we saw: Sera Cahoone & Grand Archives

"Another Saturday Night And I Ain't Got Nobody"
I arrived at Union Hall just in time to grab a drink and catch Sera Cahoone's first song. From the start things sounded great and the live interpretations of songs from this years fantastic Only As The Day Is Long sounded as good, if not better than on record. Her band was tight, fleshing out rainy day country folk with elegance and restraint. The weeping of the pedal steel and the charming backwoods melodies of the banjo, coupled with Cahoone's smokey voice and heart-broken (but not devastated) lyrics made the basement of Union Hall feel more like a porch or bon fire affair than a packed gig in a Park Slope bar. I can't possibly emphasize how immaculate Cahoone's band sounded, except by saying that they were spot-on, every note delivered with reverence and grace. Stunning. (And yes my crush on Ms. Cahoone is now a mega-crush.)

Setlist: You Might As Well/ Last Time/ Only As The Day Is Long/ Runnin' Your Way/ Baker Lake/ The Colder The Air/ Shitty Hotel/ Couch Song/ Happy When I'm Gone/ Delta Dawn (Tanya Tucker cover w/ Grand Archives)

After Cahoone left the stage, former bandmate and collaborator Mat Brooke brought his Grand Archives to the Union Hall stage. The band, a scruffy group of vocal pop and atmospheric '60s California pop revivalists, played most of the tracks from their debut LP, as well as a couple covers, including Sam Cooke's lonely weekend anthem "Another Saturday Night." I've been patiently waiting Grand Archives New York debut since they released their original demos 16 months ago and last night was a culmination of over-playing demos, pre-ordering LP's and being inherently happy that the Grand Archives exist. Their classic retro pop was the perfect match to Cahoone's weeping folk, and the bands fabled 4-part harmonies lived up to all the praise they've received. The band seemed at home on the dimly lit stage, exchanging slacker banter with the crowd and bringing a little bit of Seattle comfort to Brooklyn.

Set List: Miniature Birds/ Louis Riel/ Index Moon/ New Song/ Swan Matches/A Setting Sun/ Sleep Driving/ Torn Blue Foam Couch/ Liberty Bell/ Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke)/ George Kaminski/ Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot)/ The Crime Window/ Southern Glass Home

Sera Cahoone- Couch Song


Grand Archives- Miniature Birds

new: Grand Archives

"For You To Find Next Time Around"

Grand Archives debut record was one of my most anticipated albums of 2008. Luckily, they followed through on the promise of their demo CD-R and crafted a lush, harmonic pop record in the grandest sense of the word. And by pop record, I mean a rock and roll record that would sit well beside The Kink's Village Green Preservation Society and CSNY's Deja Vu. Since The Grand Archive was released, I've gone back and visited Mat Brooke's past work (Carissa's Wierd, Band of Horses) and as much as I love BoH's Everything All The Time, I often find myself returning to Grand Archives. Why? Because it's an impeccable vocal pop record filtered through both smoky bars and sunny afternoons that compliments all seasons and feelings. Grand Archives inhabit a purgatory like state, neither belonging to the nostalgic retro band club nor the indie popsters group, instead the band exists in a timeless ethereal world, where music is music and just that. No scenes, no fads, just the tunes. A few choice examples are newly available at Daytrotter, especially the wonderful "George Kaminski," a song about an "American inmate who once held the Guinness Book of World Records title for his four leaf clover collection (all found exclusively in the prison yards)." The band will be in NYC June 13th for a show at the Bowery Ballroom. From what I hear, this is not a show to miss.

Grand Archives- Miniature Birds
Grand Archives- George Kaminski

Grand Archives on the Late Late Show

we love: Sera Cahoone

"No clue as to what I'm doing here"

We love Sera Cahoone's new record. This should come as no surprise to anyone whose good at playing connect the dots. Shall we: Sera used to play drums in Carissa's Wierd, with Matt Brooke and Ben Bridwell. Carissa's Wierd broke up. Mat and Ben founded Band of Horses. We love Band of Horses. Sera played drums on their debut, Everything All The Time. Then, Mat left Band of Horses. Tyler Ramsey sorta took his place, but not really. Mat founded Grand Archives, whom we also love. Sera recently toured with Grand Archives and just released her second solo disc on Sub Pop, home to Carissa's Wierd, Band of Horses and Grand Archives. So yeah, six degrees and all that nonsense. Anyway, we've really been digging the "country noir" of Cahoone's Only As The Day Is Long, but there's just one problem; no vinyl release!

Seriously, Sub Pop, were you not listening when Sera dropped the final mix in your palms?! This record screams vinyl, from the front porch banjos to the jangle of tambourines and Sera's oh-so haunting voice. Only as the Day is Long feels like a record released 30 years ago and should be a prime target for vinyl release, just as Bon Iver's sylvan dream For Emma, Forever Ago is one of those records that only feels right on wax. Not gonna lie, we're a little disappointed in Sub Pop for not giving Sera the vinyl treatment, because honestly, Only As The Day Is Long really deserves it.

Sera Cahoone- Only As The Day Is Long

This Week in Nu Musick

Get your wallets out, as tomorrow is the first big release day of 2008. Not only are two albums we've been dying to hear on vinyl finally getting released (Bon Iver, Grand Archives), America finally gets druggy with the Raveonettes, Cryptacize digs treasure and we also get a new fill of John Darnielle's drunken lullabies. It's a good week to be a music fan.

The Mountain Goats- Heretic Pride
Another great record from John Darnielle and company, this one departs from Get Lonely and The Sunset Tree, as it documents a series of character based tunes rather than Darnielle's interior dialogue. Nothing exceptionally new with the sound here, just great lyrics, affectingly nasal vocals and Darnielle's everyday poetics.

The Mountain Goats- Sax Rohmer #1{right click to download}



Grand Archives- The Grand Archives
We've been patiently awaiting this release since Mat Brooke uploaded 4 demos on MySpace over a year ago. Couldn't be happier to finally hear it on wax. We've had this one pre-ordered since Sub Pop put it up. They really need to come East soon.

Grand Archives- Torn Blue Foam Couch


Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago
Yep, one of my favorite records of 2007 finally gets a proper release by the nice people at JagJaguwar. And yes, it's coming out on vinyl(!). More importantly Justin will be at Williamsburg's Sound Fix Thursday night for a free performance. See ya there.

Bon Iver- Skinny Love


Cryptacize-Dig That Treasure
Asthmatic Kitty releases the debut from this band of minimalist SoCal sugar popsters. And by sugar, we mean this band was started in an apartment across the street from a sugar factory and their sound totally reflects it.

Cryptacize- Cosmic Sing Along


The Raveonettes- Lust Lust Lust
Following in the steps of The Magnetic Fields Distortion, or the other way around (Lust Lust Lust was released in Europe last Fall), the new Raveonettes record finds them dabbling in J&MC distortion and MBV Loveless-esque walls of noise. Walls of feedback behind '60s pop melodies and loads of digital delay make tracks like "Dead Sound" and "Candy" sound like they could be long lost demos on a remastered deluxe version of Psycho Candy.

The Raveonettes- Dead Sound

McG's Best of 2007

"And the Beat Goes On..."

2007. Hmmm, what can I say? Well it was a damn good year for new music and it all started in 2006 with early leaks from The Shins, Of Montreal and LCD Soundsystem, albums which still resonate a year later, which says a lot given our fickle ADD blog-fueled music scene. 2007 will surely be remembered as the year indie went mainstream, with Neon Bible and Wincing the Night Away debuting at #2 on the Billboard charts and Modest Mouse's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank popping in at #1, something I never would have dreamed of listening to "Wild Pack of Family Dogs" in high school. Which goes to show people aren't stupid, when they hear something good they immediately gravitate towards it (ie. Feist).

The year was dominated by French electro (Daft Punk, Justice, Ed Banger Records), Swedish Indie Pop (Jens Lekman, Shout Out Louds, Taken By Trees), the Italo-Disco revival (Glass Candy, The Chromatics, Italians Do It Better Records and Sally Shapiro) and, once again, Brian Wilson's LSD influenced hypnotics and harmonies (Panda Bear, Miracle Fortress).

The blog world blew up the Black Kids, helped Columbia grad's Vampire Weekend score a deal with XL on the strength of a Blue CD-R (and one of the most beautiful 7" singles I've ever seen). Not to mention The Explorers Club getting picked up by Secretly Canadian/JagJaguwar cousin Dead Oceans and Grand Archives, project of former Band of Horses member Mat Brooke, inking with Sub Pop. On those signings alone 2008 is shaping up to be just as action packed as '07, giving us no time to sleep. With that said here are my lists, I hope you enjoy and have a kick ass rest of 2007. Check back tomorrow when I'll have a stocking stuff (aka .zip file) of all the years best songs to keep you sane for the rest of the year.

Artist of the Year

James Murphy/LCD Soundsystem- Not only did President Murphy hit us with the colossal Sound of Silver but 2007 also saw the proper release of his Nike/iTunes collabo, the heart pounding 45:33, which gave birth to one of the best songs of 2007, "Someone Great." ("I'm wishing we could talk about it..."). Murph could've rested on his laurels and just toured with the Arcade Fire and !!!, but no he kept releasing compelling material under the LCD moniker, including the All My Friends EP with covers by Franz Ferdinand and John Cale as well as A Bundle of Stuff EP which features remixes by Soulwax and Carl Craig, among others... And then he & LCD drummer Pat Mahoney went and put together the funkiest, finger pointing collection of head hunting disco I've ever heard. As best said through Chic "I feel your love coming on, like the calm before the storm, your love is out to get me."

Favorite Albums of 2007 (in no order)

Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago

Panda Bear- Person Pitch

Blitzen Trapper- Wild Mountain Nation

The National- Boxer

Glass Candy- B/E/A/T/B/O/X

Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala

Vampire Weekend- Blue CD-R

James Murphy & Pat Mahoney- Fabriclive.36

Favorite Mix (Non Fabric/DJ-Kicks/Radio 1 Essential Mix)

Bullion- Pet Sounds: In the Key of D

Best Podcast

Mad Decent- Can't Forget Dilla

DJ/Producer/Remixer of the Year

XXXchange (of Spank Rock)- Bjork- Earth Intruders remix; Thom Yorke- The Eraser remix; Kid Sister- Control; Kid Sister- Let Me Bang; Spank Rock Fabric.Live 36

Best Demo (three way tie)

Grand Archives

Black Kids

The Explorers Club

Best Concert

Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem @ Red Rocks

Best DJ Set

James Murphy @ Hiro Ballroom, CMJ week

Bands I Wish I Had More Time to Absorb
The Acorn
Yeasayer
Burial
Santogold

Grand Archives

"I'm Sleepdriving Away"

Band of Horses 2K6 release Everything All The Time was one of our favorite records of last year. So when we heard that founding member Mat Brooke was leaving the band, we got all gushy sad inside. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to get back on his, um, horse.

Brooke's new band, Grand Archives, makes sleepy, reverb soaked, "potent dreampop." Warm fingerpicking and ethereal vocals make the wonderfully titled "Sleepdriving" a must for somber, sleepless nights, when a long drive or walk maybe the only thing to calm your mind. We're not the only people that dig Brooke's new project, the Grand Archive-ists have already opened a bunch of shows for fellow Washingtonians and indie powerhouse Modest Mouse. Download two tracks from their demo EP below or preview the entire thing here.

Grand Archives-Sleepdriving
Grand Archives- Southern Glass Home