Technical Difficulties
As I said yesterday, there’s tons of places you can find yourself this weekend for a good old fashioned music concert. But, maybe you need a suggestion or two as to where you wanna go? Well, I’m here to point you in the right direction, based on my extremely biased opinion. Feel free to ignore these options, or play everyone’s favorite game of Where’s Norman Wanklord? Here’s the list. Read more
Rating: 
Ever since 2006, She Keeps Bees, hailing from Brooklyn, have been creating under-the- radar blues-inspired rock music. They have three records already under their belt, but chances are Eight Houses is the first you’ve heard of the group, as they’ve somehow evaded popularity. Consisting of Jessica Larrabee on vocals and guitar and Andy LaPlant on drums, the duo has generated a fourth, slow burning and soul itching album in Eight Houses.
To say that Eight Houses is a light record may be one of the biggest possible understatements that you could make—their sound here simply aches with the blues at every twist and turn. “Feather Lighter” begins this trip down the soulful winding road by showing the more mellow face of this group. The start out here with a slowly haunting number—the track really only consists of Larrabee’s retro-vocals, guitar, drums, and a hint of piano. Instead, the group lets the vocals and lyrics dominate the song, which serves to warm you up a little bit before they bust out the rock next on “Breezy.” Whereas the opening number had the band reserved in their little world, the second song sees a fire lit underneath them, which you can hear clearly in the vocals and the new presence of growling electric guitar. This song introduces you into the burning element that She Keeps Bees encapsulates so perfectly; especially the last break down, or rather build up, that they end the number with. Larrabee’s voice is pushed to its max as the guitar gets gritty and intensifies.
However, while the album is quite heavy, at no point does it feel overly weighty or grueling to listen to. A large part of this seems to come from the tempering of this heaviness with the simplicity of some tracks that don’t try to overcomplicate the tunes, similar to the style of bands like Wye Oak. This is especially apparent on the last track of the album “Is What It Is,” which features Sharon Van Etten on backing vocals. The song begins with just vocals and drums, laying it out to you earnestly and letting you come to it on your own. Though this is the way the song starts, when Larrabee strikes out with the line “Do not surrender,” her voice quivering with force, you can feel the tugging of this emotionally charged music pulling you in. It’s a gorgeous and simple end to the album.
Though it was somehow possible that you had yet to encounter She Keeps Bees, I do not see this being a probable phenomenon after this album starts to makes its way around the indie-sphere. This comes with good reason; don’t be the last to get on board with Eight Houses and its epic simplicity.
I’ve had a few days to recuperate from the fest that doesn’t sleep and have gathered my thoughts on the sets from Friday and Saturday of Primavera. Read on for highlights and some comments about Parc Del Forúm and the festival itself in case you’re thinking Barcelona is on your music festival horizon.
Rating: 
Though Sharon Van Etten is on her fourth full-length debut, it wasn’t really until 2012’s release of Tramp that shot her dramatic and elegant sound into the limelight of the indie rock world. However, Tramp displayed a trip in a semi-folk rock direction, with some stand out tracks like “Magic Chords” and “Serpents” that put some rock-n-roll punch behind the already powerful lyrics of Etten. This time around Are We There seems to step back from this rockier style and lets the poignancies of the lyrics take center stage.
Though Are We There is far from devoid of the subtle soft rock that Sharon Van Etten and company always seem to bring to the table. Take “Your Love is Killing Me,” for example, as it is a perfect example of just what this songwriter is all about. The song opens with the delicacy you’ve been familiarized with, but slowly builds to this complex and arching aching beauty of a song. Some dark and violent imagery catches your ear as Sharon sings “break my legs so I won’t walk to you/cut my tongue so I can’t talk to you.” None of this, not even for a second, though vastly dramatic when removed from its context comes across as melodramatic or insincere. Rather, its musical accompaniment of ragtime-y piano, slow rolling drums, and distantly angled guitars generate a raw realness that is impossible to ignore. It pulls at your emotions and translates the emotional pain that is described in the song as it builds to its slow, orchestral climax.
While I highlight some tracks in this review, you should know that the worth of this release isn’t simply centered on these tracks, but rather all of the tracks; they intermingle and play upon each other without becoming redundant or running together. The distinction comes from the addition or subtraction of instruments while the songwriting runs deeply through the whole thing. I could go on about the beauty of each song, but you should discover that for yourselves.
The album closes with the beautiful and honest “Every Time the Sun Comes Up—” a single that, if you’ve been paying attention, should have already heard, but by no means does this attract from its beauty. It’s not as heavy as the other tracks, but on the catchy side and you’ll want to sing along with the bluesy vocals. The little bit of playful audio left in the mix at the very end of the Are We There seals the record with a personal kiss of lightness; a touch of a reminder that though Sharon Van Etten writes and records pretty somber tunes, she isn’t lost in the darkness. All in all the album comes across as the most intimate and impassioned record from this artist thus far, so go get lost in the sadness for a little while.
We’re getting closer to the release date of the new Sharon Van Etten album, Are We There. It’s one of the most anticipated records, at least over here at the ATH offices. I mean, can one top Tramp, which was a nearly perfect album? Based on this track, it looks like she might be ready to take a good go at topping her previous work. Her guitar work sounds pretty solid here, backed by little bits of piano touches and the strength of her memorable voice. You’ll be able to hear her new collection of songs when Jagjaguwar releases the album on May 27th.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/145352751″ params=”color=ff9900&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
If you’re a fan of Sharon Van Etten, then odds are you’ve actually seen Douglas Keith without knowing that you’ve seen him; he’s been accompanying her on tour for some time. However, he’s stepping out on his own again (he’s been a solo act for a long time) to release his new LP, Pony. I really like the latest single; I appreciate the subtlety of the track. It’s not aiming to break new ground or do anything extraordinary, instead offering listeners good classic songwriting. I really like the hushed organ/piano work that haunts the background of the track. Give it a listen, and look for the LP on February 11th via The Village Label.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/123062625″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
I’m a fan of collaboration, especially when it’s executed properly. It doesn’t take much to get me excited about Sharon Van Etten either, so when I found that Seattle’s Pickwick was joining up with the lady love, I had to post the tune for you. “Lady Luck” is a Richard Swift cover, which uses the strength of Van Etten to push the song into a soulful flow of soft rock. This is just one of three covers the band recently released on a Covers EP, which also has tunes from Damien Jurado and The Primitives. They’ll also be releasing their own full length in March, which is highly anticipated at the ATH offices.
Download: Pickwick (ft. Sharon Van Etten) – Lady Luck [MP3]
Here it is. I know you’ll hate it; I know you’ll disagree, but that’s not the point in making an arbitrary list. We here at ATH worked really hard to fit in the tastes of the four of us, and when we decided upon our Top 50, it really boied down to simple math. What albums did we love when they came out? Do we still enjoy spinning those records months later? If they’re in the Top 50, then the asnwer is probably yes. I mean, our Top 2 records came out in January, and still play a vital part in my weekly listening. There’s no disclaimer here. We are who we are, we like what we like, and we hope that’s okay with you. If not, drop us a line and let us know where we went wrong.
Minor set back for this photographer wasn’t going to slow me down. I had limited access to photo pits on Friday which luckily was remedied before getting going on Saturday. It meant I got to spend a little more time in the crowd, getting shots of the festival, the people.
I did manage to get some musicians doing their thing as well, don’t panic.
The Friday edition includes Sharon Van Etten, Orthy, Bob Mould, Napalm Death, Cursive, Dum Dum Girls and plenty of atmosphere. Hit the break.
This is a troubling preview…do I swoon over the gorgeous Sharon Van Etten because of her music of her looks? Can I do both? I think I’ll do both. It’s not enough that Sharon can play, and play incredibly well, but I can attest to her mesmerizing performances. When I last caught her, her voice just took ahold of me, and refused to let go. It’s not what one would describe as a “pretty” voice, which makes me appreciate what she’s doing all the more; she’s belting out her soul, not just trying to be adored. Her recent album, Tramp, won over a lot of new fans, atop of accolades from many. It’s moody and affecting, two things that translate to a good live performance by any artist, especially one the boys can swoon over. Seeing Sharon on the stage is going to be one of my highlights of Fun Fun Fun Fest, but now that I think about it, it’s more for her incredible set of songs than the looks. But hey, those don’t hurt.
Download: Sharon Van Etten – Serpents [MP3]
Sharon plays Friday, November 2nd at 3:25 on the Orange Stage.
