Today's Hotness: Young Adults, Bozmo, Silkworm

>> Boston-spawned indie-punk titans Young Adults at long last today made an enhanced version of its electrifying Born In '91 cassingle available as a five-song digital download and (limited edition) CD. The original version of Born In '91 was issued last summer as a cassette sold at the trio's live shows, but the 2013 version is not just easier for the non-tape-obsessed to use. It also touts some newly recorded guitar tracks on the title track and the opener "Context," as well as a "more chaotic-sounding mix courtesy of Justin Pizzoferrato," Young Adults guitarist Chris Villon told Clicky Clicky earlier this week. "The cassette versions are like 'lite' versions of these!" The new-and-improved Born In '91 EP was to have been made available via Bandcamp Feb. 14, but the set was already online as of this morning and you can stream the entire thing via the embed below. The balance of the EP program consists of additional tunes "Spectre," "College Rock" and "Stasis;" fans will recall the cassingle contained only "Born In '91," "Context" and Young Adults' blistering cover of Ride's "Decay," which originally appeared on Clicky Clicky's Nofuckingwhere compilation released in May 2012 [download the comp here]. Young Adults will sell the limited edition CD version of Born In '91 at three shows lined up for the final weekend of February (the CD version comes packaged in a slim DVD case with lyrics and art). The first of these shows is a headline slot Thursday the 21st on an epic TT The Bear's bill that includes Connecticut legends Suicide Dolls, the very hotly tipped Earthquake Party and the mighty Soccer Mom. Dig the Facebook event page for that show right here. Young Adults' previously issued full-length, Black Hole, was released by Prague-based AmDiscs in 2010.



>> We've got the typical love-hate relationship with music PR types, but there have certainly been situations where we've been downright grateful for the right pitch at the right time. For example, we had no idea that Barry Black was Eric Bachmann of Archers Of Loaf until somebody (probably the guy from Alias) got us on the phone and made us pull the disc from the mountain of submissions clogging the college radio music director's office in 1995. Similarly, and more recently, we would not have turned onto the jangly, Kinks-styled brilliance of formerly local (but now Berkeley, Calif.-based) garage rock heroes Bozmo were it not for an unexpected email from a Boston PR concern (we think it was from Sippy Cup Everything). Around the time of the exchange, Bozmo -- the vehicle of mastermind Bo Moore -- had just put out its wonderful long-player Hosanna In The Highest [at Bandcamp here], and after spending an entire evening streaming it over and over off Bandcamp we plunked down for the vinyl, and have been a satisfied customer ever since. Now Bozmo is back with an intoxicating single featuring the overdriven stomper "B A Tree" on the A-side. The tune touts a thunderous call-and-response verse that layers even-more-crushing guitar over crushing guitar, while organ struggles to get atop the mix to join the clattering snare beat and terrific vocals and harmonies. The flip is the more subdued "Lakehouse," a song laced with buoyant 12-string leads that spiral off mild clouds of psychedelia and prop up a gentler, more wistful, but no less affecting vocal. "Lakehouse" apparently also features playing from the aforementioned Earthquake Party's drummer Josh "J-Raff" Carrasco. Taken in sum, "B A Tree" b/w "Lakehouse" is our favorite single of the year to date, and it is available to download from Bandcamp for free/paywhutyalike, so get yourself on that immediamente. Allston Pudding premiered the video for "B A Tree" earlier this month; check it out right here.

>> To the extent that there was a cat and a bag, and the cat was in the bag, well, now that cat is out of the bag. What? We're talking about Comedy Minus One Records finally coming out and saying what its social media tidbits have been suggesting for a while now: that the label is preparing a deluxe reissue of Silkworm's towering work of genius, the 1993 LP Libertine. The release, to come later this year, will apparently be made manifest in various packagings including a double LP, and there will be various tiers of pre-order delights on offer. Comedy Minus One aims to include among these a download of live versions of the songs from the LP, but the label has come up short in its hunt for recordings of "The Cigarette Lighters" and "Oh How We Laughed." so, if you have recordings of these songs, Comedy Minus One wants to hear from you. Click the hyperlink above or shoot an email to Clicky Clicky Executive Editor Jay and he can put you in touch. For those of you who don't know, Libertine is a startlingly beautiful record that features classic, unfuckwithable Silkworm jams including "Wild In My Days," "Couldn't You Wait?," "Grotto Of Miracles," "Cotton Girl" and "There Is A Party Tonight In Warsaw." Fans of the band should also be made aware of the pending release of the apparently exhaustive documentary Couldn't You Wait? The Story Of Silkworm, which we believe is being released as a download this month. Full details, as well as scads of excellent video clips, teasers and outtakes, can be found at the documentary's Facebook page right here.

That Was The Show That Was: Neko Case, Crooked Fingers

[PHOTO CREDIT: Flickr User SetOutRunning | We are pleased to welcome to these digital pages D.P. Dean, our former bandmate, schoolmate and all-around cool guy. We had hopes of leveraging Mr. Dean's recent stint of unemployment into some excellent Philadelphia-based reportage, but alas even in this economy Deano is far too skilled and credentialed to stay out of the game long, and as this item goes online he is prepping for the first day of the rest of his life at a new job. -- Ed.]

One of the disorienting side-effects of being on the wrong side of 30 is the feeling, at times, that your taste in music is getting "old." Or, rather, that what once was young and hip has evolved (or has been repackaged) to fit into the "adult contemporary" bin at your local Borders. Friday night's sold out Neko Case/Crooked Fingers show at the Keswick Theater had all the trappings: plenty of grey hair in the audience, ubiquitous WXPN flyers, assigned seating.

Any worries about the music itself were easily dispelled as Ms. Case treated the Keswick crowd to a 90-minute set that leaned heavily on her new long player Middle Cyclone and 2006's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Case has really come into her own as a solo performer in recent years (and has also become quite a supporter of retired racing greyhounds, endearing her both to this correspondent and our renowned editor-in-chief [True dat -- Ed.]). She bantered easily with her bandmates and the audience, providing a fluidity to the set during her frequent guitar changes. But the key to the performance was the power of Case’s voice -— not always obvious in her work with the New Pornographers -— and the strength of her songwriting. Case's new material continues the trend away from the simple country/honky-tonk of her early solo work toward a more difficult-to-define blend of Americana.

Throughout the set, Case transitioned easily from older favorites like "I Wish I Was the Moon' and "Deep Red Bells" to newer cuts such as "Star Witness," "The Pharaohs," and "Prison Bells," while the band laid a groove behind her, buoyed particularly by Kelly Hogan on backing vocals and Jon Rauhouse on the pedal steel. Of note was Eric Bachmann jumping in on guitar for "This Tornado Loves You" to close out the pre-encore portion of Case’s set.

Bachmann and the current incarnation of Crooked Fingers (Miranda Brown playing occasional bass and adding backing vocals, Tim Husmann on keyboards and drums) had opened the show with a nine-song set featuring a smattering of tunes from Red Devil Dawn and the band’s self-titled debut, Bachmann’s recent solo record, and of course last year’s Forfeit/Fortune [review here]. Though your correspondent was hoping to hear "The Rotting Strip," or perhaps "New Drink for the Old Drunk," Bachmann more than atoned with a rollicking rendition of "Angelina," and a spirited performance of "Your Control" (which was conspicuous for the absence of headliner Case, who added backing vocals on the album version). Truly the highlight of the set (and perhaps the entire evening) was the band’s reworking of Red Devil Dawn's "Bad Man Coming." Husmann pounded out an insistent beat on the drums, while Bachmann and Brown's a cappella harmonizing turned the song into a haunting, almost-Appalachian tub-thumper. -- D.P. Dean

[Ms. Case's tour continues through April 26. Full tour dates can be lingered over here; note that these dates are selling out like crazy, so if you'd like to see the tour, you'd best act quickly and decisively.]

Neko Case: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr
Crooked Fingers: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Review: Crooked Fingers | Forfeit/Fortune [MP3]

Not long after we got up to speed with Crooked Fingers (at the time of the release of Bring On The Snakes in 2001), the band began to background the electronics and loops that made the music so interesting to us. So, while we had very nice things to say about Crooked Fingers' Red Devil Dawn here in 2003, the ensuing releases from the Eric Bachmann-led project did not capture our imagination with the same intensity. But a recent renaissance of Mr. Bachmann's Barry Black records at :: clicky clicky :: headquarters -- as well as this recent video of Bachmann reworking his Archers Of Loaf classic "Web In Front" into a folk strummer -- renewed our interest in his contemporary work. So it was with no small amount of anticipation that we approached Forfeit/Fortune, Bachmann's fifth record (sixth if you count the excellent Reservoir Songs EP) under the Crooked Fingers banner.

The set was recorded in chunks in various locations across America, including Denver, Nashville and Tucson, and Forfeit/Fortune is overlaid with what would seem to be a corresponding variety of styles. The wall of sound that comprises the verse of album opener "What Never Comes" is underpinned with saxophones and keys; the overall effect is reminiscent of David Bowie's '80s catalog. "Give And Be Taken" may be Bachmann's funkiest composition. Bachmann does not even sing on the track "Luisa's Bones," which is driven by a dry drum machine track recalling earlier Crooked Fingers material. The clear album highlight is the soaring closing track "Your Control," a spirited duet between Bachmann and regular touring compadre Neko Case whose lyrics provide the title to Forfeit/Fortune. Bachmann says the track "almost sounds like New Order," and we definitely hear therein echoes of classic New Order tracks like "Your Silent Face" or "Age Of Consent." Of course, with Bachmann and Case's Buckingham/Nicks vocal rejoinders layered over the proceedings the Mancunian flavor is altered considerably. Even so, the song's airy synth strings and upbeat tempo give it an affecting, optimistic tone that will cause many to hit the repeat button.

Forfeit/Fortune will be released to select indie retailers and digital outlets tomorrow by Bachmann and his management Constant Artists' new imprint Red Pig/Constant Artists. In July Bachmann discussed the economics behind the decision to self-release the set in this Billboard article; he bluntly sums up in his press materials "It's not like 17 years in... big retailers are going to start giving a shit about Crooked Fingers." The act's previous record, 2005's Dignity And Shame, was released by Merge. You can watch the trailer for a DVD that comes with the deluxe edition of Forfeit/Fortune right here; the deluxe edition also carries "extended" artwork. An MP3 of the klezmer-tinged promo track "Phony Revolutions" is posted below to download. Crooked Fingers are on tour now supporting Okkervil River, and the remaining five weeks of dates are listed at the bottom of this item.

Crooked Fingers -- "Phony Revolutions" -- Forfeit/Fortune
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[buy Forfeit/Fortune from Newbury Comics here]

Crooked Fingers: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

10/06 -- Webster Hall -- New York, New York
10/07 -- Webster Hall -- New York, New York
10/08 -- Pearl Street Nightclub -- Northampton, Massachusetts
10/09 -- Mr. Smalls Theatre -- Millvale, Pennsylvania
10/10 -- Tralf Music Hall -- Buffalo, New York
10/11 -- Les Saints -- Montreal, Quebec
10/12 -- Phoenix -- Toronto, Ontario
10/14 -- Metro -- Chicago, Illinois
10/16 -- Turf Club -- St. Paul, Minnesota
10/17 -- The Waiting Room -- Omaha, Nebraska
10/19 -- Bluebird Theater -- Denver, Colorado
11/06 -- Urban Lounge -- Salt Lake City, Utah
11/07 -- Neurolux -- Boise, Idaho
11/08 -- Chop Suey -- Seattle, Washington
11/09 -- Doug Fir Lounge -- Portland, Oregon
11/11 -- Great American Music Hall -- San Francisco, California
11/12 -- Troubadour -- Los Angeles, California
11/13 -- Casbah -- San Diego, California
11/14 -- Plush -- Tucson, Arizona

Clicky Clicky 200 Steps Into The Light With Archers Of Loaf

We feel our proclivity to tie posts to a news peg has kept us from simply writing about our favorite songs. So herewith we inaugurate a new series called The Clicky Clicky 200. The series casts light upon the 200 tracks that we've listened to most, as tabulated by ITunes. Point of interest: the barrier to entry as we start the series is 27 plays, which is the amount received by track 200, The Association's 1967 pop hit "Windy," a favorite of the missus.

But we're not going to go in any set order, so the first tune we'll write about is actually #198, '90s noise-pop heroes Archers Of Loaf's "Step Into The Light." The song opened the North Carolina-based quartet's sophomore collection Vee Vee, which we were fortunate enough to receive on vinyl for free as part of the spoils of being music director in college. At the time of its release "Step Into The Light" seemed like a departure for the band, whose first album and early singles were less introspective and a touch more straightforward. "Step Into The Light," by contrast patiently plods like a long, measured series of breaths. Fronter Eric Bachmann (now a solo artist) quietly pleads "step into the light, so tired of being in the dark and all alone," but the real grabber is bassist Matt Gentling's mournful holler in the background "step into the ligggggggghhhhhhht!" Bob Weston's wonderfully naturalistic production renders the guitars bristly and the drums crisply boxy (seems like an oxymoron, here it's not), but the composition itself is a slow, airy trudge. Compared to the early Archers Of Loaf material the track borders on cinematic. We're posting the album version and a live recording below; you can also grab it and a whole mess of other free Archers downloads over at the band's Last.fm page. Incidentally, we predict an Archers reunion in the next couple of years, maybe a festival one-off or something. For now, "Step Into The Light" is #198 in The Clicky Clicky 200.

Archers Of Loaf -- "Step Into The Light" -- Vee Vee
Archers Of Loaf -- "Step Into The Light (Live)" -- Tramps, NYC, 26 Nov 1996
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[buy Archers Of Loaf records from Newbury Comics right here]

Archers Of Loaf: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

That Bachmann Sound And That New Liz Durrett Record

We are only just beginning to digest Southern gothic songstress Liz Durrett's forthcoming full length Outside Our Gates. One thing made an immediate impact, however: the similarity between the cut "All Of Them All" and "I Can't Breathe," an astounding and affecting instrumental situated deep within Barry Black's 1995 self-titled set. And there is a connection. Barry Black, in the event you did not know, was a relatively short-lived project of then-Archers Of Loaf fronter Eric Bachmann, he who currently toils under the moniker Crooked Fingers and his given name. Mr. Bachmann, it turns out, produced and arranged Ms. Durrett's Outside The Gates, which will be released by Warm Electronic Recordings Sept. 9, and we have to believe it was his influence that is manifested in the guitar clangs that loop in the background of "All Of Them All" (a similar device can be heard in the knock-out Crooked Fingers jam "The Rotting Strip," now that we think on it a moment). Durrett's bright strummer with soulful strings is a clear standout among the 11 tunes that populate her new set, which was recorded in the spring of this year in Athens, GA (you can see some pictures from the session at Durrett's web site here).

We first encountered Durrett's work in 2005 when Warm issued her collection Husk, which we reviewed here for Junkmedia's World Of Sound blog; Durrett released The Mezzanine in early 2006 and we really thought we reviewed it -- but we can't find any evidence to back up our assertion. Nevertheless, her strong, chalky alto voice makes a strong impression. Bachmann also has a new record in the works: Crooked Fingers will issue Forfeit/Fortune Oct. 6 without the assistance of a record label.

Liz Durrett -- "All Of Them All" -- Outside Our Gates
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[buy Liz Durrett records from Newbury Comics right here]

Barry Black -- "I Can't Breathe" -- Barry Black
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[buy all manner of Eric Bachmann-related records from the man right here]

The Way It Was Wasted: Eric Bachmann's "Web In Front"

We're more than a week late on making these remarks, and they've already been made elsewhere, but Archers Of Loaf's world-shaking "Web In Front:" seminal '90s indie rock single; single that launched a million bands; single that commences a billion mixtapes. Former Archers fronter Eric Bachmann recently visited Spinner's Interface and delivered a wrenching revision of the track with an acoustic guitar. It is posted above. Awesome.