SXSW FEATURED: THE ISLES

With South By Southwest right around the corner, I have spent most of this week trying to figure out my schedule for both the movie & music portions of the festival, while also trying to figure out how I’m going to balance my volunteer shifts with my actual job. I’ve decided to add another task to my load for the next few weeks by posting a series of SXSW specific blogs.

Looking at the Lineup for this year, it’s not the usual crop of "in-the-moment-hipsters" that’s got my attention, but rather, it’s the slew of bands that have been on my radar for years now, but for whatever reason never seem to actually travel to Texas. Bands such as The Forms, Rockfour, 31 Knots, & The Isles are perfect for an event like this, essentially giving me an opportunity to kill many birds with one stone. Part of the fun of SXSW is having the freedom to walk from venue to venue and still be able to get in and see what you want. Clubs like Emo’s & the Parish, which will no doubt be housing some of the bigger named acts (Blonde Redhead, Mountain Goats, and whatnot) are harder to get into, unless you’re willing to commit your whole night to it. With this in mind, these lesser known bands should really be the ticket for me this year.

Our first post is about The Isles from New York. I first heard their "Back to Terrific" EP in 2005, and immediately thought to myself, "why aren’t these guys huge?" Their sound, a mix of Sunny California & Dreary British Pop, felt unusual, yet familiar at times and the recording seemed near perfect in it’s balance of emphasis. The vocals were clear, pretty, but not too sugary, while the drums were light, but diligent pops. A friend of mine recently described their vocalist as sounding like what might happen "if Interpol & Death Cab for Cutie had a baby and peed on it," which he said was a compliment. I can see where he’s coming from on that, but I think they’re better than the sum of those parts. Since their 2005 EP, they have released several singles, and a rather impressive full length entitled "Perfumed Lands"

They will be headlining Wednesday March 14th at Habana Calle 6 Annex (708 E. 6th St) at 1:00AM, and I will be there.

Fuck (mp3)
Eve of Battle (mp3)
True South (mp3)
Pills From Mexico (mp3)

-Popkoff

Wire

It's almost cliche now to claim to like Wire. So many bands and artists have cited them as an influence, that it almost feels un-hip to not like them.

I stumbled upon Wire in the bargain cassette bin of Hastings many years ago. I bought their first 2 albums ('Pink Flag' and 'Chairs Missing') for a buck each. For about a year I listened to those albums so intensely on my headphones, that I can now recite every lyric. It was 1991 and I had grown tired of radio, tv and college rock.

Within the span of 2 albums though, Wire changed from a manic punk band exploding into 2 minute songs to a post punk art band willing to experiment with, and abandon, what they had done previously. A year hadn't even passed, 'Pink Flag' came out in 1977. 'Chairs Missing' came out in 1978.

The music was pure balm to me. The melody, energy and angular guitars from 'Pink Flag' can still be heard today (Interpol, Elastica, Lush, Bloc Party, Rakes anyone?), and the dubby textures, echo reverb and fantastic use of silence from 'Chairs Missing' are still being employed today to great effect (i.e. Mogwai, Trans Am, Colder, etc...)

Here's a few tunes from both, but i highly suggest tracking down both albums today.

Field Day For The Sundays from 'Pink Flag'
Ex Lion Tamer from 'Pink Flag'
Mannequin from 'Pink Flag'

Practice Makes Perfect from 'Chairs Missing'
French Film Blurred from 'Chairs Missing'
Another The Letter from 'Chairs Missing'
Men 2nd from 'Chairs Missing'
I Am The Fly from 'Chairs Missing'

-Drew

I wish everything was this easy

Something sad sparked my recollection of this song yesterday, but I’m really glad it did. I had not thought about the gentle Alt-Country styles of the band known as Tarnation for quite some time, and not only was it a welcomed trip down memory lane, but it was also an enlightening one. It would appear that the long dormant 4AD band is now on the verge of releasing a new record (well sort of.) Apparently after Tarnation’s 1997 sophomore effort, "Mirador," main songwriter & lead vocalist Paula Frazer dropped the moniker and released several records under her own name on the unlikely Retro Fuzz label, Birdman Records. This March 1st, Frazer evokes the Tarnation name once again with the release of "Now It’s Time," also distributed by Birdman.

I listened to the title track on her Myspace profile, and got really excited. The song is gorgeous and has a strange Cat Stevens quality to it. If that song is any indication, I suspect that the new album will still have the same dreamy feel of Tarnation’s debut, "Gentle Creatures," minus the tin-can vocals.

The song I’m posting, "It’s Not Easy," is probably my favorite Tarnation song, and easily one of their most upbeat. The beautiful contrast of Matt Wendell Sullivan’s lead vocals and Frazer’s wailing yodel comforts me every time.

It’s Not Easy (mp3)

-Popkoff

Beans

Rising from the ashes of Antipop Consortium, Beans bridges the gap between the Avant Garde musings of Sun Ra, and the electro street spirit of Afrika Bambaataa.

He has 3 albums under his belt. ‘Only’ (his most recent) takes a hard left into experiemental territory, which was briefly visited on his first two LP’s. His work with Prefuse 73, Dani Siciliano, Arto Lindsay, Ghislain Poirier, EL-P, and Outhud keeps him tied to the Indie/Underground scene, but this is still straight up Electro Hip Hop.

71 (mp3) from 'Only'
Bubonic (mp3)
Down By Law (mp3) from 'Shock City Maverick'
Mutescreamer (mp3) from 'Tomorrow Right Now'
Win Or Lose You Lose (mp3) from 'Now, Soon, Someday'

Bonus:
Prefeelings (mp3) - Arto Lindsay feat. Beans
Morale Crusher (mp3) - Prefuse 73 feat. Beans

-Drew

Goodnight Mr. Spaceman

Last March I saw Billy Bragg perform as part of Anti’s SXSW Hootenanny at the Central Presbyterian Church, a unique experience to say the least. I didn’t really know much about him then, nor do I now, but I have a general idea of who he is, and his place in musical history. Recently I picked up a MOJO compilation for a $1 that had a song by him on it, and I liked the song so much, it inspired this blog. It’s a very simple, very endearing Pop Rock song about a girl, a song that would fit nicely along side Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World.” That being said, I realized that most of my favorite Love songs are in fact simple little Pop Rock tunes.

A dear friend of mine recommended Television Personalities to me a long time ago, and cited them as a reason to like Jens Lekman (since he covered them, he couldn’t be all that bad.) I’ve like everything I’ve heard by them, and if nothing else, I like the fact that they wrote a song based on dialogue from the film Gregory’s Girl.

Speaking of Jens Lekman, his entire song-writing style is more or less akin to that of Jonathan Richman, who will be playing both the Cactus Café & the Continental Club in late February. I’m pretty excited about seeing him.

The only things I really have to say about the Velvet Underground right now is that this particular version of “I’m Sticking With You” is in my opinion better than the none-demo version. It was playing in my car several years ago when I got into a car accident with a pillar that probably should killed me. Plus, I also learned how to sign the lyrics of this song for an American Sign Language assignment.

New England (mp3) - Billy Bragg
Someone to Share my Life With (mp3) - Television Personalities
Everyday Clothes (mp3) - Jonathan Richman
I’m Sticking With You (Demo) (mp3) - The Velvet Underground

Bonus:
Someone to Share my Life With (mp3) - Jens Lekman

–Popkoff

7 Minutes In Heaven

So I just want to thank the guys at You Ain’t No Picasso for turning me on to this totally inspiring Zombie’s song, it really made my day. I can’t remember the last time I listened to a song for the first time, and was instantly moved by it’s warmth. I listened to it at least 8 times before leaving for work today, and all I could think about tonight was coming home and listening to it again.

As a bonus, I’m posting another amazing sentimental reflection on life, "In My Life" by the Beatles (it was recommended a few weeks back by a dear friend.) As a second bonus, I’ve been on a real Kinks kick recently, so I’m posting one of current faves.

This Will Be Our Year (mp3) - The Zombies
In My Life (mp3) - The Beatles
This Is Where I Belong (mp3) - The Kinks

–Popkoff