THE SKINNY: Thelonious Dub is the heavy groove version of your favorite jazz standards with ambient guitar tones and an orchestra of electronic sounds.Thelonious Dub is an experimental Jazz, jam and dub group out of Glendale, Calif. The band’s major contributor is Joe Bartone, the man behind the record's guitar, sitar, melodica and keyboards. He is also responsible for all the arranging and tracking on the band's self-titled LP, an impressive feat considering the multitude of instruments and sounds the album offers. T- Dub has taken classic Jazz standards and completely transformed them into heavy grooved-based jams filled with electronic goodies and plenty of dub feel. They have an original approach to these standards and it really has me glued.
On their record, you'll hear well-known melodies from Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington. My favorite is the Miles Davis cover entitled "So What". I particularly love when they drop a reggae groove after the intro and then dub the rest out, as a heavy reggae bass line takes point. They kick a similar in groove again on "Footprints", a cover of a Wayne Shorter cover. Here, Bartone weaves melodies nicely to fit the adjusted 4/4 feel. There are so many great things going on in this album, specifically from electronics and guitar tones. The sax and trumpet have an awesome presence and tone, as well. What I love best though, is singing my favorite Jazz melodies under the heavy groove that Thelonious Dub lay out on every single track.
"So What" off of Thelonious Dub
MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/theloniousdub
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/TheloniousDub
PURCHASE: CDBaby
FAVORITE TRACK: "So What"
FOR FANS OF: John Scofield's "Uberjam"
One-man bands are creeping back into the musical world for one obvious reason: technology makes it pretty easy. Of course, if you can't play drums, bass, guitar and sing then you're probably not eligible. If you're the guy from Night Artery, a Mr. Ross Arundale, then you most definitely are in the running. Ross recorded Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums, Piano, and arranged strings for his first release entitled Capsize Your Surroundings.While Ross has put together an exceptional studio album that rock fans will most definitely appreciate, I have trouble shaking the idea that live performances consist of one man at a microphone with a guitar while recorded drums, bass and strings play on a PA behind him. If you look at Night Artery's album as purely a recorded work, however, you'll have trouble finding much wrong. Plenty of professionalism, a strong command of every instrument on the record and excellent production make Capsize Your Surroundings a strong and impressive independent release.
Ross is a Melbourne, Australia native. He only recently purchased the instruments used to make the album, along with recording equipment that he (yup) used to record himself. Instrumentation on the record is certainly above average, but the piano arrangements are a little more advanced and they're executed really well. Listen to the hidden track that closes the ep to appreciate the breadth of his ability to pick up and wield instruments. Capsize... is, despite originally costing $5, a free release so do yourself and Ross Arundale (whom received honors for "2008 Best International Rock EP") a favor by downloading his first, very successful EP and keep in touch for what's next.
WEBSITE: http://nightartery.com
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/nightartery
FREE DOWNLOAD: Capsize Your Surroundings EP
Alyssa's Fall Tracks
1. "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" - Iron and Wine
2. "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" - Death Cab for Cutie
3. "Never Meant" - American Football
4. "Those To Come" - The Shins
5. "Science Vs. Romance" - Rilo Kiley
Most of these songs have a feeling of fall to me for nostalgic reasons. I remember hearing the first track from Iron and Wine's Shepherd's Dog for the first time two Octobers ago at a party. I remember my high school best friend and I singing "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" to each other randomly on the phone the fall after Plans came out. I won't bore you with more details but basically, these tracks are my "fall tracks" because of the images of this season they bring back whenever I listen to them.
Iron and Wine
"Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" off of The Shepherd's Dog
Joey's Fall Tracks
1. "Re: Stacks" - Bon Iver
2. "Sweet Talk" - Dear and the Headlights
3. "Choose The One Who Loves You More" - Copeland
4. "Monechetti" - Further Seems Forever
5. "Hometown Reward" - Procession Came Opposite
These aren't about Fall - just remind me of it, for one reason or another. It's probably because I picture them all wearing coats while they play. Or maybe I just love these songs year 'round and it happens to be autumn now so I'm mislead. Or maybe I'm a robot.
Copeland
"Choose The One Who Loves You More" off of In Motion
Procession Came Opposite
"Hometown Reward" off of Pillars
Nicole's Fall Tracks
1. "Sowing Season" - Brand New
2. "Sodom, South Georgia" - Iron and Wine
3. "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" - The Decemberists
4. "Shoulders" - Jacob Golden
5. "Love Love Love" - The Mountain Goats
As much as I hate for summer to fade, I always look forward to the first day of Fall. For me, it's a season of change and reflection. A season not only for colder, crisper air but for longer, quieter drives and muffled, evening conversations with close friends. The songs I chose are those that have accompanied me in such moments, whether they be from now or seasons past.
Iron and Wine
"Sodom, South Georgia" off of Our Endless Numbered Days
Andrew's Fall Tracks
1. "Broom People" - The Mountain Goats
2. "A Glance Backwards and Forwards" - Slingshot Dakota
3. "An Experiment" - Mates of State
4. "Revealing Too Much" - The Honorary Title
5. "Planetary" - Rainer Maria
For one reason or another, when I picture myself listening to music during the fall season I can't help but think back to my first semester of college and the artists I loved back then. Maybe it's because I spent more time outside listening to music my freshman year, who knows. All of these songs remind me of that point of my life, either because I don't listen to them as often these days or because that's when I started listening to them.
The Mountain Goats
"Broom People" off of The Sunset Tree
Chelsea's Fall Tracks
1. "23" - Jimmy Eat World
2. "We Looked Like Giants" - Death Cab for Cutie
3. "Cannonball" - Damien Rice
4. "Innocent Vigilant Ordinary" - The Appleseed Cast
5. "Fix You Up" - Tegan and Sara
I look forward to fall each year because it is without a doubt my favorite season. The crisp, cool air just does something to make the world seem alive despite the fact that most things in nature are slowly dying. For me, this season has always been accompanied somewhat somber, thoughtful music that makes me nostalgic of important times, people and moments in my life. The song "23" by Jimmy Eat World reminds me of the fall of my freshman year of college. I was starting a new stage in my life and the album Futures meant a lot to me during that time. It remains to this day one of my favorite songs, on one of my favorite albums.
Jimmy Eat World
"23" off of Futures
The Appleseed Cast
"Innocent Vigilant Ordinary" off of Two Conversations
Keenan's Fall Tracks
1. "I Want Wind To Blow" - The Microphones
2. "Welcome Home, Son" - Radical Face
3. "Never Meant" - American Football
4. "This Year" - The Mountain Goats
5. "Bikes and Bridges" - Defiance, Ohio
Aside from the lyrics or the musical aspects of a song that may remind you of a particular time of the year, I find that when I first discover / listen to a song, it tends to freeze itself into that particular period in time. When any of the aforementioned tracks come onto shuffle, I almost immediately find myself conjuring up memories of where I was or what I was doing when I was first introduced to said song.
The Microphones
"I Want Wind to Blow" off of The Glow Part II
Radical Face
"Welcome Home, Son" off of Ghost
My life has been an absolute whirlwind the past few months, and I have found myself so inundated with work that I have not seen nearly as many shows as I would have liked to. I miss the energy of the crowd and watching the organic performances and new sounds that can emerge from bands as they play.The only thing that has been getting me through this dry spell is the collection of live recordings I have been hoarding on my iPod from Daytrotter.com. Daytrotter is a recording studio in Rock Island, ILL. where bands are invited to come and play their music with whatever instruments and knick knacks happen to by lying around the studio that day.
The result? New spins on your old favorites and amazing raw recordings that make you feel like you're watching an intimate, live performance. Even better is that all the music produced during these sessions is completely free to download. Daytrotter's writers and artists also put together a sketch or drawing of the band, so that it imports as your iTunes album art for the download. Your iTunes has never looked so sweet.
Recently featured is the band The Antlers, reviewed by PFW's Alyssa just last week. Check out their session, along with the extensive session archive of all your favorite groups at daytrotter.com.
Death Cab For Cutie
"A Movie Script Ending" off of Day Trotter Sessions
Ra Ra Riot
"Oh La" off of Day Trotter Session
Blind Pilot
"The Story I Heard" off of Day Trotter Session
This past week for me has consisted of a lot of meds, soup, sleep and sad music. If you can't tell, I like to pity myself when I'm in a bad situation. But I'm guessing a lot of you are just as sick as I am. It seems to be going around. As a pick-me-up you should download Yeasayer's new single, "Ambling Alp", for FREE on their myspace. It's different from their usual sound and kind of reminds me of Animal Collective. So put down your tissues, stop listening to John Mayer and dance to this.
"Ambling Alp"
"Ambling Alp"
"Disappear" off of My Dinosaur Life
Going along with the "nostalgic" feelings of Fall that Chris brought up last week, it motivated me to ponder on some of my own fall favorites. Sufjan Stevens undoubtedly falls near the very top of my nostalgic-fall-favorites list. I was introduced to his "Illinois" record in the fall semester of my first year of college in Manhattan. Nearly every time a Sufjan song comes on shuffle now, I picture myself wearing a hoodie and walking through the Union Square Farmer's Market on a chilly Saturday morning.
"Come on! Feel the Illinoise" off of Illinois:
"Come on! Feel the Illinoise" off of Illinois:
WEBSITE: http://jellimusic.comMYSPACE: http://myspace.com/jellimusic
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/jellimusic
PURCHASE: Amazon MP3
J.E.L.L.i. is the brainchild of one man show, Christopher Sauter. His recently released, self-titled debut EP is a short record with a lot of variety spanning emo, punk, hardcore, and indie rock. The EP is rich with texture and is an all-around fun listen which is especially impressive considering Mr. Sauter was also responsible for all aspects of the production.
Vocally, Sauter shares a lot of the same pronunciations found on Greenday's albums, ripe with choppy, colorful melodies outlining catchy, memorable lyrics. Emphasizing this youthful, and energetic sound is the idea that Sauter is an exceptionally ambitious mind. Along with having written, recorded, fully producing his album, Sauter made artwork for both his album and individual songs, as well as a fully functional webspace, brimming with information and ways for fans to help J.E.L.L.i. expand and get public. Chris Sauter is one of the few truly independent artists out there that deserve the right to call themselves such.
Instrumentally, it's not as though Sauter hacks away at each of the instruments that make up the ep's landscape. In fact, the opposite is true. While drum and bass are the most simple of the instrumentation, they're consistent, solid, and highly effective. Guitar is clearly Chris's forte and he's taken the time to emphasize that. "I Am Blank - Nothing" sports some cool riffing while "Jenn" displays a more improvisational edge, beautifully sculpted and nestled into the heart of the already catchy track. I'm skeptical of the ability of the project to stay afloat if there is no live band to recreate the tunes on the album, but no doubt Sauter is figuring this out while he simultaneously records his next album, does the dishes, makes a living for himself, and determines how he can further promote this engaging, unique, and impressive project.
"Jenn" off of J.E.L.L.i EP
FAVORITE TRACK: "Jenn"
FOR FANS OF: Greenday, Brand New
Being a longtime fan of Canadian duo Tegan & Sara, I was a bit disappointed when I realized that their newest record, Sainthood, had been released, and I had almost forgotten that they even existed. After hearing mixed reviews from friends on their reactions to the new album, I took a listen for myself. I still haven't gotten to spend an extraordinary amount of time with it, but my opinion is pretty similar to what I heard from others - a bit different than their norm, but definitely not in a bad way. The first single released from the record was "Hell." My favorite, however, is the last track on the album entitled "Someday," as I'm a sucker for gang vocals and T & S's signature overlapping vocal melodies.
"Someday" off of Sainthood:
"Someday" off of Sainthood:
THE SKINNY: Broadcast 2000 is an indie-folk band from London. The frontman, Joe Steer, manages to write, record, and play all the instruments for the band's albums in his London flat.In August of 2008 the band released its first EP entitled Building Blocks. Steer originally recorded all of the instruments and vocals himself, although he planned on using his vocal tracks as a guide and to rerecord the vocals at a later date. The band's first full length, Broadcast 2000, is scheduled to be released in 2010, but is fully recorded and a handful of tracks are available for listen on myspace. Tom Hobden, a member of Noah and the Whale, added a few violin tracks in addition to the instruments that Steer recorded on the new album.
During live performances Steer plays with Tom Andrews (glockenspiel), Chris Banner (percussion), Pedro Del Battenberg (percussion), Louise Golbey (harmony vocals), Greg Cordez (double bass), Kelly Underdown (violin), Jade Brightwell (violin) and Alex Eichenberger (cello).
"Get Up and Go" off of Building Blocks EP
WEBSITE: broadcast2000.co.uk/
MYSPACE: myspace.com/broadcast2000
TWITTER: twitter.com/broadcast2000
PURCHASE: Amazon, iTunes
FAVORITE TRACK: "All is Said and Done"
off of Broadcast 2000
FOR FANS OF: Sufjan Stevens, Noah and the Whale
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