Young Circles: Jungle Habits

    So maybe I have an affinity toward the avante-garde. Young Circles with their album is definitely experimental stuff; some might be immediately turned off, while others who stick around to listen might find some material really interesting and ingenious. And here's a first, they are from Miami. Not the kind of town you'd expect four guys to get together and form a band that could be considered so anti-cultural to Florida. On their Facebook, however, they write this: "Young Circles is a band of evolution, both within their songs and in theory. The American music scene is obsessed with genre identification – a 20th century idea. Young Circles, a product of information bombardment and a prowess to synthesize a wide spectrum of great music, transcends it all with panache. This is new music." Buy it, hate it or love it, I agree with many indie music blogs that say Young Circles are here to stay and are having an effect on listeners and putting their stamp on the music scene. Interestingly, they used to be a garage rock band called Blonde Fuzz and changed their name and musical intent from noisy guitar riffs to more down-tempo experimentalism.
    Just releasing their first EP, self-titled Young Circles, in January of this year, Young Circles is relatively new, but is already engaged and active in the music world. Their debut, Jungle Habits, dropped in August, and they have sort of joined the Occupy Wall-Street movement with a proceeds to the protesters fundraising album, Ninety-Nine Percent, released in October, which has a new song, and two mixes of potentially their best song, "2012" from Jungle Habits. They sound like really intelligent mixers, so I hope to hear more of that kind of work (done either on their own songs or others). Anyway, the eclectic mix of music that has resulted in only a years output is fascinating. There are homages to folk, latin rock (the only apparent tie to Miami), the ever increasingly popular dub and electronic music, dance, fuzz rock, electro rock/pop, and garage rock.
    In Jungle Habits There are really lush moments with instruments added and aura invoking melodies such as towards the end of "Asthmatic" and in different parts of "Dreams". What they do very well is combine acoustic instruments with all the electronic. Some tracks are just downright noisy, such as "Jangala" (which has a cool jam spot), but I do not mean loud noisy or noise rock, necessarily, but that it is hard to determine what kind of whatever produced the resulting sound; yet, it works. It's sort of like tUnE-yArDs, even in the vocals, at times. Then a couple tracks later is "You. Me. Nothing.", which is sort of like listening to a Radiohead mix of a different group's song. Now, I know that doesn't actually happen, but I find it just sort of not admissible to call something Radiohead-esque (guilty!) if Thom Yorke is not singing it. "Devil" is another track that sounds sort of like the above at times.
    Right from the start of the album, with "Triangles", it is as if the listener is put in a warp and then you have this intense listening experience which leaves you a little unsettled, dumbfounded, or perplexed; but I think ultimately better for it. Young Circles--I hope they continue writing and are around to stay, filling me with as much intrigue as this album has and stretching the limits of what is accessible. Enjoy the track "Asthmatic" under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. or check out their entire discography here on Bandcamp.

Good Old War: Only Way to Be Alone

    Good Old War is a Philly based folk band that includes members from the now defunct Days Away (1998-2008, as displayed on a commemorative website here). For my part, I initially took a quick listen to Good Old War when I found this out about a year ago, expecting more of the same quality music and was disappointed because Days Away had two great albums in Mapping the Invisible World and Ear Candy for the Headphone Trippers, and this was watered down folk comparatively. Yet, since the disillusion has worn off more I have been able to go back and give Good Old War a second chance, one I think they could really deserve. I feel like I'm writing another pity post, second in two weeks, but actually I'm trying to expand my horizons to like more folk music. I tend to prefer indie folk such as the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Beirut or Freelance Whales, not so much purer folk. It has always seemed too repetitive to me.
    Anyway, Good Old War came to be known as such because of the names of its members, Keith Goodwin (Good), Tim Arnold (Old), and Daniel Schwartz (War). Pretty cool. They are backed by L.A. Record company Sargent House, which hosts names such as Omar Rodríguez-López, Fang Island, RX Bandits, Maps & Atlases, others... Good Old War's third LP is due out in February 2012, no title revealed yet that I could find.
    I am actually writing up Good Old War's debut, Only Way to Be Alone, which dropped in 2008. More recently was a self-titled sophomore follow up, Good Old War (2010). There is also a split EP, Good Old War / Cast Spells (2009, two tracks from each group), and a Purevolume.com Sessions (2009) EP of all acoustic renditions. The reason I went old school, is that I prefer the unique nature of each song, as critic David Driver from Sputnikmusic (full review linked) put it: "Most every song has its own crisp, distinct character, and it’s unlikely that someone will find a bad song on this album because of it." I also have to agree with his estimation of their three part harmonization, it is very tight and well used, surprisingly not overly; prevalent as it is throughout one might expect it to grow tiresome. Another reason I picked Only Way to Be Alone is I felt like Good Old Days lost some of its ingenuity. That is hard to explain, because they did take risks and experiment within the folk genre, maybe I just do not feel like they fully succeeded. There are some fabulous songs, do not get me wrong: "My Own Sinking Ship", "Making My Life" especially and "While I'm Away". My bias also comes into play I guess, because the somewhat atmospheric nature of certain songs on Only Way to Be Alone truly reminds me of Days Away, Mapping an Invisible World, in folk form, while the comparison to vocals and melodic lines is inescapable since Keith Goodwin is the lead in both groups. One example of this in my mind is the second track "Looking For Shelter". Overall, the more I listen the more I recognize ties between structure, harmony and general scope and progression of their compositional style.
    Finally, to use the words of NPR, “As the band alternately brings to mind images of 1960s doo-wop [my insertion--last track "Stay By My Side" definitely], whimsical folk and indie rock, Good Old War deserves for making simply appealing music full of great hooks” (taken from here). Simple. Appealing. Can't go wrong with that. Listen to the full album in a few places, Bandcamp (which contains their entire discography free streaming) or Hellomerch. Or just enjoy the track "Coney Island", the opener, over under 'Monthly Sample Tracks', which though perhaps not the best on the album just feels like an invitation, hopefully inviting you to hear more.

Two Door Cinema Club: Tourist History

    I've for some reason been putting off Two Door Cinema Club, but I love listening to their songs when they pop up on the radio, so now they are receiving the recognition they deserve (and I seem to be sticking with the "club" theme). Tourist History is the 2010 debut album of a group that hails from Northern Ireland, which is pretty cool because I've not ever heard a band from there (that I knew was from there) that I liked. I guess I would expect music from Ireland to be more folk or tavern sounding, to grossly generalize. Not so with Two Door Cinema Club, whose name derived coincidentally in 2007 from the mispronunciation of the local Tudor Cinema, as they blend disco, electro pop, and post-punk into probably what can be safely labeled electro dance punk. Clearly they try and stay relevant to the modern swing of music, and this is confirmed by a quote by their recording mixer, "They are completely crazy about music - there is not one hour when they don't listen or download something from a blog. They remind me of when I was a teenager." Interestingly enough, the reverse can be said of their music, as they quit university to pursue a career because their first drafts, per say, on MySpace were receiving a lot of attention. So they went to record their first five track EP in 2009, Four Words to Stand On, all but two songs eventually making it on to Tourist History. Two Door Cinema Club is on the French label Kitsuné Music.
    Well, Tourist History is packed full of energy and yet is smooth and cool and sublime all at the same time. Their guitar rhythms are always tight and the drums beat away almost like a disco machine, and yet I totally do not mind that surprisingly. Their music just has this brightness to it, just listen to the opening of the first song, "Cigarettes in the Theatre", that is insatiable, and it contrasts so well with the toned down cool pop--just beat and singer, Alex Trimble. I love the ending where all the brass comes in full force and tops off the already kicking track to a stunning finish! The next track, "Come Back Home" is a good balance between a minor key verses and major key chorus theme, kind of reminds me somewhat of The Strokes. Follow that up with "Undercover Martyn", another poppin' dance tune with some melodrama, and the album is already well on its way. I love they way track four, "Do You Want It All?" grows incrementally, and how smooth it feels, makes me want to lie back close my eyes and be immersed by the almost trance like vocal harmonies and electronic fuzz in the background, great climax finally when the music drops and the guitar rips it solo style. "This Is the Life" is a little more standard indie dance rock, while "Something Good Can Work" returns to the sing along feel good style that makes Two Door Cinema Club unique. "I Can Talk" has some beat bopping of sorts as a rhythmic ploy, while the layered vocals are a nice touch and the chorus has nice energy. By "What You Know" it does feel a little like I've heard this before, but I think that is because it is one of the songs that sees a lot of radio play. "Eat That Up, It's Good For You" is a nice contrast, very smooth and love the synths and toned down verses with call and response, nice counter melody in the guitar too. This one explodes at the end, in a cacophony of synth and distortion, before slowing to a sublime finish. I think this should have ended out Tourist History, but instead "You're Not Stubborn" does; back to the dance floor for one last number that is slightly slower for those who have maybe danced a little too much out at the club in one night. But it has been a good night regardless.
    I hope you enjoyed my maybe more creative than normal write up, I guess I was inspired, which speaks highly of Two Door Cinema Club. You can hear their entire discography, minus the EP, but including Tourist History and a remix album Tourist History Remix (February 2011) on their MySpace here. Or just check out "Do You Want It All" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. Enjoy!

Bombay Bicycle Club: A Different Kind of Fix

    The Bombay Bicycle Club is another, to me, in a growing contribution to the trendy "club" name list. Others would be Tokyo Police Club and Two Door Cinema Club, but maybe they followed the leader a bit more as Bombay Bicycle Club already has this their third full LP released, A Different Kind of Fix (August 26, 2011), since their formation in 2005. Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl and Suren de Saram were only 15 when they started playing together, as The Canals, until their unit was completed with the addition of a permanent fourth member, guitarist Ed Nash. Hailing from London, they won the "Road to V" competition held by Virgin Mobile in 2006, and released a few EPs in 2007-08 before officially completing their college education. At the time these were self-released under Mmm...Records, but they also had a short stint with the Young and Lost Club label--yet another "club". In 2010 Bombay Bicycle Club was named Best New Band by NME (New Musical Express, an annual music awards in the UK). They are now on the Island Record label.
    Bombay Bicycle Club is a mix of styles album to album, but I think they have hit their stride with A Different Kind of Fix. As with the other "clubs", you might expect a post-punk sound; however, they have really carved out perhaps something more original. A little folk and acoustic, especially with their second album, Flaws (2010) and debut I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose (2009), mostly they are straight up indie rock. A typical beat is "bum bum bum chick" or some related variation of more continuous ostinato instead of "boom chick, boom chick" too (hopefully that makes sense), which is actually something I actually really dig. A Different Kind of Fix is more of a sublime electro dream pop, a sensation that everyone grabbed a hold of it seems at least in part in the last two years (you can't miss the reverb effect), but also has song intro notes (to borrow a wine colloquialism...pun intended) of math rock as well as more intimate acoustic moments. OK, loops would probably be a better description than math rock, but the openings of songs just makes me think of bands like Fang Island or This Town Needs Guns; perhaps a better comparison is Animal Collective. I also think that fans of Arcade Fire would appreciate Bombay Bicycle Club, expect the latter is less bombastic/alternative.
    The first single from the album, "Shuffle" is a nice track, very upbeat and syncopated, but much different than most of the rest of the album it almost doesn't make sense. Another nice track is "Fracture", which starts off really dreamy with a folky melody and broken chord guitar all blending together, then the drums come in with the steady "bum bum bum chick"--a nice color change. Finally, the last song, "Still" has that Radiohead-esque acoustic sound, with the out-of-tune grandparents old piano and falsetto vocals. It doesn't quite have the harmonic depth/scope of Radiohead, but it is a nice fix (maybe, pun intended again!).
    The entire album, including their debut, is on MySpace here. The song "Fracture" is over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. I hope you enjoy!