New Spins: Check these Footlongs

Califone Stitches
(Dead Oceans)

Mister mumble and his kitchen sink crew clean up the place a bit on this new Califone LP, the first that Tim has done outside Chicago. The mix is pretty straightforward and the vocals are front and center. This is a tighter album than 2009's meandering All My Friends Are Funeral Singers and that's all for the better. Califone goes places they've seldom gone on this one, and they're all the better for it. Easily their strongest outing since Quicksand/Cradlesnakes. If you're a Califone fan, let's face it, you should already have this. If you're not, it's a great place to start.

Caveman s/t
(Fat Possum)

Strange in name, atrocious artwork does not a bad record make. This one took a bit to sink in, but it's quite a diverse, interesting journey. Synth-fueled jams chock full of reverb, blurry background vocals and creative melody. The first real song on the LP, "In the City" recalls the seriousness of the late seventies, and sells it hard. Songs get stretched out and fade back into the mix, but when the vocals push, it's pretty emotional. "Ankles" is a favorite at the moment, give it some volume. Certainly not a party album, but they can't all be, right?

Water Liars Wyoming
(Fat Possum)

Folk is king right now, it seems, but it's an easy genre to botch. Water Liars' sophomore album does it well, without posing or forcing it on you. Justin's small touch of southern drawl lends some authenticity to the sadder songs. "Backbone" was released as a single a time before the LP, and it's a two sided jekyll and hyde tune that manages to channel Cass McCombs, Jim James and AA Bondy all at once. The album as a whole is a great listen, perfect for the Fall. Nothing too overcomplicated or challenging here, and that's just the way it should be.

Pokey LaFarge

To us St. Louisans, Pokey LaFarge has become something of a local treasure. From his sets at Blues City Deli, to his rising star-like sold-out Off Broadway shows, we've always been proud of this time-traveling troubadour and his love for our fair city. 

To those unaware, Pokey drives in a lane that's part tribute, part satire, and part brilliance when it comes to representing traditional blues, roots, delta, folk, whatever you want to call it, really. He looks as if he's just stepped off a time-travelled locomotive from the 1930's. You may think to yourself, what is this guy doing? After all, nods to music's simpler and finer times are all too familiar in modern music, be it 50's, 60's or even 80's eras. However, Pokey reaches even further back in time, and pulls it front and center for all of us to enjoy. And, he takes it quite seriously. 

So, another purveyor of music past, Jack White, paid attention. He brought Pokey down to his Nashville studio to record a Third Man Blue Series single ("Chittlin' Cookin' Time In Cheatham County") and also had Pokey and the South City Three back him up on a tune from his solo album, Blunderbuss ("I Guess I'll Just Go to Sleep"). This led to Pokey signing to Third Man Records, proper, and now the release of his new album, simply titled Pokey LaFarge.

Simply said, Pokey's new record is fantastic. The songs are richer, his stories strong, as always. And while he's ditched the South City Three moniker for his backing band, they shine as bright as him throughout the album. The record starts strong with "Central Time," a song sure to make any Midwesterner beam with pride.  The upright bass, harmonica, and guitar work on "The Devil Ain't Lazy" is spectacular, and they backing vocals perfect his words of wisdom. The mix is very clean, and the album relies more on instrument choice (and skill) rather than trickery to make it sound 'old.' Muted horns, saloon piano, and classical guitar do that just fine (dig "What the Rain Will Bring or "Kentucky Mae" or "Day after Day"). "Bowlegged Woman" is a fabulous jig sure to inspire a few dance moves, and there's a little more truth in "City Summer Blues" than we'd like to admit. I could go on and on, but you'll just have to hear in for yourself. It could open your mind to a different era of music, a prospect I'm sure would make Pokey grin. 

This record is sure to make Pokey a bigger star, and as far as I'm concerned, it's much deserved. Do yourself a favor and pick this up. Play it at your next house party, drink some whiskey and dance until the sun comes up.

New Spins

Portugal.The Man  Evil Friends
(Atlantic)

After being underwhelmed by the first few singles released by Portugal.The Man this year, I finally had a chance to sit down with the entire album. It wasn't as instantly great as In the Mountain, In the Cloud, but after a few listens, it gets really good. The songwriting is a little darker and dirtier (Dangermouse produced it, after all). The singles dissolve into the album's frame and make more sense, and the deep tracks show a lot of growth and willingness to experiment. Just solidifies the practice of not listening to anything until the album comes out. Worth a download, at least.

Queens of the Stone Age  ...Like Clockwork
(Matador)

Queens return with their best album since Songs for the Deaf, and with it returns the sound of jumping around on the tuner dial. There are nods to their previous three records' styles, and a myriad of guests make this quite a ride. Dave Grohl mans the drums on half the record, and Trent Reznor, Elton John, Mark Lanegan, and Alex Turner all lend a bit of spice to tracks to which they contribute. Obviously, though, the star is Josh Homme. His riffs are just as heavy, just as weird, and there is a new sense of personality to his lyrics (that is to say, if you've ever wondered what it would be like to have a tail). With this powerful, interesting album, QOTSA prove they are perhaps the most unique band in modern rock, and quite possibly give us the album of the year.

New Spins, Ketchup

Playing a little bit of ketchup today.
Been preoccupied by baseball. Dig.

Har Mar Superstar Bye Bye 17
(Cult Records/Frenchkiss Label Group)

Crazy bastard starts to take music a little more seriously and applies a vintage R&B vibe and some killer horns. His voice is quite good here, especially on the opening track "Lady You Shot Me." It will suck you right in. Plus, when Fab from the Strokes is on your album, you know you're pretty cool.

Junip s/t
(Mute)

The second record from José González is a little darker, a little softer and a bit more concise. Another one that starts strong, with "Line of Fire." Kudos to KDHX for this one. The mix is a bit muffled, which makes the songs sound better, I think, it plays well against the electronic additions. Listen to it twice.

Kurt Vile Wakin On A Pretty Daze
(Matador)

This mumbly long-hair finally has my attention. Despite the title, it's perfect on a dreary day. The tunes are long and relaxing, spacey and cool. He can be funny, witty, and uses inspired melodies. These wonderful songs are over so quick, you won't notice the length. Time to dig through the back catalog and find what I was missing.

Record Store Day 2013

I participated in this year's Record Store Day at my go-to store, Euclid Records. It's my favorite record store in town (we do have a few, unlike a lot of cities). I was up at 7:00 and in line by 7:45, with around thirty people ahead of me. A cold two hours and 45 minutes later I was ushered into the store, a tad nervous that the quantities of my desired titles would be too scarce for me to snag, a feeling the fifty people behind surely shared. Luckily, Euclid does a great job, and most of what I wanted, I got (except for that Sir Paul single, rats!)

I love the idea of Record Store Day, taking the time to support the brick and mortar record stores; the special edition new and reissue records; the spirit of collecting and spinning for favorite music. Most of the releases are limited, anywhere between 500 and 7500 copies, often on colored vinyl. Some artists and labels will do reissues, others will do unreleased material or compilations. There really is something for everyone (assuming your store gets it) as the list was long again this year.

Everyone at Euclid, staff, patrons, and performers were all smiles, and it was a very exciting place to be. It's interesting to hear all the various things people want, and the surprise and satisfaction of grabbing that last copy. Patience is a virtue, the line moves slowly in a single file. It's also easy to miss or forget and there is no going back. I found out the hard way, forgetting Tame Impala's debut EP until I made it home. Luckily I swung back up there Sunday, and they surprisingly had a few leftovers.

The hard part about Record Store Day, is the labels seem to know that we just "have to have" these titles, and over the few years the prices have gone up considerably. The pinnacle of At the Drive In's career, the Relationship of Command on orange swirl vinyl. Price: $35. The Flaming Lips strange Zaireeka, pressed on four LP's, each of a different color with a booklet in a box. Price: $70. You have to pick and choose, it adds up quick. To make matters worse, the small quantities are spread over the US (and the UK) and this leads to many people buying the popular titles, and listing them online for ten times the price. So if you missed something, be ready to be swindled even harder.

Overall, Record Store Day is a challenge, a lot of fun, and it's nice to see a record store so full of people. It's also nice to go into an empty record store on a Tuesday and flip through rows of vinyl in peace.

What I grabbed:

Blind Melon - 20th Anniversary Reissue + Sippin' Time Sessions - /2500
Dazed & Confused - Soundtrack - /4750
Junip - Junip - /500
Pornography - Seven Minutes in Heaven - /2000
Elliott Smith - Either/Or Alternates - /3500
Tame Impala - Tame Impala EP - /5000
The White Stripes - Elephant - /????

New Spins

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Specter At The Feast
(Vagrant)

This is the first BRMC record that had me interested since HOWL, largely due to the teasers that were posted to the band's website in recent months. Black Rebel's sound doesn't really change album to album, but this one has the tight focus that the first two records had. Heavy jackets, heavy guitars, heavy subject matter, and finally a return to form from a talented band that felt as if they were going through the motions there for a minute.

Youth Lagoon Wondrous Bughouse
(Fat Possum)

With today's general acceptance of the merging of electronic and analog music, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between new artists. You won't have this problem after Trevor Powers starts to sing. And while his prepubescent nasal delivery is the same, Wonderous Bughouse is a musical expansion on 2011's Year of Hibernation. This album is more colorful (like the cover) and the songwriting seems more positive/upbeat/adventurous than wistful/sleepy/indifferent. Use headphones for optimum immersion.

New Spins

White Fence Cyclops Reap 
(Castleface)

Tim Presley's exercise in destruction continues to know no bounds. Not quite as ambitious as last year's WF//FP, this new album Cyclops Reap is, however, equally challenging. 

Starts with a weird title, but also called "b/w Pink Gorilla" on the cover. Comes with 7 inch that has "Pink Gorilla" as the A side, b/w the title track, "Cyclops Reap," which isn't actually even on the album. Yikes. This record gives new meaning to making your listeners work to find meaning to make. 

Cyclops Reap is the lo-fi pop mixtape on the floor of your uncle's '92 Taurus. 

Jacco Gardner Cabinet of Curiosities
(1-2-3-4-GO!)

Jacco Gardner's strange dream of a river through a jungle inside an armoire. Dense and meandering experimental songs recall a Syd Barrett sense of humor and a smoky Carnaby Street sideshow. Basically, 60's studio pop. 

This album came recommended by Todd, of the infamous Basement Bell Ringers. 

I've listened to the new Strokes record 20 times

So, how does this ad for RCA disguised as a record measure up? It's complicated. 

If you liked Angles, you will probably like this. Maybe not, though. If you didn't like Angles, you might like this, but I somehow doubt it. 

Comedown Machine is a good deal stranger than anything the Strokes have done. It's very interesting, some of the songs sound like they were culled from some B movie soundtrack. It felt a little schizophrenic the first, I don't know, five times I listened. After that, it started to take on hypnotic qualities (combined with 10+ hours staring a computer monitor probably didn't help). "Call it Fate Call It Karma" on repeat and another cup of tea. 

The New Strokes all but kill the Old Strokes with this one. What really matters is, what do you think? How could they, right?!

Listen to it here. 

New Spins.

Atoms for Peace AMOK 
(XL)

Thom Yorke digs out another pulsing rabbit hole. Headphone music. Fans of The Eraser will enjoy this record. The deluxe version has some beautiful artwork. Claims to employ live musicians but hardly sounds like it. 

Son Volt Honky Tonk
(Rounder)

Jay Farrar and Co. have always injected some traditional country elements into their records. Hell, Jay's voice was made for it. But with this new LP, they plunge all the way in, and give us a relaxed, mature, and well-mixed country record. And it's just right. (Also, don't miss them later this year at the Pageant.)

Spotify and the death of physical media: What this means for YOU.

By now, you probably use Spotify to listen to music, especially if you have a job that ties you to a computer for most of the day, like me. The model isn't exactly a new one. It's just like iTunes (or similar music libraries) except for the fact that all the music in the world is on it. Well, except for a few artists. 

At this point we're so removed from Lars vs. Napster, and Spotify is packaged so much like an application, it hardly feels criminal. However, there are many articles and blog posts that maintain Spotify is taking money right out of the artists' pockets, or paying them too little for each play their track gets. You can, of course, pay for Spotify Premium, 10 bucks a month, to get unlimited access. What this basically means is no commercials and you can listen on mobile devices. Thing is, half the commercials are for Spotify, so the advertising money sure doesn't seem to be there to pay artists properly. Apparently, Spotify has been footing this bill for a while. 

In addition to this, if you are one of the people who pays for Spotify Premium (I'm not), you're really only borrowing the music while you have a premium account. Once you cancel, you don't own those songs, so in addition to possibly robbing artists, Spotify is also sort of robbing you. After one year, you will have spent $120, but have no physical media to show for it. 

There it is. Physical media. I bought more compact discs and vinyl LP's in 2012 than I had in many years. Spotify was integral in these purchases. I listened to albums on Spotify for free. The albums I liked, I bought, simple as that. In fact, Spotify's founder uses this defense as well. While I certainly recognize that most people probably don't do this, at least I'm somewhat compensating for listening for free all day. When was the last time you were in an actual store to buy music? How about an honest-to-goodness record store?

So, the problem is two-fold. The internet has made it crazy easy to access the world's music for free, and now it's legal and encouraged. There's also less demand for physical versions of that music. This has been driving up the price of physical music, which really sucks.  Digital music is convenient, until that hard drive shits the bed. Of course, my basement could flood and ruin all my vinyl, so what do I know?

Something to consider whilst browsing the Spotify library, I suppose. 

Love is Hell, again.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has quietly repressed Ryan Adams' fabulous 2004 double EP, Love is Hell. This record has become something of a cult classic, despite Lost Highway's alleged apprehension about releasing it. The story goes, Lost Highway didn't see Love is Hell as a marketable album, and wanted Ryan to put out something that was more "rock and roll."

So, Ryan wrote and recorded Rock N Roll which became the promoted album, and Love is Hell was released as separate halves. Ask any Ryan Adams fan which album they prefer, and you'll quickly find that Lost Highway dropped the ball on that play.

Mobile Fidelity cover.

The MFSL release is an expanded, three record set, which includes the entire original double EP, and seven extra tracks that found their way onto a Japanese import version. MFSL have a reputation for meticulous and detailed masters, direct from the original tapes, which are pressed with top quality materials at well-respected pressing plants. Basically, music nerd gold. 

Love is Hell original pressing.

The original pressing has long been out of print, and decent copies are hard to come by. Given that Lost Highway didn't want to release it anyway, it probably wasn't printed in high quantity. Unfortunately, this one looks to be printed in small quantity as well, although it isn't clear what the run amount is quite yet. These will be numbered and limited, much like MFSL's Record Store Day pressing of Beck's Sea Change.

Price is pretty steep, but get it here, while you can. 

New Spins.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra II 
(Jagjaguwar)

Second album from the Portland trio is a smoky and smooth psychedelic record with a vintage pop sound and good tunes. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's a pretty groovy ride. 

Listen to it here or here. 

Happy Jawbone Family Band Tastes the Broom 
(Mexican Summer)

An introduction of sorts, to the crazy world of this well-under-the radar lo-fi group. This is a collection of songs from the past few years, and they have a full length of new material coming in 2013. It's wild!

Listen to it here. 

New Spins.

Jim James Regions of Light and Sound of God
(ATO/RED)

As moody as My Morning Jacket, but as it's a solo affair, Jim sounds alone as he is on the cover. In fact, it sounds exactly like you'd expect a Jim James solo album to sound: dark, funky, urgent, and cool. 

Listen to it here, or here. 

Foxygen We are the 21st Century ambassadors of Peace and Magic
(Jagjaguwar)

California duo follow last year's weird and jarring Take the Kids Off Broadway with a proper album of amazing, cohesive and colorful tunes. One giant step towards becoming a modern version of the Kinks. Bastards. 

Listen to it here and experience here. 

Sound City.

I love music docs. When you can see them at the lovely Tivoli theatre in St. Louis, even better. There has been much praise for Dave Grohl's Sound City documentary, but there's so much to love, and a great deal of detail, it's entertaining from start to finish. The focus is not only on the studio itself, but its loyal employees, its analog process, the custom built Neve 8028 board, and the great records that were made there. 

You'll be left wishing for the days of old, before every greasy dude with a Harmony guitar and a MacBook put out a record. All interviewees praise the analog process Sound City stuck with until the bitter end. And they're right, even though Neil Young may sound like a cranky old man. Everyone from Rick Springfield to Tom Petty, Josh Homme to John Fogerty champion analog, Sound City's unique and mysterious sound qualities, and share stories from recording at the studio. 

A cool addition to the conversation is Trent Reznor, who at first mention seems a bit out of place. Nine Inch Nails after all, is born from the use (and abuse) of computers and synthesizers. He quickly becomes the link to the present, and what he adds about foundation, philosophy, and expression are among the most crucial. 

Sir Paul's entrance into the film seems random, but it's Paul. The Beatle. He has one of the best lines, too. Dave says after a jam of their soundtrack contribution 'Cut Me Some Slack' "Why can't it always be this easy?" and Paul simply replies, "It is."

Sound City is fun to watch, and Dave Grohl is a great, enthusiastic, sometimes goofy host, who cares a great deal about the studio. Rent or buy, for sure. 

The Marantz.

I mostly listen to music on this Marantz 2235B Stereo Receiver (1977). I always wanted one of these, ever since I saw them. Marantz still makes quality modern equipment, but these 1970's receivers are renowned for their warm sound, top-notch tuners, and phono and headphone stages. Plus, they look killer.