Until recently, Dave Bazan could have been filed under Great American Author or Songwriter. His arresting narratives of loneliness (“The Longest Winter”) and moral dissonance (“Rapture”) just so happened to be tuneful. On their latest, Achilles Heel, Bazan and company let the instruments do more of the talking which really brings the songs to life (“Discretion”). Don’t get me wrong: I wouldn’t change a note of their back catalog, but it is amazing what a little swirling keyboards or soaring guitar can do.
Figurine
Just to help get us through the rough time waiting for a new album from The Postal Service (someone please tell me there’s gonna be another one), here’s a gem from the past of Jimmy Tamborello under his stage name of James Figurine. With pals David Figurine and Meredith (you guessed it) Figurine, their stated goal was to sound like Depeche Mode. Fortunately they ended up more of a Severed Heads/New Order/Aphex Twin hybrid.
n.Lannon
Film School member, Nyles Lannon, graduates, goes solo and trades out a few guitars for a computer and puts a tech touch to his homestyle melodies.
Two mp3s added. Original posting: 06.15.04.
Rosie Thomas
I was recently told I don’t represent my ‘hood enough in my music selections, so here’s a little something unexpected from the 313 (by way of Seattle)…
Rosie Thomas recorded her last record in Detroit’s oldest church, a telling indication of her timeless approach to music and storytelling. Thomas pits her confident, downhome pipes against simple arrangements and open, innocent lyrics, bringing in members of her musician family to help out along the way. So perfect and cute, without the annoying aftertaste.
Mice Parade
Adam Pierce once again takes the bedroom dweller aesthetic more as a spiritual guide than a sonic one: skittish percussion bounces off the walls like random thoughts and warm vibes and synthesizers fill the background while his ever-gentle acoustic guitar seemingly plays for an audience of one.
Volcano, I’m Still Excited
Comparisons are usually poor. However, just imagine a four-way intersection in a small town, the only intersection in town. Now imagine that Modest Mouse, Human League, Peter Hook, and, let’s say, an ice cream truck are converging on this intersection. Well, Mr. Hook, the crazy Brit, is driving on the left-hand side of the road! From the resulting crash emerges Volcano, I’m Still Excited.
Secret Mommy
Andy Dixon, a Vancouver-based web designer/audio saboteur, plays Olympic-paced ping pong (or is it table tennis?) with odd samples and found sounds until they become a blur of sound and rhythm. The results range from buoyant (“An Apple a Day…”) to jarring (“Save As”) to satirical (“Bottom 40,” wherein Britney Spears is revealed as the cat in heat that she is).
Minmae
Fragile vocals over fragile guitars, Minmae’s songs could fall apart at any moment. Make one mistake and face utter cacophony. It’s in the band’s unflinching push to the next chord, verse, or just to the next riff that these songs transcend the notion of popular music and teeter on the verge of pure art.
Trans Am
Many artists have offered up the requisite anti-Bush song this summer; Trans Am opted for an entire album’s worth with Liberation. Not every track holds its own: “Uninvited Guest” is unoriginal B-side material, based on the well-circulated “Bushwhacked” MP3s. But the other two cuts featured here prove that Trans Am can make their point quite effectively by speaking softly and carrying a big bassline.
Tommy Guerrero
Like his Southern California counterpart, Ray Barbee, Tommy Guerrero is a skateboarder turned musician, using simple, 4-track technology to capture his loose, laid-back grooves. Between the two they’ve practically defined a new genre: skate-soul.