Bend Sinister is a Vancouver based band, whose name was taken from a Alexander Nabokov novel of the same name. They formed in 2001 in the small town of Kelowna before moving to Vancouver, where they have since then even played at the recent Olympics held in British Columbia. They are on the Distort Entertainment label, better known for its hardcore and punk genre, based out of Toronto. Bend Sinister is actually part of their sister division, called Distort Light, because they are not hardcore and barely punk. Their style is more of progressive rock, but not in the 15 minute solos and just plain technical music sense; rather a mix of power pop ballade (minus the horrible 80s beat), some Jazz, Steely Dan, Queen, the energy of Muse and the playfulness of The Format or fun..
Bend Sinister has released a few different albums: their full debut Through the Broken City (2005); a self-titled Bend Sinister EP (2007); the album I'm blogging about today Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers (2008); and they just released a 5-6 track EP this year called Spring Romance. Their self-titled EP perhaps contains their best song, "Time Breaks Down", which incidentally was why Distort Entertainment picked them up. Then, their latest release, Spring Romance, I have not heard much of and have heard good things of, but the one song they have on the Myspace in my opinion is not as unique and of high quality as their former work. So, I'm concerned that they have lowered their standards or something.
The first half of Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers is comprised of "stories of brothers", while the latter the "tales of lovers". Here's a brief look at what you can expect along with the 14 track listing: (1) The News (2) Brothers of Humankind (3) The Same Things (4) Jimmy Brown* (5) CT (6) Careless (7) Because Because (8) Give Into the Night (9) Dr. Lee (10) Juliana (11) Once Again* (12) Give Into the Night (reprise) (13) Demise (14) City Lights
* uploaded to the MixPod player
One thing Bend Sinister promises, is that they are not shy and go full out, stylistically, with unafraid vocals and ear popping electric guitar solos at the apex of a great tune. Many of these songs, in fact, slowly crescendo to their acme, before returning to the quieter more acoustic nature. They are driving rhythmically and very memorable melodically, much like Steely Dan's music. Furthermore, the rock organ is fantastic throughout, especially on "Once Again" which is so obviously reminiscent of Muse, and there is a lot of lo-fi piano too without being obnoxiously out of tune. I've uploaded two tracks to the MixPod player, because I love this band that much, and to give a tune from the "stories" and "tales".
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Just in...Sufjan Stevens: All Delighted People (EP)
Sufjan Stevens has quickly become one of my favorite musicians because his song writing is ingenious and so unique to anyone else. His original intent was to release an album based on every state in the USA, but he only got as far as Michigan, with Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State (2003), and Illinois, with Come on Feel the Illinoise! (2005). Sufjan is on the Asthmatic Kitty record label, founded by himself and Lowell Brams, his stepfather.
There is no other artist that integrates classical, folk, electronica, baroque pop, and other styles so elegantly and effectively as Sufjan. His latest release and, strangely for me, barely anticipated at that--because I didn't even know of it until today when someone posted an article about it on Facebook--is the 60 min. All Delightful People (EP). It consists of eight tracks of sometimes sprawling The BQE-esque music, but all with lyrics and a greater range of instrumentational dimension. There is a lot of acoustic string guitar [or banjo], with electronic beats at times, full chorus vocals or at least reverb to enhance the depth of Sufjan's voice, and some jam band moments that are almost funk if not reminiscent of 70's rock.
The track listing is: (1) All Delighted People (original) (2) Enchanting Ghost (3) Heirloom (4) From the Mouth of Gabriel (5) The Owl and the Tanager (6) All Delighted People (classical rock version) (7) Arnika (8) Djohariah
Despite the album's title, All Delighted People, there are slow and dreary songs, which are some of Sufjan's best and most beautiful inventions in my opinion, like "The Seer's Tower" from Come on Feel the Illinoise!. "The Owl and the Tanager", for example, is very minimal with lo-fi piano and reverb vocals, which he has either recorded over himself or has a woman's voice covering harmony above his melodic lines. I just love the mix of styles, like on the classic rock version of "All Delighted People" which goes back and forth between banjo simplicity and full on big bandish trombone rockin' 70's rock. "Djohariah" is apparently the jam for single mothers, plus Sufjan has a sister name Djohariah. I'll let you enjoy the rest yourself! I've uploaded "From the Mouth of Gabriel" because it incorporates all the different styles you might hear on the album fairly well, minus the 70's funk jam band; you'll just have to check out the whole album yourself.
There is no other artist that integrates classical, folk, electronica, baroque pop, and other styles so elegantly and effectively as Sufjan. His latest release and, strangely for me, barely anticipated at that--because I didn't even know of it until today when someone posted an article about it on Facebook--is the 60 min. All Delightful People (EP). It consists of eight tracks of sometimes sprawling The BQE-esque music, but all with lyrics and a greater range of instrumentational dimension. There is a lot of acoustic string guitar [or banjo], with electronic beats at times, full chorus vocals or at least reverb to enhance the depth of Sufjan's voice, and some jam band moments that are almost funk if not reminiscent of 70's rock.
The track listing is: (1) All Delighted People (original) (2) Enchanting Ghost (3) Heirloom (4) From the Mouth of Gabriel (5) The Owl and the Tanager (6) All Delighted People (classical rock version) (7) Arnika (8) Djohariah
Despite the album's title, All Delighted People, there are slow and dreary songs, which are some of Sufjan's best and most beautiful inventions in my opinion, like "The Seer's Tower" from Come on Feel the Illinoise!. "The Owl and the Tanager", for example, is very minimal with lo-fi piano and reverb vocals, which he has either recorded over himself or has a woman's voice covering harmony above his melodic lines. I just love the mix of styles, like on the classic rock version of "All Delighted People" which goes back and forth between banjo simplicity and full on big bandish trombone rockin' 70's rock. "Djohariah" is apparently the jam for single mothers, plus Sufjan has a sister name Djohariah. I'll let you enjoy the rest yourself! I've uploaded "From the Mouth of Gabriel" because it incorporates all the different styles you might hear on the album fairly well, minus the 70's funk jam band; you'll just have to check out the whole album yourself.

Labels:
*Just in...,
Indie Folk,
Indie Rock,
Sufjan Stevens
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Top #: House/Electronica
Top #: Just a new thing I am starting. I will as follows post my favorite artists/albums/songs in a particular genre, updating them from time to time to show changes as I find new artists and songs that I like better. I start with House/Electronica because this is a genre I have been listening to and exploring a lot lately.
Top 5 Albums:
1) Massive Attack - Heligoland
2) The Chemical Brothers - Further
3) Daft Punk - Human After All
4) Daft Punk - Discovery
5) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night
Top 15 House/Electronica Songs:
1) Daft Punk - Discovery - "Aerodynamic"
2) Massive Attack - Heligoland - "Psyche"
3) The Chemical Brothers - Further - "Another World"
4) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night - "Come Back Clean"
5) Rob D - Furious Angels - "Clubbed to Death"
6) Massive Attack - Heligoland - "Flat of the Blade"
7) Kleerup - Kleerup - "Until We Bleed"
8) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night - "Double Down Under"
9) Digitalism - Idealism - "The Pulse"
10) Pendulum - In Silico - "Visions"
11) Digitalism - Idealism - "Pogo"
13) Daft Punk - Discovery - "Digital Love"
14) The Chemical Brothers - Further - "Swoon"
15) The Chemical Brothers - Further - "Dissolve"
update 12/13/2010
Top 5 Albums:
1) Massive Attack - Heligoland
2) The Chemical Brothers - Further
3) Daft Punk - Human After All
4) Daft Punk - Discovery
5) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night
Top 15 House/Electronica Songs:
1) Daft Punk - Discovery - "Aerodynamic"
2) Massive Attack - Heligoland - "Psyche"
3) The Chemical Brothers - Further - "Another World"
4) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night - "Come Back Clean"
5) Rob D - Furious Angels - "Clubbed to Death"
6) Massive Attack - Heligoland - "Flat of the Blade"
7) Kleerup - Kleerup - "Until We Bleed"
8) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night - "Double Down Under"
9) Digitalism - Idealism - "The Pulse"
10) Pendulum - In Silico - "Visions"
11) Digitalism - Idealism - "Pogo"
13) Daft Punk - Discovery - "Digital Love"
14) The Chemical Brothers - Further - "Swoon"
15) The Chemical Brothers - Further - "Dissolve"
update 12/13/2010
Top 9 Albums:
1) Justice - Cross
2) Röyksopp - Junior
3) The Chemical Brothers - Further
4) Daft Punk - Human After All
5) Massive Attack - Heligoland
6) Daft Punk - Discovery
7) The Crystal Method - Divided By Night
8) Télépopmusik - Angel Milk
9) Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Just in...The Chemical Brothers: Futher
One of the most renowned house music collaborations, The Chemical Brothers, hail from Manchester, UK. No surprise, most of the popular house music originated in the UK, acts like: Fat Boy Slim, The Prodigy, Propellerheads, UNKLE, Massive Attack. Similarly, the many of those house music groups were also genre defining. The Chemical Brothers, made up of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, are no exception, and were at the forefront of the Big Beat in the 1990s. Big Beat hardly contains their entire musical style, however, which reaches into Trip Hop and Progressive House (which I figure covers all the rest because I fail to grasp all the subtle, to me, intricacies of different Electronica varieties).
The album, Further, was released in June 14 of 2010, so this is a little behind for a Just in... post, but I only just a few days ago realized its existence looking through the 90.5 WBER ("The only station that matters") playlists, even though I've been hearing one of the tracks "Swoon" being played on that station. Each track seems to flow very nicely into the next, without definite conclusion. There are also two iTunes exclusive tracks, the last two. Interestingly enough, though the last 5 releases have charted #1 in the UK, this album is not allowed to be put on the UK charts, because every form of release offers a chance to win a free iPad; apparently the UK charts does not allow prizes to be offered as incentive for purchasing albums. You'd think that with The Chemical Brother's prior history, it would not matter, so we can safely say this album would also have reached #1.
Further is very instrumental, in the non-vocal sense, not in its political social or whatever else impact on the world; that has yet to be seen. Yet, if there exists any life changing messages intertwined through fabric of this music it will be hard to find. In fact, this is the first album The Chemical Brothers do not feature any vocal collaborations, leaving the job for Tom Rowlands where singing does pop up infrequently. Stephanie Dosen does also sing add her ethereal pipes to the first track I believe and "Another World", a singer known for her collaboration with Massive Attack on Heligoland (2010) and perhaps previous songs of The Chemical Brothers, I'm not sure but don't believe so.
The complete, with bonus tracks, listing is: (1) Snow (2) Escape Velocity (3) Another World (4) Dissolve (5) Horse Power (6) Swoon (7) K+D+B (8) Wonders of the Deep (9) Don't Think (10) Pourquoi
The first 8 tracks are apparently accompanied by a corresponding film by Adam Smith and Marcus Lyal. And some portions of the music videos for this album include underwater portions, done by English actress and model Romola Garai (notable for her roles in several BBC versions classic literature), who also starred in each of the films. I have uploaded the track "Another World" for your enjoyment and education into the MixPod player.
The album, Further, was released in June 14 of 2010, so this is a little behind for a Just in... post, but I only just a few days ago realized its existence looking through the 90.5 WBER ("The only station that matters") playlists, even though I've been hearing one of the tracks "Swoon" being played on that station. Each track seems to flow very nicely into the next, without definite conclusion. There are also two iTunes exclusive tracks, the last two. Interestingly enough, though the last 5 releases have charted #1 in the UK, this album is not allowed to be put on the UK charts, because every form of release offers a chance to win a free iPad; apparently the UK charts does not allow prizes to be offered as incentive for purchasing albums. You'd think that with The Chemical Brother's prior history, it would not matter, so we can safely say this album would also have reached #1.
Further is very instrumental, in the non-vocal sense, not in its political social or whatever else impact on the world; that has yet to be seen. Yet, if there exists any life changing messages intertwined through fabric of this music it will be hard to find. In fact, this is the first album The Chemical Brothers do not feature any vocal collaborations, leaving the job for Tom Rowlands where singing does pop up infrequently. Stephanie Dosen does also sing add her ethereal pipes to the first track I believe and "Another World", a singer known for her collaboration with Massive Attack on Heligoland (2010) and perhaps previous songs of The Chemical Brothers, I'm not sure but don't believe so.
The complete, with bonus tracks, listing is: (1) Snow (2) Escape Velocity (3) Another World (4) Dissolve (5) Horse Power (6) Swoon (7) K+D+B (8) Wonders of the Deep (9) Don't Think (10) Pourquoi
The first 8 tracks are apparently accompanied by a corresponding film by Adam Smith and Marcus Lyal. And some portions of the music videos for this album include underwater portions, done by English actress and model Romola Garai (notable for her roles in several BBC versions classic literature), who also starred in each of the films. I have uploaded the track "Another World" for your enjoyment and education into the MixPod player.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Rubblebucket Orchestra: Rubblebucket
Rubblebucket Orchestra (or just Rubblebucket) is a tough band to categorize. They consider themselves Afrobeat poly-rock, but I would definitely include: folk, funk, psychedelic and jam band to their style list. This group was recommended to me by my bro, and I believe they came to Rochester, NY to do a show, or Buffalo, I don't really know which actually (maybe both...I've covered all bases). Nevertheless, they are from Brooklyn, NY and basically lay down a beat and keep repeating it, you will hear in the beats and even some minimalist tendencies, while varying what's on top through the instrumentation, vocals and/or textures. The singer is Kalmia Traver, whose voice is reminiscent of Björk, while maintaining more of an edge. So how do I get all these different influences piled together in one heap? Let's explore:
Afrobeat is a style originating in the 1960's and a term coined in Nigeria in the 1970's by Fela Kuti. He was a band leader, composer and political activist whose group, Nigeria 70 (formerly Koola Lobitos) later changed to Africa 70, played in a club he named Afro-Shine. Afrobeat consists of chants, call and response, and intricate intertwining at times African rhythms. It also includes and comes from: Yoruba music (from the Yoruba people of Nigeria that used the native dundun hourglass tension drums to a highly skilled degree), jazz, highlife (a style of Ghana in the 1900's that spread to the surrounding countries including Nigeria by the 1920's, characterized by jazz horns, guitars, an uptempo synth-driven sound), funk, chants, vocals and well lots of percussion. You can get an idea of Fela Kuti's music from here: http://www.last.fm/music/Fela+Kuti
There are three recordings out of Rubblebucket. One is under the group name of Rubblebucket Orchestra, Rose's Dream (2008), and the others Rubblebucket, Rubblebucket (2009) and Came Out of a Lady Suite (2010). The latter is a shorter album, like a single, containing remixes and a b-side 8-bit version--something akin to Mario Bros. Nintendo music but with a more updated electronic setting. What I have uploaded for you to hear...you who actually read this blog...is from Rubblebucket, the 2nd track (of 12), "Ba Donso, We Did This", because it is perhaps more immersive of all the different styles you will hear on the album; lighter carefreeness, jamming, funk, modern jazzyness (which reminds me somewhat of Maria Schneider), full on vocals and the Afrobeat folkiness. Enjoy!
Afrobeat is a style originating in the 1960's and a term coined in Nigeria in the 1970's by Fela Kuti. He was a band leader, composer and political activist whose group, Nigeria 70 (formerly Koola Lobitos) later changed to Africa 70, played in a club he named Afro-Shine. Afrobeat consists of chants, call and response, and intricate intertwining at times African rhythms. It also includes and comes from: Yoruba music (from the Yoruba people of Nigeria that used the native dundun hourglass tension drums to a highly skilled degree), jazz, highlife (a style of Ghana in the 1900's that spread to the surrounding countries including Nigeria by the 1920's, characterized by jazz horns, guitars, an uptempo synth-driven sound), funk, chants, vocals and well lots of percussion. You can get an idea of Fela Kuti's music from here: http://www.last.fm/music/Fela+Kuti
There are three recordings out of Rubblebucket. One is under the group name of Rubblebucket Orchestra, Rose's Dream (2008), and the others Rubblebucket, Rubblebucket (2009) and Came Out of a Lady Suite (2010). The latter is a shorter album, like a single, containing remixes and a b-side 8-bit version--something akin to Mario Bros. Nintendo music but with a more updated electronic setting. What I have uploaded for you to hear...you who actually read this blog...is from Rubblebucket, the 2nd track (of 12), "Ba Donso, We Did This", because it is perhaps more immersive of all the different styles you will hear on the album; lighter carefreeness, jamming, funk, modern jazzyness (which reminds me somewhat of Maria Schneider), full on vocals and the Afrobeat folkiness. Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Days Away: Ear Candy for the Headphone Trippers
Days Away was a progressive indie rock band from Langhorne, PA, which in my opinion lasted much shorter and put out much less material than it should have. They signed to a label, Fueled By Ramen, for their first real album, Mapping an Invisible World in 2005, but broke up soon after and only released a partial album on their own, Ear Candy for the Headphone Trippers in 2007.
I'm fairly picky about my tastes, especially when it comes to so called progressive rock, it has to be intelligent and not just too much jamming, like Dream Theater perhaps, or heavy on ridiculous solos. That being said, Days Away is almost hardly a progressive rock band. But, if compared as contrary to a lot of rock music that has a simple rock beat, Days Away has intelligent drumming patterns that change and emphasize syncopations and almost creates mixed meters without actually employing hemiola or meter changes. Perhaps a better tag in terms of style would be pop-punk, especially since their first album The Feel of It is definitely punk.
Honestly, I was first attracted to this band because of the name of the album and it took me a bit to get into Mapping an Invisible World, even though it is a great album as well. This is a band I so wish had stayed together. Currently, some of the members are pursuing a completely different style of music with their folk band, Good Old War. Seems like a very odd musical change and I do not quite understand the thought process or desire behind the shift..."I just want to play folk music (and go from meaty to minimal)," but hey it's their choice, our loss.
Enjoy the song, "Being A Part of You" in the MixPod player.
I'm fairly picky about my tastes, especially when it comes to so called progressive rock, it has to be intelligent and not just too much jamming, like Dream Theater perhaps, or heavy on ridiculous solos. That being said, Days Away is almost hardly a progressive rock band. But, if compared as contrary to a lot of rock music that has a simple rock beat, Days Away has intelligent drumming patterns that change and emphasize syncopations and almost creates mixed meters without actually employing hemiola or meter changes. Perhaps a better tag in terms of style would be pop-punk, especially since their first album The Feel of It is definitely punk.
Honestly, I was first attracted to this band because of the name of the album and it took me a bit to get into Mapping an Invisible World, even though it is a great album as well. This is a band I so wish had stayed together. Currently, some of the members are pursuing a completely different style of music with their folk band, Good Old War. Seems like a very odd musical change and I do not quite understand the thought process or desire behind the shift..."I just want to play folk music (and go from meaty to minimal)," but hey it's their choice, our loss.
Enjoy the song, "Being A Part of You" in the MixPod player.
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