Mac Review Cast

The single is from Gravenhurst's upcoming album on Warp called The Ghost in Daylight due out in late April / early May.



And the song that got me hooked on the band years ago.

Check out Cate Le Bon. I have my first favorite album of the year. (Greta is among my favorite songs and is where I most hear Trish)

A friend to the North just tipped me off to Yamantaka. Deerhoof meets Emerson, Lake, & Palmer? What would happen if Boris and the Cocteau Twins created a rock opera using face paint? Epic, tribal,clouds of melody rising above chaos...it comes highly recommended.

You can purchase their CD or LP here.








YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - COUNTING TRACK from LZKA on Vimeo.

I bet you will like this song by My Best Friend who are a Brooklyn 5 piece. They have a new record coming via Warp Records (one of my favorite labels ever) on January 27th called In Ghostlike Fading. 

  My Best Fiend - Cracking Eggs by mybestfiend

I have been working on a My Bloody Valentine Cause & Effect that will be aired later this month and in the process, stumbled across this SF band, Fleeting Joys. File under MBV follower.

More stuff I really enjoyed this year:

Braids



We Were Promised Jetpacks



Jesu



Les Maledictus Sound


Moonbell



Il Abanico



And my favorite old record discovery was this one. I must have listened to the song Ophelia by Marie Blanche Verrgne & the Red Noise 100 times over the past few months. You can stream a bit of the song here.

My first attempt at this ended up reading more like a pity party for one but as a music blog I would like to stay on target and not dwell on the most horrendous year I have had or stress the unfortunate state of our nation and the world economy. The moral of this story is that even after being laid off twice in one year, being hit by a car while crossing the street (not to mention the tremendous amount of medical bills because I don't have health insurance), and feeling as close to rock bottom as a person can feel about their life, music is the one thing that continues to inspire me. Music connects humanity by a universal language that lets us all feel and share art without any of  the bullshit that divides us culturally. Creative expression through song is a gorgeous reminder of freedom, what it is like to be human and removed from the things that tie us down to our singular lives. Thank you music for freeing my spirit from an otherwise abysmal year and Kenny for playing the roll of my legs, arms, and brain for the months they were learning to work again.

I am happy to have made it to my first Goner Fest this year and loved it enough to want to go back every year from now on. As a label owner I am proud to have released Runhild Gammelsaeter's Amplicon and vinyl and bring the packaging I had dreamed of for it to life. There are many Cause & Effect radio shows I did this year that count as my favorite of all times (not to mention the most popular according to listeners) and those shows include Cave In, the history of sunshine Pop, Bob Schick of Honor Role, Voivod, and Converge.

It still also leaves me in shock and awe that we lost so many tremendous musicians this year and I feel like this year we said good-bye to so many inspiring women. (Trish of Broadcast, Ari from the Slits, and Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex to name just a few)

If there was a way to be 100% honest about collection of favorites, this first album would be on a list of its own. I have bowed to its alter more times than any other record this year. I will also say that live, despite them reminding me that I am 1 billion years old in rock years compared to their baby faces, their performance was phenomenal. This isn't just my number one record of the year - it is THE record of the year. Period.

Iceage - New Brigade - What's Your Rupture?



 
And then the rest of the albums I loved this year.
 
Chelsea Wolfe - Apokalypsis - Pendu Sound






El Rego - S/T - Daptone



The Men - Leave Home - Sacred Bones





Still Corners- Creatures of an Hour - Sub Pop




Tinariwen - Tassili - Anti



Dels - Gob - Big Dada



Bjork - Biophillia - Nonesuch








The Limiñanas - S/T - Trouble In Mind (shhh - it really came out in 2010 but I didn't hear it until 2011)


Canary oh Canary - Last Night In Sunway Knolls - Self Released - Best local band band hands down!
 



And last but not least, a quick mention of the most talented photographer I know. Christian Patterson released a book this year called Redheaded Peckerwood. It is amazing like all of his work.


Redheaded Peckerwood (Book Dummy) by Christian Patterson from Christian Patterson on Vimeo.

Artist: Canary oh Canary
Title: Last Night in Sunway Knolls
Label:  Self Released
Street Date: Out Now
Righter Magnitude Rating Scale: Strong leaning towards major








Besides a band I once released on my label, or maybe someone relating back to my radio show, I don't write about local bands, well ever. It isn't to say there isn't a lot of interesting music to be found in my backyard but there hasn't been an artist or band I was so excited about that I felt the need to write about them.

Bands with three people tend to fall on one of two sides of the coin. They either desperately try to make up for having less people by adding pedals, extra amps, and absurd levels of attitude to sound like 100 people OR they fall incredibly short of sounding much like anything and like cheap beer, they don't pack much of a remarkable punch. Canary oh Canary doesn't rest flatly on either side. They spookily stand upright on its edge in perfect sonic balance. How do they do that?

The secret is no one band member over steps their boundaries. Not one of them over plays or drowns the other band mates out. Josie Davis plays bass. Michael Harl plays guitar and sings. Noell Alexander drums. They neatly take on specific rolls showing perfect restraint and leaving the perfect amount of space for the two members to fill.

There are two skills very few bands have, the first of which is playing economically. By this I mean they aren't scared of the space between notes and drum hits. They use these pauses to their advantage. Canary oh Canary's use of space is dramatic and often haunting but because so few musicians are capable of giving each member plenty of room to work in, you don't hear it often enough. This is the first thing that jumped out on me when I heard Canary oh Canary and saw them live. They are masters at decorating space by dabbing it with starry tones, notes and beats.

I also stand in awe of CoC's ability to listen to each other. You can truly tell when band members respect one another's roll within the group. So often musicians do battle in a studio or on stage and the result is a pissing contest that spills out to floor and stays there. Stagnant and flat. Then there are bands like Yo La Tengo who clearly have learned how to communicate with each other through their instruments. They have interesting, often gorgeous conversations on stage, and each member plays an important part of that engaging exchange. This is where Canary Oh Canary also captures my ear. They are perfectly organized and in sync with each other as they play. I want to hear what they have to say and can't wait to hear where each song will go.

Every song on this EP makes a distinct point, moving like chapters in a story that takes place under the cover of darkness. And the exciting part is you never quite know what all this lack of light will bring. Horror could lurk around the corner but so could a magnificent dream or ???

That is the beauty of empty, dark space; anything is possible.

The best band in Richmond right now is Canary of Canary. Do yourself a favor and go see them play live tomorrow night, November 5th at Strange Matter in RVA.

AKA Broadcast, I miss you so much.

New record Creatures of an Hour is out now on Sub Pop and also wins a spot on my David Lynch radio show. (Although it is hard not to think of Broadcast and the Cranes too)

No really, another Nirvana cover, no less done darn well. I give you "Come As You Are".



And here are the stats from the Youtube page:

Taken from the album 'BATTLE FOR SEATTLE' - http://bit.ly/nsl6CX
Limited edition 7'' single released on September 12th 2011
Website - www.battleforseattle.com
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/kHUsRi

Reggae legend LITTLE ROY releases his album of NIRVANA tracks on September 5th through Ark Recordings. More info here - www.battleforseattle.com/biography/

Il Abanico from Columbia are magical and there is a free record to be had!