TONIGHT, Thursday, April 9
Bob Mould @ Joe's Pub | E Village, Manhattan | $20
Bob Mould, the main songwriter behind Husker Du and an accomplished solo musician, will be playing Joe's Pub tonight. It would be difficult to overstate the influence Mould and Husker Du had on the development of American independent rock music. With his deeply personal lyrics and poppy yet thoughtful melodies, he's a songwriter of rare talent and inspiration to countless others.
MySpace
Action Painters, Team Genius, Naked Hearts @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $8
This is an outstanding line-up! Action Painters play your typical indie rock, but far better than most of their peers - they are one of New York's best. Team Genius has long been a favorite of mine on this blog - a multi-instrumental pop group that can warm even an icy heart like mine. And while I wasn't wild about the Naked Hearts' last release, they are a great live band, a gritty boy-girl duo (plus drummer) with noisy, catchy rock songs you won't forget.
Action Painters MySpace | Team Genius MySpace | Naked Hearts MySpace
TOMORROW, Friday, April 10
Beluga @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | $10
I just wrote up Beluga! If you're too lazy to read that, they are a mostly-female garage-punk band with songs that are at once melodic and aggressive and a front-woman who screams her head off and writhes on the floor. Can you think of anything better? Seriously, can you?
MySpace
Saturday, April 4
Pants Yell!, Knight School @ Dead Herring | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $?
Pants Yell! are a super-fine pop band from Boston who seem to have been laying a bit low lately, but are now back to be awesome again. I don't know Knight School but I've had them recommended by a very reliable source - I can't tell you who without giving away my identity (at least to him), but trust me, he's someone with good taste. A band called Sisters are playing too and I can't remember what I know about them, but I think it's something good. Plus, though I've not yet had occasion to go to Dead Herring, it's rumored to be one of the best DIY venues in town.
Pants MySpace | Knight School MySpace
Real Estate @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | $10
Real Estate is the very latest buzz-band from the Woodsist clan (Wavves, Vivian Girls, Woods, etc). They are hot shit, but not so hot that you can't see them at a place like Pianos - and they aren't even headlining. Get 'em while they're fresh! Errr...something.
MySpace
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Dust It Off: The Adolescents - The Adolescents
Album: The Adolescents
Frontier Records, 1981
Although the Adolescents are considered a classic band of the early 80's West Coast punk scene, outside of punk cirles, they've never acheived the same level of recognition as their peers Black Flag, Minor Threat and the Dead Kennedys - to name a few. That's despite the fact that this, their first and best album, was recorded and released before Black Flag's masterpiece Damaged and Minor Threat's first EP. It also easily predates the first proper releases by their venerated Orange County peers Social Distortion, DC's seminal Bad Brians and L.A.'s Descendents. The list could go on, but my point is simply that though the Adolescents were influenced by all these bands, they mastered and honed the style, recorded it and sent it out into the world while many of the groups who touched off the hardcore movement were still just beginning to get their shit together.
On the surface, The Adolescents sounds exactly like you'd expect from early hardcore - simple, fast and loud. But a closer attention to detail reveals that even as the hardcore was only beginning to define its identity, the Adolescents were already pushing its boundaries. Their arrangements are far more complex than the three-chord constructions of their contemporaries, and their songs are augmented with slower sections and even guitar solos, both big no-no's in the original hardcore rulebook.
But despite that, The Adolescents don't sound like a proto-punk band still filtering out the excesses of arena rock - the complexity never seems self-indulgent and never takes the focus off the music's loud-fast core. The Adolescents sound like a band that has fully grasped the essence of hardcore punk and its implications and moved on to expand its horizons, all by 1981.
Nor do they sound like a punk band that has overthought its sound and lost its spirit. The truly "adolescent" yell of Tony Cadena (who was just 18 at the album's release) is geniune.
The album gets off on the right foot with the opener "I Hate Children" (final line: "Kill all children dead!"). Anthems like "No Way" and the more lyrically thoughtful "Ameoba" are classics. The common themes like rejection by peers ("No Friends," "Creatures") and political repression ("Democracy") make plenty of appearances, but they stand alongside more personal lyrics. The anguished chorus of "Who Is Who" proclaims "the walls are closing in on me / I don't know what to do," while the fictional drug addict in "Self Destruct" admits "Crying, I'm sorry, I'm out of my head."
The album's true peak is its centerpiece "Kids of the Black Hole," a whopping five-minute track that despite its length, doesn't back off the high-speed attack of the rest of the album. Lyrically, the song is a potent tale of the depravity of youth culture, taking to task both their peers and society as a whole for leaving an entire generation directionless, drug-dependent and without a future. Musically, a two-note lead sounds like Joy Division on speed, while a careful arrangement keeps the song interesting throughout its entire span - a good five times the length of most hardcore songs.
Years ahead of its time, Adolescents is an essential album of early 80's American punk. It's also a rare musical acheivement for its genre, one that could appeal to a broad audience far beyond hardcore's usual boundaries.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Live: Tyvek, Woods, Nymphets
When: 4/1
Where: Death By Audio
When I walked into Death By Audio last Wednesday, the Nymphets were already on stage - just a girl on drums and a guy on guitar, both yelling their heads off. Their songs were short and their lyrics simple and to the point (for example, the repeated line "I don't wanna live on Earth anymore"). They aren't the first band of their kind, but they seem to have a genuine grasp on punk minimalism, and how that means everyone can have a lot of fun and make noise. Thumbs up. [MySpace]
Apparently, there was another band after them called Changing Holes, and I must have been there when they played, but I have no memory of it whatsoever. Which doesn't speak well to them.
Third in line was Woods, my latest obsession. They play simple, lo-fi pop, but not in the distortion-and-feedback sense of lo-fi. Their clean guitars and vocals aren't buried under anything heavy, but rather (as I said before) it's as if they are under water - the songs are distorted not in a fuzzbox way, but in the way water distorts the appearance of things beneath it. There is an element of mysterious, otherworldly beauty in the sound.
Though often described as “folk,” Woods are best classified as pop, with uptempo songs and sticky-sweet melodies. They sound a lot like the Byrds, or even the Hollies, but turned inside out and cooked into some Jell-O.
As performers, the band was pretty average, kicking out some hot guitar solos and some satisfying noise but not really doing anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, the most interesting part of the performance took place out of sight of most of the audience, myself included. The band's fourth member was crouching on the floor with what appeared to be a vocoder (or talk box or something of that nature) and a bunch of electronics.
Whatever he was doing, it helps explain the eerie, unidentifiable quality of the recorded music. (In case you don't know, vocoders and talk boxes use the voice and the movement of the mouth respectively to shape sounds, emitting ‘half human, half machine’ sort of tones.) Whatever this device was, he had it strapped over his mouth, a disturbing gesture. In the audience, all you know is there's somebody kneeling on the stage with something reminiscent of a gas mask or an old medical device obscuring half his face. Gimmicky? Maybe, but it's also effectively intriguing, not to mention creepy as hell.
While having melodies that will be stuck in your head for weeks, prettied up even further with subtle vocal harmonies, Woods sound weird in a way I can't quite identify. It's not just the quirky falsetto of the vocals (a trick used by plenty more conventional bands like Dirty On Purpose), there's just something different about this band. Something too subtle to be revolutionary, but distinctive enough to make this one of the most outstanding and original bands of our time. [MySpace]
Closing out the night came the much-hyped Tyvek, a Michigan-based punk outfit that kicks quite a lot of ass. The band stays true to the fundamental American punk tenant of playing loud and playing fast. There's some quirk in their music, but it's not that the music has been overthought, it's just that these kids have as much rage as the Sex Pistols, but they aren't leather-sporting punks from the London slums, they're awkward Midwesterners.
When I say rage, though, I don't mean it's sheer hardcore-thrashy-screaming anger - Tyvek is FUN. The new(ish) bassist Shelley Salant is a particularly interesting presence on stage - she looks detached, which just makes it all the more striking when she shreds her lungs yelling back-up vocals. Drummer Matt Ziolkowski plays standing up like Mo Tucker, only when he does it, he pogos like a maniac. And frontman Kevin Boyer, despite his bookish looks, rips the show to shreds and lights it on fire with his aggressive performance.
The music is solid. Like the first act of the night, it's nothing completely new, but Tyvek definitely knows the wild recipe of anger and fun that makes good punk good (similar to the combination of anger and fun of yelling "fuck you" at your high school principal the day after graduation). Their music is certainly not minimalist - it even includes keyboards, but it's still raw and has a very sharp edge. [MySpace]
Where: Death By Audio
When I walked into Death By Audio last Wednesday, the Nymphets were already on stage - just a girl on drums and a guy on guitar, both yelling their heads off. Their songs were short and their lyrics simple and to the point (for example, the repeated line "I don't wanna live on Earth anymore"). They aren't the first band of their kind, but they seem to have a genuine grasp on punk minimalism, and how that means everyone can have a lot of fun and make noise. Thumbs up. [MySpace]
Apparently, there was another band after them called Changing Holes, and I must have been there when they played, but I have no memory of it whatsoever. Which doesn't speak well to them.
Third in line was Woods, my latest obsession. They play simple, lo-fi pop, but not in the distortion-and-feedback sense of lo-fi. Their clean guitars and vocals aren't buried under anything heavy, but rather (as I said before) it's as if they are under water - the songs are distorted not in a fuzzbox way, but in the way water distorts the appearance of things beneath it. There is an element of mysterious, otherworldly beauty in the sound.
Though often described as “folk,” Woods are best classified as pop, with uptempo songs and sticky-sweet melodies. They sound a lot like the Byrds, or even the Hollies, but turned inside out and cooked into some Jell-O.
As performers, the band was pretty average, kicking out some hot guitar solos and some satisfying noise but not really doing anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, the most interesting part of the performance took place out of sight of most of the audience, myself included. The band's fourth member was crouching on the floor with what appeared to be a vocoder (or talk box or something of that nature) and a bunch of electronics.
Whatever he was doing, it helps explain the eerie, unidentifiable quality of the recorded music. (In case you don't know, vocoders and talk boxes use the voice and the movement of the mouth respectively to shape sounds, emitting ‘half human, half machine’ sort of tones.) Whatever this device was, he had it strapped over his mouth, a disturbing gesture. In the audience, all you know is there's somebody kneeling on the stage with something reminiscent of a gas mask or an old medical device obscuring half his face. Gimmicky? Maybe, but it's also effectively intriguing, not to mention creepy as hell.
While having melodies that will be stuck in your head for weeks, prettied up even further with subtle vocal harmonies, Woods sound weird in a way I can't quite identify. It's not just the quirky falsetto of the vocals (a trick used by plenty more conventional bands like Dirty On Purpose), there's just something different about this band. Something too subtle to be revolutionary, but distinctive enough to make this one of the most outstanding and original bands of our time. [MySpace]
Closing out the night came the much-hyped Tyvek, a Michigan-based punk outfit that kicks quite a lot of ass. The band stays true to the fundamental American punk tenant of playing loud and playing fast. There's some quirk in their music, but it's not that the music has been overthought, it's just that these kids have as much rage as the Sex Pistols, but they aren't leather-sporting punks from the London slums, they're awkward Midwesterners.
When I say rage, though, I don't mean it's sheer hardcore-thrashy-screaming anger - Tyvek is FUN. The new(ish) bassist Shelley Salant is a particularly interesting presence on stage - she looks detached, which just makes it all the more striking when she shreds her lungs yelling back-up vocals. Drummer Matt Ziolkowski plays standing up like Mo Tucker, only when he does it, he pogos like a maniac. And frontman Kevin Boyer, despite his bookish looks, rips the show to shreds and lights it on fire with his aggressive performance.
The music is solid. Like the first act of the night, it's nothing completely new, but Tyvek definitely knows the wild recipe of anger and fun that makes good punk good (similar to the combination of anger and fun of yelling "fuck you" at your high school principal the day after graduation). Their music is certainly not minimalist - it even includes keyboards, but it's still raw and has a very sharp edge. [MySpace]
Monday, April 6, 2009
Live: Wavves, DD/MM/YYYY
When: 3/30
Where: Mercury Lounge
After numerous failed attempts to see Wavves live, I finally caught them last week at Mercury Lounge. Wavves, the ultra-lo-fi punk/surf/pop of San Diego's Nathan Williams, has been one of the most exciting musicians to appear in the last few years.
The band (Williams and a touring drummer) slammed out a short set of many of the best tunes off both his recent albums, along with one or two I didn't recognize. As I was hoping they would, Wavves struck the perfect balance of cool and enthusiasm, devoid of the lazy, entitled attitude of some of their colleagues (cough cough crystal stilts cough cough). They had energy, but still had a confident ease that's particularly striking given their obvious youth.
Technically, Williams is terrible - he's been touring for two months and still, his simple guitar parts aren't quite down pat. He's got a nice voice but had trouble more than once hitting the right notes. And all of this just makes him even more awesome. Because this is lo-fi, this is punk rock, and that's what makes Wavves so great - they are exactly what punk is about - kids flipping a finger at convention and pretension and just rocking the fuck out!
Of course, that's not to say Wavves is without talent - quite the opposite! They are not technically proficient instrumentalists, but Williams's songs are outstanding pieces, little fragments of pop that never overstay their welcome. And while his use of noise is definitely not new, he somehow manages to deconstruct even further the sounds of his noise-pop antecedents (Jesus & Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices) and his loud-as-hell minimalism is the most youthful, badass, refreshing music I've heard in ages.
Between two songs, Williams's phone started ringing. The audience, heckling him about his youth, asked if it was his mother. It was. For anyone nostalgic for the good old days of the early 80's, when second generation American punk was still pure, when it symbolized an alternative world for misfits just coming of age, Wavves may well be the greatest thing since the Wipers and Minor Threat. [MySpace]
Next up, the confusingly titled DD/MM/YYYY, a math-rock ensemble from Canada. Their jarring experimental sounds were heavy and fast, but despite that, I couldn't get interested, just annoyed. That's because a whole generation of bands, among them some of my favorite groups ever, played exactly this style of music - only way better - back in the early 90's. Any of these bands could kick DD/MM/YYYY's ass - June of 44, A Minor Forest, Chavez, Polvo, Rodan, Bastro and of course Slint, to name a few. But most of these 90's bands never got due credit and have been almost entirely forgotten in the years since their demise.
So, while DD/MM/YYYY may not be bad, they seem like a big step backwards to anyone versed in the history of this style of music. Yes, they play tightly through ever-changing time signatures, they make nice noises and slam out some sweet dissonance. But it's only a weak imitation of what came before. If you need to see this kind of music live, I guess it's the best you'll do. But on record, this is kid's stuff - hit up the old catalogues at Touch & Go and Quarterstick for the real deal. Trust me. [MySpace]
Where: Mercury Lounge
After numerous failed attempts to see Wavves live, I finally caught them last week at Mercury Lounge. Wavves, the ultra-lo-fi punk/surf/pop of San Diego's Nathan Williams, has been one of the most exciting musicians to appear in the last few years.
The band (Williams and a touring drummer) slammed out a short set of many of the best tunes off both his recent albums, along with one or two I didn't recognize. As I was hoping they would, Wavves struck the perfect balance of cool and enthusiasm, devoid of the lazy, entitled attitude of some of their colleagues (cough cough crystal stilts cough cough). They had energy, but still had a confident ease that's particularly striking given their obvious youth.
Technically, Williams is terrible - he's been touring for two months and still, his simple guitar parts aren't quite down pat. He's got a nice voice but had trouble more than once hitting the right notes. And all of this just makes him even more awesome. Because this is lo-fi, this is punk rock, and that's what makes Wavves so great - they are exactly what punk is about - kids flipping a finger at convention and pretension and just rocking the fuck out!
Of course, that's not to say Wavves is without talent - quite the opposite! They are not technically proficient instrumentalists, but Williams's songs are outstanding pieces, little fragments of pop that never overstay their welcome. And while his use of noise is definitely not new, he somehow manages to deconstruct even further the sounds of his noise-pop antecedents (Jesus & Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices) and his loud-as-hell minimalism is the most youthful, badass, refreshing music I've heard in ages.
Between two songs, Williams's phone started ringing. The audience, heckling him about his youth, asked if it was his mother. It was. For anyone nostalgic for the good old days of the early 80's, when second generation American punk was still pure, when it symbolized an alternative world for misfits just coming of age, Wavves may well be the greatest thing since the Wipers and Minor Threat. [MySpace]
Next up, the confusingly titled DD/MM/YYYY, a math-rock ensemble from Canada. Their jarring experimental sounds were heavy and fast, but despite that, I couldn't get interested, just annoyed. That's because a whole generation of bands, among them some of my favorite groups ever, played exactly this style of music - only way better - back in the early 90's. Any of these bands could kick DD/MM/YYYY's ass - June of 44, A Minor Forest, Chavez, Polvo, Rodan, Bastro and of course Slint, to name a few. But most of these 90's bands never got due credit and have been almost entirely forgotten in the years since their demise.
So, while DD/MM/YYYY may not be bad, they seem like a big step backwards to anyone versed in the history of this style of music. Yes, they play tightly through ever-changing time signatures, they make nice noises and slam out some sweet dissonance. But it's only a weak imitation of what came before. If you need to see this kind of music live, I guess it's the best you'll do. But on record, this is kid's stuff - hit up the old catalogues at Touch & Go and Quarterstick for the real deal. Trust me. [MySpace]
Friday, April 3, 2009
Live: Primal Scream
When: 3/29
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thankfully, I didn't get around to buying tickets for Primal Scream's Webster Hall show on March 28 for a while, and in the meantime, they announced a second date - at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, a much more hip and intimate setting. I booked that ticket right away.
Primal Scream, like many bands driven by midlife crises, is looking a bit haggard these days. Their heavy drug use can't have helped either, and anyway, the band formed almost 30 years ago, in 1982. But despite their years, Primal Scream rocks hard. Integrating acid-house dance beats into poppy rock music, Primal Scream established themselves the ultimate British dance-pop group of the early 90's. However, despite their club-derived beats, Primal Scream's live show proves that they are definitely a rock band. From Andrew Innes's blistering guitar solos to Darin Mooney's massive drum sound, this is rock'n'roll.
Singer Bobby Gillespie carried the show with an energetic performance - he clearly aims to please his crowd. Innes did his part too, wielding his guitar like an AK-47 and just generally rocking it out old-school. Meanwhile, the rhythm guitarist (who was this? anyone know?) and bass player 'Mani' were also playing to the audience, while Mooney and keyboardist Martin Duffy lay low, focusing on their instruments.
The band stumbled a few times, but in a way, that was a positive thing - it's nice to know even rock legends make mistakes. The set was a good length and featured some lesser known songs alongside classics like "Movin' On Up." The audience took on vocal duties for part of "Rocks" and engaged the band in some friendly banter between songs.
Most importantly, the band was having unbelievable amounts of fun. They clearly love being on stage, love playing their music and above all love the admiration of their audience (who, in turn, clamored for a physical brush with greatness every time a member approached the edge of the stage). These guys were born to be rock stars, but they don't seem to take this for granted - pouring themselves into every song, pulling any crowd-pleasing stunt that pops into their mind and keeping the spirit alive for almost three decades. Though not my favorite band to listen to at home, Primal Scream and their powerful showmanship made an impact - next time they come through town, look for me in the front row.
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thankfully, I didn't get around to buying tickets for Primal Scream's Webster Hall show on March 28 for a while, and in the meantime, they announced a second date - at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, a much more hip and intimate setting. I booked that ticket right away.
Primal Scream, like many bands driven by midlife crises, is looking a bit haggard these days. Their heavy drug use can't have helped either, and anyway, the band formed almost 30 years ago, in 1982. But despite their years, Primal Scream rocks hard. Integrating acid-house dance beats into poppy rock music, Primal Scream established themselves the ultimate British dance-pop group of the early 90's. However, despite their club-derived beats, Primal Scream's live show proves that they are definitely a rock band. From Andrew Innes's blistering guitar solos to Darin Mooney's massive drum sound, this is rock'n'roll.
Singer Bobby Gillespie carried the show with an energetic performance - he clearly aims to please his crowd. Innes did his part too, wielding his guitar like an AK-47 and just generally rocking it out old-school. Meanwhile, the rhythm guitarist (who was this? anyone know?) and bass player 'Mani' were also playing to the audience, while Mooney and keyboardist Martin Duffy lay low, focusing on their instruments.
The band stumbled a few times, but in a way, that was a positive thing - it's nice to know even rock legends make mistakes. The set was a good length and featured some lesser known songs alongside classics like "Movin' On Up." The audience took on vocal duties for part of "Rocks" and engaged the band in some friendly banter between songs.
Most importantly, the band was having unbelievable amounts of fun. They clearly love being on stage, love playing their music and above all love the admiration of their audience (who, in turn, clamored for a physical brush with greatness every time a member approached the edge of the stage). These guys were born to be rock stars, but they don't seem to take this for granted - pouring themselves into every song, pulling any crowd-pleasing stunt that pops into their mind and keeping the spirit alive for almost three decades. Though not my favorite band to listen to at home, Primal Scream and their powerful showmanship made an impact - next time they come through town, look for me in the front row.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Live: Efterklang and Shilpa Ray and more
When: 3/28
Where: Mercury Lounge
Oh Land, the opening act, featured three female vocalists singing over mediocre electronic beats. The whole thing, right down to front woman's Nanna Oland Fabricius's avant-garde fashion, seemed like an overwrought Bjork reference. It wasn't a bad listen - they are all good singers - but it was way over the top. [MySpace]
As you might guess, I really went to the show to check in with Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers after their triumphant week at SXSW. Though down one Happy Hooker (Soft Blank's Vincent Cacchione was not present), the band rocked harder and tighter than I've heard them before. Some of the antics were slightly toned down, since they weren't the headlining act, but Ray did spend a lot of time screaming "fuck you" repeatedly into the microphone - not at the audience, but rather with them (at least in spirit).
Ray's music doesn't sound weird at all, but it's surprisingly difficult to classify. It's a distillation of everything from blues, soul and jazz to punk rock. The band was tight last time I saw them, but this time around, they were even more engaging, with the remarkably talented rhythm section knocking out some smooth grooves under Ray's Joplin-esque growl. The melodies and songs, even those I'd heard before, seemed more focused, and the set's momentum made the final numbers feel simply immense.
All was delivered, of course, with the band's characteristic energy, intense yet fun. Ray engaged her hecklers between songs and when not playing her hand-powered harmonium, danced around the stage with some classic Shilpa moves - that is, the moves you'd imagine from a seven-year-old who's just downed a cup of espresso. After SXSW, the general consensus is that this band is headed for great things. I told ya so. [MySpace]
Next up was guitarist and singer Peter Broderick. Sorry to be harsh, but yawwwwn. If you're into pretty singer-songwriter stuff, I don't think it was bad. But personally, I was bored after the first two bars.
I'd never heard the headliner Efterklang before, though I'd gathered they were some sort of Scandanvian post-rock ensemble. I was prepared to be bored, but several people encouraged me to stay. And it was apparent Efterklang is a favorite among fellow musicians - the audience included members of Los Campesinos! and the National among others.
I've said many times that post-rock is a largely played-out style, so I was surprised to hear Efterklang breathe new life into the music. Not that they are doing anything completely original, but they are certainly doing it better than most. Their vocal harmonies are stunning and their math rock tendencies are first-rate, grooving naturally in time signatures like 9/4 and 13/8 (I think). The songs are also well-written and unlike most post-rock, don't wear on interminably - they explore an idea to its fullest, then stop.
Efterklang (photo by Nan Na Hvass)
As I had been told, Efterklang's live performance was excellent. At first, it seemed like the band (swollen to seven members on stage) was taking itself rather seriously, but between songs, their banter showed them to be approachable, sweet and not without a sense of humor. The music's complexity required concentration, but there was still a decent amount of movement and the band's energy and focus was plainly visible. Also, as with a band who knows how to get innovative sounds of a slew instruments, it's fascinating to see how their affects are accomplished, using everything from trumpets to kazoos. [MySpace]
Though Shilpa Ray was an odd pairing with the rest of this experimental Dutch set, I'm glad they chose it - I not only got to see a great show but also discovered a new band I'll be listening to for a long time.
* * * * * * * * * * *
P.S. >> I forgot to tell you the best part about Efterklang! They are the first rock band I have ever seen use proper technique on the jingle bells. Seriously!
Where: Mercury Lounge
Oh Land, the opening act, featured three female vocalists singing over mediocre electronic beats. The whole thing, right down to front woman's Nanna Oland Fabricius's avant-garde fashion, seemed like an overwrought Bjork reference. It wasn't a bad listen - they are all good singers - but it was way over the top. [MySpace]
As you might guess, I really went to the show to check in with Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers after their triumphant week at SXSW. Though down one Happy Hooker (Soft Blank's Vincent Cacchione was not present), the band rocked harder and tighter than I've heard them before. Some of the antics were slightly toned down, since they weren't the headlining act, but Ray did spend a lot of time screaming "fuck you" repeatedly into the microphone - not at the audience, but rather with them (at least in spirit).
Ray's music doesn't sound weird at all, but it's surprisingly difficult to classify. It's a distillation of everything from blues, soul and jazz to punk rock. The band was tight last time I saw them, but this time around, they were even more engaging, with the remarkably talented rhythm section knocking out some smooth grooves under Ray's Joplin-esque growl. The melodies and songs, even those I'd heard before, seemed more focused, and the set's momentum made the final numbers feel simply immense.
All was delivered, of course, with the band's characteristic energy, intense yet fun. Ray engaged her hecklers between songs and when not playing her hand-powered harmonium, danced around the stage with some classic Shilpa moves - that is, the moves you'd imagine from a seven-year-old who's just downed a cup of espresso. After SXSW, the general consensus is that this band is headed for great things. I told ya so. [MySpace]
Next up was guitarist and singer Peter Broderick. Sorry to be harsh, but yawwwwn. If you're into pretty singer-songwriter stuff, I don't think it was bad. But personally, I was bored after the first two bars.
I'd never heard the headliner Efterklang before, though I'd gathered they were some sort of Scandanvian post-rock ensemble. I was prepared to be bored, but several people encouraged me to stay. And it was apparent Efterklang is a favorite among fellow musicians - the audience included members of Los Campesinos! and the National among others.
I've said many times that post-rock is a largely played-out style, so I was surprised to hear Efterklang breathe new life into the music. Not that they are doing anything completely original, but they are certainly doing it better than most. Their vocal harmonies are stunning and their math rock tendencies are first-rate, grooving naturally in time signatures like 9/4 and 13/8 (I think). The songs are also well-written and unlike most post-rock, don't wear on interminably - they explore an idea to its fullest, then stop.
Efterklang (photo by Nan Na Hvass)
As I had been told, Efterklang's live performance was excellent. At first, it seemed like the band (swollen to seven members on stage) was taking itself rather seriously, but between songs, their banter showed them to be approachable, sweet and not without a sense of humor. The music's complexity required concentration, but there was still a decent amount of movement and the band's energy and focus was plainly visible. Also, as with a band who knows how to get innovative sounds of a slew instruments, it's fascinating to see how their affects are accomplished, using everything from trumpets to kazoos. [MySpace]
Though Shilpa Ray was an odd pairing with the rest of this experimental Dutch set, I'm glad they chose it - I not only got to see a great show but also discovered a new band I'll be listening to for a long time.
P.S. >> I forgot to tell you the best part about Efterklang! They are the first rock band I have ever seen use proper technique on the jingle bells. Seriously!
Dust It Off: Ut - In Gut's House
Sorry folks, Dust It Off is a day late this week - I had no internet access for most of yesterday. Here goes...
Album: In Gut's House
Blast First, 1987
Formed at the tail end of New York's late 70's No Wave scene, Ut captured the avant-garde noise of their colleagues, but throughout the 80's, they tightened the sound and perfected the use of contrast - dissoanance and resolution, melody and drone, composition and improvisation. The all-female three-piece didn't release much recorded material in their early years, but in the second half of the 80's, they put out a series of excellent records showcasing the style they'd spent half a decade crafting.
In Gut's House is the peak of their efforts. Technically a double EP, the album kicks off with "Evangelist," one of the group's most accessible and best tunes. It may be a misleading as most of the following songs are considerably less melodic, but on the other hand, it warms the listener up, easing them into the angular experimentation of the subsequent tracks.
Ut's music draws heavily on Sonic Youth and particularly the Velvet Underground, and manages to predict the sounds both of early 90's math rock and early 90's riot grrrl, two genres usually considered miles apart. In Gut's House has the jumpy, sparse guitars of the soon-to-be-invented math rock, accompanied by pounding toms that never fall into a set rhythmic pattern for more than a few bars. The vocals are sometimes coherent, welcoming melodies, but at other times, they are yowls, screeches or chants, much like the young feminist bands that would form in the Pacific Northwest just a few years down the road.
And despite all the flexibility of their relatively unstructured songs, Ut maintains coherence and a sense of focus throughout the album - the tension and release, the sudden veering from beauty to ugliness, the detailed arrangements, everything indicates that this was an album made with a unified vision and careful planning.
"Homebled" is a particularly interesting track. It sounds like a completely fried Velvet Underground trying to play a folk ballad. It even includes John Cale's signature electric viola sound. (Well, in this case, I think it might be a violin, but same idea.) The vocals would be conventionally pretty if they and their backing instruments didn't keep falling apart.
While confrontational like their No Wave peers, Ut also gives the listener more inroads and moments of true beauty than the orginal New York No Wavers, perhaps translating the movement's experimentalism more accessibly than anyone besides Sonic Youth. And unlike Sonic Youth, Ut never enjoyed commercial success and certainly never scored a major label deal. But despite their unending obscurity, the band has made its mark upon modern indie music and should be a feature in every art punk fan's collection.
MySpace (fan page)
Album: In Gut's House
Blast First, 1987
Formed at the tail end of New York's late 70's No Wave scene, Ut captured the avant-garde noise of their colleagues, but throughout the 80's, they tightened the sound and perfected the use of contrast - dissoanance and resolution, melody and drone, composition and improvisation. The all-female three-piece didn't release much recorded material in their early years, but in the second half of the 80's, they put out a series of excellent records showcasing the style they'd spent half a decade crafting.
In Gut's House is the peak of their efforts. Technically a double EP, the album kicks off with "Evangelist," one of the group's most accessible and best tunes. It may be a misleading as most of the following songs are considerably less melodic, but on the other hand, it warms the listener up, easing them into the angular experimentation of the subsequent tracks.
Ut's music draws heavily on Sonic Youth and particularly the Velvet Underground, and manages to predict the sounds both of early 90's math rock and early 90's riot grrrl, two genres usually considered miles apart. In Gut's House has the jumpy, sparse guitars of the soon-to-be-invented math rock, accompanied by pounding toms that never fall into a set rhythmic pattern for more than a few bars. The vocals are sometimes coherent, welcoming melodies, but at other times, they are yowls, screeches or chants, much like the young feminist bands that would form in the Pacific Northwest just a few years down the road.
And despite all the flexibility of their relatively unstructured songs, Ut maintains coherence and a sense of focus throughout the album - the tension and release, the sudden veering from beauty to ugliness, the detailed arrangements, everything indicates that this was an album made with a unified vision and careful planning.
"Homebled" is a particularly interesting track. It sounds like a completely fried Velvet Underground trying to play a folk ballad. It even includes John Cale's signature electric viola sound. (Well, in this case, I think it might be a violin, but same idea.) The vocals would be conventionally pretty if they and their backing instruments didn't keep falling apart.
While confrontational like their No Wave peers, Ut also gives the listener more inroads and moments of true beauty than the orginal New York No Wavers, perhaps translating the movement's experimentalism more accessibly than anyone besides Sonic Youth. And unlike Sonic Youth, Ut never enjoyed commercial success and certainly never scored a major label deal. But despite their unending obscurity, the band has made its mark upon modern indie music and should be a feature in every art punk fan's collection.
MySpace (fan page)
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