Review: Peter Wolf Crier, Inter-Be

Peter Wolf Crier

Inter-Be

a solid B

Whenever I listen to this album, I imagine Peter Wolf Crier playing in a giant, abandoned old barn, in the middle of nowhere, around sunset, when the light filters in through the cracks of the walls just right so you can see the dust and specks of hay kind of swirling around. That’s exactly what this album sounds like. Cool, right? Not really, according to this graphic:

Peter Wolf Crier haven’t had it easy. They weren’t surrounded by 1000 dive bars featuring 1000 new breakout indie bands every evening to delve inspiration from, they didn’t have a 100% chance of trendy—they were surrounded by, well, Minnesota: open expanses of land, tiny little farm towns, probably a lot of cows and sometimes some trees, too. (Yes, that means no dive bars.) That puts them at about 5% chance of trendy. I know their pain! These are my people—we have to learn to think differently with these kinds of odds. And Peter Wolf Crier did—to their great success; their debut album Inter-Be has been gathering buzz for most of the last several months.

It’s hard to get anyone’s attention when you’re a guitar-and-drum indie-folk duo. There are only a bazillion other versions of you out there, grappling to the death for just one single speck of recognition. Peter Wolf Crier gets around this with a sound that’s just different enough from everyone else to be perfect—listeners are intrigued, but not so put off PWC is forever condemned to obscurity. The vocals on Inter-Be are effectively what really set the band apart—I would say lyrics, I’m a sucker for lyrics, but I can’t for the life of me understand most of them (the only word that comes through on “Crutch & Cane,” the track that immediately made it on my list of favorite songs for late March/early April, is “Zanzibar.” Well, I’ve always wanted to go to Zanzibar?). The tracks effectively sound like they were recorded in a tinny echo chamber—which doesn’t even sound that attractive, but it’s perfect. The drums and persistently strummed guitar follow in the same echoing fashion throughout. This may be a stretch, but the tracks sound like they somehow have a LOT of space in them—these are, at the end of the day, just two guys trying to throw something, anything out into the vast openness of a Minnesota plain.

Stand Out Tracks: “Crutch & Cane,” “Hard As Nails,” “Down Down Down” (I for some reason immediately think of Elliott Smith’s “Don’t Go Down”)

-- Fiona Hanly

Concert Pick of the Week: 3 Chord Comedy Night

3 Chord Comedy Night
Velvet Lounge,  Friday, June 4th
7:00 PM, $5

How long has it been since you've had a good couple of yucks? Don't  you just need to get a good yuck in there sometimes? Don't you just want to yuck all over the place, bumpin yuckies with everyone in town? This Friday get all the giggles out of your system with the help of Brian Parise, Mike Blejer, and Eli Sairs, three stand up comedians of the musical variety sure to have you laughing, singing, and probably some weird hybrid of the two.


Click Through for some videos of the stand-up to expect

Review: Mynabirds, What We Lose In the Fire We Gain in the Flood

The Mynabirds
What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood
B

The 1960s band The Mynah Birds was a Canadian R&B group who, although they never released an album, was known for featuring a surprisingly large number of big-hitters, including Neil Young, Nick St. Nicholas, and Rick James. Embracing the ‘60s group’s name as well as their adoptive attitude, singer/songwriter Laura Burhenn and producer Richard Swift began the contemporary musical project, The Mynabirds' What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood.

In the spring of 2009, Burhenn—formerly of Washington D.C.’s defunct indie duo, Georgie James—turned away from her personal losses and a worn-out style to create her own, individual feel. By compiling sounds from gospel hymns and old country harmonies, Burhenn cobbles the echoes of Carole King, Dusty Springfield, and Cat Power, imitating sounds from the past, yet through this amalgamation producing an updated musical perspective.

This all sounds complicated, but ironically what struck me most about What We Lose was the lack of superfluous sound. The best tracks on the album—Wash It Out, for example— are stripped to the bare musical bones and feel very folk-festival simple, an impressive feat given the carefully considered inspiration.

Unfortunately, despite the well-planned and researched approach to the music, The Mynabirds’ final product doesn’t quite live up to its own expectations. On first listen, some of the songs left me skipping around in hopes of a standout sound, which I never quite found. In truth, I would rather listen to the original music of most of Burhenn’s muses than to her take on them.

Like the 1960s Mynah Birds, Burhenn’s Mynabirds compile and present a huge amount of potential that is never fully realized. An intellectually intriguing, understated album, What We Lose in the Fire gives a new, but not necessarily exciting, take on a good sound and showcases what is, unquestionably, a decent amount of talent.

Recommendations: “Let The Record Show,” “Wash It Out,” “Numbers Don’t Lie”

-- Emma Forster

In Studio with Ashley Brooke Toussant

Ashley Brooke Toussant came into the WGTB studios on Saturday, May 22nd and played some songs off her EP, All Songs in English, as well as some new material. Listen below to hear her perform and tell the moving story behind the song 'And Its Yours.' Also, she tells us about why sad songs are OK, and then plays us her only love song, the charming, 'World.'


Ashley Brooke Toussant In Studio by igorgerman

Review: Nada Surf, If I Had a Hi-Fi

Nada Surf

if i had a hi-fi

B+

Don’t lie to me – I know you listened to Nada Surf in the 90’s. And you loved them. You played “Popular” so many times even your mother had to sit you down and tell you to seriously, knock it off. Or at least alternate it with the similar sounds of Weezer. Then when Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla produced their next semi-widely played album in 2002, you probably revisited them for kicks (until you realized that yeah, that album sounded like it was produced by someone who plays in a band with Ben Gibbard).

Well, two years after their last release – 2008’s Lucky, which got as much play as you think it did – the band has come out with their sixth studio album. Allow me to introduce Nada Surf’s latest album, a collection of covers ranging from Spoon to Kate Bush, by saying that its title incorporates two of my favorite things: a lack of capital letters, and a palindrome. Look! if i had a hi-fi. Isn’t it cool?

Yes, yes it is. The album itself is pretty cool as well. It is Nada Surf at their alternative rock pop-y best, upbeat and somehow cohesive despite the wide range in song choices. Each cover is very obviously homage to the people and melodies that impacted the members of Nada Surf, lovingly and thoughtfully crafted to reflect both the original and the band’s own particular sound. By doing so, it doesn’t seem so weird that Depeche Mode’s gloomy synthpop “Enjoy the Silence” and The Soft Pack’s garage rock “Bright Side” share the same track listing.

But why a cover album, and why now? That's a question that the band has apparently not decided to address, at least not yet. It's a risky move if done incorrectly - people will likely speculate that the band has run out of material, or decided to take the easy route to make a few bucks. Nada Surf doesn't seem to lean towards either of these motives, though, which is interesting in itself. This cover album feels more like the band is rediscovering its sound by examining the sounds of others that they find appealing. In my opinion, they have succeeded in doing exactly that. This sounds like Nada Surf to me, the Nada Surf that broke out in the nineties and refused to step off the stage in the years that followed. Want to know why I think I'm right? This is also the first record that the band has produced completely independently. No DCFC guitarists, no Ric Ocasek. Just three guys in their forties looking to make the music they love, and I think that's great.

if i had a hi-fi, with Matthew Caws’s smooth vocals and the familiar, not necessarily ground-breaking but still enjoyable, alternative nineties rock sound, will most likely be gracing my summer rotation more frequently than I ever expected a Nada Surf album to. Sitting by the kiddie pool in my tiny backyard, I will be able to listen to Kate Bush and Spoon re-imagined by a band from my youth without even getting up to mess with iTunes. Life – and this album – is good. Really, surprisingly good.

Tracks to look out for: "Bye Bye Beaute" (Coralie Clement) and "Love Goes On" (The Go-Betweens)

- Emily Simpson

Review: Ratatat, LP4

Ratatat
LP4
A- if you’re the twenty-something at the party upstairs
F+ if you’re the parents of the newborn sleeping downstairs

“Was wird da draus?... Was wird daraus?”

The second track of Ratatat’s latest full-length, LP4, starts out with a voiceover from what I guess must be some old German film. Let me translate…Professor Sonorous Gravely Man Voice is saying, “What will come of this?” It’s almost as if Ratatat was questioning where on earth this latest album was going, if anywhere at all. The eager listener isn’t really sure where they’re going either through these seconds of pondering, at least not until Ratatat launch into “Drugs” and fully wallop us over the head multiple times with a solid succession of tunes. Tunes, I might add, that you will be hearing at parties all summer long (“Oh my God, I LOVE Ratatat! Why aren’t we friends?”), will be remixed with the latest Miley and J-Biebz by fall, and will make it onto the next installations of Super Mash Bros and Hood Internet mixtapes several times. Take my word for it.

The general world of People Who Collectively Decide What Music Is Good And What Music Is Not (by that I mean the 500000000 music blogs currently in existence, brought to you by The Internet) decided fairly unilaterally that Ratatat’s 2008 full-length, LP3 was weak. To quote just one: "the album lacks the propulsive urgency of previous Ratatat efforts." LP3 was weak, WGTB readers. Thankfully, Ratatat learned from their mistakes, essentially they realized that everyone was still listening to “Seventeen Years” (off the self-titled album) on repeat. This album takes several paces back from the spacey, more instrumentally diverse LP3 and returns to the neat, raw, guitar-and-synth bundle of success, making LP4 sound much closer to earlier albums (Classics, Ratatat)—and thank God.

Was wird da draus? (transl: "What will come of this?") EIN TANZFEST wird daraus. (transl: "a gathering in which many people are vigorously dancing will come of this.") This album could not have been timed more perfectly: it is nothing if not a summer album. The pace never drops below effortless boogie, and will have you at full out rave at certain points. This guy knows what I’m talking about.

Stand Out tracks: "Party With Children," "Drugs," the end of "Bare Feast" when a woman’s voiceover says this: “Yeah, I used to wait for people…after school and beat ‘em up (laughs), if I didn’t like ‘em, if they were pretty, or if they smiled too much.” Me too!

-- Fiona Hanly

Review: Radio Dept., Clinging to a Scheme

The Radio Dept.
Clinging to a Scheme
A

To say one enjoys The Radio Dept.’s music pre-April 20^th 2010 would have said more about one’s taste in movies than music. Let’s be real: the The Radio Dept. was discovered by Sofia Coppola and featured on the Marie Antoinette soundtrack back in 2006. The reality, however, is that The Radio Dept. has been producing synthesized beats, breathy vocals, and ethereal melodies since the band’s conception in 1995—a whopping eleven years before they received any significant recognition!

The Radio Dept.’s third album, Clinging to a Scheme, takes the shoegaze-y band from one that relies on the popularity from various singles: “Pulling Our Weight,” “Keen on Boys,” and “I Don’t Like it Like This,” to a band that can be independent form its past success. Clinging to a Scheme is a musical success from start to finish. The record begins with a strong opening, “Domestic Scene,” which creates an atmosphere of catchy rhythms that sets the tone for the rest of the record and leads seamlessly into the second and strongest track. “Heaven’s On Fire” begins with a monologue sample from the 1992 documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke which expresses the group’s frustration with trying to break free from corporations’ chase on all that is creative and new among the youth culture. This frustration resonates throughout the rest of the album’s lyrics. While this clichéd hipster cry for help is as overplayed as a Miley Cyrus song, the band manages to bring sincerity and depth to this overarching, anti-mainstream phenomenon. “Heaven’s On Fire” is a breath of fresh air among its neighboring tracks as it is the most fast-paced and complex in terms of the dynamic differences between instruments.

If there is any room for improvement on The Radio Dept.’s best album yet, it is their potential for a more bold and daring edge to their finely tuned soft and synthesized signature. Now that they have mastered their catchy-yet-whimsical ambiance, I dare the Swedish trio to venture into a dance-y tune. It is evident that the band understands its style with three albums and several EP’s as practice, but a little challenge to progress is always welcome in music. All in all, Sofia Coppola will not be needed for listeners to realize they are “Keen on” these “Boys.”

--Charlotte Japp

Review: Kate Nash, My Best Friend is You

[Ed. note: Two A+ records in one week? It's true. These are two of my favorite releases yet this year. 2010 has been great for music!]

Kate Nash

My Best Friend is You

A+

I believe Kate Nash has had her heart broken, or very nearly so. At the very least she has come to the sentient realization that her love rests in the hands of someone else, a very dangerous emotional position—she’s been showing all her cards. Luckily for us, some of the best art has been created about this very situation, and Nash’s latest release is no exception. Instead of desperately trying to regain face, to play it cool in order to come out on top, she has opted, in typical Nash fashion, for total disclosure: even the title of My Best Friend is You admits some conscious vulnerability, as if she’s fully aware she’s putting all her eggs in this one basket.

This is a stellar work. Vulnerability suits Nash better than the snarky, whether she’s wailing “Later on I’ll cry my stupid eyes out!” on “Later On” or quietly, endearingly revealing the simple requirements of love on “I Hate Seagulls.” There’s quite a bit of variety here; she uses Regina Spektor-esque keys and verbal riffs on “Pickpocket,” while she screams like Karen O on “I Just Love You More.”
There are infinite Yeah Yeah Yeahs influences on My Best Friend is You, as well as 80’s synth, almost Bowie-style, most notably on “Later On.” She has mastered the art of constructing a song in its entirety, leaving no stone unturned, nor any part of the song too empty. The music, even without the powerful lyrics, is simply great: the orchestrated, upbeat opener “Paris” thrills with cymbal crashes and violin shrieks, while equally upbeat and delightful is “Early Christmas Present,” which merges a story of cheating and secrets with handclaps, plunky keys and ringing windchimes.

Concert Pick of the Week: Jazz in the Garden

Jazz in the Garden ft. Leslie Summey
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
Friday, May 28th
5pm-8:30pm, $Free.99
(and byob!)

With the monotony of summer starting to replace the initial euphoria, you'll probably start to seek ways to stimulate those lazy neurons in your brain, and re-broadcasts of Jersey Shore just ain't cutting it. Check out the National Gallery of Art's program, 'Jazz in the Garden' where you can go see some intellectually tickling jazz for free while enjoying a breezy glass of Sauvignon. The program highlights a different Jazz musician or band every Friday evening, and this week they kick off the season with the stylings of jazz vocalist Leslie Summey. Start your weekend off classy, so you can later justify the debauchery.

Review: The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (Reissue)

The Rolling Stones

Exile on Main St. (Deluxe Edition)

One of the Best Albums of All Time.

            Why am I writing a review for an album that was released 38 ago? The simple reason is that Universal Music Enterprises has just released a re-mastered version of The Rolling Stones’ sprawling masterpiece Exile on Main St. that includes 10 previously unreleased tracks, in what is hopefully becoming a growing trend (see Jimi Hendrix’s Valleys of Neptune). But the real reason is that this album has had such a profound impact on music, including sparking my own interest in rock n’ roll, that a review of it nearly four decades later is still relevant.

            By 1971, The Stones already boasted a couple of #1 albums, including that year’s Let It Bleed, but their commercial success was marred by a growing ‘bad boy’ image, due largely to drug problems, the fiasco at Altamont Speedway in 1969, and being forced out of England due to a large tax debt. It was in this environment, as literal exiles, that the Stones found themselves in the summer of ‘71, traveling to the south of France to record their next album. Once arriving, they continued to encounter problems and, unable to find a satisfactory studio, descended into the basement of Keith Richards’ villa to record Exile, a fitting setting for the devilish outlaws of rock. Despite Richards’ worsening heroin addiction and Jagger’s preoccupation with his newborn baby, the band was able to lay down enough material for what would become a double album, comprised of 18 tracks that would revive rock n’ roll.

Jagger and Richards in the basement of Richards’ villa, Nellcote

“It wasn't a great environment for, like, breathing”

           

The album initially received lukewarm reviews at best, and was criticized for being too long and dense. However, it has since been recognized as a masterpiece, sitting at number 7 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and serving as inspiration to musicians and fans alike. (continued after the jump!)

Concert Review: Dr. Dog

Since when did Dr. Dog become so popular? I knew that the show was sold out, but it wasn't until I walked into the main stage at the 9:30 club that I really grasped the status that Dr. Dog has acheived of late.

And what is that status? Well, its sort of a confusing one. I never really thought of Dr. Dog as 'stoner rock,' or even a 'jam band,' but maybe their self proclaimed sixties rock sound has attracted the hordes of hemp-wearing fans who draw the clumsy parallel.

Jam bands make music that is easy to listen to. Its cohesive, recognizable, and soothing to the ears. Dr. Dog's set was anything but that. They are, no matter how much playing on a big stage may mask it, a lo-fi band. But, this lo-fi quality mixed with fancy venue speakers translated into volume. Lots and lots of volume.

Dr. Dog has always been a no bullshit kind of band. Very little stage banter, short breaks in between songs (if any break at all), and zero mistakes. On a small stage, its impressive. On a big stage, its still impressive, but Dr. Dog's mechanical efficiency combined with the size of the stage, the crowd, and the polish of the production made it all a little impersonal.

To their credit, it seemed like they sent out a big 'Fuck You' to any tertiary fans who came to hear just the catchy hits from records past. Almost all of their older songs, particularly off of We All Belong bore only a passing resemblance to the originals. They're probably so sick of playing, "The Girl" that they twisted and rearranged into something new. I'm happy to see a band evolving, and think a live show should always offer something new, so I was pleased with it. But I have a feeling a lot of people left with ringing ears, some unsatisfaction, and scratching their heads.

Concert Pick of the Week: DC Record Fair

DC Record Fair
Sunday, May 23rd
The Black Cat, $2

12-6pm

This Sunday The Black Cat is hosting the annual DC Record fair for all the vinyl lovers in the district. Come indulge in the rows and rows of alphabetized crates as you search for that one find that brightens up your Sunday.


Also, there's going to be a a full service bar and food, so if you get caught with one too many Whitney Houston vinyls, blame it on the booze. And if that's not enough (I know how greedy you get) there's going to be a stellar lineup of DJ's scri-ribbit-ratching all afternoon so you can boogie as you buy.

It must be summer.

Album Review: Sleigh Bells, Treats

Sleigh Bells

Treats

8.3 Broken Ipod Headphones out of 10 Broken Ipod Headphones

I was sitting in my apartment in Edinburgh last October when I first saw Sleigh Bells as Stereogum’s artist to watch. Upon hearing ‘Crown on the Ground,’ I thought two things:

1)      What is this song that just disfigured my feeble HP speakers beyond the point of recognition?

2)      Thank you.

It seems like ever since then, Sleigh Bells had just been buzzing and buzzing (or ringing, I suppose). Perhaps even more so at Georgetown as we gave our best shot at bringing them to Bulldog Alley in the spring, only to find they were just out of our reach. What was especially weird about all this buzz though, was that we had all only heard four songs on their Myspace. There was no EP, there was just this rumor of a soon-to-be album. So, when it dropped nearly seven months later, we were all expecting a debut of Snoop Dogg proportions. 

WWYC of the Week

You know what? This one probably toes the line between sad and funny pretty closely. But I don't care, because I'm sad. And I want you to be sad too. I've watched too many suns cross the sky from the inside of Healy 105. I've made too many footnotes, created too many citation pages, and watched too many friends crumble in the face of final exams. The party don't start till you walk in? Is that so, TheSingingMuppet? Are you sure? Chat rooms don't count as parties.



Next up for TheSingingMuppet: wakes up in the morning feeling like herself. And goes back to bed.

Review: Rachael Sage, Delancey Street

Rachael Sage

Delancey Street

C

I hate to take an artist down. Clearly Rachael Sage put a huge amount of effort and emotion and all that good stuff into her new album, Delancey Street. The songs express some nice sentiments about “The Choreography of Love” and “learning how to fly” and whatnot. I mean, we can all relate to the kinds of emotions she sings about; love, heartbreak, etc. My favorite part of the album is Sage’s cover of Hall and Oates’ “Rich Girl,” which is just a great song in the first place. Sage provides us with an interesting female perspective on this song. I suppose. I mean…I think. Alright…I give up. I hate this album, and I can’t think of anything nice to say about it anymore. This is the most boring album I have ever listened to. Every song sounds exactly the same. It sounds like a corny Lifetime movie…the kind you watch with your mom while eating ice cream out of the carton… the kind you wonder why you started watching it in the first place. It’s full of super boring, lite-fm-station-type crap. If you dig this kind of stuff…as in, if you dig the kind of music my mom probably listens to while knitting, then pick up this album. And by that I mean, don’t bother.

-- Elena Solli
Host, "Fun Dip and Cherry Coke," Thursdays 10 pm - 12 AM on WGTB

Artist of the Week: Onward Soldiers

It was Christian who first posed the inevitable question during our office hours last week: "So when are we going to stop doing this folksy stuff for Artist of the Week?"

It seems we may have painted ourselves into a corner in past weeks, with AoTW's like Chris Riffle, Avi Buffalo, and The Films, but even Christian, probably the least folk-inclined of your three loyal Music Directors here at WGTB, instantly liked Onward, Soldiers upon hearing it.

Sounding like a fusion of Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and Deer Tick, with undeniable comparisons to their North Carolina neighbors the Avett Brothers, Onward, Soldiers have a distinct breed of edgy Americana that is at once pleasant and intriguing. Plus, they're still playing mostly locally, so you can say "you knew them when."

Listen to "Let the Time Roll By" below, off their new record just released in March.

Review: Unnatural Helpers, Cracked Love & Other Drugs

Unnatural Helpers

Cracked Love & Other Drugs

B

Unnatural Helpers have achieved one of my favorite things about the late Jay Reatard: His ability to record songs that were both very short and very sweet, while maintaining a very unique identity with unmistakable hooks that manage to give each song its own personality.
Cracked Love & Other Drugs opens up with a bang: “I Don’t Belong To You” leads the way for the rest of the album, immediately followed up by the album’s highlight, “Sunshine/Pretty Girls.” This album is very raw and shameless. It comes up to you whether you like it or not, and
more than likely, you will find this an album worth listening to and going back to. The strong vocals and buzzing guitar make this a garage-punk/rock album that stays true to the genre’s ethos. It is a raw, and it fucking rocks. There is definitely room for these guys to mature, but the future looks very bright.

-- Enrique Lemus

"Moose Tracks," Mondays 10-11 pm on WGTB

TWIMH: Saturday Night Fever

Blast from the Past: This Week in Music History

Brought to you by Alexa West
Cohost of ROANOKE, Mondays 12am-2am on WGTB

            Bell-bottoms, white suits, and slicked hair—how could anyone forget the disco madness of the 1970s. Poster child for the movement was John Travolta, for his role as disco master Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. This week in music history—May 5^th 1978 to be more precise—the soundtrack for SNF, which had seven Bee Gees songs on it, started its 18-week run as number 1 on the US charts. The album, with hits like Stayin’ Alive and How Deep is Your Love went on to sell over 30 million copies. Midnight Mug would be bare without the disco ball that towers over the baristas, giving them groovy vibes that pervade the entire Georgetown campus. Students everywhere enjoy disco-themed parties and grooving on the dance floor, but most of all, we wonder: how did they get their voices so high?

To boogie down with the Bee Gees, see below:

Our Top 30 Albums of the Week

 Below, our final weekly charts for the spring semester. Let us know what you think!

1    BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE    Forgiveness Rock Record    Arts And Crafts
2    DR. DOG    Shame, Shame    Anti
3    AVI BUFFALO    Avi Buffalo    SUB POP
4    TALLEST MAN ON EARTH    The Wild Hunt    Dead Oceans
5    PHOSPHORESCENT    Here's To Taking It Easy    Dead Oceans
6    RADIO DEPT.    Clinging To A Scheme    Labrador
7    KATE NASH    My Best Friend Is You    Interscope
8    HAPPY BIRTHDAY    Happy Birthday    Sub Pop
9    BROKEN BELLS    Broken Bells    Columbia
10    COMMUNIST DAUGHTER    Soundtrack To The End    Grain Belt
11    HOLD STEADY    Heaven Is Whenever    Vagrant
12    DUM DUM GIRLS    I Will Be    Sub Pop
13    INLETS    Inther Arbiter    Twosyllable
14    BOOKA SHADE    More!    Get Physical
15    WOODEN SHJIPS    Vol. 2    Sick Thirst
16    MATT POND PA    The Dark Leaves    Altitude
17    DAVID BYRNE AND FATBOY SLIM    Here Lies Love    Nonesuch
18    LIARS    Sisterworld    Mute
19    TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB    Tourist History    Glassnote
20    ONWARD, SOLDIERS    Ghosts In This Town    Winoca
21    MAR    Silence   
22    GORILLAZ    Plastic Beach    Virgin
23    THE FALL    Your Future Our Clutter    Domino
24    RERUNNER    On Three...   
25    DELOREAN    Subiza    True Panther Sounds
26    POLAROID FAME    We Live Your Life   
27    LOVE IS ALL    Two Thousand And Ten Injuries    Polyvinyl
28    FRIGHTENED RABBIT    The Winter Of Mixed Drinks    Fat Cat
29    SHE AND HIM    Volume Two    Merge
30    SALTEENS    Moths    Boompa!

Review: Rerunner, On Three...

ReRunner

On Three…

A-

These days, a lot of people think that any guy with a Mac and a mop of straggly hair can rip off his sweaty t-shirt and make good electronic music. If the influx of GarageBand “musicians” has shown us anything, though, it’s that this is far from the case. It is not enough for some dude to lay down a beat and mess around with a synthesizer; electronica/dance music has to fulfill the same standards of integrity to which other genres are held in order to count, I think, as worthwhile music. ReRunner’s On Three… meets, if not exceeds, these expectations.

In only four tracks, ReRunner creates catchy, intricate melodies conducive to both dancing and hipster head bopping. With sound clips from Michael Anderson’s 1976 sci-fi movie Logan’s Run, a subtly‘80s dance mix vibe, and a variety of cyclical electronic beats, all four songs meld together into a cohesive and techno-party worthy album. ReRunner’s success lies in that they don’t simply mash these features up into an incomprehensible jumble, but instead organize them into well-conceived, comprehensive songs. None of the tracks are exceptionally memorable in their own right, but together they demonstrate that ReRunner brings its own flavor to the electronica scene and shows promise for quality jams to come.

Recommendations: “Last Day” (the one with Michael York breathlessly repeating, “Look…I’m a runner!”)

-- Emma Forster
"Regional Rotations,"  Wednesdays 2-4 pm on WGTB

Artist of the Week: Donora + Free MP3

Like their pop peers and touring partners the Ting Tings, Donora makes twee-leaning boy-girl dance music, equally suitable for a sunny day drive or summer night bonfire. The band consists of two Jakes and one Casey, making catchy, playful light tunes that place Casey's ethereal vocals at the forefront.

Signed now with Rostrum Records, they had a big hit when their song "Shh" was featured on a Post Secret Valentine's Day viral video.

For one week only, the band was nice enough to give us an MP3 of their song "Shak'ida" to give away here, so download it below ASAP!

"Shak'ida" MP3

Concert Pick of the Week: Long Walks on the Beach

Ok. So you've followed our advice all semester. We've taken you to all the hot spots. We've nudged you towards DC9, The Black Cat, and most of the other popular spots in DC for music. Now- follow us into a warehouse. This Saturday, May 8th, Newdust.com is sponsoring a DIY concert for DC hipsters. The headliner is the humbly infectious Long Walks on the Beach. Front man Fritz Kramer has been in DC for two years and lived the quintessential bedroom-pop story, but is coming out this Saturday for the metaPhysical single release party. He'll be joined by Delicate Steve and Midnight Kids. The best part is, its all happening at Paper Sun, a warehouse venue in Columbia Heights. Check out some of LWOTB's tracks and find details for the show below.




I Didn't Want To Make OutbyLong Walks On The Beach

When: Saturday, May 8th, 7:00 pm
Where: Paper Sun, a warehouse venue in Columbia Heights, off Monroe St. in the alley between 13th and 11th St.    
Map: http://tiny.cc/PAPERSUN
How Much: $5 

Review: Phosphorescent, Here's To Taking It Easy

 Phosphorescent

Here's To Taking it Easy

B

Matthew Houck is good at parentheses. I mean this both literally and figuratively; his enticing song titles frequently feature them, as in “It’s Hard to be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)” and “Tell Me Baby (Have You Had Enough)” on this album as well as the expansive and charming “I Am A Full-Grown Man (I Will Lay in the Grass All Day)” on 2005’s Aw Come Aw Wry. But it’s a useful metaphor for explaining his music; on the surface, most basically, you get gentle, rustic folk songs grounded with pedal steel and heavy instrumentation, but his best lines and subtle emotion peeks out just barely, almost as an afterthought. Similarly, he’s become an unofficial Spokesman For The Well-Done Cover, slipping them unannounced into his various albums and making a splash with 2009’s To Willie, a resplendent and perfectly-arranged collection of Willie Nelson covers styled after Nelson’s own tribute to Lefty Frizell, To Lefty From Willie.

To Willie was a gorgeous album on its own; it seems like almost a coincidence that the songs happen to be covers. In some ways, the critical success of To Willie makes a review of his follow-up album, Here’s to Taking it Easy, difficult; it’s an odd position to be an extremely talented and intuitive band that makes better covers than originals. Unfortunately, that seems to be the parentheses faintly circling this newest release. (cont'd after the jump)

Review: Walter Schreifels, An Open Letter to the Scene

 Walter Schreifels
An Open Letter to the Scene
B 

While initially listening to An Open Letter to the Scene, an album I assumed to be some unknown artist’s debut, all I did was compare it to things I already knew, try to place it in someone else’s terms. However, the musician behind said letter, Walter Schreifels, is certainly anything but an unknown, he is an established fixture in music. 

Schreifels was heavily involved in New York’s hardcore scene during the 80’s, (notably in Gorilla Biscuits). His latest album is as much a reflective tribute as it is an introduction to a whole new Schreifels. In An Open Letter to the Scene, he has progressed all the way into indie-rock-with-a-dash-of-folk. Instrumentally, the album is simple, stripped down: each track’s sound centers on four briskly strummed acoustic guitar chords backed by drums, two-part harmony male vocals, only occasionally does one hear other instruments. 

Now take note of the title. What is an open letter’s function? In the title track “Open Letter,” Schreifels sings “Don’t forget the struggle, don’t forget the streets, don’t send out an open letter to the scene.” BUT, even though those lyrics may suggest the opposite, this album really is an open letter, a “hey, guys, here’s what I think, I’m forty years old and here’s where I’ve come, take it or leave it, this is me.” I’ll take it.

Recommended Tracks: “Arthur Lee’s Lullaby,” “Open Letter”

-- Fiona Hanly

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