The Black Keys

I'm coming back strong (in terms of music, not reviewing prowess) with this blues-rock duo reminiscent of The White Stripes. Both bands have only a drummer and a guitarist, and both have intense, in-your-face, harsh yet AMAZING guitar. One difference between the two is that the Black Keys music always sounds raw. Always, without fail. But I'm not here to describe these guys in terms of the White Stripes. They have a traditional blues-rock sound but an original style. The drums especially give this band a unique feel that I myself cannot describe in words. Call me lazy, but I'm just gonna leave the opinions up to what you think when you listen. They may not be everyone's favorite band (considering how often you hear people raving about blues-rock), but I'm sure everyone can appreciate them. If I could, I'd give you their entire album Rubber Factory, but I can't. So here's Grown So Ugly, When the Lights Go Out, and Till I Get My Way from that very album.

Klaxons

I hate to admit it but the rehab is falling. My, among others, lack of writing has been horific. I would hate to see this thing end so soon, so young. Therefore I met with my cofounder William Wallace Blakely (the third) and we have decided to rejuvinate THE REHAB. So, without further ado, I give you Klaxons. They have been remixed by many, some of the heavy hitters including Digitalism, So Me, and Justice. A radio competition for the band's song As Above, So Below gave rise to French Dance-Punk stars Justice. Pinning a genre on the UK band is less than easy. While looking for help judging what genre(s) to stick the band into, I found conflicting opinions. Before researching, I had described their music as having some Pychedelic, Pop, Noise Rock, and Electronic elements. Now after seeing the various articles about them, I see that I am not alone in having trouble finding a name for music with the energy of rock, the bass of techno, the sweetness of pop, and everyonce and a while something that will just totally throw you off. The owner of their first record label classified the music as Nu Rave, a blend of Electronic, New Wave, Disco, Indie, Hip-House, and Electro Breakbeat among others, and I don't find him far off. My introduction to the band was during the summer through a friends profile song on myspace, Golden Skans. The song lacks some of the strong bass components of their other music. That said, there is a stong driving punk-ish beat that accompanies the pop harmonies of the song. They're worth checking out for anyone who doesn't mind something that may not sound like whatever else you listen to every day, and is looking for a little fun. http://www.myspace.com/klaxons

P.S. for fun, heres a cover of Golden Skans from Mark Ronson.

LIONS

Jordan Romanoff once told me, "It's sad when Guitar Hero starts influencing your music tastes" or something to that effect. Since the bonus tracks are usually bands that have yet to become super mainstream and really need to be discovered to gain a following, my response to that is "fuck you Jordan..."
With that in mind, I bring you yet another band from the Guitar Hero bonus tracks. LIONS comes from Guitar Hero 3 where one can get 98% on their song "Metal Heavy Lady" on the very first try (on expert). Trust me. I did it. It's easy. But that's not what I'm writing about. Because the song is so easy to play and do well on I was able to take some time and listen to what was being played. What I heard impressed me; this Texas rock group really knows what they're doing. They have a signature guitar style that you can recognize instantly and great bass. Occasionally you think the members are just having fun and messing around with their instruments. The lead singer seems to be drowned out by the loud music at times, but his unique brand of vocals is definitely something to listen for. They might be too heavy for an indie crowd, but they're definitely fun. Short breaks and climbing scales, switching effects, sudden starts and shifts in tempo- these are just a few of the things you can expect when listening to LIONS. The only drawback is that some of their songs sound the same : /
check out LIONS at their myspace
Also, here's Come Around

Blodwyn Pig

I have been meaning to write about these guys for a long time. A REALLY long time. They were started by the first and ex guitarist of Jethro Tull after disagreements with Tull's lead singer. However, they don't sound too much like Tull. Think back to one of my earlier posts: Deep Purple. They sound a LOT like Deep Purple. If you liked Deep Purple, you may like these guys even more. If you didn't like them, then a) there's something wrong with you, but on a more positive note, b) you may still like Blodwyn Pig. They are quite a versatile classic/blues rock group. They have songs of almost pure jazz as well as epic rock ballads full of crazy guitar and bass. Their potent, inspired lyrics sung by a talented albeit nontraditional vocalist always make me wish I could find the lyrics online so I can sing along for once. One thing though that sets Blodwyn Pig apart is their use of the tener sax. Much like Jethro Tull's use of the flute, they bring an instrument predominantly used in jazz into a rock situation while never bringing the integrity of the rock or the jazz instrument into question. It just works. It works REALLY well. I will not tolerate skepticism on this. If you don't believe me, listen to See My Way and The Modern Alchemist (jazzy song :D). Unfortunately, their great album Ahead Rings Out is not technically..available in America. So try to find it in the UK or on ebay or something because it is 8 songs of pure genius (plus a 50 second track).

Project

This group will not be everybody's cup of tea. It just won't. It's comprised of three guys: a cellist, a bassist, and a flutist. They play everything from jazz to classical, and are highly experimental. They even bring in a hip-hop beat from time to time. "Built on a reputation of playing diverse music in concert halls, chamber series, vaudeville clubs, rowdy bars and street performing, Winter in June, their premiere album, is a culmination of styles and sounds, breathtaking in scope and vision." (cdbaby.com). I think that if you want to branch out, then get the cd. It's on itunes.

Jamie Lidell

You may recognize Jamie Lidell's song A Little Bit More from target commercials. While I do enjoy that song, what first really impressed was when I heard the song Figured Me Out (LA Garage Mix) by this British-born soul-singer on KCRW of all places. A few genres he touches on are electronic, ambient, funk, soul, pop, and experimental. All well and good, but doesn't really describe the sound as a whole. His beats and funk rival that of club group Justice, and they have his expert soul-singing to boot. What's more, he has been known to layer tracks he makes by beat boxing and doing back-up vocals to turn himself into a one-man band. Proof of his mainstream success can be heard in the form of Multiply, a CD whose title-track was featured on the hit show Grey's Anatomy, which I never watch because House M.D. is 10,000x better. He's also put out a CD of additions to Multiply as well as several earlier albums and EP's.

For Jamie Lidell's music, check out his myspace. If you like what you hear, you can check out a group Jamie is part of with Cristian Vogel, Super_Collider (note the underscore), which is more on the electronic side.

Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro was a find with the aid of the ever wondorous PANDORA (I must admit I was in a bit of a dry spell for good new music). The band originated out of the club scene in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Their music comes through with a true passion in the sound that can be sadly lacking in many a modern pop/rock band. Their music calls to mind at times the late '70s post-punk band Joy Division, especially in the percussion. That said, the music does not really ever get to the dark, brooding, depth that can be found in Joy Divisions work. The band blends their non-complex sounds together for a pleasing cohesive sound. Although pop, the vocals are neither sickeningly high-fructose corn syrup sweet, nor I-hate-my-parents-because-I-born teen angsty. They are simple with the occasional harmony thrown in for good measure. The bands Weezer influence is pretty obvious, with much of their latest CD Puzzle sounding like it may well have come strait from The Blue Album.

Puzzle is a good all around CD, for better or for worse, there are no stand out tracks that overshadow the rest. The opening track Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies foreshadows the rest of the album well. The song starts with the energy and emotion seen throughout. The rest of the CD does well for itself as well. The strong instrumental opening of Get Fucked Stud compliments the slower building power of Folding Stars nicely. The closing song Machines is a nince peaceful end to the CD, because lets face it, by this time you may well be a little worn out if you feel so inclined as to actively experience the music.

So maybe this isn't quite the right band to listen to if you're dealing with your complex life in the wee hours of the morn. Maybe you can't exatly rock out to it like its 1975 and you're front row at Van Halen. This is good music to listen to for music's sake if that makes any sence any more. Check out their website

or their myspace

The Verve

I'm sure that everyone has heard the song Bittersweet Symphony at some point in their life. However, that's not all The Verve has to offer. This English band does more than take Rock and symphonic elements and blend them into a smooth, intoxicating mixture ready for consumption. There are songs like The Rolling People that are just Rock, but what's wrong with that? Nothing. At least in my book. They can also be incredibly low-energy and mellow with songs that could even be considered melancholy. There is definitely a lot of Psychedelic in their music which might take some getting used to, but is always worth it in the end. The Verve has something for everyone as long as you're looking to chill out and just listen to music. To get you started on that, here's Catching the Butterfly and Space And Time.

Vampire Weekend

So the Indie Music scene is abuzz with the latest New York Blog Band “Vampire Weekends”, and, being the absolute indie whore that I am, I was beholden to pick up they’re self titled release (through a complex of legally questionable, but morally air tight method’s of course, after all, actually buying music isn’t cool anymore!). [Posters Note: I do not promote stealing music, shoplifting is a crime, but im not sure on how that whole downloading thing plays out....]

I gave it a few listens, and came up with the following opinion: It’s a decent, enjoyable album, without anything particularly amazing about it. They definitely have a sound that is at once unique and, at the same time, strangely reminiscent of quite a few things, calling back the sparseness of 70’s pop rock, oddly ethnic african drumming, and the near obligatory indie oddness in it’s singing (a sort of Jonothan Richman-esque drawl, with the occasional yodeling howl).

The entire album is relaxing in the extreme, even the quicker bits such as Campus. Not necessarily chill or lethargic, but the kind of thing that induces you to put a some what stoned smile on your face and go for a walk. Maybe have a picnic in the park. They make use of a diverse series of instruments, from tribal bongo’s to violin-esque strings, but do it all without losing the uncluttered and clean feeling that pervades the whole CD.

The basic gyst is this. Vampire Weekends is a pleasant and creative album that is worth a listen, but probably won’t be making it to your ‘best bands of all time’ list.

-Sigmund Amadeus Werndorf

Favez

The first time I heard Favez, was their song "The Son of Steeve McQueen" (with whom the band has some obsession...), was in a high energy paintball film featuring the key cool people of the time. Had you told me then that this band is from Lausanne, Switzerland, I would most likely have laughed in you face. Now better informed, I am astonished. The band is able to bring out a sound which I have firmly connected to american rock. Aside from rocking faces off, they also have a more mellow idie sound, which compliments the dirty, hard, rock and roll sound nicely. To wrap this up short, if you like The Ringers, fat licks, heavy kicks, and the like, you might want to check out this fine outfit. Check the myspace at http://www.myspace.com/favez.

Mother Earth

With this post, I am trying to get to the roots of Funky Rehab with a genre full of funk and disco: Acid Jazz. Mother Earth will deliver on all your funk needs with great beats, heavy bass, and the funkiest vocals you'll hear. They're from the U.K., but you wouldn't think that when you hear the music. They throw in just the right amount of Psychedelic for my taste (and hopefully yours), making listening to each song a unique experience. I can't pin down their style too well without overusing the word funk, but that description doesn't do the music justice. It is so much more than just funk; there's soul, there's jazz, there are crazy musical interludes with piano and bass and AWESOME guitar solos. I guess this is the best I can offer you: generally low-key and mellow, occasionally quick and jazzy, and ALWAYS funky, these guys are a must-hear.
Three songs that I hope represent the band well: Stardust Bubblegum, Illusions, and Dragster.

Man Man

Man Man. God, how does one describe this band? Honestly, you can try and liken them to other things, but you’ll never really get it down. iTune’s describes them as “Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits collaborating on your scariest nightmare about clowns.” Which comes pretty close. My first thought was “The Aquabats meets a Klesmer band on LSD”, and a friend of mine attempted “The soundtrack to a nymphomaniac on a bad acid trip.” These really only barely do them justice.

I found Man Man when I went to see Modest Mouse live. Things weren't looking good when they were moved from an awesome venue (the Avalon) to a incredibly shitty venue (the Gibson Amphitheater), and then my friend and I were held at the gate as the attendants scrutinized our tickets, somehow convinced they were fake (”They look like they were printed out of a printer!” complained the attendant. “They were.” I pointed out. “Ticket master had to e-mail us new tickets”). Then we discovered we were relegated to the back seats at the top of the ‘stadium’, not to the pit as we thought we were. Needless to say we were unhappy. However, when the curtain rolled up and to reveal the instruments of the first band our interest was piqued. Two drum sets, two key boards, various metal objects ranging from a car’s tail pipe, to pots and pans, to what could only have been a massive iron dildo, were set up in a very precise fashion. Then the band trooped out. Five men dressed in tattered, but pure white clothes, and all of them daubed in blue war paint. They arranged themselves at the instruments and started playing. Forty five minutes they got up and left the stage. In those forty five minutes they did not stop playing, they did not introduce themselves, and they did not speak. The entire set was a simple wall of unbroken music that segued from song to song flawlessly, and more or less blew my mind. Through out the show they would dance, the two drummers (who sat across from each other) taking turns with the drum line, jumping up and down as if they were on the seesaw, one in the air, one playing. At other times they would almost duel with their instruments, drum sticks being deflected by clarinets, etc. It was a damn near religious experience.

But what do they sound like? That night I picked up Six Demon Bag and was able to listen to them with a bit more clear mind, and ear. It kind of didn’t help. The first song “Feathers” is obviously designed to ease you into the album. It’s arguably the slowest song on the album and inarguably the calmest, a simple piano driven ditty with a dusky chorus going along. However, this ends and they seem to throw away any pity on there listener, going strait into Engrish Bwudd, what can only be described as a insane musical retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, complete with slamming percussion, falsetto howling, and instruments that seem to be played by giant spiders on speed (You will excuse me if I don’t try and break down the instruments, listen to them and you’ll understand). The album just careens off from there with Skin Tension (an intense ballad that’s just a cup of grog short of a sea ditty), Black Mission Goggles (the opening line of which is “The sky is falling like a/Sock of cocaine in the/Ministry of information), Spider Cider (opens with Indian-esque bobbing and howling, and features a grinding, stomach rumbling chorus of “Spider cider spider cider spider cider”) and Van Helsings Boom Box (a heart breaking song of incredible intensity, which has a chorus of “Oh god damn you Michel/god damn/I let down my guard/and there went my heart/just out the door again”).

I dont know if it is possible to describe Man Man, hopeful the above takes a few steps towards it. Man Man is not for the weak of heart, but if you can take it, they are incredible.

-Sigmund Amadeus Werndorf

Here are the only two songs I could get complete versions of: Black Mission Goggles and Ice Dogs

Phillip Glass

Since this is my first post on this thing, I thought I'd take a different tack. On my casual look-throughs of all the posts, I've seen little to no incidences of classical music (although, to be fair, I didn't look at every single post). Not a criticism, just a comment. So I thought I'd throw some in, just for fun.

Philip Glass is one of the pre-eminent and most influential classical composers alive today. He's perhaps most famous for his film scores, having earned himself three Academy Award nominations, most recently for Notes On A Scandal, but this by no means constitutes the bulk of, or even his best, work. He has been described as minimalist, and during his formative years, he was. However, recently, he has taken great pains to distance himself from that characterisation, calling himself a composer of "music with repetitive structures." He is one of the few classical composers alive who could be considered a household name, even having made a brief guest appearance in an episode of South Park.

For an easy introduction to Glass, I highly recommend the Robert Shaw recording of his cantatas Itaipu and The Canyon. The CD has to be my single favorite classical recording (no small feat, considering I've been listening to the Halo 3 soundtrack nonstop for about 3 months now).

Itaipu is easily Glass' most lyrical work; the music follows the course of the Parana River as it flows over one of the world's largest man-made lakes, the world's largest man-made dam, and the world's largest waterfall. The music needs to be suitably epic to evoke images of such awe-inspiring sites, and Glass does not disappoint. From a dark and brooding first movement, echoing the troubled region of Matto Grosso in Brazil, where the headwaters of the river are located, the music turns haunting in the second movement, evoking images of the river. The beginning of the third movement, entitled "The Dam," will leave shatter your ears and leave you as awestruck as the site of a dam nearly as tall as the Chrysler Building in New York City. The movement then turns happy and cheerful, celebrating the promise the dam brings to the nations of Paraguay and Brazil. In the fourth movement, the music suddenly drops off, suggesting the drop over the waterfall that puts Niagara to shame. After a quietly turbulent minute or two, evoking the rapids immediately following the falls, the music becomes serene as the river winds its way through the plains of Northern Argentina into the Atlantic Ocean. The lyrics to the piece are in a language native to the people of Matto Grosso, and they tell those people's primary creation myth.

The Canyon is much shorter (a quarter of the length) and decidedly less epic, but there is no shortage of quality. Glass mainly ignores most of the orchestra, opting to go for percussion and brass for most of it. The cantata is supposed to bring to mind a canyon, any canyon. While not as mind-blowing as Itaipu, the rhythms in this piece are fantastic, and the piece serves as an intellectual counterweight to the crashing line of chords in Itaipu.

Even if you've never liked classical, I urge you to give Glass a try. If the music in Lord of the Rings moved you at all, or if you have a particular taste for the epic, then Itaipu should be an enjoyable thirty five minutes. Here's a link to samples. Enjoy:
http://www.amazon.com/Itaipu-Philip-Glass/dp/B00000277F/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1204524491&sr=8-1

Wolf Parade

At first, Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade really comes off as a spastic Modest Mouse homage, if not downright rip off, though to be fair, it is closer to the older, Moon and Antarctica Modest Mouse, rather then the widely reviled Good News For People Who Love Bad News MM, and this accusation is easy to make considering Isaac Brock’s well known association with the band. However, upon closer inspection, they reveal themselves as much, much more then that.

The band was created when singer Spencer Krug (and come on, how awesome of a last name is Krug?) was offered a gig on the Arcade Fire, Us Kids Now tour. In three weeks he had created Wolf Parade, and they had recorded enough songs to play on the tour. This really reflects them more then you would think, because ‘A torrent of pure genius flowing faster then is probably healthy’ kind of fits them.

They’re only album (though a new one is slated for release june), Apologies to the Queen Mary, released 2005, is a powerhouse of damn fine Indie rock. Quirky, energetic, but with a sense of melancholy, it flows through you like a vanilla milk shake spiked with bourbon. Krugs’s lyrics don’t really translate to anything humanly understandable. Instead, they kind of sit on the surface of your brain in a kind of coital afterglow, almost like they’re to good for you to really get, only helped on by his slightly drawling deliverance, and liberal use of echohing/doubled up vocal effects. Dan Boeckner provides the vital guitar work that is impressive, not so much because of a dazzling display of dexterous finger work, but because they wind together to create such incredible songs. They have the simple (well not TO simple, but simple enough comparatively) elegance of Bowe’s Under Pressure (for god’s sake, it’s two notes!), often making use of basic scale progressions and the like, to beautiful effect.

The drum-work is decent, considering the band started with a simple drum machine, and Arlen Thompson does a good job providing pulsating, driving beat’s that I really provide Wolf Parade with unique sound. What really makes this band shine though, is the synths of Hadji Bakara (that is to say, specifically Hadji Bakara and his synths as, if a Synthesizer a good band made we’d be up to our bloody eye balls in wondrous indie rock). He weaves in toe tapping, mind sticking melodies, fuzz, and effects through out the whole album with masterus effect, like the one guest at a party who make the whole thing enjoyable by bringing out the most interesting attribute of every other person there. To try and choose a favorite song on this album is impossible for me, as it will invariably end up simply being which ever one I have listened to most recently. I highly recommend you throw Apologies to the Queen Mary to the top of your buy list immediately.
You can also take a look at their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wolfparade

-Sigmund Amadeus Werndorf

Deerhoof

I have sufficiently proven myself lazy (apologies go out to Blakely who has been doing an excelent job of keeping this thing moving single handedly). Deerhoof is a San Fransisco band that is hard to pigeonhole into one definite category. I would be able to talk about seeing them live if I hadn't had a very unfortunate experience and been forced to leave their show midway through the set, but life goes on. Their music combines beats that are reminicent of hip-hop with heavy bass, at times a synthy sounding guitar and the voice of Satomi Matsuzaki for an intense layering effect. The music is not always as experimental or like noise rock as that may have made it sound though. Songs like Wrong Time Capsule (coincidently the song I was introduced to the band through) off of the 2007 CD Friend Opportunity have a sound which is more like Indie-Pop. If you want to practice you Japanese in a fun strees-free minimal work environment then there are some Deerhoof songs that you might think are sent from the heavens with the sole purpose of fulfilling your wishes. The band recently picked up a new guitarist, when Ed Rodriguez became a permanent member. You can find their website at http://www.deerhoof.killrockstars.com/ .

Rush

I checked both Used Rock and New Rock. I searched the top shelf and the bottom shelf. They told me they had a copy in New Rock, so I knew they had it somewhere. After painstakingly searching through the Used Rock a second time, I noticed a case that seemed to have dropped between two others. There it was: Feedback - the Rush album I had been searching for. Thank you Amoeba!!
What was the point of that anecdote? Answer: it didn't have one. I just thought it'd be a good way of showing how much I wanted a Rush CD (even if it's comprised of covers of 8 amazing songs from other bands). So. A bit about Rush. Three Candian guys who started a Rock band heavily influenced by such artists as The Who, The Yardbirds, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, etc. They are considered to be Progressive Rock and have influenced a shitload of bands with their style. One great aspect of their music is that the bass lines are often just as intense as the guitar parts (in songs like YYZ even more so). Now I probably shouldn't be writing a post about a band that is so well-known, but I feel like the most famous stuff isn't necessarily the best. Therefore, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Feedback if you can, and to listen to Freewill, Finding My Way, and The Spirit of Radio.