by Matt Keefer

Frontman Wayne Coyne approaches the tour at his own pace.

Few could predict that an indie punk group from Oklahoma City would have such an innovative presence in the music world. At 49, Wayne Coyne and his quartet of space-a-delic freaks, including bassist Michael Ivins and drummers Steven Drozd and Kliph Scurlock, have earned a Grammy, covered Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety, and toured relentlessly across the world. Currently on tour for their first double-album Embryonic (excluding Zaireeka, their 1997 four-album experiment), the self-deprecating Coyne delivers about the not-so-glamorous side of touring, as well as about future projects.

Matt Keefer: Thanks for your time. Do you mind if I record the interview?

Wayne Coyne: Sure. I don’t expect you to write it all down and remember it. I’m not doubting your ability to remember, but, see, I just talk. It might be a lot easier for you to say, ‘Nah, that fucker goes on too long.’

M: At 27, being 49 seems like a long way to travel.

WC: I remember when I was 27, I would think about someone who’s almost 50 years old: ‘Dude, are you alright?’ I don’t ever get the feeling that I’m any different. It’s only when I look in the mirror sometimes that I think, “oh wow, I look like a weird old guy.” I don’t feel different to myself. It’s a strange phenomenon.

M: How’s your tour for Embryonic going so far?

WC: We’re never really on tour for very long. We’ll go out for maybe about ten days, play some shows, then we’ll go home for ten days… we’re always doing everything at the same time. Since we’re playing some shows in the summertime, you always run into other groups, and we ran into a group, Trombone Shorty, just last night. They’re almost into their third consecutive month of playing. That can beat you down. I already did that several times – when I was your age – and it can be such a mind-fuck, you’re so torn away from your life that you’re trying to build, the people that you knew. Like I said, I’m 49 years old, and the other guys, they’re not as old as me, but they’re not in their early 20s. I think they don’t want to be taken away from their families and their lives for that long. And you can almost go endlessly the way we’re going. You can almost never stop, because we’re going full-time. Doing the Flaming Lips tour is kind of like working at Target: it just kinda is. It’s not too hard, you just get up and go to work.

M: I know some musicians that have kids, and touring must be rough on them.

WC: Especially for musicians. The reason I say musicians is that they have a sensitivity about them, or they probably wouldn’t like music. And all these things that play into human dramas and emotions are just a little bit more, either enjoyable, or a little bit more painful. Sometimes I think groups try to say ‘we’re going to play for six months straight,’ and then take three years off. You know, that’s easy to say, but a lot of things happen to people in six months that you cannot reverse. Especially if you have young children. Six months, they’ll be completely different little creatures by then. We don’t want that. We want to make our music, do our performances, do all these things because we love what we do, not put one thing that we love on hold so we can have another. We want to have it all at the same time.

M: On the positive aspect of that, do you have any good tour stories?

WC: (Laughs) I don’t know, a lot of times there’s not that much crazy shit going on. When we played at Bonnaroo about a month ago, you play into the night pretty long, and there’s a lot of young people there that are doing drugs and stuff. So those [gigs] always play more into the good old rock and roll stories. After we got done, it was about ten minutes after three in the morning, I went over to the LCD Soundsystem stage, where they had just started their set – and I sort of Tweeted about it the day afterward – but this big, naked guy sort of attacked the stage.  Me and, what’s this comedian’s name, Aziz Ansari? – this giant, freaked-out naked guy, had to be doing some acid or something, simply attacked the stage, and we sort of had to hold him down until the security guards could take him away. It was a very strange, charged moment, where that doesn’t happen to you every day. You know, where you’re suddenly assailed by a 300-pound, naked guy, and he’s all sweaty and he’s drenched. That’s probably the last phenomenal rock-and-roll moment that happened to us.

M: I guess at that moment you’re glad that you pump iron five times a week.

WC: I don’t do that much, but I do yoga almost every day. So, yeah, you’re glad that you have energy and you can react and you don’t feel intimidated. I know you’re saying that jokingly, but I mean it. To be in a group, and to do all these things; you wouldn’t want to do it if you don’t have a lot of enthusiasm. So yeah, I jumped right to task. We didn’t really want to. The guy was very strong but he was pretty slippery, because he was so sweaty. The slipperiness made it impossible to grab him. It’s a good trick. If you’re ever going to run from the cops, strip yourself naked and be slippery.

M: Sure. I should probably carry some cans of grease, too.

WC: (Pauses) Then their only solution is to tase you.

M: You’ve also toured Europe and around the world. Any places you’ve enjoyed outside of the US?

WC: It’s all pretty great when you’re a group like the Flaming Lips. Most everywhere that we would go nowadays, we’re invited to play by a group of enthusiastic ‘freaks.’ We just recently went to Croatia, and we played the Glastonbury Festival (in UK) and got to see Snoop Dogg, meet Mick Jones from the Clash. Hang out with Damien Hirst. There’s a lot of great things that can happen to you simply because you’re just traveling the world all the time. But the other side of it is that you spend a lot of time in airports and on airplanes. Sometimes you get done playing at two-o-clock in the morning, and you have to get to the airport at four-o-clock in the morning. Running from one show to the next, everything is ‘hurry hurry hurry’ all the time. Sometimes I think it’s too many experiences. It’d be like having to eat twenty meals in one day. There’s just no way you can enjoy all the things that are happening.

M: Do you have anything new on the horizon?

WC: We’re always – I don’t know if ‘contemplating’ is the right word – but you’re always considering new musical ideas, new things that you want to play into. We’re always doing little movies and little videos. I just shot an ending of a video for a song on Embryonic called “See the Leaves”. We were shooting this guy on the north side of Oklahoma City who has a big acreage where he’s burning a bunch of his brush that he had chopped down. So we saw this giant fucking bonfire. We shot for an ongoing piece in our storyboard there. So it’s always a kind of combination of everything: new music, and new movies, new videos, new things for our website, new toys, new t-shirts. Everything is a Flaming Lips creation. The great range of things that you can do readjusts your focus on music.

M: Last question: Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a brief appearance as a frog on Embryonic.  Would you consider a fuller collaboration with her?

WC: These are definitely collaborations of a sort. I don’t know. For me, I’m more comfortable doing these types of collaborations, where I have the song written, and I have the arrangement, and I just simply call Karen and say ‘All you have to do is be you, and I’ll do all the work.’ A lot of artists don’t really want to collaborate in the sense that people think they do. The art is a lot of times just made very intensely. You simply say, ‘I like this and I don’t care what you think.’ That is in a lot of ways how art is made. And when you’re collaborating with someone that you love and admire, the way that I was working with Karen O, it’s not so much a collaboration, as it’s me giving her a format for her to be her pure self. And that’s different than us writing a song or writing lyrics or writing an arrangement together. So, I don’t know. If whoever called me up and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do this,’ I would always be open for it. I’m open to new experiences and new failures or successes. But I could understand how a lot of people wouldn’t be. It’s nerve-wracking; it’s not always very pleasant. I try to make ours as easy, as quick, and as pleasant as possible. They simply can do this little thing, and be part of this bigger thing. That’s why most artists would want to do it in that way, more than a ‘Hey Henry (Rollins), why don’t you write a song today?’ A lot of people will do that to us. I’ll say ‘not really, but I will, if that’s what we’re doing.’

M: You’re definitely right: you talk a lot. But it works with interviews.

WC: (Laughs) I know I paint it like it’s going to be torture, but I’m trying to give you as much a lay of thinking about me as you can. Make me sound cool.

The Flaming Lips will be playing on 10/10 in Austin, TX. You can buy tickets here.

The Flaming Lips – Race for the Prize

The Flaming Lips – Fight Test

The Flaming Lips – It’s Summertime

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by Lauren Tischler

The sound of Ghost Mall is indescribable. But the band, made up of college roommates Pierce, Alex, Cody, and Jimi, give it their best shot. “Garage-y ramshackle pop/ethereal,” lead singer Pierce Lightening struggles, attempting to put a label on his own music. With a lead singer named Pierce Lightening, and influences along the lines of “Babes, Springsteen, Comic Books, and Star Wars,” you are naturally drawn to the quartet. What is surprisingly more interesting than the band members themselves is the music on their first album, Goons.

The album, produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik, features five well-done and oddly classy songs. The EP starts out with the marijuana-induced “40 Nugs”, and while I would have chosen a different track for the first, it sets an appropriate tone to the album without giving away their mysterious style. Next is “Senile Felines”, setting a dark synthesized tone that lures the listener further in. The next couple of tracks are “Young Liars”, followed by “Balloon Idea’s”, which captures an eerie essence while keeping it light; it samples a few lines from Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” with convincing maneuvers. The final track, “Johnny Appleseed”, serves as a near-perfect ending. It is more of an anthem than anything, providing the listener with a soft sort of closure.

The album itself is a work of art, but it is clear that Ghost Mall are about performance art more than anything else. Ethan Barnett, a fan, describes a show in full detail. “The first time I saw them, it was in the basement of SUNY New Paltz. It was one of the coldest nights of that winter, but as soon as I got into the basement and Ghost Mall was about to begin their set, I began to sweat because there were about 75 people packed into a small classroom. They began their first song and the room turned into a beehive, with everyone dancing in every direction. The lead singer was lost in the crowd, and all you could see was one of his hands. By the time they began their second song, the keyboardist and guitarist were lost in the mess too. Midway through their set, Pierce was thrown up into a crowd surf, and he held onto a water pole that was soaking wet from condensation. After the final song, “Johnny Appleseed”, everyone ran out the exit covered with sweat. Head to toe.”

“I don’t know what we’re trying to achieve,” Pierce says about his band’s music. “We’re just being honest. Sometimes it’s about our specific friends, sometimes it’s about how everything should be. Mostly, our songs are about the end of the world. So maybe they’re a warning.”

You can catch Ghost Mall on September 24th at 323 Wall Street in Uptown Kingston, New York.

RIYL: Japanther, Penguin Prison, Male Bonding, Urinals, Latterman, Cloud Nothings, Abe Vigoda, Times New Viking, No Age, The Mae Shi, Parts & Labor, Psychedelic Horseshit, AIDS Wolf, Wavves, Lightning Bolt, Jay Reatard, NODZZZ, Sic Alps, HEALTH, Arab on Radar

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Ghost Mall – 40 Nugs

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Ghost Mall – Balloon Ideas

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Ghost Mall – Johnny Appleseed (acoustic version)

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by Josh Taylor

Julian Shah-Tayler was born to make music. Putting out an EP every few months and pumping out 50-70 songs a year is no easy feat, unless you show prevalently the aspects of a well-rounded musician. His robust musicianship is responsible for his versatility as an artist. What I noticed after listening to his latest EP, Un Ange Passe, is that Julian is a songwriter who creates for his heart’s content. He strays from songwriting conventions and isn’t afraid to experiment if it amuses his untypical sensibilities.

Julian’s songs distinctly belong to their maker. Un Ange Passe is very personal and all the songs on the EP (with the exception of “Wetter”) were written for a dearly departed friend of Julian’s who tragically passed away. The literal translation of the title “Un Ange Passe” is “an angel is passing”, but is usually used when an awkward silence falls over the room. The EP tells a brief and interesting story about what happened to Christine. Julian tells it well, as the story is endearing and stripped down to the most honest details.

Instead of diving into the story headfirst, the EP begins with “Wetter.”  The songs on the EP are sandwiched by “Wetter” and the remix of “Wetter” by Karl Leiker. This song is definitely the black sheep… uptempo, naughty lyrics and electro influence. The feel of the song is great and could be a radio hit. The second song on Un Ange Passe is “Everything Is You”, serving as a good transition into the rest of the EP, which is more relaxed musically. The song begins with finger-snapping, chimes and some elusive and wandering exotic-sounding instruments. Then iit develops a direction and chooses to take on a New Order/Depeche Mode feel. The nameless exotics remain, lending a curious tone to the song. It’s almost as if they don’t belong, but are still welcomed.

“Communication” resembles the sparse feel of a desert. It’s expansive (at 5 and a half minutes) and filled with many instrumental breaks. The track lulls and winds but I don’t know that it goes anywhere. All I know is that when I listen to it, I start to space out.  If Julian wanted “Communication” to have a daydream-inducing effect, then bravo — well done, because that is exactly what happens.

“Christine” is where the EP starts to come together and the song clearly lays out what exactly happened to his late friend of the same name. Make what you want of the other songs and interpret them as you wish, but here is what happened, Julian seems to say. Musically, “Christine” brings to mind The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” and has the same pensive inquiry.  One of the most striking and revealing lyrics is “as the kiss of the needle delivers you to the real world” followed by this lyric in the bridge “even if this life could give you all the love you need, I guess you had enough.” The verdict: overdose.

Un Ange Passe occupies a certain estranged darkness, but it is only when the listener gets to “Christine” that I feel they can go back and find its lingering presence in the background of the entire EP. Perhaps that misplaced discomfort is the awkwardness that the album title also refers to. Still, the way the song is handled is half ode, half something else that I can’t quite pin down. For a song written for a close friend the song isn’t particularly sentimental, which is odd to me. However,  I think those feelings find their way into the next song “Lullabies.”

From what I heard, “Lullabies” was written for Julian’s future daughter. But the listener is also led to believe that perhaps the song’s tender message is intended for Christine as well. The lullaby soothes the listener as well as the singer, perhaps reminding him that everything will be fine and there really is nothing to be afraid of during the night, and maybe in death…

Whatever the ultimate purpose of Un Ange Passe is, it can be listened to in many different ways. Julian is adventurous with his artistic choices and presents his subject matter though a twisted lens. This is not to say that his method is perverse, but rather aiming for artistic perfection on his own terms. Some say that’s a nifty idea. I would say it’s better than nifty, or original, or clever. I would say the whole EP is a noble effort. Too many musicians make music to turn a quick buck but lack the vision to make something worthwhile. Others write for their heart’s content, yet lack the talent to make sophisticated music. Julian, however, is the best of both. He is talented and passionate, which shows remarkably.

One last thing I noticed: None of these songs showcase Julian’s piano talents, but word on the street is that his full-length debut does. Entitled Coito Ergo Sum, it is due in the fall. So keep an eye out, or an ear rather.

RIYL: Depeche Mode, Dave Gahan, New Order, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, The Cure, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Alphaville, David Wrench, The Human League, Gary Numan, Tears for Fears, Soft Cell, INXS, Talk Talk, A Flock of Seagulls, Naked Eyes, Blancmange

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Julian Shah-Tayler – Everything Is You

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Julian Shah-Tayler – Wetter

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Julian Shah-Tayler – In Your Room (Depeche Mode cover)

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Impossible Things Records

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To describe Aficionado as a sudden output of energy would probably the most accurate, as I doubt many bands possess the cumulative energy of this aspiring ten-piece from upstate New York. Ten members who play everything from exotic woodwind instruments to roaring guitars is not a common group composition after all, so when Aficionado takes the stage I can only imagine what goes through the audience’s minds. It would appear to have such a high potential for sloppiness or thematic pretentiousness based on the visual presentation alone. Laura Carrozza, backing vocalist and flute player, stands apart from the rest of her band members, most of them looking like a mixture of truckers and ’70s revivalists with their long bears and sloppy exterior. What resonates from this collective turns out to be to the contrary though, as this group impresses through a series of highly excitable tracks that embody original ideas and delicious hooks without ever treading too long or too intricately.

Taking a cue from punk acts of the early ’90s like At the Drive-In, Aficionado may initially impose whispers of post-hardcore and/or emo that may scare off many listeners accustomed to indie-rock. What I hope is that listeners give Aficionado a chance, as further listening shows that their ambition spreading across several genres makes them more comparable to groups like Slint, The Pixies, and Chavez. These, of course, are all artists that were integral to the development of today’s indie-rock. Aficionado are simply infusing a slight touch of early ’90s punk (though only the good kind). They make it easy for the desperate journalists by calling their special blend “progressive-indie”. Forming in 2004 amongst a group of close friends, Aficionado blended these influences with tight chemistry and emerged with a well-received album, Circus Music, in 2008. Critics noted the release for its enjoyable energy and strong musicianship, even if the songwriting did not correlate with the potential quite yet.

Their new EP, The Myth About Real Life, was produced by Don Fury in Troy, New York, which is about a ten minute drive from their native Albany. The opening, self-titled track is one that possesses the energy of favorites from Circus Music, with an even more expansive approach that results in newly cohesive song structures in alignment with the impressive multi-instrumentation. The initial brass sounds like an intro to a ska track with its thumping progression, only until a saxophone emerges with a seductive whimper to accentuate the jazz influence. The lead vocals of Nick Warchol emit a nasally, whimpery croon that shows a surprising amount of range among the powerfully alternating structures. The group’s ability to sound anthemic is inarguable. Carrozza’s backing vocals apply to this standard on both the self-titled cut and “The Same Original Idea”.

“The Same Original Idea” increases the dramatics with its introduction as Carrozza frequents more solos and verses over the fragile progression of a piano and delicate woodwinds. What sounds like a potential ballad eventually turns into the same balls-out, rock-filled atmosphere of “The Myth About Real Life”’s heightened moments, only this time with more unpredictable guitar-based transitions that resemble the progressive-rock of Yes, King Crimson, and other prog-rock forefathers. “It was a million and one of the same goddamn thing,” Warchol gripes. The intensity is raw and pure, only eclipsed by the powerful instrumentation and angelic interruptions from Carrozza. “I Don’t Believe We Met” continues in this fusion of post-hardcore, indie-rock, and progressive-rock, showing some epic ambitiousness in the use of keyboards and guitars similar to “The Same Original Ideas”. And although some ideas on the songs tend to repeat themselves in use, the varying approaches make it impressive enough to enjoy with ease. Catchiness and musical chops may eclipse groundbreaking stylistic integration for Aficionado, but with the chops of ten similarly-minded musicians at your disposal it is probably for the better.

RIYL: Slint, At the Drive-In, Yes, Kansas, The Hold Steady, King Crimson

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Aficionado – The Myth About Real Life

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Aficionado – The Same Original Idea

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Aficionado – I Don’t Believe We’ve Met

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Listening or creating music can easily be labeled as a hobby, as it most commonly is. But for many musicians, its incorporation into one’s lifestyle makes it much more than that. When LA-based songwriter Adam Marsland compares creating an album to raising children, most parents would probably laugh at the comparison. An album has no real human emotions or dire consequences in case of neglect, right? While it would indeed be ridiculous to value art more than a human life, the similarities between the upbringing of both is amusingly striking. “You’re responsible for them,” Marsland also says of albums. “Some grow up to be mechanics and you don’t have to worry about them. Others are special, and you have to send them to medical school.” Any music fan will notice that a classic album has a certain amount of dedication involved to it, something that – alongside talent – is one of the only necessities in creating a masterpiece. But talent and true dedication is as rare as anything when they coexist, a fact that becomes heavily prevalent when occurring despite its rare showing. As a veteran songwriter and producer, Marsland is certainly aware of this. With that in mind, he must have also been aware of the implications involved in creating a double-album. In his analogy, it might be comparable to raising twins with stark personalities; the parent attempts to manage all occurrences and themes while remaining equal and attentive to the surplus of material at hand. It is arduous to be sure, but raising two gems has to be more rewarding than one, right?

The difficulties in creating a double-album is apparent for even a veteran like Marsland, who is accustomed to releasing consistent material since his emergence in the early ’90s with a few alt-rock groups, notably Cockeyed Ghost. He has been releasing solo albums since 2002’s 232 Days on the Road. But to create a double-album is a new venture altogether, even for a songwriter that has been around for nearly two decades. To fuse cohesion with quality songwriting throughout two discs and 23 songs is no small feat, and to gather the proper material for a songwriter accustomed to releasing average-length albums must mean that his time spent off the stage and out of the studio must have had an effect as well. Unfortunately, finding inspiration through demise is more common than discovering it through triumph. Such was the case with Marsland and his new album, Go West. Although the album often depicts moving on and personal triumph in a prominent light through some infectious pop songwriting, Marsland’s personal life was in a bit of chaos during the recording of the album. In addition to the untimely death of his brother, Marsland’s house was broken into and most of his recording supplies were stolen. A Telecaster, synthesizer, and computer were among the things stolen, and it took Marsland some time to recuperate. But as Go West shows, sometimes our deepest lows can lead us to our biggest triumphs.

The death of a sibling and a robbery could be enough in one year to bring most people down to their knees, but Marsland has kept chugging on. There is little to suggest that these two unfortunate events, in addition an illness that has effected his hearing for several years, is going to stop him now. His best years appear to be ahead of him, especially since he just released his most accomplished album, Go West this year. The album’s theme is immediately apparent from the dramatic croons of the opening “Standing in Chicago”, the city which he clarifies as “the midpoint between east and west”. He depicts characters at a crossroads, about to develop their life based on their own decisions about how to tackle their obstacles and control their strengths. It can get gritty and bleak, but it is always genuine and realistic. “It’s roughly about being a young adult gradually finding out life isn’t what you thought it was and neither are you,” he says. Self-discovery is a prominent theme throughout the album, but its involvement is more interesting than that. Marsland finds that the simultaneous desire for security and freedom leads to the heightened difficulty of moral choices. When that is realized and digested, the evolution into an adult begins and ends. This is what Go West tells us, both in its title and encompassing songs. For such a deep and universal message, it gets it across extraordinarily.

For any longtime fan of Marsland, Go West should be one of their favorite albums of the year. The reason for this is the eclectic talent displayed throughout the album, as Marsland’s career has seen him tackling everything from typical alt-rock to shimmering electro-pop. As a result, Go West almost plays like a greatest hits album due to its diversity and consistent quality, two necessities in creating a successful double-album. It is almost ironic since he released a greatest-hits collection last year, Daylight Kissing Night. This is why Go West is such a big accomplishment; these are all new tracks that could have easily fit on his greatest hits. Songs like “Learning the Ropes” concoct a style of piano-led pop that recalls that likes of Squeeze or Elton John, all while using Marsland’s soulful croon to bring the effort to R&B territory. With that in mind, listening to the preceding track, “I Don’t Wanna Dance With You”, finds Marsland in a completely separate zone. As the title may suggest, get ready for the synth-bass and the mock-worthy falsetto, all incorporated with the best of intentions to throw some genuine dance infectiousness within the midst of power-poppers and alt-rockers. Some alt-rock tracks, like “Burn Down the World” and “Stranger on the Town”, seem reminiscent of Marsland’s ’90s material with Cockeyed Ghost, but other efforts like “Learning the Ropes” and the fantastic “Standing in Chicago” are fresh and entirely innovative. What really makes Go West a great album is how it basically encompasses four different decades of music, even though Marsland has been around for barely over one. But between the infectious electro, fresh power-pop, ’70s piano ditties, and thumping alternative, there is plenty on Go West for everyone.

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Adam Marsland – Standing in Chicago

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Adam Marsland – Learning the Ropes

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Adam Marsland – I Don’t Wanna Dance With You

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To be honest, I am shocked that I have had the time to update lately. Finals and papers have been bombarding me since Monday, and I have a few more papers due next week. Finals have certainly taken their toll on me, but I have become accustomed to listening to music while writing by now. As a result, neglecting the fine few artists featured this month was not  an option. Whether you want your girl-group pop (God Help the Girl), the latest trend in electro-pop (Neon Indian), or a familiar face (Jarvis Cocker), this month should satisfy most needs. These are all songs that I have had on repeat at some point. It is indicative of their shared infectiousness, which is commendable considering the diverse array of styles presented here.

01. God Help the Girl – God Help the Girl (post)
02. Delay Trees – About Brothers (post)
03. Jarvis Cocker – I Never Said I Was Deep (post)
04. Clues – Remember Severed Head (post)
05. Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work (post)
06. Neon Indian – 6669 (I Don’t Know If You Know) (post)
07. Anna Järvinen – Boulevarden (post)
08. Crocodiles – Here Comes the Sky (post)
09. The Kingsbury Manx – Well, Whatever (post)
10. God Help the Girl – Perfection as a Hipster (post)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (41.1 MB, .RAR)

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Even though it sounds painstakingly obvious, a great album must have something that appeals to the listener it so desires to captivate. Whether it has to do with the listener’s stylistic preference or simply some great songwriting on the artist’s part, the definition of a “classic album” encompasses characteristics that are universally receptive enough to result in a consensus that classifies that album as enduring, worthwhile, and groundbreaking in some form. One’s favorite album can alternate every few days or so and erratic taste certainly plays a large role in this classification, but most albums that are regarded as classics do not appeal to everyone. It is not that they contain major flaws, but everyone’s tastes are different and these varying tastes have an undeniable  impact on our personal perception of music, film, or any form of classics in art. Classics tend to have a universal conception among fans and experts alike though. A fan of strictly contemporary hip-hop may not carry even a single Beatles album on their iPod and it should not matter because everyone’s tastes are different, but if that person attempts to discredit something like The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and its influence and tactical brilliance, then fan-based chaos would easily ensue. Albums like these have a legacy to them that is indescribable in words; the music does the talking and people listen. If there was one common aspect about albums that are generally classified as masterpieces though, I assume it would be the ability of listeners to relate their own lives to the music, whether it is through the melodies, lyrical content, artwork, or all of them combined.

The debut release from Delay Trees boasts more than some attractive artwork. Apart from the excellent music (which I’ll get to in a bit) on Soft Construction EP, the Finnish four-piece have implemented an artistic component that reveals itself as both nostalgic and personally relatable even before one pops their disc in the stereo for the first time. Rami Vierula, the band’s songwriter and creative force, compiled photos from his family albums and decided to share a piece of his personal life with the listener; it is a technique that works very well with a sound that recalls the broodingly realistic fables told in shimmering ‘80s post-punk and the instrumental expansiveness present in contemporary indie-rock. Most of the photos consist of landscapes, but the shot behind the lyrics for “About Brothers” features a bunch of young males on a summer day with smiles that keenly express the carefree indulgences of youth. I cannot accurately say what the photo has in relation to Vierula’s personal life, but the song clearly is about the feelings of brothers that have drifted apart after childhood due to conventional excuses like marriage and conflicting interests. “I’m loving a robot – my brother has turned to steel,” Vierula sings over an enriching display of sporadic keys and distorted guitars. He likens robotic love to the childhood nostalgia of Japanese anime in the first verse, and in doing so establishes a direct relationship with his childhood self. Subsequently, when the track ends with a reaffirmation of an undying sense of familial love, the visible transition that Vierula made from childhood to adulthood is prevalent.

This correlation between artwork, lyrical content, and instrumentation is what makes Soft Construction EP so effective. The fact that it accomplishes this while being the first-ever release from this Finnish four-piece is impressive in itself, but the EP’s indication of what’s to come from Delay Trees serves as a hefty display of their songwriting ability, instrumental prowess, and thematic effectiveness. Vierula’s lyrics are often vague, using an assortment of hypothetical questions to construct a theme that does not come into focus until a song’s end. The slick “Moving” follows “About Brothers”, an appropriate transition considering the unified theme of both tracks. Like the eroding relationship between brothers in the latter, “Moving” capitalizes on the concept of time as an unparalleled force that can be the heaviest and most dramatic wrecking ball in destroying the stability of relationships. “I don’t want to see the time when I’ve lost my inner child along with my destinations,” Vierula sings in the first verse. Already, the longing for childhood and the yearning for experience is comparably balanced to that of “About Brothers.” A bouncy rhythm section gets this track going, as a series of guitar alternate between arpeggios and chordal accompaniments as Vierula works toward the eventual chorus. Vierula’s vocals recall those of Voxtrot’s Ramesh Srivastava with its light and airy demeanor, and the support of breezy melodies complement it beautifully. Their vein of indie-pop remains comparable to contemporaries like Voxtrot and The Shins, but a continued emphasis on ‘80s post-punk remains noticeable enough to make Delay Trees’ sound unique enough to shine.

The aptly titled “Coral Wind” serves as one of the mellower efforts on the album, in addition to the balmy, guitar-based beachside allure of “Replay.” The desperation for victory and fulfilled expectations stimulates “Coral Wind” and the collaborative effort between guitar arpeggios, chirpy reverb, and reverb that finds an enjoyable mid-point between psychedelia and surf-rock that eventually becomes prominent. The four-piece has a tendency for using bell-like keys to accentuate newly presented melodies, and “Coral Wind” is one of the finest examples with Vierula’s ooh-ing and aah-ing flourishing behind a series of acoustics, keys, and electric guitars. “Resurrection of Sonic Blue” hearkens back to David Axelrod with a bit of post-rock in the vein of Mogwai thrown in; it differs dramatically from all the other tracks on the EP, but does an excellent job of displaying both Vierula’s ability as a songwriter and the band’s cumulative sense of harmonic cohesiveness. “Tarantula / Holding On” shows how Delay Trees never appear to make one instrument overly prominent in a final mix, as the build-up here is presented in a way that sees each instrument gradually add on its unique tone and melodic progression to result in a grandiose conclusion that occurs during the concluding minute. I am shocked that Delay Trees have received such little press thus far in both their home country and overseas, but that should not last for long. Whether they choose to play for American, British, or Finnish audiences, their serenely melodic interpretation of indie-pop is fulfilling enough to achieve success wherever the four-piece chooses to take it.

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Delay Trees – About Brothers

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Delay Trees – Moving

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Delay Trees – Resurrection of Sonic Blue

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I was originally going to begin this feature by comparing Katzenjammer’s passion for music to some relentless force of nature, mainly because this Norwegian quartet practically defines in their sound and exuberance what it truly means to enjoy playing music and succeed in doing so. Sometimes though, a video can be more expressive than words, especially when applied to certain circumstances that are too unique for conventional expressions. So, when I watched the four young women of Katzenjammer perform a live version of one of their several strikingly unique tracks, “Ain’t No Thing”, on a boat floating along the Nidelva River in their native Norway (here), it was immediately noticeable to me that it would take quite a bit to deter this group’s creative vision. A surprisingly effective interpretation of post-war blues, “Ain’t No Thing” appears as a very fitting choice for the video, starring a series of bluesy riffs and howling vocals that arise in dramatically poignant form as the four-piece traverses along the riverbank. The studio version, included as a bonus on their debut Le Pop, also happens to boast a sitar, showcasing some startlingly effective usage on a track dominated by a somewhat contradictory style of blues. For potential listeners, the video serves as an aptly accurate precursor as to what to expect on Le Pop.

Not only does Katzenjammer play with a wide arsenal of styles, but they attribute unconventional instruments in appliance to each style that would easily cause longtime fans of each style to come away quite startled (check out their instrumental arsenal in pictorial form here). This is mainly because they do it so well, whether they choose to implement a sitar in the bluesy “Ain’t No Thing” or mix the banjo, upright bass, and an infectious trumpet riff in the folksy “A Bar in Amsterdam”. The diversity on Le Pop is so wildly impressive that, even upon first listen, I was enthralled immediately on a track-to-track basis just to see what they would attempt next. “Tea with Cinnamon” is easily the album’s most accessible effort, seeing the four-piece get as close to pop conventionalism as ever but still succeeding in innovation by effortlessly introducing a plethora of key-led hooks that alternate in tempo and lyrical progression as the track intensifies. “It’s so beautiful” is the phrase sang throughout the chorus, a rather simple statement which contains a more significant premise as the lead vocalist employs several emphasized harmonic transitions that see her drag out the phrase in complementary form over a glockenspiel, accordion, and balalaika. “Now it’s night and I don’t feel so bright,” the sprightly vocals warn, signaling a foreshadowed tempo change that sees the chorus conclude the track in a more elegant and more subdued form that is done to accentuate the brilliance of the initial chorus. It succeeds remarkably, as does the entire duration of this masterful track.

Though “Tea with Cinnamon” may take the honors as the catchiest effort on Le Pop, it would be difficult to argue against “Hey Ho, On the Devil´s Back” being the most artistically successful one. It succeeds on so many fronts – melodically, lyrically, and stylistically – that it should appease any concerns among the few that may initially question Katzenjammer’s stylistic decisiveness. Clearly, stylistic intuitiveness is the skill present here, not stylistic indecisiveness. One listen through Le Pop should validate this, as the fact that all 12 tracks differ dramatically from one another with resounding success is evidence enough of the group’s ability. Considering that it follows “Tea with Cinnamon” in the track listing, the contrast in styles and mood is quite remarkable. The group goes from an optimistically gleeful, glockenspiel-led bounce to a brooding tale of vengeful redemption that features a swirling collaboration of swift and forceful rhythm sections, swelling piano crescendos, and ghostly backing vocals with remarks like “save our soul” and “hey ho! On the devil’s back!” The track has plenty of thematic allusions to boot. “I met the evil devil and he offered me a ride,” the vocals begin. “He said: “you look tired, let me carry you a while.”” Desperation and positional relinquishment are reoccurring themes throughout the track, resulting in an epic of sorts that is compelled by strong instrumental accompaniments, fervent vocal usage, and drolly effective lyrics.

The self-titled track is fascinating for a variety of reasons. After rushing through a flurry of circus-like enchantments, the group transitions into a sort of girl-group mentality as they each take turns with a very melodic vocal line over a dizzying rush of keys and bass. Think about what The Pipettes would sound like if they were somehow involved in Cirque du Soleil and this fast-paced gem is the result. “Wading in Deeper” serves as the ballad of the album, being a highly emotional effort as the vocals cry out, “LaLalalala, wading in deeper,” over a steady piano accompaniment and sporadic additions of a hastily plucked mandolin, à la Morricone. The second verse in the chorus goes from “up to her knees” to “up to her waist” and then “over her head” in each successive chorus until the track concludes, ending abruptly on a rather tragic note.

“To the Sea” is a short but satisfying track with a sharp string-aided chorus, while “Play My Darling, Play” is an accurate imitation of country-folk that has become a fan favorite for good reason. “Mother Superior” sits in the same boat as “Hey Ho, On the Devil’s Back” as being an epically invigorating epic, succeeding on all the same fronts and being a flawless closer to a sensational album. As you can probably see by my enthusiasm for each and every track on this gem of a release, I personally consider Le Pop to be one of the best debuts of the year. It is also one of the most stylistically masterful, not flaunting a single dull moment as this four-piece from Norway is one of the most passionately talented groups of musicians I have heard all year.

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Katzenjammer – Tea with Cinnamon

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Katzenjammer – Hey Ho, On the Devil’s Back

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Katzenjammer – Le Pop

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One of the most appealing aspects of power-pop is the ability it has to remain untainted in a world where stylistic alteration is often inevitable. While some may argue that the genre’s apparent lack of stylistic ambition is the cause for such sturdy pop ideologies, the crafters of such music never seem to be given enough credit for their reluctance to become submissive toward what is deemed as this week’s fad in the music industry. In fact, if a casual music fan listened to a few select contemporary power-pop artists, it would not be surprising if they were unable to classify which era the artist was from if they were unfamiliar with the artist’s background. Apart from the technological aspects of production increasing with merit, the melodic approach and instrumental arsenal has not changed much since the genre first found its niche in the late ‘60s. For fans, this is simply part of its appeal. Considering that there are always exceptions, classifying an artist singularly in the vein of power-pop is extremely rare, as groups like Squeeze, The Cars, and even The Who all sound considerably different despite being grouped favorably into a vein of power-pop. Such multifarious examples will hopefully one day put qualms to rest about the genre’s supposed limitations, though a few up-and-coming artists may also help critics change their tune.

I covered a fun power-pop group in The Mood earlier this week when they displayed additionally memorable tendencies involving punk and surf-rock. Today’s feature covers Gentleman Jesse and His Men, a talented four-piece based out of Atlanta who could be grouped similarly into a consortium of power-pop. However, despite the analogous grouping, their approach differs dramatically. Yes, they are comparably intent on hooking in the listener with exceptionally infectious choruses and stellar harmonizing, but Gentleman Jesse and His Men happen to be significantly more nostalgic in approach. Instead of employing a formula in which an overwhelming degree of varying styles clash within a comforting power-pop aroma, the four-piece instead opts to bring back what made the genre so great in the first place. Traditional punk and garage-rock are the main forces at work here, making comparisons to the early workings of power-pop greats Exploding Hearts somewhat unavoidable. Exploding Hearts certainly infused more elements of punk into their overall sound, but the approach and level of melodic alteration remains highly comparable in the sentiment that both groups rely on amiable simplicity to elicit a uniquely engaging charm in which the songwriting and consequential hooks sound freshly invigorating despite the minimal forces of instrumentation at work.

Although Atlanta locales may already recognize Gentleman Jesse himself as the bassist for one of the city’s most respectable punk-rock groups, The Carbonas, even those familiar with Jesse Smith may have been surprised to discover that he is also a guitarist and songwriter in his own right. Smith formed the group with fellow Carbonas drummer Dave Rahn, releasing a 7″ single for “I Don’t Wanna Know (Where You Been Tonight)” in 2006 on Douchemaster Records, an Atlanta-based label that has been home to The Carbonas and several other worthwhile local bands specializing in punk and power-pop. The single (with two b-sides) attracted buzz amongst The Carbonas’ thriving local fanbase, leading the group to fully form and start work on their debut full-length. A self-titled effort, it is now available and fully recommended to anyone who even has a slight weak spot for traditional power-pop. In addition to the 12 congenial originals produced by Rahn, a cover of The Equals’ classic “I Get So Excited” is included. Considering Gentleman Jesse’s style of choice, the cover fits perfectly mid-way into the album without botching up the stylistic flow (which, in my mind, should be the only circumstance for including a cover on an album full of originals). Also included is “(If I Can See You) You’re Too Close To Me”, which was included earlier this year on a 7″ split alongside Joseph Plunket’s “You Ruin Everything For Me”.

In addition to flaunting his skills as a songwriter and guitarist, Smith plays the role of accessible power-pop vocalist with apparent ease, extracting a youthful tone of amateur exuberance while simultaneously allowing his commendable melodic range to flow naturally with the brisk use of guitar-led instrumentation. This is perhaps best heard on “All I Need Tonight (Is You)”, a track that would likely have been considered a classic by now if it had been released 30 years ago. From the lyrics to the lead guitar progression, the approach is extraordinarily simple but the appeal arrives in the strong melodic form that Smith conveys with the utmost confidence. In conventional power-pop form, he utilizes a callback approach in the utterly irresistible chorus before embellishing the moment with an extremely concise guitar solo. To be honest, it is one of the few songs I have heard this year that has remained fixated in my head for more than one day at a time. Something similar can be said for “You Got Me Where You Want Me” and “Attention”, both tracks who also utilize this accustomed callback approach with surprising precision. Those who view most traditional power-pop as a one-trick pony will likely state the same about Gentleman Jesse and His Men’s debut album, but anyone who enjoys fantastic hooks guided by little more than a guitar and rhythm section simply needs to check it out. Intricate it may not be, but its infectiousness is downright undeniable.

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Gentleman Jesse and His Men – All I Need Tonight (Is You)

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Gentleman Jesse and His Men – You Got Me Where You Want Me

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Gentleman Jesse and His Men – I Get So Excited (The Equals cover)

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A fling is usually regarded as a “play date” of sorts that is short, sweet, and emotionally irrelevant, usually done in order to satisfy certain needs that appear often to any sane individual. As long as neither partner is involved in some voluptuous affair, the effect can be surprisingly useful in reducing stress and even providing a bit of an ego boost for both parties involved. Though their music consists of numerous aspects that can be enjoyed and remembered for much longer than a few hours on some hazy Friday night, the sounds of The Fling bring a concisely excitable form of indie-rock to the table that makes the four-piece’s namesake appear wildly appropriate. They provide immediate satisfaction with an array of suavely executed hooks, all complemented by a familiarly invigorating fusion of varying styles that focuses as much on the past as it does on the present. To remain comparatively adjusted, a past lover with a new bag of tricks up their sleeve would be appropriate enough. With elements of classic ’60s pop, ’90s alternative, and contemporary indie-rock clashing fluidly to create a strangely nostalgic effect, their successes are moments that prove memorable even after a seemingly impenetrable hangover.

It would be easy enough to list influences like The Beatles, The Band, and The Pixies when attempting to describe The Fling, but an agenda arises when the focus shifts to comparisons on a song-by-song basis. Unlike the indie-rock norm, every song The Fling has released so far has exhibited a form of variety that makes one unified comparison impossible and consequently irrelevant. They all remain in the realm of throwback rock, pop, and folk, but the songwriting in itself showcases a variety of structural tendencies and revolving aspects of production that makes the cumulative listening experience vastly unpredictable. Based out of Long Beach, California, half of the band is comprised of the Lovelis brothers. Dustin provides guitars and Graham serves as the bassist, with both lending their zealous vocal deliveries to the final result. They were originally the only members, as The Fling was initially Dustin’s side project with Graham until the arrival of two key members in 2007. This period marked the introduction of guitarist Joel Bond and drummer  Justin Ivey to the fledging group, with the increase in instrumental dexterity signaling the band’s entry into a more expansive style. The four-piece recorded and produced their debut EP, Ghost Dance, in the following months. It was released in March of this year, one month before Bond left the group and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Scotty Cantino.

Like many groups of a similar vein before them, The Fling’s decision to release a concise EP before a debut album mainly attributes to their personalized value of critical reception. Focusing all your funds and time towards a full-length that may falter considerably is a risky expenditure, so gaining a bit of experience before risking all of their chips should be a smart one for the California-based quartet. That being said, Ghost Dance is no lacking effort. It does an excellent job in showcasing the band’s potential, all contained within an illustrious style that serves the exuberant group well. They actually remind me a bit of the previously featured White Denim in several ways, both in their blend of throwback and contemporary styles of rock and folk and their intended method of distribution (a pick-your-flavor EP before an actual album). Also, like White Denim’s early output, a bunch of tracks on The Fling’s debuting EP are most certainly good enough to serve as standouts on an eventual album. “Lonely Fool” is one of them, featuring an electric guitar progression with tinges of folk and blues aided over a lyrical perspective that highlights the pitfalls of social anxiety. “‘Cause I don’t think I even wanna step foot outside today,” the brothers sing in near-unison, bringing shades of Supergrass into the mix. “‘Cause I don’t really want to see anyone.” The track is actually the most melodically simplistic on the EP, but that also allows it to be arguably the most accessible and instantaneously awarding.

The stylistically focused “Strange Ideas” is more efficiently demonstrative of the group’s creativity and lyrical scope, once again defined by impeccable dual vocal harmonies that glide seamlessly over the progression of a distorted guitar. The brothers do a commendable job of depicting unrequited emotions, surveying conventional reactions such as denial and false hope as the instrumental backdrop corresponds appropriately. “I don’t know where these strange ideas form, or do you feel it too?” they croon as a new progression with a heightened pitch ushers in the chorus, audibly echoing the increasing anxiety felt by the song’s protagonist. When they nearly literally compare false hope to “standing on the edge of the real thing” over the revolving shuffle of guitars, the song reaches its artistic peak due to the cohesive structural techniques that precede it. The EP’s opening track, “The Breaks”, adds a bit of country twang to The Fling’s previously notable incorporation of garage rock and folk. Led by percussive handclaps over an acoustic and twangy electric guitar, the decision to implement a harmonica at the conclusion of some extended verses proves to be a good one. Keep an eye out for this young four-piece. If Ghost Dance is any indication, they could be making a sudden surge like White Denim by year’s end.

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The Fling – Lonely Fool

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The Fling – Strange Ideas

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The Fling – The Breaks

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