When you’re pretty much completely unfamiliar with a band and you choose a live setting to be your first exposure, a lot of different things can occur. I had committed to a ticket for the Wild Beasts’s show before even knowing who was on the bill, because…well, I’ve been starved for live music lately. When I headed out to The Music Hall of Williamsburg last weekend to catch Wild Beasts, I’d given their recent release Two Dancers barely a cursory listen and was pretty confused by what I heard. The vocals jumped out at me first; they felt somewhat strained and bordered on out of place in the lush guitar tones. Given where I’m at right now, I have take whatever opportunity to go see a show that presents itself, so I did my best to enter the venue with an open mind.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a show in New York City, long enough ago that The Music Hall of Wililamsburg didn’t exist the last time I was around as a concertgoer. It’s a pretty satisfying space; ample room in front of the stage and a nice raised section to either side made getting a clear view of the show easy. Even though my broke ass didn’t take advantage of it, the happy hour that occurred before and after the show sounded lovely.

After about a half hour on the sidewalk hawking the extra ticket we had after the 4th in our group bailed, I walked in on what I thought was Violens opening set. The show listed them and Canada’s Still Life Still as the openers in that order and again they were both bands I was completely unfamiliar with. Before the show, I took passes at each of their myspace pages, getting a feel for what to expect. I took a liking to Still Life Still’s rough indie rock sound, but found Violens kinda bland. All the websites I saw listed the openers in a different order than expected, so for most of Still Life Still’s set I was misguidedly under the assumption that I was watching Violens. The ‘meh’ I had projected onto their recordings bled over onto Still Life Still’s set. I wasn’t as happy with the Ben Gibbard-ish vocals that got particularly aggravation when they dipped into a bit of Bright Eyes at the overly earnest moments. The band’s two singers together yielded unpredictable results, harmonies not totally nailed and I found myself pulled out of the songs as a result. Musically, they utilized a lot of driving percussion winding amidst the showegazey builds, which when the vocals weren’t a problem, I found it fairly innocuous. Midway through their set, someone in the crowd yelled out, “Canada!” and I suddenly realized I wasn’t watching Violens. I drew the connection then and realized at their best, Still Life Still channel fellow Canadians The Stills, pouring out a good dose of reverbed melodrama. As always with that kind of songwriting, you walk a thin line between charming and childish penning such overbearing songs about girls you may or may not have kissed. They seemed to continually misstep, sticking out of place tone shifts into songs that I would have otherwise enjoyed. During the song “Pastel,” off last year’s awkwardly titled Girls Come Too, featured the repeated shrill yelling of the phrase “We really need to be friends” just came across as equally stumbly as the album’s title. From my first glance at their music, that song leaped out to me as a quality track, though it just didn’t seem to carry over live. Some of the builds in their songs did work well, blossoming into glimmering, wordless explosions. Less hindered by the awkwardness of the vocalists, they used their riffs to push the emotion. The tail ends of their songs were often heavier and that works best for the band, as proven by their raucous set closer.

The actual Violens came out next and their sound rested in a weird niche in somewhere between late 80’s modern rock and the current folk indebted, post-Grizzly Bear world we currently inhabit. Their set was comprised primarily of slow numbers, wrapped in 3 part harmonies and brushed drums The singer’s voice alone worked fine, though it was far better when accentuated by his bandmates at the lush choruses. He hit an odd register often sounding like 8 different singers in any given song: at times akin to what it’d sound like if Dirty Projectors’s Dave Longstreth actually took the medication I’m fairly certain he is prescribed and neglecting. Other moments he reminded me of Glenn Tillbrook of Squeeze, with the numbers accompanying that leaning more towards the appropriate modern rock sound. It was a more restrained and mature sound, especially following the earlier band’s chaotic set, drenched so heavily in an earnestly that, due to the instrumentation occasionally hit regrettable near Coldplay levels of drama. Some of the keyboard sounds chosen were unfortunately cheesy pads, campy pan flutes that were probably cringed at in the early 80’s. Their slowest songs, which every band is entitled to, are not their strong suit, lacking the pulse of the more likable, forward moving numbers. Without tempo, they sank deep into the glacial and became forgettable, those moments I found myself drifting off to study the crowd in order to pass the time.

But I forgive them, because their set was hefty on atmosphere and that doesn’t always lead to compelling listening. Some of what they composed was certainly strong and I feel like given more time, they’ll produce something that’ll garner attention. Being completely unschooled in either of the opening band’s catalogs left me with far different results in what I felt about each band.

Next, Wild Beasts prepped the crowd with a weird track of guitar tones and spoken word, which kinda made my hair stand on end and feel like I was in for a long headlining set of music that was going to bug the fuck out of me. Once they finally emerged on stage and took up their instruments, the first song burst into life with a lovely wall of backwards guitar, spacey polyrythyms, and high bass tones. Immediately you could feel that the band was confident and practiced…the contrast made sharper by the uneven openers. Their sound is wonderfully complex; fitting a jigsaw of oddly shaped guitar parts, keyboard atmospherics in with the two singer’s unique ranges into something quite compelling. The end result of much of their music becomes something confusingly dreamy and aggressive at the same time, but with time it grows on you. What I didn’t love about Hayden Thorpe’s voice on record works almost magically live. His range is warmer, less grating on the ear when fitted with the great mix at the Music Hall venue. Another key asset to the band is the drummer, Chris Talbot who also found some added dynamism in the live mix vs. on record. His unexpectedly funky polyrythmic fills push the music forward and ties it together tightly with some stalwart pop lockstep for the less indie dance numbers.

All their songs are moody and evocative, which is inescapable with their shimmery guitar tone & near operatic singing. I have a note that I scrawled during the show that just says “ mario cloud level.” I’m not sure if there’s any way to properly translate that, but I found a connection during Wild Beasts’s slower, keyboard driven moments. Much of their music is a warmly enveloping surge bolstered by the tight bassist and drummer. I feel like I could draw some line to a less aggressive Muse, but I’ve honestly never directly listened to them. I make that comparison just by the first 30 seconds of youtube clips and what I’ve read about them…and that’s not properly journalistic. There’s some similarity in the complexity of Wild Beast’s music, but that’s about it I think…I don’t really like Muse anyway.

Late in the set they launched into “Brave Bulging”, off 2008’s Limbo, Panto. The uptempo song broke the spell brought on by a handful of slow, charmingly melodramatic numbers in succession. The crowd jumped back into attention dancing along with the toned heaps that the track is woven from. The final end of the song exploded into a lofty and satisfying release of notes and high falsetto. There’s definitely something Eno-y about the whole affair from the weird masses of guitar tones that call up memories of Music for Airports to their oddball pop collisions recall the album this site is named after.

After a lengthy set, they returned for a three song encore, leaving with almost an hour and a half on stage. From front to back, Wild Beasts were a satisfying surprise. While not every element of their music fits together perfectly, as the songs are sometimes crafted from layer after layer of conflicting tones what they play is rewarding if you persist. By the end all the confusion I had about the band had melted away. Given some time to adjust, you’ll find a fantastic live show well worth catching.

Because I plucked a song at random when I posted about them last time, here’s my favorite off Two Dancers, “All The King’s Men” which is both a fantastic summation of their sound and a brilliant song:

WILD BEASTS – ALL THE KING’S MEN

Two Dancers is out now on Domino Records. Buy it at insound.com.

The wonderful photos for this post were graciously provided by Taylor Long. Take a look at her full set from the show here. You can see more live concert photography on her flickr stream.

The northeast thaw has barely begun and I’m 99% certain I’ve already found what will be my jam of the summer. Vibrationz is the perfect blend of headnodding goodness; it’s a more aggressive take on the Chromatics style spun in with the ghost of The Tom Tom Club. I’ve already put it on repeat enough that I’ll burnt out on it before it’s swimming weather, but I’ll love every minute till then.

JAVELIN – VIBRATIONZ

No Mas will be out on April 26th 2010 via Luka Bop. Preorder it at insound.com.

1. Dananananakroyd – Hey Everyone!

Cheeky band name aside, Hey Everyone! is an incredibly solid debut. The album is a fantastic shot of energy, bundling riffs that Le Savvy Fav wish they’d written with some of the weirdo sheen I loved so much about the sadly defunct Blood Brothers. One thing that kills me about the best songs on the album is that Dananananakroyd is one of the few bands kicking around that has the concept of a solid build and breakdown. “Black Wax”, the song I turned to most often when I needed to clear the bullshit from my brain, culminates in a fantastic riff & drum fill combination that would make anyone in the 80’s take pause during a line of coke.

Lyrically, you’ve got a weird split…there’s a song called “Totally Bone” which seems to be about emasculation and fucking, while the track “Hey James” has a lyrical riff on the Jungian concept of ego in the opening verse. This past year I came to the realization that sad bastard music does indeed contribute to your state as a sad bastard, so an album full of high tempos, tasteful screaming and good Glaswegan proto-punk riffs is ok by me.

And, considering I just rewatched Ghostbusters and it’s still a classic…I’m good with a Dan Aykroyd inspired band name.

DANANANANAYKROYD – BLACK WAX

2. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

I think there’s been more than enough chatter over the last year about Dirty Projector’s most recent release, so I won’t linger here too long. If Beyonce’s little sister is covering your songs, you’ve hit a certain plateau and there’s not much more to say about what they’re producing.

That said, it’s hitting wide for a reason. The electronics of the previous albums has been replaced with a live band that can reproduce the weirdness in Dave Longstreth’s brain. It’s odd how simply putting their electro classical eccentricities in a band context made the whole affair more palatable. To pinch a reaction my dad had after checking the album out, “Bitte Orca is like listening to dyslexia” and that’s a mighty benefit in my mind. A perfect album to sing along to when nobody is around.

3. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Again, another album that’s had enough press and sales to merit knocking it from the list, but it’s hard to deny that Veckatimest is an incredibly sold release that will have many imitators. “Two Weeks” is a brilliant piece of work and was my unofficial jam of last summer.

The freaky video helped too.

4. Dan Deacon – Bromst

Another album, like Bitte Orca that successfully takes a usually electronic core and does its best to transcribe it into the organic. I was already a fan of Dan Deacon and his green skull fueled live show, but with Bromst, I found myself appreciating the complexity more. Pitchfork had a fantastic, but but now pulled documentary on the making of Bromst that gave some wonderful insight into the production process that went into the album. No great album should need an accompanying text explaining it to add to the enjoyment, but it was definitely a great thrill to watch them tinker with a midi player piano for the parts too fast for human hands. Equally impressive was the accompanying tour which forced him away from his usual performance spot in the center of the crowd and onstage to accommodate the 14 piece ensemble needed to perform the new songs. It seemed like a very frustrating venture for Deacon who normal thrives being at the center of the hurricane that is his live show, but I think be it a personal success or failure for him, it was amazing to see him pushing his own boundaries. The show I caught at The Wonder Ballroom in Portland was probably the best show I saw all year.

5. Why? – Eskimo Snow

I’ve written about this band probably more than any other band in TTM’s spotty and short life. I did a focus on the album a few months ago, which you can read here. It’s a quality album from a growing artist…I’m not sure if it’s his strongest overall, but it definitely stands as one of the best of the year.

6. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

A comedown of an album, especially in the context of 2007’s doomy & layered Armchair Aprocrapha, the calming overall flow of Noble Beast is still a choice record overall. Like with Why?, I find it tough to pick an album I like best because the peaks and valleys of each of their discographies are something that never lines up with a complete album. Andrew Bird is another must see live…I caught him for the 9th time this past year and the evolution of his live show is an awesome counterpart to the music he makes. Finally backed by a full band, the work you get on the album comes closer than ever to what he’s performing live. Check out my writeup from back in February and give a listen to the most interestingly twisty song on the album Anonanimal:

ANDREW BIRD – ANONANIMAL

7. Miike Snow – Miike Snow

I think on first glance, I had to give this album a few chances before I accepted it in. Given a few tries, you’ll find there’s a lot of polished hooks and lovely electronics layered into every song. In my continuing effort to listen to more upbeat music, this did a solid job of fitting the bill. Even the slower numbers, especially the broody Silvia, keep a great underlying beat and the accompanying video could be a electro outtake from the recent film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

This clip of them performing the song live on KCRW is worth a look too, gives me some hope that they have a solid live show to back up a studio heavy album.

8. The XX – The XX

I know the pendulum has swung back and the time is now to shit on this once buzz-enswarmed band. This will often happen when your wikipedia page includes the following paragraph:

“Their song “Intro” is also being used in a promotional commercial for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the series Cold Case and Law & Order on the Dutch television network Net 5, and “VCR” was featured in a Lie to Me episode. In episode 7 of the online BBC EastEnders spin-off E20 their cover of “Teardrops” was used. Their song “Heart Skipped a beat” was featured in a 2009 episode of 90210 (TV series). The song “Islands” was used in an episode of the Golden Globe-winning medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

Success is a bitch, and the blog hive mind really only loves you when your sales demographic isn’t the same as Grey’s Anatomy. That said, I still want to give this album credit where credit is due; minimalism is tough to do right and The XX have a pretty exceptional grasp on the simple, steely mood they do so well.

LA’s Nosaj Thing did a pretty fantastic remix of the album standout “Islands” that turns the mood murky with a lovely layer of analog wash.

THE XX – ISLANDS (NOSAJ THING REMIX)

9. Talkdemonic – Eyes At Half Mast

While I’m one to hold a candle for the quintessentially dead genre that is post rock, there’s still a handful of bands out there mucking about with the formula and creating something worth listening to. As a duo, Talkdemonic takes a slimmer approach than the usual GSYBE sized mob, giving you just a drummer and violinist. Their music is a swirling mass, Lisa Molinaro’s somber violin creeping around Kevin O’Connor’s clamorous drumming. With Eyes At Half Mast, the band mixes the tempo up combining slinky, atmospheric songs with driving, percussion fueled numbers that match the fire of their live show. Although the album was released in late 2008, I want to give some praise to the Portland duo’s fine release.

TALKDEMONIC – MARCH MOVEMENT

10. The Dodos – Time To Die

The simplicity of their music is a strength, relying on the warm vocal melodies of Meric Long to serve as the subdued hook. Drummer Logan Kroeber’s accompanying polyrythms keep their music at a more complex and interesting pace than most comparable indie folk, which often lulls me into a bored slumber. I could probably find some fault in the simplicity of Long’s lyrics, but most every other element on Time To Die does such a fantastic job at being memorable that the album earned a spot on the list.

Album closer “Time To Die” is a great summation of the overall tone of the album, beginning with soft vibes and acoustic guitar that jumps in with a drum propelled tone shift midway through.

THE DODOS – TIME TO DIE

Given my current pace, keep a lookout for my wrap up of 2010 sometime after the next presidential election.

Tonight UK’s Wild Beast will be playing a show at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. I was already going to be in the neighborhood and since it’s been ages since I’ve seen a show, I had a friend pick me up tickets before I was aware who was playing. Seems I accidentally invited myself to a decent show. Opening acts tonight are the reverb soaked Violens & Canada’s raw indie rockers Still Life Still. The latter I’m pretty curious to check out live.

Here’s a track off Wild Beast’s 2009 release Two Dancers:

WILD BEASTS – THIS IS OUR LOT

Two Dancers is out now on Domino Records. Buy it at insound.com.

Los Angeles’s Red Sparowes are slated to release their next album The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer on April 6th of this year, which happens to be my birthday. Yay! The band has added a new member since their last release and is carrying the torch proudly for really bombastic post rock song titles and equally expressive songs. Take a listen to the 4th track on the forthcoming album, which hits a fantastic peak that well merits use of the descriptor ‘epic’. ‘Crescendo’ is also applicable , but it’s not as flashy.

RED SPAROWES – GIVING BIRTH TO IMAGINED SAVIORS

The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer will be released on April 6th, 2010 via Sargent House.

SF’s finest in electro breaks and remixes brings a free 48 minute mix of their trademark spastic bounce featuring tracks from Eprom, Oizo, Slugabed, and Dopplereffekt.

LAZER SWORD – SWEATPANTS MONEY MIX

Though they released this mix for free, they recently dropped the 12′ Gucci Sweatshirt on Innovative Leisure Records. Purchase the single at Undergound Hip Hop dot com.

Sometimes hype is merited. Here’s the opening track from Local Natives’ standout debut album.

LOCAL NATIVES – WIDE EYES

Gorilla Manor was released on February 16, 2010 via Frenchkiss Records
Buy it at insound.com

Some songs are just born singles, perfect little gems that set up house without asking and don’t leave when asked, no matter how kindly you insist. Norway’s Casiokids’s recent release “Finn Bikkjen” is exactly one of those songs: a prefect mixture of melody, beat, and, my own personal audio aphrodisiac, a fat analog synth lead. The ice cream on top is a reverbed, vocal line with a soft melody and sung in a language I can’t understand, which for some reason only makes me love it more. The song undulates from spacier bridges to the uptempo synth-laden chorus that never fails to have induce some sort of contented nodding along. Quite simply, electropop at its finest.

Casiokids – Finn Bikkjen

12 – Glasgow – O2 Academy
13 – Edinburgh – Picture House
15 – Nottingham – Rock City
16 – Leeds – O2 Academy
19 – Manchester – Academy
20 – Birmingham – O2 Academy
21 – Southampton – Joiners
22 – 
Bournemouth – O2 Academy
23 – Bristol – O2 Academy
24 – Norwich – O2 Academy
25 – London – Camden Barfly (Headline Show)
26 – London – Brixton Academy

In the US, you can’t purchase their singles through iTunes, but you can grab the Moshi Moshi label compilation. It features “Fot I Hose” and the b-side “Verdens Største Land” along with tracks by Au Revoir Simone, Samuel & the Dragon, and The Very Best. To download the compilation through iTunes click the cover to the right.

The 7″ singles for both “Finn Bikkjen” and “Verdens Største Land” are available direct from Moshi Moshi Records.

Today, for some reason, Grizzly Bear was on my mind. While driving around some back roads, I was listening to my favorites off Veckatimest, mulling over the evolution in songwriting from Yellow House to today. The album is certainly one of my favorites from last year and “Two Weeks” still stands as both a killer single and video.

Sitting in my inbox almost summoned by my daylong binge I found this newly minted live Grizzly Bear track. Recorded for Austrailia’s Triple J Radio, the band covers “Boy From School”, one of the finer tracks off Hot Chip’s 2006 album The Warning. The song is given the standard, but wonderful Grizzly Bear-ification: the tempo is slowed, everything is doused in a healthy amount of reverb and the vocal harmonies snake around each other like bacon wrapped around a steak. (In general, this blog is short on vegan friendly metaphors) It’s a lovely interpretation of an already good song, and even if it’s just some under the radar promotion for Hot Chip’s upcoming One Life Stand, I’m ok with that.

Grizzly Bear – Boy From School (Hot Chip Cover)

Now when I say “winter outdoor group participation experimental Christmas art music”…what comes to mind?

Nothing, you say?

Well, to the cross section of you who haven’t thrown up a little (I admit, I get queasy at the “group participation” part), you should all be alerted to and excited by the concept that is Unsilent Night. The event is the brainchild of Phil Kline, a longstanding NY artist who works most frequently with music. Since 1992, he’s lead his own kind of interesting Christmas celebration which centers around one of Kline’s own musical compositions: a drone based swirl of chimes and other vaguely Christmas related tones. It’s kind of a chorus line that both Fennez and The Flaming Lips (remember Zaireeka?) would enjoy, as folks snag their copy of the composition from the website and the living sound sculpture begins as the group walks together playing the piece from home brought boom boxes, iPhones, and hopefully some of those lovely bike audio rigs I’ve seen at Critical Mass. Given that the composition is an abstract one coming from multiple moving sources, the work evolves as the crowd passes through the given city, forming something fluid and unique each time. Ultimately, a weirdo holiday tradition I can get behind.

This year has some new cities, including Chicago and if you attend NYC’s 18th annual Unsilent Night this Saturday, you’ll get to be lead from Washington Square Park to Thompkins Square Park by Kline himself. Last year’s reported attendance for the New York event was around 1500, so that’s probably the best bet for the most epic scale of holiday drone.

Unsilent Night is happening in 25 cities this year: Albuquerque, Asheville, Baltimore, Berlin, Boulder, Cambridge (Ontario), Charleston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, East Lansing, Fredericton (New Brunswick), London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Milledgeville, Missoula, New Haven, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Vancouver.

Many of the events are happening this weekend. Check out Unsilent Night to find out when and were it’s going on in each city.

The Warp debut by Glaswegian Ross Birchard is certainly one of the most interesting albums that 2009 has dropped in our collective laps. Butter is a beautifully chaotic swirl of influences: L.A. glitch-hop, smears of Warp’s spacier back catalog, and at its weirdest there’s charmed allusions to 1970’s prog/experimental masters The Mahavishnu Orchestra. It’s a wonderfully experimental affair, something far more worthy of the Warp branding than the label’s current top seller Veckatimest.

Trying to pick a song to feature here was a bit of a challenge. On the whole, Butter is a long and twisted affair, a bit exhausting to listen to from front to back. It’s strangely uneven too, with some songs congealing more than others, though that is often the byproduct anything so experimental. Still, it’s still one of the best this year has brought forth.

When I first took a pass at the album, the track that kicked my ass the hardest was ZOo00OOm, because…well, I’m a sucker for a killer synth lead. Amidst the hard stomping ghost of an electrified Dilla beat and the fluttering Casio bleep accompaniment is a hard synth that creeps out an almost cheesy sci-fi sounding melody. It’s one of the more linear and charmed tracks on the album; equal parts head-nodding wonky goodness as well something to put on at high volumes to scare the piss out of your cat.

Hudson Mohawke – ZOo00OOm

Seriously though, I’ll throw $20 bucks on the table for whoever can get Outkast back in the studio and have Hudson Mohawke produce the album. Fuck, that would be epic.

Also epic – the Butter album cover:

Butter was released by Warp Records on October 27th 2009

There’s a lot contained below the surface of Eskimo Snow and what’s underneath is not entirely an uplifting affair. The album, which was released in late September on Anticon Records, is almost completely devoid of the hip-hop sheen that glossed both Elephant Eyelash and Alopecia and what is left settles with much more heft and weight. Much of the humorous subtext is gone as well, though the wordplay left behind is no less clever. The album gives off the air of a defeated narrator, be it Yoni himself or the character he’s woven into the band’s three albums, someone who has laid down his arms in light of the arriving war. The first two albums settled a mixture of reaction to the world around him with wry commentary, Elephant Eyelash brimming with a bit more uptempo sadness followed by Alopecia’s growing frustration. Put in context, the core of Eskimo Snow, in both lyrics and music is something more introspective

I had the pleasure of interviewing Yoni back in early 2006 just before one of their opening shows for The Silver Jews at Chicago’s Double Door. The read I got off him then was a sincere one, as he was a genuinely kind and grounded guy who spoke with as much sincerity off the stage as he did in his lyrics. Between then and now, one has to assume that as you progress as a person of interest in the public eye, there is a divergence between the self you present in your art and the self you live. Over the course of the last two albums, it’s safe to guess that more of a ‘narrative interpretation of Yoni’ has crept into the lyrics. The process of exposing yourself through your art, especially to the extreme that he does can create two representations of one’s self. Even with those ideas are taken into account, Alopecia and Eskimo Snow were born of the same recording sessions, so to say that there’s an evolution over time could be a less than true guess.

Character analysis aside, when you take away the hip-hop sway and gloss humor, what’s left at the core is a dense affair. The same themes of morality, self image, and mortality run through the core of this record. The songs stand strong individually despite the brief length of some, like the hypnotic album opener These Hands. This pairs a rising coo of discordant backup vocals with Yoni’s comparison of his own life’s progress to his father’s. The deep reverb on his voice paired with the lonely piano chords makes for something that creeps under the skin and at under two minutes is gone before you really recognize what is going on.

Why? – These Hands

Another highlight rests with Into The Shadows Of My Embrace, which leans on a swirl of keyboards and xylophone as it marches toward an almost melodramatic musical and lyrical peak where he sings about the extreme of his confessional nature. The kind of straight pop style that he uses in songs like this and Alopecia’s Simeon’s Dilemma and Brook & Waxing were a shift in style that I had to really wrap my head around, but the way they’re executed it grows on you.

Why? – Into the Shadows of My Embrace

With the tour supporting this album, there was a pretty interesting shift in the band’s setup. My last show in Portland was them with the charmingly enigmatic Phil Elverum, this time doing what could best be described as epic Anacortes sludge metal. Why?’s live setup for this tour featured Andrew Broder and Mark Erickson of Fog, so that the full band that participated in the Eskimo Snow and Alopecia recording sessions was present. Earlier tours, they’d shift up the arrangement and subtract elements to perform the songs live, but the full roster of folks on stage allowed for a pretty fair recreation of the album’s sound, down to the barely there backup vocals on Against Me which I always chalked up to reverb. Usually, Yoni would have a setup of a snare drum and a keyboard hooked up to a few effects pedals, but now he was able to function more as a lead man, free to move around the stage untethered. Overall, the show was the most solid and confidant I’ve seen them yet, a reflection on the changes musically and lyrically on the album.

Ultimately, Eskimo Snow chopped up snippets of someone’s life, very much not my own, but the emotion behind it all rings true with me. The feeling of frustration and exhaustion, that I feel a lot of people are suffering through as the world lets loose what could only be described as a massive economic sigh. The emotional pull of the album is more important than the specifics of musical influences or which track hides the cleverest lyric, as Eskimo Snow yields a rewarding listen weather you take the stories as truth or fragments of Mr. Wolf’s own mythos.

Eskimo Snow was released by Anticon Records on September 22nd 2009

As each month ticks by and I’ve barely scraped together half a sentence for dear ole’ Taking Tiger Mountain, you might wonder: what have I been doing in the meantime?

A lot and a little, as difficult as it is to express…one of the major projects that I’ve been working on for months has finally reached a small milestone. It’s not at all music related but the first issue of Devil’s Due Publishing’s forthcoming mini series Jericho: Season Three – Civil War has finally been sent to press. The six issue mini-series picks up exactly where the canceled CBS television show ended and I think it will be a massive treat to both the fervent fan base of the show as well your average comic book reader. This is the first title that I’ve edited from start to finish and it’s certainly been a massive learning experience for me along the way. I’m very proud of the end result that is issue #1, but I do recognize that there’s still 5 more issues to go. If you enjoy comics or the show, please check it out when it hits the stands November 25th.

Above is cover #1A, drawn by the fantastically talented Scott West. Hire him…well, once he’s done with the Jericho covers for me.

In addition to crafting the Jericho mini, I spent a some time earlier this year prepping for and succumbing to the whirlwind that is San Diego ComicCon. I got wrangled into planning and managing the Devil’s Due booth and it was certainly an experience. The usual potent mixture of too little sleep, too much booze and people overload coupled with the whole “responsibility” thing makes for a surreal few days. Definitely some good times and positive things have come of my time down there.

Now, none of the above has anything to do with music, but but I’ll throw it out there that posts should be resuming again. If not for the few folks who may still check back, I need to resume writing for myself. My life has been pretty nutty and I think, while it’s not looking like it’ll calm down anytime soon, I’ve just settled into the fact that I have to adapt to the din that seems to always surround me and write anyway. There’s been a bit of a silent identity crisis, both for me and the site over the last few months…a debate about what the function of this site has been and what it should become. The content I hope to have here is less of a “Hey, here’s a new single from this band!” and more expanded commentary on what is appealing to me. A lot of times it’s easy to pop off a few words about a new video or leak, but better thoughts seem come with time. As I’m always thinking about music, I will continue to create content for the site that will be, with luck, worth the read.

Look for more TTM updates coming soon…

Last night, I had a moment that made me remember why music and live performances can’t be contained by a stage or venue. Daniel Buxton is something of a rarity that proves my point. As I was leaving an eatery on Granville, I heard a voice coming from across the street and I thought to myself “Wow, is this guy really singing?” My friend and I ran to see this lone man standing in the light of an Aldo shoe store. With a thin frame and hair that for sure makes women more than a little jealous, stood Daniel Buxton.

He was playing a square guitar and using a wooden foot plank attached to tambourines, belting out a song that I can’t remember the name of, but the title of which was truly irrelevant. This man could sing and play better than most people I’ve ever seen live. Buxton embraced the emotion with his tightly closed eyes and booming voice. The street was empty but for an audience of two and he played like it was two hundred. After a few covers, he took a short break to which I used the opportunity to ask if he had any original stuff. Instantly, he lit up and said “Yeah man, for sure. Here, I’ll play two songs.” I was nervous. I have heard a lot of acts that can cover a song flawlessly but can’t bring to the table stuff of there own making.

To this, Buxton started to play…and play he did. His original work was way better to hear then the covers. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the covers are a valid addition to a street performers repertoire, but if I had it my way this man would play all original work. Granville St. in Vancouver isn’t the most music appreciative place on earth…the neighborhood mainly consists of Kim Kardashian-esq women and what I would consider ‘roided douche bags. When he was playing large groups of people would walk by and 9 out of 10 wouldn’t hear a lick of what he was playing. The singular guy that knew and appreciated talent that would turn his head, stop and join the audience. This happened at least 3 or4 times while I was watching. He would approach the two audience members, just my friend and I at the beginning, and say “Holy shit, this guy is so good” while frantically searching for a dollar or more to throw into the guitar case. What can be said about Daniel Buxton and his performance in the doorway of that Aldo is that he has the ability to truly pull out the best in people who appreciate music and soul.

Check out the Candice Weapon remix of Daniel Buxton’s ‘Sex With My Ex’:

DB Buxton Revue – Sex With My Ex (Cadence Weapon’s No Sex Mix)

I’m not entirely sure why I like Tokyo Police Club the way I do. The core building blocks of the band are pretty straight forward: metronomic indie rock drumming, jagged, occasionally reverbed guitar and a thin but emotive lead singer. All the elements separately wouldn’t stand a chance , but together they coalesce and creates something that exceeds expectations.

Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good

When the tempo is pushed forward, the songs are at their best; propulsive head-nodding pseudo-anthems that catch you in their wake and pull you along. Tracks like ‘Your English Is Good’ stomp along with all the fervor of punkrock’s grandchild, but with an added attention to shifting detail. The song is littered with touches; the keyboard line glues together the clicking of the drums and the steady, fuzzy bass. It’s not repetitive; the riffs concise and incredibly efficient.

Tokyo Police Club – In A Cave

I’m not the type of listener who reacts to the lyrics. I tend to process the minutia of the sound production rather than respond to the worlds described by the singer. Dave Monks is an exception as very early in my discovery of the band I found myself looking up the lyrics and additionally, the meaning behind the words to ‘In A Cave’.

The phrasing isn’t always perfect, but his choices create something that is earnest and visual. The narratives twist throughout the song, fragments of images appear and guide you along. I think the almost awkward positioning of some of his word choices are the things that draw me in. The times my ears get confused cause me to only listen closely and examine the narrative better. Like with The Ghost’s Brian Moss, the things that I initially found offputting about some of his lyric choices evolved into the things that I found most endearing about the band.

The Interface has a few fantastic in-studio acoustic performances up as video and for MP3 download. Plus, Monks has a Maps and Atlases shirt on…you know how I love those guys. Always nice to see people you like have good taste as well.

You can download the full set for download as an single MP3 from The Interface, but I took the liberty of chopping it up into individual tracks. Far more useful that way:

Tokyo Police Club – Live at The Interface (Acoustic)

01. Tokyo Police Club – Tessalate: MP3 – VIDEO
02. Tokyo Police Club – The Harrowing Adventures: MP3 – VIDEO
03. Tokyo Police Club – The Nature of the Experiment – MP3 – VIDEO
04. Tokyo Police Club – Centennial: MP3 – VIDEO

The four songs as a ZIP (Sendspace)

Elephant Shell is a great example of quality from a young band that will only grow as time moves on. The songs they’ve presented us are smartly produced, contemporary indie rock that is driving without being lofty or overly anthemic. The live, acoustic cuts strip away the layers and show something of exceptional craft at the core. What they do next will no doubt be well worth the listen.

Bonus downloads:

2007’s Daytrotter Session

Ra Ra Riot’s stellar remix of Juno

2007 Brooklyn Vegan Interview