I don’t know what it is but Thursdays just tucker me out! (Oh god, this is starting to sound like the cooking blog of a suburban housewife.) But they do wear me out. No worries, I’ll write a full-length article about a full-length album today with an 8tracks Mix to follow. 

We’re taking a true musical adventure day. Way, way down the rabbit hole and into the magical world of Kishi Bashi. The lead vocalist and force behind the band, Kaoru Ishibashi, splits his time between Seattle, WA and Norfolk, VA and used to split his time between performing with of Montreal and Regina Spektor. The latter information should tell you a lot about his music. It exists in that space between the offbeat experimentation of of Montreal and the fragile beauty of Regina Spektor and yet, Kishi Bashi’s music is entirely his own. 151a is Ishibashi’s debut album, which is an impressively complex auditory journey.

To truly understand Kishi Bashi you need to know that he is an extremely gifted violinist. That fact plays a huge role in his music and his classical training greatly informs his compositions. 151a is avery string-heavy but Ishibashi employs a veritable wealth of instruments and you’ll hear everything from the acoustic guitar to harp to, and I quote, “Asian child sounds.” And he doesn’t just use a few instruments at a time, every song is a full-blown orchestral composition. The result is an upbeat and deceptively energetic album that literally bursts with sound and harp-tinged magic. This LP is as much an intelligent celebration of dancing as it is a modern interpretation of traditional Japanese music (see: “Wonder Woman, Wonder Me” and “Chester’s Burst Over The Hamptons”) and a masterpiece of chamber pop (see: “I Am The Antichrist to You”). 

At the moment, Kishi Bashi is touring the U.S. and surely blowing away audiences with his arrangements. You’ve got to listen to 151a, it’s a detailed album but listening to it and enjoying it is the easiest thing you’ll do all day. Enjoy!

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THE SOUND: indie pop/rock, elements of psychedelia, orchestral composition, use of backup vocals, electronic, experimental, extensive use of vocal harmonies, influenced by Japanese music, somewhat influenced by toytronica, use of Japanese instruments, energetic music, extensive use of string instruments, ambient music, elements of folk, use of Japanese lyrics, elements of dream pop, elements of electronica. Album lasts 34 minutes.  

Tracklisting:

1. Intro/Pathos, Pathos
2. Manchester
3. Bright Whites
4. It All Began With A Burst
5. Wonder Woman, Wonder Me
6. Chester’s Burst Over The Hamptons
7. Atticus, In The Desert
8. I Am the Antichrist to You
9. Beat the Bright Out of Me

Aja will come. I mean, it has “Peg” on it. Its day will come but today we’re going one album back to The Royal Scam. I’ve been listening to Steely Dan since I was a wee little girl (though I often confused their name with Steel Pulse) because my dad is a huge fan of the band. We even went and saw them live last year. It was a gigantic Mom-And-Dad Party. Wines and soft cheeses everywhere. Every few months I find myself randomly listening to Steely Dan and realizing I may like them as much as my dad does. Now it’s time to turn you guys onto these guys. 

Steely Dan was founded in 1972 and though the band has had…so many different members…the faces of the band have always been Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The two met after Fagen heard Becker playing guitar and found himself impressed by his skills. They eventually realized they shared many musical and stylistic interests and their shared obsession with perfection (as well as their aversion to live performances) would eventually drive the rest of the band’s members away making them reliant on session musicians. However, the quality of their music remained constant. From 1972 -1981, Steely Dan released seven studio albums (that’s about an album a year!) with The Royal Scam being their fifth studio album and first guitar-driven record they released. 

What makes Steely Dan’s music so remarkable is how flawlessly it blends multiple genres. When Fagen first happened upon Becker he realized that he played, “…like a black person.” Fagen should have noted that he sang and wrote as well as many a soul musician, too. Though they played rock music, it was infused with high-quality soul, jazz, reggae, funk and R&B and they weren’t imitating these genres, they were adding to them. The Royal Scam features gospel choirs and funk riffs throughout as well as the Steely Dan’s signature mixture of pop and circular song structures.

As soulful as this album gets, it is first and foremost a guitar-driven collection and features Grammy award winning jazz guitarist Larry Carlton literally tearing it up on four of the album’s nine tracks. Steely Dan’s sound envelopes the listener.  While the original recordings of many old albums fall short in terms of quality, any copy of The Royal Scam could still fill a room to the brim with layer upon layer of sound. 

Simply put, Steely Dan’s music was cool then and it’s even cooler now. It’s got an intelligent groove and remains completely timeless. Fagen and Becker eventually reunited in the early 1990s and even released two new albums. Today they’re touring (something they once refused to do) and take it from me, they’ve still got it. It’s never too late to hop on the Steely Dan train. Enjoy!

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THE SOUND: rock music, element of jazz, elements of funk, elements of R&B, elements of reggae, lyrics that tell a story, witty/dark lyrics, clever lyrics, male vocalist with a low-to-mid range, use of backup vocals, use of unusual song structure at times, use of vocal harmonization, balance of minor and major chords, singer/songwriter, heavily influenced by soul music, use of brass instruments, extensive use of guitar distortion, use of keyboards, use of piano. Album lasts 41 minutes. 

Tracklisting:

1. Kid Charlemagne
2. The Caves of Altamira
3. Don’t Take Me Alive
4. Sign In Stranger
5. The Fez
6. Green Earrings
7. Haitian Divorce
8. Everything You Did
9. The Royal Scam

Hi everyone! Surprise, surprise, I don’t have work today so I can post when I love to post: early afternoon. Today I didn’t really see any new releases that appealed to me so I decided I’d cover a new release from a couple of weeks ago. Don’t worry, this won’t happen again. I know exactly  who I’ll be writing about for the next EIGHT New Music Tuesdays! 

For today, we’re taking a trip back to February 5th when Frightened Rabbit  released their fourth album, Pedestrian Verses. They’re a Scottish band and you won’t soon forget it as lead vocalist/guitarist Scott Hutchinson decided not to disguise his accent behind a pseudo-American inflection. Founded in 2003, Frightened Rabbit was originally a solo project of Scott Hutchinson and over the years the band has more or less collected members rounding out the lineup with drummer/percussionist Grant Hutchinson and Billy Kennedy, Andy Monaghan and Gordon Skene rotating on guitar, bass guitar and keyboard. 

Pedestrian Verse marks a lot of changes for the band. (1) they worked these songs out while they were still touring and (2) songwriting duties were shared by the band as a whole. As a result, the songs have strayed from focusing on Scott Hutchinson’s personal life and become more generalized though the sharp emotionality he’s known for is still there. It can’t be helped, it’s in his voice.  

Frightened Rabbit’s music exists somewhere between rock and folk. As I mentioned, Grant Hutchinson is not just a drummer but a percussionist. The band employs percussion beyond your typical drumset and it gives Pedestrian Verse a, well, pedestrian quality (in a good way). At the same time, they employ a slew of electric instruments and keyboards causing a subtly modern tone to present itself from time to time. These layers wrap themselves around Scott Hutchinson’s Scottish lilt and listeners are left with an expansive collection of music driven as much by its simplicity as it is by its lyrical, emotional and instrumental complexity. 

As it stands, Frightened Rabbit have begun a heavy touring schedule with plans to hop the pond on March 8th. If you’re looking for something intense but manageable then Pedestrian Verse is your cup of tea. If you’re just looking for something new and interesting to listen to Pedestrian Verse is also your cup of tea. Enjoy!

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THE SOUND: indie rock, indie folk, high production value, male vocalist with a wide range, use of backup vocals, expansive music, extensive use of vocal harmonies, ambient music, emotional music, occasional use of acoustic guitar, discussion of relationships and personal issues,  Scottish music, subtle use of electronica, use of explicit language, use of percussion. Album lasts 42 minutes. 

Tracklisting:

1. Acts of Man
2. Backyard Skulls
3. Holy 
4. The Woodpile
5. Late March, Death March
6. December’s Traditions
7. Housing (in)
8. Dead Now
9. State Hospital
10. Nitrous Gas
11. Housing (out)
12. The Oil Slick

Would you look at that? A week that’s divisible by five! It’s been five weeks since that happened. Time sure does fly around here. In a few short weeks we’ll be at Week 100 and Post 1000. Insane! The only way to reach these goals is to keep on posting and keep on listening to great tunes. So without further ado: Menomena. 

Menomena formed thirteen years ago between friends from Portland, OR.  From the beginning, Menomena were self-starters and passionate about truly personalizing their music. For three years they worked tirelessly, self-releasing their work and touring the United States before finally getting recognition in 2004 from the likes of Pitchfork. Menomena kept things pretty much the same until Summer 2011 when Knopf announced his departure from the band leaving Justin Harris and Danny Seim as a duo. Mines is their fourth album and the last one featuring Knopf so I only felt it was only appropriate to feature them the way they were. 

No matter how you feel about Menomena, you have to respect their process because these guys go above and beyond. To record their music they use a program called Deeler, which was designed by Knopf. Here’s how it works: One band member holds a mic up to the instrument of another band member while they play an improvised beat or riff  and then they pass it onto the next band member. Once they’ve put together enough instrumental loops they create a song and add vocals. It allows for totally creativity on every band member’s part. 

The result is an album that feels very circular and complete. While there are solos here and there, Mines is a steady experimental rock album featuring the expected rock instrumentation and the unexpected (i.e. piano arrangements, brass instruments, harps) wherever the band feels they fit in. As a result, Mines ticks along somewhere between heavy rock and soft rock. It’s subtly emotional immediately wrapping the listener in layers and layers of sound. Sometimes it feels thrown together but in other moments you can feel the deep connection between the members of this band and it’s magical.  

Since Knopf’s departure, the Harris and Seim have stuck together and most recently released the incredibly personal album, Mom, in 2012. They’re currently touring so if you’re interested in seeing them check here for their schedule. Respect the process, enjoy the music!

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THE SOUND: experimental rock, use of guitar, use of bass, use of drums, use of brass instruments, expansive music, American band, elements of grunge, use of keyboards, high production value, use of harp, layered music, elements of indie rock, elements of space rock, male vocalist with a mid-to-low range, youthful music, elements of psychedelia. Album lasts 54 minutes. 

Tracklisting:

1. Queen Black Acid
2. TAOS 
3. Killemall
4. Dirty Cartoons
5. Tithe
6. BOTE
7. Lunchmeat
8. Oh Pretty Boy, You’re Such A Big Boy
9. Five Little Rooms
10. Sleeping Beauty
11. INTIL