There’s a certain timeless quality about the folk pop of Irish brothers-duo Alfie and Harry, known as Hudson Taylor. Their ‘Osea’ EP has been a favorite around B3 headquarters and writer Desiree Autobee recently had the chance to catch up with the band about the release, the group’s musical roots, a forthcoming album, and of course their general busking about. You can have a read at their conversation below as well as a look at their cinematic music video for the new single “Weapons”, out now.
B3SCI: The first song of yours that I heard had me immediately geozone in on Ireland without knowing where you were from; how much of your surroundings growing up influenced your sound and the kind of music that you want to make?
H: Hmm, probably quite a lot I’d say but maybe not in the most obvious ways though – like, there was always music at home – we grew up with that, but I suppose maybe it was more once we started busking because busking actually puts you out there, in the middle of Dublin, and you’ve got to work hard to capture people when they’re walking by – so you also meet some real characters, and you need to have a good mix of songs, crowd pleasers / traditional Irish songs – to mix in with your own stuff. Plus when we were doing it, it was like a little community as well, all these different musicians playing within a really small area, you’re surrounded by it, it leaves a mark on you.
A: Yeah, I mean we’ve met some of our best friends for life through busking and that’s probably led to us being exposed to range of genres from Trad to Jazz and Barbershop even. It’s playing in pubs too I think, like you’d have all these old lads and they’d want you to play stuff they knew like the Dubliners or whatever so we’d be 15/16 and playing ‘Take her up to Monto’ or Chuck Berry – ‘Johnny Be Good’, it was great craic, and it definitely had an influence over us.
B3SCI: It seems like you’ve been globetrotters in regards to recording material, were you ever able to stay in any places long enough to get a sense of local music communities? If so, how did they differ from each other? And did they ever influence your recordings?
A: Well I suppose that is beginning to happen more and more, but it’s also hard as well when you’re on the road and travelling – you don’t get as much time to get out and get the feel for a place. We were in Nashville last year though and that was incredible – we were working with these two real Southern guys, bluegrass players, and that was awesome – there’s a real similarity with some Irish trad there so we felt at home with that.
B3SCI: Is there any place in particular where you’ve found inspiration that you’d like to spend more time in?
A: Well Osea Island for sure – we even named our EP after it because it’s somewhere which really…we really fell in love with, from the first time we ever went there. It’s really isolated, there’s nothing to interrupt or distract you which makes it somewhere we really get a chance to focus on the songs. But also I think it happens any time we go home, to Ireland, it’s just there’s inspiration everywhere I suppose, because it’s our home, because of how things have changed since we’ve been away, I dunno probably even because some of the best stories I’ve ever heard have come from Dublin taxi drivers or people I’ve met in pubs and it just stays with you everywhere you go.
H: Also we were in Dingle earlier in the year – that’s become a seriously special place to me now, even after only being there once, I want to buy a house there one day! It’s just got this vibe, and a really established musical tradition – every pub you walk into, there’s music everywhere.
B3SCI: You’ve done some great collaborations through your friendship with Gabrielle Aplin over the past few years; how did you come to know each other and is that something you would like to explore more in the future – if not bringing in Gabrielle, bringing in a female dynamic?
A: Well, we met first met Gabrielle when she came to Dublin to play the Ruby Sessions. She had started out, like us, by putting up YouTube videos and at that time we had been doing quite a few collaborations with other YouTube artists and so we all just ended up going busking together in Temple Bar on the day of her gig – it all started there really I suppose.
H: Yeah and then we all ended up living together when we first moved to London, that was the first time living away from home really for all of us so it was…eh, different, probably for her more, moving in with two lads like! But it was lovely though…That was when we did our first proper collaboration actually, in our old flat in Arnos Grove, I remember it took us ages because we were laughing about something, I can’t even remember what it was now but we had to keep reshooting the same bit over and over, it took about 2 hours.
A: Haha – we’ve gotten better at that since, I think! Less takes required now anyway! But yeah, we’ve always had a really strong appreciation for harmonising between ourselves and then I think adding that extra layer of vocal can result in a lot more depth or entirely change the feeling of a song even which is really interesting when it does happen. Hopefully we’ll get to do more collaborating with Gabrielle in the future and we’d never rule out shaking up the dynamic a bit either – our baby sister Holly is coming up the ranks too, an incredible singer and guitar player, she’s has a Joni Mitchell / Carole King kind of thing going on which is just out of this world – especially since she’s only 16. We’d love to put out something with her maybe, you never know.
H: Yeah, lets turn this into a proper Irish family business one day – brilliant!
B3SCI: In terms of exposure to potential audiences, do you think that the success of your videos is the driving force of your swelling fan base, or do you think it’s through touring that you turn listeners into fans and create buzz via word of mouth?
H: Yeah its an interesting time for the music industry and I suppose for us we grew up in a ‘digital age’ so a lot of that is second nature to us. When we started out it was very DIY, making videos at home with minimal equipment, but because of YouTube we were able to gain a following over time and some of those people are even still with us so that’s amazing for us. Having a platform like that does really help because people share your stuff with their friends and it can grow really quickly too – in that sense I think it’s important for us to keep doing the videos even if we move in a different direction like with the video for ‘Weapons’ which we’re not even in – we still need to stay true to where we started as well.
A: It’s a bit of both though really isn’t it? Like touring and playing festivals, it gets you out there too and like busking in a way, it brings a whole new set of people in contact with us.
B3SCI: The sound on the ‘Osea’ EP was subtly different from your previous EPs, having a nice bit of a 50’s tinge in my opinion. It was especially present in “Care” and “Second Best”, whereas your new single gravitates toward cinematic; is “Weapons” a reflection of your new exploration of sounds?
H: That’s because it was round about the time Alfie starting dressing like Dick Van Dyke and that had made a major impression on our music – haha no, I’m only messing, that didn’t happen – well he does actually dress like that though doesn’t he?
A: Cheers Harry! Yeah thanks for that! You wont be asking to borrow any of my clothes again then eh? No, in all seriousness I’d hope that people think that the album will show that we can be pretty diverse in our writing – like we have probably settled on a sound that we would say suits us and our voices but we’d never want to be tied down either.
B3SCI: Do you hope to achieve something in particular on your full length that you don’t think you’ve been able to do on the Eps?
A: I think we’ve hit a point, working on the album where we’re really comfortable with our sound and the direction we’ve taken. But obviously the biggest challenge is capturing the energy that happens when we play live and getting that to translate into to the recordings – we’re getting more aware of how to do that with the album I think.
H: Yeah that’s true and I hope also that the album showcases some of what we’ve been through over the last few years, maturing in a way, we’ve more to talk about now, like experiences and life lessons to draw on when writing songs.
B3SCI: If you could put together an album of other bands or musicians (alive or dead) covering your music, who would you pick?
A: Covering our music? Oh god that’s really weird to think about, I dunno actually! I honestly still feel like I should be answering this in terms of bands I’d kill to be on a cover album for – not the other way round – not yet anyway!
H: I think…eh, we already do get people putting up covers on YouTube and stuff and that’s really..really, amazing I guess because that’s exactly how we started and in a way that means it’s come full circle, which is really lovely. Like when someone’s gone to the trouble to cover one of your own songs, its the same feeling, I can’t explain it properly, but its the same as when you’re on stage and there’s all these people singing your words back at you – it’s just, magical really.
For years, the UK has had smaller versions of Austin’s SXSW. Several continue to thrive, and none more so than The Great Escape. It takes place in Brighton every May. 300 bands play in this charming party town, which is located on the English Channel. The event is more of a regional European festival with attendees and bands arriving from far and wide: Australians came to play even US bands like The Orwells, Phosphorescent and Parquet Courts, not only showed up, but blew people away in the process. A few established Brits such as Billy Bragg and Everything Everything played for those willing to shell out extra pounds to see them. For me, it was all about the up and coming peeps… just as it is at SXSW.
I saw about two dozen bands over the course of three days. If I were to give you one group that hit the biggest home run for me, it was The Strypes. These Irish mid-teens hammer out an intense R&B/garage blend of early Stones and Yardbirds. If you like this kind of music as much as I do, their live show is a “10” and it will be impossible not to have a smile on your face. They have amazing poise for their age, on and offstage. I interviewed them during the weekend, and that chat will soon be posted on B3SCI – stay tuned. Strypes hope to hit America next March for SXSW 2014. Another band that I interviewed was Tribes, who are also great live. Look for that post in the near future. This London band borrows more from the 70’s glam period and just released a new album in the UK. It follows up their top ten debut. They had the misfortune of following The 1975, who flashing-back had dazzled us at the B3SCI SXSW party in March. With two serious UK hits now under their belts, The 1975 drew such a huge throng that many Tribes fans gave up waiting in line. Temples matched the keen expectations I had for them, of which were mostly based on their first single “Shelter Song”. Their set contained several more songs with hit potential, and Temples absolutely deliver live. All four guys in the band ooze stardom, and front man James Bagshaw sports a perfect Tommy Bolan hairdo (bonus points). Temples played two unannounced shows, one being a few hours in advance of the also secret 2am set from Palma Violets. I didn’t see PV that night, but I recall they killed at SXSW.
Some other highlights among a slew of strong artists: Catfish and the Bottlemen came highly recommended to me by BBC honchos, and I loved their melodic, guitar-driven energy. Echotape are up and comers with huge potential that remind me a bit of The Horrors and even Temples. The Family Rain are three brothers, including two twins, who play like Wolfmother’s second album should have sounded. Owen McGarry is a promising Irish singer-songwriter with a crystal clear voice and lots of potential. Merchandise hail from Tampa and have become NME darlings with their dark and dirty post-punk power. An added bonus for me was at one point winding up in a private courtyard where Little Green Cars were taping a beautiful cover of Neil Young’s “Philadelphia” for VEVO. A major buzz artist was London Grammar. Her sweet voice attracted a huge outside line. I got in and can see why people are excited, even if her softer, slower style isn’t quite my glass of white wine.
While TGE is smaller than SXSW, it’s still impossible to cover everything due to schedule conflicts. One US band I hated to miss was electropop band Feathers from Austin. They definitely cut through the clutter and were on lots of lips. For SXSW, 6th Street in Austin has become such a shitshow that attendees avoid the street at all costs at night. Not the case in Brighton. Sidewalks, bars, and cafes were filled with college types and other mellow locals who seemed unfazed by the festival, so walking between venues was a real pleasure. We really lucked out with the weather. Brighton had endured ten consecutive stormy days, but not a drop of rain fell during the festival. One downside shared by both TGE and SXSW: As both events grow, there are more and more lines that make it impossible to gain admittance to certain showcases. Both festivals now have the task of trying to grow without being too big for their own good. I hope TGE can retain the casual intimacy that it still has at this point. I highly recommend it to anyone who can attend, but I’d do it within the next couple of years.
We divided and we conquered. Team B3SCI took to the streets of Austin, TX this past March for the annual SXSW Music Conference. Among the seemingly infinite amount of shows we caught by bands from all over the planet, B3 was there with non-stop coverage including exclusive interviews, take-away performance sessions, and even our B3SCI Presents first ever SX-party! So check out from SXSW 2013 some of what you missed, you remember, and what you straight up forgot about with this firsthand look back:
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Sunday, March 10th
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Seryn @ Holy Mountain
I must confess that I had never heard of Seryn before SXSW. On Sunday night, after a long day of trekking about, I ended up walking into Holy Mountain. As I walked in, and took a gander at the surroundings, the bar was about half full and easily navigable. As I made my way in, the band began to play; I could feel the pulse of the kick drum as the sound waves of the low end penetrated the walls, the layered vocals came through with a bright passion, the accordion mixed with the guitar and bass and complemented the percussion, creating a powerful sound that instantly grabbed me. The growing attentive audience seemed to be in on something that I’ve been missing out on. Seryn has an appreciation for skilled musicianship, that can not be replaced by a programmed loop, and their thoughtfully crafted songs are more orchestral than folk-like. It’s not hard to become a fan of Seryn. By Desiree Autobee
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Monday, March 11th
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Poolside @ Mohawk
I’d say the best time to go to SXSW, and not feel pressure, is the day before the music portion is officially set to start. The place to be that Monday evening was Mohawk – it was a breeze to get in and it was slated with a really great lineup. The perfect band to compliment the calm before the SXSW storm was Poolside. With chill beats and solid bass lines, their songs are ripe for a groove or two. It seemed like the entire crowd sunk their bodies into each song, willingly giving up their control for the opportunity to be transported into the rhythmic world that Poolside has so expertly created. By Desiree Autobee
Vacationer @ Mohawk
If ever there was a way to escape a bad day or a general need to have a relaxing good time, I’d recommend seeing a Vacationer show. Their midnight slot at Mohawk on Monday night was packed and it set a great tone for the remainder of SXSW. Vacationer sounded just as good live as they do on the album. Kenny Vasoli does a great job as a frontman, translating Vacationer’s subtly subdued electro-pop sound into a performance that is every bit as energetic as the music is laid-back. Vasoli was genuinely appreciative of the crowd that night, mentioning the band had played SXSW the year before without much notoriety; extensive touring since then with bands along the likes of Tennis, Body Language, and Niki & The Dove, as well as music placements and coverage by the music community has catapulted Vacationer’s fan base – deservedly so. By Desiree Autobee
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Tuesday, March 12th
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Dan Croll @ Cheer Up Chalie’s
Dan Croll hit it out of the park Tuesday afternoon at Cheer Up Charlie’s. His electronic-fused singer/songwriter pop was truly infectious and took hold of the audience. He and his band played tight, sounding great in addition to being charming with banter in between songs. Croll has become a true professional in the short time that he’s made an impact on the music scene. By Desiree Autobee
Zak Waters @ Cheer Up Charlie’s
Zak Waters is a force to be reckoned with. From the moment go, he and his band made you almost forget it was the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday. Waters’ high energy matched the high danceability to his soulful music and the crowd couldn’t move from stage-one (previous performance) to stage-two (where he was) fast enough; Cheer Up Charlie’s turned into a midday dance party. I saw many bands play at SXSW, Zak Waters was a standout. By Desiree Autobee
Guards @ Empire Control Room
New York’s Guards have been creating a stir. They delivered a stellar set at the Empire Control Room on Tuesday despite crappy sound in a room that seems mostly perfect for hardcore punk or metal bands. In a live setting Guards have a straight forward, energetic, hard pop approach that supports consistently good songs. Their debut album is yet to drop, but last song of their set, “Ready to Go” is a single that is putting people on notice that this is a band to watch. By Bruce Rave
Young Girls @ BD Riley’s
Roaming about on 6th St., I followed my ears into BD Riley’s Irish Pub. The scene was a bit strange at first, as I walked in and felt as though I had interrupted a PTA dinner convention, but the music was in wonderful stark contrast to the visual before me, and sounded like it should have been coming from a sun-kissed Levi’s commercial (or similar,etc). It became easy to forget about the people around me and the chaos outside, and to focus on the warm, retro-garage pop being played. Young Girls aren’t young girls, rather they are a quartet of young men, and their music makes you want to take a sick day and head out to the beach. Song after song, they played their hearts out and created a hazy west-coast vibe in the middle of SXSW. This Texas band is one to watch. By Desiree Autobee
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Wednesday, March 13th
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Blondfire @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MAGGIE MAE’S
Amidst non-stop touring in support of their numerous successful and recent releases, around noon, Blondfire kicked off the B3SCI Presents dayparty at Maggie Mae’s with a line out the door. Erica Driscoll took charge of her four-piece band, initiating the first daytime of SXSW music with a high energy output of hits and fan favorites like “Where The Kids Are,” “Waves” and “Trojans.”
NO CEREMONY /// NOC @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MAGGIE MAE’S
For their first ever show in the United States NO CEREMONY /// delivered a stirring representation of ambient pop music without hesitation. The Manchester collective performed as a trio, and their electronic set up was accompanied with live vocals, guitars, bass and a variety of percussion. Stunning graphics displayed via mounted projector on stage with the band, accenting yet another layer of depth behind the elusive band. I went on to see /// NOC three more times during SXSW and thus are one of our favorite take-aways from the festival.
Ghost Beach @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MAGGIE MAE’S
Having seen Ghost Beach perform before, I knew to expect a high energy, electro-pop blow out from the band at Maggie Mae’s for B3SCI’s showcase. The New York duo absolutely rocked the house and have since become a favorite of mine. Playing different songs from their self-titled EP and 2012 release Modern Tongues, Ghost Beach proved to be on the lips of a lot of people at SXSW. It also helps that they would go on to play 8 showcases during the conference. Worth noting, the band had recently taken an ad space in Times Square promoting a social experiment of theirs that asks artists if they are for or against piracy. It’s pretty cool, check it out here. By Brian Litwin
Phil Beaudreau took to the rooftop at Maggie Mae’s with Grammy Award winning producer Dawaun Parker for a first time ever live performance on Wednesday at SXSW. You wouldn’t have known it though. The LA based duo root back to Berklee U in Boston and they had a certain chemistry on stage. Performing early tracks surfaced from Beaudreau’s anticipated debut, Ether, like “This Is Why,” “Anyway,” and “Take It High,” in addition to unreleased material, the two worked the stage. The group’s collaboration of progressive urban beats and new school soul is a winning sound for pop in our books. You can check some footage of their performance here.
Gold Fields @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MGGIE MAE’S
Gold Fields didn’t merely play the B3SCI Presents SXSW party, they stormed it. The energy of their live show surprises those who only know their Black Sunday album, which the band toned down to display their electronic nuances. Their set-closer “Moves” was the most dynamic single song I heard played all week in Austin, and many people were talking about this band’s live shows. By Bruce Rave
SKATERS @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MAGGIE MAE’S
SKATERS seemed to have a lot to say in Austin this year. The band is hot off the heels of their “I Wanna Dance” single with some major press surrounding it. Live, the band is loud, tight and singer Michael Ian Cummings was as charismatic as dare we say.. Julian Casablancas. But more than anything, the self described plasma-punks delivered the goods. Not like your too-frequent NYC guitar band, SKATERS have a direct quality. A sound that’s to the point, one that will last well beyond most basements in Williamsburg. A recently announced national tour with Portugal. The Man might serve as some indication of this bands potential and future trajectory.
The 1975 @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MAGGIE MAE’S
One of the most exciting acts of SXSW 2013 was Manchester’s The 1975. Being big fans of this band from their early days, it was surreal to see them headline the first ever B3SCI Presents SX-event. It became clear that The 1975 raise the bar when it comes to performing. With live shows a big part of their message, the band spared no expense showcasing their major festival ready material, intricate arrangements, explosive performance and impressive musicianship. Besides the musical inclination, there is a timelessly dramatic quality to their sound, offering elements that a diverse climate of fans can relate to. With their pleathera of jukebox ready tunes, and a capitivating live performance to boot, The 1975 were a standout of SXSW for many that we talked to. Keep an eye out for a debut album from the lads dropping later this 2013.
Trails & Ways @ B3SCI PRESENTS @ MAGGIE MAE’S
Passion & belief, the two things that, for us, define a lot of Trails & Ways live show… and really much anything about the Bay Area band’s trajectory up to now. The band’s connection to their (excellent) material and to their performance is really remarkable. A singular and unique mix of indie pop, Brazilian music and R&B; songs like single “Nunca” and the sunny yet literate “Border Crosser” come off in comparable quality to the records, but with that added art-as-experience (and aforementioned) belief and passion. Trails & Ways are a band that has to make (this) music and has to make records like this. To experience it is really very powerful.
Flume @ Red 7
21 year old producer Harley Streten, has garnished a lot of attention in recent months. From releasing tracks that have exploded all over the internet and in turn making his self titled album Flume a platinum record in his home country of Australia, the hype behind him has been large. The line to see Flume at Red 7 was huge, and a lot fans waiting knew they weren’t going to get into one of the evening’s hotter showcases at the venue as well (CHVRCHES was playing just 30 minutes after in the larger patio area). Harley came out a bit slow, but things picked up quickly. He dropped familiar tracks to those who follow him like “Insane,” “On Top,” “Left Alone” and a crowd favorite “Holdin’ On”. By Brian Litwin
Autre Ne Veut @ Empire Auto Club
Arthur Ashin aka Autre Ne Veut has made waves with his new release Anxiety on Software Records. With a lot of hype comes a lot of expectations and at the Empire Auto Club Autre Ne Veut met all of them. Ripping through the album’s two singles “Counting” and “Play By Play,” he had the entire audience in awe. Though the experimental pop singer’s music is not very intense, the live performance is. Autre Ne Veut was all over the stage literally throwing himself into falsettos and dropping down to the ground with the heaviness of the lyrics. I can easily say that this was the best performance I saw at SXSW. By Brian Litwin
CHVRCHES @ Red 7
Of the last to be announced by SXSW, CHVRCHES (pronounced churches) might have won ‘the most buzz’ award at this years SXSW. The Glasgow three piece is an electropop group, consisting of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty. The trio fulfilled much of the hype surrounding them at Red 7 that Thursday night. Having gained numerous fans online and the attention of indie all-stars Glassnote Records, CHRVCHES came out calm and collected. Bouncing between the select amount of songs they have, they had the Red 7 crowd grooving, playing hits like “Recover” and “The Mother We Share.” By Brian Litwin
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Thursday, March 14th
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SIR SLY @ HYPE HOTEL
Given the explosive success for bands like Foster the People following SXSW 2011, Sir Sly were high on my list of bands to see in Austin this year. Like the aforementioned, the trio are from Los Angeles and only had 3 songs out before the conference. The differences are though plenty still, and definitely in tone and image. Sir Sly have a darker sensibility to their pop music. Near equally as melodic, their live show is also more refined. Sir Sly delivered a solid set of new material proving that they too are ones to be watched out for in 2013.
HAERTS @ RED EYED FLY
There was little known about Haerts leading into SXSW 2013. With no pictures of the band available on line, and only one song, “Wings” (of which is great) available, the packed back patio at the Red Eyed Fly anxiously awaited the band’s set. And the multi-cultural collective based out of NYC Hearts delivered on expectations, doing so with a dynamic performance of new material. With enough contemporary elements to maintain a progressive sound in today’s musical ecosphere, my favorite elements of the band harkened at their classic rock roots, summoning CSNY, Fleetwood Mac, and Neil Yong to name a few.
MØ @ RED EYED FLY
MØ (pronounced meh I’m pretty sure…) was a favorite surprise of the week. Also, with only a few tracks released to her name, the Danish female indie popstar in the making took to stage with an attitude that beemed nothing short of confidence. Her music is almost as unique as her name and presence: high energy, tons of odd contortions, and really really good. Excited to see what the future holds for this young artist that definitely knows how to operate outside of the box.
Phosphorescent @ Willie Nelson’s Ranch
I had the incredible opportunity to get away from the chaos of SXSW and join some of the locals at Willie Nelson’s Luck, Texas ranch for the Heartbreaker Banquet showcase. Topping the bill for this small capacity outdoor venue were Jim James and Michael Kiwanuka. Though buzzing artist Phosphorescent is who caught my eye. The booze was free that day, the weather was incredible and the fans came by the mini-van full, making a perfect setting for the Matthew Houck lead group. It was more than appropriate for Phosphorescent to play at Willie Nelson’s Ranch considering his 2009 release was titled To Willie, and his most recent album Muchacho, is getting rave reviews. The single off Muchacho, “Song For Zula,” might just be one to see some radio play in 2013. By Brian Litwin
Toy @ Cedar Street Courtyard
This was the first-ever US gig for this Brit band. They had just arrived in Austin the late night before. Their single is “Motoring” and that is a perfect description of Toy’s live show, which literally motors along. They play tight and are capable of longer jams, for example their performance of tracks like “Kopter”. Toy anticipate an extensive US tour upon approval of longer-term visas. By Bruce Rave
The Neighbourhood @ ASOS Lounge
Having exploded as one of the most talked about bands of the past year The Neighbourhood came well equipped to their first ever SXSW. Cohesive is actually a good way of putting it. The Neighbourhood is a band without identity crisis. Their look is as dapper punk as their music is similarly pop. Indie rock with the lush overtones of the pacific coast crashed through The Neighbourhood’s set of most spectacular, alternative radio friendly songs. Much more to come from The Neighbourhood.
Peace @ The Mohawk
The Birmingham, UK band Peace are still very new to the rock and roll limelight. They have a compelling, slightly dark, slightly off kilter style and look that totally works. Peace had some tight songs such as “Wraith” and “Bloodshake,” but also stretched out on a dark jam every now and then. Peace are psychedlic Brit rockers for the radar. By Bruce Rave
Palma Violets @ The Mohawk
These UK newbies showed that their pre-album NME hype was well deserved. Palma Violets had NME’s #1 track of 2012 with “Best Of Friends”. This band has an onstage confidence that would lead us to believe they’d been topping the charts for 5 years. They completely nailed “Best Of Friends” live, while the entire set hammered us with consistency, power, and intensity. By Bruce Rave
Disclosure @ 1100 Warehouse
The Disclosure duo, consisting of brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, was a must see at this year’s SXSW. Everyone was at this show, industry players, fans, bloggers and even fellow DJ duo Bondax. The set was pure fire, blasting their singles “Latch” and “White Noise” and at the same time infusing live elements like drums, vocals and bass. People didn’t care that it was well past midnight for the beginning of their set, and that the venue was far removed from the more congested 6th street. They all came to see one the top draws of the whole festival, and Disclosure didn’t disappoint. By Brian Litwin
JAKE BUGG @ HYPE HOTEL
Jake Bugg took to arms with just his acoustic guitar at the Hype Hotel for a brief set late Thursday night. Possibly because things were delayed, and it was something like 2am, but the young lad from Knottingham brought his mod folk song sensibility to the eager crowd. The writing wisdom of the 18 years old Bugg is pretty incredible, combining influences from Dylan to Ashcroft. Only a microphone and a guitar is all Jake Bugg will ever need.
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Friday, March 15th
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Alpine @ Red 7
The debut LP from Alpine was released in their native Australia last year. It’s not often that a band can make a quality album from beginning to finish, but Alpine has done just that. The band apply that same level of craftsmanship to their live performance as well. During one of their SXSW shows at Red 7 on Friday, I noticed a few fans up front (myself included), the band played to a mostly fresh crowd, as the troves poured in during their set. Each song Alpine played built upon the previous, gaining momentum and energy as the set went on, turning a room full of unsuspecting ears into a room full of grooving SX-goers. Alpine have a unique formula for blending rock, pop, vocal and synth elements, seemingly creating new song forms altogether. Frontwomen Phoebe Baker and Lou James artfully combined demureness with high energy, for a dynamic performance that the band and the audience came alive from. By Desiree Autobee
Merchandise @ Red 7
Punks turned Artful Punks, Merchandise most definitely brought the Punk to SXSW. They rather fortuitously (or not, depending on your perspective) also brought pieces and parts of the more updated elements of their sound to their brief late afternoon set at Red 7. Aside from the weirdness (read hilariousness) of the band members accents sounding EXACTLY like some of my family from Tampa, FL., Merchandise’s performance was loud, noisy, fast and really really good.
Different Sleep @ Hudon’s on Fifth
If you read B3SCI, then you know that Different Sleep’s name pops up on the frequent. There is good reason for that. For being a sophomore in college, Rafa Alvarez amazes us constantly with his downtempo, chillers. I got a chance to chat with him and catch his set at Hudson’s on 5th. His set was dope and expect to hear my exclusive interview with him on the streets of Austin via B3SCI sometime soon. By Brian Litwin
San Cisco @ Maggie Mae’s
Keeping it in the British Commonwealth, Australia’s San Cisco has improved exponentially every time I’ve seen them perform. This very young band scoarched an onlooking crowd with tightness and energy at Maggie Mae’s on Friday. Highlights included “Awkward” and “Rocket Ships” from their Awkward EP. With talented 19 year old singer Jordi Davieson at the helm, San Cisco are proving themselves highly popular with the young girls, and they also did very well playing just before The Vaccines at a show that I had caught in LA not too long ago. By Bruce Rave
Beware of Darkness @ Blackheart
Beware of Darkness is a young LA trio that rocks hard. For a power trio this band is inventive. Think Zeppelin meets early Bowie. Like many of these more promising bands, they have yet to release an album, but their song “Howl” is a winning single. Frontman Kyle Nicolaides shows major star potential. By Bruce Rave
BONDAX @ LA ZONA ROSA
Things got down really quick at La Zona Rosa when UK DJ duo Bondax, George Townsend and Adam Kaye, took over the decks. At this venue near the river, fans got to experience what the UK has been digging for quite some time. Switching between who was at the helm, George opened the set with Moon Boots’ remix of “Gold,” which set the party off right. Throwing in some deep house and smooth samples and closing the set with the original version of “Gold,” Bondax really put their foot down on Austin. Review By Brian Litwin
Savages @ 1100 Warehouse
We’ve heard “Husbands” a lot. It’s one of those “buzz singles” that’s not easy to miss. “Husbands, husbands, husbands”, it’s all right and ok; the single plays fine enough. The walloping we got with the London band’s 1100 Warehouse set, though, was a complete surprise, and most definitely one of the strongest sets we experienced during the whole of SXSW. Heavy, and in the best sort of highly focused, highly compressed, highly syncopated kind of way; Savages live set deviates tremendously from their records. And most notably, the instinctiveness of crop-cut singer Jehnny Beth, and the quietness, rage and laser intensity through which her performance and vocal is really special, and easily one of Savages’ best assets.
FIDLAR @ FILTER CLIVE BAR
I can’t think of a better place for FIDLAR to have played late Friday night than FIlter’s Clive Bar on Rainy Street. The house party vibe is all set. It’s a house, the band is in the back yard, the beer was flowing everywhere, you could barely move an inch in any direction and the band tore the roof off (if there was one). A rock and roll band for another generation of musical youths, FIDLAR bring the party wherever they go. See this band live.
Charlotte Church @ VEVO Control Room
Yes, that Charlotte Church. The PBS “Girl With The Golden Voice of an Angel” turned trashbag pop star/tabloid pariah’s return to music ran through SXSW and a performance at the oddly named VEVO Control Room. Well… the set, the material, the performance were all phenomenal (really phenomenal). The notion that Ms. Church can sing has never really been questioned and the vocal she gave during this show was truly something special. Charlotte’s new Bjork meets Earth Mother meets Portishead meets ? sound, and the structure of her songs, really gives her the ability and opportunity to perform and showcase the outstanding quality of her singing. It’s almost as if singing in a pop format is something that she’s only now first realizing.
Ryan Hemsworth @ 512
We made it rain Pokemon cards in the club. Though beat dropper/rainman Ryan Hemsworth didn’t repeat that deluging down of Charizards & Bulbasaurs for the crowded 512 Rooftop, the Halifax native did well to translate to a live setting his realer than Real Deal Holyfield mix of electro booty rap mixes and Legend of Zelda-referencing space bass jams.
Rudimental @ Hype Hotel
You could spot all the real Britons assembled at Hype Hotel for electronic/R&B crossover act Rudimental’s late night set by who knew how to dance to drum & bass and who didn’t. Moving in time with a drum & bass rhythm is something that has alluded us Americans for what seems like millennia. Rudimental, who went 9-deep on stage, did well enough to keep all the Solange (next act on stage) kids checked into the Hype Hotel engaged and interested in material they were likely hearing for the first time. The energetic 30-40 minute set was definitely highlighted by the big energy (these Brits work on stage) performance of new single “Waiting All Night” and the impressive vocal of singer Ella Eyre.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH
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Blue Hawaii @ HYPE HOTEL
Riding a wave of chill infused daytime disco, Blue Hawaii are at the front of a movement that is only becoming more popular. The male/female duo did an exempilary job of delivering their material in a live setting. Their combination of live sampling manipulation and vocal performance was both exciting and intriguing in a live setting.
Shlohmo, Mount Kimbie, Baauer @ 1100 Warehouse
Things got down right dirty at the 1100 Warehouse for the Ray Ban – Boiler Room sponsored party on the last night of SXSW. With a lineup such as the one that the Boiler Room had curated, things were bound to get weird and possibly blow up in everyone’s faces. Chief Keef was supposed to be a main draw for the show, but knowing his history and legal issues, he did not show up. The reason is still up in the air, but really, who cares. Before things even got started, you could tell the production team and people from the Boiler Room looked worried at potential technical difficulties bound to happen. Unfortunately, this was the overall theme.
Hitting the stage first was the young LA based, oddball producer Shlohmo. With all that was going on at the venue and with visuals all over the walls, Shlohmo’s beats were a perfect soundtrack to the night. Flipping through different mixes, the crowd already excited just by being in the Warehouse started really feeling it. Joining Shlohmo on stage for a track were The Underachievers, sharing only one mic.
Lunice then hit the decks, throwing together a monster set, making way for Mount Kimbie. The London duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos had been ‘the’ electronic act in 2010. On this night, with again all the technical issues, they played some old tunes and some new tunes. The Austin audience started to feel their unique and “post-dubstep” sounds. For their only performance at SXSW this year, they definitely made it worth it.
The smoothest set out of all of them was Baauer’s and RL Grime’s back to back. The bass was extra heavy and as the decks switched back and forth, the crowd got rowdier and rowdier. Harry Rodrigues, Baauer, and Henry Steinway, RL Grime, are both young, talented bass engineers who have incredible futures in front of them. Of course, Baauer has seen more fame with the viral craze of his hit “Harlem Shake,” while RL Grime has made a nice name for himself in the music community as well.
This party, on paper, was one for the ages, and it was, but all the issues it had hampered the overall success of it a bit. Skream closed out the show with a set, and this video [above] kind of says it all… Review By Brian Litwin
HAIM @ STUBBS
One of the most exciting acts that I’d seen come out of SXSW 2012 was Haim. Low and behold, a year later, and the sisters lead group were packing the house at one of SXSW’s largest capacity venues. Haim have done justice to their hype. There songs are anthemic and have the perfect new wave of pop, indie production and classic rock sensibility. Speaking of classic rock – ehemmm, Fleetwood Mac, the collective even shamelessly, and appropriately, covered them during their set. Haim delivered the perfect cap to a SXSW festival that had been most insightful and musically rewarding.
*See below for more pictures and a mix of tunes from our favorite artists at SXSW this year!
Kids These Days @ Hype Hotel
MS MR @ Hype Hotel
TOY @ Latitude 30
Citizens! @ Tap Room
NO CEREMONY /// @ B3SCI Presents. Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room
B3SCI fam Erin Feathers recently caught up with hotly-tipped British singer-songwriter Misty Miller. Having just released her Girlfriend EP last week, Miller has made her track “Little Drummer” available as a free download (grab it below) ahead of UK tour dates this March supporting both Jake Bugg and Tom Odell (on different stints). Check out what Misty Miller had to say about musical influences both past and present, her various side projects, and a blossoming career…
B3SCI: You list your key musical influences as Patti Smith, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Irma Thomas, The Sonics, and The Gories. Surprise us with a couple random artists who color your musical outlook in a significant way… Misty: Depends what you mean by surprise. A band called The Fat Whites who my drummer plays in. Blondie, maybe thats a surprise? Listen to “One Way Or Another” .. or “Dreaming”. She was so cool.
B3SCI: We’ve heard you mention that your musical palette varies from listening to performance. Do you think something like rap music could ever permeate your writing and performance? Misty: Not in a really obvious way. If I saw someone do it and do it really well it would inspire me to perform with the same passion (or whatever it was about their performance that i liked).
B3SCI: Do you have a songwriting process and does your ukelele always play a role? Misty: I havn’t written a song on my ukulele for about 2 years now. When I finished that album I was already starting to write songs on the guitar and have ever since. I don’t have process as such. It depends on the song and time.
B3SCI: Is there an instrument that you hope to learn someday? Misty: I just wanna get better at guitar, really. Maybe play a few solos one day..
B3SCI: What has most influenced your musical evolution an vision as an artist? Misty: The music scene I got involved with. I left college and started playing shows and meeting people around South London. The bands and people that I met influenced me a lot.
B3SCI: Tell us something quirky about Misty Miller… Misty: Quirky eh?! I don’t like having clean hair. Or, I like to book bind.
B3SCI: What is your favorite place to jam and play music, aside from your gigs? Misty: I have started rehearsing with my band at a mate of mine’s studio in peckham. It’s a small room but we work way better in there than in some fancy rehearsal studio. Or i just like play on my own if there is a guitar lying about in someones house or something.
B3SCI: If you could live somewhere other than London where would it be? Misty: I don’t really have an answer to that as of yet. I would love to travel around America soon. Maybe after touring I’ll fall in love with a particular place.
B3SCI: What do fans need to know about Slit Lizard? Misty: It’s a band I started with my friend Olivia. I couldn’t really play the guitar and she couldn’t really play the drums but I hadnt enjoyed playing and writing music so much until Slit Lizard. Heavily inspired by our friends band, The Midnight Barbers. A few of the songs off the EP were origonally Slit Lizard songs. “You Know What I Mean” and “Little Drummer”. My label weren’t too keen on the whole thing but without Slit Lizard (and Olivia) I wouldn’t have gotten away from playing music I wasn’t actually that happy with.
B3SCI: Tell us about the Girlfriend EP and where it leading Misty Miller… Misty: I can’t tell you how good it feels to finally have this music out there and to be playing it in front people that actually want to listen now! It took a while to get my label to ‘get it’ and I’m so glad I didnt give up and decide to do something that I wasn’t really passionate about. Hopefully the next EP will sound as good and lead on to a killer album. I am not a natural in the studio yet but my band help me a lot.
B3SCI: How has your history growing up in an artistic family affected your experience as an artist? Misty: Having music around me from a young age, being in the studio and backstage as a kid. All things those sorts of things. Making music my natural habitat.
B3SCI: It sounds like you dabble a bit with inking your own tattoos. What tattoo is next on your list? Misty: Yeah i have about 6 or so now, all pretty shit, and all hand done. I have no idea what the next one will be.
B3SCI: We’re hooking you up with a ride in the B3SCI time machine. Where are you going? Misty: Stonehenge “where the demons dwell!” But if i can’t come back to now then i aint goin’ anywhere.
To say that Krewella have had a big 2012 is a bit of an understatement. The hotly tipped EDM trio from Chicago have done nothing short of being everywhere that they need to be this year, gigging with the likes of Zedd, Diplo, Pretty Lights, etc. and in addition have just released a new Play Harder EP featuring the blogo-smash “Come & Get It”. Fact – we couldn’t possibly be banging any harder to “Come & Get It” at b.3.h.q. as of late. Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf and Rain Man from the Krewella crew recently caught up with Brian Litwin from team B3SCI for a quick chat. Check out what the band had to say below:
B3SCI: You guys seem particularly selective with the group’s official releases. And with the material that has been released, the online community goes crazy for. What’s creative process behind putting together a true Krewella banger?
KREWELLA: Definitely. The three of us have learned so much from one another over the last few years that we have very similar tastes. It helps a lot when releasing content because we can catch so many things that we think might not sound right, and we can collectively come up with a solution. Also our two managers Jake Udell and Nathan Lim have great ears and give great feedback as well. It’s really a team effort.
B3SCI: Krewella’s rise has seemed explosive since your first releases, from “Strobelights” and “One Minute” to your debut EP, Play Hard showing at #1 on Beatport… what’s been the most surreal part of your journey?
KREWELLA: It’s got to be seeing fans singing our lyrics at shows. To hear a room chanting the lyrics to one of our songs is such a beautiful thing. When we were struggling to get by last winter in Chicago – creating our first EP – it was only a dream that fans would come to a Krewella show and sing along with every word!
B3SCI: We here at B3SCI love the vocal integration in Krewella, do you see adding a live element in the set anytime soon?
KREWELLA: Definitely. We don’t want to spoil any surprises but keep your eyes out!!
B3SCI: Playing as many shows as you three do, it must be hard to just sit down and relax. When you get those times to chill, what do you do?
KREWELLA: Visiting family is huge. We never anticipated being away from our loved ones as much as we have this year, so any time were not playing shows or in the studio we like to go home for a day or two. Also, cats and FIFA on xbox.
B3SCI: We’ve spent some time in Chicago and it’s refreshing to see a local act like Krewella really catch fire, especially in the EDM realm. How do you see the role of Chicago’s EDM scene nowadays?
KREWELLA: Chicago’s scene has definitely molded us into the group we are today. We started off playing grimy raves on the south side followed by even more grimy dubstep/electro partys in the city. Chicago has been having a great year with the dudes Flosstradamus and Lucky Date buzzing so hard and theres quite a few up and coming acts to look out for…
B3SCI: Your recent “Come & Get It” release dishes the Krewella party touch with more of a DnB vibe. With the various dubstep, house and moombahton explorations on your early material, can fans expect to see more DnB and other new ideas on future tracks? Is there a correlation to what you guys are listening to right now?
KREWELLA: We’re totally into DnB and drumstep, and we’re already working on some tunes for the album. We’re really loving Netsky and Pendulum right now!
B3SCI: Having gigged with major acts like Diplo, Benny Benassi, Pretty Lights, DJ Fresh, and having presence at so many major festivals around the world, what’s the next adventure for Krewella?
KREWELLA: The next adventure is to finish up our first full length album. We’ve been working on it as much as possible on the road these last few months and we have a bunch of studio days at the top of 2013 to really start completing it.
B3SCI: You guys seem to gravitate towards Jameson like whoa, what is your love affair with that specific libation and how did it come about?
KREWELLA: It was like love at first drink. We can’t remember the first time we had Jameson or who offered it, but we know it never went away after that.
B3SCI: After watching a look at your behind-the-scenes life in the docufilm, Krewlife. Looking forward, is safe to assume that more genitals will be rubbed on unsuspecting faces?
B3|fam Chris Gedos recently had the chance to interview a NY group who’s been ample in our discussions within this last year. So it’s great to learn a little more about Slothbear – a band with much more to be learnt about.
CG: A little background. How did Slothbear come into existence? How long have you been playing together for? Who mans what instruments and do you trade off depending on the song?
CH: I wrote to Josh on MySpace in 2006 because I liked his and Doug’s high school band, and kids who played music and were into ‘indie rock’ were impossible to come by. Long Island was pretty much dominated by emo at the time, and may still be for all I know. Ian and I played as a two piece at the time, and we all met at the Jericho Diner, which has since been demolished but was immortalized in all its Google Earth grandeur on the credits page of Qids. We became fast friends and would moonlight in each other’s bands, a tactic that proved hugely influential on the indie scene in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
JG: Each of us led our own band. There was the goofy, very sappy power pop band, The Electric Sentiments, which I fronted, Doug played guitar and Craig played bass in. Then there was Nancy Reagan’s Enduring Love, Craig’s sorta bratty noise rock band, wherein I played bass and Doug and Ian traded off playing drums. Doug fronted this pretty serious band called Ether Switch and Ian had his pet project, Sexually Active Girls, neither of which involved Craig or me.
I’d been trying to put Slothbear–a collaborative, egalitarian band for us four friends–together for a while but it didn’t really crystalize until early 2008, at which point we became the quartet we are today. We started out with pretty rigidly defined roles: Craig and I singing and playing guitar, Doug playing bass and Ian playing drums. When we were tracking Qids, an album that consists literally of nothing but sounds made by the human voice, bass, drums and electric guitars, Doug started playing around with harmony vocals. On Canter On we all branched out: Craig and Ian play piano, I play bass and some acoustic guitar and Doug sings lead vocals. Now there’s much more flexibility in our roles in the band.
CG: We didn’t hear about Slothbear until Canter On. Can you tell us a little bit about the recording and release history of Qids?
CH: Before Qids we’d only really released a six song, self-titled EP via a netlabel called Rack&Ruin. It’s our only record that Doug hasn’t produced, so I took it upon myself to record the whole thing on a four-track my grandpa gave me, which by then had a broken input and could only pick up the built in mic. Everything — mistakes and all — would go through that, and then we’d overdub more guitars. To top it off, I for whatever reason took it upon myself to crank the treble as far as it would go. Doug made two pretty legit records in high school, but for the rest of us, Qids was the first proper LP we’d ever worked on, and it took a very long time. Doug’s better equipped to go in depth, but on my end, I spent the better part of a year’s time creating static visuals to represent every song, compiled in an art booklet with the disc inside. Only the first 50 copies featured all the art, and printing it cost us nearly as much money as mastering the record, so we probably won’t get to do it again.
DB: Recording Qids was actually the core of my senior project at NYU. I studied recorded music in a selective and theoretically prestigious program, and in order to graduate, I had to produce the album and draft an in-depth business proposal for its success. In the end, I had to “pitch” the record to a panel of industry big wigs, Powerpoint and all. I think the guy who recorded Sublime told me the vocals were mixed too low.
CG: How did the recording for Qids compare to Canter On?
CH: Most of Canter On was done live since the space allowed for it. “Goodnight, Retrograde” is actually several different live improvisations, expertly spliced by Doug Can-style. To date we still can’t play it live.
JG: The most significant difference between the process of making Qids and Canter On was how we wrote. The way we wrote the songs on Qids was usually just that Craig or I would come in with “a song” and just play it in front of the others. Before even hearing the whole song or knowing its structure, the rest of us would come up with something on the fly and start playing along. We’d play it at most twice and then we’d move on to playing something else. Besides the fact the composition of the songs themselves, like “Galloping” or “Goodnight, Retrograde,” was way more collaborative, we started sharing ideas about where we thought the songs could go and how we could improve them. When we were writing Qids, we would literally get angry at each other for stuff like that.
Canter On was written and arranged over a month’s time, but we did more talking about those five songs in that one month than we did on even the most collaborative Qids tracks, over the course of two or three years.
DB: Recording Canter On was my stab at the Albini method of production—record everything as quick and as live as possible. The experiment yielded mixed results. Most of the recording took place over a couple of days and that was cool, but mixing the EP took months! I probably won’t work that way again until I’m more self-assured about getting the sort of results I’m looking for in a short amount of time. Editing “Goodnight, Retrograde” felt liberating to being given thirty minutes of jamming and then having to construct a song out of it, without these clowns getting their grimy hands all up in the honeypot. It was a new experience, to say the least. Furthermore, I like that the final product sounds a few shades more three-dimensional than the rest of the EP—of all the songs, it does the best job of capturing the sound of Josh’s old living room. Come to think of it, I spent a lot time in that space as a teenager, so it’s actually quite nice to have this sonic photograph to remember it by.
CG: You guys sort of vacillate between straight-forward Rock and something more experimental. Does that happen on a song by song basis, or rather something you try to identify within a particular cut?
CH: Whenever I listen back to Qids I think it’s funny how many unabashedly ‘Rock’ songs there are because when we were writing and rehearsing that record, I was really into Animal Collective, and Josh and Ian listened to lots of hip hop. And now that we’ve come to terms with our love of The Rock, our newest songs are weirder and mellower. Josh and I often play in our own alternate tunings, and have since the beginning of the Slothbear Era. I guess it’s like Thurston Moore said, ‘when you’re always playing in standard, you’re sounding pretty standard.’ (no diss to the Beatles).
DB: Rock, being badass… these things are of a surprising importance to me. Although I’ve aspired to be innovative and “weird” all my life, I’ve found that there’s always someone else standing there to outinnovate and outweird you when it counts. And so I’ve decided it’s best to just to say ‘fuck it’ and join the party that is Straight-forward Rock.
None of this really has to do with my approach or artistic intent in Slothbear, but I do think it bears noting.
CG: We’re in love with the dual lead guitar. What are your ideas and ideals for how a guitar band should sound?
CH: I think it’s cool that anyone considers us a dual lead band, because Josh and I have very different ways of ‘stepping out’ on guitar. Not to burst any bubbles, but the two solos on “White Christmas” are just different Josh takes, and other than the two chords and some feedback, all the six-string insanity on “Djam” is Josh as well, at least until those arpeggios come in. I’ve always identified most with guitarists like Johnny Marr, who does really ornate and dense things but who never gets truly heroic on the axe. I’d call it kind of a ‘lead rhythm’ guitar, because it’s not just some strummy bar chords in the background, but it’s not melting faces, either. The intro for “White Christmas” is kind of my humble, depraved little nod to that school of guitar. We’ve always been very cognizant of our ‘tandem’ dynamic in writing parts, although ironically Doug is far and away the best guitarist in the band. I just take solace in the fact that a blogger recently described my guitar on G’nite Retro as sounding like “crazy ass ray guns.”
Other than obvious teams like Television or Sonic Youth, a personal fave of mine is Women, just the way they played off each other and were so texturally nuanced and subtly complex, I think that’s what I find most engaging. An active band who do it really well are Strange Shapes from Brooklyn.
CG: You use these dynamic background vocals very effectively and non-traditionally, thinking of “Galloping” and “White Christmas” in particular. Does something spontaneously harmonic happen during recording or are these vocals written into the song?
CH: We’re actually very self-conscious about our singing, so thanks! Josh and I have vocal-only practice twice a week to try and tighten up our trouble spots, and it’s definitely the ‘final frontier’ in my mind as far as becoming a tight live act goes. “Galloping” was an instance of Josh playing the main riff while goofing around and me pouncing on it even though he didn’t think it was much. I put some parts around it and showed it to him, and we went from there. I distinctly remember the two of us walking around campus talking shop, each asserting that our own vocal melodies for the chorus were better despite not even hearing each other’s ideas. That mentality is indubitably endemic to how the song developed vocally.
JG: Those songs being weirder vocally stemmed directly from the fact their music was written collaboratively. “White Christmas” was pretty conventional, I wrote the music for the verses and Craig wrote the chorus. When it came to arranging the vocals, we ended up trading verses and each singing our own part to the chorus. I’m a sucker for wordless “ooo-ing” vocalizations in the vein of “Cut Your Hair,” which go alongside ith Craig’s singing words. “Galloping” was trickier though, because its structure is less Josh-part-Craig-part-Josh-part-Craig-part. We both had a melodic vision for the song, so rather than fighting over who got to sing it, or one of us singing words and the other “ooo-ing”, we decided to just each do our own thing.
By the time we recorded “Galloping” all our parts were composed. Two sets of lyrics were written and recorded never having been shared with one another. However, my “ooos” on “Goodnight, Retrograde” and “Wide Berth” were written completely on the spot and premeditated in no way.
CG: At the end of “Wide Berth”, is the sound after the repeated lyric a clicking of the tongue? If so, brilliant!
Slothbear – Wide Berth
CH: Yep! It initially just had a conventional, melodic resolution but I think I was listening to Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd around the time of recording and was into the idea of just making wacky mouth-sounds. I’ve been likened to both an Australian and a squirrel on this track, so there’s that. Ian actually thought the clicking was his ride cymbal.
GG: There’s a wistful existentialism to the lyrics, such as “In the end, in the end, you’re just as small as all your friends,” (Don’t Taunt a Tiger) and “If you love someone you’ll let them run and go have fun.” (Ex-teen) Can you tell us a little bit about autobiographical inspiration and possible literary influences?
CH: I don’t mean to sound snarky at all when I say I’m always psyched to see the different transcriptions of the chorus to Tiger (laughs), not to break the fourth wall but I’ve always wanted to bust out “(laughs)” in an email interview, though Josh stole my thunder all over this thing, but the actual lyrics are “In the end, in the end/Justice mauls all your friends.” Josh and I talked about how it’d be funny to write a song about the tiger that mauled those kids at the San Francisco Zoo when they harassed her a few Christmases ago, and I put it into practice. Yours is probably a more cutting commentary, though. I think our friend Noah actually had your version verbatim, but I’m not sure. The guitarist in his old band once drunkenly told us that his whole family sang “INDIANS, INDIANS!” in the car, and my pal Hank from Spirit People thought it was “In and out, in and out/This is what it’s all about.” How lascivious!
JG: I think one of the things that is cool about lyrics is the subjectivity of what the “real” lyrics are. I’ve had some fairly profound experiences with lyrics to a song only to discover that I’d misheard them but that never changed how they impacted me. as for “Ex-teen”…
When I wrote “Ex-teen” I was looking to write a cathartic break-up song but something went wrong and I got introspective and wrote something that felt like a coming of age. I was shy about the song being so introspective, so I tried to focus on the object of the song (the girl I was sad about) rather than its grammatical subject (yours truly).
Most of “Ex-teen” is set on this secluded beach that I almost drowned at two summers back. I was 20 then, an ex-teen, visiting my then-nineteen-year-old, then-girlfriend. I sing “Got nipped by minnows in the bay, ex-teen. The teen’s areolae were…,” but it sounds like “Got nipped by minnows in the bay. Ex-teen, the teen’s, areolae…,” what with the embedded clause, characterizing the presumed titular character as being a teen. Playing around with sentence structure and punctuation allow the lyrics to mean something different in print than they would just being heard.
The song is about recognizing my impulse to settle settle down with someone and coping with the fact my still-teenaged lover is not on the same page as I am, not necessarily because she doesn’t love me but because she is too young to love me the way I love her. Sometimes I get really serious when I write songs. On the next record I’ll have better jokes.
The writers whose ideas and ways with words contribute to how I think and the aesthetics of my writing most are Joanna Newsom, Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, Milan Kundera and Bill Callahan. Lil Stevie Malkmus, too.
CG: Some in the blogosphere have compared Slothbear to Pavement. Is it an apt comparison, or do have a better band to complete the sentence: “If you like _______, you will like Slothbear.”
CH: Josh and I are probably to this day administrators of the Facebook group “Pavement Is the Greatest Band Ever” (Bob Nastanovich joined). As cherished a band as they were and still are to us, I think I speak for all of us when I say that slacker ethos are fairly antithetical to our approach to live music. Which isn’t to say that we didn’t have a great time seeing them on the reunion tour—we even conned people into thinking we were opening! Brooklyn Vegan and Consequence of Sound both listed us as openers for Central Park SummerStage, and QRO Magazine emailed us asking for a press pass. I told them we could do the interview in the crowd, Among the People. They declined.
CG: Greenpoint vs. Williamsburg? DiMaggio vs. Mantle? Jets vs. Giants?
CH: I work in Greenpoint, and I often find myself driving around Williamsburg, so neither of those. Bushwick is the ‘hip’ one now but while we play there a lot we’re kind of outsiders. Mantle is the better player and the more likable guy… DiMaggio was kind of a stiff whereas Mantle was like a hilarious frat dude. I’ll go Maris, the true homerun champ, for my dad. I’ve been a Giants fan since the tail end of the 2001 season, and I have the Kerry Collins jersey to prove it.
DB: Ultimately, I find myself roaming Williamsburg more often than Greenpoint, but that’s because I’m a yuppie at heart. Or maybe it’s because when I asked a girl where I could find another “unattainable girl genius,” she told me to “try Bedford Ave” (clearly referring to between Metropolitan and N 9th or10th).
Haha, “bears noting.”
CG: What’s next for the band? Any plans to hit the West Coast this summer wink wink?
JG: We’ve been rehearsing this eighteen song batch for over a year now and calling it Grey and Depraved. Those should start turning up soon, over the course of a couple singles, an album and an EP. That batch includes “Agonistes” and “Yorkshire Sash,” which there are decent videos of, some heavily reworked older tracks that have appeared in other live clips or radio sessions like “TXTMSG Never Sent” and “Tucked in Trees” and a bunch of other songs we’re pretty excited about like “Ranch Row,” “JZ,” “Please Don’t” and “Birds,” to name a few.
We’re also finishing up a video for “Wide Berth,” which should be a hoot.
CH: I’m currently in the throes of booking us a grossly ambitious cross-country ‘international’ tour to Vancouver and down through California.
DB: I’m working on a solo EP at the moment, but I plan on wrapping that up soon in order to start working on other projects, primarily the next SB album. I’m also very eager to get on the road with the band this Summer and begin filming our tour document/internet miniseries, The Torbus Diaries. The shows will be fun as well.
I Get Wet, Andrew W.K.’s first big studio album was released in 2001 about a month and change after 9/11. Pretty much everyone had other things to worry about at the time. We all got to it at our own pace. The music on the album itself is not simple to categorize. It’s music that Fox Network can and will use in programming bumpers until the end of time. It’s music that lends itself as well to a session of Playstation hockey as it does to a mid-afternoon minivan trip to Taco Bell. The music is utterly mindless lyrically but if you listen long enough, it tugs your heartstrings with the mad, fumbling practice of a first-ever make-out session. It’s music a better-informed Bill & Ted would have traveled through time just to learn how to play. Most tracks on I Get Wet are musically quite similar with guitar-driven power rock ballads with piano accompaniment that champion the tenets of partying. The songs alternate between being earnest and hilarious.
Andrew W.K., at some lengthy interval in the years 2000-01, composed
the vast majority of the I Get Wet album himself and performed each
instrumental section individually himself, then textured them together
to create the unique sound in his imagination, then assembled a
touring band to deliver it unto the masses. That initial tour was quite
bizarre and wonderful, and I will be comparing today’s tour with the
original throughout this review. Andrew W.K. has recently determined
that the world is in dire need of I Get Wet‘s return. Beyond mere
comparison with its predecessor, let us examine whether, in this
solitary instance on a Thursday in Hollywood, Andrew’s determination
held true.
After thoughtfully confirming whether we, the paying customers were in fact ready for Andrew, the Avalon’s warm-up staff darken the lights on the rather amusing backdrop of our protagonist’s bloodied nose and maw. This image is the album cover of I Get Wet, an image which once caused controversy in European markets for being a possible veiled
reference towards cocaine over-usage. In reality, it’s an image of a guy who hit himself in the face with a brick, and that’s as good a primer as any for what we’re about to see.
The band members emerge one by one and appear to range from motor-oil
drinking body builders to Fuel-era James Hetfield, to Steve Perry, to a
WWF diva. Tension mounts and bubbles and everyone unanimously agrees
that we are in for a treat, though many are far to nervous to say so
with their mouths, claps or other noise-making gestures. Andrew is
last to emerge to the crowd’s eager yells, ruckus and shuffling of
feet. Mr. W.K. steps up to the microphone and engages with the crowd
as only he can.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of a conversation with Andrew W.K., I
can help fill in at least some of the blanks for you. Personality-wise, he is a cross between Tony Robbins, Henry Rollins, “Evil” Ed from the original Fright Night, and your imagined persona of your dad when he was your age. An interview with him generally vacillates between; Andrew making weird faces or noises, Andrew encouraging you to follow your dreams and trust in yourself and squeeze the absolute limit of human experience out of your limited time on the planet, genius-IQ Andrew working to elucidate in simple terms the intricacies of how and why he does what he does while
battling the perceived dichotomy inherent in his music and in his public image, and Andrew having fun, joking around and lighting up the room with his good-natured sense of humor.
On stage, Andrew is, impossibly, an even more confusing mix of all and
none of the above. He alternates between sticking the microphone in
his pants, punching himself in the side of his head in order to
release a major wad of spit, and lurching his legs around manually (by
hand) like a damaged, fun-loving Terminator unit. He elicits support
from the crowd during, but never before the start of his inter-song
shenanigans and peppers us with sincere, deranged statements about his
and our relative performance during the show. He is invulnerable and
indefatigable. He will never age and this night will clearly never end
(it ends at 10pm sharp (more on this later)).
The set kicks off with “It’s Time to Party”, and rolls into “Party
Hard” almost seamlessly as the crowd is absolutely devouring it. These
two songs have appeared in more big screen frat house camera sweeps
and EA Sports games than any other form of media (other than perhaps
Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy”). Bleary-eyed thirty-somethings are
immediately transported to their own A.W.K. memoria; though their
lives have changed, this music and this feeling have remained just the
same as they left it. Hell, even the band looks pretty much identical
to a 2002-04 Andrew W.K. tour – with perhaps one exception.
As the audience’s lives have grown and changed over the past ten
years, so too has Andrew’s – in his case the addition a wedding banded
finger, and in turn, a wedded band member. Meet Cherie Lily, Andrew’s
bride and perhaps by default New York City’s pre-eminent chanteuse
and partying fitness model. Cherie Lily is dressed
as a dominatrix Jane Fonda; Cherie Lily puts the “melt” in “cameltoe.”
Along with her on-stage moves, which are unarguably as suited as any
towards the A.W.K. sound, Cherie brings with her the main conundrum of
the evening. Mrs. Lily was not present in Andrew’s life at the time
some of this music was made, or for any of the original tours, yet she has
toured by his side for at least the past year by my reckoning. By
contributing vocals to every song and appearing in her own loud, tan
and toned fashion next to Andrew, does she change the nature of the
show? Is the 10th Anniversary I Get Wet show altered too
unrecognizably from the original? Is our trusty old partying buddy’s
flashy new wife cool enough to hang out and head bang with us? Are we
grown-ups? We will re-visit this later.
Moving through “Girls Own Love” and “Ready to Die”, we take a long
look at the rest of the band, and fans of the original I Get Wet tour like what
they see. On that original tour, fans (dozens of fans, simultaneously)
were often invited on stage to party near the last few songs of the
set to end the show. As Andrew himself stands at a stout 6’3″ and at
least 250 lbs., and all of his band members have perenially been
bearded, muscled goliaths, there was very little even the drunkest
fans could do to disrupt the show, aside from toppling a keyboard,
which security always seemed to have their eye on somehow. Andrew’s 5
or 6 guitarists would grimly strum and thumb away as a variety of
idiots caromed off of them and into each other before plummeting back
into the writhing arms of the crowd. It is difficult to imagine that
many of today’s fans will be able to stage-jump at the freaking
Avalon, and with the presence of Cherie it is hard to imagine that the swarming masses will be able to push, shove and get their faces rocked on literally by this band.
A.W.K. used to bounce around like a spring all show. I saw the guy do a show in a
wheelchair and he literally hopped around in it all over the place,
broken leg swinging around like a piñata. As the track “Take it Off” brings us
another step through the I Get Wet canon, Andrew replaces some of his
explosiveness with attention towards his bandmates, making sure to
circulate to sing and lean upon each, which is quite a task
considering there are a total of 8 people on stage at all times.
“I Love New York City” is received enthusiastically by the L.A. crowd, lending some credence to the easily assumed fact that no one attending this show is actually from
LA. Andrew W.K., though originally from Michigan, is a New York guy
through and through; judging by his tour stops, much of his devoted
fanbase lies between those two bounds. At this point in the show,
Andrew, in his infinite Andrew, elects to strap on a trusty ESP LTD guitar to
thrash out an extended solo upon. Much of this is objectively quite
horrible, and some of the fans let him hear it. Andrew’s response is
to make faces and pound a big old loogie of spit out of his own mouth.
They love it! Rule Number One: Know thy audience.
Proceeding briskly through the album’s 12 tracks the band
plays “She is Beautiful”, a blistering ode to romantic love and the
virtues of taking a chance. There is possibly no better time to
revisit Cherie Lily as we have now been exposed to quite a bit of her
vocals. I’m not going to say that she is doing great at singing Andrew
W.K. songs; she is however fun while performing them. Even if her
vocal contributions lie firmly in the question mark column, which they
do, it’s quite an untenable situation for her in the first place.
Andrew W.K.’s songs, by their very nature, make little sense and hold
less water when performed by anyone but himself. Most importantly to
the show itself, the somewhat alarming lack of vertical motion by Mr.
W.K. is being addressed quite robustly by Mrs. Lily, as she bops
nimbly back and forth, engaging in various swoops and flourishes as
demanded by the beat.
As always, the end of a song marks the return of the spotlight to
Andrew. This is the point in the show where some eager Andrew W.K.
fans feel a slight panic, as the friends/boyfriends/girlfriends they
are hoping to convert are exposed to Andrew at his most base. The
crowd is gleefully petitioned with the following: “Have you ever…
vomited?” “Have you ever….. BARFED?” cheers>
This all leads us into “Party Til You Puke”, a paean to a time-honored
celebratory ritual that many of the thirty-somethings in attendance
have left far behind them. An interesting cross-section of persons has
come to attend this show. Most are obviously dedicated fans, as they
are clad in Andrew gear or often enough dressed as the white-shirted,
white-denimed party rocker himself. I Get Wet‘s original tour was
famous at the time for attracting a non-sensical mix of rockers,
skaters, fratboys or preppies as they were once known, grungies or
dirties, proto-hipster indie kids, the goth/black metal set, and
basically anything else in between. This is not to say that Andrew
W.K. had or ever has had universal appeal; it is simply to say that
the sort of music you were into had little determination in whether
you “got it” or not. Basically, if you didn’t get it, you probably
hated it; if you got it, and if you didn’t care what your friends
thought, you were more than likely at the Andrew W.K. show. I would
like to say that this particular aspect of the original show has held
up but I really can’t tell as the only two cliques at rock shows in LA
seem to be “hipster” and “other”. I am delighted however to report
that both hipsters and others were in attendance and circle-moshing
quite vigorously.
“Fun Night” is the next track, continuing the theme of the album,
which I believe has something to do with partying. It is known to many
New Yorkers that Andrew W.K. co-owns a joint called Santos Party
House, a dual-floored Manhattan party outlet which is described by
various well-respected magazines and newspapers as one of New York
City’s best venues and hottest dance nights. A point of contention for
many of Andrew’s detractors is the subject of how genuine Andrew is.
In order to grasp the appeal of this music that is so elusive for
many, it seems that one must buy into the idea that Andrew is indeed
all about partying, all the time. As foolish or unrealistic a concept
as that seems from a distance, it is hard to escape concluding it as a
certainty while observing him in his party element, whether it be a
rock show or a night at Santos. Another piece of evidence supporting
his legitimacy is the fact that Andrew W.K. is possibly more popular
in Japan than he is in the U.S., much like noted party animal Edward
Furlong.
The second-to-penultimate verse of I Get Wet, known as “Gotta Do It”,
is followed by a rather extended series of antics from Andrew, as he
pleads the audience to raise its activity level, the punishment
apparently being that he will act really weird if we don’t.
Fumbling with his button fly, Andrew inserts his microphone into an
unknowable crevice and pretends to be some kind of satanic primate as
onlookers cheer and howl.
Pantomiming a slow death of thirst proves the perfect transition into
“I Get Wet,” the album’s title track. Punctuated by water bottle
showers courtesy of Cherie Lily, the audience’s eyes are reflexively
closed as they swoon towards the reality that a mere one track remains
on the album, and doubtlessly thus the concert. It’s weirdly about
8:45pm. Aside from the fact that it’s a school night, who do I blame
for this? According to reviewer Chris Gedos, it might be the fact that
the Avalon likes to have the place clear for their DJ night before it
gets too late. Bummer.
I Get Wet comes to a close with “Don’t Stop Living In The Red”, a
track that reminds me of another contrasting quality of this tour vs.
the original. Namely, it’s this: Andrew W.K. has spent virtually zero
time proselytizing the crowd. Generally, in the old days, an audience
would get quite the hefty dose of Andrew’s life philosophy, in
addition to the constant urging to party and let loose. Crowds would
be told things along the lines of “This is right and so are you.” or
other similar things espousing the power of will, self-confidence and
being true to yourself. There was very little of this kind of thing
over the course of the entire night. This was always part of the
unique charm of Andrew, he was performing music, but he would lapse
into being a self-help guru at the drop of a drumstick. I’m not sure
whether the removal of this is a good or a bad thing for the show but
I look forward to philosophers debating the question for decades to
come.
With this, Andrew and the gang bid adieu to the now very animated
attendees. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the crowd is allowed a good four
minutes during which they move from “ONE! MORE! SONG!” (the dumb
crowd’s version of encore according to a great LA stand-up comic who I
will credit when I remember who it was I think it was John Vargas) to
a final convergence upon “WE! WANT! FUN!”, a much more fitting cheer
for an Andrew encore by any measuring stick you have handy. After a
few more minutes in which the audience’s family jewels drop through
the floor in anticipation, the band comes back out and we have
ourselves a whole ‘nother show! Yahoo!
If scientists worked to create one awesome track with which to come
back from intermission, “Victory Strikes Again,” the opening track
from Andrew W.K.’s second big studio album, The Wolf, would fall
awfully close to the mark. At this point the crowd is full-on, fever
pitch, loving it. Every person near to me is jumping up and down.
Taking pictures is becoming quite the challenge. I slip out of the
reviewer’s brain and into the reptile brain. I’ve watched the show and
analyzed it, but how does it really feel to be here?
Every person in attendance, regardless of row or column except for the
very back of the room, is now being moved by the circle pit. Things
are officially out of control. Andrew said earlier in the show that
“THE MORE YOU DO, THE BETTER ANDREW DOES.” It’s his turn to provide
half of the equation.
I enter the pit for the first time to the sounds of “Long Live The
Party”. I do not bring anything expensive with me. Knees, elbows,
faces, fists, shoulders and more all compete for my immediate
attention. I stay on my feet. Some idiot falls down. Five people help
him up. Bodies are being launched in a surf toward the stage with
alarming regularity. As close as this is to how it was ten years ago,
something’s a bit different. I set out to determine what it is. I
decide after racking my brain while being jostled and head-butted that
the music is not as loud as it should be. I struggle to determine
whether this is because I am old and deaf or because the Avalon is
subject to more stringent noise pollution laws than the venues of my
youth. Both prospects depress me.
The next song is “Never Let Down” and the tempo change grinds the pit
to a halt. This song is a slow-paced rock ballad that evokes the
spirit of camaraderie and devolves our spirited melee into something
resembling a group bro-hug. I make my exit at this point and realize
that the music hasn’t changed, but I have. “Totally Stupid” is the
next track to play, and its lyrics are directly evocative of its
title. My thoughts can’t help but turn critical. I’m not 16 anymore,
inside or outside. The concert experience of my youth slides ever so
much farther from reach. A cold tick echoes inside the mechanics of my
heart clock. The crowd sways, hoots and hollers as I grit my teeth and
wonder.
The fanfare briefly weakens but Andrew is an old hand at this kind of
situation. As some of the audience, your trusty correspondent
included, reach into our old bag of tricks and come up wanting, Andrew
reminds us that his bag has all the same tricks it’s ever had. He
proceeds to literally carry the crowd on his own shoulders.
Look at that. That doesn’t happen every day. My spirits are renewed. I
am reminded of why I love Andrew W.K. concerts. It is the kind of
feeling that lasts for a brief moment but makes you wonder why you
ever feel any other feeling.
We are now offered some newer tracks; from Close Calls With Brick
Walls, a 2006 double-CD release, we have two very strong and energetic
tracks in “You Will Remember Tonight” and “The Moving Room”. These
served as a welcome injection of energy into the room as some in the
crowd had grown restless, but were now drawn fully back into the show.
This is the point at which A.W.K. begins teasing the crowd before and
after each song that “THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE”, though it seemingly
never is.
The audience is asked if it would like to hear a NEW SONG, and we
proceed into what I believe was called “Head Banger.” The contents of
the package match the label, and we are treated to quite the husband
and wife head-bang sesh. It must be true that the family that rocks
out together stays together. If I’m forced to call in a decision from
my jury on the Cherie Lily A.W.K. era, I’d have to say that most fans
of the original tour should approve. So much of the original tour was
sort of a “Cult of Andrew” and adding a new on-stage personality is
bound to sort of detract from that, but the two of them playing off of
each other adds a positive wrinkle to the show – one must also wonder
if her presence has sort of muted Andrew the Philosopher as well. The
net result comes out to the show being more about the music and less
about the cult figure, which must be viewed as a win for fans of the
music. For those who only value Andrew for his existence as a kind of
larger-than-life character, there’s still plenty here at the show to
enjoy and you even get to see him in a new light. Who knows, maybe
some day Andrew or Andrina Jr. will be up there rocking along with the
whole family.
The song that everyone wanted to hear at that point is “We Want Fun”,
a 2000 un-released EP’s hit single that propelled Andrew’s early
career with the help of a video featuring Jackass cast members and
various skate-boarders. This is Andrew as his earliest fans remember
him, and as they would probably wish to remember themselves at the
time they listened to it. Exhausted, the crowd allows Andrew to
withdraw, W.K. himself showering the front row with beatific praise
and high fives as the band completes a triumphant exit. It’s weirdly
about 10pm.
Did the world need a return of I Get Wet? Andrew is as close to his
original form as any fan could beg for, and on his side of things this
tour is probably calculated to provide a strong launch for his new
work. I can imagine no better way to do that than a return to his cult
favorite album and evidently neither could his management. The show
was packed in and there were more than just die-hard dress-up fans
there – there were many new listeners I spoke to and plenty of people
who had dusted off old .mp3 folders and worked themselves up into a
frenzy they hadn’t seen in a decade in anticipation of this night.
Those are the ones who needed this show.
Many are eager to know if Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will fly too high on his forthcoming US solo debut LP. Here’s our track by track on an album we’ve been waiting to hear for a loooonnng time:
Everybody’s on the Run. We prefer the bootleg soundcheck. That said, Noel’s treatment for the track is nothing short of an epic testament to the tune. Instrumentally the song explores some of Noel’s most lush arrangements to date, and it’s just one example on High Flying Birds that illustrates his affinity to a more broad pallet of music and instrumentation.
Dream On. A Gallagher LP standard strut worthy must. Classic brit pop nod to a T, add a fashioned touch. If you like any gems from post-Be Here Now Oasis then you’ll likely enjoy what’s to come. I think of it like the way I perceive some of the Early Wings stuff – of course not because of The Beatles cliches but because it’s a great tune that represents everything Oasis was and still can/could’ve been.
If I Had A Gun. One of Noel Gallagher’s best songs to date. Like what I wanted “Little By Little” to be, an anthem of the most genuine type. It’s been a while since Noel has hit that anthemic single pocket. “If I Had A Gun” seems to pour our out of Noel Gallagher. Like he never doubted a note of it.
The Death of You and Me. Waiting until midnight PST for this track debut on Noel’s website the world got their first glimpse at the High Flying Birds concept. The video, spaghetti western-inflected, portrayed Noel Gallagher’s whimsical and more classically cinematic musical interests. Burt Bacharach, Sgt. Peppers, Going Nowhere… A refrain for the books. Class act.
I Wanna Live In A Dream (In My Record Machine). Another from the Noelchives. I laughed when I saw it was on the LP and definitely don’t blame Liam Gallagher for calling bullshit. “I Wanna Live In A Dream” could be on any Oasis album. A song no doubt plotted for years to be played on a single world tour and then likely never again. Still it’s a good track that really brings out the classic rock influence in Noel Gallagher. Bonus points for the “Stop the Clocks” coda.
AKA What A Life. Noel Gallagher dreams in a style of almost trance-like percussion. #Tailgunner. But seriously a stunning and simple tune by a seasoned writer when broken down.
Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks. Ladies and gentlemen may we introduce to you Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds? A fantastic vocal from Noel; dynamic, warm, dialed-in. “On and on we go” is the sort of refrain we could of only hoped to hear on this album. The cadences are irresistible.
AKA Broken Arrow Think about an AC version of “D’Yer Wanna Be Space Man” played in a minor key. Like what Paul Weller would sound like if he covered that tune today. “Broken Arrow” embodies the songwriter that flows through Noel Gallagher’s veins in tow with vibrant production that truly paints a picture. It’s no doubt radio friendly for today’s aging formatted audiences.
(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach. Thank you for writing this song Noel Gallagher. Another sneering highlight from the NG that brought us pissed off songs like “Headshrinker”, “I Can See A Liar”, “Force of Nature”. Ironically, either Noel’s mocking little brother Liam at times or it’s just creepy to hear how much the the two can sound like family. Whatever the case, we know you’re in your 40s Noel but never mind the bollocks.
Stop The Clocks. Waves crashing (hmm) lead us into this albums epic closer. And in particular, Liam we feel you on this one. “Stop The Clocks”, written not long after September 11 finally gets it’s record debut. The verdict, another flag waver destined for Noel’s arsenal of writing trophies. At moments I hear how Noel found it outside of the Oasis box, but “Clocks” embodies the qualities that make all Oasis album closers great. It’s like a track that re-assures you have just experienced an album. But does it feel like High Flying Birds?
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will be released Tuesday November 8, 2011. Be sure to check it out along with some of the great b-sides we’ve heard so far from Noel’s new project. #AMORPHOUSANDROGENOUS2012
“I Love You So” was one of our favorite songs of 2010, so much so it made our Year End Top 50 list, somewhere in the 30’s or so if I reckon. The song has such a killer groove and vocal sample, fucking with it is likely futile right? Well, enter Belgian producer DJVC. His new remix of “I Love You So” is an absolute heater. Rally round the b3sci family and get into it below.
Eliza Doolittle caught our ears in February with the irresistible UK hit, “Skinny Genes”. Her self-titled debut LP has found itself in heavy rotation here at b3sci HQ and Eliza is currently prepping a US debut and mega year in 2011. We recently caught up to get the 411 on her live cover of Cee Lo Green’s smash “Fuck You“, her Jamie XX collaboration, favorite recipes, Shakespeare and more!
b3sci: When will fans in the States get their next chance to experience Eliza Doolittle in a live setting?
ELIZA: Oooo! Well I’m going to be playing some festivals like SXSW and some others in 2011. And hopefully not long after that I’ll be doing some touring!
b3sci: Your live cover of Cee-Lo Green’s “Fuck You” display’s some incredible musical instincts. How do you do it… what’s your inspiration?
ELIZA: I love performing live so I hope my enjoyment translates and infects everybody watching. I love creating music and when me and my band perform live we try and take the recordings to the next level.
b3sci: On a related note, your voice just seems to find “the pocket” of a great pop melody, has Pop music always been your major vocal influence, or is there a particular style of music that you like to claim the foundation of your soulful delivery?
ELIZA: I loved a lot of different music…growing up, I sang and practiced along to Lauryn Hill, Mariah and Beyonce, really soulful pop vocalists so maybe that’s rubbed off on me but I also love sweet songs like Burt Bacharach music and Beach Boys. And rock like Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers…I don’t know what has directly influenced me.
b3sci: Is there a particular track from your self-titled debut album that you feel especially connected to or proud of as an artist? If so, which and why?
ELIZA: I really love all the tracks …when writing the album I had about 25 finished songs to choose to go on the album and I really loved a lot of them so the ones I put on the album, I really, really love! I think if I had to pick one song I would pick “Rollerblades” as that was the first song I wrote where I really found my own sound for the first time and the rest of the album was based on that sound …so I owe the song a lot!
Eliza Doolittle – Rollerblades
b3sci:Can you shed some light on the happenings behind your connection with Jamie from The XX, and the “Money Box” remix?
ELIZA: I had met The XX a couple of times and am a big fan of their music. I just asked Jamie if he wanted to do a remix and he said yes… so I sent him the parts!
Eliza Doolittle – Money Box (Jamie XX Remix)
b3sci: If you could collaborate with anyone past present or future, who would it be with and why? Keep in mind they wouldn’t need to be a musician, and any sort of artistic collaboration counts.
ELIZA: Hmm, Shakespeare! He is the artistic genius of the entire time we’ve been on this earth!
b3sci: We need to ask you a favorite question of ours… Hypothetical situation, you’re stranded on an island and you can only chose between having with you either 30 songs OR 10 albums! Do you chose to have the albums or songs, and why?
ELIZA: 10 albums definitely because they are pieces of art as a whole album, and I would feel empty without the other songs. Also, an album has 10 songs average on it so that would mean 100 songs!
b3sci: Haha you found the loophole! So what are a few of the albums that you would bring along?
ELIZA: Oooo… Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life, Steely Dan – Aja, Destiny’s Child – The Writings on the Wall, Beach Boys – Pet Sounds. Just to name a few…
b3sci: What’s your take on the internet and your development as an artist? How would you ideally like to see both your career and your fans affected by the internet and your message moving forward?
ELIZA: Well the internet is a blessing and a curse. Through Twitter etc, I can promote my music and shows but through illegal downloads, I can’t make very much money out of my record. I would love for people to respect the hard work that’s put into making a record and not steal the music but I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen.
b3sci: So what’s your take on the blogosphere? Do you participate?
ELIZA: I have my own blog and I love making it. I love documenting my journey and it’s a great way to interact with my listeners and show them some of my interests other than just music. So you should check it out… http://blog.elizadoolittle.com
b3sci: Is there something killer that you’re listening to and influenced by at the current moment?
ELIZA: I’m loving Cee Lo Green’s new album The Lady Killer. It’s superb! Love Janelle Monae and The Drums too!
b3sci: What are your general observations about the reception of emerging artists from the UK in the states, and the same vice-versa?
ELIZA: I’m not sure really, I hope people will listen to my music regardless of where I’m from. I hope people will like it!
b3sci: What in your eyes are some of the popular misnomers about pop stars and the music industry among the public?
ELIZA: I think people take being in the public eye way too seriously. People judge very quickly for the smallest things. Sometimes I make a spelling mistake on Twitter and have a bombardment of tweets picking me up on it and making a massive unnecessary fuss. I would love it if people just listened to my music and took me in for that rather than my grammar skills etc! Haha! And I’m sure other singers get the same jip.
b3sci: We LOVE to cook! Give us one of your favorite recipes to try out.
ELIZA: Baked beans on toast is my specialty!
b3sci: Well that’s interesting, might need to try that. We’ve got to ask you, happiness… what in this world of ours does it for you?
ELIZA:Great music, great friends and family! And lots of laughter …That’s all you need.
For every situation, every instance, there’s a John Lennon quote which sums up nearly the whole gamut of human existence. Catharsis after hubris: “I was feeling insecure; you might not love me anymore.” Dissatisfaction, apathy, and ambivalence: “Living is easy with eyes closed.” The optimism, sometimes blind, which drives dreams: “Imagine all the people, living life in peace…”
What can be written about Lennon which hasn’t been written already? Let us grieve Lennon’s death in equal parts for his family’s loss and the cultural significance. Mired in the wake of JFK’s assassination, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan helped a nation move forward and be happy again. And throughout the political tragedy of the 60’s, The Beatles spearheaded a musical revolution which, in retrospect, is the saving grace of that particular decade.
For as long as I can remember, my dad has told me the mythic story about when he was nineteen and driving around late at night in his ’66 GTO when he heard Strawberry Fields Forever on the radio for the first time. I think everyone who loves Lennon’s music can remember a similar consciousness-expanding moment. For myself, it was Sophomore year of college and my friend James came over to my dorm with his newly purchased vinyl of Plastic Ono Band, and laying across my floor pillows absolutely slayed by the prophetic nature of the album. “Working Class Hero” precipitated Bruce Springsteen’s entire career! The emotional nakedness of “Well Well Well,” the Neitszchean declaration of “God,” the simple plea of “Look At Me,” Lennon’s music teaches us to look into our own souls and uncover the art and the beauty which lies within.
B3sci is back IN THE MIX! and this time WE GO OFF with a variety of new and current tracks from the likes of Wale, Aloe Blacc, Giggs Feat. B.o.B, Jamie Lidell, Airship, Chapel Club, Obii Say, Nikki and Rich, and Corinne Bailey Rae! Let’s see:
Airship – Spirit Party Airship – Kids pre-order info
Manchester group Airship, are back with a new EP titled Algebra, dropping May 10 via Love and Disaster. their track “Kids”, off the Love and Disaster Compilation initially had us hooked, and while the wait was long… Algebra delivers. check out the video (above) for their new single “Algebra”, and take a listen to “Spirit Party”, our favorite deep cut from the new EP.
Chapel Club – Five Trees info buy it
“Five Trees” is Chapel Club’s second single, and it’s available everywhere May 31 via new major label partners A&M Records. we’ve been LOVIN the proper britpop these London lads dish out, and can’t wait for a full length and some live dates in the states!
Jamie Lidell – I Wanna Be Your Telephone info buy it jarvis cocker’s long lost twin goes Prince on “I Wanna Be Your Telephone” and we LOVE it. everything we’ve heard off Jamie Lidell’s forthcoming Compass LP indicates that it is nothing short of one seriously diversified and ambitous project. there’s nothing more we love than an artist who has the balls to GO FOR IT. Compass drops May 18 via WARP. get it.
Aloe Blacc – Take Me Back info buy it
we LOVE this. “Take Me Back” is the b-side to Aloe Blacc’s I Need A Dollar 12″. b-side??? if dude keeps it up he just may be able to pull one of these someday. dude needs a dollar, and dammit he’s earned it. so buy it!
Giggs – Don’t Go There (Feat. B.o.B) info buy it
London rapper Giggs hooks up with man of the hour B.o.B. for a collabo that delivers. need we say more?
Wale – Kini Big Deal info buy it
in case anyone missed it, Wale offered a new track “Kini Big Deal” via his twitter on the 4-20 holiday. the way we look at it, it’s never too late to celebrate. and speaking of big deal, Wale just helped nudge this jam from last summer into our head..
Obii Say – The Prologue (Feat. Alice Russell & Cuantic) (Prod. Sinitus Tempo) info buy it
Obii Say – 17 year old MC out of DC, shows promise with his latest project The Vinyl Proxy 1965.
Corinne Bailey Rae – Are You Here info buy it
“Are You Here” is off Corinne Bailey Rae’s sophomore LP The Sea, released earlier this year via EMI. a beautiful song that boasts some dare we say Thom Yorke-esque melodies?
Nikki and Rich – Cat and Mouse info buy it
“Cat and Mouse” is a nice little pop tune from Nikki and Rich’s Next Best Thing release.
(Official) 
