The Walkmen es una banda que para muchos, quizá para la mayoría, se mantendrá en esa zona underground de su biblioteca musical particular. Si bien es cierto que muchos aman "The Rat" como sencillo (por alguna extraña razón el destino hizo que su canción más famosa fuera la que menos suena a su estilo) el resto de su discografía se mantiene ahí, atrás de los favoritos de muchos. A mí los Neoyorquinos me han conquistado, al punto de ser uno de los grupos ideales para esos momentos de mayor concentración, en donde lo único que hago es escuchar.
The Walkmen lanza el próximo 29 de mayo "Heaven", su sexto álbum de estudio. 13 tracks que definen un disco serio, que desde las primeras notas de -We Can't Be Beat- suena a esa melancolía que los define, y que crece con cada escucha. Editado por Fat Possum (disquera de otras bandas destacadas como Yuck, Youth Lagoon, Spiritualized, etc) estamos seguros que se colocará entre los discos destacados del 2012.
Les dejo el link al stream full del álbum vía NPR, su primer track, el trailer del disco y un vid del sencillo vía Pitchfork +1 que incluye una entrevista con Hamilton Leithauser... enjoy.
Time has certainly passed since 2009. That year, my choice
for top album of the year went surprisingly to “Up from below”, the first
release of an almost unknown band from Los Angeles, California, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Although this meant putting this album above some of my all
time favorites (Fanfarlo’s “Reservoir”, The Antlers “Hospice”) it somehow made
sense at that time. After I saw them live at the Unitarian Church, I knew it
just had to be that way. The energy I saw on stage that night was enough to
make up my mind. Some might think I was wrong, I for one still don’t know.
Three years have passed and the LA band is about to release
their second album at the end of the month. The album entitled “Here” can be
listened for free at NPR Music and trust me, I have listened to it roughly ten
times so far…I guess looking for that click I found 3 years ago.
The band undoubtedly remains fun, their music is distilled
into pure joy that most likely will infect you from the get go, especially if
you are discovering them for the first time.
“Here”, however, appears not to be
“Up from Below” and though their music remains fresh, joyful and young, it
seems as if this eclectic band has evolved little since our first encounter. “Here” is a strong album, don’t get me wrong and most likely
will make my list for the year. Songs like the opening track “Man on Fire”,
“Mayla”, “Dear Believer” and “Child” are simply too good to be ignored. The
album talks about friendship, love, brotherhood, deception, and the energy put
on stage by the 11-member band led by Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos remains
unchanged and worth noting.
I leave you with two links, the first to their recent concert at the World Café Live, plus the link to NPR Music where you can listen to “Here” in its entirety. Also, a clip from their recent performance in
Boston playing “Dear Believer” my favorite song of this album and another from their performance with David Letterman playing “Man of Fire”.
Last week, the beautiful Union Transfer in Philadelphia
received M. Ward on a warm Saturday night (May 12, 2012). The concert
confirmed me what I recently discovered… Ignoring M. Ward’s music for a while
has been a big mistake.
His approach to music is simple, direct and based only on
traditional ways, without the need of complex digital arrangements. His over
emphasized analog sound appears pure, original and surprisingly fresh. His
music, although based on classical rock, it expands to many genres, growing in
all cases in a very organic way from his flawless guitar playing, superior to
most artists these days.
The setlist included many songs from “A Wasteland
Companion”, his recent and almost instructional release, but it was also
decorated with music from previous records and fully embellished with covers
from classical artists, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.
“A Wasteland Companion” is currently being streamed at his
website that can be accessed following this link.
I leave you with the setlist of that night in Philly, plus a
video from his recent appearance on Letterman.
Enjoy,
MM
(@MMLeiner)
M.Ward – May 12, 2012- Union Transfer, Philadelphia
I have a deep attraction to Beach House’s music… I should
say that from the beginning. A disclaimer I am actually proud of…
It is as if their songs diffuse easily into my ears, into my
head. They sound familiar, almost as if they have always been there. Every
chord follows another just in the right way all embellished delightfully with
Victoria Legrand’s voice.
As opposed to many, I love their albums from the first pass.
”Bloom”, the band’s new album, is certainly not an exception. Here, the
Baltimore duo offers a consistent sound that follows very well their beautiful
2010 album “Teen Dream”. Powerful lyrics, a delightful voice, analog keyboard
arrangements and amazing guitars from Alex Scally, make this one of the
greatest albums so far in 2012.
Beach House lyrics talk about romantic disappointment,
innocence, heartbreak and offer a dark coming of age perspective. Legrand’s
voice captivates you from the start and drives you exactly to those moments. In
“Bloom” however, moments of joy are scattered, which in a way suggest the
maturity achieved by the band since their 2006 debut. Compared to previous
albums, “Bloom” offers a much cleaner sound without compromising the beauty and
epic approach that characterizes the band. The album appears to be perfectly
crafted and meant to be listened to from start to finish.
“Bloom” will be released on May 15, right on time for the
half-year list of best albums. I believe this one goes to the top part of mine.
I leave you with two vids: “Other People” and “Wild” plus a
link to NPR Music where you can listen to the album in its entirety.
I never considered myself a deep follower of the music produced and performed by M. Ward. I know now this has been a big mistake.
M. Ward has filled his career through multiple collaborations as a musician and producer. In all of them his contribution is clear. With Conor Oberst, Jim James and Mike Mogis, he formed “Monsters Of Folk” a few years ago. Around the same time, he morphed the celebrated “She & Him” duo with singer Zooey Deschanel.
The man is an incredible musician that above all brings freshness in a strange way, through combination of traditional elements and raw sounds that evolve into something that appears new and familiar at the same time.
His appeal and preference for analog sound over the digital elements of our era has become for sure a distinctive feature of his work. This is more than evident in his most recent record, “A Wasteland Companion”, released early this month. The album is a jewel that feels above all, instructional, educative, guiding. The record expands in exactly all the different ways he pretends it to. It is almost as it has been written as a brochure depicting what alternative music should be, providing the basic elements for new musicians to follow. Moving from one song to the next feels as if you were browsing through chapters of a book full of secrets,… one of those you know you will never cover completely.
“I can trace all my songs to a specific moment” said M. Ward in 2009, before releasing “Hold Time”, his acclaimed third release. “Sometimes it’s as insignificant as a friend of yours saying something, a turn of a phrase. Other times it’s like an epiphany moment or just something beautiful that you see”. In a sense, “A Wasteland Companion” depicts stories of his journeys through the world since this time.
Trust me, even if you are as stubborn as me, this record will change your perception about M. Ward and his genius approach to music. One thing I am sure…this is for sure one of my favorites of the year.
I leave you with a clip from “Primitive Girl” from his new record and the link to the entire show at KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic.
Two weeks ago Yellow Ostrich, the Brooklyn band led by Alex Schaaf played Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia on April 10, 2012. Not a bad thing to do on a Tuesday night, especially surrounded by part of the MUSICAL SOULMATE crew, who visited the Northeast US for a series of amazing concerts. Yellow Ostrich played most of their new album “Strange Land” along with various tunes from their 2010 debut “The Mistress”.
Very refreshing to see a band in clear evolution, trying to discover with time their sound and identity. And although their equation is still based on multiple layers constructed from ingenious loops from Schaaf, the band appears to be moving to a more complete sound, one that would define them as a band. It is clear that we’ll hear from them again, and for one, I will be waiting.
I leave you with a live version of WHALE, which is also how the band opened their set-list in Philly, plus another recent version of MARATHON RUNNER from their recent album. Here Schaaf cries “I am a marathon runner, and my legs are sore, and I am anxious to see, what I’m running for…”...certainly, a familiar thought.
Finally, a clip with a summary of the night at Johnny Brenda’s, where if you pay close attention you may recognize some of the MUSICAL SOULMATE crew blended in the crowd listening to the band.
El pasado 12 de Abril, a dos días del lanzamiento oficial de
su disco “Boys & Girls”, Alabama Shakes se presentó en el mítico Music Hall Of Williamsburg, en la hermosa ciudad de Brooklyn, New York, venue obligado para cualquier artista nuevo
con proyecciones importantes, que fue abarrotado en un anticipadísimo sold out,
muestra clara del futuro próximo de esta talentosa banda cuyo disco debut ha
sido todo un éxito.
Para Brittany Howard y el resto de los miembros de Alabama
Shakes lejos han quedado aquellos días de tocar ante unas cuantas personas en
la única tienda de música en Athens, Alabama. La magia de su primer disco
trasciende géneros y eras. En poco
tiempo han logrado llenar venues importantes en toda Norte América. Su música mezcla matices de Blues, Americana, Soul y Garage Rock, evocando con un estilo propio sonidos que
conquistan audiencias desde hace décadas, hipnotizando a toda clase de espectadores. El éxito de Alabama Shakes se fundamenta en las
bases más sólidas que puede desear cualquier artista, en un talento natural
acompañado de la más clara sinceridad y libertad artística, lidereados siempre por la
poderosa voz de Brittany, acompañada a la perfección por el resto de
los shakes.
Musical Soulmate estuvo presente en esta fecha, parte del
crew habitual en México acompañados por MM, co-escritor y pilar en el contenido
del blog, fuimos parte de los 550 privilegiados asistentes, la experiencia fue
definitivamente increíble. Su setlist incluyó 16 canciones en donde repasaron en su totalidad su recién
editado disco y además incluyeron canciones nuevas que posiblemente
saldrán a la luz en alguna próxima producción, haciendo de esa noche un
concierto para recordar.
Les dejo el Setlist, el stream de su album víaGuardian, y algunos vids para quienes no hayan tenido la oportunidad de
escuchar más a fondo a una banda que estamos seguros que dará mucho de que
hablar, la historia de Alabama Shakes apenas inicia...
Tres vids del episodio de Spinner Interface de Sharon Van Etten, sin duda una de las consentidas en lo que va del 2012, su disco -Tramp- es una maravilla. También pueden descargar su presentación de hace un par de días en el mítico Stubb's, para SXSW vía NPR... enjoy...
Yellow Ostrich released their second album Strange Land, on March 6 via Barsuk Records. This work represents a clear evolution from their 2010 debut The Mistress. According to Alex Schaaf, frontman, “The Mistress was a guy in a bedroom,” while “Strange Land is a band. In a slightly bigger room.”
Compared to “The Mistress” where Schaaf wrote, recorded and looped tracks by himself, in “Strange Land” the band expanded to drummer Michael Tapper and Jon Natchez. The result, a great album that offers a grander and more complete sound though retaining the unique approach that we enjoyed in “The Mistress”
The band also released a bunch of tour dates for spring, a somewhat complete list of what is coming in the next months can be found in the link below…worth noting that even some o our favorites like Lost in the Trees will be supporting Yellow Ostrich in part of their tour. As said before, the MUSICAL SOULMATE crew will make it to the Philly show on April 10.
On Thursday March 8, 2012 I attended Fanfarlo’s show at the beautiful Union Transfer on Spring Garden Av. in Philly. Overall, this was my fourth Fanfarlo’s concert and the second already from their “Rooms Filled with Light” tour.
Back in 2009, people argued about the resemblance of their music to that of Arcade Fire or Beirut. Back then on this blog I wrote “… In spite of the greatness of their first album Reservoir, …, I for one certainly remained cautious about the expectations placed on this new British band, whose music resembled almost a Lego construct of Funeral and The Flying Club Cup….”… my post continued describing how that changed after seeing them live for the first time at the tiny Kung Fu Necktie (< 50 people)…
Things have changed for the band led by Simon Balthazar and Cathy Lucas, and the almost full house at the Union Transfer on Thursday shows for sure that this band is now too big for a night at the Kung Fu Necktie…but perhaps more importantly, it shows that Fanfarlo though still a collection of young musicians, has evolved into a strong band with a simple formula based on textures and simple rhythms delivered flawlessly through multiple horns, strings, keyboards and percussions.
The set-list on Thursday had a nice balance of songs from “Rooms Filled with Light” and “Reservoir”. Through the night, the band faced sound issues…” This is what happens when you bring your own electrical panels to America” , Simon said. Still, the band delivered great versions of old favorites including “Comets”, “I’m a Pilot”, and “Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time”, which provided a powerful parenthesis before the encore that included “Bones” and “The Walls are coming down”.
Last November, after their show at Johnny Brenda’s I anticipated that “Rooms Filled with Light” would certainly be one of our choices for 2012. No doubt I was right, and the evolution of the band is clear in this album that feels fresh, original and that includes songs that transcend into different paths, some that seem new to Fanfarlo, and perhaps new to us as well. But then again, we’ll gladly follow this band, wherever their music take us.
I leave you with the set-list of that night and two clips that show the evolution of the band in 3 years…”Comets” from 2009 and “Tightrope” from this year.
Enjoy,
MM (@MMLeiner)
Fanfarlo – Union Transfer – March 8, 2012
1 Replicate 2 Tightrope 3 Feathers 4 I'm a Pilot 5 Lenslife 6 Comets 7 De-construction 8 Finish Line 9 A Flood (With "Atlas" intro) 10 Luna 11 Dig 12 Shiny Things 13 Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time
Encore:
14 Bones 15 The Walls Are Coming Down
Comets (Reservoir) -Live Daily Sessions - 2009
Tightrope (Rooms Filled with Light) –Live Session 2012
