Despite living in Brooklyn, the most populated of the five boroughs, folk-rock five-piece Wild Leaves conjure images of tranquil nature and good old-fashioned romancing, much like Fleet Foxes or Strands of Oak. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, for a long while, wait ’til the storm passes through or the river runs dry,” opens Adam Lytle’s sincere, Cat Stevens-like voice on the illustrious “Wind & Rain”. A perky bass line abruptly signals the entry of percussion and Genevieve Rainsberger’s sweeping vocal harmonies, which flow through the track like a fresh breeze on a humid day. The band seems fond of comparisons to nature and the outdoors, and in this instance it’s hard for me not to be as well. “Don’t look back I need you in the morning, with the wind and the rain,” they both sing during the chorus, Lytle taking the lead and Rainsberger maintaining a solid melodic backbone. Comparing someone’s comfort and closeness to a familiarity like the wind and rain is a joyous complement, as long as it’s reciprocated. This brisk folk-pop effort seems to suggest it has… a match made in heaven, much like Wild Leaves’ stirring folk sound and compelling vocalists.

Bandcamp / Facebook

The post Wild Leaves – “Wind & Rain” appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

#50 to 41                   #40 to 31                   #30 to 21                   #20 to 11                   #10 to 01

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30. Russian Circles – Empros

Russian Circles’ fourth album, Empros, improves upon their past efforts’ renowned technical displays and daring mood shifts. 2009’s Geneva was the first indication of the group’s new-found emphasis on songwriting over performing, and Empros improves upon it in every form imaginable. Russian Circles’ first few albums offered incredible virtuosity on every instrumental front, but excess would drown out blossoming moments with potential to carry a song. The missteps involved one overly voracious instrument drowning interplay between the others. This caused any semblance of a transition to sound either too forceful or not audacious enough. Whereas those early albums occasionally resulted in a same-y sound and sounds that meshed too much, Empros is beautifully varied. Each track builds off the previous one, yet without resorting to a sound bearing a split image or incompatible opposite. For instance, “Mládek” is scorching with nostalgic fury, its dexterous metal-influenced monophonic solos combining with thrashing waves of chord-based destruction and distortion. Vicious guitar-led arpeggios provide many of the lead melodies and serve prominent roles as transitional tools. Ominous yet substantially thicker guitar tones accentuate the rhythm with every whole and half note. They assume quicker pace in the final three minutes. The thunderous “Batu” is arguably the most varied on the album, with roaring guitars and vigorous percussion eventually transforming into a solemn, organ-led interlude. A single drone wavers for about a minute before additional organ and synth layers provide subtle accompaniments. It’s an appropriate entry point to the beautiful finale, “Praise Be Man”. As one of few Russian Circles tracks featuring vocals, it progresses from an acoustic-laden tropical lullaby to a starry-eyed conclusion with gauzy waves of distortion. After the furiously brilliant forty or so minutes that preceded it, one thing is clear: Empros is one of those rare albums that could rock you to sleep gently with pounding streams of distortion.

MP3: Russian Circles – Mládek

Russian Circles – 309

Official Site / BUY

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29. Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972

A sinister drone akin to a jet engine on the verge of exploding is the first sound heard on Ravedeath, 1972, the six full-length from one of the geniuses in drone and ambient music. This album is easily one of Tim Hecker’s most impressive, a fascinating triumph that incorporates more melodic whimsy into his beautifully infused samples and concocted soundscapes. These are delicate constructions that evolve from barren compositions to those breathing and producing life. The opening track, “The Piano Drop”, is a microcosm of this. By the time the work evolves into a warm fluttering synth arp, the ominous beginnings of the jet engine drone are all but forgotten. A playful and spacey melody has taken its place, and from here one would expect the usual synth-pop toppings. But as the trilogy of “In the Fog” shows by entering with the sound of a stalling garbage truck, Ravedeath, 1972 revolves partly around the concept of beauty through an unconventional source. The album is constantly stunning, and it’s not like it takes much digging to witness this. Drone isn’t widely accessible by any means, but this is an ideal entry point for those interested in find the best from the genre. Some tracks, particularly those with multiple parts, feel like rugged and lost photographs. The brooding cathedral setting of “Hatred of Music II” arises from the lightly piercing woodwinds of its first part, a very delicate piano melody and low horn-like modulation being the only source of sound. These sharp contrasts in pitch and instrumental involvement are frequent throughout the two or three-parters, specifically the beautifully bouncy closer “In the Air”. The first act is pure airy build-up, the second full of scraggly distortion and excitable keys, and the last a gorgeous come-down. Overall, it’s the most stunning track on an album full of beautiful experiments. The rest of Hecker’s discography is exceptional as well, but Ravedeath, 1972 is one of his most memorable and meticulously crafted.

Tim Hecker – In the Air III

Tim Hecker – Hatred of Music I

Official Site / BUY

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28. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Even with it sounding very similar to their first, Helplessness Blues manages to be a completely new experience due to a variety of sweeping epics and superficially pretty ballads. “Battery Kinzie” was the second single released for the album, and for good reason. It’s a display of what Fleet Foxes do best: combine folk music with sweeping baroque arrangements and choral instruments. Things slow down a bit with “The Plains / Bitter Dancer”, a track that builds up for the first three minutes before breaking down into a multi-vocal verse led by a marching snare and seductive flute. Still, “The Shrine / An Argument” takes prize as the longest and most sweeping track on Helplessness Blues. Unlike most of Fleet Foxes’ material, it highlights a slightly more unrestrained Robin Pecknold who allows his vocal range to be expressive beyond sultry folk whisperings. This song takes a turn for the better as it switches gears from “The Shrine” to “An Argument”, a movement introduced by Fleet Foxes taking more risks. That’s not to say familarity isn’t a strength as well. Old school Fleet Foxes again comes out in abundance on “Lorelai”, a song that feels it should be played by mystical creatures in a thicket deep within a magical forest. Lightning has indeed struck twice for Fleet Foxes, a band who has succeeded in creating two stellar achievements which are simultaneously similar and unique. Helplessness Blues presents Fleet Foxes at their creative best. Instead of churning out a dismal second album one year after the first (see jj no. 2 & no. 3), Fleet Foxes took their time to craft a marvelous follow-up and succeeded in so many ways. Review>>>

Fleet Foxes – The Shrine / An Argument

Fleet Foxes – Battery Kinzie

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

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27. Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On

Taylor Kirk’s voice would sound good enough on its own, even without his alluring tales of darkness and despair. Like a Nick Cave or Tom Waits, Kirk touts a deep bellow that reverberates with the soft thumping bass surrounding it. Bass and keys are the driving instrumental building blocks throughout Timber Timbre’s fourth album, Creep On Creepin’ On. The route to classic-rock nostalgia isn’t far as a result, especially on a catchy doo-wop throwback like “Woman”. Here, Kirk sits at a table in the late ’50s and plays poker with Elvis and The Everly Brothers, even packing a quivering delivery typical of the era. Other just as successful efforts seek a more contemporary appeal. The animalistic vocal yelps on the rollicking “Too Old to Die Young” recall the idiosyncratic exuberance of Jarvis Cocker, and what he did with “Acrylic Afternoons”. The forlorn string swipes solidify the comparison. It isn’t all doom and gloom though. The final two minutes contain one of Timber Timbre’s most beautiful pieces of songwriting, where Kirk proclaims “I’m givin’ it all up” over ethereal strings that both flutter and hold on one note. Between this, the similarly throwback “Woman”, and the trickly tremolo-based “Lonesome Hunter”, you’d expect Timber Timbre to follow The Walkmen in creating a tribute album to Harry Nilsson. Their sound isn’t too distant from his, even in reference to hits like “Without You”.  Timber Timbre’s hooks are as beautiful, fragile, and enjoyably forlorn as someone in the ilk of Nilsson or Emitt Rhodes. Some efforts don’t come close to either, opting for an instrumentally ambient route. The cinematic “Obelisk” sounds like a cut from Jonny Greenwood’s There Will Be Blood score, and the anxiously brilliant “Swamp Magic” recalls the ruminating complexities of Stravinsky, of all people. Timber Timbre has taken great strides since being featured three years ago, becoming a more atmospheric group in the process. I wouldn’t be surprised if they score a film in the near future. Although some tracks should leave more room for Kirk’s voice, there is not one piece of filler on Creep On Creepin’ On.

MP3: Timber Timbre – Too Old to Die Young

Timber Timbre – Woman

Official Site / BUY

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26. Grimes & d’Eon – Darkbloom

Claire Boucher recorded the first two Grimes albums, Geidi Primes and Halfaxa, with a cheap computer microphone. Her first song with an actual recording interface, “Crystal Ball”, was recorded just last year. It was her poppiest effort yet, especially in light of how the first two albums rode heavy on goth-industrial backgrounds and slick sampling. Her split EP with Chris d’Eon, Darkbloom, shows that “Crystal Ball” was an indication of Grimes’ future sound — more polish with brighter hooks and a generally more effervescent sound, though not without a few dark ambient works (see: “Urban Twilight”). It was just as some hoped. Stylistically, Grimes falls somewhere between originators of goth-pop stylings (post-punk) and exotic electro-pop in the vein of Björk and Kate Bush. She produces music not too distant from Animal Collective’s sample-laden psychedelia and The Knife’s icy electro-pop, but with the idiosyncratic presence of a singular songwriter. Even when her often placid songs pick up a notch in intensity, one of Boucher’s trademarks is her repressed vocal delivery. Much like Beach House’s Victoria Legrand, Boucher portrays an image of efficient suaveness as she shows no signs of rushing or underestimation. She recognizes this strength and often relies on little more than that; a one-measure bass line repeats itself only to allow Boucher to let herself go over bizarrely modified samples, ranging from lost ’60s soul cuts to stars of commercial pop. Her voice is high-pitched to the point of sounding like a child or – depending on the backing – a full-blown diva. She channels her inner Diana Ross on “Vanessa”, where she lets her vocals go wild over a stringy assortment of synths. Boucher’s delivery is never conventional, and always invigorating; she uses her voice as an instrument on the dank “Urban Twilight”, her array of high-pitched vocal backings being maneuvered like a synth pad. Technically EPs don’t qualify for this list, but split EPs can tiptoe in if they’re this good. d’Eon’s material is decent enough, but this ranking is admittedly for Boucher’s material.

MP3: Grimes – Crystal Ball

MP3: Grimes – Vanessa

Arbutus Records / BUY

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25. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Wolfroy Goes to Town

This feature just referenced Timber Timbre and their narrative comparisons to Nick Cave and Tom Waits, namely their penchant for dark tales about ordinary people. Will Oldham has been doing much of the same for over two decades, releasing haunting folk narratives about hidden American treasures — some fictional, others not — under a variety of monikers since the early ’90s. You almost get the sense that, like many great songwriters, Oldham wishes to assume the role of many of his characters, and at several points already has (both in music and film). Whether under a Palace alias or simply Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Oldham has played around with plenty of different arsenals; these include dark brooders with escalating strings, minimalist folk, and direct variants of Americana and country. Sometimes a cut-and-paste approach is applied, as successfully on The Letting Go or Lie Down in the Light. Listeners are weary of his prolific discography for a reason. They just don’t know what to expect. To the delight of the intimidated, Wolfroy Goes to Town is one of Oldham’s more straightforward releases, sounding quaintly folk-western but without the emotive darkness that entraps many Oldham albums. Part of this is because he relies so much on guest vocalists, who add vibrancy to Oldham’s creaky voice, which even when singing optimistic lines contains a tinge of despair. It also helps that two instruments — guitar and bass — are responsible for a large bulk of the album’s arrangements. The intimacy and overall brightness of Wolfroy Goes to Town is impossible to overlook. Fans of 2009’s grandiose Beware may be disappointed in the lack of intricacy, but this is a solid if understated album that captures why Oldham will forever maintain a cult following that hangs onto every one of his words. He crafts his own storybook with each release. It’s best described with a line from the standout “New Whaling”: “Years have come on, and I live like a king / Like a monarch who rules over all that he sings.”

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Quail And Dumplings

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – New Whaling

Official Site / BUY

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24. The Black Keys – El Camino

The Black Keys return to form with El Camino. This album presents everything Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have built as The Black Keys, just exemplified more; the blues are bluesier, the guitar solos are more energetic, the minimalism is more precise, and the lyrics are more carefully chosen. El Camino is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s an album that feels like the next step in the Black Keys’ growth as a band, while still paying homage to their already diverse discography. This is most apparent on “Little Black Submarines”, a song nearly as double-sided as the entire album. The first half saunters about with a simple acoustic/tambourine melody; it would be a fantastic song if stretched to a full four minutes. As it stands, the two-minute mark sends the band into a powerful and heavy riffs typical of their more accessible material. “Dead and Gone” and “Gold on the Ceiling” evoke a Magic Potion-era sound, heavier on the distortion and murky guitar work overlaid with multi-track vocals. The latter could be the spiritual successor to “Your Touch”, a song that the Keys have lent out to a plethora of worthy other media. Another highlight, “Nova Baby”, recalls the Keys’ love of Buddy Holly, as evidenced by their cover of “Dearest” for Rave On Buddy Holly!, with a jaunty melody that’s smoothed over to emulate the feeling of a late-‘50s recording. The album closes with “Mind Eraser”, a fine track that finds the Keys exploring their soulful side. While soul has always been one of their influences, “Mind Eraser” sounds more akin to a Sharon Jones track than anything from Brothers or Attack & Release. If anything on El Camino is clear, it’s that Auerbach and Carney have found a formula (and producer in Danger Mouse) that works for them. The continuous fruits of that formula are evident with each new release. El Camino is the best Black Keys album in the past five years, and possibly their best to date. Review>>>

The Black Keys – Run Right Back

The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

Official Site / BUY

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23. NewVillager – New Villager

As a video, “Lighthouse” is perhaps best served as a dessert rather than an appetizer. The production features ten characters, each representing a song on New Villager. The concept proves especially interesting after becoming familiar with the album. Yet alone as a song, there are no prerequisites for enjoying “Lighthouse” – even as the album’s lengthiest track. After it begins with perky string staccatos, upbeat squiggly synths, and an assertively low-pitched chant, the first verse surprises by revealing itself as a lush ballad-like entry, somewhat comparable to the lush post-punk of Twin Shadow or Wild Beasts. Well, it begins that way. Rapid snares and xylophone-range key tremolos then kick off the chorus, which is as bouncily brilliant as any on the album. The vocals during this section are one of many theatrical impersonations; the variation of vocal pitch and delivery is abundant throughout the album, making the cast of colorful characters in the video that much more apt. About the underrated NewVillager? They’re a Brooklyn-based duo comprising Ross Simonini and Ben Bromley, as adept in the visual arts as they are in the audible spectrum. Their ability to seamlessly incorporate various vocal stylings into their song structures brings us to the album’s production, which is generally faultless for the group’s energetic style of pop. Their rhythmic and vocal patterns are frequently inspired by Afro-pop in a form that recalls Paul Simon rather than recent emulators like Vampire Weekend, who don’t quite emphasize as much the style’s percussive dexterity and structural flexibility. Evidence of the duo’s strong songwriting is evident throughout “Say the Code”, one of the year’s catchiest tracks. New Villager touts obvious standouts like “Say the Code” and “Cocoon House”, the latter sounding like TV on the Radio jamming with Man Man and The Knife. NewVillager’s debut is a fantastic and compellingly fun release that should propel the duo to dizzying heights, along with the many characters they possess. Review>>>

MP3: NewVillager – Say the Code

MP3: NewVillager – Lighthouse

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

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22. Cass McCombs – Wit’s End

The first and more superior of McCombs’ two albums this year, Wit’s End is a natural progression. His early material showcased an infatuation for intricately produced psych-rock, never becoming indulgent enough to be fetishized because they were presented in a distinctive singer/songwriter format. His songs have always sounded alarmingly personal, even if the degree of distortion and pounding hooks prevented his lyrical content from becoming the dominant focus. With Wit’s End, he is echoing the trademarks of idiosyncratic one-man shows like Robert Wyatt and Elliott Smith. The somber efforts on the troubled yet talented Dennis Wilson’s classic debut Pacific Ocean Blue also come to mind here; delicate pianos in a minor-key sway with gentle anticipation over his half-gravelly, half-youthful vocals. The emotions would almost come across as ambivalent if you weren’t paying attention. When it gets down to the root of depression, when someone simply doesn’t care, these type of songs can be particularly meaningful. Moving onto dual strengths of beautiful musical accompaniment and heartrending lyrics, “Buried Alive” and “Memory’s Stain” serve as the album’s strongest. The latter is one of McCombs’ best tracks, period. His voice here resembles both George Harrison’s nasally psych-pop zeal and Elliott Smith’s hushed melancholy, with the beautifully haunting chorus re-affirming this. After a barren piano, subdued bass, and subtle crash cymbals establish the opening, the chorus appears with invigorated life. What sounds like a harpsichord envelopes over McCombs’ ghostly voice, with an accordion lamenting in the distance with a magical subtlety already inherent in the restrained percussion. The track continues the theme of lost love’s imprints, much like “The Lonely Doll” and the bleakly soul-inspired “Saturday Song”, a rain-drenched cross between Tindersticks, Tom Waits, and Mark Kozelek.  Wit’s End values consistency on all fronts, but not without the dose of artistic variation that makes McCombs one of the most promising singer/songwriters today. He seems to keep building toward a masterpiece of some sort, and in many regards Wit’s End is an excellent beginning to fulfilling such deserved expectations. Review>>>

Cass McCombs – County Line

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

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21. Washed Out – Within and Without

Ernest Greene’s early material showed plenty of promise, but it certainly wasn’t the epitome of consistent stylistic direction. Some tracks, like the highly memorable “Belong”, recalled shimmering key-led elements of Afro-pop and Adult-Contemporary lite-pop, while others like “Get Up” were more adventurous practices in sampling. His voice is rarely the dominant factor, often placed masterfully under the rich electronic mix similarly to Noah Lennox. Greene’s compositional skills and production tendencies – from starry ballads to clinics in choppy sampling – were certainly unique; it often resulted in some of the most caressing and intricately layered sounds one would hear from any artist within the “chillwave” categorization. Within and Without is a continuation of aspects touched upon throughout Greene’s early EPs, but with a steadily rising emphasis on infusions of trip-hop – hence more use of percussion that isn’t nearly as stiff or automated as the loops present before. Sampling is also severely minimized, with the exception of small snippets like the female vocal clip in “Before”, which adds a Jet Set Radio/blurring neon lights in Tokyo sort of feel. Cibo Matto on (more) drugs, perhaps. The sampling is rarely an essential factor in the songs, making Within and Without the clearest example of Greene’s songwriting to date. That’s not to say it’s a no-frills release; the production reaches several moments of utter grandiosity, like the stirring strings throughout “Far Away”, the devastating synth build-up in “You and I”, and the twinkling anthem-like appeal of the highly accessible “Far Away”. They are simply accomplished with more naturally instinctive pop smarts.

Standout “Echoes” is led by a bass line with plenty of swagger and appeal, approaching hip-hop schematics in its structural repetition but also dance in its actual simplified melody. This bass hybrid is better perfected on “Before”, a gorgeously crafted gem with chirping and arp-led samples that best define Greene’s recent fascination with trip-hop. While the mid-section of the album boasts a wide array of infectious appeal, the first two tracks – “Eyes Be Closed” and “Echoes” – tend to focus more on atmospheric introductions. It wouldn’t be unnecessary to compare the fragile bursts on “Eyes Be Closed” to resemble the New Age sounds of Enigma and ERA. This style presents plenty of easy-listening and atmospheric preparation, but its idleness begins to poke at the listener by mid-point. Even as the fade-out and fade-in occurs after the three-minute mark to introduce an explosive verse of sorts, the effect is not nearly as effective as when done toward the end of “You and I”, an effort more indicative of Greene’s multiple stylistic strengths – particularly the infusion of Afro-pop into areas of dubstep, lo-fi rock, and synth-pop. Within and Without is a very strong album led by efforts like these. The mid-section of the album is near-flawless. Review>>>

MP3: Washed Out – Far Away

Washed Out – Before

Sub Pop / MySpace / BUY

The post Best Albums of 2011: #30 to #21 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

It’s a wise word of advice when watching Fleet Foxes’ newest music video for “The Shrine/An Argument”, the eight-minute epic off the band’s sophomore album Helplessness Blues. Directed by frontman Robin Pecknold’s brother Sean Pecknold, it’s an animated acid trip that’s part-Miyazaki and part-Švankmajer. Unlike most self-indulgent visual trips in music today, the music actually syncs with the visuals to create some very cool moments. Both senses are enhanced with this excellent and aptly representative video.

Oh yeah, if you’re watching it on shrooms then you should look out for the sequence starting at 02:37. It gets pretty crazy.

MP3: Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes – Montezuma

Fleet Foxes – The Shrine/An Argument (BBC Maida Vale Session)

Official Site / BUY

The post Video: Fleet Foxes – “The Shrine/An Argument” appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Models Can’t Fuck – Move to Iceland

Models Can’t Fuck – Give it Time

Models Can’t Fuck – Ghost Kid

Models Can’t Fuck – Move to Iceland

Models Can’t Fuck is a one-man band, self-described as “dreampop-shoegaze-folktronica.” Indeed, “Give it Time” sounds like a lovechild of Beach House, The Radio Dept., and Fleet Foxes — with some Mazzy Star thrown in for flavor. The result from Árpi Szarvasis a pleasurable, atmospheric experience. The Hungarian native is driven by “the impotence of the Hungarian music scene, both mainstream and underground, and the general public’s out of date thinking about contemporary music and their indifference towards new exciting acts and young bands.” Models Can’t Fuck do not rely solely on instruments to craft the ethereal mood within their music. The vocals are not washed-out; they assume a central role in the song. This style of music is exciting and calming, an interesting blend that I welcome more artists to imitate and draw influence from. Unfortunately the EP only has three songs.

Bandcamp

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Secondhand Pinups – Points Between

Secondhand Pinups – Do It Slow

Secondhand Pinups are a duo from New York. Their songs are soulful and folksy, the type that show up on timeless compilations. They seamlessly meld Solomon Burke-style soul with contemporary folk. The vocals twine at points and give their music an almost country feel without being over-indulgent in the genre. While the group does well in duets, the most personable songs – like “Ocean Song” – are the gems on Points Between. The album is very accessible and “Ocean Song”, a breezy concoction of soulful vocals and folk guitar, is the best representation of this.  It’s exciting to see so many folk infusions.

Bandcamp

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Sound and the Urgency – Sound and the Urgency

Sound and the Urgency – White Kids

Sound and the Urgency – Sound and the Urgency

Sound and the Urgency is based out of Portland and comprised of one member, songwriter Brian Senesac. He uses folk, rock, and electronica influences. In “Sound and the Urgency”, he layers folk guitar with synthesizers and cleverly infused samples. Think Elliott Smith meets Remy Zero. The overall tone is soft, yet structurally complex and certainly innovative. The simple melody flows like honey and puts the listener in a place of warm nostalgia. Sound and The Urgency is excellent easy-listening for the busy fall season. It reminds us to relax and enjoy the joys of life, even if winter is fast approaching. Albums like Sound and The Urgency help one hold on to those last warm bits of summer.

Soundcloud / Facebook

The post F Is For Fall and Folk appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

The NYC duo Chappo received some recognition last year with “Come Home”, a summertime psych-rock jam with a shimmering quality reminiscent of alt-rock groups like Teenage Fanclub and The New Radicals. The track was an excellent expansion of several genres; jangly guitars provide the power-pop background, while hints of Neil Young-inspired southern-rock lead just prior to the two-minute mark, eventually serving as a bridge to an effervescent burst of psych-rock magic. The last thirty seconds are a jam-packed recollection of the song’s stylistic twists, reminding the listener just how adventurous yet consistently infectious “Come Home” is.

Chappo plan to release their new EP, Plastique Universe II: Pisces Princess, for free on August 15th. Much like how “Come Home” was written about “a pair of bandits who figure out how to shift into a parallel universe and decide to wreak havoc on their doppelgangers”, the new EP has a concept as well. This time, it tells “the story of a far-away ocean love affair between a caped shape shifter and an underwater siren.” Chappo recorded it at their home studio in Brooklyn over a four-day musical frenzy. Keep in mind, this EP is completely separate from their debut full-length, which is finished and will be released later this year. In the meantime, check out the newest from Plastique, the prickly “Bodies Coasting”.

“Bodies coasting, all these baby fish are floating by, the ocean’s glowing,” is how Chappo opens up the track, each successive verse providing a new accompaniment to the surf-rock inspired guitar movements; they tout a glistening eminence akin to groups like The Morning Benders and Surfer Blood, though Chappo’s song structures are more ambitious in their stylistic approach – as evidenced last year with “Come Home”. The second half of “Bodies Coasting” shows this well; the bass line comes out from semi-dormancy to the front of the mix, paving the way for the gorgeous backing vocal harmonies and brilliant trickling guitar work which enhances the track’s depth while maintaining its infectiousness. A hazy synth pad floats the track to its end, closing with an abrupt blur though its memory remains strong with any listener. If this effort is any indication, Chappo’s upcoming full-length will escalate their popularity to extreme levels – even if the inclusion of “Come Home” in a new iPhone 4G commercial was the first precursor to that. Plastique is a more definitive one.

RIYL: Teenage Fanclub, The New Radicals, The Morning Benders, Surfer Blood, Neil Young, Smith Westerns, Local Natives, Real Estate, Wild Nothing, Girls, Fang Island, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Tokyo Police Club, Fleet Foxes, The Dodos

Chappo – Bodies Coasting

Chappo – Come Home

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

The post Chappo appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

A jovial summer breeze comes quickly and unexpectedly, catching bystanders off-guard before they hastily yearn for more. If only this antidote for endless humidity was available at the snap of a finger. Technology does not permit climactic changes via an audible interface, but Warm Weather’s EP Dances is the closest you’ll come to audibly reliving that moment; a fresh breeze providing a reprieve from the scorching wasteland. While too gradual and focused to be comparable to a bucket of ice water being dumped over your head, Dances is a naturally occurring instance of sunny indie-pop – like a fresh breeze out of nowhere. Present influences like The Beach Boys and The Eagles make it hardly surprising that the trio is from California. While their sound certainly fits in among contemporary indie-rock’s greatest names (“Older” is reminiscent of Fleet Foxes’ expanded folk-rock as much as it is The Beach Boys’ soaring harmonies, while the second half of “The Dance” has the choir-boy jubilance of The Shins), it is hard to miss obvious nods to surf-rock and various forms of AM Pop, ranging from The Byrds’ eclectic fusion of country-rock, psychedelia, and folk to Jim Croce’s soft-rock conventions.

Lead single “So Far / Vertigo” takes its name from the U2 track due to singer Ryan Pollie’s joking adoration for Bono. “Bono’s music has done to the world what Advil has done to countless hangovers,” he sarcastically explained. “[It has] relieved unnecessary pain and suffering.” Pollie is kidding, so listeners should be pleased to hear that Warm Weather stick to their natural pop music smarts rather than pursue U2’s anthemic, often over-produced sound. Sure, Warm Weather sound like an eclectic collection of other influences (mentioned above), but with none dominating the material or bleeding into the group’s prevalent songwriting talents. Another fine example is the irresistible “Coney Island”, which is not on Dances but is definitely worth a listen. Check the bottom of this page for the stream.

If anything, “So Far / Vertigo” is bound to bring forth Vampire Weekend comparisons, mainly for the initial Afro-pop key stabs and tribal-like backing harmonies. “So far away from home,” is what Pollie repeats throughout the first minute, right before a slick guitar riff prompts heavier emphasis on the snare drum and unveils a fluttering array of multiple accompaniments and harmonies. Subsequently, the bridge between each verse is reminiscent of southern-rock mavens like the Allman Brothers, emitting a wide frequency of mirrored guitar progressions characteristic of their more instrumental works. The track is a beautifully eclectic collection of influences, one of the most enjoyably varied on the five-track, 12-minute EP.

While this is surely good enough to be a single, the best example of Warm Weather’s innate songwriting ability is the sparkling “I Only Know”. Bubbly synths emanate from the background as a sprightly guitar line is plucked with great vigor, paving way for an outstanding chorus led by whole-note guitar swipes and trickling staccatos. The freshly intimate, yet serenely lackadaisical, feel of the reoccurring chorus is telling of the summer breeze analogy mentioned before; can’t you just feel it? My only gripe with Dances is actually complementary in that it is way too short. Such is the case for a breakout EP, whether you’re talking about a group like Washed Out or Voxtrot. In their cases, it took multiple EPs before an album release. It sounds like Warm Weather are already to take the next step, and after listening to the tracks below I bet you’ll hope for the same.

You can download Dances for free via their Bandcamp.

RIYL: The Beach Boys, Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, The Byrds, The Association, The Kinks, The Eagles, The Shins, Explorers Club, Local Natives, Bon Iver, The Antlers, Band of Horses, Cults, The Cave Singers, Andrew Bird, Noah and the Whale

Warm Weather – I Only Know

Warm Weather – So Far / Vertigo

Warm Weather – The Dance

Warm Weather – Older

Warm Weather – Coney Island

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by Mike Mineo

Skeletons’ new album, People, continues their rich mash-up of freak-folk and prog-rock, all while remaining separate from other contemporaries like Timber Timbre, Man Man, and Bruce Peninsula. People explores fuzzy narratives with fictional characters as idiosyncratic as the five-piece’s bustling sound, with producer Rusty Santos masterfully keeping Skeletons’ hypersensitive ambition in check. The ambitious prog-pop of John Vanderslice is a fairly noticeable influence, keeping excellent pace as bizarrely engaging psych-pop. Additionally, the accelerated guitar work invokes comparisons to virtuously melodic rock groups like Radiohead and Battles. Despite these glimpses of familiarity, People is a ceaselessly fascinating release with heaps of singular innovation that should establish Skeletons as a significant breakout act in indie-rock.

The quick guitars of “Grandma” are reminiscent of Battles’ technical expertise, The Grateful Dead’s virtuosity, and Radiohead’s trickling arpeggio-based fury. Producer Rusty Santos pulls off the vocal mixing perfectly, with Matt Mehlan’s crisp croon adjusting seamlessly to the constant alterations in volume and intensity. The guitars eventually increase in tonal force, with multiple layers starting to appear until crashing, percussive-led conclusions envelope for a minute. The final two-and-one-third minutes shows a lush folk melody gradually integrating itself into a full-bodied rock song, with each successive verse finishing with a teasing percussive build-up. Lead singer recites a bunch of – his mother, his grandfather, the girl he loves – and the eerie sentimentality grows in prevalence. “Grandma” is fairly jaw-dropping on several accounts, standing as one of the best efforts on People.

“More Than the One Thing” begins with a frantic piano melody that, if expanded upon, could easily unveil a jazz influence. The repetition is molded for the particular vocal melody though, and it changes subtly and with a newly budding brass attached. That section seems influenced by Matthew Herbet, along with many other elements – like the near spoken-word elements mixing with brass, jungle chirping, and a whimsically adorned structure. The screeching flutes and playful child-laughter, later accompanied by a more versatile brass flutter, during the song’s second half kick-starts a dramatic increase in variation. Under it all, the frantic piano melody remains intact. “More Than the One Thing” is a very intelligently crafted song, and one that shows off Skeletons’ versatility well.

Even the weaker tracks on People are the farthest thing from linear. “Walmart and the Ghost of Jimmy Damour”, while getting lost in some bland moments, is fascinating in its every pore, from the ambiguous narrative to the pulsating psychedelia inherent in the squiggly keys and tribal drums. Consider the tendency of over-indulgence to be more prominent here in this track than others, but it is not a significant issue. John Vanderslice is another artist who is able to juggle occasional overdoses of awkward contrasting and turn it into strengths; he is surely an influence found on “Walmart and the Ghost of Jimmy Damour”. It has a very idiosyncratically noticeable presence as an ambitiously bizarre slice of pop.

The soft, spacey twinkle of “No” seems like a practical intermission for the album. It lacks the intensity and variation of other efforts, but fits in the middle of the album as a suitable bridge from the split-personalities of “Walmart” to the prog-rock expansiveness of “Tania Head”. This instrumental-heavy track is another example of the band’s phenomenal build-up skills, bringing back the trickling arpeggio-led psychedelia under a very active rhythm section. Several ambient roars can be heard in the background, which greatly accompanies the dexterous ferocity of the chorus. It would be difficult to call this track the most ambitious on an album full of candidates, but “Tania Head” is certainly up there. While lacking the immediate hooks of a track like “Grandma”, “Tania Head” contains as many mesmerizing ideas – if not more.

Oh so modern, “Barack Obama Blues” is really the only place where Fleet Foxes comparisons are necessary – and that is only for the first few moments. A very cinematic drone of guitars finishes the bulk of it, returning listeners back to the post-rock/freak-folk/prog-rock mash-up that marks Skeletons’ wonderfully impulsive innovation. Regardless of the numerous similarities in pitch to Pecknold throughout the album, the comparisons would be easy for critics to make but hardly accurate in a full sense. Skeletons, while lacking that band’s up-front delicate beauty, present significantly more ideas and examples of innovation. Even if they are pulled off with less precision on a consistent basis, Skeletons’ full range of ideas is captivating. Their futuristic vein of folk integrates forms of rock that are markedly difficult to infuse with cohesion and creativity. Skeletons do it extraordinarily well though, making People one of the most fascinating and impressively creative releases of 2011 thus far.

RIYL: Timber Timbre, John Vanderslice, Bruce Peninsula, Bon Iver, Danielson, Radiohead, Battles, The Grateful Dead, The Souljazz Orchestra, Fleet Foxes, Quantic presenta Flowering Inferno, Natural Self, Orgone, Bill Callahan, Neutral Milk Hotel, Suuns, Braids, Kurt Vile

Skeletons – Grandma

Skeletons in “More Than the One Thing” from Shinkoyo on Vimeo.

Shinkoyo Records / MySpace / BUY

The post Skeletons – People (2011) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

April was a busy and thoroughly enjoyable month in music. It’s easy to point out that big names dominated most of it, some of them even brand names in indie music; Panda Bear, TV on the Radio, and Fleet Foxes are as close as you can get to that. I try to avoid featuring artists that are extremely well-known like that, but it’s hard to ignore a a relatively essential effort. After all, several of these releases will be appearing in the Top 50 at year’s end. More importantly, in most of these examples they have offered something new and innovative to their pre-existing sound. Even if you can’t stand hearing about Panda Bear or Fleet Foxes one more time this year, I feel that I selected the tracks from their respective albums that best show how they developed from their previous, more familiarized sound. Even with that in mind, this month’s compilation is pretty thick at 15 tracks, so a handful of artists that you already know shouldn’t be too detrimental to your listening experience.

Many of the other artists on this month’s compilation are on the absolute fringe of a breakout. Cass McCombs is seemingly one album away from gaining the widespread acclaim he deserves, and Wit’s End was certainly a step in the right direction. The Antlers did much of the same, with another devastatingly haunting album in Burst Apart. Then you have the long-awaited return of three artists specifically in John Maus, Peter Erchick (Pipes You See),  and HAL. It has been a half-dozen years or so since either have released a full-length. Judging by Maus’ “Believer”, Erchick’s “Lost in the Pancakes”, and HAL’s “Be With You“, they all sound better than ever. Their breakouts seem to be in the near future as well.

Of course, new and emerging artists are not forgotten. The buzzed-about Son Lux and Shabazz Palaces have albums on the way that are sure to get some positive press, while brand new artists like Mass Fiction, The Salvadors, Silk Flowers, and Brickwork Lizards are showing heaps of potential. Check out Mass Fiction and The Salvadors, specifically. Hopefully all these tracks, from both the headliners to unknowns, can distract you from the over-excess of political opinions stemming from almost everyone today. If someone starts ranting, just tell them to relax. Then put on your headphones. Many of the songs on this month’s compilation are perfect for blocking out excess.

01. Cass McCombs – County Line (post)
02. Panda Bear – Alsatian Darn (post)
03. Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t – Lost in the Pancakes (post)
04. Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean (post)
05. The Antlers – No Widows (post)
06. Son Lux – Rising (post)
07. Mass Fiction – Cold Heart (post)
08. Shabazz Palaces – Are You… Can You… Were You (Felt) (post)
09. TV On The Radio – Will Do (post)
10. John Maus – Believer (post)
11. The Salvadors – Wilson (post)
12. Brickwork Lizards – Live at Cirque Subite (post)
13. Silk Flowers – Small Fortune (post)
14. HAL – Down in the Valley (post)
15. The Belle Brigade – Losers (post)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (94.9 MB, .RAR)

The post Obscure Sound: Best of April 2011 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Jay Mattson

If you asked me about a year ago if I’d want to review the sophomore effort from the Portland-based Fleet Foxes, I’d have told you, “Absolutely not.” Simply put, I was ‘over’ Fleet Foxes. The over-saturation of their self-titled debut was too much for me, and I came to resent the album in a sense. Fleet Foxes is a fantastic album, and it’s for this reason that I stopped listening to it before I came to hate it.

When I heard that these Seattle-based Foxes had a new album coming out, I was more than skeptical. I wouldn’t listen to the first single, “Helplessness Blues”, for some time. Upon my eventual hearing of it, I found it pompous and detached from their initial aim. This is the album review that smacks down my preconceptions.

Much like what The Strokes did with Room on Fire back in 2003, Fleet Foxes have created a nearly flawless second album that sounds largely the same while still managing to be a completely new experience. To continue The Strokes analogy, critics will likely say that this sounds too much like the first.

From the start of the album, “Helplessness Blues” succeeds by recreating the experience of listening to the original. It’s like listening to this band for the first time all over again. The opening track, “Montezuma”, starts with an unsuspecting acoustic strum, Robin Pecknold’s signature vocals not far behind. And like the best tracks from Fleet Foxes, a background chorus provides an excellent foil to Pecknold’s higher pitch.

“Battery Kinzie” was the second single released for Helplessness Blues, and for good reason. It’s a display of what Fleet Foxes do best: combine folk music with sweeping baroque arrangements and choral instruments. It has worked for many bands, but Pecknold and Company are more in-tune with Bob Dylan and Tom Petty than Zach Condon or Arcade Fire. Things slow down a bit with “The Plains / Bitter Dancer”, a track that builds up for the first 3 ½ minutes before breaking down into a multi-vocal verse led by a marching snare and seductive flute.

I still hold that “Helplessness Blues” is the weakest track. Though the lyrics are clever and the melody is catchy, it sounds pretentious and over-thought; it’s almost as if the band was trying to fuse all the different parts of their sound that were praised in the past, to create a weird Frankenstein song that sounds patched together rather than an invigorating expression of their style. The relative weakness of “Helplessness” is almost forgiven for “The Cascades”, which is in the running for being my favorite track on this album, even being a purely instrumental song.

Instrumentals are often considered inferior to songs that include lyrics. Often, I find that I connect more with the music of a song than the lyrics of which are often personal for the writer. Fleet Foxes do well in this regard, as they often find a perfect balance between the movement of the instrumentals against the vocal work by Pecknold and the chorus. But on instrumentals like “The Cascades”, we can hear a purely sonic experience of Fleet Foxes, and it’s impressive, to say the least.

Old school Fleet Foxes again comes out in abundance on “Lorelai”, a song that feels it should be played by mystical creatures in a thicket deep within a magical forest. But it also sounds natural, like a natural component of your existing music collection.

“The Shrine / An Argument” takes prize as the longest and most sweeping track on Helplessness Blues. Unlike most of Fleet Foxes’ material, it highlights a slightly more unrestrained Robin Pecknold who allows his vocal range to be expressive beyond sultry folk whisperings. This song takes a turn for the better as it switches gears from “The Shrine” to “An Argument”, a movement introduced by Fleet Foxes taking more risks. Even Pecknold sounds harsher than usual. This movement is excellent, and it’s a fantastic example of the band’s growth since 2008. The third movement is the most interesting, though, and the most eerily haunting. Like the second, this third movement features a lot of new sounds for Fleet Foxes,  many of which don’t work as well as the ones found in the second movement. Random brass-play and a humming melody sound more like b-sides to a Man Man record than an actual track on a Fleet Foxes album. To come full circle, “Grown Ocean” is the second weak song on Helplessness Blues, a song stuffed with stylistic panache, and grandeur to spare.

Lightning has indeed struck twice for Fleet Foxes, a band who has succeeded in creating two stellar achievements which are simultaneously similar and unique. Helplessness Blues presents Fleet Foxes at their creative best. Instead of churning out a dismal second album one year after the first (see jj no. 2 & no. 3), Fleet Foxes took their time to craft a marvelous follow-up and succeeded in so many ways.

Fleet Foxes – The Shrine / An Argument

Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes – Montezuma

Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean

Fleet Foxes – Battery Kinzie

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The post Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (2011) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

This is a wonderful day. February is no more, and finally we can bid farewell to the dullness and bitter cold of the month. Suitably enough, I was sick for the majority of it. Now that March is here, it is hardly surprising that I feel infinitely better. Being able to keep my windows open throughout the day makes me feel less stressed, for whatever reason. Despite the consistently miserable tendencies of February, the month was as exciting musically as any. Radiohead was certainly the big artist last month, announcing and releasing their eighth LP in that short span. I thought it was OK… nothing amazing. Later this week, we will feature a second look at the album by another writer. Multiple opinions seem warranted for an album this polarizing.

Apart from Radiohead, February was a month dominated by up-and-comers. I gave Dirty Beaches’ debut full-length significant acclaim, so I urge everyone to check him out if you haven’t already. Speaking of great new nostalgia-heavy artists, Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship bring us back to late-’80s alternative-rock on college radio with several excellent songs off their new album, Hanga-Fang. Then you have Unknown Mortal Orchestra, with their refreshing take on ’60s psychedelia and funk. The Rural Alberta Advantage and Coma Cinema sit more in the contemporary cutting-edge vein, but you can certainly hear more past-inspired awe in Silver Swans’ work, which echoes glistening ’80s post-punk with enjoyable accuracy. The compilation is rounded out by a new track from popular art-rock duo The Kills, and a classic offering from The Beach Boys. I have been on an extreme Brian Wilson obsession as of late, and his breadth of work continues to amaze me. If there is any artist whose music can get us ready for warmer weather and great music, it’s him.

01. Radiohead – Separator (post)
02. Dirty Beaches – True Blue (post)
03. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (post)
04. Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship – I’m Not a Father (post)
05. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Ffunny Ffrends (post)
06. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Stamp (post)
07. Coma Cinema – Business as Usual (post)
08. Silver Swans – Holidays (post)
09. The Kills – Satellite (post)
10. The Beach Boys – I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times (post)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (46.3 MB, .RAR)

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