Zola Jesus - Stridulum EP

Sacred Bones Records

Released: March 9th, 2010

EP of the year so far! Incredible/powerful/epic dark electronic/synth music. Awesome. BUT! The kicker is...

The singer/composer is only 20 years old!

Her voice is so powerful and full, it makes you think she's at least 27. I mean it takes years of emotional distress, bullshit and a general realization that the world is fucked, to put this much emotion into these six songs. But I guess she's trained as an opera singer so that makes sense. PLUS! She's originally from sunny Arizona. I would of guessed London, because it definitely has a late-80's new-wave/shoegaze/goth sort of sound. And it's not really sunny there, like this album.

The opening song, "Night" is sort-of, kind-of, the most "up-beat" song on the EP. If you call it that. It's got a beat, sort-of. The epic/dark needle goes way off the the dial on the title track "Stridulum" though. This girl has an awesomely powerful voice. Check it out. Plus the album cover reminds me of that Andrew WK album cover with blood all over his face. But this has Hershey's Chocolate Syrup insted. Yum.

RIYL: The Knife, Cold Cave, The Swans

Rating: 8.5

High Places - High Places vs. Mankind

Thrill Jockey Records

Released: March 23rd, 2010

AWESOME ALBUM COVER!!! Yes! I bought the record today, although I already stole it from the interwebz last week. Stealing music is anarchy. And anarchy is PUNK-FUCKING-ROCK!!! Oi!

High Places is a girl-bro indie electro duo from (where else?) Brooklyn, New York. I saw them open up for some other band from New York last year. They were good. I dug it. I dig this album too. The first two tracks are the shiiiiiiiiiiiiit. "The Longest Shadows" and "On Giving Up" are the most up-beat dancey songs on the album. I hope I hear a DJ play either one soon at some hipster party, cause yeah, good songs.

The rest of the album is good too. A few weaker filler songs at the end though. This album suffers from coming on too strong and ending with not enough "ooomph." Good album. Yes!

RIYL: Gang Gang Dance, Atlas Sound, Kraftwerk

Rating: 8.0

Show Review: Woods / Real Estate

March 14th, 2010 @ The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto

First-off, can I say how I hate when people call the Horseshoe Tavern the "'Shoe". It sounds dumb Toronto. Please stop. And also when I was watching the show I was thinking that if you changed the little - thingy between the two |'s in the letter "H" to a \ thingy, then it would spell "The Norseshoe Tarvern" and everyone knows that Viking-related foot-ware would had to be rad. Because anything Viking-related is rad.

So anyways, this show was awesome. I'm really glad I got off my lazy/hungover ass to go to it. That after-party on Bathurst the night before was the shit, but I was fairly immobile on Sunday.

Both of the bands were really good, and I met up with my friends Max and Anne, and I bought a sweet Woods t-shirt. Max and Anne are the best. Plus Max clued me in about my new favorite blog.

I missed the first band, but I showed up right before Real Estate. Hearing them live was great surprise, since I wasn't sure what to expect, being that their records are so lo-fi. Their songs would be great played out of a little tape deck on a beach, smoking a joint. If I still smoked weed that is.

Woods was super great too. The dude's screechy, sort-of high-pitched voice sounded exactly as it does on the record. The band was tight, but I thought they were a three piece, until I realized that there were synths coming from someplace. Then I caught a glimpse of the keyboardist' head. He was sitting on the ground. What a bunch of weird-ass hippies. They didn't do "The Number" which was a bummer, 'cause that's my favorite Woods song. Oh well.

Then Woods and Real Estate came out together for an encore and called themselves Real Woods. They preceded to do a cover of Blind Melon's "No Rain." And although this was the only song that the lame-o Toronto crowd seemed to perk up too, I have admit it was pretty good.

Oh yeah, so I bought this shirt:

I have no idea wtf is going on, but all I know, is that it's tie-dyed and has some wacky shit on. RAD.

Liars - Sister World

Mute Records

Released: March 9th, 2010

With each new Liars album, you're always getting something new. This album is a long way from the post-punk of They Threw Us In A Trench (2001) or the experiments in rhythm of Drum's Not Dead (2006). And I have to say that this album rubbed me the wrong way a bit the first time I listened to it, precisely because of its differences. But after a few more listens, I "got it" and like it alot better.

The Liars recorded this album in L.A. which shows on the album (much the way Berlin wore-off on Drums Not Dead). The album has a L.A. rock band sound to it. Especially Queens of the Stone Age, which is why I was all like: "WTF. It sounds kind of like QOTSA. Bullshit!" Then I realized: "Oh wait, I really like Rated R." Then I listened more and starting hearing some of the more experimental/awesome songs and I was like: "Oh shit! This song is fucking awesome!"

"What song Pete?" Well let me you tell you. "Scarecrows On A Killer Slant" is like a buzz-saw, punkrock orgy. It slays. "The Overachievers" also slays, and I think it's basically about how people suck in L.A. It also has best lyrics I've heard in a song in a while:

"I bought a house with you.

We settled down with cats.

There wasn't much to do.

So we just sat and watched the T.V.

...and smoke weed.

We drove the bio-car.

Because we all love the Earth.

It didn't get us far.

And it always sounded like a walrus

...with ulcers."

Awesome. Fuck L.A. This album is a great listen even though it starts off a little weak and QOTSA-sounding. By the middle portion-on, the album is great and it flows from buzz-saw slayings to experimental/psychedelic/electronic/rhythm-based/chilled-out songs.

RIYL: QOTSA, Animal Collective, Can

Rating: 8.5

Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows

Vice Records

Released: February 2nd, 2010

I fucking love Dead Moon. Man, if that band didn't the write some of the most low-fi, dirty, dark, punk/garage rock ever made by the coolest grandparents ever? This is husband/wife, Fred and Toddy Cole's new band called Pierced Arrows. Basically they are Dead Moon with a new drummer (Kelly Halliburton, ex-Severed Head of State) with more of a gritty rock n' roll sound.

What Pierced Arrows have managed to hold onto from Dead Moon is their fascination with dark, morose shit like graveyards and being buried alive. When other bands do this shit I find it boring and cliched. When Fred Cole sings about it in his gravelly voice, after 45 years of singing in garage rock bands, it sounds like he actually has experienced it.

Although this album is not nearly as good as Dead Moon's early records of the late 80's and early 90's, it's still 10 million times better than any other "rock" album released by 60-year-olds (sorry Stones, but you haven't released anything good in over 30 years). It's also way better than most of the punk or garage shit out there from bands half their age.

Song highlights on Descending Shadows are the opening track "This Is The Day" and "Zip My Lip" which I dug the most because I'm a punk-rock asshole at heart. But other great tracks are "On Our Way" and "Paranoia" which sound more dirty garage and rock n' roll. There are other good songs as well, but some tracks are kind of weak, which ultimately bring down the album a bit. But seriously, this band rules.

RIYL: Dead Moon, The Dead Boys, The Stooges

Rating: 7.5

Owen Pallet - Heartland

Domino Records

Released: January 11th, 2010

Wow after hearing so much praise for this album I actually went out and BOUGHT the vinyl. BORING. I knew this dude worked with The Arcade Fire on their string arrangements, which is rad because I really like The Arcade Fire. But I also remember playing one of his Final Fantasy albums (his previous moniker) back in the day on my old radio show and thinking it was BORING too.

Yeah there's some interesting arrangements, I guess. Blah. BORING though. Pick this up if you like way-over done chamber-pop, starbucks, condos and your lame-ass marketing job or whatever. Listening to this reminds me why state-sponsored art can be a bad thing. I'm sure Mr. Pallet got a Canadian Artist Grant to put Heartland out because there is way too much extra crap in the arrangements. Keep it simple dude.

Anyways, it's listenable, but whatever. BORING. (Amazing cover art though).

RIYL: Beirut, CBC Radio 1, stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

Rating: 4.5

Four Tet - There is Love in You

Domino Records

Released: January 25th, 2010

This is the London-based producer and musician Kieran Hebden's 7th release under the moniker Four Tet. The electronic musician has been remarkably consistent over his career. There is Love in You is no exception. As with previous efforts, this album goes beyond just electronic music and ventures into minimal house, folk, post-rock and, to a lesser degree, field recordings.

This awesome music to work/draw/write too. The soundscapes created here are easy to get absorbed into and the pace for the most part is nice and gentle. The music isn't strictly electronic either. Hebden's musicianship comes through with his live instrumentation of guitar, piano and that tiny keyboard thing I had when I was a kid.

My favorite album by Four Tet has always been 2004's Rounds and this album isn't quite on that level. There's the lack of the "glitchy-ness" on previous work that gave the compositions more character. I also wish that there was more of the found-sounds and field recordings that were present on the earlier records. It's still there. It's just not as much.

Songs that I really dug were also some the longest on the album. "This Unfolds", "Plastic People" and "Love Cry" all top out between 6 to 9 minutes. This makes sense, because the fact that these compositions are so complex and layered, time is really needed to let them unfold. Overall though I will say that There is Love in You has a lot more of a minimal house sound than the "folk-tronica" sound of earlier records. Good album all-in-all though.

RIYL: Fuck Buttons, Animal Collective, Neu!

Rating: 8.0