In the wide world of female performers, you have two camps: one that values extravagant style over substance (e.g., Lady Gaga, Beyonce, recent upstart Kreayshawn) and the other valuing substance over their own understated style (the folk singers, generally). Of the latter category is 20-year old Alessi Laurent-Marke, who records under the name Alessi’s Ark. Laurent-Marke will be getting her first widespread North American debut as the Londoner supports Laura Marling on a 2-week tour of our continent.
She will also be promoting her first full-length release in America, Time Travel, scheduled for release on September 27 on Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label. (The album was already released in the UK in April, and there are some songs on Spotify [some old, some new] to tide you over until the actual release of the album here.) I am quite pleased that Alessi’s Ark is finally getting attention on this side of the Atlantic, as I’ve been keeping tabs on Laurent-Marke since her first album, Notes from the Treehouse, was released in Britain in 2009.
Alessi’s Ark songs generally follow one rule: they’re all very short. On Time Travel, only the title track and “Stalemate” go over 3 minutes, with some of the other songs not even going past the 2-minute mark. This can be good or bad; in the good sense, Laurent-Marke’s thoughts are put into small, compact compartments, like something you want to scuttle away in a dark corner of your pocket and save for a rainy day. But in the bad sense, you’re left wondering where the song would have gone, had she decided to soldier on with her thoughts. The best example on the album is “Wire” (download it from Bella Union here, video below). It appears to be a cryptic love letter to an important woman in her life (her mother? a lover?) that is now dearly departed. Yet there is also clear the acknowledgment that she feels lost, forsaken, and misunderstood (“I’m tired of walking this wire / it keeps me awake for heaven sake / I was made for this girl / I feel lonely / my friends don’t seem to know me / like I thought they did / I thought they did, but they don’t”). The angst of growing up is of course a common theme across many genres of music, but I’d like someone to come up with a song as elegant as this.
The beauty does not end there. “Run,” barely clocking in at a minute and a half, is the musical equivalent of seeing the moon’s reflection in a still lake. In “On the Plains,” Laurent-Marke uses simple chord changes against her effortless vocals for a simple love song. Flutes add a level of whimsy to this track, and throughout the album, you will find also find brass instruments supporting the standard folk backdrop of thoughtful guitars and Laurent-Marke’s calm voice. It’s almost unbelievable that someone so young could have such great control over the sounds that come out of her mouth. Then again, remind yourself who she’s touring with: Laura Marling, merely 1 year her senior. In the tune “Stalemate,” she admits, “the only thing I’ve learnt is I like singing / all the lessons that the guitar is bringing.” Something America should learn – and quickly: all aboard Alessi’s Ark, and prepare to enjoy the ride.
Time Travel, the first American release for Alessi’s Ark, will be released on September 27 on Bella Union. Catch Laurent-Marke on tour, supporting Laura Marling, on the dates below.
Track Listing
01. Kind of Man
02. Wire
03. On The Plains
04. Must’ve Grown
05. Time Travel
06. The Fever
07. Blanket
08. Maybe I Know
09. Stalemate
10. The Robot
11. Run
12. The Bird Song
Tour Dates (supporting Laura Marling)
Sept 22 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Sept 23 – Great Hall / Toronto
Sept 24 – Corona / Montreal
Sept 25 – Brighton Music Hall / Boston
Sept 27 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue / Washington, DC
Sept 28 – Webster Hall / New York City
The music of English duo Slow Club has slowly but surely been making its way into America’s consciousness. The most recent appearance of the act’s sound was of the song “Apples and Pairs” from their first album released in 2009, Yeah So, at the end of an episode of Showtime serial “United States of Tara.” Slow Club hails from Sheffield, a place that most people outside of the UK associate Def Leppard, Pulp, and Arctic Monkeys with. So it’s great that this pair is putting the Northern city on the map for folk rock instead.
The album was released this week on Moshi Moshi, a London indie label that seems to have a good finger on the pulse of the best from the underground English music scene, always managing to pick the cream of the crop from blighty. (And while I’m here, I might as well clue you in to two other bands on their roster: Trophy Wife [from Oxford, England, not the one from Philadelphia] and Summer Camp [another boy/girl singing duo, from London]; if you haven’t heard of these bands yet, you will. Soon.)
The album’s lead single “Where I’m Waking” begins aggressively, almost Sleigh Bells-like. Thankfully, Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson pull it back with the right amount of restraint. The result is bouncy and fun, certainly one of the sunniest tracks on the album (possibly tied with the equally energetic “The Dog”), so it fits in nicely as part of “the story so far” coming off the success of Yeah So‘s more recognizable tracks. While neither is a “Giving Up on Love,” they’re still pretty good.
“Two Cousins,” the opening track of Paradise, also skirts the noise-pop barrier again, with bracing vocals. Is this the same band? It has been suggested by several British music pundits that Slow Club has “grown up” in this album, most noticeably with Watson’s voice being less young-girly and the duo’s foray into more bluesy, almost gospel territory (see: “Never Look Back”, “You, Earth or Ash”) utilizing their strong harmonies.
Taylor and Watson’s near perfect vocals in Yeah So are what made people fall in love with Slow Club, and while these great vocals are still present in Paradise, the percussion is cranked up in the wrong places and some instrumental choices have been made that are not flattering to the vocals. The title of “Hackney Marsh” is, I assume, a loving reference to the part of North London of the same name which, oddly, is the home of a disproportionate number of the city’s musicians. (Maybe that’s why it’s being immortalized in a song title?) It’s a great song, with a novel – but strange – saxophone interlude with Taylor scatting the melody. The thudding drums of “Beginners” mars an otherwise good song. You’d wish you had a mixer in your hands so you could adjust the equalizer. Slow Club took risks with this album and are showing their true hearts in it; this album less innocent and less precious than their debut was. The strong songwriting is still there, but I think in terms of the execution, people are really going to love love love this or not care for it.
Paradise by Slow Club is available now from Moshi Moshi.
Track Listing
01. Two Cousins
02. If We’re Still Alive
03. Never Look Back
04. When I’m Waking
05. Hackney Marsh
06. Beginners
07. You, Earth or Ash
08. Gold Mountain
09. The Dog
10. Horses Jumping
The Germans are coming, the Germans are coming! Brandt Brauer Frick, the German trio who has been bringing their unusual blend of classical elements and minimal techno to speakers across Europe, will be releasing their hotly anticipated second album, Mr. Machine, in the U.S. on October 25 on !K7 Records.
The band – Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer, Paul Frick – have been working hard to reinvent their live performance by eschewing the programmed computers that defined their 2010 debut You Make Me Real and have expanded to a ten-piece live line-up for an upcoming American tour this fall. The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble tour of America begins on October 24 in Minneapolis and finishes in Los Angeles on November 12. To get an idea of what the BBF experience is going to be like, watch the performance video for their song “Bop” below.
Tour Dates
Oct 24 – Cedar Cultural Center / Minneapolis
Oct 27 – Glasslands / Brooklyn
Oct 28 – Red Palace / Washington, DC
Oct 29-30 – Moogfest / Asheville, NC
Oct 30 – 529 / Atlanta
Oct 31 – Back Booth / Orlando
Nov 01 – Club Down Under @ FSU / Tallahassee
Nov 03 – Prophet Bar / Dallas
Nov 04-06 – Fun Fun Fun Fest / Austin
Nov 11 – Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Nov 12 – Luckman Fine Arts Complex / Los Angeles
The great thing about most debut albums? A band can go balls to the wall and give it everything they’ve got and want to give, because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This definitely describes the Static Jacks‘ first album length offering to the world, If You’re Young. Despite the fact that the band hails from New Jersey, they sound more like the Libertines than Bruce Springsteen. They mix anarchic punk, the angst of youth, and remarkably accomplished instrumentation to create a really engaging sound.
My first introduction to the quartet was their impressive opening set in support of one of my current English rock band favorites, the Futureheads, in June 2010. I remember hearing them let rip onstage at the Black Cat and thinking, yep, I know exactly why the Futureheads chose them for support. While they must certainly have had different musical upbringings (the Static Jacks are very young: when I saw them, they all had Xs on the backs of their hands), I imagine the two bands’ mindsets are pretty similar: make it loud, make it powerful, and make it fun.
If You’re Young is, from what I can tell, a pretty good distillation of the band’s frenetic energy in live performance. Some of the songs are as chaotic as beloved Ramones numbers from the ’70s that should appeal to people who think American guitar rock is dead. (It’s not. There are plenty of indie bands in America. They’re just not getting played on the radio. Thanks Kings of Leon.) Opening track “Defend Rosie” tells you straight out from the gate that you are not dealing with just any band. The Static Jacks are a force to be reckoned with. “Girl Parts,” another high octane track, features added vocals from Ceci Gomez from Brooklyn band Beast Make Bomb.
But there are more melodic numbers that show off the band’s songwriting and musical ability. “Into the Sun” is a great example of this, with great guitar work and lead singer Ian Devaney‘s powerful vocal delivery. Other contagious tunes include “My Parents Lied,” a song I immediately picked up on live because of the infectious handclapping and minor key melody, and “Mercy, Hallelujah” and “Relief,” which both remind me of, dare I say it, the Boss. (I know. To some of you out there, that’s flat-out heresy. But I’m saying it because I want you to give this album a chance.) “Blood Pressure,” with its great singalong of “I’m afraid of the future / I want to share it with you” is oddly touching: as Devaney said in a recent interview about the album, “It’s mostly saying ‘if you’re young – or if you ever were – you’ll know where we’re coming from with these songs.’ These are pretty universal experiences that most people experience from their late teens and early twenties. It’s such a transition period, figuring out what you want to do and where you want to go. Youthful anxiety, I suppose.”
There are some surprising moments on here as well. “Sonata (Maybe We Can Work It Out)” is the band’s attempt at a tender ballad, with Strokes-like guitars, but its “partner” song, “Walls (We Can’t Work It Out)”, brings things back up tempo with feverish intensity. Considering their relatively young age, the Static Jacks have managed to put together a nice collection of hard rocking, memorable songs that show off their talents, talents that are sure only to grow. Catch the band live this fall as alongside New Yorkers the Postelles, they open for English rockers the Wombats. Will I be there for the opening night of the tour? You bet.
The Static Jacks’ debut album, If You’re Young, will be released in North America on August 30 on Fenway Recordings.
Track Listing
01. Defend Rosie
02. Girl Parts
03. Into the Sun
04. My Parents Lied
05. Sonata (Maybe We Can Work Out)
06. Walls (We Can’t Work It Out)
07. Mercy, Hallelujah
08. Blood Pressure
09. This is Me Dancing
10. Relief
11. It’s Such a Shame
12. Drano-Ears
Tour Dates
Oct 21 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC*
Oct 22 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia*
Oct 24 – Jefferson Theatre / Charlottesville, VA*
Oct 25 – Local 506 / Carrboro, NC*
Oct 26 – Loft / Atlanta*
Oct 29 – Fitzgeralds / Houston*
Oct 30 – Parish / Austin*
Nov 01 – Granada / Dallas*
Nov 02 – Record Bar / Kansas City*
Nov 04 – Outland / Columbus*
Nov 05 – Subterranean / Chicago*
Nov 07 – Varsity Theater / Minneapolis*
Nov 10 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland*
Nov 11 – Venue / Vancouver*
Nov 12 – Crocodile / Seattle*
*opening for the Wombats
In preparation of the upcoming release of her new albumNight of Hunters, Tori Amos is premiering the video for one of the album tracks, “Carry,” on her Facebook page. The album will be released on September 20 on celebrated classical music German label Deutsche Grammophon. In the interests of utilizing social networking to spread the word about the new release, Amos’s fans will also be able to unlock a stream of the album’s opening track “Shattering Sea” by sharing the video via Facebook.
1. So American
2. Floating (Time Isn’t Working My Side)
3. Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)
4. Senseless
5. Head Is a Flame (Cool With It)
6. You Carried Us (Share With Me The Sun)
7. Everything You See (Kids Count Hallelujahs)
8. All Your Light (Times Like These)
9. Once Was One
10. Share With Me The Sun
11. Sleep Forever
For more information (and to purchase the album this Tuesday) please visit: www.portugaltheman.com
Twenty-two year old Trevor Powers, whose musical venture is called Youth Lagoon, has had a long year. He’s simply living the life of a kid going to college, being in love, dealing with heartache, and day to day things and not yet dealing with the woes or touring and traveling.
“Youth Lagoon isn’t me.” says Powers. “It’s merely a part of me. I was in and out of different bands in high school and always tried to define myself by what music I played. I tried to find a sense of meaning by being in a band. But it wasn’t until this last year – when I realized I was more than just music – that I was able to create music that means something to me. And that is Youth Lagoon.”
Throughout the course of 2010, Powers began to write an album about things he had a hard time talking about. He claims that when he tries to talk about it to people, he doesn’t make sense. So he wrote an album about it titled The Year of Hibernation.
Although his music seems somewhat dreamy with the first listen, the lyrics show a different side to the matter. Powers claims his music is like letting people read his journal. “I don’t think I could ever write a completely happy album. It’s not that I’m not a happy person,” claims Powers, “but I just have too many things in my mind that haunt me.”
The Year of Hibernation by Youth Lagoon is out Sept. 27 on Fat Possum – more details soon.
’80s music icons Erasure have announced plans to release their next full-length studio album, Tomorrow’s World, on October 4 in the U.S.
Accompanying the album releasenews is the announcement of a substantial North American tour, the first on this continent for Vince Clarke and Andy Bell in more than 5 years. The duo responsible for Eighties classics like “A Little Respect” and “Chains of Love” will start their tour in Tampa on August 31 and conclude their jaunt on October 6 in Seattle.
Tour dates-
Aug 31 Tampa, FL. The Ritz Ybor
Sept 2 Orlando, FL. House of Blues
Sept 3 Atlanta, GA. Center Stage
Sept 4 Asheville, NC. The Orange Peel
Sept 6 Washington, DC. 9.30 Club
Sept 7 Washington, DC. 9.30 Club
Sept 8 Philadelphia, PA. Theatre of Living Arts
Sept 10 Boston, MA. House of Blues
Sept 11 Toronto, ON. Sound Academy
Sept 13 New York, NY. Terminal 5
Sept 14 New York, NY. Terminal 5
Sept 16 Chicago, IL. Congress Theatre
Sept 17 Chicago, IL, Congress Theatre
Sept 18 Milwaukee, WI. Pabst Theater
Sept 20 Indianapolis, IN. The Vogue Theatre
Sept 21 St. Louis, MO. The Pageant
Sept 23 Austin, TX. ACL Live
Sept 24 Houston, TX. Verizon Wireless Theatre
Sept 25 Dallas, TX. House of Blues
Sept 27 Denver, CO. Ogden Theater
Sept 28 Salt Lake City, UT. Kingsbury Hall
Sept 30 Las Vegas, NV. The Palms Concert Theater
Oct 1 Los Angeles, CA. Hollywood Palladium
Oct 2 San Diego, CA. House of Blues
Oct 4 Oakland, CA. Fox Theater
Oct 5 Portland, OR. Crystal Ballroom
Oct 6 Seattle, WA. Neptune
Rock and roll outfit Quietdrive of Minneapolis, MN, have taken to Kickstarter to fund their next album, which will be comprised of fan-picked cover songs. In 2006 Quietdrive released their debut record, When All That’s Left Is You on Epic records. Since then they’ve released 3 records, Deliverance, Close Your Eyes, and the 2011 self-titled record, Quietdrive. Releasing the last 3 records on their own label, Quietdrive has followed their own DIY ethics to continue the success of creating music for the last 8 years.
The band writes on their Kickstarter page: “For as long as Quietdrive has been a band, we’ve wanted those who love and support us to know our appreciation. Without your support, none of what we’ve been able to do would be possible. As a gift and a thank you, we would like to give you a record all your own. These songs will be for you and chosen by you. This truly is Your Record, and its simple to make it yours: donate 1 dollar and receive 1 vote toward any song of your choice. The more you donate–the more votes you will receive. Also, check out the exclusive packages that you can receive below–like posters, a documentary, shout out videos, and even an in-studio visit.”
Peter Wolf Crier‘s sophomore albumGarden of Arms, will be released on September 6 (September 5 in the UK). Shortly after that on September 23 the band will celebrate their new release with a party at the Cedar Cultural Center in their home town of Minneapolis, MN. The following day Peter Wolf Crier will embark on their first headlining US tour that will take them coast to coast through November.
“Right Away,” the first offering from Garden of Arms, has already received praise from Paste Magazine, My Old Kentucky Blog, Austin Town Hall and many others. Get the track right here: Download Peter Wolf Crier’s “Right Away”
Tour dates:
09/23 Minneapolis, MN- Cedar Cultural Center
09/24 Chicago, IL- Schubas
09/27 Cambridge, MA- The Middle East (Upstairs)
09/28 Philadelphia, PA- Kung Fu Necktie
09/29 Washington DC- Red Palace
09/30 New York, NY- Mercury Lounge
10/03 Chapel Hill, NC- Local 506
10/04 Atlanta, GA- Drunken Unicorn
10/07 Austin, TX- Lambert’s
10/08 Denton, TX- Dan’s SilverLeaf
10/10 Norman, OK- Opolis
10/11 Columbia, MO- Mojo’s
10/12 Bloomington, IN- The Bishop
10/14 Madison, WI- The Sett
10/25 Omaha, NE- The Waiting Room
10/27 Denver, CO- Hi-Dive
10/28 Salt Lake City, UT- Kilby Court
10/29 Boise, ID- The Neurolux
11/01 Portland, OR- Mississippi Studios
11/02 Seattle, WA- Tractor Tavern
11/04 San Francisco, CA- Hotel Utah
11/05 Visalia, CA- Cellar Door
11/07 Santa Barbara, CA- Muddy Waters
11/08 Los Angeles, CA- Bootleg Theatre
11/09 San Diego, CA- Soda Bar
11/11 Tucson, AZ- Solar Culture
11/12 Santa Fe, NM- SOL @ Santa Fe Brewing Company
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
