SYLVAN ESSO CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH SYLVAN ESSO ONLY RUN PARTISAN CYHSY INC. Sylvan Esso was not meant to be a band. Rather, Amelia Meath had written a song called “Play It Right” and sung it with her trio Mountain Man. She’d met Nick Sanborn, an electronic producer working under the name Made of Oak, in passing on a shared bill in a small club somewhere. She asked him to scramble it, to render her work his way. He did the obligatory remix, but he sensed that there was something more important here than a one-time handoff: Of all the songs Sanborn had ever recast, this was the first time he felt he’d added to the raw material without subtracting from it, as though, across the unseen wires of online file exchange, he’d found his new collaborator without even looking. Sylvan Esso became a band. A year later, their self-titled debut — a collection of vivid addictions concerning suffering and love, darkness and deliverance — arrives as a necessary pop balm: An album stuffed with obliterating dubstep stutters and crisp electropop pulses, hazy electrostatic breezes and epinephrine dancefloor turnarounds all anchored by contagious melodies. Motion comes with melody. Words come with ideas. And above all, pop comes back with candor. It has been 10 years since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah started, and they’re about to release their fourth record, Only Run. Like the previous three, CYHSY will market and distribute the album independently. From the get go, this ethos struck a chord with fans, but it was merely an extension of lead singer/songwriter Alec Ounsworth’s core belief of approaching fans directly. Like the band’s fateful first album, Only Run is an artist’s singular vision – and, this time, is a loose document of a decade spent as a professional musician. Once again, Ounsworth crafted the songs himself before bringing them to the studio for completion and the album is further proof that CYHSY thrives because of a strong sense of identity. Fostered from his love of uncompromising songwriters (e.g. John Cale, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Tom Waits), Ounsworth believes in an artist’s creative control. “Some people seem surprised when you shift gears aesthetically between records, but to me that’s the point,” he says. “We have a responsibility as musicians to take chances.” Ounsworth continues, “There is a reason I have all of Tom Waits’ albums, for example. I believe in him.” Matt Berninger of The National and Kid Koala guest. JUNE 2014 AMY LAVERE HAMILTON LEITHAUSER PASSENGER RUNAWAY'S DIARY BLACK HOURS WHISPERS ARCHER RECORDS/THIRTY TIGERS RIBBON MUSIC NETTWERK Amy LaVere’s music has been called many things: dark and sexy, witty, feisty, breezy, mysterious… And she’s all of these things and more on her new album, Runaway’s Diary. On opener “Rabbit,” the stage and scenery is set as Amy recounts a tale of running away from home as an adolescent. Using friend and frequent collaborator Seasick Steve as the inspiration for the title character, Amy plots the course for the rest of the album. Evocative themes naturally emerge: home, belonging, those who wander, those who are lost and the details of the journey that connects all of it. In addition to the eight tracks LaVere penned, she chose songs written by Townes Van Zandt (“Where I Lead Me”), John Lennon (“How?”), Ned Miller (“Dark Moon”), and local Memphis songwriter Mike McCarthy (“Lousy Pretender”) to fit the narrative of Runaway’s Diary, which was produced by Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) – her friend, musical collaborator, and the son of her late mentor (and 2007’s Anchors & Anvils producer) Jim Dickinson. Ask Hamilton Leithauser to describe the records that inspired his first solo album, Black Hours, and he’ll end up, as many musicians will, reaching for a guitar: “It’s like someone singing directly at you,” says Leithauser. “It’s personal and I find it in the details. It’s not complicated…but it’s just so hard to verbalize.” Leithauser, known to date as the frontman of New York band The Walkmen (who are currently on “extreme hiatus”), has one of the greatest singing voices of just about any genre – a gravelly thing that conjures Rod Stewart by way of D.C. hardcore. When he began work on Black Hours, Leithauser had begun to wonder whether he’d ever be able to achieve that directness of personal expression himself, at least in the context of rock n’ roll — yet the end results are proof positive. In its orchestrated rhythms, dynamic vocals, and generous production, Black Hours travels from midwinter pianoand-vocal sessions, to a loud, live Rock n Roll group and back again. It’s an album as passionate and personal and free as the canonical recordings that inspired it, and inaugurates a new chapter in an already remarkable career. By the start of last year, Mike Rosenberg knew his life was about to change. Still, had someone told the Brighton-born singer/songwriter, familiar to millions as Passenger, that he would top the charts in 20 countries during 2013, he might have gone out of his mind. That his bewitching break-up ballad “Let Her Go” took its time to win over the world — it became a hit in mainland Europe in the autumn of 2012 and reached the Top 5 of the Billboard chart in February 2014 — allowed Passenger to process his success, get used to the size of crowds coming to see him and, crucially, continue to write and record heartbreakingly beautiful music. Whispers is Passenger’s sixth studio album. Its oldest songs date back to before the mayhem began. Although he didn’t know it when he wrote it, the title track captures the chaos in his head when “Let Her Go” started to snowball. What you won’t hear on Whispers is how fame has changed Passenger — because it hasn’t. The album was recorded in the same small Sydney studio as its platinum-selling predecessor, All The Little Lights, with the same co-producer (Chris Vallejo) and many of the same musicians. Despite its sumptuous, symphonic sound, no big budgets were blown… But minds will be. CURRENT SWELL WALTER TROUT ULYSSES THE BLUES CAME CALLIN' NETTWERK PROVOGUE/MASCOT The members of Current Swell no longer live together under a single roof — as they did years ago, when the group first came together as a unit — but the bond between the four friends is stronger than ever. Touring the world for the better part of five years, from Brazil to Australia, often has that effect. Perhaps that’s why the Victoria, British Columbia band decided to call their album Ulysses – after the famed mythological warrior of The Odyssey who encounters a few speedbumps on his way back home after spending 10 years at war. Ulysses was produced by Nathan Sabatino (Dr. Dog, Neko Case, Giant Stand) at Vancouver’s iconic Greenhouse Studios. The album captures every bit of warmth the studio’s massive Neve console could provide, as heard on “Rollin’” (a showcase for vocalist/guitarist Scott Stanton’s exemplary slide work), the title track “Ulysses,” rocker “Keys to the Kingdom” and the readymade sing-along “One Day I’ll Be Rich.” Hopefully, Current Swell won’t face the same adversities as the mythic hero the album is named for (though I’m sure they’ve had to deal with their fair share of sirens) but, from the sound of things, victory seems certain. From the first time Walter Trout as a tormented teenager heard the haunting guitar playing of Mike Bloomfield, he instinctually knew the blues was his calling. 2014 marks the year Walter Trout looks back at an almost 50-year commitment to playing and singing the blues. The Blues Came Callin’ was recorded throughout 2013 and its songs reveal Walter’s thoughts about mortality and his renewed appreciation for being alive in light of his contracting a life-threatening liver disease (Walter is currently awaiting a liver transplant at UCLA Medical Center). As he became physically weaker, he fought to continue touring, and found that playing for people was powerful medicine. Like the title of the new studio album, the blues definitely came callin’ for Walter. It kept him fighting, and in the process, it made him more determined than ever. “To play my music for people has become even more important to me,” says Walter. “When I think about looking out into the crowds of people and connecting with everyone on a soul level, and sharing the experience of music with them, this is what keeps me fighting to get back: My family and my music is my lifeline. These days, it means more to me than ever before.” JUNE 2014 PAUL HARDCASTLE THE ORWELLS THE JAZZMASTERS VII DISGRACELAND JOHN FULLBRIGHT SONGS TRIPPIN N RHYTHM RECORDS ATLANTIC BLUE DIRECT RECORDS/THIRTY TIGERS Well into his third decade of churning out smooth jazz mega-hits, Paul Hardcastle adds another branch to his musical tree — one that is again bearing delicious fruit. While it carries all of the hallmarks that have come to define his unique style and sound, The Jazzmasters VII takes a decidedly different approach than the volumes that preceded it by placing an emphasis on compelling instrumental soundscapes and smooth grooves rather than vocals. This is Hardcastle’s wheelhouse and nobody does it better. For those who use music as an escape from the day to day, these songs are the perfect transporting device: Urban substructures layered with sexy yet subtle grooves, punctuated with perfectly placed notes and vibrations create the perfect flow of ambience as you depart on this soothing musical journey — a one way ticket to pure pleasure. This is pure ear candy that will provide that rush of sweetness yet is high in nutritional content, satisfying and full flavored. The Orwells are five guys from Chicago, IL, playing rock’ n’ roll music with an unmatched ragged intensity. Cousins Mario Cuomo (vocals) and Dominic Corso (guitar), twins Grant (bass) and Henry Brinner (drums), and Matt O’Keefe (guitar) have been playing together since late 2009, when they were in 9th grade. Although one might try to simply sum up their sound as garage or punk, it isn’t that simple. The Orwells sound comes from a deeper, different place that is both long forgotten and yet timeless. Their live show is frenetic, charged and feels like it could go off the rails at any moment-with the audience in full participation. NPR called them a “thrilling, charismatic teen garage-rock band with infectious energy.” The Orwells’ latest long-player, Disgraceland, was produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek who gives the band a 3D pop sheen that will no doubt inspire fans of Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, The Men, and The Misfits into dancing around in a beerspewing daze of glory. Great lyrics, too. “What’s so bad about happy?” John Fullbright sings on the opening track of his new album, Songs. It’s a play on the writer’s curse, the notion that new material can only come through heartbreak or depression, that great art is only born from suffering. “A normal person, if they find themselves in a position of turmoil or grief, they’ll say, �I need to get out of this as fast as I can,’“ says Fullbright. “A writer will say, �How long can I stay in this until I get something good?’ And that’s a bullshit way to look at life,” he laughs. If there’s a recurring motif that jumps out upon first listen to Songs, it’s the act of writing, which is one Fullbright treats with the utmost respect. Fullbright inhabits his songs’ narrators completely, his old-soul voice fleshing out complex characters and subtle narratives with a gifted sense of understatement. Musically, the album also makes a deliberate point of stripping Fullbright’s songs down to their cores – most of which were recorded live. To be sure, Songs has its moments of darkness, tracks born from pain and heartbreak, but for a craftsman like Fullbright, there are few greater joys than carving emotion into music, taking a stab at that lofty goal of immortality through song. It makes him — and his fans — happy, and there’s nothing bad about that. MARTY FRIEDMAN PUJOL KLUDGE INFERNO SADDLE CREEK PROSTHETIC RECORDS A kludge is “A clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem.” In February of 2013 Daniel Pujol set out to write and record the follow-up to his debut album, 2012’s United States Of Being. Pujol and producer Doni Shroader set up shop in Mt. Juliet, TN at The Place: a suicide-prevention center for teens located in a strip mall. They used largely borrowed and donated gear, recording every day from 5pm until 6am, all the while breaking down and setting up the temporary studio every day between office hours. Mixing took place during the building of Battletapes – a two-car garage that was in the midst of being converted into an acoustically treated, professional grade tracking room. In short: Pujol kludged KLUDGE. KLUDGE idiosyncratically captures life as it exists in our weird almost future world of flying robots, cancer from food, cell phone wire taps, metadata, $7.25ish minimum wage and $15.50 an hour endless choice buffets. Yet, the album possesses that inherent sense of timelessness that exists in all great music. Thanks to its combination of addictively fetching rock �n’ roll and Daniel Pujol’s lyrical brilliance. The end result is more Malkmus than MacGyver, and proves yet again that Daniel Pujol is, first and foremost, a songwriter. Guitarist Marty Friedman is best known for his work with thrash giants Cacophony and Megadeath. Around the turn of the century, Friedman was looking for something new – so he packed up and moved to Japan. After releasing four solo albums in his adopted home he found himself ready for yet another new challenge: “I wanted to create a new landmark to which my future music will be compared,” he says. “That idea of just going completely balls-out – knowing what the full potential of my music and my playing could possibly be.” The result is Inferno — Friedman’s first album of original material in four years. Inferno features several collaborations with players influenced by Friedman, including Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Revocation guitar whiz David Davidson, the flamenco/metal acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, and acclaimed rocker Danko Jones. Inferno also features Friedman’s first songwriting collaboration with Jason Becker since the pair played together in Cacophony. Inferno is a maniacal masterpiece. JUNE 2014 THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS BOB MOULD CHVRCHES IDLEWILD BEAUTY & RUIN THE BONES OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE IDLEWILD RECORDINGS MERGE GLASSNOTE No reunions! No rehab! No breaks! They Might Be Giants have pulled off the inconceivable — they have continued to work, create and evolve musically and artistically uninterrupted for 30 years. They Might Be Giants have recorded 16 vital studio albums and remained an active live act, touring across America, Europe, and Australia just last year. Along they way TMBG released a few classics (Flood and Lincoln immediately come to mind), made a couple of amazing albums for kids (also classics), and pioneered pre-internet song sharing with its Dial-ASong hotline (R.I.P.). In celebration of their most recent 10 years of the band’s remarkable run, TMBG are releasing Idlewild, a 17-song compilation that is neither a “best of: nor a rarities set. Rather, it is an ultravivid illustration of the band’s prodigious output and singular musical vision from The Two Johns. From the spare, folkie chug of “Words Are Like,” which originally appeared as part of They Might Be Giants’ internet-only collaboration with eMusic back in the pre-bust dot.com boom days of 2001, to the propulsive, four-on-the-floor dance groove of “You’re On Fire” from last year’s Manobo’s, the scope of Idlewild is as wide as it is beguiling. Well into his fourth decade as a singer-songwriter, Bob Mould – the visionary songwriter / guitarist whose rage and melody fueled the bands Husker Du and Sugar — is as relevant, ferocious, and poignant as he has ever been on the compact epic that is Beauty & Ruin. Instead of sitting idle and going quiet, Bob chooses to confront head-on and plow through the psychic turbulence that comes with this stage of life. Much of Beauty & Ruin deals with the passing of Mould’s father in 2012, Bob’s struggle to come to terms with it, himself, and his own identity and legacy, and repercussions of all of the above on his ongoing relationships in the land of the living. “It’s a song cycle. A narrative. It’s nobody’s story but my own,” says Mould. “I ran so fast from my past that I caught up with myself. This album is acknowledging that and dealing with every year getting a little tougher.” Beauty & Ruin is a twelve-track journey of loss, reflection, conciliation, and coming through the other side. Beauty & Ruin is a challenging work of raw beauty—and may well be Bob Mould’s finest work since his 1989 solo debut, Workbook. In little more than twelve months Chvrches have come out of nowhere to be everywhere. There’s a lot to catch up on since they posted their first song, “Lies”, online last May – a place in the top five of the BBC Sound of 2013, sell out headline tours in the UK and US, and a triumphant, award-winning appearance at SXSW and a string of stadium dates with Depeche Mode, to name but a few. Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty have captured a sound that, in the tradition of all great musical alchemies, even surprised the band that made it. “To me this is an indie rock band,” says Doherty. “Guitars are just replaced with keyboards – we want it rough.” The band’s peculiar magic lies in their juxtaposition of joy and doubt – these are robust, colorful pop songs whose lyrics reveal doubt and humanity, enhanced by the purity of Mayberry’s voice. The Bones Of What You Believe is characterized by a combination of passion and restraint, Cook and Doherty often withholding their wizardry to let the melodies speak for themselves. That subtle balance is the sound of experience – three musicians who are endlessly excited by the sound they have discovered, but clearly in it for the long haul. SAY ANYTHING JOHN MAYALL A SPECIAL LIFE HEBREWS FORTY BELOW RECORDS EQUAL VISION RECORDS/RORY RECORDS As 2013 came to a close and with his 80th birthday mere weeks away, the godfather of British blues, John Mayall, quietly entered a North Hollywood Studio with his band and walked out with one of the finest and most personal records of his career, A Special Life. This new album serves as further testament to John’s boundless talent, vitality and ever-dynamic personality. Along with his accomplished band, he goes back to his roots with an eclectic album centered in the blues but with diversions into rock and Americana. There are three new songs penned by John and one from band members Greg Rzab and Rocky Athas, as well as blues favorites from some of the greats, including Albert King and Jimmy Rogers. C.J. Chenier came to join the party on a couple of tracks (including one written by his father, Zydeco legend Clifton Chenier), adding an exciting extra dimension with his vocals and accordion. Infused with good-natured, world-weary humor and a simmering intensity, A Special Life is an aptly-titled treat from a musician who’s certainly “been there” and “done that.” Say Anything has been making odd, unclassifiable indie rock music since they were 14 or 15 years old, playing strangely literate and loud rock, characterized by what one might imagine if Larry David fronted a Fugazi cover band with the members of Queen. Not that that’s a stretch or anything. Hebrews is, by far, the most unique record Say Anything has made. First off, the album features 16 guest vocalists, including Chris Conley (Saves The Day), Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids), Chauntelle DuPree-D’Agostino (Eisley), Keith Buckley (Every Time I Die), Brian Sella (The Front Bottoms), Aaron Weiss (meWithoutYou), Stacy King (Eisley), Bob Nanna (Braid), Gareth and Kim Campesinos (Los Campesinos), Christie DuPree (Merriment), Jeremy Bolm (Touché Amoré), Tom DeLonge (blink182), Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra), Jon Simmons (Balance & Composure) and Sherri DuPree-Bemis (Eisley). Furthermore, Hebrews was made without guitars and puts string arrangements where guitar riffs would normally reign. How punk is that? JUNE 2014 LADY CAM TOM THE LION GET IT GOT IT SLEEP MIMICKING BIRDS EONS ALTAVOZ ENTERTAINMENT VERVE GLACIAL PACE Baton Rouge’s Lady Cam both writes and produces her own tracks. In addition to her creative talents, she ghost writes for others and has also played a part in directing the realty television show, “Through the Eyes of a Promoter.” She has also been featured in both online and print magazines such as On Wax, Street Report, Barrio Magazine, Hood Critic Magazine and has opened for acts such as Juvenile, Webbie, Cupid, Lil Flip, Lil Cali, Foxx and Shawnna to name a few. Lady Cam won the “Best Female Rapper” award at the On the Grind Magazine awards held in Florida, 2008. Get It Got It originally the album started off as an EP, but was later upgraded to a full album due to the successful reception of the title-track – a slow and sexy call to arms that brushes off haters (she ain’t think and you drunk she is) and compels you to the dancefloor. Girl Power straight from the Dirty South! Tom The Lion’s music roars with a quiet mystery that gets more intense and irresistible with every listen. His full-length album debut Sleep is already shaping up as one of the most enticing and atmospheric records of 2014. Early adopters have known the intangible allure of this London-based singer-songwriter for two years, back to the 2011 emergence of two limited, highly collectible double vinyl 10-inch EPs, The Adventures Of Tom The Lion. They were released exclusively via the ever-influential support of Rough Trade, then compiled into an album package, stunningly mounted in a wooden box set with the addition of a live acoustic disc. Sleep takes Tom The Lion’s gauzy goodness even further. Sure, his voice (a lovely blend of Bon Iver and Antony) and sumptuous melodies are fantastic – in fact, one might argue that Sleep is the best Coldplay album of 2014 – but what really sets Tom The Lion apart from the pride is his sense of rhythm: Originally a drummer who fell in love with laptop production, Tom’s layering of real and programmed percussion, not to mention his spare-yet-chunky rhythm guitars, make for delicately rickety structures that allow the choruses to EXPLODE on impact. Sleep is the stuff that dreams are made of. Singer/songwriter Nate Lacy spent the years since his teens exploring his inner world and his connection with the universe at large. The result of his efforts was a small collection of songs that, when finally recorded and released as Mimicking Birds in 2010, received glowing accolades from Pitchfork and the like. These days, Lacy is focusing his gaze further outward, exploring what he calls “the infinite and the infinitesimal,” while also keeping lyrical watch on the crossroads where our digital future and our pastoral past bump up against each other. The rest of the band, Aaron Hanson and Adam Trachsel, works to remain connected to the Birds’ of yore – emphasizing fingerpicked acoustic guitars, the sturdy tones of a stand-up bass, and restrained drums – while pushing into the future as well. Eons feels as expansive as its title thanks to the help of producer Jeremy Sherrer (The Gossip, 1776). He helped weave some gorgeous electronic textures into the songs – listen for the skittering programmed beat that helps carry “Owl Hoots” forward, or the swells of keyboards that pull closing track “Movin’ On” towards an �80s pop sunrise. Eons will transport, delight, and surprise you, even through multiple listens. KISHI BASHI FIRST AID KIT LIGHGHT STAY GOLD JOYFUL NOISE COLUMBIA Lighght is new second album from violinist, singer and composer Kishi Bashi. Taking its title from the one-word poem by minimalist poet Aram Saroyan, Lighght (pronounced “Light”) continues and expands the sound of his critically acclaimed debut, 151a, which earned Kishi Bashi the title of “Best New Artist” for 2012 by NPR. 151a was crafted over a four-year period while Kishi Bashi, the pseudonym for artist K. Ishibashi, was touring and recording with Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and of Montreal (where he was a full-time member and co-producer). In late 2012, Kishi Bashi decided to focus solely on his own music and began composing the new material, which led to Lighght. Though violin remains his primary instrument and songwriting muse, Kishi Bashi has expanded his palette to include more diverse and nuanced instrumentation. Bright and soaring avant-pop songs are prevalent on Lighght, as are Eastern-tinged arrangements, gentle ballads, Philip Glassinspired improvisations, and more than a few moments that flirt with �70s prog (in the tradition of ELO or Yes). If this sounds jarringly kaleidoscopic, that’s because it is. But it works. Hailing Stockholm, Sweden sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg – A.K.A. First Aid Kit – began composing songs as teenagers in 2007. Success soon followed: “Emmylou,“ off The Lion’s Roar was chosen by Rolling Stone as the “Single of the Year” in 2012 and found the duo taking multiple treks across the globe, making the late night rounds with spots on Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, and sharing the stage with artists including Jack White, Lykee Li, and Bright Eyes. With Stay Gold, First Aid Kit have further honed their lush arrangements and blossomed as vivid storytellers. Recorded at ARC studios in Omaha and produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk), First Aid Kit also enlisted The Omaha Symphony Orchestra to play on the record, with arrangements by Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes, Broken Bells, Rilo Kiley). They say of the recording process, “We took new directions and turns with the arrangements, building them up and creating more dynamics, yet always following where the songs wanted to go.” Judging by the spaghetti western strings of “My Silver Lining” to the high-lonesome sound of “Cedar Lane” where these songs need to go is with you – on the road – towards some beautiful unknown. You need this. JUNE 2014 VARIOUS ARTISTS LA SERA OWEN PALLETT FAULT IN OUR STARS HOUR OF THE DAWN IN CONFLICT ATLANTIC HARDLY ART DOMINO Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them — and us – on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. The Fault In Our Stars, based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love. The film is directed by Josh Boone, written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, and stars Laura Dern, Sam Tramell, Nat Wolff and Willem Dafoe. The soundtrack for The Fault In Our Stars aims to become unforgettable as well, thanks to it’s mix of under the radar cuts from Jake Bugg, The Radio Dept., and Kodaline, as well as original music from heavy hitters like Birdy, Charlie XCX and Grouplove. As La Sera, Katy Goodman turned an aching heart into two marvelous, alluring yet bittersweet break-up albums (2011’s self-titled debut and 2012’s Sees the Light). On her latest, though, the former Vivian Girl is through crying. Hour of the Dawn sees Goodman waking up, throwing open the bedroom windows and welcoming the day. “I wanted the new La Sera record to sound like Lesley Gore [the singer of the 1963 chart-topper, “It’s My Party”] fronting Black Flag,” Goodman says. “I didn’t want it to be another record of me sad, alone in my room. I wanted to have fun playing music and writing songs with a band.” To back her nimble bass lines and enchanting vocals, Goodman assembled a new band helmed by guitarist Todd Wise baker. “We started playing faster, louder and more aggressively,” Goodman says. “I wanted to get that energy onto the album. The album was inspired by a lot of bands: The Pretenders, Minor Threat, X, The Smiths, The Cars and more.“ Hour of the Dawn, as its title suggests, heralds the beginning of a radiant and energetic new chapter in La Sera’s evolution—the summit of Goodman’s steady ascent to rock and roll queendom. Owen Pallett was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score, alongside Arcade Fire, for their work on Spike Jonze’s Her. While Pallett has served as a versatile collaborator to many projects in both pop and art establishments — the list is far too long to recite here, but you can count Arcade Fire and Final Fantasy chief among them — he is equally beloved for his accessibility, for the way his art reflects & resonates with Mainstream Pop Culture (such as it is), and the emotionally cathartic outlet his music provides. Pallett’s new album, In Conflict, is full of love songs more specifically, songs about liminal states and our loved ones locked in battle with them. “The record is meant to approach �insanity’ in a positive way,” Owen says - emphasis on the ironizing scare quotes around singular notions of insanity. “Depression, addiction, gender trouble, and the creative state are presented as positive, loveable, empathetic ways of being. Not preferable, per se, but all as equal, valid positions that we experience, which make us human.” Brain Eno guests. ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES CHILDISH GAMBINO HALF THIS CITY BECAUSE THE INTERNET SINGLE LOCK/THIRTY TIGERS GLASSNOTE Grit, elemental rhythm, tight-as-a-drumhead playing, and a profound depth of feeling: these are the promises of a great soul band. And St. Paul and the Broken Bones deliver on those promises. Half the City is the compelling full-length debut from this Birmingham, Alabama-based sextet, which has already created a maelstrom of interest with their roof-raising live shows and self-released, foursong 2012 EP. Produced by Ben Tanner of Alabama Shakes, and recorded and mixed in the storied R&B mecca of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Half the City harkens back to the region’s classic soul roots while extending the form with electrifying potency. Half the City presents the same vital, direct, emotionally affecting, and inthe-pocket sound that St. Paul and the Broken Bones deliver live, where singer Paul Janeway’s unique and extroverted performing style leaves the audience in thrall. Half the City was recorded liveto-tape and features all the grit, scrapes, and soul of a band playing right in front of you… As if their lives depended on it. Because it does. Dig it. because the internet is the highly-anticipated second studio album by Childish Gambino. Also known for his acting, writing and comedic work (including Girls, Community, and his own stand up special on Comedy Central), Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover has admitted that because the internet is his “most honest work to date”. because the internet is the follow-up to Gambino’s 2011 breakthrough debut album, CAMP, an album that cemented Glover’s decision to pursue a serious career as a musician. Gambino’s sophomore offering is no meager one. Packed with 19 tracks, the album features guest artists Azealia Banks, Chance The Rapper and Jhene Aiko. because the internet is the answer to the age old question, “Why are we here?” The Internet is the universal language breaking down boundaries and connecting us all. On because the internet Gambino grapples with modern day issues while narrating a story. Childish Gambino might be funny (well, he is), but his skills are no joke. The beats are huge, the delivery is impeccable, and because the internet is his best joint yet. #youcanhazrealhiphop JUNE 2014 THE BURNING OF ROME KAN WAKAN CHEAP GIRLS YEAR OF THE OX MOVING ON FAMOUS GRAVES SURFDOG VERVE XTRA MILE The Burning of Rome began modestly as Adam Traub’s recording project in a laundry room in Oceanside, CA. It rapidly outgrew the fourtrack tape recorder on which it was born and demanded his complete devotion. The quintet has conjured a sonic palate replete with everything from death pop bliss, galactic rock, gypsy punk cabaret, to indie spaghetti western, and are now poised to harken the masses with Year of The Ox. Famed Butthole Surfer and producer Paul Leary (U2, Melvins, Sublime and Meat Puppets) fell in love with the band, leading him to captain the production duties for Year Of The Ox, as well as bring some wicked drummers into the mix, including Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle / NIN), Dale Crover (Melvins / Nirvana) and Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam / Of Montreal). Year of the Ox weaves the three concepts of art, rebellion and life into a cascading aural braid. Each song, disguised by infectious pop hooks and provocative allusions to historical lore, elicits an intensely moving account of Traub’s interpretation of the human experience. That said, the San Diego Reader sums up the band pretty well: “…if the Misfits took psychedelics and performed an ABBA tribute.” What are you waiting for? Kan Wakan arrive with a striking breadth of vision that immediately places them among modern pop’s most beguiling and inventive new artists. Moving On, The Los Angeles-based group’s debut long-player, is an enveloping amalgam of psychedelic soul, post rock, electronica, noir jazz, 60s soundtrack stylings, and orchestral pop — all reshaped and rearranged to create something both startlingly original and utterly contemporary. The musical brainchild of composer/producer/multiinstrumentalist Gueorgui I. Linev, the Bulgarian-born musician originally set out to create solely instrumental music inspired by his lifelong passion for classical minimalism — but the involvement of chanteuse Kristianne Bautista and producer/guitarist Peter Potyondy rapidly saw the project grow in both scope and purpose. After a year spent experimenting, the core group built upon a truly variegated palette of influences. Common musical themes began to manifest, including a epic but cinematic deep soul approach inspired by such icons as Bill Withers and Nina Simone. “Forever Found” – the band’s first fully fleshed track – proved the aural template from which Kan Wakan lit out on their exploration… Of what Linev refers to as “the juxtaposition of song and symphony.” Famous Graves, the title of the Cheap Girls’ highly anticipated fourth album has two meanings. First: It’s a literal reference to the Michigan band’s favorite tour activity (they’ve seen everyone’s from Bon Scott in Perth to Ian Curtis near Manchester). The second meaning is a bit deeper: “The phrase started taking on the idea of common error,” explains bassist/vocalist Ian Graham. “It refers to obvious ways to make mistakes” Fortunately, the Michigan trio hasn’t done much of that. Their last album, 2012’s Giant Orange was the first album ever produced by Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace, who agreed to work on it after playing a few dates with the band. Also, the band tours constantly – hitting festivals and going out with road with bands you likely already love. The band has drawn comparisons to 90s alterna-rock heavyweights but, if ya wanna get really nerdy, imagine The Long Winters’ John Roderick fronting Lotion. But whatever: Cheap Girls have found fans in both the punk kids at Fest, and indie rock snobs for one simple reason: They write incredible guitar rock that’s instantly hummable and endearing. And if “Slow Nod” doesn’t grab you right out the gate then, well, you might be dead inside. You need this. TRASH TALK RODNEY CROWELL NO PEACE TARPAPER SKY ODD FUTURE RECORDS NEW WEST Trash Talk formed in Sacramento, CA formed in 2005 No Peace is a promise and a threat. It’s the name of 32 minutes of recorded concussions delivered by Trash Talk on Odd Future Records. It is hardcore punk, it is hardcore hip-hop, it’s a way of telling you to shut the fuck up if you’re try to pigeonhole it. Lee Spielman incites the crowd like a Hun. The guitars and drums blister. The crowd becomes a melee. There will probably be blood. It’s like if Black Flag got pulled under the Timbo’s of M.O.P. If you got sent to the firing squad, middle fingers up, I would recommend that you play this. No Peace is music for the sake of aggression. Recorded in New York City, this is the closest Trash Talk has come to capturing the chaos on wax. Legendary hip-hop producer Alchemist contributes two filthy beats that Trash Talk drag through the gutter, knuckles up. Drums like brass knuckles. A bonus track features King Krule and Wiki from Rat King spitting rain on soft skulls. In 2010, Rodney Crowell took a notion. He called up most of the band that had played with him on his 1988 commercial breakthrough album Diamonds & Dirt and got them together in a recording studio. Here it was, two decades later. Bass player Michael Rhodes, drummer Eddie Bayers and guitarist Steuart Smith had become Nashville session royalty. Crowell had become one of the most admired songwriter/artists in America. But even they don’t often take the opportunity to record like this. In a circle, facing one another and truly hearing one another, with no headphones or glass walls to separate them, they cut live as a band, with the honesty and nofixes spontaneity of the records that first inspired all of them as teenagers. Before a full album’s worth of material was finished, other projects intervened, including Old Yellow Moon – his Grammy-winning collaboration with Emmylou Harris – but once he got the band together again for one more go Crowell knew he had something special. Tarpaper Sky begins with “Long Journey Home,” whose archetypal folk title speaks to its ageless theme of wanderlust and its uncomplicated melody. Then as “Fever On The Bayou” segues into “Frankie Please,” we realize we’re listening to a pastoral masterpiece. JUNE 2014 RICH ROBINSON DAWN GOLDEN THE CEASELESS SIGHT STILL LIFE TIGERS JAW CHARMER THE END DOWNTOWN RUN FOR COVER Rich Robinson, best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and driving force behind The Black Crowes, stands ready to complete the solo artist evolution that he began ten years earlier. The Ceaseless Sight is an album that represents the full maturation of Rich as a songwriter, a vocalist, and a solo artist. A worldwide Black Crowes tour kept Robinson busy in 2013, but he found the time to return to Woodstock to record The Ceaseless Sight. The album finds Robinson stepping solidly into his own as a solo artist as he adds confident vocalist and lyricist to his accomplished musical resume. Like the two solo albums that preceded The Ceasless Sight, Paper and A Crooked Sun, Robinson has been making a journey from a Southern RnB rocker to a craftsman of transcendent Americana that’s both rooted in traditionalism yet wildly inventive. The Ceasless Sight is brilliantly arranged and produced with Robinson’s deft instrumentalism – a blend of electric and acoustic guitars – weaving dense tapestries that eventually make way for his soaring voice. The momentum of a song like “One Road Hill” is so compelling that you’ll be stomping your feet in no time. The Ceasless Sight is startlingly good — a true psychedelic roots rock masterpiece. Dawn Golden, a solo electronic production and songwriting project helmed by Dexter Tortoriello of Houses, officially started in late 2010 when a series of Bandcamp demos caught Diplo’s attention with their stark emotion and forward-thinking production. Quickly signed to Mad Decent, Dawn Golden released its first EP, Blow, in April 2011. The effort, which featured standouts like “Blacks” and “White Sun,” garnered critical acclaim from NPR and Pitchfork. Tortoriello then moved from Chicago to Los Angeles and started recording what would become Still Life. Recorded over the last three years at the Mad Decent studios in Los Angeles, Still Life gains its stark emotional perspective through some of the most unique production you’re likely to hear this year. There’s heavy exploration of sonic texture, and Tortoriello uses frozen cut ups and creative vocal editing to flip a traditionally futuristic sound into something that oozes feeling. “I wanted the record to sound sterile and futuristic, while at the same time pounding the entirety of suburban decay through a megaphone,” says Tortoiello. “Like if American Beauty was set in the Tron world.” Right on. Between the power pop melodies of early Saves the Day and the hard driving folk rhythms of Fleetwood Mac lies Tigers Jaw, a band who’s raw immediacy is infectious and intoxicating. Shimmering organ textures, chunky guitar chords, and male/female vocal harmonies show the Scranton, PA natives taking rural rock music from its legendary past to its vibrant future. Tigers Jaw has a profound musical purity that is as equally stirring in a basement of 40 people as it is in a club of 1,000. Charmer is Tigers Jaw’s first LP in four years – and, for the band’s rabid cult of fans, this has been much too long… But worth the wait. Unfamiliar? The band’s first single, “Nervous Kids” is reminiscent of early Superchunk and The Promise Ring – chunky poppy punk rock with lyrics that are quite possibly more lacerating than the bands buzzsaw guitars. PUP SAGE FRANCIS COPPER GONE PUP STRANGE FAMOUS SIDE ONE DUMMY As you may remember, Sage Francis declared a sudden retirement from touring at the end of his “Li(f)e on the Road” world excursion in 2010. In reality, Francis removed himself from the non-stop grind of the tour circuit in hopes of developing a healthier domestic situation. He did not achieve this goal, as numerous songs on his first album in four years, Copper Gone, clearly illustrate (some more overtly than others). It features beats from long-time music affiliates Buck 65, Alias, Cecil Otter, Reanimator, and more. “Vonnegut Busy” is Copper Gone in a nutshell — transitioning seamlessly from socio-economic issues to personal politics, all while being punctuated by the project’s overall mission statement: “When it seems like you’re going through hell…keep going.” The reference to Kurt Vonnegut in the title is accompanied by a quote from the satirical writer in one of the song’s 3 sub-choruses: “Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, �it might have been.’” Copper Gone finds Francis still bursting at the seams with rage and bold poetry. It’s good to have him back. As of lately, Toronto has been the breeding grounds for some of the best punk rock bands around. The scene is both a blessing and a curse. There seem to be 1,000+ loud rock bands in this city vying for attention, but when you are able to cut through the static, everyone seems to take notice. This is the case for Toronto four-piece, PUP. What sets PUP apart in this booming scene is their ability to fuse raw punk energy with catchy earworms, big hooks, and scream-along choruses. Their songs are loud and fast, equal parts unchecked energy and calculated arrangements, with hair-pin turns, raging guitar riffs, and an overload of gang vocals. Finally, PUP’s debut full-length – recorded by legendary producer Dave Schiffman (Weezer, The Bronx, Vampire Weekend, Rage Against The Machine) – is upon us and it’s just as loud and raucous as the band itself: “We recorded mostly live off the floor,” says frontman Stefan Babcock. “There are a lot of mistakes on the album, but they’re real and awesome, and it sounds like us, playing our songs. That’s all I’ve ever wanted out of a punk rock record.” You’ll feel the same way. JUNE 2014 DAVE MASON FUTURE'S PAST SOMETHING-MUSIC/MRI Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, songwriter, and legendary guitarist Dave Mason has been making music since the age of 18 when he teamed up with fellow England native Steve Winwood to form the band Traffic. Since then he has penned dozens of hits, and has been linked with numerous other members of rock and roll elite, including Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Rita Coolidge, Leon Russell, Ron Wood and Mama Cass Elliot. Mason has been performing to sold-out audiences for years and has sold millions of recordings worldwide. You might say he’s a bit of a legend… A legend in a reflective mood: Mason’s new album Future’s Past is an examination and re-interpretation of his greatest hits, including “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “World in Changes,” and “Sad and Deep as You” as well a brand new song, “That’s Freedom,” and an inspired cover of the Robert Johnson classic “Come On In My Kitchen.”
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