Monthly Archives: December 2010

12.29.10
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Jonquil’s Oxford Invasion


Oxford England’s Jonquil are not the Beatles, but they are British, and coming to America. Hugo Manuel, Sam Hudson Scott and Robin McDiarmid have been rehearsing and recording in their studio, aka their UK flat.

As a leading sound in Oxford’s Blessing Force collective, alongside Pet Moon, Trophy Wife, Fixers, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Chad Valley (Jonquil’s own Hugo Manuel), Jonquil brings an exciting and new sound to pop music. Influences of The Smiths, Paul Simon and Mark Ronson, they deliver a royal slice of indie-pop.

Releasing their single, “Fighting Smiles” on RCRD LBL, a vinyl version of their EP, One Hundred Suns is available now and will be released on vinyl in January 2011. Jonquil are slated to perform at SXSW in March 2011, perhaps even adding some US dates. Check ’em out here: Nylon Free Music Download “Fighting Smiles.”

12.29.10
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Asobi Seksu is Laying Down The “Trails” to Greatness


The count is album number four for artist Asobi Seksu.  Fluorescence is available is available to all of North America just one day after the U.K. release on the 14th.  It will be on a variety of formats such as CD, LP, Digital Formats, and for those super-fans a limited edition pink vinyl. So you heard it here there are only 1500 of those puppies get it first.  They are promoting their album with the single “Trails” which is now open for MP3 Download.  This wonderful track will be accompanied by a video at the start of the New Year, can’t wait to see it.

It seems that sometimes the best defense is a good offense.  That is the approach that was taken going into this album. Do the opposite of what you intend and get the best result.  James Hanna puts it this way “This time, our agenda was not to have one at all; to be mellow about the entire process instead of obsessing over everything.”  Personally I don’t think Mellow is the right word.  Maybe strategic chaos.  I know that’s an oxymoron but I have heard the single of the upcoming album myself and it combines illusionary synthesizing with a strong grunge-pop core to set your mind of balance. And just when you think you have a grip on the sound…. BAM! They through in these glorious vocals like a celebration of the comsuming anarchy falling around you…  It’s pretty intense but please don’t take my word for it go download it yourself, who doesn’t like a free experience?

 

12.28.10
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The Decemberists Frontman Looks To Broadway

The Decemberists

 

The Decemberists just finished a new album (The King Is Dead out on January 18th) but frontman Colin Meloy is already after bigger things.

The singer told Spin that he’d already been in contact with the director of Green Day’s American Idiot musical about penning his own show.

According to Spin, Meloy is not quite sure what the musical would be about, but he has some ideas. It will have to wait for a little while at least because the Decemberists embark on a three-month tour January 24th.

12.28.10
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Happy New Year Receives Gift in “Hotel” Video


Yay for privacy! We complain about not having enough of it, but when artists can retreat to make-shift studios in condemned 19th century breweries to record solo projects, it’s time to count your amendment blessings.

Eleanor Logan of Adult Themes released a 7″ of vengeful pop songs receiving critical acclaim (as if anyone else would take the time) under the name Happy New Year.

UK Director, Rob Heppell created the enticing video for “Hotel” which you can view once you’ve finished reading this sentence.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR- HOTEL from rob heppell on Vimeo.

12.28.10
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Reading Rainbows ‘Prism Eyes’ Refracts New Light into Music


What’s so alluring about Reading Rainbow‘s Prism Eyes is its intangible familiarity. Duo Robbie Garcia and Sarah Everton deliver a naked, stripped down lo-fi hearkening to 1960s American pop that’s peppered with hints of 90’s era Sleater Kinney. Much like fellow garage-punk genre benders Best Coast and Wavves, Reading Rainbow does a lot with a little. Their permaculturally minded compositions may in part be fueled by their health-food obsession—a clean body equals a clear mind after all, and even in their muddled hazy sounds, clarity is actually ever present.

The chunky guitar work and droning lyrical hooks of their not-quite upbeat tracks, like the album’s tangy opener, “Wasting Time,” the epic “Runaways” and the outstanding “Cut in Two” sinks deep into parts of us accessible only through hollow sounds and reverb.

What’s so lasting about Prism Eyes is its accessibility, its now-and-then-ness that seems somewhat imperative, though it’s not exactly clear why. The echoey “Let’s Dream Tonight” and “To My Gemini” offer a monotonous reprieve from the over-produced and under-titillating Kanye-esque cluttered world refracting into everything. Prism Eyes is kind of like the way a big healthy salad can reverse the damage of too many Big Macs; Reading Rainbow may not be as dramatic as the other options out there, but nonetheless their essence is a necessity. And despite our seemingly endless feedback loop of insanity, everything is all right even when it’s not, or at least, through the haze it appears that way.

12.28.10
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The Luyas Are ‘Too Beautiful To Work’


Canadian futuristic pop group, The Luyas, have outdone themselves with a masterpiece in Too Beautiful To Work.  Their debut album will be released on February 22nd on the Dead Oceans label. 

Band mates Jessie Stein, Mathieu Charbonneau, Pietro Amatro and Stefan Scheider have incorporated the use of some unique instruments like a French horn and a 12-string electric zither called a Moodswinger to bring their sound into the space-age pop sound they’ve developed while Jessie’s voice adds to the heady and airy sound of the album. 

This week they released the video for “Tiny Heads”, the first single off the album.  You can watch the video on Pitchfork. 

TRACK LISTING:
1. Too Beautiful to Work
2. Worth Mentioning (Bell Song)
3. Tiny Head
4. Moodslayer
5. Canary
6. Spherical Mattress
7. Cold Canada
8. What Mercy Is
9. I Need Mirrors
10. Seeing Things