Bandcamp Find of the Week – Pickwick

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Sam

So I suppose my Bandcamp Find of the Week series should technically be renamed Bandcamp Find of the Season. We’ll gloss over the lack of follow ups since that January article, here’s the latest one. I present to you Pickwick.

There’s scant information across the internet on these guys so this is what I do know; there’s six of them, they’re from Seattle, they have a penchant for vintage gear and they love vinyl (men after my own heart there). But what I can tell you from listening to their debut record Myths, interestingly split into three EP’s and released over a period of months, is that they are a great blend of Soul, R&B and Indie rock with shades of blues and the songwriting skills to boot. It’s raw stuff, don’t expect lavish production here. That’s not to say it’s badly produced however, far from it, there’s perfect clarity and it does nothing but accentuate the bands sound, giving each member’s instrument room to breathe and stand out – there are some infectiously catchy melodies here. Most importantly however, it sounds like the band are having fun and this bleeds into their sound freely at all opportunities. Across the record (or three EP’s depending on how you buy it) Pickwick display great skill in creating meaningful songs full of soul. It’s also worth mentioning the interesting presentation and method of releasing three EPs as a full length. The band clearly have a vision and it’s great to see them experimenting with the way they release their music. Each EP comes with it’s own artwork, all stylistically created to compliment each other, it’s a nice idea well executed.

Have a listen over on the Pickwick bandcamp. Note if you want to grab Myths as a complete piece rather than the three EPs via bandcamp, you can purchase it digitally for $8 (USD) or physically for $10 (USD) on their kungfustore here. Highlights include the superb Hacienda Motel (live version below, well worth the watch!) and The Round.

Tracklisting as follows:

Volume 1
1) Hacienda Motel
2) When Rosa Speaks

Volume 2
1) The Round
2) Staged Names

Volume 3
1) Limelight
2) Blackout

The Shins – Port of Morrow [Review]

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Sam

It’s been five years since the well praised Wincing the Night Away and The Shins are back featuring a new line-up with Port of Morrow, arguably their strongest record yet.

Mercers dabblings with Danger Mouse on the superb 2010 Broken Bells record is evident with a slightly more electronic sound bubbling away in the background throughout, it’s never at the forefront but it’s noticeably subtle – a nice evolution of the sound Mercer has crafted for The Shins. It’s also unmercifully catchy; something The Shins have always managed and over time has become apparently easier for Mercer judging by how many of the tracks have been jammed in my mind the last two weeks. Vocal melodies bounce effortlessly along with the music (check out The Rifle’s Spiral (below) & Simple Song for prime examples) and this is really one of my favourite elements of the album. James Mercer really is a genius when it comes to the flow of his lyrics. It’s pretty straight up Indie Pop but goddamn it sounds effortless and so very, very confident.

Five years is a long time and if the sound of Port of Morrow is anything to go by it’s not just Mercers vocal melodies that have been honed, the production is sublime and a leap forward from previous efforts. It’s smooth, warm and well balanced, nothing is lost in the mix and it sounds bright and summery. It doesn’t sound like it’s taking elements from any one decade of the past 40 years but blending carefully the best of all of them. Pacing is well managed with a comfortable blend of slower mellow tracks and more upbeat singles helping the albums rhythm and never really outstaying its welcome. If there was ever any doubt after the line-up changes and five year gap between albums, it is very clear that James Mercer is back. He is The Shins and he’s back, familiar yet better in nearly every way.

If you’re a fan of The Shins you should be checking this album out, I have no doubt about that. If you don’t fall into that camp and you’re on the fence, then you could do a lot worse than checking out this brilliantly catchy Indie Pop record. Finally, it also benefits from excellent artwork courtesy of Jacob Escobedo who also worked on the Broken Bells artwork.

Track listing is as follows (complete with highlighted highlights).

The Rifle’s Spiral
Simple Song
It’s Only Life
Bait and Switch
September
No Way Down
For a Fool
Fall of ’82
40 Mark Strasse
Port of Morrow

Isbells – Stoalin’ [News+Listen]

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Tom

This is very exciting. One of my favourite artists has announced their new album. Isbells launched themselves in 2009 with their self titled album, Isbells. The Belgium band have a likeable trait of producing sweet melodies and often somewhat melancholic lyrics – this of course made it my perfect ‘break-up’ album at the time. I highly urge you to get your hands on it, you won’t regret doing so.

They released a charity song in 2011 called, No Light Bright Light, to raise money for the Psychiatric Hospital St. Annendael in the Belgian city Diest. This track confirmed my hope that their first album wasn’t a golden one-off, their songwriting was as beautiful as ever. I recommend you check out the song.

Their new album titled Stoalin’ is to be released on March 26th, and they’ve released a single from it called Illusion. From listening to it a few times, it sounds as good as their older stuff. In this track they’ve employed a more choral feel, and the recording sounds a little more professional. The melodic guitar and well written lyrics are the same. I’m glad to hear that everything is keeping to their original formula.

Click here to pre-order the new album.

Here’s a track from their first album to introduce you to their sound, it’s called As Long As It Takes:

UPDATE:

Here’s the full album, Stoalin’.

Tashaki Miyaki [Listen+Watch]

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Tom

It’s not often I fall head over heals for an artist, but listening to Tashaki Miyaki’s cover of one of my favourite Dylan songs put them at the top of my playlist for the week.

I blame the summery vibes ringing in the London air at the moment that’s fuelling my current shoegaze phase. Tashaki Miyaki have a chilled out dreamy sound blended with well paced vocals which compliment each track perfectly – and I really mean that. The band are often compared to Best Coast, who I always ‘sort of liked’, but Tashaki Miyaki have that special thing which make them in my humble opinion far more enjoyable. I hope they come play in the UK soon.

The two girls behind the name, Lucy and Rocky are both from California. Their latest EP, is released by UK based label The Sounds Of Sweet Nothing – the same people that released the new Halls EP. I have to say those people know how to find quality music.

What squeezes the icing on the cake for me is Tashaki Miyaki have quality music videos too. As a filmmaker myself, I see the importance in having good, tasteful visuals to this genre of music. So often with bands you see the cliché kaleidoscope of images badly processed through After Effects, (even on a zero budget, there’s no need for that). However their frequent director, Juan Iglesias has done a stellar job in producing very fitting videos for them, I salut you sir.

Check out their latest cover of Bob Dylan’s song, If Not For You:

This is a video for their track Best Friend, I also recommend checking out their video for Somethin’ Is Better Than Nothin’:

Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself [Review]

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Sam

My introduction to Andrew Bird was while browsing the shelves of the small and rather wonderful record store People Independent Music of Guildford, Surrey. A superb Indie store packed with a range of genres and always something interesting or new, if you’re ever in the area check it out, it’s well worth a look. So, I’m standing there, browsing the Alternative/Indie section, I have one CD in hand, probably all I’m going to spend today and then this song kicks up, it’s beautiful, it reminds me of the Fleet Foxes, with a little Ryan Adams, but with a whole lot of violin and a little more subtlety, it’s sort of quirky as well. The guy next to me leans over to the counter and asks “Who is this?”, to which the girl replies with a smile “It’s Andrew Bird’s new album”, “Hmm…” the customer ponders for all of half a second, “I’ll take one!”. Handing the CD over in my hand to pay I echo, “You know what, I’ll take one as well”.

It was one of those moments I had to hear more on my own stereo, if I hadn’t bought that album there and then I’d be a mug. That’s a great start, first track of the new album and I’m totally sold, as was my fellow customer. I’m happy to report Break It Yourself delivers. I’d heard Birds name thrown around before, I’d heard his outstanding whistling skills (seriously, check it out – this song also features on this album), but never taken the time to check out his music properly. I was pleasantly surprised to find a sound that mixes beautiful strings with soft guitars and rock elements, arranged with just enough oddities to keep it fresh. It straddles modern acoustic songwriting and traditional folk music pretty comfortably and never feels like an unnatural or forced combination. Desperation Breeds elevates itself to one of my favourite album openers of the year beginning slow and brooding before bursting into life with beautiful flourishes of violin. These frequent the album and compliment most songs bringing the music alive with a bright and vibrant feel. The aforementioned whistling is there and is as excellent as ever, Bird really does have some skills and no matter what he is playing it all comes together so perfectly well with a natural and effortless flow. The short recording window and live studio recording only helps to give the album the organic, natural sound is presents. Pacing is graceful and mixes the uplifting with the more gentle mellow tracks.

The only complaints I have are aimed at the latter half which drags slightly before soaring again with the absolutely superb Hole in the Ocean Floor. It never becomes wearisome however and overall it can be taken as a very well rounded full-length. It’s worth keeping in mind that this is my first Andrew Bird album so I cannot compare it to previous releases, but it’s definitely a great place to start and I can safely say I’ve come away a fan.

Andrew lacks a website at the moment but check him out on facebook if you want to keep up with news and tour info.