All Around Sound is Turning Three! - Day 7 Bonus Mix: Lands & Peoples

Over the weekend (yesterday to be exact) All Around Sound officially celebrated it's third birthday and while the mix I made to herald the occasion seemed to be the last one -lo, we have a bonus mix from none other than one of my favorite new bands Baltimore's Lands & Peoples.

My discovery of Lands & Peoples came, as all good things seemed to in 2011, from my obsessive and ever-growing ARMS love. You see, in an effort to cram as much ARMS into my brain as humanly possible before Summer Skills was even announced, I stumbled upon the Big Ugly Yellow Couch. One of ARMS sessions had a suggested video of Lands & Peoples live at SXSW and intrigued I followed the link. While the Lands & Peoples I viewed there was almost in no way related to the Lands & Peoples I would come to know, the seed was already planted and those sweet, sweet harmonies had me hooked beyond belief.

After a couple emails sent back and forth to learn about them in which the remaining bands members Caleb and Beau explained a shift in musical direction, I was intrigued and soon got to reap the spoils of the musical soul-searching adventure in the form of a recorded live session. When I finally did get to see them at CMJ, my mind was utterly blown. The two were utterly in sync, trading instruments, swapping places, looping and what have you without the slightest need for a word exchanged between them. And of course, the biggest kicker was that those incredible harmonies remained. I was transfixed, astonished, and in love.

Lands & Peoples have evolved a bit since that first show but one thing remains: their questing for innovative ideas, never content to just do the same thing over, even frowning upon just becoming a loop band and seeking various methods of making their live set dynamic and engaging - a feat they achieve excellently.

So when I thought to ask several bands for contributions for All Around Sound's b-day mix extravaganza, Lands & Peoples seemed like the people to call. Caleb and I already engaging in several suggestion exchanges in the past, I looked rather forward to Lands & Peoples' mix. Unsure of just how weird it would get and or just how absolutely amazing it could possible be. True to form, my completely and utter faith in the band was rewarded.

Caleb from Lands & Peoples' contribution:

This mix will float you around the various influences that I have personally been picking up on in 2012 / thus far in 2013. In chronological order,

I've been obsessed with: 

• Dilla-esque shuffly beat music, 
• anything that is related to or inspired by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop,
• my favorite band of all time Broadcast, and
• the relatively new influx of amazing, 60s throwback pop music (or, "sounds old but is new", and JAMS)

Kicking off the mix is the only song that doesn't fit into any of those categories, and that's Ennio Morricone's main title theme music from the film "Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion".
I have no idea how I stumbled upon this, but I've listened to it about a hundred times within the last couple of months.

Thanks to Dante for being one of the nicest dude's in the game. Happy birthday to A.A.S.!!

All Around Sound's Favorite Albums of 2012

As mentioned in my favorite tracks year-end round up, 2012 function more so as the year of the single than anything else and more so this year than any other in recent memory. While one or two tracks were pretty spectacular on their own, throw together with a group of like-minded (or not in some cases) tracks saw them floundering for life, attempting to plug up the holes of sinking ships of hastily recorded follow ups or unmethodical debuts.That said, the year was not without it's fair share of brilliant music moments - albums that not only delivered on the potential of their singles but exceeded them by leaps and bounds. Here are, in no particular order, some of the exemplary records that really took the idea of an full length record to heart. Enjoy!

SoftSpot - Enzo
A relatively recent addition to my list of almost obsessively listened to albums, SoftSpot's premiere full length Enzo gets it's name from the Japanese word for "circle" and delivers as much; the album flowing from track to track with unceasing undulating energy. A listen to Enzo, it's not hard to see why it belongs on here: Sarah Kinlaw's vocals are hypnotic, the band not relegated to merely background players. SoftSpot reach an exceptional balance between balls to the wall frenetic jams and organic unfurling introspectives. There's no clear divide between them either as a track metamorphoses into the other almost without warning but not jarringly so. Everything on Enzo seems natural, seems right with no undue kinetic energy explled as SoftSpot demonstrate their prowess as band of patience willing to ride out the mounting waves of their own composition and benefiting greatly from it.

Bro. Stephen - Baptist Girls
If there's anything I've learned from Mad Men (besides how to drink copious amounts of booze, chainsmoke, and commit adultery like an Olympic champion) it's this: Nostalgia is America's chief good. Case it point: Bro. Stephen's nostalgic reveries are simply too good not to enjoy. It's intimate, heart-felt, and more so about beautifully crafted moments that make your heart bang or flutter than anything else. Scott Kirkpatrick is certainly gifted as a singer and a songwriter, of that there's is no question, but what really makes Baptist Girls is how each individual part of it's construction: from the precious melodies, the subtle creak of wood, to Kirkpatrick's beguiling sincerity, it's how they all congeal together to create these moments similar to yours, similar to anyone's that you can relate to. That are so beautifully simple, they make you nod while maybe you tear up a little. Baptist Girls is more than just a collection of songs, its a series of moments lovingly arranged like a family photo album.

Cold Specks - I Predict A Graceful Expulsion 

While it never really pays to cut down another artist in other to praise another artist, damn if only some of that residual buzz from the Alabama Shakes had fallen on Canada's Cold Specks. Her voice crowning the stormy, weathered soul of her own make. Dark atmospheric pieces with brilliant, triumphant moments I Predict A Graceful Expulsion is a quiet, delicate beauty of an album and entirely deserving of as many eager ears as possible. The fact that it hasn't might be the greatest slight of the year. She doesn't have a big band behind her gospel-inspired take on the singer/songwriter idiom but Al Spx's voice is as sagely, pained, and most important of all sincere as a modern soul singers could be. That's not a dig at anybody, Spx just provides a clean, non-showy alternative to what can sometimes become a flashy, spectacle.  

Jessie Baylin - Little Spark 

Layered with sweet Bacharachian sweeps and Dusty Springfield's classy sensuality, Jessie Baylin's sophomore record is one steeped in past influences but instead of playing like a jukebox album, Baylin utilizes her adoration of  60s/70s pop to convey her own troubles which are not all that different from theirs. At times fun and infectious, others serious and heartfelt, Jessie Baylin's Little Spark is a pop album that thoroughly benefits from knowing its history. The Brill Building lushness and orchestral flourishes provide an insatiable base for Baylin's flavorful additions. It's guilt-free pop you'd wish could set some sort of standard. Not only wearing your influences on your sleeve but using them merely to enhance instead of dominate what you're already skilled in. 

Laura Gibson - La Grande 

With more than a handful of releases underneath her belt, La Grande is Laura Gibson's most accomplished. Seeking solace in a rather old-timey sound, La Grande manages to avoid hokey-ness aided completely by her minimalistic approach to songwriting where she says just enough to have every word resonate with purpose while never quite being contrived about it. Each song belongs, each verse and phrase important. Gibson always been a gifted, poetic lyricist but when aided with the rather creative western-y lo-fi leaning sound on La Grande, the whole takes on a very classic feel. 

Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams 

A work of unmitigated patience, forethought, and effort, Lord Huron's debut full length Lonesome Dreams could be called a concept album of sorts. While western-tinged instead of the world-inspired sound of their previous EPs, the album fits rather excellently into the Lord Huron canon. Despite the fact that the PR campaign seemed filled with painstakingly thought of detail (a website for the fake author of the novels of which Lonesome Dreams is based on being one of them), Lonesome Dreams is an album that doesn't get bogged down with all that when put into actual practice. The details function more as behind the scenes notes dictating where the story will go without seeing exhaustingly recalled. Lord Huron have a talent for simple-seeming but complexly layered chamber pop and they don't disappoint here. Their sound as full and evenhanded on their sepia-colored opus as any of the more electronic leanings of Ben Schneider's creation, Lonesome Dreams is another stellar example of what a concept album can be: easily to listen to without foreknowledge, enjoyable all around, and tremendously rewarding if you do happen to get it. While I'm sure we've yet to get the full brunt of Lord Huron's innovation, Lonesome Dreams is a particularly wonderful start.  

Daughn Gibson - All Hell 

If you had explained Daughn Gibson to me before playing it for me, I probably would've avoided it like the plague. Electronic/Country hybrid? That sounds relevant to exactly none of my interests. Thankfully no one told me what to expect from Daughn Gibson and I got the pleasant surprise of a wonderful album of unexpected twists and turns and a surprising amount of emotional resonance for such a sample-laden release.    It's rather easy to be dissuaded from an album that feature stories about people appearing on Cops and yet Gibson with his commanding presence, deep booming baritone, and adventurous charm make the album a completely worthwhile endeavor. A rather impressive effort and much appreciate burst of new and interesting in two genres where sameness is commonplace.

Hospitality - Hospitality 

From the angular melodies to the band's tight knit padding for Amber Papini's smart lyrics about city life, post-college, and all sorts of old young people concerns, Hospitality is catchy jangle pop done right. Papini has a real knack for pop hooks that don't quite feel like pop hooks and the band perfectly balances hanging back to give Papini the room her feathery vocals need to alight while making their own presence known and heard. A far different version from the syrupy chamber pop of their EP days, Hospitality provides an excellent base for the band to build upon. An album that proves Hospitality are ones to watch and enjoyable ones at that.

Conveyor - Conveyor
If there was a more vibrant, colorful album released all year, no one certainly told me. Conveyor's self-titled debut is an auditory sunburst, channeling sunny days and unrepressed happiness while building on the group's  minimalistic experimental pop we saw at work on their Sun Ray EP. Quirky but not goofy, Conveyor create exuberant smile-inducing moments of sheer aural bliss while never casting any doubt on their talents as legitimate musicians. Conveyor is a slowly-evolving but always engaging pitch-perfect adventure where every route is the scenic one and every path worth taking. A charming whole filled with tasty, interesting parts.

You Won't - Skeptic Goodbye

Sometimes making truly special folk pop let alone music isn't to try and turn the whole world upside down. It's possible to be creative without necessarily redefining a whole genre of music. Sure, those are what everyone's usually looking for but every once in awhile you stumble upon a record like Skeptic Goodbye from the Massachusetts duo You Won't. It's charming beyond words, fully demonstrative of the twosomes talents, a brilliant collection of songs that works together, but any deviation from pre-established norms is subtle. No look at me attention-grabbing antic here. Josh Arnoudse is a gifted lyricist with the kind of voice that gently commands attention not pleading for it and Raky Sastri is a skilled instrumentalist and well as producer. Their songs are either catchy as all get out or just too good not to want to listen to again and really that's what any good musician to strive for. Skeptic Goodbye is a great smattering of folk pop some with rather anthemic leanings.  

Will Stratton - Post-Empire 

Singer/songwriter Will Stratton is an musician who really gets it. Having great lyrics (which he certainly has in spades) is not all it takes to write a good song. Stratton's approach to songwriting pairs all of his various talents to work to create incredible music moments and excellent mood-changes. In fact, Post-Empire starts with about 2.5 minute orchestral intro before the entrance of the more folk-friendly guitar, a full three before Stratton's first verse is even uttered. This reverence for the actual extra elements of a song is something you'd wish more people cherished, more people employed. Maybe not in such a grand fashion but when an album takes it's time beginning, you know it's going to be a worthwhile listen. In addition to lovely arrangements, Stratton's fingerstyle guitar paired with his rolling, ambling melodies makes for a pretty incredible all-around immersive experience. Post-Empire is the kind of album you can put on and just sit and marvel at the level of musicianship contained within. 

Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP 

Most people refrain from putting EPs on an albums list. I'm not most people. Especially not when you have a record like Daniel Rossen's Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP. On his first true solo outing, Rossen expounds upon the epic arrangements of Department of Eagles and Grizzly Bear with his own solid voice resulting in five songs that are simply spectacular. Astonishingly poetic turns of phrase that stick with you are paired with larger than life instrumentals that seem to grow larger and more layered with each subsequent listen. Topped off with intensely emotive vocals, the EP is a testament to Rossen's own talents and why others are so lucky to have him a collaborating. A beautiful stirring collection of songs that almost weren't. Thank heavens they were.

Efterklang - Piramida
With three fantastic albums under their belt, there was no doubt in anyone's minds as to Danish trio Efterklang's awesomeness or artistic integrity. Then in a move that couldn't possibly be foreseen, the Danes had the wacky idea to go to an abandoned Russian coal-mining settlement in the far north of Norway where they recorded all sorts of sounds that formed the framework for their brilliant, brilliant fourth studio album Piramida. On it, they combine the accessibility of Magic Chairs with the dreamy, atmospheric air of their orchestral-leaning albums. Piramida is a work of incredible artistic ambition proving Efterklang as master craftsmen and truly creatively leaders. Employing women's choirs and orchestras, Efterklang reach a level of collaboration most can only dream of.

Kishi Bashi - 151a 

With a real sense of overarching themes and a cinematic scope, Kishi Bashi's debut is certainly an impressive one. Especially considering the pit of doubters waiting in the wings to compare him to other violin/loop pedal users Andrew Bird and Owen Pallett. While learning from his predecessors, K. manages to offer up a singular, unique voice. Japanese vocalizations are welcome treat from the "oh" and "ah"'s you find in standard pop music while K.'s psychedelic deviations add a distinctive coloring to what would already be an applause-worthy effort to create a debut so strong it has to be heard to be believed. 151a is an amazingly adventurous debut brimming with talent and life.

Lands & Peoples - Pop Guilt 

Though by no means a proper representation of the brilliant new direction the Baltimore lads have taken since losing some of their members, Pop Guilt is a snapshot of the band in their youth and in it you can trace elements for their rugged experimentalism. That said Pop Guilt is a great album in its own right featuring bustling pop choruses, dynamic textural play, and some rather incredible vocal chops in Caleb Moore and Beau Cole. And yet as pleasant and arresting as the vocals can (and are allowed) to be, Lands & Peoples music isn't nor has it ever been a platform for them. Lands & Peoples make great use of textures and layers, using vocals to add more dimension, more depth to their already seemingly fathomless experimental pop ditties.

Port St. Willow - Holiday 

After my discovery of The Antlers' Hospice, I really wasn't looking for a record like that again. A record that would utterly destroy all my emotional barriers and make me absolutely fatigued from just feeling so much but here we are. While not quite as devasting, Holiday certainly falls into the same category of mood music that is simply too beautiful for words. Each and every listen results is a cathartic release and never do you grow numb to Nick Principe's raw, emotion-shredding work. In musical landscape dominated by senseless, vapid music without real meaning, it's a treat to get something this precious, this heartfelt, this real. Principe places himself completely out in the open and the result is an album of absolute elegance and finely crafted pathos.

Levek - Look A Little Closer 

In addition to being a veritable grab-bag of 70s musical styles, Look A Little Closer builds upon the somewhat cartoon-y vibe of Levek's demos with some pretty solid jams. It also happens to function doubly as a sort of emotional catharsis for Levek mastermind David Levesque while avoiding relying too heavily on that to function. In fact, without that little tidbit of information, it's still entirely possible to enjoy Look A Little Closer without feeling like you're missing something; some crucial piece to the puzzle. Instead the album slopes gently into a multitude of jam-laden 70s psychedelic subgenres while not sounding like it's trying too hard to do so. Levek for all intents and purposes casually eludes any notion of genre seeking the far more rewarding option of simple good music.

Young Man - Vol. 1
As under-represented as female songwriters/arts/bands seem to be in the music industry sometimes it seems like they have the most interesting stories to tell. The most clever spins on their tragic love lives, the most affecting vocals. I wasn't actively looking for an exception to that, for someone to describe the trials and tribulations of manhood when I found Colin Caulfield aka Young Man. In a series detailing his rite of passage into manhood, Vol. 1 isn't even the full scope of the Caulfield's experiences. And yet, it does so so articulately, so universally, so accessibly while sounds so personal that Vol. 1 quickly became a favorite. It's a male songwriter singing about something actually important that isn't your standard heartbreak tale or love song. Wrapping up his sagely observations in smart-pop dressings, Vol. 1 isn't just an album that appeals to young men or even older men. It's got a broad appeal while tackling a subject few explore that actually matters.  It's a well-rounded effort equally displaying Colin Caulfield's intelligent songwriting chops while also showcasing the talents of his collaborators and dressing them up nicely in solely beneficial arrangements.

Bowerbirds - The Clearing 

There comes a time in every band's career when they seek to change some form of what they've been doing either for better or worse. For Bowerbirds, they expanded upon their pastoral reveries by reaching a higher level of universal resonance than ever before. Transforming from mild-mannered folk band to high-minded art rock band, The Clearing in a lot of ways shines a light on where Bowerbirds have been and where they are going. Their third album, the album gives little hints about their roots while detailing their lives together in their trademark nature-laden imagery and artful use of metaphor. And while employing far bigger experimentations to their sound, they also apply it at a smaller level giving resident power harmony gal Beth Tacular her lead debuts in "Hush" and "In the Yard", the result is simply amazing. Beth, Phil Moore, and the rest of the talented crew of musicians are in rare form on The Clearing and create an album that both appeals to the long-standing Bowerbirds fan while also shaking things up to keep things interesting and grab some new ears.  Bowerbirds have always been masters of subtle emotion-stirring moments and the certainly don't disappoint as each lyric, each phrase, each musical flourish pulls at the heart-strings, brings a smile to your lips, or just lets you bask in the glory of a truly good band that knows what it's doing.

Hundred Waters - Hundred Waters 

In a musical climate where things sound more than a little similar and overdone, a band like Hundred Waters is a much needed breath of fresh air. One of my favorite things about the band is the utterly unclassifiable nature of their music. Owing equal parts of their composition to electronics and the ethereal sensuality of Nicole Miglis vocals, the band are rather unlike anything I'd heard before in the best way possible. Imaginative, creative, and expansive, Hundred Waters' debut album plays like an absolute dream - consuming you fully from start to finish with it's mesmerizing textural play. Hundred Waters are a band of artists in a completely nonpretentious sense creating enthralling, intriguing multi-layered masterpieces that don't beat you over the head with how art-y they are. Instead Hundred Waters offer up works of beguiling beauty that all fit together spectacularly in the grand scheme of their album. Their album is downright cosmic - raising perceptions about what art music can be while remaining accessibly so. Their palette of sounds are otherworldly and grand - the soundtrack to epic adventures or grandiose happenings while remaining subtle enough to operate on a smaller level. An absolute behemoth of talent and dazzling display of non-grandstanding musicianship.  

Honorable Mentions:
River Whyless - A Stone, A Leaf, An Unfound Door

Lucius - Lucius EP

Black Girls - Hell Dragon

Daniel Hart - The Orientalist (rerelease)

All Around Sound's Favorite Tracks of 2012

In a year that I felt was far more populated by stellar singles than exceptional full length albums, the idea of cherry-picking my favorite tracks of the year seemed more than a little daunting. While my favorite albums seemed like such a no brainer, arranging my favorite songs of the year seemed like a far more stressful but not impossible endeavor. So here's my favorite tracks of the year, arranged in no particular order. Enjoy!

Plants & Animals - "Lightshow", The End of All That
It's the track that singlehandedly dominated the early part of my year, while The End of All That was ultimately a major letdown for me in terms of living up to this fantastic lead single, to omit it from this list seemed wrong. Why? Have you ever heard a more earcatching single? That question is rhetorical and the answer is no. A track that grabs you right from when you press play, "Lightshow" manages to be rather simple in construction, featuring a pretty standard slow build incorporation of instrument but it's when these all converge together that the consuming power of the track is revealed. The lyrics? Awesome. The not too balls-to-the-wall style of rock that enables the immediate attention paid to the lyrics? Also awesome. It might very well be the single greatest song the band has written/performed and that's why even after burn after constant burn, I'm guaranteed to come back.


Lower Dens - "Brains", Nootropics
The first single from Lower Dens hot anticipated sophomore record Nootropics was a righteous jam. There's no other way around it. It's the kind of track you imagine would be twice as long live because it's pretty much neverending in it's simplicity. Chug-a-long guitar riffs with a sort of question/answer voice part. It sort of belies where the rest of Nootropics was bound to go (that is, a set of non-jams). It's catchy for its insistence and manages to avoid being annoying about it. It's a track that easily gets stuck in your head but that you make no major effort to get rid of. The lyrics may be obscured by fuzz but the track is no less enjoyable. Just thinking about the track gets the repetitive chunky lines stuck in your noggin and next thing you know you're jamming along to "Brains" on repeat and anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 days have gone by. It's dangerously time-consuming but you wouldn't have it any other way.


Father John Misty - "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings", Fear Fun
In the initial cymbal crash of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" mild-mannered J.Tillman singer/songwriter/drummer of Fleet Foxes fame was instantaneously reborn as Father John Misty. While Fear Fun remains to be an album many are trying to fully wrap their heads around (myself included), one thing is clear "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" fully justifies Tillman's Fleet Foxes split on its own merit. It shows a more honest, decidedly more creative Tillman than we've experienced thus far and it's far better for it. It also helps that it's catchy as hell. So catchy that the lyrics aren't immediately apparent to the listener. After dozens of listens it wasn't until reading an interview with Tillman where I realized the song was about graveyard sex. Cool. It's a proper departure from the songs about heartbreak and reconciliation that your standard singer/songwriter doles out in spades. The track alone was enough to ease the hurt of no longer getting to witness Tillman charming up Robin Pecknold's awkward stage banter as well as providing something new and exciting to look forward to. Father John Misty, you can stay.


Alt-J, "Breezeblocks", An Awesome Wave
While support of UK art-pop band Alt-J seems to be split right down the middle, one thing is clear at least to me "Breezeblocks" is incredible. It might've been the accompanying video shot in reverse but from the second I heard "Breezeblocks" I was hooked. It's a spindly, slowly-raveling tune which lurches forth with more than its fair share of mood changes. Sparse folky interludes burst into a grooving, multi-layered laid-back rock. For me, it's the most appealing song from Alt-J; the track you throw on a mix or send along when you're trying to gauge whether someone would like them or just to give them a taste of what the band sounds like when it's at its best.


Patrick Watson, "Into Giants", Adventures in Your Own Backyard
"Into Giants" is the probably the best example of Adventures in Your Own Backyard's normalized grandeur, raising a simple love song to fairy tale pleasantness. But far more impressive is Watson's song construction, properly enlisting a strong female vocal to act as a foil to his soft falsetto. It's easily the most memorable song of the album and it's not hard to see why. A lighthearted jaunt composed of various little flourishes and moving parts but plays smoothly and places melody at the forefront. "Into Giants" is Watson at his absolute songwriting best creating a track that's insanely enjoyable to listen to while also giving you that heart-clench you get from a properly emotional song. The perfect balance whimsical pop that still manages to stay grounded with a bit of seriousness.


Daniel Rossen, "Not Coming Back"
Anyone who knows me probably knows that I have a major love of Daniel Rossen's non-Grizzly Bear related projects. Department of Eagles, his solo stuff, whatever, I've never been disappointed. Even though he released an immaculate solo EP this year, the greatest gift happened when Rossen entered the 21st century and joined the social networking site Twitter. Why? Because though he doesn't tweet often when he does he does something incredible like drop a previously unreleased track from days past. Case in point: "Not Coming Back" a demo that apparently Rossen doesn't think too highly of, he's since dispersed it among Silent Hour/Golden Mile and Shields and seeing no future use for the remains posted it to his Soundcloud for curious ears. Obviously Rossen is a perfectionist of the highest order because "Not Coming Back" is brilliant. An emotive jam that seems to be establishing itself as Rossen's trademark, it's hard to believe "Not Coming Back" isn't a fully realized song ready for release.


Flock of Dimes, "Prison Bride", Prison Bride 7"
The solo project of Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner, I was too busy making up for lost time listening to Wye Oak's Civilian to pay any attention to Wasner's solo debut last year. In fact it wasn't until Caleb from Lands & Peoples mentioned that he picked up the recently released 7" that I was even aware Flock of Dimes existed and while she's put out a fairly sizeable amount of new tracks in the year, "Prison Bride" remains the most insistent, the most demanding of my attention and infinite listens. Perhaps its because so many parts of its overall construction seem so non-beautiful. The chunky beats and percussive effects compliment Wasner's dizzying vocals perfectly. Wasner seems to be on a crusade to elevate the current status of pop music and with tracks like "Prison Bride" she does a pretty good job of throwing her hat into the ring. I hope there's more songs like Flock of Dimes' or even that Wasner herself gets more popular (which is normally not a thing I wish on any of the bands I like) as everyone can do with a little more substance like Wasner seems inclined to dole out.


ARMS, "Summer Skills (Bump in the Night Version)"
Ah, some of you might think of this as the obligatory ARMS track that's meant to go on my list since my almost two year long obsession with them and perhaps you'd be right in that. But in addition to wanting to have one of my favorite bands represented in a year-end roundup there's also the fact that the jazzed up version of the title track off last year's incredible Summer Skills is a real home-run. Normally a slow-burning ballad, ARMS put a little bit of a groove-centric spin on the track (which actually got debuted at their record release show last year) and went about putting it to tape this year. Ace.  Not everyone is always in the mood for a ballad but everyone and I do mean everyone is in the mood for a jam and the Bump in the Night version of "Summer Skills" is a jam if there ever was one. Taking its place among other Summer Skills ragers proudly.


The Tallest Man on Earth, "To Just Grow Away", There's No Leaving Now
With a large part of The Tallest Man on Earth's draw (and subsequent criticism) being that each album adds a number of songs to a steadily growing songbook, every once in awhile you have a song that really stands out among the crowd. Impressive considering Matsson balances his songwriting talent pretty evenly among his albums tracklists. The Wild Hunt's was "The Drying of the Lawns" (with "King of Spain" a very close second), Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird's was "Thrown Right At Me", and There's No Leaving Now seems to "To Just Grow Away" despite valiant efforts made by "1904" and "Revelation Blues". It's the beginning track and sets the stage wonderfully for the album's rather different take on Matsson's rambling folk reveries.
Tallest Man on Earth - To Just Grow Away by maggiemreid

AU, "Solid Gold", Both Lights
There are tons of bands that claim to be or are lauded as being energetic and then a band like AU comes around to prove what being energetic really means. "Solid Gold" with its wild, breakneck mbira is and unfettered masterpiece of unrivaled, untameable energy. Sure, there's the occasional slow down when Holland Andrews enters lovingly caressing each note but ultimately the track moves at a speed that'd be nerve-wracking if it weren't so perfectly executed. At any moment the track seems like it could burst into flames ruined by it's own hubris of flying too close to the sun but it never does. It's a musical thrill-ride, nusic as a spectacle in the best way. "Solid Gold" is catchy as hell to rival AU's artistic ambition. The track bustling and frantic but confident in its abilities. It pays off because the risk seems monumental.


Prussia - "Annie", Girl Cops single
While Prussia may (or may not) be a thing of the past, they made sure to leave us with one more nugget of sweet, quirky songwriting with the Girl Cops single. And while the single is no doubt excellent, I fell hard for the b side "Annie". Featuring Prussia cinematic scope and innovative storytelling "Annie" is one of the reasons I'm going to miss Prussia. Ryan Spencer's lyrics have a tendency to explain just the right amount to give the narrative life while making you fill in the blanks yourself and also giving more questions than answers. It's never quite clear who Annie is exactly as major of an influence as she is on the song's course - instead minor details about her shift slightly more into focus as her character hangs back in the periphery. This combined with the sort of glammy 80s synth-pop vibe that manages to stay aligned with Prussia's intimate chamber pop stylings, it's not hard for the track to win you over. Vivacious, intelligent, and weird "Annie" could very well be inspired by the messed up realm of Poor English without fitting tidily into that box.

Lucius, "Genevieve", Lucius EP
There are few bands around as good as Lucius. While band after band can and will continue to use 60s girl pop as their muse, few will do so as effectively as the Brooklyn quintet. In fact, my first brush with them turned me into a puddle of exclamation. My brain couldn't process the level of talent being dished out and that wasn't some fluke - each member of Lucius is an integral part of that effect not just Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig's tight-knit harmonies and jaw-dropping vocal chops (though they certainly do help). While the full effect of Lucius isn't attained outside of their live set, "Genevieve" is most closely captures the vivacious brassy attitudes, the sauntering melodies, the dynamic musicianship. It's short but sweet, simple but all-consuming, "Genevieve" hints at the playfulness and the rising levels of mind-shattering interplay of the band while being restrained enough that you don't utterly lose it when the track plays. Win win.

Parlovr, "Holding On To Something", Kook Soul
It was an album I was rooting for since catching the Montreal pop trio at CMJ back in 2011, the concept seemed quirky enough to work. Three Canadians find influence and inspiration in soul music - a decidedly American idiom and effective pair it with their own brand of wild, high intensity power pop. It was an idea that turned out to be far more ingenious in theory than practice. Though Kook Soul certainly was not without it's triumphs - "Holding On To Something" no doubt being the absolute best of them. It's a track much like "Lightshow" that hinted at an potential not quite reached within the confines of the album but which shines brightly on it's own. The energy "Holding On To Something" is infectious, the fellas talents for cobbling together sloshing but pristinely memorable melodies with an interesting even dance-y feel. Though the rest of Kook Soul failed to live up to the sinful pop promises of "Holding On To Something". it certain was worth the effort if only for the track's creation.

Lemolo - "Open Air", The Kaleidoscope
Perhaps it's because it's the single upbeat track in a series of brooding ones, maybe it's that it functions as the perfect showcase for Meagan Grandall and Kendra Cox's vocals accompanied purely by a piano, beat-keeping drum and a limitless sense of freedom but "Open Air" was the track I found myself returning to over and over again on Lemolo's stunning debut The Kaleidoscope. Simple lyrically as well as compositionally, it manages to grip you by putting the two ladies' harmonies fully on display unencumbered.



Illuminator - "Tangled With Bear", Soul Sister (forthcoming)
What can I say I have a real fondness for concept albums. The higher the stakes for it to be completely missed or fail completely, the more I'm interested in it. Sure, sometimes releases get bogged down with all the minute details that came from crafting a record as much more than just a musical narrative but when they really get it, it's excellent. Enter Illuminator: On paper Soul Sister (or what we've heard from it thus far rather) seems weird. Like REALLY weird. In execution though it works, surprisingly. "Tangled With Bear" kind of drops you into the middle of the action: a battle between the album's protagonist and a violent soul he's confronted through multiple lifetimes. Without the concept, "Tangled With Bear" is a rollicking blues rock jam which alternates between moments of delicate pulsating narrative-driven plotting and glorious bursting emotive climaxes. In concept, it's more than just an addictive piece of southern-inspired rock, it's cathartic and interesting to have an internal and external battle taking place with the music functioning as both weapon and battlefield. Weird, yes, but good. Normal's overrated anyway.


Town Hall - "Mary A. Longden", Roots & Bells
 If you're going to go the tall tell narrative route of folk pop, you've got to be damn good. Not just in lyrical content but in overall presentation. The tales, the arrangements, you name it they all better be pretty damn interesting otherwise you end up with a sort of "Why am I listening to this?!" sort of reaction. Because your narrative aren't grounded enough in reality to be considerably relatable. Fortunately that's not really a problem for Town Hall who released a whole album of narrative-driven songs of their own creation in Roots & Bells. One of the absolute gems being "Mary A. Longden" so good they released it twice. First on their Sticky Notes & Paper Scraps EP and then premier full length debut. They may not be doing anything genre-defying in terms of instrumentation or overall but where they do deserve some credit lies in their absolute creativity and ability to make a series of character studies into something worthwhile and accessible. Their vocals also happen to be downright crackerjack.

Johnny Flynn - "Flowers in My Garden", A Bag of Hammers soundtrack
Earlier this year, British folk singer Johnny Flynn surprised everyone with a two day jaunt across the US (one day in NY, one in LA) before retreating back to the Britain. The reason why seemed unclear. Did Flynn just miss touring after a year of theatre engagements? Yes. Was there new Johnny Flynn material on the horizon? Not quite but sure. While Flynn is still at work on his follow up to Been Listening, we did get new release from him in the form of a soundtrack he wrote for the indie dramedy A Bag of Hammers. The first track from the soundtrack out well over half a year before the soundtrack streeted, it's Johnny Flynn at his best: An updated but inspired take on actual folk music. The track sounds very much like the music used in the Shakespeare plays he's been featuring in and perhaps that's the intent. But also: The track is just plain good.


Gracie -  "Creature Pleaser", Bleeder (forthcoming)
What isn't there to like about "Creature Pleaser"? The first taste from Gracie's forthcoming full length, the track is an absolutely infectious and entirely all-consuming dance jam. If any of Bleeder's tracks come anywhere close to this one in terms of just insane catchiness, we're going to all be in real trouble. Because from the moment you press play on "Creature Pleaser", listening to anything else seems like an absolute chore. Instead you're compelled to just replay it and marvel at it's toe-tapping, body-moving splendor. Fairly certain the song is laced with some sort of high grade aural crack because one you start you're hooked and  it isn't until someone intervenes. But damn if it isn't the best 4 minute potentially life-ruining decision you've made.

Grizzly Bear - "Half Gate", Shields

Sure it's an album where each song leans slightly upon the other to support the colossal weight of the whole but for some reason "Half Gate" with wind-whipped plotting and gently unfolding piano pop stuck with it the most. More than that. It's the moment that Shields won me over completely. Before Shields, I wouldn't consider myself as a Grizzly Bear fan by any means but Shields with it's epic grandeur, it's clean immaculate twist on orchestral pop sans orchestra, has made a convert out of me. It seemed tighter and more accessible than records past while not trading in any of Grizzly Bear's notorious layered complexity. Shields seemed to me the first truly collaborative effort of the group of four musicians and "Half Gate" the best display: Placing Ed Droste's vocals with Daniel Rossen's and letting them highlight each other's strengths and fill in what the other's couldn't. Instead of just functioning as harmonic filler like times past, "Half Gate" sees the band's two main vocalists actually working together in the full context of a song. Their voices may alternate but it's the first time I felt both's vocal prowess was acknowledged and not only that - deployed together for an excellent heart-fluttering effect.  

Cheyenne Marie Mize - "Keep It", We Don't Need EP
As Cheyenne Marie Mize reaches a rather eclectic happy medium on her We Don't Need EP, the straight up feisty girl rock track "Keep It" was really what conquered me. The whole EP a charming display of personality, "Keep It" with it's rather eloquent rejection gives Sharon Van Etten's "Serpents" a run for its money with its level of casual, fiery badassery. It's as easy as that. There's no posturing, no elaborate metaphor; "Keep It" is a scorching dismissal pairing with all the rock trimmings needed to drive Mize's point home.


Lands & Peoples, "I Tried", Pop Guilt 
If an album is featured on one of my favorites list I try not to feature it on the other (try being the operative word because last year didn't work that way) but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. To not feature "I've Tried" would not only be the biggest slap in the face to the uber talented Baltimore lads but also to the idea of a favorites list. "I've Tried" has gotten a hell of a lot of play from me. Maybe more so than any other song on this list? Why? Well it takes Lands & Peoples "there's actually a buttload of complex things happening here but listen to how fluid it all sounds" method of song construction that I had become enamored with and put it in a decidedly more poppy context than I was used to from the band. It's also one of the few songs on their record that really shine a spotlight on the vocals. Sure there's singing all over the album but really "Ukulele", "Ghosts", and "I Tried" show Lands & Peoples at their best vocally. While "Ukulele" and "Ghosts" are more emotional fare, "I Tried" is more guilt-free pop (if you can really even call anything Lands & Peoples that), which manages both a showcase for Lands & Peoples creative accompaniment (there's a part from Terminator thrown in there!) as well as Caleb Moore's vocals. There's even a bit of that trademark L&P harmony. Just a small taste but it's a nice touch.

Secret Mountains - "Golden Blue", Winter Sessions/Rainer (forthcoming)
While Secret Mountains are certainly known for taking their time in all things, this year's tide over release Winter Sessions -  a collection of 3 songs from their upcoming full length debut Rainer saw Secret Mountains turning over a more immediate leaf. Their songs are still pleasantly lengthy but there's less build up, less pacing, and more here's what we can do as a group of tight-knit and talented musicians after we introduce you to the main idea. It's like knowing the destination but electing a new way to get there. The scenic route if you will. On "Golden Blue" Secret Mountains sure give you a lot to see too; offering winding, curling passages of subdued, tasteful pyrotechnics while deploying Kelly Laughlin's dynamite vocals, their biggest explosive of all.

Sea of Bees - "Broke", Orangefarben  

You'd be hard pressed to find a more earnest artist than Sea of Bees and her latest album Orangefarben certainly doesn't disappoint on that front especially in lead singler/album opener "Broke" as Sea of Bees lets her hearfelt feelings bubble out of her fitting considering the song's about attempting to keep your feelings bottled up. Her vocals are sincere, her feelings a very special type of raw; not quite heart-breaking but moving, gripping, and intense. I suppose that's always been Julie Bee's ace in the hole. Girl's got a hell of a lot of heart and she's not afraid to bare it. Despite what the actual lyrics of "Broke" might want you to believe. 

Sharon Van Etten - "Leonard", Tramp

It's not my most shining moment but for some reason I had never really gotten around to giving Sharon Van Etten a proper listen until I heard the fiery vitriol of "Serpents". It seemed like such a different take on the heartbroken lover shtick your most basic singer/songwriter resorts to and I was intrigued as hell. But there's a reason "Leonard" is here over "Serpents" though each song would be more than welcome on this list. My preference for "Leonard" started superficially at first a "listen to those harmonies!" moment as I watched the acoustic version featuring Sharon Van Etten and Heather Woods Broderick for i-D. But as I watched the video more and more and Tramp eventually made its way into my hands, more of it appealed to me. Sharon Van Etten's always been a profoundly honest songwriter but "Leonard" to me seemed to marry the idea of the spurned lover while also acknowledging her own faults in the mess while featuring Van Etten's uncanny knack for downplayed moments of lyrical brilliance.  

Fiona Apple - "Hot Knife", The Idler Wheel...

Perhaps it's place after a set of high intensity, emotional, catharsis-seeking moments on The Idler Wheel... but by the time Fiona Apple reaches the album's terrific conclusion with sultry pop "Hot Knife" is shined my absolute gold. Only the kicker was that it held up pretty incredibly on its own. That discredits that theory. But for all her trouble singer/songwriter-y ways, Apple is a gifted popsmith rewarding those that listened to her air of her life's various grievances, moments of pain, heartache, and ugliness with a simmering ode to sexual need. While that might sound like something you'd expect to hear on Top 40 radio and just grimace at until it was over or change the station over, lest we not forget Apple's gifts. Primitive drums beat out underneath a fugal masterpiece of layered vocals and damn if it isn't the catchiest little thing. For all her songwriting-as-therapy methods, Apple really shines when she takes on a simple truth and runs with it in a rather significantly fun way. 

Pitstop: SoftSpot

A few months ago there was a week where Caleb from Lands & Peoples more or less had full control over what I posted on the blog. It wasn't a blog takeover or anything like that he just kept suggesting bands to me that he thought I'd be really into and he happened to be right. Brooklyn psych-rock trio SoftSpot was actually one of the first bands Caleb suggested to me. Earlier during the year Lands & Peoples played a house show with SoftSpot and when I saw Caleb the next day he had nothing but good things to say about them. 

When I finally pounced upon the recommendation and listened to the Nous EP I couldn't help but notice a definite similarity between SoftSpot and Secret Mountains. Laid back, slow burning jams wrapped up in psychedelic fuzz? The bands seemed almost too similar for me to compare. How could I describe a band as being almost exactly like another band while urging you to listen to both bands? The answer: Don't. I'm glad SoftSpot's debut full length Enso was exfm's album of the week last week as it allowed me to see the band in a whole new light. While Soft Spot shares Secret Mountains patient gently unfolding delivery, there's far more to them than that. Sarah Kinlaw's vocals are much more in line with BRAIDS' Raphaelle's Standell-Preston and her quiet coquette-ish coo than Kelly Laughlin's mighty roar. 

But SoftSpot are a band of their own design not just a composite of other arty bands you know and love. Their songs are insistent and ear-catching even despite their occasionally labyrinthine construction. In fact, a lot of their songs, especially on Enso, function as extensions of each other sliding effortlessly into the other. SoftSpot's songs feature reoccurring sonic themes and structures that fall anywhere from a repeated inflection to a continuous winding guitar riff. Ultimately Enso as well as all of SoftSpot's releases are intensely interesting listening experiences where the longer tracks capture and maintain your attention and the shorter ones make you crave for more.  They're a balance of dark, mysterious brooding jams with a rather underplayed pop sensibility deployed stealthily to keep the track aloft and coasting on its occasionally meandering path. 

Listen to SoftSpot's excellent debut record Enso now.

Pitstop: J Fernandez

Yesterday I featured Chicago experimental pop quintet Thin Hymns and apparently they're a band that just keeps on giving. After following the tip from Caleb from Lands & Peoples that led to my newfound love of Thin Hymns, he followed up with something equally as good. Turns out Justin Fernandez, Thin Hymns' guitarist/keyboardist has a solo project appropriately named J Fernandez.

Have you ever heard old school Fleet Foxes EP era Fleet Foxes? Songs like "Textbook Love" and "In the Hot, Hot Rays" with their sunkissed psychedelic rock slant are precisely what you can look forward to in J Fernandez's music (most notably "Wasting the New Year"). But instead of jangly guitars, Fernandez's music doesn't prominently feature them. Relying more on a whatever's clever form of musical composition. 

"No Luck" is a harmony-laden sprawl that which gradually gains complexity as it saunters forth, adding brass along its plodding drums and Fernandez' croon while "Jewelry Watches Gold" and "Fading Out" are Real Estate-esque soft rock jams. 

For a bedroom project, J Fernandez's music has a surprisingly wide scope. From the sparse "Olympic Village People" to the the 70's reminiscent rock of "Wasting The Year" on the same release, to the simplicity of "No Luck" to the complex, layered beast that is "Real Flowers", J Fernandez's music output is dynamic and unpredictable while nevertheless remaining unequivocably good. Here's hoping there's scores and scores of new music to come from Fernandez.     

J Fernandez currently has two cassettes (No Luck and Olympic Village)  out and his music is enough to make me change my whole anti-cassette stance. Luckily if cassettes aren't your thing, J Fernandez is releasing them as a double EP via Morning Ritual. Fans of good music rejoice as J Fernandez's No Luck/Olympic Village double EP will be out October 29th 

Pitstop: Raindeer

Turns out one of the best methods to discovering great new music is just to pay attention to your favorite bands and artists. That's more or less how I found Raindeer, the brainchild of Charlie Hughes who's currently part of the Lands & Peoples lineup.

Truth be told, when I first put on the the Baltimore band's debut self-titled EP, I was a little taken aback. One of my least favorite things that's becoming more and more popular is the overwhelming use of vocal effects and so on my first listen to "From the Lagoon", I was quite ready to dislike it. What prevailed was the fact that I had met Charlie during my recent sit down with Lands & Peoples so I decided to give his EP a full spin before making any judgments. Certainly glad I did, as that first track turns out to be just a bit of warm up and the vocal effects an integral of the 80s-inspired dance-pop tunes Raindeer create.

Raindeer's debut EP is pretty darn delightful, it's got a sort of space-aged newness while clearly inspired and infused with the spirit decades long past. At times it's downright dreamy but all throughout it's ear-catching with addictive infectiousness. Raindeer are space-pop voyagers balancing swirling synthy goodness with samples, beats, and playful, even-tempered psychedelic vibes.

Raindeer are sure to set your foot a-tapping and your mind-reeling as they shatter all your expectations of what good, enjoyable music is supposed to sound like. They're fun without being a throwaway band and that's rare. Keep up the weirdness, Raindeer; I'll be watching.

You can listen to Raindeer's full 10 song EP as well as buy it for the low, low price of whatever you feel like paying at their Bandcamp.

All Around Sound-Off No. 2: Lands & Peoples

photo by Na Kim

A little more than a year ago, I stumbled upon Baltimore experimental pop rockers Lands & Peoples in a fit of ARMS-lust. Scouring Youtube for as many live videos I could find to tide me over until the release of their much anticipated sophomore record Summer Skills, I was intrigued by a Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session live from SXSW featuring an interestingly named band performing a cappella with a set of ginormous windchimes.

As I resolved to write about them, I ran into a snag: Their FB page had little to no information for the feature I intended to write about them. From a simple getting to know you email, an unexpected friendship between the band and I formed as I conspired all ways and forms to actually see them live (and most times failing), it wasn't until last year's CMJ when I finally succeeded in my goal and actual meet the band properly and the rest is somewhat history.

The road towards the interview between Lands & Peoples and I was an adventurous one as the out of town band and I, unfamiliar with Brooklyn in any helpful regard, set out to meet each other in a more or less noteworthy location but turned out to be Bushwick's small Maria Hernandez park not on any map of note as Caleb Moore directed me to them via brief telephone conversations and purely informative texts messages. The rather intrepid and ridiculous nature of our meeting set the tone for our chat as we found ourselves distracted by all number of things from a squirrel with a watermelon, a dog with a very large branch, and random passerbys trying to bum cigarettes, it gave a look into the fun-loving guys who form the intricate well-run machine of Lands & Peoples.

Dante (All Around Sound): I’m here with Lands & Peoples so tell me, who are you? When’d you form, how’d you form? All of that good stuff.

Caleb: I’m Caleb.

Beau: I’m Beau.

Charlie: I’m Charlie.

Caleb: So the question was how did we form – like all the way back?

That’d be nice.

Caleb: It was originally…I put up two or three…two songs on MySpace as Lands & Peoples and one of them was like really ambient and I was just getting into doing production stuff. I got compliments from my friends so I figured I should keep doing it. Then Amanda started playing with me for a brief spell – Actually it was like 6 months. It was just me and her as a two-piece and then Beau was living in New York when that was happening and ended up moving down to join the band basically. I don’t know if we were like – well actually it was like “You’re coming to play music, you’re going to be in the band.”

Beau: Remember when we had that show at home in Oxford over Christmas –

Caleb: It was like a little house show in an apartment.

Beau: Yeah and pretty much after that I decided to move down. I was unhappy in New York and wasn’t doing what I wanted to do and wasn’t happy in general. Had a sort of crappy living situation and was making a lot of music too which was a completely different thing from what we’re doing – what Caleb was doing. I just moved to Baltimore on a whim basically.

Caleb: And Beau – we had a history playing music because we lived together in college. He was one of the first people I played music with so it just kind of made sense.  We’re best friends. So then it was the three of us. We did that tour as a three piece – our first tour ever. And then, I don’t know, I guess some people said that we could use bass and I probably got really offended when they said that but then it made a lot of sense actually. So we found Brian and he was really nice – he was really into the music, pretty eager, and came up with some awesome shit. So then for a while there were four of us. That was probably the longest incarnation so far. We did another tour with that and recorded that whole album Pop Guilt with the four of us. And after the last tour we did with them which was to South By, right?

Beau: Yeah. That one was to Austin.

Caleb: It was our second time going down to South By and we got back and I think things weren’t really gelling that well with Amanda creatively. Like we’d kind of always been on different planes a little bit.  We ended up talking to her and kind of deciding that we should go our separate ways and Brian actually ended up leaving the bands with her sort of because he didn’t feel like it’d be the same vibe. That was his main reason.  So then for a while it was the two of us…I don’t know if you wanted all this history.

It’s all good.

Caleb: Well, that was really fun.

That was right about the time I discovered you guys.

Caleb: Yeah! Yeah, it was cool ‘cause we were just like “Fuck it! We don’t have to worry about ‘Oh I don’t know if Amanda would be into this’”. Like none of that. All that went away. And then we just got really weird and tried a bunch of new ideas and it was pretty fruitful in little time. We probably wrote like – this was like over a year ago but we probably wrote half the songs that’ll probably end up being on the next record. Like in that time. Maybe a third of them or a fourth.

Beau: Yeah. A lot of the time having more people in a band allows you to do more things but for us for whatever reason feeling like we needed to make everybody happy or making sure that everyone was into it. It just put restraints on I think Caleb and I mentally. Most of it in our own heads.

Caleb: Yeah. They were great.    

Beau: Yeah, they were totally great but like, you know –

Caleb: Me and him, I think we had developed a lot but we had never like us two really got together and puked out a bunch of crazy ideas. It was a pretty thrilling time for us.  As far as our creative process and writing goes.

Beau: Yeah and we did that for about 8 months and then we decided that…

Caleb (jokingly): All the fire just dissipated!

Beau: Well, you know, the same thing with having multiple people allows you to do different and more things is totally true because when you have two people and each person is in charge of their own instrument and singing you only have a limited number of limbs. You can only use a loop pedal so much.

Caleb: Yeah, we really didn’t want to be like an all the time looping or like every song is a loop song. We’re trying to figure out how to do that tastefully. It’s been done really horribly. It’s been done really amazing too. I think we’re just trying to figure how to do that subtly.

Beau: We were kind of playing with a few people. We tried to get a buddy of ours, Micky, to come in and play. We got this guy Mike from Sri Aurobindo, which is another Baltimore band

Caleb: Like psychedelic rock.

Beau: Yeah. He played bass with us one time and I had been playing in another band with Charlie in Charlie’s main project Raindeer. Just kind of was a guitar player for a little while and we asked to come in and play with us and we totally mixed really well and it was awesome. And that’s how Charlie came into the fold.

Caleb: How long has he been with us now?

Beau: Since this winter. It’s been like 7 months, I think.

Caleb: That’s crazy.

Beau: I mean, we’re in the 8^th month of 2012…

Caleb: It’s been really gradual. ‘Cause he has been…well at first I think you were focused more on doing Raindeer shows and stuff. I feel like just now he’s starting to sink into the fold a little bit better. It’s becoming more…good. For all of us. More satisfying. And that’s where we are.

Beau: That’s where we stand.

So you all have side projects and other bands – is it difficult to juggle them? Are there ever Lands & Peoples songs that started out as songs for Dead Drums or Zu Shapes or vice versa or do you have a very distinctive idea of what is what?

Caleb: When I make music I try – like at home when I’m messing around with the computer or whatever or at the space, I’m try to at least not think about that at all and just somehow get something good. And then we bring it to the table. There haven’t actually been any songs that have ended up sticking… I’ve tried that with a couple songs that were sort of just mine or felt like Dead Drums. Probably you saw one of the sets where we played a couple that were like ukulele based and more fluttery, maybe had some more ambience to it. But it didn’t quite sink in. I don’t know, I think it didn’t. It felt weird; didn’t feel as collaborative as it should’ve been. Even though Beau has been really open to trying ideas out. We got them pretty far along and it sounded cool but it just felt a lot better when we were writing songs completely together and like doing it that way. Also, Dead Drums is so much about sound design and the feel of the recording that it’s – Like, I’m much happier writing songs and songwriting, that’s what I get out of this.

 Beau: And I think that like the sound designing aspect and the feel of the recording is what all of us – all three of us in our own separate ways are really into. It’s true. I guess it’s true that Dead Drums is kind of… (to Caleb) I mean would you say that  Dead Drums is a recording project more than a performance project?

Caleb: Yeah. I mean right now all I do is improvise some synth stuff and it’s like really awkward and I’m just like thumbing through presets. It’s fun. When you do it every now and then it’s like exhilarating.

Beau: It’s not awkward at all. It’s very great. It’s really good! Don’t down-talk yourself.

Caleb: It’s weird. I don’t know…

Beau: I mean we’ve had this conversation recently because when I do Zu Shapes stuff, which hasn’t been all that much. I haven’t really been focusing on it a lot but I am working on it –

Caleb: We both kind of decided to make this our thing at least for a while. Until we need to get a break.

Beau: I have really crazy hours for work like Caleb has a regular job, you know? The hours in my job I could be there anywhere from 8 in the morning til midnight. Just my hours are really crazy so I end up having these weird, free spans of time where I just go and sit and be in our practice space and start recording stuff on the loop pedal and transferring it to a computer and messing around with it. I am currently trying to work on some Zu Shapes stuff. But everything I try to share with Caleb. We had this conversation recently about how anything that we make let’s at least share with the other person. So that if the other person’s into it – and not to call you out on record here Caleb but Caleb’s opinions, his tastes, tend to be a lot more hit or miss; it’s like “I don’t like that at all” or “I really do like that”.

Caleb: Yeah, that’s pretty true.

Beau: Whereas I –

Caleb: Beau’s just like much more open to trying anything.

Beau: I think that it may be coming from a theater background and having to exist in an art form with other people like there’s no choice you have to be with other people and no one likes just somebody standing up there doing monologues, you know? Although it can be great, it can be compelling and emotional. But at the end of the day when you’re in a theatrical group you’re a group of people so you learn to collaborate and commiserate and to compromise. That’s 3 C’s. Off the top of my head.

 *laughter*

I think that’s just something that I out of habit do, just like “Ok, how can we make this work so that we’re both satisfied?”

Caleb:  I think it’s going to be really interesting to see – I want Charlie to eventually if he has a song idea and for whatever reason it doesn’t feel like Raindeer, that’d be fun to do.

Charlie: Right now I’m just kind of feeling out their vibes and trying to get on board.

Beau: And he’s doing a great job.

Caleb: Totally. But I think me and Beau are just in the mindset right now whereas whatever we make if it feels like it would work we’re totally into trying it out as Lands & Peoples. Because that’s really ultimately what we’re going for is Lands & Peoples. The most. The hardest. We’re both going to record some new solo stuff eventually in like a year or two.

This year you released your debut full length which is actually a collection of old songs. I wrote about it twice and kind of never ever addressed the fact that I actually had no idea why you choose to release it now.

Caleb: When should’ve we? That’s my question. We couldn’t really figure out a better option. Well, Jimmy – we were talking to this label and our friend Jimmy was like “You know, maybe you should just wait on it and release some new stuff and then release that as a retrospective like ‘This is what we used to sound like’” and that felt really weird to me. Maybe it would’ve made sense but I don’t know.

Beau: I think that for us it felt like we needed to get it out there, you know? Because it had taken us so long in the first place to get it to a point where we were ready to release it and all four of us were ready for it to happen and ready for it to be out there.

Caleb: We were already sick of the songs. Like we’d been playing them for like a year and a half or a year at least. Not sick of them in a bad way.

Beau: We were just ready for them to be out. Out from our heads and our computers and our own personal computers. We just wanted them to be out and take legs and hopefully walk and have people listen to them and whatever. It just needed to happen.

Caleb: To move on.

Beau: It might not have been the smartest idea in terms of what we’re doing now and if anybody comes and sees the shows and are like “Oh, you guys don’t play anything from the record.” Well, we didn’t. I mean, we’ll play like one song from the record or whatever but I don’t know, it’s going to sound different from the record anyway. The record it’s so much about the space where the notes aren’t falling, the quiet times. So much of the record is about that. It feels about that and it wouldn’t sound the same if we were playing it anyway.

Caleb: I imagine…like the way I see it is if they came to our show and really liked us and then bought the vinyl, I think that’d just be a really nice treat. But also, it’d  be nice to have both.

Beau: Records cost money, man!

Caleb: It’s just as interesting and as good as what we’re doing it’s just a little different and more chill. And I think they like this stuff they’d like that too.

I did. So, when you released Pop Guilt you got the opportunity to kind of revisit all of these old songs, did you have a particular favorite? Did you have any tracks that you wish you could incorporate into your live set?

Caleb: I think we talked about doing “Kalimba” er not “Kalimba” but “Stiff and Crooked” because that one was the most just me and Beau out of the whole record. So it would make sense in our set maybe to try that. We haven’t gotten around to it. We’re just so excited about working on new songs. My answer to the other question is: I like “Don’t” a lot because for me, it felt like the most fully collaborative song. I feel like everyone brought something really nice to the table. I mean “In Living Color” too in the same way but that one was like a hit. And “Don’t” was –

Beau: *laughs* A “hit”.

Caleb: A “hit”. Whatever. People liked it.  And “Don’t” is sort of our little thing. No one’s even written about it or whatever.

Beau: I think in terms of like song layout and the way everything just kind of came together I think “In Living Color” is probably quote unquote the best song on the record. For me, I personally like “Stiff and Crooked” or “Sexting” those are the big ones that appeal to me. If I would’ve bought that record and had I not played the songs, those would be the ones that I like kept to myself. Those are the songs that I take away from the record. You know, you’ll get a record and put songs on a mix cd and someone’ll be like “Who’s this?” and you’ll be like “It’s actually this person. You should go out and get that album”. Those are the songs that I would put on a mixtape.

(To Charlie) Do you have any favorites from the record?

Charlie: I like “Ghosts” a lot.

Caleb (jokingly): He’s never listened to it.

*laughter*

Charlie: I haven’t heard it ever. I’ve been meaning to get around to it…

Caleb: I’ve been meaning to send it to you, send me your mediafire and maybe I’ll get to it.

Charlie: But like “Ghosts”, I like “Ukulele” a lot. I think “Don’t” was another one I brought up that we should play.

Caleb: It’s fun. Beau challenged me a lot of drums on that song which was cool. In a good way.

Beau: Yeah, that’s true. “Don’t” definitely has a lot of connections to kind of some stuff we’re doing now. Mostly in terms of the rhythm ‘cause it has these like “1,2,3, 1,2,3, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3” and we do a lot of that with our songs now. We don’t have like standard “1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4” rhythms. We’ll mix up the rhythms a lot. I never really thought about it that way.

Charlie: I actually always remembered “Ghosts” kind of standing out the most when I used to watch you guys.
Caleb: Yeah?

Charlie: It’s the one I would remember. Like I knew you played that song.

Beau: And that’s a good point because that’s the one that we play now and I think that still –

Caleb: We still get good reactions to that one.

Beau: Yeah, we get good reactions from it and it feels powerful to play because…maybe because it’s just so simple and so straightforward. It’s like two chords the whole song.

Just from my point of view I think it comes from it being an opportunity to really display your vocal chops and that impresses people.

Caleb: Like constant harmony and not trying to belt it out. Yeah, I think you’re right on that. And it’s rocky and has a groove. Pretty easy groove.

You guys have played music for a while together, did you have any bands that you guys got really excited about that made you want to play together?

 Caleb: Good question. (To Beau) Let’s think back to our college when you were showing me music and stuff like that.

Beau: You remember Elbow?

Caleb: I really liked Elbow. We both really liked the first Arcade Fire LP.

Beau: Oh. My. God.

Caleb: Like a lot.  Like as far as emotionally it was powerful music.

Beau: I remember sitting in the Square, ‘cause remember Hot Dog Records was still around? And Becky used to work there and I used to hang out with Becky all the time; Becky was this girl that I had a relationship with and we were really good friends but we broke up but it was a really emotional time for me.  She gave me that record or I bought that record, I can’t remember but I just sat in this place called the Square in Oxford and I listened to that record in a parking space in its entirety sitting in my car just looking at our town square and then started it over like immediately. That record was really big in my eyes.

Caleb: Another person I know that we both really connect with was Andrew Bird. You can hear that sort of on the record, I think, at times. We saw him together. I saw him for the first time, and I think it was your first time too, in Memphis?

Beau: Yeah at the Hi-Tone.

Caleb: And that was cool. It was like one of our earlier hangouts and he was definitely inspirational.

Beau: We took a picture with him!

Caleb: Yes! We have this really nerdy, amazing, painful to look at ‘cause it’s so uncomfortable-

Beau: It’s a really weird picture. I asked him if he’d take a picture with us and he’s like “Yeah, sure”. He’s like really soft-spoken and like frail man even though he’s not. He’s like tall and whatever but…So I was like “Can we take a picture like we just conquered the word and this is the picture that we have to commemorate the fact that we just conquered the entire world”. He was like “Uh…” and I was like “Yeah!” so we’re all doing this, we all have our fists raised to the sky. It’s so funny to go down the faces because it’s like my face which is like super –

Caleb: Into it.

Beau: Yeah!

Caleb: There might be a hint of like “This is a little weird”.

Beau: Caleb’s face is like “Yeah, okay, I’m into this but this is a little strange”, kind of even peeking at Andrew Bird out of the corner of his eye. And Andrew Bird’s just kind of like “What?” It’s just kind of funny. Really good picture though.

Caleb: Yeah Andrew Bird probably more than Arcade Fire. I just know that we both really liked that record. And then we had a bunch of friends that played music in Oxford, in our hometown, and I think at a certain point we were like “We do this all the time why the fuck aren’t we just doing this? We’re not that bad”. Then that’s how we started playing- through friends.

Beau: We just kind of threw together a band. Me and Caleb and our friend Chad and our friend James. I think in like two weeks we wrote six songs and we got really good feedback and we played another show a couple weeks or a month later. I think we played one more where Crystal Fever came and played.

Caleb: Oh, yeah.

Beau: Oh man…but then you know we both moved to different places. He moved to Baltimore and I moved to New York and then that was about the time that Baltimore was blowing up as a music scene and I think that that’s been our inspiration from then until now. Just like having friends in Baltimore who are incredibly amazing musicians. Like Lower Dens, Wye Oak –

Caleb: Wye Oak especially. Like watching them onstage and just like her presence and how super confident they are that was an influence. They’re sort of role models. Lower Dens too, we love them so much.

Beau: I don’t mean for it ever to sound like “Oh, these are my friends” because they’re not my friends like that in any means but I have the opportunity to not only enjoy their music but I get to see them and I get to talk to them about it and they’re the nicest people in the world. That’s been such an inspiration for me as a musician. Having moved from a small town in Mississippi where you know everybody to a bigger city like Baltimore, even though it’s small in terms of big cities –

Caleb: Yeah like Weather Systems by Andrew Bird is like one of the most amazing records ever. So good. If you haven’t heard it, it’s really good.

*laughter*

Beau: I’m sorry were you cutting me off? Was my answer too long?

Charlie: It wasn’t a short answer…

Caleb: Nice and short. 

Beau: Well, that was a good question!

Funny that you mention Lower Dens and Wye Oak because that’s kind of my last question. You guys have had the opportunity to play with some pretty awesome bands and do multiple shows with pretty great bands like Secret Mountains. You guys are like band bffs forever; you’ve played a lot of shows them. But you played shows with Nat Baldwin from the Dirty Projectors and Lower Dens and Wye Oak, was there any particular show that was your favorite to play?

Beau (to Caleb): I know what you’re going to say. If you say this one I just want to remind you of how tense it was at the time.

Caleb: I’m not saying anything yet. Thinking about it. Do you mean like favorite show out of bigger people that we’ve played with or just in general?

Just like favorite show.

Caleb: We played this one, this one at a place called Grandville House on our first tour ever and first stop on the first tour ever and it was like in front of a trailer out in the woods in Pennsylvania and made a pretty decent recording of it and that was back when it was just the three of us. That one’s one of my favorites just because I can listen to it and I feel like I’m there almost. There were cicadas chirping in the background, we were outside.

Beau: I thought you were going to say the blackout show.

Caleb: That’s just the biggest, most intense show we’ve ever played.

Beau: But I was going to remind you of – remember how we had that whole fight while Lower Dens were playing? Not fight but – sometimes when you’re onstage and you say things to try to make the show keep going but they’re completely misinterpreted.

Caleb:…Are you answering the question? Or are you digging up old wounds?

*Laughter*

Beau: My favorite show – that’s what I do man, I remind you of where we came from. Can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re from! But, my favorite show would probably be that one we played with Celebration before Charlie came into the band. It just felt –

Caleb: The vibes were perfect.

Charlie (jokingly): And then it went all downhill from there?

Beau: No, no. We’re going to play more amazing shows than we’ve ever played.

Caleb: It was just a really nice crowd in Baltimore and everyone loved Celebration and everyone was amped up and just really receptive.

Beau: The way the show started and ended was like perfect. It started up on this slope and it like, it started with “Based Jam” and came up on this slope and we just like rode it all the way to the end. We played perfectly, it was awesome. Probably my most favorite show ever.

Was there any band that you wanted to play with next?

Caleb: Yeah, a bunch probably. I’m obsessed with John Maus but I don’t know if that’d ever happen. Our music’s different. I’d like to play a show with some of these Baltimore people that we’ve just never –like that we’re kind of friends with. It’d be cool to play a show with Dan Deacon somehow, someway.

Beau:  It’d be cool to play a show with Dope Body.

Caleb: Ed Schrader. I like that guy a lot. I’ve been wanting to play with Twin Sister for a while but I don’t really know how to work that out. I really like them, they’ve influenced me a lot just like production-wise. I think they’re pretty amazing. Elvis Costello…No, now I’m just naming names.

Beau: I think I would like to go on tour with one of our friends again. I really like that. I’d love to go on tour with like Lower Dens or something. That’s more important to me than just playing this awesome show with this awesome band one time. It would be going on tour with a band that we really respect and love and we’re already kind of good friends with. Get to know them even better. 

Much thanks to Lands & Peoples for providing not only an entertaining chat in Maria Hernandez Park but also a pretty exceptional concert later that night at DelinquencyNYC. Make sure you catch them on tour.

If you haven't already, make sure you check out the band's exceptional debut Pop Guilt as well as other recordings on Lands & Peoples' Bandcamp.