u.n.p.o.c.

when i was living in edinburgh, i went to see hallam foe, the new film starring jamie bell. while the film hasn't yet hit american shores, there's no doubt it will, considering its favorable reception in europe (and excellent soundtrack). directed by scotsman david mackenzie, hallam foe was filmed entirely in edinburgh and the surrounding countryside, and, accordingly, has a very british soundtrack. the movie's ostensible theme, "hallam foe dandelion blow," is performed by franz ferdinand, but the film's best songs were nestled among edinburgh's closes (or alleyways, to us non-scottish folks). the nativist soundtrack, which won the silver bear award at the berlin film festival, was compiled by renowned u.k. indie label domino, and includes songs from psapp, clinic, orange juice, sons and daughters, king creosote, and u.n.p.o.c. those first names are probably familiar, especially that of king creosote, but who's this u.n.p.o.c. guy?

u.n.p.o.c. (the acronym) began life in the late 19th century as a mercantile abbreviation for "unable to navigate, probably on course," a phrase that was used by arctic explorers. once the fog moved in and their compasses froze, these intrepid men calmly, rationally, picked a course that took them into the deep unknown. perhaps it was their indefatigable spirit that prompted tom bauchop, an edinburgh singer/songwriter to adopt "u.n.p.o.c." as his stage name; on the other hand, it might well have been their joyous celebration of trespassing the limit of human ingenuity and going boldly into the mist. u.n.p.o.c. (the artist) plays fierce songs in glorious lo-fi majesty, looping and stacking guitar and vocal lines to create a complex infrastructure that yet manages to dazzle with simplicity. u.n.p.o.c. have only one album to date, the stunning fifth column, a recording that burns with a frenetic joy that hides bauchop's lyrical loneliness.

it is a testament to u.n.p.o.c.'s skill that "here on my own," the song that appears on the hallam foe soundtrack, was personally selected by director mackenzie. played at a pivotal moment in the film, "here on my own" aptly sums up hallam's overwhelming loneliness and isolation while never slipping into morbidity or depression. u.n.p.o.c. and fifth column are relentlessly optimistic, inspiring joyous wail-a-longs in spite of whatever lyrical demons bauchop conjures up. instantly hummable and engaging, fifth column quickly wends its way into brain radio, on repeat; there is an indescribable purity and earnestness to u.n.p.o.c. that makes your toes tap and mouth sing, whether you want it to or not.

one of the first things you realize, upon listening to fifth column, is that bauchop is clearly interested in destinations. though his travel fetish doesn't begin to rival john darnielle's, three of fifth column's songs are about faraway places - album opener "amsterdam," the relentlessly catchy "avignon," and album closer "nicaragua" - and "see you later" and "been a while since i went away" also fit into the traveling motif. what bauchop is trying to channel are "triggers," words that are immediately recognizable and that can spark mental associations between real-life and music. "avignon" itself is the product of a long flight sitting next to someone who kept rattling on about how "it's so good to be in avignon," which turned into the very words of the song's chorus. regardless of song titles, bauchop's lyrics tend to be more of the bizarre variety, as in "amsterdam," where he sings about kings, queens, paranoia, and aliens. but here, as in so many places, fifth column's logical content plays second fiddle to its song structure, which is impeccable. originally clocking in at over 75 minutes, bauchop has stripped over half an hour away, leaving fifth column tight, focused, and infectious.

u.n.p.o.c. isn't going to start its own sub-genre; bauchop will never be plastered on the cover of nme (barring a radical reversal for his next album, tentatively titled the artist paints), but his fierce pop makes listeners into converts. its beauty is in twofold; the songs, obviously, are frequently impeccable, song segments cut and pasted together flawlessly, complex songs built on disparate ideas placed back to back, but fifth column's production, quavering lo-fi, is as essential of an element. obvious influences are 60s harmonic pop, especially on the boisterous "jump jet friend" and the beatles-esque "beautiful to me," though u.n.p.o.c. steers clear of imitation, crafting his own compelling sound. though his inclusion in hallam foe has no doubt attracted more listeners to bauchop's relentless sound, u.n.p.o.c. still remains to be one of the fence collective's darkest horses, a situation that sorely needs to be remedied. fifth column is one of best debut albums you've never heard.

this hallam foe trailer features "here on my own" in its second half (check out the comments section);
alternatively, you can go to u.n.p.o.c.'s myspace and stream tracks there. buy sweet u.n.p.o.c. merch here.

photo taken by henrik dahlberg.

all hour cymbals - first impression

okay. i bought all hour cymbals approximately 15 minutes ago, so i clearly haven't heard the whole thing yet. but no matter - it's fantastic. the same native american influences i heard at r bar are present, and even more pronounced on the record, though other comparisons may also ring true. in any event, it's already one of the most compelling debuts of the year, and may very well turn out to be one of the best albums of the year.

yeasayer is about to embark on an epic european tour.

yeasayer - "final path"

buy fine yeasayer products at their own store.

"2080"

scope out this caribou action!

daniel snaith is a man with a plan. and part of that plan is conquering the internet. i'm really exhausted right now, so i can't reveal the full details of snaith's machinations, or come up with much cleverness to tell you about this news, so i'm just gonna put it out there.

caribou taped a whole show at the pink room (wherever that is), and have put all the videos on their youtube page. their touring odyssey continues, and if they haven't played your town yet, they probably will soon. keep on keeping on, daniel snaith.

caribou - "melody day (four tet remix, featuring luke lalonde, adem & one little plane)"

buy andorra from merge.

"skunks" @ the pink room

radiohead on live week (from 2001!)

well, this might be a little late, but i hope it catches the radiohead boat. this show is from 2001 and is in headington, egland, the only uk stop on radiohead's amnesiac tour. as thom yorke cracks, "no pressure though." this is a radio rip (xfm broadcast the show), and the sound is really quite good, though there is a lot of crowd noise. the end of "dollars and cents" is also cut. regardless, an excellent show from one of the world's best bands.

radiohead @ south park, headington, england (thom yorke's hometown), 7/7/01
the national anthem
airbag
morning bell
lucky
packt like sardines in a crushd tin box
my iron lung
exit music (for a film)
knives out
no surprises
dollars & cents [cuts out before end]
street spirit (fade out)
i might be wrong
pyramid song
paranoid android
idioteque
disc one

everything in its right place
fake plastic trees
karma police
you and whose army?
how to disappear completely
talk show host
the bends
motion picture soundtrack (bugger!)
creep
disc two

brooklynvegan's showcase @ r bar, 10/19/07

after grabbing some lunch, i headed straight over to r bar for brooklynvegan's superawesome superfree showcase, featuring, among others, hype-heavyweights yeasayer and black kids, and my personal favorite, islands. unfortunately, i had to sit through a few rather less than excellent bands in order to see the good ones, but that's how it goes. islands deserves a full writeup, which they will get after their all-ages todd p show tomorrow, but everyone else in BV's lineup get theirs right here.

1. health - i arrived in the middle of health's set, and almost walked right back out the door. apparently, this is what noise rock actually sounds like. health = thrashy battles ripoff? gross. yet the place was packed, as it would remain to be throughout the day. when BV speaks (and offers free music), people listen.

2. mika miko - another strikeout - l.a. gutter thrash punk. watching mika miko, however, created three independent trains of thought in my head, though only one was worth following up. what i thought, and that you're welcome to comment on as well, was that punk really has no place in our culture. i mean, the ramones and the sex pistols and other seminal punk bands used their music to try and tear down the cultural edifice of complacency and acceptance - a musical revolt. and, for a time, it worked. it dramatically altered both the social and musical landscapes of great britain and the united states, and left an indelible mark on a vast majority of the music that has been created since punk's demise. and, argue this point all you want, punk is dead. hell, rock is practically dead, whatever that means. so why the hell is punk being played now? is it still a revolt? is it a dance movement? i don't know.

other thought trains:
a) this sounds like the kind of music the girls in the virgin suicides would have played if they hadn't killed themselves instead.
b) why the hell did i come so early for yeasayer?

3. yeasayer - they've been tipped as one of the hottest bands of 2007 for awhile now, and their cmj shows just confirm it. today was actually the first time i had heard them, though it wasn't at the show; fortunately, kexp had recorded a session with them yesterday, which i podcasted this morning. yeasayer live in person is even better than yeasayer live podcasted. i was initially put off by the "tribal" descriptor that kept popping up (mr. mammoth is no fan of "world" music), but the "tribal" people are talking about isn't the world kind. yeasayer, a band with three ex-choirboys (and we're talking gospel here, people), sounds like a group of shakers who channel nature spirits through volume. yeasayer's music is esoteric and engaging, drawing listeners in with deceptively soothing melodies then buttressed with, for lack of a better word, tribal rhythms. but instead of using african sounds, yeasayer incorporates native american sounds, giving their overall performance a levelheaded pagan feel. these aren't guys who worship trees, but they're clued into the magic of nature. yeasayer frequently reminded me of the black angels, in the sense that both clearly honor the native american musical tradition, something that sets both bands apart from the mainstream. in short, though, yeasayer were fucking fantastic. they have a record release party on tuesday for their first full-length at glasslands, and you can see them at glasslands tomorrow as well, right before they embark on a european tour.

4. black kids - as if they haven't had enough press already. well, here are my two cents: overhyped, overrated, and overwhelmingly mediocre. their lo-fi charm is very endearing, and very successful at hiding their real lack of talent. last time i checked, earnestness is not a substitute for skill. maybe i missed that memo. black kids were catchy, but totally juvenile, with all their lyrics having to do with middle school partying or childish crushes. reggie youngblood's voice is "distinctive," yes, but not in a good way. more in the "not a good singer" way. aside from the bassist, black kids seemed virtually unable to play a consistent melody, as most of the band dropped their hands during songs to sing along. r bar was packed, however, with a throng desperate to hear the young sensations; i wonder how many of them were as disappointed as i.

5. saturday looks good to me - slgtm played a blend of 50s and 80s pop with a midwestern sound, a la the team love crew. they seemed generally unexciting. the singer had some jeff magnum-esque melisma going on, and the bass was solid, but none of their hooks really caught my ear. anyway, i was too psyched for islands to really think of much else.

6. islands - full review soon after their todd p show today! islands go on around 6 at continental army plaza in brooklyn!

simian mobile disco @ the apple store, 10/19/07

the point of cmj is, basically, to hear music from bands whose names you recognize, but don't actually know anything about. such was the case at the apple store earlier today, when i went down to check out simian mobile disco. their name has been plastered everywhere as progenitors of a "new" dance music, so i was eager to check them out. plus, the apple store has super comfy chairs.

my rather relaxed cmj had been quite good, with lots of new discoveries (le loup, liam finn, yeasayer), but sadly, simian mobile disco neither shocked nor awed me. their beats seemed rather basic, especially considering the sweet assload of gear they had on stage. with all that electronic hoopla, surely they could've come up with some better sounds. they used only a few samples (one was ninja singing "the fantastic is the romantic; the romantic is the fantasic"), and resorted far too frequently to that dance music standby of letting the music trail off, waiting a beat, and then coming back in loudly. also, i caught myself yawning widely a few times, but that could've been the comfy chairs.

simian mobile disco did have some cool shit going on, but, unfortunately, it mostly had to do with their set. first of all, the lights. smd's eight freestanding LED blasters have become something of a trademark and are pretty cool, though they were so painfully bright that i was extremely thankful not to be in the front row. i have personal beef with LED lights, and find them very unflattering. the colors are always tinged with a really unnatural tint, and they don't illuminate people very well. that being said, smd's blasters were pointed at the audience, so it didn't affect them all that much. the second supercool thing about simian mobile disco's setup was the round table they used. all of their gadgets were arranged around its edge, eliminating any sense of exclusivity. both band members, james ford and james shaw, played everything on the table, despite ford's arm sling. there was a really tangible sense of fluidity in their performance, and it was fun to watch them scurry around the table, pressing buttons, flicking switches, and putting wires in sockets.

the music, though, is what counts, and it didn't excite me, to say the least. the ordinary beats, the typical crescendos; simian mobile disco's performance really confirms my hidden belief that most dance music isn't really good music, it's just fun to jump around to. the sad thing about simian mobile disco's set was that it didn't even make me want to dance.

simian mobile disco jam @ the apple store, 10/19

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Now playing: Out Hud - How Long
via FoxyTunes

mr. mammoth's free guide to a nearly free cmj - day four!

this one, folks, is a doozy. you got iLIKETRAiNS @ r bar, part of brooklynvegan's awesome day party, starting at 12.45, simian mobile disco @ the apple store at 2 or illinois @ the gothamist house at 2.15, and then back to brooklynvegan for black kids at 4.45 (get there early! or don't bother leaving!) and stick around for islands and yo majesty, 6.15 and 7.15 respectively. if that ain't your thang, head to galapagos for an anti-cmj crashin' in party with cadence weapon, foals, a place to bury strangers, le loup and jay reatard. that's $5 before 6, $10 after. i'm gonna shill out $10 for the ernest jennings showcase @ union pool featuring o'death, since i haven't seen them this week, and this is probably the best time to catch them. again, if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, soundfix once again hosts a great lineup tonight, featuring the brunettes and georgie james.