It's hell week, here's the goods (part one)
2 Comments Published by Kate on Sunday at 10/07/2007 02:50:00 PM.
I spent a few days this week walking around with my huge headphones on, looking pretentious for the sake of some of my favorite upcoming (and recent) releases.
Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature
I've been finding this album to be more heavy-handed than I'd hoped for, and it's unfortunate. Lately I've been digging deep into Veneer, with "Heartbeats" being the song that tipped me over; I was taken in. With In Our Nature I've been looking for the same sort of place. "Abram" is too condemning, "Teardrops" too impersonal, "The Nest" too ominous, "Killing for Love" too angry, "In Our Nature" too mellow for its subject material, "How Low" too judgmental.
"Down the Line" is still my favorite track, with Gonzalez sinking into bitterness only to pull himself up for "don't let the darkness eat you up." "Fold" is a heart breaker, with the line "Please don't let me down this time / I've come a long way to just fold back into line." It echoes the fear I've been hiding these past two weeks as I've decided to trust again. The album is still incredibly good, but its subject material just doesn't seem as personal for Gonzalez, and it hurts the quality of the music.
from In Our Nature (2007):
Jose Gonzalez - Down the Line [download or die]
Jose Gonzalez - Fold [highly rec'd]
from Veneer (2005):
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats [download or die]
Buy In Our Nature from Insound
Jose Gonzalez's Website/Myspace
Beirut: The Flying Club Cup (October 9th)
I'm impressed by simply how beautiful this album is (much more so than Gulag Orkestar), calm and majestically orchestrated. Honestly, I don't have a lot else to say. "Come sit at the table under October's able skies."
Beirut - A Sunday Smile [highly rec'd]
Beirut - Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route) [download or die]
Buy The Flying Club Cup from Insound
Beirut's Website/Myspace
Jose Gonzalez: In Our NatureI've been finding this album to be more heavy-handed than I'd hoped for, and it's unfortunate. Lately I've been digging deep into Veneer, with "Heartbeats" being the song that tipped me over; I was taken in. With In Our Nature I've been looking for the same sort of place. "Abram" is too condemning, "Teardrops" too impersonal, "The Nest" too ominous, "Killing for Love" too angry, "In Our Nature" too mellow for its subject material, "How Low" too judgmental.
"Down the Line" is still my favorite track, with Gonzalez sinking into bitterness only to pull himself up for "don't let the darkness eat you up." "Fold" is a heart breaker, with the line "Please don't let me down this time / I've come a long way to just fold back into line." It echoes the fear I've been hiding these past two weeks as I've decided to trust again. The album is still incredibly good, but its subject material just doesn't seem as personal for Gonzalez, and it hurts the quality of the music.
from In Our Nature (2007):
Jose Gonzalez - Down the Line [download or die]
Jose Gonzalez - Fold [highly rec'd]
from Veneer (2005):
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats [download or die]
Buy In Our Nature from Insound
Jose Gonzalez's Website/Myspace
Beirut: The Flying Club Cup (October 9th)I'm impressed by simply how beautiful this album is (much more so than Gulag Orkestar), calm and majestically orchestrated. Honestly, I don't have a lot else to say. "Come sit at the table under October's able skies."
Beirut - A Sunday Smile [highly rec'd]
Beirut - Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route) [download or die]
Buy The Flying Club Cup from Insound
Beirut's Website/Myspace
Labels: Beirut, jose gonzalez
Beirut - A Sunday Smile (live)When I wrote about the new Beirut album, The Flying Club Cup, two weeks ago, I was incredibly frustrated that there hadn't been any leaks yet. Now we've got a live version of this track, at least (Thanks for the mp3 goes to Hate Something Beautiful).
Beirut's Myspace
Devendra Banhart - Seahorse [download or die]I've always thought Devendra Banhart was a little strange, and it's true, he is. But listening to "Seahorse" is like listening to 3 different songs - first you get the quiet, acoustic guitar-playing, muttering Devendra; then comes the psychedelic piano pop "I wanna be a little Seahorse" Devendra, who has multiple incarnations and is a little crazy; finally, you get Devendra of the electric guitar and drums, rocking & rolling like The Black Keys or the White Stripes. He still wants to be a seahorse - but hell, I'd kill to be a sea turtle. Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon has me girlishly excited. Listen to some more songs here.
Devendra Banhart's Myspace
(his new website is so cool!)
Sambassadeur - Subtle Changes [highly rec'd]ME: This isn't Sambassadeur! No way, their last album was practically twee.
NOT-ME: That was sooo obviously Anna Persson's voice. You fail.
ME: Oh, they're Swedish, I should have seen this coming. Who do they sound like now? WHO?
NOT-ME: Failure!
ME: They sound kind of orchestral...like, aww shucks, I give up.
NOT-ME: Ha. The song is called "Subtle Changes"... that's actually hilarious, in an ironic way.
ME: Okay, maybe it sounds like that new The Most Serene Republic song? or Sufjan? maybe it's kind of like when Camera Obscura upgraded its sound between Underachievers Please Try Harder and Let's Get Out of This Country?
NOT-ME: I know, comparing music is soooo rough. And you stink at it.
ME: Why do all these twee pop bands keep making their sound big and complex? It's the fragility ("like a baby bird who has fallen from the nest...") us twee-heads like!
NOT-ME: Get off that twee crack, now!
(Thanks for the mp3 goes to Hits in the Car)
Sambassadeur's myspace
Jose Gonzalez - Down The Line [download or...fail at life?]I declared my love for Jose Gonzalez a week ago (read it!) and didn't want to post an mp3 and have to take it down immediately. But I don't want to be stingy, and when a track or two leaks off your album, you just have to embrace it. When the whole thing leaks, you have to fight it. This is a case of the former. And In Our Nature will be amazing.
Jose Gonzalez's Myspace
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - I Never Thought I Could Feel This Way For A BoyPop is pop is pop is pop is pop is pop is...it's kind of catchy, but I don't have a lot else to say. I Bet You Say That To All The Boys was a pretty fun album, and this one sounds like it might be even funner. That's not a word. (Thanks for the mp3 goes to MOKB)
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir's Myspace
Randomness: When I read this today, I was incredibly jealous. I want a surprise like that to show up in my mailbox! I mean, I get cool CDs in my mailbox, but if the new Georgie James, Maritime, or Matt Costa album were to appear in my mail one day my life would pretty much be complete.
Labels: band dump, Beirut, devendra banhart, jose gonzalez, sambassadeur, scotland yard gospel choir, swedes will take over the earth, upcoming
I'd never listened to Jose Gonzalez until 3 weeks ago, when I first heard his song "Crosses." To say the least, I was pleasantly blown away and rendered incapable (until now, I hope I do him some measure of justice) of expressing the intangible dark quality to his music that so enchants me. The closest comparison I can think of is if the ghostly re-incarnation of Nick Drake were to suddenly appear, guitar in hand, and play so sadly and so sweetly as to convince me that he had never died at all.For apparent reasons I don't consider myself enough of an expert to compare what I've heard of In Our Nature (to be released on September 25th) to Veneer, but in the songs I have heard certain themes seem to resonate clearly. I'm going to hazard a guest or two here, but some of my guesses are informed by the fact that supposedly the videos for In Our Nature will deal with the sins of humanity - you can see the music video for "Down the Line" here, I found it a little disturbing. The world is a place that has veered from paths of righteousness to where man's evil rules: Gonzalez sings, "It's not about compromise" and "What's the point if you hate and kill for love?" and those of us who read the newspaper every day know the world he's speaking of.
Label folks...I didn't want to post "Down the Line" and have you tell me to take it down immediately, so I'm posting an mp3 containing the first 36 seconds of the track, enough to make any good music nut deeply unsatisfied and desperate to hear the full track. Please let me keep it up.
Jose Gonzalez - Down the Line (36 sec sample) (In Our Nature)
Jose Gonzalez - Stay in the Shade (Veneer)
Jose Gonzalez's Website/Myspace
Important Tour Dates:
October 2 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
(more here)
Labels: artist profile, folk, jose gonzalez, upcoming
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