JayleMurph Reviews

2008-07-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Eccentricities of a Night-Hawk

a play based on Christopher Marlowe's Edward II

by Jaylemurph

“Nobody writes them like they used to

So it may as well be me.”

Actus Primus,

Sceana Prima

“Mal rasees, bien habillees”

The house and stage of the presenting venue double as the empty theatre at the prep school Daniel attends. Though not used as such in this scene, there is a white cyclorama or drop upon which images (the back wall of Michael's apartment, the apse of the Church of St John the Beloved) can be back-projected behind the stage proper as needed.

When the play begins, the houselights do not go down, nor is there any indication of the show starting till the action starts...

...which is when Daniel and Michael enter explosively from one of the sets of double doors at the back of the house. Once the door closes, there is one charged beat as they look at each other before Daniel takes out his iPod's earbuds and tucks them into a pocket. They begin to make out. With gusto rather elan. As they do so, they stumble rapidly towards the stage. They stop once or twice on a convenient armrest or empty seat to undo any stubborn fasteners (ignoring anyone real who may or may not be inhabiting the seat). When they get to the stage, they lean against it, Daniel with his back against the raised stage. They last another few seconds before they have to come up for air. When they do so, Michael has managed to get Daniel's blazer off his shoulders. Daniel's tie is also loosened and the first button (at least) of his shirt is undone. Michael's belt is undone. They pant for a few brief seconds before Michael tries to begin anew, but Daniel stops him. The tease.

[Daniel is 18, in his last semester at school. He is tall and lithe with a fringe of black hair (he spends hours to make it perfectly unruly) and has smooth, flawless, creamy skin all over. He has brown eyes. A few years ago, his over-all effect would be that of a boi Lolita, and his precocious understanding of sex far outstrips his emotional understanding. That, coupled with his privileged up-bringing, ensures that the first impression he gives is (charitably) of someone who knows exactly what he wants and almost ways gets it.

As the play opens, he is wearing his school uniform – dark blue blazer with the school emblem over the breast pocket, white shirt with a (now) exposed ribbed tank top underneath, black tie, matching pants. He's got a pair of Diesel Sweeties Red Robot pixel socks and vintage narrow, brown and burgundy, square-toed saddle shoes on his feet. He has a pair of frame glasses hanging outside his breast pocket. They're not used in this scene. He also has a small, silver loop earring.

Michael is a bit older, maybe 21 or 22. He's not quite as tall as Daniel, but is broader. Where Daniel is naturally built like a swimmer, Michael is built in a way that suggests he's built muscle through work, rather than the more technically perfect shape a gym regime gives. He has wavy brown hair – if it were ever allowed to grow out more, it'd be full-on curly, but under no circumstances is that allowed to happen – and dark blue eyes. The impression he gives is that of someone with an intelligently, elegantly and expensively put together front, but whose interior is far less easy to discern. This isn't at all off-putting. He is intriguing in a way Daniel initially probably doesn't realize yet.

Michael is wearing a black velvet blazer over a linen shirt with silver cuff-links. He has on expensively-cut designer jeans – dark, cross-cut denim – and black Beatle boots. He hasn't shaved in a few days. He doesn't shave his chest.]

Daniel:

(with an exquisite faux-innocence)

I'm pretty sure this isn't what my father intended.

Michael:

I'm pretty sure his exact words were that I should 'take care of you'...(Daniel raises an eyebrow in a very pretty, well-practiced arch as he mouths 'take care?', then waits a beat and leans forward to kiss him. Michael returns it, then kisses slowly up from where Daniel's throat meets his shoulder up to his ear, nibbles on his ear, and then...)

Wait.

Michael leads Daniel up the steps HL of the stage's thrust, then pulls across an arras-like curtain upstage: revealed is a niche on with several cubes spread with a crimson silk cover, with matching pillows in a slip. Another cube has a iHome (a device used to play aloud an iPod) and a crystal vase with a single rosebud.

Daniel:

(walking over to and stroking the rose, perhaps impressed)

Classy.

But won't someone... notice?

Michael:

(lounging against an onstage column)

You'd be surprised what people are willing to overlook for the son of a king.

Daniel:

(smelling the rose)

No. I wouldn't.

Michael:

(Michael pulls Daniel close again – Daniel's eyebrow again raised – but rather than kissing Daniel, he pulls out his iPod from his pocket and begins to scroll through the artists, looking for something apropos.)

Here we go.

He plugs in the iPod to the iHome; Air's “Sexy Boy” begins to play. They begin to dance, slowly and rhythmically. Daniel lasts a few moments before he laughs:

Daniel:

How Queer as Folk is this?!

Michael doesn't know how to respond.

Daniel kisses him on the cheek, raking his hand over Michael's chest, and crosses over to the iHome, selects another song and starts it. He holds out his hand for Michael to take. As the music starts, it's the same song, but Franz Ferdinand's cover of it.

It takes them a second or two to find the right beat, but they settle into grinding dance, Michael behind Daniel. After the first or second “Sexy boy” lyric, Michael sings it along with it into Daniel's ear, running his hand along Daniel's flank. He does both for most of the rest of the song. For the rest of the lyrics, Daniel turns his head and sings to Michael. (The actual lyrics of Air's song – as slightly adapted below – should be used rather than... whatever it is Alex K. singing in the cover...) Between lyrics, they kiss and explore more. Michael is the first person Daniel's been with who is a full-grown man as opposed to another boy. The dancing for him is an exploration of just what's different about that.

Michael:

Sexy boy, sexy boy ...

Daniel:
Où est mon héro au corps d'un athlète
Où est mon idole mal rasé, bien habillé

Michael:
Sexy boy, sexy boy ...

Daniel:

Dans tes yeux des etoilles, dans tes sourires des diamants
Moi aussi un jour je serai beau comme un Dieu

Michael:
Sexy boy, sexy boy ...

Daniel:
Apollon deux mille zéro défaut vingt et un an
C'est l'homme ideal charme au masculin

Michael:
Sexy boy, sexy boy ...

After the last sung lyric, Michael turns Daniel around and they make out deeply and briefly. Michael tries to take off Daniel's shirt (his blazer was shucked at some point beforehand; mind the glasses), but, smiling wickedly, Daniel signals 'No'. As the iPod begins to play the next song (we'll assume Daniel started a Franz Ferdinand playlist), 'This Fire”, begins to play, Daniel unbuttons Michael's shirt and kisses down Michael's front till he is on his knees, ready to go down on him. Smiling, he breathes in deeply, sensuously taking in the smell. He looks up at Michael and licks his lips, then stands up and practically throws Michael over onto the cubes, straddling him, kissing his lips and again working down his chest. Just as Daniel is about to start in earnest on Michael, the backstage door stage right opens. A girl – Isobel – and a boy – Hugh – are framed in the light.

Michael tries to move, but Daniel, still on top of him, prevents it, the flat of his palm on Michael's chest. Daniel for a second is caught like a deer in headlights. Then he perceptibly changes over to a calculated “damage assessment” mode. For this, both he and Isobel stare at each other soundlessly. Then Isobel starts...

Isobel:

(somewhere between guilt, horror and betrayal and trying to back away)

I'm sorry, I didn't kno... I mean, I didn't think...

Really?!

She runs off in earnest. Hugh is left there, also staring, swamped with desire but with no idea what to do with it.

Daniel:

Shit.

He doesn't know whether or not to go after her.

Michael:

(more derisively than he intends)

What, is she your girlfriend?

The song having ended, the music stops. The silence impels Daniel.

Daniel:

(by now, annoyed more than anything else)

No... I've gotta go. I'll be right back. (He kisses Michael hard and murmurs)

Keep that ready.

Daniel runs out past Hugh, who's still standing there. Michael looks down at his hard cock, then out into the (for him) empty house, and then finally at Hugh.

Michael:

Hi.

Daniel's arm is seen dragging Hugh off by the collar.

Actus Primus,

Sceana Secunda

The kitchen/living room of Michael's apartment a few weeks later (in January). A coffee table, couch and kitchen counter at least to be indicated by black cubes and flats, but some other real objects, like a rug or a lamp should be around. One wall (the brick back wall of the kitchen?) is projected.

It's early on a weekend morning: Empty pizza box, empty wine bottle, abandoned wine glasses (eiswein, if it matters), Michael's abandoned clothes, TV left on but muted.

As the scene begins, someone is hammering relentlessly on the apartment door house-keeping style, stage left. Michael enters from the bedroom, right, in a ribbed grey tank top, pulling up a pair of jeans over black silk boxers. He may be hung over; he certainly was expecting a few more hours' sleep. He mumbles to himself as he crosses, but “Hold On” emerges from the chaos. It has no effect on the knocking.

Michael:

(undoing chain or lock)

Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want at...

glances at a clock somewhere

...seven AM?! Damn.

[It's Rowan. He's the same age as Michael, if not a little older. By his carriage and his attitude, he's clearly an ex-fratboy. He's just past the point where he looked as good as he ever will. His straight, straw-colored hair hasn't quite started its retreat but is just too long and just too kempt to be really fashionable. The body that he kept up with basketball in college is devolving back into a gut.

He has a “close, personal relationship with his savior Jesus Christ”, not because he has strong religions convictions, nor because he never managed to think too hard about religion (or much else) but even through the beer haze, he could see it was an important issue for success in his father's political arena. Without his family connections, he probably would have settled out as an insurance salesmen or used-car dealer; he has the forced, greasy charm of one. As it is, he's tolerated by most people with the same regard as something unpleasant found on the bottom of a shoe. He, of course, has never once picked up on this and considers himself very popular.

He's wearing the Young Republican “relaxed” standard: ice-cream colored polo shirt over a t-shirt, khakis, hush puppies and a shit-eating grin. Personally, he's disgusted at Michael's relationship with the prince because it's homosexual, but this is at odds with his almost professional appreciation for what they've gotten up to. He's clearly come to deliver bad news to someone he hates.]

As Michael opens the door, Rowan pushes past him, tapping his chest with a scroll of paper sealed with wax and ribbon. In his other hand in some manner of crumbly donut. Trailing crumbs, he goes over to the couch, sits down, feet on the coffee table, and uses the remote to un-mute the TV and flip through channels. He settles on NASCAR, or possibly cartoons. As he does so, he laughs and says:

Rowan:

You really did it this time. (Actually looking at Michael this time)

I mean, the king's son? The heir apparent? (Back to the TV)

Michael:

So why is it you're here?

Rowan:

(Tossing him the scroll, which he deliberately throws short of Michael)

That little trip to Aspen turned out to be just a little too much for his majesty. Especially when you were supposed to be off fighting.

Michael says nothing. He is too busy breaking the seal of the scroll and reading it to pay attention. After a second, Rowan grows bored waiting for him to read the whole thing and wanders over to the refrigerator. He begins to dig around for something more to eat. Finding nothing, he eventually searches a cabinet and finds some Pop-Tarts. Frosted cherry. He gets crumbs all over himself.

Rowan:

(mouth full)

And the king liked you, too. Thought you were a good example for little Danny. Teach him all the things a good knight should know... I bet you taught him something, though, right?

Michael:

It's not like that. (Rowan guffaws.)

Rowan:

You ever meet that little fag hag of his? I'd teach her something. One arm around the neck and right up against the wall. Mmmmm... (He takes a second to enjoy his hand wandering over her virtual body. But that's interrupted as his ears prick up when he hears the shower come in the bathroom. He grins wolfishly.) Now, if you just had the sense to hit that, instead of (off gestures off towards the bathroom) you'd... Well, you'd be a lot more popular than you are now. I'll leave you to uhh, break the news. Enjoy Texas, hoss. (Exit, trailing crumbs and clapping Michael's shoulder)

Michael crumples up the writ and tosses it in a bin. He then crosses over to the counter and rest his elbows on it, head in hands. He sighs, trying to puzzle out his next move. After a while, the shower cuts off. A few seconds later, Daniel enters from the bedroom reading. He is wearing a pair of Michael's blue and green plaid cotton boxers and one of his t-shirts (a brown Franz Ferdinand reverse-image logo shirt); both are just small enough to be short on Daniel, leaving a ring of exposed skin between the boxer tops and shirt-tail. It was not the first shirt Daniel put on. His glasses are on. As he crosses over to the couch, Michael's gaze brushes over the exposed flesh with a gratefulness just tinged with lasciviousness.

Daniel:

(Still reading, and picking up the remote control to switch off the television. He looks up and wrinkles his nose when he recognizes NASCAR. He switches it off and resumes reading)

Who was that?

Michael:

No one important. (Daniel glances up, eyebrow raised for the response. Michael smiles in response.)

Really.

It was Rowan Mortimer.

Daniel:

(returning to the book)

Oh. Him.

Michael:

(digging through the refrigerator)

Want something to eat? I could probably throw something together... an omelet, maybe, and some...

Daniel:

(again not looking up)

..you could use some of that cheese in there, too

Michael:

Good idea. He begins to cook. What're you reading?

Daniel:

This translation of All Ovid's Elegies. (Stops reading) You know, I never really noticed all the books in there.

Michael:

There are a lot. (Pause)

Wait. You notice the cheese in the fridge but not the books? What does that say?

Daniel:

(ignoring the crack)

Good books, too. You must be smarter than I thought. (He realizes just how tactless that was and tries unsuccessfully to dig himself out.) I don't... I don't think you were stupid, or anything, but we haven't exactly, like, been into hard-core literary discussions, and I know you didn't go to... (groans)

Michael:

(bringing over two omelets, silverware and some toast in a caddy)

To college. Don't worry. It's okay. I think the books are my way of making up for that. Besides, you

(cont)

never struck me as the literary type, either.

Daniel:

(munching, and trying not to laugh)

Yeah, I get that. I mean, I see where you're coming from. But I /get/ that, too. People say that to me all the time, you know. People know I like to fuck around, so people think that's all I'm into, getting cock.

Michael:

Which is ironic, considering.

Daniel:

(almost shyly, and looking away, but not quite willing or able to change the subject)

Yeah...

Michael:

So why not?

Daniel:

(looks him right in the eyes for the next line, and then looks away after, and becoming a little more guarded and with forced lightness)

Because I like you.

Gotta keep you interested, you know. Like Mom says, why buy the cow. Don't think I didn't see you check out the skin, by the way. (He gestures to it)

Michael picks up the book and reads to Daniel. After a while, Daniel begins to watch him read and smiles a genuine smile. Michael does, too. He finishes up a stanza:

Michael:

You know, there's no reason we have to stay in today. If you like this, I know this great shop downtown where they've got a copy of Hero and Leander translated by the same guy.

Daniel:

Yeah?

Michael:

Yeah. We can make a day of it. Take down the train down there, hit the store, grab a late lunch, see a matinée of something.

Daniel:

There's this great record shop on Dundas Street, Avalanche Records. Ever been there?

Michael:

Yeah.

Daniel:

Sounds like a plan, then. He gets up to go put on some clothes. Half-way there, he comes back and kisses Michael. And we'll have some fun when we get back, yeah?

Actus Primus,

Sceana Tertius

Michael's apartment, again. Later the same evening. As much disarray as can be minimally suggested. The door is hanging crookedly from its hinges. The King (whom, for some reason, I always imagine as looking a lot like Paul Scofield in Branagh's Henry V, but not syphilitic) is seated in the middle of the couch watching TV; there is a soldier at each end of the couch. The Bishop of Winchester (think Miles Malleson from Asquith's The Importance of Being Earnest) is behind the counter reading a used paper-back of The City of God. Everyone is thoroughly bored. Mortimer is unsuccessfully trying to build a house of cards out of Michael's vintage set of nude male cards. He's eating Salt and Vinegar chips and standing in a pile of crumbs. Underneath the scene music plays, “I'm Your Villain”.

After a while, Michael and Daniel return from their day out.

Both wear dark jeans. Michael wears the Franz Ferdinand shirt from the previous scene and a brown suede overshirt witch matching slip-on shoes. Daniel has a Herschl the Hook-Up Hare t-shirt and a green corduroy jeans-style jacket with a small “Less Cowbell” badge and an up-side down Belle and Sebastian badge. Michael is carrying a bookseller's bag with several books and an LP in it. Daniel has a drink cup with a straw.

They can be heard talking or laughing off, but become silent when they see the door. Michael is the first one in, entering carefully. Without looking up, the King signals to the guards. They take him by one arm each and pin him to the wall.

The King:

(without looking up)

Kill him.

One of the soldiers takes a hunting knife from his boot and prepares to cut his throat.

Daniel:

Father, are you crazy?!

The King:

(Every word he says and every action he makes are incredibly and almost painfully deliberate)

Wait.

The soldiers freeze. The King stands up, pulls his clothes straight and walks slowly over to the dustbin. He withdraws the writ, flattens it out and hands it over to Daniel. Daniel reads it with mounting fear.

The King:

Gaveston had eight hours to leave this country. He chose not to. His life is forfeit.

(walking towards where Michael is pinned; Winchester and Mortimer close in expectantly like vultures)

...But even though he did not go – even though he (taking the writ from Daniel) chose to ignore an writ that every one of his superiors subscribed to – I will still be kind. If he leaves right now – on the instant – and swears never to come back to this country, I'll let him live.

Daniel:

(Trying to find the right words, he ends up with the simplest.)

You can't do this. I...

The King:

(laughs once, drily)

Spare me. I could care less that you think you love him. You're too young to know any better. I should have trusted my instincts about him. I should have thought about my country.

Instead I thought about you.

I thought, “Here's someone who's dragged himself up from nothing. Here's somebody who knows how to work. Here's someone grateful to his country and to his King, who knows how to give back” God knows, you needed some of that to rub off on you, so I introduced you. I hoped you'd be friends.

And I wasn't wrong. He knew how to give back, all right.

(Picks up some DVDs off the floor from the mess in front of the TV. He holds them up to Michael. Quietly but very dangerously.) Believe me, if I had known about “Bareback Thrill Ride” or “Frisky Summer 2” or “Raw Luck” (he drops each one to the floor after he says their name), you'd never have gotten near my boy.

(He still has one disc left. It is a home-burnt CD, but it isn't actually porn.) Now I know just what it is you've done to my boy. That can't happen again. For my kingdom. For its future.

I'll be putting Daniel into therapy to help him, to straighten him out. Make sure he's not... confused.. (Winchester steps forward to Daniel to try to lead him away. He puts his hand on Daniel's shoulder, but can't make it not creepy. Daniel flicks the hand off his shoulder without looking at the Bishop. He doesn't move.)

Daniel:

No, Dad, you don't understand. We never... I mean he never... Ever.

(The King hits Daniel savagely)

The King:

(roaring)

I have a whole school to tell me differently!

(back – just – in control)

Don't you have any shame? Any respect?

(He turns back to Michael, ignoring Daniel on the floor)

And you? I know young people. “Out of sight, out of mind”. You'll be far away, working very hard for me in an oilfield, Deep in the Heart of Texas. And within a few weeks, you, my little social climber, will be forgotten. By everyone. And heaven help you if you trying anything with a pretty little boy over there (patting his cheek). Good-bye, Gaveston.

(cont)

Come on, Daniel, there's nothing left here for you.

(Daniel runs over to Michael to embrace him. The King intercepts him; Daniel raises his hand to strike the King, but the King, smiling, easily catches the fist and forces it down to Daniel's side. As if to teach him a lesson, the King hits Daniel again. At this, Daniel finally begins to break.)

Daniel:

(His eyes are bright with tears but he never actually weeps, but he may sink to his knees)

Michael – I'll call. I'll write. I'll... whatever. I can... You.. You can't go. I won't...

Michael:

(quietly and calmly)

Take the books with you.

Daniel:

What?

Michael:

(gesturing to the book he dropped when they first walked in and the Elegies still on the couch )

Take the books and leave. Don't make a more of a scene. He won't be around forever.

The King walks over and peers at him, taking his chin in hand and looking at both sides of his face, like he may just being realizing that he has underestimated Michael. He then hits Michael in the mouth as hard as he can. The guards let Michael drop, and the King kicks him savagely in the gut. The Bishop jerks Daniel out of the way.

The King:

My peers will be.

(Rowan laughs snortingly and grossly inappropriately. A look from the King silences him.)

(he presents his royal ring in front of Michael)

Kiss it.

When Michael doesn't, his guard kicks him in the back. Michael bends down and prepares to kiss the ring, but rather than kissing it, he begins sucks the finger it's on like a cock. The King kicks him again and then turns and exits out the door. The guards and Mortimer follow.

As Michael begins painfully to stand up, Daniel runs over to help him. When he's all the way up, Daniel gets some hair that has fallen over Michael's eye out of the way. He looks for a place on his face that isn't tender and kisses him there. He whispers something in his ears like “I understand.”

He then gets the books and walks out, not looking behind him, the Bishop at his heels like a sheep-dog.

Michael uses his knuckle to wipe at a trickle of blood that comes from his mouth.

2004-06-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

2004-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Artist: Architecture in Helsinki Artist: Fingers Crossed
Label: Bar None Rating: 5 *s out of 5

I first heard about AiH two years ago when a friend travelling through Australia sent me two mp3s. I was so excited I got a friend who lives in Melbourne to send me a copy of Fingers Crossed. Since then, it's been played on my show a lot.
The album's finally been released Stateside and is here for you to enjoy. The Fanatic review is pretty good (for a change) but not even it conveys how /fun/ this album is, or how infectious. AiH has something for just about everybody: its base is pure pop goodness a la the Lucksmiths, but it has some interesting mellow moments that take a cue from Sodastream(tracks 8 or 10) and a generally jangly feel to the music that might interest people who like uhh, jangly wierd stuff.
Be warned, some tracks are pretty brief (less than a minute), and many have 2-3 minutes of instrumental music before the vocals.

Recommended tracks: 7!, 8, 10, 6, 3, 2

Site: here

2004-04-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

Artist: Jens Lekman Album: Rocky Dennis EP
Label: Secretly Canadian Rating: 4.75 *s out of 5

Wow. You can see the label sticker for more information about the artist. This little record though is a real jewel: very small, very pretty. What the label doesn't say is that Lekman is very influenced by 70s singer-songwriters, and the music depends mostly on his (gorgeous) voice and soft-worked piano, and the lyrics themselves are moving and personal. I suppose it goes without saying this is down-tempo stuff, perfect for rainy days and sighing.

Recommended Tracks: 3 and 4. Track 2 is a brief (~1 min) instrumental.

Site: Here

2004-04-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

Artist: The Hidden Tracks Album: The Sweet Sound of Excess
Label: Disposable Pop Revolution Rating: 3.75 *s out of 5

It's worth noting this album has a little pink juicebox straw in the jewelbox and came scented. Yes, the CD case smells like pop.
That and the garish pink color should tell you something: This is sugary, sweet stuff. One of the song titles says it best: "Catchy like a cold".
The writing is clever enough and the music (guitar-based pop) is fun... but like a sugar rush, you sort of wonder what the point was afterwards. Not surprisingly, these guys are from California.

Play if you like... PAS/CAL? Logan Whitehurst? the Pancakes? I dunno.
Site: Here

Artist: Ambulance, LTD. Album: LP
Label: TVT Records Rating: 4 *s out of 5, with the option to increase

Some stuff is just dense. It takes a while to tease out all its subtleties and meanings. Waiting for Godot is like that. The Basic Eight is like that. Ambulance LTD is like that.
I've had the album for a week and listened to it maybe five times. Each time, I find more stuff about it to like. The songs -- which are all fairly long -- are thought-out and deliberate, the lyrics well turned out.
Other than that, the album is a bit difficult to describe because the sound varies so much: not in the schizophrenic "we don't know what we sound like, so we'll sound like everything" kind of way first albums often do, but in a pleasing, "we need this kind of sound to explore this kind of feeling" way.
Also, these boys have pretty eyes. Actually, the rest of them is pretty as well. There's a picture inside.

Site: (With pictures!) Here.

2004-03-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

Artist: The Hang Ups Album: s/t (but not a debut)
Label: Contact/Trampoline Rating: 3.75 out of 5*s

The Hang Ups is a pop band the Midwest, and their style and music is roughly comparable to PAS/CAL (whose EP is also currently on playlist). The Hang Ups are a bit more mellow than PAS/CAL's calculatedly HAPPY sound and are consqeuently better suited to most people's on-air music sets. Not to say, though, that this isn't fun as well. There is some genuinely catchy stuff here and some skillful music making and induce you to go "Hey -- Good Stuff!"
/Generally/ the later tracks are better than the first, I find.

Preferred track: the set 12/13/14/15 are all great and 2 and 9 also rock.
All tracks clean

Site: Here

Artist: Citizens Here and Abroad Album: Ghosts of Tables and Chairs
Label: Omnibus Rating: 4.00 out of 5*s

The debut album from a California (Bay Area) band. I'd call this album 'power pop': its heart is very firmly the same place as, oh say, Sodastream or PAS/CAL, to name two current playlist artists, but is very palpable rock influences. Most songs balance between fairly hard electric guitar riffs and sighing girl pop lyrics. A difficult act, but one pulled off successfully and really enjoyably. Possibly even with style.
It also avoids first album "We're not sure what kind of music we make" fluff: each song is true to the style and the album and a good listen.

Recommended tracks: 1,4 and 5
Play if you like: Stephen Malkmus, Grandaddy or Toronto's The Snitches
All Tracks are clean.

Site: Here

2004-03-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

Artist: Franz Ferdinand Album: s/t
Label: Domino Rating: 4.5 *s out of 5

Now WXDU DJs, were you /good/ boys and girls and played the Franz Ferdinand EP, Darts of Pleasure? Cause if you were, here's a WHOLE ALBUM for you to enjoy!
Easily the most anticipated (by me) release of for of this winter (and probably Spring and Summer), Franz Ferdinand comes back with their first full-length. Spawned in the incredibly incestuous Glasgow scene (think Chapel Hill with a funny accent) this band come with a host of influences and is almost impossible to describe -- the Team Clermont blurb goes for a "mix of rock, pop, disco and post-punk"(?!), the band itself says their music is "for girls to dance to" and I just go for Good. Damn Good.
Their recent US tour -- brought on by their very sudden, very strong and utterly anticipated popularity came nowhere near here, but in the next several months they'll be back.
Insert disc in CD player. Pick any track. Prepare to shake yo' assets.

All tracks clean
Preferred tracks: 1,2!, 3, 5 and 8
Play if you like: The results of a strange transporter accident involving Gerty, Jett Rink, the Clash, David Bowie and Debbie Harry. *not to be takes a visual image*

Site: Here

2004-02-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

Artist: PAS/CAL Album: Oh Honey, We're Ridiculous
Label: Le Grand Magistery Rating: 4.5 *s out of 5

The Feel is California, even if the sound was made in Michigan.
The Detroit pop outfit, PAS/CAL, is back at it again with their second release. You probably remeber their virgin attempt, The Handbag Memories, when its uber-catchy (kitschy?) tunes got relentlessly stuck in your head this time last year.
This one is no different. I got a hold of it Thursday and have played it (roughly) a million times since then. It ranges from smooth and mellow with rich melodic arrangements with strings (2) to more brassy, falsetto-voiced jangly pop tracks.
What keeps this outside the realm of truly irritating, one-album one-ders is the emotional depth of the lyrics -- which can take multiple listens to appear. It can be quite dark and reflective and has trademark Wit in many cases, but manages to keenly balance itself with Pure Pop Goodness.
Very highly recommended.

Play if you like: the Beach Boys, Beachwood Sparks -- but these guys have managed to create their own individual sound niche
All Tracks clean.

Site: Here

2004-01-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Album: Small Victories EP Artist: The Gone Aways
label: self-released Rating: 4.75 *s out of 5

Fun Story: In 1997, a friend of mine waved a crudely-pressed, small batch record under my nose, saying "You must hear this!" I listened to one track -- "Electronic Renaissance" -- and decided it was poorly made techno-crap. I forgot about that band.
That band just released their fourth full length album, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress".
Another friend of mine from Glasgow just sent me this EP from the Gone Aways. It's home-made and a little rough, too, but it's just as much a little gem. Patrick and Lucy trade off singing, and there's some guitar and drums and a little keyboard, too. It's infused with the melancholy, dreamy pop sensibility common in Scotchland. Think of it as Langley Schools Music Project meets the Pastels/Salako/Belle and Sebastian et al...
This EP was produced by Gavin Dunbar of the band Camera Obscura -- also currently on playlist.

Favorite tracks: All
All tracks clean
Site: Here

2004-01-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

By the way folks, in case you didn't know, December and early January are bad months for idependent music folks. CMJ doesn't report, and accordingly most label but out nothing or next to it. WXDU's music staff has gone through more old crap recently that you can easily imagine. The first of the new batch was the Gone Aways (to be posted later) and The Limits.

JAE

Album: .... Songs about Girls Artist: The Limits
Label: Luxury Records Rating: 3.75 *s out of 5

My first impression of this album was "Wow! I've discovered the band that did the title credits for Saturday Morning cartoons from when I was little!"
I still feel this is a fairly accurate portrayal. The Limits adopt a retro feel... which ultimately meets with mixed success. They take only the happy go lucky feel with their poppy msuic with strong elements of 80s pop and a dash of 70s rock, but they ignore any dark or mellow elements. The result is sort of a contrived joy that may or may not be ironic -- hence the cartoonyness.
Think of it another way: they're the Magnetic Fields from some weird parallel dimension where Stephin Merrit kept his fascination with pop but was just one cheery-ass mofo.
Final word: fun, but a little saccarhine.

All tracks clean.
Preferred number: 1 and 9 (which is a take on the Beatles)
Play ifn you like: early Beatles, Lucksmiths, the Archies

A very odd and apparently uniformative web site is here.

2003-12-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

Album: Cheap Songs Tell The Truth Artist: The Musiclovers
Label: Marriage Rating: 3.75 *s out of 5

A new group from a new division of Le Grand Magistery records. It sounds a bit like their labelmates, PAS/CAL (but a bit sadder) and Stars (but more acoustical). It's on the very mellow side of the Pop spectrum, but not as orchestrally deep as say Belle and Sebastian (I don't I hate to mention them in a pop review with word mellow...) and like the label says, Nick Drake-y. Though I don't get the Sergio Mendes bit it tallks about.
I've never been to San Fransisco (the band's new home after starting out Across The Pond): but the music seems to be the way I imagine the city to be: moody but not somber, a little trippy and surprisingly compelling.
Not the best debut in the world, but a band worth keeping an eye on.

Recommended tracks: I like 1, 4 and 5

Site: The band doesn't have a site, but you can go here to read more about it and their label is here.

2003-11-20T08:16:00.001-08:00

Album: Pieces of April (sndtrk) Artist: The Magnetic Fields/Stepin Merrit/the Sixths
Label: Nonesuch Rating: 2.5 out of 5 *s

I think Stephin Merrit is the best song writer out there, so not surprisingly this new album brought to mind two other writers, William Shakespeare and Bertoldt Brecht.
Shakespeare? A Midsummer's Night Dream, to be precise. A friend of mine has always held that Will wrote that one for beer money, and I have a similar suspicion for Merrit and this soundtrack. First of all, half the pieces have already been issued, either either on 69 Lovesongs or the Sixths' Hyacinth and Thistle disk. The new tracks (1, 3, 5, 7 and 8) vary wildly enough to give the impression they weren't assembled to be heard together (compare with 69 Love Songs, where there was a sense of relation in all the songs). Also like in a Dream, the new stuff gives the impression of the writer coasting through new stuff, using tropes and ideas from older works without creating any spark, anything original or very vibrant.
Brecht? The appeal of this avant-garde writer is the richness he pulls from the most basic elements of words and actions. The Magnetic Fields at their best are like that, making great songs from a fingersnap, a voice and a well-written song. But in the new tracks here, the songs feel over-produced. Too much reverb and extra noise flitting around to hear Stephin properly.
Still... track seven is lovely: trademark simplicity and emotion from Merrit and perfect writing. In moments in the other new songs, you can see glimpses of his writing ability, through chance or nature's changing course untrim'd.
It's also a shame these new songs come cheek by jowl with older Magnetic Fields stuff, where in the very next track you can hear the band chugging away on all four cylinders sounding great.

Recommended tracks: 7 and 8
All tracks clean
Site: Here
--

Artist: Franz Ferdinand Album: Darts of Pleasure
Label: Domino Records Rating: 5 out of 5 *s

Oh. Yeah. Boys.
Being the Boy With His Thumb To The Pulse Of The Scottish Scene (TM ;0) I had heard rumors of the band Franz Ferdinand: wonderful, extatic, nigh-swooning things. And they were all right.
Franz Ferdinand is exactly what the whole lo-fi garage thing tries and fails miserably to be (Suck it up: The White Stripes, Jett, The Raveneonettes, et al. blow): fun, dirty and original.
What does it sound like? The above bands with a spark, with touches of Bowie, Steppenwolf and a little added Funk. On top is some sharp but subtle political edge (track three is about the gentrification of their hometown, Glasgow).
What seperates these guys from their Big Label Clones is probably not surprisng to any Kid around: they may be as hip or self aware as, say Jett, but they don't take themselves so damn seriously. They have fun. They're irony-light, yo. Play it now.

Recommended: Every damn track, but I heart me some 2.
All tracks clean.
Site: here

2003-11-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

Album: Pieces of April (sndtrk) Artist: The Magnetic Fields/Stepin Merrit/the Sixths Label: Nonesuch Rating: 2.5 out of 5 *s

I think Stephin Merrit is the best song writer out there, so not surprisingly this new album brought to mind two other writers, William Shakespeare and Bertoldt Brecht.
Shakespeare? A Midsummer's Night Dream, to be precise. A friend of mine has always held that Will wrote that one for beer money, and I have a similar suspicion for Merrit and this soundtrack. First of all, half the pieces have already been issued, either either on 69 Lovesongs or the Sixths' Hyacinth and Thistle disk. The new tracks (1, 3, 5, 7 and 8) vary wildly enough to give the impression they weren't assembled to be heard together (compare with 69 Love Songs, where there was a sense of relation in all the songs). Also like in a Dream, the new stuff gives the impression of the writer coasting through new stuff, using tropes and ideas from older works without creating any spark, anything original or very vibrant.
Brecht? The appeal of this avant-garde writer is the richness he pulls from the most basic elements of words and actions. The Magnetic Fields at their best are like that, making great songs from a fingersnap, a voice and a well-written song. But in the new tracks here, the songs feel over-produced. Too much reverb and extra noise flitting around to hear Stephin properly.
Still... track seven is lovely: trademark simplicity and emotion from Merrit and perfect writing. In moments in the other new songs, you can see glimpses of his writing ability, through chance or nature's changing course untrim'd.
It's also a shame these new songs come cheek by jowl with older Magnetic Fields stuff, where in the very next track you can hear the band chugging away on all four cylinders sounding great.

Recommended tracks: 7 and 8
All tracks clean
Site: Here
--

Artist: Franz Ferdinand Album: Darts of Pleasure
Label: Domino Records Rating: 5 out of 5 *s

Oh. Yeah. Boys.
Being the Boy With His Thumb To The Pulse Of The Scottish Scene (TM ;0) I had heard rumors of the band Franz Ferdinand: wonderful, extatic, nigh-swooning things. And they were all right.
Franz Ferdinand is exactly what the whole lo-fi garage thing tries and fails miserably to be (Suck it up: The White Stripes, Jett, The Raveneonettes, et al. blow): fun, dirty and original.
What does it sound like? The above bands with a spark, with touches of Bowie, Steppenwolf and a little added Funk. On top is some sharp but subtle political edge (track three is about the gentrification of their hometown, Glasgow).
What seperates these guys from their Big Label Clones is probably not surprisng to any Kid around: they may be as hip or self aware as, say Jett, but they don't take themselves so damn seriously. They have fun. They're irony-light, yo. Play it now.

Recommended: Every damn track, but I heart me some 2.
All tracks clean.
Site: here

2003-11-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

Hey.

Here's an interview with Richard Colburn from Belle and Sebastian. It's fun. Read. On October 27th, what may be the premier Indie-Pop band, Belle and Sebastian, played a show in Durham, NC. Now this in itself is a bit odd: on their East Coast tours over the past few years, the band has skipped over most of the Southeast US, hopping up to Washington, DC from Atlanta.
Odder still was the fact they agreed to an interview. From me. On the off chance someone, somewhere might do an interview, I wrote to their label, Rough Trade, introducing myself as an DJ and staff member of WXDU-FM, the local independent radio station. To my surprise, I got a terse email back telling me to be at the venue, the Carolina Theater, at 2 pm the day of the show.
Fair Enough.
I showed up that day with Keith Artin, another ‘XDU DJ and the operator of our portable minidisk recording device, and Miss Laura Llew, that East Coast Hipster social gadfly.
After watching the crew set up for a while, the label press agent introduced us to Richard Colburn, the band’s drummer, and took us into an unused dressing room. Richard was slightly disheveled: it seems he had just been roused by the PA. Secretly, we wondered if he had gotten Richard because he was the slowest to run from the dread-locked agent. After two minutes, we doubted it. Richard was extremely entertaining and informative. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to talk with. We opened up with some preliminary talk – “Gee, the weather is nicer here than in Glasgow” and “Do you think you could help me stow this Conversation Pit in the bus, then?” – and started the interview proper.
What you see below is a direct transcript of the interview as recorded. JE is me, Jay, the interviewer, RC is Richard, KA is Keith and LL is Miss Llew. This interview is currently airing on WXDU (You can listen to the station at www.wxdu.org/listen) radio in a (very) edited form. Anything enclosed in brackets for one reason or another has been removed from the on-air version. Lucky for you, the removed stuff is much more entertaining.
For the full interview effect, though, you have to understand that while Richard was off fetching coffee, Chris Geddes (the band’s primary keyboard player) walked in silently and got into a staring contest with Laura. He lost. The rest of the interview, as we were talking, he’d poke his head in the door behind Laura and glare at her back.
So. Sit back. Read. Enjoy.
This is the Interview I did with Richard Colburn.

JE: *after some initial gabble* Actually, I do have one question for you. Have you seen the on-line petition for you guys to record the song “Rhoda”?

RC: Yeah, actually. I saw it a few weeks ago. And there has been talk occasionally over the last few years, before tours, of maybe resurrecting the song itself, but it’s never really happened. I don’t know why: there’s sort of other songs that are probably the same age as that song that have been resurrected. So I’m not really sure what’ll happen with that. But I really like the song, so maybe hopefully we’ll do something with it.

JE: You have –not necessarily “Rhoda”, but other songs -- that you typically only do live, like “Pocketbook Angel”, which I don’t think you’re planning on recording. So what’s your attitude towards about songs you only do live?

RC: Well, it kind of works in a way, because sometimes when you’ve been doing a song so long and not recorded it, it’s difficult to have the reaction to it the same way as when you hear a new song you react to it by playing it in a certain way. But if you keep playing it and keep playing it and keeping playing it, it becomes… ugh, I don’t know how to explain this ‘cause I’ve just woken up. Sorry.
It’s sort of… all the natural things have been taken away from it, because you’ve done it so many times, you’re so used to it. So there’s not any room to try anything new because as soon as you have played a song quite a lot, you stick to that part cause it’s in your brain so there’s no way to try to do something new with it. Usually when we record new songs, we will record them before we play them live for that very reason. The first time you hear it, you react to it straight away and you’re right in it. It’s quite inspirational and stuff; the longer you play it, the less chance that’ll happen.

JE: So is it more difficult to record something like “Lord Anthony” or “The Loneliness of the Middle-Distance Runner” after you’ve been performing it or is it easier?

RC: “Lord Anthony” wasn’t so bad because we hadn’t played it in so many years it was almost like it was a new song for the first time again. “Loneliness” was different because we’d had about four attempts at recording it, and after the fourth attempt it was like, “This isn’t happening.”
For things like “Lord Anthony” the fact we were working with Trevor Horne gave us a bit more scope to try something different with it. So maybe if we try another producer next time, it might give us the scope to try something with “Loneliness”. [NB: It was evident from conversation that here Richard meant “Rhoda”, not “Loneliness…”, as “Loneliness…” is recorded on the Jeepster single Jonathan David.]

[ JE: To completely change tracks, one of the criticisms I saw for your new album was
that it has no masturbation references* in it. Is that intentional?

LL: audibly chokes on tape

RC: *laughs
It’s all very subliminal. If you put the record backwards…
I have no idea. I think sometimes Stuart gets embarrassed at the end of “…Arab
Strap” and stuff, especially if we’re playing hometown shows and, you know, in case,
his parents or any relations or anybody are there, so he has to make something up for the
last little bit there in the end. So I think he’s kind of gotten over that and just sort of
though “Well, it’s probably safer not to.”

JE: Uhhh. We may have to edit that out.
*Pauses
And that, as well. I had another question all ready…

RC: It’s the same way in the studio, actually. ]

JE: So you’re on tour right now and you have another pretty substantial tour on the books for next year, right? A World Tour?

RC: Right. After we’ve been in the States, we’re going to tour around the UK till maybe a week before Christmas, then take a few weeks off and then go to Japan in January. Then Europe, February and March. And we’re looking at Argentina, Brazil, Mexico right up to the Cochella Festival, and then part of California. And after that, we’ll see what happens. There are other places we haven’t played in a while that have to be considered as well, but that will come after those ones. And, you know, we’ll probably record something new after that.

JE: And again, like with the writing question, I’m not sure this is the best person to ask, but: You’ve got a single coming out, soon, “Step Into My Office Baby”. It’s the first single with an album track on it…

RC: That’s right.

JE: Is that your decision or is that something the label is gonna do?

RC: It was kind of our decision… Yeah… Cause in the past, obviously, we’ve gone for a more non-commercial way of working, and when we signed to Rough Trade, the first thing they sort of said was “You could probably kind of help yourselves a little more by doing certain things that most bands kind of do.” Well that’s fair enough, I suppose. Without totally playing the game, there are certain things that are obvious that will help you.
And the fact we’re using Trevor Horne, it’s like a new start, lots of new thing, new album. The band line-up’s different again: Isobel’s left, Stuart David’s left, Bob Kildea’s in now and other stuff. There’s so many different things, we thought, “Oh what the hell, we’ll try things a different way for this album, and if it works, it works and if not, maybe for the next album, we’ll just revert back to what we’ve always done.”

JE: Oh well. Well, you’ve pretty much pre-guessed the next question I was going to ask. People come, people leave; stuff goes and new stuff comes. Not many bands could stand losing or gaining a new member and still be relatively successful. Yeah… I guess that’s my comment.

RC: Yeah. Depends on how you lose the member.

JE: That’s true.
[ *pauses
Fuck. I did it again…I forgot. Oop. Have to edit that. Oh sorry. Didn’t mean to
curse…

RC: No…

JE: Oh, okay. Right. There was another interview I read, I don’t remember where, and…Oh! That was the other question I forgot earlier! Yay!… that] someone asked you if you thought you were more successful here in the State or in the UK or in the rest of the world. So, what do you think about that?

RC: Ummm… It’s a hard one because obviously the US is so much bigger than the UK, so it’s relative. There’s sort of a ratio of so many people to so many people in the UK. But I think the attitude in America is a little better. Certainly in Japan and Europe the attitude towards music is better than in the UK. I find that a little… I find that sometimes I don’t really like the attitude of journalists in general, of people who work in the record industry.
[Not all journalists, I have to say.

KA: We’re not journalists, we’re DJs.

JE: Hey!

RC: DJs are the best!]
But yeah, just certain quarters in the UK Music Industry I’m not to into because they’ll pigeon-hole you straight away and there’s prejudice and stuff. And… just because you’re seen, deemed a certain thing and no matter what kind of music you put out in the future you still have a tag.
Whereas in Europe, people are just happy to hear good music. They’re not bothered by what is this, that or the next thing. Japan’s the same and America is a lot like that, too. Obviously, we have a fan base in Britain but I don’t really see it as in any one place, because most of our fans work through the internet, so it’s more of an international thing than any specific area. And people come from thousands of miles to see us when we play live. As our fan base goes, it’s great cause you can’t pin-point it to any one place.

JE: I was going to say, as part of my research, I came across the Sinister Mailing List**…

RC: Oh yes, yes.

JE: …and it seemed extremely international to me. Do you keep tabs on that? I mean, people starting relationships – boyfriends, girlfriends – people getting married off the list. What sort of reaction do you guys have to that?

RC: It’s amazing. It’s like a big international cult, almost. It really is. It’s nuts. We’ve had people come up to us – or at least email us – before we’ve been in a city for a show and a guy will say, “I’m gonna propose to my girlfriend, will you let us come up onstage and do it and play a song for us? We’d really be indebted.” Yeah, okay. Cool. And that’s happened several times. And lots of different things. You know, quite a lot of people have meet-ups and picnics and stuff, so if you people here in the States or in Europe or in Britain or Australia or whatever… Plus, if one group in one area wants to come across and hear us play in another area, then they hook up with people in the West. It’s a big community, a big club.
But there’s several different ones like that. There’s the Bowlie Forum and other ones. I think… I quite like it. I think if I wasn’t in the band, I’d have nothing to do with it – ‘cause it’s not really my thing -- but in saying that, I respect it and it’s a good thing and people enjoy it, so more power to them.

[ JE: So, going on those last two questions, I know that there’s a tendency to believe that whatever the fan situations, with music or a TV show or something like that, that Americans tend to be more over the top, more overly into something than they should be. Do you find there’s any degree of truth to that, to the people you’ve met over here?

RC: Errr. I’m not… No. I don’t know… There’s people like that everywhere. I think it comes down to a more personal thing than a nation. You get enthusiastic people and people who are not. Maybe because there’s more to do over here, more to get excited about or more to get over the top about than there is in Britain.]

JE: Part of the stuff I saw getting ready for this, some publicity stuff, was a story in the New York Times*** the gist of which was “Laura Bush would really like this band!” Did you see that, have any reaction to it?

RC: No. No, I didn’t.

JE: It was right when they album came out, and it talked about the band in general and the Times sort of described it as bland, inoffensive music that a spinster librarian might sort of enjoy, since that’s sort of the image of Laura Bush…

RC: Oh yeah…

JE: Well, it was sort of flattering. Anyway, it leads me to the next question. Do you think there’s any sort of dichotomy before… Uh. Sorry. I just stumbled because I used a big word. But you think there’s a difference between the perceived image of a Belle and Sebastian fan and the reality? Like of someone who’s tragically twee versus…

RC: Yeah, yeah. I think the stereotypical fan, there’s not a lot of difference between the image and what they actually are. But then again, there’s so many descriptions of that and prejudices as well – just as in music. We’re seen as a fey, twee band. Fair enough. But we’re not personally really like that. But because the image was put across early in the band’s career, it stuck.. And that probably goes for people who are into the band, as well. It’s part and parcel of the whole scene. But then again, I don’t really mind either way, cause people are happy to be either way, happy to whatever. Fine.

JE: Yeah, you pretty much hit the next question as I was going to ask about the band and the music. [ So. One last question, and this is from my own research -- Steven Pastel as the new Doctor Who: Yes or No?

RC: I never… That’s a brilliant concept. I never thought of that. Geez. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Good call. ]

JE: Thank you. That’s all the stuff I’ve got. Is there anything you want to add?

RC: We’ve got a new DVD**** coming out, actually. Pretty soon. I don’t know if it’s out, here actually.

[ JE: Not yet. Soon. I think.

RC: I should actually know this.

KA: Yeah… Tomorrow.

JE: Yeah, it should actually be tomorrow. Stuff is released on Tuesdays here. And it’s tomorrow.

RC: Oh right. Good-oh.] But if you the chance, you should check it out. It’s pretty interesting. On one hand, it might not help the image we have, but on the other it might.

JE: So is everything ready for tonight, I guess?

RC: Yeah, we’re going to soundcheck quite soon and last night was the first show so it’s always a bit nerve-wracking to do the first show and get it out of the way. Any technical problems there will have been smoothed out today. I think so. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

JE: So you’ve got new stuff, stuff from the new album to be the high-light?

RC: Yeah, we’re slowly but surely introducing it into the set cause we did quite a lot of rehearsals. Last night, we played four, five songs off the new album. And we’re playing a lot more older songs we’ve never played before, so it’s like new-old songs, shall we say. So this set is almost completely different to the last two years.

JE: Great!

RC: ‘Cause it gets, not tedious, but if you play the same sets for two years it gets… there’s only so much you can do with them.

KA: What have you been enjoying playing?

RC: “Expectations” from Tigermilk has been a lot of fun. And quite a lot of songs of the new album, cause they’re fresh and new, and it’s fun to do. “Slow Graffiti” has been fun as well.

[ JE: You gonna do that one tonight?

RC: It’s on the core list of songs, so whether it’s tonight or tomorrow night, it’s always a possibility.

KA: This is… This is… I probably shouldn’t do this, but my wife will kill me if I don’t ask.

*everybody laughs

KA: My wife’s birthday is tomorrow and she loves “This Is Just a Modern Rock Song”. And I don’t know if it’s on the list of songs you guys play…

RC: Unfortunately… We do get this quite a lot and I don’t know why we haven’t done it. I think …

KA: Sorry to ask. Now I’m off the hook.

RC: Fair play.
I think the way it was recorded was quite off the cuff, so it’s never been approached to try it out live and stuff. But there’s no reason we shouldn’t do it. If we get time in some sound checks, we might try and get it together. But it’s quite a long song, so it’s a tough one for live. Be we can try to shorten it, maybe. In future, we’ll try to get it together.

JE: Your wife wasn’t the one who got the vinyl copy of it over at Radio Free was she?

KA: Nah…

JE: There was the best local record store close down, and it had all this stuff on vinyl everybody wanted, and I waited till the last day to go get it.

RC: That’s always the way when record stores close. You always say “Do I go in now or do I go tomorrow…” It’s a tough one.

JE: Well, that’s all the stuff I’ve got.

RC: Oh. Thanks very much then.

LL: You played “This Is Just A Modern Rock Song” last year in Atlanta as an encore.

RC: We did?!

LL: Yes, you did. It was fantastic.

RC: I don’t even remember.

LL: Yeah, it made the show. Everyone was silent.

RC: I really have the worst memory… There were certain bits of Atlanta I’d forgotten and when I got [back] there, I was like “Ahhhh. Riight!”
Yeah, it’s one of those songs that’s more an encore song. It’s a little more loose than the other songs. We haven’t rehearsed it. It’s definitely one of those you stick on the end as an added bonus rather than being a core song. I’ll mention it to everybody and sort of see if it’s possible in that scenario.

LL: I’d rather hear “Slow Graffiti!”

RC: We’ll see if we can do both.

LL: I’ve never seen you do it live. I’d be so excited.

RC: We didn’t play it last night, so hopefully tonight we will. It’s on one of those core lists that we’ve got. But Stuart’s actually got a little infection at the moment and his throat’s not holding out so well at the moment, so he went to get his voice checked out. It’s okay, it held out last night and it was good and stuff. But the set list is really dependent on what he can put out. But we’ll see what we can do.

JE: And if you have a request, you can call the station at…]

*Please see: http://www.missprint.org/cgi-bin/anylistsearch.cgi?query=masturbation%3B+laura+llew&list=sinister&smode=Phrase

**Please see: http://www.missprint.org/sinister

***Please see: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7071EFD3A580C718DDDA90994DB404482

****Please see: http://www.jeepster.co.uk/showstory.php?id=42¤tsection=belleandsebastian

2003-10-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Artist: Mercury Program/Maserati Album: Confines of Heat
Label: Kindercore Rating: 4.0 out of 5*

Solid, guitar-led ambient rock by by two Kindercore artists (MP just moved from Tiger Style). Carefully crafted by both parties and well woth listening to, even if I can't say clever things about it. Rolling Stone calls it "Sex Rock". I've never had sex to this kind of music before, but the term seems appropriate. Give it a listen and see what I mean.

No vocals = all tracks clean
Preferred tracks: 2 for the MP; 5 for Maserati
Play if you like: Mono (was on tour with MP earlier this year), The Sea and Cake or the local band A Problem of Alarming Dimensions
Site: here for the MP and here for Maserati.

Both groups play at Go! Room 4 on Oct. 27. (but go to Belle and Sebastian instead).

--
Artist: Pitty Sing Album: s/t
Label: Or Rating: 4.75 out of 5 *s

Oh yeah. More sweet, sweet 80s sounds. Unfortunately, this only has three tracks but they all need to be played! It's very much influenced by Simple Minds (c 1986), New Order and the Cure overall, but each track has is it's own little niche. Track three puts me in mind particularly of the Buggles. All in all, sort of a post New Wave rock ride. Play me!

Track one says fuck. Quite often, unfortunately.

Site: here

2003-09-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Okay folks -- a bunch of reviews here as I've been slack the past few weeks. A plethora of relatively good stuff, as well. Also, check out the new linkage.

Jay

--
Artist: Isobel Campbell Album: Amorino
Label: Instinct Rating: A surprising 3.75 *s out of 5

I was prepared to loathe this album. I had never been fond of Isobel Campbell and her Gentle Waves album, which were little more than watered-down Belle and Sebastian numbers done over with her hamster-like vocals. Oddly enough, after her split with that band, she couldn't get them to collobarate on new music.
Which is a good thing. In this album, she shows her influence from jazz and samba in some tracks, which suits her talent and temperament better. In her better moments, there are sounds like a modern rendition of Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 and that whole cool movement.
Don't ge tme wrong. There are a few clunckers here -- a just weird 20s/Dixieland number being the worst -- mostly her attempts at the B&S Twee-ness she typically mistakes as affectedly sappy melancholia.

All tracks clean.
Recommended Tracks: 6, 9, 12
Play if you like: Gentles Waves, High Llamas, Trembling Blue Stars/Aberdeen
Site: Here
--

Artist: Belle and Sebastian Album: Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Label: Rough Trade Rating: 4.75 *s out of 5

Whoo-hoo! A new start for B&S works wonders! Moving from their long-time label Jeepster, finding a new producer in the form of Trevor Horne (yes, the one who did TaTu) and having ditched Bel Campbell from their line-up during their US tour last year have all combined for their best album in a while.
Horne lends them some forgotten hader rock sounds (Yes, forgotten. Keep in mind the band was born as a Metal Band called Rhode Island. Yes it was.) that create some great pop music like the title track, track one and eleven.
They keep a strong grip on the pop sounds they're famous for, but tweak them a bit. There's all the orchestral strength you remember, but it shifts into brassy, more voiced sounds rather than oodles of strings. (2)
And just cause they're Belle and Sebastian, there's some great twee stuff -- Lord Anthony, track 9, has been done for at least 5 years live and finally get the studio treatment it deserves. It's a heart-breaking little tale of Anthony, beat up at school and crossdressing...
The .25 reduction comes from the Noise Factor Horne brings with him: in several tracks, esp. in the last track (the poorest outing), it stops being The Funk and starts to be The Pest.
But still A Damn Fine Album. Worth all those days in 97 I spent drooling over Stuart Murdoch.

All Tracks clean
Recommended tracks 11!!, 1, 9
Play if you like: Good music. This has it all.
Site: Here

--
Artist: The Quails Album: The Song is Love
Label: Mr Lady Rating: A good, solid 3.5 *s out of 5

Woo-hoo! Rock! Angry, socially/politically aware Punk, no less!
Think the queer-punk sensibilities of Le Tigre mixed in with some old-skool,
three chord power punk sounds, with just the slightest soupcon of poppy
goodness for good measure (the ooh-oohs on track
8). Song topics include gender restriction (1), War on poverty (5,7,9) and
political machinations (9,11).
Track 7 is an extremely atypical sort of hippy march anthem.
Pick your movement and rock, yo!
Also, they rock live!

Preferred tracks: 1, 5 and 6
Gots Dirty Words: 1 says "Fuck" and 12 says "shit".
Play if you like: Le Tigre, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Queers
Site: Here

PS: Play track one since this weekend is Pride...

--
Artist: Stellastar Album: s/t
Label: RCA/Tiswas Rating: 4 *s out of 5

I'm a sucker for some goods 80s Sounds. The major emphasis here is The Cure,
but there are also elements of Joy Division/New Order and Duran Duran. The
album comes up with almost no originality (note the fact it's on RCA
Records...) but makes good use its influences to produce some fun music.
Consider them the 80s Version of labelmates the Raveonettes (q. v.), with whom they're currently on tour.

Preferred tracks: 2, *4* and 6
All tracks clean (Unsuprisingly)
Site: Here

--
Artist: Jett Album: Get Born
Label: Elektra Rating: 3 *s out of 5

Hey! It's Jet!
Hey! It's The Hives!
Hey! It's The White Stripes!
Hey! It's The Raveonettes!
Hey! It's The --Insert your Label's Garage Rock Creation Here--!

Elektra's attempt to cash in on the crazy low-fi sounds the kids dig. It's rock, it's good. It just has nothing to make it different from any of the other bands above. They were on Conan O'Brien this week. That's all you can say, really.

Dirty Words: 8 says "bitch". A Cold, Hard one in fact.
Preferred tracks: 2, 4 and 8.
Site: Here

--
Artist: The Roman Candles Album: Bang! Bang! Bang!
Label: self-released (?) Rating: 3.5 *s out of 5

This band is from Alaska. It's the creation of Matt Hopper, who seems to be the Alaskan version of The Shit. Rock-inflected poppy goodness. It's fun. It's good, but I can't really think of anything particular to say about it. It sounds /a lot/ like Weezer, bit is a bit savvier and poppier.

All tracks clean.
Preferred tracks: 1 is great. Also 7 and 9.
Play if you like: Weezer
Site: Here

--
Artist: Sparrow Album: s/t
Label: Overcoat Rating: 4 *s out of 5

Mellow, sweet pop. Think: a more reduced Belle and Sebastian sound. Mostly slow, day-dreamy stuff, kinda like the stuff they call Shoe-Gaze. Slightly reedy vocals. Suits the recent weather perfectly. It was started by a bloke who started a band with one of the New Pornographers.

Play if you like: the New Pornographers, Ben Folds, Rilo Kiley or Aberdeen
Preferred tracks: All really, but 1,3, and 9 stand out the most.
Site: Here

--
Artist: Jeff Buckley Album: Live at Sin-E ("Legacy Version")
Label: Columbia Rating: 2 *s out of 5

Buckley may have been sober when he drowned in the Mississippi, but he sure wasn't for these recordings. The majority of this two disc, three hour extended re-release (original EP was 3 songs and MAYBE twenty minutes long) is coke-addled rambling monologues. As in, he tries to walk through the wall at one point. He fails, but there's an amusing 'thump'. His music, though, is really incredible once you get to it. The version of "Hallelujah" is superior to that on his Grace album. All in all, this re-issue detracts from his memory and denegrates his music since you have to wade through crap to get to the gems.

You all know enough about Buckey to know that all tracks are clean.
Recommended tracks: Disc 1 -- 2, 3, 15, 16; Disc 2 -- 10, 12, 16
Site: Here

***

2003-09-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Artist: Jett Album: Get Born
Label: Elektra Rating: 3 *s out of 5

Hey! It's Jet!
Hey! It's The Hives!
Hey! It's The White Stripes!
Hey! It's The Raveonettes!
Hey! It's The --Insert your Label's Garage Rock Creation Here--!

Elektra's attempt to cash in on the crazy low-fi sounds the kids dig. It's rock, it's good. It just has nothing to make it different from any of the other bands above. They were on Conan O'Brien this week. That's all you can say, really.

Dirty Words: 8 says "bitch". A Cold, Hard one in fact.
Preferred tracks: 2, 4 and 8.

--
Artist: The Roman Candles Album: Bang! Bang! Bang!
Label: self-released (?) Rating: 3.5 *s out of 5

This band is from Alaska. It's the creation of Matt Hopper, who seems to be the Alaskan version of The Shit. Rock-inflected poppy goodness. It's fun. It's good, but I can't really think of anything particular to say about it. It sounds /a lot/ like Weezer.

All tracks clean.
Preferred track: 1 is great. Also 7 and 9
Play if you like Weezer and other mid 90s pop-rock like Dressie Bessie.
--

Artist: Sparrow Album: s/t
Label: Overcoat Rating 4 *s out of 5

Mellow, sweet pop. Think: a more reduced Belle and Sebastian sound. Mostly slow, day-dreamy stuff, kinda like the stuff they call Shoe-Gaze. Slightly reedy vocals. Suits the recent weather perfectly.

Play if you like the New Pornographers, Ben Folds, Rilo Kiley or Aberdeen
Preferred tracks: All really, but 1,3, and 9 stand out the most.
--

Artist: Jeff Buckley Album: Live at Sin-E ("Legacy Version")

Label: Columbia Rating: 2 *s out of 5

Buckley may have been sober when he drowned in the Mississippi, but he sure wasn't or these recordings. The majority of this two disc, three hour extended re-release (original EP was 3 songs and MAYBE twenty minutes long) is coke-addled rambling monologues. As in, he tries to walk through the wall at one point. He fails, but there's an amusing 'thump'. His music, though, is really incredible once you get to it. The version of "Hallelujah" is superior to that on Grace. All in all, this re-issue detracts from his memory and denegrates his music since you have to wade through crap to get to the gems.

2003-08-31T22:11:00.000-07:00

album: It's The Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through
artist: Jeffrey Lewis
label: Rough Trade Rating: 1.5 Out of 5 *s

Jeffrey Lewis, the admitted "ex-Hippy" Explains It All. This album was just released at a bad time. It tries to all the things Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club new album does, but fails painfully. It's isn't funny. It isn't clever. And it isn't ironically lo-fi, it just comes off as poorly produced and ineptly performed. Top it all off with several bouts of Lewis' 20-something attempt at Wisdom that would sound hokey in an AfterSchool special.

Play if you like: Valium. Umm, solo work from the Moldy Peaches folk (especially Kimya Dawson)
Indecencies: Drug reference in 1 and 3, but no actual bad words in the album
Preferred tracks: 10 comes closest to being amusing, 1,4 and 11 are schmalzy in the extreme. 3 mentions an attmepted drug deal in Chapel Hill.
Site

-- J

album: This is The Von Trapps artist: The Von Trapps
label: self-released (?) rating: 4 out of 5*

I'd discuss the band's history -- the album was four years in the making -- but it's a bit moot as the band is no more. Fortunately before the end, this disc got released. They describe themselves as "Indie-noise-pop" and that's pretty accurate. It veers a little more into rock than most pop bands (the so-called "noise" part?) but it's upbeat and a little groovy. A short, sweet little album.
Play if you like: Aisler's Set, the Soviettes, and Le Tigre's first album
Preferred: All, but the first three are all swell.
All tracks clean

Site -- J

album: Chain Gang of Love artist: the Raveonettes
label: Columbia rating 4 out 5 *s
Riding the Garage wave in pop culture, the Raveonettes are a pastiche of several poluar acts: they're Scandanavian (Denmark to be precise), a ambiguously defined boy/girl team and have a retro look to them, as you can tell from the cover. You know they're probably a label Bitch when they wind up in a full page spread in Rolling Stone.

But for all that, it's a good album: it's loud and it's rock and there's a lot of reverb guitar. There's nothing about it that sticks out as great, but nothing about it is bad or badly done. Just some rock, yo.
Play if you like: The Hives, The Flaming Sideburns, The Dandy Warhols, The Velvet Underground.
Indecent: Track 8 says "Fuck"
Preferred tracks... (Their failing is that everything sounds so alike, so pick any but) 5, 6 and 12.

Site -- J
TIP: These guys are giving away a free vinyl single with the first single from this album and an unreleased B-Side called "Bubble-gum" from IRD

2003-07-07T22:22:00.001-07:00

Week of 6 July 2003

Artist: The Tyde Album: Twice Label: Rough Trade

Rating: 4 *s out 5 All tracks clean (I think)

This is the second LP out by the Tyde, who sound (not surprisingly) a lot like their labelmates Belle and Sebastian, the Hidden Cameras, Mull Historical Society and British Sea Power. It's mostly mellow, 60-esque pop with a distinctly Surfy twang. It's what a moody Californian might have shoed-gazed at when the Beach Boys albums stopped.

It's poppy, it's fun and works well out road trips to the beach. Play if you like other 60s Pop Revival sounds like The Aisler's Set, The Essex Green and other Twee Pop like Call and Response and The All Girl Summer Fun Band.

Preferred tracks: 1, 2 (has Smiths-y opening chords!) and 6, but they're all pretty good.

Site

Album: Michigan Artist: Sufjan Stevens Label: Sounds Familyre/Asthmatic Kitty

Rating 3*s out of 5 All tracks clean

I've never been to Michigan, and now I think I never will do. This album is absolutely brooding. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was recorded in a cabin over a long, cold Michigan winter. All the songs are sad, but hauntingly sad. And while they can be breath-taking in scope, all this moroseness takes more patience than I have. I'm reminded of a moody 17 year old and their affected depression, "dress[ed] in black and drink vermouth, reading Camus and smoking clove cigarettes..."

Still, Stevens is a hell of a songwriter and like Stephin Merrit, does his thing well even if he wants you to know how /sad/ he is. Play if you like Smog and the Gothic Archies. It reminds me of Belle and Sebastian's EP "This Is Just a Modern Rock Song" as well.

Preferred tracks: 5, 2 and 12 (The name! The name says it all!)
Site

Artist: Saloon Album: If We Ever Meet in the Future Label: Darla Records

Rating: 4 *s out of 5 All tracks clean (hopefully)

Sixties lo-fi meets Noughties (heh!) Indie sensibility. Yeah, I know that applies to a lot of stuff out now, but it's still accurate for Saloon. Fortunately for me, these guys skew slightly more towards a rock sound than the seemingly de riguer twee pop. It makes them easier to listen to. Well-thought out music, heavy with hammond organs and ringing guitars and a garagey-but-more-refined feel. Amanda Gomez on vocals goes from Jane Birkin to Debbie Harry.

Play if you like... Australian girl New Buffalo, Blondie, the New Pornographers.

Preferred tracks: 1 and 3, but they all sound great. Play this
Site

Artist: Saxon Shore Album: Four Months of Darkness Label: Burnt Toast/Broken Factory

Rating: 2 *s out of 5 All tracks clean

The Fanatic Review says it about all. I remember quite liking Saxon Shore's first release, an EP called "Be A Bright Blue" but I'm not nearly as keen on this. Too often, the album veers from "deep and emotional soundscapes" with "bittersweet melancholy" to what I'd call "soundtrack to your manic depressive bouts".

There are some sparse bits of really good music scattered throughout the disc. But you have to look (too?) hard to find them.

Preferred tracks: Umm, 2 is the least depressing. Three ain's so bad, neither.
Site down

2003-07-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

Week of 6 July 2003

Artist: The Tyde Album: Twice Label: Rough Trade

Rating: 4 *s out 5 All tracks clean (I think)

This is the second LP out by the Tyde, who sound (not surprisingly) a lot like their labelmates Belle and Sebastian, the Hidden Cameras, Mull Historical Society and British Sea Power. It's mostly mellow, 60-esque pop with a distinctly Surfy twang. It's what a moody Californian might have shoed-gazed at when the Beach Boys albums stopped.

It's poppy, it's fun and works well out road trips to the beach. Play if you like other 60s Pop Revival sounds like The Aisler's Set, The Essex Green and other Twee Pop like Call and Response and The All Girl Summer Fun Band.

Preferred tracks: 1, 2 (has Smiths-y opening chords!) and 6, but they're all pretty good.

Site

Album: Michigan Artist: Sufjan Stevens Label: Sounds Familyre/Asthmatic Kitty

Rating 3*s out of 5 All tracks clean

I've never been to Michigan, and now I think I never will do. This album is absolutely brooding. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was recorded in a cabin over a long, cold Michigan winter. All the songs are sad, but hauntingly sad. And while they can be breath-taking in scope, all this moroseness takes more patience than I have. I'm reminded of a moody 17 year old and their affected depression, "dress[ed] in black and drink vermouth, reading Camus and smoking clove cigarettes..."

Still, Stevens is a hell of a songwriter and like Stephin Merrit, does his thing well even if he wants you to know how /sad/ he is. Play if you like Smog and the Gothic Archies. It reminds me of Belle and Sebastian's EP "This Is Just a Modern Rock Song" as well.

Preferred tracks: 5, 2 and 12 (The name! The name says it all!)
Site

Artist: Saloon Album: If We Ever Meet in the Future Label: Darla Records

Rating: 4 *s out of 5 All tracks clean (hopefully)

Sixties lo-fi meets Noughties (heh!) Indie sensibility. Yeah, I know that applies to a lot of stuff out now, but it's still accurate for Saloon. Fortunately for me, these guys skew slightly more towards a rock sound than the seemingly de riguer twee pop. It makes them easier to listen to. Well-thought out music, heavy with hammond organs and ringing guitars and a garagey-but-more-refined feel. Amanda Gomez on vocals goes from Jane Birkin to Debbie Harry.

Play if you like... Australian girl New Buffalo, Blondie, the New Pornographers.

Preferred tracks: 1 and 3, but they all sound great. Play this
Site:

Artist: Saxon Shore Album: Four Months of Darkness Label: Burnt Toast/Broken Factory

Rating: 2 *s out of 5 All tracks clean

The Fanatic Review says it about all. I remember quite liking Saxon Shore's first release, an EP called "Be A Bright Blue" but I'm not nearly as keen on this. Too often, the album veers from "deep and emotional soundscapes" with "bittersweet melancholy" to what I'd call "soundtrack to your manic depressive bouts".

There are some sparse bits of really good music scattered throughout the disc. But you have to look (too?) hard to find them.

Preferred tracks: Umm, 2 is the least depressing. Three ain's so bad, neither.
Site down

2003-07-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

Week of 6 July 2003

Artist: The Tyde Album: Twice Label: Rough Trade

Rating: 4 *s out 5 All tracks clean (I think)

This is the second LP out by the Tyde, who sound (not surprisingly) a lot like their labelmates Belle and Sebastian, the Hidden Cameras, Mull Historical Society and British Sea Power. It's mostly mellow, 60-esque pop with a distinctly Surfy twang. It's what a moody Californian might have shoed-gazed at when the Beach Boys albums stopped.

It's poppy, it's fun and works well out road trips to the beach. Play if you like other 60s Pop Revival sounds like The Aisler's Set, The Essex Green and other Twee Pop like Call and Response and The All Girl Summer Fun Band.

Preferred tracks: 1, 2 (has Smiths-y opening chords!) and 6, but they're all pretty good.

Site

Album: Michigan Artist: Sufjan Stevens Label: Sounds Familyre/Asthmatic Kitty

Rating 3*s out of 5 All tracks clean

I've never been to Michigan, and now I think I never will do. This album is absolutely brooding. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was recorded in a cabin over a long, cold Michigan winter. All the songs are sad, but hauntingly sad. And while they can be breath-taking in scope, all this moroseness takes more patience than I have. I'm reminded of a moody 17 year old and their affected depression, "dress[ed] in black and drink vermouth, reading Camus and smoking clove cigarettes..."

Still, Stevens is a hell of a songwriter and like Stephin Merrit, does his thing well even if he wants you to know how /sad/ he is. Play if you like Smog and the Gothic Archies. It reminds me of Belle and Sebastian's EP "This Is Just a Modern Rock Song" as well.

Preferred tracks: 5, 2 and 12 (The name! The name says it all!)
Site

Artist: Saloon Album: If We Ever Meet in the Future Label: Darla Records

Rating: 4 *s out of 5 All tracks clean (hopefully)

Sixties lo-fi meets Noughties (heh!) Indie sensibility. Yeah, I know that applies to a lot of stuff out now, but it's still accurate for Saloon. Fortunately for me, these guys skew slightly more towards a rock sound than the seemingly de riguer twee pop. It makes them easier to listen to. Well-thought out music, heavy with hammond organs and ringing guitars and a garagey-but-more-refined feel. Amanda Gomez on vocals goes from Jane Birkin to Debbie Harry.

Play if you like... Australian girl New Buffalo, Blondie, the New Pornographers.

Preferred tracks: 1 and 3, but they all sound great. Play this
Site:

Artist: Saxon Shore Album: Four Months of Darkness Label: Burnt Toast/Broken Factory

Rating: 2 *s out of 5 All tracks clean

The Fanatic Review says it about all. I remember quite liking Saxon Shore's first release, an EP called "Be A Bright Blue" but I'm not nearly as keen on this. Too often, the album veers from "deep and emotional soundscapes" with "bittersweet melancholy" to what I'd call "soundtrack to your manic depressive bouts".

There are some sparse bits of really good music scattered throughout the disc. But you have to look (too?) hard to find them.

Preferred tracks: Umm, 2 is the least depressing. Three ain's so bad, neither.
Site down

2003-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Week of 6 July 2003

Artist: The Tyde Album: Twice Label: Rough Trade

Rating: 4 *s out 5 All tracks clean (I think)

This is the second LP out by the Tyde, who sound (not surprisingly) a lot like their labelmates Belle and Sebastian, the Hidden Cameras, Mull Historical Society and British Sea Power. It's mostly mellow, 60-esque pop with a distinctly Surfy twang. It's what a moody Californian might have shoed-gazed at when the Beach Boys albums stopped.

It's poppy, it's fun and works well out road trips to the beach. Play if you like other 60s Pop Revival sounds like The Aisler's Set, The Essex Green and other Twee Pop like Call and Response and The All Girl Summer Fun Band.

Preferred tracks: 1, 2 (has Smiths-y opening chords!) and 6, but they're all pretty good.

Album: Michigan Artist: Sufjan Stevens Label: Sounds Familyre/Asthmatic Kitty

Rating 3*s out of 5 All tracks clean

I've never been to Michigan, and now I think I never will do. This album is absolutely brooding. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was recorded in a cabin over a long, cold Michigan winter. All the songs are sad, but hauntingly sad. And while they can be breath-taking in scope, all this moroseness takes more patience than I have. I'm reminded of a moody 17 year old and their affected depression, "dress[ed] in black and drink vermouth, reading Camus and smoking clove cigarettes..."

Still, Stevens is a hell of a songwriter and like Stephin Merrit, does his thing well even if he wants you to know how /sad/ he is. Play if you like Smog and the Gothic Archies. It reminds me of Belle and Sebastian's EP "This Is Just a Modern Rock Song" as well.

Preferred tracks: 5, 2 and 12 (The name! The name says it all!)

Artist: Saloon Album: If We Ever Meet in the Future Label: Darla Records

Rating: 4 *s out of 5 All tracks clean (hopefully)

Sixties lo-fi meets Noughties (heh!) Indie sensibility. Yeah, I know that applies to a lot of stuff out now, but it's still accurate for Saloon. Fortunately for me, these guys skew slightly more towards a rock sound than the seemingly de riguer twee pop. It makes them easier to listen to. Well-thought out music, heavy with hammond organs and ringing guitars and a garagey-but-more-refined feel. Amanda Gomez on vocals goes from Jane Birkin to Debbie Harry.

Play if you like... Australian girl New Buffalo, Blondie, the New Pornographers.

Preferred tracks: 1 and 3, but they all sound great. Play this

Artist: Saxon Shore Album: Four Months of Darkness Label: Burnt Toast/Broken Factory

Rating: 2 *s out of 5 All tracks clean

The Fanatic Review says it about all. I remember quite liking Saxon Shore's first release, an EP called "Be A Bright Blue" but I'm not nearly as keen on this. Too often, the album veers from "deep and emotional soundscapes" with "bittersweet melancholy" to what I'd call "soundtrack to your manic depressive bouts".

There are some sparse bits of really good music scattered throughout the disc. But you have to look (too?) hard to find them.

Preferred tracks: Umm, 2 is the least depressing. Three ain's so bad, neither.