Vol. 5 Issue 32 August 2008
August sucks. Really. Nobody likes August. Were it not for Season 2 of Mad Men starting up, perhaps Pineapple Express, and these killer new BRM releases, August would be nothing to me. And then there’s this awful muggy, sunny then raining then frightening thunder showers then muggy as hell again weather that’s taking over the east coast. It’s really bumming the Bank Robber out. But hey, at least we don’t have Earthquakes. But on the real, perhaps Wall-E (read: Al Gore robot) is right – what have we done to “mother earth”!? I could live without the cloying Peter Gabriel song, though. Can’t live without these new jams from The Broken West, Tough Alliance, Okkervil River, Sea and Cake and more!
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Current Releases
Merge
www.mergerecords.com/
The Broken West
"Now or Heaven"
Despite their hailing from LA (we kid, we kid), The Broken West may be one of the Bank Robber’s favorite bands. On their Merge debut, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On, these guys established themselves as the go-to-band for slightly retro feel-good reference happy rock’n’roll. On I Can’t…, The West’s hooks were immediate and seemed to joyously crib everyone from Big Star, to The Raspberries, and Elvis Costello too. It wasn’t a bad look. And neither is their brilliant new sophomore album, Now or Heaven (Merge). Sure, Now may be more of the album to listen to after the party is over, as opposed to during it, but stand-outs like the piano-laced, “Auctioneer,” are catchy as all get out, and definitely showcase these rockers delightful understated charms.
Matador
www.matadorrecords.com/
Jennifer O'Connor
"Here With Me"
BRM loves Jennifer O’Connor. O’Connor has this kinda bad-ass, early-90’s pseudo grunge-pop vibe to her not completely dissimilar from Juliana Hatfield and the like. And you know, I guess we have a thing for girls in flannel who play guitar but I digress. O’Connor’s new one, Here With Me, was recorded in an amazing 12 days (!), with producer extraordinaire/the dude that made Sonic Youth sound good again, and The Hold Steady kick ass, John Agnello. Up until now, O’Connor has flown a bit under the radar, but with songs as solid as the poppy, “Here With Me,” I wouldn’t be surprised if she became our next breakout female. Check out "Here With Me".
Modular
www.modularpeople.com/03/08.asp
The Bumblebeez
"Prince Umberto and the Sister of Ill"
Australia-hailing, The Bumblebeez, are a rambunctious band to say the least. The group’s Modular debut, Prince Umberto & The Sister of Ill (Modular) hops genres like consistency is overrated…which after hearing Umberto you might think is the case. From hip-hop to punk to rockabilly to break-beat, Umberto has something for everyone. “Comin’ Fa Ya” manages to merge Grime with Bali-grooves, and retro-minimalist hip-hop – like an ADD MIA. Meanwhile, “Freak Ya Loneliness,” is a killer slice of blues-rock that could easily replace the Strokes or any of the many Strokes’ imitators. Hysterically, the best jam on the album is “Black Dirt” – a total tribal-drummed “get the party started” hype track that sounds like an exuberantly wasted college freshman scream-rapping over EMF. It’s unbelievable. Check out “Dr. Love”.
The Tough Alliance
"A New Chance"
The Tough Alliance are something of an enigma here in the States. However, in the duo’s uber-hip hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden they are much-debated local scene-lebrities. And I say “much debated” because these guys are pretty infamous for a chaotic hooligan-flavored live-show that simply included the two TA’s dudes, Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund, standing around singing, wielding baseball bats, picking fights with audience and arriving on stage with the promptness of say Guns’N’Roses. Many of their critics say they “glorify violence” – ok sure. But the thing is, not a bit of this comes through in the duo’s music. Thankfully. Modular Records is releasing the Tough Alliance’s completely awesome album, A New Chance, in the State, and it is one of the most infectious albums of the year. In fact, there is no question Chance will be near the top of my year end list. Quite simply, it’s the most accessible, danceable, hook-crazed electronic-pop album since The Avalanches classic, Since I Left You. If that doesn’t make you take a listen, I don’t know what will. Check out "A New Chance".
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- Jagjaguwar
- Thrill Jockey
- Secretly Canadian
Jagjaguwar
www.jagjaguwar.com/home.php
Okkervil River
"The Stand Ins"
Couldn’t get enough of Okkervil River’s brooding bar-rock classic, The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)? Well Austin’s freaky-roots rockers are back – with a new “compendium” titled, The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar). For those not familiar with what a “compendium” is – in true Okkervil fashion - it’s a bunch of new tracks that are in conversation with, or continue the “story” that began on The Stage Names. Regardless, this new album/compendium kicks our asses. We are happy to announce that it features what may be Okkervil’s most accessible song to date titled of all things, “Pop Lie.” Yes, it features a moog. Yes, this rules. Now you supervisors have not one but two awesome emotional alt-country flavored records that somehow sound vaguely Arcade Fire-y. Yes, I just dropped an Arcade Fire reference. Check out "Pop Lie".
Thrill Jockey
www.thrilljockey.com/
The Sea and Cake
"Car Alarm"
Chicago’s Sea and Cake are the gift that keeps on giving. Car Alarm is the landmark group’s 8th (!) album for Thrill Jockey, and again it’s one of their best. And to think that’s what I said about last year’s outstanding, Everybody. However, where that album saw the Sea guys making some of their most stream-lined song-oriented jams, Car Alarm takes this newfound penchant for pop-structures and hooks, and gives it room to breathe in that very jazzy-deboniar signature Sea and Cake sorta way. I’m not sure there’s another album in the Sea and Cake oeuvre that so consistently and even-handedly showcases the band’s musicianship and songwriting abilities. Check out “On A Letter”!
Angela Desveaux
"The Mighty Ship"
The Mighty Ship. It's a pretty epic name for an album, especially one from Thrill Jockey's reigning demure no frills alt-country folkstress, Angela Desveaux. However, The Mighty Ship (Thrill Jockey) is indeed the title of her amazing new sophomore effort. We should've been keen on Desveaux's penchant for grandeur given that the producer of her first record, Howard Bilerman, is also the drummer of a band you probably haven't heard of called The Arcade Fire. Turns out, Ship is steeped in laid-back, feel good, shimmery california-soaked story-telling. It's no wonder the album's title refers to an old folk song about the Titanic - made especially compelling for Desveaux given that her grandmother's first husband died at sea. If marquee tunes like, "Red Alert", are any indication Angela should be getting praised as the Gillian Welch of the Dave Eggers set any day now. In other words, her heart will go on. Check out “Sure Enough”.
Secretly Canadian
www.secretlycanadian.com/home.php
War On Drugs
"Wagonwheel Blues"
Adam Granduciel is one of these singer-songwriter dudes who has a band called War On Drugs but his band is really mostly just him and his songs filled out by some of his musician friends and acquaintances. We know many artists who follow in, what I will now dub the "Bright Eyes school of misleading band-naming" and every time I see this phenomenon I just have to wonder why singer-songwriters do stuff like this. It's prolly two-fold: 1) everyone wants to be in a band - can we really blame singer-songwriters for their self-loathing...I mean nobody really wants to be lumped in with the likes of Marc Cohen, Sheryl Crow, and Cat Stevens (I actually like Cat Stevens...but still). And 2) Musicians have always harbored hatred towards evil music critics - and really, what's a better way to mess with the rock-lit establishment than to give a name other than your own to what is essentially a solo project. It's genius really. So props to War on Drugs for carrying on this storied tradition, on their/his Secretly Canadian debut, Wagonwheel Blues. It's an incredible listen; a blend of shoegazey atmospherics, and 70's era roots rock - the standout, "Taking The Farm" sounding legitimately like Blonde on Blonde - era Dylan as interpreted by My Bloody Valentine. Woozy, and disarmingly memorable, it’s a record Bowie would really love. Check out "Taking The Farm".