Well, it has been about a month since I last wrote anything for you all to enjoy (ha!). My awesome new friend N posted a link on my facebook wall to a
stream of the new Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson album. I'm telling you folks, I think he's going to be something. I haven't listened to it fully yet, but I am sure that I will write a review of this one for you. Maybe around thanksgiving at the rate that I seem to be writing these days.
On that note, I'm going to throw in a few other things here, since I've been meaning to write about them for weeks, and I haven't...because I'm busy. And reading a really good book. And not going to many shows lately. Enough excuses, I hate excuses. So here are some new bands to check out. Well, I mean new to me in no particular order:
-The xx
-Fanfarlo
-Woods (maybe... haven't listened enough yet)
-Florence and the Machine (and the awesome xx remix of florence)
-The Antlers
-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
-Fool's Gold (which I think is a Luke Top band, who has some pretty cool solo stuff these days too)
-Foreign Born (also some members of Fool's Gold I think?)
-Horse Feathers
-Jack Penante
Did I tell you I saw Cymbals Eat Guitars? Maybe I did, in my last post? It was a while ago, so I can't remember, but they were killer. Seriously, they don't suffer from "new band, bad performance" syndrome. There's nothing wrong with a healthy case of NBBPS, Bon Iver was awful the first time I saw him, so hey, lets not be judgey.
Other thoughts: The newest Regina Spektor, which came out over the summer is incredible. Seriously, pitchfork gave it a 4, but they're asshats, so don't take anything they say for real. They criticized how cute and sweet the album is, but its Regina...thats partly who she is, and if you listen to it and all you get out of the whole thing are cute and sweet, then you didn't listen carefully enough to her words. She's pretty damn insightful. I guess they have higher standards for her than they do everyone else. Not cool folks, not cool at all.
Speaking of pitchfork, you should check out their top 200 albums of the last decade (which is also stupid, because it has nothing to do with the album rankings in each year...it seems to take into account how well the album aged. Music ages in very personal ways.) Anyway, I like the
Stereogum summation and comments as always!
Anyway, I wanted to put myspace links up for each band, but i'm lazy. Talkto you soon!
After SXSW every year I look at round ups of everyone's favorite acts. A name that came up over and over was Cymbals Eat Guitars, but since I'm a total curmudgeon, I usually don't see the hovering stars that everyone else see after sxsw. That's irritating, I thought to myself, their name is hard to say...I'll never remember that. Well, after 6 months, and many live acts and new albums, I'm still listening to their self released recording. The first time I listened to Why There Are Mountains I was reminded of Modest Mouse, but not reminded as in "lacking originality". I just had an instant warm reaction. Perhaps it's the lingering sensation, or the constant growth and stillness in the album, but I think the opening track, And the Hazy Sea, describes the whole album. With its building crescendos, lofty vocals and orgasmic releases the opening track captured me. I am certainly not one whole easily grasps extended noisy guitars, but that is where the strength in this album lies. It's musically strong, both soaring and sinking. All over the place, in a neat and organized fashion.
I had been on a mini-indie music hiatus post-Bonarroo, but seeing that Cymbals Eat Guitars would be headlining in Brooklyn, I couldn't resist. I headed to Brooklyn Bowl for a beer and some live music. Sadly, I missed Real Estate (damn day job) but got there just in time for Suckers. I was having a hard time taking them seriously, because I was seriously curious about Cymbals Eat Guitars. Here is a group of young guys who recorded an album without a label, and somehow managed to become one of the most blogged about bands of 2009 (this fact is totally un-researched, but it feels that way to me). I guess I had an image of 4 awkward boys from Staten Island, with stage fright, and better recording skills than actual talent. I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I don't know why I insist on jumping to negative conclusions, maybe I like the pleasant surprise?? Anyway, lead singer Joseph "Ferocious" D'Agostino (of grocery fame?) absolutely killed it on stage. He was dripping sweat, swaying, bending and folding to his own incredible tunes. The band played a pretty tight act, without too much improv, just a solid group of songs. For a band that released it's debut 6 months ago, I was floored. They all focused on the music instead of trying to be good performers. The good performance flowed out of their obvious untiy. Without hesitation I would absolutely go see them again. I also look forward to the battle of the record labels...who is going to try to snatch them up? Will the take on a manager? Its almost an unheard of success story. These days gaining this level of popularity without a label is commendable, a true sign of talent and grace. Good luck boys. See you again soon.
<3 The Elephant.
P.S Did I mention that Mr. Ferocious is only 20...thats robbing the cradle for me....i'm just sayin....youthful talent is attractive....
PPS They are playing again with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at Le Poisson Rouge on October 23rd...you'd bette bet that I'll be there.
Hello friends! It has been a good week here on the elephant front: Jasmina (my old boss's daughter) has found a good match to donate bone marrow!! (Well, she personally didn't find the match, y'know, she's 6...) This means that she will receive a life lengthening (and hopefully life saving!!) transplant some time in the next month. I am so pleased and relieved, and I know that many of my friends joined the registry as a result of my little cause (read: my incessant nagging).
I just read that
Anthem Magazine is hosting a party at
Santos Party House on Saturday night to register potential donors, and raise money for
DKMS. DKMS is a wonderful organization that spearheaded the hunt for Jasmina's donor. They tirelessly worked with hundreds of volunteers over the last few months organizing events coast to coast.
Guess who's playing at this party?
Real Estate! Remember them? Okay, well you should, because I think that they might get big...they have a lot of shows scheduled around the city this spring. I'm not sure if that means anything, but i like them, and I like that they are involved in a bone marrow event. And now I really like Anthem....So if you are in the city this weekend, you should go! I'm going to Boston so I'm going to totally miss out, which makes me sad. Open Bar from 7-8 PM, free give-aways (including tiffany's jewelry? jigga whaaa?)....
Ok friends, happy hump day, see you soon*
I know what you are thinking: The Loom? I though you were going to see
Emanuel and the Fear. A more dedicated, organized and aggressive girl would have seen Emanuel. I apparently lack any of those characteristics...I got really caught up in the beautiful weather, and then really, really caught up in traffic. By the time I got to Crash Mansion I was in a mood, to say the least...and have I mentioned how I feel about Crash Mansion? Let me reiterate: not good. I get it, its a small venue that sort of clean, has a good sound system, and isn't full of pretentious hipsters. I guess that's nice, except that I like all of those things about the other equal sized venues. Crash Mansion is an attempt to bring a little tiny dab of indie culture to people who absolutely couldn't find it on their own. The kind of people who think The Fray are indie. So needless to say, I don't like the venue. However, I was on an open tab, and this brightened up my mood considerably, allowing me to get to business with
The Loom.
So the first song they played was AMAZING. It involved two drummers sharing one drum set, and the lead singer was playing a ukulele. He had sort of a gravelly, speaky way of singing. I think it may have been "Song for the Winter Sun" which is on their myspace page. I had HIGH hopes for them, as I couldn't really relate them to another band too closely, and they had their own sound. Very percussive, and very strong. Unfortunately, that was sort of the end of my awe. The rest of their songs were all significantly more main stream sounding: catchy, beatuiful and soulful. There is a heavy bluegrass influence, but also a lot of incontinuity. They are very clearly talented musicians, but they lack direction and cohesion. I would put "True Believers All" with "Song for the Winter Sun" together on an album, and "Of Vegas and Vanity" with "Patience for Books". This is not to say that the two sets of songs aren't strong and worth a good listen, because they are, but unfortunately I don't think they are attracting the same crowds. I genuinely felt like The Loom has a lot going for them, but they need to decide where they are taking it. I hope they take the path with all of those brambles, without the ease of the bluegrass carrying them through. I feel guilty being so judgey and harsh, since this isn't a band thats just trying to be cool or weird, they seem pretty genuinely like s group of people who derive joy from music. I would absolutely go see them again in a year. I want to know what they are doing, because I do believe that they have a lot of potential, and that they will follow through. They do have a lot of gigs scheduled in the New York area, so hopefully we will be seeing more of them in the better venue circuit (i.e Union Hall, Union Pool, Mercury Lounge). I actually wish these guys a lot of success, and hope that they prove me wrong, by becoming one of the break out acts of 2009.
Listen to them, tell me what you think.
<3 The Elephant
I'm going to Crash Mansion tonight to check these guys out. They are an 11 piece band, thats sort of Ben Folds Five with an orchestra-y? I'm not really sure what to expect, but its free, and honestly, as much as I LOVE Veckatimest, I think I need some freshness on the music front. I'll let you kids know what I think. Meanwhile, take a
listen. It might be a little too mainstream and safe ultimately for my taste, but sometimes I just want easy music, okay?
P.S. Has anyone ever been to Crash Mansion for anything, ever? I saw it in
Nick and Nora's Infinit Playlist but otherwise I have never had any reason to be there.
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