Music to drink tea by
Archive for year 2009
AFoR Advent: Laura Hocking
12 years ago
in AFoR Advent, MP3s
It’s odd how much a title can add to your impression of a song. With it’s current title and with the words taken at face value, this doesn’t exactly come across as a Christmas song at all. Sure, there’s a brief reference to the fact it’s getting close to Christmas and what that means, but it feels more like scene-setting than anything else. That said, the song used to be called, rather delightfully, Obligatory Christmas Song, and I’ll rarely turn down the opportunity to opine on the virtues of Laura Hocking’s songs.
Writing a blog like this, I inevitably hear a lot of new music. I like a lot of it, even if there’s a lot more that I don’t. Only a handful of artists tend to become those discoveries that make one excited about music in general. Since I’ve started this thing, Los Campesinos!, Johnny Foreigner, 4 or 5 Magicians and Laura Hocking have been the only ones that have really fallen into that category. The first three have gone on to put out debut albums that range between good (4 or 5 Magicians) and utterly perfect (Johnny Foreigner). Two years after first covering her, a proper Hocking release is apparently getting closer, but it still seems like far too long.
AFoR Advent: Foxes!
02 years ago
in AFoR Advent, MP3s
Bloody hell. From the numbers over the past three days I should just post Christmas songs all year round.
Today’s Christmas song is, er, Christmas Songs by Foxes! I wrote about the band back in August as being another part of current lo-fi indiepop trend of the moment, and Christmas Songs slots right into that genre. On the most part, it doesn’t feel particularly festive, although it does feature my favourite line in a while (“I’m jolly glad you found me at the jolliest time of the year”) that manages to make two uses of the word jolly completely earnest. I like the implication of Santa essentially running a sweatshop with elves that have nowhere else to go too. With a bit of wordplay and some backwards imagery, Foxes! have actually come up with a rather unique spin on the festive song. It’s short and to the point, and a refrain of “I hope you’ll be okay” suggests things might not be as grim as initial listens suggest.
This is one song from a five track EP released by Foxes! last year. You can download the rest of it for free from their Last.fm.
AFoR Advent: Allo, Darlin’
12 years ago
in AFoR Advent, MP3s
I didn’t realise this song was quite so popular. I know I’ve heard a few different renditions of it in the past, but Wikipedia lists no less than 43 recordings of it. That doesn’t even include this one and a bunch of other unknown bands that have likely recorded it over the years. I also had no idea that it originally dates back to 1944. The things you learn on the internet.
It would be easy to argue that, like yesterday, this isn’t really a Christmas song either. It’s certainly not festive, and aside from the gentle sleigh bells in this version, there’s nothing to suggest it’s much more than a maudlin love song. Like yesterday’s entry though, it does have that cold feel, no doubt helped considerably by the lyrics. If not a Christmas song, it’s certainly a winter song, and given I’m likely going to run out of songs by next week anyway, it has a place here.
You can expect more Allo, Darlin’ before the year is out too. They’ve quickly become a favourite band on the back of a mere handful of songs over the past few months. Their superb single from earlier this year, Henry Rollins Don’t Dance, is a lock to be at the top end of the best of the year list. A list that we’ll actually manage to publish this year, unlike the disaster that was 2008.
AFoR Advent: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
22 years ago
in AFoR Advent, MP3s
Does this even count as a Christmas song? I’d suspect not given that it’s not actual about Christmas outside of that title. The whole song is about growing up after university and how utterly miserable and lonely that experience can be. Which of course makes for just the right tone for a festive song.
That said, even if it doesn’t quite meet the criteria, it certainly has the right feel. This is as close as you can get I think to a song itself actually feeling cold. There’s a slight sleigh-bell sound milling about in there too. If you’re someone, like me, who absolutely detests this time of year, it’s just about the perfect song for this time of year.
Now if I can just turn this around on you people for a moment, is Casiotone any good live? He’s playing a few UK dates later in the month including one in London. I’ve put off getting tickets as there are still a ton left and he seems like he might not lend himself well to a live environment. Any experiences?
AFoR Advent: Glam Chops
02 years ago
in AFoR Advent, MP3s
The only time I ran Christmas songs on this blog was the excitement that was AFoR Advent back in 2006, the very first year of this place. I didn’t run it again in 2007 because posting the same songs again seemed a bit crap and I didn’t run it in 2008 because, well, I didn’t post anything for six months and that included Christmas. I’ve got a whole bunch of new Christmas songs to work with this year though, so I’m going for it once again. I should point out that I don’t actually have enough though but hope to find more as we go along. So if you’d like to recommend something (which is available as a free mp3) or are in a band and have a Christmas song of your own you’d like to contribute, please get in touch.
I should also point out that I can’t actually stand Christmas all that much. As such, I’m not much of a fan of the traditional Christmas ditties, unless something interesting has been done with them. I like the slightest odd songs, and fairly often the rather miserable ones. Assuming all of this is okay with you, pop back each day for a new festive treat.
Behind our first door is the wonderfully apt Countdown to Christmas by Glam Chops. For those not keeping score at home, Glam Chops is Eddie Argos’ band that isn’t Art Brut, The Art Goblins, The English Travelling Wilburys, Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now and probably several hundred others. If the name wasn’t a clue, the band go for an all-out glam sound. Not really my cup of tea on the most part, but this is rather fun.
It’s full of sage advice (“Just don’t worry about the economy, until the middle of January”), some amusing call and response vocals and celebrating those typically British Christmas institutions like double-issues of the Radio Times. The only thing it’s really missing is a shout-out to the Christmas Top of the Pops.
Oh, wait a minute, that’s the wrong band.
Website / Myspace / Twitter
My First Earthquake
12 years ago
in MP3s
My First Earthquake are an indie pop band from San Francisco (where else?). Listening to them for the first time when Last.fm radio played me Sack Lunch was an interesting experience. It went something along the lines of:
Well, this is bombing along at a decent little clip. Some nice little unhinged vocal deliveries here. This is all rather fun. Did she just say “how can I be in love with a 12 year old boy?”. What the fuck? No, no, I must have misheard. Oh, she really did. Oh boy. Hang on a minute, this is a whole bloody song about a married woman and her relationship with a child.
You know what though? It really doesn’t matter. I still like the song just as much now. It’s just as catchy as it was, and somehow it’s all pulled off in a why that makes it mildly amusing rather than horrifying. Maybe it’s the fact it’s sung by a female voice as any man singing this song would likely find themselves on any number of lists very quickly.
Tremors is out now directly from the band’s own website for all of $4. Since I’m so far behind the times, they’ve since released another album that can be had from here.
Matt Wilson and John Munson emerge from the dark night as The Twilight Hours
32 years ago
in MP3s
It’s an odd journey that has led to The Twilight Hours. Long time readers will be aware of my love for late 80s / early 90s Minnesota band Trip Shakespeare. When that band dissolved, bassist John Munson went on to join Semisonic, while front man Matt Wilson seemingly wandered around in the abyss, releasing only one solo album in ten years. In 2001, Munson and Wilson formed The Flops, a two-man band that played a mixture of old Trip songs, some of Wilson’s solo work and some other bits and pieces. They released a grand total of one live CD, disappearing again in 2005. Sometime after that they started billing themselves as The Dark Nights, which has now morphed in to The Twilight Hours. Only now, seventeen years after the breakup of Trip Shakespeare, do we actually get some new material from two incredibly talented individuals.
And you know what? It’s slightly disappointing. I suspect this is because of how much I’ve built this up in my mind over the years. I adore those Trip Shakespeare records, as well as virtually everything Semisonic and Matt Wilson have put out in between. What I’m struggling with here is that this whole album feels just a little too MOR. There’s nothing strictly wrong with it, and Wilson’s vocal remains compelling throughout. It can’t seem to help remaining a little flat though.
That said, it has it’s moments too. The new arrangements for older Wilson songs Forgot Me Now and Queen of Tomorrow are largely successful. The song below, My Return, is the closest the record ever gets to the Trip sound of old. Vocals play off of each other, guitars rev into life and harmonies pop in at just the right time. It still feels like it’s being held back a little, but after this amount of time, I’ll take what I can get.
Stereo Night is out now in “Good enough for me” mp3 quality (160kbps) for absolutely nothing from the band’s website. Also available in “When it comes to music, I don’t like to compromise too much” mp3 quality (320kbps / $7) or “I’m a person of high quality, I’ll need your best music” CD for $10. More bands should be adopting this system.
Website / Myspace / Twitter
New Go Away Birds EP is out!
02 years ago
in MP3s
I’m not sure there’s a voice I like more right now than Catherine Ireton’s. Between the God Help the Girl record (which is still growing on me with every play) and The Go Away Birds, she’s a pivotal part of two my favourite bands of the year.
The Go Away Birds are a rather simple proposition. Most of these songs aren’t overly complex or flashy. Most are just a guitar and Ireton’s voice, but that’s more than enough when you’re dealing with a voice like this. It also feels a little like the aforementioned God Help the Girl project is rubbing off here. The songs on this third EP seem a little more theatrical than before, complete with backing vocals and little flourishes. Of course, I could be entirely wrong and these songs could have been recorded years ago.
Best of all is that the band seem to be continuing to release material purely out of the goodness of their hearts. This is the third EP released, and the third one that is free. It seems almost criminal that records this good can be obtained for absolutely nothing, but who are we to argue?
Heart Thump Heart Thump is available for free download from the band’s website. Throw a bit of money into the donation box if you like it though.
Live: The Young Republic // Cargo, London
02 years ago
in Live Reports, MP3s
Assuming that bands progress in the same way people do, the last time I saw The Young Republic, they were going through their awkward teenage years. Having just split from a bunch of their original members, the band were starting to find a new sound, one rather more rooted in Americana as opposed to the upbeat folk pop of the early years. They were good and put on a decent show, but there was still a sense that the band didn’t really have a clear direction.
In the little over a year in between, so much has changed. The Young Republic that takes the stage in Cargo on a Monday night aren’t here to play songs. They are here to rock. The fact the venue isn’t exactly full isn’t going to stop the crowd going right along with them, and the band are happy to reward their enthusiasm. Launching into a set made up mostly from their latest album Balletesque, we get a solid hour of rock and roll that only scratches the surface of their potential.
Much of this confidence comes through front man Julian Saporiti. He’s no longer the slightly awkward (but hugely talented) personality on stage he appeared to be a year ago. A new charisma seems to have appeared about him as he throws himself completely into every song as if his life depended on it. To his right, violinist Kristin Weber is a subtler presence, adding layering to each song. That is until The Alchemist, with it’s full-on violin solo halfway through. The rest of the band utterly still and silent throughout, her violin alone commanding the entire room. Not something you see at gigs everyday.
Then of course there’s the occasional treat thrown in for the older fans. “This is the point where we play a couple of old ones” notes Saporiti, before we realise these aren’t the old songs at all. Sure, at their core they are still Excuses To See You and the wonderful Girl From The Northern States, but they’ve been given the same overhaul the band had. What was folk pop is now Americana, and it’s still just as good.
After an hour, the band say goodnight and head off the stage. The crowd aren’t letting them off so easily though, and the band return for an encore seemingly at a loss for what to play seemingly having used everything in the main set. Shouts for their cover of Dylan’s Isis are shot down by Saporiti pointing out their lack of harmonicas. Eventually they settle on a couple of Beatles covers and most surprisingly of all, the Ghostbusters theme song. Complete with dance moves. It’s a hell of a way to end a gig, but by this point the audience would have let them get away with anything.
Moustache of Insanity
02 years ago
in MP3s
A few years ago I probably would have been defensive about liking something this. Perhaps I’d even think it was childish. Times change though, and Moustache of Insanity are right along the lines of the things I tend to listen to at this point. All of this goes hand in hand with my gradual slide further and further into indiepop. I’m not really sure when it began in earnest, sometime during the earlier years of this blog I would suspect. If you’d told me five years ago though that I’d be going to indiepop festivals on steam railways, or the kind of club night where everyone swaps a mix CD, I’d have probably laughed at you. Still, the joy of music is the constant evolution of taste. I wonder what I’ll be listening to in another five years.
So, Moustache of Insanity then. This is the kind of music that doesn’t really allow for middle ground. People will either find this a ton of fun or insufferably twee. Clocking it at barely a minute, Imagine is a joyful romp about imaginary friends, puppets, kittens, llamas and a whole lot more. With no time for any of that bullshit about world peace either.
Moustache of Insanity’s self-titled album is available now from WeePop!
