popwreckoning

I first came upon the music of Darwin Deez by an, admittedly, slightly annoying song called “Radar Detector” that got a lot of airplay on BBC Radio in 2010. Darwin Deez, aka Darwin Smith, is one unusual character. A pretty talented guy, Smith wrote, performed, produced, arranged, engineered and mixed almost everything on this debut album. I guess he must just be mildly OCD about controlling his musical output, which is not all that uncommon among musicians. His guitar is definitely strange though: his axe only has 4 strings (no E string) and he has a secret tuning key for it. Okay…

Now I mentioned BBC Radio because Britain, better than any other country, has the ear to pick on a good thing and can do this much faster than America can. And indeed, they’ve already embraced his misfit pop stylings. Widely read British music magazine NME featured Deez as part of the top ten of the NME Cool List 2010, alongside ex-Libertine Carl Barat, Janelle Monae, and Laura Marling, just to name three others. NME describes Deez, in at #10, as follows: “All the Richard Dawkins acolytes who drone on about how all religion is benighted, all bollocks and basically pure evil, need a few elementary lessons in Darwin-ism. Darwin Deez is indie’s exemplar of all that’s positive of living according to your holy principles. His lifelong devotion to the teachings of Indian mystic Meher Baba seems to have gifted him with the warm, graceful, joss-stick hazy spiritual air…” Pretty heady stuff for a kid born under such spiritual confines who eventually gave up schooling at Wesleyan to entertain anti-folk lovers in New York City and now regularly sells out UK venues. Definitely a case of living the dream.

So far, “Radar Detector,” “Constellations,” and “Up in the Clouds” (an addictive, peppy, and cute apology / love song) have been released as singles in the UK, but in my view, the better tracks are still to be discovered when you buy Darwin Deez the album. If you don’t like programmed beats or deadpanned, nonmelodic singing, this is probably not the record for you. “Deep Sea Diver” is not about water sports, it’s Deez singing to his girlfriend, stop being depressed because “now you’re bringing me down, now I’m unhappy too.” A fun groove punctuates “The City.” Later on, “The Suicide Song” sounds far too happy as a real call for help. “Bed Space,” with its trippy dream like quality, lacks direction. “The Bomb Song” is trying to be a commentary on the end of the world by weapons of mass destruction, and it doesn’t fit on this otherwise happy album, it’s just too heavy subject matter.

The surprising gem in the bunch is the last track, “Bad Day.” This is not to be confused with “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter, the cloyingly sweet and empathetic song that we heard play every time another reject was booted, blinking back tears, from American Idol a couple years back. No, this is reined-in vitriol from one dude to another, served up Darwin Deez style. You have to laugh at the lyrics: “I hope the last page of your 800 page novel is missing / I hope that it rains if you leave the window down on your red Mustang” and “I would like to be your girlfriend so I could dump you / and I would like to be your garbage man / so I would never have to pick up your trash again”. Brilliant. It’s the kind of anthem you want to sing in the face of anyone who’s ever wronged you. In a sunny, not argumentative Darwin Deez way, and afterwards, you can skip off, happily, into the sunset.

Darwin Deez will be released on February 22 on Lucky Number Records.

Track Listing:
01. Constellations
02. Deep Sea Divers
03. The City
04. DNA
05. The Suicide Song
06. Up in the Clouds
07. Bed Space
08. The Bomb Song
09. Radar Detector
10. Bad Day

Tour Dates
Feb 09 – Spring Street Firehouse / Birmingham
Feb 10 – Club Downunder / Tallahassee
Feb 11 – Drunken Unicorn / Atlanta
Feb 12 – Snug Harbor / Charlotte
Feb 14 – Local 506 / Chapel Hill
Feb 15 – Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar / Charlottesville, VA
Feb 17 – Black Cat Backstage / Washington, DC
Feb 18 – Kung Fu Necktie / Philadelphia
Feb 19 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City

Darwin Deez: website | myspace | Darwin Deez to Tour North America This Winter, Will Release Self-Titled Debut in February

While on holiday in England in April 2007, I saw the indie rock group Hot Club de Paris open for Carl Barat and Gary Powell‘s post-Libertines band, Dirty Pretty Things, at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire. I was very confused that the trio was singing harmonies with an English accent and not a French one. Turns out the band is from the Northwest of England, Liverpool to be exact (yes, the home of the Beatles), and is comprised of principal songwriter / lead vocalist / bassist Paul Rafferty and a pair of brothers, Alasdair (drums) and Matthew Smith (guitar). Songs like “Shipwreck” from their 2006 debut album Drop It ’til It Pops turned into singalongs that Sunday night at Shepherds Bush, confirming to me that even though they aren’t massive in Britain like, say, Coldplay, they’ve got a devoted fanbase at home and in Europe. And for a British band, that’s a major thing to have under your belt: it gives you the clout to keep making records.

Hot Club de Paris‘ last two EP releases in the UK, With Days Like This as Cheap as Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want to Work? (released February 2010) and The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band (released May 2010), have now been combined into one album for their North American album debut, the whimsically titled Free the Pterodactyl 3. Their record label, Moshi Moshi, may not be familiar to you, but past acts like Florence and the Machine and Friendly Fires should be, having released their earliest works on the indie London label before moving on to bigger things.

Hot Club de Paris is an interesting amalgamation of punk and pop. They make music under their own terms, putting out what they want (which explains why they put out two EPs in the UK last year instead of one long player) and bowing to no one. The backstory of the title track of the album is described by Moshi Moshi as “a slow and wistful jam about singer Paul Rafferty’s scrape with the law whilst attempting the liberation of a 3-metre fibreglass pterodactyl from a derelict fun fair with a couple of friends.” Sounds like a punk, all right (watch the black marker and drum-centric promo video for the song below). Their sound is at times angry and angular as math rock, but also maintains a pop edge, making them accessible to anyone. I mean, really, what punk band can you name that regularly breaks out into three-part a cappella harmony at a gig? While I haven’t seen the band in four years, I imagine “The White Town Express (Get High, Stay Low)” would be perfect to showcase their gorgeous harmonies live.

My favorite songs from this band are of the winsome, up tempo variety. “I’m Not in Love and Neither Are You” and “Dog Tired at the Spring Dance Marathon” have fun guitar lines running underneath the insistent, shouted vocals. “Dance a Ragged Dance” has feel-good harmonies and the proof that well-read Rafferty is handy with choosing words (“…buildings / booked basement parties, sad times / the moonlight lit a kiss on the stairs…“) without abandoning punk (“we can either dance or die!“). The song also ends with xylophone, more Freelance Whales than punk.

Despite the name, “Biggie Smalls and the Ghetto Slams” is not a rap song at all but instead tells the story of young kids and their ill-fated band. If you haven’t figured this out already, Hot Club de Paris likes to be different, but not for the sake of being different: it’s just not in their nature to operate any other way. And I’m glad, because their sound is all that’s great about the young North. “The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band” and “Fuck You, the Truth” (with the question, “are you guys having a good time?“, and response from the crowd, “noooo!“) are more punk, but there’s something charming about the way the lyrics are shouted at you. You want to root for this band. It’s not hard to imagine fans at a gig shouting the words back at them, fists in the air. Me? I want to be a part of that.

While Free the Pterodactyl 3 is not a cohesive album (and if you’ve read this far, you understand why this is the case), it’s a good introduction to an exciting Liverpool band that deserves success on this side of the Atlantic.

Track Listing:
01. I’m Not in Love and Neither Are You
02. The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band
03. Fuck You, the Truth
04. Biggie Smalls and the Ghetto Slams
05. Free the Pterodactyl 3
06. Dance a Ragged Dance
07. Dog Tired at the Spring Dance Marathon
08. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
09. The White Town Express (Get High, Stay Low)
10. Three Albums and Still No Ballad
11. Noses Blazing
12. Extra Time, Sudden Death

Free the Pterodactyl 3 is available now from Moshi Moshi.

Hot Club de Paris: website | myspace

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”

I held off the Script as long as I could. I’m usually so skeptical about bands that have international legions of obsessed fans, especially when they are mostly female. When the Dublin band appeared as a “You Oughta Know” band prospect on VH1 and one of my English friends told me I just had to listen to one of their songs, “Before the Worst” (from their eponymous debut album released in the UK in 2008), I finally caved. And I’m so glad I did. They came into my life exactly when I needed them. R&B isn’t what comes to mind when you think of the Emerald Isle, but for the Script‘s Danny O’Donoghue and Mark Sheehan, American soul music played a big part of their musical upbringing, which explains the hip hoppy / soulful parts of some Script songs. It’s an interesting twist to the usual pop formula.

The Script – comprised of O’Donoghue (lead vocals, keyboards), Sheehan (guitar, backing vocals) and Glen Power (drums) – have somehow managed to put together blue-eyed soul with a pop sensibility in perfect combination to move thousands of albums and concert tickets. (Their debut album went double platinum in the UK, and an entire 12-date UK arena tour for this March sold out in 5 days when tickets went on sale in October.) The majority of their fans are young and female, which isn’t a surprise given that most of their songs deal with falling in love, heartbreak, or both, and it sure doesn’t hurt that all three members are in their twenties and good looking.

Unfortunately, thanks to these qualities, they’ve been marked as lightweights by most critics, which is unfair. I’m sure many of you reading this have not given the Script a chance for the same reasons I didn’t at the get-go. But Script & Faith, their second album, is worth a listen, whether you are male or female, young or old. Writing the perfect pop song is an art, and even more so if you’re writing a radio-friendly single. Anyone can try to write a good one, but few are successful. Listening to this album makes you think the whole process must be nearly effortless for this band.

Take for example the first single from this album they released in the UK in September 2010, “For the First Time.” You can watch the promo video for the song below: it stars Bono‘s daughter Eve Hewson and ends on a very moving note. With “You Won’t Feel a Thing, “Long Gone and Moved On,” and “Dead Man Walking,” you will find a cool guitar rock sound with pop piano that is comparable to other radio-friendly acts like Keane and Snow Patrol, O’Donoghue’s expansive voice making the tracks soar. Driving drums and piano propel “This is Love,” its sweet lyrics as evocative as the band’s first-ever single “We Cry,” demonstrating the struggle and hope that define the songs of the Script.

When I saw them live at a sold out 9:30 Club show in November 2010, O’Donoghue and Sheehan described their song “Nothing” as being about cheering up a mate with a broken heart by taking him to the local bar and getting him drunk to forget the ex. If the Script‘s words are to be believed, alcohol isn’t the answer because the pain is still too fresh. And really, who hasn’t felt this way right after the end of a relationship, when you haven’t fully come to grips that what you once shared with someone has ended? The words in the chorus “and I know that I’m drunk but I’ll say the words / and she’ll listen this time even though they’re slurred / dial her number and confess to her / I’m still in love / but all I heard was nothing” and the refrain of “I wanted words but all I heard was…nothing” are achingly beautiful in its emotional account of heartbreak.

Having trained as a biologist, I give the Script points for the lyrics in title track “Science & Faith,” insisting that love can’t be broken “down to the chemicals” and “you won’t find faith or hope down a telescope.” Words like these fall flat if there’s no melody, and with this band, you will find yourself tapping your toes to the beat. The Script turns to their more urban sound for “Walk Away,” reminiscent of “If You See Kay” or “We Cry” from their first album; this one elicits similar “raise the roof” hand gestures. The only disappointment is “Exit Wounds,” which, for dramatic purposes, tries to compare a break-up with being shot and plays with suicide and hospital themes. Despite the tenderness of the melody, it’s an unnecessarily sad ending to the album; I would have expected a more uplifting one from this band.

As a writer, I love examining and picking apart lyrics, so I appreciate words put together that actually mean something. I’ll be the first to admit the Script‘s lyrics can be cheesy and overly sappy at times, but sometimes this is the only kind of music that will do. If you loved the simple brilliance of their monster hit “Breakeven” (with the immortal and ever so true line “when a heart breaks, no, it don’t break even“), you’ll find a lot to love on Science & Faith. If you’re a newbie to the Script, give this album a spin and listen to them with an open mind. You might be surprised and find something deeper emotionally that you didn’t know you needed. Like I did.

Track Listing:
01. You Won’t Feel a Thing
02. For the First Time
03. Nothing
04. Science & Faith
05. If You Ever Come Back
06. Long Gone and Moved On
07. Dead Man Walking
08. This is Love
09. Walk Away
10. Exit Wounds

Science & Faith by the Script will be released on January 18 on Sony Music.

The Script: website | myspace | The Script – “Breakeven”

Live photos: Mary Chang

Until last summer, I didn’t know much about drum and bass band Pendulum, except that young people in the UK (the main audience of BBC Radio1) adored them so much that anything as much as a hint to new Pendulum material would cause mass shockwaves through Twitter. No one I knew on this side of the Atlantic knew who they were, and I expected a similar lack of knowledge in Scandinavia. But wow, what a reception the band got at Roskilde Festival last summer. I witnessed a manic crowd reaction, but in a way, I expected it: the genius of Pendulum – and also of Immersion, their most mainstream release to date – is the combination of heavy guitars and drums and quick-tempo emanating electronics that interest guys with dance beats and lead singer Rob Swire‘s sexy vocals that have proved quite popular with girls.

Here are the basics: Pendulum started out in Perth, Australia as a drum and bass band in the early Noughties. The group – then just Swire, bassist Gareth McGrillen, and DJ Paul Harding – soon relocated to the UK, the ancestral home of rave music (they’re now based in London). This turned out to be a fateful move, as after gaining several bandmates, the band released their 2005 debut album, Hold Your Colour, which contained their first UK singles top 40 hit, the double A-sided “Slam” / “Out Here.” Their second album, In Silico, was their first release in America. Coming up later this month, their third album, Immersion, will be released stateside, more than 6 months after the UK release of the album and its reaching #1 on the UK Top 40 albums chart the week of its release. Immersion reflects a more electronic-heavy, dance-driven sound than its two predecessors.

“Genesis” is the opening track of the album, and it begins not unlike something you’d hear on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. It sets the stage for the grandeur your ears are going to experience next, mixing right into instrumental “Salt in the Wounds.” Halfway through, the songs break down, making you think it’s going to mellow out for the rest of the 6 minutes, but in the 4th minute, it’s clear Pendulum is not done making your heart race, going back to frenetic, thudding beats. This song, along with singles “Watercolour,” “Witchcraft,” and “Crush,” are ones that make you jump up and down in a packed club of sweating bodies. Or at an open air music festival, as I witnessed at Roskilde.

But the best part of this album are “The Island – Pt. I (Dawn)” and “The Island – Pt. II (Dusk)”, two halves of a sonic masterpiece. Part one is a Rocky-esque pump-up kind of song, with programming and beats not too soft and not too heavy – just perfect. Swire’s expansive vocals, as if calling out across his homeland of Australia, are alternately sweet and sweltering. “Close your eyes / let’s forget again / as you drag me down / I will take you in / what are you waiting for? / just surrender here tonight / what are you waiting for? / as we go towards the light…” – gulp. I could listen to this track all day. Rob Swire, call me. Then part two takes over, as the electronic wizardry take center stage, the track concluding with more conventional tropical beats.

The album also has some interesting and high-profile guests. Liam Howlett of seminal big beat English electronic group the Prodigy lent his cowriting and production talents to “Immunize”; while it’s no “Breathe ” or “Invaders Must Die,” it’s still pretty good. Prog/psych band Porcupine Tree founder Steve Wilson cowrote and sings on “The Fountain,” which sounds neither proggy or psychedelic and is instead the most unique track on the album, driven by piano along with the electronic beats and drums.

Metalheads will enjoy the more instrument-driven “Comprachicos” as well as “Self vs. Self,” a more straight-forward collaboration (vocals and traditional band instruments) between Pendulum and Swedish death metal band In Flames. Understandably, the latter features more aggressive (and in my opinion, quite scary) vocals from In Flames‘ Anders Fridén. This, along with “Set Me on Fire,” with vocals sounding vaguely Will.I.Am reggae, are probably the only numbers on Immersion that feel out of place.

Immersion is the kind of album that if you are into electronic music at all, you’ll appreciate the attention to detail this band has put into every single track. A couple weeks ago I was reading a UK electronic music magazine’s interview with Swire, and there was a photo of a small sampling of the complicated electronic equipment used to create the Pendulum sound. It’s astonishing what musicians and producers can do with electronics these days to make truly exciting music. If you get the chance to see Pendulum live this year, do it – you won’t be disappointed, I promise. The band make a special live appearance at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival at the end of March; I imagine surrounded by their peers and loads of fans, that would be the ultimate way to experience them.

Immersion will be released on Atlantic Records on January 25, 2011 in America.

Tracklisting:
01. Genesis
02. Salt in the Wounds
03. Watercolour
04. Set Me on Fire
05. Crush
06. Under the Waves
07. Immunize (feat. Liam Howlett [the Prodigy])
08. The Island – Pt. I (Dawn)
09. The Island – Pt. 2 (Dusk)
10. Comprachicos
11. The Vulture
12. Witchcraft
13. Self vs Self (feat. In Flames)
14. The Fountain (feat. Steve Wilson [Porcupine Tree])
15. Encoder

Tour Dates
Jan 20 – Bank Atlantic Center / Sunrise, FL*
Jan 22 – St. Pete Times Forum / Tampa*
Jan 23 – Philips Arena / Atlanta*
Jan 25 – Joe Louis Arena / Detroit*
Jan 26 – United Center / Chicago*
Jan 28 – Xcel Energy Center / St. Paul*
Jan 29 – Sprint Center / Kansas City*
Jan 31 – Wells Fargo Center / Philadelphia*
Feb 01 – TD Garden / Boston*
Feb 02 – Guvernment / Toronto#
Feb 04 – Madison Square Garden / New York City*
Feb 05 – Irving Plaza / New York City#
Feb 07 – Bell Centre / Montreal*
Feb 08 – Air Canada Centre / Toronto*
Feb 10 – Verizon Center / Washington, DC*
Feb 11 – Mohegan Sun Arena / Uncasville, CT*
Feb 16 – Ogden Theatre / Denver#
Feb 17 – In the Venue / Salt Lake City#
Feb 19 – Showbox SoDo / Seattle#
Feb 20 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Feb 23 – Fillmore / San Francisco#
Feb 25 – Wiltern / Los Angeles#
Feb 26 – House of Blues / Las Vegas#
Mar 25-27 – Ultra Music Festival / Miami
#with Innerpartysystem
*supporting Linkin Park

Pendulum: website | myspace

Grouplove‘s humble beginnings sound like something from a Hollywood script. Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi, the band’s principal lead vocalists, met by chance in New York City and instantly felt a connection. So much so that the two shortly went to a little island in Greece together, where again serendipity stepped in, allowing the two to meet their future band members: London guitarist Sean Gadd and two childhood friends from California, Andrew Wessen and Ryan Rabin. These five people couldn’t have been anymore different, but they felt such a strong bond that they all packed up from their respective homes and went out to Los Angeles to try and record an album together. The result is the Grouplove EP, six songs that prove their friendship translates to musical harmony.

The EP opener, “Colours,” is currently on BBC 6music‘s playlist and getting a lot of airplay, a coup for any band. Zucconi’s lead vocal is brash yet fun, an indication of things to come, and it’s augmented by Hooper’s winsome harmonies. I’d seen the song title a long time ago, assuming that the band had to be British. The band recently supported Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club and Welsh indie band the Joy Formidable this past autumn, and while I missed their appearance with Two Door in DC, I did catch their energetic set in November with the Welsh rockers. Imagine my surprise that 4/5ths of Grouplove was American.

My next hesitation about Grouplove was that here in front of me was another band trying to cash in on the American / California surf pop boom of 2010, a movement that I’ve generally avoided like the plague because everyone sounds like retooled Go-Go’s (girl-fronted bands) or Beach Boys (boy-fronted ones). The difference with Grouplove is that here are five friends who really enjoy each other’s company and making music together, and this is obvious when they play live. They don’t sound like they’re trying to ape some other band’s catalog. Sure, there is the sun-dappled cheerfulness of “Naked Kids,” which has angelic vocals that make you think of ’60s surf pop bands; it’s the perfect tune to queue up on your convertible sound system on the way to the beach.

But there’s also more meditative moments, like “Gold Coast,” a melancholy look back at one’s life, and “Getaway,” another slower one where Yosemite Sam lookalike Gadd takes lead vocal duties. Despite its title, “Giddy” is anything but: it’s a slow, swirly, enjoyable track. But the best moment on this EP is “Don’t Say Oh Well,” the song I can totally see as soundtracking this summer with a raucous count-in and all of its hand clapping, foot stomping, free-wheeling guitar pop glory. Grouplove are the kind of friends everyone wish they had as best mates.

Tracklisting
01. Colours
02. Naked Kids
03. Gold Coast
04. Getaway
05. Don’t Say Oh Well
06. Giddy

The Grouplove EP will be released on January 25 on Atlantic / WEA.

Grouplove: website | myspace

Before Frank Turner became a solo artist, he played in a London post-hardcore outfit, Million Dead. When that band fizzled, he decided to strike out on his own, he did so in a very different musical genre, folk rock. Five years post-Million Dead, three solo albums, and two EPs later, Turner finds himself being revered and highly sought after, easily selling out venues at home in the UK. Despite having toured stateside over the last 2 years as support for the likes of the Gaslight Anthem, the Offspring, and Social Distortion, he’s not a household name in America. Yet. But his latest EP released this week, the simply-titled Rock & Roll, should help matters.

Thanks to the BBC, folk gets a lot more attention nationally in the UK than it does here in America, and in Britain, there is a glut of folk and folk rock acts eager for mainstream success. Three reasons I think Frank Turner has come out on top of the heap and succeeded in Britain and in Europe? His down-to-earth persona, his eagerness to communicate with his fans (check out his Twitter and his blog, usually detailing his life on the road but more recently, the difficulties of touring during a freakishly early winter snowfall in Britain), and the protest bent of his lyrics, making him a present-day, Bob Dylan-style folk hero, if you will. He champions the little guy, a position that usually doesn’t translate to fame, fortune, and success in the popular music world. Yet back home in Britain, he’s idolized. I never got into Tom Waits like some of my friends and some of the people in the music business I’ve run into as a blogger. But I imagine for many people, Frank Turner is their Tom Waits.

The melodic guitars and Turner’s engaging vocals make this EP highly enjoyable. “Pass It Along” starts slowly with a folky sensibility. It reminds of how some of Led Zeppelin‘s songs would start off quietly and introspectively before ripping into monster, now classic riffs. (I bring up Led Zep because they are the band that created arguably one of greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever, aptly titled “Rock and Roll.”) In the case of “Pass It Along,” it’s at the 3-minute mark that all lets loose for what feels life-affirming. “Rock and Roll Romance” is a short piece, just Turner and his guitar. Simple, yet gorgeous and heartbreaking, all at the same time.

If you feel like the EP is flagging, then “To Absent Friends” reignites the fire. Listening to this song, I’m sure you can feel the excitement that is Frank Turner and his band live, Turner giving his vocal cords quite the workout as piano keys bang. The tune “The Next Round” is the most country of the five on this EP, and is the regretful musings of an alcoholic. What could sound fake doesn’t in Turner’s deft songwriting hands. But the rallying cry of this EP is the anthemic track “I Still Believe.” Turner sings, “who would have thought / after all / something as so simple as rock ‘n’ roll would save us all?” Decades after the first rock ‘n’ roll tunes came out of its rhythm and blues roots, rock ‘n’ roll is still going on strong. And it will continue to thrive with people like Frank Turner, committed to making music under his own terms. This album might not be as aggressive as what is being passed off as “rock” these days, but it’s sure got plenty of substance. And heart.

Track Listing:
01. I Still Believe
02. Pass It Along
03. Rock & Roll Romance
04. To Absent Friends
05. The Next Round

The Rock & Roll EP by Frank Turner will be released on December 07 on Epitaph Records.

Frank Turner: website | myspace

Northern Irish indie rock trio Two Door Cinema Club will be re-releasing their debut album, Tourist History, in an expanded, deluxe format in mid-September in the UK. The first CD will be identical in tracklisting to their UK debut album.

The second CD will be a collection of their favorite remixes, including the Cassian remix of “What You Know,” the winning entry of a remix challenge the band issued to fans in June. Also to be included is a 1-hour documentary filmed by Babysweet chronicling the band’s travels and gigs around the time of Tourist History‘s UK release in March; you can watch the trailer for the documentary below. The deluxe package will be released on 20 September in the UK by Kitsune Maison.

CD 1 Tracklisting
01. Cigarettes in the Theatre
02. Come Back Home
03. Do You Want It All?
04. This is The Life
05. Something Good Can Work
06. I Can Talk
07. Undercover Martyn
08. What You Know
09. Eat That Up, It’s Good for You
10. You’re Not Stubborn

CD 2 Tracklisting
01. Kids
02. Undercover Martyn (Everything Everything Remix)
03. I Can Talk (French Horn Rebellion Remix)
04. Come Back Home (Is Tropical Remix)
05. Undercover Martyn (Jupiter Remix)
06. I Can Talk (Moulinex Remix)
07. What You Know (Cassian Remix)
08. Come Back Home (Myd Remix)
09. Something Good Can Work (Ted & Francis Remix)
10. Undercover Martyn (Softwar Remix)
11. Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix)

Tour Dates
Oct 07 – Warehouse Live / Houston
Oct 08 – Loft / Dallas
Oct 09 – Austin City Limits Festival / Austin
Oct 11 – Mercy Lounge / Nashville
Oct 12 – Loft / Atlanta
Oct 13 – Norva / Norfolk
Oct 14 – First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia
Oct 18 – Agganis Arena / Boston*
Oct 21 – Webster Hall / New York City
Oct 22 – Black Cat / Washington, DC
Oct 23 – Club Hell / Providence
Oct 24 – Le National / Montreal
Oct 25 – Phoenix Concert Theatre / Toronto
Oct 27 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Oct 28 – 7th Street Entry / Minneapolis
Oct 30 – Bluebird Theatre / Denver
Nov 02 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles
Nov 03 – Belly Up Tavern / Solana Beach
Nov 04 – Slim’s / San Francisco
Nov 05 – Hawthorne Theatre / Portland
Nov 06 – Neumo’s / Seattle
Nov 07 – EMU Ballroom / Portland
* supporting Phoenix

Photo: Mary Chang

Two Door Cinema Club: website | myspace | Two Door Cinema Club To Tour with Phoenix in Spring, Headline First North American Tour | “Something Good Can Work” video | @ Constitution Hall | Interview with: Sam Halliday of Two Door Cinema Club | @ Johnny Brenda’s | Two Door Cinema Club Announce Fall North American Tour | “Come Back Home” video

Exactly 1 year after a manic sold-out show at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, English electropop / dance trio Friendly Fires have announced details of a forthcoming mix CD to be released through Rough Trade Records. The CD is one of a humorously-titled series called Bugged Out Presents Suck My Deck that has welcomed dance music acts / DJs such as Simian Mobile Disco and Brodinski to provide similar mixes. The Friendly Fires edition includes New York’s Phenomenal Handclap Band and Scandinavian disco-pop duo Lindstrom and Christabelle. While the album won’t be released until September 27, you can pre-order it now on Rough Trade’s website here.

In addition to 18 tracks hand-picked by the band from other artists, the compilation includes “Stay Here,” a collaboration with Toronto’s Azari & III. The tune will make its radio debut today on DJ Annie Mac‘s Radio1 show tonight from 7 to 9 PM GMT (that’s 2 to 4 PM ET). No worries if you miss it today, it will available for 7 days after broadcast on the BBC iPlayer.

Friendly Fires have been previewing other new tracks while on the European festival circuit this summer. Their yet-to-be-titled sophomore album is due sometime in 2011, according to various media reports. Track titles include “Running Away” and “True Love”, and the band have divulged that the new release will feature the Brazilian cuíca (commonly used in samba music) and the African kalimba.

Mix CD tracklisting:
01. The Egyptian Lover – Freak-A-Holic
02. Bot’Ox – Bearded Lady Motorcycle Show
03. The Phenomenal Handclap Band – You’ll Disappear (Munk Remix)
04. Tom Trago – Lost In The Streets of NYC (Boris Werner Lost In Malta Remix)
05. Ryan Crosson – Metro Bunker (Original Mix)
06. Lindstrom and Christabelle – Baby Can’t Stop (Aeroplane Remix)
07. Rebotini – 777 (Discodeine Remix)
08. Tensnake – Coma Cat
09. Munk – La Musica (Azari & III Remix)
10. Friendly Fires and Azari & III – Stay Here
11. Redshape – Dog Day
12. The 2 Bears – Be Strong
13. Butch – No Worries
14. George Kranz – Din Daa Daa
15. Jody “Fingers” Finch – Jack Your Big Booty (BHQ No Acid Vocal)
16. BDI – City & Industry
17. Alan Fitzpatrick – Green Light
18. Boo Williams – Mortal Trance
19. Round Two – New Day (Club Vocal Mix)

Thumbnail Photo: Mary Chang

Friendly Fires: website | myspace | Friendly Fires review | Remix Monday: “Skeleton Boy” | @ Black Cat | @ Dot to Dot Festival | interview with pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3 | Mercury Prize Nominations Announced | New Video on MTV, To Play Jimmy Kimmel and Winter Nylon Tour, Release Expanded Version of Debut Album | @ Lollapalooza 2009 | @ le poisson rouge | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | on Jimmy Kimmel | Remix Monday: “Paris” | @ Paradise | Friendly Fires / Holy Ghost! – 12″ Split Single

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.