Before Yeti Lane, there was Cyann and Ben. The four-piece were signed to the legendary Gooom Disques label alongside M83 and between 2004 and 2006 released three albums of fantastic, folk-inflected space-rock that, despite the proselytising of Pitchfork, went woefully under appreciated. Then, just as they started work on album number four, Cyann quit the band, forcing Ben (vocals, guitar, synths), along with LoAc (vocals, guitar, synths) and Charlie (drums, percussion, synths), to make a fresh start as Yeti Lane. The unusual name was chosen to echo releases by both Amon Düül II and The Beatles, which also rather conveniently sums up their new sound.
Pavement / The Hexx A song on their final album, Terror Twilight. I really appreciate the guitar parts and how it repeats in the song. It’s so insistent, until it becomes a maelstrom that carries away the listener. Even the drums accentuate those parts. This is one of the best Pavement songs for me.
Boston band Laminated Cat started as a five piece outfit that played 30 minute versions of Spiders in their sweltering barn attic. With time, they morphed into the twee/post-punk/sadsack/rock’n'roll/avant garde powerhouse they are today.
Pavement / Transport is Arranged Like anyone that enjoys music, I adore Pavement. This song, off Brighten the Corners, is a neat synopsis of nearly every reason why. I love the bubblegum melody, the ambiguous keyboard-flute chords, and the wordplay. Stephen Malkmus’ lyrics always manage to somehow sound deep and clever, and like he’s making them up as he goes along. But most of all, I love the middle section, where the guitars weave in and out of each other weirdly for a while before ascending to the full cock-rockin’ climax.
ME award-winner Jamie Treays, aka Jamie T, is a singer/songwriter from Wimbledon in South London, whose music incorporates elements of rap, reggae, indie and acoustic genres.
Them / Baby Please Don’t Go I was in a band called The Treasons when I was younger and we always tried to cover it and we made a shambles of it. The playing on this record kicks the shit out of everything: the bass thumps you along, then you get that guitar line and Van the Man slams in and it’s all over. I think if I ever wanted to learn how to play something well, it would be the lead guitar line on this track. It’s gonna take years but I will never stop trying.
Australian band Dappled Cities have a new album about to drop, Wall Of Zounds, and a national tour underway which will see will play live favourites from the AMP nominated Granddance (2006) album and indie cult-classic A Smile (2004).
Mastodon / Oblivion I really like the new Mastodon record, Crack the Skye. This song is a real shout-out to where they are heading. It is pretty metal but also — disturbingly — 70s prog. Totally progarific.
The project of singer-songwriter Peter Walker, LA quartet Eulogies mix mellow pop songs with alt-country touches, as reflected on their full-length debut album, Here Anonymous.
My Morning Jacket / It Beats 4U This album – Z – and song in particular was a big influence for some of our rhythmic approaches on Here Anonymous. I’ve loved this band for a long time, and respect how they’ve grown over the years.
Brooklyn’s The Jaguar Club have been playing around the city for a couple of years and have just finished up their debut album, which they recorded with Kevin McMahon (The Walkmen, Die Die Die, Frightened Rabbit) at Marcata Recordings. Their debut is full of perfectly crafted New Wave pop songs, with Will Popadic’s vocals soaring above it all.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Picking one Neil Young song to talk about is an impossible task for me. This song is a great one to pull out when people complain that Neil is all about one note solos that last ten minutes. I also love the solos, and there are plenty of those later on this album, but the title track is a great little three minute country rock song. Everyone can relate to a little homesickness.
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla (whose other production credits include The Decemberists and Tegan & Sara), Telekinesis’ debut album, Telekinesis!, is full of big-hearted songs, written quickly and from the gut. Consisting solely of pop genius Michael Benjamin Lerner (drums, guitar & vocals), Telekinesis is 2009’s most prodigous indie-pop newcomer.
Brian Eno / Cindy Tells Me Really, everything off of Here Come The Warm Jets is pretty incredible, but this song is a personal favorite. I seriously love how the crazy shrill jet sound comes in and how it is so incredibly loud. Like, if you are wearing earphones, it’s physically painful! It’s just amazing, and only Eno can pull it off.
Psychedelic yet direct, raging but tuneful, All the Saints’ debut LP Fire On Corridor X bulldozes preconceptions at volume. Named after a section of the I-22 highway connecting the trio’s native Alabama to Mississippi, the cryptic title track is a hypnotic mind-meld of their primary influences, welding a Loop-sized space-groove to The Gun Club’s lyrical bite.
The Wipers / Youth of America Greg Sage is the man! The use of open space on this track is beautiful. A ten and a half minute punk song that gets put through the Sage psychedelic blender. This the cover of the song by The Humanoids.
My Secret Playlist is a music discovery website and weekly email publication. We invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. These are their words on the music that inspires them.
