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| Bon Iver Blood Bank |
| Thursday, February 5, 2009 |
I'm probably the only person in the world who didn't find Bon Iver's debut For Emma, Forever Ago that impressive. I didn't understand what the fuss was about; I thought the story of Justin Vernon's writing of it wasn't that mythic, especially when the story started to eclipse the actual content of the record. Rule of thumb: details of a creation should never outweigh the finished product. A nice story doth not true talent make.
But I'm a fair individual, and I must admit that my interest was subsequently piqued having heard the title track from the new EP, Blood Bank. It's a pretty interesting country-rocker that doesn't actually rock, but that's okay; it's still a catchy number, and Vernon's singing is both strong and engaging. It's a natural progression, especially since Bon Iver is now a BAND. The next song, "Beach Baby," isn't a cover of First Class, but it is a first class downbeat folk number, even if it fades out too early. "Babys" is minimalist piano playing one chord with some really gorgeous falsetto-ish singing. I like it. A lot. "Woods" is a vocoder-laden acappella song, and it's utterly beautiful; he goes all Beach Boys towards the end, and I'm like WOW, this is amazing stuff!
So for those skeptics about the hype around their debut, Blood Bank is a wonderful little record that shows there's a real talent to be found here. Cynicism be damned.
Listen To: "Blood Bank"
Blood Bank is available now on JagjaguwarLabels: Bon Iver, Jagjaguwar, Reviews b |
posted by joseph kyle @ 6:00 AM  |
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| The Brethren of the Free Spirit The Wolf Also Shall Dwell with the Lamb |
| Tuesday, February 3, 2009 |
Brethren of the Free Spirit is the duo of instrumentalists James Blackshaw and Jozef an Wissem--two men known for making ancient melodies sound positively futuristic. Okay, so I hadn't heard of van Wissem until this record, but the man built and plays a custom-made Lute, so the assumption is made on solid evidence. Anyway, their debut record, The Wolf Also Shall Dwell with the Lamb, is a collection of four gorgeous, heavenly instrumentals. At times the music is rustic, while other times the music is minimalist, if you're familiar with Blackshaw's work, then you know to expect beautiful experimental guitar picking. There's really no way to further describe this record, unless you want some sort of ethnomusicologist explanation--which I find interesting in general but boring in describing specific records. More important to me is the feel of the music--and I feel utterly relaxed by this record. This is some of the prettiest music I've heard this year.
Listen To:Into the Dust of the Earth
The Wolf Also Shall Dwell with the Lamb is available now on Important RecordsLabels: Brethren of the free spirit, important records, Reviews b |
| posted by joseph kyle @ 6:00 AM |
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| Harold Budd and Clive Wright A Song For Lost Blossoms |
| Monday, November 3, 2008 |
Few musicians can rightfully be called Masters, but Harold Budd is definitely a master of his craft. For nearly three decades, he has produced some of the gentlest, prettiest piano music of the Twentieth Century. He is a master of ambient piano; his melodies are simple, yet they say so much in saying nothing. His compositional style is so basic and so minimalist, you might mistakenly think you could do what he does. You can't. I have been infatuated with his music for two decades, and in that time, he has yet to produce a bad record. The simple charm of his work will only make you want more.
A Song for Lost Blossoms, his latest work, continues a trend he's developed over the past few years: collaboration. This time, he's enlisted the assistance of Clive Wright, a fellow minimalist, and the record they created is a labor of love. When you've loved a musician's work as long as I've loved Budd's, it becomes difficult to find the exact words to describe his music--you simply take what they do for granted, and you simply want to say, "Here, it's Harold Budd, you know what you're getting," and that's true here. Unlike Budd's recent collaboration with Eraldo Bernocci (Music for 'fragments from the inside'), or his notable collaboration with Robin Guthrie, Wright's collaborative element isn't obvious; instead, Wright helps to accentuate Budd's melodies. When you collaborate, sometimes it's good not to stand out; sometimes it's best to simply accentuate the best elements of the greater talent.
Of course, the music on A Song for Lost Blossoms is utterly mind-bendingly beautiful. The album starts with one of Budd's biggest singular pieces to date, the epic 32-minute "Pensive Aphrodite." I have Budd records that are almost as long as this one, and by the time the song finishes, I feel reinvigorated. Hell, the rest of the record is just a little bit longer than this one song, and, really, it could stand apart as a singular record. The melodies are deep, the compositions lush--everything you expect from the Harold Budd name. Two of the songs, "Forever Hold My Breath" and "At This Moment," are live recordings; it proves that Budd is simply no studio composer.
I like the trend of Budd-as-collaborator. There are a ton of people I'd love to hear him work with. A collaboration with Marc Byrd of Hammock? Ulrich Schnauss? William Basinski? A new Andy Partridge record? Stars of the Lid? All of these collaborations would produce beautiful aural fruits, and I'd freak out like a teenager if he were to record with any of them, but for now I'm extremely satisfied with A Song for Lost Blossoms, this year's best Harold Budd record, and one of those "best of 2008" records to boot!
Listen To: "At This Moment"
A Song For Lost Blossoms is available now on Darla RecordsLabels: Clive Wright, Darla Records, Harold Budd, Reviews b |
| posted by joseph kyle @ 8:07 AM |
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| Benoit Pioulard Enge |
| Saturday, July 19, 2008 |
It's been a while since we last heard from Thomas Meluch, aka Benoit Pioulard, whose album Precis was one of the highlights of 2006. He'll be releasing a new album, Temper, in October, but in the meantime, Moodgadget has digitally reissued his debut EP, Enge. The four-song EP captured four wispy glimpses of a young man’s muse, with "Pinconning" leading off with a bang. The songs are all jingle-jangle mornings of songs, with the trademark hazy sound firmly in place. This digital reissue expands the original release by adding three remixes, one of which is a remix from Precis, and one new song, "Aeolian Death Song." The remixes add different elements; "Kids Are Getting Younger" is enhanced by a clapping beat, while "Pinconning" is expanded into a trip-hop kaleidoscope of sound. While it maybe only a brief thing, Enge is still a nice little trip and a lovely diversion while we wait for what’s surely one of this fall’s anticipated new releases.
Listen To: "Pinconning"Labels: Benoit Pioulard, Moodgadget, Reviews b |
| posted by joseph kyle @ 10:13 AM |
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| Beequeen Sandancing |
| Wednesday, May 21, 2008 |
About all I know about Beequeen is that they hail from the Netherlands and that they sporadically release beautiful records. I happened upon the band on the Important Records website, and I liked what I heard enough to purchase their newest record, Sandancing. After a few listens, I've decided I generally like what I've heard. The band is the longstanding collaboration between Freek Kinkelaar and Frans de Waard, but for this record they've added the vocals of Olga Wallis, a gorgeous singer with a lovely voice--once steeped in folk tradition, if I were to make an educated guess.
Musically speaking, the songs have a tendency of being rather nondescript, but that's quite fine; they're pretty and dark and that's all that matters. There's nothing too intrusive or unpleasant, either. At times, their sound reminds me of Weird Weeds, especially the song "Breathe." At other times, the music reminds me of Mazzy Star, His Name is Alive, and, on "The Honeythief," American Analog Set. Get the vibe here? Mellow, minimal, and occasionally stoned.
Honestly, I've neve heard their earlier work, so I have nothing to compare Sandancing to, but I'd be curious to hear it, because what I've heard here is pretty and interesting and downright enjoyable.
Listen To: "The Honeythief"Labels: Beequeen, important records, Reviews b |
| posted by joseph kyle @ 8:32 PM |
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| The Bird and The Bee Please Clap Your Hands |
| Monday, November 19, 2007 |
The Bird and The Bee close out 2007 in the same way they started it--by releasing a wonderful little record. They released their debut LP in January, and now they've followed it up with a wonderful five-song EP, Please Clap Your Hands. These songs are very much of a piece with the debut, but as the band has always fared better in short bursts, this record is extremely concise. Inara George voice is soft, sweet, and never precious or twee; indeed, hers is one of the few truly pure pop voices. "Polite Dance Song" is one of the funniest songs I've heard all year, too; she's obviously placed tongue deeply in cheek, but her singing style makes her sound entirely earnest. "Man" and "So You Say" are two upbeat numbers that remind me of April March. The record's only weak spot is a cover of "How Deep Is Your Love." George sings it over a minimal, ambient accompaniment, and while this version is enjoyable it feels weak without the harmonies, and after the first time I heard it I said, "Gee, if they want to be the Captain & Tennille of the twenty-first century, then mission accomplished!" Still, it's not a terrible song, and it doesn't really ruin the beauty of the other songs. Overall, though, this EP is simply ace!
Listen To: "Polite Dance Song"
Please Clap Your Hands is available now on Blue NoteLabels: Blue Note, Reviews b, The Bird and The Bee |
| posted by joseph kyle @ 12:15 PM |
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