tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17498425139164414832024-02-18T21:55:31.951-08:00WPTS MusicWPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.comBlogger202125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-54890373624316428832011-04-15T09:27:00.001-07:002011-04-15T09:27:26.600-07:00Wagon Christ<strong>Artist- Wagon Christ<br />Album- Toomorrow<br />Label- Ninja Tune</strong><br /><br />Luke Vibert, is a British electronic artist who records under the aliases Wagon Christ or Plug. Wagon Christ features a lot of cool, funky hiphop samples over laid-back beats (in the way that the Beastie Boys sample, for example). Overall, it’s a cool laid-back album.. A lot of the hiphop samples are jokey – “get on the dance floor” type of 80’s/90’s thing but overall it’s not too bad. The closest comparison I have for this is Squarepusher or Plaid. WC deftly weaves samples together in an interesting way that always holds my attention.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-63724597467068476752011-04-15T09:26:00.001-07:002011-04-15T09:26:57.623-07:00Wild Palms<strong>Artist- Wild Palms<br />Album- Until Spring<br />Label- One Little Indian</strong><br /><br />Despite being signed to One Little Indian, home to Bjork, Wild palms aims for an 80’s stadium rock sound not unlike 80’s era U2. The singer tries for that emotive, yearning quality but just doesn’t seem to get it. The guitar and bass often are intertwined, sounding a bit like newer band Warpaint. In the end, Wild Palms is too derivative (even their name is cribbed from Twin Peaks) and too wimpy.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-2191586372012616092011-04-15T09:25:00.000-07:002011-04-15T09:26:23.866-07:00EMA<strong>Artist- EMA<br />Album- Past life Martyred Saints<br />Label- Souterrain Transmissions</strong><br /><br />Erika M. Anderson, formerly of the noise-folk groups Amps for Christ and then Gowns, strikes out on her own with an eerie album of freaky guitar feedback and raspy vocals. EMA is great at riding the line between quiet and loud, sounding at times like early Cat Power and PJ Harvey or Kim Gordon. “Milkman” is a fuzzed-out stomper, while “Marked” has Erika singing over some creepy as hell guitar string scratching. This album is definitely weird, but at the same time it makes for a captivating listen.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-32389874846011799542011-04-04T06:13:00.000-07:002011-04-04T06:15:00.579-07:00RIP LCD Soundsystem<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_d8wBkn7sopRjJJPi0x1mb-lB_kq4Yoe8GHAxZcODz6mR15wyz4BFfEXQNvFBM5FE_dfx_Nz6DTAH7GCZKSFNM8eDoIFa34uqrPyZSuzJ4dPZnM30lI96tYRnfBHiJyoXLYQFIFM1m1X/s1600/107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_d8wBkn7sopRjJJPi0x1mb-lB_kq4Yoe8GHAxZcODz6mR15wyz4BFfEXQNvFBM5FE_dfx_Nz6DTAH7GCZKSFNM8eDoIFa34uqrPyZSuzJ4dPZnM30lI96tYRnfBHiJyoXLYQFIFM1m1X/s320/107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591716240931743298" /></a><br />Goodbye to one of WPTS' longtime favoritesGabrielahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03374450005219053531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-68404113835599933192011-03-23T11:07:00.000-07:002011-03-23T11:08:09.771-07:00Arc in Round<strong>Artist- Arc in Round<br />Album- Diagonal Fields<br />Label- Uniform</strong><br /><br />Formerly named Relay, this newly renamed Philadelphia 4-piece makes shoegazey yet noisy indie-rock. Dream-pop, but still experimental and heavy on the references to rhythms of classic Krautrock sound. The rich textures on this CD are its true charm – Jeff Zeigler’s vocals are heartfelt without bullshit melancholy, riffs are soaring without being too cloying. Kurt Vile randomly shows up to play trumpet on the final track (“Slow Ceiling”) – by far the most experimental tracks but it’s also very pretty. “Spirit” is the most straightforwardly dreamy & poppy song of this 5-track EP, but I prefer the more interesting layers of “3 A.M.” or “Follow” personally. Excellent semi-debut.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-58388919125773262332011-03-23T11:06:00.000-07:002011-03-23T11:07:33.637-07:00Yelle<strong>Artist- Yelle<br />Album- Safari Disco Club<br />Label- Co-op</strong><br /><br />The French synth-pop threepiece is back with another album of fun chirpy tunes, following up on their 2007 debut Pop-Up. Singer Julie Budet’s calmed down a bit since her previous release: gone are the bratty sexual rhymes of “Je Veux Te Voir” (a song making fun of a particularly chauvinist male rapper’s genitals). Instead, the dance-pop on this album is darker and more emotive.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-76269789645620177532011-03-22T12:34:00.000-07:002011-03-22T12:35:26.579-07:00The Curious Mystery<strong>Artist- The Curious Mystery<br />Album- We Creeling<br />Label- K</strong><br /><br />The sophomore release from this Olympia-based band (practically a requirement for K Records) is a rich exploration into 60’s psychedelic and smoky atmospheric garage guitars, produced by Karl Blau. Vocals are evenly split between of (desolate)Nicolas Gonzalez and (lovely, breathy and yearning) Shana Cleveland, though it’s best when the two combine. The music has a desert vibe, almost shimmering at time, the guitars sometimes joined by sitars and mellotrons. It’s neo-psychedelic and drifting at times, but the instrumental bits of songs feel nicely-paced.<br />For fans of: the 60’s, Wye Oak, Desolation Wilderness, Fungi Girls, K Records.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-82991488963189445752011-03-22T12:33:00.000-07:002011-03-22T12:34:32.266-07:00Boats<strong>Artist- Boats<br />Album- Cannonballs, Cannonballs<br />Label- Kill Rock Stars</strong><br /><br />Cute Winnipeg band released second album of indie-pop on Kill Rock Stars. A reviewer describes them as “the Arcade Fire without the drama”; I’d agree except that singer Mat Klachefsky’s vocal delivery recalls both Daniel Smith (aka Danielson) and Mac McCaughan (Superchunk). It’s nasally, in short. These songs are spastic and twee, featuring cheap keyboards and xylophones.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-53351476759790890162011-03-22T12:32:00.002-07:002011-03-22T12:33:46.916-07:00Adebisi Shank<strong>Artist- Adebisi Shank<br />Album- This is the Second Album by a band named Adebisi Shank<br />Label- Sargent House</strong><br /><br />Adebisi Shank is a cool, instrumental math/post-punk threepiece band out of Ireland. It has a lot of finger-tapping, angular postpunk rhythms, and funky bass. It basically sounds like Holy Fuck meets Hella or Battles, filtered through some 8-bit noise – experimental with a math rock base. I think my main qualm is that one of the songs is literally titled ‘(-_-)’. Conor O’Brian of Villagers guests on “Europa” but his vocals are mixed way down.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-74144223668527468232011-03-22T12:32:00.001-07:002011-03-22T12:32:35.662-07:00R.E.M.<strong>Artist- R.E.M.<br />Album- Collapse into Now</strong><br /><br />R.E.M. is still trying to appeal to college kids? The 80’s are over, dudes. The best parts of this album simply sounds like retreads of songs from decades past. This album is most successful when going the ballad route – “Walk It Back” is a nice mature song all around. Unfortunately, it’s not clear where R.E.M. is going with this album – it clings to their old sound while a few songs are too aggressive and not very R.E.M. in nature.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-5500065141669512362011-03-22T12:31:00.000-07:002011-03-22T12:32:05.979-07:00Little Scream<strong>Artist- Little Scream<br />Album- The Golden Record<br />Label- Secretly Canadian</strong><br /><br />Featuring members of Silver Mt. Zion, The National, and Arcade Fire at times, it’s clear that Little Scream aka Laurel Sprengelmeyer has friends in high places. For most of her debut album, she plays most of the instruments, switching deftly between guitar, synths, vocals, and loops. The first two singles, “Cannons” and “The Heron and the Fox”, show the range of Little Scream. The former was neat layered echo-y effects and guitars (vaguely recalling Land of Talk), while the later is soft and acoustic like a Sharon Van Etten or a Cat Power track. “Guyegaros” has a Patti Smith-talking vibe and lo-fi chords.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-17856793778296840992011-03-18T11:58:00.002-07:002011-03-18T11:59:18.993-07:00The Deer Tracks<strong>Artist- The Deer Tracks<br />Album- The Archer Trilogy Pt. 1<br />Label- The Control Group</strong><br /><br />The Deer Tracks is David Lehnberg & Elin Lindfors, two dudes from a small town in Sweden, who may soft and pretty music that sounds like Múm. Their best tracks on this EP have Elin’s nice, but clearly Scandinavian, voice high in the mix and programmed (yet weirdly organic) beats that prevent the songs from sounding too slow and atmospheric.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-59028089012942379442011-03-18T11:58:00.001-07:002011-03-18T11:58:43.399-07:00Carnivores<strong>Artist- Carnivores<br />Album- Chandelier EP<br />Label- Double Phantom</strong><br /><br />A new EP from my favorite Atlanta indie band (after 2 full-lengths in 2010)! I am always thoroughly surprised that this band is not more well-known. This EP finds Carnivores getting away from their spunky-spastic style and moving towards psychadelic-pop. It’s not as rocky, but the songs are still rich in texture. Catchy as always, this is another great release by Carnivores.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-36186570748254578022011-03-14T18:06:00.002-07:002011-03-14T18:07:18.409-07:00The Dodos<strong>Artist- The Dodos<br />Album- No Color<br />Label- frenchkiss*</strong><br /><br />The Dodos are back with album 3!!!! Meric Long and Logan Kroeber realized that having a third member and too-glossy production dragged down 2009’s LP Time to Die. Back to a guitar/drum duo, No Color is a return to the rawness that marked their debut Visiter. Neko Case provides guest backing vocals on about 5 tracks here as well, but she never crowds the band. The Dodos’ strength has always been their reliance on terrific drumming that provides a solid backbone to their indie-folk sound. <br />The LP opens with “Black Night”, a song with wondrous momentum and a perfect introduction for new fans. “Sleep” has a trance-like quality that perfectly reflects the song’s name. “Going Under” is raucous (Dodos go electric!) and is great, though it’s 6 minutes long. The Dodos’ new album is a true delight – not perfect by any means, but rhythmic, poppy, and energetic all in one fell swoop. Play this.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-33377722028597416372011-03-14T18:06:00.001-07:002011-03-14T18:06:45.960-07:00Tony Castles<strong>Artist- Tony Castles<br />Album- No Service EP<br />Label- Famous Class</strong><br /><br />This debut EP sounds like Wavves meets chillwave with a Caribbean influence – they’ve toured with Fool’s Gold for a comparison band. Energetic male vocals (a bit like Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend) and heavy bass riffs meets dancehall influences. “New Brain” recalls the fun Afro-pop of the Dirty Projectors, while “Adequate Sheen” has some nice hazy synthesizers. I dig this type of African-influenced jangly guitar stuff, and I’m glad that Tony Castles goes beyond the typical Vamp Weekend-ripoff and creates their own sound – one informed by chillwave as much as it is Public Image Ltd.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-89302904425356952852011-03-14T18:05:00.001-07:002011-03-14T18:05:49.275-07:00Stateless<strong>Artist- Stateless<br />Album- Matilda<br />Label- Ninja Tune</strong><br /><br />Stateless is a British band that combines electronic beats with echoey indie-rock accompaniments and the sampling elements of trip-hop. Mostly, the singer’s RnB voice dominates each track. “Ariel” has kind of a trip/hiphop mood to it with a cool Saharan guitar vibe. I think that this album needs to be listened to all at once, and it simply doesn’t make for great radio singles.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-70702432000499669862011-03-14T18:04:00.000-07:002011-03-14T18:05:13.329-07:00The Megaphonic Thrift<strong>Artist- The Megaphonic Thrift<br />Album- Decay Decoy<br />Label- Sonic Unyon</strong><br /><br />The Megaphonic Thrift (ft. members of Casiokids and Stereo) loves 90’s groups like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth (poppy, Geffen-era Sonic Youth, that is). That said, The Megaphonic Thrift does a pretty great Sonic Youth impression if you can look past its derivativeness. This album by the Norwegian band is full of feedback, yet the sound is clean and clear. The album combines blistering noise (the band is known for their wall-of-sound live shows) with a sharp knack for melody.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-44987312190657936872011-03-14T18:03:00.000-07:002011-03-14T18:04:18.039-07:00BOAT<strong>Artist- BOAT<br />Album- Dress Like Your Idols<br />Label- Magic Marker</strong><br /><br />Boat (not to be confused with Kill Rock Stars band Boats) is a band from Seattle on their fourth LP. It’s kind of slacker 90’s indie rock in the style of early Modest Mouse or Pavement. Crunchy guitars, singalong choruses, catchy hooks. This album is nicely produced but still has an indie sound – so 90’s.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-49663001089479124262011-03-14T18:02:00.000-07:002011-03-14T18:03:45.352-07:00Six Organs of Admittance<strong>Artist- Six Organs of Admittance<br />Album- Asleep on the Floodplain<br />Label- Drag City</strong><br /><br />Six Organs of Admittance is primarily the project of guitarist Ben Chasny, a major player in the freak-folk scene of the early 2000’s (notably memorialized in the 2004 compilation Golden Apples of the Sun curated by Devendra Barnhardt). On his fifth album for Drag City, Chasny strays away from the oft-cutesy BS side of freakfolk and instead turns melancholy and images of the drifting American west. Chasny’s gentle voice and fragmented lyrics never overpowers the simple and sometimes psychedelic guitar pickings. SOOA’s new album is a spacious work, and anyone who digs Devendra Barnhart, Jack Rose or Sir Richard Bishop should check this out.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-11407180525458426372011-03-08T10:33:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:34:02.167-08:00Anna Calvi<strong>Artist- Anna Calvi<br />Album- Anna Calvi <br />Label- Domino</strong><br /><br />Anna Calvi: perhaps the new PJ Harvey? Brian Eno is her personal mentor and calls her the “biggest thing since Patti Smith”; Nick Cave personally asked her to open for Grinderman’s tour. The collection of 10 songs on her self-titled debuted are sultry and sumptuous in a way that recalls Harvey (and PJ’s drummer Rob Ellis produced this album) – and all of Harvey’s lyrical mainstays are present: devils, femininity & masculinity, desire, the usual tricks. Calvi sure loves her twangy guitar licks, at time recalling the best moments of Television’s “Marquee Moon”, and her sultry vocal stylings are cigarette-tinged – all the best chanteuses smoked. “Blackout” is certainly the most commercial track here, and I recommend avoiding it for the more raw cuts.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-5133895900552816682011-03-08T10:30:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:31:27.541-08:00Lumerians<strong>Artist- Lumerians<br />Album- Transmalinnia<br />Label- Knitting Factory</strong><br /><br />This is the debut full-length from the psych-rock San Francisco band (the music scene that undoubtedly rules the current psych-rock genre). It kind of sounds like a more prog Sun Araw, or basically like the Black Angels. There’s loopy, fuzzed out bass, distorted guitars, and some spacey keyboards. On tracks like “Black Tusk” the band gets kind of 60’s in their Nuggets-influenced melodies. “ Atlanta Brook” totally sounds like a Spaceman 3. Lumerians manages to do drony, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-rock without overstaying their welcome.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-53443027255851033962011-03-08T10:29:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:30:38.637-08:00Duchess Leo<strong>Artist- Duchess Leo<br />Album- Golden Grey<br />Label- Whale Heart</strong><br /><br />Duchess Leo is an electronic music producer and a songwriter, and the duo is pretty great. This album is like the string section of an orchestra meets electronic beats meets Sun Airway. “Your Sweet Love” is a Lee Hazlewood-appropriating, crazy string sample hit. “Bloom” is more chilled out with reverb-laden echoed guitar rhythms and almost violent drum beatings– kind of Phantogram-ish almost. This LP is a little lopsided unfortunately, with nothing really matching the greatness of “Your Sweet Love”. Still, fans of this type of chill, guitar-electronics combination should give this a listen.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-22562065632919307652011-03-08T10:28:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:29:25.467-08:00Lykke Li<strong>Artist- Lykke Li<br />Album- Wounded Rhymes<br />Label-Atlantuc </strong><br /><br />Lykke Li’s much-anticipated sophomore album does not disappoint. The most common complaint about her first album, Youth Novels, was the sound which seemed cutesy to some listeners. On WR, her voice is still high-pitched and delicate, but much more powerful and sure; her versatility is now evident through the contrasting sounds on this album. Normally woe-is-me songs bore me, but LL delivers such spunk and dazzling soul that I just can’t get enough of this rich, moody (and dare I say dark?) album. She launches listeners into a frenzy when she incites them to “come on, get down” on the first track. From then on it’s a melee of emotion and sound, the textured percussion and small details hinting at Bjorn (of Peter and John)’s superb production. This album ranges from slow, haunting, terrifyingly beautiful tracks, to deliciously saucy danceable pieces. Lykke Li does not deny heartbreak and wistfulness, but embraces them. When she expresses her emotions, she does so with grace and careful execution. Musically and thematically, this album is a knockout.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-64628416887594118632011-03-08T10:27:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:28:15.052-08:00Memphis<strong>Artist- Memphis<br />Album- Here Comes A City<br />Label- Arts and Crafts</strong><br /><br />Memphis is a duo consisting of Torquil Campbell (the singer of Stars and sometimes member of Broken Social Scene) and Christ Dumont. This group definitely has that mellow indie-rock sound popularized by BSS down to a T. The Smiths-y jangle pop of “Apocalyptic Pop Song” sets it apart from other tracks. There’s the swirling atmospheric glaze that seems to appear on every Arts&Crafts band’s cd, but the cheerful guitar riff and steady drumbeat of “I Am The Photographer” saves the song in this instance. Memphis seems to be one of those side-project groups that remains similar enough to the original act in order to keep fans’ attention, but it’s nice to see Campbell stretching his comfort zone.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749842513916441483.post-73775290317353268172011-03-08T10:26:00.001-08:002011-03-08T10:26:58.683-08:00Kurt Vile<strong>Artist- Kurt Vile<br />Album- Smoke Ring for My Halo<br />Label- Matador</strong><br /><br />On his fourth LP and his second for indie heavyweight Matador, Kurt Vile has expertly expanded his sound to create an stunning album of rock ‘n roll bedroom pop.<br />On tracks like “Puppet to the Man”, Vile does his best Lou Reed impression while his excellently-named backing band The Violators fleshes out his murky musings into a full-fledged rock song. Other tracks find Vile practically solo: “On Tour” is a sprawling yet captivating abstract diary, and “Baby’s Arms” sees Vile trying to convince himself that he’ll never be alone. This LP is expansive, soft, and gritty all at once – gone is the lo-fi sound of early Kurt Vile, but the result is now we’re at the heart of things. It’s difficult to find “picks” because each song is perfectly nestled next to its neighbor in this astoundingly cohesive CD.WPTS Musichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10951930261105493666noreply@blogger.com0