In case you want your heart broken. Elliott’s kind of a wreck, as he seemed to be for most of the last shows of his life, but the music’s as incredible as ever. I saw him live for the first and only time at the Fonda the next night.
As Jim O’Rourke showcased on Insignificance and the Halfway to a Threeway EP, among other releases, he is an incisive and all-but-unmatched songwriter; why he chooses to spend so much of his time building unfathomable drones is beyond me. But watching this will give you at least an idea of the man at work, as well as showcasing a flawlessly preserved circa-2002 “sensitive Decemberists fan” wardrobe. (Via @twentyfourbit)
The LAIKA/Focus Features film, due in August 2012, will follow in the footsteps of the studios’ excellent Coraline, which was also stop-motion and 3-D. But not scored by Jon Brion.
Says Jon, per the press release: “I’ve been waiting for the right animation project for some time now. This production and the people at LAIKA and Focus have an inspiring amount of heart. One can’t help being swept up in the passion.”
Looking forward to it. Brion most recently scored Miranda July’s The Future, due in limited release this July; he’ll play his usual Largo gig on June 24, with a bonus show on the 25th.
Love of Everything’s new EP may be the product of an indie lifer, not to mention a recent divorcee, but Bobby Burg’s latest project nevertheless bristles with adolescent energy. (And Revenge of the Nerds-y vocals.) “Three Way Answers” turns to the garage in the best possible way, spiking its sugar-rush melody with lo-fi edge and a break-up’s bitterness.
Love of Everything – “Three Way Answers”: mp3
(The Sooner I Wish EP is out Aug. 2 on Polyvinyl. Pre-order now.)
So much for the afterglow. Twin Sister’s “Bad Street” places the band firmly into pop territory, abandoning the low-budget atmospherics of the Color Your Life EP like last year’s blog posts. Over nearly five minutes, the song touches on Ariel Pink-shaded call-and-response vox, electro-disco vibes and hypnotic repetition for a track that’s as rabbit-hole strange as it is bright and clean. The band’s only real failing on Color Your Life was launching into tangents blind-folded, not knowing which way to turn next. Here, an unpredictable road map comes better than none. I’m reasonably sure “Bad Street” doesn’t actually have a chorus; I’m totally sure I love it. The band’s full-length debut, In Heaven, is due on Domino on Sept. 27.
Twin Sister – Bad Street by DominoRecordCo
Previously: First Look: Twin Sister – Color Your Life
Photo by Shawn Brackbill
Fogged-glass dreamers Memoryhouse showcased some new material (from their upcoming Sub Pop debut, perhaps?) at New York City’s Pianos recently, which YouTube user IWasEasyMeat captured in pretty lucid A/V. Another video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
On Diaper Island, Calgarian mad genius Chad VanGaalen throws out the bathwater along with quite a few of his babies. The album abandons titular sci-fi scenarios, cloud-city ballads, analog reimaginings of electronic instrumentals; he restrains his heart-rending tenor to a single Harvest-style blues number (“Heavy Stones”) and one tender should-be hit single, the Bon Iver-obliterating “Sara.” There is no “Build a Home Like a Bee” or “Sing Me To Sleep.” In their places are electric guitars, a drum set, the room sound of VanGaalen’s new home studio and an angry vocalist.
Songs such as “Burning Photographs” and long-lost Haight-Ashbury anthem “Freedom for a Policeman” borrow mostly from the guitar duels of Woman, the likely-defunct post-punk act who released two Van-seared LPs before imploding. With Diaper Island by virtual default the eclectic composer’s most consistent, single-minded release, it’s easy to imagine him wanting to have crafted a more palatable full-length — then again, he’s probably as interested in scoring blogosphere hits as Celine Dion is in signing a 7″ deal with Paw Tracks. Intentions aside, VanGaalen’s brilliance lies in his fearless wanderlust. While it’s nice to hear him exploring one place for once, let’s hope his ventures through the ditch aren’t over yet.
Chad VanGaalen – “Sara”: mp3
(Diaper Island is out now on Sub Pop.)
Previously: Video: Chad VanGaalen plays ‘Sara,’ shows off studio | First Look: Chad VanGaalen – ‘Your Tan Looks Supernatural’ EP (2011)
Press folks: if you currently send me anything in the mail, I have a new address. I’m not going to give it to you because I want you to stop sending me stuff in the mail. Thanks for all the CDs and dinosaur bones. Please send future press downloads to rawkblog AT gmail DOT com if you aren’t already. Oh, and Culver City residents: Hi! See you at Father’s Office.
