Listen: Bowerbirds - "May"

Memorial Day has come and gone, signalling not only the official end of the month of May but the unofficial start of Summer which is really just my roundabout way of saying there's a brand new track from Bowerbirds out now.

The 4th installment of their song-a-month short-form composition experiment "May" shakes off the last vestiges of spring, bright, breezy, and hopeful; not quite giving in to sun-soaked reveries just yet. Instead offering up a sparse piano-centric piece that pumps the breaks a little on the rather poppy direction Phil Moore's been going with these compositions.

Laura Marling - Once I Was An Eagle (2013)

It's a sort of strange sort of curse that regardless of what British folk songstress Laura Marling does to distance her personal life from that of her music and its subjects that that seems to be the first question on everyone's mind. Even on rather evidently narrative pieces such as I Speak Because I Can and A Creature I Don't Know, people still comb for some kind of personal significance in her words. Perhaps that's because of Marling's incredible knack for lyrical glancing blows, a seemingly unimportant phrase able to cut through Marling's pristine guitar melodies or sweet murmur and deal the listener's heart a crushing blow. With Marling admitting that her fourth and latest album Once I Was An Eagle is a far more honest record than records past, the questions certainly aren't going to stop any time soon.

With a four song intro that essentially behaves as nearly 16 minute lovelorn rhapsody, Marling returns in rare form, stripping her songs of their occasional grim character studies of her past two albums and providing for a far more universal consumption. Her talents for oddly poetic plainspeak fully on display under the helpful assistance of frequent collaborator, producer Ethan Johns. "I Was An Eagle" containing perhaps most rousing, biting lyricism in its "I will not be a victim of romance, I will not be a victim of circumstance, chance or circumstance, romance, or any man who can get his dirty little hands on me". It's enough to relegate the track's poignant metaphors to the background as its clearly the most hard-hitting yet softspoken lyric.

On album opener, "Take the Night Off", Marling's Beast (introduced on A Creature I Don't Know) returns if only in a name-checked fashion, in the track's opening lyric: "You should begone Beast, begone from me". Where Marling spent the whole of A Creature I Don't Know wrestling with the metaphorical Beast and its influence, it returns here accepted with very little struggle as Marling coos "Take the night off and be bad for me". All the while the four cohesive tracks rumble with a sort of Eastern-inspired flavor in Johns instrumental choices (like hurdy gurdy on "I Was An Eagle" or the pervasive but not overwhelming soft tap of hand drums).

By the time you reach fifth track "Master Hunter", Marling's flagrant spurning of all emotion seems justified, the track simmering and filled with a sort of pots and pans percussion. Only to be followed with the flamenco-esque ballad "Little Love Caster" which sort of undermines the surge of badassery and resolute singledom of "Master Hunter". It's a totally sensible, realistic backpedal that sort of forms the backbone of Once I Was An Eagle.

Despite Marling's claims that Once I Was An Eagle is a far more personal record than her past, the album carries the same narrative prowess she's been honing, following a clearly lyrical metamorphosis. Marling still resorts to using characters, drawing the Devil, the aforementioned Beast, and even referencing Undine but she strips them of their supernatural grandeur, relegating them to humanized versions of themselves used to illustrate the rise and fall of her aspirations, reoccurring regrets, and struggles.

It's not clear just how much Marling opens up on Once I Was An Eagle but it acts as an album of beguiling simplicity informed by works past as she confidently blends the lines between storytelling and emotive mood pieces. Once I Was An Eagle serves as meditation, lacking the venomous bite of I Speak Because I Can even it's most finger-pointing of tracks. She's removed from it, seemingly recalling the moments with nostalgia and a clearing distance. It works, providing an impetus to listen to the developing story rather than getting caught up in a flurry of emotion.



 You can stream the album in full over at The Guardian.

Listen: Golden Suits - "Didn't I Warn You"

If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I love Department of Eagles. More than Grizzly Bear, possibly more than Daniel Rossen's solo output though that's debatable. During the press cycle following last year's release of Rossen's solo EP Silent Hour/Golden Mile, Rossen mentioned that aside from working on the new Grizzly Bear record that he'd been helping out his old Department of Eagles partner Fred Nicolaus with his upcoming solo record. Fantastic news. It's no Department of Eagles reunion but damn if I wasn't intrigued, having just recently missed Nicolaus' possible live solo debut at Zebulon.

Now I don't have to wonder anymore. Today sees the official announcement of Nicolaus' solo effort, titled Golden Suits, and the subsequent first single from the upcoming self-titled record. Mostly relegated to general music-making and backing vocals in Department of Eagles, it's nice to hear Nicolaus' on his own. With unique vocals all his own, "Didn't I Warn You" is a complexly multi-layered track, taking its dear sweet time with its setup reveals Nicolaus as far less insistent, vocally at least, than Rossen. The track eases along at its own pace as Nicolaus' vocals pour over on top, syrupy smooth. There's a lot going on in the track but it manages to avoid sounding overtly busy or calling attention to exactly how many things Nicolaus can cram up in there.




Consider me righteously excited for Golden Suits, out August 20th.

(via Under the Radar)

Pitstop: Alex G

There's something to be said for jumping into a music discovery situation almost blind. Two weekends ago, I found myself at Living Bread in Brooklyn for Orchid Tapes inaugural showcase. I ended up there essentially as a tag along with Cemeteries' Kyle Reigle who was in town visiting that weekend and for another opportunity to see newly minted ex-Canadian Foxes in Fiction again after discovering him at Portals/Stadiums & Shrines' incredible CMJ showcase at La Sala. My first hint at the sheer level of awesome music I would consume that night should've been in the fact that the Cemeteries frontman was willing to take a nearly 7 hour cross-state excursion to make it to the event. Despite the multitude of incredible bands that night (R.L. Kelly, Happy Trendy, the aforementioned Foxes in Fiction, Julia Brown, and Coma Cinema), one of my absolute favorites was Philadelphia's Alex G.

It might've been the fact that a mosh pit broke out almost immediately upon the impact of their first note but really, my enjoyment of their set was based on more than that. Featuring pretty laid back indie rock vibes (that functioned as a kind of weird dichotomy to the furious moshing that was occurring in front of the band), my first take away from the band was that they were essentially Pavement. An observation that reeks of shallow comparison, I'll admit. But in "Forever", I heard vestiges of "Gold Soundz" whether imagined or not. A far better comparison might be Why There Are Mountains era Cymbals Eat Guitars (who also share that seemingly unshakeable Pavement-esque classification) sans rugged experimental streak.

Need for comparisons aside (or the lack thereof), Alex G is pleasant, tuneful but certainly not vacant indie rock everyone can get behind. Written and recorded by the band's eponymous frontman, Alex G's music is angular slow-burning lo-fi jams that are never long enough to overstay their welcome, instead able to enjoy limitless replay value unless you have the self control required to break yourself away.

Camp Counselors - Huntress (2013)

If I'm being totally honest, my discovery and initial listening to Cemeteries frontman Kyle Reigle's side project Camp Counselors was inspired by little more than a sort of dare. Despite the fact that Reigle was incredibly proud of it, when discussing Huntress he seemed almost certain that it wouldn't be liked, especially by me in particular. Described loosely as a set of half-inaccessible jumble of rather synth-heavy tunes inspired by old John Carpenter movies and other horror movie soundtracks, I'll say I wasn't really all that interested in the project until Reigle specifically singled me out as a potential detractor. Challenge freaking accepted.

To Reigle's surprise as well as my own, when he released the virtual 7" featuring the two Huntress tracks "02/05/11" and "Oslo", I was drawn in. Maybe it was mostly in part due to my love of intelligently-approached concepts, but though I didn't go absolutely crazy about the digital single when I heard it I made a mental note to actually check out Huntress. It wasn't until I heard the next single "Attean" featuring Psychic Twin's Erin Fein that I knew for sure that my interest in the album was something more than just curiosity and a strange sort of defensive reaction to being told flat out I wouldn't like something before I had even given it a taste.

Truthfully, I can't imagine why Reigle would be that nervous about the accessibility of Huntress. Even without an extensive knowledge of all the horror movies and their compositions that inspired the album or a like of electronic music in really anything but the most basic capacity, there's really not much to dislike in Huntress. The Camp Counselors record performs in a similar way to Reigle's Cemeteries work - mostly seamless texture-laden tracks that are oddly moving despite occasionally obscured lyrics. You don't have to make out what Reigle is singing exactly to be effected by what's going on musically and that's the signs of some pretty top notch musicianship.

Filled with Reigle's increasingly characteristic swooping vocal lines (and Fein's on the aforementioned "Attean") but grounded by meaty, bass-y synth lines, Huntress is a rather solid half hour of music. The majority of the album's tracks stretch across more than your standard 3 minute radio-friendly fare but they don't seem excessive in that regard, gently unfolding unfettered by any notion of time constraint; how music is supposed to. Even the album's interludes "An Absence" (the first part of the track "An Absence/Fawn"), "Stained Glass", and "An Absence #2" feel like they belong, giving the album a consistent flow. Huntress is a pretty strong album regardless of where your interests lie, able to stand on its own merits apart from its pretty neat concept. A hallmark of a great concept record.

You can listen/stream/download the first album Huntress from Cemeteries' Kyle Reigle's Camp Counselors side project via Bandcamp. The album is out today digitally with a physical release to soon follow on Reigle's own Snowbeast Records.

Listen: Typhoon - "Dreams of Cannibalism"

It sure has been awhile since we've heard from Portland folk outfit Typhoon! Since dropping the first single for the upcoming album White Lighter way back in October, the twelvesome have remained pretty quiet. That's all over now, hopefully, as their brand new single "Dreams of Cannibalism" comes with the much anticipated album release announcement.

Whereas "Common Sentiments" sort of hinted at more of the same wholesome Typhoon goodness, "Dreams of Cannibalism" quickly debunks that assumption. Featuring The Decemberists' Chris Funk on lap steel, "Dreams of Cannibalism" is far more than your standard Typhoon track. The minimal use of its plentiful members and emotional life-affirming lyrics aside, "Dreams of Cannibalism" is a equal parts a step into previously untread territory from the band as the rather darker-tinged track consistently changes form. Leftovers from Typhoon past are here to stay however, there's the rather hopeful gleam that manages to slip out regardless of how lyrically murky the the track gets as well as the buoyant brass that's virtually a staple of any truly great Typhoon song. "Dreams of Cannibalism" essentially sets up White Lighter as album sure to full of surprises.



Typhoon's much-awaited upcoming full length album White Lighter will be out August 20th on Roll Call Records.

Brazos - Saltwater (2013)

Since my discovery of former Austin indie pop trio Brazos when they played a how with similar namesake ARMS last summer, I've heard predominantly newer songs in their live set. Considering they were completely an utterly new to me at the time and my only impression of them beforehand was a great big seal of approval from ARMS frontman Todd Goldstein that wasn't really problem. When I acquainted myself more with Brazos' distinctive brand of intelligent, laid back sunny pop rock, the fact that I couldn't consistently hear what were shaping up to be some of my favorite songs stung a bit.

Now, a little more than a half a year after the trio finally rapped up production of their follow up to 2009's Phosphorescent Blues, Saltwater is out in the world. The first question fans of Brazos might ask themselves is how exactly is Saltwater different than Phosphorescent Blues? Well, the answer is actually not very much. Aside from being a completely new set of top-notch tracks. The real difference between the debut and this new record out nearly three years later is far subtler than any sort of radical new change in direction.

On Saltwater, lyricist Martin Crane remains at his astute best mixing poppy accessibility with unpredictable and exciting songwriting directions. He never quite aspires or attains the level of poetry of "The Observer" but that's perhaps for the best, especially when you remember that it's someone else's poem set to music. A trope that's interesting when employed sparingly. Crane's inventive streak continues as he borrows characters from Melville's Moby Dick in the album's title track "Saltwater"

A lot of what makes Saltwater truly different from Phosphorescent Blues is in subtle textural play. Crane and company dress up their already pretty dynamic tracks with occasional synthy swirls, electronic blips, and other seemingly unimportant minutiae but really they provide the tracks with a much appreciated added dimension. Each and every track on the 9 track sophomore record, from the swaggering "Always On" and "Valencia" to the sparse emotive showcases of "Deeper Feelings" and "Long Shot", is a real winner, a slice of summer-invoking guitar-lead pop with substance. Fans of Brazos are sure not to find the new album lacking in any way, instead improving upon many of the strengths of their debut and incorporating aspects of their fantastic live set while new listeners will find in Saltwater a brand new band and album to love. This I absolutely guarantee.

You can listen to Saltwater streaming in full at Spin Magazine. Brazos' brilliant record Saltwater is out tomorrow, May 28th on Dead Oceans. Scoop it up and drink it down, it's a keeper.