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Harvey Danger

If you listened to Alternative Radio about a decade ago, you might remember the fresh, witty, smart radio hit "Flagpole Sitta." (Yes, I'm talking to you, smart-ass in the back row of the classroom.) Crunching guitars that inspire a generation of air-guitarists. Large arm-wavey gestures, with sputtering and sneering vocals. And those "bah bah bah" backing vocals. Any of this ringing a bell? How about this lyrical snippet: "I'm not sick, but I'm not well. And I'm so hot, 'cause I'm in hell"? Sound familiar? Have I got that song stuck in your head yet? Good.

Well, disbelievers, that single, hit song is just the beginning. Harvey Danger, straight out of Seattle, music machine driven by Sean Nelson, make quirky, great power pop, tinged a little, of course, by alterna-rock and grunge. Fuzzy, distorted bass lines that rock out? Check. Loud, energetic guitars kicking ass and taking names? Check. Total sugar high? Clever lyrics and a sometimes manic front man? Double check.

Recently risen from ashes, Harvey Danger are back with a vengeance.

Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta
Harvey Danger - Carlotta Valdez
Harvey Danger - Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Official Harvey Danger Site. Buy King James Version from Amazon or iTunes Music Store.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.19.05 at 5:01 PM | Comments (1), TrackBack (0)

Phoenix

In my dream world, I wake up early Sundays (hey, it could happen!). Mr. Rock'n'Roll makes me breakfast and I spend the day on the front porch or by the fireplace, reading the Sunday papers and listening to Phoenix. They are the totally the epitome of chill-out music that might also inspire you to have a little dance party as well.

Phoenix's dreamy, French-accented synthpop first came to my attention because of Sophia Coppola -- she mentioned the band in an interview around the time that the The Virgin Suicides was released. (She would later use a Phoenix track -- "Too Young" -- in Lost In Translation.) I was completely smitten by the thought of a bunch of French fellows writing darling little pop songs, and sought out Phoenix's debut album, United. It proved to be totally charming, if a bit uneven, and it didn't leave my cd changer for months.

Phoenix's second album, Alphabetical, is a far stronger effort than their debut. The lyrics are a bit less nonsensical this time around, the melodies and song structure a bit more sturdy, and Thomas Mars' voice is stronger (though still tinged with that darling accent).

After hearing their most recent release, Live: Thirty Days Ago, I'm very keen to see Phoenix play live. I'd never really thought of them as a must-see live band, but that album changed my mind completely. I suppose it's probably too much to hope that there'll be cozy sofas to stretch out on at their showcase at Antone's, huh?

Phoenix - Too Young
Phoenix - Everything is Everything
Phoenix - Alphabetical (live)

Phoenix's official website. Buy Alphabetical from Amazon. Live: Thirty Days Ago is available from the iTunes Music Store.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.19.05 at 4:35 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Public Service Announcement: SXSW Music Podcast

As two music fans whose free time sometimes appears controlled by which bands are on tour at any given moment, we most definitely appreciate the efforts of Dan Budiac, programmer and music fan extraordinaire. He has created a great hack of downloading all of the posted mp3s on the official SXSW Music Festival list in one fell swoop using podcasting; if you've got any RSS reader that accepts feeds with enclosures you can download to your heart's content using his podcasts. (If the two sentences sound like gloobledy-gook to you, we're sorry, but we can't help you there.)

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.18.05 at 6:49 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

controller.controller

Sexy dance-rock from Canada, anyone? controller.controller deliver swaggering post-punk that is dark and mesmerizing, strongly due to the sheer presence of vocalist Nirmala Basnayake, who draws you in and tears you apart. She sounds more than a little like Andrea Zollo of Pretty Girls Make Graves; her sultry, uber-hot contributions can prick even the coldest of hearts, laid down upon angular guitars and throbbing bass lines and more than enough high hat to last you for the next three months. Equally at home next to PIL, Interpol, and the Rapture, this band is threatening the disco-punk movement of the last year or so with its eminently danceable and extraordinarily catchy anthems, perfect for darkened rooms full of strangers and cold neon lights. Now close your eyes and get moving.

controller.controller - History
controller.controller - Silent Seven
controller.controller - Watch

Official controller.controller site. Buy the History EP from Maple Music or Amazon.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.18.05 at 2:55 PM | Comments (2), TrackBack (0)

Ed Harcourt

I wish I could tell Ed Harcourt how much crap I've put up with from people for liking his music. I think he'd understand -- after all, this is the guy who jokingly called himself "the Oliver Reed of indie rock" (as well as the "Donnie Darko of the piano") and then was forced to defend those off-the-cuff comments in interview after interview after the quote appeared in his press bio.

Personally, I think Mr. Harcourt is totally dreamy enough to be the Oliver Reed of indie rock. I reallly like that idea: Sensitive, broody, boozy, and a little creepy and edgy underneath his veddy proper British exterior. His music's got the same quality -- it's polished and deceptively simple piano-based pop on the surface, but there's hidden depths that sneak up and surprise you when you're listening on the headphones -- much like the music of sympatico pals Nada Surf and Sondre Lerche.

I admit, though academically I knew Ed Harcourt's first two albums, Here Be Monsters and From Every Sphere, were good, they didn't really grab me. They weren't great. Yet I defended him at every turn, because I could see some potential there. His new album, Strangers, is that great album I've been waiting for. It's full of unabashedly booming, melodramatic heartbreak. And you know, I just cannot resist that kind of thing. I am powerless against it.

There's just something really charming and goosebump-inducing about a string section rocking out on the bridge of a song that's a sweet and sharp-toothed fuck you to love ("Let Love Not Weigh Me Down") or the peppy, jaunty hook of under a bitter song about being alone, aptly titled, well, "Loneliness," or the odd-couple pairing of an asthmatic pump organ and melancholy, lilting lyrics on "Something To Live For."

Maybe it's just because I've been feeling a little stressed and frazzled lately, but repeated listenings of Strangers has been the soothing salve that's made scraping through the day a little more bearable.

Ed Harcourt - Loneliness
Ed Harcourt - Let Love Not Weigh Me Down
Ed Harcourt - Something To Live For

Ed Harcourt's offical website. Buy Loneliness from Amazon.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.18.05 at 2:20 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Smoosh

This keyboards/drum duo are only a little bit like Quasi and have not much in common with Mates of State, so let's get that out of the way to start. Smoosh's keyboardist/vocalist Asya's voice swaggers equally breathy and sultry, reminiscent of early Tori Amos or Kathleen Hannah, while drummer Chloe stomps and skitters all over the stage, and the two create magic whenever their vocals intersect and collide. The grooving sister duo has been taking the indie pop scene by storm, with attention from Spin Magazine, NPR, and Seattle's KEXP.

She Like Electric, Smoosh' debut album, has garnered critical acclaim, with its charming blend of indie rock smarts, soulful harmonies, and dancey synths. Oh, and one more thing: both Asya and Chloe are still in elementary school. The two sisters, aged 12 and 10 respectively, tour during vacations from school and their father makes sure they don't stay out too late, finish their homework, and make it to soccer practice on time. Smoosh started up when Chloe began taking drum lessons and her drum teacher, Jason McGerr, the drummer for Death Cab for Cutie, learned that her older sister had been messing around on keys since the age of 5, making up songs as she went along...and the rest is history. Expect great things from these very talented girls.

Smoosh - It's Not Your Day To Shine
Smoosh - LA Pump
Smoosh - Massive Cure

Smoosh official site. Buy She Like Electric from Pattern 25 or Amazon.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.17.05 at 2:46 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (1)

Death From Above 1979

There's something really charming about the chemistry between two-piece bands: there's the intense married couple (Mates of State), the intense divorced couple (Quasi), the intense male pain throwdown (The Mountain Goats), and then there's just freakin' screamy, concrete-wall-of-sound intensity. That would be Death From Above 1979.

DFA 1979's arsenal consists entirely of thumpy, danceable heavy metal pop songs. It's said that a strong rhythm section makes a band -- what I never realized was that a strong rhythm section could be the entire band.

Simple and stripped down to the purest quintessence of emotion -- the beat -- DFA 1979's music packs one hell of a wallop. The noisy, melodic bass lines and spiky drums provide a hard exoskeleton for the alternately aggressively insecure and aggressively sexual lyrics curled inside each song.

And seeing DFA 1979 live? I thought I'd be all thrashy & dancing like a fool. Instead, I stood nearly stock-still, transfixed by the the unspoken language that passed between drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger and bassist Jesse Keeler as they burned through one blazing anthem after another. I'd never been physically shaken quite so hard by a live set, ever. You could literally feel the soundwaves in the air; it felt like being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket of noise. Yeah, intense doesn't even begin to cover it.

Death from Above 1979 - Romantic Rights
Death from Above 1979 - Turn it Out
Death from Above 1979 - Dead Womb
Death from Above 1979 - Too Much Love

The Death From Above 1979 official website. Order You're a Woman, I'm a Machine from Amazon.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.17.05 at 1:58 AM | Comments (2), TrackBack (0)

Film School

This five-piece band hailing from San Francisco specialize in beautiful shoegazer pop with spine tingling effects, along the lines of Grandaddy, Swervedriver, and early Radiohead. Film School's lastest work, an EP called Alwaysnever showcases their finely-honed chops, creating a dreamy aftertaste of amtospheric and dreamy euphoria. There's the requisite swirling guitars, layered on top of haunting keyboards and droning sounds from another dimension, but also the crooning sounds of a faraway vocalist, making like a long-distance lover on the telephone. "P.S." is light and spritely, like your elementary school girlfriend laughing on a summer playground, teasing you and barely touching the ground until a wall of sound breaks in part-way through, clamoring to catch up. Meanwhile, "I Just Turned Into a Gas" broods and wanders through the outer regions of space, out-Radioheads Radiohead, like the long-lost twin of "Exit Music (For a Film)," before turning deadly and crushing. Film School are currently holed up in the studio working on their next album.

Film School - P.S.
Film School - I Just Turned Into a Gas

Official site for Film School. Buy Alwaysnever from Amazing Grease, iTunes Music Store, or Amazon.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.16.05 at 1:44 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Kaiser Chiefs

I can hear what you're thinking now: "Little Miss Rock'n'Roll, did you ever get over Britpop?" And the answer to that would be a thundering like, no way! And I swear, I'll probably never fully be over it.

Conveniently, it's been bandied about in the UK music press recently that a modest little band from Leeds known as the Kaiser Chiefs (that's after a South African footie team) are on some hare-braned mission to save Britpop.

Sounds like a lot of blustery PR to me -- but if that's really the case, I say: Go for it, fellas! Keep up the good work and here's a pat on the back. You're doing just fine! (But really, they don't need too much support from my corner -- championed by NME and BBC DJ Steve Lamacq, the Kaiser Chiefs' first two singles, "Oh My God" and "I Predict a Riot," are demolishing the indie charts in the UK.)

But enough of the statistical data -- listen to the Kaiser Chiefs, and you'll hear the influences writ large on the sleeves of their cute little blazers and track jackets. It's all the usual suspects. Top the list with Madness, Super Furry Animals, and Blur. Wrap it up with the Small Faces and The Beach Boys, and you've got some idea of the sunny sweet sound of the Kaiser Chiefs. Rousing, stompy, singalong choruses. Jangly guitar. Soaring harmonies. Big, big hooks. A keyboardist in a porkpie hat. And gratuitous use of the cowbell.

But don't get me wrong, it's not all sunshine and fluffy bunnies and chocolate milk. There's a little twinge of darkness in there as well, in the grand tradition of pop songs written in bleak times -- hidden in the lyrics, the subtly gloomy basslines, and the drone of the near-unobtrusive keyboards -- especially in the four tracks below.

So, let the Kaiser Chiefs rock your cubicle, your iPod, your car, or your living room and have a little dance party today. I promise I won't tell anyone that you're having fun listening to music again.

Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict a Riot
Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I Love You Less and Less
Kaiser Chiefs - Na Na Na Na Naa
Kaiser Chiefs - Caroline, Yes

The Kaiser Chiefs' official website. Their debut album, Employment, will be released in the UK on 3/7 and the US on 3/15.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.16.05 at 2:31 AM | Comments (1), TrackBack (0)

Stars

I first came across Stars on one of the many, many compilations back in my college radio DJ days. One of my fellow DJs had left a post-it note on the cover of the disc, proclaiming that his life would be complete and he could die of pure joy, if we all agreed to play a particular song. That song? The baroquely cool, instantly crushworthy "My Radio" by Stars.

Upon the third listen or so, I rushed out to purchase Nightsongs and whatever I could get my grubby little hands on, various EPs and collections and what-not. Nowadays, Stars have moved onto bigger and brighter things with the upcoming March 8th release of their third album, Set Yourself On Fire. (Sadly, Stars often stand in the shadows of Broken Social Scene, the critically acclaimed Toronto collective whose ranks include members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Metric, Treble Charger, A Silver Mt. Zion, Mascott, and, yes, Stars, as well).

Why love Stars? It's the more-precious-than-precious vocal interplay of Torquil Campbell and Amy Milan during "Heart" and their deliciously tempting cover of "This Charming Man." It's the slowly expanding orchestral swells of "Theme From The Stars" and the glorious anthem of "Krush." It's the masterfully romantic and sweet nostalgia of "On Peak Hill" and the blissful blending of sounds in "Set Yourself On Fire."

Stars are the sound of true love, just as it is portrayed in the movies, with grand gestures in taxis, broken hearts in hospitals, sorrowful eyes looking out windows, lingering glances across the dance floor, and tearful reunions on rainy street corners. Boy sees girl by chance encounter. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy loses girl. Girl comes back to boy. Girl dies a tragic death. Boy mourns. Lush, beautiful, orchestral pop plays as the end credits roll, and you always, always want more.

Some days, I think this band must come from another planet, sent by beings with far more wisdom and foresight than ourselves. Where else would these perfectly realized, majestic pop masterpieces come from if not from some otherworldly, super-intelligent race of beings who have graciously lent them to us in hopes of furthering the human race? Hyperbole, for sure. But I can't deny the supremely accessible, ultra catchy, nature of their music. Cheeseball as it sounds, I ♥ Stars unconditionally.

Stars - My Radio (AM Mix)
Stars - Krush
Stars - Theme From The Stars
Stars - Heart
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
Stars - Calendar Girl
Stars - On Peak Hill
And download "Look Up" on The Big Ticket.

Official Stars site. Buy Set Yourself on Fire from Arts & Crafts or Amazon.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.15.05 at 2:33 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

M. Ward

Ok, don't tell anyone, but I think M. Ward deserves to inherit the Rick Danko/Bob Dylan/Gram Parsons savior-of-roots music mantle more than Conor Oberst, more than Ryan Adams, more than Jeff Tweedy. Oberst's spread too thin and has a tendency to ring hollow, Adams' songs, though full of sparkle and bombast, are ultimately too derivative and unambitious, and Tweedy's bordering on the edge of becoming a bit too introspective.

But M. Ward falls squarely in between all three somewhere. His songs are tinged with traditionalism, but they're never dull; they're breathtakingly wide-angle while remaining sweetly intimate. His faux whiskey-and-cigarettes rasp is completely unaffected and it's perfectly augmented by pleasant surprise appearances of theremin and violin and plinky piano scattered into the mix with voice and guitar.

2003's The Transfiguration of Vincent was a perfect document of what has become Ward's trademark style -- tempered, literate, understated original songs that draw from a myriad of genre-hopping popular music influences interspersed with intricate solo guitar instrumentals. And if that's not enough, the album's topped off with a brilliant, heartbreaking cover(and oft-blogged) cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance."

I have to admit, I didn't really get Ward's music at first. I saw him open for Rilo Kiley, and was not impressed with his set (it was kind of hot that night, so maybe that had something to do with it). But then I couldn't shake the song he performed with Rilo Kiley during their set, a jaunty tune entitled "Room Eight." (Which, unfortunately, did not show up on More Adventurous -- I've only ever heard them do it live.) His voice isn't really my thing -- I don't usually go for that gravelly, mumbling type (cf. Will Johnson of Centro-matic), but sometime during "Room Eight," a lightbulb went off. It all came clear to me, and I've been devoted to Ward ever since.

[I've just got to plug Ward's forthcoming album, Transistor Radio, as well -- due out on 2/22, it's an album full of beautiful songs and lyrical storytelling that pays homage to the music Ward grew up with, and it's just fantastic.]


M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien
M. Ward - Helicopter
M. Ward - Let's Dance
M. Ward - So Much Water
M. Ward - Silverline

M. Ward's official webpage is currently under redesign, but it will redirect you to the apporpriate label site for your geographic area. Buy The Transfiguration of Vincent or pre-order Transistor Radio from Amazon.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.15.05 at 12:01 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Dios Malos

The affable Dios Malos take a page from the Beach Boys bible of pop and spin together gentle, easygoing, soothing melodies with a bit of neo-psychdelia and a hint of folk. Their debut album presents a spread of breezy and laidback pop songs, dolloped out in large portions; packed with harmonies that would make any retro-pop over jealous, its polish belies the fact that it was entirely home-recorded over the course of a year, whenever the band members could steal some time from family, friends, work, and other commitments. (There's also the rumor that they funded it by selling bootlegged copies of Smile on eBay.)

Refreshingly unpretentious, Dios Malos is summer barbecue music at its best: lounge chairs, hushed drumwork, chirping birds, comforting keyboard arpeggios, shouting children, soft voices, cold beers, and warm hugs all around. It's hard not to give into their winsome, Californian, sun-kissed bliss.

Dios Malos - Starting Five
Dios Malos - All Said + Done
Dios Malos - You Got Me All Wrong

Official Dios Malos site. Buy their self-titled debut from Startime International Records or Amazon.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.14.05 at 1:45 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Martha Wainwright

You could call 29-year-old Martha Wainwright the late bloomer of the Wainwright/McGarrigle clan. Yes, she's daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, sister of Rufus Wainwright. It's almost unfortunate to think of her with all this family baggage attached because she totally deserves your full and undivided attention on her own merits.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Martha's first EP, a self-titled effort from 1999, in the recent acqusitions pile at Austin's amazing used CD emporium Cheapo sometime in late 2000. Martha has the characteristic Wainwright inflection and tone on that recording; the same nascent chamber pop sensibilities of Rufus' early work. There's lots of minor keys, string arrangements, literary references ("Lolita"), and autobiographical confessions ("Laurel and Hardy" seems a response to Rufus' "Little Sister" -- or perhaps it's the other way around).

I loved what I heard on the EP and waited patiently for a full-length album, but none ever appeared. Instead, Martha appeared in a supporting role on an array of albums produced by various family members, released another EP, Factory, and appeared as a torch singer in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator alongside Loudon and Rufus. (Outside of Jude Law's blink-and-you'll-miss-it turn as Errol Flynn, the appearance of la famille Wainwright as singers at Hollywood's mythical Coconut Grove was the best part of that otherwise ho-hum film.)

Her latest EP, Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole (released in 2004) is a blistering prelude to her upcoming (finally!) full-length record due out later this year. Her voice has matured from a feminine shadow of Rufus' full-throated warble to a shredded, yet powerful and delicate-around-the-edges rasp that is, though slightly reminiscent of Bette Midler's circa the bathhouse years, all her own. Martha's songwriting has followed suit as well. She can spit out a polite yet scathing rant like the EP's opening title track "BMFA" and close the proceedings with a torchy number like "How Soon," and it all seems perfectly natural and not incongruous in the slightest.

Martha Wainwright - Lolita
Martha Wainwright - Laurel and Hardy
Martha Wainwright - BMFA
Martha Wainwright - I Will Internalize
Martha Wainwright - How Soon
Martha Wainwright - I'll Be Seeing You (from The Aviator)

Martha Wainwright's offical website. Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole is available from Amazon. A full-length album is due later in 2005 on Zoe/Rounder Records.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.14.05 at 2:15 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Boyskout

Like a Sleater-Kinney with a gothic sensibility and run by Robert Smith of the Cure, Boyskout move seamlessly between new wave, riot grrl, and post-punk. These four edgy, sultry ladies certainly know how to have a good time and you can't help but want to go with them. They call themselves a "blend of thumping rhythms" and use their formidable talents to create a messy, chaotic machine of moving parts, containing no less than three tangled, district female vocalists, all wailing, cooing, and shouting, over a bevy of angular guitars, throbbing basslines, and out-of-control synths. Enthralling and mesmerizing, Boyskout runs rampant all over the scene, with a dark and focused mind all of their own.

Boyskout - Secrets
Boyskout - Identity

Official Boyskout site. Buy on iTunes Music Store. Get Secrets of Etiquette from Amazon.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.13.05 at 11:06 AM | Comments (2), TrackBack (0)

The Pretty Please

Editor's note: Well, an updated list of confirmed acts for SXSW 2005 was released yesterday, and sadly, my two next picks -- Jens Lekman and Nouvelle Vague -- had vanished. I hope that maybe this was some kind of error and they'll be back on the list so I can pen my little write-ups!

There's a lot to be said for surviving the crunching, gaping maw of the music industry. Sometimes you make it out of the belly of the beast (that is to say, signing with a major label) semi-intact. Sure, your band may be history, your interpersonal relationships in tatters -- but there's always someone around to start a new band with.

Such is the case with The Pretty Please. They're three bona fide alumni of Austin's mid-90s school of rock: Singer/guitarist Carrie Clark, formerly of Sixteen Deluxe (whose tale of major label shenanigans is severely cautionary, to be sure); bassist Matt Hovis, formerly of Cotton Mather; and drummer Kevin Whitley, formerly of Cherubs and Ed Hall.

And, like another really loud band we love (don't worry, they're getting a writeup later!), a good portion of The Pretty Please's members are married. They have kids and serious day jobs. This is what happens on the other side of thirty.

Have I mentioned that The Pretty Please are loud? But also definitely poppy and sweet? Standing in a small crowd at The Parish this summer watching them open for The Fiery Furnaces, I was blown away. Figuratively and literally -- hair flying back, double whiskey sloshing over the edge of my plastic tumbler. As a matter of fact, I was so blown away that I left the show loving The Pretty Please to bits and was decidedly less impressed by the Fiery Furnaces.

The Pretty Please - The Rockstar Guide to Falling Apart
The Pretty Please - Falling Star

The Pretty Please's website is very pretty; this may have something to do with the fact that Hovis and Whitley are graphic designers. Their 4-song DEMONSTRATION EP is available from cdbaby.com.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.13.05 at 2:59 AM | Comments (2), TrackBack (0)