Best Indieface of March

March was a long month. Musically, it seemed like a lot was either released or announced this month on the Indieface.

Bell X1, Handsome Furs, White Lies, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Decemberists all found themselves in my graces during the month. Several tunes produced from these new releases stuck in my head, found their way on my iPod, and resulted in me purchasing and downloading them. Always promote legal listening kids!

On a live music performance note, I was fortunate to see Tokyo Police Club, Ra Ra Riot, and Ruby Coast at The White Rabbit here in San Antonio. The highlight for me had to be Ra Ra Riot's unique brand of indie pop. Shown at right is lead singer, Wes Miles, and cellist, Alexandra Lawn. I look forward to seeing them again and reporting on more shows I attend in the future.

That's all for now! See you in April . . . .

Top Off Your Eggs With Some PB&J

Swedish indie popsters Peter Bjorn and John hit the mainstream music landscape in late 2006, early 2007 with the whistling phenomenon that was "Young Folks" off Writer's Block. Not many people may know that the quirky threesome have been together for 10 years. Their live shows get a lot of glowing reviews and for good reason; I was able to see them at Lollapalooza 2007 (not my video).

Out today is the new disc, Living Thing, off their label Almost Gold/Startime International. In this latest effort, they seem to want to bring hand clapping the same fame whistling received at their expense in the past because it pops up in almost every song along with sound sticks and synth. Some songs drag in mediocrity and musicality, but others find a way to make the syncopation work. This blend of lyrical content and sound production makes for one decent album. "It Don't Move Me", "Living Thing", "Lay It Down" and the lead single, "Nothing To Worry About" are standouts on this album. PB&J produce top quality indie pop here but if you weren't a fan after "Young Folks" died off, you may need some convincing to buy into Living Thing.

Also out today is the physical disc for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's It's Blitz!. You must hear this music. If you haven't already heard "Zero", "Heads Will Roll" and "Dull Life", now's your chance! Check out my review of the album before you venture out and pick it up.

A Few Tunes You Need to Put Indieface

Hear a hard edged, head boppin', raucous, rockin' out tune full of pop catchiness in O Shot by The Gay Blades. The song is off their debut album, Ghosts, out since last September and was released via 4Never Records through Triple Crown. They've been described as "trash pop", but any way you look at them, this is definitely a song worth investing in right now.

A band I'm really looking forward to hearing more stuff from is alt-indie band Company of Thieves from Chicago after hearing their song Oscar Wilde off their album Ordinary Riches, out since February. The lead vocals of Genevieve Schatz contain that "thing" that Suzanne Vega, Jenny Lewis, or Edie Brickell have when they sing.

Ok, the name got my attention, but the song kept me there. Having played at SXSW (their first shows outside of Europe), Dananananaykroyd from Glasgow, Scotland and their experimental, indie rock jam, Black Wax (which you can hear at their MySpace), garnered some buzz after the showcase in Austin. This tune is hand clappin' poppy goodness in the vain of Los Campesinos! and Tokyo Police Club. The track is off Hey Everyone!, the sextet's full length, debut album due out in April.

Finally today, I give you by All Too Well by Poorfolk outta Ontario, Canada. This chill groove of a throwback sounding song mimics the progressive rock stylings of bands who became popular in indie music in the mid to late 90's. They combine classic rock and alternative rock for their second indie rock album, Our Burning Street, out since October of last year off White Whale Records.

Place Indieface Artists - March 27th: A Little of The "The"

The highly praised L.A. area based band, The Henry Clay People, is an outfit you should be hearing in your ears right now via Autumn Tone Records. Their throwback sensibilities and infectious live performances make for a rockin' good time. I don't know if they should even be called "indie" because of the "classic" approach they take to rock music, but either way the "nothing extra" feel they take is what makes them stand apart in this indie rock landscape. They let out Blacklist the Kid with the Red Moustache in March 2007 and For Cheap Or For Free in November 2008. "Something In the Water" and "This Ain't a Scene" are standout songs for me off the former.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart hail from Brooklyn and dabble in a form of indie pop music that is equal parts pop nostalgia, noise rock, and shoegaze. What makes them different is also what makes them interesting to listen to. Their music is upbeat, short and to the point, just the kinda music to get you hooked. They released their self-titled debut via Slumberland Records on February 3rd of this year and also have a few EPs they have released in the past available for consumption. "Contender" and "Young Adult Friction" demonstrate the tri-headed concept well.

'Hazards' of Being The Decemberists

Portland, Oregon's The Decemberists became indie stalwarts long ago, but what they accomplish with Hazards of Love is something worth of notice taking. The previous releases from The Decemberists, including Her Majesty and Picaresque, which followed a similar pattern: elaborate storytelling, conceptual in nature, but on a less ambitious scale, to bring about open interpretations of the albums' meaning behind the interaction of the characters to the setting within the album itself. The progressive, yet throwback sound and detailed instrumentation of Hazards of Love has to be audibly ingested in one sitting to fully appreciate what the band is trying to do. Some tracks land on your palate better if you know from whence they came . . . the previous song. Lots of transitional filler is in place here to keep the pace of this "love story" going.

This concept album outlined by 60's and 70's vibes is slightly more drawn out than previous releases in that the melodic nature of the songs stays on par throughout the telling of the story. "The Hazards of Love" series of songs, four to be exact, follow the story of William and Margaret and their love journey together. "Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)" and "Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)" [spoiler alert!] are the highlights of this series. "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid" is the folksy, harpsichord-led narrative tune that sets up the meeting of Margaret and William in a forest where William is turned from a fawn into a handsome young chap by Margaret's interest in him. "The Rake Song" is the first single of the album and is only one of two or three that could stand apart from the pack as a successful, indie pop single. The song's tells of the mauling of the married protagonists' surviving "pest" kids by their father, William, who places his wrath upon them after one child caused him much grief and sorrow as a result of his bride's death during the birth of another kid, who also died. Confused? Horrified? That seems to be the point.

Whatever you may think of The Decemberists, you can't say they're unoriginal. Fans who were fans before The Crane Wife, their last full length release in October 2006, will enjoy the ride this go round. If you are just coming into the band, you may wanna listen a few times through Hazards of Love to "get it". Thus are the dangers of thinking big.

The Decemberists - Hazards of ... Playlist

Blissful 'Blitz!' Clears A New Path for Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Whatever you may read (in just about every kind of publication right now) about the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs' album, It's Blitz!, know this: I have gone out of my way to avoid reading any blog, review, or musical analysis of It's Blitz! as well as hearing any verbalization regarding the new material since it has been leaked earlier this month. I wanted to decipher for myself the surprise I felt when hearing the new songs for the first time. As a result, listening to a legal download of the entire album now allows me to interpret their "sound". So follows my impressions . . .

Karen O, Nick Zinner (r), and Brian Chase (l) are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but their newest batch of tunes doesn't fall in line with what you may be used to from the garage/dance punk outfit also capable of engaging in expressive lyrical content. The days of Fever to Tell are over . . . at least for now.

The new found direction of the band comes about as a result of the trials and tribulations all musical acts experience when you have creative differences, personal growth, and of course, natural progression of the music and the scene itself. Since moving to L.A. in 2004, Karen O has gotten the much needed "rest, relaxation, and space" she spoke of in a recent interview with Spin. This "space" allowed the band to stay together and what came out of the relocation of one of the band mates across the country was Show Your Bones, a more mellow collection of songs from the no-less energetic trio, released in March 2006. After an EP of songs the YYY's played live, but as yet remained unreleased in Is Is came out in the summer of 2007, what did the band have left to offer? It's Blitz.

"Zero" is the first track off the new album and the first single 'purposely' released for mass consumption. Upon first listen, my heightened anticipation and excitement went from a tense state to total immersion in the sound. It took me exactly four listens on satellite radio over the course of a few days to accept that yes, this was in fact the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and yes, Karen O can still vocalize unabashed sonic sex even if it is primarily over heavy synth and a lack of garage guitars backing her. It's not like we had never heard the YYY's do electronica before [see Is Is]. "Heads Will Roll" takes the electro rock/dance feel even further, but has a darker, new rave appeal to it. Thanks to Kayne West, we were all able to hear this track on the 21st of February before it was meant to be heard, thus forcing the release date of It's Blitz! up by a few weeks to March 31st. As a fan of doing things legally, but appreciating hearing new music whenever I can hear it sooner, I was conflicted over that fact until the digital album became available a couple of weeks ago.

Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Soft Shock" is a nice blend of the new electro rock style and the melancholy nature of songs like "Dudley" and "Turn Into" off Show Your Bones. "Skeletons" sounds like a passion project piece that doesn't quite hit the mark; although, props are in order for incorporating the Zinner's keyboards prominently and in a way that highlights the haunting vocals of Karen O much in the same vein as Zinner's guitar did on "Maps" off Fever to Tell. "Dull Life" is the perfect number five track for this album of 10 if only that it almost separates It's Blitz! into a synth heavy, bouncy first half from a subdued, introspective second half. "Dull Life" does a good job of bridging the two sounds the Yeah Yeah Yeahs now have established: garage, art punk and electro rock dance - the old and the new.

Soft Shock - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Dull Life - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Shame and Fortune" is a Zinner guitar influenced, electronic chill groove while "Runaway" is more genteel in nature and features the narrative of a relationship stylings of Karen O, at which she has proven to be so good at. We also get to hear Brian Chase's pacing on drums for one of the first times on the album in this tune. The groovy disco punk jam, "Dragon Queen", comes bopping on by next and makes you wanna clap along to the funkiness.

Dragon Queen - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Hysteric" has become a favorite of mine if only because it reminds me of how many times I've listened to Show Your Bones and songs like "Cheated Hearts" and "Way Out". Karen chimes in with another quotable lyric here: "Flow sweetly/Hang heavy/You suddenly complete me". The song makes you take notice once and for all that this band has versatility and cannot be pinned down by a single change in key, or keyboard in this case. Rounding out the album is "Little Shadow". Featuring an acoustic guitar in the lead-in, this track shines as an outro song should: melancholy, reflective, epic, and calming.

Hysteric - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It's Blitz! does not simply continue the trend of indie rockers turning in their cords for keys. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have come to a place where they want to share the experience of their new found direction with the fans who love all of the previous music released. The best thing about It's Blitz! is that it allows fans of the band to continue hearing the band. If you have seen them live, as I have been privileged to do, you know the tracks on It's Blitz! will satisfy greatly the bouncy, lyric-yelling, Karen O-gawking attendee in you. Listen with prejudice and alleviate that bias with the bliss of It's Blitz! when it is released in physical form on March 31st.

Place Indieface Artist - March 20th: Brooklyn Band Makes Heavenly Noise

Asobi Seksu (Japanese slang for "playful sex") released a new album last month (February 17th), but I missed out on reviewing it then. The shoegaze, dream pop labeled, NY based band has been around since 2004, having released their self-titled debut album via Friendly Fire Recordings in May of that year. Citrus came out in May 2006. Both collections demonstrate the multi-layered approach to indie music a band has the capability of turning out if they put in the effort. High-strung playing and pedal slamming on their guitar work and opaque, elaborate musicality for their more mellow jams make Asobi Seksu a place indieface artist.

Their first release off new label Polyvinyl Records, Hush, definitely contains more of a celestial feel to it. The ambient nature of the music and the ethereal sound of vocalist Yuki Chikudate truly place this musically educated group to the forefront of your attention. "Glacially" is a bouncy little diddy that captures the harmonizing nature of Asobi Seksu. "Me & Mary" follows in the tradition of the New York sound, with drum beats in a garage rock-like nature produced in unison with the post-punk swagger known to captivate many a listener. Other standouts are "Gliss" and "Sing Tomorrow's Praise". The whole album is a departure of sorts from previous work, but you can still catch their progression as it has developed naturally. Pick up Hush today!

The 80's Are Back! At Least In London . . .

More new music worth checking out today comes via London indie rockers, White Lies. To Lose My Life . . . was released in disc form today (tracks were previously available via digital download). These moody, synth rockers from London developed a sound more in sync with Harry McVeigh's purposeful voice after originally banding under a more poppy note as Fear of Flying.

The self-titled track recalls 80's synth pop with a modern indie feel much in the same manner as She Wants Revenge and Interpol. "A Place To Hide" features McVeigh's range more prominently, while "Unfinished Business" includes a church organ to frame the lyrical flow of the song. All the tracks on To Lose My Life . . . feel as if British indie rock has rediscovered its new wave/rave roots. "Farewell to the Fairground" combines old and new in the bouncy, yet rockin' sendoff message tune. Remember the dance music you can rock to? You have it here again with White Lies.