Like any great album should, Big Light’s full-length debut Animals in Bloom (2010) draws me in more completely with every listen. The songs endlessly unravel as one’s ears open to the nuances. I’ve been enamored with the band since they debuted in San Francisco near the end of 2007 and it’s all in the combination. Skillful songs, prodigious musicianship, and a certain sincerity. It’s the kind of music you want to sit back and take in and also the kind that you want to move to and lose yourself within. It’s the best of all genres, melding the weight of rock, the earnestness of folk, the edginess of indie, and the transcendental psychedelia of jam. The band’s sound is easy to love and hits with an immeasurably depth. As my friend Melissa and I would say to each other back then, “Big Light plays just the kind of music I want to hear.”
From the grittiness of “Triceratops”, to the tenderness of “Departed”, to the touching words, melodies, and guitar riffs of “Rainbow Eyes”, Animals in Bloom gets inside. “Good Time of the Year”’s youth-filled intimacy is undeniable and “Monster” strikes with washes of sound. “Heavy” just tears it all apart. It’s not just the raging guitars that send you to oblivion but the band as a whole progressing, ripping, lying deep within the groove. Unabating until the raging finale moments of “Bonebreaker”, the album is a solid realization of Big Light’s limitless potential. The album’s lyrics are poetic, pensive, inspiring and filled with color. The songs catch inside your head and refuse to let go. It’s intimate and makes you feel included.
The San Francisco foursome features Fred Torphy (lead vocals, guitar, songwriting), Bradly Bifuclo (drums), Steve Adams (bass, vocals) and Jeremy Korpas (lead guitar, vocals). After several shifts in lineup, this band feels like the one Torphy needs to convey what’s inside his head. Torphy’s voice morphs from track to track all the while staying endearing and real. And his guitar solos soar. Bradly Bifulco contributes a strength of foundation and depth that stands out on every song. ALO’s Steve Adams exemplifies what this incredible player can do when offered an alternate existence. And the most recent addition of Jeremy Korpas seals the force of Big Light. Korpus’ ripping playing which has earned him the name “Swordfish”, raised the bar of Big Light’s musicianship, allowing the band to travel where it was ready. A nod to the benefit of timing and luck, Korpas’ inclusion came by chance after needing a place to crash when first moving to SF. By way of a friend he landed on Torphy’s couch and later joined the band. Together these four individuals gesture gratitude to the great bands that inspired them – Dr. Dog, The Slip, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket – yet seamlessly unite to create a sound that is undeniably Big Light.
Yesterday, I got to chat with songwriter Fred Torphy about the album…
How does the current state of Big Light compare to what you imagined when you originally formed the band?
Torphy: Probably closer to what I imagined it being. More professional and cohesive and focused. That was something we had to work for, a permanent lineup. You saw a lot us in the formative days. It was sprawling then and you never knew who was actually going to play. That was always really hard to deal with as a bandleader. All the coming and going of the personal and getting the band staffed probably. You don’t want to push any of those things. It needs to happen on its own. Give it time. That happening was cool. I’m just stoked that it’s where it’s at right now. And that we are more lean and mean. More focused.
Are there any unseen insights into the album that you want to share?
Torphy: Mechanically we got really experimental and went deep. There are sounds you might not hear unless you’re listening on headphones. There are all of these undercurrents of noise that prevail from the beginning to the end. We capture sounds that aren’t musical in some senses. Detuning ukuleles or dropping an amplifier on the ground so that it makes a crazy thunderous sound. We put ghosts in the recording so that they could be heard later when someone is listening a little closer.
The one thing that probably nobody one knows is that there’s one guitar amp that we ended up using for 90% of the record that we got from this dude who lives in an apartment that’s next to the studio where we recorded. He’s this guy Kidd Candelario, Jerry Garcia’s right hand man for like 30 years, his guitar tech and all this stuff, and he has a bunch Jerry Garcia’s old gear. He gave us this Fender Twin that had belonged to Jerry and that Jerry used on stage for a really long time. We went back and looked at pictures and saw this thing. We had this modified Fender Twin that was Jerry Garcia’s primary guitar amp and we used it in every situation imaginable because it was cool… it sounded so different from everything else because it was modified for him. It was really loud and you could do crazy shit with it. It was fun playing with that thing. The history, recording the album in San Francisco… We’re not a Grateful Dead leaning band at all in any respect. I mean we like improvisation, we love that band, but they aren’t a model for Big Light in any way. But we did love using that guitar amplifier to make all the cool guitar sounds.
Who’s singing the words before the chorus on “Rainbow Eyes”?
Torphy: We call that the “gang vocal”. Our friend Ty Roberts and his family, Sabrina & Ted, Chris Joseph, Ray (Bradly’s wife)… There are probably 40 voices. We threw a whiskey and pizza party one night in the studio and invited our supporters and friends and asked them all to yell “rainbow eyes”.
Below is a teaser for Animals in Bloom featuring studio and tour footage and clips from their December ‘09 performance at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, all set to an excerpt of the new track “Triceratops”.
For Big Light, club dates have translated into high profile gigs, including appearances at Outside Lands, Noise Pop, Wanderlust, and High Sierra and at renowned California venues such as the Troubadour and The Roxy in Los Angeles and The Fillmore in San Francisco. They’ve also been placed on bills with Spoon, Broken Social Scene, The Mother Hips, Dead Confederate, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, Everest and Howlin Rain. As a fan from the beginning, it’s truly exciting to stand back and watch Big Light constantly progress and evolve at such an electrifying rate and receive due recognition for their musical journeys. Big Light’s CD Release tour for Animals in Bloom kicks off with a performance at San Francisco’s Independent on March 4th (TODAY!).
Mar 4 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA – Animals In Bloom Release Party w/ Guns for San Sebastian and Everest
Mar 5 – 50/50 Brewery, Truckee, CA
Mar 11 – The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
Mar 13 – Sullivan Hall, New York, NY
Mar 17,18,19,20 – SXSW, Austin, TX
Apr 8 – Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, NV
Apr 16 – Cooper’s, Nevada City, CA
Apr 17 – South Lake Tahoe Earth Day Festival, South Lake Tahoe, CA
July 1,2,3,4 – High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA
Animals in Bloom is for sale on the Big Light’s website, at Amazon, and on iTunes where you can download the added bonus track of “Piece Together Wings”, co-written with Nathan Moore and featuring Dan Lebowitz (ALO) on pedal steel. Jeremiah Kille of Conspiracy Surfboards created the memorable album artwork for Animals in Bloom. Check out more of Jeremiah’s work.
In addition to their previously announced set at Coachella, Thom Yorke’s solo band will hit several major U.S. cities this April on a two-week, eight-date tour. Thom Yorke broke the news on Radiohead’s blog Dead Air Space on Thursday, Feb 25th. Southern California’s electronic / hip hop artist Flying Lotus will support the band all eight nights.
The name of the band? Atoms for Peace. Aside from being the name of the stand out track on Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser (2006), Atoms for Peace refers to the title of a speech delivered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City in 1953. The speech was likely a tipping point towards inspiring international focus on peaceful uses of atomic energy.
Atoms for Peace (the band) features Beck/R.E.M.’s Joey Waronker on drums, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea on bass, Mauro Refosco of David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto on percussion, and longtime Radiohead/Yorke producer Nigel Godrich on guitar/synths/laptop. This lineup is the same one that backed up Yorke at the Echoplex and the Orpheum Theater in L.A. in October.
Tickets are being sold via Ticketmaster as well as on Radiohead’s ticketing site, W.A.S.T.E. On sale info below.
Atoms for Peace Tour:
04-05 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 2nd at 10am EST
04-06 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 2nd at 10am EST
04-08 Boston, MA – Citi Wang Theatre * – onsale through CPAC March 2nd at 10am EST
04-10 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 3rd at 10am CST
04-11 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 3rd at 10am CST
04-14 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre * – onsale through TM March 4th at 10am PST
04-15 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre * – onsale through TM March 4th at 10am PST
04-17 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl * – onsale through TM March 3rd at 11am CST
04-18 Indio, CA – Coachella
* with Flying Lotus
TM = Ticketmaster
CPAC = Citi Performing Arts Center
Pre-sale tickets are being sold on W.A.S.T.E. Tickets (Radiohead’s ticketing site) on the following schedule:
New York – Roseland Ballroom – April 5th & 6th – On sale through Tickemaster
Boston – Citi Wang Theatre – April 8th – On sale through CitiCenter
Chicago – Aragon Ballroom – April 10th & 11th – On sale March 3rd via W.A.S.T.E.
Oakland – Fox Theatre – April – 14th & 15th – On sale March 4th via W.A.S.T.E.
Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara Bowl – April 17th – On sale March 3rd via W.A.S.T.E.
My astute brother recently turned me on to three very different covers of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, off the band’s self-titled debut Vampire Weekend (2008). The Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel collaboration wins out. Peter Gabriel’s name is actually in the song, which creates some beautiful irony. Slightly silly, but he sings, “It feels so unnatural. Peter Gabriel, too. And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name…”
It’s great to see Gabriel back on the scene. He’s reemerging with a covers album, Scratch My Back (March 2, 2010), that includes his versions of songs by Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, David Bowie and others. All of the artists whose songs Peter recorded for the album are returning the favor by recording a song of his. These creations will be heard on a forthcoming companion album justly called I’ll Scratch Yours.
The Very Best’s version of “Kwassa Kwassa” brings together singer Esau Mwamwaya of Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa with Belgian DJ/production duo Radiocli, infusing the tune with an Afro-Western mix of dance, hip-hop, pop and the traditional music and language of Malawi.
It seems the Swedes have cornered the market on innovative, ambient electro pop. The intentionally cryptic new group jj are another example of this breath of fresh air. The group fuses lushly atmospheric electro-pop and world music with sultry female vocals to create a rather exotic sound. What results is irresistibly beautiful and blissful.
The duo released their debut single jj n° 1 in early 2009 and several months later released their stylistically brilliant debut album jj n° 2. It’s a short opus of nine tracks of island infused synth pop, akin to the music of fellow label mates The Tough Alliance. But the duo emerges on the softer side due to the pervasive lush vocals of Elin Kastlander. Like their peers, jj show a propensity towards sampling, irritable pop hooks, and stylistic diversity to create something gorgeously intricate that shows admiration for both the expansive realms of world music and minimalistic electro-pop. jj sit aside The Tough Alliance and Air France, on one of Sweden’s best and most consistent labels, Sincerely Yours, founded by TTA in 2006.
jj’s dance pop is built on ethereal string and synth samples along with exquisite vocals that float freely through their tracks. The songs are deceptively simple, incorporating a vast array of musical influences from reggae to electronica, new age to hip-hop. The dream-like quality of Elin’s voice is lusciously smooth and textured taking the music even further.
The group’s full-length debut jj n° 2 changes styles slightly with every song, which makes listening to the 27 minute album an unpredictable yet alluring experience. Even when they explore 90’s ambient-house, they still allow emotion to flood through the textures. jj expand on the reach of ambient music — defined, as Brian Eno once did, as music that “suggests, a place, a landscape, a soundworld which you inhabit” — offering it a new essence .
“Things Will Never Be Again” opens jj nº 2 sounding much like The Tough Alliance, tying together synth samples of steel drums and MIDI Strings, with Elin’s low vocal tones and harmonies. “From Africa to Malaga” is by far my favorite track with Elin’s celestial, reverb-effected vocals riding atop synthy Caribbean percussion. The sounds wash over you and the winds referenced sweep you up into a blissful state of ecstasy. “Ecstasy” unexpectedly drops a sample of Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” creating a track that is trippy and drug-hazy, turning the sound of the album drastically on a pin. (jj released another track with a Weezy sample in January, titled “My Way”. ) Later the album moves into more lilting folk-pop, and further into the laughing and hammer-dulcimer sampling “Intermezzo”. With jj nº 2, the duo created a visionary new sound that is bound to generate more buzz in 2010.
Fascinatingly, jj has kept to almost absolute internet silence. Seriously, not even a MySpace. Info on jj was literally nonexistent until recently, save for a few cryptic sentences, download links, and blood-splattered album artwork on their label’s site. It seems to have made the music all the more endearing and enchanting. Quite a surge of conversation has lived surrounding the identity of jj. Some rightly thought that it might be a side project of The Tough Alliance or Air France, but the mystery quickly unfolded. The enigmatic jj consists of multi-instrumentalist Joakim Benon and vocalist Elin Kastlander. The story almost ends there for now, although I did come across a fabulous interview with jj published on the Drumming On Tabletops blog several weeks ago. Here are a few excerpts.
Where does the name “jj” come from?
jag & joakim. joakim & jag. (”jag” means me or myself in Swedish)
What’s the plan for live shows? Did you originally ever expect to perform live? I ask that because it seems (from the various YouTube videos I’ve watched anyways) that the stage show is really based around the recorded music and projected images rather than the typical “live performance”.
We have grand plans for our public executions, it will be magic, soon enough. Now when we’re out there Elin is just trying to get over her social phobia and anxiety. She sings for her life, as always. And I’m (Joakim) trying to learn everything I recorded, and decide if I should play the guitar solo or the piano, the drums or the flute, or maybe get someone else to do it; so many decisions. Maybe we’ll get James Cameron to do the visuals, and perhaps Kanye will have some ideas. Whatever we do I hope people will understand that being on stage is a fucked up situation in the first place, where everything can happen: you can live more than you’ve ever lived or be wanting to die, feeling things will never be the same again.
The newest album, jj nº 3 has already leaked online. What does it feel like to have to deal with a leak? Do you mind it considering that almost every album leaks online now before the release date?
Beautiful, sad, scary, nice, confusing. It (jj nº 3) should’ve been released in September though, so it’s all good. A slightly fairer chance for anyone to keep up with us.
How much are drugs involved with your music (the song ecstasy, the pot leaf on the cover of jj nº 2)? Do you feel like the two can be separated or are they intertwined?
Our music is dope, you know that.
In December, jj signed with the indie label Secretly Canadian who will release the duo’s next LP, jj nº 3, in the U.S on March 9th in conjunction with the release on Sincerely Yours in Sweden. Following, they are set to perform 14 American dates with fellow lowercase, double-lettered electro group, The xx. These shows, along with SXSW, mark the first U.S. live appearances ever for jj.
JJ tour dates:
3/22 – Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA w/ The xx
3/23 – Bottletree, Birmingham, AL
3/24 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA w/ The xx
3/25 – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC w/ The xx
3/28 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Washington, DC w/ The xx
3/29 – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary, Philadelphia, PA w/ The xx
3/30 – Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
3/31 – Webster Hall, New York, NY
4/2 – Paradise, Boston, MA w/ The xx
4/3 – Le National, Montreal, QC w/ The xx
4/4 – Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
4/5 – Wexner Center, Columbus, OH w/ The xx
4/6 – Buskirk-Chumley Theater, Bloomington, IN w/ The xx
4/8 – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL w/ The xx
4/9 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN w/ The xx
4/12 – The Nightlight Lounge, Bellingham, WA w/ The xx
4/13 – Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC w/ The xx
4/14 – Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR w/ The xx
4/16 – Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
I was absolutely startled by St. Vincent when I first heard “Now Now” off her debut album Marry Me (2007). The ringing harmonics, vocal overlays, orchestral crescendos juxtaposed with guitar plucking, penetrating bass lines, plus the final ripping electric guitar solo, together sent me over the edge.
St. Vincent is the moniker under which multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark performs. Her tunes are unpredictable, quirky and bizarre enough to stand out in a sea of emerging indie artists. Clark offers a new sound and voice. She twists catchy melodies into unique arrangements filled with her rich, yet fragile voice. The music warbles with cacophonous eruptions of sound and disturbing, thought-provoking lyrics and electric guitar solos woven with the classical instrumentation of piano, flute, horns, drums and violins.
Clark began playing guitar at 12 and as a teenager, worked as the tour manager for her uncle’s band. Her family moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dallas during her high school years and for college she traveled to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music. Prior to venturing out on her own, Clark performed as part of both the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens’ 2006 live band. Touring extensively in support of Marry Me with artists including Death Cab for Cutie, The National, and Arcade Fire, Clark began to excite attention from audiences nationwide. The album landed critical acclaim and Clark a No. 90 spot on the U.S. Billboard charts.
St. Vincent’s sophomore album, Actor (2009), is denser and more melancholy. While Marry Me was a colorful splash of divergent sounds, Actor is a more subtle matter. Clark again blazes a new trail filled with beauty and darkness. The first track, “Stranger”, truly soars above the rest. Flute and synth spiral among blurry eruptions of sounds providing the music with strange warps and bends. Clark’s smooth and delicate voice lilts throughout whether transformed by effects or fully bare. And the rager that Clark is on guitar is yet again unleashed with loads of distortion in between sweet accordion-laced melodies.
Clark’s live performances are unusual, confident, mesmerizing and inspired. They bestow her artistic vision as she precisely articulates it will full band in tow. Definitely a marvel to witness. I’m excited to get a taste this weekend in Denver!
Feb 13 – The Bluebird Theater, Denver, Colorado
Feb 15 – Bottleneck, Lawrence, Kansas
Feb 16 – The Blue Moose TapHouse, Iowa City, Iowa
Feb 17 – Turner Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 18 – Metro, Chicago, Illinois
Feb 19- The Pike Room at The Crofoot, Pontiac, Michigan
Feb 20 – Outland on Liberty, Columbus, Ohio
Feb 21 – Diesel Club, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 23 – Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 24 – 9:30 Club, Washington DC, Washington DC
Feb 25 – First Unitarian Church – Sanctuary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 12 – Yu Gong Yi Shan, Beijing, Beijing
Mar 13 – Yuyintang, Shanghai, Shanghai
Mar 15 – Recital Studio, Esplanade, Singapore
Mar 18 – Pacific Blue Festival Clu, Wellington, Wellington
Mar 28 – Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 30 – Highdive, Champaign, Illinois
Mar 31 – MusicNOW Festival – Memorial Hall / University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Jul 18 – Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, Illinois
I recently found three gems by Ingrid Michaelson/Sara Bareilles, Meiko, and Brandi Carlile on Hotel Café’s October release Winter Songs.
Epic Records and The Hotel Café partnered up to release The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs, a compilation of original recordings and classic holiday tracks sung by a lineup of female singer-songwriters, many who have been associated with The Hotel Café including Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Brandi Carlile and KT Tunstall. I’m drawn to the originals as the bulk of the other tracks end up sounding corny and cliched with vocals that often miss the mark, namely those by Katy Perry and Alice Smith. I wish they had come up with a better song for Fiona Apple than “Frosty the Snowman”. You don’t need to listen to know what I mean.
The Hotel Café has blossomed over the years into one of the premier singer/songwriter venues in the country and is regarded as “the place that breaks artists.” Musicians view The Hotel Café as a second home and many come to the venue nightly to support one another and to accompany each other on stage. I have found Hotel Cafe’s taste to be quite impeccable. For those not in L.A., watch for the Hotel Café Tours which have brought Rachael Yammagata, Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, and Katie Herzig to stages nationwide. They make for memorable evenings with each vocalist performing 2-3 songs backed by a house band in the round.
“Winter Song”, crafted by Michaelson and Bareilles, features gorgeous vocal harmonies between the two songbirds along with Katie Herzig, Lenka, Anya Marina, Meiko, Jim Bianco, Cary Brothers, Buddy, Holly Conlan, Marie Digby, Jesca Hoop, Laura Jansen, Tim Jones, Greg Laswell, Jonah Matranga, Joshua Radin, and Butch Walker. It’s sweet and mournful, powerful yet vulnerable, with rich string embellishments and an appropriate grandiose ending.
Meiko’s “Maybe Next Year” is sassy and just what you’d expect from this bad girl who often seems to toy with the boys. The song features opportunely placed horns and keys which fill out the song behind Meiko silky voice with its youth-fllled, succulent charm. Love the climatic ending.
Within “The Heartache Can Wait”, Carlile is earnest and intimate, embodying the mellow elegance that comes naturally to her. It’s sad albeit beautiful when you stare through the tears.
Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
This album delicately led me by the arm towards Animal Collective, when I was confounded by how strange it was. 2007 saw me doing yoga to Person Pitch almost every day, allowing me to sink into what Panda Bear and, as a result, what the whole AC crew had to offer. Person Pitch is simultaneously poppy and abstract, winsome and deranging, creating elaborate and magnificent convoluted sonic collages. mp3: Panda Bear – Comfy in Nautica mp3: Panda Bear – Bros mp3: Panda Bear – Good Girl/Carrots Download Person Pitch MySpace | Website
Lily Allen – Alright, Still (2007)
This album had me rocking out in my car during many of those 2007 summer months. Allen’s smart alec, sassy attitude is emphatic. Her explosion on the scene as one of Britain’s superstars might put off some, but it’s hard not fall for her well produced brand of bouncy, horn heavy, ska-inspired pop.
Check out “Smile”, “LDN”, “Nan You’re A Window Shopper” – explicit! (can’t post!) Download Alright, Still MySpace | Website
Brett Dennen – Hope for the Hopeless (2008)
Brett Dennen inspires me. His lyrics are entirely well considered and thought provoking, and his positive, dynamic melodies are hard to deny. “Make You Crazy”, featuring Femi Kuti, is the true gem here, gorgeous in it’s entirety, speaking about our untrustable government, prisons, child soldiers, and how people treat each other to get ahead. The songs soar, speaking of love, hope, home and peace. “San Francisco” is thoroughly nostalgic especially if you’ve taken any time to get to know Dennen’s amazing city. mp3: Brett Dennen – Make You Crazy mp3: Brett Dennen – Wrong About Me mp3: Brett Dennen – San Francisco Download Hope For The Hopeless MySpace | Website
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
By far my favorite release of the year. Since their inception, Animal Collective has wandered the territorial edges of music, seeking out boundaries previously erected and looking beyond them. They’ve imbued gorgeous indie songs with peculiar vocals and irritating noises, contrasted West African rhythms with British folk melodies, and have hung on a single chord for what seems like eternity. Merriweather feels like a culmination of all of these explorations, achieving a sound that is both accessible and thoroughly innovative. Finally an Animal Collective album that I’m moved to listen to all the way through -hooky and pop drenched in swirls of psychedelia, heavy with sonic texture. mp3: Animal Collective – My Girls mp3: Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes mp3: Animal Collective – Brothersport Download Merriweather Post Pavilion MySpace | Website
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
The danceable, catching indie rock of Phoenix is perfectly featured on their newest release. The tight grooves of the band’s electrifying synth pop flow loudly behind Thomas Mars’ smooth and all the while urgent vocals. Wolfgang is brilliantly sleek with sonic texture, putting the band on the map as one of the most exciting groups to blow up stateside this year. mp3: Phoenix – Lisztomania mp3: Phoenix – 1901 mp3: Phoenix – Lasso Download Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix MySpace | Website
Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy (2009)
On There is No Enemy, Built to Spill investigates an aesthetic they’ve created and honed over the years, revolving around Doug Martsch’s soft, yet penetrating vocals swimming in a bath of refracting guitar tones. The band again finds a new and interesting way to approach their sound making this my favorite BTS album since 1999’s Keep It Like A Secret. mp3: Built to Spill – Aisle 13 mp3: Built to Spill – Hindsight mp3: Built to Spill – Nowhere Lullaby Download There Is No Enemy MySpace | Website
Ray LaMontagne – Trouble (2003)
When Trouble came out it was hard not to become overwhelmed by the power and depth of Ray LaMontagne. The title track is entirely timeless, instantly bringing on comparisons to Van Morrison and Otis Redding, with Ray’s rich and impassioned vocals rising above perfectly nuanced guitars and strings, echoing his quietly devastating meditations on life and love which is the soul of this release. mp3: Ray LaMontagne – Trouble mp3: Ray LaMontagne – Forever My Friend mp3: Ray LaMontagne – How Come Download Trouble MySpace | Website
My Morning Jacket – Z (2005)
When Z came out all I wanted was wrap myself in the sonic blissfulness of “Wordless Chorus”. MMJ’s 4th album sees the band proceeding forward without fear or shame, shaping a sound distinctly their own. Fiery guitar, folk-inspired melodies, soaring rock passages, and psychedelic flashes marry sublimely with Jim James’ legendary vocals. mp3: My Morning Jacket – Wordless Chorus mp3: My Morning Jacket – It Beats 4 U mp3: My Morning Jacket – Off The Record Buy Z MySpace | Website
I’m late on getting you my list of the best albums of the decade, but it’s taken some time to dig through all of the incredible pieces of work that we’ve been hit with over the past 10 years. Since 2000, my ears have become keen to the inner workings of song and sound and it is partly due to the music below that I listen the way that I do. This decade has been an exhilarating one with bands like Animal Collective, Modest Mouse, Broken Social Scene, Death Cab For Cutie, and Sigur Ros solidifying their reach with monumental releases, and acts like Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones, Ray LaMontagne, Vampire Weekend and Bon Iver astonishing listeners with their debuts. I can’t resist including a few albums from smaller artists that are personal favorites, those of Leslie Helpert and The Slip. Dive in.
Zero 7 – Simple Things (2001)
The album combines an alluring mixture of sounds – electronica, jazz, soul, world music – featuring three talented vocalists (Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Baker) to ride the top of these Air-like waves amid deep compositional swirls. mp3: Zero 7 – I Have Seen mp3: Zero 7 – Destiny mp3: Zero 7 – Likufanele Download Simple Things MySpace | Website
I just fell in love with Francois Virot. His stripped down folk pop has a special vocal effect that gets me deep inside. Virot, out of Lyons, France, is becoming a favorite abroad and it’s not hard to tell why. Yes or No may be his first official release, but the fully conceived ideas within the album, achieved with no superfluous additions, are that of a sage. Virot fills out each of the tracks on his own, making it truly hard to believe that this music is made by just one. The bare instrumentation on Yes or No, one guitar, sometimes two, one voice, sometimes two or three, plus handclaps, finger taps, and bits and pieces of percussion, sound like a symphony in my ears. What is created is music that is entirely so much more than what one expects to hear from a “singer-songwriter”. The songs seep with emotion, releasing beautifully suppressed anger, all the while overflowing with generosity and Virot’s open heart. His strum is hard, but the essence is soft, and the melodies soar. You don’t think of a guitarist with a guitar but instead, whatever Virot wants you to imagine.
Not surprisingly, Virot has been chosen over and over to be a part of Blogotheque’s Take A Way Shows. The shorts feature musicians performing in unusual environments, offering an intimate look at the artist. Take the time to get into the one below…
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