Indie and Lo-Fi music reviews

Essential CD for a Folkie collector, but not one of the better CDs. I am particularly smitten with the "One Part Lullaby" CD, as I think the material exhibits the maturity and complexity gained from previous efforts. The songs on this CD are like B-sides....too short and not developed.

Good things come in small packages. At only 22 minutes long, "Take a look inside..." sounds as complete as any 75 minute long album. Often regarded as lou barlow's "other" band, the folk implosion's first album is a short, firey, lo fi dream. Ditching the negativity from his previous Sebadoh albums, Lou Barlow and John Davis (ex-Palace Music) have crafted a gem. The opening "Blossom" well, blossoms and the closing "Start again" stumbles and jolts around like a runaway rollercoaster. The focus appears to be more towards a fun recording. Lou and John sing in unison without a care in the world (see the sleazy "Slap Me" or the urgent "Sputnik's Down") while the guitars intertwine and caress the beautifully sloppy drums and smooth basslines. Only when they get a little self indulgent does the album veer towards the niggling side. "Winter's Day" is the guilty party here. However, with some startlingly fresh tracks like "Butterfly-Spiderweb" and the title track along with a sneaky cover ("Waltzin with yr ego"), "Take a look inside" is refreshing and well worth seeking.

This one just rocks its way into your heart the whole short time it's playing. Each song is a condensed pop gem, quickly and roughly hewn out of Lou and John's (then) exuberant love of noise and syncopation.

These songs were not deliberated and edited to death -- au contraire, they are still steaming they are so freshly and jaggedly sliced from the squirming rock-fabric.

Fun to throw on at parties.

I don't think the words "short" and "sweet" have ever been so apt. When Your Heartstrings Break clocks in somewhere just over the 30 minute mark, and you get the feeling that not one minute has been wasted. This album is an intensely sugary sweet, a rush of flavour that bursts all over your tastebuds and is gone before you feel overindulged.
Beulah are a really tight outfit. They marry perfect harmonies to choppy indie guitars and the odd happy blast of a horn section. Think cracked concrete foothpaths and icecreams on a sunny day. This is the sort of music that lights up miserable November mornings with an early promise of next June.
As for concerns over its short length, what can I say except I don't think pet sounds broke the 40 minute barrier either.
An album for anyone who likes their indie pop to skip down the sunnier side of the street.

Like much of the output of the Elephant 6 collective (Apples in Stereo, Minders), this is really beautifully crafted new psychedelic pop.

The songs are charmingly composed and sung, and have a lot of heart.

It's short, but in that short space they provide more beautiful songs than many much longer albums (including Beulah's own Coast is Never Clear).

With this album, Beulah takes a great step upward from their first release, "Handsome Western States". The beautiful lyrics are still there, but this time they're wrapped up in some of the best chamber pop around. The best examples of this are the horns on "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand" and the strings on "Sunday Under Glass". As if that wasn't enough, the smooth production runs rings around the almost garage feel of Western States.

The album includes a mix of fun songs like "Aristocratic Swells" and deep ones like "Score From Augusta" (no mean feat considering there are only eleven tracks). There really is something for everyone with tracks ranging from convential indie pop to unusual chamber pop, and everything inbetween.

The only problem I have with this CD is that it is too short! Its eleven tracks run for just 34 minutes, leaving you begging for more. However, this just makes you listen again and pick up all the subtleties.

In short, a deceptively complex album that sounds so good it is essential listening for any self-respecting music fan.

I hesitated at getting this EP for my great fear of remixes. Anyone who has ever heard They Might Be Giants' "World's Address" remix or more recently, the remix of Tenacious D's "Explosivo" would understand where I am coming from.

The first track is a long 14 minute jam that doesn't seem to get boring at the least, and should provide sufficient entertainment for any Modest Mouse fan despite its endless redundancy. (I will be honest, I haven't heard anything else from 764-HERO, so this review is from a Modest Mouse fan's perspective). The following two tracks are much shorter remixes of Whenever You See Fit, and both are, thankfully, not overdone (once again, see above remix examples.) In fact, the three tracks blend together so nicely that I didn't find myself sick of the song by the end of the third track.

This EP makes a great CD to complete a Modest Mouse fan's collection, but those unfamiliar with MM may want to start elsewhere. If you are curious about MM and want to keep it [affordable], I would recomment either the Fruit that Ate Itself for their old sound or Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks for the new sound. If price isn't an issue, than I would highly recommend the absolutely incredible Moon and Antarctica.

would you like to escape for a lil while?...

from the pacific northwest, here's my favorite modest mouse collaboration with 764-HERO. i'll never forget the first time i heard whenever you see fit. for over 14 minutes, two spacey guitar chords, circling drums and clashing vocals screaming within intensely sad lyric repetitions made me sit completely still. despite its long length, the music never became boring. in fact, it felt so good, i kept on pressing repeat over and over again so i could stay in that daze forever.

talking on the telephone
looking like we're all alike, we're all alone
(whenever you see fit)
and, everything you ever said
and you'll wake up early and you'll live to regret
(nothing is clear)
and you'll wake up early and you'll live to regret
(tell the truth)
and you'll wake up early and you'll live to regret
(whenever you go wrong)
and you'll wake up early and you'll live to regret
(everything's fine)

This CD/EP is actually 3 versions of a single song, a collaboration between Northwest indie rockers Modest Mouse and the recently broken-up 764-Hero. I'm not much of a fan of the latter, but they are used here quite well, and this is truly Modest Mouse at its best.

The single is one of the greatest Modest Mouse compositions ever recorded, and easily the best "really long" song I own. At over 14 minutes, "Whenever You See Fit" is pure musical genius, the sparse songplay of the lead singer of 764-Hero, mixing with Isaac's shouted words, squeezing in between soaring guitars and drums. It's brilliant and beautiful and affecting for the entire 14 minutes. In fact, if anything, I wished this song could have continued even longer. it's that good.

The other 2 versions of the song on the EP are shorter dance/DJ re-mixes that really don't add anything to the music. I don't think I've listened to them more than once. But the CD is worth the purchase for the one single alone, which I believe is not available on any other Modest Mouse release.

I know them and they are, on the whole, horrendous human beings, but their music can be ok if you are someone with too much free time, I am guessing.

like a fine whine, this Teasers album gets better with age, and long after we're gone, it will no doubt take its place on the mantle of acknoweldged greatness. Hard to find in stores, I think you can still get new copies of this labum form the mail order dept of their label Fat Possum.

The Country Teasers came to Mary Jane's with Wesley Willis and they rocked so f'n hard, I will never recover!

House of tomorrow is a must buy if only for one song: Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring. The first time I heard it, on a 45, I cried, as did everyone else in the room. Sure it's another patented Stephin Merritt heart break/love song, but the tone is more final and certain compared to later songs: "I've had enough/you never give me anything/Don't you know love/goes home to paris in the spring?"

When this EP first came out (as a 7" - it WAS definitely a good value when it was originally released, don't blame Merritt & co for changes in technology) it was described by the band as their 'loop song' ep -- each song is comprised of a single loop, repeated over and over and over, on analog instruments. At the time this was downright revolutionary for them, as they had not previously recorded with live instruments. They occasionally return to this loop format, but not nearly as effectively as on this recording.

It may only be 12 minutes long but it is a perfect disc. Every song is a gem, none more so than the last song. Stephin Merritt writes better songs than anyone else even within the strict formal constraints of this disc(each song is built on a repeating chordal/rhythmic loop). Buy this and Holiday which is better than 69 Love Songs, as far as I'm concerned.

If you measure how good an album is by the play time, Im guessing your playlist is made up of ...Stairway to Heaven, Heard It Thru the Grapevine and American Pie. Dont get me wrong, these three amazingly long songs are SUPER , but there are some really tasty tunes out there under 10 minutes long. This CD is holding 5 prime examples.... At one time I lived in a really small town and the big treat would be to go to chapel hill and hang out for a few days with pals. So me and my pals would pile into the car with snacks and soda and mix tapes and books and just drive and drive in hopes that something fun and exciting would happen. My friend patty had sent me a copy of a seven inch single that contained most of the songs on this album, and when we heard the amazing sound of Stephin Merrit and his brood it just blew us away. The first track on this CD is Young and Insane, and it instantly became our theme song. We would rewind again and again to hear the haunting lyrics ... "We're young and insane and we're running away for the summer..." It was just perfect. The other songs have the same hauntingly fun sound that you have grown to love the Magnetic Fields for.

If you arent familiar with the magnetic fields, think of Cocteau Twins singing Phil Spector tunes. Its like a familiar warm blanket washed in a new sweet detergent. What could be better? Amazingly beautiful and fun stuff.

House of tomorrow is a must buy if only for one song: Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring. The first time I heard it, on a 45, I cried, as did everyone else in the room. Sure it's another patented Stephin Merritt heart break/love song, but the tone is more final and certain compared to later songs: "I've had enough/you never give me anything/Don't you know love/goes home to paris in the spring?"

When this EP first came out (as a 7" - it WAS definitely a good value when it was originally released, don't blame Merritt & co for changes in technology) it was described by the band as their 'loop song' ep -- each song is comprised of a single loop, repeated over and over and over, on analog instruments. At the time this was downright revolutionary for them, as they had not previously recorded with live instruments. They occasionally return to this loop format, but not nearly as effectively as on this recording.

It may only be 12 minutes long but it is a perfect disc. Every song is a gem, none more so than the last song. Stephin Merritt writes better songs than anyone else even within the strict formal constraints of this disc(each song is built on a repeating chordal/rhythmic loop). Buy this and Holiday which is better than 69 Love Songs, as far as I'm concerned.

If you measure how good an album is by the play time, Im guessing your playlist is made up of ...Stairway to Heaven, Heard It Thru the Grapevine and American Pie. Dont get me wrong, these three amazingly long songs are SUPER , but there are some really tasty tunes out there under 10 minutes long. This CD is holding 5 prime examples.... At one time I lived in a really small town and the big treat would be to go to chapel hill and hang out for a few days with pals. So me and my pals would pile into the car with snacks and soda and mix tapes and books and just drive and drive in hopes that something fun and exciting would happen. My friend patty had sent me a copy of a seven inch single that contained most of the songs on this album, and when we heard the amazing sound of Stephin Merrit and his brood it just blew us away. The first track on this CD is Young and Insane, and it instantly became our theme song. We would rewind again and again to hear the haunting lyrics ... "We're young and insane and we're running away for the summer..." It was just perfect. The other songs have the same hauntingly fun sound that you have grown to love the Magnetic Fields for.

If you arent familiar with the magnetic fields, think of Cocteau Twins singing Phil Spector tunes. Its like a familiar warm blanket washed in a new sweet detergent. What could be better? Amazingly beautiful and fun stuff.

adult rodeo rocked my world. it woke me up from a 9 year slumber and i've never felt more alive than i do now. thank you...

Always a pleasure to put on the cd player, each track fills its space perfectly while still surprising you. Look for lots more of great stuff to come from them!

The definition of life is Adult Rodeo; by the time I removed the celophane from the CD, my life had completely changed course. Kissyface does for music what language does for literature. I was lost, poor and lonely before, but now Kissyface has enriched my life beyond words. I now refer to my life as, "pre-Kissyface" and "post-Kissyface." If you buy one album this millenium, buy Kissyface.

And to correct a previous reviewer, and to make sure people don't buy this on false information.. there is NO appearance of the band Helmet on this cd. The title is merely a joke. Any Helmet fans will be sorely disappointed.

This is back when they were in the best incarnation... it's like smash your head on the punk rock with one or two different songs, the best being "Soul Mate."

This Sebadoh release has an interesting cover of Nick Drake's "Pink Moon", as well as great versions of "Brand New Love" and "Soulmate". Adding work with Helmet really gives it a harder edge than previous Sebadoh work.

I dipped my toe into the 69 Love Songs set with Vol. 1, which I give 5 stars, then was disappointed with Vol. 2, which I give 3 stars, but the group redeems itself with the last set of songs (I believe it's just the way they sequenced the songs). Anyway, Vol. 3 has consistantly good songs - none are perfect - but they're all good. They skip through a variety of styles, but they are all inventive. My recommendation - get Vol's 1 & 3.

Stephin Merritt is The Magnetic Fields and boy does he write a lot of songs. I bought the 3rd volume of his recently released 3 CD package, 69 Love Songs, and I plan to buy the other two as soon as I can save up the money. On this album you'll find a wide variety of musical styles from eighties synth pop to baroque,complete with a harpsichord, or a synth made to sound like one. You won't be hearing this stuff in any clubs, in fact Merritt had planned to preform the music in more 'loungy' settings.

If you like GAP ads or yearn for new, less depressing, Joy Division, pick up one or all of these CD's. If not... well I really don't care. I've got better things to do than worry about what crappy music everyones into these days

This is my personal favorite of the three cds. It's the most dark, bizarre and cerebral of the three in my opinion. Vol.1 is the catchiest, but Volume three excels in the lyric department with astounding songs like "The Death of Ferdinand De Saussure", "Love in the Shadows", "Wee Nae Bairn Ye'll me Beget", "Yeah! oh, Yeah!". Opening the cd with the uber-hip song "underwear", this cd establishes itself as the most unique and alluring of the three.

This EP sounds different than any other Palace/Oldham album I've heard. It put me off a little at first, but it's one of those CDs that sounds better with each listen. Much more polished production. Lots of violins and backup vocals. Oldham's voice sounds great, cracking in and out of key and often barely reaching the notes.

drag city compatriots like edith frost, archer prewitt and jim o'rourke accompany will and rian on this stable of barqoue oldham hymns and even sing alongs...it casts magic in your fever and gives you the respite that only will can....for he is like the fountain in everything that weeps until we see fit to toss our commerce in...pretty and eery, with the right amount of tension thrown in....i say buy it and see your life blossom...so put down the latest fill-in-the-blank [music] you were thinking about and get this....and then start on the fortunate journey of all of the palace era renderings up to bonnie prince billy.... for it is all the reason god gave us ears.

this is really good! wobbly and weird, your mother might like it too. folky orchestral pop. great pictures. they look sophisticated!