January 27, 2007

The Hero Cycle--Lakes and Ponds


The Hero Cycle are one of those bands you discover…and instantly want to hide. You want run with them to some cave and bury them within, hoping against all hope that no one will come strolling by and discover your treasure. You sneak out at night – when no one’s watching – and uncover their wonderfully indie stylings, entreating yourself to a listen…but not too loud. Yet always you know that someday your secret will be revealed, and your treasure taken away. The Hero Cycle is that treasure, and there is precious little time remaining for them to be hidden away in your cavernous horde of musical talent. Their newest EP Lakes and Ponds feature brilliant shoegaze and indie tunes, including the vibrant "American Proxy" ("Gettin’ tired / Of running on empty") and revealing opener "Breathing In." The Hero Cycle, while suffering from a few rough spots (but that’s what the first few EP’s are for) craft a brilliant musical landscape, and will take your breath away with the skill with which this young band plays. Grab a listen of Lakes and Ponds now so you can mourn with the rest of us when the world discovers The Hero Cycle.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

Jean-Paul Bondy--The Path of Most Resistors


Born and raised in Detroit, Jean-Paul Bondy was consumed in his early years with post-rock, new-wave, techno, and industrial music. Hopping between various bands and playing as a hip-hop DJ throughout the city, Bondy eventually decided to move west. He arrived in LA in the early ‘90s, where he further crafted his musical skill by turning his attention to slowed versions of electronica. He continued creating ambient and chillout mixes with various outfits – including Volsoc (as Volum) with Justin Maxwell – before moving to Berlin. Once in Germany, he began work on his first solo composure, The Path of Most Resistors.

The Path of Most Resistors is a relaxing and downtempo collection of well-conceived tunes that play with the ear, while always remaining in the quiet musical shadows. The length of the songs create a lull which disengage the listener from nit-picking the songs, leading them to hear and feel the overall emotion and composure in a track. Bondy mixes in elements of hip-hop as well, as the political call-back opener Something Is Not Right displays. Yet, even this influence is slowed and pulled-back as if Bondy is prescribing each musical piece their own brand of tranquilizer. His early industrial and new-wave experimentations are brought forth in Cold Reformer, a salute to Depeche Mode, and in Dry Humper.

Bondy offers up some dark instrumental magic in Prompted Some Observers—a haunting mixture of electronica pushing its way through his own brand of musical sludge. The entire album flows well from song to song, creating a cloud over when a track ends and when another begins. The most breath-taking track is saved for last. The 12-minute epic Bit By Bit/Ear Worms rounds out the album and overdoes everything that has come before it. Slowly beautiful, it pushes on with glittering effects and twinkles brightly popping and snapping around a morose chill-out beat. For 12 minutes Bondy keeps up the beat, complete with eerie vocals from Rochelle Vincente.

Altogether, The Path of Most Resistors is slow burning composure of beautiful background noise. While some songs, such as Something Is Not Right and Cold Reformer stand strong on their own, the true strength of Jean-Paul Bondy’s creation is as a whole: an hour-long of constant beats that stay in the shadows. Bondy does not make his music pop out and grab you in, rather he lets the groove slowly evolve, until without realizing it there is a solid wall of wonderful sound filling up all the space around you. A good chillout album that goes beyond its objective, The Path of Most Resistors is a highly recommended pick.

(Published at 365Mag.com)

January 22, 2007

The Shins--Wincing the Night Away

With growing crescendo, bubbly instrumentals lead into a full-on explosion of bright bouncing melodies in The Shins’ "Sleeping Lessons," their opening track on the eternally tricky third album, Wincing the Night Away. Veteran Shins fans should feel comfortable in the warm overflowing, pop-injected intro track—but don’t get too comfortable. "Sleeping Lessons" serves more as a transitional piece, leading into The Shins’ new refined sound. While a few songs relive this "classic" Shins sound ("Phantom Limb," "A Comet Appears"), Wincing the Night Away finds James Mercer and The Shins experimenting with down-trodden and melancholy tones—experimentation that adds a breath of fresh air to the easily bungled third album.

"Red Rabbits" and "Black Wave" play with this idea, and as a result become some of the most powerful tracks on the album. "Red Rabbits" in particular is softly chilling, due mostly to Mercer’s dark lyrics: "So help me, I don't know, I might / Just give the old dark side a try / Don't cast your warring eyes on the shore / Did we even the score?" Complemented with some sort of underwater percussion and somber guitar-work, Mercer strains out his last breath to finish the song, "We've pissed on far too many good intentions held by clever sprites / And they're all standing up for their rights." Wincing the Night Away features a good balance however, and it’s not all down-and-out melancholy. "Australia" features wonderful melodic refrains, a bouncy upbeat rhythm line, and the tongue-teasing chorus "You'd be damned to be one of us girl / Faced with a dodo's conundrum / Ah, I felt like I could just fly / But nothing'll happen every time I try." The masterpiece of the album however is "Split Needles," a tune that shows just what musical heights The Shins can climb to with their new-found sound. Awe-inspiring vocal climaxes rock the listener with sweetly dramatic lyrics, sweeping instrumentals, and an overall sound that could make this album your favorite.

Wincing the Night Away sheds light on The Shins incorporating a new sound into their peppy modus operandi. Incorporating ‘80s influences with a down-trodden melancholy theme, The Shins are clearly moving in a new direction with their music. I hesitate to call this new direction an improvement per sea, only because nothing about The Shins’ earlier sound was necessarily in need of improving. More, it is a welcomed change that shows a mature band modestly flexing its creative muscle and crafting songs that sound refreshingly different from their earlier works, while remaining true to their musical foundation and avoiding alienation of old fans. The Shins win a major victory in the always difficult third album by filling Wincing the Night Away with a sound that’s been tinkered with…but not overhauled.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

January 19, 2007

Jim Noir--Tower of Love

In his debut album -- Tower of Love -- Jim Noir proves to be a notable singer/songwriter. Combining influences from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and contemporary artists, Noir provides a kaleidoscope of vintage class, modern light heartiness, and talented song-writing. Extremely catchy from the word go, "My Patch" and "Key of C" climb into your head with memorable rhythms as Noir adds his delicate boyish vocals. Other songs such as "Climb a Tree" and "Tower of Love" bring up memories of ‘60s and ‘70s folk artists, as "I Me You I'm Your" hint at Beatle-like vintage British influences. Despite some odd and annoying patches, Noir succeeds in crafting more than a few warm and enjoyable tunes. In Tower of Love can be found the cheekiness of the Beach Boys, the warm summers of the Mamas & the Papas, and the modern melodies of Belle & Sebastian—as well as Noir’s own unique touch, ("Computer Song" is a wonderfully bouncy modern ballad). Warmly brilliant, Jim Noir is a man to watch for in the future.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

January 18, 2007

The Earlies--The Enemy Chorus


So many oddities, so little time. So, if you’re unfamiliar with The Earlies, get this: half the band lives in England, the other half in Texas. From what I understand, that sort of commute tends to get in the way of the creative process, so the band industriously started a system of "musical pen pals," using technology to craft an album full of songs. The UK release of These Were the Earlies and subsequent touring brought the group physically together for the first time, as well as swelling their numbers to 11. Interested yet? The Enemy Chorus is The Earlies latest work of trans-Atlantic music, and is a mish-mash of just about everything you could think to throw into an album—all grinded and blended for your pleasure. A orchestra of brass instruments pokes their way through in "No Love in Your Heart," as "Bad Is as Bad Does" simulates what it would be like if The Velvet Underground played on a train and "Found a Lion and Earth" experiments with a drugged-out Chicago sound (the band, not the city) . "Try to keep your eyes closed / This might take all night," declares The Earlies’ vocalist, transitioning from a rickety piano line in "Burn the Liars" into outerspace orbit with a slew of goofy and hypnotic out-of-this-world electronic effects. Getting the picture here? The Earlies never stay in one set rhythm or type of sound within one song, and it’s easy to get lost within the unsettling hold of The Enemy Chorus. From soft acoustic tear-drippers to full out African-drum grooves, The Earlies elude classification but not like-ability. Take away all the icing – that is, the goofy effects, varying genres of influence, and cheeky attitude – and you’re left with just some damn catchy songs. You listen to "When the Wind Blows" a few times, and tell me you won’t be humming it for the rest of the day. The Earlies have released a brilliantly wonderful album, despite the trans-oceanic commute.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

January 14, 2007

Kabuki--Fever Pitch


The ever-talented German drum & bass producer and mixer Kabuki is back with his newest single release: Fever Pitch. Never accepting simplicity in his work, Kabuki shows off his veteran talents for creating complex fast-paced and beat-ridden environments, all packed within two tracks. Pumping as many influences and varieties of sound as he can into his work, Kabuki crafts tracks that never sound monotonous, and yet feel much longer than the two-track playlist reveals.

The namesake song Fever Pitch wraps a quick-paced drum beat with a jazzy piano riff, all coated with seductive and somewhat unsettling vocals. This combination is broken up by a quick interlude of electronic trinkets and treats, before exploding back into Kabuki’s well composed melody of jazz, beat, electronica, and emotion.

Side B reveals Lunar Phase, which reveals an oriental twist in Kabuki’s sonic repertoire. Again, after a softly mysterious intro, Kabuki kicks the song into high gear with a break-neck-speed drum rattle, this time accompanied with heavy bass. He lets this mix expand, momentarily cranking the distortion into a peak – holding the tension – before finally letting the rhythm crash back into it’s comfortable groove. The song continues in a rattlesnake snare beat, while the deep bass winds intricate circles ‘round and ‘round. One by one the pieces of the composure break away, until the listener is left with nothing by silence.

In just under a dozen minutes Kabuki has said his piece and has walked off the stage, but the listener is breathless. Here, in the space of two songs, he has pumped so much rhythm and melody that the audience is gasping for more. Lucky for you though, that you can replay Kabuki all over again.

January 13, 2007

Field Music--Tones of Town


In a quick 1-2-3 of releases, Field Music shipped out their self-titled debut in 2005, sophomore effort Write Your Own History in 2006, and now Tones of Town in 2007. Hailing from Sunderland, England, Field Music combine silly English-derived indie with a mellow brand of easy-going orchestral and chamber stylings. The result: a horribly mellow Futureheads, with a violin instead of a guitar. Intriguing? Very much so. From the very opening of "Give It Lose It Take It" Field Music becomes elusive to wrap with a description, as their flowing harmonic melodies almost hypnotize your ears from making snap judgments or comparisons. The namesake track "Tones of Town" shows off its album-naming worthiness with up-beat and sunny melodies, and "A House Is Not A Home" finds Field Music’s vocals – a fast-paced attack of British accents that sound strongly of The Futureheads – melding with classic guitar riffs and orchestral effects that could have been taken straight from The Beatles. The combination may raise eyebrows, but works wonderfully. The album runs to its end, but not before "A Gap Has Appeared" pumps the speakers full of sorrowful and reflective orchestral sounds, blending into a delicious soft-edged pop piece. Field Music blend influences very well in Tones of Town, and utilizes their mellow orchestral instrumentals beautifully. For a lazy sunny day – even in gray January – pop Tones of Town in.

(Published at ComfortComes.com)

Little Barrie--Stand Your Ground


All fans of jam bands, Traffic, Cream, jazz-rock, blues-rock, and even Led Zeppelin and Hendrix listen up: Little Barrie is playing for you. A warm modern-day jam band, Little Barrie follow-up their We Are Little Barrie 2005 debut with Stand Your Ground, a slow-moving album of excellently vintage guitar work, easy-going lyrics, and a classic attitude. Songs such as "Love You" and "Pin That Badge" immediately evoke memories of Cream, Traffic, and other classic ‘60s jam bands. Little snippets of a guitar riff here or vocal croon there remind one of Hendrix’s guitar style and Led Zeppelin’s heavy blues roots. "Green Eyed Fool" could divert into a Stooges song from the overly distorted Iggy-like intro, but quickly declares (by use of a scratchy vintage guitar solo in the spirit of The Eagles) that Little Barrie is firmly rooted in the classics of yesteryear. Song after song provide new jams, each with simple lyrics but wonderfully diverse guitar work. Indeed, most of the album is Little Barrie’s superb instrumental work, establishing a groovy beat backbone and laying intricate lacings of guitar work over the top like sonic icing on a cake. The guitar solos in "Why Don’t You Do It?" smash Clapton, Page, and Hendrix into one. While it may not be as good (and what could be better than a Clapton-Page-Hendrix guitar beast?), it sure is refreshing to hear this sort of music played so well nowadays. Little Barrie have put together an excellent album for anyone who enjoys the sound of a scratchy vintage guitar cranking out a good ‘60s jam.

(Published at ComfortComes.com)

January 09, 2007

My Majestic Star--Fining


So you say you like My Bloody Valentine, but all that feedback and gobbilty-gook tends to rub your head the wrong way? Headaches result from Ride and it pains you because "Vapour Trail" is just so darn good? Boy oh boy do I have the band for you then. Meet My Majestic Star (mmm, can you smell the alliteration?), the smooth, creamy version of My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and any other shoegaze band you can think up. Ethereal soothing sounds can be found aplenty here, but without the mind-numbing ax-splitting feedback found in Loveless, and the 11-minute "Attachments" can compete with "When You Sleep" and come out holding it’s own. The lovely melodies and sweeping crescendos found in their latest work Fining will have even the hardest shoegaze rocker swimming in a pool of shimmery landscape-filled emerald tunes. "The Letter F" and "Fining" are wonderfully ambient tracks that also achieve a bit of mainstream pop-ability, which lets the listener get gobbled up by My Majestic Star faster then most shoegazers. Fining is a relaxing and exciting release all at once. Short and punchy, My Majestic Star prove to be a wonderful remedy to overworked shoegaze ears—a remedy that (unlike that stuff your mom gave you when you were little) tastes better with every dosage.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

January 08, 2007

Rising like the Sun and the Moon--An Interview with Sam Endicott of The Bravery

Somewhere, someplace, pounding through some lucky person’s eardrums, exists The Bravery’s sophomore album. Slotted for release in early 2007, The Sun And The Moon follows up the New York rockers’ self-titled debut in 2005. The debut – a vibrant retro mixture of rock, techno, and pop in the spirit of Bloc Party, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and Rock Kills Kid – has gathered a sizable fan base for the band and a fine collection of raving reviews. With the likes of MTV, Pitchfork, Mojo, and Rolling Stone praising The Bravery, it’s no surprise that the music world waits on the edge of its seat to see what The Bravery has cooked up. For more info on the upcoming release, Perpetual Toxins got a hold of Sam Endicott—The Bravery’s vocalist and guitarist.

"It still sounds like us, but it’s very different," reports Endicott of The Sun And The Moon, "It’s a lot more organic…the sounds are created by unusual acoustic instruments like strange organs, vocal effects, a string quartet…that sort of thing." The album will be missing much of the synthesizer instrumentals found in their debut release, in part because of producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, , Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, etc. etc.) and the band’s Atlanta recording location. "It was different because we did most of it in Atlanta," confesses Endicott, "but we did a lot of it the old way too—just in a basement in New York…the best of both worlds."

The "old way" is certainly familiar to the New York residents, who met in college after a childhood education in punk rock (and aspirations to be astronauts). Endicott, who grew up outside of the city, was blown away by the musical diversity found within. "[We] started going to underground dance clubs and hearing this great indie-electronic music. It was like techno for people who liked rock."

Inspired by the fusion of his old love with techno (not to mention the presence of John Conway, the "electronica guy," who went to college with Endicott), he set out to create a "garage-y, live rock band" melded with the sounds and beats of the New York underground. With bandmates Mike H., Michael Zakarin (who were pulled in from a newspaper ad), Conway, and Anthony Burulcich (veteran drummer from Bishop Allen), the rookie band played their first show—opening for The Animators at Brooklyn’s Stinger, summer 2003.

"It was an absolutely tiny club," remembers Endicott, "There was like, 15 people there—mostly siblings and ex-girlfriends." Despite a knife-fight at the closing of the show ("Though I don’t think any of our siblings or ex-girlfriends were involved"), the show was a relative success. The surprising upswing in local popularity soon after encouraged the fledging group. "We’d stand outside Tower Records all day handing out CDs we had burned." All the fliers posted and demos handed out yielded results.

"Suddenly some major radio stations started playing the mp3’s from our website, which almost never happens." The tracks being handed out were early cuts of tracks soon to be found on their self-titled EP, much of it recorded long before the Stinger show with only Endicott and Conway. "It was incredibly amateurish. The equipment we used was beyond shitty." As soon as major radio stations began to take notice however, "we started taking the whole thing more seriously." Mostly because more than radio stations and listeners were getting hooked on The Bravery’s cocky retro sound—record labels were too.

Island Records signed the band to their roster, and The Bravery EP was released in 2005. Greeted with eager open arms by listeners and critics, The Bravery proved their merit with a blistering set of catchy tunes that evoke memories from the ‘80s dance floor mixed with punk attitudes. "Unconditional" and "An Honest Mistake" are lined with bouncy bass backbones while lacey synthesizer effects, scything guitar bits, and Endicott’s bittersweet vocals lightly toe their way through the retro sound blast. The release could not have come at a better time either: The Killers had released their Hot Fuss blockbuster a year before, Hot Hot Heat were priming for their release of Elevator a month later, and music lovers eagerly awaited Franz Ferdinand’s sophomore release You Could Have Had It So Much Better. The music world was swelled with the ecstasy of ‘80s dance-infused rock outfits, and The Bravery launched their debut right into the center of the storm with a refreshing playful attitude.

With the album’s success came the music videos, the most eye-catching being "Fearless," in which the band members perform the song on-top of racing speed boats. "That was the most fun day of my life," recalls Endicott with glee. "They just strapped us to boats and did it for real. The advice they gave us: ‘If for some reason the boat flips over and you’re trapped underwater, just try not to breath.’ That was reassuring…It was also kinda the most terrifying day of my life." Fearless indeed.

While Endicott leaked all he would about The Sun And The Moon, he does reassure us that The Bravery will resume their touring madness again to support the album. He’s not thinking too much past then, but does muse that he would someday like to produce other bands. But, releasing his own band’s second album and the touring campaign to support it comes first. "We’d like to do this for the rest of our lives," he declares. With hints of major changes in their catchy retro sound, The Bravery’s sophomore release should prove to be one of the most interesting albums of an exciting year for music.

(Soon to be Published in Perpetual Toxins Magazine)

January 04, 2007

Interview with The Sunshine Underground


Questions Answered by Daley Smith


You've been through extensive head-lining touring, the release of your debut album, and had your music break the Top 40. What has your reaction to all this success been?

Personally my reaction is to constantly strive to do better, whilst doing one show you're thinking about the next and so on. It's kinda like "I definitely won't do that tomorrow, or tomorrow I'm gonna do that instead." Same with recording and writing, you are in constant consideration of the next destination.


What brought the band together to start The Sunshine Underground, why start a band?

We were all in different bands before TSU, we were at college one day and just ended up in a room together with our instruments, we were lucky enough to do a college course that afforded us to have a lot of spare practicing time. We all just felt that nobody was making music that we wanted to hear. We basically thought that we could be good.


How did the band get launched from the local scene into the national eye?

I don't feel that we have been launched anywhere, for us to get noticed it has taken a hard slog of loads of gigs and promo. Even with the Leeds scene we played loads of gig before anyone took notice, then a few more people would show up, then a few more I feel like we are still going through that nationally.


What was recording Raise the Alarm like?

Recording the album was the favorite period for me last year, we were locked away in a house in Brixton, it was a really relaxed atmosphere; we all really got on, us the producers and the studio staff. We would generally work from 11am until we were finished with what we had set out to do that day, which would be anywhere between midnight and 2am. We all ate together, played foosball together, had BBQ's and worked together it was great.


In hindsight, is there anything in the album you wish you could change or tweak?

Not really, for me once an album is on the shelves it's done, we are thinking about the next record. We have added bits to the songs whilst playing live but that’s more for the live show.


What do you hope to achieve in 2007?

I hope to write another album I'm really proud of, keep making the live show better and better, just to keep going really. It's all about progression.


Thinking at all about the ominous second record? Any ideas on how it may turn out?

As we speak I am writing this from my bed in a cottage/studio in the middle of nowhere in Devon where we are holed up for a weeks writing retreat. I'm really optimistic about the next record. We have few new toys and new sounds to play with. We already had one solid song before we came out here, we've been listening to a lot of new music. I'm excited about it.


What has been a more enjoyable experience for you and the band: recording or touring?

For me it's recording, with recording you can physically see the progress you are making in front of your eyes, it can be very rewarding. With touring it can be the most amazing thrill of playing to 1000 people then the next night to the disappointment of no one turning up because Razorlight are playing down the road in the only big venue in town. But you can't beat the excitement of being on stage. So can I say both??


Could you see yourself with The Sunshine Underground in, say, ten years?

Sometimes it's hard to see that far ahead at all and sometime I can't imagine doing anything else. As long as it's still a good experience for everyone involved then I'll keep doing it.


How would you describe the music scenes in Shropshire and Telford, especially when compared to those in Leeds and even London?

The music scene in Shropshire is growing I am pleased to say, obviously it is small compared to London or Leeds, but those places are cities with large populations. But I think Shropshire and the midlands should be proud of pulling itself out the heavy metal trap it was stuck in few years back. I was out there over Christmas and had no CD's or an iPod with me, so had to listen to the radio a lot, I had it tuned to radio Shropshire which in the evening had a local music scene radio show and all these acts had sent in their demo's and music. You had everything from bands to glitchy/tech Thom Yorke style stuff it made me reconsider the music scene over there. The thing holding it back is the lack of venues.

January 02, 2007

Best of '06

Top Albums of 2006


  1. Muse – Black Holes and Revelations

  2. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain

  3. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped

  4. The Futureheads – News and Tributes

  5. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

  6. Silversun Pickups – Carnavas

  7. The Sunshine Underground – Raise The Alarm

  8. Sound Team – Movie Monster

  9. The Walkmen – A Hundred Miles Off

  10. Band of Horses – Everything All The Time



Top Songs of 2006:

1. "Wolf Like Me" – TV On The Radio
2. "Supermassive Black Hole" – Muse
3. "Reena" – Sonic Youth
4. "Future Foe Scenarios" – Silversun Pickups
5. "Burnt" – The Futureheads
6. "Commercial Breakdown" – The Sunshine Underground
7. "Louisana" – The Walkmen
8. "Your Eyes Are Liars" – Sound Team
9. "Cobrastyle" – Teddybears
10. "Not Going Home" – The Elected