Indie and Lo-Fi music reviews

The Thermals kick my ass every day with brutal sonic punishment, and I love it.

The Thermals rip ugly. If you like any of the bands listed up there for "similar artists", I personally guarantee that this CD will be the best six bucks you ever spend. It is a fantastic breed of almost melodious "punk", these guys are no Yellowcard folks.

One of the greatest band around right now. All of there songs are fast and energetic. If your looking for a new artist to listen too, the thermals is it. Listen to "How we know" I like that one the best.

It's been 5 years since the last proper Strapping Fieldhands release (Wattle & Duab). From the first few strums of the first song of "The Third Kingdom", you'll realize its been time well spent. It's the same ol' Fieldhands, yet new-and-improved! Skiffle-pop-freekbeat-psyche sung by Elvis' mildly retarded twin brother backed by a rhythm section that sounds weirdly like an Appalachin Pavement, or maybe a Merseyside GbV. Whatever...
You'll not hear a more inventive, yet oddly familiar record this year. Too bad the Siltbreeze folks missed out on this thoroughbred! Don't you miss out, too!

1. Got all this Waiting
2. Non Non Non
3. Dont Make Waves
4. Rules for Love
5. Ain't it the Truth
6. Arkansas Heat
7. Confess
8. Gone Tomorrow
9. Dangerr
10. I wanna Be Your dog (w/ Chromatics)

that's the play list, sort of, it's different on the album. this album is good but could have been so much better. they are one of the greatest live acts i've ever seen but on this album they chose to overpower beth's powerful voice with static and they cut her off when she is talking to the audience. i'd suggest only hard-core gossip fans get this and directly from the label, dimmak.

Eyesinweasel is Tobin Sprout's(ex-GbV) new band.This cd is jam packed with beautiful,intelligent songs that showcase Tobin's growth as a songwriter.The other musicians in Eyesinweasel contribute a somewhat rockier feel to this cd than prior Tobin solo efforts.7&9 is a perfect uptempo opener with it's catchy little chorus and abrupt ending.Dusting Coattails starts off with an hell of a guitar riff and again reels you in with a sing-a-long chorus.Marriage Incorporated is lyrically a wonderful commentary on the institution of marriage. It also boasts a most tasteful use of a theremin in rock song,without sounding cheesy.There are other winners on this CD: Pure Flesh, There She Goes Again (trademark Toby harmonies)Little Bored (clever little ditty)Jealous mantles(pure power pop)Hands and Covers(perfect harmonies)This is one beautiful cd....Buy it.

This should have been the title for this release. This is the absolute last time that I buy something based upon recomendations from strangers - my bad. I have to say that there are some brief snippets - very brief - of song ideas, but no fully realized listenable compositions. Frequently, when it seems like something listenable comes along - there they go again - harmonizing - or so they think. 11 minute sonic spectacular? Have any of these reviewers ever listened to Pink Floyd? Or Frank Zappa?

One reviewer wrote "At various points, vocal harmonies approach each other, seemingly at random, until perfection is achieved". The only explanation for this is that this reviewer is President of the Tone Deaf Society of America. This band couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. If you want harmonies that frequently reach perfection try the Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash or the Beach Boys.

If you are starting to think that I must have a prejudice against indie music, think again - I have a collection that includes Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, The Shins, Beulah, Apples in Stereo, Let's Active, Kings of Leon, Of Montreal and Elf Power just to name a few off the top of my head. My musical interests are broad and I think I am very open-minded when it comes to the creative musical process. I grew up on The Stones, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles... but I have a disc that I love by The White Stripes. If it's good, it's good... this release by the Microphones isn't.

Something I realized about the Microphones: They're not that interesting

This is one killer album. I enjoyed it from cover to cover and it opened my ears to another style of acoustic guitar in music. Although it is not nearly limited to the strummy strum of Phil Elvrum, the advent of headphones in such situations is helpful, if not only due to the fact that the nuances found in the stereo sound is helpful. Just be careful to not turn the volume all the way up to experience every little nook and cranny, simply because the album is so well paced and varied that you will go from drifting down stream to flying past comets within moments of eachother.

If you don't believe me, ask these fools.
http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/m/microphones/it-was-hot-we-stayed-in-the-water.shtml

I got this Cd because I liked the two Cds "Fun Trick Noisemaker" and "tone soul evolution" and that I had heard the songs on it were the best so far. When I listened to the Cd I was disappointed, the songs that were there were indeed very good, but there were too few and the Cd was too brief. The Apples attempt to sound like Olivia Tremor Control with the artistic sounds didnt work for such a short EP, and the fact that they all sounded the same. But the songs that are there are very good, heavily influenced by the Kinks and the Beatles. A good Cd but shouldnt be priced over $5.

Her Wallpaper Reverie is simultaneously one of the best and worst CDs I've listened to in a long time. How can it be both at once, you're asking? Well, it's rather like this...

On one hand, you have the Apples' trademark ability to synthesize 60s pop down to absolutely brilliant and tasty pop nuggets. "The Shiney Sea" floats by like a lone cloud on a sunny day, "Ruby" almost effortlessly manages to sound both like early Beatles and create a song as catchy as anything the Beatles did in their early days, and there's, of course, the brilliant "Strawberryfire," which almost manages to outdo Lennon's psychadelic sound experiments like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

However, with every brilliant song such as this, there is the horrendous filler. I rather like psychadelia, but the stopgap tracks between songs are pure directionless noodling. None of them start anywhere and most of them end nowhere, leaving you to scratch your head. And that says nothing about the concept of this CD either. Who in their right mind would actually RECORD a CD about what happens when you take a few too many bonghits and stare at the wallpaper for a while?

If The Apples in Stereo had managed to cut the terrible filler tracks, we'd have a lovely 7 song EP as opposed to the bloated 15 track one they released instead. As such, you're going to have to take the good with the bad on this one if you're going to buy it. Otherwise, check out some of the Apples' other CDs first.

"Her Wallpaper Reverie" may be a pretty short EP, but it's definitely worth it. The EP has three great psychedelic pop songs ("The Shiney Sea", "Strawberryfire" and "Ruby"), and while the rest aren't as great they're still very good. It's just a very interesting and creative EP. I wouldn't call it a "classic", but genre fans will definitely love every minute of it. The lyrics tend to be pretty pointless, although they can be interesting at times (and catchy - see "Ruby"). The musicianship is very 60's-ish - it could've easily come out in that decade. Indie pop fans will love this, and everyone else will probably like the first three "real" songs on here (the roman numeraled songs are psychedelic experimental instrumentals). For $10.00, though, I don't think it has enough songs on it to warrant a "5". All in all, this is highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire EP!

A few years ago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art hosted an extensive exhibit from the Van Gogh Museum. Van Gogh's works were clustered chronologically and geographically into five groups displayed in five rooms. The earliest works in the first room showed Van Gogh trying to be a classic Dutch painter. The next room (Paris) showed Van Gogh trying to be everybody. The works imitated Cezanne, Seurat, Japanese prints, Courbet, etc. It was a time of experimentation and searching for his own voice.

In the third room (when Van Gogh was in Arles), Van Gogh became Van Gogh. In Arles, Van Gogh embraced his own approach, painting boldly with spontenaity and confidence. The Arles room was a relief; the master was finally revealed.

But Arles could not have existed without Paris. The confident masterworks were the fruit of the tentative experimentation.

"Dusk at Cubist Castle" and "Black Foliage" are Arles. "Singles and Beyond" is Paris.

The joy of "Singles and Beyond" is in hearing the seeds of what would become "Dusk at Cubist Castle" and "Black Foliage." Of course, "Singles" is a hodge-podge. Of course, it isn't cohesive. They cobbled "Singles" together from bits a pieces of pre-"Dusk" tapes and EPs.

"Singles" is worthwhile for the glimpse it gives into what comes later. If you are already an Olivia Tremor Control fan, buy it for this. If you are new to OTC, pass on "Singles" until after you have digested "Black Foliage" and "Dusk."

Lo-fi fuzz-pop. Experimental soundscape. Even a little rock'n'roll. Olivia Tremor Control has them all in "Presents Singles & Beyond," a collection of assorted singles. It lacks the cohesion that makes the full LPs such a marvelous listen, but taken alone it's still a good collection.

It kicks off with lo-fi pop in "Love Athena," before switching to the weird ballad "Today I Lost A Tooth," and the acoustic guitar duo "California Demise 1 & 2." But soon they switch into darker turf -- a bizarrely gritty "Fireplace" and the sputteringly melodic "Collage 1," which resonates with computerized notes and squeals.

After that, there's no stopping them: lo-fi pop, eerie experimental numbers, morbid rock. "The Giant Day" is something that few Olivia Tremor Control songs are -- danceable and hookish. Then it's the roiling lo-fi grind of "Shaving Spiders," backed up by what sounds like a cracking whip. It ends on an appropriately eerie note with the electronic-warped ballad "The Ships."

Olivia Tremor Control is the symphony of indie rock -- sprawling, complex, and thoroughly beautiful. And taken individually, each song in "Presents Singles and Beyond" is enjoyable at worst, outstanding at best. Even the rough, lo-fi stuff sounds meticulously put together.

The flaw? Olivia Tremor Control is best listened to as a sprawling sonic experience, each song complementing what comes before and after. "Singles and Beyond" doesn't do that. They feel like a handful of beautiful mosaic beads strung together randomly -- still pretty, but not as pretty as they would be if they were carefully arranged.

But musically this can't be faulted. There are one or two less-than-astounding songs, like the rather dull "California Demise" songs. But the majority do what Olivia Tremor Control does best, melding gentle ballads (the lovely "The Princess Turns The Key To The Cubist Castle") with warped experimental numbers. Lo-fi fuzz is used like an instrument, right next to guitars, rippling keyboards and drums.

"Presents Singles and Beyond" is the weakest release by Olivia Tremor Control, but that still puts it head and shoulders above most music. An enchanting collection of singles.... and beyond.

greatest hits type records can either dramaticly short change a band or it can provide an interesting perspective on a band's career. All in all, this is a pretty solid take on one of elephant 6's finest. My first reaction, however, was that otc never quite got back to "california demise" form. But if you're interested in the band i would recomend this collection as a great place to start (especially considering how difficult it is to find anything else from otc)

I am sorry. I am a big GBV fan, and a big Pollard fan, but he is losing his mind. No one on earth, ever, could expect to write half the number of songs he's publishing these days and have the majority of them be interesting tunes. This album is so non-memorable it's almost unbelievable that it comes from the (former?) master of the indie pop hook, Bob Pollard, and Tobin Sprout, a catcy tunesmith himself. I have listened to it five or six times since (gasp) purchasing it for full retail price, and I find it less interesting and more irritating very time. There are plenty of great GBV albums out there, as well as good Pollard side project albums. I am not, I might add, being an "old-GBV" purist, it's just simply that this album pretty much blows.

Do see GBV live if you get the chance, though. They rock. Bring earplugs.

how can it go wrong? the greatness achieved during their first collaboration (all the classic era GbV and the incredible twisted tonic and chasers) is strangely missing. in its stead one gets an entirely enjoyable and bland album. this is a three star record. however, the very presence of stifled man casino earns it an extra one!

And they don't let me down on this effort. Sprout lays down the instrumental tracks and Pollard contributes vocals and lyrics, with the exception of one exclusively Sprout track. The whole album jangles and buzzes and drones beautifully with Sprout's guitars, synths, and drums. Pollard's peerless melodic sense shines throughout and his trademark lyrical weirdness is as compelling and enigmatic as ever. This album has been in, on, or around my stereo for weeks. "Stifled Man Casino" is a crunchy guitar-pop gem guaranteed to make you get out your air guitar and nail those power chords, and "Tomorrow You May Rise" is a haunting anthem to human perseverance: "Stand up crying, don't bend/You are not lost in the present/Tomorrow you may rise..." The album's sound is remarkably crisp and clear for a relatively low-budget production and the cover art is monochromatically dark and cool (a photo of two guys at some kind of switchboard...Sprout and Pollard at the Fountain of Sparks?), much like the music itself. Buy it.

This is children's music for adults, and in the worst possible way. There is nothing genuinely sweet about this record, all of the songs are forced and insincere. This is probably the second worst CD I have ever paid full price for, the worst being a Danielson Familie album.

It takes a very brave rock frontman to sing, "I am a happy yellow bumble bee/I fly around the flowers and trees." But Kevin Barnes is not an ordinary frontman. Of Montreal is not an ordinary band. And "The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy" is an extraordinary concept album, both whimsical and poignant.

The album seems to follow a love affair: people being attracted to each other, falling in love and getting that glorious buzz from it, becoming close and comfortable, but ("Only losing something beautiful could make a person feel this way") finally splitting in heartbreak. At first it seems rather sugary, but repeated listens show that it's actually very wrenching.

It opens with a bouncy, buzzy ode called "One of a Very Few of a Kind," followed by the chirrupy "Happy Yellow Bumblebee." The narrator vows "I will be a good boy and never tell you the bad things that I think about." They head to the sensuous "Honeymoon in San Francisco," followed by a string of cutesy little songs that talk about "my panda bear" and "my cutie pie."

But then things go downhill, starting with the poignant "Please Tell Me So." Then he admits, "But sweetheart, incredibly it's true..../that your cutie pie has forgotten what he saw in you," but then pleads with her not to go. The narrative ends with heartbreak, flipping through photographs and nursing his pain.

"Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy" is well-named -- it's a tragedy, but a very personal, petite one. Anyone who has ever fallen in love, but had that love fall through, will see a bit of themselves in this album. It's less goofy and more serious than Of Montreal's other albums, and it suits them well.

The music is relatively low on the weirdness scale. It sounds like a blend of the Beatles and Beach Boys -- mellow and sweet. Most of it was guitars and piano, with sweeps of organ, harmonica, tambourines and the occasional horn. But sometimes we get stuff like the representation of the "Couple's First Kiss": party horns, carnival sounds and a sweet music box melody.

Of Montreal's "Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy" is overshadowed by other brilliant albums. But this one is psychedelic pop for lovers nursing a broken heart.

i really think it's one of the hardest things in the world to write a successfully happy song without sounding dumb, cliche, or corny. of montreal avoids all of these things successfully, and crafts pretty damn good albums. the 60s influence is obviously there and rightfully so, *i* think they pull off a more honest and dynamic approach to pop songs than a lot of their classmates in the school of pop music (their connection to the brilliant alterior movement in pop w/great bands like the music tapes, olivia tremor control, neutral milk hotel is not to be ignored, but also not to be grouped with! ).

they get slung a lot of bad reviews from people without a tolerance for any sort of pop music, but i think if you can stand to not be self-conscious about how this compares with the rest of your record collection for 40 minutes and just enjoy someone else's view into a world less tragic and bitter than yours, this album is simple but smart, sweet and quirky, straightforward and unpretentious, and so are all their others.