Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend, 2008

It is seen before and now it seems to be finding its way back into popular music. Afro beat has in the past few years been increasing its appearance. One of the pioneers that has adapted the afro beat is Vampire Weekend. The band was formed back in 2006 where the four fellows met at the Columbia University. With a common love for popmusicians as The Zombies and The Beatles and a passion for afro beat, a genre from the 1970’s, they started a band together.

A different and unique way of using traditional instruments is what characterize afro beat and this gives the music a special and admirable vibe. On the self-titled album Vampire Weekend make use of this and combine it with simple, african rythems and elements from classical music such as violins. This may sound a bit odd, however, the band manage to create a very unique univers. The references to african music makes the music organic and recognizable. Additional genres like punk and classical makes it sound new and exciting but still natural and familiar. This is why Vampire Weekend can add an odd instrument like the panflute into a track without you even notice it.

The album is very recommendable, and maybe that is why they topped the list of ‘most read reviews’ on pitchforkmedia in past two months. VW (not das auto) is the sound of a sunny day, a great summer, love and harmony. Peace.

Listen to the first five tracks on myspace - they’re great!

Vampire Weekend on myspace

Vampire Weekend on the web

Review on pitchfork

Headlights

Some Racing, Some Stopping, 2008

The formation of Headligths took place in 2004. In 2006 they released their debut ‘Kill Them With Kidness’; “Indie pop with a shoegazey aftertaste” as they named it themselves. An album that will hit you right in your indie heart if you’re the lucky owner of one of those. After a tremendous tour activity (over 300 shows during two and a half year) caused by their first albumrelease the band needed a break. The trio mooved into a farmhouse surrounded by soybean and corn fields. This was last spring. They needed a pause, space and piece. Gradually the band started to wirte songs again - the songs that turned into the new record.

All things that had happened in the three past years were stressing for the band. All the touring and the release of the previous album. This influenced their way of making music. “This time they wanted something more natural, more immediate, more spontaneous“, as written on their website. Erin Fein, lead vocals, put it this way: they wanted to “capture the moment of a new song“. The title of the new album describes the bands story so far: ‘Some Racing, Some Stopping‘. The touring and then the need to settle down.

What came out of this break is pretty good. Tracks such as ‘Get Yer Head Around It’ and ‘School Boys’ are indeed recommendable while ‘Market Girl’ takes my breath away. On these tracks you really feel the bands passion for music. The sonorous guitars and ringing bells creates an absolutely beautiful melancolic atmosphere that would touch any indie lovers bleeding heart. ‘Cherry Tulips’, ‘On April 2′ and ‘Catch Them All’ is a different affair. Melancholy is gone and the tunes are likeable, happy and attracts the listener with its “sympaphy”, sonorous guitar themes and cathing rythems. Headlights is, however, best on their melancholic songs. The beautiful lyrics on ‘Some Racing, Some Stopping’, the dizzyness on ‘So Much For the Afternoon’ and the breathless beauty ‘Marked Girl’ is what makes Headlights a great band. The beautiful voice of Erin Fein is also worth accentuating.

Headlights is now out ‘racing’ again. They will be touring North America in the next two months.

Facts:

• Headlights was formed in 2004
• They released two long play records and an EP
• Artistacal references: Mercury Rev, The Band, Björk, 60’s french girl pop, My Bloody Valentine.
• Headlights is playing ‘indie pop with a shoegazey aftertaste’
• You will definitely like them!

Foals

Antidotes, 2008

Foals is gonna be the most important band in 2008. Mm, that’s right. The hype is now long gone and you know what? I found that very convenient. We can really concentrate on listening to the music now. And this band is really making good music.

Foals is a band from Oxford, UK. The band members went to university together and gave this up because they wanted to play music instead. Now, three years after the band was formed, they released their long play debut. Foals themselves describe their new album as a dualistic combination of dansable and thougthful music - an album for the friday nights but also an album you would reflect on at home. Furthermore, this description includes an odd artistic reference as Gwen Steffani. Refenrences the music press has offered are genres like dance pop mixed with afro beat and distinctly math rock. Actually Foals is doing anything in their power to avoid the manipulating, hyping music press - especially the british. And the ferocious press has been out there, just waiting to pronounce the coming of ‘the next big thing’, namely Foals. Right at the beginning the members agreed on their position on music. It should be pop music with a cutting edge, cointain elements from all over the world and first of all the music should be anti-élitist. They intend to maintain a close relationship to their roots. Foals make music for people to enjoy it, that’s all.

With an admirable opinion to music Foals indirectly proclaime themselves as best new act this year. ‘Antidotes’ is an amazing album. Bringing a whole new musical perspective to life Foals has commited an absolutely original piece of musical art. These five guys from oXXXford invented their own retarded, stoned, anti-pop. Accompanied by the New York-based afro beat collective Antibalas Foals merged math rock and world music, and what came out of it is this exciting new pop music. Anti-pop, Antibalas, Antidotes.

All tracks are great but the brilliant ones are songs like ‘The French Open’, ‘Olympic Airways’ and ‘Two Steps, Twice’. In the french opening is easy to hear their inspiration of world music. The horns and guitar rythems has a distinct foreign character. With the intensity increasing as the beat goes faster the first (french) words seems like punchlines for me: “Un peu d’air sur la terre” (a bit air on Earth) - building up a massive amount of energy and releasing it at once: “Wasted games / Rackets and gadgets”. ‘Olympic Airways’ has an amazing passage with a double guitar figure while ‘Two Steps, Twice’ alike the first track is very energetic.

‘Heavy Water’ and ‘Electric Bloom’ are great live performance songs. Foals commited an absolutely fantastic gig at Train, Århus, the 8th of March.

Hummer EP, 2007

None of the previous myspace-hits or rather singles Foals made before the album is included on the album. All songs on ‘Antidotes’ are brand new and the first single is called ‘Balloons’. Later on Foals launched ‘Cassius’ and ‘Red Socks Pugie’ as the second and third single from the record. The previous singles ‘Hummer’ and ‘Mathetics’ are to be found on the ‘Hummer EP’ from 2007 which also contain the brilliant ‘Astronouts and All’. Foals did not want to release a record which people already heard.

Facts:

• Dave Sitek (from Tv On the Radio) recorded and produced but the final mix was declined by Foals. They wished a different sound.
• Foals was formed in 2005.
• Foals play math rock, afro beat and pop.
• Foals’ friends are making their coverart and music videos. The guy who makes Foals’ music videos works full time at a kebab bar.
• The famous afro beat band Antibalas made additional horn music on ‘Antidotes’.
• Foals should be seen live (accompanied by Antibalas).

Foals on Myspace

Foals.com

Foals on virb.com

Tokyo Police Club

Elephant Shell, 2008

Three years ago a guy called Dave Monks had discovered ‘Silent Alarm’ by Bloc Party and ‘Echoes’ by the Rapture and got inspired. Back then he really didn’t know what else to do than play music. This caused the beginning of a basement project with three other guys from his high school in Toronto, CA. They shared the same passion for music. They were fond of Bloc Party and the Rapture as well, so they started writing songs. The four companions called themselves Tokyo Police Club. This was three years ago.

In the past months people on both sides of the northatlantic ocean has been waiting patiently for their debutalbum. In advance of this Tokyo Police Club released two EP’s and especially the first one from 2006 caugth manys attention. This eight track-long EP is called ‘A Lesson In Crime’. I remember sitting at my computer discovering the band by listening to an alternative music radio. ‘Nature of the Experiment’, the first single from the EP, was high-rated on their top 10. This was in january 2007 and that song was in heavy rotation the rest of the month.

‘Elephant Shell’ is now in stores and the musical content is adequately fulfilling my expections. Every track is brand new and the band simply is a better band than in 2006. If you liked ‘A Lesson In Crime’ you will indeed like this album. It is unmistakably the crispy, scrathy and catchy sound of Toyko Police Club. It is the restless beats of drummer Greg Alsop combined with the soft voice of frontman and bassist Dave Monks. The catchy riffs from guitar player Josh Hook accompanied by the sonorous key- and synth effects of Graham Wright. You could call it traditional alternative music. The band does absolutely not add a new dimension to music genres. This is not experimental music in any way. The band is better described as an respresentative of newer tendencies in alternative garagerock; what in popular talking is named “indie rock”.

The average duration of a Tokyo Police Club track is two minutes and thirty seconds. This doesn’t give a lot space on the album, no room to breathe. The rapidity unables a futher profundity on the album and this can make the songs sound (almost) exactly alike. The first impression can be superficial. This was indeed an issue on ‘A Lesson In Crime’. That was, however, an EP and the reason why the new record works fine is because of tracks like ‘The Harrowing Adventures Of…’ and ‘Listen to the Math’ where you find the thoughtfulness and a lower tempo. And when you can write songs like ‘In a Cave’, ‘Tessellate’, ‘Nursery, Acedemy’ and ‘Your English Is Good’ your album is already reaching high standards.

Another factor that increases the quality of the album is the lyrics. The melancholic melodies together with Dave Monks’ sensetive vocals and sentimental lyrics gives you a pleasant feeling of nostalgy and the ever longing after something. In reference to this there an interessting blog entry on TPC’s website, “Our New Record”, written by Graham Wright. He blog about this exact feeling: “A Lesson in Crime was a record for Friday nights. It was the record you would throw on at the party with twenty of your friends, the record that everyone could get up and dance to. It was quick and immediate and to the point. But when the partys over, and you’re giving a ride home to the girl you have a crush on, thats when you put Elephant Shell on. Its the record that you listen to when you’re driving around town in the dark, wondering if she likes you, wondering if you should have tried to flirt more, or less.” Lines like “Dead lovers salivate / Broken hearts tessellate tonight” in the fantastic chorus on ‘Tessellate’ evokes a very special feeling in me and causes the goose bums. On ‘The Harrowing Adventures Of…’ you find the touchy line “Two wrongs making right” follow by a beautiful cello theme and the lyrics gets intelligent on ‘Nursery, Academy’: “Paper walls unfold, as you’d expect / The house that built a home for architects”. And of course the lovely ending on ‘In a Cave’ that titled the album: “Elephant shell / You’re my cave and i’ve been hiding out / Will you tell me a little bit about / A bit about yourself”.

TO SUM UP ‘Elephant Shell’ is a romantic album. The sensetive vocals, up tempo beats, tambourine and hand clapping percussions and melancholic guitar- and piano themes is very catchy and appealing. Tokyo Police Club is unique because of this rare-seen catchyness and their way of making good things better. Because of the ever longing and thoughtful lyrics which makes your think and feel because it takes time to capture its message. All of this is the reason why TPC could play on David Letterman without even having released a full length album and why TPC has gone from being a gloomy basement project to being the new hope youngsters in alternative music. Get the album and enjoy!

Facts:

• John Drew (Interpol, The National) produced most of the album.
• TPC was formed in 2005
• ‘A Lesson In Crime’ was released in 2006
• ‘The Smith EP’ in 2007
• ‘Elephant Shell’ released in april 2008 in EU and North America
• TPC played at Coachella (live with Cold War Kids), Reading and Glanstonbury. On Europe-tour this upcoming summer.
• TPC plays indie / garage rock / pop like Bloc Party, the Rapture, the Strokes.

Tokyo Police Club on myspace

TPC’s website

Nature of the Experiment live on Letterman

MGMT

Oracular Spectacular, 2008

‘Oracular Spectacular’: Velkommen ind i MGMT’s parallelunivers med zulu-folk og skæv, psykadelisk popmusik. På den europæiske udgivelse afbilledes forsanger Andrew VanWyngarden og keyboardspiller Ben Goldwasser på coveret, som hvad der bedst kan betegnes som new rave-surferzuluer, og i deres musikvideoer danser et lignende stammefolk med ildfakler rundt på stranden i solnedgang. Indimellem spiller MGMT da også på new rave-tangenterne så at sige, men bandet spænder over mange flere genrebetegnelser. 70′er ikoner som Bowie og Dylan er nogle af bandets forbilleder. Specielt førstnævntes popånd kan høres i musikken, og Bowie’s status som popmusikkens kamæleon genfindes som inspirationskilde hos MGMT, idet deres musikalske udtryk i høj grad er flertydigt. Surf / Jungle / Country, som der står på myspace-profilen. Dette, blandet med electronika, skæve synths og psykadelia, er nok det nærmeste, vi kommer med en beskrivelse af ord.

I 2005 udsendte de debut-ep’en ‘Time to Pretend’, og nu, i 2008, udsendte de altså fuldlængderen ‘Oracular Spectacular’ i Europa. Resultatet er uden tvivl spektakulært. De fem første skæringer er helt igennem fantastiske, geniale og enestående. Pladen starter ud med den eminente ‘Time To Pretend’, hvor lyrikken i sig selv er forbløffende: “This is our decision / To live fast and die young / We’ve got the vision / Now let’s have some fun”. Sangen handler om den selvdestruktive, ungdommelige tilværelse som rockstjerne - uden happy ending: “We’re fated to pretend”. Hvor ‘Time To Pretend’ har massive synth-effekter er anden skæring, ‘Weekend Wars’, mere rytmisk rockpoppet med storladen slutning. Denne efterfølges af den svimlende ‘The Youth’, der er mere afdæmpet, underlig nostalgisk og helt vidunderlig. ‘Electric Feel’ er tekstmæssig overlegen, über funky og fandens fængende. Melankolien finder MGMT frem på den hjerteskærende ‘Kids’. Anden del af albummet er niveauet blandet. ‘4th Dimensional Transition’ er eksprimeterende med inspirationskilder fra østen. Den ligegyldige ‘Pieces of What’ virker næsten anstrengende, mens ‘Of Moons, Birds & Monsters’ fungerer fortrinligt som blanding af blues og pop. På pladens to sidste numre, balladen ‘The Handshake’ og den poprockede ‘Future Reflections’, stiger intensiteten en anelse igen og runder albummet fint af.

‘Oracular Spectacular’ er et gennemført album, der beviser at MGMT er et superfedt band med musikalsk integritet. På trods af man kan høre nogle tydelige referencer, har de formået at kombinere dette med deres egne idéer og skabt noget nyt og unikt. Med Flaming Lips-producer bag knapperne har de fået lækker, sprød lyd. De har desuden tænkt meget over image, og resultatet er originalt. Duoen har skabt deres helt eget 4 dimensionelle univers.

Hvis du er til Flaming Lips, Klaxons og Muse skulle du tage at lytte til MGMT. Mange af de fedeste numre ligger på myspace, og alle numre fra debutskiven ligger faktisk på Virb. MGMT har også gjort sig bemærket med deres surrealistiske interaktive musikvideoer, man selv kan konfiguere på MGMT’s hjemmeside, men kan også se dem på tuben. Desuden kan det oplyses, at frontmanden er begyndt at skrive sange til et nyt (side)projekt. Nemlig duoen med det norske navn Blikk Fang, der udover VanWyngarden består af Kevin Barnes, som er frontmand i Of Montreal. Meget spændende. Dette er heldigvis ikke lig med MGMT’s død.

MGMT optræder på årets Roskilde Festival.

myspace

virb

who is MGMT?

Grizzly Bear

‘Friend’ EP, 2008

I november sidste år udgav Grizzly Bear EP’en Friend, som blandt andet byder på genindspildning af egne numre. ‘Alligator’, der på debuten ‘Horn of Plenty’ varede et minut og tyve sekunder, er blevet et langt nummer med bombastisk instrumentering akkompagneret af storladen korsang istedet for den førhen enkle elektroniske opbygning. Desuden har grizzly bjørnen lavet covernumre af andre kunstnere, EP’en byder sågar på enkelte nye numre, og endelig har andre kunstnere lavet covers af Grizzly Bear. Der er her tale om ganske fornemt besøg, idet Band of Horses, CSS og Atlas Sound (Deerhunter-frontmandens soloprojekt) hver har bidraget med et nummer, der afslutter pladen.

De tre sidste numre på pladen afviger naturligvis meget fra første del af pladen og giver uundgåeligt pladen et halvrodet præg. Jeg vælger at betragte covernumrene, og i øvrigt hele EP’en, som et salgs appendix til Grizzly Bears repetoire. Mange af numrene på EP’en ville ikke fungere på et album, og passer derfor fint på denne udgivelse, som sidestykke til deres to albums. Pladen skal ikke give et helhedsindtryk. ‘Friend’ er mange ting, fordi mange ‘friends’ har været inde over det. ‘Alligator (Choir Version)’ og Grizzly Bears cover af ‘He Hit Me’ er to fortrinlige numre fra pladen, og ligger begge på deres myspace-profil. Andre numre, der er værd at fremhæve, er numre som det storladne genindspillede ‘Little Brother’ nummer samt CSS-coveret af ‘Knife’, der er helt genialt og er en smuk afviger på ‘Friend’-EP’en.

Grizzly Bears hjemmeside

Myspace

M83

‘Graveyard Girl’, 2008

M83 er et fransk en mandsband. ‘Graveyard Girl’ er forløberen for hans kommende album, “Saturday = Youth”, som udgives den kommende mandag. Indtil da nyd dette stykke indie synthpop på myspace.

myspace

Tokyo Police Club

Nye sange på myspace og nyt album til april

Første gang, jeg hørte Tokyo Police Club, var i det elektriske barometer i starten af 2007. De er fra Canada, og de spiller indie-/garagerock. Der er sket meget for bandet siden. Dengang var de aktuelle med deres EP ‘A Lesson In Crime’, og sangen ‘Nature of the Experiment’ var “hittet” fra EP’en. Det var virkerlig en ørehænger, jeg ikke kunne få ud af mit hoved (og i øvrigt en glimrende EP). Nu har de gjort det igen med sangen ‘In a Cave’, der er forløber for deres debutalbum, der udkommer til april. Albummet kommer til at hedde ‘Elephant Shell’; to ord som stammer fra netop sangen ‘In a Cave’, der ligger på myspace.

Lyt til sangene på myspace, og lad os håbe at albummet bliver ligeså godt!

The Kills

Midnight Boom, 2008

Albummet ‘Midnight Boom’ fra The Kills udkommer på mandag, men man kan allerede nu høre hele skidtet på myspace. På den nye plade mærker man straks en udvikling fra ‘No Wow’. På forgængeren var det udlukkende hårdkogthed, distortion-lyd og trommemaskine. Den nye plade er meget mere varieret, hvilket gør den utrolig interessant. En stor del af æren skylder The Kills den nye mand bag knapperne, Alex Epton, Spank Rock-produceren. Der er en genre til forskel mellem The Kills og Spank Rock, men visse af producerens karakteristika skinder tydeligt igennem. Opfindsomheden og originaliteten vil nemlig ingen ende tage. Ringetoner, håndklaps, bizar percussion og andre elektroniske virkermidler præger ‘Midnight Boom’. Den nye lyd klæder duoen særdeles godt.

Alsidighed er der nok af. På ‘Black Balloon’ mærker man en hidtil uset melankoli og eftertænksomhed, og generelt er der mere ‘uh-uh-ah-ah’ (’Last Day of Magic’). Men vent nu lidt, for er også masser af huh-huh (’Sour Cherry’)!? The Kills er stadig hårdkogte. “Time ain’t gonna cure you, honey / Time don’t give a shit” (’Tape Song’). Allenumre er gode, men skulle jeg nævne et par highlights ville det være førstesinglen ‘Cheap and Cheerful’ og ‘What New York Used To Be’, der er mine favoritter.

På trods af den spændende fornyelse synes jeg dog stadig, at ‘No Wow’ er bedre.

Duoen kan opleves på VoxHall d. 30. marts og på Vega d. 31.

The Kills’ hjemmeside

Myspace

Bloc Party

‘Flux’, 2007

Man må ikke glemme, at Bloc Party kort efter udgivelsen af ‘A Weekend In the City’ (2007) udgav en single, der ikke var at finde på selvsamme album. Den single hedder ‘Flux’, og den er rigtig fed. Den knytter sig til ‘A Weekend In the City’, og den skal ses som et appendix til albummet.

‘Flux’ adskiller sig fra, hvad de ellers har lavet, idet udtrykket er mere elektronisk, men man kan sagtens relatere til bandets yderlige materiale. Det er et fedt supplement til deres repetoire og en spændende fornyelse. Jeg begyndte at lytte til Bloc Party på en helt ny måde efter, jeg havde hørt ‘Flux’.

myspace.com/blocparty