New Johnny Foreigner: "Ghost The Festivals," U.S. Dates

Birmingham, England-based indie rock dynamos Johnny Foreigner recently recorded a 23-minute segment for something called Channel m, operating out of Manchester, England. We're not familiar with the show, but based on its format (bands play live, chat a little, then play live some more) we think we're going to have to see what else they've got to offer. Oh wait, here's the deal about Channel m from its Brightcove profile page: "Channel m is based in Manchester, England and provides programmes for the Greater Manchester community. It is available at www.channelm.co.uk, free to air within the Greater Manchester area, on Sky (channel 203) or Virgin/NTL (channel 878)." So there.

Anyway, Channel m had Johnny Foreigner in recently to play a short set, and it is great. Shot with three cameras, the sound is perfect, and the noise-pop trio's performances are solid almost all the way around (there's a little slip during "Eyes Wide Terrified," and the dynamic of "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella" downshifts at the major transition instead of crescendoing). Most exciting is the band, whose excellent full-length debut Waited Up Til It Was Light was finally released in America last week by Nettwerk, plays a new song we've never heard -- or even heard of -- called "Ghost The Festivals," which we expect is about the band's experiences on the European festival circuit this summer and last summer.

There is an interview segment mid-set, but the television presenter doesn't seem to be aware that the trio just snuck a new song on, and therefore he doesn't get any answers for us. But he does elicit from Mr. Berrow a strong defense of mainstream pop-punkers Blink 182. Had Berrow defended any other commercial punk act we'd have raised an eyebrow, but as our esteemed pal The Good Doctor used to make a similar speech about Blink 182 at the turn of the century, we're used to being told there's some quality there. Also in the interview there is discussion of the video for Johnny Foreigner's current single "Salt, Peppa And Spinderella," which was banned in England because it was feared it would cause seizures in epileptics. Alexei cuts in: "Allegedly. It's only [banned] in England. But it's playing on kind of music stations in Japan and America and no one's died yet." Anyway, we've embedded the whole set above, so sit back with a beer or two and have at it. Set list is below. As you can see, "Ghost The Festivals" is the third track, six-and-a-half minutes in.

Johnny Foreigner has also been quietly adding to its U.S. appearances next month. In addition to the band's CMJ date on Thursday Oct. 23 we mentioned previously here, the stellar Birmingham, England-based trio will appear for a KEXP Live Session that same morning at a certain Gibson Showroom somewhere in Manhattan. The following night the trio rocks Fontana's in Manhattan. And Monday, Oct. 27, Johnny Foreigner will visit Philadelphia-based independent broadcaster WXPN to record a live session. All of which leaves us wondering whether we'll be seeing the band in Boston around that time. If not, assuming we've no other commitments we're likely to venture to Manhattan for the Friday CMJ show. Because, you know, we like rock music. We like it so much, here's a live version of "Lea Room" from an XFM radio session early this year. Or maybe late last year.

Johnny Foreigner -- "Lea Room (Live)" -- XFM Session
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[buy Johnny Foreigner music from EMusic right here, or Newbury Comics right here]

Channel m set list:
"The End And Everything After"
"Henning's Favorite"
"Ghost The Festivals"
Interview
"Salt, Peppa and Spinderella"
"Cranes And Cranes And Cranes And Cranes"
"Eyes Wide Terrified"

That Was The Show That Was: Built To Spill, Dinosaur Jr, Meat Puppets

We last saw veteran indie rockers Built To Spill so very long ago that we couldn't recall the year and our review of it no longer exists. A search of the Googles reveals that the show was Sept. 18, 2001. Which seems like an odd night to see a show, as it was but a week after Sept. 11. Weren't we all hunkered down in bomb shelters back then? We guess not. We recall the show as being along the lines of the press we've seen for the current tour: nice, but somewhat uninspired. Some lame fan called out for "Free Bird" toward the end of the set that night, and Built To Spill obliged, which was slightly bad-ass. But the emotional high point of the show was the all-too-brief encore, when fronter Doug Martsch returned to the stage alone with an electric guitar and delivered a haunting solo rendition of The Smiths' "This Night Has Opened My Eyes." Another search of the Interwebs reveals this was a favorite of Mr. Martsch's around that time, because he was playing it a lot; here's a video of him playing an acoustic version.

Built To Spill was selected to perform its (in our opinion, relatively bloated) third record Perfect From Now On at last week's All Tomorrow's Parties festival in New York, and Martsch and band tacked on a strand of additional performances, of which last night's show at Boston's Orpheum was one. We've expressed numerous times that we prefer Built To Spill's earlier indie pop material, specifically the band's sophomore set There's Nothing Wrong With Love. That record is love-struck, wide-eyed and optimistic, while Perfect From Now On is heartbroken, darker and bummed-out. Despite its slower pace, its fewer emotional punches are potent, occasionally devastating, and are punctuated by some of Mr. Martsch's best lyrical hooks. We get goosebumps each time we hear the lines "I'm gonna be perfect from now on / I'm gonna be perfect starting now" (from "Randy Described Eternity") and "there's a mean bone in my body / it's connected to the problems that I won't take for an answer" or "let you go to sleep / feeling bad as me" (from "I Would Hurt A Fly"). Still, that Perfect From Now On has steadily developed a cult following, as evidenced by the skinny, t-shirted and flailingly enrapt in attendance last night, is curious to us. Even so, it is our second favorite of the band's records, and we are certainly happy that Martsch -- he formerly of the underrated act Treepeople -- continues to cultivate a young, fervent fan base.

Which brings us to last night. Contrary to the press mentioned supra, we thought the show was fairly gripping -- at least when Martsch was at the microphone. He sings like an agitated Muppet and sweats like an out-of-shape jogger. When delivering lyrics, he fully extends his torso upward and his head tilts off the top of his neck to the right and left as he sings. However, Built To Spill as a band, or at least in this configuration (a sextet anchored by exceptional drummer Scott Plouf, formerly of The Spinanes) exhibits zero stage rapport. The group -- save for Martsch -- largely looked to Plouf for cues, and generally comported itself as if it were a group of session players unfamiliar to one another. For his part, Martsch offered no stage banter and was content to quietly tune his guitar between tunes. That said, there was certainly passion in last night's performance, particularly in the two encores that followed the faithful recitation of Perfect From Now On. Directly on the heels of the album closer "Untrustable Part 2 (About Someone Else)," the band catapulted into a searing, dynamic version of "Going Against Your Mind," the standout cut from 2006's You In Reverse [review here]. We were thrilled that the final song was "Car," from There's Nothing Wrong With Love, which closed out the evening on an upbeat note.

Schedule conflicts have conspired to keep us from seeing Dinosaur Jr., one of our five favorite bands, since a wonderful in-store set in Cambridge in June 2007 [review here]. The trio turned in a thrilling, hits-packed performance last night, and we were as surprised as anyone to end up with one of drummer Murph's sticks when he lobbed it into the crowd at the close of their alloted time. Had instinct not kicked in, we're fairly certain the stick would have lodged itself in our left eye. We're building up something of a collection of band memorabilia, as we ended up with one of Lou's bass picks after it was flicked into the audience at the in-store [see our review of the show for a scan]. Anyway, Dinosaur Jr. last night played a loud and exciting set. It seemed to take J a bit of time to build up a head of steam as far as his soloing went, but by the time the band played "Pick Me Up" from last year's excellent collection Beyond [review here], the notes started coming rapidly and furiously. As best as we can recall, the band began with "Sludgefeast," "Been There All The Time" and "Back To Your Heart." The set closed with "Mountain Man," and the encore was "Just Like Heaven." In between Dinosaur played "The Wagon," "Freak Scene," "Out There," "Feel The Pain" and the aforementioned "Pick Me Up." It was awesome.

Doors last night were scheduled to open at 7:30 so we figured we had at least until 8PM before The Meat Puppets took the stage. We figured wrong. By the time we got seated the band had already played a few numbers. Luckily, as we got settled in our awesome second-row, center seat [thanks to KoomDogg] The Meat Puppets kicked in to "Up On The Sun," our favorite song of the band's. The trio, fronted by Chris and Curt Kirkwood, strung together a handful of tunes with echoey space jams, hitting a number of career highlights along the way. We shot a number of typically mediocre pictures of the show last night and you can view the entire set right here. If you are thirsting for audio, we recommend checking in with NYCTaper, who recorded the show the preceding night. Built To Spill's set is posted here; Dinosaur Jr.'s set is posted right here. Built To Spill heads to Europe Oct. 1 for five weeks of tour dates, and you can check out the entire itinerary at the band's MySpace casa right here. Here are a couple Dinosaur Jr. MP3s for readers who actually slogged all the way through.

Dinosaur Jr. -- "Freak Scene" -- Bug
Dinosaur Jr. -- "Pick Me Up (Live)" -- Urban Outfitters In-Store, June 11, 2007
[live recording courtesy of Bradley's Almanac]
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[buy Dinosaur Jr. records from Newbury Comics right here]

Today's Hotness: The Coctails, Los Campesinos, Ulrich Schnauss

>> Wha? Apparently defunct indie pop superlatives The Coctails are reuniting to perform at the group's former label's Sweet Sixteen party tonight; there are a few more details here at the Carrot Top Records site. Said party will occur both tonight and tomorrow at Chicago's The Hideout, and proceeds after expenses will benefit the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis. To catch you up, The Coctails were Chicago pop icon Archer Prewitt's band prior to his joining Sam Prekop in The Sea And Cake. There is a very informative Wikipedia entry right here, and we highly recommend it to your attention. Most importantly, The Coctails released several wonderful records during its initial seven-year run between 1988 and 1995, the most wonderful perhaps being its self-titled set. That collection was released on CD in 1996 and opens with an amazing quartet of songs, "When I Come Around," "Circles," "City Sun" and "Cadali." Because it is one of our very favorites, here is "Cadali."

The Coctails -- "Cadali" -- The Coctails
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[buy Coctails records from Carrot Top right here]

>> Things we're not sure we knew about Cardiff, Wales-based indie pop septet Los Campesinos!' forthcoming sophomore set We Are Beatiful, We Are Doomed include: it will be released Oct. 27; it will not be promoted with any singles; it will have a single world-wide pressing and when it sells out it will be deleted; it will be packaged in a rectangular box; the box will also contain a DVD containing a self-made documentary of summer festival dates in Norway and Japan; the box will also contain a 30-page 'zine and exclusive poster. What's more, Los Campesinos! is touring the UK and Ireland in October with Times New Viking and No Age, and the three bands have created a web site at ShredYourFace.com that aspires to be the hub for all things related to the tour. Apparently there are myriad opportunities for fans to publish their own editorial and visual content to the site, and the site will also act as a clearinghouse for contests and insidery-information. Three tracks from We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed are already streaming at the band's MySpace dojo right here, including the surprisingly dense and glorious title track, so check 'em out.

>> Something else we didn't know: London-based label Independiente will make available Oct. 17 remastered and expanded versions of two records from electropop genius Ulrich Schnauss. Far Away Trains Passing By, originally released in 2001, will be packaged with a bonus disc, and 2003's A Strangely Isolated Place will include two bonus tracks. In addition to the physical articles, both sets will be available via the usual digital music storefronts. The reissue of Far Away Trains Passing By appears to have the very same track listing as the 2001 Domino issue in our collection, except the Independiente version contains one additional track on disc two, "A Million Miles Away." Disc two of that collection deserves special notice because it contains our all-time-favorite Ulrich Schnauss jam, "As If You've Never Been Away." The bonus tracks included with the reissue of A Strangely Isolated Place are two remixes by former Cocteau Twins guy Robin Guthrie for the tracks "Gone Forever" and "On My Own." This week Independiente issued the digital-only Schnauss EP Stars, and to celebrate all of this the label is letting fans download "A Letter From Home" from A Strangely Isolated Place for free, so have at it.

Ulrich Schauss -- "A Letter From Home" -- A Strangely Isolated Place [2008 Reissue]
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[pre-order Ulrich Schnauss records from Independiente right here]

Today's Hotness: Stricken City, Asobi Seksu, GAS

>> Stricken City's forthcoming second single "Lost Art" reminds us of a charming blend of Haircut 100's new wave pop and Kiss Me Deadly's dancable indie tunes. The track has a bouncy rhythm, plucky bass rides high in the mix and singer Rebekah Raa's clear, bright voice recalls that of Bow Wow Wow fronter Annabella Lwin. Blue Flowers Records will issue the London-based quartet's single -- which will be backed with a new version of the track "The Traveler" -- in the U.K. Nov. 17. Stricken City's debut single "Tak O Tak" b/w "Bardou" was issued by the label Adventures Close To Home Recordings July 28 and the pressing of 500 copies has already sold out (which makes you wonder why ACTH isn't releasing the second single, right?). The A-side of that single boasted a pulse similar to "Lost Art," and we think you'll agree after listening to the latter cut that the band is on to something good. Stricken City plays London tonight and plans to announce a strand of UK tour dates in the near future.

Stricken City -- "Lost Art" -- "Lost Art" b/w "The Traveler"
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[pre-order "Lost Art" b/w "The Traveler" right here]

>> Speaking of forthcoming singles, New York-based dream pop heroes Asobi Seksu will issue "Me & Mary" b/w "Breathe Into Glass" Nov. 18 on Polyvinyl. The A-side will appear on a forthcoming full length that Polyvinyl plans to release in early 2009; the b-side is a non-album track. Like the duo's fabulous 2006 sophomore set Citrus, the as-yet-untitled new full-length collection was produced by Chris Zane. The forthcoming single will be available as a vinyl 7" and via the usual digital music storefronts. Finally, Asobi Seksu commence a two-week tour of North American Oct. 17; the tour's second stop will be the following night at T.T. The Bear's in Cambridge, Mass. Check out the entire slate of dates at the band's MySpace drive-thru right here.

>> Only one email today was able to tear us away from our obsessive consumption of news concerning the U.S. political campaigns and economy, and it was in German. Fortunately, with a little help from Babelfish, we think we are able to tell you that electronic music luminary and Kompakt co-founder Wolfgang Voigt will perform for the first time under his GAS moniker in Leipzig, Germany Sept. 28. Cologne-based Voigt has a number of different aliases, but has apparently never performed any of its music live. Unless we are misunderstanding our translation. Readers may recall that one of the nicer surprises earlier in the year (before the world went crazy) was the five-disc GAS box set; more recently Voigt issued a collection of photographs in a book titled "Wolfgang Voight -- Gas." We were turned on to GAS sometime before that via Kompakt's absolutely delightful Pop Ambient series of blissed out ambient electronic music. We're posting one of our favorite cuts below.

GAS -- "Pop" -- Pop Ambient 2005
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[buy GAS and Kompakt music from EMusic right here]

Philebrity Does God's Work, Captures Lilys Video At ATP

If you watch this video of Lilys performing their classic "Ginger," you will achieve total consciousness at the 3:57 mark. Yeah, we know we just posted another video of band leader Kurt Heasley performing this solo recently. But we don't care. Hopefully all this activity will inspire Mr. Heasley to write another record. 2006's Everything Wrong Is Imaginary was very much slept on by the indie populace.

Today's Hotness: Manhattan Love Suicides, This Town Needs Guns

>> When we last checked in on British noise-pop dynamos The Manhattan Love Suicides here in April, the Leeds-based foursome had just issued its Clusterf*ck 7" EP. And at the time we advised folks to watch EMusic and wait for the four songs to show up in the handy MP3 format, because digitizing vinyl is wicked frustrating, yeh. After that we forgot all about the EP until today, when a MySpace alert notifified us that the band had just uploaded a new track from a recently issued compilation titled Burnt Out Landscapes. The compilation -- which was issued by Magic Marker June 2 or Aug. 12, depending on which release date you choose to believe -- is available at EMusic right here, and better still it appears to include all the cuts from Clusterf*ck. All told, Burnt Out Landscapes features 27 tracks including radio sessions and alternate versions including the divine cut collection-closer "Life In Vain." The Manhattan Love Suicides are giving away one of the tracks, "Heat And Panic," for free at its MySpace longhouse. We'll save you the trip and post it below, but definitely hit the link to EMusic to grab Burnt Out Landscapes, because the dozen tracks we've heard so far (damn EMusic account doesn't roll over for another five days) are entirely compelling.

The Manhattan Love Suicides -- "Heat And Panic" -- Burnt Out Landscapes
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[buy Manhattan Love Suicides music from EMusic right here]

>> Time was Pink Floyd's Animals was our favorite record. We were probably 12. We can't remember the year exactly, but we can recall a family vacation to Florida and having to share a double bed with an older brother who did not fully appreciate the awesome air guitar we were unleashing before falling asleep at night with the aforementioned record blasting into our skull via a third- or fourth-generation cassette Walkman. Anyway, this paragraph is not about that record. It's about the Oxford, England quartet This Town Needs Guns, which releases its own record titled Animals in the UK Oct. 13. The set, which we think is the first full-length release from the quartet, contains 13 tracks named after various mammals (and a crocodile, and possibly a marsupial). Faithful readers may recall we posted the track "Baboon" right here in July. The label Big Scary Monsters has made available a second preview MP3 titled "Chinchilla." The cut bolsters our appreciation of the band, which incorporates the exciting guitar work of erstwhile American indie acts American Football and Owls into its own sturdy modern emo framework. "Chinchilla" also touts a punchy drum beat in the verse that seems to constantly threaten to slip off the beat. It's a very enjoyable way to spend four minutes, and we highly recommend this track.

This Town Needs Guns -- "Chinchilla" -- Animals
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[pre-order Animals from Big Scary Monsters right here]

>> Matablog has posted here the tracklist and cover art for the recently announced Belle And Sebastian compilation The BBC Sessions, which will be released by Matador Nov. 18. The set features two discs, the first concatenating BBC radio sessions recorded during the bands "golden age" (in our opinion), 1996-2001. The second disc, dubbed Live In Belfast, contains selections from a December 2001 live date in the nominal city. Personal favorites are strongly represented, with "Seymour Stein," "Sleep The Clock Around" and "Like Dylan In The Movies" appearing on the first disc, and the devastating "The Model" and "The Boy With The Arab Strap" appearing on the second disc. Matablog promises more information and some preview MP3s, so we'll keep our eyes peeled. And maybe we'll watch that Belle And Sebastian DVD from five or six years ago again soon.

CC200: The Mendoza Line's "The Kissing Rocks" With Radio Banter

[Photo: "William H. West's Great Achievement, The Storming of San Juan Hill." copyright 1899. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.] This live recording, on which the defunct Mendoza Line is augmented by Misra labelmates Summer Hymns, is from the preliminary, Salty Records version of the band's 2004 odds and sods collection Sent Down To AA. More importantly, it is #60 on the Clicky Clicky 200 [read all CC200 posts right here]. Well, that's probably not more important, but it is germane, as it is the reason we discuss the tune today. The climax of the song -- one of seven the band logs in the aforementioned collection of our favorite 200 tracks -- softly collapses into a loose pile of quiet undulating guitar lines after hypnotizing for several minutes. Such collapse did not have far to fall, as the airy layers of guitar, bass, organ, glockenspiel and murmured lyrics are at times just barely held aloft by accented drumming and maracas. Plus, as history has shown, The Mendoza Line existed in an almost constant state of falling apart.

The interview clip that overtops this recording's opening seconds was taken from an appearance on radio broadcaster WMBR on April 24, 2003 prior to a club performance the same night. In fact, we were the one who captured the interview off the airwaves and handed it to the curator of Sent Down To AA [thusly we earned one of our several cherished liner note thank-yous]. The entire interview is hysterical. Our favorite quip is band fronter Tim Bracy's response to the radio host's [we believe it was Keith Sawyer of the Thursday edition of the Breakfast Of Champions show] question "When did [The Mendoza Line] first become a band to you guys?" Mr. Bracy's response: "I don't know. We're hoping it'll kick in tonight."

For those of you keeping score at home, the actual Misra release of Sent Down To AA has a different running order than the Salty Records version. Misra's official release includes a demo of "Under Radar," a live, country-fried version of "Dollars To Donuts," "Trading Deadline," "Whatever Happened To You?" and "The Kids Are Out." Those tracks displaced "Closer To Me" and "Make It Art" from the Salty running order. There is a further curiosity in the Misra liner notes, which state "more Mendoza Line curios and anomalies may be heard on It'll Be The Same Without You: AA Vol. #2. To our knowledge that collection was never released, although it may have been compiled. We've sent an email to see what we can learn about it. It is possible that the collection was rolled into a rumored Mendoza Line box set that never came to fruition. Which is a shame.

Other trivia? The band first three records were released on Kindercore, and said records are out of print, and if you want to buy a copy of Like Someone In Love right now at Amazon.com it will cost you $55.50. Thing is, just the title track is almost worth that amount of money. But we digress. "On Stage Dying" is a phenomenal ballad, it's #60 on the Clicky Clicky 200, and we've posted it below. The Mendoza Line disbanded early last year after the dissolution of the marriage of Bracy and co-fronter and songwriter Shannon McArdle. Ms. McArdle released a nice debut solo collection, The Summer Of The Whore, last month on Bar/None.

The Mendoza Line -- "The Kissing Rocks (Live, w/ Summer Hymns)" -- Sent Down To AA (Salty Records version)
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[buy Mendoza Line records from Newbury Comics right here]

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