"I'd Be Lyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyying"

In listening to Greg Laswell's album, I became a little overwhelmed by the production. It was just a little over the top at times. Too clean, if you will. I assumed that, live, the songs would take on a life that isn't really represented on the album. My assumptions were correct.

After a stunning and, I felt, under appreciated performance by the striking Denver musician Ellison Park, Greg Laswell humbly took the stage.

Sitting at keyboard just outside the spot light, Greg placed his hands on the keys, swaying slightly, and began to build a melody. After a few moments, he awoke from his trance, lifted his head, and started his first song. The audience, most of which, it seemed, were there for the evening's headliner (Rachael Yamagata), wasn't too focused on Greg until his slightly scratchy vocals seeped through the speakers, but after a moment on the mic, the bar quieted down, head turned, and Greg was on fire.

Now, fire has many properties. This was no wildfire, but a slow-burning, soft and crackling fire that you light to throw the pictures of an ex-lover into. Only Greg himself knows the depths of what may have been a raging inferno, but the audience that night surely grasped that there was something ablaze in Mr. Laswell.

Songs on the album that were previously bogged down by overproduction showed their true sincerity when the lone Mr. Laswell plucked their strings and sang their words, and songs that I previously assumed perfect on the album gained an entirely new meaning once I heard them yelped and belted out on stage. His voice, dry and tired due to travel and the altitude here in the Mile High, took on a hoarse, coarse quality that only added to the emotions burning inside the spirited Mr. Laswell.

To lighten the mood a little, Greg told funny little anecdotes about his songs, about his night, about the flowers on stage which he took complete credit for (He just wouldn't have accepted going on tour with Rachael if she didn't let him have his flowers on stage). If his music wasn't enough to win a crowd, then his banter was doing it's part to fill in the gap. Quite the charmer, Mr. Laswell.

After only one song anyone who was there for Ms. Yamagata was equally as pleased with Mr. Laswell's performance. Okay, well I guess I can't really make that assumption, but when he left the stage, there were many moans of malcontent. I was a little disappointed not to hear my favorite song on the new album, "I'd Be Lying," and just as he stepped off the stage, I heard a woman to my right yell out the title of the track I'd been missing, which got my hopes up a little and, out of character, I yelled out somehting like "yeah! I'd Be Lying," (I'm not much of a song-asker), but Greg was cooked, and it was not too much of a disappointment that he did not retake the stage. I talked to him after, and he said that the song is a little hard to pull off live, it being in 5/4 and all.

Greg Laswell - I'd Be Lying
Greg Laswell - The One I Love
Greg Laswell - Days Go On

Did you miss him? come to these shows then (He'll be back in May):

Mar 31 2009 8:00P: Crocodile Cafe w/ Rachael Yamagata Seattle, Washington

Apr 2 2009 8:00P: Slim’s w/ Rachael Yamagata San Francisco, California

Apr 4 2009 8:00P: Troubadour w/ Rachael Yamagata Los Angeles, California

Apr 6 2009 8:00P: House of Blues w/ Rachael Yamagata San Diego, California

Apr 21 2009 8:00P: Detroit Bar (w/ Lenka) Costa Mesa, California

Apr 25 2009 10:00P: Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, California

Apr 27 2009 8:00P: Martini Ranch (w/ Lenka) Scottsdale, Arizona

Apr 29 2009 8:00P: The Launch Pad (w/ Lenka) Albuquerque, New Mexico

May 1 2009 8:00P: Urban Lounge (w/ Lenka) Salt Lake City, Utah

May 2 2009 8:00P: Fox Theatre (w/ Lenka) Boulder, Colorado

May 8 2009 8:00P: Canal Room New York, New York

I went to a rad show on Friday. I'll have the full report up later today. for now:

"Just Put Down Those Scissors"

White Lies - To Lose My Life
Verdict: Love More (<3)

White Lies' album reminds me of everything I want 80's pop music to be like. I'm a huge fan of bands like The Bravery, and White Lies' To Lose My Life fits perfectly up there with the greats of, really, many genres of music.

My theory:
The problem with 80's music is that in the 80's all these new production techniques were developed, and artists just pushed everything up to 10 and said "go." There was an overabundance and overuse of every aspect of production that nothing sounded real anymore, and the problem with that is that, while interesting at first, it soon becomes notoriously unbearable (this is why we talk about 80's music the way we do). After people started to realize that there was too much too much too much, they cut it all out and went back to the basics, and, since then, we've been slowly building ourselves back up to the point where we're thinking about structuring songs the way they were in the 80's, but not going overboard.

This is what White Lies' new album is. We've finally been able to take everything the 80's wanted, and produce it at a level that people can actually bear, and enjoy. The string-style synth sounds warm and inviting, and the computery 80's style drums sound like there's an actual human being behind the set. You can almost hear the fingers of the bass player moving along the fret board, and the singer, while deep and cheesy, doesn't sound ineffectual and over the top. You can really relate to the music because you aren't too busy laughing at it.

On top off all that, the songs are just fun, clever, and poppy songs that don't get stale or sound like they've actually ripped any of the 80's stars off. I may have mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again: a friend of mine who also happens to play bass in my band, Cody, once told me that when he heard a certain album, he instantly felt like he could sing along with the album, even though it was the first time he'd heard it. This album quickly became on of his favorite albums. This seems to me to be a great gage as to whether or not an album is good. To Lose My Life is that album for me. As soon as it started, I felt like I knew every word, and, now, I know quite a few. I have no idea how this effect is reached, but it is very effective in getting me to think positively about the album.

This is just a solid, solid, solid album, and I can do nothing but recommend every track. Here are 3 that I narrowed down:

Whtie Lies - Death
White Lies - A Place To Hide
Whtie Lies - E.S.T.

They have videos too. and they are Good. youtube that shit.

Jar-e - Chicas Malas
Verdict: Like ()-

Jar-e is in interesting artist. He clearly has a very well used voiced, and damn he knows how to write a song, but, for the most part, it just doesn't reach me. I have a hard time putting my finger on it really. The album is full of summery, fiesta style dance 'til you drink some more attitude infused with a funk-rhythm that really isn't about to sit down and take your crap. But the whole thing comes off as sunday morning driving to see the Dentist music. Maybe that's because my Dentist listened to latin smooth jazz. In fact that's probably exactly why.

Jar-e is a talented man, and the musicians he has surrounded himself with in order to make this album are tip-top, but the album doesn't really seem to take enough risks. Like I said in the Greg Laswell review, that can be good and bad, it all depends on who your audience is. Jar-e is not looking to impress me, and this is evident in his style. He's here to groove out, have a get-down time, and get smooth up in your ear hole. This is admirable, because the guy fits into his genre very well, and I could see him pleasing very very many people with his tunes. However, unless he mixes it up and gives us something we've not heard before, he's not going to be winning fans like me. I think he is very capable of doing this, but I don't think this is his prerogative, and there is nothing to be ashamed of with that. I liked a few songs off the album, but over all, it wasn't for me. I'm certain he doesn't much like the Boredoms either haha. I recommend trying it out though, because Jar-e is clearly a very talented musician:

Jar-e - Casa Believe
Jar-e - Ramparts
Jar-e - Rosary

Greg Laswell - Three Flights From Alto Nido
Verdict: Like () +

Like with a few other artists recently, I was initially suspicious of Greg Laswell's sound. It was, at first, a little too on the pop side of the spectrum. As diverse as I like to think my taste is, I'm not much of a Top 40 kind of guy. It all sounds too methodical and soulless. Greg's music, at first, kind of had some similar qualities ... but by the third track I knew that there was so much more to this album than a few pop singles and a bunch of bullshit in between.

(tangent starts here)
My problem with "pop" is that it sounds like it's just going by a formula that has been well established as something that works with the human mind, and when you have a formula, all you have to do is plug yourself in the right way and you're a hit-maker. This is not how the world works, it's hella more complicated than that, but this is what the product sounds like to me, and when that's the case, something has gone terribly wrong. The formulaic songs don't have the life of an innovative song, and, thus, don't interest me. In art, there are a few respectable ways to go about things: traditional and innovative. There are those who like the music they listen to to sound like all the other songs they listen to. Fans of contemporary blues artists, that fit into this category, will probably not look too far back for music, and won't accept things too experimental. For them, the best era of blues is the contemporary stuff. This doesn't just go for blues. The other side of that, the innovative, searches for the songs that do something no one has done, or songs that have experimented in some way. The innovative fan doesn't always get music they like, but every once in a while they discover something that is pure gold, which makes it all the worth while.

I'm on the innovative side, for the most part. Like most continuum's, you can be anywhere on it at any given time. I admit it, sometimes I get in a Metal mood, but mostly I like to skip around. So when I hear something that sounds like it's trying to be like something else that has all ready been established as a working combination (ex: lets say I recognize that The Arcade Fire is just about the biggest band around these days, so I form a 7 piece orchestral indie rock group and write profound songs [okay, they're not Socrates, but just go with me on this one]. If I sounded like the Arcade fire, I would either be a rip off, a tribute, or I would be doing the music in the traditional style, adding no innovation.) I don't like it. Music shouldn't just be that easy. It's like building a plastic statue and calling it gold.
(tangent ends here)

Okay, all that said Greg Laswell's music seems to me to be what pop music a few years from now will look to in order to get it's tips. A few aspects of his music seems a little formulaic (vocal flow, production, song content, instruments, song structure), and, to my ear, whether or not he's using very awkward scales, that doesn't matter when it comes off like a pop song. A few of the tracks, because of this, kind of just bore me. The man has a wonderful voice, and can clearly write a song, but when I'm reminded of 1990's alt. rock, this doesn't speak of innovation.

Now that that's been said, I did, over all, enjoy the album. There are some undeniably beautiful songs, innovative and poppy all at the same time. It really is no surprise to find out that this is not his first album, because it sounds like it's fairly methodically composed, or, if anything, pretty well thought out. One song that stands out above all is I'd Be Lying. Anyone who can write a song in 5/4 and make it an unquestionable pop song is clearly a talented musician. It took me a minute to realize that it was, in fact, in 5/4. Seriously, well done Mr. Laswell. Other songs, such as The One I Love and And Then You have conventional/traditional qualities, but for some reason the damn things are just freaking awesome. I think it's that his voice really is carrying the album, and that, without them, they songs really could just be forgettable incidental music. That seems to be another pop quality that, right now, I'm going to forget about, because, despite my lust for innovation, sometimes it's nice to hear a good, fun song that sooths your spirit, and, for that, Greg Laswell can really deliver.

Greg Laswell - I'd Be Lying
Greg Laswell - The One I Love
Greg Laswell - Days Go On


Greg Laswell will be at the Larimer Lounge tomorrow night with Rachael Yamagata. I'll see you there. I couldn't think of a better tour mate for Greg. gonna be a hellovashow.

New band alert:

Baby and the Badger

They've only got 2 songs, but they're quite awesome :)

Mini Mini art show

Something interesting hit my inbox just today that was pretty interesting and easy to mention. Early this month, Spraygraphic held their first Mini Mini Art Show at Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe, Arizona. They asked artists to work within a 4inch by 4inch format. The show featured 12 panels with 49 pieces of art each. That's 588 pieces my friends. There were submissions from over 300 Spraygraphic.com members and from over 20 countries including: the UK, Spain, France, Greece, Macedonia, Russia, Slovenia, Finland, Brazil, Canada, Scotland, Hungary, etc…50% of the art were from international artists.

For more photos hit up the Mini Mini page.





New reviews later this week :)

This Just In: the Magic Cyclops says "no more!"

The Quad-City-Mad-Man is calling it quits! and after reading his reasons, I can see why. After a post detailing how Bender's Tavern has allegedly ripped him off, he posted this today:

Title: I QUIT
Current mood:THE END OF AN ERA

9 yrs+? 1000 + shows and I've done more then most. After Tonight's hate filled evening which people wanted to fight me, and yelled at me .. and mind you these are grown adults. The evening ended with me being spat upon. Really?! Seriously?! Grown Adults?! So I will play the remaining shows I have comign up and unless the show is great but I'm never offered those shows anyway so I'm done playing live. I'm not going to quit cyclops just try and take it in more a media drivin' direction. Because no matter how many times I think people will "get ot" they just simply do not and are just not smart enough to takea joke. Sad really, but I new this going in because I listen to Devo. People are getting dumber. Are you?! I'm too old and smart for this shirt. This year the shows I've played have just gotten worst and worst leading us up to tonight and I can't take it anymore. Plus none of my friends ever come out to the show so it is just hate filled weirdos .Enough.


Saaaaaaaad :(, but I don't blame him. Check out his last shows:

April 2nd: Surfside 7 Dance Party Fort Collins, Colorado
April 6th: Tba Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 7th: Eclipse Records w/ International Espionage St. Paul, Minnesota
April 8th: Tba w/ International Espionage Madison, Wisconsin
April 9th: Czar Bar w/ International Espionage & Mark Mallman Kansas City, Missouri
April 10th: 3 Kings w/ International Espionage & Mark Mallman Denver, Colorado
April 11th: Road 34 w/ International Espionage & Mark Mallman Fort Collins, Colorado
May 1st: Rocket Room w/ International Espionage Colorado Springs, Colorado
July 11th: Denver International One Man Band Festival • 3 Kings Denver, Colorado

"How Will You Know It's You?"

Pomegranates - Everybody Come Outside
Verdict: Love (<)

The Pomegranates sophomore release is a joyous event. Upbeat songs with hand claps urging and encouraging us to find ourselves and love others, presumably outside of the house. In going through the mixing process with my own group, I've become more aware of how difficult it must be to get the complicated and heavily layered sounds that certain bands want to sound good together. This album is one heck of a great example of what amazing production, to me sounds like. However, I don't have a subscription to Tape Op., so as to whether or not it "officially" sounds good, who knows. As an everyday listener, I'd say it's pretty impressive.

There's a great deal of bright guitars and pulsating bass lines, accentuated by heartbeat drumming throughout the album. The notes from the piano give the album a homey feeling, and, coupled with the chorus-style vocals (overdubbing the vocals occurs more than an a couple times on the album, but it's never so overwhelming as to put one off), the album has a very warm feeling too it. The slow, soft songs are touching, and the faster songs had me bobbing to and fro. All these aspects come together and really make this album a great piece, but there are a few awkward parts to the album where, simply because of how some of the songs are composed, the sounds don't quite sound right. There are a few awkward transitions that are just too jarring, or one or two songs where I really felt like only the surface of the song was scratched, and they could have gotten a bunch more out of it (I assume this because they're certainly able of writing phenomenal songs).

That said, there are some very experimental things that are attempted, jarring transitions and whathaveyou, that absolutely do work, creating some truly spectacular indie rock pop songs. such as:

Pomegranates - Beachcomber
Pomegranates - Jerusalem Had a Bad Day
Pomegranates - Corriander

Tour dates:
** with Wye Oak
*** with Ted Leo

03.21.09 @ Valley of the Vapors in Hot Springs, Arkansas**
04.15.09 @ Brillobox in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania**
04.16.09 @ Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky**
04.17.09 @ The Hideout in Chicago, Illinois**
04.18.09 @ The Basement in Carleton, Minnesota**
04.19.09 @ 7th Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota**
04.20.09 @ Public Space One in Iowa City, Iowa**
04.21.09 @ The Waiting Room in Omaha, Nebraska**
04.22.09 @ The Hi-Dive in Denver, Colorado**(also w/ The Don'ts and Be Carefuls )
04.23.09 @ Kilby Court in Salt Lake City, Utah**
04.24.09 @ Neurolux in Boise, Idaho**
04.25.09 @ The Red Room in Kennewick, Washington**
04.27.09 @ Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Oregon**
04.29.09 @ The Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, California**
04.30.09 @ Silverlake Lounge in Los Angeles, California**
05.01.09 @ Trunk Space in Phoenix, Arizona**
05.04.09 @ Opolis in Norman, Oklahoma**
05.06.09 @ Mohawk in Austin, Texas**
05.09.09 @ The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, Georgia**
05.10.09 @ Local 506 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina**
05.11.09 @ The Black Cat in Washington DC, Washington DC**
05.13.09 @ Mercury Lounge in New York City, New York**
05.14.09 @ TT The Bears in Cambridge, Massachusetts**
05.15.09 @ Cafe Nine in New Haven, Connecticut**
05.16.09 @ Metro Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland**
06.15.09 @ The Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky***

Visit the band here:
http://www.myspace.com/pomegranatesart
http://everybodyoutside.blogspot.com

"A Magic Bunny in a Hat"

Halloween Swim Team - The End of The Sky
Verdict: Love (<)

I wasn't really certain what to think about Halloween Swim Team at first, but I knew that I would enjoy it on some level as soon as the album started. It's like a lo-fi indie-rock-centered version of the Knife. They also seem to take a certain amount of influence from Múm. They appear to be mostly a beat machine, a Moog, and a singer.

They are, in fact, a bass player, a drummer, and Moog-playing singerman, though the album really does sound a bit too electro to really be 3/4 live instruments, but hey, something just don't work on the album like they probably do live.

That said, this album is smoooooooth as silk. Each track winds and twists around your brain, making it plan your next dance party (making sure to include HST on the playlist.) Okay, this is getting ridiculous. What I mean to say is that the album is great, though there are, admittedly, a few low points when it sounds like they just turned the Moog on, held a chord down, changed the chord every eight bars, and put a basic drum beat under it. the only thing that doesn't sometimes feel like it was just phoned in is the vocals, but they sound like they're the only live thing on the album, so that's not surprising. However, these low points are fairly few and far between, so the album, as a whole, is very enjoyable. A great start to what I hope is a great career.

Halloween Swim Team - Coincidence
Halloween Swim Team - The Magick Song
Halloween Swim Team - Inside/Out TV

okay, so I've finally gotten a chance to sit down and write, and now I'm going to. Spring Break! so, in a few howeverlongs, I'll have some reviews up. in the mean time, here's the Greycoats:

smart airplanes will stay away

Before I post the reviews today, I want to mention that Jack White, the extraordinaire, is in another band. that band is called The Dead Weather. The Kills' Alison Mosshart taking lead, Jack drumming and adding backing/co-vocals, Raconteur Jack Lawrence on the bass, and Queens Of The Stone Age's Dean Fertita playing guitar. Supergroups are really in in 2009 it looks like.

First single:


Second:

Who else is stoked to see what the Horrors are up to:

http://www.thehorrors.co.uk/

I don't know why, but I'm obsessed with these guys. Ob. sessed.
something else:

Swamp Things from Arts vs. Entertainment on Vimeo.

oops, I meant Friday haha :) you get double reviews for that :)

New reviews tomorrow

Grauwelt - Without You

New Reviews wednesday

From Luke's Inbox:

So I haven't got a clue as to where some of these files showed up, but here are some tracks that have shown up in my inbox recently:

Alligators - Where Does It Hide
Foreign Born - Vacationing People
Hermit Thrushes - Snowflake Heart
Jon Yeager - Great Sound
Dirty Little Rabbits - Hello ***********
Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat - Little Death

"It's not your birthday anymore! There's no need to be kind to you!"

Morrissey - Years of Refusal
Verdict: Love More (<3)

There are three things that I always think about whenever someone mentions Morrissey:

This picture.

This video.

And this song.

I was taken aback by the cover of this album when I opened it up (isn't he famously asexual? where did this kid come from?), but also kind of shocked that he was still making music. I was a little skeptical, because a few of the aging artists that have released albums recently haven't done very impressive things. This album is not an album to be added to that list.

However, while listening to it I have a trouble figuring out whether or not I like it. The album is, over all, surprising and not surprising. It's super clean and well mixed, but it's freakin Morrissey, so what do you expect? But it's got this dirtiness, this oversexuallized weirdness to it that you would think may not be there now that he's pushin 50, but, yet, it's there. He's clearly been influenced by contemporary artists (the one that really seems to come out is Murder By Death, but that might just be that MBD pulls certain similar influences), but it still has this signature Morrissey feel to it, which is probably hard for Morrissey to ever escape.

All the songs are just so perfectly composed that it feels a bit like he's calling it in, but I know that's not the case, because he always kind of sounds disinterested, that's just the way his voice sounds...

So I don't really know. I get this feeling that I could really really fall in love with this album, but that the sound isn't on the edge of anything new, so I'm not really going to put it on that often. It's not a classic, so the classic-style doesn't do much for it. Gosh, now I've worked myself into a hizzy. Everything about this album is perfect, you even want to be singing along as jsoon as it starts, and you almost feel like you can, something my friend Cody clued me onto as a phenomenal gage of goodness. I really enjoy listening to it, and I hope I continue to for a while.

Morrissey - All You Need Is Me
Morrissey - When I Last Spoke to Carol
Morrissey - It's Not Your Birthday

2009 is for you

Elijah Wood is everywhere

Greg Laswell - How The Day Sounds


aaaaand this weirdness:

A Shoreline Dream - Recollections of Memory
Verdict: Like ()

Every so often I find myself talking to people who aren't as stupidly addicted to contemporary underground music as I am (weird huh?) and I have to describe what I mean by "post rock" or "shoegaze". I wonder, every time this happens, why more people aren't familiar with bands such as My Bloody Valentine or God Speed! You Black Emperor. I long ago figured out that in order to be interested in such thing, there has to be something deeply wrong with you, making you unable to be happy with what you're given, and needing to search for music that by all means is sometimes difficult to get into. Eventually this becomes the only kind of music you can like, which means the music is no longer difficult to get into, but, instead, it is the best thing to have happened to sound since we were able to perceive it. We simply have to 1) want to get into it and 2) have become accustomed to it, like everything in this world (the argument could be made for popular music too, it's just that we are usually first introduced to it, so that's all we know).

That is a very long winded way of saying that A Shoreline Dream's new album may be hard for some people to get into. It's almost a throwback to Space Rock, but is still heavily rooted in post rock, with shoegaze elements (does it make more sense as to why I started this review out this way?). The post rock side is more in the vein of Do Make Say Think, in that its more jazz oriented drumming mixed with spaced out feelings than, say, GY!BE would. There are elements of the texas-rock-band post rock style (Explosions in the Sky style), but it's still waaay more spacey than that. There are these glowing, ethereal vocal-type sounds that float around the entire album, making some of the songs kind of bleed together, leaving the album feel more like a score than an actual album, which has it's ups and downs. Because it doesn't have the variety of a GY!BE release, I don't think it's entirely good, because there are these songs underneath all the space vocals that I have a feeling aren't going to get the recognition they truly deserve. The album kind of floats on by if you don't pay specific attention to it.

On the other hand, the songs are all very well crafted, each track layered and complex, but never boring or overwhelming. The album, in many ways, is perfect. They obviously put a lot of work into it, because there's no way they could get the album to sound this well mixed with out it. The album, however, is not for everyone. It may not even fully be for me, though I have overwhelming respect for it.


A Shoreline Dream - The Night Before
A Shoreline Dream - Mid Decembers
A Shoreline Dream - Hypermode

An Horse - Rearrange Beds
Verdict: Love (<)

I wish I actually could say I had a sixth sense about albums, but that's nothing more than a fantasy of mine. When I see names of bands, or album covers that are particularly interesting, I usually think that the music is also good. There is no conclusive evidence that this is in any way, shape, or form, true, which makes sense. However, I think to myself that I've got a good run with these things, because I only remember when I was spot on, and forget when my intuition was wrong.

I got lucky with An Horse's new album Rearrange Beds, because I love their name in all its grammatically horrific glory, and the cover art just draws me in. I'm lucky because the album is just fantastic.

The first thing that stood out to me was how well mixed the album is. It's like audible butter it's so slick and smooth and pleasing. Everything sounds so organic it "insert cliche here." The next big thing that really struck me was that the songs are kind of oddly constructed, or, at least, sound like it, but they still come across as undeniable pop songs that you find yourself wanting to sing along to before the first listen is over. Damon Cox, drummer, is one of the best drummers I've heard in a while, which says a lot. What I mean isn't that he's the fastest, or can do polyrhythmic beats with each of his body parts, but that he understands what kind of drum beat works for the song, which is the biggest challenge for a drummer. He's clearly quick as bullets (as is evident in the rolls he performs on occasion), but it never feels like it's too much. Kate Cooper (vocals/guitar) reminds me of Tegan and Sara pretending to be John Darnielle (the mountain goats) with vocal stylings similar to Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs). That's not to say she doesn't sound exactly like herself, but that's the best way I can describe her unique style. And that's it, there're no other members, which I actually just found out as I began writing this, which, to me, says that the two put out so much life that they sound like a 4 piece at least. The album is, by all standards that I can think of, full of vivacity and just entertaining as hell.

That said, by about track 6 I get a little bogged down by the style, and I find myself kind of zoning out. But, that said, track 7 brings it down a notch, making the inevitable return to style and rise in emotion much more powerful, which is just a very smart move. The second half of the album, on a whole, is slower and more melodic than the first, which makes it a little lopsided. Other than those nit-picks, it's a solid album. It's no blockbuster, but it's a solid foundation for a band that clearly has the knowhow, and the elbow grease, to lead us to a new land.

An Horse - Postcards
An Horse - Little Lungs (removed by request)
An Horse - Horizons(removed by request)

and

Hockey - Too Fake

Too Fake Music Video

The Safes - The Sky is Falling:

Hey 2009...

...you better watch the freak out, because you're threatening to be the best year yet.

I'm making this statement right here and now:

2009 will redefine what we understand as culture. This is the birth of a new era. Proof:

Obama is the President.

Yeah Yeah Yeah's new album doesn't feature Nick Zinner on Guitar, but synth and synth-style guitarish stuff ... and the new album still freaking rocks.

Dan Deacon is using physical instruments, and is threatening to tour with a full orchestra ... and the new album still freaking rocks.

Handsome Furs and Swan Lake's new albums are actually not boring, but, gasp, freaking awesome.

HEALTH is coming out with more material

The Prodigy have release an new album ... and it actually isn't a disappointment.

Harry Potter 6.

Gigantic:


aaaaaaaaaand Releases put out by these people either all ready this year, or soon:
Dr. Dre, Eminem, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Mastodon, Amorphis, Hypocrisy, Wintersun, Immortal, HammerFall, The 1900s, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Bon Iver, Franz Ferdinand, Loney, Dear, Phosphorescent, Merzbow, Cake, Gorillaz, Great Lake Swimmers, Imogen Heap, Billy Talent, Converge, Lupe Fiasco, Silverstein, Propagandhi, The Matches, Mew, Arcade Fire, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, The Bird and the Bee, Morrissey, The Avalanches, Blur, Built To Spill, Matisyahu, New Pornographers, Rancid, Say Anything, Stars, Starsailor, Stellastarr*, Stone Temple Pilots, Wilco, Patrick Wolf, Beastie Boys, Mono, Antony and the Johnsons, Matt & Kim, Robert Pollard, Psapp, The Ettes, Boredoms, The Streets, The Strokes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dark Was the Night, Coconut Records, The Thermals, Radiohead, MV & EE With the Golden Road, This Will Destroy You & Lymbyc System, Squarepusher, P.O.S., Doves, Beirut/Realpeople, Yeasayer, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Asobi Seksu, M. Ward, Vetiver, Peter Bjorn and John, The Kills, Bat For Lashes, Bill Callahan, Papercuts, Silversun Pickups, Camera Obscura, NOFX, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Sunn O))), Marilyn Manson, Akron/Family, St. Vincent, Black Eye Peas, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Iron & Wine, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix, Bell X1, An Horse, MSTRKRFT, Art Brut, Peaches, Sonic Youth, Ambulance LTD, William Elliott Whitmore, Jay-Z, Kid Sister, Lil Jon, MF Doom & Ghostface, Rakim, Amy Winehouse, Black Lips, Neko Case, Bishop Allen, The Boy Least Likely To, Bonnie "Prince" Billy

plus my band is releasing our album soon and going on tour this summer, which is really just going to be a relief, and an adventure, and the time of my life (I'm not saying our album will fit into the whole "redefining culture" bit, but it'll certainly change the way I think about things). And I'll be graduating from college after 5 years. And did I mention I love life?

This is going to be 1 hell of a freaking year.

one more ridiculous post for today, then I'm back to homework and unridiculous things. C-ya later this week with some reviews.




Rotatorio from Andres Bartos Amory on Vimeo.

Reviews-a-mania

holy smokes. I've been lacking in the reviews, and really any action at all, here recently. Well shoo dawg, I've got 1 too many albums in my "to review" pile, and I'm going to have to do something about that. look for some action, Lars Stevens style: