Vol. 2 Issue 8 February 2006
What’s new all you hipsters, yupsters, yuppies, baby boomers, music sup’s, bloggers, anti-bloggers, myspace stalkers, and still begrudged My So Called Life fans. As you can see, we’ve updated our page for another glorious round of promotional acumen, truthiness, and tasteful HYPErbole. If reading is too much for you, we do have a new podcast (look right). But really, the very talented at hand will multitask reading and listening to this months amazing crop of new releases from the likes of Mates of State, Wolfmother, Destroyer, Howe Gelb and much much more!!!
See News Archives
Current Releases
- Click to see:
- Barsuk
- Merge
- NUMERO GROUP
- Fat Wreck Chords
Barsuk
www.barsuk.com
Mates of State
"Let's Bring It Back"
Kori Gardner and Jason Hammell, the keyboard-crazed pop duo known as Mates of State, have been quietly making some of the most infectious records in indie-rock. However, up until now the couple’s romantic entanglements have seemed to distract from the melodic brilliance of their tunes. No more. They are in love and play music. Let’s move on. Mates’ Barsuk debut, Let’s Bring It Back, should help put the focus where it belongs: the music. There is not a moment on this record that’s not hook-filled. “Like U Crazy,” is a classic Motown soul song channeled through the lens of Ric Ocasek like only kids brought up on Moog could create. Furthermore, “Beautiful Dreamer,” takes ELO-sized keyboard grandeur to new levels of “sing-a-long-ness.” “Mr. Blue Sky,” meet your competition. Let’s Bring It Back is a career- making turn for Mates of State. Check it:
Merge
www.mergerecords.com
Destroyer
"Rubies"
You may recognize Dan Bejar’s name from The New Pornographers. However, before The New Porno’s were a glint in Carl Newman’s eye, Bejar had been consistently putting out wondrous postmodernist sounds on a par with what came from Robyn Hitchcock, Built To Spill, T Rex and Bowie. His latest record under the Destroyer moniker, Rubies (Merge), is expansive, acerbic, witty and painstakingly brilliant. Plus, the blog/msg board-crazed, inter-fans love it. Of course, with influences like those listed above, Rubies, might not be everyone’s bag. However, we at BRM think that that makes Bejar’s sounds even more special. Listen: “Your Blood”
Robert Pollard
"From a Compound Eye"
It seems that former Guided By Voices mastermind Robert Pollard has a thing for Lyle. While working at Matador for a decade, Lyle must’ve serviced more Guided By Voices releases than the band’s allmusic.com discography. Pollard’s first solo outing (From A Compound Eye (Merge), since calling it quits with GBV has everything you’d expect from a Pollard release: brilliantly messy cut-and-paste album art, a whopping 26 tracks (most of which don’t break the 2 minute mark), and mini Who-like pop anthems wrapped up in a deliciously lo-fi sonic sensibility. Yep, still crazy after all these years.
East River Pipe
"What Are You On?"
F.M. Cornog aka East River Pipe is another in Merge’s stable of endlessly talented lo-fi-loving brethren. East River Pipe’s brand of Tascam jams are definitely of the more melancholy, “this must’ve been recorded in this dude’s bedroom at like 2 am” variety. However, on the Pipe’s latest brilliantly-titled album, What Are You On?, for every tune called “Some Dreams Can Kill You,” there is another named, “I’ll Walk My Robot Home,” just to keep things balanced. Mope-pop has never sounded less British, and more ingeniously quirky. Vintage keyboards, acoustic guitars, and sharp turns of phrase are all here in abundance. He had us at “vintage keyboards.” Listen: “What Does T.S. Eliot Know About You”
NUMERO GROUP
www.numerogroup.com
The Deep City Label
"Eccentric Soul"
Every Numero Group reissue has a story. But I’m not going to get into the story behind The Deep City Label (the latest in Numero’s Eccentric Soul series). All I can say is that it’s the single best thing the label has put out to date. It’s track after track of vinyl crackling, drum flaming, horn bursting, guitar chuck-a-chucking soul replete with so many gooey R&B harmonies that even Kanye West would be humbled. These are soul HITS on the level of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” or “Let’s Get It On” that just didn’t get their break because of little stuff like money and luck. This collection should be in some kind of historical music archive. It’s the sort of thing that children of future life-forms will study to learn that those funny-looking humans were pretty awesome after all. This record is a treasure-trove for beat-makers, record collectors, soul aficionados, and just the average listener who wants to have their mind blown apart within the first 10 seconds (!) of listening. Deep City is that good. I call it “Drop What You’re Doing” music, and you will too. Check out: “Am I a Good Man,” “Thrills and Chills,” and “I Love You Baby.” Enjoy:
Fat Wreck Chords
www.fatwreck.com
The Loved Ones
"Keep Your Heart"
We all love Philadelphia. But look, we don’t count anything as a “6th borough,” if it’s over 2 hours away and involves taking a turnpike to get to. That said, the Philadelphia-hailing punk-pop trio, The Loved Ones, make tunes rollicking enough to keep us from taking any of the exits (insert: cymbal crash HERE). After releasing an EP in 2005 on JADE TREE the band's Fat Wrecks debut, "Keep Your Heart" contains all the good stuff: whiny vocals, hooks and enough EMOtional lyrical content that you'll be crying in your cheese steak.
- Click to see:
- Thrill Jockey
- Absolutely Kosher
- Modular
- Drag City
Thrill Jockey
www.thrilljockey.com
Howe Gelb
"Arizona Amp And Alternator"
So you love M. Ward, and just want more. You think “someone out there has to give me that classic old-time, rootsy, Americana-filled feeling.” Meet Howe Gelb, a pioneer of THAT sound. Gelb has not one, but two new releases both put out by the very awesome Thrill Jockey Records. The first of these releases is by Arizona, Amp, and Alternator which is a group featuring Gelb, the boys in Grandaddy and even M. Ward on some songs. It’s the best album Will Oldham didn’t make last year, and it even has a great Traffic cover (“Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”). Have a taste:
Howe Gelb
"Sno Angel Like You"
The second of Gelb’s new releases is his latest solo album titled ‘Sno Angel Like You. ‘Sno Angel takes Gelb’s murky roots rock to church, and features an amazing Gospel Choir on much of the record. Repent and listen:
Absolutely Kosher
www.absolutelykosher.com
The Ex-Boyfriends
"Dear John"
“I wish you were my girlfriend.” “Why did you ditch me for him?” “(Insert girl name here) just gave me an STD, and I wish her dead.” These are just a sampling of lyrics or song titles that could very well appear on the San Francisco-hailing pop trio, The Ex-Boyfriends’, Absolutely Kosher debut album, Dear John. You know what you’re in for here, folks. The only surprise is that at points the Ex- Boyfriends manage to add Blur’s infamous “Woo-hoo” shouts to their songs. It may be an old pop-punk formula, but I’ll be damned if these guys don’t bring in the hooks for days. Plus, their My Space bio says they like to “cuddle for hours on end,” and “watch Merchant Ivory films.” They could be joking. But every joke has a hint of truth. Check out: “Relationship.”
Modular
www.modularpeople.com
Wolfmother
"Wolfmother"
All I can say is “holy smoke.” They call themselves “Wolfmother,” of all things. They hail from Australia and sound like all your favorite 70’s rock bands that were never afraid to turn up their amps to 11. Their self-titled debut was recorded in the same rooms that gave birth to albums like Rumors, Nevermind, and The Wall. It holds up. The insta-rock classic, “Apple Tree,” sounds like Led Zeppelin on Red Bull. Meanwhile, “Mind’s Eye” is an acid-tinged nostalgia trip down Floydian lane, repleat with a rollicking Kansas-style organ solo and mind-searing vocals courtesy of Bank Robber-endorsed, curly haired Wolfmother frontman Andrew Stockdale. Needless to say they’ve got a very, very good look
Drag City
www.dragcity.com
Edith Frost
"It's A Game"
Edith Frost writes classic, mopey, broken-hearted acoustic ballads. No anthem-made choruses. No guitar amps turned to 11, and I’d be surprised if they were even turned to 5 while recording the very wonderful It’s A Game (Drag City). What Game lacks in rawk, it more than makes up for in sheer Tin Pan Alley tunefulness and demure Stephen Merritt-meets-Aimee Mann vocals. You can almost hear Frost as Mann recording with Elvis Costello’s folky King of America backing band. In the age of blogs, txt msg’ing, marketing schemes, and sexy indie-rock chicks making records with famous session musicians to turn out pitch-friendly stories for music critics to fetishize over, It’s A Game could get lost in the shuffle by not playing the game. It’s too subtle. And too pretty. Too smart. And just too beautiful. There is no killer angle here; only music. Check out “Emergency,” and the very clever, “If It Weren’t for The Words.”
Bishop Allen
"January EP"
Bishop Allen are the best “unsigned” band in America right now. Granted, hyperbole is essentially my job. However, if anybody deserves the hype it’s this group of guys and gal hailing from Boston (mostly). When BA’s addictive self-released debut, Charm School, dropped back in 2003, even the suits and ties over at Rolling Stone had to give these popsters their due, lauding the album with a four star (!) review. Not to be outdone, the wise folks at allmusic.com said that Charm School was “how rock was meant to be.” Now that a couple years have passed, the band is almost finished recording the follow-up, and if it’s any indication from the couple tracks I’ve heard, Bishop Allen has only gotten better with some age. Indie-pop has never been this unselfconsciously exuberant; every chorus is a “shout out.” Every guitar is strummed in that full-mock Townsend glory. And there are handclaps too. If I could bottle the youthful energy in these cuts, I could put Red Bull out of business. And if you still aren’t convinced to check BA out, what could be more of an endorsement than the fact that the Bank Robber is working a band with no record deal, and no album out….yet. Check out “Middle Management” for proof.