Interview - The Raveonettes

Danish rock duo The Raveonettes just played two New York shows in support of their new album In And Out Of Control. One at Webster and one in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Wiliamsburg. They also played Maxwell's in New Jersey. We weren't in attendance, but we did get a chance to ask a few question of Sune Rose Wagner, the founder and spokesman of sorts for the two piece about a multitude of things concerning the new album, the band's sound and their creative growth over the years since we've known them.


BSCKenya: "Boys Who Rape" is a song one might expect to be dark and sinister, and while lyrically, it tackles a subject matter that is just that, musically, it's ensconced inside light, dreamy pop. This has sort of been a running theme for Raveonettes for a few records now. Would you say this sort of sweet, yet in-your-face confrontation of things like rape and suicide is your most effective writing technique?

Sune: Well, we always liked contrast and the music needs to be a combined entity of various moods and sounds. A light melody goes really well with darker lyrics I think otherwise it all becomes too nauseating.

BSCKenya: Some would say In and Out of Control sits comfortably in between the uber production of Pretty In Black and the raw, DIY production of Lust Lust Lust. Would you give any validity to that sentiment, or ignore it completely?

Sune: I think the new album is a strange mix of lo-fi sounds being blown up in a hi-fi soundscape. We threw so many crazy sounds together and it ended up sounding big and beautiful.

BSCKenya: What are your own feelings on the album as far as where the final results sit musically after Lust Lust Lust?

Sune: I think it's a brilliant pop album you don't get to hear these days. It's daring, confrontational and challenging, not many pop albums have those elements. It's a very different album from what we've done previously, that's for sure.

BSCKenya: Are any of the songs on In and Out of Control revised runoff from previous writing sessions for past albums that didn't make the cut?

Sune: "Heart Of Stone" is from an album I did which was never released. It was originally meant to be on a solo album but I ended up doing a solo album in Danish so this song fit perfectly for this album.

BSCKenya: Since 2002, after five releases on a few different labels, what have you learned that informs the music you make at this moment?

Sune: I follow whatever my heart tells me. I don't follow trends or anything. I'm old fashioned when it comes to writing songs. Whatever works for me and makes my heart beat faster from pure excitement must be the righg thing. I'm into good songwriting like Dylan and Springsteen. A good song is the number one thing then you can cloak in whatever sound you find appealing at the time of recording.

BSCKenya: Every artists wishes to evolve their artistry as time progresses. Do you consider artistic evolution something that should happen naturally, or would you say it is more a purposeful pursuit?

Sune: It happens naturally but we also try to not repeat ourselves too much. This album was written, recorded and mixed in 6 weeks, we never tried that before.

BSCKenya: If you were forced to pick one song on this album that embodies the most growth the Raveonettes demonstrate, which would that be?

Sune: "Last Dance" for sure. It's a big production, extremely catchy melody, very different instrumentation from what we've done before and overall just a smash hit.

BSCKenya: Is there anyone around now that you can get behind musically? Who are you listening to?

Sune: I try to follow what's going on. I've listened to bands like Girls, The XX, The Big Pink, the new Horrors album and Bat For Lashes.

BSCKenya: You're about to embark on the exhilarating madness that is going on tour again. Any anticipation or apprehension about what awaits you in the wake of this new release?

Sune: For the first time ever I feel incredibly confident that we will blow people away with our show cause we've rehearsed many, many cool songs and found new ways of playing some of the old songs as well. We're totally on top of our game and we're ready to go through all of our albums. A few unexpected surprises as well...

BSCKenya: Which song from the current album would you get the most joy out of performing for your fans?

Sune: All of them, they're all so new, just a few months old really but Sharin is playing drums on "Heart Of Stone" so I'm totally looking forward to that.

Download tracks from the new album, In And Out Of Control: http://share.theraveonettes.com/

Interview - Man On Earth @ Urban Noise Fest

Back in August I was at the Blender Theater attending Urban Noise Summer Fest. It was a free show and Me Talk Pretty were performing with another band I wanted to see, Man On Earth. A band I knew of, but had never really seen live before. My sister Kendra put me on to one of their songs, "Come In Closer" and I seriously dug it. Of course, it's one of those songs designed to immediately hook any person of the female persuasion with it's slow rhythm and suggestive lyrics. But ... that's beside the point.

Point is, I checked them out on Myspace. I wasn't over the moon about what I heard, but I went into the show with some decent expectations. I mean it was free, and I had been given the opportunity to chat with the guys after their set, so it was a good deal all around.

My expectations were met and exceeded.

I don't know if it had anything to do with the two eight dollar glasses of vodka cranberry I had been drinking with Kendra, but they blew me away. Seriously, these guys know how to put on a show. Everything sounded ten times better; executed with skill and ease. Lead singer Steve Nathan commanded the audience with confidence and personality. He whipped what had previously been a thinning crowd into a dancing clapping mass advancing on the stage. Dude's vocal prowess is impressive, and coolly complimented by bassist Alex Goumas. The one band member who absolutely killed it for me though (this means he blew my eyeballs into the back of my sockets with his awesome) was the guitarist Alex Polaris.

Next to "Come In Closer", the opener "It Feels Like" was one of the highlights of the set and he had some solos that had my jaw on the ground. I admire skill. It makes me endlessly curious about where it comes from in the person that possesses it. Needless to say, I was very excited to talk to the band after such a powerhouse performance.





Here's how our chat went down:

BSCKenya: Ok, what's up? First question is about how you describe your sound as 'experimental rock'. How's that demonstrated through your music?

Nathan: Well I just think it comes down to the fact that we don't try to pigeon hole ourselves into any certain style. We're free to just write whatever we want. We'll come up with something weird and then, once we get together and play it, it comes together and we're completely happy with hit.

BSCKenya: So your sound isn't streamlined in one direction or category.

Nathan: Yeah, pretty much.

BSCKenya: And how's it going with the current album (The Time Spent Wondering)? Going the way you want it?

Nathan: Well, the purpose of the album is to have a full record so we could shop it and license it and put it out. We're talking to some locals that are interested in licensing it. So everything is going as planned.

BSCKenya: So, are you getting tired of playing/hearing about "Come In Closer" yet? I know it's one of your most popular songs.

Alex: No we aren't at all. I mean we do play it a lot, it's requested a lot. But we try to keep the rotation of songs on our set list fresh.

Nathan: People buy the record because of that song, so that's ultimately a good thing.

BSCKenya: What's the collaboration like with you guys? Is it a group effort, or is there a main songwriter in the band?

Nathan: What we do is usually someone will come up with an idea. We'll get into the studio and another someone will add their ideas to it.

Alex: We all come from really different backgrounds in terms of writing music. Polaris will come up with ideas that I'd never tried to invision in my life. We all have these weird little things about ourselves. You tie it in to all the things that might not necessarily be anyone's else's style and that's how you evolve.

BSCKenya: I'm completely fascinated by the journey of a band. What was the road like for you from where you first began until now, and where do you want to go from here?

Alex: We set a goal in our minds of what we want to do. We're shooting for that point where we can just make music for a living. The journey has been hard. This band's gone through members who were just like 'we can't do this anymore.'

Nathan: Each time though, the success gets bigger and bigger. The whole thing about being in a band is that you don't really 'see' what's going on. I mean, you're busy working your day job. You still feel like you're in the same place. Until you get to the point where you have fans coming back who've been listening to your stuff.

We played Jones Beach a couple of weeks ago with Creed. The only thing I can say about Creed is that they're nice dudes who gave us this opportunity. We played Jones Beach, and for us that's huge, regardless. People were telling us "you guys fucking killed it" and then we go back and we're sitting at our desks. That's a hard thing to do, but the important thing to know is that we're heading somewhere. We are accomplishing things.

BSCKenya: Yes, I was going to ask if you guys have day jobs, I mean obviously you do. I know guys in different bands, a couple of which have broken up, because the balance is so hard to maintain. It's like one step forward, two steps back.

Nathan: Always.

BSCKenya: Do you feel like you're in a place now where your band's doing well enough that you're going to stick with this?

Dave: I feel like we're at a point right now where we're actually starting to get taken seriously. We're getting to that point where we're getting attention. We're having people reach out to us now.

Alex: It's more than just 'sticking with it'. We've all always had our own goals and different things going on. We all had a general direction we were headed in, whether it was palying in other bands or pursuing solo projects. It's just that our general direction led us to each other. And at this point, I can't imagine not sticking it out. I look at it individually as I worked to get to this band and this isn't something else I'm looking to move on from. I got where I wanted. And we have new goals to work towards as a band.

Polaris: I agree. I've worked all my life and also put a lot of work into this band as well. We've come a long way from going to shows with no stage and hardly anybody there, to playing places like here [Blender]. Our goal was to get people to like us. No matter what music you play, I feel, if you can do that, that means you're a good musician.

Nathan: Man we've shared the stage with Death Metal bands. And we played punk rock shows where people were literally kicking each other in the head while we were on stage!

BSCKenya: Does this have to do with the versatility of your sound or is it just a matter of 'wherever, with whoever, we'll play?'

Polaris: I don't think it matters what your sound is. I think it's more a matter of connecting with people. If you can do that, you're successful. Even if you are playing with people who like the kind of music you're playing, it is of course going to be easier, but if you can't connect with them, you've failed.

BSCKenya: Tell me about Urban Noise. Why's this show free?

Nathan: It's free because Urban Noise recognizes the need to showcase local bands to as many people as possible, and what better way to do that. In New York City, it's such an uphill climb. I think we realized that if we could support bands in a venue like this it could help sell tickets for these bands at bigger venues down the road. That would be a mutually good thing for both the venue and the bands.

I also had the option to make it a paid entry thing, but when I put together this festival, Urban Noise, I decided that what we would do, is we'd do a bunch of them and introduce people to a lot of new bands and then this way we could eventually charge people and make it a continuous event. It's about bands supporting bands and working together. You can only get so far if you're just out for yourself, in my opinion. If you work with other people, you can make things happen. If we were just out for ourselves, tonight we would have played at Pianos. But we're working with other bands, and sharing the stage at the Blender. We did it in June, August, and we're doing another one in October.

Polaris: We had an option to sell the tickets, but considering how many people you and the other bands bring, you can expose yourself and your music a hundred times over.

Dave: When you play a gig like this everyone is here to have a good time. It's worth it. The different fans get a long, because everybody here is here for the music. It's cliche, but we have so much fun!

Alex: This is our fourth time doing a Monday, and every time it just gets bigger and bigger.

Nathan: There are three hundred and eighty people here on a Monday night. That's amazing.

BSCKenya: It is amazing. Free entry, and really strong drinks make for a very fun night. Thanks guys.

As they mentioned, there is another Urban Noise Autumn Bomb Fest coming up next Monday, October 12th at the Blender Theater. Bands performing include:

Under The Elephant
Man On Earth
Atomic Tom
Cosa Nostra

I plan on going, as I had a blast last time. They are a great act to catch, and also pretty smart guys. Even if they aren't your cup of tea, the show is free, the drinks are strong, and they may change your mind once the lights go down.

In Other News: Matt & Kim Won A F@#king Moon Man

MTV's craptastic programming aside, we know at least some of you watched the VMA's. And, let's not pretend you don't know what went down last Sunday, even if you didn't watch the show. Kanye Gate is every where. It's getting to be annoying, but before that, it was really fucking hilarious.

Case In Point:

There's plenty more where that came from. Click Random and get happy.

Russell Brand was as awkward and unfunny as usual. Madonna kinda came off long winded and self absorbed (what's new?) Though, the MJ tribute was phenomenal. Well, except that one dancer who messed up the Smooth Criminal lean (you know who you are; didn't you rehearse?). And, yeah, Janet was a bit slow and raspy-voiced and glaring at everybody... but, the concept was pretty cool. It was live television, after all.

I was more interested in Muse's performance of their new single "Uprising" from the album they just dropped, The Resistance. Which I have, and think is pretty good. Not their best and won't stand the test of time, but decent. The performance was one of the best of the night - and here is where Kanye interjects to tell me that Beyonce's performance was the best VMA performance of all time - next to the hip hop and r&b power couple's individual sets. The only thing fucking up Hov's style there was Lil' Mama's weird, inexplicable presence at the end of an otherwise pretty cool rendition of "Empire State of Mind". If you're asking yourself who the hell Lil' Mama is, I couldn't tell you. Google it.

Lady Gaga's freakish, bloody performance of that horrid "Paparazzi" song is nothing but a stain on my memory cortex, with Pink's spectacle of singing while trapezing thrown in there somewhere. (actually, that was pretty impressive, seeing as how she sang it live, while being tossed in the air)

The thing I'm really here to tell you is, believe it or not, MTV showed Brooklyn some indie love by giving Williamsburg power pop duo Matt & Kim a Moon Man for Best Breakthrough Video "Lessons Learned". You know, the naked one. The band beat out a whole bunch of well-known indie bands, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bat For Lashes, Cold War Kids, Passion Pit, Death Cab for Cutie, Gnarls Barkley and Chairlift among others. That's pretty impressive.

Matt had this to say about it: "After all the convincing it took me to get Kim to strip in Times Square she's finally gonna trust me! Every time she questions one of my dumb ideas I'll say 'But Kim, remember that time we won the VMA!'"

The award-winning video for "Lesson's Learned" which is off the bands current Fader Records release Grand features the duo taking a stroll through Times Square while disrobing in the middle of February. Take a look:

Matt and Kim are currently on a headlining North American tour, so head over to www.myspace.com/mattandkim for the most current show info.

Little Boots w/ Yes Giantess and The Plastiscines

Little Boots w/ Yes Giantess and The Plastiscines

@ The Bowery Ballroom

9/16/09

Headed over to the Bowery the other night mainly to check out Yes Giantess as I was familiar with Little Boots already and truthfully had no idea that The Plastiscines would even be playing. Here's how it went down:

I had a quick chat outside with Yes Giantess' lead vocalist and songwriter Jan Feldman before heading in. Pretty cool dude. Seemed very optimistic about getting New York's classically stoic crowd to dance. I was pretty sure he would manage it because I'd heard some of their tunes before coming out and generally liked what I'd heard.

But I wasn't dancing, I just wanted to sit. I ended up in the balcony near the VIP section. Never been up there before. Every time I come to the Bowery it's usually always front and center. But I had a great view from up there, at any rate, and was blessedly off my feet.

The Plastiscines

French girls all made up to look retro in their gold sequins, black tights and Ronnie Spector hair. They threw their bodies around stage carelessly. A bit of punk rock and soul twisted together is what I took away from it. They played well, seemingly just as vested in getting the crowd to move as Jan was.

It wasn't quite the full house it was going to be later on when Little Boots came on, but there were already a number of people there. Most of us were doing the head nod/foot tap bit, which didn't seem enough for Katty Plastiscines (lead vocalist/guitar) Because she threatened to hold up the show if we didn't give her what she wanted: full on ass shaking. She wanted us to scream for them. Well, after a few dozen tries to initiate a more than just warm enthusiasm out of us during a spirited cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking", she finally gave up and ended the set. Mumbling about how French people "do better than this." Ok, well...

We liked the girls, seriously. They were pretty good. Very high-energy; great performers. They're songs are decent - "Barcelona" "Shake" "Bitch" "Lost In Translation" - and we weren't NOT entertained. But this is New York. Unless we're wildly drunk and you are bigger than life, all you're getting is some modest crowd participation. Sorry.

Yes Giantess

Besides that, punk music is more of a thrashing kind of thing. Too much for this crowd. A lot of them were a little sophisticated (read: older) I noticed. What we needed, really, was heavy fucking beats and a synthesizer overload.

Enter the boys of Yes Giantess. Not seconds out of the gate, they unleashed a maelstrom of synthpop on the fattening crowd. Yeah, we were very happy. It was just kind of blinding. First, if you're a fan of dance music, you have to understand the thrill of hearing a good beat blasting out of a sound system over your head.

Though, initially, I wasn't too keen on Jan's vocal style, I have to admit. You could tell they designed their songs around that whole college party crowd. Kids who listened to emo in their spare time when they think no one's looking. That hi octave whine was starting to creep in there. But what was produced around it was so enjoyable, my initial irritation with it ebbed away, and dude had me moving in my seat like crazy.

Three synth keys, two computers and a drum kit rocked the house off it's foundation with heavy hitters "Tuff n' Stuff" "Can't Help It" "The Word". By the end of the set, everybody was pumped for Little Boots.

Little Boots

She came from Irving Plaza playing Perez Hilton's show with Ladyhawke, Semi Precious Weapons, Frank Music and others. Dressed in blue sparkles. She was phenomenal. She got the crowd hype all over again after about a twenty minute wait while she got from point A to point B.

She dropped fan favorites "Remedy" "New In Town" "Stuck On Repeat" "Meddle" and "Love Kills" among a few others. It was a non-stop pounding adrenaline rush. Complete with flashing lights. How many times can you say the same thing? The crowd swelled to capacity, everybody danced and sang along.

I liked looking down on the sea of people rippling in her wake. I'd never seen her live. Listening to her tracks I'd felt she was just a slight notch up the Kylie Minogue ladder. Watching her on stage, I found her to be a bit less plastic. She was a warm and vivacious performer. Of course, this was not an arena, and there were no costumes or dancers. Boots has enough of an edge that she could fit easily in with a Ladyhawke and a La Roux, as opposed to say, a Britney Spears. She doesn't need an auto tuner, in other words.

She did get me out of my seat.

Alright, no pictures ( I have a good d excuse this time!) Plus ones were cut and my photog was a casualty to the massacre. But, I did spot Nicky Digital there and said hey to him. He was hold up in the balcony with me a good portion of Yes Giantess and Little Boots set. And since I watched his camera bag for him, I think I've earned the right to tell you to head over there and peruse his pics. Oh, wait, that works out for him too...

Chairlift @ Bowery Ballroom 9/5

Kenya went to see Chairlift on Saturday, here goes...
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Chairlift w/ John Maus and Here We Go Magic
@ Bowery Ballroom

Maus:
Missed John Maus by a hair, but from outside it sounded like the world was coming to an end and Maus was issuing a proclamation from heaven with a little machine and a microphone. Very experimental, loud booming, omnipresent vocals distorted appropriately by some (I don't know the name of) machine breathing over space-aged sounds. I had no idea what he was doing in there, I couldn't see for the brick wall smack in front of me, but it sounded epic and pleasing.

I was left to imagine elaborate costumes, make up, hair, lights, puppets. I don't know what, something theatrical to fit the taste that the avant garde, extreme, noise pop was putting in my mouth.

When I finally got inside, however, and caught the last dying seconds of his act, I was disappointed to find one average, ordinary looking dude standing there, center stage, not channeling Bowie. Sweaty, hair-covered face pressed to the microphone, fist clenched in the midst of some emotion I missed out on. The last sound died out and he disappeared.

Here We Go Magic:
"We've been living in a cabin all summer." he declared just before showing us what that actually meant. 'Stream-of-consciousness', psychedelic, indie-folk - all apt descriptors for such a trippy jaunt through Luke Temple's simultaneously calming and enthralling world.

Their set seemed short to me, but quite the tick up the level of enjoyment by great leaps and bounds. I watched from the back, intrigued. Unfamiliar with their songs and unable to snag a set list, I couldn't tell you specifically what they played. "Tunnelvision" "Ahab" and "Only Pieces" must have ended up in there somewhere.

They played what seemed like a handful of endless, ascending tracks that built you up and then came crashing down on you. Intimately involved with each piece to the puzzle, it was like watching a hobbyist in practice with extreme concentration, manipulating the pieces and creating a perfect picture. So subtle, so loose, then so intense and all encompassing in one singular stretch of time. Everyone involved played as much for themselves as they did for us, becoming lost in what they were doing.

It was a very good set and quite the primer for Chairlift.

Chairlift:
Who turned out to be one of the most amazing bands I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing on stage. Caroline Polachek (vocals, keyboards), Aaron Pfenning (guitar, synths, vocals) and Patrick Wimberly (keyboards, drums).

Most times now days going to see someone you've never seen before, there's usually always something commercial to attach them to. "Bruises" is that thing for them. But it is by no means the highlight of what they gave us.

Caroline all but cut herself open and offered up her blood for our consumption. She was raw and vulnerable and absolutely present for each offering. Backwards white washed jeans, sweaty tank top depicting the clouds, she danced around bumping into keyboards, smacking a cow bell with a drumstick, crawling on her knees and singing, singing. Her voice never wavered or lost pitch, always perfect, reverb and all.

Aaron spent a great deal of time on his knees as well, making adjustments to his effects machine. Patrick was busy hopping from drums to bass, and back again. A drum machine filled in for him when he was out of his seat. There was another dude up there, all but invisible, positioned strategically directly behind Caroline at an angle.

They tore through their set, everybody's hair in their faces. Performing:

Garbage
Dixie Gypsy
Flying Saucer
Evident Utensil
Territory
Planet Earth
Bruises

They also played an encore of two songs. "Somewhere Around" and "Make Your Mind Up". The latter song kind of blew mine away. It was brutal and tinged with emotion. It created a perfect, haunting echo left standing in its wake after they cleared the stage for the final time and left us in the dark.

Catch them on tour with Phoenix and The Killers if you can.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band Played Santos

Kenya stopped by The Phenomenal Handclap Band show at Santos last week.
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The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Record Release @ Santos Party House
6/25/09

Cluster fuck at the door over RSVP reduce priced admission vs. actual free comps aside - added to the one hour delay on the door opening - getting in was worth the wait. First time at Santos. But when I saw the Greek columns, neon lighting and heard the techno beat thumping out of the sound system, I thought I'd walked into the wrong place. It was interesting. I half expected people to be handing out glow sticks and blowing bubbles. But the place was filled with preppies and hipster kids. Sort of good-naturedly bumping their heads along in time and tapping their Chuck-clad feet.

We all knew by then, of course that this was the day a legend died and I was half expecting an all night MJ tribute via mixed and mashed Jackson classics. What I got was an eclectic combination of dance beat boogie I'd never heard mixed in such a way I didn't quite know how to respond to. Featured DJs Tim Sweeney, Mike Simonetti, Tim Love Lee, Smallchange, and Amir were responsible for this. One of them spun "The Way You Make Me Feel" and that got the crowd jumping and singing.

Well, after what seemed like five hours to me, TPHB finally emerged from behind a black curtain engulfed in a modest cloud of smoke. Dressed to the nines in hippie-hipster garb complete with tambourines, long hair and bell bottoms - they got right down to it. The set was phenomenal, yeah. The sound was fantastic. Santos has wonderful acoustics in that place. Keyboard, bass, guitar, drums - put through the paces. Solos out of this world like you couldn't believe. How cliche and silly would it be for me to say I wanted it to be Woodstock in there? They were the perfect blend of dance rock, funk, soul and disco. Some slow, some earth-shatteringly fast paced, they plowed through jams like "Testimony" "Baby" and "15 to 20".

The band called for a moment of silence for Michael, which would have been a complete respectful success if some asshat hadn't shouted "Fuck Michael Jackson" into it. The offender was hissed into submission and the show went on.

The actual complete make-up of TPHB is something like 20+ with contributions on the album being made by members of rock ensembles the likes of TV On The Radio, Mooney Suzuki, and The Dap Kings, to name a few. The self titled debut album is chock full of funk meets psychedelic rock cuts like "You'll Disappear" and "All of the Above". The band is currently on tour in the UK, which include a number of popular festivals such as Wireless, O2 and Latitude. The Brits will probably eat it up because they love anything different (read: refreshing) from that post punk brit rock they're used to over there.

Cheers and good luck to The Phenomenal Handclap Band.

The Low Anthem Played Bowery Ballroom

BSC contributor Kenya stopped by Bowery Ballroom the other day to check out The Low Anthem on Monday.
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After garnering much praise on their handmade independent release, The Low Anthem released their Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, with new track listing and remastering by Bob Ludwig. The Rhode Island trio met at Brown and play a multitude of unusual instruments. Among the 27 on the record (recorded on Block Island) are zither, pump organ, Tibetan singing bowl, and an oil drum. They've been on tour with Ray Lamontagne, Elvis Perkins, and Josh Ritter, performed at Bonnaroo and will be at the Austin City Limits festival, among others this summer.

They started the set out by playing "Cage the Songbird". Well, they started out by offering members of the audience some left over steamed dumplings after admitting a fear of seeing empty space in front of them when they took the stage. But they came on to raucous applause and the pleasant surprise of seeing the place nearly packed. The ballroom was full of people who were obviously very comfortable with standing still, as this particular brand of gospel tinged folk encouraged swaying in place.

Low Anthem just got back from Bonnaroo. They hardly seemed fussed. Instead, they were relaxed and unhurried. In fine form, they breezed through their set of old familiar tunes, collaborations and covers at shows end with ease. It was a fantastic way to kick off the re-release of their album. Its very possible that while singing, the soul crawling out of Ben Miller's vocal chords forced my eyeballs to pop out of my head. If they've heard it, they've heard it a few times. They must be tired of the comparison. Bob. Fucking. Dylan. I feel like Bob Dylan has an academy somewhere and these are his graduates.

On stage, they were surrounded by the many tools they used to invoke Darwin and bring it to life. Each band member playing musical chairs throughout the set. They rarely made use of the drums but didn't need to. Ben Miller and Jeff Prystowsky, both classical composers, shaped and molded each tune in such a way that allowed for immense diversity in the way they recorded and performed them. Which makes for an album that is distinctive and never boring.

The show made me feel like I was at home in Arkansas drinking lemonade in the back yard and listening to the crickets and watching the fireflies dance around. The Bowery was so quiet at times during the set (save for the band's harmonies), if you closed your eyes you'd literally be somewhere else. One could see why this band was the perfect fit for Tennessee-based Bonnaroo festival. Imagine being in a tent and letting "To Ohio" wash over you.

Timid, down-to-earth, talented and gracious, the members of Low Anthem deserve their critical acclaim. They showed the audience - mostly veteran fans who'd been with the band since the first imaginings of some of Darwin's tracks - their appreciation.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

New BSC writer Kenya took a listen to the new Phoenix album. Here's what she had to say.

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Right now they are probably going by "Hey, it's those French dudes from SNL." And, yeah, they are indeed the French alt rock band featured on the Seth Rogen Saturday Night Live episode that aired way last month. I'm sure peeps were scratching their heads on that one before they started playing; knocking back hairlines and raising a few eyebrows. Bottom line is: these guys are good.

They just released their fourth LP, the awesomely titled Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. And if you were unfortunate enough to miss their prime time television performances of two of the album's singles ("Lisztomania" and "1901") as well as one of their first ever singles ("Too Young") then I humbly suggest you swing by the soon-to-be defunct Virgin Megastore @ Union Sq. and cop it. Along with their entire catalogue, if you can manage it. And you should be able to, considering.

French, but not a hint of it in Thomas Mars' oft soaring, sometimes warbling vocals. This album is a bit of synth pop at its best. Symphonic rock n' roll that highlights epic stretches of romance, youth and life. What you do when you listen to this band's notion of lighthearted realism is that 80s Breakfast Club library-banister-dance Ms. Pretty In Pink does so well in the depths of your adolescent memories. It helps that the ten-track disk is meant to mesh well with that decades' nostalgic imagery, as evidenced in the video representation of their singles. Hard pressed, you just couldn't find much of anything wrong with the album. It's crisp and easily enjoyable, with the one flaw being that - relegated to mere background noise - it's in danger of blending into itself. Most notable, next to "Lisztomania" and "1901", stand disco-funk "Fences"; the strikingly Space Odyssey-esque "Love Like A Sunset Pt. 1" and it's brother, Pt. 2, which dances us back into the atmosphere. Back down to earth with the remaining tracks. It's a great long interlude.

I actually put this thing on repeat and listened to all three tracks all the way through three times. It never got old, and I picked up something new every time. I like when that happens. So yeah, go for a bike ride with this. Go fly a kite. Sit on your roof and watch the trains pass by. Clean your apartment. It's good for dance and relaxation, which is an admirable feat. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix wins points for being one of things you just can't argue with. Makes sense.

Link:
Stream Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix