Indie Dispatches: CHL’s year-end accolades & a peak at what’s to come in 2012
Ryan Adam's 'Ashes & Fire' among 2011's musical highlights
From the melodic pop of Real Estate to the undeniably retro fuzz of Yuck, the distorted dreamy noise of I Break Horses and the lo- fi meandering of Youth Lagoon, 2011 has been an excellent year for music. Ryan Adams, in a distinct return to form, made a bare confessional acoustic album – his best in years. WILD FLAG made girl rock cool again. Both The Kills & Hanni El Khatib showed that you can surely make a lot of noise (and be uber-sexy) with just two people on stage. Cass McCombs released two albums, and in particular one single that was both haunting and staggeringly brilliant. And the Beach Boys issued a record almost 25 years after its intended release date… For sure, a stack of blog and media end-of-year ratings have had more than a few head scratchers on them, and there have been some much touted records on people’s lists that are just plain bad, but it seems despite all that, whatever your taste, there was music to be excited about in 2011. And to our ears, here are 10 of the best. No need for any lengthy explanations. Just fire up that Spotify player and listen:
Real Estate – Days (Domino)
WILD FLAG – s/t (Merge)
Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire (PaxAm/Capitol)
Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now (Theory 8)
The Kills – Blood Pressure (Domino)
Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
I Break Horses – Hearts (Cooperative Music)
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key (Saddle Creek)
Hanni El Khatib – Will the Guns Come Out (Innovative Leisure)
Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum)
Beach Boys – Smile (2xLP vinyl set) (Capitol)
And pipped at the post, but still highly notable and worth a moment or two of your time were full-lengths by Middle Brother, Cass McCombs and War on Drugs. Reissue of the year (can you call it that since it was never originally out?) was the Beach Boys Smile album (on vinyl of course!!). And when you are talking single of the year – Cass McCombs “County Line” qualifies for top honors, followed close behind by Real Estate “It’s Real” and Pageants “Edible Rust”. A tip of the hat also goes to FIDLAR for their DIYDUI EP on White Iris, and “Georgia” by Yuck (which strictly speaking came out in the dying days of 2010 but who’s counting with a song this catchy)
Indie label of the year honors… it looks from the ratings above, that would go to Domino, with Merge running a close second.
Live? Ryan Adams played a couple of low-key album release shows, including one in the small mausoleum room at Hollywood Forever Cemetery that was just sublime. And watching the ongoing march to success of Fitz and the Tantrums as they spent the year conquering ever greater rooms across the country was a source of joy. The Kills? They brought the rock every time.
And while there was much worthy of a thumbs-up this year, the list of things to look forward to in 2012 is already appearing expansive. There’s that new Mark Lanegan release, maybe another record from Local Natives (?), the US screenings of the film Lawrence of Belgravia, LP2 from Best Coast, a highly anticipated new release from Sharon van Etten, a possible return by Mazzy Star and albums from Band of Skulls (who somewhere along the line signed to Vagrant), Sleigh Bells, Imperial Teen, Damien Jurado, and more from Spiritualized… Phew! Roll on January 1!
- Cool Hand Luke
06.6.11File Under: Stuff We Like
Band of Skulls play back-to-back nights @ Bootleg Theater (Mon, Tues)
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Saint Motel Releases New Track, Keeps Putting Together the Pieces
Saint Motel releases new track, heading to SXSW
Los Angeles-based Saint Motel have been busy since they last released new music back in September of 2009, including selling out multiple hometown shows, most recently their 3rd annual Zombie Prom, playing the Rock & Roll Circus in NYC with Ariel Pink and Amazing Baby, as well as touring with the likes of Band of Skulls and Nico Vega. The band will be playing a series of shows at the little music gathering in Austin next week called SXSW, including an official showcase at Emo’s on Saturday night (3/19) with Neon Trees and The Limousines among others, and they just wrapped up an albums worth of new tracks, the first of which they’ve released today, called “Puzzle Pieces” – check it out… SAINT MOTEL – Puzzle Pieces by saintmotel
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Take Notice: Saint Motel
L.A.'s Saint Motel
With sold-out shows at The Roxy, long lines for their Spaceland residency and a packed room for their recent KROQ/Filter show at the Echoplex, Tinseltown music fans and industry folks alike have definitely taken notice of L.A. locals Saint Motel. Now, having completed a successful Northwest/Canada tour with UK buzz act Band of Skulls, expect a lot more folks to be packing their shows. And rightfully so, considering powerhouse talent agency CAA have picked them up for representation.
From the beginning, the group took added measures to stand out from other local acts by putting together themed “events” rather than just shows, like their annual Zombie Prom or the Black and White show. They also used creative methods of promoting, such as creating videos to virally promote their events. When they released their six-song ForPlay EP last September, it also came with a free video for each song. What may seem like small extra touches, have gone a long way to building a solid fan base, and has caught the attention of local tastemakers like KROQ’s Kat Corbett and Nic Harcourt, who have championed the band. Catch them on July 1st at the Hammer Museum where they headline the opening show of KCRW’s concert series, Also I like to Rock…
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Indie Dispatches: Coachella Music Preview & Record Store Day
Band of Skulls set to rock Coachella this Saturday
It’s that time of the year again, when music fans and industry folks alike make the trek to Indio California to sit by the pool, and sip… err, we mean, visit the Empire Polo Fields for three days of the Coachella Festival. And despite the recession and the absence of single-day tickets, we hear the mega-festival has already sold out. As always, it looks to be a great weekend with a solid lineup, but going beyond the big acts like Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke and Faith No More, there is a healthy line-up of more underground but equally exciting artists to check out… Friday highlights include Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells, who are odds-on for a “most likely to…” status in 2010, and Deer Tick who count NBC’s news anchor and indie tastemaker Brian Williams‘ as a fan… Looking to Saturday, Sub Pop’s Beach House have converted a lot of fans this year with their new album Teen Dream, while Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit should be the perfect summery pop-soundtrack for basking in the afternoon sunshine. From the West Coast, the Pitchfork-approved Girls and the odd-named-but-great-sounding Portugal the Man, who recently signed to Atlantic Records, are both worth a look, while the must-see for the day could be the UK’s Band of Skulls. Expect LCD Soundsystem to wow crowds in the desert, after wowing crowds with surprise shows in NYC last week, and keep an eye on The xx, who are fast-becoming the subject of obsession by music fans on both coast. Finally before escaping the desert, a must-see on Sunday’s dance card list includes: Australia’s The Middle East, who are rolling off a huge SXSW buzz, Sigur Ros singer/guitarist Jonsi, and Local Natives, who are one of the hardest working bands in L.A… Get Coachella set-times here.
If a trip to the desert is not in your future, don’t forget April 17th is the annual Record Store Day. A visit to support your local music emporium should always be a weekly event, but this Saturday is twice as exciting with a cool selection of limited edition items available. Just like a sample-sale event, record geeks will be out in full-force when the doors open, elbowing and jockeying their way to nab a copy of the limited Sonic Youth LPs, the Bon Iver 7″ and that Pavement compilation… Happy shopping!
- Cool Hand Luke
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More Post-SXSW Bits & Pieces
Jaguar Love @ RM64 Dirty Dog Party 3/19
Like ours, your inbox has probably been piling up with post-SXSW coverage emails. To help with the clutter, here’s a look at a few post-festival reviews and interviews from some of this year’s standout artists… Live4ever catches up with the UK’s Band of Skulls on their blitz through Austin and Townshend-like amp wreckage… Buzzbands has video of locals Shadow Shadow Shade from the IFC Crossroads House… Spinner reviews Dawes‘ “career-making” performances in Austin… Gordon Voidwell and Fitz & the Tantrums were a gear-nerds dream, Keyboard Magazine has all the synthillating details… Fader gets intimate with David Vandervelde and Vevo interviews Glasgow’s Twin Atlantic… And if you missed it, you can read our wrap-up post here…
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Endless Summer…
The Drums have labels & pubco's marching to their beat
Monday night at Spaceland was like a good ole’ label brew-ha of days past, with A&R posses from around the league filling the room to catch The Drums (those keeping score may remember a couple of the members from former incarnation Elkland, who was signed to Columbia). Those marching to the Brooklyn-via-Florida band’s jangly surf-pop beat included barneys from all major music groups, with a particularly large showing from the bunny… Pubco’s are in the chase as well with Warner/Chappell making a strong play, but word is Sony/ATV may drop-in on the deal at any moment. Just remember, leashes are for pansies…
Elsewhere, some insiders are wondering what the future holds for Shangri-La Music, as the boutique label has been quietly handing back masters to some of its artists. Word on the street is that it will come down to founder Steve Bing’s decision whether or not to continue funding the music component of his larger Shangri-La business group. Recent coups for the label include the release of the highly anticipated Monsters of Folk debut album and a building story for new UK artist Band of Skulls. Stay tuned…
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