Writer’s block. That’s it. That’s the only explanation of how I can continue to tap my foot and nod my head on the sixth consecutive listen of “Heatstroke” from Magic Bullets and still not come up with something to write about it. Yes, it’s lame to just write “I like it” about a band/song, but with the pulsing keyboards and snappy drums of “Heatstroke,” that’s all your gonna get outta me. I like it. a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love is the debut album of this San Francisco band just out on Words on Music. If you must have comparisons, try these from Words on Music: C86, Felt, Gang of Four, New Order, Feelies, Talking Heads, Stranglers, Orange Juice, and the French Kicks. And make that eight consecutive listens!
Taxi Taxi
Sounds like Terence Bernardo can’t make up his mind. “Do I do a gritty, urban groove thing, or a slow piano jam?” Lucky for us he’s undecided. He’s given us both and sure enough there’s plenty more on Taxi Taxi’s debut, Maps and Legends. The variegated styles of Taxi Taxi are a sort of tribute to Bernardo’s kaleidoscopic, adopted hometown of New York City and his friends there who define the city and helped record the album. But music-heads from East to Left Coast will find something to love on Maps and Legends. From the Liquid Liquid-inspired party track “Shoot the Dog…” to the introspective “X Marks the Spot” Taxi Taxi holds all the songs together with inventive production, solid songwriting, and universal themes like love and loss.
Ghislain Poirier
Trying to keep it Francophone here…Montreal DJ Ghislain Poirier has range. His distinctive rebel beats draw from a range of styles — from Ragga to Detroit techno. (Ghis prefers to call his sound “le gros,” as in the fatness, which I won’t dispute.) He teams up with a wide range of MCs, from dancehall toaster DJ Collage to fellow Quebequois Seba. And he’s been called upon to remix a range of artists from Les Georges Lenningrad to Lady Sovereign to some up-and-comer named Jay Z. While these MP3s are nice tastes his best work can be found on his two albums for Chocolate Industries, a label that unfortunately doesn’t provide freeloads. Don’t let that stop you from having a listen (they’re available on eMusic). He also has an album slated for the fall on Ninja Tune.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
If classic French pop singers are my weakness, then Charlotte Gainsbourg is kryptonite. She’s not only the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg, France’s version of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen combined, but she’s gifted with Gallic melancholy—wispy melody-making that is perpetually running from the spotlight but never making it all the way out—that seems to be instilled in the French, or at least those who sing, from birth. (Although, Charlotte is half-British, so perhaps there’s a bit of Anglo resignation there as well.) “The Songs That We Sing†is one such number, which despite being in her English tongue loses none of its quiet desperation. You can hear AND see for yourself, because Michel Gondry shot the video. Oh, Charlotte’s also an actress of some renown and both her acting and her appearance could be termed, if you will, “magically delicious.†I hadn’t noticed that until just now. Had you?
Oh Bijou
My friend Neal just bought a satellite radio receiver on eBay, and my guess is he’s listening to as much Canadian radio as he can. That’s really his thing, along with snowboarding, long-distance bicycling, vacuum tube stereos, new albums on vinyl and the benzodiazepine-induced superoxide signalling of B cell apoptosis. (I’m not kidding! PhD scientists! My wife is the same way…) Anyway, he sent an e-mail suggesting Oh Bijou, and let me tell you there’s no apoptosis (that is, cell death) here, just nice, quiet, hazy pop songs with a 70s flavor. I mean, really, “Misty Eyes” is just about perfect. Oh Bijou! Oh Canada! Keep it up!
The Clientele
Tim O. and I went to see Ted Leo/Pharmacists last night, which was loud enough to blow out the new amp Ted bought earlier in the day, and so as ear therapy on the way home we listened to God Save The Clientele, due out next Tuesday. It’s so awesomely mellow, psychedelic and spacy that I’ve been using it at home in a similar manner, like when my 4-year old daughter repeatedly “sings” a joked-up version of the alphabet (X, T, G, R, B, V, J, J, J, etc.) at the top of her lungs. While the single “Bookshop Casanova” is fine, I’d drop a dollar on the whispers of “The Queen of Seville” or the Lawrence Welk-inspired “From Brighton Beach to Santa Monica” for a better feel for the new album, or for straightforward, drug-free headache relief.
Bookshop Casanova [MP3, 5.2MB, 192kbps]
Original post: 11/17/05
Hey, Clay! What’s up? Hey, how come you never posted The Clientele? This band seems right up your alley — hazy, dreamy British guitar pop about London and all that. I mean, just look at this song title: “St. Paul’s Beneath a Sinking Sky.” Isn’t that your thing? I guess if you didn’t post because The Clientele have only one free & legal MP3 available, and that song clocks in at less than two minutes long, well, that’s understandable. But they do have a new album out, and that’s as good a reason as any to post ’em. BTW, if you happen to be in Detroit this Sunday, let’s take Sam out for his birthday and catch The Clientele at the Magic Stick. Pas/Cal, a band you posted way back when, is opening. Greetings to the whole family! Love, Joe
Prewar Yardsale
Last week’s cover of the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s “That Girl Suicide” by Prewar Yardsale was just a taste of Prewar Yardsale to whet your appetites for today’s offering of four, count ’em, four free and legal songs available from Olive Juice Music, a collecive of artists. The simplicity and the rawness of this New York couple’s antifolk, from the hammered acoustic guitar to the drum kit assembled from whatever was found in the kitchen cabinets, enourages toe-tapping sing-a-longs. And that’s what it’s all about.
The Go Find
More goodness from Morr Records. The Go Find, which began as a solo project of Dieter Sermeus, has developed into more of a full band affair. To get a sense of where The Go Find searches for inspiration, consider the artists they covered for a recent 7″: Hall & Oates backed with Pavement. A winning combination in my book. “Dictionary” blends both sounds well—understated, indie vocals over soft, 80s-style, electro-disco instrumentation (complete with echoing handclaps and Roxy Music-esque guitar riffs).
More from Machine Go Boom
Alex Delivery
Alex Delivery is comprised of members from former Eastern Bloc nations and Korea, so the harsh realities of totalitarian communism aren’t just a trendy design concept to them (even if they all met in art school), it’s a way of life. You can tell on Komad, which starts like the cast of Stomp lost one of their own and decided to throw him a New Orleans-style funeral march. Then, it keeps going… It’s borderline infuriating if you’re not in the right mindset for 10 minutes of dissonance, but if you allow yourself to get into Alex Delivery’s dystopian groove, you might just stomp along with them.