hello! it has been a while. i have heard your eternal clamoring for more audiosurface music-blog-nerdery from my private castle observatory nestled in the blue mountains of eastern washington . so, without further ado, here are new artists or albums i think are worth looking into:
Emily Jane White - Dark Undercoat myspace!
she sounds a lot like cat power. and that is a-ok in my book because i am love with chan. there, i've said it. also, this is her debut album and i can't really believe that.
Sigur Ros - Hvarf-Heim read about it here
new songs, old songs. all amazing, all the time.
Le Loup - The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations' Millennium General Assembly myspace!
this is a really great album. sort of like the books with more banjo and vocal harmonies.
on an unrelated note, i love learning about outer space and dreaming about iceland.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Sun Lips"
holy crap. i don't quite know what to make of this. it's bizarrely compelling, perverse and morbid. i hope mtv somehow finds a way to wedge this in between t-pain and soulja boy videos in the near future.
p.s. thanks pitchfork.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Melee Beats - Bel Esteem
Put your dancing shoes back on. I'm not off this dance shit yet. I've been listening to this album recently and I've decided it is blog worthy, and definitely danceable. The hook in the first song titled "Bel Esteem (Intro)" is "I keep on coming, one more time." So I know Daft Punk has trademarked the "one more time" thing but this just works so well and when the crazy synth solo comes in... hoo boy.
While the album itself is not that impressive, a few of the singles on this album hint at some mighty fine dance music to come. The songs are complete with Daft Punk esque times when the beat falls out and leaves this vocoded out voice singin' bout love and the usual. If you can sit still and listen to this you a stronger person than most I think. "Distraction" has some crazy scottish sounding solo in it that makes it probably the strongest track on the album. Then there's "Wondering". This song is probably the most interesting because it sounds like Daft Punk does live. Imagine homework and human after all being smashed together, by this I mean crunchy guitar arpeggio's over that "buh tst buh tst buh tst buh tst". Umm yeah, then theres Champs, which is pretty much a revamped version of "Short Circuit." Okay, go have some fun with that.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
Hey, so lets talk about this album that came out in the US recently. Sound good? no? too bad.
When giving your debut album a title like: "I Created Disco" and putting songs on this album where the chorus might go something like this: "I get all the girls/ I get all the girls" you better be damn good. Calvin Harris is, luckily, damn good.
The album starts out with the song "Merrymaking" some sort of LCD SS Jamie Lidell hybrid about taking drugs at what is presumably Calvin Harris' house. Not sure how I should feel about this but I can tell you one thing, the kid can groove. Without his cocky attitude Harris might not really amount to much but this is exactly the kind of 'tude that dance music needs right now, especially in the wake of groups like Justice and Simian Mobile Disco. On "The Girls" he follows the ultimate recipe for a dance song: simple repitition. But unlike most dance hits out right now, he's got a verse telling some weird story and then one of the best choruses imaginable. Also, he is not afraid to tell girls how to dress, on "Colours" you better have some colour in there. As the album goes on it falls into that new-rave style dance stuff all you kids are into these days. For example "Disco Heat" could have easily been on Mylo's Destroy Rock n Roll. This album's main strengths are it's diversity and it's ability to seemlessly blend together the last 25 or so years of dance music.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
A.O. & C.J. show review.
We met Adrian and Calvin in the radio station about two hours before their show. They had just eaten at Clarette’s and remarked upon the quality of its product (as opposed to the thin porridge they found in Kennewick the night before). After recording a few promotional vignettes about African music and their disappointment in us as a radio station, they left to set up for their show.
We joined them around six or so outside the Metropolis, a live music and art space located on Colville across from Luscious: An Urban Market® and next to the Patisserie. It had reopened with a new name and a more cosmopolitan façade after the Underground went dormant in mid-2006. The space is open and accommodating for small shows despite the lack of a full-sized stage or, from what it appeared, any sound equipment at all. Approximately twenty-five attendees gathered for the occasion, taking the seats neatly arranged against the walls, giving the performers ample space to roam and people to dance. From time to time, audience members left to smoke cigarettes or purchase coffees and teas from Coffee Perk, returning either one cigarette less or several cups of hot beverage more.
At approximately 6:05 pm, Calvin Johnson, owner of K Records and formerly of Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic Sound System and several other bands, took the floor with a single acoustic guitar. Johnson’s set, almost an hour long, consisted largely of songs off of his recent solo albums, What Was Me and Before the Dream Faded, many of which were long and sounded crushingly, inconsolably sad despite his enthusiasm. His distinct baritone filled the tiny room well, creating a mellow, somber, almost funereal atmosphere as he sang songs of longing and told us stories about how Adrian was to perform sans Her Band and about impeaching Dick Cheney.
Adrian Orange (or Age-O, as he likes to call himself now) set up in the corner, above the staircase. Declining to use a microphone stand, he preferred to wedge the mic between his shirt and chest, craning his neck each time he sang. He used loops for both his vocals and rhythm guitar, making his warbling voice and haphazard playing seem slightly less stark. He talked about the Phish and Grateful Dead concerts he supposedly attended in his youth despite the fact that he’s only twenty-one, lamenting the fact that he’d yet to see people dancing like they had then at his shows. His seemingly-endless loops, abrupt stops, and the general feeling of formlessness, however, kept the crowd content with moving as little as possible.
Maybe it was the fact that it was Sunday. Or maybe it was because of the cold, grey atmosphere on the other side of the windows. But the show was exhausting. Kids from town sprawled out across the floor, doodling in their sketchbooks and clapping politely. This was not a show about playing guitars well or making people dance, or even making people smile. The two men from Olympia and Portland rolled through town like musical, vagrant, gypsies and were so understated it was almost as if they were never here at all.
by: Andrew Hall & Kyle Gilkeson
what? what?! WHAT?!!!!
I feel as though I would be doing all loyal audiosurface readers a disservice (I know its the first sentence and I'm already making shit up but whatever) if I did not tell the tale I am about to tell.
As most people in the western world know by now, radiohead's new album will be available to download on Oct. 10th, the actual box set crazy 80$ bonanza wont be happening until later, December that is. So you can download it for free, is this going to turn the industry on its head? Probably not. Because newsflash: You can download pretty much any album ever made for free, that is the magic and beauty and hideousness that is the internet.
I was awoken on that first day in October by what sounded like a girl screaming because she saw a spider. Turns out it was my roommate hyperventilating because the new radiohead album is coming out in 10 days. The radiohead website was not loading properly though because so many people were trying to access it at the same time, if that is any indication of the sales(free album give aways) everyone and their mom will have a copy of In Rainbows.
If the studio versions of the songs are anything like the recordings from their last American tour we are in for some treats.
Tracklisteh:
1. 15 Step
2. Bodysnatchers
3. Nude
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
5. All I Need (seriously though, this song could be the only one on here and I would pee my pants
6. Faust Arp
7. Reckoner
8. House of Cards
9. Jigsaw Falling into Place
10. Videotape (this one is wow.)
If you get the boxset you get more stuff too, like x2 but it ends being about 80 bucks. :(
www.radiohead.com
pre order it.
its... free???
whatever.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Adrian Orange & Calvin Johnson
Adrian Orange and Her Band w/ Calvin Johnson
Sunday, September 30th @ 6pm
The Metropolis
$3-5
K Recs in Walla Walla? Count me in.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sigur Ros - Heima
also from iceland:
"On November 5th 'Heima' will be released as a Special Edition double DVD package with a 104-page book containing stunning photos from the tour. It will also be released as a standard 2-DVD set."
Monday, September 17, 2007
Mum - Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy
Mum has been putting out consistantly good records for the past seven years and part of that has had to do with the fact that they are always expanding their range of sounds. Unlike their former fat-cat counterparts, Sigur Ros(now EMI), they are not afraid to try new things with their sounds. The sampling for one is so seamlessly integrated on this album that you might forget that what you are hearing are samples or field recordings. On GGSP Mum have created somewhat of a collage of themselves at various parts in their career. It feels like past, present, and future mum are all here on this album, each version chiming in its own tasteful aspect. Where this is most present is probably halfway through the album on Marmalade Fires. What starts out as a rather unassuming mess of harplike strings and other random strings and bells with a droning bass behind it soon blossoms into a full-fledged warmth spewing song about who knows what.
As they continue to release solid albums like this one in which they push their own limits but maintain a clear idea of what makes them so likable (the skittering percussion, wacked out vocals, and an amazing understanding of melody) they will undoubtedly be on of the most popular bands to ever have been labeled "experimental".
Caribou - Andorra
Dan Snaith is an extraordinary human being. This is the guy whose moniker “Caribou” was the product of an acid-induced vision quest in the wildest of Canadian backwoods. This is the same guy who earned his Ph.D. in algebraic number theory, just to belittle academics everywhere with claims of making gold records in his spare time. Snaith’s fascination with nature and foreign countries continues on the remarkably lush “Andorra”, but this time he’s thrown people into the equation; girl people, specifically. However, don’t mistake his transition from hammerhead sharks to women named Desiree as losing his edge. These are some of his fiercest songs to date.
There are some humble artists out there that never want to admit that they knew which of their songs would be the hit single. Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses thought people would really dig “Wicked Gil”, but the captivating crescendos of “The Funeral” have become their calling-card. I can’t imagine this naiveté would be possible with the lead track “Melody Day” on “Andorra”. The pulsing, infectious ditty is unmistakably a hit. It’s the aural equivalent of playing the Rainbow Road level in MarioKart64 well into the early hours of the morning. I challenge you to avoid imagining butterflies, birds, or some other cute shit when you hear the twittering flutes and jangling guitars. Snaith has really hit his stride with his vocals too; his voice gently reverberates across each sonic landscape he constructs. And he seems to be inviting the awkward concert round-of-applause-before-the-song-is-actually-over with a late-song lull only to return more ferociously than before. Suffice to say, goodness gracious.
Andorra is one of the sunniest albums you’ll hear all year. Snaith takes the best parts of every post 60’s musical era, and condenses them into roughly four and a half minute audio collages. There are elements of the Beatles (imagine ?uestlove on the drums instead of Mr. Conductor from Shining Time Station) and a heavy dose of psychedelic influences. The rampant use of heavy reverb lends an eerie, ethereal tone that can only described as a true stardust fantasy. Each meticulous arrangement is entirely his own, as Snaith notoriously maintains a death-grip on the production of each song, start to finish. Surprisingly absent are the drums on one of the album’s finest tracks “Desiree”. Barring a few clangs of a triangle, Snaith’s complex, signature drumming is replaced by strings and a hypnotic chant of the stripper-esque moniker. The percussion on “Irene” is entirely drum machine and coupled with the slightly off-kilter melody, it is enjoyably haunting.
It’s remarkable to think that the man formerly known as Manitoba has been able to produce such a consistently excellent level of music on each of his albums. It seems as if he uses any instrument he can get his hands on and seamlessly incorporates it into a distinctly Caribou song. As an album, “Andorra” does not disappoint. Each song seems to exist naturally and cohesively with the rest. My only advice is to play this record before summer’s end for maximum effect.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Gwizski
i was just over at analog giant and came across an artist by the name of Gwizski. this is portland hip-hop at its smoothest.
crack a pabst and bump this track.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Old News
there's a nice little article over on slate.com about the music scene in portland. in addition to being self-congratulatory, the writer maintains an air of indifference that i can appreciate. get too excited and people might actually start to suspect it doesn't rain as much as we claim.
click here!
Plus! A prize for whoever can identify the subjects in the photo above.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Musicfest Nw - Holy Fuck
(thanks pitchfork)
A little while ago I posted a video clip of Holy Fuck on the surface, sadly, I was missing the big picture. Their live show is nothing short of amazing. What is really incredible about their set is that it is extremely tight and loose simultaneously. Everyone in that band knows exactly whats going on and at the same time, you wonder if any of them besides the motorik-esque drummer has a clue. The raw power that spilled forth onto the crowd (that was one of the liveliest I have seen at the crystal ballroom) was fantastic. Crowd surfing, everyone jumping around n shit. I can't wait fo a full-length.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Mum - "They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Exploded"
This video has been floating around for a little bit now but thats okay its still worth writing about even if we here at audiosurface aren't able to be the ones that "broke the story of the new mum video omigosh." Anyways, it is pretty crazy, the animation in it is very cool but our main concern is the song. This new mum stuff smells like what critics like to refer to as a "grower"... I dont have time for that these days. I need quick instant satisfaction. Like that new spoon album. oh well here's the video.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Menomena - Video for Evil Bee
So,
If you are one of the best bands currently assembling songs and albums and such for people to put in their ears, you might be asking yourself (as a band) how do we take it to that next level shit?
Have another awesome video for you. fuckin duh.
I cant directly link the player, because pf flyer wants you to buy fall season gear but whatever, just watch the video.
http://pfflyers.com/culture.html
click on the link that says "Play the Video". duh.
