Mar 12 2010

Freelance Whales – Weathervanes

Category: Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 07:00

Freelance Whales
Weathervanes
Frenchkiss; 2010

As I’m sure that many other music critics reviewing this record will note, Weathervanes veritably swims with the sounds of Sufjan Stevens, Postal Service, and Death Can for Cutie. It’s impossible to get past those sonic touchstones when banjos, organs, accordions, bells, xylophones, programmed beats, and a pristine, clear tenor are ringing into your ears. But I’d rather lay down another basis of comparison here in that this outfit is a bona-fide anti-Owl City. Whereas that latter bit of musical huckster-ism has rightly been exposed for being the sham it always was, the music of Freelance Whales actively resists the quaintly cutesy tag by actually being able to twist popular motifs with a measure of real creativity.
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Mar 11 2010

Paper The Operator – Goodbye God

Category: Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 07:00

Paper The Operator
Goodbye God
Viper Bite; 2010

While the title is a bit ominously Nietzsche-esque and the subject material tends to drift into “sad bastard” territory, Goodbye God stands up tall as a zippy pop record that brings to mind early ‘00s emo and chewy chunks of early Weezer and The Rentals. Paper The Operator remains the primary musical outlet for the songs of Jon Sebastian, and this album retains all of the upbeat overtones of Solemn Boyz EP, while allowing for a few more introspective moments. This music has my early twenty-something self dreaming of a mythological project crafted by Chris Staples in twothirtyeight, Bleed American from Jimmy Eat World, and anything Chris Carabba recorded before he started penning songs for over-the-top superhero movies.
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Mar 10 2010

Peasant – Shady Retreat

Category: Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 07:00

Peasant
Shady Retreat
Paper Garden; 2010

Shady Retreat

Guest Contributor: Jen Broadwell

I’m driving down a curvy two-lane highway in Northern Michigan. It’s dark and the trees on either side encase me. This is where I am within the music anyway. If you’re like me, songs often take you back to a different time and place in your life. They can remind you of your past. Usually, I go back with an old song and remember a specific moment when it blew my mind. Sometimes, however, one listen to a new one can send me into a reverie of what went on before. Such is the case with “Thinking” by Damien DeRose (who operates under the moniker of Peasant), a stirring track on his new record – Shady Retreat.
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Mar 09 2010

Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

Category: Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 07:00

Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
XL; 2010

The Monitor

My first introduction to the music of this earnest rock outfit was during a day show at Red Eyed Fly on the Saturday of SXSW 2009. I was impressed by how much energy the guys were able to muster up in the middle of the afternoon on the fourth straight day of playing shows all over Austin, TX. More importantly, I was rather astonished to see so many people rush to the floor and start jostling with each other during the band’s 40-minute set, as day shows at SXSW are notoriously filled with industry people just standing around drinking and talking. After hearing Titus Andronicus play through a sizeable portion of The Airing of Grievances, I plainly stated that I was eager to hear where and how things could progress from there.
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Mar 08 2010

Media Monday – 03/08/2010

Category: Media & More, Music In My Ears — dryvetyme @ 12:00

March. March! MARCH! MARCH!!

As you can readily detect for yourselves, there’s a lot going on in this post. I’m going to attribute it to both SXSW 2010 being right around the corner and Spring being a prime season for bands to release new records. That being said, I hope you enjoy all of the great music this week!

  1. Music:
    a. Songs EP – Grown Ups
    b. I Am The Idiot Of The Jungle EP – Museum Mouth
    c. “Retaliate” – Benni Hemm Hemm
    d. “Talking About Freedom” (Fontella Bass Cover) – The Cinematic Orchestra
    e. “Bored Beyond Oblivion” – Monster Movie
    f. “Bermuda” – Kisses
    g. “Oh! Centra – Javelin
    h. “TV Guide” – Summer Cats
    i. “Sweetness” – Air Waves
    j. “In The Darkness The Light Seeps Through” – Transient Songs
    k. “El Consejo” – Grupo Fantasma
    l. “Careful What You Say” – Class Actress
    m. “Arrived Departed” – The Mercury Program
    n. “Magnetic North” – Fin Fang Foom
    o. “Raft Easily” – Rooftops
    p. Dust Teaser – Ellen Allien
    q. “If It Feels Alright” – Woven Bones
    r. “Diamond In The Dark” – The Fresh & Onlys
    s. “Hollywood” – Codeine Velvet Club
    t. “Beauty, Beauty” – Rafter
    u. “Beauty, Beauty” (Dominique Leone Remix) – Rafter
    v. “Friendly Ghost” – Harlem
    w. “Serious Bedtime” – The Balconies
  2. Video:
    a. “Lead You Through the Misty Fog of Milwaukee Ave” – Netherfriends
    b. “The Getaway” – Athlete
    c. “William” – LoveLikeFire
    d. “Success (Back To U)” – Stat Quo
    e. “The Mama Papa” – Plants And Animals
    f. “Trophy Room” (directed by Pete Ohs) – Slow Club
    g. “Journal Of Ardency” – Class Actress
    h. “A Spaceship For Now” – RJD2
    i. “The Glow” – RJD2
    j. “Hollywood” – Codeine Velvet Club
  3. Media:
    a. The folks at Travel Channel are launching a new program called Food Wars, and they’ve been nice enough to send me a preview clip of the premier episode, which features the long-standing rivalries between the top two wing shops in Buffalo, NY and the top two Italian beef sandwich eateries in Chicago, IL.
    b. On the Monday, March 8th episode of No Reservations, Tony chats with a few of his foodie friends about their favorite food obsessions. Here’s a sneak peek to give you a glimpse of what’s in store.

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