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10/26/2010

[Better Late Than Never] Fyfe Dangerfield – Faster Than the Setting Sun

The fact that I discovered this song is just another reason to be a fan of “World of Jenks” on MTV. Yes, folks, there is a legitimate program on MTV, I don’t believe it either. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll watch The Gauntlet/Duel/Challenge til the cows come home, but this show is better for society as a whole. Andrew Jenks does a surprisingly good job of getting people comfortable enough in a short amount of time to talk to him about just about everything, and in the meantime we learn about some underrepresented piece of society, be it a famous rapper, a professional poker player, or someone with autism. Sort of a modern day “True Life” I suppose. Anyway, in tonight’s episode (meaning the episode I decided to watch OnDemand tonight), this song was played and struck me instantly and I was able to catch enough of the lyrics to find it. It turns out it’s called “Faster Than The Setting Sun” by Fyfe Dangerfield (who just so happens to be the singer for Guillemots, whom I’m only vaguely familiar with and haven’t heard anything about in ages) and I’m oh so glad I found it. And the fact that a quick search showed that Galaxy FM was the only blog to ever post this song, it seems all the more likely that I may never have heard it. Seems like the Brits are slightly more familiar thanks to some TV commercial or something, but I have never heard of this fella outside of his band that I didn’t know he created. The song definitely reminds me of someone who I feel might be Coldplay, but thankfully as my friend pointed out, it’s likely more Radio Dept. or The Stills, and that’s a good thing. It also has slight hints at certain moments (to me at least) of Shout Out Louds, which is a good sound.

But I want to know what you think, so tell me.

Fyfe Dangerfield – Faster Than The Setting Sun

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05/10/2010

[first listen] Foals – Total Life Forever

As I’ve mentioned in the past, my first real exposure to Oxford, England band Foals was at Lollapalooza 2008 by accident when I just happened to be chilling by the stage on which they were performing while waiting for some friends, and I’m glad that happened. I really like their high energy and their beaming electric guitar riffs that suck you in so easily. Here are my first listen thoughts on their new album Total Life Forever, which has been officially released today in the UK.

1. Blue Blood: A really subtle start to the album with just some guitar and vocals. And then it hits. About 1:30 in, it really sounds like Foals for the first time. Even though it’s a bit more laid back approach from them, I really like it. Got that characteristic dueling guitar riffs going on. A nice start.

2. Miami: Starts out harder than the last track and again with a much more laid back beat than I’m used to from Foals. I’ve always loved how Foals layers on the pieces and this is no exception. “Would you be there be there be there for me?” I always pay attention to the 2nd track more than the 1st in albums, and this one makes me want to keep listening.

3. Total Life Forever: Another slower tune (well, compared to what I like from them). Good melodies, didn’t really grab me in though.

4. Black Gold: Ohh, this one didn’t really have me until the totally fluid sounding chorus. “The future is not what it used to be.” Ain’t that the truth? Again when the chorus came in, there was a fantastic contrast between the staccato of the verses and the liquidity of the chorus. This is one of three songs on the album that clock in at over 6 minutes, which sometimes bothers me/loses my attention, but in the case of this song it does not.

5. Spanish Sahara: You may remember me talking about this one here when it first hit the web. Starts out insanely slow/quiet. I remember being extremely surprised by this because I’d always associated Foals with nothing but energy. But it is oh so worth it for the buildup that ensues. I like that they are stepping out of their comfort zone a bit more with this album. Just loving this song more and more all the time.

6. This Orient: Really cool/unexpected start! Definitely the happiest/most upbeat track so far. “It’s your heart that gives me this western feeling.” I’m not sure what that means but I think I like it. That song almost reminded me a little bit of Shout Out Louds. That was rather enjoyable.

7. Fugue: Not much to report here. 49 seconds of piano and speaker fuzz and weird effects. But I guess it was a cool 49 seconds.

8. After Glow: Simple but excellent opening riff with the guitar jumping back and forth between left and right speakers. I was hoping this would be more high energy when it started, and it definitely just got there. This might sound like the Foals I know more than any other track thus far in the second half of this song (not to say that I don’t like the sound they’re rockin in the other songs).

9. Alabaster: Really slow and reverb-y beginning. Even though the song is really slow, there are so many different things going on and working in harmony that it carries you through without getting bored. There’s a lot to pay attention to in all of these songs which keeps it fresh.

10. 2 Trees: Holy canoli, this song sounds super fresh. A slow jam for sure (at least right now), but double time drums carry it and sound great against the guitar and vocal reverb. This song is a great summary of where Foals has progressed to, and I approve.

11. What Remains: Another more major sounding start (as opposed to the minor sound of many of the other songs). The music seems to be more secondary to the vocals and percussion, sort of swirling around in the background for a good amount of time. Like so many others, this one started out small and gradually built into something much bigger. I do feel like it ends a bit suddenly though (not Sopranos finale suddenly though).

After first hearing “Spanish Sahara” a few months back, I was expecting something a bit different out of Foals, and as you can see above, that is definitely what they give us. But, I really think this works for them. I love the in your face riffs and really up-tempo songs on their past albums, though I can’t argue that their use of layering so many sounds, each coming in one at a time, to create buildups in almost every song is entertaining. But if you’re looking for those huge guitar riffs and songs that make you want to jump around, you may have to look elsewhere. Total Life Forever really shows how this group is maturing musically and I can’t wait to learn these tracks inside and out.

Foals – 2 Trees

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03/21/2010

shout out louds – fall hard

Many times, I hear over and over that I need to listen to something that came out. Two or three months later when I finally do, I just want to talk to someone about it, but everyone has usually already talked it to death. The latest in this series of unfortunate events was “Work” by Shout Out Louds. Jenny Eliscu has been telling me on my drive home for weeks that I should listen to this album and I finally did. It was real enjoyable. And the highlight thus far for me (after only a few listens) is probably “Fall Hard”.

As someone who feels that the second song of the album has the toughest task of any other song placement, that of maintaining the momentum and getting the listener past the first song that they’ve probably already heard, I feel that “Fall Hard” not only fulfills this task more than adequately. I already know that “Work” has the potential to fall into heavy rotation, especially as the days are getting warmer and the windows are finding themselves rolled down more regularly. This is a quintessential good weather album.

Shout Out Louds – Fall Hard

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