WGRE Music Blog

The cold winter got the best of us and Hannah and I have been in blogosphere hibernation for quite some time. But now that the snow has thawed, we’ve warmed up our fingers and are ready to write about all the great new music we have in the station. So here we go….

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE is a New York City band with a taste for the ineffable and the experimental. They consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz), some of which occasionally release solo CDs of similar avante-garde tendencies. Animal Collective’s newest album, (their 9th) is Merriweather Post Pavilion, an ethereal album about summertime clothes and young love, seen through dreamy soundscapes. The album has already reached critical acclaim, and received a 9.6 from Pitchfork (in case you aren’t familiar with Pitchfork, this rating is extremely high and unexpected).

Unfortunately, the band won’t be coming to Indy any time soon, but check out these other tour dates and see if you can catch ‘em live:

05.11 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05.12 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
05.13 New York, NY - Terminal 5
05.14 Boston, MA - House of Blues
05.15 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
05.16 Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy
05.18 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Hall
05.19 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
05.20 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
05.24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
05.25 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
05.26 Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre
05.27 Big Sur, CA - Henry Miller Memorial Library
05.29 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
05.30 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
05.31 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater

06.01 Albuquerque, MN - Sunshine Theater
06.02 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theatre
06.04 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
06.05 Austin, TX - Stubbs
06.06 Oxford, MS - The Library
06.08 St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
06.09 Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
06.10 Orlando, FL - Club Firestone

09.12 Monticello, NY - All Tomorrow’s Parties

Animal Collective official website: animalcollective.org

Brooklyn-based TV on the Radio recently released their third full-length album (fourth, if you include self-released OK Calculator), and as we’ve come to expect from these masters of experimental rock, Dear Science is a new spin on their well-developed style.  The album manages to retain TVOTR’s distinct core sound and haunting undertones while bringing more joyful elements to the table.

TVOTR’s music spans a number of genres, including post-punk, jazz fusion, doo-wop, electronica, and hip-hop, so it is difficult to draw any comparisons between them and other artists.  It’s known for being sprawling, but not disjointed; cerebral, but not pretentious; heavy, but not abrasive.

The album kicks off with “Halfway Home,” a strangely theme-song-like track featuring hand claps, upbeat backing vocals, and a nonchalant melody uncharacteristic of TVOTR.  Front man Tunde’s eerie falsetto doesn’t make an appearance until the two-minute mark, and for most of Dear Science, his usually heavy and desperate tone is replaced by something calmer and less urgent.

Tracks like “Crying,” “Stork and Owl” and “Love Dog” showcase this subdued TVOTR, and even the single “Golden Age,” which is stylistically similar to past albums, seems more exuberant somehow.  Maybe that is the distinguishing factor with Dear Science—it’s certainly happier and poppier than anything else TVOTR has done, which the spastic rap verses of “Dancing Choose” and bright choral style of “Golden Age” handily show.

Their trademark sound is not lost in all this, of course.  When I say that Dear Science is happier than former TVOTR albums, I don’t mean that it’s happy.  It’s still riddled with references to death and cynical descriptions of past lovers and acquaintances.  And despite its jaunts into pop song structure and less mournful melodies, the dark and cathartic style of TVOTR is alive and well in tracks like “Red Dress” and “DLZ,” which would be at home on former albums Young Liars and Return to Cookie Mountain.

Although Dear Science is less complex and lighter than TVOTR’s past albums, it doesn’t compromise their unmistakable commitment to experimentation.  Instead, Dear Science seems to be more accessible to—and maybe the best starting point for—the unfamiliar listener.

For TV on the Radio fans or those curious about their live show, they’ll be playing at the Vogue in Indianapolis on October 19^th.  Their live act has been described as “transcendent,” so don’t miss it if you’re in the area over fall break.

Links:

TV on the Radio Official Site

Pitchfork Review of Dear Science

MP3:  TV on the Radio - Golden Age

From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

First significant recording: Infiniheart (2004)

Most recent album: Soft Airplane (2008)

Genre: Reflective, home-made indie rock with electronic elements

Recommended if you like: Broken Social Scene, Black Bear, Destroyer

Chad VanGaalen’s Skelliconnection was nominated for a Polaris award last year.  He is also an animator and illustrator and has animated music videos for many of his songs.

Chad won’t be in our neighborhood any time soon.  Still, you can catch these soothing tunes on WGRE for now.

MP3: Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree

Links:

Chad VanGaalen on Flemish Eye Records

Chad VanGaalen on MySpace

“Molten Light” Video (animated by Chad himself)

This Denver indie pop band debuted in 1999 with their first full-length album, Pink Hearts Yellow Moons.  Four albums later, they’re still churning out the cute and sassy pop gems.

Dressy Bessy is Tammy Ealom (temporarily of The Minders), boyfriend and Apples in Stereo guitarist John Hill, Darren Albert, and Rob Greene.

Their new full-length album Holler and Stomp was just released by Transdreamer, home of Arab Strap and The Delgados.

MP3: Dressy Bessy - Simple Girlz

Upcoming Shows:

November 2   Chicago, IL        The Abbey Pub

November 6   Columbus, OH  Bernie’s

November 8   Lexington, KY  Al’s Bar  
Links:

Dressy Bessy Official Site

Dressy Bessy on MySpace

Buy Holler and Stomp

Noah and the Whale are a London pop outfit that specializes in good-natured indie pop love songs.  Most of their tunes are fun and jangly with a hint of melancholy humor.

They’ve just released their first full-length album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, on Interscope Records.  It features their first two hit singles, “5 Years Time” and “2 Atoms In a Molecule,” the more subdued title track, and eight other pop gems.  If you like what you’ve heard on WGRE, buy the album and support the artist!

Noah and the Whale won’t be in Indiana any time soon, but they do have a few upcoming Chicago shows:

September 25   Chicago, IL   Av-aerie

September 26   Chicago, IL   The Empty Bottle

MP3:  

Links:
Noah and the Whale Official Website

Noah and the Whale on Myspace

Buy Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down

Everthus the Deadbeats are a local band based out of the budding musical hub of Indianapolis. They started their career as artsy college students at Ball State, and put out their first CD, “Addicts Stuck in Traffic” in 2006. At the beginning of this year, they released their follow-up, “John Kill & the Microscopic Lullabye” on Standard Recordings. Now living and working in Broad Ripple, the band has made strides in the Midwest. Their sound is an eclectic mish mash of playful harmonies, carnival-like melodies, and psychedelic instrumentation. When they play live, they elevate that quirkiness to new heights, creating a care-free atmosphere replete with fun dance moves and silly gestures. They evoke a youthful excitement that hits you right in the gut — there’s no escaping their infectious melodies.

If you’re interested in seeing this musical extravaganza, be sure to check out one of their following shows:

9-19-08 in Bloomington, IN at Bear’s Place

10-18-08 in Muncie, IN at Doc’s Music Hall

10-24-08 in Indianapolis, IN at Vogue Theatre

10-27-08 in Fort Wayne, IN at Mid City Grill

Links:

Everthus the Deadbeats Official Website

Everthus the Deadbeats on Myspace

Check out H-29: Jamie Lidell.

Jamie Lidell is a British singer and producer (half of Super Collider) who, to risk sounding like I’m inventing genres, creates top-shelf neo-soul. His newly-released album Jim is ten very rich tracks that range from gospel and soul to R&B and disco. It is the perfect accompaniment to both a sunny day and a dance-tastic night.

This deserves a lot of play before the end of the year, so get on it. You really won’t be disappointed by the quality of this music. Not only does Lidell have exceptional vocal and beatboxing talent, but this album has been very carefully produced.

 MP3: Jamie Lidell - Another Day

WGRE music department is in da house!

To celebrate the blog’s unveiling we wanted to share with you a sneak peak at what adds to expect within the next few days:

El Guinch0- Cuand0 Maavilla Fui

.El Guincho - Cuando Maavilla Fu
i

Plants and Animals - Feedback in the Field

Lykke Li - I’m Good. I’m Gone.