Very little is known about the archduke’s long-anticipated third album, besides apparently false reports that the Scottish band has worked African influences into their sound. They’ve been in and out of the studio for almost a year now, but they have been busy producing the third, and best, Cribs album (just Alex), and with side project bands such as Correcto and The Royal We.
As of a few days ago, Alex Kapranos and the gang have unleashed a glimpse of the new album with “Lucid Dreams,” which is available for your listening pleasure in the music section of their homepage.
In completely unrelated news, I’ve discovered some really enjoyable videos of New Order in 1984 performing songs live in their studio. Click on the (more…) link to enjoy!
Has anyone been feeling a particular lack of sweet summer tunes this season? Quite a letdown after I spent months last year with Miracle Fortress‘ “Five Roses” on repeat, and 2006 was a tie with Phoenix’s “It’s Never Been Like That” and “Puzzles Like You” by Mojave 3. Maybe it’s just me living in relative isolation from pop music and hipster culture, but I’m not feeling any particular surge of interest toward one artist.
Since it’s not looking like I’m going to find my summer musical blockbuster analogous to The Dark Knight, I’ve taken to sampling artists fervently and settling quickly one a decent song or two. It’s not the love affair I would like, but it’s a love-’em-and-leave-’em world sometimes. Here’s a few decent tracks:
She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
I hemmed and hawed about this track back when it was available as a live video, and I finally decided I like it. You got me, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Well, M. Ward had me at End of Amnesia….
I find this album is a bit hollow and fluffy (as Nigel would say from So You Think You Can Dance, “like cotton candy: sweet, but no substance”), but this track is slick. Yes, I quoted SYTYCD. And yes, I just used the acronym. Wanna fight?
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Buriedfed
Now, this CD with the extended moniker holds some potential for me. Soulful, dense, unique, lovely. Check his myspace.
2008 is looking like it’s going to be another great year in music, especially for fans of Death Cab for Cutie…
This month, Death Cab for Cutie’s guitarist and producer Chris Walla will be releasing his first solo LP on Barsuk Records. Some die hard Death Cab fans may remember some solo songs featured on cassette and others under Martin Youth Auxiliary, but Field Manual marks his first “official” release of sorts.
In May, Death Cab for Cutie will release their 6th studio album. The record sounds like it’s going to be one of my favourite Death Cab albums, based on all the news and interviews about it. The words loud and weird are being thrown around. Ben Gibbard spent time at the “Big Sur” cabin writing songs for the new album, where author Jack Kerouac spent time to wind down, so it should make for an interesting listen with the possible return of the “Barsuk Mens Choir”?
Also in ‘08, we have…
Ben Gibbard and Feist collaborating for a song for the Red Hot and Indie compilation
Ben Gibbard acting in Brief Interview with Hideous Men, written and directed by The Office’s John Krasinski.
Ben Gibbard guesting on the new Nada Surf album Let Go.
A possible Postal Service album late this year, but I’m going to guess next year.
A friend and I were contemplating the other day that indie rockster snobs perpetuate their snobbery by sorting music into categories and sub-categories of genres. A demonstrative conversation:
“Their recent album feels like a dream-pop reverie, fused with elements of shoegaze, slowcore, and noise-rock.”
“On the contrary! To me, it rings more of a post-grunge, post-punk milieu, with nuances of math-rock and twee.”
It’s enough to make your head spin, particularly if you’re more about actually listening to the music and less about making other people think you’re a musical elitist. But, it’s generally good to expand your vocab and be aware of your listening styles. That’s why I’m going to briefly introduce two genres near to my heart, give some recent/upcoming examples, and break down the barriers of pretension. If you don’t know the terms, you’ll learn something. If already know, you can squabble about my interpretation.
Lo-Fi: Literally, low-fidelity (or lower quality) recordings. Some songs are lo-fi because of lack of proper equipment, while many are made this way for the raw, edgy effect. Often, lo-fi musicians favour simple arrangements of instrumentation, but there are branches which lean more toward the wall-of-sound (see next definition). Basically, it’s a hodge-podge genre. A few artists I would consider lo-fi are Guided by Voices, The Mountain Goats, The Apples in Stereo, and the one I want to focus on – The Magnetic Fields.
The brainchild of Stephin Merritt, the MagFields are listed under “Indie Pop”, “Twee”, “Synth pop”, and a bunch of others, but since I’m writing this, I’m going to call it Lo-Fi. Using a variety of different vocalists (often Merritt’s bass, but also featuring female vocalists Susan Anway or Claudia Gonson, and many other guests), they delve in different aspects of life and comment with witty lightheartedness or dark satire. Power ballads, egocentric ponderings, silly melodies, they do it all. If you haven’t listened to the album 69 Love Songs and are feeling ambitious, give it a go. It’s a bit overwhelming (the album name is literal) but it’s up there on my list of all-time favourites. They’re releasing a new album – Distortion – in January, and I’m pretty psyched. Here’s an early leak from the disk, as well as an older gem.
Shoegaze: Distorted and fuzzy alternative rock, circa mid ‘80s to mid ‘90s. A sub-genre of Lo-Fi, it’s rumoured that shoegaze owes its name to the guitarists who stared intently at their guitar pedals near their feet while performing. Think whispered or unclear vocals and dreamy melodies. A few trailblazers in this “scene that celebrates itself” are The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cocteau Twins, and My Bloody Valentine (who are REUNITING next year, ZOMG!). More recent examples include The Radio Dept., Asobi Seksu, and my next feature – Young Galaxy.
This duo released their self-titled album at the beginning of the year. A member of the Arts & Crafts family, Young Galaxy represents a different side of the record label; instead of the traditional upbeat indie pop, they host mysterious lyrics, soft harmonies, and an overall dreamy feel. Right up my alley. Here’s the video for “Outside the City”.
Disclaimer – most of the information in this post was my opinion, not set fact. Please feel free to disagree with what categories I put bands into, or even with the fact that I categorized at all. Most bands fall into a bazillion genres anyway, and I couldn’t pick a favourite genre if I tried. Also, I left the picture grainy on purpose. It’s lo-fi too! Clever? Or too lazy to fix? Only I will know for sure.
The Go! Team (Website / MySpace), one of the most original groups making noise these days, will be releasing the follow-up to their critically aclaimed debut Thunder, Lightning, Strike. Still no title, but it’s going to be out on September 3 in the UK (no North American label yet, but it won’t take long). The first single is “Grip Like a Vice”, set to be released on July 2. Some other songs to be included on the album are ”Doing It Right” (set to be the second single), “The Key to the City”, and “Titanic Vandalism”. Check out after the (more…) link for some music videos from the first album.
Maya Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A. will be releasing her second album Kala on August 21. The London-born, Sri Lanka-raised rapper will be working with the likes of Diplo, Timbaland, and Three 6 Mafia on the new record.
The video for the unofficial first single from the album was filmed in Jamaica and financed by M.I.A. personally. Enjoi this video for “Bird Flu”. There’s also some good videos from the first album after the (more…) link.
Yes yes! The Long Blondes (Website / Myspace) have announced a North American tour! What do I say to that? About freakin’ time. They will be in Toronto on June 11, definitely a show not to be missed.
I leave you with a clip from this 60’s pop inspired band. It will give you a little taste of what to expect at the concert.
Who knew listening to complicated love problems of young female teenagers could be so damn entertaining?
The Cribs‘ (Website / MySpace) third album Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever will be released on May 21. The Alex Kopranos (of Franz Ferdinand) produced album will be preceded by the single “Men’s Needs”, the video for which can be seen below. The song definitely lives up to some of their best singles like “You’re Gonna Lose Us” and “You Were Always the One”. They’re on their North American tour supporting the album right now so I can’t wait to check them out next Saturday in Toronto.
I’ve also included their best videos after the (more…) link. Enjoi!
I realize the title of this post is exactly the same as my previous post, except for the fact that I now present to you Mando Diao (Website / Myspace) instead of We Are The Take. I was debating with myself whether or not the title of this post deserved something clever and unique, to compliment the witty-ness of Mando Diao’s music. Witty-ness? Can I even say that? Who cares, it’s my post! When debating this question, I came to the conclusion that I don’t like Mando Diao more than I like We Are The Take. Rather I admire them both on the same musically ear soothing level (if that’s even possible). Although one could argue their styles are completely different, but alas I digress.
If you’re looking for some new summer tunes to get strapped up into your I-pod (or whichever hand held musical device you prefer, or possibly even a compact disc? *crowd whispers*) then I suggest you take a listen to Mando Diao. If you haven’t even heard of them, that’s even better. Start off with their older stuff and move on to their newly released album, Ode to Ochrasy. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. And if you are, let’s take it to the schoolyard chump!
Post-punk was one of the most creative periods in music history, and lucky for us it still hasn’t ended. But being that it was so creative, there were so many styles of post-punk; it could be funk/r&b (with a sax to boot), it could be electronica, it could be absolutely tuneless, and/or it could be personal and harrowing. And most forms came with my favourite ingredient: angular riffs. There is no doubt in my mind that the premier champions of the later form were Joy Division. And with everyone going ga ga over everything post-punk in the new millenium since The Strokes and The Rapture made it cool again, there are three bands which truly perfected the sound which Joy Division started in Manchester so many years ago. Those bands are The Organ, The Stills, and Interpol. I just love this selection because not only do I think it’s accurate, but also two of the bands are Canadian. The Organ broke up earlier this year, The Stills second album showed a departure from the sound which I said they had perfected, but Interpol is still kicking.
Although very few of the details have been confirmed, Interpol (Website / MySpace) will be releasing their third album Moderation on June 5. There is no touring scheduled yet, except for an appearance at Coachella, and we don’t know much else. But this is exciting news, and Ca Va Cool will keep updating as new information is revealed.
So I don’t have any music or videos to post from the new album, but if you want to learn/recap why Interpol is so great, click on the (more…) link to see all of Interpol’s six singles from first to last. Enjoi!
