Sound Bites

Maps | Luna Lounge | 9.29.2007

One of the better albums of the new crop of shoegazers, Maps' We Can Create is a dense miasma that is nearly impossible to pull apart. Is that a treated guitar or a synthesizer? Real drums or samples. Strings or a keyboard preset? Only James Chapman's breathy voice is easily discernible in the mix.

So I had no idea what to expect from their appearance at Luna Lounge on Saturday night. Or even if it would be a "they." Chapman made the whole album by himself. My worry was it would be Chapman alone on stage with a laptop and a smoke machine.

There was a laptop onstage and Chapman, but also four other guys rounding out the Maps Live Experience, including a drummer (sans headphones), a bassist and two multi-instrumentalists who divided their time between keyboards and guitars. There were also a couple drums and crash cymbals scattered around the stage for Chapman and others to take advantage of at various times over the course of the evening.

With a smile on his face the night, Chapman seemed generally chuffed to be playing the enthusiastic audience, even if it was only about half capacity. (The crowd would've filled Mercury Lounge, where they played the night before.) The 45 minute set hit all of We Can Create's highlights, including "Eloise," "You Don't Know Her Name" and forthcoming single "To the Sky." If the show lacked anything, it was a visual element. Maps' music has a mysterious, elusive quality but Chapman seemed entirely approachable. Maybe that smoke machine wouldn't have been a bad idea after all.

MP3: Maps - To the Sky (buy it)

Addendum: I haven't been much of a fan of the new Luna Lounge and have said so more than once here in the past, my main complaint being tinny, boomy sound that was often set at full volume even when empty. I am happy to report that my last two visits here, the sound issues seem to have been solved. I still wish there was a separate room where you could hang out if you didn't want to watch the band, but otherwise they've really improved the place all around, and the bartenders are especially nice.

New British Sea Power

Brighton's finest, British Sea Power, are back with a new EP, a short U.S. tour and a new look. The band have been laying low since releasing Open Season in 2005, and haven't played here since May of that year... when I bought a British Tea Power mug at the merch table.

The new EP, Krankenhaus, is "one that will combine a pre-school understanding of atomic theory with ancient wisdom in amplified rock music," according to frontman Yan. It will be available digitally October 8 and in the decreasingly popular CD format on November 20.

Coinciding will be a brief East Coast tour. If you've never seen them, British Sea Power put on a pretty intense show -- though the days of them covering the stage in locally-foraged greenery is past them. According to a friend of a friend who saw them recently in the UK, "flags are the new twigs." (This picture from BSP's Sept. 22 show in Bradford confirms it.) And listening to their new song "Atom," I'd have to say the Wedding Present are the new Pixies.

MP3: British Sea Power - Atom

Here are those tour dates:

10/15     Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ
10/16     Johnny Brendas, Philadelphia, PA    
10/18     Bowery Ballroom, NYC
10/19     Black Cat, Washington
10/21     Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA

Concert pic swiped from Alex Craven's Flickr photostream.

Trouser Wedge

I came home the other night and couldn't get the front door of my building open. I yelled up to see if any of my neighbors were home to let me in, when I noticed the AC unit of my downstairs neighbor, Pat.

Even though it was 20 feet up, the blue, pink and white spine was instantly recognizable: The Trouser Press Record Guide. Not only is it good for learning about everyone from the Velvet Underground and the Bonzo Dog Band to Joy Division and Nirvana, it's also the perfect height to help prop up an air conditioner.

Not only was the TPRG my music bible in college, essential to my becoming a music know-it-all, I also used to work with TP editor Ira Robbins... all I can say is...sorry.

MP3: The Bonzo Dog Band - Trouser Press

Young Knives on Solid Ground

While on Ollie Evans' page on the Partizan Pictures website, I saw that they had just posted the video for the new Young Knives single, "Terra Firma."

I was expecting the first new single from the Hartnol brothers to be "Fit for You," which they've been playing at live shows for some time. Maybe they're saving it for when the album is closer to release, as they don't even have a title yet. (I don't even think they've finished recording with producer Tony Doogan [Belle & Sebastian, Delgados, SFA]).

Nonetheless, "Terra Firma" is more friendly than almost anything the Young Knives have released before, yet there's no question whose song it is.

MP3: Young Knives - Terra Firma

Sorry you didn't win the Mercury, guys. Oh, here's the video:

New Roisin Murphy | "Let Me Know"

I saw Moloko almost exactly ten years ago at Knitting Factory when they toured for Do You Like My Tight Sweater? -- I went on a whim and was blown away by their roof-raising abilities. Above all else, I remember singer Roisin Murphy  holding court over the totally-into-it crowd, wearing a big, flap-eared fur hat. She was pure sex and it blew my little mind.

I never liked Moloko quite as much as that night, but her solo career has been more interesting to me. Her 2005 solo debut, featuring blippy jazz courtesy cut-n-paste wiz Matthew Herbert, was pretty genius, and felt like a step forward for Murphy in every way. The follow-up, Overpowered, looks to be a little more normal -- straight-up disco -- but that is a relative term with Murphy. The title track was my personal 2007 Summer Jam, and I'm still not tired of it. We're still a month off from Overpowered's release (Oct. 15) but Murphy has just released the second single, "Let Me Know," which was co-written by Groove Armada's Andy Cato. It's another ridiculously catchy slab of first-class dancefloor fodder. Resistance is futile... if you like this kind of stuff.

MP3: Roisin Murphy - Let Me Know

Please enjoy the video, too, where Murphy turns a late-night diner into a disco paradise, as only she can. As you can see, her love of hats remains...

Rhymes with Bees

I remember being at South Street Seaport Center for one of the first Friday shows this Summer, talking to my friend Chris who works for River to River. There was an open date they hadn't booked yet and he was asking me who they should get. I said, "It's probably too late, but you should get the Bees."

He said, "Bill, they played last week at our Financial Center series." Incredulous, I pressed the issue. "Really? The British Bees? From the Isle of Wight?" Chris conferred with a colleague and clarified, "Oh... no, it was the other Bees. The American Bees." Vindicated, I added, "The sucky Bees."

Of course I had never actually heard the American Bees when I said that. I just assumed they sucked. The Bees I liked were forced to change their name in America to Band of Bees thanks to this other, surely inferior group. Whenever there are two bands with the same name and one is forced to change their name, almost always the latter is the good one. (And I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule, but I'm thinking of Dinosaur, Suede and, to a lesser extent, The Beat [power pop fans, please don't berate me about how awesome Paul Collins is].) So I felt confident in my assumption.

A month or so later, I got a record in the mail by The Silver Seas. High Society was resplendent in melody, lush harmonies and sparkling production. For someone whose musical memories began in the '70s, the Silver Seas were pure A.M. Gold.  Once I was hooked (about one minute into High Society's Seals & Crofts-esque title track) I did a little digging and discovered up until just recently, they were the very domestic Bees band I was dissing back in June. These are my words, and I am happily eating them.

So who are these former Bees, now Seas? Formed in Nashville, the Silver Seas are ostensibly singer-songwriter Daniel Tashian and instrumentalist-arranger-producer Jason Lehning, who have been together since 1999 or so, though they (as the Bees) only released their debut, Starry Gazey Pie, in 2004, and High Society in November of last year. (Lehning stays busy as a Nashville producer, having worked with with pretty much every CMT star of the last 15 years.)

Question is, why did the winner in the Bees name contest flinch? According to them... "There were too many Bee bands." (Band of Bees, Bird and the Bee... who else?) Whatever reason, I think it was probably a smart move, as it differentiates them from a crowded pack of killer Bs. And above all, it's a great record, barely clocking in at over 30 minutes and every song could be a single (well, in 1977 maybe).

From what I can tell, the Silver Seas' High Society remains unchanged from the version released last year, apart from the name on the cover. It's re-released November 26, kind of a shame as this is a Summer Album if I ever heard one. But it will sound just as good preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Speaking of, a couple tastes...

MP3: The Silver Seas - High Society

MP3: The Silver Seas - The Country Life

...and the Really Long Title

So the only thing interesting to come out of last night's horrendous VMA's was Shia LeBeouf letting everyone know the title of the new Indiana Jones movie: ... And the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. If nothing else, this should increase the number of hits on one of Seattle's more underrated bands. Quick guys, write a song called "Indiana Jones" or "I've got a Jones for Indiana" or some variation on that theme... maybe Spielberg will use it!

MP3: Crystal Skulls - Hussy (from 2005's Blocked Numbers)

MP3: Crystal Skulls - Baby Boy (from 2006's Outgoing Behavior)

Plastiscines + White Williams | Mercury Lounge | 9.05.2007

"Un, deux, trois, quatre!"

The most prominent of les bébés rockers hit the city this week, with Wednesday's show at Mercury Lounge being their only club show (An Urban Outfitters in-store and a private show being their other two appearances). Young and pretty, Plastiscines play 1979-era new wave, with the occasional nod to trad French pop, which makes them kind of sound like the Long Blondes (singer Katty Besnard has that same sort of clear voice that Kate Jackson has) or even The Monochrome Set.

I was a little disappointed those Frenchier aspects of their sound weren't represented at their Mercury Lounge show -- I really wanted to hear "(Zazie Fait de la) Bicyclette" -- but it's hard to fault the joie de rock Plastiscines bring to the stage. And despite their fashion-spread-ready appeal, they are no more a gimmick than the Runaways were in the '70s. Their 35-minute set, not sold out but crowded, featured most of their debut, LP1, plus a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made for Walkin'." The star of the show, I think, was guitarist Marine Neuilly who was in a constant state of movement, thrashing around the stage and spinning like a top. Would I see them again? Mais oui.

MP3: Plastiscines - La Règle Du Jeu

MP3: PLastiscines - (Zazie Fait de la) Bicyclette

Plastiscines' LP1 is out September 18. (Buy it.) More photos on my Flickr page, and here's video I shot of them performing their single "Loser":

Preceding Plastiscines were trio White Williams who sported a strong Eno and Afropop influence (yet they don't really sound like Talking Heads) but don't really have much stage presence, and had me heading to the other room after about three songs. Surrounded by tables covered in keyboards, singer Joe Williams was too busy fiddling with knobs to give the audience much attention, and it felt more like a rehearsal than a show. It wasn't till the next day that I discovered they were a "band to watch." After listening to some of their recorded tracks, I gotta admit they've got something but White Williams seriously need to work on their show. Until they figure it out, I would call them a "band to listen to."

Stereogum was there for White Williams but left before Plastiscines... their loss. Nice writeup and pictures.

Dead Souls

Anton Corbijn was the obvious choice to make a movie about Ian Curtis. The Holland-born photographer moved to Manchester after hearing Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, and his photo of the band, taken from behind in a Tube station, is the iconic image of the group. (He also directed the posthumous, pretentious, and silly video for "Atmosphere").

Was he the right choice? Debatable, but probably. In the press notes for Control, he repeatedly complains about being stigmatized as a "rock photographer" and that he had no desire to make a music-related film as his first feature. He agreed to make it once he realized Control would be made with him or without him and he preferred not to have someone else mess it up. While you can't tell Ian Curtis' story without telling some of Joy Division's story, Control is definitely not about the inner-workings of one of post-punk's most influential bands. For that, or at least more than you get here, rent Michael Winterbottom's superb 24 Hour Party People.

Corbijn does a good job of fleshing out the enigma (played by newcomer Sam Riley), whom most of us only know through his bleak lyrics, impassioned vocals, photos and performances caught on video. As much as he can. It seems apparent that nobody really knew the introverted singer, not his bandmates, not Tony Wilson, not Corbijn, not even his widow Deborah, on whose book, Touching from a Distance, the movie is based. Curtis is not portrayed as a brooding sourpuss stereotype. This is someone who laughed, had fun, worked at the Job Centre by day and was in a band at night. A guy who enjoyed being in a band... at least until his epilepsy got worse and was forced to take a variety of medications to control his seizures, drugs that significantly altered his mood.

Problem is, Corbijn doesn't do much speculating as to why Curtis did it, so what we're left with is a bit dramatically thin. Unlike the "Atmosphere" video, he thankfully doesn't put Curtis on a pedestal. The man was also no saint, neglecting his wife and infant daughter, sneaking out of the house to go on tour, leaving for weeks without calling or letting her know where he was. He also carried on an affair with a Belgian fanzine writer, Annik Honoré, for the last two years of his life.

Riley, in the crucial role, does a fine job as Curtis. He also can sing like him. Actually, one of the most effective parts of the film is that the people hired to play Curtis, Steven Morris, Bernard Sumner, and Peter hook, are actually playing in the perfomance scenes. And they're great, they've got it down. Except... the one area where Riley disappoints is his dancing. If you've ever seen footage of Curtis onstage, it's like he's in a trance, an out of body experience. To name another Mancunian, Riley's dancing is more like Bez.

Samantha Morton, the only marquee name here, brings some emotional heft as Deborah Curtis -- the scene where she discovers Curtis' body is absolutely heartbreaking. But it's a supporting role in this scattershot film that doesn't really know what it wants to be. As you'd expect from Corbijn, Control is gorgeous to look at, with his signature super-high-contrast black and white photography that changes to blue tint and then sepia as the film progresses. He gets the period details right (including an appearance by the real John Cooper-Clarke, performing his f-ing classic "Evidently Chickentown")) and he doesn't overload it with music, though the song accompanying the final shot is a bit obvious.

The real question is, who is the audience for Control? Joy Division fans will surely want more of the band, Martin Hannet, Rob Gretton, and Tony Wilson; and everyone else is likely to wonder what all the fuss is about. Control is not a bad film, just a disjointed one. And probably unnecessary. The music is testament enough.

MP3: Joy Division - Dead Souls (Buy it)

Control is released October 10 in the U.S.

We're Serious: New Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley's new album, Lady's Bridge, doesn't drop until October 2nd here in the US but it's out Monday in the UK. Like Hawley's other albums, it's lush and beautiful, with Hawley's modern-day balladeering sure to make you swoon. But it's also got some downright peppy numbers too, like this one:

MP3: Richard Hawley - Serious (Buy it from Mute)

There's a deluxe edition with bonus DVD -- let's hope we in America get the same option in October. And Richard, you better tour here too.

Mute is also giving away a handwritten lyrics sheet. Click here for the details.