Monthly Archives: January 2012

Jan 26 2012
2 Comments
Best New Music

THE SECOND COMING

TWENTY CENTURIES OF STONY SLEEP – STORMY NIGHT

This Calgarian band pulled their name from William Butler Yeats’s poem The Second Coming, and considering the music, that might make perfect sense. TCOSS feels like the second coming of nineties indie rock. Listening to their new album Circuit Crooks, you can imagine these guys spending late nights listening to Surfer Rosa, Slanted and Enchanted, and The Lonesome Crowded West. On Stormy Night, they take those influences and up the tempo with great results. TCOSS take lyrics about all the thoughts that leave you restless at night, and turn it into a high energy rock song that will induce uncontrollable air drumming (thanks to the skills of Lisa Hunte, and now Joel Briggs). The forward momentum of the track is really captured when Graham Daniel’s vocals are joined by Alexi Davis for the ultimate line “It fills your body with retribution“, and that excellent guitar riff follows. Like Wintersleep’s Oblivion, it reminds you how much you miss good ol’ fashioned alt rock music. Surely some revelation is at hand – yes, that I have another great song to put alongside Chad VanGaalen and Tegan and Sara in my best of Calgary list.

Check them out on their site, or listen on iTunes.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Jan 24 2012
4 Comments
Best New Music

ALBINIISM

CLOUD NOTHINGS – WASTED DAYS

Nirvana’s In Utero played soundtrack to my teenage rebellion. My first cigarette, girlfriend, and drunken stupor were all watched over by Cobain’s bitter sarcasm and unbridled fury. That dirty unpolished alternative holds a special place in my heart. Hell, I named this site I’m Very Ape in tribute to the album. It was what Steve Albini brought out in the trio, what he brings out in anyone he works with – a raw and aggressive sound. Just take a look at that picture up there, look at those nerdy looking kids, and then listen to the song. Albini can get it out of anyone! This eight-plus minute grunge throwback is not only excellent, it brings balls back in music. It’s exactly what this synth-saturated music scene needs. Some loud guitars, some screaming, some anger. Teenage angst pays off well, and I’m not yet bored or old.

Tagged , , , ,
Jan 21 2012
Leave a comment
Best New Music

BOMBAY BEACH CLUB

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – LIGHTS OUT, WORDS GONE

Like a lot of people out there, I would rather be sitting on a white sand beach staring endlessly into baby blue water than stuck in downtown traffic in -30 degree weather as the sun decides to retire at 4 PM. So sometimes I would prefer my music to take me to those relaxed summer feelings over the cold and dark environments I couldn’t escape if I wanted to. I enjoy closing my eyes and feeling the warmth of songs like Is This Love, Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac), Everywhere (Bran Van), and yes, even Pure Shores. With songs like these, who needs vitamin D? Hell, who needs Prozac? The past week this song has taken the cake in my breezy summer song collection. The bass line comes in hearty and happy, much like Fleetwood’s Everywhere, and a little splash of island-worthy electric guitar mixes perfectly with Lucy Rose’s relaxing backing vocals. These guys build perfect pop songs. And this tropical-paradise-image-inducing gem will drift me merrily through winter.

Tagged , ,
Jan 17 2012
2 Comments
Best New Music

SMOKE RING FOR MY RELAXATION

KURT VILE – BABY’S ARMS

I have to give a shout out to Said the Gramophone. The site has shared some incredible music. Today I found this Kurt Vile song on their Best Songs of 2011 list. I had heard Kurt Vile on Pitchfork, but wasn’t really sold. But this song… something about it. I remember listening to a song called Muudo Hormo (on Matt Berninger’s iTunes Celebrity Playlist), and being so relaxed by it’s hypnotic quality. I get the same feeling from Baby’s Arms. The repetitive finger picking is melancholy but comforting, and it’s quick pace keeps it from being too much of a bummer. There is something peaceful to it. It is music to close your eyes to.

Jan 16 2012
2 Comments
Best New Music

A WINNING FORMULA

LANA DEL REY – BORN TO DIE

Lana is bringing pop R&B back, like good ol’ J.T. did a few years back. In fact, Lana Del Rey’s recent songs Blue Jeans and Born to Die take a lot from the elements of Justin Timberlake’s not-for-the-dancefloor tracks like Cry Me a River and What Goes Around Comes Around. The mix of strings, soul, and a hip hop culture influence. It’s not a bad formula. Although Lana’s formula is somewhat unique, even if it is repetitive. Sad, pouty lyrics + a touch of americana (this time provided by Julee Cruise-esque echoing guitar) + and orchestra backing = hit pop song. Truth is though, it is unique enough that she can get away with an entire album of it. Furthermore, it makes for well-structured and entertaining music. Nobody complained when Come On Feel the Illinoise featured 22 songs that could have been represented by 10. Why? Because it sounded good.

Tagged , ,
Jan 16 2012
Leave a comment
Hidden Gems

THE SPAWN OF SUFJAN

THE WELCOME WAGON – I AM A STRANGER

Let’s take it back. Way back. Back to the days when nobody had even heard of an iPad. I’m talking 2008 y’all. When supposedly a band named The Welcome Wagon dropped their debut album – Welcome to The Welcome Wagon. I didn’t know that then, but I know it now. Why? Because I ordered two Sufjan Stevens T-Shirts from the Asthmatic Kitty website, and when I received them I got a little sampler CD to try out (thanks guys). This song stood out for me. It is quite obvious that these guys were produced by Sufjan – the song starts with a banjo, then introduces soft male vocals, backing female choir, and some electric guitar solos. It would fit seamlessly into the Michigan or Illinois albums, and that is a good thing. It sounds epic in scale, just like a Sufjan song, the way it tumbles into the chorus of angelic voices and crashing cymbals. It is grand and cathartic, and although it may not be a sing-along song, it is definitely an experience. Oh, and it may be no surprise considering the producer, but that dude is a minister!

Tagged , ,
Jan 12 2012
1 Comment
Best New Music

ZOLA GENIUS!!

ZOLA JESUS – IN YOUR NATURE (DAVID LYNCH REMIX)

My girlfriend recently discovered that David Lynch’s Twin Peaks is now on Netflix. That means my home is filled with either early nineties melodramatic soap opera music, or early nineties eerie film noir music. And then I found this little gem of a song remixed by the very same Mr. Lynch, and it sounds like an early nineties slow burning radio single. It seems at the beginning of 2012, the early nineties has taken over my ears. To be perfectly honest, it’s refreshing. There is something about reducing a bombastic, Florence + the Machine-esque, grand drums and synth track, and turning it into something much more intimate and approachable that’s appealing. David Lynch slows the down the drums, gives just a slight sound of a guitar rumbling, and let’s Nika Danilov’s melody-enriched voice speak for itself.