Genres
Interview: Sink Tapes
We recently got a chance to speak to Gabe Chilarello, lead vocals of Sink Tapes, an indie band based out of the Asbury area of New Jersey. We were able to learn a lot about the background of the band, their first album, Same Strange Dream, their upcoming sophomore album, what they’re all about, and what they’re about to bring to the plate.
Sink Tapes: It’s probably better left unsaid. It’s kind of one of those things that no one will understand. It’s a name we decided to go with because we had already been called a few other things and we were forced to figure out what to call ourselves, and something just happened where we decided the name Sink Tapes. There’s no meaning to it, but we had people telling us we should be “sync” tapes, but we like NOT making sense so it makes it fun, just like how our songs are. Just fun.
LitS: When did Sink Tapes first form as a band?
Sink Tapes: We probably started playing about two summers ago as Sink Tapes with our original songs. We first met through friends; none of us go to the same schools and we just started seeing each other at shows in the Asbury area so we decided to jam together on covers and what not. Eventually, we played a backyard show with a few bands and since then we just kept playing. I don’t think we meant it to happen, but it slowly got serious yet fun, and now we’re working on our second album.
LitS: Are your current members the original members?
Sink Tapes: Yes, it’s just Alex, Ricky, Tom and I, just like it has always been. Alex goes to school in Maryland, which sucks, but whenever he comes home we make it a point to play shows as a four-piece.
LitS: So, when he’s not around, you still perform with just the three of you guys?
Sink Tapes: We don’t prefer to play with just the three of us because with Alex, we have a more complete sound, of course. But over a few months, we relearned how to play our songs as a three piece so we could continue to play while he was in Maryland so we don’t slow down and we’re able to keep process. When he goes to school in the fall, we definitely want to travel there and play a bunch of shows with him in his area. (more…)
Review: Tyler, The Creator – Goblin
Tyler, The Creator – Goblin
Released: May 10, 2011
Label: XL Recordings
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Fame is a rather unfortunate phenomenon, an idea that rapper Tyler, The Creator certainly understands. The past few months have been a whirlwind ride for Tyler and his Odd Future friends, from Tyler and Hodgy Beats’s fear-inducing performance on Jimmy Fallon to the formation of the group’s own Odd Future Records record label. Goblin, Tyler’s first official release on a record label, has been surrounded by an incredible amount of hype, blowing up the blogosphere and getting Tyler, as he puts it on the first song, “cosigns from rappers that I don’t even like.” This hype and the young rapper’s sudden exposure to fame undoubtedly affected the creative process Goblin, but is it for the better?
Unfortunately, no. Although Goblin features a much-improved Tyler – in terms of both lyricism and storytelling – the fame that Tyler is dealing with hinders the album and restricts his creativity, causing the album to fall well short of his first release, Bastard. Goblin, to put it simply, is weighed down by the burden of matching the massive hype and pressure surrounding it. In the days of Bastard, Tyler made music for himself, something he has stated in the past and again brings up on opening track “Goblin”, but now, his music is no longer just for him; whether he likes it or not, he has become a sort of cult hero and his music is as much for them as it is for himself.
His fans aren’t the only ones listening to his music, however. Because of his naturally dark subject material, Tyler is forced to qualify his lyrics, spending a large chunk of the album pointing out that his stories of killing and misbehavior are in fact stories. On “Radicals”, Tyler opens with the lines “Don’t do anything that I say in this song. It’s [expletive] fiction. If anything happens, don’t [expletive] blame me, white America.” For all intents and purposes, Tyler can be compared to a young Eminem, albeit one who is way more apologetic.
Apologies, precautions, and qualifications aside, the lyricism on Goblin shows a natural progression from the days of The Odd Future Tape, Bastard, and even last year’s Radical. He’s still an angsty, obsessed teenager with numerous problems and his favorite target is still his missing father. The one problem, however, is how erratically hit-and-miss his lyrical style can be, leading to the inconsistency of the entire album, one of the main flaws of the album. Goblin contains a few very good songs, but also a handful of very bad ones.
When Tyler is on his A-game, he is, in fact, a “walking paradox.” As Wolf Haley, he spins tales of misogyny, juxtaposing with Tyler’s vulnerability in his personal search for love; Wolf Haley commands his “Wolf Gang” followers to revolt against everything, while Tyler worries that people may blame him for others’ wrongdoings. The only problem is, cringe-worthy moments like the muddled “Radicals”, the utterly boring “Fish”, the swag-rap tribute “Bitch Suck Dick”, and the incredibly tedious posse-cut “Window” weigh down the album, especially due to the album’s length — 74 minutes of Tyler’s minimal beats, variety of voices, and Dr. TC-framed-dialogue.
Goblin is essentially and fundamentally very similar to his first album Bastard, featuring Tyler discussing his life problems with his counselor Dr. TC. The production is also incredibly similar; Tyler’s never been lavish with his beats, electing to take a minimal, jarring style similar to that of his idols The Neptunes. Unfortunately, his beats begin to bore as the album drags along, showing that Tyler still has plenty of room to grow. To put it simply, his other beats pale in comparison to the masterful, eerie beat of “Yonkers”.
Goblin, in essence, is a strong effort by the nineteen-year-old rapper. He provides an ominous yet introspective look into his life, showing that he is not entirely as indestructible as he seems. While it may not have lived up to the hype, Tyler and Odd Future are still breaking new ground with Goblin, building a huge following of extremely dedicated and loyal fans who will no doubt eat this release up.
6.2
Standout Tracks: “Yonkers”, “She (feat. Frank Ocean)”, “Tron Cat”, and “Golden”
Listen: James Blake – “Give A Man A Rod (Alternate)”
British artist/producer James Blake has been considered by many to be one of the leaders of the dubstep and post-dubstep musical movements. His latest track, a reworking of the The Bells Sketch tune “Give A Man A Rod”, is probably the closest he has come to traditional dubstep music. The new song will be featured on Hessle Audo’s new label compilation 116 & Rising, out on May 16. You can purchase the compilationhere.
Check out the song below.
Jimmie’s Chicken Shack Playing Free Show at Jersey Shore
A favorite alternative band of the ‘90s is making their way to the Seaside Music Festival in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, next week. Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, best known for their fun, upbeat MTV hits, “High,” and “Do Right,” will be making their appearance at the festival on Saturday, May 21st, and all events during this 3-day music-lover’s fest are free admission.
Jimmie’s Chicken Shack hails from Annapolis, MD and has been rocking stages across the US since 1994. Originally signed to Elton John’s Rocket Records, they releasedPushing the Salmanilla Envelope, and are currently signed to their own label, Fowl Records. The band could be described as a staple for the emergence of post-grunge music in the ‘90s through their involvement with MTV. Jimmie’s Chicken Shack’s style can be compared to funky acts such as The Bloodhound Gang and Insane Clown Posse, for the band is known for putting on captivating shows.
Jimmie’s Chicken Shack will be playing on the Beach Stage, on the sands outside the Aztec Bar and boardwalk in Seaside Heights. Admission is free and all-ages at this stage, and a map of the festival, band lineup, and more information can be found here.
Watch: Kanye West and Jay-Z Perform in NYC
On Tuesday, Kanye West and Jay-Z performed at NYC’s MOMA. The two are currently working on their joint album Watch the Throne, out sometime this year via Def Jam Recordings.
You can see the performance below, courtesy of NYClout.
Watch: No Age – “Common Heat”
No Age‘s “Common Heat”, off of 2010’s Everything In Between, now has an animated music video, courtesty of French directors Weirdettes. The video features a constantly changing inkblot and pencil sketches. Check it out below.
Review: Panda Bear – Tomboy
Panda Bear – Tomboy
Released: April 12, 2011
Label: Paw Tracks
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Most finely tuned machines are beheld without conscious awareness of the intricacies and technical attention that has been involved in their construction, and their users blissfully ignorant in their expectation of service. Only once exploded is it apparent that the functions these machines serve are enabled only through the purposeful arrangement of all component parts toward an intended function. We become conscious of the fact that these units, complete and unassuming, are the result of a multiplicity of tiny mechanisms interrelating, communicating, affecting one another to produce a wider experience that is elaborate in its execution but impressively focused in delivery. The next, subsequent, realization is that this construction took skill – immense skill – and most of us would be ill-equipped and unable to create anything like it.
In this regard, Noah Lennox’s (Panda Bear)Tomboy is the musical performance racer of finely tuned machines.
In today’s alternative music scene, experimental electronica albums are a dime a dozen – often eventuating to be, ironically, hackneyed in their pursuit of nuance and originality. Lennox, of Animal Collective renown, is no bandwagon-hopper. Over the last eleven years and eight releases he and his Animal Collective comrades have been trailblazers of trip exploring the frontier of freak, with a steady stream of Lennox solo work supplementing their catalogue with characteristically hazy, washed out experimental electronica under his moniker Panda Bear.
This is electronic music, but not in the typical sense. There are no massive, tacky bass drops in Tomboy – any crescendo is supported by lavishly layered samples and loops. There is an almost classical sensibility in Lennox’s approach to electronic music, perhaps telling of his childhood background in the cello and piano. New sounds are introduced in concordance with one another and with a long amplitude attack and as a result the tracks tend to feel painstakingly created rather than a cobbled together graduation leading to a single cheap thrill. Songs are dynamic; some tracks begin and end in completely polar genres (“Last Night at the Jetty” meanders through ambience and chamber pop on its transition to rambling freak-folk).
Tomboy is drenched in distortion. Fuzz soaks sharp, bold loops with a softness that subdues them. The use of reverb contains the album’s sound, envelops otherwise domineering musical aspects (the percussion in “You Can Count on Me”) and wraps them in a softness that consolidates into a single musical experience what is essentially a collection of competing loops. The album is also almost exclusively poly-phonic – rarely do we experience abate from swirling, pulsing noise, which lends to the uncommon moments when the fuzz is stripped back a striking sense of clarity.
Individual songs seem to have no message independent of the album, and derive their meaning from their function/position within the record. On an intra-track level the songs blend into one another, to the extent that during a prolonged listening session the ocean of fuzzy reverb makes to disguise the separate songs into a single cohesive experience.
There is a strangely accessible side to the record. Lennox barely alters his voice’s strained lilt throughout the album, the constancy of his vocals adding continuity between tracks – comforting in its familiarity as a friend would be in a foreign country. For listeners completely comfortable in the album’s intimidatingly unconventional sound, though, this fixed voice is occasionally mired by predictability and may stagnate by the end of Tomboy.
The album’s main shortcomings are interconnected with this same familiarity and constancy. While immediately a very rewarding and immersive album, there is little fundamental deviation between tracks (also between this record and Panda Bear’s back catalogue as a whole) and as a result it simply doesn’t stand up to repeated listens. It is an enjoyable, intricately detailed experience, but ultimately not a deep one.
Tomboy will not be Lennox’s magnum opus, nor is it genre-defying, but it is a stunningly complete album experience and proof that he is damn good at what he does best. And why shouldn’t he be? He’s clearly had enough practice.
8.5
Standout Tracks: “Afterburner” – the current popular favorite, and with good reason: a throbbing bass line and buckets of fuzz make for a track effortlessly laid-back and enjoyable.
Arcade Fire Deluxe Edition
Arcade Fire will release a deluxe CD/DVD version of its Album of the Year Grammy Award-winning third album The Suburbs August 2nd on Merge Records in the U.S.
The CD has an extended version of “Wasted Hours (A Life We Can Live)” and two previously unreleased songs. The DVD includes the entire half-hour short film Scenes From The Suburbs, which is directed by Spike Jonze. It also includes a Behind the Scenes for the album and a music video for the track “The Suburbs”. A booklet is included with the package featuring lyrics and 80 pages of photos taken during the shooting of the short film.
Listen: Manchester Orchestra’s ‘Simple Math’
Manchester Orchestra‘s highly anticipated new album, Simple Math, is set to be released today, May 10 via Favorite Gentlemen/Sony Music Entertainment. The record is, according to frontman Andy Hull, a concept album: “It’s a story about a 23-year old who questions everything from marriage to love to religion to sex. Sometimes even for myself, it’s difficult to decipher which one I’m actually talking to. Everything I’ve written in the past has been about those things. This album is the most realized form of my questioning.” If you have yet to listen to the album, you can stream the album in its entirety below.
Chadwick Stokes Announces Solo Album
Chad Stokes Urmston of indie-rock acts Dispatch and State Radio will be releasing his first solo record this summer, choosing to use the moniker Chadwick Stokes. His new album, titled Simmerkane II, will be released on June 28th via Ruff Shod/Nettwerk Records. The deluxe version of the album includes two discs, including a second disc consisting of three tracks recorded with Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, a band formed by Sierra Leone refugees who were displaced to Guinea during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
Once he rounds up a two-month long tour with State Radio, Stokes will be embarking on the Dispatch reunion tour during the month of June and then beginning a solo tour in support of Simmerkane II. You can check out the tracklisting for the album after the break.
Tracklisting:
Disc 1
1. Adelaide
2. Crowbar Hotel
3. Back To The Races
4. Rainsong
5. Insulin
6. Religion On The Rails (I Saw You There)
7. Black Bottle
8. Ichabod and Abraham
9. I Love Your Army
10. Spider And Gioma
Disc 2 (Deluxe) (with Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars):
1. Coffee And Wine
2. All My Possessions (Ode To Troy)
3. Don’t Have You
Connect