Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is known for two things: 1) being called “hippies” by Brian Jonestown’s Joel Gion in Dig, and 2) very strong live shows. So considering the latter, it’s fitting the group is set to drop a 2 DVD and CD live package, poignantly titled Live. The package spans a number of European shows on their Baby 81 tour. The jam hive hits shelves next Tuesday, November 10th. Wanna win a copy? Cool… well I have two to give away.

Just shoot an email over to kb@thedecibeltolls.com and tell me what you’d like to see more of on the blog. We’ve had a lot of discussions on how to better serve you, the smarmy blog reader. This way, we get something, and you get something awesome. Contest closes on Friday at 5 p.m.

You can peep the track listing and pre-order info here. Good luck.

MP3 :::
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Spread Your Love [Live]

Bedroom recordings/one man bands can obviously suffer from a lack of third party editing, indulgence, and impulse. But sometimes these caveats can also prohibit the growth of an entirely original, immersive, and painstakingly personal product. Seems like the ideal position for music junkie/nerd hero Atlas Sound, whose love for hushed, ghostly melodies have turned him into one of rock’s most beloved wet blankets. Bradford Cox doesn’t exactly share this sentiment anymore, though, and with his second album for Kranky, we find the project head trying to outrun his introverted nature on Logos.

The result is an album that is autobiographical not by it’s lyrics, but by the source of it’s sounds, it’s homages, collaborations, and cerebral passageways. It’s not self-mythetization so much as process of association. As children, we learn who we are by pretending to be others, and similarly Atlas Sound has begun to find it’s own unique shape through it’s loving mimics and costume changes. On “Quick Canal”, the soundtrack to a light-headed departure from our atmosphere, Cox recruits Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier for vocal duties. His sparse production of bio-luminescent synths and an unrelenting kraut shuffle allows his teenage hero to gracefully develop her siren call over Cox’s idiosyncratic groundwork. Another symbiotic marriage is formed on “Walkabout”, the albums sunniest cut. With the help of recent tour mate Panda Bear, the two successfully transform the Dover’s “What Am I Going to Do”, into a big beat ode to childhood of hiccuping organs and blissed out vocal camaraderie. But while this will be considered the album’s leading single, it would be a shame to let Cox’s commanding presence on the solo tracks go unnoticed.

Atlas Sound’s approach has always been admittedly loose and comprised largely of first takes. “There are songs on here I don’t even remember recording,” he said in a recent interview with Stereogum, but never before has this technique been so adaptive and fitting as it is now. Take the title-track “Logos” for example, which ends the album on a note of confidence (and is my current vote for song of the year). The churning synths explode over a swing beat and descending bass line, all filtered through a garage rock lens. Cox’s vocals, picked up from some passing transmission, hang on to the beat like he’s experiencing slight lag time through his head phones. His verses curl and drag, adding and cutting syllables at the drop of a dime, all fueled by a bravado that makes it impossible to have it any other way.

As a man with such an efficient connection between his ideas and his process, we loose the courtesy of presentation, but in it’s place we gain the opportunity to witness occasional moments of phenomena that only flows when you’ve desensitized yourself to the red recording light. Consequently, Logos has trouble holding on to a cohesive statement. Rather, each track seems to have been selected for how well it captured an individual mood. Birthed across the world in various studios, back stage at Deerhunter shows, hotel rooms, or forever lost locations, it plays more like a collection or anthology than an album. Cox seems to be utilizing a supposedly “baselined” music industry to take some risks on Logos, and I think everyone would benefit to try the same. If there’s one album you pay for this year, this should be it.

Logos in available October 22nd through Kranky Records, and is currently being supported by a tour with Broadcast.

Fagen-Becker Quality Rating

MP3 :::
Atlas Sound – Quick Canal (with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier/Monade)
Atlas Sound – Logos

Been totally missing Serena Maneesh as of late. Not sure what they’ve been up to or if they’re still together or if they really dig their day jobs or what, but it’s been a minute since their eponymous record dropped. Regardless, lots of other groups pick up that slack. Joensuu 1685 is one of the best and most accurate interpreters of the bunch. Their cover of The Boss’ “I’m on Fire” captures Bruce’s grandiose battle for the working man, then noises it the fuck up with scary walls of sound. The dude’s ten minutes long, too. I’m excited to explore more of their catalog…

Joensuu 1685 have a rad blog here with lots of pretty gorgeous photos and trippy videos.

MP3 :::
Joensuu 1695 – I’m On Fire

I’m making it my personal mission, my top task on the action items list, to spread the gospel of Detroit quartet Oblisk. This is an amazing new band that, no exaggeration, might be the best American shoegaze group (and it’s gritty shoegaze) these ears have ever heard. I will do everything in my power to make sure these guys sell billions of records, and it’s a goddman travesty that this is not the case.

Anyway, there’s no need for any sort of overlong, overhyperbolic review for Oblisk’s Weather Patterns, despite the fact I’m wont to do such. The brass tacks of the matter is that Oblisk has crafted an absolutely beautiful record that both travels at high speeds above the troposphere and slithers within cracks in the earth. It’s odd in many ways that Oblisk hails from a decaying industrial metropolis. Sure, the minor keys, grimey fuzz, distant tones, and distorted vocals suggest a bit of an ominous environment. But Weather Patterns is packed with mystique and excitement – a record that wonders and wanders.

Oblisk’s loyalties are outlined with a line in the sand – this is new psychedelia. That is to say, this is not a group rehashing flower power like the Paisley Underground did. Oblisk is a group that synthesizes what’s good in psychedelia and adds an opaque gloss. Weather Patterns evokes pure Spiritualized-informed space rock, kraut a la Amon Duul, a touch of post-punk, darkly veiled and midtempo pop-oriented shoegaze in the vein of Medicine and Slowdive, and eastern mysticism (best exemplified on instrumental “Blue Iceberg”).

The epic “Tiger Fighter,” and I’m calling this right now, is the “Leave Them All Behind” of this decade. It’s fucking gorgeous and I don’t want to ruin it by yapping on about it. The song is available below along with one other sample (and it took me forever to narrow down my selection for sharing to two because the album is sick).

Buy this record at Candy Colored Dragon. Do it.

For fans of:  Slowdive, Deerhunter, Spiritualized

MP3 :::
Oblisk – Tiger Fighter
Oblisk – Epicenter

Disappears have the Anton Newcombe approach to the music business – give all your shit away on the Intarwebz for free, and worry about sustainability later. I dig that. Since I’ve been meaning to czech out these dudes for a while, it was rather easy. Thanks, guys.

Of course, it would be silly to say that their albums are worth every penny, unless they were majorly a bummer. But I’m happy to report the Disappears clearance special is a helluva deal – I just downloaded all three releases, and they’re really great. I would’ve certainly bought these records – I love this group. I prefer their latest release Live Over the Rainbo, and perhaps that’s a rather telling aspect of Disappears. If you sound best live, you’ve probably got a good group of bros to rock with. The group, out of Chicago, actually reminds me a lot of Louisville’s Invaders (who have a similar name as well – so double association there). Reverb-heavy fuzzy guitars, punchy rhythm, a shoegaze aesthetic, and a touch of retro chic on acid – Disappears are everything that’s great about rock and roll.

Disappears are touring with the Black Angels this fall, and as such, are playing a couple of festivals in the area, including Nashville’s Next Big Nashville (duh) and Lexington’s Boomslang. I reckon I’ll catch them at one of the two, and I reckon you should do the same. Their MySpace has all the dates.

And sweet sassy molassey, you can, as mentioned, grip all their recorded work on the band’s caps lock-heavy blog here! That rules. Disappears rule. I rule. You rule. Everything rules. Except this – that does not rule.

MP3 :::
Disappears – Hearing Things

I recently stumbled upon this impeccable DAT soundboard-quality bootleg of a November 1994 performance by Ride, though bootleg may not be the right word. This recording often appears on the band discographies, but Ride never gave permission for an “official release.” Hence, before the mighty intarwebz, Live Light was available only in Japan.

Particularly special about this recording is that, given the date, this was probably the last document of the original Ride in their prime. Carnival of Light, released earlier that year, was Ride’s White Album. Chief songwriters Andy Bell and Mark Gardener were majorly bummed on each other, creating a huge rift in continuity on Light. Bell, as you may know, went on to join Oasis after the group’s demise in early ‘96. Talk about a rebound date.

Live Light was taped in either Lyon or Nancy, France according to the Ride Gigography. The album’s liner notes don’t specify. Either way, it is absolutely necessary for any shoegaze fan to have this swan song document of the genre’s premiere artist. Hence, I’m offering it at the link below. It’s the CD version of the bootleg. There was a light blue 2LP version as well that featured two songs not available on the disc (”Twisterella” and “Drive Blind,” the latter I’d love to hear). If anyone has those jams, holla at ya boi Bloggins here.

ZIP :::
Ride – Live Light (approx. 77 MB)

MP3 :::
Ride – Chelsea Girl (Live – 11/94, France)
Ride – Leave Them All Behind (Live – 11/94, France)
Ride – Close My Eyes (Live – 11/94, France)

Totally stoked to bring in Detroit’s psych/shoegaze/kraut machine Oblisk with visionary freak folk noodler R. Keenan Lawler and Louisville’s Softcheque, featuring members of Sapat. This is an all ages show at the funky Derby City Espresso. See you there, dorks!

MP3 :::
Oblisk – Beirut
R Keenan Lawler – Live on ‘Phoning It In,’ WELH Providence

…because they riiiiiiip. Jesus Walker Christ, this band is fantastic. And they’re coming to Louisville soon (more info on that Monday or Tuesday). I plan to publish a review of their just-released full length Weather Patterns as soon as I get it, but right now I’m thoroughly vibin’ to last year’s Tune In/Tune Out. This Detroit-based collective has unequivocally concocted one of the finest, most well-balanced, most seamlessly meshed exploration of classic psychedelia, shoegaze, kraut rock, and experimental movements with a melodic sensibility. Oblisk is completely ridiculous. They exist to spread merriment to me and you, nothing more. I have a lot more to say about them in due time, but please enjoy what I’m enjoying right now.

The cover art is awesome, too. I love industrial imagery in art:

What’s popular these days anyway? Passion Pit? Memory Cassette? The Michael Jacksons? I dunno, but fuck that jive. Oblisk. Get on it. Your shit’s about to get stratospheric.

For fans of:  Deerhunter, Ride, Faust

MP3 :::
Oblisk – Parallel
Oblisk – Tune In/Tune Out

Three unreleased My Bloody Valentine songs. Three. You know what I know, which isn’t much, plus what you know (Johari Window lolz).  These songs evidently were recorded sometime between Isn’t Anything and Loveless, and for whatever reason, surfaced just last week. If anyone has more info on this, give me a shout in the comments.

The conspiring part of my brain wonders if perhaps these were leaked deliberately to generate excitement for, supposedly, a new album from Kev and the Gang in the not too distant future.

Perhaps the details are menial anyway. All that matters is that “Bilinda Song” rips hard and Xmas came early for Kenny Bloggins this year.

MP3 :::
My Bloody Valentine – Cowboy Song
My Bloody Valentine – Kevin Song
My Bloody Valentine – Bilinda Song

Back in 2004, The Legends released Up Against the Legends, a rather unfortunate band and album name for a body of work that was quite good. But the Legends have always had a sense of humor. When the record was first released, many were under the pretense that this group of C86 nostalgic bros were a nine-piece noise pop orchestra. That wasn’t exactly true, as The Legends are/is really a one-studio wizard deal a la Dungen by the name of Johan Angergård. While it’s easy to ignore The Legends since they’re Scandinavian and might be mistaken for some Stereogum overhyped garbage, you should not do this. Though not terribly groundbreaking, The Legends are awesomely interpreted sublime dream/shoegaze pop perfect for these warmer months.

The recently released Over and Over is a decidedly more polished effort than their ’60s garage fuzz pop centric Up Against the Legends, and leaps and bounds better than their dreadful Public Radio. The most intriguing aspect to Over and Over is Angergård’s ability to write gorgeous, sunshiney major-key vocal melodies while created a darker album. Over and Over is more spacious and moodier in its softer moment, while the noise and distortion is more grating in its wall of sound moments. This notion is best demonstrated with the title track and “Turn Away,” included below for your consideration. Over and Over, while not a mindblowingly original record, is a well crafted and fun-loving document of what was good about C86 and the poppier side of shoegaze.

Over and Over is available now through Labrador.

For fans of:  Shop Assistants, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Vivian Girls

Fagen-Becker Quality Rating

MP3 :::
The Legends – Over and Over
The Legends – Turn Away