indie

Monica Droga: Indie Musician, Bollywood Star, Feminist

mandy — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Gone are the times when people would migrate only to the West to find better lives. Now we witness a reversal of sorts, with NRIs going back to India to seek the same opportunities that their parents or grandparents had left India to find. Monica Dogra is one such NRI who is rocking the independent music scene in the homeland. She’s one half of what is arguably the most successful indie music band in India, Shaa’ir n Func, and is also making her film debut as one of the leads in Aamir Khan's upcoming Dhobi Ghat, directed by Kiran Rao. Here’s her exclusive interview:

Tell me a bit about your background. American born confused desi?

American born desi, definitely not confused. I was born and brought up in Maryland, just outside of Baltimore. My parents had migrated to the U.S. from India. I was always a super active performer from a really young age.

How did you get into music in the first place?

My mom is a singer as well so I grew up around Hindustani classical music, going to classical concerts when I was young. And then my parents split up when I was twelve and I was raised by my dad. He was the opposite, like, be a doctor, go to business school, etc. But I still had such a deep-rooted love for music that I couldn’t deny it.

How do you balance being American with being Indian?

I think kids today are much more aware of other cultures because of examples in the media. But we were reminded of being different every single step of the way. People would ask, “Where are you from? What’s your ethnicity? Why don’t you have a red dot on your head?” Those are things that we grew up with, even though you’d have an American accent and you were born and raised in the U.S. We would reply with, “Do you mean where are my parents from? Or where I was born?” What box should I check today? I am American, but I am also through and through Indian.

What sparked the move to India?

I just decided to go to Bombay for five days to check it out and I ended up falling in love with the city, the culture, with the monetary freedom I had there. My savings could take me so far. In those five days I was free writing for hours every day. Stuff was just pouring out of me in real time. So I went back. I just had a feeling that I needed to be there.

How did you meet Randolph and how was Shaa’ir n Func born?

In those first five days, Randolph came to a party. It was a room of twenty people with no smoking, no drinking allowed. There was a saxophonist, a bansuri player, I’m a singer and a poet. There was a girl doing interpretive dance. It was so tripped out. It felt like a scene from a movie. So Randolph walked in, he had a guitar, and he started playing. I liked his vibe a lot. Our music is a combination of influences. We do heavy doses of rock, electronic music, spoken word and funk. We call it conscious dance music.

When I went back to Bombay I bumped into him and I asked him to play with me. I wrote the record, he and I recorded it, we got a distribution deal, we were getting paid to do shows, and it all kicked off. Sometimes when you do the right thing, life is like “good job, I’ll give you this.” And that just kept happening, not without a lot of sweat and hard work though.

Most of your fans are young women, which is a surprising demographic to be so supportive of alternative music in India.

I pride myself on having such a big female following. I’m a feminist and seeing these beautiful women loving our kind of music is empowering, especially in a country where it’s not easy being a woman. Every day, before I walk out of my house in Bombay, think about how I’m going to get reacted to on the streets, “Oh I need to cover this, I need to cover my legs.” My friend got her butt grabbed in the middle of the street. Those are things that are not okay. There’s still a need for feminism. I’m going talk about how there are only ten female directors in Indian cinema because it’s true. We still need to work on that. It bothers me how feminism is a dirty word. I see myself as an empowered, intelligent, sexual female. I find intelligence to be sexy. I put that into my music and everything that I do.

Do you think there’s a divide between the mainstream film-centric world in Mumbai and the indie scene?

The indie scene is so anti-Bollywood, but I’m not like that. In order to change the system you have to change it from within. Most bands are English-speaking and completely anti-traditional anything. I’ve never seen things that way. I grew up watching Bollywood movies and for me that was my only reference point for India. Another reason for this divide is the dependence on connections. “Who’s your mom? Who’s your dad? Why should I pay attention to you?” That kind of vibe is off-putting. But things are changing, more rapidly now than ever before.

That brings us to your film debut. Tell us about Dhobi Ghat and working with Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao.

It came out of nowhere. Kiran saw me in a magazine and wanted me to audition. I was touring at the time in London. When I got an email from her production house I was like “Thanks, but that’s okay.” They emailed me a couple of times. So out of curiosity, I auditioned. For my second screen test they said, “You have to come tomorrow but we just wanted to give you a heads up that you have to do your screen test with Aamir Khan!” Deep breath. Freaking out. I prepared as much as I could. I walked in, he introduced himself and then said, “Let’s begin” without giving me the chance to be struck by his star presence. The reading went well. I got the role the very next day.

What was it like working with the Kiran and Aamir duo?

Kiran is such an amazing woman. She’s so talented, so beautiful and truly unique. There’s no one like her in the industry. Aamir Khan is such a normal guy with such normal desires. I admire him because he uses his star power and does something with it. He is the only one who is really doing it and doing it well. The film has turned out beautiful and I can’t wait for it to be released.

What do you see in your future? And the future of indie music in India?

There’s a powerhouse of talent in India, a huge range. It’s my firm belief that if people are given the platform to get their talents out there, the arts scene would seriously just explode in ways that we’ve never imagined. Shaa’ir n Func is three albums old and our audience is constantly growing. We’ve done shows all over India and hopefully we’ll make more music and reach out to more people. Actually, the real goal is to write a song that I wouldn’t mind playing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I want to write that song.

As a NRI who’s returned to the homeland, do you see India as your land of opportunity?

It’s odd that both my mom and dad struggled to provide me with the opportunity to grow up in the U.S. and have access to everything, and then I would have to go back to India to emancipate myself, to feel comfortable with who I am. India has become my land of opportunity because I made it that. I created my opportunities. I was willing to give up a lot of things to achieve my dreams. India, for me, has a kind of freedom that the U.S. lacks. I love that chaos, I needed that chaos. And it has helped me thrive.

Cross-posted from The NRI

Written by: Pulkit Datta, November 6th 2010

The North End

mandy — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:00:00 +0000

By Joie De Vivre

Count Your Lucky Stars

In a time when emo hasn’t enjoyed the same popularity as it did ten years ago, this six-man band is happy doing its thing. Hailing from Midwestern America Joie De Vivre draws a good amount of influence from the northern part of the region for lyrics and the wintry scenes for their most recent album, The North End.

For anyone who’s been to college and listened to local/house bands, The North End is certain to make you nostalgic. Granted, the album is a clean recording and the packaging that of a label-backed-band. Nonetheless, it’s easy to picture yourself huddled in the basement of some old house, a single light bulb the only source of illumination.

If your memories aren’t made of dark basements, then the crying vocals and melodic instrumentals will surely strike a nerve. Especially, let’s say, if you’ve recently gone through a breakup. And what more could you ask for from emotional rousing lyrics and sounds, but to remind you of these raw emotions. It’s not that The North End is the album of the year—in fact, the number of listeners will probably reach only a small handful of people—but Joie De Vivre is doing what it loves: making music.

How these fellows agreed on the “Joy of Life," as the band name is anyone’s guess. But it appears that with the sorrows, insecurities, and downers that sometimes come with life, there is always beauty to be found. Kudos to this Rockford, IL group who have fun with song and are well prepared for brutal winters with their bundled-up selves.

Written by: Irene Wazgowska, September 5th 2010

Splash

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Jeremy Jay

K Records

I spent a few years as a DJ for the college radio station during graduate school, and quickly learned that the fastest, most accurate way to asses if you’ll like an album is to pay attention to the label. If you really dig a band, it’s worth your time to research the label that produces their albums–chances are it will be home to other artists you’ll enjoy. Such is the case for K Records, distributed by Secretly Canadian, and home to some of my favorites like anti-folk heroine Kimya Dawson, dance-pop loveliness The Blow, and low-fi folk rocker Jason Anderson.

It is easy to hear how pop-folk artist Jeremy Jay found a home at K, but if the aforementioned artists are seniors at the top of their class, Jay is a freshman with plenty of room for improvement jotted in his report card. Though Splash is Jay’s third release on K, at just over twenty-five minutes, it plays more like a debut EP. One song is no more diverse or interesting than the last; I was in the middle of track three before I realized the album had played all the way through and was on its second rotation. The album’s title conjures images of excitement and disruption that would be more fitting for an artist poised to make waves. But Jeremy Jay is not that artist.

Every song reflected the influence of another musician, but never did I get a feel for Jay’s own unique voice or style. “Just Dial My Number” is an upbeat, summer ditty but the use of piano is so similar to Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Ones,” that every time it played I thought I was hearing the latter. There are moments when he channels Morrissey; I even heard a little Tracy Chapman on “Someday Somewhere.” But the most notable comparison is to Magnetic Fields front man, Stephin Merritt. But whereas Merritt’s distinctive bass subtly demands you to pay attention to his lyrics, Jay’s more delicate timbre only adds to the ambiguity of his songwriting.

While he certainly evokes the mood of agenda-free days of exploring the city, the lack of imagery and individuality leaves Splash too malleable to make an impression. It would serve well as a soundtrack to a film where visual images and plot might add some heft and dimension to his sound.

Written by: Alicia Sowisdral, August 25th 2010

Game Night

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Corrin Campbell

Corrin Campbell is a Wisconsin native who enlisted in the US Army shortly after graduating high school. A combat-vet and former member of the 1st Calvary Division, Campbell trained at the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia, before beginning her career with the Army Materiel Command Band. As a US Army trained bassist, Campbell has performed for troops around the world before joining forces with her current band, The Election, to create and perform original music. Unfortunately, Campbell’s biography is more interesting than her music.

Game Night is fourteen tracks of high energy, rock complete with grating guitar, wrenching vocals and the occasional pop-infused number. Campbell has drawn comparisons to Heart, a band she is said to idolize, and while the similarity is apparent, so is the irrelevance. Pioneers of female fronted bands, backed by aggressive, guitar driven rock, Heart was at the height of their career in the late seventies and into the eighties. Their last commercially successful album was 1987’s Bad Animals and the current generation is likely more familiar with Fergie’s cover of “Barracuda” than Heart’s original recording.

The Wilson sisters also feature as inspirations, but Campbell’s efforts are way more imitation than influence. Though some might view this as nostalgic, it is more aptly described as dated. Game Night would be more accessible if Campbell had succeeded in breathing new life into a sound she finds inspiring, rather than attempting to re-create it.

Laden with pastiche notwithstanding, Campbell is clearly invested in her craft, utilizing her songwriting to explore her experiences over the years. As she states on her website, “These songs are my attempts to be true through the trials of life and find a healthier way to get through these personal complications.” In a world full of man-made pop idols, Campbell deserves recognition for creating music she loves, with people she respects and on her own terms.

Written by: Alicia Sowisdral, August 23rd 2010

Die Young

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Blair

Autumn Tone Records

Blair Gimma bounces about between art pop and insightful complexity with her first full-length venture, Die Young, juxtaposing the indelible angst of indie folk rock (with help from her daydreamy vocals) with stark lyrical imagery. Die Young was produced by Keith Ferguson, and uses all New Orleans-based musicians as a sort of tribute to where Blair spent her adolescence. Although the deep-rooted sounds of this genre are not entirely reflected in Die Young, the personal nature of the record touches on its sentimentality, as if most of the songs were acoustically derived from adversity and recorded in the solitude of Blair's bathroom.

“Rampage” sets the partial tone for the record, filling the landscape with echoed reverb and a little Pavement-inspired noise rock delight. Listening to electric keyboard synths in the opening verse of “Hearts,” one can almost picture the rolling credits of a favorite 80s soundtrack in all of its soft new wave splendor. “Hello Halo” features Blair's sprightly vocals, cushioned with classic indie distortion and a pulsing, syncopated beat that’s as pleasing as it is fitting, all while Blair recites, “Got a radio in my head…and it tells me what to say"; not to mention Blair’s amusing ode to girly glory, as she continues by deadpanning, “Kittens, rainbows!” “Paris, France” is moody and ethereal, blending electro-pop and the warm glow of ambient-pop, lush and hypnotic. “Candy in the Kitchen” works with heavy beats and moves in the same direction, albeit with a bit of a departure from the rest of the record. Gleefully, Blair sings, “I was dancing to Whitney Houston,” as you adjust your ears earnestly just to hear what she’ll say next.

Die Young is an extension of light summery pop melodies with harsh complex concepts that cut through its airy pop conventionality. Blair’s mix of vulnerability and savvy musical chops work in tandem, even though some of the songs could be on different records. Her personal pilgrimage, lasting over a span of five years, is still in its beginning stages, a cunning premonition to her eventual creative evolution in the years to come.

Written by: Cat Veit, July 14th 2010

Fables Of The Reconstruction (25th Anniversary 2-Disc Re-Issue)

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:44:00 +0000

By R.E.M.

EMI/Capitol Records

Call it what you will: alternative rock, guitar pop, college radio. For better or worse, R.E.M. were responsible for making it—and making it big. Even a casual listener knows when they hear an R.E.M. song. Theirs has always been a definitive sound: Bill Berry's frenetic drums, Peter Buck's jangly guitar, those literate stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and, of course, Michael Stipe's vulnerable voice, leaping from plaintive wail to cooing croon to murmur (pun intended), often within the same song.

They started out weird. Pretty, sure, but still weird. Then they got famous and became dogmatic, showing up at award shows with serious faces and message t-shirts. R.E.M. relinquished their indie status long ago, leaving behind I.R.S. Records and signing with Warner Brothers in the late '80s. They're now a renowned cornerstone of contemporary American music. R.E.M. was inducted in the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007, and the 1981 song “Radio Free Europe” was recently added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.

Yet just before super-stardom and the soapbox, there was Fables Of The Reconstruction. R.E.M. originally released Fables Of The Reconstruction in June of 1985. Today, it's back—as a 25th anniversary 2-CD re-issue. R.E.M.'s first two albums, Murmur and Reckoning, have both already received the deluxe treatment. Fables Of The Reconstruction is another shining example of R.E.M.'s early-career aesthetic.

The Athens Demos, included as the second disc on the re-issue, stand on their own as excellent alternates to the (now classic) originals. There's precious little variation from demo to album version, yet still just enough difference to be noticeable. They show a band, confident as a collective, fine-tuning these already well-honed songs. Stand-outs include “Can't Get There From Here,” which felt much more playful than the original; “Green Grow The Rushes,” with demo vocals that sounded warmer and more intimate; “Driver 8,” which, although a little off-key and possessing more prominent background vocals, was still charming.

Of the thirteen tracks on The Athens Demos, three were not on the original release. Two of them, “Bandwagon” and “Hyena,” went on to be released on other albums; “Bandwagon” was also a bonus track on the import version of Fables Of The Reconstruction. Then there's “Throw Those Trolls Away,” the much-hyped previously unreleased track that, sadly, is completely forgettable and altogether expendable. It's also worth noting that the songs on the second disc are both out of album sequence (not that odd), and curiously, listed in alphabetical order.

Over the last several years, re-releases have become standard among bands of R.E.M.'s status; deluxe edition re-releases are to today what box sets were to the '90s. Listeners are granted greater access to a band's oeuvre. Plus, if they're die-hard fans and/or music snobs, they're also granted a sense of collection completion—not to mention bragging rights.

Written by: M. Brianna Stallings, July 13th 2010

Manners

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Passion Pit

Colombia Records

To get the most out of Passion Pit’s debut album, you will need: a healthy appetite for sugary keyboard riffs, plenty of enthusiasm for falsetto vocals, and a large space in which to dance around like crazy. Having gathered these things, you can dive straight into Manners and experience all the colours promised by the album’s cover art. This is music that isn’t afraid of a bit of fluoro.

But once you’ve danced around the room a few times and flopped down on the couch, you might start to notice that there’s darkness in Passion Pit’s world as well. In between those insistent beats and sparkling keyboards, composer Michael Angelokos is asking questions like, "Is this the way my life has got to be?" and "Why do I always need to need you when you’re fleeting?," or simply requesting that we leave him alone.

Angelokos launched Passion Pit three years ago as "a humble one-man multi-track laptop project" from his college dorm room. Since then, he has managed to create Manners and gather a band to perform the album live. Passion Pit even had a hit on the Billboard Heatseekers chart with "Sleepyhead," which made it to number nine.

Passion Pit’s website describes Manners as "baroque and intricate in its construction," which sums up both its appeal and its main stumbling block. There’s enough going on here to sustain multiple listens, but perhaps too much for us to ever really get a grip on the emotion behind the material. Angelokos is in there somewhere, but more often than not, he’s obscured by the blinding brightness of his music.

If the emotion on Manners is hard to make out, its take on gender is all but buried. While Angelokos is generally singing to or about a "you," the identity of this person—like much of the album’s lyrical content—remains a complete mystery.

It’s only as the album winds down that we finally get a glimpse of the Angelokos behind the beats and sparkles. The acoustic versions of "Sleepyhead" and "Moth’s Wings" reveal a thoughtful, reflective man with a sweet, soaring voice, while the final track, a cover of The Cranberries’ "Dreams," suggests either a love of early nineties pop or a wicked sense of humour. All this points to one conclusion: we need to hear more from Passion Pit.

Written by: Alice Allan, July 9th 2010

Bionic

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Christina Aguilera

RCA Records

Christina Aguilera has been a polemic figure since her breakthrough hit "Genie in a Bottle". She has a sexual aesthetic similar to a young Madonna’s, fashion sense like Cher’s, and raw vocal power comparable to a younger Whitney Houston’s. Her albums contain raunchy sexed-up tracks that appeal to sexually blossoming young adults and stately ballads that appeal to their post-menopausal mothers. Power pop, pop rock, R&B, hip-hop, dance, and even a little alt-rock have been found in some form on her albums. It’s a curse and a blessing for Christina that she can sound like anyone and sing almost anything. She’s always been difficult to categorize. Her ability to be so many things has caused critics to chastise her for not having her own unique presence.

The campaign for the collaboration-heavy Bionic began in the blogosphere with the declaration “Aguilera goes indie.” Ladytron, Le Tigre, Goldfrapp, M.I.A., Santigold, John Hill, and Sia all stepped up to the plate when an apprehensive Aguilera (convinced by her husband) reached out to them. The end result is an album that finds Christina caught between two worlds. Before, she seemed to be making the choice between being a serious singer or a pop star. Now, Christina Aguilera must chose between either being an “indie” darling or being the radio star. In the end, she is seemingly much more interesting doing “indie” impersonations than she is making radio ready pop.

The mainstream songs dominate the eighteen-track standard edition of the album and are, unfortunately, the weakest offerings from the Bionic sessions. Tricky Stewart never really replicates his production magic on his hits like “Umbrella” or “Single Ladies.” The Spanglish “Desnudate” sounds as if J.Lo, Pitbull, and Gloria Estefan went on an all night coke binge and decided to log some studio time in the process. The clunky Spanish translations, which seem to have been lifted directly from an online search engine, cause the track to sink even further. "Glam," touted as a modern "Vogue," is a cute but innocuous gay-friendly track that brings to mind Paris is Burning and Sex and the City. “Prima Donna” is slinky, urban, club fodder salvaged only by a confident hood delivery from Xtina, whose singing eerily sounds more and more like Michael Jackson by the bridge of the track.

Polow Da don’s tracks don’t fare much better. “Woo Hoo” (feat. Nicki Minaj), an ode to Christina’s lady parts, is fun, but the production is too sparse and predictable. “I Hate Boys” is a bratty, juvenile kiss-off that is the biggest stylistic misstep for Christina. It’s whooshing, grating production and taunting melody make it seem as if she’s trying to bite at the heels of Katy Perry and Ke$ha. But, this is a Christina Aguilera album, and with a deluxe version boasting twenty-four tracks in total there is still much more here to be examined.

A feel good collaboration with Le Tigre, “My Girls” is delightfully similar in its levity and playfulness. It combines Le Tigre’s penchant for female assertiveness and Christina’s stiletto wearing, ruby-lipped brand of third wave feminism. The product is a funky, lo-fi, disco-y, '90s, Girl Power pop with a Peaches feature and an adorable riot grrrrl shout-out to her collaborators.

With many of these collaborations Aguilera has been criticized for lacking a true identity and “ripping off” these artists, which I think is somewhat unfair. Can you call it “ripping off” if there is a consensual collaboration involved? In my opinion Xtina has been unable to maintain a clear musical identity out of sheer boredom and dynamic virtuosity. Yes, her voice is the only distinguishing feature that ties her albums together, but in her defense, why do one thing when you can do everything?

One burning question remains. How does one listen to such an album with such extreme stylistic differences from song to song? I’d say treat it like a mix-tape. With this number of tracks, various styles, and collaborators it’s safe to say that Christina Aguilera has made an album for the digital age. There are multiple ten-fifteen track albums that can be created from this lot for everyone to enjoy.

This is an excerpt from a much longer, more detailed review that can be found at Electroqueer

Written by: Javi, June 14th 2010

Holy Ground: NYC Live with The Wordless Music Orchestra

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:32:00 +0000

By MONO

Temporary Residence

MONO is a golden goose. Their live album, Holy Ground, is a golden egg. With three guitars, drums, and sans vocals, they are completely focused on the music at hand. Both their music and performance are intense and entrancing. MONO's sound is a mix of classical and rock, at times gliding with genres such as shoegaze and post-rock. For a better idea, imagine a movie score set to beautiful, dramatic visuals. At times, they remind me of bands such as Dead Can Dance.

On Holy Ground, band members Tamaki Kunishi, Takaakira Goto, Yoda, and Yasunori Takada are joined by The Wordless Music Orchestra. Here we have a literal celebration of strings. The band sets the mood while the orchestra really makes the music fly. Takaakira and Yoda have fun dueling with fingering, distortion, and effects; Tamaki sways with her guitar and ruminates at the piano; Yasunori forever fuels the beat. The Wordless Music Orchestra takes the drama of each song and blasts it into outer space, taking the listener along for the ride.

Each song delights the senses in a different way. My skin bristled with chill during "Ashes In The Snow." The solemn emptiness is felt in "Burial At Sea." "Where Am I" made me think of a lonely person roaming a rainy street at night.

The album also comes with a DVD of the concert, which is great. I think DVDs of live shows are a perfect backdrop while cleaning, crafting, or moving furniture in your apartment. While you're working, you receive the benefit of music and when you're sitting for a spell, there's something interesting to watch on TV. Though the film quality is a bit on the grainy side, it's still a treat to see how these musicians play live. It's easy to pretend that you were actually there.

Holy Ground: NYC Live With the Wordless Music Orchestra is a flawless collection from a skilled ensemble.

Written by: Jacquie Piasta, May 26th 2010

Good Problems

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Summer People

Red Leader Records

Ah, spring time on a New England college campus! I always forget what it’s like when everyone emerges out of the stacks of the library, poorly-lit dorms, and stuffy classrooms to congregate on the sunny main green. Amid intellectual circle-discussions, shirtless Frisbee tosses, romantic lunches, and hipster dance parties, the upstate New York band Summer People couldn’t have picked a better time to release Good Problems, a seemingly perfect soundtrack for this cultural phenomenon.

Eight people collaborated on Good Problems, which was recorded live with no effects, giving it a gritty, authentic feel. Thirteen tracks is awfully ambitious for a freshman project, but the Summer People’s debut proves to be a noteworthy, sophisticated, eclectic mix of classic rock, folk, punk, and indie sounds. Each track evokes a completely different experience of sounds and moods, yet the album as a whole comes together seamlessly and brilliantly.

Several songs on Good Problems give the airy, folksy feel of Fleet Foxes or Death Cab for Cutie, including “Two Hearted River,” “The Other Side,” and “Curtained Rain.” With cheery lyrics, chants, handclaps, and guitar, these tracks produce a delicate acoustic sound that greatly contrast with the other, more traditionally alternative rock vibe of “Shallow Water People,” “Balcony,” and “Two Truths.” With slow buildups to loud percussion and the occasional off-key screaming, some reviewers have commented on the “bi-polar mood swings” of these tracks, and really, the album as a whole. It swings back down to a more melancholic, electric, instrumental feel with “For Giving In” and “The Sun Was Up,” which have a similar to sound to Sigur Rós- both poetic and haunting.

While not everyone will appreciate the experimental, artsy sound of Good Problems', both the messy rock tracks and the poetic mellow instrumentals match the eclectic conglomeration of warm weather gatherings, and is a perfect fit to the desperate enjoyment of the sun right before the exam time crunch. As the title of the album suggests, despite the stress, college life is filled with generally good problems.

Written by: Abigail Chance, April 18th 2010

Western Theater

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Mighty Tiger

Paper Garden Records

Mighty Tiger are the sort of band to open for Animal Collective or Grizzly Bear on tour—and not just because of their similar four-legged names. It’s easy to compare bands in folksy sub-genres, but the truth is, Mighty Tiger are a solid pop-driven fit among more established bands of similar persuasion.

On Western Theater, Mighty Tiger do what other comparable bands do not. They lean on alt-country traditions and add a layer of pop jubilance that makes their folk-country rock a pleasantly danceable treat. This Seattle-based quintet also creates soothing harmonies a la Sufjan Stevens, whereas their freak folk counterparts often make discordant, if enjoyable, sounds.

Maybe because I recently started trying my hand at chess again, board tucked away since childhood battles against my father, the song “Rook and King” drew me in almost immediately. The song also rhymes “Alsatian” and “fornication,” which is somehow incredibly endearing. I should dust off my rhyming dictionary along with my pawns.

Another favorite, the seven-minute “The Most American Thing in America,” would be a perfect addition to a moody, road-trip-ready mix-tape. Admittedly, I haven’t had a tape player in my car since 2000, and even then, I was pretty old school for carting around cassettes of indie hits compiled by friends with far superior tastes. Nevertheless, epic songs make me smile, and this one is no exception. Over and over, the guys repeat, “And we won’t hold on for too long.” I’m all for closure.

On tour this spring in southern and western regions, you can catch Mighty Tiger at South By Southwest and elsewhere, with support from Grand Hallway.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, April 1st 2010

Aggressively Humble

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Chll Pll

Porter Records

Just like the spelling of their name, Chll Pll is complex yet simple. Apparently the two musicians that form Chll Pll are quite the musical social butterflies, as they have collaborated with a bunch of other musicians. This an indication that they are a talented duo, but it didn’t prepare me for their unique sound on Aggressively Humble, a title that had a tight grip on me from the beginning.

So, of course, I grabbed my iPod, put my little white ear buds in and wait. When I listen to Aggressively Humble, I get everything: there's an urge to dance and an urge to just listen. I feel happy, then I get contemplative—all in the span of a couple of songs. I get noise, out of control and rich noise. I laid down on my couch and took in every note, every odd, experimental arrangement. The album is not polished by any means; listen to it on your headphones too loudly and it will actually hurt your brain. Yet this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

To put it in simple terms: some of the songs are oddly different, but in a great way. The sound is futuristic and, in some instances, a bit on the heavy side, but it never leans towards metal. The tempo is energetic, but not necessarily cheery or sappy. It's upbeat chill, just like their name indicates. This album is energetic down to the vocals, and I can’t help continually to emphasizing the experimental aspect of the album. Musically, vocally, and conceptually, Chll Pll create an amalgam of contradictory sounds. Listen while lounging around in your house or entertaining complex artsy ideas in your head.

Written by: Jessica Sánchez, March 14th 2010

Every Light Must Fade

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:00:00 +0000

By F&M

Shameless Records

Sometimes it seems the best things in life are those that we accidentally stumble across on a whim, or on the way to something else. That certainly seems to be the case for many of the items I’ve reviewed items for this blog. Case in point, I happened to find the name of this album appealing, Every Light Must Fade, and after listening to a few tracks, I realized I’d found something special.

I challenged myself to not write which singer or band F&M reminds me of—a natural tendency of mine when I write music reviews. What I will say is that when I listen to certain tracks on this album, I feel like I’m really “in the moment”—something I have a hard time achieving, even in meditation. Track three, “Stuttering Boy,” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. I’ll admit that I’m partial to the songs that feature Becky Anderson on vocals. There’s a pure honesty to her voice that combined with the poetry of the lyrics seems to pierce right to the heart of the matter:

…Quivering lips, quivering lips Will you just rest, rest, rest, oh and leave all the rest to me. Cause this world can be shaky, oh this world can be shaky oh some of the time…

If I were forced to place this band in a musical genre, I suppose it would be folk rock, but any category or label seems limiting for a band that is truly a breath of fresh air. Another favorite track of mine is “There Really is A Meaning to the Title of this Song” that features Becky and Ryan Anderson on vocals:

You are a backyard barbecue with an ocean closing in a dream Heaven help us we’re sinners one and all. Call my cousin he’s in jail but not the real kind. I’m talkin’ about the one in your brain as he’s

dancing circles in a fake Irish pub. Making faces at the clergy in the back. He’s a drunk who thunk and sunk his future plans…

Hailing from Alberta, Canada, this band has a unique sound that you won’t find anywhere else—and that’s a good thing.

Written by: Gita Tewari, January 4th 2010

Jessie Murphy in the Woods

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:00:00 +0000

By Jessie Murphy in the Woods

Rex Records

While some might not be into the cutesy, fairytale-like sound and lyrics of the New York City pop-folk group Jessie Murphy in the Woods, there is no denying the magical harmony produced by the three talented women. These five tracks, a demo of their debut album Eight Belles, are a collaboration project lead by singer-songwriter Jessie Murphy (vocals and guitar) and featuring her friends Marcia Webb (vocals, Wurlitzer, flute and pan pipes) and Amy Stratton (horn, flute, percussion and organ). The trio of women, all music teachers in New York City, met at Columbia University in 2008 while pursuing a Master's degree in Music. Since then they have toured both North America and the United Kingdom.

Noted for their anti-folk style, the group tries to avoid the constraints of stereotypical, over-commercialized music with their unique instrumental and vocal sounds. With a sound less pop than similar artists, such as Au Revoir Simone and Feist, the album is a beautiful mixing of clear vocals, bells, pretty harmonies, and poetically melancholic lyrics. This combination creates an ethereal, magical, and at times, haunting quality that resonates throughout the album.

The five tracks on the album have lyrics about life, horses and love lost, especially the loss of child-like innocence, a literary theme that many can relate to. While I am more attracted to music with an edgier sound, I can appreciate Jessie Murphy in the Woods' talent. Their smooth, lullaby style makes this music an excellent soundtrack to my cooking with my dear friend and roommate Sylvia, who is a creative fiction writer and lover of fairytales.

Starting off with the sorrowful “New York City Lights,” the album continues with “In the Woods,” which invokes images of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is followed by the simplistic, pure acoustic sound of “God Save Owen Wilson.” Finishing off with their most popular songs “When I am a Horse Again” and “Eight Belles,” a eulogy to a horse that died in the 2008 Kentucky derby, the demo is a beautiful representation of the group’s songwriting and harmonies, and well worth a listen.

Written by: Abigail Chance, November 27th 2009

Black Lip Mother of Pearl Round Earrings

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:58:00 +0000

By Zeba

Today is Black Friday, the mother of all shopping days in my country of origin where business profits turn from red to black and bank accounts from black to red. Someone in the mid-sixties must have had one hell of a sense of humor to time this day to fall directly after Thanksgiving. One day Americans join with their families in (mock) appreciation of their conquested homeland and the next they begin an altogether too similar conquest, only this time it's consumer goods they're after instead of arable land. During the year's most populated shopping extravaganza, malls across the nation flood at the crack of dawn with parents who are so under the influence of the holiday spirit that they'll fight to the death over the year's Tickle Me Elmo equivalent. Karl Marx was right about history repeating itself.

After working for a year slinging ice cream and coffee, I got hired at sixteen to sling records—well, cassettes and CDs—in a seasonal position at my mall's Sam Goody. The immovable start date was Black Friday. After the holiday stint was complete, I was granted a permanent place in the glow of florescent lights and Top 40 hits, which led to my working at a snarky, indie record shop—think High Fidelity—through college and the subsequent solidification of a certain hipster snobbery. Try as I might to be aesthetically accommodating, I am very hard to please.

Pleasantly nontraditional, Zeba's well-crafted handmade jewelry is made in Detroit for finicky people like me. No doubt this is, in part, because the pieces' design influence comes from Sholeh Mesbah's fourteen years of diverse artistic experience. From water color to stained class to architecture to metal working techniques, Mesbah brings a variety of skills to her eclectic array of (mostly) one of a kind pieces.

Having already fallen for one pair of stunning pearl earrings, I am now experimenting with polyamory in the wake of the addition of the Black Lip Mother of Pearl Round Earrings to my jewelry box. A smooth ring of smokey pearl with just a hint shimmery gleam is attached to a silver ear wire with Bali spacer beads to complete a look that is straightforward and versatile. The sturdily crafted circular pair are so light that I frequently forget I am wearing them until I hear the ubiquitous gasp followed by, "I love those earrings!"

Although typically given to modesty, I have no problem promoting the work of others, so I confidently reply, "They're great, right?! And with the holidays coming up..." I know, the "sell" might be a little much, but in this corporate dominated scene, feminists have got to give props where we can to talented entrepreneurial women who are out there doing their thing.

Listen, skip the one-stop shop this year and personalize your gift selections from the comfort of your own home (or work) computer. The new Norah Jones album isn't all that great anyway, and neither is a visit to the mall.

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, November 27th 2009