(late) Review - Wavves - self-titled

"With lo-fi at his command, Wavves is your favorite summer album."


Certainly a refreshing listen, Wavves (Nathan Williams) has carved an interesting niche for himself. lo-fi enough for the hipsters, poppy enough for the older indie rock crowd (i.e. old Built to Spill fans and 'Avery Island' devotees) and fuzzed-out enough for the alt-heads.

Having some previous releases on No Age's Dean Spunt's label Post Present Medium, the fellow noise-popper now signed to the Fat Possum label, has put together a collection of tracks varying from an 8-bit, synth-chunk assault in the albums opener 'Rainbow Everywhere', twisted and mangled tribal, sister-track 'Sun Opens My Eyes' and bright, fuzzy, skate-punk anthems of the 'Teenage Daydream' variety like 'Get in the Sun'.

But, before you can get out your SYR bootlegs and washing-machine tees, the albums great layout mixes things up with 'More Fur' which sounds like a one-way conversation with Satan.

After the dark lord signs off, we get another woozy, Beach Boys jam with 'So Bored' and then a trifecta of goth-centric tracks - the highlight being 'Summer Goth 2', an acid-country jam with enough sustain to fill any space left in the EQ.

Final rating: 8.1/10
Key tracks: 'Get in the Sun', 'No Hope Kids', 'So Bored'

VIDEO: Wavves - 'So Bored' (live at Upset the Rhythm, from their YouTube channel)

Denny's + stoned unicorn = greatness.

I found the full version on the Daily Fork site:



Please give us more!! The Grand Slamwich was a step in the right direction :)

Jay Bennett R.I.P.

Wow - shocking headline on Pitchfork's site today - I was absolutely floored.

In spite of the lawsuit or any bad blood between the two sides, the former Wilco multi-instrumentalist was found dead in his home. The cause is still unknown as per the Pitchfork article - tough news to have to break over the holiday weekend.

Jay Bennett was 45.

Review - Wilco (The Album)

image courtesy of David B. Johnson

At this point, how do you accurately review Wilco? An amazing band whose had a stronger stride than any since the amazing story and deserved success of 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'. Every album including and since then has shown us the sonic mastery that patience produces – Nels Cline also helps :)

Sure, Tweedy's voice gets grittier and richer with every album and just like 'Sky Blue Sky', you wait for an ambient solo to take you to Mars. Glenn Kotche still surprises you even though you now how skilled he is. And, no matter indie-folk, pill-popping blues or mature-rock, Wilco does it better than anyone else.

Wilco (The Album) opens with, you guessed it, 'Wilco (The Song)' – controlled and delicately crashed feedback delivers the sonic punch on this breezy-pop opener. 'Wilco will love you babe', Tweedy sings before returning to the chorus. This track and the album's second half 'Sunny Feeling' are the peppiest songs on their newest album. Not that this is a problem or disadvantage for Jeff and the rest of the band – especially if you've seen the 'Sunken Treasure' DVD.

'Deeper Down' is very Sgt. Pepper-ish sounding with a distinct 60's pop feel. Mr. Cline gets even more comfortable on this track and keeps his promise of a 'more plastic, more sonic' album – things begin to evolve into a mature, prog-pop sound.

On 'One Wing', while disarming and at the same time armed with a quiet start, the lush and delicate riffs shine through what sounds like quiet key strokes. Tweedy's voice holds off Kotche's drum rolls before the full delivery with a galloping change and a Nels solo right into Saturn. While Cline owned 'Sky Blue Sky', this album is Kotche's time to shine.

'Bull Black Nova' and the Feist duet 'You and I' bring the sun out again, thanks in part to an epic solo on the former, in the likes of a Pink Floyd/Rush garage jam.

As the latter part of the album comes and goes with slower and more moody tracks like 'Country Disappeared' and 'Solitaire', Wilco fans are reminded why their favorite albums change between 'A.M.' and 'Being There', 'A Ghost is Born' and 'Summerteeth', etc.

In 'I'll Fight', Wilco brings things back up for a bit before going into 'Sunny Feeling', a bright track with a charming and shimmering cheekiness.

'Everlasting' allows a somber closing and offers bursts of Wilco glory and ambient, effect-ridden hand-waives to finish the album.

See you at The Wiltern!

Final rating: 8.5/10
Key tracks: 'Wilco (The Song)', 'One Wing'

VIDEO - Wilco - 'I'm the Man Who Love You' (live from Lollapalooza '06)

Radiohead back in the studio...

Image courtesy of MSNBC

I'm surprised at myself that I'm not more excited - I guess I've just come to expect the studio report leaks (this one via the BBC) that have come to produce only great things. Here is the story from the BBC - I know the Radiohead board is buzzing too :)

Radiohead in studio
The Oxford band have started work on the follow up to In Rainbows

18 May 2009 - Radiohead have started working on the follow up to their 2007 album In Rainbows.

Bassist Colin Greenwood told 6 Music the Oxford band have been busy in the studio over the last week with producer Nigel Godrich.

"It was very noisy and chaotic and really fun," he said.

"It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we're just looking at all the bits and thinking what’s next?"

"I'm very impressed and grateful for Nigel our producer and his ability to make it all sound vaguely plausible," he added.

Greenwood, who was speaking at the Great Escape music festival in Brighton, where he was helping to launch a new music journal called Loops, gave no indication as to when the Oxford five-piece will be releasing their next record or whether they will be briging it out in a similar format to their last LP.

"It's at the stage where we've got the big Lego box out and we've tipped it on the floor." Colin Greenwood on Radiohead's new album

Last time, Radiohead offered fans the chance to choose how much they were prepared to pay for In Rainbows.

"We were just saying to people how much do you think we're worth?" he added.

"It's like a long term relationship and it was great because it kicked off lots of debate about it."

The band have just finished touring with electro pioneers Kraftwerk in South America which Greenwood described as a "brilliant experience".

"They are one of our musical heroes and it was a real privilege to share a stage with them," he enthused.

"What I like about Kraftwerk is I obviously love the beats but I love their melodies too. They seep into your brain and stay there."

The five-piece are due to headline the Reading and Leeds Festivals this summer for a headline show where they have some unfinished business.

"It was a bit frustrating when we were playing some of our own shows last year because it was light for the first half hour, 40 minutes of the show," Greenwood said.

"So we wanted to do it as it was meant to be seen – darker and louder."

-Jo Youle


VIDEO: Radiohead - Bangers and Mash (Live from the early days of Pitchfork.tv - I love it!)

Revisit a great song: Old 97's - 'Timebomb'

Stumbled upon this performance from KEXP Radio on their respective YouTube channel-

Old 97's - "Timebomb" (Live on KEXP Seattle)

Catching Up: Wilco streams, Dead Weather Tours and coloring The Shins!

(just in case you HAD NOT seen the cover)

First off, Wilco is streaming their new album on their site right now! I'm swooning already - Here you go :)

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Jack White's latest band has announced the plans for their upcoming tour and album release. "Horehound" is set for stateside release on July 14th and will hit Europe one da earlier. As for the tour, you can get all the details at their site - The Dead Weather. LA peeps - they are playing The Wiltern.

VIDEO: The Dead Weather - "Hang You From the Heavens"



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And, last but certainly NOT least - an indie rock coloring book!!

Pitchfork had this story since the plan first leaked out and they have posted some additional new details on their site. As always, awesome work dudes and ladies.

From the Pitchfork site:

"Last year, we reported on the existence of Miller's Colour It (Red), a book of disarmingly cute kids' puzzles inspired by indie rock hits. It was a benefit for the (Red) organization, which raises money for the AIDS-fighting Global Fund. This summer, Miller will be back with another indie rock kids' book for charity.

The Indie Rock Coloring Book, due July 22 from Chronicle Books, is a collaboration between Miller and the T-shirt company Yellow Bird Project, which partners with bands to design T-shirts and then gives any profits from those shirts to charities chosen by the bands. Similarly, all royalties from The Indie Rock Coloring Book will be split between charities chosen by the bands depicted in its pages.

All of the illustrations in The Indie Rock Coloring Book are brand new. Rilo Kiley's Pierre de Reeder provided the foreword. Artists you will get to color include Bon Iver, the Shins, Broken Social Scene, and MGMT."



Now, go listen to the new Wilco album and smile!

Moon Colony Bloodbath EP

Thanks to Tim (and the rest of the team over at 3 Beads of Sweat), I was able to get my mail-order in and received the vinyl the other day (was hoping for a randomly inserted green vinyl but, to no avail - oh well).

If you are unfamiliar with the whole deal, several outlets and message boards had reported that extra copies of the limited, show-only vinyl (supposedly, an original run of 1000) from the John Vanderslice/John Darnielle 'Gone Primitive' tour may be available through mail order from the (now closed down) 3 Beads of Sweat label.

The best part of this whole release is that the concept of the EP is about an organ-harvesting colony on the moon!

I didn't hesitate to order and the cool staff at 3 Beads gave me info on how and when to order. The album cover came a little banged up but, I can thank the gentle, rock-hands of the USPS for that.

I have many listens ahead and of course, a review in due time, hehe.

VIDEO: The Mountain Goats - "Autoclave"

What a lineup! ATP NY '09

Image courtesy of atpfestival.com

I think ATP just took the festival-crown for '09 - what a lineup (new additions not on graphic yet):

ATP New York 2009 - Sept 11-13 at Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, New York.

The full line-up so far...

Friday

The Jesus Lizard
Iron and Wine
Don’t Look Back: Dirty Three Performing ‘Ocean Songs’
Don’t Look Back: Suicide Performing First LP
Don’t Look Back: The Feelies Performing ‘Crazy Rhythms’
Don’t Look Back: The Drones Performing ‘Wait Long By The River’
Comedy Stage - Hosted and curated by David Cross

Saturday: curated by ATP

Animal Collective
Panda Bear
Deerhunter
Melvins
Boss Hog
Autolux
Dead Meadow
El-P
Anti-Pop Consortium
Autolux
Atlas Sound
Akron Family
Sleepy Sun
Bridezilla

Sunday: curated by The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips
Boredoms perform 9 drummer BOREDRUM
No Age perform Husker Du
Caribou perform as Caribou Vibration Ensemble
Deerhoof with Martha Colburn
Stardeath and White Dwarfs

Visit atpfestival.com for further details.