Black Boned Angel & Nadja - Christ Send Light

Black Boned Angel & Nadja - Christ Send Light (excerpt)



I have had many experiences with studio recorded Nadja (and I look forward to the live experience with them and Grails on June 27th) but this is my introduction of sorts to Black Boned Angel. I say "of sorts" because I'm familiar with Campbell Kneale (aka Birchville Cat Motel), who just happens to be one half of BBA. But I know nothing whatsoever of the other half, Jules Desmond (of 1/3 Octave Band) or of BBA's sound. From what I read, they're heavy. And from what I hear on this collaboration with Nadja, together they're heavy as shit. Hardly surprising, I know, but still good news. Things would be much different if it were a collab between BBA and Aidan Baker (of Nadja) who deals in much lighter affairs on his solo outings. But no, this is not Aidan alone, it is he with fellow Nadjian Leah Buckareff, going all out with Black Boned Angel.

Christ Send Light is a teaser CD EP with a single 21 minute track, hoping to seduce you into buying not only this, but the forth coming full length by the duo that as yet has no release date (but is due out sometime in 2008). This one song, however, will not be on the full length. So if you want it, this is where you find it and nowhere else. It's released by Battlecruiser in an edition of 600 and the full length will come out on 20 Buck Spin with two more tracks, both over 20 minutes long. And if this EP is any indication of what the LP sounds like, then I'll be one of the first in line for pre-orders.

But what does it sound like, you ask? Well, in truth, it sounds a lot like Jesu (and you know I like Jesu), sans Justin Broadrick's soothing shoegaze moan. It's fuzzy, with walls of guitar feedback, some slow cinematic piano in the background, plodding drums that echo like The J&MC, and vocals courtesy of someone other than Leah (there's no liner notes, so sue me). The vocals are what really turn this into a pop song, though. You're always going to end up with some pop elements when you do the metalgaze thing, but strip away the sludge on "Christ Send Light" and you could have something that Sub Pop would put out.

I don't want to say this is better than anything Jesu has ever put out because I just love Jesu that much. But it is. And damn if I'm not fuckin' psyched about the full length coming out later this year. I will be all over that thing. One 20 minute track isn't nearly enough to last on repeat for an indefinite amount of time (for all I know, I might have to wait until the day before New Year's Eve), especially because I'm probably going to end up substituting this whenever I start jonesing for Jesu.

Sigur Rós News

That's the album cover for Sigur Rós's fifth record, titled með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, which translates as "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly." They just announced today via their website that it'll come out in the US on June 24th. That is much sooner than I thought and to tell the truth, it makes me kinda giddy. And to top it off, they're selling out (I kid) by doing a track in English. ENGLISH! Come on guys, we love the Hopelandic. It helps add to the exoticism, beauty, and mystery.

As of right now, the single "Gobbledigook," which sounds kinda Animal Collectivey (in a good way, I promise), is available for free download on their other website.

Andandand, there's a gorgeous video for it as well, available in the nice, high quality Quicktime format. But be careful children, it has adult material (hooray for naked wood nymphs) and by downloading the video, you are confirming that you are at least 18 years of age. Don't worry, though. There's not much man junk. My favorite shots are the ones of the nudists falling into the water. Makes me jealous.

Their tour that never seems to end hasn't ended yet. When did they even have time to write a new album? They're playing all over the world, with 4 dates in the US right now. None of which are in Boston (sigh). But if you live in another country (or NY), go see them as I'm sure they will be playing new material from með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.

The Explorers Club - Freedom Wind

I like The Beach Boys quite a bit (although I'm not as familiar with their catalogue as I should be). And I generally like bands that name The Beach Boys as an influence. The Explorers Club is some sort of hybrid of those two characteristics. Their love for the Boys is so unabashed and obsessive, I would go so far as to call them freaky stalkers if it were 30 years ago.

This is an album I have been looking forward to for a while, ever since I heard their single Do You Love Me back in March. It sounded so much like The Beach Boys, it could have been some long lost undiscovered demo. That got me really excited for Freedom Wind to come out because I was hoping for an album full of Beach Boys tributes/rip offs. Sadly, that turned out not to be the case.

Freedom Wind fails because The Explorers Club isn't and could never be The Beach Boys (obviously). Strangely, the worst part is when they try to mix their own sound into things, like the awful Honey, I Don't Know Why, where a second singer adds his raspy rock star voice along with the sweet falsettos of the lead singer. It's grating and it just reminds you that no, The Explorers Club are not The Beach Boys.

As weird as it sounds, the triumphant songs on Freedom Wind are the ones that sound the most similar to The Boys. The reason being, you can just kind of space out and forget who you're actually listening to. And unfortunately, there's only a handful of those songs on here. The opener, Forever, is one, as is Do You Love Me. Last Kiss is another, one of those upbeat songs that reminds you of classics like Do You Wanna Dance. The rest are either mediocre imitations of The Beach Boys that serve to remind you who you're actually listening to (Don't Forget the Sun) or they end up being some poor combination of a 21st century indie pop band and your favorite surf pop stars from years past (the horrid self titled album closer)

The best song on here is the single, Do You Love Me, which sucks because usually the single is just the most accessible song, not the best. The single is supposed to hook you in with ease and then you can enjoy the rest of the album that is more difficult but more rewarding. Freedom Wind does not follow this path. Everything on it is less than spectacular. If you must, download (legally, of course) a couple of the more choice tracks and skip the rest. Needless to say, it's always safer and more rewarding to listen to the whimsical Pet Sounds.

Battles Videos

Mirrored is a worthy successor to the 3 EPs Battles put out before it. Plenty of people expected them to continue releasing EPs and never bother with a full length. A friend of mine joked once he heard they were putting out a full length, "What are they gonna call it? The LP EP?" Hilarious, I know. Anyway, here are a couple of videos from last years album that made a lot of people's year end Top 10 lists.


Tonto
Lots of lights in the middle of a field at night. It reminds me of that lightning field out in New Mexico where people go camping. Gorgeous.


Atlas
They took that mirror room they used for the album cover and performed in it. It looks awesome. And you gotta love Ty Braxton's vocals in this one.



On a side note, I've never seen Battles live but I have seen Ty Braxton perform solo. And holy shit if that wasn't one of the most mind blowing shows I've ever seen. He sits on the ground with a couple of mics and guitars and a bunch of pedals and makes the best fucking music. He played right after Windsor For The Derby (who's new album, How We Lost, is great) and right before Big Bear at CMJ in 2005. God damn, that was an amazing show.

A Faulty Chromosome & Black Moth Super Rainbow At The Middle East

A Faulty Chromosome at The Middle East Upstairs shot by me.

Black Moth Super Rainbow at The Empty Bottle in Chicago shot by Patrick Holbrook.


Far too often, there are multiple shows that I would like to go to in a single night and I always end up having to make a really tough decision. But occasionally, the two bands that I want to see will play at The Middle East Upstairs and Downstairs. And as long as they're both not headlining and their sets aren't at the same time, I'm usually able to go see both bands. I did this with Asobi Seksu (opening for The Ataris, yuck) and Dalek. And I also got to do this last night with A Faulty Chromosome and Black Moth Super Rainbow (who opened for Subtle).

So I got to hop back and forth between Upstairs and Downstairs before both of the bands went on and I got to see a handful of opening acts. Talk Modern played before A Faulty Chromosome and they were generic jock rock, the sort of thing you'd hear on WBCN or the like. In other words, not my kinda thing and they really turned me off. And before BMSR went on, The Republic Tigers played. They were a very pleasant dreamy indie pop band. Good stuff. I enjoyed them enough to consider listening again at a later date.

Black Moth Super Rainbow went on at about 10:00 and played to a club filled with people. I had no idea how popular BMSR were in Boston, and I think they band was pretty surprised as well. The audience was going crazy, cheering them on even after they left the stage. You know, it's a shame that "openers" can't do encores because that would have been entirely appropriate last night. They performed for a decent amount of time and played the songs everyone wanted to hear (Forever Heavy, Sun Lips, Drippy Eye, etc) but we all wanted more. I gotta say, I was shocked by the appearance of the band. They looked so...normal. Like, regular people. I'm not sure what I was expecting...maybe hippies or something. Whatever. I obviously don't care what they look like, as long as their music is awesome. And it is.

After Black Moth finished, I went Upstairs expecting to have to wedge my way inside through all the people because A Faulty Chromosome is one of those bands that's about the blow up, right? Well, I guess not. I think they're still in the pre-about-to-blow-up phase because after Talk Modern finished, the club cleared out in a matter of minutes. This was the exact opposite of the crowd Downstairs. I think there were maybe 3 other people that were there specifically for AFC (I saw them come in halfway during Talk Modern's set) and maybe half a dozen other people left over from the last band, maybe sticking around out of politeness. I guess politeness only goes so far, though, because not all of them stayed. This was one of those times when you feel painfully awkward just for being in the audience because you're basically the only one there. And you feel terrible for the band. They're on tour, from Texas and nobody came to see them. Quite sad.

Anyway, they were even more fun live than on record. Lots of silly instruments, whistling and colorful sheets thrown all over the monitors and amps to liven the place up a bit (it worked). Everything about them puts a smile on your face. During one of the songs that called for handclaps, two of them turned to face each other and clap each others hands like two school girls playing Miss Mary Mack. Adorable! Everything was perfect for the show. No annoying crowd, plenty of room to sway and bob my head, and a band that was sincerely appreciative of me being there. I hope they find more crowds elsewhere on their tour.

Pyramids - Pyramids

Sometimes labels get really bogged down with trying to stay true to their niche. They focus too much on what the stuff they put out should sound like. Hydra Head, for example, releases stuff like Isis, Jesu, Pelican, Torche, Botch, you get the idea. Not that there's anything wrong with them. I own a ton of records released on Hydra Head and I love them all. It's just that sometimes they can somewhat easily be lumped together under the "genre" called Hydra Head. But occasionally the folks that run the label will listen to their hearts and say to themselves, "NO! Uniformity be damned, we need to release this because it kicks so much ass." Such is the case with Pyramids.

Here's a general layout of the Pyramids record. Track 1, ambient. Track 2, metal. Track 3, ambient. And I'm not talking the kind of ambience found on some black metal albums, all dark and scary with creepy moaning. No, I'm talking shimmering high end stuff that could be found on a Hammock or Windy & Carl album. Track 4, back to the metal. Pummeling drums, crooning faded vocals ala Bradford Cox, and guitars that smear all over each other. It's at the same time unsettling and beautiful. It's like the soundtrack to a horror movie made by both angels and demons. Sometimes the angels are winning and others the demons, but for the most part they're neck in neck, neither beating out the other, creating gorgeous ambient metal. And that's what it's like from there on out. The rest of the album ditches the mellow first and third tracks and mixes it in with the metal for some truly weird music.

And as if the one CD wasn't enough, the album comes with an additional disc full of remixes by Jesu, Birchville Cat Motel, a couple from James Plotkin (who helped make the record), and a few others. And by far one of the coolest parts of this album is the cover art. Holy shit that is the coolest thing I have ever seen. Seriously, it's genius and awesome. This record is worth buying just to hang on your wall.

The Sword, Torche, Stinking Lizaveta, & Never Got Caught At The Middle East Downstairs

The Sword photo taken by Paul Graham Raven of The Dreaded Press.


It's been a long time since I've been to a straight up rock show (let alone a mainstream one). I mean, a lot of the bands I go see usually have some sort of rock elements but rarely do I go see a rock show. I think the last one might have been when Big Business played at the Middle East Upstairs almost a year ago. Sometimes I really get in the mood for some serious head banging and last night's show provided exactly that.

The first band that played was Never Got Caught, some generic rock band lead by Nice Guy Eddie. No joke, this guy looks and sounds just like Chis Penn, just without the track suits. These guys didn't do anything for me.

Then Stinking Lizaveta was up. The last time they were in Boston they opened for Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, a show I now regret missing even more than I did before. Lizaveta is a trio made up of a crazy guitarist that often yelps into his guitar and has a board with a handful of pedals, a female drummer who does yoga stretches before she gets on stage, and a metallic silver shirt wearing guy who plays electronic stand up bass. They're some weird jazzy, noisy, mathy, punky, psychedelic combo of sorts. Trying to describe them is like trying to pin down a shape shifter. I was quite surprised at how much the crowd enjoyed them and I especially enjoyed watching everyone try to bang their heads in time with the band's ever changing rhythms.

Torche is a band I've seen a few times already but for some reason I never really gave them credit until now. I'm sure I can be forgiven for ignoring them when they opened for Mogwai at The Avalon. Then when I saw them play with Jesu, I still had the same feelings towards them without even bothering to reconsider. But I went to this show open minded, hoping to really enjoy them. They were the same band playing to a fresh mind and lo and behold, I really loved it. I think part of it has to do with their new album kicking so much ass but either way, they were really great.

And behold thee mighty Sword. It was everything I had hoped it would be. They fucking rocked my face off, probably breaking my neck in the process (although my neck doesn't hurt as much as it did after the Big Business show). Of course with music of this type, it's always better to hear it live if only for volume's sake. No matter how sick your subs are, you'll never be able to recreate the amount of noise coming from a live band. And the crowd loved every minute of it but it took about 3/4s of the way through the set for a pit to form (right after Barael's Blade, of course). They played everything we wanted to hear, both new and old. And they (obviously) finished their encore with Freya, which midway through morphed into a sweet jam with dueling guitar solos. Yes, you read right, two solos at the same time. Fucking ridiculous. Then they went into a cover (which may or may not have been Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke) before finishing off the rest of Freya. Fantastic stuff. It was an amazing show that makes me wait in eager antici....pation for their return.

Tim Fite - Fair Ain't Fair

Tim Fite is one of those guys that puts on an utterly amazing live show. He's super engaging, has story time with his own drawings, gets the crowd involved (such as the time he spun me around like a ballerina), has a giant wooden boombox with flashing lights, and his sidekick brother Greg helps with everything. As often is the case, bands come up short when trying to capture their frenetic concerts in a studio, and Tim Fite falls under that category. No matter how good his records are, they pale in comparison to when he performs live. But don't let that stop you from listening to Fair Ain't Fair, or any of his other albums. Fite knows how to craft great songs, but keep in mind they are best experienced live.

Fite's last physical release was Gone Ain't Gone in 2005, with two digital releases since then (Over The counter Culture was a more rap oriented album and It's Only Ketchup was a Halloween themed EP). Fair Ain't Fair is quite similar to Gone, in sound and theme, where we find him still using a lot of samples from various obscure records (he used My Latest Novel!).

Fair Ain't Fair is a really fun album that is much more consistent than Gone was. The problem is, though, part of Gone's charm was how it was all over the place and Fair is missing that. Gone Ain't Gone had some really weird short tracks (the overlooked If I Had A Cop Show) and overall, it was just kind of unfocused as an album. Fair is much smoother but all of the tracks end up blending together. Of course you notice some tracks more than others, like Rats And Rags with it's skittery electronic beats and louder than usual last chorus, the catchy opener Roots Of A Tree, or the fantastic single Big Mistake, all of which are some of Fite's best songs to date. But they get lost amidst the rest of the album. It's such a solid album that the stand-out tracks have trouble standing out.

It seems Fite has really improved, though. Some would say a more uniform album is a sign of progress. And in addition to that, his songwriting has been polished as well. Like I mentioned, some of the songs on Fair Ain't Fair are much better than a lot of the songs on Gone. There are definitely songs from Gone that could be skipped, but the same could not be said of Fair. All of them have their own appeal. Some are more catchy and toe tapping, where others are slowly lilting folky melodies. Some are serious with Fite's political rants that can't be missed, and then some are light hearted with whistling and yodeling. But the best songs are the ones that combine all of that creating something more than the sum of it's parts.

So far, I've really enjoyed Fair Ain't Fair. I sincerely love some of the songs on here. Maybe over time, it'll grow on me and I'll appreciate it for it's consistency. But for right now, I see that sadly as more of a flaw than a benefit. Regardless, Fair is a fantastic album, especially if you're a newcomer to Fite's antics.

Boris Videos

I recently picked up the new album Smile by Boris. And I like it a lot. I don't love it yet. But it is prrreeeeetty great. And they have a couple of videos for songs off of it and I thought I'd share those right now instead of reviewing it (although I may do that later).


My Neighbor Satan
I know what you're going to say. And yeah, maybe it is a little boring. But it's still awesome. It's exactly how I imagine Boris when they play their more slow songs. Fuzzy.



Statement
I wonder if this was done digitally or if they really shot it a million times and then cut it all up. Either way, it makes for a cool effect that really works for a song that's so crazy.

New CocoRosie & Autolux Songs

CocoRosie have released a new single titled God Has A Voice, She Speaks Through Me. I like it with it's digitally affected voice. You can hear it on their MySpace page and then pre-order the 7" picture disc for release on July 8th from Touch And Go Records.



And then there's Autolux who put out their debut album Future Perfect in 2004 (which for some reason didn't go over very well at my radio station at the time). They just put the single Audience No. 2 on their MySpace and it sounds great. Nice and fuzzy. The new song will be released digitally very soon and their follow up album, Transit Transit, will be out whenever they're ready. Can't wait to see them at the My Bloody Valentine curated ATP NY.

Matmos - Supreme Balloon

Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt, the duo that form Matmos, have always taken their ideas to the extreme end of experimental electronic music. Be it the sounds of liposuction on A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure, screaming rats on Rat Relocation Program, or a cow's uterus on The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast, they always push the constraints of traditional music making. However, on their newest album, Supreme Balloon, they take their experiences gained using organic materials to create music and apply it to synthesizers. In the first page of the liner notes, it says "No microphones were used on this album." Clearly, this is a big step for them.

Matmos are obviously using different media, but somehow they still manage to create music that isn't very different from what they've made in the past. It just sounds a little like old Matmos run through a dance filter. Lots of poppy sounds and dancey beats that make you question, if only momentarily, who you're listening to. But fear not, Supreme Balloon is undeniably Matmos.

And while the first few tracks are really fun (Les Folies Francaises sounds dramatic and cheesy enough to be straight from A Clockwork Orange's soundtrack), the centerpiece is certainly the 24 minute title track. It starts out sounding like Matmos took a few too many hits and turned prog. But then it turns into something that would be played during a dream montage in a John Hughes movie. Then it goes all spacey for a little bit before toning it down for some cool mellow beats mixed with bizarre sounds that could be aliens talking in their native language (maybe they can only talk using synths?). And in the last 4 or 5 minutes, it sounds like the duo are trying to fake sample Van Halen's Jump (I just keep picturing David Lee Roth doing that ridiculously impressive mid air split).

The album closes with Cloudhoppers which follows the title track with a soothing finish. But wait! There's more! There's an untitled hidden track that starts in after 10 minutes of silence. It's pretty weird and upbeat, just like the beginning of the record.

All in all, it's great to hear a new Matmos record, especially one where they're yet again limiting their means but crafting wonderful ends. Definitely recommended.

Christopher Willits - Plants & Hearts EP

One of the things I love about seeing bands live is the opportunity to buy records that are difficult to find elsewhere. I'm a somewhat impulsive music buyer, so when I go to a concert, it's very hard for me to say no (particularly limited edition and/or hand numbered stuff), especially when I know if I don't buy it then, I probably won't get it at all. Or in special cases, can't buy it at all, like tour only EPs (The Advantage, The Album Leaf, and most recently, Stars Of The Lid).

Christopher Willits is one of those guys that puts out a great deal of his work on self-released CD-Rs, and that makes it very difficult to acquire. So when I saw Mr. Willits at his merch table with a dozen things I didn't have, I got a little excited. Among other things, I picked up Pollen, his Japanese tour CD with Taylor Deupree, and his newest EP, Plants & Hearts.

This new EP is a gorgeous 21 minute piece of drone that is unlike most of Willits' other works. It's still guitar based, but gone are his signature clicks and ticks. This is smooth going all the way and he went about creating it in a very scientific way. According to his website, "Incorporating 4hz isochronic pulses and panning at the same frequency, this work encourages the formation of 4hz brainwave patterns associated with states of meditation, deep relaxation, enhanced creativity, light sleep and lucid dreaming." He warns that this record may cause dizziness or vertigo and that you shouldn't drive while listening to it. And of course, just saying it makes me want to go out and do just that.

If you like Willits' other work but are looking for something a little different or if you're into the Windy & Carlish hypnotic sounds, then I'd recommend giving this a listen.

Perfect Songs

If you're a reader of Pitchfork, then you know they have regular feature articles, some of them being interviews, others being about a particular genre of music, but there's only one that I ever read on a somewhat regular basis and it's called Resonant Frequency. It's usually a nice read but to tell you the truth, sometimes the articles for that column seem so random, I've never really been able to put together what it's focus is supposed to be.

Anyway, the most recent Resonant Frequency article is about perfect songs. Not the writer's favorite songs, but the ones he thinks are perfectly crafted and formed, from a technical standpoint. For the most part, I don't know many of the songs on his list (Dwight Twilley's Looking For The Magic? Jürgen Paape's So Weit Wie Noch Nie?) and the ones I do know, I probably wouldn't agree with (Fleetwood Mac's Never Going Back Again ).

But there is one song on his list that I certainly agree that might be the most perfectly crafted song ever. Tommy James & The Shondells doing Crimson & Clover. That song is so great in every way. I remember having a best of on cassette when I was like 7 years old. I wore that tape out. Great stuff. Thanks Tommy.


A terribly synched and probably fan created video of official footage, it was the best I could find. At least there's funny ruffly shirts. And stupid hair.

New Philip Jeck Song

Philip Jeck has a new album, Sands, coming out on May 18th on Touch. Pitchfork has Fanfares, a track from that album, available for all of you to give it a listen. The song has it's roots in Aaron Copland's Fanfare For The Common Man written during WWII.

Jeck uses multiple records on turntables to create his signature sound and this track is no different. For the warbly washed out goodness that is Fanfares, click here.

Btw, that image of Philip Jeck was found on the blog Radio Free Chicago and is from a show he did at 60dum last May.

Parts & Labor

I'm a little late in posting this stuff. I didn't realize until just now (when I'm extremely bored) that these things might even be remotely relevant to my blog.

First of all, Brooklyn based Parts & Labor, one of my favorite in the loud + pop sound, have recruited their fans (and anyone else who wants to join in too, for that matter) to submit any sound clip of their own creation, as long as it's 10 seconds or less. they plan on using some of the submissions for their next album. And if it's anything like their last two, Mapmaker and Stay Afraid, it's gonna be fuckin' awesome. Anyway, if you're interested in submitting some field recordings, click here for more info.

And even though their last full length was released almost a year ago, this video for The Gold We're Digging is still great. It's full of color and stop-motion goodness and it's probably the last video to be made while Christopher Weingarten was still the drummer. I'm posting it now because Pitchfork.TV just added it to their ever increasing collection of stuff. So now it's nice and high-res for you folks.


And while we're on the topic, you should check out their new EP, Escapers Two, because I haven't. It came out last month and I have yet to pick it up. So if any of you already have, let me know how cool it is. And if you haven't, well then you can pick it up right here.

Brainwaves Festival 2008

Hey, hey. Brainwashed is putting on the Brainwaves Festival again this year with an already incredible lineup. They've got Matmos, Meat Beat Manifesto, A Place To Bury Strangers, Stars Of The Lid, Rivulets, Strategy, Nudge, To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie, Lichens, Charalambides, His Name Is Alive, and a ton more (check out the website for the current lineup). And AND! they're doing "a special day honoring Kranky's 15 years." Damn. That's some hot shit right there. Best part about this (for me anyways) is that I won't have to spend any money on a hotel or anything because it's in Boston at the Regent Theater. Only $75 for all 3 days, too. It doesn't get much better than this. It goes down November 21-23. Can't wait.

Stars Of The Lid & Christopher Willits At The Museum Of Fine Arts

Stars Of The Lid

Christopher Willits

Stars Of The Lid make some of the most majestic music around. This is their first North American tour in 6 years and they just so happened to grace us in Boston at the Museum Of Fine Arts. Not surprisingly, they played to a sold out crowd, the seats filled with all types of people. Everyone from old fogies to 20-something hipsters to prepubescent youngsters, the entire audience was there to revel in what is the epitome of musical beauty.

San Francisco native Christopher Willits performed before Stars came on, and he did not disappoint. He plays mostly soft mannered music entirely with his guitar. He has hordes of pedals all hooked up to his Apple laptop, allowing himself to create clicky soundscapes that make you wonder if it's really a guitar thats making those noises. His music is a beautiful counterpart to Stars Of The Lid's and he is certainly a worthy tour mate.

Although Stars is traditionally a duo comprised of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie (both of whom have wonderful records apart from Stars, Brian performing under his own name and Adam performing as The Dead Texan with Christina Vantzou), this tour has them sharing the stage with a string trio (whose names I can't seem to find anywhere, although they are most likely the same women who toured with them in Europe). This combination made for a simultaneously serene and epic sound that hardly compares to any of their studio recordings. Instead of listening to their music at home, the experience is completely transformed when heard in a live setting, especially in a place with such wonderful acoustics as the MFA's Remis Auditorium.

The live music was accompanied by video projections from artist and friend Luke Savisky. The images he used were a perfect companion to the sounds of The Lid: soft, smooth, and slowly transforming abstractions. During the last song they performed (I believe it was Even If You're Never Awake), Christopher Willits came out and performed with the rest of the band. At first, his signature sounds weren't very noticeable, but then his contributions became clear and it was a perfect addition to the song. The song was much more immense and epic than Stars Of The Lid have ever recorded before. I have never heard them get so loud. It was a grand and glorious climax that I'm sure many Stars fans have yet to hear from this usually quiet band.

After the song was over, they left for a mere 10 or 15 seconds, only to return and play an alternate version of Tippy's Demise as an encore. Of course, it was well received, as everything they performed was, and afterwards they received a much deserved standing ovation. I'm still in somewhat of a trance from the night before, as I know that was truly a once in a lifetime experience. They're still on tour with a handful of dates left in the US before they head over the the UK where they have a few more shows planned.

Rock Out With Your Wand Out

Harry And The Potters

I have never read a Harry Potter book. The only knowledge I have is from watching all 5 of the movies thus far. It's not that I don't like Harry Potter, I've just never gotten around to reading the books (and I don't think I ever will). And I am endlessly fascinated with how these books affect people. It was really creepy walking around town when the last book, The Deathly Hallows, came out. Everyone was reading it. Nobody was talking to each other. It was like everyone had been brainwashed. You'd see a family of four, sitting at a table in a cafe, all reading their own books. There's something at least a little wrong with that. Well, the new documentary We Are Wizards, takes a look at the sub-culture that Harry Potter has created and how it's effected people. I caught this movie as it was showing for the Independent Film Festival Of Boston and after the movie, there was a Wizard Rock show with Harry And the Potters, Draco And The Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, and The Hungarian Horntails.

We Are Wizards was a great, fun documentary. It's not a movie that you need to have read the Harry Potter books to enjoy. The first part of the movie focused on the aforementioned bands, the ones that play music about Harry Potter. Known as Wizard Rock (or WRock), it has become a sizable genre of music with hundreds of bands sprouting up on MySpace. All four of the bands that performed live afterwards were featured in the movie. There were also tales of lawsuits from Warner Brothers that were thwarted by kids around the world that run Harry Potter fansites. And of course, genius creator of that Washington video Brad Neely was on hand to talk about his Wizard People, Dear Reader...thing. Neely created a voiceover to be played along with the first Harry Potter movie with the movie's volume turned down (similar to what MST3K is doing now). The twist is, Neely has never read the books. He was just a fan of the movie and thought it would be funny to create his own story. A lot of the people featured in We Are Wizards were at the screening. Neely was also at the WRock show afterwards, but I was too nervous to go talk to him. I couldn't think of anything to say. Anyways, We Are Wizards takes a really interesting look at how Harry Potter has shaped our society in a good way. If that sounds like your kind of thing, well, then go see it.

You want to know what the best part of a WRock show is? It's the adults' unabashed love for all things Harry Potter and not being ashamed to rock out and have a good time to bands singing about HP. Everybody is positive, nobody is judging, and the room is full of awesomeness. Take, for example, The Hungarian Horntails. They are two brothers, about 7 and 5 years old, singing about being a dragon. The 7 year old is the lead, plays guitar and sings, while his younger brother does backup vocals. Some sample lyrics: "I am a dragon and I don't care, I just wanna see people scared!" These kids embody what it means to be a WRock band. They have no fear, no shame, and just do what they love. And because they were performing in Boston (home to the Boston Tea Party) they threw dozens of tea bags into the audience at the end of their set. Nice touch. The rest of the show was just as fun. The Whomping Willows is a one man band, singing from the perspective of a tree, a really horny tree I might add. And then there's Draco And The Malfoys, who are two brothers singing about how much they hate Harry and love Voldemort.

Ahhhh, and finally there's Harry And The Potters. They have really matured since their first CD. In the beginning, they were just some kids playing mediocre music from the perspective of Harry Potter. Now, now, they can rock with the best of them and craft super catchy songs that make you laugh out loud. My love for Harry And The Potters is unrequited. Maybe I don't get all of their jokes, but I don't need to. I enjoy it all the same (and Elise lets me in on some of the more obscure jokes sometimes). The Harrys are such an energetic live band that really know how to engage the crowd. They get you singing and dancing and their number one priority is making sure you're all having a great time. Their recorded music is fantastic (and if you've never heard them before, start with The Power Of Love) but seeing them live is a totally different experience and is one that everyone should participate in at least once.

Music Videos: Asobi Seksu & Phosphorescent

This is the video for Asobi Seksu's song Thursday that came out on their album Citrus in 2006. It's kind of a frantic video but for some reason I find it soothing. Maybe it's the colors and the washed outy-ness of it. Either way, it's quite pretty.





Phosphorescent's last album, Pride, is definitely full of folky goodness and one that I didn't expect to like nearly as much as I did. This is the video for the first track off of that album, A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise, and it's gorgeous. An old farm, snowy landscapes, and a beautiful white horse. I love it. I'm just glad they didn't show what I thought they were going to show. Otherwise, I would have started crying.

Zach Wallace - Empty & Full

I discovered this in a very roundabout way. I have Keith Fullerton Whitman & Greg Davis's collaboration Yearlong, which made me do some research on Davis, which lead to me finding out about Sun Circle, his collaboration with Zach Wallace, which lead me to the label that the self titled CD came out on, Lichen Records, where I found this here cassette tape, Empty & Full by Wallace. But hey, that's how we find out about things, right? Research? Wandering around the internet, surfing from one site to the next? I guess it's just special this time because I can remember specifically all of the steps I took to get there.

Ok, so here's the problem with this one. I'm not really sure how to review it. It's hard to judge because it's a demo of some sort. I think. Well, let me just take it directly from the Lichen website. "WINE GLASSES PLAYED BY ZACH WALLACE. ORIGINAL SOUND STUDIES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A GIANT GLASS ARMONICA, SINCE BUILT, BUT YET TO BE RECORDED. THIS WILL HAVE TO DO FOR NOW."

What this is, is wine glass drone (a new sub-genre?). I have no idea how many wine glasses are being played, but let me assure you it's quite a few. It sounds exactly what you'd expect it to sound like: super high end and very hypnotic. There's hardly any variation, it's very static. He doesn't go from playing one full glass to an empty one but rather they're all played simultaneously and continuously. No dips in volume, few shifts in pitch. However, that's not to say it's not layered, on the contrary. With so many different glasses, there are so many different notes to hear. Sometimes I'll end up focusing on just one particular glass, listening to it dip back and forth, from one side of the glass to the other.

As this is a "sound study", though, it's not a perfect recording. Occasionally there are background noises, like perhaps a car horn followed by a door closing, that always seem to occur at the same intervals. This may or may not be evidence of some looping, but either way, it hardly detracts from the glass drone. This is a fantastic short piece of work and I really look forward to a possible recording of the full blown "giant glass armonica." I'm sure it would be even more enthralling.

This was released on cassette tape by Lichen Records in a limited edition of 20. Each sleeve is hand numbered and it looks like the cover design is hand painted watercolor. Very appropriate and very recommended.