Vol. 5 Issue 49 January 2009
Can you believe it's January already? What a great year 2010 has turned out to be. It might be freezing cold here, but that doesn't mean we don't have any great new summer jams for you. Citay's new hit "Dream Get Together" and the Salvador Santana's "Under The Sun" are definitely hott enough to explain why the AC is on in our office. We know the real reason your on our web page, you wanna hear the new spoon track. Here it is..."Written In Reverse"!
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Current Releases
- Click to see:
- Barsuk
- Dead Oceans
- Ernest Jenning
- Team Love
Barsuk
www.barsuk.com
Phantogram
"Eyelid Movies"
Nothing gets us randy here at Bank Robber Music quite like a guy/girl duo at the reins of a couple of synthesizers, so we definitely needed cold showers after hearing what Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel of Phantogram have created. On their first LP, Eyelid Movies, Phantogram have packaged fantastic beats and buzzy background synths with great timing and dead-on vocals, resulting in a well-balanced, danceable masterpiece. Melding urban and rural influences with busy drum kits cutting through ambient pads, they’ve attained an incomparable sound, but I’ll try anyway: how about Fleet Foxes meets Jay Z. Trust me, that’s a good thing. A big chest bump goes to the people of Barsuk Records for releasing this buttery chunk of delight. Check out “Mouthful Of Diamonds”.
Dead Oceans
www.deadoceans.com
Citay
"Dream Get Together"
Allow me to preface this by saying I am biased when it comes to Citay, as they've easily become one of my absolute favorite bands in the last few years. Comprised of members of The Fucking Champs and Piano Magic, their mostly instrumental guitar fueled songs take listeners on an unrivaled journey. Culling the best elements of folk, heavy metal and Mike Oldfield’s early work, each song feels like a mini symphony. Their third album, Dream Get Together (Dead Oceans) is no exception. From the first bars of the opening track “Careful With That Hat,” everything we've come to love about them is there: majestic guitarmonies, beautiful melodies, groovy beats and emotionally satisfying compositions. This is music by musicians. Musicians with degrees. Degrees in wailing on their axes. They make me wish I had a kick ass van with a wizard painted on the side to listen to them in. Oh well. Check out "Dream Get Together".
Ernest Jenning
www.ernestjenning.com/
Title Tracks
"It Was Easy"
It Was Easy (Ernest Jenning), the debut album by Title Tracks, may come fully equipped with Ted Leo and Joe Jackson comparisons, dreamy harmonies, beach blanket drum breaks, hand claps, and covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen and The Byrds, but don’t expect this baby to sound like a throwback record. Alt-rock guitar and extremely cool falsetto vocals take the music to an interesting, pop-fusion level—a level John Davis, formerly of Q and Not U and Georgie James, who recorded the entire album himself, has reached with style. By the way, the Boss’s “Tougher Than The Rest” features Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura on vocals, and it is sicker than a rain slicker. Check out “Every Little Bit Hurts”.
Team Love
www.teamlove.com
Jason Boesel
"Hustler's Son"
Go ahead and call it Americana, but I think it’s probably a lot more like Californiacana; that orange-tinged groove music with steel guitars and Marlboro baritone. Burnt edged vocals are sweeping the indie world right now, and BRM is celebrating by biting down on the straw, brushing off the flannel, and bringing you the debut full-length from Jason Boesel. The album's title track apparently inspired Boesel (through some friendly encouragement) to release this, his first solo record in the first place. He’s already been a staple of the West Coast music scene for 15 years as a drummer for both Rilo Kiley a d more recently Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and now, as a singer-songwriter, Boesel exudes the appeal of Leonard Cohen or David Bazan, with great lyrics and charismatic vocals. Check out “Hustler’s Son”.
- Click to see:
- Merge
- Language Of Stone
- The Kora
- Quannum
Merge
www.mergerecords.com
Spoon
"Transference"
I’ve always felt like a true test of a band is whether or not their last album is still in heavy listening rotation by the time their next album comes out. Well, here comes Transference (Merge), the new Spoon album, and I'm still marveling over how perfectly placed every hand clap was lovingly placed on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. From the opening mellotron chords on opener "Before Destruction", this feels like a slightly darker, weightier affair then we’ve grown accustomed to hearing from these boys from Austin. It's almost like there's a new paranoid vibe over the whole record, like Britt Daniel is singing with one eye checking behind him, making sure no one is there. That’s not to say that the album isn’t fun though, ‘cause it hella is, and man oh man, is this thing great. They still know how to play rock ‘n’ roll. Check out “Written In Reverse”.
Language Of Stone
www.languageofstone.com/
Sharon Van Etten
"Because I Was In Love"
Sharon Van Etten is a fantastic solo artist who has earned a lot of Brooklyn street cred (that's the most popular flavor) in the past few years. Her songwriting’s got a ghostly, creeping quality, and the new full-length Because I Was In Love is a shining example of her ability to weave motion into her subtle style with harmonies and bright guitars. Each track is a separate gem, down to the very last note as she puts the spurs to her brand of folk lullaby, like Cat Power via Cat Stevens. Her beautiful voice was most recently heard on the critically acclaimed album by The Antlers, Hospice, and now you can hear her on her own turf. Check out her own song, “For You”.
The Kora
www.thekorarecords.com/
Fredrik
"Trilogi"
Fredrik, the Swedish folk experimentalists whose album Na Na Ni garnered international indie praise all the way back in 2009, are back in line with another full length called Trilogi. It’s a bit of a concept album, but don’t let the genius orchestration, clever tonal motifs, and flat-out brilliant mixing scare you away! Sure, it’s one of the most intellectually stimulating records we’ve heard here at BRM in a while, but it’s also as universally accessible as mainstream pop or rock or any of that new indie-electro faux-disco the kids are all blogging about on their Google phones these days. Trilogi uses a perfect balance of fast and slow, loud and soft, ordered and chaotic, to pull the listener through the three seperate movements of the record. The opening track, “Vinterbarn,” boasts a distinct attention to mood and atmosphere. Throughout the rest of the album, Fredrik maintain a level of artistry within their musicianship that leaves most other acts in the dust. Check out “Vinterbarn”.
Quannum
www.quannum.com/site/
Salvador Santana
"Keyboard City"
Certain folks are born with keen, almost animal instincts, giving them an edge, helping them survive the cruel world’s atrocities. Salvador Santana’s instincts are solid gold on his debut solo album Keyboard City (Quannum), an explosion of electro instrumentation and funk rhythms that’s delicious technofood for the bouncing multitudes. And hey (says the Bank Robber), let’s be real, he has a little extra help when it comes to musical instincts; his family line includes grandfather, trumpeter, bandleader José and father, guitarist, (*ahem*) rock legend Carlos. Salvador stacks up to his ancestry. The music world is already aflutter with the recent release of a version of Santana’s “Keyboard City,” which was remixed by the Hood Internet, injected with a brand new verse by GZA, then REremixed by Dan Deacon, and finally, hurled into space as evidence of humanity’s pivotal place in the Universe as number one beat makers. Check out ”Under The Sun”.