Interview with I Am Not Lefthanded

So the wife and I have been championing the Irish band I AM NOT LEFTHANDED for awhile now and they were gracious enough to answer some questions for us about their upcoming album. Part one is over at Have You Met Heather? and part two is right here. (or this is part one and part two is over there depending on your perspective.) You can visit their site here and get all kinds of free music.

Zen: You spent a lot of last year on the road, including hitting the US - how did that affect your sound going into the new record?

Lefthanded: I think it made us more confident about the sound we wanted, rather than affecting the way it turned out. We tend to keep busy, together and individually. In that ten hour drive from San Francisco to Portland, or the six hour drive headed north from LA, in every car journey, we had more time and space to talk about what we wanted than we'd had before. It was good to check in, make sure we were all on the same page. There's at least one song on the album about driving at night too...

Zen: How was playing the states different from Europe?

Lefthanded: Audiences in the US are just so different from ones in the UK. We like people, as a band. We generally tell people that they're welcome to come up and talk to us after we've played. UK audiences are that bit more reserved. They're more likely to drop you an email after a show than they are to come up and see you. US crowds love to chat to you after you've played, it was genuinely heartwarming. There were a lot of great stories, good recommendations, and ultimately a lot of positive feedback for us, in the US.

Zen: You have been broadcasting some of the recording sessions live. Has that influenced your process at all?

Lefthanded: Have you ever had a favourite song that you listened to over and over again, and when you played it for a friend, or a family member, it sounded completely different? Like you hear the individual lines more, you hear the perfections as well as the imperfections, because you're more nervous about how their listening will change how you hear the song? That's what broadcasting the recording sessions has been like for us, I think. Songs and lines that had become comfortable, had become part of us were suddenly new all over again. It wasn't an entirely confortable process. But then I tend to be incredibly tense in those five minutes before we get on stage anyway. I think the sound we ended up with was closer to how we are live, as a result. I don't regret doing it at all.

Zen: What are your plans for 2011? Album release and tour?

Lefthanded: We're not the most patient of bands, I think. We like to get recordings done all in one sitting, to record videos in a night. Everything's done in the spirit of the adventure. We've definitely been trying something different this time. Making ourselves slow down, to think about what we're doing. It means can't quite imagine not being recording this album, right now. We're hoping to have it ready for release late in the summer, and will tour the US again for a few months from September. Then maybe Thanksgiving, Christmas, some more videost to celebrate the major holidays - we have some brilliant ideas up our sleeves for the next ones - and we stop and take stock at the end of the year.

I can't remember when exactly I decided this, but when I was a teenager, I remember telling my family I would play as much music as I wanted until 2012. Then I promised I'd take stock and see where I was in life. If I was busking on street corners and barely scraping a living, I'd sell my amps and find something better to do. I've no idea why I picked 2012, I suspect it was because it seemed just so far away, and was an easy out when they asked me what I was doing with my life. I'd like to at least stick to my word in some sense though. So 2011 is for the album, and for making as much music as we can. I can't ever imagine selling anything I own or agreeing to sit behind a desk for the rest of my life, but it will be a good time to take stock and see how we're doing.

Big thanks to Kathryn and check them out when they hit the road later this year.

The National suprise new single

It is always a little better day anytime THE NATIONAL put out new music. "Exile Vilify" comes from a new video game (who knew you had to monitor Video Game soundtracks for new music, like I don't have enough to keep track of) and is a little slice of wonderful. Starting with a simple piano line, Matt Berninger goes up the ladder a bit with his vocals without sacrificing his silky smooth baritone in the process. The inclusion of a string section halfway through gives the song a cinematic quality that is not always part of their usual sound. I am curious if this was recorded at the same time as "High Violet" or as a stand alone track since it doesn't seem to be of the same vein as the tracks off that record. Either way it is a great song and only enhances my outright love for the band.

(mp3) The National -- Exile Vilify

The sultry sounds of The Twilight Singers

Greg Dulli's voice is a thing of beauty. As the lead singer of the AFGHAN WHIGS, Dulli anchored the power pop sound with his soul full wail as he sang about love lost and despair. The Whigs had a little bit of commercial radio success before disbanding. Prior the that Dulli set out with a side project called THE TWILIGHT SINGERS that was designed to showcase his softer side. Over time the band has harnessed a powerful, dark sound to compliment Dulli's songwriting structure.

Their fifth release, "Dynamite Steps", opens with the slow burner "Be Invited" before launching into the driving, Cure inspired "Waves". Dulli the blue eyed soul singer returns to navigate "Get Lucky" which practically oozes smoke and liquor. The feel continues with the piano and drum machine tandem of "On The Corner". "Gunshots" sounds like a really good imitation of the old Whigs sound and would be right at home on commercial radio circa 1996. ANI DIFRANCO contributes vocals to the haunting "Blackbird and the Fox". The entirety of the record has a feel of regret and late night mistakes. Dulli opens his soul for all to see and has made a record for those who are seeking redemption for the choices they made. It's really very powerful.

(mp3) The Twilight Singers -- Blackbird and the Fox

Sorry old friend, I neglected you

First I got really busy at work. Then I got deathly ill from what might have been best described at the stomach flu mixed with a touch of the Bubonic plaque. Then I picked up a new writing gig (more on that in a minute) so I have some to neglect my old friend here for the past week or so. But now I'm back and ready to talk some music.

A bit about the other gig. I will be writing two days a week (Fridays and Saturdays) for a wonderful blog called Monkey With A Halo. They cover the Los Angels of Anaheim (baseball for those of you not indoctrinated to US sports), which I am huge fan. I am very excited about this chance and hope to bring my voice to the world of sports as I have with music. Should be fun.

So back to the music. I have been kicking a bunch of stuff around for awhile now but with little real interest. So I settled on reviewing the new FLEET FOXES record. There has been a lot of buzz about this one and I went in with high expectations. This were heightened even further when Robin Peckhold dropped a solo ep that is gorgeous. But "Cosmic Tomes for Mental Therapy" leaves me a bit wanting.

Opening strong with the somber "Montezuma", the record falls into a nice groove full of 70's references such as the dual harmonies on "Bedouin Dress" and the shuffle on "Battery Kinzie". The Foxes are aching to transport us back in time to the golden era of AM radio with music that sounds like the open road at dusk. There are flashes of Middle Eastern influence on "Sim Sala Bim" and their is ample flute usage on "The Plains/Bitter Dancer". "Helplessness Blues" is far and away the highlight of the record as it builds slowly to a quickened pace of a country stomp played by a Led Zeppelin at their quieter moments.

I think Fleet Foxes suffers because although musically they take chances, the lack of vocal changes makes the record seem repetitive. A falsetto here or a baritone there might have served the overall sound well. Perhaps more time will reveal the hidden depths. It feels like a record that with time will grow on me.

(mp3) Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues

NEW BEASTIE BOYS!!!!!!!!!!

The first track from the new BEASTIE BOYS record "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" leaked out and it is everything I had hoped and more. Classic 70's groove, all three MC's taking turns like vintage 80's era NYC hip hop, and just enough of a hook to be memorable. While not as instantly classic as "Intergalactic" or "Sabotage", it is a nice sign that the boys haven't lost any of their skills. I cannot wait to hear what the whole thing sounds like.

MAKE SOME NOISE by Beastie Boys

Bell X1 and the shadow of U2

When you are an Irish band at some point you are going to have to answer the u2 question. Just how much did the four lads from Ireland influence your own work? It's not even a question of if they are an influence, but to what degree. Such is the case with BELL X1 (as it was with SNOW PATROL before them). Even though this three piece is releasing it's fifth album, "Bloodless Coup", most people outside of the Ireland haven't been exposed. The first blush with this new album isn't going to quell the U2 issue much.

The opener, "Hey Anna Lena", takes the now popular drum loop/blip approach that is more RADIOHEAD than U2 even mimicking Thom Yorke's falsetto. But it's with the lead single "Velcro" that the band shift into stadium rocker mode. Awash in synthesizers and bass lines, "Velcro" is an arena pleaser for sure. Singer Paul Noonan's voice bears a striking resemblance to David Byrne especially on the TALKING HEADS-ish "4 Minute Mile". "Sugar High" takes what might be an OMD outtake and updates the sound. Other parts of the record have the band taking a bit funkier outlook on their sound.

It's a risk for sure, but at least the U2 comparison dissipates. Where Snow Patrol has run to the Adult Alternative center with their music, Bell x1 seem to have at least tried to branch out.

(mp3) Bell X1 -- Hey Anna Lena

New TV On The Radio

Soul music is often misinterpreted. Most people take soul music to mean the sound of the 70's (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson) and that is certainly what I usually think of, but TV ON THE RADIO threaten to augment that definition for the 21st century. With the release of their fourth record, "Nine Types of Light", they are now poised to make a mainstream dent in both the alternative and soul music markets.

Opening with the seriously groovy "Second Song", lead singer Tunde Adebimpe's announces the bands intention to create a sound that is unique by blending all their influences together. Stax era trumpets, Parliament bass lines weave in and out in beautiful concert. "Keep Your Heart" finds Adebimpe alternating between a baritone and a falsetto over a simple drum beat. "You" is an out right love song that could double as a gospel torch tribute. "No Future Shock" could be a Prince outtake (back when he cared what he sounded like).

The highlights really start coming with the epic "Killer Crane which builds off a piano and synth marriage into a song of hope and inspiration about life after all has fallen apart. It's the type of song COLDPLAY has been aiming for but doesn't have the musical chops to pull off. The single "Will Do" is a sort of companion to "You" as the theme of finding love as salvation returns. The last half of the record settles into a patterned groove collection of rock songs before ending with the revival blues stomp of "Caffeinated Consciousness" which echoes a bit of JACK WHITE'S work filtered through their own lens.

This is a record that will deepen with every listen. It has the potential to be the kind of album that marks their ascendency to the big leagues with bands like ARCADE FIRE as the new voices of a generation. It's that good.

(mp3) TV On The Radio -- Caffeinated Consciousness

OPENING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

(ANGEL RED FOR THE DAY)

Yes folks, baseball season is upon us. It may be corny but I still get excited by the romance and the joy of the first day of the season. I think JOHN FOGERTY put it best in his four minute ode to wanting to get onto the field...

Jets Overhead Keep Flying the Emo Flag

Emo, an offshoot of the pop punk movement of the late 90's/early 00's, seems to have come and gone without much of a fuss. There was a run of bands like JIMMY EAT WORLD, SOMETHING CORPORATE, and STRAYLIGHT RUN that combined some of the punk reliance on simple chord progressions with a more confessional, heart-on-your-sleeve writing approach. The one thing about the emo bands was that by and large the records sounded great and played well in the car.

With the release of their new ep, "Bystander", Canadian collective JETS OVERHEAD, continue to keep the emo tradition alive. A collection of leftovers from their last record, the five tracks do hold up well as a whole body of work. The title track has all the driving force of a great rock song which is tempered a bit by the more acoustic musings on "Destroy You." The bands stretches itself a bit with "It's Not Up To Me" which reminds me a bit of vintage RIDE in their use of bass and feedback guitar. "Friendly Fire" continues to explore new ways to fine tune their sound with a pretty little guitar line opening the instrumental groove as the vocals float in and out in an almost inaudible haze. The remix of "Full Shed" from the last record has a nice keyboard line and allows the vocals of Adam Kittridge and Antonia Freybe-Smith to become more center than on the original. Again RIDE and the other shoegazer bands have a firm influence here. The acoustic version of "Bystander" is a throwaway and should have been left off.

This is not a record that will redefine a genre but is certainly enjoyable and will almost certainly sound better driving down the freeway.

(mp3) Jets Overhead -- Bystander

FOUND blow my socks off

FOUND, a Scottish collective, have just released their third proper record, "Factorycraft". It has been awhile since I have been this impressed with an album that is so varied in it's sound. Every time I listen to it, I dive deeper and deeper into the marriage of pop and electronic music that is so seem less and well thought out that it seems wholly organic. "Anti Climb Paint" is a straight ahead pop lament that is followed by the gorgeous "I'll Wake With A Seismic Head No More". As the record evolves, you almost get the impression that is what Radiohead has been trying to do with it's music but to a lesser degree. Using blips and loops throughout the pop structure allows Found to play with songs in new and creative ways. "Machine Age Dancing" is a 21st century take on the classic Beach Boys melodies. "You're No Vincent Gallo" and Lowlandness" are the most accessible from a song status, and yet still are off kilter enough to appeal to the more adventurous listener.

Then there is "Shallow". In what may be a master craft of sonic textures, the song builds on a simple synth and guitar line like a descendant of the shoegazer movement. The simplicity of the lyrics makes the music more important to get the feel of the song across. The band don't rush the build and allow the song to breath and find it's way till it settles into a groove akin to GALAXIE 500 or THE BETA BAND. It is simply breathtaking and clearly a song of the year candidate.

There will undoubtedly by a lot of hype around this album because it will appeal to both indie kids and electronic freaks equally. It will almost certainly be in my top ten for the year. Get this record immediately if not sooner.

(mp3) Found -- You're No Vincent Gallo

New The Wildhouse EP

Anytime I get an e-mail from Ed over at 17 Seconds my ears prick up. His label has sent me some truly mind bending stuff over the past couple of years, so a new THE WILDHOUSE ep, "Good Morning, Captain", was just what I needed to get through a dreary day. The new music takes their marriage of Shoegazer droning guitars and feedback laced solos and amps up the intensity. "Palantine" has elements of TH' FAITH HEALERS and GALAXIE 500 in the mix. "Go" is closer to a traditional rock song until the end careens off the tracks in a Thurston Moore-esque feedback loop that threatens to burst the eardrums. "Palace of Words" is a four minute sonic experiment with a spoke word interlude serving as the vocals to the dueling guitars that make it feel almost like some sort of jazz duet where they bend and wrap sounds around each other. The fifteen minute epic "Calvinball" builds slowly to a driving beat of punk rock ethos as the lead singer spits out his spoken word diatribe like a manic disciple of Mark E Smith.

This is certainly music for those with more extreme tastes. But if you need to vent some vitriol in your day this is the record for you.

(mp3) The Wildhouse -- Palatine

Two Door Cinema Club Mine a Sound to Stardom

I have a 15 month old son at home who does not appear to enjoy sleep. He does however look forward to quality time with his old man at 3am. He has very discerning viewing tastes and will often invest himself so fully in a movie that he will not go back to sleep. (At least this is what I believe is happening). This means that we are often stuck watching things that I would normally not be interested in. Lately it seems music videos on channels like MTV and VH1 are what put him back to sleep. This can be a problem since most of the videos these outlets play are usually bad rap or pop songs.

(Note to TRAIN: I agree to not make fun of you if you promise to take "Marry Me" and go away, while your at it could you also take MAROON 5's 'I Never Want To Leave This Bed" and Christina something-or-other's vapid "Jar of Hearts" with you, Thanks)

Now every once in awhile a band that actually has some talent sneaks through the dreck and into rotation. Such is the case with TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB. Or so I thought. "What You Know' has officially hit heavy rotation on VH1 so I have seen it a few times. The video owes a lot to the ROBERT PALMER vids of yesteryear (look it up and you'll see what I mean). But the song is very catchy so I thought I would dive into the rest of the album. And there is the problem. If you have downloaded the single, I will save you. You have the whole album. Each song has the same staccato guitar lines (borrowed liberally from the FOALS) and lead singer Alex Trimble's thin vocals. I had hoped for more. "Undercover Martyn" has some originality to it but other than that, the whole record sounds eerily similar. That is not to say the band is not talented, just a bit unoriginal. Here's hoping that life on the road does them some good and that they are not sucked into the success they are getting with their initial offering. It could either way...

(mp3) Two Door Cinema Club -- Undercover Martyn

New The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

It's an awkward name I think we can all admit, but THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART make some very sweet music indeed. They have recently released their second full length, "Belong" to a lot of critical praise. What they have done is taken their nostalgic slightly twee sounding approach and beefed it up with a heavy dose of shoegazer angst. The result is a record that has both depth and breadth in the sound.

The opening title track drones away with all the might of a vintage MY BLOODY VALENTINE track before surrendering to their better pop instincts. This is a common approach to the songs on the record and serves the band well. The sheer pop genius that was so apparent on their first album is a bit muted here, only resurfacing in 80's inspired "Heart in Your Heartbreak" which could very well have been an outtake from their debut. Throughout the album, Kip Berman and Peggy Wang intertwine their vocals to make a singular sound. Berman lyrics still have some of that schoolboy poetry to them but they are not out of line with a lot of what is being written about in indie rock these days.

This is a record of a band stretching its legs and finding new ways to take its sound out for a walk. The move into more sonically adventurous territory serves them well and makes for a really enjoyable listening experience. This is certainly no pain...

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong by Slumberland Records

The Charlatans Cover Themselves

There is absolutely no explaining how THE CHARLATANS have lasted this long. They were initially part of the post STONE ROSES "Madchester" wave of britpop bands that took hip hop rhythms and meshed them with rock song structures. Their use of keyboards and slippery bass lines gave them dancehall credibility. But they should have crashed and burned, flamed out like so many others (Chapterhouse, The Milltown Brothers, Happy Mondays...). But here they are still going strong and now throwing us yet another curveball with the "Warm Sounds" ep.

The six songs on the ep are re imaginings of their other songs. Rather than cover other artists, they have opted to cover themselves. Now my rule with covers is, if you dare take on someone else's work you have to put an original spin on it. But what about your own work? How do you judge it? Well, I think it's best to think of them as both original on their own and as if they had covered another band.

"Smash the System" from their last record gets stripped of the techno backbeat which is replaced by a computer blip track along with a simple guitar line. Singer Tim Burgess becomes a much greater presence in this mix. "The Only One I Know", loses the keyboard and replaces it with a jangly acoustic guitar. Much has been made of the band's love of Bob Dylan this ep seems awash in Dylan style musical arrangements. "North Country Boy" becomes a Tom Petty-esqe mid tempo rocker. "Oh, Vanity" is slowed way down to just a strummed guitar and Burgess's voice. "Blackened Blue Eyes" which originally was a club anthem now becomes a country stomp played on the front porch. "One To Another" which was a CHEMICAL BROTHERS production in it's original incarnation has morphed into a bluesy guitar pop track worthy of THE BLACK CROWES or THE KINKS.

The whole ep is an interesting listen merely to see what the band may do when freed from the shackles of their day job as standard bearers of a dying genre. In the real sense, THE CHARLATANS have eclipsed the scene are now embarking on their third decade of making music. Not bad for a bunch of also rans...

(mp3) The Charlatans -- One To Another

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!!

I know it may be less than imaginative but any St. Patrick's Day without THE POGUES and U2 just ain't right

The Underwhelming Return of The Strokes

Clearly I missed the boat on THE STROKES. People have been writing about them for the past ten years like they are set to be the next big rock band. I own "Is This It" and found it mildly entertaining, but since then I have lost interest in them as both a band and the future of rock. Prior to digesting their latest record, I had to go back and refresh my memory on their "hits" to get a jumping off point for comparing their newest work, "Angles". This is where I came to the conclusion that I missed on their "importance". Like THE KILLERS, The Strokes travel in taking 80's sounds and repackaging them for a modern audience a bit too lazy to find the originals on their own.

So what to make of their new record? Like there previous three, it has moments of pop achievement. "Under Cover of Darkness" is their signature sound as a blueprint for their catalogue. Ragged guitars, distorted and detached vocals and a jumpy drum beat make for a nice song for the radio. "Two Kinds of Happiness" sounds like it stepped out of MTV circa 1988. Outside of that this is a throwaway album. The synth lines are regurgitated OMD and HAIRCUT 100. The singing is still more of a monotone drone slightly slurred to give the impression that Julian Cassavetes doesn't give a damn. The whole thing is lackluster.

Now I try to avoid thrashing a record. I would be better served celebrating great music than tearing down mediocre stuff, but if the major media is going to posit these guys as successors to the arena rock thrown, I must take issue. The Strokes are what used to be for the record industry. They are a band that has made a carefully crafted image of themselves and sold their greatness before actually achieving it. In this brave new world of bands rising up through alternative promotional means, The Strokes cling to the old model. Here's hoping this is their death knell and we can move on to better things.

Why I Can't Stop Listening to "I Cut Like A Buffalo"

Normally I have dismissed most of Jack White's output other than the occcasional spin of a WHITE STRIPES record. Although certainly a talented musician and a versitile band leader, something about White has always struck me as off. I can't really put my finger on it as to why I have not invested more time in his 0ther outings (THE RACONTEURS, THE DEAD WEATHER) other than his voice is very hard to sing along to. So I was knocked to the floor when I found that I thoroughly enjoy "I Cut Like A Buffalo" from the Dead Weather so much. I have literally listened to it a dozen times in the last couple of weeks. From the bluesy guitar and keyboard open to the suberb way White and Alison Mosshart's vocals mesh to the absurdity of the lyrics, the whole song is pop song nirvana disguised as an old time rock stomp. Here is the live version from Later...with Jools Holland that is about as good as the live.

Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes) Free EP

Just came across this a couple of days ago and thought it was simply beautiful. ROBIN PECKNOLD is the lead singer of THE FLEET FOXES, who are prepping their second album as we speak. Pecknold released a three song ep of his solo work via his twitter account and they are breathtaking (and free). Using a simple acoustic guitar, the songs have a vibe that is similar to BON IVER. "I'm Losing Myself is a duet with Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear and has a worn, late night porch feel to it. "Derwentwater Blues" is an absolute stunning song. Taking a quiet acoustic pick line and meshing it with Pecknold's dreamy vocals, the song is a sonic tapestry of longing and hopelessness. It sounds a lot like NEIL YOUNG in his "Harvest" era acoustic troubadour persona. The third track, "Where is My Wild Rose" is a cover of a 1974 song by New Zealand singer Chris Thompson and has that same easy feeling of a wanderer searching for something (love, redemption, happiness) but unable to do so for whatever reason.

THE WIFE has been obsessing over the new Fleet Foxes single and that couple with these songs has heightened my intrigue of their coming release. Do yourself a favor and grab this ep quickly...

Robin Pecknold Free EP

The Dodos make a beautiful racket

THE DODOS are a two piece band out of San Francisco that make some of the most interesting music I have heard in a long time. Composed of singer/guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber. Mixing acoustic guitars with some ridiculously cool African Ewe Drumming t make a sound that is both pretty and wildly improvisational in sound. "No Color" is the bands fourth album and will be the one that makes them a blogosphere sensation. The opening beats of "Black Night' set the pace, then using a slide guitar line to propel the rhythm as Long implores the listener to "control yourself". "Good" takes a plucked string guitar line and beats it into the ground before launching into a polyrhytmic approach to accompany Long's somewhat monotone singing style.

There is an undercurrent in parts of the record of old time stomping blues songs that would make ROBERT JOHNSON proud. "Sleep" takes this approach and mixes it with a pop sheen that makes it very catchy. "When Will You Go Home" has a slower, more maudlin approach to the song structure but without sacrificing the signature drum sound at the heart of the whole record. The song develops slowly till it almost takes on a SONIC YOUTH sound at the end. In fact, the most apt comparison I can come up with is the solo work of Sonic Youth guitarist THURSTON MOORE, who took a similar approach of burying his vocals and highlighting the instruments. By the time you reach the end with "Don't Stop", Long and Kroeber have refined their sound to a perfect pop noise blend that is mesmerizing to listen to.

The Dodos have created a record that develops with each listen and deepens with every spin. Each time I hear something new in the drum playing or the guitar picking that makes me appreciate two professional musicians at the height of their game.

(mp3) The Dodos -- Don't Stop

PPP (Part 14)

Seemed easier to start abbreviating my Perfect Pop Song Series. For this installment I bring you the absurdity that is NEW ORDER's "True Faith". People slapping each other and jumping on trampolines all leads us to the absurd notion that a great song doesn't always yield a great video.