arcade fire - 'ready to start'

much. anticipated. would be how i would describe the new arcade fire album the suburbs.

as some tracks have leaked, i decided to write up the track 'ready to start'.

first of all, this album sheds some of the dark, apocalyptic vibe of neon bible, but by no means does this mean the edginess has disappeared. what i've heard reverts to the old school dancy, toe-tapping funeral days. 'ready to start' is an excellent example of this, from the looped dissident notes to the droning drop 'd'ed bass/guitar lines struck intermittently by win's dreamy/exhausted delivery. i've noticed on some of the songs off suburbs, you can hear beach boys type surf rock sounds, which partially manifests itself on this track through chiming synth lines atop the mix. (i really enjoy the emperor's new clothes references.) as the song rambles and builds, churning into a techno synth line towards very similar build to the famous 3/4 to 4/4 'crown of love' transition, although it flips back into the gouging bass/guitar drone line.

very. excited.

wolf parade - 'ghost pressure'

delay delay delay. no apologies, life doesn't stop and makes no apologies for it's crash course speed.

this is a new one from wolf parade being streamed over at pitchfork. it blends boeckner's hoarse groans with wobbly synths and gritty guitars. i do adore the space invader keys; i know you hear it too.

the beatles - 'no reply'

sorry for the lack of posts recently.

i'm reading here, there and everywhere and the book is absolutely engrossing from a more technical point of view. it still has a great deal of information about how the beatles crafted their signature sounds and a snippet of their songwriting process, but from an engineering standpoint, it's absolutely spellbinding.

here is one song which gives me chills, (it hasn't been talked about in the book, not yet). the big open chords during the chorus give me goosebumps.

it's amazing that the beatles still have such relevance and power... although i doubt they will ever lose it, no matter what year it may be.

grandaddy - 'the crystal lake'

so this is an oldie/yet goodie.

grandaddy is out of california and ever since i first heard the sophtware slump, i was intrigued at the complexity despite the simplicity. as gritty as the song remains, there is something liquid, flowing and crystal clear in the arpeggiated synth. in 'the crystal lake,' jason lytle's placating pleas saunter casually, yet authentic and his truckerhat adorning disposition shines through.

check out the sophtware slump if you have a chance.

phantogram - 'when i'm small'

jay tossed this link my way yesterday:

phantogram is a duo out of seratoga springs, who specialize in "street beat, psych pop" although their sound would closer to portishead with hip-hop beat stylings and the occasional clunking/chiming of guitars. eyelid movies is the title of their record released this year, and it is truly an eclectic mix, with guy/girl vocals, big beats, and neatly wrapped synths. 'when i'm small' is a 2 toned track, with a clunky james bond/surf guitar lead, a big cyclical beat and plunking casio keys overlayed by sarah barthel's coos. yet another score from barsuk... a damn good label.

download the track here:

white hinterland - 'icarus'

first of all: this day is for my friend ian, who passed away. you were far too optimistic and kind to live such a short life. i hope you rest in peace, my friend.

in the midst of all the chaos and misery surrounding my day today, my dear friend jackie passed this track on to me and it helped me cope. white hinterland is casey dienel's shoegaze project based in portland, or. on 'icarus' she draws feist-esque falsettos over a new wavy synth bassline. adding vocal harmonies and guitar noodles, the song progresses with a simple rimshot and kick driving; churning at a slow and steady rate, flickering and dancing akin to shadows from a dying fire on my living room wall. with all it's comfort and swelling tones, it has managed to soothe me on a day where every strand was falling apart and fraying.

i wish i could have shared this with you, ian. rip

miike snow - 'cult logic'

first of all- thanks to my musical guru nick, who always helps me find bands or uncover great bands which i have passed over...

so. like so many i wrote off this band. i listened to 'animal' and thought to myself, "that's catchy, but what the hell is with the intentional double 'i's?" 'animal' is only a brief glance into the depth and multifaceted sound of miike snow, which isn't one but three dudes from sweden who just happen to produce a lot of electronic music. even for some big names, which i will let you find out on your own accord in hopes to avoid prejudice.

'cult logic' is a ping pong electro song, bouncing around only to submit for grinding choruses and breaks. andrew wyatt's falsetto dances over the electric pond of melody below. wyatt sings in a bee gee key, flouishing with 'ooh's'; matching the razor sharp beats with smooth syllables and coos. 'cult logic' caters occasionally to swaying trance sounds, bending in velocity and resolution and briefly skipping down a couple of flights on the scale.

'but at least there's something beating inside my chest'

take it easy my brother

in the spirit of brasil.
i will be gone for 10 days of awesomeness.

prepare for great stories!

yeasayer - 'ambling alp'

'ambling alp' is the first single from yeasayer's second album odd blood, which is just coming out feb. 9th. i'm completely aware that this track has received more than a little buzz on the interwebs, but my goal is to share gems to the potentially unaware.

the single is crafted with the psychedelic synth lead which quickly bends into the background of the track. a globbing bassline spills over the track with almost with serendipitous nature, bumping and grinding in similar fashion to some drunk's hips on a dancefloor. the true grit of the song is driven by the prevailing vocal line, uttered with wavering emotive tones. the song builds into an odd brass break, then dies down like a campfire to playfully climb back up; touching down aptly with the little psycho-synth lead to stick a gymnast's landing.

following is the psychotropic video, which yields no less than mirror-masked men on horseback, and mulheres menos roupa. don't worry herm, you don't directly work for the gov anymore.

pawel's version of 'videotape'

so, i've been pretty busy recently and haven't been updating my blog.
in an attempt to jump-start things, i'm posting this link to pawel's reworking of radiohead's 'videotape'. it resembles a live version from their 2006 tours and has been kicking around for a bit of time. pawel is a bit of a legend in the radiohead fanatic base, he mostly draws from radiohead's back catalog of songs never completed, sketching and channeling radiohead to record all the instruments but the vocals and sometimes guitars. i hope 2010 is treating everyone well! and i will be more diligent about my posts.