Twin Shadow – Forget (4AD)

‘This guy can’t be American’, is what I find myself thinking as I listen to the decidedly nomadic debut release from producer George Lewis Jr. a.k.a. Twin Shadow. It turns out the Eighties obsessed synth-master was Dominican born, later moving to Florida where he apparently soaked up not just the music of his own generation, but also that of the one before. Dance, disco, and dubstep can be found on Forget, backed up by hip hop beats and, at times, a more modern (and somewhat disappointing) indie-electro sound. It’s the culmination of a dozen different radio shows played in unison or a schizophrenic record collection, being held together only by the atmosphere of an era.

The maudlin opening to first track, Tyrant Destroyed, does little to prepare you for the rest of Forget. With strong hints of Saturdays=Youth era M83, and a vocal akin to a thunder-maker under water, it’s eerily beautiful. When We’re Dancing is a trilling pop-wail, reminiscent of Morrissey, surely capable of sound tracking a Brett Easton Ellis movie. I Can’t Wait is Destroyer-esque danceable misery with its rich monotone ‘Ian Curtis does Brit Pop’ vocals and spaced out synthlines. More current tracks At My Heels (joyous Asian-inspired fun) and Yellow Balloon are indie disco gems. Castles in the Snow is without doubt the best track on Forget, and probably one of the best dance tracks of the year (Yes I said dance). Unsurprisingly, there are already numerous re-mixes available online. The heavy dub-step beat and gothic vocal are layered with fragile synth lines and wandering bass. It’s masterful. For Now is all clever lyrics and stupid guitar (‘Is there anything as quiet as a night alone, with you?’). Last-dance-at-prom croon-fest Slow is driven forwards by raw emotion and tacky nostalgia, and only the sincerity of the track means it falls just short of a comedic replica.



The most enthralling parts of the album are when TS turns on the Numan and takes things darker. It’s the light as candyfloss electronica and silky vocals however, that grant the album the authenticity many heavily 80s-inspired releases cannot muster. The production is slick as fuck, thanks in part to Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, who is credited with discovering the ‘bedroom artist’. The massively diverse range of genres and artists Twin Shadow lifts from to create Forget never make the album feel confused or compartmentalised. As single tracks though, I fear it would feel like a set of directions with a vital chunk missing. You’d get lost in it.

Words : Maya Boustany

The National – Terrible Love (4AD)

‘Terrible Love’ is the new single from Brooklyn’s The National; it is the opening track to their most recent album High Violet and it is the new “rocker” in The National’s catalogue, having replaced their previous trademark “rocker” ‘Mr. November’ as the new closing song at all of their shows.

In my opinion though, this track does not even come close to ‘Mr. November’ in quality. Whereas the ‘Mr. November’ was a real fist-pumping, throat swelling anthem, swaying from the heroic “I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders” to the cathartic “I’m Mr. November; I won’t fuck us over!” ‘Terrible Love’ is too bogged down in its own misery to stir the same kind of emotions. The image of “walking with spiders” is a typically evocative and gloomy one for the Brooklyn bunch, and one that’s typical of High Violet; the bands most self-pitying album yet. Not that there’s anything wrong with songs about self-pity, certain acts have made a career about pretty much nothing else, but this topic is better served by a slow, melodic musical accompaniment, which is the opposite of ‘Terrible Love’. There are, however, plenty of tracks on High Violet that do match the description I have just laid out including ‘Lemonworld’, ‘Anyone’s Ghost’ and ‘Afraid of Everyone’, any of which would have made great singles.

So the bottom line on ‘Terrible Love’ is that it’s a good song, but not deserving of single release, and certainly not worthy of being the climax of The National’s live show. Let’s hope they make better judgements in the future.

Words : Rob Hakimian

Deerhunter – ‘Halcyon Digest’ (4AD)

Deerhunter are a band full of surprises. Right from when I first listened to Cryptograms three years ago I was enthralled by the haziness and intensity of their Lo-fi, shoegazey punk-rock tones. 2008 saw the release of Microcastles, which Bradford Cox took in the direction of a cleaner but equally intensified sound. And of course people seem to leave out their debut LP Turn It Up Faggot, a record I only checked out after I heard the previous two. Although not their most complete and accomplished record (hey, Cox would be the first person to admit that) it still provided a raw, sludgy sound that was unlike anything the Atlanta, Georgia four piece had done since. So as you would expect, the anticipation towards their latest masterpiece has been growing ever since the announcement and promotion details of their fourth LP, Halcyon Digest.

It’s not often a group can consistently keep going from strength to strength. Yet, somehow this is what Deerhunter have managed to accomplish. Halcyon Digest follows on from where last year’s disappointing Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP left off, but to much much greater avail. The record is a progression. Opening up with ‘Earthquake’ which is a sombre introduction with a slow drum and hi-hat beat building into a 5 minute layering of guitar loops, softly sung vocals and their trademark atmospheric dream sounds. ‘Sailing’ is a further example of how they have mellowed and matured from their earlier releases. The luscious, hypnotic layers almost set you off before it launches into the pure 1960’s pop ala Beach Boys influence of ‘Memory Boy’. This then leads well to the albums centre piece and standout track, ‘Desire Lines’. The intro kind of starts a bit like The Arcade Fire’s ‘Memories (Lies)’ but builds into a near 7 minute Psych gem. Everything about this track is just stunning. From Lockett Pundt’s jangly guitars, the through bass line and the jump from verse to bridge/chorus, to how halfway through the epic guitar outro begins and it gives you the feeling that you just don’t want it to stop until it sadly fades out.

So that’s the halfway point of Halcyon Digest. The second half doesn’t fail to deliver like the first. We have cuts like ‘Helicopter’ which is as radio-friendly as Deerhunter can get in regards to song structure, despite being probably the most pedal-led track on the album, at least in the chorus anyway. But for me, another highlight is penultimate track ‘Coronado’. Providing an uplifting experience that is quite a rare occurrence on a Deerhunter track, helped largely by the continuous use of Saxophone performed by Bill Oglesby, as well as Moses Archeleta’s drum filled beats and Cox’s uplifting melody.

The album climaxes with the two part 7 and a half minute ‘He Would Have Laughed’. The synth strings on it are a fitting touch to end what is truly a gorgeous album. The song ends abruptly leaving the listener wanting more, which can only mean we’ll have to keep coming back to this album again and again.

Words: Freddy Rothman

Deerhunter reveal new album tracklisting & cover art

Having announced they were to release the follow up to 2008's epic twin release 'Microcastle' and 'Weird Era Cont.' with new album 'Halcyon Digest' just a few days ago. Details have emerged of the next stage of this Deerhunter promotion process.

As you can see, we have the interesting new artwork above, and below, the exclusive tracklisting:

1. Earthquake
2. Don't Cry
3. Revival
4. Sailing
5. Memory Boy
6. Desire Lines
7. Basement Scene
8. Helicopter
9. Fountain Stairs
10. Coronado
11. He Would Have Laughed

'Halcyon Digest' will be released through 4AD on September 27. And yes, we're pretty fucking excited!

FR

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. The Scala, London. 15/6/10

‘Before Today’ by Ariel Pink and his wonderful Haunted Graffiti has been one of this year’s releases that has been there or there abouts blasting through my speakers for the best part of 2010. A record that has taken his Psychedelic/Lo-Fi/Psych-Fi sound to a new level, incorporating a wide range of genres with a majestic seventies style production that yet sounds completely fresh at the same time. Finally, with my obsession with this record I finally got round to seeing him perform at the Kings Cross’ Scala venue.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I missed all of the support acts as well as the opening 10 minutes of Ariel’s set but during after show conversations, it might well have been a blessing in disguise as apparently sound issues meant that the show took a couple of tracks to get going. Already though, they were living up to the expectation set by ‘Before Today’. Solidly working their way through sensational renditions of tracks such as ‘Little Wig’, ‘Menopause Man’ and ‘Round and Round’, as well as cuts from the rest of his back catalogue.


It was as good as expected and not worth missing for a second (which unfortunately I did) as you never know what may occur on his stage. The packed London crowd were wowed by Ariel’s erratic stage persona and performance with a frantic set of hits (yes, they are all hits in the eyes of myself and the rest of his followers), some misunderstood reaction to hecklers who weren’t actually heckling him, and were even treated to 2 encores which clarify that Ariel Pink is superstar performer in the making. Not sure if he would like to see it that way though.

Words/Photos: FR

Watch the new Ariel Pink video

Following this weeks release of the wonderful amazing new album 'Before Today' (reviewed here) by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, I yesterday stumbled across on youtube the new video for the gorgeous cover of the 1966 track by Rockin' Ramrods' 'Bright Lit Blue Skies'.



From tomorrow you can catch Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti live in the UK at these venues;

June:
10 - Brighton, Freebutt
11 - Bristol, Metropolis
12 - Nottingham, Spanky Van Dykes
13 - Glasgow, Captain's Rest
14 - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
15 - London, Scala

FR

Efterklang and Slaraffenland join forces and offer free EP

With both bands having released albums recently, Efterklang with Magic Chairs and Slaraffenland with We're on Your Side, the fellow Danish bands have come together to release an EP entitled Prinser & Vikinger Live at The Royal Danish Playhouse under the guise SlaraffenKLANG.

The ep recorded in Copenhagen is free to download here.

A full list of Efterklang's tour date can be found underneath.

June:
19th - Holland Festival, Amsterdam (Performing Parades w. Metropole Orkest)
21st - Festspillene Nord-Norge, Norway
28th - Serpentine Sessions, London (w. Grizzly Bear)

July:
1st - Roskilde Festival, Denmark
4th - Traumzeit Festival, Germany
5th - Club Schocken, Stuttgart
7th - Les Tombées de la Nuit, Rennes
8th - Cour du Cloître, Vendôme
9th - Festival de la Cité, Lausanne
10th - Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Denmark
18th - Benicassim, Spain
31st - Den Grimmeste Festival, Denmark

August:
4th - New Note Festival, Hillerød
5th - Skanderborg Festival, Denmark
6th - Off Festival, Poland
7th - Micro Festival, Liege
8th - Standon Calling Festival, Standon
11th - Stockholm Kulturfestival, Sweden (Performing Parades w. Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
14th - Haldern Pop Festival, Germany
15th - Exit07, Luxemburg
19th - Sønderborg, Denmark
20th - Malmö Festivalen, Sweden
22nd - Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons


I Was Playing Drums by Efterklang

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Ariel Pink Before Today (4AD)

Talk to the right people and you will come to realise that Ariel Rosenberg, the man behind ‘Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’ has been on the West Coast scene as far back as 1996 but despite a dedicated cult following they really didn’t start to make waves until 2004 when ‘The Doldrums’ was released via Paw Tracks, Animal Collective’s label that also boasts Dent May and Black Dice as some of it’s worthy members. Having been a champion of the Lo-Fi aesthetic that has seen so many rise to fame over the last few years ‘Before Today’ is a step into unknown territory for Ariel Pink, their début for 4AD comes at a time when so many art forms are harking back to retro stylings as seemingly some sort of mass rebellion against the computer and modern age, music has been at the forefront of that rebellion and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are at the top of that list.

Each song beautifully, crafted at the infamous Encino at the House of Blues studio tells a different tale each more surreal and downright extreme than the last, managing to merge 60’s funk, early Gabriel fronted Genesis, heavy rock and 80’s synth pop and make it sound insanely fresh and exciting. It’s a hard thing mixing in so many different genres and with so many styles going on a record like this could easily go horribly wrong. Fortunately for Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti, an unruly mob made up of a number of characters from LA’s underground scene, the chemistry between the four of them is just right and they make the balancing of so many different genres seem easy. Ironically if this had been released 30 or 40 years ago it probably would have been hated but 2010 is perfect timing for a record as daring as this, these guys are a real find.

As one song ends and the next one begins, something completely different is brought to the plate. Take ‘L'estat (Acc. To The Widow's Maid)’ for instance, it starts off as a twee indie pop number before everything goes silent and a mass psych freak out ensues ending in a prog style break down making the likes of Wakeman envious. ‘Round And Round’ is an experimental take on 60’s funk whilst ‘Fright Night (Nevermore)´ fits in dense layers of synth over softly echoed vocals whilst Menopause Man showcases more clearly than most their fairly tongue-in-cheek outlook with a song based around sex change, dark lyrics such as ‘break me, castrate me, make me gay.’

Ariel Pink are a rarity for sure, no other band in existence can reel in and experiment with so many different genres yet still retain such a shrill, enviable pop aesthetic. When ‘Before Today’ drops on June 7th I implore you to go get your groove on and come and listen to possibly the coolest band on the planet right now.

Round Round

Words : Gordon Reid

4AD Sessions 003 : Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Here we have another brilliant 4AD session featuring three fantastic tracks from Ariel Pink plucked from their amazing new album Before Today out June the 8th. Watch, enjoy and see why this band will very soon be one of the most talked about bands of the summer.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti release first single for 4AD

Los Angeles four piece 'Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti' who recently signed to fantastic label 4AD have released their first single in the run up to their hotly anticipated new album. The tantalising new single 'Round and Round' will be released on the April 26th but you can hear it here.

Efterklang - Magic Chairs (4AD)

It’s not that often you find an album whose artwork perfectly matches the contents. And I mean perfectly here, not a little bit, or even mostly. The front cover of Efterklang’s third album makes for an unusual exception in that its depiction of self-propelled ribbons of colour and light provides an exact visual counterpart to the music contained within. Magic Chairs has been painted with the broadest of brush strokes, in a set of colours equally showy and understated, the slightly outré edge to their previous albums toned down in an approach that simply screams ‘pop’. But this is pop in the warmest and most inviting sense, straight from the Broken Social Scene school of raise-your-fist-and-pump-the-air-in-joy celebration music, none of your chilly electro-synthery here, thank you very much.

I’ve always had an odd relationship with Efterklang. Ostensibly there’s much about both their previous albums Tripper and Parades that should be so easy to love, but there’s always been some other factor at work, some snag that has prevented me from simply switching off and floating downstream. And for all its considerable charm, that same hitch still remains evident on Magic Chairs. Yet strangely it acts not to the record’s detriment, but to its credit – it’s almost as though the sheer breadth of vision on display here is able to prevent a listen being anything but an intensely concentrated experience. For a little bit of context, as I type I’m halfway through second song ‘Alike’, and as delicate swells of synth and brass lift Casper Clausen’s vocals adrift on a buoyant sea of noise I’m forced to pause it to concentrate on the sentence I’m writing.

Magic Chairs demands attention, but in the least obvious of ways. Instead of reaching out and grabbing the listener by the lapels, positively screaming ‘LOVE ME!’, it soaks in gradually over a number of listens. On first listen, the saccharine, almost-twee melody of ‘I Was Playing Drums’ breezes past in a pleasant rush - the sound of a busker playing a familiar song in a Tube station perhaps, or an instantly recognisable song on a passing car’s radio – and disappears into the background again. It’s only an hour or two later that it becomes obvious it’s well and truly lodged in there, and is stubbornly refusing to leave.

This curiously elusive quality is largely due to the orchestration. Make no mistake, this is one of the most beautifully arranged ‘indie’ albums I’ve heard in a long time, reaching for the heights of Owen Pallett’s recent masterstroke Heartland in subtlety and scope. There’s a delicate sleight of hand at play here that enables each song’s backbone of strings and brass to remain at times almost inaudibly buried in the mix, but to maintain a definitive presence. The hyper-percussive whorl of ‘Raincoats’ sounds sparse on initial inspection but upon closer examination reveals a densely layered core, and when the strings finally reach the fore on the jaunty thrum of ‘Full Moon’ the effect is one of dazzling, glorious release.

Best of all, though, remains ‘Alike’. Testament to Magic Chairs’ transcendent oddness, it initially seemed one of the album’s more unremarkable songs, breezing perfectly pleasantly through ever-so-slightly MOR leanings. But once again it’s the tiny nuances that prove definitive, and as a gradually rising interplay of brass begins to invade the track’s very centre and rip its very structure apart, it heads straight for the sky, dashing streaks of brightly coloured paint over all it touches, like an astral Jackson Pollack. For all my misgivings about Efterklang and that certain snag that just won’t let go, the prevailing wind is getting ever harder to resist.

By Rory Gibb

The astounding artwork that compliments the album was done by Hvass and Hannibal