Birds of California and The Month of June

EPs from Birds of California and The Month of June mark the inaugural releases from February Records (formerly known as Tweefort.)

I’m terrible at writing proper reviews (even when asked), but here are some quick impressions:

Last week, when I wrote about The Honey Skoolmates, I mentioned a compilation called Moshi Moshi: Pop International Style. Though Birds of California are based in Portland, OR, the songs on their EP Great Expectations sound like they would be right at home on that much beloved (by me) 2CD set (maybe it’s the horns?) The three song EP starts out sweet with “Great Expectations” (I love the horns, chimes, etc. in this track — there’s a lot going on, but it never becomes overwhelming.) The next song, “Saturday,” is a bit slower, but has the same layered instrumentation and backing vocals (not unlike something you might hear on a Beulah album.) The EP closes with “Laugh Out Loud,” a fast-paced pop romp that might just be my favorite out of the three tracks.

Great Expectations is available as a free download from February Records (DOWNLOAD)

Call it Art by The Month of June has an atmospheric electronic sound utilizing synthesizers and a vocoder. Out of the three songs on the EP, the second (“Daffodil”) is my favorite by far — it’s in “Daffodil” that I really heard the comparisons that February Records makes between The Month of June and acts like Panda Bear Galaxie 500.

Call it Art is available as a free download from Feruary Records (DOWNLOAD)

February Records has a number of other releases available for free download, including a sampler of bands playing the Elm City Popfest and Home and Abroad vol. 2, a compilation of Connecticut, US, and international indie pop groups.

Live in Columbus (Last Night)

Last night Drew and I drove down to Columbus to see the xx and jj at the Wexner Center for the Arts. I never really planned on being negative on this blog, I mean, if I listen to something and don’t like it, why on earth would I waste time writing about it? BUT, I’m trying to make an effort to write about the majority of the concerts I go to (mainly so that I don’t forget I’ve been there.)

So anyway, Drew and I bought our tickets for this show way back. I think the xx was still riding the hype of being on some “Best Albums of the Year” lists & jj hadn’t gotten that awful review for jj no 3 on Pitchfork (not that that matters, I mean, who cares what Pitchfork thinks? But still, it was harsh.) I had never really listened to either band, but Drew was interested in going & I was feeling a little more adventurous in terms of concert attendance, so we got tickets. Later on, I developed an affinity for jj’s Human League-ier sounding tunes, as noted here & started to look forward to the show.

jj’s set started out with Elin playing two songs (one of them was “Are You Still in Vallda?”) on the acoustic guitar with no accompaniment. It was a sweet way to start out the set and it made me think that maybe some of the recent live reviews I’d read about jj were, perhaps, unnecessarily harsh, but then it was all downhill from there. I don’t really know what to say — I guess, watching jj perform was a lot like watching someone do karaoke. The entire set was, more or less, Elin singing along with the album. For the majority of the songs there was no one else on stage with her — unless you count the projected images of running caribou and Elin rolling joints. It was just kind of a bummer. Jaokim came out with a guitar for a couple of songs and sort of mimed playing it — then he went and sat on the far end of the stage behind some speakers for the rest of the set. I don’t know, the whole thing was just weird and kind of depressing. Elin’s voice was lovely and I still like their music, but can’t imagine ever wanting to see them live again. (Side note: when I initially wrote about jj, I mentioned my main affinity for them being that they reminded me of the Human League — imagine my surprise and delight when the between set music was extended dance mixes of songs from the Human League’s album, Dare.)

Compared to jj, the xx was tremendous! They were dynamic and very together and also extra, extra polite and friendly, which is something I really appreciate in a band’s stage presence. Unfortunately, their music just really wasn’t my thing. While watching them I found myself thinking, “The xx would play a really, REALLY good set at the Bronze,” and then I thought, “How unusual that I should think that? I just saw a band and thought that.” I mean, I’ve probably only seen a few Bronze-esque bands in my lifetime. How strange to see two within a week of each other? So, this morning I’m doing some googling and (surprise!) it turns out that the Big Pink and the xx actually toured together. A Bronze Band Roadshow. Anyway, while technically proficient, the xx just didn’t do it for me. The crowd was super into it though — lots of girls with digital cameras singing along to every song.

I was extremely surprised when Drew tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I wanted to leave before the band came out for their encore. Drew NEVER does that. He STILL complains about shows that he had to leave early in high school. In the years that we’ve been going to shows together, we’ve only ever left one show early prior to last night. (Side note: last night Drew kept saying how he had no clue the xx was so popular and that the crowd they attracted was very different from what he expected, which led me to say, “I bet one of their songs was used on a tv show that’s popular with college girls.” Drew said he didn’t think so, but a quick perusal of the xx’s WikiPedia page says they had a song used on Grey’s Anatomy, so, you know, there’s that.)

So yeah, it was just kind of a weird night out. But tonight we’re going to see Japandroids and tomorrow we’re going to see Girls and Dum Dum Girls, all of which will probably be much more our speed.

Live in Cleveland (Last Night)

“Dominoes,” The Big Pink (Download)
“At War With the Sun,” The Big Pink (Download)

Last night Drew and I went to the Grog Shop to see The Big Pink. I had to teach until 8 and Drew worked until 9, so by the time we got there we had entirely missed the local opener (Hotchacha) and the touring opener (A Place to Bury Strangers) was at the very end of their set. I wasn’t super invested in seeing either group and was still secretly crabby about having to miss Lost, so it didn’t impact me all that much, but Drew left vowing to never work on the same night he planned to go to a show.

I’ll be honest — I knew basically nothing about The Big Pink prior to last night. I had downloaded their album a few months ago because Drew said he liked it and it kept showing up on “Best of” lists for the year, but I listened to a few songs and then deleted it, filing it away as “boring music.” In all fairness to The Big Pink, I was probably just not feeling it that day, because I really liked what I heard at their show last night & also, I have a tendency to write off almost anything as boring.

In some ways, it was nice to go out having basically no idea what to expect. I think I ended up enjoying the night much more that way. I definitely left the show wanting to give their album another (more attentive and, uh, complete) listen (and have listened to it twice today). Their music is very different from the sort of thing that I normally listen to (Mirah is basically “the thing I normally listen to”), so I also got to feel good about myself for going out & “expanding my horizons.”

Here are two television related thoughts I had about The Big Pink while at last night’s show:

1. “They probably would have played a killer set at the Bronze on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” This is something I occasionally think about bands from time to time*. Sometimes, on very rare occasions, I will think this about a band that has actually “played” at the Bronze (for example, Rasputina**)

2. “I bet the kids from Skins would listen to this band.” There is a very large chance that I thought this because A) The Big Pink are from England, which is also where Skins takes place, B) A pivotal moment in Skins season two was scored to a Crystal Castles song and I like to lump all vaguely electronic bands together, and C) Drew and I spent most of the night uncomfortably close to a couple who basically made out for the entire set and unwarranted public make-outs in club environments always make me think of Skins.

One thought I had about The Big Pink while at last night’s show that is unrelated to television:

1. “Some of these songs remind me of The Human League.” I guess I just think that about everything now.

* Weirdly (?) this happens only with the Bronze and not any other fictional venues. For example, never in my life have I seen a band and thought, “I bet they would play a great set at the Bait Shop!” (from The OC.)

** Okay, Rasputina is probably the only band I have ever seen in real life that has also played a fictional set at the Bronze.

“Dominoes,” The Big Pink (Download)
“At War With the Sun,” The Big Pink (Download)

Sufjan Stevens

Joy! Joy! Joy! (.mp3, Mediafire)

When my boyfriend told me that Sufjan Stevens had announced a show at one of our favorite venues, I had mixed feelings about whether or not I wanted to go. I was concerned that the venue would be oversold, resulting in wall-to-wall hipsters with digital cameras (not too far from what the show ended up being like) and I was also worried that I just didn’t like Sufjan that much anymore. (My peak Sufjan listening years were probably 2003-2005, with a brief resurgence in the summer of 2007 when one of my housemates and I would spend hours lying on the dirty, carpeted floor or our miserable sublet listening to “The Dress Looks Nice On You” on repeat.) But, tickets were only $15 and the show fell pretty close to my birthday so I thought, why not? And, you know what? It was a pretty nice night.

The show was an almost even mix of new and old songs — the newer songs were, I think, a shock to many of the fans there. I mean, the opener was 11+ minutes & a lot of it was a severe, guitar-driven noise collision. So, you know, people who were there for the soft banjo tunes ended up being a bit thrown. While my boyfriend and I were walking back to the parking lot after the show he said (he’s not much of a Sufjan fan at all), “I didn’t know Sufjan was such an interesting guitarist,” so, I guess you can take that for whatever it’s worth.

Personally, the new songs left me feeling sort of cold (probably because of their length & structure, honestly, I’m a 2-3 minute, verse-chorus-verse sort of music fan about 90% of the time, so it’s not at all surprising that I wouldn’t respond to something sonically and structurally unconventional). I did like the last new song that he played quite a bit. It was called “Too Much Love” and it reminded me quite a bit of “Joy! Joy! Joy!” (easily my favorite song off of A Sun Came! & the song I’ve chosen to post here & now). You can hear “Too Much Love” (& see a live video of it) over at I Guess I’m Floating. “Too Much Love” was played as the first encore and we left before the second, if there was a second.

& I guess that leaving is the second (and smaller) part of this story. I found out that a friend of mine passed away this past Wednesday and while we were not especially close, I found myself reeling with small memories and to hear songs like “Casimir Pulaski Day” and “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands” was, honestly, a little much for me. But, “Joy! Joy! Joy!” is an oldie & a goodie & is celebratory in spirit. I think it meshes perfectly with the new song & yes, yes, I’m glad that I went.

Joy! Joy! Joy! (.mp3, Mediafire)

Sonido Uzumaki

Sonido Uzumaki (compilation, Mediafire)

It’s hard to find music that I can listen to in the office — most of my office mates are more or less okay with a bit of noise, but there’s just one who’s opposed to people listening to music at their desks. Sonido Uzumaki is a great compromise — just poppy enough to keep my attention, but generally subdued so that no one in the office has a complaint. Which — I guess — means it might be in the vein of elevator music? Maybe not. It’s definitely more enjoyable than most elevator music.

Via Music Related:

sonido uzumaki is a joint project between visual artists Friends With You, Mumbleboy, GAGA Inc., and Music Related. we put togeather a sound track for their group artshow ‘Aqui Uzumaki. Sonido Uzumaki compiles a wide range of musical styles, and collection of known, and unknow groups. original songs from groups within the music related, and audio dregs camp. plus songs from artist from around the world, never heard before. acoustic pop, to glitched out electronic romps. songs by, phofo, yacht, lem jay, ymck, marxy, kiiiiiii!, e*rock, shugo tokumaru, pandacrash, red colour cat, messer fur frau muller, dim dim, digiki, crusher, midori hamada, mikimi tablets, and lullatone, round out this eclectic collection of songs.

A quick look around the internet turns up copies of Sonido Uzumaki at ToneVendor for $9.99, so if you like what you hear, definitely pick it up!

Sonido Uzumaki (compilation, Mediafire)

Churchbuilder

Microdancer EP (Mediafire)
Patty Darling (album, Mediafire)

One of the things I’ve always loved about growing up in Cleveland is the sheer number of fantastic bands from Ohio. True, the local pop scene is a touch on the small side, but there are some real gems if you’re willing to dig.

Churchbuilder was a favorite local (enough) band of mine in high school; I’ve practically worn out my copy of Patty Darling. They have the perfect blend of upbeat and melancholy and I love, love, love their lyrics. “Castle of Blood” and “French Kiss Conspiracy” are perfect snide pop songs and “New Critics” and “Hey Flannery” are topical, but catchy as well, and “Spanish Song” is just all around delightful.

Patty Darling is, to the best of my knowledge, out of print and I get the feeling that the Microdancer EP is on its way out as well — though if you’re quick you can snag a copy for just $1 as a part of Shelflife Records’ September Sale.

Though it’s been several years since Churchbuilder disbanded, they do have a MySpace where you can preview some of the songs from Patty Darling.

Microdancer EP (Mediafire)
Patty Darling (album, Mediafire)

Le Tigre

Sweetie, Le Tigre (mp3, Mediafire)

The main things that helped me to sustain (and grow) my interest in music throughout my tenuous middle and high school years were 1) college radio and 2) small mail order record labels. Without labels like K Records, Yo Yo A Go Go, and Mr. Lady, my interest in music would be completely different.

The main amazing thing about small labels is the samplers they put out. Many of my favorite songs have been culled from label samplers & “Sweetie” by Le Tigre is no exception. “Sweetie” was featured on Mr. Lady’s 2001 comp, Calling All Kings and Queens. Honestly, I think it’s the perfect Le Tigre song — Kathleen’s vocals are right on and are more in line with wistful yet powerful songs like Bikini Kill’s “For Tammy Rae” and Julie Ruin’s “Apt. #5.” I love the funky electronic additions (especially the harp sound effect) and am not kidding when I say that I listened to it something like 5 times in a row while I was stuck in traffic the other day.

Sadly, both Mr. Lady and Le Tigre are no longer with us, but Le Tigre does continue to maintain a pretty comprehensive official website.

I’m scouring my shelves for favorite label comps & will definitely be posting more tracks from small label compilations. Until then, enjoy “Sweetie.”

Sweetie, Le Tigre (mp3, Mediafire)