“Barnacled Warship” off of his latest record “Been Listening” is just flat out amazing. Directed by Christian Devita (lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’) this video is almost a-ha worthy in a very different way.

I don’t want to go into the technical aspect of it because I really just can’t. I’m a computer guy and god knows that I have no idea how the hell this was put together. I’m slightly curious while watching, but mostly just want to sit back and not care in the least.

Enough talking about it. Watch and enjoy.

While we’re here…
If you’re across the pond from me in the states, make sure to try and catch Johnny Flynn on his tour with Mumford & Sons. Here are some dates:

October 2010

1st – Glasgow Academy
2nd – Manchester Apollo
4th – Brighton Dome
5th – Nottingham Rock City
6th – Bristol Academy
8th – London Hammersmith Apollo (SOLD OUT)
9th – London Hammersmith Apollo

When it came time to release their self titled album “Summer Darling”, they made it available as a free download. I probably wouldn’t have listened to them if this wasn’t the case. Sad, I know. But this has become more of the norm these days. People want to listen to free music. (and can)

But here I am weeks later after the album was released, waiting impatiently for my vinyl copy to arrive. And yes, I shelled out $15 for it. ($19 with shipping)

My point is that I went from never hearing of this band to buying their record and making sure I will go see a show if they’re ever out on the east coast. And, if they’ve released another album between now and then, I’ll most likely buy that one as well. So instead of charging $10 for a digital download I probably wouldn’t have paid, I happily spent the money to get the physical copy and grew attached to the group.

This model can’t work for everyone:

1. you’re not radiohead
2. your music can’t suck
3. you have to make something available for me to buy after I like your band

The way Summer Darling went about releasing their debut roped me in hook line and sinker. Didn’t hurt that the album kicks ass as well.

Released July 6th through Origami Vinyl and backing it up with a month long residency at Spaceland, “Summer Darling” shows you can do a lot with 4 people and some passionately written songs.

The album’s pretty raw and aggressive but not in a punk sort of way. The mood is an interesting mix that I can’t quite settle on what’s getting portrayed and felt lyrically. There is undeniable passion there but doesn’t feel or sound mournful and depressing while it might very well be.

Ben Heywood (vox, gtr) has an incredible ability for songwriting and it shows. It’s a powerful record but definitely pushes the musical envelope with it’s arrangements. And these are arrangements that were focused on being able to recreate live so it meant pushing the limits of their instruments into something interesting yet tangible.

The best example is the closing track on “Summer Darling”. To create a “string” sound meant getting a little creative in the studio. While it doesn’t sound like it, it’s just an electric guitar with the amp is cranked up to 11 and the tuning pegs touching it. Not exactly what you would imagine when hearing it and I imagine it wasn’t the easiest thing to accomplish.

If this is Summer Darling’s debut release, I can only imagine what is to come next. It would be an injustice not to download the album for free and give it a listen. And if you’re a vinyl nut like myself, hold tight and I’ll let you know how it sounds when it comes. I’m definitely counting the days until it arrives.

The members have been touring with other well established bands for years but it seemed the time was right for them to come together as a group.

They’ll fully admit that they’re not the next groundbreaking band with a “sound like no other”. But their goal is for people just to have fun while listening to their record and at live shows. They’ve definitely accomplished that. It’s packed full of tracks with dance grooves, synth lines, and catchy vocals you’ll be singing over and over.

Echo Kings is made up of Andy Wesby, Drew English, Marcos Valles, and Sean Cronin. For a debut record, these guys really sound like they’ve been playing together for much longer than they have. Marcos keeps things moving on the drums and Andy really pulls it together with his solid vocals and vision.

The production is incredibly tight and full sounding. It’s really clear yet hits you with some great impact.

If you’re lucky enough, catch their CD release show tonight, July 21st at Great Scott in Allston, MA. If not, they’ll have a show coming up on August 3rd opening up for Paramore, Tegan and Sara, and New Found Glory. More details here.

Check out the second track on their self titled release:
Echo Kings – Is It Crazy

Grab a copy on iTunes if you’re digging them.

The group benefits from the male/female mix and ever changing instrumentation. Some songs are based around electronic grooves, some are stripped down performances, and some are full out productions. They all come together to create an incredibly perfected sounding debut album.

I’ve had a hard time placing Rabbit! into something I can describe them as. I’ve come up with a plethora of examples to  pull from. Harry Nilsson comes to mind, along with Beck, Of Montreal, and Apollo Sunshine.

Is this the sign of a great group? Well it certainly is a great start. Rabbit! is definitely a group unique to themselves. But the most apparent theme throughout the album is that they’re in it to have fun.

The production is great. While mixing all of these different genres and sounds together, the group has still remained true to themselves. I feel that with more exposure soon to come, they’ll be a group you could recognize and say “yep, that’s Rabbit!”.

“Connect The Dots” was written, recorded, produced, and mixed in late 2009 at their house in Mount Dora, FL. They are currently planning a series of tour dates in support of the album. Currently, they are one of the bands selected to participate in the Mead Five Star Music Insider sweepstakes.

Have a listen to a track off of “Connect The Dots” and see if you can help me pinpoint their sound a bit more. Look out for the record to be released on August 31st.

Rabbit! – Good Thing

It’s pretty normal to think of a gate as something that opens and closes, allowing things to pass in and out. Well, in the audio world, this is exactly what a gate does.

Let me sum it up really easily for you. Everyone knows the badass drum part on “In The Air Tonight”. DO DO, DO DO, do do, do do, do, do. That spotlighted the use of gates (more accurately gated reverb) on drums.

And Phil Collins was, and still is, the god of using gates.

“In The Air Tonight” was not the only place the gate was used, Phil took it a step further to include it on many mellow songs in his extensive catalog. Why? I guess he just loved the sound.

Let’s take “Another Day In Paradise” for example. There’s no need for the “snare’ to be cut so short by the gate. But he did it and you probably have never even thought twice about it. It’s basically a way to take something that should be acoustic, reverberant sounding, and making it electronic and huge for a brief second. (definitely an 80’s thing) Have a listen. It won’t take long to hear what I’m talking about.

Another Day In Paradise

Can you hear the opening and closing of the gate? The “snare” should normally ring out more. It shouldn’t be cut short like it is. But when Phil is behind the boards, that’s what he wanted. I’m not sure what kind of impact it’s supposed to have, but the man definitely created a unique sound.

Here’s a visual representation of what a gate does: (via Wikipedia)
Notice the input and output level. The input level is the sound you would normally hear from the drums if Phil didn’t decide to gate them. But also notice the sharp drop offs to and from the output level. That’s what our ears are hearing when we listen to the songs. The output level is at zero. This image shows that you can modify how fast the gate kicks in and how you want it to release.

I’ll leave you with this. Pull out some records from the 80’s and give them a closer listen, hopefully understanding a bit more what a gate is. And when you hear it, know that Phil Collins was the pioneer behind it all.

The DIY approach to making a record is definitely something I admire as well. But a good producer can take the pressure off of the artists and have them perform at their best, forgetting about all of the stress a studio can bring on. Someone who can make those final decisions when a band is in question of their work and what to do next is always helpful to have around.

This sounds like what happened with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin on their 3rd record “Let It Sway”. After self-producing 2 solid records, they decided to trust a producer to help them out. And the results are absolutely phenomenal.

“Let It Sway” has quite a history behind the making of it. (Check out the making of video below) There was a lot of bike riding to studios, a band member with mono, dogs learning to drive stick shift, but the end result is something they should be very proud of.

The band was on the search for a good fitting producer and happened to be talking with Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie guitarist) who decided he was going to jump in and make this record with them. A solid chunk of the record was recorded at Smart Studios (now unfortunately closed) with Beau Sorenson lending his talented hands and ears.

Have a look at the video for the Making Of “Let It Sway”

“Let It Sway” is a solid album from start to finish. The production is definitely noteworthy and the songs are the best I’ve heard from them. Unlike some records where the studio is the place to write and wank around, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin had about 75% of the songs worked out before they hit that record button.

Check out some other great words about them on Stereogum and Knox Road.

The album will be available on August 17th from Polyvinyl. Pre-order is available here.
Download the track “Sink / Let It Sway” with optional email opt in.

Sink / Let It Sway

Tour Dates:
8/31 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird
9/1 – Urbana, IL – Canopy Club
9/2 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
9/3 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
9/4 – Toronto, ON – El Mocambo
9/6 – Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo
9/7 – Cambridge, MA – TT The Bears
9/8 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
9/10 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
9/11 – Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary
9/12 – Cleveland, OH – The Grog Shop
9/13 – Columbus, OH – The Basement
All dates with Telekinesis

During a time when crunchy, controversial, and over hyped albums are making noise on the internet, it’s extremely refreshing to hear some fresh, real, authenticity in music. Leif Vollebekk’s debut release “Inland” is roughly 40 minutes to think, zone out, or wash away some form of stress you didn’t even know you had.

Leif is a singer and songwriter, but I hate to limit him with that label. “Inland” goes way beyond the style of a traditional singer/songwriter. Leif’s not a guy sitting around strumming chords and singing some poems. Sense of traditional musical time can be lost while listening as melodies and occasional strings float through the album. It only takes 10 seconds of the opening track “In The Morning” to let you know you’re in for something a little different.

“Neil Young wanted to sound like a cross between Dylan and the Stones. I want to sound like Hank Williams meets Sigur Ros. Hopefully, I’ll fail and get somewhere else.”

I’d say Leif Vollebekk failed on this one. Half of the songs for “Inland” were written while he was studying Icelandic and Philosophy in Iceland. When your mind is going through new experiences and adventures, writing songs is one of the best things to be able to do. The effort is non existent while selling (money excluded) the music, songs, and performances on the record.

Every song has it’s own distinct element but the album holds onto to a great flow. “Don’t go to Klaksvik” is a great way to start winding down the album. The slow jazz pace is a slight break out from the rest of the vibe on “Inland”, but it definitely earns it’s spot in the perfect track order.

Leif is currently touring for the next few months on this side of the pond and across. He has also begun work on his 2nd record with Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Godspeed), a change from his decision to self-produce “Inland”.

Leif Vollebekk is vinyl fanatic just like myself. So be sure to grab this release on a gorgeous 12″.

Leif Vollebekk – Northernmost Eva Maria

Tour Dates:
7/20 – Winnepeg, MB – The Lo Pub
7/21 – Regina, SK – The Club
7/22 – Sakatoon, SK – Amigos
7/23 – Edmonton, AB – Haven Social Club
7/24 – Canmore, AB – The Communitea
7/29 – Vancouver, BC – The Media Club
7/31 – Seattle, WA – TBA
8/3 – San Francisco, CA – Hotel Utah
8/4 – Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Cafe (early show)
9/12 – North Dorset, UK – End Of The Road Festival

I’ve ranted on and on—in many posts—about my admiration for Mr. Brion. This post is a little different. I want to take a song from his only solo record “Meaningless” and break it apart—provide a little background into the admiration I’ve grown for the song writing and production genius of Jon Brion.

From a guy who has lived in Boston for almost a decade. this song has a close place to my heart. “Her Ghost” is a track from “Meaningless” written while he was a Boston resident. I can create an amazing mental picture of him in a Boston apartment pouring his heart out over his thoughts of this woman he sings of.

“Her Ghost” is no doubt a love song. What kind of a love song is entirely up for debate. (Just about everything I’ll say about these lyrics is of course subjective, but none the less strong thoughts on them.)
Jon Brion – Her Ghost

Lyrics

Here’s how I would lyrically sum up the song.

Jon is a guy who lives in an apartment building with a girl he knows. How well? I don’t know, but it’s enough that he has strong feelings for. She could be a neighbor of which he has grown close. She could be his reason for living. Never quite been able to make that part out. Either way, she has this guy in her life. But this guy is not up to the standards of Jon or his muse. But he’s there, and Jon makes it really clear he’s not going away.

Jon is hurt by the amount of power this guy has over her life. He really wants to step in to do something about what is clearly unhealthy and he desperately wants to change that.

“And every where I turn, I tend to learn that she’s got memories that never burn. And this is of concern and I prepare to go. ‘Cause this I know, that though he’s out sight, he’s in her mind and in my hair. I’m tiring of this fight. Besides, it’s getting me nowhere.”

I imagine Jon watching silently in the halls as this man fights with his neighbor. I can see him imagining all her pain. He feels like he’s invisible to this guy, hidden away in the dark shadows of the building’s halls and hates that feeling.

“Her ghost is propped up in the hall. He speaks no evil there. He doesn’t notice me at all, I find it a bit unfair.”

There’s no happy ending or closure to the story he tells. We’re left with the sad state of Jon knowing that as long as this guy is in her life, “He’ll be the death of me”. (which happens to lead into a perfect transition into “The Same Mistakes”)

Production

Jon Brion exhibits amazing songwriting ability on “Meaningless”, but nothing falls short of his production genius.

The song kicks off with a Chamberlain/Mellotron pad that is definitely a distinctive sound for a Brion production. Besides the drums, bass, vocals, and piano, the Chamberlain/Mellotron makes up most of its beauty. Jon really wanted to get a full orchestra to due this track justice, but luckily his brother pushed him to include it on the record.

The best way I can describe the groove is “chunky”. Every instrument chunks along while these pads are held out over it until they decide to add perfect accents on top of the chunking groove.

As the song goes on, perfect breaks in the instrumentation are brilliantly placed to drop out and emphasize lyrics or give you that space to breath and regroup on the impact of the importance of what he’s saying.

At about 2:45 in the song you get to an unusually climactic build. The bass holds strong yet everything starts to build up around it. The payoff isn’t grand; the payoff is a dropped out, small, filtered sound of Jon’s voice. It pans to the right speaker delivering the line “Memories that never burn”.

It’s full from top to bottom but his vocals cut through (probably why the lyrics grabbed me so much). The overall sound of the song is full, spacious, warm, and distinctly Jon Brion.

Have a listen to the original demo of the song and prepare to be blown away by how little changed between it and the final product that made it to the record. And dear lord, if you don’t have this album, get on it now!
Jon Brion – Her Ghost Demo

Purchase “Meaningless” on CD Baby

Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier/LA Times

They’re what I love most about bands. They do it for the sincere love and passion but obviously have the hopes of making some waves. If those waves come? Great. If not? They’ll keep pushing on and doing what they love to do.

This is the case on their latest EP “The Romantics”

This EP was a quiet release to the public but is worthy of great attention. These are stripped down performances of new songs that don’t sound stripped down. That may sound like a cop out to you, but everything I love about the band is here on this EP.

Gavin Bascom’s vocals are what really pull me into their music. He’s got a voice that’s unique and is one that can be listened to over and over.

The songs have a raw acoustic feel but sound flushed out and full at the same time. I almost forget every time I have listened through the EP that there are no full drums or bass. When I think about an album like this, I think of some lame group singing for the women of the world out there. This is far from the case with “The Romantics”.

It’s an album that will sooth you, get you grooving, and realize what a great group these guys really are. I can only dream about what they will release next. So far they have yet to disappoint me.

You Can Only Get So Lonely

DOWNLOAD: The Romantics EP

Ritter’s latest release fills a different hole in what a record can be. You can tell each song has been carefully crafted into an incredibly solid and cohesive album, yet the songs sound fresh to the listeners ears. The hard work and challenge Ritter (and crew) went through to make this record doesn’t manage to hurt the sound that flows out of the speakers.

“I felt at times as if I was hovering just above myself, watching the mediocrity of my afternoon threatening to spread across months and years into a lost decade. And with nothing to show for myself would anyone ever believe how hard I had worked? The shadow hung and I held on, hoping for a single verse of something, anything at all that I could love.”

Good thing Josh Ritter decided to hang on. What was crafted on “So Runs The World Away” is something that seems to mark a special place in his career and holds a special place in my listening library.

There are millions of words and phrases to describe albums. The one word I have for this release may sound like a negative one—heavy. When I think of a heavy album I think loud, depressing, or having excessive bass. “So Runs The World Away” is none of these things.

So why does that word come to mind to describe it? I can’t quite put it elegantly into words but when I heard “The Curse”, that was the first word that came to mind. The piano is gorgeous, the singing is delicate, yet there’s this heavy aural, subconscious tone set deep back in the recording and writing of this song. The lyrics sing the tale of a man and woman I can only visualize through music playing out of a gramophone while rifling through handfuls of old, torn photos.
See if you understand what I mean in this amazing video conceived, directed, produced, and puppeteered by Josh’s drummer Liam Hurley:

Read up a little more about the making of this video from NPR.

The rest of the album has a different tone than “The Curse” but works perfectly together. The year plus spent recording in Maine and Brooklyn are definitely apparent as to how well the album came out. Not a bar of any song on the record doesn’t sound like it wasn’t thought out. This may lead you to think it was over produced, but turns out it’s far from it. The album sounds authentic yet polished. Almost an impossible challenge when putting an album together.

“So Runs The World Away” is a great step forward in Ritter’s songwriting and approach towards music. It holds the same level of songwriting you have grown to expect from him but also takes it in a slightly new direction.

Josh Ritter – Change of Time

Photo Credit: Todd Roeth