I'm out of practice with album reviews. I tried to cycle through "Sympathy", the upcoming album from Chicago band Scattered Trees, and get a quick paragraph or two out. Instead, I've played this album about six times so far. That's not to say it's changed my life or anything; in the first place, the music's rather unobtrusive, like Mat Kearney or whoever you order a tall latte to these days. But songs like "Four Days Straight" and "Five Minutes" snuck up on me. Apparently, the songs were written while the lead singer was mourning the death of his father. And while the album isn't a textbook concept album, the nine songs work as a collection, exploring the mourning landscapes, whether for a loved one or the love once shared. The cloudy-day music on "Sympathy" goes well with April showers...
"Sympathy" will be available for purchase in early April...
The first notice I received was for Alcohol Faith Mission; maybe it was the hurdy-gurdy sound, maybe the streetcorner choir vibe... maybe this bruised heart of mine, but I'm really digging this. All my friends that dig Mumford and Sons (or Devotchka) should give these guys a listen...
Another band making the trip to Austin is IZABO, from Tel Aviv. They like their dance rock with a bit of Middle Eastern flair. They also like making catchy, quirky videos: the press release was touting two follow-ups to "On My Way", a video featuring the band and 17 iPhones. (By the way, how many hits does a video need to be declared 'viral'?)
Yeah, I dig this one best, but the other ones are worth hunting down too. Besides home, it looks like they made their mark in the French indie scene; maybe they'll get a foothold in this hemisphere this Spring...
Seems we're getting noisier as we make our way through the mail; if you love the fuzzbox, check out James Pants. He's starting to beat the drums about his album, coming in April. You can pick up an MP3 at Gorilla vs Bear, which is a cool music blog to check out.
And here's a French chanteuce, named Emilie Simon: A success in her native France, she got an apartment in Brooklyn, and began posting performances of her latest works on the Internet. So if you've ever wanted to see a girl that looks like Zooey Deschanel, sings like Kate Bush, and wears what looks like a homemade Nintendo Powerglove, your dreams have come true:
This performance of 'Rainbow' is a little different that what's going to be on the new album, out in April. You can grab the MP3 here, and whet your appetite...
Looks like I'm reviewing the Scattered Trees Symphony album tomorrow; check in then...
Today's Finds: Wolfgang Gartner - "Illmerica" video (possibly NSFW) If you took ecstasy and looked through the peephole of a tissue box diorama assignment made for Howard Zinn's American history class. And because it's about the history of America, there's A LOT of blood.
DATAROCK is releasing "Catcher in the Rye" as 'the most extravagant single in history" - they're throwing the single on an EP on a USB drive, along with their previous two albums, 20 music videos, 1500 concert photos, a concert film, and two more albums worth of remixes and b-sides... all inside a toy that looks like a blinged-out Kool-Aid Man.
You should be able to upload the MP3 of "Catcher in the Rye" here...
The Joseph Gomoll Foundation, a charity working for epilespy research, has started a series of music compilations called "Joey's Songs," and several singer-songwriters has picked up their guitars for the cause. The first two collections of 16 tracks (one for all-ages, and one for kids) are out this week, and include unreleased songs from Del Amitri, Tracy Bonham, Cowboy Junkies, Ed Harcourt, plus performances by Neko Case and the Crash Test Dummies. And they've lined up plenty of artists (from bands like New Pornographers, Concrete Blonde, Iron and Wine, etc...) for volumes to come... Check out Joeyssong.org to pick up an album or find out more about the cause...
CREEP has a gothic-tinged dance sound that... okay, pardon the tangent, but I know there's a nametag for this particular sub-genre. However, any attempt to suggest a nametag gets me the riot act from an avowed Goth who refuses to offer any etymology for any bands that can be ascribed as Goth, which is really frustrating for someone who doesn't want to lump together Nick Cave, Alien Sex Fiend, and Evanescence. let's just listen to the music...
If you like wearing black latex to the club, definitely consider CREEP for your ears.
She is an operatic soprano and multi-instrumentalist who's played for the Pope. He is a British psychedelic rock band frontman who's trashed the SXSW stages. Together, they are Cat's Eyes, purveyor of Magnetic Fields/Divine Comedy style of romantic pop songs... and they just performed their first gig in December at the Vatican. Word.
Their debut album comes out in May...
And for the straight-up rockers, a new festival tour has joined the scene. The Avalanche Tour lineup for 2011 features StoneSour, Theory of a Deadman, Skillet, Halestorm,and Art of Dying, and they're touring North America this spring. The tour dates have just been annouced (no Kentucky or Cincy shows yet, so I'm out of luck), but you can check their website for details, tickets are on sale the first week of February...
if you're reading this, you must be bored. that's okay; that's why i started this thing... so, i used to be an entertainment writer - with OFF! magazine, Caffe!ne Magazine, and other exclamation-worthy periodicals that seemed to have disappeared off the face of the virtual world. my inheritence from this former life is an e-mail address that still gets stuffed daily with press releases. one day, i decided to see if i was getting anything interesting in the mail. i've decided to share.
