In an undated but presumably recent video (circa 2006, 2007, I’d guess), Rose Melberg plays a pretty take on Portola stand-out “My Heaven, My Sky” with frequent collaborator Nick Krgovich of P:ano and Gigi. Videographer Robin Anderson has another pair of performances from the set on Vimeo — I’ve gone ahead and ripped two of these performances below. If anyone knows what the others are called, please comment away!
Rose Melberg – “My Heaven, My Sky” (live):mp3 Rose Melberg – “(Unknown – If You Want To Make Me Crazy)”:mp3
Familiarity, someone once said, breds contempt. Guy obviously wasn’t an indie-pop fan. The genre, though as wide-ranging as any musical movement, generally boils down to a few key components: electric guitars with a maxed-out treble knob, strummed with an easy pattern (down-down, up-up, down-up, deep breath!); sincere, untrained-crooner vocals that tend to slip off key; rhythm sections with an almost swinging bounce. Slumberland Records has stood behind this music for 20 years; on Sunday night, the label showed off the fruits of its labors at an anniversary show at the Echo that gathered together bands past (Go Sailor) and present (Pants Yell!). All of ‘em after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
One Rose Melberg band covers another (the one which happens to be my favorite of all time) at the Slumberland 20th Anniversary show at the Echo on Sunday. Kids, dreams do come true! Apologies as usual for the camera phone video.
Go Sailor aren’t the most notorious of Rose Melberg’s projects: The Softies, who lasted longer and sounded sweeter, and Tiger Trap, which announced her emergence into the twee scene with a treble-heavy bang, are both better known. But the band, which reunited for an instant classic show at the Echo on Sunday night, deserves the same recognition. The short-lived group, which included Crimpshine’s Paul Curran and Amy Linton of Henry’s Dress and later, the Aislers Set, produced three EPs and two compilation tracks ultimately gathered on the 1996 Go Sailor compilation. The release’s 14 songs benefit from a mid-fidelity approach that allows for that trademark Pacific Northwest ’90s jangle without burying Melberg’s coy, cucumber-cool vocals — an enhancement over Tiger Trap in that respect, and Go Sailor were always that band’s equal for material. As current acts like Best Coast, Surfer Blood and Washed Out marvel over the ocean as if they’d just flown in from Nebraska, Go Sailor’s nautical bent (evident on “Fine Day For Sailing,” “Bigger Than An Ocean” and “The Boy Who Sailed Around The World,” among others) sounds as timely as ever — and as tuneful. Stream the album in full after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Go Sailor may not have set the indie-pop world on fire the way some of Rose Melberg’s other projects (Tiger Trap, Rawkblog favorite-band-ever The Softies) did, but given that Rose has spent approximately an hour performing songs in Los Angeles in the last decade, all news is good news. The short-lived, Rose-fronted band — which obviously rules — is reuniting to play at Slumberland Records’ 20th anniversary shows in L.A. on March 28 and San Francisco on March 27. Joining them will be other reuniting ’90s luminaries Henry’s Dress, Boyracer and The How, as well as modern torch-bearers Pants Yell! and Devon Williams. Softies in 2011? A boy can dream. (Aside: Do we have the relative commercial success of Vivian Girls and Pains of Being Pure at Heart for all these reunions? Or is the timing just right? Happy as a cardigan-wearing clam either way.)
LA-Underground has captured three wonderful performances from Rose Melberg’s rare L.A. gig at the Echo Curio last week. Two more videos, including Rose’s cover of Fred Brooks’ “I Will Never Marry,” after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
This SimpleViewer gallery requires Macromedia Flash. Please open this post in your browser or get Macromedia Flash here.
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
All photos by David Greenwald
You always hope your heroes are as you’d imagined them. Mysterious. Charisma to burn. Or, you know, nice. Rose Melberg, one of indie pop’s most talented icons, is the closest thing we’ve got to twee royalty (beyond being, of course, queen of my heart), but she rules with open arms. Watching her play a pair of far too brief sets at Vacation Vinyl and Echo Curio on Tuesday night was as quietly stunning as you’d expect from the shy-voiced singer and her lovelorn odes, but it was Rose herself that impressed me most. Whether joking with the packed, ironic sweatshirt-clad Echo Curio audience or offering words of appreciation when a drunken new fan approached her at her earlier record store set (which, guys, you seriously missed out on), Rose was every bit as earnest and charming as her music. But Ms. Melberg, do me one favor — come back before 2019 (and play some Softies jams)? That would be the nicest of all.
Intrepid Rawkblog readers will remember the one and only Rose Melberg as my favorite singer still in business. The former frontwoman of Tiger Trap and The Softies (swoon!) comes to Los Angeles tonight for the first time in forever and a day in support of her latest solo release, the lovely Homemade Ship. Given Rose’s infrequent touring schedule, this may be your one and only chance to see her (and, er, me, sobbing away). She’s playing Vacation Vinyl tonight at 6 PM and then heading over for another gig at the Echo Curio. Update: LA Record has a great interview today with Rose, who said she hasn’t played in L.A. in 10 years!
Go Sailor aren’t the most notorious of Rose Melberg’s projects: The Softies, who lasted longer and sounded sweeter, and Tiger Trap, which announced her emergence into the twee scene with a treble-heavy bang, are both better known. But the band, which reunited for an instant classic show at the Echo on Sunday night, deserves the same recognition. The short-lived group, which included Crimpshine’s Paul Curran and Amy Linton of Henry’s Dress and later, the Aislers Set, produced three EPs and two compilation tracks ultimately gathered on the 1996 Go Sailor compilation. The release’s 14 songs benefit from a mid-fidelity approach that allows for that trademark Pacific Northwest ’90s jangle without burying Melberg’s coy, cucumber-cool vocals — an enhancement over Tiger Trap in that respect, and Go Sailor were always that band’s equal for material. As current acts like Best Coast, Surfer Blood and Washed Out marvel over the ocean as if they’d just flown in from Nebraska, Go Sailor’s nautical bent (evident on “Fine Day For Sailing,” “Bigger Than An Ocean” and “The Boy Who Sailed Around The World,” among others) sounds as timely as ever — and as tuneful. Stream the album in full after the jump. 
Intrepid Rawkblog readers will remember the one and only Rose Melberg as my favorite singer still in business. The former frontwoman of Tiger Trap and The Softies (swoon!) comes to Los Angeles tonight for the first time in forever and a day in support of her latest solo release, the lovely Homemade Ship. Given Rose’s infrequent touring schedule, this may be your one and only chance to see her (and, er, me, sobbing away). She’s playing Vacation Vinyl tonight at 6 PM and then heading over for another gig at the Echo Curio. Update: LA Record has a 
