800Beloved‘s sophomore LP Everything Purple has matured leaps and bounds when it comes to an album flowing as a whole, Bouquet the debut album had many great tracks that I still listen to today yet didn’t have the tracklist that this LP(stream it in full here) has. As a constant listener of new post rock I feel like this LP has more depth than most these days with Sean Lynch literally living the lifestyle of what this album sounds like. I’ve been to his place each item you pick up has some kind of meaning and ties into this record somehow from his 14th Century Transylvanian casket in the living room to the J Crew catalog on the coffee table. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
If someone came up to me and told me: “I made this record and it sounds like about 100 instruments are looping” i’d be skeptical to think the album was any good but Warp‘s new signing Nice Nice makes it happen and makes it sound like its easy to do. Beautiful rhythms make this song one of kind and never do I feel like the song is out of their hands, super impressed with this.
Ever since I started making 4/4 material as early as 2002 I always wanted to make a song that gave off the same feeling like this Efdemin track. The key moment is the signature tone at 1:03, when it drops in you know its a Dial record, the air becomes warm around you and you’ve distanced yourself from everything in your peripheral vision, well at least that’s what its like for me.
Have you ever wanted a post rock song instrumental? well I think this Bell Hollow would be on my list, I just don’t know what to enjoy about the vocals yet the guitars and synth is really on point so I keep listening.
2 lovely groups by the names of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and 800beloved came out this month that got me back to digging thru older songs from a few more older well known groups that most of us already know. It’s nice to hear new groups taking hints of older material that is really specific sounding that inspired them and pushing it thru 2009 that is full of awful pop, weakened indie rock, and stagnant dance music. I truly feel like both these groups need to be heard since I would love to be dancing to music like this with a bunch of friends over most of what is out there not because its soo much better but it would be a perfect change of pace.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Young Adult Friction
[audio:friction.mp3]
800beloved – Galaxies
[audio:galaxies.mp3]
My Bloody Valentine – (When You Wake) You’re Still In a Dream
The Knife is back but only half back and without Olof. Before I get into this video, how was the name The Knife not taken by a hair metal band in the 80s? Well if you want to see darkness then look no further than this video. The one part when all you see is a bed of bodies in the empty pool outside of the mansion will not get out of my head, the shots are wonderful all the way thru. Congrats to Mute on putting a budget together in a crazy time during early 2009 and delivering a wonderful piece like this.
I’ll be posting more about 800beloved very soon but to just give you a taste here is the video for “Go”. Sean Lynch has one of the best voices you’ll hear debut in 2009. Think who sings colder and more distant than what you hear, its like his voice is the boldest grey, you can’t even compare it Joy Division or The Cure.
The beautifully shot “White As Diamond” video by Ryan Jeffery gave me goosebumps the first time I saw it, part of me was happy that I didn’t rely on the shots color which is what usually gets me but more of the cold northern woodsy landscapes are what grabbed me.
