popwreckoning

Top 3 albums of 2011

• The Antlers – Burst Apart
• Company of Thieves – Death of Communication
• Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math

The Dear Hunter is gearing up for their first headlining U.S. tour this summer which launches July 15 in San Francisco, CA. and extends through the end of August. As with their recently wrapped trek with dredg, fans will be treated to new music from the forthcoming nine-EP collection, The Color Spectrum, which is due out June 14 on Triple Crown Records.

The Color Spectrum consists of songs inspired by the colors of the spectrum, specifically red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, with white and black being included as bookends.  Casey Crescenzo, of The Dear Hunter, completed the EPs while traveling the US, documenting every step of the process.  The collection features collaborations with several producers and musicians, including Manchester Orchestra, Brendan Brown from The Receiving End of Sirens, Mike Watts (who has worked with As Tall As Lions and he mixed the band’s Act III: Life and Death), and Steve Haigler (Brand New, As Tall As Lions, Quicksand).

Ticket pre-sales will begin Wednesday, June 8 at 10am local time here:  www.thedearhunter.frontgatetickets.com.  Fans will have the option to add on an early download of the full length The Color Spectrum CD, as well as an exclusive t-shirt for an extra $15.

For an extensive list of tour dates, please visit www.thedearhunter.com

Manchester Orchestra + free = Awesome. Simple math, right? You’re in luck because that awesomeness is exactly what PopWreckoning has for you. We’re giving away a copy of Manchester Orchestra’s highly-acclaimed Simple Math on vinyl. As an added bonus, we’re also including an autographed lyric booklet.

To win, just comment and tell us your answer for this equation: Manchester Orchestra + [You] = …

For example, Manchester Orchestra + PopWrecker Bethany = a party.

Now, let’s hear yours…

We’ll pick a winner* from the responses on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 11 a.m. EST. Please use a working email address so we can contact you about mailing your prize.

Be sure to check out more from Manchester Orchestra at themanchesterorchestra.com.

*You must be 18 or older to enter. You must live in the United States to enter. Download complete terms of giveaway here.

blink-182 and My Chemical Romance are gearing up for the 10th annual Honda Civic Tour, set to start out August 5th in Holmdel, New Jersey. Support on selected dates includes Manchester Orchestra, Matt and Kim, and Rancid. Not only is it the tenth anniversary of the tour, but blink-182 was actually on the very first Honda Civic Tour.

blink-182 and My Chemical Romance fan clubs will have access to presale tickets Monday, June 6th. Fans can also “like” the Honda Civic Tour Facebook page to gain access to presale tickets on Wednesday, June 8th, as well as tour updates and other information. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 10th through Ticketmaster and LiveNation.

Be sure to check out the official Honda Civic Tour site for a full list of dates.

www.hondacivictour.com

Currently on tour with Manchester Orchestra and Cage The Elephant, O’Brother is gearing up for a late summer album release, as well as touring throughout the year. The band just released a new song performed with Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra. Check out the video below:

http://vimeo.com/23962007

www.myspace.com/obrothermusic

I had the opportunity to ask Chris Freeman of Manchester Orchestra a few questions. The band is currently in the midst of a national tour with co-headliner Cage The Elephant.

Devon Mueller, Popwreckoning: How does it feel to be releasing your third album Simple Math?

Chris Freeman, Manchester Orchestra: It feels great. We’re really very proud of this record and we’re just happy that it’s finally out. After sitting on this thing for as long as we did, one begins to gain a growing desire for feedback. You start to get into your own head about the whole thing in hopes that people will like it.

DM: Did you ever imagine the band being where it is today?

CF: Everybody hopes to be the biggest band in the world, or at least I think they do. On the slow climb that we’ve been on for the past few years, there are always moments of disbelief when we realize that we’ve been blessed enough to be able to do what we do and be successful at it.

DM: How does the writing and recording process work for you guys as a whole? Lyrics, instrumentation, live recordings, etc.?

CF: It varies a lot, but the constant is Andy writing the basic ideas for everything that we come out with; Sometimes he brings in a riff, or a fully fledged out song and we just sort of write parts around whatever he brings to the table.

DM: One could consider you a multi-instrumentalist. Is there a certain instrument you’re particularly fond of?

CF: I really enjoy playing the vibraphone. Sounds stupid but it’s a really versatile instrument; it can sound very beautiful or very haunting. We didn’t get to use one on Mean Everything To Nothing but I jumped at the chance to use one for this record.

DM: During Manchester Orchestra’s live Facebook chat/premiere of “Virgin,”  Andy said the songs on Mean Everything To Nothing were meant to scare people. What is the main focus and goal of Simple Math?

CF: We just wanted to make the best record that we could. It’s definitely an experience as a whole album and each song speaks for itself in their own unique ways. Its a growth album and that growth is evident in the sequencing and we just wanted to bring people along with us in that growth for us as a band.

DM: Any weird pre-show rituals?

CF: We started doing this high-five thing, like in the NBA where they slap hands really low and then immediately pull back. We do that now.

DM: If you could interview any band, dead or alive, who would it be and what’s the one burning question you’d ask?

CF: I’d ask David Byrne if he’d show me how he found those grooves on Remain In Light and Speaking In Tongues. I just want to know what they started with in the building process of the songs on those records.

DM: Funniest tour moment?

CF: I saw Tim slip today outside of the bus and then I yelled “NERD!!!” That was really funny.

DM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

CF: Hopefully still making records with my friends, playing shows, and living in Australia.

DM: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

CF: Probably crying in a closet in Ohio somewhere.

Manchester Orchestra’s website: www.themanchesterorchestra.com

Being a duo opening for a big band such as Manchester Orchestra (big in number of members and success) can be a daunting challenge, but Brisbane’s An Horse was more than up for the challenge. 

The duo features Kate Cooper on vocals and guitar with Damon Cox on drums and backing vocals.

Cooper’s a small figure, so it’s a bit surprising when a ridiculously powerful voice comes booming out of her. At times she seemed like a female vocal version of tourmates Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull; and other times she seemed like Eisley‘s three singers, but with an Australian accent in place of the Texas one. Cooper packed a more powerful punch in her briefer lyrics than when she tried to stretch out vocals – one number in the middle seemed a little a grating, but she was otherwise a pleasant a surprise. She ran through songs about coping with separation and grief from life far from home, emulating the passion of the lyrics in both her vocals and her facial expressions.

Equally fascinating to watch was Cox. He basically had the duty of filling out a full band sound for Cooper’s vocals and was more than busy with drumming alone, but he also provided some great harmonies.

The band is listed as indie pop on the web – but their spunky beats and edgy vocals harkens them back to their punk roots.

Though you might debate their name (which does come from a grammar dispute about ‘a’ or ‘an’ before ‘horse’), you won’t found yourself debating their talent.

They just joined with Manchester Orchestra for a series of tour dates. Be sure to check them out here.

As a reviewer of the music, constantly exposed to all walks of bands, sometimes you just need to rock it out. Sometimes you just need that show that will leave you faceless, sweating from every crevass and ears blown. Now granted, having been a previous fan, I knew this show would be good. But I had NO idea it would be THAT good. Therefore, when the fellas of Manchester Orchestra recently took the stage in Kansas City they proceeded to fill the need – the need for Rock ‘n Roll.

Being that it was the first stop on their headlining tour, naturally there were a few – well – kinks, to work out. A touch of difficulty in the monitors and a dash of feedback from the mics were just minor hiccups in the night. But from the first song “April Fool,” the night was set at a high octane. The songs’ classic rock elements including: a lead guitar piercing through with its hip note progressions, a bass that keeps an ever-so-slight groove going and vocals full of raw energy – are the elements that got this crowd officially kicking.

The set list rolled through selections from not only the new album Simple Math, but also I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child and their previous success story Mean Everything To Nothing. A stand out from the “older” songs was “Now That You’re Home.” The brutal transitions between the soft melodic verses and the slashing guitar breaks that fell in the normal chorus slots, kept each head in that place methodically banging.

Another selection off the new album was the pep-fest found in “Pensacola.” The tone of this song almost sounded like a parody of an actual song. The eagerness in each musician was easy to see. And the vocals were similar to that of a cheerleader’s chant, while the repetitive chipper drum beats only furthered the slightly odd nature of the song.

After a pause or two to connect (individually) with the audience, the set shifted back to an “oldie-but-goodie.” Even though “Colly Strings” doesn’t initially come off as a song of the same potential that the rest of the night had, you simply have to give it a moment. Eventually a combination of dramatic drums beats and long, drawn out strums, gave the sense of tears shedding for the bands’ rock ballad. Sure the tempo gradually breaks out and vocals are grabbed from a little lower in the gut, but, in general, the song remains at some level of “ballad-ness,” and an excellent example of the pure talent on stage that night.

A few numbers off Mean Everything To Nothing finished off the traditional set. And after the “we’re-gonna-walk-off-stage-just-to-come-back-in-two-minutes” break, we were met with dance hit “Shake It Out.” Seriously, in the live environment, that’s what this song was. Similar to the energy found with Taking Back Sunday, this song is extremely quick and extremely fun. The lead guitar pretty much sticks to the same 3-4 notes, but those notes are done with such insanity, it begs the question why you’d need more. Complete with an angry scream in the latter half of the song, it was a perfect selection to keep the crowd awake.

“Are you guys ok if we don’t play ‘Friends’”? This question was met with a mixture of boos and hoots. Even the band couldn’t figure what the audience wanted to do. Regardless, if you’re a band at that level, you pretty much know you have to play your hit from your prior album, whether you really want to or not. And they did. It was awesome.

The set was supposed to end with “Simple Math” (per the setlist I snapped a shot of), but instead they ran out of time and left the evening with a cover and the song: “Where Have You Been?” Because of this, they left the sounds of my new favorite Manchester song ringing in my ears. As a fan of the slightly darker, more alternative bands, this song fit perfectly. From the eerie ween of the guitar in the beginning, to the harmonizing vocals set in the bass octave, the entire song was anything but cheery. But it was the predominant guitar part, with its chord progression set at the top of the neck, that carried the entire 4 min and 28 seconds. And still repeats in my head.

After this show I could only come to one conclusion – I’ve been listening to the wrong Manchester Orchestra songs this entire time!

Lollapalooza is celebrating its 20th anniversary and as promised, the recently announced delivers some pretty hefty acts. 

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5 and A Perfect Circle will headline the annual event in Grant Park from August 5-7, 2011.

If you missed Death From Above 1979‘s Coachella reunion, Lolla gives fans another chance. There’s also many other classic acts such as The Cars to up and comers The Naked and Famous. You can see the rest of the announced lineup below:

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, A Perfect Circle, Cee Lo Green, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas, the Cars, Ween, Bright Eyes, Arctic Monkeys, Big Audio Dynamite, Deftones, Beirut, Explosions in the Sky, Death From Above 1979, Ratatat, Crystal Castles, Flogging Molly, Atmosphere, Cold War Kids, Lykke Li, Cage the Elephant, OK GO, Local Natives, The Kills, White Lies, Portugal. The Man, Two Door Cinema Club, Ellie Goulding, Delta Spirit, Beats Antique, Mountain Goats, Sleigh Bells, Manchester Orchestra, Smith Westerns, Best Coast, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Drums, Black Lips, Fitz & the Tantrums, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, City and Colour, Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, Cults, Noah and the Whale, Sam Adams, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Tinie Tempah, Lissie, Dom, The Vaccines, Foster the People, Titus Andronicus, Mayer Hawthorne and the County, Chico Trujillo, The Naked and Famous, Phantogram, Rival Schools, Friendly Fires, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Reptar, Maps & Atlases, Fences, Tennis, An Horse, Young the Giant, Los Bunkers, Imelda May, Grouplove, Wye Oak, The Joy Formidable, Lord Huron, Disappears, Walk the Moon, Gold Motel, Iration, Ryan Leslie, Tab the Band, Skylar Grey, Christina Perri, Black Cards, The Pretty Reckless, Boy and Bear, Patrick Stump, Kids These Days, Young Man, The Kingston Springs, Lia Ices, The Chain Gang of 1974, Ximena Sarinana, Typhoon, Electric Touch, Kerli, Ruby Jane, Julia Easterlin, and DJ Mel.

On Perry’s Stage:

Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi, the Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, AfroJack, Modeselektor, Skrillex, Perryetty vs. Chris Cox, Chuckie, The Glitch MOb, Busy P, Joachim Garraud, Super Mash Bros., Jay Electronica, 12th Planet, Daedulus, Feed Me, JackMaster, Collie Buddz, Savoy, Kyle Lucas and Captain Midnite, Ana Tijouxana, Midnight Conspiracy, L1ght, and Lady D.

Early Bird tickets have already sold out, but you can now buy regular priced tickets for $215 while supplies last. VIP Passes and Travel Packages are also available. A limited number of
Single Day tickets will go on sale June 7. Go here to buy tickets.

Organizers are expecting over 240,000 people.

Andy Hull and the company he keeps are gods. Five stars. Album of the year. The end.

(Just kidding, sort of.)

Words can’t explain how long I’d waited  for this album. Manchester Orchestra is one of those bands I can’t get enough of. Like a Virgin Losing a Child, their first album, debuted in 2006 and the three year wait for sophomore release Mean Everything to Nothing was brutal. I was more than ready for Simple Math and it’s finally here.

I downloaded the first single, also called “Simple Math,” the minute it was available; it already has a hefty play count in my iTunes. But the time had finally come to experience the album in its entirety. And after the first spin? I didn’t have words. And even if did, the teenage superfan in my head was squealing so loudly it drowned them out. “Mighty,” “Virgin,” “Simple Math” and “Leaky Breaks” all stick out in the best way possible. They’re starkly different from each other, yet I love each of them for their uniqueness. Strings, horns, and gang vocals add depth that we have yet to see from this band. The album as a whole is still very much Manchester Orchestra though: the same warbling guitar that slides smoothly back and forth between notes, the same brutally honest lyrics, the same sing-song voice mixed with raw and screaming vocals. But this one raises the bar. It’s an epic, orchestral masterpiece made for much bigger stages than they are currently playing.

“Deer” is a great start to the album with traditional Manchester Orchestra-like sounds reminiscent of the first two albums. The song slowly builds and we soon realize it’s the calm before the storm… Because the second song, “Mighty,” is heavy and dark and the opening few seconds are deliciously metal. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs on the record, but then again it’s tied with three others so maybe I should give it more time. Strings make an appearance about halfway through the song and wrap it up nicely. “Pensacola” is a fun and playful song, probably full of sarcasm and inside jokes, but I guess we’ll never know: group vocals shout the words “alcohol, dirty malls, Pensacola Florida bars” as horns blare in the background.  We still see the solid song-writing of Andy Hull though with the line “I am the greatest man that never lived and now I never sleep.”

Both “April Fool” and “Pale Black Eye” carry us nicely through the album, the screaming vocals reminiscent of Mean Everything To Nothing, and calmer parts nodding to Like a Virgin Losing a Child. Virgin, another one of my favorites, jolts us out of our groove and says “hey look at me! I’m dark and different and dirty!” with lyrics “we build this house with our hands and our time, our blood… to fall down/Never gonna be the same.” I could see this song in a stage production with professional dancers stalking around on beat to a choreographed dance number. This song is so much more than a song, it’s like a rock opera in and of itself. “Simple Math” is another high point of the album; the guitar in the beginning is bold and in your face, and holy falsetto, Mr. Hull… I love it. “The truth cannot be fractioned” is going to be one of those timeless lyrics that seventeen year old fans will be saving up to get tattooed on their skin, I guarantee it.

The eighth track, “Leave It Alone,” is a nice break; soft and intimate with the words “leave it alone, leave me alone.” Apprehension. Solid song. Nothing too crazy which is probably good. I don’t think my brain could handle much more at this point. The album comes to a close with Leaky Breaks. It’s a comfy, cozy song, reminds me of being curled up by a fire with whispered vocals. It’s calm and quiet but holds your attention and finishes well as a closer to the album.

Simple Math is the perfect mix of Like a Virgin Losing a Child and Mean Everything to Nothing with just enough new sound  and maturity to make it different. Simply put, it’s a rock solid piece of work and I find something new with each listen. Dare I make assumptions about the quality of a possible fourth album? Nah, probably too soon. Simple Math. Buy it. Listen to it. Worship it. Go see a show. I promise it’s worth every penny.

Track Listing:

1 Deer
2 Mighty
3 Pensacola
4 April Fool
5 Pale Black Eye
6 Virgin
7 Simple Math
8 Leave It Alone
9 Apprehension
10 Leaky Breaks