Capturing Moods

Oh man, I love Execution era Rilo Kiley. Listen to that scream Jenny does! Amazing. I love that song so much.

I’ve been thinking about joining in with the whole ‘favourite albums of the DECADE’ thing but I think I might’ve missed some early decade gems as I was still 10/11/12/13 or whatever (I wasn’t as clued in to amazing music back in those days. I used to dig Travis – sadface). But atleast seeing other peoples’ lists will give me an opportunity to perhaps check out some records I don’t know. When I was 14/15 I was so in love with all the Saddle Creek bands like Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, Cursive, Neva Dinova and all that kind of thing. I’ve loved that stuff for ages now, so it holds a pretty dear place in my heart. So I suspect my list will be quite Saddle Creek heavy. It’s super hard. I was really, pretty obsessed with Elliott Smith when I was 16 so it’s cool he’ll be able to feature. And I love The Elected and Jenny Lewis, Emily Haines, Feist… so much goodness.

Here is a really cool concert recording of Rilo Kiley playing in 2003. There are 4 parts and it’s the whole show.

I haven’t really had a chance to blog lately, and probably won’t until Sunday, but that’s only because I’ve been lucky enough to be spending time with some of the most amazing people in the whole world who do so much for me and for music. I am sitting here now listening to beautiful sounds and I am truly heartwarmed. I don’t think my friends realise just how amazing, talented, special and wonderful they are. It’s an honor to be in the company of such brilliant people, I am not worthy! And so, here are a few friends and things I’d like to recommend for you to investigate:

Broken Sound: Yesterday I spent the day with a wonderful person called Chris, who is one half of the brilliant Broken Sound Music label. It’s a label run purely out of love for music and with so much care. I’ve always wanted to start a label and Chris was more than happy to talk and give me some tips and ideas. He’s got such a good heart and you should take a look at the label site here and especially listen to Forest Fire because they are absolutely incredible and you should love them. And once you’ve listened you should go here and buy the album Survival and the single Fortune Teller, and come see them live when they’re back. The music world is so lucky to have labels like Broken Sound. 

Here is a video of Forest Fire, to represent Chris:

How ridiculously brilliant is that video! And even better that it’s at Leah Hayes’ and Michael Leviton’s appartment. So much goodness!

Alessi’s Ark: There aren’t even words to describe what an amazing person Alessi is and how proud I am of her and how much I believe in her and her music. I think so highly of her and I really mean it when I say that there just aren’t words for it. Her music is beautiful, and so honest and real. I feel privileged to have seen her play so much; she’s by far my favourite in town, and even after seeing her play a couple of dozen times, it’s still a complete joy to watch her play. When you listen to her music you should just know that she’s one of the most wonderful people I know/EVER and then I hope it can warm your heart like it does mine. Listen to her songs here, and if you’re in London (or in a 200 mile radius) you should come to the Luminaire show on the 10th of December with Jake Bellows and Treetop Flyers. It will probably be the nicest night… in the history of the lunar cycle. Yes, EVER. You can get your ticket here. I can’t wait. And also, in a beautiful act of symmetry, that show is exactly a year since I first saw Alessi play. 

Here is Alessi playing at the Allotment:

The Allotment (/the WHOLE WORLD) is blessed to have her. 

She Keeps Bees: Every time I think of She Keeps Bees I can’t help but swoon with how much I absolutely adore Jess and Andy. Knowing the people making the music you love are so kind and warm makes listening to their songs so special. They are an amazing band, and so fun to see live. Nests is a great record which I’ve been listening to every day lately (there’s always time for some Nests!). I don’t think Jess realises how talented and amazing she is, she’s most certainly left a giant effect on me and I can’t wait for her and Andy to come back to London. I don’t even feel worthy to know such humble and lovely people. Please listen to them and go see them live.

Here are She Keeps Bees playing in The Britannia:

That video makes me miss them so much. One of the nicest days was when Alessi and I walked over there after work and sat around in the sun and ate ice cream and just got to see this amazing band play.

Sharon Van Etten: This lady is amazing. Her voice absolutely kills me, it’s got so much soul and feeling and is straight from the heart. She was here in London for such a short time but the time I spent with her has made me think so highly of her; she’s a completely inspiring person. She cares about music so much and so genuinely; it was her that introduced me to She Keeps Bees. I think sharing music is such a great gift to give, and I feel so grateful to Sharon. Chris and Alessi both love Sharon too, and so I often find myself in conversation about how amazing she is. I think eveeeerybody is just a bit in awe in the force of wonder that is Sharon Van Etten. She has such a great ear for music! I am looking at an old note and she also recommended Timber Timbre, Here We Go Magic, Glass Ghost, Forest Fire (YES!) and in an email earlier today- Dearly Departed (another winner!). I listened just now and the songs are brilliant. Check out all of her recommendations, and most importantly, listen to her songs.

Here is Sharon playing Consolation Prize:

So beautiful.

So there are the people and things that I am feeling the love for right now. You’d be very well off if you investigate each and every one of those people who just bring alot of light and joy into the world. Music and people are amazing.

On Tuesday night I was lucky enough to get myself a ticket to see the wonderfully talented Mr Andrew Bird play in the beautiful Union Chapel. I caught him play at the, also wonderful, St Giles Church… and so the prospect of hearing his wonderful songs in a church again was well worth the ticket price. 

Moriarty opened the show and managed to warm the chapel with their fun, playful old time jazzy, cabaret style folk music. You know it’s the hallmark of  good band when you’ve seen them before and then you see them on the bill of a show you are going to and think ‘oh good, I’d like to see them again’. Perhaps the majority of the crowd were unfamiliar with the Franco-American’s light hearted tunes but you could tell from the applause and cheers between songs that they were most certainly being won over. The band all gather round one single mic; the acoustics of the chapel leant itself perfectly to this minimalist setup. Each band member had their chance to shine, with some brilliant harmonica, spoken word, guitar and (crazed ninja-style) glock parts. Thoroughly recommend catching this band if you have the chance.

Then! Andrew Bird o’clock! The Bird man always looks very suave, and in the seated venue it all felt like a pleasingly sophisticated affair. It’s amazing how he can fill such a big space with his looping. The whole chapel was loving it and hung on his every word. He alters the arrangements of songs when performing live, often making them even more magnificent. I foolishly did not note down the setlist, but he played a nice mixture of old and new. Early on in the set her played a favourite of mine – Sweetbreads. He explained about he felt it was too cheery, which is why he spliced it up and turned it into Dark Matter. The song he played live was quite similar to the original, and a real delight to hear- it’s my favourite Andrew Bird song (which you can find on Fingerlings). Oh No was stunning, the live version even more wonderful than the original. There’s a playful sense to Andrew Bird; he brings a stuffed animal to the stage with him and frequently walks in circles and activates the giant gramophone behind him (he calls it Spinny), and always slips off his shoes. It’s endearing and there was a really warm atmosphere.

Effigy, Anonanimal and Tenuousness were all beautiful- three of my favourites from Noble Beast. He treated the audience to a completely brand new song, it was about the ship Lusitania and its sinking. It was fantastic and I can’t wait to hear it recorded. He played MX Missiles because he hadn’t played it in a while. It was a treat. Why? is always fun live, it’s a playful and sweet song. He closed with Plasticities. 

He returned for an un-amplified song at the side of the stage, it was perfect. He is a very talented musician, listen to his albums and don’t miss the chance to see him live. He’s wonderful both with a band and by himself. 

Songs so frequently just pop into my head without any reason at all. Must be subliminal, or something. I’m sitting here splicing up comics trying to make a little book type thing, and all I can think of is Hellhole Ratrace.

I really enjoyed Girls when I caught them earlier this year, I would love to see them again. This is a great song, you can hear it and watch the music video here. Lots of nice long hair in that video. Dreamy and slow, catchy and sweet.

This is a brilliant music video:

Beautifully filmed and put together, easily one of my favourites this year. The video features Chris running about in some fantasy land in homage to some video games (I don’t know enough video games to know what ones). It’s pretty cool.

What a delight to see the wonderfully talented Mr Bird at the beautiful Union Chapel. Here are a few photos:

You can see the rest here.

DEAD MAN’S BONES

Listen to this incredible band! Listen! Listen! Listen!

Dead Man’s Bones is the musical project of actor Ryan Gosling and his friend Zach Shields. In case you are thinking ‘oh, ANOTHER actor making an album’: don’t think that! It’s a brilliant record full of dark pop songs accompanied by the Silverlake Conservatory Childrens’ Choir. A childrens’ choir singing on a spookily dark pop album? Massive YES! Yes! Yes! Yes! Read more on Pitchfork.

I can’t believe I never listened to this band until now. I was in Rough Trade yesterday before the Cymbals Eat Guitars show, and they were playing this amazing music. I had to go to the counter and ask what it is. It’s brilliant. Wonderfully dark and beautiful, seek it out! I am particularly in love with My Body’s A Zombie For You. The choir is magnificent! So atmospheric and spectacular. Gosling’s voice is deep and strong, and works excellently in conjunction with the choir. The crashing cymbals, the sing a long chorus… amazing. The album is self titled and you should listen to it. It’s on Spotify. 

Hope you love it.

Scary Mansion have released the follow up to last year’s brilliant  Every Joke Is Half The Truth, and it’s nine songs of pure win. Make Me Cry falls in at just 30 minutes long (to be filed with She Keeps Bees and Forest Fire in the ‘bands from Brooklyn who released great half an hour long records in 2009′ category) and is a treat from start to finish.

The album is heavier than its predecessor, but at the forefront remains Leah’s beautiful, fragile, soft (AMAZING) voice that I love so much. The drums on this record are particularly brilliant, there’s a fantastic drum intro to Yer Grief, and the playful sleigh bells… it’s brilliant.

Over The Weekend is a re-recording of the song Leah recorded as A Magical Touch Of Class with Creaky Boards’ Andrew Hoepfner, this version features beautiful violin that has such a beautiful congruence with Leah’s voice; it’s like fitting puzzle pieces together. I’ve always found violin to be one of the most swoon-worthy instruments, and Leah’s voice is surely one of the most swoon-worthy voices… a match made in heaven. Also, the little drum rattle at 2.02 is brilliant! It’s all these little details that make listening such a joy.

There’s a re-working of Scum Inside, it’s given a more punchy beat and is a great opportunity for new-comers to Scary Mansion to hear a wonderful song. On My Mind was always going to be one of my favourites, it’s a slow, beautiful piano-centric song that just demonstrates what a brilliantly creative talent Leah is. 

I can’t write enough good words about how talented and amazing Leah Hayes is; listen to Scary Mansion and be in love with her illustrations. Brilliant singer, songwriter, musician and illustrator. A whole lot of win in one person.

This is such a sweet song, and if you don’t know it you should listen to it. It’s by Simone White, who played a beautiful show here in London in the summer that I had the pleasure of catching. She has a sweet, soft voice and the song is so gentle and charming… it’s a really special song. You can hear it and watch a really wonderful music video for it here. The song was written by Simone’s friends Frank Bango and Richy Vesecky, and I often think about it when it starts to rain. If going outside is really worth trying, then why is your raincoat always crying?

Tropical, icy icy!

Nippy nippy nippy! I haven’t really been thinking about Fiery Furnaces much (though I do recommend this year’s record I’m Going Away- it’s poppy and fun, easy to get into), but this morning I woke up with Tropical Iceland going around my head. It’s a great song and has a fun music video. Fiery Furnaces are great, check them out: Myspace.