interview

As their name implies, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart make music that gets to the center of a particular frame of mind or sensibility (in the band's case, that sensibility just happens to be the agony of being young and in love). Critically-acclaimed from a host of publications and bloggers alike, their self-titled debut from February 2009 gained the foursome comparisons to an Americanized Smiths, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine as they solidified their status as one of the premier indie pop bands of the day.

Canadian post-punks Tokyo Police Club may have only formed five years ago, but they have an impressive CV for such a young band. Two well-received EPs in their formative years led to a deal with Conor Oberst’s Saddle Creek label to release their début album, 2008’s Elephant Shell. Unfortunately for TPC, Elephant Shell wasn’t quite the success they hoped for, but the band re-grouped and have returned with the critically acclaimed Champ. Early signs point towards the group fulfilling the potential they’ve always shown.

In case you haven’t yet heard it, Field Music’s latest album is really rather good. It’s called Field Music (Measure) and has been gathering critical acclaim throughout the music press since its release. Not least here at No Ripcord, where Juan Edgardo Rodriguez gave it an effusive review back in February. The double album has given the band a deserved rise in attention; a far cry from 2007 when Field Music announced they were going on hiatus.

Tracey Thorn has been making music professionally for nearly thirty years, since 1981 when her group The Marine Girls released their début album. Thorn was still at studying English at the University of Hull at the time, which is where she met her future collaborator and husband, Ben Watt.

Though short lived, Washington, D.C. based Black Tambourine have unexpectedly stood the test of time. They’ve lived to see the day that their influence has been quietly spread out, emulated all across the board without a mention of the staying power they’ve left for many younger acts. Their lo-fi recordings and DIY attitude has become a staple for future generations, even though they operated at a time when the prospects for self-promotion were far more limited.

How’s this for an “OH SHIT” moment?

I was about fifteen minutes into my interview with Daniel Martin-McCormick, vocalist and guitarist for expanse generators, Mi Ami, when the phone disconnected.  Dead battery.  Within two seconds following the phone’s silence, I ran downstairs to my living room and began lifting up sofa cushions and turning anything over to see if I could find the other phone.

Then, I heard the phone ring and realized my interviewee was returning my call. 

Wildbirds & Peacedrums' fantastic second album The Snake has to be one of the great unsung records of 2009. To celebrate its inclusion in our new Believe The Hype section we caught up with percussionist extraordinaire Andreas Werliin to discuss the Swedish music scene and to find out just how an experimental rock band managed to scoop a prestigious jazz award.

It's 10:30 a.m PST and Lou Barlow is home with the family in Los Angeles, and doesn't sound particularly thrilled to be patched in to yet another media dude via Dinosaur Jr's charming publicist in New York City. Maybe he just woke up or has been cranking out 15-minute appointed interviews all morning, who knows.

Sure, Vampire Weekend hit it big by adopting African influences for its hook-heavy indie-pop, but their music is no adequate preparation for the hard-hitting Afro-rock synthesis of Extra Golden’s latest album Thank You Very Quickly. American guitarists Ian Eagleson and Alex Minoff have spent years studying and incorporating aspects of Kenyan benga music – a guitar-heavy dance genre – into their playing, and it shows in the music’s maturity.