Category: Reviews

New Music: That Ghost

While researching that most recent Friday Night Videos post, I came across That Ghost.  I honestly have no idea how it happened, but I’m so glad that it did.  The music is remarkably eclectic in style and mood, but all similarly – and comfortingly – low-fi.  From the sleepy sounds of “Going Out When It’s Warm At Night” (video below) – which answers the question “Hey! What if Hope Sandoval were a boy?” – to the jangly, fuzzy, help-the-70s-have-exploded-in-my-iPod sounds of “The Red Bow” and “Never Have Fun,” That Ghost knows how to take you places.   The sounds remind me of his native California… or, rather, the California of movies and dreams.  There’s a slackness to the sound – but not the writing – that exudes the languidness that one would expect to find on some imaginary beach, as the sun drifts lazily over boys and girls at play.

You can check out That Ghost on his myspace page, or find some of his releases at Twosyllable Records.  There’s also an excellent interview/podcast over at The Bay Bridged that’s well worth checking out.  But for now, you can follow me for a couple of free tracks and a video:

Continue reading “New Music: That Ghost”

New Music: Best Coast – “When I’m With You”

If Earth Day reminds us of anything (oh, yeah, it’s Di’s birthday.  Hi, Di!), then it reminds us that every living thing needs love and sunshine.  And if we can add to that, then fun is definitely right up there on the list.  In the depths of deepest, darkest, dissertation-induced fits of alliteration and sadness, I need all three.  Thank goodness, then, for Best Coast!  Bethany Cosentino’s fuzz-driving, haze-inducing outfit from California delivers hints of lazy Summer days, and better times to come.  Surf guitars, summer breezes, and an ocean of distortion to splash around in.  What could be better, right?

So, follow me to check out a video featuring Ronald McDonald, cats, the beach, and, yes Donny, the In-N-Out Burger.  Then, check out their myspace page for more songs.  Last, if you want to know more, there’s a nice interview over at Fact Mag:

Continue reading “New Music: Best Coast – “When I’m With You””

Breathe Owl Breathe – Daytrotter Session

From Michigan, by way of Daytrotter, comes yet another triumph.  Breathe Owl Breathe is a three-piece folk/indie band comprised of Trevor Hobbs (Percussion, Piano, Toys), Micah Middaugh (Singing, Guitar, Banjo), and Andréa Moreno Beals (Singing, Cello).  Their songs instantly take me back to Michigan: to evenings where dusk drags on forever in a big sky, where the shores of lakes may as well be oceans, and where settlements pop up like afterthoughts in an otherwise “open” landscape.  The songs are playful and mystical, earthy and ethereal, and they seem to simultaneously speak of dreams and waking.  On the subject of dreams, Micah writes this about the band’s name:

The name Breathe Owl Breathe came from a dream I had. There was an owl that was cutting its way through the cold, still night. (Whoever was in charge of the cinematography of the dream—my hatʼs off to them.) It was from the perspective of just above a field mouse scurrying through blades of grass. The mouse then found a little divot in the ground, laid down on its back, and gave its last breath. The breath rose up into the sky, passing by the owlʼs beak. The owl gave a breath, turned its head, and decided to fly away. Suspended in the air, I watched the owl weave its way out of sight, flapping three flaps on one wing before switching to the other wing to do the same. I had never seen a bird fly that way. I woke up and wrote “Breathe Owl Breathe” on the windowsill with a ballpoint pen, then fell back to sleep. The pen was out of ink, so the writing (I discovered the next morning) was more of an indentation of the words into wood. I called Andréa up, she wrote down Breathe Owl Breathe, the dream came back, and we had ourselves a name.

I think Derek Barber of The Michigan Daily describes their sound best: “Breathe Owl Breathe makes music of honest curiosity: Music that confounds a listener with its relentless humility, while somehow entrancing an audience with its loveliness at the same time.”  My personal favorite of the Daytrotter tracks is “Dog Walkers,” which kind of makes me think of a marriage between Great Lake Swimmers and Evan Dando.  For me, it all comes down to this lyric: “If the light bends, friend, bend with it.  You are a fallen star.  Pick yourself up…”  There’s something that glows in this track, even as it reminds me of the rain and fog.  But maybe that’s just the Midwest?  If straight-up sunshine’s your thing, then look no further than “Birdz.”  It’s lively, warm, and just dripping with onomatopoeia.  What more could you want, right?

Follow me to have a listen.  You can also visit their page, or their myspace page, for more.

Continue reading “Breathe Owl Breathe – Daytrotter Session”

Treetop Flyers: “To Bury the Past” EP

Treetop Flyers fell right out of the blue on me.  Honestly, I’m not even sure how I found them.  But I’m really glad that I did!  I will say is that I’m beyond surprised.  I mean, just look at those guys.  Where would you say they’re from?  You might have listened to their EP (freely available for preview on Last.fm, and purchase on iTunes) – To Bury the Past – and thought, as Artrocker did in September 2009, that “They can all certainly sing and play as if they were raised on the Mississippi Delta, plucking sounds from the ether atop a dusty porch.”

Imagine how you’d feel to learn they’re from London.  Then, you can finally soak in the relief of realizing that singer Reid Morrison and drummer Tomer Danan are Americans who have come to London.  Phew!  Still, it’s the last place you’d expect to find a band that exudes so much Americana.  I mean, heck, as a prisoner student on this island, I’m still dismayed by the fact that I can’t even find any decent barbecue.  (Oh, Redbones, how I miss you!)  To find music that recalls so many of the AM/FM classics of my childhood here… well, it’s wonderful and astonishing.

Let’s get right to it, shall we?  You can read an interview with singer Reid Morrison over at The Daily Growl, and hear more on their myspace page.  I’ve put the 70s-esque “Mountain Song” after the cut, along with a live video.  Enjoy!

Continue reading “Treetop Flyers: “To Bury the Past” EP”

Message to Bears, “Departures”

Sometimes, we need a break.  As someone who is nearing the end/seventeenth fresh start of his Ph.D. thesis, this statement applies to me most of the time.  In moments like this, I like to turn to bands like The Album Leaf, Sigur Rós, and similar masters of ambiance.  But every now and again, I need something new to help me take the edge off.  Enter: Message to Bears.

Message to Bears is actually Jerome Alexander, a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from the U.K.  Those instruments, myspace tells us, are “acoustic guitars, pianos, glockenspiels, samples, drums, loop pedal, melodica, toy piano, harmonium, [and] voice.”  The result is a collection of beautiful, gentle acoustic songs that curl around you like a misty, English twilight (as I am currently experiencing one, I stand by this claim as 100% true).  The melodies evoke a sense of wistful nostalgia, and remind me of staring into a deep, night sky.

Taken from the debut album Departures (Out on Dead Pilot Records and iTunes), “At the Top of this Hill” and “Running through Woodland” evoke dramatic, melancholic landscapes.  The former, through children’s voices, recalls long-gone days of youthful innocence, and the latter conjures a forest crowned by grey clouds.  Absolutely lovely, and both very effective in their own way.

I’ve also included “Unfold” from EP 1.  To me, tracks likes this make me feel that I’ve stumbled into someone’s diary.  Even wordless, they are clearly attempts to capture very particular moods and impressions.  Just the sort of thing to help you relax by replacing your troubled thoughts with other, softer ones.  Come on in and have a listen, won’t you?

Continue reading “Message to Bears, “Departures””