basically what it comes down to is how goddamn catchy your songs are. mr. mammoth worships at the altar of pop, and if it can stick in his head, it's probably golden. even with the absurd abundancy of excellent music right now, one album in particular in particular has been on repeat in my skull, and that little gem of scandanavian goodness is vs. the snow by the lk. the lk, whose full title is the love of kevin, colour, chaos, and the sound of k, are electro-pop craftsmen from the fertile ground of sweden, and vs. the snow is 43 gorgeous minutes of airy and transportive glitz.
a collaboration between lindefelt, self-described "abstract sound artist" and fredrik, "pop visionary and songwriter par excellence," the lk are exemplary in a genre that has more than its fair share of quality. fredrik's songs are weightless but dense, rich compositions that are gently blurred by lindefelt's fuzzy noise gadgets and his endearingly accented english. their songs are like brain crack - they hook you from the first moment you hear them. "eurovision" has a deep, almost trance feel, and "tamagotchi freestyle" is exultant and joyous, and "blakboy vs. the snow" is laid back and loungey - this is a well-rounded, diverse album. vs. the snow is a album that digs deep in the electro-pop vein, and emerges with tireless hooks and intelligent sounds.
as a lifelong new yorker, there's one thing i especially love about the lk, and that is their propensity to say "fuck." well, i've only heard it twice, but a) they're pretty well-enunciated and b) they're all the more impressive considering their gauzy electro-pop, a genre not normally known for its expletives. as a tribute to the lk and my love of swear words, the songs below are the "fuck" songs.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
vs. the snow
Monday, February 11, 2008
leak of the week - afterparty babies
to hear rollie pemberton tell it, the life of a 21 year old internationally respected rapper isn't actually all peaches and cream. on afterparty babies, his first album for anti-, pemberton, better known as cadence weapon, bemoans the loneliness of touring, the duplicity of fame, and the somewhat questionable honor of being "an accident." though his debut breaking kayfabe was released in 2005, it wasn't until last year that pemberton really began to get the attention he deserved, due primarily to his uniform rejection of hip hop convention. an album that defied even the most progressive interpretations of the genre with its 8 bit beats and mostly rhymeless flow, breaking kayfabe (a title that references a relatively disguised pro wrestling technique) stretched the fabric of hip hop, and was utterly alluring and almost indigestible. thankfully, if not surprisingly, afterparty babies promises more of the same, only better. pemberton's conversational delivery, a mix of bitter soliloquy and nonchalant fatalism, and his own acerbic and intensely melodic beats have been honed in the two-plus years of touring in support of kayfabe, presenting us again with an album that could very well be unlistenable if it wasn't so brilliant.
the first thing about afterparty babies that really makes an impression (after opening track "do i miss my friends," which consists of pemberton's looped acapella) is the almost unreasonable amount of melody in his beats. almost entirely self-produced (as was kayfabe), babies exemplifies pemberton's wholesale refusal of any conventional beatmaking process. mostly devoid of bass, and intentionally so (he spits "just bought a beat / can't deal with the bass" on "real estate"), babies rolls with melodies so thick as to obscure his own flow, swirling, glitchy vortexes that don't stand still. hip hop production is usually straightforward - one beat for the verse and one for the chorus - but babies relies on unstable sounds that flit between cuts by dj weez-l (cadence weapon's traveling dj) and pemberton's own deviant electronics. "in search of the youth crew," the first track released from the album, is aggressively top-loaded, but it is "limited edition of oj slammer" that exemplifies the exaggerated glitch of babies, harshly inorganic sounds that are not mere complements for pemberton's flat delivery. with only the exception of "do i miss my friends," afterparty babies cements cadence weapon's outsider approach to beatmaking, a radical process that exceeds similar efforts from other IDM artists.
beat-wise, afterparty babies is mostly more of the same of kayfabe, only better produced (and glitchier). pemberton's lyrical maturation is the album's real highlight. a little more brazen and a little more lonely, pemberton has filled out as a lyricist, honing his mostly rhymeless flow and letting free associations inspire him. he talks more trash but seems more wounded - on "do i miss my friends" he tells us "i have friends who don't know my name" - but his hyper-intellectual delivery is impressive, to say the least. throughout babies, he belittles hollywood ("tom cruise and katie holmes was my idea"), pop music ("it used to be 'i wanna be your dog' but now it's 'who let the dogs out?'"), "hip hop hipsters / dearly departed," mocks tattoos for a whole song, and, as so many have done before him, trashed major labels on the anthemic "real estate." most poignant, however, may be "juliann wilding," a person and a song whom pemberton acknowledges as a inspiration for the record. checkered with equal parts charisma and disgust, babies finds pemberton in excellent lyrical form.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
who needs english? - el guincho
is it too early to start calling albums the person pitch of 2008? cuz if it ain't, alegranza is it, a whirling, joyful vortex of spiraled sounds and looped exuberance that doesn't quite nip at noah lennox's heels in terms of quality, but far surpasses him on the happiness front (for one thing, i'm pretty sure el guincho doesn't have lyric "i don't want us to take pills anymore," though the language barrier prevents me from asserting that). alegranza is the absolutely fantastic debut album from el guincho, a barcelona cum canary islands artist whose jungle rhythms and exotic, worldy sounds have been inspiring a mad dash of bloggerism worldwide. el guincho (his friends call him pablo díaz-reixa, or probably just pablo) has basically ridden a rocket to international fame, going from spanish-blog hype to english-blog HYPE in about three and half weeks (give or take). it's definitely been a good thing for him that alegranza was widely distributed (and promoted) across the internet for free/illegally, as alegranza has found a home in australia/new zealand on oh-my-god-so-cute mistletone records, and el guincho is about to play outside of spain for the first time at the end of march (though we americans still don't get either record-release or live-performance love). fortunately, everyone with an internet connection can, and should, enjoy alegranza, because it's just pretty much fantastic.
alegranza, recorded as a mixture of self-made beats and samples, is a light yet complex record, one that rewards repeated listens with a never-ending trove of sounds (i just heard the sounds of a block on album opener "palmitos park"), but also with an inherently global understanding. díaz-reixa, a canary islands native, is fiercely proud of his heritage, choosing both his performing name and album title from locations there 
(el guincho is a town on tenerife; alegranza is the northernmost canary island), and i'm willing to put dollars to donuts that his sound is also inspired by his home. all of el guincho's songs are exhilarating, animatedly drawing on african hand drums, budding bhangra, steel pans, schoolyard chanting, and the ever-popular assortment of beeps, boops, and whirrs. though it's probably just as computer-made as person pitch, alegranza's low fidelity and deliberate imperfection (díaz-reixa often sings startlingly off-key) gives it an authentic, organic feel - alegranza is a record better suited for soundtracking a beach party than hipster headphones.
so why doesn't el guincho need english? well, there's the obvious (he sings in spanish), the endemic (more and more non-english music is becoming mainstream), and the practical (thanks to the internet, alegranza can be heard anywhere), and those are some pretty fine reasons, if i do say so myself. if you need more reasons, you just need to sit down and listen to his album in all its colorful revelry - each element of alegranza is as vibrant as the hues in the photo to your left, its joy tangible. too-careful inspection of the album may leave you feeling a little cheated, especially on "antillas," a track that starts strong but ends tiredly, the same loop recycled for its 5 minute duration, but these lapses on díaz-reixa's part are rare. and, if el guincho does have a darker side (maybe he sings "i want us to keep taking pills"?), i don't speak a lick of spanish, so alegranza is just one big party for my ears.
good luck finding alegranza on sale - rough trade had 25 copies, but who knows how many are left?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
thao & the get down stay down @ knitting factory tap bar, 2/4/08
hey, remember that we brave bee stings and all record i was talking about last week? by thao and the get down stay down - you must remember it, it just came out on kill rock stars...and, hey, look! it's only four posts down the page! well, if you've forgotten, i really like that album, which is delightfully quirky and irresistibly catchy, and, after the growler's glowing review of
her recent london show, i knew i just had to check her (& the get down stay down) out at the knitting factory last night, their first nyc show since the album's release. though death vessel was the headliner, thao was the biggest draw, and i certainly wasn't the only one who was only there for her. opener katie eastburn (of young people) was good without being impressive, her husky voice singing poems over a piano and kick drum. i kinda liked the young people album, but eastburn solo was a little too sedate for my taste; when thao came on, she had to ask the crowd to rise from the floor.
i was really struck by how good a performer thao was, as well as the get down stay down. restrained and nuanced on we brave, thao is engaging and vivacious in person, and her songs were flexible enough to be bent a little. the lazy bluesiness thao affects on the album is totally discarded live, replaced with an obvious burning joy. she wielded her acoustic guitar like a true rock star and clearly enjoyed playing live, a feeling that the audience echoed. "bag of hammers" opened with some badass beatboxing before thao blew the roof off the song, turning the ditty into a straight-up rock song. "travel" took a turn for the best as well, though i think "feet asleep" was the real standout. ironically, album standout "swimming pools" wasn't better live, probably due to the loss of the banjo part, the song's essential crutch. i've always really liked the knitting factory, and the sound last night was as impeccable as ever, thao's voice taking center stage but with everything else mixed perfectly. with a slight bit of reverb, thao's singing filled the room even when she stood back from the mic; there's a beautiful fullness to her voice, slightly husky and rich, that leaves you wanting more (after she closed with "fear and convenience," the crowd begged for one more). thao's nimble fingerwork is impressive as well, but her exuberance was the set's best part. her happiness at being there was tangible, and, while that is by no means the only outstanding part of her act, was alone rewarding enough to make her performance great.
Monday, February 4, 2008
hot chip @ highline ballroom, 2/2/08 (groundhog day)
to my great pleasure, i recently started working at highline ballroom, a 750-person capacity venue on 16th street. so i'll be reporting on a lot more shows from that venue, but my visual coverage might suffer - i don't know the ease with which i'll be able to take photographs or shoot video. fortunately, i was able to get a lot for saturday's hot chip show, which, without my real knowledge, was probably the best show in town that night. i was straight in the back, which explains the angle for all the photos and video, and why there aren't any closeups.
this hot chip show, in anticipation of their third full-length, made in the dark, was billed as "intimate," with good reason - the band, which was virtually unknown before 2006, is now one of the hottest indie acts in the world, and highline's tight capacity meant that the show sold out long ago. so that was pretty cool. i've never had much of an interest in the band, 
but i was excited for the show regardless - i figured a polished act like hot chip must put on a good show. i was also excited when i heard that devlin & darko, spank rock's djs, were opening, courtesy of a hot chip special invitation.
though they proudly hail from baltimore, devlin & darko spun a very 70s-south florida set, with lots of disco and funk flavor. i really liked their sound though i've never really been a spank rock person. not much else to add.
hot chip travels with their own soundman, and they spent hours making sure everything sounded great, so the sound was really impeccable - a lot of bass, but it wasn't overpowering anything else and all the instruments were crystal clear. their set came almost entirely from made in the dark, with only three older songs - "a boy from school," "over & over," and "no fit state" coming from their second album, the warning. though the crowd did go craziest for the old songs, the entire crowd seemed to recognize all, or most, of the band's new ones as well - made in the dark leaked a couple months ago, and it looked like everyone in the room had downloaded a copy.
hot chip were spot on. it was a really good show. don't really feel like writing much today.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
team robespierre @ death by audio, 2/1/08 (record release party)
i've never been the kind of person who can enjoy live music just anywhere, and i doubt i'm the only one. as you might remember from previous live reviews, i've made a point of discussing the relative merits of any venue i've never been to before, from new york to glasgow, because i think it's the space music is performed in is almost as important as the music itself - after all, if a venue has shitty sound or cramped floor space or allows reckless behavior, that's what's going to draw your attention, no matter how much you love this band. this was only my second time at death by audio, todd p's premiere semi-legal brooklyn venue, but i hope it will be my last. even attending this show was a sort of moral chore, one that i did because its reward (i.e., directly supporting the artists and non-corporate business models) was, well, more rewarding than its process (i.e., actually going to death by audio). ethically, i'm a strong supporter of todd p's efforts to deindustrialize the music industry, promoting niche bands to all-ages crowds (always), and i'm sure he doesn't skimp on paying the bands who play there. however, the ultimate consideration is whether it's about the band or about the viewer. on a grander level, of course the band does, because people who really love them will see them anywhere and love it, but when you go to three, four shows a week, there's a lot less magic in the live experience, and comfort becomes an important criteria.
maybe i'm a little coddled here in new york, where there's a live music venue on every other corner on the l.e.s., and i can choose to see a band based on where they're playing. most bands i'm interested in playing new york at least twice a year, whether back-to-back or months apart, and i do have the relative luxury of saying, "no, i don't really like that venue. i'll see them somewhere else/next time." however, as a fan of team robespierre and, as i said, an ethical supporter of todd p, i put aside my doubts from the last time i was at death by audio and went. what a mistake.
death by audio is not a good venue. certain pitfalls, like the lights and sound (which, if you stand close enough, might actually kill you) can be attributed to, and pardoned by, the venue's shoestring existence; after all, it does seem to double as warehouse space and is definitely not licensed by the city. however, death by audio's reluctance to allow people to congregate outside the venue (which attracts cops) means that its squalid, poorly ventilated, and unbelievably cramped interior was choked with cigarette and marijuana smoke nearly as soon as the show began. new york city banned smoking indoors for a reason, and it would really have been great if death by audio's anti-establishment platform consisted of a little more than blatant health code violations and a large degree of disrespect for its clientele. another thing i absolutely love (loathe) about death by audio is their absurdly unnecessary delay between doors and starting shows. both times i've been, doors have been at 8 and the show hasn't started until after 10. the venue's mostly anarchic setup means that bathroom waits often exceed half an hour, underaged drinking is rampant, and (one of its rare upsides), its liberal in-and-out policy means that you can easily go outside for some desperately-needed fresh air (or walk to the bodega during especially awful sets - see ninjasonik for more). a night at death by audio can turn you from hale & hearty to wheezy & sniffly without breaking a sweat.
sweating is, of course, the mostly ultimate goal of any punk show, and regardless of my personal feelings towards death by audio, it was probably the best place in the city for team robespierre's record release party. after all, the band isn't exactly known to embrace law & order (see "ha ha ha"), and the close confines of death by audio incited the kind of wanton and reckless audience participation team robespierre thrives on. by the time the headliners took the stage, the room was a sauna of body heat, thanks to the noble efforts of the night's three openers, vivian girls, the golden error, and ninjasonik. disappointingly, the quality of the music (of the openers) seemed to decrease as the night wore on, peaking at opposite ends with vivian girls' reverb-y punk and team robespierre's electropunk. i got there towards the end of their set, but dug what i heard, an intelligent blend of post-punk and garage punk. the golden error, on the other hand, played rather unexciting punk-punk, some songs bearing a garage sound but, on the whole, rather derivative. however, they did manage to get the crowd moshing, so that's probably a good sign. ninjasonik were definitely the biggest disappointment of the night - two guys and the world's largest posse smoking blunts on stage over what were actually pretty good beats, but were ruined by their terrible lyrics - i only stuck around for a couple songs (before going to the aforementioned bodega) and felt compelled to leave when they started singing "somebody's gonna get pregnant" ad nauseum. not recommended.
at long last (for such a small stage, it certainly takes a long-ass time to set up between sets), team robespierre came on to absolutely thunderous applause. it's been a great year for these guys, having been literally catapulted from nothing to one of the most legit buzz bands (here's looking at you, vampire weekend) from new york. a year of building up fan bases in dank basements and crowd diving in warehouses with little more than a few mp3s to go on ended last week with the release of their first album, everything's perfect, on impose records - a staggering eighteen minute opus that makes up for its frighteningly short duration with ten of the hardest hitting tracks this side of the hudson. so good, that i don't even mind that half the tracks are from the fake gold sampler that i talked about a couple weeks ago. anyway, the place was 
totally fucking nuts for team robespierre's set - so crazy that the band scarcely had a chance to engage in their trademark rambunctiousness. vocalists ty and tomasz tried to crowd surf multiple times and just got pushed back towards the stage - the place was so packed (definitely above fire code, but it's not like death by audio HAS a fire code) that there wasn't even room to dance, just to sway back and forth and try to avoid the crowd-surfing bodies. a credit to team robespierre's skill was the number of fellow brooklyn musicians who showed up - i counted matt & kim (of matt & kim) and despot, but i'm sure there were more.
the show was great, and team robespierre were as good as i knew they would be. i'm still psyched to see them opens for foals in two weeks, and though i'm still a little trepidatious about their set at bowery, at least i know i'll have some degree of personal comfort there (no smoking, no ridiculous bathroom lines, and, most importantly, not a ridiculous amount of people so there's actually space to dance). long live team robespierre!
Friday, February 1, 2008
awesome song & dance day! - "break"
awesome song day! is a spontaneous feature, when i am moved by a song's singular awesomeosity and feel the urge to share its awesomeness with all of you. the song below is awesome.
well, i certainly don't need to tell you how much i fucking love anticon., but in case you haven't been paying attention, i do. a lot. the new why? is fucking excellent (no surprises there), but i'm even a little more excited for at war with walls and mazes, the debut album from anticon.'s newest signee, son lux. back in november, i went to see sole at the knitting factory, where son lux opened - their first nyc show. i liked their set a lot, just never got around to writing up the review, though my notes tell me they were really good - they traveled with their own visual-effects operator, which they projected on the wall, were "abstracted & fluid," and had some "maggot brain"-esque funkadelic sounds, and were still "unmistakably glitchy." sounds like a good recipe, no? well, "break," the first album track released to the public, has just had its video released, and it's fucking awesome. directed by finbar mallon (another name i'd kill to have), the video is done with stop-motion and sped-up-motion, and follows the numerous, awesome adventures of pieces of string, imaginatively capturing "break"'s tender dissonance.
peter travers of rolling stone calls it a "must-see."
the previous statement is a lie.
