Mountain Man — a band of women, not Red Wings-wearing, flannel-clad Devendra lookalikes — play willowy, wind-through-the-trees folk reminiscent of singers such as Marissa Nadler or L.A.’s Chapin Sisters. “Soft Skin” is the first single from Made The Harbor, the Vermont trio’s formal follow-up to their self-titled, self-released album of last year, but at 2 minutes, it’s barely a taste of what the group can do. After after the first 70 seconds, it shifts from one song to another idea entirely like an Appalachian Skeletal Lamping; it is, in other words, not your new jam of the week. As an album indicator? We’ll have to see, but the group’s decidedly non-rugged charms may well be worth the wait.
In case you wanted to hear the ’70s soul version of Wilco’s classic “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” And you did want to, right? Because it rules. Keep your ears open for a “Theologians” segue. (via We Are Your FEK)
A well-done Take Away Show-inspired clip (peep the escalator sequence!) for trad-folk newcomers The Strumbellas, who offer beardy Americana harmonies that belie their Toronto roots. Full disclosure, Cokemachineglow colleague and indie-pop aficionado Dave Ritter is a member, but doesn’t that just make the band more likable?
“Power” is the first single from Kanye West’s Good Ass Job, and the track hits hard — if Yeezy was cowed at all after the Taylor Swift incident, he doesn’t show it here, eschewing Auto-Tune and returning to rhyming over floor-rattling No I.D. drums. The MC remains the most electric figure in modern hip-hop to these ears (sorry, Hov), and this bodes well for what’s to come. Can we get a Kanye/Sleigh Bells collab Peter Bjorn and John-style before the year’s out? (Via Stereogum) Update: Symbolyc One says he co-produced the track with Kayne, but didn’t indicate if it would make the album or not.
Ryan Adams’ Orion, in three words: sci-fi, Danzig, awesome. In more words: it’s actually pretty metal, and sounds better/funnier for the fact that he recorded it in 2006, at the height of his crazy Internet: Fuck Yeah phase. Certainly riffier than the Sad Dracula stuff he was doing at the same time. Tracks such as “Disappyramid” are both hilarious and heavy — and isn’t that what metal’s all about? I rate this album \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ 1/2 out of \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/.
Your tolerance for Sleigh Bells’ debut, Treats, might be measured by your enjoyment of, say, G.I. Joe or Transformers 2. Yes, this is a ridiculous, arguably disastrous album, full of hyper-in-your-face fireworks and one nonsensical action scene after another. Recorded with purposefully hair-raising digital clipping and designed to ruin speakers and encourage drinking (that’s just science, guys), Sleigh Bells is a big, dumb, beat-bloated party record — the inevitable offspring of Andrew WK, the Lenny Kravitz version of “American Woman” and Dirty Projectors. And, uh, I kinda love it! Indie rock’s ascent from the bedroom to the dance floor has been a bit of a brutal climb for those of us who started off nerding out to the likes of Elliott Smith and the Decemberists, but now that our guys are topping charts and headlining festivals, maybe it’s time to embrace the blockbuster era. At least until Oscar season.
While you’re here, though, a quick question: this album sold 12,000 copies via digital in its first week, entirely on the strength of a few NYC and SXSW performances and the wholehearted endorsement of Pitchfork and a coke-snorting blogosphere. At the time of this writing, it has been downloaded over 3,500 times on one popular underground music torrent site, in addition to however many uncountable message board Mediafire downloads. Nevertheless, 12K! Sold! For a band that the Internet has been aware of literally since October 2009. What happened to piracy?! Are you guys actually spending real dollars on practically imaginary digital products? You might as well buy a World of Warcraft +5 battle axe on eBay. I demand an explanation: please take the poll.
The Morning Benders remind me most of the Walkmen, if that band spent less time in bars and more listening to Pet Sounds. It’s in the athleticism. The band plays a muscular version of the earnest, rough-edged folk-pop common on Merge or Sub Pop (though they’re signed to Rough Trade), with their latest album, Big Echo, aided by the craggy production of Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. The same sounds rang true without him on stage last week, and though the James Mercer-adoring crowd may not have noticed, they played with a gusto and inspiration that I wish the Broken Bells frontman could recapture himself. More photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
As only a haphazard advocate of Los Angeles bands, it’s interesting to hear Cody The Band’s clear connections to the scene — “A Tree Falls Down” alone touches on the twangy country-pop of Jenny Lewis, the fleshed-out ’70s ambition of Jon Brion, the unfettered joy of the World Record or Le Switch. The group recorded at Rockets Red Glare, which has produced a number of Southland gems (The Broken West, The Idaho Falls) and can now add the Cody The Band EP to its jewelry collection. Buy local, folks (or better, download for free from iLike.)
Mountain Man — a band of women, not Red Wings-wearing, flannel-clad Devendra lookalikes — play willowy, wind-through-the-trees folk reminiscent of singers such as Marissa Nadler or L.A.’s Chapin Sisters. “Soft Skin” is the first single from Made The Harbor, the Vermont trio’s formal follow-up to their self-titled, self-released album of last year, but at 2 minutes, it’s barely a taste of what the group can do. After after the first 70 seconds, it shifts from one song to another idea entirely like an Appalachian Skeletal Lamping; it is, in other words, not your new jam of the week. As an album indicator? We’ll have to see, but the group’s decidedly non-rugged charms may well be worth the wait.
Ryan Adams’ Orion, in three words: sci-fi, Danzig, awesome. In more words: it’s actually pretty metal, and sounds better/funnier for the fact that he recorded it in 2006, at the height of his crazy Internet: Fuck Yeah phase. Certainly riffier than the Sad Dracula stuff he was doing at the same time. Tracks such as “Disappyramid” are both hilarious and heavy — and isn’t that what metal’s all about? I rate this album \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ 1/2 out of \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/.
Your tolerance for Sleigh Bells’ debut, Treats, might be measured by your enjoyment of, say, G.I. Joe or Transformers 2. Yes, this is a ridiculous, arguably disastrous album, full of hyper-in-your-face fireworks and one nonsensical action scene after another. Recorded with purposefully hair-raising digital clipping and designed to ruin speakers and encourage drinking (
As only a haphazard advocate of Los Angeles bands, it’s interesting to hear Cody The Band’s clear connections to the scene — “A Tree Falls Down” alone touches on the twangy country-pop of Jenny Lewis, the fleshed-out ’70s ambition of Jon Brion, the unfettered joy of the World Record or Le Switch. The group recorded at Rockets Red Glare, which has produced a number of Southland gems (The Broken West, The Idaho Falls) and can now add the Cody The Band EP to its jewelry collection. Buy local, folks (or better, download for free from 
