"Happy As Can Be" - Cut Off Your Hands
Put Phil Spector, the Beatles, and New Order in a blender and out comes "Happy As Can Be." (Well, it works in my blender.) There's the spacious, bashy wall of sound, the "Please Please Me" melody, and the deadpan yet also semi-melodramatic club vibe. Oh, and maybe throw Split Enz in the blender too, since these guys are from New Zealand and lead singer Nick Johnston has a bit of a Tim Finn-ish yelp going on there, especially in the chorus. (Yeah, okay, it's a big blender.)
I'm fascinated, as I always tend to be, by the 'wall of sound' sound--the overall effect is conspicuous but when you try to pick it apart, the specifics kind of scurry away. What is it that's making the sound, anyway? A big, rumbling drum and a distinct echo is part of it; clangy but indistinct guitar sound is part of it, as is a choral-like backing noise, coming from either voices or instruments or both. Mixing a bell in with the beat--always a good touch, for some reason. Whatever's doing it, Cut Off Your Hands is here to deliver it to us; on the quartet's MySpace page, next to "Influences" is one name: Phil Spector.
"Happy As Can Be" is the title track to the band's new EP, their third, scheduled for a digital release on Frenchkiss Records this week. Their full-length debut is expected out in early 2009.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Midwest Dilemma (bittersweet 'docurock' waltz, with 23-piece folk orchestra)
"The Great Depression" - Midwest Dilemma
A brisk, bittersweet country waltz, "The Great Depression" tells a vague but insistent story of deprivation and resolve, via a 23-piece folk orchestra. Front man and songwriter Justin Lamoureux, from Omaha, sings with a refreshing, scuffed-up solidity--no wispy, chamber pop tenor he--but at the same time leaves plenty of room for the contraption-like menagerie of guitars and winds and strings and percussion that is Midwest Dilemma, as they pump and sway (and, occasionally, squeak) along with him. I picture Lamoureux singing from smack in the middle of it all, sometimes needing to stand on tiptoes to be noticed.
The album on which you'll find "The Great Depression" is called Timelines & Tragedies, and was self-released in May. It apparently tells stories of Lamoureux's family history, spanning some 400 years (this song is not a current political statement, just to be clear). The indie scene of the '00s has definitively given birth to this sort of docurock--idiosyncratic, often incomprehensible takes on personal and cultural history. Neutral Milk Hotel may have spawned the trend 10 years ago, with the strange but seminal In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. You need a good melody to carry this kind of thing off; a compelling arrangement is another plus. "The Great Depression" scores on both counts. The harmonies provided by Elizabeth Webb enhance the power of the song's resilient tune, and as for the arrangement, pay particular attention to how oceanic the earnest, acoustic churn of the ensemble becomes during the song's closing half-minute. Some songs do not need to be fully understood to be gotten.
A brisk, bittersweet country waltz, "The Great Depression" tells a vague but insistent story of deprivation and resolve, via a 23-piece folk orchestra. Front man and songwriter Justin Lamoureux, from Omaha, sings with a refreshing, scuffed-up solidity--no wispy, chamber pop tenor he--but at the same time leaves plenty of room for the contraption-like menagerie of guitars and winds and strings and percussion that is Midwest Dilemma, as they pump and sway (and, occasionally, squeak) along with him. I picture Lamoureux singing from smack in the middle of it all, sometimes needing to stand on tiptoes to be noticed.
The album on which you'll find "The Great Depression" is called Timelines & Tragedies, and was self-released in May. It apparently tells stories of Lamoureux's family history, spanning some 400 years (this song is not a current political statement, just to be clear). The indie scene of the '00s has definitively given birth to this sort of docurock--idiosyncratic, often incomprehensible takes on personal and cultural history. Neutral Milk Hotel may have spawned the trend 10 years ago, with the strange but seminal In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. You need a good melody to carry this kind of thing off; a compelling arrangement is another plus. "The Great Depression" scores on both counts. The harmonies provided by Elizabeth Webb enhance the power of the song's resilient tune, and as for the arrangement, pay particular attention to how oceanic the earnest, acoustic churn of the ensemble becomes during the song's closing half-minute. Some songs do not need to be fully understood to be gotten.
Free and legal MP3 from +/- (Plus/Minus) (intimate electronica meets ringing rhythm guitars)
"Snowblind" - +/-<
This one starts as intimate electronica, the twitchy percussion blipping with a startling three-dimensionality, while a tranquil keyboard offers muted chords and James Baluyut sings a soft series of interrupted phrases so casually he may as well be talking. It's 50 seconds before we hear a guitar, and what it gives us at first is a careful, reverberant line that joins in with the calm itchiness thus far unfolding.
Calm itchiness is not going to hold, of course. At 1:48, as the lyrics tell us that there is "no way to draw the poison out," the guitar breaks from its noodly mode and offers a ringing rhythm with the most wonderful chords--chords that sound at once central and off-center, urgent and restrained, obvious and oblique. This goes on for half a minute; it's interesting, come to think of it, that the guitar solo is all rhythm rather than lead. Interesting too that without an obvious chorus, the solo comes as a surprise, and not just for its volume and texture. We haven't been prepared for it by the song's structure. When Baluyut returns, he's singing in a higher register, still the same sort of interrupted phrases, and then here's the moment I, somehow, love most of all: at 3:36, when he leaps to falsetto and holds the word "you" through a downward series of notes (in classical music, they'd call that a melisma), twice. By now the flurry of guitar and full-fledged drumming is all but blizzard-like, creating an aural version of the title's state (which, lyrically, is metaphorical, not actual).
"Snowblind" is from the new +/- (say "Plus/Minus") album, Xs On Your Eyes. This is the Brooklyn-based trio's fourth, and it's due out this week on Absolutely Kosher Records. MP3 via Absolutely Kosher.
This one starts as intimate electronica, the twitchy percussion blipping with a startling three-dimensionality, while a tranquil keyboard offers muted chords and James Baluyut sings a soft series of interrupted phrases so casually he may as well be talking. It's 50 seconds before we hear a guitar, and what it gives us at first is a careful, reverberant line that joins in with the calm itchiness thus far unfolding.
Calm itchiness is not going to hold, of course. At 1:48, as the lyrics tell us that there is "no way to draw the poison out," the guitar breaks from its noodly mode and offers a ringing rhythm with the most wonderful chords--chords that sound at once central and off-center, urgent and restrained, obvious and oblique. This goes on for half a minute; it's interesting, come to think of it, that the guitar solo is all rhythm rather than lead. Interesting too that without an obvious chorus, the solo comes as a surprise, and not just for its volume and texture. We haven't been prepared for it by the song's structure. When Baluyut returns, he's singing in a higher register, still the same sort of interrupted phrases, and then here's the moment I, somehow, love most of all: at 3:36, when he leaps to falsetto and holds the word "you" through a downward series of notes (in classical music, they'd call that a melisma), twice. By now the flurry of guitar and full-fledged drumming is all but blizzard-like, creating an aural version of the title's state (which, lyrically, is metaphorical, not actual).
"Snowblind" is from the new +/- (say "Plus/Minus") album, Xs On Your Eyes. This is the Brooklyn-based trio's fourth, and it's due out this week on Absolutely Kosher Records. MP3 via Absolutely Kosher.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Fingertips CD Review: The Mighty Ship, by Angela Desveaux
The Mighty Ship
Angela Desveaux
Thrill Jockey Records
Angela Desveaux has crafted as strong and appealing a singer/songwriter album as I've heard in quite a while. Like fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards, Desveaux traffics in territory pioneered by Lucinda Williams--alt-country indie pop, or some such thing--and possesses, as Edwards does, both the vocal character and the songwriting chops to turn music ever in danger of veering into corn into a continually unfolding and pleasurable experience.
This is an album worthy of being an album, quite clearly constructed with an ear on the flow of the entire work. From the start, Desveaux throws us for a loop by opening the CD with the pensive, bittersweet "Other Side"--not the typical ear-candy-like opening track, and it shows me that she trusts her ability to engage our ear with atmosphere and strength of melodic purpose. Not that ear candy is Desveaux's style, at all; the follow-up track, the TWF-featured "Sure Enough," is upbeat and catchy, but sliced with subtle melancholy, while track three, "Hide From You," a fuzzy-riffed rocker, at the same time displays a thoughtful, Beatlesque flair.
Even when she slows things down to a crawl, as in "Joining Another," Desveaux keeps my interest through unwavering tunefulness and some classy instrumental work. The album hits full Lucinda mode with the tough, achey "Shape You," then follows it with perhaps the album's most ambitious composition, "Red Alert," a taut shuffle with evocative strings and a Jonatha Brooke-like sense of melodic indignation. "For Design," the album's tough-skinned closer, sends me to the repeat button, ready to run through these 10 well-wrought songs all over again. [buy via the Fingertips Store]
(See more Fingertips CD reviews on the Album Bin page of the main Fingertips site.)
Angela Desveaux
Thrill Jockey Records
Angela Desveaux has crafted as strong and appealing a singer/songwriter album as I've heard in quite a while. Like fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards, Desveaux traffics in territory pioneered by Lucinda Williams--alt-country indie pop, or some such thing--and possesses, as Edwards does, both the vocal character and the songwriting chops to turn music ever in danger of veering into corn into a continually unfolding and pleasurable experience.
This is an album worthy of being an album, quite clearly constructed with an ear on the flow of the entire work. From the start, Desveaux throws us for a loop by opening the CD with the pensive, bittersweet "Other Side"--not the typical ear-candy-like opening track, and it shows me that she trusts her ability to engage our ear with atmosphere and strength of melodic purpose. Not that ear candy is Desveaux's style, at all; the follow-up track, the TWF-featured "Sure Enough," is upbeat and catchy, but sliced with subtle melancholy, while track three, "Hide From You," a fuzzy-riffed rocker, at the same time displays a thoughtful, Beatlesque flair.
Even when she slows things down to a crawl, as in "Joining Another," Desveaux keeps my interest through unwavering tunefulness and some classy instrumental work. The album hits full Lucinda mode with the tough, achey "Shape You," then follows it with perhaps the album's most ambitious composition, "Red Alert," a taut shuffle with evocative strings and a Jonatha Brooke-like sense of melodic indignation. "For Design," the album's tough-skinned closer, sends me to the repeat button, ready to run through these 10 well-wrought songs all over again. [buy via the Fingertips Store]
(See more Fingertips CD reviews on the Album Bin page of the main Fingertips site.)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Samuel Markus (quasi-psychedelic neo-folk rock?)
"Rosa" - Samuel Markus
A full-bodied helping of quasi-psychedelic neo-folk rock, or some such thing, "Rosa" treads an alluring line between the contemporary and the classic, mixing a Derek & the Dominoes-like guitar-band drive with crispier beats and 21st-century production effects.
Holding it all together--because I have to admit, that description doesn't sound all that alluring as I read it back to myself!--is 22-year-old Samuel Markus, whose voice contains something of Grant Lee Phillips' deep melodrama, but with a lighter touch and self-effacing tone. The song is pretty much built around a cascade of two-syllable almost-rhymes that repeat at the end of each lyrical line; Marcus wins the day with his earnest yet quizzical delivery, all but reveling in the mismatches that tumble out (e.g. "Casanova" and "composer" and "for ya") in service of his ramshackle, bittersweet-sounding story.
Markus co-founded the N.Y.C.-based band the Rosewood Thieves (featured on Fingertips in Aug. '06) before splitting to do his own thing out in California. "Rosa" can be found on New Dawn, a CD recorded with an ensemble he calls the Only Ones (no relation to the British new wave band of the same name, which has apparently been playing together again recently). New Dawn was released at the end of September by Yatra Media.
A full-bodied helping of quasi-psychedelic neo-folk rock, or some such thing, "Rosa" treads an alluring line between the contemporary and the classic, mixing a Derek & the Dominoes-like guitar-band drive with crispier beats and 21st-century production effects.
Holding it all together--because I have to admit, that description doesn't sound all that alluring as I read it back to myself!--is 22-year-old Samuel Markus, whose voice contains something of Grant Lee Phillips' deep melodrama, but with a lighter touch and self-effacing tone. The song is pretty much built around a cascade of two-syllable almost-rhymes that repeat at the end of each lyrical line; Marcus wins the day with his earnest yet quizzical delivery, all but reveling in the mismatches that tumble out (e.g. "Casanova" and "composer" and "for ya") in service of his ramshackle, bittersweet-sounding story.
Markus co-founded the N.Y.C.-based band the Rosewood Thieves (featured on Fingertips in Aug. '06) before splitting to do his own thing out in California. "Rosa" can be found on New Dawn, a CD recorded with an ensemble he calls the Only Ones (no relation to the British new wave band of the same name, which has apparently been playing together again recently). New Dawn was released at the end of September by Yatra Media.
Free and legal MP3 from the Happy Hollows (ingratiating, noisy, whimsical song-as-journey)
"Lieutenant" - the Happy Hollows
I am no fan of indie music that veers too sharply into the DIY camp, as my ears will forever be jarred by sloppiness, however disguised by claims of authenticity or shred guitar prowess. When I first heard "Lieutenant," I was attracted by its left-turn hooks but wary of its seeming disjointedness. For a five-minute song, this one unspools in an unnerving number of directions; it's hard to get a handle on too quickly, and I was not initially convinced that there was any larger sense of purpose keeping the song from simply flying apart. (I am by and large unswayed by shredding.) And yet I surely did like lead singer Sarah Negahdari's trilly, pixie-like (or Pixies-like?) sense of drama, the trio's Belly-esque blend of heaviness and lightness, and the sly, quasi-martial swing of the song's stickiest hook (first heard at 1:10).
I'm still not completely sure which side of the line between sophistication and random craziness that "Lieutenant" lands on, but the moment, probably, that won me over was this: the minute and a half in the middle of the song that features the most jumpy, unglued material climaxes, at around 4:00, with all three band members singing together and then just sort of shouting with jump-in-the-pool abandon. Weeeeeee. It cemented the song-as-journey concept, and I liked where it led: into a coda with a new, unexpectedly soothing melody. Well, okay, it gets wacky again for the last five seconds. They can't help themselves.
"Lieutenant" is the lead track off the L.A.-based band's second EP, Imaginary, which will be released by the band next week.
I am no fan of indie music that veers too sharply into the DIY camp, as my ears will forever be jarred by sloppiness, however disguised by claims of authenticity or shred guitar prowess. When I first heard "Lieutenant," I was attracted by its left-turn hooks but wary of its seeming disjointedness. For a five-minute song, this one unspools in an unnerving number of directions; it's hard to get a handle on too quickly, and I was not initially convinced that there was any larger sense of purpose keeping the song from simply flying apart. (I am by and large unswayed by shredding.) And yet I surely did like lead singer Sarah Negahdari's trilly, pixie-like (or Pixies-like?) sense of drama, the trio's Belly-esque blend of heaviness and lightness, and the sly, quasi-martial swing of the song's stickiest hook (first heard at 1:10).
I'm still not completely sure which side of the line between sophistication and random craziness that "Lieutenant" lands on, but the moment, probably, that won me over was this: the minute and a half in the middle of the song that features the most jumpy, unglued material climaxes, at around 4:00, with all three band members singing together and then just sort of shouting with jump-in-the-pool abandon. Weeeeeee. It cemented the song-as-journey concept, and I liked where it led: into a coda with a new, unexpectedly soothing melody. Well, okay, it gets wacky again for the last five seconds. They can't help themselves.
"Lieutenant" is the lead track off the L.A.-based band's second EP, Imaginary, which will be released by the band next week.
Free and legal MP3 from Geoff Ereth (smartly paced orchestral folk)
"Surefooted" - Geoff Ereth
Deftly arranged and smartly paced, "Surefooted" packs a goodly number of instruments into a brisk three and a half minutes, but the sound remains clean and uncluttered. There's piano and guitar and drums, there's a string quartet, a trombone, an interesting keyboard or two, maybe a woodwind of one sort or another--"orchestral folk" is what Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Geoff Ereth calls it. But unlike much of what comes under the "chamber pop" umbrella, "Surefooted" leaves enough white space in and around its arrangement to feel fresh and easy rather than baroque and belabored.
The key, I think, is the strength of the song itself. I love instrumental variety in rock'n'roll as much as anyone, but too often the aural curlicues are covering up melodic staleness--underneath the ornamentation, there's no there there, to use that old Gertrude Stein nugget. With "Surefooted," there's plenty of there, as both the verse and chorus feature strong melodies, put forward with gentle assurance by the smooth-voiced Ereth (and note the arresting way he offers harmonies on the middle lines of each verse but not the first and last). Symbolic, perhaps, of the song's full but unadorned feel is the instrumental break at around 2:10--rather than any orchestral swell, we are stripped down to just the strings, playing with punch and punctuation (and pizzicato), which creates room for an uncomplicated but evocative piano line that wanders briefly through at 2:20. (The string quartet that plays with Ereth on his record is Osso, which is the same group that has performed with both Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond.)
Drunk With Translation was released digitally via iTunes last month, and will be out on CD in January; it is self-released, under the Deerly Records imprint.
Deftly arranged and smartly paced, "Surefooted" packs a goodly number of instruments into a brisk three and a half minutes, but the sound remains clean and uncluttered. There's piano and guitar and drums, there's a string quartet, a trombone, an interesting keyboard or two, maybe a woodwind of one sort or another--"orchestral folk" is what Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Geoff Ereth calls it. But unlike much of what comes under the "chamber pop" umbrella, "Surefooted" leaves enough white space in and around its arrangement to feel fresh and easy rather than baroque and belabored.
The key, I think, is the strength of the song itself. I love instrumental variety in rock'n'roll as much as anyone, but too often the aural curlicues are covering up melodic staleness--underneath the ornamentation, there's no there there, to use that old Gertrude Stein nugget. With "Surefooted," there's plenty of there, as both the verse and chorus feature strong melodies, put forward with gentle assurance by the smooth-voiced Ereth (and note the arresting way he offers harmonies on the middle lines of each verse but not the first and last). Symbolic, perhaps, of the song's full but unadorned feel is the instrumental break at around 2:10--rather than any orchestral swell, we are stripped down to just the strings, playing with punch and punctuation (and pizzicato), which creates room for an uncomplicated but evocative piano line that wanders briefly through at 2:20. (The string quartet that plays with Ereth on his record is Osso, which is the same group that has performed with both Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond.)
Drunk With Translation was released digitally via iTunes last month, and will be out on CD in January; it is self-released, under the Deerly Records imprint.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Comments now available
As at least a temporary experiment, the Fingertips blog will now accept comments. Comments are moderated, so play nicely--diversity of opinion is welcome, but civility is required.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Fingertips Q&A: Brad Armstrong of 13ghosts
The Fingertips Q&A for October is now online and it's a good one. Brad Armstrong sat down at his computer and typed out some articulate and thought-provoking answers to five questions about the future of the music industry.
Armstrong is one of the two guys who both sing lead and write songs in the Birmingham, Ala.-based band 13ghosts, a band that has twice been featured on Fingertips over the past few years.
"I think I'd live in a magical world," he writes, in response to how things would be if he were in charge of how the music industry operated, "where you had to buy a blank download tape and put it in your analog download machine, and you had to listen to the whole thing while you were downloading it, and the only way you could get the link is if your friend told you about it and then sat with you while you downloaded it, otherwise it wouldn't exist."
Check out the entire interview on the main site.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Clash Contest Continues
Win a copy of the new Live at Shea Stadium CD; deadline for entry is October 17. See original post for a video teaser, or go straight to the Contests page on the main Fingertips site for all the details.
Free and legal MP3 from Jolie Holland (rolling, deep-hearted music, enhanced by Ribot guitar)
"Palmyra" - Jolie Holland
I love the timeless, deep-hearted quality of the music here, as well as Holland's fetchingly textured voice. Starting simply, with the acoustic guitar up front, the song picks up depth and punch when the drums and electric guitar kick in in full force, after about a minute. The electric guitarist is the masterly Marc Ribot, who plays with great invention and yet, somehow, without drawing any attention to himself. I suggest going back and listening to the song one time with the specific intention of focusing only on Ribot's playing--not just his solo at around 1:55 but from beginning to end (and yes he actually is playing from almost the beginning, even as the acoustic guitar seems onstage alone). Although a wonderful experimental guitarist on his own, I find him particularly effective in this sort of ensemble work, in the context of a traditional-sounding song.
Beyond Ribot, one concrete element that adds to "Palmyra"'s mysterious appeal, to my ears, is how Holland shifts the melody in the verse on and then off the first beat of the measure. You can hear this clearly at the beginning: the first two lines (beginning with "Only a few..." and "My little heart...") are sung starting on the first beat of the measure; the next lines (starting with "You could tell...") are sung beginning around the third beat of the measure, which creates more space between lines as well. The feel of the song settles into something deeper and yearnier, somehow, in the shift. And yet she does not do this the second time the verse comes around, which is the first time we hear it in the fuller band mode--she shifts the shift, as it were. It returns for the third verse. I have no idea precisely why but I do believe this sort of subliminal complexity enriches the listening experience. In other words: good song.
"Palmyra" can be found on Holland's new CD, The Living and the Dead, due out this week on Anti Records. MP3 via Spinner. Jolie Holland was previously featured on Fingertips in April 2006.
I love the timeless, deep-hearted quality of the music here, as well as Holland's fetchingly textured voice. Starting simply, with the acoustic guitar up front, the song picks up depth and punch when the drums and electric guitar kick in in full force, after about a minute. The electric guitarist is the masterly Marc Ribot, who plays with great invention and yet, somehow, without drawing any attention to himself. I suggest going back and listening to the song one time with the specific intention of focusing only on Ribot's playing--not just his solo at around 1:55 but from beginning to end (and yes he actually is playing from almost the beginning, even as the acoustic guitar seems onstage alone). Although a wonderful experimental guitarist on his own, I find him particularly effective in this sort of ensemble work, in the context of a traditional-sounding song.
Beyond Ribot, one concrete element that adds to "Palmyra"'s mysterious appeal, to my ears, is how Holland shifts the melody in the verse on and then off the first beat of the measure. You can hear this clearly at the beginning: the first two lines (beginning with "Only a few..." and "My little heart...") are sung starting on the first beat of the measure; the next lines (starting with "You could tell...") are sung beginning around the third beat of the measure, which creates more space between lines as well. The feel of the song settles into something deeper and yearnier, somehow, in the shift. And yet she does not do this the second time the verse comes around, which is the first time we hear it in the fuller band mode--she shifts the shift, as it were. It returns for the third verse. I have no idea precisely why but I do believe this sort of subliminal complexity enriches the listening experience. In other words: good song.
"Palmyra" can be found on Holland's new CD, The Living and the Dead, due out this week on Anti Records. MP3 via Spinner. Jolie Holland was previously featured on Fingertips in April 2006.
Free and legal MP3 from Your 33 Black Angels (concise, likable, hard-edged pop)
"New Song" - Your 33 Black Angels
Concise and good-natured while also flashing a bit of hard-edged sloppiness that makes it all the more likable. "New Song" is not only so concise it can't be bothered with a title, it's so concise that it pretty much uses the same central melody in both the verse and the chorus. It works musically because...well, who knows, actually. These things remain mysterious. No doubt it has something to do with how the rhythm speeds up in the chorus, and also--not to be underestimated--the rumbly, lower-register harmonies brought to singer Benji Kast's slightly roughed-up tenor. But maybe the real trick is the fact that the melody remains unresolved in the verse. The verse kind of climaxes on the word "try" (listen at 0:19 or 0:32, for example), and that note, my friends, is unresolved. And it says right there in The Idiot Guide's to Music Theory that "you don't want to end your melody with unresolved tension." (I kid you not; Google it.)
Well, you may not want to end the melody that way for good, but it's pretty great when it sounds like you are ending it unresolved and then you wait all the way until the end of the chorus (which starts with the same melody) to arrive at resolution. I am fairly certain that the five guys in Your 33 Black Angels have not read The Idiot Guide's to Music Theory.
"New Song" comes from the Brooklyn-based band's self-released second CD, Tales of My Pop-Rock Love Life, which is due out next week.
Concise and good-natured while also flashing a bit of hard-edged sloppiness that makes it all the more likable. "New Song" is not only so concise it can't be bothered with a title, it's so concise that it pretty much uses the same central melody in both the verse and the chorus. It works musically because...well, who knows, actually. These things remain mysterious. No doubt it has something to do with how the rhythm speeds up in the chorus, and also--not to be underestimated--the rumbly, lower-register harmonies brought to singer Benji Kast's slightly roughed-up tenor. But maybe the real trick is the fact that the melody remains unresolved in the verse. The verse kind of climaxes on the word "try" (listen at 0:19 or 0:32, for example), and that note, my friends, is unresolved. And it says right there in The Idiot Guide's to Music Theory that "you don't want to end your melody with unresolved tension." (I kid you not; Google it.)
Well, you may not want to end the melody that way for good, but it's pretty great when it sounds like you are ending it unresolved and then you wait all the way until the end of the chorus (which starts with the same melody) to arrive at resolution. I am fairly certain that the five guys in Your 33 Black Angels have not read The Idiot Guide's to Music Theory.
"New Song" comes from the Brooklyn-based band's self-released second CD, Tales of My Pop-Rock Love Life, which is due out next week.
Free and legal MP3 from Gustav & the Seasick Sailors (jazz-tinged indie rock from Sweden)
"Homesick" - Gustav & the Seasick Sailors
Gustav & the Seasick Sailors return to Fingertips, after an almost three-year absence, with another piano-based, jazz-tinged composition. The drumming is soft and skittery, the chords open and Bruce Hornsby-esque, the melody brisk and wistful. The point at which this song settled into my psyche is right in the middle, the stretch from 1:20 to 1:28, when the melody picks up velocity and the chords progress with muted beauty, peaking at the lyrics "All the things we were/All the things we're not." The understated female harmony vocal here is beautiful, all the more so for sounding so casual and easy to overlook if you're not paying attention.
"Homesick" is a song from Brilliant Hands, the third Gustav & the Seasick Sailors CD. Lead by Gustav Haggren, a singer/songwriter from Helsingborg, Sweden, the Seasick Sailors are labeled a "collective" by the band's press material, which accounts for my inability to pinpoint, for instance, how many Seasick Sailors there happen to be. There seem to be five or six at the moment. And I don't want to dwell on it but it's interesting to know that Haggren was born without a right hand, and wears a special device that allows him to hold a pick and therefore play guitar.
The song "Nightlife" by GATSS was featured here in November 2005; it was also a #1 song on the Fingertips Top 10, for those keeping score at home.
Gustav & the Seasick Sailors return to Fingertips, after an almost three-year absence, with another piano-based, jazz-tinged composition. The drumming is soft and skittery, the chords open and Bruce Hornsby-esque, the melody brisk and wistful. The point at which this song settled into my psyche is right in the middle, the stretch from 1:20 to 1:28, when the melody picks up velocity and the chords progress with muted beauty, peaking at the lyrics "All the things we were/All the things we're not." The understated female harmony vocal here is beautiful, all the more so for sounding so casual and easy to overlook if you're not paying attention.
"Homesick" is a song from Brilliant Hands, the third Gustav & the Seasick Sailors CD. Lead by Gustav Haggren, a singer/songwriter from Helsingborg, Sweden, the Seasick Sailors are labeled a "collective" by the band's press material, which accounts for my inability to pinpoint, for instance, how many Seasick Sailors there happen to be. There seem to be five or six at the moment. And I don't want to dwell on it but it's interesting to know that Haggren was born without a right hand, and wears a special device that allows him to hold a pick and therefore play guitar.
The song "Nightlife" by GATSS was featured here in November 2005; it was also a #1 song on the Fingertips Top 10, for those keeping score at home.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
New contest - win a copy of The Clash: Live at Shea Stadium
Fingertips is giving away three copies of the about to be released CD, The Clash: Live at Shea Stadium. See the contest page on the main Fingertips site for details.
Here's a video preview of the CD:
Further details here.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Chris Flew (Glaswegian Americana with a gentle, killer melody)
"R + J" - Chris Flew
Does the world need another song about Romeo and Juliet? I wouldn't have thought so. (Chris Flew himself probably didn't think so; note the sly non-reference of the title.) And yet when a songwriter hits melodic pay dirt like Flew does with this stripped-down beauty, well, what the heck, one more musical Romeo and Juliet reference can't hurt.
So maybe I'm a sucker for a simple melody but tell me this one doesn't reach deep inside you also. And it comes at us right at the beginning: "I tried to understand as I touched your hand/What went wrong today?" A couple of ascending lines, describing a third interval, then the descending line that heads one further note down (to the word "wrong"), setting up the four-interval upward leap (from "wrong" to "today"). Simple, but awesome--it tugs at the heart, and sticks in the head. Building upon that rock-solid start, "R + J" proceeds from there with grace and inevitability. While the acoustic guitar strum remains at its core, Flew adds an evocative violin (probably better called a fiddle in this environment) and a distant lap steel guitar. No percussion used, or required. The lyrics may veer occasionally towards the obvious but Flew means well, and that affecting melody keeps returning and reaffirming the song's strength.
Chris Flew is a Glaswegian singer/songwriter--that is, from Glasgow, Scotland, but don't you like the word Glaswegian? More cities should have singular words for their residents, I say. "R + J" is from Flew's most recent CD Kingston Bridge, self-released in 2006 and scheduled for a re-release this winter. Flew is currently working on a new CD. MP3 via Flew's web site.
Does the world need another song about Romeo and Juliet? I wouldn't have thought so. (Chris Flew himself probably didn't think so; note the sly non-reference of the title.) And yet when a songwriter hits melodic pay dirt like Flew does with this stripped-down beauty, well, what the heck, one more musical Romeo and Juliet reference can't hurt.
So maybe I'm a sucker for a simple melody but tell me this one doesn't reach deep inside you also. And it comes at us right at the beginning: "I tried to understand as I touched your hand/What went wrong today?" A couple of ascending lines, describing a third interval, then the descending line that heads one further note down (to the word "wrong"), setting up the four-interval upward leap (from "wrong" to "today"). Simple, but awesome--it tugs at the heart, and sticks in the head. Building upon that rock-solid start, "R + J" proceeds from there with grace and inevitability. While the acoustic guitar strum remains at its core, Flew adds an evocative violin (probably better called a fiddle in this environment) and a distant lap steel guitar. No percussion used, or required. The lyrics may veer occasionally towards the obvious but Flew means well, and that affecting melody keeps returning and reaffirming the song's strength.
Chris Flew is a Glaswegian singer/songwriter--that is, from Glasgow, Scotland, but don't you like the word Glaswegian? More cities should have singular words for their residents, I say. "R + J" is from Flew's most recent CD Kingston Bridge, self-released in 2006 and scheduled for a re-release this winter. Flew is currently working on a new CD. MP3 via Flew's web site.
Free and legal MP3 from Fulton Lights (scratchy, moody, beat-driven acousto-electronica)
"Sideways Glances and Coded Speech" - Fulton Lights
Andrew Spencer Goldman, the mastermind behind Fulton Lights, is back with another of his scratchy, moody, loose-limbed, beat-driven compositions. With the feel of something half-programmed and half-improvised, "Sideways Glances and Coded Speech" churns along with eerie personality; for all the echoey electronic noise that acts as the container here, the song is constructed just as notably from organic sounds, including acoustic guitar, upright bass (!), and what sounds to me like actual percussion in actual three-dimensional space. This beguiling sort of acousto-electronica fosters an unearthly vibe, which is neatly augmented by the presence of Goldman's ghostly tenor, singing barely comprehensible but vaguely ominous phrases, floating along on top.
"Sideways Glances and Coded Speech" is a song from the second Fulton Lights CD, The Way We Ride, which was released earlier this month as a joint venture between Catbird Records and Goldman's own Android Eats Records. The album is available for free download in its entirety via Catbird, although a pay-what-you-will payment is suggested. MP3 via Catbird.
Andrew Spencer Goldman, the mastermind behind Fulton Lights, is back with another of his scratchy, moody, loose-limbed, beat-driven compositions. With the feel of something half-programmed and half-improvised, "Sideways Glances and Coded Speech" churns along with eerie personality; for all the echoey electronic noise that acts as the container here, the song is constructed just as notably from organic sounds, including acoustic guitar, upright bass (!), and what sounds to me like actual percussion in actual three-dimensional space. This beguiling sort of acousto-electronica fosters an unearthly vibe, which is neatly augmented by the presence of Goldman's ghostly tenor, singing barely comprehensible but vaguely ominous phrases, floating along on top.
"Sideways Glances and Coded Speech" is a song from the second Fulton Lights CD, The Way We Ride, which was released earlier this month as a joint venture between Catbird Records and Goldman's own Android Eats Records. The album is available for free download in its entirety via Catbird, although a pay-what-you-will payment is suggested. MP3 via Catbird.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Pale Young Gentlemen (focused, theatrical indie pop, with strings and vigor)
"The Crook of My Good Arm" - Pale Young Gentlemen
I love the musical and lyrical drama that Pale Young Gentlemen manage to pack into not even three minutes here. We first hear only a cello, playing a jerky line with what sounds like a mysterious rhythm until we understand that it's actually just accelerating into the right tempo for the song. Kinda fun. A crisp acoustic guitar joins in, and a violin (or maybe a viola? or both?). By the time front man Mike Reisenauer sings those not-your-typical-indie-fare opening lines--"You start to worry 'bout your health/As you reach a certain age"--this song has achieved liftoff (aided by a drum that enters with exquisite timing).
And it's really only just starting; the rest of the way, "The Crook of My Good Arm" all but explodes with melodic vigor and instrumental dexterity: the strings play rascally melodies and rhythms, a cowbell clangs at precisely the right moments, and Reisenauer, his voice vaguely processed, handles the theatrical rhyme scheme (check out the spiffy A-B-C-C-B pattern in the verse, leading into the titular phrase) with the casual authority of someone who's more interested in telling a story than simply singing. Sounding nothing like rock bands that are typically associated with the word, I'd say that Pale Young Gentlemen (a seven-person outfit that includes by the way three women) possess great swagger. This isn't "Wail on the electric guitar and scream bloody murder" swagger or "Dig my blues riff and my street cred" swagger or even "Be awed by my laptop skills" swagger--it's "We know exactly what we're doing and don't really sound like anyone else" swagger. The best kind, in other words.
The Gents were previously featured on Fingertips in Nov. 2007. "The Crook of My Good Arm" is a song from the band's second CD, Black Forest (Tra La La), which will be released next month on the Madison, Wis.-based label Science of Sound. MP3 via the band.
I love the musical and lyrical drama that Pale Young Gentlemen manage to pack into not even three minutes here. We first hear only a cello, playing a jerky line with what sounds like a mysterious rhythm until we understand that it's actually just accelerating into the right tempo for the song. Kinda fun. A crisp acoustic guitar joins in, and a violin (or maybe a viola? or both?). By the time front man Mike Reisenauer sings those not-your-typical-indie-fare opening lines--"You start to worry 'bout your health/As you reach a certain age"--this song has achieved liftoff (aided by a drum that enters with exquisite timing).
And it's really only just starting; the rest of the way, "The Crook of My Good Arm" all but explodes with melodic vigor and instrumental dexterity: the strings play rascally melodies and rhythms, a cowbell clangs at precisely the right moments, and Reisenauer, his voice vaguely processed, handles the theatrical rhyme scheme (check out the spiffy A-B-C-C-B pattern in the verse, leading into the titular phrase) with the casual authority of someone who's more interested in telling a story than simply singing. Sounding nothing like rock bands that are typically associated with the word, I'd say that Pale Young Gentlemen (a seven-person outfit that includes by the way three women) possess great swagger. This isn't "Wail on the electric guitar and scream bloody murder" swagger or "Dig my blues riff and my street cred" swagger or even "Be awed by my laptop skills" swagger--it's "We know exactly what we're doing and don't really sound like anyone else" swagger. The best kind, in other words.
The Gents were previously featured on Fingertips in Nov. 2007. "The Crook of My Good Arm" is a song from the band's second CD, Black Forest (Tra La La), which will be released next month on the Madison, Wis.-based label Science of Sound. MP3 via the band.
Free and legal MP3 from the Bittersweets (well-crafted alt-country, with great vocals)
"Wreck" - the Bittersweets
Hannah Prater has a voice made to sing the words, "Why'd ya go and wreck this all?": firm but with a little crack to it, at once bright and dusky, hurt and resilient and maybe a little existentially exasperated too. Why'd ya go and wreck this all? She's sad, and disappointed, and pissed off, and her rich tone nicely captures the overlay of emotions independent, even, of what she's saying. Over the Rhine fans should pay particular note; Prater sings with something of Karin Bergquist's idiosyncratic verve, and "Wreck," come to think of it, does have the vibe and polish of one of OTR's smooth, capable rockers.
And make no mistake: smooth and well-crafted it is, from the gratifying melodies of the verse and the release of the chorus to the precisely played instrumental parts laid down by guitarist and keyboard player Chris Meyers (the group's main songwriter) and drummer Steve Bowman (who has played with Counting Crows, among others). Interesting how the "indie" umbrella by 2008 gathers in everything from buzzy, jarring lo-fi to well-produced, radio-ready numbers such as the Bittersweets play. The irony, as music aficionados know, is that the internet all but overflows with radio-ready songs that few if any terrestrial radio stations are in fact ready to play. Blame deregulation in this case too; and I only wish that were a joke.
"Wreck" is from the Nashville-based trio's second CD, Goodnight San Francisco, which was released this month on Compass Records. MP3 vis Compass.
Hannah Prater has a voice made to sing the words, "Why'd ya go and wreck this all?": firm but with a little crack to it, at once bright and dusky, hurt and resilient and maybe a little existentially exasperated too. Why'd ya go and wreck this all? She's sad, and disappointed, and pissed off, and her rich tone nicely captures the overlay of emotions independent, even, of what she's saying. Over the Rhine fans should pay particular note; Prater sings with something of Karin Bergquist's idiosyncratic verve, and "Wreck," come to think of it, does have the vibe and polish of one of OTR's smooth, capable rockers.
And make no mistake: smooth and well-crafted it is, from the gratifying melodies of the verse and the release of the chorus to the precisely played instrumental parts laid down by guitarist and keyboard player Chris Meyers (the group's main songwriter) and drummer Steve Bowman (who has played with Counting Crows, among others). Interesting how the "indie" umbrella by 2008 gathers in everything from buzzy, jarring lo-fi to well-produced, radio-ready numbers such as the Bittersweets play. The irony, as music aficionados know, is that the internet all but overflows with radio-ready songs that few if any terrestrial radio stations are in fact ready to play. Blame deregulation in this case too; and I only wish that were a joke.
"Wreck" is from the Nashville-based trio's second CD, Goodnight San Francisco, which was released this month on Compass Records. MP3 vis Compass.
Free and legal MP3 from Juana Molina (churning, hypnotic, expansive, ecstatic)
"Un Día" - Juana Molina
I suggest giving yourself some time and space to take this one in. Being in an altered state might help, although this song, if you open yourself to it, might help you achieve one.
A long-time Fingertips favorite, Molina returns with a crazy, churning, ecstatic daze of a song. The Argentinian former sitcom star has, as a musician, pioneered an alluring if evasive sort of folktronica, with lots of loops and repetition (check out the Album Bin review of her last album, Son, for a sense of what she's been up to). "Un Día" is some of that, but also something else entirely. Despite how rigorously plotted out and worked over this sort of song construction probably is, Molina here sounds almost nuttily spontaneous and expansive, both musically and vocally. Ecstatic, yes: there seems something nearly spiritual in the air as Molina all but chants--her voice sounds freer, more unrestrained than in the past--against a marvelously textured and continually varying undercurrent of voice, electronics, horns, sounds, and percussion. As usual, for English-speaking listeners, the language adds another element of incomprehensibility, but she appears to be aiming in that direction in any case; one of the lyrics here, translated, reads: "One day I will sing the songs with no lyrics and everyone can imagine for themselves if it's about love, disappointment, banalities or about Plato."
"Un Día" is the title track from Molina's forthcoming album, her fifth, due out next month on Domino Records. Can't wait to hear the whole thing. MP3 via Stereogum.
I suggest giving yourself some time and space to take this one in. Being in an altered state might help, although this song, if you open yourself to it, might help you achieve one.
A long-time Fingertips favorite, Molina returns with a crazy, churning, ecstatic daze of a song. The Argentinian former sitcom star has, as a musician, pioneered an alluring if evasive sort of folktronica, with lots of loops and repetition (check out the Album Bin review of her last album, Son, for a sense of what she's been up to). "Un Día" is some of that, but also something else entirely. Despite how rigorously plotted out and worked over this sort of song construction probably is, Molina here sounds almost nuttily spontaneous and expansive, both musically and vocally. Ecstatic, yes: there seems something nearly spiritual in the air as Molina all but chants--her voice sounds freer, more unrestrained than in the past--against a marvelously textured and continually varying undercurrent of voice, electronics, horns, sounds, and percussion. As usual, for English-speaking listeners, the language adds another element of incomprehensibility, but she appears to be aiming in that direction in any case; one of the lyrics here, translated, reads: "One day I will sing the songs with no lyrics and everyone can imagine for themselves if it's about love, disappointment, banalities or about Plato."
"Un Día" is the title track from Molina's forthcoming album, her fifth, due out next month on Domino Records. Can't wait to hear the whole thing. MP3 via Stereogum.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from the Rosebuds (ominous groove, easy-going melody, boy-girl vocals)
"Life Like" - the Rosebuds
The Rosebuds, a Raleigh-based duo, are an elusive band, rather willfully avoiding a defining sound over the course of three CDs released between 2003 and 2007 (they were a trio until last year). As such, I've managed neither to get a strong grip on them musically nor to latch onto one particular song to feature. Until now.
With an insistent, somewhat ominous groove and easy-going melody, "Life Like" has plenty to recommend it. Such as, for instance, that very juxtaposition: ominous groove and easy-going melody. When pop music succeeds, it often does so through this type of aural paradox, the combining of contradictory elements into a cohesive whole. (A pop song by definition doesn't have a lot of time to work with, so if it's shooting for depth, it has to work with layers within the time frame.) You may not know why a song is sticking, why it's affecting you, and many times it's because of this sort of maneuver. With the Rosebuds, the vocal pairing of Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp is a sort of mirror of the effect: two very different vocal vibes, blending, alternating, and weaving in and around each other. Their work as dual lead vocalists has in fact been the one consistent element to the band's music and it works glowingly well here; I love how Crisp keeps herself at a distance in the verses, harmonizing around the edges, but injects herself into the center of the mix in the chorus.
"Life Like" is the title track to the Rosebuds' fourth CD, which is scheduled for release next month on Merge Records. MP3 via Merge.
The Rosebuds, a Raleigh-based duo, are an elusive band, rather willfully avoiding a defining sound over the course of three CDs released between 2003 and 2007 (they were a trio until last year). As such, I've managed neither to get a strong grip on them musically nor to latch onto one particular song to feature. Until now.
With an insistent, somewhat ominous groove and easy-going melody, "Life Like" has plenty to recommend it. Such as, for instance, that very juxtaposition: ominous groove and easy-going melody. When pop music succeeds, it often does so through this type of aural paradox, the combining of contradictory elements into a cohesive whole. (A pop song by definition doesn't have a lot of time to work with, so if it's shooting for depth, it has to work with layers within the time frame.) You may not know why a song is sticking, why it's affecting you, and many times it's because of this sort of maneuver. With the Rosebuds, the vocal pairing of Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp is a sort of mirror of the effect: two very different vocal vibes, blending, alternating, and weaving in and around each other. Their work as dual lead vocalists has in fact been the one consistent element to the band's music and it works glowingly well here; I love how Crisp keeps herself at a distance in the verses, harmonizing around the edges, but injects herself into the center of the mix in the chorus.
"Life Like" is the title track to the Rosebuds' fourth CD, which is scheduled for release next month on Merge Records. MP3 via Merge.
Free and legal MP3 from Okkervil River (great American indie rockers sing, elliptically, about being American indie rockers, over speedy Motown beat)
"Lost Coastlines" - Okkervil River
One of America's best and most consistent indie bands of the '00s, Okkervil River is on a tear, seemingly incapable of releasing anything but rousing, rigorously engaging rock'n'roll. On the heels of last year's well-regarded CD, The Stage Names, the Austin-based quintet returns with The Stand Ins, which is in fact pretty much the second half of last year's album--not only is the subject matter revisited, but the album covers cleverly connect to one another.
And so, once again, front man and songwriter Will Sheff is singing about an indie rocker's life on the road, and once again he sidesteps the pitfalls of self-involvement through his engagingly evasive lyrics and his uncanny way with melody and presentation. Snappy and chorus-free, "Lost Coastlines" is built on top of an accelerated Motown groove (think "You Can't Hurry Love"), over which Sheff sings with a rubbery, David Byrne-like quizzicality. At the same time, there's a sense of poignancy in the air, having a lot to do with the interludes sung by Jonatahan Meiburg (at 0:41 and 2:09). Meiburg was in Okkervil River until this past spring, when he left to devote himself full-time to his other band, Shearwater (the parting was amicable). When Meiburg enters, the itchy guitar disappears, leaving his croony baritone to float against bass, percussion, and strings, injecting a dream-like vibe into the chuggy ambiance.
The Stand Ins was released last week on Jagjaguwar Records. MP3 via Jagjaguwar.
One of America's best and most consistent indie bands of the '00s, Okkervil River is on a tear, seemingly incapable of releasing anything but rousing, rigorously engaging rock'n'roll. On the heels of last year's well-regarded CD, The Stage Names, the Austin-based quintet returns with The Stand Ins, which is in fact pretty much the second half of last year's album--not only is the subject matter revisited, but the album covers cleverly connect to one another.
And so, once again, front man and songwriter Will Sheff is singing about an indie rocker's life on the road, and once again he sidesteps the pitfalls of self-involvement through his engagingly evasive lyrics and his uncanny way with melody and presentation. Snappy and chorus-free, "Lost Coastlines" is built on top of an accelerated Motown groove (think "You Can't Hurry Love"), over which Sheff sings with a rubbery, David Byrne-like quizzicality. At the same time, there's a sense of poignancy in the air, having a lot to do with the interludes sung by Jonatahan Meiburg (at 0:41 and 2:09). Meiburg was in Okkervil River until this past spring, when he left to devote himself full-time to his other band, Shearwater (the parting was amicable). When Meiburg enters, the itchy guitar disappears, leaving his croony baritone to float against bass, percussion, and strings, injecting a dream-like vibe into the chuggy ambiance.
The Stand Ins was released last week on Jagjaguwar Records. MP3 via Jagjaguwar.
Free and legal MP3 from Emiliana Torrini (Icelandic style-shifter with dub-inflected pop)
"Me and Armini" - Emiliana Torrini
Iceland's Emiliana Torrini is a musical vagabond of sorts, having wandered over the years through a wide range of sonic settings. Trained in opera as a teenager, Torrini's international debut CD, 1999's Love in the Time of Science, introduced her as a trip-hop diva, with excursions into electronica and synthesizer pop, while her next release, Fisherman's Woman (2005), was all intimate and folk-jazz guitary. In between she gained a bit of fame for singing "Gollum's Song," the end theme for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, a predictably windswept and string-strewn affair. Her new CD shows off any number of additional styles, as clearly suggested by the dub-inflected title track.
Despite the reggae beat, "Me and Armini" is appealing, to me, precisely because it's not really a reggae song at all. I'm no purist; I have no issues when musicians borrow sounds and vibes from wherever they find inspiration. In the end, if the song works in the moment as a listening experience, regardless of how it satisfies expectations and musical "rules," then all is well. On "Me and Armini," all is very well indeed. In and around the slinky rhythm and electro-dub effects, Torrini has crafted a cool and affecting song, propelled by a sneaky melody that owes more to plain old rock'n'roll than its sly trappings may lead you to believe. The way the music and the lyrics in the chorus break in different places (the musical line keeps stopping after the phrase "that I'm") is a particular point of pleasure here.
"Me and Armini" is the title track to an album released last week on Rough Trade Records. MP3 courtesy of the Beggars Group.
Iceland's Emiliana Torrini is a musical vagabond of sorts, having wandered over the years through a wide range of sonic settings. Trained in opera as a teenager, Torrini's international debut CD, 1999's Love in the Time of Science, introduced her as a trip-hop diva, with excursions into electronica and synthesizer pop, while her next release, Fisherman's Woman (2005), was all intimate and folk-jazz guitary. In between she gained a bit of fame for singing "Gollum's Song," the end theme for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, a predictably windswept and string-strewn affair. Her new CD shows off any number of additional styles, as clearly suggested by the dub-inflected title track.
Despite the reggae beat, "Me and Armini" is appealing, to me, precisely because it's not really a reggae song at all. I'm no purist; I have no issues when musicians borrow sounds and vibes from wherever they find inspiration. In the end, if the song works in the moment as a listening experience, regardless of how it satisfies expectations and musical "rules," then all is well. On "Me and Armini," all is very well indeed. In and around the slinky rhythm and electro-dub effects, Torrini has crafted a cool and affecting song, propelled by a sneaky melody that owes more to plain old rock'n'roll than its sly trappings may lead you to believe. The way the music and the lyrics in the chorus break in different places (the musical line keeps stopping after the phrase "that I'm") is a particular point of pleasure here.
"Me and Armini" is the title track to an album released last week on Rough Trade Records. MP3 courtesy of the Beggars Group.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Novillero (Canadian rock with a Britpop flair)
"A Little Tradition" - Novillero
Smart and sharp, with a Britpop flair, complete with horn charts and marvelous lyrics. And I'm calling the lyrics marvelous based almost entirely on their sound, not their content (although from what I can understand, the content is impressive too). Not many bands work hard enough to get their words so crisply aligned with the music but these five guys from Winnipeg have an enviable knack for songcraft. Check out how precisely everything fits when Rod Slaughter sings "What's wrong with a little tradition?": it's so comfortable it puts a smile on your face--or on my face, at any rate. (And phew, after last week's Mean People's convention in St. Paul, I can use all the smiles I can access.)
Musically, the song takes a revved-up Motown beat and applies an early Elvis Costello-like sense of effortless melody and knowing restraint. Check out how the chorus gives us that bouncy up and down melody at the outset (0:41-0:45), retreats as if to set up another pass at the same melody (0:46-0:49), and then exactly when it "should" repeat (0:50) it doesn't. This is the kind of thing that draws no attention to itself but adds depth and class to what you're listening to.
"A Little Tradition" is the title track to Novillero's third full-length CD, which comes out this week on Mint Records. Novillero was previously featured on Fingertips in June '05 for the truly wonderful song "Aptitude."
Smart and sharp, with a Britpop flair, complete with horn charts and marvelous lyrics. And I'm calling the lyrics marvelous based almost entirely on their sound, not their content (although from what I can understand, the content is impressive too). Not many bands work hard enough to get their words so crisply aligned with the music but these five guys from Winnipeg have an enviable knack for songcraft. Check out how precisely everything fits when Rod Slaughter sings "What's wrong with a little tradition?": it's so comfortable it puts a smile on your face--or on my face, at any rate. (And phew, after last week's Mean People's convention in St. Paul, I can use all the smiles I can access.)
Musically, the song takes a revved-up Motown beat and applies an early Elvis Costello-like sense of effortless melody and knowing restraint. Check out how the chorus gives us that bouncy up and down melody at the outset (0:41-0:45), retreats as if to set up another pass at the same melody (0:46-0:49), and then exactly when it "should" repeat (0:50) it doesn't. This is the kind of thing that draws no attention to itself but adds depth and class to what you're listening to.
"A Little Tradition" is the title track to Novillero's third full-length CD, which comes out this week on Mint Records. Novillero was previously featured on Fingertips in June '05 for the truly wonderful song "Aptitude."
Free and legal MP3 from the Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (steady, graceful, dark indie pop, but not chamber pop)
"In a Dream" - The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra
Steady, gracefully dark indie pop from Los Angeles. The verses march, almost claustrophobically, to a carefully articulated pulse; the chorus, without that much different a melody, offers a flowing, minor-key release, as clear-voiced Kellie Noftle joins buzzy-voiced front man Hunter Costeau in a bittersweet, Nancy and Lee sort of way. Don't miss the modulation at 2:41; the change in key, a relatively pedestrian effect, feels at that point like a mini-revelation.
While there's nothing overtly orchestral about FTO's sound in this song--this isn't chamber pop--there is an almost sculptural attention to sonic detail here that I find appealing. While it's not uncommon to hear a trio that sounds like a bigger ensemble, this is one of the few times I've heard a sextet sound like a smaller band, thanks to the group's joint refusal to overplay their instruments. I'm liking for example the controlled use of a xylophone (or glockenspiel?), its chimey accents plinging in and out of the listener's awareness. I also like that choral-like synthesizer, emerging first at 1:36 and coming into its own in the last third of the song, which works unexpectedly well with both of the guitars the band uses.
A "flying tourbillon," by the way, is a type of tourbillon ("tour-bee-yon"), which is a mechanism inside a watch, and apparently a mechanism that was very challenging to produce, especially in the days of hand-made watches. Tourbillon watches remain prized by collectors, according to my web sources. "In a Dream" is a song from FTO's debut EP, Escapements, which was self-released this summer. An escapement, by the way, is also a mechanism in a watch, of which the tourbillon is a part. Now you know.
Steady, gracefully dark indie pop from Los Angeles. The verses march, almost claustrophobically, to a carefully articulated pulse; the chorus, without that much different a melody, offers a flowing, minor-key release, as clear-voiced Kellie Noftle joins buzzy-voiced front man Hunter Costeau in a bittersweet, Nancy and Lee sort of way. Don't miss the modulation at 2:41; the change in key, a relatively pedestrian effect, feels at that point like a mini-revelation.
While there's nothing overtly orchestral about FTO's sound in this song--this isn't chamber pop--there is an almost sculptural attention to sonic detail here that I find appealing. While it's not uncommon to hear a trio that sounds like a bigger ensemble, this is one of the few times I've heard a sextet sound like a smaller band, thanks to the group's joint refusal to overplay their instruments. I'm liking for example the controlled use of a xylophone (or glockenspiel?), its chimey accents plinging in and out of the listener's awareness. I also like that choral-like synthesizer, emerging first at 1:36 and coming into its own in the last third of the song, which works unexpectedly well with both of the guitars the band uses.
A "flying tourbillon," by the way, is a type of tourbillon ("tour-bee-yon"), which is a mechanism inside a watch, and apparently a mechanism that was very challenging to produce, especially in the days of hand-made watches. Tourbillon watches remain prized by collectors, according to my web sources. "In a Dream" is a song from FTO's debut EP, Escapements, which was self-released this summer. An escapement, by the way, is also a mechanism in a watch, of which the tourbillon is a part. Now you know.
Free and legal MP3 from Matt Mays & El Torpedo (unquirky, appealing rock; Neil meets the Boss, deftly)
"Tall Trees" - Matt Mays & El Torpedo
Driving, slashing Neil Youngish guitars leap into action here, but listen, at the same time, to the thoughtful melody and, best of all, to the off-the-beat octave harmonies that wrap up the verse with the repeated refrain "Tall trees hanging over the road." I love the combination of heaviness and lightness that we get as a result, all the more delightful coming from a group called Matt Mays & El Torpedo. The deftness on display is--dare I say--charming.
Here in the midst of an indie-rock dominated decade, "Tall Trees" sounds like little of what we're used to finding and sharing in the music blogosphere. This isn't quirky, except maybe to the extent that not being quirky is its own sort of quirk by 2008. I'm hearing Bruce Springsteen in and around this ingratiating song--not in an obvious homage (a la Neon Bible) but in the succinct, road-friendly songwriting and, especially, in Mays' ability to sound at once weary and inspired in that gruff, everyman way of his. And hm maybe on repeated listen there is a bit of a direct homage going on; check out the early bridge (1:12 to 1:26) and see if you don't pick up a taste of something from one of the Boss's first three or four albums ("She's the One," maybe?). I like this.
Matt Mays & El Torpedo is, as luck would have it, another quintet from Canada--Halifax this time. "Tall Trees" is a song from Terminal Romance, the group's second CD, which was released on Sonic Records in July. Mays himself two releases as a solo artist as well.
Driving, slashing Neil Youngish guitars leap into action here, but listen, at the same time, to the thoughtful melody and, best of all, to the off-the-beat octave harmonies that wrap up the verse with the repeated refrain "Tall trees hanging over the road." I love the combination of heaviness and lightness that we get as a result, all the more delightful coming from a group called Matt Mays & El Torpedo. The deftness on display is--dare I say--charming.
Here in the midst of an indie-rock dominated decade, "Tall Trees" sounds like little of what we're used to finding and sharing in the music blogosphere. This isn't quirky, except maybe to the extent that not being quirky is its own sort of quirk by 2008. I'm hearing Bruce Springsteen in and around this ingratiating song--not in an obvious homage (a la Neon Bible) but in the succinct, road-friendly songwriting and, especially, in Mays' ability to sound at once weary and inspired in that gruff, everyman way of his. And hm maybe on repeated listen there is a bit of a direct homage going on; check out the early bridge (1:12 to 1:26) and see if you don't pick up a taste of something from one of the Boss's first three or four albums ("She's the One," maybe?). I like this.
Matt Mays & El Torpedo is, as luck would have it, another quintet from Canada--Halifax this time. "Tall Trees" is a song from Terminal Romance, the group's second CD, which was released on Sonic Records in July. Mays himself two releases as a solo artist as well.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
New contest - win Angela Desveaux's excellent new CD
Fingertips is giving away three copies of the excellent new Angela Desveaux CD, The Mighty Ship. See the contest page on the main Fingertips site for details.
Born in Quebec and raised on Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia), the Montreal-based Desveaux is another in a seemingly endless series of talented Canadian musicians that have graced the rock scene over the decades. She has been featured twice so far on Fingertips, most recently for the song "Sure Enough," which, sure enough, comes from the CD you can now win.
Released this month on Thrill Jockey Records, The Mighty Ship is an assured and well-crafted album; Desveaux sings with a voice at once strong and delicate, and writes with an admirable attention to detail, both melodic and lyrical. For lack of a better label, you might group the CD in the alt-country genre, but only in the same way you might put Lucinda Williams or Kathleen Edwards in that same place. Whatever the tag, this is really good stuff. And remember that giveaways on Fingertips work differently than in other places online. I don't give away things that I don't think are worthwhile; I'm not here to be part of a mindless promotional campaign.
Further details here.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
The Fingertips Q&A: Dirk Darmstaedter
There's a new Q&A available on the main Fingertips site, this time featuring an email conversation with Dirk Darmstaedter.
Darmstaedter is a Hamburg, Germany-based singer/songwriter who spent his formative years in Teaneck, New Jersey. He hit it big in Europe with his band The Jeremy Days in the late '80s; they remained together through 1995. Since then, Darmstaedter has released a variety of albums as a solo artist. He also co-founded Tapete Records, a record label notable for its good taste, in 2002. "We Are Waves," a song from Dirk's Our Favorite City CD, was featured on Fingertips in June 2007.
The Fingertips Q&A is a recurring feature; each month, a real, working, album-making musician will answer a few direct questions about the current state of music in the 21st century, and where things may be going.
The Fingertips Q&A debuted last month with singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Land of Talk
"Some Are Lakes" - Land of Talk
Elizabeth Powell is a mighty guitar player, a compelling singer, and the front woman for a Montreal-based band that appears destined for big things.
Last year's Applause Cheer Boo Hiss EP was a spunky, spiky debut; "Some Are Lakes," the title track to the band's forthcoming full-length CD, sounds a bit smoother on the surface than did the songs on the EP, but Land of Talk's appealing sense of roughness and urgency remains, now channeled into the workings of the song itself. Instead of lo-fi atmospherics--basically, loud/soft and fast/slow changes--"Some Are Lakes," with its wistful air and a muted drive, offers a subtler sort of twitchiness in the form of open-chorded melodies, a dissonant, cymbal-heavy chorus, and the buzzy undercurrent of Powell's gravelly guitar playing. And Powell sings here without vocal processing this time, allowing us to hear more than ever the heart and soul in her powerful voice.
Some Are Lakes will be released next month on Saddle Creek Records. MP3 via Saddle Creek.
Elizabeth Powell is a mighty guitar player, a compelling singer, and the front woman for a Montreal-based band that appears destined for big things.
Last year's Applause Cheer Boo Hiss EP was a spunky, spiky debut; "Some Are Lakes," the title track to the band's forthcoming full-length CD, sounds a bit smoother on the surface than did the songs on the EP, but Land of Talk's appealing sense of roughness and urgency remains, now channeled into the workings of the song itself. Instead of lo-fi atmospherics--basically, loud/soft and fast/slow changes--"Some Are Lakes," with its wistful air and a muted drive, offers a subtler sort of twitchiness in the form of open-chorded melodies, a dissonant, cymbal-heavy chorus, and the buzzy undercurrent of Powell's gravelly guitar playing. And Powell sings here without vocal processing this time, allowing us to hear more than ever the heart and soul in her powerful voice.
Some Are Lakes will be released next month on Saddle Creek Records. MP3 via Saddle Creek.
Free and legal MP3 from the Little Ones
"Morning Tide" - The Little Ones
There's lightweight-breezy and there's substantive-breezy, and the Little Ones, a quintet plying power pop from Los Angeles, have nailed the wonderful but difficult job of being substantive-breezy. That's really what great power pop is about: music that sails and soars but is nevertheless grounded in something deep and true and serious.
So, how to tell the difference between the lightweight and the substantive, when the music is in both cases so breezy and easy and catchy? I look to the craft of it for clues. When there's more than one hook, that's a good sign ("Morning Tide" has three, to my ears). When there the song is instrumentally interesting--when, that is, the instrumental parts are themselves worth listening to--that's another good sign. (The Little Ones, it should be known, like to use a Mellotron, which is potentially a bonus.) Lyrics that aren't totally vapid: yet another sign (unintelligible lyrics are fine, by the way). Best of all, I discern substance in the unexpected twist or turn--when the song goes somewhere you might not have expected but, once it's there, it's perfect. In "Morning Tide," that moment for me comes halfway through the chorus, when the melody jumps up and shifts rhythms--the "It's something to think about" part (1:49). Where did that come from? Wonderful stuff.
"Morning Tide" is the title track to the band's second CD, which was released in the U.K. in July, and is scheduled for an October release in the U.S. on Chop Shop Records. Like Land of Talk, the Little Ones are also Fingertips returnees.
There's lightweight-breezy and there's substantive-breezy, and the Little Ones, a quintet plying power pop from Los Angeles, have nailed the wonderful but difficult job of being substantive-breezy. That's really what great power pop is about: music that sails and soars but is nevertheless grounded in something deep and true and serious.
So, how to tell the difference between the lightweight and the substantive, when the music is in both cases so breezy and easy and catchy? I look to the craft of it for clues. When there's more than one hook, that's a good sign ("Morning Tide" has three, to my ears). When there the song is instrumentally interesting--when, that is, the instrumental parts are themselves worth listening to--that's another good sign. (The Little Ones, it should be known, like to use a Mellotron, which is potentially a bonus.) Lyrics that aren't totally vapid: yet another sign (unintelligible lyrics are fine, by the way). Best of all, I discern substance in the unexpected twist or turn--when the song goes somewhere you might not have expected but, once it's there, it's perfect. In "Morning Tide," that moment for me comes halfway through the chorus, when the melody jumps up and shifts rhythms--the "It's something to think about" part (1:49). Where did that come from? Wonderful stuff.
"Morning Tide" is the title track to the band's second CD, which was released in the U.K. in July, and is scheduled for an October release in the U.S. on Chop Shop Records. Like Land of Talk, the Little Ones are also Fingertips returnees.
Free and legal MP3 from Chris Letcher
"Milk" - Chris Letcher
"Milk" is an immediately engaging rocker with stronger ties to something resembling late classic rock--Peter Gabriel comes to mind, or early Michael Penn--than what we are used to hearing in our indie-rock-centric new century. Consider it a good thing. On the one hand, wholesale rejection of the past is a tiresome (not to mention lazy) artistic premise. On the other hand, diversity sustains us. And I'm talking honest diversity, not lip-service diversity, not photo-op diversity, and not (for heaven's sake) diversity minus substance and qualification (any resemblance to a certain unexpected political announcement from the past week is entirely intentional).
But I digress. Chris Letcher--hey, yet another Fingertips veteran; three for three this week, for the first time--is a South African-born, London-based singer/songwriter whose experience, likewise, as a film composer no doubt informs his capacity to construct dramatic and unusual soundscapes, even in the context of a three-minute pop song. Through the judicious use of strings, percussion, and Letcher's signature harmonium, "Milk" maintains an orchestral feeling even as it moves with a brisk, rock-like clarity which highlights the melody's succinct tension. This version of "Milk" is a so-called "radio edit" of a song that appeared on Letcher's Deep Frieze CD; it appears on his Harmonium EP, which was released earlier this summer on Sheer Sound/2 Feet label.
"Milk" is an immediately engaging rocker with stronger ties to something resembling late classic rock--Peter Gabriel comes to mind, or early Michael Penn--than what we are used to hearing in our indie-rock-centric new century. Consider it a good thing. On the one hand, wholesale rejection of the past is a tiresome (not to mention lazy) artistic premise. On the other hand, diversity sustains us. And I'm talking honest diversity, not lip-service diversity, not photo-op diversity, and not (for heaven's sake) diversity minus substance and qualification (any resemblance to a certain unexpected political announcement from the past week is entirely intentional).
But I digress. Chris Letcher--hey, yet another Fingertips veteran; three for three this week, for the first time--is a South African-born, London-based singer/songwriter whose experience, likewise, as a film composer no doubt informs his capacity to construct dramatic and unusual soundscapes, even in the context of a three-minute pop song. Through the judicious use of strings, percussion, and Letcher's signature harmonium, "Milk" maintains an orchestral feeling even as it moves with a brisk, rock-like clarity which highlights the melody's succinct tension. This version of "Milk" is a so-called "radio edit" of a song that appeared on Letcher's Deep Frieze CD; it appears on his Harmonium EP, which was released earlier this summer on Sheer Sound/2 Feet label.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from the Blue Eyed Blacks (fuzzed up power pop)
The Fingertips Home Office remains in semi-shutdown mode this week, but here are three new picks with somewhat abbreviated reviews. The next batch of MP3s, to be posted on or around Tuesday, September 2, will ramble a bit more, in the usual fashion.
"The Wrong Thing" - Blue Eyed Blacks
A sprightly piece of neatly crafted power pop, fuzzed up by some 21st-century effects. Front man Jason Moon Wilkins has an amiably droopy sort of voice and a keen knack for hooks. The way he breaks the chorus up by repeating the word "always"? Ending one musical phrase with the word, then beginning the next musical phrase with the same word? Love that.
The Blue Eyed Blacks are a trio from Nashville not shy about utilizing the talents of their peers on the always active local music scene; Justin Townes Earle and Garrison Starr are among the many guests who sat in on the band's debut album, Black Eyed Soul, which is due for release in October on Chicken Ranch Records.
"The Wrong Thing" - Blue Eyed Blacks
A sprightly piece of neatly crafted power pop, fuzzed up by some 21st-century effects. Front man Jason Moon Wilkins has an amiably droopy sort of voice and a keen knack for hooks. The way he breaks the chorus up by repeating the word "always"? Ending one musical phrase with the word, then beginning the next musical phrase with the same word? Love that.
The Blue Eyed Blacks are a trio from Nashville not shy about utilizing the talents of their peers on the always active local music scene; Justin Townes Earle and Garrison Starr are among the many guests who sat in on the band's debut album, Black Eyed Soul, which is due for release in October on Chicken Ranch Records.
Free and legal MP3 from Ghostkeeper (stompy, old-fashioned, and a little strange)
"Three More Springs" - Ghostkeeper
Stompy, greasy, old-fashioned, and a little bit strange. Ghostkeeper is a band from the remote reaches of northern Alberta; leader Shane Ghostkeeper (apparently his real name) is a self-taught musician who grew up listening to Hank Williams, CCR, the Stones, Robert Johnson, and maybe not that much else. With Ghostkeeper co-founder Sarah Houle (a self-taught drummer), he has figured out how to channel his influences together and emerge with something that is no mere nostalgia trip. "My whole idea is just to explore how I can contribute to the evolution of old-time intentions," he has been quoted as saying.
"Three More Springs" is from the band's debut CD, Children of the Great Northern Muskeg, released last month on the Calgary-based label Saved By Radio.
Stompy, greasy, old-fashioned, and a little bit strange. Ghostkeeper is a band from the remote reaches of northern Alberta; leader Shane Ghostkeeper (apparently his real name) is a self-taught musician who grew up listening to Hank Williams, CCR, the Stones, Robert Johnson, and maybe not that much else. With Ghostkeeper co-founder Sarah Houle (a self-taught drummer), he has figured out how to channel his influences together and emerge with something that is no mere nostalgia trip. "My whole idea is just to explore how I can contribute to the evolution of old-time intentions," he has been quoted as saying.
"Three More Springs" is from the band's debut CD, Children of the Great Northern Muskeg, released last month on the Calgary-based label Saved By Radio.
Free and legal MP3 from Kuroma (lilting, '70s-inspired psychedelic folk)
"Alexander Martin" - Kuroma
A little bit Led Zep, a little bit Ray Davies, fed through a breezy, psychedelic filter (don't miss the freak-out instrumental break at 2:09). Kuroma is the performing name of Athens, Ga.-based Hank Sullivant, who was the Whigs' original bass player; he has also played extensively with MGMT. Do listen closely for the bass itself: Sullivant plays his instrument here more subtly and melodically than is typical in a rock setting.
"Alexander Martin" is from Kuroma's first recording, an EP entitled Paris, which has yet to be formally released.
A little bit Led Zep, a little bit Ray Davies, fed through a breezy, psychedelic filter (don't miss the freak-out instrumental break at 2:09). Kuroma is the performing name of Athens, Ga.-based Hank Sullivant, who was the Whigs' original bass player; he has also played extensively with MGMT. Do listen closely for the bass itself: Sullivant plays his instrument here more subtly and melodically than is typical in a rock setting.
"Alexander Martin" is from Kuroma's first recording, an EP entitled Paris, which has yet to be formally released.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Peppertree (French Canadian indie rock, with character and atmosphere)
"Days Black Purple Nights" - Peppertree
If the Montreal-based quartet Peppertree lacks to date the internet buzz of some of their French Canadian peers, it's not for lack of talent or great songs. "La Cage Appât," featured on Fingertips in 2006, was a number-one song on the Fingertips Top 10 that year; "Days Black Purple Nights" is another idiosyncratic winner--less overtly dramatic, perhaps, than its predecessor, but with a beautiful sense of development and atmosphere.
The song starts with some sly misdirection. After a short, dreamy guitar line, we're introduced to an insistent organ, alternating between one major and one minor chord, which hammers the song's pulse into our heads. After 15 seconds of that, a lower-register guitar melody, staccato and ascending, glides in and takes over. This will prove to be the musical core of the song. Fifteen seconds later, the organ, without fanfare, disappears, having done its job. When singer Patrick Poirier enters, one minute into the song, the character of the piece has been altered. In an aching tenor that calls Thom Yorke to mind, Poirier sings over a musical clearing of sorts, acoustic guitar and crisp percussion now pushing us along, with the authority lent to it by the non-presence of the pounding organ. And here we feel the full effect of the minor chord the organ had earlier introduced us to: listen at 1:14 or so and experience the sense of loss induced by the march into the minor key. And then: pay attention to how Poirier is joined by singer Marianne Charland, who enters the song subtly--first harmonizing at the end of the un-chorus-like chorus (1:38) and then, more prominently, singing along with the wordless melody that the guitar had played in the intro. After that, she's fully on board, singing prominent harmony lines and, sometimes, countermelodies. I think the 30 seconds in the middle of the song, from 2:00 to 2:30, with Charland most audible, nails everything together here.
"Days Black Purple Nights" is one of four songs on Peppertree's new EP, A Green Flash From the Sun. All four are available on the band's site as free and legal MP3s.
If the Montreal-based quartet Peppertree lacks to date the internet buzz of some of their French Canadian peers, it's not for lack of talent or great songs. "La Cage Appât," featured on Fingertips in 2006, was a number-one song on the Fingertips Top 10 that year; "Days Black Purple Nights" is another idiosyncratic winner--less overtly dramatic, perhaps, than its predecessor, but with a beautiful sense of development and atmosphere.
The song starts with some sly misdirection. After a short, dreamy guitar line, we're introduced to an insistent organ, alternating between one major and one minor chord, which hammers the song's pulse into our heads. After 15 seconds of that, a lower-register guitar melody, staccato and ascending, glides in and takes over. This will prove to be the musical core of the song. Fifteen seconds later, the organ, without fanfare, disappears, having done its job. When singer Patrick Poirier enters, one minute into the song, the character of the piece has been altered. In an aching tenor that calls Thom Yorke to mind, Poirier sings over a musical clearing of sorts, acoustic guitar and crisp percussion now pushing us along, with the authority lent to it by the non-presence of the pounding organ. And here we feel the full effect of the minor chord the organ had earlier introduced us to: listen at 1:14 or so and experience the sense of loss induced by the march into the minor key. And then: pay attention to how Poirier is joined by singer Marianne Charland, who enters the song subtly--first harmonizing at the end of the un-chorus-like chorus (1:38) and then, more prominently, singing along with the wordless melody that the guitar had played in the intro. After that, she's fully on board, singing prominent harmony lines and, sometimes, countermelodies. I think the 30 seconds in the middle of the song, from 2:00 to 2:30, with Charland most audible, nails everything together here.
"Days Black Purple Nights" is one of four songs on Peppertree's new EP, A Green Flash From the Sun. All four are available on the band's site as free and legal MP3s.
Free and legal MP3 from Angela Desveaux (Kathleen Edwards meets Jane Siberry?)
"Sure Enough" - Angela Desveaux
Am I imagining it or does Angela Desveaux here sound like a delightful and rather precise mix between two of my all-time favorite Canadian singer/songwriters, Jane Siberry and Kathleen Edwards? (Yes, Desveaux is Canadian too; it's Canada week, it seems.) I suppose there's a chance my mind is being deceived by its own deep-seated personal preferences, but hey, I'm not arguing with it. This is irresistible stuff, to my ears.
The music is bright and clear, the tempo upbeat, but Desveaux has something beautifully bittersweet lodged in her vocal tone, which is probably what conjures Siberry here (though Jane fans should be sure too to check out how Desveaux sings the bridge, in a speak-sing-y sort of way, from 2:46 to 3:00). And while we're talking about choruses, listen for those wonderful, down-shifting chords at the outset of the chorus, which accompany each return to the same melodic note (on the first syllable of "even," on "though," and on "know"). Note too the bittersweet metaphysics at play in the lyrics: "Even though I know I'm not sure where I'm going/But I'm going/I'm sure enough to know/It'll stay this way forever/Stay this way for everyone." The title itself in this context is nothing short of a life philosophy: no one can be sure; we can only be sure enough.
Desveaux was born in Montreal, grew up in the Maritimes, later returning to Montreal, which remains her home base. "Sure Enough" is a song from her second album, The Mighty Ship, slated for a September release on Thrill Jockey Records. (Note that the new album was recorded by Dave Draves, who co-produced Kathleen Edwards' brilliant debut, Failer, with Edwards herself.) MP3 via Thrill Jockey.
Am I imagining it or does Angela Desveaux here sound like a delightful and rather precise mix between two of my all-time favorite Canadian singer/songwriters, Jane Siberry and Kathleen Edwards? (Yes, Desveaux is Canadian too; it's Canada week, it seems.) I suppose there's a chance my mind is being deceived by its own deep-seated personal preferences, but hey, I'm not arguing with it. This is irresistible stuff, to my ears.
The music is bright and clear, the tempo upbeat, but Desveaux has something beautifully bittersweet lodged in her vocal tone, which is probably what conjures Siberry here (though Jane fans should be sure too to check out how Desveaux sings the bridge, in a speak-sing-y sort of way, from 2:46 to 3:00). And while we're talking about choruses, listen for those wonderful, down-shifting chords at the outset of the chorus, which accompany each return to the same melodic note (on the first syllable of "even," on "though," and on "know"). Note too the bittersweet metaphysics at play in the lyrics: "Even though I know I'm not sure where I'm going/But I'm going/I'm sure enough to know/It'll stay this way forever/Stay this way for everyone." The title itself in this context is nothing short of a life philosophy: no one can be sure; we can only be sure enough.
Desveaux was born in Montreal, grew up in the Maritimes, later returning to Montreal, which remains her home base. "Sure Enough" is a song from her second album, The Mighty Ship, slated for a September release on Thrill Jockey Records. (Note that the new album was recorded by Dave Draves, who co-produced Kathleen Edwards' brilliant debut, Failer, with Edwards herself.) MP3 via Thrill Jockey.
Free and legal MP3 from the Weeks (young Southerners with classic chops)
"Buttons" - The Weeks
This one teeters on an unexpected edge--between swagger and vulnerability--and pulls it off for no fathomable reason. I mean, the Weeks are five guys from Mississippi with an average age of 18; they have no particular business sounding so sure of themselves (without being obnoxious), never mind writing such a well-crafted song, never mind having figured out how to channel the best energy of straight-ahead classic rock'n'roll while sounding like neither a nostalgia trip nor a snore.
Maybe the key to this song's power lies in how well the chorus works both soft and loud. The first time we hear it (1:22), it comes after a lengthy instrumental crescendo, featuring 20 straight seconds of rat-a-tat drumming, building and building towards...an apparently quiet chorus, with singer Cyle Barnes using the cracked and drowsy side of his vocal style. The chorus is then repeated, much the same way, although now the surging drumbeat returns, and then we get yet two more repetitions, at full volume--Barnes now singing an octave higher and with a barely stifled scream in his delivery. The melody and the words somehow match both moods. And what a melody it is--there's something deep and classic and surprising in it, like a power pop sheep in bar-band wolf's clothing. Barnes attacks it with gusto and pathos each time, those final words--"Take a look at what we had"--sounding more and more heartbreaking as the song unfolds.
"Buttons" is from the band's debut CD Comeback Cadillac, released in July on the Jackson, Miss.-based label Esperanza Plantation.
This one teeters on an unexpected edge--between swagger and vulnerability--and pulls it off for no fathomable reason. I mean, the Weeks are five guys from Mississippi with an average age of 18; they have no particular business sounding so sure of themselves (without being obnoxious), never mind writing such a well-crafted song, never mind having figured out how to channel the best energy of straight-ahead classic rock'n'roll while sounding like neither a nostalgia trip nor a snore.
Maybe the key to this song's power lies in how well the chorus works both soft and loud. The first time we hear it (1:22), it comes after a lengthy instrumental crescendo, featuring 20 straight seconds of rat-a-tat drumming, building and building towards...an apparently quiet chorus, with singer Cyle Barnes using the cracked and drowsy side of his vocal style. The chorus is then repeated, much the same way, although now the surging drumbeat returns, and then we get yet two more repetitions, at full volume--Barnes now singing an octave higher and with a barely stifled scream in his delivery. The melody and the words somehow match both moods. And what a melody it is--there's something deep and classic and surprising in it, like a power pop sheep in bar-band wolf's clothing. Barnes attacks it with gusto and pathos each time, those final words--"Take a look at what we had"--sounding more and more heartbreaking as the song unfolds.
"Buttons" is from the band's debut CD Comeback Cadillac, released in July on the Jackson, Miss.-based label Esperanza Plantation.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Boxer the Horse (amiable Canadian indie rock, with harmonica)
"Jackson Leftfield" - Boxer the Horse
Jaunty, nicely textured indie pop from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, of all (beautiful) places. Harmonica, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, and an intermittent electric guitar intermingle with uncanny merriment, while singer/guitarist Jeremy Gaudet exudes an amiable sort of lazy energy, sounding something like Ray Davies fronting a jam band (minus the jamming). This is music that makes you smile, as well as tap your toe.
The harmonica brings you into the song and immediately makes me wonder: what happened to harmonicas? Outside of an earnest neo-folksinger or two, I don't think I've heard much of this handy little instrument in the 21st century. I always like when it breaks out of its blues-based box. Here I'm reminded of the late great British band the Housemartins, who not only featured a harmonica now and again but even had a song lyric reference ("Played his harmonica 'til his lips were sore," from the song "I Smell Winter").
"Jackson Leftfield" can be found on Boxer the Horse's debut EP, The Late Show, which was released by the band this spring.
Jaunty, nicely textured indie pop from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, of all (beautiful) places. Harmonica, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, and an intermittent electric guitar intermingle with uncanny merriment, while singer/guitarist Jeremy Gaudet exudes an amiable sort of lazy energy, sounding something like Ray Davies fronting a jam band (minus the jamming). This is music that makes you smile, as well as tap your toe.
The harmonica brings you into the song and immediately makes me wonder: what happened to harmonicas? Outside of an earnest neo-folksinger or two, I don't think I've heard much of this handy little instrument in the 21st century. I always like when it breaks out of its blues-based box. Here I'm reminded of the late great British band the Housemartins, who not only featured a harmonica now and again but even had a song lyric reference ("Played his harmonica 'til his lips were sore," from the song "I Smell Winter").
"Jackson Leftfield" can be found on Boxer the Horse's debut EP, The Late Show, which was released by the band this spring.
Free and legal MP3 from Gabriel Kahane (rich, tuneful NYC art pop)
"North Adams" - Gabriel Kahane
In another, better world, sort of like ours but also sort of not, pop songs would frequently sound like this: musical, playful, smart, tuneful, and interesting from beginning to end. Gabriel Kahane is one of a coterie of composer/performers out there--typically (in the U.S.) in New York City--blurring the lines between art and commerce, "high" and "low" art, rock and classical and jazz. He writes, he sings, he orchestrates; he performs with indie rockers and conservatory graduates and opera singers. The music defies facile labeling, but remains personable and easy to listen to, even as it is far richer musically than the unfettered marketplace ever spits up to us on its own.
Take this snazzy, blazingly intelligent song. There are horns, there are strings, there's piano, there are vocals, tumbling together in continually unexpected ways. It's a road song at heart, and the music has a back-road velocity to it. Early, the strings veer towards traditional chamber music; later, they deconstruct almost bebop-ishly. The horns, meanwhile, start with a hint of baroque but finish with a Latin flair. There are unusual meter shifts to keep our ears open but then also a great hook of a highway-cruising 4/4 chorus. Come to think of it, this is also music that puts a smile on your face, as great music often can for mysterious reasons.
Known in certain hipster circles for an eight-movement cycle of art songs he wrote using classified ads from Craigslist, verbatim, as lyrics (you can stream them on his home page), Kahane will be releasing his self-titled debut CD in September on his own Wasted Storefront label. MP3 via the artist.
In another, better world, sort of like ours but also sort of not, pop songs would frequently sound like this: musical, playful, smart, tuneful, and interesting from beginning to end. Gabriel Kahane is one of a coterie of composer/performers out there--typically (in the U.S.) in New York City--blurring the lines between art and commerce, "high" and "low" art, rock and classical and jazz. He writes, he sings, he orchestrates; he performs with indie rockers and conservatory graduates and opera singers. The music defies facile labeling, but remains personable and easy to listen to, even as it is far richer musically than the unfettered marketplace ever spits up to us on its own.
Take this snazzy, blazingly intelligent song. There are horns, there are strings, there's piano, there are vocals, tumbling together in continually unexpected ways. It's a road song at heart, and the music has a back-road velocity to it. Early, the strings veer towards traditional chamber music; later, they deconstruct almost bebop-ishly. The horns, meanwhile, start with a hint of baroque but finish with a Latin flair. There are unusual meter shifts to keep our ears open but then also a great hook of a highway-cruising 4/4 chorus. Come to think of it, this is also music that puts a smile on your face, as great music often can for mysterious reasons.
Known in certain hipster circles for an eight-movement cycle of art songs he wrote using classified ads from Craigslist, verbatim, as lyrics (you can stream them on his home page), Kahane will be releasing his self-titled debut CD in September on his own Wasted Storefront label. MP3 via the artist.
Free and legal MP3 from Dan Black (transmogrified rap, with melody and heart)
"HYPNTZ" - Dan Black
I know next to nothing about rap and hip-hop; I listen to bits and pieces occasionally but I just don't fathom what's going on--music without melody rarely resonates with me; when compounded by cockeyed wordplay about personally distasteful things, I pretty much check out. So needless to say I had not known of the song "Hypnotize," by the Notorious B.I.G., but it's a rap landmark--a posthumous #1 hit for Biggie, himself an industry legend at this point. He was killed in a drive-by shooting 15 days before the album containing "Hypnotize" (Life After Death) was released. The album is often considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time.
"HYPNTZ" is a re-conception of Biggie's "Hypnotize" by a Paris-based Londoner named Dan Black and it mesmerizes me. I have no business liking this--beyond its rap foundation, it steals a relatively bland beat from a top-40 song (Rhianna's "Umbrella") and blends in samples from the soundtrack to the movie Starman (quick shout-out to fellow Karen Allen fans). I routinely run the other way from mash-ups and remixes and all that slice-and-dice stuff. And yet to my ears this thing is some weird kind of brilliant. The simple melody Black creates for those harsh, bombastic lyrics, combined with the pathos of the soundtrack sounds and the stark, repetitive beat, generates poignancy and power. A harsh slice of street braggadoccio transmogrifies into a plaintive plea of some kind. Who'd've thought.
Not much is out there about Black at this point, but his people are working the PR channels, so he's not some entirely unaffiliated knob-twiddler. The storyline from the press release--only semi-believable--is that he had not intended for anyone to hear this. He is busy, we are told, putting together an album of original material. Because so much of "HYPNTZ" is in fact original, however much constructed of existing parts, I'm inclined to think he's got something worth hearing in the works.
I know next to nothing about rap and hip-hop; I listen to bits and pieces occasionally but I just don't fathom what's going on--music without melody rarely resonates with me; when compounded by cockeyed wordplay about personally distasteful things, I pretty much check out. So needless to say I had not known of the song "Hypnotize," by the Notorious B.I.G., but it's a rap landmark--a posthumous #1 hit for Biggie, himself an industry legend at this point. He was killed in a drive-by shooting 15 days before the album containing "Hypnotize" (Life After Death) was released. The album is often considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time.
"HYPNTZ" is a re-conception of Biggie's "Hypnotize" by a Paris-based Londoner named Dan Black and it mesmerizes me. I have no business liking this--beyond its rap foundation, it steals a relatively bland beat from a top-40 song (Rhianna's "Umbrella") and blends in samples from the soundtrack to the movie Starman (quick shout-out to fellow Karen Allen fans). I routinely run the other way from mash-ups and remixes and all that slice-and-dice stuff. And yet to my ears this thing is some weird kind of brilliant. The simple melody Black creates for those harsh, bombastic lyrics, combined with the pathos of the soundtrack sounds and the stark, repetitive beat, generates poignancy and power. A harsh slice of street braggadoccio transmogrifies into a plaintive plea of some kind. Who'd've thought.
Not much is out there about Black at this point, but his people are working the PR channels, so he's not some entirely unaffiliated knob-twiddler. The storyline from the press release--only semi-believable--is that he had not intended for anyone to hear this. He is busy, we are told, putting together an album of original material. Because so much of "HYPNTZ" is in fact original, however much constructed of existing parts, I'm inclined to think he's got something worth hearing in the works.
Friday, August 01, 2008
The Fingertips Q&A: Jonatha Brooke
Just letting you know about a new feature on the main web site: the Fingertips Q&A.
For all the online discussion in recent years about the so-called "future of music," it occurs to me that we rarely if ever hear a lot about what musicians themselves have to say. And I mean work-a-day musicians who are out there seeking a living wage in the middle of the indie jungle. Fingertips would like to correct this problem, via a short, recurring Q&A feature. Here, each time, a real, working, album-making musician will answer five direct questions about the current state of music in the 21st century, and where things may be going.
The first Q&A subject: singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Latest update to the Fingertips Top 10
Time to check back in with the Fingertips Top 10, that shape-shifting, ear-bending list of pure free and legal MP3 goodness. Since the last post here on June 4, the chart has changed quite a bit, and now aligns as follows (songs that have been added since early June are marked with an asterisk):
1. "Albert" - Ed Laurie*
2. "I Lost the Monkey" - the Wedding Present*
3. "Animé Eyes" - the Awkward Stage
4. "My Mistakes Were Made For You" - the Last Shadow Puppets*
5. "Spirit of '95" - Murdocks*
6. "Say Yes" - Afternoons*
7. "Yer Motion" - Reeve Oliver
8. "Boarded Doors" - the Morning Benders
9. "Black Lungs" - the New Frontiers
10. "Was I On Your Mind" - Jessie Baylin*
Ed Laurie's haunting song "Albert" came to the chart this week, just as the previous number-one song, "Right Away" by Pattern is Movement, had reached its three-month anniversary and had to be retired. It's not often that a song enters at number one, but timing, as they say, is everything. Songs can shift around a bit as the weeks go by, depending upon three things: which songs have to leave, which new songs arrive, and how songs grow on me over time. "I Lost the Monkey" is a good example of a song that just keeps sounding better and better to me; it might have moved up from number four to number one this week had not the compelling Mr. Laurie appeared.
For those relatively new to Fingertips, note that the Top 10 list is my way of putting a little bit of extra attention on ten particularly wonderful songs at any given time. It's important to remember, however, that Fingertips only features carefully filtered music to begin with, so you can't go wrong with any of the MP3s featured here.
Songs remain in the Top 10 for a maximum of three months, before they are retired to the Retired Top 10 Songs page, of all places.
1. "Albert" - Ed Laurie*
2. "I Lost the Monkey" - the Wedding Present*
3. "Animé Eyes" - the Awkward Stage
4. "My Mistakes Were Made For You" - the Last Shadow Puppets*
5. "Spirit of '95" - Murdocks*
6. "Say Yes" - Afternoons*
7. "Yer Motion" - Reeve Oliver
8. "Boarded Doors" - the Morning Benders
9. "Black Lungs" - the New Frontiers
10. "Was I On Your Mind" - Jessie Baylin*
Ed Laurie's haunting song "Albert" came to the chart this week, just as the previous number-one song, "Right Away" by Pattern is Movement, had reached its three-month anniversary and had to be retired. It's not often that a song enters at number one, but timing, as they say, is everything. Songs can shift around a bit as the weeks go by, depending upon three things: which songs have to leave, which new songs arrive, and how songs grow on me over time. "I Lost the Monkey" is a good example of a song that just keeps sounding better and better to me; it might have moved up from number four to number one this week had not the compelling Mr. Laurie appeared.
For those relatively new to Fingertips, note that the Top 10 list is my way of putting a little bit of extra attention on ten particularly wonderful songs at any given time. It's important to remember, however, that Fingertips only features carefully filtered music to begin with, so you can't go wrong with any of the MP3s featured here.
Songs remain in the Top 10 for a maximum of three months, before they are retired to the Retired Top 10 Songs page, of all places.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Ed Laurie (Leonard Cohen meets Jacques Brel, with Spanish guitar)
"Albert" - Ed Laurie
Wow. Warm and wondrous neo-folk from a young British singer/songwriter. Listen to the stirring tension in the verse--the song is quiet, but with a restless heartbeat--and then how it resolves in that gorgeous chorus with its shy, unexpected melody. Oh my. For me, this is goosebump material, and I don't say that lightly, or very often.
Although he is basically a guy with a guitar, Laurie does not sound like a typical singer/songwriter, both because of his husky baritone, with its air of bygone days about it, and because the guitar he plays is nylon-stringed, like a flamenco guitar, which he plays with a gentle but urgent flow, full of intimations of far-away times and cultures. He plays, also, with an ear for his accompaniment, which is a quiet and knowing mix of acoustic instruments, including a clarinet, which in particular feels both unexpected and ideal.
Laurie claims influences from a variety of musical traditions--born in London, he has extended family in Eastern Europe, Germany, Spain, and Brazil, and grew up listening to classical music. His press material offers comparisons to the likes of Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and Jacques Brel, which sounds about right to me. "Albert" is from Laurie's debut EP, Meanwhile in the Park, which was previously released on iTunes only and is slated for a full U.S. release on Dangerbird Records in October. Laurie is currently working on his first full-length album, to be called Small Boat Big Sea.
Wow. Warm and wondrous neo-folk from a young British singer/songwriter. Listen to the stirring tension in the verse--the song is quiet, but with a restless heartbeat--and then how it resolves in that gorgeous chorus with its shy, unexpected melody. Oh my. For me, this is goosebump material, and I don't say that lightly, or very often.
Although he is basically a guy with a guitar, Laurie does not sound like a typical singer/songwriter, both because of his husky baritone, with its air of bygone days about it, and because the guitar he plays is nylon-stringed, like a flamenco guitar, which he plays with a gentle but urgent flow, full of intimations of far-away times and cultures. He plays, also, with an ear for his accompaniment, which is a quiet and knowing mix of acoustic instruments, including a clarinet, which in particular feels both unexpected and ideal.
Laurie claims influences from a variety of musical traditions--born in London, he has extended family in Eastern Europe, Germany, Spain, and Brazil, and grew up listening to classical music. His press material offers comparisons to the likes of Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and Jacques Brel, which sounds about right to me. "Albert" is from Laurie's debut EP, Meanwhile in the Park, which was previously released on iTunes only and is slated for a full U.S. release on Dangerbird Records in October. Laurie is currently working on his first full-length album, to be called Small Boat Big Sea.
Free and legal MP3 from Shannon McArdle (hypnotic, Phair-esque post-divorce pain)
"Poison My Cup" - Shannon McArdle
Creating a world of hurt and yearning out of a repetitive two-chord riff isn't probably the easiest thing to do, but Shannon McArdle appears to have a lot of hurt to spare."Poison My Cup" not only succeeds, but when it ends, I'm not ready. The evocative vocals, sounding like a prettier-voiced Liz Phair ('90s version); the strong yet insouciant bass line; the oddly uncelebratory tambourine; the steady, intermittently forceful drumbeat--together they create a brisk, hypnotic dirge of a song, complete with mournful wailing at just the right moments. I could listen to this just about all day.
The backstory of the hurt: McArdle joined the band the Mendoza Line in 2000, and married bandmate Timothy Bracy in 2005. Both the band and the couple both broke up within the last year; the mini-album 30 Year Low, released last August, was a searing document of the divorce.
"Poison My Cup" suggests that McArdle is still processing the painful events of the past year or so, as does the title of the album on which you'll find the song--Summer of the Whore, which is scheduled for release next month on Bar/None Records. MP3 via Bar/None.
Creating a world of hurt and yearning out of a repetitive two-chord riff isn't probably the easiest thing to do, but Shannon McArdle appears to have a lot of hurt to spare."Poison My Cup" not only succeeds, but when it ends, I'm not ready. The evocative vocals, sounding like a prettier-voiced Liz Phair ('90s version); the strong yet insouciant bass line; the oddly uncelebratory tambourine; the steady, intermittently forceful drumbeat--together they create a brisk, hypnotic dirge of a song, complete with mournful wailing at just the right moments. I could listen to this just about all day.
The backstory of the hurt: McArdle joined the band the Mendoza Line in 2000, and married bandmate Timothy Bracy in 2005. Both the band and the couple both broke up within the last year; the mini-album 30 Year Low, released last August, was a searing document of the divorce.
"Poison My Cup" suggests that McArdle is still processing the painful events of the past year or so, as does the title of the album on which you'll find the song--Summer of the Whore, which is scheduled for release next month on Bar/None Records. MP3 via Bar/None.
Free and legal MP3 from the Very Most (breezy, summery indie pop)
"Good Fight Fighting" - the Very Most
This breezy slice of summery indie pop might've glided by my ears without quite sticking were it not for the subtle but significant fork in the road the song takes during its final third: at 1:47, the music modulates, the melody turns inside out, and the lead vocal is hijacked by the female backup vocalist, Rachel Jensen. Rachel is the sister of Jeremy Jensen, the Very Most's front man, and she used to be in the band herself before she left Boise. The Very Most is based in Boise, a fact the band itself finds a bit unlikely, so imagine how the rest of us feel. (Rachel moved to the decidedly more indie-rock-like town of Portland, Oregon, where she now can be found in the band the Parenthetical Girls.)
But I digress. The point is that Rachel, taking over at 1:47, not only holds her own, but converts the entire song into a winner, especially in retrospect. Try it for yourself: once you see where the song ends up, you'll enjoy the opening half all the more. (Don't miss the way Rachel's melody veers from the previous melody of the verse, and be sure to note the whistling that accompanies her: that's the original melody.) All this is to take nothing whatever away from the three regulars in the band (who create just the right jingly ambiance), and most of all Jeremy Jensen, who is a delightful singer in his own right, spending time here demonstrating how much alike Brian Wilson and Stuart Murdoch (Belle and Sebastian) sound after all. And it is J. Jensen's inventive pop sensibility that presides over the whole, increasingly wonderful concoction: on top of all the nicely conceived production touches (the album claims to feature some 33 different instruments/sound sources), it was Jeremy, I assume, who knew enough to have Rachel step in exactly when and how she did in the first place.
"Good Fight Fighting" is a song off the band's second CD, Congratulations Forever, which was self-released in April. MP3 courtesy of the band.
This breezy slice of summery indie pop might've glided by my ears without quite sticking were it not for the subtle but significant fork in the road the song takes during its final third: at 1:47, the music modulates, the melody turns inside out, and the lead vocal is hijacked by the female backup vocalist, Rachel Jensen. Rachel is the sister of Jeremy Jensen, the Very Most's front man, and she used to be in the band herself before she left Boise. The Very Most is based in Boise, a fact the band itself finds a bit unlikely, so imagine how the rest of us feel. (Rachel moved to the decidedly more indie-rock-like town of Portland, Oregon, where she now can be found in the band the Parenthetical Girls.)
But I digress. The point is that Rachel, taking over at 1:47, not only holds her own, but converts the entire song into a winner, especially in retrospect. Try it for yourself: once you see where the song ends up, you'll enjoy the opening half all the more. (Don't miss the way Rachel's melody veers from the previous melody of the verse, and be sure to note the whistling that accompanies her: that's the original melody.) All this is to take nothing whatever away from the three regulars in the band (who create just the right jingly ambiance), and most of all Jeremy Jensen, who is a delightful singer in his own right, spending time here demonstrating how much alike Brian Wilson and Stuart Murdoch (Belle and Sebastian) sound after all. And it is J. Jensen's inventive pop sensibility that presides over the whole, increasingly wonderful concoction: on top of all the nicely conceived production touches (the album claims to feature some 33 different instruments/sound sources), it was Jeremy, I assume, who knew enough to have Rachel step in exactly when and how she did in the first place.
"Good Fight Fighting" is a song off the band's second CD, Congratulations Forever, which was self-released in April. MP3 courtesy of the band.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Last chance to enter Strummer contest
There's still a little time left to enter the Joe Strummer contest--deadline for entry is this Thursday, July 24. Three winners will each get two related prizes: a copy of the movie The Future Is Unwritten on DVD, and a copy of the movie's soundtrack on CD. The Future Is Unwritten is a documentary about the life of the late, lamented Joe Strummer, released on DVD earlier this month.
Free and legal MP3 from Liz Durrett (engaging, inscrutable, vaguely Fleetwood Macky)
"Wild as Them" - Liz Durrett
Liz Durrett returns to Fingertips with an immediately engaging, slightly off-kilter piece of gently chugging pop, like some lost Fleetwood Mac hit funneled through the Twilight Zone. The lyrics are elusive and strange--"I look for your bones in the woods" is surely one of the more arresting opening lines of recent days (although she may be saying "words"; and it's still odd). The music is comforting melodically--rolling along without a chorus, featuring a blues-like repetition of each opening refrain--but a touch unhinged instrumentally: guitars squeak, horns gather in increasing multitudes, and some other sounds I can't quite put my finger on fill in along the way.
Accentuating the F-Mac-ishness is the way Durrett's mellow alto brings Christine McVie to mind, although somewhat imprecisely. McVie sings with a smoky clarity that Durrett avoids; her voice, although doubletracked, is mixed down a bit. We know she's singing but the words often elude recognition, adding to the tune's inscrutable aura.
"Wild as Them" is a song from Durrett's forthcoming CD, Outside the Gates. The Athens, Ga.-based singer/songwriter has enlisted a spirited crew of fellow Athenians to help out on the record, including members of Olivia Tremor Control, Tin Cup Prophette, and Elf Power, along with Vic Chestnutt, who happens to be Durrett's uncle. Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers, Archers of Loaf) produced and arranged the album, scheduled for release in September on Warm Electronic Recordings (based in Athens too, of course).
Liz Durrett returns to Fingertips with an immediately engaging, slightly off-kilter piece of gently chugging pop, like some lost Fleetwood Mac hit funneled through the Twilight Zone. The lyrics are elusive and strange--"I look for your bones in the woods" is surely one of the more arresting opening lines of recent days (although she may be saying "words"; and it's still odd). The music is comforting melodically--rolling along without a chorus, featuring a blues-like repetition of each opening refrain--but a touch unhinged instrumentally: guitars squeak, horns gather in increasing multitudes, and some other sounds I can't quite put my finger on fill in along the way.
Accentuating the F-Mac-ishness is the way Durrett's mellow alto brings Christine McVie to mind, although somewhat imprecisely. McVie sings with a smoky clarity that Durrett avoids; her voice, although doubletracked, is mixed down a bit. We know she's singing but the words often elude recognition, adding to the tune's inscrutable aura.
"Wild as Them" is a song from Durrett's forthcoming CD, Outside the Gates. The Athens, Ga.-based singer/songwriter has enlisted a spirited crew of fellow Athenians to help out on the record, including members of Olivia Tremor Control, Tin Cup Prophette, and Elf Power, along with Vic Chestnutt, who happens to be Durrett's uncle. Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers, Archers of Loaf) produced and arranged the album, scheduled for release in September on Warm Electronic Recordings (based in Athens too, of course).
Free and legal MP3 from Shugo Tokumaru (Japanese indie pop with nostalgic flair)
"Parachute" - Shugo Tokumaru
Acrobatic, lighthearted Japanese indie pop with, somehow, the breezy flair of a European art film from the '60s. I don't think any of this is in English except for the title word, which comes across, rather charmingly, as "pra-shoo." And by saying "Japanese indie pop" I really only mean that Tokumaru is from Japan--the music itself exists in a wonderful sort of trans-cultural, trans-spatial limbo that mixes influences and ambiances in that web-fed, 21st-century way that ends up sounding as new as it does familiar, and as familiar as it does new.
While exhibiting an almost Leo Kottke-like dexterity with the acoustic guitar, Tokumaru possesses a decidedly un-Kottke-like voice: it's an airy, wide-ranging tenor that is nicely suited to the breezy, nostalgic melody. (For those who don't know, Leo Kottke is a guitar virtuoso who once, famously, described his singing voice as "geese farts on a foggy day." Born in Athens, Georgia.) The tinkly, persistent xylophone adds to the vigorous yet delicate landscape.
"Parachute" is the opening track on Tokumaru's Exit CD, which was released in Japan last year, and is slated for a U.S. release in September on Almost Gold Records. MP3 via Pitchfork.
Acrobatic, lighthearted Japanese indie pop with, somehow, the breezy flair of a European art film from the '60s. I don't think any of this is in English except for the title word, which comes across, rather charmingly, as "pra-shoo." And by saying "Japanese indie pop" I really only mean that Tokumaru is from Japan--the music itself exists in a wonderful sort of trans-cultural, trans-spatial limbo that mixes influences and ambiances in that web-fed, 21st-century way that ends up sounding as new as it does familiar, and as familiar as it does new.
While exhibiting an almost Leo Kottke-like dexterity with the acoustic guitar, Tokumaru possesses a decidedly un-Kottke-like voice: it's an airy, wide-ranging tenor that is nicely suited to the breezy, nostalgic melody. (For those who don't know, Leo Kottke is a guitar virtuoso who once, famously, described his singing voice as "geese farts on a foggy day." Born in Athens, Georgia.) The tinkly, persistent xylophone adds to the vigorous yet delicate landscape.
"Parachute" is the opening track on Tokumaru's Exit CD, which was released in Japan last year, and is slated for a U.S. release in September on Almost Gold Records. MP3 via Pitchfork.
Free and legal MP3 from Francis and the Lights (minimalist, postmodern funk, with mysterious depth)
"Night Watchman" - Francis and the Lights
They've done it again: Brooklyn's Francis and the Lights have woven enigmatic magic with the barest threads of their minimalist, postmodern funk. The melody is slower this time, but the beat remains the same, sustained by fidgety electronics, fat bass lines, and wonderfully controlled drumming. For this new single, front man Francis Farewell Starlite leaves behind the Prince-like falsetto in favor of his throaty, emotive lower register, once again singing a song that eschews a sense of recognizable structure. Just when you think you're getting your arms around what's going on, the thing ends, on a dime. After many listens, I find that I still can't explain exactly what's happening here. This strikes me as an appealing thing.
By the way, if you don't tend to listen to the weekly picks here as a mini mixtape, one after the other, I suggest trying it this week. It's a spiffy set.
Known for their stirring live performances, Francis and the Lights keep an intriguingly low web profile, although now at least we are offered up a straightforward picture of (I'm assuming) Francis himself. "Night Watchman" is available on the band's site, and will be on a CD entitled A Modern Promise, to be released at some unspecified time in the, perhaps, near future. The record label, Normative, appears to be the band's own imprint, and as such has an equally minimalist web site. MP3 via the band.
They've done it again: Brooklyn's Francis and the Lights have woven enigmatic magic with the barest threads of their minimalist, postmodern funk. The melody is slower this time, but the beat remains the same, sustained by fidgety electronics, fat bass lines, and wonderfully controlled drumming. For this new single, front man Francis Farewell Starlite leaves behind the Prince-like falsetto in favor of his throaty, emotive lower register, once again singing a song that eschews a sense of recognizable structure. Just when you think you're getting your arms around what's going on, the thing ends, on a dime. After many listens, I find that I still can't explain exactly what's happening here. This strikes me as an appealing thing.
By the way, if you don't tend to listen to the weekly picks here as a mini mixtape, one after the other, I suggest trying it this week. It's a spiffy set.
Known for their stirring live performances, Francis and the Lights keep an intriguingly low web profile, although now at least we are offered up a straightforward picture of (I'm assuming) Francis himself. "Night Watchman" is available on the band's site, and will be on a CD entitled A Modern Promise, to be released at some unspecified time in the, perhaps, near future. The record label, Normative, appears to be the band's own imprint, and as such has an equally minimalist web site. MP3 via the band.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Strummer Contest still active
The Fingertips Contest remains open for entry. Three winners this time will each get two related prizes: a copy of the movie The Future Is Unwritten on DVD, and a copy of the movie's soundtrack on CD. The Future Is Unwritten is a documentary about the life of the late, lamented Joe Strummer, released last week on DVD. Deadline is Thursday, July 24; contest details here.
Free and legal MP3 from Ancient Free Gardeners (distinctive, meandering yet meticulous rock from Australia)
"Innards Out" - Ancient Free Gardeners
I'm attracted to the meandering feeling of this song--the way it starts as if already in the middle (note: no introduction), and unfolds in an off-kilter way--because underneath I sense a meticulous purpose and drive. Vague and precise is a compelling juxtaposition. Because of the mysterious lyrical phrases, the desultory guitar lines, the stops and starts, and the oddball chords, I'm picking up something of a Steely Dan-ish vibe, by way of the Blue Nile; nothing, in any case, seems to be happening by accident. And when the song finally delivers us to an unabashed--if still eccentric--chorus, I feel as if some sort of salvation is at hand. And yet listen to how the song pulls away from an uncomplicated resolution: when front man James Milsom sings the words "the spider and the fly," by rights the word "fly" would come accompanied with a clear, satisfying, resolving chord. No such luck, however--we are taken to the brink and then everything scoots out the side door: Milsom dismembers the last line "We are both of these, you and I," dragging out the word "are," then offering the last two phrases as a kind of quizzical afterthought.
And when the song is over, it ends. This is entirely refreshing.
Ancient Free Gardeners are a quartet from Melbourne that has only been up and running since 2006. They released their debut EP last year and have put out two singles since; "Innards Out" is the latest, released in May. A full-length CD is expected later this year. All their songs, by the way, are available as free and legal downloads on their web site, including this one.
I'm attracted to the meandering feeling of this song--the way it starts as if already in the middle (note: no introduction), and unfolds in an off-kilter way--because underneath I sense a meticulous purpose and drive. Vague and precise is a compelling juxtaposition. Because of the mysterious lyrical phrases, the desultory guitar lines, the stops and starts, and the oddball chords, I'm picking up something of a Steely Dan-ish vibe, by way of the Blue Nile; nothing, in any case, seems to be happening by accident. And when the song finally delivers us to an unabashed--if still eccentric--chorus, I feel as if some sort of salvation is at hand. And yet listen to how the song pulls away from an uncomplicated resolution: when front man James Milsom sings the words "the spider and the fly," by rights the word "fly" would come accompanied with a clear, satisfying, resolving chord. No such luck, however--we are taken to the brink and then everything scoots out the side door: Milsom dismembers the last line "We are both of these, you and I," dragging out the word "are," then offering the last two phrases as a kind of quizzical afterthought.
And when the song is over, it ends. This is entirely refreshing.
Ancient Free Gardeners are a quartet from Melbourne that has only been up and running since 2006. They released their debut EP last year and have put out two singles since; "Innards Out" is the latest, released in May. A full-length CD is expected later this year. All their songs, by the way, are available as free and legal downloads on their web site, including this one.
Free and legal MP3 from Haley Bonar (insistent, bittersweet, textured singer/songwriter pop)
"Big Star" - Haley Bonar
Rock'n'roll history is littered with singers dreaming of hitting the big time. That fame is in fact a double-edged sword is not something people usually apprehend until after they've been there (and then it's kind of too late). Here, however, is a song that captures, in anticipation, the bittersweet repercussions of "big stardom," both lyrically and--more memorably, to me--musically. My ears are struck throughout by an insistent sense of yearning, thanks to the major-minor chord shifts, the terrific and evocative instrumentation, and something achy and knowing in Bonar's clear, sad-eyed voice.
Pay attention to what's going on in the background throughout the song. Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, and Bonar's mellotron are woven together with a complex and rather dazzling deftness, and yet remain subtle enough that often you have to think to hear them. The ridiculously experienced Tchad Blake (Elvis Costello, Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, Crowded House, et al) is credited at the mixing board here, and no doubt he had something to do with the mysterious yet vivid texture that transforms this from a simple singer/songwriter tune into something deeper and richer.
Born in South Dakota, Bonar is based in Minneapolis. "Big Star" is the title track to her third CD, which was released in May on Afternoon Records. MP3 via the Afternoon web site.
Rock'n'roll history is littered with singers dreaming of hitting the big time. That fame is in fact a double-edged sword is not something people usually apprehend until after they've been there (and then it's kind of too late). Here, however, is a song that captures, in anticipation, the bittersweet repercussions of "big stardom," both lyrically and--more memorably, to me--musically. My ears are struck throughout by an insistent sense of yearning, thanks to the major-minor chord shifts, the terrific and evocative instrumentation, and something achy and knowing in Bonar's clear, sad-eyed voice.
Pay attention to what's going on in the background throughout the song. Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, and Bonar's mellotron are woven together with a complex and rather dazzling deftness, and yet remain subtle enough that often you have to think to hear them. The ridiculously experienced Tchad Blake (Elvis Costello, Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, Crowded House, et al) is credited at the mixing board here, and no doubt he had something to do with the mysterious yet vivid texture that transforms this from a simple singer/songwriter tune into something deeper and richer.
Born in South Dakota, Bonar is based in Minneapolis. "Big Star" is the title track to her third CD, which was released in May on Afternoon Records. MP3 via the Afternoon web site.
Free and legal MP3 from Dead Heart Bloom (indie rockers who love their Bowie and Mott)
"Our Last Martyr" - Dead Heart Bloom
Brisk, friendly, and slightly quirky, "Our Last Martyr" rocks with an unapologetic reverence for classic rock of the early-to-mid-'70s British variety (think Lennon, think Bowie, think Hunter). Front man Boris Skalsky sings, alternately, with an intimate, oddly-accented purr (the verse) and a rousing Ziggy-ish flair (the chorus). Note how the verse is sung with the rhythm section only--just bass and percussion providing an itchy aural skeleton for Skalsky's distinctive baritone. For that sing-along chorus, the full band kicks in, driven by the ear-catching interplay between a crisp acoustic rhythm guitar front and center and a soaring synth line up on top. The second half of the song is something of a jam session, as guitarist Paul Wood stretches out a bit on electric lead before we're swept away by a chorus of almost hypnotic "oo-oo-oo" vocals from Skalsky, who can hit the high notes too.
The core of NYC-based Dead Heart Bloom is singer/multi-instrumentalist Skalsky and guitarist Wood; other musicians play when the band performs lives. "Our Last Martyr" is one of five songs on the new Fall In EP, one of a series of EPs scheduled for release this year on the band's KEI Records label. The band has previously put out two full-length CDs. All songs are available on the band's web site as free and legal MP3s. Dead Heart Bloom was previously featured on Fingertips in Feb. '06, and also on the Fingertips: Unwebbed CD, when the band was still more of a solo project for Skalsky.
Brisk, friendly, and slightly quirky, "Our Last Martyr" rocks with an unapologetic reverence for classic rock of the early-to-mid-'70s British variety (think Lennon, think Bowie, think Hunter). Front man Boris Skalsky sings, alternately, with an intimate, oddly-accented purr (the verse) and a rousing Ziggy-ish flair (the chorus). Note how the verse is sung with the rhythm section only--just bass and percussion providing an itchy aural skeleton for Skalsky's distinctive baritone. For that sing-along chorus, the full band kicks in, driven by the ear-catching interplay between a crisp acoustic rhythm guitar front and center and a soaring synth line up on top. The second half of the song is something of a jam session, as guitarist Paul Wood stretches out a bit on electric lead before we're swept away by a chorus of almost hypnotic "oo-oo-oo" vocals from Skalsky, who can hit the high notes too.
The core of NYC-based Dead Heart Bloom is singer/multi-instrumentalist Skalsky and guitarist Wood; other musicians play when the band performs lives. "Our Last Martyr" is one of five songs on the new Fall In EP, one of a series of EPs scheduled for release this year on the band's KEI Records label. The band has previously put out two full-length CDs. All songs are available on the band's web site as free and legal MP3s. Dead Heart Bloom was previously featured on Fingertips in Feb. '06, and also on the Fingertips: Unwebbed CD, when the band was still more of a solo project for Skalsky.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Free and legal MP3 from Still Corners (chimey, dreamy, well-constructed goodness)
"History of Love" - Still Corners
Swaying, reverb-laced, and nostalgic in a Julee Cruise/David Lynch sort of way, "History of Love" swirls with a big, chimey dreaminess enhanced by strings (both plucked and bowed) and a soaring organ that all but launches this one into some old-fashioned, Jetsons-like version of outer space.
So, dream pop, yes. But while indie bands aiming in this direction too frequently slide into a murky mush of echo--droning guitars and mixed-down vocals working together to diminish the sense that we are in fact listening to a song--the unsigned British duo Still Corners will have none of that. They get the idea that being atmospheric does not require muddiness. I like how they continually ground their reverberant vibe in concrete sonic reality, whether it's those plucky strings, the nicely articulated bass, the cymbally drum work, or vocalist Olivia's breathy, echoey, but distinctly colored singing. Note, too, the care and idiosyncrasy displayed by the song itself--in particular, how we get that crazy-swirly blast of dreamy yearning, without lyrics, in place of an actual chorus.
London-based Still Corners have so far released one evocatively designed six-song EP, entitled Remember Pepper?. That's where you'll find "History of Love." MP3 via Last.fm and the band.
Swaying, reverb-laced, and nostalgic in a Julee Cruise/David Lynch sort of way, "History of Love" swirls with a big, chimey dreaminess enhanced by strings (both plucked and bowed) and a soaring organ that all but launches this one into some old-fashioned, Jetsons-like version of outer space.
So, dream pop, yes. But while indie bands aiming in this direction too frequently slide into a murky mush of echo--droning guitars and mixed-down vocals working together to diminish the sense that we are in fact listening to a song--the unsigned British duo Still Corners will have none of that. They get the idea that being atmospheric does not require muddiness. I like how they continually ground their reverberant vibe in concrete sonic reality, whether it's those plucky strings, the nicely articulated bass, the cymbally drum work, or vocalist Olivia's breathy, echoey, but distinctly colored singing. Note, too, the care and idiosyncrasy displayed by the song itself--in particular, how we get that crazy-swirly blast of dreamy yearning, without lyrics, in place of an actual chorus.
London-based Still Corners have so far released one evocatively designed six-song EP, entitled Remember Pepper?. That's where you'll find "History of Love." MP3 via Last.fm and the band.
Free and legal MP3 from Murdocks (edgy power pop)
"Spirit of '95" - Murdocks
Sunny power pop crossed with something trickier and edgier. I hesitate, however, to use the "punk pop" (or is it "pop punk"?) label, because to me that implies something (sorry to say) dumber and less nuanced that this little two-minute gem. Not that many punk pop bands write in 3/4 time, to begin with. This is no waltz, however--these guys have figured out how to make three-beated measures sound assertive and symmetrical. Punchy verses with an ascending tail alternate with an almost lilting chorus...and that's more or less the song. The lyrics basically stop less than halfway through; the song has such intriguing momentum one barely notices.
A lot of "Spirit of '95"'s edginess is delivered via singer/guitarist Franklin Morris's no holds barred singing--he sounds perpetually on the verge of screaming, and yet comes across as warm and musical at the same time. Some of that feeling is generated specifically from the chorus, with its attractive, downward-trending, octave-spanning melody. I like by the way how he then uses a guitar break to give us a nice variation of the same line. That'll really get it stuck in your head.
Murdocks are a trio from Austin that have been playing since 2003, although no longer with their original drummer or bass player. "Spirit of '95" is from the band's Roar! EP, which was released in April on Surprise Truck Entertainment.
Sunny power pop crossed with something trickier and edgier. I hesitate, however, to use the "punk pop" (or is it "pop punk"?) label, because to me that implies something (sorry to say) dumber and less nuanced that this little two-minute gem. Not that many punk pop bands write in 3/4 time, to begin with. This is no waltz, however--these guys have figured out how to make three-beated measures sound assertive and symmetrical. Punchy verses with an ascending tail alternate with an almost lilting chorus...and that's more or less the song. The lyrics basically stop less than halfway through; the song has such intriguing momentum one barely notices.
A lot of "Spirit of '95"'s edginess is delivered via singer/guitarist Franklin Morris's no holds barred singing--he sounds perpetually on the verge of screaming, and yet comes across as warm and musical at the same time. Some of that feeling is generated specifically from the chorus, with its attractive, downward-trending, octave-spanning melody. I like by the way how he then uses a guitar break to give us a nice variation of the same line. That'll really get it stuck in your head.
Murdocks are a trio from Austin that have been playing since 2003, although no longer with their original drummer or bass player. "Spirit of '95" is from the band's Roar! EP, which was released in April on Surprise Truck Entertainment.
Free and legal MP3 from Mark Northfield (alt-classical 'pop' from British pianist/composer)
"Zero" - Mark Northfield
And now for something completely different. Mark Northfield is a British pianist, composer, arranger, and sometime singer who has here taken his classical training and focused it on the production of something almost but not quite resembling a pop song. Beginning quietly, with voice and piano, "Zero" adds guitar, strings, and, eventually, a choir-like array of backing vocals; the piece evolves gently but determinedly towards two climaxes, the first string-driven, contained, and unresolved (roughly 3:08 through 3:25), the second louder, more fervent, and choral (beginning around 5:06).
Pay attention throughout to the string arrangements, which are expressive but never pushy; the song is half over before he puts the strings center stage, and some of the nicest work comes after their "solo," when the violins, with restraint, offer high fills between lyrical phrases.
"Zero" is a song from the CD Ascendant, which Northfield released on his own Substantive Recordings label earlier this year. On eight of the songs, Northfield doesn't sing himself, employing an assortment of guest vocalists, but on "Zero," it's him. An important aspect of the CD is that the nine songs are presented in an uninterrupted flow--as Northfield notes on his web site, the album is "designed to be heard (in a shuffle-free world) from start to finish, with introductions to each track lifting re-arranged fragments from elsewhere on the album to create a more or less continuous soundtrack." And yet Northfield is of course not unaware of how most people listen to their music in the 21st century; he is kind enough to offer seven of the songs in so-called "chopped" mode on his web site, including "Zero." Thanks to Owen Duff, himself a Fingertips-featured artist, for the head's up.
And now for something completely different. Mark Northfield is a British pianist, composer, arranger, and sometime singer who has here taken his classical training and focused it on the production of something almost but not quite resembling a pop song. Beginning quietly, with voice and piano, "Zero" adds guitar, strings, and, eventually, a choir-like array of backing vocals; the piece evolves gently but determinedly towards two climaxes, the first string-driven, contained, and unresolved (roughly 3:08 through 3:25), the second louder, more fervent, and choral (beginning around 5:06).
Pay attention throughout to the string arrangements, which are expressive but never pushy; the song is half over before he puts the strings center stage, and some of the nicest work comes after their "solo," when the violins, with restraint, offer high fills between lyrical phrases.
"Zero" is a song from the CD Ascendant, which Northfield released on his own Substantive Recordings label earlier this year. On eight of the songs, Northfield doesn't sing himself, employing an assortment of guest vocalists, but on "Zero," it's him. An important aspect of the CD is that the nine songs are presented in an uninterrupted flow--as Northfield notes on his web site, the album is "designed to be heard (in a shuffle-free world) from start to finish, with introductions to each track lifting re-arranged fragments from elsewhere on the album to create a more or less continuous soundtrack." And yet Northfield is of course not unaware of how most people listen to their music in the 21st century; he is kind enough to offer seven of the songs in so-called "chopped" mode on his web site, including "Zero." Thanks to Owen Duff, himself a Fingertips-featured artist, for the head's up.
Monday, July 07, 2008
New Fingertips Contest: win the Joe Strummer documentary, plus soundtrack
There's a new Fingertips Contest, now online, with two related prizes: a copy of the movie The Future Is Unwritten on DVD, and a copy of the movie's soundtrack on CD. The Future Is Unwritten is a documentary about the life of the late, lamented Joe Strummer, due out on DVD this week. Contest details here.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Tough and crunchy free and legal MP3 from Amy Ray (Indigo Girl, gone solo, kicks ass)
"Blame is a Killer" - Amy Ray
Tough, tight, crunchy rock'n'roll from Indigo Girl Amy Ray, who for the third time now trots out her kick-ass side on a solo record. Nothing complicated to report on, just a fast, slashing guitar attack counterbalanced by some nice chords and background harmonies in the chorus.
That said, listen to how concise a sound Ray is working with here--the song rocks hard, but there's no sloppiness, no stray sounds, no wailing or echoing guitars, no extraneous drum bashing, no casually interacting instruments; "Blame is a Killer" drives forward with the compressed vitality of a Strokes song, leading me to half expect to hear Ray's voice processed through some sort of filter or distortion. Maybe that's why the fully sung and harmonized chorus feels especially refreshing after the clipped vocal phrases utilized in the verses.
"Blame is a Killer" is a track from Didn't It Feel Kinder, Ray's third album as a solo artist, which will be released in August on Daemon Records, a not-for-profit record label founded by Ray back in 1990.
Tough, tight, crunchy rock'n'roll from Indigo Girl Amy Ray, who for the third time now trots out her kick-ass side on a solo record. Nothing complicated to report on, just a fast, slashing guitar attack counterbalanced by some nice chords and background harmonies in the chorus.
That said, listen to how concise a sound Ray is working with here--the song rocks hard, but there's no sloppiness, no stray sounds, no wailing or echoing guitars, no extraneous drum bashing, no casually interacting instruments; "Blame is a Killer" drives forward with the compressed vitality of a Strokes song, leading me to half expect to hear Ray's voice processed through some sort of filter or distortion. Maybe that's why the fully sung and harmonized chorus feels especially refreshing after the clipped vocal phrases utilized in the verses.
"Blame is a Killer" is a track from Didn't It Feel Kinder, Ray's third album as a solo artist, which will be released in August on Daemon Records, a not-for-profit record label founded by Ray back in 1990.
Laura Marling has a free and legal MP3 (18-year-old British singer/songwriter, with depth)
"I'm a Fly" - Laura Marling
Here's one young British import who a) doesn't sing with an affected "street" accent, b) understands the utility of two names, and c) is interested in more than regaling us with tales of her dysfunctional love life, thank goodness.
Everything about this short, precise song is warm and appealing, from its harp-like, folk-infused ukelele work through its subtly effective instrumentation and Marling's clear and compelling voice, both musically and lyrically. Listen in particular to how her backing vocals (it sounds sometimes like multi-tracked humming) are used almost as part of the rhythm section, adding a wonderful, organic sort of texture to a song that accomplishes the unusual trick of sounding traditional and post-modern at the same time.
All of 18 years old at this point, Marling released her debut album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, to much acclaim in the U.K. in February. Astralwerks will be releasing the CD in the U.S. in August. "I'm a Fly" is a newer song, not from the CD; it can be found as a b-side on an EP released in the U.K. in June. MP3 via music.download.com.
Here's one young British import who a) doesn't sing with an affected "street" accent, b) understands the utility of two names, and c) is interested in more than regaling us with tales of her dysfunctional love life, thank goodness.
Everything about this short, precise song is warm and appealing, from its harp-like, folk-infused ukelele work through its subtly effective instrumentation and Marling's clear and compelling voice, both musically and lyrically. Listen in particular to how her backing vocals (it sounds sometimes like multi-tracked humming) are used almost as part of the rhythm section, adding a wonderful, organic sort of texture to a song that accomplishes the unusual trick of sounding traditional and post-modern at the same time.
All of 18 years old at this point, Marling released her debut album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, to much acclaim in the U.K. in February. Astralwerks will be releasing the CD in the U.S. in August. "I'm a Fly" is a newer song, not from the CD; it can be found as a b-side on an EP released in the U.K. in June. MP3 via music.download.com.
Free and legal MP3 from Paper Rival (Shins-ish folk rock, w/ fiddle)
"Cassandra" - Paper Rival
The mournful fiddle melody and the crisp tom-tom beat, playing through alternating major and minor chords: what we have here is one smart and engaging introduction--and (better luck!), a song that lives up to its intro's promise.
A mysterious reimagination of the cursed prophet of doom, "Cassandra" chugs along with a bittersweet, Shins-like sort of vibrancy, its leisurely melody lines unfolding against an unobtrusive but carefully constructed percussive backdrop. The fiddle is central to the vibe, its disconsolate strain standing in for the prophet's voice, in a tone reminiscent of the gypsy violin Scarlet Rivera brought, memorably, to Bob Dylan's Desire album back in the day.
Paper Rival is a quintet from Nashville that did business as Keating until discovering that another band had the rights to the name; they chose their new name as a good-natured nose-thumbing to the gang that got to the Keating name first. "Cassandra" can be found on the band's debut full-length CD, Dialog, released in early June on Photo Finish Records. MP3 via Insound.
The mournful fiddle melody and the crisp tom-tom beat, playing through alternating major and minor chords: what we have here is one smart and engaging introduction--and (better luck!), a song that lives up to its intro's promise.
A mysterious reimagination of the cursed prophet of doom, "Cassandra" chugs along with a bittersweet, Shins-like sort of vibrancy, its leisurely melody lines unfolding against an unobtrusive but carefully constructed percussive backdrop. The fiddle is central to the vibe, its disconsolate strain standing in for the prophet's voice, in a tone reminiscent of the gypsy violin Scarlet Rivera brought, memorably, to Bob Dylan's Desire album back in the day.
Paper Rival is a quintet from Nashville that did business as Keating until discovering that another band had the rights to the name; they chose their new name as a good-natured nose-thumbing to the gang that got to the Keating name first. "Cassandra" can be found on the band's debut full-length CD, Dialog, released in early June on Photo Finish Records. MP3 via Insound.
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