From the monthly archives:
Michegan’s Tally Hall feature colour coordinated members and create a subtle blend of 1960s pop harmonies mixed amongst more barnstorming garage rock sensibilities.
Michael Jackson / Beat It
I loved Michael Jackson in my childhood. I remember when I bought Thriller and Dangerous on cassette. Now I go back and I can’t resist his grooves. Also, it’s tough to match that Van Halen solo.
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A dark-edged trio hailing from London, White Lies take sonic cues from the likes of Joy Division, the Teardrop Explodes, and Echo and The Bunnymen. Indeed, the three musicians are so committed to the UK’s post-punk scene that they signed with Fiction Records, a Polydor imprint best known for its ’80s releases by the Cure and the Associates.
The Beatles / 1962-1966 and 1967–1970
Okaaaay, so they’re just Beatles compilations, but they represent my earliest memories of enjoying music. From the time I was very young, these albums were constantly sat in their cassette cases in the glovebox of my family car. So whenever we went anywhere, they were on the stereo. And I guess they may have been the first step in musical life.
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Since forming in 2006, London-based, New Zealand band Cut Off Your Hands have created a industry buzz based around their proto-punk indie rock sound.
No Age / Brain Burner
They kind of remind me of a noisier, less geeky Descendents. This song is a nice, melodic, catchy tune.
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In the summer of 2005 Montreal band Plants & Animals split their time between a makeshift home studio and the Treatment Room recording what would later become their album Parc Avenue [out on Pod through Inertia], an exemplary album full of big choruses and biting lyrics.
Yeasayer / 2080
Yeasayer are a bunch of weirdos from Brooklyn who made one of my favourite records of the past year, and 2080 is the big hook. It’s got this twisted Graceland-Talking Heads thing going on, but in their own very contemporary way. Apocalyptic tribal good times.
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With the acclaim of her debut album, Miss Halfway, and a spot on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack, Anya Marina has recently abandoned a successful DJ career to focus on her own music. Her latest album is called Slow and Steady Seduction: Phase II.
Lissy Trullie / Self-Taught Learner
I can’t get enough of Lissy’s EP. I just finished a tour with her and The Virgins and it’s such a treat to actually want to hang out and listen to your touring partners’ sets after you play. Both bands were so fresh every night. Lissy’s got this androgynous vibe going where you swear she was plucked out of Factory-era New York City. She looks like a Warhol muse and could’ve easily fit on a bill with The Velvets and The Ramones or Patti Smith at CBGB’s in the late 70s. You expect this song to explode, but it stays pretty restrained. Sometimes that’s such a great thing. And this time, it works.
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The Christmas Lights is the project of Kenny Tompkins, formerly of The Trend and The Royal Army. In 2007, The Christmas Lights released a split with Baltimore-based duo Emil entitled 10 Paces. The recent full-length debut, Walk Like A Human, is a mix of ambiance, harsh distortion, three-part harmony vocals, and odd-yet dance-friendly time signatures. It was written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Kenny Tompkins at the RARC in Frostburg, Maryland.
Cotton Jones Basket Ride / Chewing Gum
I love this band. I am lucky to have known them for many years, and have accumulated a stack of records by Mike Nau that are all fantastic. This song has such a dark groove, it pulls me in every time. It makes me feel the same way I felt when I first heard The Doors as a kid. Dangerous, but in a strangely exciting way.
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Sea Wolf is the project name of singer-songwriter, Alex Church, a Californian native who takes his lyrical inspiration from local authors like John Steinbeck and Jack London.
Leonard Cohen / Suzanne
One of my favorite songs of all time on one of my favorite albums of all time. This song, and others of his during that era, were a huge influence on me lyrically and instrumentally. I love the descriptiveness and feeling of the language, the words he chooses, and the sentiment and mystery behind the song. It never gets old to me.
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Great Northern (Solon Bixler, Rachel Stolte) released their atmospheric and melodic debut album, Trading Twilight For Daylight in 2007. Their new album, Remind Me Where the Light Is, is the work of a more seasoned group, one that has been on the road for months, missed home, seen the world, and returned, not entirely prepared to sit still and write. The results being upbeat, guitar-driven songs, yet with the familiar layered vocals and sweeping, panoramic sound.
Simon and Garfunkel / Bridge Over Troubled Water
It makes us cry every time.
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With their debut album, Keep Color, Kansas City-based quintet The Republic Tigers crafted an epic yet timeless and intimate album, weaving future folk, euphoric psychedelia, and exuberant symphonic pop with intricately crafted electronic textures and uncommon emotional depth.
The Menahan Street Band / The Contender
Great song, great groove going on with the drums and guitar. The horn section is really well arranged. It reminds me of some of my favorite arrangements by Ennio Morriconne and Charles Mingus, only with a really good funk and r&b groove to it. It makes me wish I could dance.
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Tom Hespe, Xavier Naughton, Jai Pyne and Ivan Lisyak are Sydney band, The Paper Scissors. They play rock music, taking particular notes from funk, hip hop production, Bowie, and Talking Heads. They sometimes pay homage to folk stylings, country music and Film Soundtracks, dabbling in gigabytes worth of music.
Broken Social Scene / 7/4 (shoreline)
This tune blows me away every time. Broken Social Scene really personify an amazing mix of artfulness and pop genius, being able to do a tune in an obscure time signature (7/4) complete with hooks and a beat that perfectly soundtracks highway driving. Killer! The way Kevin Drew and guest Feist sing together is beautiful — you can tell they were singing it at maximum lung volume with a tenacity not found in many vocalists.
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