Four Tet

Whether Four Tet is giving new meaning to the word remix or reinventing the standard measures of an intro, Kieran Hebden is always up to good. Producing heavy tunes since 1990, Hebden’s discretionary use of drum lines and dusty jazz samples has helped in establishing a subtlety consistent style that chases your train of thought and let your ears do all the thinking… yet as well as all of that plays out–notwithstanding the numerous collaborations and side/secret projects throughout the past decade–Kieran hasn’t released a full-length album “on his own” since 2005, two years after Rounds jumped on the decks and pretty much set the standard for gold, instantly making him a gateway artist for anyone who was just beginning to explore the whole electronic/experimental genre… and now, nearly five years later, it is as though he’s never left.

I’m always intrigued by a song with little to no words and I couldn’t be more serious in saying that Four Tet never fails to produce songs of that said nature. I should add, they’re entirely listenable. There Is Love In You is forty-seven minutes of seamless thinking. The album is one of his most focused yet and with a title like that, you can bet your ass it plays as smooth as those five words would on a Hallmark card. Surely it is not for everyone, but be it textured, atmospheric or stealthy mathematical… it never reaches a point of becoming too much of one thing–and that my friend, is a good thing. Each track fades in with a variety of harmonic samples that pull apart your senses while simultaneously forgetting to round themselves out. Incredible background music, especially on Sundays. String instruments pan from left to right over a steady and unchanging bass line. It’s the perfect formula for relaxation if you ask me. In fact, I’m not sure why this hasn’t been considered for hypnosis. Now do as I say and listen.

MP3 Four Tet – Angel Echoes
MP3 Four Tet – She Just Likes To Fight

Chew Lips

I considered waiting a few days or so before posting again, but this really couldn’t wait and I figured it’d be a good way to kick-off your weekend–or year, my dearly beloved procrastinator. Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware of the blogosphere and its ongoing love affair with electronic bands (especially those led by a female vocalist), but let’s be honest… they make a really cute couple.

Two words come to mind when I think of Chew Lips: Listen! and Now! Well, OK. More like, “Chew-What?” but that’s besides the point. We can’t all match wits with Dr. Funke’s 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution now can we? After releasing two buzz singles on a boutique label (Solo and Salt Air via Kitsuné Records), the London-based trio teamed up with Bat For Lashes collaborator, David Kosten and threw all caution to the wind… in the form of spandex leggings and floor-filling basslines.

Their debut album Unicorn is a bullet-proof vinyl showcasing youth and a warrant to stay relevant. While they carry a style that seems to have themed all of 2009 and then some, the band fearlessly composed a record that makes me sheepishly reminiscent and yet genuinely anxious to hear more. Track after track (repeatedly might I add) lion-hearted vocalist, Tigs, refuted any and all of my preconceptions. Her soulful croon passes glances at Fever Ray and Karen O, while Will and James geek-out on scattered ping-pong beats and restless synths. It all makes good for a damned party if not an incredibly fast drive home… but the band isn’t all happy-go-lucky on merry-go-rounds. Numbers like Too Much Talking and Piano Song separate them from the likes of La Roux, revealing a much more sensitive side of the group that confesses just how serious they are.

MP3 Chew Lips – Play Together
MP3 Chew Lips – Toro

Video: of Montreal w/ Susan Sarandon – "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" (Live @ Highland Ballroom)

I’ll admit the spanking man-pigs thing was a little too weird, even for of Montreal, but this video from the same concert completely makes up for it. The band is playing “A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger”, one of my favorite tracks from Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, and Susan Sarandon, apparently the world’s hippest grandma, is back on stage, this time dancing with mimes and throwing streamers at the crowd while the band gives an energetic performance of the indie pop gem about being on the verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway. It’s totally surreal and amazing. This looks like the funnest show ever.

MP3 of Montreal – A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger

Solange Knowles duet with Kevin on “I Want You Back” is pretty great also.

The Irrepressibles

There is something about marvelously dramatic orchestration and theatrical takes on very straight-forward stories that just gets me. If there is anything the The Irrepressibles achieve almost effortlessly, it is that of removing me from myself and hurling me into a place of complete vulnerability… where in a swirl of painted faces and big moves, I begin to feel a wide-range of griping emotions for no reason other than the genuine influence of sound and my gullible ears.

Their debut album Mirror Mirror reflects a smokey image of Antony and the Johnsons, but amuses the senses with thrice as much fervor. The instrumentation builds and bends at what seems to be its own will, whilst Jamie Dermont drowns ever-victorious string arrangements in drunken falsettos. My empathetic nature towards the protagonist has become a victim of Jamie’s creativity and bold interpretations of triumph. Although the record is truly eloquent, it may not be one you could simply listen to. Mirror Mirror, I insist, is a memo for pure escapism… allowing its listeners to drift into an another world and dwell in the differences. My excitement for theater and really, just all things beautiful has me completely wooed by the sensationalism of The Irrepressibles.

MP3 The Irrepressibles – My Witness
MP3 The Irrepressibles – In This Shirt

iPad has unfortunate name, good music taste

Perhaps one of the most anticipated devices of all time (rumors of an Apple tablet device first started circulating around 2003), the newly announced Apple iPad is certainly a game-changing, revolutionary device albeit one with an unfortunate name (iTampon jokes abound on twitter). Will it be the same magnitude of a cultural phenomenon that the iPhone or iPod were is yet to be seen, but what’s certain now is that this thing looks pretty frickin’ sweet and the price is right.

One of the things I’m most interested in during Apple product releases is the music they use in their marketing content. I spotted Bon Iver and Arcade Fire among the classic rock / oldies selections on Steve Job’s iPad that was used during the Keynote, and in Apple’s promotional galleries / videos you’ll notice the iPad is playing a wealth of great music (including my #1 and #2 albums of 2009). Here’s some of the albums filling up Apple’s iPad:

Spoon – Transference
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Grizzly Bear – Vecktimest
Rogue Wave – Permalight (not released till 03/02)
The Decemberists – Hazards of Love
Alicia Keys – The Element of Freedom
Ben Kweller – Changing Horses
La Roux – La Roux
Howling Bells – Radio Wars
Muse – The Resistance
Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts
Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)

We will have to wait who they choose to soundtrack the inevitable iPad commercials (if I had a guess it would be La Roux, since all the screenshots show her album “now playing”), but it’s obvious those folks at Apple haven’t lost their touch for picking out great tunes till fill their products. Here’s some MP3 samples from a few of the above albums.

MP3 Phoenix – Lisztomania
MP3 Spoon – Written In Reverse
MP3 La Roux – Bulletproof
MP3 Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
MP3 Rogue Wave – Good Morning
MP3 Wilco – Wilco (The Song)
MP3 Howling Bells – Into The Chaos

If you’re looking for hands-on pictures / video of the Apple iPad, check Gizmodo / Engadget.

Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening

Ever since I saw Aziz Ansari introduce Tapes n’ Tapes at the 2006 Pitchfork Festival (a clip that was which was later used into the hilarious web video, Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru), I’ve been a huge fan of the comedian. Lately he’s been killing it on a weekly basis as Tom Haverford on Parks and Recreation and has done small (but hilarious) parts in movies like Funny People, Observe and Report, and I Love You, Man. He also had an amazing sketch show on MTV called Human Giant which I wrote about in detail here. Aziz’s true calling though is stand-up comedy and it’s sort-of hard to believe he’s gone this long without every having a tv special or album release. Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, which was released on CD and DVD last week, is Aziz at the top of his stand-up game, compiling most of the best jokes that he’s been fine-tuning over the years.

Aziz’s comedy is a mix of observational humor with the surreal, off-the-wall type comedy that made Human Giant so hilarious. His ability to set up an audience’s expectations with a story and completely take the joke to another place is fantastic and it speaks to his creativity and intelligence as a joke-writer. He loves making obscure pop culture references (how many comics do you know use a character from Mighty Ducks 2 as a punchline) and making jokes about the internet / technology. His bit about how he’s probably going to die in a car crash while looking at IMDb on his phone to see if Val Kilmer was in Willow is a perfect example.

Some of his funniest material though is about his bizarre family members like chubby cousin Harris who loves shows like Burn Notice and Las Vegas (“his senior quote is going to be ‘TNT knows drama'”) and constantly eats Cinnabon. His ties to indie rock and hip hop are also often mined for comedy whether it’s bits about Bonnaroo or stories about his encounters with M.I.A., Kanye West, and R. Kelly (“a brilliant R&B singer-slash-crazy person”). Aziz’s punchy delivery is what really sells the jokes, his enthusiasm for the material is completely infectious and his fast-paced timing keeps you laughing consistently for the full hour. He does his encore as his alter-ego, RAAAAAAANDY an uproarious parody of obnoxious Dane Cook style shock comedy. Even if you did see the special on TV, there’s a bunch of extra jokes thrown in on the DVD as well as a half-hour of jokes that didn’t make the special that Aziz performed at the UCB. Here’s a couple audio samples below.

MP3 Aziz Ansari – My Cousin Harris
MP3 Aziz Ansari  – MTV’s Next

Purchase Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening on DVD / CD.

It's One Time and It's Now

I was pretty heavy into Lavender Diamond a few years ago. I’m sure if I booted up my old computer, the play count for their The Calvary of Light EP would be in the 20-30s. The child of Becky Stark, the band just had this energy I found infectious and impossible to resist. They got some decent press, but I was flabbergasted that everyone else wasn’t fawning over them as much as I was. How can you possibly deny music this happy? The full-length Imagine Our Love made good on the promise of the EP, but then the band just kind faded away. Sure, they’ve popped up on a few tributes, and Stark guested on the Decemberists’ Hazards of Love last year, but we haven’t really seen a full-fledged outing from her in a long time. That is, until “Califunya.”

“Califunya” isn’t a new album, rather it’s a variety show that Stark has described as a “peace comedy.” While the episodes so far have been short, they contain everything I love about Stark. They are whimsical, innocent, carefree, and remind me of watching “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” when I was a kid or “Yo Gabba Gabba!” this morning. Colin Meloy has already popped up in the second episode (most of the Decemberists make up Stark’s band for the series), and the show features work by Mia Doi Todd, Miranda July, and a host of others. I don’t know how anyone can say a bad thing about such a fun little project. Check it out for yourself over at Wieden+Kennedy Entertment.

I’m also including two of my favorite Lavender Diamond songs, because you guys need to hear them. Or re-hear them if it’s been a while.

MP3 Lavender Diamond – You Broke My Heart
MP3 Lavender Diamond – Open Your Heart

Newsflashes (Hold Steady / New P's / Buffetlibre / LOST)

The Hold Steady have sadly parted ways with their keyboardist / accordionist Franz Nicolay. We will all miss his awesome mustache and vaudevillian fashion sense, and I hope the band gets someone else to play those sweet piano licks very soon. Looking forward though, on the last leg of the Stay Positive tour, the band debuted a slew of new tracks with names like “Gideon’s Conversion”, “Sharp Cross”, “(Ballad of the) Midnight Hauler”, “Separate Vacations”, “Our Whole Lives” “Heaven is Whenever”, and “Going On a Hike”. Here’s some amateur video recordings of a couple of new songs, which both sound really good.

Y2B Hold Steady – (Ballad of the) Midnight Hauler
Y2B Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever
***

Everyone’s favorite Canadian supergroup, New Pornographers just announced a new album out this year and not only are all the principles, A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar, and Neko Case on board, but they also have some rounded up some awesome guest contributors: Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Zach Condon (Beirut), and Will Sheff (Okkervil River). The album’s scheduled to drop on May 4th. Also, the album art (seen above) isn’t so baffling this time around!

***

I usually try to stay away from remixes, but considering that I quite enjoyed Buffetlibre‘s take on Patrick Wolf’s “Who Will” from last year, I was overjoyed when they sent me a new remix of one of my favorite songs of the last few year’s “Two” by The Antlers. It’s a very cool take on the song, I really like these guys style and you have to applaud their willingness to tackle songs that aren’t obviously remix-suited. Check both out below.

MP3 The Antlers – Two (Buffetlibre Remix)
MP3 Patrick Wolf – Who Will? (Buffetlibre Remix)

***

With LOST starting up again on February 2nd you can expect a lot of blogging / theorizing on what it all means. I got to give it up to The Onion for making this hilarious video ode to LOST addicts like myself and the people that have to live with them.

***

If you like newsy updates and random thoughts like this, you can track me on twitter.

Phantogram

Perhaps where The xx shys away, Phantogram shines through and it isn’t just the male-and-female portrait that pulled me into a play on comparisons. Fundamentally, the two can’t be proven much different and yet I mean that in the best way possible. After all, Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim did claim 2009 in one simplified motion. Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel however, lend a much more obvious focus on instrumentation that speaks out to the new year in a seemingly positive manner.

After performing at SXSW ’09 and opening for Zero 7, Ra Ra Riot, and Yeasayer, the duo signed with Barsuk Records and quickly returned to the studio. The renowned label is home to artists like Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley, and Mates of State… need I mention the longevity of their careers? Phantogram is set to release an LP version of their debut EP this February titled, Eyelid Movies, followed by a brief East coast tour that I can only hope will be extended and due West. The record is an inner-city formula of Electronic Hip Hop beats and Shoegaze-Pop, humbled by dreamy vocals and playground lyricism. Carter and Barthel showcase a strong sense of solitude in their small-town roots, isolating themselves in the outskirts of upstate New York to flirt with a much more organic style of recording, where it is as though this sort of… suitably brilliant music just happens.

MP3 Phantogram – Mouthful of Diamonds
MP3 Phantogram – 10,000 Claps

Video: Owen Pallett: "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" (Live at Hillside Festival)

I just heard “Lewis Takes His Shirt Off” by Owen Pallett (the artist formerly known as Final Fantasy) for the first time today and it’s already made leaps and bounds up the list of my favorite tracks of the year. Some very helpful tweeters sent me a link of Owen playing the song in the rain at the Hillside Festival last summer in Guelph, ON. It’s filmed in HD with four cameras so the quality is superb and the performance is absolutely glorious.

The best moment is near the end when the rain and wind really starts to pick up, a stage hand approaches him and pleads with him to leave the stage. Owen yells “let me just finish this song” without missing a beat and enthusiastically concludes the track. Got to give it up for a guy that risks electrocution for his craft. After checking this out I’d also suggest grabbing the magnificent (and recently BNM-bestowed) Heartland, on which “Lewis Takes His Shirt Off” is found.

Download Heartland at emusic.