New Location: applebox
We are now at:
Different format, but new music, videos, links, and, well cool stuff will be found there. It is an online collaboration between Second Cinema, The Collective, Applebox, and well, I guess AA & TPATS…enjoy…
You can get Artificial Amnesiac archives here:
https://artificialamnesiac.wordpress.com/
You can get The Perm & The Skullet Archives here:
https://artificialamnesiac.wordpress.com/the-perm-the-skullet-archives/
Deer Tick
[download]
Deer Tick Born On Flag Day
Partisan Records (PTSN005)
CD / LP / Limited Edition Clear LP (Gatefold) / Digital
June 23, 2009
Hermas Zopoula
Next month Asthmatic Kitty is releasing Hermas Zopoula’s debut, Espoir.
Seigneur Apprend Moi
[download]
Courez Courez
[download]
VISIT THE BUREAU
C2009_4
posting randomly and loosely at The Bureau
The Current Playlist for The Collective is below, and some extras:
2009_4 Video Playlist
Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Shampoo
1990’s – 59
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – I Am Goodbye
Camera Obscura – French Navy
Jeffrey Lewis – To Be Objectified
Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
Lupe Fiasco – Daydream
EXTRAS
XL Recordings is pleased to announce the forthcoming release from Elvis Perkins In Dearland. The album, self-titled, will be released on March 10, 2009. This album is the debut album for the band and at the same time is the follow up to Perkin’s first release, the critically acclaimed Ash Wednesday.
(mp3) While You Were Sleeping
Glasgow’s 1990s have just released their second album “Kicks” on Rough Trade.
Rolling Stone gave it 3 1/2 stars: ‘On their second disc, the trio pump out tightly wound,
Seventies-sounding punk with a dozen near-perfect tunes about American pastimes such
as smoking pot on a lazy afternoon (“Vondelpark”), popping Xanax (“Kickstrasse”) and moving
to California to enroll in Scientology (“Everybody Please Relax”).’Now, life may just imitate art for the trio when they hit our shores for a US tour that starts
in late May on the east coast, and takes them across the country through mid June!1990s are now: Jackie McKeown (vocals on most songs, guitars),
Dino Bardot (bass, vocals on two songs), and Michael McGaughrin (drums
and vocals on 4 songs)Check out the MP3 for “The Box” which got a 4 star track review from Rolling Stone:
http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/mp3/1990s_thebox.mp3Here is the video for their song “59” which has a nice paper-doll motif:
http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/media/1990s_59.mp4
(mp3) The Box
NPR’s Exclusive First Listen Series will be streaming Camera Obscura’s My Maudlin Career starting tonight, April 13th at 11:59p and will be available for the week leading up to the album’s April 21st release.
Visit NPR to listen to this extraordinary album, which NPR calls ” its richest and most ambitious album to date.”
In addition, NPR’s All Songs Considered will be playing their single “French Navy” on the show today.
Visit the show’s site to catch it live!
(mp3) My Maudlin Career
(mp3) Slogans
(mp3) Posters
(mp3) End Result
In Ear Park is a colorful and expansive album, an intimate and personal collection of songs; much of the material that Daniel brought to In Ear Park draws on memories from his childhood, especially those relating to his father, who passed away in 2007 and to whom the album is dedicated (the title track is a nickname for a park in Los Angeles that the two used to visit). Many of Fred’s contributions relate to similar themes of nostalgia and mortality, giving the album at times an elegiac feel. In Ear Park is also full of joyful moments, lush production and concise songwriting.
(mp3) No One Does It Like You
(mp3) In Ear Park
New Episode of The Collective
The Collective is a television program devoted to bringing the “Triangle” (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carborro, and surrounding areas) the latest in independent music programming. We air on Carolina 24 (Time Warner Cable channel 24) – Mondays and Fridays at 9:30pm, Wednesdays at 10pm, and Thursdays at 8:30pm.
Our main focus lies in showcasing music videos from national and local recording artists. We have received videos from numerous local producers, as well as from labels such as Merge Records, Barsuk, Matador, Xl, Beggars, Saddle Creek, K Records, Lookout! Records, and more. We air to the potentially 600,000 + cable subscribers in the coverage area, so if you are interested in having your videos seen on the show, please email us
We are always looking for new material. It can be live footage, interviews, old or new videos, simply put we are trying to provide entertaining and quality programming while enhancing the music scene here in NC. Unfortunately you just don’t see these videos on the tv anymore and The Collective is devoted to bringing you the best in local and national independent music videos.
The Current Playlist is below, and some extras:
2009_3 Video Playlist
Tahiti Boy & the Palmtree Family – “1973”
Emiliana Torrini – “Jungle Drum”
Old Time Relijun – “Wolves & Wolverines”
Mogwai – “Bat Cat”
Mixel Pixel – “At the Arcade”
It Hugs Back – “Work Day”
Jennifer O’Connor – “Always in Your Mind”
Magistrates – “Make This Work”
EXTRAS
Tahiti Boy & the Palmtree Family
Think of a family picture where the Kinks, Paul McCartney or Brian Wilson pose against the lush background of Michel Legrand’s garden, with Vampire Weekend occasionally poking a head. Tahiti Boy shoots the whole scene and each song is like a pop gem. As you’re sitting back and about to relax the pastoral and always-moving 1973 gets hold of you at a restless pace.
(mp3) That Song
Emiliana Torrini
Following on from her critically acclaimed sets ‘Love In The Time Of Science’ and her first for Rough Trade ‘Fisherman’s Woman’, the forthcoming ‘Me And Armini’ (released 8th September) sees her working once again with her long time producer / collaborator Dan Carey. The results are destined to be one of the albums of 2008.
‘Me And Armini’ is a hugely ambitious and aspirational pop record with Emilana’s soaring voice centre stage, bolstered by a rich gamut of musical styles. From the summery skank of the title track to the surging, breathless ‘Jungle Drum’ (released 29th September), the spine-tingling ‘Big Jumps’ and the cave singing of ‘Gun’ this is a truly fantastic album.
(mp3) Me And Armini
Old Time Relijun
These songs are at once autobiography, dream diary, and new myth – politically and sexually charged manifestos for alchemical revolution from a fully realized band, whose conceptual roots dig down as deep as their music. Old Time Relijun songs embrace life in all its joy and terror- birth, death, awareness, experience, love. Live or recorded, they don’t shy away from confronting the monsters that lurk deep in the shadows. At the same time, we hear a band that takes sheer vibrant delight in playing and being alive.
(mp3) Indestructible Life!
Mogwai
Mogwai’s sixth full-length CD The Hawk Is Howling contains all the extremity and dynamics you know and love, but with a more curious array of rhythms and melodies, hinting a bit more than previous records at both their electronic and metal influences. Additionally, with only two songs under the five-minute mark, this is maybe their most “cinematic”-sounding record to date (which is saying something).
Coming to Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle April 24th.
Mixel Pixel
R. Corradetti, M. Kaukeinen, Ms. Kaia Wong, Snee…Mixel Pixel is a three-piece band from originally from Wilmington, Delaware. Their influences include psych-folk music such as The Byrds, Pink Floyd, and Love, Lo-fi music such as Daniel Johnston, and Beck, and experimental electronic artists Bruce Haack and Laurie Anderson.
Mixel Pixel began loosely as a home recording project in 1997 when songwriter Rob Corradetti began making tapes on a 4 track he purchased while working on a farm in rural Minnesota.
In 2007 Mixel Pixel toured with long time heroes Of Montreal. They have also shared the stage with Man Man, Chromatics, Extreme Animals, Chairlift, Grand Buffet, Ra Ra Riot, Grizzly Bear, We Are Wolves, and Pit er Pat.
(mp3) Sinking Feeling
(mp3) I See You In The Mirror
In Concert: May 20th @ 8:00P @ Night Light Chapel Hill, NC
It Hugs Back
You may have come across It Hugs Back before. Fueled by an irrepressible love of music, the foursome have been gigging around town this last year,
effortlessly picking up fans like Rob Da Bank (“…One of my favourite bands of 2007”).A shining testament to the art of growing and honing talent the old-school and evolutionary on-the-road way, It Hugs Back have perfected their luscious atmospherics of My Bloody Valentine-esque layered soundscapes and early 90’s pop-hearted indie melodies coupled with deliciously unleashed guitar noise (“…The band’s not afraid to plug in and turn it up, creating voluptuous rumpus” – Artrocker).
Now signed to Too Pure (aptly home of the loud and the beautifully crafted: Future Of The Left, Scout Niblett, Stereolab), It Hugs Back are in the studio mixing tracks for their forthcoming debut album (due out later this year).
(mp3) Work Day
(mp3) Now + Again
Jennifer O’Connor
10 reasons why you should forget everything you’ve heard about female singer-songwriters and slap on the new JENNIFER O’CONNOR LP, Here With Me…by Gail O’Hara
1. THE NEW ALBUM
The brand spanking new Jennifer O’Connor LP, Here With Me, is here. It was produced, recorded and mixed by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr.) in 12 very productive days at Headgear in Brooklyn in March 2008. Basic tracks – including vocals – were recorded live. It will be released on Matador Records on August 19, 2008, and it will bring the Brooklyn musician to the mass audience she so completely and utterly deserves.“I try to make each record better than the one before,” says Jennifer. “I was also going for a more cohesive ‘band’ sound and I think we achieved it. Since we made the record so quickly there’s a real sense of urgency and immediacy in the recording.” – continue reading…
(mp3) Here with Me
(mp3) “Valley Road ’86”
Magitrates
Hailing from in and around the UK area of Essex, Magistrates have quickly become one of the most talked about new bands around. Forming in 2007, their ethos so far has been strictly DIY, with debut single ‘Make This Work’ recorded in guitarist Mark Brandon’s bedroom on an old school 16-track and its accompanying video shot in the very same bedroom and directed by Mark’s brother.
Within these ordinary surroundings, the hugely ambitious Magistrates are making extraordinary music. They’re as likely to cite Prince and Michael Jackson as influences as they are Talking Heads and Bowie and they’ve taken the best bits from these most glittering of inspirations and come up with something truly distinctive and original.
(mp3) Make This Work
Hope you enjoyed the latest episode of The Collective. If you are a muscian, represent a musician, or are friends with musicians…let’s see your/their work on the show…
The Collective
The Collective is a television program devoted to bringing the “Triangle” (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carborro, and surrounding areas) the latest in independent music programming. We air on Carolina 24 (Time Warner Cable channel 24) – Mondays and Fridays at 9:30pm, Wednesdays at 10pm, and Thursdays at 8:30pm.
Our main focus lies in showcasing music videos from national and local recording artists. We have received videos from numerous local producers, as well as from labels such as Merge Records, Barsuk, Matador, Xl, Beggars, Saddle Creek, K Records, Lookout! Records, and more. We air to the potentially 500,000 + cable subscribers in the coverage area, so if you are interested in having your videos seen on the show, please email us at matthew.hayhurst@twcable.com
Below is the playlist for the first show of 2009. We have picked up another time slot as well. We are airing M&F at 9:30p, W at 10p, and now Th. at 8:30p, all on Carolina 24.
2009_1 Video Playlist
Little Joy – No One’s Better Sake
Alela Diane – As White As Diamonds
Monkey – Monkey Bee
Telepathique – I’m Not The Man You Think I Am
Mates of State – My Only Offer
American Princes – Real Love
Titus Andronicus – Titus Andronicus
Jay Reatard – See/Saw
EXTRAS:
Little Joy
(mp3) Little Joy – No One’s Better Sake
Little Joy is Binki Shapiro, Rodrigo Amarante and Fabrizio Moretti, three friends who dropped their routine at their respective hometowns to make a record in Los Angeles, California.
Through a chance encounter at a Portuguese festival in Lisbon, where both Amarante (Singer/Guitarist of Los Hermanos) and Moretti (drummer of The Strokes) had performed, the two chatted well through the night and into the morning by the side of the river, humoring the idea of working together on music that had no affiliation to their particular bands.
A year later, Amarante traveled to the United States to record with Devendra Banhart on his Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon album. On the off hours of an arduous recording process, Amarante would meet with Moretti to discuss anything but music.
Binki Shapiro, musician and native of Los Angeles, was introduced to the pair through mutual acquaintances and became a fast friend, encouraging the two to focus on the music they had spoken of long before. Through the process of late night “show-and-tell” the three developed and arranged songs Moretti had begun and soon after started writing original music for the group as a band.
A couple of months later they all moved into a house in Echo Park to demo songs and soon after, with the help of producer Noah Georgeson, who had recorded Banhart’s album, they finished their self-titled debut, Little Joy, named after the cocktail lounge just down the street from their home.
Little Joy is to be released worldwide by Rough Trade Records, a division of The Beggar’s Group, on & around Nov. 4th, 2008.
Video for Next Time Around
ALELA DIANE
(mp3) Alela Diane – As White As Diamonds
Rough Trade Records is pleased to announce the forthcoming release from Alela Diane. Her new album, To Be Still, will be in-stores on February 17, 2009.
To Be Still is the follow-up to Alela Diane’s critically-acclaimed 2006 debut The Pirate’s Gospel. That record brought the Nevada city, CA-reared musician a dedicated following across the globe (especially in Europe, where she recently finished a tour of mid-sized concert halls). Considering that early copies of The Pirate’s Gospel were given away to friends in hand-sewn covers just a few years ago, this is not only quite a leap, but a well-deserved one.
To Be Still was created throughout 2007 & 2008. “It began in Portland, OR and was finished in scatters between tours at my dad’s home studio in Nevada City, CA,” Alela says. “I wanted to record this collection of songs using arrangements which represent them in their finest form. These songs requested more instrumental filigree than those on The Pirate’s Gospel. It was challenging to delicately yet purposefully incorporate instrumentation into songs that I was so used to singing by myself. I was determined to make it work, because I wanted percussion! I wanted to hear the lonesome bow of the violin! I heard many harmonies in my head, and so I set out to capture them.”
In the past, Alela’s work has been associated with one or more musical movements, notably the alleged “freak-folk” genre of the early to middle Oughts. And while no music exists in a complete vacuum, the wholly original music on To Be Still was borne of contemplation and isolation. “Most were written in the cabin in Nevada City, and during my stint of domesticity in the Victorian flat further North; others were captured elsewhere, in moments of calm,” she says. The album shows Alela Diane to be a compelling and unique voice.
Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records, says “Alela Diane is a real American Songwriter. Both flinty and beautiful. She draws from a tradition that might include Sandy Denny and Karen Dalton and she suffers not a jot in comparison. Rough Trade is proud to be able to bring you this release.”
Video for The Rifle
MONKEY
The track “Monkey Bee” is from the above “Journey to the West” Opera by Blur / Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn. More on the video:
A live action short film for Monkey Bee – the first single from ‘Journey to the West’, will have its premiere today. Created and directed by Jamie Hewlett, Monkey Bee is a mixture of Chinese 1970’s spaghetti western, meets Korean horror movie, meets much beloved 1980’s Monkey tv series…
Fans of Hewlett¹s numerous Gorillaz videos should enjoy his first live action outing. Conjuring up images of legendary battles and adversity, we find Monkey trying to cross the volcano fields of Princess Iron Fan. Monkey needs her magic fan in order to cool the hot molten fields but the Princess
refuses and an epic battle ensues, throwing first trained assassins and then a colossal army of volcano soldiers his way in a desperate attempt to thwart his journey.The film was shot in London on 35mm film, using members of the Journey to the West cast. A team of modellers, animators, compositors and vfx artists have since worked for 8 weeks to put all the live action and special effects together and deliver the first Monkey film.
About the Opera:
In a mythical time, on the Mountain of Flower and Fruit, Monkey was hatched from a stone egg. So begins the tale of the Monkey King, our headstrong, self-important hero. After crossing the all-powerful Buddha, Monkey is given the opportunity to redeem himself by travelling to India with the young monk Tripitaka to bring the Holy Scriptures back to China.
Accompanied by a motley crew of helpers, the pair meet and overcome terrific challenges, finally returning with the sacred texts. Despite its playful, bawdy tone and colourful characters the story of Monkey is deeply serious in intent. It’s a fable of spiritual change and growth, a 16th Century story which is still familiar to all Chinese schoolchildren.
Monkey: Journey To The West re-tells the 400 year-old tale for a new audience. This production is a triumph of collaboration – between old and new, sight and sound, East and West. Developed in conversation between Beijing, Dalian, Paris, London and Manchester it brings together traditional disciplines – acrobatics, singing, dancing – with emphatically modern technology including animation and dazzling video projections.
Video for Monkey Bees
Telepathique
Translated from the Latin, Sao Paolo, Brazil’s motto, “Non Ducor, Duco” means, “I am not led. I lead.” The city is a sexy, dangerous, pulsating melting pot of nearly 20 million humans, situated near the soothing sea and the teeming rainforest – it’s apropos, then, that it’s also the hometown of Télépathique. Comprised of DJ/producer/drummer Erico Theobaldo (aka DJ Periferico) and vocalist Mylene Pires, the duo mixes deep carioca from the favela with jungle-tinged house, electro, breakbeat and old school bossa with a sensibility that is deeply punk, and truly of their city. Although their story is probably new to most North Americans, both Theobaldo and Pires have long been accomplished in their own rights overseas, with and outside of their work in Télépathique. Pires’ solo work as a vocalist is steeped in African and Brazilian music traditions, and Theobaldos remix of “Dadinho” on the City Of God soundtrack became a smash hit (he also produced Brazilian artists Otto and BiD, to wide acclaim). Télépathique’s debut full-length, Last Time On Earth continues the genre-bending dialogue that their Love and Lust EP engages in.
Video for Eu Gusto
Mates of State
(mp3) Mates of State – My Only Offer
Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the he and she music factory known as Mates of State, have confirmed the May 2008 release and track listing for their fifth full length album, Re-Arrange Us. They have also confirmed that Mates of State will appear at the Sasquatch Festival Sunday, May 25, followed by a May 28 date at Los Angeles’ Henry Fonda Theater, and a full headlining tour and numerous other festival dates to be announced shortly. The tour will mark Mates’ first extensive road trip since NPR’s This American Life tour last February, where they provided musical interludes between Ira Glass, Dave Eggers, Dan Savage, Sarah Vowell and David Rakoff’s readings to 3000+ crowds across the U.S.
Produced by Peter Katis and Mates of State, the track listing for Re-Arrange Us is:
Get Better
Now
My Only Offer
The Re-Arranger
Jigsaw
Blue and Gold Print
Help Help
You Are Free
Great Dane
Lullaby HazeRe-Arrange Us also features the most complex packaging of any Mates of State release to date. The reversible and multi-layered cover art allows fans to “Re-Arrange” it into no less than eight different configurations.
The packaging of Re-Arrange Us could well be seen as a reflection of the growing complexity of Mates of State’s music. While, until recently, Jason and Kori have performed exclusively as a duo, Mates of State have never failed to generate a trademark wall of sound built on dozens of varied voicings of keys, drums, and alternately lushly layered and playfully dueling vocals. On Re-Arrange Us they move beyond these boundaries with additional instrumentation-not to mention a quantum leap in song craft apparent on instantly indelible gems like “Now,” “Jigsaw” and “Get Better.” Throughout Re-Arrange Us, Kori’s piano and the emergence of both Mates’ lead vocals from their trademark harmonizing signal the next stage of Mates of State’s evolution.
Video for Goods (All in Your Head)
American Princes
The initial lineup of American Princes began in Brooklyn in early 2002, with David Slade (vocals, guitar), Matt Quin (drums), and John Beachboard (vocals, bass). By the end of the year, the band had left New York, relocating to Little Rock, AR. The southern city’s cheap rent and central location made it an ideal base for musicians who wanted to tour nonstop; which they did, picking up guitar player and vocalist Collins Kilgore along the way.
The next two years were spent writing and releasing 2 albums (We Are the People and Little Spaces), and crisscrossing the country. The pressures of life on the road mounted, and after a whiskey-fueled punch up in a Tennessee forest, Beachboard left the band (amicably, it should be noted). Continuing in the tradition of bass players with great last names, Ryan Universe agreed to go on a few tours as a stand-in, ultimately stepping aside for Luke Hunsicker.
The beginning of 2005 marked a pivotal moment for the Princes. Glenn Dicker, head of Yep Roc, heard a copy of Little Spaces in an associate’s car stereo and got in touch with the band, ultimately offering them a deal. The album was re-released on Dicker’s label, followed by 2006’s Less and Less, produced by Al Weatherhead (Sparklehorse, The Comas, Lucero) at Sound of Music in Richmond, VA.
Less and Less garnered the Princes rave reviews, making multiple year end lists, including Magnet, The Onion, and Blogcritics. Over the course of the year, the band’s live profile grew, seeing them share the stage with groups including the Roots, the Flaming Lips, Big Star, Lucero, De La Soul, Son Volt, Soul Asylum, Mudhoney, the Hold Steady, and Spoon.
By the end of 2006, Collins had relocated to Brooklyn, reversing the route the band had take four years earlier. Additionally, Will Boyd joined American Princes as a third guitarist and vocalist. With Collins commuting from the Northeast for month-long songwriting marathons, the five musicians began writing what would become Other People, their latest release.
Other People is American Princes’ crowning achievement thus far. Released in April 2008 the album brought newfound acclaim upon the band. Magnet Magazine boasts, “The injection of effete mid-’80s radio pop works to perfection… American Princes have adeptly bent era-specific sounds to their considerable songwriting will.” Uncut, meanwhile, gives the album 4 stars, calling it a “howling beast of a disc” and lauding the band for “blossoming into its own identity.”
Riding the momentum of Other People, American Princes have begun work on a follow up album and will continue touring in the new year. 2009 looms large on the horizon for this relentlessly ambitious five-piece.
Video for Never Grow Old
TITUS ANDRONICUS
(mp3) Titus Andronicus – Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a rock and roll band from Glen Rock. In the beginning, there were only three people in the band. At one point, there were eleven people in the band. Right this second, there are five people in the band. Titus Andronicus take their name from a minor Shakespearean tragedy, not, as many people believe, from some sort of killer robot from the future. Titus Andronicus formed in the spring of 2005. Titus Andronicus’ debut long player, “The Airing of Grievances” was released in April of 2008 by Troubleman Unlimited. Titus Andronicus have shared stages with such noted, world-famous luminaries as Yo La Tengo, No Age, Matt and Kim, Times New Viking, Holy Fuck, Foals, Los Campesinos, and Dr. Dog. Titus Andronicus practice at Ian’s house. Titus Andronicus sometimes disagree on what is the right thing to do. Titus Andronicus like to scream and carry on at excessive volume. Titus Andronicus like songs which are fast more than songs which are slow. Titus Andronicus think slow songs are okay sometimes. Titus Andronicus never sing about love, only hate. Titus Andronicus have no hope for the future. Titus Andronicus believe only in nothingness. Everyone in Titus Andronicus was born to die. Titus Andronicus crave your approval but will settle for your utter disdain. Titus Andronicus can be reached at: TitusAndronicusTheBand@Gmail.com.
Video for Arms Against Atrophy
Jay Reatard
(mp3) Jay Reatard – See/Saw
No Bio on the website, but what I can tell you is he is from Memphis Tennessee and he rocks and he’s signed to Matador…hey how about another free legal Mp3…
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
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
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
Artificial Amnesiac 