Posts Tagged ‘first spin’
NewMusic First Spin: Brendan Benson
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
A lot has happened in the four years since Detroit singer-songwriter Brendan Benson released his last album. He’s gone on to taste some much deserved success with his band the Raconteurs, despite the fact that his name isn’t that much more known than it was before he teamed up with his #1 fan, Jack White.
But thankfully Benson has found some time to end his solo career’s hiatus, which probably has something to do with Jack’s commitment to the Dead Weather and his various other projects that hopefully include sister Meg.
If you ask me, Jack’s busy schedule is both Benson and his fan base’s gain. While he’s proven he can match buddy Jack in the Raconteurs, his solo work has always been where he shined brightest. A stickler for melody, if there ever was one, Benson’s AM-flavoured power pop has evolved over his four albums, moving from fuzzy guitar riffing to string-led orchestration, but more than ever, he achieves all of his grandest ideas yet with My Old, Familiar Friend.
Picking up where 2005’s under appreciated The Alternative To Love left off, Benson brought in respected alt-rock guru Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World) to help out - obviously a sign of his profile rising. The results are more of the exquisitely arranged power pop we’ve come to love from him, with a few surprises here and there.
“A Whole Lot Better” takes things back to the days when his obvious idol Todd Rundgren wrote this kind of stuff in his sleep. Speedy, driving guitars, undulating Moog and a mushy breakdown where he poetically wears his big heart on his sleeve, proclaiming “I fell in love with you and out of love with you and back in love with you, all in the same day.”
And it gets even better for fans of Benson’s witty love letters, which grow even more adorably poignant on “Garbage Day.” Over some intoxicating strings that sound right out of Berry Gordy’s catalogue, Benson tells us: “If she throws her heart away/I’ll be there on garbage day/To sift through what’s left I guess/To sort through the loneliness/and I don’t mind, no I don’t mind if all the neighbours can see me/I’ll take whatever I can get, what I can get it it’s that easy.”
The strings do get a little too ostentatious on the suffocating “You Make A Fool Out of Me” but that’s the only real misstep here. ELO-inspired combinations of synths and piano add plenty of warm texture to “Gonowhere” and “Feel Like Taking You Home,” while anyone looking to revisit One Mississippi’s driving guitars can look to “Poised and Ready” or “Don’t Wanna Talk,” a fizzy number with stadium-sized drums.
While My Old, Familiar Friend likely won’t eclipse the success he’s experienced with the Raconteurs, it’s another testament to Benson’s songwriting prowess and as strong an album as any of his work. If anything, it should convince Raconteurs fans out there that Jack isn’t the most talented songwriter in the band.
Listen to it here.
Artist: Brendan Benson
Album: My Old, Familiar Friend
Release Date: August 18, 2009
Label: Maple Music Recordings
Genre: Alternative Pop Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
Track Listing:
Tags: brendan benson, first spin
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NewMusic First Spin: Amanda Blank
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
After almost as many delays as her labelmate Kid Sister, Amanda Blank finally emerges with her debut album, I Love You.
From Philly and part of a collective that also includes scenesters like Spank Rock, Santigold and Diplo, Blank has built her cred since she first graced Spank Rock’s “Bump” three years ago. With influences covering a spectrum that’s even broader than Santigold (”’90s R&B, ’80s dance, indie, new wave and Britpop” - according to her label), she definitely brings variety to her game.
Co-produced by Spank Rock’s XXXChange, Diplo, Switch and TV On the Radio’s David Sitek, Blank is definitely privileged and, for a good portion of the album, able to back up the talent surrounding her. Known for a big ol’ potty mouth, she never really holds back, epitomizing the raunchy persona with “Something Bigger, Something Better,” cranking her cocky ‘tude up with Spank Rock on the slap-happy “Gimme What You Got,” and spitting come ons for XXXChange’s “Might Like You Better,” a reworking of Romeo Void’s 1982 forgotten classic, “Never Say Never.”
But there are some surprises. “A Love Song” drops the adrenalized party raps and changes up the pace with a slowold school beat. Featuring Santigold, it might sound strange, but the song recalls the retro pop-isms of Milli Vanilli. Yeah, strange. Even more of a surprise is the album closer, where she invites Lykke Li to coo over top of “Leaving You Behind,” a bittersweet farewell that sounds most like the sort of warm layers a producer like Sitek would use in his work.
For the most part, I Love You is unapologetic party music that should meet most expectations that have waited long and hard for this
Listen to it here
Artist: Amanda Blank
Album:I Love You
Release Date: August 4, 2009
Label: Downtown Music/Fontana North
Genre: Dirty Rap
Author: Cam Lindsay
First Spin Live Until: August 11, 2009
Track Listing:
- Make It Take It
- Something Bigger, Something Better
- Make-Up
- Gimme What You Got
- Lemme Get Some
- Shame On Me
- A Love Song
- DJ
- Might Like You Better
- Big Heavy
- Leaving You Behind
Tags: Amanda Blank, first spin
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NewMusic First Spin: Julian Plenti
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Let’s face it, Interpol’s move from indie label Matador to major label EMI was something most fans would like to forget. And while the band apparently has a new album in the works, it won’t be back on Matador [sigh]. So look at the debut solo album by singer/guitarist Paul Banks - or Julian Plenti as he likes to be called for the next few months – as a consolation prize then, as it sees him return to the label that not only discovered his band, but also put them on the map and turned them into one of indie rock’s biggest crossover acts.
According to Matador’s site, “from 1998 to 2003, Julian Plenti performed in and around Manhattan as an acoustic solo artist” and “in 2006 Plenti began to demo a selection of his music using Logic Pro. That selection took shape as Skyscraper.” Though it is technically a solo album, guests helping out on Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper include Ratatat’s Mike Stroud, The Occasion’s Charles Burst and Banks’s Interpol bandmate Sam Fogarino, who drums on “Games For Days” (though it’s not exactly obvious).
As with most members from well known bands who release solo efforts, Skyscraper is all about revealing what Banks is capable without Daniel Kessler, Carlos D and for 10 songs, Fogarino. Like the work of Thom Yorke, Dave Gahan and Richard Ashcroft, to name a few, Julian Plenti branches out from under Interpol’s signature sound of tight post-punk rhythms, elastic bass lines and chiming dual guitar chords.
More so than any of those other frontmen, Banks gets really ambitious, to the point where if it weren’t for his inimitable voice, you’d have no idea it’s the singer from Interpol who’s behind an album full of such idiosyncrasies and variety. “Fly As You Might” is a bizarre amalgamation of classic rock riffing and fluttering synths that chooses not to provide any real structure. “Only If You Run” sounds like another Interpol remix by Spoon’s Britt Daniel. And “Skyscraper” flirts with a modern spin on Nick Drake’s string-heavy folk.
Full of surprises, both good and not so good, if Julian Plenti proves anything it’s that Paul Banks isn’t the one in Interpol who’s fixated on brooding, atmospheric rock.
Listen to it Here
Artist: Julian Plenti
Album:Is… Skyscraper
Release Date: August 4, 2009
Label: Matador Records
Genre: Indie Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
Track Listing:
Tags: first spin, Interpol, Julian Plenti
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NewMusic First Spin: The Junction
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
If you’re looking for some good old home grown music to listen to, then look no further than The Junction. These Brampton boys prove that Canadian musicians can produce quality music. They are set to release their third album, Another Link In The Chain, on July 28 but you can listen to it now as we are streaming it online for you, the music lovers!
Right from the opening track, Birds Of Prey, to the last track Hymns Of Night its track after track of classic indie-pop rock songs. After listening to Another Link In The Chain back to front, front to back for the past day it’s safe to say that this album is one of the better indie records to be released this year. Some of the stand out tracks include Pick Your Battles, Level With Me, the singles Birds Of Prey & My Love Was There.
While listening to this record I couldn’t help but think how The Junction remind me of the UK’s Stereophonics. The Junction have that similar sound that the Stereophonics have that make this record that much easier to listen to and to appreciate it more!
Listen to Another Link In The Chain Now
Artist: The Junction
Album: Another Link In The Chain
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Track Listing:
Tags: first spin, the junction
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NewMusic First Spin: YACHT
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
As a DIY artist, Portland’s Jona Bechtolt has been making eclectic electronic pop music as YACHT with his laptop for years now. His 2007 album, I Believe in You. Your Magic Is Real, was a significant breakthrough for him that not only forced him to leave his post in lo-fi maxmimilists The Blow, but also led to a support slot opening for LCD Soundsystem’s 2007 tour. That opportunity then led to a record deal with the highly influential DFA Records, and now the fourth YACHT full-length.
The turning point so far though was when Bechtolt added his partner and recurring vocalist Claire L. Evans as a full-time member of YACHT. Together they’ve left Bechtolt’s bedroom experiments far behind them with See Mystery Lights, the first fully realized effort under the YACHT moniker (note: “YACHT is is a Band, Belief System, and Business”).
Recorded in the magical land of Marfa, Texas, where an Aurora Borealis-type phenomenon known as the “mystery lights” rule the sky, See Mystery Lights is an insular little party record that sounds like it was captured in Technicolor.
First single “Summer Song” sounds like the most proper DFA production with super fat ’80s synths, scattershot post-punk rhythms and anthemic, repetitive cheers. “It’s Boring/You Can Live Anywhere You Want” sounds like James Murphy sat in on the recording, as the energy and frenetic pace of the second half recalls LCD Soundsystem’s stylized dance rock. “Psychic City” sounds like a collab between the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club produced by Hot Chip. In fact, that’s a fair assessment for most of the album.
For anyone associated with YACHT prior to See Mystery Lights, this will seem like a great leap forward. But whether you’re familiar or not, this is an animated album full of colour and eccentricity that any free spirit can get behind.
Listen to it Here
Artist: YACHT
Album:See Mystery Lights
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Label: Thrill DFA Records
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
First Spin Live Until: Aug 4, 09
Track Listing:
- Ring The Bell
- The Afterlife
- I’m In Love With A Ripper
- It’s Boring / You Can Live Anywhere You Want
- Psychic City (Voodoo City)
- Summer Song
- We Have All We’ve Ever Wanted
- Don’t Fight The Darkness
- I’m In Love With A Ripper (Party Mix)
- Psychic City (Version)
Tags: first spin, YACHT
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NewMusic First Spin: Fiery Furnaces
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
If anyone has ever complained about their favourite artists taking their sweet time between releasing new music, it certainly wasn’t a Fiery Furnaces fan. Since Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger debuted with 2003’s Gallowsbird’s Bark, the sibling duo have consistently hit each calendar year with something new, and usually, pretty exquisite.
Having made their biggest impact with 2004’s multi-dimensionally extraordinary concept album Blueberry Boat, Fiery Furnaces have never phoned in any of their releases. Sure, Rehearsing My Choir (2005) was virtually unlistenable (only because their grandmother provided vocals) and Remember (2008) was an exhausting 51-track live album, but at least they demonstrated great effort was behind both. And as far as studio efforts centred around the duo’s strong points (Eleanor’s vocals, Matthew’s instrumental idiosyncrasies) go, Fiery Furnaces are virtually alone in their field.
Their third effort for Thrill Jockey and proper follow-up to 2007’s underrated Widow City, I’m Going Away is arguably their most coherent, straight release since their debut. Normally a band this eccentric wouldn’t regress after six years, but their seventh album feels more like they took the opportunity to take a breath and have some fun without following any sort of strict narrative. (Anyone looking for something a little more challenging, well, the Friedbergers have already announced two upcoming releases: a “silent record” and a box set titled DEMOC-ROCK, which finds them writing music around handwritten lyrics submitted by fans at some of their concerts. Uh huh…)
I’m Going Away finds strong middle ground between their straight-up pop and whimsically prog tendencies. Matthew’s back and forth between childlike piano rolls and scorching hot ’70s psych riffs provide a kaleidoscopic playground for Eleanor on both “Keep Me In The Dark” and “Cups and Punches,” while “Drive To Dallas” and “Cut The Cake” take on looser, jazzier directions.
Overall, it’s a wonderful mishmash of vibrant and virtuosic musicianship, accentuated by eclecticism that only Fiery Furnaces can offer.
Listen to it Here
Artist: Fiery Furnaces
Album:I’m Going Away
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Label: Thrill Jockey Records
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
First Spin Live Until: July 28, 09
Track Listing:
Tags: Fiery Furnaces, first spin
Posted in Reviews, The New Music | 1 Comment »
NewMusic First Spin: Sean Bones
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
By looking at him, you wouldn’t expect Sean Bones to play the part of a “reggae kinda guy,” but that’s exactly what this tall, scrawny white boy has become. Sean (real last name is Sullivan) fulfils his stereotype by spending the rest of his time in slacker-ish indie band Sam Champion and he’s admitted that this solo project actually came up by accident.
With an itch to make a summery reggae record, Sean cut a 7″ for a limited S/S FRIENDS swim trunks fashion line he began with his girlfriend. Well, one thing led to another, and soon esteemed MP3 site RCRD LBL caught on, followed by Frenchkiss Records (Les Savy Fav, The Dodos), which offered to put out a full-length.
Sean describes it as “music that might cause people to scratch their heads a bit, only to realize that scratching their heads would make a good dance move.” I can’t really argue with that. My initial reaction was a jaded one, purely because the thought of some indie kid trying his hand at something as sacred as reggae seemed a bit offensive. And then I discovered that the guy actually went to Jamaica and shot a film called Wah Do Dem, about a clueless (white) loner naked, robbed and stranded in Kingston mourning a break up (with Norah Jones, no less). Now that’s an education!
While it’s nowhere near original, Sean Bones does homage with the best intentions. Rings is a soundtrack for getting drunk off Long Island iced teas and dancing till dusk. Light and breezy, sunny and carefree, what Rings does best is provide that kind of escapism for the listener that Bones so desperately sought out for himself. Single “Dancehall” perfects the kind of dubby crossover Franz Ferdinand failed to do with their recent remix album, and “Easy Street” mashes up a simple pop vibe with a credible stab at ska.
And you better believe he cashed in that connection with Norah Jones, for a sundown-perfect duet on album closer, “Turn Them.”
As refreshing and enjoyable as Rings is, more than anything, Sean Bones confirms that judging a book by its cover can make you miss out on a great thing.
Listen to it Here
Artist: Sean Bones
Album:Rings
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Genre: Indie Reggae
Author: Cam Lindsay
Track Listing:
- Easy Street
- Cry Cry Cry
- Coco
- Act So Casual
- Sugar In My Spoon
- Instigator
- Smoke Rings
- Visions
- Dancehall
- Captain Tying Knots
- Turn Them
Photo credits: Kiki Allgeier
Tags: first spin, Sean Bones
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NewMusic First Spin: Riceboy Sleeps
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
As Sigur Rós are currently wrapping up their sixth studio, the band’s singer/guitarist/most recognizable face Jónsi (aka Jón Þór Birgisson) has chosen to unveil his side-project with boyfriend Alex Somers to a wider audience.
The couple have spent the last six years collaborating on small scale works involving both visual pieces and music, which includes various exhibitions, a limited edition picture book and a couple of singles. Finally, on July 21st, Jónsi & Alex (their official name) will release their debut album, Riceboy Sleeps.
Of course, with these types of offshoots, expectations will be for something akin to the spatial and expansive beauty of Sigur Rós and Riceboy Sleeps arguably supplies even more of a natural sound. Inviting regular Sigur Rós collaborators and fellow Icelandic musicians Amiina and the Kópavogsdætur Choir, the album was made utilizing only acoustic instruments and solar-powered laptops in a “raw food commune in some far corner of Hawaii.”
What catch most people off-guard, is the more ambient, instrumental lean of the music. While Sigur Rós is usually recognized for Jónsi’s soaring falsetto that is often sung in the made-up language of Hopelandic, the pair eschew vocals on the majority of the album, save for standout “Boy 1904,” a haunting bit of Eno-like lullaby featuring the choral pipes of the last known castrato ever recorded.
With Riceboy Sleeps, Jónsi & Alex have conjured up a stunningly organic ambient recording full of incidental field recordings and demonstrative orchestrations that is as powerful as it is fragile.
Listen to it Here
Artist: Riceboy Sleeps
Album:Riceboy Sleeps
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Label: XL Recordings
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
Track Listing:
Tags: first spin, Jónsi & Alex, Riceboy Sleeps, Sigur Ros
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First Spin: Plushgun - Pins & Panzers
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Ok, look - I’m sorry. I’m a lady of pop/hip-hop orientation, so pardon my ignorance when I see the band name PLUSHGUN and immediately pull out my Nerf assault rifle. Target practice aside, let’s get to the bottom of this Brooklyn trio. Indie/synth pop, you say? Noted. Online following? It’s the new American way. Lead single “Just Impolite” featured on MTV’s The City? Icing on the cake. Full album available for your listening enjoyment? Expect no less.
Plushgun was apparently discovered and signed by Tommy Boy Records at South by Southwest, and now I have discovered Plushgun, and now you have either discovered them too, or you discovered them way before me (trendsetter!!) and now you’re just discovering that you can listen to their first album Pins & Panzers like, now. I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR MY RAMBLING RUN-ON SENTENCES!
PS: Listen to Pins & Panzers in full right now!
[image from band's MySpace]
Tags: first spin, plushgun
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