Panda World

Yes, we are completely aware yesterday’s post was about Avery Tare and today’s post is about Panda Bear. But this is in no way turning into an Animal Collective appreciation blog. We promise. In fact, we even promise to bitch about them if given the opportunity. Which means that right now we’ll just be happy that Panda Bear has a pretty awesome new single, You Can Count On Me. It kinda feels like a song straight out of Lion King so we can reminiscence about our childhood and those carefree days. It’s eerie and creates a dream world so it turns out to be a wonderful timeless recording. It’s so soothing that you can easily leave it on repeat for hours without even realizing it.

Where You Can Count On Me is sparse and leaves each instrument space to breath, Alsatian Darn, the single’s b-side, while maintaining the tribal feel and the dream-like state, is much more dense and darker. If the a-side is simple, the b-side has layers that are introduced with each second that passed and just when you’d think there was nothing else Panda could bring to the table.

Opportunity to bitch: when is Tomboy EP coming out, goddamn? Fall/winter 2010 is not a proper answer, ok? But I guess it’s only fair to say that, for now, these two songs will do just fine.(For now!) So press that repeat button and let yourself immerse in Panda Bear’s world.

Put Your Hands In the Air...?

Well, well, well. It seems like Placebo strike again with another wonderful release from their highly praised album Battle for the Sun (I hope you can feel the irony). This time it's Trigger Happy Hands, one of the new songs from Battle for the Sun Redux Edition (really now, how many editions of this album are they willing to release? Read my lips: this ain't no good!) The song is supposed to be a picture (and a very dark one) of the modern society. You know the story: wars, politicians and the rest of the plagues. As expected (we're talking about a song that appears on Battle, remember), the lyrics are shit if you compare them with Placebo's previous releases. Scratch that, if you compare them to anything. And it really hurts to say it, considering the fact that for over a decade, Placebo amazed us with sexual, straight-into-your-face, but also romantic and full of poetry lyrics. Even worse than that, they also seem to lack musical inspiration (at least the other songs from Battle have good instrumentals).

However, let's forget about the song and concentrate on the video. It does lack the awfulness of The Never-Ending Why (it takes a lot of effort to sink that low) but that does not mean it's the most wonderful thing you had the chance of seeing in your life. On the contrary. Trigger Happy Hands is the kind of video that anyone can make without any problems. Just film your little nephews in the garden playing with some water guns, throw in some violent images (the news are full of such things, that should not be a problem) and add a few images with Placebo in a live concert. And there you have it! It's a shame when you think what videos and songs these guys used to release. Nowadays we can give them credit only for their live concerts, which continue to be awesome. But they should know this won't last forever.

How To Sing Well

Tom Krell is definitely not your regular type of artist, and if you googl his name, or his musical project's name, How to Dress Well, you'll most likely approve. Or maybe the lack of information about him is due to the fact that he's somehow a newbie, considering the fact he decided to share his tunes recently (in October of last year, to be more specific). But apparently he thought that playtime is over as he is releasing a 7", called Ready For the World (apparently, he's more than determined).

The title might suggest a very realistic, straight-in-your-face approach, but the reality is different. The song has a very chill instrumental, with dreamy, misterious voices, and it makes you want to sit on your couch/bed/carpet in the dark, smoke a cigarette and forget about everything. And if you listen to it in the middle of the day, it makes you want to close your window and pull the curtain down. It also has a sensual (and sexual) touch (the repetitive beat in the background is the one to blame). The remix is basically the same thing, with just a few additional elements added, but if you liked the song, I don't think you'll find this disturbing.

So yeah, he seems to be ready for the world. For the musical world, at least.


*photo courtesy of How To Dress Well's blog

Tomorrow... In Two Months

On 4th of August last year, The Knife announced they will write an opera for the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma. The opera is called Tomorrow, in a Year, and is based apparently on Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species. Recently, the band announced the studio release of this opera, which will include fifteen tracks (nine on the first CD and six on the second one) plus one bonus track. The album will be released on March this year. Meanwhile, you have the chance to listen to Colouring of Pigeons, the first single, which can be downloaded for free from the band's official site.

The eleven minutes track starts with a drum line, with tribal influences, soon accompanied by some ah-ah-oh-oh-eh-eh vocals (not surprising, considering that we're speaking about an opera here). The instrumental turns little by little to something more melodic, with synths in the background, which bring a really creepy note, somehow balanced by Karin Dreijer-Andersson's vocals (yeah, she's as good as always). From a certain point on, the voices disappear and the instrumental slowly fades away, leaving you with your mouth opened and with a "what the hell was that?" in your mind. I don't know what exactly it was, my friend, but it wasn't a track that can be easily forgotten, that's for sure.

Considering the fact that this song is actually just a part from a biggest story, it is a little difficult to say something about the meaning of the lyrics, but I guess time will help us here. We'll talk about it in March.

*photo courtesy of The Knife official site

(We're sorry for the lack of posts lately. We're all a bit busy with exams right now, so we'll be posting every other day, not daily as we use to. But have no fear, this will only happen for the next two weeks. See you guys on Monday)

Far Away

Retribution Gospel Choir strikes again. In my terms it means they've released a new single, called Hide It Away. While we're at this point, I'd like to say that I always have been fascinated by the idea of double personality (by that I mean two very different personalities). No, don't shoot me, I don't want to say Alan Sparhawk is one of those people… but his music certainly gives this impression. When it's about Low, it's like a calm ocean with no storms. When it's about Retribution... back off, a hurricane is coming!

And this single proves this approach to be right. It's the same noisy instrumental we know that seems to have nothing to do with Low's sound at all (at least at first sight). The same I'll-make-you-stand-up-kicking-your-butt-and-making-you-screaming-out-loud vibe. And even if some of you might think of it as the kind of song you hear for the first time and go "I might have heard this before..." it's nevertheless a nice experience and certainly an interesting hint to the next album.

*photo courtesy of Retribution Gospel Choir official site

Dream Brother

Newsflash! Spencer Krug a.k.a. Moonface will release a new single in 2010, called Dreamland EP: marimba and shit-drums. "Release" means physical release, on vinyl. Until then, you have the chance to download the song from Moonface's website. Okay, and now you probably expect me to present you the tracklist. Uhm, there's not such a thing. Is just a loooooooooooooong track. And when I say "loooooooooooooong", I mean twenty minutes.

"Twenty minutes? You got to be kidding me; this is not a Pink Floyd song!" was my first reaction. But then I remembered that I actually like Floyd's never-ending songs. So I pushed "play".

The first thing that hit my ears was the xylophone sound. At this point, I would like to say I love this instrument, even if there are not so many songs in my playlist that have a xylo in the background (which makes me wonder why). So in the first minutes I was really busy listening to it. After three and a half minutes, or so, the drums entered. A nice change, and an appropriate one, because it made me realise just in time that this song also has lyrics. And I am really grateful for that, because it gave me the idea to check them. And I read and listened at the same time, until the voice faded and the song ended with the same simple and yet complicated xylophone sound.

My conclusion? This song is really interesting as an experiment, but you have to be in the proper mood to listen to it. Normally, it's not a song you can listen to every day, and certainly not a song you can dance on. But if you want to take a pause and be with yourself, just close your eyes, turn off the light, and listen.

P.S. And when I say "listen", I also mean "pay attention to the lyrics":

"I was hanging out in the tower
The tower overlooked the sea
I saw him blowing on a horn to serenade his woman
He was pushing out the air with his machine
He’s just reading her mind...
I saw him push his fingers through her skin"

You can find the rest of the lyrics on Moonface's official website.

*photo courtesy of Moonface official site

The Underdogs

Spoon make catchy, infectious music. Their sound is easily recognizable: you know whose song it is from the first chord. And now, seriously, why reinvent the wheel when what you’re doing is so great?

And here’s Written In Reverse, the first single off Spoon’s upcoming album Transference. It has Spoon’s typical guitar line, but it’s a bit messy and the jazzy chords make it feel like an improvisation that is held together by the piano alone. Remember Cold War Kids? Yeah, they were massively influenced by Spoon’s tunesmith and this song here is only further proof. Let’s not forget Britt Daniel’s magnificent voice and lyrics plus the passion he puts into spitting every line. And just as you think it’s all over, they hit you again.

And guess what? Only 42 days until the new album’s released.

Don't Run Away

I am pleased to announce the release of a Goldhawks single – this should have normally been the beginning of this article. But you see Running Away is actually their first single. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you got it right; we're talking about fresh blood here. That made me really, really impatient, and (I'll admit it) excited – and that's because I haven't had the chance to write about a new band in a while (don't count Them Crooked Vultures here).

How does it sound? Well, don't expect something that will turn your world upside down forever and ever (anyway, you know this kind of things happens very, very rarely). It might, if you don't know Echo & The Bunnymen. That's right; the sound will remind some of you of the band from Liverpool. Even the vocals are similar to Ian McCulloch's. It begins with the very classic guitar line, and after eight seconds, or so, the listener has the chance to hear the bass and the drums. The band keeps it simple until the chorus, and then the instrumental just blows in your face. It sounds really nice, even if it's not one of these "wow-omg-i-can't-believe-they-did-this" songs. Plus, we all know that too much originality might actually suck at a certain point. Sometimes it's better just to stick with the old recipe. That's what these guys did.

At the end of the day (or better said article), the verdict is positive. I can say now loudly and clearly that I am pleased to announce the release of the first Goldhawks single… oh, and also really curious about their debut album.

Nonsense, I Love To Dance

On 15 December, Vampire Weekend fans will have a new occasion to feel happy, as their beloved band will officially release Cousins, the first single from the second album, Contra (officially meaning physical release – on 7 inch, to be more specific). Probably you know the song already, and if you don't, then listen to it as soon as you have the chance. I've heard some folks (who try to be too serious for their own good) saying that the lyrics are stupid, but personally I don't find them that way... and even if they were stupid, who would actually care, when the song has such an annoyingly wonderful instrumental? Those crazy drums and that twisted guitar kick you right in the head with the arrogance Arctic Monkeys used to have once, and they make you want to shake your head/butt/arms/whatever until you can't feel your body anymore and you fall to the ground, praying your friends to organize you a decent funeral. Do you think that I make no sense? Well, try to have Cousins on repeat, and then we'll talk.

Shiny Happy Placebo

Placebo announced a few days ago the release of a new single from their sixth studio album, Battle for the Sun. The song is called Bright Lights and it's maybe the most unusual Placebo song you ever heard until now (including I Do) – but I guess they already made a passion out of releasing unusual songs, so that shouldn't be very surprising. This version is a bit different from the one on the album – it has been re-recorded with backing vocals towards the end ("Bright lights in black holes").

The song has a powerful drum line, with the guitar and the bass more or less in the background. However, what strikes you about this song is the electronic touch which make the tune sound all happy and optimistic. Yes, it isn't the first Placebo song of this kind, but the main difference is given by extremely hopeful lyrics. It's not the usual, metaphorical speech we got used to; it's more like a confession, and, like any confession, it's put in very simple words. Goodbye to open sores.

This is a song which most old-school Placebo fans won't find very interesting (translation: they will hate it), but new fans will find it really nice. As for me, my only hope is that the video for this song won't be as shitty as the one for The Never-Ending Why. I'm praying for that.

Lucid Dreams

If you don’t know Camera Obscura’s music, you are such a fool. If you do, you know the title is a perfect description of this over four minutes piece of sheer wonder. And you also should know it by now, as The Sweetest Thing is taken of their exquisite April release, My Maudlin Career. In a perfect world, we’d all know this and I’d end my review here. But, sadly, Camera Obscura are somewhat of a underrated band, if not among music journalists, then among listeners. So this is for the many, many fools amongst us.

Like most of their songs, The Sweetest Thing captures effortlessly 60s girls groups pop: Tracyanne Campbell’s kind of blaze and, yes, adorable vocals, the drums that make your heart pound, the sugary keyboards. Hell, the entire song, every note, every chord shift is not recommended for people with diabetes. And that chorus (“When you’re lucid/You’re the sweetest thing/I would trade my mother to hear you sing”) is so pure genius and so heart melting you know you would trade you mother to hear this playing endlessly

Wow. Just Wow.

Johnny Foreigner’s name sounds like that of some character from The Mighty Boosh, one of those really hip stars Vince Noir was chasing around in Eels trying to tag. In fact, we are sure Noel Fielding felt a bit pissed off when he heard this name he’d never thought of.

Johnny Foreigner do this thing: taking ‘fight pop’ to a whole new level. The new single,Criminals, is great. It is youthful, energetic and rock (in an age when one has to be so many things after rock) and you know it will make such a festival anthem. It doesn’t creep slowly into your ears, it just hits you in your solar plexus from second one.

The promo comes with two b-sides, Camp Kelly Calm and Wow. Just Wow (one of the best song titles we’ve heard in ages and a line that can in fact sum up the whole promo). Unlike Criminals,Camp Kelly Calm doesn’t start like a monster pop-punk anthem and it does have moments when the three kids from Birmingham let you breath only to take you on a crazier ride. But it has what can easily be one of the best intros: “You said ‘see, I'm not just a pretty face’/ And how you're wrong, you're not, you're not even pretty!”.

Wow. Just Wow is just as tight as the previous two, the drums are just as big and the two singers spit their words with the same passion as before. Truth is any of these songs could easily become a single. And all there of them should be some of next year’s festival favourites.

Another Soldier!

Back in the good (teenage) days I loved the guys from N.E.R.D. because they used to be known as the guys from The Neptunes. They produced and gave us ‘I’m a slave for you’ and the amazing remix for ‘Sympathy for the devil’ from The Rolling Stones (they added that sensual flavor to the all classic track : 2004 version check it out – a masterpiece). And then as history is we got N.E.R.D. (Nobody Ever Really Dies - cool, unless you end up in purgatory, meaning a ghost on Earth). I loved and shook my booty on some of their tracks but it seems to that their work for others is much more fulfilling. So they have a new single. Honestly I have this thing (one of many) when it comes to name for songs. I just simply hate it when they can’t find other names for songs besides the ones that have already been used. I mean this new track is called ‘Soldier’, even if the other track that comes to mind is ‘Soldier’ from Destiny’s Child (one of their best), still that is no excuse. Can’t you bloody find another name, synonyms baby, synonyms!


What, are you already feeling my distaste for the single, well, yes. It’s a big load of crap. It can’t even be categorized as a play song (the kind of track born in a studio play at late hours of the night and boredom). The fast tempo is a bright sad reminder of Benny Hill kind of tune, and even a bite from Foo Fighters – The Pretender. Then it eases predictably into a lazy rhythm to hold the voice of Santogold, who does not what she does best but what she can only do. Can’t wait for the album, when interesting work like this will poise my ears.
I want The Neptunes! * cries like a baby*.

I'm Just Looking

Here’s the deal. Yes, they have great live performances. Yes, everyone will sing-along to Have a Nice Day. But Stereophonics are a rather mediocre band. At times, they do manage to make great songs but something makes you doubt they’ll be remembered as a great British band. In the video for their new single, Innocent, they do this thing that makes me think they’re desperate already: they use one too many Union Jack flags. Ok, we get it. We know you’re British, we know you make British rock (one could be mean and say this means they rip off only British bands) and you want to be in the Big League of British Bands. Besides the Union Jacks, the video’s pretty good and the warm colours used, the vintage shots really fit the jingly guitars and the little crescendo. The song’s not bad either. In fact, it should be seem as the great part of Stereophonics’ work. It has a perfect build-up, it’s a terrific sing along and it really makes you want to turn up the volume. Now, all we have to do is wait for the album which will be out sometime in November and enjoy this piece.

My Secret Friend

A few posts ago I was telling you about the IAMX concert I've been to. What I didn't tell you back then was the fact that the band will release a new single, My Secret Friend on the 12th October. The song features Imogen Heap and it's one of the most interesting and attractive songs on Kingdom of Welcome Addiction. The single version has a different start than the album version and a modified ending, but manages to keep the same feeling given by the original.

The chorus, "My secret friend / Oh take me (I'll take you) to the river / My secret friend / So we can swim forever", seems to be the expression of disappointment and loneliness. Actually the song is built on an antithesis between the strength given by love in the past and the emptiness of the present. "The river" is given as a final, ultimate solution, representing most probably a suicide (killing your soul or killing yourself as you're still searching for your love dream). The instrumental is rather simple, but Heap and Corner's voices fit just perfectly, giving the song a sensual touch no one can ignore.

*photo courtesy of IAMX Official Store.

Never-Ending Story

This seems to be the season of new materials, and this time it's Thom Yorke's turn. Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses / The Hollow Earth, his double single, had already been released in 12" format and will be available for download starting the 6th October.

Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses is actually a (very) old version of Reckoner, the seventh track on Radiohead's album In Rainbows and has been written by Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. However, the final version of Reckoner doesn't resemble the original very much, which was a piece of noisy rock. Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses keeps the melodic line Reckoner had, but the sound has changed and became electronic (we all know Yorke, so we shouldn't be surprised about that). As a result, the song doesn't have that refreshing touch the original version had, but its diversified instrumental and Yorke's voice manage to make it interesting and strange in a very good way.

On the other side, The Hollow Earth allows the listener to hear Yorke's high vocals a little bit more than its predecessor (also, the song is shorter than Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses). Actually, it's based more on Yorke's voice, the instrumental bits being rather minimalistic. Not that it would be a bad thing, on the contrary – probably anything other than simple would have been ruined the impression.

Lyrically, the songs keep the same atmosphere we got used to already, the well-known "I'm not here, this is not happening (or maybe I am, but I don't want to be)". But hey, it's Yorke, what else would you expect? Certainly, this doesn't ruin the overall impression, which is a good one. I sure am looking forward to a new album.

*photo courtesy of Waste.uk.com.

Need For A Change

I must admit I've never been so much into Fuck Buttons. Their tunes might seem interesting at a first listening, but after a while you tend to get bored, even annoyed, as they always use the same recipe: repetition-distortion-vocals. New-Noise said they sound like the end of the world. That's true. You could wait until the end of the world for a change in their songs' structure.

And I said "you could" because it seems the situation is different now. Fuck Buttons have just released Surf Solar, the first single from their second album, Tarot Sport. Don't expect some major changes – you might be disappointed. However, they use another recipe on this song. It begins with the same beats we know and (don't) love, but the band starts to introduce new elements gradually, making the sound more and more complex as time passes. It's very interesting to listen to it in the dark, with your eyes closed and thinking about your life and what have you done etc. It still isn't that interesting as critics claim it to be, but it is a welcomed change.

Well, let's hope the rest of the album doesn't follow the same rule too. Maybe they've (finally) learn the meaning of the word "diversity".

*photo courtesy of Fuck Buttons MySpace.

This goes up to 11

OK, here’s the deal: I just want a new Strokes album. The ones who know me already know that anything else is rather irrelevant. I don’t care about the Albert Hammond, Nikolai Fraiture and Fab Moretti’s side projects (although it's good stuff), I just daydream about the follow up to ‘First Impression of Earth’. Hearing Julian Casablancas will too make a solo album just gave me the impulse to spam their inboxes with mails threatening them to put out an album together.

Hearing the first single made me rethink this. Not that I don’t care about that album, but Casablancas managed to pull off a fun song. It has his bored ragged voice, it has an 80’s synth, it has a very funky bass line and it has what I love the most about Strokes – Julian’s clever observation of the modern world. And this is about when me (and the rest of us Strokes fanatics) somehow forget about the Strokes album and daydream about the new solo project of one of the band’s members.

And, by the way… Hey, Valensi, when are you making an album alone? It’s about time, don’t you think?

Higher And Higher

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will soon release a new material, titled Higher Than the Stars, an EP which comes after their first major release, the self-titled debut album. The new material has four songs which follow the same line we were used to. A nice and powerful sound that is always completed by ethereal vocals and which makes them quite enjoyable (if you manage to understand the words – and that might take you a while).

The title track stands out thanks to the strong drums, which, combined with the keyboards, make the experience really, really interesting. The vocals hidden in the layers of the instrumental give it a retro vibe that is pleasant and fits perfectly. Higher Than the Stars indeed. That's also the case with the next song, 103, which amplifies the energy felt on the first track, making you to want to dance all night long. Yeah, all night long, even if it might sound like a cliché.

Falling Over resembles New Order a bit, due to its bass line, but goes beyond that, transforming itself in a piece of pure Pains' pop. And then we have the last track, Twins – and you can tell it's the last one, as the tempo is slowing down. Not much, just a bit, but enough to make you feel the trip's over, enough to inoculate you some kind of nostalgia. And the need to hear this again, even if only for understanding (once and for all) the words.

*photo courtesy of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart MySpace.

Placebo bleah!

We have two new singles from Placebo – remember that biblical verse, more exactly as a ‘Chop Suey’ lyric: ‘’oh God, why have you forsaken me’’?!Well it feels that way! ‘Ashtray Heart’ and ‘The Never Ending Why’, first one for everyone and the second track only for UK and Norway, or in other words darker shit for most of the world and a lighter shit just for the Brits and some Nordic people. Yes, we are talking about Placebo, that band that we placed in the ‘vox dei’ category, it is they that offer these two … songs.

‘Ashtray heart’ is beyond awful, it’s got lyrics in Spanish , we love Spanish but why would you put as chorus a foreign synonym for the word ‘ashtray’?! FYI: ‘cenicero’ is ashtray in Spanish. Moving forward into the awfulness, the rest of the lyrics are beyond mysterious, they really make no sense, and I one am a master in metaphors and not even I don’t get it. And then there is the background, wow I almost didn’t hear it there! That mediocre is.

‘The Never Ending Why ‘ is a lighter shit , because on a loud volume it does well, it’s catchy, the negative succeeds in effectiveness and Mr. Molko keeps up quite decent. Should I say something about the lyrics?! I am too bored and too tired from listening to these songs to try to make some sense, let alone decide if there is something out there.

The only thing I have left is hope, hope that the new decade will bring some sort of epiphany and inspiration for Placebo! Because, gentlemen this simply will not do.