record review: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore - Dear Companion

Some musicians are masters at feeding the soul. They tap into the sunniest parts of our childhoods and help us look toward the optimistically clean slate of the future. Teaming up with Daniel Martin Moore in a very appropriately named project, Ben Sollee has returned full force, armed with Georgia peaches and old barn tales.

His cello playing is more minimalist than ever before, and it makes for a much more endearing brand of music. Perhaps because this is not a solo project, Sollee has taken a break from crafting showy, elaborate songs and rather contributes to what is mostly a collection of beautiful slow-dance numbers. Dear Companion is like a much needed summer breeze: subtle, refreshing, and perfectly fragrant.

Let this duo take you to the grassy plains of Kentucky, far away from the stress of bills, school and the impending apocalypse.

3.5/5

Dear Companion - Something, Somewhere, Sometime [mp3]

The Strokes Post #402

seeing Adam Green tonight =)

The Middle East - Blood

the combination of the band & song monikers is quite misleading. this track is anything but agitated conflict and/or blood bathery

The Middle East - Blood [mp3]

tour dates (with Pavement):

The Middle East Tour Dates:
Apr 9--Larimer Lounge--Denver, Colorado
Apr 13--Cellar Door--Visalia, California
Apr 15--The Fox Theater--Ponoma, California
Apr 16--Soho Restaurant and Music Club--Santa Barbara, California
Apr 18--Coachella--Indio, California
May 13--Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire--Montreal, Quebec*
May 15--Middle East--Cambridge, Massachusetts*
May 16--Theatre of the Living Arts--Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*
May 17--Music Hall of Williamsburg--::SOLD OUT::--Brooklyn, New York*
May 18--Webster Hall--::SOLD OUT:--New York, New York*
May 20--9:30 Club--Washington DC, Washington DC*
May 21--Beachland Ballroom--Cleveland, Ohio*
May 22--Wexner Center--Columbus, Ohio*
May 24--Lincoln Hall--Chicago, Illinois*
May 25--Varsity Theater--Minneapolis, Minnesota*
May 29--Sasquatch Music Festival--George, Washington*
May 30--560 Club--Vancouver, British Columbia*
May 31--Aladdin Theater--Portland, Oregon*
Jun 2--Slim’s--San Francisco, California*
Jun 7--Rhythm Room--Phoenix, Arizona*
Jun 9--Antone’s--Austin, Texas*
Jun 10--House of Blues Cambridge Room--Dallas, Texas *
Jul 10--T in the Park--Balado, Scotland
Jul 11--Punchestown Racecourse--Naas, Northern Ireland
Jul 15--Slottsfjell Festival--Tonsberg
* Tour Dates with Mumford and Sons

bonus:

Vampire Weekend's Chris Biao to DJ in Oakland

there will be an afterparty following the band's show at the beautiful Fox Theatre on the 19th with music provided by the band's adorable bassist. you can buy tickets HERE

record review: MGMT - Congratulations

In countless recent interviews, the power duo of MGMT have insisted that their second LP moves far away from their magnificent 2008 debut, Oracular Spectacular. It’s starting to seem as though they did that to fend off suspicions of sophomore slump. Although this is an admirable form of preemptive defense, it is unfortunate to realize that they did it with full knowledge of their musical shortcomings.

When it comes down to it, Congratulations spreads itself too thin over too many genres without enough cohesiveness to bind everything together. The band purposefully created an album without any obvious singles because that is how they want it to be consumed—as a single unit. However, much of their charm came directly from those playful standout tracks found on Oracular Spectacular—which actually accentuated the slower tracks and made them all that more endearing—and, without them, MGMT fail to strike a chord.

The effervescent closer, “Congratulation” could easily have been on their debut album, but it lacks the novelty which the band has been bragging about. Or what about the excruciating “Siberian Breaks”? A 12 minute tribute to 80’s soft pop? Thanks, but no thanks. The single saving grace on the whole album is the mischievous, Misfits inspired track called “Brian Eno”. Everything else fades into uninspired drivel. Look elsewhere for a good fix of psychedelic music, you won’t find it here.

2/5




MGMT - Electric Feel [mp3]
from Oracular Spectacular

The Strokes Post #402

JC is gonna be gracing an Indiananapolis record shop this Friday. click HERE for more details

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE!

The Dead Weather - New Pony (Bob Dylan cover) [mp3]

Andy Fitch & Brian Russo - Excuses (The Morning Benders cover) [mp3]

Ben Gibbard - I Don't Want To Get Over You (Magnetic Fields Cover) [mp3]

Manchester Orchestra - I Could Be With Anyone (Kevin Devine Cover) [mp3]

Jamie Cullum - Our Day Will Come (Mort Garson cover) [mp3]

Ben Sollee - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover) [mp3]

The Black Crowes - Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (The Beatles cover) [mp3]

Rogue Wave - Birds (Neil Young cover) [mp3]

The Morning Benders - Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love (The Ronettes cover) [mp3]

The Last Shadow Puppets - Wondrous Place (Billy Fury cover) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #401

The Strokes - Life is a Gas (The Ramones cover) [mp3]

Saturday Music Definitions: Catch

Chuck Berry - You Can't Catch Me [mp3]

The White Stripes - Catch Hell Blues [mp3]

John Lennon - You Can't Catch Me [mp3]

Dark Night of the Soul - Star Eyes (I Can Catch It) (feat. David Lynch)[mp3]
yayy Broken Bells.

Division Day - Catch Your Death [mp3]

Silversun Pickups - Catch and Release [mp3]

Delta Spirit announce new album tracklisting, tour dates

to be released on 08 June, the band's sophomore LP will be called History From Below and will feature:

911
Bushwick Blues
Salt in the wound
White Table
Ransom Man
Devil knows you're dead
Golden state
Scarecrow
Vivian
St. Francis
Ballad of Vitaly

dates:

June 8 / Solana Beach CA / Belly Up
June 9 / San Francisco CA / Independent
June 10 / Portland OR / Doug Fir
June 11 / Seattle WA / Neumo's
June 12 / Vancouver BC / The Venue
June 14 / Boise ID / Neurolux
June 15 / Salt Lake City UT / Urban Lounge
June 16 / Denver CO / Bluebird Theatre
June 17 / Omaha NE / Waiting Room
June 18 / Minneapolis MN / Varsity Theatre
June 19 / Chicago IL / Metro
June 21 / St. Louis MO / Firebird
June 22 / Indianapolis IN / Radio Radio
June 23 / Columbus OH / Basement
June 24 / Cleveland OH / Beachland Ballroom
June 25 / Pontiac MI / Pike Room
June 28 / Boston MA / Middle East Downstairs
June 30 / New York NY / Bowery Ballroom
July 1 / Brooklyn NY / Music Hall of Williamsburg
July 2 / Philadelphia PA / First Unitarian Church
July 3 / Washington DC / 9:30 Club
July 5 / Carrboro NC / Cat's Cradle
July 6 / Chaleston, SC / Pour House
July 7 / St. Augustine FL / Cafe 11
July 8 / Orlando FL / The Social
July 9 / Atlanta GA / Masquerade
July 10 / Birmingham AL / Bottletree
July 11 / Haittesburg MS / Thirsty Hippo
July 13 / Little Rock AR / Juanita's
July 14 / Tulsa OK / Cain's
July 15 / Dallas TX / The Loft
July 16 / Houston / TX Mango's
July 17 / Austin TX / Emo's Outside
July 20 / Santa Fe NM / Santa Fe Brewing Co
July 21 / Tucson AZ / TBD
July 23 / Los Angeles CA / El Rey Theatre
July 24 / Santa Barbara CA / Velvet Jones

Delta Spirit - Duncan (Paul Simon cover) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #400

worth watching again, I think, because there has been so much negativity lately about the postponed Strokes IV release. I am very okay with waiting for something worth waiting for.

Band of the Week: Mother Falcon

Sometimes it’s difficult to pick out similarities within musical subgenres. Chamber pop artists such as Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens and Beirut are constantly grouped together, but the musical relationships between them remain elusive. This all changes when a band like Mother Falcon comes into the picture.

Like the lovechild of an orgy between string heavy ethereal musicians, Mother Falcon could easily be Ra Ra Riot’s younger but equally talented sibling. The interplay of echoes, plucked progressions and the sheer brilliance of layering truly sheds light on the blood lines between the likes of Win Butler, Sufjan Stevens and Zach Condon. Call it derivative if you want, but that doesn’t take from the genuineness which pours forth from this Austin based mini-orchestra.

They have an EP called Still Life out which you can get on cdbaby.com

Mother Falcon – Marigold [mp3]

keep tabs on their tour dates via MYSPACE

The Strokes Post #399

rain everywhere. this song is redeeming, somehow.

record review: Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Albums like Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 release The Midnight Organ Fight come along once in a blue moon, cutting like a knife and drawing more blood than you thought you contained. The problem arises when the band goes back to the drawing board, having perfected the craft of tapping into your innermost demons, because, inevitably, they will falter.

If The Midnight Organ Fight is a splendid Samurai sword, The Winter of Mixed Drinks is a wooden dagger. There is a lot of unrealized potential and you are left with something which doesn’t quite accomplish its purpose.

It is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but if it had been released as the band’s debut, I doubt it would have generated half the amount of buzz as its predecessor. It is noticeably less heady than Midnight but ways away more advanced than Sing the Greys. It delivers like an elongated EP, song after song of musical sketches that don’t contain the same ground shifting gusts as the band’s brilliant sophomore release.

2.9/5

Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land [mp3]

Classic Track Thursday

Husker Du - Something I Learned Today [mp3]
from Zen Arcade (1984)

it's all about the noise rock, yo. a little punk in San Diego told me about this band and I am hooked.

The Strokes Post #398

new JC q&a from the Star Tribune

"There was a part of me that wanted so badly for [the Strokes] to be the best band around; that was my entire focus," he said. "I understand now that it can be good to work outside the circle."

Broken Bells announce tour with The Morning Benders

holy smokes. two of my favourite records of 2010. at the Regency.
curaaaaaazy.

05-18 San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay *
05-19 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre *
05-21 San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom *
05-24 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom *
05-25 Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market *
05-26 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom *
05-29 Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre *
05-31 Chicago, IL – Vic Theater *
06-01 Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall *
06-02 Toronto, Ontario – Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
06-04 Boston, MA – Royale NightClub *
06-05 New York, NY – The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza *
06-06 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory *
06-07 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
06-10 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage *
06-11 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club *

* with the Morning Benders

the morning benders - waiting for a war (daytrotter) [mp3]