Hailing from Chicago, Santah put catchy, no-frills alternative rock back on the main stage. The five-piece fuse the ambition of all members into a cohesive and successful album, White Noise Bed – a group courtesy of GroopEase, who recently offered their full-length for $3 – a $6 discount. Fans of The Walkmen, The Veils, and The Morning Benders will love this one.

While their name may get you excited for Christmas, Santah have an edgier sound than the conventional Christmas jingles of years’ past. “Neighbors & Cousins (Are We Lovers?)” jumps right into the bright effervescence of the group’s songwriting, which has a soaring excitable quality reminiscent of The Walkmen and The Black Keys. Guitars, drums, and vocals are layered beautifully to help carry Santah’s messages of hope and collective consciousness. It is refreshing to hear a youthful perspective on the world we live in, especially ones omitting generational stereotypes. The members work well together to highlight each other’s strengths. The vocals are strong, and help make way for a lively piano melody toward the end of the song. This is where the vocals pick up intensity, and ask a youthfully universal question: “Is anyone out there confused? Oh, me too.” Surely, quality music serving as a numbing antidote to an uncertain future is nothing new.

The album’s title track “White Noise Bed” does not disappoint; it’s one of the best tracks on the album. Stan McConnell’s voice is reminiscent of The Veils’ Finn Andrews and The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser: beautifully raspy with a lot of depth. The fluttering keys are also akin to the style used in the Veils’ “Advice for Young Mothers to Be”. Santah keep it fresh by layering all of their tightly wound instrumental elements and using straightforwardly effective lyrics that are pertinent to our daily life. While Santah are comparable to many contemporary bands, they do not forget their alternative rock roots. Listening to White Noise Bed can bring one back to certain anthemic rock of the ‘90s, some of the most prominent examples being Radiohead, Muse, and Stone Temple Pilots. The twangy and soaring “Chips of Paint” is a perfect representation of this. Additionally, “No Other Women” opens with sweet guitar riffs and an equally enticing drum beat. The song sounds instantly familiar with a newly added spice. The balance of the various instrumentation is pleasant and uplifting, producing an easy-flowing tune representative of the album.

White Noise Bed is an accessible album that one can listen to for hours. It is easy to develop nostalgia for the past while listening to Santah, but they are also a new band that has reinvents several relevant trends to their own escalating infectious vein of alt-rock. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the sounds of the present and the past.

RIYL: The Walkmen, The Veils, The Morning Benders, Surfer Blood, Radiohead, Stone Temple Pilots, Spoon, French Kicks, My Morning Jacket, No Age, Girls, Women, Real Estate, Okkervil River

Santah – White Noise Bed

Santah – No Other Women

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

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

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For many, Outside Lands is the premiere music festival for the West Coast. Numerous Coachella comparisons are warranted; headliners like Arcade Fire, Phish, and Muse mixed well with an assortment of independent acts, many on the verge of breaking out after a hot year of exposure. A handful of them – Lord Huron, Tamaryn, and Major Lazer – should be familiar with OS readers, all touting a following that has been growing rapidly. Outside Lands’ lineup was an excellent representation of old favorites, emerging stars, and unknowns with a boatload of potential. For every big name like Arctic Monkeys and Big Boi, there were groups like Cosmic Suckerpunch, The Stone Foxes, and Diego’s Umbrella; they all maintained a small but avid following prior to Outside Lands, but by the end of Sunday (the 14^th) it was evident their fan bases grew exponentially. Their live presence is the main reason such groups were chosen to appear at this prominent festival. Unlike headliners, a poor performance is a make-or-break scenario, an opportunity that may never be salvaged.

With beer/wine in one hand and something off the grill in the other, most listeners excitably made their way around the Golden Gate Park over the three-day festival. Listeners could have stumbled upon a variety of interesting occurrences. Even to the least dedicated of music fans, it would be fun to see Dave Chappelle cracking jokes on stage during a Big Boi technical malfunction intermission, deadmau5 exposing an orgasm of lights and hallucinations on a crystallized stage, or Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler sharing the stage with soul maven Mavis Staples. And that’s mainly a bunch of superficial appeal, separate from the musical aspect (which Outside Lands dominated as well). Or perhaps you’re one to enjoy the difficult decisions of carefree affluence, like on Friday choosing between seeing Beirut or The Decemberists. For me that’s a fairly easy choice (Beirut), but you know the massive followings for either group would have a strong opinion either way.

In any case, enjoy the tracks from some of Outside Lands’ more unknown artists below. The Stone Foxes present a swanky form of bluesy alt-rock that brings to mind The White Stripes, Allman Brothers, and 12-bar blues modernists. Diego’s Umbrella calls their sound “gypsy rock”, though it sits more in the flamboyant indie-pop category with sparkling key-led hooks and a little bit of Latin percussive flair. They remain a bit rough around their edges, but clearly have the pop smarts to traverse beyond the Disney soundtrack limits. Their sound will be a bit too cartoonish for some, but it’s hard to deny their fast-paced bursts of creativity. Then The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, Paper Diamond, and Orgone present something entirely different. Gypsy instrumental, lush electronica, funk revivalism… a bit of everything perhaps? Take a listen:

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THE STONE FOXES

The Stone Foxes – I’m a King Bee

The Stone Foxes – I Killed Robert Johnson

RIYL: The White Stripes, Allman Brothers, The Dead Weather, The Kills, The Black Keys, The Hives, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Dan Auerbach

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DIEGO’S UMBRELLA

Diego’s Umbrella – Richardson

Diego’s Umbrella – Downtown

RIYL: Queen, Hot Hot Heat, The Cross, Deep Purple, Rooney, Randy Newman, Boy Kill Boy, We Are Scientists

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And now for some REAL Gypsy-inspired tunes, courtesy of THE NEW ORLEANS KLEZMER ALL-STARS. They tend to be surprisingly eclectic as their songs progress, showing influences hovering in blues, pop, and R&B:

The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars – Moroccan Roller

RIYL: Gogol Bordello, Kultur Shock, Balkan Beat Box, Fanfare Cioc?rlia, Goran Bregovi?, Csókolom

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PAPER DIAMOND

Paper Diamond – Levitate

Paper Diamond – Snowfall

RIYL: Röyksopp, Air, Junior Boys, The Field, Groove Armada, The Chemical Brothers, Zero 7, Daft Punk

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ORGONE

Orgone – Who Knows Who

Orgone – Bacano Come Around

RIYL: Funkadelic, Parliament, Sly & the Family Stone, Graham Central, The Poets of Rhythm, Baby Charles, Lefties Soul Connection, Speedometer

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Cosmic Suckerpunch – In Love with a Robot

RIYL: Pearl Jam, Built to Spill, Pavement, Sebadoh, Archers of Loaf, Superchunk, No Age

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But alas, the days of summer festivals are over — at least for another nine or ten months. So for those starting to shuffle to class, save on next year’s tickets by checking out the Back to School Music Guide presented by Best Buy. Enter to win a $250 gift card to Best Buy and save on tablets, smartphones, and laptops. This deal was passed on to me, but I guess it’s more of a shock that you can buy a decent laptop these days for $300. That gift card would do the trick:

The post Dark Horses From Outside Lands appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

The Rozzes are a very young band with an extra dose of talent and vigor, similar in mold to recent youthful power-pop successes like Cloud Nothings. Similarly, they possess a musical intellect that presents talent well beyond their years. They are a band to watch closely as they develop into stars. Even if comparisons to groups like The Strokes are persistent at this point due to their similar styles of production, it is impossible to deny The Rozzes’ inseparable talents, especially when the quality of their material is growing at such a rapid rate. Listeners will be shocked when realizing how young these guys are. They have such an astute grasp on the garage-rock sound they’ve achieved in a short time that musicians ten, twenty, and thirty years their senior will scratch their heads, perplexed as to how it comes this naturally to them.

Both chemistry and similar musical genes play roles in The Rozzes’ quick maturing process. The California-based quartet consists of four cousins that grew up in the same house together. Music was a huge part of their lives at an early age and their interest in it grew along with them. As such, their lifetime commitment to music has resulted in a continuous songwriting process. Their debut album will be released for free in the coming months, followed by appearances at multiple festivals throughout August and September.

Judging by their Twitter account, it’s not surprising that The Rozzes have been in contact with Ryan Gentles, manager of The Strokes (and called by some “the sixth Stroke”). They certainly resemble the prestigious indie-rockers at their earliest/best stages. The main chorus in “Leave Without Me” – particularly when lead singer Isaiah Navarro belches out “Tonight let’s start outside / Now you know I’ve got nowhere to hide” – resembles The Strokes’ “Trying Your Luck” on multiple levels. In addition to Navarro’s unavoidable similarity to the scraggly vocals of Julian Casablancas, a fuzzy rhythm guitar is muzzled under a mix of tremolo-laden guitar trickles and evolving bass lines. The three-minute mark introduces a more prominent bass, which is somewhat puzzlingly mixed higher than usual. The spontaneous increase works advantageously though, producing a sound that is hectically infectious but never rushed nor desperately concocted.

Of course, the smoothly crafted hooks help make such comparisons abundant. You can find them in every chorus on “Leave Without Me”, which progresses to be a polished example indicative of the group’s future. That is, sitting comfortably in the role of radio darlings. “Native Sun” is more amateur in its production and spastic rhythmic patterns, the chorus failing to separate itself from the verse like when it was done exceptionally on the aforementioned “Leave Without Me”. But it is a worthwhile nugget nonetheless, showcasing a band clearly learning the ropes and discovering their sound. As something like “Native Sun” proves, ambitious prog-rock is not out of the question for a band with genuine chemistry like The Rozzes. They’re clearly on the path to bigger and better things.

The final mix of “Indians” is another example of the group’s phenomenal pacing and stirring evolution; the latter is occurring right now. With more ferocity and garage-rock vigor than most ‘00s indie-rock groups (The Strokes included), this fast-paced burst of energy brings to mind a recent movement ignited by groups like Cloud Nothings and Smith Westerns. Bringing along a variety of styles from blues and power-pop to the ambitious proto-punk of groups like Television and The Stooges, “Indians” is one example of a revival that listeners should hope to hear more of this decade. It marks a revival that, instead of relying on hype or trendiness, brings back the raw energy and combustible hooks of past rock acts that remain essential to this day – especially after they defied initial misconceptions about their so-called “amateur” approach. Amateur my ass.

RIYL: The Strokes, Cloud Nothings, Smith Westerns, Rooney, Television, The Stooges, Girls, The Babies, Harlem, Wavves, Craft Spells, Real Estate, Surfer Blood, Magic Kids, Best Coast, Crystal Stilts, No Age, Male Bonding, Wild Nothing, Vivian Girls

The Rozzes – Leave Without Me

The Rozzes – Indians

The Rozzes – Native Sun

Official Site / Facebook / MySpace

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

Initial exposure of electronic acts Burial and Neon Indian went beyond their infectious music and distinctive methods. While William Bevan (Burial) and Alan Palomo (Neon Indian) revealed personal facts about their projects as time went on, initial speculation regarding their work ranged from the fascinating to humorous. Burial’s emergence coincided with speculation that it was a side-project of Trent Reznor or Richard David James. Neon Indian attracted similarly abstract speculation due to his initially elusive nature. Bevan still remains very low-key, while Palomo has featured in a wide range of interviews. One could say that Bevan is genuinely a private person and that Palomo was simply using the mysterious enigma to build up hype, but I think of it more as a natural progression dependent on both the personalities of the frontman and his music. The darkly ethereal dubstep qualities of Burial’s music coincides with Bevan’s secluded personality quite well, just as Neon Indian’s loose psych-electro eased in with alternatively romanticized sentiments like “Should Have Taken Acid With You” (written about an ex-girlfriend) is representative of Palomo’s congenially accessible nature.

Apt in its name, Unknown Mortal Orchestra remained in a state of preliminary elusiveness that was similar to Burial or Neon Indian; it was real quality music without any facts about the member(s) behind its formation. What was evident was how Unknown Mortal Orchestra was crafting flexibly infectious psych-pop gems, calling for – once again – the tendency of listeners to make abstract generalizations regarding the project’s identity. If a project sounds great and no one is taking credit for it, wouldn’t it have to be an artist with some notoriety already? Many would think that would be the case. At the very least, perhaps someone with noted experienced. There is no predictable nature to this guessing work though, as it is quite possible for someone to emerge out of nowhere, like Bevan did, to create material that sounds like the work of a very experienced producer.

While that prospect is always possible, Unknown Mortal Orchestra are one of those rare projects where speculation paid off. The brain behind the project, Ruban Nielson, is one of the chief songwriters of prominent indie power-poppers The Mint Chicks. Not quite a “household name”, but one nonetheless that showed previous ability to make his impressive work with Unknown Mortal Orchestra realistic. Fans of both UMO and The Mint Chicks likely had that feeling of “oh! I should have known!” after learning this, as his individual songwriting traits remain at full force but now presented a fuller-bodied, more experimental interpretation that many may actually prefer to The Mint Chicks’ work.

Surprisingly, Unknown Mortal Orchestra was actually born out of Nielson’s willingness to leave the music industry altogether. He had planned to quit music for a living early last year, but passion called and he ended up recording the preliminary UMO demos in his basement anyways. The setting was more relaxed; Nielson was pursuing it as a “hobby” as he “tried to become a more productive member of society.” Being over-anxious when writing songs is not the preferred method, and his newly relaxed feel for UMO’s eponymous release shows just that that. Now with less pressure on him, Nielson shows a willingness to experiment thoroughly with rock and pop. At the same time, he does not dismiss the “fun factor” of a song. Based on his recent quotes, if making this album was not enjoyable for him he probably would not have finished it. Music’s new role in his life as a hobby instead of an occupation may have created his most artistically inspiring works to date.

“How Can U Luv Me” contains nice doses of funk and soul, initially in the vein of Jamie Lidell and some Cee-Lo Green material. Nielson’s depth as a songwriter and producer is more in line with Lidell though, as this track stays clear of Cee-Lo’s radio-desperate repetition with proficient uses of crunchy lo-fi guitars, a funk-driven bass line, and a pretty impressive falsetto. There is a nice, loose feel to the track that works well as the opener to the EP. The intro and outro contain an ingenious mixture of phased vocals and a swift guitar progression that adds even more flavor to Nielson’s funk interpretation.

The swaying guitar tones in “How Can U Luv Me” are the main factor in bringing out the psychedelic feel, which is certainly more prevalent on “Nerve Damage!” This one plays with garage-rock, the vocals projecting a snarling infectiousness reliant on multiple pitches. Like Ariel Pink (a huge influence in this song), Nielson employs both excitable high-pitched and brooding low-pitched vocals simultaneously over a wave of distortion. The waves are never too rough though; they are easy to float on with commendable melodic range.

“Thought Ballune” digs even deeper into classic psychedelia; it breaks through with a mixture of The Kinks’ melodic playfulness and The Who’s dexterous mixture of fierce guitars and elastic synths. Classic-rock influences are not always at the forefront for the EP, but the halted vocal harmonies and guitar/synth certainly make “Thought Ballune” successfully dependent on such nostalgia. It is one of several examples why a future full-length from Unknown Mortal Orchestra could be huge. Once Nielson finds a clear vision of where he wants to take this fascinating project, we could be in for quite a treat. He clearly already has a grasp on melody and a multitude of styles. Guessing whether he chooses to pursue the dark scorching psychedelia of “Ffunny Ffrends” or the looseness of “Nerve Damage!” is part of the fun.

RIYL: The Mint Chicks, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, No Age, Jamie Lidell, Wavves, The Who, The Kinks, The Checks, The Phoenix Foundation, Minuit, Shihad, Fly My Pretties, Kora, D4, Shapeshifter

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – FFunny Frendss

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Nerve Damage!

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – How Can U Luv Me?

Official Site / Twitter / BUY

The post Unknown Mortal Orchestra appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Mike Mineo

Down There may be the most apt album title of the year. Avey Tare’s debut full-length sounds like it was recorded in some submerged swamp, where the croaking of frogs and buzzing of flies is enough to satisfy the percussive urges of Tare – AKA David Portner, best known for his work in Animal Collective. Portner’s production on his debut full-length is resourceful yet serene, sparse enough for his voice to tremble with signature passion yet expansive enough to allow for the monumental build-ups that Animal Collective fans are accustomed to. The truth is that Down There was recorded at a church in upstate New York, not some brooding cave that magically lights up in a variety of colors with each accompanying synth arpeggio. That is simply what your imagination will concoct when listening to an album like this, full of sounds and ideas that trigger the most bizarre of images.

The album begins with a very low-pitched voice ominously proclaiming “down there!”, followed by a scream that sounds like it came from someone or something that just fell into an endless hole of abyss. Through this, it is immediately apparent that Portner is taking this swampily melodic delivery seriously. There is not anything on Down There that resembles the spontaneous screams in “For Reverend Green” or the crunchy loops in “Summertime Clothes”. Portner said himself that songs on Down There will not appeal to fans of Animal Collective’s “sugary” stuff, like “My Girls”. This album’s tone is more along the lines of “No More Runnin’” or more appropriately “Bluish”, both tracks that contain initial sereneness that is flexible enough to allow for tonal expansion. Some tracks on Down There – particularly “Cemeteries” and “Heads Hammock” – lack the explosive hooks of such past favorites, but they are in the minority here. These “mood” tracks are not particularly dazzling on their own, but in the context of Down There – which finds literally every song transitioning beautifully into the next – they serve an essential purpose. This is an album that Portner wrote in response to some personal struggles the past few years, like the separation with his wife Kría Brekkan, the death of his grandmother, and the diagnosis of his sister with cancer. Even on the tracks where the melodies are not as strong, the savvy emotional punch of the content is not in doubt.

When one looks at the highlights on Down There, it is not a crime to say that they compare to any classic Animal Collective or Panda Bear tracks. “Ghost of Books” is absolutely stunning, building up to a frantic combo of trickling keys and dub-like bass where Portner repeats, “I’m so tired of disappearing. You’re so beautiful you can’t hear me.” The final two minutes of this are quite extraordinary, melodically empowering and structurally gripping. “Ghost of Books” does have stiff competition for the album’s most impressive effort though. Any of the first three tracks, and later the heartrending “Heather in the Hospital”, holds similar worth. The latter contains morbid imagery over some translucent twinkle of keys, reminiscent in a way of Alan Ball’s “Six Feet Under”. “Machines of modern magic keeping folks above the ground,” he sings, before overlapping several vocal cuts to express that “it brings me down.” The passion is evident, illustrating the scene at a hospital where the light of day passes through windows to momentarily touch those that are bandaged and on their deathbeds.

He details the pain and suffering of boyfriend the dad, the mom… yet he remains unable to relate to the pain of the patient, suffering selflessly in their hospital bed. It is heartbreaking yet entirely comprehensible – the feeling of helplessness as you look at someone you love in pain. It is easy to spot the sincerity in this song, as Portner wrote it about his family’s experience with his sister’s cancer. It follows a similar delivery of The Antlers’ gorgeously tragic Hospice, one of 2009’s best and also one of the most genuine musical pieces detailing the witnessing of bed-bound suffering. The next track, “Lucky 1”, is essentially a continuation of “Heather in the Hospital”. Its bubbly synths sound like a triumphant reprise of sorts, ending the album with a hint of optimism after revealing one of Portner’s most personal tracks.

Down There is not all emotionally heavy, which may be fortunate considering it had the chance to override Portner’s blatant melodic tendencies. The exuberantly melodic “Oliver Twist” is more Animal Collective-like with its warbly vocals and heavy synth pads, which provide a beautiful arrangement that carries the synth stabs to a vibrant percussive accompaniment. It is here, in the final minute or so, that Portner’s vocal chops show their full potential. The ferocity of his vocals seem reliant on the ferocity of percussion; the consistently dubstep-like drums that take up much of Down There means that Portner’s voice is consistently restrained as well, at least compared to earlier Animal Collective material. But there is usually one or two segments of a song that yields very interesting results, where the song gets busy. In “Laughing Hieroglyphic” we find it when the keyboards subtly change melody; the instrumentation is only slightly different, but the dual punch of Portner’s climaxing voca melody and percussive stomps bring the listener to the song’s primary hook.

“3 Umbrellas” is more straightforward and tropical-sounding. The echoey Afro-pop and repeating structure make it perhaps the album’s most conventional track. It is not nearly as interesting as the others, but still delightfully catchy. It stands as one of three excellent tracks that open up the album though. If not for the dull period that encompasses “Cemeteries” and “Heads Hammock”, Down There would be a stunning listen completely throughout. As it stands though, it plays like a very well-crafted album that should allow listeners to appreciate Portner’s additions to Animal Collective’s vast catalog even more. Personally, I believe there are some tracks on here that overshadow recent Panda Bear solo tracks by a wide margin. There is little reason to compare though, as both artists remain required listening nonetheless.

8.5/10.0

RIYL: Animal Collective, Panda Bear, How to Dress Well, Deerhunter, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, El Guincho, Women, Teengirl Fantasy, No Age, Candy Claws, Wavves, Gold Panda, James Blake, Glasser, Active Child, The Tough Alliance, CEO, Magic Kids, Twin Sister, Here We Go Magic

Avey Tare – Oliver Twist

Avey Tare – Lucky 1

Paw Tracks

BUY

The post Avey Tare – Down There (2010) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Altar Eagle are content under layers of gauziness, the duo’s music emitting the type of confidence and nostalgic yearning that triggered attention for Beach House, Cold Cave, and other recent breakouts known for their simultaneous recollection of shoegaze and implementation of electronica. Its two members, Eden Hemming and Brad Rose, have been working together throughout the past decade. Their first project, Corsican Paintbrush, was a precursor to Altar Eagle’s fascination with ambiance, psychedelia, and folk, with tracks like “Bones of Ash” sounding like a procession of spirits around a campfire, amplified with the necessary doses of sitar-like guitars and droning reverb. This campfire-like spontaneity is still present in their work, even if Altar Ego’s efforts supersede both the intricacy and melodic prowess of Corsican Paintbrush. Their music has always sounded like it came straight from a cassette tape, all while retaining the ethereal and otherworldly tendencies of a sound dependent on the collaborative chemistry of two very like-minded individuals.

The whole male-female duality of Altar Eagle immediately brings Beach House comparisons to the table, even if Eden Hemming’s vocals are not as up-front as Legrand’s. Rose allows Altar Eagle to stray away from the automation that many shoegaze/psychedelic inspirations nowadays fall victim to; it bashes an ideology where many seem to think that using an organ and then adding reverb to a drum machine is stylistically inclusive to shoegaze/dream-pop, with no regard at all for the intricately developmental songwriting that is pivotal to the style’s classification. Beach House are one of 2010’s success stories because their production – which actually lacked chords in favor of single-note dualities – treasured melodic songwriting over intricate note placements. This is what made Teen Dream sound so diverse. The production on each of the songs are strikingly similar since aid from beyond the duo was minimal, but they did not languish behind reverb or distortion in fear of repetition or discordance. They wrote songs that encompassed the serenely ethereal tendencies of the genre, all while infusing hooks that sounded majestically cohesive enough to stray beyond dream-pop’s borders into more conventional pop, a fusion that should be embraced more than feared.

Altar Eagle’s success is certainly imminent to some degree. While it would be difficult to expect 7-minute epics like “You Lost Your Neon Haze” to see radio play, it is not the length of their songs that makes it stubborn for widespread exposure. The involved development is actually what will deter most conventional listeners (meaning, impatient listeners) from Altar Eagle. The melody here is a playfully plucked guitar arpeggio, high in pitch to enforce the aloofness, with a very vocal percussive strategy. A “woop” relays several times per verse under a muted snare, not phasing Hemming one bit as her cherubic voice takes on the role of supplementation. Her vocal melody is not exactly powerful, but her pitch variates from crisp-clear resonation to a distorted lead-in, giving way to a carefully orchestrated section of “la-la-la”ing that sounds like a cross of DeVotchKa’s worldly folk and Mazzy Star’s blissed-out representation of dream-pop (a sound that has surged in the past few years; see here). I doubt that conventional listeners will have patience for a track like this without context of Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, or Slowdive, but that is only because there is no ego-centric intent from either member to fascinate them. Their roles are established with selflessness.

When attempting to separate Altar Eagle from the likes of Asobi Seksu, Beach House, and the rest of dream-pop-inspired hotspots, the task becomes easier throughout the progression of their debut full-length, Mechancial Gardens. “Honey”, like many of their songs, finds dependence on a series of prolonged and accentuated organ chords, with playful little synth arpeggios comprising the backdrop along with slight percussion that resembles tapping on a kitchen counter more than actual drums. The duet here between Hemming and Rose carries it for the most part, as it does on the pulsating “Monsters” where Rose’s monotone, deep-toned voice is more in the forefront. This track’s more anthemic approach shows some high-charged synths over some dubstep-coordinated percussion, the production being a head-scratcher in its success. Noise, dubstep, and synth-pop are all players here and I applaud the band for going the extra distance. It shows. The nine tracks on Mechanical Gardens – from the lush and beckoning “Breakdown” to the high-charged flamboyance of “Monsters” – are all extremely worthwhile and it remains a mystery why Altar Eagle are not considered the “next big thing” in the dream-pop scene at the moment.

RIYL: Beach House, My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Asobi Seksu, Cold Cave, Emeralds, Ride, Lush, Galaxie 500, Nite Jewel, Health, No Age, Telepathe, Abe Vigoda

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Altar Eagle – Monsters

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Altar Eagle – Honey

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Altar Eagle – Breakdown

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Digitalis Industries (which Hemming and Rose co-own)

MySpace

BUY

Limited vinyl of Mechanical Gardens is currently the “Album of the Week” at Boomkat.

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

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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Official Site

MySpace

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by Jay Mattson

2009 was a big year for Nathan Williams. In March, he released his critically acclaimed sophomore album, Wavvves. Throughout the rest of the year, Williams made headlines, whether it was from his on-stage antics, collaborations (see Zach Hill, etc.) or his now-infamous scuffle with Jared Swilley of the Black Lips. In November, Williams joined forces with the Jay Reatard’s former rhythm section. At this point, when it seems like Williams’ reputation has already eclipsed his young musical career, he has returned with a third full-length album, entitled King of the Beach, that serves as a furious, rambunctious tour-de-force of what Wavves does best. The main difference between last year’s Wavvves and the recent King of the Beach is the level of fidelity. Last year, Williams’ sound was intentionally gritty, underscored and bleary. In 2010, Wavves still successfully express their beach-oriented style, only this time with lyrics that are delivered with more clarity.

Of the album’s twelve tracks, eleven of them clock in under four minutes, which is perfect for Wavves’ sound. The opening song, “King of the Beach”, doesn’t attempt to do any ‘opening’ or ‘introduction’, instead opting to jump straight into infectious, well-structured garage punk. This type of energy is held throughout an album heavily influenced by late-’60s pop that sounds like it has hit the bong one too many times and acquired prophetic knowledge of Pavement and No Age. To clarify, this is all excellent. The inclusion of a standard rhythm section has apparently given Williams time to structure his songs with greater care, even though they only play with him on two of the twelve tracks. They’re still as loud as Wavves, just more polished and tight.

“When Will You Come” brings a welcome break from the constant energy before getting back into full swing with the album’s first single, the incredibly enjoyable “Post-Acid.” This track sums up a lot of Williams’ feelings with lines like “Misery, will you comfort me…Understand what you understand, in my time of need that you’ll understand, that I’m just having fun..with yoooouuuu.” Much akin to Girls’ Album last year, King of the Beach is about having fun. Williams gets meta-fictional in “Take on the World” as he sings that “I still hate my music; it’s all the same” and “I hate myself, man; but who’s to blame? I guess I’m just fucked up…” Without skipping a beat, Williams and company make a central topic very relevant, which is the normal internal struggles facing many recent bands that get lumped into the ‘lo-fi’, ‘beach’ or ‘shitgaze’ categories. What makes Wavves stand out is that they have proven they can stand above the mass of bullshit that comes with every new label or ‘sub-genre.’ With underground music blogs making bands famous before they even release an EP, it is hard to distinguish the truly talented from the mere mediocre. Fortunately, King of the Beach is one of those albums that is wholly compelling. There is no false hype or mislabeled sub-genre here.

Moving into the second half of the album, “Convertible Balloon” is a funky, electronic-infused dance number that does a good job in keeping the energy high while treading new water and retaining thematic relevance. Next is “Green Eyes”, a song that sounds more like 2009’s Wavvves than any other track on the album, albeit with background jangles that give it a more lighthearted tone. Both of these tracks are excellent examples of Williams’ versatility on this album. While earlier work was very dark and similar-sounding, King of the Beach does an excellent job of showing the various facets of Wavves’ sound. Even the lo-fi “Mickey Mouse” is overlaid with a jammy snare beat, the likes of which were barely seen on last year’s effort. Arguably the most “out-there” song on the entire album is the last, and longest track, “Baby Say Goodbye.” With a style not unlike that of Of Montreal’s 2006 album, The Sunlandic Twins, the track opens with an extended psychedelic whistling montage that leads into a synth-backed bubbly groove that still has Williams’ signature rambling, but with a more sunny and pop-inspired tone. And while Wavves is a totally different beast than the Elephant 6 Collective members, they obviously present their similar tendencies from time to time.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wavvves last year. In this time of good bands slumping into either a rut (see Vivian Girls) or experimenting far too much (see MGMT), Williams and his new band have found an excellent middle ground that does not veer too far from the formula that worked, but also doesn’t rely purely on past successes to keep up their popularity. By jumping from experimentation to nostalgia and back again, Wavves has brilliantly crafted a follow-up that can match and possibly eclipse the success of last year’s effort. I’m confident that some fans and critics will denounce the raise in fidelity as a band cashing in on success, but I see it more as opportunity being seized and taken advantage of in order to make a more cohesive album that will not only satiate long-time fans, but also bring in new listeners that may have been turned off by the darkness and haziness that Wavves built their success upon.

King of the Beach is out digitally on July 1st through iTunes, July 13th through all other digital outlets, and physically by Fat Possum Records on August 3rd.

8.0/10.0

RIYL: Best Coast, No Age, Times New Viking, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Women, Washed Out, High Times, Crocodiles, Ducktails, Sic Alps, Japanther, Woods, HEALTH, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Ponytail, Thee Oh Sees, Dum Dum Girls

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Wavves – King of the Beach

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Wavves – Post Acid

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Wavves – Super Soaker

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The post Wavves – King of the Beach (2010) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.