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 woke up feeling a bit nostalgic this morning so what I did was revisit the discography of one of my favorite bands — Pearl Jam.

I chronologically played their albums starting from their debut Ten up to their self titled album. Listening to an artist’s work chronologically really gives you a better perspective on the artist’s growth, any risks he may have taken, any setbacks he may have experienced. It also gives the listener a very general (though not so accurate) idea of the creative steps that may likely be taken in the future.

Listening to Pearl Jam’s discography really gives you a sense of scale as to the magnitude of risks the band has taken over the years. This is one band that is not afraid to really undermine what they have established in the pursuit of a real and sincere creative vision. Any other band may have taken a predictable, maybe even more commercial, direction following the massive success of their first three albums. But not Pearl Jam, they have proven that their creative vision cannot be compromised. Some may look at this as their biggest witness — after all a band should always look at what the fans want. Pearl Jam may have made some very crucial mistakes (though this is really debatable) along the way and this may have resulted in fans jumping ship because they felt that they are alienated. But I admire Pearl Jam’s tenacity and adherence to maintain the purity of their vision as well as the strength of their commitment to their music and, yes, to their fans as well.

Pearl Jam could arguably be one of the most indie of rock bands for heroically adhering to an independent spirit that would, for better or worse, help cement its reputation and contribution to rock and roll.

Pearl Jam, Ten

My new Amazon orders arrived a few days ago. I ordered the new albums from both Spoon and Pinback as well as Superdrag’s In The Valley of Dying Stars.

Listening to Superdrag’s first album after their disastrous relationship with a major label (yes, I’m looking at you Elektra) the first thing that will strike you is the quality of the songcraft in this album. This is one of the qualities that I love about Superdrag — it’s the masterful construction of their songs. You never get bored listening to their songs and each one sits well in the album, even the fillers sound like they have a definite purpose in their placement in the track listing.

But back to John Davis’ amazing song sense. Superdrag songs are an entertaining pastiche of different musical styles. Davis really puts his musical influences to the forefront but not in any way that would make it sound derivative. On the contrary, he manages to pull a distinctive Superdrag style that revolves around catchy pop hooks, witty lyrics and an obvious love for melody. This is the kind of music that would not only make you want to rock out, you’d want to sing along with it, too.

I was really disappointed when I heard that Superdrag disbanded a few years ago but with their reunion tour this year Superdrag fans are hoping that a new album would be released soon. Consider a public appeal to John Davis and company to make a new Superdrag album.

Superdrag, John Davis, Elektra

I’ve been hearing about the infamous GG Allin ever since I got into punk in my teens. But because of the obvious limitations of the 80s when the internet was just a pipe dream and the ability to buy albums and films from another country was just too difficult and time consuming I never really got to sate my curiosity aside from the occasional short features I would read in magazines.

I finally got to a taste of what GG Allin had to offer a couple of years ago when I listened to some songs from his album with the Murder Junkies. Listening to your first GG Allin song is akin to the feeling you get when you see your first porn — you feel dirty, you feel maddeningly curious, you feel a bit violated, and more importantly, you feel that some part of your innocence has forever been lost. GG Allin is subversion personified and listening to his music is like being caught in the maelstrom of his mind and his personality — you get the feeling that you have been sucked into his controlled, deliberate madness.

Hated, Todd Philips’ documentary on GG Allin, should be a must -see for any music fan who wants to get a glimpse of the tortured artist and want to experience the chaos, the brutality and the depravity of a typical GG Allin set. The first time I saw the unedited footage of his show at The Gas Station in New York City (if I’m not mistaken the last show he did before dying of an overdose), I had to fast forward in some parts. It’s like watching a horror movie where you just could not stand not knowing what will happen next. It’s that feeling of losing control and relinquishing that control to Allin that makes his show so visceral and so in-the-moment.

He may have been considered as one of the most hated men in rock, but there is no denying the fact that he also embodied rock at its most hard core.

GG Allin, The Gas Station, Murder Junkies

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’ve been obsessing about Scanners over the last few days. I’ll be blogging about them at length tomorrow but for the time being just watch their video for the awesome Lowlife.

Last weekend, I decided to go through my old cassette tapes to get rid of albums that I’ve already bought on CDs. It was a great nostalgia trip because of so many albums that I have forgotten about. looking through my stash I came upon my copy of Garageland’s Exit to Garageland. I eagerly looked for my old Walkman and played the tape with much excitement.

I have completely forgotten how much I love the music of Garageland. This New Zealand band was a constant staple on my old component system way back in the 90’s. I absolutely loved their lo fi pop aesthetic that harks back to Pavement, but with a more melodic bent that would remind you of 60’s pop rock groups. Up to now I still sing Beelines to Heaven, which I think is a perfect pop song.

I hope I can find a CD of Last Exit to Graceland — that would be so awesome.

Garageland, Last Exit to Graceland, New Zealand

My son was totally enraptured this afternoon as he watched his Blues Clues DVD. The episodes contained in the DVD had Joe as the host/lead character. Watching Blues Clues actually made me think of former lead Steve Burns who left the show a few years ago. I’ve always thought of Steve as the quintessential Blues Clues dude. Joe may be ok, but Steve was the one that I have come to associate with the show.

Even though Steve Burns is not on TV anymore, he lives on in my iPod. Not many people may know this but Steve actually started a band when he left his successful children’s show. His self titled band was a great revelation to me. His debut album Songs for Dustmites contained some really strong songs, which was made doubly interesting because of his collaboration with Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd and producer Dave Friedmann. Burns’ songs are quite low key but it contains amazing hooks will intrigue you enough to give it a few listens.

Who would’ve thought that Blues Clues’ Steve had an indie rocker hidden behind those candy colored sweaters?

Steve Burns, Blues Clues, Songs for Dustmites

The good folks at Terno Recordings – the label of Filipino indie darlings Up Dharma Down — sent a couple of songs a week ago as a taste of what indie fans should look forward to from the company this year. I received a song each from Sleepwalk Circus and Musical O and needless to say, what I heard made me sit up and listen.

I’ve always maintained that the arrival of Up Dharma Down could be a sign of things to come in the Filipino music scene — a watershed that could herald the emergence of bands and artists that would remap the musical landscape in the country. Sleepwalk Circus and Musical O just proves my point.

Sleepwalk Circus’ Wakewalking has a groovy trip-hop/dreampop thing going on with a drum n’ bass rhythm boiling underneath. The description may sound like some musical Frankenstein made up of different music genres but, surprisingly enough, it does work. The vocals on Wakewalking are spot on, I don’t who their vocalist is but I have fallen in love with her voice.

A purer sound comes from Musical O. The track I listened to - M.O. - is just a rough mix, but boy, this is one powerful piece. It is sophisticated, groovy and very intellectual. I can’t believe a rough mix can sound as good as this. M.O. incorporates a number of different rhythm changes that seamlessly flow and fold unto itself. As I’ve said earlier, Musical O seems to approach music from a more intellectual perspective without losing its emotional component. I can’t help but compare them to Pinback — they are that awesome.

Sleepwalk Circus and Musical O are definitely bands to watch out for. They, along with Up Dharma Down, have what it takes to really break into the international music scene — and I’ll be there rooting for them every step of the way.

Terno Recordings, Up Dharma Down, Sleepwalk Circus, Musical O

Radney, a good friend of mine, recently gave me a copy of Magnitude the 2-CD remastered retrospective of the 80’s UK band The Wild Swans. What can I say? It’s a blast from the past! The Wild Swans never really got big worldwide. Only those who were immersed in the “new wave” movement of the early to mid 80’s would actually know them. They never had a hit single and their popularity among the new wave cognoscenti started out as second hand recognition because this group was composed of members who would become more popular in other bands, namely, Paul Simpson with The Care and Jeremy Kelly with The Lotus Eaters.

Magnitude collects The Wild Swans’ two albums. The debut Bringing Home The Ashes as well as Space Flower. These albums have been remastered and additional tracks were added to each album. As retrospectives go, this is a great buy. Firstly, because Wild Swans albums are so rare now (remember, they never really became massively popular) and second, the collection is a nostalgic glimpse into 80’s music — the ones that are cool, mind you and not the cringe inducing music of The Jets or Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.

The Wild Swans, Lotus Eaters, The Care

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Now playing: Eisley - A Sight To Behold
via FoxyTunes

I recently acquired a couple of albums from the band Devastations, and I have fallen in love with their dark sound. Devastations is like The Tindersticks trading in their suave undertones with something more sinister — something Like Nick Cave and his barroom experimentations. There is a certain slinky sexiness to their sound that can also turn foreboding and dangerous in some songs. The band only plays within the boundaries of these aforementioned grooves/textures — a formula that they have established for the band. I have to say I like their sound. Devastations is the kind of band whose album you will play on a dark, chilly afternoon.

Devastations, Nick Cave, The Tindersticks

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Now playing: The Devastations - An Avalanche Of Stars
via FoxyTunes

Talk about indie music and the usual suspects almost always come from Canada, the US, the UK and Europe. Unfortunately, Asia never gets the attention it deserves. The region has some of the freshest and most innovative bands that are just waiting for a bigger audience to discover them.

Take for example the Philippines’ Up Dharma Down. This quartet has, to my mind, singlehandedly elevated indie music in the Philippines. They play a kind of dreampop/jazz/triphop hybrid that is so accomplished, so sophisticated you will almost cry from frustration because they really deserve to be heard by a far bigger audience than the lucky mofos in Manila.

The band has one of the tightest sounds I have ever heard from ANY band. And that includes any single one of the bands in the US or the UK. It is mature, deep, many layered and highly nuanced. Every single song from the debut Fragmented is like a warm wash of sounds that envelop you, tickling your senses and leaving you wanting just a little more…

If you guys want to discover for yourselves what I’m talking about just make a Google search on Up Dharma Down because a number of sites have cropped up that feature some of their songs. Prepare to be amazed.

Philippines, Up Dharma Down, Fragmented

I recently read about the reissue of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s three seminal albums. The Apeology reissue is a great chance to listen to one of dub and reggae’s foremost visionaries at his strangest. The three albums in this reissue (RoastFish and Cornbread, Super Ape and Return of Super Ape) are some of the strongest examples of how Perry sees music as well as wonderful glimpse into his whole thought process as a musician and producer. You want to talk about the indie spirit, well Perry embodies the whole indie ethos. This is a guy who did everything based on his own unique vision — no compromises, no bargaining.

One of the biggest things that irritate me is when I hear someone say that they love reggae and yet could only cite Bob Marley and frigging UB40. There is more to reggae than Marley and Perry is waiting there to welcome you with open arms.

Lee “Scratch” Perry, Bob Marley, Apeology

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Now playing: Eskimo & Sons - No Elephant
via FoxyTunes

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

One of the most embarassing things to happen to an avowed music fan is to actually miss an important piece of information with regards to music. And what makes it doubly embarrassing is that the information involves a band of which you are a big fan.

That’s just what happened to me today. I am a HUGE Buffalo Tom fan. I think that all of their albums are great examples of American rock — brash, atmospheric and earnest. I have all of their albums in my collection and, in fact, always mention Let Me Come Over as one of the finest albums ever made. So it came as quite a shock to me to find out that they released a new album last month. Three Easy Pieces was released last July 10 and I completely missed it.

I’m not going to make excuses for what happened but to put it in perspective, this album of new material is a follow up to Smitten, an album that they released waaay back in 1998. for the next four or five years, I would periodically check if they have released any new CDs. But except for a Greatest Hits package (which I always consider as a sign of an impending breakup) no new material came out from the Bill Janowitz and company. I guess, subconsciously, I thought that Smitten would be their last album.

Sometimes, it’s good to be wrong. Oh, and welcome back Buffalo Tom. Pleased to make your acquaintance once again.

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Now playing: Buffalo Tom - three easy pieces
via FoxyTunes

Buffalo Tom, Smitten, Three Easy Pieces