This is fine.
Punk rockers F*cked Up sat down for another stellar Daytrotter session yesterday. The band plays 4 songs in the studio and offer a unique new take on each one. Check out the live stuff and let us know what you think. Here’s the song Crooked Head from the session.
Download: F*cked Up – Crooked Head(live) [MP3]
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Last time round, this Swedish outfit brought us cleverly crafted pop tunes that wrapped themselves tidily inside walls of noise and shaky vocals from front-woman Josephine Olausson; this time around, we pretty much get the same thing, but in an appealing manner.
A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night starts off with “New Beginnings,” and that fresh starts is filled with horn blasts and driving guitar lines. It’s a rapid kick-start to the listener; it’s a call to arms of sorts. Midway through the song, the trading of male/female vocals is done up to perfection, creating delicious moments of joy.
One of the most impressive things about Love is All is that the band is still able to incorporate the usage of hors in a way that compliments the songs. Each song is filled in with this delicate tough, which allows for the swirling of listeners to evolve a little more sporadically. It’s one of the things that this band does to near perfection.
Along the way the band puts two of the better tracks next to each other, strengthening the middle of the album. “Sea Sick” seems to be an escapist song, as the protagonist in the song wants escape the mundane, screaming “I’m bored to death, I’m bored of this shit.” It’s juxtaposed to one of the best songs of the year, “Wishing Well.” The playfulness expressed in the lyrics, and the aesthetic quality of the song create instantaneous joy. Not to mention, this definitely has to be one of those songs that makes the audience bounce as they scream along to the chorus in unison with the band.
Suddenly, you get a slow-burner, as “When Giants Fall” comes across the stereo. The band leaves plenty of room for feedback and dense group harmonies that echo in the background of the song. Something about this song has a haunting quality to it, sort of like a gospel version of early Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Then “Rumours” brings the pace right back for you. Swing those hips kids. Slow it down; now right back to it.
Possible detractors do exist in this album, like the fact that you still can’t tell exactly how much you would enjoy Josephine’s voice in a live setting. Or, some of the atmospheric elements added for textural purposes, such as the male spoken vocals in the background of “19 Floors” get a bit grating. Other than that, you’ll find that this album is every bit as exciting as the first one, some of it exceeding it’s forbearer.
Everyone’s favorite Texas boy, Ben Kweller, has a new song called “Hurtin’ You” that premiered on Stereogum late last week. The song is our first glimpse into Kweller’s new album Changing Horses due out in February of next year. Sounds like he’s going deeper into the country/singer-sonwriter genre.
Download: Ben Kweller – Hurtin’ You [MP3]
Maybe we should just start running a feature on this site about formerly great 90s front men who have fallen on strange times. This week, Billy Corgan makes the headlines with some odd accusations aimed towards Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder. Apparently Billy thinks Eddie is to blame for the Cubs recent playoff choke. Referring to the song Vedder wrote for the Cubs, “All the Way”, Corgan said: “If the Cubs did have a chance this last year that just passed,” Corgan told a Chicago crowd. “F—ing Eddie Vedder killed that s— dead. Last I checked, Eddie ain’t living here, OK? Eddie ain’t living here to write a song about my f—ing team.” Um, ok? This comes after Chris Cornell teamed up with Timbaland, Anthony Kiedis makes a TV show, and Scott Weiland records an album full of rubbish. Oh how the mighty have fallen… What happened to you formerly glorious 90s front men? Read the full story on Spinner.
Gentlemen Auction House are here to tell the world that it’s never to early to bust out the Christmas music. The St. Louis band are celebrating the holiday season with a 6 song Christmas EP called Christmas in Love. You can listen to all the tracks on lala or hear “Home for the Holidays” below.
Download: Gentlemen Auction House – Home for the Holidays [MP3]
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Despite it’s abilities to work, this still remains one of the strangest duos that has come to light. You could see Jagger and Bowie, but Lanegan and Campbell? Still, two albums in, they are perfecting their devilish-folk musings on Sunday at Devil Dirt.
As per usual, Mark Lanegan, former Screaming Trees singer, takes the lead vocals on this entire album, coating every single song in his whiskey-drenched Southern drawl, coming off like a less-carnivalesque Tom Waits. His voice is fitting for David Lynch screenplays, and yet he matches it with the sweetness of Isobel Campbell.
Most of the musical arrangements on the album come from Campbell, who continues to contrast her traditional role as queen of twee by creating brooding folks songs; each song is carefully constructed with equal part haunting orchestration and guitar picking. It’s this match of sounds that provides for a demonically sultry soundscape throughout.
Most of the time, Isobel doesn’t really make an appearance on the album, at least not as the focal point, which is disappointing, as her voice was one of the most memorable of the late 90s. Still, she does have some stand out moments, which make the tracks stand out from the rest. Her vocal bombast during the chorus of “The Raven” provides the perfect counter-balance to Lanegan. Similarly, the duo trade vocals on “Who Built the Road,” which demonstrates the unique harmony shared between these two juxtaposed musical characters.
One of the more endearing tracks, meaning one of the most upbeat–spiritually speaking, is “Keep Me in Mind Sweethear.” It’s a short number, but even Lanegan makes the longing sound natural, and not nearly as dark has his typical outing on this album. Oddly, at this point in the album, you can feel the lighter side of things shining through, which is ironic since it all comes at the end of the album, but it encourages you to look forward, and move on.
Overall, this is just another example of the dynamic shared between two great voices in independent music. It comes just in time for the cold weather to encourage whiskey drinking and story telling among friends; may your holidays come off something like this album.
No countdown is more contested among guitar geeks than the list of the top guitar solos of all time. Heavily dominated by Metal and Classic Rock bands, top 100 lists have spawned all over music media outlets everywhere. Comfortably Numb, Stairway to Heaven, All Along the Watchtower, Freebird. We know the usual suspects. Today we pay homage to some the lesser known solos that, we believe, deserve more attention than they have gotten in the past.
Frightened Rabbit have a new song that we found on the old interweb yesterday. The song is called “Last Tango in Brooklyn” and appears on a new fake book compilation called The Lifted Brow. You might be surprised by the different sound from the band, but the tune is still quite tasty.
Download: Frightened Rabbit – Last Tango in Brooklyn [MP3]
Paul McCartney’s latest project, The Firemen, have a new album out called Electric Arguments and you can stream the whole thing now on the NPR website. The Firemen is an electronic duo started in 1993 by McCartney and Killing Joke founding member, Youth (Martin Glover). This new album is the first time the duo has utilized vocals and apparently has a more “traditional” sound. Is the new project worth our time?
Why hasn’t anyone started a black market for blood? There’s one for human organs, why not blood? Is it just me, or is the black market crying out for some fresh new ideas?
