Indie and Lo-Fi music reviews

I was upset to look and see only 1 review of this fine album, so I thought I'd do my duty and contribute. This is a Candadian indie-folk group with some very catchy songs and occasionally morbid and interesting lyrics - the guitar and banjo are prevelant - the songs are familiar sounding yet original - the vocalist doesn't have the prettiest voice, it's rather flat sounding actually, but he carries off the songs well with a grace and deadpan type of humor - for fans of Sufjan Stevens, Jim Guthrie (whose in the group), Animal Collective, or Wilco - check this out - A very consistent and enjoyable album from up North! Enjoy!

Royal City's 2001 release "Alone at the Microphone" is a record that embraces dichotomies. The album opens with the romping "Bad Luck" whose lyrics ("I met you in the alley / all covered in maggots") set a tone that is present through the rest of the album, though in an abstract way. "Dank is the Air of Death and Loathing" carries a similar sound and equally jarring lyrics, yet still manages to have a deceptively upbeat feel. "You Are the Vine," on the other hand, is an almost-ballad that, depending on interpretation, could have either a romantic or religious bend ("I am the Vine / You are the branches / Those who follow me / Will have eternal life" is a traditional Christian hymn). Meshing their offbeat lyrics with an offbeat twangy sound makes for a true keeper.

I heard a few songs by these guys on the internet radio and picked it up on a lark, and on the first listen I was floored. This is great stuff. Folky, sometimes sad, acoustic music, with great production and instrumentation. Sometimes it's really catchy, and other times it's just good music that makes you stop what you're doing and listen. The banjos sound great too. A great CD. I don't know why this isn't better known.

Their minimalistic pop music was revolutionary at its time, but their incessant plugging of the same old ideas has yielded countless incompetant musicians who believe mugging and wearing cute clothes is equivalent to making an artistic statement.

So, thanks for nothing Beat Happening, but thanks a lot for this album which, along with Daniel Johnston's early work, and the Shagg's opus, create the triumverate of beyond basic pop love.

Album: 4 stars.
Beat Happening's impact on music, resulting in lots of pretentious, annoying, entitled white kids dressing up like Doby Gillis: 2 stars.

I bought this album and listened to it. It didn't take very long, but every minute was used to the limit. Every song is good. I absolutely love the band, the sound. They seem naive and experienced at the same time. They aren't geniuses at playing their instruments, but they are at writing catchy, bittersweet songs about adolesence.

I have no personal favourite record from the magnificent Beats but this one is a good start to new listeners. I was introduced to this masterpiece sometime ago by listening to Luna's cover of "Indian Summer". I was then and I'm still now crazy for so called 80' s Twee or Jangle Pop stuff from Pastels to Tallulah Gosh, scottish Postcard Records stuff, early Go-Betweens and so on...Then Beat Happening...How lucky my ears are! Before any new Yo La Tengo yet to come, listen to this magic songs.

Good singing but intrumental skills not up to par with those of average alternative band. Meldoies almost pleasing and lyrics a bit pretentious. This band could do so much more if it put its trust in the right producer who's willing to hire some good studio musicians to lend a hand. Sincere effort but better producing needed on next CD. Songs a bit typical of average Alt band- sincere and idiosincratic at best, second rate at worse. Also, cover art looks a bit amateurish - musicians should stick to music. Then again, this is not an art review.

Before the Apples in Stereo caught most of his attention, Rob Schneider played around with recording songs for the people around him. Several of his early 90s demos are now compiled in "Pyramid Landing and Other Favorites," a wispy but somehow endearing little album that sounds like the Beach Boys being kidnapped by aliens.

It opens with the upbeat, tinkly little pop melody "Top of the Morning." The same sound pops up in "Death My Bride" which is mostly vocals, sighs, and chimes, the spacey hymn "Play/Fair," and the experimental edge pops up in the almost a capella "Get Together." Most of these tracks aren't quite together enough to be considered songs, but have a sort of chirrupy appeal anyway.

Don't worry. Schneider can do actual songs as well. In fact it starts on the acoustic ballad "Swimming," the second track on the entire album, which is echoed in several other songs. "Kite" takes a different track, accenting organ with little chimes, as does "Rather Be A Scarecrow" with its eerie, wavery spacepop sound.

"Pyramind Landing and Other Favorites" is one of those albums that you simply cannot dislike -- it's too sunnily earnest and enjoyable, whatever its flaws. And when you consider that Schneider was simply messing around with these demos, they become somewhat more striking.

The instrumentation has a homey feel, rather than the polished quality of a studio recording. Guitar is generally the middle of the instrumentation, but Schneider also layers in some xylophone (or whatever that chiming noise is), keyboard, fuzz guitar, splashing water in a bucket (in the song appropriately called "Bottom of the Sea"), the occasional eerie woo-woo effect, some organ, and hand claps. Surprisingly, despite all this, the songs tend to sound very simple and stripped down in comparison to his later work in the Apples in Stereo.

Considering that the songs on "Pyramid Landing and Other Favorites" was meant only for Schneider's friends, family and cats, this is pretty good. Some of the melodies don't quite gel into real songs, but they have a certain charm anyhow.

This is a wonderful record...and combined with the Apples In Stereo's brilliant and essential Tone Soul Evolution, represents (so far) the peak of Robert Schneider's work.

This material was recorded by Schneider pre-Apples, at home...and it certainly has that "homey" quality...swirling water in a bucket as a percussive sound effect is not 'unusual' here. As for the songs, well...the sheer melodic joy of "Top Of The Morning", "Kite", and the insanely catchy "Go Marilee" is something to behold. And treasure.

If you like pop music and you like the Beach Boys "Smiley Smile", you will be playing this nonstop for months.

This record's cover, featuring a picture of a girl who seems to have been lured into a forest by little toadstool-shaped men, perfectly describes the music within. Songs such as 'Autumn' and 'Our Sea' are fungally seductive, and I imagine that these musicians prepared themselves for recording with rituals involving the consumption of mushroom broth. It's not all druggy haze, however, as there is a certain emotionally direct resonance to the material, brought through the sumptuous arrangements in a tide of sadness.

Ali and friends make a creepy campfire-type album to brood cathartically to; even though I don't like "Lassie, Lie Near Me" as much as the rest just 'cuz the other vocalist stepping in kinda breaks the flow of the album for me, it's kinda neat in the same way as, I guess, Isobel singing for a bit on a Belle and Sebastian record...Oh, and, although this has probably been said maybe 25 times elsewhere, if you're into that Bonnie Will Prince Palace manchildfellow, i think you might like these folks too... ;)

Great songs, great singer, great fun to play.

I like this music so much. It make me happy and I want to run and play in the sun in my cardigan sweater and pick those flowers that blow apart in the wind. The best song by far is the one for Lassie because as they sing the song I can close my eyes and picture the dog running through windy grass on a hot afternoon going to lie down with he master. Lassie was a goo dog and he even got he own show.

Nice folky songs. Pretty good for any mood.

Who ever would have thought the Swirlies would have a remix album? Better yet, who would have thought a Swilies remix album would still contain the atmospheric unease and spacious noise-clutter we love them for? Well, it's been done and it's worth checking out. The mix of 'San Cristobal de las Casas' was quite a sweet surprise, using all of the lyrics and some inventive arranging. The rest of the album holds up well as a piece and shows that any type of music can be remixed well.

Somewhere out there the Swirlies are laughing. And well they should. This remix album is yet more proof that genre boundaries are inconsequential and and meaningless. Alt-rock? Post-rock? Dance? Experimental? What me worry? It's good stuff, but you can't put in a box and label it anything. Not even "electronica" fits the bill. And perhaps that's what makes it endearing to me. Fans of Tortoise, Neu, DJ Spooky, and musique concrete will enjoy this ear candy.

This east coast shoegazing group hand over their tweaked tunage to several DJs and the result is a mind blowing fusion of melody, noise and rhythm. Extraneous noises collide with analong synth burbles, strummed guitars and jungle beats. While not always successful, this release a successful fusion of noise-rock and dance music, similar in concept to Third Eye Foundation's "Ghost" but far more chaotic and upbeat.

I love this music but I HATE THAT DOUBLE VOICE IN EACH EAR SOUND EFFECT!!!!!!!!!! Ok, there's not two of you ya know. The songs would have been perfect with a normal single voice track.

talking about this album for a long time in a couple of years. I say that because it will probably take a couple of years for people to realize that Sufjan has 2 other albums besides "Michigan" and "Seven Swans" and probably another couple of years for people to actually listen to A Sun Came (his 1st album). I would describe A Sun Came as a rock album by form, but Sufjan's material is more abstract than "Michigan" and "Seven Swans." Songs like "Super Sexy Woman," "The Oracle said wonder," and "Jason" sounds to have more of a sonic youth/pavement influence than anything else. With that, this album does show the initial signs of harmony and melody so cherished on "Michigan" and "Seven Swans." "Year of the Rabbit" Sufjan's 2nd album dives more into exploring harmonies and melodies through electronics, but I'll save that discussion for a rainy day. This album is a wonderful display of the talent that Sufjan has shown consistently through-out his career. So, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND it!!! Get it, listen to it, and realize for yourself why Sufjan Stevens is a brilliant musician...

Sufjan Stevens, a musical guiness and former member of Hope Michigan's Marzuki, takes you on a musical journey with his mind blowing, jam packed CD with over 72 minutes of music. A perfect balance between electric and acoustic insturments. Playing nearly every insturment on every track, he presents you with a musical piece of art where every layer (or sound) plays an intrical part to that specific song, no matter how loud or soft that sound happened to be. Place on top of that, Sufjan's harmonizing voice singing out his poetic lyrics. By breaking new ground by making a sound that I find unique to only himself, I can't even think of another group to relate Sufjan's Stevens music too. And that's why I love this CD.

"Nothing Came Out" is THE BEST unrequited love song ever!! the rest of it kinda reminds me of the Pixies, but whatever it's still good....

i love the cd. mostly because i like to hear the same songs over and over again. it can sometimes get old though.

everytime i hear big girls don't cry i laugh out loud and look like a jackass on the train. that's cool. and so are the moldy peaches.

What this CD lacks in coherent though, it makes up for wholeheartedly in production quality. With catchy songs like "Who's [who has] got the Crack", the Moldy Peaches are sure to soon become the voice of a new generation -- A generation of twenty-something boys and girls who dress like rabbits, watch cartoons, and sing songs proclaiming their hate for their current genre. The Moldy Peaches once again raise the bar that much higher... perhaps higher than some of their biggest fans.

If you buy one album this year... make sure you have enough money left over for crack.

Some say that Parker Paul sounds drunk. I think he's simply tired. By the time he's finished living his life, he sings about it as if he has just woken up from a wonderful dream, or a horrible nightmare.

His thoughts can take time to follow... but reviewing the lyrics show a talent for stating the not-so-obvious: "The animatrons at Chuck E Cheese / Aren't bears and squirrels / but scribes and Pharisees." "The reasons why we kill ourselves / have stopped seem worth fighting for."

Great band... nice arrangements. Was there booze in the studio, or is it just early?

I thought it was kind of weird at first but after a couple of listenings I really like it!!

Picture Leo Kottke putting together some lounge act, throwing down his guitar, and now playing piano.The Lyrics are just as quirky as Leo's.It just reminds me of Leo Kottke.I love Leo and I am starting to love this.

Adrock doing what he does best - having a laugh. Fresh & alive as ever.

AD-Rock has done it again. I like this single more than the first BS2000 album. If you like the last beasties record,give this single a try. "Buddy" is a short quirky song.Makes you feel good. "The Scrappy" is a booty moving song that will probably take out the macerana.

BS2000 is the perfect project to fill in the gaps between beastie boy records.

Gwen Stacy

it may grow on me, and it already has to some degree, but i can already tell it won't have the staying power of their silly-but-brilliant debut, are you sleepy? the structure--a very close cousin to apples in stereo's _her wallpaper reverie_--works against it, i think, to some degree, and the accessible "hits" seem too few and far between.

as always, though, there's some nice keith moon-ish drumming, courtesy of jeremy barnes--sometime drummer for bright eyes and neutral milk hotel and brother of kevin barnes from of montreal.

Don't expect it to top the grandeur of the first one. You didn't think it was possible did you? THe first is much better; however, this too is an album that massages your brain with the brilliant fingers of beautiful music. His voice is just so soulful and heart-wrenched it makes me want to cry because its what I feel inside. It goes nicely through the whole album after you listen to it a couple times. It gets better as you listen to it.

It's hard to believe that I am the first person to review this excellent musical recording. The Gerbils first release is like a cereal bowl full of cigarette lighters that when struck produce an amiable, purplish liquid that is an appropriate substitute to starch, and when applied to clothing makes those inappropriate wrinkles a thing of the past. Their second release reintroduces the wrinkles, puts a flame to that wooden-mitten of logic, and as a result, provides a blueprint for redemption. For this reason, I really recommend this recording to those who allow their thoughts to bloom within pillowcases and are fond of distant relatives who whistle exclusively abroad.