The Rock Blogger

Future of the Left. Travels With Myself and Another . 2009. 4.5 stars .

This is some solid rock n’ roll from this wildly inventive Welsh band. On their second LP, Future of the Left lay down crunchy, distorted riffs and punchy punk rhythms to surreal and often hilarious lyrics about drinking, fighting, mischief, Satan, class warfare and losing out in general. Sounding like a strange mash up of Rage Against the Machine, The Clash and The Sex Pistols, FotL’s quick and dirty songs are heavy, raucous and oddly endearing. Take the regal and adventurous "The Hope that House Built", with it’s bouncy rhythms and call and response vocals, as the clarion call for hopeless causes and drunken abandon. What first appears as feckless admittance soon reveals its subversive undertones, wryly calling attention to attitudes we don’t want to admit to sharing.

The entire album follows this trajectory, with ballsy and catchy tunes full of scrappy melodies and sublime nonsense. The sheer energy of songs like "Land of My Formers", "That Damned Fly" and "Drink Nike" reveal the band’s love for their art, as intensity balances out with intelligent and memorable songwriting. Given their dizzying pace, it will take a few listens to let these songs sink in, but its fun getting caught in the whirlwind.

While it’s painfully short (32 mins), Travels With Myself and Another still packs a mean punch that keeps hitting after repeated listens. If you enter into FotL’s caustic, yet appealing world on their terms, there is much to like on this release. With it’s terse and energetic songwriting, this album will surely find its way among the top releases of the year.

Afterlives . A Ticking Clock I Couldn’t Stop . 2009. 4 stars.

This is a strange, lonesome and intensely personal debut from Connecticut’s William Barett. His project Afterlives consists of haunting lo-fi dirges that move from sparse guitar passages to squalls of droning noise, providing many jarring moments to catch the listener off guard. While it is clear that this album is a loosely knit sample of ideas, there are some stirring gems to found here. "Ever the Optimist" is one of the finer examples of how Afterlives can usurp expectations. Loose, jangly riffs dissolve into a wall of noise as Barett screams over the storm, yearning for hope and resolve in a darkening world.

"Still Lakes " is a stunningly vulnerable piece with distant, weepy vocals and sorrowful acoustic strums that move towards a resonant chorus that pushes the song into slow,  pulsating psychedelia. Sounding broken down and alone, Barett’s voice trembles across the yawning chasms lying between soft percussive beats, as the plodding guitars foretell imminent doom. It’s a subtly powerful song that seeps in ever so slowly, drawing you into the fractured psychology of its author. A clear highlight of this disc.

Songs like "Fireworks" move dreamily along as wiry riffs play hypnotically against harmonized vocals and slow-burning distortion before rising to an inevitable climax. "Distance Runner" follows with spacey atmospheric effects, shimmering post-rock guitars and unsettling vocalizations that buzz in the background. Other experiments, like the cacophonous drone exercises on "Sanderban Tigers" and "I Am the Heroic" provide occasional shocks to the system, shaking off sad stupors with blasts of blind catharsis.

Taken in its entirety, Afterlives’ debut is both brave and perturbed, weaving noisy experimentation with intimate, heart-tugging revelation. While its highlights are distinct, the entire work should be admired for its artistic abandon and honesty. The crackling home-recording aesthetic has offered Mr. Barett a unique vehicle to expose his darkest demons. For those fascinated by the post-rock amalgamations of Have a Nice Life, be sure to track down this brother project.

Guided By Voices - Everybody Thinks I’m A Raincloud (When I’m not Looking) Live

Oh man, does Bob look old in this video.
He’s been running on beer for 20 years!
Haha, still a great performance.
For some reason I always get back into Guided By Voices this time of year
I have a feeling that I’ll look like Bob here when I’m done these exams.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy . Lie Down in the Light . 2008. 4 stars .

While the indie-rock world may be saturated with countless Fiest/Arcade Fire/Interpol clones, you can always depend on prolific veterans like Will Oldham to breathe some much needed life into your local record store. With so many LPs, EPs and singles under his belt, credited to his many aliases, Oldham has established himself as a masterful songwriter, performing gritty and heartfelt tunes that transgress genres and styles.

Read More »

Sun Kil Moon. April. 2008. 5 stars.

In a perfect world, Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek would be just as well known as Neil Young and Eddie Vedder, capturing the imagination of the rock world with his chilling baritone voice and remarkably descriptive songwriting. Until that happens, Kozelek will remain an unsung icon of the indie universe, as he produces heartbreakingly beautiful folk-rock masterpieces like April, an early contender for album of the year. With Sun Kil Moon, Kozelek has lived up to and extended the legacy he built for himself with the shoegaze/rock band Red House Painters in the 90s, further developing the slow, brooding sound that once made them so endearing.

In April, Kozelek remains in a deeply reflective mood, drawing the listener into his dark pools of memory, vividly illustrating scenes of dusty city streets, night skies and small towns where love had once blossomed. While I won’t go into too much detail here about the lyrics, as my descriptions can’t possibly capture the alluring spirit that hides within them, but I can tell you that they are indeed moving and will be sure to stir romantic visions of long lost muses, moments and longings.

The pleasant sounds that wrap around these tales are slow and soothing, with gentle acoustic guitar work moving most of these songs into haunted personal spaces. The structures themselves may seem simple from the first listen, fitting within comfortable folk conventions, but they slowly unfurl into dynamic and rollicking jams complete with warm electric riffs and entrancing rhythms. On tracks like “Moorestown”, you can hear more elaborate elements being introduced, like strings and accompanying vocals, fleshing out the cathartic drives within the songwriting. The result is immediately effective, luring you into the band’s perfectly nostalgic and stoned daze.

While individual songs feature little variation between guitar patterns and pacing, they serve as a calm backdrop for Kolezek’s stirring vocals. While they remain deep and sad, almost droning on like another instrument, they rise up at just the right moments to showcase the man’s undeniable passion for his craft and lyrical content. You feel as if his entire life is here, encased within these 11 tracks.

While some may take issue with the extended length of these songs, as several of them stretch over 7 minutes, I believe these moments require the time to carefully reveal themselves, fully immersing you into Kolezek’s melancholic state. Its actually quite amazing to hear just how effortlessly these songs become full fledged epics, without delving in exaggerated progressions or symphonic excess. Aspiring songwriters should take note of Sun Kil Moon’s balance of restraint and release as they push their meditative sound to surprising heights with brevity.

While I could get personal here and explain how April stirs my emotions, and try to describe the distant images it carefully sears into my brain, I feel embellishing here will only distract you from forming your own impressions as you hear Kolezek’s graceful narratives. If you are searching for an album to connect with, to explore over time and to dream to, April is as honest and comforting as they come.

“Modern World” from Apologies to the Queen Mary. 2005

Wolf Parade’s long awaited follow up to 2005’s acclaimed Apologies to the Queen Mary , will be arriving June 17 courtesy of Sub Pop records. There is no definite title for the new album yet, but early rumors suggested it would be named Kissing the Beehive . Maybe the band got cold feet after Pitchfork made fun of that title, I’m not sure, but we’ll know soon enough.

The tracklist:
Read More »

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

Teenage FBI Live

I am a Scientist

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.

Read More »