Though I’ve been a luke-warm fan of SONIC YOUTH over the last couple of decades, I have to hand it to Lee Renaldo for producing one of the best CDs of 2007 – the new MAGIK MARKERS CD titled: BOSS.
Here he has taken a group known for their energetic, frenetic and unpredictable noise adventure live shows, and produced a record that for its depth of feeling and quest for new sounds, is hard to beat.
This record combines the intense hard driving sound of THE BIRTHDAY PARTY’S amazing second album, JUNKYARD – with the haunting delivery of MAZZY STAR. The slower songs, like ‘Bad Dream/Hartford’s Beat Suite’, are what I call Bob Dylan in reverse, in that Dylan went from an acoustic sound to an electric sound, while the MAGIK MARKERS went from an extreme electric sound to a melodic sound !
Loyal fans of the MAGIK MARKERS’ earlier CDs should not be disappointed, since a lot of those great extreme sounds, remain. Bob Dylan changed his sound and tone because of the influence of the Beatles’ great TWIST AND SHOUT, it was a natural evolution and the results were amazing. This MARKERS CD shows Lee Renaldo’s influence, and the result is likewise a natural evolution, and awesome. The lyrics are great, so play this music loud and often – and check out their live videos, including the early ones, on YouTube.
Photographs by: E. Jason Wambsgans
Artwork by: Jill Storthz and Elisa Ambrogio
MAGIK MARKERS, BOSS copyright 2007 Ecstatic Peace!
SAMPLE: Bad Dreams/Hartford’s Beat Suite’ – here !!
(scroll down mid-way – left side/for link)
CHECK OUT CLIPS ON: YouTube, here !!
MAGIK MARKERS on: myspace
VISIT: ECSTATIC PEACE!
~Magik Markers |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | November 13th, 2007, 3:37pm
I first saw JAPANTHER during an opening in front of DEITCH PROJECTS a few years ago. They played this really frenetic set, out of the back of a small truck, which I coined as “Hard-Core Sing-Along” – since a lot of the kids in the audience sang along … I don’t remember the art show they played at, (it was Swoon), – but I’ll never forget their rock-on, fuck-on performance. The songs were short, fast, catchy, and full of NICK CAVE guttural screams .. into … their signature, handmade microphones-manipulated-from-old telephone handsets.
All this is caught seamlessly on their newly released CD – Skuffed Up My Huffy. My favorite songs are the johnny rebel ones, like: Challenge, River Phoenix, and Tender…. but, all of the songs have a low-fi hard-core charm that is undeniable.
So, all you never-die teenagers, grab this CD, a case of beer, and have a wild, arms akimbo party,
. . . singing . . . Fuck-ON!, JAPANTHER.
Artwork: by JAPANTHER / IAN VANEK (drums & vocals) & MATT REILLY (guitar & vocals)
. . .”we are an in-house art directed band” – I.V.
JAPANTHER, Skuffed Up My Huffy/MENLO PARK RECORDINGS RELEASE/SEPT 11/2007
www.Japanther.com
www.myspace.com/official Japanther page
artlovers archival photo/IAN VANEK/2004
artlovers archival photos: IAN VANEK & MATT REILLY at AU BAR/SPRING 2005
(you can see a red telephone handset/microphone, just above IAN VANEK’S head
in this 2005 photo of him, at the drums, at Au BAR, in the WEST VILLAGE.)
~Japanther |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | October 9th, 2007, 5:05pm
After reviewing Feels, the Animal Collective’s second CD for this column, a few years ago, I went out and bought, (on the strength of the cover art!), one of the first of Panda Bear’s early singles – as a present for my then teenage daughter, Kate.
She in turn, made a point of getting tickets for Panda Bear’s recent NYC concert, this past June 2007. Musically the concert was great, and included Panda Bear’s own streaming video collages, projected behind him.
The next week, I went to my favorite music store, OTHER MUSIC, and bought the new Panda Bear CD, Person Pitch. The CD is amazing – and has all the songs from the live show reproduced perfectly.
I have to admit that this CD is the most dynamic, deeply felt, and exhilarating music, with new sounds, that I have heard in some time. It puts to shame that other electronica & voice band, The Knife, and their recent third CD Silent Shout. On the other hand, The Knife’s first CD, Deep Cuts, from 3 years ago, is a great CD which added low-fi creativity and emotion to the usually boring, (except for dancing), electronica format. Their Pass It On video from the Deep Cuts CD is one of the most watched videos on YouTube, and rightly so, whereas Silent Shout is so musically and visually pretentious, as to be unlistenable.
If you want to hear great new music – where the musicians transcend their complicated electronic gadgets, get Panda Bear’s Person Pitch and The Knife’s Deep Cuts – and stay away from Silent Shout.
Panda Bear is a one man band – who also performs as one third of Animal Collective.
Artwork by: AGNES MONTGOMERY
Panda Bear, Person Pitch, C & P PAW TRACKS 2007
www.paw-tracks.com
~Panda Bear |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | August 28th, 2007, 10:32am
The debut CD, The Bird of Music, by the new all-girl group, Au Revoir Simone,
is a welcome breath of fresh air. The music is a combination of my favorite girl groups
from the 80’s, mainly The Go-Go’s and The Raincoats.
The Pop wildness with all those synthesizers sends me back (not in a retro way)
to the 80’s and sunny California, while the more serious lyrics gets me to gray London
and that independent stance strongly advocated by The Raincoats.
The other girl group that I was into in the early 80’s, The Slits, (who were making
very gutteral and experimental noise music) are not here, but their alternative
spirit is.
Take your time with this CD, for it reveals itself slowly and in layers. The great
songs are ‘Sad Song’, ‘Night Majestic’, ‘The Lucky One’, ‘Dark Halls’, and the awesome
‘The Way To There’.
This CD is as sweet as The Be-Good Tanyas’ first CD, Chinatown.
cover and back photos by Flora Hanitijo.
Au Revoir Simone is Heather D’Angelo, Erika Forster, and Annie Hart.
Words and Music by Au Revoir Simone.
Copyright & Publication 2006 Triple Keyboard Action
Our Secret Record Company
www.myspace.com/aurevoirsimone
~Au Revoir Simone |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | July 12th, 2007, 11:07am
After one spin of the second Peter Bjorn And John CD, Writer’s Block, I
became an enthusiastic advocate for Globalism. Here’s a Sewdish group that have
made a great new CD – with all the lyrics in English.
Even though the musical references from the Beatles; 80’s new wave; Guided
by Voices; and all those great Sarah Record bands (e.g. The Field Mice) are there,
the music is totally fresh and new.
The monster song is ‘Up Against The Wall’ – JOY DIVISION comes to mind.
‘Objects Of My Affection’, ‘The Chills’, ‘Young Folks’, and ‘Roll The Credits’ are
also massive.
The emotional tone is young and exuberant, hopeful but wary. The lyrics are simple
but very sharp and right on. Take a ride on this CD to another world and enjoy.
Artwork & Handwriting by Graham Samuels
Original Band Photo by Johan Bergmark
Peter Bjorn And John, Writer’s Block EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING SCANDINAVIA AB
copyright 2006 V2 MUSIC SCANDINAVIA AB
www.peterbjornandjohn.com
~Peter Bjorn And John |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | June 12th, 2007, 10:16am
On viewing some Neutral Milk Hotel sites on the web recently, I came across a
statement by a N.M.H. fan stating that Pitchfork, the ‘new music’ website, in favorably
reviewing Arcade Fire’s 2004 debut CD Funeral – made Arcade Fire famous.
This is not true. Arcade Fire became famous because they are an awesome group,
who (just like the groups of the Elephant 6 community) play only ‘independent
and authentic’ music, and get great joy in doing that.
I will even go so far as to say that Arcade Fire is at its core a very Elephant 6-like group,
except that its from the north as opposed to the south. Those of us who heard Funeral
when it first came out in the fall of 2004, did not need Pitchfork’s review to confirm
the notion that Funeral was a great monster of a CD.
I remember trying to turn the N.Y. artist Dan Asher onto it, and when he didn’t like it,
screaming at him to listen to it more carefully. Within a week he was following
the group all over the East coast.
I had turned him onto Joanna Newsom’s amazing debut CD Milk Eyed Mender
in the spring of 2004, and by that summer he was photographically stalking her live
shows, here, and in Europe, so I was happy that he got it.
Like the Elephant 6 band, Olivia Tremor Control, Arcade Fire became famous
through word of mouth from their supercharged live shows. I vividly remember the
great reviews their live shows generated.
Arcade Fire’s new CD Neon Bible has 4 or 5 songs that are real masterpieces.
“Intervention”, “Ocean of Noise”, “Keep The Car Running”, and
“(Antichrist Television Blues)” are all totally incredible musical recordings, which are probably even
more epic and spectacular when heard and seen live.
In my opinion, the church organ on “Intervention” is worth the price of the CD alone.
Buy the CD, don’t miss them live, and be amazed.
first 3 images: Arcade Fire, FUNERAL, The Arcade Fire 2004, MERGE RECORDS
COVER ART: Tracy Maurice
PHOTO and INSERT: Hilary Treadwell
last 2 images: Arcade Fire, NEON BIBLE, ‘Recorded & mixed during 2006
at “the church” in Quebec. Additional recording was done at Win and Regine’s house,
the St. James Anglican Church in Bedford, Quebec, the Eglise St. Jean Baptiste in Montreal,
as well as in New York, and Budapest. Additional mixing was done at Olympic Studios
in London.’
COVER ART: Tracy Maurice
~Arcade Fire |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | May 2nd, 2007, 12:12pm
I just bought my 4th copy (in ten years) of Neutral Milk Hotel’s 2nd CD
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and it sounds as fresh and new as when
I first bought it ten years ago.
In my history of Indie music it ranks as one of the top 10 CDs of the last 15 years,
up there with Cat Power’s and the Palace Brother’s first CDs.
Since Jeremy Barnes, who plays drums and organ on this compelling CD,
resurfaced on that great Beirut debut CD last year, and Kevin Barnes, aka
Of Montreal, has just released his 7th CD (a review on that CD will be coming soon),
and Apples in Stereo, (Elephant 6 founder and Apples in Stereo guitarist Robert Schneider plays several instruments, and produced this 2nd Neutral Milk Hotel CD), released their first CD in five years, I felt I should express my thanks to the whole Elephant 6 community for (as a friend of mine
named Cricket said a few years ago) …”saving the music”.
The sound and lyrics on In The Aeroplane Over the Sea at first sound strange and familiar
at the same time, it takes a few listens to get the awesome poetics and place the musicial references.
The whole CD is great and should be listened to, all the way through.
Lead singer Jeff Mangum’s lyrics revolve around Anne Frank’s diaries,
while the music can be described as American hillbilly folk punk. The spirit
that dominated Neutral Milk Hotel and other Elephant 6 groups, was one
of exuberant co-operation, musicians would play in each other’s bands,
and live shows like Olivia Tremor Control’s were famous for their joyous
jam sessions.
PRODUCED BY ROBERT SCHNEIDER
Recorded in the Elephant 6 Recording Company July – Sept 1997
Art Direction: Chris Bilheimer & Jeff Mangum – “Flying Victoria” by Brian Dewan
www.elephant6.com
~Neutral Milk Hotel |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | March 27th, 2007, 3:31pm
I first heard the AKRON/FAMILY song ‘Meek Warrior’ on the REVOLVER USA SAMPLER AUTUMN ’06,
and instantly fell in love. The next day when I went to OTHER MUSIC to buy their current CD –
MEEK WARRIOR – one of the store’s owners suggested I try AKRON/FAMILY’S
debut CD – the self-titled AKRON/FAMILY first, since he felt it was a more focused CD.
After following his advice, but still getting MEEK WARRIOR, and listening to
both CDs, I agreed with his assessment – though I liked MEEK WARRIOR alot.
MEEK WARRIOR is a good CD, highlighting this new group’s experimental adventures,
and jams.
Their self-titled debut CD, AKRON/FAMILY , is more structured, slower, and
delivers a greater emotional punch, on top of some really new sounds. The debut CD is so
awesome – as to rank, in my mind, as high as, Who Will Cut Our Hair, the first
UNICORN CD. But whereas Who Will Cut Our Hair was playful in tone,
the AKRON/FAMILY debut CD is serious and sad.
image 1: AKRON/FAMILY CD cover
Artwork by ALBERTUS SEBA from the ‘The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities’ courtesy of Taschen Books
image 2: AKRON/FAMILY CD
image 3: Akron/Family Photo – MEEK WARRIOR CD insert
PHOTO BY DEBORAH SAMANTHA
image 4: REVOLVER USA SAMPLER AUTUMN ’06 – CD cover
AKRON/FAMILY, AKRON/FAMILY – copyright akron/family – ’05 Young God Records
AKRON/FAMILY, MEEK WARRIOR – copyright 2006 Akron/Family – Young God Records 2006
REVOLVER USA SAMPLER AUTUMN 2006 – MIDHEAVEN.11
~Akron/Family |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | January 16th, 2007, 8:08am
