Foster The People - Foster The People EP

After a brief hiatus from CBL, I'm back with a short review of an awesome EP by the LA-based Foster The People. Think Cold War Kids meets MGMT, the Foster The People EP is three great catchy tunes. "Pumped Up Kids", which has gained a lot of traction in the past few months, is super addictive. Melodic, dancy beats, and just a great time, I wholeheartedly recommend checking these guys out. Their full album, Torches, comes out in late May, so keep an ear out!

Radiohead - King of Limbs

When I think of Radiohead, I think of so many years of letting go and listening to some beautifully layered sounds and emotions. Always that aura of surreal and slightly offitude, Radiohead managed to take that and merge it with catchy hooks and a hauntingly addicting falsetto.

So now Radiohead released King of Limbs. The forty-minute album still has that Radiohead sound. Still has that haunting feeling. But for some reason, the album is mildly ignorable. It's like a good album to write to. Or read to. It tends to be a lot of sound with no place to go. Little mild bumps of hook. It almost flows together like a DJ set would, with easy transitions and steady beats.

It's funny. As weird and slightly negative as that sounds, it's not a bad album by any means. I think it's just that I don't really like a song until the last four of the album: "Lotus Flower", "Codex", "Give Up The Ghost", and "Separator" (my favorite). In "Lotus Flower", Thom York almost has a La Roux-like quality to his voice (Listen to it and let me know what you think). For real though, every song will be remixed by thousands of DJs from their basements to the hottest clubs.

As much as I listen to the album and like it for all the Radioheady qualities I'm used to, I can't help but think its purpose is to grow from third party-interaction. And I wouldn't put it past Thom York and Radiohead to have planned that. They're innovative. Musically and non. Be ready for some heavy revamping of this album to solidify Radiohead's genius.

Dear 2010, You've Been Smanged. Best Of:

As the sun begins to set on 2010, I can't help but look back on the incredible year. In the last 12 months, I was in The United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and The Czech Republic. I've finished my second to last semester of college. I've aquired an addiction to Sriracha. And to The Wire. I ran a half marathon, went dog sledding, shot guns in a soviet bunker, turned 21 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and sang the National Anthem at an Eagles game. I bought some awesome Norwegian sweaters, brewed beer in my closet, and listened to some great music. Thus, the top albums, songs, and discoveries of 2010:

Top Albums of 2010:
Note: * Links to an earlier album review. Click to read it!

1. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor (*)
2. Beach House - Teen Dream (*)
3. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way
4. The Black Keys - Brothers
5. Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame
6. Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
7. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
8. Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore - Dear Companion (*)
9. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
10. Sleigh Bells - Treats

Honorable Mentions:
Major Lazer & La Roux - Lazerproof
Gayngs - Relayted
Cold War Kids - Behave Yourself EP
The Walkmen - Lisbon

Top Songs of 2010:
1. Beach House - "Walk in the Park"
2. Gayngs - "By Your Side" (Daytrotter Session)
3. Local Natives - "Who Knows Who Cares"
4. Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore - "Try"
5. Freelance Whales - "Generator 1st Floor"
6. Sufjan Stevens - "All Delighted People"
7. Cold War Kids - "Audience"
8. The Black Keys - "Everlasting Light"
9. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "Mama Don't Like My Man"
10. Casiokids - "Fot i Hose"

Top Discoveries of 2010:

1. DeYarmond Edison - Silent Signs
- Old Justin Vernon. Speaks for itself.
2. Dawes - Dawes
- Really great album by the LA-based band. Fantastic live.
3. Caravan Palace
- Definition of Electro-Swing
4. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
- Just a great album. Unique and fun.
5. Koop
- Compiled of all jazz samples. Really easy-listening.
6. Eric Bibb - Booker's Guitar
- I can thank my jazz PR internship to this. A great blues feel.
7. Bad Veins
- A raw and emotional album by a Cincy-based duo. You can check out my review here.
8. "Lemme Smang It" / "Lemme Smell Yo Dick"
- Both YouTube sensations. When you are in times of trouble...
9. Fat Freddy's Drop
- New Zealand-based Dub/Reggae.
10. El Ten Eleven
- The self-titled album is great. Also the soundtrack for the incredibly dull movie Helvetica.

Daytrotter Sessions

My recent obsessions: Sufjan Stevens, The Black Keys, The Arcade Fire, Wild Beasts, and everything Justin Vernon's ever done. While I plan on reviewing a few of them in the future (though with my new job demanding 3 hrs/week, I may have a tough time), I wanted to draw some attention to something else that is absolutely fantastic. Maybe you have heard of it, maybe you haven't. But you should definitely check out Daytrotter. Based in Rock Island, Illinois, the folks at Daytrotter have artists come record original, exclusive, and unreleased tracks in their studio, and release 95% of it. For free. Download the Daytrotter Download Manager, and you'll get your songs quickly and automatically updated to your iTunes library.

But enough of logistics. The music is why I really wanted to write about it. I love the sound of the Daytrotter sessions. In general, they sound less 'produced' and more like a live show. But they're not. They have their own feel that just has that exclusive sound to it. Each session ranges from 2-10 songs, but most are about 4 songs, like mini EPs. Some of my favorite

sessions are Dr. Dog (they have 2), GAYNGS (a new one), Local Natives, and Wild Beasts. But there are literally hundreds of sessions. I have forty sessions in my itunes library including Margot and the Nuclear So & So's, Beach House, Bad Veins, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Yoni Wolf, Pomegranates, Bon Iver, Dawes, and The Temper Trap. The list goes on.

I talk to too many people who have never heard of Daytrotter. Take advantage of this awesome, free, and unique group. They record an artist every day of the week. Plus they have awesome artwork. Sick.

And be sure to keep an ear out for the Welcome to Daytrotter Movie in the next few months.

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's

Other Pictures:

Daytrotter Logo (Top Center)

GAYNGS (Left)

Local Natives (Right)

Josiah Wolf - Jet Lag

If your game plan as a musician is to write random lyrics, rap with minimal ability to hit pitches, and throw indie drum-and-single-melody-driven riffs behind it all, I'd tell you two things. First, that sounds absolutely terrible. Then I'd tell you that it's already been done. Amazingly. By the Cincinnati/Berkeley-based band Why?. Mainly a product of the duo Yoni and Josiah Wolf, Why? has delivered this unique sound for almost a decade. Check out my review of their October 2009 release, Eskimo Snow.

Anyways, when I found out that Josiah Wolf, the drummer and background vocalist of Why?, was releasing a solo album, I was incredibly intrigued. Yoni's voice and lyrics are a major part of why I love Why?, so without Yoni, what's left? The answer is Josiah Wolf's March 29th release, Jet Lag.

At first listen, some parts stand out as great. The opening track, "The Trailer And The Truck", was in my head for days when I first listened to it. And I really enjoy "Ohioho", another song with a strong melodic hook. But the rest of the album was rather disappointing.

Josiah, as a solo artist, had some really rough challenges. Lyrically, Why? is known for it's rapping and randomness interspersed with brilliant lyrical one-line masterpieces. And that love of the random lyrics is very present in Jet Lag. However, the slow, emotion-laced vocal style of Josiah are lost in a blend of boring and meaningless. The emotions are lacking a sense of realness since the lyrics are perceived as random. The slow lyrics (as opposed to Why?'s rapping) don't have the same great effect. I'm stuck listening to his sometimes pushy/whiney vocal tone.

On top of vocal challenges, stylistically, Why?'s bells/piano riffs on top of fantastic drum-driven beats were only (understandably) slightly apparent in Josiah's album. And while it works in a few of the tracks, a lot of Jet Lag feels like it's missing the biggest piece - uniqueness.

SIDE NOTE: At some points, it's like Why? teaming up with a mellow The Flaming Lips intertwined with Iron & Wine-esque riffs. Check out "The Opposite of Breathing" and let me know if you know what I'm talking about.

I'm not going to lie. I was disappointed with the album as a whole. But the parts that work really are good. The first track gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it (in a good way). And the mellow layered sound can be perfect for a thought-driven car ride. But the album unfortunately tends to blend into itself. That being said, literally nothing short of a zombie emergency would stop me from seeing Yoni, Josiah, or the rest of Why? live. They put on an absolutely fantastic show.

XPonential 2010: Sunday, July 18th

It was hot. Beads of sweat dripped down my face. Kisses with my girlfriend left a salty sweaty taste on both of our lips. Grass and dirt stuck to my leg. But what accompanied that heat was some fantastic non-stop music in a great diverse atmosphere complete with families, teens, young hipsters, and old couples. Everyone was in a great mood - spending the day moving from one stage to another with their chairs, blankets, water bottles, and coolers. WXPN, a radio station I didn't grow up with (being from Cincinnati) truly put on a hell of a festival. And the best line-up of the festival was Sunday.


In 9 hours, three up-and-coming bands I have been trying to see for a while and two veteran favorites performed along with a few artists I'd never heard of. For $30 (as a non-WXPN member), it was a hell of a deal. So without further ado, brief reviews of a few select sets:

Fool's Gold

Fool's Gold:

On the Indie-Stage, L.A.'s Fools Gold put on an incredibly fun and unique show. Once the crowd got past that feeling of mixing everything under the sun together into one sound, they were dancing up a storm. I had to suppress that feeling to belly dance to the middle-eastern influence, but I settled into dorkily grooving and people-watching.

Having only released their self-titled debut album late last year, they stuck with their core and turned them into great worldy jams. It only took us 6 minutes to realize that this was not a band to watch sitting down.

Dawes

Dawes:

As one of my favorite new discoveries of the past 6 months, Dawes had a live persona nothing like what I would expect. Listening to their mellow live recordings made me think of young bearded folkies. Not to say that maybe they weren't once, but they projected nothing of the sort live. In fact, I began to think the mismatched styles, tucked in button downs, and 'unique' facial expressions to be even weirder than an untrimmed grisly beard. The bassist had a funky facial twitch, the drummer was angry at love, and the front man was overcome with emotion as he spent the set Brucein' it out with his raw emotional screams and power stances.

This said, I loved their set. I ate it all up - weirdness and all. The unexpected aspects of Dawes made the familiar parts of their songs seem even cooler. Their powerful hooks, perfect piano, and live guitar solos made for an experience with enough familiarity to keep me happy, enough surprise to make it memorable.

These United States:

These guys didn't really impress me. As the only band I hadn't heard of that I'm reviewing, I'm sorry it's negative. But with only one good song, the rest of the set felt like a slow, uncaptivating mix of sick (as in the flu) Band of Horses vocals, garage band roughness, and some U2 guitar work. I wasn't the only one though - you should've felt the rest of the crowd.


Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros:

Edward Sharpe came on with his shirt unbuttoned and his beard unkempt, professing about his inability to believe in any 'bad words', justifying his ability to curse on live air. As everyone in the audience stared and tried to figure out exactly where he was going with the show, it soon became apparent that everyone on stage (some 15-odd people) were staring at the spectacle that was Edward Sharpe. Unfortunately, he'd lost his voice a few days before, making the show a bit of a half-assed unsurity at times. Vocals and words were more ideas than realities. But everyone still remained completely entranced in what the hell was happening on stage. "Home," my girlfriend and my song, was unbelievable to see together live.

Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog:

Dr. Dog was introduced as "the best band to come out of Philly." And they are. I love them. I've loved them for a few years now. I saw them twice when they came to the TLA last fall (free pizza!). And while I missed their matching pants, I loved their performance at Xponential 2010. They rocked their old tunes, and threw in a few new ones as well. I don't think their new album, Shame Shame, is nearly as good as We All Belong and Fate are, but they still know how to rock any show they play. "The Breeze", "The Beach", and "The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer" were especially awesome live. The crowd was wild.

Robert Randolph & The Family Band:


Unfortunately, we didn't stay the whole time for Robert Randolph. I'd seen him blow my mind at Bonnaroo in 2007. But what we saw was funky, impressive, and definitely a family band. Robert Randolph plays an unbelievable slide guitar, has his signature dance moves, and just has a fantastic stage persona. Go see them if you can. Listening to the rest of the show live on the radio had us kicking ourselves missing the Poker Face cover!




Our day was awesome. The two stages went back and forth, leaving virtually no gap between sets. The whole festival was broadcast live on WXPN. And we will definitely be back. Maybe we'll even be members next time.


Check out their website at: www.xpn.org.

or

The Xponential Music Festival 2010 Page here.

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Welp, it's another Frenchkiss Records love affair. The Dodos, The Antlers, Passion Pit, and now Local Natives. I'm not quite sure what they're doing right, but they keep releasing refined, thorough albums with unique sounds - an excellent recipe for music love-affairs.

Gorilla Manor, the new album from Los Angeles-based Local Natives, is fantastically catchy and emotional. The lyrics, sometimes vague, sometimes incredibly blunt, always flow incredibly well. To describe their sound, think something like an upbeat, drum-driven band (kind of like The Dodos in that sense) with the occasional vocal Fleet Foxes Effect. Throw in some Dirty Projectors-like harmonies, a little Grizzly Bear-like ambiance, and a bit of older Say Anything roughness (…Is a Real Boy), and you've got something close.

As far as the album itself, I absolutely love the feel of it. A fantastic mix of upbeat, raw emotion along with that touch of realism that makes listening to it more of an experience than just picking out a song or two. The flow is easy to fall into, and turning it off halfway through leaves you missing it immediately.

My favorite songs on the album are the opening track, "Wide Eyes", "Airplanes", "Wold News", "Who Knows Who Cares", and "Cubism Dream". But like I said before, the album doesn't feel like single songs - the songs just fit so damn well together. Bits and pieces of everything blend shockingly well, creating that unique sound that makes you know Gorilla Manor is something special. Check out their myspace here, and the music video for "Airplanes" below.