popwreckoning

Throughout White Lies’ 2009 debut album To Lose My Life… was a palpable sadness that resonated with those who enjoy that brand of gothic grandeur. These are the same kind of folks that connect with bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and the Smiths. For so long, I have fought against the following argument friends: “Smiths songs make you want to slit your wrists.” Not so, if you can relate with the bleaker side of life and sympathize with such sentiment. But most people don’t identify with such a non-escapist and sometimes academic view of the world and would prefer a more commercial, fun record (In other words, the kind that buy Maroon 5, Rihanna, and Katy Perry albums and think Lady Gaga is, like, the coolest person ever).

The best parts of the London band’s debut album were the most danceable (“Death,” for example), which probably sounds completely counterintuitive and not what most people envision at all of the gothy, post-punk genre. If you ever get the chance to watch the hordes of regulars at the Mousetrap Britpop night here in Washington, you’ll understand. Morrissey famously once sang in the Smiths song “Unlovable,” “I wear black on the outside / ‘cos black is how I feel on the inside,” and in our black clothes, boots, and eyeliner, this is our dance music.

Ritual, White Lies‘s second album, is comprised of similar building blocks used to make To Lose My Life… The high – and potentially the most crowd-pleasing – points of the album are the less dark, more synthy and more inspiring moments. “Is Love,” the album’s opener, starts in the shadows with Harry McVeigh’s usually unemotional intonations, but the track is lifted up into seemingly happier, almost power pop territory thanks to synths. “The Power and the Glory” is White Lies pop trapped in the ’80s.

“Bigger Than Us,” the first single to be released from the album, is brisk in tempo and has a sweeping chorus that fans of White Lies have come to expect from the band that brought us previous singles “Farewell to the Fairground” and “To Lose My Life.” Best track on the album, hands down. First time I heard it on BBC Radio, I could feel the tears welling up: “and I feel like I’m breaking up, but I wanted to stay / headlights on the hillside, don’t take me this way / I don’t want you to hold me, I want you to pray / this is bigger than us.” Epic. (Actually, thinking more about the lyrics, the song might be a nod to the Smiths‘ “This Charming Man” or “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.”)

The buzzing guitars of “Holy Ghost” are sexy and the tune’s verses sound like a homage to the Police’s “Roxanne.” But the chorus is bizarre: “maybe someday I can move like you / maybe someday I can scream like you / I’m not looking for a holy ghost.” I would love to get inside the brain of the band’s bassist and chief lyricist Charles Cave one day. Also unique is “Peace and Quiet,” with a double-tracked chorus almost approaching gospel (“I feel this great pressure coming down on me / and the tide of my bliss, pulling at your sympathy“), new age synths, and an atmospheric yet chill vibe reminiscent of Broken Bells’ debut last year. Not what I would have expected from White Lies at all.

The punishing rhythm of “Turn the Bells” is hypnotic, but there’s no denying it, it’s dark. “Streetlights” is custom made for the terminally depressed, it’s a desperate cry to the world: “hold tight for heartbreak / buckle up for loneliness / right time to get away / where I’m going, I couldn’t care.” Tough stuff. “Strangers” contains the refrain “there’s nothing stranger than to love someone,” the protagonist anxiously trying to love a woman who is emotionally unavailable and not returning his deepest affections. You might not want to listen to this if you’re going through a rough patch in a relationship.

But these are the inevitable, more sinister, more difficult to swallow moments from Ritual. They represent the most comfortable territory for White Lies: writing songs that express the pain and sorrow of everyday situations. That said, this album is really for people who can see past the initial gray sheen of depression the band uses to paint the surface of their songs; under the surface, there are always profound feelings. There are deep emotions in every track, examined and intellectualized, ready to be taken into the hearts of people who can appreciate those emotions.

Ritual by White Lies will be released in America on January 18 on Geffen Records.

Track Listing:
01. Is Love
02. Strangers
03. Bigger Than Us
04. Peace and Quiet
05. Streetlights
06. Holy Ghost
07. Turn the Bells
08. The Power and the Glory
09. Bad Love
10. Come Down

White Lies: website | myspace | @ Black Cat | @ Lollapalooza Day 1 | White Lies to Tour North America, Support Kings of Leon | Sophomore Album from White Lies Due in January 2011 | White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”

In the second half of my interview with Delphic‘s guitarist, the incredibly thoughtful Matt Cocksedge, we talk more about how album #2 is going to differ from their debut album Acolyte, and Matt tells me his personal philosophy on being a guitarist. We even chat about their Irish mates Two Door Cinema Club in my attempt to persuade them to come back and do a co-headlining tour in the States together next year. (Time will tell if I was successful…)

Part 1 of this interview can be accessed here.

Matt Cocksedge, Delphic: It’s very strange, being in a band and writing intensely personal stuff and then giving it to the public, and it’s not yours anymore, you know? It’s theirs. It’s there for them to interpret as they like, and it’s there for them to believe in or destroy. And you just kind of have to go with it. And it’s definitely difficult to get used to. Now we know a little more about what it’s about, we know how it goes and we’ve been there, and we know we’ve made a record and we can do it, we’ve got a bit more belief in ourselves and more of an idea of who we are and what we want to do. It’s an exciting time in Camp Delphic! We’re very much looking to the future. It’s very weird saying all this, having coming to tour America for the first time, it’s bizarre. It’s like, “Hi! We’re here supporting a band in America on our first tour, and we’re looking forward to writing our second album!” Considering our album only just came out…bizarre!
Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: It’s good! Maybe it’s my personal observation with how much music I get sent, but there’s seems an oversaturation of the new generation of bands coming out of Britain. And there’s no way NME, or Q, or anyone else can keep up with everyone. As a blogger I think you do get jaded because there are so many bands to assess. Do you feel that there’s pressure to come out with a second album quickly, because you worry you might get lost in the shuffle as new bands come up? Maybe you can tell me more about how the recording process is going for Delphic album #2.
MC: We’re doing bits and bobs in our studio [back in Manchester] and building up ideas, but we’re really approaching it differently than the first record. The first record was very much built up at our studio at home and was very layered and detailed. By the time we went to the [recording] studio, we knew basically how the songs were going to turn out and exactly what they would sound like and all that, whereas for this one, we kind of want to leave more to chance and be more open before we get to the studio. We want to play together more in the studio and then take it on a more natural band angle, rather than building it up in a studio environment. And yeah, there is definitely that feeling of pressure. You know, there isn’t that luxury that bands used to have of doing the first record, going on tour, maybe taking 18 months, 2 years to write, record, and release the second record. That time’s gone. The public’s attention span is so short, and that’s a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because bands can’t get lazy. But it’s bad, it’s changed the way music is digested, it’s changed the way bands have to approach writing and touring. And their releases. And we’re kind of part of a generation of bands that needs to keep writing and recording and releasing and touring and writing and doing that to establish a fanbase, establish some sort of place within the whole thing. But for us personally, we just want to write the next album because we’ve got ideas and we’re inspired to do it, we want to get it out there. We don’t want to go on a holiday for 6 months, we don’t want to stop doing this and we don’t want to keep touring endlessly. We are very much like, “right, this is the first record, we achieved a certain amount [of success and fame] with that, but there’s so much more we want to do.” We don’t want to play the same songs for another year. And this is our first tour of the U.S., properly, and so where are we? We’re in September, 2010? Most of these songs were written like in 2008. Some of them were written at the end of 2007.
PW: So are we looking at a 2012 release then [for album #2]?
MC: Hopefully! I think, maybe sooner if we’re able to.
PW: I guess it depends on touring commitments and if you’re even home long enough to do anything.
MC: We’re excited, we have a lot of ideas and are really keen as soon we get back from America, we’ve got a few more gigs, got four or five gigs, but once that’s done, we’re straight into rehearsals for the second album. Straight into that. And we’re really…that’s the most exciting thing, we don’t want to stop. We’re doing something we really love doing. We’re not going to take it for granted. We want to just work on it and get better. We just can’t wait to, you know…as much fun as this has been in the United States, I don’t want to put that down, I’m just saying that we’re so excited to kind of see what happens next, and see where it takes us, and see where we go with it. We got into a band to write music and make albums, you know? And to be given the chance to do that is the most incredible thing. We feel incredibly lucky to be able to do it, and we want to do it to the best of our ability. And we’ll see how that goes. We’ll wait and see. [smiles]
PW: It should be interesting to see how this one turns out, with the different approach.
MC: Definitely, definitely!
PW: I know I’m definitely looking forward to it! And a lot of people are.

PW: Since I am a writer, I would like to know who in Delphic comes up with the song titles and who writes the lyrics?
MC: Emmm…the whole thing is a very collaborative process. Everything – music, lyrics, videos, art, all that stuff is very much the three of us. We won’t let anything through that not all three of us are behind, you know? It’s one of those things where everything we do is Delphic, it’s not “Matt from Delphic,” or James or Rick from Delphic. It’s the band. Well, magicians should never reveal their secrets, should they? [smiles]
PW: [laughs] I was just curious because every band has their own little story [on how they come up with lyrics]. The most unusual one I’ve heard is of White Lies, who came in second in the BBC Sound of 2009 poll. Bassist Charles Cave of White Lies writes the lyrics for guitarist Harry McVeigh to sing. Interesting, yet it must be weird singing about someone else’s experiences. Do you find when you’re writing lyrics it becomes an emotional thing? Because it’s been amazing to talk to other Delphic fans and hear what they’ve gotten out of your song lyrics. Different people get different things out of music. Coming from the writer’s perspective, I like to look at lyrics closely and interpret them. Are there any particular songs on the album that are especially personal to you?
MC: All of the songs are very personal to me. Definitely. And you know, it’s strange when you write something and then someone else is expressing it. And it’s also interesting, because you get the opportunity to see another interpretation of it almost immediately. I think a lot of what we wrote on the first album, lyrically, was open to interpretation, and purposely so. I mean, yeah, it’s personal, but I think one of the great things about music is that it’s your thing. We’ve written this album, but it’s your album. All of the experiences of listening to it, you’ll never share the same experiences that someone else has when they listen to the album. But that’s amazing, that it can be so personal. I like that people can read into things and take different things from it, and that’s fine. But there’s always going to be what it means to you, and it’s always going to be that personal thing. But certainly now I don’t think we want to impose that on the audience. We have a thing of what it means to us, but the audience…I wouldn’t want to say anyone’s interpretation of our music is wrong or inaccurate.
PW: Morrissey has been asked many times to explain, “what does this particular Smiths song mean?” and he has said, I don’t want to say what it means to me, because music means different things to different people.
MC: Definitely. I’d hate to destroy anyone’s idea of something. Someone could think one of our songs is a really romantic song, when actually it’s about trying to get away from someone. It’s like Sting…
PW: [laughs] Yes yes!
MC/PW: [at the same time] “Every Breath You Take”!
MC: Some people have that as a wedding song. And it’s a stalker song, you know? [both of us laugh] For that reason, it’s nice for people to have their own interpretation. And not be too clinical about it.

PW: So how long have you been playing guitar?
MC: Since I was about…hmmm…shit, I don’t remember. 14 or 15 maybe?
PW: Wow.
MC: When was OK Computer? Was that 1997 or 1999? [It was released in June 1997.]
PW: Not sure, it seems like so long ago now! When did you get into synths? Was that before Delphic?
MC: Me and Rick had always been messing around with synths. His dad built a synth once. His dad was always into cool music. [I don't know Rick Boardman's dad personally but from what I have heard about him, he is probably the coolest dad ever.]
PW: That is like the coolest thing, ever.
MC: He’s very cool, very cool. If you ever get to meet him, you’d like him.
PW: All I can say is, all of your families seem so cool. For example, James’s parents. How is it possible they let him move to Manchester and never made him move back home? [James Cook is from Chippenham, England, a town west of London, but moved to Manchester years ago for university.] My parents would have never let me do that.
MC: Oh, you should come over for a course. That’s what James did, he came up to Manchester for uni and just stayed here. And they were cool about it.
PW: But then he stayed. Forever! There’s never been a reason for him to go back?
MC: Manchester, it’s a better place than Chippenham. Not to slag off Chippenham, I have been to Chippenham, but Manchester is better than Chippenham.
PW: What’s Chippenham like?
MC: It’s a smallish town out in Wiltshire. Lots of countryside, there’s no scene there. Yeah, we were into synths, and he had a Juno 60 that we messed about with, and that was fun. But yeah, I was much more into guitars and effects pedals. I like synths but I’m one of those people who doesn’t really bother with algorithms. And chains and stuff like that. I like to sit down at a synth and fiddle about, and I let my ears guide me to the sound.
PW: So are Rick and James more of the technicians on that side of things?
MC: Very much, yeah yeah. They’ll talk about sound waves and I understand that stuff, but it doesn’t interest me. I don’t care about the calculations and the technical specifications of sound. I just care about the sound hitting me and expressing something. And that’s the way I operate. And I think it’s kind of good to have that in the band. Like those guys can get technical about it and then I can come in and say, “that just sounds like shit.” [laughs] “But it’s got this amazing sound wave function on it!” And it’s like, I’m not bothered.
PW: “It’s not doing a thing for me.”
MC: Yeah, “make it sound better.”
PW: Now is it because of their university backgrounds that they know all this stuff about synths?
MC: I dunno, maybe?
PW: Weren’t they studying music?
MC: Well, it wasn’t straight music. It was recording and popular music. I think they took something from that, but they just both researched the synth thing and really got into it. And that’s their area. I was quite happy to let them have that. It’s like, just let me buy effects pedals and I’m happy! That’s fine. And in the studio, it’s good to have an outside perspective on these kinds of things. I think it’s always important to have that objectivity. I’ve not spent 3 hours finely tuning a synth and I’m not involved in that side of things, so I can have that kind of objective view. And say, “look, I appreciate it, it’s a good sound, it’s got a lot of technical merit to it, but does it fit? Is it right? Does it work?” Sometimes it’s yes and sometimes it’s no. It goes both ways, like with the guitars. We’re each other’s critics and friends and compatriots, so it varies…I’ve left them to it, I’ve gotten more into it over time but…
PW: I know in the live setting you play synth, for example during most of “Doubt.”
MC: Yeah, on a couple of things. But it’s a functional thing. I just enjoy, like “Epherema,” that kind of tremolo-ey sound in that song, that was the result of me sitting in a room for 6 hours messing around with guitar effects and getting that right. And that’s what I love doing. And that works in that context. The last line of “Acolyte,” that’s more of a Rick and James kind of area, and that all happens together. Whatever makes the best song, and what sounds good.

PW: What I really love about Delphic is that you have this perfect marriage of good guitar riffs with good synth melodies. Great guitar bands have great guitar riffs, and then some of them try to introduce the synth into the mix and have trouble integrating them into their sound. It ends up becoming a plinky plonky thing in the background that does not belong. Or guitars are added to synth pop bands and the guitars sound out of place. Whereas you guys, you have everything integrated well. For example, “Halcyon” and the guitar solo. I’ve given this a lot of thought this year, I put the question out to people, if you had to be reincarnated as a part of a song, what would you be and why?
MC: If I had to be reincarnated as part of a song?
PW: Yeah, and it couldn’t be a whole song, it had to be one disparate part of a song. And I said your “Halcyon” guitar solo.
MC: Wow! I am very honored!
PW: With the runner-up of the guitar lines in the verse of “What You Know,” played by Sam Halliday of Two Door Cinema Club.
MC: I like Sam.
PW: Both of you are amazing guitarists.
MC: I think he’s better than me.
PW: You think?
MC: He’s good! Really good. [smiles]
PW: Don’t tell him that, because I saw that video of you guys in Australia and the band war. [And as Matt says, watch this video clip with a grain of salt.]
MC: Yeah… [laughs] They made us do that! We were just having a laugh and one of them said, “Delphic and Two Door war!” And it’s like, “oh no…” We’re real mates!
PW: They know you’re messing, surely.
MC: Yeah, but it’s like what we were saying earlier, about band rivalry and stuff like that. You don’t want it to cross over to anything that is actually serious in that way. We admire Two Door very much. We’re such a very different band to Two Door that there can’t be a rivalry, really. Who we appeal to in our kind of market is so different to theirs. There’s no rivalry there. We just think they’re great guys who write good songs. The rest of it is just banter. But yeah…it’s an interesting question, really, I’m going to have to give this some more thought.

PW: Having played guitar for so many years, was there one song that made you think, “yes, I’m definitely going to be a guitarist“?
MC: I don’t think there as a song that generally made me want to be a guitarist, but my favorite guitar solo of all time is what I’d probably want to be reincarnated as, it’s the solo for “Sympathy for the Devil” [Rolling Stones]. The sound is incredible, it just screams, it’s such a real, organic sound. It speaks to you. In terms of the actual line, the guitar solo, I just love the restraint. Is it Keith [Richards] doing that solo, or not?
PW: I would think so. Who else could it be?
MC: Right right, I just wanted to make sure. [smiles]
PW: Don’t worry, I won’t tell my best buds, the Rolling Stones. [laughs] ‘cos me and Mick are like this.
MC: “Sympathy for the Devil” is one of the greatest songs of all time, a 6-minute epic. He’s got x bars to do a solo in, and what does he do? He’s really minimal, like [mimics the guitar solo]. But my absolute favorite part of it, if I can be even more specific, is within the solo. There’s a part of the solo…you know, he does these really great parts that really scream at you, the amp sounds incredible. And there’s a bit where he goes “dum da dum dum” [really simple, bare part of the solo], and that’s it. You’ve got a solo for “Sympathy for the Devil.” And all you do is play a note like a child. Anybody could do it. But it’s just perfect. I think that’s what’s important about playing guitar. For me personally, it’s not an ego thing, it’s not a “look at me” kind of thing, I never ask for the solos, I never want solos in a song. I get all nervous!
PW: Really? I never would have figured you would feel that way.
MC: Yeah, I get really worried about it!
PW: Should I tell people not to look at you when you’re playing the solo in “Halcyon”? [laughs]
MC: We had to do Jools Holland. [You can watch the video below. Matt's amazing guitar solo starts in at 3.05.] Honestly, I was so scared for weeks before. Every night before I went to bed I would be playing it in my head. Honestly, so nervous. So I never ask for the solos. For me personally, playing guitar is adding to the track and just being part of the track, and if the best thing for the song is to play one note, then that’s just as valid as being Slash and having huge guitar solos going up and down the neck doing all the technical shit you want to do. For me, it’s about feeling and emotion and doing something different that fits into the song.
PW: Your guitar is beautiful, I think it’s gorgeous.
MC: Thank you!

PW: When I saw you at Roskilde, the lighting was amazing. Is your lighting guy, Squib Swain, with you on this tour?
MC: Sadly, no. Yeah, he’s brilliant.
PW: I hope when you come back next time he’ll come with you.
MC: So do we. It’ s really weird doing shows without him. He’s become such an integral part of our shows and what we do. We always like to try and do something interesting with the lights and audiovisual experience, it’s always kind of weird when Squib is not along. But we want him back, we miss him. He’s actually out with Two Door [in the UK] at the moment…
PW: [laughs] Really? What are you guys going to do if you tour the same time? Bidding war?
MC: He gets paid double! But if we’re playing together…
PW: Yeah, come back and do a co-headlining tour with them!
MC: That would be great, wouldn’t it? Really nice.
PW: Yes, I have been talking with new friends in Hong Kong, they all want you back.
MC: Oh really? Awww.
PW: They were all saying that it was the best day of their lives when you and Two Door played together back in August. I was thinking, your two bands need to come back together and tour as co-headliners in America so there aren’t any arguments.
MC: Yeah, no, I would happily support Two Door.
PW: No, I need to hear “Submission” and the only way I’d get that is if you headlined. Right?
MC: How’s this, we will support Two Door and still play “Submission.” I am more than happy to do that.
PW: Are you playing “Submission” on this tour?
MC: [looks mysterious] Maybe… [I laugh]. Yes. We were going to play it in Philly but we didn’t have time with all the stress before the gig, we had to cut back.
PW: The reason why that song is so special to me, after your album came out, we had the second largest recorded snowfall ever in Washington in February. At one point the snow had reached my height.
MC: No way.
PW: Yeah. And in order to get my car out, I had to keep shoveling the driveway, and I would measure different distances of snow cleared by how many times I heard “Submission” to finish that line of snow. I must have heard “Submission” 500 times. So it’s very special to me. That’s my little “Submission” story.
MC: Well, I’m glad we could be there for you in your time of need. [laughs]

PW: Well, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
MC: Thank you, cheers.

Thanks very much to Matt for an amazing interview and taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with me, and special thanks to Delphic’s management for arranging the interview.

Tour Dates
Oct 05 – Phoenix / Toronto*
Oct 07 – Newport Music Hall / Columbus*
Oct 08 – DC9 / Washington, DC^
Oct 11 – St. Andrews / Detroit*
Oct 12 – Metro / Chicago*
Oct 13 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee*
Oct 14 – First Avenue / Minneapolis*
Oct 21 – Popscene / San Francisco&
Oct 22 – Fox / Pomona, CA*
Oct 23 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles*
^ Delphic only
* supporting the Temper Trap
& with the Hundred in the Hands

Live photos in this review were from Roskilde Festival, taken by Mary Chang, July 2, 2010

Delphic: website | myspace | American Release Details of Delphic EP | Delphic’s Debut Album Streaming on Their MySpace | @ Trocadero, Philadelphia | Interview with: Matt Cocksedge of Delphic, Part 1

Scandinavia is just bursting with talent right now. In the last 2 years, I’ve seen acts like the Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke Li, and Miike Snow (well, two-thirds of the band are Swedish) go from virtual obscurity to worldwide attention. Soul singer Jenny Wilson might just be the next big thing to come from the land of IKEA. Stateside success appears to be just around the corner for Wilson, who awed industry types when she performed at CMJ in October 2009. In August she will release her second album, Hardships!, in America.

On the album cover, Wilson is sporting boho chic (black beret, black turtleneck sweater). But oddly, she is striking a potentially incendiary pose akin to Morrissey on the cover of his 2006 comeback album You Are the Quarry; she is seated and holding a rifle. In the case of Morrissey, it was assumed that this was a tongue-in-cheek gag to get people talking about his album, because he is widely known as a pacifist and impassioned supporter of animal rights. But I don’t know if Jenny Wilson hunts. Maybe she means to simply say, “don’t mess with me”?

But the cover doesn’t reflect the beautiful music contained within. Wilson may have been a bird in a past life. The title track is evidence of this, allowing Wilson to stretch her voice in different directions, with wonderful results. Her soulful warblings are of the pleasant kind, and not in the vein of, say, Jesca Hoop. This is a very rhythmically dynamic album, mostly dominated with dark piano touches. Touchstones include hip hop soul popularized by artists like Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu (check out “The Wooden Chair,” “Porcelain Castle,” “Anchor Made of Gold”) and the idiosyncratic whimsy of Bjork. “Pass Me the Salt” and “Like a Fading Rainbow” (watch below) remind me of tracks by the late, great Aaliyah. To be honest, if I hadn’t read the words “Already an award-winning national sensation in her homeland of Sweden” on the promo material I received in the mail with the CD, I would guessed Wilson was from the ‘hood, not from Scandinavia.

Songs like “Only Here for the Fight” and “Strings of Grass” show reverence for ‘70s soul, complete with brass section. Speaking of brass, the instrumentation used to record this album is varied and interesting – how often do you see marimbas on pop records these days? Forget the album cover: you need this album.

Track Listing
01. The Path
02. Like a Fading Rainbow
03. Clattering Hooves
04. The Wooden Chair
05. Porcelain Castle
06. Anchor Made of Gold
07. Bad Waters
08. Only Here for the Fight
09. Pass Me the Salt
10. Motherhood
11. Hardships
12. We Had Everything
13. Strings of Grass

Hardships! by Jenny Wilson will be released on August 24 in America on Wilson’s own Gold Medal Recordings label. Wilson plans to tour here in early fall in support of the album.

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

It seems Zee Avi has outgrown the First Unitarian Church’s Chapel. I can attest to the because, despite having the 9:30 show cancelled after the 7:30 show sold out (9:30 tickets were honored at 7:30), I arrived just ten minutes after doors and was forced to sit on the chapel’s stone floor as all the pews were packed. Sitting on the floor isn’t a complaint — I’d lay on a bed of nails if that’s what it took to have to see Zee perform — but, listen up R5 Productions, I’d like to recommend either keeping the second show or moving down the basement next time.

It was a nice surprise when Philadelphia locals The Mural and the Mint took stage to open for Zee; I’d been expecting Patrick Keeler (Zee’s drummer, whom you may remember from such bands as The Greenhornes and The Raconteurs) to open, which, sure, had confused me because he’s a drummer, but I’d merely misread an email. It was a delight to have the no-frills native indie pop quartet grace the pulpit providing catchy hooks with the occasional lapse into cacophony. If front man Michael Kiley‘s use of the ukulele isn’t enough to win you over (it should be), you can’t not love that The Mural and the Mint gives away all of their music for free. Head over to the band’s official page to score their debut record, Private Pockets, for nothing more than a suggested donation. Catch The Mural and the Mint on MySpace to sample some tunes and, if you like what you hear, please do donate even a small something so they can continue to make beautiful, sincere music.

A short standing intermission was rather welcomed during the set change as lower extremities took to falling asleep as my concert companions and I sat on the floor, but we were excited for Zee to take the stage. She was greeted with a burst of applause upon taking her seat on the pulpit. The set started off with some technical difficulties for her bassist which was more than worth the wait when the heavy, jazzy thumping finally resounded through the amp. With the voice of an angel, if you believe in such things, Zee kicked off the set with the jazzy “Poppy,” a eulogy about the deadly results of opium use; “My baby he don’t act like himself no more: / He lost that smile I use to adore. / He spend his nights slapping his veins / He lost that glow he used to have on his face.”

After a heartfelt cover of Interpol‘s “Slow Hands,” the set took on a joyful tone as Zee performed “The Traveler,” a hook-filled song which she’s only performed live. “I Am Me Once More” brought back that beautiful jazz sound Zee excels at before she teased the crowd about performing “Honey Bee,” her only love song and crowd favorite. There’s so much beauty in the seeming simplicity about a bee rescuing its love from the mindless drones of the beehive: “Oh my darling honey bee / I’ll come save you / Even if it means I’ll have to face the queen.”

The remainder of the set was largely a party with a musical triumvirate of single “Bitter Heart” preceding “Just You & Me” and the Manglish (= Malaysian + English) “Kantoi.” “Kantoi,” Malaysian for “busted,” is a fantastically poppy song despite its unsettling subject matter of a woman catching her boyfriend cheating on her, but it’s not so bad since she was cheating on him, too. Ah, love.

Discontent with a short eight song set, the crowd demanded another from the petite Malaysian songbird. Fortunately, she obliged and played a song that has been stuck in my head going on three days, Morrissey‘s “First of the Gang.” It needn’t be said that Moz is a legend and while he doesn’t have a reputation for being the sweetest fella, I can’t imagine he’d be at all mad at Zee’s sweet, delicate vocals doing eons of justice to this 2004 hit track. Taking another cue from Morrissey, Zee performed this as her solo encore song as Moz did at the end of many of his shows during his 2009 Tour of Refusal.

Last night, Zee Avi stole our hearts away.

Set List:
Poppy
Slow Hands (Interpol)
The Traveler
I Am Me Once More
Honey Bee
Bitter Heart
Just You & Me
Kantoi
//
First of the Gang (Morrissey)

Head over to Popwreckoning’s YouTube page to catch some footage of Zee during her previous stop through Philadelphia.

Zee Avi: website | myspace | @ webster hall
The Mural and the Mint: 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