Woah, Darker My Love is headed for a new direction, if this track is any indication. Totally cool with me, I like new directions. Whereas the self-titled full length featured Brain Jonestown Massacre / Committee to Keep Music Evil standards – open tuned guitars, tinty textures, reverb washes, shitton of tambourine – “Two Ways Out” brings the Big Muff distortion coupled with melodic vocals. Instead of Dark My Love continuing in the Dead Meadow and Spacemen 3 trajectory, “Two Ways Out” has a Grandaddy meets Beach Boys feel. The new album is called 2 because, well, it’s the second album (you see what they did there), and descends upon the Earth’s surface next week on Dangerbird Records. The opening track is called “Northern Soul,” and if they’re referencing the sick Verve album, I’ll be totally stoked, dudebro.
Fun fact! Darker My Love’s rhythm guitarist is known as “The Sandwich.” I want a nickname like The Sandwich. Leave your suggestion(s) as a comment below. Don’t be a jerk, though.
Oh, junk! I’ve finally been awarded the opportunity to grip some serious Friends grooves. Friends was the project of Peter Howell and John Ferdinando. Both dapper gentlemen were involved in headtrip psych groups Ithaca and Agincourt – two bands that, unfortunately, never widely released any of their music. The best of the crop, though, was their baroque-esque, harmonic psychedelic pop collaboration on the rare gem Fragile, released in 1972.
Howell and Ferdinando, between cutting rollicking folk records, were both members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. As you know, I’m extremely fascinated by the Radiophonic Workshop. Howell himself played a key part in the composition for the Dr. Who and Through the Looking Glass scores. Time Has Told Me has a pretty in-depth bio.
Not only is the Fragile LP difficult to find, it’s also tricky to find information on Friends since they, uh, fuckin’ called their band Friends! Obviously, Lisa Kudrow’s gonna Google rank a little higher than Howell and Ferdinando, whether it’s fair or not. Anyway, enjoy these two jam hives that were ripped straight from the vinyl for full bass explosion, and definitely czech out “One Sweet Day” if you’ve been rocking that Fleet Foxes record as of late. Get shattered.
The world is not just, as oft demonstrated. Music this flawless, gorgeous, and sweeping should be accessible to everyone. Alas, this is not the case. The Left Banke has been defunct since 1967, and since they were never able to cultivate much of a substantial fan base while they were active, not much has been done to resurrect their baroque, complex psych pop that’s been referred to as the American response to the Zombies.
The Left Banke folded after chief song-slinger Michael Brown bounced to form Montage, partly due to the ever present “creative differences,” but primarily because of the Left Banke’s baffling inability to receive much recognition. And as Fortuna is a bitch, Montage didn’t take off either. Though “Walk Away Renee” gained some national attention in ‘67, the group’s small but fervent following was restricted to record store dorks, music majors, and serious longhairs. In 1994, Polygram released a retrospective collection There’s Gonna Be a Storm, featuring pretty much everything they ever recorded. Of course, that disc is now conveniently out of print (being a rare psych rock fan is a pain in the ass sometimes). If you feel like shelling out for a CD copy (not even vinyl) of questionable condition, there’s a few on eBay. Luckily, MP3 blogs like this one are here to correct these wrongs, bringing you the finest in stereophonic sound.
“Desiree” is aerodynamic. The bombastic chorus is beautiful but destructive, like the Alaskan Black Bear or Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill. Proceed with caution. “Desiree” is technically a Left Banke song, written by Brown and banged out by the rest of the band. However, it didn’t see the light of day until Montage’s eponymous record dropped in 1970, and later on the Storm compilation. Brown collects his alimony, for sure. You may notice that Brown’s arrangements sound very reminiscent of Caribou. Well, Caribou’s Andorra album, for all intents and purposes, is basically a fine reinterpretation of the Left Banke – a fair assessment considering that Andorra also features an expansive canticle titled “Desiree.” I can only assume this is an obvious nod to Brown and Company.
“Bartenders and Their Wives” is some Tolkien shit. I can hear Spanish guitar, clean distortion electric guitar, harpsicord, and autoharp. What all do you hear? Again, nothing but epic vocal harmonies, thick textures, highly mobile bass melodies, delicate composition, and a semi-bucolic musical milieu. Majestic and tectonic.
If you don’t know what’s up, and you want to know what’s up, the Left Banke is what’s up. And sweet sassy molassey, Amazon (who I’ve had always had good experiences with) has the Storm compilation available for download on the cheap. Yeah yeah, it’s not the same thing as a physical copy, but unless someone gets all ambitious and starts reprinting this disc (I’m looking at you, Light in the Attic) or releases a new collection of the Left Banke’s singles and 45s, this is the best, most affordable solution for your baroque psychedelic needs.
Yeeeeah, new Koushik joint. Koushik’s Be Withcompilation was amazing, but a little brief (only one track made it over the three minute mark). That issue is fixed with “Lying in the Sun” off the forthcoming Out My Window. “Lying in the Sun” is sunny psychedelia that comes correct and interpreted electronically – kinda like Caribou (Koushik even provided throat duty for some jams on Up in Flames, back in the pre-MySpace days when Danny S was known as Manitboa). However, Koushik remains very distinct, particularly by way of his clam, insanely reverberated vocals. All that was good about Be With is brought to the forefront – the sonically organic, lush, and hazy textures juxtaposed against crashing beats. However, you can tell, with this track alone, that Out My Window is going to showcase a lot more new ideas. Koushik is the latest heir to the Free Design’s throne, as long as that throne has room for some thumpin’ low end.
This… this sweet psych slice is so sickeningly good. It’s an IV drip of technicolor beauty. This groove can heal most terminal illnesses. I’ve got my headphone technology strapped on and am pumpin’ my fist hard to this. Get on it, share it with your friends, and pick up Out My Window when it drops like Chicxulub on Sept. 30 at your favorite local record slinger or at Stones Throw.
There’s no “I” in blogosphere, dood. If you weren’t there for Animal Collective, some serious teamwork will help take you back in time and put you there. My best blog buddy Matt, who runs a tight ship at the helm of YANP, just uploaded the zipped RAR files containing the full bootleg of Animal Collective’s stratospheric Pitchfork performance. I grabbed those files, separated them, pieced together the set list by way of my memory of the show and a swift cross reference of my AC catalog, and sequenced the tracks by, ya know, determining which jams segue the best (as Animal Collective is wont to seamlessly weave each song together when playing live). So yeah, good hustle everyone.
Anyway, this is a particularly good performance, so I’m quite stoked to have this recording available. The sound is decent enough, though there are a few hiccups from the original rip. That shouldn’t distract you too much, however, since Animal Collective brought the pain with new, rearranged, and rarely performed songs not to be missed. Though I never focused much on the lyrics of the Danse Manitee version, the vocal-present live rendition demonstrates that “Essplode”… is like totally filthy! Damn, Avey. Looks like Tare’s gonna up and join Three 6 Mafia before we know it. Okay, I’ll shut up now – enjoy, and somebody, please make a Successory poster out of this entry’s opening sentence.
Live @ Pitchfork Music Festival :: Chicago, IL :: 7.19.08
A lot of small, relevant snippets of information have been appearing on my newsdesk in the past couple of hours, so I figured, why not dump everything in my action items box into one convenient, slammin’ post. So here’s all the news fit to print, in one post. It will help augment my lack of posting over the weekend, as I will be out of town. The timing was a little bad considering…
Ariel Pink Hits the Bottle This Weekend… Hard
Ariel Pink, on his 2008 “Thanks Mom, I’m Dead” tour, is now bringin’ it proper with a lush, full band. I’m interested to hear this, considering the last time I saw Ariel’s twisted AM radio golden pop was his opening spot for Animal Collective during the Sung Tongs tour. They sounded (sonically, not compostionally) like shit, just like on album. I wonder if this same interpretation will happen full band (featuring members of Indian Jewelry, Lilys and Beachwood Sparks). Philadelphia’s singing-at-the-bottom-of-a-well siren Tickley Feather opens the New York, Philly, and Baltimore shows. I know nothing about Tickley Feather’s live show, but the recorded material is sick! As for local action, Ariel Pink hits the Empty Bottle in Chicago this Saturday (totally feelin’ sad panda for missing this). Please see it for me – take photos!
7/19 San Francisco, CA Cell Space
7/21 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
7/22 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
7/24 Omaha, NE Slowdown
7/25 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
7/26 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
7/27 Toronto, ONT TBA
7/28 Montreal, QC Zoobizarre
7/29 Boston, MA TT The Bears
7/30 New York, NY Knitting Factory
7/31 New Haven, CT People’s Center
8/1 Philadelphia, PA M Room
8/2 Baltimore, MD Sonar
8/4 Atlanta, GA Eyedrum
8/5 Tallahassee, FL Beta Bar
8/6 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
8/7 Houston, TX Walter’s on Washington
8/8 Denton, TX Hailey’s
8/9 Austin, TX Mohawk
8/11 Tucson, AZ Plush
8/12 Los Angeles, CA Echo
Lightning Bolt and Wooden Shjips Do ATP’s Release the Bats
Halloween is the only holiday I really celebrate, and if I can locate a few extra thousand dollars (plus exchange rate fund) lying aruond, I may just take a hajj to London’s Forum on October 31 for ATP’s Release the Bats. No, I probably won’t make it, but you Britons should take the trip to see Lightning Bolt and Wooden Shjips, then tell me how it was. Lightning Bolt, who refuse to play on a stage, is worth traveling any distance to see, for their energy, face melting performance, and sheer unadulterated volume. Wooden Shjips will be fun to see live, as well, since they will be testing lots of new material for the follow up to their airborne self-titled. ATP is encouraging people to dress spooky. Considering LB is booked – shouldn’t be a problem.
Watch Anton Newcombe Woo His Peers and Neighbors in DIG!
DIG is an amazing documentary by Ondi Timoner outlining the seven year trajectory of two very aesthetically different groups, starting from the same place, but creating two vastly incongruent story arcs (with the Brian Jonestown Massacre acting as the undeniable central force, the immovable object, like the Joker in the Dark Knight). Totally fascinating – sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up. Of course, a lot has been written and discussed concerning the general insanity provoked by Anton and company (which I think is kinda cool in a psychotic way). What really matters is the music, ultimately, and this film holds true to this ideal.
Now, thanks to SnagFilm, you can watch this riveting piece of human drama – for free. Way rad. Czech out DIG here, or go on and watch it all up in that lil’ widget dude above! Technology is fucking aces.
Personally, I love every Brian Jonestown Massacre record. But even if you’re not into the music, the movie is more than entertaining. If you do love the BJM, there’s tons of great music throughout. You should definitely buy the DVD if you like the flick, since the DVD is packed with tons of great deleted footage, extras, and BJM performances. In a later post, I have quite a story concerning my epic run-in with Mr. Newcombe. Look out for that, but in the meantime, enjoy a lil’ guy from the We are the Radio EP.
Continuing the Decibel Tolls’ celebration of Mr. David Madson, a.k.a. Odd Nosdam (featured below, lookin’ mighty handsome), finally collecting all of his sludgegaze-hop non-LP jams together on one priced-to-own, triumphant double disc collection, Pretty Swell Explode, it’s time to celebrate… with a super fun history lesson, complete with classroom activity ideas. Take a seat, kids.
One of the obvious standout tracks from the compilation, and his most standout collaboration in my opinion, is “Untitled Sketch” featuring Jessica Bailiff. This song originally appeared on his 2005 EP also titled Untitled Sketch, which I rocked religiously that summer. Jessica also contributed throat duty on the similarly titled but totally different “Untitled Three.” “Three” is slightly better than “Untitled Sketch,” but unfortunately didn’t make it on Pretty Swell Explode. Both are more than worthy for serious late night headphone listening. “Untitled Sketch” has some takeoff time, so be patient as it fades in. Let it envelope you, drop some science on ya’ dome.
This EP was, more or less, a teaser to his statement to the world, Burner, a much more focused follow up to his No More Wig for Ohio album and his work with Clouddead. Burner featured a dissonant, frantic instrumental piece called “Flying Saucer Attack.” This was no ode to sci-fi, this was a nod to Jessica’s work with David Pearce (who she later formed Clear Horizon with) and Rachel Brook (of Movietone), who were Flying Saucer Attack from 1992 to 2000 (or thereabouts).
Flying Saucer Attack is probably my favorite shoegazing group ever. And it makes me sad how under-appreciated FSA was then, and well, now too. Of course, there’s the paradox in the injustice one feels when a band isn’t recognized for their innovation yet annoyed when everyone’s bumpin’ their favorite tunes from said artist. Regardless, it’s time for their due props. Flying Saucer Attack wrote the loudest, fuzziest, most gorgeous, most embryonic sounding shimmering space rock ever laid to analog tape. Despite the fact that the production wonderfully sounds like shit, David Pearce’s crystalline voice is smooth and trenchant, paradoxically complimenting the swells and washes of Flying Saucer Attack’s intense rural psychedelia. “Make Me a Dream,” from their eponymous record, is dangerously loud, and as such, you should respect this arc of covenant jam hive by rotating your volume dial clockwise.
Flying Saucer Attack and Clear Horizon eventually split ways, and Jessica Bailiff took that time to pump out some excellent solo work for local heroes Kranky Records. Her last album, Feels Like Home, couples light touches of psych folk and slowcore for a heady, beautiful listening experience. “Evidence,” like, fuckin’ brings total damage around the 1:33 mark, so be prepared.
Did ya follow all that? Very good. So there you go, the man who brought you Clouddead’s syrupy, disintegrating beats blew the dust off of some amazingly innovative, distinctive, but terribly underrated shoegaze. And on his journey to tonal divinity, Odd Nosdam brought along the amazing talents of Jessica Bailiff with him. And for that, among other reasons, I will forever love Odd Nosdam.
