It seems The Dead Weather has launched a trend with the premiere of their ‘short film’ by Jonathon Glazer for “Treat Me Like Your Mother” on Showtime last week.
Then I found this crazy short film for The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Snakesweat”. Glamorous and weird only in the way Karen O can pull off. Who’s next? I’ll be watching to find out.
San Francisco’s Girls are paired up this week with New York’s Pains of Being Pure at Heart tonight for a great night of music at The Rickshaw Stop. Bonus prize, Girls are offering up their 10″ for free download. Get ’em.
“Solitude”
Band of Skulls, “Death by Diamonds and Pearls”
Then this Sunday, July 26 features a repeat performance of one of my favorite bands this year, Band of Skulls. The hot UK trio will be rockin’ it at Cafe du Nord. Be there.
The Miserable Rich – “Monkey (Grape Authority Version)” “Pisshead”
Sticking to the folk theme today, here’s a UK chamber quintet I quite like listening to, The Miserable Rich. I don’t know if they’re rich, but they look pretty miserable in this photo, don’t they?
All kidding aside, the band – whose name was inspired from an experience they had playing at the wedding of two ultra-rich aristocrats in Rome – has an orchestral folk sound that evokes qualities of Andrew Bird. It’s beautifully sweet, tender and easy on the ears. Their 2008 release “Twelve Ways to Count” is a home recorded gem and one of my go-to ‘wind down’ albums at the end of the day. “Monkey” is an acoustic version of the one of the tracks off the album released earlier this year. Enjoy.
Artist: The Handsome Family
Album: Honey Moon
File Under: Alt -Country
Featured Tracks: “When You Whispered”
Recent reviews of The Handsome Family’s 9th release, Honey Moon, seem to suggest this record is a refreshing collection of uplifting love songs. Having enjoyed the dark tones of the previous 8 wrist-slitters, I was worried. I put Honey Moon on for the first time expecting an utterly new Handsome Family, one I wasn’t sure my unmedicated mind could handle.
The opener, “Linger, Let me Linger” does indeed mention “hearts (drawn on a dusty window pane)” as well as “a love note (lying in the road)”. Is that a love song? I suppose it could be… I grabbed some old Prozac from the medicine cabinet and washed it down with cough syrup. “Little Sparrows” begs to “take me with you when you go”. That is romantic. I finished off a bottle of wine. “Were you with me then my friend, are you with me now?” How sweet!! I am uplifted! And darned if there weren’t some other new things here. The tinkling computer chirps on “Love is Like” evoke Grandaddy. I never saw that coming.
I understand this release coincides with the couples 20th wedding anniversary and all, but love fest this is not. Thank goodness! Brett Sparks’ deep voice, and his unique phrasings are dependably depressing. Rennie Sparks’ magical tragic lyrics would be otherwise unavailable except to the wallpaper in the office of a pricey psychoanalyst. There may be some more “love” songs here, but make no mistake these are not your mother’s love songs. These are songs of ACTUAL real-life love, 20 year love, crying on the phone love. There is a load of beauty but it’s in the dark shadows like the beauty on all previous Handsome Family albums. Enjoy this record with whisky, enjoy it with Zoloft, but whatever you do, go see them July 23rd at the Bottom of the Hill. I bet ya’ 2 drinks they are wearing black.
One of the last standing Strokes members not to have a side project has finally caved in. Julian Casablancas is officially going solo with a full length debut entitled “Phrazes For The Young”. Looks like he’s getting all Dead Weather on us with his movie-style promotional trailer on YouTube. Hmm, can he live up to the hype?
The Dodos – “Fables”
The Dodos, one of San Francisco’s finest, has a follow up release to their acclaimed debut “Visiter”in the works, entitled “Time To Die.” Reports from @TheBayBridged and @DodgeMOKB indicate the album has already been leaked. Poor guys. In response to the debacle, the band has set up a website to stream the entire album, pre-order it and receive free downloads. The physical release remains set for September 15, but the digital release of the album will be available for purchase/download through Amazon MP3 on July 27th for either $2.99 or $3.99. Goodness!
Visit TimeToDie.net for more info.
It’s Friday, be happy! So get up and try this sunny, retro psychedelic pop groove on for size. The Los Angeles-based indie songwriter AM is gearing up for the release of his sophomore album, Future Sons & Daughters, due August 11th, 2009 on Filter US Recordings. Recorded in L.A. and produced by Charles Newman (Magnetic Fields), this release follows his debut, which earned him the title of “Best Singer Songwriter of The Year” by the LA Weekly.
Holy crap! I was a little shocked to read this morning that my hometown radio station, WOXY, is relocating from Cincinnati to Austin, TX as of September 8. I can’t say I really blame them. Austin offers so much more musically than Cincinnati. It gives better access to artists and plays host to some of the best indie music festivals around. But I’m really sad about this. I grew up with this station. What the hell am I going to listen to when I make my annual pilgrimage home? My parents don’t have satellite radio in their cars.
Thankfully, they’ve thought of that and launched a free iPhone app so you can listen to WOXY on the go. It features WOXY Live and vintage channels along with the great programs we love, like Future Sounds. It’s awesome. Go get it…WOXY Radio for iPhone
There’s always a bit of fear and trepidation when I anticipate a show as much as I did this one. Usually you’re setting yourself up for a disappointment, but that was not the case Monday night at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill. The stellar double header of Foreign Born and The Veils definitely goes down as one of my top concerts so far this year.
Both bands were excellent, but I have to say Foreign Born really delivered an outstanding performance with a rich, polished and professional sound rarely seen at the likes of this venue. And they had a stage show too. When’s the last time you saw a show at Bottom of the Hill with two drummers, stage lighting and smoke effects? It was a first for me. They were tight.
The Veils, Finn Andrews, bared his soul during the show giving such a passionate performance he could barely compose himself after “Larkspur.” Wow, was all I could say. His vocals reigned true throughout the night and his graciousness on stage was and unexpected surprise for me. Impressive all around.
Alberta Cross – “Leave Us and Forgive Us”
File this under “Bands to Watch.” Alberta Cross is poised to release their much anticipated full length debut, Broken Side of Time, on September 22. Their EP, The Thief & The Heartbreaker, was on heavy rotation for me all last year. I was immediately attracted to lead singer/guitarist Petter Ericson Stakee’s Kurt Cobain-like desperation and Neil Young Americana rock vibe. Their set at SXSW this year was one of my favorite live performances as well.
Stay tuned for tour dates. In the meantime, you can download a free copy of the MP3 for “Leave Us and Forgive Us” on their website now.
the OCMD 