I saw Young Statues a couple months ago during the CMJ festival in New York. Tyler from A Great Big Pile of Leaves had put me onto them and so I was really looking forward to watching them play. They played at a spot in Greenpoint called Europa with a bunch of other Run For Cover artists. Although they played to a sparse crowd at like 2:00 in the afternoon, I was seriously impressed with their set.
I picked up the vinyl record of their self-titled album this week and I’ve been listening to it pretty much non-stop. Young Statues seems like a bit of a strange signing for a label like Run For Cover which seems to cater to an angstier crowd – but their appeal is universal. They band writes poppy toe-tappers at home in any music lover’s collection (unless you’re solely into grindcore or gangster rap… then this just might not fly).
You can scope my favorite track, “Pretty Girls Make Raves” below – and you can buy the album here!
I stumbled onto Field Mouse while I was browsing the Pink Couch Sessions website – a site known for creating respectable live (albeit stripped-down) videos. I was struck by Rachel Browne’s soft, breathy voice (especially apropos considering the band’s name). Upon further review, I found the band’s debut album, You Are Here, on Bandcamp. The album is full of sharp drumming and reverb-and-tremolo-laden guitar leads. Field Mouse have definitely created a really great indie-pop album. It reminds me of bands like Vedera or The Rocking Horse Winner – except texturally moodier at times.
You can download You Are Here on Bandcamp (pay what you want) or pick up a physical copy on their webstore
Here’s my favorite song on the album (so far) – “Anomie”
Further Seems Forever was a band that never settled on a singer. Each of their three albums featured a different vocalist who, inevitably, left the band for one reason or another. On the band’s first album The Moon is Down, there was Chris Carrabba, better known for his post-FSF solo project, Dashboard Confessional. Jason Gleason was Carrabba’s fill-in for the second album, How to Start a Fire. He left the band citing creative differences (and from what I gathered from the message boards in 2004, it wasn’t amicable). Finally ex-Sense Field member Jon Bunch lent his pipes to Further’s final album Hide Nothing. Of the three albums, usually the first is credited as the strongest effort by fans. My personal favorite (and an album I argue is vastly under-appreciated) was the Gleason-fronted How to Start a Fire.
As an outfit, Further Seems Forever always had the chops to thrill me, even from the earliest record – the musicians were top notch. Admittedly though, when Carrabba left the band to pursue Dashboard Confessional, I thought they were sunk. Early demos indicated that Carrabba’s replacement didn’t have nearly the abilities to carry the band. I was shocked when How to Start a Fire was released – Gleason’s voice towered above anything attempted on the band’s previous album. I look back on this album and remember shouting “On Legendary” and “The Sound” in my little white ’94 Mazda Protege while driving around campus. In my mind, it’s a classic.
After leaving Further Seems Forever, I kept tabs on Gleason’s projects. He went on to create an album under the moniker ActionReaction in 2006 and then all was quiet for the better part of 5 years. Some demos surfaced in a new project called Old Wives, but I doubted that I’d ever get to hear an official release. Fortunately, I was wrong!
Tidal Tales was released by Old Wives in June 2011. It has taken me a while to digest the contents – the songwriting, the instrumentation – it’s different than anything I’ve been listening to lately (to put it lightly). Part the Doors, part Oingo Boingo – Old Wives is difficult to place in a definitive genre. Indie enthusiasts may shirk at the towering vocals (and make no mistake, this entire band is a vehicle to showcase Gleason’s bellows – although that’s unfair to the incredible musicianship on the album), but emo and punk kids won’t know what to do with the organs, horn section and swanky rhythms. That’s all entirely beside the point though – music fans who write this album off for one reason or another are missing out on a performance the likes of which are mostly absent from any scene.
I think what makes Tidal Tales a standout is that each song is so passionately delivered. It feels like rock singers these days do their best to curb all emotion (like the muted mumblings of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”). I guess It’s not cool to wear your heart on your sleeve anymore. But from the blaring horns to Gleason’s howling – Old Wives tears the damn roof off with every track.
Certain songs on Tidal Tales feel like period pieces – with “Dub B.B.” influenced by big bands of the 50s, and “Boo Chant” sounding like 60s psychedelia (think the Zombies). “The Whale” and “Rip Van Winkle” are just good fashioned toe-tappers. “Alto Cinco” is basted in sweat and sex – and easily my favorite track on the album. Check it out below:
About once a year, I fall in love with an album that makes me want to start a career in arson. In 2011, it’s Defeater‘s new effort, Empty Days & Sleepless Nights – a two headed giant of an album.
Empty Days is actually the first 10 songs of the album. It’s the hard stuff. I think what makes this part such a treat is that, for something so rooted in hardcore, the music can be surprisingly light and ambient at times. The guitars are bright and whatever was used to get that great overdrive sound – my god, its lush and gorgeous.
The last four songs make up Sleepless Nights – which is a collection of acoustic songs. It’s a complete 180 from the first part of the album. While the songs are still dark and moody, the instrumentation (jangly guitars, cellos, violins) and the vocals (sung rather than shouted) sound like another band completely.
Here’s my favorite track on the album (so far), “Waves Crash, Clouds Roll”:
You can buy the album from Bridge Nine records here.
Hello friends. It’s been a long time – I realized that today when I woke up to this message in my inbox:
To my loyal reader (singular), I apologize – been a little busy with Sinking Ship Records in the past few months. But for the moment, things have settled… and I just paid to keep the Daily Riffage domain for another year, so I might as well dig back in!
In the past few months, my iPod has died – which leaves me seriously debilitated at work (I usually just hook it up to my computer and browse my library all day). Without my iPod, I’ve been relegated to listening to tunes that I’ve purchased on this particular machine. It’s given me a chance to really savor some albums that I would’ve probably neglected otherwise.
A good example of this is the Now, Now (formerly Now, Now Every Children) EP, Neighbors, that was recently released on No Sleep Records. I bought the EP and then it kinda sat in my library for a while. Last weekend, I burned the album onto a CD for a car ride from NYC to Penn State. As soon as the second track kicked in, I knew this was another choice cut from No Sleep (they rarely disappoint).
I think the easiest way to describe Now, Now (for those of you who aren’t familiar yet) is maybe mixing Eisley’s midwestern (and creepy) vocals with Metric’s inherent moody atmosphere. I’m actually very surprised by how similar Casie Dalager and Sherri DuPree (from Eisley)’s voices sound. Now, Now has an undeniably more urban feel to their music though.
Neighbors starts with a short little instrumental intro piece and then storms into “Giants”, easily the best track on the album. I think it’s probably the song’s strong rhythm emphasis that drags me in. The drums are brilliant and the bass is fuzzy and chunky – they just move right along. It’s a sublime track.
The next two songs, “Roommates” and “Jesus Camp” are slower, less rockin’ tracks. I enjoy the dynamic range of the band, but these can be a little sleepy. The EP picks back up with the title track, “Neighbors”, which isn’t as much of a burner as “Giants”, but it’s solid. Now, Now rounds out the EP with acoustic versions of the best tracks, “Giants” and “Neighbors”. The alternate versions are hauntingly beautiful.
I’m excited to hear a full length from this band – as they cover a lot of ground in this EP. It’s surprisingly substantial for containing just 4 original songs (plus two alt versions and a short intro). I highly suggest you check it out.
My friends Andrew and Ryan produced this short little video greeting for the Halloween season. Thought you guys would dig it!
The duo recently screened their short film Piano Story at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis – a high honor for two young guys just breaking into the film industry. I advise you to take 10 minutes, visit the site and watch the full version – the cinematography and the score are both extremely contemplative. It’s a cute story too.
Andrew often posts some short works on his blog. You should bookmark it and visit from time to time. It’s clever stuff!
Most of you who read this already know that my friends Jon and Charlie and I have started a small indie label. I thought I’d take a moment today to let you know a little bit about Sinking Ship Records since we’re launching our first pre-order today. If you’d like to read a little more about A Great Big Pile of Leaves, you can check out my blog post about the band here!
Jon and I both work at Sony Music. He’s a part of RCA/Jive and I work in digital distribution. Charlie used to work here in Copyright but has since left to pursue an entertainment law degree. We all grew up playing in punk rock bands and it’s been a little disillusioning to watch the few bands on a major label that we care about get mishandled and inevitably dropped.
See – the problem with major labels is that they are hit machines. OK, so I guess that’s not a problem if you’re a budding starlet. I’ve just seen so much turnover from bands that either should never have been signed to a major in the first place – or – are treated unfairly and cast aside for the next project. The truth is that indie labels do a much better job of building a reliable brand – and gaining support for new artists based on their track record. Drive Thru, Jade Tree, Vagrant, and newcomers like No Sleep Records all created a strong following because they had that “taste-maker” status. Seriously, when is the last time you looked to Epic Records for a musical recommendation?
Like many great things, the concept for us to start a label was born from several beers. Just a couple guys complaining about the business over drinks at rooftop party on the 4th of July. When we realized that the idea to start a label might not be as far-fetched as we imagined, Charlie did a little research and we discussed at our favorite local bar, The Quays. A late night drive to Penn State yielded our company name – and after a fair amount of paperwork, we’re finally official!
We decided that our goal would be to work with artists that we love (and that can record their own music!). Preferably, we want to treat the artists fairly too – these are hard times for artists, after all. I think that’s easier said than done – since in any case, there’s only so many pieces of the pie to go around. I think we’ve found an arrangement that works in most cases though.
Our very first project was something we knew we wanted to be involved in from the start. A Great Big Pile of Leaves is a band that Jon knew personally and that really agreed to work with us on this vinyl pressing almost as a favor. They took a chance on letting us represent them and their brilliant debut album. I think we did a solid job – I’m really proud of the product we’ve arranged.
I can’t wait to sign our first band and start building a project from the ground up! There will be more exciting news soon, but for now – listen to A Great Big Pile of Leaves and check out our webstore if you’re into it. We rely so much on word of mouth, so tell someone about it if you dig it (and friend us on Facebook or Twitter)! Thanks for your support.
