Vol. 5 Issue 30 June 2008
So Indian Jones sucked. And now of course, I’m roped into going to the Sex and The City movie, cause “I owe my lady one.” God. Someone really needs to find George Lucas something to invest in other than films, cause I didn’t really care when he killed the Star Wars trilogy, but now that he crapped on Indiana it’s personal. Which is to say nothing of the fact that I should’ve known it was gonna suck. I mean, Shia Lebeauf. Shia. Lebeauf. Anyways, at least we still have Ghostbusters. And while I think about Sigourney Weaver and what she’s been up to lately (like doing narration for Planet Earth!), let’s dig on the most consistent batch of Bank Robber’s newest awesome jams. This Months sees Norah Jones forming a sort-of punk band, Takka Takka making the best album of the year, a new Silver Jews release, Mr. Mountain Goats’ favorite new folk album, and more!!! Read on chaps....
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Current Releases
- Click to see:
- Dead Oceans
- Drag City
- Ernest Jenning
Dead Oceans
www.deadoceans.com/
Bowerbirds
"Hymns For A Dark Horse"
Okay. Someone really knows what they’re doing over at Dead Oceans records. As I’ve noted previously, they’ve really established an incredibly sick and diverse roster of choice music in record breaking time. The Dirty Projectors. Evangelicals. Bishop Allen. Phosphorescent. Citay. And on and on. And the roster just got even more impressive with the addition of North Carolina’s premiere nu-folksters, Bowerbirds. With Hyms For A Dark Horse (Dead Oceans), Bowerbirds firmly establish themselves as making some of the newest and weirdest music coming out of new weird America. Sure they play mythical folk music full of instruments that don’t have audio out jacks, but there’s something also dark and sinister and mysterious there too – something baroque that pulls a listener into their songs. A sense of history. Guy/girl harmonies. Something. Maybe I’ve been hitting the leafy green too hard, but even The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle couldn’t capture how stunning the Bowerbirds are – Instead he just said: “Only once in every ten years does one hear a new band this good. They are beyond stunning.” Pretty much, John. We agree. Also, for those counting Hymns scored a huge, 8.4, on Pitchfork. Check Out: "In Our Talons"
Drag City
www.dragcity.com/
Silver Jews
"Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea"
Let it be known, I will follow Silver Jews guy David Berman into fire. He’s a Jew (duh) with a beard, a cute wife who plays bass in his band, a Pavement-associate, writer of songs with titles like “Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed” – Yeah, he’s pretty much awesome. I once saw him do some crazy PR-sit-in/performance art play with Will Oldham, and eventhough nobody in the audience could hear what dude was saying, it was still a good time. Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea (Drag City) the Jews’ new 6th album/first with Berman’s new live touring line-up is also a fine time. The Maher Shalal Hash Baz-cover, “Open Field,” almost has the Jews sounding like early period REM. Plus Lookout-opener, “What Is Not But Could Be If” is classic Berman awesomeness – a telecaster-fueled mid-tempo jam with a philosophical liberal arts heart. And don’t even get me started with the best sad-sack guy-girl duet to line-dance to ever, “Suffering Jukebox.” Oh yes - It’s good to have the Jews back again.
Ernest Jenning
www.ernestjenning.com/
Takka Takka
"Migration"
Here’s the thing, I almost don’t want to tell you anything about Brooklyn’s Takka Takka. Chances are you might already be familiar with the name. They have many friends in Brooklyn. Many. They’ve been associated in the blogs with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and The National, and members from both of those groups of Bk royalty appear on Takka’s landmark sophomore record, Migration (Ernest Jenning Record Co.). And yes, I just said “landmark.” With Migration, Takka has not only brazenly earned their place amongst the very fine company they keep, but they’ve also found a brilliant sound for themselves that seems to simultaneously tap into everything going on in music right now in the best possible way. Produced by Clap Your Hands’ Sean Greenhalgh, Migration just sounds panoramic and huge. An indie rock record that actually sounds like what sitting in a planetarium looks like. It might just be the prog-y Steve Reich-like arpeggios that are everywhere like on the opener, “Monkey Forest Road”, and the absolutely stunning standout, “Silence”. But it’s not all about prog-like arpeggios, there’s a very ethnic music undertone here as well – especially on “One Foot In A Well” (one of my favorite songs of ’08) – but it’s a subtle nod to afro-pop tempos and gamelan grooves. In other words, Takka are more Yeahsayer than Vampire Weekend. Good forbid I say they’ve made a better album than either of those bands. Plus, as if Takka’s inspiration was endless, there’s also tinges of 80’s post-punk and keyboard pop everywhere – “Homebreaker” encompasses multitudes truly sounding like something that either Orange Juice, Simple Minds, Wire, Sufjan Stevens or the Ting Tings could’ve recorded. Definitely Top 10 Best of ’08 contender for me. Check Out: "Silence"
Nouvellas
"Satasfied"
45’s only people. Nouvellas are old school. And they put their vinyl where there mouth is. Sure, the Bank Robber affectionately calls the Nouvellas “Sharon Jones and The Jewesses” or “The Amy WhineSTEINS” – but it’s totally fair, because the Nouvellas did indeed back our lady of soul, Sharon Jones, and we can see why. The girls’ new 45, “Satisfied,” is pure raw, uncut, garage rock soul funk stuff that is just so good we don’t even care that these tribeswomen don’t officially have a full-length yet. In other words, it’s the big sister track to fellow Ernest Jenning Record Co. cats, The Black Hollies’ smash single, “Tell Me What You Want.” Check Out: "Satasfied"
- Click to see:
- Team Love
- Ba Da Bing!
- Transit Of Venus
- Bank Robber Music
Team Love
team-love.com/
Tilly And The Wall
"Tilly And The Wall"
OK, hold off on the tap-dancing jokes at least until the end of this blurb. Tilly and The Wall kick ass. They write joyous, sing-along pop songs with all the little quirky details that you supervisors go ga-ga for: big builds, group-sung hooks, girl vocals, and yeah, tap dancing too. However, for those of you scared of a little soft shoe, Tilly’s infectious as you can’t believe self-titled new album sounds like Feist going all Gloria Estefan on us. Check Out: "Pot Kettle Black"
El Madmo
"El Madmo"
I've never met Norah Jones, and I don’t really know firsthand if Norah has anything to prove, and I’m not really implying that Ms. Jones does have anything prove, but if by chance Norah wanted to show the world that she is indeed a down girl who has a “sense of humor” and isn’t just all serious “I’m signed to Blue Note”/I make adult-contemporary Jazz vocal records for middle-aged white people to have dinner parties to, then I can understand the compulsion behind her new punk band El Madmo’s debut self-titled record (Team Love). Yes, Norah Jones has a punk (!?) band. An afro’d and wrestling mask’d three-piece punk band that has songs with titles like “Rock Yer Balls Off” and “Attack of the Rock People.” It’s definitely the type of album that could be described by the adjective “fun,” and it’s surprisingly twangy and accesible too. There are plenty of hooks and shout-out-a-long chorus’, and when Norah exclaims “I want to party like it’s 1998,” you’ll have a hardtime not joining in on the fray with her. Check out “Carlo” and “Vampire Guy.”
Ba Da Bing!
www.badabingrecords.com/
Devon Williams
"Carefree"
LA singer-songwriter, Devon Williams, is a master of pop. His new album, Carefree (Ba Da Bing), absolutely proves this fact. As the guitarist of West Coast folk-y collective, Lavender Diamond, I like Carefree far more than any of the quirky folk-ness of his main gig. This album almost sounds like something Williams made as a college thesis project: write as many songs that sound very similar to as many different of your favorite bands as possible. It works. Carefree is an irresistible Magical Mystery Tour through 4 decades of pop music. If Williams suffers from anything, it’s just that he’s so hard to pin down because he can sound like anybody. Harry Nillsson is a huge influence of course. “A Truce” is straight up Zombies. “Honey” sounds like a lost track from Big Star Live. “Fragile Weapon” is a gorgeous 80’s ballad that sounds like something Thomas Dolby produced for Prefab Sprout. “Bells” is like the best late-period Replacements song ever. And sure, “Stephanie City” and “One and One” sound like classic Built To Spill. If you don’t like this record, I probably won’t like you. There. I said it. Check Out: "Elevator"
Transit Of Venus
www.transitofvenusmusic.com/
Julie Ocean
"Long Gone And Nearly There"
Holy smokes, does the Bank Robber love Julie Ocean. I think Lyle secretly goes home harboring fantasies that he plays drums with these guys. And I can completely understand why. Here’s a band that’s made up of dudes who all have a long history in “the biz.” Julie Ocean’s bio practically reads like a list of seminal Indie Pop royalty, featuring members of Velocity Girl, The Saturday People, The High Black Chairs and on and on. In other words, it’s no wonder they named their band after a super-obscure indie-pop single by the Undertones. Luckily from a group of let’s just say it - older fellows, Julie Ocean’s debut, Long Gone And Nearly There, sounds incredibly…um…fresh faced. Just super infectious, 2-minute long blasts of irresistible noisy guitar pop that serves as the perfect medicine after listening to the umpteenth ambient, layered, chant-filled experimental record the “indie” world seems to be overrun with these days. Go figure it took some dudes over the age of 25, not from Greenpoint, to realize the value of penning a killer song. And hell, with production from Fountains of Wayne/Luna knob-turner, Geoff Sanoff, all those songs sound damn good too. Best 25 minute-record ever. Check Out: "Ten Lonely Words"
Bank Robber Music
www.bankrobbermusic.com
Bank Robber Music
"Compilation Volume 14"
If you are a supervisor and don't have our latest compilation then you best be asking us for it asap! Here's a taste "Chicago X 12 (Radio Edit)" by Rogue Wave.