Sound it Out # 58: Man Man – “Head On”
Philly band Man Man’s fifth record On Oni Pond finds singer (and main songwriter) Honus Honus collaborating with drummer Pow Pow. The record, out on September 10, is quirky and optimistic and has a charming appeal that feels like an evening at a carnival.
“Head On” is the first new Man Man song in a couple of years. It’s got a fetching string section, plucky piano, and a singalong chorus that relentlessly sticks in your brain.
Sound it Out # 57: Scout Niblett – “Gun”
Emma “Scout” Niblett kind of scares me. Her songs are intense and the characters she inhabits in them are so intimately drawn that you wonder whether they’re fictional or real.
Her newest record It’s Up to Emma is powerful and manic. Spartan drum and guitar parts serve to accent raw vocals that sound backed-in-a-corner furious. “Gun” is one of the best vengeful spurned-woman songs I’ve heard.
Sound it Out # 56: Small Black – “Free at Dawn”
Small Black’s new album Limits of Desire is seemingly at odds with itself. It’s bombastic yet intimate. The songs are slick-sounding but minimally-produced. Parts of the record feel like they could be inspirational theme songs from a 1980s John Hughes film, while others are much more quiet and mysterious. Yet this bashing-together of disparate styles somehow works; get past the Brooklyn indie-rock exterior and you have a bunch of anthemic, hit-worthy songs.
I find myself singing along the title phrase of “Free at Dawn” even though I have no idea what it means. Maybe you will too.
Sound it Out # 55: Pond – “Xanman”
It would be easy to hear the music of Perth, Australia’s Pond and think they are ironic or retro, but you’d be wrong. Catch them live to discover that their psychedelic guitar layering and spacey jams are completely sincere. A few members of Pond are also in Tame Impala, and something down there has precipitated a wonderful movement of dense and fuzzy rock.
Pond’s new album Hobo Rocket (out 8/6) is geared towards channeling their incredible live energy into a recording. “Xanman” is the most arena-ready Pond song yet and should satisfy all of your rock needs.
Sound it Out # 54: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – “Nightwater Girlfriend”
Naming your band after a Russian political leader does not necessarily get you noticed in his home country, but it eventually did for Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. The Boris Yeltsin Foundation has been following the Springfield, MO band’s consistently lovely music-making for years, and invited them to visit the motherland as headliners of the Old New Rock Festival in Yekaterinburg, Russia this past January.
Once the band accepted the gig, the U.S. consulate in Yekaterinburg named them cultural ambassadors to Russia for a day. SSLYBY performed at a local high school and answered questions about being an American rock band. There’s a forthcoming documentary about this trip called “Discussions with Russians”.
Where do you go from there? SSLYBY returned to Missouri in the spring and wrote/recorded a new record in guitarist Will Knauer’s parents’ attic. It’s called Fly By Wire and is full of deliciously earnest pop gems like “Nightwater Girlfriend”.
Sound it Out # 53: Dr. OctoTron – “Spaz”
Keith Thornton has appeared under many personas in his twisted hip-hop career, but my favorite was always Dr. Octagon. Sadly, Dr. Dooom (also Keith) killed off Dr. Octagon in 1999. Since then, Keith has created hilarious, weird and scatological music as as Kool Keith, Keith Korg (as part of Analog Brothers with Ice-T and others), Black Elvis and so many more. You can see a huge list of Keith’s aliases here.
Dr. Octagon may be deceased, but we now have Dr. OctoTron. This new Keith-fueled medical professional is a collaboration with Del the Funky Homosapien and is produced by KutMasta Kurt, who co-produced (with Dan the Automator) the 1996 release Dr. Octagonecologyst.
This is all to say that the new Dr. OctoTron single “Spaz” is exactly what I hoped it would be: groovy, with raps that are delivered with great skill and humor. No news yet on whether we can expect an OctoTron album, but I sure hope it happens.
Sound it Out # 52: Big Star “Thirteen” (Alternate mix, 1972)
I’ve never been fond of the Beatles. Maybe it had something to do with my dad singing along with the especially dopey early-era stuff and embarrassing me in front of my pre-teen friends, but they always struck me as trite and clunky. I realize that they influenced much of the music I love, they just never moved me. When I first heard Big Star, they appealed to me the way that I imagine the Beatles do to many: the innocent and heartfelt lyrics, the gorgeous vocal harmonizing, and the gentle and jangly melodies come together (*heh*) to form something magical. Big Star are my Beatles.
The original Big Star (and the one that I refer to) only existed from 1971-1974. Positive press did not amount to any kind of real-world success, and the the band fizzled out. There’s a lot more to this story, including the tragic and early deaths of all of its members save for drummer Jody Stephens and the the briefly-lived second incarnation of Big Star in 1993. It’s all told in a new documentary called Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me. The movie is in select theaters and on pay-per-view and iTunes. Pesco did a post about the film here.
The soundtrack for Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me includes outtakes and unreleased mixes from Big Star’s short career. This version of “Thirteen” is a great example of all the things I love about the band.
Sound it Out # 51: Kid Karate – “Heart”
Kid Karate is the rock band I’ve been looking for all summer. These two guys from Dublin create an intoxicating ruckus that I have been listening to non-stop recently. Their debut EP is called Lights Out and it’s released today at the usual digital music outlets. We’ve got a song called “Heart” for your yowling pleasure. Buy the EP if you love it as I do.
Sound it Out # 50: Caitlin Rose – “Only a Clown”
Caitlin Rose’s second record The Stand-In finds the Nashville native straying a bit from her roots in the country music world (her mother has written songs for Taylor Swift, Leann Womack and others), and plants her squarely in the footsteps of the great American songwriter/storytellers. Rose knows how to shape a narrative, and while many of her songs are about the familiar themes of heartache or being wronged, her perspective is always original and surprising.
“Only a Clown” is a fine example of a sparkly-sounding pop song that turns out to be deeply melancholy.
Sound it Out # 49: Maps – “A.M.A”
James Chapman makes music under the name Maps in his basement in Northampton, England. And while he appears to be something of a loner as a musician, the songs on the new Maps record Vicissitude have a welcoming sweetness that feels like a fortuitous amalgamation of many talented minds.
“A.M.A.” is the first single from the new record, and it’s a keeper. Chapman’s whispery vocals combine with a sparse and relentless beat that is simultaneously cheerful and foreboding.
Sound it Out # 47: The Shouting Matches – “Avery Hill”
Do you, like me, have a secret love for straight-ahead 70’s rock? If so, that means we can enjoy together the blues guitar and gruff vocals of The Shouting Matches.
The singer and songwriter of The Shouting Matches is Justin Vernon, who you probably know better as the frontman for Bon Iver. He’s busy with a wide variety of musical projects including the collective known as Gayngs, and is featured on a few Poliça songs (including this brand new one). The Shouting Matches played their first show nearly seven years ago, but have just now released their debut record. It’s called Grownass Man and it’s a shit ton of fun.
Sound it Out # 43: Junip – “Line of Fire”
Junip is a band from Gothenburg, Sweden, comprising members Elias Araya, Tobias Winterkorn, and José González. Though their first EP came out way back in 2005, they are only now releasing their second full-length album, Junip, which arrives on April 23rd. Singer/guitarist González’ much-lauded solo career has kept him away from the band for big chunks of time. It’s been worth the wait.
Junip’s new single “Line of Fire” is an atmospheric gem. Whispery vocals, exotic percussion and an overall ominous tone make for a highly addictive song.
Sound it Out # 42: Helado Negro – “Dance Ghost”
Helado Negro is the musician alter ego of the visual/experimental artist Roberto Carlos Lange.He’s the son of Ecuadorian immigrants who grew up in South Florida and now lives in Savannah, Georgia. The music of Helado Negro (translation: Black Ice Cream) is a moody mish-mash of samples and rhythms that evokes the haunted mood of a David Lynch movie. Helado Negro’s fourth album is called Invisible Life and will be out March 5.
Meanwhile, Lange has a commissioned live performance coming up on February 23 at the Savannah College of Art & Design. It’s called Brain Finger Composition and includes sounds that members of the Savannah arts community uploaded to Google Voice. He will also conduct a 10-piece orchestra by connecting each musician to one of his fingers with a piece of yarn.
“Dance Ghost” is one of the first songs that Helado Negro has sung in English. It has a haunting, languid tone that you can imagine being an ideal soundtrack for a sticky Georgia/Florida/Ecuador summer night.
Sound it Out # 40: Veronica Falls – “Teenage”
On the rare occasion, a dreamy, jangly, coming-of-age pop song can make me dance like a moron in the kitchen.
Download “Teenage”, put down the knife, press play, and behold the power of London’s Veronica Falls as you shake your thing. Their second album Waiting for Something to Happen is out on February 12 and is full of angsty gems like this.
Sound it Out # 39: Guided by Voices – “She Lives in an Airport”
Dayton, Ohio’s legendary Guided by Voices broke up in 2004. Over the course of a 21-year run they’d gone through numerous personnel changes, with singer and main songwriter Robert Pollard as the only consistent player throughout.
Pollard reunited the band’s mid-’90s lineup in 2010 and released three albums in 2012: Let’s Go Eat the Factory (January), Class Clown Spots a UFO (June) and The Bears for Lunch (November). All three records have classic Guided by Voices attributes: hilarious song titles (“How I Met My Mother”, “Worm with 7 Broken Hearts”, “Finger Gang”), hard-to-tolerate noisy parts, and extremely catchy and well-crafted rock music.
Much has been written about how GBV and Robert Pollard could release flawless albums with some self-editing and higher production values. Maybe that’s true, but it’s missing the point. Robert Pollard is deeply compelled to produce copious amounts of music, and part of being a fan is listening to all of it.
That said, I think The Bears for Lunch is the best and most consistent release of current-era Guided by Voices. The clever and tender turns of phrase in “She Lives in an Airport” make me believe that there is no more talented songwriter than Robert Pollard. He makes me want to quote lyrics, which is something I’ve vowed never to do in music writing.
Check out “She Lives in an Airport”, and then dig in to all three albums from 2012 right away; true to form, Guided by Voices has a new record called English Little League coming out sometime in the first half of 2013.
Sound it Out # 37: Jenny O. – “Automechanic”
I posted Jenny O.’s first single almost a year ago. At that time, Jenny was just getting started – she had moved from NY to LA and had a five-song EP called “Home” that she released herself. Since then, all five songs on “Home” have been featured on TV series, car commercials and video games…some of them in all three. Jenny has toured the country a few times, played a residency in LA, turned some heads at SXSW, and made a new record. She’s on a roll.
The new album is called Automechanic and though Jenny has been courted by record labels large and small, she opted to put it out on her own imprint, Holy Trinity, on February 5th. There’s a purity and a fire to Jenny O. that I find irresistible. Her almost child-like voice is an evocative counterpoint to the confidence and complexity of her music.
Thanks Jenny!
Sound it Out # 35: Divine Fits – “Would That Not Be Nice”
Divine Fits is a great band that plays melodic indie rock. I saw their seventh-ever live show last week and they played with a reckless joy that one rarely sees these days. They have two singers who also swap out guitar and bass duties; I loved watching them switch instruments in a silly and complicated maneuver that that resembled a wrestler’s tag-out move. They played their hearts out and seemed to enjoy every sweaty minute. There was a sense in the audience that we were sharing something special.
This is a new band, but these dudes are probably not new to you. Divine Fits is Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade & Handsome Furs) and Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks). They’ve made a fun and cohesive record (coming out Tuesday) titled A Thing Called Divine Fits.
“Would That Not Be Nice” is sung by Britt and features a beefy bassline and synthy keyboards by Alex Fischel.
Sound it Out # 34: Diamond Rings- “I’m Just Me”
When I was a naive and confused tween, I yearned to lose my virginity to Boy George. I later learned that a few of my male friends shared this same fantasy. Now a new generation of youth gets to feel this way about Diamond Rings.
John O is Diamond Rings. It would be easy to dismiss him as a post-80’s mix of Vanilla Ice and Max Headroom if he weren’t so adorable and talented. I saw him play a small showcase last week and he completely owned the room by throwing himself into his performance. He danced on tables and vamped like he was playing in a vast stadium instead of a tiny room holding fewer than 100 people. John’s persona is a crazy mix of macho and effeminate and the show could have been ridiculous if it hadn’t been delivered with such complete confidence and charm.
If there’s any justice in this world, this new Diamond Rings song will be a massive hit. “I’m Just Me” is a perfect summery club anthem with a great message about being yourself.
Sound it Out # 32: Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Windshield Smasher”
There’s a guy in Pittsburgh who calls himself Tobacco. He’s been making music as Black Moth Super Rainbow since 2003. His sound has transitioned from disjointed psychedelia to more guitar-heavy dance music, though all of it has a trippy element to it. It shouldn’t surprise you that people enjoy doing drugs and going to see Black Moth Super Rainbow play.
Black Moth Super Rainbow just finished a very successful (and entertaining to read) Kickstarter campaign, raising over $125,000 to release the new album Cobra Juicy. Premiums included a haunted house tour, a roller skating party and hand-painted, glow-in-the-dark masks with a USB stick jammed into the mouth like a tooth. Eric Wareheim starred in one pitch video for the campaign.
“Windshield Smasher” is the new song from Cobra Juicy. It’s sort of like a malevolent stadium anthem that gets progressively weirder.
Sound it Out # 31: Redd Kross – “Stay Away From Downtown”
The brothers Steve and Jeff MacDonald are the core of Redd Kross, who played their first show opening for Black Flag at a middle school graduation party in 1978 (Steve was 11; Jeff was 15). The band quickly became a big part of the LA punk rock scene – their pop sensibilities and long hair made them stand out from the crowd. Their energy and charm made them beloved in nearly any setting.
As Redd Kross matured, they became more and more fascinated with pop culture; they wrote songs inspired by the likes of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, breakfast cereal, and Linda Blair. They had a few major label deals, opening spots for giant rock tours and some radio and MTV play, but somehow never acheived the success of their peers.
34 years after opening for Black Flag, Redd Kross is back with Researching the Blues, their first album in 15 years (out today!). The record is 32 minutes of melody-laden pop/rock, and “Stay Away from Downtown” is a worthy introduction to the band and the new record.
Sound it Out # 30: Zulu Pearls – “No Heroes No Honeymoons”
Zulu Pearls is a fellow named Zach Van Hoozer who moved from Washington DC to Berlin a couple of years ago. He’s been working on the record with producer Nick Anderson for three years while plugging away at bar shifts and day jobs.
I like this song very, very much. It’s groovy and slightly sinister and I can’t get it out of my head. It has a kind of restless energy that makes you want to do something exciting and possibly embarrassing.
The new Zulu Pearls album in out 9/18 and is full of spare and soulful tunes such as this one. It’s called No Heroes No Honeymoons, just like the song.
Sound it Out # 28: Daydream Vacation- “Dare Seize the Fire”
I’m pretty sure Dave Einmo is some kind of pop music savant. He has a band called Head Like a Kite in which he’s the only consistent member and where he combines movie samples with rock-leaning electronic grooves and often has interesting guests join in with vocals. One of those those singers on last year’s Dreams Suspend Night was Asya, formerly of the band Smoosh (Remember Smoosh? They were the band of cool tween sisters from Seattle that you saw all in all the “bands to watch” lists 6-7 years ago…they were like the anti-Hanson. Asya started singing for Smoosh when she was 12. She’s 20 now).
So, Asya’s first song with Head Like a Kite was called “Daydream Vacation” and she and Dave recently decided to be a full time band called just that. I like it that Einmo named Head Like a Kite after a lyric from The Shins and that Daydream Vacation is a play on Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. This is a man who is not afraid to pay tribute.
Daydream Vacation’s debut, self-released record is called Dare Seize the Fire and they’ve generously offered this free download of the title track. It’s an extremely fun, summery song that went directly onto most of my playlists.
If you happen to be in Seattle, you might want to head on over to their record release party on Saturday night. It should be a fun time.
Sound it Out # 27: Laetitia Sadier – “Find Me the Pulse of the Universe”
Laetitia Sadier sings like no one else. She bravely meanders all over the vocal spectrum, frequently dipping into a bit of drone or off-key oddness only to somehow catch herself before hitting a sour note. Sadier was the signature voice of Stereolab, and her new song “Find Me the Pulse of the Universe” has all of the sultry French-ness and jangly, easy listening elements that I’ve missed since Stereolab ceased to be. She has a new record called Silencio out on July 24.
Sound it Out # 21: Rebecca Gates and the Consortium – “Dangerous”
Rebecca Gates originally blew my mind with her fantastic duo The Spinanes. She and Scott Plouf (who now drums for Built to Spill) created a passionate and full-bodied sound that you’d never guess could come from a 2-piece band. Rebecca’s lyrics were at once vulnerable and bold and she managed to play lead and rhythm guitar parts live.
But it was always the vocals that set her apart. She has possibly the sexiest, least contrived voice out there. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I heard her band’s new cover of “Dangerous”, originally done by the 80’s R&B group Cool’R. This song is part of the “Jackpot Covers Portland” series, in which Jackpot studios in Portland (Oregon) gets local artists to record versions of songs originally done by other Portlanders.
“Dangerous” is a lot of fun. Gates and her Consortium band-mates Joanna Bolme (who also plays in Steven Malkmus’ The Jicks) and Ji Tanzer (Blue Cranes) embrace the 80’s keyboard breaks and silly percussion sounds while throwing down a serious bass line. Rebecca’s voice is as seductive as ever.
Rebecca Gates and the Consortium will be releasing a new album of originals called The Float on May 15.
Sound it Out #14: The Young Knives – “Human Again”
I’ve been eagerly waiting for the new Young Knives album Ornaments From The Silver Arcade to come out in the US. Now I’ve learned that it’s not being released here at all, except for on iTunes. Apparently my nation-mates in the music business these days don’t value cheeky and smart punk-influenced pop. Maybe they have something against bands formed in Ashby-de-la-Zouch or those who choose to perform in dapper tweed ensembles.
I’ve always been charmed by The Young Knives’ strange combination of verbosity and vitriol. “Human Again” tones down the anger but maintains an awkward, angular, underdog quality that I find irresistible.