RIYL Music Reviews

Hotel Lights - Firecracker People

2010-03-05T12:22:00.001-08:00

Hotel Lights
Firecracker People
(Bar/None Records)

This disc was a breath of fresh air. Unpretentious, lush harmonies and enchanting melodies leave you wanting more after just one listen. Darren Jessee's serene vocals keep you captivated and close. Darren's lyrics give great imagery: they are hauntingly beautiful with the perfect amount of sadness yet still hopeful, which is key. Darren's angelic songs such as Blue Always Finds Me, Wedding Day (the soft rain at end of song is a nice touch) and Run Away Happy would be well matched for any Wes Anderson film. Jessee's musical layers are unassuming yet brilliantly arranged. The charming pop songs shimmer long after they're over. There is a great musical duo heard between Weatherhead's production and the dynamic of Jessee's whispered vocals and arrangements, which are reminiscent of Jason Lytle (whom I'm also a huge fan of). Stand out tracks include Dream State Flying which builds slowly and draws the listener in. I love the dramatic delay of drums. The album is full of cool yet subtle sound effects, including what I think to be a spring reverb on guitar. The attentive listener will certainly be rewarded. Track #7, Norina, is another excellent pop song that has your shoe tapping throughout. Firecracker People is a savory pop gem and has definitely made my Top 10 of 2009!

-Noel

RX Bandits announce tour dates

2010-01-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

Southern California's multifaceted prog-psych-rock quartet RX Bandits are once again taking to the road in support of 2009's highly-successful album Mandala. Touring begins next month in Australia as the group joins the massive multi-city traveling Soundwave Festival alongside Faith No More, My Chemical Romance, Jane's Addiction and more. US dates follow in March with The Builders and the Butchers and Zechs Marquise supporting. Please see below for complete dates.

European and UK dates are also in the works for May/June and will be announced soon.

RX Bandits recently performed a special acoustic set on BBC Radio 1's "The Punk Show with Mike Davies" and appeared on Fuel TV's "The Daily Habit". Click here to watch videos.

Mandala: few titles are as perfectly befitting an album for a band reaching the culmination of a decade-long musical transformation. With this recording, RX Bandits have truly struck the essence of their merging of genres into a complete and masterfully detailed mosaic. Check out the MP3 for the single, "My Lonesome Only Friend" HERE. Stream the entire album HERE.

Tracking for Mandala took place at The Mouse House Studio in Northern Pasadena in March of 2009, and marked the return of producer Chris Fudurich to the fold.The album features dramatically hypnotic artwork by Sonny Kay. Mandala was released July 21st, 2009 via Sargent House.

RX Bandits - Australia / Soundwave Festival

02/20 Brisbane, AU @ RNA Showgrounds
02/21 Sydney, AU @ Eastern Creek Raceway
02/23 Randwick, AU @ UNSW Roundhouse *
02/25 Melbourne, AU @ Palace Theater *
02/26 Melbourne, AU @ Royal Melbourne Showgrounds
02/27 Adelaide, AU @ Bonython Park Oval
03/01 Perth, AU @ Bassendean Oval

* Side Shows w/ Sunny Day Real Estate, Motion City Soundtrack, Glassjaw

RX Bandits / The Builders And The Butchers / Zechs Marquise

03/09 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
03/10 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
03/12 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
03/13 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
03/14 Austin, TX @ Emo's
03/16 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
03/18 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
03/19 Orlando, FL @ The Social
03/20 Orlando, FL @ The Social
03/21 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
03/23 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
03/24 Washington D.C. @ Rock and Roll Hotel
03/25 New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
03/26 New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
03/27 New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
03/28 Philadelphia, PA @ The TLA
03/29 New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
03/30 Allston, MA @ Harper's Ferry *
03/31 Allston, MA @ Harper's Ferry
04/01 Montreal, QC @ Underworld
04/02 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
04/03 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
04/04 Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge
04/05 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
04/06 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
04/08 Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theatre
04/09 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
04/10 Boise, ID @ The Venue
04/11 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
04/12 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
04/14 Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk
04/15 San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
04/23 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House *

* Without The Builders And The Butchers

2009-12-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

Lissie - Why You Runnin'?

What is love? What is loss? Lissie Maurus seems to be floating in a dark and dreary swirling world of these questions. Her full throated battle cries arise in Why you runnin’? her new five song ep out on Fat Possum Records.

For an album that was recorded in her apartment in California, a studio in North Carolina and across the ocean in London, there isn’t any disjointed feeling. Infact, raw reaching voice, hazey harmonies, handclaps and finger picking makes you feel like you are wondering in a dew covered field down south at dusk.

Starting off with the most upbeat song “Little Lovin’” (where the album takes it’s name) Lissie has bells ringing and steady heart pounding drum beats mimicking the feel of running away from pain and heart ache of the past. The simple and heartbreaking cover of Hank Williams, “Wedding Bells” has Lissie sounding very much like Nico Case. But for me the stand out track is the gospel-esque “Oh Mississippi” with Lissie’s voice taking on a full and deep tone that anyone who has ever been homesick feels deep.

MP3: Lissie - "Everywhere I Go" (Why You Runnin)

Plus, some upcoming tour dates:
JAN. 7 WASHINGTON, DC 9:30 CLUB*
JAN. 8 NEW YORK, NY WEBSTER HALL*
JAN. 10 SOMERVILLE, MA SOMERVILLE THEATRE*
JAN. 11 ORLANDO, FL PLAZA THEATRE*
JAN. 13 MINNEAPOLIS, MN TRIPLE ROCK SOCIAL CLUB
JAN. 15 CHICAGO, IL METRO*
JAN. 16 DETROIT, MI THE FILLMORE*
JAN. 21 AUSTIN, TX CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH*
JAN. 22 SAN FRANCISCO, CA THE FILLMORE*
JAN. 23 LOS ANGELES, CA HENRY FONDA THEATRE*
* with City and Colour

Jade, Host at MPR's The Current (89.3 FM) and critic for RIYL

2009-12-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

New Addiction: We Are Wolves

The story goes that they went two years without a name, until Alex Ortiz showed up at their practice space wearing a homemade shirt with the image of a skull smashing into a synth on it and bearing the inscription ‘We Are Wolves.’

And it was worth the wait, the name fits. If I had to think of one word for the band it would be "animalistic". Pure, raw and uncontainable energy.

It's synthy-punk rock goodness that flirts with the edge of chaos. Rumor is they play most of their songs without guitar-just drums, synth and bass. I'm pretty stoked to see these guys in action, but for now we'll all have to settle for video and mp3 action. The mp3 and video for We Are Wolves' "Holding Hands," the first mp3 off their upcoming release, Invisible Violence (out 2/2 on Dare To Care).

mp3: We are Wolves - “Holding Hands”

We Are Wolves Holding Hands music video from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

2009-12-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

Brandi Carlile - Give up the Ghost

"I believe this to be true / Nothing sacred nothing new." The lyrics seem to sum up Brandi Carlile's third album, Give up the Ghost. On the heels of 2007's The Story, which elevated Brandi to main stream attention via the doctor drama Gray's Anatomy, Give up the Ghost could have been lost to the preverbal commercial wasteland.

Instead, Brandi pushed into a louder, tougher area. She is not sweet, she's not cutesy, there is no irony here–let's face it she's no Regina Spektor. Nor should she be. With her raw vocals even the cliché filled "Dying Day" with lyrics like, "I miss you and I just want to kiss you" sounds sincere and earnest.

The harder sound has some thanks due to the producing help of Rick Rubin (with Johnny Cash, The Beastie Boys and Gossip's latest all under his belt Brandi is in great hands) who helps keep things rootsey and clean. Letting Brandi's beautifully crafted vocals and acoustic guitar pick and strum away in the forefront. He and Brandi work to balance enough of the country in the album without getting lost in the twang and adding some twists to keep things unexpectedly interesting.

And, let's face it, it never hurts to add the star power of one Elton John. (ELTON FREAKIN JOHN!) He jams away on the piano with a bit of a Dixie land swing and sings a bit of a duet with Brandi on "Caroline". Besides the southern Dixie feel, there is the break out ballad "Before it Breaks" with Carlile showing of her vocal range in tone and emotion plus it is the only song to also include a wailing guitar solo. There's even some Beatles love going on in the backing vocals in "Oh Dear." But the roots that Carlile has been growing from are definitely in the country and her voice throughout the entire record holds on to it's country tinge

She is the Loretta Lynn of the Radiohead generation. There is room to grow, but the album is satisfying, feeling old and new at the same time.

Jade, Host at MPR's The Current (89.3 FM) and critic for RIYL

SARAH ELIZABETH FOSTER SUMMONS THE SPIRIT AND SOUND OF DUSTY SPRINGFIELD ON DEBUT SINGLE

2009-12-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

Houston native Sarah Elizabeth Foster has been singing her whole life. A classically trained vocalist, pianist and ballerina since the age of four, Sarah grew up in church and school choirs with a contagious passion for the arts. After a degree in music, singing in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, Sarah embarked on travels through Asia and Europe. All this being an irrepressible quest to break the classical rules that bound her and to fulfill her ultimate dream of a life as a singer/songwriter in New York City where she now, for the first time, unearths words and melodies that are all her own.

Gardening From The Ground Up Part 1 (January 12th, 2010 [Studio Sarah Records]) is Sarah’s first collection of deeply charged tunes. Filled with raw emotion and wistful reflection, the record hints liberally at Sarah’s stated influences which are rare for a singer-songwriter (Dusty Springfield, Sam Cooke, Judy Garland, and Edith Piaf). Her exceptionally broad vocal range -- moving effortlessly from crystal clear purity to shuttering vibrato -- places her in a league with contemporaries such as Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Norah Jones and Feist.

Gardening From The Ground Up Part 1 is an unusual acoustic blend of 60‘s-inspired pop, fresh folk and classical motifs wrapped around Sarah’s deep, pure vocals and emotionally rich, informed lyrics. “The process I went through to write these early songs made me realize I had so much more to learn about myself and life; it was truly humbling. That is how I began the journey to become a student of life, a beautiful adventure that I continue to this day.”

MP3: GARDENING FROM THE GROUND UP
Web: www.sarahelizabethfoster.com

THE TWILIGHT HOURS ON TOUR

2009-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Thursday 12.10 - Boston, MA @ Cafe 939
Friday 12.11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall
Saturday 12.12 - Washington, DC @ IOTA
Sunday 12.13 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Tin Angel

Web: www.thetwilighthours.com

MP3: Queen of Tomorrow

A beautiful name, The Twilight Hours. And the music is ravishing.

But who are these two men from Minneapolis? Can the hearts of John Munson and Matt Wilson be as pure as these songs we hear?

No. These are two practical and desperate gentlemen who have scrubbed around in the underbrush of music long enough to have touched glory and to have been gored by humiliation. Imagine the most moldy dressing room inside the loneliest bar. Now imagine two middle-aged men on a vinyl couch, crying in their underwear. There have been some sad moments.

Three decades ago, like proud and powerful young rodents, Munson and Wilson set about digging at the roots of a golden shrubbery called Music. They scratched the dirt for money and glory they thought might be buried underneath. Meanwhile, as they gouged their holes, time and wind killed the plant. Now, decades later, they raise their brown heads to see that the bush is dead! And there is no treasure! What else can the two rodents do, but return to their digging? They are The Twilight Hours.

And yet, weirdly – impossibly – the recordings that Munson and Wilson have patched together possess the power to build a green and complete universe inside your mind. How can two such degraded men create a sonic landscape of endless moisture and springtime. How?

How are insects made? Who teaches the birds to fly? Musicologists can explain the science behind Munson’s booming bass technique. Divinity students can guess as to the source of magic lies behind Wilson’s poetry. But here we are, in the flickering twilight of their time on earth, and their music is definitive, true and alive.

Still, you have questions. You need to hear the details of their broken lives – the scamming for money, the orchestras they’ve assembled and discarded. Maybe, if you gained some biographical context, you could decode the music: you could understand the songs as machines, rather than as incantations. Because when a work of unspeakable religious majesty such as “Stereo Night” looms directly above us like a tree that can touch the clouds – and then rise through them into heaven – isn’t it our duty is to dissect the tree? If The Twilight Hours present us with a plant whose fruit can give eternal life, isn’t it our job to study the fruit? To break it down and understand?

Eat! Eat the fruit. Stop questioning, and live forever! Bite down and experience eternity in a single song!

Those of you who fear magic, continue with your questions. Learn more history. Study the science of things that are dead.

And for those of you who are ready to fly up to the sun: here are The Twilight Hours.

Fang Island delivers sound of 'everyone high-fiving everyone'

2009-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

"A triumphant, heavily riffed, primarily instrumental epic, whiplashing through six minutes of smiling prog jams, and as many tempos as passages, before settling into one last minute of uplifting chants." - Stereogum

"Life-affirming prog guitar anthems." – Seattle Stranger

Fang Island describes its sound as "everyone high-fiving everyone." And, the Brooklyn quintet's anthemic and soaring songs make it quite possibly one of few bands befitting such description. Its finger-tapping guitar lines, chanted vocals, triumphant harmonies and overall perky songs hearken to the sort of "Total Music" of the Fucking Champs, Jay Reatard, Ponytail, Kraftwerk, Marnie Stern, Thin Lizzy, et al. But, perhaps more so, its songs are like the music in your head at that moment when everything feels just right: that first kiss, that high score on the video game, buying your first small nation in cash... you know, good stuff.

Nothing embodies the band's sense of optimism and enthusiasm better than this clip of Fang Island performing live for a classroom of kindergartners. Watch HERE.

Fang Island began, oddly enough, as an art school project while the band members were attending the prodigious Rhode Island School of Design (also the foundation for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Les Savvy Fav, Lightning Bolt, Six Finger Satellite and some band called the Talking Heads.) According to guitarist Jason Bartell, the goal was to "make music for people who like music." That is, music without irony that harnesses its uplifting qualities. Just like a classic rock song or classical symphony can stir us emotionally, Fang Island exists to unlock that spirit.

Fang Island is guitarist Jason Bartell, bassist Philip Curcuru, guitarist Chris Georges, guitarist Nicholas Andrew Sadler, and drummer Marc St. Sauveur. They all share collective group vocal harmonies and the occasional hand claps. While Sadler is also known for his role in the debauched rock band Daughters, it is only his fretboard skill that translates between the two groups.

Fang Island begins appropriately with the sound of erupting fireworks on "Dreams of Dreams" leading into a cascading chorus of ringing guitar notes before the group vocal harmonies chime in with the mantra, "they all are within my reach, they are free." The second song, "Careful Crossers" launches in beneath the vocals with a chorus of gleaming guitar harmonies smeared over the marching, syncopated rhythm section. Elsewhere, tracks like "Sideswiper" hearken to the metal-laced positivity of Andrew WK. "Daisy" sounds like a unique collaboration between the Fucking Champs and Jay Reatard. Throughout the album, it's like listening to the cool version of classic rock -- the type of anthemic pop -- without the cheesiness -- that you wished Journey and Boston could've made.

Fang Island's debut album, Fang Island will be released February 23rd, 2010 via Sargent House.

Check out MP3s for two new tracks, "Daisy" (MP3 HERE) and "Life Coach" (MP3 HERE).

THE NEW LOUD IS “TOO LOUD!”

2009-11-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

THE NEW LOUD IS “TOO LOUD!” BAND TRAVELS FROM MILWAUKEE TO NYC TO get SHUT DOWN by COPS!

“Part weirdness of Sparks, part killer dance of The Bravery and part insistent hook craftsmanship of XTC.” – Amplifier

The New Loud is apparently too loud for NYC. The band was cut short only four songs into their set when New York’s finest showed up in response to a noise complaint during the band’s second song. The New Loud, bypassing the club’s PA, pressed on at full volume for two more songs before the club pulled the plug. All in a day’s work for a band simply living up to its name!

The New Loud is a three-piece electro/punk/new wave band from the blue collar city of Milwaukee, WI. Its debut EP, Can’t Stop Not Knowing consists of six tracks including an intense, frenetic cover of Radiohead’s “2 + 2 = 5.” The EP was produced by band member Shane Olivo and displays a tight mixture of electronic elements and natural sounds, layered obsessively with some songs using up to 80 tracks in the mix.

Five of Can’t Stop Not Knowing’s tracks were mixed by Mark Trombino. “Mark Trombino was the band’s first choice, as all of us greatly admire him from his earlier work with Drive Like Jehu and Rocket From The Crypt, all the way up to his more modern productions such as Jimmy Eat World and Finch,” says The New Loud’s Olivo.

The New Loud will continue its collaboration with Trombino as they begin to record a debut full-length for release during the first half of 2010. For now, check out The New Loud’s single “Don’t Dance” [MP3]. And please, try to keep the noise down. Just try.

MP3: Don't Dance
WEB: www.newloud.com

Fanshaw Signs to Mint Records

2009-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

Meet the latest addition to the Mint Records family,Olivia Fetherstonhaugh, or as we like to call her musical alter ego, Fanshaw. As a prior member of The Choir Practice and important part of Vancouver's eclectic music community, we think she's going to fit in just nicely. Her Mint debut, Dark Eyes, will arrive in record shops on February 9th, 2010.

Always one to support her friends, Olivia recruited fellow Choir singers, Larisa Lloyva (P:ano, Kellarissa) and Shane Turner (Love and Mathematics) to play on her record. Visual artist, Karin Bubaš (also a Choir member) created Fanshaw artwork and took photographs. She also snatched up fellow CiTR Shindig winner, Johnny Payne (Victoria, Victoria, The Shilohs) to play drums.

This little folk outfit has all the talent to become your next favorite band. Driven by Olivia Fetherstonhaugh - an easy on the eye talent - Fanshaw is able to toe the line between accessible and adventurous. Her voice reminds me of Laura Gibson. The warbles and fluctuations challenge you, but the sounds warm you even with only the minimal instrumental backing. The thing that helps her stand out? She can effortlessly switch from intimate quirky vocal delivery to a chanteuse with the vocal power to dominate a song as well. - herohill.com

www.myspace.com/fanshawmusic

Florence and the Machine - Lungs

2009-11-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

Official Web site

I need to preface this with the admittance that I judge female singer-songwriters more harshly than any other type of musician. This is something I have always done. Most times I find it mildly annoying when a girl is out front and the only thing she can sing about is some dude and his inability to acknowledge her existence and how he would really see how in love they were if he would just have a conversation with her. With that out of the way--I like Florence and the Machine.

As the latest enqenue from the UK, it may be easy to package Florence Welch, the front woman of Florence and the Machine, with a neat bow in a gaggle of soulful brit singers. However, the recent winner of the Brit Award, with her debut album Lungs, didn't get her break by going to the right vocal school and hiring the right management team. She saw a local DJ in the bathroom at a club and decided to belt out a song.

This is not a girl lacking moxy, case in point: "Kiss with a Fist". With lyrics like "I broke your jaw once before / You broke my leg in return," it's not hard to see how this has become one of the more controversial songs in recent Current playlists. Welch claims that the lyrics are metaphorical for the pain that you feel when you are in love. You can make your own call on the meaning, but when Florence sings, you feel what she's feeling. It's Kate Bush by way of Stevie Nicks by way of PJ Harvey with a dash of Whitney Huston (at least in the vocal inflections in "You've got the Love").

The album on a whole is a bit all over the board. There's the summer-day-invoaking-pop-happiness of "The Dog Days are Over", Imogen Heap electro-dreamyness of "Rabbit Heart(Raise it Up)", the folksy pared down love note of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" and the straight up pop of "You've Got the Love". What all the songs have in common is suicidal, throw yourself off a cliff, burn you to cinder, all-consuming love. But at the end of the album you are singing your own lungs out with her... or at least I was. Maybe I've become a bit of a rock chick lover.

Jade, Host at MPR's The Current (89.3 FM) and critic for RIYL

Good Old War, Cast Spells to release split EP and tour in December

2009-11-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

The tremendous intra-band camaraderie of the Sargent House roster continues as Good Old War and Cast Spells release a split EP together and tour sharing band members in December. Good Old War will serve as the backing band to Dave Davison's solo outfit Cast Spells on these dates (please see full dates below). And to further the family love, Good Old War also contribute vocal harmonies to the forthcoming new Sargent House album by Davison's other band, Maps & Atlases.

In support of this tour, Sargent House will release a 4-song EP comprised of two new tracks by each act. This is the first new music from Good Old War since release of its debut album Only Way to be Alone (Sargent House) in 2008, which has kept the band in a whirlwind of touring (including dates with RX Bandits, The Honorary Title , Heartless Bastards and Gaslight Anthem) and a multitude of radio appearances. Cast Spells released its debut 6-song EP, Bright Works and Baton (Sargent House) in August 2009, and will head overseas for a tour in March 2010 with another Dave Davison project called Hey Tonal.

In other Good Old War news, Dailymotion.com has an exclusive post of the band's new video on its front page this week. Click HERE to watch the clip for "Maybe Mine." The trio will cap off the year with west coast performances with songwriter Anthony Green, playing both as his backing band as well as their own full set. All upcoming tour dates are listed below.

Good Old War / Cast Spells tour:
12/03 Brooklyn, NY @ The Knitting Factory
12/04 Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
12/05 Boston, MA @ The Middle East Upstairs
12/06 Hamden, CT @ The Space
12/07 Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater
12/08 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
12/09 Baltimore, MD @ The Quarter
12/11 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
12/12 Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose Upstairs

Good Old War / Anthony Green tour:
12/28 Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse
12/29 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
12/30 San Diego, CA @ Soma Side

Tour EP track listing:

Good Old War
1. Texas Blues
2. Breaking Down

Cast Spells
1. Letters
2. All Brass

The Laughing

2009-10-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

The Laughing
Fever
(self-released)

Recorded over the course of a near year, FEVER is the debut album by Austin band, The Laughing. With an aural aesthetic pulling from somewhere between early Roxy Music and the stretches of contemporaries such as Animal Collective, The Laughing has quickly attracted the attention of audiences looking for a little dance in their rock as well as a little art in their pop.

Though grounded in a traditional rock line up of guitar/vocals (Logan Middleton), bass (Sean Neesely), drums (Grant Van Amburgh), and organ (performed on FEVER by Austin Jenkins and Middleton), The Laughing also utilizes a vast array of percussion, bells, dulcimers, ukuleles, synths, clarinets, flutes, blankets of noise and lush harmonies. Varied instrumentation and ornamental arrangements adorn core song structures and melodies that take cues from the likes of Harry Nilsson, Os Mutantes, Jorge Bem, Silver Apples, Love, Roxy Music, Sonic Youth, 13th Floor Elevators and more.

WEB: www.wearethelaughing.com
MP3: Runner

The Happy Hollows

2009-10-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Happy Hollows
Spells

01. Faces
02. Death To Vivek Kemp
03. Silver
04. We Will Find You
05. Lieutenant
06. Father Time
07. Monster Room
08. High Wire
09. Turtle and Hare
10. DeLorean
11. The Stein
12. Tambourine
13. A Man, A Plan, A Canal
14. Second Lieutenant

The young group's infectious and irreverent noise-pop has earned considerable following up and down the west coast, with their energetic and charismatic performances. Vocalist/guitarist Sarah Negahdari wields ominous riffs and finger-tapped arpeggios while singing with a cherubic-yet-mischievous grin. Meanwhile, the agile rhythm section of Charles Mahoney (bass/vocals) and Chris Hernandez (drums/vocals) vault and lunge with precision.

Wired Magazine recently described Negahdari as “a killer hybrid of Kim Deal, PJ Harvey and Emily Haines” and added that “Negahdari has the guitar chops, explosive energy and winning sense of humor that should make The Happy Hollows one of the more interesting bands of our new millennium’s next decade.” The BBC picked them as a band to watch for 2009, the Los Angeles Times has described the group’s sound as a “pugilistic mix of stinging guitars, turbulent rhythms, and shouted vocals” that “alternates between childlike experimentation and ferocious firestorm.” AllMusic wrote that the band’s “appeal is immediate” and LAist has labeled them “a must see!”

The Happy Hollows' catchy yet dissonant sound is influenced by genres as disparate as 90's college rock, garage punk, art rock, and 80's pop. The band combines innovative song structures, surreal lyrics, and fiercely adept instrumentation to recreate reality into a jagged panorama of vibrant, kaleidoscopic collage. Listening to their music, one cannot help but see visions of a place oddly askew from the world we experience everyday, a parallel universe that is at once whimsical, demented, and ferocious.

Having born and bred their band in various corners of the L.A. music scene since forming 2006, The Happy Hollows played their first shows in Japanese restaurants, laundromats, and small local clubs. In their first year as a band, they snuck into a studio at night and, in two sessions, recorded Bunnies and Bombs, an EP that attracted the attention of the L.A.'s underground music scene. After seeing them play a show, established L.A. heroes Silversun Pickups asked The Happy Hollows to open for them at The Wiltern and The Fillmore. In 2008, fellow art-rock outfit Deerhoof invited the Hollows to open for them on their album release shows at The Avalon and The Great American Music Hall.

live:
Oct 10 Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones
Oct 16 Washington DC @ The Red and The Black
Oct 18 Boston, MA @ TT The Bears
Oct 20 New York, NY @ Lit Lounge (CMJ)
Oct 22 New York, NY @ CMJ (TBA)
Oct 24 New York, NY @ CMJ (TBA)
Oct 30 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
Nov 02 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Nov 09 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Nov 16 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Nov 23 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Nov 30 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland

WEB: www.myspace.com/thehappyhollows
MP3: High Wire

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix

2009-10-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

Think less but see it grow/like a riot, like a riot, oh!

The boys of Phoenix have long been a band just on the cusp of breaking. Watching friends Air and Daft Punk hit it big, Phoenix must be ready for its turn. With the release of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the French foursome seems ready to build on the sparks of 2004's Alphabetical and 2006's It's Never Been Like That and grow to something riotous…and perhaps Wolfgangian.

Frontman Thomas Mars wants to fill some pretty big shoes. Besides name-dropping Wolfgang, Mars has mentioned in a few interviews that he was listening to Lou Reed's Street Hassle during the making of this release. Reed's work might have influenced the five-minute contemplative instrumental "Love Like A Sunset Part 1" and its minute-long sequel. While the songs may fulfill the wannabe classical artist, they seem out of tone with an album that is all about building up into a riot.

The first track "Lisztomania" is based on a phrase coined to describe the Beatles-esque frenzy that surrounded Franz Liszt, classical music's first pop star. And while the album may not induce you to grab your hair and scream like a fan, it will definitely induce you to dance. Which, let's face it, is what Phoenix has always been good at doing. With plenty of synthy organs, dance-floor filling drum beats and Mars' trance-like voice, this is Phoenix as it has always wanted to be.

There is a hazy summer feeling to the album. Fuzzy guitar and a rolling drumbeat undulate in "Rome," making it feel like a vacation day where you wake up and suddenly realize you have no idea where you are. Mars' vocals seem equally dreamy in a way that is distinctly his own. He lazily drones his way, in the greatest possible way, through the songs, creating a trance that makes you close your eyes, think less and just dance.

While they may not be living up to the likes of Mozart, Liszt or Reed, Phoenix is growing. Perhaps by pushing themselves to be like the greats of years past, Phoenix has finally created the album that will give them a name of their own.

Jade, Host at MPR's The Current (89.3 FM) and critic for RIYL

Tour: Mr. Gnome

2009-10-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

Mr. Gnome launches U.S. tour, previews tracks from forthcoming album Heave Yer Skeleton

Cleveland duo mr. Gnome launches a lengthy U.S. tour today that will keep them on the road until late December. The trek is in support of the November release of the band's sophomore album, Heave Yer Skeleton and the vinyl release of its previous disc, Deliver This Creature. The endlessly touring pair of guitarist/vocalist Nicole Barile and drummer/vocalist Sam Meister is currently mixing at Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, WI putting the finishing touches on its sophomore album, Heave Yer Skeleton, slated for release in November.

The psychedelically syncopated sounds of Cleveland's mr. Gnome draw on a visceral mix of contrasting textures. Masculine and feminine, soft whispers and shrill yelps, pounding drums and soothing lullabies combine to form a discursive indie-rock collage. The duo's jagged symphony of sound has them compared to a scattershot of artists ranging from Portishead, Cat Power, Massive Attack, and Joanna Newsom, to Death From Above 1979, Blonde Redhead, Sonic Youth, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

mr. Gnome on tour:

10/1/09 - New Haven, Conn. @ Cafe 9
10/2/09 - Cambridge, Mass. @ All Asia
10/3/09 - Winooski, Vermont @ The Monkey House
10/4/09 - Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
10/5/09 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall (w/
10/14/09 - Nashville, TN @ The End
10/15/09 - Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
10/16/09 - Murfreesboro, TN @ Spring Hause (833 Spring St.)
10/17/09 - Birmingham, AL @ Magic City Wholesale
10/31/09 - Cleveland, OH @ The Sachsenheim Ballroom
11/11/09 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Melody Inn
11/12/09 - Madison, WI @ The Frequency
11/13/09 - Chicago, IL @ The Darkroom
11/16/09 - Lawrence, KS @ The Replay Lounge
11/17/09 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
11/18/09 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas
11/20/09 - Portland, OR @ Kelly's Olympian
11/21/09 - Seattle, WA @ The Sunset Tavern
11/23/09 - San Francisco, CA @ Elbow Room
11/24/09 - Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge
11/25/09 - Long Beach, CA @ Alex's Bar
11/27/09 - Tucson, AZ @ Plush
11/28/09 - Albuquerque, NM @ Atomic Cantina
11/29/09 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
12/01/09 - Dallas, TX @ The Double Wide
12/03/09 - San Marcos, TX @ The Triple Crown
12/04/09 - Houston, TX @ Rudyard's British Pub
12/05/09 - New Orleans, LA @ Banks Street Bar
12/07/09 - Pensacola, FL @ The Handlebar
12/11/09 - Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor
12/18/09 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern

WEB: www.myspace.com/mrgnome
MP3: Slow Side

Tour: System and Station

2009-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

System & Station
I’m Here To Kill
(Latest Flame Records)

2009 marks System and Station’s tenth year as a touring band. It’s latest release, to be followed by a fifth full-length in early 2010, shows off a broader musical palette for the band, yet maintains its core sound of angular, melodic, and soaring rock and roll. Following a recent performance with Sunny Day Real Estate at Musicfest Northwest, System and Station launches a three-week tour today in support of I’m Here To Kill.

This short-playing EP is lyrically based on the true story of a woman living in the Pacific Northwest, her struggle with abusive relationships and the loss of her child at the hands of her then husband. System and Station leader, RFK Heise, explains, “The title I’m Here To Kill comes from the stories she told me of revenge. Waking up next to her husband, watching him sleep and thinking ‘I love you but I’m going to kill you.’”

10/02 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
10/03 Boise, ID @ Visual Arts Collective
10/05 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Woodshed
10/06 Denver, CO @ Kings Tavern
10/07 Sioux Falls, SD @ Club David
10/08 Minneapolis, MN @ Hexagon
10/09 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
10/10 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
10/11 Madison, WI @ The Frequency
10/13 Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
10/14 Omaha, NE @ The Sydney
10/15 Lawrence, KS @ The Tap Room
10/16 Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
10/17 Oklahoma, OK @ The Conservatory
10/18 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/20 Bisbee, AZ @ The Stock Exchange
10/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Molly Malone
10/22 San Diego, CA @ Radio Room
10/23 San Francisco, CA @ Retox Lounge
10/24 San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock Bar

WEB: www.myspace.com/systemandstation
MP3: Love, Etc.

Review: Barzin

2009-10-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Barzin
Notes To An Absent Lover
(Monotreme Records)

Personal but never indulgent, the raw honesty of the lyrics details universal themes of sorrow, regret and anger, evoking all the vulnerability and shifting emotions of a failed relationship. From the gentle, grieving steel guitar of "Soft Summer Girls" to the defiant drumbeats of "Look What Love Has Turned Us Into", Notes To An Absent Lover brings new textures and colours to Barzin's palette.

In addition to Karen Graves' string arrangements, splashes of vibraphone, pedal steel and banjo surface amid the traditional guitars, bass and drums. All of the musicians display a graceful empathy while Barzin's voice and words take centre stage. Just as the lyrics eschew symbolism in favour of candour, gone too is the sonic experimentation employed in 2006's My Life In Rooms, replaced with a more direct style of music and a greater 'pop' sensibility.

More please.

WEB: www.myspace.com/barzinh
MP3: Nobody Told Me

Tour: The New Standards

2009-10-01T09:47:00.001-07:00

10/01 Chicago, IL (The Hideout)
10/02 Madison, WI (Restaurant Magnus)
10/03 Minneapolis, MN (Sound Unseen Festival)

The New Standards are a unique jazz trio that is making a splash around the world with their personality-laden brand of heartfelt engaging performance and extraordinary musicality. "Rock and Roll" follows up their eponymous debut. Focusing more on favorite rock tracks this time, the trio gives the new set a workout that is by turns fiery, soulful, stark and dark. The group lays bare the lovely bones of songs like "Maps" by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service while swinging through modern punky classics like The Replacements "Androgynous," The Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll" and The Clash's "London Calling.” Fans of the band will be happy to finally hear recordings of their arrangements of "Hey Ya" by Outkast and Britney Spear’s "Toxic."

WEB: www.myspace.com/thenewstandards

Review: Omar Rodriguez Lopez

2009-10-01T09:39:00.001-07:00

Omar Rodriguez Lopez
Xenophanes
(Rodriguez Lopez Productions)

Renown guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez is set to release his most melodic and revealing album to date worldwide on November 10th, 2009 via his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions, with European release on September 28th. The disc, titled Xenophanes is the first album which finds him at the helm vocally and lyrically, as well as musically. Sung entirely in Spanish, Xenophanes showcases a side of Omar rarely seen before. Xenophanes is a conceptual journey through life, death, and re-birth, the album tells the story of a selfish and judgmental female caseworker who falls in love with a male client, only for him to die soon thereafter. Over the course of eleven subsequent lifetimes, the woman experiences life from every conceivable vantage point as her soul evolves, thereby allowing the maturity and eventual letting-go of her ego which in turn enables the realization that the man was, and always has been, her father spirit. Ambitious? Yes. Technically impressive? Absolutely. Moving? Not really.

WEB: www.myspace.com/rodriguezlopezproductions
MP3: Mundo De Ciegos

Review: Good Old War

2009-10-01T09:24:00.001-07:00

Good Old War
Only Way To Be Alone
(Sargent House)

Charming harmonies and solid songwriting really make Pennsylvania's Good Old War stand out from the rest of the indie rock artists exploring the country/folk genre. RIYLmusic.com highly recommended!

WEB: www.myspace.com/goodoldwar
MP3: Looking For Shelter

Reviews

2009-10-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Coming soon...more music reviews!

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