The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart describe themselves as a band that speaks "to the newness of a fresh start, of the ghosts left behind, of moving forward, all brimming with a soulfulness and hope for a better life than the one we've all been sold." Ambitions aside, this Northwest six-piece certainly lives up to its promises. They deliver the most honest of lyrics alongside folksy melodies and foot stomps.

Here's a video, courtesy KEXP, to convince you further:

The Head and the Heart – "Cats and Dogs & Coeur d'Alene"

Stream/Download/Listen/Enjoy!:
The Head and the Heart – "Lost In My Mind"
The Head and the Heart – "Down in the Valley"

Seapony – Dreaming 7"

If winter's got you down, we've got a musical remedy. Seattle-based Seapony attempts to bottle summer and preserve it conveniently on Dreaming, their latest 7 inch. And while you still might need a jacket for the upcoming winter days, Seapony's lo-fi surf-pop compositions will surely keep you warm.

Stream/Download below:

Seapony – Late Summer
Seapony – Dreaming

Air Waves – Dungeon Dots

You may have heard Air Waves before, but only in small doses. On Dungeon Dots, their first full-length, frontwoman Nicole Schneit offers up hefty portions of great songwriting and catchy folk-pop. The album is available now at Underwater Peoples.

Download/Stream below:
Air Waves – "Knockout"

Pretty sure Jennifer Moore is providing backing vocals on this one.

Air Waves – "Waters"

Cut Copy – "Take Me Over"

Cut Copy, it's been far too long.

Though the band's LP Zonoscope won't drop until February 2011, their single "Take Me Over" is available now! (Head over to Modular to stream and pre-order the album.) 

Download/Stream:
Cut Copy – "Take Me Over"

The Decemberists – "Down By The Water"

Your ears might have heard "Down By the Water" via a YouTube clip of Colin Meloy's solo CMJ performance, but the actual studio version has finally surfaced. The King Is Dead, due out January 2011, is The Decemberists' sixth full-length album and features vocals from Gillian Welch and Peter Buck.

Stream/Download the track in all it's glory:

The Decemberists – Down By The Water


Alternatively, rewind to Colin Meloy's CMJ 2010 showcase.

Braids – "Lemonade"

Montreal-based Braids (formerly called The Neighbourhood Council) will release their debut LP Native Speaker on January 18 via Kanine and Flemish Eye Records.

Stream/Download "Lemonade" below and head over to their myspace to hear the lengthy yet beautiful soundscape "Liver and Tan."

Braids – "Lemonade"
Stream:

Jessica Lea Mayfield – Tell Me

Jessica Lea Mayfield's second album Tell Me will be released early 2011 via Nonesuch Records. For now, you can stream/download "Our Hearts Are Wrong" and twiddle your thumbs while you wait for the other tracks to surface.

Album available for pre-order at: www.jessicaleamayfield.com/store

Faded Paper Figures – New Medium

At times R. John Williams' and Heather Alden's vocals bare resemblance to Stars. Occasionally, Kael Alden's electronic backgrounds can draw comparisons to The Postal Service or Hellogoodbye. Is this the right kind of catchy? Does Faded Paper Figures borrow too much from its predecessors in place of complete originality? Who knows! Just listen. The following songs are from Faded Paper Figures' New Medium, which is available at cdbaby.

"North By North"


"Invent It All Again"


"Limelight"

Thao and Mirah – "How Dare You"

Sometimes you stumble across videos or songs you wished you had seen sooner. This is one of those. Mirah and Thao played a few shows together earlier this summer calling themselves Thao and Mirah and The Most of All. But in case you weren't able to experience that collaborative effort in person, here is a video captured by Yours Truly.

There's also a rumor that the two might be releasing an album together in Spring 2011. Cross your fingers!

Non-Music Update

We interrupt your regularly scheduled music updates to inform you that:

I'm training to run all 13.1 miles of the Surf City Half Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. I’m running this for people in my life who have been affected by cancer and as a personal challenge to attempt something that sounds impossible.

My goal is to raise $1800 total. Maybe you heard about a song or a band that you liked from this blog. Maybe you have a few extra dollars in your pocket. Any amount helps, really.

If you'd like to make a donation you can go here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/surfcity11/hthomas3ev

Thanks for your support!
--

Now back to the music!

Caveman – "Decide"

The Cavemen in question are Matthew Iwanusa, Jimmy Carbonetti, Stefan Marolachakis, Sam Hopkins, and Jeff Berrall. Stream "Decide" and see if your ears enjoy their soothing harmonies.

Blonde Summer – Eleganza EP

Although their songs carry the focus of a band that's been at it for years, Blonde Summer is brand new. It would be easy to slap a label on Chris Pope, Matt Reid, Chris Livingstone, and Stephen Kurshner and call them surf-rock inspired, slightly lo-fi, indie rock, but such classifications wouldn't do their sound justice. Eleganza is much more well-crafted than that.

Below, an acoustic session filmed by Miguel Sabogal at Ace Hotel NYC during CMJ 2010.

"Scared You'll Get Hurt"

Download: Blonde Summer – Cathode Ray

Buy:
Their EP Eleganza is available for purchase via bandcamp

Colin Meloy sings new Decemberists songs

The Decemberists' sixth full-length album is tentatively slated for early 2011. Luckily, you don't have to wait until then to get a sense of what the new material will sound like. Below are the three new tracks that Colin Meloy premiered while at CMJ's KEXP stage.

"Down By The Water"


"June Hymn"


"Rise To Me"


Many thanks to YouTube user rac3m

Golden Isles – "Sir Gian"

Golden Isles is Montreal based indie-pop made by Adam Feingold, Kyle Salhany, Richard Wenger, Jonny Knowles, Matthew Salaciak, and Emmanuel Thibau. After this Take Away Show was shot, the band changed their name to Golden Aisles.

Okay, that wasn't very funny...but this video is highly amusing.

Their EP Foreword was released in September. "Sir Gian" is currently unreleased.

Broken Social Scene in-studio with KCRW

Broken Social Scene stopped by KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic yesterday to chat with host Jason Bentley and play some songs. Their in-studio version of "Almost Crimes" sounded mesmerizing! (fast-foward to 32:10 if you just want to hear that part.)

Watch/Listen!:


P.S. I'm pretty sure the girl in the blue top is Ariel Saldivar.

Warpaint – The Fool LP (Streaming Now!)

Warpaint's The Fool is streaming on Hype Machine until its official October 25th release date. Happy Monday! Have a listen!

Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz

If you're looking for the Sufjan Stevens you've come to know (and most likely love) through Illinois and Michigan, you will probably only glimpse him during opening track "Futile Devices." The Age of Adz (pronounced "odds") almost entirely abandons its folksier predecessors and trades them for more electronically influenced sounds.

Stylistically, Sufjan has never been one to box himself in, so this genre-bending news shouldn't be so alarming. But, with its eerie transitions and sometimes cacophonous instrumentals, The Age of Adz is a considerably darker album.

Where we might expect intricate metaphors involving well-crafted characters and picturesque settings, we are instead confronted with first-person statements. In "I Walked," Sufjan expresses feelings of personal disconnect amidst electro-pop backgrounds ("At least I deserve the respect of a kiss goodbye"). Title track, "Age of Adz" aurally identifies with the traffic-inspired sequences present on The BQE. "I Want To Be Well" builds slowly and eventually disintegrates into a chorus of "I want to be well" juxtaposed against Sufjan shouting "I'm not fuckin' around!"

He isn't. At all. If The Age of Adz reveals one thing about Sufjan Stevens, it's that he's not afraid to take risks; sacrificing what he already knows will work in favor of artistic exploration.

In fact, that's exactly what the album ends with. Twenty-five minute long "Impossible Soul" includes everything from auto-tuned vocals, harps, digitized noise, a call-and-response section, and finally dissolves into characteristic guitar-picking and sentimental whispers reminiscent of albums' past. In the last few seconds echoes of "Boy, we made such a mess together" swirl the listener back to their present-state.

---
Sufjan Stevens – "Futile Devices"


Sufjan Stevens – "I Walked"


Sufjan Stevens – "I Want To Be Well"

Lady Danville – "Kids" (MGMT Cover)

You probably didn't know this, but cloudy days are great for time traveling. Today, we're rewinding back to 2008. Or 2005 if you want to be really technical.

While Lady Danville is a little too pop for my taste (but please judge for yourself), their acoustic cover of MGMT's "Kids" is so captivating it shouldn't be overlooked.

Warpaint – Undertow (Music Video)

I'm using this video as an excuse to keep Warpaint on repeat. "Undertow" is the first music video from their full-length The Fool, which will be available October 25th via Rough Trade.

If you missed Warpaint at FYF here in Los Angeles, then you've got three more US dates to catch them before they cross the Atlantic.

12 Oct 2010 7:00 P Club Congress Tucson, AZ
13 Oct 2010 9:00 P Bunkhouse Saloon Las Vegas, NV
15 Oct 2010 8:00 P Skybar (Acoustic Set) West Hollywood, CA

For European tour dates click here

New Group: Wild Flag

Wild Flag have zero songs on their MySpace page, so why should you be excited?

Well, if you're a Sleater-Kinney fan you'll be happy to know that Wild Flag consists of Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss playing alongside Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole. In a recent Pitchfork interview, Janet commented that in regards to Wild Flag's sound "It's really collaborative, but it's poppy and it's hard to explain. It sounds a little like all the bands we've been in, but it also has real songs. There are actual songs there."

Sleater-Kinney "Jumpers"


West Coast tour dates as follows:
10 Nov 2010 8:00 P The Northern Olympia, Wa
11 Nov 2010 8:00 P The Green Frog Bellingham, WA
12 Nov 2010 8:00 A The HIgh Dive Seattle, WA
13 Nov 2010 9:00 P Doug Fir Portland, OR
17 Nov 2010 8:00 P The Hub sacramento, ca
18 Nov 2010 8:30 P BOTTOM OF THE HILL San Francisco, CA
19 Nov 2010 8:30 P Spaceland Los Angeles, CA
20 Nov 2010 8:30 P Casbah San Diego, CA
21 Nov 2010 8:00 P Aladdin Jr. Pomona, CA

October Recommendations

My apologies for the huge delay! We're already five days into October, which means pumpkin spice lattes are in full swing, the weather is (finally!) beginning to resemble autumn, and the Halloween spirit is in the air. Czech out these upcoming events for this month:

10/6

Broken Bells @ The Wiltern

The Futureheads @ Troubadour

10/7

Arcade Fire @ Shrine Auditorium

Lissie w/Dylan LeBlanc @ Troubadour

10/7-10/10

Filter Magazine's Culture Collide Festival w/Black Lips, Klaxons, Phantogram, Tokyo Police Club, Sea Wolf, and many more @ Echo, Echoplex, and Spaceland

10/8

Arcade Fire @ Shrine Auditorium

Caribou w/Nite Jewel @ Music Box

10/9

Bassnectar @ The Wiltern

10/10

Residual Echoes w/Catwalk @ The Smell

10/11

Evan Voytas @ The Echo (Monday Night Residency)

Teenage Fanclub @ The El Rey

10/13

Frightened Rabbit @ The Mayan

Gogol Bordello @ Club Nokia

10/14

M.I.A. w/Rye Rye @ The Mayan

Miike Snow w/Mark Ronson @ Club Nokia

Morning Benders w/Twin Sister and Cults @ Music Box

Zola Jesus w/Broken Spindles @ The Echo

10/15

Four Tet @ Music Box

Nicole Atkins @ The Echo

10/16

The National @ Fox Theatre, Pomona

10/16-10/17

Treasure Island Music Festival @ Treasure Island, San Francisco

10/17

Die Antwoord @ Music Box

Holy Fuck w/Indian Jewelry @ Spaceland

10/18

Foals w/Esben and The Witch @ The El Rey

Mumford & Sons @ Hollywood Palladium

10/19

Deer Tick @ The El Rey

Broken Social Scene w/The Sea and the Cake @ The Wiltern

10/20

Ra Ra Riot @ Music Box

10/22

Mark Sultan w/Kelley Stoltz and My Pet Saddle @ Spaceland

Minus The Bear @ The Wiltern

10/23

The Octopus Project w/Starfucker @ Echoplex

10/24

Gold Motel @ The Echo

10/26

Snoop Dogg w/Mike Epps @ Gibson Amphitheatre

10/27

Gorillaz @ Gibson Amphitheatre

Jon Brion @ Melody Bar & Grill

10/28

Built to Spill @ The El Rey

10/30

Of Montreal @ Hollywood Palladium

10/31

Joe Pug w/Nik Freitas @ Spaceland

Of course, Los Angeles always has tons going on each night, so if there's anything I missed, please comment so I can add it to the post and share with everyone else.

Happy October!

Belle and Sebastian with Jenny Lewis "Lazy Line Painter Jane"

Glasgow legends Belle and Sebastian were at the Hollywood Palladium last night, were you? If not, then you missed out on a special version of "Lazy Line Painter Jane." Here is a clip:

The Morning Benders "Virgins"

What would we do without La Blogotheque?

The Morning Benders debuted a new track called "Virgins" for an upcoming Soiree de Poche.



In other Morning Bender news, the band will also be featured on the collaborative compilation Subterranean Home Sick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home. The album drops October 5th via Reimagine Music. See the tracklisting below and get excited!



01 Peter Morén: "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
02 Ane Brun: "You Belong to Me"
03 Castanets: "Maggie's Farm"
04 Mirah: "Love Minus Zero"
05 The Morning Benders: "Outlaw Blues"
06 Julie Doiron: "On the Road Again"
07 Asobi Seksu: "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"
08 Helio Sequence: "Mr. Tambourine Man"
09 DM Stith: "Gates of Eden"
10 Franz Nicolay: "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
11 Sholi: "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"
12 J. Tillman: "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"
13 Sea Wolf: "Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence"
14 Denison Witmer: "I'll Keep It With Mine"
15 Laura Veirs: "Mama, You've Been on My Mind"
16 William Fitzsimmons: "Farewell Angelina"

First Aid Kit "Ghost Town"

Slowing things down a bit, here is “Ghost Town,” from Klara and Johanna Söderberg of First Aid Kit. Let their harmonies wash over you and pretend for a few minutes that this L.A. heat wave hasn't made you crazy.

Their album The Big Black & The Blue is out now via Rough Trade Records.

First Aid Kit from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

Twin Sister "Meet The Frownies"

Twin Sister are neither twins nor sisters, but they craft dream pop so effortlessly we'll forgive them all that. The band is Long-Island based, consisting of Andrea Estella, Bryan Ujueta, Eric Cardona, Gabel D'Amico and Udbhav Gupta.

"Meet the Frownies" was just released via Weathervane's Shaking Through series, which aims to give rising bands the opportunity to record in professional studios. Twin Sister's previous EP Color Your Life was completed in March 2010. They are currently touring with Devendra Banhart and the Grogs and will continue in the Fall alongside The Morning Benders.


Twin Sister – Meet the Frownies


Twin Sister – Lady Daydream


Twin Sister – I Want a House

Maps & Atlases: "Solid Ground" Video and Perch Patchwork Album Review

The success of Maps & Atlases' first official album is old news, but their video for "Solid Ground" just released and reminded us how great Perch Patchwork really is. So here you have a new music video coupled with a slightly belated album review. Deal with it!

"Solid Ground" Video:

Video courtesy Barsuk Records. Directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalczyk.

---
Album Review:


Dave Davison’s voice rises and falls for the first two minutes of Perch Patchwork, embedded with careful drum work, calculated guitar taps, and an emphatic bass line provided by bandmates Chris Hainley, Erin Elders, and Shiraz Dada. Some would call this mere decoration; confusing a track without lyrics for a track without meaning. They could not be more wrong. “Will” is a wordless track prefacing the complexity of Perch Patchwork, carefully tracing and framing the upcoming songs.

Although they have existed since 2004, Perch Patchwork marks the first full-length album for Maps & Atlases. Earlier EPs made it easier to classify the Chicago-based band as strictly math rock, but Perch Patchwork marks a slight turning point in this stylistic trajectory. Certain tracks float above their precise technical aspects and into a pop influenced realm.

A mosquito-like drone engulfs the first few seconds of “The Charm.” Dave Davison confesses, “I don’t think there is a sound that I hate more/ than the sound of your voice/ when you say that you don’t love me anymore.” The insect buzz fades in and out; existing as an omnipresent reminder of a human voice that Davison might like to forget. “The Charm” builds steadily, its military-esque drum line and vocal harmonies punctuated by personal disconnect.

Set to a more upbeat tempo, “Living Decorations” reveals a similar sentiment through which Davison compares people, and perhaps relationships, to immovable, unchangeable pieces of furniture. Though the idea might weigh heavy in concept, it’s bouncy guitar patterns transform the track into a playful, and very danceable, commentary on social indifference.

Lyrics and instrumentation aside, it should be said that Dave Davison’s voice is one of the most distinctive present in music today. Possibly stemming from the style of math rock, Davison is able to repeat the same lyrics using different intonations and meter to convey various shades of meaning. At times his voice may seem purposefully indecipherable; nevertheless it pulls you closer for a second listen.

This technique is most clearly evident in the title track, in which Davison repeats, “With the race over/ we’ll take what we can get.” His vocal success depends in no small part on the collaboration of his bandmates who provide inventive, complex, and complementary structures upon which to build songs.

Perch Patchwork succeeds because of juxtapositions, slowly revealing its strengths over multiple listens. As the title might suggest, irregular and dissonant sounds are woven together to create surprisingly intriguing compositions. Dave Davison, Erin Elders, Shiraz Dada, and Chris Hainley constantly rework similar themes into different shapes, crafting an album you will want to listen to many times.

What's Left of September

September may be coming to an end, but the nine remaining days hold a packed agenda of shows and concerts in the Los Angeles area. And let's not forget that every end marks the beginning to something new--in our case, a new month. October will show up before you know it, bearing gifts of musical goodness that make me glad I'm a Californian.

Here's what's in store for the rest of September. Look out for a new post from me in the next few days with October's gift list, and in the meantime, enjoy what's left of this month.

9/22 (Tonight!)

The XX w/Warpaint and Zola Jesus @ Hollywood Palladium

9/23

Modeselektor @ The El Rey

9/24

Dirty Projectors w/Dominique Young Unique @ The Wiltern

Glasser @ Amoeba Hollywood

Ratatat w/Dom and Bobby Birdman @ Fox Theatre (Pomona)

9/25

Band of Horses w/Admiral Radley @ Greek Theatre

Dungen, Entrance Band, John Carpenter +more as Waved Out II @ The Echo and Echoplex

Frankie Rose & The Outs @ The Smell

9/26

Frankie Rose w/Hunx and his Punx @ The Echo

Vampire Weekend w/Beach House and The Very Best @ Hollywood Bowl

9/27

The Black Keys w/The Growlers and Nicole Atkins @ Hollywood Palladium

Eastern Conference Champions w/Moving Picture Show @ Spaceland

9/28

The Black Keys w/The Growlers and Nicole Atkins @ Hollywood Palladium

Ellie Goulding @ The Roxy

No Age DJ set @ Amoeba Hollywood

Surfer Blood w/The Drums @ Glass House (Pomona)

9/29

Surfer Blood w/The Drums @ Henry Fonda Music Box

9/30

Jamie Lidell w/Twin Shadow @ Echoplex

Jukebox The Ghost @ Echoplex

Justin Townes Earle @ Gene Autry Museum

Pavement w/Sonic Youth and No Age @ Hollywood Bowl

Spoon w/Cold Cave @ Hollywood Palladium

The Drums @ Amoeba Hollywood

Frankie Rose & The Outs

Q: What do you do after being in Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls?
A: If your name is Frankie Rose, start your own band!

Frankie Rose & The Outs' self-titled album will be released September 21st.

For now, here's a video of "Candy" courtesy Slumberland Records

Chromeo and Ezra Koenig "I Could Be Wrong"

Although you might have to hear it to believe it, Chromeo and Ezra Koenig have collaborated on a track called "I Could Be Wrong."

The song is a highlight from Chromeo's newest release Business Casual, which is available now. However, if you're one of those listen-before-you-download types, the album is currently streaming on NPR.



Chromeo feat. Ezra Koenig – "I Could Be Wrong"

Summer Camp - Young EP

The tracks surfaced one at a time, often prefaced with dialogue borrowed from John Hughes films. Now, months after “Ghost Train,” Summer Camp (now revealed as Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey) have finally released these mysterious songs on an official EP.

Summer Camp appear to live in a world cloaked in nostalgia, where every person is carefully poised for a cinematic coming-of-age moment. While their dialogue sampling might come across as superficial to some, it creatively provides context and anchoring.

Characters from Say Anything introduce the standout track “Ghost Train.” Amidst a building bass line and stuttered pronouns, we hear Corey Flood trying to dissuade Lloyd Dobler from going after Diane Court: “It’s just you’re a really nice guy and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Undeterred, Lloyd Dobler’s replies: “But, I want to get hurt!” What follows is a song about wanting to stretch relationships further than their seemingly concrete summer boundaries will allow.

“Round the Moon” is heavy in synth and vocal reverb, but carefree in its lyrics. (“And we danced all night and we held each other tight, ‘til the morning light.”) With this song in particular, it feels as though Warmsley and Sankey have transported their listeners back to the 1980s.

The presence of the 1980s is not just auditory either. Two of the six tracks, “Veronica Sawyer” and “Jake Ryan” are named after characters from Heathers and Sixteen Candles. These explicit references further reinforce Summer Camp’s intention; their aesthetic isn’t accidental.

Elsewhere on Young, the duo’s vocals aren’t really given the opportunity to be complementary. With the exception of Warmsley on “Round the Moon,” Sankey’s voice propels almost the entire album. Even though at times her voice can seem monotonously hypnotic, at other times it feels like the perfect vehicle for carrying these young adult dilemmas.

Summer Camp work, almost obsessively, to pair familiar cinematic dialogue with their original compositions. At their best, these rearrangements create affecting moments. Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey appropriate their personal obsession with 1980’s pop culture into thoughtfully crafted youthful reflections. While this EP might not be perfect, their conviction shows unlimited promise.

----
"Ghost Train" – Summer Camp


"Round The Moon" – Summer Camp

Of Montreal - False Priest

Of Montreal (or should I say Kevin Barnes?) does it again--this time with their 10th release, False Priest.

Once again, the band reaches new and uncharted levels of blissful gaudiness laced with narration, uncontrollable emotions, and traces of funk and R&B. This time, Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles accompany Barnes on this sex-driven almost-magic carpet ride, succumbing to crazy, spiteful girls who throw beta fish out of windows and grappling with religiosity the whole way through. Monae and Knowles duel with Barnes' ringing falsettos, but the entire album remains very much, without a doubt, 100% The Kevin Barnes Show.

False Priest only retains some of the chaotic, experimental elements that overstuff Skeletal Lamping, yet manages to keep listeners wondering what they will hear next. Give "Godly Intersex" a try and you will understand. Any inhibitions or boundaries around lyrics, emotions, and sound were chucked out with the beta fish, resulting in layers upon layers of mind-scrambling noises (if you think too hard about it, like I do) that somehow fall right into place.

This time around, Of Montreal lets out not-so-subtle hints of "natural" instrumentation in the background music. Between Barnes' crooning, his falsettos, and the one-sided conversations he has lie real instruments, each producing its own distinct sound to contribute to the greater good. Listen--but not too closely, so as not to get lost following one path--and you could catch a gritty guitar, some soft strumming, or what might as well be your neighbor banging away at his upright piano.

Jon Brion, an acclaimed musician and composer (he has the scores to Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I Heart Huckabees, among others, under his belt), produced the album.


False Priest is scheduled for release on September 14, 2010, by Polyvinyl Records.
Stream it for free on NPR.

Belle and Sebastian "Write About Love"

Belle and Sebastian Write About Love won’t be fully released until October 12th, but you can listen to their title track below.

For Now

This is a temporary space for a community music journalism site.

Temporary, only because we haven’t decided on a permanent name yet.

What should we call ourselves?