Tokyo Police Club are not as authoritative and Asian as they sound, in fact they are pale indie rock boys from Ontario with tambourines and synthesizers. Their music blends blend pleasingly nasally vocals (think of your favorite Decemberists, or Neutral Milk Hotel) with big juicy percussion and flourishes of robot electronica.
Their new sophomore album Champ is out on mom+pop records on June 8th. This intro sounds like The XX, then it gets all happy let’s-go-ride-bikes:
STREAM: Breakneck Speed – Tokyo Police Club
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Download it for free on their website. I’m already thinking of putting this song on my summer mix (I have the first and last tracks picked so far, even though I don’t put it up until June. There was one other song I heard recently and thought to myself, “Wow, that would be a perfect track 2 on the Fuel/Friends Summer 2010 mix,” but I forgot to write it down. Le sigh).
Tokyo Police Club is fun live, and plays April 17 at Coachella, June 11 at Bonnaroo, and a June run supporting Passion Pit. Tour dates here.
On the second day of its second year, Monolith solidified its place as a festival to be reckoned with. Also, Jesus took the stage in a glowing cloud of blue light — oh wait, no that’s Band of Horses. Close to divine.
Although the attendance this year was a ways from capacity, Monolith is still one of the better festivals I’ve been to recently, with its diverse lineup of acts –from hip hop to acoustic indie, cock rock to electronica– and gorgeous Colorado scenery. Maybe it’s just our mountain air but everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Each time slot had at least one band I wanted to see, usually three or sometimes four. I could live the festival through another few rounds (with permission from my liver, of course) in order to see all the acts I missed. Kudos all around this year on a solid festival well done.
If Monolith returns in ’09, I still hold onto the hope that they can bribe somebody from the Dept of Parks and Wildlife or whatever, and find a way to incorporate camping on some of the rolling land stretching out around Red Rocks (what a gorgeous location, right?) to make it more of a destination festival, like Coachella. Staying six miles down the highway at the Sheraton West was nice but not quite the same.
So Sunday — armed with Chipotle and some parking lot libations — we rolled in for day two of the festival. After braving the unseasonably nasty elements the night before, we were pleased to see gorgeous skies again that this time stayed all day. The remnants of summer were the perfect backdrop to the sunny music of Pomegranates, the first whole set I caught on Sunday.
Pomegranates sound at once epic and approachable — music that demands you take notice but in such a chiming, iridescent way. Over sugary flourishes, their multilayered percussion built and anticipated then crashed down in avalanches of catharsis. I loved their set. WOXY sponsored their stage, and also loves them; check a full live Lounge Act set here.
I heard the hard-driving scowl and Southern rock of American Bang reverberating through a wall and tentatively opened the door to see who was playing. I was summarily knocked flat; theirs was one of those sets you happen upon and everyone walks out saying, “Who WAS that?!” Kings of Leon comparisons are easy (before KOL got all clean cut and pretty) with their Nashville roots, classic rock swagger, screams and skinny jeans. It’s stuff to play loud from your 1970 Chevelle while you drive to get tickets for the Aerosmith show, and it was great.
Tokyo Police Club played at the mid-afternoon mark, and the kids from Saddle Creek seemed competent on the large stage and unrestrained in their delight. I always think I hear a smile in Dave Monks’ voice on this song, and you can see it in the pictures below.
For the final song of the Avett Brothers‘ sundrenched set on Sunday aftenoon, bassist Bob Crawford laid aside the gorgeous baroque curves of his golden standup bass and picked up an electric guitar. As the band raged and thrashed their sweaty bodies through that final song, a sort of transliteration hit me. The electric guitar personified the same sentiment of outright rock that their whole set had spoken, but in the language of things like banjos.
Moreso than the first time I saw them a few weeks ago, this set was gutting to me. I kept finding myself riveted by a wry twist of lyric in a song that was new to me, or marvelling at how their voices blended, cooperated, and fought in the way that only brothers can. Their set caught the attention of the casual listeners and the unfamiliar — even the gruff security guard down in the photo pit. I noticed him listening intently, and then forsaking his post to turn around and gape as they launched into “Die, Die, Die.” He pressed me for all the details I knew about them and actually took notes. I think a lot of folks walked away with a desire to seek out more.
The Avetts have recently spent a few weeks in the studio with producer Rick Rubin for a new album due out in the Spring. They played one of those new songs, a sweet and simple tune called “Standing With You.” When I heard it last week I was struck by the lyric, “So many nights go by like a flash, from a camera without any film” — so much so that I typed it into my phone as a memo. Maybe I took a shine to it because I have a horrible memory. But I was pleased to find this video [via] and I ripped the tune for now (so I won’t forget):
With my head spinning from the Avetts, I climbed the 472 stairs to see the talent show spectacle of Tilly And The Wall. Their set was infectiously amazing fun because they have a tap-dancer as percussionist, don’t ya know. I never learned tap dance, but if I had, this is precisely the band I would want to be in.
I only caught the tail end of the set from sexy London garage punk duo The Kills, but as I wedged myself into the area between the edge of the stage, some scaffolding, and various amps to try and get a few good pics while I enjoyed their sounds, Jamie Hince spotted me and directed a little bit of his rock god energy my way. Blending equal parts Bowie and PJ Harvey with that clear White Stripes energy, I was impressed.
Band of Horses was seriously meant to play a venue like Red Rocks. Along with recent groups like My Morning Jacket who have sent their majestic songs cascading through the oxygenless air to rain down upon the happy masses, Ben Bridwell’s haunting high tenor sounded flawless, the band powerful in that setting.
Airborne Toxic Event has been busy in the week since Monolith, defending their art to the soulcrushers at Pitchfork, but at the show I saw they were single-mindedly focused on bringing their songs to life. They played on one of the smallest stages Monolith had to offer and packed it in — imagine the swells of this immense and cinematic song bouncing off the wall of red rock in that underground cubbyhole. Is it just me, or is this a great song? “You just have to see her; you know that she’ll break you in two.”
After Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip impressed the heck out of me at Coachella, I told everyone who was undecided in the late afternoon that their set was the one to see. With their intelligent and literate songcraft mixed with can’t-sit-still beats, I wasn’t disappointed this time either. Theirs was the single most crowded show I saw on the WOXY stage. There were two entrances into the hallway pitstop where the stage was wedged, and both doors had a line 20-30 people deep trying to get in to hear them. Deservedly so.
Thou Shalt Always Kill – Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (the original version, which I like better than the cut that made the album)
Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) was in their element headlining the second stage in the gusty September wind while the tightly-packed crowd danced under the stars. They sounded fantastic and fun, although I must say that Lovefoxx kind of confused me with that fluffy thing that maybe she borrowed from Bjork. By that point in the night it is good to know that Matt Picasso and I were on the same page; he wrote about the “poofiness that defied gravity” and admitted “while I should’ve probably been focused on how great they sounded, I kept thinking ‘wow, that Christmas tree thing is amazing.’” I’m so right there with you buddy. But the best thing was that watching her dance in it made me want to dance too. Which I suppose is the point.
For Mother’s Day I got this handmade wooden box from my little four year old. It held various treasures, including a coupon, some chocolate covered espresso beans (good choice), and an ant. The ant apparently escaped. It seemed like a good idea to him at the time to include it in the gift. I feel very lucky. I hope you all tried to take care of your mamas as well yesterday.
When not busy being a kickass mom this week, I listened to this stuff (actually, sometimes simultaneously):
Tessellate (remix by Tom Campesinos) Tokyo Police Club The folks at Saddle Creek (home of Bright Eyes / The Faint / Cursive) sent this over on Friday just in time for Mother’s Day. The first line here talks about “all the boys who call their mothers on that day,” and sonically the remix is an electrifying combination that admittedly your mother may not like, with what sounds like crashing garbage can lids over cheerily chiming xylophones. It works for me. The original version of the song is featured on the Tokyo Police Club‘s debut full-length Elephant Shell, which was released last month after two previous critically-acclaimed EPs. The remix can be found on the new 7 inch or the limited edition of Elephant Shell.
Gratification To Concrete Robert Pollard As we all know, Robert Pollard can’t stop, won’t stop. After releasing no fewer than four solo albums on Merge in the last two years, former Guided By Voices frontman has amicably left that fold to form his own GBV record label. Robert Pollard Is Off To Business will be released on June 3, and this song about a lady who somehow gratifies concrete will be the first tune to hit the internetwaves. In an odd Stipe-ian dichotomy, this will work best if you don’t try to understand Pollard’s lyrics but just enjoy the crunchy riffs at play on this monster jam of a summer pop song.
Cheap Champagne Sloan This new song from Canada’s powerpop/rock foursome Sloan starts with a sunny vocal breakdown that’s all retro-goodness, sounding like just four guys standing around on a street corner snapping in time. Each track that I’ve heard so far from their upcoming release Parallel Play (June 10, Yep Roc) wins me over in a unique way, and there lies some of the underrated genius of Sloan. They can fluidly slide between many different styles (most recently demonstrated on the 30-song tour de force of 2006′s Never Hear The End Of It), and it all works.
Sirens In The Deep Sea Longwave The cascade of swirling, sparkling guitars in this song from Brooklyn’s Longwave sound like the moment you roll your car to a slow stop on a gravelly roadside overlooking the lights of the valley. This single was produced by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol) and boasts some gorgeous, epic-sounding production. After tour dates opening for The Strokes on their North American and European tours, Longwave is playing some shows with the re-formed Swervedriver in the coming months.
I’m Now Mudhoney Recorded in just three and a half days, this 8th full-length album from Seattle’s Mudhoney possesses a raw and immediate punch. Although folks like Nirvana propelled to larger successes from the Sub Pop label in the late 80s/early 90s, Mudhoney laid seminal groundwork with the indie label through releases like Superfuzz Bigmuff. They were also featured on one of the first 7″s in the Sub Pop Singles Club with “Touch Me I’m Sick” (split with Sonic Youth). Hard to believe, but Mudhoney has been at it for twenty years (!!) and the sounds of this new song would suggest that they’ve lost little of their spitfire. The Lucky Ones is due May 20 on Sub Pop.
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.
Name: Heather Browne
