This very Scottish track caught my ear tonight and I had to share it with you all. I had a twitter exchange with a friend this week that reminded me of how much we love finding new music and of how sick to death [...]]]>

This very Scottish track caught my ear tonight and I had to share it with you all. I had a twitter exchange with a friend this week that reminded me of how much we love finding new music and of how sick to death I am of major label artists who put out album after album the same old thing. That’s not to say that all established musicians lack creativity and courage – not at all, but I just can’t bring myself to hype the latest regurgitation of whatshisname just because some major corporation has put a shit ton of money into it. THIS here product by The Moth and the Mirror, who are are: Stacey Sievwright (The Reindeer Section, Arab Strap), – Vocals; Guitar; Gordon Skene (Frightened Rabbit) – Guitar, Vocals; Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow, Song of Return) – Guitar/Vocals; Kevin McCarvel Smoke Jaguar) – Bass; Iain Sandilands – Percussion; Peter Murch – Drums), is not only new music by some new people and some seasoned musicians, but it SOUNDS new and exciting, yes? I like its dark moodiness and the way it doesn’t all wrap up happy in the end, like French movies. We americans are always looking for that happy ending, it’s so boring. This track, this is hardly boring. xoxo

Cameron McGill weaves this multi-textured track entitled “Houdini” into a memorable piece that flows easily into your Saturday afternoon. The extensions and pauses and hesitations only make the eventual releases that [...]]]>



Cameron McGill I Don’t Believe in Magic (But All My Friends Just Disappeared) MP3 Is A Beast ….buy it on itunes

Cameron McGill weaves this multi-textured track entitled “Houdini” into a memorable piece that flows easily into your Saturday afternoon. The extensions and pauses and hesitations only make the eventual releases that much more, well… a release, like the way that holding your breath feels so good in the letting go of it. The more I listen to this the more I hear a bit of angst, a bit of the wanderlust the press release wants me to hear, and a whole chunk of talent that is finding its place in time and space on this album.

Cameron McGill might be known to some of you as keyboardist for Margo and the Nuclear So and So’s but Is A Beast will firmly ensconce him in your musical memory as a soloist (and dare I say crooner?) all on his own. It’s equal parts smooth and syrupy with a kick in the pants exactly where it’s needed. Is A Beast is an album that blooms into something more than what it began to be. The pacing is important, the promise of a nice, edgy, pop-ish indie record is gradually eroded by McGill’s vocals as they slide over notes both high and low, melancholy and beautifully bluesy. By the time you reach the harmonica’s wail on track 7, “Sad Ambassador,” this album has grabbed your attention in an entirely different way than you first imagined. I anticipate Cameron McGill & What Army doing just that when they come to Schubas on April 29th. I suggest you be there, xoxo

Stream the whole album here.

Cameron McGill on twitter and on facebook and on last.fm

Tour Dates
April 23 – Brillobox – Pittsburg, PA
April 26 – Musica – Akron, OH
April 27 – PJ’s Lager House – Detroit, MI
April 28 – Founders Brewing Co – Grand Rapids, MI
April 29 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
April 30 – Kryptonite – Rockford, IL
June 12-18 – Crystal Hotel – Portland, OR

This little gem is gonna grow on you. Just let it sink in nice and deep. It’s not exactly a joke song. The more you listen to it, the more you hear the tone in [...]]]> Your Love Is Bummin’ Me Out mp3 Dolfish Your Love Is Bummin’ Me Out …. buy it!

This little gem is gonna grow on you. Just let it sink in nice and deep. It’s not exactly a joke song. The more you listen to it, the more you hear the tone in his voice – that tone that says, “man, I’m just not kidding around with this shit anymore.” Well, listen to it some more and maybe you’ll also see the glint in his eye when he says it. Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers!

I fell in love with this one at first listen. At second, third, and fourth listen I heard the nuances in Montreal on Fire’s “Your Yes Sounds Like No.” It’s not a love song, as far as I can tell, but it might as well be because it’s the kind of music I want in my head when I’m kissing you, touching you, holding you…
This came off of Crash Avenue’s monthly comp series: Future Clowns (click ANTIHERØES-CØLLECTIVE.COMfor more free downloads)

I didn’t say, however, that my comment wasn’t going to be snarky, sinister, and snide. After all, what else would you expect?! We here at LSB are nothing if not contrary So, you dearies who are in love, enjoy yourselves! The rest of us will whisper nasty things behind your backs and generally be there for you when you get in drop-down-drag-out fights with her, or when she tells you she’s  no longer attracted to you, or when you wake up and realize you’re kinda relieved to think you might not miss her at all when it all falls apart. But no, really, love is awesome, so please enjoy it… while it lasts.

Bitterly yours,

T

(yeah, there’s a great likelihood that the final negotiations will go through this week… relieved is an understatement.)

A long time ago, when I was first reading music blogs, I became a fan of a circle of friends in Scotland. They are in their mid-thirties or so, grew up in the Brit-pop era and have “met” over the internet and sometimes even in person (!) [...]]]> Follow (Wing Commander Remix) mp3 Error Operator

A long time ago, when I was first reading music blogs, I became a fan of a circle of friends in Scotland. They are in their mid-thirties or so, grew up in the Brit-pop era and have “met” over the internet and sometimes even in person (!) due to their common love for groups like The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine and James. JC (a.k.a., The Vinyl Villain), is for me, someone who’s blog I go back to again and again for music and personal reminiscences. And it is there that I learnt of ctel (a.k.a., Acid Ted) who’s writing you will soon read below. Each year ctel puts out a plea for donations to a specific charity, the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, for personal reasons. Each year I post, asking you to give. The smallest amount helps to make a difference in the lives of children with brain tumors. I never ask you again, I never endorse any other charity. This man’s story breaks my heart and if there’s one thing this year that you donate even one dollar to, I ask you to consider this cause.

The wonderful thing about ctel is that along with his yearly request for donations to the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust he gives out an AMAZING music mixtape, put together by DJ friends. This year his guest DJ is Error Operator.

Here’s ctel’s words:

Happy New Year to you. To get the new year off to a cracking start, I’m offering you the chance to get an exclusive mix from the marvellous but mysterious Error Operator. This mix is not available anywhere else. All you have to do is make a small donation to charity. Email me with the reply and I’ll send you the mix. It’s that simple.

You wil want this mix. It starts with the brilliant but brooding “Moth” by Burial and Four Tet before going on to mixes of Foals and Burial himself. It even has some Tinie Tempah bfore ending with James Blake and ultimately coming a full circle to a remix of Four Tet. This is a quiet evening with a bottle of fine red.

ACID TED MIX by Error Operator

1. Burial & Four Tet – Moth

2. Foals – Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix)

3. Burial – Archangel (Boy 8-Bit Remix)

4. Gold Panda – Snow & Taxis (Throwing Snow Remix)

5. Tinie Tempah – Pass Out (SBTRKT Remix)

6. Andreya Triana – A Town Called Obsolete (Mount Kimbie Remix)

7. Break

8. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mongo

9. James Blake – CMYK

10. Four Tet – Love Cry (Joy Orbison Remix)

I’d like others to benefit from the time that Error Operator has put in. In particular, to raise money for research on brain tumours in children. Brain tumours are the commonest solid tumours in children in the UK and USA. More children now die from a brain tumour than any other childhood cancer. If you want a copy of the mix, here’s how to donate:

TO DONATE: Give directly to the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (UK) by donating here or Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation (USA) here or to a children’s cancer charity in your own country. Once you have done so, you will get an emailed reply from them. Forward that email to me (acidtedblog@googlemail.com) and I will send you a link to the mix.

Please, please donate. How much you donate is up to you (£5 = US$7 / EUR5). If you need to know why these charities are so important, see my story here or little Thomas’ story here.
Finally, if any readers are bloggers themselves, could you please promote this mix on your sites. It’s in a good cause. Thank you. Email me with the link and I’ll send you a copy of the mix.
And my sincere thanks and gratitude to Error Operator for making this appeal possible. As a reminder of his own work:

http://www.facebook.com/erroropsmusic

http://soundcloud.com/erroropsmusic

http://twitter.com/erroropsmusic

now is not the time mp3 Reasons and Rooms…. buy it! or go to their bandcamp page!

I met this guy once, at Lincoln Hall, for a drink, and he slipped me this CD, and told me about this band named Pretty Little Empire. He was like an evangelist for this band. [...]]]>

now is not the time mp3 Reasons and Rooms…. buy it! or go to their bandcamp page!

I met this guy once, at Lincoln Hall, for a drink, and he slipped me this CD, and told me about this band named Pretty Little Empire. He was like an evangelist for this band. He couldn’t stop grinning when he talked about them. In fact, he has reviewed their first album for his blog and told me how he was bringing them to Chicago to play a show. I went home and played the album… over and over, in my car, in my house, everywhere I could. Sweet Sweet Hands is gorgeous. And then summer hit and festivals began and so much new music came pouring in. And I never reviewed  it, and sometime in July Pretty Little Empire came to town. The only time I could give them that night was to their soundcheck. I had two gigs to go to and a band staying with me and oh god, I was over-extended! But those 30 minutes or so that I sat in the basement of the Chopin Theatre and listened to Justin and the rest of them play were more than enough to convince me of one simple fact: Pretty Little Empire was the real deal. The harmonies are simple and clear, the melodies are not complicated but remain consistently true to Pretty Little Empire’s “sound.” This is American music without being Americana, this is folk without being folksy. And you know I LIKE Americana and folksy. But Pretty Little Empire just isn’t those things. They’re a whole other ball of wax that consists of the kind of music that you think of when you think of alt-country with a real soul and a real backbone to it, mixed with a healthy dose of garage rock. I was warned that this album was more “more on the rockin side and a little bigger production” than their last, and yes, yes it is, but it’s still very much the heart and soul of the band.

Reasons and Rooms begins with a song that is very much like their last album. “now is not the time” has that insistency to it that just grabs you. That thread runs throughout the album, in the driving beat, and you feel it again in the repetition of the lyrics. “Islands” could easily dissolve into lazy, depressing drabness. But this band keeps it on track and tight, and the song stands out as poignant and stark. It’s one of my favorites on Reasons and Rooms, and the slide guitar is gorgeous. But the next song is by far, my absolute number one favorite song of them all: “Let’s Say ‘I Do.’” The way the chorus expands with sound in such a wailing, wild way against his tenor voice just kills me. Paced as fast as it is, this song is a nice throw back/shake up moment in this selection of really attractive, pretty, songs. Indeed, one of the best things about Reasons and Rooms is the lush background given to Justin’s vocals. Keyboard, trumpet, drums, steel guitar; all harmonize around that central, vocal, pole. And as I write that sentence, “Wasted Days” plays and proves me wrong, for it is such a collaborative product, proof that this band thrives on a cacophony of sound as much as it does on those pared down guitar/vocal melodies. Don’t underestimate this St. Louis band, for Pretty Little Empire are certainly a band to watch in 2012. Speaking with Justin that night at the Chopin, I found a person who was just upfront and honest with what he does and what he hoped for in life. Some people play at being humble, others know that the music they make speaks for itself, just get out of its way.

P.S., Thanks, Tony! muuuaahh! xoxo

Joshua English flew into my inbox this week. I liked what I heard, I think you will too. It’s Americana, folksy, and adorned in the right way, in the right place so as to be not too bare boned, despite the title. There’s [...]]]>
River Rising Quickly mp3
Danny Drugs in (C# Major) mp3

Joshua English flew into my inbox this week. I liked what I heard, I think you will too. It’s Americana, folksy, and adorned in the right way, in the right place so as to be not too bare boned, despite the title. There’s a little bit of Amy Ray in the way he puts his words to the melody. I like that level of masculinity about her and therefore, about him. I guess I’m not in the mood for crooners lately. Joshua English’s Lay Bare Your Bones is due out Dec. 7th and you should catch him live, if you’re lucky enough to live in the Portland/Seattle area. The press release tells us: “Record release shows are set to feature Y La Bamba, Horse Feathers, Pancake Breakfast including special duo performances with Lisa Molinaro of Modest Mouse and Talk Demonic affiliation.” Psssstttt….. he’s another one of those punks who went folk as they got older. I swear I’m gonna write a book on these guys. There’s a whole generation of men who were in punk bands in their 20s and now sing folk music in their 30s. It’s not such a stretch when you really think about it, but it does seem to be an odd juxtaposition. I reckon it’s because we don’t really look at punk rock (hardcore) as “music” at all. Most people see it as just a lot of noise. Well, those of us who are fans know better, now don’t we?

12/22/10 Portland, OR Doug Fir
02/11/11 Portland, OR Mc Menamins White Eagle Pub
03/29/11 Seattle, WA Skylark Cafe

Also, you should know, the ever-innovative folks over at SoundCloud have created an iPhone App (it’s also FREE) that lets you RECORD and upload to a cloud, pretty cool! Check it out here.

Aaaaaannnndddd, here’s a lovely track from The Savings and Loan, off their debut album, Today I Need Light:
Matthew describes this genre as “miserablist” which makes me chuckle because it’s a type of music we love in common, that kind of glum, dark, hollow-eyed, dark song. And The Savings and Loan are a band that does this genre very well. I’m so pleased that they’ve put out their album this year. There’s a sort of bittersweetness to these dark songs. I like the melodrama of it all. But it’s not over done or drama for drama’s sake. I always think of Johnny Cash when I hear The Savings and Loan. It’s the deep, rich vocals in it. And with a voice like that, well, this just lends itself to serious songs. The instrumentation is quaint, a tambourine and guitar are all that is needed on one song. There are few flourishes or embellishments, but it’s deceptively sparse – it sounds much bigger than it is. And I like that about it. I hope you do too. xoxo

The Savings and Loan – Swallows (Live at Song, by Toad) from Song, by Toad on Vimeo.

photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

Shilpa Ray is back, with a new album coming out in January and I couldn’t be more pleased to tell you about it! Did you catch her at CMJ this year? [...]]]>

photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

Shilpa Ray is back, with a new album coming out in January and I couldn’t be more pleased to tell you about it! Did you catch her at CMJ this year? Remember when she came to Chicago in April, ’09? We were thrilled to hear her. We were enthralled with her energy, her sort of devil-may-care, think-what-you-will way she performs (that’s a harmonium, a free-standing accordion-like instrument, like a reed-organ.) Her band was completely professional and yet really fun. But Shilpa herself was barely contained, a bit wild, a bit on the verge of well, you just weren’t quite sure what. And that was what was so compelling about her. You hear it in her voice when you listen to the recordings, but when you see her live, it hits you smack in the face – that hint of unpredictability. These two new songs, from Teenage and Torture, give a feel of what I’m trying to describe here. “Heaven in Stereo,” with the way that verse is just belted out, belies the real effort that Shilpa puts into her art and especially into her live show, while “Venus Shaver” takes us down a more familiar melodic path, one that her voice is equally suited to and that proves just how versatile a songwriter she truly is. Do not miss Shipla Ray and her Happy Hookers when they come play by you, their music is poignant and memorable. I eagerly look forward to this album, this artist is only beginning to show us her chops.

Upcoming Tour Dates:
*= w/ Acid Mothers Temple
JANUARY
21 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (Record Release w/ Hooray For Earth, Soft Black)
22 – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
MARCH
23 – Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland*
24 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill*
26 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge*
27 – Bellingham, WA – The Wild Buffalo*
28 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey*
29 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret*
31 – Calgary, AB – Broken City*
APRIL
01 – Missoula, MT – The Badlander*
02 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge*
03 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge*
04 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre*
05 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry*
06 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle*
07 – Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt*
08 – Toronto, ON – El Mocambo*
09 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore*
10 – Allston, MA – Great Scott*
11 – Milford, CT – Daniel Street*
13 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas*
14 – Washington, DC – Red Palace*
15 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar*
16 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506*
17 – Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light*
18 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl*
19 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks*
20 – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds*
21 – Dallas, TX – The Loft*
22 – Austin, TX – Red 7*