2010 May | dailybeatz

Posts published during May, 2010

05/25/2010

[first listen] Woods – At Echo Lake

I’ve been hearing quite a lot of talk lately about At Echo Lake, the newest album from Woods so I figured I should probably give it a listen. This will actually be a total fresh review with no preconceived notions about anything (for once), because to be honest I never made it around to hearing their 2009 album Songs of Shame (or any of their other previous albums). It’s probably better that I never have preconceived notions about music (well, or anything for that matter), but sometimes it just happens and there’s nothing I can do about it. Oh yeah, and I think this will be the last album review where I try to describe every single song, because that’s way too difficult. So let’s get this show on the road.

1. Blood Dries Darker: Starts out like what rock and roll would sound like through some sort of strainer, one that left it still identifiable but a bit muddled (definitely intentional though). At 4:29, this is the longest song on the album. Some subtle but nice harmonies. The tremolo picking throughout gives it a nice surfer vibe. This sets a nice tone for the album.

2. Pick Up: The intro sounds a lot folkier than the first song. I thought Jeremy Earl’s voice was going to annoy me, but it just sounds like it was made for this lo-fi style.

3. Suffering Season: Big instrumentation on the intro (amidst the constant lo-fi sound). I really love how much is going on, especially when compared to the first two tracks. Nice beat changes from the drummer as well. “Who knows what tomorrow might bring?” None of us. That’s the excitement and anxiety of life in a nutshell.

4. Time Fading Lines: This song sounds really familiar. I think I’ve heard it before. I hear “In an hour or so I’ll let you know” but I’m not really sure of what. It’s all good though, because I’m not much of a lyrics guy anyway. I love the little pickup in the last minute of the song.

5. From the Horn: Really cool and sometimes abstract instrumental track. It sounds like something that could have come from a different era of music (I’m thinking late 60s or early 70s).

6. Death Rattles: For some reason my first image in my head was of baby rattles. Death baby rattles. Coming right after “From the Horn”, it seems at first like it’s a really slow song, but it’s not. “God only knows just to be by your side I would be there all night/I would be there alright alright”.

7. Mornin’ Time: The first of the last 5 songs all clocking in at just about 2 minutes (give or take). Sort of a “Hey Jude” tempo and beat. Another one that feels like it could have come from a different era, but Earl’s voice makes sure you know it’s not. It’s sort of nostalgic to listen to for some reason though.

8. I Was Gone: Clearer acoustic guitar picking to start out. Sounds like at least 2 or 3 of them going at once. “You’re the cool breeze/You’re the wind in my life” is, I think, what they’re saying. It’s a lot harder to understand here than in most of the other tunes.

9. Get Back: Sounds sort of alt-country, and as the song says a few times, ‘It works just fine.”

10. Deep: Definitely one of the more abstract songs. Well, at least in the beginning. But then it all fits together and makes sense. Really loud elements come in and go. Like some sort of clapping, acoustic guitar noodling, and probably a banjo? Ok, yeah it’s still pretty abstract, but I don’t hate it.

11. Til the Sun Rips: A slow acoustic tune full of harmony to close out the album. I really like when an entire song is harmonized. It makes things really interesting even if there isn’t much happening. All kinds of bells ringing in the background, just loud enough to hear. Tambourine comes in loud and clear. And the final 30 seconds of the abstract ringing fading away into oblivion.

So, what did I think of my first true taste of Woods? That last sentence didn’t sound very good, did it? Well, it was an extremely refreshing journey back into the land of music before computers. I’ve been so caught up lately in electronic music and synth and all of that, and this album really brought me back down to Earth. I don’t really recall many standout tracks, but with a playing time of what seemed like only 35 minutes or so, it’s extremely convenient to listen to the album as a whole anyway. I’m looking forward to getting this one into the rotation, so thanks to everyone who incessantly mentioned it enough to get me to give it a listen. Jeremy Earl’s voice, which did sort of bother me a little on the few random Woods tracks I’d heard in the past, flows in perfect harmony with the lo-fi music that seems to take all sorts of subtle turns into so many different musical styles. I wholeheartedly approve of this record.

Ok, I take back what I said. The track below was sort of a standout for me.

Woods – Suffering Season

buy it on or amazon

buy the full album on or amazon

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The Roots – Dear God 2.0

It’s time for another album from America’s most lovable hip-hop group The Roots. You know, the superstar band who became the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a move so crazy that Fallon himself still doesn’t seem to believe that they were able to get THE ROOTS as their HOUSE BAND. Nuts. But I must say that I kind of like the show, with its intimate live show setting for its musical guests and the fact that its house band is The Roots!

The group is releasing their new How I Got Over on June 22, but we’ve already been given our first taste in “Dear God 2.0″. Just as their classic “The Seed 2.0″ from Phrenology was a remake of the Cody Chesnutt track “The Seed”, they’ve remade “Dear God”, the Monsters of Folk track memorably sang by Jim James. The track can be yours for free right over here if you so chose to accept it. Here’s the tracklisting for the album that was sent to us. And as you can see, the special guests abound per usual. I’m probably most excited to hear the Dirty Projectors track, because I enjoy the voices of those gals.

Interlude 1 feat. Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian & Haley Dekle of Dirty Projectors
Walk Alone feat. Truck North, P.O.R.N. & Dice Raw
Dear God 2.0 feat. Monsters Of Folk
Radio Daze feat. Blu, P.O.R.N. & Dice Raw
Now Or Never feat. Phonte & Dice Raw
How I Got Over feat. Dice Raw
Interlude 2
The Day feat. Blu, Phonte & Patty Crash
Right On feat. Joanna Newsom & STS
Doin’ It Again
The Fire feat. John Legend
Interlude 3
Web 20/20 feat. Peedi Peedi & Truck North
BONUS* Hustla feat. STS

The Roots – Dear God 2.0

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05/24/2010

Florence and the Machine – Cosmic Love (acoustic)

So, in case you didn’t know, Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine is kind of ridiculous, not in a “She’s ridiculous. I don’t like her” way, but in a “Holy crud! She is so incredible that she is kind of ridiculous!” I think that at least in my case, the first song I ever heard of hers was “Kiss With a Fist”, which, while it’s a good song, does NOTHING to showcase how talented she is at all. Yeah, it’s fun and catchy, but wow, there’s so much more she can do. And I think “Cosmic Love” might possibly be the perfect example of that. Our friend Tsururadio perhaps said it best when he questioned why people like Ke$ha and Gaga are so much more famous than her. Not knocking them or anything, but I think it’s hard to deny that Florence really has got the goods. Make sure to check out this video too. It has some of the best lighting throughout the whole video that I’ve seen in a while.

We are pretty excited to hear that she’s going to begin working on her follow up to 2009′s Lungs later this year. I’m super depressed that I did not catch her at Coachella. I hear it was pretty incredible.

If you don’t believe that she’s really got the set of pipes you’re hearing here, check out this acoustic version of the same song. It’s all real. No audio manipulation here, folks.

Florence and the Machine – Cosmic Love (acoustic)

Still not convinced? How about this acoustic cover of the Beirut classic “Postcards from Italy”?

Florence and the Machine – Postcards from Italy (Beirut Cover)

If these are a bit too slow for you, here’s a pretty great remix of “Cosmic Love” by P.E.S.T.

Florence and the Machine – Cosmic Love (P.E.S.T Remix)

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05/23/2010

Husky Rescue – Sound of Love (The Twelves Remix)

I try to stay on top of all things regarding The Twelves mostly because I love the way they use that Brazilian DJ magic (you know, the magic that all Brazilian DJs have) to turn just about any song into a funked out bit of awesome. But, sometimes, as with so many things in my life, I forget to pay attention/get lazy/just don’t keep up. The good side of this is that when I do take a peek, I get mildly inundated (in a good way of course). So here are two greatastic remixes that have slipped beneath my grasp over these years.

The first is “Sound of Love” by Finnish band Husky Rescue. It is the quintessential sound of the Twelves. The one where as soon as you hear that guitar riff in the beginning, you say to yourself, “Self, thanks for turning on this jam of a remix by the Twelves. Because I (you?[we?]) love the Twelves so very much”. The bonus of this one is that whenever I hear the word “husky” in any context whatsoever, I always think of Isabelle Hodes, aka the face of Huskeroos, from the hit television show “Weeds”. Which I also enjoy.

Husky Rescue – Sound of Love (The Twelves Remix)

Now, this one has likely been around for ages so I have absolutely no excuse this time. None whatsoever. Only my favorite song from one of my favorite albums from one of the best bands of the last 20 years ever. Just embarrassing. If you haven’t figured it out by now based on your knowledge of the Twelves remix catalog, I am speaking of “Reckoner” by Radiohead. Have you heard of them? They’re pretty under the radar. Anyway, this one is a bit sneakier. Because it doesn’t sound exactly like what you expect from the Twelves. But that don’t mean it don’t rock the socks off a fox in a box. And then we can go eat some hay, or lay by the bay, I think I just may, whaddaya say?

Radiohead – Reckoner (The Twelves Remix)

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05/22/2010

RAC – If You Forget Me (feat. Liset Alea) (Blue Satellite Remix)

After providing us with so many top notch remixes of other people’s music, Andre Anjos of RAC has taken the reigns on an original musical project of his own. He’s just released the soundtrack to the movie Holy Rollers, a new film starring Jesse Eisenberg (who you may remember from “Zombieland”) and Jason Bartha (who you may remember from “The Hangover”) dealing with the issues of blind faith told through the story of Hasidic drug mules in NYC in the 1990s. Definitely a very intriguing premise for a film if you ask me! To stay true to the 1990s theme, he even made sure only to use instruments available in the 1990s (and he specifically calls out that no virtual synths were used). You can listen to the whole soundtrack here on his website.

In addition to the soundtrack, he’s also released a single of the fantastic track “If You Forget Me (feat. Liset Alea)” along with a couple of great remixes from Gigamesh, True Blue and Blue Satellite. You can hear all the tracks from the single here.

And if you like the album and/or single and want to purchase them, RAC has been kind enough to give our readers a 20% discount! When you purchase, just enter “dailybeatz” in the promo code box for your 20% discount. And, you should probably go see the movie too.

Here’s the Blue Satellite remix. Love it.

If You Forget Me (ft. Liset Alea) (Blue Satellite Remix) by Remix Artist Collective

And just because we love the works of RAC so much, here’s the much loved stripped down remix of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Yes, it’s a few months old, and yes, many have heard it already. But I’ve never posted it. So here it is.

Edward Sharpe and the Magentic Zeros – Home (RAC Remix)

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05/21/2010

Ellie Goulding – Guns and Horses (Tonka Radio Cut)

Last week I posted the PHENOMENAL Monsieur Adi remix of Ellie Goulding’s “Guns and Horses”. In that remix, the verse and chorus swapped places and the song became larger than life thanks to Adi’s huge sounds. And then I got this one sent to me shortly thereafter, and it was so good in different ways that I had to put it up too. This version is the Tonka Radio Cut that can be found on the single being released on May 17. This time, the basic structure of the song is kept intact, but it’s given a great house beat and synth up the wazoo, and dare I say it’s got a hint of the French Touch sound at times that I so love (despite the fact that Tonka is German)? Is it possible that Ellie Goulding might be the best voice to remix in the history of voices to remix? I’m fairly sure that I’ve posted more Ellie Goulding remixes than anyone else, but when there are just so many good ones to go around, I don’t really have much of a choice.

Ellie Goulding – Guns and Horses (Tonka Radio Cut)

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05/20/2010

[first listen]Ellen Allien – Dust

I was sent the upcoming Ellen Allien album Dust recently and was pretty excited about it. I had never really listened to her albums, but I knew she was a kick-ass DJ and that she’d done an album with Apparat, maybe one of my first true electronic loves, so I knew I had to give this one a listen. And then I found out that she’s playing 3 shows in the states next month, one of which is in my very own Detroit! What are the chances? And then I found out that she runs the BPitch Control record label and is a fashion designer as well. Is there anything she can’t do? Here are my thoughts on Dust, released earlier this week, based on my first listen.

1. Our Utopie: Starts out with birds chirping, a nice steady beat and a Halloween-esque riff. Lots of really subtle background noise. About a minute and a half in before a new element is added into the mix. Vocals are spoken over the music. Now it kind of sounds like we’re at the beach, but at night.

2. Flashy Flashy: Starts out a bit more up tempo than the first track. A little riff that seems to go up the chromatic scale with each new phrase. Distorted vocals that alternate from a little girl to a demon. “Flashy flashy flashy flashy disco lights.” Now it’s sounding like the girl and the demon are at the club dancing together. I can buy into this. Nice addition at about 2:55.

3. My Tree: Great contrast between the heavy and the light in the intro. Vocals sound like Fever Ray if she had a more high pitched voice. It’s sort of minimalist overall, but there are tons of tiny pieces that come in and out. Two things are becoming clear: 1. This is not your typical album. 2. This album is probably best enjoyed with headphones. Oh, really really awesome change! Some clarinets just came in and totally brightened up this dark song.

4. Sun The Rain: Starts out with a guitar riff before the beat comes in. So far this sounds the most like a conventional song compared to the others. Vocals about life feeling so easy. Ok, this tune is really pretty now. Layers building upon layers. Great harmonies going on with all the guitar in the background. The title is perfect for this song. It really sounds like the sun coming out after the rain. I now have a big ole smile on my face.

5. Should We Go Home: Starting out much more abstract than the last one. Almost 2 minutes in before we get a real sense of what’s going on. It’s a sort of wave of sounds right now. I’m growing the tiniest bit impatient waiting for something else to happen. Much more of a conceptual song, but didn’t do a whole lot for me.

6. Ever: Ok good, a solid beat is what I needed. Totally cool electronic goodness comes in at about 1:10. Really fast notes running through that I can’t really tell if they are major or minor. Reminds me a bit of Pantha du Prince. So far I’m liking this 6+ minute song much more than the last. All sorts of cool effects running through the main melodies now. This is a total minimalist electronic jam.

7. You: Starts out with bass and guitar. Another more conventional sounding tune. Definitely the most straightforward track thus far. But it still fits in perfectly with the tone of the rest of the album, and there are still cool electronic elements sprinkled in here and there, but they are not overpowering. That sort of rock song was totally unexpected and I liked it.

8. Dream: Total headphone track. You can hear the beat going back and forth from the left and right channels, and there’s this ascending melody that almost sounds like it’s circling your head.

9. Huibuh: I like the bongos in this one. One of the seemingly heavier beats on the album even though the overall sound is really laid back. Really nice synth just came in, and everything is working in great harmony. Vocals sound as though they’re being sung through a fan or something. I don’t know how to describe it other than sort of a lazy, cloudy day on an island. But a good one.

10. Schlumi: The beat really builds up in the beginning. I’m not really sure what to say about this one. Definitely sounds the most like outer space at times, but a fitting end to the album.

Overall thoughts? A pretty cool album that must be experienced through headphones, or else you will miss so many of the details that Allien has meticulously placed into these songs. There was a good mix of abstract electronic tunes and more straight forward songs, as well as a good mix of styles. It works really well as an album, but there are definitely a few songs that could be great as standalone songs too. I know this album is somewhat laid back, but I’m sure she brings the fire live, so I sort of can’t wait to see her on May 28.

Here’s a little sample, one of my favorite tracks “Sun The Rain”, which is being offered as a free download over at XLR8R. And don’t you worry, because I will be bringing you pics from one of her only 3 US stops next Friday in Detroit, the (perhaps self-proclaimed?) home of electronic music. It will be the perfect start to Movement weekend.

Ellen Allien – Sun The Rain

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The Vanish – Hold On

First off, let me thank everyone that made yesterday’s blog birthday so fantastic. Because it was pretty fantastic.

Now, as we begin our second year of existence, let’s talk a little bit about “Hold On” by NYC’s The Vanish. First of all, let’s talk about why nobody ever told me about it earlier. Second, let’s talk about how rather awesome it is. We all know that I’m sort of in a really heavy synth phase in my musical life right now, which I feel pretty good about, so it’s sort of a given that I would love this song. But, what I hadn’t expected were the awesome remixes that accompany it. The first remix you will find below is by everyone’s favorite, Mr.Russ Chimes and it’s pretty housey and awesome (although I definitely don’t even fully know the differences between all the different types of electronic music, so that was sort of a guess). And as a bonus, another great remix of the same song by Chicago’s Gemini Club, which is much dreamier than the other version. It would behoove you to listen to both of these.

All of this electronic music is getting me effing pumped as heck for next weekend’s Movement Festival, one of my favorite annual Detroit events ever. It’s just 3 days of fun and dancing. I’m hoping to be able to photodocument it for all of you, but we’ll see how that goes. In the mean time, listen below.

The Vanish – Hold On

buy it on or amazon

The Vanish – Hold On (Russ Chimes Mix)

buy it on or amazon

The Vanish – Hold On (Gemini Club Remix)

buy it on or amazon

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