Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Radar 2011

01-18
Smith Westerns: Dye It Blonde [Fat Possum]
Hands and Knees: Wholesome [Self Released]

01-25
Destroyer: Kaputt [Merge]
Iron & Wine: Kiss Each Other Clean [Warner Bros./4AD]
John Vanderslice: White Wilderness [Dead Oceans]

01-31
Nicolas Jaar: Space is Only Noise [Circus Company]

02-08
Akron/Family: S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT [Dead Oceans]
The Babies: The Babies [Shrimper]
Cut Copy: Zonoscope [Modular]
James Blake: James Blake [Atlas/A&M]

02-15
Bright Eyes: The People's Key [Saddle Creek]
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake [Vagrant]
Yuck: Yuck [Fat Possum]
Radiohead: The King of Limbs [Self-Released]
Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972 [Kranky]

02-22
Beach Fossils: What a Pleasure EP [Captured Tracks]
Toro Y Moi: Underneath the Pine [Carpark]

03-01
Dum Dum Girls: He Gets Me High EP [Sub Pop]

03-05
Gracious Calamity: Carefree Since '83 [Whitehaus Family Record]

03-08
Dodos: No Color [Frenchkiss]
Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring for My Halo [Matador]
Wye Oak: Civilian [Merge]

03-29
The Mountain Goats: All Eternal's Deck [Merge]
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Belong [Slumberland]
Dirty Beaches: Badlands [Zoo]

04-01
Girlfriends: Cave Kids 7" [Black Bell]

04-12
Cass McCombs: Wit's End [Domino]
Panda Bear: Tomboy [Paw Tracks]
Vivian Girls: Share the Joy [Polyvinyl]

04-19
tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l [4AD]

04-26
Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care [Temporary Residence]

05-03
Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues [Sub Pop]

05-10
The Antlers: Burst Apart [Frenchkiss]
Karl Blau: Max 12" EP [K]
Man Man: Life Fantastic [Anti-]
Mountains: Air Museum [Thrill Jockey]
Okkervil River: I Am Very Far [Jagjaguwar]
EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints [Souterrain Transmissions]

05-24
David Bazan: Strange Negotiations [Barsuk]

05-31
Death Cab for Cutie: Codes and Keys [Atlantic]

06-07
Sondre Lerche: Sondre Lerche [Mona]
Cults [Columbia]

06-14
Woods: Sun & Shade [Woodsist]
The Music Tapes: Purim's Shadows [Merge]
WU LYF: Go Tell Fire to the Mountain [LYF]

06-21
Bon Iver [Jugwajar]
The Caretaker: An Empty Bliss Beyond this World [Haft]

07-04
Bright Eyes: Live Recordings EP [HMV]

07-05
Brian Eno: Drums Between the Bells [Warp]
Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't: Lost in the Pancakes [Cloud]

07-12
Washed Out: Within or Without [Sub Pop]

07-28
John Maus: We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves [Ribbon]
Handsome Furs: Sound Kapitol [Sub Pop]

08-02
Archers of Loaf: Icky Mettle Reissue [Merge]

08-23
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks: Mirror Traffic [Matador]

08-30
Beirut: The Rip Tide [Pompeii Recordings]
Male Bonding: Endless Now [Sub Pop]
Glen Campbell: Ghost on the Canvas [Surfdog]

09-02
The Drums: Portamento [Island]

09-13
Neon Indian: Era Extraña [Static Tongues]
Laura Marling: A Creature I Don't Know [Ribbon]
Memoryhouse: The Years EP [Sub Pop]
St. Vincent: Strange Mercy [4AD]

09-20
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!: Hysterical [Self-Released]

09-27
Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation [Fat Possum]
Dum Dum Girls: Only in Dreams [Sub Pop]
Twin Sister: In Heaven [Domino]

10-04
Cymbals Eat Guitars: Lenses Alien [Barsuk]
Emperor X: Western Teleport [Bar None]
Prince Rama: Trust Now [Paw Tracks]
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: Wolfroy Goes to Town [Drag City]
Feist: Metals [Cherrytree/Interscope]
MGMT: Late Night Tales [LateNightTales
S.C.U.M.: Again Into Eyes [Mute]

10-11
Girls: Record 3: Father, Son, Holy Ghost [True Panther]
Crooked Fingers: Breaks in the Armor [Merge]
Bjork: Biophilia [Nonesuch/One Little Indian]
James Blake: Enough Thunder [Atlas]

10-18
M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming [Mute]

10-24
She & Him: A Very She & Him Christmas [Merge]

10-25
Justice: Audio, Video, Disco [Ed Banger/Because/Elektra]
Tom Waits: Bad as Me [Anti-]

11-01
The Beach Boys: SMiLE [Capitol/EMI]
Kurt Vile: So Outta Reach EP [Matador]
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Stage Whisper [Because Music / Elektra]

11-08
Atlas Sound: Parallax [4AD]
Quilt: Quilt [Mexican Summer]
Cass McCombs: Humor Risk [Domino]
Florence and the Machine: Ceremonials [Island/Universal Republic]
David Lynch: Crazy Clown Time [Sunday Best Recordings/PIAS America]
Owen: Ghost Town [Polyvinyl]
Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica [Mexican Summer]

11-15
Los Campesinos!: Hello Sadness [Arts and Crafts]
Olivia Tremor Control: Music From the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol 1. Reissues [Chunklet Industries]

11-18
Brian Eno: Panic of Looking [Warp]

11-22
Neutral Milk Hotel: Discography Box Set [Self Released]

12-06
The Black Keys: El Camino [Nonesuch]

12-11
James Blake :: Love What Happened Here [R&S]

Mango Nebula 2011 Quilt :: Most Listened to Records of the Year Collage

The Whitehaus Family Record Family Record Vol 2 :: Are You In Paradise?

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The Whitehaus Family Record

Whitehaus Family Record Family Record Volume 2: Are You In Paradise?

November 11, 2011

Jamaica Plain's The Whitehaus Family Record have released their second vinyl compilation this month. It features a lot of the Mango Nebula's favorite artist's including Greg Mullen, Gracious Calamity, MANNERS, The Needy Visions, Shai Erlichman, Chris North from The Points North, Shira E. from Tiny Tornadoes, and the Woodrow Wilsons. Buy the MP3s or vinyl here.

Find out about the first Whitehaus Family Record Family Record here.

Boston Hassle Comp

Two of Boston's most active groups for planning and spreading the word about the coolest stuff around the city (namely Bodies of Water Arts and Crafts and Boston Counter Cultural Compass) now have a new affiliation: Boston Hassle. A new compilation has just been released under the name. The thirteen tracks are only available for now as a Playbutton, a wearable MP3 player badge.

Read more about Playbutton here.
Download the comp here.

Stream the comp below the jump:

Quilt :: Debut LP

Quilt

Quilt

November 8th 2011

Mexican Summer

quiltmusic.bandcamp.com

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The Boston (/Brooklyn) Trio make their debut on Mexican Summer. Stream some tracks below:

More Quilt goodness:
Burger Records Cassette
EP - Agents of Play
Deubt Cassette
Live Review 2010
Video Interview

Woods and Kurt Vile Split 7"

MP3: Woods :: "Skull"

Woods & Kurt Vile ::
Split 7"
Sacred Bones
woodsist.com
sacredbonesrecords.com

Woods and Kurt Vile are putting out a split 7" with five new tracks on it. They both had new albums out this year, Woods' Sun & Shade and Vile's Smoke Rings for My Halo, and became touring buddies. This thing is out on Sacred Bones, but it's going to be a tour only release. So, if you go to a show, grab one while you can.

01 Woods: "Skull"
02 Woods: "Cold Blue"
03 Kurt Vile: "Commercial Reject"
04 Kurt Vile: "In/Out Blues"
05 Kurt Vile: "Water Fingers"

Emperor X :: Western Teleport

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MP3: Emperor X :: "Erica Western Teleport" Emperor X ::
Western Teleport
Bar/None
October 4th 2011
emperorx.net
westernteleport.com

Emperor X is Chad Matheny's one man pop songs with flares of guitar, electronics, and inventive rhythms. He's been playing underground scenes for a decade, since he ditched the physics degree. A lot of the lyrics reflect his previous career path. The Blythe Archives Volumes I & II from 2008 and 2009 feature some of his catchiest and well penned tunes to date.

Along with the album, Emperor X has hidden "nodes" all across the US. In order to "play" you have to first buy the album, which is the easy part. Then you have to find a node, which consists of a translucent purple audio cassette and activate it for exclusive content from the Western Teleport sessions. Matheny did something similar for The Blythe Archives releases. It's a great way to make music more personal, as well as an adventure. Check out westernteleport.com for node locations and discoveries.

Hogstompers :: Demos

MP3: The Hogstompers :: "New Revolution"

The Hogstompers ::
Demos from 2009-2010
Yes.Oui.Si!
myspace.com/thehogstompers

bandcamp.com/album/hogstompers

yesouisispace.com

This group is formed by some of the folks responsible for the art and music space Yes Oui Si in the Fenway area near the MFA. This group and that organization are supporting a lot of the most interesting underground music in Boston right now. The Hogstompers are some pretty simple folk country jams. This collection of mostly live recordings and demos is available for free download over at Boston DIY's bandcamp page here.

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.

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.

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."

Bright Eyes:: Live Recordings EP

MP3: Bright Eyes :: "Bowl of Oranges"

Bright Eyes :: Live Recordings EP
July 4th 2011
Saddle Creek Records

thisisbrighteyes.com

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Bright Eyes released a live EP compiled from their current tour in support of their latest, The People's Key. It's a limited release, only available through HMV. This live version of "Bowl of Oranges" must've been easy to do for their last tour, considering the pit of synths Conor Oberst was buried in. The lyrics also make a bold change. Instead of "That's why I'm singing 'baby,'" he switches that last word to 'Maria.'
Read the Mango Nebula review of The People's Key here.
Also, check out the star spangled video for "Jejune Stars" below.

Tracklist::
1. Firewall
2. Shell Games
3. Ladder Song
4. Arc Of Time
5. Bowl Of Oranges
6. Lover I Don’t Have To Love

to love and to be loved_

Boy Without God :: God Bless the Hunger

Boy Without God :: God Bless The Hunger
June 21st 2011
Self Released

boywithoutgod.bandcamp.com

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Boy Without God's latest release is indeed hungry. Famishedly sparse like being surprised by a cold shower or getting your tongue stuck to a pole. Yet for all the gutteral atheistic wallows of songwriter Gabrial Burnbaum, there are quite a few feasting moments of vigor and depth. The album was recorded at the Soul Shop, mastered at Soundmirror, and even the jackets were made by Repeat Press for a whole homemade package. Get the album and a whole slew of Boy Without God's back-catalogue at their bandcamp.

Refried Ice Cream :: Witness to the Storm

MP3: Refried Ice Cream :: "Halo"

Refried Ice Cream :: Witness to the Storm
October 2010
Team Love

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refriedicecream.com

Mango Nebula review of The People's Key.

Refried Ice Cream should now be well associated with Bright Eyes, as frontman Danny Brewer contributed the eerie and apocalyptic love espousing spoken word genesis recorrections to The People's Key. And yes, their music is just as odd and interesting. Witness to the Storm is the tenth album out by the father son Texas duo and first release on Team Love, the label started by Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel. Time could be wasted trying to explain the 1970's in dimension X sound or saying that the Roky Erikson inspired style that verges on Jandek greatness, but what describes the band best is a nice little story blurb on the Team Love website that you can read below. The group is quite politically conscious as well, in their lyrics and on their website, which is like a late nineties free webpage creator disaster and is thoroughly entertaining to explore.

"It was 109 degrees on the ground the afternoon we flew into El Paso. I could see the dust rising in angry swarms from the flat restricted zones of Fort Bliss while the murder capital city out the window on the other side of the aisle was like an extremely sick and overweight sister I never had who had grown so obese she could no longer rise from the couch and dip her ankles into the Rio Grande.

I had heard from the boys in the Mystic Valley about a father/son rock band somewhere to the east of El Paso near Tornillo or Fabens. They were outsiders from another time, an old man with a Harley engine for a heart and his son with an apple pipe affixed to his lips. They had a sound that had turned off Interstate 10 somewhere around 1971 and never looked back, crushing the Texas mountain laurel and hollyhock with amphetamine laced VU riffs that drone on ad infinitum in search of buried gold and healing waters. It was under the shade of an almond tree that I finally met Refried Ice Cream.

Denny had injured his back repairing a motorcycle and his son Josh kept reiterating the importance of good health. They sipped ice water and spoke of far away things, of dimensional parasitic races and amputated feet that grew back. They had driven over from their compound that was a bastion of priceless guitar amps and discarded metal detritus, where Janis Joplin’s car and a brand new Imac shared the same plot of dust with a family of hippie lizards and a caldron of extinct moeritherium stew. Like their music, their conversation leapt from the drone of linear time to the heights where the human psyche cracks and the blue-sky floods in, from a simple government plot to control the populace, to an eternal quest for a bottle from god’s private stash.

When our time together was over my faith lay shattered and scattered among the empty beer bottles was a copy of, as Josh described, their latest series of jams, their new album, “Witness To The Storm.” The first song gave me the impression I was pinned to the underside of the engine hood of a flaming red Super Bee. Effects were catching fire and dripping from the cymbals as Denny sang in what I soon realized was his patented style of lazy cool repetitive and repeating six shooter slow draw, and then came Josh with his rants of mind control and poison in the well. After the third song I looked up and took notice that we were on the banks of the Rio Grande. George Bush’s wall was before us hot to the touch and already broken out in rust and decay. A lightening storm danced across the sky horizontally but offered no respite from the heat. Only in this climate, in these times, could music that expressed the both the power of the psychedelic landscape, the paranoia of the dying world and the glory of speed and thirst that comes from years of driving on two lanes under an enemy sun be made.

After El Paso I was never the same. I carry with me now an expression that says to other like minded outsiders and collectors of the strange and sublime, do you see what is on my face, have you heard this sound, do you know what I mean when I ask for it Refried?" -Napo K. July 2010

PHOTOS: Primavera Sound 2011

Here are some photos of Primavera Sound that I ruthlessly stole from Pitchfork (Thurs, Fri, Sat). Two of the most amazing things I'm glad I experienced before I died were Sufjan Steven's outsider art, neon infested, strangely costumed nonsenseatorium and Animal Collective's unbelievable mesmerizing jams.

Thursday, May 26th

Glasser (21:45)