LISSY TRULLIE: SELF-TAUGHT LEARNER
Someone told me they needed more Lissy Trullie videos. Ok, it was me. But I’ve been on a bit of of a Trullie kick today after seeing her live last night, so here they are. Trullie’s 2009 EP Self-Taught Learner is a pretty simple, three chord album. Part new wave, part garage, and part girl pop. Admittedly, nothing really new or groundbreaking here, but with her leather Jacket, sexy swagger and strawberry bob, Trullie could sell me a Nickleback album with the right cover art.
Lissie Trullie – She Said from Big Live on Vimeo.
Lissy Trullie’s “Ready For The Floor” (Hot Chip cover) from Downtown Music on Vimeo.
Lissy Trullie – “Boy Boy” from Downtown Music on Vimeo.
Lissy Trullie – “Self Taught Learner” from Downtown Music on Vimeo.
SURFER BLOOD: SWIM
New video for “Swim” off Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast, directed by Chunwoo Kae & Kevin Chapados and shot with a Canon 7d, EF-S IS 17-55mm f2.8, IS 70-200mm, sigma 8mm fisheye.
POLAR BEAR: A NEW MORNING WILL COME
You fear jazz. You fear the lack of rules, the lack of boundaries. Oh look, it’s a fence. But, no, it’s soft. Mellow out with this new video for ” A New Morning Will Come” from acclaimed UK post-jazz outfit Polar Bear off the album Peepers, directed by visual/sound artist Kira Zhigalina. The video combines footage from vintage educational films with her own textures, producing a dense collage of images that complements the track beautifully.
Bandleader and drummer Sebastian Rochford has also meticulously compiled an outstanding (and unexpected) mix-tape comprised of his favourite music of 2009, complete with all sorts of ‘hidden’ samples. The mix includes music by Mos Def, Buraka Som Sistema, Harmonic 313, Lightning Bolt and the Noisettes, as well as loads of underground hiphop. You can download the mix and find track-listing here:
http://soundcloud.com/theleaflabel/seb_polar_bear_mixtape
You can also grab a free download of title track ‘Peepers’ here:
http://soundcloud.com/theleaflabel/polar-bear-peepers
DRIVE BY TRUCKERS: THIS F*CKING JOB
Drive-By Truckers eighth studio album The Big To Do, and the official followup to 2008’s Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, is “very much a rock album. Very melodic and more rocking than anything since disc 2 of Southern Rock Opera.” Covering everything from death, the murder of a preacher by his wife, working a shitty job, being homesick, and binge drinking, The big To Do is a southern rock opera unto itself. Read what Patterson Hood has to say on “This Fucking Job”:
I wrote this one in my office shortly before the economic collapse of last 2008. I came out of a several year drought of songwriting and wrote about three albums worth of songs for this project but I always knew that this one would be for The Big To-Do.
I never forget how lucky I am to get to do what I love so much as a job and career. I also never forget that it almost never happened and happened only after a lot of sacrifice and some gut wrenching decisions that at the time seemed very foolish to anyone looking for tangible evidence of our reasons. Cooley and I were in our 30’s when we started this band. We hit the road with a vengeance that went way beyond obsession and at a pace of much younger bands. At the same time, coming home meant working shitty jobs to pay off the debt that touring at that level incurred (plus some of us were married and everyone had to eat). I can still remember a soul-searching decision where we just decided to go for broke and try to make all of this happen. We didn’t really have much chance of making all of this work out to a point of actually making a living at it but decided to do it anyway.
We worked really hard, made some right moves but inevitably we also got lucky and I still go to bed knowing that my shitty old day job is still nipping at my heels and with children in the picture we certainly couldn’t be so cavalier in waging it all on some pipe dream.
download the track here:
Drive-By Truckers – “This Fucking Job”Download
and check them out on Letterman last week:
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: BEAT THE DEVILS TATTOO
Discosalt Video of the week 21/3/10: New music video for “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo” from BRMC’s new album of the same name.
EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS: DESERT SONG/KISSES OVER BABYLON
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, the 10-piece psych-folk-rock ensemble released 2 videos last year, which are part of an epic 12-part feature-length musical.
PART 1, “Desert Song”, features footage of singer Alex Ebert’s father chanting in Monument Valley – shot by his mother and is about Alex’s reckoning with the middle name his father secretly wrote on his birth certificate – a Native American name which means ‘Devil’ or ‘Demon’.
PART 2, “Kisses Over Babylon” was released in November and picks up in the same desert wasteland world, ravaged by drought. Edward is arrested by two Minors (police from Ursa Minor) for the murder of his own father, and taken to a water-labor prison. There he reunites with Brother, his long-ago friend, and rallies the prisoners to a frenzied prison break.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros “KISSES OVER BABYLON” from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.
YEASAYER: O.N.E.
Discosalt Video of the Week 14/3/10: Directed by Radical Friend, the same duo behind “Ambling Alp“, the new Yeasayer video for “O.N.E.”, is like a neo/neon psych-experimental 80’s dance party on another planet. The plot involves a face-shifting protagonist who arrives in hipster thunder dome, or maybe Williamsburg, to play some sort of high stakes game of space Sorry. A game, which according to the band is based on “actual mystical charts and diagrams that represent the psychological warfare these otherworldly club kids engage in.” And by psychological warfare, they mean fly-dancing. Check out the video for yourself below:
THE FRESH AND ONLYS: VANISHING CREAM
Psychedelic new video for “Vanishing Cream” from San Francisco based band The Fresh & Onlys. While they might try to convince you they want to disappear, the band has an upcoming 7″ EP being released by the French label Plastic Spoons in April. Just Keep your eyes on the mystical triangle…
SHEARWATER: HIDDEN LAKES
Following up the divinely tragic Rook, is Shearwater’s new album The Golden Archipelago, released last month. While the album is somewhat of a concept album about living on islands, the new cinematic video for the melancholy track “Hidden Lakes”, directed by Alma Har’el is filmed in a desolate countryside where a sparkly mascara wearing hobo dressed in 1800’s garb loses a small dog. Really, I have no idea what is going on here. Of course nothing Shearwater does is without some deep metaphorical implications for nature, man and our eventual destruction, so this requires a couple views.
LIARS: SCISSOR
Scissor, the first single from forthcoming Liars LP Sisterworld, is out now. It includes the B-side Covenant Heart. There is also an iTunes exclusive track Manslaughter Oops.
Sisterworld is set for release March 9th, 2010 on CD, vinyl and a 2CD expanded version. The expanded version includes track reinterpretations by a host of artists including Thom Yorke, Devendra Banhart and Alan Vega (full tracklisting below). The unique packaging, designed by Brian Roettinger allows a surreal glimpse into the Sisterworld concertina.
“Sisterworld has many more voices and instruments than Liars have hands or mouths so we’ve decided to involve two very skilled musicians, Samuel Bing and Alex Myrvold both of the band Fol Chen, for the live reincarnation of the album. Samuel Bing played with us on the Radiohead tour and Alex Myrvold played with us at Coachella. As a 5-piece we have the opportunity to justly represent our new material and also to redefine how our older material is put together. It’s about expanding our sonic palette so there are no restrictions to what ground we can cover on-stage” Says Liars’ Angus Andrew.
Liars will tour North America in support of Sisterworld this coming Spring.
The tour sees fellow LA band Fol Chen supporting Liars on all dates.
LIARS TOUR DATES:
4/10/10 – El Rey Theatre – Los Angele
4/14/10 – Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
4/15/10 – Bowery Ballroom – NYC
4/16/10 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia
4/17/10 – Paradise – Boston
4/18/10 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn
4/27/10 – Slim’s – San Francisco
4/29/10 – Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
4/30/10 – Venue – Vancouver, BC
5/1/10 – Neumos – Seattle
GOLDFRAPP: ROCKET
The new 80’s movie montage friendly, synth heavy album Head First from Goldfrapp is out March 22nd via Mute, along with the release of the new single /video for “Rocket”, which you can get HERE.
‘Head First‘ is Goldfrapp‘s most powerful trip to date, a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance. With life affirming lyrics and stellar production it lifts off at full tilt and takes us on a journey to the heart of 2010. That said, it took me a while to realize this wasn’t the Pointer Sisters but I can easily be convinced to take a ride on this rocket anytime.
Check out this remix of ‘Rocket’ below:
Goldfrapp: ‘Rocket’ [Penguin Prison Remix] [mp3]
QUAIL LUNGS:DUM DADADUM
Discosalt Video of the Week 7/3/10: Quail Lung’s 7″ single, “Dumb Dadadum,” on the Post Present Medium label, directed by Joshua Jay Elliott. Giving his best Dylan, Quail Lungs aka Portland, OR-based crooner Travis Bonilla, is a mix of DIY home-recorded, countrified Americana and 60’s British Rock (sorta the poor man’s, mustachioed Dylan and the band doing an acoustic Kinks cover).
The Kinks – I Am Free [mp3] + Bob Dylan & The Band – Too Much Of Nothing [mp3]
Don’t believe the shit-fi slams: this is worth checking out. You can also check out Quail Lungs Side B track, ” You Can’t Believe in Anything, Yo” HERE.
CLASS ACTRESS: JOURNAL OF ARDENCY
With the release of their debut EP Journal of Ardency , last month, sexy Brooklyn electro-pop trio Class Actress have been getting a lot of local media hype lately. The new EP is available on vinyl at Terrible Records or you can check out the new video for “Journal of Ardency” and read what Pitchfork media has to say about the track below:
BOWERBIRDS: NORTHERN LIGHTS
New video for “Northern Lights” off the Bowerbird’s EP Upper Air. Moving away from the existential themes of Hymns of a Dark Horse, the most recent EP, Upper Air from the North Carolina folk group is a much more confessional album. No longer are the band bystanders viewing the world objectively, but rather are fully engaged in the world… a sentiment no doubt developed through their extensive touring since they first hit the scene. For their rustic “Northern Lights” video, Phil Moore and Beth Tacular (who are both band and real life partners) may look like they have returned to thier tree hugging roots in the woods , but this song, written by Phil for Beth, is a love song for her . You can’t not like this couple together.
FRIGHTENED RABBIT: NOTHING LIKE YOU
Discosalt Video of the Week 2/28/10: This weeks video of the week for “Nothing Like You” comes from Scottish indie band Frightened Rabbit. Formed by the Hutchinson brothers, drummer Grant and guitarist Scott, the project started as Scotts 4-track solo project. Since then, the band has grown, adding 4 more members, building a solid touring reputation (opening for Death Cab for Cuties Euro tour)and has recorded two full length albums with a third rumored on its way.
PASSION PIT: LITTLE SECRETS
Passion Pit has released a new official video for “Little Secrets” off the band’s LP Manners directed by Timothy Saccenti who also shot the Battles Video for Atlas. Pretty simple treatment here. Just a well shot performance video of the band playing a warehouse party with a lot of confetti falling on them. Some nice slo-mo coffee grinders and some kids may or may not be wearing paper bags on their heads…just go with it.
The band is on tour this spring in the U.S.
PASSION PIT ON TOUR:
3/26 Miami, FL Ultra Music Festival
3/28 Niagara Falls, CA Rapids Falls
3/29 York, PA Pullo Family Performing Arts Center
3/30 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
3/31 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion
4/2 Chicago, IL Congress Theatre SOLD OUT
4/3 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall SOLD OUT
4/4 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue SOLD OUT
4/5 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club
4/7 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
4/8 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
4/10 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
4/11 Vancouver, CAN Commodore SOLD OUT
4/12 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
4/14 Davis, CA UC Davis Freeborn Hall
4/15 San Francisco, CA The Warfield Theatre
4/16 Indio, CA Coachella
4/22 Chicago, IL Congress Theatre
4/30 Knoxville, TN University of Tennessee
5/31 George, WA Sasquatch Festival
6/29 Brooklyn, NY Prospect Park Bandshell SOLD OUT
CARIBOU: ODESSA
Music video for Caribou’s new single “Odessa” from the album “Swim” directed by Video Marsh. On the new album, Pitchfork quoted Caribou’s Dan Snaith saying they are excited ” by the idea of making dance music that’s liquid in the way it flows back and forth, the sounds slosh around in pitch, timbre, pan… Dance music that sounds like it’s made out of water…” The video, which combines one of Swim’s dance-y-er tracks with a strange yet beautifully shot video, has a flowing almost underwater feel in itself. There is no real linear storyline here, but if you watch it a couple times, there is a hazy story hidden beneath the montage of delicately weaved scenes. A bleeding woman blending effortlessly into a flood of wintry nature shots, a howling wolf, a driving car, a no vacancy sign, and a woman running off into the snow covered woods. Its perfectly creepy. Like the song lyrics, the video seems to be about escaping someone…unsuccessfully.
THE ANTLERS: THE BEAR
Discosalt Video of the Week 2/21/10: Official music video for The Antlers song “Bear” from their album Hospice on Frenchkiss Records, directed by Evan Owen Dennis.
Last night I had the good fortune to catch The Antlers perform at Terminal 5. Their live show, like their album, is a testament to the bands creative ability to deliver grandiose and yet intimate smart indie rock. Written by Pete Silberman over the course of two years in his Brooklyn apartment, Hospice tells the story of a man who is slowly losing the love of his life to bone cancer, but was written “as a way to cope with the illness and death of someone who was close to him, but abusive.” (boniver 7.9.09) Its a concept album, woven together by intimate stories that build into the albums greater theme: The idea that sometimes in life, love is not enough to save someone and despite being in love, two people can do enormous damage on one another. By giving the abuser cancer, Silberman illustrates that people can act abusively in a relationship, not because they are monsters, but because they are sick and terrified and both physically and mentally drained from the experience. This is an album about helplessness, guilt and loss.
“The Bear” is the 5th track on Hospice. A curious song which uses images of an abortion. Seemingly out of place, this image actually ties in with Silberman’s theme, if you think about the song being about an abortion of commitment. An abortion of a dangerously co-dependent relationship between two people who share a dark secret, or have created something that only they know and understand. The bear comes to represent the ominous ties of commitment, like a baby but wild like a bear, which eventually overwhelms the couple. Being only 20, but feeling old,the sickness of the relationship has aged them both. They are terrified of one another and what their commitment means. In the end, they “cut the bear from beneath” and end the relationship. The cut, the song and the album run deep.
The Antlers – Bear from Evan Owen Dennis on Vimeo.
CASIOKIDS: EN VILL HEST
Check out Norwegian Electro-pop band Casiokids’ new video for “En Vill Hest” directed by Kristoffer Borgli. Unless you speak Norwegian, you will have no idea what they are saying, but it doesn’t really matter. As long as you understand old analogue, keyboards and pop melodies, you should be in good hands. Casiokids are a bunch of misfit Norwegian musicians who churn out bouncy carefree 80’s influenced pop with a childish naivity. Drawing on ” afro-beat, techno and out-and-out pop, the band draws similarities and takes inspiration from Paul Simon’s “Graceland”, Ivor Cutler, New Order, King Tubby, Bob Hund, Cornelius and Fela Kuti. “ Not only an electronic act, the band, who incidentally also moonlight as a shadow puppet group, have distinguished themselves through their theatrical lo-fi carnival stage performances which feature puppets, large paper mache heads, pop art animation, and hot air balloons. The new video seems a bit like Peter Bjorn and Johns “It dont move me” video but has enough unique visual elements to still make it fun to watch in its own rite. Give us your thoughts. The band is currently on tour with Hot Chip.
"you have punk rock, you have rock, you have blues, you have soul, it’s all disco.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUOsztgBE-I
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