walking on an ambling alp

The new Yeasayer single is properly brilliant and you can download it for free! Lead singer Chris Keating is now officially up for involvement with TWO singles of the year when you couple this with his Simian Mobile Disco collaboration "Audacity of Huge" (which never really became properly huge, but should have).

Anyway, check it. It's a little more Kwassa Kwassa than their last release.



Download (legally) here!

quick notes on the florence show

I was in the front row at the stateside debut of Florence + the Machine at Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night. Even discounting Nada Surf's surprise appearance alongside opening act Holly Miranda, it was an excellent show.

It's hard to imagine an act more diametrically opposed to Florence Welch than Holly Miranda (above). Whereas Miranda wore jeans and a slouchy t-shirt, stared at the floor and mumbled a self-deprecating "Fuck me" between her spare and lovely Mazzy Star-ish songs, Welch came onstage wearing what looked like a hippie's bridal gown, platform heels, and heavy makeup ready to rock or bewitch or twirl around for an hour. Bowery's spare stage was strangely decorated: a large avian tapestry hung on the back wall, fake flowers covered Welch's mike stand, and what looked like a shiny blue lawn ornament perched atop a harp on stage right. It sort of looked like a Florida grandmother's basement.

During her performance, Welch alternated between theatrical, vampy stage movements and small breaks in character when she smiled demurely and thanked the crowd repeatedly. And here we come to my main critique of the show. I'm not sure how these things read from the back of the venue, but from my vantage point, the small accouterments that littered the stage had the overall effect of making her set up look fairly shoddy. At the same time, her theatrical presence was sometimes campier than I think is wise for a record that deals in themes like magic, mystery, and love (risky stuff when played straight). It's a line she's had to walk carefully before, sometimes successfully and sometimes not (it's one of the reasons I think her latest music video for "You've Got the Love" is such a disappointment--sometimes less is more and more looks cheap).

Musically, I think her band is still progressing. Her guitar player flattens out some of the record's instrumentation in favor of some indie Bloc-Party riffs and the bass player's attempts at backing vocals barely register. I saw his mouth open during the final section of "Cosmic Love" but I didn't hear a thing which dulls that song's denouement. The harpist doesn't come through clearly either.

But enough. Does this sound like a negative reaction to the show? Because it's not! It's just thoughts! This show was exciting, and vibrant, and pretty great. Welch's voice is pitch perfect as evidenced on her rendition of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar." And what on record seemed like a throwaway garage track ("Kiss With A Fist") friggin' rocked live. "My Boy Builds Coffins" made the hair on my arms stand up. "Dog Days" apparently was inspired by the same artist who did the "Hell, Yes!" sign on the New Museum only a few blocks away. Facts! Stories! One non-album track made the set: "Are You Hurting the One You Love?" How many tracks did she record for this album? Her pipes are in fine form, her stage presence is palpable, and both her and the band seemed thrilled to be in NYC, feeding off the energy of an audience who had waited a while to see her (there were some Gossip Girls in attendance apparently--those are people, right?).

During a lull between numbers I yelled out, "Your songs remind me of swimming!"

My friend next to me, unfamiliar with the reference, said in my ear, "You know what? They really do."

late nights at the deli

Because nothing says Halloween like Iggy Pop.

I missed Delorean at CMJ, but I'm getting into their Spanish Glo-Fi (yeah, I guess that's a thing now) sound. Like a hearty combination between MGMT and Friendly Fires.

It's almost better to just listen to the track and ignore the video. Not that it isn't completely competent, it's just this is a headphone track that when played at full volume on repeat or on a long run just kind of gets transcendent. Copies of Ellie and some handfuls of glitter just don't convey that.

My sister recommended this track to me. A simple little folk song with a fiddle line that takes it somewhere else.

don't ever stop

Annie is the thinking man's Kylie. And by thinking man I mean hipster. And by hipster I mean dilettante. And by that I mean me. After her awesome 2005 album Anniemal, Annie signed to Island Def Jam. Buzz was good, but her major label debut was shelved after lukewarm reception to first single "I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me." Annie left Island Def Jam, and then we started getting bits and pieces from that album Don't Stop. "Songs Remind Me of You" leaked and became one of my favorite tracks of 2008, and this year the Designer Drugs remix of "Anthonio" (a track that didn't make the final cut) was a certifiable springtime jam. Who knows what Annie was doing with her time or why the Island Def Jam seemed to cut and run so quickly. Actually, I am probably being disingenuous here. It's the internet. Someone knows. People know. Everybody knows. Just not me. I'm too lazy to find out. And the album is out now. Who cares! It's awesome! It's so awesome! Let the Scandinavian dance party begin! Full YouTube album preview below.

gliss

I caught Asobi Seksu at Bowery Ballroom on Friday. More and more, I'm convinced that their Hush is one of this year's best albums. On record Hush quiets down the shoegaze guitar effects that were so omnipresent on their last release Citrus. The resulting album revels in small, near perfect nuggets of pop melody as evidenced by standout tracks "Gliss," "Sing Tomorrow's Praise," "Transcendence," and "Glacially" while still maintaining the kind of front-to-back cohesiveness that makes Hush a real (and really underrated) album. For their live show, Asobi Seksu forego the subtlety of the disc and bring back their bag of shoegaze tricks. As a result, the melodies are buried, but they've been lost in a kind of pounding, relentless din that is just endlessly fun. Yuki Chikudate's vocals aren't strong enough to break through the wall of sound, but they become a vital part of the cacophony. I was surprised that the show was as sparsely attended as it was, and I'm hoping that Hush makes something of a late-year comeback.

in which i take all the blame

When Tegan and Sara released The Con in 2007, the band posted about ten YouTube videos of documentary footage showing the making of each track. These were later compiled for a bonus DVD which you might consider purchasing as a consumer who enjoys exchanging money for goods. The videos revealed the artists and their collaborators (Hunter Burgan from AFI and Chris Walla from Death Cab among them) to be touchingly committed to their songs and just deadly funny. Despite some dancey synths, these songwriters tend to stay pretty serious. I think I am understating their seriousness. Consider the lyric: "When I was eight I was sure I was growing nerves, like steel in my palm." That is pretty serious! Summary: it was nice to see the wit that doesn't (and probably shouldn't) come through on the record.

Also.

Once, I saw them play a show. For their encore, they asked if the audience wanted to hear a cover of Springsteen or Prince. I love both, but yelled something to the effect that if they covered Springsteen, I would gladly get on stage and do a Courtney Cox-like dance. And I did. It was a heady moment; I acted a fool and wore out my welcome about halfway through the song. I chatted with Tegan and Sara afterwards and they were very nice.

Also.

They have a new album coming out called Sainthood. The first single "Hell" is very good.

i'm sure you've heard if before

Fall is about Suzanne Vega. About Radiohead. About Broken Social Scene. It's ambiance and ambience; it's a time to construct the cocoons in which we can retreat, in which we can transform. It's about protection. Circling the wagons. A ring of rocks around a campfire.

(The xx: autumnal musicians or G-Star Raw models? Both?)

It's about The xx! Citing influences from Aaliyah and Ginuwine to the Pixies and the Cure, these guys layer simple melodies over slight electronic drumbeats with a warm male/female vocal interplay (listen to Professor Pandora here). Alright, it's not exactly groundbreaking. But, like I said, fall isn't about breaking ground, it's about protecting what you've got so that you can make it through another winter. Their half cover/half remix of Florence and the Machine's cover of "You've Got the Love" has been making rounds lately, and it's good. Even better are the fantastic "VCR" and "My Heart Skipped a Beat."

Based on the production values of their other videos for "Crystalised" and "Basic Space," I'm pretty certain this is a fanmade thing (do your thing fans). It's a little (a lot) Ireland on acid, but just listen to the track.