The Trundler

I can fall asleep to almost anything I listen to. I tend to get distracted when I’m studying if I’m listening to a new album, but can almost always happily hear the sounds of a familiar record while getting work done. Enjoyable driving music encompasses a vast selection of tunes and can be almost anything. However, one album that always requires my undivided attention is Hello Dear Wind by Page France. It’s an emotional journey through those moments when you can’t get over childhood, whether as an actual child or older. Biblical stories become vehicles for more idyllic times in the early part of the album. A junkyard becomes the stomping ground for a king and a queen to arise, a feather the lifeline by which two people remain connected for eternity. The tracks in this album all successfully analogize everyday occurrences into fond memories of youth.

Each song is carried along gently with plethora of softly strummed guitars hovering underneath Michael Nau’s soft, trembling voice. Tambourines, bells, and an xylophone comprise the majority of the percussion, never failing to deliver a hearty beat for the gorgeous sounds around to shine through. Opening track “Chariot,” featured in Grey’s Anatomy years ago, promises that “we will become, a happy ending,” only after the bridge breaks down into a variety of voices chanting “Fire come and carry us, make us shine or make us rust, tell us that you care for us, that you need to hear a word from us.”

This album is simply a wonderment of folk music, lightly touching upon deep topics while buoyed by enrapturing sounds from the band. Nau’s cadence is sweet and lively, giving the entire album an atmosphere of warmth and openness, a naïve and playful attitude that I rarely hear. A highly recommended listen for anyone who loves down tempo folk that produces moments of pure beauty.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Local Slice: HOYOH-Cedar Falls, IA

Recently I was given the opportunity to listen in on a jam session with Cedar Falls band HOYOH. A four piece with an ear for sharp licks and a penchant for rapid changes in both pace and tempo, HOYAH formed in summer of 2010. Comprised of Dylan Diemer on Guitar and lead vocals, David Woods on Guitar, Michael Bowman on Bass/trumpet, and Brayden Richter on the trap, the band boasts a rich, upbeat sound reminiscent of early Modest Mouse particularly on song introductions like “She’s a Wreck.”

Diemer, manning the vocals sings in a consistent nonchalant baritone that develops its own identity and personal style. Meanwhile dueling guitars swirl around each other coupled with Richter’s steady and ferocious drumming. Bowman’s bass, while not present at this session, in recorded format provides a stable, billowing sound to the spirited instrumentation above it. The song structures are adventurous, leaping and bounding without hesitation while also capable of adjusting tempo quickly. Influences are clear from the Jack White dirty blues on track “Mr. Bones” to Girls in “If You’re Weren’t My Girl,” a sunny ditty to start, that explodes into a plea for a former love to come back, but with a sadness that implies there is no happy ending.

I did not witness a personal performance by any means, as this set was a true jam session with the members innovating and expanding their songs. Discussions about parts occurred in harmony and subtle but effective changes occurred throughout. A promising band that can and should grow in the coming months leading up to a recorded release. Check them out! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hoyoh/324268607586235

2012 Favorites: Cloud Nothings-Attack on Memory

You might recall this band as the guy who recorded every part himself on his first two albums. Back then his music was very catchy, smarmy, and similar. If you weren’t a fan of this before, start afresh here. This is a GIANT step forward, due in no small part to the fact that Cloud Nothings is a full-fledged band. And if you read any reviews they keep talking about how this sounds like a band album as opposed to the last one, and this is totally accurate. In his S/T all the parts fit so well because they were played to mesh together and work as one sound. Here the various instruments actually work with and against each other; every instrument actually sounds like the work of a distinct individual.

A raw energy drifts through the background of this entire album, lending it a gritty vibe that was not present in earlier offerings by this band. Some of the edgier songs such as “Wasted Days” pummel through in three minute bursts, while others snake around well past eight minutes of pure punk rock. A great listen for anyone looking for a dose of high octane punk that brings back fond memories of middle school.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

New Grooves: Colleen Green-Milo Goes to Compton (2012)

Signed onto the same label as Best Coast, Vivian Girls, and the Drums, Colleen Green fits right into the sunny, good times vibe that all these artists convey. Her first track on the album Milo Goes to Compton, is a cover of the Descendants “Good Good Things.” Green’s version forcefully asks over fuzzy of guitars “Where were you I was in so much trouble with myself? Do you still believe in me like I believe?”

Whereas similar label mates mess around with jaunty chords and happy go lucky choruses, Colleen Green puts forth her punk influences, turning up the distortion and the crunch. Some songs are filled with great guitar licks that showcase her playing ability like the end of “I Will Follow Him.” Personal favorite, “Worship You” coos teasingly at a lover “You’ve got a long ways to go, to be the one I sleep with every night, to be the one I let tuck me up tight, to be the one I want to dream of.” Her voice skips over these notes as crunchy guitars churn underneath the mix. Overall a quick, swell listen that will please fans of the above bands mentioned.

Glossed Over: Nicole Atkins-Neptune City/Bleeding Diamonds EP (2006/2007)

I am floored that Nicole Atkins did not join the ranks of Feist, St. Vincent, Stars, and several others that blossomed in the mid-aughts. Her music drips with glowing pop gold, throwing ridiculously alluring hooks all over the album. Neptune City opens with “Maybe Tonight,” a crooner that yearns for someone to fulfill Nicole’s pleas, sung a in hearty alto with a twinkling xylophone accompanying a quickly strummed acoustic.

Track 2, “Together We’re Both Alone” explores the comfort of enjoying solitude with another person, a difficult but rewarding feat in Atkin’s words: We’ll sit up upon the bed for awhile, Together we are both alone but we don’t mind, We’ll dream of something to try and make it alright,” before exploding with violins and brass.

Each song carries a distinctive jazz touch, an clear influence of Atkins throughout the record. The back half is loaded with wonderful songs including the Title Track, Neptune City a slow burner that cascades into a wash of shimmering sounds while Nicole fantasizes about either a fictional city in the sea or maybe a place that can only be a memory now “I’m sitting over Neptune City, I used to love it, used ot be pretty, I’ll come down walk around a while, Till I’m sure that I can never go home again.” Following this is perhaps her most recognizable song, “Brooklyn’s on Fire!” Opening with bombast Nicole paints an alluring picture of Brooklyn “Ohhh Brooklyn’s on fire, And Fills July Hearts with Desire, Sleep will not come until the morn, cause tonight your memories are born.” The bridge breaks down into a cacophony of violins and background voices shouting “Fourth of! July! Brookyln’s! On Fire!,” before ceding back to Nicole’s voice and rapidly played piano hovering in the background.

I included Bleeding Diamonds EP almost exclusively for the opening track, “Skywriter” a mellow sounding song that tries to find solace and reason after a breakup: “I’m out watching the skywriters finding futures for the people below.” Her cadence and falsetto voice really carry the chorus, as it strive to ease the hurt, but unsure if it’s able. Nicole Atkins has released several collaborative and solo EP’s, along with a lovely full-length in 2011 Mondo Amore. Her debut music really caught me and I think it is a great starting point for her music.

Friday, May 18, 2012

2012 Favorites: Porcelain Raft-Strange Weekend (2012)

A fantastic listen from a bedroom project in Italy. So many familiar bands seeping through that I love; Radio Dept, Baths, Pains of Being Pure at Heart. This guy is touring with Youth Lagoon and M83 this spring, but he is much lighter than both of those bands. Very carefree, bouncy music that fits over interesting and pulsating beats like Baths has. The vocals are heavily multi-tracked, and together they sound like one Jonsi of Sigur Ros. I mean this as a compliment since Jonsi has one of the most unique and stunning voices I will ever hear.

He arranges his various voices in great harmony, and shows a wide range not just in his pitch, but also in some of the sounds he can make with his voice. Traditional sounding vocals become far more intriguing when manipulated into unorthodox singing methods, like starting a quick meow like sound only to have it loop high and into the background and return full voiced within a matter of seconds, a trick he uses a couple of times but particularly effective in I think track 7, “The End Of Silence.” Other fantastic songs like “Unless You Speak From The Heart” and “Put Me To Sleep” put a driving, danceable beat to songs about leaving the party, and refusing advances unless they mean something. Released early this year, a wonderful shoe gaze album that breezes by in a beautiful listen.