I've been listening to some pretty great music as of
late, sort of branching out of my usual
semi-contained tastes to try out some
recommendations from highly regarded friends. I
know I'm supposed to be shocking and awing you with
a cavalcade of rambling musical thoughts (many of
them without point or conclusion), but this week I
just want to shower you eager sons-a-bitches with
some of the tuneage I've been blasting from my
cheaply purchased, early-90s ghetto blaster.
First off though, lets give a huge round of applause
for one John Laird and his darling, and wonderful
wife (yeah, wife) Sarah. I couldn't have
survived my first SXSW without them, and I feel like
all of my stupidity really solidified our
friendship. I couldn't be happier that they'll be
spending part of their honeymoon with me up in
Seattle, attending Bumbershoot. Congratulations
guys, it couldn't have happened to two nicer people!
And with that plate full of cheese, gently removed
from the table, let us move on with the main course.
:Whalebones
- Lady Fingers:
This is a local Seattle band that I've been meaning to
listen to for months. They're building a sizable buzz right
now in this little burg, and it's well deserved. The album
is deeply rooted in classic-rock, but eschews the popular
harmonization of bands like Fleet Foxes and The Explorer's
Club, for a jaunt in to the darker aspects of what came
before. Lady Fingers is a twisting, organ-soaked
humdinger of a track that dips deep in to the seedier worlds
of rock and roll. It, will, blow, your, mind.
:The
Dutchess And The Duke - Reservoir Park:
If Hardly Art continues to impress me with their releases as
they have so far (Arthur & Yu, Le Loup), I might just have
to push these guys in to my top 5 record labels. Sure
they're a Sub Pop shingle, so they've got some pretty strong
pedigree, but this little label certainly picks some gems.
The most recent of course being Seattle's own The Dutchess
and The Duke. There is something deceptively simple about
the strummed guitar and lo-fi harmonies this duo throws
together. They've got the air of a gypsy-era Bob Dylan, but
you imagine that they're smiling a whole hell of a lot
more. This track gets gummed up in you cerebrum like no
other, this I warn you.
:The
Builders And The Butchers - Red Hands:
Wow, three songs, all of from NW artists. I should've
somehow turned this in to a dis-post on every other music
scene in the world. But I'm feeling friendly (er) today, so
I'll just drop the subtle hint. The Builders and The
Butchers must be seen live to truly believe, a sort of
carnival of percussion fronted by Ryan Sollee and his ragged
falsetto. They're a sort of broke down Decemberists, all
grit and grime and tales of dusty plains and flashes of
violence. I'm sort of worried that I've posted on this
(unsigned!) Portland fivesome before, but even if I have,
they deserve a second nod.
:The
Do - Stay (Just A Little Bit More):
I recommended this French duo to a friend of mine this
weekend after hearing only the first song, then, worried
that I'd steered her wrong, I gave it the full listen and
damn yippee if I wasn't nearly knocked asunder by these
Frenchies. Yes, it does sound a bit like The Blow/M.I.A.,
but there's a distinctly European feel that allows for it to
sound original. This track in particular manages to be both
a sweet little love song and sort of an ass-shaker.
:Maps
And Atlases - Ted Zantha:
These sort of acoustic math rockers opened up for one of my
favorite live acts, Foals, a couple months ago and I was
shocked. They don't play chords like regular old musicians,
they only fret tap. Yep, every song is basically an
acoustic version of the opening two and half minutes of
Thunderstruck. They just keep layering and layering all
these tiny finger taps, until it builds in to this sort of
avalanche of awesome noise. Beautiful, melodic, awesome
noise.
And that's what I've got for you this week. Hope
you enjoy!
Thanks for reading!
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light
In The Attic and a contributor over at Sound On The Sound. If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to
his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so
here.
- Noah Sanders -
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
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