Baffling is the first word that comes to mind, and wasted seems to be the second. Whilst Jesse (MSTRKRFT) touted his techno around the globe months after Death From Above 1979 parted ways, the other half, Sebastien Grainger, has spent months crafting the perfect lo-fi funk jams. I always saw this as kind of a diffusion of DFA79’s sound. The crossroads where the throbbing dance music met with funky garage rock. Aaanyways, he’s finally released his first single, which definitely eschewed the strained dance-rock of his first single, for a more straight-forward lo-fi rock kind of thing. It took a while to cath my ear, but it’s still definitely worth checking out. The other thing I was a little put off by is the fact he signed to release his first lp on Saddle Creek records. Home to every contrived folk-tinged rock band you liked when you were fifteen. Not to bag on them too much, but I just don’t understand how that would benefit him in any way, but maybe he’s trying to shed his skin and eschew the whole “indie-dance” scene and moniker. Could just be Saddle Creek trying to diversify, they did sign Tokyo Police Club a while ago. Of course it doesn’t really matter, they can sign as many rock bands as they’d like, they’re still not going to be the next 4AD or Matador. Enough of my just as contrived bitching, music below.
I know it sounds a bit, preposterous, but it really works. I was obsessed with this song this spring, everyday I’d listen to it on repeat, jumping with joy every the chorus would crescendo to that sublime “Sippppping on the sweet nectar” line. The remix is about the exact opposite, running the vocals alongside a mid-tempo bass and some synths that definitely sound like something that would come from Fred Falke or Anoraak. It completely eschews the celebratory tone instrumentation in the original, yet retains the slightly bitter lyrics. Doesn’t make me jump for joy, but contemplative works just as well.
I’ve been meaning to blog about Late of the pier foorrrrevver. Once their play count in my itunes ebbed over 50, I thought it was about time. Yes, I know, I know, another spastic electro-rock band hailing from the UK, but who cares, their music is infectious in a non-conventional way. Ok, so they sound a bit like Does It Offend You, Yeah? and We Smoke Fags, oh well. For now I’m a firm believer in driving synths and raucous riffs. For now.
Not my photo above, but that’s besides the point. These New Puritans put on a simply astonishing show, blowing the roof of the hipster hell-hole popscene night @ 330 Ritch street. They played around 45 minutes of blissfully cohesive chaos. Their stage presence was brash and precise without coming off the least bit pretentious or stoic. Glorious.
All the original members, the best tracks from loveless, and “cigarettes in your bed.” albeit the absence of “sometimes,” this sounds like it was a perfect show. Can’t wait for September. Download an amazing soundboard recording of it bellooow, and check out some videos on youtube.
I love the deerhunter blog. So, so, so, so, so, so much. A constant source of musical goodness in the form of eccentric yet amazing mixtapes and the random musical musings of Bradford Cox in the form of demos, lots and lots of fucking demos. Occasionally some covers too, I think I posted a Nico one on here a while back. His newest recording he put up on the blog is a “virtual 7′” under the Atlas sound moniker. One song of soft kind of sleepy droning, and another of some avant-pop sounding stuff. Mmmm.
“No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York 1976-1980″ is a photo book by indie rock-god Thurston Moore and journalist Byron Coley; it goes about documenting the volatile New York art rock scene from ‘76-80 through never before seen pictures and interviews. Oh and in retrospect to other art books, it’s fucking cheap! Amazon has it for only $16. There’s also an exhibition at KA art gallery, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks play the opening reception tonight.
