We'd like to give a special thanks to Garrison Reid of Indieinterviews.comfor helping us make this blog look quite a bit better. Actually, he pretty much did everything for us, and should be commended for putting up with our web design incompetence alone. He also had to deal with sending 8,000 emails back and forth in order to get this done, which was probably beyond annoying. Thanks Garrison. Check out his site to hear some quality interviews with several of the national indie darlings of the moment.
Also, the new logo was designed by a member of the WSJR crew, demonstrating that we are good at something other than being really cool and writing amazing blog posts. Cheers.
There are a lot of reasons that I don't want to write this review right now, including the fact that I am depressed over a heartbreaking, season ending Mavericks loss. But I suppose that this might actually be the best time to do it, since being depressed and heartbroken seems to compliment the sad and dreamy songs on Current Leaves' impressive debut quite well. And although my depression might be useful for writing this piece (see, I wrote a whole paragraph about it), I didn't need the Mavericks to lose in order to appreciate just how good this record is.
In an attempt to find a "theme" or something to tie this review together (other than the game), I decided to try to read as much as I could about Current Leaves, including Noah Bailey's review of Pastense for the Observer. In it, he makes several references to Gram Parsons' apparent influence on Current Leaves' sound, which was initially annoying because I had planned to write about the same thing. For some reason, the name Gram Parsons came to mind upon first hearing this record, and I figured it might be a pertinent comparison to make, even though I didn't think much about why. Luckily however, a few subsequent listens revealed that Pastense doesn't actually sound a whole hell of a lot like Parsons (at least his solo work) at all, and frankly I'm happy about that, because there are enough Parsons imitators in Texas to keep us all happy.
Current Leaves' music is certainly country influenced, but they aren't really a "country band" by any measure beyond their basic set of underlying influences. Sure, there is a good deal of lonesome highway heartache and even a few slide guitars present throughout many of their songs, but this aspect of their sound doesn't ever seem to take center stage or get in the way, as it often does with "alt country" groups that utilize their influences in an overly academic or tongue in cheek manner. Instead, Current Leaves' shimmering, 60's psyche influenced guitars (yeah yeah, I know, the Byrds) and Aaron White's confident yet fragile vocals immediately stand out and steal the show, pushing most comparisons and spot the influence games out the window. Yes, the twang is there, and those that like such things will truly enjoy the restrained and simple way in which Current Leaves present it. Those that don't really care for country, however, will likely not think too much about it once they dig into these songs a couple times, considering that they are primarily psychedelic pop tunes that merely nod in country music's general direction with a self awareness that lends them emotional depth instead of taking it away.
The album begins with two of its three strongest songs, as opener "13 Hours" sets the tone with lush, airy and bright guitar parts that float in a sea of reverb but stay bold enough carry the rhythm, while "Easy to Leave" establishes the band's ability to write instantly accessible and memorable pop songs without compromising one bit of the emotion that is found in some of their slower, less straight forward numbers. Really, "Easy to Leave" is pretty much an instant classic, with its chorus of "Its easy to leave/ but its hell to stay gone" assuring its presence in your head for days. It is the most straight forward country track on the album, but it is also the most effective because it touches on Americana without surrendering to its constraints.
Elsewhere, "Fought A Bear" recalls Pavement's "Father to a Sister of a Thought" with haunting echo slide guitars and thoughtful but controlled vocals, which reminds me: as a vocalist and lyricist, Aaron White is quite compelling if not exactly groundbreaking, with a range and tone that falls somewhere between Stephen Malkmus and Stephen Merrit, and a streak of lovesickness, regret and introspection that certainly leans more towards the latter. All of the qualities that make Current Leaves (and White) effective seem to come together almost perfectly in "Kill All Your Babies," which starts off as a dark, minimal and hollow sounding ballad but builds ever so subtly into a subdued but inspiring fortress of sad reverb and religious lyrics that instantly strikes a bittersweet chord as the album's emotional and musical center. Like many of the songs on Pastense, it is easy to listen to but never becomes boring because it isn't straight forward enough to immediately run its course.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this record is that just about anyone can enjoy it, and since Current Leaves are starting to get a little more press these days, just about anyone might actually find this out for themselves. It is a great reminder that there are in fact local bands out there that are capable of making records that are enjoyable because they are accessible, but also because they are well crafted, exciting, and artistically sound. Country, psyche, sadness, memorable lyrics, Byrds comparisons, and music that is compelling without being all that innovative. Shit, I guess it kind of does sound like Gram Parsons. And I guess I kind of sound like Noah Bailey.
After what will hopefully be a night that consists of a Mavs win and me winning free tickets to game 7 (which better happen), it might be a good idea to head over to the Cavern, either upstairs, downstairs, or both for a night cap or six.
UPSTAIRS:
The Lost Generation w/ Wanz: Always a great place to hear music that won't be played in any other bar on any other night in the metroplex, tonight's Lost Generation will feature:
" good stuff. You should come listen. No music until after the mavs game. so feel free to come early and watch the game with us. I scored a bunch of rare diplo shit and shitload of Kompakt records stuff recently. I also got a new nouvelle vogue disc with some really good cuts. We will get back to theme nights next week. I have been putting off my "all things german must be good" night. Maybe next week.If the mavs win we are gonna throw down. If they lose ..........Nick cave b-sides and rarities may be more appropriate. They better not lose. What I play tonight really depends on the crowd. If the crowd is good we will jam if it is lame like the other nights when the Mavs lost then who knows."
DOWNSTAIRS:
Sybris | Backsliders | Blonde Girls: Hmm... Sybris. I wasn't expecting much when I heard this band for the first time. I don't know why, but I think I was expecting O.C. style indie girlpop or something. And thats kind of what it is. But before you puke, you should go check out some songs on their Myspace page. If you do, there will be a certain point in time (probably within a couple minutes) that you realize that there is one indie girlpop band that you actually like, and you won't even be sure if thats what they are at all. Singer Angela Mullenhour seems to be quite the front woman, combining some of the best aspects of Bjork's range and Hope Sandoval haunt in front of a shimmering wall of noise that often appears to be bordering on out of control but never falls outside the lines of its pop oriented structure. In short, its good stuff. The DNA/ Black Eyes influenced Blonde Girls might be a pretty decent reason to show up early as well.
Gorilla vs. Bear's Chris Cantalini seems to be a pretty busy guy these days. Not only does he run one of the most highly acclaimed "tastemaker" MP3 blogs in the U.S. right now, but he recently began hosting his own SIRIUS radio show with fellow bloggers Brooklyn Vegan and Productshop NYC. He also lives here in Dallas in case you didn't know, which probably makes him, in terms of impact and influence on underground music, one of the most important figures to come out of the Dallas music scene in a very long time (although he obviously hasn't had much competition over the past decade).
We're pretty sure that you've had your fill of think pieces on the power of MP3 blogs in the music business these days, so we'll spare you. However, we thought it might be interesting to get some thoughts on the matter from one of the bigger players in the game, someone that actually sees what these blogs are and are not capable of on a daily basis. We give you 7 1/2 questions with Chris Cantalini:
I bet you probably weren't expecting this, but we wanted to ask you some questions about music blogs and their influence. Shocked? It seems that before the "blogging" age, whatever that means, the tastemakers of the underground or "indie" music industry were a small group of writers at influential publications, college radio DJs at big college stations, certain record stores, and New York trust fund kids with art degrees. Now it seems that a small group of bloggers have joined that elite group, or maybe even replaced it a bit. Do you think that blogs really have changed that much in the business? Why or why not?
I think it's still a little early to say how they've changed the business, if at all. I think one function the blogs serve is that of a filter for more traditional media. I mean, you're seeing these virtually unknown bands like Beirut, Tapes 'n Tapes, etc. showing up in the New York Times, and they never fail to mention the "blog-hype", so I guess there is some impact, I just wouldn't know how to measure it. Plus, I'm more of a fan than anything else, and my site wasn't originally designed to be some tastemaking force, so I don't really care if I change the business or not.
When did you start your blog? Why did you start it? How long did it take to build up an audience? How large is your audience today?
I started it back in March of '05 out of sheer boredom. I hated my job, so it gave me something to do at work. It took probably 6-8 months before people started paying any attention, and now I get somewhere between 5 and 6 thousand unique visitors a day, which is crazy to me.
How do you go about finding some of the bands that a lot of people are unfamiliar with? Do you seek things out, do people send you stuff, etc?
I spend a good part of my work day listening to submissions and checking out band websites, and I also read a lot of blogs. I'm pretty much tied to a computer all day for work, so it gives me something to do. Out of the stuff that makes it onto the blog, I'd say maybe 20% is sent to me, and the rest I seek out on my own.
What does it feel like to now have the ability to help launch the careers of musicians that you like?
That's such a new phenomenon with me, I haven't really decided how I feel about it yet. I mean, it's fulfilling to see bands I love getting more attention based on something I wrote, but at the same time, it makes me a slightly uncomfortable to be "attached" to these bands' success. It makes me cringe when i see terms like "blogger darlings", because that is so condescending in a way, and it just means that the backlash is inevitable. You're already seeing backlash, people saying certain bands don't live up to the blogger-hype, which is just ridiculous. Blogs are a such a personal medium. People talk about shit that resonates with them. No matter what I say I like, I'm going to get like half the people saying I'm overhyping it.
Do you have relationships with label and PR people? If so, what is the general nature of these relationships? Do these people often offer you favors in exchange for favors?
For the most part, I tend to ignore most label and PR people, just because I don't have time to wade through all the shit they send me. I pay more attention to submissions coming from the artists themselves. But yeah, I do have some relationships with a couple labels and PR people that I like and trust, and who try to send me stuff that they feel will align with my tastes. They'll send me "exclusives" or ask me to run contests, but that stuff generally tends to be crap, so I never end up using most of it.
What is the single greatest thing that has happened to you as a result of Gorilla vs Bear?
I'd have to say getting my own show on SIRIUS satellite radio, which people probably view as far more legit than just running a blog. At least to my family and friends, the fact that I've joined the ranks of Howard Stern, Mark Cuban, and Richard Simmons as SIRIUS radio personalities sort of validates what I'm doing to a small extent.
How is the satellite radio thing going? What do you hope to accomplish with your show? How did you land the gig?
The show was just sort of handed to me by one of the format managers over there. I guess he was a fan of my blog, and blogs in general, so he hooked me up, along with Brooklyn Vegan and Productshop NYC.It's been a lot of fun so far. I still sound sort of clueless on air, but I've had some bands help me out as guest DJs, which has been cool. Tapes 'n Tapes co-hosted the last show, and I got Mike Skinner of the Streets to do a couple drops for this week's show. And I'm going to hopefully be doing a couple things with some local-ish bands in the near future, like Midlake and Sound Team. I have no idea what I hope to accomplish, I haven't really thought about that yet. I guess it's basically just a real-life extension of the blog.
If musicians get laid for being musicians because musicians are cool, and bloggers play a role in deciding WHICH musicians are cool, will bloggers ever be....we already are, dude. No seriously, I know what you're getting at, and no, I've never had sex with any of the guys in Birdmonster.
As many of you know, the Strategies of Beauty Festival Vol. 1 will be going down on Saturday July 1st at Rubber Gloves, starting at 4pm ($5). Although some people seem to think that we coined the phrase "new weird Denton" to describe a noise/experimental folk "scene" that many of these bands may or may not be a part of, we actually didn't come up with it at all. Some guy (or girl) in one of the comment threads did, and I think it was a joke. But what the hell do I know?
We're not sure if there is actually one of these "scene" things in Denton, and we're also not sure if any of these bands would consider themselves a part of one if there was, but we do think that many of the bands playing this festival are part of a short list of musicians that are doing creative, exciting, and forward thinking things in the metroplex right now. Are we saying that all of them are the second coming or something? No. But we are saying that this festival will provide a good opportunity to check out a group of bands that not only sound pretty different from everything else going on in DFWd, but could also end up having a sizeable impact in the area in the not too distant future. And did we mention that a lot of them happen to be a lot of fun to listen to?
The whole thing costs five bucks, and a part of the proceeds will go to the People's Clinic of Denton County (click,) which helps provide health care to poor and uninsured residents of Denton County. There aren't too many bad things you can say about that. The festival might also be a good opportunity for likeminded fans and musicians to get together and drink, exchange ideas, meet new friends, start new musical projects, drink, etc. In short, it could be a pretty damn good way to spend a Saturday afternoon/evening. We think you should give it a try.
The following is a list of the bands playing the festival. We'll be doing profiles on some of our favorites over the next week and a half for your enjoyment:
Nothing going down in the magical land of music today. However, I would suggest using this non music non Mavs day to check out Matthew Barney's new movie staring some person called Bjork. Its playing at the Magnolia at 7 and 10 pm. Heres the preview, and here is the New York Times review (and I forgot, here is a negative review from the Village Voice, just to be Fair and Balanced:
1. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped 2. Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon 3. Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers 4. Danielson - Ships 5. Vetiver - To Find Me Gone 6. Hot Chip - The Warning 7. The Paper Chase - Now You Are One Of Us 8. Daedelus - Denied the Days Demise 9. The Theater Fire - Everybody Has a Dark Side 10. Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope 11. The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off 12. Futureheads - News and Tributes 13. Juana Molina - Son 14. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere 15. Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of Barrels 16. Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You 17. Neil Young - Living With War 18. Small Sins - Small Sins 19. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That 20. Neil Young - Heart of Gold [DVD]
Raconteurs? I can't stand it. I suppose I was once a pretty big White Stripes fan (White Blood Cells really blew me away when it came out, as well as their first two records), but I'm just pretty goddamn sick of that guy. I don't know why, other than the fact that I don't think he's released a decent song in the past three or four years.
And I gotta say: that new Sonic Youth album is pretty damn good, isn't it? Fairly short, more straight forward songs (for Sonic Youth at least), but I think they've made all the "noise" that any group of four people possibly ever could, and I'm enjoying the more mellow approach they seem to have taken for the past couple records.
