Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse are one of those bands that at one time meant a whole lot to me. I haven't heard their last 2 or 3 records. The last one I picked up was The Moon and Antarctica and I just kind of lost interest after that. To be fair, that record has such a strong association in my mind of a person, time, and place that it's maybe more due to that than anything that I moved on from the Mouse. After that record I actually stopped listening to them for many years and only recently did I rekindle my interest in them.

Many bands from that era were a joy to watch evolve from small club band to decent sized theater (and sometimes beyond) sized audiences. I was an avid show goer back then and have an enviable roster of bands I got to see. One of the only joys of being of a certain age! I first saw them at Bottom of the Hill and progressed with them to their multi-night stands at the Great American Music Hall. This was also the evolution of Sleater-Kinney, but i digress.

The appeal of the band is fairly clear in the same way that the Mountain Goats appeal is clear. Sad and angry songs for emotional misfits. People that have had rough lives, seen some shit, and use music as catharsis. In thinking back on Modest Mouse show going experiences I would say that it's similar to a Mountain Goats show going experience. The song Trailer Trash is a good example of the emotional side of Modest Mouse. This song always had a high level of crowd participation. A favorite of many, including me.

Horowitz

Rather embarrassingly I dropped the ball on a post I wanted to do. This post! Over a month ago I received an email from Darren who is behind
Filthy Little Angels. Very nice email exchange we had and he turned me onto some great stuff! So first up will be Horowitz who have put stuff out on various labels, including Filthy Little Angels.

Horowitz are an indie pop band from England. This song, Sweetness, I Could Die in Your Arms, has fuzzy guitar running throughout which really saves it from being too cute or twee. However, vocally and lyrically it is firmly in the twee camp. You like indie pop? You like twee? You will like this. Wonder if there's any chance of them playing with One Happy Island and the Smittens later this summer at the Indie Tracks festival in Derbyshire?

I encourage each of you to poke around the Filthy Little Angels site. There's some good stuff there.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Sorry for the lack of posts. I recently acquired not one but two computers to replace my incredibly slow older computer. It took me some time to get motivated to transfer music from my external hard drive to the new computers. Also, as you can probably tell, my motivation level varies and when I don't feel it, I don't feel it. I like to write about music when I feel super excited about it in hopes that my excitement is palpable and inspires those of you who read to give music you haven't heard or are curious about a shot.

I had a shocking realization recently. This song, Come Saturday, is my current favorite. Why the shock? Well, when I first heard The Pains of Being Pure at Heart around the time of their first release I thought that they were okay but nothing to write home about. When I learned that they got a drummer I decided to give them another chance. Then when I found out that Slumberland was making a comeback and releasing the record I became a bit excited. See, I was buying Slumberland releases when the label was in it's heyday. Definitely one of my favorite labels. Very happy they are on a roll!

Back to the song - this is one of those songs that I find to be perfect. Starting with a bit of feedback and going into a quick snare roll you know that the song is going somewhere quickly and with much exuberance! The chorus is pure pop perfection and refuses to leave my head. No complaints from me! The second verse does a fantastic job of capturing young love and the uncertainty of it all combined with the sheer joy of it. I anticipate that this song will make a lot of "Sprung in Spring" mixes this year... I'm not the only one who gets a little crazy in Spring, am I?

Lord Cut Glass update

From a Chemikal Underground Records e-mail update:

Lord Cut Glass - June 22nd!!!

For those of you waiting over four years for a new body of work from Delgado-extraordinaire Alun T. Woodward, then rub the sleep out of your eyes - the wait is over.

Twelve songs of theatrical, acerbic, poignant brilliance lie in wait with the release of the eponymously titled Lord Cut Glass on June 22nd. The track listing is as follows...

01. Even Jesus Couldn't Love You
02. Look After Your Wife
03. Holy Fuck!
04. I'm A Great Example To The Dogs
05. Monster Face
06. You Know
07. Be careful What You Wish For
08. Picasso
09. A Pulse
10. Big Time Teddy
11. Toot Toot

Previews, exclusives and interviews to follow once we get a minute to collect ourselves...

HELLO, CAN YOU TELL THAT I'M EXCITED?! I have indeed been waiting since the demise of The Delgados for this record!