I'm not gonna lie, folks, I don't know where I'm going with this entry. I just got a bunch of kewl new muzak, but it's all on vinyl and I can't be arsed to find downloads or lug my turntable down here and make my own MP3s.
First item of business: Have a Nice Life's Deathconsciousness is finally on vinyl and up for pre-order! Get yourself a copy now; I know I sure as hell am not missing out on this again. If you haven't heard of this, it's basically a pitch-black shoegaze double album put out in early 2008 that took certain online music communities by storm (although it's fallen slightly out of favour and is not longer "album of the decade"). Lo-fi, homemade, and beautifully lush in a paradoxically dark way. It's a fucking beast of a record in every sense of the word. Download "Bloodhail" and start the Enemies List love.
Second item: yeah, I've splurged a bit and got me a handful of new records that I'll be talking about in the coming while. Prurient, The Mile End Ladies String Axillary, MV+EE, Woods, Nadja... if, for some reason, any of you have a preference as to which (if any) I write up, lemme know.
Final item: ok, I've got a thing! All this talk of shoegaze reminds me of a swell find: Toma. Unassuming name (although a quick Google search brings up "TOMA Foundation for Burned Children", which is equal parts horrifying, funny, and sad) and the fairly Explosions in the Sky-looking artwork aside (not an insult, mind you), this album is actually unique in the remarkably overcrowded post-rock genre. Shock! Gasp! Awe!
Opener "Sins Of A Solar Empire" sets the pace nicely, with a typical feeling post-rock sort of jam, but without the same quiet-build-intense formula; instead, Toma have some actual balls and keep it loud with a wonderfully blissed-out, expansive, and remarkably full sound. They mix up their other songs a lot, too, so if this record is anything, it's continually (and pleasantly) surprising: "This Day" is a fairly straightforward shoegaze song, not totally out of line with A Place to Bury Strangers (i.e. loud guitars, quiet vocals, good times), whereas "This is the End of Everything" is a beautiful, piano-led pseudo ballad.
One of the things that makes Toma stand out are the vocals. The singer (sorry, I can't find any proper credits for this record, so I'm going to continue making vague references like that. You know, when you're at a party and you forget a chap's name, so in a hilariously sitcom-esque fashion you do your best to always refer to him as "man" or "dude" or "brodawg"? Yeah, like that. I should also note that I am led to believe that this is a solo project, based on the write-up on the band's Myspace? If so, this whole shebang is fivefold as impressive as I thought. Holy fucking parentheses.) has an astounding, deep, rich voice perfectly suited for the massive music; sounds a lot like the fellow from iLiKETRAiNS (I still do not get that band name whatsoever), and times, like a slightly less polished Scott Walker (but to compare anyone to Scott Walker is sort of silly.) I can honestly say that, when he really pushes his voice, it's absolutely chilling; I literally got goosebumps in the climax of "Terrorforming", and it's definitely one of my favourite music moments of this year so far.
Could it get better? Hell yes it could: the whole thing is free. Do yourself a favour and give it a shot.
music is ok
Showing posts with label A Place to Bury Strangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Place to Bury Strangers. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Cover version extravaganza! Part one.
I basically wrote this just so I can share what has become one of my favourite covers ever, but then decided it could (potentially) become a nifty idea to come back to in future entries (i.e., when I am too lazy to do something original (woah, meta.)
The cover song is a funny thing. It used to be the primary type of single in the early days of the music industry, where songs by black musicians would be stolen, reworked (and usually totally pussied-up) and performed by white groups, earning ridiculous sums of money for zero effort. Now, it's not quite as common for a band's biggest hit to be a cover (lol Gary Jules), but what's most alarming is that a discomforting amount of modern covers are not recognized as covers by the [dang ol'] kids these days [who won't git off my lawn]. I cringe when I think of how many 14 year old girls think My Chemical Romance wrote "Desolation Row."
However, the "cover" can also be fascinating when a band completely reworks a song and actually makes it their own; it's a fantastic way of paying tribute to an influence. And these are the types of covers I will be presenting.
Today's pick is "Only Shallow" by Nadja, song originally by My Bloody Valentine (but you knew that, right?) Both bands are known for their huge wall-of-guitar sound, with mouldy molasses-thick fuzz, barely-there vocals and just generally loud-as-fuck all-consuming soundscaping. I imagine a brief bio of the coveree would be superfluous to most of y'all, but regarding the coverer: Nadja are a drone/doom duo comprised of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff based right here in Toronto (ok, right there in Toronto since I'm technically in a different city) and are, hands down, the most prolific drone-duo the city has ever seen (an oft challenged position, no doubt.) Not only do they have a fucking absurd amount of releases in an amazingly short amount of time, but they are almost unanimously high-quality.
With regards to the cover, I can't think of a band more fitting to cover thee almighty My Bloody Valentine (except maybe A Place to Bury Strangers). You can tell Nadja are deeply indebted to them, and their cover is a brilliant tribute. In a truly Nadjian move, the tempo has been halved; the [pseudo-]iconic opening drum roll of the song is slowed to a lazy pace, with the guitars and keyboard following suit. However, the slower speed works stunningly well here. Combined with the thousands of overdubs and no less than 5 fuzz pedals turned up to 12 (all figures are estimates), it proves to be even dreamier and more ethereal than the original. Completely mesmerizing, and completely worth the time for fans of either band, or folks who can dig a nice shoegaze tune in general.
Nadja - Only Shallow
Hey, whaddaya know, these cats just put out a whole record of covers. As always, buy what you like.
The cover song is a funny thing. It used to be the primary type of single in the early days of the music industry, where songs by black musicians would be stolen, reworked (and usually totally pussied-up) and performed by white groups, earning ridiculous sums of money for zero effort. Now, it's not quite as common for a band's biggest hit to be a cover (lol Gary Jules), but what's most alarming is that a discomforting amount of modern covers are not recognized as covers by the [dang ol'] kids these days [who won't git off my lawn]. I cringe when I think of how many 14 year old girls think My Chemical Romance wrote "Desolation Row."
However, the "cover" can also be fascinating when a band completely reworks a song and actually makes it their own; it's a fantastic way of paying tribute to an influence. And these are the types of covers I will be presenting.
Today's pick is "Only Shallow" by Nadja, song originally by My Bloody Valentine (but you knew that, right?) Both bands are known for their huge wall-of-guitar sound, with mouldy molasses-thick fuzz, barely-there vocals and just generally loud-as-fuck all-consuming soundscaping. I imagine a brief bio of the coveree would be superfluous to most of y'all, but regarding the coverer: Nadja are a drone/doom duo comprised of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff based right here in Toronto (ok, right there in Toronto since I'm technically in a different city) and are, hands down, the most prolific drone-duo the city has ever seen (an oft challenged position, no doubt.) Not only do they have a fucking absurd amount of releases in an amazingly short amount of time, but they are almost unanimously high-quality.
With regards to the cover, I can't think of a band more fitting to cover thee almighty My Bloody Valentine (except maybe A Place to Bury Strangers). You can tell Nadja are deeply indebted to them, and their cover is a brilliant tribute. In a truly Nadjian move, the tempo has been halved; the [pseudo-]iconic opening drum roll of the song is slowed to a lazy pace, with the guitars and keyboard following suit. However, the slower speed works stunningly well here. Combined with the thousands of overdubs and no less than 5 fuzz pedals turned up to 12 (all figures are estimates), it proves to be even dreamier and more ethereal than the original. Completely mesmerizing, and completely worth the time for fans of either band, or folks who can dig a nice shoegaze tune in general.
Nadja - Only Shallow
Hey, whaddaya know, these cats just put out a whole record of covers. As always, buy what you like.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)