Audible Musings

Yeah, cultural gem comes courtesy of a one “Lank Thomson,” who commented about this picture over on GorillavsBear. This was the picture posted along with the shimmeringly effervescent band Memoryhouse, which feels like an apt name given the music’s ability to wrap you in a warm blanket of happy laughter far off in the distance, and long lost memories that are now faded sepia photoghraphs in a dusty corner of your mind. Have a listen to “Bonfire,” which is slated to be released on March 2nd on the limited edition To The Lighthouse 7″, which you can and should pre-order here. Expect a full legnth LP titled Looms of Youth, courtesy of Arcade Sound ltd.

Memoryhouse – Bonfire

Bonus:

Memoryhouse – Lately (deuxieme)

Memoryhouse – To The Lighthouse (millionyoung remix)

This incredibly poignant video (and incredibly poignant tune) comes from Canadian Alan Poon, whose stop-motion animation is perfectly suited to a new discovery: “In Our Talons” by Bowerbirds. Apparantly it’s an old tune and an old video, but both have only recently turned up on my radar. Enjoy!

Bowerbirds “In Our Talons” from Alan Poon on Vimeo.

This one’s a visual treat, courtesy of Paresian Street Artist, LUDO. His series, “Nature’s Revenge,” strikes a poignant chord between flora and fauna, technology, death, and industry. His distinctive, almost-but-not-quite neon green also instantly sets his work apart from the surroundings ands a certain unsettling feeling to his work. See an interview with Arrested Motion, and more of his art , at their site.

Many of you will recognize the tune from the video below as “Lightworks” from Dilla’s Donuts. What you may not recognize is the shuffle, the fuzz, the electric swirls, and the panting, sweaty voice of Cibelle, a brazilian charmer with a voice as sexy as her strut. Interestingly, this post-punk feeling only recently emerged – upon a listen of her 2006 effort, The Shine Of Dried Electric Leaves, I came away with a pleasurably relaxed melange of latin jazz, ephemeral electronic blips and beeps, and an unparalled vocal performance that ranges from smoky blues to flirtatious vibrato. Keep your eye out for a spring release – Las Venus Resort Palace Hotel, via Crammed Discs

Cibelle in: ‘Lightworks’ from Crammed Discs on Vimeo.

Three of my favorite bands, The Ruby Suns, Caribou, and The Tallest Man On Earth, have re-emerged from varying degrees of silence, all with new singles in advance of soon-to-be-released albums. Let’s get right down to it…

Expect a new LP, titled Swin, from Caribou April 20th, via Merge Records

First: Caribou. The band that broke out of anonymity with its 2008 sophomore effort, Andorra, returns with Swim, its third full legnth work, on April 20th via Merge Records. Accordingly, a new single, “Odessa” has emerged in advance of the album. If this is any indication of where the band is heading in the near future, expect something drastically different from the more straight forward, early 60’s twang that was so present on Andorra. Instead, band leader and primary composer Dan Snaith seems to have reverted to some of the beatmaking and electronica found on Caribou’s debut, The Milk Of Human Kindness, (read: “A Final Warning,” “Pelican Narrows,” “Lord Leopard”) as well as his prior solo work. In any event, “Odessa” is a sneakily catchy, upbeat yet dark electronic offering from a band that many thought were headed in an entirely different direction. Expect new, great things from this consistently eclectic band.

Caribou: Odessa

The Wild Hunt, The Tallest Man On Earth's second offering, is available April 13th via Dead Oceans

April remains a big month, with The Tallest Man On Earth’s second album, The Wild Hunt, being released on the 13th. With an unmistakably smoky voice, The Tallest Man On Earth, aka Kristian Matsson, put out one of 2008’s most widely received folk albums, Shallow Graves. His energetic and mezmerizing live performances left many anxiously awaiting his next step. Relatively short as it may have been, the wait is over with this latest release: “King Of Spain.” Where Caribou reverted to a matured manifestation of aged thought, Matsson picks up right where he left off with a recording that sounds more polished than anything on Shallow Graves while simultaneously retaining the organic quality adored by so many.

The Tallest Man On Earth: King Of Spain

Fight Softly is out March 10th

No, this album isn’t out in April, too. You’ll be saved about a month of anxiously waiting - Fight Softly, the second offering from New Zealand’s The Ruby Suns, is out Marth 10th. In case you missed it, their debut, 2008’s Sea Lions was an incredible album that managed to somehow slip through the cracks of many – but remains one of my favorite albums that offers more and more with each listen. It’s sensible, edgy, electronic, and at the same time rooted by acoustic tendancies throughout. This newest single, “Cranberry (Radio Edit)” retains many of these attributes. It comes with spacy, reverbed vocal chords, paired with compressed horns and a heavy beat. It seems to almost pick up where partners in crime Architecture In Helsinki left off with their last offering, Places Like This, yet there’s something air-ier about this tune; it lifts off and slowly fades away into the wind. It’s slightly more esoteric than the more experimental-folk songwriting on Sea Lions, but it captures many of the electronic elements rifling throughout that album. I can’t wait to hear “Cranberry” in the context of the entire release.

The Ruby Suns: Cranberry

Cover Art of Tunng's Good Arrows. Their fourth LP, ...And Then We Saw Land, is due in early April via Thrill Jockey

Although Tunng is not among the first names associated with experimental folk, they are in fact one of the most experienced bands in that genre. With three LP’s, ten Singles, and countless numbers of collaboratory releases, the British sextet should have already been bigger than they are. (C’est la vie, n’est pas?) This is a band you should keep your eye on this spring – they just released a single, “Don’t Look Down Or Back” in advance of their forthcoming LP, …And Then We Saw Land which is to be expected in early April. It’s a janglin’ singalong that will get your feet tapping. But just when you think you know what to expect, the bottom drops out and the visionary production, use of electronics, and a touch of fuzz combine to create a surprisingly pleasent yet enormous soundscape. I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be a truly visionary album uniting the most accessible elements of folk with experimental electronics.

Tunng – Don’t Look Down Or Back

Grab Inter Arbiter, the sophomore effort from Inlets, April 20th via Twosyllable Records,

Inlets is a band, rather a songwriter/multiinstrumentalist, Sebastian Krueger, that made a lot of noise three years ago with the release of The Vestibule EP, and then more or less fell into oblivion, save a collaboration with My Brightest Diamond on the Dark Was The Night benefit album. Suddenly, though, out of the hibernation came news, in April ‘08, that a new album was in the works along with “Your Good Arm,” that featured sinewy falsetto and effervescent instrumentation with echos of Nick Drake ringing throughout the thick chords that crescendos to its climax of an outro. Nearly two years later, on January 23rd, came a new tune, “Bright Orange Air,” and news that Inter Arbiter, the album that has been long-awaited, would be released April 20th. In the same vein as “Your Good Arm,” “Bright Orange Air” once more features Krueger’s falsetto, backed by dense vocal harmonies and classical instrumentation that borders on Reich-ian at its flashiest, and ambient at its quietest. In all, “Bright Orange Air” and “Your Good Arm,” if harbingers of what is ahead, are hints of a truly genre-blending, masturful effort that’s in the works from the depth of Krueger’s scheming mind.

Inlets – Bright Orange Air

Edit: Internet/Upload times suck in France. I’ll get the tracks to you asap. In the interim, all links are via Stereogum

What a better way to start off the decade than with a barrage of album releases.

Cousins is the single from Vampire Weekend's forthcoming album, Contra

To begin with, Vampire Weekend has been making a bunch of noise in anticipation of their Sophomore album, Contra. First, they mysteriously counted down to the release of “Horchata,” which sent the blogosphere on a witch hunt for hours until the band finally gave the hungry readers what they had been waiting for. Now, the band released a fresh music video to accompany “Cousins,” the second single from Contra. Keep your eyes open for further multimedia from Vampire Weekend. Contra is due on 1/12 via XL.

Teen Dream is due 1/26 via Sub Pop

Beach House is a new band on my radar, and I’m glad I found them. The group sports a delicate sound that builds to lush choruses and vibrant soundscapes. Teen Dream is their Sophomore album as well, and based on the single “Norway,” it promises to be quite the journey. Indeed, Norway was written on a train speeding through Norwegian mountains (hence Norway). If they can do this on a train, imagine what happens when they get into the studio. Definitely keep a heads up for this album, which is due on 1/26 via (our favorite label,) Subpop.

Yeasayer continues to impress, with Ambling Alp as well as this trippy website and very NSFW music video that accompanies it. They’re looking to put an album out in the near future as well. Keep your eyes open on that front.

In the rumor mill are reports that one of the must underrated indie bands of all time, Menomena, will be throwing down a new release this year. This is sure to be epic.

In the world of bands that have already made it, Spoon and Interpol look to return to top form in 2010 as well with new releases of their own. This year should be nuts.

I’ve been gone forever! Not really. But I have been busy. Between three bands, two ensembles, five classes, and a social life, I rarely have time to breathe anymore. Be that as it may, here’s some new really cool thoughts.

First – Last night I saw A Sunny Day In Glasgow play at the infamous Eclectic House. The band was fantastic. And as I’m sure you all know, their most recent effort, Ashes Grammar, was quite the accomplishment. The band continues to push the boundaries of what music can and should be, while simultaneously meticulously maturing melodic thought from start to finish. Surprisingly, they pull it off pretty well live too. The only downside was the weak turnout and poor sound – you can’t have ASDIG with too much bass! That said, the band put on a rocking show regardless. Their tunes sparkled with a different brilliance live – there’s something pleasantly raw about their live sound that, when contrasted with the shimmering studio tracks, creates an atmosphere unequaled by many other bands.

Second (this one comes with a story) – Yeasayer came to Wesleyan this past thursday. They put on a kick-ass show. It was in a venue that is traditionally pretty lame, but Yeasayer made it happen. They played through most of All Hours Cymbals, with a few tracks off of their new upcoming album (of which Ambling Alp is a part). They opened with a ridiculous new tune – the lead singer threw on some pretty insane vocal effects to drop his voice an octave or two so it sounded like something out of The Knife. But all the expected songs were played, but slightly uptempo and a little dancier to create a great live vibe. There were some kids tripping next to me who were having a blast – the vocal harmonies were all spot on, where the band wanted to jam out they did, and where they needed to be tight they were. I’d say that you really need to see them if you haven’t already.

Now for the story: My wonderful friend Will was the one that brought Yeasayer to Wes in the first place. As such, the band came back to his room and we got to hang out with a few of the guys. They’re all pretty chill dudes, I must say – they have great music tastes as well. The studio drummer on tour with them threw on a tune that he insisted was Paul McCartney, but nobody believed him until we searched for it and found that it was indeed Sir Paul. With comparisons drawn to Kraftwerk and modern hip hop, this album is truly ahead of its time. Check this album out – you really won’t believe your ears.

McCartney II

Brother Sport 10" will be released November 9th

Two developments on the Animal Collective front. Brother Sport, the first of two EP’s to be released, will feature “Bleeding,” previously known as “Bleed” as the backing track. It’s out November 9th via Domino. Also to be released is Fall Be Kind, the collection of new tunes being anxiously awaited by AC fans for a few months now. This second EP will feature “what would I want sky?” which received much publicity a month or two ago for including the first licenced Grateful Dead sample. Digital release is slated for next month, but CD/Vinyl will be out in December, again via Domino. The track list is as follows:

01 graze
02 what would i want sky?
03 bleed
04 on a highway
05 i think i can

Bonus:

Animal Collective – what would I want sky? (live BBC)

Animal Collective – On A Highway (live BBC)

Phoenix's remixed album comes out on 10/13

Well, Phoenix themselves didn’t really get better – just some of their tunes. Or rather, all of them. Because it was announced that there is going to be a Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix remix album. That’s right – every single track is going to get a once-over. And the cast of actors is indeed stacked: Animal Collective, Passion Pit, YACHT, Chairlift, Friendly Fires, the list goes on. Surprisingly, though, the Classixx remix of Listomania is in fact left off of the album. Shame. Not to say that I’m not excited for the rest of it. Check out the track listing:

01 “Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)”
02 “Fences (The Soft Pack Remix)”
03 “1901 Bo Flex’d (Passion Pit Remix)”
04 “Lasso (2 Door Cinema Club Remix)”
05 “Fences (25 Hrs a Day Remix)”
06 “1901 (L’aiglon Remix)”
07 “Love Like a Sunset (Turzi Remix)”
08 “Fences (Boombass Remix)”
09 “Lisztomania (A Fight For Love – 25 Hrs a Day Remix)”
10 “Fences (Friendly Fires Remix)”
11 “Armistice (YACHT Remix)”
12 “Girlfriend (Young Fathers Remix)”
13 “Fences (Chairlift Remix)”
14 “Rome (Neighbours with Devendra Banhart Remix)”
15 “Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective Remix – Deakin’s Jam)”

Grab the remix edition on 10/13…here’s the inspiration behind the Animal Collective remix:

This spring i was in Panama with Brian. We were cramped into a van on a bumpy, winding central american road going a little too fast. Feeling a little edgy, I put on my headphones and listened to United and Alphabetical back to back. I watched passing fruit stands, a sweet central american dusk and memories of the massive schools of jelly fish, snapper, and trevally; the few dolphin and even the few bluefin tuna (too few) that brian and i had just had the joy of diving with the blend of all of these things put me at ease.

Phoenix has been a staple for all four of us since Dave and Noah brought home United from the record store they used to work at. One of the records that would get us through some of those long cross country tour drives, we’ve listened to phoenix’s jams many many times. We were all totally psyched to get asked to do this and it was super fun to work on it.

All the best to those dudes