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This sounds great. Beck can be a crazy scientologist if he keeps singing Velvet Underground songs. His voice is WAY prettier than Nico’s.
by Jenny McGee Dougherty
MV & EE are a homegrown, down home and homey-sounding duo from Brattleboro, Vermont. They have been making music for many years, most recently on Ecstatic Peace!, and are in a constant revelatory process- rotating members, guests, tours and various albums, one-offs, EPs and cassette collection releases keep them transient. But that makes sense with the sound of the band, and the collective unconscious that they’ve unconsciously (or not) nurtured.
MV & EE sometimes release music with The Golden Road and sometimes with The Bummer Road, but MV (Matt Valentine) and EE (Erika Elder) are the constants. They discuss with me sound, inspiration, music and touring, and what it’s like to be a musician.
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Q. When did you first start playing together, and how did the sound happen and then evolve?
MV. we started jamming in 1999 when we established our own cottage label “the child of microtones terran library of exploratory music” or “child of microtones”/C.O.M. as most people call it. we would explore sound worlds together around the house and play blues songs. we would also sing together a lot with erika’s family around the piano during the holidays.
EE. Matt and I first started playing together in 1999. Tower Recordings was still active then and I started out doing projections for a few of their shows. When people would come ’round the house we all would play as part of the social scene. I was into Alan Sondheim’s Ritual All 7-70 record and Siloah and communal sounding stuff with lots of great little detail – so that happened really naturally.
Then I started accompanying MV at shows. He would play his finger-style guitar raga pieces and I played recorder, zither, percussion and space whisper.
We always played blues and old time ditties and they worked themselves in, but balanced with original songs. We started to realize that some of the most interesting sounds required electricity…
Q. You play with you two as staple members, and then with a revolving cast of other characters, why?
MV. at the core it is just us, it is very much a duo exchange, it always has been…but we enjoy playing with kindred pilots. we are fortunate to have been able to sustain playing with so many great musicians/thinkers. it just seems most natural this way for us depending on the songs and the most practical based on everyone’s lifestyle.
EE…we live together and it’s only natural to work as a duo lots of the time. But we have always been fortunate to know so many incredible musicians, it would be crazy not to play with them. It’s an extension of being social. The people we play with are our friends. We go hiking, we cook dinner, we make records!
Q. How do you write songs?
MV. there is no one set way…i try to stay open.
EE. MV mostly “writes” the songs. I write my own parts for them by playing along, and help edit or arrange sometimes – especially if it’s a song I’ll be singing. And when we play with other people the songs change again from their spirits being in there.
I saw Vieux Farka Touré in Philly last week- opening for the Dirty Projectors. (It was a great bill.) He and his band played Saturday night at the Highline Ballroom and Jon Pareles wrotes a great review in which he describes the sound of the Malian band. If you can, and are fans of roots music, African beats and “blues-rock leads by way of Jimi Hendrix,” definitely try and get some of this band.
Vieux Farka Touré: Fafa
click the above link.
Vieux Farka Touré: Fafa
Golden Bloom “Fan The Flames” is largely the work of indie-folkster Shawn Fogel. But Golden Bloom the band is Fogel backed by greats: Michael Azerrad (yes, the rock writer) on drums, Jeff Patlingrao on guitar, Ryan Ball on bass and Josh Cohen from Guster on keys. The live band is loud and rocking, and the album, with all instruments played by Fogel, is softer around the edges, more polished. But most albums are.
That said- this is an indie-pop gem. Fogel is totally unafraid of his inner-geekdom. His songs are about poetry, girls, the end of the world and other twee subjects. But he’s totally serious about it, and that makes him and his songs charming.
I have watched the career of Shawn Fogel for nearly a decade. He’s still the same goofy guy he always was- but his songs have grown (a bit) more serious. He used to sing about ADD (in a humorous way) and Fake IDs. Fogel has never strayed far from the indie-pop line and that has done him well. By staying directed, and knowing the kind of music he likes and wants to make, Fogel has perfected the art. For example, he didn’t follow one of his touchstone songwriters, Ben Kweller, who has moved more toward the alt-country vein of pop (a poor choice).
“Fan The Flames” is the first full length album for Golden Bloom, but Shawn Fogel has released multiple albums and EPs over the years under his own name. This album was recorded with Peter Katis (Tha National, Mates of State) as well as Roger Greenawalt (Ben Kweller) and Dylan Magierek (Mark Kozalek).
The album’s high points are “Doomsday Devices,” available below, and “Dead Petals.” Both songs are heavy on Fogel’s pretty tenor and feature quirky pop details like synthesizer sounding keys, or bongos.
“Theme for an Adventure at Sea” starts off with a Neil Young inspired acoustic guitar line and an even-more Neil inspired harmonica line. And who doesn’t like Neil Young?
“Fan The Flames” leaves one with no complaints. It’s a very pleasant sounding album. For someone who wants a bit more oomph or a rough rock sound, this is probably not your thing. But for indie-pop heads- this is pretty great.
Golden Bloom is playing the NXNE Festival in Toronto tomorrow night, Saturday. The album is out on August 18 and the band will play a release show on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Pianos in NYC. See other dates here.
Golden Bloom: “Doomsday Device”
click the above link.
Golden Bloom: “Doomsday Device”
I don’t know how this will get pulled off….Staley‘s vocals MADE Alice in Chains. I’ll still root the band on though…. The new album, “Black Gives Way to Blue,” is out on September 28.
This is cheesy.
BONUS mp3
Alice in Chains: “Nutshell”
click the above link
Alice in Chains: “Nutshell”
High Places make interesting quirky beachy nostalgicly-tinged pop out of strange instruments, a drum pad and some electronic stuff. They moved to LA from Brooklyn. Why? Stay Tuned.
This track, “Head Spins,” was released on a 7 inch by Ancient Almanac. It’s sold out.
It features this simple yet amazing line: “When we sat on the floor, I was floored, I was floored.”
The band (Mary and Rob) play the Guggenheim on August 14.
High Places: “Head Spins”
click the above link
High Places: “Head Spins”
Yes. I’m so excited. Even though the show will be crazy. Dinosaur Jr…. and The Walkmen? Ugh. Regardless, the Williamsburg Music Hall show has been sold out since before the tickets even went on sale so i’m pretty pumped about this.
Aug. 16, Central Park.
J, Lou, Murph & Me…..
Dinosaur Jr.: “Plans”
click the above link.
Dinosaur Jr.: “Plans”
The show in Philly last night was the best Philly show ever, even Dave Longstreth said so.
“I mean it,” he said.
He was right. In the hot, humid basement of the First Unitarian Church, the best band in the world right now blew up the stage with fearsome harmonies, guitar licks fit for flying dinosaurs and exuberance beyond comprehension. I’m seriously at a loss for words. If I could, i’d craft a song in response.
But I’m not Dave Longstreth, nobody is, except him. I’ve never heard songs like his before, and I don’t think you have either. People talk like DP’s are an art band, a Brooklyn band, an indie band, blah blah, but really they defy all categorization. Last night in Philly the crowd was filled with urban hippies- they don’t exist here in NY. If the show were in Brooklyn the crowd would be hipster centric. And if the show were in California, there’d be a mix. This doesn’t really mean much but it’s a testament to the band’s versatility, attitude and style. No matter who you are or where you are, they’re a great band.
The sound is just so strange. It’s thick with intricacy. Without one voice, or one guitar, the sound would melt.
Longstreth writes his songs like a classical musician and he conducts them, too. He struts and jumps around the stage, giving eye signals and hand motions to his band mates, who follow him studiously, tirelessly. My friend said he was like a cult leader. I could see that.
The band played for nearly 90 minutes, making their way through almost all the tracks on the new album, Bitte Orca, and many older songs, including the heart stopping “Rise Above.”
Usually I like a band for it’s music, and not vocals and lyrics. In the case of Dirty Projectors, it’s all about the vocals. While drummer Brian McComber is certainly rocking- and he plays this big high cymbal incessantly, which creates a crashing tinny sound that adds a lot to the songs- the real lushness comes from the charming vocal harmonies sung by Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and new member Haley Dekle, countered by Longstreth’s tortured wail. You couldn’t ask for a better sound. They’re almost like whales calling to each other.
The show started with a duet: Longstreth on guitar and Deradoorian on vocals. She sang the song he wrote for her, “Two Doves,” and the audience was immediately transported to outer showland. The band came on stage directly after- while Deradoorian beamed from the audience response (see above)- and immediately launched into “Cannibal Resource,” a pounding and driving force of a song.
Another highlight was, of course, cute and tiny Amber Coffman putting her guitar down to dance around a bit and sing “Stillness Is The Move,” the R & B and African roots jam on the new album.
This was an all-ages show. They sold beer in the back but i didn’t see anyone drink any. But seriously, I think everyone was still high. On music, man.
“Exile on Main St.” is my favorite Rolling Stones album. It’s countrified sound is credited to the collaboration that took place between Keith Richards and Gram Parsons, some even say Gram contributed writing to many of the songs, but it’s totally a Mick and Keith show. The album has an old-timey feel but it’s still definitely British. One of the best songs on the album is “Torn & Frayed,” which is almost romantic even though it’s about a beaten down man.
And his coat is torn and frayed,
It’s seen much better days.
Just as long as the guitar plays
Let it steal your heart away,
Let it steal your heart away.
Oh, I will….
The Rolling Stones: Torn & Frayed
click the above link
The Rolling Stones: Torn & Frayed
Oh my gosh, start saving now. $1,700 gets you three days on a Russian boat with organic food, a show by Boredoms for 6 whole minutes (oh there will be a solar eclipse during those precious Oceanic 6) and probably tons of other crazy heads.
According to Wired, Tokara The Sun & Moon Festival has planned this cosmic adventure. And damn, sounds fun. Gang Gang Dance will be there too. It’s called “The Lucy in the Sky With Diamond Ring Tour.”
I saw Boredoms last spring at Terminal 5, where they will be doing 9/9/9 Boadrum this year (which is unfortunate, it should be outside as in previous years). The show was INSANE. Here’s a review.
