Vol. 5 Issue 33 September 2008
I don’t know about McCain and Barack O’BOMB’a, but I think the Bank Robber is the candidate for change. I can’t say as the electoral system is reaching a pre-November fever-pitch that Lyle or any of us BRM’ers are gonna lavish you with ornately worded, passionately delivered speeches, but we do have some killer new releases that will help galvanize the proverbial masses. Between the Conventions and Mad Men, my “idiot box” has been permanently on back and forth between CNN and AMC. If some thief decided to break into my house and turn on my television, he would think a 60 year old Jewish mother lived there. Thankfully, said thief would also see that I’d be pumping BRM’s latest fall releases too – some “dope” hits like a new record from The Rosebuds (return to form!!!!), a collection of covers and b-sides that shoulda been a-sides from Portastatic, a killer Blog-loved jam from Bklyn duo High Places, a neo-traditional bar-rock album from the aptly-titled Catfish Haven, and a new wave of California luxury metal from RTX. Rock on brah...
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Current Releases
- Click to see:
- Merge
- Fat Cat
- Numero Group
Merge
www.mergerecords.com/
The Rosebuds
"Life Like"
When Merge-his’n’hers pop duo, The Rosebuds, hit us with 06’s Night Of The Furies (Merge) it took a lot of their fans by surprise. Furies was a gothic electro-disco-flavored “concept” album that seemed to take much influence from bands like Depech Mode. Even Lyle didn’t see that one coming. And hey, they actually pulled it off. Having said that, it’s nice to hear on The ‘Buds new follow-up, Life Like (Merge), that the ramshackle guitars, and alt-rock chorus’ are back in full force. In fact, Life Like stand-outs like “Bow To The Middle,” and the hyper-catchy campfire sing-a-long, “Nice Fox,” remind me of The Rosebuds’ classic, Birds Make Good Neighbors. In other words: a stunning return to form by one of indie’s most consistent bands. Check out “Bow To The Middle”.
Portastatic
"Some Small History"
Mac McCaughan has to be the most productive man in the history of Indie Rock. Dude founded a seminal band (Superchunk), a seminal record label (Merge), and Portastatic - Mac’s seminal indie-pop, sometimes film-scoring, sometimes-sideproject. From Bossa-nova jams to full-on rock anthems (Bright Idea’s “I Wanna Know Girls”) to Bruce Springsteen covers, Portastatic has always remained consistently, far-reaching and awesome. I guess if any band can pull off a full double album of covers from artists as diverse as Ryan Adams, and Prefab Sprout plus catchy career B-side’s like “Some Small History,” it’s Portastatic. The collection funnily titled, Some Small History (Merge), catches the odds and sods of the Portastatic universe between 1990 and ’07. Of course, for McCaughan this is a small history, indeed. For the rest of us, though, it’s more awesome sounds from the hardest working man in Indie. Check out “Some Small History”.
Fat Cat
fat-cat.co.uk/
Gregory And The Hawk
"Moenie And Kitchi"
Gregory And The Hawk is no band - but rather the name New York native, Meredith Godreau, releases her infectious and hook-laden songs under. Moenie And Kitchi (Fat Cat) is Gregory’s Fat Cat debut. It’s a sublime Feist-y listen, layered and mellow and beautiful and quirky in just the right ways. Unlike most female singer-songwriter drivel, these confessionals don't bore me to death. Nor do I feel like Godreau's songs are entirely personality-less and interchangeable with a million other inspires females. These tunes, are just that - tunes. Their melodies stay with you. And the production has a wonderfully light and diverse feel - arpeggios dance in and out of songs, as do steel drums, vibes, rhodes keyboards, and various other whimsical touches. As wondrous a folk-y singer-songwriter record as you’re likely to hear this year. Check out “Oats We Sow”
Numero Group
www.numerogroup.com/
Chuck Wilder
"Eccentric Soul: The Tragar & Note Label"
These days Atlanta is a hotbed of all sounds “urban.” Hell, just last week the internets were all abuzz with the leaking of the new T.I single, and I’m pretty sure T.I. is “repping” the “ATL” for reals. Plus, Outkast hail from Atlanta and Ludacris and…damn…Atlanta is on fire. But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, the Atlanta-birthed soul labels, Tragar and Notes, were putting out some of the finest orchestrated funk and soul of the early 60’s only to be met with relative obscurity. Once again, BRM’s resident reissue heroes, Numero Group, come to the rescue and put out a whopping 2 cd set of hot soulicious jams from the Tragar and Notes vaults. Peep the existential soul of “Why”, and big up the ATL in the ’08. Check out "Why".
- Click to see:
- Secretly Canadian
- Thrill Jockey
- Drag City
Secretly Canadian
www.secretlycanadian.com/
Damien Jurado
"Caught In The Trees"
Firmly entrenched in the Elliott Smith school of hushed vocals, and beautiful wavering melancholy melodies – Damien Jurado is back. For anyone familiar with Jurado’s storied plentiful dischography, Caught In The Trees (Secretly Canadian), will be a huge and pleasant surprise. Arguably his most focused set of songs, Jurado has never sounded as joyous as he does here. Caught’s opener, “Gillian Was A Horse,” is a gorgeous mid-tempo, saloon-tinged, alt-country anthem. Of course, there is a song called, “Caskets”, on here so it’s not all new territory. But really, whether he’s weeping or not, Jurado is still one of indie-rocks greatest tale-tellers. Enjoy. Check out “Gillian Was A Horse (Radio Edit)”.
Catfish Haven
"Devastator"
Grizzled vocals and Po Boy sandwhiches. Oh yeah. Secretly Canadian’s Catfish Haven have soul. And really, the “indie” world doesn’t mess with the “soul” in a real bar-band/Van Morrison kinda way that often. With their penchant for grooves, and horns, and just completely unironically “feelin’ it,” Catfish Haven are the total blue-eyed black sheep among a zeitgeist filled with too many experimental “collectives,” and bros who have no idea how to play their instruments. It’s no wonder these Chicago-hailing rockers, named their new album, Devastator (Secretly Canadian). Devastatingly good, indeed. Check out “Devastator”.
Thrill Jockey
www.thrilljockey.com/
High Places
"High Places"
The Caribbean may be the “hottest” new sonic influence in the indie world. Surely, few take the airy steel drum flavors and stop-start Polynesian polyrhythms as ingeniously far as Brooklyn’s much-lauded High Places. Sounding like the middle ground between MIA’s third-world bangaz, and Animal Collective’s hazy psychedlia, High Places self-titled Thrill Jockey debut is an incredible mind-expanding, party-making debut. In fact, if “Golden” wasn’t so understatedly layered with sonics, it’d be a pop anthem. Meanwhile “The Storm” manages at being a confessional story-telling vibe, at the same time as having one of the freshest cut-up, reverse-loop’d instrumentals around. In other words, I see why they’re called the High Places afterall. Check out “Vision’s The First…”.
Drag City
www.dragcity.com/
RTX
"JJ Got Live RaTX"
If you happen to be surfing the interwebs and you go to RTX’s page on the Drag City website you get a pic of RTX front-lady, Jennifer Herrema, hanging by a noose, looking half dead. It’s brutal, and a total goof, and basically tells you everything you need to know about the spazzed-out hair-metal-sludge-indie-whatever you wanna call it rock of the RTX sound. On the perplexingly titled, JJ Got Live RaTX (Drag City), new NOT-live RTX record, Jennifer brings some synths into the ghetto-metal mayhem – go figure, the new wave things fits RTX like a glove. The press release says the album sounds like “white hot luxury…with guitars that will knock you on your ass and leave you slobbering for more.” Moooore pleeeeease. Check out “Too Badd”.