Brooklyn | Infinite Shuffle

October 25, 2010

48 – The Drums

Filed under: Brooklyn, D — assman41 @ 2:29 am

On the surface, the sounds emanating from The Drums’ self-titled debut full-length album are all poppy and synthy. But if you listen closely, you can definitely hear a post-punk sensibility that borrows from such forebears as The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen.

Additionally, there’s a little taste of early punk and ’50s-style surf-pop thrown in.

Released June 7, this 12-track album is perfect summertime fare. Most of the songs are fast and free and would go well while hanging out on the beach — especially the aptly titled “Let’s Go Surfing”, which briefly samples the old kids’ tune “Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop” and includes a whistling intro that calls to mind Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks”.

Not all the songs are this peppy. Toward the end, the band slows things down on “Down By the Water” and “It Will All End in Tears”. The former actually seems to channel the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B”.

In regards to the band’s background, The Drums are a four-piece from Brooklyn. Founding member and vocalist Jonathan Pierce was formerly the leader of Elkland, which put out a strong debut album (Golden) in 2005 before disbanding a year later.

The Drums have received a lot of critical praise during the past year and have been touring with several “It” bands from England. They recently toured the United States but are currently overseas.

To hear more from The Drums, visit their MySpace page or check them out at RCRD LBL and download some tracks, including my personal favorite, “I Felt Stupid”.

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June 6, 2010

30 – The National

Filed under: Brooklyn, N — assman41 @ 12:01 am

For the first few years that I was aware of The National’s existence, I constantly confused their music with that of Editors. So much so, that when I attended an Editors show in early 2008, I was a little bummed they didn’t play my favorite song. It wasn’t until a couple months later that I realized the song I was hoping for was actually by The National.

The song, by the way, is “The Apartment Story”, the second single off the band’s fourth album, Boxer.

My favorite part of the song is very brief and comes twice in the below video at the 2:50 and 3:15 marks.

Despite considering myself a big fan of The National, I didn’t realize until now that they have released five full-length albums, dating back to 2001’s self-titled debut. I was first introduced to them in 2007 with Boxer and later picked up a copy of the equally solid Alligator (2005). They also put out Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers in 2003 and just released High Violet a couple weeks ago.

Maybe my lack of knowledge is not that big of a surprise, considering The National has to be the best band out there that so few people seem to know about. I realize that their albums have received a ton of critical acclaim throughout the years and they’ve had their share of sold-out shows, but I rarely hear anyone talking about them in the way they might about such indie buzz bands as Vampire Weekend, Editors or Modest Mouse.

In fact, the most publicity the group has received in the past few years was when brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner — two-fifths of the Brooklyn-based group — helped coordinate the Dark Was the Night charity compilation album, which was released in February 2009.

As for the band’s sound, aside from the obvious Editors comparison — and Interpol, while we’re at it — the group’s influences range from Joy Division to Bruce Springsteen — at least according to Wikipedia. I’m not sure how apt The Boss comparison is, but Joy Division is spot-on.

My favorite songs all come from Boxer — including “Fake Empire”, “Start a War”, “Mistaken For Strangers” and the aforementioned “Apartment Story”.

High Violet, on the other hand, is solid throughout but doesn’t seem to have any standout tracks. It has spawned two singles so far — “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “Anyone’s Ghost”, both of which I gave 2 stars on my iTunes rating.

With any luck, a spot on this year’s Lollapalooza bill will help create even more fans for this most-deserving band.

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May 23, 2010

28 – Class Actress

Filed under: Brooklyn, C — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Whereas most of my musical discoveries come from searching websites, blogs and podcasts, I found out about Class Actress almost by chance.

I happened to be in Chicago a couple of weeks ago to see Freelance Whales and the Shout Out Louds, and I stopped by my brother’s place to drop off my gear. When I arrived, he started playing some songs by a band he’d just randomly heard while in a store earlier in the day. And so became my introduction to Class Actress.

As it turns out, I already had a track of theirs downloaded and, on my drive home from Chicago, I came across another of their songs via the “KEXP Song of the Day” podcast.

As far as my musical tastes go, Class Actress is on the fringe. They’re out there on the “might-be-a-little-too-electro-for-my-liking” periphery with such acts as The Presets, Golden Filter, Empire of the Sun and Cut Copy.

One music critic likened their sound to Madonna, Depeche Mode and Chairlift. I don’t know about the Madge comparison, but the latter two seem apt.

The group consists of vocalist Elizabeth Harper and producers Mark Richardson and Scott Rosenthal. Harper started out as a solo singer/songwriter but switched gears after hearing some of Richardson’s remixes of her songs.

The trio set up shop in Brooklyn and released a five-track EP, Journal of Ardency, on Feb. 9 on Terrible Records, the awesomely named new label run by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor.

Overall, the disc shows some definite potential, and I’m hopeful I’ll like whatever they put out next.

Here are my two favorite songs …

Class Actress – Careful What You Say

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May 2, 2010

26 – Jupiter One

Filed under: Brooklyn, J — assman41 @ 6:01 am

The versatility of Jupiter One’s sound can make for a fun listen, but it also makes it tough to pin down an apt description of the band.

They sound like a mix of a lot of popular bands, but it’s difficult to pinpoint which ones. A good place to start might be The Killers and The Bravery, with a little Bloc Party thrown in for good measure.

The indie quintet from Brooklyn is grounded in pop-rock and leans heavily on keyboards and, to a lesser extent, the synthesizer.

Their self-titled debut, which came out in 2007, is loaded with catchy tunes — many of which have found their way into a slew of television, movie, commercial and video game soundtracks.

Some of the standout songs include “Countdown”, “Fire Away”, “Turn Up the Radio”, “Mystery Man” and “Platform Moon” — that last one definitely leans toward the electro sound of such bands as Empire of the Sun, The Presets and Cut Copy.

Considering the high marks of the introductory album, I expected nothing less from the follow-up, Sunshower, which dropped last year. Unfortunately, I was left rather disappointed.

Sunshower is definitely inferior to its predecessor. It’s a mix of stuff that just doesn’t live up to the awesomeness of the debut.

Sometimes, a band’s sound will only change a little from one album to the next. Other times, the contrast is much more stark. Jupiter One (which, by the way, took their name from the ship in the ’60s TV show “Lost In Space”) definitely falls into the latter.

Part of the problem is the wide range of influences the band tries to jam into one album. One second they’re channelling The Cars and Foo Fighters, the next they’re churning out some jazzy-rock that harkens back to the ’70s.

Admittedly, after giving it a second listen, Sunshower had grown on me a little. Part of my contempt is the fact that I put the first album on such a high pedestal that there was no way the band could live up to my lofty standards.

Some of the better songs on this one were “Come On”, “Lights Go Out” and “Volcano”.

You can listen to eight tracks, covering both albums, at their MySpace page.

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March 14, 2010

19 – A Place To Bury Strangers

Filed under: Brooklyn, P — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Unlike the past couple bands I’ve reviewed, A Place To Bury Strangers might have too much going on in their songs.

The Brooklyn-based noise rock trio follows in the footsteps of such groups as Jesus and the Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Nine Inch Nails.

But on Exploding Head, the group’s second and most recent full-length album, all that distortion belies some pretty solid hooks that conjure up memories of The Cure, Joy Division and U2.

From the beginning of the first single, “In Your Heart”, you can’t help but think of Bono and the boys. Then it fades into some White Lies and Joy Division sounds. The next track, “Lost Feeling”, is something of a continuation but without the glaring U2 influence.

My favorite song, “Keep Slipping Away”, had more of the White Lies vibe, but there was also a nice mix of Cure-style guitar.

“Smile When You Smile” and the title track each use a nice keyboard beat and some faster drums to pick up the pace a bit. The latter song also has some more of that U2 and Cure feeling.

On the album’s closer, “I Lived My Life To Stand In the Shadow of Your Heart”, it might be hard to detect underneath all the distortion, but the vocals are definitely reminiscent of Morrissey.

Overall, I’m not fawning over A Place To Bury Strangers — it’s just too much noise and distortion. But I will definitely hold on to a few of their tracks.

You can hear 10 songs on their MySpace page or watch some videos and listen to a few tracks at their official website.

A Place To Bury Strangers – Keep Slipping Away

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March 7, 2010

18 – The Antlers

Filed under: A, Brooklyn — assman41 @ 12:01 am

My brother went to an Editors concert a couple weeks ago in Chicago and caught the last couple songs by the opening act, The Antlers. In addition to raving about the headliners, he said he thought I’d like their predecessor.

I’d apparently heard about The Antlers at some point last year because I had their latest album on my iTunes, and I also remember one of NPR’s critics hailing it as one of his favorites of 2009.

I figured both of those sources are generally reliable when it comes to music, so I’d give it a listen.

Then again, I guess no one’s perfect.

Last week, I complained about Beach House’s first two albums being too simple and not having enough going on. Well, if I thought they were too one-dimensional, then I guess Hospice by The Antlers must not have any dimensions at all.

The album is like one long dirge, with just the occasional uptick. I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the album’s overarching storyline — that of a hospice nurse assigned to take care of a young girl who is terminally ill with bone cancer. The fact that the life and writings of Syliva Plath are a huge influence just adds to the somber tone.

Musically, the trio from Brooklyn is in the same ilk as Beach House and Bon Iver. The Antlers share more than that with the latter artist, who, as the now popular backstory goes, holed up in a secluded cabin in Wisconsin to record his breakout hit album, For Emma, Forever Ago.

Front man, Peter Silberman, started The Antlers as a solo project, recording several albums in his New York City apartment, including one in his bathtub. But, judging from this overview, I’m not too sure it’s worth it to listen to those earlier efforts …

… self-recording a handful of albums in a kamikaze fashion — Uprooted (recorded just before and after moving in 2007), The February Tape (recorded in a bathtub in an hour), In the Attic of the Universe (a single ambient song stretched into an album), and Cold War (an album with only acoustic guitar and vocals, recorded in a week) …

As you can tell, I’m not a big fan of The Antlers. But if there’s one thing you should take from my experience it’s that you can’t always rely on what someone else thinks.

I’m not gonna waste the time, effort or server space uploading a track. Just check out their MySpace page. The single “Two” isn’t bad.

February 21, 2010

16 – Yeasayer

Filed under: Brooklyn, Y — assman41 @ 12:01 am

I’m not really sure when I first heard about Yeasayer. I know they’ve been in my periphery for the past couple years. I’d hear a song of theirs from time to time, but nothing ever grabbed my attention. I also know they were on the bill at last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, but I never saw them.

Then, within the last month or so, I heard both of their latest singles on the radio, and everything changed for me. My interest had been piqued. I thought I might’ve found an early contender of my eventual “Top 10 of ’10” list, and I had to hear more.

However, I quickly discovered the band was nothing more than a musical version of iron pyrite — you know, fool’s gold.

Yeasayer is a trio that hails from Brooklyn, and its sound is hard to pinpoint. A couple descriptions I read were “semi-experimental rock” and “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel.”

Those are probably about as accurate as anything I could come up with to label Yeasayer’s debut album, All Hour Cymbals, which came out in 2007.

But the album that got me interested in them, Odd Blood, which came out this year, might be a little bit easier to discern. Personally, the best comparison I can make is Hot Chip meets Beirut.

Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan of Hot Chip, and I’m even less interested in Beirut.

The one thing that I did enjoy was the vocals, especially on the aforementioned singles, “Ambling Alp” and “O.N.E.”

I’ll probably just end up keeping those songs on my iTunes and deleting the rest — kinda like what I did with Bat For Lashes. (Interesting sidenote, Yeasayer helped produce Bat For Lashes’ most recent album, Two Suns.)

Yeasayer – Ambling Alp

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