Articles tagged with pop

Self Taught Magic From A Book

Iain Moffat — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:16:25 +0000

Sadly, we're not told what kind of animal they are, but the signifiers are all there for an educated guess. They've plighted their troth to a variety of none-more-indie labels worldwide, they've gone for a continental moniker that takes on a further level of ambiguity when written as a website address, they're self-confessed Shop Assistants fans... clearly we're looking at something more than a tad on the kittenish side, right?

This Is A Fix

Alan Garner — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:24:01 +0000

The Automatic are an interesting case. Not musically, of course – the music on this album, for the most part, is about as interesting as a flapjack in a bin – but in terms of where they are as a band right now. The famous “sophomore slump” is now so ingrained in music culture that there is, weirdly, very little pressure on these Welsh chaps to produce anything sensational. Thanks to a sensationalist British media press, bands “burst” onto the “scene” and can’t ever keep up the momentum.

The Stand Ins

Brett Oronzio — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:25:16 +0000

The Stand Ins is Okkervil River’s continuation of the concept they brilliantly mined on last year’s majestic The Stage Names. The same super-literate storytelling methods and themes of fandom, stardom and everything in between are still intact here as are the bands bright textures and production style.

Courtcase 2000

Japie Stoppelenburg — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:11:36 +0000

It must’ve been around noon. The sun had already risen high, though its beams were having difficulties reaching our little fourth floor balcony. We (me, best friend and best friend’s boyfriend) were sitting outside, half-dressed, enjoying the mildly pleasant mid-August weather. While we were desperately clinging onto a cup of coffee, hoping it would swiftly erase the memory of sleep, and while we puffed away nearly a pack of Gauloises Blondes, we talked about music.

Freedom Wind

David Coleman — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:20:53 +0000

The name might exude adventure, but this sextet from Charleston, South Carolina isn't about to discover new musical territory any time soon. Freedom Wind is the sound of a band in love with harmony-laden sixties pop, more specifically the music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. After 30 seconds of Forever you’ll have probably drawn up a mental list of the Explorers Club's chief influences, but this doesn't have to be a problem; the harmonies are polished and the melody is sufficiently summery to make denying the song's obvious charms virtually impossible.

Daptone Records Remixed (Scion CD Sampler Volume 19)

George Booker — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:32:53 +0000

A few years ago I'm sure I would have completely dismissed corporate album promotions. Corporations are bad, after all, and certainly any artist's participation in their promotion or enjoyment of their riches would taint and corrupt their craft, leading them down a soul corroding path to irrelevance. These issues don't seem as simple anymore, what with physical music scales and the traditional promotional avenues collapsing, and the corporate versus indie stigma declining in meaning as the formally omnipotent major record companies go further into freefall.

Strawberry Jam

David Coleman — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:38:31 +0000

Just when you thought 2007 was going well in terms of new music, two of the decade's defining bands drop new albums and turn the whole year on its head. I'm talking about Animal Collective and Liars. These two experimental rock behemoths have chartered unique and fascinating courses through the 00s and are surely two of the most accomplished bands operating today. Curiously, coincidentally, if the critical consensus is to be trusted, they've both just released their big 'pop' records within one month of another.