Archive for the 'Artist Review' Category

Pat Regan Knows How To Sing Them Blues And Capture A Crowd


January 16, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Artist Review MP3 Quickie

Pat Regan (who attends USC) is a guy who knows how to win over a crowd and write some damn fine simple folk/blues songs that will get in your head. He’s like Paul Baribeau with a sense of humor, or Shakey Bones but not as drunk. Humorous comparisons aside, Pat Regan wants to play for you and your friends and has a lot of great gems to offer.

“I Don’t Understand” is potential hit-making material. A song about the awkwardness of burgeoning sexuality and society’s obsession with it, Pat Regan knows that he doesn’t know, but finds solace in that it just has to be this way. He understands that it is a natural part of growing up and all the live journals and myspaces and magazines are going about it the wrong way.

The single strum electric guitar song might be a sub-genre all on its own, but I’m moved every time. “In The Shade” even features a lonesome, perfectly accented harmonica that kills you when it echoes in after the choruses. I haven’t listened to it enough yet to get the lyrics, but I’m already moved beyond comprehension.

Pat Regan drove up to Santa Barbara to play at my (Existential Hero’s) farewell show and I requested “People Who Never Played For The Chicago Bulls” because it’s hilarious. Pat with his amazing stage presence started asking people to shout out other people who haven’t “played for the Chicago Bulls.” He did some impromptu rhyming to Prince and Shaq and in general kept everyone dancing and smiling.

A newer song, “We Got The Science,” contains the great line, “Natural causes aren’t causes worth dying for.” It is a satire on our society’s obsession with youth to the point that eventually we will cure death. It’s a Vonnegut-like waltz that is more prophetic than we’d all like to believe.

Pat Regan has an amazing infectious presence that I saw unfold before me in my old apartment and I think it carries over extremely well to his recorded music as well. You’ll be moved and moving at the same time.

Pat Regan-“We Got The Science”

Links:
Pat Regan on myspace

LACRYMOSA - “WOLF SNARE”


January 14, 2008
Parade Parade

Artist Review MP3 Quickie

Lacrymosa consists of one (1) Caitlin Pasko, one of the sweetest singer-songwriters you will find in the Village. While one may be tempted to label her Spektor-esque at first (”Lacrimosa” is the title of a Regina Spektor song, and Caitlin possibly drops a couple other references throughout her music), it would be hasty and unwise to write her off as such- she offers much more than that.

Her songs range from lilting waltzes to schizophrenic bursts of piano pounding, often ending up a satisfyingly chaotic mixture of the two elements. Her voice perfectly complements this musical yin-yang: it reads sometimes sad, sometimes joyous, (these overtones reveal themselves through her cryptically beautiful lyrics) and after a few listens, it seems safe to say that Caitlin has a proficiency in both languages.

One of my favorite songs of Caitlin’s is undoubtedly a track called “Wolf Snare.” Her voice and piano are enhanced with a ghostly reverb, it echoes and bounces around in your head and after a couple piano-key hits, you find yourself seduced and hooked in to the personal yarn that Caitlin’s begun to spin.

An irritating music snob might be tempted to say that she’s like Cat Power but more complicated, Mia Doi Todd but more classical, Regina Spektor but more controlled. But if you hear someone say any of these things, you should push them down and tell them to shut up, because Lacrymosa is just fucking wonderful and you should just listen.


Lacrymosa - “Wolf Snare”

want more? here’s her myspace.

The Field makes music with straw.


January 10, 2008
Secret Owl

Artist Review

The Field is one mysterious bearded man from Sweden who makes gorgeous, glitchy minimalistic techno. He got signed two years ago to Kompakt and now he’s busting out of his socks with his new album, “From Here We Go Sublime”.

It’s a bunch of beautiful, swirling tracks that make you dance, even though you feel as if maybe your speakers are broken and they’re repeating the same sound over and over again (but, y’know, when it sounds that awesome, who cares?). Strange chunks of singing, oft repeated and twirled, leave you feeling as if you just stepped off a bus and landed in Brazil, instead of two blocks downtown.

He’s up for all sorts of awards, and he’s done his fair share of remixing. His myspace mirrors his minimalist aesthetic, and it makes me want to grow a beard.

hisss MYSPACE!

music to self-loathe to


January 9, 2008
errandboy

Artist Review

I HATE MYSELf

The band I Hate Myself aren’t terribly fond of themselves. They feel about themselves how you might imagine Al Sharpton feels about unstraightened perms. They hate on that shit. But sometimes raw misery and awkward self-awareness is what you want out of your music, when you’re so inundated by songs contemplating on the vagueries of relationships it’s refreshing to hear songwriting that admits to its own problems. Call me a misanthrope, but this is usually the music that I find myself clinging to and finding the most honesty in.

Based primarily around Jim Marburger and his brother Jon Marburger, I Hate Myself recorded a series of splits leading up to a single LP for No Idea Records out of Gainesville, and disbanded shortly after, leaving a ton of people wondering about their true intents. The pervasive depression of all their songs in the fallout of the emo scene in the late 90’s have gotten people to wondering if this was all their big joke, a parody on the sad vogue of self-pitying bands who drew out elaborate dramatic conclusions about their lives based on mundane relationships. I Hate Myself’s inclusion of the word “Kame-hame-ha” in one of their songs (one of the first signs of Dragon Ball Z’s influence on hardcore music) and aching yet tongue in cheek song “Urban Barbie” about a hip-hopper ex-girlfriend of Jim Marburger’s who “shot up his heart”, show a streak of humor throughout their discography. The tone of Jim Marburger’s voice definitely betrays no sense of irony though, and his repeated pleading on “Drama in the Emergency Room” for the doctor to turn off the machine and let him “lay back and drip” is definitely no Weekend at Bernie’s.


I Hate Myself - Drama in the Emergency Room

Rachel Doe Makes Beautiful Music In Her Spare Time


January 9, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Artist Review

Rachel Doe

When I was first introduced to “lo-fi” music, Rebecca made me listen to Blanketarms, Tinyfolk, Super Famicom and a lesser-known artist named Rachel Doe. Listening to her now reminds me of my first year at UCSB and the endless possibilities that were in front of me. Her voice is strong and simultaneously soothing. Her more traditional music background reveals itself often; usually weaved in and out of the simple forms of acoustic folk-pop. Like her voice, this creates contradictory feelings that are perfect for a freshman struggling to find a foothold in a giant university. She hasn’t “released” an album or EP of her music yet, every few months or so I’ll just be happy to discover a new song on her myspace (Today I found a cover of Feist’s “So Sorry”).

The song “Claptrap” is an early classic back when I was introduced to her in ’06. Containing sketches of desperate warning, the song almost seems operatic. The guitar is messy, but it echoes fiercely. She even manages to make the phrase “ASAP” melancholy, which is quite a feat.

“Sisyphus” is a downright strange, mysterious song. Sung in a rather low register, it feels peaceful during the verses, but jumps out at you with intensity during the verses (Kind of a deconstruction of the grunge song format). Again, Rachel’s lyrics appear like flashes of ideas and feelings. Things like Valentines Day, unions, a Greek myth, and complementary colors all swirl around you never quite forming something concrete, but leave you with a desire to investigate further.

“Gorgey Porgey” is one of the sweetest songs that someone could write about another person. The chorus is simple and infectious, the chords themselves feeling perfectly familiar and with the lines repeating over and over again, “I think you’re gorgeous, baby baby,” you could swear she’s singing about you. Or you want her to be singing about you.

Rachel Doe is a perfect example of an artist making beautiful music that nobody might ever hear. She isn’t in it for anyone else, no glitz and glam of the collective like all of us here. Regardless, she is someone who should be heard and I hope she will start making music more often.

Rachel Doe-“Sisyphus”

Links:
Rachel Doe on myspace

WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS - TENDER LOVING CARE


January 7, 2008
Parade Parade

Artist Review Live Music

It doesn’t normally rain in Los Angeles, and when it does, it’s generally laughable: light drizzle or that fine kind of mist that comes off of freshly poured soda. But lately, it’s been shitting rain in LA, slowing traffic, knocking down power lines, and generally making life a little more miserable. But I was fortunate enough to see Watercolor Paintings tonight. They performed in a quaint little gallery in Silverlake, and it helped us (the audience) forget the weather.

Rebecca and Josh Redman (that’s them by the artichoke) are the dynamic brother-sister duo that comprise Watercolor Paintings. They’re extremely kind and wonderful people, and if you get the chance to meet them you should. But if you don’t get that chance, you can still listen to their music. Rebecca writes beautiful pop songs that generally involve acoustic stringed instruments (harp and ukelele), but don’t exclude instruments such as toy drums and a children’s toy vocoder with an anarchy symbol scribbled on it.

More than any other band I’ve seen in recent years, Watercolor Paintings has mastered the art of the sing-a-long. With ease, they command whole choruses that will gladly and unabashedly do as told, singing whole songs that they have never even heard before. One example of this finely-honed craft is Watercolor Paintings’ “Tender Loving Care.” While the begins with an upbeat polka-like drum and uke combo, it quickly surges in to a triumphant chorus of TLC’s “I Don’t Want No Scrubs.” I’ve noticed that often times, people will join in not even really realizing that it’s TLC. They sing because they know the words, and they sing because they want to. It’s not an easy feat, but I believe that Watercolor Paintings pull it off on a nightly basis. And they don’t brag about it, either, because they’re eff-ing rad.

“Tender Loving Care” is an amazing song. Not only is it an honest song of young love and miscommunication; it cleverly co-opts T.L.C.’s 90s pop chart hit. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but if some part of you doesn’t enjoy some part of this song, then I think you’re dumb.


Watercolor Paintings - Tender Loving Care

This is their myspace.

two


January 5, 2008
gregbeson

Artist Review WTF

CR jessica mack
Hello again!
I hope your week has been wonderful.
Here are some “things.”

J.MACK
The drawing pictured above is by my good friend Jessica Mack. I lived with Jessica a few years ago and must say she was one of the best roommates I’ve ever known. I looked forward to our conversations which usually lasted into the wee hours of the morning, her smile, bike rides, walks to the used book store or spikes veggie hot dog stand.
She is so darn inspiring. One of those people in the world who live their whole life like it itself is a work of art (the way we all should).
Each painting was a newborn baby she had carried inside her and birthed. The love she had for each was altogether staggering and igniting. I have been fortunate enough to see her explosive progress over the past few years and now seems a good time to share some of her work with you. I hope you enjoy what you see (keep in mind these paintings and drawings are a year old). I’ve seen some of the new works and I can’t begin to stress how amazingly far she is taking all that she creates.

TEA AND RECORDS
Almost every night for the past week I’ve been lucky enough to share many late nights with my co-worker, friend, neighbor and musical explorer/teammate, David Bohill (he was a member of Sunburned and is currently a member of See-through band). Our nights, now affectionately dubbed “tea and records,” involve the two of us discussing and tossing around many subjects such as; music, bands, artists, work gossip, dogs we love, ideal “bands, “etc. And of course, listening to a whole bunch of mind blowingly amazing music. Every night there is a new Coltrane record (it was ascension last night) and a few nights back it was TALK TALK.
I am going to focus this week on MARK HOLLIS, singer of the aforementioned band. His record (S/T), released in 1998 might be the only thing you should be listening between the hours of 2:30 and 3:30am. A time when there is no way to know if you are up late at night or if you have crossed that invisible line into the earliest of morning. It has been my soundtrack for this transitional period, which I have come face to face with on many of these winter nights. Mark helps me to come down off the mountain of the day/night I have just lived and delivers me into my warm bed, kissing each of my ears. The textures created on this album are pure. They are gentle waves lapping at the winter sand, each more beautiful than the last. Listen for yourself and be the judge.

Love & Kindness Mean A Lot More Because Of Fragile Fawn!


January 2, 2008
foggy ruins of time

Artist Review

I’m sure we have all thought to ourselves when hearing a new band/artist, “I can’t believe I haven’t heard of them ‘til now!” And although Oak Park’s Fragile Fawn hasn’t been around that long, I’m still beating myself up for not discovering them sooner. Comprised of a boy/girl duo, Dani and Clarke, they create intricate, but joyous pop songs that’ll make you want to hug strangers and love those around you a whole lot more. As far as I know they have one EP that isn’t really available (Dani and Clarke disband during the year due to college), but the songs I’ve gotten off their myspace (a few from the Kindness EP and a few from the shows Josh put up over at 5…4…3…2…fun!!) are simply inspiring.

My favorite so far is “Love To Love To Love,” a bouncy little number peppered with piano, tambourine, and handclaps. A spry guitar weaves in and out of Dani’s affectionate and assured vocals that give a poignant backbone to why our dreams must be our reality. “Kindness” takes on sort of a jazzy pop quality where Dani’s voice becomes more delicate, but very confident in singing Fragile Fawn’s Mantra, “Our kindness will always create art.” Labeled as a demo under their myspace, “Indian Giver” is simply epic and I can’t imagine how it could any more finished. Cool breakdowns, surprise synths, double-tracked Dani, Clarke jumping in often, bongos & tambourines, even a Hawaiian slide style part; this song has it all and more!

I really hope Fragile Fawn create more music, because they are starting a revolution and kindness is their weapon.

Mp3: “Love To Love To Love”

Fragile Fawn on myspace
Create Recordings
Modern Love: Dani’s blog

Jenny is a Boy, Kickass 4-way


December 26, 2007
Tinyfolk

Artist Review

A band you people should check out is Jenny is a Boy. Yes, he went to high school with me, yes, we were roommates, but I think that that, if anything, gives me license to be more critical of his music than the average listener. Fans of The Mountain Goats (i.e. everyone) and Paul Baribeau will find some common ground here, but really Adam is doing his own thing here. His latest release is “Folkilla,” (whatever the hell that means) a split with the wonderful Life Under a Tree that you can buy over at Bob Heavens Records. Solo, Jenny is a Boy is a treat to watch for anyone who loves intense, earnest, personal acoustic guitar music, with equal doses of whispered lyrics and shout-alongs. But it is when he plays with his full band, The Proclamation where he really comes into his own and it’s a lot easier to see how original and versatile his songwriting really is. You can get one of his songs on the Real Live Tigers tribute comp (available from the wonderful Toby Foster’s myspace page), and there is a new album which should be out in two or three months on Bloomington, Indiana’s Let’s Pretend Records.

MP3s:
Jenny is a Boy - What’s Wrong with Me from Folkilla
Jenny is a Boy - I’m the Asshole pt. 2 from Folkilla
Jenny is a Boy and the Proclamation - The Preacher’s Daughter from Life is Easy: A Tribute to Real Live Tigers
Jenny is a Boy and the Proclamation - I’m the Asshole pt. 2 from the upcoming Jenny is a Boy and the Proclamation album

OH! And holly fucking shit guys (there’s a christmas typo for you), three of my favorite musicians in the word, Super Famicom, Redbear and imadethismistake, are all putting out a 4-way-split 7″ with me. And it’s going to be out on Fall of the West records in a couple months. How damn exciting is that?

One Love,
Tinyfolk