Andy Stott
Luxury Problems
The newest album from Andy Stott is excellent. I wasn’t a big fan of Passed Me By. I can’t really articulate what my problem was with that album, but it just felt like I was listening to air. Nothing stuck. Luxury Problems however is reminiscent of Burial’s Untrue, except less “dubby” and more euphoric. “Leaving” isn’t the best track on the album, but it’s the shortest (and, at 8.9MB, is small enough to be uploaded to Tumblr).
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music
Andy Stott
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Tamaryn
Tender New Signs
Tender New Signs, the new album from SF-based artist Tamaryn, is similar to Jessica Bailiff’s At the Down-Turned Jagged Rim of the Sky. So similar in fact that I have a hard time deciphering one track from another. Her music is so seamless, the songs can’t help but melt into each other. The album whizzes by, and the next thing you know you’re already on track seven and wondering, “Oh wow, the album’s almost over.” Fortunately, track seven is easily the best track. It has that sleepy-’90s feeling that’s pleasant without any effort.
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tamaryn
music
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Grimes and Myths @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 10/25
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grimes
myths
music
live music
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Earlier this last week while writing a review of Altar Eagle’s Nightrunners, I mentioned how exhausted I was with these “hipster” boy/girl duos that seem to be everywhere at the moment. Not to say that boy/girl duos are something new (because they aren’t), but there’s something especially unique about this type of duo (and as much as everyone hates the overuse of the word “hipster,” it’s the most accurate word I can think of at the moment). So, what makes the hipster boy/girl duo different from regular boy/girl duo acts? Here are three observations that I have found:
Read the rest…
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Rainbow Arabia
altar eagle
crystal castles
music
niki and the dove
purity ring
sleigh bells
hipsters
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Fiona Apple is looking…interesting.
My god, Criminal wasn’t that long ago, was it?
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fiona apple
music
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It’s been 20 years since Tori Amos released her debut album Little Earthquakes, and now, with the upcoming release of her new album Gold Dust, an album of re-imagined string versions of her back catalog, there’s been a lot of discussion about the singer/songwriter and the musical stamp she left on the musical landscape these past 20 years. PopMatters is currently doing a massive feature on the singer that consists of various essays and critiques on her career. Flavorwire also published a piece yesterday Monday about Tori’s performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge this past Friday and gives her props for the influence she has on today’s similar artists:
These thoughts hung heavy in my head as I stood in line last Friday at (le) Poisson Rouge in Manhattan for an NPR-sponsored concert. […] While I was in line waiting to get in, […] I overheard a woman several spots ahead of me giving an interview to a reporter. “Tori’s never made any sense and I love that,” she said, “without Tori people wouldn’t have Grimes or tUnE-yArDs or Fiona.” This struck me, as I’d been thinking about a story related to me recently about Grimes being urinated on by a rat she requested at a Vanity Fair shoot — a similar story to one that had circulated years earlier regarding the video shoot for Tori Amos’ “God.” […]Again: wherefore art thou, Toriphiles, in the new weird music aesthetic?
While both pieces bend over backwards to give heaps of praise on Amos and her career, both lean on the heavily defensive side. The truth is that, despite Amos’ 20 year career, her presence is non-existent in the current music discourse, especially among “cool hipster” circles and indie blogs, whereas similar musicians like Kate Bush and Bjork, who also carry 20+ year careers, still maintain their relevance.
Read the rest…
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tori amos
music
ramblings
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Tiiu Helinä
Muuri
Tiiu Helinä’s Facebook page is entirely in Finnish, so I know nothing about them. But this track (along with the “Isan Remix”) shows a lot of promise. When I think of Finnish music I think of artists like Eleanoora Rosenholm or Islaja, but Tiiu Helinä seems to be picking up where the Swedes left off (think Niki & The Dove), with its awkward electro-pop and off-kilter 8-bit leanings. Good stuff.
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music
Tiiu Helinä
what's playing now
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How To Dress Well
Total Loss
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding How To Dress Well’s follow-up album. With the critical success of 2010’s Love Remains still fresh in people’s minds, and the awesome single “Cold Nights,” released earlier this summer, still going strong, Total Loss is expected to be that quintessential defining moment in a musician’s career that eclipses everything else they’ve done in the past (or perhaps I’m just exaggerating). The truth is this: How To Dress Well (real name Tom Krell) is great with creating a single distinguishable sound, which is like, “trippy R. Kelly,” but somewhere in the middle of Total Loss you start to wonder if he’s running the shtick into the ground. It especially becomes apparent during a horrible cover of Ashanti’s “Foolish.” The album starts to redeem itself around “How Many?” and “Set It Right,” but nothing on the album lives up to the brilliant “Cold Nights,” which is close to perfection. It’s unfortunate the album reached its high so early (“Cold Nights” is the second track), but I guess it’s only a slight criticism. You should also check out the “Cold Nights (Koreless Remix).”
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music
how to dress well
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Purity Ring
Shrines
I first discovered Purity Ring earlier this year when they released a split EP of their single “Belispeak” with Braids. Back then I didn’t pay them much attention; they were overshadowed by Braids’ more superior single, “Peach Wedding.” But, thanks to a recent flurry of hype, Purity Ring isn’t idly standing by in the shadows anymore. And as much as people might want to roll their eyes at overpraised albums, Shrines is actually deserving of its hype. It really is that perfect summer pop album, which, in this case, is electro pop infused with dubstep beats. Get used to them because you’re going to be hearing them all summer.
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purity ring
music
what's playing now
braids
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Phuong Tam
Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974
Sublime Frequencies is an awesome little label that unearths rare, undiscovered tracks from all over the world, from Thailand to Syria. This one compiles a bunch of rare ’60s rock/soul tracks from Vietnam. This album actually came out two years ago, but I’m just now stumbling on it (thanks to Boomkat). The songs might sound like standard ’60s rock (after all, the Vietnamese were heavily influenced by Western culture throughout the ’60s and early ’70s, especially during the war), but the majority of these tracks have never been released in the West before, which makes them rather unique in their own right. Recommended.
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music
what's playing now
world music
vietnamese music
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