Deer Tick

[download]

Deer Tick Born On Flag Day
Partisan Records (PTSN005)
CD / LP / Limited Edition Clear LP (Gatefold) / Digital
June 23, 2009

Filed under: New Music , Born on Flag Day, Deer Tick, Partisan Records

Hermas Zopoula

Next month Asthmatic Kitty is releasing Hermas Zopoula’s debut, Espoir.

Seigneur Apprend Moi

[download]

Courez Courez

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VISIT THE BUREAU

Filed under: New Music , Asthmatic Kitty, Espoir, Hermas Zopoula

Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light

Although I have yet to hear the whole LP from Antony and the Johnsons, I will go out on the limb and tell you that he has once again succeeded on all accounts. What I have heard has been worth the wait. Some much love and hurt, discovery, emotion, and expressive imagery, that you don’t know if you should smile or weep. His voice alone is yet another character upon himself…it’s as if Antony has become two; his flesh and his soul. The third LP, The Crying Light, will be available on January 20th. Antony had this to say in regards to this release,

My new album The Crying Light is dedicated to the great dancer Kazuo Ohno. In performance I watched him cast a circle of light upon the stage, and step into that circle, and reveal the dreams and reveries of his heart. He seemed to dance in the eye of something mysterious and creative; with every gesture he embodied the child and the feminine divine.

This perfect description of Ohno (who graces the cover of the LP) is a perfect allegory for Antony himself and his music. Below is a track from this upcoming release.

(mp3) Another World

Filed under: New Music , Another World, Antony and the Johnsons, Kazuo Ohno, Secretly Canadian, The Crying Light

Forest Fire: Survival

I wrote about Forest Fire back in ‘06 on TPATS, and to me their sound has changed quite a bit since then. Thankfully someone else with some resources took notice of this band from Brooklyn and put out a cd this past year. The album, Survival, the label, our friends at Cat Bird Records, which is a perfect fit if you ask me.

I came across Forest Fire like I said in ‘06, but it was only because band member Adam Spittler told me about them, since I was in contact with him about his side project Black Dragon (which is still phenomenal…I once had hopes of releasing it on the my never created label, oh, how ambitious we were…), but anyway, he told me to check out his other band, which happened to be Forrest Fire, and that was all she wrote. I downloaded what tracks I could, back when Myspace aloud you to do so, and have been stuck with those, that is until Survival.

I was thrilled to see on another blog a mention about Forrest Fire and I was immediately smiling from ear to ear. Finally a proper release! I mean, this is one of those bands that you are literally shocked they don’t have an LP out there. Well they do now, and it’s a good one!

Somewhere between an almost jaded not quite lo-fi rock in instrumentation, but a lo-fi rock persona and a broken down fishing cabin out of place in the heart of the city, lives Forest Fire’s Mark Thresher’s urban cowboy voice; haunting at times, Parsonesque at others. Are they folk, well no, do they have slide guitars and a kind of city folk feel at times, yes they do, and that’s welcomed with open arms, because these guys pull it off well, but they also can harness soundscapes of electro knob turning fuzz, unusual percussion, acoustic guitars, slightly out of tune brass, screachable violins, and layers of electronics, that make Forest Fire in a category unto themselves.

While you can no longer get a hard copy of the limted release, you can however download it in it’s entirety for FREE, or , and I recommend this even if you download it for free, you can head over to itunes and show these guys a little love.

From their Myspace:

Survival was recorded over an eight month period in two locations – Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon. “Not all the members of Forest Fire live on the same coastline,” Mark Thresher explains, “So when certain friends roll through town, things happen pretty quickly.” Consequently, long periods of time passed between sessions and the songs sat untouched for months. Many of the tracks were recorded live in less than five takes, then maniacally overdubbed by a variety of players. Sometimes there was only one microphone for the entire band. Sometimes they pulled out a few more. “No one was in a hurry,” Thresher says, “but eventually enough material was gathered to justify putting something out.”

“For me, this thing is a document of stylistic integrity that felt very important to all of us at the time,” says Thresher. But Survival also houses a feeling of blatant disregard, one that unabashedly nods to the rich and historic landscape of American punk rock. The tracks are littered with out-of-tune horns, vibrant bursts of guitar and layers of screeching electronics. Nathan Delffs’ frantic guitar work threads throughout dark and carefully executed harmonies by the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Myisha Battle and Nick Delffs (Shaky Hands). Ghostly synthesizers, arresting vocals and loose percussion are woven together under the glimmering production values of Adam Spittler. Thresher’s lyrics also require a close listen; while brief, they remain consistently purposeful and sincere.

Survival is a moment-to-moment kind of recording. Songs of total grit will suddenly part to reveal blue sky, before dissolving once again into disorder. On tracks such as “Slow Motion” and “Sunshine City”, sparse arrangements creep along, then grow as thick and tangled as jungle brush. On “Through My Gloves”, Thresher spits in waves, threatening and concise, and ditches the restrained lyrical approach for a moment. He casts a convincing scene; “I’m living for what’s on my mind”, as if to defend something sacred. In contrast, “I Make Windows” aches along delicately and the catchy and imaginative “Fortune Teller” holds an outright pop sensibility. Although Thresher describes it simply as “something that felt very important to all of us at the time”, Survival is a modern album, built with enough fortitude and spirit to warrant repeated listens.

(mp3) Fortune Teller
(mp3) I Make Windows

DOWNLOAD ALBUM from Cat Bird Records

Watch a great interview with the band over at UNCENSORED.

PURCHASE

Filed under: New Music , Adam Spittler, Black Dragon, Cat Bird Records, Forest Fire, Mark Thresher

O’ Death: Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin

O’ Death’s third album, Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin, came out a few months ago on Kemado Records and tracks have been recently popping up on the iTunes, so I thought I’d mention it here. So many things came out last year that I didn’t get a chance to write about due to my hiatus from the P&S, and this is one of them.

I was blown away by O’ Death’s Head Home, and was pleasantly surprised to hear an even more invigorated band with a sort of crooked smile ornery jubilance to them. While sounding even tighter instrumentally, they have been able to harness their live performances like never before; like musical heroin, drawing in their blood and tears and allowing it to mix fluidly with their live maniac musical drug. There is so much energy and revelry on this album; going to the limit, going to the edge…O’ Death has produced the perfect blend of a backwoods gypsical celebration and blood soaked linens on the line.

Without a doubt O’Death’s finest hour…

(mp3) Lowtide

Filed under: New Music , Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin, mp3, O' Death

Alela Diane

If you have frequented the P&S from time to time you’d know that Alela Diane has been on my list of favorites for a while now. Her critically acclaimed 2006 debut, The Pirate’s Gospel, was one of the best albums of that year and now with Beggars Group, she has a new disc out in February of ‘09 titled To Be Still.

Diane has a voice that cuts through to the soul. She possesses the warmth you need on those cold nights; she ruptures the ground in which she walks through desert and trees. Diane warbles birds with lace and rustic rifles wrapped in silks.

Below is the track “White As Diamonds” from To Be Still.

(mp3) White As Diamonds

PREORDER on CD $12.00
PREORDER on dbl LP $18.00

(mp3) White As Diamonds – Daytrotter Sessions

Filed under: New Music , Alela Diane, Beggars Group, The Pirate's Gospel, White As Diamonds

J. Tillman: Vacilando Territory Blues

I first heard of Josh Tillman when I got a hold of one of the limited releases (limit 150) of Long May You Run, J. Tillman and was blown away. Think Neil Young meets Will Oldham meets Whiskeytown. Anyway, J. Tillman (a member of Fleet Foxes if you didn’t know) now has a new LP out entitled,Vacilando Territory Blues The below track, “Steel on Steel”, is off this new release and the entire album is currently available on iTunes, but if you want it in your hands, it’s not officially released until January 20, 2009. After my first run through, I think it may be his most complete work to date and it’s sure to make most best of lists come next year.

(mp3) Steel on Steel

Filed under: New Music , J. Tillman, Josh Tillman, Vacilando Territory Blues

Welcome to the Welcome Wagon

Poetry may be the only way to describe the music that couple, Reverend Thomas Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique make on their Self Titled release for Asthmatic Kitty. With the help of Sufjan Stevens, Welcome to the Welcome Wagon unlocks the doors of their sanctuary and invites the public in to be washed over with their simple hymns of love of God and each other. Pre-album, I picture these two around a fire place on a rug in a humble home or family gathering, with Vito strumming a swapmeet guitar and Monique tapping out time on the table, singing out old time hymns and smiles from ear to ear.

Welcome to the Welcome Wagon
Simply put, this may be the best new music of the  year.

(mp3) Sold! To the Nice Rich Man

Filed under: New Music , Asthmatic Kitty, mp3, Sufjan Stevens, Welcome to the Welcome Wagon