When: 4/22
Where: The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
I always seem to be running behind on live reviews. This show was ages ago, but here goes...
So Los Campesinos! are enough Welsh kids to cramp a tour van (let's hope they get a bus) and they originally played manic pop music and in a way, they still do, but they are depressing while being manic and their latest album proved how much they've aged in just a couple of years.
Even when they got their first break with Hold On Now, Youngster, Los Campesinos! had an excellent command of the stage, despite being barely old enough to drink beer in the U.S. Now, with their deepening maturity as musicians and as humans, the band play as well as any seasoned old pros. I mean that strictly in a good way - the band's youthful energy is certainly intact.
Guitarist Tom Campesinos (not his real last name) may bear a lot of the weight when it comes to writing, but frontman Gareth Campesinos (not his real last name) carries the weight in the live show. And Gareth has what it takes. He's passionate and sincere with every note and when he's not banging on his glockenspiel, he's climbing around on the drums and pogoing with an odd intensity and jumping out into the audience, as he did once during the set, walking all the way to the back (an extremely long mic chord was hooked up in anticipation). Gareth is an indie kid and certainly shows no trace of ego when he performs. In fact, the whole thing seems rather painful for him - as it surely must be, if you actually listen to his lyrics and actually know they are entirely true.
The Campesinos have had some personnel changes, most notably losing their keyboards and female vocalist Aleks - to higher education, if I'm not much mistaken - and adding in her stead Gareth's sister Kim. Kim was certainly struggling when I saw the band - her singing was offkey and the situation wasn't helped by her mic being mixed too loud. As I've said many times, it's never fair to judge a vocalist by one show. Everyone has nights where they can't hear themselves and are just swinging at pitches in the dark (baseball metaphor turned bad pun?). Anyway, I sure hope it was just a rough night. The other big change was an eighth Campesino lurking in the back with auxiliary percussion. I'm guess this is Rob Campesinos but he kind of blended in - which is good, auxiliary percussionists should probably not be too showy.
The setlist was great. The band hit a lot of old favorites and many of the best songs off their new record. They let some of their more post-rock tendencies shine through as well, with a few swelling instrumental sections that, while not show highlights, avoided being overindulgent or boring. The band's end of set tricks were different from last time I saw them, but they did again descend into noisy camaraderie. On stage and off, it seemed like everyone was having a good time.
Showing posts with label Los Campesinos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Campesinos. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Album: Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
Album: Romance Is Boring
Wichita/Arts & Crafts, 2010
Rating: ********* (9/10)
Friends, the news is bittersweet: Los Campesinos! are cute no more. That shouldn't be a big surprise, given the leaps in maturity the band made within the few months between Hold On Now Youngster and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. Here, with over a year under their belts, Los Campesinos! continue on their dramatic trajectory. But even with the band's explicit attempts to distance themselves from their twee past and their glockenspiel, it would have been hard to see the trajectory reaching quite as far as it has on Romance is Boring, which often barely sounds like an "indie" album at all. Instead, you can hear echoes of every UK pop great of the last 30 years and could almost imagine this band taking their place among them.
Although their compositions and arrangements have grown, the most noticeable change is in the voices. Gareth (gotta use first names, the band doesn't use their last) has changed in his boyish holler for a professional, adult sound - not that the pitch has changed, just the tone. For her part, Aleks has also found a bit richer, more developed voice. Los Campesinos! are all grown up.
And the lyrics are grown up too. The band revealed their darker side on We Are Beautiful, but here, it hits full force and in the context of a fully developed LP (We Are Beautiful was more like an LP-length EP). In a minor key breakdown in "Media Res," Gareth announces "I'm leaving my body to science / Not medical but physics." Maybe this line could have fit with the band's indie pop days, but the delivery makes clear this is no joke but rather a serious meditation on mortality and physical decay. Later in the album comes its masterpiece, "The Sea Is a Good Place to Think About the Future." This track has been floating around for a while so maybe you've heard it. But if not, and especially in the context of the full album, it hits like a ton of bricks. Describing a self-destructive friend, the narration comes restrained, matter-of-fact tone with which we have to deal with life's most horrifying tragedies if we are going to survive them.
It's a far cry from "You! Me! Dancing!"
The musical developments keep up with the emotional strides. Much of the credit must go to producer John Goodmanson (Blonde Redhead, Death Cab, Nada Surf, Sleater-Kinney, etc.), who has beefed up the band's sound from the tinkering twee-punk of 2008 to an almost grandiose sound. The complex parts are still there, but even the glockenspiel solo on "Media Res" does not sound toyish, it's dark and alarming. Who knew glockenspiel could be dark and alarming?
However, while Goodmanson's skills did push the band to the next level, they can take even more credit themselves - their songwriting has become infinitely more sophisticated. The downside is that some songs are not quite as tight as the band's poppier material, but finally, the band's post-rock origins shine clearly, with swells of noise, counterpart melodies, vast choruses and subtle instrumentals. As with much post rock, the compositions seem to closer in mindset to classical than to the rest of pop/rock, but it's not overkill. The band reigns it in and keeps every song focused, without crossing the five-minute mark even once. The album even includes a short instrumental track ("200-102") and a distant, echoey post-shoegaze interlude with vocals ("Heart Swells/100-1").
I'm not entirely wild about the unison on the title track and I have trouble following some of the songs early in the second half, but even despite its rough patches, the album is a powerful statement. From the hyper-distorted, raging opening of "Plan A" (the group's most aggressive song to date) to the gentle ebbing of the guitars in "The Sea Is a Good Place," from Aleks's cynical "We've Got Your Back" (which lyrically and musically revisits and seems to attack "Drop It Doe Eyes" on the band's debut) to the understated closing track, burned on the edges with static, Romance Is Boring is an album to be reckoned with. Hold on now, young and old alike.
[myspace]
Monday, August 3, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Pterodactyl, Marnie Stern + more
TONIGHT! Monday, August 3
Stupid Party @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan
I just reviewed Stupid Party. They are ridiculously awesome and you should go check them out. [MySpace]
TOMORROW! Tuesday, August 4
Los Campesinos! @ Webster Hall | East Village, Manhattan
I love this band and their exuberant, youthful pop music. But I'd say, wait until they play a less awful venue.
Thursday, August 6
Darlings @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Another of those bands I just reviewed (actually at that same show). I think this band is genuinely insane, and I love them. [MySpace]
Marnie Stern @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan
Unless I'm much mistaken, Marnie Stern, that bad-ass guitar master whose 2008 album deserves "instant classic" status, will be playing at Santos. [MySpace]
Friday, August 7
Pterodactyl + That Ghost, The Fucking Ocean @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Pterodactyl is easily one of the best bands in Brooklyn right now. Their high-speed math-punk (I guess that's what to call it) is fascinating and captivating. I have heard of That Ghost and the Fucking Ocean and don't know much, but I know I like Fucking Ocean's name and have been meaning to check them out. So, I will blindly recommend them as well, since you're already going to be at DBA for Pterodactyl (Pterodactyl!!!!!!!). [Ptero MySpace]
Saturday, August 8
Sundelles, Wild Yaks @ Public Assembly | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
| $15 (benefit!)
Benefit gigs are super nice. This one helps a school in Uganda. Sundelles are pretty cool lo-fi garage rock with 50's/60's-worthy melodies. Wild Yaks are not the greatest thing ever, but they are solid indie rock and well-beloved. [Sundelles MySpace] [WY MySpace]
Stupid Party @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan
I just reviewed Stupid Party. They are ridiculously awesome and you should go check them out. [MySpace]
TOMORROW! Tuesday, August 4
Los Campesinos! @ Webster Hall | East Village, Manhattan
I love this band and their exuberant, youthful pop music. But I'd say, wait until they play a less awful venue.
Thursday, August 6
Darlings @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Another of those bands I just reviewed (actually at that same show). I think this band is genuinely insane, and I love them. [MySpace]
Marnie Stern @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan
Unless I'm much mistaken, Marnie Stern, that bad-ass guitar master whose 2008 album deserves "instant classic" status, will be playing at Santos. [MySpace]
Friday, August 7
Pterodactyl + That Ghost, The Fucking Ocean @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Pterodactyl is easily one of the best bands in Brooklyn right now. Their high-speed math-punk (I guess that's what to call it) is fascinating and captivating. I have heard of That Ghost and the Fucking Ocean and don't know much, but I know I like Fucking Ocean's name and have been meaning to check them out. So, I will blindly recommend them as well, since you're already going to be at DBA for Pterodactyl (Pterodactyl!!!!!!!). [Ptero MySpace]
Saturday, August 8
Sundelles, Wild Yaks @ Public Assembly | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
| $15 (benefit!)
Benefit gigs are super nice. This one helps a school in Uganda. Sundelles are pretty cool lo-fi garage rock with 50's/60's-worthy melodies. Wild Yaks are not the greatest thing ever, but they are solid indie rock and well-beloved. [Sundelles MySpace] [WY MySpace]
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Live: Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus
When: 2/15
Where: Bowery Ballroom
Los Campesinos!, a cute indie-pop band out of Wales, and Titus Andronicus, a ragtag gang of hardcore punks hailing from New Jersey, struck me as an odd pairing when they first announced their joint tour last fall. But they are both bands I love (both even appearing in my top five albums of 2008) and they also have in common a very young, manic, infectious energy.
I saw Titus Andronicus at Bowery in December, and my review of that show turned into a sort of essay on the evolution of punk music. This show was a rather different experience. Titus has changed in the last couple of months, or my ears have. They've added synth parts to some of their songs and overall, gained more polish and maturity in their sound. And to be honest, I was a bit disappointed by these developments. The band has lost a little of their edge as time has drawn them closer to convention.
Titus Andronicus
But don't despair! Titus is still very much punk and still played their long-winded punk numbers with intense energy true to their hardcore roots. Frontman Patrick Stickles did a stage dive as well as his usual jumping around, banging on the drums, yelling his head off and so on, with no apparent signs of tour-fatigue.
He spent a little too much of the set talking instead of playing, but his heartfelt thanks and farewell to touring companions Los Campesinos! on their final night together was very much called-for. In fact, the friendship between the bands only became clearer as members from Los Campesinos! darted on to stage during the Titus set, with Ollie Campesinos! even serving briefly as guitar tech. At the end of the set, Stickles did a farewell duo with Harriet Campesinos! covering Green Day's "Good Riddance." A terrible song, but despite the obvious tongue-in-cheek choice, it was very sincere and Stickles's gruff voice made their version far more enjoyable than the original.
When Los Campesinos! took over the stage, they launched into several songs off We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, followed by their very well-loved single "My Year In Lists." Honestly, the beginning of the set was troubling - something wasn't quite right, the parts didn't quite come together and the full effect of the songs was lost. However, as the show wore on, the band settled in and things started running smoothly. Right around the same time, about halfway through the set, all the Campesinos seemed to relax and suddenly, they were all ear-to-ear, kid-in-candy-store smiles, playing the hell out of their last show of what must have been an outstanding tour. Several band members followed Stickles in his stage diving (including Neil, guitar and all), surfing on the crowd for while before being delivered amicably back to the stage.
Los Campesinos! (photo by Grace deVille)
The set list was amazing, featuring pretty much every song I really wanted to hear (except "Drop It Doe Eyes") and ended with a really beautiful rendition of "Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks." I don't know if what happened during that song was planned but it certainly seemed spontaneous. Gareth and the other fronting Campesinos went to the edge of the stage, standing on the monitors and singing the final repeating line to the audience. After a minute, members of Titus Andronicus and the other Campesinos wandered up one by one to join the chorus, sharing microphones and really pouring themselves into the moment. Planned or not, it felt like a surprisingly profound and personal moment between the bands and the audience. It was an amazing closer.
So what about the encore? I didn't believe they could follow up that ending, but sure enough, they trooped back on stage and played one final number, their early single "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives". After the end of the vocals, Gareth walked around the stage collecting every microphone he could find and placing all of them in front of the guitar amps, until the room was awash in a wall of sound. The members exited one by one, leaving the guitar pedals to roar alone for a few minutes before the sound shut off.
Los Campesinos! are a very young band, and while I expected a tight and energetic delivery and some youthful showmanship, the band's two powerful closing moments revealed a maturity I could not have predicted. Here is a band that plays for its audience and both as performers and as musicians, can put on an outstanding concert. And it seemed to be built sincerely on the warmest of feelings for each other, for their music and for their fans. From a bunch of college-aged kids, this is an incredible accomplishment. Hats off!
Where: Bowery Ballroom
Los Campesinos!, a cute indie-pop band out of Wales, and Titus Andronicus, a ragtag gang of hardcore punks hailing from New Jersey, struck me as an odd pairing when they first announced their joint tour last fall. But they are both bands I love (both even appearing in my top five albums of 2008) and they also have in common a very young, manic, infectious energy.
I saw Titus Andronicus at Bowery in December, and my review of that show turned into a sort of essay on the evolution of punk music. This show was a rather different experience. Titus has changed in the last couple of months, or my ears have. They've added synth parts to some of their songs and overall, gained more polish and maturity in their sound. And to be honest, I was a bit disappointed by these developments. The band has lost a little of their edge as time has drawn them closer to convention.
Titus Andronicus
But don't despair! Titus is still very much punk and still played their long-winded punk numbers with intense energy true to their hardcore roots. Frontman Patrick Stickles did a stage dive as well as his usual jumping around, banging on the drums, yelling his head off and so on, with no apparent signs of tour-fatigue.
He spent a little too much of the set talking instead of playing, but his heartfelt thanks and farewell to touring companions Los Campesinos! on their final night together was very much called-for. In fact, the friendship between the bands only became clearer as members from Los Campesinos! darted on to stage during the Titus set, with Ollie Campesinos! even serving briefly as guitar tech. At the end of the set, Stickles did a farewell duo with Harriet Campesinos! covering Green Day's "Good Riddance." A terrible song, but despite the obvious tongue-in-cheek choice, it was very sincere and Stickles's gruff voice made their version far more enjoyable than the original.
When Los Campesinos! took over the stage, they launched into several songs off We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, followed by their very well-loved single "My Year In Lists." Honestly, the beginning of the set was troubling - something wasn't quite right, the parts didn't quite come together and the full effect of the songs was lost. However, as the show wore on, the band settled in and things started running smoothly. Right around the same time, about halfway through the set, all the Campesinos seemed to relax and suddenly, they were all ear-to-ear, kid-in-candy-store smiles, playing the hell out of their last show of what must have been an outstanding tour. Several band members followed Stickles in his stage diving (including Neil, guitar and all), surfing on the crowd for while before being delivered amicably back to the stage.
Los Campesinos! (photo by Grace deVille)
The set list was amazing, featuring pretty much every song I really wanted to hear (except "Drop It Doe Eyes") and ended with a really beautiful rendition of "Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks." I don't know if what happened during that song was planned but it certainly seemed spontaneous. Gareth and the other fronting Campesinos went to the edge of the stage, standing on the monitors and singing the final repeating line to the audience. After a minute, members of Titus Andronicus and the other Campesinos wandered up one by one to join the chorus, sharing microphones and really pouring themselves into the moment. Planned or not, it felt like a surprisingly profound and personal moment between the bands and the audience. It was an amazing closer.
So what about the encore? I didn't believe they could follow up that ending, but sure enough, they trooped back on stage and played one final number, their early single "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives". After the end of the vocals, Gareth walked around the stage collecting every microphone he could find and placing all of them in front of the guitar amps, until the room was awash in a wall of sound. The members exited one by one, leaving the guitar pedals to roar alone for a few minutes before the sound shut off.
Los Campesinos! are a very young band, and while I expected a tight and energetic delivery and some youthful showmanship, the band's two powerful closing moments revealed a maturity I could not have predicted. Here is a band that plays for its audience and both as performers and as musicians, can put on an outstanding concert. And it seemed to be built sincerely on the warmest of feelings for each other, for their music and for their fans. From a bunch of college-aged kids, this is an incredible accomplishment. Hats off!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Upcoming Shows: This Weekend
Two really great shows this weekend, don't miss them!
Saturday, February 14
The Harlem Shakes (!!!!!!!) and Shilpa Ray @ Southpaw - Park Slope, Brooklyn - $10
This show, presented by BAM as part of its "Sounds Like Brooklyn" Festival, is going to completely kick ass. The Harlem Shakes are one of my favorite NY bands and this is their first show in town since 2007! They have a new record coming out soon, so presumably they'll be playing material from that. Bright, fun pop music you can't resist. And I've told you lots about Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers - check out my live review if you want to know what to expect.
Sunday, February 15
Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus - Bowery Ballroom - LES, Manhattan - SOLD OUT
Don't let this show being sold out keep you from going. I'm sure you can get some tickets on craigslist or just about anywhere else. (Also, if you have extra tickets, let me know!) Los Campesinos! are the funnest pop band in a long time and put out two of the best albums of 2008. Titus Andronicus, a revisionist hardcore punk band, are slackers because they only put out one of the best albums of 2008 - but it was a really good one so I guess they are still worth checking out. Seriously, this show is going to be extremely high energy and massively fun.
Saturday, February 14
The Harlem Shakes (!!!!!!!) and Shilpa Ray @ Southpaw - Park Slope, Brooklyn - $10
This show, presented by BAM as part of its "Sounds Like Brooklyn" Festival, is going to completely kick ass. The Harlem Shakes are one of my favorite NY bands and this is their first show in town since 2007! They have a new record coming out soon, so presumably they'll be playing material from that. Bright, fun pop music you can't resist. And I've told you lots about Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers - check out my live review if you want to know what to expect.
Sunday, February 15
Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus - Bowery Ballroom - LES, Manhattan - SOLD OUT
Don't let this show being sold out keep you from going. I'm sure you can get some tickets on craigslist or just about anywhere else. (Also, if you have extra tickets, let me know!) Los Campesinos! are the funnest pop band in a long time and put out two of the best albums of 2008. Titus Andronicus, a revisionist hardcore punk band, are slackers because they only put out one of the best albums of 2008 - but it was a really good one so I guess they are still worth checking out. Seriously, this show is going to be extremely high energy and massively fun.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Live: Los Campesinos!
When: 1/14
Where: SoundFix Records Cafe
Los Campesinos! are a Welsh pop band that made my "Best Albums of 2008" list not once but twice (placing at #15 and #2). Their songs are pretty much irresistible, with rich orchestration, bright melodies and an attitude that draws equally from punk and twee (though the music is definitely neither one).
I thought there were eight Campesinos, but it turns out there are only seven, and for the present tour, their numbers have dwindled to six - the violinist was apparently too ill to travel. Still, it's a pretty big band with pretty complicated arrangements and I wasn't expecting their live show to live up to their records in terms of detail and precision.
But it did - it even surpassed the recorded material at times! Because the members of the band are all so young, it's almost disorienting to see how well they play - they achieve a level of tightness you would expect from much more seasoned musicians. This was made possible by a rock-solid rhythm section of high-speed drums and steady, dominating bass. However, the most impressive musicianship in the band certainly came from the guitars - both guitarists delivered their complex parts with outstanding ease, reacting to the rest of the band and churning out fresh ideas without missing a note.
Los Campesinos! (notice how Gareth is wearing a Bikini Kill shirt)
The band is massively fun to watch too. Drummer Ollie banged some parts out on the piano that happened to be stored next to his drumset, while singer Gareth grabbed some extra sticks and pounded on the cymbals. They were playing on the fly, having fun and still taking the performance very seriously. They stumbled a few times - mostly because they hadn't even rehearsed without violin and were just discovering new holes in their music as they went along. Things got messy at times too, but never out of the band's control, and anyway, Los Campesinos! aren't supposed to sound tidy.
The set list was killer:
1. Death to Los Campesinos!
2. My Year In Lists
3. All Your Kayfabe Friends
4. ??? (didn't know this one)
5. You! Me! Dancing!
Los Campesinos! are going on a tour all over the South and Midwest, so don't miss them if they come your way. For the New Yorkers who missed this show, don't worry - they play again on Valentines Day and the day after at Bowery Ballroom with the mindblowing Titus Andronicus. See you there!
Where: SoundFix Records Cafe
Los Campesinos! are a Welsh pop band that made my "Best Albums of 2008" list not once but twice (placing at #15 and #2). Their songs are pretty much irresistible, with rich orchestration, bright melodies and an attitude that draws equally from punk and twee (though the music is definitely neither one).
I thought there were eight Campesinos, but it turns out there are only seven, and for the present tour, their numbers have dwindled to six - the violinist was apparently too ill to travel. Still, it's a pretty big band with pretty complicated arrangements and I wasn't expecting their live show to live up to their records in terms of detail and precision.
But it did - it even surpassed the recorded material at times! Because the members of the band are all so young, it's almost disorienting to see how well they play - they achieve a level of tightness you would expect from much more seasoned musicians. This was made possible by a rock-solid rhythm section of high-speed drums and steady, dominating bass. However, the most impressive musicianship in the band certainly came from the guitars - both guitarists delivered their complex parts with outstanding ease, reacting to the rest of the band and churning out fresh ideas without missing a note.
Los Campesinos! (notice how Gareth is wearing a Bikini Kill shirt)
The band is massively fun to watch too. Drummer Ollie banged some parts out on the piano that happened to be stored next to his drumset, while singer Gareth grabbed some extra sticks and pounded on the cymbals. They were playing on the fly, having fun and still taking the performance very seriously. They stumbled a few times - mostly because they hadn't even rehearsed without violin and were just discovering new holes in their music as they went along. Things got messy at times too, but never out of the band's control, and anyway, Los Campesinos! aren't supposed to sound tidy.
The set list was killer:
1. Death to Los Campesinos!
2. My Year In Lists
3. All Your Kayfabe Friends
4. ??? (didn't know this one)
5. You! Me! Dancing!
Los Campesinos! are going on a tour all over the South and Midwest, so don't miss them if they come your way. For the New Yorkers who missed this show, don't worry - they play again on Valentines Day and the day after at Bowery Ballroom with the mindblowing Titus Andronicus. See you there!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Shilpa Ray, Los Campesinos and more!
Tomorrow!! Wednesday, 1/14
Los Campesinos! @ SoundFix Records - Williamsburg, Brooklyn - FREE
I almost don't want to tell you guys about this one, because I'm going to have to fight off enough of a crowd as it is. But I decided to do the right thing and let you know. The band that put out not one, but two, of the best albums of 2008, Los Campesinos! are a whole bunch of Welsh kids who play really addictive pop music. They are doing a free in-store performance tomorrow at SoundFix before they head out on US tour. A great band, a tiny venue, and no charge - it doesn't get better than this! MySpace
Thursday, 1/15
She Keeps Bees, Virgin Forest and Sharon van Etten @ Glasslands - Williamsburg, Brooklyn - $6
Glasslands is a pretty cool little venue, though rather hard to find (use your ears!), and I'm pretty sure it's the perfect fit for this line-up. It's small and intimate, with a very artsy vibe. She Keeps Bees are the most notable act of the night, a powerful duo that does ass-kicking blues from an indie-folk perspective. Virgin Forest, assuming they haven't changed since last I saw them, is a folksy band from down south who play sweet songs with piano, finger-picked guitar and male-female vocals. Sharon van Etten is a singer-songwriter I've heard a lot about but never actually checked out. Everything I've heard has been positive though, so she's worth a try at the very least. She Keeps Bees MySpace :: Virgin Forest MySpace :: Sharon Van Etten MySpace
My Teenage Stride and El Jezel @ Vanishing Point - Bushwick, Brooklyn - $??
If the Glasslands show sounds too low-key for you, try this one. My Teenage Stride are an indie pop band that I grudgingly like a lot and El Jezel play a ambient post-rock that still manages to be pop. I've heard both these bands perform well despite adverse conditions, so it seems like a safe bet that this show will rock. MTS MySpace :: El Jezel MySpace
Friday, 1/16
The Raveonettes + Zaza @ Webster Hall - East Village, Manhattan - $20
I can't quite recommend spending $20 to see the Raveonettes, but if you really feel like going to a show Friday and money isn't an issue, check them out. The Raveonettes are one of those bands that play conventional songs under a consistent layer of crackling fuzz, a formula that never seems to get old. One of the opening acts is Zaza, a talented electronic duo who I reviewed a couple of months ago. So if you decide to pay the $20 and go, go early and get some extra bang for your buck. Raveonettes MySpace :: Zaza MySpace
Saturday, 1/17
Frightened Rabbit @ Bowery Ballroom - LES, Manhattan - $13 adv/$15 door
In my Best Albums of 2008 list, I said that Frightened Rabbit was one only decent bands to ever come out of Glasgow, Scotland, and I'll stand by that statement. They play conventional indie rock, radio-ready and far from innovative - but the songwriting is solid, the sound is rich and it's just enough drunken Scottish swagger to win over my skeptical heart. MySpace
Sunday, 1/18
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers @ Mercury Lounge - LES, Manhattan - $8
I've told you about Shilpa Ray and how she's awesome. As great as she is recorded, her live show is even awesomer. Here's my account of her last show. Let me be clear: DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! I don't care if your wife is in labor, I don't care if you have to break out of your cell on Rikers to get there, stop making excuses and GO TO THIS SHOW. MySpace
Los Campesinos! @ SoundFix Records - Williamsburg, Brooklyn - FREE
I almost don't want to tell you guys about this one, because I'm going to have to fight off enough of a crowd as it is. But I decided to do the right thing and let you know. The band that put out not one, but two, of the best albums of 2008, Los Campesinos! are a whole bunch of Welsh kids who play really addictive pop music. They are doing a free in-store performance tomorrow at SoundFix before they head out on US tour. A great band, a tiny venue, and no charge - it doesn't get better than this! MySpace
Thursday, 1/15
She Keeps Bees, Virgin Forest and Sharon van Etten @ Glasslands - Williamsburg, Brooklyn - $6
Glasslands is a pretty cool little venue, though rather hard to find (use your ears!), and I'm pretty sure it's the perfect fit for this line-up. It's small and intimate, with a very artsy vibe. She Keeps Bees are the most notable act of the night, a powerful duo that does ass-kicking blues from an indie-folk perspective. Virgin Forest, assuming they haven't changed since last I saw them, is a folksy band from down south who play sweet songs with piano, finger-picked guitar and male-female vocals. Sharon van Etten is a singer-songwriter I've heard a lot about but never actually checked out. Everything I've heard has been positive though, so she's worth a try at the very least. She Keeps Bees MySpace :: Virgin Forest MySpace :: Sharon Van Etten MySpace
My Teenage Stride and El Jezel @ Vanishing Point - Bushwick, Brooklyn - $??
If the Glasslands show sounds too low-key for you, try this one. My Teenage Stride are an indie pop band that I grudgingly like a lot and El Jezel play a ambient post-rock that still manages to be pop. I've heard both these bands perform well despite adverse conditions, so it seems like a safe bet that this show will rock. MTS MySpace :: El Jezel MySpace
Friday, 1/16
The Raveonettes + Zaza @ Webster Hall - East Village, Manhattan - $20
I can't quite recommend spending $20 to see the Raveonettes, but if you really feel like going to a show Friday and money isn't an issue, check them out. The Raveonettes are one of those bands that play conventional songs under a consistent layer of crackling fuzz, a formula that never seems to get old. One of the opening acts is Zaza, a talented electronic duo who I reviewed a couple of months ago. So if you decide to pay the $20 and go, go early and get some extra bang for your buck. Raveonettes MySpace :: Zaza MySpace
Saturday, 1/17
Frightened Rabbit @ Bowery Ballroom - LES, Manhattan - $13 adv/$15 door
In my Best Albums of 2008 list, I said that Frightened Rabbit was one only decent bands to ever come out of Glasgow, Scotland, and I'll stand by that statement. They play conventional indie rock, radio-ready and far from innovative - but the songwriting is solid, the sound is rich and it's just enough drunken Scottish swagger to win over my skeptical heart. MySpace
Sunday, 1/18
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers @ Mercury Lounge - LES, Manhattan - $8
I've told you about Shilpa Ray and how she's awesome. As great as she is recorded, her live show is even awesomer. Here's my account of her last show. Let me be clear: DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! I don't care if your wife is in labor, I don't care if you have to break out of your cell on Rikers to get there, stop making excuses and GO TO THIS SHOW. MySpace
Monday, December 22, 2008
Best Albums of 2008 - Part 5 - #5-1
Although this list has shifted a lot, there's never been any doubt that these five albums would top it. They are not only the best of 2008, they are a full head and shoulders above everything else.
PREVIOUS>>
Part 1 - Rules and Runners Up
Part 2 - #20-16
Part 3 - #15-11
Part 4 - #10-6
#5
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
The Social Registry
I have searched and searched for some criticism to make of this album, but I haven't come up with much. Gang Gang Dance have always been innovators, but in this release, which fleshes out their club/dance tendencies, the band has at last fully lived up to their immense potential. Saint Dymphna is one of the only true masterpieces of 2008, and if this were not explicitly a rock/pop list, this album might have placed even higher than #5.
An epic electronic album, Saint Dymphna draws on influences from My Bloody Valentine and Brian Eno to "world-beat" (in the rawest, most "tribal" sense) to trip-hop, and uses elements from each style so smoothly, you could swear each one was invented specifically to be a tool in the dub toolbox. Of all the electronic acts who are supposed to be lovable to rock critics (Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, Mouse on Mars, etc.), this is the first one to really win me over. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because the music has genuine feeling but none of the machismo that usually accompanies it in the genre. In any case, the album shows brilliance in inspiration and meticulous care in execution. It's as close to perfect as 2008 has to offer.
Tinchy Stryder, guest rapper on "Princes," puts it best: "Oh shit! Gang Gang!"
Track picks: "Blue Nile," "Desert Storm"
MySpace
#4
Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
Troubleman Unlimited
For all of us who thought the twenty-first century and hardcore punk would never really find a meeting point, Titus Andronicus has proven us wrong. The subversive edginess of hardcore is alive and well in Grievances, but the album is as far as you can get from revivalist - the punk of Titus Andronicus is fresh and original, smart, innovative and unrestricted by convention. It takes into account the important musical developments of the last few decades, borrowing guitar techniques from shoegazers, songwriting ideals from British indie popsters and experimentalist cues from post-hardcore burners. Punk, meet 2008. 2008, meet punk.
Track pick: "Titus Andronicus"
MySpace
#3
Wavves - Wavves
Woodsist
I think what's most compelling about Wavves is that its only member, Nathan Williams, delivers his songs with the confident ease of someone who knows his music could kick anyone else's music's ass. It's dope to the point where if you don't like it, everyone will know it's because you're not cool enough, not because there's anything wrong with the music. Yeah, that's not fair to say about any band, but Wavves are the best candidate for getting away with such cooler-than-you trickery since Sonic Youth's heyday.
But it's not really trickery, because the album really is that good. Wavves sounds like it may have been recorded through a jet engine - the guitars are distorted, the drums are distorted, the vocals are distorted, absolutely everything is distorted. But the pseudo-surf, pseudo-punk numbers are short and catchy, if you can make them out through the roar of static. Most importantly, the album is fiercely independent, fearless and self-assured to an degree very few bands have ever achieved.
Track picks: "Teenage Super Party," "Wavves"
MySpace
#2
Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...
Wichita Recordings / Arts & Crafts
I can't possibly tell you how obsessed I am with this album. Los Campesinos!'s second album of the year, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed placed at #15 on this list, so I've already said a little about the band. While Hold On Now is a less refined effort, it won out for top spot because it's got the best songs and the higher level of originality of the two releases.
Los Campesinos! are a manic Welsh pop band that boasts seven or eight members - who all together generate a hella lot of noise. They play ping-pong with melodies, passing them back and forth, at times by the word, and there's always a half-dozen different parts at once, making this an album worth hearing many times through.
Most importantly, the melodies and hooks are hands-down the best pop music offered up in 2008. Keeping in mind I don't even nod my head at most concerts, you can take as evidence of the album's catchiness the fact that I've been seen jumping up and down like a maniac on subway platforms because this was playing in my headphones. True, the band goes right up to the very brink of overly self-aware, puke-inducing preciousness, but just when you think you're going to start hating them, they pull something else awesome out of their hat and you're back to being madly in love again. In the world of straight-up pop, this album is not only the best of the year, it's one of the best of the decade.
Track picks: "My Year In Lists" (how appropriate!), "Death to Los Campesinos!"
MySpace
#1
Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
Kill Rock Stars
No, this isn't a "worst album title" list, though This Is It would score just as well in that competition. But this is a "Best of 2008" list and this album is the best of the year. To be honest, I ignored Marnie Stern for a long time because I saw the individual name and wrote it off as "boring solo project" without giving it a try. But I heard so much about Stern this fall that I decided to give the album a fair chance - and it was not remotely like anything I might have expected. It's a high-speed riot-grrrl-inspired noise-rock explosion featuring a dozen tracks of non-stop shredding, lightspeed drumming and raging, enveloping melodies. It's like nothing I've ever heard.
I put a lot of consideration into the placement of This Is It at the top of the list, and I feel confident that this is where it belongs. The reason is simple: while most of the standout albums of 2008 will be surpassed and fade into the background of their respective genres with time, I really believe in ten or twenty years, Marnie Stern's record will still sound fresh, and that it will still have the power to move and inspire. Time might prove me wrong, but of anything released this year, it's the most worthy of becoming a classic in the world of rock and roll.
Track picks: "Transformer," "Steely"
MySpace
That's it! Comments welcome!
PREVIOUS>>
Part 1 - Rules and Runners Up
Part 2 - #20-16
Part 3 - #15-11
Part 4 - #10-6
#5
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
The Social Registry
I have searched and searched for some criticism to make of this album, but I haven't come up with much. Gang Gang Dance have always been innovators, but in this release, which fleshes out their club/dance tendencies, the band has at last fully lived up to their immense potential. Saint Dymphna is one of the only true masterpieces of 2008, and if this were not explicitly a rock/pop list, this album might have placed even higher than #5.
An epic electronic album, Saint Dymphna draws on influences from My Bloody Valentine and Brian Eno to "world-beat" (in the rawest, most "tribal" sense) to trip-hop, and uses elements from each style so smoothly, you could swear each one was invented specifically to be a tool in the dub toolbox. Of all the electronic acts who are supposed to be lovable to rock critics (Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, Mouse on Mars, etc.), this is the first one to really win me over. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because the music has genuine feeling but none of the machismo that usually accompanies it in the genre. In any case, the album shows brilliance in inspiration and meticulous care in execution. It's as close to perfect as 2008 has to offer.
Tinchy Stryder, guest rapper on "Princes," puts it best: "Oh shit! Gang Gang!"
Track picks: "Blue Nile," "Desert Storm"
MySpace
#4
Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
Troubleman Unlimited
For all of us who thought the twenty-first century and hardcore punk would never really find a meeting point, Titus Andronicus has proven us wrong. The subversive edginess of hardcore is alive and well in Grievances, but the album is as far as you can get from revivalist - the punk of Titus Andronicus is fresh and original, smart, innovative and unrestricted by convention. It takes into account the important musical developments of the last few decades, borrowing guitar techniques from shoegazers, songwriting ideals from British indie popsters and experimentalist cues from post-hardcore burners. Punk, meet 2008. 2008, meet punk.
Track pick: "Titus Andronicus"
MySpace
#3
Wavves - Wavves
Woodsist
I think what's most compelling about Wavves is that its only member, Nathan Williams, delivers his songs with the confident ease of someone who knows his music could kick anyone else's music's ass. It's dope to the point where if you don't like it, everyone will know it's because you're not cool enough, not because there's anything wrong with the music. Yeah, that's not fair to say about any band, but Wavves are the best candidate for getting away with such cooler-than-you trickery since Sonic Youth's heyday.
But it's not really trickery, because the album really is that good. Wavves sounds like it may have been recorded through a jet engine - the guitars are distorted, the drums are distorted, the vocals are distorted, absolutely everything is distorted. But the pseudo-surf, pseudo-punk numbers are short and catchy, if you can make them out through the roar of static. Most importantly, the album is fiercely independent, fearless and self-assured to an degree very few bands have ever achieved.
Track picks: "Teenage Super Party," "Wavves"
MySpace
#2
Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...
Wichita Recordings / Arts & Crafts
I can't possibly tell you how obsessed I am with this album. Los Campesinos!'s second album of the year, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed placed at #15 on this list, so I've already said a little about the band. While Hold On Now is a less refined effort, it won out for top spot because it's got the best songs and the higher level of originality of the two releases.
Los Campesinos! are a manic Welsh pop band that boasts seven or eight members - who all together generate a hella lot of noise. They play ping-pong with melodies, passing them back and forth, at times by the word, and there's always a half-dozen different parts at once, making this an album worth hearing many times through.
Most importantly, the melodies and hooks are hands-down the best pop music offered up in 2008. Keeping in mind I don't even nod my head at most concerts, you can take as evidence of the album's catchiness the fact that I've been seen jumping up and down like a maniac on subway platforms because this was playing in my headphones. True, the band goes right up to the very brink of overly self-aware, puke-inducing preciousness, but just when you think you're going to start hating them, they pull something else awesome out of their hat and you're back to being madly in love again. In the world of straight-up pop, this album is not only the best of the year, it's one of the best of the decade.
Track picks: "My Year In Lists" (how appropriate!), "Death to Los Campesinos!"
MySpace
#1
Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
Kill Rock Stars
No, this isn't a "worst album title" list, though This Is It would score just as well in that competition. But this is a "Best of 2008" list and this album is the best of the year. To be honest, I ignored Marnie Stern for a long time because I saw the individual name and wrote it off as "boring solo project" without giving it a try. But I heard so much about Stern this fall that I decided to give the album a fair chance - and it was not remotely like anything I might have expected. It's a high-speed riot-grrrl-inspired noise-rock explosion featuring a dozen tracks of non-stop shredding, lightspeed drumming and raging, enveloping melodies. It's like nothing I've ever heard.
I put a lot of consideration into the placement of This Is It at the top of the list, and I feel confident that this is where it belongs. The reason is simple: while most of the standout albums of 2008 will be surpassed and fade into the background of their respective genres with time, I really believe in ten or twenty years, Marnie Stern's record will still sound fresh, and that it will still have the power to move and inspire. Time might prove me wrong, but of anything released this year, it's the most worthy of becoming a classic in the world of rock and roll.
Track picks: "Transformer," "Steely"
MySpace
That's it! Comments welcome!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Best Albums of 2008 - Part 3 - #15-11
Here's the third installment...
PREVIOUS>>
Part 1 - Rules and Runners Up
Part 2 - #20-16
#15
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Wichita Recordings / Arts & Crafts
This band surprised everyone by releasing two full albums in 2008, both of them gold. We Are Beautiful, the second of the two, curbs some of the manic pop expressions of the first and shows the band's more mature and steady side. In slowing things down, they bump up against a few more indie rock cliches, but the album is still beautifully crafted. Their richly-orchestrated pop and youthful, emotional vocals combine to make this one of the best albums of the year.
Track pick: "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed"
MySpace
#14
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Domino Records
"Sexy" is the adjective of choice in describing this album, and it's entirely deserved. Midnight Boom is an indie rock album, but it has the meticulous production of electronica/dance and the catchy beats to match. Delivered with confidence, the songs are hip and fun, but not without their tender moments. It's album of contradictions - down-to-earth but smart, gritty but polished, sophisticated but accessible - and it doesn't sound like anything else in 2008.
Track pick: "U.R.A. Fever"
MySpace
#13
Wye Oak - If Children
Merge Records
This duo won me over when I saw them live a few weeks ago. While they intially come off as gentle and folky, Wye Oak can crank it up too. The result, so far, is this gorgeous debut (originally released before 2008 but re-released on Merge Records to a much wider audience this year). Its noise-folk ranges from homey, comforting acoustic numbers to towering cliffs of sound. Each composition is well-conceived and over it all, both members deliver some of the year's best lyrics. (If you can listen to "If Children Were Wishes" without crying, you probably have no soul.)
Track pick: "Family Glue"
MySpace
#12
Tears Run Rings - Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never
Clairecords
I said this album might not be in the top "dozen or so" albums of the year, but that was before I'd listened to all the competition. On this dazzling debut, TRR have matched and even surpassed the quality of most their early 90's shoegaze influences. Always, Sometimes is nothing revolutionary, but anything that can stand on a level with best of Pale Saints or Slowdive is worth serious attention. For those not familiar with these bands, imagine a series of shimmering soundscapes and entrancing melodies so rich that they seem to build another world around you, a dense forest of sound blanketed in somber beauty. This is nothing but pure shoegaze heaven.
Track pick: "Fall Into Light"
MySpace
#11
The Manhattan Love Suicides - Burnt Out Landscapes
Squirrel Records/Magic Marker Records
This collection of EPs, singles, radio sessions and other rarities is so packed with music that it clocks in only seconds short of the 80-minute mark. And astoundingly, almost all of the album's 27 songs are pop gems in their own right. Massive feedback and distortion drench the entire record, but the songs themselves are tightly-constructed two-minute catchy pop numbers reminscent of classics like the Beach Boys. The MLS are far from the first band to use this template, but they are one of the best in recent years, never wavering as they churn out one bright melody after another.
Track pick: "Johnny Boy," "Keep It Coming" or really any of them. They're all good.
MySpace
NEXT>> Part 4: #10-6
Part 5: #5-1
PREVIOUS>>
Part 1 - Rules and Runners Up
Part 2 - #20-16
#15
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Wichita Recordings / Arts & Crafts
This band surprised everyone by releasing two full albums in 2008, both of them gold. We Are Beautiful, the second of the two, curbs some of the manic pop expressions of the first and shows the band's more mature and steady side. In slowing things down, they bump up against a few more indie rock cliches, but the album is still beautifully crafted. Their richly-orchestrated pop and youthful, emotional vocals combine to make this one of the best albums of the year.
Track pick: "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed"
MySpace
#14
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Domino Records
"Sexy" is the adjective of choice in describing this album, and it's entirely deserved. Midnight Boom is an indie rock album, but it has the meticulous production of electronica/dance and the catchy beats to match. Delivered with confidence, the songs are hip and fun, but not without their tender moments. It's album of contradictions - down-to-earth but smart, gritty but polished, sophisticated but accessible - and it doesn't sound like anything else in 2008.
Track pick: "U.R.A. Fever"
MySpace
#13
Wye Oak - If Children
Merge Records
This duo won me over when I saw them live a few weeks ago. While they intially come off as gentle and folky, Wye Oak can crank it up too. The result, so far, is this gorgeous debut (originally released before 2008 but re-released on Merge Records to a much wider audience this year). Its noise-folk ranges from homey, comforting acoustic numbers to towering cliffs of sound. Each composition is well-conceived and over it all, both members deliver some of the year's best lyrics. (If you can listen to "If Children Were Wishes" without crying, you probably have no soul.)
Track pick: "Family Glue"
MySpace
#12
Tears Run Rings - Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never
Clairecords
I said this album might not be in the top "dozen or so" albums of the year, but that was before I'd listened to all the competition. On this dazzling debut, TRR have matched and even surpassed the quality of most their early 90's shoegaze influences. Always, Sometimes is nothing revolutionary, but anything that can stand on a level with best of Pale Saints or Slowdive is worth serious attention. For those not familiar with these bands, imagine a series of shimmering soundscapes and entrancing melodies so rich that they seem to build another world around you, a dense forest of sound blanketed in somber beauty. This is nothing but pure shoegaze heaven.
Track pick: "Fall Into Light"
MySpace
#11
The Manhattan Love Suicides - Burnt Out Landscapes
Squirrel Records/Magic Marker Records
This collection of EPs, singles, radio sessions and other rarities is so packed with music that it clocks in only seconds short of the 80-minute mark. And astoundingly, almost all of the album's 27 songs are pop gems in their own right. Massive feedback and distortion drench the entire record, but the songs themselves are tightly-constructed two-minute catchy pop numbers reminscent of classics like the Beach Boys. The MLS are far from the first band to use this template, but they are one of the best in recent years, never wavering as they churn out one bright melody after another.
Track pick: "Johnny Boy," "Keep It Coming" or really any of them. They're all good.
MySpace
NEXT>> Part 4: #10-6
Part 5: #5-1
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