Dancing About Architecture Indie Music News 4.27.10
Posted by Ian Wright on 04.27.2010
First thoughts on the new National album, new music from Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, Voxtrot split, an unexpected Brocken Social Scene EP and more.
The bit at the start
Ho hum, another week another slightly underwhelming leak and stream of a new album from one of my favourite bands. Following hot on the heels of Broken Social Scene and The Hold Steady The National's High Violet is a crushing disappointment insofar as after a few listens I think that it's only okay.
There's only a couple of songs on it that live up to the very best material on Alligator, Boxer or even Cherry Tree and overall it's just a little samey and very understated. There's no "Abel" or "Mr. November" or "Mistaken For Strangers" to break things up. It just feels like one long typical National tune.
Oh Joanna, only you haven't let me down.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
Plugged it already but it's the best record of 2010.
You news, you lose
New Grizzly Bear music.
How odd, Grizzly Bear are licensing part of an as yet unreleased new song to be used in a Washington State Lottery advertisement. The spot was directed by Patrick Daughters who directed the band's video for "Two Weeks."
While I'm at it here's Daughters' "Two Weeks" clip:
You know what I like more than Grizzly Bear?
Department Of Eagles, that's what. The band is Daniel Rossen's pre-GB/now side-project thing with former college roommate Fred Nicolaus and the pair released In Ear Park a couple of years ago which is pretty much miles better than any Grizzly Bear record. The duo will follow that up with Archives 2003-2006, a collection of pre-In Ear Park material, on June 20th on American Dust in the US and on Bella Union Everywhere else.
And uhhh, that's about it.
I hope that it's better than the patchy accompanying album.
If you buy Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record either pre-ordered from here or from an independent record store in the US, or HMV in Canada you will also receive a 10 track (that a lot for an …) EP called Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights.
According to the band the EP was recorded by members of the band during down time in the other room at producer John McEntire's Soma Studios when they weren't working on the proper record. The pair will be out on Arts & Crafts on May 4th and the day before in Europe on City Slang/Cooperative Music.
Tracklisting for the EP:
01 New Instructions
02 Sudden Foot Loss
03 Shabba Lights
04 Song for Dee
05 Eling's Haus
06 Professor Sambo
07 Never Felt Alive
08 Paperweight Room
09 Turbo Mouse
10 Far Out
Voxtrot split.
Austinite indie poppers Voxtrot will call it a day next month following a short farewell tour which they're somewhat blackly calling their "Goodbye, Cruel World" tour.
The band's frontman Ramesh Srivastava wrote a long letter on the band's website explaining the reasons for the split …
The career path of Voxtrot was truly one of long, simmering build, explosion, and almost instantaneous decay. Slowly, I am learning to replace any feelings of regret with positive memories of how amazing the whole thing was, and how it has, in an unexpected way, fortified my character.
Making great art requires one to be fearless, and sometimes I've given too much energy to fear. Whenever I read an interview in which a band
claims they are going to return to the sound of their earlier, more popular work, a small part of me aches for them. It doesn't work like that-the popularity of the earlier work is based upon the sense of newness felt by the musicians at the time of creation. So, how to get back the newness…?
Approximately eight months ago, I spoke to my friend Simon and indicated that I was ready to give up on music, or at least leave it for the indefinite future, but he reminded me that you can't dedicate yourself to another job or a degree, or some other distraction just because you've got nothing else going-if you have the feeling that you were born to do something, you've got to follow that feeling.
As he told me, "Do it because you love music. Do it with passion."
And so I did what I had to do. I swallowed my pride and got two jobs, one of which involved clearing the dishes of the filthy-and-not-so-pleasant-rich, and while this sudden change in lifestyle was not altogether ideal, I was constantly aware that I was building towards something.
For me, the most important thing in life is leaving behind something beautiful, something that finds its way into the lives of strangers, and forever alters them in a positive manner. Sometimes, being able to do this means that you have to work the shitty job and serve bread to rich idiots, but whatever, it's better than just cashing in your chips and spending the rest of your life wondering, "what if…?"
In the end, I've come to realize that there really isn't any cause for disappointment. The fact is, the songs still exist, and the music of Voxtrot lives on as a sovereign entity which, outside of all criticism, positive or negative, belongs to the guys and me, and to everybody who ever loved it or believed. Taking into account every person I've met, every place I have visited, every emotional exchange I have ever had with a listener, there is absolutely no room for regret.
In fact, the other day, I was thinking about it in the shower and decided that my situation was analogous to Peter Falk's glass eye. You probably don't know this, but I am a massive fan of Columbo-it is the only detective show in which there is no mystery, thus the entire reason you watch it is because you just love him (Falk) so much. It is a true testament to the power of a strong character. Anyway, when Peter Falk was five years old, one of his eyes had to be removed, due to a malignant tumor. Obviously, this is bad, BUT, had it not happened, he would never have developed his signature stare, which, let's face it, accounts for at least a small percentage of his overall appeal. Whatever I create from this point on, I will only create because of everything, good or bad, that has happened thus far.
Being in Voxtrot has been wonderful and amazing, but it is only one chapter in the book...
When I was in high school, I was a great fan of the Scottish band, Travis, and I have always harbored a secret desire to meet the band's frontman, Fran Healy. Not so long ago, at my friend Lucy's studio in Berlin, I had the fortunate experience of doing just this. He was buying a painting of hers, and we spent about three hours conversing. Eventually, our conversation drifted towards the ebb and flow of our respective careers, as well as the anger that comes with not knowing how to pull oneself out of a creative rut. Obviously, our two careers have been on different scales, but nonetheless, the associated concepts are universal. At the end of the conversation, he said to me, "You can't to keep writing the same song. You have to throw away the map. AND you have to keep creating, even if it goes nowhere for a while, you have to always keep creating… and it'll be great."
And he's right. I must leave again-take a risk, do something radical, but in order to do that, I need closure. This is not to say that Voxtrot will never play again, and certainly, if Voxtrot has never been to your country (or continent) we are open to ideas, but for all intents and purposes, this series of live shows will be the last.
Part of doing something with love is being able to say "goodbye" at the right time. Thank you for everything. On to the next one...
Love,
Ramesh
While together Voxtrot released one self titled album and a number of EP's. A number of the band have already embarked on other projects, Mitch Calvert's International Waters will play support at some of the dates on the final Voxtrot tour, Jared Van Fleet has a solo project called Sparrow House, while Matt Simon and Jason Chronis are in three bands together, JC & Co., The Black, Belaire.
The YouTube video of the week
Broken Social Scene on Letterman
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Voxtrot
05-21 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
05-22 Appleton, WI - Lawrence University
05-27 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex *
05-29 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
06-03 Austin, TX - Emo's
06-23 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06-25 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
* with International Waters
Liars
04-27 San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
04-29 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre *
04-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - Venue *
05-01 Seattle, WA - Neumos *
05-07 Minehead, England - Matt Groening's ATP
05-11 Padova, Italy - Unwound *
05-12 Milan, Italy - Magnolia *
05-13 Roma, Italy - Init *
05-14 Bologna, Italy - Bronson *
05-15 Lyon, France - Nuits Sonores Festival *
05-16 Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romandie *
05-18 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie *
05-19 Paris, France - Maroquinerie *
05-20 Munich, Germany - Kranhalle *
05-21 Berlin, Germany - Volksbuhne *
05-22 Hamburg, Germany - Indra *
05-24 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli de Helling *
05-25 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Trouw *
05-26 Bruxelles, Belgium - Bontanique *
05-27 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire *
05-29 Bristol, England - Dot To Dot Festival
05-30 Nottingham, England - Dot To Dot Festival
05-31 Manchester, England - Dot To Dot Festival
07-13 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
07-14 Madison, WI - High Noon Salon
07-15 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
07-16 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
07-17 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
07-18 Newport, KY - The Southgate House
07-20 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
07-21 Bloomington, IN - Rhino's Youth Center
07-22 St. Louis, MO - Firebird
07-23 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
07-24 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
08-06 Hertfordshire, England - Standon Calling
* with Fol Chen
The Hold Steady
05-03 Los Angeles, CA - Grammy Museum
05-04 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern #
05-05 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey #*
05-06 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore #*
05-08 Honolulu, HI - Next Door
05-22-23 Orlando, FL - The Social ^
05-25 Savannah, GA - Live Wire Music Hall ^
05-26 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club ^
05-27 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse ^
05-29 George, WA - Sasquatch Festival
06-12 Newport, England - Isle of Wight Festival
06-14 Paris, France - Fleche D'Or
06-15 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
06-16 Berlin, Germany - Frannz Club
06-17 Munich, Germany - 59.1
06-19 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-20 Scheessel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
06-22 London, England - HMV Forum
06-24 Vitoria, Spain - Azkena Rock Festival
06-26 Manchester, England - Academy 2
06-27 Pilton, England - Glastonbury
07-01 Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
07-02 Hayward, WI - Lac Courte Oreilles Casino $
07-03 Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze Outdoor Stage $
07-04 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue $
07-06 Omaha, NE - Slowdown $
07-07 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre $
07-08 Santa Fe, NM - Santa Fe Brewing Company $
07-10 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater $
07-11 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Cafe $
07-12 Knoxville, TN - The Square Room $
07-14 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall $
07-15 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom $
07-16 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus $
10-07 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
# with the Donkeys
* with A Decent Animal
^ with Twin Tigers
$ with the Whigs
Mirah and Thao
06-08 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
06-09 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
06-11 Austin, TX - Mohawk
06-12 Houston, TX - Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
06-13 Dallas, TX - The Loft
06-15 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
06-16 Tallahassee, FL - The Engine Room
06-18 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
06-20 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06-21 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
06-23 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs
06-24 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
06-25 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
06-26 Toronto, Ontario - The Horseshoe
06-27 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
06-28 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
07-01 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
07-05 Denver, CO - Hi Dive
07-07 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio
The bit at the end
See yez in a week.
You can follow me on twitter, I'm endlessly fascinating.
