Jukebox Update
Posted on August 6, 2008
The Optical Atlas streaming jukebox has been updated with 10 more tracks.
Filed Under General News
Instruments Interview at eMusic
Posted on August 5, 2008
Thanks to I Rule the School for linking to this interview from June with Heather McIntosh of The Instruments. She explains the title of their new album, Dark Småland, the reasoning behind the band’s name, and how she came to join Gnarls Barkley’s touring ensemble:
Danger Mouse used to live downstairs from me in this old big house in Athens, GA. We have stayed in touch ever since then. He came and saw Great Lakes play when we came through London right when he first got over there. I visited with him for a bit right after the Grey Album blew up and I was considering moving to Los Angeles to give a go at making film music. He came out and saw Elf Power a few times on my last tour with them. Finally, he visited me when I was tour managing the Clientele (doing merch and driving the crew around) and he asked if I wanted to join his band. Needless to say, I was super stoked — hopping around the back of the Knitting Factory like a joyous freak!
Dark Småland is available now from Orange Twin Records.
Filed Under Instruments
Apples in Stereo on Colbert Report Tonight
Posted on August 4, 2008
Tonight The Apples in Stereo will be making their second visit to Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report (11:30PM EST)–or first, really, as the first was a Robert Schneider solo appearance in which he debuted the Colbert homage “Stephen, Stephen.” The Apples will perform “Can You Feel It?” and will also use the occasion to tape a new version of “Stephen, Stephen.” If you miss it tonight, it reruns tomorrow at 8:30PM EST.
UPDATE: Video here! Thanks to Dan Efram.
Filed Under Apples in Stereo
Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power: Dark Developments
Posted on August 4, 2008
Orange Twin Records has officially announced the collaborative album between Athens legends Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power, entitled Dark Developments. It will drop on October 14. Here’s the track listing, and the press release from Orange Twin:
Dark Developments,
by Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums
1. Mystery
2. Little Fucker
3. And How
4. Teddy Bear
5. We are Mean
6. Stop the Horse
7. Bilocating Dog
8. The Mad Passion of the Stoic
9. Phil the Fiddler
A tuneful collision of Athens institutions finds fruition this fall when Orange Twin releases Vic Chesnutt’s collaboration with Elephant 6 originals Elf Power, “Dark Developments.” As intriguing as this combination may seem for hardcore fans of either act, the final sonic results reveal a daunting sum much greater than even the involvement of such esteemed parts would imply; the Elves’ lived-in dexterity as a live band goads Vic’s vocal delivery to a menacing new muscularity, imbuing this batch of songs with a sinister vibe not dissmilar to John Cale’s black classic “Fear,” the harsh, articulate sleaze of Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle” or the defeated low key soul-music of Nick Lowe’s last few records. And Chesnutt’s songwriting retains its trademark literary bent; central songs carry the narrative weight, sturdy construction and lexical mystery of a longlost Raymond Carver story. And as he still woos you with his squelched, beautiful melodies, his sonic turns-in-the road take an even stranger tack with the aid of the psych-pop veterans.
Recorded over the course of a winter by Vic and Derek Almstead in Chesnutt’s own attic studio, “Dark Developments” revels in the intimate, home-recorded atomosphere you’d expect from an Athenian union like this. Elf Power’s tripped-out pop-smarts provide the contradictory musical notions that never allow the album to sway too far in one bleak direction or another: it’s that friction extant between Chesnutt’s shadowy worldview and the inventive bounce and bray of the band’s joyful chemistry that buoys the album, provides its freshness, and makes for highly rewarding repeated listening. “Dark Developments” stands as a classic addition to the legendary local pantheon, and, most importantly, as a brilliant statement endemic of a natural partership between two separately-evolved and vital musical entities that never feels forced, flashy or false.
Filed Under Elf Power
Julian Koster Unveils Christmas Album
Posted on August 1, 2008
Julian Koster has been unusually productive lately. First comes this month’s Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes (August 19th on Merge Records), the long-awaited follow-up to 1999’s The 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad, and now Stereogum has revealed that on October 7th Merge will release The Singing Saw at Christmastime, a collection of Christmas covers performed by Koster’s magical singing saw in collaboration with Nesey Gallons. You can hear his version of “Jingle Bells” right here. The track listing, as performed by “The Singing Saw Orchestra”:
01 “The First Noel”
02 “Frosty The Snowman”
03 “Silent Night”
04 “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”
05 “Jingle Bells”
06 “White Christmas”
07 “Silver Bells”
08 “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
09 “O’ Come All Ye Faithful”
10 “O’ Holy Night”
11 “O’ Little Town Of Bethlehem”
12 “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
Filed Under Music Tapes
of Montreal Engages the Id
Posted on July 31, 2008
Polyvinyl Records has announced the first single from the upcoming of Montreal album Skeletal Lamping: “Id Engager” is a 7″ which will feature a non-album B-side, a digital download of the tracks, and artwork by Nina Barnes. It will also be pressed on gold, purple, and blue, and you can buy these separately ($5) or in a budget bundle ($10). Pre-orders will ship on August 29.
Filed Under of Montreal