Aug 11, 2009

Volcano Choir consists of Thomas Wincek, Chris Rosenau, Jon Mueller, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack and Justin Vernon. Your ears may have only perked up with that last name but the musical lone wolf behind Bon Iver is no stranger to Wisconsin friends/post-rock unit Collections of Colonies of Bees. His work with the collective predates his For Emma, Forever Ago.

The beginnings of Unmap, Volcano Choir’s first put-to-tape collaboration, were cobbled together from various field recordings and house sessions before Vernon’s now iconic debut was mixed and mastered. After toiling away for three years, the experimental folk debut is ready for public consumption on September 22nd, via Jagjaguwar. The first single, “Island, IS” is put together by several multi-layered loops by guitarist Chris Roseanu. Even amongst the experimentation, Vernon’s unmistakable falsetto shines through. Volcano Choir will be featured in oure Fall issue.

Aug 10, 2009

Port O’Brien plans to release their third album, threadbare, on October 6th. TBD is releasing and Van Pierszalowski, Cambria Goodwin and co. are touring with with fellow California folkies, Sea Wolf and Sara Lov this fall. The group is in Europe this month. As we reported earlier, the touring lineup includes Tyson Voegel of Two Gallants and Graham LeBron of Rogue Wave. Keep watching this space for West Coast shows.

After “Sour Milk/Salt Water,” here’s the second track available from the new LP. “My Will Is Good” falls into the darker half of the threadbare, influenced by the untimely death of Goodwin’s brother. As the press release notes, the string-and-horn folk track tries to “describe the liberation that follows in the wake of making active changes in one’s life following tragedy.” Threadbare was recorded in two locations, specifically Jason Quever’s San Francisco living room and Aaron Espinoza’s L.A. studio. (Via Stereogum)

Aug 10, 2009

Watch on YouTube

Sharon Jones is a solider. She just keeps going. Though 100 Days, 100 Nights is almost two years old, Jones and her fantastic Dap-Kings performed its title track on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson last Friday night (August 7th) Jones sounds in top form on this performance (when does she not?) and Ferguson’s audience cheers her backing band’s delicious retro funk-soul. As the song progresses, the singer demands her band to “slow it down” at the 1:50 mark. Sharon and The Dap-Kings are currently in the studio, working on their fourth LP. Check our website for an interview with Ms. Jones very soon. One hint: it’s going to be gospel-influenced and may include a song about steak. Bassist and longtime producer Bosco Mann will man the boards again.

Aug 10, 2009

The Almighty Defenders are a brand spankin’ new garage-rock dream team consisting of Black Lips, King Khan, and Mark Sultan (aka BBQ). The unit’s self-titled debut LP is dropping September 22nd on Vice. The LP’s first leaked track was the wild man yelper “Bow Down and Die.” Check it out if you haven’t already.

Now, via Pitchfork, we get to listen to sample two in the form of a song titled “Cone of Light,” which shakes along to some Southern gospel swing. Stream and/or download it above.

Aug 10, 2009

Last week we shared a new track from the former Concrete singer Victoria Bergsman’s second Taken By Trees’ LP. “Watch the Waves”, from her forthcoming East of Eden, and now Memory Tapes have thrown a remix into the fray. The recontexualization underscores Bergsman’s pretty vocal take while some soft synths and handclaps lap at the shore. Taken By Trees will be interviewed in our Fall issue. East of Eden comes out on Rough Trade September 7th. (Via We’re Tapes)

Aug 10, 2009

We already posted about the psychedelic music video for A Mountain of One‘s “Bones.” The London twosome, consisting of Mo Morris and Zeben Jameson, fashion some freak-out psych riffs that lift heavily from ‘70s prog rock. Though they first hit the scene three years ago with a series of extremely rare 12-inch EPs, the band is finally putting out their debut album on September 7th via 10 Worlds/PIAS.The single for “Bones” is out now. The latter has two remixes attached to it. On the flip is an anthemic ‘90s trip-house reworking from New York’s House of House, the duo behind the Basement Jaxx-esque anthem, “Rushing to Paradise (Walking These Streets.”

On the same side as the original is the song we have on tap here: a third-eye opening remix from Way of the Ancients’ Thomas Bullock (Map of Africa, Rub-N-Tug). Bullock doesn’t really remix the song but rather strips the percussion tracks down to dancier tribal thumps, and leaving the rest largely whole. While this remix may induce shrugs from some, the tune retains the atmosphere of the original even though it’s not very audacious on its own. It’s catchy and competent enough to play back-to-back with A Mountain of One‘s version for a “Bones” megamix.

Aug 09, 2009

If the U.K. quartet known as Wild Beasts were to construct a fairy tale world it would be one of unabashed depravity and bleary-eyed night prowling. You could liken their take on female sexuality to Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s erotic reconstructions of the female leads from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan in Lost Girls.

The percussion-driven “All the King’s Men” keeps up the tradition the Kendal foursome unfurled on their promising 2008 debut, Limbo, Panto. Bassist/vocalist Tom Fleming hit it on the nose by describing “All the King’s Men” and the other tracks on sophomore effort, Two Dancers as “a series of scenes ... a big party, the street outside later on, or in a bedroom, or desperately hungry and starving to death on a distant beach.” Sounds about right. In this cut, we get a passing reference of ladies “bouncing around behind the bedroom doors,” or more specifically; “girls from Rodean / girls from Shipley / from Hounslow / girls from Whitby.”

Despite such reprobated subject matter, the group’s haunting backup vocals keep things buoyant. Fleming’s adventurous falsetto also helps too. Practical lesson learned from spending quality time with “birthing machines?” They may “drape you in jewels” but they’ll also “cut off your hair and throw out your shoes.” Man, that’s a Samson-like bummer.

The very danceable, Two Dancers is out September 8th through Domino. The band’s playing their first NYC show on that date at Joe’s Pub. It’s their first time playing in any U.S. city outside of Austin. For more tour dates bounce over here.