Sigur Ros: Valtari

     Sigur Ros likes their music slow.  Since the bands acclaimed debut over a decade ago, the Icelandic outfit has made an art form out creating soundscapes that saunter on forever.  The groups lack of sound has become their modus operandi.  With there latest effort, Valtari, Sigur Ros takes their spatial sound to new heights, with mixed results.
     The success, and downfall, of Valtari, is that it has all the elements that makes Sigur Ros a creative band, just in smaller doses.  The subtle electronic hints and wistful melodies present throughout the album, and their towering crescendos are present, most notably in the song "Varou." Orchestra sounds and reverbed voices add depth and mood to the sparse instrumentation.
     The album does, however, feel forced and trudging.  Perhaps fans have become greedy with the slew of indelible albums Sigur Ros has released throughout the groups illustrious career, but this album lacks all of the respective qualities of their previous efforts.  It lacks the haunting beauty of something like  (), but too listless to have defined song structure.  The album clumsily bounces from ethereal to substantial.
      Valtari shows Sigur Ros making a valiant effort within their catalog of music, but lacks the direction to be a great album.  While not a bad album, nothing about Valtari stands out, and seems destined to be lost in a sea of ambient noise.

MV & EE: Space Homestead

     Folk Rock is nowhere near as cut and dry as those on the outside, unfamiliar with it, would think.  As musicians become more experimental and open-minded about their influence, the genre is no longer an acoustic guitar strapped over the shoulder of a politically minded crooner.   One offshoot of the folk movement is the formulation of the freak folk movement, where the traditional folk sensibilities are washed in effects, adding an ethereal quality of the songs.  A prime example of this is Vermont folksters, MV& EE, and there latest effort, Space Homestead.
    Space Homestead is a very fitting name for the album, as the entire album is sweet comforting vocals,matched with acoustic guitars,  then laced with psychedelics effects.  The result is the best of both worlds, an atmospheric journey, and cheery sing-a-longs.  The album allows the music to flow into uncharted waters, but is still tethered by melody.  Think less Bob Dylan, more Neil Young.
     Towards the second half of the album, Space Homestead enters darker territory, albeit following the same basic MV & EE formula.  The song " To Far To See" has a much gloomier tone than its predecessors, and has a relatively cheery mood before going into a bold, fuzzed out, guitar solo.  Even these  melancholy songs are enhanced by the thick psychedelic guitar, and subtle vocal reverbs.
     Space Homestead is not for everyone.  As previously stated, it may not be as simple to the listener as typical folk artists. Those who listen to the album must be ready for the layering and instrumentation of a full band, rather than a duo.  Those who are willing to put up with the slow lilting sounds will be rewarded with an enjoyable journey through a solid languid folk album. 

Best Coast: The Only Place

     

     Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, the duo that make up Best Coast, the lo-fi homage to Pacific Coast angst and alienation, have released their second LP, The Only Place, with similar results to their breakout Debut.  Best Coast follows what seems to be the exact formula that they left off at, as the album praises Los Angeles, and pines for romance over surf pop fuzz.  While this is not necessarily a bad thing, Best Coast have clearly found their comfort zone, and seem content to not venture far from it.  Almost three years of success and maturation should theoretically give Cosentino more lyrical depth, but she still sings of teenage alienation.  The simple lyrics leaves Bruno with the only option to create simple music to accompany it.  Bruno's production is beautifully fitting, but it leaves the listener wondering the band's potential.  The Only Place's slower tempo, however,  drastically sucks the energy out of the garage rock sound. 
     The Only Place is by no means a flop; there is plenty of stuff on the album, and most of what made Crazy for You (their debut) so much fun is still present on this effort.  And even though the slower tempo siphoned much of the enthusiasm out, credit its still due to Best Coast for attempting to try a new direction, and as the duo continues to grow together, the subdued sound may work.  While The Only Place was certainly a sub-par release, the band still has a bright future, and fans will be intrigued as Best Coast works to find what works for them.

Beach House: Bloom

     Alex Scally, half of the Baltimore based Duo, Beach House,  recently explained how he does not like it when bands change their sound between albums.   Beach House fans are in luck...

     Beach House returns with Bloom, their Sophomore album on famed indie label, Sub-Pop, with more of the same delightful chill-wave of its predecessor.  The band opts to tweak their ethereal sound, rather than go into a new direction.  Those who enjoy the gentle spaciness of Teen Dream have nothing to fear, as their signature sound is in tact.  

     Make no mistake, though.  This is not a collection of B-Sides.  It is apparent throughout the entirety of Bloom that Beach House has matured, both in terms of musicianship and production.  Beach House adds more layers to their sound, but manages to keep the Bloom atmospheric, without sounding cluttered.  The sound is a tad fuller than the more minimalist Teen Dream, but it subtly walks the line of sounding dizzyingly opulent without sounding chaotic. 

     Lyrically, Beach House still battles depression with little avail.  Bloom recounts the same tales of post-adolescent sadness that made the band notable.   There is little deviation from the bands' formula in this sense.   Bloom does however, make better use of the vocals, extending the syllables of each lyric to create another layer of music.

     Bloom continues Beach House's slow domination of the dream-pop world.  The album radiates the same hazy nostalgia that they are known for, but simply better.  Bloom is not a continuation of old Beach House, but a slow evolution of them. 

 ******Stream the entire Beach House Bloom at the NPR website******

Brian Jonestown Massacre: Aufheben

     

     At this point in their career, The Brian Jonestown Massacre can pretty much do whatever they want.  They have received a sizable amount of critical acclaim throughout their career, and are crazy enough to keep people interested.  Beyond the near psychotic Anton Newcombe, the tragic genius frontman, and the ever changing band personnel, BJM has put out a laundry list of stylistically diverse albums.  Recently, the band just released Aufheben; a textured return to their famed psychedelic sound.
     BJM sets their sixties psych revivalist tone early in the album with their album opener, "Panic in Babylon,"  a 21st century expression of "Tomorrow Never Knows."  The Middle Eastern instrumentation and guest vocals show the band, and Newcombe,  with a greater patience and maturity when it comes to studio production, likely a byproduct of his new found sobriety.  With the re-addition of founding BJM guitarist Matt Hollywood, Aufheben also shows greater rhythmic strength than what the band has been exploring in its previous few efforts.  The guitar elements perfectly compliment the organ swells that are omnipresent in the album.  The instrumentation ion Auheben is impeccable, as scores of textures layer each other into one full, lush sound.  The consistent use of the aforementioned Middle Eastern Textures created a palpable psychedelic aura to the entire album.
     One thing lacking from the Psych-pop pioneer's Aufheben,  is the pop.  The beauty of BJM was their uncanny knack to combine mind expanding psychedelia with melodies and sensibilities that would get tattooed in the listeners memory.  The mind bending textures are incredible, but are lacking the acid-soaked pop sing-a-longs.  Perhaps Newcombe and crew saw this as well, as the last track, "Blue Order New Monday", is essentially a seven minute chorus awash in trippy giddiness.  It was almost as if they saved all the hooks for the end.
     Brian Jonestown Massacre has a built in fame based on their stories, but their talent goes far deeper than their train wreck persona.  Aufheben is yet another valiant effort by a band that will always impress its audience.  It may not be on the level of their flawless masterpieces of their early Psych days, but Aufheben shows a new and exploratory turn for a band who is now experiencing the same revivalism that their music does.

**For a back story on the band, and the references to them being "crazy" and "train wrecks," check out the documentary DIG!.

Henry Rollins on MCA....

In the last week, there have been countless elegies for MCA Adam Yauch.  Henry Rollins just released his, which I found particularly poignant.  Enjoy.....

A few days ago, I woke up to the sad news that Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys had lost his battle with cancer and passed away.

As the sun started to set in Hobart, Australia -- where I was performing that night -- I became sadder and sadder. I wanted to talk about him during the show but, not having had much time to think about what I would say, I didn't want to get anything wrong or in any way be misunderstood. So I said nothing about him and kept it all to myself.

Last week, I was in a gym and on the television was one of those endless "best of" music video marathons. The show played the Beasties' "Sabotage" video. I don't know how many times I have seen this mini-masterpiece directed by Spike Jonze, but it never fails to knock me out every time. The talent of Adam and his cohorts Mike D and Ad-Rock is a very large and deep pool.

I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to tour with the Beastie Boys and watched almost every set they played on all those dates. Why not? You do your set and then you get to see the Beasties play? Best deal in town.

Never was any show a letdown. The fact that they would break away from the rap material and actually play instruments onstage -- sometimes to the dissatisfaction of some of their MTV-generated, ADHD-addled youth fans -- made it all the more impressive. They were a real band, and if they had to test the patience of some kid at his second concert, all the better. The Beastie Boys were completely impressive and you could tell their love of music was the real thing.

Not to get too music critic on you, because those parade watchers are such a pain in the ass, but the Beastie Boys in my opinion pulled off quite an amazing feat years ago that bears mentioning.

The Licensed to Ill album made the band famous all over the world. The work, a sonic force to be reckoned with, combined humor, beats and enough politically incorrect material to repel and attract in equal numbers. They could have broken up after that album and their reputation would have been cemented.

Unlike so many other bands that have a successful first album, they did not attempt to re-create it with their follow-up. Instead, they released one of the most stand-out albums of the 1980s. Paul's Boutique is one of the best damn records of all time. Nothing at all like what came before it.

The level of humor, sophistication, arrangement and sheer brilliance of the overall album was completely mind-blowing. As far as a band totally changing the game, taking it to a different place and knocking it out of the park, only a few comparisons can be drawn. Immediately, the transition that the Velvet Underground made from their debut to the roaring clang of White Light/White Heat comes to mind.

Not everyone was as enthusiastic; the album got some tepid and less-than-great reviews. It was edifying to see how ill-equipped some of these pedants were to wrap their ears around something so different. Perhaps they couldn't conceive the same band that brought them "Fight for Your Right (to Party)" could also deliver "The Sounds of Science." All of them, if they were worth their weight in the free records that were wasted on them over the years, had to come back around and admit they were caught flat-footed by the band, much like their corny ancestors had to concede that Miles Davis kicked their ass with his On the Corner album.

And from there, it was the Check Your Head album and breakout recognition for the band all over the world. As the albums and tours stacked up, audiences got a chance to understand that the Beasties were a very heavy and socially aware unit.

They were about so much more than music. They can be thanked, and Adam Yauch can be thanked in particular, for helping to bring young people in the Western world to an awareness of the state of Tibet and the draconian grip the Chinese government has on the good people there. My visit to Tibet was very much inspired by Adam. I thought of him every day when I was in Lhasa.

While it is incredibly saddening that he has passed away, one can be inspired by the fact that the man gave more than he got, and he got plenty. Beastie Boys albums will stand the test of time quite well. Adam's contributions to human-rights causes have no doubt not only improved the lives of countless others but saved lives as well.

Where music and activism meet is not always the most unmuddied water, but Adam's work to bring awareness to the plight of Tibet hits an altruistic altitude that in itself almost shoves all that great music to the other side of the room. So, while it is damn hard to take that he is gone, what he put into the time he was living occupies a very bright and beautiful place that will never dim or diminish. Adam's life is a standing inspiration.

Anders Osborne: Black Eye Galaxy

     Anders Osborne has lived a life as hard as his influences (including his hometown of New Orleans), and his trials come through vividly in his brilliant releases.  For his latest release, Black Eye Galaxy, Osborne incurs the same swampy hardships that have made him famous in some circles, legendary in others, and unknown in most.
    Osborne uses Black Eye Galaxy to continue his cathartic emotional rehabilitation from drugs.  Songs like "Mind of A Junkie," and the title track, explore the depths of his addiction over languid guitars that mimic the despondent high he felt.  Similarly, the angry riffs and lyrics of "Black Tar" show with absolute conviction to exorcise his demons.  The album is titled perfectly, as Black Eye Galaxy is continues his life story of being beat down and getting back up again.  Osborne's candid simplicity and beautiful wordsmanship make him one of the greatest songwriters in the game.
     Musically,  Black Eye Galaxy evokes unparalleled emotion.  Osborne compliments his words perfectly.  The music, like the lyrics, begin with driving passion, and end with lullaby nostalgia.  The music stands up to the greats which Osborne grew up listening to, as he evokes the sharp, driving, solos of Neil Young, the stoney meandering of The Grateful Dead, and the sweet folk of Dylan.  Osborne is no copycat, however, as all the songs have the soul of Anders Osborne, and nobody else.
     Black Eye Galaxy contains within its songs, the soul and emotion that is lacking from most of today's singer songwriters.  Where many others will contrive their hardships with benign tales love and breakups, Osborne sings of true pain, and that makes Black Eye Galaxy one of the best albums of 2012.

 

This acoustic performance does not show the driving force of the studio version, but does just as well conveying the palpable emotion that only Anders Osborne can summon.  Definitely worth a listen or two

I have not written a blog in some time.  Since my last post, the music world has lost two great pioneers.  Rather than write yet another long winded biography about Levon Helm and MCA Adam Yauch, I would like to briefly focus on how the world  can still hear these musicians today through their immeasurable sphere of influence.

The Hip-Hop/Rap community is now a respected genre of music that is sweeps across all cultures of people.  There is no longer a prototype of a hip-hop fan.  This cultural appeal is based off the Beastie Boys' success.  Since their first note, The Beastie Boys have written honest hip-hop that appealed and aged with their audience.  Their organic comodification of urban music allowed those not born into the scene learn to enjoy and love it.  Because of this,  The Beastie's influence are not only felt in the the cross-cultural state of hip-hop, where all backgrounds have a fair shake, but in the subsequently developed styles of music, many of which are seemingly unrelated.  As alternative rock made its way into the limelight, the loud vocals and heavy guitar riffs are overtly reminiscent of The Beastie Boys.  Also, the funky beats of the electronic music scene, mainly created by White Suburbia, is clearly a direct descendent of the three boys from Brooklyn.  The other day, while listening to an old Phish album, I could not help but think that their proggy sound was indirectly related to The Beastie Boys' off-kilter dissonance.

Few bands have perfected the art of songwriting as well as The Band.  Modern Rock, and melody in general, would be nothing without Levon Helm, The Band, and their sensible knowledge of verse and chorus.  Throughout the course of modern music, subsequent to The Band, the implementation of full rich textures, based on strong percussive background, can be traced back to Helm and Crew.  The genesis of acoustic rock with backbone, freak folk with heavy instrumentation, and rhythmic rock all owe their creation to The Band.  Even the heavy, atonal grunge era would not have existed without the bands simple sense of musicianship.     Listening to modern bluegrass/newgrass, it is impossible not to hear Helm's direct influence, as the implementation of percussion is now commonplace.  Helm's brilliance stands out in all music, and its reliance of a drum-based skeleton.  One cannot begin to trace The Band's, and Helm's scope of impact on the modern music world.