The release of Beirut’s Gulag Orkestar on the Ba Da Bing! label
(home to that great noise band, The Spiney Ant Eaters) is important because it heralds
the arrival of a real musical talent, in the person of lyricist, vocalist, and
ukulele player, Zach Condon.
This debut is also very important because it points towards and adds to the loose
alternative music collection of bands known as the Elephant 6 Collective.
The main 90’s Elephant 6 Bands (Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel,
Olivia Tremor Control, Gerbils, Minders, Of Montreal, etc.) have provided
us ‘authentic music nuts’ with music documents (i.e. CDs) of unparalleled beauty,
honesty and musical experimentation.
I highly recommend any of the Elephant 6 CDs. It is former Neutral Milk Hotel
bandmember Jeremy Barnes, who helped Zach Condon put the
Gulag Orkestar CD together and he also plays on several tracks.
This is why the CD might be mistaken for the new Neutral Milk Hotel release
we’ve all been waiting for.
Not to worry, Gulag Orkestar delivers on all of the goals of
musicality, authenticity and search for new sounds that has been the
target of the Elephant 6 family for the last 10 years. Other bands that are
in some way part of the Elephant 6 family are Beulah, Essex Green, Elf Power,
Marshmellow Coast, and Music Tapes.
Beirut, Gulag Orkestar, Ba Da Bing!
Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side
scanned from the CD:
Cover photo (top photo) ” … found in a library in Leipzig torn out of a book.
If anybody knows the photographer, please get in touch.”
other photos by: Ben Goldberg
OTHER MUSIC, JUNE 12, 2006
Zach Condon, aka Beirut, (foreground) in black shirt, plays at an in-store concert
at OTHER MUSIC, on June 12, 2006.
with him Beirut tour band musician, Paul Collins.
Photo: Nancy Smith
more photos
~Beirut |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | June 7th, 2006, 2:12pm
feels, the second CD by the New York based Animal Collective,
is probably the most important alternative CD of 2005. A real gem of an album,
it marches forward from where the Animal Collective left us in 2004,
when they released their legendary debut CD – Sung Tongs .
The feels CD, like Sung Tongs, continues the
Animal Collective’s search for new sounds, while at the same time being much
more accessible. In comparison to Sung Tongs, feels,
has a lot more lyrics, which help flesh out the meaning of the songs.
This does not stop the group from using those lyrics as an abstract sound
element in their quest to explore new sonic territory. Surprisingly all
this experimentation does not result in self-indulgence.
The new CD is as tight as Sung Tongs in its desire to create
new musical paths towards emotive authenticity.
It’s the sexiest experimental music we’ve ever heard . .
IF artlovers had a soundtrack – this would be it !
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, feels, Fat Cat Records 2005
Layout by Rob Carmichael
animal collective
~Animal Collective |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | April 26th, 2006, 10:07am
Cat Power’s new album, THE GREATEST is not a compilation of greatest hits,
though there are a couple of new versions of songs from previous albums. ‘WILLIE’ is a
shorter and more musically fleshed out version of ‘Willie Deadwilder’ from the
Speaking for Trees DVD + CD, while ‘THE MOON’ is from the
MOON PIX CD of 1998. The CD takes its name from the first song.
Chan Marshall aka Cat Power has produced a body of work the last 10 years
that can only be compared to Bob Dylan’s early folk albums and Blonde on Blonde,
for its authentic intimacy and quiet yet playful intensity. The problems she had
in her early live shows were the result of her trying to recreate that painful intimacy
in front of large audiences, after the Indie success of Moon Pix. Her
live performance (one set with acoustic guitar, second set with piano) at the smaller
Knitting Factory in the late 90’s just blew everyone there away.
For devouted fans of Cat Power, this latest CD might at first listen seem a bit uneven,
due to the introduction of alot of other instruments into the mix. Not to worry,
this is only another creative step in Chan Marshall’s relentless quest to conquer
the world of the heart.
CAT POWER, THE GREATEST, 2006 MATADOR RECORDS
Chan Marshall at CANADA, NYC, Sept 9, 2004
Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, at the opening of: ‘The Somnus Collection, 2005’,
a multimedia exhibit by LILY LUDLOW & MARCELLA MULLINS, CANADA, NYC, Sept 9, 2004.
Photo: Nancy Smith
~Cat Power |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | March 9th, 2006, 11:53am
DEVANDRA BANHART’S new CD, CRIPPLE CROW, is a musical celebration
underlining this Pied Piper’s neo-folk and ethnic influences. In the last couple
of years, Devendra has gone from an obscure folk singer to a celebrated advocate
of alternative-folk by promoting and playing with JOANNA NEWSOM, ANTONY
AND THE JOHNSONS and VASHTI BUNYAN. This troubadour, who started
out with only an acoustic guitar and insightful and poetic lyrics, has greatly
expanded his musical and vocal presentation.
CRIPPLE CROW is a beautiful testament to his musical and spiritual evolution.
The gems on this CD include: QUEENBEE, I FEEL JUST LIKE A CHILD,
DRAGONFLYS, CHINESE CHILDREN, LONG HAIRED CHILD and
KOREAN DOGWOOD. The whole CD is just a joy to listen to.
The mystical cover is a great contemporary South American take on the
famous Beatles album cover – Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
4 of the songs have Spanish lyrics, and reflect Devendra’s Venezulean
childhood musical influences.
above images from the CRIPPLE CROW CD cover ‘booklet’, artwork and
calligraphy by Devendra Banhart
DEVENDRA BANHART CRIPPLE CROW, 2005 XL Recordings Ltd.
XL Recordings has an interesting website
you can see a video of DEVENDRA’S ‘I Heard Somebody Say’ there
Above Photos: Devendra Banhart, and his tour band Hairy Fairy at the CRIPPLE CROW CD launch,
VIRGIN MEGASTORE, UNION SQUARE, NYC, Sept 13, 2005
Photos by: Nancy Smith
see more artlovers photos from this event
~Devendra Banhart |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | December 10th, 2005, 1:44pm
In The Reins, a new CD that is a collaboration between two of Alt-Country’s
most popular acts, IRON AND WINE from FLORIDA, and CALEXICO of CALIFORNIA,
at first glance might be viewed by their ‘purist’ fans as a mismatch.
But after a few listens to one of the best songs, ‘Sixteen, Maybe Less’,
the sceptics will certainly be converted. The song underlines the gifted
songwriting talents of SAM BEAM (who is Iron and Wine) and the tight
“drop dead on a dime” musicality of our Tex-Mex instrumentalist heros
from Calexico. Since this CD is a vocal enterprise, Sam Beam is in charge,
while Calexico seamlessly provides the horsepower, brass and tender care.
Country Musak – at its best.
CALEXICO/IRON AND WINE In The Reins, 2005 OVERCOAT RECORDINGS
(group photo: CALEXICO – scanned from a poster from 2000)
~Calexico/Iron and Wine |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | October 24th, 2005, 9:37am
AFTER 24 years, here I am listening to a compilation of ORANGE JUICE singles
from the Postcard label out of Scotland. I had owned two of the singles in the early 80’s
and I spent the rest of the 80’s trying to find the rest. I couldn’t get them because
the ‘buzz’ surrounding the group at that time was so frenetic, it drove the price for
a single up to $125. Today the price is higher. So it was great to be able to get all
the singles on one CD. The CD captures the youthful exuberance that this group was all
about. The lead singer, EDWYN COLLINS, went on to have a solo career and released a
few well respected albums, but they did not compare favourably to these influential early Orange Juice singles. What Orange Juice did, was to turn punk on its head. The songs still
had the punk attitude, but with melodies and harmonies, instead of thrash. The only other groups during the early 80’s that effectively mined this approach were the YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS, the GO-BETWEENS, and another Postcard band, AZTEC CAMERA. For anyone interested in a part of the REAL history of rock & pop, not the MTV version,
this is the CD to get.
ORANGE JUICE, The Glasgow School, compilation 2005 – Domino Recording Co Ltd
~Orange Juice |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | October 13th, 2005, 4:57pm
Antony and the Johnsons second CD: I am a bird Now is a wonder to behold. This mindblowing CD can be seen as an amazing and authentic diagram into Antony’s soul as it travels through this amazing thing we call “Life”. The musical instrument he uses to deliver these insights is his commanding, vulnerable and exquisite voice. I’m sure that Maria Callas was an influence in his delivery. LOU REED and DEVENDRA BANHART are among the talented musicians who back Antony with a wall of sound that is beyond compelling. Play this CD LOUD and often while you enjoy the Peter Hujar photo on the cover.
Photos from left:
1: CD Title page
2: Antony by Don Felix Cervantes
3: drawing by Antony
4: THE CD FRONT COVER:
“Candy Darling on her Deathbed” by Peter Hujar (1974)
copyright: The Estate of Peter Hujar, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery NYC
Antony and The Johnsons I am a bird Now is put out by the label: Secretly Canadian
~Antony and the Johnsons |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews | By Simon Cerigo | May 17th, 2005, 10:57am
