said to myself. Now I know why. AND KNOWING’S HALF THE BATTLE. It’s old, but I never posted it, so here you go, watch it again.
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More on Shabazz Palaces from me here (.mp3s) and here (CHBP review).
Interpol’s “Barricade”
I’ll admit this isn’t my favorite Interpol song ever, but I still like it just fine. “Lights”, on the other hand, is the tune that really stoked my fire for the new (self-titled) album. It comes out September 7th on Matador. After one album on Capitol Records, the NY band returns to the label where they produced their two best records. (And, for the record, I was one of the few who thoroughly enjoyed Our Love To Admire.) And even though Carlos D isn’t with the band anymore, don’t – don’t – forget that he recorded with the band before setting off to work on movie scores or whatever.
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So This Jaill Song Is Pretty Tight
This is the video for “The Stroller” from Jaill’s second album That’s How We Burn, released by local label Sub Pop a little over a month ago (7/27). It’s quickly becoming one of my summer jams. The quartet is from Milwaukee and has a melodic ramshackle approach to garage rock that many bands before them have perfected. That’s ok, though, because us fans of rock music gotta be lenient with that kind of shit, else we wouldn’t have anything to listen to. Ya dig? Jaill reminds me a bit of the Lights, only brighter and less sloppy, or Black Lips, only less intoxicated. If those are your kind of bands, then you’ll most definitely want to get hip to That’s How We Burn. Get the .mp3 here.
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P.S. it also helps that this video is hilarious:
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FYI: New Les Savy Fav Album Streaming On Spinner
Go here. I’m just listening to it for the first time, so I can’t tell you much about it. Buuuuuut, it IS Les Savy Fav, so chances are better than average that it will be awesome. The first two songs certainly are.
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It’s called Root For Ruin, and will be out on Frenchkiss Records (that of LSF bassist Syd Butler) September 14th. I think iTunes has it now.
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Quasi @ the KEXP BBQ
Here’s Portland alt-punk vets Quasi performing in front of some mural at the KEXP BBQ last Saturday. I went with LargeLarge. I didn’t see any of the other bands (OK, this was a blatant lie; I actually saw half of Brooklyn band Suckers’ set. They were pretty good, reminiscent of Isaac Brock fronting Les Savy Fav, with whom they share a label, incidentally).
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I think the band’s latest record, American Gong, has gotten better the more I listen to it (“with age”, as they say), as Sam Coomes’ bristly barroom stories are the perfect complement to the band’s grungy pop-punk. Similar to Pixies (my No. 1 Favorite Band), Quasi is kind of all over the map with their songs, but it’s apparent they all come from the same place. You know how they sound on record? That’s pretty much how they sound on stage. I especially enjoyed watching Janet Weiss up close on her Mod-style blue linoleum drum kit (it reminded me of my kitchen floor).
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I must say, for divorcee’s Coomes and Weiss, what an odd experience it must be to maintain a band together after all these years. They do it mostly with grit and guile and gumption, I think, and a playful, well-tread attitude with each other. Kudos to a post-marriage success story!
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P.S. I leave on a plane for Sweden tomorrow, so I won’t be around much the next two weeks. I’ll be sure to report back on any black metal, wooded folk, or disco pop dealings I come across. Vi ses!
Photos From Friday the 13th: Stephanie & YellowFever
Unfortunately, I had to jet before the band I wanted to see most, Flexions, took the “stage”. No matter, though, as both Stephanie and Austin band YellowFever put on distinctive sets in the back of Cairo’s tiny little store. It was an anxious night for those who suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia (yes, that’s a real word, I looked it up), and Stephanie’s vocalist made it no less easy with his freaky hooded skull mask. Along with their slightly spooked art-pop, it made Friday the 13th a little bit more festive. I thought that the quartet lived up to their promise and successfully one-upped their low-fidelity recordings.
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YellowFever also played a great set of sparse, rhythmic pop songs that clattered and bobbed with an unexpected grooviness. They had me dreaming of a comparison combo between the Intelligence and Micachu and the Shapes, what with the Jennifer Moore’s sleepy inflection and tight guitar. The drummer, Adam Jones, impressed with his dual drum and keyboard skills as he played some keys, looped it and then took his skins and cowbell on a jazzy journey. Really cool stuff and I’m glad I caught them on their way through town. Ok, it’s really nice out today, so I’m gonna take your advice and bail on this whole computer thing.
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View the entire gallery here.
YellowFever, Flexions, & Stephanie At Cairo Friday Night
Tomorrow night is Friday. Friday is a good night for doing things and having fun. With that logic in hand, I’ll assert an option of the show-going variety to my dear like-minded readers; that is, if you consider yourselves “dear” and/or “like-minded”. Cairo, which opened a little more than two years ago, is a small venue/art space over on Mercer St. (between Summit and Belmont). It has developed a wonderful habit of hosting shows featuring many of those deviant subterranean bands who I spend so much time blabbering on about here on SSS. Bands like U.S.F., PWRFL Power, Talbot Tagora, White Rainbow, Big Spiders Back, Butts, Katharine Hepburn’s Voice, and Partman Parthorse. The space is filled with far-out farrago and mixed-up mélange that aims to warm your heart, bedeck your body and shatter your conventions. Much like the music it decides to showcase.
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Tomorrow’s bill will feature a few local bands I’ve mentioned in the past, Flexions and Stephanie. Flexions are a groovy and menacing dub-rock trio featuring Devin Welch from Past Lives on guitar/vocals and Tyler Swan from Truckasauras on drums. Robin Stein plays bass and also sings. I haven’t seen them since the Block Party of 2009 (my video here), when Swan’s predecessor was a drum machine, but word has it the live skin-pounder and widened scope of interest has subtly transformed their militant, often steely, post-punk into something more ominous and bedazzling. You can listen to their self-titled EP here (drag the faders for each song). You might recall my review of Stephanie’s weird-pop debut back in June. While it did feel incomplete, it did show extreme promise with jaunty, Casio-worn tracks like “Freak Flag” and “WASP”. Expect something buoyant, unfamiliar and stylish.
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The “headliner” is the Austin duo YellowFever, whom I know little about, other than the pop classicism tunes they have on myspace immediately grabbed me (go figger). The band features core members Jennifer Moore (guitar/vocals) and Adam Jones (drums, etc.) and has a few releases under its belt. Moore sings with a smokey sort of nonchalance (often about cats, incidentally), coming off both aloof and impassioned as she chooses her octaves wisely. Her concise guitar melodies contradict the rambling, rumbling jazz-inspired drum parts Jones favors. Their off-kilter approach to pop is not unlike Micachu and the Shapes. Kudos to whoever put this bill together—should be a good one.
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8pm
$5
all ages
Clips From Arcade Fire’s Madison Square Garden Concert Last Night
I’m still digesting The Suburbs, but here are some good clips from the Terry Gilliam-directed, YouTube-broadcast Madison Square Garden set last night. I’m diggin’ all the color in the band’s outfits (you’ll recall the black and white Victorian steampunk steez the band employed in years past), and jeezus christ, how tall is Win Butler?? Anyway, this seems to be the only three videos released so far (aside from this backstage prep one). I was kinda hoping for a “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” or a “Suburban War”, but beggars can’t be choosers, I s’pose.
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Update: Some of the videos were moved or altered somehow, but they seem to be working fine now. They also have more songs up now at the YouTube page.
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I haven’t seen a Seattle or Portland date yet, but they have almost zero shows booked for September and October. Let’s hope!
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Update 8/11: Arcade Fire will be in Seattle Sunday September 26th at Key Arena (bah!).
The Halcyon Digest Experiment
Bands these days are continually coming up with new ways to promote their music and get their fans invested in their art. Deerhunter has proven adept at this strategy, and the latest stunt for their forthcoming album, entitled Halcyon Digest, is no exception. About a month ago, the Atlanta queer-pop/ghost-rock band asked their fans to be a willing street promo army, print out a light pole flyer (that Bradford Cox created on a Xerox machine), put it somewhere public, and then snap a photo. They asked the pictures then be sent to them, wherein they would reciprocate with free music, the first single from the new record. I, of course, participated.
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A few days after I sent in my photos, I received the email, giddy as Augustus Gloop swimming in Willy Wonka’s chocolate river. Naturally, before I could even head to the website and redeem my spoils, the .mp3s, complete with “secret” password and instructions, were plastered all over the overindulgent internet. Apparently, my belief in well-earned exclusivity was shortsighted; nothing is neither sacred nor secret anymore. The band eventually asked that the password and instructions be removed. They did post a gallery with all 328 participants. You can view all those entries here; mine’s in there somewhere!
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So what’s that popular acquiescent phrase again? “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”? That’s right. Since everyone and their mother (who’re Deerhunter fans, anyway) already has these, I’ve no qualms about now sharing the music here. After all, “Revival” is an airy Deerhunter ditty, with some light, foot stompin’ giddy-up, throwback rhythms and a seemingly southern religious bent. The B Side is “Primitive 3D”, a short, driving psych pop tune with a 90 second plaintive piano outro.
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Halcyon Digest will be out September 28 on 4AD (looks like they’ve eschewed their relationship with Kranky Records…?). The band will be playing the Showbox Market October 27th with Real Estate (yes!) and Casino Versus Japan. It should go without saying that I’m extremely excited. Track listing and cover art for the new record after the jump/cut/fold/whatever.
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Zola Jesus Is The New Siouxsie Sioux…And I’m OK With That
There’s been something of a recent revolution regarding female pop musicians the past few years. I think Lady Gaga has quite a bit to do with it, as her off-the-wall corporal decor has made her middling pop anthems all the more entertaining. Her bizarro, anything-goes MO has even provoked well-worn label queens like Beyoncé and Xtina to rethink their own yawn-inducing images, even if those maneuvers reeked of predictable copycat recycling. And while Gaga and her pro-gay, not-totally-lame dance music ethos is intriguing—especially considering all the shock-and-awe videos—it’s still nail-bitingly mainstream. Fortunately, there is a counterbalance even more outlandish in the form of Karin Dreijer Andersson, aka Fever Ray, aka one half of The Knife. Her music is stunning, and so is her style. Just a peek at one or two of her bone-chilling videos and you’ll likely give her the weirdo crown, which she’ll promptly back up with excellent electro-goth spook jams.
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The impact has also been felt locally, as Seattle has its own burgeoning Gaga-wannabe in Lisa Dank, and I’ll even throw in progressive space cadets THEESatisfaction, who can rock the house with the best of them. So with all those handy reference points in tow, I finally come to the ultimate subject: Zola Jesus. A 21-year-old Wisconsin witch-rocker riding a recent comeuppance, Zola Jesus (born Nika Roza Danilova) is the artistic offshoot of many performers both past and present. Fever Ray and Gaga, of course, come to mind easily. Bat For Lashes, who’s swirling nocturnal ambiance ZJ also seems to have been taken by, is another. But it’s particularly difficult not to reminisce of the great banshee herself, Siouxsie Sioux, when listening to ZJ, whose voices were undoubtedly linked in another lifetime. Her music doesn’t have quite the punk element that SS often had, but the harrowing, deep-octave despair is spot on. And I’m ok with that; Gaga, after all, is basically just a carefully versed combination of Elton John, Michael Jackson and Madonna. So the revolution continues, as solo female artists are taking more and more risks to separate themselves from the swarm. For her part, Zola Jesus has this slick new video, which combines spooky, sci-fi aesthetics with warm, lovelorn emotion. It might just be the elbow room she needs to rise above.
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“Night” is the first track of her Stridulum EP, which came out March 9th on Sacred Bones Records. My trusty CHBP companion and I regrettably missed her set at the Vera Stage a few weeks back, but she’ll next appear in Seattle September 25th, opening for the xx at the Paramount.
CHBP: Odds & Ends
Ok, ONE more Block Party post and then I’ll knock it off. I just wanted to collect some closing thoughts on the potpourri I had rolling around in my head. Nothing to heady (heh), just some leftover observations I wanted to get onto paper AND INTO YOUR BRAIN.
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Holy Fuck: I’ll get to the Main Stage in a moment, but despite the hard-hitting thump of these Canucks (couldn’t quite rhyme it with Fuck; sorry), their sonic impact was unfortunately diminished once you were a block away from the stage. Sure they sounded like all hell broke loose—in a very tight, controlled way—and their instrumental funk bombast was successful in summoning hips, arms and other extremities rapidly to and fro, but when the volume isn’t there, then neither is the impact. I also don’t think their new one, Latin, is quite as good as their debut.
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Beach Fossils: Catchy, driving and pleasurable. But also way too Joy Division-y. I recognized at least one riff cribbed from Unknown Pleasures, and my trusty CHBP companion said the same for Power, Corruption & Lies. Good for a lark, but I probably won’t be investigating further.
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Mad Rad: Probably one of the more anticipated afternoon sets of the weekend, the crowd was a healthy one out to see just what new shenanigans P Smoov, Buffalo Madonna, and Radjaw had up their sleeves. Turns out it was Prep School off-kilter crooning. The trio + Darwin played up their white boy image with dapper duds in various shades of pastel (yellow, pink, red, white, etc.), and seemed to take their new songs in a different direction from White Gold, which is to say…there was more singing than expected, especially from B. Madonna. But there were also new tunes that felt like the old Mad Rad, with Smoov’s Espresso beats seemingly taking charge of much of their new tricks. “Caveman” had a bit too much aggro, natch (“Fuck you / that’s how we do ’round here”), and “Blood” was a nice tribute to Oregon and its beautiful coast. Favorites like “Crack the Blunt”, “My Product” and “Superdope!” still roused the crowd more than any other tunes. The dudes were super spastic and über limbo, per usual, and even had a cello player on stage for a little while. In fact, the whole set felt very “collabo” (apparently the new lingo for “collaboration”—not sure why it had to be shortened), as Trent Moorman (Head Like A Kite) emphatically pummeled a drum kit, Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam-ers Jared Price and Ben Verdoes pristinely picked their strings on a few new songs, and their set ended with a very “I Love My Friends” onstage dance party with several homies and local hip hoppers. If 2009 was the year they made enemies, then 2010 is undoubtedly the year they’re trying the opposite.
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Dead Weather: I think I like the idea of this band more than their actual music. I’m a big fan of its musicians, and even their sunless vamp-rock aesthetic doesn’t really chap my bleach-white hide. Of course, like pretty much all main stage acts during the CHBP, I couldn’t see much on stage (this had to have been one of the most well attended sets of the weekend). In fact, we ended up going to the Shell Station on the corner of Broadway and Pike to get a better view and sound. It was a slight improvement. Their music snarls and snakes and pounds and pushes, but I’m not sure it’s all that revelatory. Maybe it needn’t be. Or maybe I need to actually listen to the records. Or maybe I just need to listen to the Kills and the White Stripes and the Raconteurs and keep it at that.
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Main Stage sound: Royally sucked. Get better at this next year, Block Party.
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Crowd/space: To be clear, it never felt too crowded unless you were at the Main Stage. You could walk freely up and down the corridor, lines at the beer garden and Honeybuckets were minimal outside of a few peak times, and the general suffocation factor was surprisingly low. But the Main Stage at night was a complete clusterfuck, and combined with the low volume of the speakers, it made for a rather unsatisfactory experience. I’ve been a pretty unabashed supporter/attendee of this festival for many years, but I’m not ignorant or blind. I think if the Block Party continues to grow like it has the past few years, then I don’t see how it can’t relocate in order to make it worth the time and money.
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Also, here’s a handy synopsis of all my WONDERFUL Block Party coverage. Don’t you dare say I don’t love you.
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CHBP Friday: U.S.F.
CHBP Friday: Shabazz Palaces
CHBP Friday: Champagne Champagne
CHBP Friday: Mahjongg
CHBP Saturday: Obits
CHBP Saturday: Blood Red Dancers
CHBP Saturday: Happy Birthday
CHBP Saturday: !!!
CHBP Sunday: Real Estate
CHBP Sunday: THEESatisfaction
CHBP Sunday: THEESatisfaction
Prior to last weekend, I was merely a casual fan of the jazzercised bohemian musings of local eccentri-rappers THEESatisfaction. I’d listened to their LP Snowmotion several times, heard a few other .mp3’s, read countless internet accolades, and even copped out on a few of their shows. It never quite grabbed me. Their fractured take on the hip and the hop was weird and cool, yet without teeth sharp enough to cut into my consciousness. I certainly appreciated their unique, pro-everything au courant feminist stance and all the bizzaro business they were loopin’ into their “challenging” records. But it never quite grabbed me. With their Saturday set at Neumos, I had the perfect chance to hear the hype (indeed, their live shows have been given great reviews), and I would make a more informed decision. Trouble was, pretty much everyone else had the same idea. Neumos was straight packed; couldn’t see shit. With the place feeling like a crusty, alcohol soaked sauna, me and my trusty CHBP companion hit the exit. We found a handful of spill-overs drinking and bobbing their heads on the sidewalk on 10th Avenue. The sound was good, so we decided to stay too.
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Over the next 20 or 30 minutes, my view of the divergent dating duo totally transformed. The beats hit hard, the keys and the horns wafted wearily, and the voices floated out the door like two visionary banshees sending their queer and quirky message across the space-time continuum. There were rim-rattlers and crowd-pleasers. Thought-provokers and dance numbers. I was impressed. So impressed, in fact, that we made a point to hit up their Caffè Vita Bean Room performance for KEXP the next day (excellent show space, btw). They played 4 songs for Street Sounds, and the crowd was ample, if not overstuffed. There was free coffee and this new tune from the ladies they call Cat and Stasia. It’s called “Do You Have The Time?” and has a Roots-y feel-good vibe with some dope (-smokin’) overtones. Color me converted.
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