Far-Out Fangtooth is one of those bands that does garage with a hint of rockabilly, something that you might not initially notice by listening to their recordings on MySpace. Even the way the four of them were dressed highlighted their distinctive sound. One guitarist sported jet-black hair, a ripped jean jacket, tight jeans, black boots. The other wore a simple white shirt-blue jean combo and had the look of pre-fame Kings of Leon. Their female bassist was tiny and punkish, but also quite sweet, and spent most of the set sitting quietly off to the side. On drums was perhaps the most interestingly dressed guy of the bunch, wearing a shaman-poncho looking thing with complete normalcy. For their first show at KFN, Fangtooth were loud, confident, and unabashedly proud of what they were doing. Everyone noticed, too. Fun fact – they stuck around after the show for weekly resident DJ gig Night Train to spin a set, which they started out with Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” Yep. 
(photo courtesy Music Underfire)
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Crystal Castles
Wakey! Wakey! with The Spring Standards and Chris Cubeta
A listener new to the Spring Standards wouldn’t quite know what to expect. The glockenspiel, tom, synth, organ, keys, computer and electric feel emanating from Heather’s spot would presuppose the bouncy, edgy spunk of a Ra Ra Rasputin show; indeed Ken Quam of Ra Ra was in the audience. But as the Spring Standards launched into their opening few songs, especially Skyline, scenic with clanging cymbals, suspended vocals and patient dynamics, the Standards established their unique sound—as if She & Him and the Swell Season invited the cautiously obliging White Stripes to afternoon tea.
The MoondoggiesThe Moondoggies are a four-piece band from Seattle, Washington who blend blues, soul, rock, and country to create an infectious sound that radiates with whiskey-soaked Americana. Their music is fresh, but familiar, harkening back to the woodsy, psychedelic sounds of greats like The Grateful Dead and The Band, while sharing elements with fellow west coasters Fleet Foxes and The Donkeys, namely soft harmonies and laid back guitars, but a bit rougher around the edges. The Moondoggies effortlessly combine all of these different components, comfortably living in a nearly unclassifiable genre (at least not without using multiple hyphens) with a sound that lies somewhere between the west coast and the south, classic rock and modern folk. There’s something endearing about these long-haired, bearded guys and the music they make, or maybe it’s the name.
Their debut album, Don’t Be a Stranger, provided a handful of great tracks, including “Black Shoe,” “Ain’t No Lord,” and “Bogachiel Rain Blues,” and garnered them some attention from the blogosphere. Their new EP, You’ll Find No Answers Here, has more of what made that album a success - hook-heavy tunes backed by warm three-part harmonies, jangly guitars, and a Rhodes organ. The EP opens with “It’s Hard to Love Someone,” an upbeat country boogie whose piano melody and sing-along harmonies juxtapose its lyrical content about the trials and tribulations of love. From there, the music slows down, aligning with the overall melancholic mood of the lyrics, as dreary vocals and a softly plucked acoustic guitar serve as the only instrumentation on “Just Makes Sense to Me.” The third track, “Down the River,” is a departure from The Moondoggies’ traditional sound, but it works beautifully, and may be the EP’s best cut. Substituting the three-part harmonies for a female backing vocal adds a lovely dichotomy that mirrors the lyrical theme of unrequited love. The Moondoggies pick things up again and return to their bread and butter (see above) with “Sad and Lonely.” Finally, they close out the five-song EP with “Fly Mama Fly,” which poetically connects the themes established in the previous four songs over cascading guitars and vocal harmonies, telling us we’ll “find no answers here.” The EP lacks the same catchiness as the promising debut, but it seems to show more maturity and growth as songwriters, and is a tenderly crafted concept album that focuses on the pains of love. Oh, and these were just five songs that “didn’t make it onto their next proper studio” album, Tidelands, due out September 14.
Note: Catch The Moondoggies on tour with fellow Seattle band Blitzen Trapper.
-- Jared Iversen
Jamie LidellSometimes it’s all too tempting to pigeonhole the beardy and bespectacled gentlemen of alternative music. Each crafting his own brand of the thinking man’s pop song. All crooning those literary lyrics. But despite blending in inconspicuously with his contemporaries, Jamie Lidell’s sound stands out, sitting more comfortably among the likes of Stevie Wonder and Sly & The Family Stone. It’s clear from the video for “The Ring,” the single from his newest release, Compass, that Jamie has a lot of soul. Or perhaps that he has a lot of sand in his pants. Maybe both. That being said, his manic twitches and convulsions are not at all ill suited to the feel of Compass as a whole. All written and recorded in a few frantic fell swoops, Compass plays like an album that was, well... all written and recorded in a few frantic fell swoops. Coasting in on the tailwinds of his collaboration with Beck, Wilco and Feist on the Record Club’s recreation of Skip Spencer’s Oar, Lidell’s work on Compass draws from the same manic, experimental energy with many of the same players contributing. And as with most things done with manic, experimental energy, the results on the album are exciting, if inconsistent.
Far from the middle-of-the-road, polished soul of 2008’s JIM, Compass pulls hard in every direction. The title track encapsulates the spirit of the album, morphing from spacey and delicate to beat-heavy and dissonant and back again. From the weightlessness of “You See My Light” to the even, summery Jackson 5 sound of “Enough Is Enough” to the heavy junkyard funk of “Your Sweet Boom” (which might give Bret from Flight of the Conchords a run for his money for the title of The Boom King), the album runs the sonic gamut. Occasionally, Lidell’s nervous, deconstructed soul energy strikes gold on tracks like “Completely Exposed” or “Coma Chameleon” (Boy George, anyone? I’m sorry. He made that too easy). On the other hand, it occasionally misfires in 80s slow jam duds like “She Needs Me” or “It’s A Kiss." And following his musical compass in the millionth direction it points him, Lidell also finds himself in new, vulnerable vocal territory. If it’s possible to pinpoint the place where Beck’s influence as producer and collaborator is felt most, the heavy, desert dirge of “Big Drift” could make a good case, calling to mind the best of the hollow rawness and sorrow of Sea Change.
This is a fairly unrefined peek into Jamie Lidell’s artistic mind, which by all accounts sounds like a weird and chaotic but undeniably funky place—a place where one might reasonably spend a good amount of time squirming about in the sand shouting “There’s a rhythm to his madness!” And I’d have to agree with flailing beach Jamie. While it won’t be remembered as the album where it all came together, Compass certainly points Lidell's sound in what looks like a promising direction.
Recommended Tracks: “The Ring,” “Big Drift,” “Completely Exposed,” “Your Sweet Boom,” “Gypsy Blood”
-- Catherine DeGennaro
Last Wednesday in Atlanta Caroline Klibanoff sat down with The Moondoggies before they headed to Bonnaroo and DC tonight. The interview is a bit noisy, but the friendly Seattle four-piece opened up about heir break from the local Seattle scene, the music they grew up on, improving their stage banter and of course the inevitable animal-fighting WGTB question of 2010.
-- Caroline Klibanoff
Sage Francis
But those rare times when it seemed like too much, mostly early in the performance, were quickly counter-balanced by the pair returning to the center and performing one of their more reflective, slower songs under two sole spot-lights. It was these moments when through squinted eyes you saw a glimpse of Simon & Garfunkel- an influence overtly referenced later when, along with bearded openers ‘Franklin for Short’, they got the crowd swaying to an excellent cover of Paul Simon’s ‘Bodyguard’. Another encore later and they hadn’t stopped giving after more than an hour and a half on stage- Øye stuck around to do another 2hour DJ-set in the basement. Whilst most (including myself) bailed to get some zed’s before work in the morning, it was difficult to leave without thinking that the effortless affection and enthusiasm that animated the performance wasn’t feigned after all- perhaps these guys truly do thrive on treating their fans like kings. Four months late? The Kings of Convenience almost made it seem better that way.
Pearly Gate Music
Zach Tillman’s self-titled debut into the folk scene did not strike a chord with me—but the name, the name did. Zach Tillman is Joshua Tillman’s brother. Most recognizably a member of the folk darlings Fleet Foxes, Joshua has also been a member of several other groups and has released prolifically as a solo artist. Big brother Joshua, little brother Zach, meet WGTB. To be completely honest, it is unclear which brother is the older and which is the younger—however, several clues, including each brother’s respective time spent being a presence in the indie folk scene, and especially the raw, even unpolished sound of this album itself, indicate Pearly Gate Music is very much Zach’s little-brother-debut.
Musically the two brothers are unsurprisingly related—their voices sound very much alike (smooth and sweet and wonderful), yet Joshua focuses more on harmonies, while Zach showcases his voice bouncing off the walls of his songs on its own. However, at this point, the brothers diverge—Joshua’s solo work is closer to classic indie folk ballads, while Zach’s is…a little stranger, a little less recognizable. Zach’s set of songs in this solo release are hard even to define, let alone judge, because within each song it seems like there are three or four songs, with only a set of lyrics in common. Little Brother’s tempo picks up, slows down, several instruments come blaring in, die out again, leaving the listener at least utterly confused, if not a tad bit disappointed that the album is not more rounded out à la Big Brother. “Gossamer Hair” and “Oh What a Time,” albeit two of the album’s stand-out tracks, also perfectly showcase this lack of musical continuity—it is much like carrying on a conversation with someone who hasn’t quite figured out how to carry one on yet, and pauses for so long you’re unsure if it is your turn to speak, then raises and lowers his volume so frequently and abruptly you’re unsure whether to follow in turn or just end the conversation entirely. And yes, while Zach may have grown up with music in his blood, playing in his big brother’s bands, maybe he too hasn’t quite figured “it” out yet. HOWEVER. All else aside, this fresh, continually echoing album does show scores of unharnessed potential, so don’t shelve away the Tillman name quite yet—perhaps a traveling family band is in the works? There's always something we can learn from our older sibling––I should know, I am one.
-- Fiona Hanly
Deer Tick
Rhode Island’s contribution to the budding alt-country genre, Deer Tick, came to my attention a year ago when I heard “Easy” on Seattle’s KEXP radio, and from that point on I had to have more. More raucous southern rock-inspired guitar riffs. More gritty vocals and Let-me-tell-you-about-having-
When I saw them in concert last fall at the Black Cat, I loved hearing all my favorite tracks from the first LP, War Elephant, and the following LP, Born on Flag Day. Still, their wild, rock & roll performance complete with a few forgotten verses and sloppy stage presence after a few too many drinks had me worried the band wouldn’t make it to album 3 for one reason or another.
I’m happy to say they made it. Oh, they made it. With a packed tour schedule and a more emotionally complex and well-produced, well-written album to show for it. The main change I see on The Black Dirt Sessions (named for the New York Studio where the band recorded) is that a majority of the songs are more overtly sad or bitter in sentiment compared to previous albums. Tracks like “Goodbye, Dear Friend” and the duet “Sad Sun” are perfect examples and the former is one of the few on this album featuring McCauley playing slow tempo, melodious piano and it pairs nicely with his rough and raw voice. They’re great songs and very sincere, but I preferred some of the more fun tracks from earlier albums.
The songs I like best on this album are the few up-tempo ones. What can I say? I like music that makes me want to dance. The track, “Mange,” begs to be used in some kick-ass movie ending. It’s definitely my favorite off this album with lots of attitude and many more instruments and layers than their earlier stuff. Sometimes when you see bands bringing in a whole bunch of “new sounds” it ends up sounding sloppy and overdone, but I think Deer Tick really shines on the tracks where they’ve taken some risks. “Twenty Miles” also stands out with an infectious beat and bass-line that makes you want to tap along.
The album ends with a new version of “Christ Jesus” from War Elephant. On that first album, it was my absolute least favorite track. This time, it’s one of the strongest songs – raw, more emotional, and pleading rather than angry shouting with a string section and piano changing the tone entirely. To me, ending with this song is a symbol of how the band will always carry the same spirit, but it also says, “Don’t pigeon-hole us (coughcough*Pitchfork*
Recommended Tracks: “Mange,” “Twenty Miles,” “I Will Not Be Myself”
Moscow @ 3 AM
B
The new album, featuring music by Nick Levinovsky(who also conducts the band) from Russian saxophonist Igor Butman’s Big Band is interestingly titled: Moscow @ 3 AM. It starts out with a dark vamp on the first song, “Russian Passion,” which makes one think of a late night in Moscow. However, once it gets going this song really grooves, featuring at different times, the trombone, trumpet, and sax sections. Maybe this was just the fact that I was playing it on iTunes, but one can barely hear the piano when the entire band is playing, and as a piano player, that disturbs me. Butman doesn’t wait to bring out the biggest star on this album, Wynton Marsalis, featuring him with a solo on the very first tune. Marsalis provides his usual clean, controlled playing, but this is one of the few times in recent years I’ve heard him playing what most people would consider modern jazz, and he is not at all out of place on this track. The flute playing of Oleg Grymov, Constantin Safyanov, and Alexander Dovgopoly is a highlight of the second track, “That’s All,” a slow, thoughtful composition. Safyanov also takes an alto sax solo on the tune. One would have expected Marsalis to appear on the tune whose title relates it to New Orleans. In reality, “Dirty Dozen” is a mellow, rhythmically interesting tune that features running lines from the sax section over top of a rhythm section vamp. Perhaps what I expected “Dirty Dozen” to sound like is the start of the next track, “Nevalyashki,” which has a dissonant funk intro, but melds into a medium swing, intermingled with moments that have a shuffle feel. This song features Eduard Zizak on drums with a solo that starts out in swing before bringing the band back in with a shuffle feel, and then transitioning to the funk feel from the intro. The band’s version of Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Take the ‘A’ Train” starts with a sparse, but swinging solo from Anton Baronin on piano, and has a flute/trumpet soli before the trombones bring in the rhythmically-altered melody. Special guest Wynton Marsalis returns to his comfort zone with an old-school trumpet solo on the tune made famous by Duke Ellington. While nothing is super special about this arrangement of the standard, it does fit the qualifications for a swingin’ version. “The Bells Rung in Novgorod” shares nothing of the bland qualities of the Soviet era, but was distinctly influenced by the compositions of the great bassist, Charles Mingus and sounds similar to Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints”. Dmitry Mospan channels his inner Coltrane on a soprano sax solo that makes this tune come alive. The latin-flavored “We’ll Be Back” provides a nice interlude in the mix of some great modern jazz out of the Shorter, Hancock, Hubbard school, and also features Marsalis for the final time. The latin trend continues with the title track “Moscow @ 3 AM,” which sounds nothing like what Moscow would be like at 3 AM, but is otherwise a delightful song. To close the album, a sarcastic trumpet fanfare begins “Little Finale”. Overall, this album is nothing spectacular, but showcases the clear talent of Nick Levinovsky, while putting the spotlight on some seriously talented Russian jazz musicians. Butman steps back well, to allow Marsalis, and others, specifically the sax section of his band, to shine.
The Black Keys
