I’m a little late in posting this, but hell. I love the Dodos.

Earlier this week their new album, Time to Die, leaked to the internetz! In an effort to combat piracy, or something, Frenchkiss is streaming the entire album on TimeToDie.net. I’ve only listened once, but it seems to be a slightly more subdued affair than Visiter, maybe a cleaner, more touched-up return to Beware of the Maniacs. So far, “Longform” is killing it for me. It builds with the same optimism of “Fools,” falling into psyched-out guitar rants and a spastic finger-picking interlude. And of course, the percussion sections are huge and panning.

Check the full album stream of Time To Die here.

Here is the single from Time to Die, for your downloading pleasure:

The Dodos - Fables

Official Site | MySpace | Preorder Time To Die

As promised, here’s the Wilco show from Bonnaroo. For those of you that waited this long to check out Wilco (The Album) I hope that over the next few weeks we will realize why this band is truly coming into form. Like I’ve said before, The Album didn’t exactly pique my interest at first, there is something truly meta-Wilco about the project and the way the band is working in its current form. My close friend Dave Nyman even pointed out what I would call a “considerate” review of the new album that actually does the band a bit of justice. If anyone would be quick to call Wilco “old and boring” it would be our pretentious brethren at Pitchfork. Needless to say, I was surprised that the site took into consideration what the album stood for before doing the usual track by track bashing. The fact of the matter is, that as music becomes more personal, bands desire communication and growth over several works. Wilco has consistently proven that confidence is a large part of happiness. Even if that means we won’t be seeing the harrowing lonliness of Yankee Hotel Foxrot for a little while, you gotta be happy that the journey has become a bit smoother.  This new album, their seventh, is entitled Wilco (The Album), and it’s a statement. It might be weird, but after coming this far, I get a huge grin when I think of Jeff Tweedy happy.

For me, Wilco is a band that helped me find pride in old American rock traditions and folk music while evoking the experimental and nervous innards of their experience with the time. The Wilco story is a true story, and Wilco (the band) is truly special if only for their determination to keep the story going. With every release I wonder if this is the last bit of the band that I love, and with every passing month I know that they’re not going anywhere for now. If you are a skeptical hipster, go to see them live. You may not even be into their type of music, but the sheer energy and the attitude among the seven musicians could not be more grateful.

As for this show, which I am so happy to have found (at the ALWAYS consistent Largehearted Boy), we get a firsthand look at how a band with full access to their catalog and the ability to make each song better every single time can take an ordinary show and get every last drop of pure, honest energy out of it. A stellar 23-song set in the late afternoon, Wilco put on a heartfelt show that, in spite of VW Commercials and having kids, was equal parts thankful and aggressive. Take special note of the songs from Wilco (The Album), like “Bull Black Nova” as well as older gems like “Pot Kettle Back” and “Hoodoo Voodoo.”

Get the .ZIP download from Largehearted Boy!

1. Wilco (The Song)
2. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
3. Company In My Back
4. Handshake Drugs
5. Bull Black Nova
6. You Are My Face
7. One Wing
8. Pot Kettle Black
9. Side With The Seeds
10. Shot in the Arm
11. At Least That’s What You Said
12. Jesus, Etc.
13. Impossible Germany
14. California Stars
15. Misunderstood
16. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
17. Hummingbird
18. You Never Know
19. The Late Greats
20. Hate It Here
21. Walken
22. I’m The Man Who Loves You
23. Hoodoo Voodoo

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, MY FRIENDS… WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH

Over the past few months, Deerhunter have creeped their way from casual divergence to mindless obsession. Cryptograms was daunting in its expanse, building sonic landscapes from pulsing bass and shimmering guitar. And the moments it coalesced - when it dredged solid melodies from the swirling masses below - hinted at the brilliance to come with Microcastle.

Microcastle gave Cryptograms the context I needed. The My Bloody Valentine guitar textures met sweeping pop arpeggios; Deerhunter formed sculptures from the malleable skeletons of Cryptograms. And with the temporally titled Rainwater Cassette Exchange, their recently released five-song EP, Deerhunter furthers their sound with tighter, more-buoyant pop constructions.

The title track opens with a waltzing pop reminiscent of songs half-forgotten, hailing from a time long ago when chocolate milkshakes and school dances were the epitome of social grace. But the buoyant exterior belies it’s intent, as singer Bradford Cox croons through a palpable haze: “Capture my heart and destroy me/destroy my mind and my body/invade me like a disease and conquer me.” His macabre desire for an all-enveloping, entirely devastating love is echoed through time, but novel in this setting: he wants what he’s had but not as he’s had it. And reflected in the music: they’ve borrowed a tune, but made it their own.  (See: Neil Young, Joanna Newsom. Both have lots to say on this subject.) More after the jump.

The EP proceeds to flit through bizarro versions of Microcastle songs. “Circulation” mirrors “Saved by Old Times” with archaic vocal samples and a monumental climax.  “Disappearing Ink” recalls “Nothing Ever Happened” with sharp snare hits and Josh Fauver’s trademark distorted bass. “Game of Diamonds” is the one song free of context and the most exciting of the five. Disparate piano chords give way to bongo’s and slide guitar. Rapid high-hat hits pan from the left, building an intricate staccato between the channels that relays an island vibe only found in the city.  And again, Cox describes feelings better than I know how to feel them (I feel much the same way about everything F. Scot Fitzegerald has ever written): “No one ever walked with me/I got so tired on my feet/I lay drunk on the bowery/time never meant much to me.” Lay down, hang out, close your eyes and let that song sink in. It’ll make sense.

From Rainwater Cassette Exchange:

Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange

Deerhunter - Game of Diamonds

From Microcastle:

Deerhunter - Nothing Ever happened

And while we’re on the subjects, choice quotes on timeless melodies from Joanna and Neil:

From “Sadie,” included above:

“This is an old song
These are old blues
And this is not my tune
But it’s mine to use” - Joanna Newsom

From “Borrowed Tune,” included above:

“I’m singin’ this borrowed tune
I took from the Rolling Stones
Alone in this empty room
Too wasted to write my own.” - Neil Young

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I’m on my way out the door, but I just heard a song I’d love to share with you. A short song by Philadelphia’s Grubstake. From what I understand, these guys are just about to release their fifth album and have a serious local following. Grubstake are huge proponents of dirty, folky blues. I can hear Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Woodie Guthrie, Lou Reed and the White Stripes all at once, just from their MySpace. They are certainly unattended on the edges, but no song has made me want to drive a truck so badly. No bullshit.

MP3: Grubstake - “Recession Blues 2001″

Alright, here are a few more, at random.

MP3: Grubstake - “Whispering Blues”

MP3: Grubstake - “Musicians”

Let me know what you think, or if you know anything about these guys that I don’t. PEACE.

(Photo Credit: Doug Mason)

After this year’s Bonnaroo I can safely say that YES, Wilco is a touring band at its prime. The recently released Ashes of American Flags tour DVD gave me new insight into the workings of a group that, in my opinion, has overcome considerable struggle and years of obscurity to finally be standing strong at the peak of their art. After previewing the stream, Wilco (The Album) felt empty without Tweedy’s anxiety and experimental energy–it’s what defined masterpieces like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born. Nonetheless, there are new, beautiful aspects of the band that shine bright this time around–in addition, the new album is also considerably different from Sky Blue Sky. In my obsession of what I consider to currently be “The Great American Band,” I’ve stumbled on a few blog-gems that I will share with you, leading up to the release of Wilco (The Album). First, here’s a few minutes of Wilco (at Bonnaroo ‘09) courtesy of Billboard Music.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Recently, The LAist published an extremely insightful interview with Wilco guitarist (and “Guitar God”) Nels Cline. In the article, Nels is approached about the new Wilco album, due out in a week or so. He answers questions about Wilco’s songwriting process as well as thoughts on his own project, The Nels Cline Trio–an avant-garde jazz group. If for no other reason than to learn about a true artist and a dying breed, check out the article. There’s also a fantastic video of Nels’ part on “Handshake Drugs” as well as a link to Nels Cline’s list of his Top 200 Guitarists.

• [LINK] Read the article at The LAist

OneThirtyBPM wrote a post a month or so ago that covers all you’ll need to prepare for new Wilco, complete with track lyrics and live versions of many of the songs on Wilco (The Album). After listening to their new songs live, it is fantastic to see how they are adapted for the stage and it’s even more interesting to see how they’ve already improved on songs that haven’t even been released yet. It’s definitely a more time-consuming post, but it’s worth it. ZIP file included.

• [LINK] Read/Download the live/album preview at OneThirtyBPM.com

Finally, just a quick note on the June 30th release of Wilco (The Album), if you order from Wilco World before the album comes out you get a full 256kbs download on release in addition to the physical media. Also, if you pre-order, you can download the track “You Never Know” right away. This track, incedentally, is also going to 7″ for a limited time in honor of Vinyl Saturday (from the creators of Record Store Day). The 7″ will include “You Never Know” as well as “Unlikely Japan,” an unreleased Sky Blue Sky track–a precursor to “Impossible Germany.” Since we all love nerding out on b-sides and rarities… this is welcome. More info on that at Nonesuch Records.

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Don’t Worry, I’ll be posting Wilco’s show from Bonnaroo 2009 soon!

To end, I leave you with a Glenn Kotche interview by Nashville’s Lightning 100 fm. Kinda hard to hear, but it’s funny… just not ha ha funny.

Click here to view the embedded video.

(Photo Credit: Jay West 2009)

Perhaps my favorite story from this years Bonnaroo happened on the first night. The day, spent obtaining press passes and setting up campsites in the rain, was anything but magical. Nervous faces and knotted stomachs were a sign of the apprehension, but people maintained hope for a positive, pleasant weekend.

Poncho on, we headed in to catch the White Rabbits, Chairlift and Passion Pit. The shows did not disappoint and the crowd was just happy to see some music. I’ll expound on those shows later, but the real treat of the night came in the form of California natives Delta Spirit. Originally set to go on at their 7 p.m. slot, the poor guys were stuck in a Dallas airport as their stage time passed. I can only imagine their shock when they found out that they would be going on after Passion Pit–12:30 a.m, This Tent,  in the pouring rain.

Occasionally clarifying their anxious bewilderment with bits of banter that included “thank you for listening,” and “we definitely aren’t the best band out here,” Delta Spirit exemplified raw, honest energy better than any band I had the pleasure listening to all weekend. Though I didn’t catch the whole show, I was assured that their hour long, last-minute set was full of folk-infused, no frills Delta rock. Lead-singer Matthew Vasquez led the band with authority and an ear-to-ear grin, culminating with “People C’mon,” a call-to-arms for wandering souls. As he screamed, “And I’ll be wondering all, for all my years. What I become no one can say!” I was sold. The crowd cheered and fed off their raw energy. I can say, without a doubt, that whatever was lost in inexperience and nervousness was more than made up for with sheer enthusiasm.

What would have been a normal festival run serendipitously turned into a once-in-a-lifetime, Cinderella-story. I can only hope that the press and attention resulting from such a story will bring Delta Spirit closer to being required listening and competing with the best we have to offer.

MP3: Delta Spirit - “People C’mon”

MP3: Delta Spirit - “Strange Vine”

MP3: Delta Spirit - “Streetwalker”

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The only reason I had even heard about Delta Spirit was from a particularly wonderful “Take-Away Show” at La Blogotheque. As I still know very little about these dudes, the video says more than I ever could about the band and their sound. Check it out the whole article here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In 2010, Delta Spirit will issue the follow-up to their debut, Ode to Sunshine, with an LP entitled Natalie Portman Says This Album Will Change Your Life. (via)

I’m very very excited. Plus: More Bonnaroo reviews, live tracks and pictures coming this week…

This song is neither new nor any type of obscure, but today it’s my (sad, sappy) jam. I woke up, just about noon, with the melody stuck in my head. “Custom Concern” always resonated on some basic level, outlying a creative pitfall that every one hits every so often. The song is universal in its defeat, but comforting in that someone as brilliant as Isaac Brock can get down on his art. And then put it into one of the better songs Modest Mouse ever wrote. So if these past few rainy days have anyone else dragging their feet, throw This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About on for a spin and relax.

From This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About:

Modest Mouse - Custom Concern

And the buoyant, upbeat instrumental version, a bonus on The Moon and Antarctica:

Modest Mouse - Custom Concern (instrumental)

Yellow House never really did it for me. The first three songs, ending with “Knife,” were beautiful and accessible. They drew me in and built a graceful momentum. But the remainder of the album, the other 8 songs, broke off, choosing to meander through sometimes aimless soundscapes with no discernible resolution. It was Department of Eagles, Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen’s side project, that restored, or initially placed, my faith in Grizzly Bear. I had a bunch to say about that here. Anyway, like the good lil’ music blogger that I am, on to Veckatimest.

Veckatimest finds Grizzly Bear at a point of self-realization. They have power - magic maybe - and they’ve chosen to wield it. With “Two Weeks,” a hook-fraught, stand-up chamber pop epic, Ed Droste finds a Frank Sinatara-swagger to his vocals. He waltzes across a staccato keyboard and through disembodied harmonies; he finds his stance and sets hold, confident, charming, nearly ebullient with pop-righteousness. But the power of Veckatimest is in it’s adaptability and emotive range. “Two Weeks” descends into “All We Ask”, a brooding, reverb-soaked ballad marked by Rossen’s trademark stomping baritone guitar. Instantly all that serotonin has vanished. The verse swells into the chorus, which wavers behind Rossen’s bop before gently eroding to the underlying current. The boys harmonize in a near whisper: “I can’t get out of what I’m into with you.” If  “Two Weeks” is a sunny summer’s day on a hillside, then “All We Ask” is the corresponding insomnia at two A.M. (Oh, is that what time it is? huh.)

After the first serveal listens my memory of the album felt like a sin graph; it peaked with certain hooks every few songs and descended into oblivion with others. The sequencing speaks to a calculated foresight, where each of their most accesible songs is spaced by several more brooding ones. It nearly follows the High Fidelity rules for making a mixtape. “Cheerleader” bumps between reverbed guitars and marching-beat drums while Droste ghosts over everything. “While You Wait For the Others”, basically a Department of Eagles song, follows Rossen’s heartbreak, reinforced by the most prominent harmonies on the album. I’ve fallen in love with the expanse of Veckatimest, the overwhelming density of sound, the swelling harmonies, the way each track tends to morph several times before resolving in a definite form. I Guess I’m Floating compared the Veckatimest anticipation to Srgt. Peppers. Then I thought it was hype, now I can only agree. This might be an album for the ages.

Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader

Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For the Others

And here is the video for “Two Weeks”:

MySpace | Label

Pixies fans with hundreds of dollars to spend will surely be reminded of the band’s relevance and significance as the most influential band to ever come out of Boston on June 15, when the band is set to reissue all of their studio albums in a fancy box set.

Titled Minotaur, the package will be offered in both a Deluxe Edition and a Limited Edition.  The Deluxe Edition includes the Pixies’ five studio albums– Come on Pilgrim EP (1987), Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990) and Trompe Le Monde (1991), plus a DVD of every Pixies’ music video and their 1991 performance at London’s Brixton Academy (a year before they broke up), a 54-page picture book, and redesigned album covers by the Pixies original designer Vaughan Oliver, all in a slipcase.  The Limited Edition version includes the entire deluxe package, plus each album on 180-gram vinyl, a Giclee print of Oliver’s artwork, and a 72-page hardcover book, all in a custom clamshell. The Deluxe Edition is $175 and the Limited Edition is $450.

While these re-designed packages are one way to remember the impact of this influential band, there are certainly other ways to hear and appreciate the Pixies’ legacy.  Boston University visiting professor of American history reminds us that while listening to the Pixies’ albums can re-affirm their significance in American culture, their legacy can be appreciated just as much by listening to their influence on other bands.

“They’re the kind of band whose legacy continues to increase as years pass,” said Schmitz.  “Their significance is about influence more so than their album sales.”

So rather than shell out hundreds of dollars for box sets, perhaps try reminding yourself of the Pixies’ legacy by checking out these Boston bands who all cite the Pixies as a major influence, after the jump:

You can be a Wesley

“The Pixies are more of an institution than a band,” said Nick Curran, bassist of You can be a Wesley.  “Frank Black has these gnarled, abrasive, screaming-his-fucking-head-off vocals, but then they also have these melodic top-40 kick-ass rock sounds.  It’s just accessible enough to have appeal, but it’s not intentional.  It’s organic.”

Curran said after hearing Doolittle, he listened to the album for a year straight, and learned how to play bass by listening to Kim Deal.

“It showed me how bass playing could be simple and melodic, while still having a definite presence in the song,” said Curran, who only played bass when he first started learning from Deal’s bass lines.  Curran said the dynamic Deal creates with her bass playing is unique because it is not overbearing and only surfaces when it needs to.  “With bass, it’s important to not get too carried away.”

The Pixies influence on his bass playing is most evident in You Can Be a Wesley’s song “Creatures,” said Curran, whose favorite Pixies tracks are “Hey” and “Dead.”

“I was thinking of the Pixies when I wrote the bass line for that song,” Curran said, adding that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where Pixies influence surfaces because “they are such a pervasively influencing band.”

You Can Be A Wesley - Creatures

Kids With Kites

Kids With Kites bassist Joe Difazio also said he is largely influenced by Deal’s bass playing.

“She’s not a great bassist in a technical sense,” said Difazio.  “She didn’t even know how to play bass when she joined the band.  But it’s very simplistic and melodic and good.”

Specifically, Difazio said the song “Gigantic” off of the Pixies’ 1989 release Surfer Rosa has had an influence on his bass playing.  “The whole song is in G.  You get Francis and Santiago soloing over it, but it’s all surrounding that same bass line playing throughout the whole song.  It’s amazing.”

Difazio said that the Kids With Kites track “Fiction Non-Fiction” is heavily influenced by “Gigantic.”

The Toothaches

“A lot of people say we sound like the Pixies,” said Rose Blakelock. who sings and plays keyboard for The Toothaches. “I think part of it is because we’re from Boston, and part of it is because we have the same male/female vocals.  We never sat down and said, ‘we’re going to write this song like the Pixies,’ but it’s a huge honor to be compared to them.”

Blakelock said the Toothaches’ song “Sucker Punch” is their track that sounds the most noticeably Pixies-influenced, but that the influence was “unintentional.”

“There’s a Pixies-esque surf-rock intro,” Blakelock said.  “And we trade off male/female vocals.  Any time we do that it tends to sound like the Pixies.  We also have some newer stuff that nobody’s heard, with one-note guitar parts that are very Frank Black-esque.”

The Pixies were different from other 1980s bands; they played an integral role in “a movement that brought guitar back to the forefront of rock,” Blakelock said.

“Before the Pixies, there were so many keyboards and synthesizers and disco and over-production,” said Blakelock.  “You hear those albums and know they’re from the 80s.  The Pixies were less produced.”

Stream Sucker Punch Here

And from their heart-warming lo-fi debut…:

The Toothaches - Sophia

The Bynars

“In any guitar solo I write, part of it is always going to be influenced by Santiago,” said Matt Jatkola, guitarist for The Bynars,  “I don’t do busy stuff a lot of times, so in a sense almost any Bynars solo is a Pixies nod.”

Jatkola said that the “juxtaposition of everything” is what makes the Pixies’ sound so unique and important.

“When you first hear the Pixies, it feels like you’ve never heard anything like it before,” Jatkola said, “And then after you hear them, you never hear anything like them again.”

The Bynars - It’s So Easy To Fall

The Pixies are headlining the Isle of Wight festival on June 14.  If you can’t make it to the UK, check out these contemporary reincarnations of the Pixies’ sound in Boston bands. ( Ed - Or check out some other sweet, possibly Pixies influenced Boston bands like Pretty & Nice, Tulsa or Hooray For Earth. Cause they all rock. Hard.)

The Shivers, who are one of the best kept secrets in today’s indie scene, just released a new album called In The Morning. It’s a fantastic follow-up to their 2008 album, Beaks to The Moon (which made my Top 10 list last year).  The entire album was recorded on a 4-track cassette deck in their rehearsal space under Queensboro Bridge, giving their music a pure, lo-fi sound.

Like other Shivers albums, In the Morning jumps around a lot from track to track, but the band is able to pull off their diverse sound in a way most bands could only dream. My favorite track on the album is the opening song “Just Didn’t Need To Know,” which brings to mind the Velvet Underground (in particular Lou Reed’s “Heroine”). Other favorites include “Only in It For The $$$,” “Insane,”  “Sad Excuse,” and, of course, “Inside Job” (a silent track that lasts for 9 minutes and 11 seconds; Keith is a supporter of 9/11 Truth).

Keith Zarriello has been the only consistent member of the band since forming in Brooklyn back in 2001, but the band has now evolved into a duo, with the talented Jo Schornikow on piano, organ, and occasional vocals.  You can look for The Shiver’s song “Feather” in the new Noah Baumbach produced movie Alexander the Last. Jo also scored acted in the film alongside Justin Rice from Bishop Allen.

In The Morning (2009)

The Shivers - Just Didn’t Need To Know

The Shivers - Insane

Other highly recommended listening:

The Shivers - Beauty

The Shivers - Lonely Road

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