Posts Tagged Indie Pop
6 March 2009 at 10:02 am
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Bob Stanley, Britpop, Doves, Indie Pop, Saint Etienne, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Still struggling to get back to some sort of regular posting schedule, but here are a few random news bits ….
- Doves have announced a North American tour in May and June to support their new album, Kingdom Of Rust (out April 7th). They’re playing the Fillmore in S.F. on May 18th, and since I’ve managed to miss them on both of their last two US tours (and any previous tours, of which I am unaware) I really better get my ass to this one.
- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are also launching a US tour, but since they’re spending half of it camped out in Austin, and the other half on the East Coast — before departing for a lengthy jaunt around Europe — fuck ‘em.
- And this is something I’ve been meaning to post a link to for weeks, but did you know that Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley wrote a Bee Gees record review for Pitchfork? They’ve referred to him as a staff writer a couple times since then, so maybe Pitchfork will be marginally less insufferable for the immediate future.
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15 February 2009 at 4:03 pm
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Album Review, Asobi Seksu, Dream Pop, Hush, Indie Pop, Shoegaze
I wrote last month about my initial disappointment with Asobi Seksu’s new album Hush, and now that the album is actually coming out I thought I should update my thoughts on it.
Except that I haven’t really changed my opinion much. Not so much a bad album as a disappointing one, Hush just isn’t as exciting or engaging as its predecessors.
At first I thought that I just missed those big, majestic guitars, since the band chose to go with a spare, fragile sound this time out — reminiscent of classic 4AD recordings — instead of their previous shoegazer guitar roar. And that may be part of it, because as anyone who reads this blog knows, I really like big majestic guitars. But the album’s real problem is that it’s a pretty dull listen, with one delicate, mid-tempo song after another blurring together into a rather dour monotony.
It’s not that the band is bad at dream pop. Songs like “Layers”, “Gliss”, and “Mehnomae” are quite beautiful. But the band has eschewed much of their earlier diversity here — nothing as punky as “Mizu Asobi” or “Asobi Masho”, nothing as flat-out poppy as “I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me” or “Taiyo” — mostly sticking to frigid, slow numbers. And this is where the production really hurts them, because there’s a surprising lack of dynamics to much of the material, as if a crush of huge guitars on the chorus was the only tool the band had in their arsenal to add emotional punch to their songs, and having decided to not do that this time around, the songs are left feeling empty and cold. The drums and guitars are extremely low in the mix for the most part, which does accentuate Yuki Chikudate’s wonderful, ethereal singing, but also leaves the songs badly in need of an injection of tension, drama, and release.
The album’s two best songs come at the end: “Glacially”, the ninth track, is built on top of a pulsing, melodic bassline (reminiscent of New Order) that adds some welcome urgency to the song, and has a tremolo-laden chorus that adds some of the excitement that’s so lacking elsewhere on the album. And closer “Blind Little Rain” is the album’s absolute highlight, a wonderful melding of girl-group elements (which the band flirted with on their b-side cover of “Then He Kissed Me” a couple years ago) with dream pop. The song is gorgeous and heart-breaking, and exudes a warmth that most of the rest of the album lacks. If only everything on Hush was this good.
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14 February 2009 at 8:44 pm
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Indie Pop, JPop, Lullatone, Twee Pop
I suspect this news is a bit old, but Japan-based twee IDM pajama pop duo Lullatone have a new limited edition single out, the “official soundtrack to Hello Kitty Black Wonder”, whatever the hell that is (it sounds awfully goth for Hello Kitty). You can listen to the song on the Lullatone website, and if so inclined, pick the single up for six bucks while you’re there. It’s what you’d expect from a Lullatone instrumental, gentle cute and whimsical.
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11 February 2009 at 11:49 pm
· Filed under Nonsense ·Tagged Camera Obscura, Indie Pop, My Maudlin Life
Camera Obscura have announced that their fourth album, My Maudlin Career, will be out on April 20th (21st in the US) on 4AD — which came as a surprise to me because honestly, I didn’t realize that that label still put out new music.
“My Maudlin Life”, the song, is streaming off their MySpace page right now (as well as supposedly being available for download off their web page), and sounds pretty good. Maybe a bit sonically denser than their previous material? But with that same delicate melancholy that we all know and love. I do hope that lead single “French Navy” will be a bit peppier, though.
I actually never really got into their last album, Let’s Get Out of This Country
, that much. No idea why, as it seems to hit all the same right notes that Underachievers
had a few years earlier. Maybe I wasn’t just in the mood for lilting Scottish indie pop in ‘06? I’ve been listening to it tonight, and yeah, it’s really quite good.
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31 January 2009 at 12:25 am
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Blur, Britpop, Indie Pop, Kasabian, My Bloody Valentine, my new music, New Order, Post-Punk, Shoegaze, Snow Patrol, Swervedriver, Underworld
Recently I went on a buying spree of songs that I used to have on CD, but got rid of at some point or another (as usual, ruthlessly trimming the CD collection):
Blur, “Tender”
, “Coffee & TV”, “Music Is My Radar”
– The first two are my favorite tracks off 13, my least favorite Blur album. The last is the only song here I’ve never heard before, the (then) new track off their greatest hits collection.
New Order, “Regret” – One of New Order’s poppiest singles, but also a long-time favorite of mine. I always said they should have more guitar in their songs.
New Order, “Ceremony” – Actually I bought both recorded versions of “Ceremony”, because I bought the original version
(which had a more Joy Division-like sound) by mistake first, when it was the 12″ version
that I was looking for.
Kasabian, “L.S.F.”
, “Test Transmission” – My two favorite tracks off their debut album.
Underworld, “Born Slippy Nuxx”
– Terribly overplayed thanks to Trainspotting, but I still love this song. There’s a terribly melancholy, detached feel to it which contrasts brilliantly with the intensity of the driving beats.
Snow Patrol, “Run”
– Although Snow Patrol has always seemed like the type of band that I’d like, I’ve never gotten that into them — with the exception of this song.
My Bloody Valentine, Glider EP
– My original introduction to shoegaze, picked up used for 99¢ my freshman year in college. It wasn’t nearly as great as the follow-up Tremolo EP
(to say nothing of the peerless Loveless
), so I eventually sold this off, but it’ll be nice to have a digital copy around when I’m in the mood.
Swervedriver, “She Weaves A Tender Trap”
– Off Swervedriver’s fourth and final album, 99th Dream. Landing halfway between shoegaze and anthemic Britpop, the album was actually not nearly as good as it should have been. But this song is absolutely top notch.
13
The Best Of Blur
Singles
Substance
Kasabian
1992-2002
Final Straw
Glider
99th Dream
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26 January 2009 at 10:15 pm
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Twee Pop, Longwave, my new music, Slowdive, My Little Airport
Some stuff I’ve picked up recently:
Slowdive, Morningrise
– An early Slowdive EP. eMusic was worthing signing up for if only to pick up all the early shoegaze albums and EP’s that they have (they just added the first two Swervedriver albums, too).
My Little Airport, Zoo Is Sad, People Are Cruel – Catchy, delightful indie pop from Hong Kong. Really great.
Longwave, Life of the Party
– I would’ve sworn this EP, with its seeming hodge-podge of tracks, was a promotional disc for the band’s second RCA album, There’s A Fire
, but it turns out it that it came out a full year earlier. Two songs off Fire appear here, the punkish “We’re Not Going To Crack” and an alternate (inferior) acoustic take of “There’s A Fire”. The EP’s title track may be the oddest thing I’ve ever heard by the band.
Morningrise
Zoo Is Sad, People Are Cruel
Life Of The Party
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26 January 2009 at 1:04 am
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Indie Dance, Indie Pop, Method Of Modern Love, Saint Etienne
Okay, I swear, this is my last post on Saint Etienne’s “Method Of Modern Love”. It’s not like the single’s even out or anything. But I got my hands on a copy of the song a few days back and I’ve been listening it since, so I wanted to share my thoughts.
First, the bad news: the entire song isn’t quite as fantastic as that heavenly 30 second clip of the chorus that was posted a few weeks back. How could it be? That bit is just feather-light pop perfection, and the rest of the song couldn’t possibly have lived up to it.
Disregarding that unrealistic expectation, though, the track is brilliant. It’s so great to hear Saint Etienne once again taking a dip into full-on dance floor material, especially when the song is as catchy and well put together as this one. The middle eight is a bit creaky, but everything else is just perfect, from the retro-80’s synth intro on. Hopefully this won’t be the last we hear from Saint Etienne this year.
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16 January 2009 at 10:03 pm
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Indie Dance, Indie Pop, Method Of Modern Love, Saint Etienne
I feel a bit pathetic, gushing like a fanboy over every crumb Saint Etienne throws out about their forthcoming “Method Of Modern Love” single … but in all honesty, the song just sounds drop-dead fantastic, the best thing I’ve heard out of them since “Stars Above Us” (I’d be even more excited if I thought the song would get a domestic release in the US). The band is now streaming a clip of the song off their MySpace page, longer than the one that circulated in late December, and it still sounds awesome.
They’ve also now released the cover art:
The single is out in the UK on February 9th.
UPDATE: Via Chartrigger, you can hear the various mixes from the single here.
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16 January 2009 at 10:24 am
· Filed under Nonsense ·Tagged Indie Pop, Asobi Seksu, Shoegaze, Dream Pop, my new music, Lush, Amusement Parks On Fire
Another rundown on recent music I’ve picked up. This edition is all about shoegaze, old and new. I’ve been listening to a lot of shoegaze lately.
Asobi Seksu, “Me & Mary” – The lead single off Asobi Seksu’s forthcoming album
came out in November. I picked up the b-side, “Breathe Into Glass”, back then, but I was going to hold off on the A-side since it’s on the album too. But … well, I didn’t.
Lush, Gala
– Gala collected Lush’s first three EP’s, Scar, Mad Love, and Sweetness and Light, along with a couple then-new songs. I had this on cassette back in the early 90’s, and liked it much more than their first full-length, Spooky
. I actually downloaded several songs off this when I first signed up with eMusic back in September, so I decided to buy the rest of the album.
Lush, “Monochrome” – The final track off the aforementioned Spooky, and my favorite. eMusic’s copy was actually off the best-of comp Ciao!
.
Amusement Parks On Fire, s/t
– Supposedly composed and recorded solo by Michael Feerick before his 20th birthday, this impressive 2005 shoegaze record has a rather muscular, emotionally direct sound, at times hinting at mid-90’s American alt-rock.
Me & Mary
Gala
Spooky
Amusement Parks On Fire
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2 January 2009 at 1:09 pm
· Filed under Music ·Tagged Indie Pop, Twee Pop, my new music, Bricolage, Heavenly, Lorelei, Marine Research, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Wrapping up the last of my music purchases from ‘08, in two parts to keep things a little more coherent. This post will stick to the indie pop, as the indie pop buying spree that started before Christmas lasted a bit after the holiday. I like my indie pop in small doses, so most of these are singles and EPs:
Bricolage, “Footsteps” b/w “Night Falls With Vertigo” – I know nothing about this band, except that they sound a lot like Orange Juice, and I think they’re from Scotland.
Lorelei, Asleep EP
– I know Lorelei from a handful of cuts spread between the Why Popstars Can’t Dance and One Last Kiss
compilations in the mid-90’s. This 1993 EP is more of the same, noisy shoegaze-influenced indie pop.
Heavenly, P.U.N.K. Girl
– Collects two early (1994?) singles by the classic noisy pop band.
Marine Research, Sounds from the Gulf Stream
– Heavenly transformed into this band after the suicide of Mathew Fletcher. As with every time this gang changes names (which is a fair bit), there’s no radical departure in sound, just some progression in sophistication of craft.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart EP – Another band I know basically nothing about, but this 2007 EP sounds pretty good. Noisy, jangly guitar pop. So far my favorite thing here.
Footsteps
Asleep EP
P.U.N.K. Girl
Sounds From The Gulf Stream
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart EP
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