Racket Scan Podcast #6

Racket Scan Podcast #4 is up and ready for download.

IIn this episode: Tokyo Police Club, Lykke Li, Butterfly Explosion, Union of Knives, The People’s Revolutionary Choir.

Tracklist:
1. Tokyo Police Club – “Sixties Remake”
2. Lykke Li – “Little Bit”
3. Butterfly Explosion – “Next Year”
4. Union of Knives – “Operated On”
5. The People’s Revolutionary Choir – “Do You Feel Like I Do?”

Download here. Stream online here.

As always, subscribe to the Racket Scan podcast though iTunes here.

Podcast #4

Racket Scan Podcast #4 is up and ready for download.

In this episode: Colin Meloy, Candie Payne, Ghost of the Russian Empire, Shearwater, I Was A Cub Scout.

Tracklist:
1. Colin Meloy – “Barbara Allen”
2. Candie Payne – “I Wish I Could Have Loved You More”
3. Ghost of the Russian Empire – “Decade Without Death”
4. Shearwater – “Rooks”
5. I Was A Cub Scout – “P’s and Q’s”

Download here. Stream online here.

As always, subscribe to the Racket Scan podcast though iTunes here.

Podcast #3

Racket Scan Podcast #3 is up and ready for download.

In this episode: The Hourly Radio, Great Northern, Ghostwood, The Duke Spirit, and Nada Surf.

Tracklist:
1. The Hourly Radio – “Deaf Ear” (Shiny Toy Guns Remix)
2. Great Northern – “This is a Problem”
3. Ghostwood – “Red Version”
4. The Duke Spirit – “You Really Wake Up The Love In Me”
5. Nada Surf – “Weightless”

Download here. Stream online here.

As always, subscribe to the Racket Scan podcast though iTunes here.

Podcast #2

Racket Scan Podcast #2 is up and ready for download.

In this episode: The Bird and the Bee, Foals, The Soldier Thread, Computer Club, and Bear Colony.

Tracklist:

1. The Bird and the Bee - "Come as You Were"

2. Foals - "Balloons"

3. The Soldier Thread - "Fevers and Fireworks"

4. Computer Club - "Snobs"

5. Bear Colony - "Hospital Rooms"

Download here. Stream online here.

As always, subscribe to the Racket Scan podcast though iTunes here.

Racket Scan Podcast Now on iTunes

You may now subscribe to the Racket Scan podcast through iTunes:

Subscribe!

Every episode is 5 songs of the latest and greatest indie rock (post-rock, indie-pop, folk, anti-folk, shoegaze, electro, singer/songwriter, punk, Brit-rock, and even Bjork). I hope to have one for you every week, with minimal talk and maximum music. Subscribe today!

Podcast!

This is the first of what I hope will be many podcasts here at Racket Scan. Hopefully find them soon on iTunes as well:

Racket Scan Podcast #1

Shutting Down...

So, as you may have noticed from the complete lack of posts, I'm done posting on Racket Scan. The publications I'm writing for nowadays would not appreciate me reposting articles and reviews here, and I simply do not have the time to post independent material here. Sorry!

For the future, you can find my writing in the ChiTunes section of the Chicago Tribune's RedEye every Thursday, Soundcheck Magazine, 80108's IndieRock and AllAges Chicago channels, and Gapers Block's Transmission music blog.

My contact information is in the "About Me" section and remains the same. Thanks for your ongoing support!

Bury the Sound--Autumn Magnet

God help me, I love swirling guitars. If all music had to somehow be wiped from the face of the Earth, keeping shoegaze with me would be enough to last a lifetime. There’s enough complexity beneath the vibrant sonic waves, hiding new pieces of songs yet unheard, to keep me fixated for years. Such is the case with Bury The Sound. A new face on Hidden Shoals Records, Autumn Magnets is the Australian group’s debut release—featuring three tracks totaling near 25 minutes of cataclysmic instrumental work. From the haunting piano-scorched landscapes of “Gemini Unbound” – where the guitars glimmer and sizzle behind a driving pulse of bass and piano twirls – to the more traditional shoegaze of “Saratoga” – similar to an earlier Explosions in the Sky or Butterfly Explosion – Autumn Magnets is a glorious snapshot at the enormous potential with Bury The Sound. More friendly to the ear than My Bloody Valentine and perhaps quieter than Explosions in the Sky, Bury The Sound achieve a special niche in the instrumental shoegaze spectrum—one that will surely be gobbled up by music fans waiting for just such a conglomerate. “What Would One Become” settles the matter by achieving that sort of multi-emotional musical composition that Explosions in the Sky does so well. The eerie, irrepressible piano soars above a grounded guitar carefully strumming along to create a mural that could be sorrowful or inspirational—or both at once. That feeling, whatever emotional response is garnered from your ears, is built upon slowly but surely through the song’s near 9 minutes, until finally opening the flood gates and letting all hell through in a massive climax. This is instrumental shoegaze at its best, the kind that makes my mouth water. I beg and plead to the good people of Hidden Shoal Records and Bury The Sound—give me more! The first taste was free, and now I’m hooked.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

Manic--Floor Boards

These major-label EP releases from up-until-now unknown acts always intrigue me. How good do you have to be to nab a place on a big label, before you even have recorded music out? I would say damn good, which most always sets my ears up for a disappointment. I’m very unfair in this way, and quite prejudice. Would I expect this much out of a self-released, or indie label band? No, but because they’re not entering my CD player with the preconceived notion of better-than-you rockness. Well, Manic is a good case of this as any. Their five-song EP Floor Boards, released on Suretone Records (a part of Interscope) starts off impressively and strong. “Chemicals for Criminals” is a catchy alternative track, with mildly emo themes of shaking off a hang-over planted over razor-edged guitar instrumentals. From there though, it’s mainly downhill. “Café Barcelona” is a uninteresting alt-rock track, and “Leaving Araby” – while it may be the second best track on the release and blisteringly emotional – still produced a yawn. “In A Room On Fire” hardly sounds like there’s a fire raging somewhere, and “Mr Evans” sounds too much like a Thom Yorke track. In fact, most of Floor Boards could be labeled as a Radiohead rip-off…but not in any seriousness. Radiohead sounds much better. Granted, this is Manic’s first EP and debut release, so it is to be expected that they are still finding their feet musically—my only question is why they deserve to be nestled in Interscope Records’ bosom.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)