Today I turn...

Yup, that's right. And all I feel like saying, is that I feel really grateful to see such an encouraging response from many of you who visit the blog and who even took some time to read what I write, plus even going to all the trouble of listening to the songs that I post. I really appreciate the support that still comes in, even after the period of negligence this blog has gone through. So thanks for sticking around. Here's hoping you guys stick around till many more years to come.

|mp3| Noah and the Whale - Blue Skies

I felt like I needed something quiet and warm to ease me into this day. This song I think, fits perfectly. I will be carrying it in my head throughout this whole day-- in hopes that it could help me make sense of life again.

2 Out of 3 Rule

2 Out of 3 Rule makes some of the best lo-fi indie pop songs I’ve heard for quite awhile. But I’m so frustrated by how little I can find out about this band. They’ve yet to set up a proper band website plus they’ve yet to put up a proper band photo. But on the upside, they do have a proper full-length release that was recently unleashed earlier this year called Really Elementary. Out of the 20 tracks contained in the record, I’ve only had the pleasure of listening to six of those said tracks. And so far from what little I can make of it; it’s enough to convince me to go out and get this record so I can enjoy it in its entirety.

The four piece serves beautiful jangly pop, that’s nicely decked with infectious hooks and a hushed vocal delivery. I love the fact that they seem like a modest-looking group and yet are capable of sculpting such engaging and delightful pop tunes in similar vein to indie pop heavy-weights Camera Obscura. These are certainly songs that I’ll be treasuring the most this year. Now all I’m left to figure out is; how do I get my hands on this sweet piece of record?

|mp3| 2 Out of 3 Rule - Artman
|mp3| 2 Out of 3 Rule - Toy Soldier
|mp3| 2 Out of 3 Rule - You Can’t Choose Your Friends

:: 2 Out of 3 Rule ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy ]

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: Taken by Trees' "My Boys"

I am in somewhat of an agreement when they say that Animal Collective’s ‘My Girls’ may be the greatest track this year has to offer. But 9th best track of the decade? I dunno…… I mean this is the ‘decade’ we’re talking about.

Via Stereogum:

Enter "Young Folks"/ex-Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman aka Taken By Trees. Her terrific, foreign born East Of Eden includes "My Boys," a jaunty and vaguely tropical take on Merriweather's celebrated single that messes around with gender roles. Everyone needs adobe slabs.

Nice!

|mp3| Taken by Trees - My Boys (Animal Collective cover)

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #78

Randomness is very difficult to achieve... organization always merges back if you don't pay attention. -Science of Sleep (2006)

I can never truly adapt to the experimental, complex song-crafting of bands such as Montreal’s, Sunset Rubdown. Embedded in their songs is a sort of randomness which often leaves listeners feeling disoriented. Music listeners often lean towards songs that feel familiar and predictable while listening on for that same, usual pattern. But in their latest record, Dragonslayer, their most accessible to date, Spencer Krug (of the Wolf Parade fame) and gang, creates sights and sounds that teeter on the very thin precipice of “accessible and experimental”, as well as “eclectic and poppy”. Dragonslayer offers a visceral listening experience, inspite of tunes that feel more fluent and straightforward in comparison to their previous collection. The arbitrariness may still reside in the music for those new to this unfamiliar territory, but after several sittings, you’ll realize the melody doesn’t meander aimlessly and that precision does exist. The gratifying sonic pattern keeps the tracks engaging but it’s that randomness which makes it memorable and turns it into anything but boring. ‘Apollo and the Bufallo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!’ serves as the record’s most rewarding moment. I keep returning to this particular track in hopes of untangling and solving it by the next listen. But something new never fails to reveal itself amidst the “shimmering guitars and playful keyboards”.


|mp3| Sunset Rubdown - Apollo and the Bufallo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!

:: Sunset Rubdown ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy ]

New Release: Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong

I’ve always personally adoredthe lo-fi 60s girl-group stuff that the Vivian Girls presented in their first full-length release. But when many people claim that the trio was merely a one trick pony, I didn’t bother to defend them-- because I knew it was true. Their sophomore effort, Everything Goes Wrong, aren’t here to prove the protester’s opinions have gone amiss. In fact, this latest record feels like a 13 song extension to their previous album. They offer nothing ground-breaking nor genre-defining-- just straight up lo-fi indie pop with dashes of punk rock influences. And the worst part is, I can’t seem to find fault with it. Having liking lo-fi music for quite awhile now, I’ve learnt not to build up expectations. Most bands in the lo-fi cluster, remain in obscurity albeit with a healthy and steady following. Vivian Girls may be a band that will continue making the same formulaic songs, and for as long as they do, some of us will continue listening to it.

Everything Goes Wrong doesn’t exceed expectations as a full album, but the record’s best cuts are highlighted by tracks such as, ‘The End’ and ‘The Desert’. Rollicking guitar hooks and 60s girl-group three-part harmonies at its finest moment. There are Ritalin-fuelled riffs kicked out with reckless abandon, machine-gun snare hits and shimmering harmonies embedded in their grungy soundscape. Moodier than its predecessor, Everything Goes Wrong may not hold quite the same instant appeal as their 2008 debut, though the lyrical content still dwells almost exclusively on matters of the heart. Yet this is unselfconscious bash-bash guitar pop, and though the Vivian Girls continue to divide opinion, their latest pile of playful punk may prove hard to resist. (The Skinny.co.uk)


|mp3| Vivian Girls - The End
|mp3| Vivian Girls - When I’m Gone
|mp3| Vivian Girls - Out for the Sun

:: Vivian Girls ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy ]

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: Maxïmo Park's "Just Dance"

I don’t know what it is that doesn’t strike my fancy when it comes to Lady Gaga. Is it her fashion sense? Is it her downright weirdness? Friends have tried to convince me otherwise, and I am acknowledging the fact that she’s both an accomplished singer and song-writer-- as in y’know, in comparison to most mainstream female artists in abundance these days. But nothing about her songs appeals to me, and her bizarreness added together makes me repel from her music entirely.

Photo of Maxïmo Park by Reinier Asscheman on Flickr.

‘Just Dance’ is pure “turn-off-the-radio-or-I’ll-throw-it-out-of-the-window” inducing for me. But when Maxïmo Park comes along and produces their own rendition of the song, complete with electronic flourishes and infectious guitar works, it seems that I might be persuaded after all.

|mp3| Maxïmo Park - Just Dance (Lady Gaga cover)

That Ghost

It never occurred to me before how the lo-fi folk songs by That Ghost, the stage moniker of 19 year old Ryan Schmale, recalls the gritty, raw collection of one particular fivesome from New York. Funnily enough, when works of That Ghost are placed alongside rougher versions of demos by the Strokes it manages to not even sound or feel out of place.

If his songs sound like it’s been recorded no further than in the comfort of his own bedroom, that’s because it is-- that warm, homespun quality in his creations is what adds to the overall appeal of his records. His latest and fourth full-length, and also first to be released under Two Syllable Records, Young Fridays, boast an array of tunes that showcases an aptitude and maturity way advanced beyond his years. As a perfect companion for that cold, cold weather; ‘Open Windows’ and ‘A Song About A Bird I Know’ is imbued with a warm, fuzzy feeling which quietly lurks and seeps beyond the breezy laments. But it’s the other tunes, like ‘Friends In Quotation’, ‘Never Have Fun’ and ‘I Crossed Out the Options’, that sets the pace, sends sparks flying, and puts your attention on high in recognizing the true talents of this teenage, bedroom recording artist. That Ghost brilliantly captures teen angst and youthful splendor in his jangly, at times garagey folk-pop songs like no other artist I know. So if it’s good enough for me, then it should be good enough for you.

|mp3| That Ghost - Open Windows
|mp3| That Ghost - A Song About a Bird I Know
|mp3| That Ghost - Never Have Fun
|mp3| That Ghost - Friends in Quotation
|mp3| That Ghost - I Crossed Out the Options

:: That Ghost ::
[ MySpace | Buy ]