It’s what’s been said and done during the day that lingers in our restless minds come dark… Pick apart the past, you’re not going back. Don’t you waste your time. And I find staying awake with this restlessness when I should be sleeping more satisfying than grueling with Gila as my lullaby.
I stumbled upon duo Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand just some weeks before their sold out show with Grizzly Bear, Sept 27 at The Metro. I found them on my family vacation at a beach house off Cayuga Lake in NY. It was hardly a beach as it was covered in sharp rocks not sand and the house was damp, crawling with centipedes (I am not kidding unfortunately). Needless to say the best part of that trip was Beach House not the “beach house“, which took until just recently to realize.
I was a bit unsure of their sound at first. It’s very somber and ominous, both lyrically and instrumentally, which didn’t sit well with me in the bright July sun. No, this wasn’t love at first sound, it was the kind that develops. After a long break, I was reminded of them by the recent Grizzly Bear show. This time, after careful listening I heard the compassion and hope in Legrand’s longing and heartfelt vocals. I found her absolutely compelling.
Their Myspace describes their genre as visual, and at times the music does sound vivid enough to bring images of autumn’s leaves lazily coming down to mind. Beach House brims with elegance and their sound is ripe for this time of the season and cold nights when we wish sleep came more easily.
Enjoy.
I was not lucky enough to be born in 1960 but lately I’ve been trying to familiarize myself (pun intended) with the music from that era. I’ve been catching up on the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Hollies, The Mamas & The Papas and other such bands. There’s something about the lo-fi quality of far away-sounding vocals and echo-y instruments that I really enjoy, together with guitar riffs and chord progressions that put a pep in my step. All in all, regardless of the intention of the song, I always find myself uplifted.
Unfortunately I can’t go back to the 60’s and see any of those bands live or hold one of their brand new records in my hands on a Monday afternoon in my favorite independent record storei. Sadly, those days are long behind us. I can, however, search for the next best thing and I’ve found it in such bands as Belle & Sebastian, Peter Bjorn & John, and most recently This Is Ivy League. Read more…
Well Chicago, Fall has finally arrived. If it’s not the wind gusting by my window at all hours of the night, it’s the low of 50 degrees that leaves me bundled up on the couch excited for the leaves to change colors. With every turn of the season I am always in search of that album that mimicks the color and tone of the weather. In the past the Silversun Pickups Carnavas has filled that void for me, but alas a new album has entered my life.
A local Chicago band that I like to call Jason to the power of three + Jeremy (aka Big Science) is the band is filling my transition between the seasons with powerful guitar riffs, intriguing lyrical content, and a type of rock that goes beyond what was previously known (in my limited book of genres) as experimental Math-rock. Big Science’s music is very complex and perfectly compliments any train ride on the CTA through the city. A name drop of “Chicago” graces Jason #1(Hendrix)’s voice throughout their debut EP titled, Coast of Nowhere, reminding me that this prestigious album was the concept of four local musicians.
You may remember back in late August I plugged a show Big Science was playing at Schubas with other local Chicago acts Pet Lions & Empires. It is easy to say Big Science stole the show that night, and their live set left me with goosebumps and an intensity I had not felt from a band’s live show in a long time.
I invite you to make your own judgements about this album, but if you are on the college student budget that gives you the difficult choice between food or music, fear not my friend! Download Coast of Nowhere for FREE at their website, http://bigscienceband.com/. Check out the link at the bottom of the page, leave your info and not only will you get your free copy of Coast of Nowhere, but you may also gain a new stalker or two (and they all may be named Jason).
It was fall of 2003 and I sat in my bass teacher’s black and white tiled kitchen clutching my cheap Lotus, wondering what music lessons were like. Josh (my teacher) smacked at his very 90’s stereo trying to make the “damned thing work,” as he so eloquently put it. We were waiting on Murder Sounds. I was thirteen and knew almost nothing about music. The only thing I knew was that I suddenly hated everything in my collection of burned discs that I had downloaded from Napster and that I really liked this Danish band (Mew) that was impossible to find anything on.
I learned two things in my bass lessons: 1) that I lacked any natural talent for playing an instrument and 2) Josh, my bass teacher, had stellar taste in music almost all of which I had never heard before. I thank him for providing some solid sound foundation in my early teenage listening years and saving me from the masses of over played, fast food radio music. And it was during my lessons with him that I came to love NYC/Philly based trio, Enon (named after a small village in Ohio).
The bass lines that I learned from Hocus Pocus, Enon’s third album are some of my favorite Read more…
We Are Scientists are from the east coast that are one of those cool bands with a bigger following overseas in Europe. I feel like Britain knows what shit is good compared to our mainstream musical tendencies here in the U.S. Take a look at Kings of Leon. They’ve blown up in the U.S. over the last six months, when Europe was all over their shit like three years ago.
I seem to fancy how bands come up with their names when researching bands, so here’s their story:
The band had a conversation with a U-Haul worker, and returning their truck, the worker asked them if they were brothers, and after they said no, he looked them up and down and noticed that they were a bit scrawny and nerdy, and then asked them if they were scientists.
And the name stuck after that. I say it’s pretty sweet.
They’re one of those indie rock bands that is always a good play on the iPod. I like to listen to “It’s a Hit” before I go out sometimes. Or when I delivered pizzas, I’d blast the track and yell the lyrics like it was nobody’s business.
Check ‘em out dudes. You won’t be disappointed, I’m sure of it.
It’s a Hit Music Video
devanmarie
© Jade Amey
The Ivorys made up of Brendan Lazar- Drums/Percussion/ Backing Vocals, Robert Earl Thomas III- Electric Guitar/Vocals and Sam White- Bass Guitar/ Lead Vocals are an eclectic band influenced by music from early this century to today. Because some of the band members are in different schools in different states they are on short break from shows but a 45 is in the works and they’ll be back in action this winter and at South by Southwest so start getting familiar with The Ivorys today.
How did the band get started and why?
The Ivorys were officially started when Brendan met Robert at St. Ignatius College Prep in their freshman year of high school. Brendan already knew Sam very well because they grew up together at the same schools. They started playing together in 7th grade but it was only for fun. Little did they know, two years later The Ivorys were born. I think the band was started because we all loved to play our instruments and all three of us had similar tastes in music, but not too similar… enough to make things interesting.
Are you all at Columbia now? Has the school or your majors influenced the band at all?
Only Brendan is at Columbia. Since I am a music business major, I have learned many things regarding the business side of music including the theory, distributing, and copyrighting of music and our work. Rob goes to NYU where he majors in Journalism… writing things down helps our lyrics become the best they can be!
On your myspace it says “Harnessing a love of gritty classic rock and 70s punk” about your music. Why did you decide you wanted to play that type of music?
You know, I don’t think we ever just decided to play any kind of music. We kind of just went into a room in my basement and
Read more…
As anyone who asks me about my musical taste knows, I am a die-hard fan of pop. Lady Gaga? Check. Britney? Check. Spice Girls? Check. The list goes on… Anyway, I was fortunate enough this summer to travel to New York, where I spent five days exploring the city and two days in Long Island with a friend of a friend who lives there. As great of a time as I had in the city, the real treat was what I discovered in Long Island: Modern Clockwork.
Modern Clockwork
This songwriting-producing-rapping duo is composed of Harrison Forbes (the Long Island resident mentioned above) and J-Doubles. Started six years ago, Modern Clockwork aims to not only create music but more importantly to project a message. In their hip-hop project, for which the guys have just released an EP titled “Astral Planes”, Harrison and J shy away from the common “I have money, I get girls, I’m the baddest MC on the plannet” shtick that many popular hip-hoppers tend to go for these days, opting instead to deliver lyrics that are honest, real, and sometimes Read more…
If you’ve ever told yourself that the person you were left for has the worst taste in music in a pretentious attempt feel better about it, then The Radio Dept. is for you.
What started as Lesser Matters, turned into Pet Grief and will soon be Clinging to a Scheme. Hailing from Sweeden, The Radio Dept. is another prodigy of the Scandinavian excellence that younger, hipper Americans have been turning their ears towards the last few years. Their dreamy synths coupled with love-lost lyrics creates a teenage emotional intensity, but their music isn’t just about tween love and lack there of.
Perhaps most notable for their songs featured in Sofia Coppola’s 2006 Marie Antoinette, The Radio Dept. added meaning to scenes that were originally lacking script and depth, while the film itself flowed more like a colorful music video with a beautiful cast, letting the lyrics and instrumentals move it forward.
Stand out tracks include: Strange Things Will Happen (unofficial video) featuring Lisa Carlberg, former band member, and the only female lead in any of The Radio Dept.’s recorded tracks; The Worst Taste In Music, the line “he’s got the worst taste in music, if I didn’t know this, I’d lose it” touch a love scorned music snob’s heart; and I Wanted You To Feel The Same (unofficial video), a song that simply, though sadly, just gets right down the point about ones feelings about being broken hearted.
Enjoy.
Billy Talent @ The Metro 9/16/09
Billy Talent torpedoed into the mainstream music market in 2001, almost 10 years after they first became a band in Streetsville, Ontario. My first exposure to the band came at the 2003 Warped Tour in Indianapolis, IN when my friend Robin and I skipped driver’s ed to head down to the biggest concert of our summer. Billy Talent was playing one of the main stages, but they did not seem to have a huge following so we stayed to check them out. I used to be a “pit chick” when I was younger, and I can still remember the exact feeling of getting my first fat lip from a humongous guy in the pit while jumping around to ”Line and Sinker.”
I am still lucky enough to have that excited feeling in my gut when we walked into the Metro on Wednesday. Now, six years later my dedication to this little-known band in the United States has not faltered. They came through the Metro to promote their third major-label release, and put on a show filled with energy and excitement.
Although Billy Talent’s release, Billy Talent III came out in July in their home-country of Canada, as an American we are forced to wait until next Tuesday, September 22nd to own our (legal) copy of the album.
The guys kicked off the show to a packed club of screaming fans chanting “Billy, Billy” and did not disappoint the crowd as they tore through their debut single off their previous album called “Devil in a Midnight Mass.” Billy Talent continued to play old song after old song until finally Read more…
Alright, we all know Natalie Portman’s shaved head. Yeah? But do you know Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head? Hm… If not, here’s the skinny: they’re another one of those awesome little Seattle based indie/dance bands. Apparently founding members Luke Smith & Shaun Libman formed the band around 2005 to get girlfriends (as according to the ever so reliable wikipedia). Which, yeah seems like a typical boy move.
But their music is anything but typical with songs about Sophisticated Side Ponytails and Beard Lust (unofficial video), these guys have danceability and catchiness down and manage to avoid complete predictability, even though this sound is nothing new. They later rounded out the group adding three more members, Claire England, David Price and Liam Downey, Jr and began work on 2008’s Glistening Pleasure.
They are by far my favorite discovery of the week. And I couldn’t be more thrilled about them and their stellar sound. They came into my life just days ago when I won tickets to see Ida Maria, who unfortunately had to cancel her show at The Metro this weekend. Luckily these guys picked up where she left off and disappointment aside I’m totally stoked to see these guys live! Check them out Saturday for $17.50, doors at 6:30 PM.
Oh, and bring your dancing shoes.
