Three Days From Retirement - Empty Chinese Cities

Yes, the name of the band and the title of the album are a bit unusual. But the self-described cinematic and euphoric instrumental post-rock soundscapes on Empty Chinese Cities deliver exactly what Edinburgh project Three Day From Retirement promise. A pleasingly-fleshed out soundtrack that pleasures your ears and lifts your spirits. Give it a chance.

Empty Chinese Cities is out now in CD and digital formats. See the Bandcamp link.



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Bandcamp for Empty Chinese Cities

Annie Hart - Impossible Accomplice

Annie Hart can make one feel inadequate.  Hart is one of the three vocalists/keyboardists in Au Revoir Simone, which has released four well-received albums.  If I had that credit on my resume, and my band went on hiatus, I'd probably read a few books, get some exercise, and lie to my friends about my progress in writing a thriller that not only would be a best seller, but also would be made into a Hollywood blockbuster.  To put it another way, I'd not get a lot done.  On the other hand, Annie Hart used her downtime to craft the eight songs that are Impossible Accomplice.  And I can't even criticize her for making me feel inadequate, because those songs are really, really good.

Hart employs her great melodic sense and a beguiling voice to spin concise pop gems and melancholy ballads wrapped in dreamy synths.  She played all of the instruments and recorded nearly all of the album in her basement.  With a dark perspective and eight songs of less than four minutes, the effect is like a warm summer rain shower.  Make that a welcome summer rain shower.  This may be your synth pop find of the summer.







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Uninhabitable Mansions

Noveller - A Pink Sunset For No One

That Sarah Lipstate is an extraordinary electric guitarist is amply demonstrated by her work with the bands of which she has been a member, including Cold Cave, Parts and Labor and One Umbrella, and her collaborations with JG Thirlwell, Carla Bozulich, David Sims, and Lee Ranaldo.  But full appreciation of her talents is best achieved by experiencing her work as Noveller.  In this guise, she creates expansive, cinematic soundscapes, devoid of vocals but richly detailed nonetheless.  Her latest album as Noveller is A Pink Sunset For No One.  Layering sound on sound, with drone elements holding the lower end while Sarah's inspirations take flight in delightfully directions.  Her guitar, pedals and fingers conjure and entire assembly of synths, pianos, bass, woodwinds and other instruments.  One moment you can close your eyes and visualize fairies, another you sense an ominous presence or anticipate a revealed mystery.  You luxuriate in warm chimes, or shiver at the approach of thunder.  The detail is breathtaking, the timing is impeccable.   If you don't think you like instrumental music, you probably haven't given Noveller a chance.

A Pink Sunset For No One is out now on vinyl, digital and CD formats via Fire Records.  See the Bandcamp link below for details.









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Fire Records page for Noveller

Shopping - Why Choose

Throbbing post punk with spiky, angular guitars, stuttering rhythms and talk/sing call-and-response vocals -- are you in?  You should be.  East London's Shopping is one of the unsung gems of the London scene, and their excellent new album, Why Choose, is well constructed and eminently danceable (check out "Straight Lines" below).  With the bass leading the way on many tracks, this album has a deep grove to match its edgy, twitchy vibe.  Fans of The Au Pairs, Gang of Four, and The Slits may take to this sound most readily, but frankly I can't see anyone who likes danceable rock not loving this album.  I liked their 2013 album Consumer Complaints, but Why Choose seems to me to be a big step forward -- more polished, but not glossy, and with better developed song structures.  Most importantly, it retains and improves the band's ability to deliver incredibly taut songs, bristling with energy and urgency and packed with hooks.

Shopping are Rachel Aggs, Billy Easter, and Andrew Milk.  Why Choose is out now via FatCat Records.  The band currently is touring North America. Check out their Facebook page for dates and locations.







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NEW VIDEO: Wild Cub - "Colour" from Youth

We've been enjoying the soulful vocals and rhythmic dance-rock of Nashville's Wild Cub for a while now - first wrote about them prior to the release of their debut album Youth in August 2012, here.

Starting as a duo of Keegan Dewitt and Jeremy Bullock, they've grown to five: Keegan DeWitt (vocals/guitar), Jeremy Bullock (guitar/synths), Dabney Morris (drums), Harry West (bass), and Eric Wilson (keys/synths). They have continued to tour, impressing audiences nationwide, and their album was picked up by respected indie label Mom + Pop. Now they have a video for album track "Colour":



The video is intended as a companion piece to the one for "Thunder Clatter":



They're back out on tour this summer, playing festivals, a Conan appearance in May and some touring in support of Vampire Weekend. You can read up on all of it at one of their websites, below. It occurs to me that these guys are a nice companion to Vampire Weekend - similar rhythmic approach, but not exactly the same sound. Where VW is very airy, I find Wild Cub earthier, and a little bit darker... though the music is plenty upbeat and exhilarating.

Wild Cub at Mom + Pop Music
Wild Cub website
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REVIEW: Mogwai - Rave Tapes

Mogwai's not wandering far from their established style on their latest studio album Rave Tapes - they offered an advance track, "Remurdered", that did change things up a bit... but the majority of this album features their slow building, eventually ferocious guitar work - the overwhelming beauty of a style of guitar rock that they do better than anyone else. There is majestic piano work, an evocative vocal chorus here and there, and a few of their usual tricks, but it's a Mogwai album, and to me, it's to be celebrated as such. Perhaps they will be criticized for not stretching or pushing the limits, but not here. To have 10 new songs of this high quality from them is an occasion to be celebrated.



Last year's soundtrack showed how well Mogwai's atmospheric approach accompanies striking visuals - of course, their videos have always shown that. Previously we shared their video for album track "The Lord is Out of Control":



That's an excellent example of the sounds here, but my favorite track is "Hexon Bogon", mainly because the guitars are strong and the pace upbeat from the beginning of the track. There's a spoken word track that juxtaposes what sounds like a radio preacher's explication of Led Zeppelin's subliminal satanic messages with a particularly beautiful instrumental - reminiscent of Come On Die Young's "Punk Rock", except that the spoken word continues throughout the track.

But it's moments like the dizzying heights reached by the guitars on tracks like "Hexon Bogon" and "Mastercard," and the majestic swell of keyboards, drums and vocal chorus on the consecutive tracks "Deesh" and "Blues Hour" that keep me coming back to Mogwai records. In that respect, this album is a success -- the latest in a long line of successful releases from them.

Fortunately, you don't need to read much from me - you can stream the album at the Guardian website now. It's out tomorrow on Sub Pop in the US, and today on the band's label Rock Action elsewhere.

Mogwai website
Mogwai on Sub Pop
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New video for "The Lord Is Out Of Control" by Mogwai

"The Lord Is Out Of Control" is an intriguingly named atmospheric song from Scottish post-rock outfit Mogwai.  It will be on their upcoming release, Rave Tapes.  Cinematic in tone, the song is a compelling listen.  It is presented here in a video filmed in Hawaii.



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REVIEW: BELLS≥ - Solutions, Silence, or Affirmations

Brooklyn-based BELLS≥’ Solutions, Silence, or Affirmations, shows a confident, tough and sometimes achingly beautiful approach to instrumental writing and performing. The pace is set throughout by former Jawbox drummer Zach Barocas, along with guitarists Stephen Shodin and Chris Ernst, cellist Gordon Withers and producer/bassist J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels, Office of Future Plans). D.C. bass duo Argos contributed basses on “Promenade.” Tom Broucksou is now the band's bassist.

Barocas and Robbins, who have over a 20-year friendship and collaboration in Jawbox and elsewhere, create a lively, muscular base for the music... and the guitars and cello interplay masterfully. This is music that will appeal to fans of instrumental rock of any stripe, especially the stuff that often gets labeled "math rock" or "post rock". It's fiery, but at the same time it exhibits a sort of quiet confidence and patience. On the opening track "Apostatic", as on most of the record, the drums set the pace throughout and create a framework within which the guitars sort of swing back and forth and the cello fills the sound. On "Brothers, Sisters" the cello and guitars at the outset are laid sort of quietly on top of the drums, until both swell up to fill the room about 2:30 in.

Here's "No More Water", which makes good use of the contrast between sound levels and tempos the band plays with:



And here's "Metatron" - which calls to mind, in places, a revved-up Mogwai track:



As you listen, it's clear this is a drummer's band, and the guitars and cello follow Barocas' lead and make one of the strongest records of 2013. It's out now (July 30) and available now via Bandcamp or all the usual outlets... though the band makes the statement that, to get the album they intended, with the interstitial pieces intact, you're best with the vinyl or the Bandcamp download. You can read more about that at their website.

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REVIEW: Jan Roth - L.O.W.

German pianist and multi-instrumentalist Jan Roth is a really impressive talent, and displays an interesting and varied approach on his debut album L.O.W. Roth demonstrates a facility with minimalist post-rock, piano jazz a la Brad Mehldau and cinematic, expansive music that falls between those touchpoints but somehow incorporates elements of prog and pop music, too. It's unique and always very listenable.

"Glühwürmchen" is a quiet start but a wonderful warm-up that showcases Roth's considerable piano skills and his facility with experimentation and with stretching and poking at the tempo and rhythm. "Einundzwanzig" is sort of cinematic - you can sort of picture a journey across a blasted landscape (or whatever type of landscape you might imagine). "Siebzehn" is one of the more upbeat, almost pop songs, but of course that is relative to the rest of this album:



"Kleine Freiheit" is reminiscent of some of the US jazz/hip-hop stuff from artists like Yesterday's New Quintet or The Bad Plus, or, again, Brad Mehldau. It's available for free download right now:



"Achtzehn" is perhaps my favorite song on the record, and showcases Roth's talent with using not a lot of notes to make some gorgeous music. Album closer "Regen" evokes more of a cityscape and is quietly beautiful, with only piano in the track. This is an impressive, sort of majestic debut. Roth has previously played drums live with German musician Tim Neuhaus at many of Hundreds' live shows. He has also played on many of Clueso and Max Prosa's records as well as countless jazz bands. L.O.W. is out now on German label Sinnbus Records.

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Sinnbus Records

REVIEW: Palms - Palms

If you seek something utterly engaging, new and different yet anchored to something familiar, you are directed to seek out the self-titled debut of Palms, an L.A.-based quartet consisting of Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno and former Isis members Bryant Clifford Meyer (guitars, keyboards), Jeff Caxide (bass, keyboards), and Aaron Harris (drums, electronics). It's got a big, almost overwhelming sound and doesn't fit neatly in any of your usual genres. The rhythm section is booming, and blends with the synths to supply almost all the sound sometimes, and at all times it supplies a strong underpinning to the music. At different times Meyer's beautiful, almost crystalline guitar tones are out front, or they share the spotlight with Moreno's majestic vocals.

In a way, I'm reminded of an old favorite, Bad Brains - the pace is obviously different, as Palms' songs are much more slowly paced and certainly more atmospheric. But to me, there are similarities: the fullness of their sound, the sound of some of Meyer's guitar tones and certainly the way Moreno's vocals are treated, do remind me of Dr. Know and H.R. And Bad Brains was another genre-busting act with a history of playing different kinds of music that sounded exactly like nobody but themselves.

Here's the "single" - the slow-building, blasted, beautiful "Patagonia":

The album consists of six songs, the shortest of which is the 5:44 "Tropics" and the longest the 10:00 "Mission Sunset". The first song, "Future Warrior", is all L.A. - in fact, the beginning of it is a bit reminiscent of the Wang Chung soundtrack to "To Live And Die in LA". And running short of adjectives to describe this record, I'd add in "expansive" and "cinematic" - maybe that is a function of them being residents of Tinsel Town, but whatever it is, this is certainly an album you can get lost in. It's out now (June 25) on Ipecac Records.

Tour dates:

July 10           San Diego, CA         Belly Up Tavern
July 11           Santa Ana CA           The Observatory
July 12           Los Angeles, CA      The Troubadour   SOLD OUT
July 13           San Francisco, CA    Slim’s
July 29           Los Angeles, CA       Hollywood Bowl (w/System of a Down)

REVISITED: Rodan - Fifteen Quiet Years

Rodan's heavy guitar rock (post-rock, math rock? or just ROCK) was part of the Louisville alternative music scene that spawned some of the best and most important bands of the late 80's/early 90's post punk era. Having followed the scene after discovering Squirrel Bait (part of me still hopes they have another album or some undiscovered music out there somewhere), I discovered that a lot of its members (fans and bands alike) held Rodan and its album Rusty and a small fortune in limited release singles and 7" records in high esteem... and with good reason. And though Rodan wasn't around all that long, there is undiscovered music and, fortunately for us, it's been released in the form of this new compilation Fifteen Quiet Years. Here's a link to stream "Shiner".

And just for fun, here's an old video of them from Athens' 40 Watt Club in 1994:

This album includes a 1994 BBC Peel session, together with all of Rodan's long-out-of-print 7"s and compilation tracks. In 2009, Bob Weston, Jeff Mueller and Jason Noble lovingly re-mastered the tracks at Chicago Mastering Service. 

Rodan sowed plenty of seeds throughout subsequent music history: Jeff Mueller went on to play guitar and sing in the highly influential and well loved group June Of 44, and subsequently in The Shipping News. Jason Noble played bass in the classical-leaning Rachel's, as well as in The Shipping News. Tara Jane O'Neil sang and played guitar in The Sonora Pine, as well as the duo Retsin. Subsequent to the breakup of The Sonora Pine in 1998, Tara Jane began a solo career as TJO. Kevin Coultas also played drums in Rachel's and The Sonora Pine. On August 4, 2012, Jason Noble lost a three year battle with cancer and passed away at the all-too-young age of 40. On February 9, 2013, Jon Cook also passed away. 

It's a great time to look back at this very special period, and very special place, in the history of US indie rock. Louisville is rightly proud to have spawned all these great and influential bands, and Rodan belongs in the top echelon. You can read more, check out another song and buy it at Touch & Go/Quarterstick Records.

New Liverpool Dance-Rock Discovery: Vasco Da Gama - "Brigadier" from Geography EP

Vasco Da Gama, a four-piece band from Liverpool, is playing some exciting music, stuff that I think is commonly described as "math rock" - bass and guitar lines that race back and forth, quick and nearly constant changes in time signatures and urgent, shouted vocals. They've just released an EP titled Geography, and are currently touring. The band consists of John Crawford – Vocals & Guitar, Chris Lynn, Guitar, Joe Falconer – Bass and David Kelly – Drums.

Here's "Brigadier":






Here's "The Greenland Problem", which seems to have a little bit more of a Latin lilt to it, but still explodes with the guitars and shouted vocals:




The EP is out this week (Apr. 22) and they're touring the UK:


Sat 27th – LINCOLN The Shed
Sun 28th – LIVERPOOL Kazimier
Wed 1st  – LONDON The Old Blue Last
Thu 2nd  – SOUTHAMPTON Avondale House
Fri 3rd  – LIVERPOOL Sound City
Sat 4th  – LEEDS The Packhorse

Vasco Da Gama on Facebook

REVIEW: The Besnard Lakes - Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO

Besnard Lakes plays a haunting style of rock, and have for a while - on their latest, Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO, they aren't varying far from their established style. Good thing, because we need more of this stuff. They move back and forth between angelic female vocal choruses and male vocal harmonies that approach Beach Boys-level. Behind, around and under it all, they're featuring guitars, thundering bass rhythms and some beautiful, expansive keyboards and synths. From the band's own description of the record: "The story of the album unfolds its introspection on the endurance of the human spirit during prophetic times as told by a spy or two, maybe more."

I first heard them in 2010, and theirs was one of the earliest posts on this blog. That album was The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night. They are a wonderful example of a band that is a studio creation and uses the studio to keep experimenting and improving their sound. It's a husband and wife team, Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, along with Kevin Laing and Richard White. This album also features contributions by Moonface's Spencer Krug and Mike Bigelow, Sarah Page (harpist with The Barr Brothers), Monica Guenter (viola) and the Fifth String Liberation Singers' Choir. Lasek's guitar work is particularly wonderful - in places it's positively reminiscent of David Gilmour.

Check out "Colour Yr Lights In" - for examples of the vocal harmonies, the guitar work (including a little bit of surf reverb) and the way they weave it all together:



I doubt you want to read any more of my thoughts on this record (which saves me a trip to the thesaurus to find synonyms for "ethereal") - suffice to say I'm crazy about it, and hear new things to like on each subsequent listen. I especially like the way they are able to merge sounds (vocals, synths, bass and guitar lines) together for periods of time, then subtly raise one or another of them above the mix, only to pull it back in.

Video for "People of the Sticks":





The record was released last week (Apr. 2) on Jagjaguwar Records.

They've got a lot of traveling planned - see below for your opportunity to hear them live:


04/11/13 Quebec City, QC - Le Cercle
04/13/13 Montreal , QC - Cabaret du Mile End
04/18/13 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop w/ SUUNS
04/19/13 Grand Rapids, MI - The Pyramid Scheme w/ SUUNS
04/20/13 Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern w/ SUUNS
04/21/13 DeKalb, IL - Otto's Nightclub w/ SUUNS
04/22/13 Bloomington, IN - The Bishop w/ SUUNS
04/23/13 St. Louis, MO - Firebird w/ SUUNS
04/24/13 Fayetteville, AR - J.R.'s Lightbulb Co w/ Suuns
04/25/13 Dallas, TX - Club DaDa w/ SUUNS & Black Mountain
04/26/13 Austin, TX - Austin Psych Fest
04/27/13 Houston, TX - Rudyard's BUY TICKETS
04/29/13 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
04/30/13 Charleston, SC - The Pourhouse BUY TICKETS
05/01/13 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
05/02/13 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
05/03/13 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05/04/13 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs
05/14/13 Lund, SE - Mejeriet
05/15/13 Stockholm, SE - Debaser Slussen
05/16/13 Gothenburg, SE - Pusterviksbaren
05/17/13 Copenhagen, DK - Stengade
05/19/13 Groningen, NL - Vera
05/21/13 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
05/22/13 Bristol, UK - Fleece n Firkin
05/23/13 Manchester, UK - Ruby Lounge
05/24/13 Glasgow, UK - Stereo
05/25/13 Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
05/26/13 Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
05/27/13 Brighton, UK - Komedia
05/28/13 London, UK - The Garage
05/29/13 Paris, FR - La Fleche d'Or
05/30/13 Nantes, FR - Stereolux
06/01/13 Marseille, FR - Le Poste a Galene
06/02/13 Toulouse, FR - Le Dynamo
06/04/13 Lyon, FR - Le Sonic
06/05/13 Strasbourg, FR - La Laiterie
06/07/13 Zurich, CH - Rote Fabrik
06/08/13 Koln, DE - Blue Shell
06/09/13 Berlin, DE - Monarch
06/10/13 Munich, DE - Atomic Cafe

REVIEW: Ohvaur - A Memories Chase

Ohvaur is a Chicago/Miami band featuring frontman Timothy Den, who formerly fronted Boston band Kimone. Ohvaur is playing expansive, synth-based electronic rock and exploring themes of travel, home and longing - this helps account for the very heavy emotional lean to the vocals. To call him peripatetic would be a bit of an understatement. Part of Den's story is the very emotional experience of living as an undocumented immigrant for a large part of his life, and while such an existence made his adolescent and young adult search for identity more difficult, in the end, it actually helped Den find out that he's more than where he's been or what he's done. 

A Memories Chase uses these experiences (both Den's and those of Ohvaur's other members, several of whom have also been part of an immigrant experience - either their own or, as children, their parents') to help inform an outlook (and a sound) that is restless and deeply emotional. The other members of Ohvaur are: Daniel Escauriza, Joel Hernandez, Mike Horick, and Christian Loaiza.

Here's the title track:

The second cut, "You Chose to Bury Love," is a little bit more straight-ahead pop in its structure: 

while others, like album closer "Whole," are fuller-sounding. As the album works its way through these themes, you hear Den singing about parts and places, but the conclusion is that no one part or place is sufficient to make the whole - the person or the world.

It's out this week (3/5) - self-released by the band, and you can learn more at their Facebook page.

Ohvaur Facebook

New Electronic Discovery: UNA - The Laughing Man

UNA is an electronica/jazz/art-rock trio - Jennifer Cook on vocals, Richard Larsen on keys and production and Eddie Barajas on turntables. She's a terrific singer, and they do a great job putting together a soundscape to support her. Whether on piano, electronic keys or synths, Larsen keeps this grounded near the jazz genre. The addition of Barajas' turntables carry this into the realm of what's commonly known as "trip hop" - and there you go.

Me? I like the vocals best of all.
Here's a teaser video with some music and some talk about the record and their sound:



Here's lead track "The Astronomer":


I'm told an album of remixes will be out in May, featuring Nightmares on Wax and The Herbaliser, to name a few. This album is out now.

UNA Website

UNA Facebook

New Electronic Rock Discovery: Patti Yang - "I Am Ready"

Patti (or Pati) Yang is a UK-based (originally Polish) artist playing electronic rock music. After emigrating from Poland to London at 16, she released her first album at 18. She's part of the well-regarded electronic act Flykkiller and has opened stadium shows for Depeche Mode. She released two EP's in 2012, and is working on an album for 2013. For now (and for a limited time), she's made this track "I Am Ready" available for download:



This will be part of an EP with a couple of remixes (Jagz Kooner and Skylab), then an album later in the year. I really like the way this nearly six-minute track builds and unfolds, and look forward to hearing more from her.

Divine Fits - "My Love Is Real" - new video

Funny story: when I got this video to post, I checked it out and said "boy, could this guy sound any more like the guy from Spoon?" Of course, the guy from Spoon is in it! If you already knew that, there isn't much I can tell you about Divine Fits except that they have produced a new video for "My Love Is Real" from their debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits:



Here's the stream from Soundcloud:



For our readers in Australia, keep an eye out, they are currently on tour down that way. US dates to come soon - check their website for more.

Divine Fits at Merge Records

New Post-Rock Discovery: Ninetails - Slept And Did Not Sleep EP

From Liverpool comes math-rock band Ninetails. They're playing with precision, but also with emotion. The bass lines are propulsive, the guitar playing is strong and vocals understated, in places reminiscent of Chris Martin and Thom Yorke. The band consists of Ed Black, Jordan Balaber, Phil Morris and Jake King. They are playing a heady mix of indie rock with world beat and dance-rock elements and some unexpected twists and turns that hint, to me, of a jazz background for at least some of these guys. Their new EP is Slept And Did Not Sleep, due for release Dec. 10.

Here's the video for "Maybe We":



And here is a live performance of "Rawdon Fever" (my favorite cut on the record):



And you can stream it at their Soundcloud site:



The album will be out soon on Superstar Destroyer Records... looking forward to more from them.

REVIEW: Wild Cub - Youth

Nashville, TN's Wild Cub is a duo - Keegan DeWitt and Jeremy Bullock. DeWitt has a soulful voice, and they play a mix of beat-based electronic music and a fuller electronic pop. It's pretty engaging - in places, reminiscent of New Order, and in places a little brighter than that. After playing Bonnaroo in June, they came back to Nashville to play a few local dates and work on some videos and the release of their new album Youth (out today, August 14 on Big Light Recordings).

It's not surprising to learn that the principal songwriter, DeWitt, is a film composer, as there's a very cinematic element to the composition. Here's a new video by filmmaker Matt Jay for the song "Shapeless":

"Shapeless" (Official Video) from Wild Cub on Vimeo.

And there is a new video, for "Jonti", available at IFC.com.

You can listen and order a record, which includes a free download, on Bandcamp: These guys have a way with a song, and DeWitt a way with the vocals, that transforms this from what might be just another faceless dance-rock disc into something with a good bit of texture - check out the percussion on "Thunder Clatter", strings on "Streetlights" and the Afro-pop guitar on "Jonti". Youth sounds like it will be in the rotation a while.

They're playing an album release show in NYC tonight, then they'll be on a mini-tour:

AUG. 14 NEW YORK, NY PIANOS
AUG. 24 FLORENCE, AL BILLY REID SHINDIG (Wilson Park)
AUG. 25 NASHVILLE, TN HIGH WATT
SEPT. 10 NASHVILLE, TN THE MERCY LOUNGE*
SEPT. 28 WACO, TX COMMON GROUNDS**
SEPT. 29 AUSTIN, TX STUBBS, JR.**
OCT. 6 NASHVILLE, TN SOUNDLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL
OCT. 18 NEW YORK, NY ARLENE'S GROCERY#
* BMI Back to School 8 Off 8th event
** supporting Sondre Lerche
# The Young Giant Presents... CMJ showcase

REVIEW: Tu Fawning - A Monument

Tu Fawning is a Portland band playing expansive, atmospheric music with elements of art-rock, strong lead guitars and world music (the percussion, especially), all backing up Corinna Repp's haunting vocals. Upon first listen, I was finding comparison to Sigur Ros, but the influences are extremely diverse. The reverb on the guitars calls to mine My Morning Jacket in places -check out this video for lead track "Anchor":



And here are two tracks available for download: "Anchor"



and "Bones".



Influences are influences, but the craft lies in how they are melded, and Corinna Repp, Joe Haege, Liza Reitz and Toussaint Perrault do that well. From Celtic-influenced chamber rock like "Anchor" to thumping bass and gospel-style chorus on "Blood Stains" to the chugging guitar lead on "Wager", Tu Fawning makes every song interesting. The album is clearly built around Repp's vocals and Haege's guitars, to great effect, but the bass and drums supply a good foundation for the other elements they weave in - synths, keyboards, loops and layer upon layer of harmony vocals.

Tu Fawning will be touring in North America in June and July - dates and places available at their website. A Monument is out May 15 via City Slang Records.