Author Archives: the OCMD

Girls vs. Women

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Here are two tiny bands I’m hot on at the moment – which also makes for a clever post. Both have albums releasing this week, have nary a female band member to speak of, but do have lots of them gracing the covers of their albums.  

Girls hail from San Francisco and just released their debut album, Lust for Life. Each track has a distinctly different sound, which makes it difficult for me to put a label on this band; but it does give some clarity to their self-described music category – Tropical/Gothic/Thrash.  On several tracks, however, the lead singer’s voice does remind me of Elvis Costello. Featured is the track Hellhole Ratrace. Be sure to download the free track ‘Lust for Life‘ on RCRD LBL.

 

Women are a Canadian group (two of them brothers, actually) with their self-titled debut released July 8 on Flemish Eye Records.  I was very pleased to learn that Chad VanGaalen produced this album, of whom I’m a big fan.  He recorded the album in his basement on old tape machines and ghettoblasters.  To say their sound is lo-fi is an understatement. Featured is the track Black Rice.

 

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Rhapsody Launches Beta MP3 Store

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Anyone who knows me is well aware of how big a fan I am of Rhapsody.  It’s one of my essential tools for digesting and discovering new music.  The music subscription service model has always made a lot of sense to me and I believe is a model we’re going to see a lot more of.  Especially as more and more artists attempt to circumvent labels and go direct to fans (with the help of technology like Topspin).  

After all, why wouldn’t you want to pay $12/month to access a virtual unlimited amount of music – anywhere, anytime.  It’s beautiful.  Especially when leveraged through the Sonos Digital Music System (in which Rhapsody is already integrated).  I have an ongoing Rhapsody playlist of new music that I add to whenever I hear or read about a new artist.  Then I just queue up the playlist and listen to it whenever I’m at work or futzing around the house.  With the combination of Rhaspody and Sonos, listening to music is no longer a dedicated form of entertainment.  

Finally, Rhapsody has added an MP3 download component, without all the DRM (Digital Rights Management) hassles like Apple iTunes.  (Which means when you download a track or album you can do whatever you want with it – no proprietary formats, limited sharing, etc.)  I still love eMusic and inSound for their great selection of Indie music.  But I find that Rhapsody is the ideal platform for most of my music research.  I’m very happy about this new MP3 service and hope that the the next iteration with include the option for monthly download bundles as part of my subscription.  🙂

Black Lips [Black Crystal Bands, Part 6]

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Atlanta-based Black Lips are renowned for their rowdy, debaucherous live shows, which have included vomiting, urinating in each other’s mouths then spitting pee at the audience, and setting their pubic hair on fire. Their hard hitting 2007 release, Good Bad Not Evil, was huge for the garage punk group.  Even if the bad boy, punk image scares you,  this album will get you.  From the slower Veni Vidi Vici to the all out rockabilly O Katrina, I think you’ll be surprisingly charmed by this mischievous bunch.

Here’s their video for It Feels Alright:

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Fleet Foxes: White Winter Hymnal

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Artist: Fleet Foxes
Album: Fleet Foxes
File Under: Indie Folk Rock
Recommended if You Like: Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Band of Horses, The Dodos, My Morning Jacket
Featured Track: White Winter Hymnal

For those of you who follow music, this is probably not a new band for you; but those of you who don’t, you must add this one to your collection.  The reaction I had to this Seattle-based quintet the first time I heard them was similar to my first experience with Bon Iver – wow!  

I had to the good fortune to see them at SXSW this year while killing time before the Helio Sequence show. (I just love serendipity.) I remember being overwhelmed by the myriad of instruments they had on stage – acoustic and electric guitars, tom drums, mandolins, bass pedals, organs, dulcimers- all overlaid with the most beautiful, harmonious vocals I’ve ever heard.  The band clearly pays homage to their folk rock influences, but they do not get lost in it.   They synthesize a broad spectrum of styles and sounds into their own.  A classic for sure.

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The Black Hollies [Black Crystal Bands, Part 5]

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Who would guess a group of guys that look like and sound like this are from Jersey City?  After stumbling upon the track Paisley Pattern Ground during my SXSW band research, I quickly added them to my collection.   I’m a sucker for that retro, neo-psychedelic sound.  Paisley Pattern Ground is a gem of a track from their 2008 release, Casting Shadows –  and arguably the best song on the album.

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Black Kids [Black Crystal Bands, Part 4]

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Here’s one of the more talked about additions to the Indie Pop circuit,  who also pay homage to 80s synthpop. Their debut album, ‘Partie Traumatic’, is releasing this month.  This is a video of their single, ‘I’m not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance.’  If you weren’t looking you might mistake this for a new track from The Cure.

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Black Keys [Black Crystal Bands, Part 3]

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Artist:  Black Keys
Album:  Attack & Release
File Under: Lo-fi Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like:  White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Black Angels
Featured Track:  Psychotic Girl

I had all but given up on the Black Keys.  I’ve followed them since their debut and loved their bluesy minimalist sound.  (I’ve always described them as White Stripes meets Stevie Ray Vaughn.)  But each successive album seemed to be just more of the same and less creative.  I don’t think I would have bothered to pick up their new album, ‘Attack and Release’, if it weren’t for an interview I saw of the duo on Pitchfork.tv that completely cracked me up. 

I’m glad I did because it’s become one of my favorite albums this year…like reconnecting with an old friend.  The album is dark and moody for sure, but oh so sexy.  Their collaboration with Danger Mouse on this album adds subtle layers of complexity to give it a more ethereal and eerie sound than their prior releases.

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The Black Angels [Black Crystal Bands, Part 1]

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Caution:  Contact high may occur while listening to this album, especially under the influence of black lights.

Okay, this Austin-based psyche rock band definitely fits nicely into my dark and moody ‘black’ band category.  The band, whose mantra is ‘Turn on, Tune in, Drone out’, has a very soul-satisfying stoner rock sound that draws references to groups like Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Doors.  Lead singer Alex Maas’ vocals have an eerie resemblance to Jim Morrison, in particular.

I adore their debut album, Passover, that was released in 2006.  Their new album, Directions to See a Ghost, released this a couple of months ago is a solid effort but not quite as good as their debut, in my opinion.  Definitely a band worth a listen regardless.  Check out this track, You on the Run,  from their latest album.

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Trendspotting: Black Crystal Bands

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Scrolling through my music library recently – in alphabetical order of course – it became apparent to me that if you want to be a hip, cutting edge indie rock artist, you should insert the word ‘black’ or ‘crystal’ into your band name somewhere.  There have been three debut LP/EPs from Crystal bands alone this year:  Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts and Crystal Castles.  Not to mention the bevy of ‘black’ dubbed bands with new albums out like Black Angels, Black Keys and Black Mountain to name a few.

Personally, I find myself more drawn to the ‘black’ bands as these groups tend to be of a more dark and moody ilk. (You know, the kind that attracts a predominately male audience.)  For some reason, whenever I free associate ‘crystal’ bands, my mind immediately goes to 80s synthpop.  I just can’t help it.  I’m very judgmental toward the ‘crystal’ set.  Is this fair?  Is there any relevant basis for me to draw such a biased conclusion?  And why is there no band named Black Crystal yet?

Welcome to the first OCMD Trendspotting series – Black Crystal Bands– where I’ll explore some of the new emerging artists in this category (read: no Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, etc.), attempt to answer some of these questions, and hopefully turn you on to some great new music in the process!

I’ve got at least 10 bands to tackle in this series, but I would love to hear your thoughts, comments and additions of other worthy bands I may have missed.  

Tune in tomorrow for The Black Angels.