I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Blitzen Trapper last night at The Independent. (And was equally amused when I realized I was standing next to The Morning Benders while watching it. Cool.) Although I felt like I was seeing an entirely new band. I saw them a couple of times in the past year supporting Wild Mountain Nation, but this was a wholly different performance. They stuck to Furr almost exclusively. And lead singer Eric Earley was clearly channeling Bob Dylan. I think the only song from the vault they pulled out was in fact ‘Wild Mountain Nation’. The music was tight, the harmonies were beautiful. Much more subdued than their usual blitzkrieg. And I must say my favorite song of the night, while not necessarily one of my favorites on the album, was ‘Love U‘. They took me someplace else during that song. Awesome.
Artist: Deerhunter Album: Weird Era Cont File Under: Ambient Indie Rock Recommended if You Like: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound Featured Track: ‘Operation‘
Oh happy day! Weird Era Cont., the second disc from Deerhunter’s October release, Microcastle, is out now. I’ve been listening to it non-stop since yesterday and it more than holds its own as an album, unlike many bonus discs. Both albums are on heavy rotation. I couldn’t be more excited about the music Deerhunter is putting out right now. And you should be too. As fellow blogger, This Recording, put it:
‘Bradford Cox is the indie rock Jesus, ready to die for our musical sins. This guy is gay, possibly a virgin, and frighteningly skinny due to Marfan Syndrome which will likely lead to a premature death. Is there anyone you could root for more? On top of that he put out what is arguably the best album of the year, and he helped reinvigorate a genre that was drifting into irrelevance – indie rock.’
I loooove Rafter. Mostly because he’s a bona fide freak who makes really compelling, interesting and fresh music. Fast on the heels of ‘Sex Death Cassette‘ (one of my favorite albums) comes his new EP called ‘Sweaty Magic’. A distinct shift from his prior work, this album is quite bootylicious. As his label, Asthmatic Kitty, so aptly put it:
“Sweaty Magic is Rafter center stage in a gold Speedo (American Apparel banned at the door), firing lasers of love from his eyes. If you’re not shaking your booty by the second track, you might want to look behind you to make sure it’s still there.”
Asthmatic Kitty recently held a video contest and here are the winners to two of my favorite ‘Sweaty Magic’ tracks. Go ahead and ‘put a little salt in it!’
Artist:Blitzen Trapper Album: Furr File Under: Americana Recommended if You Like: Dr. Dog, Pavement, Band of Horses, Bob Dylan Featured Track: Furr
Portland’s Blitzen Trapper has been stirring up quite the buzz for the past year. Their last album, Wild Mountain Nation, made my ‘Best of’ list last year and was a darling in the indie music blogosphere. While some people didn’t take to that album’s lack of focus, I adored their schizophrenic romp through musical genres. It was very reminiscent of Pavement to me – weird and whimsical, which is a good thing.
The sound from their fourth album, Furr, is much more refined, honed in and mature. They seem to have grown up and figured out what works for them. And it works very well. Furr is like Bob Dylan meets Dr. Dog. They’ve taken the folk/Americana genre and played it out beautifully. No longer does the group sound like a bunch of teenagers trying every passing trend on for size. This album is cohesive and exudes a kind of confidence and talent that comes with maturity. It’s the real deal.
Blitzen Trapper plays tonight at The Independent in San Francisco.
From the Basement is a UK-based music TV show that has launched a series of live performances from an impeccable collection of indie artists – like Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, The Kills, Andrew Bird, Beck and lots, lots more. The program is featured on the Sky Arts channel in the UK, Rave in the US and, starting in January 2009, the IFC channel.
Until then, you can catch sneak previews of some performances. Like this one from my current obsession White Denim.Click here to check out this blistering rendition of ‘All You Really Have to Do/ Mess Up Your Hair’. Oh yeah, these guys rock! Well worth the jump, I promise.
No friends, this is not a My Bloody Valentine blog, though that was where my mind first went as well. This appears to be perhaps the first indie music blog conglomerate, so to speak. MBV is a new website bringing together five great indie music blogs: Said the Gramophone, Fluxblog, Large Hearted Boy, Catbirdseat and Chromewaves. All of their sites will be syndicated here and will include additional content as well.
An interesting concept and possibly an emerging trend? Let’s watch and see.
Oh what a slacker I’ve been this week. I’m still on Mexico time. This new video of Damien Jurado’s ‘Casket‘ from the album Caught in the Trees inspired me to action, however. Check it out.
A long time ago, I posted some great clips from the beta site of this project, Digforfire.tv. It’s like a compilation of little music documentaries from all of your favorite indie rock bands. The production quality is stunning. And it’s finally live. Go check it out and get lost in their library of great videos. Like this one from Band of Horses.
Maybe it’s just me, but there seems to be an unusual number of up and coming indie bands of late with the word f**k in their name. There’s Fuck, Fuck Buttons, Holy Fuck, Starfuckers, Fuck the Writer, Fucked Up. And those are just the bands. I’m not evening delving into recent album titles using said profanity. I guess we’re just one pissed off generation. We are amidst tumultuous times, but instead of adopting the peace, love and rock-n-roll attitude of the 70s, I guess we’re just going for piss and vinegar.
I personally would like to see a little more Hope, Faith and Sunshines in our world, but I tend to be a bit of a Pollyanna like that. That being said, I do like the sounds these f**ckers are putting out. Aside from Fucked Up, these bands don’t really sound at all what you would expect them to. Take a listen.
Oakland, CA based Fuck’s pop melodies are consistently at odds with their vulgar moniker. I like their sense of humor in their naming convention, however.
“Holy Fuck, these guys rock!” That’s probably how the Toronto-based lo-fi electronic group got it’s name. Their music is created entirely with old analog musical and non-musical instruments — including a 35mm film synchronizer.
I like the mellow pop grooves and overall cheekiness of this Portland-based group. I imagine these three guys sitting around the kitchen table giggling as they brainstormed their band name and song tracks like ‘German Love’ (I’m gonna give it to you). Their self-titled debut, released earlier this year, is quirky and easy on the ears.
Fuck the Writer is Emil van Steenwijk from the Netherlands. Amsterdam-based indie folk. Go figure. He’s had a couple of solo albums so far: ‘Maar Ik Dans Niet’ and ‘Keeping The Aspidistra Flying’. Don’t ask me what any of that means or how to pronounce it. I just know it sounds good.
Tobacco is the new endeavor of Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Tom Fec. While you can definitely hear the BMSR influence, Fucked Up Friends is much more tweaked-out and…fucked up!
the OCMD 
