New Noise :: The Twilight Sad :: Cold Days From The Birdhouse

With Idlewild dropping the proverbial ball, what Scots can we look to now for good music? Who from the land of scholars and great drinkers is capable of carrying the banner? Well, I'd put my money on The Twilight Sad. Of all the bands I'm missing by not going to SXSW, I'm most upset about not getting to see these guys. With their debut full-length Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters set to drop on Apr. 18th out now from the sure-do-know-what-they're-doing FatCat Records and lots of U.S. dates, these Glaswegians are poised to do big things.

The Twilight Sad create huge, post-rock anthems that all generally tend to start off slow and sparse, letting singer James Graham's thickly-accented vocals take center stage. His voice and words are one of the band's strongsuits. As a frontman, Graham is comprable to The National's Matt Berninger, singing with the conviction of a poet. After the smoky intros, the songs tend to kick in proper - cymbals crash down like debris, and guitars drone loudly like a million bees overhead. It's a noisy and imperfect affair, and that's what makes it special. It never comes off as over-produced or too clean, and when you can actually hear Graham backing off the mike occasionally, then the music feels real. Enjoy the track.

The Twilight Sad Cold Days From The Birdhouse

Head to the band's myspace page to stream some other terrific songs from the album, and buy their music here.

The Word :: Patrick Wolf :: The Magic Position

Life is hard for a wunderkind musician. Think about it. You're 18 to 20 years old, and people are already praising your work left and right when really you're just a narcissistic kid working through the self-possessed horror that was your adolescence. It would be very easy to deny your own maturity and stay stuck in that attention-garnering position for years (just look at Ben Kweller or Ben Lee). Irish pop wunderkind Patrick Wolf faced a similar problem but with his latest release The Magic Position, he embraces his post-pubescence and comes out all the better for it.

At 23 and with two brilliant but angst-ridden and somewhat dour records under his belt, Wolf has taken his usual Brit-folk and chamber pop music and turned it into a triumphant anthem that is occasionally pure joy in musical form while still acknowledging his darker past. He put it best himself in one of his recent blog posts: 'I have toured my albums before and communicated darkness and mysteries and have left feeling empty but now after communicating my loves I feel full and still hungry for more.' These newfound loves are no more apparent than in the title track, which is one of those incredible love songs where while it could be about a lover (especially with the slightly suggestive title), it is just as easily applied to friends or family who inspire and care for you.

This new lyrical approach has also had an effect on Wolf's already impressive songcrafting. His violins, pianos, and interesting inclusion of electronic bleeps and beats still come across like The Divine Comedy meets Final Fantasy (the band, not the video game) but now have a bouncy, jovial quality that is undeniable, giving even the most crepuscular moments of the album (like Augustine, below) a light of hope.

Patrick Wolf The Magic Position

Patrick Wolf Augustine

Buy The Magic Position and Patrick Wolf's other albums here.

Tube :: Menomena: "Wet and Rusting"

Dearest Tug has already extolled the virtues of hot-shit Barsuk act Menomena before. The Portland trio's video for "Wet and Rusting" (quite possibly the finest cut from the very fine Friend and Foe album) recently debuted on MTV's Subterranean Blog, and it's about everything you'd expect to see from a band that cheekily named it's first record I am the Fun Blame Monster! (Double bonus points if you get why that's cheeky without looking it up on Wikipedia.) The Lance Bangs-directed video finds Death busting up Menomena practice and granting the group their last wishes. See it here. (Yes, MTV is fully aware that its website-producing interns got the title wrong.)

In other fun Menomena-related items, if you search for Menomena on YouTube, this is the first hit:


The fun blame monster, indeed!

Musings :: Huh?

So I didn't know about this neat little feature on iTunes where if you're on a shared network with other computers, you can see and listen to other users' libraries. I discovered this while sitting at a local coffee shop this evening. A shared library popped up on my iTunes, and I scrolled through. It was full of stuff that every girl I ever dated in high school listened to. Tori Amos, Indigo Girls, and every damn thing that Ani Difranco ever recorded - including bootlegs of live shows. Since I was sitting at a college coffee house, I looked around the room at all the hipster girls, but none of them had a laptop. I forgot about the whole thing until this guy sitting across from me closed his laptop and, instantly, the shared library disappeared. I was highly amused.

Tube :: Battles :: Atlas

So I don't want to harp on about Battles too much, but I just got to listen to their upcoming album Mirrored, and it's one of the best albums I've heard in years. It's brilliantly composed, taking a very classical approach to experimental art-rock. I'm dying to see how it works live, and I have a feeling this album will be on many of those end-of-the-year lists that we blogger/music geeks are so fond of. Warp Records just officially released the video for the first single 'Atlas,' which has been floating the around the Intarwub for a few weeks now. The band apparently built the set for the video themselves, and it ties into the album artwork as well ('mirrored', get it?). You must watch.

As a bonus, I'm reposting the video mix of 'Atlas,' which is much shorter than the album version, and I may even like it better. I can't decide.

Battles - Atlas (Video Mix)

Idle Chatter :: Arcade Fire :: Black Mirror

Pat and I both being big fans of workday procrastination had a long talk about the new Arcade Fire album (out tomorrow) on Friday and decided that instead of each of us reviewing it, we would just post the conversation. So please enjoy our banter, musical snobbery, and us trying to guess what Pitchfork would give them album. (We were both wrong. And why don't you listen to some of the new Arcade Fire while you read?

Arcade Fire Black Mirror

tug: Dude. This new Arcade Fire is a little disappointing.
pat: how so?
tug: I don't know. Can't put my finger on it. The string arrangements aren't as good as when Owen Pallet was doing them. And I've heard live versions of most of these songs, and the album versions just sound completely different than what I expected from the live recordings.
pat: fair enough.
tug: Are you digging it?
tug: I mean, ‘No Cars Go’ comes the closest to what I wanted it to be, but it's still not quite there.
pat: honestly, i don't enjoy it as much as i did Funerals.
tug: OK, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who thought that.
pat: but i still think it's good.
pat: i think there are some remarkable moments on Black Mirror and while i was married to the sound of "no cars go" from a bootleg i heard, i'm very pleased with how it sounds now.
pat: i think if people are expecting Funerals, part two, they'll be monumentally disappointed.
tug: Yeah, it's definitely missing something from Funerals. Do you think it's just because Pallet's gone? There's got to be more to it than that.
pat: production-wise, it seems a lot more clamored.
tug: Yeah. Not as 'we did this in our house!'
pat: as much as there was going on in Funerals, there seems to be twice as much going on now.
tug: Yeah, they've added all these new musicians, and while I bet it makes the live shows incredible, it just sounds like the guy who mixed it had no idea what to do with it all.
pat: i think that's definitely part of it. the old saying is, "too many cooks spoil the broth." i think what's working in the arcade fire's favor, though, is that they're trying to grow. there are a lot of darker songs here.
tug: Really dark stuff. But yet, it's kind of a really good time.
pat: it is. it's a strange kind of good time, like the one you get from getting really high and watching a spaced-out science fiction movie.
tug: Yeah, like when I used to relish in the wallowing darkness of an Elliot Smith album.
pat: indeed.
pat: i can't help but wonder if there's not going to be a little bit of a backlash with this record, though. and, moreover, i wonder how they'll approach the next album.
tug: Of course. Ooh. Let's do our own Pitchfork predictions.
pat: man. that's a tough one.
tug: I'm thinking they give it a 7.9.
pat: they're either really going to love it or really going to hate it.
tug: I wonder what they gave Funerals.
pat: 9.7
tug: Wow. Your google is faster than my google. I bow to your google.
pat: it's interesting, because as much as they jizzed over Funerals, they didn't like the self-titled ep.
tug: Yeah. Which is not very different from Funerals.
pat: i wonder if pitchfork will be able to evaluate it as an entirely different entity. because it is. it's totally different than Funerals. it's ironically sparser, yet more calamitously orchestrated. it's darker, but somehow more hopeful.
tug: And those organs are crazy!
pat: i think pitchfork will stick it in the low-to-mid sevens. i'm guessing 7.3.
tug: Really, I don't know if it's any more or less hopeful.
pat: there's a sense that i get about it that it is.
tug: The chance for backlash is pretty huge here, though. Think about it. These guys sold out five shows in NYC in something like five minutes. They are now huge.
pat: they are. and indie kids hate anything huge.
tug: Yep. I mean, I'm kicking myself for not seeing them earlier 'cause now I don't want to see them even though I'm sure it's amazing, but I would be worried that a bunch of frat boys would be in the audience or something. "Hey, man! Play 'Crown of Love!' WHOOOO!"
pat: i think your average vaguely indie-minded asshole will really only like "black mirror" and "the well and the lighthouse," which is the most Funerals-esque song among the lot.
tug: 'Intervention' is a lot like the first album too.
pat: i'm a big fan of the spookiness of the quieter songs like "windowsill" and "my body is a cage" for the production.
tug: 'Keep the Car Running' may work the best for my money.
pat: i like the instrumentation on "keep the car running."
tug: Yeah. It switches gears a couple times, which is one of my favorite things that Arcade Fire does.
pat: well then i guess i'd think you'd like it more than i think you do. because the whole record's one gearshift after another.
tug: That's true. I dunno. I'm listening to it now, and I'm enjoying it more than all the previous listens.
pat: maybe it's one of those records that just needs to grow on people.
tug: Possibly.
pat: ultimately, those are the most rewarding albums. Funerals had a quality that instantly jumped out at you. i don't think neon bible shares that.
tug: Definitely, the opposite you get is, for instance, Arctic Monkeys. Love the first listen, like it less and less until hate forms.
pat: precisely.
tug: Yeah, I remember listening to Funerals for the first time. I had a little flip out about it.
pat: right. and i don't think neon bible isn't as visceral. it's a little slow-burning. almost like a dour, more experimental Nebraska.
tug: Sophomore albums are hard, man. Do you stick to what made the first one a hit, or do you push forward? And I think they found a nice mix of both here.
pat: i'm much more inclined to fault a band that retreads its debut. which is why i ultimately can't fault the arcade fire here.
tug: Nah, it's definitely different. 'Black Wave Bad Vibrations' sounds nothing like the first album. It hardly sounds like Arcade Fire. It's all new wave-y.
pat: exactly. and while it might not be as likable as Funerals — and i don't think it is — it demands to be appreciated for what it is.
tug: Sure. I think it's a step forward for them, and it's given them lots of great stuff for their live shows especially.
pat: agreed.
tug: I dig it. I am not immediately falling in love with it like Funerals, and I doubt I'll ever love it as much as Funerals. But it stands on it's own as a really good album.
pat: and that's my point to a t.
tug: Glad to see we agree.

Get Out! :: Sunshone Still, American Aquarium, Magnetic Flowers @ New Brookland Tavern :: 3.03.07

Since Kevin already covered this show's headliner, the excellent local band Sunshone Still, I thought I would give a shout out to the other bands on the bill. I think this will be my third time seeing Raleigh's American Aquarium, and each time gets better and better. Here's what I thought about them about a year or so ago when I wrote about them in the Free Times.

Also hailing from Raleigh, the Whiskeytown comparison is immediate with American Aquarium, but upon further listening, singer BJ Barham's Jay Farrar-like snarl comes out over a wave of smoky viola and organ, creating something apart from the hometown heroes. Solid songwriting and an eclectic array of instruments could help American Aquarium carve out its own corner of the alt-country kingdom.

The band is touring now after spending some time in the studio where I heard they cut a track or two with former Whiskeytown songstress Caitlin Cary. I'll have a review of that as soon as I can get my hands on a copy, and I'll probably be doing a show review of their upcoming hometown gig on Mar. 16th with Cory Branan, which should be amazing. Put it this way, the only bands that I'm 'friends' with on myspace are bands where I actually know and like the people on a personal level, and both American Aquarium and Cory Branan are on my friends list. Anyhow, check out this track from American Aquarium, recorded live in Charleston, SC, which I once called 'a music blogger's dream- an engaging tune that manages to espouse everything that makes that particular genre great.' No lie.

American Aquarium Lover Too Late

Magnetic Flowers will also be playing the show, and long-time IndieRocketeers will remember how I feel about them. Now that I think about it, I think the first time I saw Magnetic Flowers or American Aquarium live was at the same show. I may be wrong about that, but I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how they've both grown over time.

Magnetic Flowers When Night Comes

Buy American Aquarium music here.

New Noise :: Gamenight

File this under "If You Haven't Heard It, It's New to You": Gamenight's long-player, Simple Starts in the Mind, came out in August 2006 on The New Beat Records (based in the group's hometown of Knoxville), and we IndieRocketeers discovered it (OK, maybe just me) when the post-emo quartet was slated to play New Brookland Tavern in December. The show was cancelled, but "Cookies for Brains" and "Progression" still live on in our iPods. (Again, maybe just mine.) Gamenight deftly straddles the line between indie rock and emo, owing as much to the guitar wizardry of post-hardcore acts like Drive Like Jehu and Bear Vs. Shark and it does the straight-forward, heart-obtusely-on-sleeve style of Braid and Hey Mercedes. The secret weapon here might be drummer Brandon Manis — Manis' solid, inventive drumming creates a perfect dynamic tension that meshes perfectly with the angular twin-guitar assault of Robby Kerr and brother Josh Manis. (Bassist Matt Presley is no slouch, either.) "Cookies for Brains" is the more accessible of the two songs here — catchy verses and choruses with a driving, Stretch Arm Strong-esque breakdown at the end. To call it fist-pumpable isn't egregious. But "Progression" might ultimately be the more rewarding listen. Starting off with a perfect post-hardcore riff that's equally dissonant and melodic, "Progression" meanders through broken jazz chords and plenty of assertive guitar licks before melting into a coda with guitar swells that echo Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" in the absolute best way possible. Perfect end-of-summer-sunset-driving tune.

Gamenight will be at the Map Room in Charleston on June 5 with fellow Knoxvillains Mouth Movements — enterprising youngsters who are interested in bringing this band to Columbia should check out gamenightmusic.com.

Gamenight Cookies for Brains
Gamenight Progression

New Noise :: Idlewild :: In Competition for the Worst Time

I tell this story every time that I'm drunk and Idlewild comes up in conversation, so if you're a friend or drinking buddy of mine and have heard this a million times, just skip to the end or something. I saw Idlewild at Irving Plaza in New York back in the fall of 2002 as part of the CMJ Music Festival. 100 Broken Windows had been a big hit with my fellow WUSC djs in 2000 as well as the more recently released Remote Part, and so even though I went to the show alone, I expected to see some kindred souls there. Slightly overweight or underweight guys with thick glasses, corduroy jackets, and way too many records at home. After all, it was CMJ. Pushing my way to the front, though, I noticed that the crowd was mostly girls. And not indie rocker girls, either! Very normal, kinda giggly, young girls.

I was freaked out. But the horror had just begun. The band took the stage, and the high-pitched squeals nearly did me in. See, I hadn't taken into account that Idlewild, while ear candy to a pretentious music geek, were scruffy Scots with sexy Scottish accents - eye candy to young ladies. There were even girls up front who had been waiting outside the theater since 11 am that morning. Even worse? The band ate this stuff up! I mean, I can't blame them really. But when you're expecting Roddy Woomble to be aloof and dour while conveying through music the harsh realities of growing up Scottish, it really throws you when he gives a smile, wink, and wave to some high school girl in the front row.

So I wasn't too surprised when the band's next album Warnings/Promises was full of watered-down, faux-sensitive crap. The kind that giggly girls everywhere enjoy. But with new album Make Another World scheduled for later this year, I'm hoping that the band has pulled itself together and gotten back to doing what they do best. I really can't judge by just this one track. There are things I really like in it that sound like the old Idlewild, but it hasn't sold me completely. But as that guy from Star Trek used to say, 'you don't have to take my word for it!' What do you think, folks?

Idlewild In Competition for the Worst Time

Musings :: And He's Talking to xxDaVeYxx, Who's Still in the XXnavyXX...

One day, I would like to hear a grindcore version of Billy Joel's "Piano Man."

I don't know about you, but I think that would be astounding.