Yesterday was a pretty exciting day as far as new music releases go! Metric and Hot Chip both released their FIFTH studio albums called Synthetica and In Our Heads, respectively. As you well know, I love both these groups so yesterday was just a little slice of paradise for me. However, both those bands have gotten their time in the spotlight here at Music for the Musically Challenged. Besides, today I’m craving a sound that is a bit more natural and “soft-spoken”. 

Little Scream is the stage name of American-born, Canada-based singer-songwriter Laurel Sprengelmeyer. She first came on the scene through her association with members of bands like Arcade Fire and The National and soon made the connections needed to secure her own record deal. Sprengelmeyer’s brand of classically-informed folk rock brought her to prominence and has made her a popular artist in Canada where she does most of her work. I’m pretty fascinated with her work and plus anyone who hangs out with members of Arcade Fire is a star in my book. 

Let’s be honest: there is no shortage of female folk musicians. They’re kind of a dime-a-dozen. That’s why Little Scream is so important. While her music is replete with the requisite acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies she employs a natural sort of electronica and a hard rock razor edge in her music. It gives her music an ambient and ethereal quality that gives her brand of folk music a futuristic and somewhat haunted element without being ridiculous. To top it all off, Little Scream is an incredibly gifted lyricist and poetess. She spins and weaves words through delicate, angelic vocals giving her music a lullaby quality.The Golden Record is very sweet without being sickening and its is magical without being childish. 

If you’re generally tired of sweet-faced women singing sweet songs with winky faces in the ledger lines then Laurel Sprengelmeyer’s Little Scream is the band for you. There’s not a hint of naivety here. It’s well-crafted folk with an edge to it and The Golden Record is a veritable well of inner peace as far as folk records go. I think you guys will really love this artist. Check her out!

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THE SOUND: indie folk, indie rock, psychedelic music, abstract music, use of acoustic guitar, extensive use of vocal harmonization, female vocalist with a mid-to-high range, use of stringed instruments,  use of acoustic guitar, use of abstract sounds, art rock, classically trained musician, multi-instrumentalist, use of vocal distortion, electronic elements, poetic lyrics. Album lasts 47 minutes. 

Tracklisting:

1. The Lamb
2. Cannons
3. The Heron and The Fox
4. Your Radio
5. Black Cloud
6. Guyeragos
7. Boatman
8. People Is Place
9. Red Hunting Jacket
10. Hallowed

C'est vendredi, mes amis!!! I don’t quite know what this weekend holds for me but I do know that I wanted to feature a band who captures the feeling of both youth and growing up. Metric is the perfect example and they just happen to be one of my favorite bands, ever! I could have begun with Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? but Grow Up and Blow Away is technically their first LP and it sometimes helps to start from the beginning when our favorite bands were just starting out. 

Metric and I go way, way back to high school when I was just starting out and didn’t know anything about music. My friend Courtney, who knew a lot about music for someone her age, played “Dead Disco” in her mom’s car and I kind of loved it. But I actually didn’t become a fan until I heard the song in a Forever21 in New York City. I remembered the song and made a mental note to start listening to Metric. That was a good call haha Since then I’ve been a huge fan of the band and they definitely helped me shape my music tastes into the decent ones you read about today! 

Metric is a Canadian indie rock band formed way back in 1998. For the first three years of their existence the band consisted only of vocalist/personal hero Emily Haines and guitarist Jimmy Shaw. They were the only people in the band when this album was recorded and the band has always seemed like it was theirs but with the addition of drummer Joules Scott-Key and bassist Josh Winstead they were able to transform themselves from a mainly electronic group to a true rock band. However, they seemed committed to being a rock band before they were a rock band because this album has as many rock influences as it has electronic influences. 

Though this album was recorded in 2001, it wasn’t officially released until 2007 but it is Metric’s first full length album and it’s a shame that it was hidden away for so long because it is so, so good. The album does a good job of melding many genres but remaining undeniably Metric. The album opens with vaguely electronic and downbeat “Grow Up and Blow Away”, a dark tale of a relationship gone awry. The downbeats feel of Metric’s songs are largely the work of Emily Haines who in an interview with iTunes this year admitted she is the band’s “dark cloud”. However, Metric is by no means a depressing band and Jimmy Shaw has always been there to balance her darker side. Even now, the band knows just how to lighten the mood without destroying the integrity of the song. 

In general, Metric songs have heavy, abstract lyrics about relationships, personal problems, and facing the unknown. However, they’re just as famous for these profound lyrics as they are for the danceability of their songs. It’s impossible to sit still while listening to tracks like “On The Sly” “Rock Me Now” or “Raw Sugar”. They have a gift for indie rock with a pop edge and poetic lyrics that invade the mind and won’t let go. The pop elements of their sound reveal themselves in their ability to take multiple genres (jazz, hip-hop, soft rock) and meld them into one engaging, youthful sound. And even though the members of Metric are in their 30s now they’re still considered a very youthful band. They’re youthful but they aren’t too angsty and that’s really made all the difference in the band’s development and growth. 

This week I’ve been lucky enough to share two artists (Cotton Jones & Metric) that I really love and here at 300+ posts it seems important to share these parts of my musical history with you guys. This album doesn’t showcase Metric in their full incarnation but it reveals that they’ve been awesome since the get-go. I know it and I hope you guys can see it too. Have a great weekend!

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THE SOUND: indie rock, elements of pop, use of electronic instruments, mixture of upbeat and slow songs, standard rock instrumentation, dark lyrics, female vocalist with a pleasant voice, storytelling lyrics, use of vocal harmonization, some use of a male vocalist, use of piano, elements of jazz, elements of hip-hop, elements of rock, use of the synthesizer, use of a drum machine, lyrics influenced by poetry, use of subtle percussion, abstract lyrics, use of wordplay, uncertainty as a theme. Album lasts 39 minutes. 

Tracklisting:

1. Grow Up and Blow Away
2. Hardwire
3. Rock Me Now
4. The Twist
5. On the Sly
6. Soft Rock Star
7. Raw Sugar
8. White Gold
9. London Halflife
10. Soft Rock Star (Jimmy vs. Joe Mix)

On the 2001 release:

1. Fanfare
2. Parkdale
3. Torture Me

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! I’m 22! Everyone knows that on your birthday, you get “birthday leeway”. You can’t go out and burn down a government building or anything but you can overindulge and I’m prepared to do so. I figured since it’s m birthday I could re-feature a band (I don’t do this that often!) simply because that band’s album is one of my all-time favorites and I would like you guys to know which albums define me as a not only a music lover but a person. So today that honor goes to Metric’s Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, which has inspired me, is a comfort to me, and is a timeless and wonderful album overall!

For those of you just joining us, Metric is a Canadian New Wave rock band consisting of vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines, guitarist Jimmy Shaw, bassist Josh Winstead, and drummer Joules Scott-Key. They formed in 1998 but didn’t come to prominence until the 2003 release of Old World Underground. Metric was my gateway drug to better music taste. It’s easy to love music but it isn’t always easy to love great music and it takes listening to the strange, the new, and the old to develop what would be defined as “good taste in music”. The beauty of Metric is that their music is fun and youthful but it’s also profound and mature in just as many ways. In the end that’s the cornerstone of becoming the music lover you should want to be! 

Last year my dad bought me Metric’s iTunes Session and at the very end is a 30 minute interview with the band. My favorite part is when they discuss their songwriting process. Emily Haines explains that she does most of the songwriting but that she writes incredibly depressing lyrics and she always has had a melancholia about her. She goes on to explain that without the band to give life to her lyrics and deliver the energy, Metric’s music might be very depressing. She explains it perfectly. This album consists of heartbreak in all its manifestations but Metric manages to take these frustrating and mind-numbing emotions of powerlessness and render them nearly absurd. This album is about fighting “the darkness” and in the end, everything about Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?  is cathartic.  

So here it is laid out completely: if you listen to this album, you know who I am to a certain extent because Old World Underground is similar to an automatic response for me. I don’t really think about it loving it, I just do. It’s like breathing! So I’m going to keep “breathing” and I’m going to enjoy the remainder of my birthday. I’ll “see” you guys tomorrow. Have a great day and go listen to your favorite album in its entirety just because it’s as good a time as any to do so! 

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THE SOUND: rock, New Wave, electronic elements, youthful lyrics, discussion of relationships, discussion of social problems, dance music, female vocalist with an expressive voice and wide range, use of upbeat and high energy drumming patterns, poetic lyrics, use of standard rock instrumentation, use of classical piano instrumentation, somewhat depressing lyrics. Album lasts 37 minutes. 

Tracklisting:

1. IOU
2. Hustle Rose
3. Succexy
4. Combat Baby
5. Calculation Theme
6. Wet Blanket
7. On a Slow Night
8. The List
9. Dead Disco
10. Love is a Place

Making lives easier, one cumulative post at a time. 

1. Monday, September 19: The Twelves remix Metric’s “Help I’m Alive”
2. Tuesday, September 20: Final Fantasy remixes Stars’ “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
3. Wednesday, September 21: Penguin Prison remixes Marina & The Diamonds’ “I Am Not A Robot”
4. Thursday, September 22: Strategy Strata remixes The Blow’s “The Love That I Crave”
5. Friday, September 23: The Twelves remix Fever Ray’s “Seven”

And…back to the regular posts!