Posted in Indie Rock

New Best Coast Demo: “How They Want Me To Be”

 

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Bethany Cosentino fronted surf pop band Best Coast have been on quite a roll lately. After releasing the music video for single “Our Deal”, which was directed by Drew Barrymore and featured a star-studded cast including Donald Glover and Miranda Cosgrove, the band follow up with a brand new song called “How They Want Me To Be”. The new cut was recorded during the Crazy For You sessions but will be re-recorded and included on the band’s upcoming second album. No details yet on the album.

MP3: Best Coast – “How They Want Me To Be”

 

You can watch the video for “Our Deal” after the break.

Review: The Rosebuds – Loud Planes Fly Low

The Rosebuds – Loud Planes Fly Low

Released: June 7, 2011
Label: Merge Records
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon

The great thing about music is that it is never meant to be an isolated entity, always finding a way to intertwine itself with the listener’s emotions and experiences. Some music simply embodies the meaning of the word “fun,” while others speak to us when we’re in the darkest of moods. The Rosebuds have always been hard to define on this musical spectrum of emotions, ambiguously falling somewhere in-between. Their upbeat indie rock/folk sound has always been “enjoyable” musically, but lyrically, this happiness always been neutralized by their darker, tempered tales.

Their fifth studio album, Loud Planes Fly Low, is another beast entirely. After the release of 2008’s Life Like, the North Carolina duo divorced and the future of The Rosebuds was in grave danger. Loud Planes Fly Low is the byproduct of their life after divorce, capturing the whirlwind of emotions that Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp experienced while reconciling their partnership. With so much source material to draw from, the two manage to create their finest release yet and arguably one of this year’s best as well.

But Loud Planes Fly Low isn’t an album about break-up in general. It’s about a transition in their lives, finding the subtle balance between their romantic and working partnerships. It’s painful, but the two don’t mope; it’s been done before, but not cliché, it’s filled with sorrow from start to finish, but not depressing; it’s subdued at times, but not restrained. The record is a surprisingly quiet expression of the intense feelings being shared; although the music isn’t overtly powerful (cautious tempos and generally down-played melodies), the emotions shine through.

Calling for a new beginning rather than a return to older, happier times, the two seem troubled, yet ultimately content on where they stand. On album opener “Go Ahead”, endless waves of synths, organs, and layered vocals blend together to create a feeling of serenity inspired by Howard’s fantasies and dreams. “Go ahead, let’s plant a forest / Where we can hide when the city expels us. / We can sleep in the branches / Our own little outpost in the trees,” he croons, painting a bittersweet picture of what could have been. On album standout “Come Visit Me”, Crisp returns the favor with her painful admission, “And I want to feel something way out here / I need something to happen now, even if it fucks me up / Come visit me, way out here / I need you to see me, even if it makes it worse” with Howard harmonizing in the background. The two, as troubled as they are, make light of their pain by crystallizing it and expressing it fearlessly.

Employing poetry in its rawest form, the minimalistic “Without A Focus” and closing track “Worthwhile” solely feature Howard and his guitar, showing that while the feelings of acceptance and reconciliation are there, the heartbreak that he has felt is still raw and apparent all over; wearing his heart on his tattered sleeves, Howard pleads as he just manages to eke out, “All I want is to make this all worthwhile.”

In all respects, The Rosebuds have managed to create a gem that is clearly deserving of universal praise. It certainly wasn’t an easy recording process for the two, but they manage to do so, struggling with their own personal problems rather than directing their disappointment and pain at each other. The result? A powerful outpouring of emotions that engulfs listeners from the very start. While there’s no clear sense of closure here, that’s okay: Loud Planes Fly Low may signify the end of their romance, but it isn’t the end of The Rosebuds.

9.4

Standout Tracks: “Go Ahead”, “Come Visit Me”, and “Worthwhile”

Ariel Pink, Kurt Vile, and More Contribute to ‘Recorded for Japan’

joomplu:292Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Kurt Vile, R. Stevie Moore (with members of MGMT) and more artists recently recorded a compilation album entitled Recorded for Japan to aid the relief effort in Japan. A hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated directly to the ongoing relief and reconstruction, with the money going to the Japanese Red Cross.

The compilation will be available on August 4 and is digital-only. You can purchase it here.

Recorded for Japan Track Listing:
01. Beige – Focus *
02. R. Stevie Moore (feat. Members of MGMT) – You Are Too Far From Me *
03. K. Heasley – Belief Match
04. Ice Choir – Two Rings (Hard Mix)
05. Chairlift – The Chase (Propaganda cover)
06. Pablo Picasso – Whip *
07. Kurt Vile – Been Searchin’
08. Kuroma – Running People
09. Acrylics – Sparrow Song *
10. Violens – When To Let Go *
11. Erika Spring – 6 More Weeks (Vacation Version) *
12. Patrick Cleandenim – In My Baby’s Eyes (After Dark Version) *
13. Regal Degal – Excuse Me Who Am I Talking To? *
14. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Thespian City (Live)

*in-studio performance

Review: The Gallery – Come Alive

The Gallery – Come Alive

Released: February 22, 2011

Label: Unsigned

Purchase: iTunes | Amazon | Bandcamp

The Gallery is a band on the rise. Having built grassroots bases in their New England home and later in Florida, they embarked on a national tour in 2009 and have been more recently performing with bands such as The Maine and We the Kings. After a few spins of their EP Come Alive, you’ll see that this brewing rise is well-deserved and you may just be inclined to hop on the bandwagon before there even is a bandwagon.

Just a few seconds into opener “Catalyst”, listeners will likely catch one reason for the band’s increasing popularity: it’s not difficult when your biggest musical influences are already well-established within mainstream and indie circles. In a nutshell, they’re Bruce Springsteen without the synths and saxes, The Hold Steadywith fewer keys and less of a bar-rock sound.

Getting through the rest of the song, listeners will see another reason: “Catalyst” is really good, perhaps even too good. Catchy hooks are a dime a dozen these days, but songs that combine these hooks with such simple, earnest lyrics are harder to come by. It’s true that there are no deep insights, but lines like “This is a walk away / from those dirty little games you played. / I heard your sorrys, but I saw no change. / I gave you love, you gave me pain,” when backed by such honest music and Brendan Cooney’s hometown vocals packs a solid punch. It almost makes the rest of the EP struggle slightly to keep up in comparison, but it gives a valiant effort.

“Ballroom of Broken Hearts” slows down the tempo, but maintains the EP’s pace. Vocally and lyrically, it leans more heavily on The Boss than any other track, telling the tale of a girl “unlucky in lust.” It showcases their mature musicianship by effectively stripping down the first chorus, but doesn’t rely on it for the other choruses, instead adopting a fuller sound becoming less wistful, adapting to the entire song’s structural buildup. It’s less likely to be heard on the radio than “Catalyst”, but it is nonetheless good enough to prove that “Catalyst” wasn’t a fluke.

Tackling a different lyrical theme is “Who’s in the Right”. On one level about a fighting couple, it undeniably speaks to our country’s bigger conflicts as well with the simple observation “We’ll drop bombs all day and night/ to show who’s in the wrong and who’s in the right.” Even though it’s an anti-war song to some extent, it doesn’t fall on the trite clichés that today’s bands loved during the Bush era (i.e. no mention of a “gas war” or “fighting daddy’s battles”). Sincerity abound, it even feels close to The Avett Brothers. Unfortunately, the lyrics are stronger than the music, which relies too much on a bland guitar line.

The lightness of “Last Goodbye” serves as an excellent counter to the heaviness of its preceding track. The drum driven pre-chorus and explosive chorus are certainly engaging, but clocking in at close to five minutes, it runs slightly long.

Rounding out the EP is “Free,” which is actually a bit of a letdown. For once, the music feels too generic and the lyrics are excessively sappy. Though not a terrible song, it’s certainly a disappointment when compared to everything else before it. Not the best end, but it doesn’t detract too much from the quality of the EP on the whole. It’s not the deepest music you’ve ever heard, but it’s a solid effort by a band that you should make a point to know.

8.4

Standout Tracks: “Catalyst” and “Ballroom of Broken Hearts”