popwreckoning

As much as I like to believe I’m an expert at finding out about bands before the rest of the masses, I found out about Fanfarlo just like many others in Kansas: the radio.

“Harold T. Wilkins” started picking up rotation on 96.5 the Buzz and I was hooked by the indie folk goodness that somehow managed to put me in a brilliantly chipper mood despite the dour lyrics of an empty life:

“Your dreams will become part of the future and coincide with the past
You spend all your time by the radio waiting for the signal
But inside, you’ll always feel the same, even when you wake up”

Beautiful, but cold and almost too close to my mood on my worst days. But like I said, instead of getting depressed and withdrawing further into a personal shell, the guy-girl harmonies, the piano, violin, the acoustic guitar and occasional brass instrument blare put a smile on my face.

Now as much as I love this band, I found myself in a bit of a predicament for their Kansas City show. Long before they had announced they’d be playing the Record Bar, I had purchased to see Passion Pit – a vastly different band – up the street on the same night. I decided to take a gamble and the second Passion Pit ended, I ran too Fanfarlo.

My timing was perfect. The sextet had just finished tuning the violin to carry at a respectable volume with the other instruments (I know from experience how difficult it can be to set this up).

Now I don’t know what happened to this band that they have such bleak and jaded lyrics, “And so we’re running down our street, arms stretched out to the sky /Antennas for the poison and the lies /The delinquency of time,” but it makes for a good album and show.

“Drowning Men” started off the set and true to the radio single, the group modestly played a song with weighty lyrics over chipper indie music. They switched places and instruments between songs, showing they were a band with more talent and tricks than expected. They stuck to songs off of Reservoir and a few new tunes. They spoke little, except to say that it was a special night – the birthday of Simon Balthazar - who for all the weathered emotions and years of practice and skill his singing and guitar work exude, managed to show little of the beatings of time on his youthful face.

When the group ended with “Luna,” the crowd cheered for more, but Fanfarlo had exhausted their rehearsed song list. With Kansas City left aching for more tunes, I can only imagine how much bigger their show will be the next time they come to town.

Set List:
Drowning Men
I’m a Pilot
Finish Line
Harold T. Wilkins
We Live By the Lake
The Walls Are Coming Down
Atlas
Waiting in the Wings
Comets
Fire Escape
Luna

Cymbals Eat Guitars is now quite the formidable band. When I’m doing my usual trawling through British music magazine web sites, it’s great to see an American band get praised. Here’s an example: a couple months back, respected Fly Magazine brought the band into their London office to record songs for their FlyTV in the Courtyard series; not just any band gets invited to do these. Their profile has dramatically increased since the last time I saw them, in September 2009 at the Black Cat, opening for fellow New Yorkers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

At the time, they had a different line-up and amp problems plagued their set. Having been hand-picked by Wayne Coyne to support the Flaming Lips for a London residency last November and having played well-attended and well-received shows across the UK, Cymbals Eat Guitars already have some invaluable experience under their belts. Last Saturday night they played a sold-out show at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel in Washington. I don’t think the gravity of the event was lost on singer Joseph “Ferocious” D’Agostino, who sat cross-legged with guitar in lap prior to playing, as if gathering his thoughts and getting into the zone.

However, there were two opening bands, one of which I’ve missed twice before and the other I knew nothing about. You know you’re in for a unique experience when you see a banjo, a Korg, a xylophone, and a watering can filled with plastic drumsticks lined up on a stage. Collectively, Freelance Whales, a quintet from Queens, New York City, sound as if the masculine synth bits of Passion Pit and the mellowness of folky Fanfarlo has a love child. At times lead singer Judah Dadone sounds like Michael Angelakos but looks more like “the Big Bang Theory”‘s Johnny Galecki when plugging away at his Korg or strumming a guitar or banjo.

Otherwordly synths may seem at odds with the folk music aesthetic but for Freelance Whales, it works. “Ghosting,” a highlight of their set, was described by Dadone as being about “sleepwalking to try and find your soul mate.” There’s quite a lot of industry buzz about this band, and it’s well-deserved: whether it’s masterful instrumentation or rich harmonies that ring your bell, there’s a lot to like about this band. Their self-released debut album Weathervanes will be released on April 13 in America.

I didn’t know anything about Brooklyn-based Bear in Heaven going into this gig, so I was pleasantly surprised – and even a bit wowed! – by the trio’s eclectic mix of experimental, rock, and dance sounds. The band is definitely rocking the facial hair: drummer Joe Stickney has a beard that makes him look like a cross between George Carlin and Jarvis Cocker, and the other two have mustaches. Memorably, leader Jon Philpot (vocals / synth / guitar) responded with a jovial “mustaches forever!” when crowd-goers went ape about their love of what was described by someone near me as “one fierce mustache.”

Based on their grungy lumberjack look, you would not expect such interesting music. I definitely was not expecting the sheer power of drumming from Stickney, which worked great as the backbeat for the experimental numbers (like the fabulous “Lovesick Teenagers”) as well as the more dancey ones (“Wholehearted Mess,” for one). Guitarist Adam Wills gets kudos for discussing his pedal set-up with the guitar heads down at the front.

In their current incarnation, Cymbals Eat Guitars appear tighter live, a more well-oiled machine, with little discussion between band members required to move from one song to the next. In addition to playing tracks from their critically received Why There Are Mountains, they also debuted several new songs, including one that required keyboardist Brian Hamilton to artfully balance a triangle to hang from his mike stand. The highlights for me were “Under a Hazy Sea” and a personal favorite, “Indiana” (described to me by new bassist Matt Whipple with “I like to think of it as our Sonic Youth song that becomes a Beatles song“). On most songs, D’Agostino looked blissfully lost in the music while wailing on his guitar but when singing, the emotions pour out of his body as easily as the sweat beads roll off his cheeks. Whipple is an asset, his backing vocals a welcome addition to the live Cymbals Eat Guitars sound. These are four guys who are still very young and have a lot of promise.

Tour Dates
Mar 10 – Pilot Light / Knoxville, TN
Mar 11 – Ear / Atlanta
Mar 12 – Harvest Of Hope Festival / St. Augustine, FL
Mar 13 – Will’s Pub / Orlando
Mar 14 – Engine Room / Tallahassee
Mar 16 – Mango’s / Houston
Mar 17-21 – South by Southwest / Austin
Mar 22 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix
Mar 23 – Casbah / San Diego
Mar 24 – Echo / Los Angeles
Mar 25 – Bottom Of The Hill / San Francisco
Mar 28 – Crocodile Café / Seattle
Mar 29 – Biltmore Cabaret / Vancouver
Mar 31 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City
Apr 01 – Hi Dive / Denver
Apr 02 – Replay Lounge / Lawrence, KS
Apr 03 – Turf Club / St. Paul
Apr 04 – Schuba’s / Chicago
Apr 06 – El Mocambo Club / Toronto
Apr 07 – Il Motore / Montreal
Apr 08 – Middle East / Boston

Cymbals Eat Guitars: website | myspace | @ Black Cat
Freelance Whales: website | myspace
Bear in Heaven: website | myspace | interview with

Had you told me five years ago, when I was listening primarily to Morrissey and the Killers, that in a few short years I would be going mental over London folk musicians and the music they make, I would have laughed in your face. I’m definitely not laughing now, having fallen in love first with Noah and the Whale, then Fanfarlo, and now Mumford and Sons. They’re the latest success story to come out of the London folk music scene and the band comprises four close friends (Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane), all in their early twenties, who came together thanks to a shared love of country, bluegrass, and folk. They describe themselves on their website as having “…fire in their bellies, romance in their hearts, and rapture in their masterful, melancholy voices.” I can’t think of a more appropriate description for men who have created a magnificently emotional album such as Sigh No More.

It was the first single from their debut album, “Little Lion Man,” aggressive with its driving guitar, banjo, and mandolin, that first brought the quartet fully to my attention. The chorus of “but it was not your fault but mine / and it was your heart on the line / I really fucked it up this time / didn’t I, my dear?” is more jaunty than it should be for the subject matter, but it works splendidly with the backing instrumentation. “Dust Bowl Dance” is a little slower but feels just as insistent.

However, it’s the reflective brilliance of “Winter Winds” (released as a single in the UK appropriately in early December 2009) that truly made me a Mumford fan. The beauty of this track cannot be overstated: I actually felt my heart ache upon hearing its first verse: “As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts / oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms / was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night? / for every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt” (watch the official promo video below). Romantic? Yes. “Awake My Soul” and the closing track on the album, “After the Storm,” are equally gorgeous.

Successful folk music depends on strong vocals and equally strong musicianship, each providing support for whilst highlighting the other. Songs like “Roll Away Your Stone,” “White Blank Page,” and their current single “The Cave” showcase lead singer Marcus Mumford‘s authoritative yet poignant voice, beautifully supported by Winston, Lovett, and Dwane’s backing vocals, while also sounding more like traditional folk. The minor-keyed “Thistle and Weeds” later in the album proves the band can also excel in less poppy folk. “I Gave You All” is a wild card of the bunch, beginning as a seemingly soft, thoughtful piece before ripping hearts wide open halfway through the song.

Having been on the long-list for the BBC Sound of 2009 poll in late 2008, Mumford and Sons were just getting started on their steady rise to fame in Britain around the time I could have seen them live for the first time, had I known more about them. I might have seen them perform at Rock City in Nottingham, England, at the Dot to Dot Festival last May, had I not been interviewing Friendly Fires. I learned of my “mistake” in the most unexpected way: Friendly Fires‘s guitar tech appeared from nowhere shortly after our interview was over and announced to us all that we were fools to have missed such an amazing performance.

Thankfully, this quartet have achieved a level of success that has allowed them to tour North America, and I for one will definitely see them live when they come to my town. Need further evidence of how big they are? Despite having only been together for less than 3 years, there is already a Mumford and Sons spoof tribute band from Ireland called Sonford and Mums. What’s that they say, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” or something like that? I think Mumford and Sons deserve all the flattery bestowed upon them for their debut effort.

Sigh No More is available now on Glassnote Records in America (the band is signed to Island Records in the UK).

Tracklisting
01. Sigh No More
02. The Cave
03. Winter Winds
04. Roll Away Your Stone
05. White Blank Page
06. I Gave You All
07. Little Lion Man
08. Thistle and Weeds
09. Awake My Soul
10. Dust Bowl Dance
11. After the Storm

Tour Dates
May 13 – Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire / Montreal*
May 14 – Middle East Downstairs / Cambridge, MA*
May 16 – Fillmore at TLA / Philadelphia*
May 18 – Webster Hall / New York City*
May 20 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC*
May 21 – Beachland Ballroom / Cleveland*
May 22 – Wexner Center / Columbus*
May 24 - Lincoln Hall / Chicago*
May 25 – Varsity Theatre / Minneapolis*
May 29 – Sasquatch Music Festival / George, WA*
May 30 – 560 Club / Vancouver*
May 31 – Aladdin Theatre / Portland*
Jun 03 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco*
Jun 04 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles*
Jun 07 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix*
Jun 09 – Antone’s / Austin*
Jun 10 – House of Blues / Dallas*
Jun 12 – Bonnaroo Music Festival / Manchester, TN
Jun 14 – Bluebird / Bloomington, IN
Jun 15 – Off Broadway / St. Louis
Jun 16 – Record Bar / Kansas City, KS
*with the Middle East

Mumford and Sons: website | myspace | MP3 Minute: Mumford and Sons Cover Vampire Weekend | The Middle East Announces North American Festival Dates, Spring Tour with Mumford and Sons

Australian band the Middle East is flying high these days. In early February, the group’s track “Blood” was tipped by two major BBC radio shows in Britain – Steve Lamacq‘s drivetime program on the now threatened with closure BBC6music station, and Radio2′s evening show hosted by Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie. Talk about ringing endorsements. So it should come as no surprise that with this momentum, the band has announced American festival appearances for the spring, with a proper tour of North America to follow.

Fittingly, the band will begin the tour – with darlings of the London folk scene Mumford and Sons in tow – at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 14. That tour ends on June 10 at Dallas’s House of Blues. I’ve been telling people the March UK tour line-up of Mumford and Sons with Fanfarlo couldn’t be beat, but I guess someone upstairs heard me! I couldn’t help myself, both bands are so wonderful, I wanted to share videos from both with you. Watch, listen, and enjoy. And catch the bands at a venue near you.

The Middle East – “Blood”

Mumford and Sons - “The Cave”

Tour Dates
Mar 14 – NX35 Music Conference / Denton, TX
Mar 17-20 – South by Southwest / Austin
Apr 18 – Coachella Music Festival / Indio, CA
May 13 – Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire / Montreal
May 14 – Middle East Downstairs / Cambridge, MA*
May 16 – Fillmore at TLA / Philadelphia*
May 18 – Webster Hall / New York City*
May 20 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC*
May 21 – Beachland Ballroom / Cleveland*
May 22 – Wexner Center / Columbus*
May 24 - Lincoln Hall / Chicago*
May 25 – Varsity Theatre / Minneapolis*
May 29 – Sasquatch Music Festival / George, WA*
May 30 – 560 Club / Vancouver*
May 31 – Aladdin Theatre / Portland*
Jun 03 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco*
Jun 04 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles*
Jun 07 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix*
Jun 09 – Antone’s / Austin*
Jun 10 – House of Blues / Dallas*
* with Mumford and Sons

The Middle East: myspace
Mumford and Sons: website | myspace | MP3 Minute: Mumford and Sons Cover Vampire Weekend

Do you live near Salt Lake City and would like to see a live performance by two great groups? London pop folkies Fanfarlo and American band April Smith and the Great Picture Show are stopping by the Urban Lounge on February 27, and we have a pair of tickets to give away to a lucky winner. Check out Fanfarlo‘s breathtaking acoustic version of “Luna” (filmed in a friend’s back garden last summer) and April Smith and the Great Picture Show’s “Colors” below.

All you have to do is correctly name Fanfarlo‘s debut album released in 2009 in the comments below and include a valid email address. How simple is that? We’ll pick a winner from the correct entries received by noon CDT on Sunday, February 21. Good luck!

April Smith and the Great Picture Show – Colors

Tour Dates:
Feb 22 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco
Feb 23 – Doug Fir / Portland
Feb 24 – Crocodile Café / Seattle
Feb 25 – Knitting Factory / Spokane
Feb 27 – Urban Lounge / Salt Lake City
Feb 28 – Larimer Lounge / Denver

Photo: Mary Chang

Fanfarlo: website | myspace | @ Iota, Arlington, VA | Fanfarlo Announce First Headlining Tour of North America
April Smith and the Great Picture Show: website | myspace | Songs for a Sinking Ship review

Looking at the cover for Songs for a Sinking Ship by April Smith and the Great Picture Show, I felt like I had stepped back in time. Most of the bands I listen to nowadays take the extreme minimalist approach when it comes to packaging and design for their albums, so just looking at this antique cover was a refreshing change. Designed by photographer and artist Matt Hoyle, it recalls days gone by, when you’d head to the summer agricultural fair and your long-suffering mother would pay someone to photograph your head peeking out from behind a cardboard cutout of some nonsensical scene. Opening the gatefold, you get a load of the band members perched precariously on their instruments or baggage and April Smith herself sitting on a wooden raft. And is that the Titanic half underwater behind Ms. Smith? Quite possibly…

I only bring this up because the attention to detail taken for the cover design provides insight into how I imagine the album was recorded. You can feel it in your bones how lovingly each of these 11 tracks was put together. Also consider that the album was entirely financed by the generosity of Smith’s fans – pretty impressive. Had this dance pop fan read the depiction of the album describing it as “sassy pop music informed by the ’30s and ’40s, juke joints and cabaret, the Andrews Sisters, and Tom Waits,” I may not have given it a second glance.

With the piano and ukulele effects and string, brass and handclap flourishes used so effectively throughout, I could not help but love this album. To the casual listener, yes, it does sound antiquated. With ragtime piano-playing and trumpeting (at the start of “Can’t Say No” for example), you may feel like you’ve gotten lost in a New Orleans parlor of a bygone era. But sometimes one needs to step back and appreciate what music sounds like without serious electronic intervention. This is honest music recorded without the benefit of auto-tune and other all too commonly used production crutches.

One of the best moments on the album is the superb opening track, “Movie Loves a Screen.” Smith’s winsome declaration “I just want to mean something to you…” showcases her gorgeous, lilting voice. Smith also does whimsical cynicism very well with the coy yet forceful “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” dripping with sarcasm: “Is there anything going on in that pretty little head? / If you’re just drop dead gorgeous / you should just drop dead.” Smith is obviously bitter about falling for some cute but emotionally unavailable cad. Seriously, what woman can’t commiserate?

The album’s journey through Smith’s emotions, ranging from jealousy (“Dixie Boy”) to joyful self-confidence (“Stop Wondering”), allows for Smith’s remarkable vocal range and songwriting prowess to shine. Clocking in at less than 35 minutes, Songs for a Sinking Ship is an all too brief introduction into Smith’s emotional world. With Smith at the helm, I predict – and hope – that this ship will be seaworthy for a long time to come.

Track Listing:
01. Movie Loves A Screen
02. Terrible Things
03. Drop Dead Gorgeous
04. Can’t Say No
05. What’ll I Do?
06. Colors
07. Dixie Boy
08. The One That Got Away
09. Beloved
10. Wow and Flutter
11. Stop Wondering

Songs for a Sinking Ship will be released on February 23 and can be preordered at the band’s official website. Smith and her band are currently on tour through to the middle of February with Langhorne Slim. They will join up with London-based folk/pop outfit Fanfarlo for a West Coast tour through to the end of the month.

Tour Dates
Feb 08 – Casbah / San Diego*
Feb 10 – Hi Dive / Denver*
Feb 11 – Record Bar / Kansas City, KS*
Feb 12 – Off Broadway / St. Louis*
Feb 13 – Summit / Columbus*
Feb 22 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco#
Feb 23 – Doug Fir / Portland#
Feb 24 – Crocodile Café / Seattle#
Feb 25 – Knitting Factory / Spokane#
Feb 27 – Urban Lounge / Salt Lake City#
Feb 28 – Larimer Lounge / Denver#
* with Langhorne Slim
# with Fanfarlo

April Smith and the Great Picture Show: website | myspace

I’m getting just a little peeved with the Washington Post. It seems like whenever I’ve found a little-known band on my own and think going to a little club to see said band is going to be a relaxing, laid-back night, the paper finds out about the gig and proceeds to do a big write-up on the band, calling the gig a best bet for the weekend. Inevitably, whatever the gig, the venue will sell out in record time and I’m forced to stand uncomfortably squeezed in among people who’ve just heard about the band that very week because they read about it in the Post. This is exactly what happened Friday night when I went to Iota, a small club connected to a cafe in Arlington, Virginia, just over the river from Washington D.C. Thankfully, this time the band in question was London-based folk pop band Fanfarlo, so at least I didn’t have to worry about any overzealous moshers or serious drunks. And in hindsight I’m glad the gig sold out, because the band’s performance was breathtaking and so many people got to see the band’s artistry firsthand.

Fanfarlo is led by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar (guitar/clarinet), who sings lead vocals alongside with the sweet harmonies of Cathy Lucas (violin / mandolin / and a whole bunch others). They’ve been compared to the Arcade Fire, which I suppose is the lazy journalist’s easy choice for comparison because of the strong pairing of male/female vocals. Leon Beckenham (trumpet / keyboards / glockenspiel), Justin Finch (bass) and Amos Memon (drums) complete their talented line-up. They released Reservoir, their debut album, earlier this year.

If you’re wondering where their band name came from, it was taken from a novella written in 1847 by French poet Charles Baudelaire called La Fanfarlo. But should you be put off by the tres chic name, please know that they make decidedly unpretentious beautiful folk pop. They started their set at Iota with just three of their members – Balthazar, Lucas, and Memon – to play “Drowning Men.” Their slower songs like “Comets” (with the smooth-as-silk chorus of “we’ll tear it down / we’ll hold the truth / by the neck / oh, by the neck / kick in the doors / and burn the books / try to forget / try to forget“) and “I’m a Pilot” are dreamy and gorgeous played live with the unique collection of instruments being played alongside Balthazar and Lucas’s voices; the two of them are tied with the xx in my mind for the most gorgeous boy/girl paired voices heard this year.

But speeding things up on songs like the verbosely-titled “Harold T. Wilkins, or How to Wait for a Very Long Time” or the fun “Luna”, with its driving drum beats augmented by Balthazar ditching his guitars to beat on a single drum, showed that they can do much more than ballads and do so in an engaging way. Check out an acoustic version of this song they filmed in a friend’s back garden this past June.

In addition to tracks from Reservoir, we also got a sneak peek into their next release in two new songs, “Atlas” and “Waiting in the Wings.” When the band left the stage following “Luna” (the last song on their printed set list), it was unclear whether they’d return. Following audience cheers for more songs, the band came back for an encore of “Ghosts,” which was as haunting as the title suggests. While being haunted is usually a bad thing, I like to think the entire Iota audience that night were entranced by this London band and their brand of bewitching folk pop.

Three dates are left on Fanfarlo‘s North American tour before they head back to London for the holidays. Please note: the two Canadian dates (Toronto on December 15 and Montreal on December 16) on their original schedule have been canceled due to Balthazar’s passport and Canadian visa getting stolen when their van was broken into during a stop in Portland last week. The band are scheduled to go on tour again in the UK in early 2010 with another great band from the London folk scene, Mumford and Sons.

Set List:
Drowning Men
I’m a Pilot
Finish Line
Harold T. Wilkins, or How to Wait for a Very Long Time
Atlas
The Walls are Coming Down
Waiting in the Wings
Comets
Luna
//
Ghosts

Tour Dates:
Dec 14 – Majestic Cafe / Detroit*
Dec 17 – T.T. The Bear’s / Boston*
Dec 18 – Webster Hall / New York City*
* with Freelance Whales

Fanfarlo: website | myspace
Freelance Whales: myspace

The London folk scene is alive and well. And one of the newest bands of that scene, Fanfarlo, has announced their first headlining tour of North America for this November and December. Having played CMJ two weeks ago and received glowing reviews, this tour couldn’t have been timed better. The band released their debut album, Reservoir, earlier this year.

While you are waiting to see them in a town near you, check out their stripped down version of Neutral Milk Hotel‘s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.”

Tour dates:
Nov 09 – Schubas / Chicago
Nov 11 – Triple Rock / Minneapolis
Nov 13 – Moe’s / Denver
Nov 14 – State Room / Salt Lake City
Nov 16 – Knitting Factory / Boise
Nov 17 – Crocodile Cafe / Seattle
Nov 18 – Media Club / Vancouver
Nov 19 - Doug Fir / Portland
Nov 20 – Great Basin Brewing Company / Sparks, NV
Nov 22 – Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Nov 23 – Echo / Los Angeles
Nov 24 – Casbah / San Diego
Nov 27 – Soho Restaurant & Music Club / Santa Barbara
Nov 29 – Club Congress / Tucson
Nov 30- Santa Fe Brewing Company / Santa Fe
Dec 02 – Independent / Austin
Dec 03 - Loft / Dallas
Dec 04 – Walter’s on Washington / Houston
Dec 06 – Bottletree / Birmingham
Dec 09 – Metro Gallery / Baltimore
Dec 10 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia
Dec 11 – Iota / Arlington, VA
Dec 12 – Brillobox / Pittsburgh
Dec 14 – Majestic Cafe / Detroit
Dec 15 – El Mocambo / Toronto
Dec 16 – Il Motore / Montreal
Dec 17 – T.T. The Bear’s / Boston
Dec 18 – Webster Hall / New York City

Fanfarlo: website | myspace