nu music: Port O'Brien

"Sleep is where I want to be"

(photo by CharlieHomo)
A couple of days before we were drooling over the Fleet Foxes NYC debut, we were fawning over Port O'Brien's foot stomping ramshackle affair at Piano's. While the latest studio version of "I Woke Up Today" is undoubtedly one of the best songs of the year, the band's got alot more up their sleeve than the pots and pans percussion and bourbon sing-a-long of the song that birthed the title of their upcoming record All We Could Do Was Sing. And while I love the studio recording, the savage army sing-a-long they recorded for Daytrotter during Noise Pop is so boisterous that it practically screams 'wake the fuck up,' both literally and figuratively. Appropriately, the revamped Daytrotter version has been my iTunes alarm clock jam since it was loaded it a few weeks back.

Coincidentally, our good friend, psuedo-west coast correspondent and blow dart enthusiast John Dura (aka SpaceCakes420, muxtape) sent me a few tracks the band recently recorded for a Hear Ya Live Session (brought to you by Beer Nuts!). The band performed three songs, including standout "From Port," but the real treat is "Is This Really What It's Come To." Personally, this song really hits home. Not only does Van mention listening to the Grateful Dead (my first favorite band) and the Smashing Pumpkins (my first concert, Infinite Sadness tour) but he has the uncanny ability to sum up the subtle nuances of young life by way of sleepless nights. I can't do any justice to this one, so just peep the lyrics.

"Is this really what its come to/ Some drugs inside my bedroom/ With the lights turned down/ I know I cant see much of anything/ The glow from my computer screens/ Telling me to go/ And sleep is where I want to be/ but I cant get there for the life of me/ So I guess I'll just, watch TV/ And I'll listen to the Grateful Dead on my headphones/ I'll watch as my old dear friends hit the road/ but I think I will stay/ Stay right here.

I've taken all these college course/ I've seen all kind of courses/ That my life should take/ And not to hesitate/ But that's all I want to do/ So I'll sit right here and think it through/ Until the timings right/ Or right for, the time is running with me/ We're holding hands for eternity/ Then we'll have some kids/ Then we'll die/ And I'll listen to the Smashing Pumpkins on my headphones/ I'll watch as my old dear friends hit the road/ But I think I will stay/ Stay right here."

Port O'Brien- I Woke UP Today (Daytrotter/Noise Pop version)
Port O'Brien- Is This Really What It's Come To

Port O'Brien raging "I Woke Up Today" in New York City

one take new york with PORT O'BRIEN, 'i woke up today' from one take new york on Vimeo.

nu musick: Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band

"I'm Listening to Your Favorite Records"

Bridging the gap between the Hammond B-3 rave-ups of Booker T & The MG's (think "Green Onions") and the freewheeling kaleidoscopic collage of The Go! Team, Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band are set to get the party started all over the globe. Their latest record, the psychotropic X-Ray Spirit, is a frantic mess of lo-fi drums, distorted vocal samples and sexed-up wah funk that could be the soundtrack to a menacing cinematic drug montage, like the cemetery scene in Easy Rider. If you haven't jumped on the band wagon, do it now, because all this whacked out alien shit is sure to make the kids start doing drugs and breaking stuff, and making music again. After all, isn't that the order in which these things are supposed to happen?

X-Ray Spirit hits US stores March 25 via Copenhagen's Crunchy Frog Records.

"X-Ray Spirit"

nu musick: Atlas Sound

I Slept On The Bridge

Anyone interested in pink noise, atmospherics, ethereal landscapes and drones should head over to the the Deerhunter Blog where head hunter Bradford Cox is sharing a shit ton of music from his Atlas Sound project for free. And by shit ton I mean a 2006 long playing CD-R How I Escaped the Prison of Fractals, some recent demos, a sweet Valentine's day mix and the brand new Orange Ohms Glow EP, which was recorded February 5-8 2008. So, yeah, I'd say that's pretty recent. A must for anyone into lo-fi home recordings and psych loops.

Cox will bring Atlas Sound to NYC on 2/23 and 2/24, for shows at the Mercury Lounge and the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

nu musick: I Make This Sound/The Breakups

"I'm Not Getting Any Younger"

As an east-coaster it's often hard to keep up with all the great music coming from the left coast. However, I Make This Sound is too good not to keep up with. Full of clever, often counter-intuitive, melodies, I Make This Sound has a vibe that owes as much to the Laurel Canyon scene as much as it does pre-school choirs. An affable mix of pop hooks and odd time signatures, mixed with some rainbow sprinkles, makes for a devilish cookie batter that one can't help but devour before cooking. Check out "One, Two, Three!" below, which should be the archetype of a modern pop song.

It just so happens that The Breakups are also releasing an EP next week and playing a show with I Make This Sound. Crazy, right? I've really been digging "Let's See What Happens", an electro-pop song with all the slicing funk guitar needed to get my shoulders shaking, which you can hear at their MySpace page (here). The tune is one of the standouts on their soon to be released Eat Your Heart Out EP. We expect alot out of both of these bands in the coming year. Now come to New York already!

If you're in SoCal be sure to catch their CD release show this Wednesday (2/13) at The Echo with friends The Breakups, Aquarium Drunkard favorites Le Switch and the Amateurs.

I Make This Sound- One, Two, Three!

nu musick: epo-555

"Our Destination Lies Beneath the Pillow"

Fans of indie pop are surely familiar with the rising scenes in Sweden, Norway and Finland. While Scandanavia is a sure fire hot bed for all things indie, it should be no surprise that their neighbors to the south, the Danes, have quite an affinity for well honed melodies, night time synths and a general indie aesthetic. Copenhagen's epo-555 are the epitome of slow burning mood-tronica. Melting the jangly distorted jams of Yo La Tengo with Sigur Ros-esque tapes loops and the sexy femme fatale darkness of Goldfrapp, epo-555 is pure insomniac bliss. At moments they remind me of fellow Dane's Mew, other times Hot Chip. With that said, be the first on your block to tell all your friends about the dark psych pop coming out of Copenhagen.

epo-555- Grisslapan
epo-555- Harry Mambourg


"Hyperschlieb"

nu musick: Burial

"Once Upon A Time There Was You"

Excerpt from a Burial interview with The Wire .

"I spend a lot of time wandering around London, I always have. Sometimes it’s because I’ve got somewhere to go, sometimes it’s because I haven't got anywhere to go. So I’d be wandering endlessly, getting in places. Being on your own listening to headphones is not a million miles away from being in a club surrounded by people, you let it in, you’re more open to it. Sometimes you get that feeling like a ghost touched your heart, like someone walks with you.

"It's about being on a night bus, or with your mates, walking home across your city on your own late at night, or being in a situation with your girlfriend or boyfriend, or coming back from a club, or putting tunes on an falling asleep. If your well into tunes, your life starts to weave around them."

Buy Burial Untrue

Warning: Must listen to with dope headphones
Burial- Archangel
Burial- Raver

nu musick: The Archivist

"I Look Forward To A Time When We Can Someday Meet Again"

Somewhere between Stephen Merritt and Elliott Smith sits The Archivist, a Milwaukee bedroom musician whose woolen folk often sounds like it was recorded via an ancient walkie-talkie inside a chopper shot down behind enemy lines. At times it's raw, lo-fi aesthetic at its best. However, The Archivist also brings a few synths to the table on the standout track "New Years" which could have been the 70th track on 69 Love Songs. Even his simple, yet universal lyrics are delivered in the same gentle deadpan that won The Magnetic Fields so many broken hearts.

"In ten or twenty years if thats not much too long/I'll try and find you here provided your not gone/ But if you left or if you hide or if you lock yourself somewhere hoping not to be found/ I take it as a sign your well and that you found somebody else with whom you'd be much better off/ I hope I wont be wrong"

If you've been spending endless nights pacing around your bedroom or starring into a half empty glass of red, your in luck as The Archivist has a gift for you. What you might ask? Well it just so happens to be his recently released debut EP "recorded in his bedroom and available for free to anyone with an internet connection." Click HERE to download the whole EP for free, or check out two of my favorites below. For fans of Bon Iver, Sparrow House, Peter and the Wolf, Elliott Smith and general folkie sadness.

The Archivist- New Years(highly rec'd)
The Archivist- Jeremiah (The Archivist)

nu musick: Vampire Weekend

"As a Sophmore/With Reggaeton"

Vampire Weekend has been dubbed the funkiest NYC buzz band since the Talking Heads. Rolling Stone claimed they sounded like "Pavement covering Paul Simon's Graceland." We hear it (maybe with a hint of Islands thrown in fo' flava). NY Times said "Even without an album Vampire Weekend has made one of the year’s most impressive debuts." "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" blends the signature rhythmic elements of afro-beat (minus driving horns) with an obtuse, folky simplicity. Minimalist in its approach, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" sounds like it was made for a Wes Anderson Soundtrack (or Graceland). "Mansard Roof" is like CYHSY at a sideshow carnival, with a touch of Arctic Monkey's rapid fire guitar, naivety and vocal inflection. Its worldly, fun, literate pop for kids getting ready to spend another year hittin' the books. Makes me long for autumnal walks to the library. Brisk breeze, corduroy jackets and old books.


Vampire Weekend- Mansard Roof
Vampire Weekend- Oxford Comma

nu musick: St Vincent

"Paris is Burning After All"

I have been anxiously awaiting the full length debut from Dallas' St. Vincent (government name Annie Clark) since Gorilla vs Bear posted her phenomenal cover of "These Days" last fall. Marry Me dropped today and is a platform for St. Vincent's talent as a multi-instrumentalist. Stirring compositions like "All the Stars Aligned", "Paris is Burning" and "Jesus Saves, I Spend" showcase her outerworldly fret work, soaring string arrangements, cryptic yet contemplative lyrics and her sweet soaring vocals. She's only 23 and has already been a member of the Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens touring band as well as opened for the Arcade Fire's.

If the dreamy piano flourishes, haunting harmonies and delicate poetics of "All the Stars Aligned" don't give you the middle school butterflies, then the melancholic cabaret act of "Paris is Burning" will convert you. The Gorilla vs Bear crew know Annie's onto big things. I agree. Big, big things. Her website is www.ilovestvincent.com. It's an appropriate domain name.

St. Vincent- All the Stars Alligned
St. Vincent- Paris is Burning

nu musick: Rilo Kiley

"You've Got the Moneymaker"

We've got the brand new single from Los Angeles Indie Darlings Rilo Kiley. "The Moneymaker" hit the 'net the other day is all big RAWK guitars, a super tight rhythm section and Jenny Lewis sounding like a sexy young Joan Jett. No doubt the Rilo sound has evolved with each album, maturing from the minimalist Casio drum laden indie-twang of Take Offs and Landings towards a truly successful mixture of clever indie song writing, ingenious pop sensibilities and classick rock adrenaline on the Execution of All Things & More Adventurous. There's a reason they've won over thousands of wide eyed youngsters and are bound to win thousands more with on August 21st when Under the Blacklight is released. If "the Moneymaker" is any indication, than Under the Blacklight may sound like Rilo got drunk with Siouxsie & the Banshees & Rick James. Seriously. Get "The Moneymaker" and watch the video below. The video is 70's porn in the vein of Fiona Apple's "Criminal". The song is much of the same. Regardless, Jenny looks great shaking her moneymaker. God bless.


Rilo Kiley- The Moneymaker