Archive for April, 2008
The Hottest Pipette Has Left The Pipettes!!!
I was listening to the Pipettes yesterday, revisiting that old guilty pleasure that few of my friends hear about. Anyway I find indie rock’s obsession with the Pipettes cool yet cheesy at the same time. They are pretty damn sexy but it was a little too girly for me to be on board (I do have some standards!).
Today they announced on their myspace that Rosay (the sexy brunette) and RiotBecki (left) left the group to pursue other musical interests. I definitely do care because if it wasn’t for their hotness would I be a fan? Check out a picture of them:
I must say the other two replacements, have some pretty high standards to live up to (shallow standards I mean) as they have to match the sexiness of Rosay. It definitely would suck if they had butterfaces…lol
The member that is left, is a blonde but who can resist that cute, innocent looking face of Rosay. I don’t blame her for leaving and I’ll look forward to what Rosay does but the Pipettes losing 2 notable faces out of the 3 girls yet continuing makes it feel gimmicky. The one that is left isn’t even an original member.
I should be studying jeez…but here’s a track:
Because It’s Not Love But It’s Still Feeling by The Pipettes
PlayRadioPlay! – Texas
Taking pop/electronica to the next level, PlayRadioPlay! is a new-comer who’s already surpassed many veterans. Creating a sombre mood with the use of subtle vocals and creative beats, Daniel Hunter, the mastermind behind it all, has developed an unbeatable sound. Signing his major contract deal midway through senior year in high school, Hunter is truly an inspiration to all, including myself.
PlayRadioPlay! released Texas in March of this year, and it’s the first full-length album from the band. The first thing that comes to mind is their likeness to huge international success story, The Postal Service/Death Cab For Cutie. Although the sound is very similar to that of The Postal Service, it’s really the tone and direction of the music that made me think of this comparison. There’s a couple of key aspects that PlayRadioPlay! does in order to create incredibly smooth, classy, mellow music.
The first song off Texas, Loco Commotion, is a little more electronic than the rest of Hunter’s work. It’s more aggressive, but still keeps it within the realms of his style. The vocals are exactly fitting, and are reminiscent of Ben Gibbard’s vocals. The few lyrics present are out of this world, and don’t really have significant meaning, but definitely add to the simplicity and overall feel of the song. Loco Commotion is insanely well produced, with fantastic synthesized beats, and a very creative mix overall.
The following track, I’m a Pirate You’re a Princess, is an epic romance song. The beat is so inspiring and vibrant, it seems to be a very bursting song, yet in reality there’s a lot of simplicity present. Besides having an extravagant but classy melody, the lyrics are beautifully sung, and make for soft, spectacular music. The lyrics are also quite meaningful in relation to the music and they are evidence that sometimes the most senseless lyrics can put forth the greatest meaning. I’m a Pirate You’re a Princess is easily my favourite track off the album, because of it’s lucid but astounding style, it’s easy to get lost in the music. This track is one of the better examples of how PlayRadioPlay! could be compared to an accomplished band like The Postal Service. But besides the similarities, PlayRadioPlay! is extremely unique in it’s own right and Daniel Hunter deserves all the credit in the world and then some.
Other songs that are of note are Madi Don’t Leave and Corner Office Bedroom. Really the whole album, Texas, is one wild listen. With a merry of incredible, thought provoking songs, listeners will sit down and fall in love with this album. Equipped with a full line-up of 12 songs, Texas is a MUST listen for any Postal Service fans, or fans of the whole indie/electronic/pop scene. I see only big things for such a young band that has produced music which will age like fine wine. A true testament of skill and craft, Hunter has developed a sound expected of veteran artists.
Check out his Myspace for official tour dates and news.
Indie Playlist for UFC 83 St. Pierre vs Serra
UFC 83 is happening this Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Canada’s first UFC event which I will be catching with some friends and I have to get this out of the way since I won’t be posting for a week (exams!).
I’m pretty excited and I hope MMA finally gets approved in the province of Ontario so we can get a event here in Toronto. Either way, I hope UFC comes back soon. I’ll be making picks in addition to having a tribute mp3 to the main card fighters.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra
1. Midnight Surprise by Lightspeed Champion
-Can Matt Serra pull off the 2nd upset?
2. Frenchy’s By Holy Fuck
-Calling GSP Frenchy insulted him big time
3. Home Field Advantage by Drive-by Truckers
4. If I Faltered Slightly Twice by Of Montreal
-Georges is too good, everyone or almost everyone has St. Pierre taking this one easily. When the pressure is on GSP performs.
Winner: Georges St. Pierre in 5 round round war. I love Matt Serra as well to be honest and he has world class skill and will frustrate St. Pierre at times. It may be boring….
Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy
5. Sing! Captain by The Handsome Furs
- For Charles “Captain Miserable” McCarthy
6.Everything is Average Nowadays by the Kaiser Chiefs
-For Michael Bisping getting mad that McCarthy called him average, such a huge insult.
Winner: Bisping by 2nd round TKO. Rooting for McCarthy though.
Rich Franklin vs Travis Lutter
7. Don’t Weigh Me Down by Broadcast 2000
- Lutter better make weight, he didn’t against Anderson Silva when he had a title shot on the line.
8. Can’t Lose by We Are Scientists
Franklin’s career can probably take only one more loss.
Winner: Travis Lutter by Armbar in Round 3. Picking an upset here.
A pretty weak card but I’m going to see this one anyway because it’s in Canada. The Montreal crowd should make this an event to watch (I envy their atmosphere).
Fever Marlene – White China
White China? How about Yellow America? We’re taking over and you can’t stop us! Anyway I think the title is more about the phrase “china white” referring to pure heroin.
Before I begin writing, this may be a subpar interview as I had to alter the schedule a bit and while I really wanted an extra week or two to get acquainted with this album, I think I’ll be able to get down the core of it.
I first got a chance to look at Fever Marlene’s Self Titled release. While it was a decent effort, most of it I kind of ignored as I found a lot repetitive about it and therefore ultimately boring save a few tracks.
White China is a little more subdued in terms of the poppy electronic sounds and most of the songs are at a much slower pace. However their sounds are much more diverse for this record that it’s much easier to go through the entire record. I also find it to be a pretty easy listen since it’s more of the pop variety.
There are a few misses on this record for me, I just feel a lot of it is too soft, takes too long to get going and I’m usually off moving to the next song.
If there’s one caveat I have with this entire album, most songs take long to get started and I do end up being impatient waiting for the real song to start. I usually hate teasers to songs, and I guess this is no different when I want to get down right into things (screw foreplay!).
Otherwise it’s a pretty good album, producing tracks that I genuinely enjoy. My favorite is the poppy “Oh Berlin” if you notice this song cuts to the chase with what it’s going to give you. The other 7 or so tracks do have some weaknesses and while they aren’t perfect they aren’t what I would deem as filler this time around.
One thing I would’ve liked to see is that they should’ve kept their sound. They went too soft here and if they find the perfect balance, they can make an album that’s very special.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5.
Evangelicals – The Evening Descends Review
I first heard about the Evangelicals as the band Headlights was in support of them when they came here to Toronto. I couldn’t make the show and I didn’t even listen to anything. I actually don’t remember what led me to actually actively hearing stuff by them but I was instantly hooked in the track “Skeleton Man” that was on their myspace so I decided to check out their album.
It turns out some forum members really dug the album and P4K also dug the album but that’s a moot point with me to begin with as I float to to my own boat. I’ve been listening to the album quite awhile and with a release date of January for the Evening Descends, I’m a bit late on this review.
I had a bit of a difficult time at first listening to this album. It’s also taking me a long time to get up and try to write this review. I really believe it just comes with the difficulty level of listening to this album. The Evangelicals do a great job of being random going 80 miles per hour and then going to a full stop on some tracks has my brain crashing at times. I like it when they keep up their pace but those moments are more of a rarity. They throw a vast amount of sounds, vocal range and ultimate randomness and it’s somehow spun into something that’s pretty good.
I wanted to give this a semi-bad review at one point because it is still difficult to listen to, it’s a bit like dream pop on acid (well assuming here what acid does to you). Each song is great in it’s own right there’s always something I like of each song whether it’s the introduction, the switching of beats, random riffs in the middle or sometimes even using the lead singer’s vocals as a method of expression.
If there’s anything this album fails to do is the transitioning from top to bottom is a difficult ride. One song itself has it’s ups and down…on an album as a whole at times it I want to get off the rollercoaster ride and I end up having enough. It’s a bit of a catch 22 with music though, if you want to make something innovative, random and weird sometimes you sacrifice “casual listening”
I’m really polarized on this album…I feel like I shouldn’t give it a good review but after extensively listening it I do admit it merits some high marks. It’s just that for 90% of the time trying to listen to the Evening Descends, I hated it and only when it came down to reviewing it I had a change of heart.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Skeleton Man by Evangelicals
The Evening Descends by Evangelicals
Paperback Suicide by The Evangelicals
Buy the album at InSound, CDUniverse, Amazon
I Love Math – Josephine Street
This is my second post on a single and not an album review, this is usually what goes on the blogosphere anyway so I can’t be blamed right?
Besides bands need promotion pre-album release date and I will definitely have a review up of I Love Math’s “Getting To The Point Beside It” when it drops in May and so far they have done a music video of Josephine Street.
I’ll talk a little bit about I Love Math, a band based in Dallas, Texas which features John Dufilho drummer for the Apples in Stereo and other members from bands such as the Deathray Davies, and Old 97s. It’s a little bit interesting what genre I would classify this band on. From the 3 songs I’ve heard, they seem to be more experimental using southern rock elements, to twee pop with a keyboard giving off an electro feel.
Josephine Steet is a nice little number, with a country/southern rock hook but ultimately being a cute pop song. Which of course there’s nothing wrong with that! Simplicity at it’s finest.
It’s the perfect song in my opinion to walk on the street while listening to it on your headphones especially on a nice day. It makes me want to run outside and play as if I were a kid again. The music video of walking outside on the street but out on snowy climate in New Mexico. Who knew New Mexico had snow…it almost looks like Toronto and while this winter was harsh in comparison to other years, it captures the beauty of a snowy day.
Check out the vid:
P.S. I don’t love math. I kind of hate it to be honest. Even math rock becomes a little iffy (still trying but asymetric time signatures + the drumming makes me go insane!). I’m more of a Science guy who loves formulas and math at higher levels has nothing to do with adding or substracting…it’s all proofs and gibberish! Enjoy the track.
Tilly and the Wall – Beat Control Single
I’ve known about Tilly and the Wall for sometime but I’ve never actually listened to anything by them. I knew from going through countless Wikipedia articles and they were namely that band that did not have a drummer but a tap dancer instead. Always figured that was odd/super cool.
Tilly and The Wall are a quite popular indie pop group and I just never bothered to check out their stuff until recently. If you follow my tendencies I love indie pop and I love female lead singers… so why I didn’t check this band out is way beyond me.
They have a 3rd album coming out on June 17th and while it’s currently untitled, it’s being given the working name of “O” but with the given press release, the promotional company refused to confirm the title of the album. They have made “Cacophony” available for download on various blogs which you can find almost anywhere. Their previous two albums got very good reviews from All Music Guide and P4K.
Cacophony is a decent track though nothing special to a point where I wouldn’t be too excited. Some good elements with the tap dancing though I swear it sounds like horse or…something left to the imagination. I like the duality of male and female vocals. I’ll be definitely checking out “O” or whatever it calls when it comes out in June.
I wanted to talk about the short pop track Beat Control which was left off this album. Some were saying that it was different stylistically but it is an extremely fun and awesome pop song (some may hate it for being too poppy). I love the vocals and while it’s rather simplistic of a song lyrically and instrumentally, it’s extremely catchy and I don’t mind listening to it for hours.
The video has also gotten some major play on YouTube with their music video…though most of the traffic originates from Perez Hilton. I’m not against his music selections but it only works because he does have such high traffic levels and therefore a power to persuade. Here’s the video:
Enjoy the tracks! We don’t need to do a review everytime anyway.
Mixtape for My Week of Hell
My week sucked this week. Organic chemistry exam on Wednesday, Biochemistry exam yesterday and genetics earlies today. I have about 10 days off until my next few exams so it exclaims why Jess was holding down the fort to my world. Traffic has been surprisingly solid but here’s a playlist to give it a little charge (yeah it’s cheap but it’s still fun to do a playlist nonetheless).
They titles are pretty self-explanatory with what I’ve been experiencing.
1. It’s Not Over Yet by The Klaxons
2. I Felt Like Smashing My Face Through A Clear Glass Window by Of Montreal
3. Skip To The End by The Futureheads
4. Date Rape by Sublime - I felt raped after my biochem exam FYI.
5. Wish I Was Dead by The Shout Out Louds
6. The Devil Never Sleeps by Iron & Wine
7. Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying by Belle & Sebastian
8. I Wasn’t Prepared by Eisley
9. I Need Some Sleep by The Eels
I also need a laugh (the annoying devil is related I guess)
Sigur Ros – Hvarf-Heim
Okay, so I’ve been totally putting this off for a long time, so this review is way past due. Sigur Ros is the first post-rock band I got into, which is almost a weird thing to say to some, considering lead member Jonsi’s peculiar vocals that generally sends people either running away or charging for more. Sigur Ros created what I believe is a new strain of post-rock, and if not all, then in part, due to the falsetto vocals and use of pretty heavy reverb. For me personally, I find the vocals are more part of the instrumentation than a feature in itself because it adds to Sigur Ros’ overall ethereal sound. I don’t think I’d be able to handle the falsetto if not for its awesome blend with the music.
Sigur Ros, hailing from Iceland, was huge after their 1999 release Agaetis byrjun, followed by a fantastic () in 2002. After their 2005 release Takk…, there hasn’t really been new Sigur Ros material since. Hvarf-Heim (2007) is a two-CD compilation album that features a couple of new releases and live and studio versions of older tunes found from all four previously released albums. (Side note: Sigur Ros’ DVD film Heima was also released at the same time and is worth checking out, especially if you’ve checked out their music videos and enjoyed them). The first CD, Hvarf contains two unreleased songs, one song released as a single about a month before the compilation’s release, and two tracks originally featured on their debut album, Von (1997). The second CD, Heim, consists of six live performances of previously released songs.
Focusing on the unreleased songs…they definitely don’t shy away from what I’ve known Sigur Ros to be. There’s still the falsetto hums that accompany the guitar and bass melody, with great use of soft percussions, strings, synths, and chord progressions. And they still make use of the bow guitar playing. Sigur Ros sets itself away from the Jimmy-Page-bow-guitar by using a lot of reverb, making it sound more like the mating calls of a whale…it sounds cooler than I’ve described, trust me. That being said, Sigur Ros does use a lot of reverb overall to create that etherealness we all love. “Salka” definitely fits into the whole idea of “if you want to know what Sigur Ros sounds like, listen to this”. It incorporates everything Sigur Ros has put into their music from day one. “Hijomalind” is a little more poppish? I might say. There’s still the ethereal feel in it with the use of the synths, but it’s “harder” (and with Sigur Ros, you can’t really get that hard) and more “rock” than most of their stuff (its former title was “Rokklagio”–which means “The Rock Song”…go figure). Did I say “Hijomalind” was hard? Scratch that, “I Gaer” is harder and with the creepy twinkling melody and hard bass, it makes the song even so irresistible. “I Gaer” is a little creepy sounding at first, like what you’d expect in a horror flick with dead zombie babies (kind of creepy like their Von album).There’s some good incorporation of metal; makes it sound deathly beautiful, and Jonsi’s vocals are absolutely fitting in this type of sound.
Heim is nice. I mean niiiiiiice. I’ve never been able to see Sigur Ros live (I missed both chances back in 2005 and 2006), so it’s always cool to listen to what the differences between the studio and live versions of songs are (YouTube squishes everything into a minuscule file that it sucks out all the good acoustics). I friggin’ enjoy Heim to the max…the max! All you have to do is get a good pair of headphones and blast this shit up. It really is terrific, especially because it comprises of all the songs I really enjoy in each album. There’s barely any reverb compared to the studio recordings, too, so it’s super cool to listen to what would be considered their “raw prime.” Oh man…I want to see them live so bad. Anyway, enough whining.
Overall, I would say Hvarf-Heim is a suitable buy for die-hard fans of Sigur Ros. If you’re thinking about getting into Sigur Ros without having to buy each of the albums, this album might also be worth your while…though I would stick with checking out each album in itself because they offer so much more (of course!). Still, I for one am definitely proud of this purchase, and if you’ve been thinking about getting this album, well, stop! and get it, damn it!
Here are two songs, one from each side/CD (they were pretty much arbitrarily picked since I basically liked everything):
Lipstik – There Is Only One Thing
Lipstik is the one-man band (who often has more-than-one-man backing him up) of Sam Jacobs from the New Yahhhk of the U.S. of A. Lipstik blends folk pop rock to create music the likes of Wilco and Tom Petty. Pretty good shiznit, I must say, being a pretty big fan of Wilco. Lipstik’s album, Everything is Good, released in 2006, was well-received by critics, and quite deserving of such, I’m sure. The band also sends out monthly demos of their new tracks to their fan club members.
There is Only One Thing is Lipstik’s latest EP, which will only be available through digital purchase beginning this month. It features four acoustic songs, one of which is a lovely, sad rendition of Tom Petty’s “Yer So Bad.” The tunes are perfectly arranged to sound simple, soulful, and beautiful. I probably can’t gush more about how much I enjoy this EP. It really is great! If you enjoy Leonard Cohen tunes like “The Stranger Song,” I can guarantee you will love this EP.
Sam Jacobs has deep, growling vocals a la Leonard Cohen that can convey hefty amount of emotion with effortless grace. The lyrics are seemingly repetitive, but I think Sam Jacobs uses this to his advantage. Instead of focussing on the lyrics at whole, the vocals blend together with the instrumentation to sound pretty sweet. The instrumentation itself is quite simple: mostly acoustic guitar chords with a small band of piano, strings, and light percussion to accompany it.
I should add in how much I really enjoyed Lipstik’s cover of Tom Petty’s tune, “Yer So Bad.” I’ll admit I was taken aback at the change of lyrics (because I’m so used to hearing a rhyme of “lucky” and “yuppie”), but otherwise I liked how Lipstik took the tempo down and made it sound depressingly beautiful. Kudos, Lipstik. Kudos.
I definitely suggest joining Lipstik’s mailing list to take advantage of free monthly downloads, and check out the official site to have a listen to the album Everything is Good and to keep up with the dealio surrounding the EP and future Lipstik releases.
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