Vol. 5 Issue 34 October 2008
No Palin jokes. No Obama jokes. No McCain jokes. No opinions on Bail-outs or Bail-ins or “how we got in this mess in the first place.” Our office is on Wall Street, so we see it everyday.Thankfully, we have plenty of distractions to keep our minds off of all of the above with this months new BRM jams: Ladyhawke could be one of my all-time favorites – plus the Numero Group hits us with a couple of bangers: we work Travis now (!) (yes, NEW Travis), and we are all bonkers for the skewered brilliant new Lambchop record. Oh, I’m sure there ‘s more excitement below so read on Compadres and leave your troubles behind.
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Current Releases
- Click to see:
- Merge Records
- Modular Records
- Numero Group
Merge Records
www.mergerecords.com/
Lambchop
"OH (Ohio)"
More “American” than a worn-out pair of Cowboy boots, Nashville’s most dour songwriter, Kurt Wagner, and his band of soulful misfits, Lambchop are back. Featuring a naked bearded man groping a naked women’s breast as cover art, Oh (Ohio) (Merge), is the latest album in the Lambchop dischography, and it may feature one of the most catchy songs Wagner has ever penned. The brilliantly titled, “National Talk Like A Pirate Day” (which Lyle just informed me actually exists on September 19th), is a shimmering slice of Byrdsian, summer-time pop. Breezy melodies, hushed vocals, and rootsy, back-porch embellishments Ohio is another off-kilter, and homey slice of truly alternative American music.
Modular Records
www.modularpeople.com
Ladyhawke
"Ladyhawke"
Here’s a record that sounds like none of your pre-conceived notions of what Bank Robber is. You want super-accessible, top-40 pop from a sexy female who is edgy but not too edgy, and simultaneously manages to channel everyone from Stevie Nicks, to The Pretenders to Daft Punk or even the Tings Tings (!) – germs and gents , let me introduce you to New Zealand by way of France’s Ladyhawke. Ladyhawke’s selftitled Modular Records debut is a total jam – it spins like a NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC greatest hits collection. “Paris Is Burning” is like a divinely updated “I Want Candy,” that seems tailor-made to score many a shopping/girls-night-on-the-town montage. Meanwhile, “Another Runway,” and “Back Of The Van” feature such amazingly literal, and additive 80’s synth sounds you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re off a John Hughes soundtracks already. This record is a hit. Why Columbia Records isn’t all over this baby, we have no idea. Lucky for us!!!!
Numero Group
www.numerogroup.com
The Final Solution
"Brotherman OST"
Brotherman was a Blaxploitation film along the lines of Shaft and Superfly that was supposed to hit up seedy movie theaters in 1975. That never happened. The distributor went bankrupt, or the film got burned in some crazy fire out in West Hollywood, or perhaps the “writer” died accidentally before he even finished the script – who knows. However, thankfully, the producers commissioned a soundtrack from Chicago’s The Final Solution - a psych-funk group along the lines of The Fifth Dimension. Sadly, until now, no one has heard a note of this music which is every bit as iconic and gloriously kitschy as Curtis Mayfields’ blaxploitation jams. Dig it.
Titan Records
"It's All Pop"
Also falling under the “barely heard” moniker, would be the short-lived output from Kansas City’s Titan Records. Basically, Titan was to Missouri what Bomp was to LA; namely, a fine small imprint of super-hooky, saccharine coated power pop. Music does not get any catchier than The Boys’ “Please Change Your Mind” – I’m convinced. Take a listen, you will be too.
- Click to see:
- Red Telephone Box
- Cobra Verde
- Fat Cat Records
- Absolutely Kosher
Red Telephone Box
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Travis
"Ode To J. Smith"
C’mon you guys? It’s TRAVIS! Big guitars. Catchy chorus’. Builds. Scottish dudes. Ode To J. Smith (Red Telephone Box) is Bank Robber’s Viva La Vida or instantly peaceable “emotional rock” made for fine supervisors like you reading this right now! Check out “Something Anything”.
Cobra Verde
www.cobraverde.com
Cobra Verde
"Haven't Slept All Year"
There is no band who can knock out a bunch of kick-ass covers like Cobra Verde. The band’s last album was called, Copycat Killers, ferchrsitsakes! Well, The Verde are back with a new album, Haven’t Slept All Year, and this time with some originals in tow. But honestly, these songs which careen forth from all over the Rock and Roll spectrum might as well be covers. For instance, album highlight “World Can’t Have Her” starts out with some awesome Bowie-“Queen Bitch”-era rhythmic breathing action, before exploding into a seething garage-rock orgy equal parts Jon Spencer, and, um, ZZ Top. If that didn’t make you want to listen to these guys, you are on your own man.
Fat Cat Records
fat-cat.co.uk/
Max Richter
"24 Postcards In Full Colour"
Max Richter is one of the best, most respected composers working in the Phillip Glass tradition today. Plus, since he’s signed to the very fine Fat Cat Records, Richter’s got “cred” in the “rock” world too. Great. His latest record is kind of incredible: titled, 24 Postcards In Full Colour (Fat Cat), it features 24 (duh!) minature pieces for mobile phones. In other words, each of these spellbindingly beautiful “postcards” are snapshots, quick peeks into scaled down segments of larger works. It’s an incredible, awe-inspiring, and diverse listen. The instrumentation ranges from piano arpeggios, to electronic drones, to weeping string concerto type stuff – and it’s all beautiful and memorable and very easily digestible given the concept here. Meet my favorite “classical” album of the year. Checkout: “Lullaby From The Westcoast Sleepers”
Absolutely Kosher
www.absolutelykosher.com/
+/- (Plus/Minus)
"Xs On Your Eyes"
Emotional post rock popsters, + / -, have a new album of epic tunes for you to get heartbroken to. Xs On Your Eyes (Absolutely Kosher), is the fourth and unmistakably the best record from the band Bank Robber HQ has dubbed, “Death Cab Jr.” And hey, we love Death Cab. So yeah. Soaring, melodic indie-rock, with complex rhythms, and heart on your sleeve lyrics – it’s been a while since we last heard from these guys, and Xs is definitely worth the wait. Check it!