Indie Music Chatter

I’ve been listening to Pour Away The Ocean the debut album from Hoax Funeral. I have to say that I am quite impressed by the level of assuredness from the band. For a debut album, Hoax Funeral has already established a sound that is distinct and filled with confidence.

The UK-based Hoax Funeral, as the band states, plays alt-folk. I do agree that they can be easily pigeonholed into this sub genre, one that is actually gaining a lot of proponents because of the continued rise in popularity of the Weird America movement led by folk impresario Devendra Banhart. But unlike the other Weird America disciples, Hoax Funeral puts the “weird” safely in a drawer and tap into a more accessible form of folk. They have been compared to acts as diverse as Shearwater, Low and Tunng. I do, however, think that they share some similarities with Mazzy Star, The Cowboy Junkies and with the US-based indie folk group Hem. I also hear very distinct bluegrass influences on Hoax Funeral’s sound, a bit of Nickel Creek comes out a little in some of their songs.

But back to the album. Pour Away The Ocean is one of the most heartfelt albums I’ve heard this year. I think Anjy Hall is one hell of a vocalist. Her pixie-ish delivery actually reminds me of a more tuneful version of Drugstore’s Isabel Monteiro. She gives Hoax Funeral’s songs a level of child-like vulnerability that compels you to listen. And this is most apparent in their short cover of Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night. Now, this song became “popular” because Nirvana covered it. But while Kurt Cobain gave the song a world weary delivery, Hall made the song less of an accusation, and more of a desperate plea. Too bad, it was such a short cover.

The songs in Pour Away The Ocean, is not just a centerpiece for Hall’s voice but also for the virtuosity of the rest of the Band. Chris Gregory, AJ Jordan and Cherish Burke bring to the table. Who would’ve thought that atmospheric almost shoe-gazey guitars can have a place in an alt-folk setting? It really does work and Hoax Funeral has cornered the market for it.

Hoax Funeral has made the ultimate indie decision by deciding to handle all aspects of production, distribution and marketing on their own and they have to be commended for this. Although this may mean that not as many people will be able to hear them initially, I am sure that the promise that the band holds will win out in the end. Hoax Funeral is not a band that has to be selfishly kept to one’s self. They deserve a far larger audience. And Pour Way The Ocean ensures that they will be heard.

Hoax Funeral, Pour Away The Ocean, Nickel Creek, Hem

I am currently listening to Jeremy Enigk’s The Missing Link. I’ve known of Enigk since way back when he was still fronting Seattle’s Sunny Day Real Estate. That was one band I never really liked or never got. Even though the band made its mark during the height of the grunge era, they never really sounded like any of those other Seattle bands. Some rock critics now cite Sunny Day Real Estate as one of the pioneers of emo — which, if they are correct, would be the reason why I never liked the band. Let me say it now — emo sucks.

It was with great trepidation that I approached Enigk’s solo effort post-Sunny Day Real Estate’s first breakup. I’ve heard it was a far slower affair compared to his band’s music, which left me a bit cynical at first. But, nevertheless, I took the plunge and listened to Return of the Frog Queen — and promptly fell in love. I was surprised by the delicate beauty of that album, which was so far away from Sunny Day Real Estate’s forced chaos. This was Enigk sounding more genuinely earnest, more at home with his own skin. Listening to Return of the Frog Queen and his subsequent solo albums, you immediately feel that he is more at home with this more intimate sound.

Missing Link is just a natural progression of the sound he is exploring. This album though is a sparser affair (a compilation of some new songs and previous material that appeared in World Waits), with more emphasis on a more conventional acoustic sound. Enigk’s songs in Missing Link may sound a bit dated and you hear some weaknesses in his songwriting especially when you compare it with some really strong singer-songwriters right now like Jose Gonzalez, Damien Rice or Mike Kinsella, but there are still obvious gems on Missing Link. I especially love Been Here Before and the very beautiful rendition of Canons.

Missing Link is a decent effort and sets a strong message that we can still expect far stronger work from Enigk in the future.

Jeremy Enigk, Missing Link, Mike Kinsella

As I’ve mentioned yesterday, I’m currently obsessing over Scanners — a UK band under the very hip label du jour Dim Mak.  Scanners has a very post punk sound injected with electroclash undertones and 70’s punk swagger. I love how their heavy guitar driven music is injected by little bursts of electronica that serve as counterpoints  — like glitter sparsely powdered on a rough Anarchy sketch. It’s the mixing of the sweet and the brutal that makes their sound so beguiling.

Sarah Daly is one helluva vocalist and a perfect frontwoman for Scanners. Take for example the first two tracks from their debut album Violence is Golden. Daly sounds like she’s channeling Polly Jean Harvey in the first track Joy, making you think that the whole album will take a heavy direction, but the second track Lowlife sees Daly invoking a more vulnerable, though no less powerful, delivery — making you realize that this is not going to be as cut and dried as you once thought.

And it really doesn’t! It’s the element of unpredictability that has made me fall in love with Violence is Golden as an album and on Scanners as a band. I love it when a band can present so many influences, so many sounds and control these elements into a tight and cohesive product that may at sound amorphous on paper but in actuality has a unique structure that unfolds once you really prick up your ears and listen.

Scanners, Violence is Golden, Dim Mak

I recently got the opportunity to hear the latest album from 90’s indie icon Mary Timony. Helium was one of my favorite bands in the 90’s. Up to now I still play Dirt of Luck and Magic City and it’s permanently in my iPod.

The Shapes We Make, the latest album from The Mary Timony Band offers the same brilliant song writing and guitar work that has marked Mary Timony’s career. All of the elements that you have loved about Timony is present in this album. It is a fairly strong album with very memorable songs that are anchored by Timony’s deadpan delivery. If you loved Helium then you will love this album too.

And this is also what I think is a bit of a weakness to The Shapes We Make. Even though the songs are well made and strong testaments to Timony’s talent, there is this feeling that you’ve heard it before. I think it’s because Timony did not bring anything revolutionary or refreshingly new aspects to her music. The Shapes We Make offer strong Timony songs and her imprint has remained concretely the same. It would be nice for Timony to take a fresh, unexpected direction to her music at some point in the future because she does have the talent to pull it off.

Over all, The Shapes We Make is a strong release, but it is not entirely memorable.

Mary Timony, Helium, The Dirt of Luck, The Shapes We Make

Man, I am so stoked!

I just recently discovered the music of Jens Lekman and I am mightily impressed. I got hold of a copy of his forthcoming second album Night Falls Over Kortedala and I have been playing it non-stop the whole day. You rarely hear an artist that is so confident, so self assured in his music. This is music that is made as much for his listeners as for himself. It’s personal without being morose or too obscure. A crowd pleaser without being too formulaic.

Lekman’s music sounds like a blenderized version of chamber pop, sixties music, electronic folk, with a hint of 70’s balladry. It may sound like a weird combination but Lekman manages to assimilate all the best qualities of those genres to produce a sound that is familiar enough to make you feel at home when you hear it and yet still wonderfully unique that it’ll pique your interest once you’re engulfed in Lekman’s inventive arrangement and tongue-in-cheek use of diverse instruments and found sounds. Lekman flits from song to song with an almost childlike enthusiasm, one moment he sings a song that is just carried by the strong melody because of the sparse arrangement, but then the next song is filled to brimming with sonic layers that you feel that you’re twirling in an aural kaleidoscope. All through this though you hear Lekman’s tender voice (which sounds like a weird cross between Stephin Merritt and Terry Callier), which serves as the focal point and the thread that connects all of these songs together.

Night Falls Over Kortedala is that rare work that sounds less like an album but a wonderful sonic journey that uplifts you and leaves you wanting more.

Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala

Over the past couple of days I’ve been immersing myself with the music of Joy Division. I’m doing this to prepare myself for my planned attendance to a screening of Anton Corbijn’s Control, the biopic of the late Ian Curtis.

I’m an avowed Joy Division fan. But if you ask me how many of their albums I have I’ll tell you that I only have one. It’s actually the Heart and Soul 4 - disc set that encompasses the whole dicography of Joy Division (which is, obviously, tragically short). Call me a half-hearted fan if you want but I deliberately bought this CD set because I knew that it will be very hard to track down each and everyone of the band’s releases. Some may think of this as a Cliff’s Notes version of their discography, to which I have to voice my contrarian opinion. It may be true with some of the other artist retrospectives released by money grubbing record companies. But Heart and Soul, to me, is like a trade paperback — a tidy collection of the whole run of a comicbook (or a particularly memorable story arc). This collection is supposed to contain every single release the band made during their very memorable, but very short time together. I think that this noble attempt to compile everything in one manageable package is commendable and is a great service to Joy Division fans and serious music listeners.

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Now playing: Film School - On & On
via FoxyTunes

Joy Division, Ian Curtis, Anton Corbijn

Synthpop is mostly a hit-or-miss affair for me. There are some synthpop artists that I like, but there are also some that technically play glorified elevator music. I think the biggest problem of playing synth based music is that there is a big risk of coming out with something that is soulless, as bereft of soul and character as the plastic contraption that makes the music itself.

Au Revoir Simone, fortunately, does not fall into that trapm especially with their second album Bird of Music. The trio (consisting of Erika Forster, Annie Hart and Heather D’Angelo) crafts near-simple synth-based pop that grabs your attention because of its quirkiness. The use of synthesizers and a drum machine actually help bring that quirky quality to the fore. The vocal quality of the trio (yes, all three sing) perfectly complements the music itself. Their delivery actually mirrors the best qualities of Los Angeles based twee pop band Call and Response, only with a more disaffected air. In fact, the whole “going through the motions” way of their singing and the band’s name made me think that they are are European band.  I was quite surprised that they are actually from Brooklyn. Who would’ve thought New York will give birth to a band that oozes silly naivete and innocence.

Au Revoir Simone, Call and Response, Los Angeles

I’ve been hearing a smattering of news and views about the San Francisco based band Film School. Unfortunately, I never got around to hearing any of their works. The band has been around since 1998 but even though they are being touted as artists “on the brink of stardom” because of the attention that they have been getting from music fans I never got to hear any of their work.

A few days ago though I got a chance to get an advance copy of Film School’s third album Hideout. I was quite eager to hear what all the buzz was about so I decided to bump this album up my scheduled playlist for the week and started listening to it. First impressions? I was blown away by how tight Film School’s sound is.

The band has mastered a dark pop sensibility that reminds of you of all the best qualities of shoegaze, new wave and indie pop. the darker texture of the songs actually help distinguish it from the day-glo happiness that some bands seem to revel in. I am particularly reminded of 80’s band Darkside who have also mastered the swirling guitars and dreamy production values that Film School so adeptly use. I particularly love the instrumental flourishes that the band try to incorporate into every song, most notably in Two Kinds. The cello-like synth backdrop paints a more melancholic atmosphere but at the same time gives it an ethereal beauty. Special mention goes to Compare, the part where the guitars first come in gives me goosebumps every time and this very jaded music fan seldom experiences that. So props to them.

You can now count me as a big Film School fan.

Film School, Hideout, Darkside