Anthemic rock music really has to soar to earn its name. To rouse an audience because they are already familiar with your work is one thing, but to come out anonymously and take a crowd by storm is the most blatant asset in this glossy depiction of “anthemic indie-rock”. For a band like The Kissaway Trail, their label as a “blog band” comes from the massive online acclaim that treated other artists like the Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! To sudden success in prior years. Some of these blog-fueled acts prevail by seizing upon the immediate opportunity and never looking back, but most squander after an album or two. While these type of bands lack the traditional PR format of exposure, their online-based exposure is equivalent to the resonance of a vastly successful, albeit virtually unknown, artist at a show that takes first-time audiences by storm. The medium there is just a concert hall instead of a blog; one is physically substantive in real life but they both have a similar aim, that being the promotion of unknown artists that rouse listeners in ways only their familiar favorites previously could. That being said, it is hardly a surprise that The Kissaway Trail have generated substantial buzz with both their work in the studio and on stage.

Singer and guitarist Thomas Fagerlund calls Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins his favorite band and biggest influence, respectively. Such an appreciation for ’90s alt-rock is by no means concealed by The Kissaway Trail, who combine that with exhilarating indie-rock to produce a sound influenced by nostalgic alt-rock as much as contemporary, electronic-aided rock. On their new album Sleep Mountain, the Danish collective wildly impress with tones of both frailty and epic tendencies. Their electronic influences are primarily echoed in the production, which takes a routine rock-oriented cast of guitars and keys to sonorous heights. On one of the album’s brightest moments, “Painter”, we find the band at a beautiful place. The structural build-up this song literally makes me choke up, mainly because it employs the same gradual structural punch that orchestral epics do. It begins with a few splashes of keys sporadically interrupting an acoustic guitar, gradually giving way to gorgeous new accompaniments. Think a lyrically coherent Sigur Rós, especially once this one really gets going. Sure, The Kissaway Trail are pop musicians at heart just like most of their Scandinavian counterparts, but a remarkable effort like this shows their rare emotional depth. “Painter” is a more folk-laden tune accentuated by contemporary production, that being familiar with subtle sampling techniques. Its rootsy folk vibes are even apparent when several layers of vocal accompaniments, resonating strings, and reverbed percussion erupt in pure glory, never drowning out the simple acoustic guitar that is subtly the melodic heart of this beautiful epic.

The band likely groans whenever they hear an Arcade Fire reference, though even keeping that in mind I cannot resist when listening to “New Year” and “Beat Your Heartbeat”. It is one thing that Fagerlund’s vocals sound similar to Win Butler’s, but it is mainly the “anthemic” (oh, there’s that word again) type of songwriting that arises such comparisons. Producer Peter Katis (Interpol, The National) helps the case as well, even if comparisons to Manic Street Preachers would be more applicable. “Beat Your Heartbeat” sounds like a familial choir from the get-go, and when Fagerlund utilizes effects to alter his guitar’s tone into a more string-laden effect the comparison becomes even more evident. The haunting keyboard melody that creeps under the is proper reinforcement of an invigorating composition that would otherwise get lost in the intricate instrumentation and majestic production. Like Arcade Fire and Sigur Rós, The Kissaway Trail are quite extraordinary because they are able to make intricacy appear accessible and addictive. Similar to what Phil Spector did with his “Wall of Sound”, recent bands like Mono in VCF and The Kissaway Trail are showing his influence by infusing accessible songs with glossy production and intricate arrangements. Even if they are not the most theoretically complex works, the songs on Sleep Mountain play with such distinctiveness and passion, thanks to a one-two punch of fantastic songwriting and suitable production. There is no desperate audible plea for radio time, nor an overly stylistic public image that tarnishes their sound. The Kissaway Trail are one of the few contemporary bands today making stylish rock music without sacrificing their modest image. In showing that alone, Sleep Mountain is an enormous success.

RIYL: Manic Street Preachers, Arcade Fire, Sigur Rós, Mono in VCF, Interpol, Figurines, Choir of Young Believers, Kashmir

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The Kissaway Trail – Painter

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The Kissaway Trail – Beat Your Heartbeat

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The Kissaway Trail – SDP

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Official Web Site

MySpace

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

Expectations, as lofty as they once were, have expectedly declined for Manic Street Preachers, one of the most popular Welsh bands of the past twenty years. While the trio’s previous two albums, Know Your Enemy and Lifeblood, did well on the charts and received little complaints from their massive fan base, the songwriting was noticeably lacking compared to the band’s earlier classics in the vein of The Holy Bible or Everything Must Go. Even so, one must take into consideration that the Manic Street Preachers were stereotypically not even expected to be capable of releasing anything of a qualitative nature following the disappearance of their guitarist and creative tour de force Richey James Edwards in 1995. The Edwards incident remains a mystery and most likely will maintain the same status, which opted the Manic Street Preachers to move past the disappearance and release five albums in his absence. While Edwards’ involvement in 1994’s breakthrough The Holy Bible still distinguishes the album as arguably the band’s best, the three remaining members in guitarist and vocalist James Dean Bradfield, bassist Nicky Wire, and drummer Sean Moore shifted the band’s general sound from political punk to a more mid-90s alternative rock introspective.

Send Away The Tigers, the band’s eighth studio album and fifth without Edwards, gives off an odd first impression through an odd selection of cover art. While the Manics have previously been known to incorporate earnest covers either depicting traditional promo photographs or boldly vague political statements, Send Away The Tigers features two scantily clad young women dressed in what appears to be fairy costumes. While the band’s own sociological statement can be interpreted a variety of ways as far as the art goes, I took it as first indication that the trio may be letting themselves hang loose for the first time in several years. Even though their previous album, Lifeblood, contained a couple of somewhat memorable songs, it turned out to be a rather somber album complemented by a poker face of emotions. The departure from catchy guitar-oriented hooks to a more pensive keyboard-centric political statement was evident and I personally found it to be a bit disappointing in terms of results, though it is difficult to blame them for the transition in sound after the musical failure that was Know Your Enemy. Seeing criticisms in their past two releases, the Manics decided to bring back producer Dave Eringa in an attempt to revive their raw sound of the past.

Fortunately, this somewhat humorous image proved to be a foreshadowing of the band’s rediscovery of their old loosely invigorated sound; a sound similar to the type that found them initial success fifteen years ago. From the first track on the album, “Send In The Tigers”, it shows that the Manic Street Preachers have once again established a sound of quality, one of which they appeared to have left behind nine years ago since their last commendable album, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. Led astray by a slight organ in its first moments, “Send In The Tigers” is picked up by a pair of bodacious guitar riffs, captured intimately by Bradfield’s vocals, all of which surprisingly similar in quality to my personal favorite Manics album, Everything Must Go, the release in 1996 that set forth the band’s slight alternative-rock transition. This approach is continued on “Underdogs”, an embodiment of arena-rock that utilizes Bradfield’s soaring vocals with a chorus that nearly reaches the heights of the classic “A Design for Life”. While the first two tracks on the album represent the best material the Manic Street Preachers have written in nine years, the rest of the album is contained to be a mixed bag of sorts, even if the lovable alternative approach remains consistent.

The album’s first single, “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough”, is already one of the biggest hits of the Manic Street Preachers’ lengthy career. Currently #2 on the UK charts behind a Beyonce-Shakira collaboration, the Manics single features Nina Persson, the lead vocalist in Swedish indie-pop staples The Cardigan, on vocals in a duet with Bradfield. Though the song repeats itself too often and structure and offers a substantial amount of predictability through formulaic riffs and melodic turns, it is easy to recognize why the song is seeing so much success. Bradfield and Persson both relay a radio-friendly charm that works wonders for the airwaves, crooning over one of the many sets of strings featured on Send Away The Tigers. “You stole the sun straight from my heart,” both sing, recalling the lyrics from a Manics song that appeared in 1998, “You Stole the Sun from My Heart”. While several tracks like “Winterlovers” and “I Am Just A Patsy” drag on too long for their own good, hectic songs in the exceptional form of the excitable “Rendition” or the alluring radiance of “The Second Great Depression” recalls the fantastic early days of the band, with “Rendition” and “Indian Summer” sounding like the nostalgic Manics charm that fans were merely teased with in the abruptly enjoyable single, “The Masses Against The Classes”. In being one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, Send Away The Tigers is the strongest album from the Manic Street Preachers in almost ten years. Apart from a few forgettable tracks, it is certainly worth a listen for all those who foolishly gave up hope on the Manics. Send Away The Tigers was released on May 7th.

7.6/10

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Manic Street Preachers – Send Away The Tigers

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Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough

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Manic Street Preachers – Rendition

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Official Web Site

BUY

The post REVIEW: Manic Street Preachers – Send Away The Tigers appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Switches – No Hero

Switches – Lay Down The Law

Call me crazy, but I think Switches were heavy fans of Brit-pop. I don’t know much about this song other than it’s pretty damn catchy. Sure, it’s as repeatitive as songs get but I would assume it’s quite fun to dance to, and I know everyone likes dancing. Actually, I think the song would fit in quite well on a western Dance Dance Revolution soundtrack. I am really enjoying the sequence in the song where the bass eventually layers in with some very nice dance synths. I see their popularity rising as they are playing with Graham Coxon. ‘Lay Down The Law’ is just as fun with familiar elements. Sure, Switches isn’t bringing anything new to the table, but they are definitely fun. Check out their myspace for some more material.

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Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Pretty Words

A classic song from a classic album, ‘Pretty Words’ is one of my favorite songs from Costello’s Trust. The vocals during the chorus get quite emotional, and Costello hits the notes naturally. I’ve been listening a lot of Elvis Costello lately, and his first eight albums seem to be nearly untouchable. Though the song is somewhat slow in tempo compared to the album’s other songs (such as the throwback ‘Luxembourg’), it is one of the strongest. The album is one of Costello’s most diverse, mixing bits of soul and jazz with 70s rambunctious punk. It’s most definitely worth a listen.
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Erasure – Boy (acoustic)

I found the effort in Erasure’s recent release Union Street to be great, but few of the songs touched the originals and were too mediocre to be remembered significantly. The album was entirely acoustic for the flamboyant synth-pop duo, as they covered their own songs (mainly of heartbreak and despair). ‘Boy’ was the opening track on the album and is surely the best, and I actually enjoy the original. I especially like the bridge to the chorus, which shows off Andy Bell’s tremendous vocal range.
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Swan Lake – All Fires

Though this has been on every musical-related web site imaginable, I’m still listening anyways. The trio of Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown), and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) really make for an interesting “supergroup”, so to say. They all have very similar vocal and musical styles, though Bejar seems to incorporate more folk into his elements than Krug’s electronic experimentations or Mercer’s falsetto vocals. I am not sure of the involvements on this particular track, though. I find the track to be listenable, but as a fan of all three, I am not finding anything particularly new or eyecatching here. The repeatitive structure of the song seems to hide behind their traditional production. All three have done better.
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Bel Auburn – Blind Ward

Bel Auburn – Metropolitan

Despite their name, Bel Auburn aren’t some new electronic group from Europe. They are a very melodic and smooth indie rock band from mid-Ohio who have been around for three years and are just recently starting to get known. Their sound reminds me quite a bit of Sunny Day Real Estate, and I am particulary fond of Bel Auburn’s production as well. They mold a consistant sound throughout each of their songs, as each repeating verse eventually seems to be hypnotizing with the certain distortion and aura their guitars implement. The overtone of the keys are used well most of the time as well. Their second album, Lullabies in A & C, releases next week.
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Bad Flirt – Head On

Bad Flirt – This Song Is Romance

Another indie band from Montreal? I don’t know what’s in the soup there, but it seems that a large amount of bands I post these days are from that part of the world. It’s good stuff though, and Bad Flirt seems to be another up and coming band. Two gals and two guys front the band, with the female vocals really setting it apart from the rest. I am quite fond of the single ‘Head On’, which gets pretty catchy after a few listens. You can tell that a band is pretty damn independent when their official web site is hosted on Geocities. Nice.

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