popwreckoning

The Antlers are a dreamy and mellow indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York fronted by Peter Silberman. Originally, the band was only a solo project of Silberman’s, but after releasing an album under his own name he recruited two other members to constitute the group that they are today. The band recorded two EPs, Cold War and New York Hospitals, and eventually took Silberman’s collection of songs and turned into the narrative that is Hospice, which they released independently. Sales soared though, the band joined French Kiss Records, and remastered and re-released the album to make up for selling out of their personal stock. For a band that probably had no intentions of “making it big,” they definitely hit the jackpot, scoring a spot on Lollapalooza’s 2010 lineup as well as numerous “Best of 2010″ album lists.

As an avid lover of The Antlers’ first album, Hospice, I was anxiously awaiting the day I could get my hands on a copy of the new album Burst Apart. They set the initial bar pretty high for themselves and the pressure to produce a quality second album was daunting. How do you follow up something so emotionally taxing? Burst Apart lives up to all of the curiosity and anticipation surrounding it. It’s no epic, heart-wrenching storyline, but it’s an absolutely gorgeous album.

The album begins with “I Don’t Want Love” and listeners can immediately see that this album is going somewhere. While Hospice moved forward through lyrics alone, often getting lost in ethereal sounds and swells, Burst Apart has melody and a pace to it. I like to pretend that “Parentheses” is an intentional nod to Sigur Ros‘ sound and the fact that they have an album titled (); Silberman’s vocals are unreal and haunting at times. He has a falsetto that produces goosebumps as well as a great voice within normal range. (I also like to pretend that “No Windows” sounds like that one song from Flashdance. Both of these ridiculous assumptions, but I like to make up these kinds of stories in my head.) “Rolled Together” is sparse in lyrics, but one of my favorites on the album. The first full minute of the song is a gradual swell of that gorgeous falsetto and though the lyrics are hushed and muddled,  you get a sense of optimism. “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” features sparse pluckings on a banjo and a more upbeat tempo, and I can appreciate the clarity of this song. The fuzzy sound of Hospice is no longer present on this album; sounds are crystal clear and the band is no longer hiding behind a veil. “Tiptoe” is a nice instrumental track, transitioning nicely to the last couple of songs. “Hounds” slides around lazily with warbling high notes and far away trumpets interspersed throughout. It’s a dreamy song that fits the mood of the album. “Putting The Dog To Sleep,” though a bit of a downer for a last song, finishes the album well.

With such an intensely emotional piece of work like Hospice, it’s impossible not to compare the two albums. There is so much growth to be seen with their sophomore release and I’m delighted with the direction they’re headed. Buy this album. At the very least, internalize the lyrics and appreciate their simplicity and the beautiful poetry that they are. Play the album when you’re laying in bed at night. Play it while driving towards a sunset with the windows down. Play it and appreciate it as a whole album.

Track Listing:
1. I Don’t Want Love
2. French Exit
3. Parentheses
4. No Widows
5. Rolled Together
6. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
7. Tiptoe
8. Hounds
9. Corsicana
10. Putting the Dog to Sleep

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the second show of Jónsi‘s this week in Washington. The first on Monday sold out quickly, so I figured the people present for Tuesday’s show would be the kind of folks who did not jump on tickets when this Jónsi solo tour was announced – like obsessed Sigur Ros fans. After chatting with some people in line outside the 9:30, it was clear many people who had seen the first show had been so enthralled by the performance, they immediately bought tickets to the second afterward. Hardcore. Once inside, I ran into one of my friends who informed me, “he was amazing last night. This show is going to be terrible, because he used up all his energy last night. He must be exhausted.” However, during the 1 hour-plus show, I detected no signs that Jónsi‘s energy was flagging. Quite the opposite: as the set wore on, he seemed to gain power from the love that was pouring in his direction from the audience.

The opening act were three women collectively known as Mountain Man. (I chuckled to myself when I realized there wasn’t going to be a man at all onstage during their performance.) Interestingly, they’re signed to Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label in the UK, the same label that also has American bands like Beach House and Fleet Foxes on their roster. The band “stars” the ethereal voices of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Amelia Randall Meath and an acoustic guitar used very sparingly. It sure made a refreshing change to see an indie folk band that didn’t have everything but the kitchen sink onstage to play on (which was essentially what you saw when Jónsi and his band had their turn). When you have nothing but your voices to rely on, you’ve got to have the harmonies just right. I wonder how much they practice, but wow, the merging of those three female voices sound amazing. Have a listen to their track “Soft Skin” on their MySpace and you’ll see what I mean.

Jónsi first appeared with acoustic guitar, playing “Stars in Still Water.” I was more focused on what he was wearing – it looked like something a Scottish hobo might wear, a red themed number with bits of plaid fabric sewn together and lots of feathers, with scraps of fabric hanging down it. The rest of his band came in during the second number, and I noticed they all had similar outfits but in more muted colors. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of instruments onstage for Jónsi‘s set, including piano, synths, xylophone (which fascinatingly was played with bows at one point), glockenspiel, guitars, ukulele, and drums. Suitcases that presumably held all this stuff were used themselves as percussion (manual kick drums) and chairs. It all lent a very free spirited air to the proceedings. You can love or hate Jónsi‘s falsetto but there’s no question that his voice is something almost inhuman, as evidenced by the way he can hold the last note of a song for a very, very long time.

Usually you don’t get a cinematic experience at the 9:30 Club and to be honest, the only other shows I’ve ever seen there that had any sort of visual element running the entire length of the gig were Doves in 2009 and Broken Bells earlier this year. Jónsi‘s set-up was interesting such that depending on which song was being played, you could feel like you were running with antelope, flying with butterflies or owls, or drowning in a room rapidly filling up with water. You could call it a total sensory experience.

Throughout the set, guys and girls of all ages were going all verklempt behind me, sighing “oh my god” after each song. While I myself was not as emotionally transported like these people were, I can appreciate Jónsi‘s artistry. Just on the basis of the amazing crown of feathers he wore for the encore, you could definitely say he is one of a kind.

Jónsi Set List
Stars in Still Water
Hengilas
Icicle Sleeves
Kolnidur
Tornado
Sinking Friendships
Saint Naive
Go Do
Boy Lilikoi
Piano Des
Animal Arithmetic
New Piano Song (exactly as shown on the set list!)
Around Us
//
Stick and Stones
Grow Till Tall

Jónsi: website | myspace
Mountain Man: myspace

Storm clouds were gathered outside over Liberty Hall Theatre, but an even moodier atmospheric landscape was being crafted inside the venue. Iceland’s Jónsi, well known for his work as singer and guitarist in Sigur Rós, was playing to a sold out audience and the concert he had prepared would be a symphonic masterpiece that would rival even the natural concert playing out in the heavens above our heads.

This show’s presentation was like being at a symphony orchestra concert mixed with an art exhibit. Multiple percussionists joined Jónsi on stage. One rolled out massive rumbles on the timpani, while another wielded four malletts to enrich Jónsi’s soaring vocals with ringing chimes. My favorite percussionist resorted to a more primitive form of percussion alternating between what appeared to be homemade metal cymbals and some other wheel of metal he used to make a scratching noise like a tree limb being blown gently across a window pane.

As impressive as the percussive backdrop was the imagery and story portrayed in the light show. The lights weren’t the type to blow you away by being in your face. Instead they were used more like video art. Early in the show, deer pictures covered the back screen, but in a fateful moment and big crescendo from the music, the deer was eaten. The lights flashed red and the backdrop fell away to reveal a dilapidated wall of broken windows. Now, the lights changed into images of rain. First the water trickled down with descending scales on the piano, before flooding and the water began swelling from the base of the backdrop up the window panes. When Jónsi’s vocals began soaring even higher than his standard soprano range, so did the lights and they rose up to become like stars. One of my favorite effects was during a piece where each of the windows divided into three rectangles like piano keys and then they pounded down in time with the piano’s. One of Jónsi’s support members  had an electronic pad, much like an iPad, and I suspected that when his fingers tapped the screen in time with the music and the lights if he was not the puppet master behind the elaborate visuals.

When nearing the end of the set, the lights stormed and an indoor thunderstorm rocked the venue. Jónsi and band seemed swept away in their own tornadic playing and movements became increasingly erratic, while the music became increasingly urgent during and just when that whirlwind made audience members catch their breath, it was over. Sunlight broke through the projected clouds, but the band was gone. It was a weird calm, but a discontent one when all we wanted was more from the band.

They obliged and Jónsi reappeared in a tattered, colorful headdress. Two more songs were given to us in the most tribal of fashions. And much like the purposefully damaged looking set, there was beauty in this broken effect.

Jónsi could have made me happy without the light show. He is a phenomenal singer – crisp vocals, tight guitar playing and dynamic control to grip even the most elusive of heartstrings. This presentation was just like a gift – he was spoiling us. When the encore was complete, the audience rose from the seats. Demanding more, but there was no more to give unless the band risked undermining the art they had just layed out. However, they did grace us by returning for a final bow, which allowed us a chance to give Jónsi a final thank you. The show officially ended with the audience singing to Jónsi: Happy Birthday.

Set List*:
Stars in Still Water
Henglias
Kolnidur
Tornado
Sinking Friendships
Saint Naive
K12
Go Do __
Boy Lilikoi
New Patato Song
Around Us
—
Animal Hepatitus
Grow Till Small

*Set list is as it appeared on the form. Some songs are actually titled differently such as “Animal Hepatitus,” but I thought the selected names were of interest.

You already know him from Sigur rós and now Jónsi is coming all the way from Iceland so you can hear his musical landscapes in the flesh.

PopWreckoning has been given a grand opportunity, thanks to Velocity Media, to give our fans the chance to see the Jónsi for free. The show will take place at Liberty Hall (Lawrence, Kan.) on Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m.

PopWreckoning will be giving away 2 pairs (4 total) tickets to the show.

This contest will end at 5 p.m. the day of show. Winners’ tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please make sure you include your full name and email in the comment, otherwise I cannot get in touch with you to tell you that you have won.

Winning is simple (and only two steps).

1. Comment in this article the answer to the following question: As Jónsi tours in support of Go, why do you deserve to “Go” to his show? PopWreckoning staff will read your opinions and choose the best four day of show.

2. Repost this article on either your facebook, twitter, myspace, blog, website or other social media tool. Spread the wealth, then send us the link (by posting it in your comment).

Then show up at the bar and have fun watching a great band on us.

The Fat Cat Records label is a Brighton, England institution; they have signed highly divergent, up and coming acts from across the globe, from Sigur Rós to Vetiver, from Frightened Rabbit to Vashti Bunyan. So I took much delight in hearing that the label was sending several of their signings over to North America for a tour. For the Washington date, the three acts being featured at the Black Cat were the Scottish bands We Were Promised Jetpacks and the Twilight Sad, and the English band Brakesbrakesbrakes.

Glaswegians We Were Promised Jetpacks were first up. The band recently put out their debut album, These Four Walls, and they’ve been garnering a lot of attention stateside. I loved their song “Roll Up Your Sleeves” the first time I caught their video online. Singer/guitarist Adam Thompson looks like a Boy Scout, but boy, he sure doesn’t sing like one. They’re rock, they’re punk, they’re everything in between. They’re also very young guys, which probably explains band members joking with each other between songs and Thompson’s telling us about the stench in their tour bus when its generator broke down, leaving them without electricity or running water. In response to this, someone in the audience quipped, “Just like Scotland!” to which Thompson replied with a sideways laugh to bassist Sean Smith, “They think we run around in kilts back home, don’t they?” There was a collective laugh throughout the club and then the band launched into “Quiet Little Voices” with Thompson’s searing vocals: “In any which direction, call me / I will run for you! / I’ll come for you! / I’ll die for you! / I’ll come for you!”

With Thompson and Smith, Michael Palmer (guitar) and Darren Lackie (drums) are an explosive unit live. Sometimes you aren’t sure how the first act of the night is going to be received; I’ve been to some gigs where you could hear people’s conversations clearly in between the songs because there are so few people present and most of them are not really paying attention, just taking up space and waiting for the headliner who comes on later. This was not the case with the Jetpacks’s set at all. Despite the band order, it appeared that many of people present were there specifically for their set and alighted as soon as they were done. A lot of people sang along, and Thompson was so happy with the reception and so many people showing up for their set, he lit up the room with his smile and said by far this was his favorite night in America so far on this tour. Mission accomplished, Washington.

After brief shifting of equipment and gear, the stage was set for the arrival of Brakesbrakesbrakes. In my head I’ll always think of them as Brakes because that’s what they’re known as everywhere in the world except America (courtesy of a Philadelphia band who had already called dibs on the Brakes moniker here in the States), so they will be referred to as Brakes for the rest of this review. Of the three bands, I’m most familiar with Brakes’s back catalogue, and they’ve never played Washington before, so I was excited to say the least. Their third and latest album, Touchdown, was released back in April.

They’re an extremely versatile band, with songs running the gamut from folky, country rock (“On Your Side”) to punk (“Porcupine or Pineapple”) to more straight forward rock ‘n’ roll (“Don’t Take Me to Space [Man]“). Singer/guitarist Eamon Hamilton led Brakes (with Thomas White on guitar, Marc Beatty on bass, and Alex White on drums) on a rousing set of 16 songs across their three albums. “Hey Hey,” a raucous, guitar-heavy tune from Touchdown, was a joy to hear live finally, along with “Don’t Take Me to Space (Man),” my favorite off the new album. One enthusiastic fan exclaimed that being that we were in D.C., the band had to play “Cheney,” a song from the band’s first album Give Blood; it’s a five-second tirade against our former not-so-beloved vice president. Hamilton rewarded the fan by asking him to “count in” the song for them. It went over so well that another fan was chosen to do the same, to even louder audience cheers.

Brakesbrakesbrakes set list:
The Most Fun
Shut Us Down (Camper Van Beethoven cover)
Hey Hey
Ring a Ding Ding
On Your Side
All Night Disco Party
Porcupine or Pineapple
Hold Me in the River
Worry About It Later
Why Tell the Truth (When It’s Easier to Lie)
What’s in It for Me?
Isabel
Don’t Take Me to Space (Man)
Cheney (2x, counted in by two different audience members)
No Return
Jackson (Jerry Leiber/Billy Edd Wheeler cover)

Two hours after we started, it was now time for the Twilight Sad. We Were Promised Jetpacks cite the Twilight Sad as one of their influences, so it’s quite appropriate to have them on the same tour. The band just released their sophomore album-length effort, Forget the Night Ahead, here in the U.S. last month. Singer James Graham decided to begin their set with a decidedly-toned down mood compared to the acts that came before: he clutched his mike as if his life depended on it, and knelt down on the floor as “Reflection of the Television” chugged to life thanks to his fellow bandmates Andy MacFarlane (guitar), Craig Orzel (bass), Mark Devine (drums), and touring keyboardist Martin Docherty. They remind me a bit of the Horrors, with their swirly guitars and keyboards set off by moody, pensive lyrics; “The Room” and “I Became a Prostitute” are good examples of this. I didn’t felt the same kind of energy from them that I did from the previous bands. Maybe it was because it was a Monday night, it was late, and it was Washington, but they just didn’t set me alight.

Stay tuned for an interview with Marc Beatty and Eamon Hamilton of Brakesbrakesbrakes coming soon!

We Were Promised Jetpacks: myspace
Brakesbrakesbrakes: website | myspace
The Twilight Sad: website | myspace

Let there be no mistake, this Brooklyn band has come into their own on their fourth full-length studio release, Secrets are Sinister. While the lineup and label representation may have shifted over the years, original members Steve Shiltz and Shannon Ferguson have continued to experiment with the band’s sound and identity. On their latest effort, Longwave has once again enlisted the talents of Peter Katis (Interpol, The National, Spoon), among other big time producers, to create an ambitious, self-assured and prodigious album, and without a doubt, they have done just that.

It’s easy to see the kind of influence that bands like The Strokes (early mentors) or Radiohead may have had on Longwave along they way, but what honest-to-rockin’ band in the last 10 years hasn’t been inspired by these giants? Beyond obvious influences, the tracks on Secrets Are Sinister are packed with lyrics straight enough to cut and guitars distorted enough to make it all a bit blurry which creates arresting tension in the music.

Longwave is comfortable in this contradiction of sounds. In fact, this mix of heavy and light, an atmospheric kind of longing, creates just the right kind of discord.

Longwave’s Secrets Are Sinister will be released by Original Signal Recordings on November 11, 2008.

Tracklisting:
01. Sirens in the Deep Sea
02. No Direction
03. Satellites
04. The Devil and the Liar
05. Life Is Wrong
06. Eyes Like Headlights
07. I Don’t Dare
08. It’s True Shining Hours
09. Shining Hours
10. Secrets Are Sinister

Longwave: website | myspace | stream Secrets Are Sinister

Written by: Reni Papananias

Jessica, PopWreckoning: Quite a number of musicians from Iceland such as yourself, Björk and Sigur Rós have found great success in the United States. You broke through here quite some time ago, but what were — and what may still be — some of the challenges reaching an American audience?

Photos: Jonas Val

Mugison: I think the main challenge for me is money. It’s very expensive to come over and do shows for free or next to nothing. I need to do big support shows or get a spot on a late night TV show, be caught with a prostitute on camera, have a baby with Whitney Houston, be in a Jack Black movie, split my penis in half live on MySpace.
I don’t know, If somebody out there has money to give to me, then I suggest this, give me 30,000 dollars for a radio campaign, 40,000 dollars for a TV campaign, 30,000 dollars for online campaign and while your at it give me 60,000 dollars so I can take my family to Hawaii over Christmas.

PW: Your father is a professional karaoke singer, did that have any influence on your initial musical endeavors? Does he sing your songs for karaoke?
M: Yes, when I saw him sing for the first time I realized all dreams can come true, if you just follow your heart, it’ll give you and others joy. My dad hasn’t sung my songs yet, not that I know of, but sometimes he performs with me.

PW: What are your musical influences? You have quite a unique sound — where did a lot of that come from?
M: It’s just a mix of all my influences. I don’t try that much, it´s just the mix I get when I do music. I believe in music like people believe in God. I also love it like a girl and it makes me horny.

PW: It’s my understanding that you’re self-taught with everything you’re doing –
M: Pretty much, yeah. I’m a good example of no talent getting things done.

PW: A lot of your photos shot by Jonas Val are pretty bloody and feature your right leg turning into an instrument. Where did the concept for this shoot come from?
Was there any difficulty in shooting it or is most of it Photoshop effects?

M: Jonas is a great artist, people should check his website out or Google him. It’s an old fantasy of mine to see myself mutated into that animal. Just love the idea of my leg being a double bass, and my arm a microphone, jacks sticking out of my belly. I was also feeling like I was on the edge of something mentally when I finished the album and we did those photos. I love ‘em.

PW: The latest album Mugiboogie is a lot edgier and more rock and roll than your previous releases — what brought about the evolution in your sound?
How have you found the responses to the change?
M: I felt like rock and roll and had to do the best rock’n roll album ever made. I think it’s the best album in the world, but obviously the world doesn’t agree with me. Maybe in times to come you’ll all turn around…or maybe I’m just ill.

PW: In terms of making and performing Mugiboogie, what was it like working with a full band instead of just a laptop?
M: The band is more like a normal stuff, it’s just sex and power. The laptop stuff was more like wearing your shirt inside out and asking people to spit at you for a dollar.

PW: Which do you prefer?
M: I like both, the laptop stuff was more nerve racking, and sometimes more rewarding. The band is better for traveling and smelling.

PW: You just finished up a tour in the US — how did it go?
M: I loved the driving and meeting people. Very few people knew about the shows, so I was often just playing for 5 people. Totally fell in love with Tucson, Arizona, I might move there some time. I feel at home over there, really do. I miss it like a friend.

PW: What are the differences between touring in the US and Europe?
M: The normal people in the US, the people serving on the highways and in bars, in diners, hotels.. the people that I met were all so helpful, funny and interesting. In some places in Europe you don’t get that.
In some places, if you talk to someone you feel like they’d like to get paid to talk back at you, paid by the word — especially France, there I always feel like I’m wasting people’s time when I talk to them, like they’d scheduled some quality time, maybe their all just about to meet their lover and I’m in the way, who knows. Don’t get me wrong I also love the particular mood of France…aaaahh it’s all so different. Love it.

PW: If you could put together your ultimate dream tour, who would you want to share the stage with — any band/musician living/dead, whatever?
M: I’d like to tour with U2, I love them. I’d like to tour with Will Oldham, Robbie Williams, Pixies, Dolly Parton, Matthew Herbert, Björk, Four Tet, Beck, Primus and Tom Waits, Celine Dion in Las Vegas – I’d love to do that (not joking). Sade .. I´d kill for a Sade support.

PW: Thanks so much!
M: All the best.

Mugison: website | myspace

All Photos: Jonas Val

I’m not quite sure what I expected from a band called The Windupdeads, but it certainly wasn’t the brightly ambient indie rock sound mixing elements of Absolution Muse, Injury Loves Melody Diffuser and the vocals of Sigur Rós with a tinge of Radiohead.

The Swedish four piece is lead by Rickard Olsen (lead vocals, guitar) displays melancholy with his vocals and often times sound as if he actually belongs in the Iceland four piece Sigur Rós. The vocal patterns throughout the album are inconsistent as they switch back and forth from being influenced by Diffuser’s Tomas Costanza (most notably on track 2) and Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson‘s (Sigur Rós, if that weren’t obvious from the many accented vowels).

Also incongruous is the record itself. Many songs sound like Muse ripoffs while others take cues from upbeat and airy pop styles of early Diffuser. Guitarist Petter Ingman creates lush melodies to counter Marcus von Boisman‘s (drums, backing vocals) heavy Muse-like beats and create beautiful, if not stylistically original tunes.

Track 11, “No Actions No Regrets” is by the most likely to be a hit single with its big pop sound, steady beats, and hooky lyrics. Much of the album is airy and melodic with smooth like butter vocals, but at 15 tracks all sounding nearly the same, The Windupdeads get old quick. The one saving grace would have been “You Can Sleep When You’re Dead” near the end of the album, but everything that makes it a breath of fresh air is quickly lost when The Windupdeads revert back to the desperate desire to be a Muse-Sigur Rós hybrid.

Preview “The End”
[audio http://dodge77.com/August%202008/The%20Windupdeads%20-%20The%20End.mp3]

The Windupdeads self-titled debut album will be available through One Eleven Records on October 7th.

Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Options
03. A Few Hours Of Light
04. The End (download)
05. On Your Way Out
06. No Denial (Murderer)
07. Sunblock
08. Wide Open Windows
09. Reverse Of Shade
10. Band Tuning
11. No Actions No Regrets
12. I’ll Pay You Back Someday
13. You Can Sleep When You’re Dead
14. The Bottom Of Hell
15. Hell

The Windupdeads: website | myspace | download “The End”
One Eleven Records: website

Feist The Reminder

Few albums can top The Reminder in musicianship and instrumentation. These qualities are as important to a songwriter and canvas and brushes are to a painter. These up tempo gems highlight the arrival of a very promising and brilliant women. Who would have thought that the highlight of her career wouldn’t have been being a member of Broken Social Scene?

The Raveonettes Lust Lust Lust
On Lust Lust Lust, The Ravonettes manage to settle comfortably into a sound that most people never find the courage to attempt; simple straight forward rock. This band sees no reason for hiding behind bullshit, letting their surf rock meets new wave riffs speak of themselves on a cut that would make even The Pixies proud. Dead Sound alone is worth the cost of this disc. A Ramones influenced guitar progression bleeds into a brilliant new wave vocal pattern. Beautiful chime piano, which personally reminds me of something E from the Eels might write, creates a very charming chorus, before switching back into the top heavy verses.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Is Is

It is important that we use the word “new” very loosely when discussing the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s newest EP Is Is. The song which appear on this five song collection were all written during the band’s 2004 American tour to promote the full length album, Fever to Tell. Four of these five songs have appeared in the band’s DVD Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow. However, it has never been implied here that to be good you must also be obscure.
While Karen O and her boy toys have seemed to have mellowed a touch on IsIs, there remains plenty of amped up clinched fist women’s rock to go around. It is safe to say that Karen O still has bigger balls than most male lead singers in the business. If IsIs was reviling secrets as to what the next Yeah Yeah Yeah’s full length will represent, you can shove me on the waiting list now.

Sigur R�s Hvarf/Heim

Theoretically I shouldn’t like Sigur R�s. This is because musically I tend to rely on an artist’s lyrical strengths to determine how influential their works are on my life. That being said, we have a problem. I simply don’t speak Icelandic or whatever made up language that this band is singing in. Honestly, that proves something doesn’t it? The fact that Sigur R�s’s new album Hvarf/Heim doesn’t leave my car CD player makes it very apparent that emotion bridges the gap of language barriers. There is no need to know the exact wordings of the stories to sense the perceptual picture of what Jon Por Jonsi Briggison is painting.

Stacy Clark Apples and Oranges

If nothing else, Stacy Clark wins the award for being the most charming of the artist PopWreck has stumbled across in 2007. Clark, who speaks on behalf of agencies like Music Saves Lives, has a heart as big as her voice. That passion and emotion carries through on her album, Apples and Oranges. Clark brings to the table the impressiveness of Regina Spektor’s vocal range with the creativity of Imogen Heap’s riff progressions. An underlying composition seems to borrow pages from the Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service styling that feature somewhat passive and breathtaking songs featuring depressing heartbreaking lyrics over comforting and positive orchestration. The albums final track, “Strange,” is a prime example of this. Clark focuses lyrically on pulling the pieces of her life together, and the haunting feelings surround the act of doing so. As she’s letting go of busted parts of her past, background riffs seem to highlight the happiness waiting in her near future. Stacy’s voice is tailored for the radio; the album’s first track, “Matter of Time,” fits the general radio format, full of catchy head-nodding compositions. Apples and Oranges is just different enough from typical Clear Channel albums to lend Clark her well deserved street-cred. The highlight of the album for example, “Empty Bottles,” borrows Copeland’s unique vocal sound, as Aaron Marsh lends backing vocals to the heartbreaking duet. Marsh blends with Clark flawlessly without stepping on her toes and adds a haunting feel to an already depressing song about drinking away the hardest days life can offer. The mixing of Clark’s perfect pitch with Marsh’s signature vibrato makes for a strong enough to push its lyrical meaning, the emotions to make it cling to you, and the staying power to help you never forget it was made. These factors contribute to Stacy Clark’s ability to make one of the best albums of 2007.
And no amount of production could overshadow that.

Tuesdays are abound with new releases in the wonderful world of music and we here at PopWreck can’t get enough of that stuff. PopWreck will be bringing you what we consider the best of the new releases each week .

The Ravonettes Lust Lust Lust

On Lust Lust Lust, The Ravonettes manage to settle comfortably into a sound that most people never find the courage to attempt; simple straight forward rock. This band sees no reason for hiding behind bullshit, letting their surf rock meets new wave riffs speak of themselves on a cut that would make even The Pixies proud. Bonus: Kick-ass 3D artwork.

Key Track: “Dead Sound” — A Ramones influenced guitar progression bleeds into a brilliant new wave vocal pattern. Beautiful chime piano, which personally reminds me of something E from the Eels might write, creates a very charming chorus, before switching back into the top heavy verses. I pray to God that this is the single.
boomp3.com

Sigur R�s Hvarf/Heim

Theoretically I shouldn’t like Sigur R�s. This is because musically I tend to rely on an artist’s lyrical strengths to determine how influential their works are on my life. That being said, we have a problem. I simply don’t speak Icelandic or whatever made up language that this band is singing in. Honestly, that proves something doesn’t it? The fact that Sigur R�s’s new album Hvarf/Heim doesn’t leave my car CD player makes it very apparent that emotion bridges the gap of language barriers. There is no need to know the exact wordings of the stories to sense the perceptual picture of what Jon Por Jonsi Briggison is painting.

Key Track: “Salka”
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Bright Eyes Motion Sickness

We’ve all heard the joke: “I wish my lawn was emo so that it would cut itself.” Okay, fine, I get it; he’s whiney. Sizable scars or not, Conor Oberst knows his shit, and Motion Sickness is that Bright Eyes mixed CD we all secretly have hidden in our car. Oberst’s passion for music and sincerity in his words shines through in his live performances. A must-have of any live album.

Key Track: “When the President Talks to God” — This very pointed political middle finger still picks apart the President just as fluently as it did the night Conor played it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
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Single of the Week:
Beck “Timebomb”
The perfect jam. When it makes me shake my tiny emo ass, Beyonc� ain’t got nothing on me. If this track is any indication as to what we should expect when Beck decides to release a new full length (sadly, no plans yet), I see buns of steel in my future. Thank God Beck is finally making cardio cool. Repetitive lyrics and an infectious hook will keep this tune in your head for days.
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Also Out Today:
Tokyo Police Club Smith EP
The Dillinger Escape Plan Ire Works
Grizzly Bear Friend EP
Jay-Z American Gangster