A band called Mouthful of Bees will get at least one listen from me due to its connection, real or imagined, to Brian Evenson‘s wonderfully disturbing short story “Stung,” in which a boy kills his stepfather by…well, you don’t me want to give it away, do you? Mouthful of Bees got second, third, and fourth listens from me with a fresh take on that slurred (sm)art pop CYHSY and Tapes ‘n’ Tapes get so much credit for. While the genre is known for its frenzied pacing, their 2006 EP The End proves that Mouthful of Bees can speed it up and slow it down with equal dexterity (check “I Saw a Golden Light” on their MySpace page). “The Now” falls in the uptempo category. And, for all I know, their name may be the only connection to Evenson’s work, but singer Chris Farstad opens the song by crooning “In the time it took for me to write my novel/I did nothing in particular at all.” Hmm, fellow fiction buff or mere coincidence? Read the book.
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is back, with a new album — Armchair Apocrypha — to be released in a month or so, a prominent SXSW appearance, late-night TV gigs and a big tour (dates & locales here). Also back: musically complex, gently orchestrated and textured pop songs with obscure or unexpected lyric paths, and more whistling than a Roger Whittaker album. Some of the off-beat syncopation and general quirkiness aren’t here; in general Armchair Apocrypha sounds developed and mature. That said, Bird’s sound is still fresh and inviting, clever and complex.
Heretics [MP3, 3.2MB, 128kbps]
Original post: 05/05/05
A message from Sean to me, regarding Andrew Bird:
“Damn, you beat me to this! AB’s one of those artists that I just never took the time to listen to, even though I had access to his records….then when I do finally listen, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long…”
Incredibly fresh songwriting, with an abundance of clever lines and complex instrumentation that fits somewhere between Nick Drake and Arcade Fire. Thanks to Gordon for this suggestion.
The Rapture
More dance punk disco funk from the Rapture. Does anyone need more than that?
Takka Takka is your Valentine
Julian Nation
Oh Snap! It’s Valentine’s Day and surely I will do one of two things today… Share some music for lovers? Select something discordant and raw for those who are candy-and-rose averse? Neither actually. Aussie Julian Nation has been playing music since he was a youngin and he’s all about songs created in the short form — the album is 18 minutes long! Melbourne Pop Haiku anyone? While there are elements of romanticism, wistfulness and charm to all of his songs, its all in an ambient way, not in a v-day emotional beat down way. Unfortunately, of late the word “twee” has come to take on some pejorative connotations, but this, folks, would not be without the Brits who came before. On a snowy morning in New York, Mr. Nation is all kinds of sending me back to being 19 and listening to Belle and Sebastian on road trips before the revolution. And you know what? No matter the backlash, I really liked that moment and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m glad that their influence made it all the way across equatorial divisions. So there.
Westbound Train
Clay’s posting of The Busters prompted a little combative traffic in our Comments section. Eigner requested, “please no ska,” to which Ali responded, “please more ska!” Yep, things are getting pretty heated here on our humble blog. Being a ska band veteran (trombone), I’m gonna side with Ali and — not to rub it in, Eigner — honor his request. Boston ska-pop kids Westbound Train bring in a little smooth jazz and R&B into their mix, matched nicely by the mellow vocals of Obi Fernandez, on their Hellcat Records debut from last fall. Hey Clay, it’s your turn!
radicalfashion
My six year old says she doesn’t like this music “because it’s scary.” She finds the ticking clock sound disconcerting. “It sounds like someone’s gonna get me.” Hirohito Ihara, founder of Kobe-based radicalfashion, admits that he can’t escape from the subconscious influence of his surroundings. The resulting abstract compositions will seep right back into your subconscious. Unlike my daughter, I find the rhythmic found sounds soothing, and as radicalfashion intersperses his dreamy piano playing throughout the track it triggers a reassuring nostalgia. I don’t promise the same reaction for you. On his debut, Odori, Ihara lets his subconscious take the lead and stays back, out of the way, leaving the listener plenty of open space between notes to create their own meaning from his work.
The Never
The Never are the erstwhile geek rock (think Weezer) outfit of songwriters Ari Picker and Noah Smith, along with college friends Joah and Jonny Tunnell. I say “erstwhile” not just because it’s such a geeky word but because The Never’s latest LP extends well beyond geek rock to an intricately crafted multimedia project, including a 50-page illustrated storybook (featuring 40 original oil paintings by Noah himself) and a corresponding suite of songs depicting a country boy’s journey to return a nuclear bomb to the city. Word is The Never are aiming to adapt Antarctica for the stage. And, given the cinematic leanings of Ari’s latest Lost in the Trees EP, I wouldn’t be surprised if a film version follows…
Lost in the Trees
Part of the reason I’m dropping a Saturday two-fer on your ears is the overwhelming guilt of having missed the last two Saturdays. I mean, I used to be good for two posts a week and then some…take a look at me now. The other part of the reason is Ari Picker, singer/songwriter/pianist extraordinaire. His latest release as Lost in the Trees is the cinematic (in the Danny Elfman sense of the word) Time Taunts Me. It’s big and orchestral and at the same time intimate and folksy. The big and orchestral part can be attributed to the cast of fellow Berklee School of Music classical music students he convinced to breathe life into his arrangements. The intimate and folksy part is all Ari whose his whispered delivery and careful sentimentality give the whole thing a nice, soft underbelly. Big and orchestral blend with intimate and folksy to create a compelling and vaguely menacing landscape — like dark thunder clouds rolling over meticulous fields of wheat. The concept album bug seems to be spreading across everything Ari touches, when you look at where his indie pop/rock group The Never went with their latest—which leads me to Part Two of the two-fer…
Matt and Kim
Do these two ever stop smiling? I sure hope not. Maybe it’s the pulsing keybord riffs, or maybe the snappy drums, or maybe it’s just being in a band together. I sure would like to see them take on Mates of State in a no-holds-barred tag team wrestling match for the keyboard-drums-and-committed-relationship-band title…