Black Tambourine

Recording their first tracks in 1989, Black Tambourine are the most influential band you’ve probably never heard of.  With influences and comparisons as diverse as Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Phil Spector, Black Tambourine is a seminal re-issue revised to include four never released tracks.

Clamorous sounds, distorted guitars and more feedback than almost bearable at times, this “greatest hits on steroids” smacks the listener in the face from the very first track on the record and doesn’t let up until the 16th song has played.

The hollow vocal delivery of Pam Berry is juxtaposed flawlessly and nestled in perfectly with what is ultimately 40 plus minutes of gobsmack!

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

The Morning Benders - Big Echo

Referred to once as “descendents of The Beach Boys and The Mamas And The Papas,” San Francisco’s The Morning Benders have created a sound that is uniquely their own.

Recently signed to Rough Trade Records, Big Echo was produced by band front man Chris Chu and Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor.  And the sound is exactly what you would expect – cinematic pop with a retro twist.  Jangly guitars, floating basslines and uncomplicated percussion all add up to an effortless amalgamation of peerless pop.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Yellow Fever

In what sounds like a middle school note secretly passed to a best friend in science class, the lyrical stylings of Austin’s Yellow Fever offer a simple take on some of the world’s most pressing issues like ex-boyfriends, secret crushes and cats and rats!

The beauty is in the simplicity here.  Infectious three chord progressions matched with a snare drum and the occasional keyboard help to create it’s understated attraction.

http://www.myspace.com/yellerfever

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Editors - In This Light And On This Evening

I’m not sure if it was the U.K. weather or other dark influences, but Birmingham’s Editors have delivered an incredibly dreary but sweeping ode to London – a city that has had a dramatic influence on their third album In This Light And On This Evening.

Says lead singer Tom Smith, ”I actually think it’s in every song. In the right time and place, in the right light and on the right evening, something you have seen 1,000 times before can still take your breath away.”

Recorded in London and produced by megastar, studio general Flood, this Bauhaus tinged rhapsody is a more mature, electronic rock opera.  According to Smith, “we were trying to give the machines a human feel.” Sad, beautiful machines to be sure.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

The Art Museums

Honest, and maybe even a little naïve at times, the debut album from The Art Museums, Rough Frame, sounds exactly like it’s title would suggest – a little raw, a little under-produced and a whole lot of “eager!”

Representing the Bay Area, this duo have created a record full of demo-infused melodies harkening back to an early Wall of Sound vibe, paired with recorded-on-the-first-take guitar licks, all wrapped in a D.I.Y aesthetic that will leave you wanting more.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Illustration by John Fluevog

The shoe brand Fluevog have added a new twist to their holiday offerings. If you don’t know her shoe size and you have no clue about what sort of shoes she would actually wear, get her one of these; a print of an original John Fluevog illustration! The prints are produced in limited runs and are each signed and numbered. And here’s the best part - the public got to set the price!

“John is releasing Limited Edition signed & numbered prints for the first time, and he has asked Fluevogers to collectively choose the price, handing over complete responsibility to the public. Fluevogers were asked to enter the price they thought a single print should be, and John lined them up from top to bottom and took the middle/median number as the price. After thousands of people entered their suggestions, the median price came out at $100. These will be available to the world by mid-December.”

Check out more at the Fluevog website here.

TAGS: Reviews, Product Reviews

Pearl and the Beard - Will Smith Medley from Goddamn Cobras Collective on Vimeo.

Although the music isn’t what I’d admit to putting on our iPod Heavy Rotation list, we all agree the fun factor is pretty nice. Good job guys!
Press Release - thefamilyrecords.com/pearl-and-the-beard-on-wnyc-tour/

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

UNKLE Fully Flared from STCKR on Vimeo.

The full res version can be seen here. Another Spike Jonze visual miracle.

TAGS: Reviews, Film Reviews

Little Dragon put on an excellent show at Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker a couple of Fridays ago. At one point, I was trying to think of a more talented current vocalist than Yukimi Nagano and was stumped. Then I returned to enjoying the show, because I remembered that lesson, self-taught, from long ago that you don’t lament that you’re not watching Small Wonder when Benson is on, you enjoy Benson.

I had always preferred the jazzier sides of Yukimi, such as her work with Koop, Hird and Ge-ology, but the Little Dragon album has steadily grown on me over the past couple years on a deeper level. Seeing them live has only increased my respect for the band, particularly Erik Bodin’s drumming. Interestingly, I was picking up flashes of Tears for Fears, Janet Jackson, and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam that I hadn’t sensed before in their music, but not in as nostalgic and stupid a way as that sounds.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews