Indie Rock
The Wonder Years Nervous Energies Session
The Wonder Years have recently done an acoustic session with Nervous Energies for the new album, Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing. You can check out the band play “Local Man Ruins Everything” below. Go to Nervous Energies here to also check out acoustic versions of “Don’t Let Me Cave In” and “Woke Up Older”.
Jimmy Eat World To Play ‘Bleed American’ In Its Entirety
Ten years ago, Arizona alternative rock band Jimmy Eat World released their critically-acclaimed Bleed American. To celebrate, the band has decided to perform the album in its entirety on September 29th at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Pre-sale tickets will be available on July 28th, with the public sale beginning on the 30th.
When the band decided to play both Bleed American and Clarity back to back at London’s Forum, the band sold out both shows – a feat not entirely surprising for a forefront of the emo and alt-rock movements. Their latest album, 2010’s Invented, was rated highly (read our review here) and was just 500 sales shy of becoming the band’s third album to debut in the top ten.
You can check out more of Jimmy Eat World’s 2011 tour dates below.
Explosions in the Sky Video
Despite being in the post-rock business for over a decade, Explosions in the Sky have released their first ever music video for the song “Last Known Surroundings” off of Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. You can watch the triptastic video at their website here.
Review: Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Released: June 21, 2011
Label: 4AD / Jagjaguwar
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Bon Iver’s debut effort For Emma, Forever Ago was an outpouring of emotional tumult cast against the backdrop of a Wisconsin log cabin and not-yet forgotten heartbreak. Surrealist lyrics meandered through and around softly strummed guitar by way of a subdued falsetto, and as enigmatic front man Justin Vernon laid his miseries bare it was both intimate and understandable. Four years on, and in their sophomore album Bon Iverthe American indie-folk ensemble have realized a sound that is superficially a bold step away from Vernon’s earnestly raw beginnings.
The log cabin is out of the picture, and Emma never mentioned. These two formative mainstays of For Emmahave been abandoned entirely, and in their place what remains is the question as to whether its’ follow up retains a similar sense of sincerity. Ultimately, writing critically about the ardor of this record is a conflicting undertaking, and stirs in the reviewer an inalienable sense of indecency. There is an emotional unrestraint to Vernon’s lyrics that makes any commentary feel facile – as if one were mentioning a subject-verb disagreement in a suicide note, or a poorly constructed metaphor in a wedding vow. These all seem so deeply personal and emotionally charged that perhaps fixating on trifling matters such as lucidity just isn’t decorum. The meanings of these songs are derived holistically – on their own, the lyrics oftentimes seem like gibberish and are possibly intentionally alien to a casual listener – and only after concerted effort. Very few listeners will be able to initially listen to “Calgary” and immediately glean that it is an ode to love between two people – who haven’t yet met. Once you realize this (which for this reviewer took all of four listens) not only does it seem beautiful, but it makes sense, too.
So is the record as honest as its predecessor? I would suppose that it probably isn’t, but therein lies the hidden difficulty of this record: who are we to judge the authenticity of something so obviously individual?
What can be said is that it has lost a sense of commonality that defined For Emma. In Emma, there was a prevalent sense of desperation that shone through the Vernon-specific subject matter simply because it was so relatable. Bon Iver falters here – the album is thematically incongruent. “Perth”, a “civil war heavy metal” piece is followed by “Minnesota, WI”, a declaration of strength following saying goodbye. This trend of dissimilarity is continued across the album and it is less connective as a result.
Where the album truly excels is in its impeccable arrangement, and the sheer technical skill that was less pronounced on For Emma. Their debut was economically constructed and at times sparse, whereas Bon Iveris a work of maximalist near-perfection. Whether this is as a result of Vernon’s continued collaboration with the egomaniacal Kanye West or the inclusion of new band members Mike Noyce, S. Carey (of solo fame) and Matthew McCaughan is unclear, but regardless there is an obvious musical confidence to the album. Consider the oft-discussed “Beth/Rest” – a superficially comical track that treads on the musical DMZ of early-eighties, Richie-esque love ballads but, perplexingly, pulls it off. Very few artists would voluntarily include a church organ in their album’s closer, but Bon Iver has and the result is a track that is both soaring and tender not in spite, but rather because, of the unorthodox arrangement.
The similarities between Vernon and his frequent collaborator ‘Ye end here, though – where Kanye’s confidence extends into arrogance, there are no pretentions in Bon Iver’s work. Consider Vernon’s mournfully trill on “Holocene”, “at once I knew / I was not magnificent”: the persona presented throughout this album is immediately human and moreover likeable. This serves to imbue the record with a unassailable imperative to listen, just listen, and appreciate.
Bon Iver is as lovely, dark and deep as the woods of Vernon’s Midwestern hometown. It is a confusing and touching record, and consistently defies interpretation. It may be less relatable than For Emma, Forever Ago, but don’t let this belie the fact that this is a transformative album. Substantial, buoyant, staunch – Bon Iver’sBon Iver is, at least in this reviewer’s opinion, the best album of the year so far.
9.3
Standout Tracks: “Holocene” and “Beth/Rest”
Interview: fun.
Nate Ruess, vocalist of fun., took some time to talk with Lost in the Sound. fun. is currently on the Vices and Virtues tour with Panic! at the Disco and Funeral Party. Two years after releasing critically acclaimed album,Aim and Ignite, the band is finally working on a sophomore album. Nate talked about the current tour, the new album, and more. Check out the interview below.
Nate: It’s been really fun. People are super nice and there’s been nothing to complain about. A very stock answer, but true.
LitS: You always describe fun.’s live shows as a “whirling dervish” of music. Has anything changed from these live shows over the years?
Nate: No. It still feels kind of the same. There’s still a kind of raw energy to the shows where we’re always smiling.
LitS: Are there any differences between your live shows with fun. and The Format?)
Nate: Yeah, of course. There’s been different songs and a whole different bunch of things. Aside from me, everything is totally different. (more…)
Watch Bon Iver on The Colbert Report
To promote their newly-released record, Justin Vernon-fronted Bon Iver dropped by The Colbert Report to perform two songs: the lead single “Calgary” from Bon Iver, Bon Iver and long-time fan favorite “Skinny Love” off For Emma, Forever Ago. Hit the break to check out the videos.
The new album was released yesterday in the UK and Europe via 4AD and is now available everywhere else via Jagjaguwar. They’ll be dropping by on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” tonight for another performance. If that’s still not enough, be sure to check out one of Jagjaguwar’s listening parties for the LP across America. You can check out those locations here.
Bon Iver – “Calgary”
Bon Iver – “Skinny Love”
Review: The Wonder Years – Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing
The Wonder Years – Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing
Released: June 14, 2011
Label: Hopeless Records
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Let’s face it: the pop punk movement is nowhere near its past prominence. The former progenitors have all been missing in action, and very few new bands have been able to step into their shoes and keep the movement afloat.
But all hope is not yet lost. This year may mark the resurgence of pop punk, with the return of Taking Back Sunday and Saves The Day, just to name a few – all set to release new records during the next few months. And it’s certainly hard to ignore the new Fireworks album, Gospel.
And it’s even harder to ignore The Wonder Years.
In 2010, the band hooked listeners everywhere with their second studio album, The Upsides, which was later released by their new record label Hopeless Records. In a struggling scene, The Wonder Years shone and shone brightly.
Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing is not a new take on the genre, nor is it even much different from The Upsides, but it is a refreshingly honest and raw look into the lives of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania band. With that in mind, Suburbia is fundamentally built the same way The Upsides was, filled with relatable tales of misery, loneliness, struggle, and ultimately triumph. In essence, Suburbia could be considered The Upsides 2.0, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.
Opener “Came Out Swinging”, a track that is aptly titled, fades in with feedback and a muted voiceover murmuring “My mind is made up” and “There’s gonna be trouble.” The intensity of frontman Dan “Soupy” Campbell’s vocals on the opener set the tone of the album, continued with the blaring guitars and unforgiving drumming of the next two tracks – “Woke Up Older” and “Local Man Ruins Everything”.
“My Life As A Pigeon”, a song that details the struggles that accompanied the band’s recent success, is directed at the band’s fans and non-fans. On one of the album’s catchiest hooks, Soupy belts out “I won’t be afraid of making mistakes if you’re listening. Are you listening?”, straying from the outright positivity (“I’m not sad anymore”) on The Upsides and presenting the jaded nature of full-time band life. Tracks like the religion-criticizing “I Won’t Say the Lord’s Prayer” further demonstrate a lyrical maturity from Soupy, while “You Made Me Want To Be A Saint” and “Hoodie Weather” highlight the instrumental progression of the band as a whole.
Guitarists Matt Brasch, Casey Cavaliere and Nick Steinborn and bassist Josh Martin have all become much more technically capable. But the most noticeable growth is that of drummer Mike Kennedy, who delivers precise and rapid beats throughout Suburbia. As a unit, The Wonder Years have improved dramatically as songwriters, backing the raw and largely unedited vocals of Soupy. Closing track “And Now I’m Nothing” exemplifies the band’s new sound, complete with the crunch of the guitars, frantic drumming, and soaring vocals.
Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing takes all the qualities that set The Upsides apart and amplifies them, resulting in one of pop-punk’s finest releases in a long time. With Suburbia, The Wonder Years cement their place at the forefront of the scene, accomplishing the tremendous feat of topping The Upsidesand managing to do so without compromising their roots and perhaps more importantly, their authenticity.
9.0
Standout Tracks: “Came Out Swinging”, “My Life As A Pigeon”, and “And Now I’m Nothing”
Listen: Leann Grimes – “Yeah We Up”
Leann Grimes, the side-project of Now You See Them‘s Shane Conerty, has just released a new track entitled “Yeah We Up”. The track samples and remixes GIVERS‘ “Up Up Up”, which is the opening cut on the indie pop band’s new album In Light. As with his own debut album, Shane chosee to show his appreciation for music blogs and indie bands by reconstructing songs posted on blogs and adding his personal spin to them.
Listen to or download “Yeah We Up” below. You can check out the self-titled Leann Grimes release on his Bandcamp here.
Listen: Wild Flag – “Romance”
All-female supergroup Wild Flag debuted the first single from their upcoming self-titled debut today on WFMU’s Cherry Blossom Clinic. “Romance” will be released on Wild Flag, which is set to be released on September 13th via Merge Records.
Wild Flag is composed of former Sleater-Kinney members Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, Helium‘s ex-frontgirl Mary Timony, and The Minders‘ former keyboardist Rebecca Cole. Listen to the track and check out the band’s upcoming tour dates below.
Review: Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
Released: June 7, 2011
Label: Domino
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Once hailed as the leaders of the Next British Invasion, Arctic Monkeys have returned with Suck It and See, once again proving that the British are still enchanting all these years later. However, this album represents a departure from the Monkeys’ traditional format of quick vocals and whimsical guitar riffs. With a heavier emphasis on distortion and an attitude befit for a grizzled, veteran rocker, Suck It and See sounds less like pop-rock and more like the album The Strokes should have made.
The album begins with the dark twang of singer Alex Turner’s guitar when suddenly his vocals pierce the vibe and lead into the song’s melodic first verse. Add a triumphant chorus and sprinkle in a bass walk or two and you have “She Thunderstorms” which sets the tone for the rest of the record. You won’t hear any of Turner’s near-breathless courses, though. Suck It and See relies more on a slower melody rather than the usual Arctic Monkeys tempo. While it’s depressing that they shook what used to be their trademark sound, “She Thunderstorms” demonstrates that the new, more mature Arctic Monkeys are just as talented as the band that made “Fluorescent Adolescent “ and “I Bet That You Look Good on the Dance Floor.”
But the most interesting song by far on the album isn’t “She Thunderstorms.” Oh no, my friends, that song is rather tamed compared to “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I Moved Your Chair.” Someone must have cranked up Nick O’Malley’s bass because this track is the hardest and heaviest track the Monkeys’ have ever produced. As strange as it feels to write this, this song almost sounds… metal? I’m perplexed that Arctic Monkeys did a song like this, but strangely I’m okay with it. They’ve shed the punk attitude and have taken up the mantle of total badasses. On another other album I would have hated it, but Suck It and See’s darker tone allows this song to shine. Of course, the lyrics are still sarcastic and ridiculous like all Alex Turner-penned songs, especially with the heavy bass and in your face drums. This track is sure to become a fan favorite at concerts because of the audio assault it wages on your ear drums. Just listening to it makes you want to wear a leather jacket, light a cigarette, and spray paint something vaguely political on a nearby building.
The whole album personifies what it means to be a rock star and no song embodies this theme better than the title track and obvious double entendre “Suck It and See.” The song follows Turner as he tries to seduce a young women with golden pick up lines like “You’re rarer than a can of dandelion and burdock/And those other girls are just postmix lemonade.” If you are British, this line is probably hilarious. If you’re like me and are confused why flowers are in a can, the line is basically “You’re a rare soda compared to Country Time lemonade mix”. Excluding the lack quick-fired lyrics, “Suck It and See” is probably the most traditional Arctic Monkeys song on the album. Every line is full of sarcasm and the boyish charm that we all fell in love with back in 2005.
Although there are a lot of gems layered throughout the album, Suck It and See is far from perfect. It suffers from a few duds, specifically the track they teased back in March, “Brick by Brick.” Fans of classic rock might enjoy this throwback track, but in my opinion its cheesiness and overall feel doesn’t fit well with the rest of the songs. The call and response verses are really corny and derail the album after its strong start (“She Thunderstorms”, “Black Treacle”). Thankfully they’re able to pull it back together and despite a couple dull moments, Suck It and See is a great example of how a band can successfully evolve and mature. Arctic Monkeys are back and prove that the Next British Invasion isn’t dead. It’s just getting started.
8.4
Standout Tracks: “Black Treacle”, “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I Moved Your Chair”, and “Suck It and See”
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