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Bodies of Water: Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink

Bodies of Water
Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink
2007 | Thousand Tongues

Bodies of Water produce a sound that, upon your first listen, you feel inexplicably good. Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink is the first full-length album from this Los Angeles band, one which I cannot stop listening to. The songs range from 60's Pop-folk numbers, full on choral chanting, and even spaghetti western tinged songs akin to Morricone ("Doves Circle the Sky"). Many feel like mini soundtracks to movies where the underdog is winning the battle or scenes of all out happy dancing in fields, somewhere along the lines of the Polyphonic Spree, just less voices.

Once the entire ensemble of voices and instruments kick up, there is a slightly Evangelical element about them, reaching out and forcing you to join in the symphonic chaos. I find myself wanting to jump out of my chair and wave my hands around, head tilting back in an unknown musical frenzy. Which brings me to the Christian influence over the lyrics on the album; namely, they are there. However, from an agnostic point of view they are not blatantly in your face, yet rather complementing the harmonies of the songs like in "We Coughed Up Honey" and "I Turned My Face" where you could always put your own interpretive spin on them. You have to strain sometimes to hear the lyrics because they mesh so well with the instruments, in fact, they almost feel like instruments at times. Songs such as "These Are the Eyes", "I Guess I'll Forget the Sound, I Guess, I Guess", and "Doves Circle the Sky" all showcase the band's ability to create whole stories of sound, adding and subtracting musical elements that continually build upon themselves until the final apex of the song, usually ending in their four part roars and pounding of instruments.

It's funny to think that regardless of how energetic these songs are, Bodies of Water is a band that must be experienced live as well. Though, "Eyes Will Pop..." does do the band justice with their sometimes off-key vocals and wild, lively playing. I usually try to recommend songs to listen to off an album, but really, from start to finish this is good listen, although it was extra nice to hear "Here Comes My Hand" again.

-Elana Rintala

Mon Jul 30 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Bishop Allen: The Broken String

Bishop Allen
The Broken String
2007 | Dead Oceans

There are lots of reasons I like Bishop Allen, including mainly their persistence in recording. Taking on the huge feat of release an EP per month last year is pretty amazing, especially when their consistency is set high above the bar. Oh, and they released them all for only $5 each. With all the chaos and lacking of inspiration that they had after producing their follow up to 2003's Charm School, Bishop Allen came out of the fog strong with The Broken String.

Stripped of any pretentiousness, the band delivers enthusiastic songs that balance harmony, dreamy pop and soft folky tunes. The re-workings of the older songs polish them off to more clearly defined tracks. "The Chinatown Bus" and "The News from Your Bed" both acquire this more developed sound with vocal and instrument additions. The only track that I prefer untouched was "Corazon". The original I feel had a bit more energy, however the new track on its own still stands up- only in a more over-the-top way.

The light-hearted sensibility on here is actually what holds the songs together, molding each one into something different but echoing the sentimentalities of the whole. I would argue against some opinions that the songwriting here is sometimes too flippant; it fits the music. People do not have to take themselves seriously all the time. I'd recommend "Like Castanets," "Butterfly Nets" and "The News from Your Bed."
 
-Elana Rintala

Fri Jul 27 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Smashing Pumpkins: Zeitgeist

Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist
2007 | Reprise

As much as I wanted to embrace a comeback album from one of alternative rock's greatest drummer/guitar duos I'm afraid to say I can't. Musically, Zeitgeist is too tough and over the top for it's own good. The sounds are heavy and thunderous in the guitar arena, which is never a bad thing, but the riffs become redundant and simply flatline, never telling a story or weaving a passage, peak or valley for one's mind to wander.

We could also rip this band for hours about their ridiculous marketing strategies, retarded liner notes featuring Paris Hilton, the obvious political ramblings, or possibly how this is basically a re-heated batch of Zwan b-sides. Nah. Let's talk about a few songs that are worth at least a couple of listens.

"That's The Way (My Love Is)," "Bleeding The Orchid" and "Pomp and Circumstances" have some redeeming short-term qualities. Pomp gets a nod because it basically contains a rip-off of Prince's scorching guitar leads from "Purple Rain," and that's the only reason I dig that tune. "Bleeding the Orchid" is rich and textured musically, unfortunately the ahhhs or ehhhhs during the chorus don't make any sense...maybe it's just his voice that sounds off. "That's the Way (My Love Is)" is the most hopeful moment on the album. It really is catchy and melodic like the Pumpkins should sound. The rest of Zeitgeist is disappointing with many poor choices in guitar sounds and effects ("Bring the Light" = And Justice For All-era Metallica). 

Zeitgeist isn’t a terrible record, its just…nothing. Old school fans will be pissed, younger generations will scratch their heads and wonder why this band was such a big deal in the first place, “I swear they used to be good young Jonny Switchblade!” Remember the old days when you’d buy one of your siblings a small present only you’d trick them by wrapping it up in a huge box? Those are priceless moments, and this album feels just like that. 

-Scott McDonald

Wed Jul 25 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Eastern Conference Champions: Ameritown

Eastern Conference Champions
Ameritown
2007 | Suretone

A singular voice can really make a band stand out. With the masses of droning male voices that overpopulate the airways with no distinguishing characteristics lately, it's nice to hear a band that makes you pick your head up and notice. Such is the case with Eastern Conference Champions' release Ameritown.

Josh Ostrander's powerful voice is backed by a strong musical presence that is incredibly well-tuned. The electric tracks on here combine elements of full on rock, catchy sing-a-longs, and some Brit Pop thrown in for good measure. Ok, maybe a lot of Brit Pop, but they make it work creating tracks like the opener "The Box" that borders on anthemic, throwing waves of music and chorus that builds up the mentality of the whole album. They surprisingly juxtapose quiet snippets with harsh, rocking guitars in the grinningly fun to listen to "Yuppy Hipster Fuck" and follow it up with "To the Wind" that makes your toes tap with musical goodness.

The piano work on the album though flip flops between either really helping make a song stand out, like on the track "Stutter" and “Gucci”, or makes the song sag and sound a bit on the mediocre side ("Some Sorta Light"). But when they have it right, it completely overshadows those mishaps. "Rabbit Hole" 's slower, more melodic piano driven song is reminiscent of a poppier Radiohead, while the closing track "Hollywood" strips down to a fragile, key heavy lullaby with guest vocal's by Maura Davis. I'd recommend "Yuppy Hipster Fuck", "Noah" and "Hollywood".

-Elana Rintala

Wed Jul 25 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Russian-based All of MP3.com’s former owner may see jail time, fines and a morality check

Denis Kvasov, the former owner of the highly illegal and devious music downloading site AllOfMP3.com, may be facing three years in jail and a 15 million ruble fine. Russian authorities are currently pursuing a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Kvasov. Read more at Crunchgear.com for the defense (no joke) of why Kvasov shouldn't be prosecuted, and why the site wasn't doing anything illegal until the U.S. government stepped in. Laugh, chuckle, guffaw, bleeeeeh.

True story: As a musician I contacted this company personally about two years ago asking where in the hell they found a copy of my album that is copyright-protected, licensed and owned by the members of the band and record label. They responded in a quick email stating, "our rules don't require us to get your permission or the label's, therefore, we can sell your music at any rate we choose." I simply replied by telling him to go f*** himself...in a polite way of course as to keep the arms race below defcon 2. Unlike the bogus statement made in the quotes below, I asked specifically to be paid and requested that my band members and label recieve quarterly statements as well...while being ripped off.

Basically, one can collect “societies” in Russia and license music to companies without first securing permission from the music's copyright holder or even the artist. It is the artists and/or label's job to ask for the royalties. Ethics anyone?

From Chrunchgear.com:

"A body known as the Russian Organization for Multimedia and Digital Systems (ROMS) is one such collecting society. ROMS licensed music to Allofmp3.com, who in turn gave ROMS a 15% cut of its revenue. Most of that revenue is paid by ROMS to the copyright holders if, and only if, they ask to be paid. By asking to be paid, copyright holders must sign an agreement with ROMS basically acknowledging it as a legitimate collecting society."

"Another thing to consider is that in Russia, a CD costs about $3. So Allofmp3.com's prices, to Russians, were similar to what we Americans pay on iTunes. It just so happened that Allofmp3.com was able to enjoy a little collateral cash (millions, actually) from Americans who didn't feel like paying full price for music. It's not that Allofmp3.com started for the sole purpose of selling deeply discounted music to Americans -- its main user base was its own citizens -- it just happened to turn a blind eye to everyone else from around the world using its service."

Wow.

Wed Jul 25 2007 · Posted in Daily on littleradio.com

Ice Cream Man chats with NPR

It's a been a big year for Matt Allen, aka Ice Cream Man. He just hit the 100,000 mark for free ice cream giveaways, has visited nearly every festival in the USA and now he gets pegged by NPR's Day to Day. We couldn't be happier for such a great guy.

A few years back when I started my first music blog I got an email from Matt, not knowing he was "that guy who pulled up in an ice cream truck after local gigs." He politely told me that I needed to get permission for a photo I used that belonged to him. Turns out I had accidently taken an ICM live shot, probably one of Norris' pics, and used it for a feature on my blog. Oops.

Since then we became friends and quickly discovered that we only lived a kick and a push away from each other in Long Beach. What else can I say? The guy has always been supportive and helpful in every way. Learn more about the man, the legend and the frozen treats via the link below.

Listen:  Ice Cream Man on National Public Radio

(You need Windows Media Player or Real Player to tap into the audio, who the hell uses Real Player anymore?)

Tue Jul 24 2007 · Posted in Daily on littleradio.com

St. Vincent: Marry Me

St. Vincent
Marry Me
2007 | Beggars Banquet

Annie Clark, under the moniker St. Vincent, has been getting built up to what I thought might be insurmountable heights over the internet the last couple of months, but Marry Me, her first full length album, not only climbs the mountain, but gets to the top and does a little dance. Beautiful is the first word that comes to mind when trying to describe her music, followed up with whimsical as she extracts elements of jazz, rock, folk and a little R&B. There are timeless elements here that show her breadth of talent. Jazzy pieces such as “What? Me Worry?” are reminiscent of classical Standards female singers. And tracks like “Human Racing” have a folky- Joni Mitchell quality to them.

At times though, I feel like I might be listening to one of the new breeds of female singers by way of the top 40’s chart when the songs take on a prominent poppier tone. “Paris is Burning”, for example, shares some similar structures with Jem’s “24”. “Now, Now”’s use of the child-like backing vocals was a bit too on the cutesy side for me as well.

Overall, Clark succeeds in creating a wonderfully accomplished album that is both soothing and energizing. Her songwriting is charming, quirky, and well worth the hype.

-Elana Rintala

Mon Jul 23 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Sympathy for the Record Industry for sale!

Sympathy for the Record Industry is looking for a buyer to own and run the label. According to Long Beach-based owner Long Gone John, he's basically grown tired of running the label and is looking to transplant himself in Olympia, Washington. The label has released some pretty outstanding material over the years: the White Stripes, Hole, Sonic Boom, the Von Bondies, the Muffs, Rocket From the Crypt, Roky Erickson, Suicide, the New York Dolls...do I need to go on? He's asking around $650,000 for the whole shebang, and that includes EVERYTHING. Here are some details listed in a recent press release:

-questionable/nebulous rights to nearly 750 releases by over 550 bands
-current distribution deal with foremost U.S. independent distributor with strong international distribution as well
-existing stock modestly estimated at a wholesale value of 1.8 millon dollars
-all master tapes, acetates, stampers and mothers to continue production of titles
-massive personal archive of sympathy rarities (lots of amazing surprises)
-preliminary cover layouts/some original artwork/interesting and valuable artifacts galore
-established web site and vastly lucrative mail order business

Contact John at , serious inquiries only please.

Mon Jul 16 2007 · Posted in Daily on littleradio.com

Iron & Wine: Boy with a Coin EP

Iron & Wine
Boy with a Coin EP
2007 | Sub Pop

If you're already a fan of Sam Beam's folky and intricate guitar pop then this EP should suit you just fine. "Boy with a Coin" is pulled from the new album, The Shepherd's Dog, and clearly marks its territory as the most optimistic song on this EP, usually a signal of what we can expect from a forthcoming full-length. The beat shuffles and the guitar is playful as tears of pedal steel guitar soar over the rhythm. It's a damn good song, too bad we had to pull it from our "download of the day" section a few weeks back.

The b-sides "Carried Home" and "Kingdom of the Animals" are nice little songs to have in your collection, especially the latter. "Kingdom" is more of a sing-along ballad with pretty layers of piano and pedal steel guitar uplifting Beam's hopeful and clean delivery. The song picks up and dives head-first into vaudville pop, like you just walked into a saloon. "Carried Home" is very depressing and "historic" sounding. A lonely, plucked guitar leads Sam Beam's saddening vocals depicting the reality and death of a soldier, the song even sounds like a death march from the Civil War.

Sam Beam once again taps into your soul with delicate folk music that feels just right, never over-the-top or obvious. This is a great introduction for what will probably be another amazing Iron & Wine album come September.

-Scott McDonald

Thu Jul 12 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger

Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger
2007 | Lost Highway Records

It seems like this year there is a return to mid-70’s rock in new releases. I felt that way listening to Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky”, and now Ryan Adams is falling in with that crowd. With Adams it is usually hit or miss for me, and as of late, more misses. Easy Tiger, his NINTH release, finally scores another hit. From beginning to end I found these slow tempo gems full of emotion, but not so overpowering or artificial to cause me to cringe, which is the usual side effect.

Adams jumps back and forth between that easy going rock to bluegrass tinged ballads but overall I just want to call it country. Regardless, he is more consistent on this album and makes the subtle changes of style work together instead of jarringly separate themselves. The album opens on a warm note with “Goodnight Rose”, an almost sing-a-long song infused with the twang found throughout the album. This desire to create upbeat tracks follows throughout on the quirky “Halloweenhead”, “Two Hearts”, and “These Girls”. There are also those heart-aching tracks on here to break up the cheeriness. “Off Broadway” and “I Taught Myself How to Grow Old” are two such tracks that make you sigh a bit with grief for the loneliness that pours out of both. Other notable tracks on here include “Tears of Gold” which feels like a truer country song backed by a lovely steel guitar, and “The Sun Also Sets” where Adams seems to have been able to channel the ghost of Jeff Buckley with his voice.

With a two year break between albums, Ryan Adams has given himself the rest he needed to put out a really stellar album, perhaps he should keep this in mind for his next. I’d recommend “Oh God, Whatever, Etc.”, “Tears of Gold”, and “The Sun Also Sets”.

-Elana Rintala

Thu Jul 12 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Justice: †

Justice
†
2007 | Vice

For those of you thinking Justice were going to nail the "electronic/dance record of 2007" tag right on it's big phat head you may be right, but I have a few issues with it, which I'll save for later. In general this album delivers a strong arsenal of gut-punching disco samples, Earth, Wind, and Fire melodies and a futuristic mix of electro-house-glitch reminiscent of Daft Punk shoving you to the dance floor. There's a lot to like on this record.

The first three tracks are pretty normal, even average, including the overly-mixed, cutesy, cartoon single of "D.A.N.C.E.", which sounds equally impressive compared to most of the remixes you'll find on this website. When track four comes up on your screen you need to take note because this is when the album goes into overdrive. "Newjack" ushers in the aggressively, distorted disco-glaze that is Justice's signature sound and universal appeal. The songs get smarter and more visceral, cutting up beats and hammering synths like an expert sushi chef on methamphetamines. "Phantom" (Parts 1 & 2) are even more devasting on the hips and senses. They feel like they were meant to be the core of this CD, well-placed right at the center of the album and totally mesmerizing. "Stress" and "Waters of Nazareth" grow tighter and more distorted with samples of 70's funk and disco. The album is so exhausting at this point but somehow lifts you up and pumps you full of adrenaline until it's all over.

My only reservation with Justice's † is that it sometimes relies too heavily on the big over-the-top, smacking-you-in-the-face-with-a-similar-beat program. Most of the songs are outstanding, but only distance themselves by a few samples and keyboard-manipulated strings. Fellow French act Jackson & his Computer Band, remember Smash?, already made a record very similar to this by cutting up different colors and layers of beats/sounds/vocals--allowing them to fall into an interesting yet seductive patchwork of grooves. Justice owes Jackson some gratitude, but still prevails, and even salutes, by making a heavier and modern dance record. It's too muscular and irresistible not too want to pass along to everyone you know.

-Scott McDonald

Tue Jul 10 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com

Jennifer Gentle: The Midnight Room

Jennifer Gentle
The Midnight Room
2007 | Sub Pop

While both haunting and childlike, “The Midnight Room”, from Italy’s Jennifer Gentle, their second full length release off of Sub Pop, is an album that takes you on a strange sound trip while playing tricks with your mind, even without the psychedelic drugs.

“Twin Ghost”, the first track off the album, creates a minimal, choral-like foundation for the cavalcade of noises and instruments to come, and then ends on “Come Closer”, a much needed mellower track, echoing the first, with simple drums, wavering vocals, and soft electric buzzes. The real meat of the album though takes on a bizarre, carnival-like atmosphere that at times is entertaining, and at others, such as “Granny’s House” that honestly scared the crap out of me. “Granny’s House” is frightening in part due to the pauses between the notes, and also due to the sounds akin to something being hit with a lead pipe. Jennifer Gentle’s main man, Marco Fasolo, utilizes such instruments of toy pianos, organs, and a voice that sounds like it’s being squeezed out several octaves too high, to create well structured and organized tracks that seem like they belong in a Dario Argento movie, or in the Haunted House ride at Disneyland.

It may be interesting to note that while creating this album, Fasolo’s studio was a country house in Northern Italy whose previous owner committed suicide by rifle; whatever ghostly residue left over seems to have impregnated this album. The psychedelic nature here is heavily reminiscent of Barrett-era Pink Floyd or the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper; I would even draw parallels to Nora Keyes here in Los Angeles. After a solid listening though, there is an air of kitsch-ness that cannot be avoided. While the entertainment of the songs is high, I find I need to take the album in small bites in order to fully enjoy it. I would recommend “Twin Ghosts”, “Telephone Ringing” and “Take My Hand”.

-Elana Rintala

Mon Jul 9 2007 · Posted in Reviews on littleradio.com