REVIEW: Seapony -- Go With Me

By any reasonable measure, Seapony is having a good year. The buzz for the Seattle band has been building for months, their LP is being released on May 31 by Hardly Art, a subsidiary of Sub Pop, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart selected them to open for them when they played here in April. And as you listen to "Dreaming", the opening song of the album, you can see that the buzz is well deserved.


The group consists of Jen Weidl, the singer, Danny Rowland, the primary songwriter and guitarist, and Ian Brewer, the bassist. Danny and Ian have known each other since high school days in Oklahoma. They moved to Washington in 2001. Danny then spent a few years in Ohio, meeting and moving back to Washington with Jenn in 2010. "Dreaming" had been composed back in Ohio, but the remainder of the songs on the album were composed after the group was formed last year.

"Blue Star"


The most obvious components of the band's sound are the female vocals and the fuzzy, jangly indie pop guitar. The music is simple, honest three chord songs of under three minutes with engaging hooks and lyrics focused on romantic matters. Timekeeping duties fall to a simple drum machine. To me, the band's sound is a blend of Beach Fossils and Pacific Northwest icons, Beat Happening. The Beach Fossils reference is obvious, and most relates to sound. As for The Beat Happening comparison, I think it is more in terms of structure and attitude. I admit that Jen's engaging, breathy vocals won't be mistaken for Calvin Johnson's deep tones. But the simple melodies, DIY feel and emphasis on the classic song performed with conviction is what Beat Happening brought to the table. And it seems to me that Seapony does that as well. Music like that can get overlooked when the listener is looking for showmanship, wild guitar runs or clever electronic beats (all of which can be quite nice, by the way). But joys of a Seapony song won't fade away when faced with a new musical fad.

"Go Away" is worth comparing to songs from Beat Happening"s You Turn Me On:


I expect this band to grow and provide its fans, which includes me, with good songs for a long time. But for the present, I doubt that fans of indie pop will find a more perfect summer album than this one.

The album's closer, "With You":


And if you want to taste the entire cake to evaluate for yourself, here is a generous chance to stream the entire album. Enjoy, lucky people.
Seapony - Go With Me (yourstru.ly stream) by yourstrulysf

One final note for Seattle fans, the band's album release party is June 2 at the Vera Project, and the other band on the bill is 14 Iced Bears. For Seattle fans of live indie pop, you may not have a better gig available for a long while. Here is the Facebook event link.

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Hardly Art website

Will Johnson and Centro-matic - Little Raider EP and new track to download

Just a great little six-song EP Will Johnson of Centro-matic sat down with Jim Eno of Spoon and recorded in February. All acoustic and pretty stripped-down, though there's a bit of reverb here and there.

Buy at Undertow. (and I should mention here that the folks at Undertow are very patient and helpful with customers, like me, who can't seem to operate a simple zip file download)

Here's an interview with Will subtitulada espanol, as they say in Spain. Talks about Texas, the origins of Centro-matic, the new album (out June 21, tour starts the next day) and other things.



Finally, download the track "Only In My Double Mind" here. You may recall, we posted the video here back in January...



Centro-matic Website
(tour dates, other videos and downloads available)

Cool Video Thursday

First off of the bench is the new Video for The Raveonettes song "Apparitions", one of the tracks on Raven in the Grave:



For reference, here is our review of the album.

Seattle group Beat Connection is touring Europe at the moment, if I recall correctly, but they have released an official video for their song "In the Water":



Glasgow's dance rock outfit The Dirty Cuts gives us "2 Page Spread", making it the second week in a row we've featured knife crimes in Cool Video Thursday. What is happening to this place?

2 Page Spread / The Dirty Cuts from Robert McKillop on Vimeo.

And now for something completely different, Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells provide a song and video showcasing Moffat's off kilter sense of humor and Well's stunning musical sense -- "Copper Top". As Moffat says in the song, "Birth, love, and death: The only reasons to get dressed up."

The Semis: Primitive Mind, out soon...

Here's a terrific power-pop band from Florida. Released an album, Back to the Beach, with an absolutely wonderful "single" (shoulda been a hit), "Popov". I heard it on Indiefeed, a pretty good song-a-day podcast, back in the fall. Now comes word that The Semis have a new album coming out, and I'm looking forward to it:





There's plenty of power-pop, but listen to the guitars begin to wail at about 1:50 of the title track. What are they saying on the outro? "This song is made out of metal"? Great stuff...

The Semis on Facebook

Happy 70th Birthday Mr. Bob Dylan!

My friend the great musician/writer/producer Joe Henry said this at his Facebook page: "Let us begin to celebrate the 70th birthday of the man who for some of us has been thomas jefferson, harriet tubman, james dean, federico fellini, and muhammad ali, all stitched upon a single frame. rave on, bob..."

I can't do justice to my hero Bob Dylan in a few words, so I'll just honor the day with two songs. First, one of him as a young man, a song that captured a pivotal moment in American history and galvanized a generation:



And also, my very favorite of his more recent work, a song that captures all the uncertainties of a middle aged man. The span of Bob's artistry and reach is literally a lifetime, many lifetimes actually, mine, his, and many who came well before and well after ours.

(can't embed this one for some reason):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9EKqQWPjyo&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

I am posting a short bit on a soul song every Friday for the Soul Corner, a WYMA feature this year. For 2012, I'm leaning towards Bob Dylan Friday.

New Sounds of Scotland-Part 15: Miniature Dinosaurs; We See Lights; Crayons

The city of Stirling gives us indie pop group Miniature Dinosaurs. The groups consists of Barry Maclean (Vox, Guitar), Alban Dickson (Bass Guitar), Craig Ferrie (Guitar, Synth), and Sam Waller (Drums). The group only has been actively playing shows for a couple of years, but have released two EPs and a single in that period. Somewhat unusually, they have a clothing endorsement contract.

Here is a live studio performance of "Cold Shoulder". I like the vocal styling on this song; it reminds me of Franz Ferdinand.



"Fight or Flight" is a single released in March 2011:



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We See Lights are an Edinburgh area collective that was formed in 2007. They list their members as follows: "We See Lights are from time to time; Stephen Bogle, Paul Dougall, Ross Harvey, Jonathan Lapsley, Allan Rae, Paul Livingstone and many others." The style is twee pop, indie pop, folk rock. They released a six song EP, Twee Love Pop, on April 30, 2011, on the Heroes & Glueplots label.

"Hope You Like the Smiths"



Stream the entire EP here:


Bandcamp link to EP

In spring of 2010 they released an album entitled Ghosts & Monsters

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Crayons are from Dunfermline, Scotland. The sound is indie pop, but the difference from many bands, I think, is in the somewhat unusual rhythms. There music seems to reflect a number of influences, and the result seems to be more of a weave, than a blend, so you can appreciate the components as you listen.

"Bella Laide"



Crayons are Sean Defrancesco, Greg Robins, Andrew Carty, and Nick Hernandez, and they are another unsigned band chosen to play T In The Park this summer.

"Planet Waves"



"Parle"



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REVIEW: Restorations - Restorations

Philadelphia has given us some of the most enjoyable, if underappreciated, rock music of the last 10 years or so. Think about it, there's Marah, Living Things, Dr. Dog, Free Energy, you could probably think of another quick dozen or more off the top of your head. These are bands that collectively have made and are continuing to make great record after great record, and yet relative to their considerable artistic merit, they remain frustratingly obscure. How about a little more frustration?

The Philly band Restorations (if you want to google them without getting every home improvement site out there, try "restorations the band") recently released their self-titled debut full-length, and it's a shoo-in for my year-end top 10. At just under 35 minutes and 8 songs, it's really a tremendous album, with big, indulgent song structures and sheets of beautiful sound.

Consider, for example, "Neighborhood Song", with its crashing bar chords giving way to a melancholy verse about remembering your childhood as you grow older (I think). The song ends with a pounding bassline, over which Jon Loudon's shopworn voice sings, "The song of the neighborhood/Sung like the song of the world" and then all sonic hell breaks loose for another minute, and then slows down before it breaks loose again for another couple of minutes. You'd think a band these days couldn't get away with a lyric like that, but it works so perfectly here. Listen to it, and it'll make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.



People who hybridize music tend to be insufferable, like a bunch of idiots dressed in black standing around talking about what they taste in a glass of wine (It's peppery! I taste marbles!) but dammit I'm going to do it. Rocksteady and I are huge fans of the now defunct Brooklyn band Pela, and I think there's a good bit of that genius flowing through these songs. So maybe Restorations is like Pela with a good deal more noise heaped on top (which is never a bad thing). That noise has connections to shoegaze acts like Catherine Wheel. Loudon's hoarse vocals do remind me of Rob Dickinson at times. These songs also will make you think at times of some of the Scottish bands that make melodic noise, like Frightened Rabbit or Twilight Sad, or just melodic music, like, I swear, Glasgow's Blue Nile (mainly because the vocal melodies at times sound like Paul Buchanan).

In the end, though, it's really an American sounding record, with American excesses that make it one of those off-the-radar albums you shouldn't miss. Here's another fantastic tune, "Broken Vacuum", with a beautiful, chiming lead that, if you're old enough, will resurrect dim memories of the Alarm or Wire Train.



For all the talk of great vocals and guitars and bass, if anyone gave me a Heisman vote on this album I'd give it to the drummer (I'll edit if I'm able to figure out his name -- I did, courtesy of the Restorations page at the site of their record label - Tiny Engines. Oh, his name is Carlin Brown). In this wonderfully produced record, drums are put front and center, and are a propulsive, emotive force. In the dozens of dramatic changes in the songs, it's the drums that lead the way, most notably in the middle of the second track, "West River." There's not a lot of quality sounding live stuff up yet on youtube, but here's a pretty decent (and criminally underviewed) version of that tune.



Bands this great deserve your support. Here's the Bandcamp page where I was able to download this excellent album cheaply and without adult supervision.

Restorations Bandcamp page

Preview: Parson Red Heads

I'll be writing much more on the Parson Red Heads as the release of their new CD Yearling approaches this summer, but here's an audio peek and way to download the lead track "Burning Up the Sky".

http://buzzbands.la/2011/05/10/download-parson-red-heads-burning-up-the-sky/



It has all the features that make me love this band so much - gorgeous harmonies, tremendous lead vocals by Evan Way, positive spirit, tight writing and disciplined arrangements, just perfect power pop music.

Here's a very recent live performance of a new song that gives you a glimpse of the Parsons' warm vibe:

The new record is a big step up for the band, who got great production and engineering help from alternative pop legends Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter.

But here as a further introduction is a film for "Punctual As Usual", the best of their old songs:




Fans of Rocksteady74's Scottish pop series should like this band this a lot. Stay tuned in months ahead as WYMA will be all over the Parson Red Heads and Yearling.

Midnight World Pop Scout-15: Discopolis; Drums of Death; TD Lind

Here is this week's edition of our series of pop music from around the globe. We scout, so you don't have to. We won't make this saintly, because if you're reading this you haven't been raptured.


Discopolis
The fine young band known as Discopolis presented a bit of a dilemma for me as I was unsure whether to place them in a New Sounds of Scotland post, or a Midnight World Pop Scout post. Ultimately, I decided that the music was more house and than it was shoegaze, but obviously that is a subjective decision and it really doesn't matter much as long as I bring them to your attention.
"Lofty Ambitions"

Discopolis - Lofty Ambitions by discopolismusic

Discopolis are Fergus Cook (synth/vocals), Laurie Corlett Donald (synth/guitar), Dave Lloyd (synth/drumsfx), and Louise Kernaghan (photograph). The band lists their style as "House/Alternative/Shoegaze", but also allows that it sounds like "digital fucking".

"Summer Nightmares"

Discopolis - Summer Nightmares by discopolismusic

This Edinburgh-based group is one of the unsigned bands chosen to play the T in the Park festival this summer. If you like their tracks above, check out the Soundcloud link below. There are seven tracks, all added this year.

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Another Scottish musician I've switched to the Midnight World Pop Scout roster is Drums of Death, who signs his checks "Colin Bailey". Bailey's music is released on the Greco-Roman label. He has actively gigged, recorded and remixed since 2008.

"Got Yr Thing and LFO of My Heart" live on the BBC:



Drums of Death performs with black and white paint on his face. Apparently there is a rumor that he is the object of a voodoo curse and his heart has been replaced by a drum machine. I'm personally not giving odds better than 50/50 on that one.

"Lonely Days" from his 2010 album, Generation Hexed:



"Everything All At Once"



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I think that this week we'll end with something a bit more mellow--music from the soulful TD Lind. Lind is an Englishman who has been living in Los Angeles for the past several years. He composed the score for a recent indie film called "Feed the Fish", which included songs from his album Call Me Sinner.

Here is "Goodnight from Hollywood", live from The Hotel Cafe in Hollywood in 2010:



Following is the trailer for his new album The Outskirts Of Prosper on the Dramatico label:



Mr. Lind is new to me, but I think he bears further investigation. What do you think?

Stream Call Me Sinner here:

Call Me Sinner by TD Lind

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Old Stuff Friday - The Soul Corner - "Every Little Bit Hurts"

Following a bit on the theme of our recent Bettye LaVette post, here's another little known Motown artist with an amazing voice and singing style who got unfairly lost in the shuffle.

Brenda Holloway is hardly a household name. But you'd be hard pressed to name many more memorable soul ballads than this. What a vocal performance.

Friday Old Stuff: The Chills

The Chills, along with The Bats and the Clean, were part of the music scene that put New Zealand on the indie rock map. The Chills were formed in Dunedin by Martin Phillipps in 1980. The first three singles were "Rolling Moon", "Pink Frost, and "Doledrums" which, in addition to being stunningly good songs for a new band, defined the broad spectrum of The Chills' artistic range: Psychedelia; Folk; Pop; and Rock. The band's sound was characterized by chiming guitar hooks and vocal harmonies, but with a rock/indie edge.

"Rolling Moon" is one of my favorite songs from the band:



There were many line up changes in their journey; I recall reading that there were ten different versions of The Chills, with Phillipps being the only constant member. The original drummer, Martyn Bull, died of leukemia a few months after "Pink Frost" was recorded. The band had a successful European tour in the mid-80s, but two members resigned at the end of the tour. Phillipps added bandmates and recorded and lived in New Zealand and London. In 1992, Phillips ended The Chills. There were brief subsequent editions in '97 and 2004, but the albums produced didn't make an impact with the public. As noted at the bottom of this post, there is a current version of the band.

In addition to Phillipps and Bull, players over the 1980-1992 period included Peter Gutteridge, Alan Haig, Jane Dodd, Rachael Phillipps, Fraser Batts, Terry Moore, Peter Allison, David Kilgour (briefly), Martin Kean, Caroline Easther, Andrew Todd, Justin Harwood, James Stephenson, Gillian Dempster, Steven Schayer, Earl Robertson, Lisa Mednick, and Craig Mason.

"Heavenly Pop Hit", shows The Chills in their most pop mode:



Perhaps The Chills' best know song is "Pink Frost". The song was the subject of much discussion regarding whether the death discussed in the song was an actual death. Apparently it was a song about a dream of a partner's death, but the speculation that it concerned a real incident probably helped the song's popularity. This video is from a 1988 live performance:



I don't know how many of The Chills' recordings from 1980 to 1992 remain available, but New Zealand's iconic Flying Nun label released a compilation entitled Heavenly Pop Hits in 1994. It includes all of the band's singles from that period plus a few uptempo favorites of The Chills' fans.

My research shows that Martin Phillipps has formed The Chills yet again. The current members, in addition to Phillipps, are Todd Knudson, James Dickson, and Erica Stichbury. The website and Facebook links are below.

Facebook
Website for current version of The Chills

Cool Video Thursday: Boy Friend; Aidan Moffat and the Best Ofs; Hot Bodies in Motion

Here is the official video for "Lovedropper" by Austin band Boy Friend. The band consists of Christa Palazzolo and Sarah Brown, but I haven't had much time to find out more.

BOY FRIEND - Lovedropper (Official Video) from HELL, YES! on Vimeo.

This video is a couple of years old, but it is a favorite of mine. It pretends to be a You Tube fan recording himself miming to "Big Blonde" by Aidan Moffat and the Best Ofs. The joke is that the man in the video is former Arab Strap member, Aidan Moffat.



Of course, it helps that it is a good song.

Seattle band Hot Bodies In Motion has released the following video for their song, "Old Habits", about some guys working in a pizza shop who shouldn't have gone to work one particular day.

Hot Bodies in Motion - Old Habits from Zeek Earl on Vimeo.

Cults

Do you like surf and garage guitar styings, primitive rhythm, lo-fi ambiance, 60s girl-group vocals and a dark, brooding atmosphere? If so, give Cults a try. Cults are Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin. The duo are former film students from California, but their current location as the East Village in NYC.

"Abducted"


The music is moody, sleek, a bit louche. Listen to "You Know What I Mean" below, and see if you agree with me that it could be the soundtrack for a prom in a remake of Blue Velvet. Phil Spector with a handful of 'ludes?

"You Know What I Mean"
Cults - You Know What I Mean by cultscultscults

There isn't a lot of information about them, but there are several more songs available on You Tube. And you can stream and evaluate Cults' not yet released 7" below:


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REVIEW: Alela Diane & Wild Divine

I just discovered Alela Diane on the recent release of her 3rd CD Alela Diane & Wild Divine (Rough Trade Records). What a terrific singer and writer. Maybe I somehow missed the boat because she was often lumped into the "freak folk" scene, which I'm not totally sure what that is, but nonetheless never signed up for their newsletter. But this full band effort is quite varied stylistically. It's a rich, warm and very moving set of songs.

Expectations are a tricky thing in music - they can bring you in, push you away, make you give something much more of a chance, or give up on it more quickly. This record for me is the experience we've all had where some patience was greatly rewarded. I liked the record on first impression, but find it dialing in more with each successive listen. Now I can't put the CD away, am moving it from home to car to office.

Alela's singing is a rare combination of multi-octave technically great, emotionally expressive, tasteful, super cool, and never overdone. She delivers the song.

The production by Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana, the Replacements, and a long list) is outstanding, using a filled out sound to capture the full expression of each song but still keep the focus on Alela Diane's strong, memorable voice.

My favorite songs here are not the slightest bit "folk" (not that folk songs or even "freak folk" songs are bad): - one is a gentle and perfect pop song, "Desire", two are country songs "Long Way Down" and "Of Many Colors" and "Heartless Highway" is this slightly jazzy slow groove with a killer vocal hook about two minutes in ("But I've got to get back, I've got to get back..."). Listen here:

http://hypem.com/#!/search/alela+diane

http://mp3searchy.com/download/alela_diane_long_way_down.html

http://www.4shared.com/audio/64HoA5do/08_Heartless_Highway.html

There is some excellent guitar work here too by Tom Bevitori and Tom Medig, Diane's husband and father, respectively. It's a family affair.

Not many videos available to embed yet, but there are excellent studio performances of "Elijah" and "To Begin", songs from this CD here (see left column in link), along with a great deal of other artist info: http://www.aleladiane.com/

In the end, it's all about that voice. Truly special. Here's a taste:

REVIEW: David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights - Left By Soft

David Kilgour is rightly a guitar legend for his work with the Clean as well as his excellent solo albums. On his latest release, Left By Soft, the guitar takes front and center -- acoustic, electric, two and three guitar tracks on top of one another, and some spectacular leads. In addition, there's plenty of jangle. In fact, after about a 30-second intro in which the first track seems to be going in almost a heavy blues direction, the first chiming lead guitar takes off, and the record stays aloft from there on out.

There's some psychedelic guitar work on "A Break in the Weather" and a few other tracks, but most of it is pretty straight-ahead guitar rock, the kind of stuff you'd expect from Kilgour (as you would from, say, Neil Young and Crazy Horse and The Feelies) and it doesn't all sound the same so much as it all sounds absolutely wonderful.

To me, the highlight and centerpiece of the reocrd is the 6:10 "Diamond Mine", the 8th of 11 tracks. Composed of multiple overlaid guitar tracks, it's seamless and easygoing, but with fierce leads that take you here and there, while the band keeps things anchored. It's pure joy and a perfect example of the best of Kilgour's work.

Download "Diamond Mine" here:

If you're at all unfamiliar with his work, let me recommend Frozen Orange and The Far Now, both relatively recent releases. The Far Now has the same band on it. But I'd recommend all of it, including the old Clean records, because there are no low points.

In addition to Kilgour on guitars, the band consists of Taane Tokona on drums, Tony de Raad on guitar and keyboards, and Thomas Bell on bass and keyboards. They've made a wonderful record.

For a limited time, you can stream the whole release at Merge Records. Check it out.

Here's a strange little video of the song "Living in Space" that showcases Nashville, where Frozen Orange was partially recorded... no videos from the current album, yet.



David Kilgour Website

David Kilgour at Merge Records (2 downloads available)

New Sounds of Scotland-Part 14: Aerials Up; Cancel the Astronauts

In this edition, we are featuring two of the several unsigned bands selected to play the T in the Park festival this summer.


Aerials Up plays orchestral indie pop. They may remind you of the good parts of Arcade Fire, but with more hooks and less superfluous drama. The bands debut EP, Superglue, is available at their website.

Here is the trailer for Superglue, which gives you a good taste of their music:

Aerials Up - Superglue (promo) from Aerials Up on Vimeo.

Aerials Up members are listed as Kemy (lead vocals/guitar), Debbie (vocals/guitar/glockenspiel), Murphy (bass), Neil (guitar/vocals), Chris (drums), Cat (violin/vocals), and Ruth (cello/vocals). The large number of talented players allows the band to produce intricate music and, when necessary, a very full sound.

"All Your Mothers Daughters", live:



"First in the Fire" from their 2010 T in the Park performance:



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Edinburgh indie pop group Cancel the Astronauts has been a favorite of mine for a while. The members are Matt Riley, Kieran McCaffrey, Michael Craig, Neil Davidson, and Chris Kay.

"Funny for a Girl"



Cancel the Astronauts played their first gig in 2007, and they have released two EPs. They are promising an album later this year.

Stream the "Funny for a Girl" EP



And here is a deal that is too good to pass up -- Download their first EP for free here. The first song is particularly good, and funny. Darkly funny.

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REVIEW: Wye Oak - Civilian

Along the lines of artists like Centro-matic and Sparklehorse, Wye Oak traverses the line between carefully-assembled, really beautiful acoustic rock music and equally gorgeous (to my ears, at least) feedback-filled squalls of electric guitar, with some truly spectacular leads.

Throughout, Jenn Wasner's vocals are well-sung and very well-recorded. And like Centro-matic (I promise, this is both an apt comparison and a compliment), the drummer, Andy Stack, plays a huge role in anchoring the music. Check out his drumming on "Dog's Eyes", and the great keyboard work on the title track when it really gets rolling.

I liked this record when I first heard it, but have liked it more with each additional listen. If every song rocked as hard as "Holy, Holy" this would still be a spectacular record... but the variety in volume and tempo make things even more interesting, really make the record a little stickier. .

Here's the video for track 6, "Fish":

Wye Oak - Fish (Official Video) from City Slang on Vimeo.

And here's the title track with a link to their Bandcamp page:



Sometimes I will happen upon a band and develop an instant affinity for their style... such is the case here. And to discover the extent of their back catalog: two albums, 2008's If Children and 2009's The Knot, plus a 2010 EP My Neighbor, My Creator... well, that's an added pleasure and makes me all the more excited about this band. If you like good, honest, well-crafted rock that doesn't mind cranking up the guitars, check this out and spread the word. Wye Oak deserves to have more than just an "indie" audience.

Wye Oak website at Merge Records

Wye Oak Homepage

Midnight World Pop Scout-14: Marthas and Arthurs; Wolf Gang; Is Tropical

And here is 14th in our series of pop around the world. We scout so you don't have to.



Tom Ball, Esther Ball, Mary Douglas-Home and Matt Hart are Marthas and Arthurs, and they might sing some of the best indie pop you've ever heard. The Guardian's reviewer referred to their sound as "Belle & Sebastian backing Mamas & Papas".

"Sally Started it All", supposedly about a girl named Sally who started out signing with the group:



Some of their earlies performances were at care centers, chosen because the residents 'couldn't run away'.

"Clamour for a Fudge"



I recommend that you check out the Bandcamp link below, as it offers a free download of their Apes in Aeroplanes EP.

Bandcamp
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Wolf Gang is a London-based one man band. His debut album, Suego Faults, is scheduled for release on June 27 on the Atlantic label.

"Dancing with the Devil"



Suego Faults sampler:
Suego Faults Sampler by wolfgang

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Is Tropical is a London electro-rock group.

"South Pacific"



"Tan Man"



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Old Stuff Friday - Ann Peebles "I Can't Stand the Rain"

I've got a great live performance of a terrific one for you today. The intro gives you a chance to hear the backstory behind the song, as told by legendary Memphis producer Willie Mitchell, who recently passed away. Mitchell is the architect of the classic Al Green sound, which you can hear here as well.



Most people are far more familiar with the later version of this song by the great Tina Turner, but I'm partial to this original.

And while we have a beautiful day here in the Pacific NW today at least, it's been an absurdly wet Spring, so I've been humming this tune a lot the last few months.

I was worried that Google's technical issues would keep the Soul Corner from running today, but we're back in action here at WYMA HQ.

Friday Old Stuff: Monks

After Hardy broke the barrier on rude (or loving, depending on your perspective) language earlier this week with his post on the Fucking Cops (and welcome to all our new readers whose search engines provided them with this site rather than something more, um, physical), I thought we should have a religious themed Old Stuff entry. And what could be more appropriate that that respectful, pious, quiet classification of religious folk known as monks?

But perhaps we should listen to the monks chant, I mean, the "Monk Chant", while we discuss them further:



Monks were Gary, Roger, Eddie, Larry and Dave. Originally, they were the Torquays, and the band was formed by former GIs in Germany in the mid 60s. They enjoyed some popularity, but yearned for bigger crowds, better venues and record contracts. Their management team decided that they needed a striking image to go with their aggressive sound and their new christening as Monks. The result was distinctive garb for performances and street wear, and haircuts that reflected the tonsure of actual monks.

"Love Came Tumblin Down" is one of my favorites. There actually is a pop song buried in this track. I promise.



As you can hear, their sound was fuzzy, primitive and loud, with big rhythms and plenty of social commentary. The band tells of being treated respectfully in Hamburg because of their appearance, until the residents saw them chasing women and drinking whiskey. Hamburg was, perhaps, the perfect place for them and they built a following. As one monk said, the good kids followed the Beatles, the bad kids followed us.

Here is a 1965 live performance of "Complication" from German TV:



There are good arguments that the Monks are the seminal garage/punk band. As an act, they were a creature of the 60s and their time as a popular act ended with the decade. The players were burned out and the social and musical landscapes had shifted.

"I Can't Get Over You"



Fortunately, the wonderful Seattle label, Light in the Attic Records, has issued two Monks compilations. One is the essential Monk compilation, Black Monk Time. The other is The Early Years: 1964-1965. Both collections contain history and photos and are very well compiled. According to the label, they are available in CD or vinyl.

Monk's page at Light in the Attic Records
Light in the Attic Records website

The Monks website contains some historical revelations from the band, and is a fun read.

Warren Haynes: Man in Motion

Somehow in the midst of his relentless touring and session playing schedule, Warren Haynes found time to assemble an almost unbelievable band and record what sounds like a modern blues rock classic.

Here's a video in which you can hear Warren discussing how this album came together. It sounds terrific, and based on my experience with Warren (Allman Brothers, Govt Mule), it's assured that the guitar and vocals will be great. The cast he has assembled boasts unassailable credentials in rock, soul and blues... Ian McLagan (Faces, Rolling Stones), George Porter, Jr. on bass and Ivan Neville on keyboards (The Meters), Raymond Weber of Dirty Dozen Brass Band on drums, blues singer Ruthie Foster (who previously guested on Govt Mule's The Deep End) and tenor saxist Ron Holloway.



You can download a track at his website:

And finally, here's a live performance of the title track from a concert in December when Warren unveiled it:



Warren Haynes Website

Thursday Odds and Ends from Saadiq, Yuck and Times New Viking

First is my "Cool Video Thursday" entry, from the talented Raphael Saadiq. Mr. Saadiq has a new album, entitled Steady Rollin', and this is the title track:



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Next, we have a new song from one of the best young noise/psych pop outfits, Yuck. The song is "Milkshake", and is one of the two tracks on their new single.

Milkshake by Yuck

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And from the very good new album, Dancer Enquired, by Ohio's Times New Viking, we have the cool video for "Ever Falling In Love". I think this album deserves a review, soon.



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Put down your beer! It's the Fucking Cops!

I thought about putting an asterisk in the title to this post. You know, to make it less offensive. Because if we are to go by internet usage, there is a large group of people in this world who are repelled by seeing the written phrase "The Fucking Cops", and yet with a simple modification, viz: "The F*cking Cops", their panties remain magically unsoiled. If I were really clever I'd have done the heading something like: "The Fuck*ng Cops", and sought feedback on its offensiveness. I don't know, maybe that's not so clever.

When I was young, profanity was all I needed. "Bodies" by the Sex Pistols is a great song in and of itself, but given its lyrics, it could have been sung by the Eagles and I'd have worn out the grooves on my copy of it. Now I've got kids, and although there's pretty much zero censorship of music amongst the family unit, when it comes to sexual or scatological band names, I get a little squirrelly. And when you mix the two? Well, you get bands like Ass Ponys, and I must cop to never having bought an Ass Ponys record.

The point here, belatedly arrived at, is that now that I'm supposed to be mature and everything, a band that has a cuss name had better be damned good, and there's this Cleveland punk rock band called the Fucking Cops that's a whole lot better than damned good. Last week they released their second EP, "Fuck You Up With Some Truth", and in the middle of a bunch of other good music being released by good bands, I cannot stop listening to it.

Here's the video from the second of the six songs, "Sweating or Freezing". Awesome song, Blatz beer, High on Fire poster, and backward tape loops that are no doubt satanic earn it the WYMA seal of approval.



There aren't any other videos or live recordings from this EP, but trust me on this, every tune is terrific. Crunching guitars underneath non-ostentatious, solo-Mould-esque leads, a very high functioning rhythm section, good vocals and great group shouting (maybe tone down a bit of the angst in the lyrics, but what the hell am I doing listening for the lyrics anyway?).

My favorite tune, and, really, maybe my favorite song I've heard this year, is "For Whom the Taco Bell Tows". This is authentic minor key punk rock, redolent of some of the best efforts of Japandroids (but with a nice guitar solo as a bonus). Go to the bandcamp site and check out that song. Then buy this and their very strong EP from last year, "You Have the Right to Shut the Fuck Up." Here's a video for a great song from that record, "Paycheck", which offers a nice panorama of their hometown, including a stagedive into Lake Erie. Cleveland is a very cool place, and these guys should make it fucking proud.



The Fucking Cops on bandcamp

New Sounds of Scotland--Part 13: The Little Kicks; POST

The Little Kicks is one of the projects of Aberdeen musician Steven Milne. The band has four members, with Milne (on vocals, guitar and keys) joined by Scott Kelman (drums, vocals), Lewis Porter (bass), and Toby Brunning (lead guitar). Their first album, Boxing Clever was released in 2009 and was well received in Scotland. The band's sound is a brand of upbeat pop/rock, and if you like it, there are quite a few songs to stream at the Soundcloud link below. The band will be releasing their second album later this year.

"Call of Youth" (free download at Bandcamp link below) will be on the 2011 release:



"I Know It's Over" is a nice jangly pop tune:

I Know It's Over by THE LITTLE KICKS

The band are energetic performers and good songwriters. While success is difficult to predict for any young band, an indication of The Little Kick's quality is the list of bands that have chosen them as a supporting act, including The Vaccines, Foals, Maximo Park, Editors, The Kooks, Brakes, Maccabees, Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad, Broken Records, The Rakes, and Lightspeed Champion. I also get the sense that there is a bit of the necessary ambition about these guys.

"We Came Alive", from 2009:



Video from "Optimist", in 2006:



Bandcamp with free download
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POST plays energetic, spiky and a bit punky rock, and the two videos I've included are entertaining to watch. Musically, they remind me more than a little bit of Glasgow icons Josef K. Would you like to know more about them? Well, so would I, but I haven't been able to learn much. They have a debut single which was just released, and is comprised of the songs provided below. They are part of the interesting Scottish music collective We Can Still Picnic, which I have linked for you. Happy listening and, if you like them, happy hunting!

"Knocking Down the Same Door"



"R.I.T.H."




We Can Still Picnic

Emerging Seattle Bands: Ravenna Woods (updated)

Ravenna Woods plays a distinctive brand of folksy indie rock (not folk rock). The band describes their style as "indie/acoustic/experimental" and that seems to be a good tag. Instrumentation included guitars, violin, mandolin, xylophone, and "paranoid words". The members are Chris Cunningham, Brantley Duke and Matt Badger.

Here is the video for "Graves", one of the tracks on their May 6 release, Valley of the Headless Men:


Below is a partial stream of the new album:


The back story is a interesting. Cunningham started working on songs while a contract teacher in the Marshall Islands in 2007-2008. When he returned to Seattle, he met Duke, a musician and recording engineer, and they started playing music together. They added Badger in 2009.

The intricate vocals, varied acoustic instrumentation and dark-tinged vocals make Ravenna Woods a compelling listen.

Ravenna Woods' first album was Demons and Lakes, released in 2010. "In the World" was one of the tracks on that LP:

"Ghosts", also from Demons and Lakes, about the devastating effects of nuclear testing in the South Pacific on nature and people:


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Midnight World Pop Scout-13: Selebrities; Tiger Love; Her Name is Vilolet

Here is the lucky thirteenth edition of our weekly report of pop from around the globe. The point of the Midnight World Pop Scout posts isn't reviews or analysis, it is to alert you to music of which you may not be aware.


Selebrities are a three piece from Brooklyn that plays 80s style New Wave pop music with a dash of gothy darkness. The members are Maria Usbeck (Vocals/synth), Jer Robert Paulin (Guitar(s)/synth), and Max Peterson (production, drums, synth, synth bass).

The new single, "Can't Make Up My Mind":

Can't Make Up My Mind from Selebrities on Vimeo.

"Secret Garden"


"Time"


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London-based Tiger Love consists of Roy, Gigi and Loral. According to their Facebook page, Roy and Gigi are brothers who grew up in New York, and Loral is the "underage" drummer. Their sound will remind you of the '80s, but in a good way. It is a delightful mix of synths, beats, engaging tunes and dirty lyrics.
"Gio Gio"


"Under Control"


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Our third offering today is Swiss indie pop from And Her Name is Violet. The members of the band are Carlo Caduff, who is the drummer, and multi-instrumentalist Hannes Barfus. There is little out there to buy, but they make a free song available on their website, and an EP is available on German iTunes.
"Moondance" is their debut single:

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Donkeys - Born With Stripes

Have liked this band since I first discovered them on Daytrotter several years ago. Of course, it's Centro-matic related, somebody had kindly pointed me to Will Johnson's Daytrotter session and the Donkeys one caught my eye for some reason... Really liked the song "Come On Virginia" the first time I heard it, and wanted to hear some more.

Slacker psych is how I would describe it, but please don't let that put you off if you take "slacker" as a pejorative... give them a try. These guys can really play, they just aren't in a hurry. Really looking forward to getting my hands on this record.

Video for "Don't Know Who We Are":

Don't Know Who We Are by The Donkeys from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

Donkeys Website at Dead Oceans (two free downloads)

Favorite Old Garage Band Friday: The Sonics

Perhaps my favorite garage band of the 60s is the iconic Pacific Northwest group known as The Sonics. The Sonics were characterized by the ferocious fuzzy garage rock sound, led by guitarist Larry Parypa, and Gerry Roslie's screaming vocals. The group was founded in Tacoma, Washington in 1960 by Parypa, originally playing R&B, and survived various line up changes. The group eventually solidified when Roslie and several others joined from another local band.

Here is their first single, "The Witch":



Roslie's voice easily transitioned into soul and R&B numbers, and The Sonics albums contains several tracks in that style, including some very nice covers. While that isn't the version of The Sonics that carries their reputation to the present day, I've included one of their torch song covers from the 1966 LP Boom.

"Since I Fell For You"



The flip side of "The Witch" was "Psycho":



In my mind, no discussion of The Sonics is complete without a reference to their version of one of the Pacific Northwest's most famous rock songs -- "Louie Louie". Led by Roslie's vocal performance, The Sonics turn the barroom sing along into an anguished love song.



The Sonics have been cited as an influence by many following bands in the garage and grunge genres. They have reunited in various combinations from time to time for gigs, and in 2010 the group recorded four new tracks.

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Old Stuff Friday - The Soul Corner - Otis Redding

I am rushing out of town and have little time to write. So I've selected a singer and song that need no introduction or contextual explanation.

Wow, this is some amazing live footage! This video deserves its 3.2 million views.

Enjoy your weekend:

Cool Video Thursday (and new discovery): Jonny with "Candyfloss"

Jonny are Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub and Euros Child, formerly of the now-defunct Welsh psychedelic band, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. This combination brings us two gifted and prolific songwriters. Here is the video for their first single, "Candyfloss":



The band just released an album, also named Jonny, on the Merge label. Other players on the album include Dave McGowan of Teenage Fanclub and Stuart Kidd (formerly of the BMX Bandits, which included Blake) helping out on bass and drums. It was recorded by ex-Delgado Paul Savage at the Chem 19 studio, which is beginning to be a touchstone of albums I've liked lately.

If you like clever wordplay and are a fan of the Teenage Fanclub, I suggest you give it a try. And speaking of giving it a try, you can stream the entire album on the Merge page linked HERE. I've listened to it and it is a quality album. To be honest, I'm actually on my second time through the album. I think this one could be a contender for a year end list.

"You Was Me", also from the new album:



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The Lucid Dream: "Love in My Veins"

Some tasty psychedelic rock:

Jangle, check.

Tambourines, check.

Fuzzy guitars, check.

They've kept company with Brian Jonestown Massacre on a British psych compilation and toured with another good band I've featured on here recently, The Crocodiles. Good stuff, looking forward to hearing more. You can listen to several songs at their Soundcloud and Myspace pages (links below).

The Lucid Dream - Love In My Veins by The Lucid Dream

And here's the B-side "Devil Rides Out":

The Lucid Dream - Devil Rides Out 'The Time and Space Machine' re-mix 7" version by The Lucid Dream

Lucid Dream Soundcloud


Lucid Dream Myspace

New Sounds of Scotland--Part 12: Upcoming Releases and New Singles

In today's edition we'll mention some notable upcoming albums and showcase some singles from those releases.


Glasgow's Sons and Daughters are releasing their new LP, Mirror Mirror in June, as well. The band has been working at tweaking their hard hitting style with a bit of electronics, and I'm expecting a great album from this Rocksteady74 favorite. Below are two tracks and the promotional trailer for the album.

"Silver Spell"

Sons & Daughters - Silver Spell by DominoRecordCo

"Breaking Fun" Link

Trailer for Mirror Mirror





We discussed Edinburgh School for the Deaf in April (refresher view here). The band is releasing their debut LP of death jangle, New Youth Bible, in June. You can listen to the just released single below.

"Orpheus Descending/Orpheus Ascending"

Edinburgh School for the Deaf - Orpheus Descending/Orpheus Ascending by bubblegumrecords



I'm very happy to report that the beginning of fall will bring a new long playing present from one of my favorite young Scottish bands, Wake the President. The band plays classic Glasgow post punk indie pop characterized by Erik Sanberg's wry lyrical stories and punctuated by Bjorn Sanberg's excellent guitar work. While we wait for the album we can listen to its first single release:

"Elaine"

Elaine (1st 7" single from the new album) by Wake the President

A band we've profiled in March, SHe's HiT, will be releasing their first LP in June. We intend to review the album closer to its launch. For readers who need or want to refresh their memories, you can review our previous discussion of SHe's HiT here, and the video for their new single here.

Richard Buckner: "Traitor" from Our Blood

Merge Records announces a new Buckner record in August. It's been a while (since Meadow in 2006), but his records are worth the wait.

First song is "Traitors"

Sounds great, and good to have him back...

Here's an older video, actually one of those amazing moments you wish you'd seen in person... and if you did, you'd be telling your friends about it until they got sick of hearing about it.



Richard Buckner Website at Merge Records

Parts & Labor: "Echo Chamber" from Constant Future

Pretty good record by this Brooklyn band on Jagjaguwar Records. Having a hard time categorizing it, I saw where somebody called it "experimental rock", and I would probably declare the experiment a success. It's pretty aggressive, and the heavy drums and guitars really move along while the synths add some nice texture. Wall of Voodoo with attitude? King Crimson meets Bad Brains? How about "really, really good"? Seriously, give it a try...



Here's their website, and you can listen to the whole thing, song by song, just by clicking on the multicolored outstretched hands from left to right:

Parts & Labor: Constant Future

Lo-Fi Freebies: Honeydrum; We Are Losers

Some days one can wander around the internet looking for new and interesting music and realize that you've accomplished little other than avoiding that long list of spring yard duties that normal people think need to be accomplished. But some days yield exciting discoveries. And the best days yield exciting free discoveries.

Today brings you two bands with a lo-fi approach to pop music, and they have made EPs available for downloading at the Bandcamp links I've provided.


The first free EP is Vacation from the New Brunswick, New Jersey group Honeydrum. If you look closely at their Bandcamp page, you'll notice two additional EPs available for free download. That's nine songs, and they are good songs.
"Shy Boy"

Honeydrum - Shy Boy from Behind the Walk-in on Vimeo.

"Romper Stomper"

Honeydrum - Romper Stomp from honeydrum on Vimeo.

Honeydrum records on the Amdiscs label. Check out the Tumblr link below to view their multiple releases with some videos.
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The second generously provided release is the We Are Losers EP from the Irish band We Are Losers.

The members of We Are Losers are Gavin Elsted, Gary Clarke, Bronwyn Murphy-White and Steve Colan, and they are signed to the Ghost Planet label.
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REVIEW: Kasey Anderson and the Honkies - Heart of A Dog

Kasey Anderson sheds his alt.country/singer-songwriter shackles to let 'er rip on his latest CD Heart of a Dog (Red River Records). It's pure rock'n'roll, a joyride, though still rooted in Anderson's well told, well crafted songs.

Here's the video of the lead track "The Wrong Light":



The record closes with a blistering bar band cover of the English Beat classic "Save It For Later". Picture Bruce and The E Street Band ripping through it at the end of a third encore on a night they are really feeling it.

http://hypem.com/#!/search/Kasey+Anderson+and+The+Honkies

There are many great songs here, 2 of my favorites being the piano driven, mid-tempo rocker "Exit Ghost", and the rollicking guitar romp "Sirens and Thunder". The more straightforward rock'n'roll approach suits Anderson's strong, bourbon-soaked voice well. He can belt and also dial it back effectively. He's a natural singer who conveys a ton of emotion without ever having to overdo it. Listen here:



This blog has been a tireless supporter of The Drive-By Truckers and Centro-Matic. Fans of both those bands are going to like this record a whole lot and should seek it out.

The title of the record is taken from a Mikhail Bulgakov novella, which Anderson says contains a passage that sums up the soul of this record for him: "By kindness. The only method possible in dealing with other living creatrues. By terror you cannot get anywhere with an animal, no matter what its stage of development. I've always asserted this, I assert it today, and I shall go on asserting it. They are wrong thinking that terror will help them."

Here's a fairly recent live video of an older song not on this record, giving you a peek at Kasey Anderson's presence and confident delivery:



Artist web page: http://www.kaseyanderson.com/