popwreckoning

I am doomed to remember two boys with haunting voices – not because of their voices, or because they were responsible for my favorite live music moment, or even because they were the instruments of Jesse Lacey’s death, but because they are the reason I still believe in pop/indie music; I am a continued indie music fan because of Bad Books.

[Note: this is the altered first sentence from the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, a book everyone should read at least five times. Also, neither Andy Hull nor Kevin Devine have plans to kill Jesse Lacey, though I do feel they are partially responsible for the decline in the popularity of Lacey’s music as they have picked up and ran with the torch he once held proudly…but I digress.]

The above may have been a hyperbolic statement, but as with most good hyperbole, there’s a lot of truth to be found there. Let’s talk first about Andy’s and Kevin’s voice(s). Separately, they each sing with a distinctive and vulnerable style that can easily switch to an aggressive yell if necessary (see Exhibit A: “Cotton Crush” by Kevin Devine and Exhibit B: “100 Dollars” by Manchester Orchestra). Together though, they sound alternately like Elliott Smith doubling his own vocals on “Needle in the Hay” or like Guy and Ian trading shouts during Fugazi’s heyday. Sounds too divergent to be true? Give a listen to “I Begged You Everything” and “Please Move” in succession (Tracks 7 and 8 respectively) and you’ll understand completely.

Of course, two great voices (even those that mesh so wonderfully) nary a band or an album make. The attribute separating Mr. Hull and Mr. Devine (and thus this collaborative project) from so many others is their songwriting prowess; in fact, their unparalleled ability to write basically whatever kind of song that they wish is what prompted me to think of A Prayer for Owen Meany and my belief in indie music. You want a catchy, sing-along pop song about something seemingly dark (an abortion maybe?)? You’ve got “Baby Shoes.” How about a sad song of introspection with just a voice and an acoustic guitar? “You’re A Mirror I Cannot Avoid“ is waiting for you. A quirky pop song with melodies that have more in common with 1969 than 2009? “Holding Down the Laughter“ fits the bill. And on it goes; this album is as varied as it is brilliant, and I would feel as confident playing it for my 9 year old goddaughter as I would for my jaded too-cool-for-school music snob friends. And you, dear reader, will enjoy this album as well. Unless you’re an asshole or something. You’re not an asshole, are you? I didn’t think so.

One final thought (aside from wondering why I use so many parenthetical statements): collaborations always pose unique questions that put them in a different category than other albums. Primarily, people want to know if the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If I haven’t answered this question in so many words, then I haven’t done my job. YES! The answer is a resounding, enthusiastic YES! Don’t miss this album. You’ll only kick yourself in ten years when cool indie kids are citing it as an influence for their overwrought songs that will be easily forgotten. I’ve already written several.

It’s difficult to describe the feeling of seeing your favorite band live for the first time. A lot of words come to mind – incredible, intense and spectacular (just to name a few).

All of those words describe the Brand New and Manchester Orchestra concert last week at the Uptown Theatre.

The beautiful, unique venue hosted a three-hour onslaught of pure rock music.

Waiting through the line that wrapped around the outside of the building, you could feel the anticipation of the excitement about to come. These people had come to rock out.

The first band, Sybris, came on with powerful rock instrumentals and a very talented female vocalist.

This was the first time I heard the band and was very impressed by their level of musicianship. This is not the last we will hear from this band, and I expect them to move up in the indie rock world in the near future.

After their short set, Manchester Orchestra took the stage.

To say they melted people’s faces off with their intensity would be an understatement.

Andy Hull, lead singer and one of Manchester Orchestra’s guitar players, instantly commanded audience attention with eerie guitar tones and his vocal range.

After opening with the slower track “Pride,” they moved straight into “Shake It Out,” to get the crowd moving.

Songs such as the radio single “I’ve Got Friends” kept the set list moving fluidly. Fittingly, they ended their set with the song “Party’s Over/The Only One.” It was the end to their 30-minute party, filled with emotion, intensity and overall fun.

This band is going places and I would be shocked if they don’t have their own headlining tour soon.

The anticipation building before Brand New was thick enough you could have cut it with a knife.

This being my first time seeing them in concert, I was both nervous and excited. The whole day I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve – you know something big is coming, but you don’t quite know what to expect.

When the lights went out, the crowd immediately went into a frenzy. People began to push forward in anticipation, knowing they were about to experience something truly incredible.

From the first note of “You Won’t Know,” the show was intense.

Frontman Jesse Lacey’s vocals were truly powerful and mesmerizing. And even though he was sick, you could not tell it was affecting him in any way.

The next few songs switched between their albums The Devil and God and Deja Entendu.

A pleasant surprise was thrown in when they played “No Seatbelt Song” off their first album, Your Favorite Weapon.

This marked the next transition in the show. The backdrops came on and they began to play songs off their most recent record, Daisy.

It was very appropriate how they marked that shift because it showed how different the band is from their early days. The songs off Daisy are very emotional, dark and really captured the crowd.

The most emotional song of the night, by far, was “Jesus Christ.” It is extremely powerful and has a lot of meaning.

To wrap up their set, they performed “Play Crack the Sky,” and Hull, of Manchester Orchestra, joined them on stage.

It was a great ending to an incredible show.

I highly recommend listening to all of these artists and catching a show if possible.

A+.

Band Info:
Manchester Orchestra: website | myspace | Mean Everything to Nothing review | @ radio room | interview with Chris Freeman | @ lollapalooza | @ record bar
Brand New: website | myspace | Daisy review

Written by: Casey Osburn and Jacob Brewer
Photos by: Joshua Hammond

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