The British Are Coming
The Young Knives, Albert Hammond Jr. and new music from Neon Neon
The Young Knives latest album, Superabundance, was released this past week in the UK, and they are already talking of future collaborations for the next. Guitarist and singer, Henry Dartnell, had this to say, "I'd like to do one of those Mark Ronson ones when he gets everyone on stage to sing somebody else's song and show off my beautiful voice and talent. Do you think he'd have me?" Let’s hope that for the sake of The Young Knives they steer clear of Mr. Ronson; they already play as if they are on crack...
Posted by Joe Roth on Mar 12, 2008 @ 12:00 am
Takin' You Back
Elephant Six Collective!
The Elephant Six Collective was a group of bands who played with each other, lived with each other and shared a common ideology about what they wanted to do with their music. Eventually, the collective branched out to become a record label home to many great indie bands. Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo and Of Montreal (they weren’t technically an elephant six band, but they kind of were). Today’s focus is on some of the less known bands from this scene...
Posted by Greg Herald on Mar 12, 2008 @ 12:00 am
The Rise
Your new favorite artist can pop up overnight. Introducing Foals.
Foals can be summed up in one unique tidbit – they want their guitars to sound like insects. “They’re meant to sound like insects,” says Yannis Philippakis, vocalist. “They’re played high on the fret board—we even hold our instruments up high. The result sounds like a cloud of insects forming these strange harmonies.” I actually have no idea if they accomplish this or not, but I do know that Foals write some catchy indie dance pop.
Hailing from Oxford England, Foals tries to blend dance music with a sense of technicality that normally isn’t found within the genre – yet they try to avoid chords at all costs. No chords and sounding like insects would normally be a recipe for disaster – but it all works, assumingly because of Yannis’ self proclaimed OCD when it clean sounding music.
Their live show is electric – with some critics claiming they are the best live band in the UK. As for the picture? Yannis has an unhealthy obsession with Andy Roddick, claiming that he is an American hero and could have been a character in The Great Gatsby. Hey, we all need to pull inspiration from somewhere.
Listen to “Balloons” below, and try to figure out how the hell the guitars sound like insects, because I have no idea.
STREAM: Foals - Balloons
Posted by Wes Soltis on Mar 11, 2008 @ 12:00 am
We've Got You Covered
Bayside covers the Smoking Popes
In 1997, the Smoking Popes released Destination Failure, which included the track “Megan.” Countless bands list the Popes as one of their influences, and a few of them even pay homage to the Chicago-based quartet. What isn’t common though, is for a band to cover the Popes and have Josh Caterer join in for a verse. That’s exactly what New York’s Bayside did. In February of 2006, following the death of their drummer, Bayside released the aptly named Acoustic, which featured acoustic versions of their own songs as well as a cover of the Smoking Popes’ “Megan.”Following the acoustic motif of the album, the Bayside version of the song is…you guessed it, acoustic. Anthony Raneri’s voice gives the impression that he isn’t singing about a woman, but about his lost band mate. Josh Caterer sings the second verse of the song accompanied by a single acoustic guitar before the acoustic recreation of Eli Caterer’s solo on the Destination Failure version of the track. “Megan” is a fitting song to cover on an album that is a tribute to John “Beatz” Holohan. The lyrics lament both Caterer and Raneri’s reluctance to let go of someone that was obviously very important to them, even if they’re both singing about completely different people.
STREAM: Bayside - Megan
Posted by Cory Roop on Mar 10, 2008 @ 12:00 am
Your Listening Pleasure
New music by Destroyer, Prince Fatty and Los Campesinos!.
Destroyer – Blue Flower/Blue Flame - The ever-prolific Dan Bejar is back at it again. Opening the album with his distinct, but gentle voice and the strumming of his acoustic guitar, "Blue Flowers/Blue Flame" kicks in with electric guitar and piano melodies, all the while driven by the same acoustic guitar riff. The enigmatic lyricist continues to baffle with words like "Blue flower blue flame/A woman by another name is not a woman/I'll tell you what I mean by that/Maybe not in seconds flat, maybe not today...
Posted by Jason Prechtel on Mar 07, 2008 @ 12:00 am