How do you make a record that is your most unique, ambitious and weird, but also your most accessible at the same time? How, after ten albums are you still able to create an album that sounds so damn refreshing, creative and full of new ideas? There aren't really answers to these questions, except for the fact that you are Deerhoof. How after all these years they've maintained their artistic creativity, yet been able to explore new avenues, techniques and approaches along the way, still boggles themind. With their first non Kill Rock Stars full length in almost a decade, Deerhoof make Polyvinyl proud with one of the most far reaching, exciting and enjoyable albums we've heard in ages.
Further pushing their love of sounds and music from across the globe, Vs. Evil finds Deerhoof taking those sounds and with them exploring an awesome psychedelic spy soundtrack vibe, as well as a twisted take on sparkling teenage pop music, all of which displays a band at their most sensual, surprising and innovative.
Deerhoof most deserve all the love and adoration they seem to be receiving, and we are hoping this is the record that will push them to that next level, alongside folks like The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, etc., as we can't think of a more creative or exciting band that has paid their dues and stayed true to their mission of all out creativity and sonic excellence!
First single from the beloved SF trio, back when they were a quartet, and before their new guitarist, who now plays bass... Heavy art sludge that retains elements of their Nitre Pit roots. The left and right channels are separate songs that can be listened to separately or combined. Plus, there's amazing etched art that covers the entire record -- you can even see it across the grooves,
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Super limited 7" from AQ faves Deerhoof and the new to us Kit. Deerhoof's two tracks are simple lo-fi noodle-y pop experiments, glitched out noise and instrument buzz give way to simple nursery rhyme melodies and stumbling chaotic indie pop. Throbbing bass, fuzzy organ, shouted vocals and BIG simple drums. Kit's three tracks are even more lo-fi, super distorted vocals buried under a hiss-heavy production, wild smears of feeding back guitars, pounding basement drums and indistinct white-noise riffs. Super limited. On purty green vinyl!
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Whoa, who has the hippest teachers in the universe? North Haven Community School! This sure wasn't a part of normal elementary school curriculum back when we were all whipper snappers, was it? Last year out in Maine, the kids at this small kindergarten to grade 12 school presented a ballet set to the music of Deerhoof's Milk Man album! Music and drama teacher Courtney Naliboff came up with the idea and transcribed the music and conducted the orchestra, while art and P.E. teacher Ken Jones took care of the choreography (which involves a rolling bowling ball among other things). Yes, it's adorable. Yes, the music is perfect for this age group. And yes, please allow a loose definition of the term 'ballet'. Think: more freely interpretive body movements than en pointe, plies and pirouettes. What an amazing way to take inspiration from the endlessly creative sounds of one of our favorite bands. Delightful for kids of all ages! This dvd is professionally shot and edited (or looks like it), looks great, sounds great, and is definitely fun to watch. The folks in Deerhoof must have been waaay stoked when they first saw this!!
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After leaving their longtime home at Kill Rock Stars, and ending up on Polyvinyl, this new split finds Deerhoof trying out some new ideas as they team up with the rapper Busdriver, for what could be a whole new project they are calling Hoofdriver. Interesting concept: inviting guest vocalist to add lyrics to some of their instrumental songs, which is what they do here with Reagan Farquhar aka Busdriver. The flipside is a new jam from a new band featuring members of the Mai Shi, called Physical Forms, and whose track is a very '90s indie rock/post punk throwback, while the Deerhoof (Hoofdriver) side doesn't sound much like anything we've heard from them before. Busdriver definitely brought in his own aesthetic and vision, which in its own weird way was a pretty good match for the twisted minimal art rock of Deerhoof... Curious to see where this project and future collaborations go!
A little somethin' to accompany your new Deerhoof Green Cosmos cdep! This split record delivers two suitably unpredictable tunes from that Bay Area band as well as a single more conventional guitar-driven song from Minneapolis based trio Sicbay. Deerhoof's music has always been heavy on the sharp angles and tightly knotted rhythms, and these songs are no exception if a bit moodier than we've come to expect from them. Pretty darn great!
The latest in Deerhoof's new 7" series where they invite up and coming artists to use one of their instrumental tracks as a backing track for their own vocals and lyrics, while the B side allows Deerhoof to remix one of their guests' tracks. This time out it's a group called Woom who get to create their own special something inside the magical landscape of Deerhoof's imagination. Woom, who are on the great Ba Da Bing label, have a very stripped down, and quirky approach to pop, sitting somewhere between Young Marble Giants and Tune-Yards. We think its really cool of Deerhoof to lend their name and presence to help lesser known bands get a wider audience, but in all reality this is much more a Woom 7" than it is a Deerhoof one.
All previous 7"s in this Deerhoof series have already gone out of print, so best to act fast if you want this one. Pressed on clear vinyl and includes a digital download.
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This band from Atlanta is sure to create quite a stir this year with their sophomore release and their first outing for Kranky. Don't be expecting the usual Kranky fare with this one, as Deerhunter posses a distinct flair for taking their music in all sorts of directions. As influenced by blissed out and spacey drones as they are rocking momentum and pop sensibility, it's kind of like an early Factory band doing covers of songs from the first couple U2 records. We could see this creating the same kind of refreshing splash that Broken Social Scene did a few years back as this is a record with enough texture to reel in more experimental minded folks but with enough pizzaz and sleek rock moments to win over the indie-rock crowd. Really good!
Here we have the newest EP from Atlanta based Deerhunter (which is also available on lp, along with their previous highly praised full length album Cryptograms). Deerhunter have two lines of thought diverging in their music that has and will continue to afford them acclaim from across the board. The EP's opener and namesake "Fluorescent Grey" starts out a deeply textural indie rock song trudging along with a simple piano line and nearly over-annunciated boy/girl vocals that would make their junior-high chorus director smile until he or she realizes that the subject of the song is that of a body decomposing. Halfway through the song, the structured pitter-patter converges into the psych-drone noise rock madness people raved about when first heard on the band's previous release. The EP's other tracks build in the same pattern with one only hinting at eruption, while the other's noised out bliss explodes in a way that suggests they've embraced comparisons to Sonic Youth. The third track stands alone as the second line of thought the band seems to be toying with - experimental shoe-gaze in the style of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless saturated in all manner of ethereal noise. Highly recommended!
As the opening sun soaked moments of Halcyon Digest begin, we kind of immediately knew we were in for a special outing by Deerhunter. They really haven't made a misstep yet, but this is a record that finds them reaching new levels of excellence. They have found this incredible way of crafting songs that can transport you into a daydream, whisk you into a bubbly underwater world of warm sound, and then hit you so spot on with timeless pop melodies, which swirl with an effortless delight. The record is paced so perfectly that just when you think you're going to get all dazed and wasted a new song will come up with rushing hooks and irresistible melodies, but then once you're afraid of getting a sonic sweet tooth cavity, new layers and textures come and take you to a breezier and more haunting destination. Feels like they've been digging lots of Velvet Underground, Chapterhouse, and the most stoney moments of Built To Spill. The album flows so fantastically from beginning to end that we've found ourselves deeply hooked. Our favorite Deerhunter record yet!
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Due to a little thing called the inter-webs (we've never heard of it), the tracks for Deerhunter's long-awaited follow-up to last years much loved Cryptograms were prematurely leaked. So to give us cd buyers more bang for their buck, they recorded an EXTRA full length, called Weird Era Continued, and released the two discs together for a single disc price. Very nice of them! This time around they fused their pop sensibilities and their more experimental hazy dronescape leanings together into songs that recall the best of classic 4AD shimmer with sixties wall of sound pop. There isn't too much difference between the two records, but the song-writing is strong enough and the production nuanced enough to keep our attention through both. While we might have liked some more spacier instrumental moments like the ones found on Cryptograms, it seems Bradford Cox has begun to channel his more experimental side into his other project, Atlas Sound, where it is actually better suited. Still this is pretty damn solid!
If two albums released at the same time (Microcastle/Weird Era Continued) wasn't enough Deerhunter for you, then here are five more hazy gliding pop gems for your pleasure! More rocking with less sheen, Bradford Cox and the boys seem to be channeling classic-era Breeders with sharp songwriting and satisfyingly shimmering pop hooks. Perfect Summer Listening!
We found a handful of titles, maybe only 5 or 6 of each, from Aussie label Diagnosis� Don't! We've had these for ages, and odds are these are long gone as they were pretty limited to begin with, but for a few of you, here's your chance to grab one (or all) of these super limited 3" cd-r's.
Default Jamerson is a one man noise making machine from Australia, who crafts a lush and billowy low end, all deep whirling tones, thick speaker shredding dronemusic, even with the bass dialed all the way back, this single 20 minute track was sending seismic waves into the room, causing everything to vibrate gloriously. Lots of shifting textures, haunting melodies buried in the mix, the sound murky and muddy and underwater, woozy and warbly and totally hypnotic. Definitely bummed we slept on this. And bummed that only a handful of you will get to hear it. But what can you do? Heavy low end drone freaks should try to snag one while they can...
Packaged in thick cardstock mini 3" sleeves, with a printed (band name, label info, liner notes) Japanese style obi. And again, we only have a VERY FEW of these....
Love him or hate him, you've gotta admire Gene Defcon's full-on party mission. Really! 47 songs (71 minutes total) for and about whooping it up with your pals! At times, sounding like songs that could have been on the Revenge Of The Nerds soundtrack. Indeed, Gene Defcon Olympia's party king seems determined to get all the sullen indie kids out of their Barlow lows, and into their boogie shoes.
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About two hundred miles north east of Chicago lies the town of Livonia, Michigan - the home of Warn (Warren) Defever (who you may have heard in such bands as His Name Is Alive and Princess Dragon Mom). While members of the Chicago "avantgarde" have been mimicking John Fahey of late, this Livonian takes on the tradition represented by the Anthology of American Folk Music box set by writing antiquated folk songs complete with really shitty production (which is ALL treble) and an excessive amount of fake surface noise to add to the "authenticity" of the record. While DeFever's songwriting on this isn't quite at the level reached by the best of HNIA's 'pop' songs, this is still quite quite an amusingly divergent take on the alt.country phenomenon.
Another solo outing from the magical mind behind His Name Is Alive. This time Warn recorded in a cold garage in Livonia, MI. One can almost see him bundled up with his guitar and piano amid a mass of old rusty car parts... with some of the rust actually rubbing off on the hand-stamped and typed cd insert. Fragile, precarious melodies and some moments of rough raucousness strain through varying levels of lo-fi. Includes covers of Bad Brains' "Rock For Light" and Hendrix's "I Don't Live Today".
We love the Deftones. They always seem to get lumped in with all that jockish Warp Tour nu-metal, but sort of like with Tool, there's no good reason and it's so completely off the mark. So try to approach this band, and specifically this record, without all that baggage, and you will be blown away. The Deftones take churning slow burning metal pummel and stir in a healthy dose of Depeche Mode and Cure obsessed brooding moody gloom, and it's such a perfect mix. Check out their record White Pony and you'll know exactly what we mean. This one might be more for already fans, but folks into moody heaviness might really dig this. Especially as the majority of the cd is covers, and they're the sort of covers that will have your high school / outcast goth / smoking section / mixtape self all in a froth. Covers include: Cocteau Twins' "Wax And Wane", the Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want", Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur", the Cure's "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep", Sade's "No Ordinary Love", Helmet's "Sinatra", Lynrd Skynrd's "Simple Man", Jawbox's "Savory" as well as a handful of re-recorded originals. So amazing! Also includes a DVD of all the videos as well as a bunch of live stuff and weird old rare footage. Packaged in a gorgeous hardcover book-style sleeve, with tons of liner notes and photos.
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It's still so confounding to us that anyone into heavy music doesn't love the Deftones. Sure, they may have started life as a nu-metal band, but even then, it was obvious that they were destined for more. And it didn't take long for them to make good on that potential, transforming into a seriously kick ass, brooding avant post metal juggernaut, as capable of whipping out some Slayer-esque riffage, or some downtuned drop-D crunch, as some spare moody electronica flecked slowcore or some blissed out metalgaze. And the fact that they often effortlessly did all of the above simultaneously only made us love them more. Plus you gotta love any band that covers the Cocteau Twins, the Smith, Duran Duran, the Cure, Sade, Helmet, Lynyrd Skynrd and Jawbox. And that should also give you an idea of the sort of sounds that informs the sounds these guys conjure up.
In some ways Diamond Eyes is a bit less experimental than Saturday Night Wrist. That record had some seriously weird shit going on, long tripped out electronic jams with foul mouthed female spoken word, almost like some sort of cold Teutonic electro, mixed with plenty of dark balladic dirges and chugging metallic blow outs. It could be that the proposed follow up, Eros, might have been just as far out, but that record was put on hold indefinitely, as the Deftones bassist is in a coma after an automobile accident. Even so, while the weirdness is maybe not so overt, their sound is so unique anyway, equal parts doomy gothy miserablism, epic melodic bliss pop, and metallic crunch, a combo others have definitely tried, but no one does it quite like these guys. Another killer disc of heaviness and hooks, metal and moodiness, most definitely a new favorite...
At glamorous aQ HQ few things can stir up controversy and debate quite as quickly as mainstream music, so instead of a traditional review of the new album by Deftones, we instead present this word-for-word recreation of an actual Aquarius Records staff conversation. No names have been changed to protect the innocent.
[Interior: A charming San Francisco record store. A customer examines an lp copy of the entirely silent Sounds Of Silence compilation quizzically. Meanwhile, several employees gather by the register debating the merits of a recently released nu-metal/emo/shoegaze/alt-rock opus.]
HARRY: I'd review the new Deftones if we feel like ordering it. It's really great! Sounds like a metal Sunny Day Real Estate.
ANDEE: I'm curious to hear it... I had two different people tell me it sounds like Chino Moreno singing for Coldplay!? But metal Sunny Day Real Estate sounds way better.
[KIRK appears as if from nowhere.]
KIRK: It sounds like Coldplay? Now I'm interested.
HARRY: Speaking as a bona fide Coldplay fan, it sounds nothing like Coldplay.
SYDNEY: I thought you said a metal Real Estate instead of a metal Sunny Day Real Estate. Now I really want to know what that would sound like.
KIRK: Probably Deafheaven! Hey-o!
SYDNEY: Yeah, actually that's pretty accurate.
ALLAN: Can this discussion be the review?
KIRK: Despite being the perfect age and being into the same scene as the 'Tones I've never heard them, but I know their fans are quite... adamant.
HARRY: I think you might like them...?
SYDNEY: I've never listened to them before ever, but they're already great because they're from Sacramento. #RepThe916
HARRY: They're pretty shoegazey and '90s sounding.
ALLAN: This discussion should definitely be the review.
[General approval from the group.]
ALLAN: All I know is they are one of those bands that Andee likes that I'm a little skeptical about but would check out someday but haven't yet really. The question is, is this new album the one to check out?
HARRY: Yeah, I think so. I haven't heard any of their new stuff in 10+ years, but I lurve this one. It sounds like old emo & alt rock mixed with the occasional Meshuggah chugga chugga.
[Epilogue: The Aquarius staff decide to order the new Deftones and include it on their New Arrivals list. The album ends up being much better than everyone expected. It really does sound like a metal Sunny Day Real Estate!]
This one probably doesn't require too much of a review (and we're not being too timely with it either!), but we might as well start this one the way we started our review of 2010's Diamond Eyes, and say that we STILL don't understand how anyone who digs heavy music doesn't love these guys. Pretty much every record since Around The Fur has been chock full of brooding, moody heaviness, the sound as much beholden to their nu-metal past as the Cure and Depeche Mode, and somehow the weird fusion of metal and moody pop has transformed into a super unique sound, one that almost everyone we know, metalheads included LOVE. When this record came out, a procession of aQ friends and customers, came in, called, emailed, all SO excited about a new Deftones record. And we're talking weirdo music nerds, metalheads, pop kids...
And like Diamond Eyes, Koi No Yokan is another killer, heavy as hell, crazy catchy, super atmospheric, the sound massive, the production HUGE, and with some of the best songs in ages. "Romantic Dreams", is so poppy it's almost criminal that's it's not all over the radio. Then there's "Poltergeist", with it's weird hand clap breakdown and soaring chorus. There's also plenty of the Deftones slower doom poppy dirges, which still sound amazing. Fuck it, fans are gonna want this, haters oughta give the samples a listen, you might be surprised. For all the weird black buzz and dense drones and hooky indie rock and heavy psych we've been digging, odds are this may very well end up being the record some of us listen to most...
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So, knowing full well that I am impervious to any mockery, having weathered plenty with my past admissions (Tool, Fastway, Warlord, Bad News), I will stand tall, and say that the new Deftones record is amazing. Maybe even better than their last record, 'Around The Fur', 'White Pony' puts the Deftones even more safely apart from the 'nu-metal' crowd they are often (and unfairly) lumped in with. Sure, there's the occasional Rage-Against-The-Machine-isms, but that's not so bad (we all loved the Refused record which bordered on RATM territory) and this record is just fucking great. Heavy and weird and catchy and dark, and sometimes slow and creepy (their admitted Depeche Mode obsession is in full effect). Plus some guest vocals from Tool frontman Maynard, make for the best Tool song that never was. Fucking essential.
God, I love the Deftones. I can't help it. And why should I even try? I've proudly proclaimed it in the past and I will continue to do so. Their records strike this perfect balance between thunderous, skull crushing heaviness and heartbreaking, soul shattering lovliness. Sweet, wispy melodies flit delicately between falling slabs of impossibly heavy sound, downtuned guitars spew molten rivers of roiling riffs and frothing feedback, Chino Moreno's gorgeous velvety croon, wraps itself lovingly around your head, filling your ears with warm melodic gauze before exploding into a banshee-like wail and splitting your skull into a thousand pieces. Crushing metallic dirges dissipate into drone-y, whirring soundscapes of hushed, almost whispered vocals and delicate, crystalline melodies. So perfect.
Soul Coughing's sampler operator DeGliAntoni debut solo disc of sampler experimentation, a bit farther out than the pop of his main band, "drawing upon instrumental trip-hop, cartoon music and minimalism."
Guess we couldn't help but weigh in on the most discussed album so far this year. Now, we are not normally swayed by massive hype, but we admit to be quite taken early on by the sudden appearance of her two big singles, "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans", songs that seemed to marry dead end Hollywood glamor, with a jaded detachment and torchsong doom, the music either swathed in descending minor key hip hop beats, or orchestral string sections, sometimes both. Lynchian affinities naturally spread, as well as comparisons to both Amy Winehouse and Scott Walker. In the mainstream pop sphere, there was nothing quite like this.
Now the album is finally here, and while it doesn't completely live up to the promise of the singles, it -nearly- does. But we don't feel the problem with the record relates to any of the bafflingly contentious debate that has plagued the singer in recent months (we won't go into that here, as it's been well gone over in the mainstream music press). But rather it's the unexpected RnB Diva side to Del Rey that we have yet to encounter in her videos, that has thrown us off. Sung in a higher register with a blunted hip-hop swagger, songs like "Day at The Races", "National Anthem" and "Diet Mountain Dew", though not really that bad on their own (they're catchy as hell, but not sure if that's a good thing), don't quite jive with the persona the singer has so carefully crafted with "Video Games", creating a jarring schism within the flow of the record.
But still, this is a better record than most mainstream pop, and we'd rather hear this (or have the kids listen to it) more than the new Madonna record or anything by Lady Gaga. Say what you will about fake personas, Del Rey at least doesn't come across as some corporate schill, Diet Mountain Dew notwithstanding.
OK folks, here it is, the soundtrack to the indie flick all the kids are talkin' 'bout. The film score was written by Tim Delaughter and performed by The Polyphonic Spree (who are sounding more and more like a children's choir with each passing day) which is a treat unto itself, but scattered throughout are three songs by the late Elliott Smith which only make the proceedings that much more heartbreaking (two previously unreleased covers of Big Star's "Thirteen" and Cat Stevens' "Trouble" as well as the track "Let's Get Lost" from Smith's last album From A Basement On A Hill). Somehow none of us have seen the film yet, but we can confirm that the soundtrack on its own swings you from carefree'n'feelgood to to dreamily contemplative to heartaches'n'bummers and back again. It all culminates in a lengthy (30-minute long) pastoral instrumental and finally a joyous reprise of Polyphonic's "Move Away And Shine".
Vladislav Delay continues to drift ever further from the spaced out minimal electronic dub and spare skeletal Chain Reaction techno that so defined him, this being maybe the strangest thing we've heard from him, this newly formed Quartet finds Delay (aka Sasu Ripatti) back behind the drum kit, where he started as a young jazz drummer, teamed up with Lucio Capece, Derek Shirley and none other than Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio (which makes sense as Delay now calls Finland home). Besides Delay's drums and percussion, the sound is rounded out by an appropriately eclectic, and is some ways traditionally jazzy array of instrumentation, acoustic bass, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, sruti box, preparations, electronics and live processing.
The opening track is an impressionistic soft noise blur, all hazy thrum, murky electronic burble, and what percussion there is exists more as barely audible skitters, and reverbed sizzle and clang, but it's an arresting introduction, dark and dense, washed out and psychedelically laced with the buried skree of horns and constantly shifting textures, the perfect lead in to the first 'proper' track, the nearly 12 minute "Santa Teresa", which is super minimal, low slung, Delay's drums spare and skittery, the bass locked into a warm jazzy pulse, the horns emitting sheets of brassy shimmer and skree, hard to say whether this is minimal experimentalism, or far out deconstructed jazz, or freeform improvised electronica, it actually sounds like all three, dark and haunting, dense and tense, with the drums marvelously effected, giving the sound a darkly dubbed out vibe as well.
"Des Abends" at its core is a variation of that opening track, but way noisier and dirgier, the sound more chaotic and distorted, the sound more industrial, laced with fragmented grooves, and thick clouds of blurred electronic noise.
And so it goes, from crunchy, buzz drenched low end dirgery, to charged electronics wreathed pulsing drones, from tripped out celestial kosmische electro-jazz to hushed, blurred, almost Portishead sounding downtempo slither, and from noisy cinematic horn flecked chaotic crunch to lush haunting layered ur-drone mesmer. Fantastic stuff.
Not a new release, but damn if we don't need a little more of the fantastic Delgados in our lives. And here the dose comes in the form of five BBC Sessions (including two for the legendary John Peel from 95/96). Not quite the epic grandeur of The Great Eastern but still very rich, beautiful pop. With a cover of Guided By Voices' "Indian Fables".
The Scots certainly have a magic touch when it comes to creating absolute pop splendor. Just think of artists like Belle And Sebastian, Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap, not to mention supergroup The Reindeer Section... and then there's this band! You might recall Windy and Cup both gushing over the Delgados' last album The Great Eastern a couple of years back. Oh my! Well, we're happy to report that with this, their fourth full length, they've picked up right where they left off. That is, continuing to finely craft their splendid compositions full of a swirling carousel of strings, woodwinds and horns, honey-sweet male and female lead vocals, and an angelic choral accompaniment. Plus they've done so once again with the notable presence of Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev) in the producer's seat. Such a wonderful combination it is! Making for an even grander big picture than they created together on the super lush Great Eastern. Clouds of shimmering cymbal crashes punctuate the glorious, dramatic atmosphere, definitely revealing that distinct Fridmann touch. Wistful, lulling melodies are introduced in the most spartan of settings -- a lone voice and guitar -- but soon build to epic proportions. And the lyrics? Ah yes, quite capable of stirring heartswelling sighs and misty eyes from the coldest of men with their crushingly bittersweet imagery (lyrics are included in the cd booklet). If you've even a glimmer of affection for glorious orchestral pop, the Delgados are for you! Luminous and lovely and so very recommended.
Note: Includes a video for their song "Coming In From The Cold" and two bonus tracks not on the Mantra UK pressing.
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Without fail if this album is played in the store, customers immediately ask who this is. Leans gently towards lo-fi and unassuming, yet epic and orchestral, this Scottish outfit has produced a majestic pop album of instantly catchy, toothsomely epic ditties and waltzes. The second track "Accused of Stealing" is a beautifully crushing composition. One of Cup's favorite albums of all time. Highly recommended.
Attention all Delgados completists... Here's the newest single from your fave Scottish band! That said, the two previously unreleased songs included on this EP makes this a worthwhile acquisition for any bittersweet grand pop fan. The Emma Pollock-sung "Mad Drums" was recorded during the Hate sessions and surely sounds fitting as a lovely addendum and the E.L.O. cover "Mr. Blue Sky" is a rambunctious number that when done Delgados style recalls their early more raucous garage pop sounds.
MPEG Download: "Mad Drums" [/audio/delgadosmad.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Mad Drums" [/audio/delgadosmad.m3u]
We weren't expecting a new album yet from these Scottish lovelies. It came right outta the blue, but what a delicious surprise it is!
What do you do when you reach the highest of glorious heights in dreamy popdom two albums in a row? Well if you're the Delgados, it seems you give the candy bag a shake to uncover fresh aural delights. They've traded out their longtime producer, the kickass Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev, et al) for the equally distinguished producer/engineer and fellow Scotsman Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Mountain Goats among many others) -- taking a step back from Fridmann's trademark dizzying studio wizardry and towards more stripped down, back to basics production and song structures. Never fear, there are still plenty of lovely embellishments, but they're not the kind characterized by overblown-to-the-point-of-distortion clouds of reverb and epic orchestral tidal waves. The most noticeable result of this crisp new direction is thatthere's more space for the vocals to breathe. And who doesn't want Ms Emma's heartmelting vocals more upfront and center?! Oddly enough this 'new' direction sorta brings the band full circle back to their early rough'n'tumble lower fi garage-y sound and plants it next to their more recent slower, more polished introspective sweet-tarts. A prime example of this comes early in the album. The third song "Everybody Come Down" is a peppy pop tune and the next "Come Undone" brings things way down into their more recent gauzy, wistful tempo. On Universal Audio, the beloved Delgados have truly achieved a faithful balance of their old and new selves. Recommended.
Finally! For years we've been hearing teasers from this Leeds, England group. A song here and there on a Rough Trade comp, Chicks On Speed covering their first single "Mind Your Own Business" and it kept our mouths watering waiting for someone with the right mind to finally make their stuff available again. Luckily Kill Rock Stars stepped to the plate and have reissued these totally influential sounds for all of us to hear and play over and over like we have here at AQ. Imagine Gang Of Four injected with a healthy dose of estrogen and you begin to get a sense of what Delta 5 were all about. These three gals and two guys were delivering infectious post-punk with a feminist stance and were at the vanguard of the Rock Against Racism movement. It's easy to see how along with The Slits and The Raincoats they helped influence bands that would later play a major role in the start of riot grrrl and queer positive post-punk. We immediately started thinking about Electrelane and Erase Errata (especially towards the end of the disc when the songs get a little more rough, jagged and aggressive, yet still keeping a beat that makes you want to dance throughout the whole album). To top it all off they look so sassy and cute on the cover. A band to love from inside to out. So totally recommended!
Lots of hammond organ and wah-wah guitar riffage (sometimes reaching the status of 'heavy'). Plenty of chops from a guy who must wear his bass too high. Note for note Rolling Stones quotations. Working man's blues (made for indie-rockers with tight pants) and Jon Spencer posturing. Hey, it's the Delta 72!
Number two from the Paul Butterfield Blues Explosion.
SF group Delta Song make a pleasing mellow racket on their seven song cd-r. Their music is primarily draped around a jazzy post-rock framework - much like San Diego's Tristeza or any number of Chicago combos - however what sets them apart are their distinct warbled folky male vocals. Maybe not for everyone, in-store play has drawn both very warm and chilly response to the singing. Wanna decide for yourself? Check out "Exorcist IV" (which also stands apart from the other six, in that it sounds as though it was recorded in a school classroom). All in all, a very well executed and promising debut.
We had SO many people asking for this over the last few weeks, the debut full length from Mac Demarco, out on Captured Tracks, one of our favorite labels, who have a pretty stellar track record for sure, so we of course got some copies in, and were pretty surprised by the sound. There are certainly some sonic ties to other outfits on Captured Tracks, but Demarco's sound is way more laid back, woozy and sun dappled, the vibe is a little like a more lo-fi jangle-pop Jimmy Buffet actually, or a hazy softly psychedelic Grateful Dead at their very poppiest, softly groovy, a wee bit funky, lazy drawled vocals, sometimes slipping into a wavery falsetto, spidery, warbly guitar melodies, all drenched in chorus, giving it a strange ethereal feel, the instrumentation super stripped down and minimal, the drums skeletal and spare, with a slightly off (in a good way) production, seemingly barebones, but close listening reveals all sorts of weird textures and strange swirling filigree in the background. But don't let that paint a too weird picture of what's going on here, the sound slipping easily from strummy soft focus folk to low key psych pop, but all infused with an old school singer/songwriter vibe, which definitely reminds us more of the aforementioned combos than any modern outfits, Captured Tracks or otherwise. It's not hard to imagine Mac Demarco, fronting the house band in some open air, divey Tiki bar, set right on the sand, at some mysterious beachfront resort, in some alternate universe, softly serenading a room full of lost souls.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
