Eerie is one man, Eric Obo, who splits his time between Sweden and St. Helier, Jersey in England’s Channel Islands, who’s gathered his friends to create an intimate recording. His self-titled EP, offered here in its entirety courtesy of the generous Komakino label, is what I like to call whispercore at its finest. It opens with a straight forward acoustic track, a country-western Elliott Smith type thing, with just a hint of distortion swelling in late in the song. “In the Twinkle of an Eye” is about as upbeat as you can expect from Eerie, and equally as noisy. Which isn’t much. Obo’s languid vocals linger below sliding chords and gauzy guitars. Here his voice takes on a new wave air which adds an interesting dimension to the track. At the bridge he slows the pace and turns up the distortion. Coupled with this heat wave we’re experiencing out here in lower California Eerie has loosened my bones and I find myself melting into my chair…Ladies and gentlemen we’re slowly diving into space…
Kassin+2
My opinion on and knowledge of Brazilian music and film are about the same: I like what I see and hear, but I can’t claim to have heard a whole lot. Although I will say that if you haven’t seen City of God you haven’t truly lived. That’s only a little bit exaggerated. I like what I heard of this Kassin+2 as well. Apparently they’re a pretty big deal on their home soil, and this record is a big deal for how, gasp, accessible it is. Yep, “Ya Ya Ya” is probably one of the more edgy tracks on the album—most of the rest plays out with the bossa nova warmth you might expect from the various members of the Gilberto clan. If they can get experimental with the same gusto that they get smooth, they’ll be spending plenty of time on my iPod as the weather gets warmer and the days get longer.
The Mary Onettes Head to USA + MP3
Rae Davis
I so need this right now. Lately my brain has been swelling at the seams as I work through my first year of teaching (in the face of pending budget cuts that may very well force me into retirement decades too soon), grading (English teachers do too much), and, the really hard part: snowboarding, skateboarding, biking, legoing, and birthday-partying with my kids. Just as I’m about to lie down to sleep (quick usage lesson) I came across this chilly gem. How chill is it you ask? As chill as a stay-cold pillow my friend Mitch talks about developing. I’m gonna cozy up to these beats and deep, bone-shaking bass plucks, and pass out. Like this photo of Mr. Davis himself. You’re about to be schooled in the ways of quality downtempo and quality down time courtesy of this up and coming Texan.
The Whigs
I swear I must have llistened to “Right Hand on My Heart” a hundred times since I pulled it off the SXSW website a few weeks ago. The full-on power rock of Athens, GA’s The Whigs is pure excitement, from the driving, droning guitars to the tight drumming, and then the bass kicks in, whoo wee. This is a great ride to be on, with a band that clearly has their skills and history down. Best song I’ve posted in 2008? Without a doubt.
The Lovely Sparrows
They’re on Abandoned Love records and of the song “Chemicals “Change” they say ” It’s been well noted by many music journalists that this was a break up record. Roger that.” So you can probably guess where on the lyrical spectrum that The Lovely Sparrows fall. But as with Okay from last week (I seem to have a mini-fetish with acoustic guitar right now), the story about this music is much more than the lost love and disappointment expressed in the words. Shawn Jones has a mildly forceful vocal range with a hint of Texas drawl, like a mixture of Eef Barzelay and Edie Brickell. There’s some Modest Mouse in there too, or at least what Isaac Brock might have become if he’d been raised in the Hill Country instead of the rainy Northwest. The Lovely Sparrows undoubtedly do their hometown of Austin proud in live performance because these two tracks, for all their polish and shine, sound like they would fill you with the joy of Jones’s despair in concert. And indeed, that’s what you’ll find on tracks recorded for the excellent Daytrotter Sessions.
Tappan Zee
In one of Douglas Coupland’s novels, maybe All Families are Psychotic, there’s a passage about how we lived in a golden age, without pain or fear, something like that… When I found Tappan Zee one day last year while digging around the Internet, that idea came back to me. Check out their introduction on the Wormco website — “It’s 1999. . . . . and what have we got to show for it?” etc. Just a little reflection, like finding an old newspaper from before you were married or had kids, from before the war, before 9/11. I like “The Only Ones,” nice and simple indie rock from the good old days, eh? Whatever happened to Tappan Zee?
Bon Iver
Sometimes I fall in love a little when I listen to the perfect music at the perfect time and it seems that the stars have aligned because I am listening to Bon Iver RIGHT NOW and I am definitely feeling musical butterflies. I’m not sure what it is, but I think its because the album “For Emma, Forever Ago” is just so damn pretty. Of course there is a whole lot of pretty music out there, but there is something truly simple and honest to this. The music is often bare, doesn’t fuss when it doesn’t need to and nods a couple of times to some of my musical favorites (Elliott? Bonnie?). Fortunately, a quick search of the interweb has confirmed that Bon Iver appears to be just as simple and honest and real as he sounds. Good thing since, lets keep it real, he is totally my new imaginary boyfriend.
Matthew Dear
Even if you’ve only listened to my radio show a handful of times, chances are you’ve heard me play Matthew Dear. His more immediate songs (the ones offered here are such examples) have chameleon-like qualities. They fit so well next to other electronic songs, obviously, but they also segue well with pop songs, new wave tracks, especially the darker ones (like Joy Division), and well, just about any other track I throw them up against. Ironically, Dear’s lackadaisical vocal delivery lends a populist air to his minimalist-techno tracks (it’s a warmer version of Kraftwerk’s robotic vocals) and with every release he gets deliciously close to busting out a crossover hit. When it comes right down to it, I just dig this stuff. Plus, his albums are easily accessible in the KUCI music library, just over my left shoulder, which saves my show from ever embarrassing bouts of dead air.
Sarandon
Sarandon’s new LP is titled KIll Twee Pop!, out April 22nd on Slumberland. And after listening to their feisty pop, you’ll actually hope they will.
Original post 10/8/2007:
My documented love affair with Slumberland Records continues with Sarandon, the South London pop, post-pop, post-punk noise outfit and not the American actress. Led by sole remaining founding member Crayola, Sarandon are irrepressibly catchy with slightly bizarre lyrics. They’re simple and possibly quite mad, to use the British meaning of the word, which explains why my seven year old says “The Linguist” makes her feel like wiggling.