Pitstop: You Won't

It's a common trope for music-writers, show-goers, and the like to declare a winner of a festival virtually any time there is one. And it's one I've pretty much refrained from doing myself because truth be told there's really no one winner of a festival, maybe not even a handful. Anyone who gets to see a great show put on by a great band is a winner and likewise any band that brings there A game and makes even at least one new fan has already achieved what so many other bands have not. But if I had to pick one of my favorite bands of this year's CMJ, well the choice would have to be Massachusetts folk-pop duo You Won't.

Well, in addition to getting a pair of two incredibly musicians and probably two of the most genial guys you're bound to meet, You Won't accomplished a feat at this year's CMJ that pretty much topped any/every band that played this year regardless of hype, popularity, or even sheer talent. You Won't engaged their audience unlike any other. During their set at I Guess I'm Floating's Floating Fest CMJ showcase, the two-some took to the crowd, entered it, and played. Two beautiful, sparse acoustic songs framed around Josh Arnoudse's gripping vocals with their slight rasp, while multi-instrumentalist Raky Sastri accompanied him first on harmonium and then on floor tom. I knew instantly that no show that week would top it. Maybe even no show this year.

And such creativity and innovation comes to the duo naturally. No intense plotting necessary. This is evident on their debut full length Skeptic Goodbye. Where singer/songwriter sorts might very well be a dime a dozen, You Won't stand out from the crowd. Both for Arnoudse's stellar songcraft both lyrically as well as in composition - his songs filled with clever wit meshed into a perfectly balanced playful cantor along with intensely memorable pop-leaning presentation. For which Sastri, the album's producer, also deserves ample credit as well as his evident talent as drummer (among other things) spicing up his accompaniment with exciting drum beats and unexpected instrumental flourishes. Together the two put a terrific new spin on the age-old wandering troubadour, dressing him up in a slightly newer cloak of rock riffs ("Dance Moves") and catchy pop choruses ("Three Car Garage", "Television"). The end result is an album of peaks and valley solely in mood as the level of talent maintains an almost bewildering high.

So while the concept of winning a festival remains silly and flawed, one thing is most certainly clear. The two times I happened upon You Won't during my adventures, they won my heart. And if you happen to be lucky enough to see them live, they'll win yours too. Their album is stellar but their live set is better. An absolutely incredible band of unfathomable talent.

Get a taste of You Won't with a stream of their debut album Skeptic Goodbye and being plotting your next You Won't live experience.

Pitstop: Incan Abraham

                                                      (photo by Sterling Andrews)

If you visit this blog with any sort of consistency you may have picked up on what really gets me going, if not I'll review quickly: vocal harmonies, lush layers of sound, articulately played instruments, and anything vaguely world music inspired (also folk, but we're not talking about that right now).

Los Angeles' Incan Abraham were my first new music discovery at CMJ playing an absolutely riveting set upstairs at Pianos. It was a performance I wish I had been warned about so that I could've properly prepared myself for what was about to transpire. Instead before they went on, Jess from ex.fm introduced me to Spencer Mandel, the band's bassist, and merely mentioned they were friends and the band was "good". Lies and god damn slander, Jess.



The quartet showered all those lucky to be in attendance with tight-knit psychedelic pop rock filled to the brim with utterly mindblowing vocal harmonies and an unstoppable urge to move your body. Also afro-pop. And there isn't a human alive who can resist the sultry sway of African-inspired beats. Anyone who says so is a liar. How did they do this? Well, drummer Andrew Clinco has a set of congas in addition to the standard set up, and  lead vocalist/keyboardist Guliano Pizzulo has a laptop that infuses world-inspired elements into what would otherwise be a pretty basic guitar-bass-drums-keys-sometimes-other-guitar line up.



On paper, Incan Abraham might not immediately sound like a band you should be going crazy over but I assure you they most certainly are. Three years of music-making has turned the foursome into an efficient groove machine capable of raining down it's radiant, bliss-inducing harmony-laden brand of dance-inspiring pop rock. But as impressive as the band's playing is, the real star is no doubt the voice-work. Pizzulo's vocals are effortlessly pristine, attention-grabbing, and have this ability to float above the wide variety of business happening underneath. While guitarist Teddy Cafaro's are a well-deployed weapon: sweeter and less insistent but no less ear-catching or arresting. On the occasion where he takes lead vocal duties ("In Milan"), it's a treat and a quite enjoyable one at that. Together Pizzulo and Cafaro form a rather formidable duo. And because I still can't get over them, I'll mention them again: Those harmonies.



Incan Abraham currently have three EPs available for free download over at their Bandcamp so make sure you pick those up. They're all great. They also have delightfully good single out now. Listen to "Springhouse":

Parlovr - Kook Soul (2012)

Since my discovery of them at We Listen For You's spectacular CMJ showcase to the release of their first new single, Parlovr have been very well within my sights. While their single "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely" was certainly catchy enough to merit my paying attention, it was "Holding On To Something" which the band released as a sort of SXSW teaser that really won me over and had me practically salivating for their new album.

Kook Soul, the Montreal trio's sophomore record and their first under label contract with Dine Alone Records, is certainly not a departure from their rough-and-tumble ragged-edge rock pop but it's more than just the same old song and dance. A series of love songs, the real twist is that they're all filled with a sort of steely but not grim-faced violence that arises from keen self-awareness. No posturing or victim-playing here - the Quebec rabble-rousers offer up an astonishingly indelible set of songs that properly balances truth with pop. Opener "Do You Remember?" and "Just Marriage" have all the balls-to-the-wall energy of their self-titled debut but it's when the glorious strains of "Holding On To Something" where you truly become aware of the band's growth. Tight-knit pieces that feed off each other ravenously, "Holding On To Something" is about a perfect a pop song as the group's ever made: capturing their penchant for anthemic shout-vocals with intensely memorable melodies. "Now That You're Gone" continues with their delightful streak of dancey ear-catching pop tunes with just the barest hint of a retro-rock vibe giving the subtlest hint at a by-gone-era to keep things interesting.

"Married On A Sunday" is where the album trades in its momentum for a bit of a different track - starting with a bit of sing-talk before the track picks up and all the parts come properly together. It's a track you may not like on first or even second listen but which is poised to win you over on album listen after album listen. "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely" also functions as a bit of a cool-down, slowly building up before it's big rock moments (which really aren't that big in comparison to the album's others).

"Bad Faith" functions as the album's sole ballad and to call it that is a bit of a misnomer perhaps - it's a slower more emotion-fueled song yes but it retains that trio's enthusiastic touch that keeps it from slowing things down too much.

Considering the amount of intense busy moments on Kook Soul, you have to regard the thing as a success. Is it perfect? No. But that's not really Parlovr's style anyway. Kook Soul is bold, brash, virtually unapologetic set of colorful pop songs. Some songs are better than others but none are completely unnecessary.  A charming album that gains whole new meaning when you realize it's essentially the thing that kept the band from breaking up. And considering it's dual composition - songwriters Alex Cooper and Louis Jackson essentially wrote their own songs by themselves and they remain relatively untouched by anyone but drummer Jeremy MacCuish- it's a wonder that the thing works as fluidly as it does. At no point can you tell "This is Alex's, now this is Louis'". Each of the songs all fit together in Parlovr's messy way. A solid follow up  all things considered. Here's hoping there will be more to come from the rather young Montreal threesome.

Get a taste of the album with arguable the best song on it, "Holding On To Something":



You can listen to Parlovr's Kook Soul on Spotify.

Archie Powell & The Exports - "Metronome"

Following up with my current trend of covering bands from last year's CMJ months after, Chicago rockers Archie Powell & The Exports were one of the first bands I saw on my first day at the festival at the small show at Spike Hill thrown by Bigger Brush Media. As I watched them one thing kept popping up in my head: "This is like watching The Dandy Warhols!" Mind you, I've never actually seen The Dandy Warhols live but I would imagine Archie Powell & The Export's energetic live show would be something similar. A vibe I couldn't shake the whole time I was watching them.

Turns out Archie Powell & The Exports have a new album on the way. Great Ideas In Action, the follow up to 2010's Skip Work, is out May 1st.

You can preview it with new single "Metronome" right now: