SOME WICKED: Dashiell Brown's Blog

It’s RPM time again, where you record an album only in February, the month of the blah’s. I recorded one last year called Circuit Tree and it was quite the experience. Though I have only just begun to sample some of the albums, I was excited to see that AE Bridger, along with Justin Guzwell, made one this year. AE Bridger is one of the most exciting acts to see downtown here in St. John’s, and rather than reaching for a cup of coffee to wake you up, might I suggest listening to People on Pause for the kind of jolt you probably didn’t know you needed to nudge you out of whatever reverie you might currently be finding yourself in.

People on Pause barrage you with an experimental, psychedelic wash of loosely-based pop music to keep you groovin’, and throwing in a circus of noise and sonic play akin to getting hit with a taser gun lest you get too comfortable. Any fan of Les Claypool’s more experimental side will understand. Remember Sausage?

Even better, you can listen to the whole album online at the RPM site, as well as many others. Highlights from People on Pause are Girl From Blight, Jack-O-Lantern, and Black Mice.

You can also read my review for AE Bridger’s album, I am a Ghostly Leech.

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Came across this little gem amongst the piles of CDs I mull through each week, and this is getting the most spin on The New Spin right now. I am a huge fan of Neutral Milk Hotel and Chris Opteka’s The Heligoats sounds like Jeff Mangum’s long-lost cousin. I don’t know much about Chris Otepka other than that he hails from the greater Chicago area, but both his voice and songwriting style seem to mimic the “rambling” linearity that Mangum became so famous for, and since Mangum seems to be mostly out of the picture in terms of recording new albums (read Kim Cooper’s great book about why) thank god we have The Heligoats’ Goodness Gracious to carry on the Mangum torch.

He has a few EPs before this release, Seeds and The End of All-Purpose, the former which comes with a packet of seeds, apparently. But if he has been lurking in the dark somewhere before, Goodness Gracious should shoot him straight into the light.

Listen to Fish Sticks on the Greyday Records website, a New Spin favorite.

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On his latest album with his latest band, Patrick Molloy and The Manifest’s Who Will Listen? is bold, italicized, and even underlined. He is clearly shooting for the moon on this one, channeling the progressive power rock of Rush a la Vapor Trails, with an Ozzie Osbourne-like wail that sounds surprisingly fresh against today’s trendy pop-oriented music industry and—daring.

Whether his aim was true will actually depend on who will listen but I’m sure radio stations here in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada will eat it up. From what I understand, they already are. “Who Will Listen?” was already featured as the Producers Pick on The East Coast Countdown and won the Regional Radio Star National Songwriting Competition for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Patrick Molloy will be representing Newfoundland in Toronto from March 10-14th during Canadian Music Week for the National Prize of the Radio Star competition. It’s apt because his album manages to reflect the smorgasbord of the tastes and styles you’ll hear from so many of the local bands here in St. John’s, from the progressive hard rock of The Pathological Lovers to the more punchy new-wave of The Subtitles.

Though a few songs may feel incomplete or less developed, there are a number of hits here, in particular “Darkness Glows” and “Peace, Now, Today” which I still have in my head. Produced right here in St. John’s by gold and platinum award-winning producer Krisjan Leslie, Who Will Listen? serves up a heaping dish of all that’s fresh and happening here in the St. John’s music scene, and Patrick Molloy must have felt it his duty to deliver such a showcase. For that alone, you can thank him.

Preview his new album online at www.patrickmolloy.ca

Here’s an interview I had with him last year on The New Spin.

(The New Spin airs every Thursday night, 9-11 PM Newftime, 7:30 Eastern on 93.5 CHMR-FM.)

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This post-millennial in-your-face, hit-you-in-your-gut, dirty, grimy Hendrix and Zeppelin-infused psychedelic act hailing just outside of Austin will make you jump around your living room in the worst way, taking you back to your giddy teenage days jumping on your couch when you heard Zeppelin or Hendrix, Jane’s Addiction, Tool or Faith No More for the first time. And no doubt you probably missed it, hence this review.

From the heart-stopping opener of “Radio Milk How Can You Stand It” accompanied by a thudding, tribal, Tool-like driving bass-line mixed with Black Keys and Hendrix to the surpisingly post-modern TV on the Radio sha-na-na, incredible closing “Syncn,” this album, in a word, rocks. Once over, you’ll just want to hit repeat to see if what you heard was actually real or some acid-induced psychotic dream that you’ll never forget. And if you’re not shitting in your pants by the time “Sex Prayer” comes on, the funkiest Jackie Mittoo, Groove Collective or Funkadelic-like track sandwiched between the harder first half and the more classic-rocky second half, there’s something wrong with you! (If you like funk or 70’s blaxploitation soundtracks, that is.) Hendrix, Zeppelin, Sam Cooke (as I’ve read in other reviews) The White Stripes, The Beatles, The Black Keys, TV on the Radio, early Red Hot Chili Peppers with the intensity of Faith No More and Tool, even Animal Collective, plus anything off the famous Nuggets compilations have been purified in a blender and spit out as White Denim. Crazy shit, this is, and it’s easily one of the best albums of 2009, even though you’ve never heard of it. Fits takes you on a roller-coaster through all that was great about rock n’ roll and funk from the latter half of the 20th century up to now. This shit goes to 11 and will be a New Spin favorite. Another band that’s doing this kind of thing right now is The Heavy, but that’s for another review. For now, go out and get some White Denim and start the new year off with a bang.

www.myspace.com/whitedenimmusic

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Only available digitally right now, try Alphapup, this album should make quite a stir for fans of Bibio, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobacco, Caribou and other artists who are taking electronic music to another level. If it doesn’t, then I don’t know music. (I don’t really, I mean whoever says music can be known just doesn’t get it, right?) But there’s clearly a diverse and exciting electronic movement going on in LA right now as can be seen from the vid below, and Jogger’s brilliant song “Gorilla Meat” seamlessly blends electronic beats with Beach Boys/Fleet Foxes-like harmonies and was made the top tune at KCRW. And it gets lots of play on my show The New Spin as well, of course. But “Gorilla Meat” only scratches the surface of the sonic secrets this album gradually reveals, ranging from grimy drum n’ bass to screamo to 60’s folk and Yo La Tengo lo-fi indie rock sensibilities to techno, all sewed together by an electronic thread for the entire course of the album, much like The Flaming Lips with their sonic exploration on Embryonic. It forces anyone to reconsider the obsolete/tired belief that electronic and computer music is just about four-on-the-floor beats.

Anyone that’s been paying attention knows electronic music can serve as a magical window into exploring unlimited musical possibilities, not a trap at all. Jonathan Larroquette and Amir Yaghmai that is Jogger clearly respect this world by not abusing the freedom, rather they let the sounds breathe and take their space, allowing the sounds to take hold of us and then let go. Quite brilliant stuff, if at times a bit abrasive with the screamo in “Nephecide”, but the compositions are layered and complex, with lots to discover.

Daedelus, no stranger to innovative approaches to electronic music as he plays with it much like jazz musicians explore their modes, (check out his brilliant album Invention) does have a hand in the production of this album (I think), which is the first release on his new label Magical Properties. Based on this album, the future of Magical Properties looks rosy, indeed. Here’s that vid mentioned earlier.

Listen to Jogger on myspace. This is Some Wicked Essential for sure.

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The New Spin’s goal is to expose the great underground musicians of today. But given that 35% of everything The New Spin plays must be Canadian, I have discovered many great Canadian bands from among the piles of crap that’s out there. So here is a list in the order that I discovered them (kind of), the cream-of-the-crop Canadian bands making waves on The New Spin for 2009, some of which I have already written reviews for (they have links included.)

Of course, to listen to any of these artists, you can always tune in to the show every Thursday night on 93.5 CHMR-FM, online here, 9-11 Newftime, 7:30-9:30 EST, 4:30 Pacific. You should be able to find most of them on CBC Radio 3. I have added a few keywords to describe each artist in case you only like certain genres. SL means “sounds like.”

Tonight I will do a special show playing these artists, so tune in and hear the best of the best in Canadian music.

Hear a playlist of most of these artists here.

Timber Timbre (truly unusual folksongs, like Patrick Watson, this guy’s in a class all his own.)

Bruce Peninsula (dark choir/chamber folk, oh yes.)

Geoff Berner (Klezmer punk, what more needs to be said)

The Hylozoists (all instrumental like post-rock, but wow.)

Headache24 (SL Pixies)

Japandroids (SL Fugazi)

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers (if you like Dead Can Dance, etc.)

Weather Station (folk on the laptop loveliness)

Rae Spoon (how many transgendered folksingers do you know who sound like women but are actually men and who trade in their guitars for computers? not many, I’m sure.)

Patrick Watson (one of the best of the year, avant-garde/progressive indie folk)

The Torrent (dark 80’s inspired electro)

Pat Lepoidevin (amazing folk guitarist with an oh-so-sweet Scottish touch)

Eleazer Vs John (like Junior Boys?)

Tiga (play this at any club and watch them feet move)

Rural Alberta Advantage (dark, folky, I like them better than Elliot Brood)

Lovely Feathers (indie rock)

Hidden Cameras (80’s, New Order-ish, I love their new album)

Dan Mangan (folk, songwriter)

Wooden Sky (dark folk, reminds me of 16 Horsepower a bit)

Kids on TV Remixed V.1 from Blocks Recording Club (beats!)

Cousins (I can’t get play “Growling” enough)

Spiral Beach (kick-ass garage rock/punk)

Acres and Acres (lo-fi folksongs with St. John’s guest Amelia Curran)

Brock Geiger (banjo heavy folk songs)

Reverie Sound Revue (SL Stereolab)

Dark Mean (a little EP, but let’s see what they do in the future)

The Got to Get Got (fun fun in the sun indie rock)

Ambisonic (avant-garde-ish)

Jordan Klassen (love this guy from Calgary, oh my. SL Sufjan Stevens, David Pajo)

Gypsophilia (my interview with them is on my site here)

The Diableros (they have a new album, but haven’t heard it yet!)

The Danks (you love da danks if you love da strokes)

Flotilla (harp-based folk stuff from Montreal. SL Sunday All Over the World if you know who the hell that is)

Extra Happy Ghost (I only like one of the songs on this EP, but it’s so incredible I have to mention it. That would be “mash up: neither being nor nothingness”)

Vincat (Vincat!)

Rival Boys (alt-country, but their EP has grown on me)

Jesse Matheson (this guy’s songs are hilarious and oh so fun)

Octoberman (SL Calexico)

hellothisisalex (unusual chill-out chipcore or chipcore chill-out, whichever sounds better)

The Sales Department (electronic)

The Mountains and The Trees (from St. John’s, they’re making waves!)

Errand Boy (he moved away from St. John’s, too too bad, but keep an eye out for this dude)

Islands (not really underground, but whatever)

Language Arts (whoah, spoken word/hip-hop folk, cool…)

Fritz Helder (not really my favorite, but he has a very original electronic style that’s hard not to notice and that you may love, who knows)

Gregory Pepper and His Problems (problems? on his eclectic album With Trumpets Flaring I don’t see any problems, this guy’s uber-talented)

Makita Hack (straight up bluegrass, but awesome bluegrass at that)

Miss Quincy and The Ramblers (less exciting than Makita, but if you’re a bluegrass fan, why not?)

Woody Johnson (this guy’s a whiz on the acoustic blues front. so is Trevor Caswell, for that matter.)

Let’s Go to War (funky, electronic stuff, probably worth mentioning. SL Groove Armada)

We are Wolves (easily one of the best Canadian albums of the year, wow…)

Peace (who is this dude??? dark 80s-like stuff. SL early P.I.L. or Wilderness if you know them)

Minto (don’t know the album too well, but it’s produced by Steve Albini. yes, Steve Albini!)

The Fugitives (find me, find me! oh god, I’m drooling over them banjo licks.)

Digits (this guy emailed me and showed me his music. I cannot stop playing “Endgame”)

Jon and Roy (from BC, “Another Noon” is one of the best songs of the year.)

Vivian Houle (WTF???)

Rep by Pop (one of my favorite Canadian albums of the year, Cell Phone Camera, just wrote the review.)

Devil Eyes (very raucous, loud, but in a good, trashy-garage-rock-kind-of-way)

Sex with Strangers (I just love “We Want the Fire”)

Richard Laviolette and The Oil Spills (good folky stuff)

You Say Party We Say Die (yep, this is a good album, very punchy and lively)

The Racoon Wedding (like if Arcade Fire came from a bluegrass angle with some brass thrown in for good measure)

Okay, that’s it, I hope that’s enough to keep you busy for awhile, assuming you read this. I’ll post another list of the best underground artists from the rest of the world later. If you’re a new spinner, you already know them. If you need more, here is my list of top ten most under-rated records of 2008.

in sound,

Dashiell Brown

www.thenewspin.ca

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For an average Gen-X guy like me who grew up in the 80’s listening to The Cure, The Thompson Twins, Joy Division and New Order, Bauhaus, Gene Loves Jezebel and other MTV-like Euro New Wave/Post punk acts, Cell Phone Camera, the new album from the Canadian outfit Rep by Pop instantly grabbed my attention and gets regular play on my show The New Spin. Though the album’s punchier first half is stronger than the more U2-like rockin’ second half, Cell Phone Camera is all very fun and upbeat, fusing together everything I loved about the 80’s and then some. For you youg’uns, I’d put them in the Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, Cut Copy, Of Montreal, and The Rapture family.

Timothy Kingston’s voice has an uncanny ability to drift from sounding like Robert Smith to Bono to that lead singer dude of Gene Loves Jezebel in “Spray Paint.” A few songs sound like early U2 backed by the early Cure, and “Bisbifren”, “Comfort Me and Comfort You” and “Cell Phone Camera” have immediate hooks with the latter having a wicked wah-wah/flanging guitar patch I salivate over every time I hear it. I love “Unknown” with its transcendent, uplifting quality.

This band has the potential to blow up huge and “sell out,” though that’s near-impossible to do these days, and as any new spinner might know by now, I don’t like bands that stick to formulas, but nonetheless I wish great success for this band. Though Rep by Pop is clearly inspired by the 80’s sound, thankfully they aren’t trying to copy it so much as use the sounds of the 80s like an artist does with a palette of colors. The challenge for them, for any band really, is to push their familiar sound rather than be swallowed by it. Needless to say, Cell Phone Camera stands out in all the right ways. Here’s a vid:

Read other reviews here.

Join The New Spin on Facebook.

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Exciting new Canadian electronica act, hellothisisalex has released their new album, the accidentals, using a blend of 8-bit video game music (think Commodore 64 or the Atari 2600) and moog patches, or chipcore, as their inspiration, similar to other bands using this sonic footprint such as Crystal Castles, Tobacco, and Black Moth Super Rainbow. I’d count Plone in there as well, recently made famous by none other than that Reese’s Peanut Buttercup commercial that ran all summer, taking us back to the days when patches on a keyboard were literally patched together by cables, not a button you could just push to change the “patch.”

Entirely instrumental, with smatterings of vocal samples and other creative digitalis, the album ranges from downtempo and chill to upbeat and fun to downright avant-garde. One listen isn’t nearly enough to catch all of the varied nuances this thrilling piece of electronica has to offer. Some tracks may stand out more than others, but the accidentals needs to be listened to with all the senses, like appreciating a fine wine or exotic cheese. You can’t get all the flavors in one bite. It goes deeper, and all the songs work together like an elaborately patched quilt (pun intended.)

A word of warning: it’s not a four-on-the-floor party starter, but I can imagine today’s DJs remixing their tunes for the club.

This video, inspired by their visit here in Newfoundland of all places says it all. Lobster Cove Head is in Gros Morne National Park and served as their inspiration for their new song, which also appears on the new album.

To learn more and to get your hands on the album, check out their website. You can also listen to cuts from the accidentals on my new show on electronic music, Other Frequencies, Tuesdays at 10PM on CHMR-FM, 8:30 Eastern.

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Starting a new series here, The Some Wicked Essential. The purpose of the SWE is to point you to the cream of the crop the music industry has to offer. Think of it as a little sign pointing you in the right direction. They aren’t going to be wordy or elaborate, just a little sign, a nudge saying, hey, check this out. Of course, that’s what my shows on CHMR are all about.

For the first Some Wicked Essential we have Birds Make Good Neighbors from The Rosebuds. From Raleigh, NC, the interplay between this husband and wife duo that is The Rosebuds is nothing short of magical, with their music becoming ever more so with repeated listens. Dark, simple blissful folk-inspired 80’s alternative song writing at it’s finest. I just can’t get enough.

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This is the cover of their new album Yeah I Know which seems to invoke the image of some new Sonic Youth-ers, and it’s a spot-on way to advertise their fresh, raw sound that’ll wake you up like a strong cup o’ joe.  Also fresh is the format of the cd, which is actually not a jewel case, but a pamphlet, with lots of Wonder Years-inspired retro suburban photos of a bygone era (apparently they are pictures of the band members’ parents.) And, thanks to an exciting mix of fuzz-soaked indie lo-fi goodness, their music is as fresh and punchy as the pictures included in their book.

They immediately sound as if they’re channeling the rawness of The Strokes and the grit of The Black Lips with a bit of indie-fied Sebadoh, Superchunk and Pavement thrown in for good measure, but for anyone who’s been kind of over The Strokes (like me) will want to pick this up for a fresh spin on a now been-there-done-that idea. Yes, they are clearly driven by the best of the garage-rockers.  Jogging through the tracks as I usually do when previewing a new album, I dug just about every one, especially since I have a penchant for good quality garage rock outfits (yeah I know…quality garage-rock is perhaps an oxymoron…) Any way you take it, Darlings is an exciting new band fer sure. Out now on Famous Class.

Here’s their myspace.

Listen to them this Thursday on The New Spin. Also streaming online, listen to the latest editon of The New Spin.

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