countdown to connect!

well well well - only one week until connect, and i haven't said a single thing about it! how remiss i've been. i hope this makes up for it, and whets your appetite for what will surely be the most attractive festival of the summer. located in inveraray, on the shores of loch fyne, connect has secured a lineup even more appealing than its location for its inaugural year. i'm really fucking excited for the show, as i haven't been lucky enough to see most of these bands even once. also, i'm a festival virgin.

so, here's a list of the acts i'm most excited for, in no particular order. the set times haven't been released yet, so i don't know what conflicts there will be, but if i have to decide between two gallants and the hold steady, i won't be a happy camper.

friday:
the aliens - "setting sun"
king creosote - "grace" (jeff buckley cover)
super furry animals - "tradewinds"
the go! team - "keys to the city"
the jesus and mary chain - "just like honey"

saturday:
two gallants - "you losin' out"
modest mouse - "king rat"
the hold steady - "knuckles"
mogwai - "we're no here"

sunday:
m.i.a. - "paper planes"
hot chip - "my piano"
lcd soundsystem - "all my friends" (live on kcrw)
patrick wolf - "the libertine"
bjork - "earth intruders"
the polyphonic spree - "guaranteed nightlite"

by no means are these the only bands i'm planning on seeing, but i'm most excited for them / have some of their tunes. there are a number of bands i've heard of but haven't actually heard which i'd like to find time to check out, but we'll see how it all plays out. i'm also hoping to do day-by-day posts, with pictures and few words, and do a big long post afterwards. connect starts friday august 31st and concludes sunday september 2nd, and tickets are still available here.

heima

certain artists make great news: for new dirt on amy winehouse, pete doherty, or bradford cox you certainly won't have to work too hard, and the results are always amusing. but some bands never make news. when was the last time you saw jón Þór birgisson in the news for boozing, cocaine, or questionable revelations about poo? right. that was never. that's because birgisson, frontman of the simply lovely icelandic quartet known as sigur ros, is a delicate and restrained person (not that you'd ever guess from their songs). in fact, i'd lay a handsome wager that, when the 'ros boys say they want to get together for a drink, they're talking about soda pop. why all this fiddlefaddle about the drinking habits of sigur ros? because i couldn't think of a better way to open this post.

here's the real deal: the world's favorite icelanders (yeah, bjork, i said it) have been busy boys (though you'd never guess it from the torrent of press releases we've seen). the music slut reported today that they're lending two old songs to a leonardo dicaprio documentary, 11th hour, to be released tomorrow, but we haven't heard much from the 'ros in a while (unless, of course, you actually listen to what nme has to say). here to rectify these reporting inequities is, well, me.

first of all, they've got a movie of their own coming out. entitled "heima," the film documents their 2006 tour through iceland. rather than have me butcher a number of fine icelandic words, here are some of the places they played. "heima" is set to be released on november 5th, the same day as the sigur ros compilation disc "hvarf-heim." "hvarf" features new studio versions of four live standards, while "heim" is made up of six acoustic takes on old sigur ros classics. in peripheral sigur ros news, amiina is currently touring north america. sadly, i will not be in attendance as i am not in north america.

so, there you are, all fresh and caught up with the news from the unparalleledly (not a word) awesome sigur ros. what you do with it is up to you. but i'll be biding my time until 11/5 and saving up.

here's the heima trailer:


sigur ros - "von" (live in reykjavik 1999)

slint performing "spiderland," glasgow, 8/20/07

from the start of david pajo's bewitching riff in "breadcrumb trail," it is instantly obvious that spiderland is no ordinary album - that's why i went to go see slint perform it last night in glasgow. i'd never before been to a don't look back concert, and i had never really thought about how odd it would be; after all, even when you see a band with only an EP, they don't play the songs in order - a live show deliberately disrupts the order and regularity of an album, injecting a new sense of vitality into songs heard a thousand times through headphones. but the point of don't look back is to consciously reject the traditional live concert, an idea that i didn't even consider before going to this show. as a result, it was weird, mostly because slint isn't a band anymore - all they play is this album, basically. as isn't even forty minutes long, slint tacked on some extra songs at the end, giving us a little more punch for our pounds, but fundamentally, slint only exists now as a vehicle for spiderland's live performance.

spiderland did feel like a performance more than a concert - the difference being attending a classical recitation or watching the holy steady shred in front of you. slint played their opus (which they themselves must be sick to death of) with detached perfection, delivering a show that was in no way different than the album's i've listened to so many times (i took two movies, of "don, aman," and "washer," and their lengths are less than ten seconds different than the studio versions). for me, the show was confusing at first - why did the album, which has produced such admiration and emotion in me, suddenly feel so dead? then i realized it was because slint themselves were dead - not literally, of course, but basically in every other sense. these songs which they had written, riddled with seething angst (however reserved), these songs were not played by the band that had written them, but by a band that performed them as an homage. ironically (yet still sadly), slint only came alive, and only for a brief moment, during "good morning captain," spiderland's final track. in fact, i don't believe anyone but vocalist brian mcmahan actually opened their mouths during the show, except for drummer britt walford's guest turn at vocals for "don, aman." the crowd was most appreciative, clapping and whooping at every song, as if they were surprised by what the next one would be, but one clearly got the sense that slint would have played exactly the same whether there were 400 or 4 people at the show. granted, slint's music doesn't necessarily lend itself to much more than restraint, but the extent to which slint went to to ensure the audience knew it was a performance, not a concert, was rather disheartening.

the stage setup was more than a little odd, with mcmahan's mic set almost entirely on stage right, so that he would have been just a profile to anyone in front of him - fortunately, i set up directly in front of paho, so i was able to see the whole band. walford and pajo sat opposite each other in the center of the stage for "don, aman," a nice effect, but one that didn't see to have any discernible purpose. abc's lights were terribly bland, and nearly the entire set was blue and pink, only changing colors very late in the set.

i was a little worried about the length of the show, considering spiderland clocks in at less than forty minutes, but slint tacked on a few songs at the end, namely "glenn" and "rhoda" from their 1994 self-titled ep, and a new song called "king's approach," in which pajo's work with early man is an almost overpowering influence. a long (and very heavy) instrumental jam, "king's approach" really did not communicate any part of the slint aesthetic, and really sounded as if it would be more appropriate at a metal show. because "king's approach" is a new song, rumors have abounded about a reunited slint releasing an album, but there didn't seem to be any serious chemistry between any of its members - they looked pained to even be on the same stage as the others, which must be why there was so much physical distance between them onstage.

all in all, seeing spiderland made me sad. i feel bad for slint, performing the same songs each night in the same order, songs that they wrote sixteen years ago when they were different people in a different place. yet this spiderland tour has none of the excitement of an ordinary "greatest hits" show, just a cold, dead emptiness. yes, the music was superb, but we knew that; what i paid for was a chance to see slint. what i saw was a shell of them, and that is a shame.

"don, aman"


"washer"

best concert of the year (projected):

final fantasy and cadence weapon at bowery ballroom on november 11.

i've never had the opportunity to see either one, and seeing them together - it boggles the mind. what makes this SO very exciting is their collaboration on CBC earlier this year, each playing three songs. i would be VERY surprised if we don't get some crossover action at this show, and you best recognize that doing anything else on that night is pure folly. unfortunately, the bowery presents has sold out to the devil, so you'll have to pay fees for corporate bitches, unless you can get down to mercury lounge.

final fantasy - "the lamb sells condos" buy he poos clouds here.
cadence weapon - "black hand" buy breaking kayfabe here.
final fantasy & cadence weapon - "this is the dream of win and regine" (live on CBC)

playing catch up

i decided to take a week to relax, for no other reason than i was tired (and writing a long-ass article for the wonder boy review), which is why my posting has been rather lethargic. here's what you might have missed this week:

1. nyc-ers: we're probably gonna lose mccarren pool as the site of some of the summer's best and freest shows. mayor bloomberg wants to make mccarren park pool a year-round recreation center with a full-time pool...but where else can 4000 people see YACHT? (where else would 4000 people want to see YACHT?) i'm really sad...i've seen some really quality shows there (both free and for ca$h money), and it's one of the best large spaces in new york (god knows summerstage doesn't cut it). if you feel sore about it, as i do, try filling out NYC Parks & Recreation's survey here, and maybe we can have a polyphonic spree/patrick wolf show next summer.

2. i found out about aol's spinner earlier this week, and have spent all the wireless time i can steal downloading shows, like this week's performance by art brut. eddie and co. burn through an alternate version of "pump up the volume," "post soothing out," "direct hit," and their classic "good weekend." you definitely get the sense that art brut don't work as well without an audience to feed off of, but, if you've been paying attention, that's old news.

3. dead flowers has a fucking sick dj shadow set from 1997. the sound quality is excellent, as is the set itself.

4. this is definitely old news, but def jux offered another aesop rock track from his upcoming none shall pass, which features john darnielle, among others. dropping august 28, none shall pass is a-rock's third full length, and "citronella," the new track is produced by rock, a murky mess of thick bass and horns and the command to "kill your television." he plays irving plaza on september 9.

aesop rock - "citronella"

5. i've got another feature in the works. titled "the regret files," it will be profiling bands that aren't around any more that i wish were. the first story is on out hud, and i hope to publish it tomorrow or tuesday.

6. i'm seeing slint tomorrow night!

7. i had a dream about o'death last night. odd...

who needs english? - peatbog faeries

well, seeing as i'm in scotland, what better time to do a post on such a quintessentially scottish band? sure, belle & sebastian nail the glaswegian moroseness very well, but you don't see them clad in kilts, do you? well, if you are lucky enough to see peatbog faeries in concert, you will. hailing from the isle of skye, the largest of the hebrides, peatbog faeries are one of the most popular contemporary celtic bands around. their website boasts of tours as far away as borneo and botswana, and to america, australia, and the rest of europe, and they habitually make the rounds at scottish festivals every year, like their appearance at the the hebridean celtic festival earlier this summer. scottish born and bred, the faeries have honed their sound over five albums, insistently assimilating trance, house, and drum n' bass elements into their scots sound. fronted by peter morrison, their piper and primary songwriter, the faeries defy tradition with the inclusion of the wayward boys (saxophone and trombone), and new inductee greame stafford on keyboards, all while manufacturing unmistakably celtic jams.

while the faeries take their heritage very seriously (morrison and bassist innes hutton both usually wear kilts during shows, and the few words they sing are in gaelic), their music is what has been christened "celtic fusion," the organic blending of indigenous international sounds with the traditional scottish one. almost exclusively instrumental, peatbog faeries rely on morrison and fiddler adam sutherland to create brisk melodies that the rest of the band flesh out into ceilidh tunes for the post-rave generation.

the faeries' sound has matured since their first record, 1996's mellowosity, which was dominated by looser jams, thick organ, and more of a folk sound, a genre they have noticeably strayed from. faerie stories, their second release, brought them a small measure of success and european recognition, with good reason - it remains their best album. faerie stories was a major turning point for the band, with its unprecedented reliance on a synthesizer, and a much more upbeat sound overall, which causes toes to tap about thirty seconds into its opening song, "martin roachfords / the oyster womans rant." released five years after their debut, faerie stories became the blueprint for the current peatbog sound, rejecting the pub session feel for articulated production and a denser overall composition. 2003's welcome to dun vegas (the faeries are a bunch of jokers: peter morrison lives in the town of dunvegan on the isle of skye) re-trod the steps faerie stories had taken, slimming the songs down to their dancingest essentials, showcasing a band happy and confident with their sound. on 2005's croftwork (didn't i tell you they were jokers?), the faeries made the decision to add a new layer to their sound - the wayward boys, sax and trombone, who had played with acts as diverse as sir elton john and kylie minogue. despite this, croftwork was a disappointing album with some of the faeries' best songs - it was the other eight tracks that left a listener wanting. the title track was heavier than anything peatbog faeries had written previously, and it quickly became a live fan favorite, along with "scots on the rocks" and "the anthropologist." perhaps signifying their own discomfort with the album, the faeries played only three or four songs from it, even for the croftwork tour. now, in 2007, they have just released their fifth album, what men deserve to lose (on their very own peatbog label), purported to be their danciest release yet. i haven't heard it, so i'm not one to judge, but, as their last three releases have proved, peatbog faeries are happy with their sound, and it's doubtful it has changed since.

i've had the good fortune to see peatbog faeries three times, each of which was well satisfying and loads of fun. they have a few upcoming gigs, two in england, one at the glasgow proms, and some random dates throughout the rest of the year, including what will no doubt be a bitching new years' eve in inverness.

peatbog faeries - "the folk police" from faerie stories and "croftwork" from croftwork

buy all the peatbog faeries merchandise your heart desires here.

let's play the exclamation point game!

alas!, poor tan! if thunderbirds are now! and the go! team hadn't emerged around the same time, tan! might stand a chance of being the coolest band with a ! in their name (i don't personally like !!!, thank you very much). anyway, the fact that tan! and the go! team sound somewhat similar doesn't really help, because the go! team is, actually, much better than thunderbirds are now! at the spastic pop thing, as tan!'s third effort, make history, proves (also, their inclusion in forget remember when isn't really a ringing endorsement either).

i've tried hard to like make history, but it's time to face the facts: there's really only one great track on the album, and that's "why we war." if every tan! song sounded like "why we war," then pitchfork would be premiering their video this week, instead of this one. it's not that the other songs on make history are flops, they're just missing the little bit of oomph "why we war" has, unfortunately. and oomph is exactly why "why we war," in fucking spades. jagged, angular, with more than a daub of political angst, "why we war" comes right in the middle of the album, when you start to realize that you might've made a mistake in buying it. "why we war" is placed back-to-back with the other standout song on the album, "sound issues/smart ideas," and you start to cheer up, thinking that maybe make history just got off to a slow start - but no, it's just rather plain throughout, actually.

okay, "plain" sells make history short. it is filled with vibrancy, excitement, and spastic melodies, and i have been known to jump around and thrash to it, in the privacy of my own home. but it gets repetitive, and fast. "the veil comes down," the album's second track, is more worth skipping than sitting through, and the semi-ballad "shit gold," while adopting a different style than most tan! songs, isn't worth much either. but "why we war" is propelled mostly by ryan allen's nasalized shout/singing and a regular beat, and a sweet-ass breakdown chorus with some kind of synthesizer. tan! achieves a balance on this song - it is compelling not merely because the melody is more pleasing, or easier to dance to, but because it is not over the top, stuffed to the point of overflow with effects and angles. "why we war" is assured, straightforward, and has a maracas (always worth bonus points). mostly, however, "why we war" is make history's best track because it simply rocks. even with the maracas and synth and other fun bits, "why we war" is simple - it makes you want to dance, maybe yell out a "fuck bush" just for fun, and doesn't require all that much from the listener - and, really should a dancepunk song do more than that?

thunderbirds are now! - "why we war." buy make history on frenchkiss here.

p.s. - i counted 18 exclamation points, not counting the one in the title.

p.p.s. - here's a video from a band with more than one good song with lots of exclamation points.