popwreckoning

Having played here last at Lollapalooza in August, London post-punk rockers White Lies are headed back to our side of the pond to play gigs later this week. The band have headlining gigs in New York City, Toronto, and Chicago lined up and will also support Southern rockers Kings of Leon for a further string of dates. They are also scheduled to appear at the Austin City Limits Festival in October. Their last major tour in North America was in March and April of this year, co-headlining the “NME Presents Tour” with fellow English band Friendly Fires.

To whet your appetite, check out this live performance of “Death” at the Masonic Lodge in Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles.

Tour dates:
Sept 25 – Webster Hall / New York City
Sept 26 – Phoenix Theater / Toronto
Sept 28 – Target Center / Minneapolis*
Sept 29 – Metro / Chicago
Sept 30 – Scottrade Center / St. Louis*
Oct 03 – OK Ford Center / Oklahoma City*
Oct 04 – Austin City Limits / Austin
Oct 06 – Toyota Center / Houston*
Oct 07 – American Airlines Center / Dallas*
Oct 09 – Phillips Arena / Atlanta*
Oct 10 – Rupp Arena / Lexington*
Oct 12 – Mid America Centre Council / Bluff, IA*
Oct 13 – Sprint Center / Kansas City, MO*
Oct 15 – BJCC / Birmingham*
Oct 16 – Sommet Center / Nashville*
* supporting Kings of Leon

White Lies: website | myspace | @ Black Cat with Friendly Fires | Under Cover: Kanye West “Love Lockdown” | @ Lollapalooza Day 1

Photo: Mary Chang

Trying to evaluate your favorite band’s latest album is sort of like how I imagine self-performed open-heart surgery. And to boot, having that band be Brand New—a gang that earns as much sharp-tongued bullets as it does hugs and wet dream objectivity—it’s like your words should be as ground-breaking as they come. They’re the reason I literally wear a nickel around my neck (a nod to “The No Seatbelt Song,” my dears).

This Daisy conglomeration of a rock-and-ail renegade reaction has been pleasantly ground into my ears so much that I needed a hiatus of personal opinion. So I took the inevitable route—I asked the dude that introduced me to my emotionally whip lashed boys to provide a few words. His review was so great that I had to take a back seat, because these next paragraphs simply nail the idea.

In a word: “distressed.” The guitars are distressed, the production’s distressed, the vocals and the lyrics… my God, the vocals and the lyrics may come to define distressed.

More so than Devil and God, they’ve removed themselves from the emo scrap heap that they were so closely associated with just a few years ago. And it doesn’t sound like a self-conscious decision to pursue their current sound; it sounds exactly as it should – a natural progression from where they were then to where they are now.

Musically (that sounds dumb, doesn’t it?), the band continues to not exactly break new ground, but serve as a fascinating mixture of their own sensibilities and those of their influences: a little Nirvana here, some Fugazi there, a pinch of Modest Mouse and Neutral Milk Hotel to spice things up. They’re songwriting craft remains solidly in the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus vein, but they’re not afraid to take the songs down unexpected passages or pursue interludes that they may have shied away from before.

The production is much looser and jammier than anything they’ve done before. Less energy seems to be devoted to click-track perfectionism, and all of it seems focused on raw aggression and bashing away on their instruments. Which isn’t to say it’s lo-fi or sloppy – the guitars are still thick and sound fantastic in stereo, the bass and drums are still boomy and clear… it’s just that everything is done a little messier and rough around the edges.

The lyrics are darker and more tortured than ever. I know Jesse said Vinnie did the majority of the writing (you can probably clear up whether he meant with music, lyrics or both) but whoever wrote them seriously needs a hug. It’s one thing to sing about a millstone being tied to your neck; another thing to scream about your realization that your dead relatives are being eaten away by worms. At times it feels like their Your Favorite Weapon sense of humor is back, as the lyrics are SO morbid, you think it may be self-concious or satirical… but the ending refrain of “I’m on my way out” is genuinely disturbing and leaves a bitter aftertaste.

And because of the novelty, here’s a little song-by-song breakdown

- “Vices” – deliriously awesome, a mini raging animal of a song…when you get past the music box haunting start.

- “Bed” – smooth, mellow, goes down like amber ale

- “At the Bottom” – kind of Modest Mouse-y, powerful chorus and a great, jittery bridge with an anthemic edge

- “Gasoline” – oddly constructed, but driving and memorable

- “You Stole” – really great… the initial melody leads you to believe it’ll be a poppier (albeit still minor key), shorter tune, but it turns into something a little more somber and lengthy

- “Be Gone” – short and haunting – I have no idea why they wanted a nasty, Southern bluesy acoustic interlude, but I’m glad they did

- “Sink” – rough and violent, but fun, if that’s possible

- “Bought a Bride” – a highlight: trippy, groovy, probably my favorite on the album, along with the opening track

- “Daisy” – I only listened to this a couple of times and can’t remember enough to comment on it; ironically the album’s disappointment

- “In a Jar” – Quite possibly the rawest climax, with eastern-influenced choruses and the signature Lacey sing-to-screech vocals

- “Noro” – a great, dense, lingerer. The epitome of closing perfection, it combines a formula of bass and percussion with spoken and sung verses

The major heartbreaking discovery that comes with the initial excitement of such an intense release is an interview the band did with European magazine Rock Sound last month. “Since we released our last album the idea of the band has really been laid to rest,” Lacey admitted, “it is dead now.” The point being–coupled with the fact that the band does little-to-no American press availability—that this record wasn’t made with a theme in mind; no expectations to meet; who really cares if it’s heralded or spit on? It was just a project, just a sound, just something I love to blast in my ears as I pound the sidewalk late at night headed into Chicago for a solo adventure…it’s my new favorite weapon (aw, shucks).

Brand New: website | myspace

Contributed to by: Ryan Carroll

Here’s the soundtrack to the New Moon movie. Whatever your feelings toward Twilight, you must admit this is a heck of a soundtrack.

Soundtrack hits stores Oct. 20.

Tracklisting:
01. Death Cab for Cutie – Meet Me on the Equinox
02. Band of Skulls – Friends
03. Thom Yorke – Hearing Damage
04. Lykke Li – Possibility
05. The Killers – A White Demon Love Song
06. Anya Marina – Satellite Heart
07. Muse – I Belong to You (New Moon)
08. Bon Iver & St. Vincent – Roslyn
09. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Done All Wrong
10. Hurricane Bells – Monsters
11. Sea Wolf – The Violet Hour
12. Ok Go – Shooting the Moon
13. Grizzly Bear – Slow Life
14. Editors – No Sound But the Wind
15. Alexandre Desplat – New Moon (The Meadow)

Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” was one of my favorite tracks of last year. I did a review on their album as well, which I thought was definitely a solid set of tunes centered upon their biggest hit, “Walking on a Dream”. And since then there have been plenty of great remixes for this track.

.Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream
As described in my review of the album, this song is a pop, synth number, filled with ambiguous romantic lyrics that peacefully create a nostalgic atmosphere of light, ethereal melodies. The song is crafted around the synth drumbeat that softens the music to that of a heartbeat.

.Walking on a Dream – Van She Tech Remix
Van She Tech of the Australian indie poppers, Van She, always creates stunning remixes. She does so again with “Walking on a Dream.” Van She doesn’t alter the track all that much but they certainly infuse electronic aesthetics into it. The mid tempo speed of the track is left intact and layers of distortion are added for a slightly harsher/dance sound. Ethereal flourishes are enhanced by further layered sequencers and the remix speeds up towards the middle end for a little more fun on the floor.

.Walking on a Dream – Treasure Fingers Remix
Treasure Fingers, known for their creative remixes, do some innovative wonders to this song. The music is altered completely, with vocals the only remainder of the original. The mix starts off fairly silent with slaps on the bongos to generate an island feel. This is followed by echoed vocals, plenty of laser sounding sequencers that pierce through the music to pick up the pace. Eventually when the vocals kick in you have a variety of sounds that create a pop, electro infused Caribbean vacation that puts a bounce in your step.

.Walking on a Dream – T.B.S. Remix
There are plenty of mixes out for this track and I attempted to pick the ones that are (1) the best or (2) diverse. A lot, however, are fairly similar to one another. The T.B.S. mix is one that stuck out because they took a different route than all the others. While the other remixes attempted to keep the melody or the feel of it the same as the original; light, airy, romantic, T.B.S. said ‘Eff That!’ and went with the other way. They have literally killed the romantic, light nature of this song, but with a positive result. The music is pure electronic distortion, grinding and syncopated rhythms, for a very harsh feel. The niceness of the original is chucked to be replaced with a melody that is gritty, edgy and with an attitude.

Empire of the Sun: website | myspace | Walking on a Dream review

The Midland theater’s classical opera house art style was the perfect setting for the Mars Volta‘s show. It was truly an appropriate stage for the masterful musicians.The dramatic architecture of the theater complimented the show’s storybook-esque theme.

The Mars Volta had four different backdrops that were featured during different parts of the show. It was like a new chapter was beginning every time a backdrop changed.

Chapter 1: The Arrival
The first backing of the evening was printed with swirling images of eyes and black wings.

Chapter 2: Welcome to the madness
Before the show began, the cloth quickly disappeared and was replaced with a Tibetan inspired backdrop.

The Mars Volta opened with “Son et Lumiere,” the first song from De-Loused in the Comatorium. During the song, lights of deep red and blue, and bright pink and green flooded the stage. The lights illuminated the backing image, shifting the artwork into two distinct images. Isaiah Ikey Owens (keyboards), Juan Alderete (electric bass), Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez (percussion, synths), and Thomas Pridgen (drums) surrounded Cedric Bixler Zavala (lyrics, vocals), and Omar A Rodriguez-Lopez (guitars); a mass of instruments lined the stage and two flags hung by the drum set.

Zavala’s energy filled the entire room. As he ran across the stage, his dark clothing and wild curly locks complimented the stage’s colorful background. Zavala flipped his white mic stand over the heads of his band mates, reminiscent of his days in At The Drive In. As Volta jammed into their next song, Zavala sprung up, twisting his body into a semi-flip. When Volta began to play “Cotopaxi,” people in the front section of the audience began to wave their arms hypnotically. During the song, I noticed something smoking by Owens’ keyboards. While at first I thought that perhaps his instrument had lit aflame from his speedy fingers, I discovered the “smoke” was in fact steam rising from Zavala’s beverage.

Chapter 3: Psychotic trips
Before the start of “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of),” the backdrop changed again. This time, the cloth had a large collage of faces. Zavala reached an even higher level of energy during this portion of the show (I know: I didn’t think it was possible either). He swung around the stage, swaying like a matador preparing to fight. The singer suddenly jumped across the stage towards the set of drums, and balanced on Pridgen’s bass drum, which was covered in art. The song soon faded into a cool, sexy jam that was sprinkled with a series of electronic blips and bloops, and Rodriguez-Lopez’s whale-like guitar chords.

Later in the evening when Rodriguez-Lopez broke into a solo, the crowd went wild. Following his solo, Pridgen’s talent was showcased. He has some of the cleanest, most precise drumming abilities I’ve ever heard. While the audience jumped and flailed, a series of green and purple lights shown over the crowd, causing everyone to look as if they were vibrating back and forth in sync to the music.

The band didn’t say much during their performance. Although, Zavala did take a moment to dedicate a song to those in the crowd who had supported them from the beginning. He thanked the people that allowed them to crash at their place, and thanked the people who had faith that the two fuck-ups from their last band could make this one.

Chapter 4: The end
After his heart-felt thanks, another back drop was revealed that contained a haunting face, and skeletons of fish that appeared to be covered in hoods. The band’s performance of “Luciforms” created distinct mental images of an abandoned, wrecked ship. Zavala seemed to catch the song’s words as they came out of his mouth, and mold them into invisible shapes.

Volta finished up the show with the bluesy, “The Widow,” and the manic “Wax Simulacra.”

Although Volta put on an hour and a half show, no one was ready to leave the theater at the end of the night. After the house lights came up, people continued to stand and wait, hoping the Mars Volta would appear again.

Set List:
Son et Lumiere
Inertiatic ESP
Goliath
Cotopaxi
Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)
Viscera Eyes
Halo Of Nembutals
Eunuch Provocateur
IIyena
Teflon
Drunkship Of Lanterns
Luciforms
The Widow
Wax Simulacra

Mars Volta: website | myspace | @ bonaroo 2009

Set list courtesy of Setlist.fm

Photos by: Joshua Hammond

Imagine a world in which the lovechild of Imogen Heap and Owl City produced a tiny robotic offspring with a heart made out of moog. If that world existed, that robot would be Lights.  It also, would be perfect.

Thankfully, there is no need for you to look for alternate planets to score such a mix. Lights’ new single drops right at the heart of a movement overflowing with sunshine synth-pop lullabies.   This Canadian epic indie pop new single “Savior” is no doubt destined to cause a stir both on the airwaves and in the hearts of fans across the world.  Look for it to drop October 6th with the release of The Listening on Warner Brother Records.

Lights: website | myspace

What do a London soul singer have in common with two remix producing princes from Sweden paired with a singing, songwriting American? Not a whole lot. But the respective worlds of Jack Peñate and Miike Snow converged at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel Friday night for a night of pop revelry. Especially notable about this co-headlining tour was that this is the first time Peñate has ever toured North America (and indeed, this is probably the first exposure to him that people on this side of the pond will have ever had), and both acts were hotly tipped by the Washington Post‘s “Going Out Gurus” weekly column as a good weekend bet. So it’s really no surprise that the club was packed with ecstatic gig goers.

Jack Peñate went on first. I know his music thanks to British radio airplay of songs from his latest album Everything is New that came out just last month here in America but has been out in the UK since late June. He started with the title track from the album, followed by “Second, Minute, or Hour,” a jaunty single from his debut album Matinee, during which he banged away at his guitar. Having recently seen the video for “Be the One” here in America, I was not expecting him to pick up a guitar during his whole set (the video has Peñate standing in front of an old-fashioned microphone in a church like he’s Morrissey or something). This would not be only surprise Peñate had in store for us.

Through the course of his set, Peñate played most songs from his current album – as I expected, “Pull My Heart Away” was absolutely gorgeous live, pop balladry as its best, and “Tonight’s Today” and “Be the One” (his other singles from Everything is New) were lively numbers that got the crowd dancing. What I was not expecting: Peñate to take to the piano for “Body Down”, nor the audience interaction that Peñate engendered, summed up best by his involving some very surprised and willing kids in the front to sing the chorus of “Let’s All Die” with him, Peñate’s song urging us to live life to its fullest. For his sophomore album attempt, he recorded the kind of songs he wanted to make, and the love shows when he performs them.

Set List:
Everything is New
Second, Minute, and Hour
So Near
Every Glance
Pull My Heart Away
Let’s All Die
Body Down
Tonight’s Today
Be the One

Compared to Penate’s simple stage set-up, Miike Snow’s stage presentation is what I would imagine Tim Gunn saying, “that’s a lot of look!” With their outfits and lighting, they were trying for drama, and I think they achieved this pretty well. The band came on stage to play the impressive “Burial”, all of them wearing black from head to toe and white masks to completely cover their faces. It was a little creepy to say the least. Thankfully, the band – Swedish producing duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (better known in the remix world as Bloodshy & Avant) and American singer/songwriter Andrew Wyatt, plus three additional touring musicians – all removed their masks after the first song. There were some sound issues at the start – it appeared that Wyatt’s microphone wasn’t working or at least wasn’t turned up high enough in the mix – but that looked to be resolved.

Nearly all of their songs ended with drawn-out instrumental outros, with lots of synth whirrings, sonic drum noises, and guitars crashing. Sometimes you didn’t know when one song ended and the next began. But this is fine because overall, the music felt like it was designed for the mellow clubber, eager to hear fresh beats from the latest flavor of the month. Well folks, the latest flavor is this band. “Silvia”, a song you can hear on the band’s MySpace, turned into an unexpectedly loud singalong: the crowd definitely knew their Miike Snow.

At the end of their set, they decided to leave the stage one by one and the club was still dark, spirited audience chanting for an encore ensued. About 10 minutes probably went by before one of the venue staff gave the all clear to turn the lights back on, which caused most of the crowd to boo and hiss. Usually when I attend gigs, it’s obvious when an act is not coming out for an encore, because the lights will go up and loud background music will come on. In this case because there was a delay in the lights and music coming on, I can understand why the crowd felt cheated, because it did seem like we were supposed to wait in the dark because the band was going to return for more songs. Maybe they planned to and changed their minds because of the sound problems? We’ll never know. One thing’s for sure: I hope both acts will return to the Nation’s Capital triumphant with more mainstream popularity.

Set List:
Burial
Black & Blue
Silvia
Animal
Plastic Jungle
Sans Soleil
In Search Of

Jack Peñate: website | myspace | Everything is New review
Miike Snow: myspace | @ Beaumont | @ Lollapalooza | Remix Monday: Miike Snow

The multi-talented Jason Schwartzman is hitting fans with a double whammy.

Today, Sept. 20, his new series created by Jonathan Ames debuts on HBO at 9:30 p.m. EST. The series “Bored to Death” the show follows the misadventures of a fictional Jonathan Ames as he pursues his quixotic dream of emulating his heroes from classic private detective novels. Schwartzman plays aims in the series.

It also stars Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis.

In addition to starring the series, Schwartzman’s Coconut Records released a new song for the show for use as the theme.

Check out the show’s trailer below and be sure to watch the show:

I’ve been a devoted Dandy Warhols fan since I was fifteen. When I first saw their video, “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth,” with dancing syringes and all, I knew I would be hooked to their indie-pop sound for life.

This was my second time seeing the Warhols live. While I enjoyed the previous set more, the Warhols still put on a lovely show this time around. 

The biggest problem of the evening was the Warhols’ sound. Live, the Warhols sound more like a jam garage band than a psychedelic rock group. Many of the effects used on their albums are absent in their live performances. Also, Courtney Taylor-Taylor (vocals, guitar) had a few issues when switching from mic to mic. His vocal effects sounded a bit muffled, and he was hard to understand at times.

OK. I’m done with the bad. Now, onto the good.

Openers and Beat The World label-mates, Spindrift, began the show with their rolling, dark, psychedelic country rock. People in the audience reported that a member of the Brian Johnstown Massacre came on stage and danced around during part of Spindrift’s set. That would have been pretty sweet to see. After all, The Warhols and Massacre had, like, the best rock feud ever.

The Warhols got on stage around 10 p.m. They played a great two our show full of fan favorites and audience requests.

Last time I saw the Warhols, I was too far away to really see anything, but this time, I got to watch the show from the front. The stage set up was simple, and dark blue, red, and green lighting was used. The only frill on stage was Zia McCabe‘s (keyboards) tiny, blue hued lava lamp.

The tall and lean Taylor approached the mic, slowly tipped his black hat to the side, cooly leaned back, and began to sing to the trip inducing tone of “Be-In,” the first track off Come Down.

As the Warhols transitioned into the syncopated, grinding bass of “Shaken,’” folks on the floor began to gradually move towards the front of the room to dance (aka do the semi-drunk shimmy). McCabe’s rhythm producing ability is great. The beautiful, sprite-like McCabe not only looked amazing in her love themed shirt and darling lip ring, but she rocked the electronic bass beats.

Before launching into “You Love Me,” Taylor thanked everyone in the audience for coming, and McCabe shouted that KC was the best stop on the tour yet. Taylor went on to say he and the band enjoyed some Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ the day before the show. Before the Warhols arrived in KC, they asked people “what’s so great about KC BBQ” on their Twitter page. The band also chronicled their trip to KC on their blog.

The songs that got the biggest response from the audience that evening were the Warhols’ older hits; “The Last High,” “Bohemian Like You,” and “We Used To Be Friends.”

After the crowd was wound-up, the Warhols finished up the show with a great mix of tunes.

The fast-paced, drugged out “Horse Pills,” featured Brent DeBoer’s crazy awesome drumming abilities. I swear; the man is a metronome. He slightly teetered and tottered back and forth as his frizzed out hair bobbed above his frantic moving arms, which were clothed in a Brian Jonestown Massacre shirt.

The rompy, and dirty “Get Off” was followed by the trance track, “The Wasp In The Lotus,” which featured Peter Holmstrom‘s guitar rock outs, and the band’s far out lyrics:

Hoping and smoking

That’s what I keep hoping

That broken and smoking

That’s what I keep coping

After finishing “Boys Better,” and a slow version of “The New Country,” the Warhols thanked the audience, and told everyone that McCabe would be spinning at the Beaumont after their set ended.

Before the Warhols left the stage (they had to adhere to the strict 12 a.m. curfew – lame), they asked the audience what they wanted to hear. Thanks to the people on stage right, the Warhols decided to end with “Minnesoter.” Taylor then made one more mention of Massacre, and said he had recently spoken to Anton Newcombe (Massacre’s singer). I believe Taylor said Newcombe was in Germany, working hard. Taylor said Newcombe was a machine, and then struck the opening cord to “Minnesoter.”

Set List:
01. Be In
02. Shanken’
03. Ride
04. Talk Radio
05. Now You Love Me
06. The Legend of the Last Outlaw Trucker
07. Holden’ Me Up
08. Good Morning
09. The New Country
10. You Come In Burned
11. The Last High
12. Sleep
13. Bohemian Like You
14. Godless
15. We Used To Be Friends
16. Horse Pills
17. Get Off
18. Wasp In The Lotus
19. Boys Better
20. Country Leaver
21. Minnesoter

The Dandy Warhols: website | myspace

Photo by: Bethany Smith

Here at PopWreckoning, we’ve officially hit a level of mail that makes it impossible for us to give full reviews to every band. However, this does not mean we believe that these bands shouldn’t be granted some for of press.  It simply means we have to scale it down a bit. Therefore, he have opted to create a feature called Bite Size Reviews, which shall appear several times a week.  This feature will contain five reviews each under 100 words and links to the albums website, myspace or label.  We believe this is the best use of our mail and hope you too enjoy the reviews. They are as follows:

Into The Presence – Into The Presence
Though glimmers of both Muse and Queen manage to sneak through from second to second on Into the Presence self titled LP, Luis Carlos Maldonado’s larger than life vocals are not enough to keep my attention on their own.  (4 out of 10 stars)

Myspace

Castevet – Summer Fences

The contrast of bright spots to obnoxious spots of  Castevet is pretty fascinating in itself.  Musically this band could go riff for riff with the best of them. Think Get up Kids meets Casket Lottery.  Vocally however, they leave a lot to be desired, for me at least.   (Without Vocals 7 of 10 stars, With Vocals 5 of 10 stars)

Myspace

Caio My Shining Star – The Songs of Mark Mulcahy

Michael Stipe once said, ” Mulcahy is one of the greatest voices of our time.”  I must say I respect his opinion. This album of covers from the likes of Thom Yorke, The National,  Dinosaur Jr, Frank Black,Ben Kweller, Elvis Perkins and others is a fantastic listen and a brilliant way to discover an artist whom may have slipped under your radar. This album is a steal. (9 out of 10 stars)

Shout! Factory Store

The Twilight Sad – Forget the Night Ahead

Obviously from across the pond, The Twilight Sad is nothing but an easy listen for fans of the U.K. sound.  The highly anticipated follow up to the groups 2007 Fourteen Autums and Fifteen Winters is far more cluttered and in your face than Forget the Night Away, it also seems more direct. These changes are for the best.  (7 out of 10 Stars)

The Twilight Sad Myspace

As Tall As Lions – You Can’t Take It With You

Simply stated, Triple Crown Records does not release bad albums. You Can’t Take It With You by As Tall As Lions will end that streak of brilliance.  Shifting in and out of multiple signature sounds happening in the current indie scene, like emphasizing drums, backwards masking, and the UK sound somehow coming out of New York. Soothing trumpets hidden throughout songs like “Go Easy” lead flawlessly into flawlessly contrasting guitar solos, giving the album the creativity and confort of a Coldplay album while managing to keep the edge of Nightmare of You. While it is easy to give a listen, it is difficult to take out. (9 out of 10 stars)

As Tall As Lions Myspace