>> We were rapping with our tweeps last week on the Interzizzles about the wonderful Glaswegian indie rock trio Projeckt A-ko, who released the superlative full-length Yoyodyne this past spring. The discussion reminded us that when we had communicated with band fronter Fergus Lawrie last he had mentioned that writing and recording for a new Projekt A-ko was already in the works. We checked back in with Mr. Lawrie last weekend, who provided us with an update on all things A-ko. Recording started a year ago at The Diving Bell studio in Glasgow, at which time drum tracks for five cuts (including the oft-discussed cover of the amazing Drop Nineteens classic "Winona") were recorded. In August Projekt A-ko returned to work and committed to tape bass and rhythm guitar tracks for the aforementioned five cuts, and the band hopes to finish eight songs by Christmas. The plan is to record some additional songs in 2010 and aim for a June release. Lawrie reports that the new songs are "heavier and deeper" than the material on Yoyodyne, and offers My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins as reference points for the sound. Touring is still not in the cards for Projekt A-ko, sadly, as the band members have other commitments, although Lawrie notes he has felt conflicted when turning down gig and tour offers. While we wait for new Projekt A-ko music, here's an awesome non-album track called "Our Teenagers Need Healthy Touch."
Projekt A-ko -- "Our Teenagers Need Healthy Touch" [right click and save as] [buy Yoyodyne from the band right here]
>> Cambridge, Mass.'s own twee pop stars Pants Yell! will release their fourth album (and Slumberland Records debut) Received Pronunciation Nov. 10, and the trio is promoting the release with the MP3 "Cold Hands." Our quick and first impression of the track is that it's not immediately hooky, but the production is spectacular and tight and the guitars are heavier and generally sound amazing. Pants Yell! hit the road the day after release day for a nine-day tour of the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. We're posting the tour dates below.
Pants Yell! -- "Cold Hands" -- Received Pronunciation [right click and save as] [buy Pants Yell! records from Newbury Comics right here]
11/11 -- Bronxville, NY -- Sarah Lawrence College 11/12 -- Philadelphia, PA -- University of Pennsylvania 11/13 -- Washington, DC -- Black Cat (SLR 20th Anniversary show) 11/14 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Bell House (SLR 20th Anniversary show) 11/15 -- Bethlehem, PA -- Secret Art Space 11/16 -- Cambridge, MA -- Zuzu 11/20 -- Portland, ME -- Space Gallery 12/05 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Bruar Falls
>> Swedish indie pop phenoms Shout Out Louds return with its third full length Work, which will be issued by Merge on Feb. 23 in the U.S. The set was recorded with Phil Ek, whose work you know from classic albums by Built To Spill, Modest Mouse and Unwound. You can watch a short preview promo of Workright here. Shout Out Louds' sophomore set Our Ill Wills was released in 2007 and the record closed with the amazing brooder "Hard Rain," and we are hoping as hard as we can hope that the new record will pick up where "Hard Rain" left off, because that track is amazing.
>> We ran this out our Twitter feed the other night, but it is worth repeating here that Austin, Texas-based shoegaze luminaries She Sir have pushed the release of their sophomore set Go Guitars to next summer. But in the near-term the band intends to issue the four-song, digital and vinyl Yen EP, and you can hear two of the tracks "Ginger" (sadly not a Lilys cover, but still exceptional) and "Lemongrass" at the band's Internet Home Page right here.
There are number of important thing to note about Birmingham, England-based power trio Calories' forthcoming EP. But most important of all of these is, yes, that is a denim CD sleeve. With a real badge affixed to it. Hats off to Big Scary Monsters for this awesome package (a co-release with Smalltown America, which released Calories' full-length debut), which reminds us of the good ol' days of the music industry being fun, awesome, and ready to dole out all manner of crazy stuff. Like the inflatable sheep Epitaph Records sent us in 1995 to promote one of its releases, a sheep with, ahem, special properties for people who really like sheep, well, too much. Anyway, back to Calories. Another remarkable thing about this EP, slated for release Nov. 11, is that it does not include that as-yet-unreleased-but-wholly-awesome track "Drink The Potion" [video]. What Let's Pretend That We're Older does include is four tracks, none of which will be on Calories' next record:
1. Let's Pretend That We're Older [right click and save as] 2. Arm A Leg 3. Expect The Language 4. Hands Off...
As you can see from the hyperlinked text about, the labels in question are giving away the title track for free. Fans lucky enough to catch Calories in the next few weeks can purchase the entire EP in person, otherwise you've got to order that stuff from BSM or STA. As for "Drink The Potion," we're hopeful that the tune will be on Calories' second record, which is titled Habitations, which we are told will be released in March on Smalltown America.
28.10 -- Brighton -- Audio 04.11 -- York -- City Screen 05.11 -- Nottingham -- The Bodega 06.11 -- Brighton -- The Freebutt 07.11 -- Southampton -- Lennons 08.11 -- Reading -- Oakford Social Club 09.11 -- Birmingham -- The Flapper 10.11 -- London -- The Barfly
The span of years roughly book-ended by the launches of Napster and Spotify -- a decade during which many perpetually proclaimed the album format dead -- was crammed with crates and crates and crates and crates of compelling music. And why wouldn't it be? Ones and zeroes do not obviate humanity's innate need to rock. But that is a subject for another day. Today, as part of Deckfight's ongoing Albums Of The Decade Blog Tour, we force ourselves to choose the 10 best of the last 10 years. For weeks we've debated how to weigh the best versus the most representative versus the most influential and so on. It's difficult stuff to parse, but we think ultimately what it came down to was giving respect where respect was due for songcraft, innovation and gusto. While we offer our picks for 10 best records below, we are not ranking them, as simply making the cut is the honor here. What is below is listed alphabetically.
No matter whether you are gauging by songcraft or innovation, The Books deserve recognition for writing some of the most amusing, compelling and beautiful compositions of the decade. In particular we find Lost And Safe's closer "Twelve Fold Chain" incredibly moving. Here's a digested version of what we said in our review May 10, 2005:
Even on this, their third album, The Books sound like they've got secrets to tell. But the most solid clues they offer on Lost And Safe are fragments of dreams, stream-of-consciousness queries and allusions to spiritual questing. An intricate mix of serene vocals, spoken word samples, understated clattering percussion, guitar and cello, the duo's music is enchanting and hypnotic. "A Little Longing Goes Away" opens the record with soft vocals swathed in reverse reverb, making lines like "our minds are empty / like we're too young to know to smile" sound like prayer.
All musical elements are expertly but gently balanced like a series of birds on a wire. Although not overtly apparent, the band's lyrics, in addition to being spiritually inquisitive, can be quite funny. This is most apparent during the act's current live show, during which video accompaniment emphasizes the graduate school-level word play that characterizes songs like "Smells Like Content" and "An Animated Description of Mr. Maps." No matter the context or what you call it, The Books are in relatively uncharted territory with bountiful potential in every direction. Although Lost And Safe would be a crowning achievement for any band, The Books show no sign of running out of beautiful musical ideas to convey.
We didn't review this record upon its release (or ever). As with songwriter Dan Bejar's finest efforts, the record is self-referential, inscrutable, beautiful and biting. Destroyer's Rubies in particular seems like a record ripe for academic examination. But no matter how layered or diffracted the narratives, the songs themselves are hook-filled, generously melodic and wholly rewarding. Bejar's smarter-than-you lyrics, singular vocal delivery, and attention to production detail make all of his records great -- Destroyer's Rubies is exceptional. What else is there to say? We recently saw Bejar perform solo in Boston, and for much of the performance we were thinking how we wished he was performing with a full band. But even performing solo with a weather red acoustic under spare spotlights the songs were completely arresting.
This list is not really about success stories, but The Hold Steady's sophomore set certainly qualifies as one, and -- of course -- one of the biggest of the decade. The burgeoning blogosphere was alight with praise when this was issued, and although our first inclination was to ignore the band because of the bountiful praise from seemingly every corner (we're contrarian like that), we were an embarrasingly ready convert when we finally stopped to listen to Separation Sunday. And what's not to like? As Mr. Kumar states, The Hold Steady is like Jim Carroll fronting Thin Lizzy playing Bruce Springsteen songs. Like the aforementioned Mr. Bejar, Hold Steady fronter Craig Finn is an amazing lyricist and he crafts on this record an amazing, conceptual collection that follows the rise and fall and rise again of certain gutter-frequenting, drug-gobbling drifters. Mr. Finn and his cohort take these losers and wring from them incredible tales of spine-tingling desperation and redemption. Also, there's a whole hell of a lot of rock music on this record, including the highlights "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" and "Stevie Nix." Ground-breaking? No. Awesome? Yes.
Did you think a guy who co-operates the Johnny Foreigner fan site Keeping Some Dark Secrets wasn't going to pick a Johnny Foreigner record for his list? There are so many reasons why this record is awesome, front to back, but here is just one: on the rare mornings where we walk to the subway, ride the subway, and then walk to our office, it takes exactly one run through the entire record to get us from door to desk. Wonderful. Here's a digested version of our review from Sept. 28, 2009:
Grace And The Bigger Picture is pointedly heartfelt, jubilantly aggressive, road-weary and resigned all at once. The record is populated with wistful ideals of home ("we'll throw parties in the yard") and amazing letdowns ("all we have is miles and wires and all I am is calls tomorrow"), but there are also wonderfully carefree moments, as in the almost blindingly brief "Kingston Called, They Want Their Lost Youth Back." [The record] is painstakingly crafted, deeply layered, and hangs together as a collection more firmly than even its ambitious predecessor. The narratives sparkle like dizzying mosaics comprised of thousands of digital snapshots. Themes appear and re-appear, e.g. the clarion call "some summers!" in "Feels Like Summer" resurfaces in "The Coast Was Always Clear;" "More Heart, Less Tongue" is transmogrified into "More Tongue, Less Heart;" the breakdown to "Custom Scenes And The Parties That Make Them" even repurposes the breakdown from the band's break-out single "Eyes Wide Terrified;" and keen ears seem to hear the familiar cry of "Amateur! Historian! shouted in the closing moments of the squalling anthem "Dark Harbourzz." But even more impressive than the whole are the parts, as there is a remarkable compositional cleverness in certain of the songs that points to an ever sharpening songcraft among Berrow and company. This is no more apparent than within the almost linear, structure-flouting gem "Custom Scenes And The Parties That Make Them." Best Before Records releases the record 26 Oct. in the U.K.
After it had exhausted a Superchunk fixation, a record label and Athens, Georgia, and before its late embrace of a rootsier sound enamored a major rock critic or two, this always-at-the-brink-of-destruction collective created this wondrous, sweet full-length. A slapdash concoction of literate, lo-fi balladry and everyman indie rock channeled through three songwriters is remarkable perhaps mostly because, like the band itself, We're All In This Alone somehow manages to hang together. All at the same time the proceedings sound like the end of the '90s, point toward the ascendency of the band's adopted hometown of Brooklyn and presage a decade that once more embraced folk rock. It's a weird record, but it's a fantastic record, held aloft by great songs including the devastating "I Hope That You Remember To Forget." Of course, The Mendoza Line did not survive this decade, but part of the magic of We're All In This Alone is that the record sounds like a band with a world of possibilities in front of it, which was fairly accurate in the year 2000.
With the ascendancy of the related, more psych-leaning project Woods, and with silence from the band going on uninterrupted, we are starting to believe we may have seen the last of our beloved Meneguar. Which is a shame because the Brooklyn-based quartet's brand of desperate, shouty, smart and guitar-driven indie rock pushes all the right buttons for us, and we see no American successor really taking up the banner for the style. I Was Born At Night, so good it was issued twice, is seven anthems brimming with brawling attitude, splendid guitar interplay and heavy dynamics pounding home hooks galore. And it all comes down to the "The Temp," a fist-banging shouter about dead-end employment (or something -- who knows?) with a killer chorus that out-Slack Motherfuckers Superchunk's renowned "Slack Motherfucker." We recall that at one point Troubleman Unlimited had posted the MP3 for "The Temp" as a promo track, so here it is in all of its glory. Actually, this is the mix from the original Magic Bullet release -- retro!
Meneguar -- "The Temp" - I Was Born At Night
[right click and save as]
When we mentioned innovation supra, The Books weren't even the first band to come to mind. Instead we thought of The Notwist, and how in the wake of this landmark release that melded laptop electropop and indie guitar music suddenly, for at least a year, every one tried to replicate the Weilheim, Germany-based quartet's sound. Only by watching the amazing "On | Off The Record" DVD does one develop an appreciation for just how difficult an undertaking such replication would be (the opening seconds of the album were incredibly difficult, actually impossible, to perform), which is why -- despite seemingly providing the formula for an aesthetic perpetuated by labels like Morr Music for years afterwards -- so few acts came close to The Notwist. Even more amazing? The band's astonishing, dub-injected, Wii-dazzled live show, which we caught for the second time a year ago, makes Neon Golden and it's excellent successor The Devil, You & Me seem pale in comparison. But at the warm, digitally-pulsing heart of Neon Golden are 10 incredible, catchy songs delivered in Markus Acher's emotive deadpan murmur.
Flawless, every song, from a songwriting and a production standpoint. Endlessly listenable. As we said here in our Best Records of 2007 wrap-up:
We listened to this record over and over and over: in the car; in the office; in the kitchen. It's exceptional. Taut, glistening pop-rock, touches of spacey, warts-and-all production, and hooks galore. The songs all flow with an ease, an internal logic that is so finite that each tune seems representative of what indie rock is, at its core. If (when?) space aliens come to the United States asking about indie rock, perhaps the most obvious example to hand them is Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
Digested from our review posted Feb. 10, 2008 right here:
Portland, Ore.-based A Weather's beautiful full-length debut has a persistent but slippery allure. Populated almost entirely with murmured bedroom ballads driven by brushed drums, guitar and electric piano, the set somehow succeeds in not repeating the same tricks over and over again.
Is there a voyeuristic attraction inherent in pretty songs delivered in hushed tones simultaneously by male and female singers? Or is there something universal -- an inverse of voyeurism, in a way -- conveyed by these intimate, poignant tracks that make them so arresting. What we are certain of is that sping-tingling moments are frequent on Cove: when the ride cymbal pulses louder and louder during "Shirley Road Shirley" as fronter Aaron Gerber and drummer Sarah Winchester desperately assure "I swear, you won't even know I'm there;" when the duo stingingly confesses during "Oh My Stars" that "sometimes it's hard thinking about how the plans we make won't happen;" when the pair utters during "Spiders, Snakes" the unfathomably sweet sentiment (for those of us of a certain age, anyway) "I want to have you again, listening to Bedhead."
10. Yo La Tengo -- And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out -- Matador (2000) Yo La Tengo: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr | Buy
When your band puts out what is arguably the best record of 1997, what is the likelihood that only three years later it will release one of the best, if not THE best, records of 2000? This doubt is why we were quite ready for Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out to be a disappointment. But it was nothing of the sort. Opening with the Mogwai-toned spook droner "Everyday" and closing with the 17-minute spectral masterpiece "Night Falls On Hoboken," the record provides easy exuses for lapsing into over-the-top praise. This is simply a perfect record, and we'd argue it is downright better than the admittedly fine records that the trio has released since. In addition to the droners we already named, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out also carried the sugary, caffeinated rocker "Cherry Chapstick," the marvelously affecting ballad "Tears Are In Your Eyes" and some bossa-tinted toe-tappers "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House" and "You Can Have It All." For the rest of the decade Yo La Tengo delved into murky sounds, garage rock and shiny pop, but when we think of the band, we think of And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out.
[PHOTO CREDIT: Camilla Stephan] We've always been suspicious of national ticketing and events concerns, because, well, it's hard to see what they are doing for concert-goers at the local level. Any convenience the former provide those unwilling to make the trudge to the venue or the small network of retail outlets that once serviced the needs of ticket seekers (does anyone sleep out all night on the sidewalk outside Mad's Records in Ardmore, PA to buy tickets any more? Anyone?) is typically eliminated by fees and bad vibes. The larger live events concerns, well, their ability to bring big names to fans is certainly appreciated, but the benefit they bestow on local acts is hard to quantify. But here's a slam dunk for Clicky Clicky readers: a nice rep from Live Nation recently asked us if we wanted to give away tickets to readers, and we of course said hizzell yizzeah. Which is a long way of explaining why we have two tickets for Tuesday night's Raveonettes show at Boston's Paradise Rock Club up for grabs.
The first person to email us (address is linked in the sidebar) the name of her or his favorite Raveonettes tune gets the pair. The Danish/New York-ish duo, in case you didn't know, is supporting the release of its new set In And Out Of Control, which was issued by Vice Records Oct. 6. The collection, the duo's fourth, plays up the band's tuneful, Spector-ish attack. This is somewhat to the detriment of the band's fondness for regularly spreading out blankets of blissful white noise. But our initial streams of In And Out Of Control make us nearly as excited about it as we were about the band's prior effort, Lust, Lust, Lust (one of our favorites of 2008, particularly the track "Dead Sound"). Anyway, the first person to email us as directed above is our winner, and we'll update this space once the tickets are gone. We'll be giving away tickets to Thursday night's Atlas Sound show at The Paradise later this week, probably via Twitter, so if you aren't already following us @clickyclicky, get with that. [UPDATE: Congrats to reader Dave, who won the Raveonettes tickets!]
Speaking of Twitter, The Raveonettes recently disclosed it will give away a different pair of tickets, and those tickets come with a backstage drink with the band prior to show time. All fans need to do is tweet the date on which they’d like to see the band, along with a new merch idea, making sure to include the hash-tag #ravestour. The band will select the winner at random and alert the lucky someone in each city via direct message two days before the show. This, of course, is awesome, and makes our ticket offer feel a little inadequate. We will make sure our ticket offer seeks the appropriate counseling. But if you are thirsty and love The Raveonettes, you should really give that a shot. Remaining tour dates and MP3s below.
The Raveonettes -- "Suicide" -- In And Out Of Control The Raveonettes -- "Last Dance" -- In And Out Of Control [right click and save as] [buy Raveonettes records from Newbury Comics right here]
10/21 -- MONTREAL, QC -- CLUB SODA 10/22 -- TORONTO, ON -- PHOENIX 10/23 -- DETROIT, MI -- MAGIC STICK 10/24 -- NEWPORT, KY -- SOUTHGATE HOUSE 10/25 -- CHICAGO, IL -- THE METRO 10/26 -- MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- FIRST AVENUE 10/28 -- KANSAS CITY, MO –- BACKYARD 11/05 -- VANCOUVER, BC –- VENUE 11/06 -- SEATTLE, WA -- NEUMO’S 11/07 -- PORTLAND, OR -- DOUG FIR LOUNGE 11/09 -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- BIMBO’S 11/10 -- COSTA MESA, CA -- DETROIT BAR 11/12 -- SOLANA BEACH, CA -- BELLY UP 11/13 -- LOS ANGELES, CA -- HENRY FONDA THEATRE 11/14 -- POMONA, CA -- GLASSHOUSE
Not pictured are these other kind performers supporting the effort: Broken River Prophet, Kristin Hersh and Bill Janovitz. We were surprised at how much fun an afternoon indie rock show where everyone brought their kids was. We'd like to see more of that happen, if only because it means we could finally blend kid time and rock club time. The short review is that Colin Clary was endearing, Drew O'Doherty's playing was mesmerizing and voice as killer as always, and Travels were even better than we had hoped. We left before the bigger names hit the stage, but had a really great time. If you couldn't make the show, you can still make a donation to a very worthy cause right here.
All the info is there in the poster. Interesting fact: we've never seen Bill Janovitz perform, not solo, not with Buffalo Tom, not with Crown Victoria. So we're actually really looking forward to this for more than just a chance to get out and support friends and a good cause. We've never seen Ms. Hersh either, although her bands don't loom nearly as large in our musical past as does Buffalo Tom. That band's "For All To See" from the No Alternative comp is as perfect an indie rock number as has been recorded, and there are tons of great songs spread across albums like Big Red Letter Day, Sleepy Eyed and Smitten. If you haven't been keeping up with Mr. Janovitz lately, his blog is always interesting and entertaining. Even better, he has been recording and posting cover tunes for about a year, if not more. We're posting a couple of our favorites below. We'll note for the record that right after Palace released Hope we stole the opening line for "Agnes..." for one of our own songs, brazenly, blatantly. And we'd do it again. See you Saturday afternoon at the Middle East.
Bill Janovitz -- "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow (Palace Music cover)" -- Cover of the Week Bill Janovitz -- "Johnsburg, Illinois (Tom Waits cover)" -- Cover of the Week [right click and save as] [buy Buffalo Tom records from Newbury Comics right here]
