Pica Pica @ by:Larm - Sunkissed Live @ Blå 2/20

So I've found myself in Oslo, Norway. I decided to study abroad, did some paperwork, and now I'm here. And after buying a coffee pot and a Norwegian sweater, I knew I had to find a way to check out the renown Oslo music scene. As it turns out, I sort of walked into a bustling industry-geared music festival called by:Larm - a showcase of Scandinavian bands at bars and clubs all over the city. And while I'd heard of a group (Katzenjammer), the other hundred bands were completely anonymous. So when I found myself at Blå on Saturday night, I was excited and intrigued with a list of unknown artists - The Megaphonic Thrift (kind of hard lo-fi with a touch of thrasher ambience), Fjorden Baby! (A heavy-beat, high energy poppy dance band), Put Your Hands Up for Neo Tokyo (a cool ambient/rock band with Why?-like vocals and unique guitar work), and a slew of others that I walked in for a song of two.

But coming from The United States where music has different influences, radio stations, record labels, and people, Pica Pica had one of the most captivating live sounds that I've ever heard. Headed by Rebekka Maria Markstein (of Maribel fame), Pica Pica's sound stemmed from her voice. Both clear and ambient, her voice created a sense of unique non-direction. Lacking huge peaks or catchy melodies in the traditional sense, I was absorbed into the vast and expansive feel of emotion, raw beauty, and continuance.

At times, I wanted to compare Rebekka's voice to that of Holly Miranda, My Brightest Diamond, or Mirah. And her beautiful vocal tone is similar. But her style was so different and new to me. On stage, her multi-linguistic songs, stories in Norwegian that I didn't understand, and new ways of musically expressing ideas and life were personally incredibly refreshing and fulfilling. The ambient feel and lack of clarity in the style made the rest of the show seem more clear. More clean. More fresh. Something that, as I've explored Norwegian nature, design, and food, seems to truly express what is Norwegian music.

Check out her Myspace here.

Bad Veins - Bad Veins

Bad Veins, a Cincinnati-based duo, is the definition of catchy indie rock. Emotional, resonant, peaky. Their self-titled debut album is full of pleasant and refreshing breakdowns, high highs, and a fantastic raw feel. The hooks are BIG and relentless. Layers of background 'oh's, round-like vocals, and a multitude of smooth instruments (strings, keyboards) make songs feel big and complete. And a creative, driving drum beat pulls the great layering together with loud lead vocals, making for an incredibly catchy and enjoyable album from beginning to end.

My favorites (though I find myself humming parts of almost every song) are "Afraid", "The Lie", "Dryout", and "Go Home". Listen to how well they capture broad emotion in a big, big way. The lyrics aren't great, and the vocals do get a bit whiny, but everything just comes together so damn well. The mix of upbeat and downplayed are great, and the sudden peaks are incredibly effective at making you notice what's going on in your speakers. Finishing up a tour with We Were Promised Jetpacks, Bad Veins is yet another band that makes me proud to be from The Nati.

Go Home

Check out their myspace here.

Or check out the video for the song, "Gold and Warm".

Beach House - Teen Dream

Mellow, clean, gorgeous, and oddly happy, Teen Dream, the new album from Baltimore's Beach House, does an awesome job of making simple songs sound vast and clear. The simple layers of pretty background vocals, distinguished guitar melodies, easy drum beats, and hazy lead vocals come together perfectly. The sound itself isn't anything revolutionary or new, but that doesn't detract from how great I feel after listening to the album. The open and expansive sounds of the opening track, "Zebra" are incredibly relaxing and soothing. However, "Norway" and "Walk in the Park" are my favorite tracks on the album. I just recently moved to Oslo, Norway to study, and "Norway" does an unbelievable job of projecting a perfect musical image of what Norway feels like - festive, a little odd, beautiful, lonely, almost nondescript, yet special. Really cool.

Released on Subpop records, I'll definitely be listening to Teen Dream a lot in the next few months. It just has a great feel to it. It's incredibly comforting. Truly dreamy. Pleasant. Loveable. Easily forgotten. Yet easily remembered at the same time. Check out their myspace page here.

Tops of 09, Props to 0-10

Well, it's officially 2010. This past year has been pretty fantastic musically. I grew a lot personally in my own musicality while some really awesome were albums released. I also ate a lot of egg drop soup, discovered thai food, spent a summer in LA, found love, embraced twitter, and was up 33% on my investments. I saw some unbelievable live shows - White Rabbits, Monsters of Folk, The Avett Brothers, Dr. Dog, and The Antlers were especially fantastic. I fell in love with Jazz vinyl, especially with the late Art Tatum. And Dave Brubeck. I also ate a lot of bagels. And without further ado, a few lists of what I enjoyed from 2009.

Top 15 albums of 2009:

1. The Antlers - Hospice
2. Grizzly Bear - Vecktimest
3. The xx - The xx
4. Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers - Songs in the Night
5. Dark Was The Night Compilation
6. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
7. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
8. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
10. White Rabbits - Its Frightening
11. Vetiver - Tight Knit
12. Pomegranates - Everybody Come Outside
13. Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
14. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
15. Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Top 4 movies of 2009:

1. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Up
4. The Hangover

Favorite 6 Singles of 2009:

1. "Home" - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
2. "Two Weeks" - Grizzly Bear
3. "Percussion Gun" - White Rabbits
4. "The Train Song" - Feist and Ben Gibbard
5. "Kettering" - The Antlers
6. "The Blackest Purse" - Why?

Top TV Moment:

1. Dexter Season 4 Finale. OMG!

Philly, Best Of

After spending a few years in Philly while studying at Temple University, I've come up with my own random list of Best Ofs for Philadelphia in the form of 'Top 3's". Most likely, your favorite one that I missed was number 4. Sorry in advance.

Concert Venues
1. Trocadero - Awesome architecture. In China Town. Egg drop soup after!
2. TLA (Theatre of Living Arts) - Right on South Street. Feels small, but is a big venue.
3. The First Unitarian Church - Remember when your band played in a church basement? This is it. And I've seen some unbelievable shows while being 5 feet from them. And they sell used vinyl...

Restaurant in Chinatown
1. Pho Cali - Best Pho ever. Cheap, delicious, excellent service, great bubble tea smoothies!
2. Banana Leaf - delicious Malaysian cuisine!
3. Wong Wongs - Really not much better than the rest of the stuff. But Wong Wong's is a fantastic name.

Brunch Places
1. Sabrina's - The Italian Market location is bangin'. So good. Makes for an awesome date.
2. Fitzwater Cafe - Not an extensive menu, but the food is amazing and fresh.
3. Temple Rainbow - On Temple's campus. Best Sunday morning breakfast 5 minutes from my house. With a sign on the window for 'Waffle', you know it's good.

Places to People Watch
1. Rittenhouse Square - Especially when the weather's nice. Great people walk around, perform, look like their dogs, etc...
2. The Broad Street Line Subway - From Jesus preachers to people passed out, definitely interesting characters...
3. Liacorus walk - The main walk on Temple's campus is packed with benches up and down both sides. Makes for great anonymous staring.

Temple University Food Trucks
1. The Crepe Truck - $5.25 for an amazing crepe (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and a drink. Open late.
2. Eddie's - Best hoagies. Great bread, friendly people, cheap cheap cheap.
3. The Green Truck - Great salads. Fresh ingredients, great menu. Long wait at times though...

Philly Foods
1. Soft Pretzels - Philly's soft pretzels are amazing. Great breakfast with a cup of coffee.
2. Rita's Water Ice - Good stuff. Not quite Graeter's ice cream in Cincinnati, but it's surprisingly incredibly refreshing.
3. Tasty Cake Butterscotch Krimpets - Mmmmmm

Cheesesteak Places
1. Jim's - On South Street. Chopped.
2. Geno's - The way the whiz seeps in. Oh man.
3. Tony Luke's - Just has some awesome bread. Great pork sandwich too...

Monsters of Folk @ The Academy of Music 11/9

It was fittingly titled, "An Evening with Monsters of Folk". Sitting on the balcony in antique red-velvet covered chairs looking down on My Morning Jacket's Jim James, M. Ward, and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, I couldn't help but be blown away by a spectacular performance. Not only was the concert unique and a ridiculous show of musicianship, but the crowd itself was unlike any I've ever been a part of.

Being in Philadelphia's Academy of Music, when I first sat down, I had to check myself that it was okay for me to be wearing a ratty corduroy jacket and sandals. The chandelier and cupids on the ceiling seemed to dictate otherwise. But amass the slew of skinny jeans and berets, I was reminded that this wasn't the symphony. Yet as the show began, the crowd treated it like it was - a modern symphony of new music and new arrangements of familiar favorites.

But even cooler than the aura of formality between cheers and jeers was the reality of incredibly mixed fan bases. With My Morning Jacket being a sort of psychedelic folk, M. Ward being a rocky folk, and Bright Eyes an indie/emo folk, Monsters of Folk brought in three huge and intense fan bases. And since each artist played some of their own songs (solo and as collaborations), virtually no one knew every song that was played - making for an awesome feeling of solidarity in not knowing what was coming next.

As for the show itself, Monsters of Folk played for two hours with an ever-growing energy that transitioned expertly from simplicity to piercing peaks. "Slow Down Jo" and "Dear God" were amazing (except for Oberst's part on "Dear God". I'm a little bias, but that guys voice seems to detract from how great Jim James and M. Ward sound together.). And on top of Jim James's haunting falsetto oo's, an ever-present slide guitar, and an infusion of percussive guitar, the group's live sound was original, refined, and consuming.

To feel the three folk-influenced acts separately and together in the same show was absolutely amazing. I felt myself going 'wow' after almost every song. And accompanied by a light show that projected stunning shadows on the curtains, it was all I could do but sit and stare. In fact, the one girl who stood up to sway to one of her beloved Conor Oberst's solo songs was told to "Sit down. Sit the Fuck down!" The only acceptable standing was for the unanimous and instant standing ovations.

The Antlers w/ Holly Miranda @ UPenn Rotunda 10/2

Peak. Peak. Peak. Peak. End. The sense of longing. You can feel it in your chest. Right where the crashing cymbals and haunting vocals used to be. And it spreads. Down to your gut. Up to your shoulders. And extends to the tips of your body. The Antlers have invaded your soul.

Last night, I finished up my classes, grabbed my girlfriend, and hurried to see the band I've been obsessed with since the beginning of the summer. The Antlers delivered a passionate, intimate show unlike any I've seen recently. The show started with "Bear" - destroying all qualms I had about a 'lost in translation' transition from album to live show. And after an excellent opening act by Holly Miranda (think My Brightest Diamond meets Heartless Bastards vocals on top of Au Revoir Simone type ambient guitar riffs), I knew my date was going to be a great one.

As the show progressed, I could feel the mesmerized crowd experience every note, every crash, every moog-induced wave. "Kettering", "Two", and "Epilogue" (the set-ender) were absolutely unbelievable. The Antlers captured every awesome aspect of their album and added a brilliant projection of reality. I was in awe.

The Antlers have gained so much hype lately, I feel like I've watched them explode. But following their tours and twitpics was nothing compared to experiencing their live show. Go. See them live. And buy their album, Hospice. For an album review, check out my previous post. On Frenchkiss Records (along with some great up and coming bands: Passion Pit, The Dodos, The Hold Steady), The Antlers truly made for a fantastic night.


Check out their myspace, or follow them on twitter to listen for yourself.