Somehow, and by somehow, I mean, “by indiscriminately downloading indie rock albums for the last decade,” I wound up with the Logh discography. Things could be worse. North is an album I don’t quite understand not finding a devoted fanbase; its only sin comes in arriving in 2007, its emo and alternative influences suddenly (well, not suddenly) unhip. The album is a whispered delivery of the usual suspects (feelings, life changes, time, seasons, weather, more feelings) matched against gorgeous chamber-rock arrangements that recall vintage Bright Eyes and Carissa’s Weird, but with the ray of optimism those bands sorely lacked in their heyday. While their windswept midwestern sound falls closer to Saddle Creek than today’s synth-pop, they share a melodic kinship with L.A.’s Division Day — which makes it even more surprising that in writing this, I learned they’re from Sweden. As most great things are, whatever the year.
I watched the first episode of the new 90210 the other day — research, honest — and was pretty surprised to see a Division Day sticker, considering, as Jessica Stroup’s Silver says, they have like 8 fans. And presumably all of us are reading this post right now, so let’s hope this sticker pushes Los Angeles’ best unknown band over the top, Death Cab style — although at least The OC had the courtesy to, y’know, play a few Death Cab songs. (P.S. Hey Jessica, rad Chucks!)
Update: I watched the next couple episodes, and to my immense chagrin I think I like this show a lot better than Gossip Girl (which I really only liked thanks to the lingering glow of The OC‘s first season). But the indie rock references have got to stop, fellas: Vampire Weekend, OK, but Sea Wolf? At Spaceland?! Somehow I don’t think a musical theater kid from Kansas would be into any of these bands, but I guess if they can sneak in a Hold Steady plug somewhere I’ll learn to live with it.
I’ve been waiting since ’04 for Kings of Convenience to release a new album (and since ’06 for a proper Math and Physics Club follow-up), but apparently Dylan Mondegreen decided to take matters into his own hands last year.
While I Walk You Home is a lively parade of major seventh chords and whispered harmonies sung with an aching Norwegian accent; argyle in the wind on an autumn afternoon. It’s painfully great, but perhaps the most heartbreaking thing about it is it took a Google Reader suggestion to point me in its direction.
Let’s all buy this record and hug it all the way to our favorite coffeehouses, yeah?
I’ve been reading a lot of Hipster Runoff lately, and if you — like me — are a 20-something old enough to remember the days before Generation American Apparel, Carles’ daily criticism and gently pointed commentary on alternative bros and electro remixes is required reading. Guy posts more party pix than MP3s, but when he kicks out the jams, he makes ‘em count. He asked the other day if DFA signees Holy Ghost!‘s “Hold On” was the next “D.A.N.C.E.,” and while I doubt it’ll capture the blogosphere zeitgeist the way Justice‘s summer jam did, its Cut Copy-esque indietronica certainly makes it the best song you’ll hear this week. (Or, uh, back in November ’07 when it dropped. So much for setting the Hype Machine on fire.)
Speaking of the next “D.A.N.C.E.,” it’s still a wonder to me that David Gilmour Girls’ “Young Rats” never took off last year. Probably didn’t help that it was the only pop-vocal track on an album full of instrumentals, but all the same, in case you missed it on the RawkblogBest of ’07 list:
While the title is an apt one – on first listen, this set of shimmering guitar pop has all the musical weight of a summer breeze – Light Works finds Aloha evolving. The EP is the follow-up to the fantastic Some Echoes, one of my favorite albums of 2006, and finds the band moving ever closer to the sounds of modern-day Death Cab For Cutie. Pristine guitar architecture is the base for Tony Cavallario’s forthright melodies, though even at their poppiest, the songs are more claustrophobic than Death Cab’s most paranoid tracks. It’s the subtle nervousness inhabiting these songs that lets them transcend their otherwise unambitious pop aspirations, the same sense of urgency that made Nada Surf briefly relevant again on 2002′s Let Go. The band will play the Knitting Factory with the Velvet Teen on March 18.
Ravens & Chimes‘ Reichenbach Falls is the kind of album that grabs you and doesn’t let go until you’ve been shaken to your core. The emotions are so raw and the songs so strong that the connection can’t help but be immediate, though its spare narratives leave one with plenty of lingering resonance. As a New York resident this summer, the album’s evocative portrait of the city as lonely subways and empty houses went even deeper for me. It was with nostalgia for the East Village and excitement about the album – Ravens & Chimes’ debut – that I called frontman Asher Lack last October. Our conversation ranged from the city to recording in Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s studio to following Radiohead’s album-leaking footsteps. Here, in part two of two, we discuss entering the Montreal scene, making a dusty-sounding album and the future of the record industry post-In Rainbows. Read the rest of this entry »
The Canon, Examined: The best records to ever slip through the cracks.
