Yet another badass video from indie legends Guided By Voices. This video is unique because it actually has two songs in it, both from their Alien Lanes album. While the intro to this is a little confusing, I still get goose bumps when “Motor Away” kicks in. I wish I was cruising down the highway right now, blaring that song on the stereo. What a great driving tune.
Plants and Animals. Parc Avenue. 2008. 4 stars.
Yet another musical gift from the indie oasis that is Montreal, Plants and Animals bring bombast and warm vibes to their epic debut. While the arrangements on Parc Avenue’s tracks are lush, classically inspired and eclectic, they avoid the tragedy and harrowing drama found in their contemporaries The Dears and The Arcade Fire, producing a masterpiece that is laid back, adventurous and drunkenly optimistic.
From the stunning, hard hitting piano on the opener “Bye Bye Bye” you can tell that Plants and Animals are no strangers to ambition, leading the listener into an extensive pop jam complete with a chanting backing chorus and lyrical themes dealing with change and restless anticipation. The impressive introduction sets the stage for the album’s summery wanderings, including the energized longing on “Good Friend”, the hippy shimmying on “Faerie Dance”, the psychedelic soloing on “Feedback in the Field”, the communal shouting on “Mercy”, to the stirring string arrangements lining “Keep it Real”.
Parc Avenue is an incredibly fluid and consistent album that successfully incorporates elements from classic rock, jazz and even world music to produce songs of great emotive clarity and enticing originality. In short, Parc Avenue is an instant indie-pop classic that is sure to generate much deserved hype in the surging Montreal scene and beyond.
This is “The Official Ironman Rally Song” from Under the Bushes Under the Stars, the 7th Guided By Voices record I now own.
This is easily one of the better GBV releases, featuring some of the more focused and memorable efforts from their extensive discography. Also check out these other GBV Videos
Vic Chesnutt. North Star Deserter. 2007. 4 stars.
I had just recently discovered Vic Chesnutt, the celebrated folk/rock songwriter from Athens Georgia, after learning that A Silver Mt. Zion, one of my favorite post rock bands, lent their orchestral stylings to this harrowing album. Recorded at the now legendary Hotel2Tango in Montreal, Chesnutt’s collaboration, which also includes members of Fugazi and Godspeed You Black Emperor, fits beautifully among Constellation Record’s rustic yet avant garde catalog.
One of my favorite tracks from Band of Horses‘ 2007’s Cease to Begin. I’ve had this in my head all bloody weekend, so I’m going to try and play it myself (I also found tabs for “Is there A Ghost”). Does anybody out there know what LRC stands for anyways? It would be cool to know what this beautiful song is actually about.
Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend 2008. 3.5 stars.
New York City’s Vampire Weekend are riding a wave of critical praise and industry hype, having secured acclaim across many popular music blogs and a Letterman appearance, its no surprise that they have sleeper hit on their hands. So what is everyone getting riled up about? It probably has to do with the relaxed vibe and afro-beat rhythms sported by their self-titled debut, bringing some summery warmth to an otherwise dull and dreary time of year.
Meat Puppets II 1984. 4.5 stars.
An underwritten and incredibly influential record, Meat Puppets’ II is a strange and satisfying romp through sun-blasted deserts, combining punk and hardcore swagger with laid back country themes and instrumentation. The impact this work has had on alternative and indie rock becomes ever more apparent with each listen, as the grimy and dusty aesthetic has been used to great effect by Pavement (Cooked Rain, Crooked Rain) and of course Nirvana, who famously covered II’s “Oh Me”, “Plateau” and “Lake of Fire” for their Unplugged in New York set.
Meat Puppets wallow in drug-induced stupors, getting lost on South-Western freeways (”Lost”), and confronting their inner anxieties (”Split Myself in Two”, “Climbing”). The acid-tinged lyrics are made ever more poignant by Curt and Cris Kirkwood’s pained vocals. The instrumental tracks, scattered throughout the album, also ring through in their Southern virtuosity, as the brothers furiously finger pick away.
The overall feel of this album, in spite of its psychological fits, is laid back and resolute, making it the perfect soundtrack for watching tumbleweeds blow across the dirty streets. Recommended for all the Nirvana fans out there who have yet to delve into Cobain’s influences and for punk fans looking for a more expanded retrospective of the genre.
No Age Weirdo Rippers 2007. 3 stars.
What the hell is a Weirdo Ripper? Perhaps its a loose moniker for No Age’s surreal brand of punk rock, relishing in lo-fi noisiness and ambient textures. If I were to make a rock equation, No Age’s first LP is a combination of scrappy slacker rock like Pavement and Sebadoh with the hazy ambient of Deerhunter, making for a listening experience that is strange and obtuse yet ultimately satisfying in its concision.
The overall tone of Weirdo Rippers is one of restrained excitement, where the band is conscious of their revolutionary artistic potential but is ultimately limited by their lack of technical savvy and thin production values. Still, the lo-fi element is probably what makes this work so unique and appealing in a market saturated by punk bands overcome by their devastating sameness. The roughness of it all has a certain charm to it, like the derelict building on the cover.
The National have a knack for crafting beautiful lyrical imagery in their songs and their music videos exemplify this, capturing the underdog spirit and wine soaked swagger with great visual subtlety. All of the following are from 2007’s incredible Boxer.
“Apartment Story”
“Mistaken for Strangers”
“Slow Show” (live)
Band of Horses Cease to Begin 2007. 4 Stars.
Over the holidays, I went online looking for bands I had overlooked in the past year and I came across Band of Horses, an indie rock outfit from South Carolina who have been breaking some pretty big waves over the past few years. Their sound is a delicate mixture of dream pop and folk rock traditions, creating both sprawling and inspiring anthems and intimate, laid back dirges, capturing the same drifter spirit found in My Morning Jacket and Okkervil River.
Cease to Begin opens with the stellar “Is there a Ghost” that manages to both haunt and enthrall with the use of a meager three verses. “Ode to LRC” and “Detlef Schrempf” are two of the other standouts from the disc’s first half, clearly demonstrating Ben Bridwell’s polished falsetto. The second half of the album is mostly comprised of comfortable and familiar sounding folk rock passages complete with lap steel guitar arrangements. As a whole, Cease to Begin is a wistful listening experience. While the album is rather short, clocking in at around 35 minutes, it shows just how refined and focused Band of Horses are in crafting their work.
The video for “Is There a Ghost”
www.flickr.com
|
Recent Comments
Hey no worries Damien, It would be great if you reviewed...
Interesting stuff Cliffe, I'll have to give it a few listens...
If you like NIN you may be interested in the album I just fi...
Thanks for the links man, I'll have to check them out!...
hey, my friend recorded this show, here's some download link...