California troubadour Matt Costa has always had an anachronistic, classic streak to his music, from the sunny-sunshine beach vibe of his first album Songs We Sing, to 2008′s Unfamiliar Faces with quirky piano tunes like “Mr. Pitiful” (with that one-man-band video filmed on one of my favorite beach boardwalks of all time).
Matt’s third studio album Mobile Chateau (9/21, Brushfire/Universal) is the first time Matt has helmed the production, and the golden ’60s psych-pop result evokes The Zombies and the 13th Floor Elevators in a way you don’t hear much these days.
I admittedly grew up on a straight-awesome diet of KFRC (San Franciscooo) and their “oldies,” so you’d better believe I keep listening to this album over and over again. Here’s the first track — just listen to that.
MATT COSTA FALL TOUR DATES
Sept 18 – Manasquan, NJ – Algonquin Arts Theatre
Oct 2 – Chico, CA – Bell Memorial Auditorium
Oct 7 – San Diego, CA – Casbah %
Oct 8 – Tempe, AZ – The Club House Music %
Oct 9 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress %
Oct 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour %
Oct 14 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Downtown Brewing Co. %
Oct 15 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s %
Oct 17 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge %
Oct 18 – Victoria, BC – Sugar %
Oct 19 – Vancouver, BC – Venue %
Oct 20 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon %
Oct 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex %
Oct 23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater %
Oct 25 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater #
Oct 26 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Oct 27 – Chicago, IL – Double Door #
Oct 28 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick #
Oct 29 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom #
Oct 31 – Toronto, ONT – Mod Club Theatre #
Nov 1 – Montreal, QC – Le National #
Nov 2 – York Beach, ME – Inn on the Blues #
Nov 3 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club #
Nov 4 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom #
Nov 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Nov 7 – Washington, DC – Black Cat #
Nov 8 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
Nov 10 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theatre #
Nov 11 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Nov 12 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft @ Center Stage #
Nov 13 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In #
Nov 14 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird #
Nov 15 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
Nov 17 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues / Cambridge Room #
Nov 18 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s #
Nov 19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues / Bronze Peacock #
Los Angeles quintet Everest first caught my ear with their sunset-tinged, FM-radio feel of Ghost Notes, released in 2008 on Neil Young’s Vapor Records label. After they recorded the album using all analog equipment and “old school” tape machines at Elliott Smith’s New Monkey Studios, they put in time touring with Neil, as well as folks like Wilco and My Morning Jacket.
Their new efforts from the forthcoming On Approach (April 20) definitely sound more Led Zeppelin to these ears than hazy, golden hippie rock that I’ve best loved from them in the past, and it makes me feel riled up, in a good way:
To take with you: this song is an absolute favorite from that first album, one that gets stuck in my head for days at a time and simultaneously evokes Buddy Holly and springtime — two things that I could use this week: Trees – Everest
I also greatly enjoy their performance of “Rebels in the Roses” from their killer Daytrotter session. I look forward to hearing where they go next.
A HANDFUL OF EVEREST TOUR DATES:
3.04 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent w/ Big Light
3.05 – Los Angeles, CA – Natural History Museum “First Fridays” w/ Deer Tick
3.17 – Austin, TX – Maggie Mae’s (Vapor Records SXSW showcase; 1AM)
3.18 – Austin, TX – SXSW
3.19 – Austin, TX – SXSW
3.20 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Tonight after work I went down and pushed my fingers through the dark, rich-smelling soil in my little garden plot and breathed in the smell of newness on its way. I turned over the black soil with a vengeance, and added some organic fertilizer/compost stuff into it, even planting a few swaths of seeds before the sun slipped behind the peak and the wind grew cold on my damp and dirty skin. I have never ever had a garden before. Other than one notable exception, I’ve never even had much luck growing anything, ever. I feel I’ve always been totally disconnected with the simple profundity of seed to plant.
I am thoroughly, wildly, stupidly excited about this prospect before me that seems like magic right outside my door. Scarlet nantes carrots, Oregon sugar pod snow peas, Cocozelle summer squash, “Contender” beans, Farmer’s market blend mesclun lettuce, Little Gem romaine lettuce, and for good measure and sheer pleasure — Shades of Blue larkspur, snapdragons, and Sunspot sunflowers. The earth is black and soft and smells incredible. My heart is beating a faster just telling you about it.
The last two hours have been thoroughly good medicine after the week I had last week of illness and caretaking — the bastard flu that wouldn’t quit. Mostly recovered now, time spent quiet in a garden is amazingly good for the innards. Before I took sick, here are few songs that I was enjoying. While I was sick I mostly just listened to things like the theme song from The Office and The Daily Show, and that eerie vacuousness from LOST.
The Only One
Manchester Orchestra
Over that zingy opening riff and pummeling percussion, the lyrics pop in with “I am the only one that thinks I’m going crazy and I don’t know what to do / And I am the only son of a pastor I know who does the things I do.” Atlanta’s Manchester Orchestra are kids in their early twenties with a terse vibrancy and big bright punk-rock sensibilities beyond their tender years. The Paste review that I read this week claimed this track “recalled power-popsters Supergrass at their most chipper,” which of course immediately caught my attention. The new album Mean Everything To Nothing is out now, and they hit Denver next week at the Marquis, with fun supporting (the new band from The Format frontman Nate Ruess) and Oakland’s Audrye Sessions. Also — Manchester Orchestra is doing an in-store at Streetlight Records in San Jose on May 18; my old stomping grounds. Woot. Plus — Rainn Wilson loves ‘em?
Rebels In The Roses (live on Daytrotter)
Everest
Last Monday night as I lay near dying (or so it felt), the timeless Neil Young took the Denver stage at Magness Arena. Although I couldn’t make it into a standing position, I was pleased to hear that his opening act was Fuel/Friends favorite Everest, in a custom-built pairing. Everest possesses some of that great heart-on-their-sleeve lyricism with drawling country rock that Neil epitomizes. This live track was recorded recently for the excellent Daytrotter sessions, and as the band explains it is “a letter to someone that will never receive it. It’s set at Cave Hill Cemetery in Kentucky, and is the first song on Ghost Notes” — an immense album.
Too Much Time
John Vanderslice
“Woke up on the sand and I tied up my sleeping bag…” Over a majestically orchestral opening, this newest song from John Vanderslice‘s forthcoming album Romanian Names sounds like a blazing sun rising over the San Francisco beach, strong and sure. Thanks to my recent pledge to myself to check out more JV after he wowed me in concert, I am deeply liking all the shimmering dense colors on this album. Something about this song reminds me of Nada Surf’s “The Fox,” one of the darker songs on last year’s Lucky — struggling with the weight of loss and responsibility, but still stirring and sparkling. Before setting out on tour with The Tallest Man On Earth (love him), Vanderslice is playing an in-store at SF’s Amoeba on 5/18 and then a CD release show the following night May 19th at Rickshaw Stop.
Moth’s Wings Passion Pit
Last summer I saw Passion Pit play at the Monolith Festival, where their set shoehorned as many people as you would believe humanly possible into a tiny subterreanean dance party. Their nascent sounds then were irresistible, built largely around the addictively sped-up-crack sounds of “Sleepyhead” — a song which, once heard, will stick in your head for days. This track off their forthcoming Manners(out 5/19 on Frenchkiss) shows that there is another dimension to their uber-compelling sound. “Moth’s Wings” feels more organic and symphonic — “you come beating like moth’s wings, spastic and violently whipping me into a storm, shaking me down to the core.” It reminds me, actually, of the shimmering, bright cascades of another Monolith standout, Pomegranates. There’s a sharp iridescence here.
Early Aubade
Roman Candle
I’ll end with my favorite new discovery. I should say FAVORITE in all caps.
Like the fiery sparkly namesake of the band, Chapel Hill NC’s Roman Candle explodes into my night. What I’ve heard of their upcoming third full-length Oh Tall Tree In The Ear (May 12) is one of the best new things I’ve listened to in a long while. They’ve been around since 1997 (with connections to other locals like Ryan Adams and Caitlin Cary) but are new to me. And while Roman Candle is often compared in the same breath to some pretty solidly enjoyable stuff like summerteeth and good vibrations, today on this song they are all young and hungry Rolling Stones. After you’re done with this one, go listen to “Eden Was A Garden” on their MySpace, and then download the free EP on their website that I’ve listened to 24 times since yesterday. Then come back and we’ll talk about how good they are.
I didn’t know what an aubade was so I looked it up: “A poem or song of or about lovers separating at dawn; a song suggestive of morning.” What a freaking marvelous word to write a song about. Handy with a lyric, this song starts with this fine turn:
“I’d like to thank my lucky stars just for shining out tonight
like a hundred scattered eyes in the ether
I know it ain’t normal thanking stars but it ain’t normal seein’ stars
Outshine the London streetlights either.”
So this has been one of the busiest weekends in recent memory ’round these parts, leaving me exhausted, depleted, physically sore. I’m packing up the house I’ve lived in for three years, heading for hopefully greener pastures closer to downtown and the lovely neighborhood where I work. This entails slogging through a lot of crap, selling off everything that’s not bolted down, and getting ready for this stager lady that my realtor provides to come in on Thursday while I am at work and move all my furniture around and decorate in ways unknown to me. So when I come home it will be just like Trading Spaces except no Ty Pennington and no blindfold reveal.
In order to make the undesirable things (like bleaching the bathroom grout and polishing those hardwood floors) more palatable these days, I’ve been listening to some of these songs and albums. And I feel better.
Last November Lackthereof Drummer Danny Seim from Menomena(rhymes with phenomena, now I know) has a bedroom side-project called Lackthereof that actually predates his more well-known endeavors. In this ongoing project he plumbs some wonderfully moody, melodic, and obviously rhythmic depths. “Last November” is good for night-driving home from concerts, for that Lost Highway atmosphere as you watch the lines flick past. It starts with brooding clash and moves into something fairly soaring and surreptitiously suggestive on the choruses, part of an album chock full of rich moments. Your Anchor is out now on Barsuk Records.
Everybody Say Takka Takka No, funny you should ask, they’re not from Sweden or Iceland or anything like that. Despite sounding like a lost Sigur Ros cut, Takka Takka is actually a snappily-named quintet from Brooklyn. Their sophomore album Migrationis out tomorrow on Ernest Jenning Recording Co, and was “lovingly produced” by Sean Greenhalgh of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah drumming fame. It was recorded in Brooklyn and features performances by Bryan Devendorf of The National and Lee Sargent of CYHSY. Friend Bruce hears Lou Reed and the Modern Lovers, while I’d cite a definite “Could You Be Loved” on that intro. So yeah, we can agree that it’s eclectic (and intelligent and ear-pleasing).
Danny Callahan Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band I have a strong suspicion that behind the cleanscrubbed 17-year-old impression that meets the eye, Conor Oberst is just an old folkie at heart with a backporch fiddle, great stories, and a rambling beard. Maybe the kind with birds living in it. We all knew that it was just a matter of time before he ran off to Mexico with his Mystic Valley Band. This cut from the upcoming self-titled album was recorded in Tepoztlán, Morelos earlier this year and possesses many of the same loosely rollicking, great storytelling airs that I like from the most alt-countrified of his back catalog … but this time with astral plains, choloroform, and dying children. Spooky. The album is out August 4th on Merge Records, and they’ve got five in-store performances in independent record shops to celebrate over the next two weeks.
Trees Everest Remembering to blog this song is one of the greatest aha! moments I’ve had in the last few months. I had listened to this particular tune from L.A.’s Evereston serious repeat in May and heavily dug the muted Buddy Holly classic pop-song vibe with autumnal colors. And then it got lost like a leaf on a fast-moving torrent of my iTunes library, so I’ve been singing unrecognizable parts of the song to myself (mumbling through words I don’t know), Googling desperately trying to find out what it was, and sending myself text reminders late at night when I felt like I’d had a breakthrough on a new relevant detail. Here it is! It’s here and it’s so lovely. The aptly named Ghost Notes is out now on Vapor Records, and the band hits Outside Lands in SF in mere weeks.
By Yourself The Knew I had the pleasure of seeing this Denver band explode at the Hi-Dive Saturday night at the record release party for their new Boom Bust EP. The crowd was jumping and dancing to their somewhat unclassifiable blend of sounds – the Denver Post tried to nail it down with “punk, alt- country, classic rock, British dance-punk and garage rock.” Either way, these songs rock in concert and as a bonus their lead singer looks like a slender Will Ferrell. I am looking forward to seeing them again at the Denver Post Underground Music Showcase this weekend. If you live in Colorado, you should be too.
And look! Who’s your daddy?! Thanks, makeout club.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California Giving context to the torrent since 2005.
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.
(live on Daytrotter)
Passion Pit
Name: Heather Browne
