Wednesday, April 23, 2008

New Music Tuesday - Drive-By Truckers

Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creations Dark
4 out of 5
First things first: Rock Band. Is. The. Most. Fun. Video. Game. I. Have. Ever. Played. Ever. I need to play that game with the basement crew, because it is unbelievably fun. Played it first for free at a rec center with a guy and we played for like 4 hours straight. Then he ended up buying it and we put it on a projector on the side of a building and a huge group of us played. I almost lost my voice, and eventually had to be the goto guy on the drums because no one else could keep up on medium difficulty. Incredibly fun. Ok, on to the review.

Check out this video: A Ghost To Most



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The Drive-By Truckers lost one of their songwriters/vocalists with the departure of Jason Isbell to pursue a solo career. Original writers and singers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley remain, however, and bassist Shonna Tucker has stepped up and penned a few songs and lent her amazing (and unreleased, until this album) vocals. At 19 songs, Brighter might seem like a hefty serving, but the tracks seem to roll into each other so continuously that the album doesn't drag, despite a huge variety of different styles thrown down on this record.

The album is a continuation of the DBT's investigation of "The Duality of the Southern Man," and the listener is once again thrust into the lives of the unlucky, the unhappy, and the unloved. Mike Cooley may have the better voice and a great writing style, but Patterson Hood steals the show on this one with some amazingly gripping songwriting. On opener "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife," a man gets to heaven and doesn't understand where he is. And he left behind, you guessed it, two daughters and a wife. The song chugs along on rhythm guitar and banjo, but Hood's pleating voice combined with Tucker's complimenting backing vocals and the hollowness added by new guitarist John Neff's pedal steel (beautifully employed throughout the album) make it a haunting and lasting story.

Cooley has some fine songs as well, like "A Ghost to Most" and "Bob," the latter about a very simple southern man, who lives alone. In true to life fashion, the story of Bob is both humorous and sad, and DBT paint another story of someone you know or know of.

Shonna Tucker's voice is sultry and deep, similar to Neko Case. She only gets three songs this time out, but it's a nice break to hear her pretty and sad voice on tracks like "Purgatory Line," and her backing vocals balance Hood and Cooley's deep, rough voices nicely.

As I mentioned before, though, Hood steals the limelight with biographies like "The Righteous Path" ("Don't know God but I fear his wrath/ and I'm trying to stay focused on the righteous path"), "Daddy Needs a Drink" ("To calm down his badness/ to execute his gladness.../So Mama fix one quick/ pour it nice and strong"), and "The Homefront" ("And she paces 'cross the floor/ and she can't even get to sleep/ since Tony went to war"). The real winner on the album though is "That Man I Shot," a nightmarish and realistic portrayal of a soldier's troubles with his part in the war. All guitar feedback and frenetic pace, you can feel the man's inner struggle with the man he shot, as he "still can see him, when I should be sleeping, tossing and turning." Upon close listening you can even hear a woman's voice saying "Baby?" amidst the opening feedback, heightening the nightmare feeling. With haunting lyrics like "Sometimes I wonder if I should be there/ I hold my little ones until he disappears/ I hold my little ones until he disappears/ I hold my little ones until he disappears," it stands as one of the greatest songs written about our generation's war yet.

I highly recommend this album, and while I can't say there are no missteps across the 19 tracks, I can certainly forgive them because of the sheer amount of great music released on Brighter Than Creations Dark.

Drive-By Truckers Website
Drive-By Truckers MySpace

MP3: Drive-By Truckers - Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife
MP3: Drive-By Truckers - That Man I Shot

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

New Music Tuesday - The Whigs

The Whigs - Mission Control
3.5 out of 5

Ok, so I wanted to review the new Blood Red Shoes album this week, but unfortunately the U.S. iTunes doesn't carry it, so I'm gonna have to find another way to get my hands on it. In it's place I'm going to review a little bit of an older one: Mission Control by the Whigs came out in January of this year. Mission Control is a great sophomore effort, with a few standouts amidst a solid group of loosely country-based rock songs. The album opens with "Like a Vibration," which introduces us to Parker Gispert's slightly twangy, raspy holler and Julian Dorio's furious drumming. The drumming in particular is important to note, because when the songs start to feel a little stagnant and like your typical alt-rock, power chord ditties, the drums are what lift the Whigs above their peers by pushing the songs along. The Whigs take a few risks on this one that pay off as well, as on the pretty and lazy "Sleep Sunshine." Parker's drunken drawl, slide guitars, and a lilting drum and chord progression make for a slightly psychedelic, laying-in-bed-with-a-hangover song.

The gold star of the record, however, goes to the straight-forward rock anthem "Right Hand on My Heart." Opening with a great pounding drum beat, and closely followed by a continuously pounded distorted note, it's instantly grabbing. By the time Parker starts singing, "All the fallen leaves will find their branches again," there's no way out. One repeated verse, one note backing it, and a desperate chorus add up to one seriously catchy song. Add in a wild man yelp and a blistering guitar solo and you have my early leader for song of the year.

Although not terribly original (think of a more comprehensible Kings of Leon or a less countryish Son Volt), this is a solid rock album you can put on and listen to from start to finish, with other highlights like the horn-infused "I Got Ideas," and the two-chord stomp of "Hot Bed." If you use iTunes pick this up for only $6.99

The Whigs Homepage

The Whigs Myspace

MP3: The Whigs - Right Hand on My Heart
MP3: The Whigs - I Got Ideas

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

New Music Tuesday - The Black Keys

The Black Keys - Attack & Release
3.5 out of 5


I love supporting Ohio music/sports/agricultural superiority, so nothing gives me more pleasure than the way the Black Keys have exploded out of Akron, Ohio over the past few years. They were under the radar for a few years, but their latest album, Attack & Release, was produced by none other than Danger Mouse (of "the Grey Album" and Gnarls Barkley fame) and was actually written as an album for Ike Turner to sing. So I'm gonna go ahead and say that they are no longer under the radar.

So how did their collaboration with the Mouse go? I'm not going to lie to you: this is not the Black Keys as you know them. They have moved out of the garage, away from the one guitar/one drum set mindset, and away from straight blues+punk rock. But just because they have expanded their sound away from a formula that has worked outstandingly in the past, it doesn't mean they haven't made a great CD. It might take you a few listens to get used to the cleaned up sound, but there is a lot to love here.

The first single, "Strange Times," starts out as very straight-forward blues rock, standard Keys stuff here. But when Dan Auerbach starts to sing, you notice a lot more reverb and distance in his voice, rather than the right-next-to-you-rock sound. Once you get to the refrain, any Black Keys fan might be a little lost: is that a choir? As I said, different doesn't equal bad. This album the keys have added choirs, keys, banjo, and yes, even a flute. The next song, "Psychotic Girl," gets even more trippier than "Strange Times," with plenty of "spacey" sounding stuff going on, but the Black Keys wear all this new flash well.

The first few times I heard the CD, the more straightforward rockers ("I Got Mine," "Remember When (Side B)") were the songs I considered to be the best. After more listens, though, the trippy "Psychotic Girl," the nearly hip-hop drum and flute infused "Same Old Thing," and the sweet, bluegrass backing vocals and slow organ crawl of "Things Ain't Like They Used to Be," have turned out to be just as good, if not better, than the garage rock that got me into the Black Keys in the first place. Dan's guitar, despite being mixed much lower than usual, is still superb, but what really makes the new songs compelling are the beautiful bluesy lyrics crooned throughout, combined with great songcraft.

While there are some forgettable songs (generally the slower songs with less of a distinct melody) the Black Keys have proven they are no one-trick pony, with a little production help from Danger Mouse. While the album as a whole doesn't reach the near perfection of their album Rubber Factory, there are plenty of great songs to make this one worth your while. If the Black Keys can take some of these newer styled songs and put them on an album that leans a little more heavily on their traditional sound, their name might be more well known than the other little guitar/drum duo with a color in the name.

Black Keys Homepage

Black Keys Myspace

MP3: The Black Keys - I Got Mine
MP3: The Black Keys - Psychotic Girl

Monday, April 07, 2008

Bands to Hear

Blood Red Shoes: Stealing Dan's thunder, but hearing some of his new bands I was reminded of another boy/girl band I saw when I was in the desert and watching international MTV. I was blown away, and the second time their video came on I cranked it up... loud (in fact I've listened to it 3 times during the posting of this blog)! They were just mentioned in Spin Magazine, so I'm sort of disappointed I didn't mention them earlier. Pretty soon everyone will know them. This song is the one I saw, and they have a new album coming out in about a week. May see a review from me soon!



MP3: Blood Red Shoes - It's Getting Boring By The Sea

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Bands to hear

hey guys, just wanted to share some bands I've been obsessively listening to. I don't know much about them, but search around their myspace and I think you'll be pleased. First up,

Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears
- They're a little all over the place, but the energy is intense - I bet their concerts are off the hook. Most songs start and end completely different so it take a few listens to get a good grasp.

Angus & Julia Stone
- This australian brother-sister pair has been gaining momentum the last few years, and when I heard Paper Aeroplane I was an immediate fan.

The Born Ruffians
- These guys were in Cleveland last week. I wish I had known I would have mentioned sooner. Start with Foxes Mate for Life, an all encompassing track.

Friday, April 04, 2008

My Music Doesn't Suck.... You Suck

I don't know if any of you have had this same problem: dude picks up my iPod and starts scrolling through it. After a few minutes, he says, "What is this? You have the worst music EVER!" I said, "What's on there that's bad?" His reply: "I have never heard of any of this."

Just because you haven't heard of something doesn't mean it sucks. Everyone has heard of Britney Spears and N*Sync. Does that mean they are good music? Ignorance pisses me off. Just because it's not on the radio doesn't mean it's not worth hearing, and just because it is doesn't make it good either. I have to say there is something to a song everyone knows-- "Hey Ya" comes on and the kids are dancing, the grandmas are dancing, you get the picture. But what about the songs that could be the "Hey Ya's" if only they were heard? So here is a quick 20ish songs that should be classics, but that most of the people in my world have never heard of. Self-imposed rules: gotta be a song most people I work with don't know from a band they've probably never heard of; not on my best of 2007 list; one song per artist.

In no particular order:
Sleater-Kinney- One Beat
Drive-By Truckers- Sink Hole
Ween - Voodoo Lady
Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama Out
Mike Doughty - The Only Answer
Elliott Smith - Southern Belle
Iron & Wine - Lion's Mane
Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!
Red House Painters - Make Like Paper
The Whigs - Right Hand on My Heart
The Thermals - Power Doesn't Run on Nothing
TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
The Streets - Don't Mug Yourself
Dizzee Rascal - Stand Up Tall
Ryan Adams - Note to Self: Don't Die
Broken Social Scene - It's All Gonna Break
Rilo Kiley - A Better Son/Daughter
Tilly & the Wall - Reckless
Uncle Tupelo - No Depression
Regina Spektor - Us
Deltron 3030 - 3030
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Date with the Night
Vampire Weekend - One (Blake's Got a New Face)
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Stairway to Heaven

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Happy Happy and Broke

Ok so yesterday I finally broke down and bought Rock Band. 180 dollars gone. Let me tell you it was waaaaay worth it. Good lord this game is so much better than Guitar Hero. Gone is all the hair metal and heavy metal, in it's stay is all sorts of sweet indie and alternative rock. The fucking New Pornographers have a song on here. Did you hear me I was drumming to a New Pornographers song. It's soo cool. Anyway this is all loosely music related. If you have the cash i hghlly recommend it. Especially if you have friends. Next weekend I'm getting some friends over to my new apartment and it's gonna be band time. Ok well that's it on Rock Band.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Les - Best of 2007

First of all, I never announced my favorites from 2006 so heres a quick late nod to "Stairs and Elevators" - Heartless Bastards, "Robbers & Cowards" - Cold War Kids, "Night Ripper" - Girl Talk, & "Till the Sun Turns Black" - Ray LaMontagne

Okay, let's get down to brass tacks (don't sit on 'em). My top albums of 2007 is kind of a cheat because I didn't hear one of them until 2008. Rules don't apply today... this is my list.

HM. "Because of the times" - Kings of Leon

5. "Graduation" - Kanye West

4. "In Rainbows" - Radiohead

3. "All Hour Cymbals" - Yeasayer

2. "Armchair Apocrypha" - Andrew Bird

1. "Person Pitch" - Panda Bear

I hope I can edit this later, because at some point I would like to break down my favorite songs.