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| M83 to play with Los Angeles Philharmonic Posted: 29 Jan 2009 03:45 PM CST Electro-pop outfit M83 and the Los Angeles Philharmonic will perform a co-headlining concert that pairs the orchestra and M83’s chief star-gazer Anthony Gonzalez in a program that features individual performances, as well as M83’s debut performance with an orchestra. This one-night-only concert, held on Saturday, March 7th at 9PM, also marks M83’s debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Julian Kuerti, Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is scheduled to conduct. This concert includes three sets that will be performed in an order to be determined: the Los Angeles Philharmonic performs by itself in a program that includes orchestral pieces chosen in collaboration with M83; M83 performs solo material; and the Philharmonic performs a selection of songs with M83, (featuring orchestral arrangements by Sean O’Loughlin, who also wrote the arrangements for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s performances with Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists and others at the Hollywood Bowl). M83: website | myspace | Saturdays=Youth review | @ magness arena  Photo: Joshua Hammond Related Posts |
| Everything, Now! - Spatially Severed Posted: 29 Jan 2009 02:35 PM CST What if a bunch of goofy stoners put together a band, wrote wacky and spastic (but surprisingly good) songs about life and religion, and had a vocalist who sounds like Neil Young? That would be The Flaming Lips, correct, but Everything, Now! also checks off all of the above without sounding anything like Wayne Coyne's crazy crewpaloop (the Willy Wonka version of "possy"…copyright, by the way). Apparently there's room for two bands to hold up the wacky-philosophical-drugged-out-Neil Young banner. The difference between the bands, however, is that even since their early years, The Flaming Lips' music has always had a certain weight to it that has allowed the band to evolve into the magical, euphoric outfit they've been since The Soft Bulletin. Everything, Now! On the other hand, never approach the point where you're tempted to take them seriously. Even so, their compositional skills and inspired production are seriously impressive. At the root of Everything, Now!'s sound is a basis in the old school folk tradition which, like Neil Young, they blow up with crunchy electric guitars, among other things. Sometimes – for instance, in the opening of "Hello God" – the band even sounds like M. Ward backed up by Danielson Famille. Like with Danielson Famille, there is the religion connection that has Everything, Now! making explicit religious allusions (if not outright retelling a biblical parable) in songs like the aforementioned "Hello God", as well as "Brother of the Prodigal Son", "Savior of Sector Ten" and "In Heaven Smoking Trees." You'd think a band that makes so many religious references would be kind of a heavy listen…but then the next song on the tracklist is "Hairy Ears of Soul Captain Serpentine" or "Save a Life with Diet Chocolate Sprite". Very heavy indeed. While some bands that write such outright ridiculous songs just come off as annoying, Everything, Now!'s songs are never less than both entertaining and highly listenable, though 16 tracks does begin to feel a little tiresome towards the end of the record. The length is understandable though when it becomes apparent that Everything, Now! just has way too many ideas to filter them down to the trim length of most albums. How could the band let tracks like the snaky "Venus Tossed The Dice" with its quavering chorus of vocals go to waste? And the epic "Oh Yeah" needed to be on there (though it should have been the closer, not pre-closer). Same goes for the whacked out nursery rhyme-like "Alice of Dixie Cup". Though it's hard to imagine Everything, Now! ever aspiring to the Empyrean plateau The Flaming Lips have achieved, Spatially Severed proves that should they try to, their reach might just meet their grasp. Spatially Severed is available now from MFT Records. Tracklisting: Everything, Now!: website | myspace | download Prequels and Parallels Written by: Marc Z. Grub Related Posts |
| Paul McCartney gets the “Colbert Bump” Posted: 29 Jan 2009 12:45 PM CST On “The Colbert Report”, Stephen Colbert introduced a new segment titled “Better Know a Beatle” by interviewing Paul McCartney. After McCartney claims to never have seen “The Colbert Report”, Colbert insists on never hearing of The Beatles or their music. And then McCartney accuses the Dalai Lama of potential cannibalism. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-Done! Paul McCartney: website  Related Posts |
| Testing For Echo - Renaissance EP Posted: 29 Jan 2009 11:35 AM CST Formerly known as The Montauk Project, Testing for Echo is a well-trained New York rock group and while their Renaissance EP may not be a revolutionary masterpiece, it is full of pleasant pop melodies. Fans of acts like Third Eye Blind are sure to delight in these catchy choruses. However, noting that the song-writing duo Rich Albergo and Antonio Gabriele boast of their classical training, the simplistic layers of their composing are a bit of a disappointment. But hipsters don’t fear. As the EP progresses, Testing for Echo starts to break away from the Top 40 sound of the first few songs that essentially consist of vocal harmonies and big guitar riffs and by “Between Us” and “Escape”, the EP takes a darker, more emotional turn. So while a song like “Anything” is most likely to be heard on the radio, where the guys really shine are on songs where they break out of the radio formula like on the end of “King and Queen”. Here they stay true to their band name and use an echo effect but instead of having one singer echo the other, it is the guitar that mimics Albergo’s voice. Testing for Echo’s Renaissance EP is available now. Tracklisting: Testing For Echo: website | myspace  Written by: Bethany Related Posts |
| Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach plans solo record/tour Posted: 29 Jan 2009 10:15 AM CST Dan Auerbach, otherwise known as the lead singer of The Black Keys, is set to release his solo debut Keep it Hid on Feburary 10, 2009 on Nonesuch Records. The Black Keys are revered for their "two-man stomp," as Auerbach calls it. On his solo disc, though, Auerbach goes in a more expansive direction, working with a full band and tackling a wide variety of instruments himself.
With engineer Mark Neill, he employed analog gear to record and mix. In fact, "Whispered Words", which Auerbach co-wrote with his dad, was cut in mono. Vintage effects, however, are a means, not an end, helping Auerbach get down on tape the remarkable sounds mixing it up in his head 24/7. Dan Auerbach - “My Last Mistake” Tracklisting: Tour Dates: The Black Keys: website | myspace  Photo by: James Carney Related Posts This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Color Wheels - The Color Wheels Posted: 29 Jan 2009 08:45 AM CST It seems as though ever since Alex Chilton wrote that classic adolescent-anthem "Thirteen", a select group of bands and artists have been trying to tap back into that sound and revel in the early-teenage innocence in which hand-over-bra is still a big deal and you have to sneak out of the house to suck face after dark. It's that beautiful twilight sound that's arguably served as the root of the entire twee-rock genre and inspired like-minded bands The Softies, Teenage Fanclub, and now The Color Wheels, to pursue the musical course of action they have. Like Teenage Fanclub, The Color Wheels throw a couple riffs and some distorted guitar into the mix to add a rougher edge to the saturated jangle of the guitars, the pleasant melodies, marshmallow harmonies and keep-it-simple drumming. The lyrics mainly keep the tradition of detailing vulnerable romantic yearning, like in "Hot For Teacher" (not to be confused with the Valen Halen song of the same name), which sounds more like it should be called "Emotional Turmoil For Teacher". Less traditional is "Don't Hit On Me", a song about rejecting advances made by someone of the same sex. The Color Wheels also manage to throw in some clever little rhymes and puns like, "Where's your buried treasure? / X marks the spot / am I get getting cold or / am I getting hot for you," in "Pirate Ship". It's all very cute and cuddly with enough memorable hooks and variety in the lyrical approaches to the subject matter for it all to hold together well. While it's debatable as to whether the state of innocence that The Color Wheels seem to inhabit in their songs ever even existed, for those who don't mind playing make-pretend, these wheels are well worth giving a spin. The Color Wheels - “Green Means Go” The Color Wheels is available now on Viper Bite Records. Tracklisting: The Color Wheels: website | myspace Written by: Marc Z. Grub Related Posts This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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