Allan’s World Music

Anthem In’s album comes out on June 24th and while this album is yet to be released physically, I’ve had it for quite some time. It would be nice to be patient enough to wait until around the release date but I can’t wait…this album is too good and has demanded my attention thus far.

The band is based out of Brooklyn but the story of how they got together is hard to summarize in a few words, some met in Atlanta, “hooked up” (-not literally I think) in New York. The story isn’t as important I guess as they are a relatively band with next to none popular, say a few posts around the blogosphere.

Besides I feel like the other press they’ve received characterizes the music poorly calling them indie pop/dance. It really does sell this music short especially Matthew Dunehoo and Allen Orr’s work on the guitar. They are more like Les Savy Fav with hints of pop rock intertwined. I guess Dance-punk is a genre that could correctly characterize them but the key word is punk as the guitaring on this album is pretty damn fun with awesome intros and occasionally pulling off some rocking riffs. Definitely the most defining part of this album that allows Anthem In to stand out is the guitaring..who doesn’t like a band that just rocks?

Add into the mix Allen Orr who’s vocals are quite clean and one can compare it to a mix of Chris Walla and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie. I don’t think it hurts in the least bit to have a good singer who you could probably argue belongs in a “softer” band but that makes Anthem In unique. To add to the mix is Ashley Proffitt’s female vocals and wurlizter (it’s a piano/keyboard I think) where she doesn’t take away from the guitaring and is usually in background but it complements it perfectly. It gives them an incredible amount of flexibility of what this band can do. No song is boring, each is its own adventure.

This album has dominated my ears the past few weeks and I’ve come pretty enthusiastic about a band that has only has 7,000 myspace hits. They need some more publicity!!!!!! Obviously giving out a good review and recommending them to some friends is probably as far as I can go…if you like them do your best to spread the word.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5.
If anything while there are a ton of elements I whole-heartedly dig, not perfect because I think they can show more then just 2-3 minute songs but for a band’s first release it is excellent and I expect to go back to the album more often then not for the rest of 2008. Maybe not as strong lyrically either but that’s rather minor and just nitpicking on my part. If you notice, I gave Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours a 4 out of 5…I believe Anthem In’s self titled is a superior album.

Five Minutes by Anthem In

Down by Anthem In

8034 by Anthem In

Photograph by Anthem In

I WAS going to review Ungdomskulen’s Cry Baby but when I was sent the album, it was sent in the wonderful mp4 format. I’m not ready to move to ITunes yet and I just stick with Windows Media Player so to say the least…when you have to switch programs just for one album it usually doesn’t get done.

Owell, I won’t be reviewing it (I have too many to do anyhow) but the track Modern Drummer is a sick one. This band out of Norway which Ungdomskulen loosely translates to junior highschool they have a nice brand of prog/post-punk. Modern Drummer has some sick guitaring and the video must be drug induced. The video has guitarist and lead singer in a bear costume and their bassist is a fly?

I don’t care much for videos like this but nonetheless it’s a great track and I recommend you check it out.

Download: Modern Drummer by Ungdomskulen

This is an excuse to talk about Saxon Shore, one of the few post-rock bands I knew about before Jessica mentioned all these post-rock bands to me in conversation and on this blog.

I knew about Saxon Shore as they were the band that had the Tillmans part of their group. Zach and Josh are off doing bigger things these days in the Seattle scene with Zach part of Siberian (whom I’ve become a big fan of) and Josh with his solo efforts and now as a member of soon to be indie stars the Fleet Foxes.

Anyway Saxon Shore’s Marked With Knowledge is actually featured in a commercial but other then a fan, I’d say putting in an instrumental track doesn’t help the artist as much as when Feist or Yael Naim had their tracks in IPod commercials. I’m not going to put a link to the video (I’m not going to give a free advertisement to something that’s not important). I think the instrumental track works well with the commercial but the music is something I would find rather anonymous and would have no idea of if someone showed it to me.

More importantly in a press release Saxon Shore is back in studio with the same producer Dave Friddman for The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore for a new album. It should be good and suggesting that it’s been almost 3 years since their last release…it’s about time.

I don’t think I was ever expecting a press release done for Saxon Shore as they don’t seem to be too well known. I was excited to say the least and they are arguably the first post-rock band I’ve gotten to like and with hopefully more to come.

Marked With Knowledge by Saxon Shore

This Shameless Moment by Saxon Shore

Cut Copy has had considerable hype for a few months, a lot from bloggers and then critics to follow to fuel the fire. In Ghost Colours was released on March 22 (I’m always late) and is this Aussie band’s 2nd official release.

I heard about them from the potential show I wanted to see featuring Cut Copy and the Black Kids. I didn’t know who Cut Copy was but the internet sure did and before I got the chance to check out Cut Copy, the show sold out. That show is ironically today and it probably would be a fun show to go to.

Cut Copy are referred to as dance by some, pop by themselves and have electronic moments with some looped samples intertwined. Cut Copy is one of those bands that I wouldn’t immediately “label” or slap on with a genre because they do sound different and are unique.

Okay time to finally get into In Ghost Colours. I don’t like IGC too much as the rest of the internet does and I think I recall myself not liking my first listens after they put the first 6 tracks of IGC up on their myspace. However, they have a lot of enjoyable elements to each and every song sometimes it’s the looping of various samples such as on Feel The Love, or on Far Away the vocals and beat make some songs quite enjoyable. A few of the problems sometimes is that some songs have that upbeatedness but it doesn’t quite intertwine well with the rest of the music and some of the songs feel like they are rather similar.

A pet peeve on mine on this album which contains 15 tracks, is that there are 4, count em 4! transition tracks on this album. By transition tracks I mean songs that are only one minute long or sometimes 30 seconds and do not add ANYTHING to the quality of the album. Usually these tracks head to my trashbin but I’ll give some slack to Visions which is a pretty sick track but things like “We Fight For Diamonds”, “Voice in The Quartz” and “Silver Thoughts” kill the momentum and made it a lot more difficult to get into this album then it could’ve been. I don’t think anyone would call foul on having 12 tracks as there is a lot to offer from the album to begin with.

Another thing I just noticed is the similarities between Hearts on Fire and Nobody Lost, Nobody Found…they use roughly the same sample as an intro (at least with the beats) which kind of bothers me in general. Songs on IGC took a little while to develop and ended up better then I thought especially after taking an indepth look…however it’s still a disadvantage. Another thing I must say…there isn’t one track that jumps out at me that has me saying “song of the year” or even this track “stands out”. It’s all a crap shoot which tracks you’ll probably like but the album is solid regardless.

Rating: 4 out of 5
I WAS going to give it a 3.5 out of 5 but after further examination there’s a reason why some are batshit crazy about Cut Copy. Songs aren’t catchy but if you give it time you’ll be rewarded. It’s a very solid album, with quality, quantity and originality. Not the greatest album of the year in my opinion but I tip my hat to anyone that does think that. Some songs just didn’t work for me as a whole which why I hesitate to give it a better score.

Here are my two favorites from the album:

Far Away by Cut Copy

Unforgettable Season by Cut Copy

Buy this album at CDUniverse/Insound/Amazon

I first picked up Gregor Samsa’s music when listening to a split EP with Red Sparowes back in 2006. They had also just released their debut full-length album, 55:12, that very same year. Gregor Samsa became one of my favourite bands since then. I was pretty hyped up about the recently released Rest (2008). This album has been getting mixed reviews, and I suppose I can see why. For those who are familiar with Gregor Samsa, Rest seems too different from what pre-Rest fans are used to, and those who are listening to them for the first time through Rest may find this album has lots of potential, especially in the post-rock genre.

I can only describe Rest as ambient and experimental, as Gregor Samsa seems to widen their instrumentation uses with this album. There are a lot of different instruments and sounds I didn’t hear on their previous albums, like the use of chimes or other miscellaneous sounds, such as subtle buzzing and whirring. The main idea of Gregor Samsa is the same, though: all music is slow music (their “Sounds like” description on MySpace used to be something along the lines of, “sometimes sad, sometimes angry, never fast, always slow”). And so it seems that the title of this album has some appropriateness to it. I found this album to be a lot more creepier than anything Gregor Samsa have ever made, probably due to them taking a step away from the post-rock indie pop sound. Lyrical focus is conveyed in a manner of gentle whispers rather than singing, as I was used to with previous albums. Each instrument seems to be intricately weaved together to form an overall soft and endearing sound.

For me personally, I found this album way out of the Gregor Samsa context. It’s hard to accept that they are trying to find a new sound in what many say is an overdone and dead genre. I think I need to accept the fact that they are still relatively new, with only two full-length albums and a couple of EPs released thus far, and that a band needs to develop their own sound to really set them aside from other artists/bands, which is pretty hard to do in post-rock. Like the band states on their website, they didn’t think they’d take a literal meaning of Gregor Samsa (Kafka’s The Metamorphosis), but they sure done it!

That being said, I did like this album. It has many elements that I like (I heard a lot of mum elements), and still holds onto the Gregor Samsa disposition of nice and steady wins the race. There’s no real reason to hate on it unless you’re a stubborn old fan. I would recommend those who’ve been introduced to Gregor Samsa through Rest to check out their older stuff, too, because it’s quite different but very delectable.

Gregor Samsa - The Adolescent

Gregor Samsa - Du Meine Leise

Get Rest through:
CD Universe, Insound, or just go to sleep.

We Shot The Moon is a four piece band from San Diego, California, that has strong ties
to a little known band called Sherwood (which I’ve reviewed before). Their music can be considered mellow compared to their upbeat dance rock counterparts but still they show glimpses of that hopeful cheer.

The first track, Water’s Edge, starts off with warm vocals over an array of clean addicting guitar riffs. The use of a piano sheds light on that cherry style one might expect from a movie soundtrack. Combined with positive lyrics, it’s a song that’s not musically upbeat but more so hopeful and thought provoking, which has me smitten by the end. We Shot The Moon provides the kind of music that can bring cheer to a rainy day, and is overall a smooth and relaxing listen. Opting to keep a rather clean and simple sound, listeners will find the music to be lively but not action packed.

The second track aptly named Sway Your Head, with a carefully placed piano lead-in that tantalizes you with lyrics that are inspiring. The catchy chorus and accompanying vocals, combine to create another excellent hit. Continuing the role of giving hope through music, Sway Your Head provides just that. We Shot The Moon speaks volumes through the lyrics and general nature of their music. Sway Your Head is definitely my favourite track because it offers timeless lyrics, over an excellent musical backbone.

Songs such as LTFP and Perfect Time play a different role. They are more serious but still provide a positive outlook. Lacking the upbeat melody of other songs on the album, We Shot The Moon explores a different aspect of their style of pop-rock. Lightly touching the alternative feel you might expect from radio jams, We Shot The Moon still provides that movie-soundtrack feel. Using very soft vocal tones, and soft muted guitars, Perfect Time starts off with a slow verse that leads in to a dramatic chorus which brings that musical beauty along with it. A very inspiring piece, it sounds very mainstream-lined, but the emotions feel very real and appropriate. Overall this more solemn half of the album is a very soothing listen for those times of relaxation.

We Shot The Moon bring an infectious brand of rock that is sure to hit the spot. With consistent vocals, catchy riffs and melodic piano mixed together, the music is a can’t miss. While they don’t rock your socks off with aggressive energy, they bring the feel-good out of mellow rock while making you grasp your chest. For fans of Sherwood, this is more of what I love in a soft package that will accompany you nicely on a lonely bus ride.

Check out their Myspace for official tour dates and album info.

We Shot The Moon - Sway Your Head

We Shot The Moon – Perfect Time

I was visiting The Constantines myspace recently because I know they’re from Toronto but I’ve never listened to them before. The first track they had was a track recorded with Feist covering “Islands In The Stream” a song by Kenny Rogers sung with Dolly Parton.

I’m totally in love with this cover…granted I’ve never heard the first version. I usually dig duets vastly especially of the male/female variety. It’s an awesome love song and it made me realize that Mya sings this part in Pras’ Ghetto Superstar (I didn’t even need wikipedia for it!).

You can buy the single here.

Anyway, I don’t normally like posting singles especially if its like “Violet Hill” or CSS’ new single unless I’ve got a great excuse. I don’t want to be a lame duck blogger either because everyone else is doing it. Not too many bloggers have discussed this track.

Just enjoy a great single, not original but it’s fucking lovely.

Islands in The Stream (cover) by The Constantines and Feist