The Duke Spirit - Stop What You're Doing Right Now

I saw these guys at Scala in London a few weeks back knowing only of the few songs I'd heard here and there. Little did I know they'd just set a record free here appropriately titled Bruiser. I'm not usually big on bands that lump in EP songs and singles from a year ago into their full-lengths, but at 11 solidly bruising tracks with simpatico totality, I can't complain. What I previously thought and what I expected to see of the Duke was a fashionably edgy British pop band squeezing out a few local fan favorites, but what I got was a blistering arsenal of thick rock 'n roll with guitars dropped to D in the way that makes them sound dark and totally badass. I was immediately reminded of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but that didn't explain why my nipples were hard.

Then I quickly realized it was because of the hot-as-f--- front-woman Liela Moss with her favorite gold blazer and short leather shorts and the sex dripping from every pore of her body, climaxing out of her deeply sultry voice. Which, by the way, is one of the best live voices I've heard in a while and made her tightly practiced ensemble sound all that much better. Together, this was an action-packed, energy-laden music orgy and I recommend a live watch if you get the chance.


On Later with Jools Holland. She wore this same thing to the live show which I'm guessing was the same day. Or I hope it was, dirty.

I don't think these guys are doing anything all that original with obvious influences from late 90s post-grunge outfits and their minor-chorded droning counterparts like Failure and Mellowdrone, but sometimes when you're looking for rock 'n roll, you don't need original, you just want rock 'n roll. If you like the idea of BRMC with a high-note mistress, Bruiser is easily a sturdy A-. I don't know when the album hits the states, but if you're anywhere else in the world, go buy it.

The Duke Spirit // Procession
The Duke Spirit // De Lux

The Wrens

In order to be the best blogger ever for you, reader, and to maybe one day earn one of these babies, I scour the internet for new music releases I'm interested in. The bad news this week is that there aren't any. The good news is that I found something even better.

There are rumors of a new Wrens album coming in 2011.

Da
Da
Daaaaaaaaaaa.

The Wrens last released an album 8 years ago, and the one before that was 7 years previous. Their website says it all: "Keeping folks waiting…since 1989."

They say anticipation is usually better than the real thing, and this may be the case here. Like Neutral Milk Hotel, the Wrens are firmly cemented as legendary indie stars and adding to their discography may only damage their legacy. But whatever. I'm stoked.

The song below isn't my favorite of theirs, because I shan't be reviewing "She Send Kisses" in a blog, but it's a close second. The way it flips a switch from delicate and sad to just plain mad is priceless. I'd rather let those three notes talk then expound profoundly about unrequited love (hopes of merit badge dashed).

-da

The Wrens // Happy

My Morning Jacket

One of my most-clicked articles this year from SPIN.com listing some of Yim Yames' influencer tracks fueled the soul-fire and got my hands rubbing evilly. Eagerly. For the next release from Kentucky-reared My Morning Jacket. Circuital, dropping May 31 with Sauron-reminiscent album art, {...I may have just Middle Earth dorked myself outta here} continues to carry the soul torch back to rock n' roll. Start growing your hair out, because you're gonna want to wetdog shake your head to the majority of this album. There's moments of Pentecostal revival, Navajo war bellows, 50's doo-wop, shimmering waters of reverb and maybe even a little bit of a middle school social. Boys on one side, girls on the other.

FIRST pre-order THEN get the free release of title track "Circuital" here. NOW you can dig into the brassy wa-womp and gospel kindergarten growl of "black metal."

My Morning Jacket // Holdin On To Black Metal

Explosions In The Sky

Happy to report that Dustin's back for another round, and stoked on the recent release from Explosions. Check back later this week for another ES special guest.

xx, chirgo
____________________________________


Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Hate to admit it, but this is one of those bands it's pained me to see blow up. I've been devout since their album, "Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die," before Friday Night Lights brought them a bunch of cringeworthy boppy teens thinking they are having some divine revelation after sneaking weed into the audience and just letting go, man. THIS BAND IS LIKE….AHH MAN I CAN'T EVEN PUT IT INTO WORDS. sigh. (And I'm the guy who can't appreciate when good bands get their due. sigh again.)

Critics have been tired of post-rock since the mid 2000's, giving "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" pretty mediocre reviews, when it is in fact a stellar album all the way through. My top of 2007 actually, but that may be because I moved out West and did, ahem, miss everyone.

It's good to see Explosions sticking to what they know best with another solid effort. "Let Me Back In" is a step forward for the Texas group, with a voice sample (?!), and a groove beat instead of a march (!), which crescendos into some brilliance. "Trembling Hands" has an angular Interpol-type guitar (!), more voices (!), and is only three and a half minutes long (!). Some crazy firsts, for them. But this is still an Explosions album. 6 songs, each cryptically named. Massive energy built around lulls. Cohesive throughout. If you like Explosions, and can get over the need to hear something completely boundary-pushing from them, you won't be disappointed. This fits nicely into their catalogue.

-da

Explosions In The Sky // Let Me Back In

R.E.M.

Been spinning the new R.E.M., and fondly remembering Michael Stipe's and my moment at Dell'Anima. That moment being my eyes bugging out when he walked in with his bespectacled wonderfulness, oblivious to the fact Out of Time defined my childhood. A couple tracks from Collapse Into Now will likely make an appearance on my 5th Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K run playlist - not that you really need to lean on your playlist when nearly the entire Fan is out on Monument porches, howling.

And when you're not pounding pavement, you're bleeding Black & Gold this Saturday. Nobody's eatin' crow in RVA.

R.E.M. // ÜBerlin

Papercranes - growl & rawhide

{image from rainphoneix.net}

When Rain Phoenix recorded the Papercranes' sophomore album, Let's Make Babies in the Woods, she aimed to push past the cushy production comfort zone. Without breaks or retakes, the writing and recording was an exercise in stream of consciousness. Non-linear, managed chaos production. Reminds me of the creative process I was encouraged to take in Hyper Island work sessions. {do you people not realize that if i don't cross things out in my silo'ed, structured, process-oriented list i will flippin lose my shit?!! all right fine, i'll do the boneless-boy dance while spouting social media ideas. be cool chirgotis. be cool.}

Anyways. Her efforts are largely successful, with whiskey-soaked vocals dragged over granite lyrics and dredged in shale instrumentation. To call up a neo-Janis comparison can't be too far a stone's throw.

Papercranes // Sea Red

Houses

Houses the band is not the first of it's namesake, and not an easy one to hone in on. I'm still not sure if I'm writing about a chillwave husband/wife duo or eight merrymakers who got ripped a new one for joking about Switchfoot. {for seri, read the comments, it gives me second-hand embarrassment and adds to my monthly urge to disconnect, delete my FB account and never look at the Internets again}. To clarify for the group: merrymahkin today, opiate drift tomorrow.

Andy & Kinsey Hamilton, crunchy cuties, are the first two lego blocks of the Denver, CO ensemble. If you like We Are Magic and long for Crosby, Stills & Nash, you're pretty set. Over 2009 they recorded and released an album per season in it's evocation; an upbeat Spring, rock'n'roll Summer, etc use your context clues. People seem to dig their live shows, "will leave you covered in goosebumps and ready to f*cking wrestle a buffalo." Little did they know I already wrestle a f*cking buffalo, on Thursday nights in Chesterfield. And I listen to Switchfoot while I do it. Chew on that!

Houses // Red Feather

Wolf People

The brit boys of the lupine persuasion take us on a time travel tour to 60s/70s era rock - their February release, Tidings, disjointedly puffs and passes in the same circle as TBK Attack and Release and White Denim Fits. Peace, love and Jethro Tull flutes set over western twang rubbed with eastern silks. Steel strings live in harmony with sitars, strung over tape to tape transfers that hisses and pops to their pleasing. It's like Woodstock, except in the UK, no patchouli and absolutely no acid tripping Little Red Riding Hoodlums.

Wolf People // Tiny Circle

Solarium Guns in Paris Gold

10.26.10 UPDATE: I was metricfied last night - big time. Still don't have full strength of hearing in my right earbones thanks to the EXPLOSIVE guitars. Ms. Haines was a whirl of peroxidized gold lamé, and had the audience practically eating out of her thin, smack-ready hands. A certain person who is unendingly difficult to dazzle and has a hard time with the word "fabulous" beamed it was "best show {he's} seen in a long time. Maybe ever." His tee was also drool-soaked from watching Emily for a hour and a half, but I do take him at his word, and agree with it. Pole vault, don't walk, to catch them back on opening for Muse.


METRIC TONIGHT, taking a little break from their tour with Muse.
The National / RVA / 8p doors

Metric // Gold Guns Girls
Metric // Gold Guns Girls {Acoustic}

Lykke Li is back on tour for a short stint while finishing up her LP, sole Stateside stop is Le Poisson Rouge / NY / December 1. She laments the stage is easier to handle than real life - along with playing with mirrors out in the desert in her skivvies and bed linens.



Lykke Li // Paris Blues

Jenny & Johnny, Isobel & Mark

She & Him and Pete & Scarlett and Sonny & Cher and over it. Almost over it.


Jenny (Lewis) and Johnny (Rice) are (I'm) Having Fun Now, k? They are creatively young and prolifically in love and no amount of winking on Match.com will yield these kind of results. These two are genetically enabled to make you reluctantly bounce along to their surf rock homage towards kitten kisses and California. Doesn't matter if the reviews keep the indie-darling of Rilo Kiley close while casting Jonathan to the gum-stained curb. I happen to like his vocals just fine. Clearly - as it seems I played his single "So Sweet" 24 times in college. Ew. Here's winking at you, Johnny.


Hawk is the third album from the whiskey and chambord pairing of Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sebastien) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees). Campbell produced, arranged and wrote all but two songs, heavily showcasing Lanegan's smoky rasp with her wispy coos skimming in the background. The odd birds still have some sexy time tension to talk about with 70's soul retro cuts, exploring past the familiar badlands of dusty-country-rock stomping grounds.

Jenny & Johnny // Big Wave

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan // Come Undone

Peter Wolf Crier

Inter-Be is the debut album from Peter Pisano (vocals, guitar, color) and Brian Moen (percussion, keyboards, texture). Hailing from Minneapolis, MN, the two-man band's scratchy burlap bag of quarter-life crisis sentiment sympathizes with all of us lacking definitive place in our own hellish microcosms.
Pisano, a private school teacher when not writing frank lyrics, has a ragged falsetto that maintains PWC's tensile strength. Nothing like transition for inspiration. But it's Moen's Navajo-thundering percussive torrent that'll make you push the peddle a breath further as you peel away from your daytime existence.

Peter Wolf Crier // Hard as Nails

The Walkmen

I'd been one glum hamster since that last post. That was way too much reality in my real world. So much so that I had to drink an entire bottle meant to be reserved for some romantical thing or another, just to get my shoes tied up tight.
And you know what, friend? My life is lived romantically, so I can drink that grape juice whenever I want. A votre sante.

Speaking of boozy romance - these boys are that and a key-bump of cheeto dust. Since '04, the Walkmen have kept their cacophonous, howling, careless abandon center stage. The kind of stuff that made you want to do the Walk of Shame. Lisbon, set to release September 14th, doesn't forget those wild nights, but lucidly evaluates what many-a-midnight hour provided.

Hamilton Leithauser and crew took two trips to Portugal's capital over the course of writing the album. It's stripped, plaintive musculature could easily put you in the corner of a dusky blue room, looking out over rust-colored roofs leading to Ursa sands. Drool. The title and closing track are a little tip of the cap to it's muse.

Few more personal standouts are "Angela Surf City's" unhinged percussion and next-door subtleties of "While I Shovel the Snow." Featured track could still have me doing the Walk, only a little more elegantly with my hair smoothed behind my ears.

The Walkmen // Blue As Your Blood

White Denim

Punk, spit in yo face, bluesy, psychedelic rock from Aussie Austin, Taxin Texas.

And if you wanna to wear them after Labor Day? Eff it, it's your world.

White Denim// Regina Holding Hands

White Denim // All You Really Have to Do

Rain Machine

Day three of Hurricane Ida leftovers, Rain Machine is awfully appropriate.

I'll start this by readily admitting I've been a bit smitten with Kyp Malone. He's only produced a zillion things for a cajillion artists. Plays in a little band you may have seen on one or two 'zine covers, TVOTR. Bodacious, bountiful beard. Owly, astounding specs. A strangled, falsetto howl like Darth Vader executing a chokehold on level 2.6.

Yeah I'm into strangling. What?

This new jaunt's, Rain Machine, naming is either one of two things;
1. he thought it would look cooler on a concert tee than KYP MALONE
2. he believes naming efforts is arbitrary and an interpretation of the individual, so why specify. Has anyone ever really stopped and thought about what Led Zepplin truly means? Doubtful. Don't act like you have just to impart on KM that you're deep. His lil gal Isabell is his music-success barometer, he doesn't need commoners like you and me to think on things for him.

Regardless, on this solo effort you're gonna get a lot of "nearlies" so your interpretation nation is given a jolt. Nearly chaotic. Nearly empty. Nearly gospel. Nearly agnostic. Nearly zen. Nearly royally pissed. Irritated yet? Let's move on.

You've probably heard the rollicking "Give Blood" on your local college station, so here's track five. Provocative lyrics, tambourine shakes, handclaps. God do I love handclaps. All giving you a feel for what to expect from the full album.

“...a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear, a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined - some rhythm some rhyme." - KM

How could I ever say anything better. Kyp trumps again.

Rain Machine // Free Ride

Autocue - Interview

An interview I did with local Richmond band, Autocue, for RVA Magazine. Have fun, I know I didn't. Hahaha. Kidding. It was average. ;) Check the lads out this Saturday at Gallery 5.

Photo by PJ Sykes

Not since the animatronic animal band, The Rock-afire Explosion, have I been so duped into expecting one thing and given something else. Those guys were all dark and mysterious with their music, but once you got to know ‘em, they were the most innocent of sweethearts this side of Huckleberry Pasture. I could say the same thing for Autocue, a calm and cool collective of hip hipsters born right from the Earth of Mother Richmond.

If I were me, I’d categorize their sound as layered, constantly dueling guitar patterns with a solid, unrelenting rhythm section. Unique and yet sometimes familiar, their tone is from the dark side.

But when I went to meet with the guys, they weren’t dark at all (I already knew this because we all know each other, but for the sake of this article, pretend I’m from England and just arrived). They were quite the opposite. In fact, when I got there, they were playing Call of Duty 4, laughing and drinking Shasta. Or maybe it was beer, but still, they were having a laughable time.

I sat down with the band starring Nick Wurz, 26 (guitars), Andrew Prousalis, 26 (guitars), Patrick Ball, 25 (vocals + bass), and Timo Prousalis, 22 (drums) to discuss the band, the weather, and their upcoming EP release show at Gallery 5 on November 14.

We’re at Nick and Andrew’s new workplace/funhouse. Nick’s looking through a sweater catalogue and vowing to buy everything in it the next day.

McKay (Me): Nick, you recently opened up Mondial Creative Labs. What goes on here and why is there a half pipe next to a computer desk and a half-eaten bagel?

Nick: Me, Andrew and two other guys started it with a vision of a very creative, collaborative place where we could do anything we wanted to do. Whether it's video, work or band stuff. We're here all the time, writing music or working on some video or skateboarding or whatever, playing video games.

Me: I mean seriously. There’s a mother effin’ half pipe right there.

Nick: Yeah, that's there. We have periodic skate breaks during the day. Actually, Patrick broke his foot a few weeks ago. First official casualty.

Me: Does that affect your performance?

Patrick: Hopefully not. It affects my performance in other areas.

Me: Like in the bedroom?

Patrick: I don’t wanna talk about it.
(laughs)

Me: Do you hate each other being here all the time?

Nick: Surprisingly not.

Andrew: No. And Nick and I live together.

Me: 24/7. Is there something we should know?

Andrew: We get along surprisingly well considering how often we're around each other.

Me: What's it like practicing here.

Patrick: It's great. We've got a whole in-ear monitoring/recording set up to where all of our amps and drums and everything have microphones hooked up all the time. With our computer we can record it (snaps) like that. It's all set up. At the same time we have our own mixes. Say I'm singing with the vocal mic, I can hear it in my headphones. So that allows us to turn everything way down and just keep it really clean. We can hear everything like you're listening to a record.

Me: Where'd you guys find each other?

Nick: MySpace.
(laughs)

Andrew: Patrick and I talked about starting a band about 2 years ago. We’d played in bands before and we really wanted to do something that had a focus on being creative and trying to expand. Then Timo started playing, obviously, he's my brother. Then I ran into Nick at a Ki:Theory show at Alley Katz about six months later, he started playing and that was it.

Patrick: He just kind of filled that gap.

Me: Is that where you got that shirt? Zing! How'd you come up with the name Autocue?

Nick: Timo came up with it.

Timo: Yeah, I found it online somewhere.
(laughs)

Nick: Autocue is also the name for a teleprompter in the UK.

Timo: That's how I found the name, actually. On Wikipedia there are British words that aren't used in the US.

Andrew: Like bangers and mash. We don't have bangers here.

Me: Oh yes we do. Andrew, you and Timo are brothers. What’s it like playing together?

Andrew: There’s an interesting synergy that happens with brothers. He’ll say something that no one else will get and I’ll totally get it and we might also…

Timo: Finish each other’s sentences?
(laughs)

Me: Is there a spot you guys would prefer to play in Richmond?

Patrick: 929 West Grace Street. The atmosphere, the history, the location is amazing.

Me: Any local bands you’re into these days?

Nick: Heks Orkest. We’re very excited about them. Keeley Davis, one of the guys that works at Mondial is in it along with Jonathan Fuller and Cam DiNunzio from Denali, Engine Down and Black Iris.

Me: Saw them at the Bike Lot recently. My ears didn’t stop bleeding for days. In a good way, a good way. Who else?

Nick: Antlers…

Patrick: Memorial is awesome.

Nick: Ki:Theory. I was in a band with Ash, the drummer.

Me: So incestuous.

Patrick: This city’s pretty incestuous.

Me: Tell me about it.

Patrick: I’m getting into the jazz scene. Fight the Big Bull. Omback. They’ve been playing at Cous Cous every Wednesday back and forth for a couple years now. I think Fight the Big Bull just moved to Balliceaux.

Me: Is there a band, any band, you guys would like to open for?

Patrick: Blonde Redhead.
(collective nodding)

Timo: Mew.

Andrew: Sunny Day Real Estate now that they’re back.

Me: How come you guys don’t have beards?

Andrew: ‘Cause I can’t grow one.

Patrick: Timo can grow a beard for all of us.

Me: You should do it. Bearded drummers get way more tail.
(musical break)

Me: The EP release show is coming up. How did you go about making the EP, Epilogue, and is there anything significant about the timing of its release?

Patrick: We recorded it ourselves.

Andrew: Back in June, we were playing out of town for the first time and didn’t have anything to sell. So we thought, if we’re gonna be doing this often, we should have something. Patrick and I had been recording for a while now so we just thought: let’s do it ourselves.
(lots of recording speak; they did it themselves in two different houses at the same time, trust me)

Me: Why Gallery 5 for the release?

Patrick: It’s got a good vibe. The people there are down, on the level.

Nick: We like what they do. We’ve played there before. They’ve always been great to us. It’s just a cool place to bee affiliated with.

Andrew: I like that it has an art vibe instead of an ashtray vibe.

Patrick: I like that it’s a gallery and not just a typical venue.

Andrew: It’s a firehouse.

Patrick: It used to be a firehouse. It’s a museum.

Me: For fire trucks?

Timo: There is a fire truck inside.

Me: Super. How do you guys write? Together or separately? Or does someone else write your music? Like Britney Spears.

Nick: We write together. We don’t really have a set way that we do it. We all write stuff and usually with bands that becomes a problem. In our case we just bring in a part that we’ve been working on individually and work on it as a group and it’s pretty obvious what’s gonna work.

Me: What inspires you?

Andrew: I like cool rhythms, cool patterns. Even like a flash pattern. A lot of times I’ll see stuff like that and it’ll make me remember…
(18 minutes later there’s silence).

Timo: Interesting.

Patrick: The weather.

Nick: Yeah the weather.

Andrew: The weather?

Timo: Miley Cyrus.

Patrick: Early Miley Cyrus.

Me: You’re working on creating a visual show on top of the standard aural performance. What's the meaning of this?

Andrew: We deal with videos all day, everyday for work.

Nick: And we deal with music all night, every night. So this is natural. We’re in this creative environment, let’s merge all of our talents and skills and interests and create something unique. Seeing some of our favorite bands and their shows, we thought how can we be like them? My Bloody Valentine is insanely loud. Mogwai is insanely loud and has blinding lights. We want to be insanely loud, have blinding lights and hypnotic videos.
(take this as a warning if you’re prone to seizures)

Me: Anything else we can expect to see at the show?

Andrew: We’ll be there.

Patrick: Our friends Casper Bangs and Cleric are playing.

Fin

Autocue // Plateau

Drummer

I just wanna feel good. Together. So I'm gonna listen to this swell five-piece Pat Carney (the Black Keys) linked by powers of telepathy and telekinesis. Few things you should know about Drummer so you get the warm n fuzzies, too.

Five - all five gents play drums in other bands.
Four - number of strings on the bass which is what Pat, (who's ironfist&foot on TBK's drum kit makes your ribs rattle), is playing.
Three - Feel(1) Good(2) Together(3) is the 11 track album emerging from seven months' furious writing.
Two - both of TBK's outside efforts are Akron, OH based. Raw, psychedelic, alt-rock, sanguine satisfaction from the Midwest, I'm down.
One - is the singular snowy afternoon in February 2009 when Pat Carney aligned some zodiac signs so he wasn't twiddling his thumbs while Dan Auerbach was on tour.

I'm aglow with good vibes - let me know when you'd like to to join hands about the fire for some s'mores and kumbaya.

Mmmm...s'mores.

Drummer // Feel Good Together

The Dead Weather

It's hard not to become a little obsessed with The Dead Weather.

a. they're a supergroup. A supergroup which could, admittedly, kick Monsters of Folk's ass
b. Alison Mosshart is a ravenhaired banshee. And dead sexy.
c. Jack White, who's hair may be cooler than Alison's, is rock's Renaissance man. A jack of all a trades, a master of every f*ckin' think he touches.
d. If you get to have jam sessions with Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence that turn into random albums, you get to wear the Fonz jacket.
e. Horehound is an herb that may help ease nausea and it's not just the band trying to be cheeky. Get your mind out of the gutter, you creep.
f. they were the last band to come on before Pearl Jam Sunday night, which means it's the last band I remember with true clarity. Whoopsies!

So yeah I sweat them like I sweat after pull-up number three (oh, the embarassment) but I don't giveah what. Now I'm gonna go dye my hair black and loll around on hardwood floors smokin' cigs so Jack White can ring me up to play kazoo and life can mean something.

The Dead Weather // So Far From Your Weapon
The Dead Weather // New Pony

Pink Mountaintops

If you're looking for 70s-inspired-sex-in-your-pants rock ballads and jams, Pink Mountaintops is where your journey shall end. Uniquely raw guitars forming experimentally challenging melodies make my feet itch. In a good way. Here's a fake interview I had with lead singer, Stephen McBean. The latest album, Outside Love, is a must-have for the must-havers.

ES: So, I'll just cut to the chase here. There's a shit-ton of sexual innuendo in your music. Where does that come from?

McBean: I fuck mountains.

ES: So...you're just a sexual person then?

McBean: I'm living the single life.

ES: Ok, so does that mean you get around so to speak?

McBean: I came all over myself.

ES: Whoa, dude, what are you doing? This is a family blog. What the hell is wrong with your penis?

McBean: You can suck out the blood.

ES: Alright, we're done here you sick fuck.


Pink Mountaintops // Vampire
Pink Mountaintops // Single Life
Pink Mountaintops // I Fuck Mountains
Pink Mountaintops // Rock 'N Roll Fantasy

Execution Video

Crystal Antlers

While we're still talking about organs (musical ones), and soul for that matter, how's about taking a listen to these fellas. A bluesy doozy with a side of screaming heartbreak in my face matter, the Crystal Antlers' latest full length album, Tentacles, kind of makes me want to erase time with my forced-entry disorientation. What was that?

This is like the Doors and the Walkmen got together with a time machine and a bag of explosives and just decided to go apeshit. I love it.

Crystal Antlers // Andrew
Crystal Antlers // Time Erased


What $8 and a bag of schwag will buy you. Love the random wind turbine shots.