Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 11:24PM Here's a cool one. I'm not even sure that I like the music that much (but I think I do), but this video is one of the most visually stunning things I've seen in a long time. Really, really good.
Woodkid - Iron from WOODKID on Vimeo.
Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 9:56PM So, obviously, my New Years Resolution of posting one fully realized and well-considered album review per week for the entirety of 2011 has failed. And yet, I don't feel like a failure. What I realized was that I just wasn't enjoying not getting to know the albums that I really enjoyed. That, and I just don't seem to have time to spend the 3-4 hours per week that I really think the music I love really deserves.
Which leads me to my second point...
To be honest with myself, I was never going to spend that much time really tearing apart something I don't enjoy. Why? Because this is a labor of love. If someone out there wants to pay me to deconstruct some of the truly awful stuff out there (and there is plenty of it), I'd be happy to accommodate.
In the meantime, I'm going to move to doing "recommendations." And they might not be quite as involved. But trust me that my quest to find great music and share it with you remains undeterred.
My next recommendation is coming forthwith...
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 11:53PM I've never listened to Noah and the Whale before, but this album, Last Night On Earth, 
is instantly likable. In fact, it was this album that made me decide to change my weekly "review" into a "recommendation." As I was listening to this album several weeks ago, it occured to me that I just wasn't ready to move on to the next review. I wanted to savor this album: coming back to it after a couple of weeks hiatus makes me realize this is exactly the kind of thing that I've consistently enjoyed for years.
To set the stage, Noah and the Whale is an English "indie folk" band from London. According to Wikipedia, the band's name is "is a combination of the title of one of the band's favourite films, The Squid and the Whale, and the director of the film's name, Noah Baumbach." Sounds good enough for me, so that can stand without further comment.
At this point, I'd say that this is my favorite album of the year. That's not to say it's the best or the most important, but it's the one that occupies the "sound of the first part of 2011" in my head right now.
Compared to some of the darker, more edgey music that I've listened to thus far this year, this is a simpler and more upbeat album. It is a more forward looking and ultimately optimistic collection that doesn't extract the emotional toll that so much "indie" and "alternative" music takes on a listener. Combined with some great hooks and catchy lyrics, it's a thoroughly satisfying album that I expect will stay in my permanent rotation for quite a while.
The first single that the band released from this album is L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. It's a pithy, catchy song with a great video:
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. (Live from RAK Studios) from charlie fink on Vimeo.
Tonight's the Kind of Night is probably my favorite song on the album. Charlie Fink posted an interesting piece on the bands website where he compared an earlier version of the song:
with the final version:
TONIGHTS THE KIND OF NIGHT DEMO MSTRD by charliefink
Aside from being a great song, I really want to compliment Fink for having the guts to post an early version of the song for public consumption. If there's one thing that I've learned from my short tenure in the music business, it's the tendency to not want to release anything before it's time. It's hard to expose the underbelly of the process, but it's a great way for the audience to really learn more about the it; and I appreciate it immensely.
Here's the video for Give it All Back:
Give It All Back (Live from RAK Studios) from charlie fink on Vimeo.
In the interest of moving on to the next review, I'm going to leave this one here, but I encourage you to buy and listen to the whole album if you like what you've heard.
alternative, review, rock Monday, March 14, 2011 at 1:46AM Just over a year ago (February 22, 2010), I posted a video for a forthcoming album from the band Frightened Rabbit. Since the album "Winter of Mixed Drinks" was released last march, I have to say that it's moved me as much as any other musical work ever has.
As I was looking back at the albums I've reviewed since this little project started in January, it struck me that while I've really enjoyed them all, nothing has moved me the way that "Winter of Mixed Drinks" did last year. So, as I was trying to decide what to review this week, I decided to bring this album back to the top of the pile.
I'm not naturally attracted to sad and depressing emotions in music, so this is an odd choice as one of my favorite albums ever. But the raw emotion of Scott Hutchison's singing, the cohesive emotion, and the complete treatment of the thethroughout the album more than offset my natural sunniness.
In her preview of the album last year, Heather Armstrong makes a point of saying that the "Winter of Mixed Drinks" tells a story of a man healing, compared to the downright oppressive "Midnight Organ Fight" (the band's previous album.
One of the things I find so interesting about this album is that so often now, you find an album is a collection of singles. Of course, that model makes perfect sense in today's music market. If you have any interest in the market for music, you should have seen this post about the current state of music sales.
The fact that this album makes sense the way albums used to - as a coherent work of art - makes me love it even more. There is a progression in this album from pain to hopefulness. In the post from the I Am Fuel Your Are Friends blog above, Heather totally nailed it, based on what she heard from the one song available at the time, but it hold all the way through the album.In the first part of this album, the songs evoke the pain of a break-up; but by the end you start to see the glimmer of recovery.
A couple of weeks ago, we were having the perentheme nial discussion of the greatest lead-off songs on an album. I'd like to nominate "Things" in that category. In this song, Hutchison sorts through the physical detritus of his relationship, but acknowledges that its not the things he misses, but the person:
Never need these things
I'll never need them, oh
This is you and me, you are human heat
And the things aren't holy things
And the things bring me light, they bring me
Never need these things
I'll never need them, oh
Never going back, so we can drop the past
And we'll leave it on the floor and run for dear life for the door
The second song "Swim Until You Can't See Land" is equally powerful. I mean, at it's heart it's a song about a man considering suicide. Doesn't get more bleak than that. The emotional kick of this song blows me away every time I hear it. Heres the video:
The bleakness (and the emotional punch) continues with "The Loneliness and the Scream"
Finally, however the pain starts to resolve and you begin to see the light. My favorite song on the album is "Nothing Like You." Although it's a long way from resolution, you can see a glimmer of hope in a new relationship:
While it's the least interesting video of the bunch, it is remains my favorite songs after a million listens. The healing continues in the song "Not Miserable Now"
Though the corners are lit
The dark can return with the flick of a switch
It hasn't turned on me yet, yet
(I am)
Not miserable now
No one knows
No one knows
I'm not miserable
By the time we get to the last several songs on the album, you can feel the pain beginning to recede and the songs begin to look forward. We're still a long way from hopefullness, but signs of life return. The song "Living in Color" promises a future:
Though i dreamt with a rapid eye
By day i hope to rapidly die
And have my organs laid on ice
Gave to somebody thatll treat them right
And as the night started swallowing
You put the blood to my blue lips
Forced the life through still veins
Filled my heart with red again
Bottom line: I hope that you will buy and listen to this whole album. It's an under appreciated classic. Plus - let's just admit it - to an American, almost anything sung in a Scottish accent sounds cool.
alternative, frightenedrabbit, music, review, rock, scotland Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 11:49PM First and foremost, Beady Eye's debut album "Different Gear, Still Speeding" is an homage and an evolution of the sounds of English rock and roll that have explicitly influenced frontman Liam Gallagher. 
While I was surprised to hear it as explicitly as it comes across on this album, I think it really works. As weird as it sounds to say this in 2011, if you love the Beatles, you have to give this album a listen.
Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and the rest of the most recent iteration of Oasis announced in 2009 that they were separating from Noel Gallagher. After a number of tumultuous years between the brothers (Noel and Liam), it surprised few that this would happen eventually.
Also not surprising is the evolution of the sound of Liam Gallagher's music. Although Liam Gallagher has consistently acknowledged the influence of the Beatles in his music, it has never been more readily apparent than it is in this album. Pick any track on this album and the influence is unmistakable. Personally, I could hear it in Oasis' albums from the 90's. But it's right up front here, and they do nothing to allay that perception in the look, sound and feel of the band's image.
For example, take a look at this screenshot from the front page of their website. I know that it comes straight from a Beatles or Stones photo, but I just can't place it. If it doesn't, then they've accomplished the feat of creating memories that don't exist. Your help in ID'ing this memory for me would be much appreciated.
On to the music: There are any number of great tracks on this album, but let's start with the first single, "The Roller."
I'll take you somewhere you never knew you'd been
I'll give you something you never knew you'd feel
The only thing is everything is really tonight, tonight, tonight
Just call me the roller
I'll squeeze and unfold ya
Call me the roller
I just go to show ya
Just look at Liam Gallagher in this video and tell me he's not channelling John Lennon.
It's a cool song and a great video.
One last note about the Beatles sound on this album. Gallagher embraces the comparison and shows that he's confident in his ability to stand up to it in a song unapologetically titled "Beatles and Stones". How many bands do you think could get away with a lyric like this:
I’m gonna stand the test of time
Like Beatles and Stones
I’m on my way home,
just get back to what’s mine
And when I get home, well I’ll be alright
What’s that you say?
Get out the way!
Beyond the "English sound", there are some exceptionally strong rockers on this album. The song "Four Letter Word" has a thoroughly modern musical drive to it. Interestingly enough though, the look of the video is all The Who with the Mod look.
So, I've gone on and on about comparisons to the Beatles. Is there room for a "New" Beatles in the rock world. My answer is yes. Thus sound and the feel of this music sounds fresh. If anything, it rekindles my appreciation of the great legacy that Beady Eye has inherited and moves forward on this album. Thanks, Beady Eye. Now I think I'm going to go listen to a little John Lennon before I go to sleep.
alternative, beadyeye, music, review, rock