Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

Sorry I missed last week! Last Wednesday night I found myself watching a hilarious movie by the name of What We Do In The Shadows. Everyone needs to see it. Seriously, we laughed literally the entire movie. But I'm back now and super excited to write this week's post.

Since The Strokes are my favorite band, of course I'm going to think that anything Julian Casablancas does is brilliant. This record is no exception, and quite possibly his masterpiece. I really do feel that Tyranny is the record he's been wanting to write his entire career. Quite the collage of sound, the record rollicks from quick synth beats, to harsh guitar, to the sounds of old radio shows, a lot of the time in the same track. Fans of his first solo album, Phrazes For The Young, this record is not that endeavor.

Truth be told, this record isn't quite as solo as his previous project. Teaming with the group The Voidz, he creates a sound much harder than The Strokes, much more complicated and political, but with the same guitar styles that I truly think make up my soul's sound. The two tracks that strike a resemblance to The Strokes would have to be the album's hauntingly beautiful, 11-minute first single "Human Sadness," and the dance-y "Dare I Care," which is my personal favorite from the album.

As one of my friend's frankly put it, as we listened to the album in my car one day, "it doesn't really make sense." And if we're going to be honest, sometimes it doesn't. The guitar will be playing a melody completely erroneous to what's under it. "Human Sadness" is a symphony, going through different movements of sound to come full circle to a quiet end, but shaking you up along the way. And while I love it, many people criticized it when it came out. Personally, I just think he created a record a few years ahead of its time.

I was fortunate enough to hear them play live at Governor's Ball. I didn't know what I would expect, but I hoped he would come out with a blazing "11th Dimension." The show we saw was quite different. Since he was with The Voidz, he didn't touch anything from his previous record, and this was before Tyranny came out, so I stood there in New York City, amongst the biggest Strokes fans in the world, and no one knew a single word or a single note that any of them played. I vaguely remember them playing "Where No Eagles Fly." I mean, the chorus is Julian yelling "meat, predators eat meat!" It doesn't just leave your head. But, oh, how I wish I could hear it again now that I know the album.

Tyranny is an electronic whirlwind, and not one for the weak hearted or lover of dance beats. Take "Father Electricity," for example. The song is a ball of energy, almost seeming to stimulate all five of the senses, but it doesn't lack musicality or catch. It layers rock synths over African drums, and it does it well. And personally I believe that "Xerox" actually sounds like a xerox machine. If that's what they were going for, then they nailed it.

My personal goal is to learn most of the words to the album, but it's a doozy. Julian is famous for his muffled vocals and forgetting the words onstage in his performances, but you literally can't understand a single word he says on this album. I've even tried following the official lyrics and I'm not convinced he's actually saying some of the things I'm reading. But the vocals just blend in with the tumult of sounds and act as the roof to hold all of them in.

Julian strove for perfection on this record, and you can tell. Every song is like a puzzle piece with nothing out of place. From start to finish, the album is long, but you don't want it to end. It just makes me so excited about what he can do next.

"Beyond all ideas of right and wrong, there is a field, I will be meeting you there."

Songs that sound like my soul:

Take Me In Your Army
Human Sadness
Father Electricity
Johan Von Bronx
Dare I Care
Nintendo Blood

Wye Oak

The way I see it, Wye Oak are the most underestimated indie duo on the scene right now. Five albums down and I've hardly seen their names at any festivals, any tours, anything. I only just discovered them a few months ago with the help of my boyfriend, and with how incredible their newest album is, I can hardly see how.

The joined forces of Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner make up the only members of the group, miraculously playing multiple instruments all at once for their live performances and sounding just like their recordings, if not better. The fifth album, Shriek, more electronic than the previous albums, comes across bold, clean and ethereal, with Jenn's vocals ranging octaves and forming into beautiful melodies that hover over dark, sometimes heavy beats. You go from the sweet, melodic title track instantly into "The Tower" which rages a bass line that continues throughout the song. The transition isn't jarring, however, just enough to push it into the heaviest song on the album, "Glory," that hints electronica riffs enviable of Julian Casablancas.

If I had one criticism for the album, it would be that the lyrics are so muffled you can hardly understand them, and this is only a bad thing to me because I really like to sing along with it and I feel like an idiot singing basically made up words and vowels. (It's actually a really nice effect, it gives the melodies much more attention, although, if you read the lyrics they are as beautiful as the music underneath them.)

Wye Oak's song "Civilian," (from the album of the same name) put them on the map appearing in shows like The Walking Dead and the movie Safety Not Guaranteed (a personal favorite of mine and one that I need to go watch now because I didn't realize they had a song in it until I started writing this post).  With a heavy folk influence, it's different than anything they released in Shriek, but still paves the way into what the album becomes. It's the band's masterpiece thus far and it needs to be heard. And that's why I'm writing a blog post about it, so my millions of readers will see and listen! (Insert silly emoji face here, because, well, maybe someday.) But in all seriousness, give this record a spin, it might be my favorite of 2014. (Julian and the Voidz doesn't count because he's always a trump card. It's the same as me not even counting the Harry Potter movies in my favorites. Am I getting off topic? I'll talk about Julian next time.) Moral of the story, listen to Wye Oak, all of their albums, not just Shriek, and then yell it off the mountain tops and tell all your friends too, because this band needs to blow up.

"This morning, I woke up on the floor thinking I had never dreamed before."

Songs my boyfriend showed me:
Before
Shriek
Glory
Sick Talk
Logic of Color

Civilian

This is a video of them performing for KEXP radio station. It features them playing a full set, and you get to see Andy play drums and keys at the same time. WHAT?!

Belle and Sebastian

While Belle and Sebastian have only been in my life a short while, (I've known about them a long time, of course, the sheer number of their albums overwhelmed me until I had a tad more pocket change) their newest album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, has struck a chord with me like none of the others have. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of upbeat and clean albums. I like raw sound, their old albums have a charm of their own of course, but there is something about a certain level of production that my ears are fond of. Or maybe because the album has almost a 1960's vibe that makes me want to solve mysteries (don't know why) and dress like Twiggy. 

Yet, the album takes on many more genre's. There is the straight up disco jam "Enter Sylvia Plath" alongside the song "The Party Line," which sounds like it should be played at night clubs (or the night club that is my commute at least), whilst "The Everlasting Muse" sounds like a cross between "The Girl From Ipanema" and an Irish (they're Scottish) drinking song. (It's awesome, trust me.) The album has a dream-like theme that hangs over it, none of the lyrics really make that much sense, but the music takes over and they don't have to. The tones are soft and a bit muffled, especially on tracks like "The Cat With The Cream." I think I completely lost myself the first time I heard that song, which wasn't good because I needed to be paying attention to my GPS. 

The sheer amount of instrumentation is clear on this album, the use of strings make some songs sound more like a symphony than a pop song, and it's clear that Belle and Sebastian aren't going anywhere anytime soon. With this and the new movie musical God Help The Girl written by the leader of Belle and Sebastian, Stuart Murdoch, they're proving why they're the biggest little indie group around. 

"A subtle gift to modern rock, she says be popular, play pop, and you will win my love."

Songs to solve mysteries to:

The Party Line

The Power of Three

The Cat With The Cream

The Everlasting Muse

Play For Today

Today (This Army's For Peace)

Catfish and the Bottlemen

(PS: Sorry for the shoddy camera work. CATB finishing "Kathleen" at The Firebird in St. Louis)



So...

It's been awhile! Sorry gang! A lot has changed in this past year, including my move to St. Louis, getting settled in and doing some soul searching. And a lot has happened musically while I was away. One of the things I love about St. Louis is how available shows are. Amazing artists come through all the time and my modest paycheck can't quite keep up with them. 

But a few months ago, a friend recommended I check out Catfish and the Bottlemen. Their name sounded familiar, I believe I had seen them on the line-up for Governor's Ball (which was absolutely fantastic and too long of a tale for this post) but I had never heard them. Hailing from a small town in Wales their EP "Kathleen and the Other Three" hooked me in from the first listen. It made me nostalgic for my high school days of listening to obscure indie Brit-pop like The Kooks and The Answering Machine, a more mature-harder sound, but all that British finesse and slang I love so much. (I may or may not have started interjecting the word "deffo" into my everyday vocabulary, sans their song "Pacifier.")

Their LP, The Balcony, implemented all four songs from the EP and rounded out the album with catchy riffs and profanities, even slowing down a notch in the middle to find the soft acoustic treasure  that is "Hourglass," amongst all the ruckus. When I found out they were coming to The Firebird, I bought tickets immediately.

After grabbing a shirt, a free packet that the merch girl was handing out (there were condoms inside) and dancing like a fool to the music they were playing in between sets (apparently no one there knew Earth Wind & Fire's, "September" because we were literally the only ones getting down) the lights went down and the four lads from Llandudno took the stage.

The show was small, but lacked neither intensity, nor performance. The entire crowd knew every word a little to the astonishment of the lead Van McCann who could utter almost nothing but thanks to us. They played only an hour, but with high energy, and with a feeling that they were really enjoying themselves in this little bar near downtown St. Louis, where everybody knew their name.

They finished the set much like their album, with the wailing "Tyrants." A personal favorite of mine and one that did not disappoint live. After Van hung his guitar from the rafters, the band walked off and through the crowd, no doubt to go sell out another venue. They've completely taken England by storm and aren't far behind on the US horizon. With album two confirmed to be on the way, I would jump on this band before only the yard seats are available.

Catchy tracks you should catch:
Homesick
Kathleen
Cocoon
Pacifier
Rango
Tyrants

Ain't It Fun

The new "Ain't It Fun" video has finally arrived! As Paramore set out to break 10 world records in the carefree (and a little violent) video, they are also shooting to get a million views in 24 hours. Watch it here and help them make that happen! 

http://youtu.be/EFEmTsfFL5A

New music in 2014

Everyone is talking about the numerous albums potentially coming out in 2014, and for good reason! Some of my favorite bands are scheduled to release new LP's beginning with the new Broken Bells record "After the Disco" on Monday. The week after, January 21, "Mind Over Matter" by Young The Giant will hit the shelf (I live in Springfield, MO, my cd options are limited) after much anticipation by me, and I'm sure other people. But as much as I'm looking forward to that, to begin and round out February a new Yellow Ostrich LP, "Cosmos" will be released (February 25th) as well as a new Bombay Bicycle Club album, "so long, see you tomorrow" on February 3rd. Huzzah! Their new song "Luna" is pretty much all I'm playing right now. 

We have also heard wind of the new Tokyo Police Club album called "Forcefield" that is "coming soon." Well not soon enough! But you can check out their nine minute lyric video of "Argentina" on their website, it is more than able to tide us over until the album drops.

In other news, according to NME The Strokes might be making a comeback in 2014, I died a little inside when I heard that one, but right now Julian and Albert Hammond, Jr. are doing solo tours so we shall see! 

I think that's all for now, but it's going to be an exciting 2014! 

Happy listening. 

Haim - Days Are Gone

When I saw Julian Casablancas on is solo tour back in 2011 a little American band called Haim opened for them. It pains me to this day that I can’t really remember what they sounded like or what they played. (I know I loved them, I bought a shirt!) Little did I know that I was watching a band that was going to grow into what they are today.

Three sisters, Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, along with drummer Dash Hutton, make up the group that has been topping the charts in the UK as well as making a name for themselves in the US. It seems like everywhere I go I am starting to hear about them more. They were even playing Days Are Gone in my favorite bar this past weekend. Needless to say I danced a lot in my seat.

So what is so great about them? Well, they started rolling out EP’s with singles like “Forever” and “Don’t Save Me,” that got everyone interested and moving like Rick Astley to their almost 80’s era rock sound. That and they’re girls making sounds like the Arctic Monkeys. But listening to the other tracks on those EP’s didn’t convince me of their magnitude. I would like the first track then wade through the second and third in an attempt to gauge the strange sounds. I figured Days Are Gone would be similar. Welp, I was wrong.

Not many times do you listen to an album straight through and like every song. Days Are Gone is one of those albums. Hooked immediately into “Falling,” and then almost flowing into the familiar “Forever” the record builds into itself with songs continually more catchy than the last. It changes pace on “Honey & I” an almost intimate and quiet song compared to its predecessor “If I Could Change Your Mind,” and then builds again to the roaring titled track sung by Este, “Days Are Gone,” an ode to growing up and moving on. The next track, a personal favorite of mine because of its BAMFness, is the ultimate “you broke my heart, you’d better watch out,” anthem. Words cannot express how cool the “My Song 5” is, or how cool you’ll feel when you listen to it. Just do it, ok? And wear a leather jacket whilst.

The record doesn’t even lose momentum when they take it down for the only “slow” song on the album, “Go Slow.” You don’t go slowly for long however (have I said slow enough?), when they end the record with probably one of the strongest songs on the LP, “Let Me Go,” and then the closer “Running When You Call My Name.”  If you haven’t picked up Days Are Gone yet, put it at the top of your list. These girls are going to be the next biggest thing. I mean, Alana toured with Julian, how could they not be?

Songs to Look Out For:

Forever

The Wire

If I Could Change Your Mind

Don’t Save Me

Days Are Gone

My Song 5

Let Me Go

Oh sheesh just get the album.