Jeremy Enigk has always been an artist that has fascinated me. Not only because of his work with the highly touted Sunny Day Real Estate, but also because his solo debut, “The Return of the Frog Queen” from 1996 was an album that challenged my perception of what pop music could be. And, of course, “Don’t Go Racing” still rates as one of my favourite songs of all time.
So it’s fair to say that Jeremy Enigk has a special place in my heart. Which is why he always has a tough time of it when he releases new music. I hold him to a standard that few others are subjected to. It’s not fair, no… but it’s the way it is.
And that is why I was so happy to hear the track, “Mind Idea” from Jeremy’s upcoming album, “OK Bear”. It’s just over 2 and a half minutes of Jeremy at his best: vocals that soar, imagery that captures… and a force that hits you in the chest.
Donerail (pronounced Dawn-er-rale) are a Portland band that make me smile. Much like a past Burgoblog favourite, High On Stress, Donerail play that kind of Replacements-like rock ‘n roll that never fails to bring a smile to my face.
Donerail’s latest album, “Destiny and Dishonor“, was recorded live over the course of three days, and is where below track, “Some Ending” can be found. There’s something about the album that just sounds… legitimate. I know that’s a strange description, but the fact of the matter is that quite a few bands try to sound like Paul Westerberg/Uncle Tupelo… but they’re trying to emulate them because they think it’s hip. Something sounds different about these guys, Donerail. They aren’t trying to sound like Westerberg or Farrar because it’s “cool”… they play this music because it really is them. I guess what I’m trying to say is… they sound real.
Listening to some of their past material, it sounds to me like the band is still growing; there’s a gigantic leap between Destiny and Dishonor and their past stuff… so I can’t wait to see where this band goes in the future.
I was thrilled to receive an email yesterday from Leah at Engine Room Recordings letting me know that Lowry (who I featured back here) have just released their new music video for their tune, “Whiskey”. Not only do I love the track itself, but I was also fascinated by the story behind the video: Lowry teamed up with $99 Music Video, a “new online TV network dedicated to emerging bands and filmmakers who work together to create high-quality original music videos for budgets of $99 or less.“
I’d say Lowry definitely got their $99 worth… check out the video below.
Aah, Phoenix. They’ve come a long way since their break through as the backing band in a remix of Air’s, “Kelly Watch the Stars“, but I knew from the first time that I heard “If I Ever Feel Better” from their “United” album that this was a band with whom I would have a life-long love affair.
And now that I’ve heard their latest single, “Listztomania” from upcoming “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix“… I know that I was right.
Man, this is cool…
“Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” is out May 25, 2009. Seriously. Get it.
Bugger. I missed posting this yesterday, but in the United States, it still is yesterday, if you know what I mean… so I thought I would post anyway. Yesterday (or today, depending upon where you are when you read this), marked the 15th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death.
There’s a trifecta of musical deaths that shaped my life… Shannon Hoon, Bradley J Nowell… and Kurt. Even after all this time… Kurt still matters. Here’s to you, man.
The other day I got that kind of email that music bloggers love to get… an email from an artist’s management saying, “Hey… you know, I’ve noticed from your blog posts that you like xyz… and I think you might like some of my client’s stuff. Want to check it out?”… and you actually do love the client’s stuff.
(Side note: to management… if you’re going to approach music bloggers, make sure that you’ve actually read the damn blog. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve got emails about artists I’ve already posted about, or one that even said “Hey, I sound like Howie Day. You probably won’t know his stuff, here’s a link”… Srsly? Ahem. Rant over)
The point is, that in this case the email came from Shannon over at Brick Wall Management… and not only did she do everything right, but the client she thought I might like was Ari Hest.This is the kind of email I love getting. Where management has actually got my tastes damn spot on.
Um. Ari freakin’ Hest? Only someone I’ve been a fan of for ages… around 6 years or so, I would say, ever since I first heard “Aberdeen” from “Come Home” way back in the day. So of course, I was thrilled when Shannon told me that Ari’s just dropped a new album, entitled “Twelve Mondays”.
After listening to the album for about an hour, I twittered: “Just been sent the new ari hest album to review. there’s a song on here that’s possibly the best thing he’s ever done, in my opinion.”
Yeah. It’s that kind of album.
Official music video for “Dead End Driving”, from the new Ari Hest album, “Twelve Mondays”
First off, some more background on “Twelve Mondays”:
Back in 2008, Ari started out a trailblazing experiment called “52“. Basically, what “52” entailed was recording (and releasing) a new song every week. Fans then voted on their favourite tracks, and twelve of those were collected into the album, “Twelve Mondays”.
That such an album could have come out of “a song a week” project is, quite simply, astounding, and only hints at Ari’s songwriting prowess.
Oh… and the best thing Ari’s written? Well, the whole point of the “52” project was that different songs would appeal to different people. So you should probably head here to purchase the entire album to decide for yourself.
For my money though, “The Weight” will go down as an all-time Ari Hest classic.
So, apologies for the decline in posts around these parts lately. It’s been a hectic few months. Actually, scratch that… it’s been a hectic year, and posting sometimes fell by the wayside. So you know it had to be something special to bring me out of that unintentional hiatus, right?
Well, it is. Something special, I mean. Thanks first go to Melissa from EngineRoom Recordings, for sending me a whole bundle of goodness. I’m still working through the albums she sent, but the first one I popped in, Lowry’s “Love Is Dead” album is, quite simply, gorgeous.
Lowry
Lowry apparently originally started as a band going after an experimental Americana sound, but then evolved into a “cinematic form” of rock music. Well, that’s what the press release says. But, really, what does that mean, in the end? It means that Lowry are one of those bands that music bloggers love to hear, but hate to write about… because they encompass so much in their music. There’s a bit of pop in there, a bit of indie (with some hints of Phoenix here and there… don’t ask me why, but something about it reminds me of those times), a bit of electro, and the aforementioned Americana. The music is a landscape that is constantly shifting and flowing.
The end result is a CD that I’ve been spinning pretty much non stop this past week. While the album is pretty much strong all the way through, right off the bat from opener “Whiskey”, it’s with songs like “Wicked Witch Of Bushwick” and the close-on-eight-minute track, “Down”, with that simply heart-breaking outro, that Lowry seem to be at their best. There’s a fragility there that, at times, recalls Elliot Smith’s whispered dulcet tones.
Yeah. In other words, it’s a good thing.
Anyway, I’ve included two tracks below as a taster. If you like what you hear, then visit their Myspace page to keep updated on any upcoming shows.
In fact, I’m calling it quite possibly the coolest thing I’ve seen all month. Rivers Cuomo stopped by Stereogum late last year to appear on their “Decomposed Acoustic” sessions… and man, is it awesome.
Never one to do things by the book, Rivers brought along some guests. As Stereogum says:
A few weeks ago he put out a call for a pianist and an a cappella group to help decompose some tunes for us. Along with those folks, he brought a pretty enthusiastic up-and-comer named Jermaine Dupri (!). Throw in a cowboy flutist and three tunes from Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (including a Beach Boys cover) and you have a Rivers-sized holiday spectacle.
The session unfolds in three parts: first there’s “I Was Scared,” on which Cuomo’s joined by his hand-selected pianist Sonya Lee and five members of the Dartmouth Aires, an a cappella group from Dartmouth College. For the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby,” Rivers goes sans piano and full-on a cappella with the Dartmouth quintet on backing harmonies. And then there’s the grand jam of “Can’t Stop Partying,” which features five acoustic guitarists and three percussionists (from bands Crash Kings, Alkaline Trio, Yellowcard, Melee, Reeve Oliver and Ozma), big-hatted flutist Greg Vail, and Mr. Dupri. Fresh for ’08.
And here it is… the coolest thing you’ll see all day, Rivers Cuomo and Co. singing “Can’t Stop Partying”.
