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.
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.
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.
I am not yet certain how I feel about this release as it’s soooo soon. It’s focused on his rehearsals for his come-back tour and consequently the last few months of his life. Only going to be released in theaters and for a run time of a mere two-weeks! My conflict: I can see the logic behind providing a space where he gets to give his final performance in some medium however, is it further capitalizing on the life and now death of a man who never experienced anything other than a life under a scrutinizing public spotlight? And the two-week theater exclusive has such a gimmick vibe! Your thoughts?
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!
Alison Sudol, the woman behind A Fine Frenzy was kind enough to answer a few questions for Fend while on the road promoting her newest album, A Bomb In A Birdcage. The album comes out tomorrow!
Fend: A bomb in a Bird Cage is a pretty awesome album title, where does it come from?
Alison: Thank you! It’s a line from the first song on the album, What I Wouldn’t Do-”… with my heart ticking like a bomb in a birdcage, i left before someone got hurt”. The phrase, bomb in a birdcage, pretty much summed up the state
of mind I was in during the making of the album…. a potentially explosive, karate chopping, excitable ball of nerves and shivers.
Fend: You were quoted saying that people might be surprised about the sound on this new album when compared to your One Cell in the Sea, what sets it apart from your previous work? What inspired the new sound?
Alison: It’s much more dynamic, higher highs and lower lows… we tried to incorporate more space into the music, let each instrument breathe more…there’s a lot more guitar on this album, as I wrote a good amount of the songs on guitar instead of piano. Mainly, though, it’s just a bit more fun and… messier.
Fend: Your first album was released 3 years ago… Lessons you have learned since then?
Alison: 1- never wear frosted lipstick 2- if it’s not fun, shake it off and find a way to make it fun. 3- take the time to enjoy the little moments, go for walks and breathe. 4- make sure to order fish without the heads when in europe (you never know! I don’t particularly like looking my dinner in the eye if I can avoid it)
Fend: Book/movie/art you are into right now? Musical influences?
Alison: Bob Dylan, 500 Days of Summer, Solaris, the new Death Cab for Cutie EP, Nico, Rothko, Maria Luisa Isaza, The Idiot, and Pablo Neruda
Fend: Any preshow rituals?
Alison: warming up, stretching, running about to get my blood moving, listening to music, singing a song with the band that I won’t name, but it’s something that I learned as a kid… it’s super silly but it grounds us all and gets
us pumped for the show
Fend: What are you most looking forward to in preparing for the album release and upcoming tour?
Alison: Seeing the cities I fell in love with on the first tours again, meeting new people, playing the new songs live, which is super fun… having people hear the new music, really, I think that’s the most exciting prospect.
Fend: You were on tour for quite a while.. Favorite show or moment from being on tour?
Alison: Hearing people sing along with “Almost Lover”, and quite a few of the other songs, night after night across america and in europe as well… it was pretty overwhelming, I have to say, and it never got old.
Tuesday night, August 25th at Lafayette Street’s Joe’s Pub, a venue of casual classiness, something of the magnificent sort happened. A couple of young New Yorkers opened the stage for a much less superb headlining band, Shrive Alive. Alex and Janel, with their impeccable harmonies, tight instrumentals and heart tugging lyrics, brought the house down. Their bluesy folk style made you want to love- to give love- to be love- to receive love. It was highly conducive to reminiscing, whether that be painful or full of pleasure.
Janel was like a folk-pop Judy Garland, deep, captivating, and full of soul. Her voice just seemed to roll around the room with such effortless power. Alex possessed a certain charm. On stage he seemed to glow, to radiate out to the audience like this moment was “the” moment. You easily get lost in a presence like that.
The band has one album, The Mill Stone, out and available on iTunes but they have many new tunes that will blow you away. “I don’t know you at all” was almost like a lullaby with a beautiful call and response chorus. “A soul can break once but a heart can break twice.” Stab. Man they just make me want to hear more.
The group has one more show in New York City at Ella Lounge on September 8th before touring out on the west coast. I highly suggest a good listen. You just might find a new guilty pleasure out of it.
The electronic goddess releases her much anticipated album Ellipse today, a short 3 years since I Megaphone. Provocative lyrics like “put your back into it, make it up to me now,” clever stories about trouble making body doubles, intimate ballads, and beats that make you want to twirl and swirl around while you sing along bring the new albumalive. Ellipse keeps up with Imogen’s style with its layered vocals, make shift noises, and whimsical lyrics, but it fails to stretch beyond anything we have heard from her in the past. Apparently even Imogen Heap can’t outdo Imogen Heap.
“Here’s a band with a big future in front of them.” Those are the words all young performers want to hear and few receive authentically. For the youthful five-some from Sydney, Australia this prophesy is ringing true.
Bridezilla, which was formed in 2005 when the cats were still in highschool, has in the last few years earned their highschool diplomas, been signed to Ivy League Records (Youth Group, The Vines, Jet), released their self titled EP, played shows with Indie Rockstar bands like Architecture in Helsinki and Wilco, and now are on their way to the ATP festival in New York City before the US release of their EP (out this September).
Holiday Carmen-Sparks heads the group with lead vocals, Pia May is on guitar, Millie Hall is on saxophone and keyboards, Daisy Tully plays violin, and Josh Bush is on the drums. At such a young age Bridezilla is musically mature and their sophistication evolves through the mixing and meshing styles of jazz, grunge, and torch, together producing beautifully earthy tunes.
ATP New York is around the corner on September 11th through the 13th. Tickets are on sale now. I wouldn’t miss it, especially Bridezilla who plays Saturday.
‘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.
I am not yet certain how I feel about this release as it’s soooo soon. It’s focused on his rehearsals for his come-back tour and consequently the last few months of his life. Only going to be released in theaters and for a run time of a mere t
