This Bender Echoes...

Ive been intending to post about the Morning Benders since I received their Big Echo LP some weeks ago. It is quite brilliant. In only the third month of 2010, I already have a bevy of brilliant albums kicking around my headspace - Fang Island has been a particular favourite - but Big Echo may just be pipping them all. Their big sunny dreamy slacker surf pop anthems are a true antidote to a lot of the 'downer' music that is in vogue at the moment - and also (almost) washes the bad taste out of the mouth that is Vampire Weekend or Weezer's Raditude. I want my indie pop to shimmer, radiate, enrapture, infiltrate. I want to tap my toes and move my head unknowingly. I want to wake up in the morning, look out at a sunny vista, put on the headphones and know that today is going to be a fucking awesome day. Morning Benders will do all that for you with Big Echo, in spades. No hangover - just drinks in the park, in the sun, all day every day.

PLUS - the rumours are that these guys will be hitting our shores in the midst of summer Festivus madness - I wouldnt want it any other way!

Morning Benders - Excuses

Voices of Pure Ecstasy

Another Austin trio doing the rounds in blog land at the moment. Pure Ecstasy push a lo-fi, reverb-heavy, cavernous sound. The vocal seems to almost roll in from across a heat haze soaked landscape almost choking you with it's eventual thickness. If you're lucky enough to be going to going to SXSW them you can can't them there. The 7" Voices/Alexandria single on March 23rd on Acephale Records.

Voices - Pure Ecstasy

Heart Of Dum

In Brendan's review of Dum Dum Girls gig a few weeks ago he mentioned comparisons to The Raveonettes. Almost in a response they've put this cover out... Great minds think a like?

Heart Of Stone (Raveonettes Cover) - Dum Dum Girls

Where Shakespeare meets the American Civil War

Jersey's Titus Andronicus have reached ambitiously for the stars on their second LP, The Monitor. With a running theme of the American Civil War (a bloody theme that certainly has ties with their moniker, taken from the incredibly violent Shakespearean play of the same name), the band have strived hard to expand upon their propensity to display their literary influences whilst rocking out with distorted guitar interplay and punk vocals. They have had to weather both 'Next Big Thing' status and the disdain that comes with such a title, and are now ready to unleash themselves on their own terms. Its a great cohesive effort, and where in other hands may have been an unconsidered mess, The Monitor, regardless of its collective theme, is a great rollicking record.

Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union

Step In Time, Step In Time...

I stumbled across these guys by chance the other night whilst doing my mandatory cruise through the myriad search engines and music blogs and was blown away by their eccentricity, verve and pomposity. Overall, it all is kinda absurd, a la Gorgol Bordello, and yet their overt vivaciousness is endearing. And they actually have a marching band! Glee can fuck off - March Fourth Marching band has my vote!

March Fourth Marching Band - Space Hole

Shearwater Drift Away And Get Golden

Shearwater's 2008 album Rooks was one of my favourite records of that year, with an amazing cover art of a man dressed in black standing on barren land, arms outstretched in the Jesus Christ pose, with a score of the titular birds covering him. The artwork captured the cold stark beauty of much of that album, and the track The Snow Leopard is still a personal fave that sits amongst my ever expanding playlist.

I only heard of these guys by chance. I had just arrived in London in August 08, and saw that another Canadian act (and one Id been wanting to see for years) The Constantines were double-billing with them in September at Bush Hall. Both bands blew me away in what was one of my first gigs in the UK.

So it goes as no surprise that when The Golden Archipelago hit the shelves last month, I was mighty excited, and it doesnt disappoint. Whilst not differing that far from the formula of its predecessor, the thematic aspects of the new album tie it together as a true complete album, something that is becoming rarer in this day and age. It is full of grandeur, loud/quiet dynamics, and gentle nuance, all orchestrated and fuelled by the theme of islands and Jonathan Meiburg's distinctive vocals.

I missed their Scala gig last month - I dont aim to do that again.

Shearwater - Black Eyes

The Glove Fits #3 - Wish You Were Here (literally)

This week's trip down memory lane has been hastily erected - my original piece was all set and ready to go, but a tragic event has taken precedence - the tragic suicide of singer songwriter Mark Linkous, more commonly known by his bedroom folk pop moniker Sparklehorse. He was found outside his friend's home in Tennessee on Saturday with a self inflicted shotgun wound in the chest. This news has sent tremors throughout the music world - Linkous has collaborated with some of the world's greatests producers and musicians, and has left behind a unique canon of music that was engaging, ethereal and hauntingly beautiful.

So whilst my thoughts are tainted with sadness, Im choosing a song that, whilst not written by him, has stuck with me ever since I heard it, and his version has epitomised everything that I hold dear.

I first heard Pink Floyd when I was a kid. My father never listened to music that often, but one of my favourite memories of my childhood was when it rained on the farm on weekends. Dad would down tools and spend the Sunday at home, hanging out with me and my sister, playing his records. He put me onto Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen, my platform for my burgeoning love of music, but Pink Floyd wasnt his strong suit. Nevertheless, it was Dad who put me onto songs like Another Brick In The Wall, Comfortably Numb, and this one, Wish You Were Here.

And yet it wasnt until my first year of university that I truly embraced the song. I have my friend Hugh to thank. We used to sit around on a sunny hungover morning (and there were many) and sing along. These memories have always stuck with me, so that even when some two-bit busker or deluded cover artist is strangling it, I still hum along.

But my favourite version, for whatever reason, isnt the original. As Sparklehorse, Mark Linkous supported Radiohead on their OK Computer tour, where he became good friends with the band, particularly Jonny Greenwood, who spoke of Linkous' death on his blog:

"His first two records were very important to me, and I carried his music from the tour into my life, and my friends' lives too ... Mark wrote and played some beautiful music, and we're lucky to have it."

On that tour, Sparklehorse did an EP which featured Linkous and Thom Yorke doing a ghostly rendition of the song.

So I send out my condolences to all who have been touched by Linkous and his music, and endeavour to make sure his music lives on in our hearts.

RIP Mark Linkous (1962-2010) - wish you were here.

Sparklehorse (feat. Thom Yorke) - Wish You Were Here

Hearing Voices

LA's VOICEsVOICEs are two girls, Nico Turner and Jenean Farris, who have an affinity with dark pyschedelic ambience. They only picked up their tools of trade in 2008, and yet their music showcases a level of dense layered tones reminiscent of bands such as Cocteau Twins and Portishead, their voices entwining in a ethereal tapestry that drives the wall of sound rather than informs it. Their second EP (and their first on Manimal Records, home for like minded Warpaint) Origins has been produced by Prefuse 73 maestro Guillermo Scott Herren, and it shows. The track below opens the record in a truly mesmeric fashion.

VOICEsVOICEs - FlulykVisions

Nothing People - Anonymous No Longer

It is clear that in recent times that the music world has craved lo-fi garage rock in its various guises (as evidenced in our previous predilection for bands of their ilk). So I am always wary to post something about a band that is riding the hype of this currently hipper-than-thou genre without merit. I think we have done pretty well thus far - although my gig review of the Dum Dum Girls might appear to be on the contrary (Im still giving them the benefit of the doubt, honestly!!!). And I think with Nothing People, we have another exciting winner on our hands.

Nothing People are a four piece from North California, about to drop on us their third LP in as many years, Soft Crash. They have done their darnedest to keep out of the spotlight - their debut, Anonymous, highlights this - and its hard to glean much information about them at all. However with a release like this their time in the spotlight is surely near, whether they like it or not.

Soft Crash actually shows an evolution of sorts for the band. Their first two releases echoed the lo-fi fuzziness that has become prevalent in the genre, but whilst the album echoes some of their influences (Joy Division, Silver Apples, Sparks) this latest shows more emphasis on dark reverb and an element of ambience in some of their tracks. There are songs that evoke the synth-driven minimalist style of the times; others rocket through with a punk strength that gives the music more gravitas, and the band shies away from the vacuousness of other band wagon jumpers.

Nothing People are not just a band to watch, they deserve their hyperbolic comparisons to the likes of the Vivian Girls. Enjoy.

Nothing People - Marilyn's Grave

Keep On Truckin

Its hard to believe that Drive By Truckers' new LP The Big To-Do is their eighth album. Furthermore, its shocking to think that after such prolific output and incendiary live shows, they are still in essence an underground band - or even worse, seen as an oddity or novelty act. The notion infuriates me. They are more akin to bands like Hold Steady or My Morning Jacket - lyrical storytellers with a psychedelic, almost Crazy Horse-lite take on riffery.

Whilst their albums of yore have been prone to sprawl - double album sprawl - The Big To Do is a welcome change, and is a great way to introduce yourselves to this great Atlanta, Georgia band. They still havent changed though - with stories about strippers, booze drenched dropouts and killer wives. The Big To-Do is a great record, chase it down, put it on, and immerse yourselves into the murky and yet somehow joyous Southern comforts of the Truckers.

Drive By Truckers - This Fucking Job

Thrush By Night

Thrushes are an indie shoegaze outfit out of Baltimore. They claim Phil Spector as their sonic god, they adhere to make rock music more beautiful. Their sonic dreamscapes are built up over skeletal song structures, augmented by reverb and an insistent bass, and enveloped by simple yet evocative vocals. They are on Birdnote Records, and admire bands of their ilk and influence - The Jesus and Mary Chain, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, and the Raveonettes just to name a few. Their second LP, Night Falls, is out very soon. Here is the title track. Expect them to be touring our way in the near future!

Thrushes - Night Falls

Heirs to the Dark Throne...

There is a reason I still have a MySpace account. One sole, solitary reason. And that is music. I follow bands, encourage them, listen to their new gear, meet like minded people. Actually, you can pretty much scratch that last part - other than occasional emails to bands about tours/albums/dress sense, I am incommunicado. Now this means that you have bands trying to become your friend that are utterly shit - hence the deliciousness of the deny button. But then there are the bands that like what you are into, and throw you a line, asking for you to listen to their music and see what you think...

And they are fucking good.

Netherlands's We Vs Death was one such band (for another day...), and today it is Heirs. A 5 piece from my homeland, these Melbourne, Australia residents (from a cluster of underground acts such as Whitehorse, Love...Like Electrocution, and Damn Arms) are a doom-laden post-rock affair that attempt to infuse elements of Red Sparowes, Mogwai, Mono, Swans and Whitehorse into a smelted black mess of dark and destructive...beauty? Sure, they can be destructive, but elements of their debut LP Alchera, such as The White Swell, does exactly that - swells up into a maelstrom of wall-of-sound elegance. However, it is the brute force stuff they are best at. You can download the album for free here - in the meantime, get a taste below. They are touring the UK in October, so we will keep you posted.

Heirs - Mandril

Album review - Liars' Sisterworld

I am enraptured by Liars. Enamoured. Entranced even? Everything they do is a constant source of excitement - I wait with bated breath to see what they do next. Its hard to put a finger on.

I came across their debut LP They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top at the same time I was discovering much of 2001's Next Big Things, and found that album's spiky, gritty, slightly evil post-punk sound to be the pick of the bunch. I still have a poster of that album's cover art on my bedroom wall. And I still maintain that it is a great album.

Then again, I admit I lost the plot a little with their second effort, They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, a deliberate attempt to about-face from their plaudits and do whatever the fuck they liked - which proved to be somewhat counterproductive, as much of the fanbase that they had cultivated promptly gave them the bird and disappeared. I was not quite one of those, though. Sure, I came to the album expecting one thing and getting something else entirely. We aren't talking about Nevermind to In Utero here; we are talking about a musical shift of a completely different plane. And this was highlighted on their 2004 tour of Australia, the one and only time I have had the pleasure to see them live. The people at that stage were expecting Mr You're On Fire Mr. What they got was 45 minutes of droning, wailing, mangled violent otherness. The place didnt empty - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were on next, and many were around for them anyway - but there was a hell of a lot of space up front to see the brutal weirdness that was being concocted onstage. And whilst I never truly understood the sheer brilliance of what Id seen until some years later, it allowed me to give 2006's Drum's Not Dead a chance.

Gig - White Hills Vs Pontiak, The Luminaire, 09.03.10

Oh how I love the Luminaire. The premiere music venue in Kilburn, and one of the most outstanding music venues in London, they run by their own rules. The quiet policy during sets is something that should be a mainstay everywhere. After all, why pay money to see music if you are just going to talk over it? The genial staff, the velvet curtains, the ever reliable PA track list, the intimate setting – all bodes well for an enjoyable evening. Oh, and all this is within walking distance to my ramshackle abode, which makes venturing out into the irascible nature that is London’s weather (and the fact I have a bulged disc in my lower back, due to picking up my shoes early one morning – ever so rock and roll!) that much less of a strain.

Tonight we have a showcase of sorts from Thrill Jockey Records, and they have billed it like a headline heavyweight fight night – White Hills Vs Pontiak. On the undercard – the Notorious Hi Fi Killers. Unfortunately I miss this one, but from the snippets I glean from the small crowd who graced their presence, the single launch was a success, one guy likening them to 13^th Floor Elevators via Bo Diddley. Interesting. Ill keep my eye out for them in future.

So I hobble to the front of the slightly raised stage to catch Pontiak. Three brothers. How I wish I had brothers – sure, we’d lock horns over many a trivial issue, put each other into headlocks and give each other wet willies, whilst having pangs of envy over one’s natural athletic ability or another’s uncanny knack of attracting the women who I had a crush on since fifth grade – but Id also have a ready made band, ready to rule the world. And whilst my only sibling, Sara, and I have dreams of our two piece outfit The Red and Blue Marbles eventually becoming more than the heady dreams of our adolescent youth (watch out 2040! The world’s first sextegenarian debut band will defy all odds to conquer the world!), the family band will remain out of my grasp. The three Carney brothers, on the other hand, have taken their opportunity by the horns and created Pontiak, a band whose brand of stomping blues/sludge metal/stoner rock belie their initial stage presence. Their substantial facial hair and wispy head hair denotes more of a rustic psychedelic folk band a la Bon Iver or My Morning Jacket, but the lack of a flannel shirt in sight hints otherwise. As did their first track – an unrelenting slab of drone rock that is as enthralling as it is face-numbing. Although singer/guitarist Jenning has troubles with his mic, everything else goes to plan, Pontiak subjecting the crowd to a set of loud, abrasive and ultimately groove-laden numbers that raised the bar high for the main act. Not only have they won over another fan, I am almost tempted to leave the venue now, all of Pontiak’s LPs, EPs and miscellaneous merchandise under my arm, and make my way to the nearest laboratory to conduct as much genetic splicing as I can so that my familial rock formation can finally be realised.

Instead I settle down over a pint. Just as well. White Hills come onto the stage. I thought that they may have been punching above their weight – that Pontiak may have delivered the killer punch before the headliners even had a chance to raise their gloves – but their appearance alone made it clear that this match up was a true clash of the titans. Lead singer and eponymous White Hills wunderkind Dave W. swaggers out, his white-pancaked face highlighted with a stripe of red across the eyes, his lanky hair framing it all. Don’t get upset with me here, but my first thought was of Marilyn Manson. Disgraceful, I know. But then bassist (with the fitting moniker Ego Sensation) came on with her clear bass and an outfit that would not be amiss on the body of Barbarella, Raquel Welch or one of the Z-Grade actors on Cat Women of the Moon, all silver shoulder pads and V-frames, with tight latex leggings… Unfortunately drummer Lee settled for more normal fare, with just a khaki tee and jeans, but considering the mad flailing that was about to contort his body in the upcoming hour it made much more sense. The set, consisting of a mixture of old material and stuff off their new (and first) album on Thrill Jockey, White Hills, is pure wailing space psychedelia – the droning guitars, feedback, swirling thunder drumming – this was a galaxial head trip. An organic, epic, mesmeric mind fuck. A very loud one at that – restraint checked itself out a long time ago. There was so much flailing, gyrating, guitar swinging and cymbal crashing though that it wasn’t until I got home that I realise I can barely hear a thing. And the grin plastered on my face is testament to the fact that this is a very good thing indeed.

So, who won the knockout? I can’t surely say. It was no David and Goliath meta-struggle – more of an arm wrestle between celestial colossi, one which came off as a stalemate, with both contenders coming away with their dignity and reputation well and truly intact, and the spectators’ expectations truly exceeded.

Yellow Fever

I liked the Vivian Girls before but now they have earned my utmost respect for their excellent musical taste.

A certain track has been floating around my ipod since early 2008. It came from a SXSW 2008 showcase mix tape courtesy of Gorilla Vs Bear. The track, Culver City, by Austin trio Yellow Fever is a true slice of lofi stripped back gorgeousness and now those ever so tasteful Vivian Girls have put out a collection of Yellow Fever's singles and E.Ps out on 12" vinyl. It's graced my turn table ever since. Thanks Ladies.

Yellow Fever - Culver City

Make it haunted

I received exciting news from your friends and mine Not Not Fun records at the weekend. Pocahaunted have a new LP out, Make It Real.

"LA case-crackers return to the recorded realm for the first time since 08. new styles, new hopes, new dreams. Raw-rhythmed body music for solar sound systems. Wild warped LA utopia art by champ colorist Spencer Longo."

Amen to that I say. Have a taste below and buy it here.

Pocahaunted - Save Yrself (It's Nice)

Fever Ray set to play the UK again!

Learning: never believe a band when they say it is their last gig ever!

Fever Ray announced last year they wouldn't do any more UK gigs. They seem, however (and thankfully!), to have given up to public demand and they will be playing at the O2 Brixton Academy on September 8th, as well as Bestival the following weekend. Karin and her band will also play Coachella in April and La Cigale in Paris in September.

Tickets for the Brixton show will go on sale on gigs and tours at 9am on March 12th. If you haven't seen them yet, get on the case - you will be on for one of the most mesmerising live experiences you will have.

I saw them live twice last year: at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in July and at The Forum on December 5th (which was meant to be their last UK date ever) and I can now understand why their set up and soundcheck can take several hours. It's not so much about the bucks that go into creating a super-production a la U2; it's about the thinking and attention to detail that goes into every single element of it. From the first laser to the last thread of their costumes, from the first drum kick to the last breath, everything is there for a reason: to create an unparalleled haunting atmosphere that will make you live and breathe Fever Ray to the last of your cells.

A semi QOTSA reunion - over a pre-teen bar room killer?

To continue my rather unexpected theme of hard rock bands and their affiliations with disturbing cinema, I just stumbled on this trailer for a short film coming out in a few weeks' time. The film, Frame 137, is based on a graphic story from James O'Barr, the creator of The Crow and inadvertant co-creator of many a faux S&M/goth/emo poseur. The music - constructed by none other than Nick Olivieri and Dave Grohl, who havent been seen together since the Songs For The Deaf sessions of the 'golden age' of Queens Of The Stone Age. Seeing that both left the band after this, and Josh Homme's outfit has had varying degrees of success since, it might be safe to say that these two provided the killer rhythm section to drive forth some of the most visceral stoner rock ever. Now that the two are collaborating on the soundtrack of Frame 137, is there any hope for something more? Anyway, get a snippet of it on the below teaser trailer. Oh, and how does the film look? Make up your own mind - Im not sure how good it will be, but having a 10 year old eviscerate a bar room full of sleazy ruffians, even setting one alight by spitting alcohol on them and lighting it, means it will be...full on...

Frame 137 Teaser from Judd L. Tilyard on Vimeo.

Don't Overlook the Melvins

This may be something a little old - its off Nude With Boots - but I thought this was great. The Melvins covering Dies Iraea, the opening musical sequence from the seminal Kubrick horror film, The Shining, accompanied with the visuals from the opening credits. Now, all together now: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!"

The Smashing Pumpkins to release 44 tracks for free

The Smashing Pumpkins are releasing a new 44-track-strong body of work, one track at a time and absolutely free (and when I say free, I mean not even in exchange of your e-mail address). The tracks are being made available for download on the band's website.

The songs will be collected in 11 highly limited edition EP boxes (CD and 7" vinyl) of 4 songs each, and will be for sale. The details of the art, potential bonus material or price have not been revealed yet.

The first EP, Teargarden By Kaleidoscope Vol. 1, is due on April 20th and will include tracks 'A Song For A Son', 'Widow Wake My Mind', 'A Stitch In Time' and 'Astral Planes', which has not been made available on the site yet.

You can listen to the first three tracks via the player below. See what you think!