Listen: Sondre Lerche - "Palindromes"

Sondre Lerche has been teasing a new album he's been recording for some time now. Described intially as an ambient/experimental project, Lerche's only recently finally let the cat out of the bag. Rather than a proper record which we're just a due for (and Lerche promises is most assuredly on its way), the project was the recording of a soundtrack with longtime collaborator Kato Adland for the forthcoming indie thriller The Sleepwalker and while the trailer featured a chilling version of "You Sure Look Swell", "Palindromes" is our first taste of original content.

Beginning with a jog-like intro (aided in part by Dave Heilman's drumming skills) "Palindromes" manages to keep enough of Lerche's trademark pop chops while submerging it in a great deal of eerie that makes the track's alternate purpose quite clear. Unlike Lerche's work for the Dan in Real Life soundtrack, "Palindromes" doesn't sound like it could just be another album cut which is an exciting thought if you really think about it. Instead of disguising a potential track from his upcoming seventh album as a background noise, Lerche gets to flex his experimental muscle for a spell. "Palindromes" maybe be one of the soundtrack's five vocal tracks but allows itself to set a good deal of the ambiance, its not as unsettling as the updated "You Sure You Look Swell" but its not sunshine and rainbows either.

The Sleepwalker promises to be weird and creepy and I can't wait to see how Lerche's soundtrack helps articulate that. Here's hoping the wait isn't too long before its starts showing in theaters.
 


You can pre-order The Sleepwalker soundtrack now via Lerche's own Mona Records before its January 14th release date. Check out the trailer:

The Debauchees - Big Machines and Peculiar Beings (2013)

My first cursory listen to Louisville rock trio The Debauchees, recommended to me by Zach at We Listen For You, rather quickly established them as a band to watch for me. Both their singles the incendiary "I've Got Energy" and the sauntering "Rancid Dancin'"scratched itches I wasn't even aware I had and when news quickly spread that their debut album was coming and coming fast, I was giddy with excitement and happily marked the date down on my calendar.

The album's starter track, the eponymous "Big Machines and Peculiar Beings" leads you into a false sense of security. Considerably down tempo from the first two singles "I've Got Energy" and "Rancid Dancin'", "Big Machines and Peculiar Beings" is as yawny as a sunning cat at least initially. It engages in a bit of playful mood swings as intensity mounts and then disperses seemingly at the drop of hat in a way not wholly unlike "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Sidney Chadwick's vocals are a gentle stretch, a slow drawl, and a soft purr before its escalation, splitting in two- one part still sultry alto the other high-pitched chattering. While owning her uncoolness, a lot of the Debauchees' and by extension the album's exceptional moments occur right before tempestuousness when Chadwick is the epitome of relaxed cool.

That's not to discredit the trio's fiery, energetic delivery. Most rock bands try and succeed there, The Debauchees however prove that when slowed down they can still not only maintain your interest but stimulate your sense and blow your mind. It takes a sort of maturity to exercise the restraint necessary for Chadwick to establish her quirky songwriting chops and the band rallies accommodatingly around her, ready to dial things up when the opportunity calls for it and they certainly do so and often. But for the songs' short lengths there isn't the light-speed rush towards the finish.

Ultimately and thankfully, The Debauchees' isn't just about Chadwick though she is the most spotlighted member as their singer. The Debauchees handle themselves with equal-tempering, creating their tumult with an even hand and egalitarian showcasing ability. Big Machines and Peculiar Beings is a fun and riotously enjoyable affair. Its songs are mostly self-contained tales but manage to stack up with peculiar connectedness. An album where just about each song is a highlight for its own score of delightfully offered musical moments. Big Machines and Peculiar Beings is a record that rocks and rocks well, a scrumptious debut from the trio of charming misfits.

Big Machines and Peculiar Being is out now on sonaBLAST! records. You can grab it digitally or on CD via Bandcamp here.

Listen: Wilder Maker - "Song for the Singer"

Introduced to Wilder Maker - the work of Gabriel Birnbaum and friends from his cover of Will Stratton's "The War is Over" on the Will Stratton's benefit album. I was pretty taken with his take so when it was announced that Wilder Maker were releasing a new album - their sophomore record Year of Endless Light, I was completely on board. It's an album of considerable length and complexity. So much so that I've only recently been able to digest it in full.

It's no secret that I'm a lover of longform pop music. If you can stretch a song out longer than 3+ minutes while still maintaining my attention, you're a better songwriter than most in my eyes. Wilder Maker's "Song for the Singer" is a 12 and a half minute sprawl worth each and every minute. Anchored by Birnbaum's smooth baritone, it pairs patient folky narratives with forward-pushing pop convention and rock interludes. That's essentially how Birnbaum and his collaborators go about gathering your vested interest in its subtle creep. It's an tuneful ebb and flow - the melodies memorable and lovingly arranged while there's a significant amount of instrumental breakdowns and solos that you're essentially always hearing something almost entirely new. It's not a cheap grab at your attention or a series of different songs stitched together under one title, "Song for the Singer" is delightfully cohesive, the push and pull utilized to highlight the talents of Wilder Maker's band members while also pushing the narrative forward.

I'm the first person to cry foul if a song is unnecessarily long but that's clearly not the case here. It all gentle rises towards a shout-sung climax which subtly reveals the genre-straddling past of Birnbaum and friends. It's a bit of a time investment but one that ultimately rewards with just how madcap the delivery is. "Song for the Singer" succeeds not only due to Wilder Maker's talents but also its commitment to form. It's a strongly recommended highlight of their sophomore record Year of Endless Light.

Listen to "Song for the Singer"now, listen/buy/download Year of Endless Light here.

Listen: Friend Roulette - "You Drank All the Eggnog"

One of my least favorite things about the generic holiday times is how every musician far and wide seems to clamor to make their voice heard in a sea of Christmas song covers and/or holiday albums/EPs, what have you and it seems more than a little pointless. While a good and truly original Christmas song is basically the holy grail of songwriting prowess, few bands seem willing to try aiming for more than just your run of the mill cover that says "We exist and it's Christmastime so why not!?"

Then there's Friend Roulette. Whose ability to churn out new music seems tied to their very existence. For their sojourn into Christmas themed shenanigans, the Brooklyn chamber pop sextet take inspiration from the very real fact that sometimes to spend time with your family around the holidays sobriety might be a painful option. Their tune "You Drank All The Eggnog" details the consequences of that occasionally inescapable option - getting messed up and ruining everything. Similar to their video for "Rocket Dog", "You Drank All the Eggnog" gets  a lot of its drama from smashing things. The tune is dark and dreamy, and even manages to slip in a reference to "Sleigh Ride" and a slighter, subtler one to "Deck the Halls" immediately after. 

"You Drank All the Eggnog" is a very realistic Christmas carol that acknowledges the occasional unpleasantless of this time of year while also just being kind of really fun. It's essentially trademark Friend Roulette. Enjoy!

  

San Fermin - San Fermin (2013)

I encountered Brooklyn based San Fermin due to a suggestion of them as chamber pop band of note. While the suggestion was wrong in that there's really far too much going on under the surface of San Fermin for them to really qualify as chamber pop, I suppose it's a fitting moniker for the brainchild of composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone. In what is rapidly becoming a trend, Ludwig-Leone emigrated to Canada in a fit of post-grad "What now?" shock where he started working on what would become San Fermin. San Fermin and the self-titled album are rare in that the narrative voice isn't in the spotlight. Ludwig-Leone has surrounded himself with a group of consummate musicians and trusted them to interpret his vision - a page right out of the classical music handbook. But San Fermin isn't a contemporary classical music ensemble by any means. Ludwig-Leone's chosen voice (at least on parts of the debut record) is that of modern indie pop. 

A concept album, San Fermin tells the story of two protagonists experiencing a crisis not unlike the composer/songwriter's own. "Renaissance!" starts the album with a sense of drama and intrigue and epic grandeur and establishes the album's ambitiousness right off the bat. The album balances the two characters by giving them dramatically different sounds - the male narrated by the Allen Tate's booming baritone and voiced by pervasive melancholic folk while the lady's role is overtaken by the female duo at the forefront of fellow Brooklyn band Lucius and features moments of lush, resplendent pop mastery. After establishing the two separately in "Renaissance!" and "Crueler Kind", the album shifts between the two in track-by-track call and response - a dialogue extended over the course of a little less than an hour.

While adopting this kind of reactionary songwriting format, Ludwig-Leone also makes extensive use of musical interludes of his compositions which while very good technically and aurally, don't really do much in service of his established narrative choice. In a way, they're the composer's attempt to make his own voice heard after relegating those duties to others. 

San Fermin is an ambitious album, of that there is no question. It's also a very good album - but it's not an album free from weaknesses. San Fermin's weakness lies in its ability to more seemlessly integrate its various influences. It's a case of many plates spinning in the air that actually distract from a rather interesting concept and even more interesting bit of absolutely gorgeous musical moments. It's clear and obvious strengths are in those moments Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe make their presences known and are given the focus ("Crueler Kind", "Sonsick" "The Count", "Oh, Darling"). Non-coincidentally these are moments when the album is at it's poppiest, it's most accessible; it's most fluid and forward moving. Allen Tate's voice is an anchor - firmly grounding everything but so rarely given to the vibrant flights of fancy of Laessig and Wolfe. The exception to this being when their union in "Bar" and triumphant sun-speckled "Daedalus (What We Have)". 

There's moments on the album that feel truly earned due to the rotating narration and staggered pacing - "Oh, Darling" is probably the true moment where the female protagonist doesn't shine like a beacon of light - draped in dazzling, catchy pop melodies and boundless confidence. "Oh, darling, I've been so miserable/I can't describe" and the male rouses from his wallowing and offers comfort, countering "When you're off alone and your heart is gone to sea, leave your lonely here with me". For all the bells and whistles afforded to San Fermin from it's orchestral accompaniment and reliance on moments of lush majesty - the most moving moment is its most lyrically focused; it's most simple and its most bare. 

While "Daedalus (What We Have)" provides the male's bookend moment of transformation - the actual moment not occurring lyrically but compositionally. The storm clouds disperse and Allen Tate's vocals glisten in bright moments of musical catharsis. It's a testament to Ludwig-Leone's skills that while having a considerable amount of plot going on that the defining factor in character growth lies in the music. 

What keeps San Fermin from being a truly, truly great record in terms of cohesion and it being the type of album you want to listen to in full over and over again lies in a perceived inability to unite Ludwig-Leone the talented composer and Ludwig-Leone the incredibly gifted pop songsmith. When the lines between these two sides of the creative coin marry, the results are sure to be astounding. San Fermin seems a bit disjointed, with parts that either seem a bit superfluous or dragging. Regardless, San Fermin is an excellent and intriguing debut with its fair share of album highlights. It's a richly engaging listen with a slew of rewards that reveal themselves on each subsequent listen if you're diligent enough to stick around. 

Listen: Friend Roulette - "I Guess"

With their debut album done and out in the world earlier this year, Brooklyn experimental chamber pop outfit Friend Roulette don't seem to be wasting any time getting their new songs out in the world. Hot on the heels of I'm Sorry You Hit Your Head came tender ballad "Rocket Dog" ahead of a brand new Grow Younger EP out early next year.

"I Guess", the second peek at the forthcoming EP, is probably the most straightforward lyrically than we've gotten from Friend Roulette in a bit. No space explorations, magical transformations, or even drunken sailing trips. Despite it's militant drums and it's subtle psychedelic haze, "I Guess" is for the most part firmly grounded in reality. About real expectations and wants as Julia Tepper's vocals craft Rapunzel-esque visions of pining loneliness - if Rapunzel was a young twenty-something having a particularly rough night in Brooklyn.

"How long can I last here lonely every day?/How long will I last here wasted in the rain?" Tepper sings and it's a moment that invokes sincere sympathy. We've all probably been there. Waiting by the phone or outside of a house/apartment waiting to be let in for what seems like forever with no idea if there's anyone on the other side. It's a very realistic bit of drama gussied up with Friend Roulette's trademark layering with the EWI doing a considerable amount of heavy lifting to establish the track's dreamy atmosphere and the rest of the band's at times aggressive textural interplay serving as a counterpoint to Tepper's delicate vocals.



Friend Roulette's Grow Younger EP will be out February 6th.

Listen: Bowerbirds - "November"

As this year rapidly barrels towards its end, there's sort of a gradual tapering off of musical releases. Blogs/Publications are throwing up their Best Of lists, musicians retreating to their homes to refresh and/or record while others have made their plans to for the new year well known: tour tour tour. And yet, among the hustle and bustle of the year end festivities, Bowerbirds' year-long song-a-month short-form experiment continues onward. "November", the 10th addition to the ongoing (and soon ending?) series, certainly takes it's time. Phil Moore enters warbling and cooing for about a minute a capella as everything slowly comes together - piano, harmonies, the gentle swish of drum brushes before the track springs into a gallop. Even then there's a considerable amount of freedom in where everything goes - with the inclusion of the rest of the band Moore sets himself further apart with vocal riffs and echos while the piano holds down the fort melodically. It's a short, quick-moving burst of pop that's very much in line with the project's original ethos.

Listen to "November" here: