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
The alt-country indie rock of These United States has a way drawing you in. Lead singer Jesse Elliot’s sultry, twangy croon drives each song, riding upon the band’s velvety slide-guitar laden version of Americana. It’s his laid-back charm that is both heartfelt and open, along with the sophisticated, seasoned sound of the band that catches. At moments I hear Tom Petty, but the closest comparison I can find in current music, is that of Delta Spirit.
Elliot’s writing process arises from his interest in the English language and his desire to create narrative arcs. The songs are filled with stories and characters that reference everything from Custer, Johnny Appleseed, and Jesse James, to Mark Twain and Tecumseh. Elliot conjures up ideas of saddle-riding sinners and silent heroes, all the while loquaciously commenting on everyday existence. As Elliot told NPR, “I’m a big fan of aesthetics, of just the way words sound, the way that phrases string together, the way that we use language.” And referencing the writing process, “It’s a way of coping with the serious amount of information that exists in the world these days. Stitching it together in some big, chaotic patchwork is kind of how I make sense of all the pieces that are flying our way and everyone’s way every day.” The songs are hopeful and demonstrate that These United States are still discovering pieces of gold in our dispirited country.
The band calls both Lexington, Kentucky and Washington, DC home. Elliot is both the founding and core member, filling out his vision with musicians and friends from both locales. He originally formed the group with David Strackany, who records as a singer-songwriter under the name Paleo. In just two years, the band has played 500 plus shows across the U.S., U.K., and northern Europe and appeared at SXSW, the CMJ Music Marathon, and the U.K.’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival.
With their third full-length release in 18 months, These United States are flowing with creative output. Each meticulously crafted album reveals a variety of musical approaches and the care that went into the recording process. They explore a variety of sounds, all riding within enticing southern-edged rock, sometimes soft and subtle, always filled with a sense of well-intentioned urgency. A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden was recorded by Elliott and Strackany in basements and hallways in Elgin, IL, Iowa City, IA, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, IL. Picture was released March 4, 2008 and just 6 weeks later, the band was in a Lexington recording Crimes as they had more material they wanted to work with. Crimes came out that September and received praise from Paste Magazine, Pitchfork Media, and NPR, despite (and in many cases because of) its sonic departure from the group’s debut. In February 2009, the band began recording its third album, Everything Touches Everything, in Arlington, VA, released in September 2009.
Leslie Helpert perfectly embodies my idea of an artist. She is beautifully quirky, speaks in a language of images, tells you about imaginary friends, and is keen to all that makes life potent. She lives inside of her art and isn’t meant to do much else. Throwing herself into the act of creation, she offers herself as poet, guitarist, songbird, novelist, dancer, and artist (the gorgeous image at the top of Lux Illuminates is hers).
Watching Helpert perform is a captivating, emotional experience. Her body is stirred by the movement of her song, adding bottomless depth to the art she offers.
The American songstress has rendered 5 albums in the last decade, all which resound with her artistry. Ulu is her most recent effort, a 4-song EP recorded in Barcelona with producer Dave Bianchi. Enticed by intuition, Helpert left the states in March for a 6-week tour from Rome to Paris. She was compelled to delay her return and through a series of serendipitous events encountered Bianchi and found herself recording in Barcelona for the month of August. Ulu (December 2009) was then crafted and released on Bianchi’s Barcelona/NYC label “Whatabout Music”.
On Ulu, Helpert conspired with musicians from Spain, Greece, Guinea, Israel, Portugal and California to add cello, harp, Gaida (Greek bagpipes), upright and electric basses, vocals, trumpet and drum-kit to her musings. Helpert’s musicality comes through on the release in the form of guitar, Rhodes piano, electric bass, percussion, beatboxing, and her effusive vocals.
Throughout Ulu, Helpert draws you in with her intoxicating style, using music a modality to deliver art into the moment. “Young Coconut Water”, the EP’s single, embodies this dreamy elegance. As in all of my favorite compositions by the one known as Serpentfly, the song travels through a variety of sections, illustrating the complexity of Helpert’s unique writing style. Soaring horns lift the song up as she wails, woven with nectar-filled harmonies and cymbal crashes.
The rest of the tracks of Ulu are sophisticated and intimate. They capture the potential of this wistful siren, carrying the intelligent listener into a world of living poetry and detailed narrative. Helpert explores the rich timbre of her voice, embodying at once punk music and the sounds of a distant time. Rhythmic lyric and melancholy balladry are accompanied by innovative drumming, sumptuous strings, and evocative vocalizations.
2009 has seen Helpert trying her songs on the keen ears of Europe in small rooms and large theaters throughout Italy, France, Spain, Holland, and England. December still finds Helpert in the romantic lands of Europe.
Below is “Young Coconut Water” along with a few of my favorites from previous releases.
Young Coconut Water
It just so happened, when we were each-others,
We pricked our fingers and became blood brothers.
It was an accident, really, kids climbing on barbed wire,
to go feed the colts little bombs on fire.
And, then again, when we were older,
By coincidence met ice-climbing frozen boulders.
We both anchored the pick-ax and by surprise,
It struck simultaneously in each of our sides,
And so this time we became blood sisters.
I’m your Type A when you’re needing transfusion,
And you’re not to blame, it’s both our confusion.
I, too, walk away like god’s born-again daughter.
Like fresh-pumped-in-the-vein Young Coconut Water,
Ignorant and Ignoble.
Through all adventure, I’ve learned a score.
It’s not your lover you’ve been searching for.
No matter the carriage, the wheel spoke aloud as you drive
They sang it’s not about your lover, this here’s not about your lover.
It’s your genius your longing to keep alive,
It’s your genuis your longing to keep alive.
Animal Collective just released their latest EP, Fall Be Kind. The cohesive 5-song collection speaks to the continuing progression of the group’s sound. Sound effects shimmer throughout the EP and the echoing of Animal Collective’s characteristic otherworldly and layered vocals transport the listener into fantastical realms. This is just what I’ve come to expect from this band. I desire to live in their dream world.
“Graze” begins as a hash-induced lullaby, “Let me begin, feels good ’cause it’s early… some ideas are brewing”, floating into a jubliant swirling of pan flutes. The chorus lures an emphatic sing-a-long. And the end is just mesmerizing as it fades.
I am most infatuated with the stream of consciousness, ethereal vibe of “What Would I Want? Sky”. One is immediately lost in a cloud of thought. Avey Tare’s vocals float above a Grateful Dead sample from “Unbroken Chain” (off Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel, 1974), widely known as the first ever to be licensed. A clip of Phil Lesh’s vocals “…sky. Whoa I oft-” is looped and somehow reshaped into the title phrase. What results is a gorgeous feat. Near the end of the track, Avey sings “I should be floating but I’m weighted by thinking”, encompassing what Animal Collective has always been about. Ironically, the band coaxes you out of thought and into visceral feeling. Their music is a way for the intelligent mind to let go of anxiety and wrap itself in the complexity of sound instead.
“Bleedings” is not my favorite, but its darkness is beautiful nonetheless.
“On A Highway” follows Avey on another daydream as he travels down the road while the band tours. Singing “I let some hash relax me, get lost in human pleasure,” you can just imagine the feelings he is experiencing in that vehicle. Meditative lyrics and colorful imagery drive the song through a continuous flow of thought. Avey is yet again beset with an racing mind as he sings “…can’t help my brain from thinking. I can’t breathe.”
On the closer, “I Think I Can”, Panda Bear lets loose with jarring rhythms, claps, and array of synthesized samples. It starts out rather eerie but ends up soaring into one of my favorites songs on the EP.
With the Fall Be Kind EP, Panda Bear’s, Avey Tare’s, and Geologist’s brilliance is exposed once again. On the tail of their January 2009 release of the widely acclaimed Merriweather Post Pavilion, this new EP is noticeably less hooky, but no matter as it wraps me up further in Animal Collective and makes me wonder what we’ll hear next. This band perfectly pleases the mind by making a cacophony of sounds sound concordant.
Animal Collective, formed in Baltimore, MD, recently transplanted to NYC….
“What would I want? Sky!”
Is everything alright?
You feeling moany?
You feeling lonely?
You’re not the only
Is everything alright?
You feeling stormy?
You feeling phoney?
You’re not the only
Do you get up up up?
Clouds stop and move above me
Too bad they can’t help me
What is the right way?
Do I float up up up?
When I stop and look around me
Grey is where that color should be
What is the right way?
Old glasses clinking and a
New order’s blinking
and I -
I should be floating but I’m weighted by thinking
That I got on the river
Really can’t make you change
And the sky gets filled up too fast
and the taxi man’s saying, “You betta
give me some money; stop daydreaming, dude!”
When the point of horizon is hiding from you
What would you want sky?
Are you taking it lightly?
Lost in the flurries
You start to worry
You will be buried
Taking it lightly
and so I hurry
I start to worry
Here come them flurries
Is everything alright?
You feeling lonely?
You feeling moldy?
You’re not the only
Is everything alright?
You feeling stormy?
You feeling foamy?
You’re not the only
Do you get up up up?
Clouds stop and move above me
Too bad they can’t help me
What is the right way?
Do I float up up up?
When I stop and look around me
Grey is where that color should be
What is the right way?
Old glasses clinking and a
New order’s blinking and I -
I should be floating but I’m weighted by thinking
I’m a fly on the river
That’ll make me some change
When the sky gets filled up too fast
and the taxi cab’s waiting, “You betta
give him some money;
stop daydreaming, dude!”
When the point of horizon is hiding its blues
What would you want sky?
I saw Imogen Heap on Sunday for the first time since she performed at the Fox Theatre in Colorado back in 2006. I was blown away then by the eccentric ingenuity and musical explosion that is Imogen Heap, and last night was no different. Imogen performed as part of the live radio show, E-Town, which gives viewers an intimate look at featured artists. Musicians perform 5-6 songs and are interviewed by the host in front of a live audience. Imogen connected immediately with fans both with her quirky humor and by revealing unfiltered thoughts, whether it be her nervousness or how she commands her various gadgets, all with that alluring English accent.
Here are some tracks off Imogen’s latest album, Ellipse(2009), recorded in the basement studio of her elliptically shaped family home, which she bought several years ago. Coincidentally, the studio used to be her old play room! Love it.
Her music is gorgeously layered, atmospheric, electro pop filled with sound effects, bizarre instruments, and Imogen’s achingly ethereal voice. Her vocals, with the use of layering, become a shimmering orchestra of breathy coos, chirps, whispers and hums. Each song is heavily produced, incorporating elements of dance, rock and electronica, all with a feminine edge. In addition to manipulating electronic sounds, she works with organic ones, maybe water dripping or the sonorous ring induced by spinning her finger around the top of wine glass. Imogen constantly pushes her own sonic limits, which makes the music so endlessly captivating and mesmerizing, sending you adrift into a land of her own invention. You can feel her perfectionism and the pressure she places upon herself within each masterfully crafted sonic masterpiece.
Sunday evening, she played barefoot among an array of keyboards, laptops, gongs, a keytar, an Array mbira (based on the African thumb piano), and the curious “hang” – a flying saucer shaped, harmonically tuned steel idiophone. This quote from a 2005 interview, perfectly describes the soul behind the sounds. “I just love crafting and shaping sounds. Actually, many of the sounds that I work with start off as organic instruments – guitar, piano, clarinet, etc. But I do love the rigidity of electronic drums… I would record live drums, and then I would spend a day editing them to take the life out of them. I like to breathe my own life into these sounds, and I do try to keep the ‘air’ in the music. Some people think electronic music is cold, but I think that has more to do with the people listening than the actual music itself.”
The London songstress did not get on well with the music teacher at her boarding school, so she resorted to teaching herself sequencing, music engineering, sampling and production on Atari computers. She went on to study at the BRIT School of Performing Arts & Technology. Imogen made her solo debut at the celebrated Prince’s Trust Concert in Hyde Park in 1996, during which she performed four songs between sets by none other than The Who and Eric Clapton. i Megaphone came out in 1998, but she didn’t hit the spotlight until her electronic duo Frou Frou found itself with a song on Garden State soundtrack in 2004. 2005’s Speak for Yourself was inspired by her recent divorce and features the intoxicating single, Hide and Seek. I actually found out about Imogen from my 16-year-old cousin who told me that playing Hide and Seek during dance performances was all the rage. Both “Goodnight and Go” and “Hide and Seek” were featured on the O.C., after which “Hide and Seek” made its way to #1 on the itunes download chart. In 2006, Heap was nominated for two Grammy Awards and made a legendary appearance at Coachella.
The genius of Imogen Heap was ever-present on Sunday. Catch her on remaining U.S. dates if you can. Otherwise, start listening and don’t miss the next time she works her way through the U.S.
Nov 17 – Granda Theatre, Dallas, Texas (SOLD OUT)
Nov 18 – La Zona Rosa, Austin, Texas
Nov 20 – Exit In, Nashville, Tennessee (SOLD OUT)
Nov 21 – Square Room, Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 22 – Variety Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia (SOLD OUT)
Nov 24 – Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
Nov 26 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
Nov 28 – Higher Ground, Burlington, Vermont
Nov 30 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Washington, Washington DC (SOLD OUT)
Dec 1 – Theatre Of Living Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 2 – Webster Hall, New York, New York
Dec 3 – Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York, New York
The more I read about Fanfarlo, the more I get how extensive the interest is in this young, London-based quintet. The band, formed in 2006 by multi-instrumentalist Simon Balthazar, creates highly orchestrated, swelling indie-pop filled with trumpet, violin, mandolin and majestic vocal harmonies. The result is wonderously sublime and buoyont, ripe with an injection of melodic sunshine. The band released their debut album, Reservoir, earlier this year to swelling acclaim. The endearing collection of songs is filled with near misses, but “Harold T. Wilkins” and “The Walls Are Coming Down” get it just right and feel positively good. In an effort to spread the word far and wide and make their music as accessible as possible, Fanfarlo chose to offer Reservoir as a $1 download on their site for the first six months after its release. Seems to have worked well. The band’s heavy internet presence, captivating live show, and appearances at SXSW and CMJ, haven’t hurt either. The blog found on their site homepage and diary is hysterical.
At points, I get the feeling that Fanfarlo might have the undeniable youth-inspired energy of Ra Ra Riot who broke rapidly on the scene back in 2006/07. But I haven’t seen the band live yet, so we’ll have to see if the hype has merit. We’ve got the chance as the rising band is on a highly anticipated tour, hitting intimate venues in music hubs across the U.S.
Nov 13 – Moes, Englewood, Colorado
Nov 14 – The State Room, Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 16 – Knitting Factory, Boise, Idaho
Nov 17 – Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, Washington
Nov 18 – The Media Club, British Columbia, British Columbia
Nov 19 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, Oregon
Nov 20 – Great Basin Brewing Company, Sparks, Nevada
Nov 22 – Amoeba instore performance, San Francisco, California
Nov 22 – Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, California
Nov 23 – Fingerprints instore performance, Long Beach, California
Nov 23 – The Echo, Los Angeles, California
Nov 24 – The Casbah, San Diego, California
Nov 27 – Muddy Waters, Santa Barbara, California
Nov 29 – Club Congress, Tucson, Arizona
Nov 30 – Sante Fe Brewing Co, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Dec 2 – Waterloo Records instore performance, Austin, Texas
Dec 2 – The Independent, Austin, Texas
Dec 3 – The Loft, Dallas, Texas
Dec 4 – Cactus Records instore performance, Houston, Texas
Dec 4 – Walter’s On Washington, Houston, Texas
Dec 6 – The Bottletree, Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 9 – Metro Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland
Dec 10 – AKA Philadelphia instore performance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 10 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 11 – IOTA Club & Cafe, Arlington, Virginia
Dec 12 – Brillobox, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dec 14 – Majestic Cafe, Detroit, Michigan
Dec 15 – El Mocambo, Toronto, Ontario
Dec 16 – Il Motore, Montreal, Quebec
Dec 17 – T.T. The Bear’s, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dec 18 – Webster Hall, New York, New York
Grizzly Bear just released an extraordinary claymation video to go along with the song “Ready, Able”, off of their summer release Veckatimest (2009). The video, directed by Allison Schulnik, depicts creatures as their colors and forms melt and morph in a fantastical natural world. The music provides a gorgeous backdrop. As the song floats along, so does the story.
The band’s eccentric sound incorporates lush choral arrangements, atmospheric folk melodies, and exploratory song structures. The harmony-laden, lush grandiosity of their swelling tunes, feature dreamy vocals from all four members. The resulting resonances and melodic swirls offer a seductive, boozy elegance. Their music plays like the Beach Boys mixed with Nick Drake, fused with the theatrical feel of Devotchka and a touch of David Byrne.
Grizzly Bear formed in 2000 in Brooklyn with members Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Ed Droste (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Chris Taylor (bass, backing vocals, various instruments, producer) and Christopher Bear (drums, backing vocals). Droste wrote the first album as a form of catharsis after a bad breakup. He gave the CD to his friends and a copy found its way to Bear and Taylor, who liked what they heard. The two met Droste by way of a friend and offered postproduction and remixing help on the songs. The result was Horn of Plenty (2004). Rossen joined to perform guitar on the live shows. In 2006, the band had the good fortune to support TV on the Radio, in 2007, Feist, and in 2008, the band opened for Radiohead on the second leg of their North American tour. On the last date, guitarist Jonny Greenwood named Grizzly Bear his favorite band. Other admiring fans of the group include Fleet Foxes, Jeff Tweedy, CSS and Beirut.
Saw Wye Oak last week at the Fox and got more than I expected. I anticipated the indie-folk rock duo from Baltimore sounding good after listening to their recorded material and seeing their name often. But Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack’s contribution onstage was more than I had hoped for.
Wasner is a true emotive force on guitar. Fierce and technical, she adds deep intuition into her playing which causes every song to soar. She’s dirty with distortion and along with her graceful vocals, it enforces a beautiful dichotomy. I find Wasner to be what is so alluring about the band, but without Stack’s additions, there would be no compliment to her power and grit. Stack intertwines his vocals with Wasner’s, while simultaneously playing drums with his right hand and both legs, and bass lines and effects with his left on keys. Together the two create huge walls of sound that envelope. Their lyrics have an emotional directness, adding romantic hues to this hazy shoegaze fuzzpop.
Wasner and Stack formed Wye Oak in 2006. Their first album, If Children, was released in 2007 and again in 2008, once the group signed with Merge Records. The Knot, their second, was released this year.
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