Indiecent Exposure

Out This Week:

2008-03-05T09:40:00.008-06:00

Released yesterday were the albums:

Murder By Death: Red of Tooth and Claw

Flogging Molly: Float

Podcast 1

2008-03-01T01:44:00.004-06:00

Premier Episode of the podcast

Subscribe in iTunes, here

Sharps, Flats, and Vermin

2008-02-26T08:08:00.010-06:00

The Black Keys new album, Attack & Release, is due to come out on April 1st. This will be the bands 5th album, but the first since they really broke into the music scene in 2006 with "Magic Potion".

But here's the catch....

Dangermouse is being hired to produce the new album.

In case you aren't familiar with him, Dangermouse is the DJ mastermind behind projects like Gnarls Barkely, The Mouse and the Mask (the adult swim inspired album), and the Grey Album (a mix between the Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album).

I think we're all interested to see how this mix of styles will pan out. Obviously, Mouse is multitalented enough to handle any genre, and he has handled a wide variety in the past, but this still will stand as Dangermouse's first attempt in the realm of Rock and Roll.

Can't wait for April to hear what this album is going to sound like? Don't worry! We've got a video clip for the song "Stranger Times" off the new album, right here! The video features the members of The Black Keys and Dangermouse together in a studio.

Who's doing what now?

2008-02-25T08:10:00.018-06:00

Hey my tasty little dumplings

Sorry for the delay in postings... you know how it is...

So let's catch up... there've been quite a few album announcements:

Flogging Molly will be coming out with their album "Float" on March 4th

Elbow will be coming out with a new album with a British release date of March 10th

Queen Adreena releases

the album "Ride a Cock Horse" on March 11th

Destroyer comes out with "Trouble in Dreams" on March 18th

Guillemots have a March 24th release for the album "Red"

Muse releases a live album from the HAARP tour this March 17th

Portishead releases "Third" on April 25th

The Black Keys come out with new album "Attack and Released" on April 1st

Johnossi has a scheduled release for a TBA

album on March 5th

Björk comes out with "Innocence" on March 10th

And that's all we've got for now.. We'll cover these albums in more detail over the next few days.

Happy Listening

Modest Mouse has ANOTHER new album?

2008-02-06T14:43:00.000-06:00

That's right. Apparently, Isaac is already working on the bands next EP. The band is getting ready to go on tour with REM and The National, but such trivial things as living on the road and playing music for thousands of people is hardly enough to distract Isaac.

According to Isaac in an interview with Rolling Stone, the EP will be a combination of the out-takes from the two previous albums, "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" and "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" along with several new original tracks composed by Isaac and new member Johnny Marr. Isaac has been working hard to turn what were originally sub-par productions into Modest Mouse masterpieces (try saying that 5 times fast.)

Two confirmed new tracks for the album will be entitled "The Whale Song" and "Satellite Skin". The Dirty Dozen Band (the horn section used on GNFPWLBN) will also be featured on this album again.

Expect further coverage once Isaac let's the word slip on a release date!

The NFL Made An Illegal Download

2008-02-05T13:33:00.000-06:00

During the super-bowl last sunday, the NFL ran a self-promoting ad. If you saw it, you probably wouldn't remember it. The images were the traditional video clips of sweaty men jumping on other sweaty men (innuendo....).

So what was so interesting about this particular ad?

Well maybe it had to do with the copyright infringement.

The NFL used Arcade Fire's song "No Cars Go" in the ad without asking the bands permission beforehand. In fact, the members of Arcade Fire didn't even know about the ad until they saw it aired last sunday.

Obviously, this is highly illegal and bound to stir up some lawsuits. However, as of yet, no legal action has been taken. Is it possible that Win and Regine are really just going to roll over on this issue? If so, what kind of message would that send to the corporate monkeys running this rat race?

In case you're unfamiliar with the song, here's the music video of "No Cars Go". (For obvious reasons, the ad cannot be displayed online, so if you didn't see it already, I suspect you never will.)

Do you want to. Vampire Weekend. Like you know I doooooo.

2008-02-03T15:25:00.000-06:00

With Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut release on January 28, 2008, four New Yorkers officially altered the landscape of happy indie/pop/rock land. The foursome specializes in "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," "Upper West Side Soweto," "Campus," and "Oxford Comma Riddim" musical styles.

And there is no questioning that they are indeed specialists of their own genre. Vampire Weekend actually recieved quite a bit of attention prior to their LP release with 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' reaching number 57 in Rolling Stones top 100 songs of 2007.

Above their delightful little guitar riffs, keyboard melodies and drum rythms Ezra Koenig croons in an accent that almost seems to place their orgins accros the pond versus USA. The lyrics are also worth taking a listen for.. from woes of comma usage (Oxford Comma) to collegiate griefs leaving you dowdy in sweatshirts (One (Blake's got a new face)).

To wrap it up.. a teaser in Indiecent Exposure style... a VIDEO!!
Enjoy Mansard Roof.

Pete Doherty... Sober??

2008-02-02T14:43:00.000-06:00

Sober Pete Doherty.. oxymoron much?? Well, according to the cover story of Spin's Feburary issue, not so much. The frontman of Babyshambles (formally of The Libertines) is putting forth a valid effort to kick his hard-drug ways which has, up to this point, sadly overshadowed his musical and lyrical genuis in the public eye. Some powerfully insightful quotes of Pete's include, "I'm clean now, I really am. I have to be. If I started piping or doing brown again, then I'd let everyone down, and I just can't do that." and, "I'm only just now starting to enjoy making music. I'm only just starting to be allowed to." It will be a long and difficult road for Pete no doubt, but fingers crossed he will make it through these tough times and continue to make amazing music for many years to come..

here's Doherty doing an accustic track,"Lost Art of Murder," from Babyshambles' latest, Shotters Nation..

Get up off your back
Stop smoking that
You could change your life.

Murder by Death Announces New EP and LP

2008-02-02T12:19:00.000-06:00

Murder by Death has announced the release of their new EP Fuego! for February 12th. This comes as a prelude to the long awaited Red of Tooth and Claw, the LP due for release on March 4th.

If you're unfamiliar with the group, they're definitely worth a listen. Infusing strings, keyboards, guitars and a smooth southern jazz style into modern day rock and roll, Murder by Death is definitely paving new ways in the indie world.

Here's a free Download of the group's song "Killbot 2000". Don't worry, the members of Murder by Death have generously made this available... it ain't illegal.

Killbot 2000

Furthermore, here's a music video from their most recent album, In Bocca al Lupo. The song is called "Brother":

The Blur is Clearly Gone

2008-02-01T19:45:00.000-06:00

The members of Blur have been planning a reunion for some weeks now. Rumors were abundant that the group was considering even creating a new album together, the first new work from the group since the album 13 in 1999.

However, the long awaited reunion happened this last weekend and it seems that, while the members had a nice time catching up, the conversation never got around to music.

Oh well. It's hard to tell where Damon Albarn (of Blur, Gorillaz, and The Good The Bad And The Queen) will wind up next. We'll have to keep a look out.

1. 2. 3. EXPOSE! (my bruise)

2008-02-01T16:23:00.000-06:00

[Peel layer upon layer of clothing off. Clamber into my beige outerwear (ie. trench coat). Walk out into the world and reveal]

I am taking the plunge into the blogosphere as I join cahoots with Mr. Roby, whom I have been serving as an editor per say for this project which the aim of is to "expose" good ol' indiecent music to the masses. I will admit that I am a bit apprehensive and a tid bit self-conscious but am simultaneously eager and am overcome with feelings of exuberance to shed my layers as I share some of my favorite musics with the internet world.

For my first exposure, I would like to talk about a track that I myself have stumbled upon just this past week. And stumbled is pretty much really an understatement for the song North by the band Phoenix has really hauntingly left its mark on me. Before I delve too much into the bruise (if you will) causing song I shall discuss a little about the band first.. Phoenix is a four man band hailing from France and they formed in the late 90s with their debut album being released in 2000. United was met with enough mild success to win the band a recording contract, therefore two more studio albums have followed in 2004 and 2006 respectively with another on the way, due to hit shelves sometime this year. Some of the most interesting things I have learned of Phoenix are:

1. Laurent Brancowitz (one of two guitarists) was in the band Darlin' with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. The latter two went on to form Daft Punk.

2. They formed as a backing band for the the French electronica duo Air.

3. Phoenix is drumerless.. however.. on their last album, It's Never Been Like That, Thomas Hedlund from the Perishers did the honors on drums as well as accompaning Phoenix on their tour.

Overall, Phoenix's sound may be classified as indie-electronic pop. Although.. getting back to North, my bruise causer, strays a bit from this indie-electronic pop sound. It is a five minute long instrumental with a simple yet, startlingly beautiful and moving melody. It opens softly with one sole guitar and as it gathers some speed the drum beats and the accompanying guitar chimes in. The song has a raw feel as it crescendos and then decrescendos only to crescendo again. Some electronics becomes evident about half way through the song as well as in the end. And it is the end that has really bruised me, the noise is hard to describe other than it reminds me almost of the cry of a whale mixed with some sort of woodwinded instrument.. I am not exactly sure why this song has hit me so hard, but I find it hauntingly seductive as it evokes a whirlwind of emotions from deep within. I definitely recomend a listen, or two, (or three.. or hell just put it on repeat.. I know I have) and be prepared for it to leave a bruise or at the very least stick with you for awhile.. And if perchance it does indeed leave a bruise, it will be one of the greatest bruises ever.

R.E.M. Tours with Modest Mouse and The National

2008-02-01T13:47:00.000-06:00

R.E.M. recently announced the release date for their new album Accelerate. The Album will appear on shelves on April 1st, 2008. The album is R.E.M.'s 14th studio release.

So naturally, it's time to go on tour again. But who would've guessed they'd pick such phenomenal running mates as Modest Mouse and The National?

This dream team was announced officially last Monday, but Matt Berninger of The National let the cat out of the bag some time before on a radio interview.

Of course, one has to ask if this is all for real. It seems too good to be true, and with the announced release date of Accelerate being April 1st, it very well could be an elaborate and cruel april fools joke.

Let's hope not...

Without further ado, here's the schedule:

May 23: Vancouver (Deer Lake Park)

May 29: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)

May 31: Berkeley, California (Greek Theatre)

June 3: Morrison, Colorodo (Red Rocks)

June 6: Chicago (United Center)

June 8: Toronto (Molson Amphitheater)

June 10: Raleigh, N.C. (Walnut Creek)

June 11: Columbia, Md. (Merriweather Post Pavilion)

June 13: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)

June 14: Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach)

June 18: Philadelphia (Mann Center)

June 19: New York (Venue TBA)

June 21: Atlanta (Lakewood Amphitheatre)

Guess who's back... back again...

2008-01-30T10:24:00.000-06:00

No not slim shady... he's good and dead and I can't imagine anyone being all that upset about it..

No, its Gnarls Barkley. Confirmed for 2008 is the groups second album "The Odd Couple". A leak suggests that the single off the album will be entitled "Run", but the specifics aren't officially released yet. Expect to hear about it in the upcoming weeks when the full track list hits the web.

For those of you who missed Gnarls Barkley the first time around with their debut album "St. Elsewhere" in 2006, here's a quick recap:

DJ Danger Mouse: A god among men. Mouse is most widely known for his creation of the "Grey Album", a DJ mix of the Beatles' "White Album" and Jay-Z's "Black Album" (get it? do you get how he got the name? do you?). He also was a participant of the Dangerdoom Adult Swim album, "The Man and the Mask", which was a collection of Hip-Hop songs created from sound clips and theme songs of different shows off of the Adult Swim program on Cartoon Network.

Cee-Lo: Cee-Lo hit the music scene as part of the four man hip-hop group "Goodie Mob". After 3 fairly successful albums, he attempted a solo carrer (which unfortunately didn't work out...). Now Cee-Lo works on a strange mix of music with different groups and people, traveling the music scene and broadening his horizons. He still works with the original members of Goodie Mob as well as producer Jazze Pha. He's an extremely talented rapper who has the ability to sing as well (no, not chris brown type singing... like... real singing... like something you would actually want to listen to... that kind...).

So now what happens when we throw these two together?

MAGIC!

If you still can't recall anything about the debut album, I'm sure you'll remember the single off of it. Here's the music video:

Crazy

Is he ready... we wonder to ourselves... perhaps?

2008-01-23T17:39:00.000-06:00

THE AGENDA:

1. I'm a scientologist!

2. My computer is a drumset?

3. No space! where do I put this album! crap!

4. Music? What?

SCIENTOLOGY

I got told I was going to hell today because I advocated "freedom of choice" when it comes to religion... YEY FANATICISM!

So now I'm thinking of becoming a scientoligist.

"But Jake!" you say "why would you do such a thing? Isn't scientology basically a joke?"

Well..... yes.....

But hey, lets look at it abstractly

Christianity:

>Belief in otherworldly power from the skies above

>Requires complete faith (no proof)

>Large gatherings of people to talk about dead guys

>All based off a book of questionable origin

Scientology:

>Belief in otherworldly power from the skies above

>Requires complete faith (no proof)

>Large gatherings of people to talk about dead guys

>All based off a book of questionable origin

Well... when you look at it that way, it's not so silly after all... or is it.... hmmm

If you don't know the specifics of scientology, I advise you to google it... you'll get a laugh or two out of it...

DRUMSET

Guess what I can do?!?!?!?!

You guessed it... play the drums with a wiimote!

Ok, so I doubt you actually guessed it. In fact, I'm 99.9% sure you weren't thinking anything along those lines... but that's ok, I love you anyway.

But yeah! For those of you that don't know, the wiimote is the controller for the Nintendo Wii Game Station. In case you're completely retarded, here's a brief explanation:

Wii + Remote = Wiimote

Woah! MAGICAL!

For those of you who actually needed that explanation, you should also be aware that the Wiimotes are motion sensitive. And that's what makes this possible...

Thanks to the lovely monkeys over at screenfashion.org, you can actually connect your wiimote to your computer and then, by swinging them to hit imaginary drums, actually make sound from your computer. If that's not fuckin' pimp then I don't know what is...

Check out the app HERE

Unfortunately, its only for mac-ers. So if your still running WXP, go shoot yourself.

SPACE?

money is good. I'm going to be buying 2 new external hard-drives in order to house my ever growing music collection, including a 250GB bus-powered drive. If you're looking to buy something of that sort, be sure to ask me while the info is still fresh and I can tell you just about anything... I'm a walking encyclopedia of ext. hd's... WOOOOOOOT

In other news...

MUSIC!!!

currently melodic pleasings of the jake include the following...

>Mr. Scruff

>Dangerdoom

>Libertines

>Smoke City

>Lightspeed Champion

Ok... I'm aware that none of these are even relatively new... but some of them are pretty damn obscure... and their all great... quick reviews:

Mr. Scruff: Chill acid-jazz/techno/lounge music... Basically, imagine elevator music that was realllllllly enjoyable. That's it right there. 3.7/5

Dangerdoom: Collaboration of DJ Dangermouse and MF Doom created the Adult Swim themed album "Mouse and the Mask" quite a while ago. But its still amazing. If you like either artist, adult swim, indie-hip-hop, or just good music then this is for you... yes... you... right there.... 3.9/5

Libertines: Um.... yeah... if you don't know these guys, I will personally tie the noose for you. I didn't like them for the longest time but suddenly I've opened up to it. They take a while to appreciate, but if you can last through that initial "umm.... wtf is this?" stage, then they are golden. Low-fi indie-rock with grunge elements... its all good... 3.8/5

Smoke City: OOOOLLLLLDDDD ass group... and by that I mean the '90s. But relatively, that's old considering I've never even heard the name before. Great mix of tribal elements with modern (or '90s version of modern) techno. 3.5/5

Lightspeed Champion: Bizarre... to say the least. The epitomy of "indie", one of the albums is actually named "I wrote and recorded this in 5 hours" and has no real track names. That album is actually for free too, so I'll throw a link for it up in a bit. Try again tomorrow and it'll be here. 3.7/5

Cross [Justice]

2007-11-05T23:00:00.000-06:00

Just easy as A.B.C.

1234 Fight!

You were such a P.Y.T.

Get ready to read a review!

I mean.... ignite!

.... yeah...........

Basic Info:

Album: Cross

Artist: Justice

Release Date: June 11, 2007

Release Number: 1st Full Length Album

Track Number: 12 Tracks

Album Length: 58:36

Price (Amazon): $13.34

Genre: Indie-Dance

Band Bio:

Justice really came out of nowhere with this album. Band members Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, originally from France, are responsible for a number of popular European remixes and have done extensive work mixing with famous artists including N.E.R.D., Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, and Franz Ferdinand. But until now, the duo has only produced one original track all their own, "Waters of Nazareth". Its certainly a big step in a new direction for these mixing prodigies. But its definitely not a bad move.

Album:

A good deal of the album is experimentation. With more experience creating something new with something old, the challenge of creating something out of nothing makes for some interesting inventions. The duos mixing background comes through consistently on tracks like "New Jack", where there is audio fading and bizarre scratching to the extent were if its new to you, you might get a little annoyed. If this fits in nicely with your style of music though, you'll love every second.

It's also important to keep in mind what this album is for. Ans: Dancing!

And with that said, it's one of the best dance albums to be released in a very long time. The appropriately named song "D.A.N.C.E." will get you moving whether you want to or not, and then tracks like "The Party ft. Uffie" are just wonderful laid-back musical depictions of the atmosphere this album so well encompasses.

Music video anyone?

D.A.N.C.E.

Music:

There's something wonderfully unique about the sound these two are making. It has a simplistic nature with just the right amount of dissonance and startling... well... noise! But through it all, it does its job well; it makes you want to dance.

But don't mistake this for your run of the mill techno/house mix tape. These guys have created something truly original. The use of a vocalist in a rock and roll style instead of the monotone chanting techno-voice gives this music an era combination of jam power and raver's delight. It's really the perfect combination. Maybe in the next album they'll stick to some more tonal and balanced music instead of tracks like "Stress", but even with those tracks, the music is great overall.

Lyrically there's nothing missing either. In fact there's a lot more than you would expect. In the tracks that do have lyrics, the words are well chosen, original, and wonderfully non-repetitve as you might expect from something in the dance genre. Total success.

Previews:

Newjack

Stress

Waters of Nazareth

One Minute To Midnight

Ratings:

Music: 8.2

Lyrics: 7.9

Originality: 8.7

Bang for your Buck: 8.1

Indie-Cred (Obscurity): 6.9

Total Ranking: 7.96/10

Ah... Sunday...

2007-11-04T02:00:00.000-06:00

It's sunday, and we all got a nice extended night's rest, so it's a good sunday (not THE good sunday, just one of them)

So in the future, I'm going to reserve sundays for answering questions you might have for me. But without anything else to talk about today, at the end of my first week, I'm just going to describe my musical theory to you.

A friend of mine once suggested to me the theory that political changes happened in, roughly, 40 year cycles. His reasoning for this was that it is, roughly, a persons half-life. According to the theory, it is at the half-life point in our lives that we have the most effect on the world around us (most presidents were around 40 years old for example.) We grow up being effected by what's around us, so those born during a certain type of era will re-enact that era when they have power.

And it actually seems to work... a few discrepancies... but yeah... take a look...

1776 - Revolution

> 36 years later

1812 - War of 1812

> 38 years later

1850 - Compromise of 1850 leading to the Civil War

> ???? (my history isn't great)

??????

> ????

1918 - World War

> 42 years

1960 - Civil Rights Movement

> 41 years

2001 - 9/11

It's not flawless, but it seems to hold some basic merit... so why not apply it to music?!?!

Of course, I think you can break the 40 year cycles down into smaller sections also... I decided to do this in terms of decades:

1930: Swing

1940: Random music, but no significant style (dying out of Swing)

1950: beginnings of Rock & Roll/Pop Rock era

1960: ROCK & ROLL BABY!

1970: Disco/Dance

1980: Random music, but no significant style (dying out of Disco)

1990: Pop Rock, Boy bands etc.

2000: Indie Rock/beginnings of serious D & B

?????

Now let's match it up by 40 year increments...

1930/1970 = Dance Music

1940/1980 = No unifying style

1950/1990 = Pop Music

1960/2000 = New Original Music

Seems to work... and by this theory, in 2010 we will be entering another "Dance" era... I'm guessing this would be pointing to Drum and Bass (D&B) and other well constructed techno, which is very much on the rise right now.

I'm not sure how much merit this whole idea holds, but its interesting and who knows! maybe its even a good way of predicting what kind of music will be out there in the near future (I guess we'll have to wait until 2040 before we can start getting some good tunes in good numbers again though... that sucks...)

so... what do you all think of this idea? possible truth or complete bullshit? leave a comment and I'll come back to this issue next weekend.

Thanks for reading guys!

First Week Down!

2007-11-03T12:52:00.000-05:00

....And god knows how many to come...

I like how things have been going with this so far. I've gotten a lot of good feedback and its only been a week. Things are starting to flush out with the improvements we're continually making like the track previews and now music videos, but if you can think of something else, by all means, tell me.

I'm setting up a gmail account just for this Blog, so if you want to email me, go ahead and send me something at:

wheresmycoat@gmail.com

Now without further ado, here's the weekly review:

Weekly Rankings:

Or Give Me Death [Aqueduct] : 8.20

Beyond The Neighbourhood [Athlete] : 7.54

Cease To Begin [Band of Horses] : 7.52

Myth Takes [!!!] : 7.10

Obviously, this being my first week, all four of these albums are now considered residents of the "Top Ten Albums From Inside the Trench Coat" list at the top of this page. A couple weeks from now it'll be interesting to see which, if any or all, of those albums are still on that list.

I'm going to use this opportunity to briefly discuss a highly anticipated album that's coming out this month: D-Sides [Gorillaz]. That's right, apparently Damon Albarn (the creative genius behind the Gorillaz, Blur, and The Good The Bad and The Queen) is deciding to take these fellows back "off the shelf" sooner than expected. Although I haven't yet heard any confirmations of this, I think its safe to assume that the album is a remix of their most recent album, "Demon Days". All in all, it should be a worthwhile piece of music, so keep your eyes out for it on shelves on November 20th, 2007.

Other than that, life is good... go hug a stranger.

Beyond The Neighbourhood [Athlete]

2007-11-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

We've got the nukes, but britain definitely has the music. Somehow I think we drew the short straw in that respect.

Basic Info:

Album: Beyond The Neighbourhood

Artist: Athlete

Release Date: September 25, 2007

Release Number: 3rd Full Length Album

Track Number: 11 tracks

Album Length: 45:00

Price (Amazon): $13.98

Genre: Indie/Brit-Pop

Band Bio:

It never ceases to amaze me what kind of great music shows up on the top-40 lists in Britain. So much of it is really, really good and would never be taken seriously here in the United States. This band is no exception.

Their past albums have had a smattering of success in britain, and a small amount of underground appraisal here in the states. But they're still fairly unheard of on the wider spectrum, which is a real shame. They have a great sound that is unique without being abrasively original. Actually, at first glance they might even seem pretty mainstream (especially if you listen to a lot of Brit-pop), but they add enough into their music to make them a definite original. I suppose their United States counterpart would be The Bravery; both are very accepted in the mainstream musical world, but anyone who bothers to actually go out and buy the album soon realizes that they're much more powerful than the clips you hear from the media.

Band members:

Carey Willets - Bass and Vocals

Joel Pott - Guitar and Vocals

Steve Roberts - Drums and Backup Vocals

Tim Wanstall - Keyboards and Backup Vocals

Johnny Pilcher - Guitar (and the only guy that doesn't sing... what gives?)

Here's a Video! It's a series of interviews/concert shots of the Band, all relating to this album:

Album:

Easily the most important thing about this album is that it is, technically, Athlete's first true "indie" album, i.e. the first one the produced on their own. It's a big step for any band that's used to having a slew of producers at their disposal (also saves them a lot of money though!). I think this brings up a really worthwhile topic though: Indie rock is HARD TO DO!

Just stop and think about what goes into an indie album. Not only do they record, mix, layer, synth, dub, etc.... but they still have to write and play it! The result of putting that many tasks on yourself can often be a really crappy album that sounds like auditory vomit (in recording quality and production, and sometimes, musical content too). But Athlete has the advantage of experience. Their two previous albums were obvious influences on this one and if no one had told you, it would be hard to figure out that this wasn't professionally produced based on the end result.

But let's get back to what's important... THE MUSIC! In fact, I think it's about time I added a new category to differentiate between "album" and "music". Let's do it!

Music:

The Bravery might be a better comparison than I realized. There are some definite similarities, though I wouldn't say that they sound quite the same...

One of the most unique things about Athlete is the emphasis they choose to put on different parts of the sound. For instance, the bass is leveled very high, but in turn it tends to have very simplistic and elegant parts that don't really distract you from the overall sound. Great keyboard work all throughout too. It has a nice mix between solid structured chords and fancy frosting on the top of the music. And then we get to guitar work which is pretty mundane, but honestly, there's very little to be done with a guitar in the way of originality anyway.

They also aren't afraid to bring in new sound, which is always a good thing. "The Outsiders" features the typical "sad violin" but, though perhaps cliché, it's still done well. Also, pay attention to the drummer. As you'll see in the video above (midway through), they have some fun with the drum set and it really comes across great.

Lyrically, cliché. Nothing special to report.

Ultimately, the music is pretty great. I'm not sure about the choice of album construction though. There's a great upbeat beginning and then... it just dies. Not that the music gets worse, it just looses the drive that's so strong in the beginning. But maybe that's what they're going for. It just upsets me because I start to loose interest around "Second Hand Stores" even though it's one of my favourite songs on the album. And the last track on the album, "This Is What I Sound Like" is just fantastic, but I rarely find myself getting that far through the album before I begin looking through my new cd's for something else... It's good music, but it could use a bigger hook...

MUSIC VIDEO:

Hurricane

Previews (30 Seconds):

Tokyo
Second Hand Stores
Best Not To Think About It
This Is What I Sound Like

Ratings:

Music: 8.5

Lyrics: 7.1

Originality: 7.4

Bang for your Buck: 7.6

Indie-Cred (Obscurity): 7.1

Total Ranking: 7.54/10

Buy This Album

Cease To Begin [Band of Horses]

2007-11-01T22:28:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, I was listening to someone compare "emo" music with "indie" music. They said "Its almost the exact same thing sometimes... only indie rock is happy..."

Basic Info:

Album: Cease To Begin

Artist: Band of Horses

Release Date: October 9, 2007

Release Number: 2nd Full Length Album

Track Number: 10 Tracks

Album Length: 34:48

Price (Amazon): $15.98

Genre: Indie Rock

Band Bio:

These guys are still fairly new to the scene (though when you get right down to it, isn't everyone?). They formed in 2005 after Ben Bridwell (guitar/vocals) and Matt Brooke (guitar) recovered from the break up of their previous band, "Carissa's Wierd". If you like "Band of Horses" you might want to look into some of "Carissa's Wierd"s old albums too because the content is fairly similar. Main difference is the more expansive instrumentation in some of Carissa's tracks as well as the recording quality, which is much better in Horses (No one said indie bands needed to sound like they were recorded in a garage).

If you look online long enough, you'll find someone willing to compare this band to every other band you've ever heard of, but I can't quite figure out why this keeps happening. I think people are confused by the sound Horses is creating in this album; its pretty new, but at the same time, you can easily see it fitting in nicely with any music library (well... maybe not a hardcore gangsta rap collection, but aside from that). This is actually a really nice effect overall though. It gives you that nice familiar sound while stretching the limits just far enough in every direction to be something completely new. And its because they're making this purely new music that they're still considered indie, even if they do have a record contract with "Sub-pop Records".

Album:

Let's get back to my opening statement. Emo vs. Indie. Interesting concept, no? Well I'm not entirely sure whether I agree with the sentiment, but it's albums like this that give the idea some credibility. Of course the difference that this music has against "emo" music is that... um.... its good... But we'll ignore that point in order to draw the comparison.

The reason the connection works is that if you simply listen to the chords, and the expressiveness in the voice, it sounds like the Bridwell's putting his heart on his sleeve. And I suppose that's exactly what he's doing in most of these songs. The difference between this music and "emo" though, is that the lyrics are hopeful, happy, joyous, and excited. It's the expression of that horrible heart-wrenching pain of being in love, not the shallow temporary hurt of being dumped.

And if you need anymore proof, take the track "No One's Gonna Love You" for example. It sure looks pretty "emo", until you hear that the rest of the line continues to become "No one's gonna love you more than I do". Ok, it's a tad cliché, but its made up for by really good music. Or how about the lyrics "The world is such a wonderful place" and then literal "La-dee-da"'s from the track "Ode To LRC"? Its really an amazing work in that way; its got all the intense melodramatic emotion that can drive music (of any genre) but it's still ultimately a happy album!

Stylistically, the music is an intense blend of acoustic rock, country, and what can only be described as "alternative". For the most part, the music is acoustic too (or amplified acoustic, but still not anything near a heavy-metal axe), which gives it a really nice mellow feel that won't ever make you cringe with an intentionally dissonant chord. Band of Horses proves that simplicity is king and that you can still make great music, even if you stay far away from anything atonal (that's oldschool...).

And for anyone with a basic understanding of music theory, its also nice to listen to the unique melodic lines that Bridwell is singing in. He's one of the few artists that enjoys singing leaping melodies instead of the same old step-wise lines we've all heard a thousand times before. (in other words, his voice jumps around a lot instead of just going up a little... going down a little... going up a little... going down a little... etc.)

One minor complaint: Although its beautifully done, there's not nearly enough upbeat songs to fill the album out completely. "Islands on the Coast" is probably the most energetic song on the album, and even it only goes back and forth between upbeat and laid back. The album is still fantastic for all its beautiful mellowness though.

One question for you guys now... Does anybody know if there is supposed to be Christ imagery on the cover of this album? I'm seeing a cross made by the reflections, but I could easily be mistaken...

Ratings:

Music: 8.1

Lyrics: 8.4

Originality: 7.4

Bang for your Buck: 6.9

Indie-Cred (Obscurity): 6.8

Total Ranking: 7.52/10

Previews (30 seconds):

Is There a Ghost
Ode to LRC
No One's Gonna Love You
Islands on the Coast

Buy This Album

Myth Takes [!!!]

2007-10-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

If indie music is supposed to be all of the original and new ideas in music, naming your band a series of ambiguous noises would be hard to top.

Basic Info:

Album: Myth Takes

Artist: !!!

Release Date: March 6, 2007

Release Number: 3rd Full Length Album

Track Number: 10 Tracks

Album Length: 48:12

Price (Amazon): $14.99

Genre: Indie-pop

Band Bio:

Formed from the ashes of the bands "Black Liquorice" and "Popesmashers" while the two were on tour together, !!! is a nice mix between a variety of styles and genres. The band name is a reference to the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" and can be pronounced thousands of different ways. The name of the group is ANY monosyllabic sound repeated three times. But most commonly, you're going to hear them referred to as "Chik Chik Chik".

But I'm sure by now you're wondering what exactly the genre "Indie-pop" is. It's a blaring contradiction and a huge oxymoron; "indie" implies that it is outside the regular commercialized field of music, but "pop" (which is short for what, kids?) makes the claim that it is the socially excepted musical norm. So.... where does that put !!!?

When you start dealing with modern genres, you have to confront the fact that there are two ways of interpreting them. Either you take the literal meaning (as I did above) or you judge based on what it musically sounds most similar to. And thats the connection that !!! has to pop music. It's not popular, it's not commercialized, and it's not the same old thing you've heard a thousand times, but its still very reminiscent of typical pop radio.

Album:

This album is fairly on-par for !!!, probably moving in a positive direction from their previous albums, but its easy to see how they got to this album from their last one. They certainly did create the specific genre that they're in, but they don't seem to want to reinvent it all that much.

That being said, I think that "Myth Takes" is easily their best album to date.

And maybe that's even because they've chosen to stick to what they're good at. !!! certainly has become a master of their craft. The entire album is littered with disco/funk-esque beats and groove patterns that just make you want to dance. Even while you're shaking it to the title track though, you can't help but be aware that this is still one of the most original CD's that will be in your collection.

The pop-ish side of the album does come through strong though. The biggest issue you'll have with that is in the way you inevitably will end up viewing the album; its fun, bouncy, catchy, and most importantly, really good music, but it's something you'll want to enjoy in the background or on a car drive. It's not going to take your full attention. This makes it great for parties and showing off your cool music to less indie-inclined friends. Furthermore, EVERYONE will enjoy this album. I challenge you to find one person that truly dislikes this music.

Lyrically, there are a few exciting puns, but the vocalists use their voices more like instruments. Unless you go out of your way to pin down what is actually being said, you'll barely even realize that they're speaking english, and you won't be missing out on anything that's really important to the music. Most of the lines tend to be a tad bit cliché, but clever one-liner titles like "Bend Over Beethoven" and the chorus of "Sweet Life", which consists of the pattern of chords described in terms of "AABB CCDD CCDD DD" (note that they aren't playing the A chord when he sings "A". It's just the pattern), revive just enough poetic excitement so that its never really frustrating either. Lyrically, it is perfectly mediocre.

Ratings:

Music: 7.6

Lyrics: 6.4

Originality: 7.4

Bang for your Buck: 7.1

Indie-Cred (Obscurity): 7.0

Total Ranking: 7.10/10

Previews (30 seconds):

Myth Takes

Must Be The Moon

Sweet Life

Bend Over Beethoven

Buy This Album

Or Give Me Death [Aqueduct]

2007-10-30T23:00:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to start my blog career with this album. Why? Well, it really is the embodiment of "Indie" music. Don't worry, I'll explain what I mean.

Basic info:

Album: Or Give Me Death

Artist: Aqueduct

Release Date: February 20th, 2007

Release Number: 2nd Full Length Album

Track Number: 12 tracks

Album Length: 41:54

Price (Amazon): $13.98

Genre: Indie

Band Bio:

The "Band" is really just singer/songwriter David Terry, but don't be fooled into thinking that this means he's another John Mayer, sitting around and whining on a guitar in the back of a coffee shop. David Terry is a self-produced artist and accomplishes some insane layering of his own voice, several instruments, and some noises that are of questionable origin all on his own. The exact method of the album's creation is largely a mystery, but that's the magic of it and the reason that it is such a perfect example of the indie trend; David Terry truly is independent of the music machine, free from the large scale production that populates top-40 radio stations. My immediate connection when thinking of David Terry is the grunge/garage-rock band "Bomb The Music Industry!", who similarly creates (and also distributes for free) all of their music on their own. If you're familiar with BTMI, then think of Aqueduct as the mellow, indie rock version of that concept.

Album:

It's really a fun album. It's easy to be skeptical of some of the sounds you hear (No those aren't the aliens coming to give you an anal probe It's actually just the backup on the track "Zero The Controls"), but if you give it a chance, it grows on you pretty fast. And at least its not something you've heard before. If nothing else, it's definitely original.

And the originality doesn't fade as you continue to listen to the album. Each new track has something that you never expected. From the lazy horn intro on "As You Wish" to the, possibly synthesized, accordion and string section that plays elegantly through all of "Wasted Energy", if you keep your ears open, there's plenty of treats to be had.

But I'm getting carried away. The album isn't all craziness. It's all based on solid, catchy guitar and piano riffs that you'll be humming in your head all day. And that's what you want in music, isn't it? Something that sounds so good you just can't forget it.

And then there's always lyrics. Lyrics can make or break a good song. Fortunately, David Terry has a fair gift for both music and poetry. Even better is the way that the music and words mix together so seamlessly. "If only for tonight/ I beg you for my life/ You see I must survive/ I'll probably kill you in the morning" just sounds ridiculous without the context of the music, but I promise, you'll be skipping down the street singing it to yourself in no time, attracting strange looks from men, women, and children alike.

Ratings (Out of 10):

Music: 8.1

Lyrics: 8.5

Originality: 8.6

Bang for your Buck: 7.8

Indie-Cred (Obscurity): 8.0

Total Score: 8.20/10

Previews (30 seconds):

Keep It Together
As You Wish
Zero The Controls
Wasted Energy

Buy This Album

First Post... let's see if I can manage this..

2007-10-30T22:48:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone. I feel like introductions are in order, so I'm going to start off this project by telling you a little bit about me so that we can move onto the good stuff.

I'm a classical music major at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. My typical night includes plugging my laptop into my bass amp and listening to any new music I can find, or going back over some old favorites. If I'm not busy doing homework or socializing while I listen, I'll probably be playing one of my instruments along with whatever it is I'm listening to.

To sum up; I study music, listen to music, play music, enjoy music, am a part of music. At this point, there's very little left that doesn't revolve around music in my life.

So I figured, hey, why not put some of my thoughts on paper (or screen i guess) and share them with anyone willing to listen.

So I am...

This blog is going to be my take on any new music I come by. This won't always be "new" music because there's so much out there at this point that its easy to find things that are new to me but might be from anywhere from the recent to distant past.

As the title subtly suggests, the music here is going to be alot of indie stuff. But not only obscure rock bands. I've got this elaborate theory about music history patterns going in 40 year cycles (try mapping it out and maybe you'll see what I mean). Anyway, if my theory is right, around 2004-2014 or so is an era of new truly original music. I think the indie movement is the perfect expression of that. But its not the only genre that's taking off right now. There's alot of Drum and Bass sound coming out of the woodwork, as well as Trip-Hop and other such new takes on old themes. So really, this blog should be a good balanced blend of new music.

And of course, if anyone ever has a suggestion... hit me with it... Even I can miss a good album here and there...

Now, with that said, I'm going to move on and start writing my first album review. I hope I can bring you a little closer to the music.