Will 2008-9 be looked back on as the years that indie rock got good at writing pop music? Considering songs like ‘Two Weeks’ by Grizzly Bear and ‘Stillness Is The Move’ by The Dirty Projectors, the perfect summer album (to these ears) Phoenix released, and oh yeah, MGMT, it’s not a hard argument to make. If so, then Tigercity will be joining some pretty esteemed company when they release their first LP, “Ancient Lover,” later this fall.
The comparisons to bands like Hall & Oates, BeeGee’s, or Prince are inevitable, but “Ancient Lover” opens up with a falsetto-ed set of pop-eyed tunes that after one listen are unmistakably Tigercity’s own. The first song on the album and first single, “Fake Gold” has been heating up recession friendly house parties all summer long. It’s burning, slow motion stomp, highlighted with Joel Ford’s taught disco bass snap, is nearly impossible to not tap some free-wheeling body part to – right up until the chorus which proclaims “It’s! Fake! Gold!” to well-placed synth stabs, that steal the thunder from any cowbell still hanging around from the early 00’s indie dance hangover.
From there, the next few songs take the same form and build tight, minimal pop jems fronted by Bill Gillim’s controlled, and frankly, perfectly pitched vocals. As the album continues, the level of fun starts charting a little lower than the first four stand outs, but that’s not to say the quality of the songs really goes down. Tigercity knows what a well-crafted song is and delivers on that promise, it’s just the mood got a little darker – or the night got a little later, everyone’s worn out from dancing and the neighbors are bombing the party with water balloons - so the crowd returns to ‘the comfort mistaken for love,’ like Gillim does in ‘Red Lips.’
‘Ancient Lover’ is hitting at the right time and could be a stand out fall album in a year where pop has been a welcome trend in the indie rock landscape. If this had come out a couple of years ago, it might have been seen as a bunch of Brooklyn dudes ironically ripping off trends from the late 70’s/ early 80’s that hadn’t been mined by their contemporaries. This would have been a shame, of course, because Tigercity has the chops to make the kind of music that fits Gillim’s range and our own ‘09 pop state of mind.
The White Lies played Toronto’s Phoenix Theatre September 26th.
It was an odd 6pm start as they had to clear out by 9pm to make the phoenix available for local alternative rock station 102.1′s live to air Saturday night. The show ended at 830pm. Lame. Regardless of the early end, the crowd loved Harry McVeigh, Charles Cave, and Jack Lawrence-Brown. No lie, hips were swaying, hands were clapping, voices were singing, and the bodies kept on surfing.
They played a choice cover of Portishead’s “The Rip”. McVeigh’s voice doesn’t have the tremor of Beth Gibbons, it was still brilliant. Their devoted fans sang with heads tilted back to all the songs, not just the hits. The fans were running rapid. Bodies were being raised in the pit during tender moments when the only thing raised should have been their lighters.
Comparisons of White Lies’ sound (unendorsed by the group themselves) have been drawn to the editors, the killers, interpol, or joy division… disputer or not, they rocked.
The ever so stunning Audrey Tatou dazzles in Coco Before Chanel, The film follows the fashion icon from her humble beginnings in an orphanage to her stint as a cabaret singer in France, to her friendship with Étienne Balsan, the man who takes Coco under his wing and introduces her to a world of wealth and leisure. The more Coco was exposed to the fashion of the rich women the more disgusted she became, and the more motivated she was to create her own designs.
Coco Before Chanel was inspiring through a solemn perspective of life in the early twentieth century. It was fascinating to see how the most influential woman in fashion came to create some of the most timeless looks that women still wear today. Those classic pieces that should be a part of every woman’s wardrobe, the little black dress, the white button up blouse, the stripped T, the perfect tailored suit jacket, came from the lady who once told Harper’s Bazaar “simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.”
Christopher Owens and Chet JR White have created what some call the greatest debut album of the year. Girls is pretty far off the grid, but not for long their album Album is incredible. Check these guys out, they are coming to the NYC in November.
The pull of irrational behavior is like gravity… you can jump up but almost as soon as you have left the ground you are back down again. It is in our human nature to be swayed by our subconscious, so much so that some times it is nearly impossible to choose the rational choice.
A Harvard Professor offers some of his MBA students a 20 dollar bill for auction on the first day of class. Everyone in the class is allowed to bid for the 20 dollar bill, all bids have to be more than 1 dollar, the winner of the bid wins the twenty but the runner-up has to pay up his or her last bid. At first the students jump at the opportunity to win a twenty dollar bill at a cheap price, when the bids reach double digits the hands start to dwindle leaving two students with the highest bids in the class to make the decision, do they continue? Without fail the students continue to bid well over twenty dollars, rationally it would make more sense to stop the bidding before they reach twenty dollars and suffer the loss but the students get caught up in the moment and the loss of their money. The highest bidding war the Professor has ever seen is $204 dollars, no matter who participates in this experiment (business executives or students) the participants are always swayed. It sounds ridiculous from an outsider point of view but in the moment you and I might fall to the same trap.
Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman, authors of Sway, have attempted, and quite successfully so, to bring the various subconcious pulls toward irrationaly behaviors to light. This well written, incredibly informative book encourages you to think twice before making a decision, to not attribute value to something prematurely, and clears up questionable behaviors. I want to read this book again which is why I encourage you to pick up Sway at your local bookstore. Take a peek into the human psyche, who knows maybe it will talk you out of making a horrible decision in the nearest of futures.
Due out this November is A Grave With No Noise‘s first ever full length record, Mountain Debris. These London noise makers ride on waves made of white noise and processed beats. The mates, Alex Shields, (bassist) Tom King and (guitarist) Anupa Madawela make tunes that push the boundaries of what is to be considered music.
This is your last week to go see over 20 off broadway shows for only 20 dollars! Just show up to the box office 20 minutes before show time, this is your only chance to see shows like Fuerza Bruta for only 20 bucks. 20 at 20 ends this Sunday September, 20th.
Mercedes Benz Spring 2010 Fashion week is in full swing and yesterday morning Georges Chakra blew it out of the water. His Spring 2010 Ready To Wear collection made it very clear why his gowns are red carpet favorites. Elegance with a modern edge strutted down the runway and the finale dress was incredible with a long black multi-layered tulle skirt cascading over a short black jumpsuit. Take a look at a bit of his collection.
The driving force behind Florence + The Machine is the drums. Powerful heart beats that wisk the songs along their path. The fantastical lyrics and hard hitting beats are contagious, Florence Welch (lead singer, creator and only permanent member of Florence + the Machine) has created magic. The art school drop out,who was discovered whilst singing (drunk) motown covers in a nightclub bathroom, has created a lot of buzz in the UK and is just now starting to get attention here in the States. Lungs, released last July, is packed with brilliance.
Favorite Tracks: Howl, Blindness, and Cosmic Love
Check out Florence + The Machine’s new music video for Drumming, the song is awesome but the dance routines remind me of a bad Britney Spears video. The sad part is I dont think they did it to be ironic.
If you find yourself in the UK during the month of September grab a ticket to see Florence + the Machine, but make sure you catch her opener as well. The XX has hit the music world hard and we like it, a lot. The saucy tunes, soothing jazzy vocals, and sex inspired lyrics will have you hooked. New Yorkers will have a chance to check out The XX in October at the CMJ Festival but until then if you find yourself across the pond check them out, you must!
‘Ancient Lover’ is hitting at the right time and could be a stand out fall album in a year where pop has been a welcome trend in the indie rock landscape. If this had come out a couple of years ago, it might have been seen as a bunch of Brooklyn dudes ironically ripping off trends from the late 70’s/ early 80’s that hadn’t been mined by their contemporaries. This would have been a shame, of course, because Tigercity has the chops to make the kind of music that fits Gillim’s range and our own ‘09 pop state of mind.
