Honor!

I was asked to contribute to this wonderful article on Rose Melberg. You can read it here!

Wild Flag

What can be said about Wild Flag that hasn't already been said? For a band that has existed for such a short time there sure has been a lot written about them! I assume that if you've found this post then you know the history of the members who make up the band. I don't want to bore anyone with repetitive detail. What I will say is that both Helium and Sleater-Kinney rank amongst the best live shows I ever had the pleasure of seeing so I was anticipating this record from the second I heard about it. When it was announced that Chris Woodhouse was recording it, well, my excitement level went through the roof! I've known Chris for a very long time (I think 16 years at this point) and have had the honor of being recorded by him. I know exactly what sounds he is capable of capturing and was especially excited to hear Janet's drum sounds and the guitar sounds on this record. I've recorded with some awesome engineers but Woodhouse did the best job at capturing the sound of any band that I was ever in.

I saw the band play at The Rock Shop here in Brooklyn last March at a time when I was pretty down on music. My appreciation of music has never waned but my excitement over it ebbs and flows. Shortly before the show date I considered selling my tickets but my friends talked me out of it. I take this opportunity to publicly thank them all. The show revitalized me! I felt excited about music again! Somehow, seeing artists that I have followed since I was in my late teens(!) up there and totally bringing it and rocking my face off was all I needed to feel good about music again. I was so inspired by it that I pursued playing music with a friend of mine whose musicianship/songwriting I've always enjoyed. It felt good to play music again! It was also awesome to TALK about music again with someone who has a similar nerd knowledge base. Yes, maybe there were conversations about how many tracks "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen or "Hysteria" by Def Leppard had on them for the final mix. Maybe.

Now the record is out. I've had some time to listen to it loudly and on headphones, my two tests of audio pleasure. Aside from one song that I just cannot get into, I think the record is incredibly solid. I love the production work, Chris added some nice headphone flourishes for the audio nerds. When I sat down to write this I was having trouble deciding which song to post. At the show, "Electric Band" was the standout to my ears. I thought it was incredibly catchy and sort of captured the spirit of the band. After listening to the record over and over on my commute, I've decided that Future Crimes is probably my favorite track on the record. Classic Carrie Brownstein tension, angst, paranoia, and intensity all wound so tightly with the release of it all coming at the end. Brilliant.

Lush

Lush. A band that I liked from the get-go. I always made a point to go see them live and always thought that they were great. It was nice to get proof of that with the release of some live stuff. Some bands that I thought were great back in the olden days (um, the mid 90s) were really quite terrible! Youtube is a double-edged sword, right? Live shows used to be about being in the moment and enjoying what was happening right in front of you. Now all you have to do is go home and look it up on youtube after the show to see what you missed when you were too busy (insert technological device, conversation, other distraction here) to be IN THE MOMENT. Of course, for oldsters like me, I can catch old video of shows I was at and be reminded that they were either as awesome as I thought or terrible in a way that I can't possibly remember. Actually, I don't let myself look stuff up that often. I prefer the memories.

Lush are a band that I have very fond memories of. Always with friends, usually at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and always sounding great and playing songs I wanted to hear. This song, Lovelife (live version), remains a favorite to this day. I've stopped trying to rationalize to myself what makes songs stab me in the heart. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment. However, Lush will always be tinged with sadness in my mind. Chris Acland, the drummer, had celebrated his 30th birthday in San Francisco with an Elvis impersonator and an audience singing him "Happy Birthday" and it was one of those things that as an audience you felt a little bit honored to be a part of. Somebody's joy. Less than two months later he committed suicide. (A side note, a few months before Chris's death another favorite drummer, Mathew Fletcher, from Heavenly had done the same thing. 1996 was not kind to British boy drummers and both deaths really hit me hard.) It put an end to the band and singer Miki Berenyi retreated from public life. One can only wonder what the future would have held for a band that was so young and talented.

Full disclosure: I snagged this mp3 from another blogger. I just can't recall who. I also can't recall if I've posted about Lush before. Hmmm.

Eleanor Friedberger

I am pretty dang sure I've posted on the Fiery Furnaces before. I would imagine that the post talked about my love for the more straightforward songs. The sad songs. Well, Eleanor Friedberger has released her first solo record. Guess what song is my favorite? Yep, the straightforward sad song. I am as predictable as a clock but that's okay. The favorite is I Wont Fall Apart on You Tonight. I think the rest of the album will be a grower because off the bat this is the only song that really grabbed me. The record is a snapshot of places and times and I am fond of that style of writing. Especially when it's places that I'm so familiar with. Having your view of something and then hearing someone else sharing theirs is always an eye opening experience. Obviously Eleanor is incredibly talented and I respect the less straight ahead approach to songwriting. If I can find my way in, I do think that this could be a great summer bleeding into fall record.

Allo Darlin'

Allo Darlin' are an awesome band from England though two of the members are originally from Australia. I first saw them in 2010 at the NYC Popfest where they charmed the audience who then demanded an encore after they played their set. The band were so flattered and humbled that night by their reception and for some reason that always stuck with me. In this day and age of bands coming and going every 5 seconds, to see a band that was clearly not expecting such a rapturous response really warmed my heart. For some unknown reason, I did not purchase the album that night.

When I found out they were coming to play the US again I planned on going to see how well my memory served me. So on June 8 me and some friends made our way to the Mercury Lounge to see them again. While the opening band was seriously one of the worst things I've ever heard and the bill was completely mismatched we soldiered through and kept our excitement intact by mocking the band that was playing. As they played the room filled up and it became clear that many others had fallen in love with Allo Darlin' over the course of the year. By the time they went on they were playing to a full room. For a moment, my belief in good old fashioned songwriting ability, touring, and word of mouth amongst fans was restored.

The band debuted some new songs (all wonderful) and were as fantastic as I remembered. My friends and I look forward to the new record just based on what we heard that night! In the meantime, I'd like to help spread the gospel. Their debut is a solid win from start to finish and it was difficult for me to pick one song to post. I went with my current favorite: Silver Dollars. Enjoy!