Robot Roll Call

Sometimes the best way to get back to it, is to do just that. I’ve been listening to quite a lot of new and old music of late. Here’s a quick round-up of current faves, keep in mind we have had a very mild spring in Chicago. As such my musical tastes have been on the darker/louder side of the pool.

Archie Bronson Outfit - Coconut
A tough selection of 60’s style British Garage fuzz with some strong krautrock leanings. Check out the video for Wild Strawberries below and I dare you not to feel the bombast in this song. Key tracks include Shark’s Tooth, Wild Strawberries & You have a right to Mountain Life.

Archie Bronson Outfit

Harlem - Hippies
Not a perfect album but worth a nice afternoon lounging perhaps with a cool drink in hand. These energetic and breezy pop songs will get stuck in your head. Key tracks - Someday Soon & Number One.

Joker
To anyone even remotely interested in the Dubstep scene Joker is a monster. If you’re like the rest of the world then you have no idea who this brilliant young producer is nor what he can do with a synth and drum machine. He has no album but plenty of singles, check out these youtube clips of two of my favorite Joker tracks.

Joker - Purple City

Joker & Ginz - Re-Up

Sad Lovers & Giants - Colourless Dream 7″
Not a new band but rather an old band i just recently discovered. SL&G were formed in Watford, England around 1981. They have a Joy Division/Cocteau Twins sound. Their songs are full of atmosphere which mixes well with their rhythm section. The title cut is good but the b-side of this 7″ “Things we never did” is the real gem. Check out the video below.

Sad Lovers & Giants

Liars - Sisterworld
Liars never seemed like the monster they have become. Every album gets better, weirder and more beautiful. I can not recommend the entire Liars collection more and Sisterworld is no different. I can not wait to see them this summer. Key Tracks - Scissor, Scarecrows on a Killer Slant & Proud Evolution.

The Bird and The Bee - Interpreting the Masters Vol. 1 - A Tribute to Hall & Oats
I went through a serious Hall & Oats obsession in 2003 to the misery of my neighbor when we would blast “Family Man” drunkenly at 3am. The Bird and the Bee have not done too much to these modern classics. Mostly they have perked up the sound with more synth (somehow) and changed the breakdowns here and there. This a perfect album to put on for a first date, their reaction will tell you everything you will need to know about them. Key Tracks - I Can’t Go for That, Private Eyes & Kiss is on My List

When I first heard Health I dismissed them as current blog darlings which I would never hear of again; once their debut album was released. This is what happened to the L.A. foursome, however somehow they managed the impossible in this day. They made a follow-up album which not only pushes their sound forward but also takes a huge musical leap. Get Color is a fully formed release with complete ideas unlike their debut which had the stink of happenstance. They still like noise, a lot, but they also have found silence and mood to be important touch stones. When you’re pounding away on tracks like “Severin” it nice to have a break to not only appreciate the silence but to digest the audio attack which your ears have just taken part. Another factor worth mentioning is the length of Get Color, coming in just over half an hour is perfect for an album of this nature. You don’t need 70 mins of noise to get your point across, I tell this to anyone who will listen and somehow musicians still think that if a CD hold 72 minutes then I should make 72 minutes of product. This is an antiquated concept and may go the way of the dodo in this MP3/digital music world since the CD is on life support. With the advent of autumn I cannot think of a new release better suited for the declining day light and brisk mornings than Health’s “Get Color” out now on Lovepump records.

If you were around for the nineties then you know all the major musical touchstones such as the Seattle sound (Nirvana, Soundgarden & Screaming Trees), G-Funk (Dr. Dre, Snoop & Domino), Electronic (Squarepusher, Aphix Twin & Alec Empire), Britpop (Pulp, Oasis & Stone Roses).
But what about the underground, such as bedroom pop a.k.a. c-86? Of course you may know Beat Happening, The Cardigans & Komedia. However there was something ELSE happening in California other than 311 perhaps as an alternative to the alternative to alternative music. I am speaking of Slumberland Records and their 40th release titled “A Certain Smile A Certain Sadness” by Rocketship. “A Certain Smile… was released in 1995 to little fanfare; however it slowly gained steam via ‘zines, and word of mouth. However the band soon fell apart and only the bands leader Dusty was left with his various keyboards, effects pedals and the like. The album left in the bands demise is perhaps the greatest bedroom pop album you have never heard. Boy girl call and response vocals - check, heart string tugging musical arrangements – check, songs that flow into one another stop suddenly and explode on a dime – check. The album opens with the greatest jangly guitar line of all time then pushes a hard synth line in “I love you like the way I used to” the song ends in a wash of reverb and echo only to pick up with two hard strikes on a snare to begin the second song on the album “Kisses are always promises” quickly picking up the tempo again. This process occurs throughout the album, up down sad happy all the time reminding you of what love meant to you when you were 16 years old. The entire album runs a total of 33 minutes 6 seconds perfect for lying on a bed daydreaming about those quiet moments you spent with someone you love or loved. Perhaps you are lying with the one you love, than this is a perfect accompaniment. Not too long to become annoying or trite as some of the lyrics are not the deepest sentiments you have ever heard but the honesty in the music cannot be denied. Even now after hearing this album hundreds and hundreds of time it still gives me chills. A perfect late summer album.
The best part is that Dusty has realized it is better to get his music out than to allow such heartfelt songs to wallow in obscurity. You may download the entire Rocketship collection from his Non-Stop Co-Op website via a pay what you like arrangement; I cannot recommend this album or any of Dusty’s output more. I also ask you do pay something to the site as I can only hope to hear more from the man. His last release “Here Comes…Rocketship” is also an amazing journey into pop music in the 21st century. Plus the site also offers music from likeminded contemporaries Andrew Kaffer of “Kissing Book” another fantastic band I would recommend too. Perhaps I’ll write about their albums “Lines and Colors” & “(s) later. In the meantime please help these highly talented musicians sell some songs so we can all enjoy more of their work.

Pitchfork 2009 seemingly was the same experience for me as the previous three summers, mediocre. Perhaps I am more interested in seeing music in a small loud room. With that said I still had a good enough time to merit returning next year. This years line up had strong rock leanings with only a sprinkle of hip-hop and a touch of electronic beats, i missed a more straight upelecto -pop act. A few of my favorites via photo imagery, i was enjoying The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and did not take any photos sorry.

MF Doom

The Mae Shi

M83

Review By Paul ‘Space-Motown’ Heintz

About a month ago I was at Dominick’s, Chicago’s version of Safeway - a grocery store - and I heard I’ll Wait by Van Halen. Just as a side note, ever notice the similarities between the names Van Halen and Led Zeppelin? Both are 2 words. Anyhow, I’m in an indie bedroom psyche group called Midstates and the Choir of Ghosts and I have very sensitive ears. Usually grocery stores play songs that make me want to leave, and when I heard the opening synth lines to I’ll Wait, not fully realizing what the song was, I had a similar feeling.

Then David Lee Roth began to sing. That guy can sing. As the person who sings in my group and more importantly as a fan of great music, I can tell you unequivocally that Roth is one of the greatest vocalists in our lifetime. But all that aside, I’ll Wait has been stuck in my head for weeks now.

Usually to get a song out of my head, and if i don’t own it (that particular song was on an album (and by album I do mean vinyl) that my sister Mary had when I was a kid), I would scour the internet: youtube, pandora, last.fm, etc. The studio recording of I’ll Wait (aside from fan versions and live versions) could not be found. Desperate, I finally succumbed to watching a live version shot in Philly on the last.fm site but sourced in from the youtube.

I have no idea when this video was shot, but judging from the length of David Lee Roth’s hair, I’m thinking it might be fairly recent. And yes, he still can nail that song. The most interesting thing about this song is that it has relatively little guitar. Someone told me that Eddie Van Halen was originally a concert pianist before turning into a shredding guitarist, and that he played all the piano/synthesizer parts on their songs (Jump comes to mind.)

20 years or so later, David Lee Roth can still sing and Van Halen has a great song that is based around a synthesizer melody and not electric guitar.

Paul ‘Space-Motown’ Heintz

for more magical goodness check out
Midstates and the Choir of Ghosts

1. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
2. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
3. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
4. Portishead - Third
5. Vampire Weekend - s/t
6. No Age - Nouns
7. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
8. School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
9. The Notwist - The Devil, You and Me
10. Q-Tip - The Renassance
11. Black Milk - Tronic
12. Crystal Castles - s/t
13. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster
14. Neon Neon - Stainless Style
15. Parts and Labor - Receivers
16. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
17. Beach House - Devotion
18. Alla - Es Tiempo
19. Foals - Antidotes
20. Does it Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into

If you had told me a year ago that i would put a Lil Wayne album in my top five albums of the year, I would have been quite put out by that statement.
However, here we are a year later, the music i chose this year seems to follow a pattern of sadness and hopeful optimism - much like the countries current state.
From the pop filled delights that is Cut Copies “In Ghost Colours” to Portisheads menacing rhythms on “Third”.
This year also saw a few artists return to form with the afore mentioned Portishead but also hip hop legend Q-Tip.
The Renaissance was a breath of fresh air, albeit an air from 1994.
Another Hip Hop entry worth mention is the finely produced Black Milk release, “Tronic”, which plays like a mid 90’s hip hop album with similarities to J Dilla.
Los Camesinos! are so infectious they should be quarantined, pop hooks laden with a bite. This is a perfect summer album akin to Tahiti 80’s “Puzzle”.
Beach House evokes mood so effectively it circumnavigates the room like a vapor, their songs seem to lie in a place between sleep and dream.
“Es Tiempo” by Alla is a declaration of what the future may hold for music, such as marriages of trapicalia, soul and krautrock with a string section.
Does it Offend You, Yeah? are like a new version of old Devo, they seem not sure if they want to rock with a heavy groove, mash out synth noise or stomp out a pop song but they seem to pull all three off. A good get up and go album.