Cymbals Eat Guitars :: Lenses Alien

MP3: Cymbals Eat Guitars :: "Definite Darkness"

Cymbals Eat Guitars ::
Lenses Alien
Barsuk
October 10th 2011
lensesalien.tumblr.com

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Stream it here.

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The best way to describe Cymbals Eat Guitars' debut Why There Are Mountains would be "you know how some bands will do a little crazy experimental distortion and whatnot diddy as an outro to a song, well that's how they start their songs." Experimental to the point where nothing repeats, but everything is a hook so it's all still catchy as hell. Lenses Alien follows suit, the opener breaking the inaccessibility barrier by reaching past eight minutes. However, the record is ineffably darker. The sleezy lounge keys are toned down a bit and it just sort of drags. It doesn't pump you up as much as the first did right from the very first second with the overloaded chanting scream, but it's grungier and explores interesting territory. And goddamn those guys for giving me a fear of sitting down in the dark at the movies with the line from "Definite Darkness," "There are people who put dirty hypodermic needles between the seat cushions at the movie theater." The album art is inspired by artist Allison Diaz' Haunted Mirrors series. Check out her work here: http://allisondiaz.blogspot.com/.

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Beirut :: The Rip Tide

MP3: Beirut :: "Vagabond"

Beirut ::
The Rip Tide
August 30th 2011
Pompeii Records
beirutband.com

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Stream the album from NPR.

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The last release from Beirut was an EP experiment thingie March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland featured a lot of unusual arrangements for the band, particularly the digital leaning of the second half of the release. It suggested that might be something the band would make use of on the next record, however the exact opposite is the case. The Rip Tide has a sound that's very similar to their last two full lengths, only simpler, surprisingly and unfortunately quite short, and with less of an orchestra and more of a band. A majority of the record is upbeat and it makes for a great introductory Beirut record. It's unbelievable how amazingly well the band can capture an antique romantic Europe. It's something that I'm sure is magnified for me, having spent the past year in Spain.

If you have any interest in Beirut at all, you must listen to The Flying Club Cup. It's an unbelievably orchestrated poignant record and a favorite.

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TRACKS: James Blake and Bon Iver :: "Fall Creek Boys Choir"

The collaboration between James Blake and Bon Iver comes quicker than expected. Below is the track "Fall Creek Boys Choir." It's apparently an email expedition as the result of a chance meeting at SXSW. Justin Vernon is on vocals and production was done by James Blake. The Youtube info says "Enough Thunder Oct. 2011" so we may be looking at an album very soon.

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PLAYLIST: Neutral Milk Hotel Box Set, Stream 18 Rare and Unreleased Tracks!

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walkingwallofwords.com
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Below the Jump is a mix of Neutral Milk Hotel Rarities to celebrate the box set.
I like to call it "Sweetness Sings From Every Corner."

A new website has launched for the band on NMH Records! For a hundred bucks you can grab expanded vinyl editions of the groups two full lengths and EP as well as a slew of other add ins, including 15 unreleased tracks. A lot of these tracks could only previously be stolen from the internet in live form, such as "Ferris Wheel on Fire," "Oh Sister," "I Will Bury You In Time," "My Dreamgirl Don't Exist," and "Little Birds." All classics. These can be downloaded by naming your own price. You can also buy original drawings from the site as well as listen to a thirty minute radio show by Jeff Mangum. A percentage of purchases from the site will go to the charity Children of the Blue Sky.

This past year has shown a lot of great signs for Neutral Milk Hotel. Jeff doing public shows again, curating festivals, and now reissuing records and issuing new material. I don't want to jinx it.

Box set includes::

1. OnAvery Island 
2. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 
3. Everything Is EP 
4. Ferris Wheel On Fire EP 
5. Holland, 1945 7" 
6. Little Birds 7" 
7. You've Passed / Where You'll Find Me Now 7" 
8. Two 24"X24" Posters 

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John Maus :: We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

MP3: John Maus :: "Quantum Leap"

John Maus
We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
June 28th 2011
Ribbon Music
myspace.com/johnmaus
ribbonmusic.com

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A contemporary of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and the similarities are immediately evident. The most notable is the inherent sense of humor. The differences being that John Maus' echo soaked groanings bump along to acidic and addictive beats and digital melodies that sparkle like Christmas lights. You might say that Maus was censoring himself through his revision process as the lyrics are sparse, but then on second thought, there's a song called "Cop Killer," so...

The label's site says the album captures Maus' live performance of "shirt pulling and air punching," which would be fun to see, but it isn't nearly as violent. Disturbed, maybe, but not violent. They cite inspirations for the album ranging from gore-rror filmmaker David Cronenberg to french philosopher Jacques Rancière to the thrash metal band Body Count. A mix as confused, weird, and lovely as the album itself.

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TRACKS: Jeff Mangum :: Roky Ericson Cover and Live set in Toronto

MP3: Jeff Mangum :: "I Love the Living You"

Jeff Mangum Live at Trinity St. Paul's in Toronto, 2011

southernsouls.ca/jeff-mangum

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After a series of super secret living room and basement shows, Jeff Mangum now has a public nationwide tour. Tickets are impossible to find and are being sold on ebay for around 5,600 bucks apparently. Download Jeff's whole echo drenched show in Toronto at the site Southern Souls here. His set included a cover of Roky Ericson's "I Love the Living You," which you can check about above.

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Quilt :: Burger Records Tape

Quilt ::
Cowboys in the Void Cassette Tape
March 1st 2011
Burger Records
quiltmusic.bandcamp.com

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A new release from Quilt in the form of a cassette tape came out on Burger Records in California. Although it's a 'cassingle,' it's long enough to be considered an EP. The group just posted the whole thing for download on their bandcamp, which now includes "The Silver Stairs of Ketchikan" and "Children of the Light." The vocals are more in the forefront than any other release and it gives their vivid drone psychedelics a 60's infusion. There's a bunch of bands that last line could put into your head, but their triple harmonies even come to conjure Simon & Garfunkel. A good quote from Jenn Pelly at pellytwins.blogspot.com: "At a moment when so much underground psych is focused on synthesizers and electronic vibes, Quilt’s organic, vocal-heavy psych-rock is uplifting."

The cassingle was recorded with Jesse Gallagher in Cambridge in 2010 and pressed in a run of 300. I checked out Burger Record's website, because it seemed odd for an east coast based band to release something on the other side of the country. The label's got a lot of other great artists that are worth checking out.

For the past couple of years Quilt have been playing lots of shows, touring, and releasing things pretty frequently. Read about Liz Pelly's odyssey with the band on the road to sxsw via the Boston Phoenix. There are tons of live videos and surprises::
Intro
Day 1 - Philly
Day 2 - Fredericksburg
Day 3 - Asheville
Days 4 & 5 - Memphis and Denton

Let's hope that their first full length will be out soon. Rumor has it that Mexican Summer might release something soon, but no official word yet.

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VIDEO: Neutral Milk Hotel Performing Live on Parks and Recreation!

I mean, you know, being mentioned is just as odd as a live performance would be. I don't know how I haven't posted this yet. The show Parks and Recreation is a pretty great political allegory and luckily it's also pretty damn funny. They also have the first representation of hipsters in all of western popular culture, Aubrey Plaza's April Ludgate.


In the clip, April is asked on a faux dating show which musician she would sleep with. Although, I don't know if you could call Jeff Mangum a "Rock" "Star." I never understood why those two characters were together, especially when April had the opportunity to have a gay boyfriend with another boyfriend last season. I think this clip perfectly illustrates why their relationship will eventually and inevitably end violently.

Watch the clip below. Also, watch the whole episode below or here: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=GVACBAOF (suck it hulu.) Thus beginning and completing the list of Neutral Milk Hotel appearances in popular media and also making it so that it is no longer hip to like this band. They had a good run of underground cred though.

Parks and Recreation Neutral Milk Hotel shout out ::


Parks and Recreation Season 3, Episode 14 :: "Road Trip"

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Man Man :: Life Fantastic

MP3: Man Man :: "Knuckle Down"

Man Man :: Life Fantastic
Anti Records
May 6th 2011
manmanbandband.com

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The new Man Man album may just be their least spastic Man Man-y album yet. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It was recorded with Bright Eyes member/engineer Mike Mogis, which is an interesting fact when thinking about what contributed to the arrangements flowing a bit more logically. Although it may have more pop structures there's still a slew of experimentation and Man Man goodness.

Stream "Life Fantastic" below:


Some info from the Anti website::
As frontman Honus Honus explains. “Contextually, this is an album fueled by the end of relationships, the death of good friends, an absence of structure, drifting from place to place without a real home. It's funny because in the past I was able to take bad situations and turn them into something creative but this time around I just couldn't at all. I felt nothing, which was worse than being miserable and depressed. Sometimes I guess you have to stumble around in a fog for awhile until you find a way out, rediscover your heart, take comfort in knowing that the only thing you really have control over is how you choose to roll with the punches. In many ways, this is an album about carrying on."

“The songs were fully-formed entities by the time we got to Mike’s studio,” says Kattner, “But he was there to say things like, ‘Okay, that’s a bit (too) much.’ He was able to help us carve the beauty out of the chaos we brought. It wasn’t whittling down the points; it was sharpening them so they’d puncture even deeper.”

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VIDEO: Best Coast :: Our Deal

Below is the video for Best Coast's "Our Deal" from last year's Crazy for You. It's just another example of why you don't trick girls with word play during vicious gang fights. The video is directed by somebody, I can't remember if she's famous or not, but it features Donald Glover (Troy from Community!) and Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Developement!) and quite possibly more that I missed. Oh! I remember  now, Drew Barrymore directed it.

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The Music Tapes :: Purim's Shadow

The Music Tapes ::
Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours he World)
June 14th 2011
Merge Records
orbitinghumancircus.com

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Story of their last adventure.

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The Music Tapes have released a new digital EP and a Kazoo. If you order the EP from the Merge store, they'll send you a Kazoo, a bonus track called "Hacidem," and a "special something made by Julian," the group's lead. They still use antique recording equipment to capture the bowed banjos, singing saws, harmoniums, and the seven foot tall metronome. The group is getting ready for the release of the twin full lengths that will be The Imaginary Symphony No. 3. The first part, called Mary's Voice, will be out soon. The tour that follows will be eagerly anticipated, because for their last tour they played in bedrooms all across the east coast singing lullabies for people as theu were about to go to sleep. You can read the Mango Nebula article about it here. The last time the mysterious Santa-like magicians were spotted, they were playing saws while people were riding a carousel somewhere near Boston. So whatever they come up with next should be amazing.

If you read the aforementioned article "Remember this Feeling That You're Feeling Right Now," then you may remember Julian's fluffy and contently listening dog, Rudolph. The digital booklet that comes with the album says "dedicated to Rudolph. I'll miss you forever."

This is a nice description from Merge::
"The Music Tapes, to me, is a sort of living dream that illustrates the continual process of how dreams become real. For example, when the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome sprang from my imagination, it was to be The Music Tapes’ primary rhythm instrument, and although it existed only as a drawing in a notebook, imagining it delighted and inspired me. My friends (Scott Spillane, Terry Rowlette, Robbie Cucchiaro, Laura Carter, Eric Harris, and others) saw the drawing and, in a flurry of excited activity, made it real. And thus the real world became different: it had a 7-foot-tall metronome in it.

Many of the basic tenants of The Music Tapes’ world are found on Purim’s Shadows, including the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome which provides the primary rhythm for “A Lightning’s Cheeks.” Also featured are the Orchestral Banjo and the Singing Saws. The Orchestral Banjo is played with a violin bow, producing a sound that I love very much; it’s like having at your command ghostly orchestras from crackly old records. And Saws, of course, sound to me like angels. This recording marks the first time a Singing Saw solo was encouraged (played) by someone other than me on a Music Tapes record: the solo at the end of “Night and Day” is the work of Ian Ludders, a great encourager of Saws, and I am honored to have had him play with us. Robbie Cucchiaro, The Music Tapes’ co-founding member, supplied horns and his signature euphonium. And finally, the most important contributors to this recording, and central to The Music Tapes’ sound, are the Webster Chicago wire recorder, RCA DX44 ribbon mic, and The Music Tapes’ array of antique and modern recording machinery and field recorders.

Without state-of-the-art machinery, The Music Tapes’ recordings would be next to impossible. But, of course, the past is where the future comes from. What often makes something new is not a loyal adherence to the trends and technologies of the moment but rather a loving interaction with the rich inheritance that makes our moment in time the most unique of all. All that has come before us has been left for us to find, dusty and often without any context to distract from its pure magic. It is my happiness to endeavor to make brand-new sorts of things in which all that I love most about the world will have a home, just as my friends meaningfully and lovingly set out to make a 7-foot-tall metronome exist, giving their love and friendship a large, loud wooden form that can march forward in time."

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VIDEO: Sufjan Stevens :: Get Real, Get Right

Below is another video from The Age of Adz, directed by Sufjan Stevens himself. In the middle of his live show at Primavera Sound, Sufjan told a ten minute story about the inspiration for the new album. One of the biggest influences was outsider artist Royal Robertson that eventually became a recluse, hiding inside his art. Most of the art in this video are by Royal. After the rant, Sufjan went on to play this song, saying it was addressed to the tragic artist. It's not often in contemporary indie music that you get such overt christian messages. It's something that usually turns me off to music, because it usually is oppressive. However, like on Seven Swans, the theme is tactfully dealt with. It could be like Jeff Magnum wrote on the liner notes for "The King of Carrot Flowers, Parts II & III," that Jesus Christ or the Lord doesn't need to mean a christian deity, but the bumbling ball of light in the clouds of one's choice that one may refer to with such names.
Read about the album here.
Get the documentary that inspired Sufjan here.

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VIDEO: Primavera Sound 2011

Below are some good videos from Primavera Sound 2011 courtesy of Pitchfork.






tUnE-yArDs ::


James Blake ::


Kurt Vile ::


Yuck ::


Male Bonding ::

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Woods :: Sun & Shade

MP3: Woods :: "Pushing Onlys"

Woods :: Sun & Shade
July 14th 2011
Woodsist Records

 woodsist.com

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Woods' latest release conjurs up their ole timey Woods goodness; not too much is reinvented here, but the essence of woods is explored quite well. It includes a mixture of their catchy as hell tunes and extended instrumental insanities as the bright poppy sun winds into the cool winding shade in a well noted progression for the record. Songs of Shame showed the group veering off into strange and interesting, and mountainous, territory. At Echo Lake explored to group's more quickly pleasing, lagoon-like, melodies. The new record is a good balance of the two. It lacks the innovation, inspiration, and spark of life or sporadic insanity on their earlier works, but it's still a damn good record to listen to.

Here is a quote lifted from their website that describes it pretty well:
"Woods is a two-headed dog asleep on the porch and a butterfly on the windowsill... a Janus, a Gemini and a screen door. The sun wont fade and the earworms will not leave, but the jams go on too long for the girl in the back who wonders if her friends are at another bar. Still, the ballads always make her cry." -Glenn Donaldson

More Woods goodness:
http://mangonebula.blogspot.com/2011/03/video-woods-death-rattles.html
http://mangonebula.blogspot.com/2010/03/preview-woods-at-echo-lake.html
http://mangonebula.blogspot.com/2009/12/preview-mango-nebula-favorites.html

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