This is a slow music week, but there are still a couple of shows to check out:
21 February - Larimer Lounge, Denver CO
Tumbledown
Mike Herrera seems to have a band for each of his personas. Tumbledown is his roots-rock band. They feature his MxPx-style pop punk energy, but the songs have a more country feel. I caught their last tour and really enjoyed their show.
25 February - Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins CO
Head for the Hills
Colorado bluegrass favorites Head for the Hills are fitting in a local show before heading down to SXSW next month. Their high energy shows feature some tight playing and fine picking.
(Artwork care of Karen Ramsay (www.karenramsay.com), profile photo care of brianlackeyphotography.com)
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
CD review - We Have Band, Ternion (2012)
Electro pop fits headphones as well as the dance floor
We Have Band's debut, WHB (review here), was an intriguing mix of retro synth pop and modern dance rock with an electro pop shine. Their follow up album, Ternion, still melds old school and contemporary elements, but We Have Band has honed their danceable electronic sound, expanding on earlier tracks like Divisive.
Ternion may not be as guitar focused or trippy as WHB, but it's still a richly intriguing album. The driving beats give these songs a lot of energy and the album has a very interesting flow. The opener, After All, has an insistent dance groove which collapses into the dreamy relief of Pressure On. The transition is like a high dive into a relaxed underwater world. The thoughtful electro dream pop vibe is layered with whispers and hidden secrets. We Have Band subvert the song a bit near the end by moving it into a darker space, hinting at vague dangers. But it's just part of the reverie's progression.
WHB continues to mine '80s synth pop for inspiration, hinting at New Order, Psychedelic Furs, and some of Fine Young Cannibals' soul vocals. But the retro vibe just adds flavor to the electro pop grooves that keep Ternion firmly in dance space. By mixing and matching along this continuum, the band gives each track a distinctive feel.
Take Watertight, with its springy electronic start. That intro is quickly subsumed by the edgy punch of fuzzed guitars and feedback. The dynamic shifts between noisy drive and sparser moments add depth, but the underlying beat is relentless.
That contrasts with the heavier new wave vibe of Tired of Running. The steady beat is familiar, but the flanged vocals and subtle sonic textures create a moody tension. A bit like the Who's Eminence Front meets Another Brick in the Wall at the disco, the track couples repetitive intensity with a taut restlessness. I really enjoy how We Have Band's music is just as natural for headphones as the dance floor.
We Have Band's debut, WHB (review here), was an intriguing mix of retro synth pop and modern dance rock with an electro pop shine. Their follow up album, Ternion, still melds old school and contemporary elements, but We Have Band has honed their danceable electronic sound, expanding on earlier tracks like Divisive.Ternion may not be as guitar focused or trippy as WHB, but it's still a richly intriguing album. The driving beats give these songs a lot of energy and the album has a very interesting flow. The opener, After All, has an insistent dance groove which collapses into the dreamy relief of Pressure On. The transition is like a high dive into a relaxed underwater world. The thoughtful electro dream pop vibe is layered with whispers and hidden secrets. We Have Band subvert the song a bit near the end by moving it into a darker space, hinting at vague dangers. But it's just part of the reverie's progression.
WHB continues to mine '80s synth pop for inspiration, hinting at New Order, Psychedelic Furs, and some of Fine Young Cannibals' soul vocals. But the retro vibe just adds flavor to the electro pop grooves that keep Ternion firmly in dance space. By mixing and matching along this continuum, the band gives each track a distinctive feel.
Take Watertight, with its springy electronic start. That intro is quickly subsumed by the edgy punch of fuzzed guitars and feedback. The dynamic shifts between noisy drive and sparser moments add depth, but the underlying beat is relentless.
That contrasts with the heavier new wave vibe of Tired of Running. The steady beat is familiar, but the flanged vocals and subtle sonic textures create a moody tension. A bit like the Who's Eminence Front meets Another Brick in the Wall at the disco, the track couples repetitive intensity with a taut restlessness. I really enjoy how We Have Band's music is just as natural for headphones as the dance floor.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Music news - Relevant rewards
Ignoring the biggest news of the week, I'm going to resist the urge to comment on Whitney Houston.
Photo credit: Ya'akov via Flickr/Wikipedia Commons
Instead, I'll focus on the Grammys, 54 years of "peer-presented" recognition of artistic and technical achievement. True confession time: I've never been that interested in the Grammys or any other awards shows. They've never struck me as particularly relevant. For that matter, the music industry itself doesn't seem all that relevant these days either. Record companies, through the RIAA, continue to wage war on their customers and the music scene keeps fragmenting, providing indie and DIY musical acts niches to achieve some commercial success.
Sure, the Recording Academy, the Grammy Foundation, and MusiCares support the arts and do more than merely provide an annual show with a few awards. These good works should be appreciated. Additionally, the Grammys' peer recognition should represent something more than pure money.
Still, because these peers are all tightly tied to the Music Industry (in caps), it still amounts to a popularity and record sales contest. That's probably not a big deal, though. The people who faithfully watch the Grammys every year are most interested in seeing their fan love be rewarded. I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment of the Grammys.
But personally, I'm more interested in the micro level of fan validation: introducing my friends to my favorite music and seeing them fall in love, too, or sharing my joy with fellow fans at a show. I'm sure that Eric McFadden, Earl Greyhound, and Dengue Fever would love to win a Grammy, but they're all close enough to their fans to appreciate that practical connection.
Because it's all about the music.
Photo credit: Ya'akov via Flickr/Wikipedia Commons
Instead, I'll focus on the Grammys, 54 years of "peer-presented" recognition of artistic and technical achievement. True confession time: I've never been that interested in the Grammys or any other awards shows. They've never struck me as particularly relevant. For that matter, the music industry itself doesn't seem all that relevant these days either. Record companies, through the RIAA, continue to wage war on their customers and the music scene keeps fragmenting, providing indie and DIY musical acts niches to achieve some commercial success.
Sure, the Recording Academy, the Grammy Foundation, and MusiCares support the arts and do more than merely provide an annual show with a few awards. These good works should be appreciated. Additionally, the Grammys' peer recognition should represent something more than pure money.
Still, because these peers are all tightly tied to the Music Industry (in caps), it still amounts to a popularity and record sales contest. That's probably not a big deal, though. The people who faithfully watch the Grammys every year are most interested in seeing their fan love be rewarded. I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment of the Grammys.
But personally, I'm more interested in the micro level of fan validation: introducing my friends to my favorite music and seeing them fall in love, too, or sharing my joy with fellow fans at a show. I'm sure that Eric McFadden, Earl Greyhound, and Dengue Fever would love to win a Grammy, but they're all close enough to their fans to appreciate that practical connection.
Because it's all about the music.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
CD review - Royal Baths, Better Luck Next Life (2012)
Dark children of Velvet Underground offer lo-fi deathrock psychedelia
Better Luck Next Life is a soundtrack to a wicked rite, summoning spirits to stalk among us. In particular, the spirits of Lou Reed, John Cale, and the rest of Velvet Underground. Royal Baths' detuned, distorted sound is haunted by Lou Reed style vocals, a touch of Reed's droning guitar, and chaotic abandon.
This is no tribute band, though. Royal Baths may push their garage rock psychedelia into V.U. head space, but they always hold back from the Velvet Underground's total sonic surrender. This gives their songs a deeper self awareness and intent.
On Burned, they sound like throbbing, percolating darkness. The track starts with a sound somewhere between Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and acid etched rock. During the bridge, the guitar vibrates like a fork in the fan blades, recalling European Son. At the same time, the singing balances two voices filled with detachment. As the relentless Bo Diddley beat spasms like a restless leg, the strange ecstatic rite builds. I love the intensity of the sound, as the guitars clash and flail.
Most of the tracks have a sonic immediacy, like Royal Baths is playing right in the room. This fits well with the retro feel of the album.
Better Luck Next Life works hard to maintain its very dark vibe, occasionally even veering towards creepy. Where Velvet Underground flaunted their drug and S&M to shock listeners, Royal Baths is more direct, sometimes raising a kind of sociopathic evil in their transgressive lyrics. Even when the sound suggests a trippy ecstasy, the lyrics skew towards more sinister subjects.
Take Black Sheep: the song starts somewhere between Bauhaus and the music from Dr. Who before establishing a trippy, psychedelic verse. The vocals ping pong, splitting the lines:
Still, there are plenty of evocative tracks like Harder, Faster. The languid, swaying beat and the underwater Doors groove create a moody, late night feel. The repetitive bass line throbs like insomnia while the slide guitar sounds like the foggy swirl of voices in your head. The sexual focus of the lyrics matches the hypnotic haze of the music.
Royal Baths may be soaked in darkness and tension, but the jangle of guitars offer a cathartic release, as well.
Better Luck Next Life is a soundtrack to a wicked rite, summoning spirits to stalk among us. In particular, the spirits of Lou Reed, John Cale, and the rest of Velvet Underground. Royal Baths' detuned, distorted sound is haunted by Lou Reed style vocals, a touch of Reed's droning guitar, and chaotic abandon.This is no tribute band, though. Royal Baths may push their garage rock psychedelia into V.U. head space, but they always hold back from the Velvet Underground's total sonic surrender. This gives their songs a deeper self awareness and intent.
On Burned, they sound like throbbing, percolating darkness. The track starts with a sound somewhere between Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and acid etched rock. During the bridge, the guitar vibrates like a fork in the fan blades, recalling European Son. At the same time, the singing balances two voices filled with detachment. As the relentless Bo Diddley beat spasms like a restless leg, the strange ecstatic rite builds. I love the intensity of the sound, as the guitars clash and flail.
Most of the tracks have a sonic immediacy, like Royal Baths is playing right in the room. This fits well with the retro feel of the album.
Better Luck Next Life works hard to maintain its very dark vibe, occasionally even veering towards creepy. Where Velvet Underground flaunted their drug and S&M to shock listeners, Royal Baths is more direct, sometimes raising a kind of sociopathic evil in their transgressive lyrics. Even when the sound suggests a trippy ecstasy, the lyrics skew towards more sinister subjects.
Take Black Sheep: the song starts somewhere between Bauhaus and the music from Dr. Who before establishing a trippy, psychedelic verse. The vocals ping pong, splitting the lines:
I grew up rather well off -- raising hellThe lyrics quickly grow more malevolent. But Royal Baths take it further. Eventually Black Sheep, along with a few other songs, push the deathrock themes too earnestly, drifting towards parody:
I gave up faking gratitude -- can't you tell?
My good friends seem to bore me -- don't ask me why
One by one, my lovers leave me --I never cry
Bloody landscapes are my daydreams -- bodies fallDespite loving the music, I think Royal Baths is trying too hard to shock, to the detriment of their songs.
If I could touch the hem of Satan -- I would crawl
Still, there are plenty of evocative tracks like Harder, Faster. The languid, swaying beat and the underwater Doors groove create a moody, late night feel. The repetitive bass line throbs like insomnia while the slide guitar sounds like the foggy swirl of voices in your head. The sexual focus of the lyrics matches the hypnotic haze of the music.
Royal Baths may be soaked in darkness and tension, but the jangle of guitars offer a cathartic release, as well.
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