MP3s are for sampling purposes only. Please buy the album if you like what you hear. If you have a complaint about the ownership of a track, please contact me directly and I will be happy to take it down ASAP.
MOKB On SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio
Is your band interested in recording a session for MOKB's weekly show on SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio, SIRIUS XMU? If so, email Jeff and/or Dodge and let us know.
DFA Records will soon release (this coming Tuesday) the debut 7" from Free Energy. Free Energy was born from the ashes of the once very excellent band Hockey Night (4/06). The 7" is limited to only 350 copies, so grab it Tuesday.
With Pitchfork and Flatstock coming up this weekend, our good friend Dave Windisch aka Mile 44 wanted to give everyone an opportunity to win some of his goods. Dave is a local boy to Indianapolis area that has created everything from movie/gig poster to art prints. His work has a very humorous and cartoon feel to them. He has generously offered up posters he has done for Grizzly Bear, Spoon, Deer Tick, and Conor Oberst. In addition, check out the preview for his print he did for Flatstock this weekend above!
Dave is on his way up to Chicago for Flatstock, which coincideds with Pitchfork, this weekend, so I encourage everyone to go over to Dave's booth, say hi, and purchase some of his goodies. Be sure to check out his online store, as well, and be updated on what is going on in the world of Mile 44 at his facebook page.
Now about the contest... One poster will be given to four different and very lucky commenters. So to make sure everyone is on the same page...we have one of each of these posters and four different, random commenters will be chosen to receive one (1) poster. The first random commenter chosen will have first pick between the four and so on until the third winner gets whatever poster is left.So, in order to be signed up to win...leave your contact email in the comments section below and let us know what has been the best live act you have seen this year. (click "Talk Back To Yo' Mama")
In November of last year, a 23-year old production-wizard/musician named/recording under the moniker Emil & Friends (no, not the actor) released a 17-and-a-half minute EP entitled Downed Economy. The Downed Economy vinyl single release is coming up on July 27th and you can pre-order it here. Here is a funky synth and bass-heavy 80s-esque jam - an EP hold-over from Emil that has been cleared for free download...
We've been stuck in meetings all day, but of course when we got out, the internerd was all a-twitter about the new Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) / Atlas Sound collaboration, Walkabout, from Atlas Sound's upcoming album Logos (Out Oct. 20 via Kranky).
Jack White’s musical output has always been raw and, in its best moments, even primal in power – but one thing he’s never truly captured on tape is sex.
Sure, it could be argued that some of the White Stripe’s slower, bluesier moments had a sexy swing (see: “Ball and Biscuit,” the seven-minute guitar crawl with huge flare-ups from Elephant), but White’s long been preoccupied with song-craft and style to concern himself with the matters of the heart, or, as it were, the nether-regions.
But with The Dead Weather, White’s new get-up with The Kills’ Alison Mosshart, Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, White has laid down an album that pairs the blues-rock he’s long worked to perfect with enough rumbling low-end and sputtering guitar blows to get your uptight church mom making out with dad on the couch – and they won’t even care that you’re still in the room.
Icky? Of course, but it sounds great.
And herein lies the biggest detraction from Dead Weather’s debut album Horehound – you already knew that it’d be great.
Cringe as you may at the comparison, Jack White has become to earnest rock lovers what John Mayer has become to 45-year-old women all over the world. That is, he has created enough solid (if sometimes unremarkable) music that we now know what to expect.
When The Raconteurs dropped Broken Boy Soldiers in 2006, the general sentiment seemed to follow the line of, “Jack White’s got a new band, and I heard it’s got this 60’s pop thing. Must be great!”
By the time the record was bought, people were already fans. Thing is, Broken Boy Soldiers was, well, just alright. The band jumped leaps and bounds with last year’s Consolers of the Lonely, which was took the mold set by Soldiers and kicked its cute little ass with, among other things, single-note piano solos that somehow didn’t blow.
So now, in 2009, with Jack White now even more firmly implanted in our heads as a true rock stalwart unfazed by trends or, you know, being hip, he drops an album that seems to be something new.
But listen closer – it’s still the Jack White we’ve known since we all thought Meg was his sister-lover.
This isn’t, say, Discovery, the new electro-pop (read: boring, over-hyped) project from Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles, where the sound is different enough to be something totally new.
In effect, the fact that Dead Weather is still recognizable as a White-helmed project disables us from regarding it on its own merit. Or, at the very least, makes it very difficult. But, damn it, that’s our job, right? We’ve got to be fair and balanced.
So here goes.
Horehound is very good.
It is not life-changing good, but for the 44 minutes that the record plays, your life will be a heavy-grooving and much sexier life to lead. You may, in fact, have the urge to drive to the Deep South and find a dive bar where you’ll likely hear music just like this – slow-roasting guitar lines, quivering organs and call-and-response vocals that could’ve come from a drunken, white-boy-wannabe Motown crew.
Opener “60 Feet Tall” begins with a thin, warbling guitar line for nearly a minute before White enters and half-whispers, “You’re so cruel and shameless, I just can’t let you be. You’re so cold and dangerous, I can’t leave you be.”
It’s a blues line, like so many of White’s before, but he hasn’t gotten this down and dirty before. The song plods like a scorned lover sulking for over three minutes before Fertita’s guitar (yup, Fertita’s guitar. White has moved to the drum kit this time) really cuts loose – and when it does there’s a swirling, summer-thunderstorm intensity that blows the whole band off the ground.
“Hang You Up From the Heavens” showcases White’s style on the drums (nothing fancy, but plenty of pop. Maybe even more than Meg. Awkward...) with a crackling guitar that’s more or less a slowed-down, murkier Raconteurs’ “Salute Your Solution.”
Horehound hits the hardest when the band works into a tight groove, like on “Treat Me Like Your Mother.” White’s drumming gets delightfully thrashy under a whipping organ loop that’s as propulsive as a motorboat.
It doesn’t hurt that the whole record sounds like it was recorded live in a swamp on some sizzling hot day – all heavy reverb and haunted echoes. Horehound isn’t sexy in a refined, gentlemanly way. Rather, it’s hot and sweaty, barroom dancefloor sexy, and it’ll sound even better after a few warm shots of whiskey.
It's a fun romp, but would so many sing its praises if the band was a bunch of bluesmen from Louisiana and not Jack White's Latest Project?
First Aid Kit recently covered Buffy Sainte-Marie's Universal Soldier. From July onwards Johanna and Klara will be asking for ideas and suggestions on songs that you’d like them to cover by contacting them through their Twitter. This one is really beautiful...
Kurt Vile will release Childish Prodigy on October 6th through Matador Records. You can download the first free taste of the album now and pre-order it.
Preview the new solo project from Strokes lead singer Julian Casablancas. The album, entitled Phrazes for the Young, will be released this Fall through Rough Trade.
The White Rabbits, from Brooklyn via Missouri, really impressed me with their debut LP, Fort Nightly in 2007. Fort Nightly'sThe Plot and Navy Wives were easily two of my favorite songs that year. With a bit more pressure on their sophomore release they hired none other than Britt Daniel to produce It's Frightening. His influence is found all over the new album, and you are guaranteed a fun listen throughout. The band's early success has also been fueled by their dynamic, high-energy, live show. They recently stormed through Denver for a sold-out show at the Bluebird. I was able to grab singer Stephen Patterson and chat a little about their success and the new record.
MOKB : How was the recording process for It's Frightening different than Fort Nightly?
Stephen Patterson : Well, It's Frightening was intentionally recorded much faster than the first record. We didn't want to over think and second guess ourselves as much as we did the first time around. We were much more interested in capturing a moment, as opposed to building a mountain of sounds and tracks. All the songs were written and, for the most part, fully arranged before we went into the studio. We weren't even close to being that prepared when we went in to record Fort Nightly. So having all of that out of the way allowed us to spend a lot of time focusing on getting the right sounds and performances.
MOKB : Your debut was so well received, was there a plan for the sound of the second album?
Stephen Patterson : To be honest, for us it felt like people were more excited about the live show than the album. And I think we were as well. So I suppose the plan was to make sure it had more of a live feel to it. We also lost interest in the "world music" thing that we got pegged with so quickly. We still love that same music that inspired us for the first record, but this time we just tried to incorporate it in a more obscure way. We wanted to make it more of our own thing rather than just writing a "calypso song" or a "ska song." That whole notion became very silly to me.
MOKB : The new record is produced by Britt Daniel, the creator of some of my favorite songs this decade. How did that come about and what was that relationship like?
Stephen Patterson : We toured with Spoon for about a month or so last year, and we all had a ball hanging out and talking with each other so we kept in touch. So basically we just asked Britt to produce the record and he said yes. This wasn't his first time producing, but it was his first time producing a full album by another band. I think that made the whole experience more exciting for all involved. We were all in it together and trying things that we'd never tried before.
MOKB : What are you listening to now? Did anything you have been listening to influence the album?
Stephen Patterson : I've been listening to the latest records from Mos Def, Handsome Furs, and Cass McCombs a lot lately. There's also this jazz record from the late 50s by George Russell, The Jazz Workshop, that I've been playing a lot. Especially the tune Ye Hypocrite, Ye Beelzebub. None of that stuff really influenced this latest record though. When we were writing we listened to a lot of stuff by The Clash and some early NRBQ since we were trying to keep the recordings loose and energetic. The Beatles always influence us, especially with the arrangements and some of the sounds we were trying to get. We were also much more influenced by hip hop and electronic music this time around. We all liked the idea of having a rhythmic loop that we could build a song around.
MOKB : What are the bands plans for the summer?
Stephen Patterson : Well we just got home from a month long tour of the US. We're gonna be heading over to the UK for a week or so, which we're all looking forward to. Then we're gonna be back in the states touring the southeast with The Fiery Furnaces. Hopefully there will be some time in there for us to write and record at some point. We tour a lot, so it can be hard to keep up with that.
Our friends at Daytrotter are putting on a pretty great little event/tour/happening for some of you based in the Midwest. The first ever Daytrotter Barnstormer is set to kick off in two weeks.
Six different Daytrotter alumni bands will be playing select barns and attics in eastern/central Iowa and out-of-state Midwestern city Madison, Wisconsin starting July 25th and running through July 29th.
It's an idea inspired by old posters, featuring proof that the Dave Clark Five, Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones and the biggest acts of their day played in Iowa cities like Fort Dodge, Monticello, Spirit Lake and elsewhere. Daytrotter is hoping to start a new tradition of taking great bands to the small dots on the map where they'll be appreciated for their raw emotion and talent, turning a barn and a room into magical spots for an evening.
Daytrotter is encouraging one and all to attend and caravan with the tour, grilling with, camping out and staying at the same campgrounds and bed and breakfasts and Daytrotter and the bands will be. All shows are all ages and FREE, but donations will be gladly accepted.
The schedule:
July 25 11 am -- Davenport, Iowa: Morning performance at the Bix 7 road race course at the turnaround: 110 McClellan Blvd. (Performing -- Local Natives) 6 pm -- Maquoketa, Iowa: BARN Show #1: Biehl Farm, 3437 288th Ave. (Performing -- Local Natives, Catfish Haven, Caleb Engstrom)
July 26 6 pm -- Bellevue, Iowa: BARN Show #2: Mooney Hollow Barn, 12471 Highway 52, Green Island, Iowa www.mooneyhollowbarn.com (Performing -- Local Natives, Snowblink, Paleo, Catfish Haven, Stranger Waves)
July 27 6 pm -- Madison, Wisc.: Attic show #1: 212 S. Henry St., Madison, Wisc. (Performing -- Local Natives, Catfish Haven, Snowblink, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin)
July 28 6 pm -- Iowa City/West Liberty, Iowa: BARN SHOW #3 at the Secrest 1883 Octogonal Barn, 5750 Osage St., West Liberty, Iowa; (Performing -- Local Natives, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Snowblink, Mac Lethal)
July 29 6:30 pm -- Coon Rapids, Iowa: BARN SHOW #4, Whiterock Conservancy, Riverhouse Barn, 1313 Fig Ave., Coon Rapids, Iowa www.whiterockconservancy.org (Performing -- Local Natives, Snowblink and Mac Lethal)
The 2009 Monolith Music Festival at Red Rocks in Denver, CO has just about completed this year's lineup. There are a few more bands that apparently will be added, but most all the big guns seem to be in.
As I have said previous, I have discovered, over the years, that I am truly a fan of the "boutique music festival." I don't often like all the mess and size of a Lolla, ACL or Bonnaroo. Not knocking them, they're fun, and maybe I've gone diva. Sorry if so. They're hot, they're overcrowded and they're generally messy. Give me SXSW or Voodoo or Monolith. Those are just right up my alley.
Fanatasic bands...check. I can get close to them...check. Amazing weather...check. Won't break my bank account...check.
Single Day tickets are on sale now for $52 (until August 14) 2-day Passes are on sale now for $95 (until August 14) VIP Passes are on sale now for $210 (until august 14)
ALSO : The Monolith Festival VIP Kick-Off Party has been announced: Monolith will host two kick-off parties in Denver on September 11th. Events will be held at adjacent venues, The Gothic Theater and Moes BBQ. Performing artists include The Cool Kids, Chromeo (DJ), Hot Tub, Boyhollow and more. Kick-Off Party is open to VIP Ticketholders, media and winners of the Southern Comfort ticket promotion.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Girl Talk Of Montreal M. Ward DOOM The Walkmen OK Go Ida Maria The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Frightened Rabbit Thao with the Get Down Stay Down Hollywood Holt + Million $ Mano Starfucker Thunderheist Woodhands These United States Cymbals Eat Guitars The Antlers Cotton Jones Gregory Alan Isakov Lydia Generationals Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros The Answering Machine Roadside Graves Danielle Ate the Sandwich Speakeasy Tiger Autovaughn Avi Buffalo Wendy Darling Boulder Acoustic Society Caitlin Rose
Sunday, September 13:
The Mars Volta MSTRKRFT Method Man & Redman Phoenix The Dandy Warhols Chromeo The Glitch Mob Passion Pit WALE The Thermals Harlem Shakes Monotonix The Grates HEALTH Deer Tick The Twilight Sad The Features Spindrift Savoy Bad Veins We Were Promised Jetpacks Beats Antique Tigercity French Horn Rebellion The Pirate Signal Neon Indian The Knew A Shoreline Dream The Royal Bangs Red Wire Black Wire Jim McTurnan & the Kids That Killed the Man Rachel Goodrichm
The Dodos got proactive after last week's leak of their new album, Time To Die. They've made a video and launched a website where you can stream the album in full at 320kps, pre-order a copy, get free downloads and a massage. OK, no massage. The original physical release date, through Frenchkiss Records, remains but the album will be available for purchase/download through Amazon MP3 on July 27th for either $2.99 or $3.99...pretty cheap either way. Stream the album now and order yourself a copy.
It has been a year-and-a-half since WHY? unleased their excellent album Alopecia. Today they shared the first free download from their follow-up and forthcoming album Eskimo Snow. What can you expect? "Eskimo Snow offers a sung, sobering take on mortality that unfurls in lush waves of Americana and pop-infused psych-folk."
The Antlers' 2009 album, Hospice, was recently named "Best Album of 2009 So Far" by NPR. Robin Hilton says, "Frontman Peter Silberman is only 23, but has produced one of the most beautiful and moving works I've heard in a long, long time. Just astonishing."
The band has signed with Frenchkiss Records and Hospice will be re-released this August with wider distribution. To top it all off, just the other day, Antlers were featured as a "Rising" band by Pitchfork.
They play The Vollrath, here in Indianapolis, this Wednesday, with PONS, for an MOKB Presents... event and you should be there. We've taken the time profile lead man Peter Silberman so you can act like old chums when you see him Wednesday night...
Hometown : Somers, NY Must see/go to place in your hometown :Croton Gorge Where You Live : Greenpoint, in Brooklyn, NY Must see/go to place where you live : My roof, or if not there, “End of the World Park”...a basketball court at the northernmost part of the neighborhood that will be a great place to see the world end. Age : 23 Profession : Musician Favorite Food : Hot sauce on everything Favorite Drink : Whiskey Ginger Favorite Book : “Where I’m Calling From” by Raymond Carver Favorite Song : “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate” by The Flaming Lips Favorite Album : Way too many tied for 1st place. I might say Radiohead's Kid A. Recent Artist You've Been Listening To : Bibio Artist of The Past You've Been Listening To : The Temptations Favorite Pick-Up Line : "You’re the bee’s knees." Perfect Date : Staying awake for a really long time Object of Desire : Basset Hound Achilles Heel : Coffee Pet Peeve : Cats that bite your face while you sleep Prized Possession : My dog back home Greatest Accomplishment : Making this whole music thing work (so far) What's New? : I’m finally writing and recording again after a year-long hiatus. I really missed it.
Tune in NOW! for My Old Kentucky Blog Radio on SIRUS XMU! Channel 26 on SIRIUS & channel 43 on XM. The program started at 12pm EST, last two hours, and is replayed again at Midnight EST! Sorry, running late with the playlist today!
Matthew Barnes of Forest Swords clued us in to A Grave With No Nameyesterday, so we decided to look a little deeper. Most of the work is done by the project's primary, Alax Shields, in his bedroom, but he brings in bassist Tom King and guitarist Anupa Madawela to flesh things out. Madawela also handled direction/creation of these two awesome videos. The band released their debut 7" EP just last month.
Certain bands are able to combine a perfect mixture of emotion and talent in their music. Cincinnati's Pomegranates' most recent album Everybody, Come Outside! is a perfect example of such a combination taking place. Conceptually, the album loosely tells the story of a young boy who is abducted by a time-traveler while swimming across the ocean. The story, however, become secondary to the music itself, however. It is, for the most part, so infectuously joyful and optimistic it is difficult to not follow the music's advice and throw your computer through the window and get outside to adventure. The band combines the energy of pop with deep layers of atmosphere akin to early Modest Mouse and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
Listening to the album, it's easy to imagine the joy and energy that went into creating it. Elements like the cascading riff echoed through "Corriander," or the chanting of the names of the world's oceans in "Southern Ocean" add levels that draw you back in for repeated listenings. With each new listen, other new features, such as the sound of rainfall or the ambient sound of the seaside, add to overarching narrative of the album.
Matthew Barnes' project Forest Swords is starting to garner some serious attention on the internerd. At present, little seems to be known about the man himself, but we decided to delve a little deeper. Beyond what we discovered below, we do know that Forest Swords has a limited edition cassette (art pictured below) that will soon be available though Leftist Nautical Antiques. You can pre-order it here.
Hometown/Where You Live : Near to Liverpool, UK Must see/go to place in your hometown : The Albert Dock on a summer day. Age : Older than Miley Cyrus, younger than Kirk Douglas Profession :Graphic Designer Twitter? :Yes Favorite Food : Anything pasta related Favorite Drink : Apple cider vinegar w/ honey Favorite Book :The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Favorite Song :California Dreamin' by The Mamas & The Papas Favorite Album :Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys Recent Artist You've Been Listening To :A Grave With No Name Artist of The Past You've Been Listening To : The Ventures Favorite Pick-Up Line : "Do you know the way to San Jose?", "What's love got to do with it?", "What's going on?" and "Can you dig it?" Perfect Date : One that involves the above chat-up line Object of Desire : I don't desire anything. Maybe a round-the-world plane ticket. Arch Enemy : Internet Explorer 6 Super Power : That stopping-time thing Zach from Saved By The Bell used to do would be pretty great Achilles Heel : Indecision Pet Peeve : Text message speak/txt msg spk Prized Possession : Friends Greatest Accomplishment : People actually digging the stuff I do. What's New? : Tape out on Leftist Nautical Antiques this summer, playing shows in the UK this autumn, and hopefully something out on vinyl before the winter.
Black Mold the electronic alter-ego of singer-songwriter and SubPop recording artists Chad VanGaalen. He will release the project's new album, Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz, this August 11th through Flemish Eye. VanGaalen apparently spent many late nights, over the last couple years, messing with vintage analogue and hand-built modular synths to create the sounds. If you're a VanGaalen fan and looking for sound parallels, the Black Mold sound has been tied to the early electronic groundwork of J.C.’s Head on the Cross, from VanGaalen's 2004 album Infiniheart, along with Red Hot Drops, from Skelliconnection, and TMNT Mask from last year's Soft Airplane album.
Pre-order starts tomorrow. The physical versions of Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz will come with a coupon to download an entire bonus album of material by Black Mold. Composed of glitchy odds and ends, unfinished ideas, analogue improvisation and experimental manipulation, the 100+ minutes of material will be available to download from the Flemish Eye website.
Writing about music is a balancing act, and I have often suggested, that, if left unchecked, it quickly devolves into Mab Libs for the cool kids. Many readers are OK with this, as the paint by number technique allows them to identify bands whose sound or style might be simpatico with their tastes. Most bands don't mind it either, since it delivers new listeners to their doorstep, with cash on the barrel head. But this kind of writing gets to be a drag, and it's in everybody's best interest to shake things up from time-to-time. Conveniently, after a few teases, Freeway Surrender, the sophomore release from The 757s has finally received formal, widespread release. I've been enjoying these tunes for a couple months, so given my familiarity with the record, as well as my mostly amiable relationship with the band, I figured this would be a great opportunity to try something a little different.
Always On The Outside should be read as a précis of Freeway Surrender. Guitarists, Zimmerman and Peterson, masters of tahtib, circle their prey, each flashing a supremely-honed blade of lethal sonic vim and vivacity. Their steps, calculated, yet swathed in supreme languor, lest suspicion be aroused in the quarry. They attack without provocation, buttressed by the relentless rhythm section of Pirner and Sutherland, toiling in low-end lockstep. Like a heavyweight sensing his opponent's will diminishing and legs unsteady, the aggressors redouble their pummeling, landing each note with the ferocity of worn glove leather on defenseless flesh. Stunned, the weary combatant lurches. The assailants, roused by the imminent kill, let forth an ear-shredding din as the strident mass careens madly into the inexorable chorus.
Maybe not. So, scrapping that mess, I decided to give The Lost Generation a whack at it.
I stare at the page, bare but for where I hurriedly wrote Freeway Surrender. Twice more I write each of the words, underlining for emphasis. I want a beer, but I am not to drink until my writing is done for the day. Being midday, the cafe is quiet. I watch people hurry past the large window in time with the single note guitar lines of Crash And Fade; unforced, but not uncomplicated. The 757s are pop music savants, distilling ear candy through an older brother's record collection, adding a secret handshake of solidarity to all who still revereFair Warning. The songs are criminally catchy, yet delivered with a level of insolence certain to alienate fragile listeners. This hurdle is well-documented in the annals of Twin Cities music. I recall a basement party at the turn of the 90s, where I drank in front of a TV as to not miss the premier of I'll Be You on MTV. Few in attendance recognized the significance, and fewer still shared my enthusiasm. The evening ended with me nearly in a row with several of the hosts , while my associates, whose habit of filching beer instigated the altercation, took flight. That was how I learned to not drink with cowards.
True story, but it somehow misses the point.
So, I've determined that The 757s are just a bad band. Not bad, in terms of "these guys suck," mind you, but a bad band to try to write about in extravagant prose. String together page after page of adjectives and ill-conceived metaphors, and you're not one bit closer to explaining why Freeway Surrender is a fantastic album than you would be if you made a list of everything the band ate during the recording process. As much as it pains me to use the word, this is an undeniably fun record, one better suited to listening to while driving around on a summer day, than snowbound in a cabin an hour north of Duluth. The 757s are throwbacks, and not unlike our hometown nine, they do all the little things the right way. Let's not lose sight of the fact that these guys cut their teeth in the music biz back when a Pro Tools operator was the guy with the two-year votech degree who snaked your toilet. At a time when taxi drivers and glamour technicians are conversant about Auto-Tune, it's reassuring when a band like The 757s is able to win over audiences at SXSW with a little of that old Twin Cities black magic, and a lot of volume.
This is not to suggest that The 757s are rawk dinosaurs, passing time until their eventual extinction. The performances on Freeway Surrender are much improved from the debut, and the entire record no doubt benefits from more time in the writing and rehearsing stages. The rough edges of Tell The Pilgrims It's A Potluck have been planed, but instead of rendering this batch of tunes toothless, this attention to detail allows one to truly appreciate just how well-written these songs are. Pop culture references, inside jokes and homage to the big hitters of music history aside, this record is, at its very core, 11 great pop songs that will stick to your ribs like a steaming bowl of Quaker Oats on a cold, January Minnesota morning. And if the record's closing (and strongest) track, The Blind Will Lead The Naked is any indication, The 757s are a band whose best work still lies ahead of them.
Fleet Foxes drummer-singer J.Tillman will release his second solo album, Year in the Kingdom, through Western Vinyl this coming September 22nd. The album is hot on the heels of one excellent release already, this year's Vacilando Territory Blues. I kind of fell in love with his acoustic-driven, mournful, earthy sound while watching him play at the MOKB/AD Vaya Con Tacos this year at SXSW, and the first taste from the new record, Earthly Bodies, keeps fire stoked...
Hometown : Rockville, MD Must see/go to place in your hometown : Any direction leading away from Rockville, MD Where You Live : Seattle, WA Must see/go to place where you live : The Pike Place Market Hula Hoop Guitar Player Age : 28 Profession : Projected Abstraction Absorption Favorite Food : Chocolate! Favorite Drink : Gatorade (personal fav's include: ESPN: The Flavor, X-Factor Fruit Punch + Berry, Frost Whitewater Splash, Frost Riptide Rush, Xtremo Mango Electro, Frost High Tide, Midnight Thunder, Tangerine Rain) Favorite Book : n/a Favorite Song : n/a Favorite Album : "Pussycats" by Harry Nilsson Recent Artist You've Been Listening To : The Pike Place Market Hula Hoop Guitar Player Artist of The Past You've Been Listening To : Whoever was on Pitchfork yesterday Favorite Pick-Up Line : "What's your perfect date?" Perfect Date : I like to invite people over to gawk at my prized possession. Object of Desire : My girlfriend is not an "object". Achilles Heel : Chocolate! Pet Peeve : When people ask themselves alternating "yes/no" questions and then answer them so as to explain exactly what kind of person they are (i.e. "Do I like drinking Gatorade at the Pike Place Market? Yes. Do I consider it my 'perfect date'? No.") Prized Possession : If by this you mean the thing that I own that when company comes over I rush them into the room where said thing sits in it's special spot and tell them all about it, then, I do not own such a thing. Greatest Accomplishment : All the things I own. What's New? : n/a
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Kurt Vile will release Childish Prodigy on October 6th through Matador Records. You can download the first free taste of the album now and 
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