The Raveonettes - Observator

On the verge of yet-another much anticipated North American tour, The Raveonettes release their sixth studio album, Observator.

Recorded in California with long-time producer and mentor Richard Gottehrer, the album is available worldwide this month.

 Nine tracks in all, the record proves once again how this band continues to evolve creatively.  Universal themes of the brokenhearted share space with tales of determined human spirit.

 

 

"Young and Cold" finds the Wagner and Foo harmonies stronger than ever, and most prominently featured here. Sune's buzzing, electric guitar fleshes out the acoustic strums of a western motif, while Sharin sings out more forcefully than the in-tandem-with-Sune style of earlier recordings. Previous unheard elements like stark piano melodies briefly emerge and are then reprised on an unanticipated ambient coda.

"Observations" takes the piano foundation even further, with its back-of-the-concert-hall ambient block chord progression. The vocals are clearly in Sune’s court here, giving the track a more personal, almost solo feel. That unmistakable Wagner guitar is most assuredly present, however, delivering multiple melody lines from this prolific composer. “To live like common people, I never think I’ll do” is the expressed sentiment. “This woman says I’m torn between two lives” is yet another.

 

 

“Curse The Night” emerges via a shuffling, easy going (yet artificial, electronic) percussion track – the kind Mr. Wagner is so fond of. A curiously muted lead vocal surprises, but is wisely juxtaposed against the now familiar (and most comforting) Sune & Sharin tandem harmonies.

“The Enemy” thankfully, is more fully realized, with a brilliant lead vocal performance from Sharin. “You are always there to remind me, I’m the enemy” underscores Wagner’s keen ability to combine heart-tugging lyrics with even more heart-melting melodies. A song that anyone who has ever felt wronged or misunderstood can rally around.

 

“Sinking With The Sun” explodes right out of the box with full band instrumentation and a driving melodic guitar hook. Tandem vocals are again the featured play. Ambient interludes merely underscores Wagner’s seemingly endless ability to create one great melody on top of another – only to have that burst into the actual title hook. Cascading vocals combined with brightly descending guitar figures completes this masterfully executed pop song.

 First single “She Owns The Streets” has already generated significant excitement both due to the appealing subject matter and truly inspired sound design. Telling the story of a gifted but misunderstood NYC street dancer, Wagner informs all that “I want to be the one that keeps it alive.” The beautiful sonic hook of “she’s dancing in the street” takes your senses somewhere between the clouds and heaven itself. Sharin Foo’s vocals are positioned with such masterful precision, that it’s hard to imagine anything more perfect.

 

 

Raveonettes - "She Owns the Streets" (Official Video)

 "Downtown" is bouncy pop extolling the excitement of pleasure seeking, and how "all the boys are going, down-town." Once again, Sharin Foo's voice is impeccably placed on the high harmony, emphasizing the word "downnnnntown."

 "You Hit Me (I'm Down)" includes all of the musical elements featured in the seven songs that have come before. That being stark, ambient keyboard chimes, acoustic guitar chord progression, blended harmony vocals, powerful buzzing electric guitar and distant single note melody lines. Add to that a huge, instantly singable chorus, twangy guitar solo and enough ambience and atmospherics to last for days.

The appropriately titled album closer "Till The End" presents the delicate balance of simply living in the present. A central lyrical theme expresses the desire for one to "calm down - be still - we'll walk up the ocean until the end." Furthermore, when Mr. Wagner sings "for a moment I belong to you," he touches upon a universal theme of connecting deeply with someone - even if that experience may only be short lived.

The Raveonettes begin their tour in Portland, Or on September 21st and play New York's Webster Hall on October 5th.

 

Full tour dates can be found at:

 

http://www.theraveonettes.com

 

Recent Deli Mag Features: Catching Up with The Pierces/White Hills/Amen Dunes and More

Nearing the end of February, presented here are the most noteworthy recent features I've had published in The Deli Magazine.  The soundquality and performances these musician deliver make for essential listening.

First up - The Pierces

Having resided in New York City for the better part of ten years now, it was a triumphant homecoming for the sister duo known as The Pierces as they played two sold out shows at The Mercury Lounge last week. Allison and Catherine Pierce (and their band) presented a set that was weighted more heavily with songs from their most recent release, "You & I." Sprinkled amongst those, however, were a number of classic tracks from earlier albums as well. Opening Thursday's show with Catherine's "Love You More," they hit the ground running, delivering those trademark harmonies on the rising chorus. Working their way through an hour long set, other highlights included Catherine's "Drag You Down," which weaves a lyrical tale of excessive weekends, poorly matched lovers and "just another role that you do." Allison introduced her heart tugging song about "dating another musician" stating that "we don't really recommend that" which elicited audience chuckles - before launching into the stark, haunting, acoustic guitar driven "I Put Your Records On." Naturally the co-written single "Kissing You Goodbye" was very well received, as was their Pretty Little Liars TV show theme song "Secret." For the two song encore, the singers took the stage minus any instruments at all and delivered a perfect acapella version of Simon & Garfunkel's "Cathy's Song," which they stated they've been singing together since their early youth. They followed that will a full band version of the vampish, going-out-on-the-town but nothing satisfies showstopper "Boring." A fitting, if somewhat inaccurate closer, as these artists are anything but that.

http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/8407

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White Hills

Space rock appears to be coming back in a big way, and bands like Brooklyn's White Hills are at the forefront of this movement. Their latest album "Frying on this Rock," (scheduled for release on March 20th) is a riff-heavy tour-de-force of epic psychedelia. The album was recorded by legendary NYC producer Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Brian Eno, Swans, Herbie Hancock, Boredoms) and features five jam-heavy tracks, with "I Write a Thousand Letters (Pulp on Bone)" clocking in at nearly 12 minues in length. That song presents clever use of distant conversational voices contributing to dreamlike texture as it weaves through industrial sounding guitars and a hypnotic drum patterns. Subsequent cuts emphasize sonorous power chords, rhapsodic guitar solos and and swirling synth tones. The band will be debuting tracks from the new album live at The Mercury Lounge on January 24. Special guests MOFO, which feature ex-members of A Place To Bury Strangers, will also be playing that night

http://soundcloud.com/white-hills/visions-of-the-past-present



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Amen Dunes


http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/8627/amen-dunes-plays-w-will-destroy-you-285-kent-on-0223

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Ancient Sky / Exitmusic

http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/8578/live-reviews-ancient-sky-cd-release-death-by-audio


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Xray Eyeballs

http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/8763





The XRay Eyeballs interview:

http://www.thedelimagazine.com/band-interview.php?artist=xray-eyeballs

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Snowmine

http://www.thedelimagazine.com/FeatureView.php?artist=snowmine


Lots of great music to listen to and plenty of Crom-words to read at the links listed under each band.

December Dreams 2011

Deep into the month of December, a moment is carved out to compile some recent writing features. Four bands whose music and/or live show which has left a favorable impression.


The Parlor Mob



Expect a guitar-solo-scorched face or two when listening to New Jersey's hard rockers The Parlor Mob. Currently touring in support of their sophomore album "Dogs," which was released this past October through Roadrunner Records, and anchored by the first single, "Into The Sun," this is a record without fillers. On that single, the lyrical subject matter combines both defiance and hope, while the muscularly heavy sound of the band leads you into a chorus that's as catchy as hell. "Fall Back" comes complete with brilliant start/stop breaks that underscore the fluid rhythm section. "Practice in Patience" shows the gentler side of the band, with emotionally strong vocals paired against an uncommon piano sound. "American Dream" chugs forward on heavy twin-tandem guitar riffing, as the lyrics express this current generations confusion about "who to trust" in the government. "I Want To See You" finds the band exploring more exotic rhythms, as a slightly jazzy, latin-tinged undercurrent propels it all towards a bolder, more rock heavy chorus. A blistering guitar solo elevates everything that much higher. "Hard Enough" takes on those gut-wrenching feelings of loss, as the lyrics state that "it's hard enough to walk this loney road without you - to miss everything about you." While "Take What's Mine" playfully references Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady," the track remains true to an originalty - within the classic hard rock formula - that is woven through the entire album.




http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/8018
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Field Mouse


Sweetly sung, reverberated vocals are just the tip of the iceberg with the Field Mouse video (and song) "You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom." Young beauty Rachel Browne presents impressive imagery via pale, porcelain complexion, stylishly cut dark hair (with one carefully placed feathery blonde streak) and full ruby red lips. Strumming her guitar in a manner remiscent of iconic 90's dream-pop band Lush, the song itself is a brilliant recreation of that romantic and souful period of music. Touching the same emotionally dreamlike place that Austin's Ringo Deathstarr, Seattle's Seapony and Stockholm's I Break Horses do (all contemporary practioners of this genre) Field Mouse put their own unique spin on it, resulting in a gorgeously atmospheric sound. "Fall asleep - you might just feel brand new," Rachel sings. "I should know, I do the same thing - to," she adds with lovely clarity. Multiple images of her, the band and select footage (buildings, flames) all contribute to a visually psychedelic presentation. The overall feeling you get is one of uplift and beauty. What's not to like?




http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/7983

http://fieldmousemusic.com/

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Clouder


The delightfully chaotic live show that Brooklyn's badboy band Clouder presents is something that needs to be seen and experienced first hand to truly grasp it all. Frontman Eric Gilstrap already had a reputation for a loose Johnny Thunders-like presence in his previous band, Telltale. However, he has now put down the guitar and is fully focused on delivering his angst-filled tales as the rest of Clouder rumbles on behind him. The two guitar, bass and drums combo are better musicians too. In fact, as Eric screams, wails and tenderly emotes his lyrics of what one must assume is pure poetry, Max, Matt, Steve and Jim do a masterful job of creating rock sonics (and yes, sometimes sludge) with the skill of men who still want to be considered serious musicians. And they are. On "Broadcast Victim" a Peter Gunn detective groove is churned out by the boys as Eric's vocal tone and delivery resides in a place somewhere between The Sex Pistols Johnny Rotten and The Fall's Mark E. Smith. A wickedly tasty guitar solo (of sorts) leads the track to a madcap conclusion. "The Collapse" pitches delightful dual guitar and bass interplay against bright ride cymbal, as Eric wails on (in that Lydonesque way) about how relationships fall apart. An even ruder guitar outburst takes this one to its tender conclusion. Two more glorious tracks can be heard on their bandcamp page from this, their "Serious Business" EP. Clouder released their debut full-length album on 12/20 in the digital realm. Physical copies are planned for late Jan/early Feb. They recently played a big show with legendary Boston underground sensation 28 Degrees Taurus at Charleston on Saturday, December 3. A wild time was had by all.




http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/7931
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Farewell Republic


Shredded bee-buzz guitars sawing between two chords is how Farewell Republic introduces “Wake” – the lead song off of their impending album “Burn the Boats.” The blended mixture of fluid drumming and layered guitars points to My Bloody Valentine as spiritual ancestors. The vocals come off a bit clearer than in Mr. Shield band's celebrated records - but there are similarities too: for instance the way background voices blur into icy guitar textures. A clever inclusion of backward-tape-looping tacked on the end suggests there may be more studio manipulation to this than initially realized. “Gliss” opens with a punkier feel (sneered Lydonesque vocal delivery, rough guitars and loose drumming) – but this edge is soon lost on the first chorus change. This alternating structure repeats, with the more tense passages sonically enhanced by sharp speedy guitar strumming and sprinkled with piano notes. “Just go away,” becomes the dominant repeated vocal phrase as the song is carried out via a simple piano line, ambient long-note guitar work and clacketty percussion. “Come Irene” is sparse, slower moving electronica. Deeper washes of background pads twist in unexpected ways, as vocals are delivered in a controlled manner. Acoustic guitar emerges in the mix to add a bit more warmth. “Burn the Boats” is scheduled for release in January, 2012. You can preorder the album on their bandcamp page. Additionally, there are two free download tracks to be had there.



http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/7181

The Mast - The Propulsive Dual Dream

The tandem of single name only vocalist/guitarist Haale and percussionist Matt Kilmer make up Brooklyn based duo The Mast. Their combined talents produce a music that cannot be simply classified into an easily recognizable genre or style. Hyperkinetic percussion sets the groove for well-placed minimal guitar accents. Vocals delivered in a dual voiced tandem and precise diction phrasing do share similar qualities with School Of Seven Bells, but that's where that comparison ends. Their latest album “Wild Poppies” make use of percussion recorded with distinct crystal clarity. The stereo separation, placement and prominence dominate the instrumentation without overpowering it. Guitars are there, but secondary. The voices do share equal billing, however. The only overdubs on the album were done to enhance vocals. All the instrumentation was played live in the studio, with whatever effects needed added at that time. The result is a stunningly full sounding collection of songs that are both lyrically mysterious and sonically brilliant.




The band recently performed live as part of The Deli Magazine's CMJ "Dream Pop" Showcase at The Delancey in New York City on October 18, 2011. Included below are photos (and one video) from that show.

Additionally, Haale and Matt were kind enough to answer some questions about what makes The Mast "go"

Your bio states that you built a home studio where you live in Brooklyn . Is this where you recorded the album and is it self produced? Did you find it difficult to accomplish the sound you were looking for? Or did it come easier than expected?

We recorded the album in a studio we built and did the engineering and mixing ourselves. We knew what sound we wanted, so it wasn't really hard getting that recorded. We wanted to make an album that we could play live, so we used our instruments--percussion, voice, and electric guitar--along with pedals and effects. Nothing was overdubbed except for the extra vocal layers. So recording was quite easy, we just played the songs the best we could.


Your song “EOA” finds arpeggiated guitar figures moving forward in the mix, sharing equal space with the busy percussion. The vocals are smoothed even further as the line “all hands on deck” is repeated. “And I say – EOA” becomes the primary (and mysterious) title line. What does EOA signify? What does it mean?
EOA means end of anxiety. I mention the country made of plastic waste floating in the Pacific, and armies thrashing cities, and then sing "All hands on deck"--it does seem that's an appropriate mantra these days. We have a lot to deal with, a lot to develop and implement, like biodegradable plastics, alternative energy technologies, and conflict resolution skills. I say, EOA--end of anxiety--because I think it's be easier to enact positive solutions if we do it in a state of calm--having a panic attack is of no help to anyone on a sinking ship.



“Definitions” builds around a descending guitar-line, allowing the voices to create counter-melodies. There is an almost ancient-ritualistic quality to it all. How much investigating have you done regarding music made in ancient bygone eras? Does this inspire you?

We listen to classical Indian music-- Matt studied South Indian percussion for years-- Persian classical music, Jazz that was created over the last 150 years, and Malian and other African music with roots that definitely stretch to ancient times. We've also listened to Icaros or medicine songs sung by Peruvian curanderos, which have been passed down through the generations. All this music is inspiring.

“Hummingbird” is quicker paced, but leaves space for a buzzy, bass-driven change section. What actual instrument is used there? Is it a synth or actual bass guitar? Who played it?

H: I'm playing that on my Les Paul using a POG 2 and a Full Drive distortion pedal.
“Lucid Dream” has the repeated lyric “I go everywhere – in this Empire.” Does this song reference how one has no limits in the dream world? How much of your dreams influence what goes into you music?

H: I guess waking dreams figure in to the songs quite a bit and so much in reality is dream-like. In the title track 'Wild Poppies,' I'm talking about wildflowers that were blowing in the breeze at the foot of a watchtower and a wall topped with spirals of barbed wire. It looked as if the wildflower was waving to the watchtower and the security cameras, or trying to communicate with them. Wildflower, watchtower---the words have a similar ring, but they're two opposite ends of the spectrum, in terms of what they represent. One is so delicately beautiful and one is so ominous. And with my 3-D dream glasses on, they were side by side in conversation.
As for lucid dreaming, that's a great thing to learn to do. When you lucid dream you can direct your dreams, and apparently go anywhere. You can fly over the Grand Canyon , take a spin around that diamond planet just discovered in the Milky Way, even practice your guitar, when you get really skilled at it. Not a bad way to spend an hour a day.

Your bio also states that Matt composes music for comedian Louis CK ’s television series “Louie” on the FX network. How did all that come about? How is it working with Louis?

M: Our friend Reggie Watts called me up one day asking if I could get a band together to do the music for the show. Reggie originally got the call to do the music but he was about to go on tour opening for Conan Obrien on his tour.
So I got a band together and we really clicked with Louis . He likes a lot of different music in the show, from old bop, to Jimi Hendrix , to eastern European gypsy music. All of the guys I got to play are old friends and amazing musicians that can cover a lot of territory stylistically. Louis is the kind of guy that knows exactly what he wants, so he's great to work with.

What are the pieces of equipment that you find particularly inspiring when recording at home?
The Les Paul guitar, Matt 's Cooperman frame drums, and Ableton Live.

We also have an electronic project we're working out, and for that one we also use Ableton, and Matt uses the Korg Wavedrum , and the Touch OSC pad.
Do you expect your next record to be self-produced, or would you like to work with a producer? If it’s the latter, who would you most like to produce your band, and why?
We're already working on the next album but if we could pick anyone, it would be Jack White , we dig his energy.

Do you use rack effects or guitar pedals to forge your own sound?

Haale uses a POG 2 and the Full Drive distortion pedal. The POG 2 is awesome, the bass sound you can get with it is huge, and the Full Drive just has a classic sound.

Do you have a particular recording style that you aim for? What techniques do you employ to recreate it?
We like to get a transparent mix that still has character. The minimal instrumentation in our setup helps to get that sound. Also good mics, preamps, and mic-positioning are everything.

What other artists would you say have had the biggest influence in your approach to recording? Why?
Recordings produced by T-bone Burnett, Ethan Johns , and John Brion , and Rick Ruben , stand out as good examples of warm, clear recordings of live instruments and musicians. The approach is really just get good mic placement, check levels, hit record, play. Simple and effective.

Would you say that your live show informs your recording process or that your recording process informs your live show? Both? Neither?

They both inform each other. On the recordings, we are using the instruments that we play live. That was the only limit we set on ourselves, we weren't gonna use strings or bass or horns but wanted to make a full and satisfying sound with the two of us playing live.

Is there a piece of equipment that you find particularly useful on stage?

In our show now, we run everything through Ableton Live to really get the sound we want. We don't use it to play loops or clips, just for the effects.

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With bands doing more of everything themselves these days (recording, performing, self-promoting, etc.) and the evermore multimedia nature of the world, how much effort do you put into the visual component of your band - fashion, styling, photography, graphic/web design, etc.? Do you do these things yourself or is there someone that the band works with?
For 'Wild Poppies,' we did all the artwork ourselves. The cover is a photo collage of poppies we planted in our backyard. We photographed them, made the piece, and designed the font ourselves. The videos we've released so far we also made ourselves, though we're finally working on a director and a cinematographer for an upcoming video, which is great. Looking forward to more collaborations with directors, filmmakers, and animators.


Croms catching up with Haale after the showWhat do you find to be the most challenging aspects of the recording process? On the flipside, what aspects are the most rewarding?

The most challenging thing is agreeing on a final mix. The most rewarding is actually playing the music and creating the sound. The first listen after a great take is a wonderful moment.

Matt and Croms - on the mean streets of NYC
******

Find out more about The Mast at these links:

http://www.thedelimagazine.com/FeatureView.php?artist=mast
http://themastmusic.com/
http://listn.to/TheMast

http://themast.bandcamp.com/album/wild-poppies

EXITMUSIC - An Agitated Dream

Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church make a dreamy rock music under the name EXITMUSIC. Brooklyn based, the married couple play in a style that often starts out quietly, but ultimately winds up grabbing you by the throat. Their impressive live shows have been garnering them much deserved attention, and now the finely crafted recorded works they have been meticulously constructing will be released as their debut album "From Silence" this fall.

Listening to these recordings in advance of the release via their website, one can't help but be captivated by what you hear. On their leadoff song titled "The Sea," a tension is noticable at it lurks throughout the quieter moments. There is an unsettling pulse that is mysterious and moody. The direction seems to travel down sonic areas running against what one might associate with a more "upbeat" music.

"I don't think you can decide where your creativity comes from," Aleksa says. "I feel that there is a place that I write from, a place that needs to be revealed. And this is the mood and the tone of that place," she continues. "People often say our music is 'dark', and there's truth to that, but I don't feel like we're 'dark' people or even that our music is all that dark," adds Devon. ":We're just trying to express our experience of life as honestly and as compellingly as we can. Sometimes I get creeped out by how 'happy and upbeat' most music is. We are in the middle of 3 or 4 wars and a mass extinction, after all. After a point, this obsession with pop (especially in the indie world) begins to seem kind of insane."

Listen to their live performance of "The Sea"

On stage, Aleksa commands attention as the bands lead vocalist. She also alternates between playing guitar and keyboards. Devon stands tall as the primary guitarist, and shifts effortlessly between providing power chords, quick riffs or melody lines and even employs at violin bow on the strings at one point.

Much of their show has a solemn quality to it all. Frequently the vocals are presented like someone almost going into a trance. Of someone losing themself in the moment. "The feeling of being on stage is a really hard to remember clearly afterwards," explains Aleksa. "It's almost like you have to find the spot where you can lose yourself in the moment while still being totally aware of where you are in time. I'm not in a trance, I'm just singing the words as weighted as I feel them," she concludes.



Their live show also presents some interesting guitar interplay between them. While Devon tends to play the longer, extended melodic notes (sometimes with slide) Aleksa will execute bursts of quick, forceful strumming, that creates a fuller sonic wash. "For me, I try to combine rhythmic and melodic elements in my guitar parts, so I'll play chords that incorporate a traveling counter-melody that supports what Aleksa's playing or singing," says Devon. "I think of myself more as a rhythm guitarist than a lead guitarist, though I do play some "leads". But I almost never strum the guitar - just a few times during the set. Mostly I play arpeggios or deconstructed chords."

"It's a language that I keep developing… it's like a cast of characters or a palate of colors, each with something to say," adds Aleksa. "I often play melodies by picking one string really fast, like a mandolin. I think this tremolo style - those explosions are just as emotional as the human voice. And I use those parts to sing with my guitar, and to disrupt the certainty of measured time."

On one of the songs in their live show, Devon used a violin bow across his guitar strings, creating a unique sonic tone and effect.. "I used to play a lot with an e-bow, but I wanted something more expressive, and more guttural sounding," he offers by way of explanation. "I like the deep moaning sound that you can produce by dragging the bow over the low strings of the guitar. You risk a lot of dissonance and feedback playing with a bow and a lot of reverb and distortion, so the intent is ultimately to wrest something beautiful out of what could potentially be kind of ugly. The influence for me is more Sigur Ros than Jimmy Page, but I also think of the violin bits in early Velvet Underground," he concludes.

The two of them self-directed their video for "The Sea," using footage from Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1975 film The Mirror. "We'd seen a lot of Tarkovsky's films, and when Chris Swanson (who runs their label Secretly Canadian) suggested we try cutting an existing film into a music video, we thought of him. But we hadn't yet seen The Mirror," says Devon. "When we did a google image search for 'Tarkovsky' this stark, beautiful image of a sort-of deranged looking woman standing over a basin of water came up. Then there was another image of a woman levitating and a man standing reverently beside her. They were both from the Mirror. We youtubed some montages of the film, and it was just incredibly rich with imagery. Especially the wind stuff is amazing. In a way, Tarkovsky's wind is serving the function that the sea, the water, does in our song. His images, together with the stock footage of war and revolution that he used in his film, create this incredibly menacing, dream-like, apocalyptic feeling that seemed to fit perfectly with the music."

Since then the band has released another video, this time for their song "The Hours." Directed by Will Joines, the imagery finds Aleksa singing against her reflection and possibly coming to grips with a polar opposite version of herself. Devon supports by way of slo motion guitar strumming and the overall effect is transcendent. With sonic production qualities that put emphasis first and foremost on the vocals (multitracked and uniquely enunciated) guitar lines are the appegiated deconstructed chords Devon describes, combined with a sparse percussion that makes its inclusion all the more dramatic.

The couple came together from disparate backgrounds. Devon came to New York by way of Winnipeg, Canada, while Aleksa grew up in this city. In addition to the music she has always made, Aleksa has an extensive acting career, and is currently featured in the HBO drama "Boardwalk Empire."

The band's name is a reference to the music one hears as the credits roll at the end of a film. "Everyone always mentions radiohead, but that's not where we got the name from," states Aleksa. "Exit music is the name for the last piece of music to be played in a film… the song that ushers people out of the theatre… the last piece of that 'world' they take with them. That's what we heard when we played our songs back," she continues. "Music that suggests a transition from world to another. My grandpa, Tony Palladino, is a graphic designer and has always had a unique way of making letters and words speak for themselves (he designed the lettering for PSYCHO). Anyway, he took out the space between exit and music… it fortified the whole concept. EXITMUSIC."

Cromwell chats with Aleksa post-show

Find out more about EXITMUSIC via these links here:

http://exitmusic.bandcamp.com/

http://vimeo.com/exitmusic

www.myspace.com/thedeclineofthewest

Invisible Days/Crawl Babies/Shana Falana/Heaven - Live in Concert

A record release show is always a special occasion for an artist. It serves as a celebration for all the hard work and creative drive that goes into producing recorded works. On Thursday October 6, 2011 singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Shana Falana threw just such an event at Brooklyn's Shea Stadium. Joining her on this night to help mark this achievement were friends and colleagues. Specifically the bands Invisible Days, Crawlbabies and Heaven.



Opening the show was the wonderful dream pop band Invisible Days.

I had been enjoying their song "Daysleeping" for a few months now.



This band successfully blend gentle atmospherics, FX laden guitars, slithering basslines and appropriate rackety-tackety percussion with a vocal harmony that sets them apart from many other bands attempting this genre. Combine that with songwriting that shows thought and precision and its becomes clear (or less invisible) as to why their sound resonates so well with me. On their song "Stewards" the vocals are placed far back in the mix, echo tinged, with strummed guitars more out front. It continues to build cathedral-like, while the drums stay routed in the here and now.



The aforementioned "Daysleeping" takes the superior vocal harmonies even higher, bringing to mind the gold age of "gaze" bands like, Ride for example.



I had also been enjoying their track "Solitary Time" for a while now - ever since picking up their CD at a previously attended show of theirs.


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Good News! The band is now offering this track as a free download, which can be gotten here:

http://www.invisibledaysmusic.com/media

Next up was the trio Crawl Babies

Their psych rock sound and visual presentation gave them a bit of a Jesus & Mary Chain feel.

Especially their drummer who played in the stand up style of Mo Tucker and Bobby Gillespie.

Listen in:



Their 60’s tinged sound points to a band like The Raveonettes as possible sonic reference point.

Finally it was time for the headliner.

Shana put on her typcially dazzling light and sound spectacular.

As expected, the set relied heavily on material from the "In The Light" EP

Listen in to this night's performance of "Tragic"



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___________

One more from the EP, a live performance of "U.R. Everything"


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____________

Following Shana's wonderful performance, was another band that presents a blended dual male vocal front - Heaven

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Listen in to the single "Mountains Move"

The song is moody, dark and dreamy (all rolled into one). Of note is guitarist Matt Sumrow's outstanding guitar work, which alternates between clean-note arpeggios and wah-wah effected chorusing.

Essential Links:

Invisible Days
http://www.invisibledaysmusic.com/

Crawl Babies
http://crawlbabies.bandcamp.com/

Shana Falana
http://www.shanafalana.com/

Heaven

http://www.youareheaven.com/